Argh, I've been reading Kruan! (my friends, Jana-Yggdrasil and Bex have got me addicted – you should've seen this fanfic Jana wrote it definitely should be rated M) Don't worry; this'll be Kranna through and through, I promise!

The reviews, for some reason, are popping up all over the place from as far back as chapter seven!

Thanks to: Fehize, genny62890, AnimeGirl, LuE, Jana, Alexa Aurion and kaiaurion. (I shortened down practically everyone's name!)

Surprisingly, I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

After dozing, I picked up the book again, flicking to a random page.

1) Thou must show kindness to strangers. 2) Thy must do unto others as thou would wish to be done unto thou. 3) Thou will lend thy aid to any man, rich or poor, that needs it…

At this point, Kratos entered the room, and I lay the book down.

"How are you?" He asked, voice full of concern.

"Fine, but bored. I'd give almost anything to be well enough to work again."

He sat carefully on the edge of the bed. I reached up and gave him a quick kiss before sinking into the pillows again.

"Look, this is how bored I am." I brandished the book at him.

He winced slightly, before asking, "Where are you?"

"On a random page; the human commandments, I guess."

"Ah. That'd be one of mine. Mithos did very little – just poking his nose in when it was done, Yuan did most of the bits concerning angels, Martel and punishments, while I filled in the gaps."

"So, you got the short straw?"

"I'm very proud of some parts." He said with mock indignation.

"Like?"

He was silent for a few moments, before remarking, "I can't remember one off the top of my head. I finished writing it around four thousand years ago, I can't expect to remember everything."

"So, you'd better be going soon, right?" I said with a touch of regret.

Kratos, sounding equally regretful, made a noise that I assumed meant yes.

For a couple of hours, I flicked through the book without any real interest. It made me wonder what people believed before the Martel religion. And why. Was all religion just a way of keeping people under control, and manipulating them into doing certain things?

Eventually, I cautiously got out of bed, and slowly poured myself a cup of steaming, rich cocoa. I was wearing a plain cut dressing gown – an essential that I'd bought in our first couple of weeks here, along with some spare clothes.

I was sipping from the mug when I heard a knock on the door. Visitors? Normally, we were quite careful not to direct people to our hotel room…

"Who is it?" I asked cautiously, while sliding out my sword, just in case.

"Is Kratos in? I'm an old friend."

I half considered letting him wait until Kratos was back, but decided against it. If this person meant me any harm, what would've been the point of knocking on the door?

I opened the door, hand still wrapped around the hilt of my sword. A man with long turquoise hair, tied back in a horsetail strode in and surveyed me with one critical glance.

I was painfully aware that I was still only wearing my dressing gown.

"It's a little late in the day to still be in bed, surely?"

I ignored his remark, choosing instead to say, "And who might you be?"

"Yuan, as I said, I'm an old friend of Kratos'."

The name seemed familiar; it felt like Kratos had said it before. "When you say old…"

"How much has Kratos told you?"

"As much as he could fit in, from what I gather. That is to say, he said a lot about a hero Mithos."

"Then, yes, I knew him back then."

Suddenly, the familiarity clicked.

"Kratos said you'd helped write some of this." I brandished the Book of Martel at him.

He winced, just as Kratos had, but I didn't feel too sorry for him. As far as first impressions go, he'd made a pretty poor one to me.

"Yes, I had written some of that. I regret it now, of course."

"Any particular reason?" To most people, I'd have been sympathetic, but for some reason, I didn't like Yuan that much.

"Well, there's the obvious reason that that book has inspired false belief in a non-existent deity, but it's also because that book has allowed a single little brat of a half-elf to manipulate people into sacrificing countless young women in the hopes that one of them may be suitable for Martel's vessel." Yuan spat out the words with such forceful emotion that I started to feel just the slightest bit sorry for him.

To save me replying, Kratos burst in through the door. For a split second, he seemed to be panicked – perhaps he'd heard our voices and wasn't sure what was going on. It was sweet though, how he was worried for me.

When he saw Yuan though, he relaxed – about a millimeter. He still wasn't completely sure of the situation, and I knew he liked to be in control.

"Yuan." He said grimly.

"You aren't happy to see me, then. Then again, with all things considered…" He trailed off, talking to himself.

Kratos sighed heavily; he was making an effort to evaluate the situation and to come to a conclusion. I'd never seen him so…calculating before, and I realised there was a whole side of him that I'd never seen before.

In the end, he decided to be blunt. "Yuan, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Thanks for the warm welcome." Yuan said sarcastically. "First, I have to tell you that the Desians are coming to Palamacosta."

I gasped and almost started hyperventilating; the only thing that stopped me was a strong sense of self-control. It hadn't struck me how terrified I was of the ranch. I'd tried to avoid thinking about it.

I was so scared I hadn't thought about how this knowledge had been acquired, but Kratos – with his wary mind – had. "How do you know this?" He said suspiciously.

Yuan lowered his gaze slightly. "I've rejoined Yggdrasill. Say what you will, but I have my reasons. However, I'm not here to kidnap…" He waved a hand in my general direction, unsure of what to call me. "I'm here to help you."

Kratos shook with barely controlled rage. Seeing the warning signs – I'd have been blind not to see them – I went over and rested a hand on a trembling arm.

"I think he's telling the truth. After all, if he'd wanted to kidnap me, he'd had enough chance before you came." I attempted to soothe Kratos.

Kratos seemed to accept this – albeit slightly grudgingly.

"If it helps, the Desians aren't coming for you, they're coming because they've heard of the militia that this city's built and is currently training."

I felt a sudden weight in the pit of my stomach. We'd been training the army; we were partly responsible.

As if the same thought had occurred to Kratos, he reassured me, saying, "They would've found someone to train the army."

Yuan broke through this with, "Setting aside the circumstances, it doesn't seem like a particularly good idea for you to remain here. There is also another matter that I need to speak to you about."

Yuan fixed me with a surveying glare that made me feel uneasy, somehow.

"Has anything…unexplained happened to," he gestured to me again, to which I supplied, 'Anna'.

"So, has anything happened to Anna lately?"

"Nothing much." I answered. Then, after considering it… "I've had this pain in my arms and neck when I've tried to move it and I have no idea what's causing it. Would that count?"

Yuan looked from Kratos to me, then back again. "That was exactly what I was afraid of."

"What? Do you know what's causing it; is it curable?" I asked.

"Is it the Exsphere?" Kratos asked, panicked.

"No. Apparently, there's about three years until the Exsphere matures."

"Then, what is it?" I prompted.

Again, Yuan looked between Kratos and I, with a judging, calculating look. "Kratos, I'll try to be blunt, but… Do you love Anna?"

Taken by surprise, Kratos answered, "Yes, of course, but why are you asking?"

Yuan ignored Kratos' question and asked me. "Do you love Kratos?"

"Yes." I answered, fazed.

"I suppose that helps, but… You two really have no idea, do you?"

"No idea about what?" I almost snapped, feeling frustrated.

"Anna. You're pregnant."

Okay, I probably have readers that look like this: OO

Anyway, please review, I (honestly) live off reviews.