Ardonis had been visible on the horizon for quite some time now, but as she finally neared the end of her journey, the young lady could see just how massive the city really was. It was shaping up nicely after only two years of being in existence.

It was a day unlike most others -the sun was shining brightly, the forest was full of color and life, and from what she could see, the streets of Ardonis were full of people. She stood for a moment at the gates to the city and looked around. The wall surrounding Ardonis was nearing completion, but it seemed as if priority had been placed on the gate. Two guards stood at the city's gates, but seeing as there wasn't much of anything going on in the region, the young lady imagined that their jobs must have been pretty dull.

The two guards straightened up and stood a little taller upon noticing the young lady standing some distance away. She was an attractive girl, the younger of the two quickly noticed. Besides her piercing blue eyes, the other thing that he quickly noted was the fact that the girl's black hair was very long -he guessed that it went down to her butt, but wasn't about to check now, seeing as she had a sword at her side. A bag slung over her shoulder, she had the look about her of a traveler, who, despite her young age, had probably seen more of Haven than most. "Good day milady," the guard remarked with a smile and a slight bow of his head.

Natalie quickly returned to reality at the sound of the guard's voice, returning the smile as she stepped into the city of Ardonis. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, and wasn't too surprised when she saw the young guard was still watching her. Smiling, Natalie turned back around and began to make her way through the busy streets of the city. 

* * * * * * *

"Yo! Darren! You've got a visitor!"

Upon hearing the foreman shouting, Darren was all too happy to drop the massive rock he was currently lugging about. While being a part of the wall construction team certainly paid well, it really was tedious work. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the young man eagerly made his way towards the foreman. Having a break right now was more than welcomed.

Natalie's face lit up as she saw the dark-skinned young man approaching. Her friend had matured since last she saw him -he had grown a couple of inches, and he was beginning to fill out nicely. Natalie imagined that throwing rocks around all day would do that to one's physique. Darren was much darker than any of the other workers, and almost seemed to shine from the sweat covering his dark frame. Upon seeing who was standing with the foreman, Darren suddenly smiled. Without a word, he reached over and hugged Natalie, lifting her off of the ground in the process.

"It's good to see you too," Natalie remarked once she was back on the ground.

Darren smiled again, absently rubbing his bald head. "What can I say, it's been a long time." He continued to smile, much to Natalie's amusement. Darren always was the cheerful sort -it was nice to know that some things didn't change. "How the hell have ya' been?," he absently wondered. "It's been what, two years?"

"Seems longer than that," she remarked, grinning. Before she could say anything else, Darren turned and began speaking with the foreman.

"Hey, I haven't had my break yet, you know," he commented, causally crossing his hands behind his head. "I don't suppose..."

The foreman dismissed him with a wave. "Go ahead, Darren. You're a good worker, take whatever time you need." Darren smiled again as the foreman left the two. He turned back towards Natalie. "C'mon, we've got some catching up to do."

The two began to make their way through the Ardonian streets, which were particularly crowded during that time of the day. Darren seemed to know more about Ardonis than she did, so Natalie figured it would be best just to let her friend lead the way. "So what have you been up to for these past few years?," Darren wondered, casting a quick glance over his shoulder.

Natalie shrugged. "A little traveling, a lot of trouble. You know, the usual."

Darren snickered. "You haven't changed."

The two were forced to stop as the crowd got considerably thicker, and a feminine voice could be heard speaking loudly some distance away. Next to one of the taverns stood a tall, blonde woman, who seemed to be delivering a speech to whoever would listen. Most of the surrounding crowd were women, the majority of whom seemed to agree with what was being said. Darren groaned quite noticeably. "Cripes, not another one of these damned speeches," he grumbled.

"Huh?"

Darren shook his head. "Supporters of the princess," he hastily explained. "They've gotten a little militant ever since hearing that the crown may go to the King's son instead of that airheaded elder daughter of his..." Darren's explanation came to a sudden halt as a dark haired woman from the crowd made her way towards Natalie, flyer in hand, and pushing Darren aside in the process.

"Excuse me, but do you feel that a woman is capable of doing anything a man can, if not better?," she quickly asked.

Natalie blinked. "I suppose, but on the same note, I guess that there are things a man can do better than a woman," she remarked with a shrug. Darren snickered quite audibly.

"Do you think that ruling a kingdom is one of them?," the girl continued, a hint of agitation present as she cast a quick glare at Darren.

"Sorry, I don't concern myself with politics," Natalie quickly commented, continuing to follow her friend towards the tavern. "I say whoever wants to deal with that evil, let them."

The girl was in the process of saying something else, but Darren calmly placed his hand in the middle of Natalie's back and gently began to lead her away. The girl shouted something to the two along the lines of 'Don't let that man influence how you think', but they were inside the tavern by then. 

* * * * * * *

"Those women REALLY don't like me." Darren snickered as he took a sip from his drink. Natalie had caught sight of the sign to the place on the way in -the name of the tavern was 'The Drunken Dwarf', and under the name was a comical picture of an inebriated dwarf lying on his back, a stein of beer in his hand. "Not that I care or anything," he added.

Natalie only nodded. The fact that Darren had stepped on the local group of feminists toes really didn't surprise her much. "Danny says hi, by the way," she remarked.

Darren raised a brow. "So how is your cousin doing these days?," he wondered.

She smiled. "Well you know Danny, always the bookworm... he was studying magic in Sylphid, last I heard." Natalie paused for a moment. "Have you heard anything from Kevin lately?"

Darren shook his head. "Not since I've last heard from you." He took another sip from his drink. "He talked about heading to Karadak, as I recall."

Natalie winced noticeably. "Why the hell would anyone want to go to Karadak? It's a big freaking desert!"

"You know Kevin."

There was a long silence between the two. Natalie absently played with her napkin, and Darren drummed lightly on the table with his fingers. She opened her mouth to say something. "I know exactly what you're thinking, Natalie," Darren quickly interrupted, a smile broadening across his face.

Natalie feigned innocence. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

Darren took to his best female voice. "'Oh Darren, I was wondering if you would like to leave the safety and security of your current life, and travel throughout Haven with little ol' me. I know it might be dangerous, so I need a big, strong man like you around to protect me, so what do you say? Puh-leeez?'" Several tavern goers cast Darren a curious glance or two, but Natalie instead broke out laughing. "I'll take that as a yes," Darren assumed.

"Puh-leeez?," Natalie jokingly begged, her voice full of sweetness. Darren merely shook his head and smiled.

"You haven't changed." He took another sip from his drink. "So when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Darren nearly spit his drink halfway across the bar, but instead managed to contain it and merely almost choked to death. "That's a little sudden," he managed between coughs.

"Still interested?"

"Yeah, I guess..." He coughed a few more times. "Of course, I'm sure the foreman's gonna have a fit when he hears I'm leaving..."

Natalie smiled as she slowly stood up. "Yeah, I think I've kept you from work long enough, let me go and get a room here so I can get some sleep..."

Darren quickly fished a key out of his pocket and tossed it to her. "You can stay at my apartment," he offered. "It's not the nicest place in town, but you're more than welcomed to use it. Dante's Terrace, corner of Madessa and Chocobo Court, apartment 205."

Natalie picked up the key and smiled. "Thanks Darren."

Soon after, Darren dismissed himself and began sprinting back towards the construction sight, leaving Natalie at 'The Drunken Dwarf'. After paying for her drink, Natalie was back out on the streets of Ardonis, trying to find out exactly where Dante's Terrace was.