Chapter 37

Rose awoke in a small white linen covered bed, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light that seemingly shone in from the windows on either side of the rectangular room she was now laying in. As her eyes attuned, she realized she was looking at an ebon wood roof, and she slowly turned her head in either direction, taking in the new scenery. Her head felt a little fuzzy, but that was nothing, it didn't impede her physically as far as she could tell. Her ribs didn't ach as she had expected either, but only throbbed with a tapered kind of far away sharpness. She glanced around the tiled floor, which slowly fixated on a large cabinet at the end of the room adjacent to her bed. A doorway was on the other end which led out into wide hall way, and that was as far as she could see, her vision disappearing behind the white walls that spanned onwards, probably leading to other rooms identical to hers. After a few moments of assessing her surroundings, the familiarity dawned on her, and it didn't take her long to figure out where she was.

I'm at the Lohan hospital ward she thought almost dejectedly. So I'm not dead after all. The only question left now is how.

A recognizable voice sounded from the hallway outside, and soon a head to match it peered in slowly.

"You're awake" the blonde women spoke softly, relief flooding through her.

"How did I get here? What happened?" Rose asked with a kind of peculiar absence. She felt like she was still half asleep, minus the drowsiness, like she was in some surreal dream you couldn't wake out of only to find you somehow never wanted to. This must be how Zack felt Rose thought, concluding it was the work of some exceptional painkillers that brought on such an effect.

"You were attacked and knocked unconscious, then brought back here" Lucile explained calmly. She stepped inside and then sat on the chair closest to the farthest window.

"You brought me here?" she asked with a tone of disbelief. Lucile shook her head.

"Don't worry about it now, I can explain later. Get some sleep and try not to move much, we have the best doctors working on you who are rumored to be the best in Serdio."

Rose shook her own head in refusal, signifying she had all the rest she needed. Her mind slowly began to climb back to its usual clarity, and so she assured Lucile she felt alright, and she was more then ready to chat about recent events. Lucile sighed slowly, and gave up any further protests. She knew it would do no good anyhow, once her mind was set there was very little anyone could do to change it.

And so she sat up in an upright position, her body emitting small sharp pains, but none she wasn't already expect or couldn't handle.

Come to think of it… Rose ran a tentative hand down her damaged sternum. Her usual dark leather top and shoulder pads were absent, leaving only the naked top half of her body bound by a layer of white bandages which left the tops of her shoulders, her arms and the bottom of her navel exposed. But even with the bandages, which made her feel almost naked, she could still assess the damage. It should be much more severe. I could have sworn at least two or three of my ribs were cracked if not shattered.

"You healed me?" Rose questioned, although it came out more of a statement. She knew full well the answer. Lucile agreed, grinning a little with satisfaction, like a dog that had just pleased their master.

"You did a good job" Rose commented uneasily. "Your training has done you well and I'm glad to know it wasn't a waste of time." Lucile knew it sounded a little rude, but it was a close as she would get as far as compliments were concerned and she knew it. And so she smiled and nodded humbly.

"I wasn't the only one" she added after in an offhand sort of fashion. The room fell silent and suddenly the reason of why the botched escapade escalated into what it did in the first place, momentarily forgotten, came rushing back Rose like a tidal wave.

"And what of Zack?" Rose asked, a hint of nerve in her tone.

"I think you should see for yourself" Lucile answered. She stood up, and then stepped outside into the hallway without another word. A few moments later another figure stepped in, this one also familiar, and when he walked in hesitantly, she felt a portion of the anvil that gung on her shoulders lift, and she inwardly rejoiced at the small victory that was achieved.

"Umm, hi" Zack greeted sheepishly as he subconsciously placed one of his hands behind his neck, rubbing aimlessly. It was a nervous habit he most often did in awkward situations, but it did little to ease him, only made him feel like a boy who had embarrassed himself in a classroom of laughing kids.

"How are you feeling?" he followed, his voice soft yet still carrying his usual optimistic tone.

"I'm fine" she responded typically, leaving no further room for conversation on that subject. An unnerving silence began to creep in, and so Rose decided she'd break it before it came too outright uncomfortable.

"It's good to see your poison's treated" Rose started, her eyes narrowing downward slightly. "I was almost worried you wouldn't make it."

Zack chuckled quietly. "I'm as good as new. As soon as I was out of the forest, Lucile had apparently healed me up, remedying the otherwise fatal toxins."

Rose nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, she is the reason you're alive" Rose said, a twinge of guilt tugging at her from her earlier dismissive attitude that would have coast him his life.

"I heard you got these injuries in a fight because of me. If I had not been a burden, the fight would have been perhaps avoidable, and for that I'm sorry" Zack apologized somberly. It made Rose almost flinch, the way he said it, the way his eyes pierce into her own, making her feel like she would melt under his scrutiny.

"It was nothing, it's Lucile who deserves the credit" Rose retorted, turning her head to the side, looking out into the daylight that shone through the square window. The breeze that was blowing in felt nice.

Although Rose didn't look at Zack, he could hear him approach, his light footsteps closing in on her.

"Hold still for a moment" he almost coaxed. The way he said it made her freeze, and she then thought whether he didn't want her to, she would remain unmoving anyway, as if a sort of paralysis had consumed her.

She next felt his rugged yet somewhat warm hands brush her shoulder blade, lightly tracing her neck, down to the back top of her uncovered shoulders to where her pale skin disappeared behind the blend of white bandages.

"So many scars" Zack mused as he traced the crisscross scars that marked the now visible sections of her body with a tender lightness. The contact made her shutter slightly, breaking her paralysis. Gods how long had it been since anyone had touched her like this? Even Zeig who she planned to wed only touched her bare skin on occasions that would fall into the single digits, and anyone else would be dead before they could even get a hand on her shirt.

"And yet" he began, his soft voice almost enchanting, like a spell that was placed on her rending her helpless to his will. His hands brushed her cheek, bringing her face towards his, one finger lightly creasing her newly formed cut thanks to the tree monster. "You only have this scar on your face."

She held back a wince that began to lightly surge as his finger touched her now stinging laceration. Part of the reason may have been because she didn't want to break contact, that part of her was somehow enjoying the warming sensation that made her cheekbones high with an almost rosy redness, which in turn began to warm her cold and bitter heart, slowly burning down its frozen barriers.

He pulled his hands away from her, which to her surprise left her with a longing desire to repeat the process. This shocked her a little and appalled her at the same time, and when she felt his eyes set firmly on hers, the redness in her face almost throbbed.

None of them said anything for a few moments. Rose sure as hell couldn't anyhow. They just locked eyes, and slowly as the peaceful silence, not so awkward this time set in, both of their worlds began to merge, crashing against each other in a maelstrom of bewilderment, lust and helplessness. She told herself to look away, that this would only lead to more trouble; gods only knew they already had enough in their road, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. She was attracted to him like a magnet is to metal and that fact began to frighten her, that under his gaze he could take her, and do whatever he wanted and she wouldn't resist. She was, at least for the moment, no longer her own mistress. This outright horrified her, after Zeig she had solemnly sworn that she would not devote herself to another person, would not become attached to the point of needing. She only needed to rely on herself, and so she had for eleven thousand years. Yet here she was, in front of one black haired Zack, stunned into a helpless school girl romance.

"Lucile will be here soon to explain what happened" Zack said, breaking the silence. This again left her with the sensation of both relief and yearning, and all she was able to muster out was an "okay." Her mind and thoughts stilled roared like a cyclone, her practical nature trying to reassure the blurring lines between realism and fantasy.

He then gave her a soft smile, the smile that really brought out his features, and she had come to love it and hate it in equal measure. Come to think of it, his whole being sparked so many different conflicting feelings, feelings that would yet become dangerous if they haven't already unless kept to the back of her mind.

"Anyway, I'll go get Lucie and give you a couple of minutes to rest if need be" Zack went on casually. It appeared he had coined Lucile a nickname as well, as he did her. "This story, from what Lucile has told me briefly about, is a long yet interesting one."

Rose nodded, and he left, gliding out of the door and into the hallway. Slowly, she managed to reassert herself, get her own feelings under a tight lid so not to burst out. She absently ran her own hand across her blemished back, doing exactly as Zack had done. It still felt warm from his touch, and a jolt of electricity ran through her, like it had when he was touching her.

Damn it she cursed, looking for something to cover her skin. It wasn't so much that she was worried people could see, they already had most likely, but she didn't like the memories of past atrocities that each scar represented, like each was an individual badge of all the wrongs she had committed when she was the Black Monster. She still didn't really blame herself for the birth of such a fiend, she was doing what was right in her mind at the time, but it still didn't stop the haunting visages that appeared each time she looked at them.

"We're back" Zack announced, pulling her out of her contemptuous thoughts. Lucile followed close behind, and Zack pulled up a chair, Lucile opting to stand.

"Since we're all here, I'll recall the tale and fill in the missing blanks that you both missed, if you would be kind enough to listen" Lucile began slowly.

"Yes, I would hear every word" Rose replied immediately. Lucile nodded, took a breath, and then let it out in a long sigh.

"Well…" she momentarily found it hard to begin, not able to find the words to start the inevitable account. And then it came to her, in a vivid, almost too realistic wave of recollection.

"Well, as you know, Zack fell unconscious and we hauled him out of the forest, before you fought that monster, right?" Lucile started. Rose nodded, then signaled her ton continued when she appeared she wouldn't.

"Well… that's when it happened…"

Rose slumped on the ground, her body limp and not moving. The tree monster that had knocked her out bellowed loudly, as if to cry in triumph. To leered down at its fallen victim, almost as if it was licking its absent lips.

Within the shadows of then ear by trees, the grey marauders, the one from the entrance to the marshland earlier, all hid, watching silently. One of them raised their hand, and point to the monster, nodding its head lightly. "Do it."

A barrage of arrows flew from all direction, piercing the fiend with lethal precision. The beast shrieked, and then the unknown ally who had given the order withdrew its own bow, and as the arrow was pulled back against the string, it became enveloped in a white light and shot towards the injured monster, engulfing it in the white brilliant light on impact.

"Move" the leader of the group order, and they all jumped out of the shadows, forming around the dying foe.

"Finish it."

One of the other grey solider looking individuals pulled out a sword and severed it's tree body in half, the bark crunching as the blade tore through.

"Alright, six stay with me, the rest of you continue with the mission." They were all silent for a moment, and then six of the twelve members took off, disappearing back from where they had come.

The leader walked forward, and pried the rapier free, its form still unscathed.

"Here, hold this" the voice spoke, throwing the sword handle first towards on of its comrades. It was caught easily.

Then one walked towards the unconscious Rose, picked her up over the shoulder, in much the same fashion Lucie had Zack, and they began to quickly make towards the exit.

Lucile sat down next to Zack, in a state of exhaust and worry. As soon as she had got him out she used the rest of her healing energy to purify him, which managed to achieve good results. He was still unconscious, but was breathing regularly now, and it seemed he had escaped death yet again, at least for the moment.

"Hurry up Rose" Lucile murmured fretfully. It had been more then ten minutes, and she knew she should probably move, but she couldn't leave her behind. She refused to think her as dead, but just still in a heated battle.

A sound emerged from the bushes nearby which marked the exit (or entrance, depending on which way you look at it) and Lucile swung around, her eyes narrow and calculating. Is it the monster? She wondered to herself. Her fear was soon put to rest when her acute eyes spotted gleaming silver that slowly manifested into six individuals, one with Rose draped over their shoulder.

Lucile was up and in her battle stance in an instant, her mind racing with hundreds of different conclusions to as why Rose was seemingly incapacitated. But never did one of those conclusions circle around them becoming an unlikely ally. As she raised her fist, to show that she was willing to defend herself and her friends, one of the grey warriors stood forward, holding up a halting hand.

"We mean no harm" the voice said calmly. It was a feminine voice, yet it did little to comfort her.

"I think you do" Lucile replied skeptically, gazing at a limp Rose. Her eyes then shot back at the person standing in front of her, eyes blazing.

"We did not create the injury, rather, we saved her from certain death" the female replied with the same calm, dinner table like mannerism. Lucile could not read their expressions because of their shrouding masks and it made her feel all the more uneasy.

"If that's the case, then give her to me. Then I may think about not hurting any of you" Lucile spoke dangerously as she scanned her eyes over her could be multiple foes. She didn't really think she could battle them all at once, probably not at full strength let alone in a state of exhaust, but she hoped her confident exterior would be enough to persuade them otherwise.

The apparent leader turned to the one who was holding Rose, nodded, and then it stepped forward, kneeling down in front of Lucile and placing Rose on the ground with unexpected care.

"As we said, we are not your enemy" the leader repeated as the second associate walked back into the main group that had huddled behind the spokesperson. Lucile relaxed a fraction, letting her guard down as she hunkered down and briefly ran her hand across Rose's broken body. This elicit cries of pain from the unconscious Rose as she roughly bumped one of the injured bones or body parts, her sternum in particular took a heavy beating and as such, responded to the most.

"She isn't dead, don't worry. But she needs medical attention" the women broke in sternly. Lucile looked at her now two unresponsive comrades, and wondered fearfully how she would be able to cart them both to Lohan. She didn't even have enough energy to try and heal Rose's injures.

"We can assist in transporting Rose" she broke of momentarily, looking over at Zack. "And you're other inured companion to the Lohan hospital."

Lucile looked at them doubtfully. She no way trusted them, especially in the crises where their friend's now defenseless lives hang in the balance, but what choice did she have? It was beyond her physical capability to carry them both, and if she didn't get them to safety soon they would all be easy pickings for the roaming monsters that lurk the countryside. Plus, if they really wanted Rose dead, or worked for Sandora, wouldn't Rose already be dead, her Dragoon Spirit already- she paused in mid thought, and carefully searched through Rose's belongings, relaxing when her hand was met by a large purple orb.

"We're not interested in that" the women broke in. Lucile looked at her with alarm and she felt her own spirit twinge a little. How did she know what she was going for? This brought further suspicions to Lucile's mind, but when Rose moaned from beneath her, she knew she had to move.

"I have no choice but to cooperate… but if I suspect even the slightest bit of what I consider to be hostile behavior, I'll strike with no hesitation" Lucile warned. The women smiled from behind her mask.

"I hope so." The stranger admired her sense of responsibility and protection, to help her friends when help is needed. It almost reminded her of herself, a more timid, younger version of herself.

The leader and another masked member bent over and carried Rose and Zack respectively, trying to be as diligent as possible. When they were fastened over their shoulders, she turned to Lucile. "If we want to make the trip by noon tomorrow, we best get moving now."

"And that was pretty much it' Lucile summarized. "We managed to get into Lohan, where when I reached the front of the hospital, they left without a word."

"How come I never woke up?" Rose questioned thoughtfully.

"The leader, I was never able to catch her name, in fact they revealed very little about themselves, had amazing healing insight. She was able to gather the local herbs and bushes and create a potent sedative, keeping you both asleep so you wouldn't move and upset your injures further. She was even able to treat some of your wounds Rose, her medical expertise far surpassed mine, and she didn't even have a Dragoon Spirit."

Rose said nothing, only contemplated the latest bit of information in silence. It made her most uneasy that she herself was not there to gauge their new apparent ally, although she hardly thought them as such. It wasn't she didn't trust Lucile's own judgment, but as her nature, she was one to be cautious, especially in the face of strangers who were more apt to be against them than for them.

"But, before they left, the supposed leader, or at least it seemed to me, told me that'd we'd meet again. I somehow knew this before she verbalized it though, and I have no doubt that we will. Of course, the difference will be whether it be a meeting of friends or foes…

"Either way, let it be how it will be, we can't ponder on it any longer" Rose said almost hastily. "If we meet them again, and by the sounds of it we will, it'll be then we decide." Although Rose said this, she knew it wouldn't stay her mind. She reckoned her mind would swirl around the recent revelations for the next few days, assessing viable options and possible future encounters. "And my sword?"

"It's on the side of the cabinet" Lucile replied, looking over at the large, multi-drawer construction. It was on the side farthest from Rose, the side she couldn't see.

"So that leaves what we must do now" Zack broke in, it was the first time he had spoken in over an hour. "Are we to continue our path to Shirley? This test?"

Rose nodded immediately. "I think it may be a test for us all, even I" Rose responded absently. Zack looked at her puzzled, and was about to ask her what she meant but she silenced him with her hand. "You'll understand soon enough, but for now, I would have us leave this place."

Zack glanced at Lucile, who was thinking the same thing he was. I don't think your in any condition to move anywhere dear Rosy was his thought, but he knew better he couldn't dissuade her, no matter what the danger. Yet he had to try, for he could never forgive himself if something did happen.

"Maybe you should rest up a while longer, we're in no real rush, and we'll only further stunt our progress if you further injure yourself and have to be carted here again." He said it with a soft, almost pleading tone that he hoped would find at least some sense.

"We are in a rush, as I'm sure you're aware, time is not on our side. Also, I'm sure our presence has alerted many, and lest we want a repeat of Hoax I think it' best we move away from large cities where we can be easily targeted." Zack agreed a little reluctantly, but he could hear the truth in her reasoning. If they did stay here too long, they would be sought out after, and many would die in the process. "And I'll be careful not to injure myself further, and thanks to the medical treatment I received form Lucile and the doctors, their not nearly as bad as it appears or have previously been."

"That I have no doubt" Zack half laughed, although it was dry, filled with no real witticism. "Are you going to at lest spend the rest of today to rest?"

"I suppose I will. But tomorrow, we will be traveling to Shirley's Shrine, and" she was cut off by Zack, who smiled and finished:

"Be sure to be up at dawn." Lucile snickered from behind them. Rose rolled her eyes, but Lucile thought even she felt a bit of the humor. "Anyway, we'll meet you at the front tomorrow morning. Be sure to rest up."

Lucile waved her hand gently, and they both shuffled out, closing the white door behind them. When the sound of the door closing echoed in Rose's head, a wave of sudden isolation overcame her, as if closing the door had stamped out that last flicker of light, and what awaited were all her demons, ready to devourer her.

What's wrong with me? She wondered as she rolled from side to side, trying to get comfortable. It seemed that while she was around her new friends, she didn't have time to worry about her own personal issues that she usually faced daily and yet now, after becoming once again familiar with presence of others, she felt almost scared to face them. Is that all they are, just a distraction? Is that all he is? She knew that wasn't true, just another conjured rationale to try and falsely justify her sudden reliance, and ideal that although she began to accept, didn't particularly please her. But it will be as it will be, regardless of all else, and as Rose began to drift off into an uneasy slumber, those thoughts recurred to her in her dreams.

"Ah, she's up" Zack greeted outside the hospital. Lucile was beside him, and rose was greeted by the flurry of voices that this commercial town was renowned for. Nothing had changed here either; it was still bursting with salesmen and tourists, all crowding and moving like the great sea. There were three levels of Lohan, which only made it more congested, the first of which was the lower market, where the poor, usually simple food and fruit merchants laid down their unstructured markets, also home to the fabled battle arena which warriors from all over Serdio and beyond gathered for the annual gladiator games. The second, of which was supported by large blanks of wooden floorboards housed the structural markets, places like weapon vendors and other commodities. A lot of the wood was worn, and it was any wonder to the trio that it never collapsed. This was split into two sides, each holding their own respective stores and houses, most of which were no larger then a single unit. The third and final floor, which was structured much the same way the second level was, wooden boards, was the richest part of town, where the rich and the wealthy merchants housed, as well as the famous Lohan hospital. These were usually no bigger then small units either, but the houses and merchants were arranged in such a way that one building has several levels, and as such it wasn't uncommon for one building to house three or four merchants, and the higher up you were, usually the wealthier you were as well.

"Let's move on, and try not to be fooled by any merchants who would seek to take advantage of ones… lack of fair pricing knowledge" Rose said cautiously. She was re-equipped with her sword and garbed in her usual outfit, but under it she still bore the restricting bandages. She still felt a little ginger, but thought all in all, she pulled up all right.

"In other words they'll rip you off in a wink of an eye" Zack remarked. Rose nodded and looked ahead, moving people, screaming merchants who all proclaimed the same thing, that they had the best and fairest prices. Most of them wore robes and turbans, but as to why was a mystery.

The three ventures downward, towards a set of stairs that led them to the middle of town. As they began to walk under a rickety bridge above them that connected the two halves, Zack began to notice how unique the buildings around him were. It was in fact his first time outside the hospital since he arrived, and while the ground around them appeared botched, the buildings around them certainly weren't. Most which were fashioned by some of the most glorious bricks and metals he had seen, not to mention the brilliant roofs which were made of dazzling tiles that came in an array of outstanding colours. It was almost like a poor yet rich town mixed together.

But that all changed once they reached the bottom level, and when they did they were met by a cloud of putrid aromas. It was filled by self set up markets, most of which looked so dirty the thought of actually buying food from them made Zack want to throw up. One had a self furnished sign which used a kind of disfigured representation of a pig to mark its intent, the various animals caged near a damaged wooden counter that looked though it housed a hundred diseases.

"Follow me, and don't respond to anyone who would try to barter with us" Rose commanded, and immediately began towards the western exit of the town. They were bombarded by several merchants, and they ignored them all, and when one who set their store up on no more then a large rug perused after them, Rose had to give a sharp warning, to which the male salesmen took immediately and disappeared.

When the reached the exit of town, marked by a large sign that was covered by an assortment of flyers and posters, Rose turned to them, eyeing them closely.

"Since we have to avoid the forest, we are in for a long hike. I hope you two are up to it." They both nodded, willing to follow their leader wherever they had to, heck, they had already gone over an active volcano, and she nodded back satisfactorily. She turned, and the three of them left the town of Lohan behind them, setting out for their next itinerary that held confrontations that would shock them all, and unravel mysteries that none of them could possible foresee.

Notes: Yet another latish submission, I apologize once again, and I shall try to make future updates with more quickness. Anyhow, as to who the leader of the band of masked marauders are, I have dropped a few hints as to who it may be, so see if you can try and figure it out ) And also, a nice welcome to my newest reviewer Nymphadora17 , who has joined the small err… bandwagon if that's what you'd call it, and of course, thanks to my constant reviewers. Anywho, happy readings .

- Michael.