Zelos and Sheena's past
PART ONE
Sheena walked silently through the dark streets of Meltokio's upper class district. She quietly thanked the Summon Spirit Shadow for the darkness that was hiding her. She knew her mission well, but felt it was pointless. The village of Mizuho knew well that the King of Tethe'alla was no closer to finding them than the kings before him were when Mizuho first began to hide itself from this world. But she was glad to be acknowledged for something since the incident.
" Ladies, ladies, ladies, there is enough of me for each of you, but at a later time, for it is time for the Chosen to catch some z's." Sheena stopped.
"Damn, it's almost four in the morning, who would be up?" she hissed. She peered around the corner and saw a man standing on his porch with two women draped around him.
"Alright Master Zelos, we'll see you in the morning!" they both kissed him on the check then walked away giggling. The man stood there and watched them walk away then sat down on his top step and placed his head in his hands. Sheena heard a sigh.
"What is he doing?" she whispered to herself. He sat there for a few more minutes then stood up. As he turned away, a strong wind blew and knocked Sheena from her crouch, sending her face first into the street. She immediately sat up, embarrassed.
"Hey!" the man called. Sheena heard him running over to her. "Let me help" he said grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet. She didn't notice his eyes wandering to look her up.
"Thanks," she said, brushing her top and leggings off. She looked up and gaped at him. He was breathtakingly handsome. He seemed to notice her hesitation and smirked.
"You like what you see my little hunny?" he asked with a flourish. Sheena immediately turned red and looked away.
"N-no, I think I hit my head."
"Sure you did. And to whom do I own this pleasure?" he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. She blushed and pulled away.
"I am Sheena Fujibayashi," she said, "and who are you?" This seemed to shock him for he hesitated a moment as if not sure if he should tell her.
"You don't know who I am? Everyone knows who I am. Just where are you from?"
"Th-that's none of your concern," she stammered stepping away from him.
"I'm not that stupid. You're from Mizuho aren't you? I can tell from your clothes. What are you doing here? I thought those from Mizuho were only allowed in the Elemental Research Academy," he stepped closer to her. She stepped away again.
"Stay back!" she felt herself reaching for one of her grandpa's guardians. "I have to go!"
"What makes you think I won't tell the king I saw you?" he asked with a sly look. She stopped and lowered her head.
"Right, you saw me… What do you want? I'll give you any amount of money to not say anything."
"You think I want money? Take a look at where I live. I have plenty of money."
"Then what do you want?" Sheena pleaded. At this he looked down.
"There are a lot of things I want… I want my fate to change," he said with a sigh.
"I can't change your fate, whatever it may be. You just have to go with it," she said looking up. He looked up at the same time and met her eyes. They stood there in silence for a minute until he stepped forward and grabbed her hand.
"Meet me here tomorrow, the same time as tonight and I won't tell the Papal knights I saw you." He bent down and brought his lips to hers for an instance then turned to run to his house then disappeared inside. Sheena stood there for a moment then started towards the city gate.
"Sheena you have returned. I hope the mission was a success?" Vice Chief Tiga asked with a welcome smile as Sheena stepped into the hut.
"No sir, I was unable to obtain the information needed," she said sitting down in front of him.
" Well all is not lost is it? I assume you'll be returning tomorrow night then?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Yes, Tiga. But I need to get some sleep." She stood up with a sigh and retreated to her room. She walked to her bed and plopped heavily on to it. She closed her eyes and brought her fingers to her lips. She could still feel his lips on hers as though he was still kissing her.
PART TWO
Sheena waited on the corner that was next to the man's house. It was nearing four and he was nowhere to be seen. She sighed and turned to walk away. She had held up her end so he had better hold up his. Then she thought that she had better stay so he would have proof she as there. So she stopped and sat down. She picked up a rock and tossed it across the road.
"Why so glum my little sweet pea?"Sheena jumped up to see the man standing behind her.
"Sheesh,did you have to sneak up on me?" she said dropping her guard. He leaned back on the building and stared at her. "What are you looking at? I am here, what do you want? The more time I spend here, the more time is wasted on my mission."
"Aw, now, now. Don't be getting all impatient on me. I just want to spend some time with you. It's not everyday that I can talk to someone who doesn't know who I am," he said stepping away from the building and closer to her.
"Well why don't you tell me who you are." He stopped and looked down.
"Only if you promise you won't leave."
"Uh, okay?" sh said raising an eyebrow. "Why would that change anything?"
"Alright, I am Zelos Wilder, the Chosen of Tethe'alla," he said with a sarcastic wave of his hand. Sheena just stared incredulously.
"You're the chosen? Ha, you don't seem very Chosenly." He laughed with her.
"It's because I hate it. My life is a joke. No one takes me seriously. I get everything I want but I have no one to share it with."
"What about those girls who were with you last night?"
"Oh, you saw that?" He chuckled. "those girls only like me because I am rich and I'm the chosen. They think that if they get me to fall in love with them that we'll get married and they'll be set for life. They don't really like me."
"Oh, I never knew being the Chosen would be that hard." She sat down and he followed, scooting closer.
"Yeah, and on top of that, I've never really been accepted. They all expect so much from me, and I'm afraid I'll fail them."
"I know how you feel," Sheena grabbed his hand. "When I was younger I was expected to do something and failed. Now I'm lucky if I'm involved with any village affairs. This is the first mission I've been on since. And I'm failing." She sighed. He squeezed her hand and smiled.
"I guess we're more alike than I thought." They sat there for a moment, holding hands. Zelos stood up quickly then reached for Sheena's hand. "I want to show you something." He started pulling her along the dark streets until they reached the steps of the church of Martel.
"What are we doing here?" she asked.
"Shh." He playfully placed a finger on her lips, she smiled underneath it. "Have you ever seen an exsphere?" She shook her head. He walked up to the door and quickly picked the lock. The door swung open and they stepped in. Zelos let go of her hand and walked up to the altar and opened a drawer, pulling out a scarlet drawstring bag. He loosened the strings and carefully slid out the contents. A shining red ball slipped out into his hand.
"Oh, wow. It's beautiful." She stepped closer.
"I know it is," she looked up and and their eyes met. She blushed then quickly looked down. "It's not really an exsphere, it's a cruxis crystal. They say I was holding it when I was born." He placed it back in the bag and returned it to the drawer. He walked over to her and placed her face in his hands.
"You are the first person I've met who doesn't want my money or who talks me because I'm the chosen. Granted the only reason you are here right now is because I black mailed you. Things are different with you though. You and I have a lot in common and I can actually talk to you. I like that." He brought his face closer to her's. "I know it sounds crazy, but when I saw you fall out of the shadows last night, I thought you were an angel sent straight from Martel herself. You were on my mind all day today. And after we parted, I swear I still felt my lips on yours."
At that she closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back. Tentatively at first, then his kiss got harder. His hands found her shirt and he started to pull it over her head. Then she stopped.
"What's wrong?" he asked her, breath husky.
"Not here, somewhere else."
He nodded then pulled her in his arms and started towards his house. He carried her up the steps and opened his door. He quickly found his way to his room, then his bed.
Gently, he laid her down, she leaned back, beckoning him to come to her. Zelos removed his shirt and pants, and Sheena followed suit. He climbed onto the bed and on top of her. His lips found hers and they began kissing deeply. This time there was no hesitation as their hands explored each other's bodies, until he spread her legs and placed himself inside of her. She sighed softly, melting beneath his touch. Their kissing stopped as they gave in to sighs and moans. Until finally, with one last thrust he climaxed. He kissed her neck then rolled off from her body. He drew her into his arms and held her, until sleep took hold of them both.
PART THREE
Sheena woke up as the sun was setting to find she was alone in Zelos' bed. She rolled over and her hand found a note addressed to her. She opened it and found that Zelos had waken up to take care of some "Chosenly" duties and he would return shortly after sunset. She sighed, falling back onto the down pillows that covered his bed. She would be in trouble for not reporting back to the village with news. Zelos didn't seem to be in a hurry to come home so she got up and got dressed. She found the stationary and pen he had written the note with and left him one of her own. Then she walked to the window and jumped down to the street.
As she was about to reach the corner, she heard a woman giggling and faintly heard a man whispering. She peered around the corner and froze. Zelos had a girl up against the wall, lightly kissing her ear.
"Z-Zelos…" she stepped around the corner, tears welling in her eyes. His back was turned to her, but she saw it tense. He lowered his face from the girl's and stared at the ground.
"Is this some kind of game to you?" her shock had given way to anger and she her voice was raising. "Do you use the pathetic lines you gave me last night to win over all the girls? You know, I didn't come back last night because you had black mailed me, I came nack because I felt something. But now I see I was foolish and stupid for feeling so. Goodbye, Zelos Wilder."
Without another glance, Sheena turned around and ran from Zelos, the girl, and the city of Meltokio. She didn't stop running until she had reached the outskirts of Mizuho. As she walked through the gate, she noticed the air of the village had changed and she noticed that there were strangely dressed men hanging around the chief's hut. Her pace increased, and in short time she reached her destination. Letting herself in, she headed straight to Tiga's room.
"I have just the person for your mission, whenever she- Sheena! I am so glad you are here! These men have news pertaining to the restoration of Sylvarant. It seems it is going a lot better than we had hoped." Tiga began as Sheena entered te room.
"Who are these men, and why are they in our village?" Sheena asked, sitting down next to him but not letting her guard down.
"They are Renegades who come from Sylvarant. They need our help, it seems that the Chosen of Sylvarant's goal is as harmful to them as it is to us," he replied.
"Why would traveler's from Slyvarant want their Chosen to fail its journey?" At this question, a man with a blue ponytail stepped forward.
"If I may," Tiga nodded, "I am Yuan, leader of the renegades. It seems that the regeneration of Sylvarant would compromise more than just your world. I cannot give out more information than that." He stepped back and returned to his former position.
"Well that's all fine, but I don't see what that has to do with us. I mean, how are we supposed to get to Sylvarant?" Sheena asked looking from Tiga to Yuan.
Yuan was the one to answer, "We have inter-dimensional transfer devices known as rheiards. Though, we only have one. We have heard from numerous sources that your village has the trained assassins that we need."
"Yes, and Sheena is the one for the job. I think she will preform very well in this task," Tiga said with a proud smile at Sheena. She returned it the best she could. "Do you accept this task Sheena?" She sat there in silence for a moment then nodded slowly.
"Good!" Yuan said walking to the door. "Rest up, for tomorrow morning we leave."
PART FOUR
Shortly after Yuan had left, Sheena had gone to her room with the excuse that she had to rest for the upcoming mission. As she laid there on her bed, she couldn't help but think of the night that she had shared with Zelos, and she found herself sneaking out of her room, and soon the village. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she should see Zelos one last time before she left for Sylvarant. She found the way to Meltokio shorter and was soon facing the city's gates.
She wound her way through the streets until she was standing at his door. She had no idea if he was home or who would be with him in her place. She let herself in and silently walked up his stairs. She stopped at his door and listened. She heard nothing and opened the door.
The room was empty. She walked over to the bed and laid in it.
"Why am I here…." She asked herself silently, "He is obviously out living it up."
"Or maybe I was wondering why you appeared in my room after I returned from the bathroom?" Zelos walked in and closed his door. Sheena jumped up quickly and ran to the window. "Wait, please. Don't leave yet."
"Why should I stay? You lied to me…" she didn't try to hide the pain in her voice.
He was silent for a moment. "No, I didn't lie to you, everything I told you was true," he stepped closer. "I just…"
"You just what?" Sheena found herself yelling at him, then looked down.
"You wouldn't believe me anyway."
"Try me," Sheena said sitting on the ledge.
He sighed. "Could you please quit acting like I have a disease." Sheena stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting down at the foot of it. Zelos rolled his eyes then continued. "The girl you saw me with earlier, she saw us last night. She knew you were from Mizuho and threatened to tell the king if I didn't give her something. I thought it was money and agreed. Turns out she wanted more than money. And you ran in to what it was. Then you took off before I could explain myself."
Sheena sat there stunned, then shook it off. "Oh, well you didn't have to do that…"
"Yeah I realized that when she had run to the King and he said that he had joined forces with Mizuho on some mission," he stopped and grabbed her hand. "I also found out you were leaving. I wanted to go to your village to see you but he wouldn't tell me its whereabouts. So I came home to find that you had come to me instead."
"I am sorry… If I had known I wouldn't have accepted the mission… I- I want to be with you." Sheena removed her hand from his and stepped away. "But, I did. And now I must go."
He stood up and followed her. Grabbing her shoulder, he forced her to turn around. "Please stay with me one last night."
"Alright," she let him lead her to the bed. They lay next to each other for a moment then Zelos began kissing her neck. She sighed and scooted closer to him. He rolled on top of her and began kissing her lips, then her cheeks, then back to her neck. His hands slid under her shirt, he ran them up and down her stomach. Sheena shivered under his touch. Just as she was reaching to lift his shirt a knock came at his door.
"Master Zelos, I know it is early, but there is a woman standing on our porch saying you owe her something, and that she won't be leaving until she can talk to you." the butler's voice sounded through the door.
"Damn it!" Zelos got up quickly and adjusted his shirt. "I'm sorry Sheena, let me take care of this and I will return to you." He walked out his door and she heard him running down the stairs.
Sheena sat up and looked around Zelos' room. She noticed for the first time that there weren't a lot of furniture in his room. There was only the bed and an dresser. She was silent as she waited for him to return. Soon she grew tired and decided to get up. She walked to the door and stopped. What if he is with her again?She found herself thinking. She wasn't sure she wanted to see that but she had to leave soon and wanted him to return to finish before she left him.
She started walking down the stairs of the silent house. The butler had return to his room, because she didn't see him. She walked to the front door and thought she heard Zelos' voice. She opened the door to face his back. The girl from earlier that day was facing him. She leaned around Zelos to look at Sheena, then with a glare she kissed Zelos on his cheek and turned to walk away.
Zelos stood there with his back to Sheena for a moment longer then turned to look at her with a dark face.
"I think it would be best for both of us if you left, Sheena." He brushed past her and closed his door. Sheena couldn't move. She couldn't believe she had fallen for it twice. She stood there in silence for what felt to her as hours.
Then she found herself and started walking. She turned around for one last glance at Zelos' home. She looked up at his window and saw a figure there, watching her. She looked down, she wouldn't fall for that ever again. She started walking again and left the city of Meltokio and headed towards Mizuho. In the morning she would start the journey that would unknowingly change her life forever.