"How long, Ky-ele?" she whispered.

He didn't answer.

"Tell me, Ky-ele. How long has it been?" she urged him.

"Fourteen years?"

"Is that a question?"

"No. It's been fourteen years."

"Do you remember that day?"

"Of course."

"Does it hurt?"

Again, he returned to silence.

"Does it hurt?" she repeated with authority.

Silence.

"Answer me, Ky-ele!"

Ky-ele woke suddenly, drenched in a cold sweat. He stared at the dark ceiling as he calmed himself. He wasn't sure what triggered these dreams, these nightmares, that began years ago, nor did he like them. He knew the voice was supposed to be Xandria's, but it was as if she had grown up too. He sighed, hating his imagination, as he got out of bed.

He pulled on a shirt and jacket and headed downstairs quietly. It was early, even for him to be up, but he couldn't return to sleep after that dream.

As he stepped into the kitchen, his stomach growled, and he sighed. There was food, but not enough for him to take now. Even fourteen years of working in the mines and a couple years of his younger twin brothers working with him, they still had no money. It didn't help that just three short years after his father's death, his mother passed away. That left Ky-ele, only seventeen at the time, to take care of his five younger siblings.

He shook his head and stepped outside. He paid no attention to the pre-dawn chill as he began to walk. Naturally after that dream, his thoughts were on Xandria. As he walked through town, memories played before him. The water pump flashed back to when they were little and would help one another get water. Then when he reached the woods, he'd watch young versions of them setting up snares and catching rabbits or birds to take home for dinner. His feet absently took him to Glassedge Cliff, a place he hadn't been since the day after their argument.

Instantly, the argument played out before him, as it had done in his mind a hundred times before. Despite all the years that had passed, it was still so fresh in his mind. Even now as he watched, he could see how hurt she was, how the tree branches snapped back into position after she has hurriedly pushed her way through them, and how he had been so stubborn to not go after her. They had both been so childish, had he just stopped her, made her understand, she'd still be there with him.

He shook the memory away and sat at the edge of the cliff. "Yes, Xandria," he whispered sadly, "Yes, it hurts. It hurts every day to know that I've lost my best friend."

He sat, as if expecting to hear her voice reply, but the silence stretched on.

He watched as the sun began to rise over the horizon. He glanced down at the port and noticed a large ship mooring at the docks. His eyes traveled up the main mast and to the flag. There was a grey fox sitting at the bottom of the flag looking up at a crescent moon above on a deep blue background. His eyes moved back down to the ship, moving along the deck, watching as the sailors as they went about their duties. His eyes fell up on the only figure not moving.

Even from the cliff he could see it was a woman, standing at the railing, looking up at the cliffs. At him. They seemed to stare at each other for a short while until someone came up to her and spoke to her. By the time the woman turned back, Ky-ele was gone from the cliffs above.

Ky-ele was running back to Fayhollow. By the time he got to the village square, many people were up and buzzing with new of the ship in the port. Soon people began to head to the port to find out for themselves.

The port was packed with most of the citizens of the Summerhallow Isles. Rumors buzzed around the crowd wildly as they looked on to the unfamiliar ship.

"I heard that it's the ship of a master of the black market, here to sell his goods."

"No, no, I heard it's some prince looking for a young woman to make his bride. Gabriel, go and fetch your sister."

Ky-ele ignored the rumors around him and watched the now empty deck of the Celestial Hawk.

Someone nudged his elbow. He turned to find the kind face of his good friend, Annie. Her soft, green eyes looked back at him, then to the ship. "Have you heard anything?" she asked, making room for herself beside him.

"Nothing that is based on any solid fact."

"Well, apparently there is supposed to be an announcement, if there's any truth in that," she said, rolling her eyes, "Some of these rumors have been completely senseless." She glanced over to the woman who was still calling out to her son, Gabriel.

Ky-ele laughed while those around him looked up to the boat. He followed their gaze up to the railing of the ship. A young man had stepped up to the railing, and the crowd fell silent, eager to hear what he had to say.

He cleared his throat and spoke out over the crowd, "People of the Summerhallow Isles, King Roland Remanis the Third of Varrock has sent myself, along with a mighty warrior to ask for help. War is approaching Varrock from the north, and though we have many good warriors, we are severely outnumbered. We come in search of strong young men who are willing to fight for the kingdom."

There was a silence hanging over the crowd, which the man seemed to expect, and he continued.

"You'll hear more from the Lady who had come to speak to you all. She's a mighty hero, who has traveled through much of the world and had helped many people along those travels…"

As the man continued his speech, people turned their attention to a young woman, who was leaning on the railing, pretending to be interested in the man's speech.

"That can't be…" whispered Annie.

"Who?" asked Ky-ele, looking from Annie to the woman.

"…and so, now she's here on the king's behalf to protect the kingdom of Misthalin-"

Finally it clicked with someone in the crowd. "Xandria!" they called out.

"Why, Xandria?"

"You know perfectly well why."

"Tell me, please."

"I needed to go and explore."

"I wish that you never left me."

"I wanted you to come with me, you know that."

"And you know that I couldn't leave."

"But I've told you of what I've been through, what I've accomplished. Your family would've been fine."

There was silence for a while and she began to worry that he was gone when he said, "Tell me a story."

She smiled to herself and thought up a memory for him to see. She was glad to feel him enjoy the memory as he watched her fight.

"I love you, Xandria."

The ship rolled and woke Xandria. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, ones that were always there when she woke from those dreams.

Since she first went to Lunar Isle and learned their spell of communication through dreams she had attempted to connect with Ky-ele. Every so often there was a connection as strong as the one that just happened, but often when she attempted to make the connection, it lead to nothing.

She sighed, planning to return to the Lunar Isle for more, what they called, 'dream training' once the war was over. Every strong connection she made always ended the same way. His words, the same three words -I love you-she needed to know why.

She set her feet to the smooth wooden floor and got out of bed. She pulled open the small wardrobe, then sighed. Aaron, King Roland's personal tailor, had packed the wardrobe full of clothes far too extravagant. She knew Aaron well, and he always did this, trying to make her more then she really was. She wondered why she had even said yes to him as she picked out the simplest outfit.

She sat on the bed after getting dressed and worked on the many buckles of her tall boots, buckles that came up past her knees. There was a knock on her door just as she finished. "Come in," she said.

Brand opened the door and stepped in, his short dirty blond hair was still stuck up in random directions and his deep brown eyes were heavy with sleep.

She smiled. "Good morning, your highness," she joked.

He glared at her sleepily. "Stop that," he said as he moved to sit beside her on the bed. He laid back, his legs dangling off the edge.

She laid back with him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He looked at her and yawned as he spoke.

She laughed. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you just said."

He smiled and finished yawning before asking, "Why is everyone up so early?"

"Because we're ported in Manaron."

"And you're wide awake and excited about that?"

"Of course I am, Brand," she said.

He looked at her for a short while then smiled. "I'll never understand you adventurers." He leaned in and kissed his forehead softly.

She smiled and curled up closer to him. After a couple minutes, when Xandria began to worry that Brand had fallen asleep, she whispered, "I have to head up to the deck. You should get ready."

"Alright," he said, returning the softness. He kissed her gently and let her go.

She got up from the bed and quietly shut the door behind her, knowing very well that the prince was already fast asleep on her bed. The halls of the ship were dark and quiet. With the footsteps coming from above, Xandria knew that most of the crew was hard at work.

She climbed the stairs and stepped out into the chilled summer morning air on deck. Crew members hurried around her, working on setting the Celestial Hawk to port. She stretched the sleepiness from her muscles as the sun slowly crept over the horizon. She stood there, welcoming the warmth of the sun and the chill of the air, before looking to the port town.

From what it seemed, Manaron hadn't changed much since the night she snuck on board the Bright Warrior. She moved to the railing and looked up at the cliffs, specifically Glassedge Cliff. She sighed as she thought about the dream connection the night before, and of Ky-ele.

She was worried, worried about seeing Ky-ele after all these years. Sure, within connections Ky-ele was happy to hear from her and even said that he loved her, but she knew she couldn't be certain about them. She didn't know what she was communicating with, for all she knew she could've been interacting with his memories, which meant she wouldn't know how he truly felt. This made her nervous, something she had never felt even going into the most dangerous situations.

Just as she was about to turn her back to the cliffs, she saw a figure step out of the trees and sit on the edge of the cliff. She squinted, trying to make out any details. Unfortunately, they were just too far away.

Her focus was so trained on the cliffs, the second mate of the ship startled as he spoke, "M'lady, the ship is set, and the leader of Manaron wishes to speak to you."

She smiled. "I'm sure Garren will be on top of making a full blown announcement."

The second mate smiled. "Just like when we ported in Al Kharid?"

Xandria laughed. "Don't remind me of that. Pray to Guthix that he doesn't do that again."

He laughed along with her. "Will do, m'lady." With that, he turned and left her.

She looked back up to the cliffs, but the figure was gone. She sighed and went back below deck to make sure Brand was ready for the introduction.

She was glad to see by the time that she had returned to her small cabin that Brand left to get ready. Or at least she hoped that he went to get ready, because she realized he could've easily just returned to his room and fallen back asleep. She sighed, deciding to just let it go.

She rummaged through one of her bags and found a small leather pouch. She laid back on to her bed and poured some small rune stones out into her palm. She sorted through them, picking out three different kinds- water, air, and mind. She closed her hand over them, and they crumbled into nothing and a small orb of water appeared, floating above her hand.

She absentmindedly played with the small ball of water as she stared at the ceiling. She was never great with magic, except Lunar magic which seemed to baffle people, but the least she could manage was a simple water spell which she would play with while she'd let her mind wonder.

The time that passed felt like hours to her as she thought about everything. Finally the deck above quieted, and she knew it was about time that Garren would be making his announcement speech. The small orb of water dissipated and she got up, headed for the deck.

As she figured, the deck was empty, save for one man standing by the railing of the ship, addressing the crowd. Garren was just a few years older than her, and he took great pride in what he did, although she was never quite sure what it was that he did, other than tend to take things a little too far when announcing her arrival.

"…in search of strong men who are willing to fight to the kingdom."

She sighed and shook her head, knowing how he was about to continue.

"You'll hear more from the Lady who had come to speak to you all. She's a mighty hero, who has traveled through much of the world and had helped many people along those travels…"

Xandria walked forward and leaned against the railing, acting as if she was interest in what Garren was telling the crowd below.

"She's fought against a demon cult saving Varrock, and infiltrated a troll army and helped Burthorpe defend themselves…"

She looked down at the crowd, noticing that some were looking at her. In a select few, she could see the wheels turning behind their curious looks. She smiled, they almost knew who she was.

Suddenly, she heard someone call out, "Xandria!"

The man stopped talking and looked down the deck, glaring slightly at Xandria, who shrugged.

"Sorry, Garren, we can't have a repeat of Al Kharid," she said with a laugh.

"But I didn't-" he stammered in attempts to defend himself.

"It's okay, Garren, this is my home."

The man, Garren, looked crest-fallen, then stepped back, allowing Xandria to take over.

Xandria pulled herself up over the railing, and dropped herself onto the dock the ship was moored at. She looked around at the faces staring back at her. She smiled. "It has been a while. Fourteen years. And a lot has happened, as Garren has begun to tell you all. But those stories are not why I'm here. I am here on behalf of King Roland. A war is coming. And even though its half a world away, it will affect every one of you here. It's the trade center of the world, and if Varrock falls, conditions here would become much worse," she said.

The crowd received the news in silence.

"But that can wait for now. I've brought many things with me from the main land, things that I hope might improve some things on the islands," she said. She glanced over the crowd and spotted the elder leader of Manaron making his way through the crowd towards her. "Ah, Omrod Stine, how good it is to see you again."

The plump elder stepped out of the crowd, smiling warmly at her. "Ah, Xandria, welcome back home," he said.

She bowed respectfully to him. "Thank you, sir."

He nodded to her. "Now, how about we go back up to the council house and discuss what's going to happen."

She nodded. "Lead the way, sir," she said, then followed the elder through the crowd.

The crowd parted for them, and watched as Xandria and the elder leader walked by. Ky-ele kept his eyes on her, hoping she'd see him, but also hoping that he just disappear into the crowd. But Xandria passed him and there was no sign of recognition in her face.

But what he didn't know was she did see him, that her heart began to pound, seeing his face once more. She was glad that she couldn't deal with it now. Now all she had to do was convince a community to give up its young men to a war in a far off land. Easy.

Yeah, I know Prince Brand is supposed to be "rather vain", but, you know, I just couldn't do that to my Xandria. No matter how much of a favor it would be for King Vargas, Xandria would never even TOLERATE the real Prince Brand (that and it has been a while since I've done that quest, and I really can't remember what he was like). But, hey, it's fanFICTION, I have some kind of license to do as I wish =)

And to those who don't play (which I doubt you would even be here if you didn't play…unless you were sent by a certain darrenchris6 [she is my bestie, and she writes Glee fanfiction, and since she gave me a shout out, here's mine to her. GO READ HER STORIES! It doesn't matter if you don't like Glee, and I don't, the story themselves are really, really good. AND I kind of help her figure things out for her stories. So…GO. READ. NOW. 3]), OR if you play as a non-member, OR if you don't/can't use the Lunar spell book, the way that Xandria contacts Ky-ele would be the spell NPC Contact, it's just been changed a tad for this.

Cheers til next time. 3