Apologies for the little delay, but rest assured I have been working at this diligently as always.
And again, thanks to all my viewers and reviewers. I hope you are enjoying the story so far and I welcome all constructive criticism ^_^
Whilst walking back, Light decided it was a little early for hand-holding, yet still endeavoured to walk as close to him as possible, their shoulders brushing against one another whilst they made idle conversation. Both of them tried to find roundabout ways of asking the questions they wanted to ask, but neither succeeded. Still, a feeling of acquiescence began to dawn on Lightning, and she decided to let the evening play out its course. Despite her relaxed pace, and Cid's lips smiling airily, both their hearts thumped in their chests, and their breathing was still a little shallow.
Cid paced up to the front door and produced a bunch of keys with a steady hand, wondering whether he should open the door himself or hand them to Lightning. In the end he opted for the latter, and she opened the door, and took a step inside, leaving Cid on the doorstep.
"Serah'll forgive me soon enough," she mused, glancing behind her to see if her sister was lurking somewhere in the backdrop.
"Just…" Cid struggled to find the correct words, "Just make sure you keep a close eye on her, and who she hangs around with…"
Light nodded solemnly. The riddle of the mysterious girl was still puzzling her, but Serah was safe, and for now, that would have to do.
She shuffled a little on the mat, wondering what she should say or do as a means of bidding him goodbye. Before she could begin to think of words, Cid Raines had swept forward fluidly, and slid his arm around her waist. Gently he placed his lips against her forehead, and closed his eyes. Lightning smiled as she felt his warm breath against her brow.
"I'll come around tomorrow to check on you both…" he murmured, rubbing her back gently.
"I'd like that."
He stepped away, and she smiled warmly.
"Good night, Cid. Thanks…for everything…"
"Anytime," he said, truly meaning it, before smiling one last time, and walking away.
As he walked back across Bodhum to get the shuttle home, he began to wonder about Serah's odd behaviour, and the mysterious stranger at the Vestige.
When he found himself back on the streets of Eden, he was tempted not to go straight home. He thought of a large stone mansion across town, and a presence from within it, calling him.
"Not tonight," he mumbled under his breath.
He was sure Dysley heard it.
Sometime in the mid-morning, a nervous, exhausted and underpaid technician wandered the halls of the T-91A, carrying several rolls of blueprints and a handful of paperwork. His target had been the General, but apparently, he was otherwise occupied, so he had been directed to deliver the bundle to one Aver Rygdea, in the crew's quarters.
Upon seeing the man, the young technician immediately wished he had waited for the General.
"Who are you?"
It was more of a grunt than a sentence. Rygdea's face was stern yet agitated, with the look of a man who had too many thoughts in his head to cope with such petty anomalies as a person who he did not recognise.
"I'm…" the young man bit his tongue hard, "I'm Regent, sir. I've brought the first draft plans for the Lindblum…"
Aver snatched a blueprint from the top of the pile, causing Regent to flail in an attempt to keep the papers in his arms, rather than on the floor.
"Lindblum?"
"Yes, sir. The newly commissioned T-91B; the Lindblum is its model name. These are just the initial blueprints and briefing documents. Naturally, General Raines will want to discuss any issues that arise with me; it's hard to detect flaws in one's own work, so I welcome any feedback he has. That paper you're looking at, that's the new layout of the cargo holds and engine room. The main engine is going to be relocated closer to the fuel tank to save on pumping and the circuit system for the on-board lights is going to re-engineered to-"
"Alright, slow down there, egghead. "
Regent's mouth snapped shut, and grew into an irritated frown.
"So," Aver continued, "How is it that these plans are here only days before the thing was commissioned?"
Regent laughed nervously.
"Well, sir, to be honest, airship design has been my field for as long as I can remember. Dysley was adamant that the preliminary discussions be completed quickly, and as it happens, I had drawn up these plans at least six months ago, sir. When I heard about some minor faults with the T-91A I got to work on a new set of plans, just out of interest, at first. But of course, news reaches me that the current model is to be scrapped, I showed these plans immediately to the Primarch's advisors and they really loved it – so now, I'm the architect assigned to the project, sir."
Rygdea could see by the way the man's pupils had dilated and his developing giddy smile that airships were some sort of drug for him. Nonetheless, Aver was impressed, but he tried not to show it. The eagerness with which Dysley was prepared to help them still made him feel uneasy, especially after the secret that had just been revealed to him.
"Well, thank you, Reginald- "
"Regent, sir."
"Thank you, Regent. I will make sure these plans are brought to the immediate attention of the General."
Regent nodded, his face beaming with pride. He gingerly placed the pile of papers on a nearby table.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir"
The technician gave an excited wave, and scuttled away.
"Freak….", Rygdea mumbled under his breath. Sighing in exasperation, he picked up the blueprints and made his way down the corridor to the elevator. It pinged chirpily when it arrived at the top floor, and once again, Aver found himself barging uninvited into Cid's office.
He was gazing listlessly out of the windows, deep in thought, as per usual.
"Blueprints," Rygdea stated bluntly, dropping the pile of papers on to the desk. No response from the General.
Cid's eyes were focussed onto the expanse of the aerodrome, and in his mind he was waxing romantic. The whole night he'd thought of her, and the whole morning a sensation of amalgamated fear and anticipation had overcome him. Every time her face appeared in his head, and her eyes met his, the black mark beneath his gloves would throb.
What a complicated state of affairs, to be a L'cie in love…
Do I love her?
His hand smarted mercilessly.
I have to give her up.
He began to wince due to the pain.
I can't give her up.
Rygdea was tutting, and becoming noticeably irritated.
"Cocoon to Cid. Hello…."
The General suddenly turned, and caught Aver's gaze with a forced smile.
"Blueprints?" Cid mumbled, noticing the papers, "Already?"
Aver nodded.
"Yup. Some architect called Roland just dropped them off. They look pretty good, although I'm not sure I understand the mechanics…"
Cid flicked through them with ease, circling points here and there, and vocally voicing concerns to Aver, who had little idea of what the General was saying, though he would never admit as much. Rygdea had learnt to say 'yes' , 'ahh', 'mmm' and 'no' in all the right places. However, as Cid was reading and scrawling, Aver couldn't help but notice how he often stopped to look at his hand, and how his face would scrunch up, evidently pained.
"Are you….are you alright, Cid?"
The General stopped suddenly, placing his pen gently on the desk.
"I'm fine, Aver. Really. Just this past week has been a little stressful…"
Rygdea gave a humourless laugh.
"I know what you mean..."
No you don't, thought Cid. You have no idea.
He shuffled the papers and handed them back to Rygdea.
"If that Ronald comes by, tell him to take note of my annotations, correct the faults, and bring them back to me as soon as possible…"
Aver nodded, trying once again to balance the blueprints. When he'd arranged them adequately, he made his way to the door.
"Actually, Aver, one more thing…"
He turned, perplexed. Cid Raines was wringing his hands.
"Would you mind if I left a little early today?"
Rygdea grunted.
"You're the boss. Do whatever the hell you want. Whaddya asking me for?"
Lightning's sleep had been sporadic and uncomfortable, inherently both perturbed and moved by the events of the previous night. In the harsh morning daylight, it all seemed like a hazy dream, but she could still feel his arms around her, still taste him on her lips. Moreover, he would be back, and she would have to face him, and they would have talk. The whole idea made her feel a little ill.
She showered and dressed for work, as normal, and somewhere around the house she could hear Serah going through her own morning routine. When Light finally dragged herself to the kitchen, her sister was sat in her usual seat, eating cereal and looking a little tired. Serah looked up, with a hint of a glare in her eyes.
"So, "she began, " Are you going to clean the mess you made in my room?"
Oh crap, Light mentally upbraided herself.
I forgot about that.
"Not right now, I'll do it tonight. I was trying to get a hint on where you might be…"
She began to pull together some kind of breakfast, feeling too physically and emotionally drained to have an argument with her little sister. Indeed Serah herself seemed keen to let the subject drop, and gave her sister a coy smile.
"Oh, and what happened with Cid?"
"Nothing."
"Liar!"
Serah smiled heartily.
"I saw the two of you on the doorstep…"
I knew it.
"Listen, Serah, don't get too worked up over this…"
Light stared bashfully down into her food.
"Nuh uh, no way," Serah said sternly, getting up and grabbing her school bag, "If you can criticise me about Snow, I can criticise you about Cid…"
Snow? So that's his name.
"I'm older than you, I can do whatever I like. And what the hell kinda name is 'Snow'?"
Serah frowned, and put her hand on her hip.
"What the hell kinda name is 'Lightning'?"
Light blinked, producing only a gormless stare.
"Touché…"
The place looked different, wholesome even, in the daytime. It was the tail-end of the afternoon, the light was gently dimming between the pale clouds, and the courtyard plants had their flowers open were swaying gently in the breeze. The cobbles were dry, the sweet smell of flora was in the air, and there were a few people, probably servants and groundskeepers, weaving in and out of the gardens into the yard before him. Cid remembered what had happened the last time her had come here; he almost couldn't believe it was the same place, and yet still a feeling of dread and unease came over him. It was almost as if his fear had left an imprint in the stones, and it flowed back into his body from the ground.
Nonetheless, the General's sangfroid remained as he strode boldly up to the manor, and the servants nodded to him respectfully as he passed.
Breathing deeply, he saw the familiar unnerving Lion, and rapped upon the door.
He wanted to speak to Dysley. He wanted to try and find out if the strange events surrounding Lightning and Serah were anything to do with his macabre machinations. He wanted to know….if he really intended to destroy Cocoon.
Because I'm not going to do it, Dysley. No way in hell.
The door creaked open slowly, uninvitingly. A man in formal garb stood before him; a rather petite fellow with brown hair, a generous stomach, and glasses.
"Good day, sir. How can I be of service to you?"
The man had a Palumpolum accent, and a cold.
Different butler, Cid thought. How odd…
"General Raines, I'm here to see the Primarch…"
The butler adjusted his eyeglasses, and moved to get a better look at the visitor.
"I'm sorry, sir," he whispered rapidly, as though trying not to sneeze, "He's absent at the moment. He attends a Governors' summit in Edenhall. If you'd like to come in, you're welcome to wait for him…"
Cid Raines could see clearly over the man's head, to an antique clock upon the wall behind him.
"My apologies, tell the Primarch that I will call upon him tomorrow."
"Sir?"
The General took a step back.
"I can't wait. I have an appointment with a lady…"
Thanks for reading.
