While Lulu sat in front of the fire for warmth, Wakka paced to and fro, dribbling a blitzball between hands. Rikku was busy stuffing her mouth with food, while Kimahri watched her unenthusiastically. Auron could be seen in the distance, swinging his sword across thin air.
Yuna stood on the edge of a cliff not too far from camp. She crossed her arms and stared blankly into the dark sky. The air was cold that night in the Calm Lands, and the chilled wind kept biting at her bare arms, but she refused to go back. She wanted to collect herself and at the least, try to relax. She kept thinking and it began to frustrate her. She suddenly felt isolated from everyone because of what happened last night.
Just as she thought of how awkward last night's occurrence had been, she heard footsteps approaching. She slowly turned around to see that it was Tidus. The dim light above reflected the faint smile on his face as he stood beside her.
"Are you alright?" He asked in what almost seemed like a whisper.
It was a long while before she replied to his question. After a moment, she sighed.
"I... don't think I am," she said.
"What do you mea--"
"I don't feel well. I can't relax and feel calm. I... keep thinking about things I don't wanna think about."
He looked at her in curiosity. She looked at him, and her eyes darkened in what looked like nervous apprehension. His look turned into a confused worry, and his eyes pleaded with her to tell him what was wrong.
She suddenly wrapped her arms around him and broke down in a heavy sigh. He could feel her trembling in his hold, almost shaking with utter confusion. Then she started to well up with tears and bury her face in his chest. Even though she said nothing, he somehow understood and after a moment, took her in his arms tightly. He held her close, letting her tears soak up the cloth that covered him. They stood still, until he began to rub her arms for warmth and hold her even tighter because of how cold she felt. After a moment, he slowly drew away from their embrace and removed the stray hair from her face.
"Yuna, what's wrong?" He asked softly, although worry began to elevate in his tone.
She was flushed, and her breathing was heavy.
"Something happened... last night. With Seymour."
Her eyes said it all, but not quite. He looked at her, almost horrified, but then turned his gaze toward the ground in thought, still holding her at a distance. After a moment, he finally broke the silence.
"Damnit." He let his hands fall to his sides.
Her eyes were fixed on him.
"I knew we should've came with you. I knew I should've been by your side."
After a moment, curiosity took the best of him. He was, after all, suspicious of the meeting to begin with.
"Yuna, whatever happened between you and him... are you sure you're alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
She suddenly felt the cold, icy grip of Seymour's hand on her small wrist. The sensation kept flashing into her mind until disappeared entirely. She snapped out of it and looked at Tidus.
"No... nothing like that. He just... it seemed as if he wanted something from me. I was suddenly scared and backed off, and then ran out. I don't know what I was doing. I don't even know what he was doing."
She hung her head low, still thinking about what happened the night before. She was disappointed with her confusion and lack of knowledge of the situation. He kept his eyes on her for the moment.
After spending a year on this journey with her, he had taken the time and the effort to know her. With that knowledge in mind, he also knew how easily another person could have taken advantage of her incredible capacity to love and forgive. She was always there for the world but in return, no one ever truly seemed to be there for her. Despite her guardianship, there was more to Yuna than the summoner role she embraced. She always saw the positive side of everyone, and would always fulfill anyone's favors, if asked.
Thinking about it suddenly sent a wave of emotions surging through him. He clenched his fists at the thought of Seymour's motive to take advantage of one whom he vowed to sacrifice his life for. He began to regret his guardian sense of stupidity the night before. After a moment of silence, he looked at her.
"The next time we see him, you're not going alone, okay? I promised to protect you and stay by your side. That's exactly what I'm gonna do. I don't care what Auron or anyone else says."
Her tears were drying up and she managed to let out a faint smile. His hard expression suddenly softened and turned into a loving grin.
She was exhausted. There was nothing left to say. She stood in the dark, still looking at him. The wind began to blow harder, and the night became colder. While he kept his gaze on her, she could see that he suddenly became quite thoughtful. After a moment, he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her again.
"You wanna get back to camp? It's freezing out here."
She nodded in agreement, wiping clean the trail of tears that were left on her pale cheeks.
He took her hand and together, both walked back to camp.
As the party prepared to head out from the sunny plains of the Calm Lands and into the snowy slopes of Mt. Gagazet the next morning, Auron made the announcement that he would catch up with them shortly.
"I'll be back by the time you're ready to depart for Zanarkand. Count on it," he said. After that, he sped off in the direction of the Macalania Woods and it was the last that was seen of the skilled guardian.
It was no surprise that Seymour murdered his father. It was also of no surprise to the unsent guardian that Seymour had many motives in mind for the future of Spira. The meeting between him and Yuna confirmed Auron's suspicions of the young maester, but he had already known it. It was only a matter of time before he decided enough was enough. He knew someone would have to eventually stop Seymour, and now he realized that it was finally time to do something.
As he made his way into Macalania Temple, Auron decided it was best to warn Seymour of his actions. Both parties were not on friendly terms with each other, and Auron knew more about Seymour than even he himself knew. But Seymour played off an ignorant role, and refused to acknowledge Auron's attitude toward him. Despite all that, it was time to confront Seymour face to face.
The guards at the entrance gate graciously beckoned Auron into the massive ice temple.
"Sir Auron, it is truly an honor," a Guado guard said with a low bow.
Auron nodded with a smile and looked around intuitively.
"I'd like to speak with the maester, if that can be arranged?"
The two guards looked at him, wide-eyed, and then smiled in compliance.
"Of course, please, this way," one said, as he began to lead the way into the inner chamber.
Once inside, the guard silently walked back to his post, leaving Auron alone. The entrance to a second chamber lie just beyond the door opposite of the one the guard exited from. Auron looked around the circular chamber one last time and then proceeded through the new entrance.
As he made his way in, he suddenly saw Seymour appear from behind what looked like the entrance to the cloister of trials, located just across the entrance Auron had proceeded through. The maester closed the portal doors quietly, and stood quite still as Auron scrutinized him with his eyes. Silence began to take reign in the massive chamber, until Seymour sighed and turned around.
"Sir Auron, what an unexpected pleasure. What brings you to Macalania Temple at this time?"
"You know very well why I'm here."
The guardian stood expressionless but resolute, and was cemented to his post on the opposite side of the room.
"I have not a clue as to why you've suddenly interrupted my prayer. What have I done to dissuade you so?"
Seymour seemed genuinely puzzled. During all this time, he had suddenly forgotten of Auron's knowledge with his political agenda. He looked at the guardian in curiosity, still waiting for a response.
"I'll just cut to the chase then," Auron said. "Whatever you did to Yuna that night is still a secret, but it's only a matter of time before the rest of us find out. You shouldn't become too familiar with the role of oblivion in a game like this, Seymour. It'd be a fatal mistake if you still attempt to go forward with your plans."
Auron gave a faint grin as his gaze still remained fixed on the young maester. In response, Seymour smiled knowingly and began walking toward the guardian.
"Rest assured that I no longer need to see my plans accomplished," he said, now inches away from Auron.
"You think a new agenda will make any difference?" The guardian raised his head and looked at his opponent.
There might have been a difference, if the outcome was not what it was now. Although this time around, the motive might have been more adolescent in nature than anything epic with the future of Spira. Seymour had never felt the way he did at this moment in time, and it all boiled down to Yuna. When she ran out that night, he became curious of what he did wrong, seeing as to how he had no experience in the matter. He also realized that all he wanted to do was talk to her, and tell her everything he kept bottled up from the past. He wanted to talk more than anything, and the thought of sharing his post in life with someone began to appeal to him. If he could just see her one more time alone, he would try and redeem his actions from the night before.
But her apparent panic that night had probably showed itself to her guardianship, he was sure. Even though they knew nothing of the specifics, Seymour was now their enemy. What he did not know, however, was the fact that Auron and Tidus were the only ones who knew something went wrong that night. The rest of the guardians remained oblivious and focused on the pilgrimage instead.
Both remained calm and collected as they still fixed their gaze on one another. As Seymour's thoughts began to direct themselves toward Yuna, he had unconsciously averted his gaze past Auron and to the wall. Auron still kept his ground and noticed Seymour's diversion, but remained silent for some time.
His eyes were now glued to the decorated walls on the opposite side of the chamber. Then he suddenly snapped out of it and looked back at Auron, who still looked at him, this time in question.
"There is nothing more I can say to you, Sir Auron. Whether you trust me or not, that, unfortunately, will be something you must deal with yourself."
As he turned around and began to proceed back to the cloister portal, he felt a hard grip on his left shoulder. He stopped.
"It'd be wise to heed my warning, Seymour. Don't go and do anything stupid."
Thoughts of Yuna began to flash back into his mind. Auron had no idea of just how irrelevant his words were to Seymour's true intent, but there was no way to voice a romantic interest to the guardian without sparking a vein of suspicion. That said, there was nothing more Seymour could say without further exacerbating the matter.
The grip loosened and he was set free. He could still feel Auron's eyes penetrate his back. He continued to proceed toward the cloister portal until he stopped in front of it.
"I cannot guarantee it," he said, and slipped through the portal before Auron could say anything else.
Author's Note: I think I'm starting to see Tidus in more of a caring personality than a romantic one, but that doesn't mean there can't be sparks between him and Yuna. As for Seymour, even though he's inexperienced, you can bet his romance will be filled with lust and genuine attraction.
Also, I really don't like updating with one chapter at a time. I'd rather do it 5/6 chapters at a time, but I'm bombarded with a busy schedule, so I apologize for this awkward method of updating. Once winter rolls around and academia grants one me one sleazy week of break, I'm hoping to have many more chapters up at a time.
Till then, take care and thanks for the reviews.