Nature of a Labyrinth
The Labyrinth of Duhr, filled with towering walls and warm oppression. Constricted by darkness, but open and inviting with just a flicker of torchlight.
Xelha marveled at the place as she and the others walked through it. An air of mystery enshrouded it, as though it had existed since yesterday – since the beginning of time. Dust had settled into the cracks of the walls and hardened there. The stone of the floor was impenetrable. All around them warped walls stood in immovable ranks, trapping them and daring them to escape.
Ever since Xelha and the others had come to the place, she had felt some kind of anxiety. Maybe it was her inability to figure out the labyrinth. Even when a path seemed straightforward, she always found herself having to reorient herself, and each veer of the path seemed increase her doubt. She and the others could not have been the only ones to brave these immortal paths. And yet her struggle was her own.
For it was not just the warped walls, standing in their everlasting ranks, that tormented her. It was him. He had come back just yesterday, and it was the same, and yet not the same.
He was still compelling and capable. His habits hadn't changed any. He continued to fight the same, to make the same snide comments as ever. But even as he appeared the same, there was something different.
Not in his appearance exactly, but in his manner. When he once would have met her eyes, he looked away. When he once would have brushed off the teasing of the others, he became quiet. In a way completely unlike him, he spoke less and sulked around the edges of the group more.
She understood that he had suffered much in the time he spent with Melodia. When he awoke yesterday, it must have been as though from a nightmare. No doubt he felt guilty about what he had done. She would feel the same in his place.
But she had imagined things so differently. After saving him with the Ocean Mirror, she pictured him coming back to their side, easily earning their group's forgiveness. He would return more confident, more goal-oriented. As determined as he could be hunting Giacomo. And after turning his back on the power he sought in Malpercio, the hole in his heart would cease to exist. He would be complete, and seeing his pain go away would lessen the burden of her own... She could try to believe then, that anyone could escape from fate.
Watching him come back just as broken as ever had almost dashed her hopes.
And yet, Xelha felt that there was still hope for him. Even as her body walked this maze, her spirit walked another. She went through forgiveness, gladness, doubt, disappointment, and hope as subtly and quickly as a cloud changing colors in the sunset. Of course she still trusted him, but would he let her?
As they walked through the deceptive corridors of the labyrinth, it didn't seem that he would. Lingering at the back of the group, he stayed far away from Xelha, who was in the front. He seemed embarrassed to face her, however hard the other group members tried to push them together. She resigned herself to the situation and decided that, hopefully, in his own time he would come around... Until then, she would try to be as patient and understanding as possible.
Their group, competent though it was, made little progress walking through the maze. It felt as though each corner they turned was new and unfamiliar, and upon backtracking they found themselves in unexplored ground. There was no way of knowing if they were making progress, or were just wandering hopelessly to some obscure end.
After walking for hours, taking out the Malfreegas that stalked behind them as they went, they decided to pause to rest. Although the sick yellow-purple sky indicated neither night nor day, the others seemed to be just as eager as Xelha to sit down and rest.
Falling out of their normal formation, they began to relax unwind. Gibari groaned and plopped down on the floor. The leader of their mystifying expedition, the Great Mizuti, assured them repeatedly of her greatness while folding her legs in the air. The rest of their companions merely sat down wordlessly, listening idly to the masked girl's ramblings. Xelha, nervous though she was, took her place next to Kalas.
It felt so strange to be near him again. The group had certainly lost something in his absence. His carefree nature, his feigned indifference to them. It must have been feigned, otherwise why would he have come with them now? And his betrayal showed, at least, that he believed in the power of his five friends enough to follow them to the Lava Caves. Apparently Melodia thought the same; she too had understood the strength of their bond and attempted to make use of it.
As she sat next to him, thinking, he didn't seem to mind her presence. He mostly ignored her, finding more interesting things to focus on. Like floating air particles.
She tried not to worry herself about him too much, but she found that every little glance her way immediately shot fire to her nerves. She hoped that her face betrayed none of her self-consciousness and agitation. As the other members napped, Lyude after much tossing and turning on the hard ground and Savyna without a move or sound, Xelha found that both she and Kalas could not rest.
The sour air of the labyrinth hung between them, an invisible barrier. They stared at the same wall ahead. Kalas coughed, and Xelha felt a ridiculous twinge of hope.
She wetted her lips, looked down at the ground. "Kalas..."
"Yeah?" He didn't look at her, and his voice was soft and strained.
She paused, discouraged, and was not quite sure what to say next. This was the first time they had spoken to each other alone since she had turned the Ocean Mirror on him. He must still be recovering... "Your winglet... how is it?" she forced out eventually.
He seemed surprised by the question, but when he spoke a hint of tenderness crept into his voice. "Good as always. Made by the best, you know."
Xelha nodded in agreement, and the short conversation seemed doomed to end there. Hesitating, she tried to decide if she should respond further or keep her silence. The strain of their conversation seemed to weigh down the very air, and in turn the ominous sky oppressed them. A moment of decision passed between them like a balance that swung wildly. In that moment the nature of the labyrinth could be felt.
"Thanks," Kalas blurted out, turning to face her suddenly. "Thanks for taking care of Gramps' winglet for me." His expression became earnest, and he actually met her eyes. "Thanks for using the mirror. I'll make it up to you someday..."
She blushed. "You don't have to..."
"But I want to! I want to show that I've changed. For real! It won't be easy, but I'll earn your forgiveness, one way or another."
Xelha tried to murmur "you already have it," but it got lost in her throat; she smiled instead and ignored her fiercely beating heart. She had been right all along that he could become a better person... Is that what he was saying? Then all of her doubts were like so many specks of dust on the ground, numerous but actually insignificant—
"Please don't worry about it," she tried again, clearing her throat.
Kalas, too, seemed to try again, relaxing. "I just hope the six of us will be enough to stop Malpercio. I don't want anything happening to them, even if they are pain in the neck to live with."
Now Xelha fairly beamed. Now she knew for sure that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. That even though he struggled now, he was beginning to care – about her and the others. That the hole that still existed in his heart was hers to fill. "We can do it," she said. "Once we get out of this maze."
And he smiled—bittersweet—but there it was.
A/N: Ewww, romance. I don't feel too good about this one (I had to force it), so if you have comments or advice please let me know. I would really appreciate it. :/
For my seven day challenge and the "Baten Kaitos Writing Challenge" by Rareware0192. The latter can be found on the Baten Kaitos forums!