Stranded

Chapter 9

"Rydia!"

"…"

"Rydia, dear, why are you so upset? I promise Kain won't ruin my plans for us with his rude interruption"

"Edge, just get on the airship and leave me alone,"

"Oh, precious, stop that. All this joking is going to hurt my feelings."

"What if that's what I'm trying to do?"

"You're so funny Rydia…come on, tell Edge you were joking,"

"I…Edge…I was… joking…"

"Mmm, Rydia, I thought you were. This is why I want you,"

"I…want me? You don't love me?"

"What…? Of course I do…my mistake…"

"Edge…stop…"

"No…Mmm…Rydia…I need you…I'd be so cold and alone without you…"

"But you don't love me…"

"Of course I do…"

"THEN SAY IT! SAY YOU LOVE ME, EDGE!"

"I… Rydia, I love you. Now come, Kain is waiting for us…"

"But…Edge…"

"Yes?"

"…All right."

(Hours pass…the airship is in the air…hardly a word has been said between former comrades)

(Jerk)

"What the…?"

(Scratch)

"What was that?"


"His wounds run deep…he's just barely clinging to life…" Rosa choked out, looking at the dying ninja lying on the bed of Cid's airship.

Rydia stood engulfed in Kain's arms, the only thing keeping her upright, watching the white mage work her magic on the ninja. Kain leaned down to Rydia's ear.

"You're going to have to tell him." He whispered, so barely even Rydia could hear it. Rydia nodded. She had already decided that she couldn't return to Eblan. But oh gods, this happened at the worst possible time. When he awoke, he'd have to face not only his injuries, but his favorite woman puppet leaving him.

Rydia was afraid. She knew as soon as he woke up he was going to want someone to be there, ready to hold him and nurse him back to health, to wait on him and to give him what he wants.

She didn't want to be that person anymore. She always knew they weren't meant for each other, but she had stayed with him. She was young. She was confused, and didn't know what else to do.

She had loved Eblan when she first came. She still loved the kingdom. She still longed for Edge, in a sort of way. She just wanted him to change his womanizing ways.

She had tried, and failed. It must have been something ingrained in his head at a very young age by his father, she thought, constantly running after women.

She eyed him on the bed, gasping for breath, as Rosa moved her staff up and down him again. Rydia left the room, trying to prepare for the inevitable.


"Edge, how are you?"

The king's eyelids fluttered, and a pained moan escaped his mouth.

Rydia sat at the edge of the bed, wringing her hands in her lap. She hadn't made eye contact with him yet. She was afraid to. She'd sat crying in her cabin with Kain holding her for hours, just trying to work up the courage to say no.

It took only a moment to say it though…

"I need to leave you, Edge." She snapped her eyes shut, but no terror came forth. He said nothing. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

He had that wicked expression on his face, but he was smiling. He pulled himself upright a little more and outstretched a heavily bandaged black hand to her face. She turned away, but he didn't stop.

"And that's what you've said. Forever. You said that before we went on the airship. You said that when you left my room that night. You've said that for as long as I can remember, and yet here you are, still by my side. Look into my eyes and say you don't love me."

Rydia looked up from her lap, straight into the ice-blue eyes of the ninja, sparkling with arrogance and pride. Rydia opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Heh. That's what I thought. You need me, Rydia. I'm the man you need. And when we get home, I'll commission you a beautiful gown to go with your eyes and a pure gold tiara, and I'll make you my queen. You'll be my queen, Rydia," he slowly smirked, and moved his battered body forward just enough to give Rydia a quick kiss. Rydia didn't let him go any farther. She stood up and left.

Kain met her outside. He looked mad, and Rydia knew why.

"Kain, I'm sorry, I just can't…"

"Can't stop loving him?! Is that what it is? Have you grown bored of him and wanted to toy with another man's heart?! I think you've turned into him, Rydia! I don't think you want to say goodbye!" Kain fumed, the amount of anger in his voice sickening.

"Kain, No!" Rydia fell down, once again, and for probably not the last time. This whole ordeal had put so much stress on her. She couldn't do it anymore. It took all of her strength not to cast Thundaga on herself, to not quit, to keep going. This whole ordeal pained her so much.

"Kain…" she sobbed, wiping her eyes, which were now swollen and red, "Kain, don't say I'm like him. He has a spell…a spell that he casts over you, with his charm and cleverness, and I can't escape it!" Rydia cried, still unable to stand.

"You're weak then! WEAK! I've never met such a woman! Rosa held it together through all this, hell, Porom wasn't even afraid of dying! But you, Rydia! Dammit, don't say you can't do it…don't…please, Rydia…make a choice. Don't leave me hanging; I need to know…" he said, growing softer by the minute. He pulled the chaotic pile on the ground upright, and embraced her.

Rydia's sobs stopped. Tears kept flowing, but her feet found the floor and she clutched the arms of the dragoon tightly as she put weight on her shaking feet and moved away from the embrace.

And Kain took her mouth in his. They stood there, lips on each others, Kain moving his hands around her waist, Rydia moving hers upwards to the back of his neck. He worked her mouth like Edge never had; with feeling. She wanted more. She felt his tongue at her lips, and greeted it inviting, the two of them moving against the wall, moving closer together. She grasped his hair tightly as he moved his lips from hers, and gasped when he planted his next kiss below her ear, moving down her jaw line with quick pecks.

The feelings she was experiencing were new. She felt electricity moving throughout he body, up and down her spine, and she started shaking, which only increased when she pulled Kain's mouth back to hers. They stood there, engrossed in each other, loving the sensations they were giving each other, until they finally pulled away. Then they stood there. They stood and took in what happened, and waited before leaving each other's grasp.

"I can do it, Kain," she whispered.

"I know you can. Go give him hell." Kain muttered, nuzzling her neck. She turned around and walked back into the cabin, eyes on fire, determination on her step.

"Edge," She said, in as harsh a tone she could manage.

"Thanks for coming back, I was getting lonely," he smirked, eyes dancing mischievously.

"No! Listen to me!" she exploded, anger etched all over her face. Edge looked taken aback.

"You do not control me! You do not tell me what I think, what is going to happen to me! I am my own person, and I have decided that you are not my man! I never actually did love you! I was young, stupid! You were always given whatever you wanted! But you do NOT get me! I am not an object for you to play with!" Rydia ended, breathing heavily. Edge's eyes narrowed.

"I do NOT love you!" She screamed, the last of the built up anger leaving her. Edge pulled himself upright even more, lips pulled thin, and a look in his eyes not even Rydia could decode.

"I simply don't believe you," he said with gobs of sarcasm. He cocked his head to the side and smiled.

"Let me prove it to you," Rydia snarled, and she walked outside and walked in with Kain's arms around her. She pulled him into another deep kiss, and broke it off to see the expression on Edge's face.

"I still don't believe you. People can act. I can only imagine how you're paying him back for this," Edge sneered, once he wiped his face of the repulsed expression.

Rydia had had it. She walked diligently up to the ninja, looked him straight in the eye, and slapped him hard across the face.

Kain took her in his arms, and the couple walked out, never to look back.


Rosa and Cecil sat at the table that night in order to explain the island. Edge sat on the far side of the table, not looking at anyone, Rydia and Kain sat in the same chair, and Rosa and Cecil sat hand in hand at the head of the table. Cid was still working the controls, and said he'd catch up with them later.

"The island was only a dry, grassy land until after the defeat of Zeromus," Rosa started, "And no one ever paid attention to it."

"After his defeat however, the observatory of Agart noticed an odd aura coming from the island. Mysidia was the first to send explorers. When they returned, they had lost their minds. We decided we needed to investigate, because it obviously had something to do with Zeromus. We called for everyone that we met on that first quest to come back. We sent Kain because it would take more convincing to get you," Cecil nodded to Edge "to come."

"Unfortunately, we didn't send an experienced airship driver. I still don't know why we sent him to Damcyan and Fabul instead, we knew that in order to get to Baron, the shortest route was going to be going by the island." Rosa explained sympathetically.

"And we strayed to close to its aura," Kain mumbled, staring into nothing. Rydia laid a hand on his shoulder.

"And once trapped in its aura, your subjected to the alternate visions it creates," Cecil told them, "The energy contained in that area was from Zemus. When he turned into Zeromus, he flung a piece of the old Zemus to the island, which, from the moon, lies directly on the Tower of Babel, which we all know was his channeling point."

"Basically, the island was home to the reincarnating Zemus, who was feeding off your and the monsters energy. The symbols, designed to provoke the human curiosity, were used to sap the energy from you whenever you touched them. Fortunately, the reincarnation was weak, so the three of you were able to beat him. But now the island is back like it always was. As soon as the airship took off, it morphed into its dry grassy existence. So the…"

"Well I'm glad that was explained, I'm leaving," Edge snapped, and he was out of the room before anyone could say anything. Rydia tried hard not to smile. And everything made perfect sense. She thought. Anyways, the happenings on the island really only came out bad for one of the three stranded there. Rydia excused herself and went to her room.


That night she looked out the window of the airship gliding over the ocean. She saw the dolphins spinning and the whales leaping. The stars twinkled in the black sky, and the moon shone brightly against its backdrop.

A hand laid on her shoulder, and he turned around to see Kain smiling at her. Taking one last look at the nighttime sky, she closed the curtains and fed the fire blazing in the small stone fireplace.

"Kain," Rydia said, reaching up and laying a small kiss on his lips, "I love you."

"Mm, Rydia, I love you," He whispered. Rydia felt the shiver of glee going down her back again. He said he loved her. That was more than the bastard ninja in the room down the hall had ever said.

He moved slowly to the bed, teasing Rydia to come closer. This was what she wanted. To be with a man who wanted to be with her.

Everything would work out, she thought, as she fell onto the bed.

I suppose that being stranded on desert island isn't as bad as I thought, she thought, as Kain moved closer to her.

Just look what came of it

And that was her last coherent thought as she slipped into bliss.

The airship glided silently over the ocean, and onboard was the makings of true love.


Author's Notes: O YES! I FINISHED! I AM SO FREAKIN' HAPPY I FINISHED IT! I think I tied up all the loose ends, but if not, send me a note and I'll fix whatever I missed. I say okay for a first fic, and now I've got the practice, so the next one should run a lot smoother than this. I suppose its pretty okay for a fic that didn't have an ending (besides Kain and Rydia getting together) until the 4th chapter. But hey. That's just me. Unorganized and lazy. The next fic is probably going to be a humorous parody on something (just not sure what) so hopefully all of these readers will try that too. Until my new story gets online.

The Magnifique