I leaned against the front desk, holding Riley's hand tiredly, as he attempted to thank the innkeeper. She didn't speak much English. On any other occasion, this would have been comical, but today it wasn't. Soon he was half guiding, half dragging me along to the Farplane. When we walked out the door of the inn, the site surprised all of us. Above Guadosalm's marvelous city were black rain clouds, a very rare site indeed. I didn't know if I should take that as a sign that today was going to be unique and good and/or uninviting and terrible like the clouds. I sighed and kept my head down as we continued to walk. Riley seemed to be in the same mood as me, so I didn't say anything. We arrived at the door of the Farplane, its stairs leading to an eerie orb. We approached the first stair and I hesitated. Riley stopped with me.
"Are you going to be okay, Lynna?" He squeezed my hand. I looked up at him, soft tears lining my eyes.
"I'm scared Riley," I whispered, putting my head on his chest. I cried into his shirt while he wrapped his arms around me.
"It'll be okay, don't worry." He stroked my hair. I lifted my head, feeling worse than ever. I was showing complete self-pity, a characteristic of weakness. Riley wiped the tears from my eyes as I straightened my posture. I put my foot on the first stair, ready to do what I had dreaded for the past 2 years.
"Are you sure you are ready?"
"Yes. I'm sure." I grabbed his hand and started climbing again. Jordan and Gideon followed, looking sadder than I had ever seen them. We walked through the purple haze to the cliff. Riley kissed my cheek and walked to an edge. I took the edge opposite of him and remembered Ashe, to beckon him. I opened my eyes slowly, and cried out slightly, in surprise (No one seemed to notice, thankfully.). Standing in front of me, floating actually was the perfect image of Ashe. I closed my eyes, not sure what to say. I could feel his touch again, his warmth, his love. I silently cried, my eyes still closed.
'What should I do? I'm so confused.' I thought. I had heard from my mother that this was the way to ask Farplane spirits for advice. She was right, I guess. Ashe's voice whispered in my head.
"You can move on, Lynna, I'd be at peace to know you're happy. Bring him over, I will talk to him, too." I smiled and glanced over my shoulder. Riley glanced over as the same time. I grinned and beckoned him over. He walked to me and stood at my side. I closed my eyes and nudged him to do the same. He looked over at me for a second, confused, then followed suit. When I looked over at him, he seemed to be listening to something. I smiled as I listened for Ashe's voice. I could hear him faintly, talking to Riley. I smiled and kept my eyes closed. A minute later I felt Ashe around me again. "I'll love you forever," he whispered. I opened my eyes, and realized he was gone. I turned to Riley and wiped the tears away from my eyes. He smiled and took me in his arms.
"It'll all be okay, baby," he said as he hugged me. "C'mere." He pulled me towards the other side, doing exactly what I did with him. I closed my eyes, knowing what was going to happen.
"Why, hello, Lynna," a sweet voice said in my head. I looked out, seeing a beautiful woman dressed in all white, matching her white-blonde hair. "I'm Angelina. If you already haven't guessed, I was Riley's first love. He was confused about loving someone else, afraid that I might be forgotten. I told him not to worry, that everything was all right with me. What we had could never be erased, I told him. You feel the same way about Ashe, I know, and he, too, knows you won't forget. All I ask of you is to take care of Riley. To love him with everything you have, to fight until the death with him, to support him even when nobody else will. Can you do that for me?" I nodded slowly, a little nervous. "Well, I trust you with him then. His happiness is my happiness. Good luck to both of you." Her voice faded, leaving me with a chill that went all the way down my body. I opened my eyes slowly. Riley still had his shut. Angel was saying goodbye to him, too. I smiled and waited, and when he opened his eyes, I took him in a hug. We looked around, Riley telling me whom the other two were talking to. Jordan was talking to his sister, who Riley had told me had died from a severe illness. This had pursued him to become a doctor. We both looked over at Gideon. Riley said he was talking to his father, who had died fighting Sin with his town. This was the motivation for Gideon to train as a fighter.
As soon as they finished up, we left again, Riley holding my hand as we slowly went down the staircase. Just as we exited the purple bubble (A/N: XD) Gideon bumped into Mercy. She stumbled, almost fell, but was caught by Bisenija.
"Oh, hi guys!" Mercy said, smiling. Riley bowed slightly.
"Hello again, Mercy. It's been… a day," he said, laughing. She giggled and blushed slightly. Bisenija sort of stayed in the back, so to speak, not really saying anything. I asked her in Al Bhed what was wrong. She answered that she didn't speak too much English and didn't want to embarrass herself. I smiled and nodded in understanding, then told the guys why she wasn't speaking at all. They, too, nodded and continued to talk with Mercy. I walked to Bisenija and talked with her so she would feel left out. I found out she liked singing and fighting. I laughed, thinking she would be perfect for Gideon. I heard him sing in the shower a couple times, and he was actually good at it. She had also told me Mercy loved to help people, especially the sick. Jordan, I thought, smiling again. We continued talk to the point where she invited me and the gang back to her and Mercy's hotel room to hang out, maybe have a few drinks. We gladly accepted, and by the end of the night, they were part of our group of guardians, and both Jordan and Gideon had girlfriends, which I thought was sweet. [i]I went to bed at about 5 AM, happy that I had made new friends.
I woke up the next morning at about 10 AM, totally regretful of all the drinks I had only 5 hours before. I had to have had the biggest headache in my 18 years on this world. It was pounding so badly, I could barely open my eyes. I buried my head in my pillow and moaned in pain.
"What is it?" Riley questioned, half asleep.
"Headache," I said, my voice muffled from my pillow.
"Awwww," he said teasingly, wrapping his arms around me. I could hear his light snoring only a minute later. I sighed and slipped from under him, heading out of the room and down the hall. I was ready to go to the counter and order a couple of aspirin and a glass of water, but what I saw and immediately felt at my legs stopped me.
"Lynna!!!!" I heard a little voice yell happily under me.
"Hi Seymour!" I said, trying to sound as happy as I could. It wasn't that I wasn't excited, it was just I could barely see the kid my eyes were squinting so badly from my headache. "What are you doing here?"
"Daddy wanted to see you guys again today, and he was gonna send Tromell to get you, but I wanted to, so I did…." I was just barely listening as the kid talked at about 100 words per second. I added that occasional, "That's good Hun," or "Yay, that sounds fun," to make it look like I was paying attention as I ordered what I needed and sleepily paid the innkeeper. I took the aspirin quickly so Seymour wouldn't see me. He followed me, still talking, to my door.
"You wait here, cutie," I said as I walked in my room. He smiled and sat against the wall, singing a song that he probably had started while we were walking. I shut the door quietly, took my pills with the water, and nudged Riley. "Wake up!" I said, as I could feel my headache immediately clear. 'Thank Yevon for Al Bhed remedies." I thought as Riley stirred.
"What?" he said, annoyed.
"Maester Jyscal wants to see us,' I said, poking him in the chest. He sat up quickly, almost crashing into my nose. "I'll wake the others, you take a shower. Oh, and take these." He nodded, planted a quick kiss on my cheek, took the pills, and headed for the bathroom. I walked into the next room, shook both of them, told them the news, gave them both the same pills, and then left. They both immediately got dressed and met me out in the hall, where I was currently discussing a favorite toy with Seymour. As soon as Riley joined us, we were off. I picked up Seymour, putting him on my shoulders. We continued to discuss the toy, Jordan now joining in, saying that was one of his little brother's favorite toys. We passed Mercy as she was dragging a little boy to the medical hut nearby.
"I told you, I'm fine!" He yelled at her, squirming.
"Jetta, you're hurt!" She screamed back, dragging him more. He was now making small dents with his kicking.
"What's the problem?" Jordan interrupted as Jetta successfully kicked Mercy in the shin. She hissed in pain as he ran and was immediately caught with one arm by Gideon.
"Hold it, kid. You were asked a question." He hated when young people just ignored the adults around them. Jetta looked up, completely terrified.
"I-I-I-I…." He stopped.
"He is sick. Running a fever, coughing…." Mercy went on with the symptoms. I studied the boy as he stood, literally frozen, in fear. He had the same eyes as Mercy, except they were an awesome shade of red, his hair platinum blonde (A/N: Hah, I got him in Lin. Lmao)
"Let me take a look at him," Jordan said, walking to Jetta. He took a few seconds, asked a few questions, and then stood back up from his squatting position in front of the boy. "He has the flu, dear." He looked to Mercy, smiling. "Now, why didn't you catch that?"
"Hey, you wouldn't either if you stayed up until five drinking!" She laughed, and we all joined in. I dug in my pocket, pulled out 5 of what I now called miracle pills, telling Mercy to take two, give two to Bise, and one to Jetta. I had heard from Jordan's interrogation of the child he was 12, so I wanted to play it safe medicine wise. Almost instantly, Jetta looked well again, and Mercy didn't have the same squint I did. "Whoa…" is all I heard from Mercy. She told us Jetta was her little brother. Now that he didn't have flushed cheeks or a runny nose, the kid actually looked cute. During the whole event, Seymour managed to squirm somewhere. I took a quick glance around, and found him talking to a woman that looked twice my age. She was probably one of his father's friends, so I didn't really think much of it and walked over to them. He said something quickly in a language I had never heard before and put his arms up for me to hold him.
"Put me back on your shoulders?" He asked childishly.
"Of course, cutie." I lifted him up in the same way as I did this morning, and with a quick kiss from Jordan to Mercy, we were off, back to the maester's palace. This time, when we arrived, we were escorted to a different room.
"Ah, welcome back, all of you," Lord Jyscal said cheerfully as they entered. He saw Seymour on my shoulders, and smiled happily. I was preparing myself for listening to a long talk about politics and such. The kind Maester seemed to read my mind. "Lynna, if you wouldn't mind, could you watch my little one for a bit? I know all this business bores him greatly." I silently thanked Yevon while Seymour bounced on my shoulders in joy. Riley gave me the silent we-need-one-of-those looks at me while glancing at Jordan, earning a laugh. Seymour jumped down and led me to a room filled with toys, games, and more toys. I was in awe. Never in my life had I ever seen so much stuff. He dragged me to a giant chessboard, which as about the size of my table at home. The pieces were as tall as my forearm, and carved with such grace, they looked like real people. I actually thought they were when I first approached. He sat on one end and beckoned me to sit on the other. I obeyed, smiling. I had played chess when I was his age, but was no good at it. He had obviously been taught by a professional, because after 5 game, I only won one, and I believe it was because Seymour felt bad for me. Next, we played card games, which he beat me at too except Go Fish. Finally, we played with his action figures, something I found quite enjoyable because there was no thinking evolved. When we were done, half of his little figurines we're on one half of the large room, half on the other. We had fell asleep right in the middle of the two parties, too tired from setting each individual toy up in a fighting position. When I woke back up, I was in comfy twin sized bed, Seymour lightly snoozing in the smaller bed across from me. I gently tip toed out of the room, seeing from a window that it was dark outside. My stomach grumbled in protest. I peeked my head inside Seymour's room again, confirmed he was sound a sleep, and roamed the palace for people. I found all of the boys. Along with some people I didn't know, inside a large room with a fireplace and comfortable looking chairs. Everyone was in heavy discussion, and only Jyscal noticed me at first.
"Good afternoon, Lynna," he said with a smile. I politely nodded and sat on Riley's lap, earning a noise of surprise.
"Welcome back, sleepy," he said as he placed a kiss on my neck. I gave him a yawn in return and another grumble from my stomach. "We were waiting for you so we could eat," he whispered in my ear. I smiled.
"Thank you, baby."
"No problem."
We ate in yet another room, filled with tables and tables of food. I learned that the people I didn't recognize were other Maesters of Spira and their spouses. I was introduces to each of them before we ate, but didn't hold much of a conversation with them. Bise and Mercy were invited to eat with us. They were now sitting across from me and Riley, Jordan and Gideon on their lefts. Seymour was on the other side of me, next to his father, who was at the head of the table.
"I would like to propose a toast," Jyscal said, raising his wine glass. We all follow suit. "To all of you who came today to celebrate the what would have been the day of the 15th year of my marriage." He seemed sad, but he continued. "And to my son, whose birthday is tomorrow. I would like to thank Summoner Riley and his group of guardians for joining us, especially Lynna for keep my Seymour busy." He smiled at me, cause at me to blush. Everyone clinked their glasses together, took a small drink, and continued to eat and talk. Jordan and Gideon went back to the old argument of the Curaga/Al Bhed Potion efficiency, Mercy and, surprisingly, Bise, joining in. She actually spoke English well, just with a heavy accent. In the end, Al Bhed potion was the favorite, the discussion finally solved. It was time to sleep. Jyscal invited us to sleep at the palace, and we accepted gratefully. I crawled into bed with Riley, so full that I knew I probably wouldn't eat anything for a week.
~*~*~*~
When everyone awoke in the morning, Jyscal convinced us to stay for Seymour's birthday. I, of course, wanted to, but Riley wasn't sure. We already stayed a little longer than actually planned, and wasn't too keen on going behind his plans even more. I begged to stay until we finally decided to. I decided to give Seymour my favorite Moogle doll, which was attached to a chain to be worn as a necklace. He absolutely loved it, and since it was my favorite possession, I loved to be able to give it to him. We had a cake that one of Jyscal's cooks made, made of strawberries and bananas. Afterwards, the men went back to their usually conversations. I went back to Seymour's playroom, though this time, he didn't want to play. He dug though his toy box until he found a small black box.
"Here," he said holding the box out to me.
"What's this for?" I asked, taking the box.
"Just open it, silly." I eyed the Moogle around his neck, and figured it was a gift to thank me. Not that I was going to accept it. I opened the box, revealing a beautiful red ruby incased in a bright gold band. I just opened my mouth in awe.
"What's this for?" is all I could manage. The ring was, simply, stunning. So this is what he was talking to that woman for.
"For spending all your time with me, Lynna." I bent over a hugged him.
"It was no problem, cutie. You didn't have to give anything to me!" I tried to hand the ring back. He shook his head.
"I won't take it back. Try it on!" I smiled at his stubbornness and, indeed, put the ring on. It fit perfectly. I kissed him on the cheek, causing him cheeks to redden. "Want to go with me to show Riley?" He smiled and we left, heading for the parlor, where most of the discussions were held.
Riley, too, as well as the rest of the boys, had the same reaction as me. As I was sitting to the side, listening to the conversation with Seymour, I discovered something about the ring. It's gem changed colors. I discovered this while feeling contempt. The ring changed from its bright red to a bright yellow, with the word "Contempt" written in heavy black lettering below the gem. I thought of something sad, to test the ring's power. It's jewel changed from yellow to blue, "Sad" written instead. Then I realized something else. It was written in Al Bhed. My Moogle didn't even come close to the value of this ring. I felt bad for owning it. I twisted the ring around my finger, and saw a small discoloring right in the middle on the back of the band. I touched it gently, examining it. The warmness the ring gave when it changed its appearance came again, so I turned the ring back to its upright position. This time, the picture Jyscal had taken was visible in the gem, "Friends Forever" written under. I felt tears of happiness. It was so sweet of him to do this for me. Maybe my Moogle had a value equal to this gift after all. It showed friendship, like the ring. I squeezed Seymour a little tighter, careful not to wake him from his slumber on my lap. I, too, fell asleep a little after; my ring staying it's red because I was the happiest person in Spira.
Ah, another chapter finished. But, unfortunately, I'm going to be leaving this Friday, August 2nd, to go camping for 11 days. I'm sooooo sorry. E-mail me ideas for the little time before the end, because I know what going to happen. Haha, flames are welcome, lmao.