I don't own Rune Factory: Frontier, or it's characters!

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I stared at the plate before me that was stacked high with food, a portion that would please only a man like my father. Staring at it all gave me somewhat of a stomachache, and I immediately groaned, pushing it away from me, over to the other side of the table. Tabatha noticed this and blinked curiously, turning around from her place by the sink, where she was cleaning the three plates that Francoise had previously finished with. Nothing but the best for him, of course.

"Miss Bianca, is the food not to your liking? I can cook you something else if you'd..." I shook my head, allowing her to stop in the middle of the sentence. She frowned at this, obviously able to tell that there was something wrong given my behavior. "Are you feeling well?" I nodded this time, then turned to face her, sitting sideways in my chair.

"You expect me to eat this much? It's merely too much. Looking at it all makes me sick," I muttered, a snobbish tone running through my voice instinctively. Tabatha got an apologetic look, but before she could utter another word, I rose from my seat and pushed it forward, abandoning the table and making my way back to the stairs in the entry-way.

I pondered heading back up to my room, but let it be, glancing over at the doorway. I sighed and stepped out, glad that it was a holiday so that no one would be curious as to why I suddenly decided to roam around. Seeing as it was a habit of mine, though I'd never admit it.

As usual, Kross was still standing outside his house, messing around with logs he'd thrown about. Erik, however, had already gone inside for the night. By the looks of it, anyhow. It'd been a few days since my brief greeting towards him, giving me time to think about what had popped into my head back then. Raguna and Eunice had become more exclusive with their relationship, leaving me to believe things had to be planned carefully if I wished for them to succeed...

Oh, the things Tabatha would tell me if she knew I was plotting against one of my so-called friends.

Glancing around for a moment to make sure no one was here to witness this, I gathered what little dignity I could muster at this point and made my way across the small field separating me from Erik's little farm. At least it was dark out; from further off, I'd just look like a shadowy blob. Though I dread to think someone mistake me for a monster.

Stopping when I came to the front of his apparent home, I knocked on the door gently, glancing to the side to make sure the light was still on – which, of course, it was. It occurred to me I could have just waltz in; it was a shop after all, but still... this wasn't a business call. Well, at least, not the business that he was used to, I'm sure.

Moments passed and the door finally clicked open. The bubbly brunette had on a bright smile, obviously expecting one of his regulars. Considering that smile soon turned to a look of shock, I'm going to go ahead and assume he didn't think the snob from the mansion would be standing there waiting for him.

"Bianca!" Erik blinked a few times, almost as if he were trying to decide if I were real or not. As silly as it may sound, I actually thought he may have figured I was a shape-shifting kind of monster. Well, I suppose there wouldn't be much else a reason for me, of all people, to be there. I sighed at his reaction, retracting my body weight to my right foot, leaning slightly. My pigtails bounced with the motion, causing the ribbons to loosen up from holding them in. Before I had a chance to fix them, he motioned me inside. "Do come in!"

I suddenly remembered his dating status. I was going to scream if he took my visit here the wrong way. I suppose I should have thought about this before coming over here, but it was far too late now. I just had to make sure I kept the discussion on my proposal to him.

"I won't be here long," I warned, a little more harshly than I'd intended. Pushing him inside as I walked in, I scrunched my nose together, rolling my eyes at the small shop, home, farm house thing... whatever it was. It reminded me of the first time I ever saw Raguna's farm; it was small, and smelly. Dirt and seeds everywhere. Honestly, I didn't understand how people could live in these places.

"That's fine. Is there something I can help you with!" Erik beamed brightly at me, and for a moment, I just stared at him, my eyes narrowed. I could already tell I was going to regret this.

"Actually, I have a proposition for you, Erik." I couldn't tell if he was more surprised by the fact that was obviously my way of indirectly asking him for help, or if it was the fact I knew his name. Not waiting for him to speak, I carried on. "You're aware of Eunice and Raguna's... um... relationship, yes?"

"Ah – yes, indeed! However he managed to get a girl before I did-" He cut off and cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, yes I do. But why do you bring it up?" His eyes sparkled – and I visibly cringed. I knew what he was hoping for – romance to come knocking on his door. That stupid story where the girl comes to another guy to make someone jealous, but ends up falling for him instead. Or maybe that just popped into my mind because Tabatha had been forcing too many fairy-tales into my brain, but I knew he wasn't thinking anything I would be considering any time soon. Everyone in this town knew how Erik was with women.

"They sicken me," I answered quietly, crossing my arms delicately across my chest. He stared at me blankly for a moment, then tilted his head to the side questionably. I continued. "I want to do something about them, but I simply can't pull it off alone. I'm not friendly with too many people in this town, not to the point where I could get information on what makes the two tick."

"You want to break the two of them up?" Erik's eyes widened in disbelief, and I shook my head slowly at his words. I thought I'd made that quite clear... how could a person be so dense?

"Yes..." I walked over to the desk he used for his cash register, gliding my gloved fingers across the wood softly, taking in it's texture. Rough, just as I'd expected. Were people incapable of getting fine furniture here? I knew not everyone was rich, but honestly... "You're quite close to everyone here in terms of friendship. So that's why I came here; to ask for your help. If you could find out a bit about their relationship, then that would help me greatly. You wouldn't have to do anything beyond that."

"But, I... That's a little cruel, don't you think?" Erik frowned and walked up behind me, his gaze glued onto me. I looked up at him in return, locking my gaze with his. His brown eyes were almost more striking than I'd expected, causing me to look away just as quickly. He was an interesting man, I'd give him that. You know... for a farmer, that is.

"Like I said, you don't have to do anything beyond just telling me a few details about them. I'll gladly give you something in return for helping me; money, an item you'd like, anything worth your while. But if you refuse, I'll simply leave and pretend I never came here, that's all. I have a lot to do, and precious little time to waste, so decide quickly, if you will."

I kept up my snob attitude as hard as I could manage without coming off as desperate – the last thing I needed was giving him a reason for him to antagonize me. Any way I looked at it, this could go terribly wrong if he decided to use this against me. However, judging by the look on his face, he had no such plans.

Erik regained his smile. "Anything?"

"That's what I said, isn't it? Or are you deaf?"

He chuckled at my words, then nodded. "Alright, I'll see what I can find out about their relationship, but I won't help you directly with... whatever it is you plan on doing. I'll think of a reward in the meantime." He finally walked by me, returning to his position behind the counter. He rested his elbows on the surface, then placed his chin on top of the back of his hand lazily. I hadn't expected it to be so easy... which led me to actually worry about what he could possibly have in mind for a future reward. "Is that all I can help you with, Bianca...?"

He stared up at me expectantly, deliberately leaning in closer to me almost in a mocking way. "That will be all," I hissed, throwing off his feeble attempts to annoy me. Or, at least, I figured he was trying to annoy me. Backing up from the counter, he chuckled at my reaction, his expression once again returning to the bright one he upheld on a regular basis. "And that's Miss Coquille to you!"

Turning on my heels and barging out of his door, trying to ignore the amused look on his bright face, I nearly collided with yet another brunette that was on his way inside. Looking up, I froze when I noticed Raguna.

"Oh, hi, Bianca." He looked down at me, confused. "What are you doing here so late?" I can see why he'd ask that; a girl like me at a place like this when the moon was fully visible was probably out of the norm. Shrugging in an absent manner, I scoffed.

"None of your business!" With that, I pushed by him, stubbornly marching my way back to the manor I lived in. I could feel him staring at me from behind, and I only hoped that Erik would be able to maintain secrecy while speaking to him. The only thing I learned about him from my visit was that he had a big mouth, captivating eyes, and the most annoying personality ever that was no doubt going to completely destroy whatever plan I had so brilliantly cooked up.

I came to the conclusion that by putting this all in motion, I'd lost my mind.

Stepping inside, I looked up to see Tabatha going into her room. It seems the night had finally consumed a few of the night owls. Those that were finished with working, anyways. Going up the stairs quietly, I glanced over at the phone off to the side and frowned. I debated over calling my father for a moment, but knew very well he'd most likely already went to sleep for the night...

It'd been a while since I spoke to him. About how things were going here, what the food was like, so on... I wondered vaguely if he'd be any help to my situation. But I knew better than to think that. All he ever had on his mind was food.

I guess this was just something I'd have to figure out on my own. And with Erik, I guess, since I'd somehow pulled him into this, but that aside.

Releasing my thoughts on the matter for the night, I made my way to my room and closed the door tightly. In the morning, though I was still making it up as I went along, my scheme would begin.

Yes, her wonderful scheme begins in the next chapter, which means you'll actually figure what's going on, lol. Now that everything has officially been set up, I'm finally free to move the plot along. Yay! Even though, I'll admit, I'm making some things up as I go along. ;D

Sorry this took so long to update. I went on a mini-hiatus for whatever reason – cough. Laziness. Cough. – so I kinda resented updating anything for a while. Hopefully now I can get things moving, though, because I'm all giddy about this story.

As far as his name, by the way... I'm going with "Erik" instead of "Eric", seeing as the "k" is actually how it's spelled in-game. So, no, that's not a typo.

Any-who, please review if you read this. All suggestions on what I can do to improve are welcome, too.

And I'm desperately trying to keep everyone in character, so if at any time you feel I stray from anyone's personalities, let me know and I'll fix that right away.

Thank you!

–LovelyxxMelody.