teamBLAZE: ohoho get ready for another round
Sairofe: Thank you! First and foremost, it is my pleasure to frequently update and interact with my readers who left reviews and questions. For me reviews are like markers as to how I have done with the latest update, and of course I love the fuzzy feeling I got when I know that people enjoy reading my writing ^^ Second of all, regarding Iris, I still remember even during the early period of SoS, many gamers agree that Iris would be the rival for Klaus' affection. In almost every thread about rival couples in SoS, there is little disagreement that Klaus and Iris would be rival for each other. Their closeness is not something that is implied. Thus, I think to write a story about Klaus without a sufficient nod to Iris would not be fair. Then the question is whether to present Iris as a rival (which sets the base for Pink Heart Event) or not? I decided on the latter because I kinda want to step away from a possible cliche of having a seemingly perfect rival, especially with Raelyn's character as the comparison.
That being said, this time I want you guys to recall the very first line of this story - Rae the Little Doggy. Have you ever wondered how that came to be? You guys will find out how in this chapter! Onwards and enjoy ^^
After what happened, Dr. Marian did not really trust that Klaus could be an outpatient, so he forced Klaus to stay in the Clinic. It had been a week since then, and Klaus was to be discharged today.
I love you.
She heard him, not loud, but clear. A part of her wanted to ask him whether it was meant for her, but her better judgment was against it. Her priority was for Klaus to get better. But, now that he was discharged, did she have another reason not to ask?
She had told Iris about it a few days ago. The novelist brushed off her deductions of Klaus being delirious from the medicine. Iris encouraged her to talk about it with Klaus as soon as she could.
She remembered Corona's advice:
You just need to go for it and take the first step.
That would be something that her mother would have said, too. In fact, that was how her mother had always trained her children to do—be assertive, be bold, be brave. It's… easier said than done, she noted bitterly. When she knew it, her hands were already shaking. Years did nothing to alleviate it.
It was her first day at school. Raelyn looked around; the building was still rather new. Either that, or this building was very well-maintained. It had the smell of polished lumber, similar to the insides of the studio back on the farm. She had walked with her brothers, but then they were separated into different rooms. Raelyn tried to reach out to them, "Nate! Rex!"
"Don't worry, dear… you'll have more friends soon," the foreign adult assured her in a soothing tone as she led her away from her brothers.
The tall woman opened the sliding door for her and inside, there were already more kids of her age playing around. She recognized her cousin, Ana, and vice versa. "Lynn!" she exclaimed in joy, running towards her in an outstretched arm. Raelyn returned the hug in happiness—at least there was someone familiar here with her.
"You should greet the others, too, Raelyn," the adult said.
Raelyn looked around. There were other girls, and boys, too. She remembered what her mother had told her before she sent her off—be bold, be brave. She glanced at her cousin and she gave a reassuring nod.
Raelyn took a deep breath and approached the nearest person and stretched out her hand. "Hey, I'm Raelyn, what's your name?"
"I'm Leah…"
"Let's be friends."
Leah smiled and nodded.
The three of them played together until the tall woman came back and told them all that it was the time to study. They learned how to read and write. Raelyn told herself that one day, she would read bedtime story to her mom and dad instead of the other way around, so she put her all into this.
Then, it was break time. Some of her classmates went to play, some went for a quick nap, and others decided to have some snack. Leah belonged to the last group; she went for her bag to retrieve her snack. Much to everyone's surprise, Leah cried out in distress. "My food is gone!"
Ana and Raelyn went after her and tried to calm her down. "It's my favorite nori crackers!"
"Nori… crackers?"
"Yea, the one glazed with soy sauce."
Then, it should smell strong, Raelyn thought. She closed her eyes and took a breath. She could faintly smell the scent. With her eyes still closed, Raelyn followed the scent, only stopping when she touched another bag. "I think it's in here!"
"That's my bag!" a boy, the biggest one in her class, shouted.
Ana disregarded that and opened the bag Raelyn picked up. They found a yellow lunch box. "That's mine!" Leah and the boy claimed at the same time.
"I saw my mom packed the crackers into it!" Leah insisted.
"Okay, why don't we try something?" Ana suggested as she turned to face the boy. "Kyle, how many crackers inside?"
"Um… three?"
"Leah?'
"Five!"
Ana opened the box, and inside, there were five crackers, just like what Leah said. "You're a liar, Kyle!" the red-headed girl cried out.
Much to everyone's surprise, Kyle went after Raelyn. "You sniff around like a dog, Rae!"
"Doggy! Doggy!" some of the boys began chanting. "Rae is the little doggy!"
Raelyn remembered what his brothers, especially Rex, always told her: when you feel unsafe, fight back. Armed with what she picked up while growing up with two older boys, Raelyn lunged towards Kyle and bit his arm. He cried out and pushed the little girl aside. "She is like a mad dog! She sniffs and bites!"
Raelyn looked around, the boys kept chanting "Doggy! Doggy! Rae is the little doggy~" and was one step away to make it a full-fledged song, while none of the girls—except Ana and Leah—stood up for her by trying to shut the boys up.
Tears began to well up in her eyes, and it was then she felt something warm flowing between her legs. The scent was familiar to her nose, too.
"Raelyn is pissing in her pants! The doggy is pissing!"
She cried, cried and cried.
As she walked to the town, she gathered some wildflowers. She had also brought some that she had grown herself. Maybe she could ask Kamil to arrange a bouquet—Lillie and Angela had told her that he was a professional florist.
Her brothers entered the class soon after that to check on her. When they did, the boys were still chanting their newly-made jingle. Rex pushed the sliding door as hard as he could, gathering everyone's attention. The class fell silent, except for Raelyn who was still sobbing while looking at her brothers. Nate was the first to walk in and hugged his little sister. "Let's get you cleaned up. Mom put some wet wipes in your bag, right?"
She wiped her tears and nodded, still sobbing. She followed Nate.
"Who started that song?!" Rex shouted.
No one dared to answer, except Ana. "It's Kyle."
"Which one is Kyle?" Rex asked.
Ana casually pointed at him. "He stole our friend's lunch box and when Raelyn called him out on it, he started mocking her!"
"Oh, is that it?"
Rex walked slowly towards Kyle. The other boys stepped back in fear; Kyle might be the biggest in the class, but he was nothing compared to a boy five years his senior. Rex grabbed Kyle's collar and lifted him from the ground. "Lesson for the day: don't mess with my baby sister."
Everyone in the class watched as Kyle pissed in his pants. To say that it was a mess would be an understatement. Their parents were called to the school. Rex was suspended from school for a week and barred from visiting lower grade classes.
Echo Town was a little town, so it was hard to keep the word from spreading. It was the moment when Raelyn decided to teach herself to escape within and to practice restraint.
After a brief visit to the florist, Raelyn walked towards the residential area. She was still divided between confronting Klaus on his words, or playing it safe. She has not come up with a decision when she knocked on the door.
Iris opened the door for her. "My, Raelyn, you came at the perfect time!" she said, hugging her warmly. "Klaus has just settled down! Come on in!"
It seemed that Iris noticed her slight hesitance. Iris stepped outside with her and closed the door behind her. "Is there something wrong?" she asked gently.
"I… I'm not sure how to face Mr. Klaus."
"Honesty is always the best policy. Not always the easiest, but the most rewarding in long-term."
"Do you think… he will hate me?"
"Oh my goodness, Raelyn, that couldn't be further from the truth!" Iris exclaimed. "Listen, if he's being mean to you, just tell me. I'll knock some sense into his head, okay?"
Iris opened the door again, and this time she gave a slight push to Raelyn. The pinkette entered the house and she saw Iris winked at her with a mischievous smile before closing the door again.
Raelyn took a deep breath and walked towards Klaus' room. He was tidying up his wardrobe. When he noticed her presence, he turned around and greeted her with a smile. "It's good to see you," he said, as calm as usual.
Raelyn nervously gave him the bouquet. "I asked the florist to make it… I hope you like it…"
"This is beautiful. Thank you, I'll look for a vase."
Klaus took the arrangement from her hand and was about to walk towards the other room. Raelyn took another deep breath and said, loud and clear. "Wait, hear me out for a bit."
"Hm?"
"I don't know if you remember it, but you told me that you loved me. I don't know whether it was me hallucinating, or dreaming…" Raelyn paused momentarily. "I… I don't know whether I heard you right, but I'll tell you what I know. I am not as pretty or mature as Miss Iris, I am not as smart as Mistel or Angela or Licorice, I am not as good in cooking as Raeger or Fritz—I cannot be as fashionable as Dr. Marian, as cheerful and friendly as Lillie or Agate, as rich and confident as Elise… I… I have many flaws and all. I am shy and often nervous around people I don't know well—and some people I know well, too… but… but…"
She looked at Klaus, who was still standing at where he was with his eyes on her. She clenched her hands, there was no going back, she told herself when she took another deep breath and articulated each word as best and loud as she could while the same time closing her eyes out of embarrassment: "I love you the most in this town!"
Raelyn opened her eyes slightly. Klaus was still there, his eyes widened slightly and his mouth agape. "Last year, you told me that it was easy to mistake a simple admiration for love. Maybe you're right, but I know now for sure that it's not the case with what I feel towards you. I… I cannot be your little sister, I don't want to be your little sister! I… I…"
Before she knew it, she started sobbing. Raelyn turned around; now she felt like digging a hole and spent the rest of her life there. Before she could do so, however, she was being pulled back into an embrace. Klaus' scent, this time slightly mixed with the scent of the Clinic, was so close from her nose while the warmth from his body began to spread, starting from her back to the rest of her body. Raelyn was stunned in disbelief when she looked down and saw his arms wrapping around her.
"At times, I am impressed how you fail to realize how precious and lovable you are, by just being you…. you heard it right, I do love you, and I'm willing to bet my fortune that I love you first."
"W-what?"
"Initially, I did intend to care for you as a replacement for the little sister I lost. That… didn't last long. I soon realize that you could not be a replacement of my little sister. You are so much more than that. I was conflicted as to whether to let you know about my feelings. My past is not something I am proud of, and looking at you… you deserve so much more than a broken, pathetic old man like me. A part of me fear that I would lose you the way I lost others that I loved, so I decided that it was better to keep my distance away from you." Klaus tightened his grip around her. "My worst fear came true when Craig went to town. I tried to divert his attention from you, but I failed… you knew what happened."
"You saved me from him."
"With a stroke of luck," Klaus noted bitterly. "In any case, after all that happened, here you stand before me, yelling at the top of your lungs that you loved me… do you know just how much power you have over me?"
Raelyn shook her head. Klaus let her go and she turned around to face him. Now she noticed that Klaus was blushing, albeit only slightly. Her heart raced when she thought how she had caused such reaction from the usually calm gentleman.
"Now, Raelyn Forrester, someone like you can have her pick from any bachelor in this town… even Raeger, I bet. Would you really choose me over the rest of them?"
She nodded without losing a beat. "I'm not giving you away to any other woman, too! I'll prove to you that I love you better!"
Klaus chuckled. "There's no need to do that. I don't have eyes for any other."
Raelyn blinked a few times in disbelief. "Does this mean…?"
"I haven't had time to go and pick up a ring for you… shall we go to the neighboring town to do that sometime later? I know a nice jewelry store there."
This time, it was Raelyn's turn to be dumbfounded. Her tears melted out of happiness and she nodded excitedly.
Klaus gave a cheeky, half-grin. Different from his usual, gentlemanly smile, this grin of his had more boyish charm to it. Raelyn knew she could get used to seeing this side of him. "Now that we're officially together, what do you think of totally dropping the formalities?"
"Huh?"
"I think it's time for you to stop calling me 'Mr. Klaus' and just 'Klaus', don't you think?"
"Eeeeeeh?"
"Come on, try it out."
Raelyn looked at him, her cheeks puffed. "Now, being cute is one thing, but I'm asking another…"
"…Klaus."
She almost couldn't believe her eyes. The moment she called him only by his name, he stopped talking and just stood there, blushing furiously. "I… can get used to this, I suppose."
Yes, she might get used to this, too… although it would take some time.
The three people that had been pressing their ears against the outer wall of Klaus' house—ignoring the curious stares of the passersby—had a small, but careful celebration when they heard Raelyn's full-blown confession. "'Atta girl! I knew she could do it!" Raeger said.
"I never knew Raelyn has so much passion in her! This is beautiful!" Marian exclaimed.
They quickly went back to their position, carefully trying to hear Klaus' answer. When they managed to figure out what happened, they had another round of celebration. Iris, Marian, and Raeger had a group high-five right in the middle of the residential area. "That old wolf owes us big time!" Marian said.
"He sure does," Iris agreed. "My, my, I never thought this day would come."
"No more brother-sister excuses for them at last," Raeger quipped. "That's getting old and lame."
Marian and Iris giggled at the comment.
"This sure is worth it."
Finally, after 35 chapters (and two years in storyline), Klaus and Raelyn took that bold step to brave a new world together!
Doesn't mean their story is over here, though... in fact, this is just another beginning.
Stay tuned for the next update!
Thanks for reading, please drop in a review and tell me what you think of it!
A/N: This chapter is something that I want to write ever since the conception of this story. Not quite what I have in the beginning, but I'm satisfied with how it turns out.
As most, if not all, of you know, Raelyn is Reine's daughter. For those of you who do not know Reine, she is my first ever OC, set for the realm of HM: ANB. Reine Kreiss (now Forrester) has appeared in many of my stories, and in all of them, she is generally portrayed as almost everything that Raelyn does not seem to be initially: bold, assertive, headstrong, impulsive, rather sarcastic (imo) - almost a classic tough chick. I'm not saying that a child will always have similar personalities with his/her mother, but the kind of day and night difference like we have between these two is also a bit... rare. Especially considering that Raelyn's dad, our beloved tsundere animal trader for ANB, is not exactly shy himself... or maybe he is (as how I write him in some of my stories), but he is definitely not timid. Plus, if I were to deny Raelyn of all traits that resemble her mother, she is in the danger of being a Mary Sue or simply one-dimensional.
My friend also made a good point about how it does not really make sense for Raelyn to be very timid when she has two elder brothers. No matter how protective they are to her, in one way or another, there must have been a dose of rough play between these three. I don't have a brother, but my aunt has three kids with the same order, two boys and one girl with a considerable age gap between the boys and the girl. Our families are quite close, and I'm about the same age with the middle child, so I get to see how the three of them grew up, especially the girl. From that observation, I tried to write realistically about the three siblings in the opportunities that I have... or at least sensibly.
With all this factored in, I have to admit that writing Raelyn is not that easy for me. Even as the person who creates her concept, I have a hard time understanding her train of thoughts sometimes. But, as the story goes, together with you guys, I get to know her better and better and writing about her gets easier, especially as we delve further into more layers of her personalities: her occasional impulsiveness (as noted by Candied Snowflakes and Raeger in-story), the danger of her exploding in anger (like how she slapped Ibuki when she was fed up), and now the major factor of how she became seemingly timid and shy.
Personally, I think Raelyn's confession is very much in her character: how she went for the dive after a considerable hint and encouragement that the outcome will be positive, how she started by laying down her insecurities (and admitting them), but ends on the high note (and loud voice, as Klaus noted) that for all her flaws, the feelings that she has for Klaus will be her X-factor. Raelyn is definitely not Reine (who probably will chew Klaus on when he implied that she got her own feelings wrong way back in the first year of Winter) or Annie (in the stories that I read, Annie is almost always portrayed as gregarious, outgoing, confident with some twists).
On another note, I think the title has aptly marked the transition of their relationship :p
I'd love to know what you think about this! ^^