Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is a fanfic written for entertainment only.

A/N: Here's another chapter. I changed the summary as well... English is not my first language. Excuse me for the bad grammar and stuff… n.n;

Italic words – Thoughts/thinking

Underline words – Journal/diary entry

Dear You

Diary 3: Tea For Two...Or Three?

The black-haired figure wiped the sand from her face with her left hand while the other fumbled around the sand, searching for her glasses. I approached her slowly, pausing right in front of her sitting figure and looked down to the glasses near my feet. I sighed quietly. I guess her eyesight is really bad when she can't see the glasses right in front of her.

I bent down, picking the glasses up. "Here," I said, handing the still-fumbling-girl her glasses. She didn't even realize that I'm here. Hah.

"O-Oh…," the girl reached out for her glasses, wiping it with her sleeve and immediately putting it on, looking up at me in the process. "T-thank you very m-much…Mark?" she gave me a startled look. "I-I'm sorry…that I trouble you," she added, face facing the ground and she slowly adjusted her glasses.

I raised an eyebrow. Shy as usual. I rose. "Did you break your glasses?" I asked her.

She shook her head without saying anything, face still facing the ground.

"What are you-I mean, what happened?" I asked again. Knowing her, it's useless to know what she's up to. It's probably something she does just to ease her curiosity of something. And I bet she tripped on her own feet while doing whatever thing she's doing.

"U-um…I was just…trying to pick this herb," she answered and showed me a colorful-but-covered-in-sand herb. "I tried to pick it up but I…I tripped on my feet and fall down."

See? I tried not to laugh. Well, this is not new, of course. But seeing how someone can trip over her own feet several times like, every single day in a week-which is not actually normal for me-amused me.

"You should be more careful, Sabrina," I told the sitting girl. "It's not bad to want to know more about something, but as people always say, 'curiosity kills the cat'. You can hurt yourself if you don't watch out your steps and whatnot."

"Ye-yes," she nodded. "I-I'm sorry…I'll be careful next time…"

I chuckled. "It's okay. Are you hurt anywhere?"

She looked up at me. "Ah, n-no…I'm okay," she replied and rose, but immediately fell back down. "O-uch…," she winced in pain, her hand trailed down to her right ankle.

I looked down at her. "What's wrong?" my eyes followed her right hand. "Did you hurt your ankle?"

"…I think…so," she answered while rubbing her right ankle gently. "I'll be fine later…I'll just, um, rest here for a bit," she added and smiling up nervously at me.

I stared at her for a while before smiling back. "Don't touch it," I said and crouched down, my back's facing her. "Come. I'll take you home, Sabrina," I offered.

Sabrina's eyes widen in shock. Her face flushed with embarrassment. "I-i-it's okay, Mark! I'll be fine…after resting here for a while…," she said, clearly was surprised from me offering her a piggyback-ride home.

I chuckled again. "What kind of gentleman is he if he leaves an injured maiden alone? Come on. We have to get it treated immediately or it'll get worse." Man. I'm sure Will's extremely-polite-manner is rubbing on me or else I wouldn't say something cheesy like that.

"B-b-but I'm…"

"Hm?"

The black-haired girl fidgeted nervously. "I-I'm…heavy…."

I broke into laughter. "Pfft…Hahaha! What? That was it?" I wiped a tear on my eye. "No worries. I'm sure I'll be able to lift you up. I'm a rancher...uh, kind of…anyway. Come on," I gestured her to get up. You don't look that heavy anyway.

"I…I…," Sabrina was reluctant, but soon gave up and started to climb onto my back. "I've warned you…I'm…heavy…," she stuttered out.

I scooped her up and rose. "Yeah, you are heavy," I stated using a fake serious tone. I heard a gasp and saw her gaped. "Kidding! I'm just kidding!" I grinned. "Don't worry. You're not heavy," I added. "I got this…," I adjusted my grip on her legs. "…under control. There. Are you comfortable?"

The girl nodded, her face is clearly showing her blushing cheeks. My, she blushed a lot. I can't say I'm surprised though. "Ye…Yes…"

I nodded. "Okay then. Here we go," I started to walk. "Oh, and you might fall down if you don't hold onto me properly. Feel free to cling onto my neck," I told her. She nodded and-nervously-wrapped her arms around my neck. "Uh, not too tight, Sabrina. You're choking me…"

"Ah! I-I-I-I'm so sorry!" Sabrina immediately apologized, releasing her arms from my neck. "I-I-I didn't-"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" I laughed again. "You don't have to be that panic!" I continued to laugh throughout our walk to her large mansion. Sabrina can be pretty funny sometimes…

- Regis Mansion –

"Here we are," I announced as I shut behind me. "Mr. Regis, are you home?" I called out for the vampire-wannabe president from the door of his office-like-room.

Silent. There's no reply or answer coming from the president.

"Odd," I cocked my head to left. "Seems like he's not here…"

"Um…Father is probably out in Volcano Island," I heard a reply from the black-haired girl. "He usually is there at times like these…"

"I see," I nodded. I scanned my surrounding. "Well, it's probably better if I drop you off in your room seeing that he's not here."

Sabrina raised her head. "E-eeh? You…you can just drop in there on the…sofa…," she said, pointing to one of the grand-looking sofa in the middle of the room.

I shrugged. "You would've want to lie down and get something to eat or drink later and climbing on those stairs when your ankle is hurt could've make it worse," I replied and headed to the stairs. "I don't mind climbing these few stairs for a maiden anyway," I grinned at my choice of words. There we go with the cheesy line again. Sure, it's not that cheesy but Will's way of speaking and the words he used in his speeches were all cheesy to me.

I started to climb the stairs, watching my steps and making sure that Sabrina is comfortable along the way. We reached the kitchen part and I scanned my surrounding; thinking of whether to drop her on one of the chair there or bring her to her room and drop her on the sofa. I decided to go with the latter.

"Here we go," I crouched down and placed the black-haired woman on the sofa. "Does it still hurt?" I asked as I rose and turned around to face her.

Sabrina shook her head. "No, not at all…"

"Well, might as well be careful. Where's the first-aid kit?"

"E-eh? A-ah. It's…there," I followed her pointing finger and saw said kit on top of the shelf near her table.

"Wait here," I told her and went to get the kit. I noticed some papers on her table. A story? I went back to her and bent down to my knee. "Let me see your ankle."

"Uhm…you don't have to…"

"I don't have to but I want to," I smiled at her. "Come on."

She hesitated for a moment but then lifted her skirt up a little to show her right ankle. I touched her ankle and examined it.

"Hmm…It's not serious," I stated and opened the kit beside me, my hand rummaged through its content. "That's a good thing," I continued and took out an ointment from the kit, rubbing it gently on her ankle. I feel her stiffened a little. "Oh, I'm sorry. Does it hurt?"

Sabrina shook her head. "N-no…It's just…I…uhm…Sorry…"

I stared at her for some seconds before broke into laughter. "You know, you can be pretty funny sometimes, Sabrina," I said and continued bandaging her ankle. "There. We're done," I nodded in satisfaction and closed the first-aid kit. "Try not to walk too much for now, okay?" I rose and walked towards the shelf, putting back the kit to its original place and went back to where Sabrina is sitting.

"O-Okay," Sabrina nodded. "Thank you very much, Mark…"

"Nah. Don't worry about it," I grinned at her. "Well then," I continued, glancing at my watch. "I'm sure your father will be here soon. I'll be off now. Take care of yourself," I added and started to walk away.

"W-wait!" Sabrina's voice stopped me on my track.

I turned around. "Something's wrong?"

"Um…N-not exactly…," she answered. "W-would you like some tea? It's the least…I can offer after your help…," she stuttered and lifted her face to face mine.

I stared at her blushing-and-nervous-at-the-same-time face. What's the harm of having some tea? It's not like I have anything to do anyway. And leaving her all alone in her current state is not something a gentleman would do. Gosh, Mark. You should stop thinking that you're a gentleman! "Sure, why not?" I answered and pull a chair in the kitchen and sit on it.

Sabrina's face beamed with happiness. She seemed to love tea very much, I think. "T-t-thank you!" she immediately rose to her feet and hurried towards the counter.

"Whoa! Careful there, Sabrina. Your ankle hasn't recovered yet," I told her, chuckling slightly at her eagerness.

She flashed a smile. "Um, what would you like? We have different kind of tea here..."

I put a finger on my chin. "Do you have Chamomile?" I saw her nodded. "Chamomile then, please."

"Please wait for a moment. I'll prepare it right away."

I watched as her brew the tea for some seconds before scanning my surrounding. This kitchen is huge! And it got even better cooking stuffs and whatnot compare to Pierre's.

"This kitchen is huge!"I commented as Sabrina placed two cups and a teapot on the table. "I bet you have all the equipment a kitchen should have here."

"Father enjoyed cooking," Sabrina replied and poured the tea to the cups. "He's actually quite a good cook…," she added and smiled, passing a cup full with Chamomile Tea to me.

I took the cup from her hand. "Oh? That's a surprise. I never thought that Mr. Regis loves cooking. Here I am, assuming that only mining interest him."

The black-haired woman took a seat across me at the table. "Well, father is so into mining business. It's no wonder you have such thoughts," she said, bringing the cup close to her mouth and took a sip of the hot tea.

"Is that so," I imitated her action. "Mmm…This is delicious! One of the best Chamomile Tea I've ever tasted!"

Sabrina blushed. "T-thank you. A friend of father's from Zephyr Town sent us the tea as a gift."

"I see…," I nodded and continued sipping on my tea. "That town is well-known for its fresh and clean air. No wonder the tea taste so good."

There was a moment of silence before I decided to break the awkward moment. "What about you, Sabrina?"

"Huh? What about…me?" she lifted her face to face mine.

"Cooking. Are you good in it?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not…I'm not as good as father…"

"It means that you can cook," I grinned at her. "Is there any food that you enjoy cooking the most?"

"E-eh? Me? I guess…It's Steamed Cake…"

I stared at her. "Steamed Cake?"

She blushed. "I-is something wrong with…that?" she asked.

"Oh, no, no, no…," I waved my hand at her. "Of course not! It's just…I never expected that the dish would be a simple one. I mean, you are rich and…yeah," I scratched my chin, feeling a little embarrassed to judge Sabrina's choice of food in cooking.

I heard her chuckled. Now that's rare. "It's my first time seeing you laughing, Sabrina," I commented.

The black-haired woman immediately stopped. "Uhm…," she stuttered. "I-is it…bad?"

"What? No! Of course not! In fact," I replied, placing both elbow on the table and smiled at her. "I'd like to see you smile more. It's such a waste for a pretty face like yours to be decorated only with frowns and depressed expression."

Her face went redder than before. "I-I…I'm not…that pretty…," her eyes found interest on the teacup in her hand.

"You just didn't see it," I added, reaching for the teapot near my cup. "I think you're…beautiful…" Cough. Cough. Cough. For the love of Harvest Goddess…Why did I..?

The atmosphere between us turned awkward again. I tapped my finger on the table, thinking very hard what to say next to break the silence. Sabrina sitting across me adjusted her glasses; her face is at a reddest level that I've seen today. Me and my stupid big mouth-!

"Umm, you know…," I was about to talk nonsense when someone cuts my sentence.

"Why, hello Mark," said voice greeted me. I automatically turned to the source of the voice. "I can smell the tea from downstairs. It's Chamomile, no?"

Uh-oh. Here comes the vampire-wannabe president… "Hello Mr. Regis," I forced a smile. "Sorry. I didn't notice you were standing there."

The vampire let out a laugh. I still think his laugh is creepy."As a matter of fact, I just arrived 10 seconds ago," he said and turned to her daughter, staring at her for some seconds before turning his head back to me. "I see you both enjoy the tea my friend Claude gave me."

"Uh, yes. Very much. It was delicious."

"But of course! Someone with a status as mine wouldn't want anything else but the best ingredients for my food," he added and laughed again. Goosebumps all over my body! "What's the occasion?"

I tilted my head, confused at his question. "What's the occasion what?"

"Ah, father," Sabrina came to the rescue. Or should I say cuts in the conversation? "I fell and twisted my ankle at the beach. Mark…uhm, he helped me home," she continued, never mentioning the part where I gave her a piggyback. Not that I ever wanted her to tell Mr. Regis that.

The vampire-wannabe president's jaw dropped. "Are you okay, my dear?" he hurried to her daughter, kneeling down to his knee. "Which ankle?"

"Father!" Sabrina cried. "I-I'm okay! Mark already treated it so you…don't have to.."

Regis's face lit up. "Oho?" he rose and turned to me. "I must thank you, Mark," he smiled. His smile's creepier than his laugh. "I must reward you with something."

"What? No! Uh, what I mean is...it's okay!"

"Nonsense! You've earned yourself a reward for helping my precious daughter. I insist on giving you something."

Uh-oh…Please don't let it be a marriage blessing… "Mr. Regis, I-"I tried to reason with him.

"Sabrina dear," he turned to his daughter, completely ignoring me. "Can you make more tea? I'm taking out the sweets I made last night," he turned back to me. "A good tea goes better with delicious sweets, don't you think so, Mark?" he smiled again.

I don't think I can run from this one. "O-of course, Mr. Regis," I answered him; my mouth hurt from the smiles I forced to come out. Hoo boy. This is going to be a long evening.

…

Winter XX, Year X

I never thought things will turned out this way. I have never seen Chelsea cried that much. She always looked so happy, so full of life. Seeing her cry made me wanted to cry as well. Grumpy Man, I know I've wished that you just disappear and all, never meet Chelsea, never fall in love with her, never whatsoever that involving her. I know I'm blaming you for taking her away from me, for going to be her husband 2 days from now. I never wish you well, but I never wish you to die as well. So why did things be like this? I always thought you're strong, seeing that you can carry sachets of animal food at a time and lasso animals that are on loose. Why did you leave her alone? Why did you have to die in that shipwreck?

A/N: Man. I sure love making Vaughn the victim in my story… OTL I'm fast when I'm in the mood… n.n;