Chapter 4: Truth

Chapter 4: Truth

They reached the throne room, where Millerna, Allen, Hitomi, and Gaddes, Allen's second in command, sat discussing the Zaibach situation. They all stopped abruptly when they noticed Folken and Taeami, creating an awkward silence. Allen cleared his throat.

"Good evening. Is everything all right with you two?" Taeami nodded, a small smile on her face. She announced their engagement, prompting excited gasps from the group, who unanimously accepted the invitations to the wedding. Millerna pulled Taeami aside and began sizing her up, apparently because she "needed a proper dress". Taeami looked helplessly at Folken, who stared at the ground, fighting back laughter. Everyone was bustling merrily about when Van walked into the room, followed by Merle. His eyes skimmed over the group.

"Hey, why's everyone so cheerful?"

"Folken and Taeami are getting MARRIED!" cried Hitomi joyfully. She looked at van's face, expecting to see happiness, but instead a scowl was forming there.

"Congratulations," he said darkly. "I hope you're happy together." And with that, he turned on his heel and left the room. Folken shook his head solemnly, and Taeami met his eyes with a worried glance.

"I'll be back," She said quietly, running for the door. Folken nodded wordlessly as she left the room.

*****

"Van! Van, wait!" Taeami cried, running after Van with her skirt hitched around her knees. Van, who had run from the castle and was now heading off towards the hills surrounding the castle, stopped and turned around. He looked at her, his eyes more sad than angry.

"What?"

"Why do you hate him when he loves you so much? Answer me, Van! Why?"

Van sighed. "That's none of your business," he replied, walking away again. Taeami dashed after him, ripping her skirt on a tree branch as she caught his arm and stopped him.

"I need to know why, Van!"

"You ripped your skirt," he said icily.

"I don't care. We need to settle this." She smoothed her skirt, which now fell far above the knee, and sat down on a log, pulling him with her.

"Can we talk about something else first?"

She nodded. "Whatever's going to make you comfortable enough to tell me the truth. What do you want to talk about?"

Van shrugged. "I don't know, anything. How about how you got that scar." he pointed to a long, curved scar on her right knee. Taeami laughed and touched the scar reminiscently.

"I got this when I was five. My mother and father and I were traveling to one of our neighboring countries. It was a very dangerous route, supposedly frequented by dragons, so we brought along a few of our soldiers to protect us. When we stopped for lunch along the way, I wandered off, and the next thing I knew I was in the woods, and there was a dragon, right in front of me! I don't think I've ever been so frightened for my life ever since! Anyway, Samson, who was just new to our military, had noticed that I was gone, and when he found me, he dashed in front of the dragon's jaws, endangering his own life, and knocked me out of the way. I escaped with this tiny scar, which I got from falling against a sharp rock when I was pushed aside. Samson has a scar almost exactly the same shape on his arm from where the dragon's tooth grazed him. When my father learned of what Samson had done, he put me in his charge, and ever since he's been my protector and best friend." Her face fell as she finished her story and was jerked back to reality. "I suppose that's why I care so much for Folken. I see so many of Samson's qualities in him; His bravery, his selflessness, his sense of honor... there's so much there to love. And I know I'm one of the luckiest people alive because he allowed me to see that side of him when so many people never will."

Van sighed. "I know," he said quietly, "But I'm just not ready to forgive him yet. I know I should... he has changed... but I still can't get past it. To see your homeland burned to the ground under the hand of your own brother..." He stopped, shaking his head. Taeami turned her head abruptly.

"I... I don't understand... you said ZAIBACH burned Fanelia..." Van looked at her, confused.

"Yes, and Folken..." he stopped. "You don't know," he whispered, horrified. Taeami's eyes widened.

"Are you saying that Folken... No, that's not possible..."

Van bowed his head. "I'm sorry... you never should have found out this way..."

Taeami shook her head again, rising to her feet. "The people who destroyed my home and murdered my people... Folken was...?" Van nodded, and Taeami covered her mouth with one trembling hand.

"Taeami, I'm so sorry you had to hear this..." She raised one hand to silence him.

"No... You did the right thing. I have to go now..." and with that she ran off towards the palace. Van waiting in stunned silence for several seconds before following her at a run, not knowing what she would do now that she knew.

*****

It didn't take Taeami long to throw on her travel clothes and strap her sword to her back, and soon after entering the castle, she was exiting it again. She wasn't ten paces from the doors when she felt someone catch her arm and pull her against the wall. Instinctively, Taeami drew her sword with her free arm, used her leg to trip her captor, and pinned him to the ground, the point of her sword millimeters from his throat. It took her a while to realize whom she'd just attacked, and when she did, she pulled her sword back with a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand.

"VAN! What were you doing? I could have killed you!" Van got up, rubbing his throat.

"I'll keep that in mind next time. Where are you going?" Taeami's eyes lost their kind, worried look and once again became dark and angry.

"Away. Don't try to stop me, Van, because you can't. I'm not against using my weapon if I have to, even on an unarmed man." Van looked at the ground.

"Going away won't solve your problems, you know. And it won't make you feel any better."

She shook her head. "I don't care, I need to get out of here. And if I were you, I wouldn't get in my way."

"He'll come after you, you do know that."

"He can do whatever he wants. I don't care anymore." She turned and began to walk away.

"He needs you, Taea! He loves you." Van shouted after her. She turned her head towards him

"No. He's a monster, Van. Monsters don't have feelings." And with that, she ran through the castle gates and into the hills. Van stood motionless for a while, watching her leave, hoping she'd turn and come back but knowing that she wouldn't. Finally, he turned and went back into the castle, dreading having to tell Folken what had just happened. A few moments later, Van saw his brother walking down the hall towards him. Folken looked as happy as Van had ever seen him, there was even a hint of a smile on is lips, and he looked a lot less pale than usual.

"Van! Is everything all right?"

Van squeezed his eyes shut. "No, Brother, not really." Folken narrowed his eyes.

"Where's Taea? Didn't she go to look for you?"

Van nodded solemnly. "She's gone, Folken."

"What?!"

Van looked at his brother and saw genuine concern on his usually composed face. "I thought she knew about... you, but I guess you hadn't told her yet. she didn't take the news very well."

Folken ran a hand through his hair. "I can't believe you told her. Where did she go?" Van shrugged.

"She headed out towards the hills, but I don't know where she's planning to go. I wouldn't go after her, though. She almost killed me for no reason. Imagine what she'll do to you."

Folken shook his head. "I have to go." and with that, he walked past Van and out the doors of the castle. Van followed behind, watching as his brother flung his shirt to the ground and spread his pitch black wings.

"Folken," Van called suddenly. Folken turned towards him. "Be careful," The younger man said before turning away into the castle. Folken closed his eyes and began to soar into the air, flying off into the hills of Asturia.

*****

Taeami walked slowly through the dense forests which covered the Asturian highlands, heading in no particular direction, just wanting to get away. Her thoughts whipped around in her head like a hurricane as she pushed her way through the vines and branches. She was breaking through a particularly dense patch of branches when she came up against something soft, warm... and living. Uttering a surprised gasp, Taeami jumped backwards, away from whatever it was she'd just run into. When she looked up, she saw, much to her surprise, two very dejected looking cat creatures, a pair of gold and silver twins. Taeami breathed quickly as she felt a sharp stab of pain in her head and a picture of Folken with his arms around these two cat girls appeared in her mind's eye. She glared at the cat girls, her mind racing. She KNEW who they were, she didn't know how, she just knew.

"Intensified luck soldiers," she whispered to herself, calculating the odds of her survival. Not too good. but then... these girls were half dead already. Another pain, and she saw the two cat creatures lying on the floor of the Vione floating fortress as it began to crash, presumably dead. In a matter of seconds, she understood the situation. She looked up at the two cat girls.

"Eryia," said the silver to the gold, "Lord Folken." And she pointed to Taeami. The gold cat, Eryia, stepped towards her and sniffed the air.

"Yes," she whispered, "Yes, she has his scent on her." And then the cat girl lunged. "Where is Lord Folken?" She yelled, pinning Taeami to a tree. "Answer me, girl, what have you done with him?" Taeami put one hand on the hilt of her sword and, shoving the cat girl off of her, drew her blade from it's cover, glaring menacingly at the two cat girls.

"You were lucky to have been saved from that crash. You should have died then. Goodness only knows how you've managed to stay alive for this long. It's a pity I have to kill you before you can destroy any more innocent lives, I hear you're really quite good at it." She began to slash at the cat girls, her eyes glazed over with fury. The silver one caught her blade between her palms, pulling the sword from her hands, while the gold one kicked her to the ground. Taeami grabbed frantically for the small dagger strapped to her leg, and drew it, sinking it deep into Eryia's stomach.

"You will not help him kill anymore! I won't allow it." Taeami cried. The cat girl's eyes widened, and she rolled off of Taeami, clutching her wound.

"Naria," she whispered. The silver twin looked at her sister, then back at Taeami.

"She's dying!" cried the silver twin, advancing towards Taeami. The queen tried to leap to her feet, but her right ankle gave out, and she realized with despair that she hurt it when she'd fallen. she pushed herself as far back against the tree as she could, watching helplessly as Naria held her sword to her throat. Taeami closed her eyes as the cat girl drew back the sword and prepared to strike. Taeami braced herself for the blow.

There was a scream and a loud crash, the sound of branches breaking. Taeami felt blood spatter onto her cheek. But it wasn't her own. She opened her eyes to see Naria, the silver twin, lying unconscious against a tree trunk, surrounded by several black feathers. She gasped, getting up and balancing on her one good leg, and turned around. Beside her lay Folken, wings spread, bleeding from the chest. She turned to leave, thinking that he was only getting what he deserved. The bastard was probably coming to help the Silver twin finish her off, Taeami thought disgustedly. She reached up to wipe the blood off of her cheek. As she touched the dark liquid, her head began to throb with another sharp, stabbing pain, and she saw Folken in her mind's eye. He was flying towards her as she lay pinned against the tree trunk, his face twisted in anger and fear. She gasped as she saw him dart in front of the blade, kicking the cat girl back towards the tree, his blood splashing onto Taeami's cheek as he fell onto the ground beside her.

Taeami's eyes flew open, and for a moment she could only stare. He'd come for her. To save HER. And now...

"No!" she cried aloud, "Folken, wake up!" She knelt down and touched his face, gently at first, and when that had no effect, she began to slap his cheek. "Get up!"

Folken's eyes fluttered open, and he groaned softly. "I'm sorry..." he whispered. Taeami shook her head franticly.

"No, don't be sorry, just stay awake..."

Folken grabbed her arm weakly. "I never meant to hurt you..."

"Then DON'T DIE, okay?" Folken's eyes closed as he retracted his wings. Taeami whipped off her cloak and tore it into strips. It took her whole effort to prop Folken up against the tree trunk, but she did it, and then she began to examine the wound.

"Shit," she whispered, winding the long strips of cloth around his chest. She watched helplessly as the blood soaked through the bandages. She slapped at his face again, as hard as she could, and his eyes opened once again, much to her relief.

"Don't die on me, dammit. Don't you dare die." He nodded.

"I'm trying..."

"We have to get back to the castle. You need to try and get up." She got off the ground and hopped up and down on her good foot to try and keep her balance. She held out her hand.

"Get up, come on, let's go!" Folken pulled himself to his feet, only to slump weakly against the tree. Taeami grabbed him by the shoulders. "Come on, we have to get you back." He touched her cheek.

"I... I don't know if I can, Taea."

"Of course you can!" she stammered nervously. "You have to!" She pushed his hair out of his eyes, looking at him with a determined sort of panic on her face. "I lost my home, my country and my best friend. I WON'T lose you too."

"I don't deserve you," he said, wincing.

"I don't care. None of that matters anymore. The worst thing you could do right now is leave me. So don't, all right?"

He closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Taea. You'll always be..." He drifted off in mid sentence.

"Folken!!" She cried, frantically feeling for a pulse. There... his heart was still beating... but they were stuck there. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she stroked his hair.

"HELP!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "SOMEONE HELP US!!!" Her breath caught in a dry sob as she shook her head hopelessly.

"They're over there!" came a distant cry. she looked up, hope flooding back into her like a river. The voices continued, getting closer. "Gaddes! This way!" She knew that voice...

"ALLEN!" She cried. "Allen, I'm over here!" This was met with several loud shouts, and soon enough, Allen Sheazar appeared through the trees.

"My god," he cried. "Taeami, what happened?"

"These cat girls... we were fighting, and I twisted my ankle... then Folken got hit trying to save me..." she looked at Folken, "Please, Allen, you have to help him! He's..." Allen nodded.

"We'll get back to the castle as soon as possible." He turned to his men. "Gaddes, Take Taeami back to the castle. The rest of you, help me with Folken!" Taeami felt a tear course down her cheek as Gaddes pulled her away from Folken, carrying her like a small child in his arms.

"It's okay," He whispered in her ear. "We'll help him. He'll be fine, don't you worry." She nodded distantly as Gaddes carried her towards the castle. "Folken's one of us now. Allen won't let him die." Taeami nodded again, and felt the world spin around her. She was so tired... she had to close her eyes...

*****

When her eyes first fluttered open, Taeami didn't know where she was. Then she realized that she was staring at the ceiling on one of the medical rooms in the castle. She ankle hurt... why did her ankle hurt? She remembered a fight... cat girls, and... Folken! She sat bolt upright, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and leaping to her feet. She gave a small cry as she put her weight on her ankle, which was bound tightly in cotton bandages. She wound the cotton off of her foot and stepped down again, this time to be met with a sickening crack. She winced and bit her lower lip as the bones, which had been healing, broke again, but forged on towards the door. When she reached the hall, she stopped, not knowing which direction to turn. she was about to start out in a random direction when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Where are you going? You should be in bed, letting your foot heal." she turned quickly, almost losing her balance. Gaddes was behind her. He smiled and offered her his arm, which she gratefully took. "You must have fallen on it pretty hard. Princess Millerna said it was broken in three places."

"Where is he?" she cried, forcing back tears and think the worst.

"Who? Oh, Folken, right... He's just in the other room. Millerna stitched him up and everything. He should be okay." Gaddes pointed in the direction of Folken's room, and Taeami immediately began to limp towards the door, ignoring the pain.

"Hey, take it easy!" cried Gaddes, running to prop her up on her bad side. "You don't want to do any more damage to that, or it'll never get better."

"Thanks," she said, hardly paying attention to him, as she pushed open the door. She darted away from Gaddes to the bed where Folken was laying unconscious, his chest wrapped in white gauze. In the chair beside the bed sat Van, his face solemn as he watched his brother. Taeami sat down on the edge of the bed and gently touched Folken's face, her eyes brimming with tears. Van lay one hand on her shoulder.

"Please don't die," she whispered as she bent down to kiss Folken's forehead. Gaddes stood awkwardly in the doorway. Taeami looked up at him. "Thank you so much, Gaddes, for everything." Gaddes shrugged.

"Hey, it's no problem. I hope everything works out for you." and with that, he closed turned and left them in the room, closing the door behind him. Taeami reached beneath the neckline of her dress and pulled out a small pouch, from which she poured a few pieces of gold and the ring Folken had given her. Her eyes moist, she put the ring back on her finger and leaned against his sleeping form, beginning to sob quietly.

Folken opened his eyes slowly, feeling as though he'd just been hit by a ton of bricks. He remembered flying in front of the sword, feeling it cut him... but that was all. He looked down and saw Taeami lying against him, her body shaking with sobs. Slowly, afraid she'd leave, he lay his hand on her shoulder. She started, her head shot up, and she looked at him with tearful eyes. For a second she just stared, and then she leaned forward and kissed him. It was a deep, passionate kiss, and for a moment Folken was too shocked to respond. When they finally pulled apart, she was still sobbing. He sat up, wincing with pain as he did so, and put his arms around her.

"Why are you crying?"

"Y-You could have died," she sobbed. He raised his eyebrows.

"I thought you didn't want to be with me anymore because of..."

"No," she said, cutting him off before he could say it. "I don't care about that. I did at first, but when I thought I might lose you forever..." she broke off, unable to finish.

"That's not going to happen. I promise." He stroked her hair lovingly. "I'm so sorry about all of this..."

She shook her head. "No, it's my fault. I was being stupid. Where ever you been, what ever you've done, none of that matters. I love you, and I want to be with you forever. That's all that matters."

"'Forever's a long time,'" He quoted.

"I know," she replied seriously.

"God," he whispered, kissing her. "When I think how close I came to losing you... if I'd been two seconds later..." he stopped, noticing his brother. "Van..."

"Brother... are you feeling better?" Folken didn't answer him, instead looked at him with immeasurable gratitude in his eyes.

"Thank you for warning me, Van." Taeami reached over and grabbed Van's hand.

"Yes, thank you. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Van." Van shifted uncomfortably.

"It's all right," he said, getting up. "I just did what anyone would do. I'm going to go now..." He slipped out the door. Taeami kissed Folken again.

"Wedding still on? Once you get better, I mean."

Folken shrugged. "That's up to you."

Taeami laughed. "Yes, then!" She said, kissing him and moving down his body as she did so.

"Ow!" he cried as she brushed against his wound. "It still hurts a bit..."

She pulled back, concerned. "Should I get Millerna?"

"No, no... just try not to touch it..."

She nodded. "We can wait till you're better. I don't care." she swung her feet onto the bed and propped herself up against the pillows, laying down beside him. He looked at her foot.

"Taea, you're ankle's the size of Asturia. What did you do?"

She bit her lip. "I broke it when I fell down. And then I broke it again getting up to come here, I think."

"That wasn't very smart."

She grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, but I wanted to see you." she laughed. "Gaddes had to carry me back to the castle. I think it took Allen and two other guys to get you here. I tried lifting you myself... do you know how heavy you are?"

He gave a small laugh. "No, I guess not." He put his real arm around her. "I keep thinking that I don't deserve this. This can't be the way fate intended it to be. Not for me."

She rolled her eyes. "So you piss off fate. Big deal. You're not going anywhere, so you can just forget about it."

Folken kissed her. "I'll never get tired of the way you think. Do you have any idea how amazing your mind is?"

"You're going to make my head swell, you know."

"Can't possibly be any worse than you ankle."

She gasped. "Did you just make a JOKE?"

Folken furrowed his brow. "Frightening, isn't it?" There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

Hitomi, Merle, Allen and Millerna entered the room, all with rather serious airs. They were all quite slow in noticing Taeami, and when they did, they all began to talk at once.

"You're awake!" cried Allen.

"Look, they're back together! Oh, that's wonderful!" exclaimed Hitomi.

"They split up?" asked a confused Merle.

"Hey, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting that foot!" Yelled Millerna. Taeami winced at the reminder of her injury.

"I think I might have broken it again," she said quietly. Millerna sighed.

"Well of COURSE you did! The bones are far too fragile to walk on!" she walked over to the bed and felt Taeami's foot. "This'll take a while to heal."

Hitomi walked over to them. "Are you feeling okay?" both Folken and Taeami nodded. Hitomi sighed with relief. "Oh, good."

"You know, Hitomi's the one who told us where to look for you," said Allen, voice full of pride as if he'd done it himself. Taeami cocked her head.

"Well, thanks, Hitomi. I guess we're both lucky you were there."

Hitomi shrugged. "I don't know... I just sensed that you two were in trouble, and I told Allen where to look. But I'm glad I could help."

Millerna looked at the two invalids disapprovingly. "You really should be resting. You'll get better more quickly if you..."

"Millerna, let it go," said Allen. "There's no way you're going to get them apart right now." Taeami and Folken looked at Allen, both thinking how strange it was that Allen was standing up for them. Allen tossed his blonde head, saying that he should leave, as he had many things to do, and Millerna and Hitomi followed, swooning. Merle lingered behind, looking as if she had something to say.

"Merle?" Hitomi asked hesitantly. Hey, is everything all right?"

She shook her head. "It's Lord Van," she said quietly, seeming much more subdued than usual. "He's upset."

"Why? Folken asked gently. Taeami wasn't sure who he was concerned for, the girl or his brother. Both?

Merle sniffed. "He thinks it's his fault that you almost died. He said none of this would have happened if he hadn't said anything... do you hate him now?"

Taeami laughed. "What? No, of course we don't hate him!"

"But... Lord Folken..."

Folken shook his head. "I don't hate him. He's my brother."

Merle smiled. "He doesn't like people to know that he worries about things. But he does, you know. I can tell."

Folken nodded. "I know."

"Don't give up on him." And with that, she ran out the door, leaving them alone again.