I have the ToS soundtrack, I have the ToS soundtrack…Yay!

In other news, I don't own Tales of Symphonia (or it's awesome soundtrack!) and I'm grateful to: Fehize, Jana-Yggdrasil, kaiaurion and KratosFanGirl (do you mind if I shorten it down?) for reviewing.


The next couple of weeks were some of the best of my life. Kratos and I continued to do mercenary jobs for the townspeople and on the few days we didn't have jobs lined up, we taught the city militia for a bit of extra money – of course, most of them didn't like being taught by me, but I quickly showed them.

Things were going brilliantly between Kratos and I, too. I looked forward to the quiet evenings after work, when we could just be together.

It was one such dark, winter evening when we were wondering what to do. We were doing quite well off our mercenary jobs, and we wanted a night out. However, it goes without saying that we weren't setting a foot anywhere near that tavern (or any other) again!

Eventually, I came up with an idea. In winter, Palamacosta had a shallow lake nearby that froze over. We could go ice skating! So we brought a pair of skates each – the type which were just a blade that tied to the sole of your shoe.

"These look like a lethal weapon." Kratos remarked on the way to the lake. "And Mana knows I've seen enough of them."

When we got to the lake and strapped the skates on, Kratos asked, "So, have you skated before?"

"Yes. Most winters I skated around Luin – it's the most popular way to get around when everything's frozen. And I don't really need to ask you…you'll be 'Mister Expert'…"

"I've never skated before."

At first, I thought he was playfully joking, but one look at his face told me he was serious.

"Five thousand years and you've never skated?" I asked skeptically.

"I grew up in a place that rarely got cold enough to snow, let alone have anywhere to skate. And I was a bit busy during the Kharlan War, and since then I've never seen the point."

"Well then, I'll have to teach you." I said with a playful smile.

If Kratos fell, I could tease him for weeks, probably months.

I pushed off with my right foot, keeping my left foot at an angle, so I wouldn't slide on the spot. I was a bit rusty, but I didn't fall over, and soon regained my confidence. Like swimming, it's something you don't forget.

I stopped around three feet in front of Kratos and asked him to try and get to me. He pushed off with slightly wobbly legs, both of his feet parallel, so that his feet were sliding backwards and forwards, and he was going nowhere. He tried to stop, wobbled backwards…his body made an instinctive reaction to try and lean forwards and…he fell onto the cold, hard ice with a thud.

Biting my lip to stop myself from laughing, I reached down to give him a hand, crossing my skates so I wouldn't overbalance and end up on the ice.

"Who in the worlds would create such a foolish method of transport?" Kratos asked through gritted teeth, while accepting my outstretched hand.

"You'd know better than me." I said soothingly. "Come on, hold my hand. I'll show you."

Kratos was more than soothed by the offer to hold my hand – even if it did have a practical purpose. I taught him how to skate, and he quickly picked it up.

"See, you only needed to be shown how." I told him.

"Then why did you let me fall over in the first place?" He asked.

"It was funny. Besides, it gave me a good view of your butt." I gave him a cheeky kiss and smiled, then skating away before he had a chance to react.

"I've got a pretty good view of yours from here." He called from behind me.

I was amazed. I'd obviously got some idea that Kratos just couldn't flirt, because it seemed so…different. But nice. But, that was Kratos all over. Different from other guys, but nice all the same.

We skated for a while longer, hand-in-hand until I yawned and Kratos mentioned that I wouldn't be fit for work in the morning. So we skated back to the shore, me half-drowsy with contentment, when I think I almost tripped on some snow. I wasn't quite sure about how I got there, but I definitely was in Kratos' warm, strong arms, and that was exactly where I wanted to be.

I don't remember taking the skates off, I just remembered walking back towards our hotel, trudging reluctantly up the stairs, and I just about remembered thinking what a beautiful night it had been, before I was sound asleep.

It was – as far as I could tell – a normal day, when I woke up. It was fairly early in the morning, and Kratos, in a romantic gesture, had pulled the curtains so a slant of weak, winter sunlight hit my bed. A couple of birds twitted as they flew past the window, which was slightly frosted over.

"Good morning." Kratos said with a warm smile.

"Morning." I mumbled sleepily, trying to return the smile.

I attempted to get out of bed, hoping to get some coffee, but…

A dull, yet somehow sharp pain spread over my right arm and shoulder – like a muscle cramp, but ten times worse. This pain started whenever I tried to move my arm. Unsurprisingly, I shouted out in pain.

I didn't realise at first that Kratos had come over to me in concern, but when I realised this, I was in his warm, comforting arms.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently.

"My arm hurts." Now that I'd stopped moving it, it felt almost normal.

Thinking that I was alright, I made the mistake of turning my neck to meet Kratos' eyes – the pain shot through my neck, causing me to gasp in pain.

"It may be a muscle sprain…perhaps you slept on it differently?" Kratos suggested.

I doubted it – it hurt too much. I told him that, not daring to risk shaking my head.

"I don't know what else it could be." As he said this, he hugged me gently, taking care not to disturb my shoulder.

A sudden thought hit me. "Kratos, that's my sword arm. There's no way I can work today!"

"Don't even think about it – you can barely move out of bed." He told me sternly. "Is there anything you need?"

"I'm not a baby; I don't need to be waited on, hand and foot." I protested.

"Don't be foolish." He told me softly. "Do you need anything?"

"I could do with a drink." I admitted grudgingly.

Kratos got me a steaming mug of coffee for me to drink. The warm liquid woke me up.

He stayed by my side all day, which I was grateful for – his very presence calmed me. However, I still worried. What if this didn't get better tomorrow, what if it got worse? I knew Kratos was still afraid that the Desians would track us down, and he was afraid it'd be when he was out on a job. But we didn't have an infinite amount of money – just enough to cover our room until the end of the week, and just enough to buy food for me. We needed to carry on working, but Kratos wouldn't leave me on my own…

Unfortunately for us, I only got worse. The next day, both arms were filled with this pain, and I started to seriously worry. Worse, I could tell Kratos was putting on a brave face so that he wouldn't worry me. I wondered how long this'd go on for.

Also, I was starting to feel like a burden. I couldn't brush my hair easily; I could barely eat or drink by myself…I felt completely helpless. I don't know what I'd have done without Kratos, I really don't.

Over the next week, I didn't get any worse, but on the other hand I didn't get any better. I found that I could move my arms and neck, provided that it was slowly and not too far.

Eventually, Kratos was forced to work, but he took jobs that were within the city, and took every available chance to check up me. In the end, I had to tell him off – while I appreciated the attention, he needed to focus on his job. The problem with mercenary jobs is that if you did a bad job once, you either weren't alive to worry about it, or you'd never get hired again.

The week dragged along slowly, giving me too much time to think. In an attempt to pass by the time, I'd started reading the Book of Martel, but knowing it was all lies, it made the time drag by even slower. Still, there wasn't anything else to do.

In the beginning, there was but a single conscious and naught else. This conscious created the land and sky, good and evil, angels and mankind, and all else besides. Pleased with her work, she made man the keepers of the land and the angels protected the skies…

I couldn't help giving a derisive snort. What a load of drivel! Was there a time when I believed this? I was surprised to find that I had done, once upon a time. But I'd lost my faith when the Desians…

"No, stop thinking about the ranch." I said to myself firmly. "It won't help to keep reminding yourself."

Talking to yourself: the first sign of madness.

"Great. Just great. I'll slowly go insane reading nothing but a holy book full of lies and being tended by an angel."


Like I've said on Shining Tears, I'm thinking of taking a short stress induced holiday if I don't get many reviews.