Disclaimer : Tales of Xillia belongs to Namco Bandai.

A/N : So, I'm here with a multi-chapter fic, this time! I'm not sure about this one, though, especially with the plotline, so...I hope you'll enjoy it anyway :) English isn't my native langage, so it can have some mistake (and if there are big mistake, don't hesitate to tell me, that way, I'll be able to fix it.)

Chapter 1 : A Mission

The snow was falling since some days, filling the lands with white. It was difficult to walk, and it was cold too, but when she arrived at the beginning of Mon Highlands, she could see children and their parents, smiling, playing with the snow, and it made her happy. She would like to be back to her child status, but she couldn't. She was near of her sixteenth birthday now, and had to become an adult. At least, her soul could still be the one of a child, and when she would have time, she would probably play with the snow. But she didn't have time.

Leia grumbled and kept walking towards Kanbalar, where she had a rendezvous. Rowen sent a letter a few days ago, asking her to come as soon as possible. She was still wondering why and hoped it wasn't because of a bad news. She didn't like bad news. The last time she had had one, it was when his mother broke her leg. She shivered when the memories of these days filled her thoughts. It was the worst days she had lived, her mother being insufferable.

The young girl cough and she wondered when she would be at the capital. She didn't remember that the road was so long, but still, the last time she took it, she wasn't alone. Everybody was with her, and they had fun talking about nothing, especially nonsense. It was the good old day. She sighed and decided to not thinking about it, her mood got only worse.

She arrived at Kanbalar one hour later, tired, and her only desire was to sleep. But before, she had to send a letter to tell Rowen that she was arrived. So, she went to the inn, where she paid a room and, after sitting on one of the bench, she wrote her letter. Then, she went to the dovecote, where she tasked a bird with her letter. Finally, she came back to the inn and waited in her room. The bird came back quickly and she took the letter that she read: Rowen would come to see her in the evening. It means that I have a few hours to take a nap, Leia thought. Then, she lied on her bed and closed her eyes.

Someone woke her up and she started. Her heart was beating quickly and she could feel the sweat on her back. She glanced at the person who woke her up and she sighted of relief when she saw that it was Rowen.

"I'm sorry, Miss Leia. I didn't want to scare you."

"It's fine, don't worry."

Rowen smiled, and she couldn't help but smiled him back. The old man didn't change a lot. His white hairs and beard were still the same, and his eyes were filled with kindness like always. She spotted some tiredness signs, like the bags under his eyes, and she felt worried.

"Are you alright? You seem tired."

"Don't worry about me, Miss Leia, I'm fine." He answered.

She frowned a little before saying:

"I'm not sure you're fine. Do you have good nights?"

The old man smiled and, after being quiet for some seconds, he finally said:

"I have a lot of work helping the king, I can't afford a lot of rest."

Oh yes, that was true. Rowen was working as a tactician for Gaius himself, for the past six months.

"You need to rest. If Gaius overworks you, I'll have two words with him!" She joked.

The tactician laughed and she felt warm. Though, she wasn't too reassured about his friend's health, even if she knew that Gaius wouldn't overwork him, or she hoped so. The old man sat down on the bed, near of her, and they began to speak of their journey and of what they had done the last six months. It was a cheerful conversation, pleasant like always with Rowen, and if it wasn't for the letter he had sent her, she would like to keep the conversation like this.

"So, what is the important thing you want to say me?" She finally asked.

Rowen was touching his beard, thoughful. He remained silent a few minutes and Leia didn't try to say something. If Rowen was thinking, she wouldn't bother him; perhaps he wondered how to tell her and then, she felt anxious. Finally, he spoke with a serious tone:

"If I have asked you to come as soon as possible, it's because I need you, Miss Leia."

Leia tilted her head, waiting for the next, which came soon:

"I…Have a mission for you."

"A mission?" She repeated. "Which kind of mission?"

She never thought that the important thing was something like this. In fact, she wondered why he called her for a mission. Why her when he could have a soldier of Gaius' army? Something was strange. The old man took his time before answering:

"A spying mission."

Leia's eyes widened when she heard it. A spying mission!? Did she hear well? Wasn't it strange to give her a spying mission? Her who was very clumsy, it was a big risk.

"I'm not sure I'm good for spying mission. You know my clumsiness."

"Yes, I know." Rowen sighed. "But you're the only one that we can trust."

"What about your own spies!?"

Rowen smiled sadly, like if she said something wrong. She frowned.

"I would like to send our spies, but most of them are already on mission, and the rest…". He sighed then he continued. "The rest of them are former members of Exodus. We can't send them."

"Why?"

The old man took off something of his pocket: it was a yellow paper, with big red writing on it. Of what she could see, it looked like Elympios' writing, but she couldn't read the paper properly.

"What is it?" She asked.

"A leaflet of the Pater group."

He had to see her frown because he continued:

"It's a group like Exodus, except that this time, they just want to subdue Rieze Maxia."

"What!?"

"In the leaflet, they say that the Rieze Maxians are inferiors to Elympians. For them, Rieze Maxians are children. I guess that you can understand why we can't send the former Exodus members as spy. It's too dangerous."

Leia was stunned. They all worked for peace between Rieze Maxians and Elympians, and tried to help them, but she couldn't help but felt sad to hear that all their works wasn't helping at all. She didn't imagine that such a group could exist one day. How was it even possible?

"And so…You want me to spy them?"

"Yes. Jude is occupied by his researches and Miss Elize is at school."

"Elize is too young for this kind of stuff. Me too."

"But you're the only one who can help us for now. Don't worry, if you're tired of it, or if you just don't want to do it, I'll understand and I'll try to find another idea."

Leia tilted her head, wondering what she would do. She would like to help his friend, but wasn't it too dangerous for her? Of course, she wasn't afraid, but she was so clumsy…! She could do a mistake without noticing it. But some days ago, she complained that she was boring, and now that she could be useful to someone (not only to her parents), she wondered if she would do it. What a strange girl!

"What about Alvin?" She suddenly thought.

Wasn't the mercenary a spy for a while? If someone could do this, he was the best! But Rowen looked like he didn't think it, because he frowned and answered:

"I thought about it too. I know he changed for good and he would accept to help us, but…I don't know. I trust him, but a part of me doesn't want to give him this mission."

"Why?"

The tactician didn't answer, looking at the leaflet as if he was reading it. Leia raised an eyebrow. Rowen hid her something.

"Rowen?" She began, but the old man cut her.

"Talking about Alvin, you'll live with him."

"What?"

"He thinks that you'll be here for vacation so please, not a word about your mission. If you accept it, of course."

Great. She wasn't sure she wanted to accept the mission now. Of course, Alvin was his friend but a part of her was still afraid of him. She still remembered of what happened six months ago and she still had nightmares. But perhaps it could help her to being in Alvin's presence, she thought. It was fire against fire and she knew that she could trust him, now. She hoped it.

"When do I begin?"

Rowen was standing in front of the window of his room, fondling his beard, thoughtful. He wondered if it was really okay to send Leia, not because he didn't trust her, but because he was worried. If everything became bad, he wouldn't forgive himself. That's why he really hoped that his young friend would not being in trouble, but knowing her, she would put her foot in it. He sighed. If only he could help her, even if it wasn't something big.

And then, he thought about something, but for this, he needed to talk about it to the King. He left his room, hoping that Gaius would agree…And she too.