A/N To my lone reviewer- thanks and bless you but no, I'm not very good at writing fights. This shall be strictly rom com. Maybe in a future fic though.

Lowell insisted on Syrenne drinking three glasses of water before she start her quest. It was probably meant to sober her up but she wasn't sure it had made that much difference.

Syrenne wondered where she might find single women in search of a date. She wasn't sure what kind of women Lowell liked exactly- the ones she'd seen him with had all been markedly different. As a prank, she considered trying to find someone she knew would be completely unsuitable- but then decided against it, as she did not want to give Lowell any reason to withhold the booze.

The market, she thought. Lots of women went there to buy food and other comforts. Syrenne liked to chat with the traders. Wheedling good deals out of them was something she was exceptional at- unlike Zael, who just paid the first price asked for. She really would have to teach that boy how to use his natural charms one of these days.

The market traded round the clock- it was still busy in the evening. Syrenne hovered by the entrance, looking for likely candidates. She was still not entirely sober, although the cold wind was doing its best. She decided on one of the foreign girls- it'd probably go a lot better for Lowell if his date couldn't understand everything that came out his mouth. She marched over with her usual swagger- it was obvious she too was from out of town, so she didn't try to hide it.

"Alright, love?" she asked, turning her grin all the way up to a million watts.

The girl's expression hardened and she tightened her grip on her basket of groceries.

"You a mercenary, ya?" said the girl, sniffing contemptuously.

"Yeah, and?" Syrenne felt herself becoming defensive.

"I not have any work for you," said the girl irritably. "You friends with that pretty boy, ya? He run right into me, knock everything over and not even say sorry."

Syrenne had no idea what to say to this and no idea who 'pretty boy' even was. Dagran? Zael? Yurick? Lowell? I'll just have to kill the lot of them then, she thought. She decided to press on.

"I'm not looking for work. I'm looking for a date."

The girl turned a deep shade of red and whacked her with the grocery basket, spilling food everywhere. It didn't hurt Syrenne in the slightest, but it startled her.

"H-Huh?"

"Not gay! Leave me alone!" yelled the girl.

"Wh-what?"

The din of the market quietened slightly. People were turning to look at what was causing all the commotion.

"I didn't mean with me! I meant with my friend-" the girl's expression was still thunderous. Syrenne decided this one was a lost cause and that she should make a quick exit.

"OK, never mind! I'm going, I'm going!"

Maybe I'll have more luck at Fountain Plaza, she thought.

"Hey, Syrenne!"

Syrenne looked up. It was her friend, Jilly. She was sat by the fountain. She and Syrenne had met at the weapon dealer's a few times before. Jilly was more into guns than swords. She hunted wild animals and then traded them for other foods and clothes, in order to support her three little brothers. Syrenne had bought meat off her before, and it was delicious. Perhaps Jilly and Lowell…? Jilly was very pretty- Syrenne was sure Lowell would like her. She wandered over. Jilly smiled.

"So, I've just got back from hunting. You can take your pick!" Jilly said brightly, opening her bag.

"I'm broke," said Syrenne.

Jilly's face fell. "Oh…"

"Yeah. Sorry about that. But listen Jills, how do you fancy a date with a mate of mine?"

"A date?"

"Yeah, he's a nice guy but he's really shy with girls," Syrenne wasn't fond of lies, but booze was at stake here.

"I don't know…" said Jilly. "I mean, I've got to take care of my brothers and shift the rest of my game,"

On second thoughts, Jilly was far too nice and too honest for someone like Lowell anyway. Syrenne would just have to find someone else.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Don't think he'd be your type anyway to be honest."

"Is it Zael?" asked Jilly. Syrenne thought she detected a hint of wistfulness but she couldn't be sure.

"Oh. No. It's, er, well you don't know him."

"Really? I thought I'd come across all your friends. Maybe that eyepatch kid then? You can't be talking about that Lowell, he's a complete player. Did you hear he did it with Manda and then when morning came he disappeared without so much of a word? Manda says if she ever sees him again, she'll kill him."

"Er, right. Well, best be off. Nice to see you, Jilly."

Syrenne really couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Syrenne decided her next port of call would be Artisan's Way. She could see Lowell liking the artistic type, as long as they weren't a) too full of themselves or b) a romantic.

The street was more a narrow lane that seemed to go on forever. It was Syrenne's third favourite places in the city- one was Ariela's Tavern, two was the Arena. Some of the work there was breath-taking. The woman Syrenne had in mind-Ali- was one of her favourite artists- she painted battles between supernatural creatures in wonderful shades of red and gold. Syrenne had never spoken with her before, but had often stopped to admire her work.

Luckily, she was easy to find. Syrenne smiled at her and began to speak.

"Hi, I was wondering if-"

"Hey, you're friends with that Lowell, aren't you?" said Ali. Her voice was dripping with distaste.

Syrenne inwardly groaned. Was this one of Lowell's scorned lovers? We've only been here a few days!

"He sent you to smooth things over, right? Well, you tell him to stay away from both me and my sister or he'll be getting far worse than a slap! Our bond is far too strong to let a man come between us," she assured Syrenne.

"Right, I'll tell him…" she said.

And that was that.

Syrenne felt utterly deflated. She'd been at this for a whole two hours and had still gotten no-where, although from some of the stories going around about Lowell she wasn't too surprised he'd had trouble finding a date. She was desperate for a drink, too. She imagined pouring it down her throat, cold wet delicious booze…and groaned.

It was then that she had her brainwave.

Wasn't Lowell always chatting up the maids in Lazulis Castle? One of them was bound to want to go out with him!

She set off for the castle.