Fated To…

Kain knew that he was frowned upon. He didn't care. Rydia was still child-like. She didn't understand the world as others did. He was helping her. They still refused to cease their glares and pointless gossip. There wouldn't have been such a fuss if it was Cecil who was helping her. His time as an involuntarily antagonist wasn't so easily forgotten, it seemed.

He lingered around the entrance to the secret tunnel to Baron Castle. His impatience was beginning to show. He had strolled from the entrance in the castle to his current destination. The journey itself brought no concern. However, the distinct lack of companionship did.

They were meant to have gone together.

He tried to ignore the rising feelings of agitation. She was, after all, someone that had to travel a great distance. That was a futile attempt to calm his emotions. Rydia had never been particularly gifted when it came to punctuality. Rather, she was never gifted in punctuality when it involved him.

He tapped his foot against the ground, recalling his request. He wanted to make it up to her. What he did to her hometown, when he became their enemy and when he was so easily manipulated by Golbez. That had all been a lot for her to take in. She wasn't the most forgiving person; her grudges were quite well known. However, he was surprised that day. Edge had also wanted to teach Rydia about the human world. That was a confrontation that he hadn't expected and wouldn't easily forget.

A light sensation on his cheek brought him back to reality with a jolt. Kain was not one who could be caught out. He prided himself on that.

"I got you," Rydia grinned.

Her expression soon faded as she registered his. His serious expressions held something that she wasn't used to seeing. She didn't like seeing that in him at all. Questions suddenly poured to the edge of her tongue but she couldn't decide which one to ask.

Kain turned his back to her. "Come, we haven't got all day,"

She frowned. He was never so cold. His lessons were usually so fun. She did like to laugh at him at times but he didn't ever appear to be annoyed by that. Rydia hurried after him.

"Shouldn't we be going out? The world doesn't offer much down here," she complained after a while.

He didn't respond. He didn't slow. He didn't even gesture that he had heard her. She wrapped her arms around herself in a bid to remain warm. The sun was too hot for her liking but the cave was icy.

She grabbed his arm. "I want a response from you. Then I want to leave. Explain yourself,"

He shook her off. "I thought that would be obvious,"

She stamped her foot in annoyance; the movement was strangely comforting. "Then I'm leaving! You can be cryptic if you want, but you'll be on your own. I cancelled a meeting with Edge for this!"

He listened in silence for a moment. The sound of her splashing through the murky waters echoed loudly in his ears. He wasn't lost for words. His pride wasn't making him say that either. He just wanted to savour the sound of her departure.

"You didn't…" he commented.

Rydia spun on her heel. "Excuse me?"

"I told Edge that you would meet him. He's waiting for you in Baron," Kain responded.

His monotonous tone drifted through the lonely tunnel. Rydia's rage had suddenly left her. She glanced at the way to the exit thoughtfully. It didn't seem right to just take his kindness for granted. She quietly crept up behind him.

He tried to walk away but she caught his wrist. "What are you hiding?"

"You have to hurry or you'll be late. Goodbye Rydia," he replied.

"Why are you saying this like that? Your tone is scaring me," she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you. This place isn't nice. I don't mind making Edge wait a while. He knows as well as you do that I don't always keep to the times."

He pushed her away. "They know,"

She smiled. "I love you,"

"No. I don't want to hear it. Go and meet Edge. I don't want to see you again," he insisted.

"What did I do wrong? Tell me and I can fix it. I can change," she protested.

"That's not love. You're talking about obsession. You can't change who you are…" he scowled at her. "If you really want to know what you did wrong… You grew up… Or, maybe it's because you didn't."

"Is this because I'm still a child in this world? I'm not a child. I'm not obsessed either. Why are you doing this?" she tried not to yell.

"My betrayals… Your age… Their judgements…" he turned his back to her once more and began to walk away. "Edge loves you. He'll teach you how to love. I clearly haven't been able to."

"Kain, come back here!" she yelled. "You're an idiot! You're stupid! You're the one who doesn't understand! The one with the obsession isn't me, it's… It's… Please don't go…Kain, don't leave me!"

Before he disappeared he offered her something that he hoped would comfort her. "We were fated to part,"

Author's Note: You can't always overcome social stigma. Love isn't always enough. She's still young though; her heart is anyway. I don't suppose she had a lot of experience with this kind of love in that other place. Anyway, the whole fated to part thing… Well, there's no Chinese Paladin category here. Fated to part is the catchphrase of Chang Qing and Zi Xuan's love. They went through three lifetimes before she lost her immortality and he became immortal… I just love that series. I love this game too. I haven't been able to finish it but I could say that about all of my games. I might do something else of 'fated to part' for these two. I just love angst. Well, thank you for reading my work. I hope that you enjoyed my tale very much even though there may not be a lot of sense. I apologise if you haven't been satisfied with my work.

Part of the Revival Collection.