Colder Weather

Chapter Two

"Why do you wish to go to Lemuria?" a curious Piers pondered to Mia, a small sense of worry beginning to appear on his face. He'd rather leave his hometown behind - after all, he was exiled from it.

Mia just smiled obliviously, the cool morning breeze flowing through her hair as she leaned over the edge of the ship. It had been a long time since she had been on a ship. Now that she thought about it, it was probably his ship.

"Is this your ship, Piers?" she asked, completely ignoring his question. She was caught in the excitement of the moment. She wasn't that tired at all since she didn't really pack much of anything - just a few outfits, some of her coins for expenses, and a number of bottles to carry the water - but since it was nightfall, anyway, she suggested they stay at the inn until morning, when they would set out.

His lips curved upwards a little and he nodded, although the worry on his face could still be discerned. "Yes." He crossed his arms, a mirrored move he had learned from Felix over the years. "However, I am afraid it does not have its wings anymore." He glanced sadly over the edge of the ship, peeking at where the Psynergy wings should have been. As he predicted, they weren't there.

She nodded in acknowledgement. That just meant that they'd have to take the long way to get to some places. No big deal.

"Now," Piers began again, "what do you want from Lemuria?" He watched her face, some of the excitement fading away only to be replaced by her signature regular smile.

She stepped away from the side and turned towards him. "Is it true that there is Hermes Water there?" Her eyes gave away her hopeful expression.

He thought for a moment. "Are you speaking of the draught?"

Mia nodded eagerly. She knew she was right! "Yes! There are exquisite healing qualities of that very water, and I simply must bring some back to Imil - "

"So we're traveling halfway across the planet for water?" Felix interrupted, bringing his hands away from the tiller so he could rub at his temples. "There's water everywhere we look right now! Can't you just take that?"

Her smile faltered a bit. "Felix, this is not ordinary water. It is water that has been blessed by Mercury itself. It can cure any injury short of death," she explained. She remembered coming to this conclusion after the Golden Sun event had just passed, when she tried the water just seconds too late.

The old man lived alone with no family or friends nearby in the city. So, naturally, Mia had no clue he was even ill, and when she made her daily rounds in the city, she felt terrible that she could have missed his house. She remembered seeing him lying on his bed in a limp state, his eyes just slightly open. She yanked out the bottle of Hermes Water she always carried around with her and tried to get him to drink it, even though she knew it was already too late. Psynergy powers didn't work with death, either - even Venus's most powerful Revive only worked on near-death situations.

Even though she had come close to losing citizens like that, having one die in her arms was definitely the worst thing she could have gone through.

Felix put his palm to his face and let it slide down to his chin before retracting it. He sighed. "Fine, but we do this my way."

Mia smiled a bit. "So you will truly take me to Lemuria?"

Felix turned his head around and exchanged a glance with Piers, who nodded in return.

"I believe I know the Sea the best," the Lemurian spoke up, referring to the Sea of Time.

"But," Felix interjected, "we'll make a pit stop or two first."

At this Mia frowned. "Is this about your sick friend?" He grimaced but she continued. "I'm sorry, Felix, but I would much rather save a city than one person." She sighed. "I will do what I can for your friend, but I wish to save Imil's people first."

"You just healed all the ill citizens, though," Felix retorted. And Piers helped, too, so it wasn't like it was a poorly done job, either.

"It is flu season," she explained. "Sickness may rise again in as little as a few weeks." True, it rarely ever came back, but when it does, it's always more deadly than the first time around.

"Look, do you want to go to Lemuria or not?" he asked, raising his voice. His head had turned back around so he could stare out at the sea and see where he was leading them. Piers simply watched and listened to the two, unsure if he should have interrupted. Felix didn't wait for her to answer - she did nod sadly but he couldn't see her - and instead just continued. "Then we're visiting my...friend first."

Both Mercury Adepts could tell that he hesitated a little with that last sentence, but they ignored it. Mia resorted to looking sadly out at the sea, contemplating what she could do or say to change his mind. She didn't want to come back to a lonely and empty Imil. Of course, her healing apprentices, Justin and Megan, were there, but that didn't calm her at all.

Piers went over to where she was. "Lady Mia, I promise you everything will be fine." He grabbed her hand with his and rubbed small circles, smiling down at her.

She faintly smiled back. Piers really was a great friend. She just couldn't help but notice, though, that he had the slightest bit of worry on his face.

Mia sat alone on the bed in the small room below the deck, absentmindedly running her hands over the fabric of the blanket. She really didn't know why she was so worried, actually. In the seven years since the Golden Sun event had been triggered, Justin and Megan had become her full-time students in the sort of medical school she had opened in the city. There were others, of course, but only Justin and Megan were devoted enough to Imil to stay within the city limits. Her other junior apprentices had left without more than a goodbye.

But then again, those two were special, being two more survivors of the Mercury Clan. Mia and Alex were the other two. But naturally they would be good healers, anyway. Even if sickness fell upon Imil once more and everybody got sick, the two younger kids - though Justin was eighteen and Megan seventeen now - would surely be able to save at least half the citizens.

She grimaced. Was that really such good news now? Saving half the population of a city?

Thinking about it wouldn't help much right now, anyway. She needed to think about how she was going to help Felix and his friend. And maybe try to figure out why he was acting so weird. She remembered him acting cold and distant during the short time they were together to light the remaining Lighthouse, Mars, but he warmed up rather quickly. But who could be so hurt that even Felix would be worried?

Although, he had been gone for the seven years after the Golden Sun rose. And it wasn't like he had any contact with anybody except Piers for all she knew, so maybe the two men grew lonely and looked for more people to befriend...but that wasn't like Felix at all, or Piers. Even the latter was more of a loner. Well, at least, the part of him that she knew was a loner, anyway.

But maybe she was blowing this all out of proportion. After all, she had been gone for seven years as well. She had of course written to Isaac and Jenna, Sheba and Ivan, and Garet, but she hadn't seen any of them since the event. And what of Kraden, the old scholar? She remembered growing just a little bit tired of him even during the short journey - short compared to the year and a half they spent traveling around Angara, anyway. She hoped he was doing well. Old folks always grew the most weary first, but Kraden was present during the rise of the Sun as well, so he should have been in good health.

She sighed. She hadn't thought this hard in a long while.

A knock on the bedroom door sent her out of her frenzy and she stood up, walking over to the door. She unlocked and opened it to find Piers standing outside.

"Lady Mia?" he asked sweetly. "Is everything all right?" She could tell he was sincerely worried, too.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. I was just thinking about some things."

"Do you wish to talk about some of them?"

The best thing about talking to Piers, she thought, was that he never pushed her to talk about anything. He always put her opinion and wishes first. She guessed that was just because he was decades, maybe even centuries, older than she was and he had just grown up with emphasis on manners and chivalry. Either way, she didn't mind.

"If you would like to hear them," she replied, stepping back from the door to let him into the room. She locked it behind them and led them over to the bed, seating herself down as he did the same.

"Now, what is troubling our angel today?" he joked, but she could tell that to some extent he meant it. There he went again, flattering her as always.

She laughed half-heartedly before responding. "Where does Felix want to travel?"

"I'm...not too certain, to be quite honest." He bit his lip. "I imagine we will be traveling to and from several different places on this journey."

"But what about Lemuria?" she cried.

"Don't worry," he soothed, staring into her eyes. "We will arrive there soon enough, I promise you. I won't let Imil fall."

"Thank you, Piers," she said, eyes beaming with happiness as she knew he meant it. "But do you know what Felix is intending to do, anyway? He asked me if I could heal pain, and I said as long as it is physical...but I have no idea what he means by that. Is somebody hurt?"

He took a little longer to respond this time. "...You could say that."

"Piers, won't you tell me?"

He shook his head but still kept a smile on his face. "It's not my place to tell you. Felix will speak when he is ready." He stood up from the bed. "I made dinner, if you are hungry. I'm sure you remember, but the kitchen is just to the left of this room and down that very narrow hallway."

She nodded. "Thank you, Piers," she reiterated. She got up as well and moved to unlock the door. Piers let her out first and then she led the way into the kitchen, where they would be eating fried aqua jellies and salted fish.

"Sorry," he uttered nervously as she scrunched up her nose at the smell of it all. "I found them below decks a few days ago, and we need to replenish our food stocks soon anyway, so I figured we might as well try it."

"It's fine." She smiled. At least it was better than the Imil Surprise they served every Wednesday at the inn. The only surprise was that sometimes you would find leftovers from dinner in it...

Piers was done eating first, so he told Mia he would go above and tell Felix to eat and he would take the wheel.

"Too bad the Black Orb can't steer for us," he said, chuckling a little as he left her alone. A few minutes later he was replaced by the dark-haired Venus Adept.

She tried to make some small talk in the silent dining room. "Felix, where are you planning on going?"

"Just a few places," he said after swallowing his food. Mia continued pushing hers around on her plate, occasionally picking up some with her fork and bringing it up to her mouth so she could chew it.

"Who is hurt?" she inquired. "Is it somebody we all know?"

"It's possible."

She waited a while before asking another question. "Is it Jenna?"

His fork clanked down on the plate and he stood up, his chair squeaking against the hardwood floor as he did so. "I'm done eating," he said, though there was blatantly half his food left on his plate.

"Sorry," she muttered, looking down at her own plate while he passed her on his way back up the stairs.

She continued to eat in silence, mentally smacking herself. It could've been the start of a friendship.

But it did make sense, her thinking that Jenna was hurt. After all, Isaac always told her the stories of their childhood - him, Jenna, Garet, and the occasional Felix - and how Jenna's elder brother was very protective of her that even her father was surprised. One time, Garet pushed her down the slide at a playground, and when they returned home to Vale, Garet got an earful and a black eye for a week from Felix.

And then there was the three-year absence of her brother and parents altogether. Nobody would blame her for feeling remorse after losing all of them. She'd had to live with her grandparents for three long, lonely years, and rely on Isaac and Garet to keep her company because her grandmother was always falling ill and her grandfather was always out trying to find the cure. Isaac told her many times about how he and Jenna trained together to learn healing Psynergy - and occasionally Garet tagged along so he could push himself to learn the Venus Psynergy Move. After Jenna was a junior healer, all the stuff with Mt. Aleph happened and she never even saw her grandparents again after she was kidnapped.

Only after the Golden Sun rose had she returned to Vale safe and sound - relatively, of course, because the village had been destroyed due to the event - with all of her relatives. However, her happiness was short-lived, because not much after everything calmed and quieted down, Felix left for an untitled journey.

That's all she knew, but she guessed that's all she had to know to assume that was why she was hurt. And Felix wouldn't have reacted that way if she wasn't right...right? She knew she would be hurt if somebody she loved just left after not even a year of being reunited. She did have that time with him when they were traveling together to light the Lighthouses, but that didn't mean much when they were on an actual mission instead of being family and relaxing together.

Her thoughts were broken when she thought she could hear arguing from above her.

"Felix, I don't understand why you're so upset over this," Piers said, still relaxed as he steered the tiller of the ship with ease.

The brunet sighed. "You didn't have to go and tell her that."

"I barely told her anything, actually."

"That doesn't make it any better, though." He put his hand to his forehead and turned away from the Lemurian. "Now she knows."

"Wh-what...well, that is no fault of mine," Piers explained. Still, he did feel a little guilty that he talked to Mia about it anyway. It really wasn't his story to tell, and although he didn't say too much at all, maybe his words spoke volumes in her mind and gave her ideas as to what it could have been.

But Felix was still overreacting. Mia was bound to find out soon, anyway. She was a bright girl, and even if she was left alone for a time, she would have figured it out. And it looked like she did.

"Well, whatever." Felix gave up. "There's nothing either of us can do now." He walked up to the captain's space. "I'll take over again," he offered, wanting to breathe in fresh air once more anyway.

"What's the big deal about it?" asked Piers. He accidentally took too sharp of a turn and both men stumbled a bit before regaining their balance. "She has to know what she's healing, otherwise she won't be able to do it. I know because I am a healer as well."

The Venus Adept grimaced. "Fine, whatever. Let's just forget about it for the meantime."

"Where should we begin looking for Je - ?"

"I said forget about it!" Felix shouted. Piers could hear his retreating footsteps and he knew the petty argument was over. There was no reasoning or asking with Felix once he got aggravated.

Then the footsteps stopped.

"What do you want?" Felix's voice muttered.

Piers heard lighter footsteps coming up from the stairs, which he assumed were Mia's.

"I...I heard arguing," she stuttered. "I just wanted to make sure everything was all right." She looked around, avoiding Felix's eyes. "I also wanted to apologize for speaking out of line. It is none of my business."

Felix sighed. "No, it's fine. Just...I just wanna be alone for a while, if that's all right." And with that, he pushed past her and descended the stairs. A slam of a door could be heard from the deck.

Mia mimicked him and sighed as well. "I'm sorry, Piers," she said, feeling guilty.

"You did nothing wrong, Lady Mia," he assured her, looking back at her though she couldn't see him.

She smiled, though it didn't really make her feel too much better. It really was none of her business, but it did help now that she knew what she was going to do.

And then she frowned. "Piers...if Jenna's pain isn't physical, I can't heal her," she explained, feeling even more guilty now.

"Please stop worrying, Lady Mia." He brought his hands away from the tiller and stepped back to stand next to her. He took her hands in his once more. "Felix will get over this soon, and then he will start thinking rationally. I promise."

Mia nodded. "Thank you, Piers," she said for the third time today. And, now that she thought about it, Piers had made several promises as well.

She just hoped that he truly meant them.

A/N: Okay. I'm going to try to do one update a week. So, today's Sunday, and if I get one out on Friday or something, then the next update will be by the Friday after that. But for now, by next Sunday a new chapter will be out. It's easier to write a story when you don't have a real plot to stick to. ;)

Also, prick Felix is fun to write. And so is charming pimp Piers, as always. I'm keeping his name, btw. It's just easier. And Mia's stupid. Yay! Also, I hope the backstory thing makes sense. I haven't done it in a while.

So, I REALLY want to say a HUGE THANK YOU TO MY REVIEWERS already! 4 for one chapter? yesplz. But seriously, thanks for all the love, guys! :) It makes me happy~

Stay tuned ^-^

~CGA