Don't Fall, part 29

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. It's been a while since I said that.

FIC START!

Kain led the team of Ceodore, Ursula, and Sakinah onto the boat at the dock of Fabul. The four of them were enough to man every station and get it sailing. Considering the castle was no longer, it was amazing that the dock was even functional at all. But within a few moments of securing everything on the ship, they were pulling out and heading to Baron. The sail burst open as it caught ahold of the wind, and the waves pulled the wooden boat along with nary a problem. Ceodore and Ursula offered up general positive chatter, getting Kain to join in on it every now and then. They all knew each other so well, which made Sakinah slowly back away from those three and head to the edge of the hull, where she could watch the foam of the waves go by.

Sakinah had only once been on a ship before, and that was when she was transferred from Mysidia to Troia when she was young. As she let her hair down from her ponytail and feel the breeze blow it back as if it were a sail, she couldn't help but think about that. She was going to stand face to face with the man that led the attack on the Tower of Prayers. The attack that led to her father being murdered. She imagined that a man crowned king would be a man that could hold his own in combat, else he be ousted by someone that would rather have the throne. He was a Dark Knight before. Hell, he could have still been a dark knight now. What kind of man was this Cecil? The father of Ceodore, and apparently, Kain's best friend throughout childhood. That made her wonder what it was like to have a childhood friend in the first place. And her thoughts kept going on and on from there.

"Hey, Sakinah!" Ursula chimed behind her, causing her to flinch in surprise. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't think I'd scare you."

"Don't worry about it," Sakinah answered. "I was just so lost in thought that I didn't expect anyone to say anything to me."

"Kain says that you're from Troia," Ursula said.

"I am. I am the official Skyreader of the Troian Royal Court," she replied, bowing down onto one knee. "Sakinah Skylar. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Princess Ursula of Fabul."

"...whoa," the princess gasped. "You... you can really do that formal greeting well. I... never would have taken you for nobility- oh, sorry for being so blunt. My mother is always trying to teach me manners, and I'm terrible at it."

"I was trained by the Epopts to be fitting for the Troian tradition," Sakinah explained clearly. "And your manners are fine with me. I'm not of noble blood, so I don't require all that etiquette." She looked up at the sky, noticing the clouds above. She'd spent her whole life studying the sky and predicting the weather so the mages and farmers would be able to plan accordingly. Very few times in her life did she ever look up just to simply enjoy how beautiful the day was.

"As a representative of Troia, I hope you feel welcome in Baron," Ceodore said as he approached the ladies. "As the prince, it would be my responsibility to ensure that you enjoy your stay. You will have need for nothing."

"Not many representatives of Troia ever come to Baron," Kain added. He was still standing at the steering wheel. "They'll be happy to receive you."

Sakinah blushed. "I'm nothing special. I'm not even here as a representative of Troia. I'm on my own personal quest."

"Are you any closer to finding what you set out to find?" Kain asked.

She sighed. Was he really going to ask that? Was he not... slowly leading her to the answers she was seeking? Even he said at one point that he had fallen for her. That had to have been teasing. Sakinah didn't think that Kain was even capable of teasing. "I don't know, maybe you can tell me," she said, playing along. "You were going to take me to the place where you found your answers. Is Baron that place?"

"Sadly, no. It is my homeland, but it is not where I found my answers," Kain answered. "I cannot dedicate myself completely to your quest until I've taken care of my current mission, and even then, there's the matter of that creature that destroyed Fabul." Both Ceodore and Ursula looked at each other for a moment. They had seen exchanges like those between adults before. Their parents had those same glossy looks in their eyes, those same careful tones in their voices when addressing each other. Ceodore wondered for a moment if he made those sorts of sounds when he spoke to Ursula.

"Taking care of that... that... World Eater seems like it should be the highest priority," Sakinah said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Is that what it is?" Ursula thought aloud.

"I don't know what it is, but the name seems appropriate," Sakinah said. "From what I could see, it was eating the very earth from the inside. Causing there to be huge chasms in the ground full of..."

"Rot," Ursula said, thinking about her experience being trapped underneath the ground, in the wake of that monstrosity.

"And the undead monsters it leaves behind," Ceodore added.

"I saw the fields," Sakinah said, turning around to address them instead of staring off into the distance. "It caused the crops to decay without even having to touch them directly."

"Yet another world threatening disaster," Kain muttered. "Will this world ever know true peace?"

"...there's no way to know the future," she said, taking a few steps closer to him. "But there are people now that need help."

"And we will do what we can."

"That's all that can be asked of us, right?" Sakinah asked. She took a deep breath again, enjoying the fresh sea air. She just walked towards Kain until she was right next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Though I'm still fully incapable of battle."

"If you train at it, you will improve," Kain answered. He looked down at her. "Baron has plenty of training facilities for both melee and magic fighters. You'll be able to train until you feel comfortable with battles."

"I don't even know what category I fall into."

"Back row," both Ursula and Ceodore answered at the same time.

"Projectile weapon," Ceodore added.

"I know I stand behind everyone, but I've never been able to cause any real damage with my boomerang," Sakinah said. "It's like... I'm just holding it to hold it. What use is that? I tend to get dizzy when I run out of magic power, so it's not like I have the concentration to throw the damn thing well enough."

"Perhaps once we get home, we can arrange to have you speak with the magic tutors," Ceodore suggested kindly.

Sakinah let out a little yawn. Suddenly she was ready to curl up and take a nap. She didn't even realize how exhausted she was, even though she had barely managed to survive the fight with the large snake creature. She blinked a few times, trying to keep her vision focused.

"Go below deck," Kain insisted. "You don't have to worry about us being shot out of the sky this time."

"That's why you were late coming back to Fabul?" Ceodore asked.

"Yes... Sakinah had gone to rest while I was flying..."

Ursula gave Ceodore a glance, her eyebrows shooting up suggestively. She nudged him in the side.

"Sir Kain, why do you not rest, too, then?" Ceodore asked. "The both of you could benefit from-"

"Ceodore," Kain glared at him. He was annoyed that Harvey and Edward, Shelia and Yang, and now Ceodore and Ursula were being pushy like that. "You should not interject into things that do not concern you, like personal relationships. That is most unbefitting of a future king."

"How unfitting can it be if both the Kings of Fabul and Damcyan have been doing it?" Sakinah asked as both Ceodore and Ursula let out loud gasps of disbelief. Ursula was doing all she could to stifle her laughter.

How could Kain refute that retort? As frustrating as it was to hear, she was right. He didn't like that she was right, but what good would it do for him to tell her off? "If you will stand guard and not be... distracted."

"Sir Kain, I can handle it," Ceodore said. "You should go rest while you can. It IS a long trip by boat. We can switch who's steering halfway."

"All right." Kain said, stepping away from the steering wheel. He put his hand on Sakinah's shoulder and motioned for her to follow him. He put up a stern, stoic face, but he was just as exhausted as she was. Being a dragoon had always been physically demanding. "I should allow you more responsibility than I have here lately."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Ceodore gave a salute, watching his mentor and the Troian Beauty head down below deck.

The moment Ursula believed them out of earshot, she let out a giggle. "I'm surprised he took that invitation," she admitted, cocking her head to the side.

"We really shouldn't be pushy. The relationship should be allowed to grow on its own," Ceodore said, putting his hands on the wheel.

"Oh, stop, He clearly loves her. He just is afraid of making a move," Ursula said. "I mean."

"Yeah, but he may never be the type to just give her random kisses in the middle of everyone the way Father does it," Ceodore thought aloud. "I just can't see Sir Kain doing that."

"I'll bet you all the gil in Fabul's royal treasury that she wants him to do that."

"Maybe you're projecting, and you want me to do that."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I do."