--A/N- CAPPEH DOESN'T OWN ANYONE/THING. XD Except for Mentos. She's mine. :3
Rated for: Language, gore/blood, violence, and some suggestive situations.---

She had been called many things in her lifetime. Master of Scorpions, Dragon Tamer, and Ranger of the West… the list was always growing. Those names were long forgotten now, though. Her new alias was the Slayer of Hope, a darkened soul whose purpose in life was seemingly lost.

Varrock held no place for her now, not after what she had done. She traveled far out to the west again, out to Baxtorian Falls, where she had spent many a day before, contemplating everything.

Baxtorian Falls was the perfect place for her to go to after what had happened.

'Iban…

'Why? You didn't have to do what you did… we could have just left this filthy land together and headed here, out to Hemenster, where the Rangers I once considered family live…'

Iban. He had been a knight, a lover, and a traitor all at once. His appearance was imprinted on her mind, she had loved him so.

He had flowing black tresses that usually fell freely about halfway down his back, and mahogany eyes that could change from vehemence to affection in a split second. He had been tall, around six and a half feet, and always had a sword strapped to his side.

Oh, yes, he had been the only thing left in this world that she had loved besides the desert, scorpions, and dragons. But nothing could even come close to replacing him…

---And thus, the story begins…---

-Three months previously…

"What?" the king laughed, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. He stared at the woman leaning in the stone archway with utter disbelief. In the corner of the room, a tall guard was leaned against the wall; hand on the hilt of his sword anxiously.

"You want me to hire a woman as part of my royal guard?" he nearly choked with laughter.

Mentos, gray eyes veiled by her dirty blonde hair, pulled her lips back in a disgusted grin.

"What?" she stared, imitating the king in a girly voice, "You want me to hire a woman?" her head snapped to the side while she stared intently at the king. Her voice changed. "I could probably kill you right here and get out before anyone had a chance to sound the alarm, you know."

The look of laughter faded from the king's face, and he looked nervously from the knight in the corner to the woman leaning in the doorway.

"You'll have to get through Iban first," he said quickly, taking a step back, "If you can hold you own against him for a few minutes, I'll gladly put you on my guard." Mentos nodded, and let her longbow lean against the wall.

"Daggers only." she said curtly, drawing a knife from a sheath on her thigh. The knight stepped forward and pulled off his helm. Obsidian tresses spilled out and hung in front of his shoulders.

"Gladly." he replied, unstrapping his sword from his belt. He drew a chipped dagger from seemingly nowhere and nodded to Mentos. "Begin."

Mentos stood there for a moment, carefully eyeing Iban across the room. She'd have to move quickly if she wanted to take him by surprise. Being lithe as she was, she considered this an easy task.

She leapt forward with lightning speed and struck out with her dagger, only to hear the distinct clash of blade-on-blade, to her great dislike. How could he have dodged her attack in all that armor?

He turned on his heel and tackled her over, pinning her down on the cold stone floor. They both sat there for a minute in silence, chests heaving from moving as fast as they could.

Iban himself paused, sensing Mentos' muscles tense beneath him. His lips stayed in an expressionless position, neither frowning nor smiling.

"Son of a bitch…" she muttered, shaking her head, "How can you be that fast…"

"Heh, I like it like that." he retorted, making Mentos' face flush red.

"You jerk!" she yelped, rolling out from under him. In one fluid movement, she was on her feet, shaking her head to keep herself focused on the fight.

Mentos whirled around on the spot in time to block Iban's attempted attack at her ribcage, both of them pressing against the other blade. She gritted her teeth as his lips curled into a feral smile, his eyes glinting with a type of malice she'd seen only one place before.

"Wait, it can't be…!" she growled, shoving forward and holding down Iban on the floor, "I've seen that look, there's only one other being that it could have belonged to…"

Iban stared up at her, and the expression in his eyes faded to one of utter boredom.

"Honestly, you're the only person who has ever caught me off guard." he murmured, pushing his hair out of his face. The king, who had been watching intently, undoubtedly waiting for the woman to fail, seemed let down by Iban's loss.

"My liege," Iban started, not trying to move from his position, "I would highly suggest putting her on your guard." The king nodded wearily and pulled out a piece of paper, quickly signing it with his own name.

Mentos warily slid off of Iban, not letting her guard down until he had sheathed the dagger and began pulling off the heavier pieces of his armor.

"If you don't mind," he said, his voice strangely polite, "I'd like to ask you to accompany me on my latest mission. I'm heading out west towards Baxtorian Falls, and I was dreading the thought of going alone."

Mentos thought for a moment and then nodded slowly in response, still not absolutely sure of whether or not he could be trusted.

"I'll go with you," she started, "As I know the land out there very well." Iban nodded, and Mentos could have sworn she saw him smile lightly. She shook her head to rid it of the thought.

"We leave tomorrow morning. Meet at the center of town, ready to go." he said, whirling on his heel. He stalked out the door, leaving Mentos looking slightly windswept behind him.

The next morning, Mentos was seated on the edge of the fountain, quiver of rune arrows strapped to her back, and her yew longbow slung over her shoulder. Three identical daggers were strapped to her thigh, and her deep purple cloak was pulled around her shoulders.

Mentos shivered slightly, the cool morning mist of Varrock settling in the area. She was about to get up when someone's hand slipped around her waist, causing the hair on the nape of her neck to rise. She let out a snarl and turned quickly, only to see that Iban had managed to sneak up behind her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she growled, her muscles finally relaxing. Iban shrugged and began walking towards the western exit of the town.

"Wait, if we're going to walk, I have a faster way…" Mentos grumbled, jogging to catch up to him. He stopped and turned slightly to look at her, his crimson eyes discretely taking in her entire form, as she was wearing her dragon hide armor.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked, looking away from her. She came up next to him and whistled quite loudly, resulting in an echoing roar throughout the valley. Two dragons, one red and one blue, sauntered out of the tree line, their leathery wings folded against their scaly backs.

"We can ride," she suggested, watching Iban's calm expression as the two dragons came up to nuzzle Mentos' hand, "It's faster this way. We'd reach the Falls in a matter of three or four days."

Iban nodded in agreement and gently stroked the crimson beast's muzzle, expression still relaxed, although the beasts in front of him had been know to kill humans who hunted them.

Mentos swung herself onto the dragon's back, comfortably sitting between two of the spikes on its spine. Iban, too, pulled himself up. Mentos gently whispered to the beast, and it tossed its head, taking off in the direction of Falador.

Iban's dragon seemed to not want to get left behind, so he instead gently nudged the creature, which easily caught up to Mentos.

"You have a natural talent with dragons." Mentos commented lazily, glancing at Iban. He looked back over at hers, and for a moment, their eyes locked. A feral grin crept over Iban's lips.

"What's that look for?" Mentos asked sharply, stirring Iban out of his thoughts.

"Nothing… nothing…" he replied, turning back to the road ahead of them.

After riding all day, they stopped along the lake outside of Taverly, and set up their camp. Mentos stretched out lazily on a large patch of soft grass, watching a few embers float through the night sky.

Iban, having finally collected the firewood, came and sat down next to her, also watching the sky. His obsidian tresses fell gracefully over his shoulders, shimmering in the dim firelight.

"Iban…" Mentos started quietly, not removing her gaze from the sky, "Why did you ask me to come with you, anyways…?"

He didn't answer immediately, but rather pondered about how he could answer it before opening his mouth. Mentos, however, waited patiently for his reply.

"I…" he paused, resituated himself so he, too, was lying on his back, then continued, "You're different. I normally make trips like this alone, but…" he rolled onto his side and looked carefully into Mentos' eyes. He slowly reached out his hand and turned her head to face him.

"Iban…" she growled in a low voice, carefully watching his eyes. He scooted slightly closer to her, slipping his arm around her waist.

"I know how much you want to be a loner, Mentos," he murmured quietly, the muscles in his body tensing, "I know you grew up in the middle of the desert with no one to care for you… we're the same… I never had anyone there for me when I was little…"

Iban's hand slipped onto her hip, causing her to tense somewhat. He carefully stroked her cheek with his fingers, smoothly pulling her over next to him.

And strangely, Mentos felt herself unable to resist, somehow instead twisting her fingers gently in his lengthy hair. He wasn't a stranger, he was somehow so… familiar…

Iban tentatively pressed his lips against her neck, wrapping his other arm around her back and touching the back of her head. She let out a growl in response, nipping at his shoulder. Iban let out a half-snarl and pulled Mentos up against him, trembling slightly for no apparent reason.

Letting out a strange mix between a grunt and a growl, Iban managed to force Mentos below him, heart hammering against his chest. She reached up and carefully pulled him back down, her lips connecting with his after he let out a strangled groan.

"We… shouldn't do this…" he growled under his breath, gently returning Mentos' kiss. Her lips curled into an odd smile, gray eyes glinting in the fading firelight.

"Why? Because until yesterday you didn't know I existed?" she murmured in reply, mischievously biting his lip. He growled in response and let his muscles relax, before deftly setting himself down next to her.

"Because if anyone should find out, we'd both be hung on the spot, that's why." he replied, stretching out on his stomach. Mentos shrugged and rolled onto her side.

"Alright, then," she muttered languidly, "I'm going to sleep, then. You have night watch."

And before Iban could retort, she was fast asleep.