Hello, readers. Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I'm very grateful for your support! It's a complete self-esteem boost for me! Anyway, chapter 2 is up now, and I will be completing chapter 4 later tonight. Hoo...I'm going really fast with this. I've already got the Tower of Salvation part written out. Please enjoy.
BTW, thanks to all of those who read, commented, and faved/alerted my story! You're the best!
Don't own, don't sue. Flame and you die.
Chapter 2: Kratos
As I ran to Martel Temple, I felt my panic growing rapidly. Flashes of the game spun through my head, and I grew even more afraid. Had they seen Botta yet? What about Kratos? Had the priests been killed?
A sobbing sound stopped me dead in my tracks. I hid behind a tree and glanced at the trail ahead. Lloyd, Colette, and Genis were kneeling over the form of the dead priest. I bit my lip and watched as the teens mourned the loss of their pastor. I felt bad for them...this journey was full of so much pain.
Soon they stood up and began their ascent up the stairs. I started after them, but Martel's words rang in my head.
"You know what will happen…what has to happen."
I froze, gripping my necklace. I couldn't stop what was supposed to happen. I couldn't stop Colette from losing her soul, I couldn't stop Kratos before he betrayed everyone, and I couldn't even prevent Marble's death or Lloyd's exile. It sucks knowing the future.
As soon as they were at the top of the stairs, I began climbing after them, mentally preparing myself for the coming battle. I'd have to participate to get in the Chosen's group. But then, about halfway up the stairs, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Where's my weapon? I strained to remember what Martel had said. Something about having a weapon once I reached the ground. I patted my sides, searching for some kind of item. I began cursing quietly. How could I have forgotten that?! I was such an idiot!
I gave up the search and swiped a long, thick tree branch off the ground. It fit well in my hand, but it felt flimsy and dead. If it came to it, I'd use hand to hand combat. I remembered Vidaar used a mace, as well as a hammer. I cringed, already hearing my bones snapping like twigs.
Quickly pushing the thought away, I headed up the last bit of stairs and watched Vidaar emerge from the temple.
"Do not get in our way," his said in his deep voice.
I bit my lip, then joined the fight, standing next to Lloyd.
"Who are you?" he asked. I avoided his gaze, knowing full well my inner fangirl would go crazy the moment I looked him in the eye.
"A friend. You gonna watch him?" I asked, motioning to Vidaar. Lloyd nodded and charged at the huge man, jumping over the mace as it swung low to the ground. I followed him and swung the stick at Vidaar's head, succeeding in landing a blow.
Unfortunately, he recovered really fast and knocked me aside. I landed in a heap near Genis, who handed me a small piece of red glop. An Apple Gel. I inhaled it and looked back at Vidaar. He was closing in on Colette. I forced back a shout and tossed my stick aside, tackling Vidaar and wrapping my arm around his throat. Colette stared at me in disbelief.
"Run, Chosen! Move it!"
Colette blinked, then scrambled out of the way as Vidaar brought his hammer down where she'd been a second ago. He was having trouble breathing now, but I was beginning to feel drained. I needed strength fast. Where the hell was Kratos?!
Vidaar finally flung me off his back, and I skidded dangerously close to the stairs. I nursed the bruise on my side and glared at him. I needed a weapon.
I saw a small white light out of the corner of my eye, gathering over my Exsphere. Following my gut, I placed a hand over it, noticing how it was really warm. What was happening? I felt an overwhelming amount of power gathering in my hands, and when I pulled it away, there was a thin white light layered over both of my gloved hands. It was calming, and it made me feel really strong. Was this what it felt like to have an Exsphere's help?
I looked up, realizing the fight was still going on. Vidaar was looming over Lloyd this time, who looked to be worse for wear. I ran at Vidaar's back and, my new instincts taking over completely, punched the oaf in the unpadded area of his shoulder. The white light around my hands slashed into his flesh like claws, and bright red blood spurted from the wound. I jumped back in surprise. I'd never wounded anything before in my life, so how was I supposed to take this? I'm a pacifist, not a fighter!
Vidaar glared at me, completely oblivious to my inner thoughts, and whacked Lloyd into Colette, who stumbled and fell onto Genis, who ended up tripping onto my lap. I squeaked as I was knocked backwards, but instead of my back meeting ground, I met someone's legs. I looked up and resisted the urge to go crazed fangirl.
Kratos stood tall above me, glaring at Vidaar and Botta.
"Get out of the way," he growled.
I squared my shoulders and stood up, helping Genis and Colette up as the man in pruple unsheathed his sword. He practically kicked Vidaar's butt to Derris Kharlan in a matter of seconds. All we had to do was stand back. I don't think anyone wanted to get in the way of the mercenary's blade.
Botta flinched as Vidaar went down for the last time, then glared at Kratos.
"I never thought you'd show up. Damn. Retreat for now," he said, running for the stairs with his forces in tow, which totaled to be about ten. Lloyd must've taken out the other ones. As Botta passed, I couldn't help but grimace. In the future, he'd be on our side, and he'd save us from certain death in the island ranch. Crap. That would suck.
"Thank you," someone said. I came back to reality and looked at Colette, who was giving me a blinding smile. I felt my face go red with embarrassment.
"F-for what?"
"For helping me before," she said. "I was in trouble, and you saved me. Thank you so much!"
I grinned and scratched the back of my head.
"Oh, it's the least I could do. You were in trouble. I had to help."
"But you could've been hurt," she said, concerned. I shook my head.
"I just…did what I thought was right." We smiled at each other, and we were instant friends. She was too cute! Her smile was infectious.
"I'm Colette. That's Lloyd, and this is Genis."
"I'm Ari. It's nice to meet you."
I looked at Kratos. He was talking to Phaidra. Shoot, I was missing that entire conversation! I walked over to them, but kept my eyes on my shoes.
"Under the circumstances, I have little choice. Please be of service."
"Uh…umm…"
"It's a deal then."
"Um…hi," I mumbled, tugging at a strand of my hair. "I'm Ari. I'd like to travel with the Chosen…if that's okay."
Phaidra blinked and Kratos glared at me, as if trying to dissect me with his eyes. I turned red again.
"I have no way of paying-," Phaidra started.
"Oh, no! You don't have to pay me. I just…I feel like I should help her."
Phaidra nodded with a grateful sigh. Kratos' glare intensified.
"It's going to be dangerous," he said. I nodded, sticking him with a glare of my own.
"I know. I'm…I'm going to get stronger."
"The monsters will be overwhelming at times."
"So are parents."
By the time I realized I'd hit a nerve, Kratos turned away, huffing and heading for the temple doors.
Of course, Colette wanted Lloyd and Genis to come along. Kratos said his part about Lloyd staying behind, but Lloyd wouldn't have it, and we all ended up heading into the temple together. Yay!
Three steps in, and I went nuts. Everything was completely different than the game. The walls were a light sandy color like the videogame, but they were decorated with beautiful murals, depicting the goddess Martel exactly how she looked; her green hair and pale skin, her staff clasped lightly in her thin hands. She was beautiful. She was shown in many ways; holding the planet in her arms; a small flower blossoming in her outstretched hand; and even one where she stood hand in hand with some blonde dude at the base of a giant tree. Mithos, most likely.
"So this is what the inside of the temple looks like!" Lloyd said, almost as awed as I was. Genis nodded mutely, entranced by the walls. He was definitely related to Raine.
Raine. Oh no…When I usually played the game, she terrified me. She was so strict and to-the-book that I never really got to like her, like the teachers at my school. Ugh…I hope we wouldn't have to do homework on the journey.
"Colette, you've been here many times, right?" Genis asked. Colette nodded.
"Yeah, but it seems different than usual," she said, glancing at the hallways cautiously.
"It must be the monsters. An evil presence radiates from within the temple," Kratos said.
I wandered around the area while they talked. It was like déjà vu, but without the TV screen and Gamecube controller. I was totally in my element now, and nothing was going to tear me out of it. We'd begun moving into the right hallway now, but I was still staring at the walls, though my thoughts had taken me to my memories.
"Um…Ari?"
I turned around, realizing Colette had come to walk next to me.
"Yes, Colette? What's the matter?"
"I was just curious but…where are you from? Kratos won't tell me anything about himself, so I thought maybe I'd get to know you."
I kept my poker face on and scrambled to remember what I'd come up with earlier.
"I…uh…I came from Luin, or at least, I remember Luin. My friend lives there. She's the one who wanted to meet you, but…she's fallen ill and…" I trailed off, remembering my friends from the real world.
"I'm so sorry," Colette said, pain present in her expression. I blinked and waved my hands in front of me.
"No no! It's okay! I've never talked to anyone about it before." I sighed, beginning to feel the guilt of lying pile up on my shoulders. I wondered if I'd ever get the chance to tell the truth. I felt like bursting into tears. Gah, I'm a wimp. What am I doing here?
"If you travelled all the way here from Luin, where are your things?"
I stopped dead in my tracks, staring disbelievingly at Kratos. Crap! I hadn't even thought about it!
"I...got robbed. Went to get food one night, and came back to find everything gone."
He simply turned and continued walking down the hall. I clenched my fist tightly, wanting to blow something up. Colette patted my shoulder reassuringly, smiling.
"We'll find your things, Ari! Don't worry!"
I sighed and shook my head.
"I didn't really have much. Just a blanket and some gels."
"Well, then we'll help you find the thief."
"It's alright, Colette. Don't worry about it."
And of course, a group of monsters picked that exact moment to spring and attack on us. I took one side of Colette while Genis took the other, and Kratos and Lloyd on the attack. I felt my gloves fill up with power as a ghost approached, wielding that stupid hammer. I punched it right in the kisser and gave it a wobbly right hook. It spun backwards, but remained in the air. Genis struck it with a fireball, and it went down. By that time, Lloyd and Kratos had finished off the spiders.
"You okay, Ari?" Genis asked. I frowned, looking at my Exsphere.
"I guess. Maybe I'm just rusty or something. I haven't had to fight a lot since I came to this continent."
"Are the monsters tougher to the east?" Colette asked.
"I guess."
"You should train more, for someone who's supposed to be protecting the Chosen," Kratos said, not even turning to look at me. I was tempted to kick him in the shin really hard, but I held back, bottling up my anger for later. If that was a challenge, then there was no way I'd refuse.
"Are you saying you'd be willing to help me?"
"Maybe."
I smirked.
"Sounds like fun."
That ended that, and we found ourselves in the lower temple. The floor was transparent under our feet, and it gave me chills. I wasn't going to look down. No way.
"What's this?"
Everyone turned to look at Colette, who was staring curiously at a golem. I suddenly remembered this part of the game. We had to fight the golem and push its remains into the holes. Easy. We took our positions and readied ourselves for a fight.
Yeah…um…fighting a rock monster with your bare hands is a lot like having your bones smashed by a hammer. And it took a long time for me to land a solid hit without getting swiped at by giant rocky hands. Lloyd was having a bit of trouble as well, but when Genis began casting his wind magic, everything went a lot better.
When the battle ended, the box appeared, and Colette accidentally pushed it into one of the numerous holes around the platform. Everyone except her and Lloyd figured it out and we managed to spend only about fifteen minutes pushing boxes into holes. What a story this would be. Someone asks what we did in the temple. Yeah, we pushed a bunch of boxes around and all we got was this dinky ring.
"Cool! I wanna try it out!"
"You're such a kid, Lloyd!" Genis said, shaking his head.
"I second the motion," I said, raising my hand. Colette giggled and Kratos just shook his head. I took a long look around the room. Not as big as in the game, but cool nonetheless. Personally, I couldn't wait until we were at the hot spring. Yes, I knew Zelos was going to peep, but I was eager to try out new things. I'd only been outside my home state twice, and both were to Disneyworld.
We slowly made our way back to the temple entrance, but turned right so we were heading down that center hallway. I braced myself, hoping to Martel that I wouldn't kill Remiel where he stood. Er…flew…floated. Oh, you get the point.
Lloyd broke the seal with the ring and we made our way towards the teleport pad. Of course, Kratos kept to the rear of the group. I cursed his emotionless hide a bunch of times. I really hate him...
By the time we got to the teleport pad, my head ached from all my mental cursing, and my finger twitched, eager to really flip off the (for lack of a better word) meanie. I pushed that aside and took my turn on the pad. Strangely, I barely felt anything as I was taken apart and put together again. I checked for missing body parts, then jumped when Kratos appeared behind me and "Hmm"ed. I skittered out of his way and stood by Lloyd, whose gaze was fixated on Colette.
Colette really was pretty as she readied herself for Buckethead's descent. Her long blonde hair was a beautiful gold, and her blue eyes were full of happiness. She was a sweetheart, and a total angel. I could see why Lloyd liked her.
We watched her approach the altar with an expression that was meant to be brave, but betrayed a slight sense of fright. This was the first step. Kratos and I both knew that this was the first step towards her 'death'. I didn't want to think about how that would feel when it happened, but I'd deal with it when it came. Gah, I'm such a pessimist. And a wimp. Again, I am questioning Martel's judgment on her decision to send me here. Ugh…
"Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength."
Gradually, the stone on the altar began glowing red. It was brilliant and mesmerizing, not to mention incredible to watch. The stone was both amazing…and a curse.
Then HE appeared. That stupid angel himself, Remiel. He wore the same green and white robes from the game, but with even more details than the animation. Maybe a little too gaudy, though. I couldn't see Kratos or Regal wearing it. Anyway, he was quite a sight to behold (if not tacky).
As he began babbling about Cruxis' blessing and stuff, I clenched my fist and tuned him out as best I could. I feigned surprise and amazement when the Tower of Salvation appeared. It was big. I'd say about infinity times the height of the Empire State Building, maybe. I didn't know how far up it went. I wondered how long it would take to walk to Tethe'alla.
"Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded land will be regenerated," Remiel said proudly, dragging me back from my reverie.
"Thank you. I swear on my life I will regenerate the world."
"Good. First, head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land."
"I humbly accept this trial," Colette said with a nod. Remiel nodded and began his ascent.
"Uh, wait! Please wait! I have a question I wish to ask of you," Colette said quickly. "Are you really my fa-"
"First head to the Seal of Fire, understood? My beloved daughter, Colette."
"F-father! So you really are my true father."
"We shall meet again at the next seal, my daughter."
And with that, Remiel disappeared, going back into the heavens. Or Derris Kharlan. Whichever you prefer.
Colette walked down from the altar, fingering the small stone which was now embedded in her neck. Lloyd immediately began talking, but my eyes kept slipping to Kratos. He stood there, completely indifferent to the world and out of reach. I sighed and walked back towards the teleport pad. I was eager to get this journey started.
"Shall we head back?" I asked no one in particular. Kratos glanced at me for a split second, then looked to Colette.
"You have received the oracle. We should return to the village."
"Oh…alright," Colette said, nodding quickly. Kratos was already disappearing on the teleport pad when she turned around and smiled at Lloyd and Genis.
"Thanks for coming along, you two. Please stop by my house later."
And she was gone.
"Is that guy just indifferent to the world or is he just really stuck up?" Lloyd asked. Genis blinked, then shrugged.
"I dunno. He's probably got his reasons."
"Yeah…maybe," Lloyd said, frowning slightly. Then he turned to me. "So…why do you want to go along with Colette on her journey?"
I opened my mouth to answer when I realized something. Kratos and Colette had left without me. I needed to be with them so I wouldn't miss the coming conversation with Phaidra. C-R-A-P!!!
I was on the teleport pad in an instant, babbling incessantly.
"Right, right! I gotta go! I'll see you boys later, so, uh, yeah! See ya!"
The teleporter whirred to life, and I was instantly switched to the lower hallway. I could just see Colette and Kratos heading through the temple doors.
"Wait for me!!!" I shouted, sprinting after them. Colette stopped (bless her enormous heart!) but Kratos simply slowed his walk. Jerk! I will lay some smack-down on your purple butt…when you're not looking…gah, I'm a chicken.
"Thank for waiting, Colette. I really appreciate it."
"Of course," she said with a smile. "That's what friends are for."
I smiled back, linking arms with her happily.
"Yeah! We're friends now. You can tell me anything."
"Right!" she agreed. I held up my pinkie finger, and she curled hers around it. "Promise."
Our walk back to Iselia was uneventful and slightly awkward. I really wanted to talk to Colette about girl stuff (as well as angel stuff), but I couldn't give anything away with Kratos around. I mean, Martel had said before that they only knew there'd been a small distortion in space for a brief second. There was nothing to tie me to it, except if I started blabbing about my life two hours prior. Yeah, I'm a high school student working part time at Cub Foods. I'm going to major in English and minor in Arts, and your entire journey is summed up in a videogame. Bet'cha didn't see THAT coming, eh, Mithos?!
We reached the village before I had the chance to snap and actually say that, and Colette immediately led us to her house. Oh my gosh, it was soooo cute! The garden out front, the arch woven with vines, and the simple design of it all! Ack! I need my journal! Must write down random blurbs of inspiration for stories!
Phaidra met us at the door and motioned for us to sit down around the table. Kratos took the seat across from Phaidra and Colette sat adjacent to Frank, so I was left with the spot next to Kratos. I felt my nerves humming under my skin, but I ignored it and sat down, trying hard not to come off as pushy or annoying.
"I guess the first thing I should do is thank you again for accompanying Colette on her journey of regeneration," the old woman said simply. I smiled, but Kratos shook his head.
"Though I accept your thanks, and do not desire to come off as egotistic, but I would like to ask you a question," he said. Phaidra nodded slowly, so he continued, "Why would you allow a child no older than the Chosen herself on such a dangerous journey?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Frank asked, a frown pulling at his lips. Kratos shrugged, though it was more of a twitch.
"I am speaking of Ari. She looks to be as old as the Chosen, if not younger, and barely knows how to fight. I feel that it would be unnecessary to bring her along.
I felt my face go red as I clenched my fists. He'd seen my poor fighting style, and now he was going to undermine everything by planting doubt in Phaidra's mind. I felt nauseous, and my head began to ache.
"See? She is barely fit to fight, let alone protect someone so important."
Snap.
I barely registered any pain as I slammed my fists down on the table, causing it to crack and fissure in several places. I kept my eyes closed, but I knew everyone's eyes were on me, and I felt the white light of my Exsphere enveloping my hands.
"How dare you, Kratos," I growled. "How dare you say something so horrible! I've had people make fun of me before, but I won't tolerate it from a grown man! I don't care what you think! If you leave me behind, I'll just follow you! I know exactly where you're going, so don't even try it! I'm going with you and that's IT!"
The room was quiet, so I finally opened my eyes. Everyone was staring at me with wide eyes, and I couldn't help but feel completely stupid. I'd let it all out, and I felt drained.
"Do as you wish."
Instant recharge. Before I did anymore damage, I stood up and headed for the door.
"I'm going to clear my head."
No one protested as I fled the house and into the village. At least, I didn't hear anyone following me. I was too stressed to hear anything anymore. My hands hurt badly, and my legs felt really sore, but I kept walking until I came to Genis and Raine's house. I pulled off my gloves and stuck them in the water, watching the small fish in the pond take interest in them. Who knew fish were so cute? I watched them perform their underwater ballet with a small smile, secretly envious. I wanted so badly not to be human at that moment. I wanted fins or wings, or maybe even the ability to shape shift. I'd be happy with that. I mean, who hasn't thought about that?
I removed my hand from the pond slowly and carefully patted it dry. I'd clenched my fists so hard that my fingers ached, but at least I hadn't broken anything when I'd smashed the table. I grimaced at the memory. I'd have to pay for it somehow, or help Dirk make a new one. I shook my head. I'd never be able to use a knife. I could barely hold a butter knife. I always drop them because I'm so clumsy.
I watched the sun touch the horizon, then stood up, pulling on my gloves before heading back towards Colette's house. I needed to apologize big time. I really felt horrible about it. Maybe I'd be able to tell Colette the truth about me soon. I truly wished for it.
When I reached her house, Lloyd and Genis were standing outside, and Colette was doing her excessive apologizing again. I sucked in a deep breath and walked up to her, keeping my eyes on the ground.
"Ari? What's the matter?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, Colette. I got really worked up and…well, I didn't mean to break that table."
I saw Lloyd and Genis take a step back, but Colette shook her head.
"It's alright. I told Kratos to stop trying to persuade grandmother into not letting you come, and he stopped. You're still welcome on the journey."
I straightened up and let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Colette. I owe you one, big time."
"Not at all," she said with a smile.
I returned her smile, then turned to Lloyd and Genis, my hands on my hips. "So where are you boys headed?"
"I'm going home," Lloyd said. Genis nodded, tightening his grip on the bag of cookies behind his back. I grinned and waved.
"Well, don't stay out too late. We'll see you tomorrow."
Colette nodded and turned to head back inside, but stopped at the door.
"Bye, Lloyd," she said quietly. Lloyd's cheeks turned pink, but he hid it.
"See ya, Colette."
With that, Lloyd and Genis began their journey to the Human Ranch. An uneasy feeling twisted in my gut, and I knew it was because of the Desians. I was allowing them to walk into the ranch and get themselves exiled from Iselia. But there was nothing I could do about it.
I sighed and followed Colette inside, stopping only to apologize profusely to Phaidra and Frank for breaking the table before heading upstairs to Colette's room.
"So…when do we leave tomorrow?"
"We'll be leaving around dawn," Colette said happily, stopping in front of the door farthest from the stairs. She opened it quickly and pushed me inside, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"I've never had a friend my age before," she said as she pulled a large stack of blankets, as well as a small cushion, out of her closet. "It's always been me, Lloyd, and Genis."
"So I'm your first female friend?" I asked, bending down to help her lay out the items. She nodded, focused on her work.
"That's right. I'm the Chosen, so I haven't had much of a friend-filled childhood. Everyone is nice to me and all, but sometimes I wonder what it's like to have a girl for a friend."
"I hear ya, Colette. Guys are great and all, but sometimes they're like a whole different species of…well, you get it, right?"
"You mean they're all something other that human?"
"I…in a sense, sort of. Have you ever encountered something you just can't seem to grasp?"
"I think so. You mean like the difference between humans and elves?"
"Sort of. I guess I just mean that you never fully understand them in the end. They're always a mystery." I paused, then added, "Well, at least teenage boys are."
Colette laughed at my joke, and for once, I felt as if I had a true friend.
We chatted for hours after that, and then Phaidra and Frank served up a delicious meal before Colette, Kratos and I headed up to Lloyd's house. We took Genis and Raine along with us, since Raine was going to be leaving with us and she didn't want to leave Genis alone.
It didn't' take all that long, surprisingly. It was just hiking up a really steep hill, through a dark forest, and across a small river. By the time I'd finished staring at everything, I saw we'd reached Lloyd's beautiful two-story house. I started for the door, but stopped when I heard Lloyd and Dirk yelling at each other. I had stepped back only a few feet when Lloyd pushed the door open and stomped out of the house, his face completely red. Had…had Dirk actually hit him?
"Oh…let me guess…you heard that just now?" he asked quietly. We nodded.
"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Genis said sincerely. "Because of me, you…"
"It's not your fault, Genis."
"Lloyd, you should talk to Colette," Raine suggested. Lloyd agreed, and they headed up there, leaving me with the others. It was a little awkward, I must admit. I didn't have anything to say to them. Genis was a bit smart-alecky, Raine was insane, and Kratos was just Kratos. I didn't have anything in common with them.
That's when I noticed the grave. Anna's grave. I walked towards it, but then I thought, Better safe than sorry.
"Um, Miss Raine? Who's grave is that?"
Raine blinked, following my gaze to the grave. "Oh, that's Anna's grave. She was Lloyd's mother." She looked back at me. "Why?"
"I don't know. I was just curious."
"And there's no reason to call me Miss. Just call me Raine."
"Thank you, Raine."
I walked over to the grave and knelt down, hoping my prayer would reach Anna.
Anna, my name's Ariella. I'm going to be traveling with Lloyd for a long time, and I want you to know that I'll keep him safe. I know I'm not very strong now, but maybe with your help and Martel's Exsphere, I can get stronger. I also hope the worlds join together without a hitch. I want this journey to be fun, and not just a big ball of depression. Maybe I'll even get to learn more about you! Anyway, I'm here to make sure your son becomes a hero. Please, be at peace.
I stood up and dusted myself off, then joined the group back in front of the house.
"So is Lloyd coming with us?" I asked. Raine shook her head.
"Lloyd is strong, but not nearly strong enough for this journey," she said. "I'll go get Colette."
She disappeared into the house, reappearing moments later with Colette in tow. Colette turned and waved to Lloyd, who was still standing on the terrace, and sent him a smile with a trace of sadness hidden deep within. I placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her towards path to the village.
"You're not going to let him come, are you?" I asked her once we'd said our goodbyes to Raine and Genis. We were back in the village, and heading to her house now, getting ready to depart at dawn.
"I don't want him to get hurt," she said sincerely. "This journey is going to be dangerous, and I want him to be safe until it's all over."
"I understand," I said quietly.
We headed inside the house and up to her room, though I really wanted to explore the village a little bit. When I'd voiced this, Colette immediately shook her head, saying there was a curfew in place in order to protect her. That was understandable, in a way.
"So what happens when you become an angel?" I asked after a bit. She smiled.
"I go to heaven. What else would happen, Ari?"
"I dunno. Maybe I'm just being weird."
She shook her head as soon as I finished the sentence.
"No way! You're not weird! You're a nice person, and you just want to help people, right?"
"Uh, yeah," I said hesitantly. "That's me…heh…"
Now I for one knew I was not always this nice. I was trying to be her friend, but I knew I could be a real bitch when it came down to it. I was a mishmash of emotions, bottled up into one body, for the sake of Pete! I could go from happy to sad in seconds, not to mention angry, jealous, and any other emotion you could think of. I was a mess of a person with no hold on reality.
"Ari, are you alright?" Colette asked, peeking at me though my bangs. I sighed out of habit and fingered my necklace.
"I'm just…kind of tired. I'd like to get some rest before we set out."
"Oh, of course!" she said energetically. "You take the bed-"
"No way. You take it," I said, already hunkering down under the futon's sheets. "I'm used to sleeping like this."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Go to sleep, Colette, my good friend."
Chapter 2 is done! Finally, I'm getting somwhere. Next chapter I'll be heading to Triet, and I don't want to bore you readers, so I combined two short chapters for one long one. I hope you all like it. 2 days 'til Christmas, 4 to my B-day. Sigh...I hope I can get another chapter it before then. See you all soon! Reveiw, comment, but no flames!
