Authors Note/Disclaimer: I don't own Xenogears, Squaresoft doesAuthor's
Note/Disclaimer: I don't own Xenogears, Squaresoft does. Always Square. Never
Enix. ^_^
I hate having to start an author's note over again… damn crappy computer.
Anyway… This is my second completed Xenogears fic, and it was done more so as a
test to see if I could make something work. I think it turned out rather good.
In fact, I like calling it my BEST. FIC. EVER. So far. ^_^ And I didn't make
it work because I wanted it to. If I had paired off Bart and Elly (forget about
Fei for a minute), they would have strangled each other by the end of the story.
^_^ So yeah. Anyway, enough chatter. Go read!
Oh, and if anything in this story is mucked up, let me know and I'll try to fix
it. I'm working with what info I got from the game and anything I could glean
off the net, so if I've totally messed up Emeralda or something, it's mostly due
to knowing basically what's in the game and going from there. That, and I have
my own views on just how Emeralda is built and works, and I went with that. As
much as I would love to have all the info about Emeralda there is to know, I
don't. So I'll just apologize in advance for any errors I have made that I
shouldn't've.
"Trapped"
Written By Skylark Starflower
Started August 1, 2003
Finished August 7, 2003
Bart groaned as he came to. A quick look about told him he was
in the Yggdrasil's infirmary. It took him a moment longer to recall the events
that led to him being there.
He groaned again, but this time, not out of pain.
Sigurd looked up from where he was sitting, keeping vigil over
his young charge and brother. Bart's second groan had roused him from the light
doze he had fallen into; standing, he made his way over to the bedside and knelt
down.
"Young master?"
"Sig?"
As he waited for a reply, Bart noticed the slight weight that
was tugging on his right wrist. Lifting it so he could see, he found it encased
in a cast. This surprised him. He knew for a fact that he hadn't had a broken
wrist before…
"You'll be okay, Young master. Hyuga says you will have to
remain in bed for a while longer, but you should make a full recovery."
"…Where's everyone else?"
Sigurd stood. "I'll go and bring them. They will want to know
that you have finally come around. Especially Emeralda. She's been worried."
"Wait. 'Finally come around?' What's that supposed to mean?
When have I been unconscious… how long?"
"It has been nearly three days, young one."
Citan allowed the door to swish shut behind him as he moved to
Bart's bedside. Sigurd nodded to him and left. The doctor pulled a chair over
and sat down.
"How do you feel?"
"Like Sig landed the Yggdrasil on my head. How 'bout you, doc?
How do you feel?" grumbled Bart.
Citan smiled. "You shall be fine in due time. But you have
lost quite a lot of blood over the last week. You need to take it easy for a
while. Recover your strength."
"…"
The door to the infirmary swooshed open again and Sigurd led the
others in. They took seats around the room and started to bombard Bart with
questions of what happened.
"Hey, hold on. I wasn't the only one there. Didn't Emeralda
tell you anything?" He noticed Emeralda flush and turn away as Rico answered
his question.
"She won't tell us anything. Said we should talk to you. That
you'd tell us what happened."
Bart looked at Emeralda again, but she wouldn't meet his gaze.
He sighed.
"This is what happened…"
* * *
The sound of a pistol shot echoed through the cave in time with
Billy's shout.
"There's too many! We need to get out of here!"
"Easier said than done!" replied Rico. He bulldozed his way
through a cluster of monsters. "Fei and the others were supposed to be covering
us! What's going on?"
"I don't know, but Billy's right!" yelled Bart, whips cracking
through the air at a frantic pace. "But Billy's right, we've got to clear out
of here!"
The three men started to cut their way through the hordes of
monsters. Hearing a yelp behind them, Bart swung around to see Emeralda trapped
and trying to fend off several of the creatures. Without turning, he called to
the others.
"You keep going! I'm gonna help Emeralda!"
Winding his way back through the throng, he took out two of the
monsters keeping Emeralda stuck. She gave him a brief glance, the closed to a
thank you he expected to receive from her.
Morphing her hand from a giant hammer to a sword, Emeralda began
to lay about as Bart flailed his whips, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.
The monsters pressed in on them from all sides, forcing them back. There was no
sign of help; Bart took a quick glance to see that Rico and Billy had
disappeared around a corner. He hoped they had gotten out safe.
His second of distraction cost him dearly.
The claws caught him and dug deep, ripping long angry gashes
across his stomach. Screaming in pain, Bart dropped backwards clutching at the
wound. Falling against the wall, he hit his head on a rock and slid to the
dusty floor, knocked senseless.
Emeralda came to his rescue as the monsters, livened by the
scent of blood, started to flock towards him, intent on the kill. Thinking
quickly, she stretched her arms out as far as she could and pushed the enemy
back. Then, quickly before they could recoup, she morphed her upper body into a
giant hammer and gave the cave wall a hard whack.
It worked. The loose boulders in the ceiling above the monsters
began to rain down upon them, driving back the smarter ones, and crushing the
stupid and unlucky.
Regaining her normal form, Emeralda used her body as a shield,
protecting Bart from the flying debris. The cascade, which in reality only
lasted thirty seconds, seemed to last an eternity. When it finally subsided,
she stood and gave the pile of rocks a critical look.
"Miscalculated."
They were stuck, trapped in by a large pile of boulders. At
least, she noted, they weren't completely sealed in. They would have been in
trouble if the air supply had been cut off. She turned back to Bart, unwilling
to upset the delicate balance of the rocks, lest she cut of the air supply while
trying to free them.
There was blood everywhere. Emeralda knew she'd have to get the
bleeding stopped soon or Bart could bleed to death in a very short while.
Pulling out a small bag, she checked what supplies she had.
One Aquasol S, some hob-jerky, a few emergency rations and a
canteen of water. There was nothing to use to bandage the wound. She'd have to
make due with what she could find.
As she knelt down beside him, and idea struck her. Carefully,
she pulled his jacket off and set it to the side. Then she ripped his shirt
down the seams and removed it as well.
And stopped.
"…Oh…"
She ran her hand gently across his back. It was a latticework
of scars. She had seen some of the wounds Bart's whips had left on the bodies
of some of the monsters they had slain. If she wasn't mistaken, she believed
the scars left behind, had the creatures survived, would have looked much like
this.
But what really caught her attention was the one, long ugly scar
on his right shoulder blade. It looked like he had been cut open with a jagged
edge several times before the wound could finally heal.
She traced her finger down it, feeling the unevenness of the
scar tissue.
"Uhh…"
She jumped slightly at the sudden sound. "Bart?"
The young pirate moaned again and turned his head slowly as far
as he could to look at her blearily through his one eye. "E-Em?"
She shushed him and replied, "Yes. Now, do not worry. You be
okay."
He gave her a weak half smile as she helped him into a sitting
position.
"Lo-looks pret-pretty bad…huh?"
"No speak. Save your strength." Emeralda ripped a strip of
cloth off what had once been Bart's shirt and damped it down with Aquasol.
Using this, she cleaned his wound as best she could. She used the rest of his
shirt as a compress, pushing it against the injury in an attempt to staunch the
flow of blood.
She handed the remaining Aquasol S to Bart. "Drink."
His grip on the bottle was weak. She was forced to help him
hold it as he drank it in little sips. He had tried to drink normally, but it
had caused him to choke and dribble most of the first mouthful down his front.
When he was finished, Emeralda put the empty bottle back into her supply bag.
The potion had healed up Bart's injury slightly, stopping the bleeding a little
and returning some of his lost strength.
He smiled at her again as she covered him as best she could with
his jacket.
"Why do you smile?" she asked, perplexed. "We are trapped, and
have few supplies. If we not found soon, then possibly we die."
He started to chuckle, but it ended as a cough. "They'll find
us… I have faith. And… sounds like your… speech lessons with Citan and Old
Maison are… starting to pay off."
She just stared at him, silent. He closed his eye and leaned
back against the wall. She sat down as well, still pressing the remains of his
shirt against his wound to stop the bleeding.
"You don't have to do that…"
Emeralda regarded him strangely. "Yes, I do."
He shook his head and pulled out one of his whips. Looping it
around behind his back he took the other ends and tied them together tightly
around his stomach, holding the makeshift bandage in place.
"Huh. A good idea."
They fell silent; the only sound that of their breathing.
Emeralda studied the pile of boulders trapping them in, trying to find any way
to shift the pile without killing them both. But at the same time, she paid
close attention to the sound of Bart breathing. She wanted to remain alert to
his condition as well.
She turned back to him when the rhythm of his breathing changed.
He sounded like he was having trouble.
"Bart? You okay?"
"Y-yeah… just… sudden pain…"
Emeralda gripped his shoulders in support as Bart fought off the
sudden wave of pain. When his breathing calmed again, she let go, but not
before her hand rubbed against the ugly scar on his shoulder.
She had to know. "…Bart?"
He looked at her, curious. "Yeah?"
"Where yo- did you get those scars?"
Bart gave her another half smile, giving Emeralda the impression
that there was nothing on earth that could wipe it from his face. She would
have believed it, too, had she not seen it disappear several times before.
"I… was protecting Margie… from Shakhan's goons."
When Emeralda said nothing, Bart continued, feeling that she
expected a bit more in the way of an explanation.
"We were… captured in an attempt to reclaim my throne from
Shakhan. Those lash marks are from his special brand of persuasion. He wanted
the Fatima Jasper and we wouldn't give it to him.
"They tried to use Margie as a bargaining chip to get me to hand
it over. I wouldn't let them take her, so they beat me to within an inch of my
life, repeating the process every few days until Sig came an' busted us out."
Bart's voice lowered as he continued, and the smile disappeared.
"I'm glad he got there when he did… I don't know how much more of that I could
have endured before either giving Shakhan what he wanted … or…"
"Before they killed you?" finished Emeralda.
Bart sighed. "Yeah. Before they killed me." He fell silent
for a moment, and the smile returned, although it was a bit sadder than before.
"Kinda ironic that the weapons I use are the same as those that left those
scars, huh?"
"The one… on your shoulder. That not done by whip…"
Bart froze. For a moment, it seemed he wasn't going to reply,
but then he sighed and leaned up against the cave wall, again closing his eye.
"I-I'd… rather not talk about it…" he whispered.
They spent most of the day in silence, Bart nodding in and out
of sleep. Emeralda, being what she was, had no use for sleep in the traditional
sense, and spent this time working on a plan for rationing the food they had.
She had to make it last as long as possible; she had no idea how long they would
be trapped.
Of course, being what she was, she also had no use for eating,
either. It made the rationing that much easier.
The time passed slowly for Emeralda. She had nothing to occupy
herself with when Bart was sleeping. Having finished the rationing, she turned
her attention back to the boulders blocking their way out. She could still find
no way to safely move them.
Bart slept through most of what Emeralda knew would be the
night. Waking early what would be next morning, could they see the sky, he
looked around their tiny prison to locate her.
"Em?"
"I'm still here. What is it?"
"I'm… hungry."
Emeralda pulled out a strip of hob-jerky and filled the cup that
came with the canteen with a portion of water and handed this to Bart. He took
it gratefully and started to eat it slowly, knowing he had to make the meager
supplies last as long as possible.
It wasn't very filling, he reflected, but it would keep him
alive for another little while, at least. And as an added bonus, the slight
curative properties of the meat would help him heal faster.
The water was warm and tasted disgusting, but he drank it
anyway, and handed the cup back to Emeralda when he was done.
"How long have we been here, Em?"
"Almost fifteen hours."
"…"
"I'll check your wound now. See if it is still bleeding."
Bart untied the whip and Emeralda lifted the blood-soaked shirt.
He was lucky. The bleeding had stopped, and now that they could get a good
look at it, they found it wasn't quite as serious as they had first thought. In
fact, Emeralda figured another few pieces of hob-jerky would heal him up enough
to be up and around. Bart declined, however, knowing that they needed to save
every last bit of food they had. They had no idea how long it would be before
the others found them.
Bart tied the shirt back down and the two lapsed into silence.
They passed the rest of the day in almost complete silence save Bart's failed
attempts to spark conversation.
When the young blonde went to sleep for the night, Emeralda
found herself absentmindedly doodling in the dirt. Catching herself, she
stopped and decided that sleep was better than boredom, even though she didn't
require it.
Two more days passed. Bart was quickly regaining his strength,
but the boredom was starting to get to them both. Plus, their rations were
running out.
Bart was still adamant about being rescued. "They'll get here…
I know it," he'd say, but he sounded a lot less sure of himself than he had
three days ago.
"Bart?"
He looked up from the game of tic-tac-toe he had been playing
with himself on the dusty floor. "Yeah?"
"…Do you… love Margie?" Emeralda wasn't sure why she brought up
the topic. She supposed it had something to do with being addled by boredom.
Bart blinked, and didn't reply.
"…No mind… I never asked."
He shook his head. "No… no, it's okay. Really. I just… I'm
not sure how to answer that…
"I do. But not the way everyone seems to want me to. She's
family, and one of my best friends. I treat her like she were my little sister…
and I know she thinks of me like her big brother…"
"She seems to… chase you… If she no love you, why does she do
this?"
Bart sighed. "We suffer from an arranged marriage. It has been
expected of the Kings of Aveh to marry the Great Mother of Nisan for… well,
longer than I care to count. I think the only reason she… chases me is because
the people expect it of her. …She's always been like that, putting her status
before her personal needs…
"Course, now there is no more Kingdom of Aveh… the situation is
really complicated now, and… I have no one I can go to for help…"
Bart lapsed into silence, looking somewhat upset. Emeralda had
to admit that he was good at hiding how he really felt.
"What about Sigurd?"
Bart shook his head. "He wouldn't know how to deal with this…"
"Maybe… talk to Margie about it?"
"…We… should sit down and talk about it. I'll make that a
priority once we get out of here."
Emeralda was glad to see a smile cross his face again, and
couldn't explain why. Silence reigned for several minutes before she asked her
next question.
"What… what IS love?"
"That's a tough question. It really can't be defined. It's…
just a feeling you get. When you're in love, you just know it."
"How?"
"Uh… well, let me put it this way. If you love someone, you'd
be willing to do anything for them. You'd… want to spend as much time with them
as you could. You… you would even be willing to give your life to protect
them…"
"Sounds like you and Margie."
"Yeah." Bart scratched at the back of his neck, "Well, I do
love her… she's family."
"What difference?"
"Well, you see… there's more… when you… I'm no good at
explaining. And you can't tell someone they're in love. You just… know."
Emeralda was silent for a moment. Bart just watched her and
said nothing.
"Anyone… do you love anyone… that way?"
Bart started and turned away quickly. Emeralda thought she saw
him blush, but she wasn't sure. Sidling up closer to him, she placed a hand on
his shoulder, trying hard to ignore the ugly scar as her fingers brushed it.
"I… there… someone… think I love…" she mumbled.
Bart took a moment to compose himself before turning back to
face her, a humoring grin on his face, although he seemed tensed for something.
Emeralda looked down for an instant. When she lifted her head
again, her right hand rose with it until it brushed against the soft, smooth
skin of Bart's cheek. He stared at her blankly, blinking. She began to think
he wouldn't move at all when he slowly raised his own hands to hers and cupped
them around it. He paused there for a moment before lowering them, still
holding her hand in his.
No words where exchanged as he lowered his head. Their lips
met…
* * *
Bart smiled sardonically at Fei. "Nothing happened, hot shot."
* * *
Emeralda collapsed beside Bart, breathing hard and spent, but
happy. He ran a hand through her hair and down her naked back, making her
shiver, as he inclined his head to whisper in her ear. His breath was hot and
his voice husky as he spoke, barely audible.
"That, Em, is the difference between loving family and loving…
well, the one you love."
* * *
"I don't remember anything after falling asleep that night. And
I know I didn't have a broken wrist before. Can someone tell ME what happened,
now?"
The others exchanged looks, and Bart thought they looked a
little chagrined. It was Citan who finally answered.
"There was a… an accident when we attempted to free you and
Emeralda. Something caused a small avalanche and you were buried."
Bart said nothing.
"I still wonder… why it take so long for you to find us?" asked
Emeralda.
"That would be due to the large monster population in the cave,"
supplied Sigurd. "You see, we were forced to clear out the creatures before we
could even begin to search. And even once they were gone, we still had to
locate where you were trapped."
Emeralda seemed to accept this. Citan stood and began to usher
people from the room.
"I am certain that the young one would like to rest now, so out
with all of you."
Once everyone had left, Citan turned to Bart to make sure he
would be all right, and found that Emeralda was still in the room. She looked
up at the doctor.
"There something I need to discuss with Bart. I will leave
after, this okay?"
Citan merely nodded. He had seen the surprised look on her face
when Bart had told Fei nothing had happened. Without another word, he turned on
his heel and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"You want to know why I told them nothing happened, right?"
asked Bart once Citan was gone.
"Yes. You say it was nothing to be ashamed of. Why then, you
no tell?"
The young man sighed. "It's… complicated. I suppose part of it
would be… would you really want to have to put up with the constant hen-pecking
about it?"
Emeralda said nothing.
"Okay, there's more to it than that, I'll admit… What I said
was true… but we… there could be trouble if we told the others now…"
"…"
Bart took her hand in his, but didn't look her in the eye when
he continued.
"I… I don't think… we should… uh… pursue this… at this time…"
She started and pulled her hand away from him. "Why not?"
He grimaced. "There could… it would just… cause trouble now…"
She looked at him, hurt and confused. "I am… trouble to you?"
The young pirate looked genuinely shocked. "N-no… Em…
tha-that's not it at all!"
But she was no longer listening to him. Standing, she quietly
walked out. Bart watched her go, shocked and hurting. "Emeralda!"
She didn't return.
"…Hell."
The End
Note/Disclaimer: I don't own Xenogears, Squaresoft does. Always Square. Never
Enix. ^_^
I hate having to start an author's note over again… damn crappy computer.
Anyway… This is my second completed Xenogears fic, and it was done more so as a
test to see if I could make something work. I think it turned out rather good.
In fact, I like calling it my BEST. FIC. EVER. So far. ^_^ And I didn't make
it work because I wanted it to. If I had paired off Bart and Elly (forget about
Fei for a minute), they would have strangled each other by the end of the story.
^_^ So yeah. Anyway, enough chatter. Go read!
Oh, and if anything in this story is mucked up, let me know and I'll try to fix
it. I'm working with what info I got from the game and anything I could glean
off the net, so if I've totally messed up Emeralda or something, it's mostly due
to knowing basically what's in the game and going from there. That, and I have
my own views on just how Emeralda is built and works, and I went with that. As
much as I would love to have all the info about Emeralda there is to know, I
don't. So I'll just apologize in advance for any errors I have made that I
shouldn't've.
"Trapped"
Written By Skylark Starflower
Started August 1, 2003
Finished August 7, 2003
Bart groaned as he came to. A quick look about told him he was
in the Yggdrasil's infirmary. It took him a moment longer to recall the events
that led to him being there.
He groaned again, but this time, not out of pain.
Sigurd looked up from where he was sitting, keeping vigil over
his young charge and brother. Bart's second groan had roused him from the light
doze he had fallen into; standing, he made his way over to the bedside and knelt
down.
"Young master?"
"Sig?"
As he waited for a reply, Bart noticed the slight weight that
was tugging on his right wrist. Lifting it so he could see, he found it encased
in a cast. This surprised him. He knew for a fact that he hadn't had a broken
wrist before…
"You'll be okay, Young master. Hyuga says you will have to
remain in bed for a while longer, but you should make a full recovery."
"…Where's everyone else?"
Sigurd stood. "I'll go and bring them. They will want to know
that you have finally come around. Especially Emeralda. She's been worried."
"Wait. 'Finally come around?' What's that supposed to mean?
When have I been unconscious… how long?"
"It has been nearly three days, young one."
Citan allowed the door to swish shut behind him as he moved to
Bart's bedside. Sigurd nodded to him and left. The doctor pulled a chair over
and sat down.
"How do you feel?"
"Like Sig landed the Yggdrasil on my head. How 'bout you, doc?
How do you feel?" grumbled Bart.
Citan smiled. "You shall be fine in due time. But you have
lost quite a lot of blood over the last week. You need to take it easy for a
while. Recover your strength."
"…"
The door to the infirmary swooshed open again and Sigurd led the
others in. They took seats around the room and started to bombard Bart with
questions of what happened.
"Hey, hold on. I wasn't the only one there. Didn't Emeralda
tell you anything?" He noticed Emeralda flush and turn away as Rico answered
his question.
"She won't tell us anything. Said we should talk to you. That
you'd tell us what happened."
Bart looked at Emeralda again, but she wouldn't meet his gaze.
He sighed.
"This is what happened…"
* * *
The sound of a pistol shot echoed through the cave in time with
Billy's shout.
"There's too many! We need to get out of here!"
"Easier said than done!" replied Rico. He bulldozed his way
through a cluster of monsters. "Fei and the others were supposed to be covering
us! What's going on?"
"I don't know, but Billy's right!" yelled Bart, whips cracking
through the air at a frantic pace. "But Billy's right, we've got to clear out
of here!"
The three men started to cut their way through the hordes of
monsters. Hearing a yelp behind them, Bart swung around to see Emeralda trapped
and trying to fend off several of the creatures. Without turning, he called to
the others.
"You keep going! I'm gonna help Emeralda!"
Winding his way back through the throng, he took out two of the
monsters keeping Emeralda stuck. She gave him a brief glance, the closed to a
thank you he expected to receive from her.
Morphing her hand from a giant hammer to a sword, Emeralda began
to lay about as Bart flailed his whips, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.
The monsters pressed in on them from all sides, forcing them back. There was no
sign of help; Bart took a quick glance to see that Rico and Billy had
disappeared around a corner. He hoped they had gotten out safe.
His second of distraction cost him dearly.
The claws caught him and dug deep, ripping long angry gashes
across his stomach. Screaming in pain, Bart dropped backwards clutching at the
wound. Falling against the wall, he hit his head on a rock and slid to the
dusty floor, knocked senseless.
Emeralda came to his rescue as the monsters, livened by the
scent of blood, started to flock towards him, intent on the kill. Thinking
quickly, she stretched her arms out as far as she could and pushed the enemy
back. Then, quickly before they could recoup, she morphed her upper body into a
giant hammer and gave the cave wall a hard whack.
It worked. The loose boulders in the ceiling above the monsters
began to rain down upon them, driving back the smarter ones, and crushing the
stupid and unlucky.
Regaining her normal form, Emeralda used her body as a shield,
protecting Bart from the flying debris. The cascade, which in reality only
lasted thirty seconds, seemed to last an eternity. When it finally subsided,
she stood and gave the pile of rocks a critical look.
"Miscalculated."
They were stuck, trapped in by a large pile of boulders. At
least, she noted, they weren't completely sealed in. They would have been in
trouble if the air supply had been cut off. She turned back to Bart, unwilling
to upset the delicate balance of the rocks, lest she cut of the air supply while
trying to free them.
There was blood everywhere. Emeralda knew she'd have to get the
bleeding stopped soon or Bart could bleed to death in a very short while.
Pulling out a small bag, she checked what supplies she had.
One Aquasol S, some hob-jerky, a few emergency rations and a
canteen of water. There was nothing to use to bandage the wound. She'd have to
make due with what she could find.
As she knelt down beside him, and idea struck her. Carefully,
she pulled his jacket off and set it to the side. Then she ripped his shirt
down the seams and removed it as well.
And stopped.
"…Oh…"
She ran her hand gently across his back. It was a latticework
of scars. She had seen some of the wounds Bart's whips had left on the bodies
of some of the monsters they had slain. If she wasn't mistaken, she believed
the scars left behind, had the creatures survived, would have looked much like
this.
But what really caught her attention was the one, long ugly scar
on his right shoulder blade. It looked like he had been cut open with a jagged
edge several times before the wound could finally heal.
She traced her finger down it, feeling the unevenness of the
scar tissue.
"Uhh…"
She jumped slightly at the sudden sound. "Bart?"
The young pirate moaned again and turned his head slowly as far
as he could to look at her blearily through his one eye. "E-Em?"
She shushed him and replied, "Yes. Now, do not worry. You be
okay."
He gave her a weak half smile as she helped him into a sitting
position.
"Lo-looks pret-pretty bad…huh?"
"No speak. Save your strength." Emeralda ripped a strip of
cloth off what had once been Bart's shirt and damped it down with Aquasol.
Using this, she cleaned his wound as best she could. She used the rest of his
shirt as a compress, pushing it against the injury in an attempt to staunch the
flow of blood.
She handed the remaining Aquasol S to Bart. "Drink."
His grip on the bottle was weak. She was forced to help him
hold it as he drank it in little sips. He had tried to drink normally, but it
had caused him to choke and dribble most of the first mouthful down his front.
When he was finished, Emeralda put the empty bottle back into her supply bag.
The potion had healed up Bart's injury slightly, stopping the bleeding a little
and returning some of his lost strength.
He smiled at her again as she covered him as best she could with
his jacket.
"Why do you smile?" she asked, perplexed. "We are trapped, and
have few supplies. If we not found soon, then possibly we die."
He started to chuckle, but it ended as a cough. "They'll find
us… I have faith. And… sounds like your… speech lessons with Citan and Old
Maison are… starting to pay off."
She just stared at him, silent. He closed his eye and leaned
back against the wall. She sat down as well, still pressing the remains of his
shirt against his wound to stop the bleeding.
"You don't have to do that…"
Emeralda regarded him strangely. "Yes, I do."
He shook his head and pulled out one of his whips. Looping it
around behind his back he took the other ends and tied them together tightly
around his stomach, holding the makeshift bandage in place.
"Huh. A good idea."
They fell silent; the only sound that of their breathing.
Emeralda studied the pile of boulders trapping them in, trying to find any way
to shift the pile without killing them both. But at the same time, she paid
close attention to the sound of Bart breathing. She wanted to remain alert to
his condition as well.
She turned back to him when the rhythm of his breathing changed.
He sounded like he was having trouble.
"Bart? You okay?"
"Y-yeah… just… sudden pain…"
Emeralda gripped his shoulders in support as Bart fought off the
sudden wave of pain. When his breathing calmed again, she let go, but not
before her hand rubbed against the ugly scar on his shoulder.
She had to know. "…Bart?"
He looked at her, curious. "Yeah?"
"Where yo- did you get those scars?"
Bart gave her another half smile, giving Emeralda the impression
that there was nothing on earth that could wipe it from his face. She would
have believed it, too, had she not seen it disappear several times before.
"I… was protecting Margie… from Shakhan's goons."
When Emeralda said nothing, Bart continued, feeling that she
expected a bit more in the way of an explanation.
"We were… captured in an attempt to reclaim my throne from
Shakhan. Those lash marks are from his special brand of persuasion. He wanted
the Fatima Jasper and we wouldn't give it to him.
"They tried to use Margie as a bargaining chip to get me to hand
it over. I wouldn't let them take her, so they beat me to within an inch of my
life, repeating the process every few days until Sig came an' busted us out."
Bart's voice lowered as he continued, and the smile disappeared.
"I'm glad he got there when he did… I don't know how much more of that I could
have endured before either giving Shakhan what he wanted … or…"
"Before they killed you?" finished Emeralda.
Bart sighed. "Yeah. Before they killed me." He fell silent
for a moment, and the smile returned, although it was a bit sadder than before.
"Kinda ironic that the weapons I use are the same as those that left those
scars, huh?"
"The one… on your shoulder. That not done by whip…"
Bart froze. For a moment, it seemed he wasn't going to reply,
but then he sighed and leaned up against the cave wall, again closing his eye.
"I-I'd… rather not talk about it…" he whispered.
They spent most of the day in silence, Bart nodding in and out
of sleep. Emeralda, being what she was, had no use for sleep in the traditional
sense, and spent this time working on a plan for rationing the food they had.
She had to make it last as long as possible; she had no idea how long they would
be trapped.
Of course, being what she was, she also had no use for eating,
either. It made the rationing that much easier.
The time passed slowly for Emeralda. She had nothing to occupy
herself with when Bart was sleeping. Having finished the rationing, she turned
her attention back to the boulders blocking their way out. She could still find
no way to safely move them.
Bart slept through most of what Emeralda knew would be the
night. Waking early what would be next morning, could they see the sky, he
looked around their tiny prison to locate her.
"Em?"
"I'm still here. What is it?"
"I'm… hungry."
Emeralda pulled out a strip of hob-jerky and filled the cup that
came with the canteen with a portion of water and handed this to Bart. He took
it gratefully and started to eat it slowly, knowing he had to make the meager
supplies last as long as possible.
It wasn't very filling, he reflected, but it would keep him
alive for another little while, at least. And as an added bonus, the slight
curative properties of the meat would help him heal faster.
The water was warm and tasted disgusting, but he drank it
anyway, and handed the cup back to Emeralda when he was done.
"How long have we been here, Em?"
"Almost fifteen hours."
"…"
"I'll check your wound now. See if it is still bleeding."
Bart untied the whip and Emeralda lifted the blood-soaked shirt.
He was lucky. The bleeding had stopped, and now that they could get a good
look at it, they found it wasn't quite as serious as they had first thought. In
fact, Emeralda figured another few pieces of hob-jerky would heal him up enough
to be up and around. Bart declined, however, knowing that they needed to save
every last bit of food they had. They had no idea how long it would be before
the others found them.
Bart tied the shirt back down and the two lapsed into silence.
They passed the rest of the day in almost complete silence save Bart's failed
attempts to spark conversation.
When the young blonde went to sleep for the night, Emeralda
found herself absentmindedly doodling in the dirt. Catching herself, she
stopped and decided that sleep was better than boredom, even though she didn't
require it.
Two more days passed. Bart was quickly regaining his strength,
but the boredom was starting to get to them both. Plus, their rations were
running out.
Bart was still adamant about being rescued. "They'll get here…
I know it," he'd say, but he sounded a lot less sure of himself than he had
three days ago.
"Bart?"
He looked up from the game of tic-tac-toe he had been playing
with himself on the dusty floor. "Yeah?"
"…Do you… love Margie?" Emeralda wasn't sure why she brought up
the topic. She supposed it had something to do with being addled by boredom.
Bart blinked, and didn't reply.
"…No mind… I never asked."
He shook his head. "No… no, it's okay. Really. I just… I'm
not sure how to answer that…
"I do. But not the way everyone seems to want me to. She's
family, and one of my best friends. I treat her like she were my little sister…
and I know she thinks of me like her big brother…"
"She seems to… chase you… If she no love you, why does she do
this?"
Bart sighed. "We suffer from an arranged marriage. It has been
expected of the Kings of Aveh to marry the Great Mother of Nisan for… well,
longer than I care to count. I think the only reason she… chases me is because
the people expect it of her. …She's always been like that, putting her status
before her personal needs…
"Course, now there is no more Kingdom of Aveh… the situation is
really complicated now, and… I have no one I can go to for help…"
Bart lapsed into silence, looking somewhat upset. Emeralda had
to admit that he was good at hiding how he really felt.
"What about Sigurd?"
Bart shook his head. "He wouldn't know how to deal with this…"
"Maybe… talk to Margie about it?"
"…We… should sit down and talk about it. I'll make that a
priority once we get out of here."
Emeralda was glad to see a smile cross his face again, and
couldn't explain why. Silence reigned for several minutes before she asked her
next question.
"What… what IS love?"
"That's a tough question. It really can't be defined. It's…
just a feeling you get. When you're in love, you just know it."
"How?"
"Uh… well, let me put it this way. If you love someone, you'd
be willing to do anything for them. You'd… want to spend as much time with them
as you could. You… you would even be willing to give your life to protect
them…"
"Sounds like you and Margie."
"Yeah." Bart scratched at the back of his neck, "Well, I do
love her… she's family."
"What difference?"
"Well, you see… there's more… when you… I'm no good at
explaining. And you can't tell someone they're in love. You just… know."
Emeralda was silent for a moment. Bart just watched her and
said nothing.
"Anyone… do you love anyone… that way?"
Bart started and turned away quickly. Emeralda thought she saw
him blush, but she wasn't sure. Sidling up closer to him, she placed a hand on
his shoulder, trying hard to ignore the ugly scar as her fingers brushed it.
"I… there… someone… think I love…" she mumbled.
Bart took a moment to compose himself before turning back to
face her, a humoring grin on his face, although he seemed tensed for something.
Emeralda looked down for an instant. When she lifted her head
again, her right hand rose with it until it brushed against the soft, smooth
skin of Bart's cheek. He stared at her blankly, blinking. She began to think
he wouldn't move at all when he slowly raised his own hands to hers and cupped
them around it. He paused there for a moment before lowering them, still
holding her hand in his.
No words where exchanged as he lowered his head. Their lips
met…
* * *
Bart smiled sardonically at Fei. "Nothing happened, hot shot."
* * *
Emeralda collapsed beside Bart, breathing hard and spent, but
happy. He ran a hand through her hair and down her naked back, making her
shiver, as he inclined his head to whisper in her ear. His breath was hot and
his voice husky as he spoke, barely audible.
"That, Em, is the difference between loving family and loving…
well, the one you love."
* * *
"I don't remember anything after falling asleep that night. And
I know I didn't have a broken wrist before. Can someone tell ME what happened,
now?"
The others exchanged looks, and Bart thought they looked a
little chagrined. It was Citan who finally answered.
"There was a… an accident when we attempted to free you and
Emeralda. Something caused a small avalanche and you were buried."
Bart said nothing.
"I still wonder… why it take so long for you to find us?" asked
Emeralda.
"That would be due to the large monster population in the cave,"
supplied Sigurd. "You see, we were forced to clear out the creatures before we
could even begin to search. And even once they were gone, we still had to
locate where you were trapped."
Emeralda seemed to accept this. Citan stood and began to usher
people from the room.
"I am certain that the young one would like to rest now, so out
with all of you."
Once everyone had left, Citan turned to Bart to make sure he
would be all right, and found that Emeralda was still in the room. She looked
up at the doctor.
"There something I need to discuss with Bart. I will leave
after, this okay?"
Citan merely nodded. He had seen the surprised look on her face
when Bart had told Fei nothing had happened. Without another word, he turned on
his heel and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"You want to know why I told them nothing happened, right?"
asked Bart once Citan was gone.
"Yes. You say it was nothing to be ashamed of. Why then, you
no tell?"
The young man sighed. "It's… complicated. I suppose part of it
would be… would you really want to have to put up with the constant hen-pecking
about it?"
Emeralda said nothing.
"Okay, there's more to it than that, I'll admit… What I said
was true… but we… there could be trouble if we told the others now…"
"…"
Bart took her hand in his, but didn't look her in the eye when
he continued.
"I… I don't think… we should… uh… pursue this… at this time…"
She started and pulled her hand away from him. "Why not?"
He grimaced. "There could… it would just… cause trouble now…"
She looked at him, hurt and confused. "I am… trouble to you?"
The young pirate looked genuinely shocked. "N-no… Em…
tha-that's not it at all!"
But she was no longer listening to him. Standing, she quietly
walked out. Bart watched her go, shocked and hurting. "Emeralda!"
She didn't return.
"…Hell."
The End