This is a work of original fiction. All characters and the storyline belong to me, so don't nick them! And if you like it, feel free to email me and tell me, at death2disney@hotmail.com, because I need encouragement on my original stories. Also, you can never go wrong with a bit of ego stroking, right? ^_^
- Koneko.

A/N: My job is killing me, I have to get up at 5am, six days a week... Meh. Not really impressed with *that*, on the whole. But, it's money, right? And that means I can spend it all on the complete opposite of what my mum would like me to spend it on, yay! That means I'll be buying as much anime/manga junk as I can get my little hands on, and bouncing off the walls waiting for it to arrive. I'm not the most patient person. ANYway, back to something with a point. Yes. As I've already mentioned, this is original fiction, which is a big change for me because I'm used to writing fanfiction. The characters are mine, and this is a Yuri story. It's pretty much the first Yuri I've ever written, so go easy on me, right? And for those who don't know, Yuri means girl/girl romance. Give it a try, you never know, you might like it! This is also meant to be a romantic comedy type thing, with possibly a smidge of angst and me making fun of the typical Dungeons and Dragons type quest fairytales. I like them, I've just watched way too many of that stuff this weekend, so I have to mock. Mocking is fun. ^_^
Added Note: Kinmel is a hall, I think. I just liked the way it sounded. And it's spelt differently.

What a World - Prologue.

Well, hello there Druis, how's things? I swear, this horse is the devil. His name is Druis, as you might have already twigged, and he hates me. I wouldn't mind so much if I weren't the bloody stable hand, which means I have to take care of the overgrown pony and clean up after him every damned day. He's lord Kinmel's favourite horse, a big, black, evil looking thing that's about three times the size of every other horse in this stable. There are only three more, actually, but that's not the point. The horse is Satan himself. Sort of fits the lord, really. That guy has some issues. I don't really see him much, thank you God, but when I do he's usually a pretty nasty guy. I pity whoever has to marry that son of a bitch. I heard he's engaged to some poor girl from way far east of here, and she's arriving tomorrow. Lovely, another load of stupid horses for me to babysit. These animals are about as dumb as they come, honestly. 
Oops, haven't introduced myself yet, have I? Where *are* my manners? Do I even have any? My name is Luka, and that's it. No surname, no parents, no particular address, and no worries. And as you probably guessed, this makes me ideal 'quest' material. I'm one of those busty, hands-on, fiery redhead types who can handle a sword and drinks like there's no tomorrow every chance I get. You wouldn't believe the amount of knights, pickpockets and loveable rogues I have to fight off. Every five minutes I get some guy in armour asking me if I'll join his little band of companions to fight a dragon or save a princess or slay some wicked lord or something. The excuses I have to make up to get out of doing it... Sorry, my goldfish died this morning and I'm really not feeling up to it. My horse has the plague. I'm allergic to elves. Yeah, you get the idea. I should start wearing frilly dresses and draw some spots on my face, ever notice that they never pick really ugly people to go on magical, mystical quests to save the world? Well there's no chance they're dragging me on one of those things, no way, no how. I mean, can you imagine it? I know it sounds like fun in the fairytales and songs and things, but I'll bet being there is a whole different story. Firstly, sleeping in a forest beside a campfire is *not* fun in the slightest, it's cold, damp and dwarves *always* snore. Fighting bad guys is *dangerous*, too. You can actually get yourself killed doing that, you know. And then they'd expect you to fall in love with some thief (since the princess always gets the knight), and he'd be forever stealing things. That'd get annoying after a while. Or he'd learn the error of his ways, and never drink, gamble or smoke ever again. That'd get annoying too. So no, no questing for me. I'm staying right here. I have a steady job looking after these stupid horses, and the loft is a nice, dry place to sleep. I get paid enough that I ain't complaining, and I can afford to know half the bartenders in this town on a first name basis. I'm doing quite well for myself, really. 
Now, back to the horses again. Druis is one grumpy bastard, did I mention that? He tends to take pot shots at me with those bloody great hooves of his, and I tell you, if you get hit by one of those things it'll do more than bruise. I've seen him break a guy's ribs with one kick, and he wasn't even trying. He bites, too, and with teeth like his you could lose a finger. I have this really weird crescent-shaped scar on the back of my left hand from not paying attention when I was putting his nosebag on. That hurt like a bitch, by the way.
The three other horses in here are Mala, who's a bit ditzy and has this huge crush on Druis, Silu, who's either deaf or just likes to ignore me, and Tor, who's a big, old carthorse and is pretty friendly unless you catch him when he's just woken up, in which case he gets grumpy until you give him his sugar. I think he likes Silu, but I'm not really sure... What? Horses can fall in love, what's wrong with that? You should have seen Druis smirking at Mala when he kicked that poor guy in the ribs. I swear she was blushing like a schoolgirl, as well. 
Anyway, enough chatter, got work to do and ugly horses to scrub down. Ugh...

* * *

Luka walked down the cobbled street after finishing up with the horses, dodging the crowds and cursing Druis, who she was stubbornly blaming for the fact that she'd stubbed her toe. In her opinion that horse was bad luck, or possibly a mass murderer in a past life. Either way, they had a hate/hate relationship. Her earnings for the day jangling in her pocket, she was heading for the nearest bar through the warm twilight streets of South Sea city to get as drunk as she possibly could, and hopefully find a nice hot meal to go with the ale. Never good to drink on an empty stomach, she reminded herself sternly. Bad things happen when one does that. Such as waking up half drowned on the beach just outside the city walls, covered in seaweed and late for work, with no shoes. Nope, not a good idea. 
"Miss!" A voice suddenly cried, and Luka jerked to a stop as someone grabbed her arm.
"What?" She growled, glaring at the adolescent young man in monk's robes clinging to her. "If you want money go bug someone else. Mine is already allocated to the 'getting me drunk' fund."
The little monk shook his head, greasy blonde hair flying from side to side, and looked pleadingly up at her. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. She wasn't exactly tall herself, and he had to look up just to talk to her.
"Miss, is your name Luka?" He asked in a voice that kept breaking due to the fact that he was half way through puberty and struggling to finish.
"Is this about a quest, by any chance?" Luka asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes! How did you know?! You must be Luka!!" He sounded pleased.
"Nope, you got the wrong person. Try the other side of town." She told him, shrugging helplessly.
"Oh, but it must be you, it has to be! The future of the *whole world* could depend on it!" He gasped, taking her hand and clinging annoyingly to it. "And look!! You even have the sacred birth mark of the moon!" He pointed excitedly to the scar on her hand. Luka groaned. Bloody questers.
"Look, guy, that's not a birthmark. It's a scar. I got bitten by a pissed-off horse, right? And I'm not Luka. I'm someone completely different who doesn't even know her. But I'll tell you what, there's this barmaid on the other side of the city with even redder hair than mine, and *her* name might be Luka. She has a crossbow and everything. Really!" Luka yanked back her hand and patted the monk on the shoulder. "Now I have to go, because I'm already on a quest. I have to save the magical fairy princess from the nasty lord... erm... Steve. And my frien-er-*companions* are waiting for me at yonder tavern. And we have an enchanted sword, and an elf with a longbow, and *two* talking cats. So sorry, I'm all booked up for the next few months. Bye!" Luka spared him a quick grin, then hurried off before he could complain. 
"Druis, I blame you for this." She muttered, scowling in the direction of the castle stables as she jogged up to the bar. The crooked sign outside said 'the Red Dragon'. Luka wondered why they didn't get that sign fixed. Then again, all fairytale inns had crooked signs, so they'd probably lose customers if it were straight. What a world, she thought with a smirk.

TBC

That was just a short likkle prologue. Any good so far? I have no idea if my original fiction is any good or not, and posting it is making me really nervous. So yes, email me at death2disney@hotmail.com and tell me what you thought so far. The next bit should be out soon, hopefully. That is, if everyone doesn't tell me this sucks and I should give up now... ^_^;;