A/N: The "ayes" have it! "Crossing the Bridge" is now a go! The first chapter will appear to be eerily similar to the first two chapters of "Unconditional Love". It'll show what happened between Regal and Raine during the dance at Meltokio, the events at which will set the scene for the rest of the story.

Somebody might be saying, "Why do a Regal/Raine fanfic?" I dunno. Just seemed like a fairly unique idea and, when you consider my other two ToS stories (all of which are connected to each other), "Unconditional Love" (LloydXSheena) and "A Fun, Easy Life" (ZelosXColette), and GenisXPresea being pretty much a given, that leaves only 3 lonely people left: Regal, Raine, and Kratos. Never before saw a RegalXRaine so… I thought I'd do this. If anyone else knows of another RegalXRaine story, please let me know!

Also, if nothing else, it could serve as a moral lesson. Simply put: Racism is wrong.

Final note: I won't be updating this story as often as Unconditional Love or Star Ocean: Forever and Beyond, so please be patient as I update.

Disclaimer: Blah, you know the deal. I don't own any characters, places, or other ideas from Tales of Symphonia. Namco does. All character, places, and ideas not found in the original game are of my own creation, so I claim ownership to them. So nyah.

Without further ado, on with the show! Enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Forbidden Acts

Raine sat alone along the east wall of the ball room as she watched the other party-goers have fun. She was not usually one for social events such as these but she had come out of respect for not only those who invited her but her other companions as well. It had been quite a while since any of them had had any sort of real fun, so the ball was indeed a pleasant change of pace. Still, she had hoped that the ball would end soon. She would've much rather been sitting at the inn and reading a good book. Besides, the whole time that she had been there, many people, both men and women, had given her strange looks as they passed by her.

She sighed. "I guess nobody here likes half-elves either."

"Hey man, you see that girl over there?" she heard a man from some distance off say.

Without actually turning to face the owner of the voice, she kept looking down but kept one eye on him at all times.

Another man walked over to the first man, possibly a friend. "Who? What are you talking about?"

The first man pointed at Raine. "See that pretty girl with the white hair? Over there along the wall. See her?"

The second man looked in the area that his friend was pointing towards. After searching for a bit, his eyes finally locked on Raine and he whistled. "Whoa, man, she's pretty cute."

Raine couldn't help but smile. It wasn't often that she was called 'pretty' or 'cute' but she always loved it when it happened. While it was true that she didn't care much for the ball itself or dancing in general, she half-hoped that one of the men would come over and ask her dance, despite knowing almost certainly that they were nothing more than lecherous young men. She had seen her little brother dancing with Presea earlier and was admittedly jealous of the fun they were having. She looked a bit more towards the men, trying to show that she had heard what they were saying. She ran her hand through her hair but this proved to be what would drive the men away from her.

The first man clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Awright! I'm gonna go over there and ask her for a dance. Maybe I'll get lucky!" He took only one step forward before his friend placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Eh? What gives? Do ya want her too?"

He shook his head. "Look closely at her."

The first man squinted his eyes at Raine but didn't notice anything right off the bat. Raine stared at him strangely, wondering what he was doing.

"I don't see anything man," he said. "What do you see?"

His friend pointed once again. "Look closely at her ears."

The first man squinted again, and then wore a disgusted look on his face. "They're pointed."

The second man nodded. "Correct. This means that she's either an elf or a half-elf. And since you almost never see a full-blooded elf outside of Heimdall-"

"-then she's a half-elf," said the first man, finishing his friends sentence. He shuddered and turned away from Raine. "Whoa, thanks man."

The second man smiled and slapped his friend's shoulder. "No problem man. Look, I think those girls in the corner were checking us out earlier. Let's go chat with 'em, eh?" With that, the two men walked off.

It took every last bit of Raine's spirit to keep herself from crying. It wasn't the fact that they didn't want to dance with her that was upsetting. She could've cared less about either of the men. Rather, it was the fact they felt that they had made a complete and accurate judgment of Raine just by looking at her ears. They had gone so far as to call her 'cute' and 'pretty', only to retract their statements when they figured out that she was, in fact, a half-elf.

"Were it not for my ears… would they ever know the difference?" she asked herself as she lowered her head.

"People can be so cruel," said a strong, yet calm voice from behind her.

Raine quickly turned her neck and saw Regal standing just behind her right shoulder. "R-Regal! You saw what happened?"

He nodded as he moved in front of her. "Indeed." It was then that he noticed the water that had finally begun to build up in Raine's eyes. "Excuse me for asking Raine, but are you crying?"

Her eyes opened a bit more widely than usual. She reached one hand up to her eyes and wiped away forming tears. "It's nothing. Please don't worry about it."

Regal said nothing for moment. During the awkward silence, Raine bean to slowly turn away from Regal, her tears reforming once again. He already knew why she was upset, but if she didn't want to talk about it, then he didn't want to force her into a conversation, even if it was meant to help her.

Regal knelt down in front of her, bringing himself to be eye-level with the sitting Raine. "Are you sure Raine? If something's wrong, you can tell me. If you don't want to, that's fine. I won't pressure you into it."

Raine said nothing for a moment. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. She wanted so much to be able to talk with anyone who would listen, especially a trusted friend like Regal. However, her professional side was telling her to not bother others with her own troubles. Finally, in a rare occurrence, her heart won over her professional side.

She slowly turned back towards Regal and began to speak once again. "Everywhere I go, whether it's Sylvarant or Tethe'alla, half-elves are looked at in the same way: as people who are no better than criminals. While it is true that there are certainly a high number of bad half-elves, the majority of us are still good people. Why can't people see that?" Tears rolled down her cheek as she pointed to where the men once stood. "You saw what just happened here. Once they found out that I was a half-elf, they wanted nothing to do with me." She lightly brushed her left ear with her corresponding hand. "They would never know if it weren't for these. I wish I would've been born a human or a true elf. Then maybe I wo-"

Regal gently placed his cuffed hands on the shoulders of his companion, the chain in between them dangling only a few inches from Raine's neck. "Please don't ever say that Raine. You're fine just the way you are. Your race has no effect on what matters most: your heart and mind. The way I see it, a human Raine or an elven Raine is no better than the Raine I know."

Raine sniffled and smiled. "Thank you Regal. That's very kind of you." She sighed and the both of them stood up. "I'm sorry Regal, but I need some time to think. I think I'll head back to Zelos' mansion to get some rest."

"Actually Raine," started Regal, "I was wondering if perhaps we could share a dance together. If you're interested, that is."

"W-what?" Raine asked, shocked. She couldn't believe that Regal had asked her for a dance. She knew of Regal's high standing within the Meltokian monarchy and wondered why 'Lord Bryant' would tarnish his reputation by being seen with a half-elf. "But what about everyone else here? Won't they say something if they see you with a half-elf?"

"And if they did?" said Regal. "They should mind their own business. The personal choices I make should in no way be influenced by the opinions of others."

Raine blushed. It was good to know that, even though Regal was a companion, he would not let what everyone else thought get to him as he did something decent for her. "I-I'm afraid that I have no experience in dancing of any sort."

Regal smiled and showed his cuffs to Raine. "And I'm bound in shackles. What excuse have you now?"

Raine giggled for the first time in what seemed like forever. It wasn't often when she used 'girly' laughs like that, but it felt necessary at this point. "Alright then Regal. Thank you."

Extending his right hand as far as he could, he took Raine's left hand in his own and led her to the dance floor. The couple looking very awkward as Regal managed to spread his cuffs far enough to the point where he could place his hands on her hips and Raine extended her skinny arms up to the massive shoulders of Regal. The two chuckled softly as they began to step this way and that, crimson shades of red flooding Raine's cheeks as she did so. Several times throughout the dance, she had accidentally stepped on Regal's feet. She had apologized time and time again for her mistakes but Regal laughed every incident off. "You're doing fine," he would tell her each time.

During the course of one of the songs later in the evening (some time all of their other companions had left, for it was getting rather late), a man had walked up to the couple. "U-um, excuse me Lord Bryant."

Regal looked down at the diminutive man and smiled. "Yes, how can I help you?"

The man looked around nervously and turned back to Regal. "S-sir? You do realize that you're dancing with a half-elf, right?"

Several people around the couple had heard what the man said and, within half a minute, the entire ballroom had heard about what 'Lord Bryant' was doing. A large number of hushed whispers sounded throughout the room as Regal and Raine looked around them. Her face completely red, she buried her head in Regal's fine jacket, trying to hide herself.

Regal never lost his composure nor changed his facial expression and color as he calmly replied to the man, "Yes I do. What of it?"

More whispers. "Well, she… she's a half-elf sir."

Regal nodded. "Yes yes, I heard you the first time. And?"

The small man began to shake nervously, perhaps in fear. "S-sir, it's taboo to associate yourself with a half-elf, especially for someone as distinguished as yourself."

"I'm sorry Regal. I'm sorry Regal," she kept saying in a whisper audible only to herself and Regal.

Regal's eyes narrowed as he began to finally become upset with the man. "The only thing that separates myself and this beautiful lady are a title and the shape of our ears. She is no less of a sentient being than you or me."

The small man began to sweat as several more whispers flooded the room. "L-Lord Bryant, if you are having difficulty in finding a proper dance partner, I can help you-"

"I will have no part in that," said Regal sternly. "I have decided to share a dance with my companion and perhaps have a bit of fun while doing so.

More whispers and, despite the man's obvious nervousness, he began to show a glimmer of anger in his eyes. "Lord Bryant, I'm sorry, but an act such as this is forbidden by Meltokian law. I respect your title, but others higher than yourself who are currently in attendance have described what you are doing as 'disturbing' and nauseating'. They have requested for you to immediately cease what you are doing or leave."

"Hmph," grunted Regal, obviously irritated. "Then I shall leave. Please excuse me." Still holding the hand of the now sobbing Raine, Regal began to make his way toward the door.

Before he passed through it, he noticed a cloaked man standing near the entrance, his features shrouded by the shadow cast by his hood. As Regal passed by him, he could hear the man say, "Wise choice."

Regal shook off his comment and made his way out into the well-lighted street of the wealthy quarter of the city. Still sobbing, Raine did not remove her head from Regal's chest.

He knew not what to say to her in order to make her feel better but knew he had to say something. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that Raine. I did not mean for this to happen. Forgive me."

She shook her head and sniffled. "It's not your fault Regal. I had a wonderful time until that man showed up and said those… those awful things." She sniffled again and raised her head off of Regal's chest. "Regal, I've decided on something."

"What is it?" asked Regal.

She turned around and faced the reception hall. "Once we're done with Cruxis, I'm going to go around the world and do what I can to end racism. Nobody should have to go through something like this."

Regal smiled. "That's a noble quest to take on. Will you be going alone?"

She nodded. "Yes. I don't want to drag Genis into this. He's already been through so much already. He's very intelligent, but he is still just a child, so I have to look out for his well-being."

Regal took a step toward her. "Could I bother you to take me along as well?"

She looked surprised. "You want to come with me? But what about your company?"

He shook his head. "I'm sure George can handle it for a while longer. This is a far greater cause than running a thing as trivial as a business."

Raine smiled, obviously pleased that she would not be alone. "Thank you Regal. I really appreciate it."

"Then it's settled," said Regal who extended his cuffed right hand. Raine took it with her own small hand and shook it.

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And there we go! We have our premise. Next comes the beginning of their quest! And now, I have a little contest of sorts!

Ahem. For his new quest, Regal is going to where something other than his old, ragged prison outfit. I have a few ideas for the new outfit, but I'd like to hear what you all would like to see. If I like it well enough, I'll use your idea! Not only clothes, but hair can be messed with as well, so don't hold back. Also, I'm not sure if I wanna use Raine's normal outfit or not. It's kinda… eh. If you have a good idea for her too, lemme know!

Thanks in advance for any and all reviews!