Tales of Angels

Chapter 12

"Raine, are we there yet?" Genis asked as he wiped the sweat off of his face. Carrying all of his personal belongings under the blazing sun was beginning to get to him. However fortunate that they were able to load up his cooking supplies onto Noishe's make shift saddle, the desert environment was still harsh for him.

"We should reach Triet by noon if we keep this pace up," Kratos spoke from the head of the group. He carried his small bag on his back and kept one hand on the hilt of his sword at all times, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

"Do you need to stop and rest Genis?" Colette asked kindly, a smile on her face. Although she was carrying the least amount of stuff in her bag, the desert sun still caused a few drops of sweat to drip down her porcelain skin.

"No thank you Colette, I'm fine," Genis told his friend, however his face said the exact opposite. "I just wish the sun wasn't so hot," he continued as he wiped the sweat from his forehead again.

"I warned you that the trip would be difficult Genis," Raine told her little brother. She walked just a little bit ahead of him, sandwiching Colette between herself and Kratos to best protect the young Chosen in case of an attack. She held her staff in one arm and an old looking book in the other. In her bag she carried all of the groups healing items such as elixirs and gels as well as all of her personal items.

Colette looked at Genis with a worried glance. "Mr. Kratos is it alright if we take a short break?" she asked sweetly. The mercenary ran his free hand through his hair, as if pondering the idea.

"…Very well, but only for a few minutes," Kratos finally answered. Genis immediately let out a sigh of relief as the large bag he had been carrying landed on the sandy ground with a loud thud. Genis then landed on the ground next to his bag in the same manner. Colette couldn't help but giggle at his childish behavior. Raine simply shook her head, but had a faint smile on her face.

It didn't take Lloyd long to decide that Triet wasn't a very eventful or interesting place. He most defiantly didn't need four days of mindlessly wandering around the town to figure that out. He did discover that unlike in Iselia, some towns had ruthless criminals, gang ridden areas, and some homeless people. He figured that due to the mana in Sylvarant slowly ebbing away, many places were becoming uninhabitable, driving many out of work, out of their homes, and into desperation.

Lloyd wished he could do something for them, but there was nothing he could do. Trying to shake the depressing thoughts from his head, Lloyd headed towards the town's gate hoping to find Colette's group, or at least someone who had seen them. The town had only one gate, so it would be highly unlikely that he would miss anybody.

One group that Lloyd had managed to stop seemed very different compared to other travelers. This group traveled in a large caravan, driven by four horses and its driver. From behind Lloyd could see three kids playing with an acorn of some kind, none like he'd ever seen before. Two women were talking amongst themselves on the large wagon while another man, younger than the driver read a book.

"Um, excuse me," Lloyd spoke to the driver. The man looked over in his direction then smiled at the boy.

"Why hello there young man, what can I do for you?" the man asked with a cheery smile.

"I was just wondering, did you by chance see the Chosen's group on your way here? They should be heading here from Iselia," Lloyd spoke.

The driver looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm sorry lad, but I don't recall seeing any other groups out there. Although, we're coming from Izoold, so I don't we would have seen them anyway," The man said with a hearty laugh. "You see, me and my family are researchers," he explained.

Lloyd cocked an eyebrow but continued to listen as the man explained. "We travel everywhere we can get to and study the life that lives there. Plants, animals, monsters, you name it, we've most likely seen it!" the man said with a large grin.

"Look!" Genis cried out in joy. "It's Triet! We made it!" he said excitedly. Raine smiled at her little brother. Colette smiled at Genis then turned her attention back towards the desert town ahead of them.

"Maybe Lloyd is there," she said with a hopeful tone in her voice. Colette quickened her pace towards the town, and was quickly joined by Genis. The two adults quickly shared a glance with each other before following after the children.

The closer they got to the sandy walls of the small town, the clearing the settlement came to be. Suddenly Colette came to a dead stop, startling Genis who was just behind her.

"Colette, what's wrong?" Genis asked, as he watched his friend worriedly. He was puzzled when Colette brought a hand up to her heart and a few stray tears leaked from her eyes.

She felt her heart stop. A grateful smile swept across her face. Colette realized Genis asked her a question. She tried to give a proper response but only a quiet whimper could escape her lips. Unable to contain her joy any longer she ran towards the boy who stood at the entrance to the settlement as fast as her legs could carry her.

Although she almost tripped once or twice, she didn't notice it. The young Chosen's vision was focused solely on the boy ahead of her. He seemed deep in conversation with whoever was driving the large wagon at the entrance, but she didn't mind, Colette was just so glad he was safe.

Finally, when she deemed she was close enough, she called out, "Lloyd!" with all the joy and happiness she could muster.

The boy in question just barely had enough time to turn his head towards the girl approaching him before he was pounced on. Both of them fell back into the sand. Lloyd could hear the wagon driver chuckle at the two of them before continuing on his way.

Lloyd could feel his face heat up as Colette pressed her form up against him and hugged him so tightly he thought she would hug the life straight out of his body. Then his angelic hearing picked up the irregular breaths she took and the quiet sound of sobbing through his tear stained shirt. "It's good to see you too Colette," Lloyd spoke as he finally returned her embrace.

The blond girl nestled and shifted herself to fit better in his arms. Though her face was stained with tears, the smile she wore on her face was genuine. "Lloyd, I was so worried! When I heard that the Desians attacked the village, I…I..," Colette tried to explain as more tears came to her eyes.

"Shh, it's alright," Lloyd told her. He held her closer, and Colette responded by holding him tighter as well, nuzzling him with affection "I'm he-."

"Lloyd and Colette sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Genis began singing while struggling to contain his amused laughter. The two teens shot up from the sandy ground faster than Genis would have thought possible, but the deep red flush on Colette's face, and Lloyd turning around trying to hide his own blushing face was all Genis needed to go into hysterics of laughter.

A loud whine followed by a flash of green and white fur blew past both Genis and Colette, and talked the young swordsman back onto the ground. "Noishe!" Lloyd called out half-heartedly. "Get off of me," he said in-between fits of laughter as the large dog like creature began to lick Lloyd's face and wag his tail happily. Eventually Lloyd managed to wrestle the arshis off of him.

"Lloyd," a calm voice said, causing the young swordsman to turn around. Lloyd saw Raine approach him. The professor stopped just in front of him, studying his form as if analyzing him. "No serious injuries I see, good," Raine said. Suddenly she hit him upside the head with one of her books. "Don't ever do anything so foolish again, do you hear me!" Raine scolded in a motherly tone." You had us all very worried," she said to Lloyd in a much calmer voice.

"Sorry Professor," Lloyd said as he rubbed the now tender spot of his head. Raine studied him a bit more, as if going across thoughts through her head, and then she walked off towards the inn. Out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd saw Kratos look him over then gave him a "We'll talk later" look.

Genis followed his older sister and Kratos towards the inn to check out some rooms, leaving only the young Chosen and the dual swordsman. Colette continued to watch Lloyd with her cerulean eyes as they glistened with happiness. Once Genis was inside she grappled the boy in another hug. This time Lloyd manage to keep his balance rather than falling on the ground again.

"Lloyd, I was so scared you had been hurt, or that-" Colette was cut off.

"You dork," Lloyd said while ruffling the top of her head with one hand. "I'm fine, so don't worry about it!" Lloyd said as he gave her his trademark goofy grin.

Colette gazed up at him, as if in a trance induced by his grin. Her mouth turned up in a smile and she nodded enthusiastically. "R-right, I'm sorry," she said as she returned his grin and let go of the boy.

"Stop saying sorry for everything," Lloyd half teased. He turned his attention to the inn where the rest of the group was waiting for them.

"Oh, ok! I'm sorry," Colette replied. Lloyd left out an audible sigh but continued going towards the inn. Colette gave her silent thanks to the goddess Martel that her Lloyd was safe. After allowing the breeze from the wind to blow past her, Colette joined her friends at the inn.

"So there are only two rooms available?" the two teens heard Kratos say to the innkeeper.

"Alright, we'll take them," Raine said with a sigh as she ran one of her hands over her face. Once the group paid for their rooms, the innkeeper graciously handed over two sets of room keys. "Genis, you'll be staying with me," the teacher said. "Colette you'll stay with Lloyd, on second thought, Genis you stay with Lloyd, Colette you're with me," Raine decided after watching the two teenagers walk in. "Kratos, where would you prefer to bunk?"

"I'll be fine," Kratos spoke calmly.

"Actually Professor, Colette can take my room," Lloyd said. Raine looked away from Kratos to look at the boy.

"Lloyd, we only have two rooms," Raine tried to explain.

"Three," Lloyd clarified. "I checked out a room and waited for you guys here. I'll bunk with Kratos and Colette can take my room," the young swordsman repeated.

"Very well then, Kratos do you have any objections?" Raine asked. The mercenary shook his head. "Alright then, is it alright with you Colette?"

The Chosen had gained tainted cheeks at the idea. 'Me, sleeping in Lloyd's bed?' the thought rolled over in her head. Her cheeks gained a deeper blush as the suggestion led to a plethora of darker thoughts. "Y-yes, I don't mind!" she squeaked. Lloyd looked at her, confused for her strange behavior. Kratos watched her with weary eyes.

'He's too close to her,' he warned himself. He watched as Lloyd casually handed over his room keys after getting his stuff out of the room.

After getting situated in their room, Kratos looked through the window and saw the sun going down. He turned back to his son who had a condensed form of mana collected in his arms.

"Sacred Powers, I call upon the servant of the Holy Spirit to guide my heart and soul to protect the dreams and hopes of the future; Divine Guardian," Lloyd chanted in the angelic language. The blue mana twisted and churned itself until it took the crude shape of a bird. Kratos was unable to identify the bird as it seemed to be only half formed, almost ghastly. The mana had taken a more silver color. The crudely misshapen bird took flight from the young angel's hand and flew out through the window. The boy watched the bird's movements until it was out of his sight with a smile.

Then sensing his father's eyes bearing into him, Lloyd turned to face his father. "Hey dad," he said in an almost awkward fashion.

"What was that?" Kratos asked.

"Huh? Oh! The bird? That's my guardian spirit. It will do anything I tell it to, as long as it has enough mana to do so," Lloyd explained. Kratos obviously was hoping for a more in-depth explanation, but that could wait for another day. "I sent it to watch after Colette."

"Oh?" Kratos asked. Lloyd shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"I figured you'd want an explanation for me running off like that all those years ago, and it may take some time to finish," Lloyd clarified. A questioning look from Kratos prodded the boy to continue. "I don't really feel comfortable talking hear, someone might over hear us."

"I see, then let's go somewhere more comfortable," Kratos said as he opened their bedroom door. Lloyd led the way out, and was quickly followed by the seraph.

Colette was unable to fall asleep, she knew why, but there was nothing she could do. She could try to wash the thoughts from her head, but much to her embarrassment they kept returning. She felt totally awkward sleeping in Lloyd's old room, especially in his bed. 'A good Chosen does not defile her body with acts of lust or greed. A Good Chosen does not harbor any sinful thoughts. A good Chosen does not love, love is an earthly attachment that must be removed,' the blond reminded herself.

But Colette was only human; of course she would have sinful thoughts every now and again, especially thoughts of the brunette swordsman. She kept imagining a fantasy where she and Lloyd would be sharing a bed together, living together, and having a family together…

'No!' the young Chosen screamed out in her mind, tears threatening to spill from her cheeks. Such thoughts were only those obtainable in her fantasies, no matter how much it hurt her. Colette knew full well that she could not love; she knew full well that she would have no chance to have a family. Not so long as she was the chosen anyway, but that was already set in stone, the crystal attached to the base of her neck was proof of that.

But it still hurt her more than any wound possibly could. Forcing herself to try and rid herself of such thoughts, she diverted her attention out the window, where a quick bolt of light caught her eye. Rising from the bed she looked out the window trying to spot the source of the strange light.

Across the sandy street from her, no Lloyd's room sat a ghastly silver bird on top of the tarp covering one of the many merchants' stalls.

The bird seemed to beckon to her, it called her although not though sound, but she could feel as if the bird was tugging at her. Quickly turning from the window, she pulled her stockings on, buckled her boots, and threw her ceremonial dress on over her night gown. She paused only to make sure her chakrams were attached to the clip on the back of her dress.

She was careful not to wake the others, especially Raine who was sharing a room right next door. Holding onto the rail on the side of the wooden steps, Colette made sure she didn't fall and make any unnecessary noises.

Once outside she quickly darted to the other side of the building, and to her amazement the bird was there, as if waiting for her. She cautiously approached the bird. However, once the young Chosen was within ten yards or so, the bird took off and landed on another stall just further down the alley.

Her curiosity getting the best of her, Colette continued to follow the bird, wanting to know where it would lead her.

"Alright, this seems like a good spot," Lloyd decided after heading a good deal away from the inn and moving towards the large oasis in the center of the town. Kratos accepted his son's decision and eagerly waited for his no doubt lengthy explanation.

Yuan sat at his desk, Yggrassil had reacted exactly as Yuan had expected him to. He was furious that Yuan had taken a book from the archive, but he could deal with that. The blue haired seraph was proud though, to have prevented the insane leader of Cruxis from making a monumental discovery about Lloyd.

Everything seemed to be making sense now, Lloyd's wings, being able to talk to Martel, Martel's crazy mission, Anna's death during childbirth; it was amazing that someone didn't piece this strange set of coincidences together earlier.

He suspected that the only one who really knew just what Lloyd was other than the goddess Martel was his mother, Anna, but the secret died with her, for Kratos was not allowed to see his wife while she was delivering Lloyd.

Yuan had to keep this a secret from everyone; Lloyd's life depended on it. If Yggrassil found out Lloyd was a true angel, the kind that the deranged lunatic had been trying to breed for nearly four thousand years, he would most likely trap the boy, and use him for his own personal purposes.

It must have been a total fluke, or divine intervention. Because Lloyd has the same blood as Martel, an ancient descendant, a part of an ancient order, Lloyd was an Angel of Martel.

Okie dookie, there's chapter 12!

Hope you all like it!

For the record: "Any underlined dialog is the Angelic Language," whist "Any bold face is casting." So by combining the two, you cast in the angelic language.