"Tidus. . . as a reward for your's and Lady Yuna's heroism, and because your bond of love is so much stronger than death could ever be, you have the honor of one try, and only one, to take the challenge of going back to Spira."
Lady Yunalesca's voice seemed grab Tidus's soul be the hand and send him soaring to heights of happiness where he'd never even dreamed he could be. He was actually going to go home to Yuna, to his Yuna.
"The journey will not be easy. You will have three tests. A test of physical strength, a test of wit, and a test of character. If we have not judged you clearly, surely these tests will. It only takes one falter, one ill move to bring you back here to the farplane. There is no second chance, this is all you get. You may take all the time you need. However, you must remember that time here, and time in Spira are both very different. Time on the path between the places is scattered, running fast or slow. It is not a constant. You are racing time as well."
Tidus bowed and smiled. "Thank you. Thank you very much. I'll try my hardest."
Lady Yunalesca smiled and nodded for him to leave. As he turned around, Braska's voice stopped him.
"Tidus, tell her I love her."
He smiled a little unsurely, but he meant it. He had to get back to Yuna. With more energy than he'd ever felt in all his life, he walked out the doors. He could barely contain himself to walking, because he felt like flying.
He walked out of the city with a smile lighting his face. He couldn't fail. He just couldn't.
* * * * * *
Yuna sat up in bed and groaned. "Well, that certainly was a strange dream," she said quietly to herself. She smiled and felt a little clumsy with love until she reminded herself that it was only a dream. Nothing, it seemed, could bring her Tidus back. She wished more than anything in the world that they could be together again. She'd cling to him tighter than any dream she'd ever had.
She'd slept in late, she supposed, it had to be around 11 or so. She heard noises from the kitchen and decided to go see if it was Lulu up to her usual madness. Some days she'd cook, and some days she'd work spells, and other days she'd just make noise.
Yuna threw the covers off and hopped down the stairs, brushing her hair back with her fingers. She wasn't surprised to see Lulu grinding up herbs and putting them in a bottle, never looking up.
"What are you making this morning?" Yuna asked a little tiredly, rubbing one of her eyes.
"Nothing too interesting, just a tea mix," Lulu said nonchalantly, still not looking at Yuna.
Yuna looked over Lulu's should and decided that it wouldn't be a very tasty tea, by the looks of the mixture of the herbs. She made a face, but underneath, she realized that it would probably be very useful.
"Did you sleep well?" Lulu asked, glancing back for the first time at Yuna, who had just taken a seat on the white stone of the kitchen counter.
"Yes, better than in a while. As you can tell by how late I slept," she groaned a little, thinking about the wasted day. Although she probably wouldn't have done much more, had she actually been conscious. She yawned largely and stared out the window.
"Did you dream about Tidus again?" she smiled, but didn't turn to look at Yuna. Although it was a painful subject sometimes, Yuna would always talk about him in the mornings.
"Yeah, but it wasn't the same tonight. He said he was coming back. Talk about dreaming, huh?" She tried to laugh off the feeling she had.
"Well, maybe it sounds crazy, but maybe you have some sort of connection. You know, love conquers all things?" Lulu continued working on the tea. She wondered what it would have been like if she was in Yuna's situation. Then again, she didn't think that kind of pain was worth thinking about. "Yuna, you're very brave. I don't think I would have been able to handle it, the way you did. I didn't handle Chappu's death very well, and you and Tidus seemed to be in a completely different dimension, where love is concerned."
Yuna was silent a moment, and she began to swing her feet off the edge of the counter the way a child would. She didn't look up at Lulu, and her face didn't give anything away until her eyes began to glitter. Lulu knew she was going to cry so she didn't turn around.
"I don't feel very brave," she said quietly. In her heart, she wished that her dream was some kind of premonition. She wished that she could have her Tidus back.