Well, here's chapter 4….thanks to all my reviewers:

Aeonian Dreams—sorry friend...he'll be all right…I hope…I wrote this SO long ago….thanks for reviewing again!

The.Jalman—thank you for the compliment! I'll keep posting it little by little to keep you all hooked!

D.G.Arrow—thanks for your interest. UPDATE!

Thanks, thanks, thanks! Please R&R!

-K-

Chap 4

Dart woke late that night- it was actually early that morning- and found Shana sitting asleep with her head resting in the crook of her arms. Judging by the puffiness of her face she'd been crying as she slept. Carefully- not wanting to disturb her- Dart slid off the mattress and made his way towards and out the door. He tiptoed around the ship until he reached the deck. The open space was deserted except for the man high up in the crow's nest and a single dark figure leaning silently on the rail.

"I see you're awake," Rose commented quietly, "Slept off the weariness I take it?"

"Yeah." He stared across the water, gazing quietly at the reflections of stars. "How's Albert?"

"He's going to be laid up for awhile. With broken ribs he's not going to be able to breathe well and there's no way he's fighting with his arm that swelled."

"I figured as much, but we must pursue Lloyd. How can we do it with him in that shape?"

"We have very few options. It's going to be hell for him, trying to travel, and it's doubtful whether he could do it all. I say we find a coach and ship him back to Serdio as soon as we land." Dart looked at her; that was harsh even for Rose.

"Just like that? He's fought with us, Rose- he's a Dragoon. Do you honestly believe he'll accept that?"
"What choice is there? He won't be able to keep up." That ended the conversation and the woman strode away.

……………………………

"Preparing to land!" a crewman cried to his fellows. The Flower City, Donau, loomed bright and cheerful before them as the enormous Queen Fury pulled into its harbor. Haschel, standing with the others, stretched broadly and yawned.

"The sea is a nice place to sleep. The waves were like the rocking of a crib."

"Very appropriate for you, being as immature as you are" Rose commented. The others laughed pretty heartily at that; Haschel just shook his head as he chuckled and said "Harsh." None of them noticed a figure taking careful steps out of a cabin and moving around to lean against the wall. As the others chatted Shana noticed, snuck away from the group and limped over to him.

The look of him worried her: his skin was pale and had a washed-out look. His regal green tunic was gone, replaced by the bandaging from chest to waist that was all the treatment the nurse could provide for his ribs. His tan colored breeches made him seem paler yet in the absence of the green he usually wore with them.

"How do you feel?" She questioned.

"Sore," Albert replied, "Very sore. How about you, Shana? You were hobbling." She smiled sheepishly.

"I broke my ankle when I fell through the ceiling on the ship."

"That makes sense. Myself, I cannot remember a thing after the explosion." Shana, remembering the story Dart had told, relayed to Albert that that was probably for the best. She noticed his breaths were drawn in short, sharp gasps as though he'd been running for a very long time. Just as she started to ask him about it the others noticed she was missing and came over to speak with Albert when they saw he was awake.

"How goes it, Al?" Meru asked brightly. The king tried to return her smile but the result was more a forlorn look than a happy one.

"It goes."

"Are you in much pain?" Haschel wanted to know.

"Only when I try to sit, breathe deeply or walk. Just lying or standing doesn't agitate them very much. Doubling over seems to be the most uncomfortable."

"That's understandable," Rose told him. "Do you know how many of you ribs you damaged?" He gave her a rueful look.

"Do I really want to know?"
"Thirteen. Six of them broken. You also hurt yourself inside. Have you any idea how long wounds like that take to heal?" Dart braced himself- they were launching into last night's conversation already. Albert gave a deep sigh and said.

"Too long. Much too long for me to pursue Lloyd any further, at least for a while. In other words, I cannot continue on with you." There was silence among them then; no one wanted to comment on that statement. Finally one of them spoke.

"Kongol carry you. You keep up that way." Albert smiled at him.

"Thank you, but I must decline. That would be horribly uncomfortable for the both of us, I'm afraid."

"Not to mention it'd be a nasty blow to your pride." Rose added. Dart gave her a surprised look; he noticed Shana was giving her a dirty one as well.

"You needn't act like it makes you happy," she snapped; Rose did not act phased.

"Of course it doesn't make me happy- this puts us one fighter- one Dragoon- down. That means the coming months are going to be more dangerous than they might be otherwise. But there's simply nothing we can do about it." Shana looked as though she were about to argue further but at that instant the bridge was dropped and they were able to disembark.

Commodore Puler was waiting by the docks as they came through. He shook all of their hands except Rose's, kissed Shana's and whispered in Albert's ear, "Take care, Your Majesty." He inclined his head politely in thanks but said nothing.

The seven of them made their way slowly through the town amid cheers from the villagers who were thrilled that they'd destroyed the ghost ship of Illisa Bay.

"I know the healer here," Meru yelled over the noise, "I think we'd better go see her first." But when they reached the building on the edge of town the woman that greeted them was not one that Meru knew. She bowed them in and they followed. The Mayor was there and wrung each of their hands jovially in turn.

"You have once again done us a great service!" he said. "Running out the Gehrichs and now destroying the ghost ship. Though I see it did some damage to you as well," he indicated the woman; "this is our fill-in healer Arlys. She's very good at what she does- she helped out my son when he broke his arm." A few of them looked at Arlys, who smiled. For some reason Shana got a chill just then; she did not feel at all welcomed by the woman. She felt Arlys had mean eyes.

Dart felt uneasy suddenly too. The woman was outfitted in a dress and over-robes of tan, and those clothes seemed familiar. Where had he seen...?

The Mayor was speaking again; "I want you all to come to my home for a feast in your honor, unless of course, you need to stay here." Arlys spoke then.

"I think this one should," she indicated Albert, "He doesn't look well and I believe he needs rest above else." Shana let out a large yawn and added, "I think I'll stay too. I'm really tired." Dart looked at her, questioning with his eyes, but she just smiled tiredly and waved him out in the wake of the others. Haschel and Meru were leading, talking excitedly with the Mayor and asking what sort of delicacies would be at their feast.

"Let me show you to your rooms," Arlys said sweetly and Shana and Albert followed obediently. The two rooms were four doors apart and small but Shana found them comfy enough. She also soon discovered that her bed was amazingly soft, made of down, and that she really was as tired as she had pretended. She didn't even go down the hall to keep Albert company as she had planned- she just limped over to the bed and made herself ready for a long nap.

Well, there we go...chap 4 done! Sorry if there are inconsistencies, but I can't really revise since this is an old fic and I literally haven't played the game for years. It's just an alternate ending to the ship part….but it goes further than that. Also, sorry to the fangirls—it occurs to me how bad poor Albert gets it in this story…oh well, though. Good will persevere……..right?

More soon! R&R please!

-K-