Islanders- Enter the WarMage, Chapter 2: "Dreams"
(This one focuses more on Aurora, and I believe is a nice bit upon her greatest regret. It takes place in two of her dreams, with an intermission in between that introduces the Queen and a couple of the Islanders)


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Fire.

That's the only thing she saw around her. Fire.

More precisely, a lake of fire. So this is hell, I'm dead and I'm in hell, paying for every sin I have committed in my parents name, Aurora thought grimly as she looked around, trying to regain her senses.

No, no... not hell. She saw walls. She dropped the pain of the scorching heat, the sound of her sizzling flesh and scent of burning hair long enough to take stock of her surroundings.

A ten by ten by ten cube to be precise, with magical flames burning on the bottom, licking upwards to the bottom of her chest. The metal of the walls were strong enough to withstand the flames as she hung nude by her arms in the middle of the room by great chains that seemed to resist every effort of hers to break free.

Probably Mithril... the only metal strong enough to take this heat... Why is this room so familiar? A flash of pain upon her back was felt, forcing her to lose her grip on her will, causing the pain of the flames to sear through her body. She could almost feel single cells in her body melting, thrashing as each died, bringing her a bit closer to oblivion.

She screamed out in pain... she had never felt pain like this before. Never in her life, even having suffered through the worst battles and trials, has she EVER felt this sort of pain. It seemed to have a stranglehold on her soul, forcing her to cry out in pain, agony, and terror.

Wait... this... this is the room where... The thought that blazed through her mind rent her with a pain that none of the flames could ever match.

This is the room where I... I... oh God... She remembered it well. It was one of the trials she put Robert through, to build his resistance against fire and his agility and will. The chains could be broken if one figured out the trick to them, and could concentrate long enough to finish the task. She had hung him there and started the flames, healing him as necessary, to keep him alive, but not to keep the shock of the pain away as he writhed in the his personal hell, desperate to escape.

And I held that whip and... oh my god... how can he even THINK of me after I did this to him? Another memory: She stood over the pit, a whip in hand, lashing at him every minute he stayed in the chains. She forced the revulsion inside of herself down, cracking the whip with a face of a WarMage in battle, that of a dead, terrifying gaze, as she pleaded with herself not to continue. As her very soul begged her to release him and plead his forgiveness. And yet, she hadn't.

It took him all of five minutes to escape. It was a record, If I remember. Another lash, sending another scream through her soul. She desperately looked backward for her captor... he... or maybe she? Or perhaps just it looked at her. It's face and body hid behind a cowl and cloak, all she saw were the eyes.

The eyes were terrifying in itself. They were cool, calm, collected... the gaze another WarMage would have... the gaze everyone else would describe as dead. Except... there were small glimmers of anger in those eyes, and something else.

Insanity...

She froze in terror, as realization hit her, blocking out the pain and shock. Even a third lash could not shake her as she stares in horror into the eyes of the insane WarMage.

It was one of the greatest risks of the WarMages, one of the reasons they were not as trusted as say, a Healer, Summoner, Dragoon or even a Dark Knight: More WarMages turned insane than any other class, the shock of the death they dealt with everyday, the trials upon their souls which they accepted as part and parcel of every day to ending conflict in the myriad worlds they inhabited... wearing upon them until none remained but madness.

The WarMages killed their insane comrades with great pity and sadness, hoping that they would find peace in the afterlife.

Many other WarMages became Rogues: Former Islanders who chose to step away from the Queen's guidance and rule. She had followed that path once, more to seek privacy after an exceptional trial had taken place upon her. But more WarMages lost to their inner darkness and turns completely away, forsaking good for evil, and fighting their former comrades with a dark strength that anybody would fear.

A fourth lash brought her to reality. She looked desperately up at her captor, looking in their eyes for some sort of compassion she knew would not be there. But those eyes were familiar. So dreadfully familiar...

"Who... Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?" She shrieked again as the whip cracked again, leaving a welt across her face. She fell into desperate sobs, her eyes pleading up at her warden.

"Why Aurora! Don't you recognize me? Don't you remember the pain you caused me in this very room? Don't you remember the agony you caused as you tortured me?"

"Oh god..... please... not you... not anyone but you!" But no, her fears were confirmed: As the cowl was pulled away, she recognized the dark, thick shoulder-length hair, the cute, almost feminine face, the broad shoulders and stocky stature. Oh my god... Robert! I've driven him insane... what have I done... Please GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE???

Almost as if reading her mind... "Oh yes... you drove me to this. You drove me to this, saying you were teaching me what it would be like to be you. No... no... you lied to me. You did this because of your own sadistic desires."

"No... oh god... I didn't. I wanted you to be strong. I hated every moment I did this to you! I screamed every time I put you through this, but you couldn't hear me..."

"HA!" Another lash, again right across her face , prompting her to scream again, more from the agony of knowing that she drove this into him. "I'm sure. Admit it to yourself. I hate being lied to, and I know you do too... this was only because of your sick, twisted wishes... You showed no mercy because you never had any to begin with!"

She sobbed at this revelation, realizing the fact that she had always denied: She enjoyed causing pain... the very reason she became a WarMage. She said she was following in her father's footsteps. The truth was a shock, and she hated it... she loved the suffering that she caused.

"Now, Princess, you only scream because you know how it feels to suffer in return... I'll see you suffer a thousand times at my hand, than I suffered at yours."

A fifth lash, seeming to cut through her very body, whipped across her skin. She started to scream again, and she never stopped.....

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Screaming.

She opened her eyes to find herself screaming in the faces of three indistinct but humanoid forms. It was dark, yet... she wasn't burning... She desperately patted her hands down her body and felt silk between her hands and her chest. No burns.

But why... why? Why am I not burned? Her eyes began to adjust as one of the forms leaned down and took hold of her, the soft silken skin of the person holding her tight as it could to whisper into her ear.

"Oh my baby...are you alright? I heard you screaming... You just had a nightmare..."

A second voice. "Yeah, you heard her screaming. So did everyone else. Why do you think half the Palace is sitting outside, looking worried, annoyed, or sleep-deprived?"

"Edge, try: shut up. She doesn't look that good."

"I know. I'm worried too. But can't she have her nightmares when I'm not asleep?"

A third voice: "Pipe down... Is she alright Rydia?"

As soon as her eyes adjusted fully, she heard a click and the room flashed with blinding light. She screamed, startled by the light.

Rydia flinched at the scream. "Ack! Rosa, did you HAVE to turn on the light?"

The third voice only replied, "Sorry about that Rydia. I didn't know that she would scream in your ear."

Rydia sighed. "It's alright..." She looked down at her daughter... the only child of seven that had ever survived... most of them had been killed by some enemy of her and the King's, holes in her heart that could never heal. Every night she prayed that Aurora would never make a seventh hole... She could never survive that. I pray each day and night that I never lose her... why did she choose to such a dangerous class? she wondered to herself. It seemed like destiny, but it didn't mean she had to like it. Because of this, she was prone to treat her daughter as if she were a delicate illusion, one that she could not afford to let fade away.

"Mother?" Aurora nodded shakily. "I'm alright... just another nightmare."

"Just another?" Edge replied wearily, "She woke up the entire damn Palace." Aurora had to laugh at that. The ninja was trying his hardest to make jokes... most of them falling flat because of his sleeplessness and worry. He would admit it just as easily as the others: He would never let harm befall the only living child Rydia had and leave whatever harmed her live longer. No one in the Palace would.

"I'm sorry Edge."

"It's alright. Just keep your nightmares quieter." He laughed and made Rydia let go of her so he could hug her in return, a comforting gesture. Under his facade, he did care, just as much as the others.

"Alright... Thanks Edge." She extricated herself from his grasp and laughed wearily. "At least no one else slept as well as I did."

"You made pretty sure of that," Rosa said with a smile, hugging her in turn, "You had everyone worried. We though you were dying!"

"It's pretty hard to kill me, you know."

"We know, but Rydia worries, and so do the rest of us."

Aurora had nothing to say to about that, so Rosa continued...

"Would you like to tell me about your nightmare?"

That's Rosa for you, always the confidante... She thought to herself with a chuckle. Rosa took her role as a Healer very seriously, learning the mundane arts of medicine along with the magical. And yet... she took herself not only as a mender of bodies, but of minds and souls. She was always one to turn to when one needed a broken bone to heal... or a broken heart. She was well loved and respected on the Island for her compassion and genuine caring.

"Sure Rosa... Mom, could you leave, and chase everyone to bed?"

Rydia nodded and kissed her daughter on the cheek, then motioned for everyone else to leave. Rosa would remain, but everyone else would be in bed.

"Oh, and Mother? Please... don't treat me like a baby."

Rydia was almost outside when she turned and smiled. "Oh alright... but you know I worry."

"I know..." Both were aware that the Queen wouldn't stop, and both of them were happy with that... Sometimes... both women thought to themselves, smiling softly.

It was silent for a few minutes while they waited for the crowd to leave and return to bed. It was Rosa who was the first to speak, laying her hand upon Aurora's.

"Care to talk?"

"That's why you're here, aren't you?"

"Of course!" Rosa smiled and then listened to Aurora as she recited her dream.

Once she was done, Aurora sighed... "I have this dream often... it's why I've never taken another apprentice. I know I'm not like that... but it always seems to me like the accusations he makes are all true..."

Rosa nodded, gazing over Aurora. She seems so helpless... so scared. But even WarMages feel fear and pain, if not for their lives... "I know Aurora, I know." She shook her head, "I would have made sure Rydia would have barred you of the path you have taken if you were..."

Aurora nodded, believing her words. Some of the tricks Rosa had picked up as an Islander were amazing psychic abilities. All Healers had psychic abilities or learned them soon after. Much of it was in empathy, but their minds were strong in protection, and as a weapon.

They had to. WarMages were known to go into blind rages if provoked enough, and usually only the Healers... the ironically pacifistic Healers... had the one advantage that could truly cripple a WarMage: WarMages had a weakness to psychic attacks, even if they possessed defenses themselves. Only a Healer could incapacitate a WarMage sufficiently to let the rage subside, and only Islanders would know that secret if Rydia, Robert, and Aurora would have their way: They killed anyone who knew that secret, the WarMages not wanting their weakness to become common knowledge... and Rydia would die than let her daughter fall to such attack.

"Well, all I can say Aurora, is what you already know... I figure you feel intense shame and regret about what you did. I don't really approve of your methods for training, but I suppose it is necessary..."

"Doesn't mean you or any of the others like it."

"Not particularly. but you want to know what Cecil said?"

"What's that?"

"He said while he can't approve of your methods, he is grateful that you dirty yourselves, so his hands remain clean."

"That sounds strangely selfish of him."

"True, but it is a very common belief with us. If you didn't do it, someone would have to. But none of us want to. You father understood that when he created the WarMages... He accepted the pain and sorrow so none of us would have to... He accepted the love of war, because he loved peace and never wanted us to have to accept a love of war. And you and Robert, along with every other WarMage accept it in turn so we have no need to."

"I... I see..."

"What I think you are feeling now is the shame that follows you. The shame that would follow Rydia, Cecil, Edward, I, and everyone else if you didn't. Every WarMage makes that sacrifice..."

Rosa had tears forming in her eyes as she spoke...

"And yet... none of us wish to see it happen to you..."

"I know Rosa... I know... but it just seemed right. That I was needed like this."

"You're right. You are needed like this. It doesn't make Rydia's pain and worry any less, though, nor anyone else's."

Aurora nods gently and hugged Rosa tightly. "Thanks Rosa... I needed that." She started to cry softly into her shoulder as Rosa just hugged her back, "I know Aurora... that's why I'm here."

Rosa let her cry for a few minutes before letting her go, "You should get back to sleep. You need your rest." Aurora only smiled as Rosa left, turning out the light so she could fall back asleep, and dream again.

And she dreamt...

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She was in the Great Hall, a meeting place of all the Islanders when matters of import were to be discussed. Each Lord and Lady were in attendance, sitting in a chair along the table, Queen Rydia sitting on a grand throne at the head.

Aurora had been summoned by the Queen, her mother, to accept a dire mission: Robert had finally surpassed Aurora in power, coming amazingly close to the King himself. But that was not the matter.

The matter was that he had disappeared... completely. And was missing for several days now.

"Aurora, do you understand the task I have laid upon you?"

"Yes, my Queen. I am to find the WarMage Robert and return him to the Palace, safely."

"You know him the best, my daughter, having trained and led him through his Apprenticeship. If anyone is best knowledgeable of his whereabouts, it would be you."

"Thank you Rydia. I understand."

Aurora arose from her kneeling position and walked towards the grand doors of the Great Hall when Rydia spoke again.

"Rosa has told me that she last felt his presence near the world Rogles has been imprisoned in."

Rogles... that name tightened a few sphincters. He was the second-in-command of their greatest enemy ever: Zeromus. Zeromus had apparently never learned how to STAY dead and had been a royal pain in the ass for many years. He had been imprisoned several times in another, desolate world, only to break free. But recently Zeromus had been strangely quiet.

There were rumors around the Palace: Had Zeromus finally ended his fight and accepted his punishment? Nevertheless, Rydia had kept up the magic barring Zeromus from passing through the Limbo that separated the worlds they guarded, never to see another world and taint it with his evil.

Perhaps now, Rogles was their strongest enemy. A threat, true, and a serious one. Not as serious as Zeromus ever was, however. Nothing they knew of could match Zeromus.

"I see, my Queen."

Rydia had a very troubled look in her eyes. She cared for Robert too. Mainly because he reminded her of her lost King.

"You do understand the fact that you may never be able to bring him back alive, even if he is, do you?"

There were the words Aurora dreaded. None of them could say it up front. All of them liked Robert, even though he was a WarMage, but they all feared that he had turned Rogue.

"I understand. If I discover that he has fallen into insanity, or has turned Rogue, I am to wash the stain of it from the WarMage's, and your honor, Rydia. And I will return alive, with his sword, the BlueSteel, as proof. It is my duty, as his Mentor."

She choked on her words, wishing she hadn't said them. Like those words would magically change him from her ally to her true enemy. Everyone looked stricken as she spoke, as if they refused to believe the possibility.

Robert never seemed to like her much, however. He was still a young WarMage, even though he had a meteoric rise within the group, and within the Palace itself. It was natural really, with the treatment Apprentices received from their Mentors being harsher than anyone could dream.

And yet he was popular and well-liked among the WarMages, and most everyone else too. He showed he could perform all of his duties. He seemed to be a warrior on par with Cecil and Kain, and a Healer practically rivaled only by Rosa.

"As much as it pains us to say it, my dear daughter, that may be true."

"It pains me as well."

"I know. Now, Aurora, you are dismissed to perform your duty as a WarMage and Robert's Mentor."

She left the door, the joy of the rush of impending danger beginning, along with the nagging worry that the final enemy she may come across is her only Apprentice...

And that she may not survive.

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It was dark.

No, that's putting it mildly. It was a tangible void, seeming to suck not only light away, but the life of everything it touched. Aurora paid no heed: This was the kind of darkness she kept in her soul to serve her, released only when she wished it so. She was mildly comforted by this darkness... but yet alarmed... this was no ordinary darkness... it seemed unnatural... unholy.

Being comfortable in darkness, and being able to see are two different things however. She kept a mild light-spell centered above her head so she could see... She could see well for all of about ninety feet.

Entering Rogles' prison proved an easy task, as Rydia had opened a small hole for Aurora, and closed it behind her, opening it only on a signal Aurora would give, a spell Rosa would sense even through the barrier. She had found herself where Rosa had lost contact, in front of a dark manor, the only thing standing in the wasteland that was this world. That surprised her: Rydia and the others had made sure the world was barren, so that Rogles would have nothing to use to escape... not even a rusty spoon.

She had entered the manor to find this darkness. Using the light spell, she had searched the manor, her mind and psychic abilities searching for a presence... some sort of presence... hopefully it would be Robert's... She hoped it would not be the creator this foul dwelling.

She had reached the highest point when she finally noticed. A weak, but familiar presence, below her. FAR below her, in the depths of the manor. And several others.

She carefully made her way to the basement. And yet the presences were still below her. Searching, she found a secret stairwell, leading into the depths of the earth. After what seemed like an eternity, she climbed down to the bottom to find a stout wooden door. She opened it carefully...

And then they attacked. She did not recognize the monsters, but she did recognize the beaten and scarred form hanging in a corner... ROBERT!

Her relief from the fact that he was not a Rogue was quickly lost as she made a sick realization: They were torturing him! She hadn't had time to think about that too much, as his tormentors turned to her and attacked, gleefully trying to overbear her, to have another victim to torment as she desperately carved her way through the monsters.

It was a bloody battle. She had taken many wounds, and they never seemed to stop coming! Every time she cleaved one in twain, three more seemed to appear as she made another sick realization: the room was FLOODED with these unholy abominations.

Cecil would be a wonderful help right about now! Aurora thought grimly to herself, as she fought back with sword and magic, carefully controlling her magics to keep them from harming her captive Apprentice. Summoning Magic, Black Magic, and White Magic saw heavy use as she trained every spell, every Esper, ANYTHING she could against the tidal wave that threatened to overwhelm her. And still they kept coming.

It was an hour later when she could finally rest... hundreds of horrors lay dead at her feet, and she was so tired...

FIGHT IT AURORA! She knew that if she fell asleep, she would die of her wounds. She looked around for more of the little terrors... satisfied that none remained, she gathered several healing potions from her pouch and drank them all, in quick succession.

Warmth spread throughout her body as the potions sealed her wounds, but she knew she must act quickly. Drinking too many of the potions in quick succession would make her... high... like many drugs would, and the high they brought may incapacitate her.

She only had enough power to take her and her apprentice back to the Palace, and she needed to act now before reinforcements arrived. She felt a dark presence watching her, appraising her as she moved toward Robert.

She knew what Rogles presence would feel like, but this was not Rogles... it seemed like an infinite well of darkness, despair and evil, one that she shrank from as she willed herself to approach her friend. Whatever resided in this world would be here soon, and she didn't have time. She did NOT want to meet whatever did this to him, or whatever created the monsters whose blood sloshed around in her boots and the floor.

As she approached, the worst pain, the most heart-rending fear she would ever feel was caused by Robert. He simply looked at her uncomprehending, whimpering.

"Please... no... no more... leave me be... just let me die..."

She stopped in her tracks. Soon the pain became rage. A flaming rage that would never cease until the creator of this unholy hell lay dead at her feet.

Robert, she was certain now, had suffered greatly. So greatly that even a mighty WarMage could crack under such torments. IF THERE IS A HELL I'LL SEE YOU IN IT SOON!!!! she raged as she undid his bonds, Robert not even fighting her, just giving in to her arms as she cast the beacon spell.

As she stepped through the portal, she could hear unholy, terrifying laughter within her mind...

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"It will take him a long time to recover, Rydia. He may be asleep for several weeks..."

Rosa sighed. She herself was shocked and angry to see Robert in such a state. Angry enough to give up her pacifistic tendencies and take whatever did this on single-handed.

The Healers were pacifists, and remained so whenever they could. But they could fight, although they hated it. They much preferred to let the WarMages fight, seeing them as darker and more aggressive counterparts to themselves. Like the Healers, they healed, but were better prepared to kill.

As one Healer had noted: "If you think of death and pain as a disease, the Healers are a cure. The WarMages are a preventative."

So the Healers and WarMages had a surprisingly close partnership. It was said that if you ever found a Healer, you would certainly find a WarMage close by, and vice versa. And it was true.

But Rydia was worried. After Aurora had returned Robert to them, there was great relief that he had not turned Rogue, but great worry that he may die.

At least he would not die. But it would take weeks, maybe months of physical and psychological therapy before he recovered. But after she recovered herself, Aurora had run off, returning to Rogles's world, vowing to destroy the evil that had laid her Apprentice so low.

Thus it was a joyous announcement as Aurora had returned with her report.

Robert had an enemy, one that would hunt him with a vengeance. A demonic creature to be specific, which he sealed off during his Ordeal, his becoming as a WarMage, and before his apprenticeship. The creature, known as Devanel, who had caused trouble for the Islanders before, the demon a Rogue WarMage that Robert was meant to replace and hunt down had summoned as a way to gain power...But Devanel had escaped the bonds Robert had created for it and promptly sent Rogles flying into another world as soon as he arrived in his world... It then made it's presence known to Robert and had captured him in his attempt to seal away the demon again.

As far as Rydia knew also, Rogles had vanished... no one has heard for him since his "eviction"...

The Rogue was long dead, slain by Robert, but the demon was not. The demon was sealed away again, by Aurora.

This is what she managed to tell before collapsing in her mother's arms and brought to the healing quarters for treatment.

Now, Aurora had awakened and laid her head in her hands, tormenting herself, blaming herself for what had transpired. Why did I do this to him... Force him to suffer so to become a WarMage... only to suffer greater torments... She cried as she sat there, falling into grief and despair...

Rosa came to console her, to try to tell her it wasn't her fault, but she barely noticed... each and every Islander in turn came, tryng to make her feel better...

She turned them all away. She couldn't shake the nagging voice that told her that if she had not come into his life, he would not have suffered the way he did.

Even the voice she desperately longed to hear, the words that she needed all this time, failed to free her from her tears.

Robert had finally awoke after spending four weeks in a coma. Aurora was there, unsurprisingly, to give the news to the rest of the Island. Yet everyone kept their distance, letting her speak with him.

"You didn't have to do this Aurora..."

He coughed weakly... He's so weak... Rosa will have to take him through such a long therapy..... and a painful one... WHY DID I DO THIS TO HIM?!?!?" she thought to herself, searching for the right words to say.

"I... I had to... you were my Apprentice. It... it... w-w-...was my d-duty..."

Duty? DUTY?!?!?! Was it my duty to take another living creature and send him through unspeakable things? WAS IT MY DUTY TO MAKE HIM SUFFER LIKE THIS???

"You know Aurora... Can I say something?"

"Of course... but save your strength... don't talk to much."

He nodded, continuing... "At first I hated you for what you did to me... Yes it was for a good cause... but God... You put me through sheer hell!" He chuckled softly... "Even Marines don't go through that at the worst... I had thought you were some sadistic bitch out to hurt me... I was angry at everyone else, for letting you do it."

Aurora nodded sadly, "I know... it's a common thing among us, to hate our Mentors for how we train. But it was necessity... Too common I'm afraid."

"I see that..." He sighs, closing his eyes. "I don't hate you anymore..... I get the feeling that you may not believe me, but I don't. It was not pleasant, and I did not expect it to be... but when I was in the manor... I realized it was to prepare me for the worst... that there are so much worse out there."

That got a sad nod from her.

"That's why we fight... that's why we suffer... no one else must suffer like I did. Nobody... and I will die before allowing anyone..."

He sighed, gazing into her eyes...

"I forgive you Aurora..."

He drifted back off to sleep, a dreamless sleep... It would take him months before he could recover enough to fight again, and almost a year before he could return to his full potential, but with every step he made, everyone rejoiced...

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Finally, he stood tall, in front of Rydia. Aurora was proud of her Apprentice: He had turned out to be everything her mother had hoped, even though her heart remained torn by the sufferings of this young man...

"Robert, after all this time, I had never imagined that you would achieve the honor I bestow upon you. But you have shown yourself to be the apex of what a WarMage can be, and continue to rise even above that."

Rydia smiled radiantly, as proud of her warrior as her daughter was, but she felt none of the pain her daughter felt...

"I am proud to have known you and called you friend. I am honored that you have joined the ranks of the WarMages in my service..."

Robert smiled calmly, wondering where this would lead...

"And finally I am proud to bestow this title upon you... Kneel, WarMage Robert..."

He did so, bowing his head in acceptance of whatever Rydia would bestow..... an attendant held out a cloak, one that hid the body... it was colored in bands of black and white...

"This is the cloak the King wore... Black for the darkness within, that teaches you cunning and ruthlessness in battle, the love of War. White for the Light within, that holds the Darkness at bay and teaches a love of Peace, and to heal and hold compassion."

He accepted the cloak, looking up at Rydia as she finished...

"I am proud to give you the title I am to bestow, a title owned only by my love, the King himself... Arise Robert, Master WarMage."

He smiled radiantly as he stood, looking to Rydia and closing his eyes...

"And I am proud to receive the title bestowed, my Queen, and I will execute it's responsibilities and your will to the best of my ability..."

Rydia smiled, expecting him to be finished, but he was not...

"And Rydia, I am honored to serve under you, and will serve the wishes you see fit."

Rydia is surprised by that, but chuckled, going into a more flirtatious mood.

"And what wishes would they be?"

"Well, I will meet you in your bed chambers soon and discover that."

That little comment brought the entire Palace to it's knees in laughter, with a few catcalls of "Go Robert!" and "Rydia's gonna get some!"

"Well as tempting as your offer may be, I still await my King's arrival... so I must decline."

A collective "Awwwwww!" is heard in the main hall.

"Oh damn it all," was his own comment, before falling to his own laughter.

After a few moments, everyone had recovered enough to congratulate Robert on his achievement... however, this was stopped as Rydia raised her hand.

"There is one more to honor this day...," She smiled to Aurora, thinking to herself, My god she has grown... "Aurora, stand in front of me..."

The speech was repeated to Aurora, with her acceptance of her new title, Mistress WarMage.....

"My daughter... my darling daughter... you have taken the course you have chosen in hopes of following your father, the King's footsteps... I can only be filled with pride when I say you have done so, after all these years....."

"Thank you, my Queen... my Mother... And I am proud to receive the title bestowed, my Queen, and I will execute it's responsibilities and your will to the best of my ability..."

Rydia then smiled as the Princess stood, "Aurora?"

"Yes, Rydia?"

"Don't you dare try to flirt with me..."

"I won't mother, trust me. That would just seem wrong. Besides, I think Robert is enough of a flirt for both of us..."

The laughter started again, as the celebration of the promotion of the two WarMages began...

As the laughter faded, she seemed to hear four words, whispered by Robert... almost into her ear: "I forgive you Aurora..."

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She awoke in the middle of the night, listening to a song played on a flute, outside her window. She walked to the window in her nightgown, looking out...

Apparently Robert couldn't sleep. He was playing a flute with skill, a skill taught to him by the Bard, Edward... The notes faded as he began to sing, the music still playing, ethereal now...

"Have... you ever wondered...
What it'd be like... to fly...
To fly away?..."
She turned to the bed, letting the words of the strangely haunting song fill her ears as she laid down to return to sleep. She smiled gently as she slowly drifted off, into a sleep where no nightmares will live...

She said only one thing before drifting off into her first restful slumber in a long time...

"Thank you Robert... thank you for forgiving... me..."

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First of all, notes. Pardon any typos, when I first wrote Enter a Warmage, I ran it through the spell checker about fifty times.

Thanks to all who have reviewed so far. There's more to come, I promise. Plenty more. Also I'd like to thank Weiila right now. She's the one who pushed me to put this up, and thus deserves a lot of thanks. Anyone who enjoys this should read her fics, they realy are VERY good. *blows lots of kisses to her*

Oh and to answer your question, Rori Firehawk... no WarMages aren't canon FF, unless Square decides to call me up to help design a future FF. Sadly, that won't happen anytime soon... BAD BAD SQUARE! *laughs* StarStorm out.