Awakening the Guardian of Love

Personal Disclaimer: I think they belong to Sony…*shrug* Anyway, this is gonna be a nice fluffy Rudy/Cecelia fic. A little angst in the beginning, but nothing too drastic or over the top…I think…I haven’t written it yet, you know… Anyway, it’ll be taking place in game, after Rudy cuts off his arm to get rid of Ziekfried. They’ve already gone to the Elw world and Jack and Cecelia have gotten the two guardian forces needed to heal him, but he won’t wake up, and Cecelia is hurting because of it. Howzit gonna work out, I wonder? I bet you anything I’ll find out before you do…HA! Sex is enclosed so piss off if you’re too young.

Awakening the Guardian of Love
By The Playing Mantis

“Rudy…” sniffled Cecelia quietly as she sat in a chair right next to Rudy’s bed. “Please, wake up. We need you. The whole world needs you. I n- I l- I’m so sorry…”

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately. He sighed and scratched his head as he turned and left the small hut. He noticed Vassim and Mariel quietly talking on the steps, but they stopped talking and looked at him when he went outside. He sighed heavily and shook his head before sitting down on the steps. “Poor kid…” he eventually muttered.

“I am sure that the boy will eventually regain consciousness,” said Vassim.

“I wasn’t talking about him,” said Jack. “The princess is taking this really hard.”

“I thought you didn’t like royals,” said Hanpan.

“There’s a difference between not liking them and seeing that girl breaking down in there!” hissed Jack quietly. “She’s beating herself up far more than she should about all of this.”

“Why is she…?” asked Mariel quietly.

“How did you react when you found out that Rudy wasn’t human?” asked Jack.

“Well…he was hurt, so I guess it wasn’t the first thing on my mind…” said Mariel. “I mean, I was surprised, but…”

“But you took it in stride,” said Jack. “Dr. Emma, the captain, Magdalen and Jane had a little warning as well, so they didn’t react all that strongly either…but the princess and me…we were right there. We saw Rudy clutching the stump of his arm from where he’d cut it to get rid of Zeikfried. We rushed to him and saw the metallic veins and everything and we both reared back in surprise.”

“Well, that’s understandable,” said Mariel. “I’m sure that Rudy would have done the same thing.”

“That’s not the worst of it,” said Jack. “I managed to regain my composure somehow, and ran back to him and tried to help him up, but I needed the princess’s help.” He hesitated. “I called to her, but she was still in a state of shock and let the word ‘demon’ escape her mouth.” Mariel and Vassim were both silent. They knew what that must have done to Rudy’s mental state. “It was bad enough that we recoiled from him, but she feels like she personally betrayed him. So much so that she can’t even come out and say how she really feels about him…even when she’s by herself.”

“Wait…” stammered Mariel. “Does she…does she love him?”

“Yeah…” said Jack, noticing when Mariel’s ears drooped slightly. “It was pretty obvious to me after we all saw the sparks flying between her and Jane back in Emma’s office.”

“Pretty obvious?!” scoffed Hanpan. “I had to mention it to you after the fact!”

“I was a little occupied at the time…okay?” said Jack before chuckling a little to himself. “A princess and a drifter…I wonder what her father would think?”

“This isn’t the time for that!” snapped Hanpan.

“Right…sorry,” said Jack. “Could you go check on her?” Hanpan nodded and took off. Jack put his head in his hands and sighed again. “What the hell am I gonna do if both of them are out of commission like that? I can’t take out the rest of the demons without their help. The world is completely screwed…and I’m out two more friends…”

Mariel smiled as she put her hand on Jack’s shoulder. “You just admitted that Cecelia is a friend of yours,” she chided gently.

Jack grumbled but nodded slightly. “Alright fine…” he said, “I’ve gotten used to her…so what? She’s a lot more fun to poke fun at than Rudy, after all. But I am more worried about Rudy right now. What the hell’s going on in that head of his? He barely ever talks but he always seems so happy to help anyone. It really hurts to see him like that…”

“Cecelia cried herself to sleep,” said Hanpan quietly at the door. Jack wordlessly stood up, went inside and saw that she was partly lying on the bed and mostly collapsed on the floor. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over her before going back outside and taking his frustrations out on a nearby tree stump.

“Where in the world...?” whispered Cecelia quietly as she looked around. The world was full of a hazy, rainbow colored mist, and nothing else. No ground, no ceiling, no walls. No up and no down. It sort of reminded her of the inside of De Le Metalica…only less structured. She wandered for what felt like hours, trying to find some sort of landmark to tell her where she was when she saw something in the distance. She squinted and could barely make out the sight of a boy with blue hair; a boy that she knew very well. He was slowly walking in the same direction as her. “Rudy!” she cried as she ran to catch up with him. She was so happy to see him up and about that nothing else mattered. She easily caught up with him, but even when she was right next to him, he didn’t look at her and his pace didn’t change. “What’s going on?” panted Cecelia. “Where are you going?” He still didn’t respond so she reached out to grab his shoulder but her hand went right through him. She screamed and stepped back as an older man that she’d never seen before suddenly appeared next to Rudy and the mist surrounding them slowly faded away, showing that they were on a wooded path. “What the hell?” asked Cecelia quietly before dashing to keep up with the two who were either oblivious to her presence or just ignoring her.

“Remember Rudy,” said the older man, “drifting is not just about getting money for odd jobs. The true nature of drifting is helping people. Even if the people don’t have much money. Even if they treat you poorly. You should always help those in need.”

“He must be Zepet Roughnight!” said Cecelia with awe. “But…he’s dead… These must be Rudy’s memories!” She looked around in shock as the rainbow mist engulfed everything, including Rudy. “Rudy!” she screamed just as the mist vanished again and a small boy with blue hair looked around as if looking for the person who’d just screamed his name. He was standing with three other boys around the age of 8 or so.

The apparent leader of the boys said, “Stop spacing out, Rudy!” Rudy turned and looked back at him before nodding. “Okay…so I’m gonna be a drifter when I grow up!”

One of the other boys looked between the leader and Rudy and asked, “You wanna be like Rudy?”

“No!” said the leader as if that were the last thing he wanted to be. “I’m gonna be even better than him! And I’m not gonna have any old man with me either!” He looked around for a way to properly boast before his eyes lit on a large crate that no small boy would ever be able to lift. “Let me show you what I can do!” he said as she ran up to the crate and tried to lift it.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” scoffed one of the kids. “You gotta be an adult to lift something that big.”

“Yeah well…” said the leader as he tried to come up with something to save his pride, “Rudy can’t do it either! We’re still even!!!”

Rudy smiled as he walked over to the crate, bent down, planted his feet firmly and lifted the huge crate over his head, making Cecelia gasp. Rudy was obviously straining under the weight so he had no choice but to drop the crate, causing it to splinter to pieces on the ground. The children were scared out of their minds and ran away screaming that Rudy was a monster. “Oh god…” moaned Cecelia as she slowly knelt down and watched Rudy carefully. He slowly bent down and picked up a piece of wood, almost slamming it into the ground when he suddenly looked at her and dropped the wood. Cecelia gasped as Rudy ran right through her to the man standing behind her, Zepet, and hugging him tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“What’s the matter Rudy?” asked Zepet. “Were those kids picking on you? It’s okay. Come on, I’ll get you an ice cream.”

“Old Man Zepet…” said Cecelia softly as the scene faded into the mist. “Was he the only person who accepted Rudy for who he was?”

She was barely able to make out Zepet’s response to a question that Rudy asked him. “What’s that?” he asked. “Why are you different from the other kids?” He sighed. “I guess you’re old enough to ask those sorts of questions.”

“The old man must be Rudy’s comfort zone…” said Cecelia as the scene shifted once more, this time to show a still-young Rudy and Zepet sitting on a cliff-side, admiring a sunset.

“Your ability to control the ARM is very rare, did you know that?” asked Zepet. Rudy shook his head. “I guess you could compare it to being a chosen warrior! No…that’s not quite right. A chosen defender.”

“Defender?” asked Rudy. “What was wrong with warrior?”

Zepet smiled. “The word warrior denotes the idea that you’re out looking for a fight,” he said, “A defender defends people who need help.” He looked at Rudy who looked really confused. “Still don’t get it?” he chuckled. He looked at Rudy for a short while before asking, “How does it feel when you get hit on the head?”

“It hurts!” said Rudy as he covered his head reflexively.

Zepet chuckled again. “That’s right, it hurts,” said Zepet. “That is a feeling, Rudy. So, you understand that your feelings are hurt whenever things aren’t going your way or if you feel sad?” Rudy nodded slowly. “So, you understand why you shouldn’t let other people feel that way either?” Rudy nodded, a little more enthusiastically. “Good. You have a kind heart, Rudy. People with kind hearts help the people that they care about. But, you’ll need to become stronger if you want to protect people.”

“But, I’m plenty strong!” said Rudy.

“Being strong isn’t just about being physically strong,” said Zepet. “You also have to have an inner strength. A strength of self, as it were.”

“I don’t understand,” said Rudy.

“You will someday,” said Zepet kindly, “You will.” The scene slowly faded away before showing the same cliff, but Rudy was grown up and staring silently at a cross that was planted into the ground. Cecelia, her bottom lip trembling, wanted to reach out and hold him so badly, but she knew she couldn’t, and it tore her up inside. “Do you understand now Rudy?” echoed the voice of Zepet, “You are strong…because you have the kindest heart in the entire world.” Rudy gently reached out his hand and touched the cross before falling to his knees and crying.

“You understand pain…because of Zepet,” said Cecelia, trying to hold back her own tears. “As a holmcross, you could have been just another weapon, but Zepet gave you a heart…but in doing so, you encountered loss…” Flashes of her own father’s funeral passed through her mind and she suddenly remembered the look in Rudy’s eyes when she passed him during the procession. He had understood exactly how she felt, and felt sorry for her. “Zepet’s teachings…they stuck with you, didn’t they? You truly are a kind person Rudy.”

The scene before her faded again, this time replaced with flashes of scenes of a town that she’d never been to before. They showed Rudy helping a young boy by killing a monster with his ARM and the townspeople getting mad with him because of it. “You’ve had to endure a lot of pain in your life, haven’t you Rudy?” asked Cecelia quietly, “And yet, you’re still the kindest person I’ve ever met. You really are a strong person.” The scene changed again, now showing a town on fire. “What?!” cried Cecelia as Rudy suddenly ran through her and looked around wildly, the fear apparent in his face. Cecelia was still trying to figure out what was going on when Zeikfried appeared and slowly approached Rudy. “I see…” said Cecelia before crying, “Don’t run away Rudy! You’re stronger than that! Running away won’t solve anything!” She winced slightly as her words came back to her. “I know I don’t have any right to tell you how to live your life, considering the fact that I’ve just been running away my whole life, from my duty, from my birth right, but you’re stronger than I’ll ever be. Please Rudy!”

Rudy slowly edged away as Zeikfried continued to advance on him, until Rudy turned and fled. Cecelia turned as he ran through her and shouted, “It’s not the demons you’re running away from! It’s yourself! Please! You’re not a demon! You’re one of us! You’re Rudy Roughnight!” She fell to her knees and sobbed, “And you’re the boy that I…”

Before she could finish her thought the rainbow mist covered the burning town. Cecelia waited for the next scene to appear, but instead Zepet appeared, sitting in a rocking chair. Rudy was standing in front of him, his head lowered and his eyes closed. “Don’t you worry Rudy,” said Zepet kindly as he rocked back and forth. “You saw something scary, but it was just a bad dream. I can chase away all of the bad feelings and scary monsters. I will always be here for you.”

“Rudy!” cried Cecelia, “Wake up! You need to have faith in yourself!”

Zepet looked a little annoyed for a split second before smiling kindly again and saying, “Stay here Rudy, with me. Don’t listen to anyone else…only me.”

“Everyone’s waiting for you back home!” cried Cecelia, “Not just me! Jack, Hanpan, Dr. Emma, the captain, Mariel, Magdalen…and Jane too! We all love you Rudy! We all need you to be here with us! You’re part of our team, after all. You’re one of us. I know you want to be here with Zepet, but he’s dead! I know it and you do too! Please come back!”

“I’ve had just about enough of your mindless chatter,” snapped Zepet as he stood up and walked over to Cecelia.

“What the…?” gasped Cecelia. “You’re not Zepet!”

“This kid has the most pure and delicious heart I’ve ever seen in my life, you won’t be taking him from me!” roared Zepet before a flash of light engulfed him, making Cecelia cover her eyes. When she could see again, Zepet had turned into a beautiful, silver haired woman in a purple dress. “My name is Elizabeth, and I’m a dream demon. I feed on hearts, and this kid is mine! You’ll never get him back.”

“You’re the one who’s keeping him from waking up!” shouted Cecelia furiously as she brought out her staff.

Elizabeth looked at Cecelia and scoffed, “You really think you can take me on?! You’re not even worth the trouble!” She reverted back to her Zepet form and placed her hand on Rudy’s shoulder. “Come on Rudy,” he said, “Just ignore her.”

“No!” screamed Cecelia, “I won’t allow this! Rudy! Remember when we first started traveling together?”

Zepet whirled around in anger as the mist dissolved and showed a scene of Rudy, Jack and Cecelia camping down for the night, halfway between Adlehyde and Milama. “So, Princess,” said Jack as he leaned back against a rock and smirked at her. “Are you sure that you’re okay with sleeping on the ground like this?”

“I’ve camped out before,” said Cecelia angrily. “And will you please stop calling me Princess! You were willing to call me by my name before you knew who I was, why not now?!”

“Because you’re not just some other girl anymore,” said Jack off-handedly. “You’re a royal. And as I’ve said before I don’t trust them.”

“If that’s the case, then why did you invite me along!” asked Cecelia hotly.

“Cause we needed a magic user…” replied Jack as he closed his eyes. “Sides, ain’t it your duty to retrieve that Teardrop?”

“Please…don’t treat me like this…” said Cecelia quietly. “I haven’t done anything to deserve it.” She felt tears coming to her eyes and got up. “Excuse me for a minute…” She dashed away before anyone could see her crying. Leaning against a tree, she sobbed, “Why is it always like this? Just because of my birth, people treat me like I’m some sort of object instead of a person. Just because I happen to be a princess…”

“Hey…” called a quiet voice that she recognized as Rudy’s.

“What is it?!” snapped Cecelia, covering up her tears with anger. “Have you come to look after the precious princess and make sure she’s safe from the dangerous bunny rabbits?”

“Don’t be silly,” said Rudy, “The dangerous bunny rabbits only come out at sunrise. It’s the man-eating squirrels you have to worry about this late at night.”

Cecelia slowly turned to look at him and saw the silly grin on his face and couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry for snapping at you,” she said as she wiped the tears from her face. “But Jack just got me so upset.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” said Rudy. “I don’t know him or you all that well, but I can tell that you’re both people that I’ll enjoy the company of, so please come back with me…Cecelia…”

“You’re the first person to call me that after finding out who I really am other than the girls at the Abbey…” said Cecelia with a smile. “Thank you.” She gave him a small hug before the two went back to the campfire. The scene faded and Zepet looked furious. Rudy slowly lifted his head, but his eyes were still closed. “You were the first person to show me real kindness Rudy!” shouted Cecelia, “and I promised you that if you were ever in trouble, I would help you. Do you remember that?” The mist vanished again. This time showing the icy Mount Zenom. Cecelia shot a ball of fire at a large chunk of ice, but instead of melting, the ice broke free of it’s casing and rolled down the hill towards Cecelia. Rudy tackled her out of the way at the last second. The two lay there in the snow for a few seconds before Rudy slowly got off of Cecelia. She had a huge blush on her face as she looked away. “I-I’m sorry. You almost died because of my carelessness…”

“It’s okay,” said Rusy quietly.

“You saved me…why?” asked Cecelia. “Why would you put yourself in so much danger for me?”

“My guess would be Rudy’s upbringing,” said Hanpan over whatever Rudy’s answer was. “Jack could really learn a thing or two from him.”

“Funny,” grumbled Jack, “How’d you like a little rat poison in your food…”

Rudy stood up and brushed himself off before reaching down and offering his hand to Cecelia. She blushed again and smiled as she took it and let him help her up. “Thank you again Rudy,” she said. “Whenever you’re in trouble…I will try my best to help you.” The scene faded again and now Rudy’s eyes were open and looking at Cecelia. “Rudy,” she said as she held out her hand. “Let’s go back to the others…”

“‘Whenever you’re in trouble’ she says,” snapped Zepet. “Well if that’s the case, then why did she recoil from you at your moment of greatest need!”

“No…” said Cecelia fearfully. “No! Not that!”

The mist faded, showing Rudy curled up on the ground and Jack and Cecelia standing over him. “Cecelia, magic…a heal berry! Anything!”

Hanpan jumped off of Jack’s shoulder and examined Rudy’s wound. “What the…?’ he squeaked. “Why is his…?”

Cecelia shoved Hanpan out of the way before freezing. She closed her eyes and shook her head before looking more closely. “No…” she whispered. “This can’t be…it’s like Rudy has a demon’s body…” She quickly scurried away from him, hiding behind Jack.

“What?!” cried Jack as he stepped back himself. “We’ve been working with another demon?!” He growled a little before drawing his sword. “All demons must die!”

“You’re a threat to Filgaia,” said Cecelia fearfully. “You must be destroyed!”

“That’s not how it happened!!!” screamed Cecelia causing the mist to cover up the scene. “You’re manipulating his memories!” she screamed at Zepet.

“It’s my prerogative…” said Zepet with a wicked grin.

Cecelia looked at Rudy and saw that he, again, had his head bowed and had his eyes closed. “No!” she cried.

“Come along Rudy,” said Zepet. “I’ll take care of you so you’ll never be treated badly by those you thought were your friends ever again.” Zepet put his arm around Rudy’s shoulder before the two started walking away.

“Rudy!” screamed Cecelia. “If you go with him, you’ll die! Is that what you want?!” She tried to chase after them, but an invisible barrier was between them. “Please, don’t go Rudy! We need you to save the world! You’re a part of our team! We all need you!!!” She sobbed as she beat futily against the barrier until she couldn’t bear it anymore and slowly slid to her knees, leaning on the barrier. “I need you…” she sobbed quietly. She continued to cry until she felt the barrier slowly start to waver. She looked up and was barely able to see through her tear-filled eyes that Rudy had stopped and was looking around. Zepet tried to push him forward, but he wasn’t budging. “What?” asked Cecelia. “What was it I said?” She racked her brain until it came to her. She slowly looked up, looked directly at Rudy and quietly said, “I need you, Rudy…”

Rudy turned and saw Cecelia, as if for the first time. Zepet reverted back to Elisabeth and started screaming. “Stop paying attention to her!” she screamed. “She betrayed you and called you a demon just like everyone else!”

“Rudy,” said Cecelia as she slowly stood up, “She’s absolutely right. I saw what you were and I…I was scared. Because of that, I hurt you in a way that I could never understand, but you have to believe me when I say that I am sorry.” Cecelia felt the barrier give a little more as Rudy took a small step toward her.

“She’s just saying that so that you’ll help her save the world!” shouted Elisabeth. “She doesn’t care about you! You could be anyone!”

“That’s not true,” said Cecelia. “It’s true that when we started this I truly believed that I needed your help to save the world…and that was it. But as we’ve come to know one another, I realized that I need you to help me laugh…to be there when I’m sad…to smile in that way that you always do that just warms my heart. I need you to help me save the world…because a world without you isn’t worth saving!”

“I have had enough of you!” roared Elizabeth as she brought out a folding fan and cast a fireball at Cecelia.

Cecelia immediately cast a water ball in response, but the barrier was still strong enough to deflect her spell. She screamed as the fireball went through the barrier and hit her dead on, but she didn’t feel any pain. “What’s going on?” she asked as she looked down at herself.

Elizabeth whirled around and roared, “Stay out of this!”

“You will not hurt her,” said Rudy angrily.

“She betrayed you just like everyone else!” screamed Elizabeth. “What makes her any better than the others?!”

“She apologized…” said Rudy simply with a smile.

Cecelia smiled too. “Rudy,” she said happily. She brandished her staff as she placed her hand on the barrier that was now so weak that she easily pushed through it. “Now it’s time to put up or shut up, you bitch!” she snarled.

Elizabeth growled as she looked at Cecelia and Rudy before smiling. “Fine then,” she said as she waved her fan in Rudy’s direction. Cecelia cried out as he vanished into thin air.

“What did you do to him?!” she cried.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s not dead…” said Elizabeth, “but I’m not strong enough to take both of you on at once. I’ll bring him back after I kill you.” She sighed before glaring at Cecelia. “If you really want him back as badly as you seem to…you’ll have to come and take him from me!”

“Fine then!” shouted Cecelia. “I’ll take him back and then…and then…”

“And then what?!” snapped Elizabeth.

“And then I can tell him how I really feel…” said Cecelia.

Elizabeth smirked. “Tell him how you really feel?” she scoffed, “What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”

“I care for him more than I do anyone else in the whole of Filgaia,” said Cecelia, “And I am willing to fight you for him, here and now!”

“Then let’s do this,” said Elisabeth. “Protection from Water!” A barrier surrounded Elizabeth before she dashed away.

“Inferno!” screamed Cecelia as a column of fire erupted around Elizabeth.

“You bitch!” screamed Elizabeth as she ran up and tried to hit Cecelia with her fan, but Cecelia easily blocked the attack. The battle was long, but Elizabeth never really stood a chance. Every time she tried to change her defense, Cecelia would hit her with her new weakness until she couldn’t take anymore and exploded with a horrific scream and a flash of light.

Cecelia panted lightly as she looked around. “Rudy?!” she cried as she suddenly wondered how she would find him. She ran around wildly, screaming for Rudy to answer her, but no matter which way she ran, nothing seemed to change. “Rudy! Please come back! Come back…to me…” She slowly sat down and sobbed. “I’ve always hated myself for being born the princess of Adlehyde because everyone always treated me differently. But, I was the one…I was the one distancing myself from others! I tried to hide who I was and alienated them because of it when they eventually found out. I’ve always complained about wanting to be loved by someone…but I’ll never be loved by acting the way that I have been. You’ve shown me that Rudy. If I want to be loved, I have to love someone else first.” She bit her lip as she looked around before quietly whispering, “I love you, Rudy Roughnight…” A single tear fell from her face and hung in the air for a few seconds before shining brightly. “What’s going on?!” cried Cecelia as the goddess idol she was holding shattered.

“I am the guardian of Love,” said the bright light, “I have been summoned by the love emanating from a forgotten heart. Shrine maiden of the guardians, I have heard your wishes and have felt your pain. Why do you cry so? Is it because a force for the safety of Filgaia is no longer within your reach?”

“No…” said Cecelia. “It’s true that I started this because I thought it was my duty as a princess, and that during my travels, I have come to love Filgaia and all of the people that I’ve met. But Rudy is special to me. I have to find him!”

“The young one you seek is currently lost in the depths of his own unconsciousness,” said the light. “If you try to search for him, you are likely to be lost forever, never finding him or your way back to your own body.”

“I don’t care,” said Cecelia firmly. “I will find him!”

The light shone brighter, as if it were smiling brightly at Cecelia. “If that is truly how you feel, then you have truly learned what love is, and have learned what it feels like to love someone enough to sacrifice yourself for them. You have come a long way since picking up my corporeal form. I will now be able to help you in your fight against the demons that ravage the Filgaia that you and I both love. Just call my name…and I will be with you…”

The light became brighter and brighter until Cecelia had to cover her eyes. When she was able to see again she blinked at the medium that was floating in front of her. She gently reached out and grabbed it, holding it carefully in her hands. “Raftina…guardian of love…” she whispered reverentially. The medium glowed gently as magic started to course through it. “Please…guide me to the one I love…” The medium flashed brightly for a second and when Cecelia looked up she saw a cute young woman standing in front of her. The woman appeared to be slightly younger than Cecelia, but the wisdom and kindness in her eyes belied her youthful appearance. “Raftina…” said Cecelia and the young woman smiled and nodded before huge white wings gently unfurled behind her and she held out her arms. Cecelia smiled and closed her eyes as she held out her own arms and the two hugged each other tightly. There was another flash of light, and when the light cleared, Cecelia knew exactly where to go to find Rudy. “Thank you…” she whispered before putting the Love medium with the others and moving forward with determination. She took a few steps forward before taking a slight step to her left, suddenly finding herself in a completely different area. It actually looked structured. As if she were suddenly inside Rudy’s conscious mind. There was a small building right in front of her, the only structure to be seen, so she quickly ran up to it and entered.

“Cecelia!” said Rudy happily as he looked up from the chair he was sitting in.

“Rudy!” cried Cecelia as she ran up to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I was so worried about you!” she sobbed, “What have you been doing?”

“I’ve been looking for a way out of here,” said Rudy as he hugged her back, “But…I just kept ending up back here.” He gently stroked her hair until her sobbing had stopped.

Cecelia slowly looked up and suddenly noticed that she was sitting in his lap in a very unlady-like way. She shot to her feet, blushing like mad, before looking down at the confused look in his eyes and blushing even harder. “S-sorry about that…” she mumbled.

“What was the matter?” asked Rudy innocently.

“N-nothing…” said Cecelia as she looked away, ashamed at herself for freaking out, and a little upset at herself for pulling away. “We should look into getting out of here. Jack and Mariel are worried sick over you.”

“Mariel’s here too?” asked Rudy.

“Don’t you remember?” asked Cecelia. “We brought you to the Elw dimension to get you healed. You’re at Mariel’s brother’s place.”

“In all truth, I don’t really remember much after…after you said I had a demon’s body…” said Rudy quietly. “Hearing that coming from you…I couldn’t handle it…”

“I’m really sorry about that…” said Cecelia, now knowing why Elizabeth was able to mess with his memories. “You have to realize that what happened after I said that wasn’t like what was shown to you. We brought you to Professor Emma’s lab, where we learned that while you may have a body that’s similar to the demons, you were created by humans.” She slowly walked behind him and knelt down before hugging him tightly. “You are a child of Filgaia and have as much right to be here as Jack and me, so please don’t doubt yourself ever again.” She slowly closed her eyes as she held him, only opening them when she heard him sniffling. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Rudy gripped Cecelia’s hands in his own before nodding. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this happy or relieved in my entire life,” he said. “Thank you, Cecelia.” He spun around and buried his face in her tunic as tears of joy slid down his face.

Cecelia held Rudy until his tears had slowed down. “Come on,” she said with a smile, “We should go.”

Rudy smiled too and nodded. The two slowly left the small hut and looked around. “Uh…how do we get out anyway?” asked Rudy.

“Well…” said Cecelia uncertainly. “We’re in your dream right now…you should just wake up…right?”

“But…it feels like I’m wide awake now,” said Rudy. “How did you get here?”

“Um…I fell asleep next to you and found myself in your dream…” said Cecelia, not even caring about how odd that sounded. “And then I got the Guardian of Love to show me how to come here after I defeated that dream demon Elizabeth.”

“You awakened the Guardian of Love?!” asked Rudy excitedly. “Excellent! How’d you manage that?”

“Uh…well…I just…um…” mumbled Cecelia. “I said…what was in my heart…”

“Well, can the Guardian of Love help us get out again?” asked Rudy.

“I don’t know…” said Cecelia as she brought out the love medium and said, “Raftina…please lead us back to the real world.” The medium flashed brightly before Raftina appeared in front of her again. She wasn’t smiling this time. In fact, she looked a little upset. She grabbed Cecelia by the shoulders, spun her around, marched her right in front of Rudy and pointed at him. Cecelia looked up at Raftina and winced when she saw that the guardian’s arms were folded across her chest. She shivered slightly as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other before looking at Rudy and blushing at the look of confusion on his face. “She wants me to tell you something,” she heard herself say.

“What’s that?” asked Rudy calmly, apparently oblivious to Cecelia’s turmoil.

Cecelia started fiddling with the lapels and buckles of her coat before stammering, “It’s sort of…and…I…I think I…I mean, I know I…” She clamped her mouth shut and squeezed her eyes closed before mentally shaking herself, opening her eyes and looking at Rudy. Then she opened her mouth, said, “I can’t…” and dashed back inside the hut.

“What was that all about?” asked Rudy as Raftina hung her head and let out a soft sigh. She motioned for Rudy to stay put before drifting inside the hut. She found Cecelia sobbing into a pillow on the bed in the back of the small building. She slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and gently rubbed Cecelia’s back.

“I can’t tell him,” sobbed Cecelia. “I just can’t! What if he’s still upset with me for what I said when I found out what he was? What if he likes Jane better? I couldn’t bear the thought of knowing that I finally loved someone and then losing him like that.” Raftina placed her hands on Cecelia’s shoulders and gently turned her around. She looked sympathetic to Cecelia’s fears but smiled serenely before hugging her and flying out of the hut. “What is she…?’ she mumbled before squeaking as she saw Rudy get slowly pushed into the hut with her. Raftina closed the door behind her before kissing Rudy on the cheek and floating over to Cecelia, doing the same to her. Then she vanished in a flash of light.

“What’s going on?’ asked Rudy quietly as he suddenly felt really shy about being in the same room as Cecelia. Emotions that he had been holding back for so long were slowly coming to the surface and he wasn’t sure if now was the right time to be trying to deal with them.

“I…I don’t know…” said Cecelia as she started to breathe harder, just because Rudy was in the room with her. “Is this Raftina’s doing?” she asked herself as she felt her love for Rudy taking precedent over any other emotion or thought that she had in her mind. It was even overcoming her fear of rejection, although it wasn’t able to completely quash it. “What should I do?” she asked herself. “If I don’t confess to him, I’ll go crazy, but if he says no…I don’t think I could handle it…”

“Um…Cecelia…I…” stammered Rudy, “I was really…really moved when you said that a world…without me…wouldn’t be worth saving.” He looked away and scratched the back of his head. “No one’s…ever said anything like that to me before…”

“I just said what came to mind at the time,” said Cecelia quietly. “I truly believe that what I said is the truth. This world needs you Rudy…and so do I…” She slowly sat on the edge of the bed and patted the space right next to her. “Please…come here and sit down…” Rudy bit his lip as he slowly walked over to her and sat down next to her. Their hands slowly inched towards each other, but as soon as they touched, they flinched away from each other. The two sat for a short while, staring at anything that wasn’t the other. Cecelia clenched her fists as she thought, “This is ridiculous! I’ve been able to talk to him before…why should this be any different? Just say something to get the conversation started…” She turned to Rudy and opened her mouth when she saw that he was doing the same thing.

Rudy clamped his mouth shut and said, “I’m sorry, go ahead.”

“No…you first…” said Cecelia.

“Well, I was just going to say that…um…” stammered Rudy before swallowing audibly, “I think that…you’re really pretty…”

Cecelia smiled as Rudy’s face turned red and he looked away. His honest confession was all she needed to find the courage to talk to him. “Well, you’re rather handsome too,” she said. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush even harder. “Did you know that you’re the first boy who’s ever told me that?” Rudy shook his head. “Not that it’s all that surprising. You and Jack were the first guys that I talked to, other than my family, since I entered Curan Abbey. If you hadn’t come up and talked to me in the first place, I never would have gotten up the courage to ask for your help getting to Lolithia’s Coffin.”

“First rule of drifting: talk to everyone at a new town,” said Rudy with a smile. “You never know who you’ll run into. After getting the job from Emma, I knew I would need help. Going to the tavern seemed like the perfect place to find help…and there you were. Admittedly, I had my doubts about your abilities, but you seemed eager enough.”

“It was so wonderful being treated like a normal girl,” said Cecelia, “I thought Jack was a little rough around the edges but Hanpan was very nice. You were nice too…” She slowly reached out a trembling hand and placed it on Rudy’s.

“You and Jack didn’t even react when you learned that I could control the ARM…” said Rudy, “I was amazed. People are raised to think that the ARM is evil and anyone who wields it is a monster. But you all didn’t raise a fuss about it at all. Hanpan only mentioned it in passing, but Jack was too busy trying to find his ‘absolute power.’ I still don’t know why you didn’t freak out like everyone else normally does.”

“I was a little shocked,” said Cecelia quietly, “But you had such an innocent smile. I couldn’t think of you as evil, no matter what you could do.” She felt Rudy’s hand gently squeeze hers and looked over at him. He was smiling at her. She blushed and smiled back.

“Uh…Cecelia?” coughed Rudy quietly.

“Yes?” asked Cecelia.

“I’ve wanted to ask your permission to do something…for some time now…” stammered Rudy.

“Y-yes?” asked Cecelia in a quavering voice.

“Um…could I…?” asked Rudy in a voice that almost wasn’t there. He looked like he had more to say, but he couldn’t get the words out.

Cecelia swallowed, catching his meaning all too well, and answered with almost equal softness, “I…don’t mind…” She slowly closed her eyes and listened intently, hearing Rudy’s shallow breathing getting slightly louder, feeling his breaths lightly blowing on her lip and then feeling his lips against her own. It was soft, short and timid, nothing more than a light peck, but it made Cecelia so happy she almost cried. She opened her eyes and saw that Rudy was looking down at the floor and had a small grin on his face, making her giggle. “I’ll never get tired of seeing that smile on your face,” she said quietly as she reached out and gently tilted his head so that they were facing each other again. This time she kept her eyes open as she leaned in and kissed him. This wasn’t just a quick peck and it wasn’t timid either. Cecelia closed her eyes again as she placed her hands on either side of Rudy’s face. She felt him place his hands on her shoulders as they continued to kiss happily. They slowly, reluctantly, broke away to come up for air, giving Cecelia the chance to gasp, “I love you so much…” before going back at it.

The Love medium at Cecelia’s waist shone brightly before Raftina appeared in front of them, clapping her hands and looking really pleased with herself. If she expected them to suddenly stop kissing and look up at her with grateful smiles, she was to be sorely disappointed. Not only did they completely ignore her, mostly because they were so into each other that they were completely oblivious to her presence, but they actually deepened the kiss as Cecelia allowed Rudy to push her back onto the bed. Raftina rasied a finger and looked like she was going to say something, but Cecelia actually opened her eyes and looked into Raftina’s. Raftina shuddered at the glare that she was being given that quite clearly said, “Beat it!” Apparently, the spell to bring their love for each other to the front of their minds was a little too strong. She blushed and looked away as Cecelia ran her hands over Rudy’s back and Rudy returned the favor by trying to worm his hands under her shirt. She knew that it was going a lot farther than she had intended, but she smiled gently and shrugged as she vanished.

Rudy was pawing at Cecelia’s chest, a small bra and his gloves being the only things keeping him from touching her breasts directly. He felt Cecelia’s hands on his chest, pushing him back so he slowly leaned back as she sat up, their lips never parting, and slowly eased off her traveling jacket. She laid back down as Rudy took off his vest and stared down into her eyes, that were quivering with tears of joy. “Are you really sure you want to do this?” he asked her.

“Are you?” she whispered in return. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before they started fumbling with their clothes. Cecelia unlaced her boots and kicked them off as Rudy pulled his own off. They stopped and smiled at each other before silently undoing each other’s belts and kissing each other again. Cecelia hesitated before licking her lips and blushing as she slowly stood up and let her skirt fall to the floor as Rudy removed his ammo belt. Cecelia sat down and looked at Rudy, watching as he removed his gloves. After dropping his gloves to the floor he reached over and placed his hand on her cheek. Cecelia closed her eyes and drew in a sharp breath as she felt the warmth of his skin against hers. Her eyes shot open when she felt his lips against hers but they quickly closed again as she was pushed back onto the bed again. She happily dug her hands into his shirt and ran them over his chest as he ran his hands down her back and gripped her ass, pulling her hips into his. Cecelia moaned as she felt Rudy’s hard manhood rubbing against her crotch. “I’ve dreamt of this moment…for so long…” she panted.

“I’ve got one up on you…” said Rudy. “I AM dreaming of this moment right now.” Cecelia laughed before moaning as Rudy started nibbling on her neck.

“Yes…” she hissed as her hands started running through his hair. “Yes, you are. I never knew you had such naughty dreams.” She moaned loudly as she closed her eyes and started grinding her hips against Rudy’s. “Dream like this more often…” As an afterthought she added, “But only if you invite me along.”

“I don’t think that I could dream like this about anyone but you…” said Rudy quietly as his hands ran down and rolled the front of her shirt up, baring her bra-clad breasts to the world.

“Not even…Jane?” asked Cecelia quietly, causing Rudy to stop.

“Jane?” asked Rudy. “What brought that on?”

“Well…” mumbled Cecelia, wondering if she’d killed the mood with her paranoia. “She obviously likes you…and I just…” She probably would have continued stumbling along if Rudy hadn’t just smiled and kissed her.

“I just said that I couldn’t dream about doing this with anyone other than you,” he said as their foreheads touched. “I meant it…”

“Just making sure…” sighed Cecelia as she pulled her shirt the rest of the way off. She blushed a little before reaching back and unsnapping her bra. She looked into Rudy’s eyes and watched as he slowly removed it for her.

“Guess it’s my turn,” said Rudy as he sat up and removed his shirt. “Tit for tat is the saying, if I’m not mistaken.” He smiled before standing up and letting his jeans drop to the floor, followed quickly by his underwear.

Cecelia let out a gasp as she saw her first penis, hovering inches in front of her face. “Can I touch it?” she whispered.

“I should hope so…” chuckled Rudy making Cecelia giggle at her own foolish question.

“That’s not what I…oh never mind,” she said as she reached out a trembling hand and gently wrapped it around Rudy’s penis. It was warm to the touch, full of his body heat, full of his love for her. She smiled to herself as she gently ran her clasped hand up and down, stroking the shaft and running her thumb over the tip.

“That’s nice…” moaned Rudy as he smiled down at her. “How’d you learn how to do this?”

“The Curan Abbey has one of the best libraries in the world,” said Cecelia quietly, never taking her eyes off of Rudy’s erection. “And it includes books that the faculty never learned about.” She grinned impishly as she looked up at him.

“You girls were sneaking dirty books into the abbey?!” laughed Rudy. “Priceless!”

“A girl’s got to keep up with her education,” said Cecelia, “Otherwise how will she grow up to be the type of woman who can please the one she cares about…” She hesitated before looking up at Rudy with questioning eyes and quietly saying, “Her…husband?”

Rudy was floored by the suggestion. It was true that he wanted to bed Cecelia, had wanted to since the fake wedding when he realized why he was so upset with the whole farce, but the idea of them getting married had never seriously entered his mind. She was a princess and he was just a drifter…a nobody. He wasn’t even human. Would the people of Adlehyde accept him? Would her father have accepted him? All of this went shooting through his mind in the span of a second before he blurted out, “B-but what about…?”

“Adlehyde?” asked Cecelia as she went back to gently stroking him. “You want to know what would happen to the kingdom if a princess married a regular boy with no background or money to his name?” Rudy trembled under her gaze, but nodded all the same. Cecelia leaned back, flopping onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Would it surprise you to hear that I don’t care?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Rudy as he leaned over her and looked down at her face, “because I’m not used to hearing you lie like that…”

The two stared at each other for a while until Cecelia reached up and pulled Rudy into a hug. “You know me too well,” she whispered into his ear. “I do care about what everyone else will think. I’m even nervous about telling Jack and Hanpan about us. But I will not give you up, no matter how many people become upset with me.” She slowly pushed him off of her before sitting up. “I need you Rudy…” she said quietly, “I need you in my life because you are the person who taught me how to love someone.” She looked over at him and stood up. “And now, I want to love you…” She reached down and pulled her pants off before standing up and stepping out of them, leaving her clad only in her panties. She then walked until she was right in front of him and knelt down on the floor. If Rudy was surprised by her boldness, he didn’t show it as Cecelia opened her mouth and started to lick and suck on his penis. She closed her eyes and let out small muffled groans as she ran her tongue all over, giving special attention to the tip.

“Cecelia…” moaned Rudy.

“Shhhh…” whispered Cecelia. “Let me do this…” She looked up at him and smiled before noticing a small drop of precum start to ooze out of the tip. She gently licked it off, making Rudy shudder. She continued to gently lick the tip, savoring the taste of his salty precum as it continued to slowly flow out.

“Cecelia…that’s…” moaned Rudy quietly. She responded by opening her mouth and engulfing his prick, slowly bobbing her head back and forth over it, dragging her lips gently over the surface. She moaned softly, the vibrations of her breath running over Rudy’s shaft, causing him even more pleasure. “Cecelia…don’t…not…” he said through gritted teeth before groaning loudly and thrusting his hips forward.

Cecelia’s eyes shot open for a second before closing again and swallowing as much of Rudy’s cum as she could. When she finally pulled away to breathe, she wrapped her hand around his prick and pumped the last few strands onto her face and chest. She giggled as Rudy got a dazed look on his face and flopped onto his back. She slowly stood up, wiping her face and chest off before licking her hands clean. “Did you like that?” she asked coquettishly as she climbed up onto the bed and kissed his cheek.

“God…” whispered Rudy, “Did I ever…”

“You okay?” asked Cecelia quietly. “If you need to sleep that’s fine…”

“No way am I sleeping without doing anything for you…” groaned Rudy as he pushed himself up onto his elbows.

“What did you have in mind?” asked Cecelia her eyes twinkling with mischief.

“A little of this and a little of that,” replied Rudy as he pushed her onto her back and started to gently run his fingers over her panty-clad crotch. Cecelia hissed and closed her eyes as she felt Rudy’s lips softly kiss one of her breasts and then the other.

“Rudy,” she moaned as she felt his right hand gliding along her slit, barely parting her moist lips for a split second before letting them close again. “That’s nice…” She opened her eyes and smiled at him before throwing her head back and moaning loudly when he wrapped his lips around one of her nipples and started sucking on it. She bit on one of her fingers to keep from screaming out loud as Rudy’s tongue gently flicked across her taut and sensitive nipple before giving it’s pair the same treatment. “Oh god…Rudy!” she groaned through clenched teeth. “That feels so good! Where did you…?”

“You’re not the only one who wanted to know how to pleasure someone else,” replied Rudy as he slowly slid his tongue down her body, running around her belly button a few times, and ended up where his fingers had never stopped running and probing. “You might feel a slight tingling sensation…” he said wryly as he slowly dragged his tongue from the bottom of her slit right up to the tip. No finger would have been big enough to muffle Cecelia’s squeal of pleasure. “I’m going to hazard a guess and say that you liked it when I did that…” said Rudy flatly.

“Oh god…” squeaked Cecelia. Her entire body trembled as she felt Rudy gently pull the crotch of her panties aside and part her lips again, sending his tongue searching her depths. Squeezing her eyes shut, the pleasure was getting to be more than she could handle.

“Found it…” said Rudy.

“What?” asked Cecelia timidly before she felt his fingers gently pinch a tiny lump of skin and the world went white. She screamed and screamed, barely managing to find time to breathe in between them as Rudy continued to gently lick and slurp at her flowing opening. When she finally came down from the most incredible orgasm she had ever felt, she collapsed to the bed. She was a sweaty, bedraggled mess, but she’d never felt so alive and at peace in her life. Her body trembled with each small breath she took and could barely open her eyes since her hair clung to her face. She felt Rudy brush the hair from her eyes, so she opened them and smiled at him. “Hi…” she whispered.

“Are you okay?” asked Rudy, a silly grin on his face.

“I’ve never felt better…” moaned Cecelia. “I could look at that smile of yours forever and never get tired of seeing it…” She slowly reached up and brought his face down so they were inches from each other. “Love me, Rudy… Love me completely and make me a woman.”

“Are you sure you re—” he never got any farther because Cecelia pulled him in and kissed him deeply and passionately. As their tongues danced together they could taste their cum mixing together, giving their kiss a delightfully tangy kick. When he finally pulled away from her, all he could say was, “I guess so…”

Cecelia giggled a little before kissing him again. “Rudy, I don’t care about the consequences,” she moaned, “I don’t care about what others will think. I don’t want to think about Filgaia, or my position, or my lineage or anything other than you and me right now. All I care about is you! Please take me…” She placed her hand on his cheek before pouting coyly and saying, “Please?”

“I don’t really think I have much choice in this matter,” said Rudy with a smile, “Not since you asked so nicely.”

“Not only that,” said Cecelia a big smile on her face, “I don’t think you should go anywhere with that long, hard rod in your pants. You might hurt someone.”

“What do you think I should do about it then?” asked Rudy, his grin threatening to split his face in two.

“Just be gentle with me…” said Cecelia softly. “It’s my first time…”

Rudy nodded and smiled as he ran his fingers through her hair. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered. “I would never purposefully hurt you.” Cecelia closed her eyes and shuddered happily at Rudy’s simple confession. “Unfortunately…”

“I know,” said Cecelia. “Just go slowly and it should be okay…” She listened intently to the sounds around her as she kept her eyes closed. She felt Rudy pulling away and heard him shuffling around so he was kneeling between her legs. She could hear his heavy breathing and even a small swallowing sound, making her giggle. She appreciated that he was so nervous too; it alleviated some of her own nervousness. Her eyes shot open when she felt the first gentle nudge of his penis touching her pussy. She looked down and trembled as she watched him slowly rubbing the tip against her folds, making sure that he was lubricated enough for entry. She licked her lips and bit her bottom lip when she saw him place his hand on her hip and start to slowly push into her. She moaned softly as she felt herself stretch to accommodate something other than her fingers.

“Are you okay?” asked Rudy.

“I’m fine…” hissed Cecelia between clenched teeth, “Keep going…” She held her tongue as Rudy kept pushing until the head popped into her. Her eyes shot open and she let out a sharp squeal of pain. “Stop!” she cried. Her command was pointless, however, as he’d stopped as soon as he felt her clamp down on him.

“It’s okay,” said Rudy soothingly. He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead and ran his fingers through her hair. He whispered soothing words into her ear until he felt her pussy start to slowly relax around him. “I won’t move until you say it’s okay…”

“G-go ahead…slowly…” breathed Cecelia. Rudy nodded and started to push again. Centimeter by agonizing centimeter, Rudy kept up a snail-like pace until he came to the barrier he’d been warned about. He stopped when he felt it, but Cecelia still took a sharp intake of breath. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at the concern that she saw on Rudy’s face. “This next bit is really going to hurt…” she whispered so quietly that Rudy leaned in to ask what she’d said. As soon as his balance was mostly on his arms, Cecelia quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him into her. She cried out in pain as she held Rudy tightly, her arms and legs holding him to her, making sure he couldn’t move.

“Are you okay?” asked Rudy quietly. Cecelia nodded slightly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

“We just broke a membrane in one of the most sensitive areas of the female body…” groaned Cecelia. “It hurts a lot more than I thought it would…but the pain is going away. Just hold me…hold me until I say otherwise…okay?”

“I can do that,” said Rudy. He felt that while her inner walls were still clenching around him tightly, they were slowly relaxing around him. He looked down at her and saw that she still had a lot of pain etched on her face, so he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at his smiling face. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear.

Tears of joy immediately replaced the tears of pain that were threatening to spill from Cecelia’s eyes as she hugged him tighter. “I love you so much…” she sobbed. They leaned in and kissed each other, their hips moving involuntarily as they did so. Cecelia arched her back and gasped.

“I’m sorry!” said Rudy as he held himself perfectly still. “Are you all right?”

“It’s okay…” said Cecelia, “That didn’t hurt…it felt…nice. Let’s try it again…” She licked her lips as she slowly released her death grip on Rudy’s hips. She felt Rudy pull back an inch and moaned as she felt the slight emptiness. Rudy stopped and gently pushed back in. Cecelia threw her head back and let out a shuddering breath of pure joy as she felt him move slightly deeper into her. “Rudy…” she moaned. “Keep doing that. Oh god…don’t ever stop doing that!”

Rudy smiled a little as he said, “I don’t really think that’s possible…but I’ll do my best.” Cecelia moaned in response as he continued to slide in and out of her at a slow, steady pace. Cecelia’s death grip returned as she tried to pull him in deeper with each thrust of his hips. Rudy smiled down at Cecelia, even though it was more a grin than anything due to his clenched teeth. Her eyes were closed and there was a look of pure pleasure on her face. He could feel her hips gently thrusting up to meet his as he leaned in and kissed her.

Cecelia opened her eyes and whimpered, “That feeling is coming back…” Her gentle thrusts were getting more and more rapid and brutal until she couldn’t take it anymore and held him tightly and screamed as she came.

Rudy fought to keep his own orgasm in check as he felt Cecelia’s silky walls clench tightly around him. “Cecelia…” he hissed. “I’m close…I’ve got to pull out…”

“No! Don’t!” cried Cecelia as she held him even tighter. “Don’t pull out! Please!”

“But I…” started Rudy.

“It’s just a dream!” screamed Cecelia. “Stay in me!!!” Her entire body trembled as she felt his member swell and start to twitch. She thrust her hips like a maniac as she clenched her inner muscles, wanting to feel everything he had to offer her.

“Oh god…Cecelia!!!” roared Rudy as he slammed into her and buried his face in her shoulder. Cecelia screamed loudly as she bit into Rudy’s shoulder and the two held each other tightly, their hips both jerking slightly as they rode out their respective orgasms. Rudy’s body trembled as his muscles clenched and he shot the last few strands of his seed into Cecelia before his body gave out on him. He somehow managed to get the energy to push himself off of Cecelia and roll onto his back, staring at the ceiling. “I’ve never…felt anything…like that before…in my life…” he panted. He smiled and looked over at Cecelia and was shocked to see that she was crying. “I’m sorry!” he said quickly. “I tried to pull out but…”

Cecelia stopped him with a simple shake of her head. “I’m not crying because I’m upset,” she whispered as she smiled at him. She slowly ran her hands down to her sensitive lips and winced slightly as she touched them, a shiver of pleasure racing through her body. She felt Rudy’s cum start to slowly trickle out of her and sighed contentedly. “Oh Rudy…” she moaned, “Even if this is just a dream…I never want to forget it…ever!” She moved onto her side, facing him, and draped her arm around him, pulling him in. “Please…promise me that when we wake up, that we’ll remember this, that we’ll still love each other as much in the real world as we do right now and will be able to say so without fear.”

Rudy wasn’t sure if that was a promise he would be able to keep. He was never very good at remembering his dreams, but as he looked into her eyes, saw the desperation and love in them, he knew that nothing could keep them apart. Even if they both forgot everything that happened here, they would always feel this way about each other. “I promise that I will love you until I die…” he said solemnly.

“Rudy…” sobbed Cecelia, knowing why he only promised that. She knew that there was a very good chance that neither of them would remember what had just happened and it hurt to know that. But if he was willing to put up a strong front for her sake, then she wasn’t going to complain about it. “Thank you…for this moment…” They kissed each other one last time before the world went white.

Cecelia’s head shot up as she looked around and cried, “Rudy!” She immediately winced. Her whole body felt sore. Looking down she saw that she was still half lying on the bed and noticed that someone had draped a blanket over her. Looking up she saw that Rudy wasn’t in the bed anymore. She got up stiffly and looked around. Rudy was standing in front of the table in the middle of Vassim’s hut. Cecelia took a step forward before noticing a strange feeling. A creamy, viscous fluid was flowing down her legs. She slowly reached into her pants and wiped some of the fluid from her legs before bringing it to her lips. She gently licked the fluid off of her fingers, recognizing the taste instantly. She closed her eyes and smiled before reaching out and touching Rudy’s shoulder. “Hey…” she said quietly as he slowly turned around and looked at her. “We were dreaming together...” Rudy smiled and nodded. “Did you…by any chance, remember what happened?” Rudy cocked his head to the side and looked confused. “I see…” said Cecelia, trying not to cry as she turned around. “Don’t worry about it…it just would have been really nice if you remembered it, is all…” She felt tears really coming to her eyes when Rudy placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her back around to face him.

“How could I possibly forget what happened between us?” he whispered into her ear as he hugged her. Cecelia’s eyes widened in realization before she hugged him and started crying happily. They gently kissed each other as they silently thanked the guardian of love for what she had done for them.


The End

(Okay, when I originally came up with this idea I still hadn’t played Alter Code F and was trying to figure out if the creators of Wild Arms deliberately made Rudy and Cecelia’s relationship so freaking ambivalent so as to get us fans to get them together instead. Then I finally got to play Alter Code F and not only does Cecelia obvious love Rudy, but Jane does too…meanwhile Rudy’s just as freaking oblivious as always. Well, I wasn’t about to let that slide, so I had to write this. The scene in Rudy’s dream where Cecelia finally confesses her love for Rudy seemed like the perfect place for this type of story, so I wrote it. *shrug* I hope you enjoyed it… I’ve just got to wonder though…since Rudy isn’t human…would they even be able to have kids? *shrug again* See ya around!)