The fiery redhead stood in front of the reflecting pool looking down at her own reflection in the water. What stared back at her was a complete one eighty from what she normally was. First, was her choice in color pallet. Those who knew her knew that the redhead's tastes ran towards red, blue, green, and on the rare occasion yellow with black pants. The person in the reflection was dressed in pink with cream and brown.
Second, was how she was dressed. Normally, she would wear Chinese shirts and Kung Fu pants with canvas slippers or a Chairman Mao suit if she wanted to act cute. Now she wore what looked like a cross between Chinese and Victorian dress. In fact, it was an actual dress, something she rarely wore. The top was pure Chinese with its cream frog buttons at the shoulder and open Mandarin collar that allowed for the top of her breasts to spill out. The sleeves stopped at the elbow and had small decorative knots on the cuffs. The bottom half of the dress was pure Victorian with the way it draped and flared out. Instead of reaching to the ground like most ladies dresses of the style, the redhead's dress ended an inch above the knee. Atop the dress in pristine condition was a cream leather corset that enhanced her curves and made her bust look one cup size larger. Her hands were covered in form fitting brown leather gloves. On her legs she wore thigh high stockings, something that would have had her protesting over being told to wear. Her shoes, were brown leather boots with buttons up the side that stopped mid calf with three inch heels.
Third, was the very obviously feminine accessories and other touches she normally would not wear. Around her neck was a thin cream colored leather collar like choker with a delicate pink gemstone hanging from it. In her ears was a pair of earrings designed to look like gold cuffs with a pink teardrop gem hanging in a gold cap. Atop her head were a pair if simple cream leather goggles with rectangular lenses to them. It was her face that showed the most change. Her lips were painted a delicate pink while her eyes were shadowed in pink, brown, and a shimmer of ivory and her cheeks had a light apple blossom tint to them.
Finally, at her side the redhead wore a silvery white rapier, something that went against everything she was taught and believed. However, where she now was the sword was very necessary for her survival. The skills she usually possessed were completely useless to her. In one year's time she was well on her way to mastering the advanced skills for her type of sword. The one thing that had not changed, was her drive to be the best. Her reasons for wanting to had changed dramatically though.
If she had known a year ago what she knew now, the redhead would not have chosen to be female when first immersing herself into her new reality. However, try as she might, the redhead could not recall what the face she was born with looked like. The glimpses of the male face of her birth she would get in her mind felt more like a dream than a memory. Her mind questioned several times in recent times if she had ever been male. In fact, even the name attached to the male face seemed foreign to her as real names were never spoken as per an unwritten rule of the world she now lived in. For the redhead she could only remember ever being Ranko wielder of a silver rapier she named Quicksilver, a high level cook, and a loyal member of the number one guild in the entire world. The arrogance and ego of her true male self had long since been beaten out of her by the world she now lived in.
"Ranko, there you are," a gentle yet commanding and powerful male voice said grabbing her attention.
Ranko turned to the owner of the voice with a smile on her face. He was a rather tall individual with light brown hair kept short and hazel colored eyes. His dress was more European than Ranko's as he wore a white shirt, an embroidered light plum colored vest, and brown dress pants under a long form fitting matching double breasted coat. On his hands were men's brown leather gloves while a neatly folded white pocket square rested in the coat's breast pocket. On his feet he wore a pair of brown leather Victorian styled riding boots with a slight heel to them. Across his back was a one handed claymore sword with a leather wrapped grip, plain pommel, and a single swept crossguard.
Ranko continued to smile at the man, who looked to be three years older than she was. He was the first man in this new existence that didn't lust after her true form coming to her rescue when a group of sex starved men were on the verge of breaking the morality and ethics codes set for the world they were in. Since then, the pair was inseparable joining the same guild and requesting to be partnered together during all guild missions, quests, and front line battles. They were best friends and possibly more in this new life. If Ranko was who she was born as, the pair would be close as brothers but that was never to be.
"You're late Quinn," Ranko chastised with the smile still on her face.
"Hey, I told you I had business to attend to in town. It just took a little longer than I thought to finalize," Quinn explained before his expression changed to one of worry.
Quinn knew what Ranko had been doing before his arrival. Any moment she had to carefully examine her reflection, Ranko would try and recall any memories she had of her life before the events that took place one year prior. She tried desperately to remember a time when she had actually been as male as Quinn was. The problem was she had no memories of her life outside the world they now lived in. As far as Ranko knew, she was the only one who could not remember the other side as Quinn and the others called it.
"Trying to remember your life on the other side again," Quinn asked as he placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder.
"Some days I wish I could and some days I wish I never do. Yet, any time I have a moment alone with my thoughts my mind always wanders back to the arrogant ego driven boy in my dreams. He's not bad, just too cocky and concerned with only himself. If I have some sort of connection to him then I don't ever want to know what it is," Ranko responded softly.
Quinn let a comforting smile cross his face as the familiar sounds of an airship were heard overhead. Ranko could never stay sad around Quinn when he smiled at her. There was something about the man that just would not allow it and Ranko came to rely on it.
"So, I trust your business went well," Ranko inquired trying to push aside thoughts of her amnesia as she leaned in close to Quinn.
"Yep, you're now in the prescience of two people who own a two-story two bedroom upper family room single bathroom English Victorian row house," Quinn proclaimed proudly as he dangled three keys in front of her.
Ranko's smile widened as she realized what all of this meant. For six months the pair had been saving what they could to be able to afford to move out of the guild hall dormitories. That day was the day their hard work paid off.
"We finally have a place to call our own? We can move out of the guild dorms?" Ranko asked with a look of hope on her face.
"It didn't come furnished I'm afraid so we're going to have to work at it bit by bit. However, after the meeting at the guild hall this afternoon we can go check it out," Quinn told her.
The hall for the guild Ranko and Quinn belonged to was a true three story testament to British Queen Anne architecture. The outside was a creamy blonde stone with limestone detailing that had corner towers, windows stacked atop one another, an expansive recessed porch, and asymmetrical fronts. The building, massive on its own, was connected to a smaller two story building of the same style known as the dormitories. The dorms housed guild members who did not own a house or rent a room at an NPC run boarding house or inn. To make money on the side, the guild rented unused beds for the night at a price lower than the boarding houses and inns.
Many weary travelers came through the guild dorms and some would never leave becoming members of the guild. That was how Ranko and Quinn were recruited after a rather intense front line battle to clear a level seven months prior. They were first offered beds for the night before the guild captain and a member of the council talked to them about joining the next day. Their acceptance of the offer was a choice that led to the pair becoming well respected Vice Captains within the guild.
Walking into the main hall of the guild Ranko and Quinn saw the captain and the members of the council seated at the semi circular table in front of the large floor to ceiling windows. In a chair seated before them, was a girl who looked to be the same age as Ranko.
"Your stats are quite impressive for someone who spent a year soloing on the front lines," the section leader to the captain's immediate left said.
"You'd be a valued addition to the guild," the section leader on the immediate right added.
"It's agreed then. We accept your application for guild membership. Welcome to the Amora Guard," the guild captain told her with a smile.
"I won't let you down," she said with a tone of confidence before turning to leave the main hall.
The moment her eyes locked onto Ranko the girl let out a loud gasp and looked like she had seen a ghost. If it was possible through the parameters of the world her face would have lost all color. For the briefest of moments all ability to speak had left her as she struggled to get out a single word.
"R-R-Ranma?"
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(Posted Sat, 15 Sep 2012 08:12)
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