Ronnie Bell, the last of her family, had set out from Warrior's Village a year prior to this, for Lorimar Fortress. However, she had had second thoughts, and had instead spent the past year at Qlon Temple, doing a little soul-searching. Now, she was ready. She ignored the soldiers' cat-calls as she walked through the checkpoint between the Lorimar region and the Kunan region of the Empire. She had never left Lorimar, but was convinced she could make it on her own.
She walked through the northern gate, nodding to the guards, and continued on to her new life. It felt odd thinking of it that way. But that's what it was... a new beginning. The horizon opened up before her, revealing countryside she had never gazed upon before. She walked further north, checking the points on her map she had gotten from the monks at Qlon. Ronnie wasn't so foolish as to blindly travel without knowing where she was. However, as she stood and double-checked her map, she wasn't paying attention to everything around her. That was why, when a burly man charged at her from the bushes, she was caught off guard.
"Give me your valuables!" he said, holding her in a headlock. Ronnie, however, wasn't about to give up the only valuables she held--the swords--to THIS buffoon. She bit his arm, hard. He yelped in pain and let her go, swearing as he jumped around. Ronnie knew she should have taken that opportunity to run for it, but there was something about this guy that made her stop. He had a big, beefy build, and untidy brown hair. This could have been anyone, however---it was the jumping and the cursing that really made her think.
"...Do I know you?" she asked, throwing caution to the wind.
"Huh??" the ruffian spat, looking up at her like she had eight heads. Most of the people he mugged probably didn't strike up conversations with him, after all. His puzzled face gave it away.
"Biggs?"
He peered at her closely. "......Ronnie?"
"Biggs Amell! It is you!" she exclaimed.
"...er, sorry. I don't know anyone by that name." he said in an extremely rehearsed, fake voice.
"You fat liar." she said bluntly.
"Well, at least I know it's you, Ronnie." he said. "But my name's Biggs Amoeba now."
"What kind of half-assed--" she began, but cut herself off. She was so happy to see someone familiar, she didn't want to make him mad. Biggs whatever-his-name-was-now.
"Where have you been?" Ronnie asked. "It's been...six years, hasn't it?"
"Six long years..." Biggs sighed. "I dunno...I've been traveling around the Empire a bit. Ran out of money, and some guys in Teien taught me the bandit trade."
"Bandit 'trade'? Don't bandits just rob people and all that?" Ronnie inquired. Biggs shrugged.
"That's about the size of it. I'm normally one of the best, but, er, you caught me on an off day."
"Of course I did." she said with a smirk.
"So, what brings you up north? I'd figure you long since married by now..." Biggs put in.
"......" Ronnie suddenly felt cold. Biggs, evidently, was not up to speed. "...he..." she choked out.
"Hmm?"
"Tristan...he's dead, Biggs..." she said. There was a gigantic lump in her throat. But she told herself not to cry. Not in front of Biggs. He'd never respect her again. Can't cry.
"What??" Biggs gasped.
"...and...and my f-father, too...and my m-m-mother..." She was losing it, fast.
"Oh my god....was the village attacked?! When...how did it happen, Ronnie?" Biggs stammered.
"N-no...they went out on the manhood journey...n-never came back. M-mom died...a year later." Ronnie said.
"...how could that happen...? Tristan was the best. He was the best...! And your father...no one could ever..." Biggs said, stunned.
"They died...two years ago. Mom, one year. I just left...t-to start over." Ronnie said. Biggs seemed to note the swords Ronnie was carrying for the first time.
"Oh god...I'm sorry, Ronnie..." he said, moving to embrace her. She pushed him away.
"It's...it's okay. Once I find out what happened to them, I can...I can avenge them. Then everything will be all right again." Ronnie said, unsure if she really believed it herself.
"Hmmm...why don't you come with me, Ronnie?" he said suddenly.
"What? Come with you? To where?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter...! We can go anywhere you want to. I'm sure you'll pick up the trail somewhere. Besides, I know this area pretty well now. You'll need some kind of guide." he said eagerly. Ronnie grew suspicious. This, after all, was the same Biggs who offered her 'the best spot' while tree-climbing just so he could peek up her dress.
"What's the catch?" she asked.
"Ronnie, I don't believe you. I'm just trying to help, and you think I have some kind of ulterior motive?!!" he said, angry. "Forget it, then." He stomped away towards the north.
"Wait, wait, Biggs!" Ronnie said, running after him. "I'm sorry, all right? Lead on, or whatever."
"Ye-eah!" he said, pumping his arms in some kind of adolescent victory pose. He dashed off, acting like some sort of experienced adventurer. Ronnie hoped he knew what he was doing.
"Biggs, Biggs! I have a good map, do you want it?" Ronnie called.
"Maps are for sissies!" he called back. It was hard to believe he was actually twenty-one...he still seemed like that immature, fifteen-year-old idiot that ran away from Warrior's Village. And in some ways, he still was. Ronnie didn't feel reassured.
******
The next year passed before Ronnie even knew it---making it three years since her family's disappearance, and two since her mother's death. It was still hard, and it was only getting harder instead of easier as time went on with no hint of what had happened. Now, however, she had something to take her mind off it.
Biggs, apparently, had joined a horde of rowdy bandits near Rikon Village, and now made a living off of other folks' wealth. Ronnie really knew no special skills that she could use to get herself a job. Women in Warrior's Village really never learned how to do many things aside from cook and clean and the like. She had, however, learned a great deal about battle and the ways of combat from Tristan and her father, though she was not allowed to do so by the village.
What else had there been for her but to become a bandit of sorts, as well? She found herself following Biggs and his friends around the Kunan area that stretched from the western mountains of the Dragon Knightdom to the eastern fortress of Garan, and from the Northern Checkpoint to Lorimar Fortress. Though, she didn't really find their company all that appealing.
It was on a fateful night, when Biggs and his friend Dern invited her to accompany them to Antei City, that her life was to be changed once again.
******
Antei was the biggest city in the Kunan region, and over the years it had come to be known as the gambling capital of the Empire. Money flowed like water through the huge casinos in the north end of the city. The south side, the old district, remained much as it was before the addition of all the casinos, but the north was where the action was at. And that was where Biggs, Dern, and Ronnie were headed.
Ronnie herself had only been to Antei once before in her life, and that was briefly during the year she had spent with Dern's band. She still hadn't seen the casinos, but Biggs sure seemed eager to get there, because of the great amounts of cash that gamblers and nobles alike carried on them.
"You're gonna like this, Ronnie," Biggs gushed, "It's like taking candy from a baby in some of these casinos. We've made such a haul here before!" Dern elbowed him, winking.
"And remember those dancers, eh? Heh heh..." he chuckled.
"I sure do!" Biggs said, grinning wickedly. Ronnie knew if they kept up with this topic, she would probably end up hearing things about Biggs and 'those dancers' that she had no desire to hear.
"Your MOTHER was a dancer from Antei, Biggs. Don't you find that a little disturbing? After all, one of the dancers you're drooling over could be, like, a friend of hers." Ronnie said. The desired effect was achieved, and evidently she had taken the wind out of Biggs' sails, as he didn't say anything else. He merely stared at the ground as they walked.
The three of them walked through the South District, where quaint general stores and inns lined the streets, along with quiet little homes. As they passed by these dwellings, one house in particular gave Ronnie a very, very odd feeling in her gut. She looked over--nothing was out of place, seemingly. It was a completely ordinary home, made of wood that had been painted blue, with neat little shutters and a flower garden out front that seemed to have fallen into disrepair. Ronnie stopped and stared, unable to shake the feeling that the house meant something.
"What are you looking at?" asked Dern.
"Oh, nothing...er...well, just that house. It creeps me out--do you know who lives there?" Ronnie said, feeling foolish.
"How should we---" Biggs blurted.
"Just some guy named Ralloric. Lives alone, as far as I know--doesn't come out much. But he's okay. Why?" Dern asked. Ronnie, feeling much like an idiot by now, shrugged it off.
"Never mind..." she said.
"C'mon, let's go..." Biggs said, resuming down the road. Ronnie nodded, and made to continue, but for a split second she thought she saw someone in a yellow robe in the alley between the houses. She blinked, and there was nothing.
"I...must be coming down with something." she reasoned, running after Dern and Biggs.
******
The north district of Antei was crawling with gamblers as usual when they reached it. And filled to the brim with 'suckers', as Biggs so eloquently put it. Tall casinos towered over them, and loud music emanated in the streets from within. They weren't really there to gamble, of course--but evidently, they weren't all there to pick pockets, either, as Dern told them.
"I'll be at the 'Red Rabbit', Biggs. I'll catch up with you guys later." Dern said, eagerly heading off. The Red Rabbit Casino was one of the more seedy establishments in Antei, which of course meant it had the greatest number of sleazy dancers in various stages of undress.
"All right. I might, heh, join ya there later, though." Biggs called after him. Ronnie kicked him. She wasn't in a particularly fine mood, for some reason.
"Hey, now!" Biggs said. "Maybe you need some alcohol or something. Shall we hit the casinos? C'mon!" Ronnie nodded halfheartedly. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling from down the road.
"Ronnie! Ronnie!" came a man's voice. Ronnie's heart leapt. She turned, just to see a man run down the street and sweep a young, dark-haired girl off her feet.
"Veronica! I've come back, love!" he gushed.
"Oh, Archie! I've waited forever, I thought you'd never get leave to come back!" cooed the dark-haired woman, Veronica. He kissed her romantically and produced a boquet of flowers, which he lovingly handed her.
Ronnie's hopes were crushed. She had almost thought...
It's not fair. There's no one left for me to love in this world...why did you have to leave?
Suddenly, like a flash flood, Ronnie just burst into tears. She sank down to her knees on the side of the road, sobbing. She hadn't realized how much she missed Tristan. She missed the warm smiles, the intimacy, the laughter. She missed being held.
"Ron, what's the matter?" Biggs said, puzzled. "We don't have to go to the casinos if you don't want to..." Ronnie shook her head.
"That's not it..." she said. "I...I miss them, Biggs. I feel so alone..." Biggs knelt next to her, unsure of what to do.
"Er...ah...no...it's, like...gonna be fine...yeah." Biggs said, sort of half-heartedly patting her on the head. "Me an'...the guys...are here for ya..." Ronnie managed a laugh.
"The 'guys' don't care about me whatsoever, and I can't stand them. But I appreciate your thought, Biggs..." Ronnie said, seeming to get her composure back. She stood up, slowly, and wiped away her tears.
"...if you wanted, I could kiss ya." Biggs said. Ronnie gazed at him oddly. Was this another joke of his? Where was the catch?
"I mean it." Biggs said. Ronnie almost said yes. She almost did. But something stopped her.
"...no...no, I couldn't. It would feel wrong..." Ronnie said.
"...aah..." Biggs said. If Ronnie had known better, she would have seen that Biggs seemed slightly hurt when he said that, but she wasn't paying attention.
"I...I think I'm fine, now...I just had a breakdown for some reason. But now it just makes me want to find out what happened to Tristan and Dad even more." Ronnie said.
"So...to the casinos, then?" Biggs said eagerly. "There's loot galore a-waitin'!"
"No thanks. I think I'll just go have a drink by myself. You can still go to the casinos, if you want." Ronnie said. Biggs nodded, and ran off towards the large buildings. Of course he wanted to go pick the pockets of the rich. After all, Biggs didn't have the luck to win at games like Chinchirorin, so he figured he may as well steal from those who did. She wasn't surprised.
******
Ronnie trudged up to one of the more well-kept-looking establishments in the casino district: The 'Singing Do-Re-Mi Elf' Tavern. She walked inside the aged building, where, to her surprise, there actually WAS a Do-Re-Mi Elf singing up on a small stage that was the focal point of the bar. Do-Re-Mi Elves were odd folk indeed---not quite Gnomes, not quite real Elves, but somewhere in between. They rarely came down out of wherever it was they hid up north, mostly in the forests of Jowston. But here one was, in the Empire. Singing.
It was a female Do-Re-Mi Elf, clad in a small, child-sized pink robe and a matching pointed cap in the style of gnomes. They were rather small and looked like chubby children, almost, and this one was no exception. The red hair that poked out from underneath her cap was tied in two pigtails, one on each side of her face. Ronnie had never actually seen one of them before, especially not in such a place as Antei, but she tried to keep herself from gawking rudely.
She took a seat at the bar, and ordered herself a drink. Seeing how Biggs had grown up around his alcoholic father, Ronnie wasn't a big fan of drinking, but she felt like it that night.
She looked around the tavern, which wasn't very full, it seemed. There was the singing elf, a crusty-looking bartender, a young man in his late teens with spiky blond hair with a scarf tied around it, and a despondent fellow in the corner who was keeping to himself.
"Haven't seen you around here before..." the blond guy said. "You come here often??"
"No, I've never been." Ronnie replied.
"Mmm." the blond said. "Where ya from, then?"
"The south." she answered vaguely.
"Ah." he said, sipping his drink, which appeared to be water.
The silence was filled with nothing but the clinking of a few glasses being cleaned by the bartender and the melodius voice of the tiny elf. This, even was disrupted by the loud sound of someone entering the bar. He looked young, surely a teenager--even younger than the blond next to Ronnie. He had short, jet black hair, a handsome face with a too-confident smile, and gaudy gold-colored armor that had been polished to a perfectly blinding sheen. There was a long sword at his side, but everything seemed too large for this guy. He swaggered up to the blond man and Ronnie, and whistled. Loudly.
"Hi there, baby...what say you and I go out for a night on the town, eh?" He made a gesture to the elf, certainly finding his own humor clever, "We could make beautiful 'music' together." Ronnie stared at him.
"Are...you talking to me?" she asked.
"Of course, baby." he replied.
"Well, stop it then. And don't call me 'baby'." Ronnie snapped. She wasn't in the mood for some idiot's sexual advances. To her surprise the blond man responded.
"Leave her alone, Jaoullin..." he said. The dark-haired man in golden armor frowned.
"Quit crampin' my style." he said, turning to Ronnie again. "I'm sorry, baby, but your beauty has captivated me! I am a prisoner...of your heart!" Ronnie had had enough. She turned, smiled sweetly, and punched his lights out.
Jaoullin stumbled backwards and fell, knocking over a chair. Ronnie grinned satisfactorily and turned back to her drink. The man called Jaoullin, who honestly reminded Ronnie of Tristan a bit, the way he looked, got to his feet, holding one hand over his eye.
"Scotch! She just---" he gasped.
"You deserved it, Jaoullin." Scotch said, shrugging.
"This babe--er, chick...that is, girl...uh..." Jaoullin said.
"Woman." Scotch put in.
"Right, woman. She packs a punch! What's your name?" the armored teen asked, incredulous. Ronnie scowled.
"This better not be another pick-up line. It's Ronnie." she said.
"Ronnie. I'm Jaoullin and this is Scotch!" Jaoullin proclaimed. "And I have to say, I'm more turned on by you now than ever!" Scotch groaned. Ronnie smiled again.
"Does that mean you'd like me to do it again?" she asked, balling up her fist.
"Uh, no..." he clarified.
"Excuse him, would ya?" the blond man called Scotch said. "His libido does his thinking for him sometimes." Ronnie nodded.
"If he's so desperate, why doesn't he just go to the Red Rabbit, where there might be bimbos brainless enough to actually ACCEPT his advances? Plus, they're mostly topless there anyway, he'd have less to do." Ronnie said distastefully.
"He tried already. Won't let him in. He's seventeen, I'm nineteen. Doesn't check out." Scotch said, cracking a smile. Having had a few drinks, Ronnie was starting to feel more adventurous, and in the mood for some fun as well.
"You know...I'm twenty-one...I could get you in..." she said nonchalantly, sipping her drink. Jaoullin's eyes widened.
"You'd DO that??" he asked eagerly. She nodded. He high-fived Scotch.
"This is gonna be great! Let's go right now!" he cried, hopping up and running out the door. Scotch followed. Ronnie grinned to herself---she was sure in the mood for some pocket-picking now, and as Biggs often said, she had two 'suckers' ready to pluck.
******
Being the low-down establishment that it was, the Red Rabbit did not usually receive visitors of any importance at all. Thus, the doorman was very much surprised when royalty came knocking.
"Excuse me." Ronnie said haughtily. She was dressed as she normally would dress, with the exception of a silver 'circlet' in her red hair that she had fashioned by bending a thin strip of metal. Standing behind her were Scotch and Jaoullin, their faces shrouded by thick cowls from the matching cloaks they now wore.
"Yes?" the doorman said, unconcerned.
"I have a reservation, if you please. I am Queen Calatia of the Mountain Kingdom of Dorlodia, and I demand passage into your establishment." she said. The doorman quirked an eyebrow.
"...Queen, you say??"
"How dare you! Questioning ME! The very idea!!" Ronnie raged, feigning anger. "If you will not admit the Queen of Dorlodia...!" She trailed off, implying that in doing such a thing, they would face eternal consequences. The doorman hurriedly checked his list of reservations, but came up empty.
"I..I'm sorry, Your High...er, Majesty..? But...you don't appear to be on our list..." he said. Ronnie made ready to explode. "However!!! Er...please, enter, anyway, with our greatest apologies. I'm sure whoever is responsible will be punished."
"That will not be necessary." Ronnie said, heading into the door. The doorman, however, stopped Scotch and Jaoullin.
"Waaait, who are you two? You can't just---"
"Excuse me, have you not caused enough trouble for me? Please allow my manslaves, Hotep and Motep, to enter. I demand it." Ronnie snapped at the guard. The doorman paled and allowed the two shrouded 'manslaves' to enter.
"Y-yes, Queen Calatia..." he murmured.
Inside the dimly lit building, the three found a table somewhere to the left of the large stage upon which mostly naked women pranced sleazily, leaving little to the imagination. The whoops and hollers coming from the men seated around the room affirmed the fact that the sleaziness bothered absolutely no one, however.
No one, except Ronnie, of course. She moved her gaze to Scotch and Jaoullin, who had removed their cloaks. She had to find where they kept their cash, so she could rob them blind! However, she couldn't see any obvious place for cash, unless they happened to be sitting on it. Which meant she couldn't rob them blind until one of them stood up.
"Er...Jaoullin, is it? Would you mind...getting me a drink?" she said. Jaoullin looked at her uncertainly.
"Ahem. MANSLAVE MOTEP, please get me something, okay? They won't question your age. And if you hurry, you can still drool over these dancers if that's what you wanna do." Jaoullin nodded blankly, still staring up at the bouncing dancers. He got out of his seat, somehow stumbled over to the bar without blinking, and returned, drink in hand. However, he had gone with such speed that Ronnie had had no chance to grab anything of any kind from him. And now that she thought of it, there was really no place in the back of his armor to stick anything like a coin pouch. She would have to try Scotch.
The hours dragged on by...one, then two. Unfortunately for Ronnie, she had yet failed to steal a thing, and as the night dragged on she was getting more and more alcohol in her--not a good thing. In those days, she had yet to establish much of a tolerance for the thing, and was getting really smashed.
"Hehehehe..." she giggled, sipping her drink.
"This place is great, isn't it, Ronnie?" Jaoullin said.
"Sure, sure..." she mumbled. Scotch glanced at her.
"How many drinks...have you had??" he asked. Ronnie shrugged.
"Maybe it's time for you to go, eh?" Jaoullin said. Neither of them had been drinking at all, just because Ronnie had forbidden it. Sure, she would smuggle the underage bozos into this joint---she didn't see much wrong with giving those guys a little peep show of the dancers if she got their wallets---but she wasn't dealing with any of them once they were drunk. Teenagers were one thing, but drunk teenagers were another altogether.
"I guess..." Ronnie said. She pushed her chair back and made ready to get up.
"I can help you there..." Scotch offered.
"No thanks, I'll...manage...by myself..." Ronnie insisted.
"Well, if you're leaving," Jaoullin said slyly, "You'll never see us again. How about one kiss to remember me by?"
At this point, Ronnie thought, it didn't sound that bad. He was a handsome fellow, and what was one kiss?
"One, then." she said, smirking semi-reluctantly. Jaoullin stood up, leaned close to her (she was taller than he, though) and pressed his lips against hers.
Just one kiss.
******
Ronnie woke up the next morning, in a skanky local hotel, with a throbbing headache and little memory of the previous night.
Seeing the unclothed form of Jaoullin asleep next to her, however, brought to mind vivid images of wild, drunken sex.
"Oh my GOD! What the hell have I DONE?!" she cried, sitting up suddenly in bed. She, apparently, was clad in only the sheets she was laying in. She looked around the room, where her own clothing was mixed with his strewn about on the floor.
Was I really that drunk?! she wondered. She could remember bits and pieces of it, more as she thought about it, but still. She usually didn't put down her guard like that. Hastily she sprang from the creaky bed and began to dress herself. She pulled on her dress and was trying to find her other boot when Jaoullin stirred. He awoke, and sat up, with a large grin on his face.
"Leaving? After all the FUN we had last night?" he said in a naughty tone of voice. Ronnie blinked.
"With me half out of it, it couldn't have been too much fun, I'm sure." she said, unsure of what to say to him. He grinned wider, if possible.
"You kiddin'? That was fantastic. And, heh, you must've been enough in it to make it enjoyable..." he chuckled. There was something about the look on his face that bothered her immensely.
"All right, what is it?" she snapped. "Something about that smile tells me you would have enjoyed it had I been asleep, you little pervert." Jaoullin shrugged innocently.
"I don't know about that, but I see nothing wrong with what happened this time. After all, I don't have anything to compare it to..." he said. Ronnie paled, as realization sank in.
Great. Not only did I make a drunk ASS of myself, but I was also the means for some horny teenager to lose his virginity. Nice way to make a name for yourself, Ronnie. "RONNIE BELL, SLUT EXTRAORDINAIRE, ON EXHIBIT TONIGHT..." Dammit.
Well, she would make one thing sure. No one would EVER hear of this. She stormed over to Jaoullin with death in her eyes, and he shrank back, wondering what he had said wrong.
"Er, did I mention you were really sexy and stuff...?" Jaoullin said, attempting to appease whatever had pissed her off. She leaned down right in his face.
"No, and that's just the point. You never will. This never happened, understand?? If you EVER say ONE word about this incident...I'll..." Ronnie said, raising the hand that had her Hate Rune attached to it. "I'll personally burn them OFF." Jaoullin cringed and nodded timidly.
"Good. Then I think we should head our seperate ways, and that will be that." Ronnie said, satisfied. She grabbed her boot and pulled it on, and retrieved her hairpin from the nightstand.
"W-wait." Jaoullin said. "Y'know, you got kinda sloppy last night in your technique." Ronnie turned on him.
"EXCUSE ME??" she bellowed.
"N-no, not like that!" he amended quickly. "I meant with you trying to get our money. At first I thought you were just drunk and tryin' to get a piece of my ass--" Ronnie grimaced.
"Hardly..."
"Anyway, then Scotch realized what you were up to. But I'm sure if you hadn't been drunk, you woulda nailed us---honestly, I was so engrossed in those dancers that you coulda waved my wallet in my face and still taken it." Jaoullin continued.
"What's your point?" Ronnie said.
"My point is, we're in the same business as you are, and we could really use your help." he proposed. Ronnie shook her head.
"Oh no...I'm not falling into this. You may have caught me red-handed, but nonetheless I'm in this area for a reason. I have personal matters to clear up, and I want answers." she declared.
"But really, it's not far--just a small band up in Senan, they could use some extra hands. And besides...all the really RICH people live up in Senan---in sprawling mansions, with more money than you can imagine! Won't you at least consider it?" Jaoullin offered.
Ronnie thought about it. There were no guarantees that this 'band' he spoke of wasn't worse than Dern's, but then again, riches like that...
"Well...I might. I'll have to see what it's like, no guarantees though." Ronnie said. Jaoullin cheered.
"All right! You won't regret it, I promise." he said.
"Is that friend of yours in this band as well?" she inquired.
"Scotch? Oh, sure. He's the one who got me into it. My friend and I joined, along with Scotch. It's run by this dwarf guy and his friend, Master Ratasa-sasa. It's...not very successful so far, but we haven't been in it long. It'll look up---especially with you in it!" Jaoullin explained. Ronnie nodded.
"I suppose it'll have to do. It sounds...interesting, though. I have heard a bit about the nobles in Senan and their money." Ronnie said. She glanced at Jaoullin. "Now get dressed, and hurry. I don't want to risk being seen with you like this." She averted her gaze while he pulled on his underclothing and his armor---sure, it was evidently nothing she hadn't seen the previous night, but she was sure as heck not going to watch him dress anyway. For one, he'd get ideas.
******
Ronnie and Jaoullin tried to walk out of the hotel as discreetly as possible. Seemingly, they had been unnoticed coming in. She slipped out into the streets of Antei, and he followed at a distance.
However, one person had seen them go in, to Ronnie's dismay.
"So. I see how it is." Biggs Amoeba said, walking up to her with a frown on his face.
"See what, Biggs?" she asked uncertainly.
"So, you won't even give me a kiss, yet you would go fuck this guy all night, huh?" he spat. She stopped, stunned. Then she slapped him across the face, hard.
"H-how dare you, Biggs! What I do with myself is none of your business!" she sputtered, furious. Biggs glared.
"Not a good time for romance, you say. Don't want to mess with Tristan's memory, it won't feel right, you say. You're nothing more than a hypocrite, Ronnie Bell." Biggs said. At that moment, Ronnie wanted to do nothing more than knock his lights out, and she almost did. But...he had a point. She felt as if she had betrayed Tristan, though it was never her intention. And finally, she realized that some of the things she had done might have hurt Biggs more than a little.
"I...I...won't say I didn't intend to. But I made a mistake. And, I regret it, no matter what you may say. But from now on, Biggs AMOEBA, mind your own damn business." Ronnie said.
"You won't have to worry about that. I sure as hell won't be following YOU around any longer." Biggs snapped.
"Fine. I'm going north, as it is." she said.
"Fine." he said, agnry. He stormed off into the crowd, and it was the last she saw of him for a long time. She turned around, looking for Jaoullin, and saw him waiting over by the entrance to "The Singing Do-Re-Mi Elf". He at least had the decency to let her work out her private matters without him listening in on it, although he probably got the gist of it from over there.
Ronnie walked over to the teen, who would one day call himself the 'Sunshine Knight', and sighed.
"You'd better be right about this." she said.
"Of course I am! It's gonna be great!" he replied confidently. Scotch came out of the tavern, carrying Ronnie's pack that contained her father's sword, and Tristan's.
"Oh, hi...you were pretty smashed last night, and you left this at the Red Rabbit." he said. He handed it to her, and she grabbed it gratefully.
"Thank you...you have no idea what these mean to me." she said. Scotch smiled, and nodded.
"I can tell they're important to you." he said. She nodded. Scotch, he seemed all right. Ronnie had a feeling they'd get along well together. And he seemed to be able to keep Jaoullin in line.
"Ronnie is going to come to back to Senan with us, Scotch..." Jaoullin said, barely containing his excitement. Scotch looked surprised at first, but then somehow as if he had expected it all along.
"Really, now? I'm looking forward to it, then." he said. Ronnie smiled, a rare thing for her in those days, it seemed like.
"Let's go, then. To the north!" Ronnie said, getting to like the idea of going to Senan more and more now.
"Yeah, with you along, what could go wrong?" Jaoullin said cheerfully.
Ronnie had no idea what she was in for, but from that moment on, her life was changed...forever.
