When Night Falls
By A-Chan
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Chapter 5
The Return of the Moon
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Edge ran one hand over the castle gates experimentally, then stood back show-casing a puzzled expression. He turned back to regard Rydia with a helpless shrug.
"I see nothing, hear nothing, sense nothing," he explained, then added in a whisper, "but that doesn't mean nothing is here."
Rydia nodded slightly, and planting a small kiss on the top of Roland's feathery forehead, she handed him to Porom and slipped off the chocobo. She tread lightly over to Edge, and took a long look around the seemingly dead castle.
"What do you suggest we do...?" she asked quietly.
Edge raised an eyebrow in thought. "I could go inside... take a look around."
He took a step forward, but Rydia caught his arm, forcing him to turn and look at her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked, scanning the top wall of the castle. "There could be people anywhere... maybe we just aren't seeing them!"
Edge smiled and removed her hand from his shoulder with a wink. "Thus, I go inside and see where they are. Makes sense, no?"
Rydia took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "But, Edge... you don't know--"
Edge lightly put a finger to her lips, causing her to give him an unappreciative scowl. "And thus... I go inside and see where they are." He patted her on the head, and added with a cocky grin, "Trust me."
Rydia barely opened her mouth before the agile ninja had leaped up into the air, grabbing hold of the stones that made up the castle wall. He scaled up to the top of the wall, unknowingly causing a group of cross-bow armed archers to scatter into the shadows. The very slightest shuffle of what Edge perceived to be feet made him stop his ascent, hiding behind one of the large stones atop the wall. He strained his ears for another sound, a possible clue, but heard none. At that, he crawled up over the wall, keeping tight to the wall, and slid down onto the rampart, remaining crouched. His eyes darted left and right, and then widened as he swore he heard what he thought to be the click of a crossbow.
Suddenly, a whirring noise snapped through the air to Edge's right; the unmistakable sound of a crossbow quarrel. The ninja was more than ready, exploding into motion and leaping forward into a ducking roll as arrows skipped off the stone. Another quarrel shot narrowly past him, and he used his momentum to launch off the ground and into a flip. His body did a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn in the air, his flourishing cape catching two arrows in it before he landed gracefully upon the crentellations of the castle. A quick spin put him facing the direction the arrows were coming from, and with a wave of one arm he unclasped his cape and ducked, throwing it in the air (and watching a few more arrows stick into it as it floated above him). Using the distraction to his advantage, he dropped backwards off of the wall, landing neatly on a precipice below him. Another flip off of the stone landing put him on the grounds of the courtyard - a courtyard that the last time he had stepped through, it had been as a respected king of a nation considered a great friend to Baron.
"Service has really gone downhill, here," Edge remarked dryly.
At that, his eyes lit upon the archers atop the wall, reloading their crossbows and preparing to let fire once more. Edge almost decided to whip out his shurikens and drop a few of the little buggers, but better judgment won out. While arrows were easy enough for the flexible ninja to dodge, he'd for once rather avoid the show-boating and help get his friends through the gate as soon as possible. He raised his hands to show they were weaponless, and that he would not retaliate.
"Hold!" he shouted, holding his ground, even as at least twelve (and who knows truly how many) crossbows trained upon him. "I mean you no harm! I'm a friend of King Cecil!"
Edge could hear a slight murmur among the archers, but much to his surprise, not a single crossbow was lowered. He cleared his throat a bit, hoping he had not just made the idiotic mistake of claiming friendship to a king who had possibly been overthrown.
He began to open his mouth to say something else, but suddenly he felt his left arm being wrenched violently behind him, tucked around behind his back. His right arm immediately went to the hilt of Masamune, but his assailant was quicker, his free arm reaching around the front of Edge and trapping his right shoulder in place. This free arm was wielding a long, and uniquely curved saber, which the silent attacker wasted no time in pressing lightly, but firmly against Edge's throat. Edge's eyes were completely wide in surprise, but not directly due to the dire straits he was in, or the pain shooting up his trapped left arm. His surprise was more due to the silence and prowess this attacker had shown; even with his heightened senses the young king hadn't heard or felt the attack coming until it was inescapable.
"Edge?" came a muffled cry from beyond the wall, which would have caused the ninja to grimace had a sword not been to his throat. "What happened? Edge, can you open the gates?"
"Seize the girl and the children," came a deep, rich male voice behind Edge. "Bring them in here that our leader may see them."
The crestfallen ninja took a deep breath, gritting his teeth slightly. "They're not here to hurt you or your cowardly--" the word was choked off when the man wrenched Edge's arm a bit more. After a slight cough, Edge decided to try a new approach.
"Listen, I don't like the whole martyr thing very much, especially when I'm the one playing martyr... but please let them go. You can do whatever the hell you want to me, but let them go."
He was expecting a snide remark from his captor, but received much the contrary. "I understand your motives to protect them, and I admire your efforts. Perhaps it shall put you at some rest to know we do not harm women or children.... We merely wish to learn your intents."
Edge didn't decide to get the specifics on how men were treated.
A moment or two later, the gates were opened to the rusty chorus of creaking chains, and Edge's heart sunk to the floor seeing Rydia, Porom and Palom led in with their hands bound behind their backs in thick rope. Rydia was making a real fuss of it, snapping at the two men leading her in, kicking her feet in the air when she could. Porom seemed terrified, her brown eyes wide and doe-like, her little white robes shivering. Palom's reaction was a little more akin to Rydia, but his cries were all in bravado, his eyes just as wide and terror-stricken as his sister's. Edge took some small enjoyment in watching Kain get dragged in, growling and grumbling the whole way, still tied by the same ropes he had originally been bound in. Even little Roland Benjamin was carried in by a guard, his little beak muzzled shut and his spindly legs tied together. Even if the small bird was a mild annoyance to Edge, seeing the poor thing tied and gagged like that was enough to cause his mouth to curl up into a snarl under his mask. However, the person led in next caused the snarl to dissipate into a wide-mouthed stare.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, matting his blonde curls to the sides of his face. His once colorful red and green robes, and even the plume in his cap seemed to droop in an imitation of his unfortunate situation. Even Rydia stopped her kicking and screaming to look at this new captive, mouth agape.
"Edward..." she mouthed, not able to find her voice. The Damcyanite prince seemed completely unaware of his situation, or of those surrounding him. That is, until Edge opened his mouth, in elation to see an old teammate (or at least an old associate) alive and well.
"Yo, Eddy!" he cried, causing the man behind him to give another wrench of his arm.
Edge bit back the pain, trying to appear as proud as possible as Edward regarded him with eyes so wide that those around him feared they might pop out of his skull. Edward's jaw bobbed up and down, the young man attempting to find a reply for the Eblanite king in the depths of his spinning head. No words would ever make it out, though, as a loud clang behind them signified the door to the main hall opening.
Out of the door stepped a man with the even gait of a warrior. His shoulders were slim, but well-shaped, covered by a tattered brown cloak that barely dusted past his knees, but did nothing to dissipate his honorable visage. Even though his dress was shabby, mostly covered by thick black stitching to hold it together, this individual was very cleanly shaven and well-groomed, his face devoid of stubble or filth. The man's hair was so light a hue of blue it was nearly white, brushed neatly back, resting upon his shoulders and hanging only a little bit down his back. What struck everyone most, though, was his eyes. They were a deep and calm blue, and although they seemed like in the right situation they could pierce right through you, there was untold gentleness, untold empathy in those eyes. Only one man that Edge, Rydia, Kain, Palom, Porom and Edward had ever known had possessed eyes like that.
Edge felt his breath catch in his throat, and could feel the man holding him in place bow his head in respect. Edward's eyes welled again with tears, although of joy or just because he was still scared, no one knew. Palom's jaw dropped, and for the moment being Porom's shaking desisted. Kain made not a noise, and not a move, save the ever-so-slight narrowing of his eyes. Only Rydia, who had so close a bond to this man, a man she considered her savior and brother, was able to murmur any coherent sound.
"Cecil..."
Cecil raised a brow slightly, and then his eyes widened a bit as his suspicions were confirmed. No imposters had come to his door, attempting to mock that one last hope he held fast to. These truly were his old comrades...
...tied and bound by his men, one even held at swordpoint.
"Untie them, immediately!" he demanded, beginning to walk over to them, unsure what emotion to let take over. "And release him, too!" he added, pointing a finger Edge's way.
As soon as Edge felt the sword leave his throat and his arm be released, he spun about on his heel, clutching his throbbing wrist and opening his mouth to shoot some creative chide his attacker's way. No insult ever made it out, as for what seemed the hundredth time that day, the quick-witted ninja found his throat dry as he came eye to eye with the tall, muscularly built man. Rather than insult him, Edge threw his arms around his shoulders in a hug, almost choking when the large man returned the good-hearted gesture.
"Sir Edge, my heart soars to know you are well," Yang smiled, meeting the young king's gaze.
"Yang, old buddy, you have no idea how happy..." Edge began, his voice trailing off as he caught sight of something transpiring behind the Fabulian king. Some of Cecil's men were about to untie Kain!
"Whoa, whoa, STOP!" Edge shouted, spinning past a rather surprised Yang and grabbing hold of one of Cecil's men. "Don't undo that! Leave it!"
Cecil looked over, breaking the embrace he had been sharing with Rydia and Edward. "Edge, are you out of--"
"Oh!" Rydia exclaimed, running over to Edge's side, and pulling back the other man about to untie the volatile dragoon, who growled at this unfortunate turn. "He's right, don't untie him! He's dangerous!"
Cecil was about to question this action, when a delicate feminine voice rang out from the door Cecil had come through.
"Cecil? Cecil, is it true?"
All heads turned to regard Rosa, still just as beautiful as everyone remembered her. Her light hair was tied back loosely, only allowing one stray curl to hang in her sky blue eyes. Her method of dress was humble, a white off-the-shoulder dress and gray cloak with slight embroidery upon the bottom hem. Her feet were bare save a dulled, silver anklet. Perhaps the most striking feature of Rosa however had nothing to do with her, at all. In her arms was a small, blanketed bundle, which would seem rather unimportant if not for the chubby-fingered hand waving around out of it.
Rosa caught sight of everyone, and raised a slender hand to her mouth, the tears already brimming in her eyes. "Oh..." she murmured, almost stumbling down the first step leading into the courtyard. "Oh, it is true... you're all..."
The young queen teetered a little, walking uncertainly toward the group, seemingly in a trance. Cecil ran over to place one hand upon his wife's shoulder and steady her so that she would not fall.
"Rosa... it's them... it is them... you were right!" he whispered soothingly into her ear, continuing to support his dazed queen. "Everything is going to be fine...
"I promise."
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Cecil, Rosa, Edge, Rydia, Edward, Porom and Palom all sat about the once stately main-chamber table, Yang standing behind Cecil's chair with his hands politely clasped in front of him. Kain was still tied and being held by two soldiers in the corner of the room. One young man, obviously Fabulian in background, stood on the other side of Yang in decorative blue and gold clothes, his hair tied into a sleek, dark braid.
Cecil gave a warm smile to his companions, placing his hands palm-down upon the table. "I'm sorry to open in such a business-like manner... but I'd really like to know how you all got here, and I'd like even more to hear of your experiences."
Rydia gave a slight sigh, and rather than bothering to explain, she looked to Edge with a wry smirk. "You like to talk an awful lot... go for it, ninja boy."
Edge flashed his signature grin, his mask removed and hanging on his belt loop. "Your wish is my command, sweetheart," he said, reaching out to take Rydia's hand. He started to bring it to his lips, but the ever-avoidant caller snatched her hand away, causing the ninja to kiss his own palm This drew a laugh from everyone but Kain. The dragoon just rolled his eyes, sick of this juvenile behavior.
Edge smirked a little, giving Rydia a respectful nod. "Gotcha. Well, I guess I'll make this the short version, so as to save time so we can get to more important things, right?"
Cecil nodded to his rather loosely-tempered ninja friend. "Please, Edge. At whatever pace you're comfortable at."
"All right, so..." Edge rose from his seat, pacing around the table a bit, and then stopping behind Palom and Porom. He took a deep breath, and then began his rapid-fire story at a pace ten times quicker than his normal speaking speed.
"These two were in Mist with the Elder on vacation when the attacks happened." He pointed to Rydia from across the table. "Rydia, along with them and the elder, sticks it out in the wilderness for the past year." There was another pause for him to point to himself. "I nearly bust my ass crossing the ocean to go find her, and all my men are killed in either the ocean voyage, Toroian joy hike, or Misty Mountains crossing. I go to her," he gestured back to Rydia. "and the Elder is finito. So I'm like 'Hey, Rydia! Let's go to Baron!' She calls me an idiot." He rested one hand each on Palom and Porom's chair. "They call me idiots. I know I'm right. I make some good points. Ta da! We're gonna go find Baron!" He suddenly leaped away from Palom and Porom, causing Edward to jump in his seat. "Then THIS guy," he says, glowering at Kain and pointing an accusatory finger. "He finds us in the mountains! The first thing he does - BLAM!" Edward jumped again. "He tried to attack us! So I'm like 'Oh, no, that won't be happening...'" Edge paused again to rest one hand on the hilt of Murasame. "I decide I'm gonna fight him! But he decides he's gonna attack Rydia!" The zealous ninja pointed to Rydia sending his cape flying with the gesture.
Everyone gasped.
"Yeah! But I'm like... 'Not over my dead body!' So we start to fight--"
Rydia took that moment to huggle the small chocobo in her lap. "Edge! You forgot the part about Roland Benjamin!"
Edge's eye twitched. "Yeah. The bird made a big puffball of itself and made that retarded noise it tends to make, blah blah blah... back to me, now!"
Rydia huffed, and then held up Roland proudly. "This little 'puffball' distracted Kain long enough that you could come in and save me!" Edge rolled his eyes. "And it is NOT a retarded noise!" Rydia was quick to add, hugging the bird once again. "It's cute!"
"Kweh!" came Roland's reply.
"So back to my story, as I am the one recalling it..." Edge led back into his recounting, eliciting a barely audible groan from everyone. "I fight Kain, and I kick his ass all over the Misty Mountains! And we're all 'Ha! Now you have to pay the price!' And we tie him and drag him all the way to Baron, because otherwise, ya know, he'd try to kill us... and we get to Baron, and I decide to scale inside, and--"
"Okay! Okay! We've got it up to there, Edge..." Cecil interjected with a tired smile. "Thank you..."
Edge returned to his seat next to Rydia, flashing her a winning smile. She rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his arm as a reply to his crude retelling.
Cecil changed his focus to Edward, tilting his head quizzically. "And you, Edward?"
At this, the Damcyanite prince took off his hat and wrung it in his shaking hands. "Er... pass?"
"Edward!" everyone cried, exasperated.
"Well, it's nothing special!" he cried, replacing his cap atop his head. "I... my kingdom..." he looked back at his remaining soldiers. "Our kingdom... it's all in ruin... we wanted to find another civilization! We came to you, Cecil..."
Cecil nodded in understanding, then looked to the haughty ninja. "And Eblan...?"
Edge's eyes found solace staring at the tabletop as he solemnly nodded his head.
Cecil then turned his attention to Kain, raising an eyebrow. "Kain...?"
The dragoon looked up, a cold smirk finding its way onto his already cold features. "Your Majesty..." he said, his tone dripping in sarcasm. "How may I be of service to you?"
This drew an uncomfortable silence from everyone else. Except for Edge, that is, who rose from his seat, and was in Kain's face in two strides.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" demanded Edge, his anger apparent in his eyes. "I can almost understand you freaking out when you're on mind control and all that bullshit, but how dare you come in here and talk to Cecil like that of your own will!"
Edge probably would have continued, but Rydia lightly tugged on his arm, forcing him to turn and face her, instantly calming his eruptive temper.
"My quarrel isn't with you, ninja king," Kain sneered, forcing Edge to look back at him with a narrow-eyed glare. "You're not worth my efforts."
Edge bristled at this, and lunged forward, but Rydia caught his arm, again. Cecil rose from his chair, as Rydia eased Edge back to his seat, the brash ninja never wavering in his locked stare on Kain. Kain, on the other hand, shifted his attention to Cecil, his lips curling into his customary smirk.
"Believe it or not, Your Highness, my quarrel has nothing to do with you, either," Kain said, now face to face with his once best friend. "The only reason I attacked was to do as I was instructed. It would not matter to me if it was the ninja... the caller... you..." Kain paused to shoot an evil smile Rosa's way, sending a shiver down her spine. "...it would not matter if it was Rosa..."
This seemed to anger Cecil a bit, as his eyes narrowed and his composure seemed to crack a bit. Kain only laughed in his face, Cecil taking a step back to try and regroup his quickly wavering patience. "It would not matter if Titan himself stood in my way. I would leave him as nothing but diced bone and tissue."
Palom scoffed a bit, amazingly the first time he had opened his mouth during this conference. "You couldn't even beat Edge," he chided, drawing an irritated 'hey!' from the ninja. "How would you beat Titan?"
Kain spat at the small black mage. "Silence, you little rat!"
"Enough!" interrupted Yang, in a silencing boom. He took a deep breath, reverting back to his customary calmed tone. "I think it best for now for everyone to take in some food and some rest. This day has been full of revelations and reunions that have been much too long in the coming."
This gained an approving nod from everyone but Kain, who turned away from the group.
Kain, who turned away from everything... for it seemed he hated all things equally.
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Later that evening, Yang sat in his room in meditation, his mind far away from the current world, and engulfed into another... another that he hoped had the answer to his problems. It seemed, however, no matter how long he stayed in this other world, a wall was always blocking his progress. Something always seemed to block out that part of his meditation.
For the moment being, however, someone was knocking on his door.
Yang slipped out of his meditation, and looked to the door. "Come in."
The door opened quietly, and in slipped the aforementioned young man, still in his decorative blues and golds, that despite their vibrance he seemed to carry with humbleness. His eyes were very serene, with a perfected inner peace not common to those of his age. With a low and respectful bow, he crossed the room and sat opposite Yang.
"My apologies, Uncle..." he began, keeping his eyes on the mat they sat on. "But I wished to ask you what you thought of the events that have transpired today."
Yang chuckled a bit, shaking his head at his nephew's always present excess of respect. "Ekin, you need not lower your eyes to me. We are equals, as you have proven in deed during battle and outside of battle."
The young man raised his eyes to his uncle with a smile, resting his hands upon his knees. "Forgive me. I still feel conflict over seeing you as my uncle and as my king."
Yang smiled once again. "Then think of me as both, and find a comfortable medium. You wish to learn of my thoughts upon these mixed tidings?"
Ekin nodded, his ebony strands of hair falling a bit into his face, the rest of it still tied back into a traditional Fabulian braid.
"I feel..." Yang searched for the right words. "I feel elated that my friends have returned... but there is a great change in Sir Kain."
Ekin smiled, and asked with a slight laugh "He is not always that polite?"
Yang did not share in his nephew's smile this time. "I fear some great evil has overtaken Sir Kain... not just in mind, but perhaps in his very heart... his very spirit. I can only hope my perceptions are incorrect. I can only hope that there is more to this story that will be revealed to us soon. Even my meditations offer me no answers, not even the slightest clue. Sir Kain, in the past, was subject to come under bouts of mind control, but that was to an enemy long lost upon us. This enemy is not only infinite miles away from us, but is also no longer an enemy... rather, a brother to Sir Cecil. Without him, Sir Cecil and his companions might never have defeated Zemus in the first place. Therefore, I do not see how mind control would even be an option."
Yang paused to collect his thoughts, his nephew's expression locked into one of grim curiosity.
Yang sighed, and nodded to his nephew, bidding Ekin leave, for the time being. "Only time will tell us, Ekin. I only hope that we shall all be ready."
Ekin stood, and bowed once more to his most-respected uncle, never turning his back upon him as he headed to the door. "We shall do our best, Uncle Yang. That is all a man can do."
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Edge tensed his arm, falling easily into another defensive stance, trying to move as slowly as possible in his training. He was still trying to clear his head from everything that had just occurred. Yeah, sometimes his temper got the better of him, and sometimes his ego did, too. But he couldn't help that. That was just the way he was.
So, if that was just the way he was, why was he so upset about it?
This time, no one had even gotten mad at him for it. They had completely understood his anger directed at Kain... they hadn't even said anything about his boasting during the story. Come to think of it, it seemed like they had almost felt sorry for him. Maybe they had even identified with him. Under normal circumstances, the ninja would have felt a great swell of relief (and a considerable amount of pride) over everyone finally agreeing with his distrust of Kain.
Instead, he just felt eerie about it.
Finally he fell into the basic ninjitsu stance, and putting fist to open palm, he bent into a slight bow to his invisible opponent. Just because he was so cocky to real opponents didn't mean he couldn't be well-disciplined when he was alone.
He was startled out of his bitter thoughts by a light touch on his arm, one he instantly recognized. He turned around to face the smile that melted his heart time and time again.
"Hi, Rydia," he said, smiling nearly ear to ear, and too mixed up to think of some crude remark to greet her with.
She playfully socked him in the arm. "Hey, you. What are you up to? Working off all that combat rust you've collected up?"
He rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "That 'combat rust' saved your butt back in the mountains."
That made Rydia laugh, and fold her arms over her chest in an imitation of Edge. "Actually, it would be your skill, not your lack-there-of that would have saved me."
"Psh. Whatever!" The ninja king ran a hand through his hair, staring down the young woman in mock superiority. "As if you know the first thing about combat."
"Heeeey!" Rydia cried, shoving Edge a bit as she shoved him away. "I know plenty about combat!"
Edge continued to laugh, and then leaned back on one of the stone enclosures. Rydia looked over at him, and then behind him at the pile of dead, browned plants inside the stone compartment. Edge followed her gaze, then gave a light sigh as she sat on the wall next to him.
"Depressing, huh?"
"Yeah..." Rydia looked up at Edge and bit her lower lip, wanting desperately to ask him something that had been on her mind since they had gotten to Baron.
Edge felt her gaze on him, and looked down at her with a tilt of his head. "What's up, kid?"
"I just..." she stopped, and shook her head, looking down to the cracked cobblestone. "Never mind. It's dumb."
Edge smiled, and lightly nudged her with his shoulder. "Hey, if something's dumb, I think I'm the one to judge that. Haven't you called me the King of Dumb before?"
Rydia laughed a bit. "I dunno. Probably."
"Don't make me throw a hit-line at you," Edge joked. "Tell me what's up."
Rydia sighed. There was no way to deny Edge's odd charm, and for the time being, it was causing her to want to trust him. "All right... but you can't laugh..."
Edge pulled his best puppy dog face, and made a crossing motion over his heart.
"Well... I mean... do you think everything will be okay now? Now that we're all together again?"
She stopped to look up at him; she wanted to be looking in his eyes when she received his answer. She wanted to know he was telling the truth.
And oh, how Edge wanted to lie to her. There was hope in those pools of sapphire, the kind of hope that was infectious. He remembered back to when he'd found Rydia crying over The Elder... to that sadness in her eyes that he couldn't fathom. It spoke of so much pain and so much loneliness. It had reminded him of how lonely he had been. Even more painful, it reminded him of how much he had cried, and how his pride would never allow him to reveal how much he needed condolence just as much as everyone else. That, however, did nothing to change the fact that there was no way he could lie to her eyes. No matter how much it hurt her, he would never want to put even more strain on her by lying.
He would never want to put any unnecessary strain upon his Rydia.
"I'm not sure everything will be okay, Rydia..." he began, and he could immediately see the sadness reenter her eyes. She sighed and began to turn her head away, to look down at the ground, but he caught her cheek lightly in his hand, and gently lifted her face to look back at him. Despite all his bluffs, he tried very hard to will his hand to not shake as he kept it propped under her chin.
"That's not to say we can't make things okay," the ninja continued. "I just mean... we can't depend on things to just be okay now that we're back together. You gotta work for that kind of stuff... and I think if we don't assume, and we continue to try, that something good will come of it."
Through her sadness, Rydia managed to smile, and in a completely uncharacteristic move, she threw her arms around Edge's neck, giving him a light squeeze.
"Thanks, Edge."
"Anytime, babe." Edge wrapped one arm around her, using the other to ruffle her hair. After a moment, Edge, with a little more confidence, placed his thumb lightly under the caller's chin, leading her face up to look at him, again. "Don't get used to this nice guy attitude, though," he said with a smirk. "I don't wanna finish last."
Rydia laughed, looking down only for a second before looking back up into Edge's eyes. "I wouldn't dream of it."
A silence settled over both of them, each staring back at the other. Edge shifted his hand so that his palm rested lightly on Rydia's cheek. The movement caused Rydia's heart to do a slight flip-flop, and she could feel a whole score of butterflies begin to flutter about in her stomach.
"Neither would I," he said quietly.
Seemingly without much choice, Rydia found herself leaning up towards Edge, both of them shutting their eyes as they began to close the distance between each other.
"Oh! There you are!"
Edge and Rydia both snapped to attention, to face the soft-voiced speaker.
Edward smiled good-naturedly, tipping his cap a bit. "I wanted to tell you there's extra space for one of you in my room! That way, we won't have to be alone all night. I find nights are much easier to handle when you aren't alone through them, and..."
Edward trailed off as he noted the horrified, shocked expression on Rydia's face, and the death glare he was receiving from Edge.
"Dear me, did I..." Edward looked around, shuffling his feet a bit. "Did I interrupt anything?"
"I wasn't about to kiss him!"
"I was about to kiss her!"
Both of them exclaimed at the same time, causing an even more puzzled expression to filter over Edward's face. "I...." The prince skittered back toward the main hall, looking nervously about. "I think I'll go extend my offer to the twins... er... or maybe just... I think I'll just go..." And with that, he disappeared back through the door, not wanting to invoke either of their frightful tempers.
Once Edward had disappeared into the castle, Rydia yanked Edge rather roughly by his collar to look her in the eye. "I was not going to kiss you," she insisted, death shining in her eyes.
Edge grinned a bit, and raised his hands in defense. "Of course not."
"That's right," she huffed, and let go of his collar, hopping up to her feet. "I'm going to sleep. Don't even think about following me - in fact, you know what?"
Edge couldn't wipe the triumphant grin off of his face. "What's that?"
"Don't even look at me. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Be still my heart!" Edge said in a dreamlike voice, melodramatically clutching his hands over his heart. "That cold tone in your voice really turns me on, Rydia."
He just caught the flash of green as Rydia stomped inside the castle. He found himself laughing, partially because she always cracked him up when she got all mad like that, and partially because he was happy. She could deny it all she wanted, but he was growing on her. Something had almost happened back there - it had been plain on her face that she wanted something to happen.
The laughter quickly died, and horror replaced Edge's smile.
"Oh, dammit," he said to the empty air. Something would have happened. Edge was finally going to make a base with the woman of his dreams. He had been so close! A lonely wind blew through the courtyard, tousling the young ninja's hair, and leaving him with sporting an utterly defeated countenance.
"Damned bard," he muttered to himself.
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
By A-Chan
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Chapter 5
The Return of the Moon
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Edge ran one hand over the castle gates experimentally, then stood back show-casing a puzzled expression. He turned back to regard Rydia with a helpless shrug.
"I see nothing, hear nothing, sense nothing," he explained, then added in a whisper, "but that doesn't mean nothing is here."
Rydia nodded slightly, and planting a small kiss on the top of Roland's feathery forehead, she handed him to Porom and slipped off the chocobo. She tread lightly over to Edge, and took a long look around the seemingly dead castle.
"What do you suggest we do...?" she asked quietly.
Edge raised an eyebrow in thought. "I could go inside... take a look around."
He took a step forward, but Rydia caught his arm, forcing him to turn and look at her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked, scanning the top wall of the castle. "There could be people anywhere... maybe we just aren't seeing them!"
Edge smiled and removed her hand from his shoulder with a wink. "Thus, I go inside and see where they are. Makes sense, no?"
Rydia took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "But, Edge... you don't know--"
Edge lightly put a finger to her lips, causing her to give him an unappreciative scowl. "And thus... I go inside and see where they are." He patted her on the head, and added with a cocky grin, "Trust me."
Rydia barely opened her mouth before the agile ninja had leaped up into the air, grabbing hold of the stones that made up the castle wall. He scaled up to the top of the wall, unknowingly causing a group of cross-bow armed archers to scatter into the shadows. The very slightest shuffle of what Edge perceived to be feet made him stop his ascent, hiding behind one of the large stones atop the wall. He strained his ears for another sound, a possible clue, but heard none. At that, he crawled up over the wall, keeping tight to the wall, and slid down onto the rampart, remaining crouched. His eyes darted left and right, and then widened as he swore he heard what he thought to be the click of a crossbow.
Suddenly, a whirring noise snapped through the air to Edge's right; the unmistakable sound of a crossbow quarrel. The ninja was more than ready, exploding into motion and leaping forward into a ducking roll as arrows skipped off the stone. Another quarrel shot narrowly past him, and he used his momentum to launch off the ground and into a flip. His body did a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn in the air, his flourishing cape catching two arrows in it before he landed gracefully upon the crentellations of the castle. A quick spin put him facing the direction the arrows were coming from, and with a wave of one arm he unclasped his cape and ducked, throwing it in the air (and watching a few more arrows stick into it as it floated above him). Using the distraction to his advantage, he dropped backwards off of the wall, landing neatly on a precipice below him. Another flip off of the stone landing put him on the grounds of the courtyard - a courtyard that the last time he had stepped through, it had been as a respected king of a nation considered a great friend to Baron.
"Service has really gone downhill, here," Edge remarked dryly.
At that, his eyes lit upon the archers atop the wall, reloading their crossbows and preparing to let fire once more. Edge almost decided to whip out his shurikens and drop a few of the little buggers, but better judgment won out. While arrows were easy enough for the flexible ninja to dodge, he'd for once rather avoid the show-boating and help get his friends through the gate as soon as possible. He raised his hands to show they were weaponless, and that he would not retaliate.
"Hold!" he shouted, holding his ground, even as at least twelve (and who knows truly how many) crossbows trained upon him. "I mean you no harm! I'm a friend of King Cecil!"
Edge could hear a slight murmur among the archers, but much to his surprise, not a single crossbow was lowered. He cleared his throat a bit, hoping he had not just made the idiotic mistake of claiming friendship to a king who had possibly been overthrown.
He began to open his mouth to say something else, but suddenly he felt his left arm being wrenched violently behind him, tucked around behind his back. His right arm immediately went to the hilt of Masamune, but his assailant was quicker, his free arm reaching around the front of Edge and trapping his right shoulder in place. This free arm was wielding a long, and uniquely curved saber, which the silent attacker wasted no time in pressing lightly, but firmly against Edge's throat. Edge's eyes were completely wide in surprise, but not directly due to the dire straits he was in, or the pain shooting up his trapped left arm. His surprise was more due to the silence and prowess this attacker had shown; even with his heightened senses the young king hadn't heard or felt the attack coming until it was inescapable.
"Edge?" came a muffled cry from beyond the wall, which would have caused the ninja to grimace had a sword not been to his throat. "What happened? Edge, can you open the gates?"
"Seize the girl and the children," came a deep, rich male voice behind Edge. "Bring them in here that our leader may see them."
The crestfallen ninja took a deep breath, gritting his teeth slightly. "They're not here to hurt you or your cowardly--" the word was choked off when the man wrenched Edge's arm a bit more. After a slight cough, Edge decided to try a new approach.
"Listen, I don't like the whole martyr thing very much, especially when I'm the one playing martyr... but please let them go. You can do whatever the hell you want to me, but let them go."
He was expecting a snide remark from his captor, but received much the contrary. "I understand your motives to protect them, and I admire your efforts. Perhaps it shall put you at some rest to know we do not harm women or children.... We merely wish to learn your intents."
Edge didn't decide to get the specifics on how men were treated.
A moment or two later, the gates were opened to the rusty chorus of creaking chains, and Edge's heart sunk to the floor seeing Rydia, Porom and Palom led in with their hands bound behind their backs in thick rope. Rydia was making a real fuss of it, snapping at the two men leading her in, kicking her feet in the air when she could. Porom seemed terrified, her brown eyes wide and doe-like, her little white robes shivering. Palom's reaction was a little more akin to Rydia, but his cries were all in bravado, his eyes just as wide and terror-stricken as his sister's. Edge took some small enjoyment in watching Kain get dragged in, growling and grumbling the whole way, still tied by the same ropes he had originally been bound in. Even little Roland Benjamin was carried in by a guard, his little beak muzzled shut and his spindly legs tied together. Even if the small bird was a mild annoyance to Edge, seeing the poor thing tied and gagged like that was enough to cause his mouth to curl up into a snarl under his mask. However, the person led in next caused the snarl to dissipate into a wide-mouthed stare.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, matting his blonde curls to the sides of his face. His once colorful red and green robes, and even the plume in his cap seemed to droop in an imitation of his unfortunate situation. Even Rydia stopped her kicking and screaming to look at this new captive, mouth agape.
"Edward..." she mouthed, not able to find her voice. The Damcyanite prince seemed completely unaware of his situation, or of those surrounding him. That is, until Edge opened his mouth, in elation to see an old teammate (or at least an old associate) alive and well.
"Yo, Eddy!" he cried, causing the man behind him to give another wrench of his arm.
Edge bit back the pain, trying to appear as proud as possible as Edward regarded him with eyes so wide that those around him feared they might pop out of his skull. Edward's jaw bobbed up and down, the young man attempting to find a reply for the Eblanite king in the depths of his spinning head. No words would ever make it out, though, as a loud clang behind them signified the door to the main hall opening.
Out of the door stepped a man with the even gait of a warrior. His shoulders were slim, but well-shaped, covered by a tattered brown cloak that barely dusted past his knees, but did nothing to dissipate his honorable visage. Even though his dress was shabby, mostly covered by thick black stitching to hold it together, this individual was very cleanly shaven and well-groomed, his face devoid of stubble or filth. The man's hair was so light a hue of blue it was nearly white, brushed neatly back, resting upon his shoulders and hanging only a little bit down his back. What struck everyone most, though, was his eyes. They were a deep and calm blue, and although they seemed like in the right situation they could pierce right through you, there was untold gentleness, untold empathy in those eyes. Only one man that Edge, Rydia, Kain, Palom, Porom and Edward had ever known had possessed eyes like that.
Edge felt his breath catch in his throat, and could feel the man holding him in place bow his head in respect. Edward's eyes welled again with tears, although of joy or just because he was still scared, no one knew. Palom's jaw dropped, and for the moment being Porom's shaking desisted. Kain made not a noise, and not a move, save the ever-so-slight narrowing of his eyes. Only Rydia, who had so close a bond to this man, a man she considered her savior and brother, was able to murmur any coherent sound.
"Cecil..."
Cecil raised a brow slightly, and then his eyes widened a bit as his suspicions were confirmed. No imposters had come to his door, attempting to mock that one last hope he held fast to. These truly were his old comrades...
...tied and bound by his men, one even held at swordpoint.
"Untie them, immediately!" he demanded, beginning to walk over to them, unsure what emotion to let take over. "And release him, too!" he added, pointing a finger Edge's way.
As soon as Edge felt the sword leave his throat and his arm be released, he spun about on his heel, clutching his throbbing wrist and opening his mouth to shoot some creative chide his attacker's way. No insult ever made it out, as for what seemed the hundredth time that day, the quick-witted ninja found his throat dry as he came eye to eye with the tall, muscularly built man. Rather than insult him, Edge threw his arms around his shoulders in a hug, almost choking when the large man returned the good-hearted gesture.
"Sir Edge, my heart soars to know you are well," Yang smiled, meeting the young king's gaze.
"Yang, old buddy, you have no idea how happy..." Edge began, his voice trailing off as he caught sight of something transpiring behind the Fabulian king. Some of Cecil's men were about to untie Kain!
"Whoa, whoa, STOP!" Edge shouted, spinning past a rather surprised Yang and grabbing hold of one of Cecil's men. "Don't undo that! Leave it!"
Cecil looked over, breaking the embrace he had been sharing with Rydia and Edward. "Edge, are you out of--"
"Oh!" Rydia exclaimed, running over to Edge's side, and pulling back the other man about to untie the volatile dragoon, who growled at this unfortunate turn. "He's right, don't untie him! He's dangerous!"
Cecil was about to question this action, when a delicate feminine voice rang out from the door Cecil had come through.
"Cecil? Cecil, is it true?"
All heads turned to regard Rosa, still just as beautiful as everyone remembered her. Her light hair was tied back loosely, only allowing one stray curl to hang in her sky blue eyes. Her method of dress was humble, a white off-the-shoulder dress and gray cloak with slight embroidery upon the bottom hem. Her feet were bare save a dulled, silver anklet. Perhaps the most striking feature of Rosa however had nothing to do with her, at all. In her arms was a small, blanketed bundle, which would seem rather unimportant if not for the chubby-fingered hand waving around out of it.
Rosa caught sight of everyone, and raised a slender hand to her mouth, the tears already brimming in her eyes. "Oh..." she murmured, almost stumbling down the first step leading into the courtyard. "Oh, it is true... you're all..."
The young queen teetered a little, walking uncertainly toward the group, seemingly in a trance. Cecil ran over to place one hand upon his wife's shoulder and steady her so that she would not fall.
"Rosa... it's them... it is them... you were right!" he whispered soothingly into her ear, continuing to support his dazed queen. "Everything is going to be fine...
"I promise."
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Cecil, Rosa, Edge, Rydia, Edward, Porom and Palom all sat about the once stately main-chamber table, Yang standing behind Cecil's chair with his hands politely clasped in front of him. Kain was still tied and being held by two soldiers in the corner of the room. One young man, obviously Fabulian in background, stood on the other side of Yang in decorative blue and gold clothes, his hair tied into a sleek, dark braid.
Cecil gave a warm smile to his companions, placing his hands palm-down upon the table. "I'm sorry to open in such a business-like manner... but I'd really like to know how you all got here, and I'd like even more to hear of your experiences."
Rydia gave a slight sigh, and rather than bothering to explain, she looked to Edge with a wry smirk. "You like to talk an awful lot... go for it, ninja boy."
Edge flashed his signature grin, his mask removed and hanging on his belt loop. "Your wish is my command, sweetheart," he said, reaching out to take Rydia's hand. He started to bring it to his lips, but the ever-avoidant caller snatched her hand away, causing the ninja to kiss his own palm This drew a laugh from everyone but Kain. The dragoon just rolled his eyes, sick of this juvenile behavior.
Edge smirked a little, giving Rydia a respectful nod. "Gotcha. Well, I guess I'll make this the short version, so as to save time so we can get to more important things, right?"
Cecil nodded to his rather loosely-tempered ninja friend. "Please, Edge. At whatever pace you're comfortable at."
"All right, so..." Edge rose from his seat, pacing around the table a bit, and then stopping behind Palom and Porom. He took a deep breath, and then began his rapid-fire story at a pace ten times quicker than his normal speaking speed.
"These two were in Mist with the Elder on vacation when the attacks happened." He pointed to Rydia from across the table. "Rydia, along with them and the elder, sticks it out in the wilderness for the past year." There was another pause for him to point to himself. "I nearly bust my ass crossing the ocean to go find her, and all my men are killed in either the ocean voyage, Toroian joy hike, or Misty Mountains crossing. I go to her," he gestured back to Rydia. "and the Elder is finito. So I'm like 'Hey, Rydia! Let's go to Baron!' She calls me an idiot." He rested one hand each on Palom and Porom's chair. "They call me idiots. I know I'm right. I make some good points. Ta da! We're gonna go find Baron!" He suddenly leaped away from Palom and Porom, causing Edward to jump in his seat. "Then THIS guy," he says, glowering at Kain and pointing an accusatory finger. "He finds us in the mountains! The first thing he does - BLAM!" Edward jumped again. "He tried to attack us! So I'm like 'Oh, no, that won't be happening...'" Edge paused again to rest one hand on the hilt of Murasame. "I decide I'm gonna fight him! But he decides he's gonna attack Rydia!" The zealous ninja pointed to Rydia sending his cape flying with the gesture.
Everyone gasped.
"Yeah! But I'm like... 'Not over my dead body!' So we start to fight--"
Rydia took that moment to huggle the small chocobo in her lap. "Edge! You forgot the part about Roland Benjamin!"
Edge's eye twitched. "Yeah. The bird made a big puffball of itself and made that retarded noise it tends to make, blah blah blah... back to me, now!"
Rydia huffed, and then held up Roland proudly. "This little 'puffball' distracted Kain long enough that you could come in and save me!" Edge rolled his eyes. "And it is NOT a retarded noise!" Rydia was quick to add, hugging the bird once again. "It's cute!"
"Kweh!" came Roland's reply.
"So back to my story, as I am the one recalling it..." Edge led back into his recounting, eliciting a barely audible groan from everyone. "I fight Kain, and I kick his ass all over the Misty Mountains! And we're all 'Ha! Now you have to pay the price!' And we tie him and drag him all the way to Baron, because otherwise, ya know, he'd try to kill us... and we get to Baron, and I decide to scale inside, and--"
"Okay! Okay! We've got it up to there, Edge..." Cecil interjected with a tired smile. "Thank you..."
Edge returned to his seat next to Rydia, flashing her a winning smile. She rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his arm as a reply to his crude retelling.
Cecil changed his focus to Edward, tilting his head quizzically. "And you, Edward?"
At this, the Damcyanite prince took off his hat and wrung it in his shaking hands. "Er... pass?"
"Edward!" everyone cried, exasperated.
"Well, it's nothing special!" he cried, replacing his cap atop his head. "I... my kingdom..." he looked back at his remaining soldiers. "Our kingdom... it's all in ruin... we wanted to find another civilization! We came to you, Cecil..."
Cecil nodded in understanding, then looked to the haughty ninja. "And Eblan...?"
Edge's eyes found solace staring at the tabletop as he solemnly nodded his head.
Cecil then turned his attention to Kain, raising an eyebrow. "Kain...?"
The dragoon looked up, a cold smirk finding its way onto his already cold features. "Your Majesty..." he said, his tone dripping in sarcasm. "How may I be of service to you?"
This drew an uncomfortable silence from everyone else. Except for Edge, that is, who rose from his seat, and was in Kain's face in two strides.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" demanded Edge, his anger apparent in his eyes. "I can almost understand you freaking out when you're on mind control and all that bullshit, but how dare you come in here and talk to Cecil like that of your own will!"
Edge probably would have continued, but Rydia lightly tugged on his arm, forcing him to turn and face her, instantly calming his eruptive temper.
"My quarrel isn't with you, ninja king," Kain sneered, forcing Edge to look back at him with a narrow-eyed glare. "You're not worth my efforts."
Edge bristled at this, and lunged forward, but Rydia caught his arm, again. Cecil rose from his chair, as Rydia eased Edge back to his seat, the brash ninja never wavering in his locked stare on Kain. Kain, on the other hand, shifted his attention to Cecil, his lips curling into his customary smirk.
"Believe it or not, Your Highness, my quarrel has nothing to do with you, either," Kain said, now face to face with his once best friend. "The only reason I attacked was to do as I was instructed. It would not matter to me if it was the ninja... the caller... you..." Kain paused to shoot an evil smile Rosa's way, sending a shiver down her spine. "...it would not matter if it was Rosa..."
This seemed to anger Cecil a bit, as his eyes narrowed and his composure seemed to crack a bit. Kain only laughed in his face, Cecil taking a step back to try and regroup his quickly wavering patience. "It would not matter if Titan himself stood in my way. I would leave him as nothing but diced bone and tissue."
Palom scoffed a bit, amazingly the first time he had opened his mouth during this conference. "You couldn't even beat Edge," he chided, drawing an irritated 'hey!' from the ninja. "How would you beat Titan?"
Kain spat at the small black mage. "Silence, you little rat!"
"Enough!" interrupted Yang, in a silencing boom. He took a deep breath, reverting back to his customary calmed tone. "I think it best for now for everyone to take in some food and some rest. This day has been full of revelations and reunions that have been much too long in the coming."
This gained an approving nod from everyone but Kain, who turned away from the group.
Kain, who turned away from everything... for it seemed he hated all things equally.
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Later that evening, Yang sat in his room in meditation, his mind far away from the current world, and engulfed into another... another that he hoped had the answer to his problems. It seemed, however, no matter how long he stayed in this other world, a wall was always blocking his progress. Something always seemed to block out that part of his meditation.
For the moment being, however, someone was knocking on his door.
Yang slipped out of his meditation, and looked to the door. "Come in."
The door opened quietly, and in slipped the aforementioned young man, still in his decorative blues and golds, that despite their vibrance he seemed to carry with humbleness. His eyes were very serene, with a perfected inner peace not common to those of his age. With a low and respectful bow, he crossed the room and sat opposite Yang.
"My apologies, Uncle..." he began, keeping his eyes on the mat they sat on. "But I wished to ask you what you thought of the events that have transpired today."
Yang chuckled a bit, shaking his head at his nephew's always present excess of respect. "Ekin, you need not lower your eyes to me. We are equals, as you have proven in deed during battle and outside of battle."
The young man raised his eyes to his uncle with a smile, resting his hands upon his knees. "Forgive me. I still feel conflict over seeing you as my uncle and as my king."
Yang smiled once again. "Then think of me as both, and find a comfortable medium. You wish to learn of my thoughts upon these mixed tidings?"
Ekin nodded, his ebony strands of hair falling a bit into his face, the rest of it still tied back into a traditional Fabulian braid.
"I feel..." Yang searched for the right words. "I feel elated that my friends have returned... but there is a great change in Sir Kain."
Ekin smiled, and asked with a slight laugh "He is not always that polite?"
Yang did not share in his nephew's smile this time. "I fear some great evil has overtaken Sir Kain... not just in mind, but perhaps in his very heart... his very spirit. I can only hope my perceptions are incorrect. I can only hope that there is more to this story that will be revealed to us soon. Even my meditations offer me no answers, not even the slightest clue. Sir Kain, in the past, was subject to come under bouts of mind control, but that was to an enemy long lost upon us. This enemy is not only infinite miles away from us, but is also no longer an enemy... rather, a brother to Sir Cecil. Without him, Sir Cecil and his companions might never have defeated Zemus in the first place. Therefore, I do not see how mind control would even be an option."
Yang paused to collect his thoughts, his nephew's expression locked into one of grim curiosity.
Yang sighed, and nodded to his nephew, bidding Ekin leave, for the time being. "Only time will tell us, Ekin. I only hope that we shall all be ready."
Ekin stood, and bowed once more to his most-respected uncle, never turning his back upon him as he headed to the door. "We shall do our best, Uncle Yang. That is all a man can do."
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •
Edge tensed his arm, falling easily into another defensive stance, trying to move as slowly as possible in his training. He was still trying to clear his head from everything that had just occurred. Yeah, sometimes his temper got the better of him, and sometimes his ego did, too. But he couldn't help that. That was just the way he was.
So, if that was just the way he was, why was he so upset about it?
This time, no one had even gotten mad at him for it. They had completely understood his anger directed at Kain... they hadn't even said anything about his boasting during the story. Come to think of it, it seemed like they had almost felt sorry for him. Maybe they had even identified with him. Under normal circumstances, the ninja would have felt a great swell of relief (and a considerable amount of pride) over everyone finally agreeing with his distrust of Kain.
Instead, he just felt eerie about it.
Finally he fell into the basic ninjitsu stance, and putting fist to open palm, he bent into a slight bow to his invisible opponent. Just because he was so cocky to real opponents didn't mean he couldn't be well-disciplined when he was alone.
He was startled out of his bitter thoughts by a light touch on his arm, one he instantly recognized. He turned around to face the smile that melted his heart time and time again.
"Hi, Rydia," he said, smiling nearly ear to ear, and too mixed up to think of some crude remark to greet her with.
She playfully socked him in the arm. "Hey, you. What are you up to? Working off all that combat rust you've collected up?"
He rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "That 'combat rust' saved your butt back in the mountains."
That made Rydia laugh, and fold her arms over her chest in an imitation of Edge. "Actually, it would be your skill, not your lack-there-of that would have saved me."
"Psh. Whatever!" The ninja king ran a hand through his hair, staring down the young woman in mock superiority. "As if you know the first thing about combat."
"Heeeey!" Rydia cried, shoving Edge a bit as she shoved him away. "I know plenty about combat!"
Edge continued to laugh, and then leaned back on one of the stone enclosures. Rydia looked over at him, and then behind him at the pile of dead, browned plants inside the stone compartment. Edge followed her gaze, then gave a light sigh as she sat on the wall next to him.
"Depressing, huh?"
"Yeah..." Rydia looked up at Edge and bit her lower lip, wanting desperately to ask him something that had been on her mind since they had gotten to Baron.
Edge felt her gaze on him, and looked down at her with a tilt of his head. "What's up, kid?"
"I just..." she stopped, and shook her head, looking down to the cracked cobblestone. "Never mind. It's dumb."
Edge smiled, and lightly nudged her with his shoulder. "Hey, if something's dumb, I think I'm the one to judge that. Haven't you called me the King of Dumb before?"
Rydia laughed a bit. "I dunno. Probably."
"Don't make me throw a hit-line at you," Edge joked. "Tell me what's up."
Rydia sighed. There was no way to deny Edge's odd charm, and for the time being, it was causing her to want to trust him. "All right... but you can't laugh..."
Edge pulled his best puppy dog face, and made a crossing motion over his heart.
"Well... I mean... do you think everything will be okay now? Now that we're all together again?"
She stopped to look up at him; she wanted to be looking in his eyes when she received his answer. She wanted to know he was telling the truth.
And oh, how Edge wanted to lie to her. There was hope in those pools of sapphire, the kind of hope that was infectious. He remembered back to when he'd found Rydia crying over The Elder... to that sadness in her eyes that he couldn't fathom. It spoke of so much pain and so much loneliness. It had reminded him of how lonely he had been. Even more painful, it reminded him of how much he had cried, and how his pride would never allow him to reveal how much he needed condolence just as much as everyone else. That, however, did nothing to change the fact that there was no way he could lie to her eyes. No matter how much it hurt her, he would never want to put even more strain on her by lying.
He would never want to put any unnecessary strain upon his Rydia.
"I'm not sure everything will be okay, Rydia..." he began, and he could immediately see the sadness reenter her eyes. She sighed and began to turn her head away, to look down at the ground, but he caught her cheek lightly in his hand, and gently lifted her face to look back at him. Despite all his bluffs, he tried very hard to will his hand to not shake as he kept it propped under her chin.
"That's not to say we can't make things okay," the ninja continued. "I just mean... we can't depend on things to just be okay now that we're back together. You gotta work for that kind of stuff... and I think if we don't assume, and we continue to try, that something good will come of it."
Through her sadness, Rydia managed to smile, and in a completely uncharacteristic move, she threw her arms around Edge's neck, giving him a light squeeze.
"Thanks, Edge."
"Anytime, babe." Edge wrapped one arm around her, using the other to ruffle her hair. After a moment, Edge, with a little more confidence, placed his thumb lightly under the caller's chin, leading her face up to look at him, again. "Don't get used to this nice guy attitude, though," he said with a smirk. "I don't wanna finish last."
Rydia laughed, looking down only for a second before looking back up into Edge's eyes. "I wouldn't dream of it."
A silence settled over both of them, each staring back at the other. Edge shifted his hand so that his palm rested lightly on Rydia's cheek. The movement caused Rydia's heart to do a slight flip-flop, and she could feel a whole score of butterflies begin to flutter about in her stomach.
"Neither would I," he said quietly.
Seemingly without much choice, Rydia found herself leaning up towards Edge, both of them shutting their eyes as they began to close the distance between each other.
"Oh! There you are!"
Edge and Rydia both snapped to attention, to face the soft-voiced speaker.
Edward smiled good-naturedly, tipping his cap a bit. "I wanted to tell you there's extra space for one of you in my room! That way, we won't have to be alone all night. I find nights are much easier to handle when you aren't alone through them, and..."
Edward trailed off as he noted the horrified, shocked expression on Rydia's face, and the death glare he was receiving from Edge.
"Dear me, did I..." Edward looked around, shuffling his feet a bit. "Did I interrupt anything?"
"I wasn't about to kiss him!"
"I was about to kiss her!"
Both of them exclaimed at the same time, causing an even more puzzled expression to filter over Edward's face. "I...." The prince skittered back toward the main hall, looking nervously about. "I think I'll go extend my offer to the twins... er... or maybe just... I think I'll just go..." And with that, he disappeared back through the door, not wanting to invoke either of their frightful tempers.
Once Edward had disappeared into the castle, Rydia yanked Edge rather roughly by his collar to look her in the eye. "I was not going to kiss you," she insisted, death shining in her eyes.
Edge grinned a bit, and raised his hands in defense. "Of course not."
"That's right," she huffed, and let go of his collar, hopping up to her feet. "I'm going to sleep. Don't even think about following me - in fact, you know what?"
Edge couldn't wipe the triumphant grin off of his face. "What's that?"
"Don't even look at me. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Be still my heart!" Edge said in a dreamlike voice, melodramatically clutching his hands over his heart. "That cold tone in your voice really turns me on, Rydia."
He just caught the flash of green as Rydia stomped inside the castle. He found himself laughing, partially because she always cracked him up when she got all mad like that, and partially because he was happy. She could deny it all she wanted, but he was growing on her. Something had almost happened back there - it had been plain on her face that she wanted something to happen.
The laughter quickly died, and horror replaced Edge's smile.
"Oh, dammit," he said to the empty air. Something would have happened. Edge was finally going to make a base with the woman of his dreams. He had been so close! A lonely wind blew through the courtyard, tousling the young ninja's hair, and leaving him with sporting an utterly defeated countenance.
"Damned bard," he muttered to himself.
• • • ~ ¤ » ‡ « ¤ ~ • • •