Eyes of Obel Lake
Much of the ride away from Caelum was filled with awkward, introspective silence for the Forest Owls. Escaping prison and hightailing it out of a failed city-state little over an hour ago had all of the members on edge. At first, they'd engaged in light conversation to shake off their nerves and restlessness, and then their discourse had progressively shifted into chatter among two or three members, before everyone eventually said nothing. The only person who seemed unaffected by what had transpired was the man named Seifer. Demilee soon learned that he perceived himself to be the alpha in the group, though sometimes, she picked up on that role belonging to Kal—the middle-aged man who was driving her vehicle.
No one particularly talked to Demilee, or even asked her any questions, a behavior different from what she found the social groups she'd been immersed in. Instead, the Forest Owls just tried to sneak glances at her, watching as she sat with one leg up for her chin to rest on, fiddling with the strings of her faded black boots that were too large for her feet. The one called Rinoa did ask for her name a little while ago, to which she replied, Autumn. From the rear view window, Demilee had noticed Seifer's quick blink in her direction. It wasn't that she didn't really trust the Forest Owls or that she meant to lie about her name, Demilee just learned that it was the best method in protecting her freedom. Besides, she was told that a name constituted only a description of oneself, it told nothing of the person she was, unless of course, it was that person's will to add meaning to it.
As evening began to fall, the dusty reddish-orange hue of the Lallapalooza canyon splashed onto the walls and faces of Demilee and the resistance faction. Occasional shadows passed over the interior of the vehicle as sliding images. The Forest Owls continued to stare at the odd girl as she thought for a moment and then propped herself up off of her seat, despite the space, to peak out of the high, small window. She glanced at the monstrous cluster of rock formations thoroughly basking in the burning fire of the sun. Just a short distance over, soft, white rays of light flickered like glitter over the peaks. The canyon was just as it appeared in the magazines she read. Unconsciously, Demilee's mouth opened in awe and she touched the window, as if to feel the texture of the scenery beyond.
"We got about thirty minutes now before we hit Timber," Kal announced to the group. He noticed the fuel meter and how the yellow needle bounced erratically back and forth, with no clear indication as to how much gas the APC had left. "Hey, uh, how much—" Then the vehicle violently shuddered after rolling over cracked, jagged terrain. Demilee hit her head against the ceiling, accidentally kicking Watts in his thigh. The man yelped in pain, and as the vehicle steadied again, Demilee immediately withdrew and huddled herself up as not to upset anyone else. "How much gas this tank carry?"
"Um, enough to get us to Timber, I think," Demilee meekly answered. Kal grunted.
"You're not sure?" As if the man could see her, Demilee shook her head.
"If it conks out, we won't be too far from town at least," chimed in Rinoa. "Hopefully. . . ."
"Um, what's in Timber?" Demilee found herself asking. Rinoa's ebony, flowing hair and gentle features were something Demilee had never seen before in all of her days. The woman looked like a precious porcelain doll the way she turned and offered her a friendly smile.
"It's a city that needs liberation!" the woman proudly answered. Some nodded in agreement. "It's been occupied by Galbadia for almost 18 years and we've been fighting ever since!"
"Galbadian occupation?" The amount of fear present on Demilee's face caused Zone to send her a reassuring grin, taking Rinoa's lead.
"No worries though, there are tons of factions fighting for freedom! . . . They're not as active right now, but, we, the Forest Owls, happen to be one of them!" Zone vehemently yelled. As Demilee had expected, the group obviously wasn't just travelers. They were accompanied by a man who appeared to be a SeeD, though he never affirmed it himself. Perhaps he was being just as discreet as the faction had been.
"Amateur freedom fighters," came Seifer's taunt. "Why don't you shove your big mouth down your a—"
"All right, Seifer," Kal interrupted, attempting to stop the bickering before it began. He too wished Zone would can it, but instead of voicing his feelings, Kal simply changed subject. "So I take it, you've never been outside of Caelum, huh?" He directed his attention back to Demilee. Everyone seemed to wait for her reply. When she didn't answer, no one pressed her. "No need to answer, the feeling's mutual. . . ." Kal surmised. "Well, just so you know, Timber ain't that much different from Caelum. Yeah, we got fight in us and we're a little more advanced, but everyone's fighting for independence—for freedom, you know?"
Even the faction, it appeared, wanted to grasp such an elusive ideal. Sure, Demilee could run from her home, escape Galbadian capture, but if the entire world was a giant collection of snares, then what should freedom mean if it could never be attained? Demilee felt her mind race through the enormous transition her life had been catapulted into, and how now, as she felt herself being shaken by the churning engine of the APC, she still didn't feel physically there. Now, the prospect of entering an entirely new city on her own again, far from where she'd ever been, frightened Demilee to the point that she did not want to think about it—so she didn't. All she allowed herself to think of was running—the chase—for it was the only thing she learned that constituted freedom.
Silence passed over everyone again, and Demilee decided that it'd become a game to speak and then not to speak. The group observed, and then fell quiet again, lost in their own heads.
Suddenly, a sharp creaking scream forced the group back into a state of alarm. Kal felt his hands tightening over the wheel as it convulsed uncontrollably, the vehicle's sturdy tires croaking and moaning—the sound of rusted metal parts. Then, the APC came to a halting, whiny stop before sucking everyone back onto the walls of their seats. The quaking ceased as did the shrieking gears. Kal tried to rev the engine and even restart it a few times, but his efforts yielded no results.
"Is that all the gas?" he asked, looking over the paneling of the vehicle to find any indication. Demilee climbed over the seat across from her. Zone and Rinoa slid over to allow the girl to get a better view. She seemed to slip and fit perfectly between Seifer and Kal, and Rinoa only guessed it was because of her very slight frame.
Demilee scanned the fuel gauge's needle laid flat toward F. Kal scoffed, saying, "Convenient." Demilee then scooted away toward the back of the vehicle to where she had been sitting. She kicked a small latch below her seat and it immediately popped upward, revealing a diminutive hatchway on the lower wall. Upon entering a code on a side panel, the exit whirred to life and lifted. The back of the vehicle came away, letting in the outside, warm breeze of the canyon. Demilee was the first to come out, stomping onto the grass beneath her boots. She wanted desperately to take the clunky footwear off and feel the dirt slip between her toes, but the needs of the resistance faction came first. Coming around to the screwed-in rubber top that protected the engine piping, Demilee twisted it out and smelled the scent of burning coal from the now exposed hole. Kal was beside her in no time.
"Yeah, it's out. I can smell the coal," she explained. Kal examined for his own knowledge.
"Coal," he asked incredulously, "that'll ruin the engine." Demilee shook her head.
"It would of at first, but I made it to where it won't. "
"And how did you do that?"
"I changed the gas and engine system from iron to adamantine." Kal eyed her, again amazed by how innovative she was.
"So what'll we do now? We were so close!" Zone complained. Vinny chucked his left ear, getting him to stop whining.
"It's just a small detour, calm down," he said.
By the time the group had decided to take cover in the Roshfall forest, a short distance east of Obel Lake, the night sky had finished its job in completely replacing dusk. Locusts and Squatter monkeys chirped together in a chorus of woodland music, and the nearby bellows of late-shift trains jutting down the surrounding track lines breathed fresh life into the heart of the forest.
They'd traveled through Lallapalooza canyon and into the Obel area, arriving at the latter on foot and it hadn't taken long for the group to realize just how valuable Demilee was in outdoor expeditions. Inside of her large bag the size of a balloon overstuffed with air were cooking supplies and preserved packaged foodstuffs among a myriad of other things she hadn't hesitated to share. So the faction made a campfire while Seifer scouted to clear the area of any aggressive monsters. When the food was done, the group settled over bowls of Cockatrice meat tenders with Fasticolon fin broth poured over it. They also learned the extent of Demilee's oddness, the way she combined several yogurts and other unlikely mixtures of seasoning in her own bowl.
"This forest is the only current province owned by Timber," Kal decided to share. He looked down into the bronze, murky liquid of the soup as the light of the burning fire skidded across its surface. "And it's been that way since Galbadian takeover."
Zone gulped down the rest of his soup and graciously asked Demilee if he could help himself to more. The member came away satisfied at his newly replenished bowl. "Technically," Zone said in between swallows, "Roshfall belongs to Galbadia, but they don't really care about it."
"But it's still considered independent!" Kal argued.
"It's a forest!" Zone exaggeratedly enunciated. "There are no people in here to oppress!"
Shyly, Demilee let out a laugh and the group seemed to follow. Then, she put her bowl down and breathed in the air of nature, still disbelieving of her newfound freedom. Across from her, Seifer was stretched out on his side, his elbow digging into the dirt of the ground. He was using the bent, poorly maintained spoon to fiddle with the remaining broth. She wondered if he'd enjoyed the meal.
"So what do we do about the, uh, the Base when we get back?" Rinoa, who'd been silent and a little distant suddenly asked. Demilee received a quick, unsure glance from the woman and again, the Forest Owls became quiet and Demilee couldn't help but feel as though she were the cause of it. It was understandable, she reasoned. People tended to have shifty eyes and uncomfortable postures when they tried to hide their distrust.
"We'll worry about that once we get there," Elise answered lowly.
More time passed, and eventually, the faction engaged in light conversation. Then, when their stomachs were full, Kal led the charge for Zone, Watts, and Vinny to help move Demilee's APC further into Roshfall so that everyone could at least have some form of protection while they slept inside of it. Demilee used the commotion to retrieve her things and slip away with her bag to handle small business of her own.
She pulled from one of the bag's pockets a long, black flashlight and fumbled to turn it on. The white light sent out a beam through the trees, catching a few gray bodies of small Squatter monkeys scurrying away to avoid the sudden disruption. Demilee learned that when they were present, the surrounding area was absent of immediate danger. As she walked through the darkness, guided by her pilfered light—in fact, everything she owned had been stolen at one time or another—she found a small clearing among the thicket, and the sound of rolling water sighed into her ears. She followed the burbling, taking note to the mounting chirps of crickets and other insects.
Something was calling to her, singing energy into her pores and distilling the other magical properties riled inside. Demilee envisioned the ethereal voice to belong to that of a mother, contentedly lulling a child to sleep, to dream. When she was near enough to pass through the bodies of more trees, she saw brilliant and azure diamonds glinting on the surface of a rounded lake, reflecting the bright, star-ridden sky above, shining like the naïve idea of hope. There was a soft, white smearing from the crystalline moon, large and full as if it were the eyes of the world, and Demilee dropped everything, arriving now at the pinnacle of the tranquility showering over her.
Raising her arms, Demilee whispered, "What are you asking me?" As if the moon could hear her, she waited, until again, she realized that it would never answer her. Demilee knew that whenever the moon was this beautiful and full, she had to be underneath it. She had to answer its call from beyond a cityscape.
The serene blue facade of the sky seemed to laugh at Cid when he finally mustered the nerve to look up at it. There was no cloud in sight which traditionally meant that Hyne wanted to watch over a particular area, down on humanity, whom the God had created. It was a silly old wives' tale he'd found himself believing more in nowadays. If there was such a benevolent being that guarded and guided his progeny, then perhaps Cid wasn't as alone as he thought. Then again, only the sky knew, and he couldn't help feeling that it enjoyed watching him grasp at hope, switching back and forth with ideas, like any old fool would do when things were never certain.
His life had grown and spiraled out of his reach it seemed, and it was only fair that only pieces of him were left in its wake. Cid had taken the front seat in the past events that presented itself to him, and did nothing when action mattered, when it was time to stop preparing and to just face things. How he'd turned out now, sad and defeated, made him wonder why he even tried so hard to instill in his mercenaries beliefs that would eventually shatter and protect nothing. A man could build as many fortresses as he deemed necessary, reinforce it with things that could better suit hardships, but if he was too concerned with establishing enough protection and never looked out of the windows, how would he ever see the dangers coming?
Balamb Garden was never a source that Cid wanted to bury his fears and insecurities inside of. He never wanted to place layers of unforeseen failures and fail-safes that would end up hindering all that he worked for. But, alas, he was only an old fool, probably with little to no credibility for even developing such a militaristic institution. Balamb Garden was the herald of his dreams, a manifestation of the stronger, more powerful version of himself. It was able to do and function properly, without human emotions that impeded progress. This pseudo-Cid could take action, and he preferred it that way.
"Cid, dear, you've run yourself into a hole, love. . . ."
Those would have been the ridiculing, but gentle words of his wife should she come to realize what he'd been up to for the past few months. She would immediately recognize how ridiculously pitiful and incapable he'd turned out, probably because most of him belonged to his Garden now. Just at the mere thought of seeing his wife standing before him, her long, raven hair passing over her back like silk and her gentle smile and warm, dark eyes that disarmed him, sent him into an upheaval of despair and uncertainty.
She'd become what they both had feared and never touched upon; she'd disappeared from him. Cid indirectly heard from her on media outlets and in magazines. He'd received commission requests from Galbadia, hiring SeeDs to aid in government cover-ups as officials vied for their ideals over others. It was due, in part, to the sorceress' ascension. Cid had watched as parts of the world slowly began to shift, and all he could do was bury himself further in his work. His dear wife, Edea, had become the sorceress little children feared in the fairy tales that portrayed the beings as soul-stealing apparitions, and Cid had become detached, his way of making up for his failures.
She was the planned ambassador for Galbadia now, and he supposed president Deling saw her as a tool of power and domination over other nations, for who would contend with a Sorceress backed by an expansive military? Only few knew what Edea was however, until Galbadia unveiled her identity publicly and made it known that they were being supported by a Sorceress. When that happened, Cid knew nothing good would come of it. That was why he needed to act, and because he himself was incapable of doing so, Balamb Garden, the entity of his dreams, and possibly even his failure, would act.
At first, Garden had been nothing more than a local military institute, taking in domestic requests. In those days, Balamb Town had been virtually eradicated of crime—not that the rate was ever high. Then, as technology stepped forward, so did Cid's Garden. The curriculum began implementing the use of para-magic, magic manipulation and weapons, and with that kind of support in regular combat, SeeDs grew to an international scope, and two more Gardens were formed, one in Galbadia, and the other in the northern region of the world.
They were the self-proclaimed peace-makers and keepers of the world, or at least that's how the media portrayed SeeDs as. The institute was perfect for young children to make a name for themselves, to protect a world in which war and death were so prevalent standard education seemed to be the lesser choice.
Cid's SeeD of the present were mostly children with troubled pasts, orphaned since before they could remember. The Sorceress War twenty-three ago had seen to that, and the Headmaster supposed it was only appropriate that those children had become one of the top SeeDs in their generation. They pushed for goals set within a militaristic background and never looked back. Most found that their ties to the past would not define them, cutting it away would protect them. Now, a recent influx of international students with completely different pasts, less shattered, began to mix into the student ratio, causing Balamb to adapt to an entirely new culture, one with similar ideals and yearnings—as long as the world couldn't fix itself on its own, they'd be there to help it along.
"You know, this can turn into a dangerous game should the Galbadian government find out what you've been dabbling your hands in. . . ." Cid Kramer removed his fingers from the gray pockets of his peacoat, swiveling his head to find the face of a man, taut and riddled with sharp posture. His golden hair, neatly brushed backward did little to reveal his true age of forty-three, still young in Cid's book.
Sadly, Kramer grinned, "It's never as simple as a game, Martine," he sighed. Looking at the Headmaster of Galbadia Garden now, Cid couldn't help but feel that he'd made the right choice. Martine Beaumonte was a man of dreams, just like Cid, with the same passion. His vast military background was one of the initial reasons Cid had chosen Martine to be the master of Galbadia's Garden. "I didn't expect to see you in person."
Cid glanced behind at the civilian vehicle Martine had been escorted in. A young woman that reminded Cid of one of his own stood tight-lipped and unmoving. The two men drew closer, but exchanged no handshake. No one ever had business in the Gaulg mountains in the isle of Balamb unless they were looking for trouble, but the two men could never be careful enough. In the distance, above the peaks the aquatic body of Cid's Garden could be seen. The two heard the melodic school bells echoing through the mountain air.
"Caelum's been captured, and it's only a matter of time before Deling turns his attention back to Timber," Martine said. "The SeeDs you deployed are still capable enough to—"
"Of course," Cid interrupted. "We both should be expecting reports soon." Cid knew that Martine noticed his anxiety and how removed he was, and he knew the committee in the Commission's Bureau detected his odd behavior as well, they just didn't say anything. ". . . I want this mission high and tight, no mistakes. If this should end like it should, at least one of us will walk away satisfied—for the greater good."
"They're your SeeDs, Kramer. I trust you trained them well." The two descended into a knowing silence before the female escort prompted Martine to make his exit. The Galbadian native replaced the black hat upon his thinning hair. "The world can not revert back to the time of Sorceresses, Cid. We've come too far to have anything threaten what we've built." Then, Martine turned from Cid, whispering, "My condolences. . . ."
The car roared to life, and then left Cid to his thinking. As he turned back to face Balamb Garden, his fingers slipped back into his pockets, finding an odd device in one of them. It was a grade A holographic projector—a military messenger of sorts. Martine must have tossed it there, and at the realization, it caused Cid to chuckle. Apparently, Martine still used old military intelligence tricks.
The old man looked back up at the sky, his smile disappearing. For his selfishness, involving people who didn't deserve to be handled by him, Cid Kramer knew he needed to pay the ultimate sacrifice. He only hoped he'd be prepared for it.
Rinoa refused to make Demilee feel out of place with the group, despite the fact that she'd been partly to blame for her faction's imprisonment. There were many things she didn't know about the world, but she was sure that the woman who had stormed and trashed their base couldn't be the same, quiet, insecure person they'd been traveling with. Of course, Rinoa knew that it could have been a guise, and that aiding the Forest Owls to get to Timber was somehow only serving the girl's agenda, but the more she toyed with that possibility, the more implausible it seemed to be to her.
It was the reason why she was trailing the strange girl through the forest, overcome by curiosity as to where Demilee was headed and why she didn't seem to feel the slightest fear of walking through alone like Rinoa did. Following her had been easy enough, but then the girl had picked up speed upon approaching a clearing, and Rinoa had to pick up her pace fully just to keep up with Demilee.
As she watched, poorly camouflaged by the trees, she took in the peaceful scenery of a lake glowing by the light of the moon, its beauty just as new and foreign as Demilee.
The girl had her arms spread and her head was pushed back, as if physically swallowing up the atmosphere. Then, Demilee became frantic as she pulled her bag off of her back and dug through her items inside. She grasped a plastic container holding small black seeds inside. Demilee jiggled the glass as if to listen to the seeds beat against each other.
As she went to work digging and planting, Rinoa opted to use the opportunity, as strange as it was, to converse with Demilee, to try and understand her a little.
"Autumn?" she spoke quietly, as to not startle the woman. Demilee jumped slightly and turned from crouching completely over to find who had called her second name. She looked relieved. "Um, could I ask what you're doing?"
Both appeared very pale under the silver-blue light, as if they'd been carefully made from ceramics. Demilee came back to her work, clearing away more soil from the small hole she'd created.
"I'm leaving my mark on the world," she simply answered. Rinoa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, not sure if Demilee was purposely being cryptic or if she was just answering practically. The way she said it with such conviction made Rinoa believe the latter.
"By planting seeds?"
"Not just any seeds. These are Moonbay lillies. They'll grow four feet tall and only bloom on a full moon." Rinoa had heard of those flowers before. They were pretty rare now, and could only be found in the west, near Winhill. She never saw one bloom before.
"Where did you get the seeds?" Rinoa asked, coming beside Demilee and kneeling. Before them was Obel lake, luring Rinoa to look its way and get lost in her thoughts.
"They were a gift to me," she said, revealing nothing else. Rinoa wanted to know why the girl had left Caelum, and why she chose to head to Timber with a resistance faction she'd nearly killed. Was this an act of desperation? Was the faction jeopardizing themselves by having her tag along? And why hadn't she showed any more signs of possessing para-magic after they'd broken out of prison? Just who was she? "Did you enjoy the meal?" The girl's simple question forced Rinoa out of her mental captivity.
"Yes, it was really good," she smiled and Demilee returned the gesture. Rinoa grew more serious. "Autumn, I'm sorry, but I'm just really confused by you. You know so much about cars, cooking, and—well, I don't know. You're just. . . ."
"Just what?" Demilee asked, though she didn't sound hurt, she sounded as if she wanted Rinoa's words to be coaxed out of her. "Different?" The two turned from each other, Rinoa first. "It's all right, I feel the same. You guys talk and then you don't talk. Even now, you feel awkward around me—" Demilee jerked her hands up disarmingly, "not that it's surprising." Then, a little quieter she added, "I did destroy your base. . . ."
"Are you sure that was you?" Rinoa questioned, releasing her own thoughts on the entire situation. This woman, shrouded in so much enigma, cooking for her and planting seeds, was far removed from the memory she had of the demonic figure engulfed in flames charging at Seifer. "Do you remember everything?" Demilee nodded.
"I didn't mean to though," she pleaded. "It shouldn't have happened." Rinoa believed her.
So they would not fall silent again, Rinoa asked if she could help plant the black little seeds, to which Demilee kindly obliged, then she began telling the Caelum woman bits and pieces about herself, nothing important, nothing the moon didn't already know whenever she found herself talking to it.
Ahhhh! I'm back! I apologize for the loooooooonnngggggggg wait, but the semester is over and done with, then I relaxed, then I stayed in bed, then I slugged around, and well, you get the idea. Eventually, I started writing something I wanted to write for once and decided to publish this next chapter! (Oh, how I miss this story!)
Anyway, I hope Cid's part wasn't too confusing, what you can bet on is that the sorceress Edea IS his wife (Insert trite dramatic music) and that her demise may be near. Also, I really liked the inner complexes of the Forest Owls and their new addition. I still wanted to portray the younger members naivety, especially in the face of a seemingly innocent young woman. I wonder what Demilee's intentions are? Whatever it is, she's not the only character with secrets!
Until next chapter!