Eravel smiled good-naturedly, extending a hand to Alphonse.

"Well, now that I don't need to worry about you attempting to steal my heart," she suggested, "friends?"

Looking at Sun, Eravel leaned over and whispered, "Don't worry, you'll find a good prince. But probably not here."

Edward looked at Alphonse, confused, then smiled again.

"Yea, I'm the guy you stabbed with your spear," said Edward.

Edward then turned to Sun. "You looking for a prince, honey? I'm not one, but I admire your taste in men. My boyfriend's a prince."

Trisha let go of Alphonse, scowling at him. Alphonse shrugged, smiling childishly at her. This time, she ignored the beautiful prince smile and walked over to the counter.

"Gimme your strongest drink," she told Martes, who nodded quickly and began preparing a cocktail.

Alphonse sighed and shook hands with Eravel, "She's defenitively in love with me," he assured with confidence. He then turned to face Edward, his smile dropping as he heard his words, "Did I, really? I don't recall such event," he answered dully.

"That's because you were drunk!" Trisha yelled furiously from the counter, chugging her drink after she said this.

"Oh, I can definitely see the love," Eravel commented to Alphonse dryly. "It's simply radiating from her to you."

Sun was still trying to figure out Edward's boyfriend comment, "That doesn't make any sense," she finally complained.

Edward chuckled.

"Well, honey," Edward started explaining, "I'm gay. That means I'm a man who likes other men the way you like men. You understand now, sweetie?"

Sun frowned, "I think so." She'd never thought that could happen. But it was love, so that was nice, even if she didn't understand it.

Edward smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Edward. He then noticed the rock she was clutching. "Is that your brother you were telling me about?"

"Yes," Sun said, looking down at her rock, glad to be on familiar ground, "His name is Harold, and he didn't always used to be like this," she looked from side to side and then said quietly, "You see, he didn't pay his taxes."

Edward look shocked.

"Really?!" he exclaimed. "So what? Did they cast a spell on him for not paying?"

"Yes!" Sun wailed, dramatically hugging 'Harold' to her chest, "A witch cast a spell on him, and then she couldn't change him back because she fell down the stairs right after that! And...and I thought he'd be lonely, you know, um, without me," she finished, rather weakly. She'd never really thought over why she'd brought Harold along with her wherever she went.

"Well," Edward responded, "I hope that someday you'll be able to change Harold back to normal."

Edward sipped his drink, then turned to Sun.

"So, what about you? Where are you from?"

"I'm from the Kingdom of Sandalot," she answered simply, and with a frown added, "But most people around here don't know it..."

((Sandalot is a ruin. It's existence is only in myths spread vaguely around the Tavern's town. If Edward's new there, he's probably never heard of it.))

"Really?" replied Edward. "And you're the princess of the kingdom? Awesome!"

Edward continued. "I'm from the Albionic Empire on the planet Britannia. But you've probably never heard of it."

(Britannia is a distant planet founded by a noble from Earth's United Kingdom. Chances are born citizens of the Tavern's town are oblivious to it.)

Sun smiled proudly at Edward's praise, but it slid into a clueless expression as he explained where he was from.

"Um, yeah," was all she said.

Tabitha walked over to where Edward and Sun were sitting.

"Hello, milady," said Tabitha, addressing Sun. "How are you this fine evening?"

"Well, um," Sun wasn't exactly sure how to answer that, "I'm sort of hungry, but uh...pretty as ever," she ended with a sweetly innocent smile.

Tabitha chuckled.

"Ah, such an innocent spirit," said Tabitha. "Protecting them is such a blessing for me."

Sun just smiled, not sure what Tabitha meant by 'spirit,' but it seemed the nice lady was talking about her.

Edward exaplained something to Sun.

"You see," said Edward, "Tabitha is a paladin. She is a protector of all things good and right."

Edward then ran his hand through his hair.

"I am a bard, an arcane mage, and an alchemist ..." he said. "And the host of the demonic elemental spirit, the Razor Golem," he added.

Edward exaplained something to Sun.

"You see," said Edward, "Tabitha is a paladin. She is a protector of all things good and right."

Edward then ran his hand through his hair.

"I am a bard, an arcane mage, and an alchemist ..." he said. "And the host of the demonic elemental spirit, the Razor Golem," he added.

Sun thought hard, "So that means...she will protect me? From what?" she looked around, "I don't see any dragons."

Edward looked frustrated, but Tabitha smiled.

"I don't fight dragons," replied Tabitha. "I fight demons. Do you know what a demon is?"

Sun's voice grew very quiet, "My brother talked about them," Teased her about them actually, "He said they were EVIL, like, like a sorcerer," she shuddered and clutched her rock tightly, "So you...fight them?" A second's pause, and suddenly her smile was bright, "That's GOOD!"

Eravel tilted her head to the side, thinking.

"Tabitha..." she started, "what do you do about someone like Edward, then?"

"Oh, I can definitely see the love," Eravel commented to Alphonse dryly. "It's simply radiating from her to you."

Alphonse grinned, "You know what they say. Love is the closest thing to hate," he smirked as he glanced at Trisha, who was already finishing her second drink.

He's such an idiot! A playboy! Argh! Trisha's thoughts of fury flowed around her mind. And for a moment I thought he actually meant it!

Tabitha turned to Eravel.

"Well," she said. "As a paladin, I cannot willing kill an innocent soul. In Edward's case, I cannot kill him for doing so would release the Razor Golem."

"And if that happens," Edward chimed in, "his power would increase. By my hosting him, his powers are at a fraction of their true potential."

Mimi and Kilzog looked around, hoping to spot Edward.

"He can't be THAT hard to miss, can he?" asked Mimi.

"Nope," replied Kilzog. He spotted a head of shining blond hair with a streak of pink. "There he is, master," he told Mimi. They ran over to the bar.

"Edward!" Mimi said. "We actually found you!"

Edward looked surprised. "Mimi?" he said. "How did you find me?"

"A little help from my friend," she said, introducing him to Kilzog.

"Kilzog's the name, sir. Any friend of the master's is a friend of mine," said the Imp, shaking Edward's hand.

"You finally conjured your first demon?" said Edward, astonished. "Congrats, darling!" He stood up and hugged Mimi.

Tabitha, overhearing the conversation, turned to greet Edward's companion.

"Good evening, milady," she said respectfully to Mimi. "I am Tabitha von Swordvixen." She then spotted Kilzog.

"Why, 'tis a fiery demonling!" she said, drawing her sword. "Have at thee!"

"Stop!" Edward said, grabbing Tabitha's sword. "Mimi's a demonologist. Kilzog here is her minion. He's a GOOD demon, alright?"

"Well, okay," said Tabitha, placing the sword on her back again. "Pleased to meet you, Kilzog," said Tabitha, albeit half-heartedly.

"The pleasure's mine," said Kilzog, bowing.

Sun took one look at Kilzog and screamed, "HELP!"

Clumsily but with speed she scrambled over the bar and hid behind it. Martes backed up, surprised but not shocked at the sight of the little demonling. He'd seen worse.

The princess's blue eyes peeked over the table frightfully.

Mimi ran over to Sun and calmed her down.

"It's all right," she told Sun. "Kilzog is a nice demon. I've reformed him. He only hurts bad demons. I'm a good demonologist. I hunt evil demons, too. Just like Tabitha."

"Yeah, right," Tabitha said, under her breath.

Canthor almost gaged on his drink at the bar when he heard Mimi say "I'm a good demonologist." For some reason it struck him as hilarious. To him there was no such thing, and this interested him.

Sun listened in confusion to Mimi's reassuring words, but once it was clear that Kilzog was a "nice demon," she stood up and smiled sweetly, "Hi," she waved at the little imp, "I'm Princess Sun."

Eravel smiled at Sun's innocence, wondering just what the girl was doing all on her own in a world like this one.

As Darcknez walked into the tavern,he saw many people. Sitting at a table, he began observing the many people.

((anyone mind telling me whats going on, or let me join them?))

Kilzog bowed to Sun. "A pleasure to meet you, madam," said Kilzog, respectfully.

Mimi sat at the bar. "An order of hellebore gin for me, and some tar and a vial of goat's blood for my minion here."

When Mimi got the tar and goat's blood, she pulled out a goblet with demonic runes inscribed on it. She poured in the tar and goat's blood, then added some crushed garnet into the goblet. Fire erupted from it, then subsided, and she handed it to Kilzog.

"Mmm!" said Kilzog. "Krthua ix nlke sgvlnsh."

"Hnlu krzewyn sgnozst," said Mimi. She then sipped her hellebore gin.

Sun began to stare at Kilzog in genuine awe and wonderment. It could speak...

((Alright, sadly my deluded princess will have to fade into the background now. I'm leaving town tomorrow and won't be back for ten days. See you guys later!))

(( Trisha and Alphonse are dead for now *gassp* Cuz I want to try out a new character. Special request from Nicollette :P ))

Edmund opened the entrance door carefully, hoping he had not caught the attention of anyone. He smiled sheepishly to himself as he stepped inside the tavern, unconsciously scratching his head in wonder. His eyes, one being chocolate brown and the other ice blue, searched for an empty seat.

"Mmm..."

Eravel noticed the young man enter the room, trying carefully to avoid attention. Aside from her watchful eye, he was successful, she thought, at being inconspicuous. She felt her face flush, much to her annoyance. She couldn't help but inwardly admit that he was staggeringly handsome. There was jsut something about him... A sort of charm that was almost palpable, even though he was a good distance away, hadn't said a word, and hadn't even noticed her. There was definitely something alluring about him.

She decided right then and there that she hated him.

Edmund's eyes suddenly stopped at the sight of an empty spot. It was perfect, he thought. The table was located on a dark corner, far from the large, conversing group. His mouth line pulled to a half-smile.

He walked gracefully, yet cautiously towards the abandomed seat. Even though he made no loud stepping sounds, he almost fell over when he tripped on a floor crack.

Crap, he thought.

He knew it had to happen; he was way too clumsy to not ruin a perfect plan. He pulled himself up immediately. His eyes shifted anxiously to the people, searching for any signs of reaction.

Eravel quickly covered her mouth to hide a smile on her flawless face. She didn't want him to notice her noticing him, since she hated him and all. Her sparkling eyes gave away her smile, though, and she thought for a second that he might have seen her, but then dismissed the thought, figuring that he was surely too concerned about getting out of sight to notice anyone else.

Oh.

His eyes flickered as he noticed Eravel's eyes barely glancing at him. Had she seen him? He automatically considered waving politely, as the gentleman he always used to be, especially around ladies.

No, it must have been something else, he re-considered.

He smiled once more to himself - something he had grown accustomed to over the years - and walked over to the seat. He sat gently on the chair, barely producing any noise as he pushed himself, along with the chair, closer to his table.

He waited to be attended, playing surreptitiously with his jet black hair.

Did he just meet her eyes?

Surely not. Surely, she thought to herself, he had just looked in her general direction. She watched him with curiosity as he sat down, but that curiosity turned to amusement when she noticed something.

He looked like he was expecting to be waited on.

Does he seriously think he's going to find a waiter in a place like this? she wondered, trying not to laugh.

She continued watching him as he played with his hair patiently, awaiting something that would never happen. She was tempted to cause a scene by calling out to him, but decided even she wasn't quite the mean - the man obviously had some reason for not wanting to be noticed. And, as she looked around, it seemed like he still had managed to not attract attention from anyone but her. She grudgingly admitted to herself that she admired that. She could use a talent like that, with the looks she was always getting. Her eyes went back to him, still watching.

And still trying to not like him, for no other reason than the fact that something about him made her like him. And that frustrated her. That frustrated her to no end.

Edmund kept playing inattentively with his abundant hair, which was relatively short in length (down to neck) but was muddled like a lion’s mane.

He arched a perfect eyebrow, pondering about the bad service they offered.

But perhaps there was no service, he realized. He placed an open palm on his forehead, resisting a chuckle. He was acting foolish. He had never been to a place like this before, but he somehow he knew he wasn’t doing the right thing. At least his existence still remained oblivious to the rest, he thought hopefully.

Should he go over to the counter? He hesitated, considering he would be likely to bring attention if he were that close to the loud group.

Finally deciding that standing at the counter, glaring at the hair on the man's head, Eravel started to walk over to him to inform him that he might as well sit outside and wait for service, for all the good it would do him to wait where he was.

She grimaced as she realized that she was, as usual, drawing attention to herself. Which meant, of course, that she'd be drawing attention to him. Her grimace grew larger as she realized what she was doing to him, and she almost felt bad, but then she remembered that she was supposed to dislike him. Figuring that it was too late to turn back anyway, she strode over to him, sat gracefully on the table before him, looked him square in the eye, and opened her mouth to tell him, sarcastically, that she was ready to take his order.

But, staring into his eyes, she found herself speechless. And very, very flustered.

Edmund's hand dropped as his eyes stared at the girl in bewilderment. His mind, once too lazy to think of anything productive, was know working at full speed, processing all sorts of reflective thoughts. First of all, she had seen him, as he thought before, which meant he had failed yet again at being discrete. Then he wondered why she had approached him. Was there really service in this place? No, she appeared too elegant, way too sophisticated to be working in a hideous place like this. Whatever the reason was, he would soon find out.

He arched his eyebrows. Had I startled her? he thought. He noticed she had tried to tell him something, but the words couldn't come out. Maybe my eyes scared her, he concluded. They always did around strangers. How many people have contrasting colored eyes in the world anyways?

He smiled serenely at her, hoping that would make her feel more comfortable to speak, "Hello."

Eravel began to feel her insides melt at his smile and her breath caught in her throat. Fury at her own girlishness made her eyes narrow at him in a way that would have made anyone else look less than attractive, but only served to make her appear more beautiful in a wild, dangerous sort of way.

Finally catching her breath, she mustered enough self control to speak.

"There is no service here," she spat.

Then, in her haste to get away from him before she was reduced to nothing more than a twittering, infatuated idiot and to maintain her dignity she attempted to slide off the table with grace and ease. But, instead, her dress caught on a rough spot and she, along with the table, came crashing down on the floor, causing a noise loud enough to attract the attention of every single gaze in the room.

Edmund stood up immediately, his eyes fixed on her with surprise. As he eyed the scene more carefully - the table almost on top of her, her perfect hair and dress now ruinous - he couldn't help but let out an open laugh. He shut his eyes, containing some laughter, yet most of it had already escaped from his mouth.

When he was out of breath, he inhailed deeply - his expression amused from all the laughter - and held out a hand, smiling friendly. Even though he was now being watched by various curious eyes, he kept his face intact, not seeming frustrated or appaled by what the fair girl had caused.

"May I help you?" He offered. "You're the first person I know that is clumsier than me," he added, chuckling sweetly.

Eravel glowered outwardly, while softening inwardly.

Why is he so charming? she thought madly to herself. He's not even doing anything, and you're acting like he's swept you off your feet!

She cringed at the fact that she had, in fact, ended up off her feet, partially because of him.

"Hmph," she sighed angrily. "I can get up on my own, thank you."

As she stood, though, she heard a distinctive ripping noise and, at the moment, she wished she was dead. She tilted her head back, eyes closed, for a moment, knowing exactly what she'd see when she looked down to observe the damage.

An excruciating silence followed, as Eravel looked down, seeing what she already felt. The table had ripped a hole in her gown, and then had pinned it down. When she stood up, she had successfully ripped the bottom half of her gown off, revealing her legs up to mid-thigh. And, of course, everyone was gawking.

Well, she thought bitterly at Edmund, at least you're not the center of attention anymore.

She brushed herself off as if nothing had happened, ignoring a chorus of whistles, and pinned Edmund with a withering look.

"I am not clumsy."

He stood in shock for a moment again, but then pressed a hand on his mouth to avoid laughing again.

Edmund stood behind her, covering her ripped dress as he faced the audience, mostly being men titilating desperately.

"May all of you please go back to your seats?" he asked politely, yet firmly. "There's nothing here to watch."

His bizarre eyes pierced the crowd, succesfully making some of the men cringe. Eventually, some of the people turned to walk away, still glancing every now and then at Edmunds staggering eyes, whispering to one another.

He smiled, pleased at the willingness of everyone to leave. He faced the girl, holding chuckles again.

"Of course not," he teased. "You seem to have problems with bad luck, not clumsiness."

He flashed a quick childish smile, then his face turned a bit anxious, "Is there anything I can do to..."--he glanced quickly at damaged dress--"...to help?"

Eravel stopped glaring, surprised. She looked up at him and his smiling mouth.

"Actually, that would be great. Only, I don't know what you can do. The dress is a lost cause."

She bit her lip, embarrassed, and blushed furiously - an unconscious act that would have made even the most self-controlled man have difficulty acting like a gentleman. Forcing herself to stop being rude, she looked up at him, unintentionally alluring. "Well... thanks for offering." She made an uncomfortable face. "And sorry that I was... rude. Earlier..." She trailed off, looking into his intriguing eyes.

1. Forums are not to be used to post stories.
2. All discussions, language and content, must be suitable for teens.
3. The owner/moderator(s) of this forum is solely responsible for content posted within this area.
4. All forum abuse must be reported to the moderator(s).

1. Forum admin/moderator
2. Fanatic (on site for more than 2 years)
3. Fan (on site for more than a year)
4. Regular (on site for more than 6 months)
5. Camper (on site for more than a month)
6. Apprentice (on site for more than a week)
7. Newbie (on site for less than a week)