Finally... spring break... *collapses*
I'll keep this short. This is not the last chapter – I think one more to go. Be careful – the two different major scenes here take place at different times. I should have switched the two parts in this chapter... oh well. You'll see.
One more thing though... *shudders in memory* Kraken, if you're reading this, whatever happened to that pitchfork you were going to use against me because of that "evil cliffhanger" I stuffed at the end of chapter nine?
Midnight – Oh yes... things will patch up! And your prediction is not quite at the mark... but very, very close. ^_^ I'll try to put up the next installment faster!
Akiko – I think the imagery thing came back to me. I was reading a Fushigi Yuugi story (anime), and it sounded so beautiful there, I decided I'd make Imil sound like the snowy paradise it ought to be! Are you really going to write an Alex/Mia? *If you are, let me read it... I support them too, but I'm just a bigger mudshipper...*
High_King_Isaac – Well, you'll just have to see what kind of ending comes out, won't you? And I'll try to hurry; I promise (hopefully, I won't regret that promise).
Snoopy – Wow, really? A fan of my stuff? *starry eyes* Cool... Thanks you... I'll try to get up the next chapter soon... As I've said already... but I'll say it again to drive it into my thick skull.
Triad Orion – That's good... I want longer chapters, but I really don't want to keep everyone waiting. Besides, I get to draw out the ending!! *cackles* Anyway, on with the... whatever these are called...
Phishy Kiss – Thanks!
Windgoddess – But Mia doesn't want to leave Isaac. She just is leaving Vale, because she feels so guilty for doing what she did, and she needed to get back to Imil anyway, and now that things are so weird between them it makes a good opportunity to leave. *continues reading review, and ducks as a wooden sign flies by* Alright, alright, I'm updating!!! *runs away at full speed*
Jupiter Girl – It will, don't worry. The mood will definitely be up in the eventual end.
Alex – Nope, not the end. And maybe I should do that... I was planning on someone doing something like that. And Alex is as good as any a person... you're also going to be surprised at who else is going to inadvertently help him out. He's acting on his own – the others who want to do some re-matchmaking are acting as a big, evil, group...
Link the 2nd – Don't slap me! *holds hands up in defense* I promise, I'll update faster!!! Just don't HURT me!!!
Poo – Alright, I don't know who you are, what your screen name is, and stuff, but please, next time you insult me, pick a better anonymous name! No, that was not the ending, as you see, with the arrival of this chapter.
12 – What Friends Are For
Isaac sat in the little niche behind the waterfall, glumly tossing stones into the tumbling current. Numbly, he could see the sparkling ice in the water soar off the cliffside, letting the sun's rays catch it and flash. With an admirable amount of ice crystals in the river, the air around him fairly sparkled with a myriad of colors.
If only Mia could be here to share it with me...
She'd left exactly two days ago. Isaac couldn't bring himself to look Garet in the eye whenever he sat companionably by his side to comfort him. He knew that Garet was a little more than angry that he'd let Mia go – he knew that, but he couldn't say sorry, because it wasn't anything to apologize for, it was something he wasn't supposed to have let happen in the first place. Only, he didn't know why Mia had said no.
She wanted to say yes... but why then? Why would she do something like that, if she didn't want to? If she wanted with all her heart to say yes, then why not 'yes,' but a 'no?'
Beating himself over it seemed to make him feel better, but his Djinn told him high and often that he shouldn't keep doing this. As Vine, the most unsympathetic of his Djinni, was doing at that very moment.
"You should definitely get on with your life! I mean, how adventurous is sitting here for the rest of your days, mourning the fact that Mia said no to your wedding proposal?"
"That's not why I'm-"
Even though Djinn didn't have facial expressions, Isaac could clearly tell that the Venus-type Djinni had no patience for him at that precise second. "Of course it's why you're being glum and sad! You've been sitting here for the last-" He paused, then continued, "The last several hours! For Sol's sake, Isaac, at least get up and go ASK her why she said no!"
At that, Isaac turned sharply to face the smaller being. "Vine, I appreciate your advice, but I'm sure Mia said no because she didn't share the same feelings I had for her. She's the kind of girl who knows what she wants and when she wants it. She wouldn't lie to me, Vine," he said stiffly. Turning away, Isaac felt the beginnings of depression tap at his heart again. Standing up abruptly, almost knocking the small Djinni over, Isaac leaped from the ledge and landed on the grass beyond the waterfall. "I'm going to practice my fencing. If anyone needs me, I'll be behind my house."
Meanwhile...
"So what are we going to do? We can't just let Isaac stay unhappy forever!"
"Who said he was unhappy?"
"I TOLD you, but you never listen! Always sleeping," the soft voice sniffed in disgust.
"Hey! What's wrong with sleeping?" Another voice demanded.
"Everyone, we have to get to work here, and if you argue about sleeping all day, nothing's EVER going to be accomplished!"
A tense sort of quiet swept over the small gathering in Isaac's room.
"Thank you. Now, we have to do something about Isaac and Mia. Both of them are clearly unhappy with their current situation, but knowing them, nothing's ever going to get done about it."
"And what do you propose we do? We are not seers or magicians, we don't have magic powers and we can't make them both appear here by saying poof, because we're Djinn. Small ones, at that."
"Like there is any difference in the size of Djinn?" Gust asked bluntly.
"Are you implying that I didn't know that?" Forge demanded.
"Nothing! I was just saying that-"
"And you think I should believe you." The Mars Djinni stated flatly.
"Of course."
"What are you going to do, blow me out the window?" It asked sarcastically.
"I most certainly will. Thank you for extending me that invitation." Just as the beginnings of a whirlwind began in the room, ruffling the bedcovers and what little light objects there were around, a small knock on each of their heads stopped the squabble as abruptly as it had begun. Looking ruffled not a tiny bit happy or cooperative, and with his two-pointed tail swinging erratically back and forth, the Venus Djinni glared at both of them.
"I told you people to be quiet!" Flint huffed, his tiny little body between the two others. Gust and Forge glowered at each other (as well as they possibly could, with their beady eyes), and neither refused to apologize.
"Djinn," Corona, Ember, and Scorch sighed at the same time. Quietly though; they didn't want to feel the wrath of Flint. It was enough to listen to him – Flint's imposing presence commanded submission most of the time, unless one of the other self-appointed "leaders" were arguing with him. Namely, Gust and Forge. Fizz usually stayed out of it until the three were at blows, as they often were, and then stopped their fighting by freezing all of them.
"We are Djinn, not people," Zephyr, Smog, and Breeze muttered with the three Mars Djinn. Those six Djinn were the more peaceful counterparts of the forever-arguing Gust and Forge – they liked peace and quiet, but the two "leaders," or the first ones Garet and Ivan found, were always debating with each other about useless things. Senseless, pointless things. One was that deserts were better than being out at sea. That was mostly an opinion and preference, but then again, neither Gust nor Forge cared enough to distinguish things like that when they set their minds to quarrel with each other...
"Don't do anything else!" Ground and Luff warned.
"Yeah... all you two do is argue..." Flash yawned sleepily, half curled up underneath the fluffy white pillow at the head of the bed.
"We're getting off topic again..." Bane sighed impatiently.
A golden flash sparked right above the bed, and Vine dropped down from it, dejected. All the others quieted again and looked at the Venus Djinni.
"He refuses to listen to me. I think Isaac wholeheartedly believes that Mia truly did not love him," Vine sighed dramatically. "I tried, but Isaac is stubborn when he really wants to be... What were you thinking, making me try to convince someone like him that what he was doing was wrong?" Vine demanded of Granite, the mastermind behind their plan.
"You were the best one!" Quartz protested.
"Him? Are you trying to make a joke?!" Breeze all but squeaked out in an attempt to shout.
"Well..."
"He's so blunt and... Well! If I were sick, I think I'd get sicker if he visited me to make me feel better!" Breeze squeaked again, jumping up and down on the bed for emphasis. Sap, quiet until then, turned his head to see what Vine what do about that compliment. Breeze, trying to see where the other Djinni's gaze traveled to, also twisted his head to see what Sap was looking at. Before he knew what hit him, a golden-brown blur bumped into Breeze and knocked off the other Djinni, who fell on the floor, rolled head over tail, and stopped only when he hit the wall across the room.
Like some kind of signal, noise descended upon them all. But just as all twenty one of the Djinn began squabbling and squeaking at each other all over again, seven blue flashes appeared over the gathered ensemble of Venus, Mars, and Jupiter Djinn. Mia's Mercury Djinn flashed in from the blue light and flopped onto the poor, abused bed of Isaac.
"So what'd we miss?" Fizz asked imperiously.
"Nothing." Glancing at the others, Flint said it again. Forcefully. "You didn't miss anything."
Finally, though, all of them got to what they had gathered for – a plan to make Isaac and Mia get together again. Flint, Fizz, and the other Venus and Mercury Djinn just wanted to make their Adepts happy again; Forge, Gust, and their group of Djinn were joining in for the fun of it, and also (although they wouldn't likely admit it) they were worried about Isaac and Mia as well. First they had to summarize the problem, and then think of solutions to how to get Mia and Isaac back together.
"Isaac isn't listening."
"Mia isn't either."
"So what do you propose we do?"
Once again, they were all quiet.
"Hey Isaac, do you want to go outside and- What in Luna's name is going on?" Garet stopped dead and stared.
Behind him, Jenna laughed and tried to shove him so she could get in. "What's going on? Isaac finally got Mia back and they decided to- Tiamat! Are those your Djinn, Garet?!" Jenna exclaimed. All the Djinn, already frozen, were like ice. They couldn't move; even if they'd wanted to, Hail thought as her spirits sank, Garet would have his hands on Forge and the others.
Blinking rapidly to clear a possible hallucination, Garet stared. There they were – all twenty-eight Djinn, seven for each element – Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. I'm really not hallucinating...
"What are you guys doing here?" Garet finally asked, finding his voice.
Forge disappeared and reappeared in his nest of red hair. "Well, we're trying to figure out how to get Mia and Isaac back together-"
"I'm in!"
"Me too!" Jenna instantly shouted. Anyone could see that Isaac wasn't concentrating like he usually did, but only his close friends could tell he wasn't at all happy.
And so, the conspiracy began.
Jenna sidled up next to Isaac and waited for him to acknowledge her presence. When he muttered a soft welcome, still staring into the rapidly plummeting water diving into the river below, she sat down beside him and looked at him.
He's obviously worse for wear, Jenna thought with a slight pang. There it was – her childhood friend, one of her best at that, and her former crush, before she began taking a liking to Garet's amusing absurdity. She couldn't help comparing the two of them again. Garet's tall, big self and Isaac's smaller, but just as imposing frame. Garet's spiky red hair versus Isaac's tousled golden locks. Isaac's quiet solitude against Garet's loud humor. They were so different – but maybe that was made them such good friends, Jenna reflected.
There was a kind of hopelessness in Isaac's lanky body. His eyes were staring straight ahead, but he looked like he needed more sleep than the probable few hours he made himself get. And usually he worked to keep his emotions hidden – now, his eyes reflected all the sadness that had been chasing him all week. He really did love Mia, there was no question about it, but he hadn't gone after her only on the virtue of his respecting her so much, as a person and a healer of both physical and deeper hurts.
"You shouldn't be doing this to yourself, you know."
Only silence greeted her blatant observation. Isaac might as well have been immune to the frankness of everything she said – he usually ignored her blunt tones and focused on the meaning behind her words.
"I know." Quiet, too – typical of Isaac. Well, I'm not letting him get away with that. I'll make him understand!
"No... no, you don't know what you're doing to yourself. Or why would you still be here?"
Silence, tenser this time around, greeted the harsh words. It'll be worth it, Jenna. Better to force him to see what's been happening before his very eyes, than let this chance escape!
"You're right, Jenna. I know you are."
Huh?
"I know I love Mia, and I know I've been wearing myself down to a thread these past few days."
"Th-then why...?"
"Why have I stayed here, and not asked Mia an explanation for her own harsh words?" Isaac shot back. Stung, Jenna lapsed into a sullen silence. This isn't how it's supposed to go, you stubborn goat... I'm the one who's supposed to be reprimanding you!
"I don't know why. I respect her decision too much to question it. And although I long to know the reason that she said 'no,' I'll keep my distance. The first time hurt too much. It was almost a likeness to how a blade would feel through my heart, even though I've never actually had that happen to me." He was talking freely now, the emotion raw in his throat. Oh Isaac, it's been hurting you so much. You shouldn't keep all this emotion inside yourself.
Jenna wrapped her arm around his shoulders – gently, so he wouldn't feel like she was intruding on him – and gripped his hand with hers. He stared, wounded, down at the foaming waters below them, splashing wildly against the rocks and washing up along the banks. By the time Garet joined them, Isaac had salty tracks running down both cheeks, and was letting out some of the pent-up feelings that he had been keeping inside himself. Garet slung his own arm onto Isaac's shoulder, letting it rest there easily. He glanced questioningly at Isaac.
A nod greeted him. Sad, reluctant, maybe even slightly afraid, but Isaac still nodded resolutely.
"We'll come with you. You can't possibly fight all those Maulers by yourself." A bittersweet smile twisted Isaac's lips, one of the first Garet and Jenna had seen that week. The two conspirators glanced at each other over his shoulder, big smiles on their faces.
"Of course."
"I'll need help finding my way across the mountains anyway; why not just bring you along, Garet?" Isaac asked blandly. His best friend colored indignantly, and when he couldn't contain himself anymore, burst out with a fiery "Hey! THAT time it was an accident!"
"Goma Range?"
"Could I help it if slipping down the sheer side of the hill took us into a valley that was almost impossible to climb out of?"
"And Kolima Forest?"
"All the trees looked the same!" Garet protested.
"The way from Xian to Altin Village?"
"There was a road, by Luna! I didn't know that shortcut wasn't real!" He nearly shouted, face flushing hotly when he saw that Jenna's face was turning red.
"And how about the Mogall Woods?"
"The sun was facing the wrong direction!" Now, he was just saying it huffily, still not believing that all the times they'd gotten lost were mostly his fault. Goma Range, Kolima Forest, Mogall Woods, traveling from Xian to Altin (although how we got lost by traveling on the open road is beyond me, Isaac reflected humorously), Suhalla Desert... that was only a small list of the times they'd run around in circles for hours an end, trying to find their way back to the proper city again.
"So you can't tell even tell time!" Jenna cackled unmercifully, laughing until tears came to her eyes.
Giving up, Garet flopped onto his back. "Some friends you are..." He muttered grouchily.
Laughing, Isaac flopped down next to him, as did Jenna. They stared up at the sky for a long time, waiting until it was orange with sunset before sitting up again.
"Thanks, you guys," he said when he reached his own house, his own small, trademark smile gracing his face. Garet and Jenna both grinned like fools and waved, then walked away slowly. Isaac couldn't help noticing how tightly their hands were interlinked, how closely their heads bent towards each other (even though Jenna was shorter by almost half a head). Watching them vanish into the oncoming darkness, Isaac disappeared into his own house, and began packing.
They were going to Imil.
Sighing gustily, Mia blew a strand of her hair from her face. Judging from Sheba's first reaction, Mia gathered that the young girl had never traveled in snow-covered mountains before, let alone seen the view from the top of one. So, she'd decided to stay awhile, for a few days anyway, in the mountains, letting themselves explore for the fun of it and to forget about all their troubles for a while.
Now it was night, and once again Mia had the first watch. Sheba and Ivan had worn themselves out running around in the snow, chasing after Mia and his Djinn. I've never seen Ivan like that before. He's usually so serious.
Then again, so am I.
Smiling, she closed her eyes for a brief moment.
Opening them and finding a pair of eyes as icy as her own only inches away, she almost jumped up and screamed, and even then had to fight the urge to smack their owner over the head with her Lemurian Staff, a present that came with a long tale from Picard. Breathing heavily, Mia sat down and stared angrily at her former apprentice, one because she was angry at him for surprising her, and two because she should have heard him arrive.
"Thinking as ever usual, my dear?" Alex asked tonelessly.
"What else would I be doing?"
"Dreaming, no doubt." He straightened up from his crouch and sat back, arranging his robes around himself.
"What are you doing?"
Surprised, Mia blinked again. "What?"
"Why didn't you say yes? You know what I'm talking about, Mia, don't play like you have amnesia or some other memory problem! Why didn't you say yes?"
She stared defiantly back. "Things were too muddy for me. I needed time to think some... stuff through," Mia said carefully. Alex only stared at her with his icily blue eyes, the color of the frozen lake they had frequented on often inside the cave in Imil.
"Don't lie to me, Mia. I know you almost as well as you know yourself... maybe not as well as before your journey, because you've changed, but this doesn't have anything to do with the time between then and now. It regards your fears, begun before that. You're afraid he'll leave you, aren't you."
Mia looked down in answer, but she didn't deny it. Soft, slender fingers brought her chin up. Alex was still looking unflinchingly at her, but his face had softened. His jaw had relaxed, and a slight shining in his eyes.
"I'm sorry. What I did was wrong, leaving you, and with no explanation at all. I guess I didn't quite tell you the full story, and when I visited you in Vale, I just fabricated a story out of the water. I'd gone to the Mercury Lighthouse to think, that morning, and as I came out, I came across them." A pause. "I led them in because I wanted to release us – and the rest of the Mercury Clan forevermore – from our duty to guard it. You see, before I arrived at Imil, my father told me all about the Stars. And Adepts were running out. Even now, we are in dear supply. I'm sorry I hurt you and your friends so much, but... I don't regret my actions."
"I already forgave you a long time ago, Alex."
"I'd feel guilty without giving you an explanation. That one was just abbreviated... maybe someday, when we meet again, I'll tell you the full story. For now, I'll just travel. See the world. Find myself again, I suppose." Mia opened her mouth to argue.
"Let me finish first, Mia. A long time ago, we did love each other. There is no doubt about that in my mind, as I'm sure it is in yours. However, in the time we both were going about our own quests, we both changed. You changed for the better – there is no doubt in my mind about that, either.
"I don't know how I feel about you now, but I am very happy to call you friend, Mia. Whatever you do, don't pass up a chance for happiness this time around. Last time, when I gave you up, that was my loss, and you shouldn't feel obligated to be loyal to me anymore. Our ties have been cut. Maybe one day, when all this has blown over, and we are both happy with how our lives have gone thus far, I will come back, and we will all be able to talk about this as a time in our lives when we journeyed, not to save the world, but to discover who we were and our limitations.
"I won't force you to make a decision regarding Isaac, Mia, but you two are good for each other. No matter what happened, he was always there for you, like I was not." Mia opened her mouth to protest this as well, but he place his fingers gently over her mouth.
"It's true, and I can see in your eyes that you agree. Don't hold yourself back. I came back to see you in Vale because I had my own problems to sort out, and I let you go so you could be happy. Don't make me come back again to scold you on doing something so stupid!" Alex chuckled lightly, wiping off the lone tear on Mia's face. "You don't have to say anything. Just smile for me."
With that, she began crying all over again, but this time she wasn't confused. No longer too sad. Through her tears, she managed a sad smile and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. I'll see you again, Alex," she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder. She felt his hand caress her hair, slowly, patting her gently on the neck.
"As shall I. Fare thee well, Mia." They stood as one, and hugged one last time. Parting, Mia caught a fleeting glimpse of regret in his eyes, but when Alex saw her watching him, he gave a small, wry smile (the little emotion that he did show) and jumped, fading into the shadows of the night.
Friends ensure the happiness of their friends. You deserve happiness, Mia. Don't me come all the way back to tell you this again! I had to travel all the way from Mogall, you know. But... it was well worth the trip. By Luna... what are friends for, if not to help each other smile?
Even as their distance increased, Alex could feel her mirthful smile. Could feel the lingering sadness at his departure... but overall, he felt the happy smile. So he returned it, like for like.
Fare thee well, Alex.
Fare thee well.