Author's Section:

It's.. erm.. been a long time? I suppose you're all probably confused as to how I've even come back from what seems like I've quit this thing forever. And yes, you may be thinking, "Well probably nothing will come for the next 3 months." Yes, that's possible. But I've been sitting around in my home for the summer holidays, and I guess keeping this thing alive is one of my resolutions? Maybe? Perhaps. *ahem* Let's just move on.

Time Setting: Evening.

Setting: Amusement Park. (Pretty sure you all remember this)

Characters: King Alfred, Blaster Blade, Lady Salome, Lady Ashlei (I felt like correcting this for now), Sister Chocolat, Sister Tarte.

Minor Characters: Lucky Sign Rabbit, and a teenage employee?

Summary: Hilarity ensues.

So, it has been quite a while since the last time I've put up a piece, so my writing style may have changed, and the characters have been a little tweaked, so don't be too alarmed. Anyways, enjoy.

-AuraPen

King Alfred and Lady Salome

"Where shall we go now, Lady Salome?" King Alfred inquired his date, once they had reached the festival square.

"Why are you asking me, your highness?" Salome responded. "You are the king, I do not see why you should not pick for us."

"Hm.." The Kind looked around at their surroundings. "Perhaps.. the Strongman?"

"As you wish, your majesty." Salome nodded. She was in mid-stride towards the carnival game before King Alfred stopped her.

"Wait. Before we go, I would like to clear up something."

"Yes, your highness?" Salome faced him, confused.

"For the duration of this..." King Alfred scratched behind his helmet. "erm..date, you shall refer to me as simply Alfred, and I you as Salome."

"Yes, Ki- I mean, your-" Salome stumbled to corrected herself. "..Alfred. Yes. Of course."

"Fantastic, Salome! Let us now go enjoy ourselves at the Strongman!" King Alfred pulled her along, both with smiles on their faces.

Blaster Blade and Lady Ashlei

"That was close.. we could have been in serious trouble." Ashlei made a sigh of relief, as the two approached the festival square.

"You almost blew our cover! It wasn't my fault!" Blade huffed.

"What? You made the lamest excuse ever! 'Oh, we're your biggest fans!' Yes indeed Blade, good going."

"Shh! Look!" Blade and Ashlei darted behind a cotton candy stand. "Listen!" Upon listening in on the conversation, Ashlei grinned.

"They're not using titles anymore! That's so wonderful!"

"Hey.. do you think we should still keep tailing them? We have already establis-"

"Nonsense, Blade!" Ashlei laughed, pulling him along. King Alfred and Salome were heading away from the square. "I don't want to miss a second for the world!"

"Whatever you say, Ashlei." Blade responded. 'Just as long as I get to spend time with you.' He thought to himself.

Tarte and Chocolat

Exiting the Haunted House, Tarte kicked a stray soft drink can on the ground. "Argh! That was a pathetic failure! How could we have lost them?" Tarte facepalmed. "At this rate, we'll have failed the task Miss Amaterasu has set for us!"

"I-If we stand around here being bitter about what has happened.. we'll never find them." Chocolat quietly whispered her input, scared of Tarte.

"You know what?" Tarte stood up straight. "If we stand around here being bitter about what happened, we'll never find them!"

"I-I just said tha-"

"C'mon Chocolat, let's go look for them!" Tarte grabbed Chocolat's sleeve and began the search, a skip in her step. Having no choice, Chocolat decided to let it go.

King Alfred and Ashlei

Stretching his arms out for the Strongman, King Alfred rose an eyebrow when he saw Salome staring at a particularily fluffy object. Upon closer inspection, it was a large Lucky Sign Rabbit plush toy. King Alfred smirked when he saw the awed look in Salome's eyes.

"How many points for the Lucky Sign Rabbit?" King Alfred asked the attendant for the carnival game.

"You must hit the bell at the top to win that, it's the grand prize, your highness." The teen attendant replied, handing the king a mallet. The King looked up, measuring the game to be about 7 meters tall.

"Alright. I will give it a shot!" Salome turned to watch as King Alfred geared up to hit the scale. With knitted brows and his tongue slightly protruding from the corner of his mouth, the king let out a mighty roar as he brought down the mallet upon the scales.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAA

The trio and several onlookers stood by and watched as the marker whizzed up like a rocket, almost reaching the bell at the top...

Before it stopped an inch before the bell and plummeted back to ground level.

"How could this happen to me?!"

-Time skip-

"Alfred, it's alright.." Salome consoled the King, who was nursing his wounded pride. They were sitting on a bench in the main square of the amusement park. "It's not the end of the world."

"But you hit it!" Alfred replied, his face still buried in his hands.

-Flashback-

"Here, let me try." Salome picked up the mallet and paid the attendant. "I probably won't make it either, but that's okay!" Taking a deep breathe, Salome took a small leap before smashing the scales with the mallet.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAA DING DING DING DING DING!

Unlike King Alfred's attempt, the marker soared to the top and hit the bell without stopping. Sirens blared and the lights on the attraction flickered uncontrollably, signalling Salome's definite win. King Alfred stood with a gaping mouth, and only a single word escaped Salome's lips.

"Oh."

-Flashback End-

Holding the winning prize closely to her chest, Salome smiled nervously.

"How about some other events to cheer you up? We could get some food too if you want!"

"You're right, Salome." King Alfred stood up, Salome following. "I shall regain my honour! Come Salome, I shall win more events and prizes for you!"

"Whatever makes you happy, Alfred!"

Author's Ending Section:

Not much to say here, other than I feel rather motivated to finish this off at last! I -will- reach the 100 pages mark! Or at least 50.

I feel like pulling off a, "Wait 3 weeks, ha! Gotcha. New chapter will be up tomorrow." like I've done before, seems likely, but we'll have to see.

Have a great year everyone! Hope that the old characters come back in Vanguard G!

-AuraPen