Chapter Nine:
Terra sat in the middle of the field, allowing the rain to soak her entire body. Celes stood next to her, along side of Locke, Clyde, and Setzer. But she was the only one sitting. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew the others away, allowing her to only sit there. "Terra?" he called out.
She turned her head, smiling softly. Raindrops fell into her mouth as she called out to him. He couldn't hear her. "Terra!"
She stood up, shouting louder. More rain continued to fall onto her body. "Edgar!" she called out. And with that, he raced over to her, wrapping his arms around her frail body. "Edgar, what's wrong?"
"I'm scared to lose you...and you're gonna catch your death out in this rain!" He wrapped his cape around her, hoping it would protect her from the rain.
A flash of lightning bolted down from the skies, and Edgar wrapped his arms tighter around his prize. When he looked up, it was Gogo standing there. Not Gogo, but Blade. Gogo stayed hidden behind sheets, while Blade unmasked himself. "Give me Terra..."
"No! Never!" he shouted loudly. Another flash of lightning crashed into the earth.
"Hmph...fine then, come to me, Terra...come to me..."
"Come on...come to me," a voice whispered from his room. He bolted up, sweating. "Oh...Edgar, I'm sorry..."
"Huh?" he whispered, rubbing his eyes. "What...what happened?"
He opened his eyes more, only to see Terra in a simple nightgown. She stood up straighter, simply saying, "Aurora is right next to you..."
And as he looked over, he saw the cat purr into his soft sheets. "I see...why didn't you wake me?"
"Do you even know how cranky you get if someone wakes you?" A soft chuckle was heard in the dimness. "Also, Setzer has stopped the airship because of a massive storm."
Edgar grabbed the cat, and stood up. His pants were baggier than usual, since he was wearing no belt. "Where are we at?"
"Nikeah. The storm will be around for quite a few days..." He handed Terra the cat, who purred even more into her chest. Edgar rubbed one hand onto his neck.
"So, is anyone else awake?" He placed his hand down, nervous somewhat.
She shook her head, allowing green strands to fly in front of her face. He quickly moved those strands behind her ear, staring down into her nervous eyes. Suddenly, Aurora leapt out of her arms, and onto the bed. "Aurora..."
"It's ok...I don't mind the company..." Edgar walked back to his bed, rubbing his eyes. He turned around, seeing Terra stand there, apparently upset. "But, if you really want her to go..."
"No, it's not that. It's just that I'm afraid that one of these days she's just going to split."
Edgar shook his head, wondering where this conversation came up. "So, why haven't you left yet?" With that question, Terra jumped a little.
"I...can't sleep..." This, of course, was a lie. And Edgar knew it, but played along anyway.
"Here, you can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep on the floor, ok?" She shook her head fiercely, walking out of the room. He grabbed her arm just before she left. "What can I do, then?"
"Can we...talk?" Edgar smiled gently, pulling her into his room and shutting the door.
"About what?" he asked. Terra sat on the bed, her eyes continuing to stare down.
She shrugged then. "I don't know...what have you been up to?"
Edgar smiled, pulling a chair in front of her and sitting down. "Well, I've tried every possible way to kill myself. Very hard to do when you have Chancellor around..."
"Edgar!" He let out a soft chuckle, smiling at the love of his life.
"Not every way, ok? But I have tried, in a joking matter. Yes, that woman from Tzen asked me to marry her, and I said no of course."
"Celes told me about that..."
"News travels quick, I see. Nothing really has been going on in my life. How about yours?" She shook her head softly. "I see..."
A quiet had fallen between the two. Terra looked up towards him every now and then, watching him watch her. The cat purred against her arm, and the only sound in the room was heard from that cat. Terra stood up, mumbling, "I think I should go to bed now..."
Edgar bolted up, grasping her arm. "Stay here, please? I...still want to talk..."
Terra looked at him serenely in his eyes. 'So beautiful...' she thought to herself. She allowed him to pull her towards his bed. 'I won't do anything! I...can't...' She took in a deep breath, and stared at him. "Well?"
"Do you remember the gift I gave you?" he asked softly, rubbing her hand. Her eyes bolted open, and sleep had left her body.
"Yes..."
"Do you still have it?" She nodded her head, frightened of what he was going to say. "Good, I was just wondering."
"Oh, ok. Edgar?"
"Yes, Terra?" He looked at her deeply, wondering what she was thinking, about to say, everything about her.
She took in a deep breath and stared around. "I really should be heading off to bed..."
"So, we'll split up into three groups. Locke and Celes, you guys take care of any information in Tzen. Clyde, Terra, and Edgar, you three take care of any information in Nikeah. Cyan and I will take care of Fanatics Tower. We'll meet back here at sunset, ok?" Setzer said. Everyone nodded their heads, and jumped onto a chocobo.
"And if the storm hits? What should we do?" Locke asked. Setzer pondered for a moment, dumbstruck.
"Uhh...I didn't think about that..." Everyone hung their heads, apparently upset. "Anyone got any ideas?"
"How about we just stay at the inn and send a carrier pigeon to the airship and the other two places?" Clyde said out loud. "I mean...damn, did that come out?"
"It's alright, Clyde...I mean...it's a good idea! If we could all run down to Mobliz real quick, we can get the best carrier pigeons in the world!" Terra's chocobo galloped a little and stopped a few feet. "Well?"
"Let's do it!" Celes said, chasing after her.
"We need to buy three carrier pigeons. The best you have!" Celes exclaimed. She slammed two thousand gil onto the desk, staring at the man.
"We only have two left, ma'am," the store owner whispered. Everyone looked at each other, and everyone looked back.
"Only four of us will be able to get a carrier pigeon," Clyde whispered.
Locke rolled his eyes pathetically, muttering, "Ain't we smart?"
"Shush you!" Celes slapped him hard in the chest. "Listen, Locke and I get one because we're going the farthest."
"She has a point there," the other girl whispered. "Cyan and Setzer can get the other one considering that we have three people." Everyone stared at her now, amazed by her capabilities. "What? Did you all think that I never had good ideas?"
Celes nodded her head towards the store owner, taking one of the birds in the cage. "Ok, this is going to be difficult but...if there's any news, I guess send it to Nikeah?"
Clyde walked out of the inn room, nodding his head. "All's clear. Not a thing that seems suspicious in the room."
"Thank you, Clyde. But, I want to go outside before the rain hits!" Terra stared out of the window, sighing softly as the dark clouds pillowed the dim blue. Clyde looked over at Edgar and nodded his head.
"I'll stay at the cafe. If anything happens, get to the airship, alright?" Both of them nodded their heads, walking out of the inn. Terra walked over to a flower shop, smelling the roses.
"Nothing compared to yours," he muttered softly. She looked over at him, placing the rose down. "Even if it is an array of colors, your roses are the best in the world."
She let off a small sigh, walking towards the other shops, staring at the different clothing. "Flattery gets you no where. You do know that?" A harsh wind swept over the town, causing Terra's hair to fly past her face towards Edgar.
'Like a vision,' he thought as she tucked her hair behind her ears. People quickly began to pack up their things as a gentle drizzle began to fall. Edgar removed his cloak, wrapping it around her body. "Can't let you catch a cold, my dear."
Slowly, the rain began to quicken, and no one was outside. The fresh smell of sea water frolicked in the air, along with a touch of different flowers. "Edgar? Can we stay out here all night?"
"Absolutely not." The rain quickened, allowing both of them soaked. "If I did that, what kind of king would I be?" he questioned her.
"A nice one?" Terra continued to walk in the muddy streets, her shoes covered in mud. Edgar looked at the mud in disgust, stepping aside of the huge puddles. "How are you ever going to have fun if you worry about your clothes, Edgar Roni Figaro!" she shouted through the loud claps of thunder.
"Terra, lets get inside!" he shouted back. Lightening decorated the sky, causing an array of illusions. "Come on!" he shouted louder.
She turned around walking towards the inn behind Edgar, but looked back to see a flash. A flash of color.
She sat on her bed, tearing off her shoes. She placed them next to the window, so none of the mud would stain the fur rugs. Edgar's shoes already were awaited there, but barely a drip of mud had reached his perfect shoes. She took off the two capes that had stuck to her other clothes; both were wet as her clothes. She watched Edgar slowly as he began to take off his shirt and pants. He threw them over at the laundry basket, his shirt falling to the side.
He then placed on a rather long tunic, and walked silently out of the room. 'Why is he so...silent tonight? And he never wears a tunic to bed...' she had begun to thought until she saw his smiling face. "Yes, Edgar?"
"I'll be right out here so hurry up and get changed." He then shut the door slowly, watching her.
She quickly got changed, still thinking about the flash of hidden color in the street. "I'm done, Edgar. You can come back in."
And come back in he did, laying flat on his bed. "Terra, tell me something...did you see anything today?"
"What do you mean, Edgar?"
"I mean when we were outside, did you see a flash of color run by?" There was something odd in the way he talked, and Terra could tell. She walked over to Edgar, testing her knowledge of him.
"Now that you mention it, I did. But let's not worry about that...we've got other things to worry about. I mean, Clyde isn't going to be back until the wee hours, right?"
"What have we got to worry about? All your stuff is here, right?" he said soundly.
'Odd...he would get that in an instant...' she thought. She took in a deep breath, and straddle the man lying on the bed. "I meant...other things."
"Terra, are you ok?" he whispered. And with that, she planted her lips on his. 'This isn't Edgar! I knew it!'
She pulled away from him, getting off of him, and walking towards her bed. "So, Edgar..."
"Yes?" he whispered. She pulled out her sword, quickly aligning it with the man's neck. A soft gasp was heard.
"Who are you really?"
"Wha...what do you mean?" She pressed harder against the man's skin, and could feel a cut beginning. "ALRIGHT!" he had shouted. "I'm...not Edgar!"
"Who are you!" she shouted louder, hoping to get the attention of Clyde or Edgar. "Answer me!"
"I...I'm a servant of Blade Gogo!" he whimpered out, removing the wig and mask. "I was sent here to try and kill you!"
"Oh, you were, were you?" she questioned him. "Where's Blade at?"
"I'd rather die then tell you that!"
"Are you sure?" She pressed it harder against the skin, allowing blood to be let loose. "Cause I can kill you..."
The man was silent, his blinking quickening. There was a soft knock at the door. "Terra? Are you ok?" It was Edgar. He opened the door, only to see her holding the sword steady against the man. "Terra! Are you insane?"
"No, I'm not! This man tried to imitate you and kill me! Look at the wig and the mask."
