User blog:Thrycius/Zheiro and The Moonlight Sculptor: Chapter 1

'''Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfic between Brave Fronter and The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. I don't own either of those; they belong to their respective owners, namely Gumi/Alim and Nam-Hi-Sung (남희성) respectively.'''

Now, without further ado, hope you enjoy the story.

A small, remote village, hidden in one of the corners of El Gaia.

An unremarkable village, as was the kingdom it was set in.

Within, the cries of a young girl could be heard.

''“No! I don't want to leave!”''

The young girl, whom some rich noble had taken a fancy to and had decided to take her away as her servant, was refusing to part from her friend.

“Don't worry, everything will be okay.”

The young boy, who despite his own sadness tried to put up a brave face in front of the girl he so liked.

''Two close childhood friends, who were always found together that they were thought to be inseparable. No matter what one did, the other was always present. However, they had no choice but to go their different ways; and because they were only the children of poor peasants, there was nothing they could do to change that.''

The girl, who kept crying, clinging onto the boy as the others tried to convince her that it would be okay.

The boy, who did everything he could to cheer her up, simply because he couldn't stand seeing her sorrowful face.

There was only one thing he could think of to stop her from crying—and that was a promise where the two of them would have to meet up again.

''“We won't be apart forever,” the young boy said, wiping tears from her eyes. “While you are gone, I will perfect my carving skills. And when we reunite, I will show you the most beautiful sculpture in the world. Okay? It's a promise, so stop crying. We'll definitely meet again.”''

''A childish vow, as was their love. But it was enough to calm her down.''

“Really?” The girl asked.

''“Mm. It's a promise.”''

''It was only after she was finally taken away that the boy started shedding his own tears. But, as long as he could stay strong in front of her, nothing else mattered.''

And thus, ten years have passed since then...

“Come buy the freshest exotic fruits here! You'll never find anything like it!” “We sell unique clothes made from the finest materials!” “Selling fine weapons cheap! You never know what you'll be needing out there!”

The cries of merchants and traders fill the bustling marketplace of the Imperial Capital Randall. It was a crowded, busy place, but there was one section where almost everyone passed by without a second thought.

That same section was also where Zheiro the sculptor sat, trying to make a living selling some wooden figurines he had made. “It's pretty hard, trying to survive like this,” Zheiro mumbled to himself. While he did make a lot of well-made figurines that were popular with the children, he barely made enough zel to survive, much less enough zel to buy the materials needed to make new figurines as well as practice his skill at carving.

And lately, hunger was having quite a large effect to his concentration, dropping the quality of his work.

“Hey, mister, how much is this cute rabbit?” A customer had appeared—it was a little girl, chaperoned by her mother.

“5 zel.” Zheiro responded. “But for such a cute kid like you, I can sell it for 3 zel.”

“That's expensive for only a piece of wood, no matter how well carved!” The girl's mother exclaimed in astonishment. “Come on, dear, I can get you a doll for much cheaper instead.”

And thus the potential customer was dragged away by her mother.

Zheiro sighed. Most people couldn't understand the effort it took to make his sculptures, and thus they couldn't appreciate his work.

Turning a piece of wood or stone into a work of art was not as easy as many thought. The quality of the material, the way the markings and grain of the material could affect the sculpture's final appearance, the careful and methodical work required to carve into the material without mistake—and that was only the tip of the iceberg.

Unlike the other professions, sculpting was rather unpopular for its difficulty to learn and uselessness in daily life. But despite everything, Zheiro had a goal, and the only way to achieve it was to take the path of a sculptor.

“Ah, a sculptor? How rare.”

When Zheiro looked up again, there was a young man standing before him. Wearing a short cloak over a long worn tunic and a sword strapped by the hip at his back, the young man looked much like an adventurer or a swordsman, if it weren't for the bag filled stuffed with parchment at his side. Perhaps he was on a task for someone else? But then, why stop by to look at his sculptures?

Zheiro shook his head. As long as there was a potential customer, he would do what it takes to squeeze zel out of him so that he could continue down his path.

While he had been thinking, the young man before him had already picked up one of his sculptures and was examining it.

“A sculpture of a rabbit made of maple, is it? The details you put into this is quite well done. And if I recall correctly, maple is rather difficult to work with.”

It was the same sculpture that the girl earlier had picked up earlier. But to think this man was quite familiar with the art of sculpting! Perhaps today would be his lucky day. Someone who appreciates his work would certainly pay enough for a few days worth of food!

“Sculptor, what is your name?”

His thoughts were interrupted once again.

“I am called Zheiro, good sir. Is the rabbit you hold to your liking? If it is, you can have it for just 7 zel.”

The reaction he received was rather unexpected, however.

“Zheiro?” A strange look flashed briefly over the man's face for a split second. Although it was short, Zheiro noticed. “So you're Zheiro. I see.”

“Is there something wrong, sir?” Zheiro asked worriedly.

“Zheiro, Let me be honest with you,” the man said, gently putting the rabbit down. “7 zel for this figurine? Do you even understand what you are asking for? Even though the rabbit was well made despite the difficult material, the artistic value of this rabbit is practically zero. Not even 5 zel, in my opinion.”

“Wha—!?” Zheiro exclaimed. Before Zheiro could argue back, however, the young man continued.

“I'm sure you can do better than this, Zheiro. So I will give you a commission so that you can prove yourself to me.

You see, there's this person I know who's in love with a girl. For the sake of this girl, he's been spending every day of his life working hard so that he can fulfill a promise with that girl; such is his love towards her. I think those two would suit each other very well, so I want to give him something that he can give to her as a gift. Hmm, let's see... How about you carve some flowers? While real flowers are pleasant your sculptures would last for much longer. Think of it as his feelings of eternal love towards her, and capture the image of real, beautiful flowers that will never wither with your skills. I'm sure you can do something like this, right?”

A story of love between two people. Zheiro was quite familiar with the feeling of love; after all, he too had been in love once.

He could do something like this. Although the strange man before him spoke impassively, he could tell that the man in the story had very strong feelings towards the girl. It was a situation much like his own, so he could relate quite easily.

Yes, for those two, he wouldn't just carve a few flowers, but an entire bouquet, carved with the feelings he felt towards the girl he met during his childhood.

But...

“I would love to accept your request. However, I am low on materials, and the tools I have a poor and ill-suited for what I have in mind. Could you pay in advance, so that I may acquire the tools that I need?”

“Of course,” the young man before him said, dropping a small bag full of zel before him. “I'll pay up 1,000 zel in advance, and when you complete the sculpture there will be an additional reward depending on how well you do.”

Zheiro couldn't believe it. A whopping one thousand zel! That was more than enough to buy a famous blade made by the swordsmith Sorgel, and everyone knew how expensive those were!

A single good sword could cost more than a house, Zheiro knew. He had checked a long time ago when he thought he might have needed a weapon to defend himself, but that had been a pointless endeavor.

More importantly, with that kind of money he could buy what he needed to create this sculpture and still have enough to live comfortably for weeks, and that didn't even include the final payment he would receive!

'Thank you very much!” Zheiro said. “I'll do my best to create what it is that you are looking for.”

“See that you do. I'll return in a week to pick up your finished sculpture.”

In a small, unassuming kingdom, a girl named Ixia was daydreaming.

If anyone was watching, they would have thought that her dreamy gaze was due to haven fallen in love; a statement which wasn't actually that far off.

Most people around her thought it was due to the king, who recently had began courting her.

Certainly, her beauty was beyond even that of the current queen, but Ixia herself was actually not interested in either her own beauty or the king.

As the kingdom's Royal Tailor, her job was simply to weave whatever clothes that the royalty desired, in exchange for being able to live and be well fed within the palace.

It was a job that was shoved onto her when she was a child, but despite that she went beyond anyone's expectations.

Weaving clothes so beautiful that they could have been considered a work of art by themselves, her skills were greatly sought out by the royalty—and kept hidden from the rest of the world.

And thus, that kingdom managed to keep the talented seamstress Ixia all to themselves.

None of this mattered to Ixia, however. As long as she wove the clothes they wanted, she could spend all her free time daydreaming.

Dreaming of the boy in her memories from a decade ago—

“Tailor Ixia, I would like to speak with you.”

Ixia snapped out of her daydream, putting down cloth and needle she had been holding. Her “free time” was not actually free time, but time she set aside for herself pretending to be weaving clothes for someone else. After all, if someone found out she actually finished a lot earlier than expected, people would demand more from her.

In any case, Ixia didn't even need to look to know who it was that had just called out to her; lately, this visitor had been dropping by a lot lately.

“Yes, your majesty?” Ixia asked, getting of her seat only to kneel before the very queen she served.

Recently, Ixia herself was having trouble dealing with her own King and Queen. The King would often try to court her, and the Queen would often talk to her about it.

Try as she might, she could not so easily avoid the two most powerful people in the kingdom, as small as it may be.

No, perhaps it was because it was such a small, insignificant kingdom that there was no place to hide.

Perhaps it was fortunate that she had not yet received the Queen's ire. At the worse, all she received were complaints, but even that took away time that she could use to daydream!

“Ixia, it seems that the other day my husband had attempted to woo you again.”

“So he has. Can't he just stay loyal to you, as your husband?” Ixia asked, perplexed. Many times Ixia wondered how it could be so difficult to stay true to your loved one. She had been at it for a decade now herself, why couldn't her own king do so as well?

“I wish he would.” The queen replied. “In all honesty, though, I'm more amazed at how steadfast you managed to be in refusing his advances. I probably would have been far more jealous if it had been otherwise.”

“I am undeserving of such praise, your majesty,” Ixia politely replied.

“But I'm curious, how do you do it? It must be difficult to refuse all the lavish gifts he has been willing to give you.”

Ixia grimaced. She couldn't understand; was it really so hard to refuse someone's advances if you already had someone else in mind?

“Well, your majesty, I have already made a promise with someone else. What right do I have then, to break that promise and accept the king's desires?”

An answer that delighted the queen.

“Ah yes. The boy from your memories of many years past, was it? Your sincere dedication to that boy has long touched my heart. I can only hope that your reunion will be a happy one. You still have my continued support.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” Ixia replied.

The stories of Ixia's memories of her childhood friend was something Ixia often talked about given the chance, so it was not an unknown topic to those who visited Ixia.

Even the queen had found them entertaining. Perhaps this was actually a good thing, because otherwise the queen may not have been as friendly as she is now towards Ixia now that the King himself was romantically interested in her.

“Then, Tailor Ixia, could you tell me yet another story of times past when you played with the boy?”

“Of course, your majesty.”

And as Ixia sat back down in her chair, her thoughts drifted towards the boy from her memories. Wondering what that boy was doing right now, and what he was up to, Ixia began to speak.

''A/N:So here we are. I finally live up to my name as bard and wrote something. Despite that, it's a fanfic with entirely original characters. What's up with that? I'm sure many of you will probably complain, lol. Somehow I can just imagine some of you readers asking how this could even be a BF fanfic, with the lack of BF characters. Oh well. The lack of action (as of now, anyway) will probably drive most of the BF community away too lol. GG, me.''

''Anyway, this is my first time writing something with such a cliche romance story as the premise, how lame. I hope I'll still manage to squeeze something interesting out of this story.''

''In any case, please leave a comment even if you didn't like it; constructive critism is always helpful. Thanks!''

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