Camp is quieter tonight than she remembers, but Rydia doesn't really mind. The air is still a little smoky and it stinks, and reminds her of...of...
She sniffles a little, but forces herself not to cry, even though she's thinking of home. After all, she yelled at Edward for crying, right? Grown-ups aren't supposed to cry, anyway! She knows she needs to be strong, but they need to be too.
The smell is sometimes strong and sometimes weak, and now it is getting worse. It might be just their campfire, but it might be the castle, and she wishes she could block it out. Tellah asked her to try making the fire but...she still can't. What if she never can? She used to be really good at fire magic but now she never wants to see it again. Do Edward and Tellah feel the same? Tellah's magic is really strong, but he wasn't at the castle, and she hasn't seen Edward use any magic at all. She wonders if he even knows how.
Poor Anna. Once again Rydia finds herself blinking away tears. Anna seemed so nice, and now she was gone, gone just like Mama, all because of Baron.
Stupid Baron.
Cecil is from Baron but she doesn't understand it because Cecil is nice and protected her, and helped Tellah and Edward, and all because he wants to save that pretty lady in Kaipo. And she's from Baron too, right? But she didn't seem bad at all.
She opens her eyes, wondering if maybe she tries to count the stars if it will help her sleep and stop thinking about all these bad things. Everyone else is asleep now, everyone but Cecil. He looks really scary right now, away from their camp. The moons are bright but it just makes him look darker. Maybe he'll talk to her for awhile, since they are both awake.
"Cecil?" She whispers. It's cold out of her sleeping bag and away from what's left of their fire, but she's happier away from that anyway.
He looks towards her and she is happy his mask is down. She knows he has to sometimes but she doesn't like it when she can't see his face-he looks so mean like that.
"Rydia? What are you doing awake? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. The smoke won't let me sleep."
"The smoke...oh." He looks sad. She knows he must understand why it bothers her. It was his fault, after all, even though she doesn't blame him now. That other man, maybe, and whoever burned Edward's home.
"It's okay."
"No...it is not."
She walks a little closer and sits beside him, staring up at the stars.
"We're gonna save Rosa. Then you won't have to be sad." She knows she wouldn't be sad if Mama were still alive. And Edward wouldn't cry if Anna was still here.
"Right. We're going to save her." He smiles and it makes her smile back. No, Cecil isn't bad. She turns her attention back to the sky for a moment, shivering in the night air.
"Rydia, you're cold...You should probably go back to bed."
"I don't want to." Over there all she can think about is the castle and her village. Still, she is tired and even though she tries to hide it, a yawn sneaks out. "Please don't make me?"
She look at him because she feels like he will understand, and even though she's a lot younger, she thinks he's out here for the same reason as her. She shivers again and hopes he doesn't notice.
"Come here." Spreading his arms, Cecil gestures her closer, and she's cold and tired and sad and doesn't want him to send her back to bed so she climbs into his lap. His armor is cold and hard, but not as bad as she expected, and just being closer makes her warmer. "I'll keep you safe." He tells her, looking across the desert.
"And I'll help you find what you need to help Rosa. So she won't end up like Mama and Anna." Her words are slurred now, because sleep is easier in Cecil's arms and she knows he won't let anything happen to her. Her or Rosa.
"Thank you, Rydia," is the last thing she hears before finally falling into her dreams. The last thing, except for the echo of a heartbeat under Cecil's armor, and she moves a hand to cover it. She'll keep him safe, too.