Hi! My name's Frey, and I've somehow managed to become the princess of Selphia after losing my memory. I love farming and raising monsters, and the people in this town are just lovely! Feel free to talk to me anytime; I love making new friends! ((Roleplay blog for Frey from Rune Factory 4. Part of the Harvest Moon Ranch group))
"My!" Vishnal responded with equal amazement after fighting against the cool night breeze to get the beach towel to lie flat. "I'm not sure which firework to begin watching first! Urf... I think i'm getting dizzy..."
"Vishnal!" She called, alerted. The princess watched as her butler put a hand to his forehead. "How could you get sick by watching fireworks?"
"I'm afraid I get dizzy very easily, Princess." Frey pouted and let out a quiet "boo." She sat down next to him on the towel as a gigantic firework lit up both the sky and the beach around them. The booming noise from such a large and pretty firework made Vishnal flinch, and Frey rested her hand on top of his.
"It's okay. They're miles away. And you've got me." She smiled at her partner warmly, a fondness for him twinkling behind her emerald green eyes. One look at his beloved princess's face and he felt all of his worries melt away, only to be replaced with pure happiness and pride.
The blue-haired butler smiled back with just as much, if not more love for her in his expression and sighed happily. "You are right, Princess. I do have you." Vishnal leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder. Frey craned her neck to reach the top of his head and planted a quick and tender kiss before turning her attention back to the sky.
"I love you, Princess." Frey blushed and nodded, and she knew she didn't have to say it for Vishnal to understand what she meant, "I love you more."
The couple silently watched the fireworks from their isolated but not lonely place on the beach. They watched firework after firework appear gracefully into the sky and flicker out just as gorgeously, never moving their gaze from the starless night sky, even long after the show had ended.
No skin off his back, but Frey was right, the last thing they needed was more trouble. He could spend the night at the inn and take off before the break of dawn, simple as that.
Skye gratefully took the delicious spoils from the green-haired girl’s hands, his normal calm demeanor dropping ever so lightly.
"Thank you." He said, not even trying to be polite by saying something along the line of ’oh no, you should have it!’ What could he say, he had a weak spot for the stuff.
"Yeah, my mom used to make it a lot when I was a kid." He explained, a bit flustered.
"Are you ready to head back? Or is there anything else you’d like to do?"
She giggled. It was amusing to watch someone else get embarrassed- now she knew why some of the townsfolk loved to tease her so much. "I can take you back to the town, if you want," She said, taking a quick look at the sun, which was just barely hovering over the tops of the forest's trees. Had that much time passed already?
"Actually, the faster we leave, the better off we'll be. You never know what could be lurking in the dark- thieves, enemy soldiers, dangerous monsters..." Her voice trailed off, and she counted the many dangers of the woods that the townspeople had warned her about on her fingers. "I think I know a shortcut we could take."
Skye gratefully took the delicious spoils from the green-haired girl’s hands, his normal calm demeanor dropping ever so lightly.
"Thank you." He said, not even trying to be polite by saying something along the line of ’oh no, you should have it!’ What could he say, he had a weak spot for the stuff.
Frey couldn't help but crack a grin when she saw the boy take the plate without protest. She smiled like the Cheshire cat when she saw him blush a little- it was adorable!
"So I guess you like curry, huh?" She tossed the rest of the loot into her backpack before adding, "Curry's delicious, in my opinion. I had never tasted it before I had some at my town's restaurant, but eating it was like taking a bite of heaven."
"That’s unnecessary." He said and put the sphere back in it’s place. In the end he’d gotten what he came for; excitement. Even still, the young man was breathless and could hear the beat of his heart echoing in his ears.
"I’m smart enough to know what to take and what not to. Even so, I doubt anything in that chest would serve me any interest." In the end Frey had done most of the work, giving her the spoils was the very least he could do for dragging her along.
A wave of relief washed over her as Skye placed the Sphere back on the ground where he had found it. She wouldn't have to feel bad about asking him to let her keep it. The princess made a mental note to come back and retrieve it later.
"Really? I'm not so sure about that. Let's take a look at what's inside, and maybe you'll find something you like." Frey dropped the box and kicked it open. Shiny prizes of all shapes and sizes and some rare dishes came spilling out. Once the treasure box had revealed all of its secrets to them, it vanished in thin air.
Frey swept her ponytails behind her and knelt down to get a closer look at the pile of goodies. "Let's see... a new sword? I don't need that," She tossed it on the ground next to her and continued rummaging through the prizes. "Some Recovery Potions- well, those could be useful. There's some jewelry in here, too, but I'm not interested in that. What's this? Chimera fur? Ew, that's nasty- Oooh, what's this? Curry?" She looked at the dish with interest. It wasn't something she found often.
(Fanfiction based on the Don't Forget Your Physical event)
Frey entered the room and flicked on the light switch on the wall to her right. The workplace lit up, and the golden lettering of thousands of well-kept books lining every single wall shimmered and blinded her for a second. Frey blinked, and her eyesight adjusted to the light.
Aiming for the center of the room, she stepped on the plush pink carpet carefully, so as not to dirty it with her worn leather boots. In the center of the room, she would be able to tell which of the many tables in the office held the documents she was looking for. A quick glance at the eerily clean coffee table by the door leading outside, surrounded by plush couches similar in color to the carpet, told her they weren't there. Frey turned around, her mint-green hair twirling around her as she moved.
She faced the largest table in the room- Arthur's work desk, which was situated perfectly in the middle of two large bookcases, and in front of two smaller ones. To the left of the desk was a doorway leading to the restaurant next door, the way she had come. Unlike the rest of the office, it was an absolute mess. Feather quills lay sprawled about the desk, ink pots scattered about without caps on, papers popping out of drawers in a fashion one left when in a hurry.
But most importantly, Frey spotted a honey-colored envelope in the heart of the mahogany work desk. Spilling out of this envelope were three similarly colored papers, each filled with cramped handwriting left not even the margins open, hoping to get as much information in the message as possible. Frey smiled triumphantly and eagerly plucked the letters off of the table.
Why was she going through someone else's mail? It wasn't to be nosy or mischievous, she thought. As she lifted the letter with the chicken scratch-like handwriting so she could read, Frey recalled why she had come to Arthur's office in the first place.
*~*~*
“Porcoline!” Frey called out cheerfully. She skipped to the counter of the restaurant and greeted the chef with a smile unique to her. He grinned back, his chubby cheeks nearly covering his eyes.
“MAR-velous hello!” Porcoline said with a jolly laugh. He was always making up weird terms and saying strange things like that. But that was why Frey adored him so, and had forged a strong friendship with him.
“What brings you to my humble restaurant today, my dear? Finally come to confess your love to me?” He winked, and Frey laughed nervously. She had gotten used to this by now, and knew she should just respond either by going along with it or ignoring it.
“Oh yes, you know how much I love you so, Porco,” Frey batted her eyes dramatically.
“Wonderful.” Judging by his expression, she had creeped him out just as much as he had her. Success, she thought.
“Anyways, I came by today because Dr. Jones wanted me to remind you about your physica-”
“AH-LA-LA, I can't HEEEEAR YOU!” Porco sang, his hands flying up to his ears.
“Um...”
“PORCO! What is this I hear about forgetting to go to your physical?!” Margaret, a beautiful elf who lived and worked at the restaurant as a musician, stormed up to the register beside Frey. Porcoline had grown so fond of her that he regarded her as his own daughter. Frey had learned that even though she was sweet and caring, she could turn into the devil himself when angered. Even Porcoline would have to listen to her now, if he didn't want to be grounded from eating.
“I-um, I can't hear you?” He said, his voice trembling.
“Clearly you can, since you responded to me,” Margaret crossed her arms over her chest.
“Lala la, la la...” He continued to feign deafness.
“Oh look, I found a cookie in my pocket,” She pulled an oatmeal raisin cookie out of her apron and held it up.
“GIMME!” Porcoline lunged for it and she snatched it back.
“Not until you go to your physical,” She taunted.
“Awwww, Meggy, you're so mean. Fine...,” Porcoline pouted.
“Thanks for the help, Meg,” Frey said finally, after watching the spectacle with much amusement.
“It's no problem. Actually, I should be thanking you for reminding him. It's a shame he just happened-” Meg glared at Porco, “-to forget about it, and told me that he had already gone.” Porcoline made a whining noise, not unlike one a puppy would make when it knows it's in trouble.
“Have you seen Arthur? Dr. Jones told me that he hasn't come to get his physical done, either.” Frey changed the subject quickly. She guessed that they would know where he was, since he lived with them. She hadn't seen him around town at all that day.
“Arthur?” Meg put a finger to her lips and cocked her head to one side, thinking.
“I saw him leaving town this morning, if that helps,” Porco put in, suddenly over his funk from being made to go to his physical.
“Thanks. I'll have to go look outside of town, then.” Frey made to leave, a little disappointed, but Meg called her back.
“Wait, Frey. I saw him late last night when I went to a drink. He was reading a letter on his desk and marking some places on a map. Maybe if you read the letters it might help? I think they're still on his desk...”
“Thank you, Meg!” Frey smiled, much more cheerful than she was a moment before. She bowed quickly to show her thanks.
“It's no problem at all.”
*~*~*
Frey looked at the messy writing on the papers in her hand and began to read them aloud to herself.
“Dear Sir, it has come to my attention that the East Selphia Plains area used to be a home to a cave before it collapsed. Due to intelligence collected, I believe that reviving this area would be a wise decision, and would most likely attract a great number of tourists for the kingdom. I have enclosed, with this letter, a map leading from the gate of Selphia to the collapsed cave area outside...”
Frey stopped reading. It only grew more wordy from there, having a great list of reasons why the soldier who sent this letter believed it would help with tourism. She already had an idea of where Arthur went, and if she was lucky...
Frey shifted the papers around, and found what she was looking for at the bottom of the stack- a perfect map of the Selphia Plains, complete with a little red line leading from the town’s gates to a dead end by the forest. This dead end was marked with a blue x. Around this x was writing in a similar ink color. The writing was much neater than that of the sender, and Frey assumed it was Arthur's. The words written were, “Latula's Cave”.
She placed the papers on the desk and straightened them, putting them back exactly the way she had found them. She pulled her spear out of her rucksack, prepping for the many monsters she would meet on the walk to the cave. Frey made sure to turn off the lights on her way out, and set off for Latula's Cave.
*~*~*
“Hyaah!” Frey shouted, slaying the last of the sheep-like monsters that had attacked her when she passed by Yokmir Forest. She adjusted her armor slightly, brushing off the stray clumps of wool that had attached themselves to her wrist guards. Once she was sure that no more enemies would come after her, she entered the area where she saw Arthur examining a rock pile.
“Arthur,” She greeted him with a warm smile, but it wasn't quite as energetic as her previous ones. She was tired out from fighting off so many beasts.
“Oh! Frey. You surprised me,” Arthur laughed nervously, his golden blonde hair scattering about as he turned to face her. It was unusually pretty for a boy, and nearly came down to his shoulders in a neat bob.
“Hi,” Frey said awkwardly, trying to get used to his clothes once again. She had known him for nearly a year already, but she still couldn't get used to his weird way of dressing. He once told her that he dressed this way to look like a traveler and blend in, but she thought it just made him look even more like a prince than he already was.
Arthur adjusted his glasses and closed the book he was holding. He was almost always holding this book and scribbling things down, but she had never seen him close it and put it down before. She raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“I came because Jones wanted me to remind you about your physical,” Frey told him, watching his every move.
“Oh, drat- the physical. I'm sorry, but could you tell him that I can't come for a few days?” Arthur was truly apologetic, with a worried frown forming on his princely-perfect face.
“Sure!” She grinned. “But may I ask why?”
“Oh... I just have some work to do around here is all.” He looked away from her, his eyes instead wandering to a nearby stone.
“What kind of work do you have out here?” Frey asked, completely forgetting the soldier's request in the letter she had read. She raised her eyebrow again when he hesitated, fidgeting slightly. It was a habit she had never seen him give in to.
“Um, well it's just that a while ago, there used to be a cave here. It was called Latula's Cave. Latula's the name of one of the goddesses of the Old World, as you know,” He paused, and almost gasped when he saw the look of confusion in Frey's face. It appeared that she didn't know.
“A few hundred years ago, they worshipped gods and goddesses instead of Native Dragons like we do. Latula was the goddess of love.” Frey opened her mouth in a wide “O” shape and then quickly shut it, pursing her lips and awkwardly swinging her arms by her side.
Arthur pitied her. He knew that it must be hard since he first met her when she lost her memory, but he didn't realize it had been so bad that she couldn't even remember basic knowledge that was taught even to young children.
“You... you do know what a Native Dragon is by now, don't you?” He asked cautiously, afraid he might insult her.
“Of course! Venti taught me that. She was just as surprised as you were when she found out I didn't know what our nation's four gods were. Herself being one of them, I assume she was kind of offended,” Frey laughed, and then let Arthur continue.
“Anyway, this cave used to be a popular tourist attraction. There was a legend about the cave that everyone made into a sort of tradition.”
“Legend?”
“...Yes. This legend was the story of Latula's lover. I don't want to bore you or overwhelm you, so I'll give you the cliffnotes. Basically, Latula swore on these grounds that she would love him forever. But before they could be married, he died in war. Since he was mortal, she was unable to help him.”
“That's... horrible,” Frey cupped her hands to her mouth in shock. A dark look flashed in Arthur's eyes, but was gone almost immediately as he spoke, and Frey shook her head, telling herself that she had imagined it.
“So everyone decided that they would come to this cave with the person they cared about most, in honor of that story. Some people even got married here. After they vowed each other's love for one another, they would come back and carve their names into the stone here.” He gestured to the large stone slab placed delicately near two pine trees. Frey stepped forward and squinted. Sure enough, she could just barely make out the tiny etchings of many couples' names.
“That's such a sweet story,” She sighed, wishing that one day she might do the same thing with her crush. Her cheeks flushed to the color of a tomato when she thought this, and she buried her face in her hands to avoid Arthur's sight. She couldn't be found out now!
But the prince either didn't notice or pretended not to. He only stared at his shoes, which were surprisingly plain compared to the rest of his not-so-incognito incognito outfit.
“Yes...,” He said finally. “But I fear I'm not too fond of the tale anymore.”
“Oh? Why not...?” Frey's voice trailed off when she saw his face. He wasn't listening to her anymore, and she didn't want to bother him with the question.
Arthur's eyes looked dark and haunted, his lips trembling. If not for the hollow dryness his eyes contained, she would have thought he was about to cry. Frey could feel a bead of nervous sweat rolling down the back of her neck, and fretted about, not knowing what to do. Still Arthur stood, staring deep into a memory she could not see.
*~*~*
“Arrrrrrtieeeeeee!” A sweet, high-pitched voice sang out his name and giggled. He could just barely make out who was calling him, and he almost wanted to ignore them. But the sugary-sweet sound of her voice shook him from his groggy doze, and he sat bolt upright in his desk.
“Noir,” He greeted the girl and stretched, stifling a yawn. “What brings you here?” He asked sleepily.
“Um, I came to see you, dummy!” Noir laughed. She perched her elbows on top of his desk and rested her head on the palms of her hands, looking up at him expectantly. Arthur yawned again, fogging up his glasses. Noir giggled.
“Oh, hush, you. I just woke up.” He frantically wiped the fog away from his glasses.
“I hate these things...,” He muttered under his breath.
“Whaaaaat? No!” Noir whined. “They're so adorable on you, Artie! You can't hate them. You are adorable, which means your glasses are adorable. And I love adorable things, which means I love yo-!” Noir clapped her hands to her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that just yet. Color rose to her cheeks until finally, her she looked like a raspberry with a blue stem for hair on top.
Arthur blinked, and backed out of his desk chair. “I didn't realize you icy folk were so quick to admit your feelings.” He winked at her.
“Oh, hush, you.” She mimicked his own words from only a moment before.
Noir was an ice fairy. Far from rare, she was their queen, and the only one of her kind left. The rest of her race had died in a war between the humans and the monsters. Thinking that the ice fairies were also dangerous monsters, the humans burned her kingdom down while she was away. When Noir came back to her village, Arthur's father captured her and brought her back to the castle. He apologized for her loss, and admitted that it was his fault for mistaking them for monsters instead of human-like creatures, such as elves and dwarves.
But because her home was burned to the ground, and she had nowhere else to go, Arthur had offered to take her into the castle to live with them. She had agreed, and the two young adults had formed a fast friendship.
“Noir, um...,” Arthur hesitated. She narrowed her eyes and flapped her sky blue wings. It wasn't like him to pause or stutter.
“Spit it out, Artie.” She brushed her curly, icy blue hair off of her shoulder and revealed her deep sea colored dress. It was embellished with pure white snowflakes that sparkled blue in the light, and ended in a similarly colored miniskirt. She had a baby blue scarf as a belt, complete with a large crystal in the shape of yet another snowflake. Everything about her outfit screamed “Ice Fairy”, from her ice-blue, laced thigh-high boots all the way to her crystal blue eyes.
“Um...,” Arthur stuttered, taking in her beauty for a second. Even though he had known her for three years now, he thought he would never be able to get over how stunning she looked to him. Noir tapped a foot impatiently and glared, and the prince was reminded that she wasn't this nice to everyone all of the time.
When he had first met her, Noir would barely make conversation, and when he tried, she would brush him off coldly. She would greet anyone who approached her with sarcasm and glares, never getting friendly or even attempting to be nice to people. It was only after Arthur had found a surviving Ice Fairy and nursed her back to health that Noir had finally opened up to him. He had worried when the Fairy took a turn for the worse and succumbed to her sickness, but Noir was only nicer to him afterwards. Arthur soon found out that he was the only one she treated this way, and he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope for the girl he had crushed on for so long.
“I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me,” He said finally.
“Hmm... Depends,” She answered vaguely. She crossed her arms and turned on her heel, waiting for him to continue.
“I wanted to take you to the cave outside of Selphia.”
“Selphia?” She turned to face him. “Isn't that the farming village?”
“Yes.”
“Why are we going to a cave?”
“It's a special cave.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“No.” She raised one skeptical eyebrow and puffed out her cheeks.
“Fine, I suppose. If I have to.” Arthur smiled. He could see right through that.
*~*~*
“So what's so special about this cave?” Noir huddled closer to him and rested her hand in his, feeling a bit intimidated by the cave looming ahead of them.
“It's where couples come to confess their love,” He answered simply.
“WHAT?” Noir shrieked, her face growing bright red again. Arthur laughed and continued into the mouth of the cave. He led her to the very back of the cavern, which was only about five or six feet in. Water dripped down from the cave ceiling, causing an eerie dripping noise that made Noir anxious.
“See these hand prints?” Arthur asked, putting a hand against the damp rock wall.
“Yes,” She said, staring at the imprints of many human hands. It looked as if they had painted their hands black and placed them on the wall in some sort of ceremony.
“Legend says that a long time ago, people in love used to come to this cave and paint their hands black. They would put their hands right next to each other, and then come out of the cave and carve their names on a huge stone rock.”
“Interesting...” A low rumbling noise made Noir jump. Her uneasy feeling was only getting worse. But Arthur appeared not to have noticed.
“So... I wanted to ask you something here.” He began to fidget, and so did she. But Noir was fidgeting for an entirely different reason than he; she could feel the ground shaking.
“Noir... will you marry me?” He turned to look at her, his face full of hope.
But hers wasn't the expression he was looking for. Her eyes were wide with fear, tears forming at their corners.
“No,” She said, and shoved him, hard.
Arthur, being so light and thin, went flying with the force she had pushed him with. He skidded across the cave floor and landed just outside of the mouth, sending a cloud of dust and sand everywhere. Arthur feebly raised himself by his elbows, trying to sit upwards. When he finally was able to get up, he was stunned. Why had she pushed him?
“Noir!” He called, whipping around and facing the cave. But Noir was not there. And neither was the cave.
The cave had collapsed behind him. Rocks lay strewn about everywhere, and it was an amazement that he hadn't been hit by one. A thick layer of dust covered the air until about a foot above the ground. And Noir?
She had saved him. She hadn't said no to deny his love. She had loved him just as much as he had her. She had heard the rumblings that he had ignored. She knew what was coming and did what she could to save his body and his heart. But what she had done only hurt him more. He wished he could be the corpse lying underneath the tons of sharp rock. Not Noir. Anyone but Noir. His Noir.
Arthur felt nothing. He couldn't bring himself to feel. He couldn't cry. Couldn't shout. He couldn't even bring himself to desperately dig through the tunnel in a fruitless effort to save her. Because he knew she was long gone. His precious Noir had been taken from him, right before his very eyes.
And so Arthur did the only thing that his shattered heart would allow him to do. He stood up, his eyes hollow and empty, and clambered over to the large stone slab in front of the cave, as lifelessly as the corpse that lay crushed under tons of stone.
*~*~*
“Arthur?” Frey called his name for what seemed like the thousandth time.
“Oh, Frey. I'm sorry,” He laughed feebly. She gave him a concerned look.
“It's just... You remind me so much of her.” Frey blinked, and wondered if she should tell Jones that a regular physical wasn't the only thing Arthur was going to need.
“Please tell Dr. Jones I will see him tomorrow. I have to report back to my client.” And with that, the gallant prince left her, dazed and confused.
“Uh. Okay,” She said to him, but he was long gone. Frey made to leave the cave site, but something caught her attention.
The stone that he had pointed out to her a few moments before. It seemed to glow in the light of the setting sun, almost as if it wanted her to look at it again. Her curiosity piqued, Frey kneeled down in front of the rock and examined it a little more carefully than before.
Among the many, many names whittled into the slab, she found Jones and his wife's names. Frey smiled. But something else drew her attention away from those names. In the direct center of the rock were the biggest, fanciest letters on the rock, written in a handwriting she recognized from somewhere, but could not pinpoint exactly where from.
“Arthur and Noir,” She read aloud to herself. “Huh. And it seems like something else is written next to these two names... it’s a different handwriting though… 'Yes'. Yes? That's not a name. Weird.”
Frey left Latula's Cave, her mind buzzing with questions about the names written. Surely that hadn't been the Arthur she knew. Oh well, she thought, and could only grin at the idea of one day coming here with him and carving their own names in the stone.
"At least I hope so…" He muttered under his breath.
Holding up his staff, Skye began to charge up as much magic as he could muster into the mystical object, and let it go full force once he was done. The magical discharged slammed into the chimera full force, and it let out a mighty roar of defeat before balls of light started to explode around the beast and it vanished back to the Forest of Beginnings.
Skye let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t actually think he had in him to take down something like that, although Frey did all the work. His attention shifted to the northern end of the room where a glowing orb and a small, silver treasure chest lie.
The young man paced over to the loot with a smile plastered on his face and mentally gave himself a pat on the back for a job well done.
"Here, Frey, this is all yours." He kicked the chest and it slid across the floor, landing at the princess’ feet.
'You've definitely earned it.'
The thief took the orb in his hands and stared at it, the intense power it gave off sending a shiver down his spine. Small, ghostly, plant-like creatures seemed to emanate of the glowing ball and fly around it with grins glued to their faces.
'Runies.' He clarified to himself. He’d done a bit of research on the area along with it’s lore and customs before coming here.
The ghostly creatures held a great responsibility in this land; they brought life to plants and creatures in the surrounding area. In other words, this tiny sphere appeared to play a great part in this places ecosystem. Of course, he was no expert. Still, he’d make the mistake of taking something important to a land before, and it didn’t end well.
Skye sighed again, this time in irritation and defeat. “I can’t take this.” He decided after mulling it over with himself for a moment.
Frey stood up and dusted off her skirt before putting away her spear. "Nicely done," She said without looking up, a hint of admiration in her voice. He had done very well against the high level Chimera, especially since she guessed he hadn't fought many monsters before.
A silver and blue treasure chest skidded across the floor, stopping just before the toes of her boots. "What? But I thought this is what you came for?" Frey picked up the box and looked at him and the box in puzzlement.
"You should keep this. You wanted it, and- Hold the Telecommunicator. Is that-?" Frey watched as the glowing white Runies appeared from the orb and hovered above the silver haired boy, vanishing in seconds, just like fireflies. "-A Rune Sphere?" Frey whispered, looking at the glowing orb silently, a thousand thoughts buzzing around in her head.
This tiny little orb could save her friend, she knew, but right now it was in the hands of a treasure hunter. Two halves battled within the princess- one arguing that Skye had probably worked very hard to find the Rune Sphere, and the other relentlessly worrying about her friend's welfare.
After a moment of internal turmoil, Frey finally decided- she needed to get that Rune Sphere, no matter what. She would just have to strike a deal with Skye. But then he sighed, and she blinked, coming out of her thoughts and back into reality.
"You- really?" Frey couldn't hold back her surprise. "But I thought... At least take the chest, then."
Skye took a battle stance and pulled out the staff Frey had lent him out of his bag. He wasn’t one for one-on-one combat, but he was quick on his feet and not too bad of a shot. The thief pounced to the side as a ball of fire came his way, and related with a magical discharge from his Friendly Rod. It didn’t do much damage, but hey, staffs usually didn’t.
The Chimera turned its attention towards Skye and whipped it’s snake tail towards him, barely missing biting into his neck. He put his hand over where the demonic serpent tail would have sunk its teeth, and swallowed harshly.
"YAH!" The warrior princess shrieked, plunging her trident deep into the oblivious Chimera's neck. It yowled in pain and thrashed about, rolling onto its back repeatedly in an effort to shake her off.
Frey allowed one hand to slip off of the trident's handle and dug inside her rucksack for her magic. When her fingers grazed the spine of the book she had been looking for, she whipped it out and tossed it high above her. Four balls of light appeared around monster and girl both, sending a shock through the Chimera's body. Frey heard another sharp yelp from underneath her before the monster's body went limp. She knew her spell had worked, but she dared not let go of her trident- the monster could very well be faking its own paralysis. Instead, she called out, "Skye! Do you think you can finish it?"
Skye stared at the young woman, admiring every move she made while fighting the treacherous monsters that inherited the the watery ruins. She really was incredible, doing all this while running and town and a farm. Saying he was impressed would be an understatement.
"Skye?" She asked, snapping him out of his daze.
"Hm? Oh, uh… Left." He answered, and looked down the corridor.
Skye’s eyes narrowed, as the sunlight burned into his face, attempting to see what his companion was referring to.
'What the heck is that? A lion?'
The cat like figure lowered itself to the ground, and it was only then that he understand what was going on.
"Shit." He cursed to himself and pushed Frey to the side, just as she had done to him on several occasions. A blast of water whirred by their heads, a bit of the spray getting them both slightly wet, but other than that there was no harm done.
"Hey!" She shouted in protest, not liking being shoved away. She blinked, and then realized he had done so for a reason. "Sorry," Frey muttered, rubbing the water out of her eyes.
"Get ready to fight!" The now slightly drenched princess yelled, readying her trident. With a mighty roar, the lion-like monster leaped at her, claws unsheathed. Frey also let out her mighty battle cry as she leaped in front of it, aiming to hit it squarely on the back of its neck. The green haired princess flashed a cocky grin before landing her spear in the monster's fur. And then it was gone.
She stood in the middle of the ruined balcony, looking around herself in puzzlement. A huge shadow stretched out on the floor before her. She felt her heart stop, and she whirled around as fast as she could, holding up her trident in hopes that she might kill the chimera before it killed her.
Skye stared at the young woman, admiring every move she made while fighting the treacherous monsters that inherited the the watery ruins. She really was incredible, doing all this while running and town and a farm. Saying he was impressed would be an understatement.
"Skye?" She asked, snapping him out of his daze.
"Hm? Oh, uh… Left." He answered, and looked down the corridor.
Frey marched on ahead happily, watching for monsters and keeping a careful eye on Skye, ensuring that he wouldn't get hurt. The princess batted away monsters with ease as the two made their way down the destroyed hallway, past a room swarmed with Tortas, and finally to a small hallway where part of the stairs were in ruins.
Frey winced at the sight of the huge pillar collapsed on top of the stairs. It looked stable enough for them to walk across, and if they succeeded, she could see a doorway illuminated by the sunlight outside. Hopefully that would be where the treasure he was looking for would be.
She took one last look at the pillar before saying, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?" and hoisting herself up on top of it. She sprinted to the other end of the pillar, not looking back or down for a second, or even stopping. Frey launched herself off of the crumbled ends of the column, and landed on the stone floor, sending up little dust clouds.
"I think there's something over there," She called, pointing to the archway with light pouring out of it. She squinted against the sun, trying to make out what was on the other side of the door, but the only thing she could see was a small, round shadow on the ground.
The duo stood in front of the crumbling temple. The monsters weren’t overly difficult and didn’t pose much of a threat- for Frey anyway- so the trip there only lasted an hour or an hour and a half.
Skye turned the the princess, “Are you doing alright?”
She nodded enthusiastically, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "Yeah! Let's go in!"
Three goblins stood in front of a monolith, anticipating their arrival. Without hesitation, Frey dashed forward, hacking and slicing away with her twin blades. In a mere minute, she had sent all three monsters back to the Forest of Beginnings. She stood in front of the stone, not moving an inch, but looking around warily.
A whirring noise came from behind the monolith, and a large Tortas came spinning at her at full speed. The princess dodged with ease since she was prepared this time, and the monster slammed into the ruins wall behind her. She switched out her dual blades for her beloved Trident. "YAH!" Frey shrieked, stabbing the large tortoise before it could recover.
A beam of light came from the monster's body, signaling its return to the Forest. Frey stood up straight and relaxed her arms, releasing the tension in her body. She turned to face Skye. "Well. Shall we continue?" She smiled. "Which path do you think we should take first?" Frey asked, looking around at the three different routes they could take.
Mercenary? She had never thought of herself as one, but the word did seem to fit her since she was always running around doing odd jobs. "You could call me that. But I rarely ever charge anyone."
Frey placed the baskets gently within her rucksack and pulled her trident out. She cracked her knuckles and flexed her wrists before taking off for the main gate of the town. When she reached the stone archway, she swiveled around on her foot and faced him. "The ruins are this way. Ready when you are!"
'Well this is just great.' He thought irritably to himself. At this point he was better off just buying a weapon; stealing one felt like too much work.
"Do you have a weapons dealing or something around here? I came unarmed."
She nodded. "We have a blacksmith around that way." Frey pointed her thumb over her shoulder to show the steps leading to the blacksmith's shop and the doctor's home. "But honestly, some of his weapons can be preeeetty expensive."
"You'd probably be better off taking one of my extra swords," Frey said with a shrug. "Or," She added, a mischievous glint in her eye, "I could come with you so you won't have to bother fighting monsters and getting hurt."
"Well, the level of danger really depends on where you go. For the ruins, it won't be that tough, but for someone who's not properly equipped, it could be tough." Frey put a thoughtful finger to her lips and paused. "I'd say there's going to be a Cluckadoodle here or there, maybe a Buffamoo, and if you're really unlucky, a Tortas. Those monsters are annoying." She shuddered involuntarily as she recalled her last encounter with a Tortas- it had hit her when she was off guard and she had been thrown face first into a pile of rocks. It had taken quite a few potions to heal that wound.
"So yeah, the monsters in that area aren't tough, they're just irritating."
Tony nodded then watched her heading back to the castle.
As she disappeared, he decided to wonder around the foyer to explore for a while. Thoughts were clouding his head. Living in the castle would be his first experience.
"If my father ever live in a place like this," He wondered to himself, "He’d never leave."
He suddenly jumped when he heard a familiar voice.
"Here you are! I've got a fresh meal for you here," She said, laying down the plate on a nearby bench. Frey made sure that the many napkins she had placed on top to keep it from cooling were secure, and handed Tony a fork and knife. "The butlers said your room is ready to go, and they'll be sending some tea your way soon."
Frey paused, recalling her conversation with the castle servants. "There's a room ready for you to the left and down the hall. It's the very last door you'll see." The green haired farmer pointed in the direction of the hall and waved her hands in the air to show him the path. "I'll see you later, then. Sleep well!"
"No, to find something. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a treasure hunter." He laughed to himself internally. What a silly thing to call himself. "Miss Frey, you wouldn’t happy to know of any ruins around here would you?"
Now she really was intrigued. She had never met a treasure hunter before! Perhaps she could tag along with him, if he didn't mind too much.
"Actually, I do!" Frey said excitedly, her thirst for adventure getting the best of her. "They're not that far from town. But..." She paused, a grin spread across her face as a plan formed into her head. "It's really dangerous to go alone out there. You'd need special weapons."
