Chapter 6, The evil plan of the good guys
Rydia yawned and stretched her whole body. Then she opened her eyes.
"Welcome back, sweetness," Edge said with a careful smile.
"Hmm?"
She blinked, all memories rushing back to her.
"Edge, are you alright?"
She more or less fell out of the bed and leaped over to his side. He gave a short laugh.
"As you're acting, one could believe that you really was worried…"
"Don't be silly, of course I was!" she said, almost furious, "I thought you were going to die…"
The mockery glistening in Edge's eyes disappeared immediately.
"Hey, don't attack me," he said with an unusually soft voice, "I know you were."
Rydia's frustration melted away, and she smiled carefully back. Then suddenly she froze, and her face became a little darker than it usually was.
"Say Edge," she hesitantly said, "do you remember anything?"
The embrace…
Edge understood, and pretended as if he didn't notice her blush.
"Not much," he lied, "my memory is just a black hole where what happened after the antidote should be."
If she wanted to go to the espers, he wouldn't be a spider web that captured her own wishes. He had to tell himself that pretty roughly now that he heard her voice and looked into her eyes again.
Her blush ceased, relieved.
'Good that he doesn't remember…' she thought, 'I wouldn't like to explain why I held him like that… of course it was to help him, but what if he had… I don't know…'
'I'm getting sick and tired of you,' the hidden part of her sighed.
'Oh, pipe down.'
'If it was only to help him, why do you feel that embarrassed? Didn't you feel anything more?'
"They told me you kept awake all through the night just because you wanted to check on me," Edge said, and his fingers touched her hand, "I wanted to thank you."
Rydia looked down at his brief touch and couldn't stop her hand from wrapping itself around his.
"You're welcome," she mumbled, "of course I watched you. You got into that whole thing because of me."
"It was worth it," Edge gravely said, "and I'd do it again."
His other hand placed itself over their held hands. Then it suddenly moved back again, as if he didn't want or dare to touch her too much.
'No, keep away,' he told himself, 'it's not like she belongs to me. She's got her own life…'
It felt as if he was pushing a dagger into his own chest. But it was true. Asking Rydia to follow not her own heart, but someone else's? No…
Haven't you ever heard of suggestions?
She's got no other bonds than friends here, the espers are… well, they took care of her!
I said suggest, you moron!
Rydia has the right to decide alone!
Idiot…
"I'm glad you're alright," Rydia said with a smile.
Edge carefully smiled back. Then a nurse came in between.
"You seem fully restored, Your Majesty," she kindly said, "I think that you can get out of the bed now."
Just as Edge stood up, Cecil and Rosa came down the stair.
"Better?" the queen asked with a smile.
"Yes," Edge said, avoiding looking at Cecil, "I actually feel as if nothing happened."
"Good to hear. Oh, and we've got great news; Kain has returned."
"He has?" Rydia and Edge said simultaneously.
Cecil nodded, smiling. He turned his head and waved with a hand. With his armor making a terrible noise, Kain came down the stair.
"Hi, you two," he smiled.
"Kain! I was worried about you!" Rydia grinned and gave him a quick hug.
"What, don't you think I can take care of myself?" he chuckled.
Rydia only smiled at that.
She moved aside, and Edge watched the dragoon. Kain calmly looked back.
Ever since the event in the Sealed cave, when the dragoon had followed Golbez' command, Edge didn't really trust him. For a moment nobody moved.
"Come on, Edge," Rydia finally said, "don't be so stubborn."
"Well… I guess you're right," Edge sighed and held forth a hand, "good to see you again, Kain."
"And the same to you."
The dragoon took Edge's hand after taking off his metallic glove.
"So, what have you been doing after running away and leaving us in Mysidia back there?" the king of Eblan said, making it absolutely clear that he was determined to follow Rydia's advice.
"I've got myself a fiancée," Kain said with a smile.
"You never said you were engaged," Cecil pointed out, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, I'm actually just believing we are," the dragoon smiled and turned around, looking up the stair, "love, are we engaged?"
"Do you really have to ask me that, Kain?" Valvalis warmly said, entering the room still dressed in the robe.
Edge and Rydia certainly didn't act different than the others had done. The four people who knew the story hurriedly explained everything before something was thrown or Bahamut was bothered unnecessarily.
"But you still haven't told us how it came to love between you two," Cecil said to Kain and Valvalis as Rydia and Edge had calmed down.
"Let's talk over dinner," Kain said and winked with one eye, chuckling, "it's a terribly long story."
So they ended up eating together, all of the friends from the journeys. From Cecil to Edward and everything in between. Kain and Valvalis told their story about how they slowly and staggering had grown to love each other as the dragoon had suffered Golbez' tries to control him. It was a fascinating story, but Rydia only listened with a half ear.
She thought about Edge and herself. Soon, in only two days, he would leave to head back to Eblan. And she? It was time to decide now. Espers or humans? It wasn't easy, even though she knew where she had a home.
She didn't know what to do…
And there was something else. The thought of Edge getting married made her stomach freeze. No matter how much she tried to push the thought away, it kept coming back.
She risked a quick glance at him. He was idly pushing a piece of tomato around on his plate, using his fork. Rydia wondered what he thought about.
Edge thought about her, even though he tried not to.
What if they'd never see each other again? If she went back to the espers… no, she couldn't disappear like that, she just couldn't do it! Yet… she could. It made him feel sick. But it wasn't his business. He might wish like mad it had been, but it wasn't.
As he was back in his room, alone, the thoughts kept troubling him.
A pencil in his absentminded grip went knocking like a woodpecker at the table.
To never see Rydia again… the mere thought made him want to scream. Of course it wasn't certain, but… what if that was how it would be? The pencil snapped in two between his fingers. Edge growled and threw the pieces out of the open window. Then he sighed.
He was frustrated to the border of madness. If he lost Rydia, he felt it would be very, very hard to go on. Eblan didn't seem important to him anymore. He only cared for that green-haired caller.
Breaking stuff in the room wouldn't help. Neither would just sitting there with the head filled with bitter thoughts. But he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to press Rydia, but he definitely didn't want her to leave the human world forever. Leave him.
It was getting dark outside. This was the second last night he'd stay in Baron. After tomorrow night he'd leave for Eblan on an airship. Leave for Eblan and all pressure. Pressure about finding a wife.
His hands turned into shaking fists.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" he called, trying to relax a little not to let his voice give away his concerned mind.
One of the guards of the castle opened the door.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but caller Rydia wishes to speak with you," he said.
Edge could have jumped through the roof, but he pulled himself together.
"Then let her in," he said.
"Alright, Your Majesty," the guard nodded, "I'll tell her she can come."
He closed the door, chewing on his lower lip to keep from laughing.
"Calm down!" the other man by the door hissed.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the real guard mumbled, "but this is hideous!"
"Hurry!" Cecil smiled and pushed the helmet downwards so that it would hide his eyes better.
If Rydia should recognize him the whole thing would be devasted, but Cecil just had to handle it by himself. He didn't dare to give anyone else the responsibility.
The guard rushed down the hall, watching the floor. He feared that if he looked up and exchanged glances with any of his fellow guards, he wouldn't be able to keep from laughing. The other men in the corridor had the same problem to keep calm.
Rydia had just changed to her deeply green nightgown when there was a knock on the door. She hurriedly put on the cream colored dressing gown that she had got with the room. Then she rushed to open the door.
It was a guard, his uniform gave it away. (Poor guards and servants… they play an important role in so many stories, but what do they get? The right to remain anonymous whether they like it or not… or get snapped at, killed or saves the princess… well, let's not get caught in such things. Now, where were we…?)
"Good evening, miss," the guard said, "excuse me for bothering you, but His Majesty of Eblan wishes to see you."
"Edge?" Rydia blankly said.
"Yes, miss."
"I'm coming."
She didn't even think about changing clothes, just hurried out of her room and down the corridor. There were not that many steps that brought her to Edge's door, but she had time to think a lot in that time.
She wondered what he could want, and by this time of the day. Well, it wasn't that late, but anyhow…
And her thoughts drifted away to that thing that had bothered her ever since he had told her about it. His wife. Rydia didn't want to think about that.
As long as there wasn't anyone that would protest, she could find an excuse for visiting him. Leviathan would gladly bring her to the human world and anywhere she wanted to go fast enough. But… the woman that eventually would stand by Edge's side…
She fought back a shudder and looked at the door that a guard politely had opened for her as she had approached. With her head spinning with thoughts, Rydia didn't bother to look at the man. Which was lucky.
Everyone in the corridor held their breath as she stepped inside of the room. The guard that had fetched her nearly stumbled and fell into the door, so concentrated on the young woman that he almost forgot how to walk.
"You wanted to see me?" two voices said in unison, and after a heartbeat continued, blankly; "what, you?"
Cecil slammed the door shut and turned the key.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" Edge and Rydia shouted on the other side of the wood.
"Oh dear!" the fetching guard (oh, let's just call him Thomas) gasped, managing to sound really shocked considering the circumstances, "the lock went shut by itself again! Don't worry, Majesty and miss, I'll get the key immediately! Now who's got it again? Damn…"
Cecil grinned and closed his fist around the key, almost causing the whole corridor's population to break down laughing.
Two fists hit the door from the inside.
"Cecil!" Edge roared, "I know it's you! Open this door or I'll break it!"
"No, no, Your Majesty!" Thomas gasped, "don't panic, I'll get the key…"
"I'm not panicking, I'm going berserk!"
"Please keep calm, it'll only be a few minutes…"
"Ha!" Edge growled, "Cecil, I swear that I will kill you for this!"
"But His Majesty isn't present, Your Majesty," Thomas assured, somehow able to sound really helpless.
"I'll be damned if he isn't!"
"Edge, calm down!" Rydia snapped, "would Cecil really pull such a stunt?"
"In the name of Rubicant he would, trust me!" Edge snarled.
"I'll get the key right away," Thomas said, crossing his fingers, "please make His Majesty calm down, miss."
Then Thomas hurried off, at least pretending to leave for the key. But at the end of the corridor he stopped and buried his face in his hands to silence the laughter as much as possible. Cecil had to step away from the door and chew on a finger to keep calm. Those of the guards that knew they wouldn't be able to keep it quiet sneaked away from the corridor to laugh. They had to, or they would explode.
Author's note:
Cliffhangers are my friends, yup-yup. Hehehe… well, considering the cuterate of the next chapter, you'll need it. It's on a DANGEROUS level. Beware!