A/N: Warning: Rydia is coming…..
Also, this story was NOT supposed to get this long. Ha. Whoops. Merry Christmas, Moonclaw!
*edit. I have included an additional ending scene (as of the day after this story's original publication date) ;P
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Blanket Forts
There was a first time for everything—Rydia was coming to Eblan.
Edge began preparing his castle immediately; directing his small army of servants with the same zeal that had won them two wars.
Everything needed to be perfect.
It wasn't every day that the High Summoner of Mist visited Eblan; and more rarely, that she deigned to spend more than a few hours in the sturdy old castle—twice burned—but still standing.
"Sir, the guest quarters are prepared," his head servant informed him. "Was there anything else you wished to inspect before we moved on to the dining hall?"
Edge stared into a fixed point in space. Had he thought of everything—the fresh greens in the bedrooms? The absence of statues in the hallways? He didn't want to be responsible for triggering any maniacal relapses of Eidolons and Maenads.
It wasn't just Rydia he was trying to impress, after all, but her daughter as well.
No, he was pretty sure he had thought of everything, given that he'd received only 24 hours notice.
"We can move on," Edge said at last, putting his servant at ease. "Did the new tables arrive for the dining hall?"
"They did, your majesty," the other man paused. "But what are we to do with all the scorched ones?"
"Burn them," Edge replied at once. Then, thinking it over, added: "We could invite the town—make a festival of it."
The servant eyed him cautiously. "Burn them, your majesty? Again?"
"Unless you know someone who wants an expensive pile of charcoal," Edge deadpanned.
"Very well, sir. We will haul them out to the square."
Edge continued to roam from room to room, haranguing servants and rearranging potted plants as he went. Eblan's castle looked more like the valley of Mist than a structure of stone and mortar by the time he was through. It wasn't until the sun began to dip below the western mountains, and Babil cast its shadow like a gnomon keeping time, that the Seneschal finally came to find him.
"The airship from Baron is arriving," the elderly gentleman informed his lord as Edge hurriedly cleared every surface in his bed chambers.
"Send the receiving party," Edge ordered distractedly, turning swiftly on his heel. "Or actually, make sure that the honor guard is—you know what? I'll go myself," he decided, whisking his cloak off a chair and over his shoulders and stalking down the hall.
Servants fled like ants at Edge's approach, hiding behind pillars and ducking into doorways. Edge ignored them; his mind now singly fixed on one thing—not making an ass of himself.
Castle corridors opened into courtyards and a stiff evening breeze caught him as he angled east toward the docks he'd had specially built for airships.
The Falcon was making its careful descent and Edge waited with no small amount of patience until the gangplank was extended and a head of emerald hair appeared above the ship's railing.
Eighteen years of waiting….
And she was scowling.
Edge studied Rydia carefully, wondering how best to navigate the expression on her face. He knew that one wrong word could end in a firestorm of meteors….
"How was your journey?" he asked, treading carefully.
"Cid lied to me," Rydia said tartly, walking down the rest of the gangplank in her trailing gossamer gown. "He said Eblan would be warm and sunny this time of year, so I didn't bother to bring a cloak."
Bless him, Edge thought mercifully as he unbuckled the cloak of Rubicante from his shoulders and wrapped it around Rydia's instead. He couldn't help but notice the appealing way Rydia's jade dress clung to her curves; nor how the cold accentuated certain…assets.
Rydia offered him a reluctant smile. "Thank you," she said, just as his eyes snapped back to her face.
"The air is crisper here," Cuore observed, disembarking the airship behind them and hopping down the ramp in bare feet. "Winter arrives earlier for this hemisphere, I recall. Tell me," she said, fixing her peculiar gaze on Edge. "What fuel do you use—oil or wood—and which is more effective?"
"Cuore," Rydia warned, throwing her adopted daughter a look of reproof.
"I'm merely ascertaining this kingdom's modus operandi," Cuore objected with a shrug.
"Their what?" Rydia asked as the three of them began to cross the docks and climb the hill to the castle.
"Our way of doing things," Edge supplied, giving the child a quick grin. "Hi, Cuore."
"Hello, Edge," Cuore chirped.
"Since when do you know such complicated words?" Rydia objected, glancing between the two of them.
Edge's expression turned wry. "I do read."
"How do you manage that?" Rydia wanted to know. "It's not like—" she paused, glancing at him sympathetically.
You have any books left, Edge was sure she meant to say. At least, that was the zinger he would have chosen after an archfiend and an Eidolon had set his castle ablaze-twice.
"Damcyan's been very generous," he replied unfazed.
A line appeared between Rydia's brows as she drew them together. "So that's what happened to Edward's library," she said sourly. "Does Harley know?"
Edge laughed. "That would defeat the purpose of, y'know, stealing them."
"Unbelievable," Rydia muttered, shaking her head.
"But is it wise to keep so many books nearby?" Cuore wanted to know, keeping apace. "After all, there's a 76.3 percent chance that your castle will start on fire again."
Edge tilted his head at the teal-haired girl. "How do you figure those odds?" he asked.
"Given your relationship with my mother," she answered succinctly. "That, and a certain affinity the both of you have for fire. Rydia claims it's not her element of choice, but she is statistically incorrect."
Edge and Rydia glanced at each other in surprise.
"She's your daughter," he pointed out.
When they'd reached the top of the hill, Cuore paused to look down at the airship docks, pensive. "Why is it that you've built so many docks?" she asked. "Were you expecting more ships?"
Edge's grin turned wolfish. "As soon as Baron agrees to the terms of our reparations," he said.
"That will never happen," Rydia scoffed.
"There's a first time for everything, Rydia," Edge reminded her. "After all, you also said that this day would never come. For the record, Hell has not frozen over."
"It would be impossible for Hell to freeze over," Cuore informed them. "Hell is not a physical space."
"Yes, it is," Edge contradicted, not missing a beat. "It's called the Lunar Subterrane."
This finally elicited a grin from Rydia.
"Are you being literal or figurative?" Cuore asked pointedly.
Edge's grin widened but he left the question unanswered, much to Cuore's displeasure.
Eventually, Rydia sighed. "It was Cuore who wanted to see you," she revealed as they finally stepped through the castle's main doors.
"Oh?" Edge asked, flicking the girl a look of appreciation, then consternation. "Cuore, where are your shoes?"
"Shoes are superfluous," she replied.
"You're going to freeze," Edge argued.
"Not if that bonfire you look like you're preparing gets lighted soon," Cuore said, eyeing the courtyard through the open doors.
"Ah." Edge winked. "That's for later."
Servants closed the doors behind them and Rydia shrugged Rubicante's cloak off her shoulders; handing it back to Edge.
"He was useful for something, after all," she said with an appreciative grin.
"Well," Edge began, turning back to Cuore. "I'm glad at least one of you wanted to see me."
"It has been an unacceptable length of time," Cuore answered, sparing her mother a withering look.
Rydia rolled her eyes at the both of them. "I'm glad to see you, too!" she said at last, red-faced.
Edge chuckled at her expense.
"Food?" he asked, gesturing down the hall.
Rydia blinked at the non sequitur.
"My body requires nutrients, yes," Cuore answered for them both. "And I would like to see all these hidden passages you've spoken so highly of."
"Passages later, food first," Edge told her, steering Cuore by the shoulders toward the dining hall.
Rydia trailed behind them quietly, and when Edge glanced back, he caught her staring at the exorbitant amount of greenery along the walls.
"I figured we could have summer indoors," he said for her benefit.
"I can see that," Rydia answered, taken aback. "I don't think Eblan has ever been so green."
"Wait until you see the dining hall," he said a little louder than necessary.
Then, catching the eye of a servant in the wings, Edge nodded emphatically toward the dining hall, wishing for a moment that he possessed the gift of telepathy.
The servant seemed to understand, because he took off at a run for the kitchens.
Rydia glanced at him in that instant.
"Is there some holiday I'm not aware of?" she asked.
He smiled disarmingly. "Just you coming to visit."
Rydia sighed. "So long as there are no musicians, speeches, or performers," she started. "I'd just like to be a normal person for once without fanfare or applause."
Edge looked at her sideways. "Who did that?"
"Troia…Mysidia…Edward," she recounted.
"Edward would," Edge deadpanned. "And with full orchestra."
"This décor reminds me of Mist," Cuore interrupted. "And Rydia's hair."
"Huh," Rydia intoned, looking at Edge. "Imagine that."
Edge did an impressive job of avoiding Rydia's gaze as he led them into the dining hall.
"What a strange coincidence," he joked as they approached the back of the hall.
"These tables look new," Cuore noticed, oblivious to the undercurrents stirring around her. "Were these part of your redecorations as well?"
"Fire destroyed the old tables," Edge explained.
"That was over a year ago!" Rydia pointed out. "You only just replaced them? What did you eat on in the meantime?"
"The floor," Edge jested.
"Colloquially, one would assume you're making a joke," Cuore said, confused. "Only your tone is earnest."
"I'll let you fill in the blanks."
"I don't know what that means," she complained.
Rydia laughed. "The best lies always hold a note of truth."
"Or in this case, mostly truth," Edge said so that only Rydia could hear.
She shook her head with a smile.
In that instant, three servants materialized from behind a tapestry, their arms laden with bowls and a large pot. They set everything down on the closest table and then silently disappeared as quickly as they'd come.
Edge gestured to the cushions on the floor beside the low table and Rydia and Cuore settled awkwardly onto them.
Cuore closed her eyes and tilted her nose upward to take in the scent.
Edge chuckled while Rydia gazed appreciatively at the food.
"I'm not sure what I was expecting," she began, peering into the large pot that contained a savory broth. "But this is so much less ostentatious."
"Is that a good thing, or…?" Edge asked, looking at her askance.
"It's a good thing!" she assured him. "It's just…unexpectedly normal."
"Well, normally by this hour of the evening, there's nothing left in the kitchens," he told her. "I hope you like hotpot. And fish," he tacked on a bit ominously.
Rydia made a guilty expression. "We have come fairly late, haven't we?"
Edge shrugged. "Here is here," he said, ladling the broth and its contents into a bowl. He passed the first bowl to Rydia, ladled a second for Cuore, then a third for himself.
Rydia clutched the round bowl in both hands and drew it to her lips, letting the steam float up her nostrils.
"How does one eat this?" Cuore inquired, looking for a spoon.
Edge handed her two polished wooden sticks that tapered to rounded points. "With these," he said.
Cuore investigated the strange tools, held one in each hand, and attempted to spear the floating contents of her soup with abandon. "This method is ineffective," she complained after she had splashed half the broth onto the table.
Edge laughed. "That's because you're doing it wrong."
"Demonstrate," Cuore commanded, holding out the offending sticks.
"Something that Cuore can't do? Incomprehensible!" he said, laughing.
Rydia chuckled, too.
"I do not appreciate your laughter," Cuore said, embarrassed.
Edge's laughter quieted and, patiently, he demonstrated how to hold the sticks.
Rydia watched intently, not wanting to look foolish, herself.
"I've seen Yang use these occasionally," she admitted. "But since Fabul and Damcyan have such close trade relations, Yang usually has forks nearby."
"We like to keep to old traditions," Edge said with a wink.
"This is going to end disastrously," Rydia muttered, eyeing Cuore as she attempted to lift a pile of noodles and mushrooms to her mouth.
Cuore managed to get most of it past her lips and then flung her arms out victoriously. "I did it!" she declared. "I will now master this skill," she said, vigorously gathering more noodles from her bowl.
"So Cuore, why did you suggest such a spontaneous visit?" Edge asked after he had taken a few bites of noodles, himself.
Cuore swallowed her last mouthful and shifted contentedly in her seat.
"I waited for a moment when Rydia would be unable to refuse."
Edge flicked a curious gaze at Rydia.
"You got cornered in Baron and there happened to be an airship sitting unattended?" he guessed.
"She stole it," Rydia said, flabbergasted.
"And you gave me grief for stealing books?" Edge asked, amused.
"Where do you think she learned it from?" Rydia complained, looking at her daughter.
"Stole an airship," Edge repeated, looking at the teal-haired girl with specks of seasoning stuck to her cheeks.
"It was efficacious," Cuore justified. "I wanted to see you and I acquired the means to do so."
"There are ways to see me without commandeering a vessel," he pointed out.
"Not if my intent was for Rydia to accompany me," she said smugly.
The corner of Edge's lips turned up in a grin. "I see."
Rydia was once again red-faced. "It's not that I wouldn't have visited, it's just…I was in Baron for different reasons, and—"
"You would have wiggled out of it had Cuore not taken action," Edge surmised, slowly nodding.
"In addition, Cid was very accommodating," Cuore explained.
Edge made a mental note to thank the cantankerous engineer later.
"Well, now that you're here I'm sure you'd like to be shown your rooms," Edge said, noticing they had both finished their bowls.
"Yes-" Rydia started.
"No!" Cuore interjected. "I want to see the passages!"
Edge snorted at Cuore's contrary remark. "How about tomorrow morning?"
"Yes," Rydia said emphatically, glaring at Cuore.
"That is acceptable," Cuore said, sighing deeply. "I suppose."
Edge stood, beckoning them to join.
"This way, then," he said, leading them to another portion of the castle.
They traversed long corridors and climbed staircases until they stood in a hall with doorways on either side and polished wooden floors.
"Tempting fate again?" Rydia asked, indicating the floors.
"Why change a classic?" Edge replied with a grin, then gestured to their left. "Your apartments are there."
Rydia momentarily frowned. "What about our effects?"
"They were already brought up," Edge explained, putting her at ease. "Did you need anything else?"
"No, thank you," Rydia said, placing her hands on Cuore's shoulders. "We'll probably go straight to sleep."
"I'll send someone up in the morning to collect you for breakfast," he said, taking a respectful step back.
"Good night," Rydia and Cuore both said together before slipping past their door.
Once Rydia had shut the door behind them, she slouched against it, sighing.
"Cuore," she said. "What were you thinking by dragging me here?"
"That this would be a perfect opportunity for the two of you to interact in an unfamiliar setting," Cuore answered, already investigating the corners of the room. "He really likes plants," she noticed as she trailed her fingers over a broad, waxy leaf.
Rydia pursed her lips. "This is an experiment for you!" she protested.
Cuore smiled. "Thank you for being so obliging."
Rydia scowled and stomped over to the mat on the floor that was piled high with blankets.
"I'm going to sleep," she announced crabbily, throwing herself onto the blankets and wrapping one around her face.
"You'll smother if you sleep like that," Cuore pointed out.
"Go to bed!" Rydia cried through the blanket. "I don't want another comment from you until morning!"
Cuore, finally sensing that she might be in real danger, tip-toed out of the room and into the next, allowing Rydia to wallow in private.
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Edge had been asleep until a strange sensation crept along the back of his neck, setting all of his hairs on end. It was the same sensation he experienced when someone was planning a deliberate attempt on his life.
He turned over and opened his eyes. The room was still dark, but he made out a silhouette against the dim light from the window. Then he jolted upright, sword in hand.
"Cuore!" he hissed, batting at her legs until she hopped off his mattress.
"How did you know I was here?" she asked disappointedly.
He stared at her in the twilight darkness. "I'm a ninja, Cuore."
Then, pinching the bridge of his nose, he summoned fire to his palm and arced it to the nearest lamp.
"That's a neat trick," Cuore observed appreciatively, gazing at the flickering light.
"You have your magic, I have mine," he said tiredly. "Speaking of which, how did you get in here?"
"Your secret passages are most useful," she revealed.
He looked at her, expressionless. "You navigated…how? In the dark?"
"Magic," she smiled.
"Cuore!" he said, flabbergasted.
"You said morning!" she argued.
He glanced at the window. "It's not even dawn, Cuore. Most people aren't even conscious yet."
"You're conscious," she pointed out.
"Only because I live expecting to be murdered at any moment."
"That doesn't seem healthy," she remarked.
He snorted. "Later in the morning, emphasis on later, I'm going to teach you how to be a normal kid…and not break into people's personal quarters."
"What do normal kids do?" she inquired.
"Play games, climb trees, build blanket forts," he began.
"What is a blanket fort?" she asked. "And why is it superior to, say, any other kind of fort?"
"Because it is," he said, sighing. "After breakfast I'll tell you more."
"But that's hours away and you're awake now," Cuore protested.
"Out," he commanded, pointing to the door.
Cuore pouted, very much like any normal child.
"You promise?" she asked.
"Yes. Go," he said, still pointing at the door.
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Later that morning, Cuore pounced on Rydia in her cocoon of blankets.
"It's morning!" she announced. "It's time for breakfast."
Rydia swatted the girl off of her. "Is it only just dawn?" she groaned, sitting up.
"Yes, and Edge promised that after breakfast, he would teach me how to be a kid," Cuore said eagerly.
Rydia squinted at her daughter. "When…did you have a chance to speak to Edge?"
"This morning while everyone was asleep," Cuore said.
"Cuore!" Rydia said, aghast. "You can't just go running off and exploring other people's castles without their permission!"
"He was going to show me the secret passages, anyway!" Cuore justified. "Besides, I couldn't sleep and I wanted to see if I could surprise him."
"And get yourself killed in the process. You know he sleeps armed," Rydia said.
"He wasn't as impressed as I'd thought…" Cuore recollected. "But I'm not dead, which means we have to get up so that we can eat breakfast."
"What?" Rydia asked, shaking her head. "Why are you so eager for breakfast?"
"I told you," Cuore said, sounding irritated. "After breakfast, he's going to show me how to be a kid."
Rydia laughed. "Oh dear."
"So get up already!" Cuore insisted, already dressed and ready for the day.
Rydia slowly rolled her eyes and considered the idea. "No," she decided, flopping herself back into the pile of blankets.
"Rydia!" Cuore cried. "This is my chance to learn how to be an effective human child!"
"You can wait another hour," Rydia muttered through blankets.
Cuore stared stubbornly at her mother for a moment. "I'll go by myself," she decided.
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Cuore waited a long time.
By the time Edge finally appeared in the dining hall it was well past dawn.
"You're late," she felt justified in telling him.
He grinned sheepishly. "How long have you been sitting there?"
"Seventy-two minutes," she said.
He raised both brows, then ran a hand through his hair. "Someone's eager to get a start on the day."
"You promised to teach me how to be a normal kid," Cuore reminded him. "I'm holding you to that."
Edge glanced over his shoulder, as if checking his escape route. "Maybe we should wait until Rydia joins us."
Cuore sighed and Edge chuckled at her dismay.
"At least there will be food," he said.
"Yes, there is that," she conceded.
A moment later, the sound of heels clicking on stone caused them both to turn. Rydia was approaching with her wild green hair plaited all to one side and a shawl wrapped around her shoulders.
"Have I missed anything?" she asked, coming to sit down by Edge.
"Only the end of Cuore's childhood," Edge assured her.
"Oh, good," Rydia said, glancing appreciatively at the servants who were approaching with plates of fresh muffins and fruit.
One servant poured her a steaming cup of tea and she lifted it happily to her lips.
"Cuore tells me you're going to teach her how to be a normal kid," Rydia said ironically.
"Yes, I did tell her that," he said a little guiltily.
"Implying that she wasn't 'normal'," Rydia went on, driving the point home.
"No, in fact I am superior to most children," Cuore informed them both.
Edge and Rydia eyed each other.
"So, what was your plan?" Rydia asked, attempting to ignore Cuore's arrogant remark.
"Hide and seek," Edge said slowly, thinking it over.
"In unfamiliar territory?" Rydia asked.
He nodded. "Might even the odds."
"What is this hide and seek, and how does one do it?" Cuore asked, matter-of-fact.
Edge grinned.
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"How did you find me so fast?" Edge wanted to know as they walked into the spacious sitting room where Rydia had ensconced herself with a book.
"I teleported to each likely location and ruled them out as I went," Cuore explained.
"…that's cheating," Edge complained.
"How is it cheating if I'm only utilizing my natural abilities and intelligence?"
"Because it is," he argued.
"If I hadn't, this game would have lasted for hours," she said.
"…Cuore, there's a skill you must learn called patience," Edge told her.
Rydia snorted, looking up from her book.
"Patience?" the summoner laughed.
"Yes, patience," Edge said pointedly, looking at Rydia. "The same virtue that kept me alive for the last eighteen years."
Rydia hid her face behind her book again. "I was busy!" she said feebly.
"So was the whole damn world!" he argued.
"Would the game still be cheating if you were operating under your full abilities, too?" Cuore asked obliviously. "What if you were to view it as training?"
Edge paused in his tirade to look back at her. "No, I suppose it wouldn't."
"How about we try again? You use your abilities…I use mine?"
"You're on," Edge said, too frustrated to argue.
Rydia sighed just as the two of them evaporated from her sight.
"This is going to end well," she muttered, turning to the next page of her book.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Hours later, the girl and man-child returned to the dining hall where Rydia was quietly eating more stew with the Seneschal.
"Have you exhausted each other yet?" she asked.
"Not hardly," Edge declared, taking a seat across from her.
"So, I take it this is only a temporary reprieve?" the Seneschal asked tiredly.
"After this, I'll be able to run laps around her," Edge boasted, ladling a heaping mound of stew into his bowl.
"There are no humans faster than I," Cuore said, stepping lithely to the table.
Edge snorted. "We'll see about that," he said, shoveling food into his mouth.
Rydia looked at the both of them, quixotic. "Who won the last game?"
"I did," Cuore and Edge answered simultaneously.
"How does that work?" Rydia asked, raising a brow.
"I found all of your hiding places," Cuore said.
"And I found all of yours," Edge contested.
"So, a tie?" the Seneschal asked.
"Fine," Edge begrudgingly accepted.
After a few minutes and a few mouthfuls of stew, Cuore looked thoughtful. "Are there any games that involve chasing your opponent?"
"Yes," Edge answered.
"But isn't tag played best with more than two people?" the Seneschal yet again interrupted.
"You're right," Edge replied, looking meaningfully at Rydia.
"Me?" she blurted out. "No."
"How will I learn the game if not with the correct number of opponents?" Cuore asked.
Edge gave Rydia his patented plaintive expression and she narrowed her eyes.
"I am too old for tag, and so are you, for that matter," she argued.
"No one's too old for tag," Edge protested.
"I'm going to lose!" she complained.
"So?"
"I don't want to do something I can't be good at."
"The truth comes out!" Edge crowed.
Rydia reddened indignantly. "Says the king of being fashionably late to everything."
Edge shrugged.
Suddenly, a small wind storm stirred up the table as the boy Tsukinowa materialized beside Cuore, rattling the plates.
"Tsuki…" Edge snarled. "What have I told you about teleporting into the dining hall?"
"That it's efficient and makes for a good laugh?" the boy answered brightly.
The seneschal sighed. "We spent weeks cleaning up the mess the last time."
Tsukinowa grimaced. "I asked Izayoi if she'd help me clean it with her magic…"
"That's not her job," Edge pointed out, annoyed. "What are you doing back here? I thought I sent you to Mysidia."
"And miss this?" Tsukinowa asked, winking at Rydia. "Hi, Cuore."
"Hello, Tsukinowa," the girl answered.
"So what was the plan for today?" Tsukinowa asked Edge. "I am a fount of ideas."
"We were going to play tag," Cuore told him before Edge could stop her.
"Tag!" Tsuki chirped happily. "I love tag!"
The seneschal lifted his cup of tea to his lips, an oddly satisfied smile peeking out from under his beard.
"The more people the better," the old man repeated.
"When do we start? Where do we start? Who's 'it'?" the boy asked merrily.
Edge sighed.
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"Why have you arranged these confounded panels in this way?" Cuore cried as she chased Edge through the west tower.
"Think of it as 'training'!" he shouted back, deftly weaving between the wooden panels that were mounted in the configuration of a maze.
"It's incomprehensible!" she complained, encountering another dead-end and not her quarry.
Rydia and Tsukinowa were also trapped somewhere in the maze room, but it was Edge that Cuore wanted. He was too good at this game for her liking.
Frustrated, she resorted to magic.
"That's cheating!" Edge said, incensed, when she materialized in front of him.
"So is using a maze room!" she shot back.
He grinned. "Not so fair when the other team plays to its advantage, is it?" he asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said haughtily. "What's in there, anyway?" she asked, noticing that Edge seemed to be guarding a closed door.
"Things," he answered ambiguously.
She suddenly smiled and lunged forward. "Tag, you're it!" she shouted as she ducked beneath his arm and barreled through the door.
Edge sighed and went in after her. A few moments after that, Rydia and Tsukinowa joined them, too tired to continue the game—a fact made apparent when Edge tapped Rydia on the shoulder and she hung her head in dismay.
"No more!" she cried. "Where are we, anyway?"
"Training room," Edge answered distractedly, eyeing Cuore as she stepped gingerly over his weapons.
"Why is everything on the floor?" the girl asked, disgust registering on her face.
"It's better that way," Edge answered instantly. "Everything where I can see it."
"There are knives still embedded in that target," she said, pointing across the room.
"And?"
"There's no order, no logic," Cuore went on, becoming anxious. "If this room is a reflection of its owner, I'd say you were harboring a deep frustration."
Edge glared at Cuore while somehow managing to avoid looking at Rydia altogether.
"Huh. Imagine that."
"You've got Edge pegged," Izayoi's wry voice chimed in from the doorway.
"When did you arrive?" Edge demanded, looking at her with arms crossed. "And what are you doing here?"
"Someone needs to chaperone you four," she said simply. "What on earth were you doing just now, anyway? Playing tag?"
"That's exactly what we were doing," Rydia said, sounding put-out.
Izayoi cracked a smile. "Tag?" she asked. "How old are you, anyway?"
"That's what I asked," Rydia seconded.
"Edge was teaching me how to be a normal kid," Cuore explained.
"'Normal', huh?" Izayoi asked, her lips curled into a grin.
"You know—how to have fun," Edge remarked. "Something you locked away in a deep, dark place along with all the rest of your dreams."
Izayoi cocked her head at her cousin. "You know that I'm armed, right?"
"I'll risk it."
"You know, Cuore might have more 'fun' if she teamed up with Eblan's inexhaustible resource," Izayoi mentioned, flicking her gaze at Tsukinowa.
"Yes!" the boy chimed in. "Come on, Cuore! I'll teach you how to climb trees and scale walls. I know all the best footholds!" he said, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her after him.
"Besides," Izayoi whispered, stepping close to her cousin's ear. "I figured the two of you needed some time alone. Work out some of that 'deep' frustration."
Edge's expression flattened. "Well played," he said.
"You're welcome!" she replied, walking out of the room with a casual wave of her hand.
"So," Edge began, turning slowly toward Rydia. "Looks like it's just us."
He stiffened when he saw her holding a knife she'd picked up from the floor.
"How exactly do you hit a target with one of these, anyway?" she asked, turning the blade over in her hand.
Edge smiled, relaxing again.
"Allow me," he said, plucking the weapon from her hand.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
By the time Edge and Rydia returned from the west tower many hours later, Cuore and Tsukinowa were making their return journey from their climbing adventure.
They crossed paths in the castle's foyer, each party having been on their way to find the other.
Cuore tilted her head when she saw Rydia.
"Did you change your hair?" she asked.
Rydia reddened; self-consciously running her fingers through her now-loose tresses.
"How was tree climbing?" Edge asked, immediately changing the subject.
"Most excellent," Cuore replied. "Tsukinowa showed me all the best trees in the village."
"It's amazing what she can do with bare feet!" the boy beamed. "It's like she was born to climb!"
"By the way, when were you going to light that bonfire?" Cuore insisted, looking at Edge. "It's an impressive pile of wood to let go to waste."
Edge laughed. "We were heading there just now, in fact."
"It's that dark already?" Rydia asked.
"It's easy to lose track of time when you're training," Edge told her with a grin.
Tsukinowa shot his master a dubious look.
"Anyway," Edge went on deliberately. "There was something else I wanted to show you," he said, speaking to Cuore. "Another thing that every kid should experience at least once."
"Oh?" she asked.
"Does it have something to do with what you collected out of the kitchens?" Rydia asked.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Tsukinowa suddenly exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I know what it is, I know what it is!"
"Calm down, brown squirrel!" Izayoi cried, approaching the group from behind. "It's like you've never seen a bonfire before."
"I'm not a squirrel," Tsukinowa said through pursed lips.
"Do you understand your job?" Edge asked, turning toward his cousin.
She nodded. "I'll be on stand-by in case this crazy person decides to fan the flames with his idiocy," she said, piercing Tsukinowa with a look.
"Hey!" Tsukinowa protested, glaring at Izayoi. "It was only a tiny brush fire that was put out easily enough. Come on, Cuore. I'll race you back to the square."
Bewildered, Cuore followed him, never finding out what Edge had in his satchel.
"Do you really trust him around that much fire?" Izayoi asked her cousin for the second time that evening.
"No," Edge replied. "But Cuore seems to enjoy his company."
0-0-0-0-0-0
Rydia followed Edge out of the castle gates into the town's proper. The giant mound of tables had been relocated to the center of the town and half the townspeople were already milling about.
There was a festive air to the evening, and several women were brightly dressed in colorful robes while children ran underfoot.
"I take it, this doesn't happen often?" Rydia asked, curiously looking around.
"No, only when high summoners visit," Edge joked.
Rydia snorted. "Thanks."
Edge pointed across the square. "There's Cuore and Tsuki," he said.
"Have you finally decided to bond with your subordinates?" Rydia asked while they walked, noticing the truncation of Tsukinowa's name.
Edge made a strangled sound. "No," he admitted. "I'm just too lazy to use his full name."
"Terrible," she said, shaking her head.
"Rydia!" Cuore cried the moment Rydia and Edge were within reach. "Apparently, people light fires purely for fun!"
Edge slapped his palm to his face.
"So who's going to light it?" Tsukinowa asked.
"We could always duel flames," Edge suggested, nudging Rydia's shoulder.
"Or find a way to summon Rubicante here. I know how much you miss him," Rydia joked.
"You could summon Bahamut," Edge volleyed.
"I'm not summoning Bahamut," she deadpanned.
"Um," Tsukinowa interrupted them, pointing to the pile of wood.
"Cuore!' Rydia scolded, just as the girl had snuffed the fire spell from her hand.
"You were taking too long," she announced.
Edge gave the girl a lopsided smile. "That solves that problem."
As the tables caught fire, Cuore returned her attention to the mystery that hadn't been revealed to her in the castle foyer.
"What's in the satchel?" she asked, peeking nosily into the bag.
Edge pushed her back by the forehead. "One thing at a time."
"This is the next logical thing," she argued. "What's in the satchel?"
"Just show her," Tsukinowa insisted.
Edge sighed, digging into the bag and producing a strange white object.
"What is that?" Rydia asked, slightly mortified.
Edge popped it into his mouth with a grin. "A marshmallow."
"A what?" Rydia and Cuore said together.
Edge nodded to Tsukinowa and the boy flitted off, only to return a moment later with four long, slender sticks.
"You put the marshmallow on the stick," Edge elaborated with a full demonstration. "You put the stick near the fire. You toast the marshmallow. And then you put it in your mouth."
"Seems simple enough," Rydia said, taking a stick from Tsukinowa and sliding a marshmallow onto it.
"Now, there's an art to toasting a marshmallow," Edge warned. "Getting the perfect golden crust takes practice."
"Get your hand off my stick," Rydia ordered, flicking her marshmallow away from him.
Edge laughed. "You're the one who doesn't like to do things if you can't be good at them," he reminded her.
She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "That's only for childish games I'm trying to get out of."
Edge grinned back. "Impress me, summoner," he challenged.
So they toasted marshmallows until they got bored of perfecting the technique, and then settled for watching the younger people entertain themselves.
After a while, Rydia narrowed her eyes.
"Where did Izayoi and Tsukinowa go?" she asked, suspicious of their absence.
"Special assignment," Edge told Rydia as they watched Cuore dance merrily around the fire with her stick.
Several of Cuore's marshmallows had started on fire and turned to black, blistered lumps. Each time, Cuore hopped back to them and plucked one more marshmallow from the satchel.
"These are such a problematic but fascinating food!" she exclaimed. "Where are they from? Marshes, probably," she said, answering her own question. "But how does one extract it…?"
"You've finally given Cuore something that will keep her occupied for hours," Rydia said with a laugh as Cuore flitted off again.
"Thank goodness," Edge said. "She was wearing me out."
Rydia chuckled. "You? Incomprehensible," she said, quoting Cuore.
When the fire started to burn low, Cuore finally sauntered over to them, her stick drooping to the side.
"You've got marshmallow on your face," Rydia said, rubbing Cuore's cheeks.
"Those were delicious," the girl exclaimed. "And I finally perfected the ratio of proximity to cooking time."
"Good," Edge said. "Just in time to go back."
"There are no more plans today?" she asked, disappointed.
"It's already late, Cuore," Rydia chided, hoping Cuore would take the hint.
"Nothing more for today," Edge agreed. "I guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Cuore sighed and cast a wistful glance at the glowing embers of the fire behind them.
0-0-0-0-0-0
By the time Rydia and Cuore had reached their apartments, it was nearly midnight.
"You should mate with him," Cuore said frankly as she wiped the last of the marshmallow from her face with a cloth.
"What?" Rydia asked, nearly choking on the tea she'd been drinking.
"He is a fine physical specimen, and he displays alpha male tendencies," Cuore answered. "He would be able to provide a safe environment for your offspring."
Rydia set her cup down, staring at the wall with a dumbfounded expression.
"What?" she asked again, looking at her daughter askance.
"Besides, I enjoy his company," Cuore continued. "I appreciate his male perspective and acknowledge that there are things he can teach me that you cannot."
"Then why not Edward? Or Yang? Or even Cecil?" Rydia sputtered, becoming increasingly flustered. "What's so special about Edge?"
Cuore shrugged. "It is a deeply imbedded memory from the Others. There is something confounding about him that I suspect originated from you. I'm sure I'll solve it eventually."
Rydia groaned.
"I have also observed that children typically originate from two genetic parents, so I've chosen him to be my father."
"You have, have you?" Rydia asked.
"Now you don't have to go through the process of searching, since I've already eliminated the unworthy candidates. You're welcome."
Rydia was about to come up with a smart remark when a knock came at the door.
"Now what?" Rydia complained as Cuore bounded to the door.
"Edge!" Cuore exclaimed.
Rydia's face flushed.
"I thought you said there was nothing more planned for today!" Rydia cried, turning toward the door.
Edge gave her a lopsided smile. "What happened to you?" he asked, indicating her cheeks.
"I'm fine," Rydia said snappishly.
"Why are you here?" Cuore asked eagerly, already bored.
"I lied. There was one last thing to show you," he said with a grin.
"Now?" Rydia asked.
"Follow me," he said, leaving the door open.
Cuore glanced back at Rydia.
"Oh, fine," Rydia sighed, prying herself up from the floor.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Edge led them on a meandering journey through the dimly lit halls toward the library.
"We've already seen the library," Cuore informed him. "Why are we seeing it again?"
Edge smiled. "You haven't seen it like this," he said.
At Rydia's tired, but curious expression, he pushed open the library door.
"Oh!" Cuore cried, taking one step, then another into the room.
"Secret mission, huh?' Rydia asked with a chuckle, absorbing the spectacle.
"What is it?" Cuore asked.
"Blanket fort," Edge said simply.
Cuore stepped farther into the room, enthralled by the way the lamps glowed through the thin sheets that had been strung between every shelf, table, and chair of the library. It seemed as though no inch of fabric in Eblan had been spared.
"This doesn't seem structurally sound," Cuore commented.
"Doesn't matter," Edge argued, steering her though a tunnel of silk.
The tunnel led them into the center of the library where blankets had been strung between the tallest shelves to create the canopy of a grand cathedral.
Izayoi and Tsukinowa had outdone themselves.
"This isn't a blanket fort," Rydia snorted. "It's a palace."
Edge crossed his arms, staring at the handiwork of his subordinates. "They've done well."
"I don't know—I'm not sure how to explain this," Cuore said, staring upward. "It's like being outside…but inside…I'm not sure why, but it's beautiful. Are the sheets infused with some sort of magic?"
They all sat beneath the glow in silence for a long time.
"I can see why you wanted to show me this," Cuore said thoughtfully.
Edge looked at her.
"I told you it was superior to all other forts," he said.
Cuore made a face. "I wouldn't say superior," she corrected him.
Rydia laughed. "I'm glad we came," she said.
"So am I," Edge said back.
All of a sudden, Cuore stood up.
"Where are you going?" Rydia asked.
"I think I understand, now," Cuore announced.
"Understand what?" Rydia asked.
"Fun," Cuore said with a strange smile.
Edge and Rydia exchanged dubious glances as Cuore backed away from them.
"Now, Tsukinowa!" Cuore cried as she took off at a run and all the lamps in the room but one were snuffed out.
"Cuore!" Edge and Rydia shouted after her; left in the dark.
"I blame you for this!" Rydia complained, hoping to hit Edge on the shoulder and succeeding.
Edge, by contrast, was calm.
"At least they left one lamp burning," he reflected.
"I'd say the student has become the master," Rydia said with a weary sigh.
"It's almost as if they planned this," Edge noted with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You know…some might consider this atmosphere romantic."
"Cuore already has delusions of grandeur," Rydia complained, giving him a sidelong glance. "We don't need to go and add to them."
"What delusions?" Edge asked.
Rydia pursed her lips, adding reluctantly, "It seems that she's…adopted you."
He hooked his arm around her waist and drew her close. "And you were so worried."
She tried her best to harden her expression. "I'm beginning to wonder if you were the master architect of this plan," she accused.
A sly grin formed on his lips. "Me?" he asked, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Although…we could always pick up where we left off."
Rydia growled at him as he pulled her in for a kiss. "You strike a hard bargain," she said against his lips.
He laughed. "Maybe I could even convince you to stay," he said hopefully.
Rydia snorted. "I'm sure Cuore would like that."
"Did you hear that, Cuore?' Edge called out loudly over Rydia's shoulder.
"The two of you are in this together!" Rydia cried.
"So I guess the question that needs to be answered is whether you'd like to stay," Edge said.
"You, two," Rydia said, chagrined.
"Why not?" she asked with a laugh. "After all, someone needs to teach you two how a blanket fort is really done."
Edge pulled her in for another kiss. "Impress me, summoner," he said into her ear.
Behind them, all they heard were giggles.
~Fin~
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
A/N:
The Myth returns. Briefly. While I don't canonically support post-TAY E/Ry, seeing as THEY SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER WAY SOONER THAN THAT. AKA AFTER THE ORIGINAL GAME. Guh. I do, however, find the E/Ry and Cu dynamic to be very hilarious.
Plus, I've been asked by multiple people to do more baby Cu and I DID kind of owe Moonclaw a story after she wrote me, like…twenty….SO. Here it is! ;)
This was NOT supposed to reach 7k! But seeing as how this was finished BEFORE midnight PST, it STILL counts as a Christmas deadline!
EDIT. Seeing as how I wasn't jazzed with the original ending (I totally ran out of gas), I have gone back and added to it ;)
So there you go! A better ending XD
Merry Christmas and to all a good night ;)
~Myth