Chapter 2: Duty Calls

Yuna's POV:

A few days later I stood in the temple at Bevelle talking to Grand Maester Mika. He looked very concerned and was not very clear on what he was trying to say. His face was all wrinkled up from the stress, but then again, he is pretty old.

Actually he's an unsent.

He kept pacing and uttering a few words every now and then. He seemed to say something along the lines of, "He's pure evil." He must die. I know it was him."

I however didn't have the faintest idea on what he was trying to share with me.

Thankfully after moments of confusion, Praetor Baralai, a blonde-headed man appeared by our side.

"Ah Maester Mika. I'll take over from here." He said confidently, as he led the poor man outside.

It was quite a while before Baralai came back. He was probably talking to Maester Mika about something.

So I decided to walk around and gaze upon the many statues of the High Summoners from previous years.

My eyes rested on one in particular.

I slowly made my way to the centre wall of the temple and stopped just inches from the towering statue. I tilted my head slightly to the left and let my bi-coloured blue and green eyes look intently at it. I searched for something that I knew wasn't there.

Slowly I reached my right hand out and ran it down the hard stone that resembled my late father.

"Father." I whispered softly with a hint of sadness.

I had never known him very well. He had left to go on his pilgrimage as a summoner when I was seven years old. I had very few memories of our times together. But I suppose that was for the best in a way. It made things easier. That way I could say that I never knew him and didn't ever really miss out on anything. I may have been a fatherless child, but as long as I knew that he loved me…that was enough.

"Hmm." I sighed, as I removed my hand and placed it together with my other one behind my back.

I still looked at him and his face. It wasn't my father, but it was something to remember him by. I smiled slightly at the thought.

"Lady Yuna." Came a calm voice from behind.

My eyebrows lifted from the deep thought I was in and I became more relaxed as I turned to face him.

"Oh yes Praetor Baralai." I said with a smile, as I made the sign of Yevon with my hands respectfully.

He laughed lightly and raised his left palm.

"It's alright my lady. There is no need for formalities." He said as he placed his hand by his side once more.

I lifted my head and replied, "Oh…well if your grace says it is fine…then I suppose it's…fine." I finished not knowing how else to say what I truly meant.

Once again a small laugh escaped his mouth, noticing my sudden uncertainty and he signalled for me to follow him. I suspected he wanted to finish whatever Maester Mika was trying to tell me earlier on. Which meant we were obviously going somewhere more secluded.

As I followed him I sensed that he was somewhat troubled by something. It probably had something to do with the reason that I was called here on such short notice.

We were now under the temple at Bevelle. A sign that my journey here, had not been in vain.

We were both quiet for what seemed like an eternity, but the silence was broken as I heard an agonising scream from behind a door under the temple.

"Oh…" I gasped quietly, as I raised my hand to my mouth, stopping in my tracks.

Praetor Baralai spun around and gave me a look of confusion. Most likely because I had been on so many missions like this before, it would seem that I should have been used to this kind of environment by now.

"Lady Yuna?" he stated questioningly as he folded his arms, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"Um…I'm okay…it just startled me…that's all." I replied strong-mindedly, gazing back at him with sincere green and blue eyes.

He looked at me with a hint of doubt, but then nodded and once again motioned for me to follow him.

The door that the scream had come from was on the way past and I noticed that it was open slightly. I knew that sooner or later I would most likely be going in there, but I couldn't restrain myself from taking a quick peek once Praetor Baralai was out of sight.

So once he had walked along the corridor, not realising that I was still standing in the same position that he had left me in, I crept over to the door, double-checking that Praetor Baralai was completely out of sight.

Once I knew that all was clear, I turned my head to the door and inched my way towards it quietly. As I got closer I heard voices. Voices of men...most likely Praetor Baralai's Yevonites.

Finally I was at the door and tried to see through the tiny crack of the slightly ajar door. I could see a little light, but I couldn't see anything other then that. So I decided that I should just try and listen.

"Hehehe…You fool. We'll have you dead in a matter of days. So there's no point in trying to save yourself with futile lies." One man sneered evilly.

I frowned at these words. Such things shouldn't be said.

I listened once again as another voice, which was a bit deeper scoffed, "Stupid boy. You could have had a life. But you just wasted it with your devious pranks."

Then I heard a loud smack. Most likely a fist being driven into the flesh of another body. I had heard this sound before. I knew I wasn't mistaken.

I heard the sound of a much younger man suddenly cough and gasp for air. It sounded like he had just been winded by a blow to the stomach.

I winced as I pictured what was happening behind the door.

I wish I could help.

My eyes widened as I thought this. I could help. Even if I disturbed them for a moment, it would give the gasping man a chance to breath…at least for a minute.

So I looked up with determination written all over my face and swung open the door swiftly. I then entered and felt eyes staring at me, even though I couldn't see them.

"What are you doing in here? You have no right to be here. Get out!" one of them yelled.

However one of them seemed to recognise me and hushed the first man.

"Hey…don't go speaking like that to Lady Yuna." He said fiercely.

I heard the other man gasp and start to apologise for his insolence. My eyes had started to adjust to the darkness of the room by now and I could roughly make out two tall, well built figures standing next to each other a few metres away.

I was about to speak when I heard a voice from behind.

"Lady Yuna…are you lost?"

It was Praetor Baralai and I knew that he didn't mean what he said. It was a more subtle way of saying, "You should not be in here. How dare you wander off."

That was the feeling I got from the tone of his voice anyway.

I turned around and bowed my head apologetically, "I'm sorry Praetor Baralai. I guess my curiosity just got the better of me." I answered truthfully.

I could feel his eyes upon me as I closed my eyes waiting for him to speak.

"Hmm…" he started, as if pondering over my explanation. "Men you may go now. I must talk with Lady Yuna." He ordered after a few minutes.

I opened my eyes and saw two pairs of feet run on either side of me, as I was still looking downwards.

Once they were gone he whispered, "Lady Yuna…in future please try and keep your mind on task. You will do yourself no favours by just disappearing like you have just done now."

I nodded and looked up. "Yes sir…please accept my apology."

He nodded and said, "This time I think I should follow you. That way I will know where you are at all times."

"Mmm hmm." I replied, as a sign that I understood.

But suddenly I remembered the reason that I had come in here in the first place. The man I had tried to help…I couldn't hear his gasps for air anymore.

I turned around slowly and tried to find a figure. But this room was so big…who knew where he could be. It was so dark…and he could possibly be in a corner somewhere lurking in the shadows.

A shiver ran up my spine and I didn't like the atmosphere of this place.

"Lady Yuna I think we should leave now." Praetor Baralai stated, clearly getting more annoyed with my time-consuming meander, away from his meaningful conversation that would soon take place.

"Oh yes…of course your grace." I rushed out in a hurry, afraid that I had upset him with my foolish antics.

What would he think of me now?

I had not been one to just walk off and investigate things such as this for myself. But I had only met Praetor Baralai a few times and he and I were still quite unsure of each other. We had only known each other because of my father and because of what I had decided to become.

I was going to be a summoner like my father and it was my job to defeat Sin at the end of my pilgrimage. Praetor Baralai was the head of New Yevon. New Yevon was the belief of nearly every person in Spira, and it held within it the teachings of how to defeat Sin.

Summoners, their guardians and Yevon, was Spira's only ray of light and no matter what, we had to keep it that way.

I once again followed Praetor Baralai, and as I reached the door, I managed to steal a glance out of the corner of my right green eye and noticed that a ray of light had glimmered off what seemed like someone's eyes. They held their position and stared into my right eye and the look they gave me was very devious and partly mischievous.

I looked away and thought for a minute.

Could this man be what I was sent here for?

I however decided that I should try and keep my mind as clear and unpreoccupied as possible.

Praetor Baralai would explain everything I needed to know all in good time. The less confused my mind was, would be for the better.

As I left the room and entered the hall, I heard Praetor Baralai shut the door behind me slowly, leaving the man alone.


A few minutes later I was in a small room standing up in the centre of it.

Praetor Baralai was pacing back and forth in front of me as he explained to me the purpose of my mission.

"Lady Yuna…you are soon to become a summoner I know…but I ask that before you go ahead with it, that you help me with this rather difficult situation." He began, as he massaged his temples.

I gave him a look, which said, please continue. But he wasn't looking at me to notice.

"You see…a few nights ago…Maester Seymour…" he trailed off and sounded as if he already expected me to know what he was trying to say.

I however was unsure of what he was trying to get at.

"Um…what about him?" I prompted helpfully.

He looked up at me abruptly with shock written all over his face.

"What…don't tell me you haven't yet heard?" he said practically shouting in disbelief.

I looked around the room in bewilderment and replied hesitantly, "Um…ah…what was I supposed to have heard?"

"He's dead!" he shouted with hurt in his voice.

My eyes widened and my mouth fell open in astonishment.

"Dead?" I stated questioningly.

"Yes yes yes…he's dead…that man we have locked up in the room you were just in…we suspect that he was the one who did it." He said with frustration in his voice.

I remained silent for a few minutes while I waited for him to calm down. He breathed in deep long breaths and finally said, "I apologise for my outburst my lady. I am just a little shaken up over this whole matter."

"There's no need sir…I understand." I replied understandingly.

He nodded but still seemed quite bothered.

Over the next half hour Praetor Baralai explained a great deal of things to me about this man. He told me how the man had been seen at the scene of Seymour's death and how he had been abusive and cursing at the Yevon belief.

I finally spoke up and said with confusion, "But sir…if you said that you in fact found this man at the scene of Maester Seymour's death and that he was covered in his blood…then why is it that you feel that you have no evidence that he was the one who did it?"

He walked over to the wall on the other side of the room and whispered, "Because…no one can actually confirm that this man was the one who did it. I know I said that this man was seen at the scene, but that's what I have been told. The night it happened…the Guado alerted me of the situation and my men caught him in Macalania. But the thing is…so many people had been disturbed that night…everyone had just started to get confused and upset by Maester Seymour's death. This man could very well be innocent for all I know and just confused. But I highly doubt it. That night was so unpleasant that no one really knows who killed Maester Seymour. We just suspected that this man was the one, considering his strange behaviour and the mess he was in."

His explanation seemed reasonable enough but I was still confused.

"So you suspect that he could possibly be someone who was trying to stop Maester Seymour's killer?" I questioned as I stepped closer towards him.

""It is a possibility…but all the evidence points towards him. However he still deserves a fair hearing. And my men are still searching both Macalania and Guadosalam for anymore clues." He sighed with exhaustion.

It seemed as if he hadn't slept in days.

"But why were your men just treating him the way they were if you believe that he could still be innocent?" I asked, as I watched him turn to face me.

"Hmm…I shall speak with them later. But they have good reason for doing so. Ever since he has been here, he has been calling Yevon a pathetic belief and that it doesn't do any good for the people of Spira. He says it's nothing but a bunch of lies." He replied with a frown on his face.

"Oh…" was all I could manage to say.

An awkward silence followed, but he broke it by looking up and saying, "So if you wouldn't mind…I would now like for you to meet your new challenge. He will be your duty. It is up to you to find out whether he is either innocent or guilty. I know that you have quite a gift for seeing people's true colours."

He then walked out of the room and I followed deep in thought.

Those eyes…those eyes I had seen a while ago. How would I be able to see through them? They seemed so cunning and entrancing.

Oh well…no time for my insecurities. I would do my best and find out who this man was and what his part was in Maester Seymour's death.


A/N: Well chapter two was a little longer. Sorry it took me forever to update. School again.


Yunie Tidus