Author's Note: Hey guys! It's ObscureAuthorBrendan! Since my Beater and the Black Cats story is doing fairly well, I thought I would expand my audience with a second story on a new pairing: Kirito and Lisbeth. Personally, I think the pairing is really underrated, so adding to the story list on those two would be fun. A portion of the chapter is taken straight from Episode 7, but I included minor additions up to my point of diversion from canon. Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own any part of SAO. On with the story!

24 June 2024
Floor 55, Western Mountain
18:54

"Ahh..! It's beautiful!" The pink-haired blacksmith exclaimed as she admired her many reflections in the large, silver crystals. There were many clusters for at least a hundred meters around us. One particular cluster directly ahead of us towered twenty meters over everything.

Dear God, she almost looks like a child… Wait, who are you to be talking? You were only 14 when this God-forsaken mess started.

"Ah, hey! What's your problem?!" She snapped as I grabbed her hood to keep her from running off.

"You should get your teleport crystal ready. We don't want any surprises," I told her, completely unfazed by her tone.

"Hmm… Alright., alright, I'm doing it…"

"And I'm handling this next part on my own. Once the dragon appears, you're going to hide behind one of the crystals over there. Don't come out no matter what."

"Oh come on! I'm not a noob! If I wanna help you, I'll darn well-"

"Just do what I say!" I exclaimed harsher than I intended to. She flinched at the sudden outburst.

Come on, Kirito… You have good intentions, so show her.

She nodded silently, still visibly shaken.

"Good," I said with a reassuring smile and a pat to her head. "Okay, let's keep going."

Shortly after I started moving towards the towering cluster, a deafening roar erupted, shaking the ground beneath us.

"Hurry up and take cover!" I shouted, pointing to a set of nearby crystals.

Soon enough, a large, white dragon emerged from the main tower, stretching its wings as it took flight.

X'yrphan the White Wyrm, its display name read. Three health bars rotated into view right next to it.

All right, let's see what you've got.

An inaudible scream came from Lisbeth's direction as a blue orb formed at the X'yrphan's opened mouth, releasing a blue burst stream.

Just like the blue-eyed version in that old card game.

Just before the beam could hit me, I charged and released a Horizontal skill, redirecting the beam nearly ninety degrees to the right, turning dozens of crystals into shrapnel with a boom.

Come on, is that all you've got?!

Once I recovered from the recoil, I went on the offensive and released skill after skill on the mini-boss, quickly wearing down its HP. Before long, his first health bar was depleted, so I put some distance between us and waited for a new attack pattern. Sure enough, X'yrphan flew away, then turned back in my direction, probably looking to slash at me with one of his ten razor-sharp claws. Seeing an opportunity, I charged a Sonic Leap, then waited for him to come within range. As soon as he came close enough, I released the skill on his left arm, severing the limb at the shoulder.

"Come on! Quit playing around with it and finish it off already!" Lisbeth called while coming out of cover.

Shit, what's she doing?!

"Damn it! Don't come out!"

Suddenly, the white wyrm turned his attention from me to Liz. With a strong flap of his wings, he sent tons of debris and snow in an avalanche rolling to her. Despite her efforts to avoid the wave, the avalanche caught up to her and dragged her along with it.

Crap! Please stay alive!

As soon as I landed, I used a mound of debris as a launch pad to jump towards the blacksmith and begin the rescue. I'm not letting another party member die on me!

To make matters worse, she was carried over the edge of a large, deep opening in the ground along with the tons of snow and debris. To get to her faster, I made my body straight as an arrow and held my sword along my leg. A few seconds into the fall and I was able to spot Liz, who seemed rather busy giving off a high-pitched scream.

Just… a… little… farther… Yes!

"Hang onto me, Liz!" I screamed as I pulled her into an embrace. Now that she was in a vice grip, I got the Elucidator and stabbed it into the wall to slow us down. There was hardly a difference at first, but after a few seconds we began to decelerate considerably. We headed closer and closer to the bottom, falling too quickly for a soft landing, even after significantly slowing down.

Crap, we might not make it at this rate! There's only one thing I can do that might help…

Before we got close to the bottom, I rolled us over so that Lisbeth's back was towards the sky, and that's when I felt a truck ram into my back and saw everything fade to black…

"A-are we still alive..?" I muttered when I finally came to. I took a look at my HP gauge to see about 30% remaining.

Man… my head hurts… hell, everything hurts… There's no chance we would have survived that in real life…

"Yeah, it looks like it…" Lisbeth answered, obviously shaken up.

At least I took a bulk of the damage, otherwise she might not have made it…

"Drink one of these just in case," I instructed as I materialized two high-level restoration potions. I handed one to Liz and kept the other for myself, and slowly but surely, our HP climbed back to green.

"Thank you… you know, for saving me…"

"It's a little too soon for any thanking," I began as I looked around. The hole we fell in was a near-perfect cylinder with a base of about ten meters, and an astonishing height. "We have to find a way to get out of here first."

"Can't we just teleport out?" Liz suggested as she pulled out a blue prism. "Teleport, Lindas! No way!"

She sighed when nothing happened.

"Well, if we can't teleport, there should be another way out." I stood up and took another look around.

Wait, what if I…?

"How can you be so sure there is? I mean, what if this is some kind of trap meant to kill anyone who falls into it?"

"Good point. Maybe it is," I concurred.

"Hmm! Would it kill you to at least try to cheer me up?!" she snapped.

Idiot, it's not going to work…

"I think I have an idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we could try running up the wall."

"... you're insane…"

"Maybe, but it's all I got for ideas right now." Without a second thought, I began a full-on sprint to one of the sides, jumped, and began running up the wall.

Come on, you can do it! Just… a… little…

SLIP

Oh shit…

"Wwwwwoooooooaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" I screamed as I fell back to the bottom.

THUD

Aww man, what the hell did I land on?!

"Ugh…" I groaned as I pulled myself out of the swordsman-shaped hole in the snow. "If I had more of a running start, I would've made it…"

"Yeah… I don't think so…"

"Oh shut up!"

Since it was early evening when I began fighting the dragon, the sun had set shortly after my meager attempt at escaping. I materialized some basic cookware from my inventory along with a few ingredients and began working with my virtually (hahaha…) nonexistent cooking skill to make dinner. We talked a bit as we ate, with me telling stories of the frontlines and her talking about how crazy fans would get over her.

"Wait, so some customers would spend hours at your shop and have you upgrade all their armor?!"

"Yup. One customer even had me repair his starting armor. You know, the set everyone got when they first logged on?"

"Wow. The things some guys would do to be around a girl…" I sighed.

"Mm hmm," she nodded, "on the bright side, that probably means I'm well-known among a lot of players. It's a real headache sometimes, though."

"Oh yeah? Try having everyone who knows your name treat you like crap everywhere you go."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing…"

I don't want another person giving me hell for being in their presence. I never learned what she thought of the whole 'Beater' issue.

"Oh, okay… Hey, it's getting a little cold and pretty late… Do you think we should get some sleep?" Lisbeth asked, rubbing her arms for warmth.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Do you have a sleeping bag?"

"Umm… well… no…" She answered shyly with her head down.

"Why don't you have a bag? Don't you go with your customers to get materials every now and then?"

"Well yeah, but that would never take more than a few hours…!"

"Okay then, hold on a second." I navigated through my menu and materialized a lantern and two sleeping bags.

"Here you go. I'm sorry if you're not a fan of the color, but it's what I have."

"Thanks, Kirito… But why do you have two sleeping bags?"

"For emergencies. Since the sleeping bags count as clothing, the durability runs out for a while, so there's that. In this case, I'm partying with a player who doesn't have one. It's the first time the latter happens, though."

She nodded in response.

We set up the two sleeping bags rather quickly about a meter away with the lantern in the middle. A light snowfall managed to find its way into the hole/trap/whatever-the-hell-this-thing-is and land all around us. We were both on our backs looking up to the sky, waiting for sleep to take over us.

"You know, it's kind of weird, isn't it?" Lisbeth began, breaking the silence. "This wouldn't happen in real life. You know, going to strange places, meeting a total stranger, then falling asleep next to them. I mean, you actually tried running up a wall!" She continued with a giggle. "You really are a weirdo, you know that?"

"Well, excuse me," I said as-a-matter-of-factly. I didn't really know how that ended up happening. As for the part about sleeping near a 'stranger'...

"Kirito, can I ask you something?"

"Ask away, I'm all ears."

"Why did you risk your life to save me?" She asked as she sat up.

I took a moment to think of a good response.

"I can't just sit back and watch somebody die; I'd rather die alongside them than do nothing. Especially if that person's somebody like you, Liz." A smile spread across my face when I finished.

She returned the smile before responding. "Wow, you really are an idiot. You're the only person who'd think that."

I don't know about that, Lisbeth. It wouldn't be hard to think of people who would do anything to be where I am right now.

"Hey… Hold me…? I-I'm feeling pretty cold over here…"

Wait, what?! First she calls me an idiot, then she asks me to go and hold her?

Come on, Kirito, she doesn't mean it like that; she said she was cold.

"I-I'm sorry?" I turned to the blacksmith as I asked. I need to make sure I heard that right.

"Can you… hold me? I'm feeling pretty cold… and I just…" *sigh* "You don't have to if you don't want to…"

She began turning away, interpreting my silence as rejection.

"Hey, hey, it's fine; it's no problem at all," I said reassuringly, sitting up to adjust the sleeping bags.

Once we found a way to 'combine' the two items, I materialized an extra blanket for added protection. Lisbeth and I then crawled inside to figure out a way to make it work. At first, it was a bit awkward when I tried holding her, but with time we were both able to get comfortable. The final result: Lisbeth on my right side, my arm and shoulder acting as her pillow while our free arms wrapped around the other.

This feels a lot better than it should…

"Ah… it's so warm… even though you and me are a bunch of ones and zeroes in this virtual world…"

"I know, I responded. "Good night, Lisbeth. Sleep tight, and have yourself a good dream."

"You too, Kirito. Night…"

I closed my eyes and tried falling asleep, but before I could enter Dream Land, Lisbeth's voice broke the silence.

"You know, when I first learned that we couldn't escape Aincrad, I never thought I'd actually fall asleep in the arms of a stranger…"

Wait, is she talking to conscious Kirito, or does she think I'm asleep? I guess I'd better listen and find out.

"Damn it, Liz.. Don't do this… It's just a quest. Once we get out of here, I'll probably just make his sword and never see him again…"

Wow, okay… Let's just pretend that those words didn't sting.

"But he's not one of those creeps who's completely infatuated with me. If he wanted to try something, he would've by now." *sigh* "It's weird, though… Despite hardly knowing him, I can't help but feel so safe and warm in his arms…" She loosened her grip as her words died away.

"Good night, my swordsman." I felt a pair of lips peck my cheek before I heard her continue. "I'm sorry, but I... just felt like doing that.. ss... a thanks for everything. Sleep tight."

I waited for her to return her head to my shoulder before I opened my eyes and tried to process what happened in the last few moments. First, the girl who I teased (probably a bit excessively) asked if I could hold her for the night since she was cold. Next, she concludes that I'm not some random creep and that she'll never see me again. Finally, she kisses me and calls me hers. Damn, girls can be really confusing.

Oh shut up and enjoy it, Kirito. At least she's not making it hell for you on the snowing mountain for you.

I yawned, and without thinking, I tightened my grip on Liz and drifted off to sleep.

06:17

*yawn* Morning already?

I looked over to the girl next to me to find that she was still asleep.

Wow… she looks so… peaceful… Well, now to find a way out of here.

After the short setback of Lisbeth's sleeping death grip, I got up and put my bag away, then tucked the dormant player into hers.

Ahh… what to do, what to do… Well, I could try running up the wall again. No, that wouldn't work… I could try something I saw in a video game. After all, that is what this world is.

I thought back to the time one of my uncles came over for one holiday and brought with a really old, cube-shaped console. With it came a relic from 2002 set in the fictional land of Isle Delfino, with an Italian plumber eager to absolve himself of a crime he didn't commit. Anyway, in some parts of the game, the overall-wearing character would scale great heights when surrounded by two parallel walls by jumping on the face of one, kicking off to the other side, and repeating until he reached the top.

Could that work? Hell, why not? If a heavy-set man could do such a thing in 2002, why wouldn't it work for an able-bodied, overpowered player in 2024?

I used the room I had for a running start - a proper one, I might add - and made the first jump. As soon as I hit the three meters above the bottom, I kicked off and went to the opposite end. Before long, it looked like I was about a third of the way up.

Come on! Keep it up! You're making progRRRESSSSSSSSSS!

THUD

Aww crap… my ankle is killing me! Damn it! I just had to find the one spot where the side was too slippery! At least I didn't land on Liz… that would have been a heck of a rude awakening. I needn't worry about my health, since the ten or fifteen percent lost would recover in a few minutes. But what did I land on?

I looked down in the new hole I made and started searching for the source of my throbbing pain. A few minutes later, I came across the thing I landed on. It was about the size of an American football, but was almost shaped like a cone. It was too hard to be ice, and couldn't have been a crystal, since the brittle nature would've caused it to shatter. Thanks to my inadequate Appraisal skill, I had to use deductive reasoning to figure out what this thing is.

Okay, this isn't a trap, since no mobs have bothered showing up. The Devs, as sadistic as they are, wouldn't put a huge freaking hole in the ground without good reason. So what in the hell would this be? The dragon's nest, perhaps? If that's the case, then what would this be? I suddenly thought back to what Lisbeth told me in the store:

'The dragon eats local crystals, and the metal is found in its stomach.'

Then that makes this…

"Whatcha doing?" Lisbeth suddenly asked from behind.

When did she get up?

Without a word, I showed her the bluish-white cone I dug up.

"I-is this what I think it is?" She pulled up an appraisal window. 'Crystallite Ingot' was the name of the item.

"Mm hmm. It's that special metal we came all the way here for. Like you said, the dragon eats crystals, and then they turn into this in its stomach. Haha, it's no wonder they were hard to find." I laughed as I tossed her the material.

Let's see how she reacts to this.

"Yeah, but you found it. What's it doing down here, though?"

"This hole isn't a trap like we thought. We went down the dragon's nest."

"Yup. And that's not just an ingot. It's dragon excrement. You know, poop."

She looked back and forth at me and the ingot a few times before she made the connection.

"Uh? Ahh!"

I caught the ingot as she threw it in the air in disgust.

"Well, I guess that means we got what we came for. We're still stuck, though."

"Wait, this is supposed to be the dragon's nest, right? 'Cause dragons are nocturnal, so it won't be long before it comes… down…"

We both looked up at the nest's opening as her words died down. Sure enough, the same dragon I nearly killed yesterday showed up, arm missing and all.

"It's here!" She wailed. Acting quickly, I scooped Liz up on my shoulder, drew my Elucidator, and started running up the wall. This time, instead of falling, I did a backflip off the rock and ice and onto the White Wyrm.

"Hang onto me, Liz!" I screamed as I stuck my blade into the dragon's upper back. With a roar, X'yrphan began flying back to the top, leaving me struggling with the grip as Liz started screaming.

Once we cleared the entrance, the dragon made an abrupt stop. Thanks to a law of motion written by dear Sir Newton, Liz and I continued skyward at neck-breaking speeds. To avoid separation in the free fall, I reached out to Liz.

"Hey, Kirito! You know what?!" Lisbeth screamed over the wind as she took my hand.

"No! What?!" I called back.

"Please don't freak out, but I think I'm falling in love with you!"

Wait, did I just hear her correctly?!

"I can't hear a thing! What did you say?!"

She pulled me into a tight embrace before responding. "Nothing! Never mind!"

Before we came close to the ground, I pulled out a teleport crystal and sent us back to Lindas. Once there, she was awfully quiet en route to her shop; I guess she was trying to make sense of the last 24 hours. As soon as we entered the shop, the NPC clerk checked out for his break and walked out the door.

Where in the world is he going? I can't imagine NPCs have anything better to do. Ah, whatever.

We went to the back of her shop where she lit up the forge and started working. I sat back and watched Liz work her magic.

"One-handed longsword, right?"

"Yup. And make it awesome!"

She equipped her work gloves and smithing hammer, then started striking the white-hot ingot. A few dozen strikes went into the rare metal before it started shining in a brilliant light. For a few seconds, the two of us were blinded before the luminescence died down. Resting on the table in place of the ingot was an almost translucent, bluish-white sword. Liz tapped on the sword and opened its appraisal window, then started reading off the basics.

"Its name is 'Dark Repulsor' - one of a kind. And it's not even in the Info Broker's Directory. Got ahead and try it out!" She told me as she closed the appraisal window.

"Okay!" I picked up the sword and swung it around a few times. The weight was perfect, length was better than expected, and it feels about as strong as my Elucidator. It looks like all the trouble we went through for the materials was well worth it.

"Good…?" She asked after my last swing.

"It's really heavy; it's perfect!"

"Yes!" Lisbeth cheered.

"I couldn't ask for a better sword; it's almost like you forged your soul into it!" I admired. It's a good thing Klein recommended her to me, since just about any other smith would've screwed up in making it. As soon as I bought a scabbard for the blade, my mind suddenly shifted to the price.

Oh crap! The price! She's probably going to charge me an arm and a leg, and then some, for all the trouble and teasing… Oh let's just get this over with…

"All right, you held up your end of the deal, and now it's time for me to pay up. How much do I owe you for the sword?"

75,000? 95,000 for the troubles?

"Ummm… well… I don't really need any money. Instead, I'd like to become your exclusive blacksmith from now on…"

"What do you mean by 'exclusive'?" I asked. When she looked like she had trouble speaking, I asked her if anything was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong… I mean, anytime you get back from the front lines, come straight over here and let me do maintenance on your gear. Every day without fail! From now until the end."

My face grew a few shades of pink when she finished voicing her request. That means she wants me here at least once per day until the game is cleared.?

"Liz… I…"

"Kirito… I-I just…" She reached for my hand and took it in hers, then threw her arms around me and held on tight.

"Hey, what's wrong, Lisbeth? Are you just recuperating from yesterday?" I asked her, returning the hug. It's not unusual for me to see a delayed reaction from somebody who nearly died in-game. I've even battle-hardened clearers would cry their eyes out in the days after a nasty boss fight.

"In a way…" she began, resting her head on my shoulder. "There's something I need to say, but I'm terrified of what'll happen if I say it…"

"Don't worry, I won't think less of you regardless of what it is. I'll tell you what: you tell me what's on your mind, and I'll tell you something you didn't know about me."

She looked up and gave me a curious look. "Hmm… maybe… But you have to go first, and I get to ask the question."

What ever happened to 'Ladies first?'

"You know what? Ask away!"

"Why did you get a second sword when you already have one of the strongest ones in the game?"

Well damn, I didn't see that coming. Here I was thinking she'd ask what my real name was, or perhaps another personal detail. But a man's word is all he has.

*sigh* "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone until I'm fine with it."

"I wasn't planning on gossiping with that, but I promise I won't tell anyone!" She responded.

I nodded my head, stood up from where we were sitting, then began navigating through my menu.

Player Profile
Skills
Dual Blades

I clicked on the unique skill, and another window popped up.

Activate?
(O) Yes (X) No

*sigh* Is it worth it? Well, it's probably about time I told somebody about it anyway. Besides, she already promised she wouldn't tell anyone else.

With another sigh, I selected 'Yes' and picked up both swords.

"What are you doing? I thought you were gonna tell me?"

"You'll know the answer, but it's easier to show you." I made sure to keep an eye on her as I moved a few meters away.

Okay, here goes nothing!

"Double Circular!" I commanded after I got into position. The next instant, the two swords glowed with a brilliant blue light as the blades made their semi circle from eye level to the floor. I stood with the swords in their final position for a few seconds before turning to the blacksmith. "Well, there you have it; I can use sword skills with two blades equipped."

"H-how?! The system doesn't allow a player to equip two weapons at once, let alone use sword skills with them!"

"Well, it's a skill I obtained about a month ago. It just kinda showed up in my list. Since I didn't complete a quest or anything to obtain it, I never told anyone about it. It's already bad enough that most of the people I encounter hate me, so I can only imagine how those and others would feel when I tell them that I've got no clue how to get the skill. You really won't tell anyone…?"

"Trust me, Kirito… I won't tell anyone…"

"Thanks… it really means a lot. Well, it looks like it's your turn now! So what was on your mind? If it's something that bothers you that much, you shouldn't bottle it in," I told her. Her face went back to shy and fearful.

"You just don't get it… Since this game started, I've just been waiting for each floor to be cleared until the Assault Team reached the end. I was always too scared to face the toughest monsters, and so I knew I wouldn't be any help to the clearers; I'd only get myself or somebody else killed. With that option gone, I decided to pick up blacksmithing so I wouldn't spend my time rotting in some cheap inn back in the Town of Beginnings."

Where's she going with this?

"And… so… to help the time in-game be livable, I tried making friends, but nobody could make this world feel real. Either they would try to lower me to their level of cowardice, or they had less depth than any given NPC." A few tears started running down their face as she talked. Without thinking, I rushed over and put a comforting arm around her.

"Kirito… Please don't freak out over this, but… I think.. I think I might be in love with you… It's weird, right? We've only known each other for a day and you're hearing stuff like this from a girl you barely know… It's okay if you reject me… I wouldn't blame you at all, but… I just don't think I could've lived with myself if I felt that way, kept from telling you, then found you with another girl on your arm or heard that you didn't make it out of a raid. Whenever I'm around you, I feel like I can be myself around you. Despite my reactions, I kind of liked being teased by you. Even when you had me hold the… you know. Looking back on it, I enjoyed all the we spent together. You're the first person I fell in love with both in this world and the real one. I don't blame you if you don't want me… I know there are other girls in the game who you'd probably be happy to be with, not to mention anyone on the outside who might be waiting for you." She turned her head again and started crying a little harder.

Okay, I thought she might have a crush or something based on the whole 'My swordsman' thing and her kissing my cheek, but I never would've expected her to feel this strongly for me. Damn it, what do I do? Of course, I think she's very cute and likeable (then again, so do about 95% of her customers), fun to be around, and wants to be my personal smith despite my reputation.

I felt a stab of guilt pierce my chest.

Damn it, Kazuto! Why do you have to do this? How much of a jerk are you being? Here she is pouring out her feelings for you, and you've got nothing to say back. Though you didn't ask for the situation, you need to do a better job of handling it!

"Liz… I honestly have no clue what to say." Really?! That's all you have?! There's gotta be something you can do to cheer her up… I pulled her in for a hug and turned her to face me. "I can't say I didn't know about feelings, but I just didn't know they ran as deep as you declared them. Honestly, there's a lot I like about you: you're sharp, determined, friendly, caring, and adorable. The thing is that I'm just afraid of getting close to anybody… I'm a solo player because I don't get along with people too well. And the last time I got really close to people, I made a major promise that I couldn't keep. Since then, I've kept mostly to myself. Even though I was really used to the solo lifestyle, I really enjoyed our time on the quest. Before falling into the nest, I thought it'd be better to just die in this world instead of fight to survive day in and day out. But… when we landed in the bottom - with a few bumps and bruises - I was really happy that we were both still alive. I realized that our lives here have as much meaning as they would in the real world. I wanted to thank you for helping me come to that," I finished.

Oh no… she's still looking pretty sad… Well, there's probably one thing you can do…

I took a moment to plan out my actions and hope for the best. Without wasting a moment, I pulled her close, kissed her on the cheek, then held her shoulders at arms' length.

"That was for last night. Since you mentioned it: no, there isn't a girl waiting for me on the other side, so there's nothing to worry about there. Maybe in time, I'll be your swordsman, but I'm not quite ready to have a close connection to somebody yet."

Her face instantly turned a dark shade of pink at my actions and words. "W-what do you mean by that..?"

"I'm sorry, Liz. I was still awake when you kissed my cheek and called me your swordsman. It's how I figured that you had some feelings for me. Well, I'll be back in an hour or two!"

"Y-you… wait, where are you going.?" She asked in a longing tone as I headed for the door.

"To the highest dungeon. I need to go put the two best swords in Aincrad to good use so I could have my exclusive blacksmith maintain them!" I answered with a smile.

"Oh, right… Hold on a second, not so fast!" She came up and grabbed my coat sleeve.

"What is it?"

"I need to repair your Elucidator first! You only fought a dragon, stabbed it into a rock and ice wall, then stabbed it into a dragon's back! If you so much as drop that thing, we'll have to go back and get the stuff to make you a new sword!"

"So you'd have a problem with going back down the dragon's nest? I got a feeling that you'd enjoy some more time like that!" I teased.

"It's not that.!" She started violently blushing again. "I'm not ready for another escapade like that, nor am I going to let you get careless with your gear!"

"All right, Lizzzzzzzbeth. If you think you need to repair the blade, I'll have you do that." I smiled again, handed her the sword in its scabbard, then followed her down into her forge room.

You know, she's right. You really are an idiot.

Author's Note: There's the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed! Major thanks to All'Round Cowgirl for helping proofread the first handful of chapters.