Heart of the Phoenix
Author: Shaddowind
WARNING: Kratos spoilers aplenty! You have been warned! Also, if you haven't beaten the game, you may wish to revisit this fic later….
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia or any of the game's original characters, dialogue, or settings I just bend them to my will in this story.
A/N: Thanks to all of you that have taken the time to review so far! It's a huge encouragement to me to know that someone is reading and (for the most part) enjoying the story at least a little bit. I wanted to reply to each of you, but some of you seem to have questions that should be answered by the story, so, not to sound too cliché, but hang around and I think things will start becoming a little more clear. So, to my reviewers:
LateNiteSlacker: I'm happy to see you here and thank you so much for your reviews! And I'm still so glad you like it… it probably wouldn't be here without your encouragement! I hope I can continue to keep you interested! (And I promise to throw in as much Kratos as possible! )
Heidi021: Glad to have you here, and glad you're enjoying! Hopefully, I'll stop confusing you soon! )
ReNeGaDe: Thanks for your review! And I'm glad that I'm not confusing you too badly… as far as why she remembers Kratos… I don't know that I'd necessarily call it "remembering" him at this point in the story. Hope to hear from you again! )
Eldameldor: Yay! I'm so happy that the Phoenix has another fan! Please stick around… if you liked it through Chapter 2, I think what's coming might just make you happy as well! )
Gijinka Renamon: I'll take "interesting"… that works. Yep! As a matter of fact, here's another chapter! )
FlameRaven: Hope you're still around…. Thanks for your review! And thanks for your comments! I hope to be able to keep your interest!
Eike: Hmm… doesn't sound like you're going to be around to read this, but I'll respond anyway… thanks for taking the time to review, and I appreciate your compliments on the writing. I think you have a few different definitions than I do (such as I believe that you really can grow up with around friends AND have parents) And I'm not sure where you got that they don't know her age, but ok… no problem. Different stroke for different folks, right? ) Maybe I'll catch your attention again sometime!
A/N (Part 2): I am so sorry for the lag in updates… I have been trying for about 3 weeks to post 3 and for some reason, won't let it go… so, if I can get it to work this time, I hope to keep you all happy by combining 3 and 4… it's not the way I wanted to do it, but I guess you've got to do what you've got to do, right? Enjoy!
Summary: …. And in the hours before the departure of the Chosen from Iselia…
Chapter 3
The teacher and her brother had gone home hours ago.
Home….
He growled and his fist clenched angrily.
What right does she have to do this to me?
He had wandered the town since his companions had left him. Sleep wouldn't be an issue once the journey began, but here – in this quiet time in the village, it made him conspicuous.
Or maybe it was simply that he had lost count of how many times he had paced around the village.
He sighed with a weariness more spiritual than tangible, and for just a moment, he allowed himself to drop his guard, seating himself on a quaint set of wooden steps almost obscured by the flower beds on either side. Kratos leaned forward to rest his forehead in his hands.
Why? Why now? This has to be some great cosmic joke….
Something to twist the dagger that had become a part of his soul.
The boy… as if he wasn't enough.
'Kratos… please… kill me….
He clenched his eyes shut against the words that had hardened him. Words that forced him to make a choice... a choice that was his surrender from the madness that allowed him to believe that it was ever a life he could have. A validation of everything his mind had screamed at him while he had listened to his heart.
'Kratos… please….' His teeth clenched in reaction to the memory.
Ah. That's better.
Now the words began to fire his anger. It was much more comfortable than the self-pity.
How dare she….
He sighed, the anger unraveling – much to his dismay – once again.
How did she know?
"Kratos?"
The gentle inquiry made him jump, though he had been mired in his thoughts far too deeply for his instincts to make him draw his sword. But even before he recognized her form in the shadows of a nearby tree, he knew who it was.
And he knew that the sword was unnecessary.
"What do you want? You should be asleep," he spoke quietly, deciding to remain seated, but turning away from her.
Leave me alone, he thought sullenly.
"I would think that you should be as well…" Liane replied with sleepy amusement in her hushed tone, "… instead of sitting on our yard stoop in the middle of the night."
His head spun in alarm, but only to see that she was right. Somehow, he had made his way back to her home without even noticing. She began to come down the steps, her bare feet making no sound on the smoothed wood as her blanket-wrapped form settled on the step beside him. Another person… perhaps even two… could have found space to sit comfortably between them, but it was still almost too close.
He sighed, resisting the urge to get up and leave.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked, annoyingly intrigued by her presence.
"I guess… I don't remember much – well, anything – since Dirk's, actually. All I know is someone put me in my bed, and now my back is killing me. That and there's this lump on my head…."
He turned his head slightly to watch her rubbing the left side of her head.
Probably where her head hit the ground, he decided. He had thought that his healing would have helped that.
"You don't remember anything?" he asked, his hopes for some logical explanation to her behavior at Anna's grave evaporating before his eyes.
"No…" she sighed. "Except for why I've never gone to the grave before," she half-chuckled.
The comment tickled his curiosity.
"Never?" he watched her… searching for her reaction. She stared at the road before them, her bangs shadowing her face as she grasped a chunk of her slightly mussed hair and thoughtfully combing it with her fingers.
"No," she shook her head. "I've never liked being near there. It just doesn't feel right."
"Then why did you go?"
Liane squirmed slightly in her blanket.
"I… just thought she would want to know that her son has turned into a good person…" she whispered.
She's avoiding something….
"Did you know her?" Kratos pushed on with the conversation. It intrigued him that the apparent friendship between Liane and the boy would allow for that much discomfort in a place that would be sacred to him.
He watched her distractedly shake her head.
"No… she died before I…" she paused with a self-depreciating chuckle. "…never mind. But I've known Lloyd as long as I can remember."
Her avoidance caught his attention like a scream in the night.
"Before you…?"
She smiled slightly, sadly even.
"Woke up."
His brow furrowed in confusion, but he knew enough of decency to see that she was not comfortable with the conversation. He was, after all, a stranger….
"I'm sorry… it's none of my business…."
"No… it's fine," she answered thoughtfully. "I was in an accident when I was little. I… slept… for a long time. When I woke up, I met Lloyd. We've been friends ever since. They told me that I almost died, so I guess that's always stuck in my head."
"Ah… so the grave reminds you of a fear of death, then," he nodded.
That could explain her collapse… but not her words….
"Sure…" she agreed, still playing with her hair. But he couldn't shake the feeling that her mind was hardly in their conversation. She drew a nervous breath, apparently choosing her words carefully.
"Kratos… I'm sorry."
He snorted slightly. "For what?"
"For what I said."
She does remember…? All at once, he both dreaded and needed to hear her explanation for her apology.
"It was mean of me to accuse you of never losing someone. I've seen what the loss of Lloyd's mom did to him. He misses her everyday. I think everyone has lost someone. And I'm sorry if I…."
"It's fine," he grumbled, turning away from her. Damn… she's talking about her fit in the woods. He decided to push just a bit harder. He sat forward a bit… just enough to make out a little more of her face….
"I'm more interested in what you said after you collapsed…."
She turned to fully face him, her jaw slightly slack.
"What did I say? I don't remember anything after… talking to… her…" a sadness crept into her hushed voice.
But her confused expression spoke volumes to him.
She doesn't remember.
"Never mind. You should go back to bed," he sighed, watching her pull back into herself
"But… what did I say?"
"Nothing."
"Oh…. All right." She pulled her blanket tighter around her.
She's told me everything that I'm going to hear from her. He stood, keeping his back purposely to her and slowly walked away.
It's not her, his mind grumbled to him. It can't be her. There's no way. It's simply not possible.
But it has to be, another voice insinuated itself seductively around his pessimistic thoughts. Just look at her….
Suddenly, the slight night breeze carried a stifled sob to his ears. He turned just in time to see her slip back into the shadows of her parents' house.
He shook his head with a sigh and returned to his path away from her house. And from her.
Whoever she is, she's not Anna. Anna's dead. And after tomorrow, it will all be settled - I will never see Liane again.
Liane stood at her bedroom window and wiped her damp cheeks with a corner of her blanket.
Damn… why is this getting to me? He's just some egomaniacal ass…
She sighed as she saw him pass under the branch that marked the end of her field of vision on the village road.
… that I can't stop thinking about.
Cocooning herself in her blanket, she slid from the windowsill and down the wall, sitting on her pillow and allowing the wall to hold her in a semi-sitting position. Everything had changed when she had looked into his eyes. But at the same time, she didn't know what had changed. Here she was, the daughter of a small-town farmer, just as she had always been, but now… now there was more. Even her dreams were different. They were hardly linear, and what pieces they left in her memory, she found herself struggling to hold onto. Dreams like the one that she had been stargazing… granted she loved the stars, but she knew that she wasn't alone in the dream.
And for some reason, she knew that it was him that she had been resting against, even though she never saw his face.
It's just a dream, Liane, she tried to tell herself. But she felt the warmth of him behind her and of his arms wrapped around her. She would have blushed when she realized the smile on her face, but it simply was the memory of being in his arms. And it was that… a memory.
It wasn't a dream. He hadn't even come close to touching her since she had slammed into him on the terrace of the temple, but she still knew how it would feel to be there, under that tree… with him. Simple and innocent, nothing shameful. Except for maybe that she had no idea why she would think… no, know of these things with him.
She had never been one for obsession before. Things happened, people came into her life and people left it, she saw new places and returned to old ones – but somehow this man… this mercenary seemed to apply to all of it. And in the categories of change that she accepted as part of her life, that made her painfully curious. Especially seeing as how she knew that she had only met him the previous afternoon. But somehow, her mind was placing him as one returning to her life.
You're being stupid, she gritted her teeth and once again snagged the lock of hair that she had been worrying earlier. He wants nothing to do with you. He's simply humoring you until he leaves.
But then, I wasn't exactly honest with him, either, she admitted to herself with a sigh. Her last active memories were of going to Anna's grave. Then she remembered the dreams.
Well… nightmares.
It had been a cacophony of light and sound… screams and cries… sorrow and very physical pain… and a sword, gleaming in the chaos. She heard words that she couldn't make out and felt a loss deeper than she thought she ever could fathom… and then it was over. The warmth had taken her back to a safe, numb place, from which she had awakened in her own bed to an urge to wake and go to the window.
And there he was. Just sitting on the steps. What does this have to do with him?
She had gone down to him in the hopes that he would explain something… anything to her. Instead, all he had for her were questions. And then a harsh dismissal – even after they had started to actually talk.
Part of her just wanted him to just go away and take all these questions with him back into the nothingness that he had stepped out of when he so dramatically entered her life.
A tear slipped down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away.
But part of me doesn't.
She stared into her room, her eyes moist with tears that she refused to shed. Sleep would not be for her again, despite his dismissal. If she fell asleep, then she was sure that he would be there. Then slowly… ever so slowly… the first colors of the dawn began to paint the wooden walls of her room. As Iselia awakened outside her window, she realized that her life would soon go back to what it was. She forced a smile to her lips as she crawled out of her corner and opened her chest to find clothes for the day.
It seemed but a blink later that she was clearing her plates from the banquet tables that the Mayor had set out in celebration for the departure of the Chosen. Colette herself was mired in a mob of villagers, each with their own wishes of well-being for the girl. But in the few looks that she had caught from Colette, she could see a sadness in her excited eyes.
"I'm going to miss her."
Liane turned at the small voice beside her to find Genis also watching their friend.
"Raine?"
Genis shook his head. "No. Both of them."
Liane patted his head fondly. The boy was her balance on the age range in their group… he the youngest while she the oldest. But somehow, she always felt that he was the maturity amongst them… his eyes held a wisdom that she couldn't understand. She always figured that it had to do with his elven blood, but this day, she didn't know.
"I assure you… the Chosen will be in good hands," came a voice from behind them.
Genis almost stumbled spinning to meet their companion, but Liane resisted. She already knew who it was.
"Kratos… you have to make sure she succeeds," Genis pleaded with the mercenary. Liane, on the other hand, chuckled humorlessly.
"He will," she spoke softly, slowly turning meeting his gaze with one equally even and cool while silently cursing her short ponytail that offered her no reprieve from his stare.
Kratos tilted his head in curiosity, but said nothing.
Genis looked from one to the other before slowly backing away. "I… I'm going to go find Lloyd. He should be here by now." The boy turned and trotted back into the crowd in an attempt to make his pretense of escape seem legitimate.
"You didn't sleep," Kratos observed.
"Oh, I was supposed to do that because you told me to. I forgot. Please forgive me, oh, mighty Lord Kratos," she retorted with sugared malice.
But even she was surprised when his eyes widened at her jab.
"I simply came… to wish you well," he stumbled through his words in distraction.
Liane stared back at him. What did I say this time…?
"Kratos…."
"No… I… I'm sorry to have kept you awake last night," he muttered as he walked around her. "Please excuse me. I must gather the Chosen and the Professor."
"But Lloyd's not here yet…."
He paused in mid-step and glanced over his shoulder at her. "That is of no consequence. He is not needed for our departure."
"But…."
"Goodbye, Liane."
He strode away from her without another backward glance. She could only watch him go, as her voice refused to work. She wanted to say… something. But the only thing she knew for certain was that she didn't want to say goodbye. This man seemed to have answers… answers to questions that were still coming to her. But when he left… there would be no answers.
Perhaps, that's how it should be… she thought with a sigh.
Suddenly, a cheer split the late morning celebration and the crowd began to move towards the southern gates.
"Liane! I can't find him anywhere!" Genis ran to her side, panting.
"There's no time… they're leaving." They joined the jubilant gathering at the gates, pushing as far as they could to the front before Raine waived them over. Genis ran to his sister and they held each other for the briefest of moments, and Colette hugged her 'big sister' with wide eyes filled with a myriad of emotion.
"Take care of Lloyd," the blonde girl whispered. As Liane nodded, willing herself not to cry despite the situation, she spotted Kratos leaning against the gate arch with what looked to be what she was beginning to discover was his normal state of boredom.
"Chosen…" he called and Colette broke from Liane to hug Genis.
"Take care of the school, Liane. I'll be back as soon as I can," Raine nodded to Liane.
Liane smiled at her mentor. "I'll do the best I can. And don't worry about Genis."
Raine half-chuckled and then turned to join Kratos and Colette at the gate.
Calls of blessings and farewells filled the air as the teacher and the Chosen turned and strode from the town, each with what looked to be awkwardly large packs on their backs. Kratos pushed himself from the gate to follow them.
"Kratos…" she whispered, her voice lost in the crowd.
But still, for just a moment, he stopped and turned, sparing a fleeting glance back as if in answer to her quiet call. She gasped slightly as the space between them closed for the briefest of instants, and she saw him nod in cool acknowledgement.
And then the moment was gone, and the Chosen's party disappeared from the view of the town.
Liane sighed, turning to Genis.
"Go find Lloyd. He'll be disappointed that he missed her…."
Chapter 4
Liane entered the kitchen door of her home with a heavy heart. Two of her best friends had just walked away from her life. And she simply couldn't convince herself that she would ever see either of them ever again.
She smiled sadly for a moment before snagging a freshly-baked muffin from a picturesque platter on the family dining table.
And now I just have to convince myself that I don't miss him, too.
Nibbling thoughtfully at the muffin, she shoved away thoughts of going to take a nap. Genis would be back soon with Lloyd… and then more fun would ensue. The boy was late – again – and this time the consequence was that he might not see Colette again. There was no one to blame but himself.
He won't take that well at all.
Drawing a deep breath and settling into a straight-backed chair, she let her eyes close. It was so quiet in the house… she had lost her parents in the crowd after the breakfast, but she knew that they would be back shortly. She had these precious few minutes to prepare her to slip back into the mundane life that she had grown into… that of a teacher in a small town… that of a farmer's daughter….
That thought made her twitch slightly, as she braced herself for the next thought that tumbled after it.
Hells. I'm going to end up married to Michael, aren't I?
She had even seen him talking to her father before the breakfast. Not even wanting to imagine that conversation, she stood from the table and walked back up to her bedroom, momentarily surrendering to a whim.
I'm going. They need help… and I don't want to be here anymore.
Guilt ate at her as she chose her favorite tunics and breeches from her clothing chest and shoved them all in her bag.
Mother and Father don't need me right now… and the mayor will certainly be happier if I weren't in charge of the school. He'll find someone he likes better to take over. And maybe Michael will fall for her instead of me…. She had to admit, the last thought was much more of an encouragement than it really should have been.
Tucking her daggers into her belt, she turned away from her bedroom to start back down the stairs when something caught her eye. Propped beside her bedroom door was an old short sword. Her father told her that it had belonged to her grandfather and she had always treasured the well-worn weapon. She picked it up, examining it with a new interest. The blade was nicked and scratched, small spots of rust were even visible in some areas. Her feet carried her down the stairs of their own volition, as she couldn't bring herself to put the blade down.
But reality sunk back into her half-baked plan of leaving with three words.
Genis and Lloyd.
She couldn't just leave them alone.
No… I have responsibilities… here, she sighed, dropping her bag and reverently placing the short sword against the wall beside the stairwell.
Suddenly, she heard a commotion outside. A smile started to form as she thought how much the town had been anticipating the Chosen going on her journey. For as long as she could remember, Colette had been the town's sweetheart… she was the embodiment of promise for an entire world. And she belonged to the small town of Iselia.
But when the kitchen door was flung open by her father shoving her mother through the door ahead of him, she knew the celebration was over.
"Liane!" he father cried out of relief as he slammed the door shut behind them. Her mother whimpered slightly as she crawled under the kitchen table. Liane helped her father to his feet as a strange orange glow began to filter through the kitchen window.
"Dad! What's…."
"It's the Desians… they're attacking the village again…." Ben shook his head.
Liane looked out the window again… she could now see flames beginning to lick at the wall around the window.
"Get Mom out of here," she grabbed her grandfather's short sword and started for the door. "If you can't get the fire out, just run."
"Liane… you can't hope to…"
She looked to her father with a steadiness that surprised even her.
"This has to stop…"
Ben Dale met his daughter's gaze and an understanding passed between them. He knew she was right.
"I'll help you as soon as I can."
Liane nodded and threw open the back door, her mind only vaguely registering that the flames were creeping down the porch towards the door. She was far more focused on the pair of Desian soldiers standing on the yard stood, congratulating each other as they watched her home begin to burn.
"That's my home, you bastards!" she screamed as she hurled herself into one, knocking him out into the road. She rolled off of the momentarily downed solider as quickly as she could, finding her feet without a second thought and grasping the rusty sword tightly as she awaited the other soldier's first move.
"Human wench! You'll burn for daring to touch us!"
The upright soldier drew his own blade and advanced on her. For an instant, she remembered the condition of her weapon… but then remembered that it had served her grandfather… it would serve her as well. She blocked the soldier's first blow, his sword sliding easily from her blade. However, it only served to distract him for a moment, as he was already ready with a backswing for her. Barely rolling past the attack, she planted her hands and kicked his feet out from under him, knocking him onto his back, much as Lloyd had been the previous afternoon. But even as she grabbed his sword and stood over him, leveling his own weapon at his throat, she knew that the stakes were different. Vastly different.
"Never stood a chance…" she growled ferally at the fallen Desian, who suddenly displayed no ambition to move. As she caught her breath, her brow furrowed.
Where did that come from? She sounded as cocky as Lloyd…. Maybe I am spending too much time with him….
"Liane!"
She turned at her father's warning, barely missing the lunge of the soldier she had knocked down at the start of her fight. Before she realized what was happening, her father had slammed the Desian across the back of the head with an old hoe that he kept in the yard for his wife's gardening. The soldier fell across his companion, leaving a heap of moaning armor in front of their yard stoop.
"Father… I…" she heaved, planting her hands on her knees as she gulped down air.
"There's no time. Your mother and the house are safe. But there are others that need our help…." Ben picked up his hoe once again and walked past his daughter. "Are you coming?" he called over his shoulder as she fell into his wake, still surprised that she wasn't getting the "not for women and children" lecture yet again. "And you really have to watch your back. I'm not always going to be there to help you."
As they rounded the road near the north entrance, Liane's eyes grew wide as she saw the schoolhouse. It wasn't burned badly, but it had taken a beating… the Desians had apparently lost interest in the unoccupied building.
"The south gate! They're at the south gate!" she heard someone shout in the distance.
Liane looked to her father.
"Go. I'm going to get your mother. We'll meet you."
With a quick nod, Liane hopped over the fence around the vineyard and charged through the item shop's yard, her grip tight on her grandfather's sword.
"What have you done? How many times have we told you to stay away from the Ranch?"
She slowed in disbelief at the sight before her. There were Desians there, yes, but somehow, the Mayor seemed content to be once again yelling at a familiar red-shirted teen standing before him with a bowed head.
"I'm sorry," came Lloyd's shamed response, notably without the traditional defiance he usually offered the Mayor.
Oh, Lloyd, what have you done this time?
"We've prepared an appropriate opponent for your crime," a teal-haired Desian mocked from the gate where his soldiers stood flanking him. Suddenly, a strange sound was heard tumbling through the bushes outside the gate. All the villagers took a step back as the thing came into view.
And Liane would have sworn that her blood froze in her veins at the sight of the beast.
"What is that thing?" Lloyd gaped at the hulking monstrosity that lurched at them under the gates, its hideously elongated arms dragging the ground behind it.
"Now. Receive your punishment!" the apparent leader of the Desian troop commanded, a sadistic smile on his face. In response, the thing raised its arm and hurled it at Lloyd. The boy fell back onto a knee, his hands thrown in front of his face in a feeble attempt to deflect the blow.
However, the blow that landed seemed to do very little damage, save to sever the bandage that Lloyd always wore over the back his left hand.
"Damn," her friend grumbled as he turned his hand over to see that the previously concealed stone was now revealed.
"Lloyd… I'll help, too…" Genis offered, stepping to stand beside his friend, his kendama at ready. Liane stepped out of the crowd to take Lloyd's other side.
"Like I'm going to let you two fight without me…." she grumbled as the thing again lurched at them.
They fought together, just as they had at the Temple the day before, Lloyd and Liane attacked from close and kept Genis to the back… just as they had all been taught at one point or another. The thing attacked ferociously, landing hits on all of them, but eventually, it was the beast that was on the ground, leaving Lloyd, Genis, and Liane standing victorious.
"Lord Forcystus! Just as you thought, that boy has an exsphere!"
The soldier's exclamation sounded far away to Liane's ears, though, as she still couldn't take her eyes from their toppled adversary. Something about it made her stomach tie itself in knots.
"It must be the one from the Angelus Project that we've been searching for! Give it to me!" Forcystus demanded, a predatory gleam developing in his eyes.
Angelus?
"No! This is a memento of my mom's who you Desians murdered!" Lloyd retorted almost violently. For the first time, Liane allowed her eyes to be drawn to the bauble on the back of her friend's hand. It was no secret amongst his friends that he had it … she was even sure that she had seen it occasionally over the years, but it seemed that she had never really looked at it. Its pale blue shimmer was suddenly almost hypnotic….
Forcystus did a poor job of choking back a derogatory chuckle, "What are you talking about? Your mother was…"
"Run away… Genis… Lloyd…."
The oddly disembodied voice pulled her from her thoughts as the fallen monster lurched from the ground and locked itself around Forcystus.
"Wh… what was that voice? It sounded like… Marble?…" Genis shook his head, backpedaling from the beast that was now attacking its apparent master.
Lloyd shook his head in disbelief. "It can't be…"
"Get away… hurry! Genis... you were like a grandson to me… thank you… good bye…"
The boys continued to gape at the bizarre scene playing out before them. Suddenly, the thing erupted into a dazzling explosion of light, leaving Forcystus to fall broken to the ground.
"No! Protect Lord Forcystus!" one of the soldiers called as the rest of the troop gathered to their wounded leader.
Forcystus waved off his guards as he gasped for breath. "Lloyd, we will always come after you as long as you possess that exsphere. Always!"
Liane slid her sword through her belt and gripped her considerably better-honed daggers, bracing for another attack. But the Desians gathered their leader and retreated, leaving her to force herself to drop her stance. They would not be a danger to them any time soon.
Genis was on his knees, hunched over a small red orb that had fallen from the monster's attack on Forcystus. "Marble… Marble, No!"
"What have you done!" The mayor growled from somewhere behind them. Lloyd and Liane turned to him. "Look! Look what happened to our village! It's all your fault!"
"I'm sorry…" Lloyd muttered again, his attention more on his friend's grief than on yet another lecture from the Mayor.
The Mayor, however wasn't distracted by anything. "You think you can fix this by apologizing! The Desians marked you as their enemy! As long as you are here, this village will never be at peace. Do you understand?"
Genis looked up with a sniffle. "Wait a minute… you're going to exile him?"
"Yes," the mayor answered carefully, leaving no room for doubt that he would entertain any other punishment for the boy.
You have got to be kidding me.
Liane watched the scene in awe. It was like every worst case scenario was lining up to play itself out in the space of two days… Michael, Kratos, her parents, Desians… now this….
Genis crawled to his feet, his fists balled in anger. "That's not fair! Lloyd didn't do anything wrong! He just saved Marble…."
"Any involvement with the ranch is forbidden. There are no exceptions," the mayor snorted.
Genis shook his head. "So it's okay to let people die at the human ranch as long as the village is safe?"
"The people at the ranch are just going to rot there anyway."
Liane turned to observe the village woman standing beside her, the woman's intolerance astounding her.
Goddess… his paranoia is spreading to everyone….
"Yes. Had you not done something so stupid, they'd have been the only ones that died."
Genis's azure eyes were now lit by a fury Liane never would have guessed at.
"You humans are all the same," the elven boy spat.
Lloyd put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "That's enough, Genis. This was my fault. I'll leave."
"Mayor, surely you don't have to be so strict on a child…."
Finally, a voice of reason, Liane sighed, her relief being cut off by the words from yet another of the mob:
"What are you saying? Do you realize how many people died here because of him?"
"It's not Lloyd's fault!" Genis shouted, his pale face reddening by the syllable. "I'm the one that took him to the ranch, so it's my fault."
"But it's Lloyd the Desians are after. And besides, Lloyd isn't from this village to begin with. He's an outsider, raised by a Dwarf," the mayor spouted as if it was the most logical thing his tiny mind had ever come up with.
Liane's fist clenched shut, as she forced herself to remain silent.
Goddess… they can't all be this ignorant….
"Then I'm leaving, too. I'm just as guilty as he is."
Genis's words rang in her ears as Liane's shoulders sagged. Everything is falling apart….
"Genis…" Lloyd tried to object, but Genis planted himself firmly beside his friend.
"Fine then," the mayor growled, not allowing time for any more discussion on the matter. "By the rights vested in me as Mayor, I hereby announce the banishment of Lloyd and Genis from the village of Iselia. Get Out!"
Lloyd nodded, turning from the Mayor to the mob. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble…."
Her friend's broken tone tore at her heart, and Liane knew that she had to make her decision now. She closed her eyes, knowing what the right path for her would be, but praying that the Goddess could lend her the last bit of strength to bid farewell to this place that was her home.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that her parents had joined the edges of the assembly. Both of them watched her patiently….
… and then Ben Dale tossed her a familiar packed bag, with a sad, knowing smile.
Catching the bag, Liane turned back to the mayor, her grip tensing on the handle of her grandfather's sword. Instead of the understanding that she had always tried to find when dealing with the mayor, she found that her decision had freed her, and anger flowed easily into the void that her need for control had left.
"You are really so needy of a scapegoat that you'll turn two boys out of the village to save your own hide? Is that really so much easier than doing the right thing and not turning a blind eye to what the Desians are doing?"
The mayor turned on her, anger turning his cheeks bright red.
"Liane, you overstep your bounds. You should go see to the school house…." He growled.
"Or what? You'll exile me, as well?"
She set her jaw and spared a quick glance back to her father, who nodded his understanding.
"I'll save you the effort. If you're throwing them out, I'm going with them."
"But… you're a teacher… you're supposed to be an example for the children…" the Mayor sputtered.
"And you're supposed to be an example for the village," she growled, turning on her heel. "Besides, the school is heavily damaged. You don't need me. You've made that abundantly clear in the past, so why should that be any different now?"
She spared a final seething glare at the Mayor before she turned and walked to her parents. They gathered their daughter to them in a crushing hug. Dora's tears soaked quickly into her tunic as Ben's hug tightened.
"Be safe," Ben whispered. "Come home someday."
Liane pulled away from them and wiped her tears away, forcing a smile for the sake of her parents.
You can break down later. You still have to walk out of town, she told herself. She turned, forbidding herself to look back. For anything.
Lloyd and Genis were speaking to Colette's grandmother beside the gates as she approached.
"If you feel that way, please catch up to the Chosen and protect her. If, in doing so, the world is saved, surely everyone will change their minds about you," Phaidra kindly offered as Liane joined the boys.
"For I'm sure Colette would want that as well," Frank added.
Lloyd nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I will atone for what I've done. I swear to protect Colette for the sake of those who have died because of me."
"I'll follow you, Lloyd. It's my fault that you were banished. So I promise to stick by you always," Genis declared, a sparkle of his optimism replacing the resentment that had burned in his tone just moments before.
"And someone has to make sure you don't get yourselves killed," Liane added with a smirk.
"Liane," Lloyd turned to her, his eyes bearing a beaten sadness she had never seen in him before, "you don't have to throw everything away for us."
Liane shrugged. "My future isn't here. You know that as well as I do." They had all talked as children and as children do about how their lives would change when they were old enough.
Well, it's time for that change.
Lloyd nodded slowly, turning back to his friend as they started out the village gates. "Say Genis, why don't you use that exsphere? That's Marble's memento."
Genis nodded, thoughtfully pulling the shining orb from his pocket. "Okay."
"I'll explain to you how to use the key crest later," Lloyd offered, seeming to begin to shrug off the sting of his exile, even for just a moment. "After all, it looks like it's going to be a long journey."
Lloyd's green and white dog waited patiently beside the gates, his tail wagging slightly at his young master's approach.
"Don't throw your lives away," Phaidra called.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Liane thought with a grimace, even as she mentally chided herself. She knew that the woman meant well, but Liane knew that they were all already wondering how the threesome would ever live long enough to find the Chosen's party.
Colette, at least, has the benefit of Kratos's experience…
Liane dropped the thought, knowing that doubt would be their greatest enemy as they traveled alone. And that doubt would fade only as the distance between them and Iselia grew.
"May the Goddess Martel protect you," Frank called to them as they left the groomed trail and started on the rough trade trail from the town.
It might take more than Martel, Frank.
As the village fell behind them, Liane broke her promise to herself and turned back one last time. Her parents stood together at the gate, waving to their only daughter. She forced a smile and returned the wave.
They've always known, too, she realized, allowing a peace to settle on her heart. They've always known that this wasn't where I belonged.
Her attention returning to the trail before her and her somber friends beside her, she sighed.
But where do I belong?
For some reason, she knew that only one person could answer that question for her. And it wasn't her.
Kratos….
"So… Colette told you noon? But why...?" Liane's voice trailed off at a frantic gesture from Genis.
"She didn't want me there," Lloyd sighed, his tone riddled with disappointment. "She didn't want to say goodbye to me."
Genis shrugged at Liane as Lloyd trudged ahead of them.
"So what do we do?" he whispered.
Liane shook her head. "Let him be. He'll work through it. He'll mope for a while and then he'll be fine."
With the exception of a few disappointing monsters that happened to cross their path, the day drew out quietly. As dusk fell over the land they happened upon a nomad's caravan that offered them a place to rest for the night, and the three accepted gratefully.
Liane curled into the blanket that the nomad Nova had given her and watched Lloyd patiently explaining the use of the exsphere to Genis. She smiled at the sight even as her eyes slid closed… Lloyd was about as high-strung a person as she was sure she had ever met when it came to the tedious points of living. But if it was something that mattered to him… or something that he was good at, he seemed to have an infinite well of patience to share with others. The boy had a good heart….
Look… he doesn't want to crawl….
Heh… it's too slow for you, isn't it, Lloyd?
She watched as the toddler was swooped up into the air with the help of the strong arms that caught the boy around his chubby middle. Turning her eyes to follow his assisted arc into the air, the glare of the bright afternoon sun absorbed both the boy… and his assistant. The little boy squealed in delight, and she laughed… and he laughed…
"Liane! What's so funny?"
Her eyes flew open, even as she could feel a smile fading from her lips. Lloyd and Genis both stood over her. Apparently, her dreams had made her their new entertainment.
"I take it Genis knows how to use his exsphere, now?" she yawned, ignoring their question. The boys chuckled at her again and made their way around the fire to where they had staked out their beds for the night.
More dreams… damn, she thought as she rolled over onto her side to watch the fire crackle and dance.
Lloyd was much older than that when I met him….
And that voice….
She huffed and clenched her fist in the blanket.
It has to be him… but why?
They had thought that getting to the desert early would make the journey more comfortable.
Unfortunately, their definition of "early" and that of the desert itself seemed to be drastically different as the sands held nothing but brutal heat for them even before they waded into the dunes.
"Isn't there any way around the desert? Do we have to go through it?" Lloyd grumbled as he dispatched an unfortunate scorpion.
Liane unfolded the map she had confiscated from Lloyd the day before with a sad shake of her head.
"No… everyone we've spoken to that has seen Colette has said that they went into the desert. If we're going to find them, we have to keep going. Apparently, the only logical place for a fire seal is in a desert," she sighed, trying not to encourage Lloyd's discontent any more. "But there is a town… Triet. We should be able to at least get some supplies there."
It was almost lunch time when Lloyd's group entered the gates of Triet. But before the excitement of being out of the desert could set in, a gruff voice could be heard in the swirling sandy winds ahead of them.
"His identification code is unknown. Form a cordon in all areas immediately."
The three friends ducked behind the Lloyd's large green and white dog.
Yeah, Liane huffed mentally. The green and white will hide us perfectly… hopefully, they're idiots….
Not that the barren entry walls of the town offered them many other options, but she still felt more conspicuous than hidden.
"What does this Lloyd look like?"
Liane heard both Genis and Lloyd groan slightly at the mention of Lloyd's name. She shook her head slightly… she knew Forcystus's warning wasn't empty… she was just hoping it could have waited just a little bit longer before coming to fruition.
The three all did their best to peek around Noishe… just for a quick look at the speakers. The glimpses they got through the sandy wind left no doubt that it was indeed the Desians… maroon, silver…
… and plenty of hot air, Liane huffed, easing herself back down behind Noishe.
"His likeness and description are on the wanted posters. We're counting on you," the apparent leader of the soldiers declared as the troop scattered back into the town.
Lloyd stood with a disheartened sigh, his eyes on the stone on the back of his hand. "Man… wanted posters and search parties. They're really serious."
"We need to hurry and find Colette," Genis stated as he hesitantly took a step farther into the town, watching as if he expected the soldiers to lunge at him.
Lloyd glared down at his friend, his hands clasping over his sword handles. "Hey, I thought we were looking for Colette to protect her…. This is more like we're looking for her to get help."
"Does it really matter why we're looking for her? You think too much when you don't have to!" Genis offered his hand to Liane to help her up from the ground. Liane smiled, knowing that she didn't really need it, but a gentlemanly offer from either of her companions really couldn't be ignored.
"Genis is right… let's get our supplies and get out of here. Those Desians could be anywhere…" Liane straightened her tunic and started into the town, cautiously watching around the blind-cornered entry into the town square. She could see that a row of merchants lined the road to her left, but it also seemed that the Desians would head that way first.
"Hey, let's take a look at that wanted poster," Genis ran past Liane and Lloyd, heading for a bulletin board near the town's inn.
Lloyd gagged slightly when Genis pointed out the Desian wanted poster. "Am I this ugly?"
Liane stifled a giggle at Lloyd's dismay.
Genis wisely seemed to ignore his friend's distress.
"It's good. They'll never find you with this… I think."
"Well, we know what they're looking for now… let's see if we can find some food. If I have to live on nothing but sandwiches for the rest of this trip, I'm going to go crazy," Liane sighed.
They carefully maneuvered their way around the corner of the inn and out of the town square, careful to stay out of sight of the merchant row, just in case. The town opened into a beautiful yet desolate landscape framing a small blue oasis with the rest of the town's merchants scattered around its banks.
Lloyd was the first to spot the grocer at the bend in the road, and soon, Liane's pouch of gald was considerably lighter, but the increased weight of their food pack eliminated any regrets.
Genis looked up as Lloyd helped Liane adjust her packs to carry the food.
"Hey! There's a fortune teller… maybe she can tell us where Colette is!"
Liane laughed. She didn't mean to be condescending to Genis's enthusiasm, but really….
… a fortune teller?
"Genis, I'm not sure that that will speed up our search all that much…" she offered, even as Lloyd pushed past her and started down the path to the tent Genis had indicated, leaving Liane and Genis to fall in step behind him.
"Yeah… we'll find them fast this way!" Lloyd threw up the tent flap. Genis grinned at her, stopping short of a vocal 'I told you so' as he followed his friend into the tent.
"Welcome to the House of Fortune," an older woman sitting behind a cloth-draped table smiled. "What would you like me to divine for you?"
Lloyd scratched his head. "Well, I'd like to know where Colette… where the Chosen is now."
The woman smiled knowingly. "Understood. That will be 100 Gald."
"That's expensive," Lloyd muttered, absently rolling his coin pouch in his hand.
Good boy… now just walk away, Liane smiled slightly, her hope reviving in her friend's common sense.
The fortune teller looked up, an eyebrow arched suspiciously.
"Did you say something?"
"Ah…n…no."
Groaning as Lloyd dug into his belt pouch and tossed the money onto the table, Liane shook her head.
The fortune teller's eyes rolled dramatically into the back of her head. "Mmmm. I can see her. The Chosen is heading for the oasis that is said to have been destroyed when Efreet went out of control."
Genis watched the woman in fascination.
"Is that true?"
"The Chosen's companion said so, so there's no doubt," the woman replied with a definitive nod.
Liane sighed. She didn't see anything… she just heard Raine or Kratos say something.
"Now, I'll tell free friendship fortunes, if you are interested…?"
Liane turned to Lloyd and Genis, unable to keep a straight face through the charade any longer.
"You boys do what you want… I have to go back to the shops. I'll meet up with you at the city gates in a few minutes."
Lloyd and Genis nodded, enthralled with the fortune teller. Liane rolled her eyes slightly, hoping that the con-artist wouldn't rook them out of any more of their money.
"Well, I guess I'll give it a try," she heard Lloyd decide as she slipped out of the tent.
We have to keep moving… and there's something I have to do. I just hope I kept enough money…
Liane thanked the weaponsmith and turned back to the town center, tucking the pair of knight's sabers under her arm as she put what was left of her precious little gald back into her belt pouch.
Maybe this will increase our chances a bit. Lloyd's no child… he needs something more substantial than wooden swords.
The merchants were all very friendly, a fact she marveled at considering how the heat had seemed to make her nothing but more apprehensive of their visit to the town. Then again, the villager that told her of the Desian public executions in the town square did nothing to calm her nerves either.
There had been no Desians anywhere amongst the merchants, as she had feared. Although being by herself, she was far more confident in her ability to not draw attention to herself.
But if they're not here… I wonder….
She started back for the town entrance, hoping that she had given the boys the time they needed to escape from the fortune teller. She had bought gels, life bottles, and the swords for Lloyd. Wishing she had just a bit more savings to buy new weapons for herself and Genis, she huffed at her own impatience.
We'll have more money when we come back. Goddess knows there's enough monsters and bandits around….
Spotting the boys standing at the town entrance, she cringed as she realized how Lloyd's red shirt announced their presence boldly against the blowing sands of the desert town.
"Lloyd, don't let your guard down or you'll regret it," she heard Genis reprimanding his friend. His words puzzled her, though.
What did I miss?
As she drew closer, she could see three heaps that looked to be wearing Desian armor gathered near the boys. Liane clenched her teeth.
And so it begins….
Her step quickened
"I'm not letting my guard down. It's just that they were so pitiful… Whoa!"
It all played out before her eyes, just as she instinctively knew it would. Lloyd's cocky words almost always were the harbinger of some sort of disaster, and that held true as his lean form was engulfed in a flickering barrage of energy from behind them.
"Lloyd!"
Lloyd collapsed to the ground as his best friend called out in alarm and Liane did the only thing she could think to do… she threw herself against the rough sandblasted walls of the city and waited. She knew that there would be no chance if they all got captured.
"I'm scared! Please don't hurt me…. I'll be good!" Genis whimpered. She felt so bad for the boy – and she choked down the guilt for leaving him to face the soldiers that were gathering Lloyd. If they attacked him, she knew that she wouldn't be able to stand and watch….
Wait….
A grim smile slipped over her features as she watched Genis slip fully into the role of the scared child. He may not have been the bravest soul, but his whining was careful, a bit heart-wrenching, and…
… completely fake.
Genis would fight for Lloyd - she knew he would. It was a characteristic that had rubbed off from Lloyd – a headstrong desire to take the right path - although Genis balanced it far better with common sense.
The elven boy was stalling.
And the quick glance he shot to her proved her theory true.
Little devil, she thought with a smirk.
Whine…
Liane turned at the gentle noise to find Lloyd's pet hunkered beside her. She patted Noishe's head gently as she watched a pair of guards collect Lloyd and drag him from the town with Genis in tow.
"Come on, boy… we have to get them back…" she whispered, standing as the Desians and their captives exited the city walls. Liane carefully slid the sabers between her pack and her back, silently cursing that she didn't have the time to get them to Lloyd… or to properly wrap them for travel. She couldn't let them get out of sight…
… or I might never see them again….
The base rose from the desert sands like a metal monster, the unnaturalness of the structure in its surroundings screaming its presence for miles around.
Fortunately, it was also large enough to create its own wind patterns in the desert sands, allowing Liane a perfect hiding place to watch as the guards approached the base gates.
If they take them in, that's it… but at least I'll know where to find them, she huffed, trying to make out the conversation between the guards.
Then I'll just have to find Colette's group on my own… and hope we're not too late….
"Thank you for freeing me! I'll never forget this. Goodbye, mister," Genis's cheerful voice rang into the late afternoon, as the boy ran from the gates of the base.
Liane couldn't help but laugh in relief. Genis's performance was flawless, even if she knew that he was simply pulling from what his instincts were telling him to do.
"Just get out of here!" one of the guards called.
Genis waved cordially one last time before diving behind the dune to sit beside Liane.
"I didn't think there was any way they'd let me go," he heaved. Liane dug in her pack and handed him her water flask, which he accepted without hesitation.
"Catch your breath… then we have to go," she nodded, absently scratching Noishe's back where he lay in the sand to her other side. Genis recapped the flask and handed it back to her, hauling himself back to his feet with a groan.
"I'm ready. Let's go save Lloyd."
Once again, Liane and Genis found themselves crouched behind yet another nondescript sand dune. Night had fallen swiftly over the Triet desert, and time was growing short for them to find Colette's group. Already, they had come across three camps… and fortunately escaped with only having to fight their way out of one. While they had won, it didn't do much for their weariness.
The fire of the fourth camp of the night could be seen against the rock cliffs for miles, but the camp's occupants could not.
Goddess… I don't need another fight tonight.
But the campsite had all the earmarks of good planning… nestled into a niche in the rock cliff, avenues of attack were greatly narrowed,
Just how a mercenary would think, she hoped against hope. If they had to wait until morning to find them, the chances that they would miss them again would skyrocket, even as Lloyd's chances of getting out of the base alive plummeted.
"It has to be them," she heard Genis mutter beside her.
"Stay here… I'm going to see if I can get over to that dune," Liane whispered, pointing toward the camp. Genis's eyes clearly showed fatigued doubt by the pale firelight, but his head bobbed in agreement as his grip tensed on his kendama. She crouched low to the sand and tried to crawl just a bit higher on the dune. There were at least two lumps near the fire…
Two… it could be them… there should be one on watch….
She glanced back down to where Genis stood watching her uneasily. Nodding reassuringly to him, she edged back from the crest of the dune and crept along the backside to the next dune closer to the fire. Laying on her stomach, she could clearly make out the blanketed forms beside the fire, but no matter how hard she searched the area… as far back into the shadows as she could make out… she couldn't find the third person that should be there….
…IF it's them….
With a weary sigh, she slowly backed down the dune. She would go get Genis, find a place for him to hide, and then head into the camp. If she was right, they would have their help to rescue Lloyd. If she was wrong….
… well, maybe Genis will have better luck finding them without me.
At the base of the dune, Liane stood and brushed the sand from her tunic.
"Hold."
Liane sucked in her breath as she felt the flat of cold steel against her throat, just enough tension in its angle that she had no doubt that with a flick of the sword-bearer's wrist, her journey would be over.
Oddly, though, the quiet command brought nothing but relief to her mind.
"Hello, Kratos…" she whispered, putting her hands up in careful surrender.
"Liane?"
"NO!" Genis threw himself around the small dune, "Kratos, no! It's us!"
She heard the mercenary's all-too-familiar sigh as the metal fell away from her throat. Turning to face him, she really wasn't surprised that, even though he was facing the light of the fire, his expression was still largely unreadable.
"What are you two doing here?" he grumbled, sheathing his sword. "And where's Lloyd?"
"The Desians captured him," Genis blurted, not even pausing to ponder the Kratos's assumption that Lloyd was with them.
Kratos shook his head with an exasperated sigh.
"Look, if you don't want to help us, we'll get him back ourselves," Liane huffed, deciding to play all of her cards at once – the day had been long, and anything to move towards a plan to rescue Lloyd was worth it. "But we can't go back to Iselia, and helping the Chosen is a better alternative to wandering in the woods for the rest of our lives.'
That time, she knew that he glared at her.
"Why, pray tell, can't you go back to Iselia?" the mercenary asked as if he dreaded the answer.
"Lloyd and I got banished," Genis muttered, shame clear in his tired voice. "Liane wouldn't let us go alone."
There was a long pause between the three, as each seemed to be waiting for the next question.
"And why… were you banished?"
"They tried to help a prisoner at the Human Ranch," Liane explained. "Then the Desians attacked Iselia looking for Lloyd because they identified him."
"They only found him because he stopped to defend me," Genis interjected sullenly.
"I see," Kratos muttered, resolve already settling in his voice. "So they're after him because he broke the treaty?"
Liane nodded. "Yes. That, and his exsphere…."
Interest flickered in the mercenary's eyes so briefly that Liane almost doubted that she had actually seen it.
"The boy… he has the exsphere?"
Genis nodded. "Yeah. He used to keep it under a bandage on his hand."
"Hmm…."
But Liane heard more… he surely wasn't surprised that Lloyd had an exsphere and his phrasing… 'the exsphere'? It would have been easier to dismiss without the specificity of his statement. One such as him might be expected to recognize the use of an exsphere….
"Where are they holding him?"
"A base not far from here… to the northeast?" Liane answered, deciding to leave her observations unvoiced. Besides, she was sure that if she asked him, he would avoid answering her anyway.
Kratos shook his head. She could tell he wasn't happy, but also that he knew that he was stuck with them.
"Go sleep by the fire. Raine and the Chosen have been asleep for a while already. We'll start out at first light for the base."
"Thanks, Kratos," Genis yawned, removing his backpack and walking past them towards the fire. "'Night, Liane…."
Liane watched him go with a sad smile.
"I would think you would be tired after the day you have apparently had…."
She nodded absently. "Yeah. I was just thinking. I hope Lloyd will be okay. Genis played the guards to get away… he knew that he couldn't take on the guards on his own. But even with all of you, I just hope we're in time."
"Hmm… indeed," Kratos stepped to stand beside her as they watched Genis crawl into his blanket roll beside his sister.
"I'm sorry if this puts your plans off. I know how you thought we would hold you back," Liane offered.
"It can't be avoided now," Kratos stated and started to walk past her. "I know better than to tell you to go to sleep, but you will need your rest for tomorrow. Getting Lloyd out of the base won't be easy."
"I know…" Liane nodded.
She followed him for a few steps before spotting a place just outside the ring of firelight near the rock cliff. Falling out of his wake, she smoothed the sands in the spot, unrolling the blanket she had gotten from Nova. She spread the blanket carefully on the ground and crawled on top, laying on her back and pillowing her head on her arms.
One good thing about the journey… maybe the stars will be out like this every night.
Just as she hoped, the constellations were all there… exactly where they should have been that night. The fact that they were a constant calmed her… especially after the past few days. Her eyes had been closed before, simply living her mediocre life in her small village. But now, she was a part of something bigger… even if it was just for a short while.
And the oddest thing about it was that it felt right.
She drew a deep breath of the cold desert night air. It was different from home, but oddly invigorating.
"Wouldn't you be warmer by the fire?"
The inquiry didn't really surprise her, but she still drew her eyes from her precious stars and fixed them on her companion. Kratos had approached in the shadows of the cliff and stood just a few feet away. She shrugged slightly.
"It's darker here... I'll sleep better. There's still plenty of time to sleep."
"Morning comes quickly in the desert. There's not as much time as you think," the mercenary commented.
"What about you? Sleep isn't a necessity to a mighty mercenary?"
"Other things are more important," he answered quietly, yet still a sharp bite of condescension edged its way through his tone.
"Ah, yes. The all-important world regeneration," Liane sighed. Silence slipped back between them again and she let her eyes slide closed, knowing that there was no guarantee of further conversation with him.
"Why are you so loyal to these children? You've given up your place in the village for them…"
His quiet question surprised her slightly. "I've always known them. And they're not children – they're my friends," she stated, putting a harsher tone on the retort than she had intended.
Not after what they've been through the past couple of days….
"Hmmm. But you are older… you're their teacher as well as Raine, correct?
"Well, thank you… you sure know how to charm a lady…" she huffed at him playfully.
The silence that met her response told her that levity might not be on the conversation menu for the evening.
"I'm three years older than Lloyd and four than Colette. We all grew up together, and we were all schooled together until I was sent to the Church for training," she sighed, hoping that her information surrender would pull him back into the conversation.
She heard him sigh again, and she knew that there had to be some reason he was there. He could easily avoid her, given where she had chosen to sleep. And that puzzled her. He seemed to be so forward with everything else….
"You're thinking that three years is still a good-sized gap to be schooled together, aren't you?"
"Actually…. Yes…."
She smiled. She hated the story, but he had allowed her to dance around it the night on her stoop… maybe if his curiosity was satisfied it would be behind them.
"I… I was in an accident when I was about four. I fell from a footbridge that used to cross a creek near my parents' home. I was walking with my father and I slipped. The doctor said that I hit my head on the bridge and then on the rocks on the bottom of the creek. I… slept for almost two years," she related, willing her voice not to betray the waver that always crept in at about that point in the tale. "I stayed at the doctor's cottage the whole time so that he and Healers from the temple could come and go, but none of their remedies helped. The doctor finally told my parents that all that was really left was for me to die."
Liane clenched her eyes closed even tighter.
Damn… even after all this time….
"You don't have to continue…." Kratos spoke quietly. She had been so drawn into her story that she hadn't realized that he had moved to crouch just an arm's reach from her blanket.
"No… it's fine. It gets happier…" she tried to smile. "Two days after the doctor had spoken to my parents, I remember hearing crying… sobbing. I woke up in the middle of the night. The doctor came in to find me hugging a small boy. I still remember how lost he sounded – it broke my heart. He had been brought to the doctor by the dwarf that lived on the other side of the forest. He had found the boy and his dying mother in the forest. When there was nothing more to be done for the mother, he brought the boy to the doctor to check his wounds. The doctor was keeping him for the night to watch him when I woke up."
"Lloyd…" Kratos whispered, comprehension saturating his hushed tone.
She nodded.
"We've been pretty much inseparable since then. He's like a brother to me."
Kratos remained quiet. She couldn't tell if he was waiting for her to continue or simply losing interest in the conversation, so she decided to tie it all up for him.
"Lloyd was my first memory… I don't remember anything before the accident. My memories only go back as far as waking up that night. I didn't even know my own parents or name. Physically, I was six years old, but I was barely older than Lloyd or Colette when my accident was added to the equation. I had missed my first years of schooling, but I did them with Lloyd and Colette, and then Genis joined us once he moved to Iselia with Raine. We were all outcasts of one sort or another… Lloyd raised by a dwarf, Colette being the Chosen of Mana, Genis being an elf and wiser than his age, and me…" she sighed. "… the damaged girl. We bonded because we all stuck out in some way."
She cleared her throat uneasily, hating how exposed that story made her feel. Hating how that one stupid childhood accident would haunt her – apparently for the rest of her life.
"So are you going to share a story with me?" she chuckled slightly, cramming away the awkwardness of talking about herself.
Kratos suddenly stood. "I travel. I fight. I get paid. There's not much to tell."
She half-sat up to watch him stalk back into the shadows without another word.
Huh… guess that conversation is over, she thought, allowing herself to curl back onto her blanket.
Doesn't really seem fair… now he knows how boring I am….
Kratos removed himself to pace the outside of the dunes. But his mind was hardly on the patrol.
Damn. I could have done with out this.
The night's additions to his party, not to mention the impending one that the morning might…
…no, WILL bring…
…made his head throb. It had been so nice and tidy… leave the boy behind… just as if he had never encountered him… he may as well have been dead to him again. Some small part of him gasped in horror at the coldness of the thought, but its voice was lost to the logic. It was how it had to be.
And Liane….
He groaned. It appeared that there would be no escape from either of them.
Her story makes sense. She wasn't even conscious when Anna… died.
Even after all this time, the word still grated painfully across his thoughts. But it didn't change that it was a fact.
There really had to be another explanation for her actions at the grave. He had been relieved to leave her and the questions in Iselia, but it appeared that the enigma that was Liane wasn't content to leave his life just yet. He had hoped that it would come out that she had, indeed known Anna… even for a few minutes… perhaps it could have all been the memory of a story told to her by a dying woman surfacing in the face of visiting the grave she dreaded so much. It would have been a story that he could have believed.
But she never knew Anna. They never met.
And worse, there was no reason for her to lie. She had answered his questions with honesty that he somehow did not doubt, whether he had actually asked them or not. She obviously didn't find any comfort in the story.
So it was all just a fluke… complete chance that of all the places for her to collapse, and for all the people for her to call out to… and for all the things for her to say…
No.
Kratos absently clenched his fist around the handle of his long sword as he turned his glare back to where she lay by herself in the shadows of the dying fire.
It's all too much coincidence. There has to be more. And I will find out what it is.