Tales, Takes, and Dreams of Gaboria

After talking with Alec about various things involving the Rebellion RP, I was inspired to start writing some oneshots about the RP, and its predecessor. This is all to really get me prepared to write the actual books, since I’ve been planning for a long time to make a book version of the Heirs/Rebellion RPs. If you’re apart of the Rebellion RP and would like to see one of your characters featured in a oneshot of mine, don’t hesitate to ask! And I will always ask for the creator’s permission before featuring any of their characters here. Now, onto the first story!

This little idea came about when, for some strange reason, I started to become fascinated about the idea of a C.C./Katie pairing, which is just plain wrong for so many reasons. After talking it out with Alec, we thought that the following situation was really the only likely possibility in which these two could get together. Hope you enjoy it! More oneshots will follow, each one dealing with different scenarios and characters. If you also want to make a request, feel free to do so.

Also, this oneshot doesn’t fit into the main continuity of Rebellion, but is more a speculative AU sorta thing. Just so you all know.

Disclaimer: The RP character ‘Katie’ does not belong to me, but Alec has given me permission to write her for these oneshots and for the book series. ‘C.C.’ does belong to me, however. The original idea of the Heirs/Rebellion RPs belongs to AI, but he has also given me permission to use the setting in these oneshots and in the book series. With that said, onto the story!

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A pounding headache and a foggy mind were the first things that greeted young Katherine (or Katie, as she was most commonly called) as she stirred from her slumber. The young girl opened her eyes and winced at the sunlight streaming through the tent. Katie gently rose up into a sitting position and tried to make sense of her jumbled memories. What had happened last night? Where was she? Why was her head pounding so damn hard? And….and why was she naked?

Katie noted that last question with dull concern as she looked down at her uncovered chest and saw her bare upper body. The dull concern soon shifted into panicked worry as Katie looked around for her nightgown. Where was it? She couldn’t see it anywhere nearby, and she never went to sleep without it on. Had she forgotten to put it on? But….that didn’t make any sense. She would never forget something like that, especially since Nell slept in the same tent with her and C.C. So why hadn’t she worn them last night?

As Katie shifted her legs through the covers, her right foot bumped into something warm. Her eyes traced the object she had bumped into to the source, which turned out to be an equally naked C.C. The Mage herself still appeared to be asleep, with most of the covers off of her. Katie lightly blushed at her friend’s sprawled body and forced herself to look away.

What the hell was going on here? C.C. was naked too, which was just as weird. C.C. never went to sleep without some clothes on either. And…and where was Nell? Katie’s eyes traveled over to the pallet reserved for her boyfriend. It was earlier in the morning, from what she could tell. Why wasn’t he here either?

Then she remembered.

The events of the day before came back to Katie all at once. Fleeting images passed before her eyes, each a snippet of the day that had just passed. Cries of fear and anger and pain. People, a mixture of the soldiers they had traveled with and people Katie could not recognize, lying on the ground, dead and dying. Running, crying, and hiding. Faces of people Katie had never seen before, all of varying races, holding menacing weapons and shouting battle cries. And there was C.C., battling alongside the living soldiers, trying to push back the…bandits.

That was right. Bandits. Bandits had ambushed them yesterday, while traveling to the city of Koen. They had emerged from the forests and struck with amazing ferocity and speed, catching everyone off balance. Many people had died in the initial attack before the soldiers went into action. C.C. had helped lead the charge, but not before telling her and Nell to go hide. They had quickly complied and Katie had led Nell over to some nearby bushes to hide out until the whole thing was over.

And then….

Katie choked back a sob as she remembered what occurred next. It all happened so fast…C.C. had fallen down after being stabbed by a bandit’s blade, massive amounts of blood pouring from the wound. She had bolted from the bushes immediately to help her fallen friend. Nell had rushed off with her without thinking. Then…then…

A big, burly Kaleesh bandit had come up to them, ready to take off their heads. Nell had pushed her aside and leapt with surprising strength toward the bandit. Nell’s canine side had taken over as he and the bandit tumbled to the ground, biting and clawing at the Kaleesh man as they tumbled. The bandit had kicked off Nell, and then the bandit picked up his sword and proceeded to…

Tears trailed down her face as Katie remembered what followed. Nell….Nell had died protecting her. The Kaleesh had stepped him in the chest after he regained his footing. In her rage, Katie had lashed out with the only aggressive spell C.C. had taught her, and sucked the life out of the bandit. After he crumbled to the ground Katie had rushed over to Nell and knelt beside him, desperately trying to heal his wounds. But the sword had nicked one of his arteries, and there was so much blood…

By the time C.C. could come over to help her, it was too late. Nell was already dead.

Everything became fuzzy after that. Katie could only barely remember what followed that terrible event. The next thing she could clearly remember, though, was getting drunk. Katie had gotten some of the liquor C.C. and the soldiers had brought, and ended up drinking a lot of it. Why, Katie couldn’t quite remember. But Nell’s death had hurt so much…the pain had been so intense. She wanted some sort of escape from it all, and there was plenty of alcohol going around after what happened last evening.

But…how had this happened? Why were she and C.C. naked? What happened after Katie had gotten drunk?

“Are you…alright, Katie?” C.C. asked attentively, now apparently awake. The Mage sat up and laid a hand on Katie’s shoulder.

Katie remembered again.

After getting drunk, she had gone to C.C. and sought comfort from her. Katie had cried her heart out as she had spoken to C.C., now not really remembering what she had said in the first place. The Mage had spoken soothing words to her, like any mother would for their child, and Katie had continued to sob. C.C. kissed her forehead and rubbed her back, continuing with her kind words. And….

Katie’s eyes widened as the memories came back. The kissing and the hugging had led to more….much, much more. C.C.’s hands ended up roaming to other areas, her kisses stopped being so motherly, and…Katie had not resisted. The young girl had let the Mage do what she wanted with no interference, and they had ended up making love.

“Katie?” C.C. asked again, gently squeezing her friend’s shoulder. Katie snapped out of her reverie and nodded at her.

“Y-Yeah. I’ll be…fine.” Katie managed to choke out. C.C. crawled over beside her and leaned against her. Katie flinched a little and looked away.

“You’re sure? I mean…with all that had happened last night…” C.C. began.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Katie assured, though doubt crept into her tone. Frankly, Katie wasn’t what she should be feeling about this, right now. It was all so…confusing. It was hard to believe this had even happened in the first place. But, whether or not Katie liked it, the fact was that she and C.C. had done something last night that would forever change their relationship.

Slowly, Katie started to feel a range of emotions swell up inside her: anger, disgust, resentment, and more feelings than she could count.

“K-Katie, I’m…I’m sorry.” C.C. awkwardly said. “About what happened, I…crossed a line that I shouldn’t have crossed. I, I was drunk too. I know that doesn’t excuse my actions, but….I’m so sorry, Katie. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

For the longest time, Katie simply remained silent as she processed all of this. In the meantime, the emotions she was feeling began to grow stronger within her. The anger she felt at C.C. and the disgust she felt with herself began to rage inside her. How…how could she had let this all happen?! C.C. was supposed to be her guardian, her mentor, and nothing more! They certainly were never meant to do this…Katie didn’t even like girls like that! Not to mention she thought of C.C. like a mother, or an older sister. And family never did things like this…

“Katie…” C.C. began again. As the Mage touched her shoulder again, Katie finally reacted.

“What the hell, C.C.?! I only wanted your comfort, but you ended up taking advantage of me! I trusted you…why did you do that!?” Katie then slapped the Mage forcefully as tears streamed down her cheek. C.C. blinked in surprise and touched her now stinging cheek. She reached out for Katie, but the girl scooted away from her and scowled back at C.C.

“Katie, I…”

“Shut up!” Katie interrupted. C.C. winced at her harsh tone and attempted to reach for Katie. The girl batted away her hand fiercely.

"Don't come near me!"

C.C. flinched again and held back the tears that threatened to spill out because of Katie’s harsh words. Katie turned away from her former friend and continued her sobbing.

Nell was dead, and the bond between her and C.C. would never recover from this. Dimly, through her crying, Katie would briefly what would happen after all this. She didn’t know, but one thing was certain:

Nothing would ever be the same again.

Aww. Poor Katie. That was really good Magus.

I want to request something, but what? Hm...how about Sunny returning to her village as a girl. Idk.

Thank you, Toko. I'll consider that request. It might be interesting.

Awesome, Magus! Can you try writing something with Nebi one day?

Wow, that was really well-written Magus. I can't wait to see more of these one-shots.

Thanks, AI and CS! I probably will write one with Nebi eventually, though I have no idea what about right now.

Here’s another oneshot, this one dealing with my character Caesar, and Alec’s character Rhys. I hope you all enjoy it! And thanks for Alec for helping me with this oneshot.

Disclaimer: ….the first one basically applies, only with minor variations. Yeah, I’m that lazy.

Now, onto the story!

WARNING: This oneshot is rated M for gore and disturbing images. You have been warned.

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The first thing that greeted Rhys as he awoke from his deep sleep was the deep, searing pain all over his body. The Captain of the Royal Guard grunted in pain for a moment before he gritted his teeth and tried to get through the waves of agony that assaulted him. He tried to reach his hands up so he could find the wound on his temple leaking out the blood he felt, but his arms only reached halfway. Rhys heard the clattering of chains and looked down, noticing his bound limbs. A primal fear filled Rhys as he desperately looked around, wounding where he was. The fog he felt inside his head slowly began to clear away, and Rhys started to piece together what had happened.

Caesar, he had…confronted the madman. That was right. The Humage had been foolish enough to enter the capital. A brutal murder with his name scrawled across the victim’s chest had gotten their attention. Empress Tsuba had sent him and a few other soldiers to go search the area for him, see if there were any traces of Caesar left. They had arrived, but the area had strangely been empty. By the time Rhys had realized it had been a trap, it was too late. Caesar had sprung from the shadows, viciously attacking and killing his men in a matter of seconds before Rhys himself was knocked unconscious.

That had been…two days ago, now. Or had it been three, or maybe even a longer amount of time had passed? Rhys himself couldn’t tell. Wherever he was, it was always dark and damp. A basement of some kind, he theorized, or a dungeon, but it didn’t really matter where he was or how much time had passed. Since his capture, Caesar had been endlessly torturing him, for his ‘unjustified’ murder of Susanna two years ago. Though Rhys had no doubt in his mind that Caesar would have done this eventually, whether or not he had ended up killing Susanna. The Humage was a sadistic monster, after all. No doubt he got his sick thrills from doing things like this.

Truthfully, Rhys knew it was only a matter of time until something like this happened. He was surprised that Caesar had held off doing this for so long. But it did sadden him to some degree that it wasn’t Katie and C.C. doing this instead. After all, they were much more justified in doing this. Not to mention it’d only be fitting that they would be the ones to end him, after what he’d done. Rhys still believed that their had been no other option, but he still regretted his actions. To some extent, at least.

“Ah, so my little prisoner is awake again. Good morning, Rhys. How did we sleep tonight?” Caesar cackled as he stepped into Rhys’ view. The captain glared contemptuously at his captor, but said nothing in return. He had refused to speak to Caesar the past two (or three?) days, and he wouldn’t speak now, no matter how much the crazed man goaded him. Caesar’s expression flickered into a scowl for a moment, but swiftly changed into a wide smile.

“What? Cat got your tongue, my friend? Oh come now, I’m sure you must be dying to speak. I haven’t cut your tongue out for a reason, you know. Come on, aren’t you going to try and justify what you did to my Susanna? Aren’t you going to say you were doing the right thing?” Caesar’s voice rose a degree with each sentence he finished, almost yelling at Rhys as he finished his speech. Rhys managed to keep up a stoic façade through the berating. He would not give this beast the satisfaction of getting any type of reply out of him.

“Talk!” Caesar lashed out with his right fist and hit Rhys in the jaw. He felt his head violently collide with the wall behind him, and Rhys blacked out for a moment. When he came to the captain groaned from the throbbing pains his head was now giving him, and from the pain he felt in his jaw. Through the suffering Rhys noted that he felt something on his tongue. A tooth knocked loose from Caesar’s fist, Rhys hazily concluded. Any other thoughts were pushed aside as he felt a stabbing pain in his side. The captain glanced down to see a dagger emerging from his bleeding hip.

“I will make you talk, Rhys! I’ve had it with you! You will scream my name; beg for mercy when I’m through with you! You will pay for all you’ve done!” Caesar raised his weapon to strike his captive in the chest, but froze. The Humage took a few shaky breaths and appeared to calm down.

“No, no, no. I can’t rush through this. No, no, I have to have fun! Ah, that’s the spirit! Yes, you must suffer before I’m finished with you. In fact…yes, why not? I can’t just have you chained to the wall without any way to defend yourself. I have to have a challenge! Here.”

Caesar snapped his fingers and the chains holding Rhys to the wall disappeared. With that support gone, Rhys crumbled to the floor before he could catch himself. He heard the loud rattle of a weapon and looked up to see a sword just a few feet away from him.

“Come on now, get up, get up! Be a man, Rhys, and take that sword! Try to kill me, I dare you! Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up being lucky and you’ll actually kill me.” Caesar laughed as he drew a sword of his own to fight with. Rhys managed to get himself up on his feet, but did not take the sword. It was obvious that Caesar only wanted them to fight so he could get even more sick pleasure out of this. Besides that fact, he was above stooping to Caesar’s level.

Caesar visibly shook with rage once he knew that Rhys would not play along. “Fine! Be a stubborn old mule! I’ll have my fun anyway!”

With that said, Caesar swung his blade and slice through Rhys’ left arm, just below his elbow. Rhys cried out with pain and clutched at the bleeding stump, before tumbling to the ground from a delivered kick from his foe. Caesar picked him up with magic and tossed him to the other side of the room. The captain crashed headfirst into the wall and fell to the ground again. He struggled to get through the great quantities of pain he felt and got up on one knee. The vile Humage proceeded to cut off that limb, and made two shallow cuts into his back.

When Rhys fell this time, he did not even attempt to get up and just cried out from the agony that battered him.

“That’s right!” Caesar cackled with glee. “Scream for me, Rhys! Scream like you’ve never screamed before! It’s music to my ears!”

A sharp kick to the ribs forced Rhys to roll over on his back and shouted again when pierced his stomach. Rhys coughed up blood and pitifully tried to crawl away, only to stop once his right hand was penetrated through the palm. Though strangely, Rhys did not feel any more pain. In fact, he was becoming quite…cold, actually.

As his vision began to darken, Rhys turned his head to look at Caesar one last time. Caesar was nowhere to be found, though, and in his place were Katie and C.C., each armed with blood stained swords. Rhys tried to speak but no words came to him, and his vision continued to dim and he grew number with each passing second…

So, this is how it ends. Rhys thinks with his last conscious thought. It is only fit

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Rhys drew in a sharp intake of breath as his eyes flashed open, and he bolted upright from his bed. Rhys quickly checked himself over, but did not find any of the wounds he had had.

“So…it was only a dream….” The captain murmured to himself as he grew calmer. He gave out a sigh a moment later.

“I wish it hadn’t been.”

Awesome. It's a nice insight in Rhys' character. And I can help you with Nebi you want.

That was pretty epic Magus. I like it. If you need help with Sunny you can ask. XD

That was really intense. And pretty dang awesome. I thought it really brought insight to Rhys' character as well. I'm looking forward to more of these, Magus. Great job.

Time once again for another oneshot! This one involves Alec’s character Kegan, and my favorite character Rein. Probably the happiest couple in the Rebellion RP right now, no doubt. I decided to do a change of pace and write a light-hearted oneshot this time around. The next one may deal with my character Maul, though I’m not sure yet.

Thanks for the compliments, you three. I’ll consider the offers, Toko and AI. In fact, writing a oneshot with Sunny going back to her village/town, as a woman, might be interesting if I do it right. Once I decide to get around to doing Sunny, I’ll contact you, Toko. Ditto, AI. In fact, I think it might be intriguing if I wrote a oneshot dealing with Nebi’s past, of which we’ve seen little of. Mind if I take a few liberties with that, AI? Just to give you fair warning, the Nebi I write for this thread may end up being a bit different from yours. I was planning on revamping his character a little in the book series, if you do not mind.

This oneshot involves the anniversary date Rein and Kegan wanted to have, but couldn’t do because they were captured. Alec mentioned that Faris might let them go during their stay in the second month, so long as Atiya, Syrien, and Brighe stayed behind. So I decided to use that idea. Thanks for the idea, Alec!

Now, onto the story!

DISCLAIMER: ….same one as before applies. I am still lazy.

WARNING: Some parts of this chapter are rated M, mostly because of the teenage hormones Rein and Kegan can barely keep at bay. Otherwise, the rest of this chapter is rated K-T. You have been warned.

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“You ready yet, Rein?” Kegan asked as he looked over his shoulder to see his fiancé. He smiled a little at the sight of Rein’s bare back as she changed, and let his eyes start to roam downwards.

“Don’t worry, I’m almost ready Kegan. And you better not be looking!” Rein chided as she started to slip on her dress. Kegan smiled once more and reluctantly tore away from the pleasant view of Rein’s backside.

"Don't worry about that, Rein. ....Why don't you want me looking at you though? I mean, I have seen every inch of your body by now." The Half-Elf replied.

“Because I want to surprise you, Kegan!” Rein said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, every time you see me I’m wearing my plain looking clothes. I want to look pretty for you, not to mention it was pretty hard getting this dress in the first place! Now just be patient, please, honey. It won’t take much longer now. I just hope I still fit into this thing…”

“You’ll look beautiful to me no matter what you wear, Rein.” Kegan assured her with a chuckle. “And you’ll fit into that thing, too. It’s not that noticeable yet.”

“Right, now I know you’re lying to me. It’s completely noticeable, Kegan.” Rein retorted. “There, now you can look.”

Kegan turned around and smiled at the sight before him. Rein was now clad in a simple light blue dress that reached to her knees, and Kegan noted that she had some new shoes on as well. Other than the slight bulge in the dress given off by her stomach, Rein looked absolutely perfect in his eyes. And even that minor detail wasn’t much of a problem.

“You look beautiful, Rein. Perfect, even. You’re as gorgeous as ever.” Kegan said with a bright grin.

“Yeah, sure.” Rein responded in a disbelieving tone. Kegan leaned down and kissed the Humage on her cheek.

“Hey now, you’re perfectly fine, alright? You’re beautiful to me, Rein, and that’s all that should matter, ok? It wouldn’t matter if you even looked like Baruti, you’d still be pretty to me.”

Rein finally smiled back at him and nodded. She held out a hand to him. “Ok. Thanks, Kegan. I’m ready to go now. Shall we leave?”

“Of course.” Kegan took Rein’s hand and led them out the door. They walked down the hall and over to where Faris and his men stood at the end of the hall.

“I hope you and Rein have a pleasant time, Lord Kegan. My men shall lead you to Felin, and will pick you up outside of the city at the appointed location in four hours. I trust that will be enough time for the both of you.” Faris said. Kegan nodded briefly to the rebel leader and allowed the soldiers to lead the both of them to the carriage they would be taking.

The journey to the city of Felin was didn’t take to long, to Kegan’s relief, and soon he and Rein were off to do as they pleased. Excluding, of course, leaving the rebels behind and trying to escape off to another city. Not like they would ever do something like that, of course. Atiya and their guardians were still behind at with Faris and Valen, and they could never leave them behind.

Once they left the soldiers behind, he and Rein entered the city. Kegan grabbed his fiancé’s hand and led her through the streets. The female Humage gave him a curious look but didn’t really question him. Kegan was sort of glad about that, since he also wanted to surprise Rein. Ever since they had found out they could go into Felin, he had been spending what time he could spare planning out this anniversary date.

“So, where to first, Kegan?” Rein inquired once they reached the city.

“You’ll see.”

Rein gave him another questioning glance, but Kegan ignored it. As they turned the street and came up to a nice outdoor restaurant, the Half-Elf turned around to face her.

“Rein, remember our first date? ….Never mind, that was a stupid question. Of course you remember. Well, after thinking about it, I decided I wanted to recreate it. It can’t be exact to the last detail, of course, but considering how badly our first date ended…well, I decided that we should try that again. So we can have a better experience this time. Only if you want to, of course.” Kegan said a little nervously. Rein beamed at him and nodded her head vigorously.

“Of course! I’d be glad to, Kegan.”

“Great.” He said with a relieved sigh. He took Rein’s hand again and led her to the restaurant. He walked over to the nearest person he could find, a Dwarf, and nodded politely to the man.

“Excuse me, sir? Do you know where the nearest waiter is?”

“Oh, I’m a waiter sir. How can I help you sir?” the Dwarf asked and grinned, showing a row of rotten teeth. Kegan resisted the urge to grimace and kept up a polite face.

“Uh…aren’t you a little….never mind.” Kegan quickly said after noticing the warning look the Dwarf gave him. “A table for two, please.”

The Dwarf gave a curt nod. “Right this way, sir.”

Their waiter guided them toward a small table and, after a bit of a struggle with the chairs, managed to pull them out for the both of them. Kegan smiled courteously, as did Rein, and took his seat.

“So, what’ll the two of you have?” the Dwarf asked. Kegan took a brief look through the menu and ordered. Rein gave her’s a moment later, and the Dwarf went off.

“Um…isn’t he a little…” Rein wondered tentatively as she made a motion with her hands.

“Yeah…it’s probably best that we keep that thought to ourselves, though. Dwarves are known for their nasty tempers.” Kegan advised. Rein nodded and they waited patiently for their food and drinks. After a few minutes the Dwarf tottered back over to them, carefully balancing two full trays with his tiny hands. Kegan raised an eyebrow and stopped himself from chuckling a little at the sight before them.

“Uh, do you need a hand with that?” Rein asked. The Dwarf shook his head.

“No no, I don’t need any help, miss. Thanks for asking, though. I can get it.”

After nearly dropped the trays four times, the Dwarf managed to place the trays on their table without spilling anything. The waiter bowed once and wandered off to let them finish their meal in peace.

“Well, let’s dig in.” Kegan suggested and took a bite of his food. The meal itself was pretty good, Kegan noted, as he ate. The food they had shared in their first date had been better, of course (most restaurants in the capital used more varieties of spices and whatnot to make the food taste better), but it still wasn’t half-bad. Though he found himself getting distracted more than a few times, getting lost into Rein’s eyes as he stared at her. Likewise for her, Kegan also noticed with an amused grin.

Soon they finished their food, paid for it, and left to go continue their date. Kegan grabbed Rein’s hand once more and led her again through the city.

“You’re going to love where we’re going next. It’s one of the things Felin is most famous for.”

After a brisk walk, they arrived at their destination. Rein’s eyes sparkled with amazement as she beheld this new, wondrous sight. Before them stood a large, bountiful garden, with several sections of it actually floating mid-air. Beautiful flowers of all shapes, colors, and sizes could be seen in both the floating platforms and in the parts attached to the ground. If one looked closely, it seemed as if almost every type of known plant species in the land of Gaboria were located within this extraordinary garden.

“Isn’t this…?” Rein finally said a few minutes later, breathing out a contended sigh.

“Yes, it is.” Kegan finished for her. “An exact replica of the Floating Gardens in the Capital that we saw on our first date. It’s a bit of a smaller version, but otherwise it’s still the same. I was hoping you’d be able to appreciate this, Rein.”

“I…I love it, Kegan. Truthfully, I never thought I’d be able to see this with you again for a long, long time. It’s…wonderful. Thank you, Kegan.” Rein said with obvious joy. Kegan smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Kegan smiled over at her and said, “You’re welcome, Rein. Why don’t we go inside? We didn’t have the time to before, and lots of people come in here every day to have a picnic or something.”

Rein jumped at the suggestion. “Of course! I’d love to, Kegan. Come on, let’s go!”

The Humage took hold of Kegan’s arm and excitedly led him into the garden, much to Kegan’s amusement. Following nearly half an hour of viewing all the many beautiful flowers in the garden, Kegan suddenly grabbed Rein’s hand and winked conspiratorially at her and escorted her over to a secluded area in the Floating Garden. All of a sudden Kegan pulled his fiancé to him and kissed her on the lips rather fiercely. Rein blinked in surprise once before kissing him back at once and wrapped her arms around his back. Kegan than groped her, causing Rein to give out a shocked yelp. She pulled away from the kiss and darted her eyes around fretfully.

“K-Kegan, we shouldn’t. I mean, t-this is a public place…”

“Relax,” Kegan told her confidently. “We haven’t seen anyone come over here yet, and it’s not one of the garden’s most busy hours. We won’t be discovered. I promise. Besides, it’s been days since we had some time alone…”

“I, I don’t know. W-What if we’re heard?” Rein asked in a timid manner. Though one look into her eyes told Kegan she was already warming up to the idea.

“I already set up a type of bubble around the area. Sound can be heard in it, but not out of it. We’re completely safe.” Kegan said.

“You’re…you’re sure about this?”

“Positive, Rein.”

“….”

After a moment, no more (coherent) words were exchanged.

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“Well…that was unexpected. I didn’t think the bubble would be popped if we became too loud. Still, they didn’t have to chase us off. I’m sure things like that happen all the time…” Kegan commented once he and Rein, at last, stopped running. The Half-Elf leaned against the wall and took another gulp of air as he caught his breath.

Things had not gone according to plan, to say the least. Following the collapse of the field Kegan had set around them—he made a note to himself to make sure the next one could take a higher noise level—they had been discovered, and, subsequently chased away from the Floating Gardens. By the time they had gotten out of the garden most of their clothes had been on, so they had escaped with most of their dignity. Still, it had been an embarrassing situation, and it had been, without a single doubt, one of the worst moments they had ever had while dating. Not counting, of course, the time Rein nearly died in their first date. Nothing could really top that, though this was still a bad moment.

“I think the rest of our date shouldn’t be that bad, Rein. I’m really sorry about that.” Kegan apologized. He turned to her and gave Rein a remorseful smile. The smile soon fell after he noticed that Rein was on the verge of tears. Rein’s face scrunched up and she began to sniffle.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry about this, ok? I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m sorry Rein.” Kegan said in a soothing manner. Rein then burst into tears and cried into his shoulder. The Half-Elf stroked her hair in a gentle manner and went on to say some more comforting words as she sobbed. Five minutes later Rein’s crying subsided into sporadic sobs, and she finished her crying altogether after another minute passed.

“I-I’m sorry.” Rein said. “It was just so…what happened was so mortifying. W-We’ve never really been caught before, and…it was just so embarrassing! I didn’t m-mean to cry, but I couldn’t help it. Sorry, Kegan.”

“Hey, now. You don’t have to be apologetic for what you did, Rein. If anyone should be, it should me. I never meant for this to happen honey, and I am deeply sorry that you had to go through that. It’ll never happen again, ok?” Kegan guaranteed. Rein nodded gave a small nod.

“I-I’m ready to go, now. If you are.” Rein said.

“I am. Let’s go, then. I promise the rest of this date won’t be that bad.” Kegan brightly assured.

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And true to his word, the rest of their date wasn’t that bad, actually. For the next two hours Kegan and Rein walked around the town, taking in the sights and visiting other attractions in the city. They enjoyed their time greatly and would have stayed longer, but the duo reluctantly began to leave the city once their appointed four hours approached its end.

On their way out Kegan accidentally bumped into a tall and burly Kaleesh male, and quickly gave an apology. He hadn’t walked a single step before Kegan felt himself being pushed. The Half-Elf managed not to fall and whirled around to face the Kaleesh, who was now staring down at him.

“Yes?” Kegan asked in a tense voice, holding Rein’s hand protectively. The heavily built Kaleesh growled at him.

“You tried to steal my money, boy.” The man said in a menacing tone. Kegan gave him a confused look.

“I beg your pardon?” he asked.

“You bumped in to me, and tried to steal my money. One of the oldest trick in the book that pickpockets use.” The Kaleesh repeated. “And I will not let your attempted crime go unpunished. No one tries to steal from me!”

The Kaleesh took a threatening step toward them. Kegan pulled Rein behind him and held out one hand defensively.

“Hey now! I didn’t try to do that! I simply bumped into you by accident. I’m no thief. There’s no reason you should pick a fight with me.” Kegan warned. The Kaleesh male bared his teeth at him.

“You’re a thief and a liar! And I don’t like being lied to, either!” The Kaleesh made another move toward them and raised a fist.

“Stand. Down.” Kegan cautioned again with clenched teeth. He didn’t want to get into a fight with Rein around, but he wouldn’t let the guy push them around either.

Instead of replying the man swung a fist at Kegan. The young man pushed her out of the way and dodged the blow. Kegan lashed out with his leg and kicked his opponent in the chest. The Kaleesh grimaced and staggered backwards, but otherwise was unharmed. He charged again, fists swinging. Kegan simply toward a step back and jabbed the man in the left arm as he passed by. The Kaleesh crumbled to the ground without another word. Kegan blew out a light breath and strode back over to Rein.

“I hit a pressure point in his arm.” He explained before she could even ask. “I learned some useful stuff like that when I was on the run. Now come on, let’s go.”

“Look out Kegan!” Rein suddenly yelled.

Kegan turned around in time to see a fist heading straight for his head. The Half-Elf felt an immediate pain broke out in his head, and then darkness overtook him.

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“….Kegan? Kegan, are you ok? Kegan?”

The world slowly came back to Kegan Ekaitz, and the Heir groaned as he felt the throbbing his head gave off. With Rein’s help Kegan gently got back onto his feet. Kegan opened his eyes and looked around. The Kaleesh from before was back on the ground, moaning in pain and spitting obscenities at the both of them.

“What…happened?” Kegan asked as he rubbed his aching head. Rein blushed a little and looked away.

“I uh…I took care of him.”

“Huh?” Kegan snapped his head to Rein but winced at the pain that brought him. “You took care of him? How…?”

Rein blushed some more. “….Let’s just say he might not be able to have children, and leave it at that.”

“Ouch.” Kegan couldn’t help but give a sympathetic wince for the man. Rein’s face became a bit more flushed as she nodded her head.

“Come on, let’s go now. I’ll heal that headache of yours in the carriage.” Rein offered. Kegan nodded dimly and allowed her to lead them out of the city.

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Later that night Kegan gave a yawn as he took a seat on the bed in their shared room. Rein gave a yawn herself as she took a seat next to him. After a long day of working with Faris, Syrien, and Brighe it was finally night now, and he and Rein could get the well-deserved rest they needed.

“I sure am glad this day is over. No offense meant, of course, Rein. I did enjoy our date, even if it didn’t go exactly as planned.” Kegan said. Rein beamed at him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“It was fine, Kegan. Even if things didn’t go according to the plan, it was still a great date. And it certainly ended better than how our first did.” She joked. Kegan smiled a little and started to stroke her hair.

“I sure am glad Syrien agreed to watch Atiya for the day. I imagine it can’t really be an easy task for him, considering the bundle of energy she is. I’m even gladder that he also agreed to watch her tonight, too. Atiya is a great daughter and all, but…”

“We both do need our alone time.” Rein finished for him. “I agree with that. Otherwise, all our emotions would get pent up.”

“Yeah.”

A long time passed as the two leaned on each other and enjoyed the moment of peace. Rein then proceeded to get off of the bed and fumbled with her bag of clothes.

“Don’t look while I change, ok?” the Humage asked. Kegan rolled his eyes, but complied with her.

“Ok, you can look now.” Rein said once a few minutes went by. Kegan opened his eyes. He felt some color rush to his cheeks as he looked Rein over and felt his jaw drop a little. What Rein had on now…well, it could hardly be qualified as a proper piece of clothing, considering how much it didn’t cover. Rein blushed herself and did a little spin for Kegan.

“I had a hard time getting this, but it was worth it. I…well, I wanted to surprise you again, Kegan. I-I hope you like it.” Rein stated. Kegan nodded enthusiastically.

“It looks perfect on you, Rein. It makes you look even more lovely than before.” He said once his brain returned to him. Again, Kegan impulsively jumped up and kissed Rein. It only took her a second to kiss back, and soon the two fell back onto the bed, with Kegan on top of Rein. Minutes later they broke the kiss, both breathing very heavily.

“I-I love you, Kegan. Happy anniversary.”

“I love you too, Rein. Happy anniversary.”

No more words were spoken as the two continued their kiss.

---------------------------

Back in Syrien’s room, Atiya played with her dolls as she tried to ignore the loud noises coming down from the hall. After a little while the young girl turned to her grandfather.

“Grandpa?”

“Yes, Atiya?”

“Are Mommy and Daddy fighting another animal?”

“….Of course they are, Atiya. Yes, that’s what they’re doing.”

“Oh, ok. They must be fighting them pretty hard huh?”

“….That they are, Atiya. That they are.”

That was a sweet addition, Magus. I especially loved the end.

Awww. XD That was so cute and sweet. And Ok Magus about the Sunny thing. I look forward to it and the rest of your drabbles.

I really, really liked this one, Magus. XD The ending was especially great. You're such a good writer, and can really portray different moods and tones well. I'm looking forward to your next one-shots.

Time again for another oneshot! I originally planned this to be one about Nebi, but I couldn’t think of an idea for him right now. So I went with my second idea. This one involves Caesar! This oneshot shall be the start of a mini-series of sorts that explores Caesar’s past. And, just so you all know, this oneshot will run with the idea that I have considered using for Caesar: that the other personalities do not exist, and that there always has been and always will be only Sai, who later changed his name to Caesar.

Thanks for all the compliments, you guys. Now, onto the show!

DISCLAIMER: Same as usual.

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“Wake up, you mongrel!”

That was the first thing Caesar heard as consciousness returned to him. For a moment Caesar ignored the voice and simply rolled over in his cot. Then he felt a sharp pain in his sides from a kick to his ribs. The Humage growled and opened his eyes to see a guard hovering above him. The guard delivered another blow to his sides before Caesar slowly stood up.

“Good to see you’re awake, sleeping beauty. Come on and follow me. There’s someone here who wants to talk to you. Don’t know why, though. If I had my way I would’ve cut out your tongue long ago so you wouldn’t be able to talk anymore. But the Warden gave me my orders…” the guard trailed off before walking back to the door to Caesar’s prison cell and opened it again. He walked out and motioned for Caesar to follow.

Resisting the urge to smile (that would earn him another beating, and he was getting rather tired of those) Caesar followed the man out. Once he exited the cell he was briefly stopped as several more guards began to wrap him up in chains. It was a foolish precaution, in Caesar’s eyes. After all, they already had a field up that stopped him from using magic. It was a little overkill in his view. Still, the guards did it anyway, to make themselves feel safer around him.

Not like that would help them, of course. If he wanted to, Caesar could quite easily slip out of these chains and attack the guards. But where was the fun in that? Besides, it wasn’t the right time to escape. For now, at least. No, there was much to be done before he left this place.

As the guard who had woken him up led Caesar, with three more behind him to make sure he didn’t try anything, the crazed Humage began to drift off in his mind. How long had it been now? A month? Two? Or maybe even three? He couldn’t tell how much time had passed, since every day felt like the same to him. Either way, though, some time had passed since he had been captured near the city of Gaoling. For a few months now, more or less, he had waited here in prison while the Emperor decided his fate. And since he had first arrived here, not very many interesting things had happened.

But now, someone apparently wanted to talk with him? That was odd. No one had ever come to visit him except Maul, who only came to confirm his identity. Who was here to question him now, then? Well, whoever it was, Caesar was sure it would be an intriguing encounter. Not to mention the day, thus far, had been pretty dull. It was about time a change of pace occurred!

The guard guiding him came to a stop in front of a door. He turned to face Caesar and said,

“Here we are, beast. And don’t even think of trying anything. We’ll be watching you at all times. Try anything, and you’ll be dead.”

He then opened the door and pushed Caesar inside. The entrance was slammed shut and locked from the outside. Caesar looked around the room, taking it in. A young man was already waiting for him, patiently sitting at a table in the room’s center. Aside from the young man, Caesar noted, there was no one else in the room. Very curious, Caesar thought. Now why would this man—whomever he is—want to take the risk of meeting with him alone? This was getting very interesting, very fast. Perhaps…

Caesar stopped his mind’s wondering and came back to the present. The Humage saw a chair pulled out for him, and walked over to sit in it (a little difficult to manage with his arms bound up in chains, but it was doable).

“Hello, Caesar.” The mysterious man chimed in. “I am Doctor Gnauh, a psychiatrist. After hearing you were being kept here, I requested to have a formal meeting with you. It’s taken me awhile now, but I’ve finally managed to get a meeting with you. I’ve wanted to talk with you for a fairly long time, Caesar. I’ve looked forward to this meeting for the past few months.”

Ah, a psychiatrist. Caesar thought as he nodded in understanding. That explains much. Then again, it was only a matter of time until these quacks decided to start coming to me, wanting to know what makes me ‘tick’. Well, this ought to be fun…

“Glad to meet ya, Doc. Let me guess, you wanna find out what makes me tick, no? You’re here to find out what made me into such a monster, aren’t you?” Caesar asked. Doctor Gnauh looked uncomfortable for a moment before nodding.

“Basically, yes. I’m writing a book about you, actually. You’re a most fascinating man, in my opinion, Caesar. You’ve done great horrors to Gaborians everywhere, and have caused some general chaos throughout our land. Yet we know so little about you. I’ve come here to lift away the fog of your past, so to speak. Everyone is curious as to what started you down your path to darkness, and I’ve come here to discover that. If you don’t mind, of course.” The young Doctor explained.

“Ah, I see. Well, feel free to go ahead and ask whatever you want, Doc. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Caesar leaned back in his chair and smiled at Gnauh. The psychiatrist smiled back nervously and cleared his throat.

“Very well. Let’s start from the beginning—”

“Actually,” Caesar interrupted, “I’m not the sort of guy that tells a story in order. I’m a fan of puzzles, so my stories tend to be that way. They’re like a puzzle that you put together to make the big picture clear. Or something like that, at least. I’ve never been good at analogies. But, my main point is, what I tell you will be out of order. I’m that sort of man. I’ve never been a real fan of ‘order’ myself. I prefer…chaos. Anarchy. That sort of thing.”

Doctor Gnauh nodded and jotted down a few notes on a piece of parchment. “Very well. Let’s begin somewhere down the middle, then. How about…the first person you killed? Perhaps you could tell me that story?”

“Yes….” Caesar drawled, recalling the memory with fondness. “I remember that day as if it were yesterday. Back then I was just a boy named Sai. I was about ten years old then, and someone had made fun of my sister that day. They ended up getting into a fight, and she got a black eye as a result. And I didn’t like that. Not. One. Bit. But the funny thing is, I didn’t intend to kill him in the first place. It just sort of…happened. I remember it as if it only happened the day before…”

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I had waited all day to do this. Using the stealth spell my teacher had taught me last week, I had carefully stalked my prey for the past few hours. I had been waiting, conserving my time until an opportune moment presented itself. And now…here it was. Regor, the bully that had given my sister a black eye, was all alone now. His bully friends were gone, going back to their own homes while he traveled alone to his. That would be Regor’s undoing, I gleefully thought. Now that he was alone; I could easily beat him up. And then he’d pay for what he’d done to my Sissy.

Regor was fourteen and a lot bigger than I was, but that hardly mattered to me. He was only human, so I didn’t have much to worry about, but I still needed to do this as quickly as possible. Besides, no one hurt my Sissy and got away with it! By the time I was done with him, he’d never want to hurt Sissy again!

I crept behind Regor as he strode to his house. Before the older boy could even blink I dropped by invisibility cloak and pounced on Regor’s back.

We both tumbled to the ground as Regor reached behind his back and wildly tried to pry me off of him while I clawed at his neck and hit him in the head. Before I could do any major damage Regor was able to pry me off of his back and threw me away. I rolled into the ground and quickly sprung to my feet as he charged at me, fists swinging. I met him head on and rammed my head into his stomach. Regor hissed as he dropped back to the ground with me. The pain of doing that hurt more than I imagined, but it was well worth putting him in pain too. I jumped on top of him and started clawing at his face as he screamed. He grabbed me with both hands and proceeded to toss me off of him again.

My back slammed against a tree, and I screamed in agony. Before I knew it Regor was above me and started kicking me everywhere with his large feet. I curled up into a ball as he screamed at me. I felt a rage course through me as an unknown and frightening Power filled my veins. I screamed back at him and held out a single hand. Regor was pitched into the air like a rag doll, and landed a few feet away from me.

I stood up and yelled again and reached out with the Power once more. I picked up Regor while he pleaded to be let go. I ignored this and made him ram into the same tree I had been thrown to, but I made him collide with it head first. I heard a sickening crack, and Regor’s pleading stopped. I felt the Power drain from me as I calmed down, and so I was forced to let him go. Regor hit the ground and didn’t get up.

I hesitantly approached him, fearful that he might get back up and pummel on me some more. But no, Regor still didn’t get up. As I came closer I noticed he was bleeding from his head. That couldn’t be good.

I was next to him now, and he still hadn’t gotten up. Carefully I turned his head toward me so I could look at him. His eyes were wide open, but it was clear he wasn’t seeing anything. Fear slowly crept into me as I figured out what had happened.

I killed him. I killed Regor. I smashed him against that tree, and now he was dead because of it. For a little while, that revealation shocked me to my core. Scared me, even.

But as I gazed down upon his prone body, a feeling of satisfaction replaced the fear I felt. A smirk formed on my face, which soon blossomed into a full-fledged smile. Finally I threw back my head and laughed until I couldn’t breath. And when I caught my breath, I laughed some more. And more, and more, and more, and more....

Some time later, I don’t know how long, I finally regained control of myself and looked around. As far as I could tell, we were alone over here. No one had seen what I did to Regor. Good, very good. This would be rather simple, then. Great.

It took me a little while, but I was able to drag his body behind some bushes. I knew it wouldn't take long for his body to be discovered, though that didn't matter much to me. So long as no one knew I killed him, I didn't care if he was found or not.

After that I calmly walked back to my home. It would be hard to explain why I was gone so long to Mom and Dad, but that was only a minor problem. Even if I hadn’t intended to do this, I thought, I still had kept my promise in the end.

Now Regor would never hurt my Sissy again. And that was all that mattered.

Caesar is creepy, but this drabble was awesome! Nice work Magus.

Wow. I liked how you approached Caesar's character with a little bit of a Joker-esque attitude at first and the story in his past really reveals a lot about him. Another awesome piece of writing, Magus.

Nice. Caesar, being a very chaotic and damaged character, well it's nice to get info on his past that explains things a bit Magus. Good job.

Awesome story. You might be making him too much like the Joker, but it's still awesome. Very well-written.

Time once again for another oneshot! I originally attempted for this to be an Atiya oneshot, but again, things did not go as planned. I found that to be a little too challenging, so I decided to do something else. I was having a hard time figuring that out when this idea came to my head. I hope you all enjoy it! This oneshot details the first meeting between Syrien and Rein, and how he ended up adopting her. It’s not the most interesting oneshot I’ve made so far. Though this oneshot also serves a dual purpose of setting up a mini-series of sorts of oneshots dealing with Syrien. And I won’t say any more than that.

Oh, and if I got the previous Emperor’s name wrong, sorry AI. I couldn’t quite remember it.

Now, onto the story!

DISCLAIMER: Same as usual.

WARNING: This warning is mostly for the implications of what the noble wanted Rein for. If you’re bothered by things like that, then let this warning be your…well, warning.

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The day had started like any other day for Syrien. He had woken up when Emperor Anpu commanded him to, to cater to his morning needs. He had served his Master breakfast, had started his bath for him, and had done whatever other duties Anpu required him to do as the man’s personal slave. Then, as the afternoon approached, Emperor Anpu had locked himself inside the War Room with his High Generals and Steward Baruti, as he did everyday, to discuss the ever-constant threat of the Rebellion. After that, Syrien had had two hours to himself to do as he pleased. And the Elf had done what he usually did for those two hours: he had gone to the library to read for an hour, and had spent the last one taking a stroll through the castle halls. And for the most part that walk had been a routine one. Nothing out of the normal had happened.

But that had all changed when Syrien had stumbled onto the sight before him. An older man was dragging a young girl by the arm, who was protesting quite fiercely, screaming at him and trying to pry herself from his grip. A few older female servants stood off to the side, clearing wanting to help but not willing to intervene in the struggle between the two.

It was an odd sight, to say the least. Syrien wondered what, exactly, was going on…until he remembered who the man before him was. It was Nobleman Kane, the Elf realized. He was one of the more…infamous Nobles among the Imperial Courts, to say the least. He was a controversial figure in many ways, though Lord Kane was most known for his…tastes in certain types of women. With that information in mind, this situation made much more sense to him.

From what he could gather, the nobleman intended to take the girl away, to do with as he pleased. The other female slaves were likely friends or caretakers of the young girl, no doubt, and didn’t want this to happen to her. But because of Kane’s status, they were powerless to do anything. It was a sad situation—no doubt horrible things would happen to that girl—but nothing could be done. Kane was one of the most powerful men in the Empire, thanks to his family’s status. It was a most terrible tragedy, but ultimately nothing could be done about it.

The young girl protested some more and yelled for help, giving pleading looks to her friends. But she saw no comfort from them. In her desperation the girl looked everywhere for help, hoping to find someone, anyone, to come rescue her from this fate. No doubt she’d heard about Kane’s reputation, Syrien mused.

Then the girl spotted Syrien, and stared straight at him, causing Syrien to get a good look at her face. Upon seeing it, the slave took a sharp intake of air, and felt himself tense up.

By the gods…she looked so much like…so much like…like his dead daughter, Eri. A younger looking version of her, yes, but still, this girl…she, she looked so much like the daughter he hadn’t seen in over two decades. But how…? No, no, it didn’t matter. What did matter was…

Syrien then knew what he had to do.

Syrien started to strode over to the retreating form of Lord Kane and the child, before breaking into a full run to catch up with them. Kane turned his head just in time to see Syrien’s fist searing toward his right eye. The blow connected, and Syrien watched with great satisfaction as Kane crumbled to the floor. The child almost tripped at the sudden loss of Kane’s arm on her’s, but quickly recovered and went over to hide herself behind Syrien’s legs. Syrien glanced at her briefly but returned his attention to Lord Kane, who was now swearing up a storm as he got to his feet.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Elf?! I am one of the most powerful men in the Empire, and I can have you easily executed for what you’ve done! But…I am a kind, forgiving man. So hand over that girl to me, and I just might not have you killed for what you did.” Kane snarled. Syrien curled his hand into a fist, but resisted the urge to hit him again. The child was free now, and hitting Kane again would serve no purpose.

“I am afraid I must decline. I will not let you have this girl. She is…my….ward. Yes, this child here is my ward. So I’m afraid you cannot have her. I am sorry. But if you want to continue this issue further, I am sure the Emperor would love to hear you out.” Syrien said. All color drained from the Nobleman’s face at the mention of his Master.

“I…I thought you looked…so you’re…?”

“Yes,” Syrien replied. “I am the personal servant to Emperor Anpu. And thanks to my relationship to my Master, I have a higher authority than you. But if you insist, we can take this up with the Emperor. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind being interrupted during his meeting with the High Generals.”

Kane pursed his lips and shook with visible fury. After giving the Elf a withering glare, the Lord turned and marched away. Syrien gave a sigh of relief once Kane had fully retreated. Good. This situation had gone better than he had hoped. For now, Kane was defeated. He’d come back later, no doubt—from what he had seen of the man in the Courts, Syrien knew he was very determined, and wouldn’t let a setback like this stop him—but that was a dilemma to think about later. Now…now he needed to make sure the girl was all right. Syrien turned and crouched down so he was leveled with the young girl.

“Are you all right, little one?” he asked. The child sniffled and gave a nod.

“Y-Yeah. Um, thanks for that, Mister. T-Thanks for saving me.” The girl said. She made a move to go away, but Syrien put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“I was serious about what I said before, you know. I did not just say that so that Lord Kane would leave you alone. I…would like to be your guardian, little one. Your…father, even, if you’ll allow it.” Syrien said. The girl’s eyes widened almost comically as she took that information in. Again, Syrien saw the face of his daughter in the child’s as an emotion akin to joy spread across her face. As he was reminded of Eri again, Syrien felt the beginnings of tears gather at his eyes. He forced them away, however. Now was not the time for this…

“R-Really? You…you want to be my new Daddy?” she asked. Syrien nodded.

“Yes, child. I do.”

“You, you won’t…” the girl hesitated and looked away from him. “You won’t sell me like my old Daddy did, will you?”

Rage filled Syrien at the thought of what this poor girl’s father did to her. He pushed aside that feeling for the moment, though, and did his best to reassure the girl. “I won’t, dear. I promise you that.”

After giving her a comforting pat on the head, Syrien continued. “Now, could you tell me what your name is?”

“Um, my name is Rein.”

“I see. My name is Syrien, Rein. Why don’t you go get…whatever possessions you have and come to my room? I live in the hallway across the Emperor’s personal chambers, first door on your left. I’ll get you your own room, and we can work out things from there. Ok?” Syrien asked. Rein gave a fretful nod and dashed away over to the female servants. After a hushed conversation between them Syrien saw one of the servants timidly approach him.

“You’re, um, serious about this? About taking Rein in?” she asked.

“Of course. The only way to keep her safe from Nobleman Kane would be to adopt her as my own. And I can tell she needs a guardian in her life. I’m willing to be that guardian, if Rein will allow it.” Syrien said. The maid gave him an uncertain look but seemed to believe him for the most part. She gave a polite bow before going back over to Rein and the others.

As they went away—to the female servant’s quarters, Syrien presumed—Syrien turned around and picked up the pace so he could finish his walk swiftly. His mind began to spin as he made a list of things he would need to do now. Find a spare room near his room for Rein; buy her some extra clothes, take the precautions needed so Kane would never bother her again, get the Emperor’s permission to take Rein in, and so on and so on…

The various tasks ahead were rather daunting, but Syrien knew he could handle them. He had a responsibility to protect and raise Rein now. And, unlike what had happened to Eri…he would never let any harm come to her. Syrien would make sure of that.

Awww. I liked it. It's was so kind of Syrien to take her in, kind of sad because she reminds him of his daughter.

This was awesome to read. Maybe a little rushed, but very satisfying.

That really gave me a lot of insight into Syrien and Rein. I love all your pieces here, Magus. Another great job.

Time for another oneshot! This wasn’t originally what I was going to work on, but I decided just to go with it. Hope you all enjoy it! And…that’s about it. Hm. A short author’s note, that’s for sure. And it might be a bit boring perhaps, but it sets the stage for future oneshots. Now, onto the story!

DISCLAIMER: Same as usual.

WARNING: You may view bits of this chapter as a little disturbing. You have been warned.

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“Hazuki, wake up.” A feminine voice stated gently as she lightly shook Hazuki’s shoulder. “We’ve finally stopped. I don’t know where we are, but they’re probably gonna take us out any minute now. So hurry up and wake up!”

Hazuki groaned as she began to stir and reluctantly sat up from her sleeping pallet. Hazuki looked around the covered cage and saw that the other slaves were awake now too. And, she noted dimly as the Humage rubbed her eyes, the familiar feeling of the carriage’s movement was gone, which meant that they had stopped. Whether that was a good or bad thing, though, remained to be seen.

Hazuki nodded at the woman who had woken her up, Padma (a slave near her age), as she fully woke up. Hazuki stretched her limbs, being careful not to bump into anyone, and allowed her mind to wonder so she could pass the time.

How long had it been now? A week? Or maybe two? Hazuki never was good at telling how much time had passed. Maybe if she could remember…ah, there. After reminding herself when she had last seen her little brother’s smiling face, Hazuki knew how much time had passed. A week and three days, thus far, had gone by since she had been sold into slavery.

By her parents of all people, Hazuki remembered with a cold fury. She wasn’t entirely sure about the details, but so far Hazuki had theorized that her father likely had some gambling debts or something that had caught up with him, and hadn’t been able to pay them off. And when a slave caravan had been passing by their town, the bastard had decided to seize an opportunity and had sold his own daughter to the slavers. Hazuki didn’t know, and probably never would know, if her mother or little brother had known about his plan, but the Humage didn’t have a doubt in her mind that her mother wouldn’t have minded one bit. That witch had always been so controlling toward her, and constantly disappointed with her, she was no doubt glad to see her gone.

And Hazuki felt the same way about them. Her parents had always been abusive toward her and her little brother. Although she didn’t exactly like her current circumstances, Hazuki was happy to finally be away from the monsters she called ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’. The only downside (not including the fact she was now a slave) was that her brother was now alone, at the mercy of her parents. Hazuki was really worried about how he’d take all this. She hoped that he’d do ok without her.

Any other thoughts were interrupted as the tarp that covered their cage was taken off. A human man and two armored guards stood near the cage as the older looking man unlocked the cage’s door. He swung it opened and moved aside so the slaves could exit it.

“Before any of you get any ideas,” the man said as he gestured to the guards behind him. “I will not hesitate to use excessive force to make sure any of you do not escape. Is that clear? Good. Now, come along. We can’t keep your new masters waiting.”

Hazuki followed the other slaves as they piled out of the cage. The slaver inspected the group once before marching them over to a nearby platform, where a crowd of people was already waiting.

Hazuki studied her surroundings as they were marched onto the platform and formed into a single row. They seemed to be in a town square, though of which town, she couldn’t tell. They had been traveling for so long that Hazuki had given up trying to tell which town they had been heading to.

“Welcome, sirs and madams.” The slaver began, speaking in an oily tone. He paused a moment before addressing the crowd once more. “I’m glad you could all make it. We have ourselves a fine selection of slaves today.”

The slaver stopped and stepped over to a young blonde man, a few years old than her, Hazuki guessed. He was also an Elf, she realized, as the slaver pushed back the boy’s hair to reveal his pointed ears.

“Today we’ll begin with this young Elf, named Lukas. Though you’re more than welcome to calling him whatever you like. He’s a strong young man, and can easily do some work out in the fields. He has no magic capability, if any of you are worried about that. He’s got plenty of good years ahead of him, so you don’t have to worry about replacing him anytime soon. Now…let’s start the bidding at….one thousand pieces of gold. Do I hear one thousand?” the slaver asked. Most of the crowd all started to shout at once, and the bidding soon progressed. Lukas ended up selling at fifteen thousand, and was led over to a ferocious looking Kaleesh.

The bidding went on, and one by one the slaves were sold. As the process went on Hazuki felt a type of fear slowly start to build within her as the slaver came closer and closer to her with each sold slave. The emotions she had held back before all came rushing through her as Hazuki fully comprehended the horrible fate in store for her.

Hazuki counted the slaves left as the he began to get closer. A terrified desperation took hold of her as Hazuki darted her eyes everywhere to find some sort of escape from this. She would not be a slave, Hazuki’s mind screamed as she searched for an exit. That fate would not be hers!

Alas, Hazuki felt what remaining hope she had drain out of her as she realized there was no way out of this. Soldiers covered all the exits out of the area that wouldn’t end with her either being grievously wounded, or getting killed. Hazuki knew a few simple spells, but nothing that would help her in a fight against Gaborian soldiers. But…but she would not just lie down and resign herself to this fate! She…she had to fight back! But how—

“Sold! For twelve thousand and six hundred gold pieces!” the slaver declared, snapping Hazuki back to reality. She watched Padma walk over to the Kaleesh from before, and saw the slaver walk over to her now. Hazuki breathed sharply and did all she could from bolting from the stand right there and then.

The slaver eyed her now trembling form and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “If you so much as take a single step away from me, I will break your legs, put an arrow in your back, and leave you to die in an alley. Understand? Good.”

After giving her one last cross look, the slaver straightened his body and addressed the crowd. “Here is another fine young slave. Hazuki, aged fourteen. Now, don’t be worried ladies and gentlemen, but she is a Humage. However, don’t fret! She’s not very good at magic, I can assure you at that. And there are plenty of spells out there that can negate her powers, if you’re really concerned. She can be a good maid, cook, nanny, and…well, whatever else you need or want her to do. And she’s quite the looker too, as I’m sure you can all tell. In fact…”

He gave a wide grin (which looked very creepy in Hazuki’s opinion) and leaned down to speak with her again.

“Take off your clothes, girl.”

“W-What?!” Hazuki stared at the slaver with wide eyes, a mixture of terror and fury within her gaze.

“Take off your clothes, now.” The slaver demanded in a lower voice. “Unless you want me to do it for you?”

Hazuki had never hated someone so much in her life at that moment. Even her hatred toward her parents had never reached such a high level. Her hands curled into fists as Hazuki shook with visible rage. Her eyes drifted over to the dagger at the man’s side, and knew he would not hesitate to use it on her if she refused any further.

That damn, vile man!, Hazuki internally fumed. But if she wanted to live to someday see her brother again, the Humage had to do as he commanded. A wave of emotions threatened to overcome her, as she knew what she had to do, but Hazuki refused to show any weakness in front of these bastards.

Blinking back tears, Hazuki reached for the hem of her shirt with shaky hands. It didn’t take long for her to take off her shirt, with her pants quickly following as she discarded the clothing. Hazuki squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn’t have to look at the crowd, and resisted the urge to cover herself. No doubt the slaver would disapprove of that.

And even with her eyes closed, Hazuki could feel the gaze of the perverted men out in the crowd as their eyes roamed across every inch of her body. She gulped, but Hazuki did her best not to show any fear in front of these men.

After what felt like an eternity, the slaver finally said she could put her clothes back on. Hazuki opened her eyes and hastily did so, and felt some relief once she was clothed again. Even if she hadn’t been touched, though, the Humage still felt violated…

“As you all see, she is a fine young woman that can do…whatever you desire. Be it cooking, cleaning, or…anything else. Now, let’s start the bidding.”

Hazuki stopped listening to the slaver as she burned with humiliation and rage. It took all the self-control that she had to stop herself from jumping onto the slaver and beating him senseless. She had to see her brother again one day, Hazuki chanted, she had to see her brother again, she had to see her brother again, she had to see….

Hazuki faintly registered the fact that she had been sold (at a higher amount than most of the others), and to the same Kaleesh who had bought Lukas, Padma, and a few other slaves. A guard led her over to her new…master—Hazuki hated that term with a great passion—and the slave auction continued. She noticed Padma giving her a sympathetic look, but Hazuki ignored it.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the auction to wrap up, and soon all the slaves were sold. Once the Kaleesh had all his slaves rounded him, he and several of his guards grouped them together and marched them through the city. After an exhaustive walk, they finally arrived at their new…residence,—Hazuki refused to think of this new place as her home—a rather large house, and the Kaleesh proceeded to lead them into the mansion. He forced Hazuki and the six other slaves into a line as an elderly looking human descended down a grand staircase. The man glanced at them once and gave a nod of approval to the Kaleesh.

“Very good, Mi’Keel. I approve of the slaves you have bought for me. They appear adequate enough. They will do.” The old man said. The Kaleesh known as Mi’Keel bowed to him.

“Thank you, my Lord.”

“You are welcome. Normally I’d begin the introduction myself, but an important matter has just arisen. I trust you can do it in my place?” the man asked.

“Of course, my Lord.” Mi’Keel said, bowing once more. The human briefly nodded and walked back up the stairs, into the house’s upper levels. Mi’Keel strode in front of the slaves and stared at each and every one of them for a few seconds before speaking.

“This will be your new home, slaves. You all have the honor and privilege to serve under the great Governor Huras of the Kyshire Province. I am the Governor’s personal aide, Mi’Keel. You all will only take orders from us, members of the Governor’s family, or any guests he happens to have. You shall refer to the Governor, myself, and his family as ‘Master’, and only that. You shall do whatever you are ordered, even if you find it demeaning or cruel.

If you disobey any order, you will be beaten. If you show any signs of rebellious attitude, you will be beaten. If you attempt to accost anyone in this mansion other than your fellow slaves, then you will be beaten to death. Am I understood? Good. The slave quarters are in the left wing of the mansion. Your duties shall be assigned to you within the next hour. Good day.”

Mi’Keel walked away shortly afterwards. Hazuki followed the other slaves as they made their way into the left wing of the mansion, and begin the search for an empty room. Still, the Humage vowed she wouldn’t stay here for long. This would not be the life she’d lead. Hazuki would get out of this, somehow.

Now, all she needed to do was come up with a plan…

Aw poor Hazuki. I liked his one too. You're a good writer Magus.

This was awesome... Poor Hazuki. Being forced to strip in public must be terrible. Thanks for writing this.