Shadowed Heart--Part 9

(see disclaimer in Part 8)

I opened my eyes to a rush of dizziness. "Ouch."

There was a squeal, and something rather the size of a nine-year-old gave me a giant hug. "You're okay!"

I recognized Makoto, the little viera I'd promised to protect. "I repeat: Ouch. That hurt..."

As my vision cleared, I recognized Shara and Roland, who were sitting by me and leaning over me anxiously. "Hello," I said. "When did you get here?"

"We found you out in the field," Roland explained. "You were unconscious, and this little girl was trying to wake you up. We took you both back here... what else could we do? Who is she?"

Makoto stopped glomping me, allowing me to sit up. We were indeed in one of the rooms of the inn-slash-pub of Cyril, the Prancing Chocobo. Dropping a little curtsy to Roland, she said, "Makoto Ruchida of Bervenia, sir." Roland blushed (presumably at being called "sir").

"Where did you two meet?" Shara asked gently, sitting down next to Makoto and me. Makoto's cheerfulness dropped away and she plunked down into a sitting position, throwing her arms around me and starting to whimper.

Sadly, I put my hand on Makoto's back. "I don't know why, but she and her mother were being chased by a sect of the royal guard. Makoto here was unconscious, and her mother was carrying her. Lady Ruchida was... hurt, very badly. Maimed. I... won't describe the injuries here." I didn't want Makoto to get any more upset. "Makoto's mother entrusted her to me, and then..." I shook my head helplessly.

"You poor thing," Shara said, going pale. "That's terrible!"

I nodded sadly. "I challenged the guards when they appeared, and fought them off. When I was surrounded, Makoto... somehow, she summoned Madeen. She saved my life." I had no doubts about that. "After that... I can't remember anything. I guess I passed out, from losing too much energy."

Roland was considering Makoto with a very odd look on his face. It was as though he was trying to register her energy levels by sight (I've heard that Adepts can do that) and was being surprised by what he saw, in a very bad way. After a few moments, he sighed and leaned back slightly. "I guess it's been pretty rough on you, then... Shara, you've got that potion for dreamless sleep in your room, right?" The viera nodded and extended one hand to Makoto, who took it hesitantly.

"Come on. You need to rest," Shara said gently. "I'll make sure that you won't dream anything."

Once they were gone, the calm facade dropped from Roland's face and an expression of utter horror took its place. "My God, do you know what that little girl can do?" I shook my head slowly. "She has all the power of a Summoner Adept, and it takes thirty years to become one on your own! Do you have any idea of what sort of family she comes from?"

I shook my head slowly. "No, just that whoever they are, they're rich enough to afford a pair of caligula for her. I doubt that Makoto even knows she has this kind of power, somehow. It's... a little beyond me, but still. She summoned Madeen to help me, but she was so crazy from fright that I doubt she even remembers it. Makoto was even able to control Madeen to some extent, to shape the path of the beast's attack so that it missed me completely."

"Probably part of the palace..." Roland mused. "And I'll bet that Makoto has everything to do with her family's persecution. I don't know politics very well, but the name 'Ruchida' definitely rings a bell. The only people in this clan who pay attention to politics at all are Babus, Ezel, and Eleono, and Ezel only listens to judicial rulings. Even though antilaws are legal now, the rulings still govern which cards can be made and rapidly produced everywhere." I nodded. I'd heard of that briefly from the queen once we'd reached the Ambervale and she was able to take the reins again in an indirect way. "Anyway, I don't know where the hell Babus is, but Eleono is engaging, and I think she'll be back pretty soon. We can ask her then."

---

We had all assembled in our "common room" in the Prancing Chocobo (all except for Makoto, who was still unconscious in Shara's room) to discuss the matter of Makoto and what had happened to her family. I recounted our meeting at Marche's request, and Roland explained the matter of Makoto's power levels.

"That's wrong, kupo..." Montblanc said, shaking his head. "It's wrong to chase down a child like that for any reason, kupopo!"

"What was her last name?" Eleono asked, her gray eyes as hard as steel.

"Ruchida."

"Oh. The 'heretics', or so they've been branded by the palace. There's a warrant out for the little girl's arrest right now." Eleono curled her lip, and I think that if we were outside, she'd have spat. "It's pitiful. What's even more pitiful is that the palace isn't telling anyone exactly why the family is being persecuted. And they were hunting her with tonberries. Give me a break."

"Bounties. More fun," Marche grumbled, raising his eyes to the heavens. He'd had a bounty on his own head once, when the crystals of Ivalice were still a pressing defense issue. "Why do these things always happen to us?"

"Quit complaining," Ritz snapped. "I for one and going to be glad to have the chance to 'speak' with any who are going with the palace on this one."

"Either way, what I want to know is," Miserie said shrewdly, "why exactly the palace got angry at the Ruchidas in the first place. Eleono, have you got any idea?"

Eleono shrugged. "They don't exactly speak to the public about stuff like this."

"It must have been serious. They wiped out her entire family." Everyone turned. It was Shara who had spoken. "I used a special kind of hypnosis on Makoto right before I put her out, so that I could hear everything that happened from the first moment the guards came into the Ruchida wing of the palace. They killed everyone. Her mother just barely escaped with her."

"I couldn't believe it at first," I said slowly. "I mean, Remedi isn't even this inhumane--sorry, Mewt. But if she isn't behind this, who is?"

"The Ruchidas are a very politically powerful family," Ezel put in. "They were the ones who first pressed to legalize antilaws."

"Yes, and I've heard two stories about why this happened," Babus said quietly. We all fell silent and looked at him. "They're both very vague, and equally unlikely of the Ruchida family, but who knows? The first is that they tried to establish their own religion, based around the 'miraculous' powers of their daughter. As such, the church would declare them heretics. The second is much more probable--that they were dabbling in illegal class-building." We all stared at each other. "The Ruchidas pushed for a new method of training people for jobs to create elites more quickly, and claimed to have proof of its working. The palace turned them down (quite sensibly) because if this method was legalized, it would lead to more dangerous criminals and activity of the corrupt. The family seemed to quench its desire for seeing this method come to public use for the time, but these rumors... I don't know. It's possible that they used the training to give this girl the power she has."

"That'ss jusst crazy!" Neuman broke in, gesturing widely. "Ussing your own kid ass a guinea pig for your experiment! I bet that'ss not what really happened."

"True. No parents would do that to their kid. And Neuman? May I suggest to you not to say 'as' anymore because it sounds like you're swearing?"

"Sshut up, Miserie."

"So we're back to where we started," Ezel said, giving Neuman and Miserie a warning look. "We have no idea why Makoto's family was persecuted, or why she has this kind of power."

"We need to protect her," I said softly. A hush fell over the room, and everyone stared at me. Getting a little flustered (I can't stand being stared at!), I continued. "Well, we know that this is wrong. And... I promised Makoto's mother that I would protect her. I'm not going to break that promise."

"Martyrss!" Neuman snorted, rolling his eyes. Miserie and Roland, sitting on either side of him, both punched him.

---

I lay back on my futon, not even bothering to get in. Staring at the ceiling, I wondered just what the hell I'd gotten myself into this time. By accepting the responsibility of protecting Makoto, I'd put my clan in danger and probably the lives of the Cyril townspeople. The guards looking for Makoto seemed to be out for blood and probably wouldn't mind weeding out innocents who just so happened to be in the way. It was very clear that whoever was behind this was not Remedi. A public, blustering search like this was not her style. She would do her work in secret, and probably employ a team of ninjas and assassins. And she would also have seen to it that the Ruchidas were removed from their place in the palace, legally prosecuted for something or other, and killed in her dungeons, instead of ordering this messy kind of throatslitting. Even for taking care of Marche, Remedi had just sent me and whatever guards I needed or asked for.

If the queen wasn't in control of this investigation, who was? And what did it mean for her?

Suddenly cold, I crawled under the sheets, curled into a ball, and pressed a finger to my right temple until the room faded into black. I'd always done that, even in the real world, when I thought I'd have trouble sleeping.

I let the depths claim me. Tomorrow would be a long day.