(SARAH)

I'd fallen asleep as soon as I'd gotten in bed. I was exhausted from the events of the day... I was sharing one of the two beds with Maes. Neither of us were about to let the other sleep on the floor. Call us girly, but if this was our last chance at a comfortable bed for a while, we weren't going to give it up just because it was a little cramped. Elicia took the couch and Lily was in the other bed, though she'd opted to just sleep on the floor. We were all adamant about letting her have a bed, though. There was just something about her that made me...sad.

Though I was exhausted, sleep was not without struggle. Nightmares tormented me, with too many different frightening things to count. I wasn't sure how much time passed until I gave up and just lie awake with my eyes closed. I needed sleep, but not badly enough to put my mind through terrible memories and things of my imagination.

The door creaked and my eyes snapped open. Through a sliver of dim light being let through by the open door, I saw the silhouette of someone, walking surprisingly quietly into the room. The person shut the door slightly, and the shadow moved silently to Lily's bed, crouching down beside it.

"Lily," the figure whispered. There was no mistaking that the voice belonged to Lee. It was a voice that was hard to forget, especially after being assaulted by rude things with it for the past few hours.

A small noise came from Lily, as if slightly surprised that Lee was there. "Brother..." she whispered in reply, shifting slightly under her covers.

There was a low chuckle. "I see you got a bed to yourself too, eh?"

"These people are very kind," she stated.

"Yeah, I guess..." Lee mumbled.

There was a pause. "Lee... If you do not wish to travel with them, then by all means-"

"No," he said harshly, then reiterated softly. "We have to go with them."

"If it is not in your best interest-"

"No." Why was she so eager to please him? I understand that they're family, but to be so devoted to a snake like Lee seemed odd.

She sat up in her bed, staring at him through the darkness.

"We have to do this, Lily," Lee said. "They're right, if we try to go it alone we'll get killed. This is the most assured way that the Emperor will recognize us."

Lily looked away. Lee grabbed her hand in his, holding it close. "Lily," he addressed. "We can't go back to Xing without doing this. What would Mother do?"

Lily stiffened, a slight whimpering noise escaping.

"Lily," Lee repeated over and over in a soothing tone. "Mother sent us to do this. If we fail... You know what will happen..."

Lily's small breaths got quicker before she composed herself. She seemed as though she was completely terrified, but was still able to suppress her emotions. It was as though she was an expert at masking what she was feeling. Maybe she had to in Xing. I wasn't sure of what exactly was required for women there, but she looked like she was trying to be what was asked of her. Like a doll.

"I'm worried about you... Brother," Lily whispered.

He looked at her in surprise.

"This mission we've taken on... It's dangerous..." she continued. "I don't want you to get hurt..."

Lee growled. "Lily! Do you not understand what Mother will do if we come home empty-handed?" He was trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible, but still displayed the urgency of the situation with every syllable. "It's you you should be worried about! I'll be fine either way. But Mother... This isn't just about her restricting your freedom anymore! She'll hurt you...! Her only goal is for me to be emperor, and if anything comes between her and that goal, she'll take it out on you! Like she always does." He's sighed. Anger, frustration, and sadness dripped from his voice. It amazed me... This arrogant boy actually put someone else before him...

And Lily... I wondered if what Lee said was true... Did their mother actually abuse Lily? Just out of spite and anger that her clan wasn't the most recognized?

My heart ached for this Xingese girl whom I barely knew.

"Brother, I do not care what becomes of me, so long as you are safe," Lily said.

"That's... No... You have to care," he mumbled. "Don't think that you're not important. Lily. When I become Emperor of Xing, I will ensure that no harm will ever come to you."

She remained silent.

"But to do that, we have to go rescue Ting," Lee continued. "Then... Then everything will be how it should..."

I rolled over in bed so that I wasn't facing Lee and Lily. I hoped they weren't aware that I was awake, and I especially didn't want them to see the look of absolute astonishment on my face. Maybe I'd underestimated Lee's character. No, I was sure I had. His devotion for his sister... And her devotion to him... I felt guilty to have disliked them from the start. They were victims of circumstance. They were...us.

Lee stood and placed a kiss on Lily's forehead. "Goodnight, Bâihé," he whispered.

"Goodnight, Gēgē..."

Lee stopped as he reached the door, holding it open and gripping the handle tightly. "Wanle kongpa nin buzai..." He whispered, then exited, shutting the door behind him.

(THEO)

I woke up early, Kain leaning over me.

"Man, they have cakes in the break room for breakfast. Think your uniform can get us in?"

I smirked at the Ishvalan boy in front of me before I hoped to my feet. "If you can get my jacket on and find a pair of sunglasses it can."

The jacket was a tight squeeze, and Kain had apparently packed sunglasses for such an occasion. Okay, I don't think he packed them with the specific reason of stealing food, but whatever. They came in handy.

Needless to say, Elicia and Al found us about an hour later, covered in frosting and in a sugar coma. Well, I was covered in frosting. Kain just a few sprinkles on his nose.

He sighed getting into the jeep and shrugging off my jacket. Sarah flushed at his bare torso, as if she hadn't seen it before. He asked for Lee, who was sitting in the back, to hand him his bag. Lily ended up handing him the bag, and he pulled out a clean shirt before giving the bag to the sad girl.

"Okay, kids," Al said, stepping into the jeep. "This is where it'll start getting cold. I have a few snow jackets in the back, and there's a military issue one for Theo-"

"What, so it'll match his pretty uniform?" Lee giggled. I turned around to glare at the boy, who just kept laughing.

"Hey, man, we can't all be shirtless Xingese heart-throb Princes, now can we?"

Lee batted his eyes. "You think I'm a heart-throb?"

I rolled my eyes. "All day long, baby boy."

Maes groaned before throwing her head into her lap. "Can you please act straight for five seconds?"

I blinked. "Act what?"

Sarah laughed. "We grew up in Resembool, Maes. And Theo didn't read Nanette's mother's gossip magazines."

"Just...nevermind..." my girlfriend grumbled, before finding purchase on my lap for the long ride. Lee and Lily helped issue the jackets.

"Oh, look Theo! It's so pretty!"

"Chuck it, Prince."

Sarah settled her self next to Kain tightly, and Kain was turned, laughing at the new Xingese pair.

"Um...sir?"

All of us in the back stopped talking to listen to the Xingese girl speak.

"You have..." her voice trailed off as she flicked her nose. Kain stared, realizing she was talking to him.

"Huh?" he said.

Sarah smiled, looking back at Kain. "I got it, Lily," she said softly, before leaning up to kiss a dab of frosting from Kain's nose. His face brightened to a vermillion before he squirmed down in his seat, Sarah smiling gingerly at her boyfriend, before ducking her head in the crook of his neck. I smiled softly. Did it matter if Kain wasn't always there, as long as she made that face when he was?

It wasn't a long ride of talking and giggling, getting to know the Xingese pair behind us. Lily would even whisper and twitch her lips-almost a smile-every once in a while. I counted three different times, I think. They really weren't a bad pair, they were just...raised different. I mean, Lee was still disgustingly self-absorbed and Lily was still pitifully reserved, but nothing we couldn't fix. Okay, all hope for Lee might be gone, but who knows?

"Hey, guys," Al yelled. "It's almost sun down. I've got clearance to stop any where in Viest tonight."

"How close is that to Northern Command?" Maes asked, hopping out of the stopped jeep. We were in a little clearing, with no civilization any where. The grass was dry, and the air had a sting to it, the wind burning our cheeks.

"Far. But we aren't stopping at Northern Command, we're stopping at Briggs, which is practically the Northern Boarder."

"Didn't we already go over this?" Kain asked, pulling Sarah, then Lily out of the jeep. Lee flew down from his perch, grabbing my wrist and making me tumble to the ground with him. He giggled, when I saw him, resting perfectly on his haunches while I was practically upside-down.

"Damn it, Bastard Prince!"

"And he's on the money!"

"Calm down, boys," Elicia said, walking by Al. "I'll get the food supplies from the trunk, and the sleeping bags."

"Thanks, sis," Al said slightly, patting her shoulder as she walked by.

Sis. Maes winced. I wasn't sure if she was reminded of her father's loss for her name sake again, or if she was reminded she was alone. Clint was gone. I stroked her hair softly, letting her know I was beside her. But as always, her mind was far away.

"What do you mean, sleeping bags?" Lee asked, crossing his arms.

Al laughed before looking over at Sarah. "I don't believe our earlier marauders were any strangers to spending the night in caves?"

We all giggled slightly, but I was reminded of the last night we spent in a cave. It was the first time we'd lost someone of our own. Travis. Clint had been with us that time though. Was this a sign? Another way to repeat the mistakes of the past?

No, I told myself. I promised I'd show Dad and Maes. I told him I wouldn't repeat his mistakes, and I sure as hell wasn't repeating mine.

We'd split up to explore. Sarah and Maes found a slow river, which my girlfriend had heated slightly to make it warm enough to bath in. The heat also helped to kill all the bacteria in the water, she told me. I told her bacteria are supposed to be in their, to make us men. She dumped scalding water on my head.

Lee and I were hanging out in the cave with Al and Elicia, who was done bathing and standing in a white turtle neck, black cotton pants, signature lab coat and her wet hair piled on her head.

"Where's the big black kid?"

"You mean Kain," I replied to Lee, who was checking out his reflection in his sword.

"The big Ishvallan with the tattoo and the scar," he said, impatiently again.

"Kain," I groaned again, rising. "I'll go look for him."

"Tell him all the hot water will be gone if he doesn't hurry and get his ass over here," Lee called as I left the cave.

I tottered out the cave and around the small mountainous parts of the area. Climbing small areas with tiny mounds of snow, as it had snows weeks ago, but was still so cold it never melted. It wasn't long past the river bend when I heard the whispering. My first thought was: the girls, and I almost turned around until I heard Kain talking, but with whom?

I pushed back the branches of a bush, peering through at Kain, whose hands were on the small girl's shoulders. A little trail of tears were down her cheeks, along with a blush that could've been the wind's abuse, or something else. Her wet hair was pulled onto one side, and she was wringing it, making it look like a darkened version of Rapunzel.

"Lily..." was all I could hear him say, leaning up awkwardly to wipe liquid from her eyes. "You can say anything you want, I'll listen... we all..." his voice drowned out, and I backed up, feeling sick. It took everything I had not to pull out my glock and blast the bastard back into whatever hell he was sent from. Something was up. And I needed to find Sarah.

I ran down the length of the river, going as quite as possible until out of range. I heard giggling, and realized this must be what I was searching for. I broke into the clearing, both of the girl screaming at my appearance.

"Theo!" Sarah screamed, making me dodge a branch. I laughed.

"You haven't thrown anything that hard since we were kids, sis."

"What the hell, Theo!" Maes said, sitting up in the water. Sarah was dunked up to her nose, hair fanning out around her.

"I've seen you both naked, and couldn't give two rips. Well, I rather like my girlfriend naked, especially-that's beside the point. Maes, can I talk to Sarah?"

"Sure thing," Maes said, stepping out shamelessly and gathering her clothes. "I'm not a water person, anyway." She gingerly touched my arm, pulling her clothes tight to her chest. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I nodded, kissing her forehead. "Yeah, I'll tell you everything."

"She's naked. Don't just kiss her!" Sarah screamed, looking pale.

"It was on the forehead, sis. I wasn't like I was molesting her."

"Just..." Sarah groaned as Maes exited into the forest, pulling on her signature black dress, which was fitting in the cold weather. "Turn around so I can get out."

I rolled my eyes but obeyed as Sarah emerged, and when she told me to turn back around, she was dressed in a blue shirt and white pants, a khaki jacket laced with wool.

"What's up?" she said, leaning against the tree I was sitting at the base of before falling to the ground next to me. I remember when we were little, Sarah would always look at me with those big expectant eyes, as if they knew that I had so much more knowledge than her. We got older, and Sarah was smart enough to realize...well, that I wasn't. I flunked our third year, and she always got better marks than me. Six years of schooling made me lucky I wasn't illiterate, and I was lucky I got that. Once you're around thirteen, you just stop going. You get a job, take over the family business, breed, consume, die. Welcome to the chain. Years after years, Sarah's eyes didn't look at me the same way. It never hurt that much because, well, I told myself I didn't care. About my depressed mom and my dying grandmother and my disappointed dad. I just stopped noticing. Now, here we were again, she looking at me like I was her favorite person in the world.

"Sarah, I don't think Kain is good for you," I said, not knowing what else to say, not knowing what to do but get away from those blue eyes. She'd pulled her hair in the knot like Mom's, and she just stared.

"Theo, we've been over this. I thought you two were finally getting along-"

"I thought so too. But something's felt off, and this is the second time I've given him the benefit of the doubt. And once again I'm wrong."

Sarah pulled my face back to hers. "What are you talking about?"

"Sarah...he's not good for you-"

"This isn't random," she accused. "You know something. Tell me what it is. Now."

I took a deep breath, staring down into the river. "I saw Kain with Lily."

Sarah didn't move, didn't breath, and when I looked up at her, her gaze was shot down into the river, expressionless.

"...With Lily? As in...with with Lily?"

"...It wasn't like-"

"Was he...touching her?"

"Of course not, Sar-"

"Then why did you bother me here?" she asked, rising to her feet. "It's just like you to jump the gun," she laughed, brushing off her pants. But I could tell the laugh was shaky, her trying to convince herself.

"What exactly did you see?" she said.

I grabbed Sarah's waist, taking her hands, letting them fall on my chest as well as her head as I put my arms on her shoulders. "I've never done this to you, Sarah. This is no relaxing friendly stance."

Sarah backed out. "You know how he is," she said softly. "He's always so concerned...you can see how worried he's been, especially for her. She's just so sad and shy...Theo, I heard Lee talking to Lily last night-"

"Sarah," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder as I heard the whoops of Lee approaching, most likely not clothed. "Go back to the camp and just... stay by Elicia and Maes. Get some rest. I'm going to bathe, okay? I'll meet you back by the cave. Just stay by me tonight."

She shook her head as she left. "You're wrong, Brother."

I shook my head as she left. "Can't trust me for a second, huh?"

"CANNON BALL~!"

I spun as I got drenched. "DAMN IT, YOU XINGESE BASTARD."