I was extremely tentative about posting this chapter. I actually really don't like it. Well...I do...but not in a sense of other people reading it. I don't know. But as you know I don't have time to edit, so it is what it has always been. That's why it makes me nervous. Well, enjoy.
As they finally reached the town of Donau the sights they beheld were drastically different from those in Fletz. Every inch of the town was covered in greenery of all sorts. Flowers of all the colors of the rainbow blanketed the ground albeit the spots cleared so that there were paths to get to the houses in the town.
There were even trails of flowers climbing up the sides of the houses at varying extremes. No one seemed to care that it might one day overcome their house completely. The people here were that in tune with nature and loved the life of even a simple flower so much as to never destroy it unless absolutely necessary.
"Wow…" Shana breathed, hands clasped at her chest. "It's so beautiful."
Dart would have agreed, but he was impossibly preoccupied with Rose. He just knew that at any moment she was going to jump on him and berate the living crap out of him for losing his spirit.
Albert, on the other hand, felt free. "Indeed." He nodded. "It's positively verdant. Nothing at all like Fletz."
Rose simply snorted at them. It wasn't that great. It was just a town, like anything else in the world. Besides, there were more important things going on than something as trivial as taking in the beauty of a floral town.
A girl standing near the entrance instantly stiffened as she looked around at them, her expression almost strangled as her eyes grew wide with fear. "Wel-Welcome to Donau, the Flower City." She tentatively introduced them to her home.
Shana smiled warmly at the girl, barely noticing her fear. "Thank you." She beamed.
The girl let out a deep breath she had been holding, relief sweeping over her in a wave. "Thank God!" She half laughed. "You don't seem like bandits!" She sighed again, feeling so much better. "Your clothes are so filthy that at first I thought you might be!"
Albert looked down at his clothes and the others before chuckling lightly at what he'd barely noticed before. "We really are covered in dust." He shrugged. "It's natural the girl would be mistaken."
Shana quickly glanced down at her clothes, not liking the idea of being that dirty. What was worse was they had just gotten cleaned up before setting off to Tiberoa! Yet there was no denying they looked a mess. "Aw…" she murmured so no one else could hear, frowning deeply at her appearance.
Dart didn't really care what he looked like, he was used to it. But he knew Shana would not share his feelings, especially as he noticed her rubbing at her clothes. He went to say something to her about it, stopping as he became enthralled by something about her in that moment. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't look away.
Shana would have kept dusting herself off if she hadn't spied Dart's eyes on her. Realizing he was staring made her freeze in motion, eyes narrowing into slits. "Don't stare at me like that!" She snapped unexpectedly, mouth turned farther down as she glared at him.
Dart immediately snapped to attention, surprised by her harsh tone. "It's not that bad." He laughed, waving his hands in front of him in defense. "Really." All the while he was unable to stop smiling.
Shana hit him playfully, giggling softly despite her attempt at remaining annoyed.
Rose growled lightly beneath her breath, arms crossed firmly over her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently. "We don't have time for fooling around like that." She hissed.
Dart and Shana's smiles instantly fell from their faces. They'd nearly forgotten that they weren't alone right now, they never really were. More importantly they were with Rose, the head of the anti-fun patrol. And she was more upset than usual.
Haschel knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't stop himself. "Are you jealous?" He nudged her in the side, grinning from ear to ear. He so loved to pick on her despite the obvious consequences.
Rose's fingers curled tightly around her arms in a partial clenching of her fists. "I am just concerned about the Dragoon Spirit." She turned her head in the opposite direction of him so that he might not see how her eyes had widened at the mention of such a thing. Her? Jealous? Never! Just no.
Albert chuckled a little at the thought. "Leave her alone Haschel." It was obvious he didn't mean it much by the way he had to force down a laugh after every word. "Rose doesn't have feelings."
Rose glared from the corner of her eye at him.
Haschel burst out laughing. "But no one can resist the amazing Dart!"
Dart tentatively looked over at her, wanting to see what she really thought about all this by peering into her heart. And everyone knew you couldn't just ask, so he did so the only way possible – through the depths of her eyes.
Rose noticed him and what he was trying to do in an instant, turning farther away from him so that her secrets would not be shared. She couldn't let him know how true Haschel's words were. She couldn't get ensnared in the trap of emotions, not again. And the best way to do that was to never let anyone know how she felt. In fact, it was the only way.
"Leave her alone guys!" Shana went to Rose's defense. "She's just upset about earlier."
Rose smirked faintly. "Yeah…" She whispered to herself.
"And she's right!" Shana nodded firmly. "We need to go!"
Everyone shrugged. "Yeah." Haschel and Albert agreed. "Let's eat and rest."
As they went to scout out the area Shana had to admit it, she honestly wasn't sure about Rose either. Despite having been around her for the longest time, she was still one big mystery. Who knew if she liked Dart? Who knew why she latched onto them in the first place? Who knew anything!? All Shana knew was that if it was true, her liking Dart that is, she wouldn't hate her. She didn't think she could at this point.
Not even if Dart ended up liking her back would she start a fight, because now they were friends and she would never hurt her friends. Besides, Dart didn't like her like she knew he could Rose. She was just his baby sister. And there was little that would change such a concrete thing. So, she'd just have to see what happened. But however it ended up, she would not regret anything.
Meanwhile, as Dart and the others settled down in a restaurant, a crime was in the process of being committed. It was in the center of the town, sandwiched between a cluster of houses which rarely were used. This way no one would hear.
"Noooo!" A woman screamed at the top of her lungs as she was surrounded by a trio of bandits.
All three cackled in unison, eyes gleaming lustfully as wicked smirks formed.
Their catch for today was especially nice. Her skin was fair, her hair a beautiful golden blonde in a thick single braid, and she was just the right size. Petite was always good. But her clothes covered way to much up. Her skirt was a mile long and she had a thin blue jacket over the top of a white shirt. They'd have to do something about that.
The woman scrambled backward as they approached her, grunting softly as she felt the disheartening texture of one of the buildings. What was worse was both her sides were blocked with boxes. "P-Please…leave me alone!" She begged, eyes shooting rapidly about to try and find something, anything, to be used to her advantage.
The three laughed harder as she pleaded, closing in even more.
The woman ducked her head down as an automatic reflex, body beginning to shake. "W-What are you going to do!?" She wanted to know something!
The one at the center gratified her words with a response. "We are deciding that now!" He leaned his head closer, memorizing every bit of her.
The woman shook harder as he came within a foot of her. She knew she shouldn't have wandered from her knights! She should have been a good girl and done as she was told! And now she was going to get hurt for her disobedience!
The first one laughed even harder at her pathetic nature as he drew away. "As I expected." He mused. "You are one of the Sacred Sisters of Mille Seseau aren't ya!?"
Her lip turned downward, quivering like the rest of her as she tried not to look at them. She just wanted to go back home. "P-Please…let me go."
"HA!" The first couldn't believe her. "You have to be stupid if you think we're letting you go."
The second leaned in next, looking her dead in the eye. "You have such a pretty face, don't you?" He snickered, reaching out to touch her face.
She let out a high pitched squeal, slapping his hand away without a second thought before she drew further into herself. She wrapped her arms tightly around her body, tears filling her crystal blue eyes.
The third laughed at her and the bandit who touched her. "Great! Selling her will make us rich!"
They all nodded, grinning devilishly.
"Oh no…" She moaned, falling to her knees on the ground. She then buried her head in her hands, sobs racking her body.
"Now, don't make a noise and we won't harm you!" The first ordered her, each drawing a knife from their pockets to show they meant what they said.
The second moved forward, grabbing her by her braid to pull her forward. "Stop crying girlie!" He demanded, holding the knife to her throat. "Or else."
She swallowed hard, daring to disobey them. "So-Somebody help!" She screamed, tears flowing down her light skin.
Suddenly a door swung open and a man appeared before her eyes.
She could scarcely believe this. It was so much more than a miracle. It was a sign from the heavens. Only he didn't seem to pay any mind to her and her situation. It was like he was oblivious. Or worse…he just didn't care and would not bother stopping this atrocity. Then she started hyperventilating. "Oh, gentleman over there! P-Please…help…" She reached out as if to bring him her way.
The man paused as he heard her call to him, looking with mild interest at her. But he did no more. He didn't move to aid her.
All the bandits spun around quickly, eyes narrowed at the intruder. He was going to ruin everything. "Just go away!" The first snapped, knife at the ready. "Or you'll be sorry!"
"Yeah!" The third growled.
The man took a few steps away, stopping to smirk faintly and shake his head in disbelief of their stupidity. He then slowly drew his sword from its sheath, eager to use it if necessary.
"Are you gonna get in our way!?" The first snapped, quaking with fury. No one in this town dared stand up to them. They ran this joint!
He chuckled lightly. "Please continue." He prompted, turning about to face them. He then stuck his blade down in the ground in cockiness.
The second stared in disbelief. "What!?" His grip on the woman was loosening and he was so preoccupied with this strange man that he wasn't holding the knife so close to her throat anymore.
"If you don't mind dying." The man added, eyes holding a dangerous gleam as he smirked.
The first bandit grasped for words as the man stood there like he was better than them. He could not believe this guy!
It was the third who spoke for them. "YOU are the one to die!" He snarled, charging at the fool with his knife raised.
The man didn't even have to use his sword; he simply raised an open hand up and stretched it out in their direction. The instant the bandit got within a foot of him he was sent spiraling back, as if he'd hit an invisible wall, and slammed against the building just inches from where the woman sat.
The woman sucked in a sharp breath as she stared wide eyed at what this man was able to do. She had never felt so lucky.
The other two bandits were barely thinking of the woman at this point. They were shaking in their shoes as they stared agape at their other member. "Wh-What did you do!?"
The second bandit no longer held the woman, knife pointed shakily at the man. "You-You freak!"
The man drew his sword back from the ground, alternating its target back and forth between the two still standing. "Shall I continue?" He raised a brow. He almost hoped the answer was yes.
The third bandit slowly got back to his feet, exchanging frightened glances with the others before they made a silent decision. They ran.
The man snorted conceitedly at them. "Fools." He sheathed his sword, turning away from the woman without bothering to ask if she was ok. He had things to do, places to be. He didn't have time for any more than he had given.
The shaken woman slowly calmed down, just noticing the man leaving before it was too late. "P-Please wait!" She called out, reaching for him as she stood back on her shaking legs.
The man stopped, glancing back over his shoulder at her.
She smiled through her tears, rubbing fervently at her eyes and face to rid them of tears. "I don't know who you are…but thank you very much for helping me!"
He shrugged, waving a hand at her dismissively. "It's nothing."
"Oh, please." She moved a bit closer, hoping she might get a better look at him. "Let me at least have your name." She half begged, hands clasped at her chest in the perfect image of innocence.
He chuckled softly at her curiosity as he turned to face her for a moment. He wondered if that same curiosity might one day get her killed. Almost like today. "It's Lloyd." He said coolly, noting her appearance.
Her faint smile widened as she got both his name and a good look at him. "My-My name is Wink." She felt the need to tell him, fingering her waist long braid out of habit. "I am a Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau."
Lloyd nodded faintly, acknowledging her, before he turned back around and left her all alone again.
Once the door slipped shut behind him, Wink let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, Lloyd." She breathed in an almost infatuated manner, sinking back down to her knees. "Ah…"
The group was still not back to the way they'd been before the Barrens as they exited the restaurant. Rose and Dart just couldn't deal with what had happened like everyone else had – by pretending it never happened. Because it had. If it hadn't, Dart would still have his Dragoon Spirit. There was no way to pretend that away into oblivion.
They both knew they needed to get over this by confronting each other too. But neither could work up the courage to say anything to the other in front of everyone else. If there was to be a scene, and there would inevitably be one, they wanted it to be at least a little private.
That was why as they searched for a hotel to rest in, Dart resolved to pull her to the side and get this mess over with. He was even about to reach out for her as he opened his mouth when his attention was drawn elsewhere.
Soft sobs were coming from a woman in a yellow dress. She was sitting on the steps of her home with her head buried in her hands, murmuring something or another.
Dart looked with interest over at her, slowly diverting from the path he'd been leading them down to walk over to her.
As he grew near he could better make out the words she was spitting out. "Oh why?" She blubbered. "Why did you go Lynn?"
Shana was the only one that followed him down his new path, stopping by his side to watch the woman he was focused on.
"We are having a wedding soon." She still hadn't noticed them. "It's impossible to have a talk with the Gehrichs."
Dart noticed then that she was holding a crumpled note in her hand and he couldn't help but wonder what it was about. Perhaps it was the source of her distress.
"What's wrong?" Shana timidly asked.
The woman jerked her head up out of her hands, eyes big as basketballs as she stared in fear at them. "Who-who are you!?" She shrank away from them some as the question passed her lips. She couldn't help but feel like she might be attacked.
It didn't take a genius to detect her fear, so Dart saw it instantly. "Don't worry." He tried to sooth. "We are not bandits." He smiled halfheartedly.
"Really?" She smiled in relief, wiping her eyes fervently.
Dart nodded. "Who are you?" He didn't like not knowing.
"Kate."
Shana smiled sadly. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"
Albert decided to step aside with them, leaving Haschel and Rose behind. "We might be able to be of some help." He assured. "So you can tell us."
Kate nodded faintly, standing as she felt sure of herself and them upon the approach of a man with such a regal appearance. "Okay." She lifted the letter up to stare at the outside of it. "It all started this morning when I finished my errands." She swallowed hard. "I came home, and Lynn was gone."
All their expressions fell as they listened to her stumble along with her tale, even Haschel who was stuck farther away with Rose. But of course Rose stayed her usual unaffected self.
"In his letter…" She opened it regardless of the fact she had memorized it by heart at this point. "…it says he is going to try and persuade the gang to pull themselves out of Donau." She watched her feet intently as she spoke. "I'm supposed to wait for him at home."
Dart frowned deeply. "He left a letter?"
Kate perked suddenly, eyes alight. "I have an idea!"
Dart nodded, signaling that he was listening.
"If I show this letter to the mayor, he might do something to help! The mayor is Lynn's father after all." She said with hope.
"I see." Shana looked up at Dart. "You think we could do it for her?"
Dart instinctively glanced back at Rose. He knew she had to have been listening even if she was pretending to ignore what was going on.
Rose caught the look he was giving her, but she refused to have anything to do with him right now. She shoved her nose into the air and crossed her arms over her chest with even more defiance.
Dart rolled his eyes. "Of course. It won't hurt anything." He would never tell Shana this, but the only reason he wanted to do this was because he knew how mad it would make Rose.
An initial response of anger could not be held from her expression as she heard the ring of scornfulness in Dart's tone. But she quickly hid the truth. He was doing this on purpose. He'd seen what she thought of helping this insignificant girl. She was no fool. God was she going to verbally beat him when she got the chance.
"You have to wait for Lynn here." Dart made sure she realized this, even though Lynn more than likely wouldn't be coming back without them bringing him back.
Tear started to come back to Kate's eyes as they said they'd do this for her, although this time they were tears of happiness. "Oh, thank you!" She praised, handing them the letter.
Shana took it from her, smiling warmly. Kate was so devoted to Lynn and she had no doubt Lynn was just the same. It made her think of what she and Dart could have been if the circumstances had been only slightly different.
"Come on Shana." Dart growled with a mixture of annoyance and tenderness that usually wouldn't meld so well yet somehow did in this moment. "We have to do this." He took ahold of her hand as he turned away from Kate, pulling her along.
Shana smiled in infatuation as their skin met, a little spark running from his rough skin to her smooth skin. "Ok, Dart." She said as if she weren't doing a million flips on the inside.
"Oh!" Kate called. "It's the highest point in the town!"
Albert nodded to her, letting her know her words hadn't fallen on deaf ears.
Dart's eyes immediately went to Rose as they changed course, trying to gauge how right Haschel's teasing had been. He would like to believe that it was all bogus, but something told him there was a hint of truth to his words. And he had to know how much a hint really was.
Rose's eyes narrowed to the extreme as she watched Dart hold hands with Shana. She then instantly hated herself for not knowing why she was bothered. She wanted to say it was because he was stringing Shana along just to see how she would react to him being with her, but she wasn't sure. In a way she knew it had to be more. And that scared her. She didn't want to be jealous. She had had enough of that to last her a lifetime. That was why she swore she felt her eyes sting with tears as she thought back.
"Better move it Rose." Albert snapped her out of it. "Or else you'll end up last."
Rose's eyes widened and she quickly came back to reality. "Right." She muttered, stopping as she went to step past him as she thought to say something. "And…thanks." Just as quickly as she said it, she was leaving him behind.
Albert smiled. For her that was like the sweetest gesture in the world. Honestly he could barely believe she'd say such a thing, and to him of all people. Yeah, he'd treasure that for a good long while.
"She said it was the highest point in the town." Dart murmured to himself, tightening his grip on Shana's hand. "So I guess it's up there."
They'd wandered back around to the front of the town and then taken a path they'd previously left untouched to get to a section farther in the back. It had multiple sets of thin walkways strung overhead that led up to homes sitting up in the air. There were a bunch of them, but only one from this point.
Dart took the stairs up and into what he hoped would be the mayor's residence. If not, he would be beyond embarrassed after walking in on a person's home like that. So he crossed his fingers with his free hand, silently saying a prayer.
Upon entering the building Dart still wasn't entirely sure about this being the mayor's residence. Although there was a guy just standing there in the doorway ahead, so Dart felt a little better about just walking right in. "Um, sir." Dart started, smiling falsely. "Is this the mayor's house?"
The butler wagged his finger at them. "No, no, you can not meet the mayor because he is busy." The butler gazed back behind him to see if the mayor was listening in again. "I'm sorry, but please come back some other time."
Dart rolled his eyes at the jittery man. "Can you at least take a look at this letter?" Dart didn't really expect a change and for once he didn't care if there was. He was so tired. He just wanted to rest.
The butler's eyes ran over the paper at lightning speed, growing wider by the second. "Th-this is…" he shook his head in disbelief. "P-Please come in!"
Dart found a hint of a smile again as they grew closer to being done with this foolishness.
The butler sped off around the corner, flailing his arms wildly. "Mayor! Mayor! A horrible thing has happened!"
The mayor looked up with little interest, eyes dull.
"It's about Mr. Lynn!" He reiterated so that the mayor would understand the gravity of the situation.
The mayor sucked in a sharp breath, startled more so than he'd been in his life. "What happened?" Still, he tried to sound as if he were calm.
The butler handed him the letter, unable to stop bouncing on the balls of his feet due to fear.
The mayor's eyes grew larger still. "What kind of man would venture to face the Gehrich Gang by himself?" He could no longer hide the distress in his voice. His heart felt as if it were being seized and squeezed with no mercy. Lynn was his only child. He couldn't bear losing him.
The butler shook his head sadly. "I didn't know Mr. Lynn was that consumed with…" he trailed off as he saw the mayor's expression grow further pained.
The mayor bit his lip, fighting back tears. "It was my fault." He admitted, shaking his head slowly. "It's my fault for not realizing it!"
The butler clasped his hands together, bowing his head some. "I bet Miss Kate is very stressed."
The mayor took in the butler's words, but did not acknowledge him with a response. Instead he looked to Dart and the others who were standing idly by. "You must go." He half ordered them, managing a stern expression. "As the mayor, I don't want you to be involved in this."
Dart smirked faintly in bitter amusement. "We are already involved." He grumbled, eyes darting to Rose for half a second. "The gang took something very important away from me."
The mayor nodded slightly, knowing without a doubt what would come of this. "I see."
"So, where do they come from?" Dart was more eager than he'd been in a while.
The mayor nodded gravely. He knew he would ask such a thing. "They are from the Valley of Corrupted Gravity." The mayor sighed sadly as he saw Dart wanted more. "But we don't know anything about them other than that." He admitted.
The butler jumped in quickly, hoping to stop them. "That place is very dangerous! They say nobody can come back once they enter the valley."
"Butler!" The mayor cried in horror. "Don't say that! Lynn…" he swallowed hard. "Lynn went there."
The butler smiled apologetically, snapping into a mode of determination instantly afterward. "Now we have to gather the people of Donau to form a rescue team!"
The mayor shook his head fervently. "And then what will happen to the city? The gang might take over!"
Dart couldn't believe what he was about to do, but it wasn't enough to stop him. "Let us do it."
Rose shot daggers at him with her coal black eyes. It didn't matter that they had to go anyway. She didn't want the responsibility of taking care of a mere human, one that probably couldn't wield any form of a weapon. Even a bow like Shana's would be better.
Shana reacted the exact opposite of Rose. She looked up at Dart with a bright smile on her face and acceptance in her brown eyes. "You were planning to go anyway, weren't you?"
Dart nodded to her, smiling faintly even though he never stopped feeling Rose's angry eyes on the back of his head.
"Oh!" The mayor jumped for joy. "It is encouraging to hear that warriors like you are going!" He smirked, clenching his fist before him. "Now I can face those punks in our city with courage!" He laughed with a newfound sense of determination.
Dart was glad that he was able to inspire people so easily. It almost made it worthwhile to go so far off track like he had.
"And now we have to go." Rose hissed, grabbing onto Dart's arm to drag him out of there. She knew if he had the chance to bask in glory he would surely take it. Not that he was conceited or anything, he just wouldn't pass up the chance was all.
Dart didn't bother fighting her much because he both didn't want to make a scene and he knew in the end it wouldn't make a difference what he did. She would win. She always won.
"Bye!" Shana waved to the mayor and butler before scurrying on after everyone else and out the door.
"Why did we leave so quickly again?" Albert asked Haschel as they hung back a little bit away from the other three.
Haschel shook his head. "Rose, that's why. You should know better than anyone that she doesn't like helping people she doesn't care about."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me about that one." Albert grumbled, crossing his arms. "But still, this is where we are going. I don't see the big deal."
"Like I said." Haschel half laughed. "It is Rose."
Albert shrugged. "I guess that's good enough."
The next thing that really registered in Dart's mind didn't occur until Rose had him in a room with her and slammed him hard against the far wall. "What the hell!?" She spat. "Why did you offer to help that stupid man!?"
Dart barely reacted to her rage outwardly, only grunting softly as he impacted the wall. On the inside he was screaming in confusion. She had never shown such anger to him in the course of their relationship. He'd seen her do this to everyone else, but not him. The closest came when on the way to the shrine. But…that was so long ago. "What do you mean?" He growled coolly.
"You know exactly what I mean! We don't have time to deal with people like that!" Her hands remained pressed up against his shoulders as if it would really keep him pinned on the wall.
Dart allowed a hint of anger to slip onto his face, eyes betraying the irritation he felt. "It won't cost us any time." He attempted to reason. "It's the same way we're going." He pressed his lips tightly together to hide the fact his teeth were grit. "And you know that."
Rose's arms shook slightly. "I don't care!" She snarled. "I don't want to babysit a useless human!"
"A useless human, huh?" He parroted her. "Is that what you thought of me too when we first met? Was I useless?"
Rose started the slightest bit, quickly regaining her appearance of unbound fury. "You weren't just human!" She tried to reason. "You were a Dragoon!"
"Liar!" Dart finally snapped. "You said so yourself! Back in Hoax! You didn't save me at first because of that. You did so because you wanted to."
Rose cringed as she was hit with the truth. "Don't fool yourself." She scoffed regardless of how right he was. She refused to let him know he had it pegged. "It was a convenient lie."
Dart's eyes caught fire. "You're ridiculous!" He barked. "You can't take back what you said! So stop trying!" His fists clenched at his side at this point, him so close to doing something he knew he'd regret.
"Stop putting words in my mouth!" She brought him forward and slammed him back into the wall again, breathing a notch above normal as she stared him down. "I. Did. Not. Say that."
Dart shook his head in disbelief. "Rose, stop. Just stop." His narrowed eyes softened considerably. "You don't have to be such a hardhead." He chuckled softly. "It's ok to let your established demeanor slip a few times. Just because you do doesn't mean you aren't good enough."
Rose seemed to cool for a fraction of a second before the fire returned to her eyes and her hands gripped tighter on his shoulders. "Stop trying to make this about me! It's not about me! It's about you and your inability to turn anyone down!"
Dart growled under his breath, losing his patience. "No. That's not what it's about."
"Yes it is!"
"No!" He snarled. "It isn't! What this is about is your inability to handle losing!"
Rose started a great deal, the words posed to attack him dying in her throat.
Dart took this opportunity of her shock to turn the tables. He twisted out of her hold, latching onto the middle of each of her arms and held them tightly to her side. "That's why you can't handle helping these people! That's why you can't have normal relationships! And that's ultimately why you can't handle situations like this without losing control!"
Rose couldn't move, she knew it, but she refused to lose this. Even though she was basically proving his point in doing so, she had to win. So instead she leaned in inches from his face, sending him the dirtiest glare possible. "You're wrong."
"No, I'm not." He shook his head. "You denying it just proves my point."
Rose squirmed in his hold, not wanting to be stuck. This way it was too easy to be interrogated. And the feeling of being trapped like an animal swiftly caused her to come closer to the brink of losing all control. "Stop it!" She shouted in a voice that almost didn't sound like hers.
"Only if you admit it. Just admit it."
"Never!" She shrieked. "I'll never admit it! I won't."
"Damn it Rose!" Dart shook her some. "Why can't you be a little more like Shana!? Just for once!"
"Oh! So now I'm not good enough for you, huh? That makes me want to tell you all my secrets! Yeah! Totally."
As Dart went to open his mouth and snap back the sound of the door opening jerked his attention away from Rose. "S-Shana!" He chirped in bewilderment, instantly drawing his hands away from Rose. "What…what are you doing here?"
"I came to ask if you wanted some food. The inn has snacks." She said sweetly, hands clasped behind her back. "What are you doing here?" She said with much more suspicion. This didn't seem like a normal scene with two people chatting. Rose looked positively pissed. Could it be…were they…fighting?
Dart smiled without a trace of believability. "We were just talking." He chuckled, rubbing his arm nervously. "But I'll be down to eat in a minute. You go on ahead, ok?"
Shana gave them both one more doubtful look before perking back up. "Ok! See you in a bit!" She spun around and ran back down the hall, out of sight.
The instant Shana was out of earshot, Dart snapped back into serious mode. Although this time he made sure to speak much lower. "I'm not asking to know your deepest darkest secrets. I'm just asking for a little truth." He drew in a deep breath. "Now please Rose. Just tell me the truth."
"The truth?" She repeated his words, testing them out on her tongue as she moved to shut the door back. The truth. It had been so long since she'd had to give the truth she almost didn't know how. "You want the truth?" Her voice was rising in volume and she was slowly making her way back to stand in front of him. "The truth!?"
Dart stood before her with a stern look plastered on his face. He knew she was about to explode, but since she'd shut the door he found himself not caring. He would take her abuse because it wasn't really abuse. Maybe to others it was, but he understood her more than a stranger. He knew her better than anyone.
Rose bristled, inches from his face as she snarled, "You are the problem!"
Dart started only slightly, not completely surprised by this. It made sense. Now if only she would actually admit the real reason he was the problem and not hide behind the excuse of agreeing to save Lynn.
"You are what's wrong with me!" She shoved him roughly back after every sentence. "You couldn't just kill him! You had to go and feel sorry! You had to let him steal your Dragoon Spirit! And you got us wrapped up in this mess! It's all your fault!"
"I know." Dart didn't deny it. He'd never planned on denying it. All he wanted was for her to say what was actually bothering her.
Somehow this didn't satisfy her. "Then fix it! Don't waste time racking up errands! DO. SOMETHING."
"I will." Dart remained calm, too pleased to really get mad.
Rose's body shook with anger and confusion. "Stop that!" She demanded. "Stop letting me walk all over you!" She had him pinned up against the wall again at this point, her face still inches from his.
"You're not walking all over me." Dart rolled his eyes. "You couldn't do that if you tried."
Rose raised a brow. "Prove it then." She challenged, smirking deviously.
Dart shook his head in disbelief, the amusement showing through in his eyes. "I'm a guy. There's nothing else to prove."
Rose didn't like the sexism one bit. "Either you prove it to me, or I'll have to stab you because that comment was not in good taste."
Dart shrugged, still not looking as if he would move.
"Dart." Rose said through clenched teeth. She was starting to get angry again.
Dart sprang into action, swiftly grabbing her wrists and twisting them behind her head as he simultaneously used only the force necessary to pin her down on the floor. "Check. And mate." Dart smirked in triumph, looking square into her coal eyes. They were so mysterious and beautiful, just like her. Although they gave more away than she herself would ever give willingly. And even when they were angry, similar to now, they never lost their captivating quality.
Rose was startled at the speed he was able to overtake her in. She'd never seen him move that quick outside of the heat of battle. Rose smirked then as she thought of something. Perhaps this was like a battle to him. And as it appeared, winning this made him much happier. "I hope you don't think this makes you better."
Dart laughed out loud. "No, never. I just caught you off guard." It's what she wanted to hear, he could tell. And he was happy to give her what she wanted.
Rose's smirk grew further. "Don't sell yourself short." She playfully scolded, not struggling in the least to escape his trap. "Even catching me off guard isn't easy to do."
Dart grinned widely. "Wow, a compliment. I feel privileged."
Rose would have hit him for being so stupid if he hadn't had her hands down above her head. Instead all she could do was stare wistfully up into his blue eyes. They were so bright, so full of life, so unlike her own. She knew hers must be cold, dark, depressing. As she thought this, her happiness died.
Dart noticed her shift in feelings and was instantly affected. "What's wrong?" He was worried he'd unconsciously done something to hurt her somehow. He wasn't even thinking of the fact he was sitting on her anymore. He was in the mindset of just talking, like things were normal.
"I was just thinking…" Rose started to say, averting her eyes and trailing off as she realized she was about to spill her thoughts.
Dart nodded. "About what?" He pressed, crossing his fingers in his mind as if it would really change whether she would tell him or not.
Rose shook her head. "Never mind." She grumbled. "Now…get off."
Dart sighed, scooting over to the side of her as he released her wrists.
Rose sat up, shaking her head to try and get her hair to fall back into place.
They just sat there in silence for what felt like forever, trying not to look at one another at the same time while they tried to sneak glances when they thought the other wasn't looking.
It was about five minutes later when Rose went against her very being in speaking. "Your eyes…" She murmured out of nowhere.
Dart sucked in a soft breath. "What?" He couldn't have heard that right.
Rose smiled painfully. "What I was thinking about. It was your eyes."
Dart didn't know what to say to this, so he did the only thing he thought would keep her from stopping – he remained perfectly still and silent.
She scoffed at herself. "It's silly. But I was comparing yours to mine. And unlike in battle, yours won hands down." She sighed heavily, hating herself for bending to his will. She shouldn't have been speaking so freely what she thought on a whim.
Dart snorted at her sneaking in a jab at him even in a moment that at first seemed to be serious, like next to all the conversations they had. "What do you mean?"
Rose shrugged. "Your eyes are so peaceful, so endearing, so happy. Looking at you, no one would think you were a victim of circumstance."
Dart smiled painfully. "Your eyes can be that way too." He tried to encourage. "You just have to look at the right angle."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Stop it." She said in amusement, pushing up to her feet. Now she was looking down on Dart, him defenseless against anything she might do. "You make me sound like a funhouse mirror."
Dart leapt to his feet, taller than her once more. "No, I make you sound human."
Rose grimaced. "I don't like to think of myself that way. I'm not like others."
Dart shook his head at her resistance. "Ok." He shrugged, finally giving up. He didn't want to press too much in case that would drive her further into herself. "Then let's go eat." He headed for the door.
Rose stared intently at the floor boards, twiddling her fingers, before she snapped to attention. "Wait!"
Dart turned his head to gaze lazily back at her. "Yeah?"
Rose averted her gaze as she tentatively dared ask. "Why…did you just let me yell at you?" She murmured, not proud of what she'd done mere minutes ago. "You didn't have to."
Dart smiled warmly to both her and himself. "Because that's what you needed." He said simply with a small shrug. "And when you need something, it's best you get it."
Rose snorted. "So…I scare you too." She laughed bitterly. "Ok."
Dart's eyes saddened and he felt he had to turn around completely to face her. "No." He shook his head. "No, that's not it." He swore up and down.
"Then explain." For once she honestly didn't know what he meant. She wanted to know.
"You could never scare me." He scoffed, smiling again. "What I meant is, I don't like to see you upset. And when you don't blow off some steam you get more upset than ever. So I let you yell at me." He placed his hand back on the doorknob. "It's what friends do."
"Friend…" She breathed to herself, twisting the word about in her mind and mouth. "Friend."
"Dart!" Shana screamed from afar. "Dart!"
Dart jumped at her voice, not having been prepared for it. "We-I'm coming!" He corrected himself, looking back at Rose. "So? Are you coming?" He eyed her hopefully as he slowly opened the door.
Rose thought seriously on the matter. She wasn't sure about all this. She then tentatively went to speak.
However before she got the chance, Shana popped up again. She latched onto Dart's arm and leaned against him. "Hi Dart!" She chirped, smile as bright as the sun.
Rose's barely there cheerful expression instantly fell. "No…I think I'll go to bed. I'm pretty tired." She gently pushed them out, shutting the door behind her before she sank down the sleek door to sit on the floor. She sighed heavily, leaning her head down on her raised knees. "God, help me." She breathed.
Dart cringed as the door was shut in his face. He should have known she'd do this, he should have known. Yet he had not. He'd actually let himself believe she was going to go and eat with them.
"Dart?" Shana chirped, eyes gleaming with cheer. "Are you ready?"
Dart forced a smile. "Yeah, come on." He looked back at the door for a fraction of a second before he reached down for her hand. As he did so he swore he heard muffled sounds of anger.
Shana took his hand happily, loving the heat that it possessed. "So, what do you want?" Shana pretended not to see what was going on by being perky, but in reality she saw just as clearly as anyone else. She saw that Dart and Rose were spending a little too much time together, she saw that Dart lost the glimmer in his eyes when she left, and she saw how Rose withdrew from normal activities when anyone but Dart was involved. She simply pretended not to.
Dart started slightly as her voice breached the safety of his mind. "What?"
Shana giggled sweetly at his unawareness. "Silly." She made fun. "What do you want to snack on?"
"Oh." He murmured. "I don't know. Whatever you're having."
Shana rolled her eyes without him seeing. "Ok, Dart." She shrugged. "As long as you're happy." She snuck in the carefully placed edge in her tone so as to shake him up. He needed to know that the way he was acting was disgruntling for her.
Dart sucked in a soft breath, eyes widening some. "Shana…" He tried to say, unable to finish. "Shana…I'm sorry for being this way. There's just a lot on my mind."
A lot like Rose? That's what she wanted to say, bitterness abound. But she knew better. Instead, she'd make him feel like it was ok. "Don't worry about it Dart." She giggled, smile brightening further as she gazed up at him. "Everyone has off days." She made the daring move of stretching up and nuzzling him lightly.
Dart blushed lightly at the touch of her soft skin, not having expected it. He hadn't realized she was so daring, nor had had realized she was so determined to make him hers. It impressed him greatly. She wanted it so much more than Rose. "Yeah, I suppose your right." He agreed, nuzzling her back without thinking. And as he did so he actually felt something. Could it be…was he slowly falling for her…?
Shana sighed in content as he showed her feelings in return. She still wasn't sure if it was anything more than a brother loving his sister, but she swore she felt something more in that moment. There was a certain spark that she couldn't deny. And it was then that she decided that Rose wasn't as far ahead of her as she'd once thought. There was actually a chance that she, Shana, could win Dart's heart.
*hides under rock* What did you think of it? I don't know about it. I hope you liked it. But please don't hesitate to give constructive criticism. (Like how I put too many romantic hints in there.) Do I? Or how Rose is too mean.
Well, next chapter we see Meru. I remember actually liking writing Meru. Before I did it I didn't think I would. Anyway, review!