Burmecia's outer gates
Evening, Gaian Standard
Raamalooke's Point of View:
My thoughts continued to drift back to Mitheithel and Kuja's argument. Mitheithel was bold for standing up and threatening Kuja with her claws. He was in Trance and Mitheithel was defenseless. But I was right about saying that he was going to help kill us. He needed to get over what was bothering him. We had parked the Invincible closer to Burmecia and went out to the city. Now we stood at a pair of giant wooden gates. It wasn't long before a Burmecian dressed in a red overcoat looked down on us.
"Who goes there?" She asked. Garnet sighed.
"I am Garnet 'til Alexandros the 17th, and we came here for lodging," She declared.
"Dagger?" The Burmecian asked.
"Is that you, Freya?" Zidane asked.
"Glad to see you remembered my name, Zidane. Of course, it's me," Freya said joyfully. She disappeared for a bit, as the gates opened. I walked ahead of the group with Garnet. Waiting at the end of the gates was Freya.
"Vivi and Eiko are here. They got ran out from Lindblum by some Kyrenia woman. Since then, we've seen more and more airships flying around. I almost thought you were Kyrenia's minions," Freya explained.
"Kyrenia's using the eidolons for evil. They've been attacking us ever since we left Alexandria," Garnet explained. Freya caught sight of me and scowled. I smoothed my hair out of my face and smiled.
"Don't you smile at me, you spineless coward," Freya hissed. Mitheithel started to say something, but I waved her off.
"Sticks and stones, dear Burmecian knight. I have reformed and on a good cause. I'm here to help save the world," I replied nobly. Freya gave me on awkward look.
"'Tis true, Freya. Raamalooke had changed," Mitheithel said softly.
"Follow me," Freya replied. I shrugged and ignored the looks Garnet and Zidane gave me. Yes, I knew my left eye had a mixture of blue and gray in it. I was also aware that my right eye was one solid color. That reason would be told later.
Inside the Inn:
Eiko and Vivi sat by a fire, deep in thought. (A/N: Eiko's 14 years old and Vivi's 16.) When they saw Garnet, they smiled.
"Dagger! Zidane! Good to see you again," Eiko grinned. Vivi took one look at Mitheithel and me and smiled faintly. You couldn't tell because he had no definite traces of a mouth, but if you looked and studied the way Vivi's eyes blazed to emotions, you'd know.
"Lady Mitheithel and Lady Raamalooke, good to see you also," He said. I nodded slowly. I'm glad he didn't freak out like Freya. I had never met him in person before, but Mitheithel must have told him about me. I was grateful for that. Telemna yawned and sat next to the chair Kalya and Kulusindi was sleeping in. Eiko's smiled faded.
"Where is Kuja?" She asked. I could tell by the way she said 'Kuja' that she didn't like him very well. Whatever respect she had for him was made only by the fact that he was Zidane's brother. I knew about this for a long time. Mitheithel looked away. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Um…he was with us, but he left," Telemna said tiredly. Mitheithel left the room quickly. No one followed her. I'm sure everyone saw the last confrontation they had. That one wasn't violent, but it wasn't pretty as well. Vivi blinked and looked at Telemna.
"I see you are still living," He commented.
"I see you're still old," Telemna said. Her voice sounded different, less childlike. Vivi chuckled.
"You act like a child, but you're not, Telemna Naitokage," Vivi muttered. (A/N: Naitokage means Nightshadow.) Telemna grinned.
"Fine, ruin the surprise for everyone else," She muttered. Garnet frowned.
"Why look like a child then?" She asked.
"Because it's fun," Telemna said simply.
Mitheithel's Point of View:
Soft rain ran down my face, stirring up memories of Kuja. I hated the feeling it gave my heart. That really low feeling that made you want to cry and pity yourself. I couldn't be like that. The city was dimly lit with streetlights. This was the city of eternal rain and things were much different here. There were shadows here and there. It didn't look natural. And then I saw a figure in the street. It was a small boy with black hair that rested on his shoulders. He appeared to be holding a wand made out of…shadows. I blinked and the boy vanished.
"Strange," I murmured.
"What's strange?" Someone asked. Raamalooke walked up beside me.
"I saw a boy in the street and he was holding a wand made up of shadows," I explained. Raamalooke frowned.
"Another Eidolon," She breathed.
"Which one?" I asked.
"Ark," She muttered. As she said that word, the shadows lengthened. Raamalooke reached in her robes and handed me two scimitar scabbards. The hilts glittered in the moonlight. I smiled and slipped them onto my belt.
"Come on, I don't need the others involved," Raamalooke said. We went off into the street, carefully looking around the buildings. The boy appeared in front of us and grinned. Raamalooke had her swords in hand, ready for anything.
"Surrender the crystal," The boy (Ark) whispered.
"What crystal?" I asked.
"Surrender the crystal," Ark repeated.
"No," Raamalooke hissed. Ark raised his wand and twirled it. The area around us fizzled out into blackness. I stayed close to Raamalooke as she conjured up a little flare. But there wasn't much light at all. The only thing that was illuminated was our bodies.
"What now?" I asked.
"I sense him, but I can't see him," Raamalooke complained. I blinked. Ark, the shadow master…wait…that's it!
"Raamalooke, let's try holy spells," I said. Raamalooke seemed to consider this option.
"If we can see it, that might be an option," She whispered. How do we see a small boy in shadows? It didn't make sense. I extended my hand and fired a Holy spell into the shadows. There was an unearthly sound.
"I might have to reconsider our options," I said. There was the sound of an engine whirring and a stab of pain in my side. I fell over, into the layers of the shadows and hit something hard.
"Mitheithel!" Raamalooke screamed.
Kuja's Point of View:
I sat on a shadowy rooftop watching Mitheithel and Raamalooke. I knew where Ark was in the patch of shadows he made. And I almost didn't care. That is, until Mitheithel fell and almost hit her head. I conjured up my power and aimed it at Ark. Fiery tendrils of magic engulfed the eidolons revealing him to Raamalooke's eyes. Mitheithel was still on the ground, possibly in shock. I floated down to her and sighed. Ark immobilized her body. For what, I wasn't sure. I waved my hand over her head and waited.
Mitheithel's Point of View:
I saw him. I saw Kuja. He stood over me and he waited. He didn't seem pressed, but I was glad to see him. Finally, he walked away. I tried to reach out to him but I couldn't. The shadows disappeared instantly, and Raamalooke helped me up.
"Did you see him?" I asked. Raamalooke blinked.
"Who?" She asked.
"Kuja," I answered.
"No," Raamalooke muttered.
"He was just here, I swear it."
Author's Note: Sorry about taking so long to post this chapter. But has something to do with emotional issues and other things. But anyways, I'm back. I have a freya fic that I'd like to post soon…and other fics for the original category. =)