Chapter One

A short while after the speech in Luca Stadium, a small group of people left the dome and headed for the crowded streets outside. Dressed in plan clothing and keeping their eyes down, Yuna and her Guardians made their way to the only hotel in town.

"This is silly!" Exclaimed a small, blond haired youth by the name of Rikku. Stopping and stamping her feet she continued, "Don't they know who's walking here?"

This outburst bought a reply from another guardian. A tallish woman, dressed in a long black gown, her long braided hair falling about her shoulders. Stopping and turning around to face the youth she said, "Calm down Rikku. Do you want people to know Yuna is here? Don't you think they'll swamp her if they did?"

"Yeah but…"

"Then keep quiet and keep walking. We'll be at the hotel soon enough."

"But Lu-"

"No buts Rikku. Just keep on waking"

"Okay" Said Rikku, dejected that she'd been scolded by the mage.

Although the rest of the group hadn't gone far, they weren't easy to get to through the crowd. As politely as possible Rikku and Lulu squeezed through the crowd and finally managed to join the rest of the group

"I'm fed up with being pushed around." Rikku moaned, dragging her feet along as she walked.

"Hey, cheer up ya! It isn't that bad."

Rikku looked to the man who had just spoken and pulled a face. The man had shocking red hair sticking straight up in the air and seemed to defy all the laws of gravity, but that wasn't what was bothering her.

"Why are you so cheerful Wakka?" She asked.

"Have to be," replied the man. "With Yuna being down the way she is, we all have to stay cheerful. That way, it might rub off on her and she might cheer up little ya? Don't you think?"

"Maybe. It's worth a try I guess."

"Good. Now cheer up Rik." said Wakka, patting Rikku on the shoulder.

The group carried on, making their way through the crowds that seemed intent on hurting them in every place possible. Eventually though they made it to the hotel. Unfortunately, just like everywhere else, the hotel was crowded.

"Oh dear." sighed a young woman. Her dark hair fell gently on to her drooping shoulders as she looked down to the ground. The sad look that was already upon her face deepened. "We'll never get rooms at this rate."

"Hey, come on Yunie, don't be like that. I'm sure we'll get rooms. I'll go check!" With this said, Rikku bounded up to the counter, smiling broadly.

"Hi there!" she said to the woman behind the desk. "Have you got any rooms for the night? We need…um…I don't know, there are five of us…how many have you got…?"

"We only have three rooms, each with two single beds." said the woman in a slightly snotty voice, obviously disliking the young girl before her, but trying to hide it.

"We'll take them."

The woman told Rikku how much the rooms would cost per night and that they were to pay up front. After Rikku had paid, the woman handed her the keys.

"Um… can I ask you something?" Rikku asked nervously.

"Of course"

"How come there are so many people here, you're not fully booked? I mean this isn't that big a hotel, yet you still had rooms free. How come?"

"There's a singer here tonight. She's quite famous around these parts. The hotel manager decided to open the function room up to the public, not just to hotel guests so everyone could hear her. Everyone who isn't a guest at the hotel has to pay. But we still had rooms."

"Oh, okay. So… who's this singer?"

"Her name is Eva"

"Ahhhh…. I think I've heard of her, though I can't say I know much about her."

"You and your friends should come to the concert tonight. It's free for hotel guests. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you." said Rikku.

Rikku walked back to her fellow Guardians holding the keys.

"Hey I got them!" She cried, shaking the keys in her hand. "Three rooms, two beds each. All we have to do now is sort out who goes with who. Easy. Also they have a singer here tonight. What do you say?"

"I would like a room to myself if nobody minds." said Yuna not hearing Rikku fully.

"Sure Yunie, of course you can. Are you're sure you don't want anyone with you, you know, just for company or something."

"I'm sure. Thank you."

Rikku handed Yuna a key. With the key clasped tightly to her breast, Yuna bid goodnight to her Guardians and headed to her room. Once there and with the door closed behind her, Yuna collapsed on to the bed, her head in her hands and began to weep.

"I loved him," she thought to herself. "I loved him and now he's gone."

Curling up into a small ball, Yuna fell into a restless sleep, filled with uneasy dreams.

Meanwhile in another room, Rikku and Lulu were unpacking what little they had with them. Once finished Rikku walked over to her bed, sat down and turned to face the mage. "I hope Yunie is okay. I'm getting really worried about her." She said

"She'll be fine," said Lulu. Walking over and sitting down next to Rikku, Lulu put her arm around the young girls drooping shoulders and continued to comfort her. "It's hard to lose someone you love, but Yuna will be all right in the end. You'll see. She just needs a bit off time and space so she can get things straight in her head."

"I know. But I can't stop worrying about her." said Rikku, wrapping her arms around the older woman.

"We're all worried about her. But the best thing to do right now is just leave her be. She'll come to us when she's ready."

"I know."

"Come now; let's head down to the function room. It should be almost time for that singer's performance. Let's check it out." saying that, Lulu stood and held out her hand for Rikku to take.

Taking the offered hand Rikku stood and said, "Okay, but what about Yuna?

Should we get her or just leave her be?"

"We can knock and see if she wants to come with us. You go see if she if she wants to join us and I'll go see if Wakka and Kimahri are interested."

"Okay then. Let's go."