She stood in front of the door with her hand raised to knock. Though she had long grown used to the heat of the Underworld she felt beads of sweat growing on her forehead being caught by her headband.

She found it almost funny that she had quite literally flown through the Underworld and charged into battle with the Fiend Golbez with not a hint of fear, Queen Arsura's premonition allowing her to arrive in the nick of time to save Cecil and the others, but now here she was paralyzed at the idea of speaking with the person on the other side of the door.

She took a moment to assess just why it was that she was so nervous. This was Cecil. The man who had saved her from the fires that claimed her birthplace. Whom she had fought beside in countless battles in their quest to protect the crystals. The man whom she admired most in the world for his selflessness and care.

And she then realized that was it. She was scared that, while he was similar to what she remembered as a child, that had been only a few months for him, for her a bit more than a decade had passed.

During that time as she studied and worked on her craft she had kept an image of him in her mind. Often wondering how he was and if he would be proud of her, if he missed her...if he remembered her.

Now he was on the other side of this door and the answer to all of those questions stood to be answered. And she was afraid of the answers she would get.

So engrossed in her own mind she jumped when she felt a slim hand touch her shoulder.

"Easy, Rydia it's only me." Rosa stood behind her with a smile that reminded the summoner of cool nights wrapped up in blankets under the stars. The two women stared at each other for a moment before Rydia felt a surging of emotion and threw her arms around the white mage.

Rosa stumbled back only a step and returned the hug with just as much fervor as the young woman she was reunited with. Tears formed in her eyes and for a moment neither had the ability nor the desire to speak, simply letting feelings of loss and sadness be swept away by the relief and joy that they were together again.

Soon though, Rydia reluctantly released her grip and stood looking at Rosa eye to eye.

"You grew up." Rosa said, looking over Rydia. "This will take some getting used to I think."

"Well you are even more beautiful than I remember. I am so glad to see you safe. I was told that you had been rescued, but sometimes Queen Asura's visions are not what they appear. But I held onto that hope and to see you here," she sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm so glad."

"Oh my poor little caller," Rosa stroked her hand through the woman's green curls. "I never doubted for a moment that Cecil would save me, but you," Rosa's eyes welled up with tears again. "We thought you were lost to us."

Rosa pulled Rydia to her once more, pressing her to her body as though she were afraid if she loosened even a bit that Rydia would vanish into the air.

Both women soon feel to their knees tears streaming down their faces.

When they finally were able to compose themselves both erupted into giggles at their behavior. Deciding to move from the hallway to a small alcove with a stone bench Rosa launched into a cacophony of questions about what had happened to Rydia and how she had come to be their savior.

Rydia did her best to explain her story. From the time she was swallowed by Leviathan and brought to the Land of Summoned Monsters, to the first few months of tears and worry over Cecil, Edward, Yang, and Rosa, all the way up to her training and subsequent arrival at the dwarves' castle.

Rosa listened and Rydia could almost feel the love and concern from the mage. Once she was done Rosa brought her up to speed as well as much as she could. Rydia felt her breath catch when Rosa explained how Cecil had relinquished the dark sword and become a Paladin of the light. When she finished Rosa asked one more question which brought back all of Rydia's anxiety.

"Have you spoken to Cecil yet?" Rydia dropped her eyes down to the stonework on the floor.

"Not yet." Rosa gave a surprised look. "I'm a bit nervous honestly."

"Nervous of what?"

Rydia took a deep breath. "I'm not the same person I was when we last saw each other. Its been over a decade for me Rosa but only a few months for all of you." She clenched her hands in her dress, an old habit from when she was a small girl. "What if he is disappointed of the person I am now?"

Rosa was silent for a moment. Rydia kept her eyes fixed on the cracks in the stone mapping them like a maze. Then she felt a slender set of fingers push her chin up to look her friend in the face.

Rosa held a comforting smile on her lips. Rydia felt most of her unease vanish.

"My sweet little Rydia," she said. "Let me tell you something. In this world I have known the love of Cecil Harvey, have been the focus of it, for many years. Cecil loves me with a fierceness and a depth I have never seen the equal of except for one other."

Rosa brought her other hand up to frame Rydia's face. "When Cecil thought you dead, his spirit was crushed, and to be honest I feared for a time that my love for him may be the only thing that allowed him to continue forward. Even after he rescued me from the Tower of Zot, there were many nights that he sat looking at stars and I knew that it was you he thought of and how he grieved."

"So why has he not come to find me?" Rydia finally voiced the secret concern she had not even known she had. She had had to go to him, why had he not come to find her if he missed her as much as Rosa said.

"Because dear girl, he is afraid." Rydia looked up at Rosa with confusion on her face. "In his mind, he failed you. He swore to keep you safe, protect you, to find a place in the world where you could live and grow up in peace. In his mind, he is the cause of all of the misfortune in your life. The destruction of your home, the death of your mother, and ultimately what we thought was your own death."

"But none of that was truly his fault. He did everything in his power to keep me safe I know that. Cecil is the best man I know."

"Well then," Rosa stood and brought Rydia up with her. "I do not think I am the one who needs to hear that from you."

New confidence entered Rydia as she gave one more hug around Rosa's torso, taking a moment to let her mind drift back once again as she inhaled the scent of the oils and herbs that clung to the white mage's form. Then she stepped back and wiped her eyes, before marching straight back to Cecil's door.

With no hesitation this time Rydia lifted one hand up to the wooden door and knocked.

After a moment she heard movement and the door opened to reveal the young man that had been at the forefront of her mind for ten years.

His soft features were framed by his shoulder length silver hair and hihs blue eyes locked onto her green ones. Just as Rosa had said Rydia saw pain in his eyes as he realized who stood before him.

In a moment that mirrored one she had just shared with the blond white mage Rydia threw her arms around Cecil's neck and hugged him. She felt him tense up for a moment. For a brief moment her old fears came back. Would he reject her? Did he still care? Had she in some way failed him by growing up without him?

Her answer came as she felt his powerful arms wrap around her, partially lifting her off the ground, but still gentle. As if he were afraid to break her but not willing to let go.

"I'm sorry." The two words drifted into her ear. She felt his hand come to the crown of her head. "I'm sorry."

"Cecil, you did everything you could. You are the best man I have ever known. You don't have to apologize to me."

"I said I would keep you safe, I was supposed to protect you."

"And you did. You kept me safe and brought me to where I was supposed to be. So I can be the person I am now. So I can help protect you from all of the evils you sought to protect me from." Rydia pushed him slightly away so she stood before him at arm's length.

"I just hope I am a person that you can be proud of after all of this time."

"Rydia, no matter what form you take or how old you are, I will always be proud to say you are someone I know. And there are few in this world I would rather have at my side." Cecil wiped his tears away and used the back of his hand to brush some of her hair from her face.

"Come on little one, I have some food set, and I want to hear everything that happened to you while you were away."

"I'm not so little anymore." She said with a smile.

"Maybe not. But to me you will always be the little girl running around my grieves, smiling with that bit of dirt on your cheek."

Rosa watched as the two disappeared into Cecil's chambers, Rydia objecting to Cecil's description of her and his laugh ringing out into the hall. She smiled at that. Cecil's laughs had, to her ears, felt heavy these past few months. More forced than she remembered from their youth. But with Rydia's return that weight was lifted and in truth she could feel the same weight had lifted off of her own spirit.

She remembered a night on Mt. Hobbs and reflected on what she and Cecil had spoken of concerning the future. They had entertained an image of the three of them living as a family somewhere in the world. She let her mind drift to it once more but this time Rydia was not the little girl she would mother, but rather a sister she had never had.

Moving toward Cecil's door she stepped in and joined the two at the table, Rydia already into a story of her life while he stood and welcomed Rosa to the table to join them.

All three of them knew that the world was still in danger. Golbez and his forces were on the verge of collecting the crystals. But tonight their small family that had been broken was once more healed and with that, each felt that this was a small but crucial victory against that darkness.