The sun was setting on Magnolia as Romeo and Asuka climbed the top of the ladder, followed by Wendy.
"We're almost there," Romeo said.
Wendy climbed over the top of the ladder as well. She almost tripped, but Romeo caught her in his arms, making her blush a bit and stand up. She said, "I want to thank you for saving me from that scary lady."
"Aw, it's no big deal," Romeo blushed back. "So, this is your first time in the marketplace, huh?" As he asked this, Romeo grabbed a pole and pole-vaulted over to the next building.
"Is it that obvious?" Wendy smiled.
"Well, you do kinda stand out," Romeo remarked. He looked at Wendy, still mesmerized by her cute image, Wendy doing the same. However, Romeo quickly snapped to his senses as he puts a plank across the building for Wendy to walk across, "I mean, you don't seem to know how dangerous Magnolia can be."
Wendy suddenly pole-vaulted over Romeo's head. Romeo and Asuka looked shocked.
"Did she just…" Asuka asked dumbfounded.
"I'm a fast learner, aren't I?" Wendy giggled, blinking her eyes. She tossed the pole to Romeo, who placed it down.
"R-Right," Romeo agreed nervously, as she led her into his place, "C'mon, this way."
They went inside the roof of Romeo's house, dodging a few planks and beams as they go. "Whoa. Watch your head there. Careful," Romeo guided.
"Is this where you live?" Wendy asked him.
"Not alone," Asuka corrected her. "I lived here, too."
"Yep. Just me and Asuka," Romeo explained. "My dad was gone from home when I was six years old. I looked everywhere for seven years, and I haven't found him. Until five months ago…"
"You finally found your dad?" Wendy asked with a smile.
"No," Romeo said sadly, spearing Wendy's hope. "That's when I met a kid named Asuka Connell, who lived in this rickety building. It felt like it hasn't been cleaned up for a whole month." He motioned to Asuka, who smiled. He continued, "When I first met her, she was crying all night. She told me her parents left her alone and never came back. She's been staying at her house ever since." He then smiled. "I said to her, 'Hey, why don't I stay in your place to keep you company?' Then she said, 'You want to be my best friend?' And I answered, 'Yes!'"
Wendy giggled at Romeo's story. She said, "Go on."
Romeo continued, "And that's how Asuka and I became best friends. Asuka was the brains…"
"Let me handle this," Asuka interrupted. "I came up with the most plans to score lots of cool stuff from the marketplace: Food, water, and toys to play with, you bet! And Romeo does all the work." Romeo cleared his throat, making Asuka rub her head, "Well, most of it." She then smirked proudly, "But I'm still a super genius!" Her nose sniffed to make her point.
Wendy laughed again and said, "Wow! I never realized you two were this close. When you gave up looking for your dad, you live with Asuka in her house. You two were out, coming and going as you please…"
"Yeah," Romeo nodded sadly. "But I still miss him." A single tear fell from his eye. "I miss my dad. I don't want him to go away…"
Wendy smiled softly and placed her hand gently around his cheek, drying his tear. "Don't cry. I'm sure you'll find your dad again someday."
Romeo smiled again, feeling reassured by Wendy's words, especially that caressing touch, as smooth and silky as a blanket. He responded, "Yeah. I'm sure I will."
"Your new temporary home is amazing, isn't it?" Wendy asked.
"Well, it's not much…" Romeo said, before he pulled back the curtain, revealing a big view of the palace, "…but it's got a great view. The palace looks pretty amazing, huh?"
Upon seeing the palace, Wendy's smile turned into a sad expression as she sits down. She said, "Yeah… I guess."
"Can you picture what it's like to live there?" Romeo asked in a dreamy flare. "To have servants, valets…"
"Oh, sure," Wendy scoffed. "People who tell you where to go and how to dress…"
"It's better than here," Romeo replied, who took an apple from Asuka when she was about to eat it.
"Hey!" Asuka shouted.
"Always scraping for food and ducking the guards…" Romeo added.
"You're not free to make your own choices," Wendy added.
"Sometimes, you feel so…" Romeo continued.
"You're just…" Wendy continued.
"Trapped," Romeo and Wendy said simultaneously.
The two looked at each other, surprised they said the same word. They blushed, realizing how perfect they were for each other. But then, Romeo remembered where he was and grabbed another apple Asuka was about to eat. The apple rolled down Romeo's arm to give to Wendy.
Asuka groaned, "My dinner is spoiled."
Ignoring Asuka, Romeo asked, "So, where're you from?"
"What does it matter?" Wendy replied with a scoff. "I ran away and I'm not going back."
"Really?" Romeo questioned. "Were you in the same boat as me? Did you miss someone in your family?" He took a bite out of the apple and handed it to Asuka, much to her disgust.
"Eww!" Asuka cried. "I'm not taking a bite from what you just ate!" She noticed the uneaten apple Wendy was holding.
"No, my mom already died," Wendy shook her head. "My caretaker is all I have left. But it just got worse. She's forcing me to get married when I turn 18."
"Forcing you to get married?" Romeo exclaimed. "That's awful." Just then, Romeo noticed Asuka trying to steal Wendy's apple. He scolded, "Asuka!"
Asuka jumped back and frowned, grumbling under her breath.
"What?" Wendy asked confused.
"Um, Asuka says that's, uh… that's not fair," Romeo answered nervously.
"What?" Asuka exclaimed, realizing that was the opposite of what she was thinking.
"Oh, did she?" Wendy grinned interestingly.
"Yeah, of course," Romeo answered with a blush.
"And… does Asuka have anything else to say?" Wendy asked, her eyes fluttering cutely.
"Well, uh, she wishes there was something she could do to help," Romeo replied.
"Oh, boy…" Asuka groaned, smacking her forehead in annoyance.
"Hmm… Tell her that's very… sweet," Wendy whispered softly.
She and Romeo both leaned closer and closer, looking like they were about to kiss. It was definitely a sign of young love …
…but the moment was interrupted when the royal guards Panther Lily, Byro Cracy, Sugarboy, Mary Hughes, Dan Straight, Samuel, and Coco stormed into the house and finally found Romeo.
"Here you are!" Coco yelled.
"They're after me!" Romeo and Wendy exclaimed in unison, before they turned to each other and asked each other incredulously, "They're after you?!"
As the guards approached, Wendy muttered, "Carla must've sent Panther Lily and the others after…"
Just then, Romeo quickly opened the window and asked Wendy, "Do you trust me?"
"What?" Wendy said, giving him a confused look.
"Do you trust me?" Romeo repeated, extending his hand.
"Yes?" Wendy answered nervously, putting her hand in Romeo's.
"THEN JUMP!" Romeo screamed, as he and Wendy jumped out the window and landed safely on a pile of old mattresses. When they got up, they tried to get away, but the exit is blocked by Lily, who grabbed Romeo.
"We just keep running into each other, don't we, street rat?" Lily smirked.
"You do have a dirty habit of appearing two places at once, Lily," Romeo remarked sarcastically.
"I'm an Exceed. I use wings to take me anywhere, making you a lot easy to find," Lily answered proudly. "Now, where were we?"
Asuka appeared out of nowhere and bonked him on the head with a pillow she found from one of the old mattresses, making him let go of Romeo.
"I got him!" Asuka cried.
"Let's get out of here while he's distracted!" Romeo shouted as he and Wendy tried to run away, only to find Byro, Sugarboy, Hughes, Dan, Samuel, and Coco blocking their way. Lily grabbed Asuka and flung her screaming into an empty garbage can.
"It's time for a no-expense trip to the dungeon, boy," Lily sneered, tossing Romeo to Hughes, Dan, and Byro.
"Hey, get off me!" Romeo yelled as he struggled against the guards.
"Let him go!" Wendy demanded as she ran up to Lily.
"Look what we have here!" Lily chuckled cruelly, shoving Wendy away. "A street mouse!"
As Romeo continued struggling, Wendy stood up and shouted angrily, "Unhand him, Panther Lily!" She pulled the hood of her cloak, "By order of Princess Wendy Marvell!"
Lily gasped, "Princess Wendy!" In response, he and the other guards suddenly stopped and bowed to her presence, including Romeo.
"The Princess?" Romeo exclaimed in shock. Even he didn't realize the identity of the girl he met.
"The Princess?!" Asuka shouted, poking her head out of the trashcan.
"What on earth are you doing outside the palace, Your Highness?" Lily asked surprised. "More importantly, why are you with this street rat?"
"That's none of your concern," Wendy rejected. "Do as I command! Release him!"
"Oh, well, I would, Princess…" Lily replied. "…except my orders come from Brain. You'll have to take it up with him."
The guards dragged Romeo away, bowing as they left. But Wendy was more enraged than ever.
Her eyes narrowed as she said dangerously, "Oh, I think I will."
Back at the palace, Brain emerged from his secret lair. After looking around to see if the coast is clear, he begins closing the door when Wendy stormed in and called out, "Brain?"
"Oh, uh, Princess Wendy!" Brain exclaimed, before he shut the door behind him, pinning Cobra's face to the frame, reverted back to his snake form.
"Brain… I'm stuck…" Cobra muffled.
Brain ignored Cobra and asked, "How may I be of service to you?"
"Brain, Panther Lily and his guards arrested a boy from the market, on your orders!" Wendy explained sternly.
"Your confidante has charged me with keeping peace in Magnolia when the missing Fairy Tail Guild was unable to do so," Brain answered back. "After all, the boy was a criminal."
"Oh, really?" Wendy frowned, not believing a word he was saying. "Then tell me, what's his crime?"
"I can't breathe… Brain…" Cobra choked, tugging on his trench coat.
"Why, kidnapping the Princess, of course," Brain answered simply.
"Brain… If you could…" Cobra began, before Brain kicked him back in and slammed the door shut. He fell down the stairs inside the secret chamber, yelping and screaming in pain as he had done before on the contraption, but it wasn't heard by Wendy. "Ow! The pain!" he exclaimed.
"He didn't kidnap me!" Wendy protested. "I ran away!"
"Oh, dear…" Brain exclaimed, walking away as if he is shocked. "How frightfully upsetting! If I had known sooner…"
Wendy, looking concerned, questioned, "What do you mean?"
"Sadly, the boy's sentence has already been carried out," Brain replied with a grin.
"What sentence?" Wendy asked, starting to get a bad feeling about what Brain was about to say.
"Death…" Brain answered in a sinister tone, making Wendy gasp in horror. He added, "…by hanging."
"No…" Wendy whispered fearfully. She slowly collapsed to the floor, heartbroken, unable to believe what she had just heard.
"My humblest apologizes, Princess," Brain attempted sympathy by putting his hands on Wendy's shoulders.
"How could you?!" Wendy spat furiously, shoving Brain's hands.
"Princess, if I may…" Brain reasoned.
"NO!" Wendy stood up defiantly, tears streaming down her face.
"Come now…" Brain interjected.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Wendy sobbed and ran out of the room, crying hysterically. Her crying echoed throughout the hallways of the castle.
Meanwhile, Cobra finally squeezed himself out the door, looking bruised from his fall down the stairs, before he slithered onto Brain's shoulder. He coughed before Cobra asked casually, "So, how did it go?"
Brain smirked sinisterly, "I think she took it rather well." Cobra had no qualms doing the same.
That night, out in the courtyard, Wendy was sitting beside the fountain, crying bitterly for Romeo, and Grandeeney came up to comfort her.
Wendy stopped crying for a moment. She sniffled, "It's all my fault, Grandeeney." She wiped away her tears, before she turned to Grandeeney, "I didn't even know his name."
She then sadly hugged Grandeeney as she continued crying.
To Be Continued…