Note: Here guys... Made it! I have a test on Friday and I have special PE tomorrow which is why today would only be the logical time for me to update. Either way, this chapter is quite different from the others as I needed a way to introduce two knew characters. One of the new character names is actually a translation which is why I'm giving it up before the chapter so that none of you would say my naming sense stinks... Celsus is Latin for the word "proud". Oh well, I needed a little jump start to get to my climax... Go on then and read on!
Rose's POV:
We continued hiking upward but the terrain proved to be challenging. Numerous blisters studded my white skinny legs. Claire was also sweating from the scorching hot weather.
"Are you thirsty?" I panted to her, taking out a container and drinking from it.
She answered something and nodded. Although I wasn't quite able to hear her due to a pounding sensation in my ears but I understood what she meant when she had nodded her head. I handed over the container to her so that she could drink from it.
"Thank you," she replied after the pounding in my ears had stopped, handing the container back.
The terrain began to get much more rockier. I honestly began to envy the fact that Claire could float, although I can't say that she wasn't having any problems... The wind had grown more violent and Claire was doing the best she could to avoid getting blown away.
"I think we should just find cover and rest for now," Claire shouted back, trying to make her voice audible through the wind.
I was about to open my mouth and agree when all of a sudden, the winds stopped. It just... stopped. Claire and I just remained silent at the sudden change.
"Look!" Claire pointed, breaking the silent.
I looked at what she was so excited about and noticed something odd... The path in front of us was no longer rocky and sandy. Instead, lush green grass was spread out, acting as a mystical soft carpet. It seemed so different from the path we had just come from.
"Now... This is... odd..." I managed to mutter out.
"Can we please rest here?" Claire immediately asked, her huge eyes looking up at me in such a pleading way.
I resting there wouldn't be that bad. I mean, the place looked like a miniature forest... oasis of some sort... It had everything needed to support life in abundance.
The mini-forest, oasis, whatever you would call it was surrounded by trees... The grass was green in coloration, indicating that they were all healthy. Upon closer inspection, a small lake sat in the center of it all.
I was about to say yes when a sudden gust of... sand hit my face? I struggled to open my eyes to see that the weather had changed to a vicious sandstorm. A sandstorm? In a place like that? I had no time to wonder about that though as the sandstorm immediately began to push Claire away with it.
"CLAIRE!" I yelled, grabbing hold of her hand, "HURRY! WE MUST FIND SHEL-"
I stopped talking. The weather had abruptly changed to... rain? The raindrops that dropped down on us washed away the sand that had accumulated on our body, leaving several hardened pools of sand on the uneven grassy ground. Claire only looked up to me in confusion.
"Okay, now... I guess there's a scientific explanation to this," I muttered under my breath, struggling to find a reasonable explanation to the strange occurrence. I had no time to think though, for a loud voice immediately shattered.
"Eat that, Sandra!" a voice proudly rang out, making me turn to its source. It was then that I noticed two combatants hovering above the lake: a Masquerain and a Flygon.
"I've put out your pesky Sandstorm with my Rain Dance again," the Masquerain proudly gloated.
"Can it, Celsus!" the Flygon, presumably Sandra, yelled back, "I could take you down anytime I wished."
Celsus hovered back and forth, as if taunting Sandra that he wasn't listening.
"Oh really? Then why haven't you?" Celsus retorted.
Sandra didn't say anything, she just began to flap her wings violently, causing a sandstorm to engulf the ensuing area.
Celsus didn't bother to reply either. Instead, he began to glow, causing the sandstorm to subside into a gentle rain.
I looked back at Claire, seeing that her confused look had changed to one of curiosity.
"I think they have some issues... You think we should... you know... help them?" Claire asked innocently.
While I had opened up to Claire, I still thought of others the same way I had always thought of them. I'm not gonna just bust through an argument between two strangers and start scolding them... Maybe I'd rather just do it my way and knock the, both out and grab whatever they own... Err... Either way, Claire's usual good-natured kindness amazed me. How can someone like her, who has gone through so much, still think about others before her.
No, don't say 'yes'! my conscience warned.
"All right, let's see what we can do," I spat out, forcing the words out.
I was SO gonna regret that.
The ensuing sandstorm grew more violent at that moment... Knocking Claire away... I guess I became angry about their pointless argument hurting my friend... If Claire had really wanted me to end their issue that badly, I guess I would do so... my way.
"HEY!" I yelled on top of my lungs, "WILL YOU TWO DIMWITS STOP HURTING PASSERSBY?"
I threw a small pebble with the strongest force my arm could master. The small rock had hit Sandra's head dead on, which ricocheted off on to Celsus direction, hitting his head too. The two stopped fighting and looked down to the source of the voice that had just rudely yelled at them and the very one who had decided to break up their all-too-important argument by throwing a well-aimed pebble to the head.
Both of their eyes focused onto me, with annoyed expressions on their face. I knew that this was where I was adept at: battling. I immediately got into a battling stance, waiting for my two opponents to descend upon me.
They both landed, their faces both gashed into angry expressions. I was ready to attack when they both suddenly bowed in apology.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sandra answered shyly, opposed to her loud yelling a moment ago.
Celsus, however, hovered upwards proudly, raising his chin.
"It's not like we caused much damage," he scoffed.
I glanced at a nearby tree which had been uprooted due to the haywire weather effects. Celsus must have noticed as Sandra was smirking at him.
"Oh," he shyly continued, embarrassed, "Well, at least nobody was hurt, right?"
"Right..." I sarcastically retorted, pointing to Claire, who was slowly trying to wake up after being knocked out.
"Why are you two so viciously fighting anyway... Say, is there money involved in the fight?" I scolded, adding the last part with a grin, thinking that maybe I could just mug them both and be on my way... Oh wait... I wasn't gonna do any mugging in front of Claire... Bah, who cares about what's going on in my mind.
"Well, Celsus here, had to waltz into my territory and bring rain again, soaking me while I was sleeping," Sandra tried to explain, rolling her eyes in Celsus direction before Celsus rudely cut her off.
"Hey, it's not my fault that you mistook that small piece of land to be part of your territory. In fact, it's part of mine!" Celsus cut in.
"Hey!" Sandra glowered, "That piece of land isn't yours... It's mine! You just got used to repetitively visiting me."
"Wait... Why does Celsus visit you?" Claire asked, having woken up some time ago... I wasn't aware of this and she had caught me by surprise.
"Well, we were en-" Sandra began, before she was swiftly cut off by Celsus.
"Friends! Nothing more, nothing less!" he blushed nervously, "Or... we were friends... Until she began kicking me out of her territory."
I raised an eyebrow, why was I stuck like this..? These two freaks had no relevance to me, yet why am I playing counselor for them. Claire, however, began to talk it out with them, allowing me to smile and withdraw from the conversation.
I was about to walk away when I suddenly froze... I couldn't help but admit that a selfish thought had entered my mind. That place... the oasis... forest, whatever... it did seem perfectly fine... I mean, who wouldn't want to settle down there and just enjoy life there? I certainly would... Now, maybe if I did solve those bickering idiots' problem... There would be nothing to disturb a peaceful stay there! I could practically live in paradise!
"Hey, you over there!" Celsus's sharp voice snapped me out of my fantasy.
"What?" I groaned, my annoyed tone becoming more evident.
"Aren't you an outlaw being hunted down by the inhabitants back at some town?" Celsus pressed on.
Claire and I exchanged nervous glances. If Celsus knew about that... He might've turned me in and my journey would've all been for nothing.
"An outlaw? A-are you serious?" I defended myself.
"Aha! I remember now... Rose, aren't you... You've built up some kind of reputation... Don't worry... I won't turn you in," Celsus smugly stated.
"Oh, thank you-" Claire thanked for me, however she was cut off by Celsus again.
"HOWEVER, you must join my side of this argument I have with Sandra," he ended with a conceited grin on his face.
I began to frown... Celsus... He was... tricky... Great, I've been dragged into some sort of territorial war. This Celsus guy... He trapped me good.
"Alright," I sighed, "what's your pathetic problem?"
Sandra just stared back at the scene unfolding before her.
"Why, you fiendish idiot! I can't believe I used to be your friend! I can't believe I was en-... Grr! I don't want to EVER see your face again!" Sandra angrily spat before flying away.
I wondered what she was about to say...
"Wait, Sandra!" Claire called out, running after her.
I silently cursed. I guess I was now stuck with Celsus. I was busy trying to resist the urge of smacking him in the face... With that thought in mind, I found it hard to hide a devious grin. My expression somehow changed when I noticed something odd. Celsus drooped down on the ground, as if he was genuinely hurt by what Sandra had said before flying away. I was about to question his expression but he quickly shook off his facial expression and replaced it with his more prominent prideful expression.
"Celsus, are you really that intent on declaring war against Sandra?" I quizzically asked, seeing that we were already alone.
He hesitated before answering.
"Yes, because I know I'll win," he answered, "I have you on my side, and with your skills... I know that this will end the argument once and for all."
I paused, then an idea began to form in my mind. I began to think that Celsus was missing out on something.
"Celsus, awhile ago... When Sandra had said that she couldn't believe both of you used to be friends, why did you somehow seem hurt?" I pressed, knowing that there was something more to that.
"W-what? Are you sure you aren't losing it yet, Ms. Mysterious Thief?" Celsus nervously retorted.
I ignored his rude comment and pressed on.
"Earlier, Sandra stated that you frequently visited her when you were both friends... Now, how could such close friends be like this now?" I asked, I felt like there was something hidden in his intentions.
Celsus remained silent.
"Celsus, tell me what you're hiding. You should've ought about this before dragging me into your mess," I continued, showing more of my annoyance in my voice.
"All right, all right... I think I find Sandra a bit attractive..." Celsus rapidly shot out, his eyes closed.
I just stared at him in silence... What was that he just said?
"Wait... Y-you don't mean..." I asked nervously.
"Yeah," he sighed sadly, "I-I... I like her..."
O... K... So the hidden intention he had for this all-too-serious argument he had with this Sandra was that he actually likes her? That was the most childish yet embarrassing reason I have ever heard for such an argument... Yet why would he be kicked out of Sandra's territory? Could it be that she doesn't like him back? I didn't bother to ask him though... Fearing that this could become part of my problems.
Oh wait a second... He only asked me to join his cause for the argument... I guess helping him out of this was never part of my contract anyway...
"Hey, uh... Rose? You think you can help me... uh... patch up things with Sandra?" Celsus shyly asked, all his pride extinguished.
Drat! Now he's dragging me into an even bigger mess.
"Listen, little guy... I can help you fight your battles bur I CAN'T help you in your love life. You should've thought things out clearly before you insulted her right in front of her," I spat out.
"I did say I wouldn't turn you in, did I?" he begged.
I sighed.
Just say no! my conscience rang out.
Would Claire say no? the other side of my conscience asked...
Saying no is just easy! Say it! Say NO! N-O! my conscience began to haunt me.
I was never one who found romance exciting... I harbored grudges against it... I could choose not to be part of this mess... I could do it! I could just... say...
"Fine, this is what you do," I started, silently cursing myself.
Pathetic fool! You'll regret this! my conscience gasped.
Celsus and I spent the rest of the night discussing about his problems... The rest of the night was a blur as my eyelids soon came crashing down.
"What do you think, Cresselia?" the familiar masculine voice echoed.
"Well, our hero is certainly growing as much as the other hero... Her heart has certainly opened up more than the last time..." the feminine voice replied.
"Really? Does that mean it's time for the test?" her companion asked.
"No, not yet... She still has to learn one last thing... One last thing that I'm sure she'll learn tomorrow," the feminine voice answered.
"Oh... uh... Cresselia? Do you think... that after this mess..." the masculine voice stopped speaking.
"After this mess... what?" the feminine voice responded.
"Err... Never mind," her companion replied.
"Fine then, I'll leave now... I still have other things to attend to... Bye now!" her voice echoed, before finally fading.
The companion sighed.
"Why can't I just tell her..?" he uttered, before fading away.
I opened my eyes and surveyed my surroundings. Whoever was intruding into my dreams... They're starting to annoy me.
I pulled myself out of my thoughts when I noticed that Celsus was gone. My throat felt dry, where could that annoying bug be?
"Found you!" a voice yelled behind ,e.
"Celsus?" I turned around, bumping into Claire.
"Ow," she yellowed, however, she quickly shrugged it off, "R-rose! T-the lake! Celsus and Sandra are fighting more ferociously than ever!"
I opened my eyes widely. The little lover boy's actually fighting? What does he want to do? Ruin his chances? Make his situation worse?
"We have to hurry then!" I rushed, dragging Claire along.
We arrived at the lake, and I saw what was going on. Celsus had been trying to dodge most of Sandra's attacks, he seemed scared scared to attack back. Sandra, on the other hand, wore a fearsome expression about her face... She must be really mad at Celsus.
"S-sandra, stop!" Celsus screamed, dodging another one of Sandra's Draco Meteors.
"You're going to pay for everything, Celsus! You were the worst friend I ever had!" Sandra flared, whipping up a ferocious Sandstorm.
"Please... This was all a misunderstanding!" Celsus screamed after being blown away by the sandstorm.
"A misunderstanding? I think not!" Sandra growled as she slashed Celsus viciously with Dragon Claw.
"You got the wrong idea!" Celsus retorted, fighting back with Ice Beam.
"First, you come and declare war against me! The next day you come back and insult me by asking a bystander to go against me! Then now, you rub salt on my biggest wound by telling me that you like some girl, when you promised me back when you were still a Surskit that you would one day be bonded with me! Oh right! You forgot that we were engaged despite how many times you visited! I still remember the day I began to kick you out of my territory began when you said that you had no idea of our engagement!" she screamed in fury as she countered the Ice Beam with Draco Meteor.
My jaw dropped down. Celsus, that idiot, STILL didn't tell me everything. What was he thinking? That idiot's gonna get himself killed!
"Sandra! Wait, Celsus is right!" I shouted, but Sandra didn't hear me over her raging battle.
I decided that I had to intervene. I tried to catch Sandra's attention with Psychic, but that turned out to be a bad idea.
Sandra locked her eyes onto me.
"You've come to help Celsus, have you! Fine, I'll deal with you too!" she growled as she charged forward with Dragon Claw.
I closed my eyes... I could tell Sandra was REALLY angry.
"Please stop!" I heard Claire scream.
Then, I heard something else... A small whoosh of wind or something.
I opened my eyes to see Sandra on the ground, defeated. I looked back at Claire, who I speculated launched a Blizzard attack at Sandra.
I sighed in relief.
Celsus floated down and gasped when he saw Sandra in such a condition.
"Sandra! Are you okay?" he asked in a worried tone.
Sandra coughed but looked away from him in disgust.
"Sandra," I explained, "please at least wait for Celsus to finish explaining!"
Sandra just sat down, not saying anything.
"Uhh... Sandra... First of all, I'm sorry," Celsus began.
"Too late for that!" Sandra growled.
"Well... What I really wanted to say awhile ago was... Err... I was trying to imply something..." Celsus continued, "It was something I really wanted to tell you... But I had to try to... uhh... imply it because I was really scared to tell it to you in a-"
"Just spit it out so that I can leave!" Sandra angrily yelled.
"I wanted to tell you that I like you!" he cried out, covering his embarrassed face.
"W-wait, what?" Sandra shifted her weight uncomfortably, her angered expression changing to shock "Then... who was this girl you liked?"
"Umm... S-sandra... You didn't give me a chance to finish my sentence," Celsus clarified nervously.
"Shoot!" Sandra replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Well... It was supposed to go like this..." he started, "There's this girl I... really... like... But I think she hates me..."
Sandra raised her eyebrow and began to smile, seeing where he was going with his "implications"...
"Why would she hate you?" she began to play along.
"Because I was such a jerk to her..." Celsus shyly responded, losing all hints of his usual proud personality.
"And who is this girl?" Sandra smiled, blushing albeit taunting at the same time.
"... You!" he shyly replied to her, his usual blue skin changing to red.
"Guess what?" Sandra continued, "You were wrong..."
"Huh." Celsus looked up.
"I don't hate you..l in fact, I've been waiting for you to finally say that! I love you too!" Sandra cheerfully cried out, pinning Celsus down and hugging him.
"Sorry for saying I forgot about the engagement back then, Sandra... I was really nervous about telling you how I really felt so I told you that I forgot about it..." Celsus whispered as he planted a kiss to her cheek.
"Apology accepted," Sandra giggled.
I just crossed my arms and rolled my eyes at the mushy scene unfolding before me.
"Well, all's well that ends well, right Rose?" Claire chimed in.
"Uh... Yeah," I responded, trying to make my voice a little bit louder for Celsus to hear, "I mean, it could also end well for us... With all my help with Celsus... I'm expecting him to be giving me a reward.. You know, like maybe allowing us to stay here!"
"Oh yeah," Celsus responded, sitting on top of Sandra's head, "I doubt you should stay here rose... Considering your status as an outlaw... Many exploration teams come by here to rest... You would get arrested if you stayed here for more than a week."
"Don't worry, we'll keep silent about you, " Sandra replied back, grinning.
I felt stiff... I just stood there as if I had been turned to stone... My conscience was right! The moment I became nice, nothing good rewards me in turn! Why, why, why?
I collapsed in a fit of tears.
"Fine, Claire..." I replied with a sigh, "Let's continue moving then..."
We bid Celsus and Sandra goodbye and continued on our journey. The landscape had dissolved back to the harsh desert that we were in once we had left the lake... My paradise... The paradise I wanted to keep for myself...
We continued hiking and we soon began to fall prey to heat again.
"Uh... Rose... Are you feeling thirsty?" Claire gently nudged me.
"Y-yes," I answered.
I looked up at the sky. The sun shone brightly, and unforgivingly. I wished for rain... Odd... Drops of water began falling down... Could these be mirages...?
I stopped daydreaming when I realized I was wet. That was really water! I opened my mouth and caught some raindrops, ignoring my mind's usual logic.
"Hey!" a voice echoed from a distance.
I turned around to see Celsus, atop Sandra's head, both flying towards us.
"We'd like to join you, you see..." Celsus started.
"I mean, we don't like to live back there in isolation, so... We want to go and see many more places! I mean... If it's okay with you..." Sandra shyly continued.
"We'd be more than happy to travel with you!" Claire responded before I could open my mouth.
I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Now, I've got two MORE problems chained to me. I certainly didn't know what the two voices had wanted me to learn today was, but I certainly learned a lesson alright. Follow your conscience... Especially if it tells you to smack down two lovers. Smack them down both, before you regret it.
Note: Originally, I wanted to make Celsus and Sandra seem like minor characters (even if they still have important roles later)... However, I drafted that idea and made them travel with Rose instead, they still keep their important roles later on though. Oh well, how did you find this chappie? Like it? Hate it? If you really want me to improve, a little review wouldn't hurt, would it? Oh well, bye guys... Gotta get back to studying...