Chapter Fifteen
A different sort of family ...
It was always cool and peaceful in the small anteroom of the Citadel of Bevelle where Sir Gatta of the Crusaders spent many of his unoccupied hours in contemplation. He was seldom disturbed there in the room wherein hung one of Lady Yuna's best paintings. It was of Sir Jecht, Sir Auron, and her father, painted from her childhood memories of them, few though they were. And in this room his mind turned many directions and his thoughts were often heavy as he recalled the years before the Calm that Yuna had brought them: the pain and the sacrifice, the fear and the death unending, but most of all, the loyalty and the devotion that guardians and summoners had for one another. It was a bond unbreakable, even by time or by death.
As Sir Gatta knelt before the painting in the early hours of the morning, the clatter of footsteps roused him from his thoughts, but he did not turn or stand. The only sign that he gave that he heard those footfalls was that he raised his head slightly and drew a deep breath.
"Gatta." spoke a clear and strident feminine voice from the antechamber entrance behind him. It was not a question nor a call. "You have disobeyed a decree of Yevon."
"I know, Shelinda." he replied.
"You certainly must. You signed the article on behalf of the Crusaders. You agreed with its principles too, if I remember correctly. You believed that the dead could never again be allowed to decide the fate of Yevon or of Spira. And so did Lady Yuna."
"But I do think they are dead. And I certainly do not believe that she meant for the article to apply to those three men. Additionally, Sir Auron gave me his word to return to Bevelle for judgment when their duties are done. No harm has been done here."
"It does not matter, Gatta. The Maesters of Yevon made their decision in support of the article, and you have disobeyed them." she said firmly.
"Then you have a duty to perform." said Gatta calmly, rising from his knees and turning to face her. As he looked at Shelinda silhouetted in the doorway with the morning sunlight all around her, he could scarcely find fault with her, save perhaps that she was a little hard of heart.
"I know. And in the name of Yevon I have come here to place you under arrest." she said, beckoning toward the door, through which two figures immediately emerged. One was a Crusader cadet of no more than fourteen summers. The other was a warrior monk. "Will you come willingly, Sir Gatta?" she asked.
"Yes, I submit to your authority in this matter, Maestress Shelinda." said Gatta with a slight bow.
The two guards, who were to escort him to a cell in the vast, though mostly unused dungeons of Bevelle, stepped forward, one upon either side of him.
"Luzzu." said Sir Gatta, acknowledging the cadet at his side.
"Father." the boy replied curtly.
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A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sulou, dragontamer1012002, 8462, Summoner Cynthia, Sayiera, and Shido21! About the romance ... It was kind of difficult to nail down the genre when I first began posting ... But it will get more romantic in a few chapters. I always try to answer questions (at least when it won't give anything away).
A different sort of family ...
It was always cool and peaceful in the small anteroom of the Citadel of Bevelle where Sir Gatta of the Crusaders spent many of his unoccupied hours in contemplation. He was seldom disturbed there in the room wherein hung one of Lady Yuna's best paintings. It was of Sir Jecht, Sir Auron, and her father, painted from her childhood memories of them, few though they were. And in this room his mind turned many directions and his thoughts were often heavy as he recalled the years before the Calm that Yuna had brought them: the pain and the sacrifice, the fear and the death unending, but most of all, the loyalty and the devotion that guardians and summoners had for one another. It was a bond unbreakable, even by time or by death.
As Sir Gatta knelt before the painting in the early hours of the morning, the clatter of footsteps roused him from his thoughts, but he did not turn or stand. The only sign that he gave that he heard those footfalls was that he raised his head slightly and drew a deep breath.
"Gatta." spoke a clear and strident feminine voice from the antechamber entrance behind him. It was not a question nor a call. "You have disobeyed a decree of Yevon."
"I know, Shelinda." he replied.
"You certainly must. You signed the article on behalf of the Crusaders. You agreed with its principles too, if I remember correctly. You believed that the dead could never again be allowed to decide the fate of Yevon or of Spira. And so did Lady Yuna."
"But I do think they are dead. And I certainly do not believe that she meant for the article to apply to those three men. Additionally, Sir Auron gave me his word to return to Bevelle for judgment when their duties are done. No harm has been done here."
"It does not matter, Gatta. The Maesters of Yevon made their decision in support of the article, and you have disobeyed them." she said firmly.
"Then you have a duty to perform." said Gatta calmly, rising from his knees and turning to face her. As he looked at Shelinda silhouetted in the doorway with the morning sunlight all around her, he could scarcely find fault with her, save perhaps that she was a little hard of heart.
"I know. And in the name of Yevon I have come here to place you under arrest." she said, beckoning toward the door, through which two figures immediately emerged. One was a Crusader cadet of no more than fourteen summers. The other was a warrior monk. "Will you come willingly, Sir Gatta?" she asked.
"Yes, I submit to your authority in this matter, Maestress Shelinda." said Gatta with a slight bow.
The two guards, who were to escort him to a cell in the vast, though mostly unused dungeons of Bevelle, stepped forward, one upon either side of him.
"Luzzu." said Sir Gatta, acknowledging the cadet at his side.
"Father." the boy replied curtly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sulou, dragontamer1012002, 8462, Summoner Cynthia, Sayiera, and Shido21! About the romance ... It was kind of difficult to nail down the genre when I first began posting ... But it will get more romantic in a few chapters. I always try to answer questions (at least when it won't give anything away).
