Please note that none of the characters/locations/creatures are mine; they all belong to Squaresoft.

Author's Note: well, here it is at last – the final chapter. You will have noticed that the tag-line of this fic is 'how Cid and Edea met and fell in love'. Well, we know how they met, but they have not yet fallen in love ('though you could argue that Cid is already more than half way there!). Read on to find out how the story ends………..

Chapter 10

As Cid tramped through the undergrowth he found his mind wandering back over what Edea had told him. What a life she had led, her childhood cut dramatically short by a terrible gift and then the deaths of all those close to her whilst she was still a fairly young adult.

He wondered, briefly, just how old she was, then decided it wasn't really important. What mattered was completing their journey safely. His mind shied away from thinking about the end of that journey, when, inevitably they would part. He had spent too long living one day at a time, to start looking too far ahead now.

Thoughts of their continuing journey brought him back to his current purpose, which was to catch some fish for their evening meal. He patted his pockets, and soon came up with a piece of string and some hooks which had served him well in his travels so far. All he needed was a rod and some bait. A thin fallen branch supplied the former, and an over-ripe piece of fruit the latter. He found a shady spot on the bank of the oasis, and settled down to wait for the fish to bite.

********

Edea pottered about back at the camp. She too was concentrating on the immediate tasks of preparing for the evening meal, and avoiding thinking about the end of the journey. The dangers they had faced so far had reminded her of how tenuous life could be, and how ineffectual it could be to plan ahead. The moment of parting would come as soon as they reached an inhabited area, she thought. After all, why would Cid stay with her any longer than he had to? Of course, there was a way for them to remain together, if Cid would agree.

She had found some vegetables which were unfamiliar to her, but which she was confident would serve for their meal, and some unusual herbs, which she thought would flavour the fish. She went down to the water to wash them, and to fill a pan with water for boiling. Her mind was soothed by the domesticity, and the most complicated thing she had to consider was whether to fry or steam the fish.

********

Cid dozed at his station under the palms. The warmth and peace were working together to erase the tensions created by their adventures. Small animals rustled through the undergrowth, and brightly coloured birds flashed between the trees. As a practical person, he found himself considering the merits of the surrounding trees as building materials. This would be an ideal place to settle down, build a home, live off the land, even farm a little, raise a family………….

Suddenly, a tug on his fishing line jerked him back to the present. With the expertise of long practice, he brought in a fair sized fish. It appeared to be of a species he was familiar with; the basic shape was the same, just some of the markings were different. He gently pulled the hook out of its mouth, and laid the fish on the bank. It took just a moment to rebait the line and drop it back in the water. And he lay back again to resume his reveries.

********

Over the next couple of hours, Cid caught four fish, which he thought would serve as a good meal. As he brought the last one in, he considered catching some more for himself and Edea to take with them when they continued their journey. He was sure Edea would know about preserving fish, but was not sure how long it would take to do. If it took several days, and Edea wanted to get moving, she would either have to delay her journey, or waste the fish.

These thoughts, together with the efforts of bringing the fish in, held his full attention. He had managed to bring the fish close enough to the bank that he could see it, its silvery scales glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

All of a sudden, he became aware of a darker shadow behind the fish. At first, he thought it must be a shadow cast on the water, perhaps by one of the trees, but he quickly realised that the dark shape was below the surface not on it, and was moving swiftly towards him.

Cid abandoned the thought of bringing the fish in gently. If he did not get it on to the bank quickly, he would lose it to the strange creature which was chasing it. He stood, setting his feet firmly on the bank, and quickly pulled on the string.

As the fish rose out of the water, Cid became intensely aware of a million tiny details; the gleam of its scales in the sunlight, the sparkle of the drops of water as they fell from its body, the jerking of its tail as it fought to get free from the metal hook caught in its mouth.

And something else became clear; the creature which was chasing the fish was quite prepared to chase it out of the water. It rose up out of the water, a dark, slimy, snake-like thing. Its jaws, filled with razor-sharp teeth, gaped wide; its tiny eyes filled with cold intent.

Cid gave a cry, part horror, part anger, part panic. Suddenly, the creature's focus shifted, from the fish, to Cid. He was paralysed by fear, his feet rooted to the spot, his face frozen into a mask of terror.

********

Back at the camp, Edea heard Cid's cry, and her stomach lurched. She felt as if an icy fist had gripped her guts, and was viciously twisting them. The combination of emotions which she heard in Cid's voice awakened a similar confusion in herself. There was no way of knowing what she would encounter if she went to his aid, and for a moment she was frozen by indecision.

As she hesitated, a second cry shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the oasis. This time there was no mistaking Cid's feelings; he was scared half out of his wits, and in desperate pain.

Edea sprang to her feet and rushed off in the direction of the water. As she ran, a thought flitted into her head that Cid's sword might be useful, but on its heels came another – that she could barely lift the sword, let alone use it. So she ran, fear twisting at her guts, unaware that she was clutching the knife she had been using to peel the vegetables.

It seemed to take ages to reach the oasis. Bushes and twigs clutched at her from every side, and fallen branches appeared suddenly in front of her feet; she felt as if the undergrowth itself was conspiring against her. The only sound that came to her now was her own desperate breathing; she found herself praying that Cid would scream again, if only to let her know that he was still alive.

Without warning, the trees and dense undergrowth ended, and she was standing in dappled sunlight on the bank of the oasis. About a hundred yards away, a scene of horror was being enacted. Cid was clinging desperately to a small tree which was growing at the water's edge, but his strength was obviously failing. Around his waist were clamped the jaws of the most enormous creature she had ever seen, which was pulling him towards the water.

She was aware, without consciously thinking about it, that either Cid must let go of the tree, in which case the creature would drag him into the oasis, or he would be pulled into two pieces, for the creature to eat at its leisure. Feeling sick, she forced her legs into action once more.

'Cid!' she called as she ran, and was gratified to see his head turn towards her, just a little. 'Let go! Let go of the tree!'

Even from this distance, she could see his eyes widen in horror, but she had no time and no breath to explain. She just had to hope that he would trust her, even though she had no idea herself what she was planning to do. As she drew closer to the terrible scene, she was able to see Cid's face more clearly, and she became aware that the focus of his gaze had changed. He was looking, not at her face, but at something in her right hand. She risked a glance herself and suddenly knew what she was going to do. Their eyes met, and, as she brandished the knife in her hand, Cid nodded – and let go of the tree.

Now it was all up to her. The sudden release of his arms from around the tree flung Cid's body against the creature's head, throwing it into momentary confusion. But it could only be a moment before it realised its victory. And even as she watched, she seemed to see a flicker of satisfaction in its cold, blank stare.

With a huge effort of will, she forced her protesting muscles into one last burst of speed. The creature was too intent on its prize to realise that she was approaching it, and she had time to take in every detail. Its body was thicker than her own, and was covered in scales, which were coloured purple and green. It's head was huge, and seemed to be mainly jaws; its eyes were small and dark, and gleamed with a kind of cunning intelligence. A length of body at least equal to the length of the head was lying on the bank. She did not dare to consider how large the creature really was.

As she had feared, the creature had realised that Cid was no longer resisting it, and it had begun backing towards the water. Cid lay limply in its jaws, his eyes closed. His vulnerability wrenched at her heart, in a way she had no time to analyse. All she could do was continue running, and hope that she was not too late.

Then, suddenly, she found she was standing within touching distance of the huge, ugly head. Once more, she was gripped by indecision. The knife in her hand was sharp and deadly, but where should she stab the creature. As she cast around for a point of vulnerability, her eyes met those of the creature. Again, she was aware of a sense of triumph in its cold eyes. 'When I've eaten this one,' it seemed to say, 'I'll be back for you.'

She felt a momentary flash of anger; how dare this thing, this eating machine, feel anything, let alone triumph. Then the heat was gone, to be replaced by cold certainty. Gripping the knife in both hands, she raised them high above her head, and brought the knife down with all of her strength and weight behind it. The point of the blade pierced the creature's eye, and then everything seemed to happen at once.

The creature let out a bellow of rage and pain, opening its massive jaws and flinging its head from side to side. This released Cid's body from its grip, and without thinking, Edea pulled him clear of the thrashing head. She did not wait to see if her blow had killed the creature, but slipped her hands under Cid's armpits and dragged him as far up the bank as she could.

Once under the shade of the trees, she laid Cid's inert body down on the soft grass and leaned over him. The grip of fear had never left her heart, but now there was a new sensation; she felt helpless. In all of her adult life, she had felt in control. She had calmly dealt with the most horrendous wounds, but the sight of Cid, lying so still and silent, left her without the power to act. It suddenly occurred to her that if he died, a part of her would die, too; and in that thought, she found a new determination.

'You are not going to die,' she told him, firmly, but with tears running down her face, 'I won't let you.'

Tenderly, she brushed the hair back from his pale face, then moved her hand down to his throat. Relief flooded through her as she felt his pulse, faint but regular. Then the healer in her took over, and she was able to begin working to save his life.

********

'So, when did you first realise you were in love with me?' Cid asked.

They were sitting by their camp fire, after finishing their evening meal; at least Edea was sitting and Cid was lying with his head in her lap, whilst she idly stroked his hair. As soon as it became clear he was out of danger, she had declared her feelings, half fearful of rejection. Her fear had turned to elation when he admitted he felt the same way.

'Well, at first, I gave you regular doses of a sleeping draft in order to keep your body immobile whilst it worked to heal itself,' she replied. 'I had to force myself to stay detached in order to be of any use to you. But at night, as I sat by the fire, I was able to examine the reasons why I had to make such an effort. You see, I'd never had that problem before.

'In the end, I just had to accept that you had won my heart, the heart I had believed was immune to such things. When did you realise it?'

'The first time I heard you laugh,' he said simply.

'So, where do we go from here?' Edea asked. 'I've had other Knights, but I've never been in love with any of them!'

'Knights?' queried Cid.

'Hmm. Have you never heard of the Sorceress' Knight?' Edea asked, in surprise. When Cid shook his head, she continued, 'well, every Sorceress has a protector, a Knight, who devotes his life to her service. After our adventures, I was beginning to consider asking you to be my Knight. I thought it was just as a reward for the help you had given me in getting to the oasis, but now I realise I couldn't bare the thought of parting from you.'

'We'll never be parted again,' Cid told her, gazing into her eyes.

Edea held his gaze, as she lowered her mouth to his, their lips meeting in a moment that seemed to last for eternity.

The End

Author's note: so, what did you think? Please review – I live for feedback!