Despite traveling all night to get to Flanoir, Sheena was wide-awake and enjoying the scenery. The town seemed to be in high spirits today: children clustered together to make snowmen, parents kept a watchful eye as they gossiped, and friends pelted each other with snowballs. Sheena smiled as she watched a mother demonstrate to her daughter how to make a snow angel as the little girl giggled with delight. Maybe one day. "I really do love this weather. It's always so cozy here." Sheena sighed as they walked through the snowy landscape of Flanoir.
"That makes one of us. Let's not stay long." Zelos muttered, hands stuffed into the pockets of his winter coat. He thrown on a huge coat, mittens, two scarves, and a beanie hat. All that was visible of his face were his eyes.
"I thought you were excited to 'bundle up'."
"I don't mind the cold. I just mind this place."
"…Right. Sorry." She bit her lip as she recalled that Flanoir was where Zelos' mother was killed. Dammit, that's not what I meant...
"Not your fault. I guess this is it?" Zelos asked as they walked up to a little cottage. The windows were lit up from the inside. Sheena cast a sidelong glance at him to see if he was angry, but nothing was betrayed in his expression. At least what little she could see of it.
"Yeah. 24 Taraval St."
Zelos knocked on the wooden door and pulled his scarf down, revealing the rest of his face. He turned to her and winked.
"Coming!" They heard footsteps from within and the door opened. A middle-aged woman with graying hair looked at the pair, confused. "How can I help you?" But before either could say anything, the woman gasped. "C-chosen?"
Oh brother, Sheena thought asZelos smiled charismatically and gave a small bow. "At your service, Madam. May I also introduce you to Sheena Fubiyashi, the King's Ambassador?"
Sheena plastered a smile onto her face and said, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Devsky."
"This is an…unexpected pleasure! If I'd known I was hosting such distinguished guests today, I would've put myself together! Please, come in out of the cold." She ushered them in, closing the door and taking their coats. "Please have a seat. Would you like some coffee or hot chocolate?"
"Oh no, that's okay. We don't want to put you out," Sheena assured.
"It would be no trouble at all! In fact, I insist. I'll just be back." The old lady smiled and disappeared into a hallway. Sheena's eyes wandered around the small house, taking in her surroundings. It was cozy, lots of browns in the wall colorings and furnishings. To her right was a small fireplace with dark brown mantle. To her left, a few bookcases and a small coffee table surrounded by a couch and two arm chairs. On the coffee table, there was a small framed portrait. Curious, the Ambassador picked it up and looked. "Zelos," she said in a low voice, "Come here." Her eyes stared at the portrait of a young man decked out in military regalia. "This is him."
Sheena could feel Zelos standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. "Yeah…he looks a little younger. Looks like he was an officer." A pleasant, oaky smell filled her senses and she blushed. It must have been his cologne. Blushing, she put the picture back down onto the table and sat on the couch. Zelos joined her, saying, "This isn't so bad. It's cozy. And we're getting hot drinks. I could get used to this. Even in this place." Their eyes met and he continued, "As long as I have the pleasure of your company."
What did he just say? Before she could respond, the old lady returned, carrying a tray of mugs to the coffee table and set it down. "Here we are."
"This is very generous. Thank you for welcoming us into your home." Zelos said with his widest grin.
"Anything for the Chosen. Now, how can I help you?" Ms. Devsky said as she handed them each a mug and settled back into her armchair, the brown leather enveloping her small frame.
"We wanted to ask you about your son."
"My son? Why would you want to know about him?"
"Well, we know he served in the military…" Zelos trailed off, looking sideways at Sheena, who was still trying to wrap her mind over what he'd said.
"Oh yes! Uh…the King is...planning to honor the military soldiers...both current and past," Sheena said quickly, her mind working furiously to improvise a story, "We just wanted to learn more about your son as we are…featuring the fallen." The woman mentally smacked herself. They should've come up with a story back at the inn. I blame lack of sleep. And him. Definitely Zelos.
"Oh my goodness! This is wonderful news." Ms. Devsky exclaimed. "Well, what can I tell you about Miguel?" She picked up the small portrait and gazed at it.
"How old was Miguel when he enlisted?"
"Well, he was about…nineteen years old. It was five years ago."
"And why did he want to enlist?"
"His father was killed in a half elf raid when he was about eight. We were living in a small village 100 miles east of Ozette. Miguel missed his father dearly and wanted to protect others from growing up without a parent and so he joined the army." Her eyes twinkled as tears started to form. "I was so proud of him."
"What did he tell you about being in the military?" Sheena asked.
"He wrote to me often at the beginning. All about training, exercises, subjugating an occasional half elf uprising. Those were the best letters. He was so happy, and I couldn't have been prouder. My baby all grown up. But when he got promoted, he stopped writing as often. I never understood why, but I let it go. I just thought he was busy."
"And when was he promoted?"
"Just after his twenty-first birthday. He became the captain of his unit."
"Wow, only two years into his service. He must've been pretty special." Zelos schmoozed. Sheena fought to keep herself from rolling her eyes.
"Oh yes. He was very dedicated. Always the first to rise, even as a little boy. He told me about how many sparring contests he'd won, among his peers and even his superiors!"
"And when did he die?"
"A year later…I never really got the full story." An expression of sadness came over her as she paused before continuing. "Some sort of training accident. It hardly happens, at least that's what they told me…it seemed like the wrong place, the wrong time." A few tears dripped down her cheeks and she covered her hands with her face.
Without hesitation, Zelos went to her side and put an arm around her shoulders. "We are so sorry for your loss. You are such a strong woman. I bet Miguel was lucky to have a mother like you. I know I would've been."
Ms. Devsky chuckled and wiped her eyes. "You're too sweet. And I know my son is in a better place. I'm just glad he was able to exterminate as many half elves as he could before it was his time. I will never forgive them for taking my husband."
Sheena stiffened but caught Zelos' warning side glance.
"Ms. Devsky, we couldn't find out which unit Miguel was assigned to. Do you remember?" Zelos asked.
"North Eastern Unit 6 under Commander Carter."
"Thank you, Ms. Devsky. And thank you so much for your time. You've been a real help. I'm so sorry to have brought such unpleasant memories back, but we will make sure that we honor your son the best way possible. He was a true patriot."
Sheena waited until they were a block away from the cottage before she erupted. "How could you just sit there and schmooze that woman? The stuff she was saying? I bet she's proud to have given birth to a terrorist!"
"Sheena, you and I both know that most humans in Tethe'alla are racist. Especially the older generation."
"She said she was happy that he 'exterminated' them. Half elves are people too. Not bugs!"
"You know I agree with you. But we can't waste any more time on her. We need to find out more about Commander Carter's unit."
"Why?"
"Jeez, Sheena. I know my presence can cause you to forget everything else-"
"Say one more word and I'll smack you."
"Fine! Don't smack me. Okay, two things.. First, Mama Devsky says Miguel died two years ago. His file says he died four years ago." He pulled the file from his pack and flipped it open, showing it to her. "Second, his official cause of death was suicide. Devsky said it was a training accident. That's fishy. Why would he have two different cause of deaths? Ms. Devsky also said that the training accidents was rare. What kind of training accident could've resulted in Miguel's death? It didn't sound like he was a careless soldier. He sounded like he was experienced. And why would the official record say he committed suicide? There's definitely more to the story."
Definitely makes sense. Sheena paused in thought. "Well, how do we get the information on Commander Carter's unit?"
"That's where you come in."
"Why? I don't really know the Minister of Defense."
"I happen to know he has a ninja fantasy."
"Oh eww."
"It's time to embrace your alter ego as a sexy spy!"
"You pervert! No way."
"Come on, it'll be fun! We'll be a dynamic duo. You're the decoy, and I get the goods."
"He's so old..."
"You thought about it! See? You do want to do it."
"No, no. I'm not going to do it."
"We'll see about that," he grinned mischievously. Sheena frowned unamused and gave him a sidelong glance. The carefree expression that had lit up his face a moment ago was gone. Instead, Zelos looked sorrowful, as though he were a thousand miles away. Sheena's gaze softened. Maybe he's thinking about his mother? She knew better than to ask, but his silence concerned her. Whenever he got quiet, she knew something was bothering him. And he'd been acting somewhat erratically since Arkylia.
"Don't think to hard. You'll get wrinkles," Zelos joked and tipped up her chin.
"You are so irritating!" She growled and smacked his hand away.
"Just keeping you on your toes, my Voluptuous Honey. Shall we grab some dinner?"
"You're buying." And there he was, back to his joking. Under the annoyance, Sheena was puzzled. Something is going on with him. He's not usually this weird. And that thing he said at Ms. Devsky's. That had to be a joke, right?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It wasn't as successful an outing as he'd hoped, but they were definitely in the right direction. Zelos threw his shirt onto his bed and walked into the bathroom of his hotel room. Brushing his teeth, the red-head gave himself a once-over and sighed, noting the lines around his eyes, the paleness of his skin, and the weight he'd lost. He didn't feel like he was at his best physically, but he did feel mentally solid. More than ever. Tradeoffs are a bitch.
Finishing up, he exited the bathroom and changed into his pajama bottoms. As the former Chosen walked over to the window, he saw the reflection of his back in the mirror and examined the diagonal scar. That's not going away anytime soon. Can't show that to Seles. She'll have a field day. He smiled as he thought of his half sister going ballistic at seeing the scar. She always did have such dramatic reactions.
Looking at the window, Zelos observed the lights come on one by one across Flanoir. Being at the top of the hotel did have its advantages. The view was hard to beat, especially at night. His eyes swept towards the church, whose vaulting towers stood at the height of the skyline. It was enough to trigger the memory of his mother dying to protect him. You should not have been born. Her last words chilled him and he turned away. God, he wanted to forget it ever happened. But even as much as he pushed it away, it always snuck back into his head. All he wanted was to be free.
And now you're the farthest from it. Zelos rolled his eyes. He definitely did not want to think about the last year. Sighing, the man walked to his dresser and poured himself a drink. Without hesitation, he knocked it back and poured himself another. He had no where to be and no one to see. Getting drunk in his room didn't sound like a bad idea at all. A warming sensation filled his stomach as he filled his glass again. He picked it up and held it in his hand, examining the light brown liquid. I wonder if Sheena would be up for a nightcap. Then he shook his head. Don't overwhelm her. Ugh, I shouldn't have said that at Devsky's. It was too late though, the words had been said. But she hadn't said anything over dinner. Probably didn't know what to make of it, he thought with a wry smile and took a sip of his drink. Truthfully though, he'd enjoyed dinner. He'd pestered her with questions about the past six months: what she'd been up to, Meltokio gossip, the Mizuho transition to Sylvarant. Listening to Sheena helped take his mind off his own shit. And he liked to listen to her; he found her no-nonsense attitude sexy.
As he polished off the second drink and was about to pour himself a third, he heard a knock at the door. Grabbing a robe, Zelos threw it over his back and crossed the room to open the door. "Hello?" he asked as he opened it, only to be greeted with a kick to his chest. He landed on the ground, catching sight of three black robed figures racing into the room, the last one closing the door. For a second, they were all frozen in place. Then Zelos backflipped, landing on his feet and delivering a kick to the chest of the closest attacker. The attacker smacked into the dresser, but another one jumped towards Zelos, brandishing a knife. Zelos feinted sideways, grabbed the knife holding hand, and flipped the assassin over his back.
The third assassin began to throw punches, forcing Zelos to block and duck with speed. But he was too slow; a punch landed on his cheek, knocking him backward. The first assassin pinned his arms to his back and the second delivered a kick to his stomach, causing him to double over. When he looked up, the third assassin punched his cheek again, breaking his lip.
"Zelos? Are you okay?" A knock came at the door.
"Say anything, and she's dead." The first assassin warned as he handed the knife to the third assassin.
"All cool, my pet ninja! But it's sweet of you to check on me. I didn't know you cared!" Zelos called back in his schmooziest voice. Go away, Sheena. Don't come in here. He couldn't let her get involved. He didn't want her getting hurt on his account. He'd never forgive himself.
"Ugh, whatever. Good night." Sheena called back.
Thank goddess, he thought. As the sound of her footsteps retreated, the assassins turned their attention back to him. "Now, where were we?" The third one asked and punched him square in the mouth.
"Well, you were gonna let me go and I would let you be on your way and live," Zelos stalled and spat blood. He was literally pinned on three sides. How was he gonna get out of this?
"Nah, I don't think so. The King wouldn't be too happy with that." The second assassin sneered.
"Is that all you are? His puppets?" Zelos goaded. There was no way he was going to die here, in a hotel room, alone. He just needed time to figure out how to escape.
"Don't you dare speak slander of the King!" The third swiped his knife across Zelos' cheek and pain filled his face. Rage started to grow in his stomach. THINK YOU IDIOT. He closed his eyes and concentrated, searching his mind for an answer, trying to fight the rising fear beating in his heart.
"Ah…is the Chosen scared? We won't hurt you that much." The second assassin cackled and delivered a punch to his stomach. Zelos groaned but the first assassin kept him from doubling over.
"No one wants you around anyway. Your own mother wanted to give you up." The knife sliced across his chest. Zelos grunted as he felt a wave of searing pain flush through his body. The anger continued to grow inside Zelos as he furiously fought to retain control over his emotions.
"You and your sister are both disgraces to the royal blood line. Maybe the King will let us go after her next." The first assassin snickered.
That was it. Something snapped inside him; the rage overwhelmed his senses, coursing through his veins. Flames shot out of his hands, burning the assassin who had pinned his arms. Shrieking, the assassin dropped to the floor, trying to roll the flames off his arms. Now free, Zelos focused on the other two assassins. Without hesitation, he pushed out his right arm and watched flames erupt over their bodies, his own arm in flames. Now all three were screaming, rolling on the floor to put out the flames.
The door flew open and Sheena stood there, wrapped in her own robe. Eyes wide, she surveyed the scene, "Zelos! What's going on?" He felt her eyes comb over his appearance: the bruises, the cuts, the bloody mouth, and...his flaming arms.
As he looked at the men on the floor, he felt his anger slowly disappear, and his arms return to normal. Grabbing his shirt, coat and rehiard key, he ushered her out of the room. "I lied. I can't get used to this place."