Author's Note: (Disclaimer: I own nothing, etc.)

Hi :)

...I kind of over estimated the rate at which I would update, I ran out of time and wasn't able to finish the next chapter so this is going to be the last one until I get back. Sorry, I hope no one minds.

Thank you for all of the reviews and I'll see you in August!

Have a good summer =]

Love,

AL

"Shit."

"Ma'am?"

"I'm sorry, I know it's in here somewhere, re-" my frantic hands froze. When I looked back up at the woman she was glaring at me with narrowed eyes. I flashed her a feeble, apologetic smile and backed away, "I'm sorry, I'll come back later."

Her icy gaze moved on to the next person in line as a fake smile crossed her waxy face as she greeted him, "May I help you?"

I drifted over to a bench and sat down with sigh. "Having some trouble, young lady?"

I glanced to my left with the slight roll of my head to see an elderly man hunched over at the far end of the bench. "You could say that," I smiled politely and he grinned in return-a happy, no-tooth grin that lifted his rose-colored cheeks and caused the corners of his eyes to crinkle. I fought back a bought of adoration-really old men are just so cute!

My heart nearly melted. My old man fetish was far from passion driven, I was just overcome with that aww feeling whenever I saw one…they were like puppies. His gray eyes lingered on me and I titled my head back to the sky with a sigh, "I was pick-pocketed."

The shaky words clung to my tongue like a baby sloth to its mother. I had been so foolish…

"What do you expect?"

"Eh?" I turned in surprise as a kid hopped over the bench and plopped down between us.

"An innocent little thing like you wandering around this station-you're a prime target." I studied the dark-haired boy…he looked possibly older than I was.

I narrowed my eyes and tried to justify myself, "I woke up and my train was leaving so I ran to buy a transfer ticket and someone bumped into me…next thing I know I'm trying to buy a ticket and my money is gone…it was a coincidence that we bumped into each other-anyone could have been the target…and I am not innocent!"

The boy chuckled, "how naïve. That's the easiest strategy in the book!"

"Get out of here you scruffy bastard, no one asked you." The old man grumbled defensively.

"Aw, can it old man!" the kid shot back and flipped his mess of auburn hair out of his eyes.

I sighed and grabbed my bag from off of the floor, "look, can anyone point me to a pay phone? I have some friends in East City that I can call…"

"East City?" the boy questioned "where do you think you are, lady?"

"Uh, East City," I replied, skeptical of this kid's sanity.

"Oh…how unfortunate," the old man shook his head in sympathy and my heart suddenly sank into my gut. Unfortunate?

"This is the slums, baby." His face broke out into a large, amused grin and I hung my head in disappointment. "I knew this wasn't my stop! Ugh…I can't ask them to come all the way back here and pick me up…"

The boy leaned in alarming close with a coy smile on his face, "It sounds like you need some financial help...and I know just the place where you can get it."

I jumped, startled, as the old man grabbed the boy by the collar and yanked him back, hard. "Oh no you don't!" he scolded, "You're one of those little scoundrels-a measly servant of the Ice Queen!"

"Cool it gramps," the kid growled, "and don't call her that!"

"I'll call that witch whatever I please!' The old man retorted and the two glared at one another, the tension sparking in the air between them. "The Ice Queen?" I raised my eyebrows, confused, and they both turned to me, surprised.

"You definitely aren't from around here, huh?" the boy asked and the old man shook his head again, this time apologetically. "No," I answered quietly, still utterly confused.

"Great," he grinned and grabbed my hand, tugging me off of the bench despite the protests of the old man and being the innocent naïveté that I am, I willing followed. And so began my adventure with Veronika Moon and The Sun Dance Kid.

Veronika Moon was, in one word, daunting. She sat opposite of me at the very end of the long maple table, staring. She was very blonde and very pale with very blue eyes that pierced one's soul. And so tall. Her body was a dancer's dream-thin and bony; her movements were graceful and her presence alone held such elegance that one felt inferior after immediately entering the same room as her. Her trim, shining nails tapped once against the table as she sat up even straighter and her pale pink lips began to move, "Why did you bring this girl to me, Jacob?"

Her voice mimicked her face-stone cold and apathetic. I was starting to understand the 'Ice Queen' bit. "She's traveling east," the boy stood respectfully by the superfluous doors, "I thought that she could be of some assistance to you…"

Veronika Moon considered this for a moment before addressing me, "Where is your exact destination?"

"I plan to go to Xing from the Ishvalan trade route."

I thought I caught a glimpse of satisfaction in her eyes…or maybe it was just the jarring light of the chandelier. "Well done, Jacob, she can be of some use."

The boy nodded and I narrowed my eyes, "I'd prefer not to be spoken of as if I'm a puppet."

"That's exactly what you are," her tone was beyond condescending, "my little pawn."

I raised my eyebrows incredulously and stood up, "Talk about a serious ego trip. I'm not playing this game."

"Don't be so hasty," she warned, "money-that's what you need right?"

I sat back down with a sigh, "I'm listening."

Veronika's lips twitched into a smirk, "Say I fund your expedition to Xing and back if you do me a little favor."

I glanced back at Jacob. His sheer exuberance after having pleased her was almost nauseating. "What kind of favor?"

She laid a photograph down on the table and sent it forward with her fingertips. It slid effortlessly my way and I glanced at the tattered picture. It was only half of a photograph-the right side had been completely ripped off-and was stained with age. A young girl, who looked to be the exact opposite of Veronika Moon in every way imaginable, was smiling on the table in front of me. She was lean with a mass of layered red hair framing her heart-shaped face; her wide eyes two emerald pools shining vibrantly against her half-sun burnt, half-tanned skin.

"I'm searching for this girl-she's been camping out just outside of Ishval."

A soft laugh escaped my throat, "Look, I'm no assassin."

"I want her alive," Veronika Moon replied simply, her voice so cold that it sent shivers down my spine.

I shook my head, "really, it's important that I get back home as soon as possible I can't go looking for some-"

"Money," she tempted, "you won't get anywhere without it and it will certainly make your journey much longer. Find her-I don't care when or under what circumstances. Details mean nothing. I will give you the money as long as you bring her to me, alive."

Her proposition seemed ridiculous but as much as I hated to admit it, I was shit out of luck without a single cenz. I was trapped and she knew it. "Alright," I sighed, "but the entire trip must be payed for. Even my train back to Resembol."

She remained stoic, "That's not a problem. When we are finished here Jacob will give you a card which you will charge all of your expenses on and I will pay all of it off when you hand her over to me. If you fail to hold up your end of this agreement then you will be responsible for all expenses and I will have you pursued and tried for theft."

I blinked…pursued and tried?

"Agreed?" her pale eyebrows arched upward and I nodded hesitant of what I was about to get myself into, "yes."

"Good." for a moment it looked as if she almost smiled, "We will write up a contract as well."

I groaned inwardly. Of course-why not add on to the legal obligations that will be imposed upon me if I don't follow through?

"Jacob," Veronika commanded, "I will be in my office. Give our guest the usual rundown."

"Yes ma'am," he nodded obediently as she stood up and silently swept across the room.

I eyed the kid I'd met at the station cautiously as he pulled up a seat next to me. "The usual?" I asked, watching as the door closed shut behind Veronika Moon. He smiled, "yeah, we do this a lot. We hire anyone we can but most people stopped coming back and those who did said that they'd found her but were unable to catch her."

"You make her sound like some kind of stray animal," I frowned, glancing back at the picture.

He shrugged, "We're all animals."

I hadn't been expecting such a deep reply and looked up at him in surprise. He was unphased and started to give me the 'usual rundown' of things, "I'm not allowed to tell you why Miss Moon is after her, so don't ask. From recent reports, she likes to ride the railways and usually camps out in the desert between Ishval and Xing. She is fast, dangerous, and is also known to be a thief so-"

I narrowed my eyes, the girl in the picture looked nothing like the kind of person he was describing.

"Who is this girl?" I asked incredulously.

Jacob leaned forward on his elbows and pinned the corner of the photograph down with his index finger, "and you may never lose this picture. It is the only one you will be given and even if you fail you must come back here and return this. Under no condition is it acceptable for anything to happen to this photograph. Am I clear?"

"As crystal," I replied, beyond confused by that point.

"Okay," he sighed, pushed the photo closer to me, and then finally told me what I really wanted to know. "Her name," he began, "is Lorelei Solaris and they call her The Sun Dance Kid."