There's a note at the end concerning the Dwarven Vows, so please take a look at it once you've finished reading the chapter. As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow #17:
Cha robh naigheachd mhòr riamh nach robh na chall do dhuin'eigin.
All good news is bad news to somebody.

11-

"Meltokio is such a beautiful city, Lloyd! I can't believe we got to explore it all afternoon!"

Ida was practically in a daze as she followed her companions back to the Wilder mansion. Lloyd, even weighed down with most of the supplies they'd bought, couldn't help laughing at her enthusiasm.

"You don't have to tell me that. I haven't been here in a long time, so I'm having just as much fun as you are."

"I've never seen so many shops in one place. They must sell everything here!"

"Yeah, I'll bet they do-"

"And there's so many people and animals! There were cats everywhere, and I saw a really cool dog hanging out by one of the fountains! He licked my hand!"

"You should tell Colette about that. She loves dogs-"

"And that place we ate for lunch! It was sooo good! I've never had a sandwich with marmalade on it before. What a combination! I'll have to try making it at home sometime."

"Y-yeah, though it would've been better if there weren't so many people…" Lloyd glanced behind him toward his friends. "You guys, next time we have some time off, we should all come back here and eat at that little cafe! What was it-The Elephant House? Sometime when it's not so crowded-"

"It may be difficult for me to get away next semester, since I'm beginning my internship," Genis offered. "So don't get your hopes up."

"I understand- that's alright. Sheena and I can eat together, just us. It'll be a date."

Sheena stepped next to Lloyd and shoved one of the bags she was carrying onto his shoulder. "Don't get your hopes up for that either."

"Aw, c'mon! I thought you loved that sandwich you had."

"That's not the point. You can't just schedule a date without asking the person first." Sheena rolled her eyes and pushed him forward through the gates of the mansion. "It's getting dark. We shouldn't keep Hazel waiting any longer."

"Right, right..."

"Hey, uh, guys?"

Lloyd, Sheena, and Ida were already halfway up the steps when they heard Genis calling out to them from behind. They stopped and turned, curious as to what the issue was.

"Something wrong, Genis?" Ida asked.

"I was just going to say that I can take the bags for you if you like. Since we already had dinner, you should go ahead and settle into the guest rooms. Hand the bags to me, and I'll get them to Hazel."

"You sure?" Sheena asked. "This is a lot of stuff."

"It's no problem. I can handle it. I actually had some things I wanted to ask Miss Hazel about. I'll see you guys a little bit later."

They all gave him their bags and waved to him as he walked down the opposite hallway. Sheena and Lloyd glanced at one another uneasily. They knew Genis well enough to know that something wasn't quite right.

"I wonder what Genis wanted to ask Miss Hazel," Ida spoke absentmindedly as she began up the staircase. She stopped and gasped. "Oh! Do you think he likes her? They would be so cute together!"

"I don't think that's it. Genis has somebody else that he likes. And as for Hazel… I, erm, don't think Genis is her type." Lloyd shook his head. "Genis seemed concerned about something. I wonder if something happened."

"He asked me about Hazel when he came back from getting clarification on the medicine," Sheena added. "Something about Zelos hiring her."

"Did Zelos not hire her?" Lloyd asked.

"He did."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"I don't... think so..." Sheena shook her head. "Let's not worry about that. C'mon- I'd like to go through some names again. I'm not satisfied assuming that you managed to guess Ida's real name through a joke. That would be too much of a coincidence."

Ida had reached the top step, but when Sheena spoke her name, she turned around. "But what about the man in my memory? And Cruxis?"

"It's true you have a memory about the name Ida. But there's no guarantee that it's your name. It could be the name of someone close to you; someone you know or used to know."

Ida frowned, but followed after Sheena as she led down the hallway toward the room they'd been given. Lloyd followed them as well, running forward to catch up with Sheena.

"What do you suggest, then? Are we just going to make up a bunch of names and yell them out until we find the right one?"

"I have a book. Genis and I grabbed it from the library on our way past. It's an alphabetical listing of all registered first names from Meltokio's census two years ago. Ida is from Sylvarant, I know, but the names should be similar in both places."

Lloyd pressed closer to her so that he could get a better look at the book. "That's huge. Are we going through the whole thing?"

"I figured we would." Sheena shrugged. "Start at the beginning and just work our way through-"

"Let's start at the very back with Z!" Lloyd snatched the book from Sheena's bag before she even had the chance to argue, flipping through to the back of the book. "Zuleika. Does that ring a bell? Zuleika?"

Ida shook her head. "No."

"How about Zoya?"

"I don't think so. It doesn't sound familiar."

"Zorana?"

"No."

"Zoe?"

"No..."

Genis regretted taking all of the bags with him very soon after he split from the group, but it was too late for him to change his mind. Besides- he wanted to speak with Hazel properly, if only to find out what was going on. He knew how Zelos felt about half-elves, not that he wasn't improving. Genis just didn't want the secret to come out unintentionally and possibly cost Hazel her job.

"Miss Hazel? I, uh, brought everything we picked up." Genis pushed open the door to the kitchen, where Hazel said they'd find her. She was preparing some medicine to take with them, so her back was turned and she didn't bother turning around.

"Just put them on the counter. I'll deal with them later. Thank you."

Genis set the bags down, but he didn't leave, instead staying to make sure that everything was there.

"This was a lot of items for you to, uh, pick up on the way out of town," he spoke in a low voice. "Surely you've done enough shopping to know how long it would take to gather all these things, even for a group of people."

"Yes? And?"

"I thought perhaps you'd sent us on a fool's errand to get us out of the house for some reason, but then I remembered that you'd written it before Seles' coughing fit. You knew we'd never make it out of Meltokio by our expected departure time with all the supplies we still needed. Why would someone as intelligent as you are leave all this shopping until the last minute?"

Hazel stopped what she was doing and wiped her hands on a dishtowel with a sigh. "Fine. You caught me."

"Were you stalling for time?" Genis took a step forward. "Trying to keep us from going to Flanoir?"

"Yes." Hazel closed her eyes and sighed. "It's no use hiding it from you. I was prepared to do everything in my power to keep us from leaving for Flanoir."

"...why? Is it something to do with Lloyd and me? With Colette? With Zelos? Wi-"

"With Master Zelos. And with Mistress Seles."

Genis was quiet for a moment.

"...what about them?"

Hazel turned toward him finally, bringing her gaze up to look him in the eye.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Isn't this great, Zelos? The mountainside is completely white!"

Colette started up the hillside with enthusiasm, gathering a snowball in her hands and rolling it about in a snowdrift to add size to it as best she could. Zelos, meanwhile, hadn't made any effort towards that end. He was standing to the side, watching.

"Isn't this great, mother? Meltokio is completely white!"

The snowball that Colette was rolling hit against a rock that was jutting out of the hillside and split into pieces. She gasped, and then sat back with a sigh. "This is harder than I thought. The snow here isn't anything like the snow we sometimes get back in Iselia."

"It's nothing like the snow we get in Meltokio either," he replied. "We don't."

"You don't?" Colette stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "Not at all?"

"Well, very rarely." Zelos sat down next to her, taking a broken piece of packed snow from her hands. "I was ten years old when I saw snow for the first time."

"Really?" Colette clasped her hands together. "We don't get snow in Iselia much either, but I do remember it a few times as a young child. For you to have been that old… it must have been magical!"

"...oh, there was magic alright..."

There was a moment of silence between them. Zelos was eyeing the clouds overhead, but Colette closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. He froze instinctively, not sure what to make of the gesture.

"Colette?"

"I'm so happy we came here. Even though our reasoning for it was scary at first, we've found the machine you were scared about, and now everyone is going to be safe. And I've... I've had so much fun." She rested more of her weight on his shoulder, now completely leaning against his side. "I don't know how to thank you."

Zelos' nervousness manifested itself in his usual smug demeanor. "No thanks needed, my dear," he murmured, tossing his arm around her shoulder if only to keep her from leaning so heavily on it. "Your presence alone brings me happiness enough."

Colette giggled. "Zelos, you're so funny!"

Funny. Now that was a descriptor he hadn't received before. Something in the back of his mind told him that he should be offended, but... he was too happy to be offended.

Before he could say anything, Colette shook his arm off and jumped to her feet. "I've got it! I can make a big snowman as a present for you!"

That's right! I can make a big snowman as a present for mother! I'm sure she'll be happy!

"Colette-" Zelos rose to his feet shakily. "-you really don't have to-"

"Marie? Enrico? Is that you?"

A voice from farther up the mountainside caught their attention, and they both stopped to look in its direction. Zelos sighed in utter relief for the interruption.

"Orrison!"

Both Zelos and Colette ran up the hillside to meet the priest, who was waving at them. He greeted them warmly, though out of breath.

"What brings you two all the way out here? Are you on your way to the observation deck at the fifth camp?"

"Fifth camp?" Colette asked.

"Up the mountain. There are seven camps along the way up, with number seven at the base just past here and number one at the summit. Fifth camp is the highest you can climb without specialized climbing gear, so I went up that way earlier today. I'd hoped to get back before dark, but it took longer than expected." Orrison sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. "What I really want is to see the view from the summit, though. I hear it's spectacular." He laughed. "If only we could fly, right?"

Zelos laughed alongside him. "If only."

Colette, meanwhile, had walked around to the other side of them. She tugged on Orrison's sleeve.

"Could we ask you a favor?"

"Oh, certainly! After all you've done for me, I owe you. Just name it."

"My brother and I aren't very well experienced with snow." Colette let go of his sleeve and clasped her hands together. "Would you help teach us how to make a snowman?"

Orrison smiled. "A snowman? That's an easy task! Of course I can help."

It was at that point Zelos realized that the situation was out of his hands. He gave a soft sigh of resignation and hiked over to a comfy-looking rock where he could sit and observe.

"You two keep up the good work. I'll supervise from over here."

"Huh?" Colette turned to look at him. "You're not going to help make it?"

"It's a present for me, isn't it? Do you really expect me to work on my own present?"

"I suppose that makes sense..."

With the sun having set and the area growing darker by the minute, Zelos could see his cloudy breath outlined prominently against the starless sky. The air around him felt stifling, as though the cold were pressing against his body from every angle. He felt trapped, unable to escape the merciless cold and everything it represented for him. Every shadow now appearing along the mountainside looked at first glance like a pool of blood. Zelos had to find something else to think about, or he was going to drive himself mad.

Orrison.

The priest had been as good a distraction as anything on this trip, and after their conversation by the lake the previous day, Zelos was certain that Orrison knew something about the magitechnology weapon that he and Colette were after. Was that why he'd come this way? Was he looking for something on the viewing platform on the mountain that he couldn't see from the ground?

"Yo, Orrison! Would you mind coming over here for a sec? I'd like to talk to you."

The snowman was beginning to take shape, and Colette was busy arranging several stones in the form of facial features, so Orrison left her side and approached Zelos. "You rang?"

"Have you been out here all day today?"

"Since it was light out, so... about six or seven hours?"

Zelos nodded. "That's good. Has it been crowded- I mean, have you seen people around the mountains?"

Orrison thought it over for a moment. "I saw a few people along the pathways, and several people staying in the hiking camps, but nothing major. Why? Are you looking for someone?"

"Sort of." Zelos shrugged. "It's complicated, but I was just wondering if you'd seen anything suspicious."

"Nothing that I'd consider such. Everyone I met along the way was a climber going up the mountain for sightseeing. The comet will be visible starting tomorrow night, and a lot of people are trying to get above the cloud cover for a clear view."

"I see. Thanks." With a sigh, Zelos turned his attention back to the sky. It was almost completely dark now, and with the sky obscured by clouds, there wasn't much light to help illuminate the path. "If you want to get back to the hotel before it gets really dark, you should get going. But... I'd like to talk to you later, if that's okay."

"Sure thing," Orrison stood up and started down the path. "What's your room number? I can come by tomorrow morning and meet you and your sister for breakfast."

"Room five-twenty-three; it's the King Salmon suite, so you should see the sign. We have some plans early- can you manage an early start? Say around five-thirty?"

"Certainly. I'll be off now, but you should go talk to your sister. I think she's almost finished with her project."

Orrison waved, but Zelos didn't have the heart to wave back. That distraction hadn't lasted long, and it hadn't yielded any good information either. Something about what Orrison was saying didn't feel right, but Zelos couldn't put his finger on it. The priest didn't seem the type to lie, but a lie of omission, particularly if it was to protect his "divine" mission, might be acceptable-

"Brother? Is he gone?"

Colette's voice interrupted Zelos' train of thought. He looked to make sure that Orrison was out of earshot and then nodded his head.

"Don't worry, Colette, you don't have to pretend anymore. He's gone."

"Oh, I wasn't worried. I just wanted to present this to you properly." Colette had stepped in front of her creation, motioning with her hands. "This is to thank you for everything you've done. It's... a snow angel."

Zelos hadn't been looking, so he was surprised by what he saw. It was a small snowman, but decorated as lavishly as the environment would allow. Colette's scarf was tied around it, with the ends blowing in the wind as it whipped around the mountainside. The back of the snowman was adorned with fallen branches from some of the nearby pine trees, fashioned into rudimentary wings.

"An angel?" he murmured.

"There's a story behind it." Colette waved her hands and sat down on the ground, lying back to demonstrate what she was describing. "See, in Iselia, on the rare occasions when it snowed, we made figures called snow angels in front of our houses. You do it by lying in the snow and waving your arms and legs to make a wing and robe shape. They were supposed to protect houses from dangerous winter weather." Satisfied with her work, she stood up to admire her finished product, shaking snow out of the collar of her dress. "This was, of course, when we believed that angels were servants of the goddess Martel, but..."

Zelos walked silently over to the snow sculpture, kneeling down to examine its wings.

"...thank you, Colette. It's beautiful."

"It's supposed to be you," she continued. "I know you don't like the idea of being the Chosen and all that, but this isn't anything like that. Snow angels are protectors, guardians, creatures that work for the safety and happiness of others. You've given up your time to come here to this place, despite how you feel about the weather, all to make sure that people are safe. You invited me and gave me somewhere to go even when I felt like I was alone. You've worked hard exploring the area and collecting information all for the sake of people you don't even know."

Zelos didn't want to look at her. "I'm just doing what anybody would do."

"That's not true! You're everyone's snow angel, Zelos!"

Colette ran forward and clasped his hands in hers, causing him to look up and face her. She smiled at him, a soft, grateful smile etched into her flushed cheeks.

"You're my snow angel."

The wind on the mountain continued to beat against the trees and drifts of snow, and loose flakes being blown about could have been mistaken for falling snow. However, the overcast sky had yet to drop any snowflakes, and for the moment the moon was trying to peek through small gaps between the clouds.

Zelos shifted his hands so that his and Colette's were clasped together. "Let's go to the summit," he whispered.

"What?"

"Orrison said that the view from up there is wonderful, right? Let's go up there and take it in. See what the world looks like from up above."

Colette laughed nervously. "But don't we need climbing gear for-?"

She cut off her sentence as she realized. Zelos knew that she had gotten his implication, but he stated it for her anyway. "If only we could fly, right?" He laughed to himself and motioned toward the path. "Let's walk a little further until we can find a spot with good visibility. In the meantime, I have a confession to make. Earlier I told you why I hated snow, but… it was a lie. I don't want to lie to you anymore. There's a story I need to tell you."

((Dwarven Vow #8- "He who does not look forward will be looking back." It means that, if you don't act carefully and pay attention to what you are doing, you'll have to own up to your mistakes in the future. And it seems that I'm finding myself looking back right now- specifically to chapter 9! With my sincerest apologies, I want to let everyone know that the translation I provided for Dwarven Vow number six ("Companionship makes the road shorter") was given in the WRONG LANGUAGE. "Giorraíonn beirt bóthar" is Irish. To the best of my knowledge, the Scots Gaelic translation would be "Dà a ghiorrachadh an rathad." I've gone back and corrected it, but I wanted to make sure everyone was aware.

I've gone through the rest of the chapters, and it looks like chapter 9 is the only one in which this mistake was made (though I did notice some typos with acutes vs. graves; I have chosen to leave them as they are.) As I mentioned at the beginning of the story, I'm not as well-educated in Gaelic as I would like to be. However, I've seen Scots Gaelic and Irish once compared to Spanish and Portuguese, as a Spanish-speaker I know how bewildering it is to stumble upon something in Portuguese and feel like I should understand it, but don't. Languages are very important to me, I don't want to seem as if I'm flippantly copy-pasting things from the internet without respecting them enough to study them, even if they're a relatively small part of the story. Every bit of the story is important. Thank you for your understanding, and I'll be more careful with these in the future!))