Chase
Stahn was surprised when he woke up early the next morning. For once, it was under his own power; there was no Rutee, Leon or Lilith hanging over him with either slaps or a ladle and frying pan. He figured that either something terrible was going to happen or this was Heaven's way of rewarding him for his patience in putting up with all the abusive wake up calls over the years.
"Good morning, Philia," he said when he walked into the kitchen, "What are you up to, today?"
"I'm taking some food to Batista; if Leon continues like this he's not going to last long," the priestess admitted. She indicated the tray with a bowl of cereal, an apple and a glass of milk lying on top of it. Philia tried to pick it up and balance it, but was having difficulty.
Stahn took it from her and stated, "Here, let me take care of that for you."
She thanked him and they walked up the stairs and to Batista's room. If Stahn was actually thinking, he would have found it odd that the door was unlocked. However, when they got inside, they found it totally empty; Batista had escaped!
Stahn raced out of the room. "Hey! Everyone get up; it's an emergency!"
"What!?" Rutee exclaimed as she ran in with Mary, "First off, it must be big if you're up before me. And second, what in the world could actually have caused you to wake up early?"
"I don't think that's the issue…." Mary replied.
Stahn told them, "It's much bigger than that. Batista has escaped. We came to bring him some breakfast so he can survive Leon's interrogation tactics, at least until he gives us the information, and found out that he was not in the room."
Philia picked that moment to come out and see her friends. "The door was unlocked as well; it wasn't broken down. Nor is the lock picked; it's still there."
Rutee saw the priestess standing close to Stahn and felt a similar sensation to the one that she'd had when he was out with Ilene. Somehow, she knew that he preferred quiet women like Philia and Ilene to someone like her. It almost made her heart want to break in two. At that moment, she felt her own anger over this encounter begin to cloud her judgment.
"Philia!" she exclaimed, "You didn't let him out because of your past relationship at the temple?"
"No! Why would I do that, Rutee? I have no reason to help Lydon or the people who work for him other than humanitarian aid once we're done fighting that person and they're either reformed or a prisoner," the young priestess replied.
Stahn yelled, "Rutee, you have no proof of such a thing!"
His words stung; he was taking her side over Rutee's because he liked her better. "Well, I can see that Philia is your favorite here. But we need to find out what happened to the Eye of Atamoni and can't let our personal feelings be involved."
-Just like I said yesterday,- Atwight commented, -Completely irrational behavior….-
-Yup, that so reminds me of a time long ago with a totally different woman involved,- Dymlos added. Rutee wanted to smack the both of them; however they had no human form to hit.
At that moment, they heard Leon yell, "What's this racket so early in the morning? And even the idiot is up. Is this supposed to be your reaction to that? Or are you screaming bloody murder over a jealous reaction to something, my dear sister?"
The girl turned around to see her younger brother looking smug and confident. She gave him a glare for his comments. "One, I am not jealous over this moron in any shape or form. And two, and much more importantly, Batista escaped and…."
"Oh, that," Leon commented, "I let him go on purpose."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?" exclaimed Rutee as she jumped her brother. The girl gripped firmly onto the front of his dress jacket, fire radiating in her eyes.
Chaltier told her, -Calm down! Bocchan obviously has a plan.-
Stunned by the thought that this was all for some harebrained scheme rather than utter stupidity, Rutee loosened her grip and Leon was able to pry her off. "If you'd actually paid attention in the briefings, you'd have remembered what the other function of the tiaras is. They can act as homing beacons to track a criminal who might slip through our grasp. Meaning…we can now find where Lydon is."
Rutee looked embarrassed as her brother walked downstairs; she really hadn't paid attention because the whole thing was boring. And now, because of her strange emotions and the lack of knowledge, she had just made a total fool of herself.
"I'm sorry, Philia," she stated, "I jumped to conclusions."
"It's ok. Just as long as you know that I would never do something like that," Philia replied as she gave Rutee a winning smile. However, it only seemed to bring her mood down; how could she compete against someone who forgave and cared so easily?
Rutee went downstairs and found her brother; he had just learned that Ilene was at the harbor and seemed to want a ship. The boy inquired, "So, is it Philia or Ilene? Which one are you angry at for their affections for Stahn?"
She turned around, a blush covering her face. "I'm angrier at me for making a fool of myself in front of the others. And I'm not…."
"You're so obvious, my dear sister," Leon informed her, "I think you should talk to Stahn about how you really feel. Maybe having someone to love will do you a world of good; I know the reasons you have to pretend when you're back home."
"You know…when you're this nice, you're scary. Ok, I'll talk to him. But only once you talk to Marian about your feelings for her," Rutee replied.
Leon exclaimed, "No fair! By the time I see Marian again, Stahn will already be heading home."
Before Rutee could counter this statement, the siblings heard the others coming downstairs. They immediately attempted to forget that they had revealed their innermost desires to the other, as well as the fact that they themselves had those crushes in the first place. After informing Stahn, Philia and Mary that they were heading to the harbor, Leon walked out the door; his blush still on his face.
Mary looked at her best friend curiously. "Rutee…why is your face all red?"
"Never mind that," the girl stated, "Let's just go."
S...S
"So Batista escaped. He must have taken the transport that was missing from the harbor," Ilene said. She was standing before her personal ship, inspecting it to see if it had been damaged in any way by their escaped prisoner.
Leon told her, "I have every reason to believe he's gone to Aquaveil. Can you take us?"
The statement stunned Ilene. "Leon! You know that country has been practically at war with Seinegald since the day they declared their independence. You'd be in great danger."
"I know," he replied, "But the world will be in greater danger if we don't do something. Batista is working with a traitorous high priest named Lydon who stole the Eye of Atamoni. If that weapon is in the hands of our greatest enemy, then things could get ugly real fast. Your ship is registered in Fitzgald so you should have no problems getting close enough to drop us off."
"But I won't be able to take you back; I have to return here," Ilene informed him.
Rutee said, "We just need to go. I'm sure our resourceful team can find some other way to get back. Hell, if we need to we could always just steal a ship."
Ilene nodded. "Alright, get on board. Just…please be careful."
"We will," Stahn stated, "And we won't return until peace has been won back to the world."
- - - -
Teefa's Last Words...
Heh, you can always rely on a fun fight between Rutee and Leon to brighten the mood. They're one of my favorite sibling duos of all time. Anyway, next time should be the Tidal Caves and such, and I will start learning Sacred Skills as they come. We're really moving along here…and I've got to remember to bring all of this to the printer!