Certain Assurance

"I hate sand."

The remark was followed by utter silence. The weary travelers continued their monotonous trudge through the endless Triet desert, focusing only on moving forward, and nothing else.

"I hate looking at it, I hate walking in it, I hate-"

"Lloyd."

"I don't think I've ever been so far away from a tree in my entire life."

"Lloyd, shut up."

"Just ignore him, Genis. Arguing would not be the most effective use of your energy right now."

"But Raine, he won't stop!"

"Then why waste your breath trying to make him?"

The young mage glared at his sister's back, and then looked over his shoulder to glare at his friend, who was now tugging vainly at the high neck of his heavy shirt. The young swordsman had long since taken off his gloves and tucked them into one of the two leather belts looped around his waist, but it hadn't seemed to have done much at all in the way of cooling him down. Beads of sweat made their way down his forehead as proof of the exertions, and, panting, the boy gave up the battle with his too-tight collar in favor of trying to shade his eyes from the un-relenting glare of the sun hanging somewhere high overhead. Eventually, that too required more effort than it was ultimately worth, and Lloyd let his arm fall back down to his side.

Countless minutes passed, and with every step, the boy found it more and more difficult to move the next foot past the one he had just put down. He no longer felt like complaining; could not even summon the energy needed to think of one, let alone the amount required to make his mouth form the right words, or to make his vocal cords voice the right emotion.

The other four, though exhausted as well, were faring much better than the last member of their single-file line. They were conscious only of the blessed silence that had fallen, and nothing more.

Mouth open, shirt, pants, and hair clinging to his sweat-soaked body, Lloyd blinked. The number of footprints in front of him appeared to have increased when he wasn't paying attention. Was he really that far behind? A blast of wind hotter than any he'd ever felt blew past him as he raised his dry eyes from the yellow ground to seek the outline of his friend. Coughing on instinct to keep from breathing the scattered particles, Lloyd searched the area in front of him, seeing nothing but the all-encompassing yellow and blue of the land and sky, could feel nothing besides the heat of the sun from above, and that which was being reflected upwards from the ground below. The air was so unbearably warm, he couldn't feel himself breathe. The horizon danced; yellow invaded his vision; he couldn't tell what was up and what was down, couldn't tell if he was standing, flying, or falling; he was suffocating; saw yellow everywhere, saw the brightness fade….

… saw nothing.

"Raine, I can see it!"

"Yes, I believe that's Triet."

"Lloyd, we're almost there!"

Genis waited a moment, and then stopped and turned when he received no response.

"Lloyd!"

The group whirled at the half-elf's startled cry. Genis had begun to move the moment he'd seen the prone form of his friend, but his body was not used to running at all, much less running in a desert. It was Kratos who reached the fallen boy first, despite the fact that he had been the leader of the group and the one at the head of the line. Dropping to his knees, the mercenary turned Lloyd onto his back and shook his shoulders in an attempt to rouse him. By this time, the rest of the group had caught up, Raine pushing her protesting brother out of the way, Colette hovering behind them, wringing her hands and looking as though she was on the edge of breaking down.

"He isn't responding?"

"No."

"And you tried-"

"Yes."

Raine bit her lip and stood.

"You should go ahead and take him to Triet."

Kratos stared hard into the woman's face.

"That would mean-"

"I know."

"I do not like leaving the Chosen so unprotected."

Raine sighed and looked to Colette, whose face was already hardening in decision.

"Mr. Kratos, please take Lloyd to the city. We'll be fine, I promise."

The mercenary raised an eyebrow, his features skeptical, but proceeded to gather the unresponsive boy into his arms, lifting him from the ground with ease.

"If that is what you wish."

Turning back to Raine, he continued. "I'll take him to the inn and treat him as best I can. Hopefully, he'll have regained consciousness by the time you arrive."

"Thank you, and… be safe."

"And you as well."

"Is Lloyd going to be okay?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine. By the time we get to the city, he'll be up and about, bouncing around and annoying all those who had previously been living a nice, peaceful, Lloyd-free existence."

"Really?"

"Probably."

"Just the one night, then?"

"For now, yes. I will notify you, should we wish to extend out stay, once the rest of our party arrives."

"Fair 'nough." The gruff innkeeper eyed the dirty teenager that lay unconscious in the traveler's arms. "You sure he don't need nothin'?"

"Quite, as long as you can provide us with water and a place to rest."

"'Course. That'll be 100 gald for the rooms, then."

Awkwardly freeing a hand to reach for his money pouch, the traveler drew out the amount and placed it on the table.

"Here're the keys, and there's a well out front for the water."

Grunting his thanks, the traveler snatched up the keys and headed for the stairs.

Shutting the door as quietly as he could, Kratos carried the bucket across the room and set it on the floor by the side of the bed. Hesitantly, he reached out to brush away a bit of sand he had missed during his once-over dusting, and then bent down to look in his supply pack for some cloth. Drawing it out, Kratos dipped it in the water, and then wrung it out so that it would be merely moist instead of soaking.

Eyebrows furrowed, the mercenary leaned forward and placed the cloth on the boy's forehead, pressing gently, and then moved it slightly to the side, repeating the motion.

The air had been cooling when the man had gone outside to fetch the water, and the sky had long been growing dim. He had wondered, briefly, why it was taking the others so long to reach the city, but the concern apparent on his face now was not for them.

Wetting the cloth again, Kratos moved it to the side of the boy's face. He had barely let the material rest against the skin, however, when the facial muscles beneath his hand twitched. The man withdrew his arm, and watched as the closed eyes tightened momentarily, the head jerked to the side, and the hands moved slightly atop the bedcovers. Kratos observed as the eyelids slid back to reveal brown orbs full of sleep-induced confusion. Leaning forward and bringing an arm up to brace his weight, the boy stared at the covers that had been pulled forward by the action, and then turned to his right.

"Kratos… where…… is this Triet?"

The mercenary met the confused eyes with his own steady gaze.

"It is."

"Where's everyone else?"

"They should be here within the hour."

"Why aren't they with you?"

"Ms. Sage and the Chosen thought it best for me to take you, as I travel faster and would get here sooner."

Kratos could see the very instant the implications settled into the boy's mind.

"They're alone." It was clearly a statement, not a question.

The mercenary inclined his head in an affirmation that went unnoticed.

"They're alone. They're alone in the middle of the desert, they could all be in danger, neither of us are there… oh god, this is my fault."

Kratos shook his head once.

"No. If danger finds them, and the blame is to be placed on someone, it will be me. It was I who agreed to bring you and separate the party, understood?"

For a moment, the boy seemed on the verge of accepting, but then he turned away from the older man, staring at the opposite wall.

"I should have stopped. I should have said something."

A touch on his shoulder made him turn his head once more.

"You did say something, Lloyd. It was we who were not listening, and for that, I apologize."

This time, Kratos held the young man's eyes until he nodded.

"…you think they're alright?"

Kratos drew his hand away, but did not break the connection of their eyes.

"I will not say that I know they are, as it would be impossible to know such a thing with completely certainty, but I do believe they would seek to overcome any obstacles they may face with everything that they are. That said, I will say I have faith in the odds that they will arrive here unharmed."

The boy nodded again, trying to conceal a very out-of-place yawn with his right hand as he did so.

"You should rest before the others arrive. I am sure they will have many questions, and you would do well to be awake enough to answer them."

Kratos lifted the covers so that Lloyd could slide back down and turn on his side, facing the older man. Nestling into the softness of the bed, the boy brought one arm under the pillow to lay beneath his head, and moved the other to rest against his forehead. The mercenary leaned back in his chair and watched the drowsy swordsman with an unreadable expression.

"I would never lie to you, Lloyd. I will never lie to you. I may withhold information when I believe it to be in your best interests, but I will never lie."

Moments passed, and the boy's eyes never opened. Kratos suspected he had already fallen asleep. But…

"… promise?"

The response came without hesitation.

"Yes, Lloyd. I promise."