And now, for your reading pleasure, Chapter Three! ^_^ It's a bit longer than the others. Thanks, reviewers!
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Chapter ThreeShattered Peace
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We walked a little quicker on our way back- it was around three in the morning, and we, for obvious reasons, wanted to be gone long before anyone woke up. As we tiptoed down the wooden walkways, Sky paused for a moment and stared back at the thatched group of huts both of us called home, almost as if she stared at it hard enough, it would stay with her forever. Finally she turned, and smiled at me.
"Let's go," she said quietly as we walked towards the boat.
As the boat set sail, I looked back on my hometown. The sun was just beginning to turn the horizon pink, and the next-door neighbor's dog was trotting along the wooden boards. Impatiently I blinked tears back from my eyes. Why should I be sad? I was going to see the world! A small voice in my head reminded me why I felt about to cry, but I brushed it off. I would worry about the end of our journey when it came.
Sky had, apparently, already made a friend. She was talking to a girl about my age, or maybe a year younger. As I looked over, Sky gestured for me to come. I did so, with one last glance over the ship's railing.
"This is Sakura," Sky said. The girl in question waved happily, and I raised an eyebrow. I'm right here, you know. No need to wave.
"Er… hello," I said.
"She wishes to travel with us, just until Luca," Sky said. Sakura nodded.
"I'm going that way anyway, and I don't really like the idea of traveling by myself," she said. "You're probably the safest people to travel with!"
I shrugged. I wasn't so sure about that. "Okay, then. Where are you from?"
"Besaid," Sakura replied. "I… got on the wrong ship when I left." Sky hid a giggle behind her hand.
"So instead of Luca, you found yourself bound for Kilika?" she asked.
"Uh-huh." I looked back at Kilika, only to see the wide expanse of the ocean.
"There!" Sakura pointed over the prow of the ship. Squinting, I could just make out a green strip of land.
"How can you even see that?" I asked.
"I dunno! I have good eyesight." I walked to the middle of the ship where Sky was sitting, leaning against the stairs to the bowels of the ship. She had her eyes closed, and was humming the Hymn of the Fayth quietly.
"We're almost there, Sky." She opened her eyes and stood up.
"Really?" I nodded. "Good. I can't say I care much for ships." I grinned and led the way to the prow.
The ship was making good time for only being powered by chocobos. Now, even someone without eagle eyesight could see the island. Sakura was grinning eagerly. "The ship ended up leaving in the night, and I didn't get a chance to say bye to everyone!" I shifted uncomfortably, but before I got to think about it again, the ship docked. "I did think the ship was leaving too early… wow, that was a pretty stupid move, huh?" I sighed. Chatter like this all the way to Luca could get annoying. Maybe I talked a lot sometimes, but at least when I talked I had a reason to.
We stepped off the ship, a bit wobbly after being on the ocean so long. Sakura almost collapsed in the sand, but picked herself up, grinning. "Sea legs."
As we walked along the path that supposedly led to the village, Sakura told us about the island. "See, down there, that river? That's where the Aurochs practice! I watch sometime. I wish I could hold my breath that long! I can only stay under for a couple minutes. I can't practice much, the elders think it's not proper for a girl to play Blitzball." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't know why. Everyone else's fine with it. There's a couple girls on most teams. You know, a girl was the top scorer for the Psyches last year…" As I concentrated on drowning out her incessant chatter, I looked at the greenery. It reminded me of Kilika's jungle, but with more light coming through the trees.
When we emerged from the forest, Sakura led us to a small outcrop of he path. She pointed over the edge. "See, there it is! Sorry it's so… um… Unbuilt, shall we say? Sin attacked a couple of days ago."
The village did look rather destroyed. Pieces of boards and the like were strewn around, and the houses that were standing were tilted at odd angles. People were walking around, pushing wheelbarrows full of debris and being tailed by little children.
"So far inland?" Sky wondered aloud.
"Yeah… a tidal wave came up the river. I guess it must have swum by, or something. Come on!" Sakura ran down a path on the cliff face, beckoning the us to follow her.
As we neared the village, I realized that the village didn't look as demolished as it had from the cliff top. The houses were leaning, but they didn't seem to be in any danger of falling over. The people pushing wheelbarrows seemed cheerful, and there was even a makeshift healer's tent. A young man was sitting in it, concentrating on filling up bottles with different-colored liquids. I saw what looked like a long table set up behind the temple. When we walked into the village, a little girl detached herself from a woman pushing a wheelbarrow and ran over, yelling Sakura's name. Sakura caught the girl and hugged her. "Sasa! You came back!"
"Hey, you shouldn't have worried. I'm fine!" Sakura picked the girl up. "My sis, Liya." The girl in question wriggled out of Sakura's grip and ran towards the healer's tent.
"Nyk! Nyk! Sasa's back!" The healer, in the middle of filling up a bottle with some sort of blue liquid, put the bottle down, stood up quickly, and jogged over.
"Sakura! Jeez! Do you know how idiotic that was?" he half yelled. "Anything could have happened! Why did you just go off like that!?"
Sakura grinned and hugged him. "Missed you too, bro. I left a note."
"So! Fat lot of good that did!"
Sakura sighed. "My brother, Nyk. Nyk, Lady Sky and her guardian, Rai." Nyk flushed scarlet and performed the Yevon prayer gesture.
"Ah… my lady summoner…"
Sky smiled ruefully. "You don't have to call me that. I don't think I deserve that title yet."
"Ah…" Nyk bowed again. "Please, come over to the tent." The three girls followed him back to the healer's. "I… I'm sorry for any inconvenience Sakura may have caused, and I thank you for accompanying her back."
"Bro!"
"We were coming this way anyway," Sky said as she sat down on a stool. "She wasn't any trouble. Although, I would like to know why she was bound for Luca."
"Our grandpa lives there," Sakura interjected. "I figured it would be easier for me to go and stay with him. Everyone's busy with rebuilding, and I can't really help. I thought it would worry people if I told them I was leaving; they would have fussed and all."
"We worried more that you- oh, never mind. It's done now. Lady Sum- er, Lady Sky, Lady Rai, would you like something to eat? Drink?" Sky accepted, and Nyk trotted off to get some food. Liya got off the chair that she had been quietly sitting in and followed him.
"The temple's over there?" I pointed to a large building to the north.
"Yeah. It's weird, the way it wasn't even touched by the wave," Sakura replied. "It's funny, watching my bro try to act formal." We both blinked at the sudden change of subject.
"Oh? Why?" I asked.
"Cause he's usually…not. No one really talks formal around here." Her way of speaking proved that, I thought. It was amazing the way one language could change so much from place to place.
She looked at the temple again, to see Nyk carrying a tray and some bowls. Liya was following with a handful of spoons.
"Sorry it's not much," Nyk said as he placed the tray on the table. On it were four bowls of stew, still steaming from the kettle. "We've been sharing a cook fire since the attack- it's easier."
"Rebuilding is probably more important than gourmet cooking, yes," said Sky with a smile. "Stew is fine." Liya remembered she was holding the spoons, and placed them next to the tray. She then ran off, presumably to resume following a wheelbarrow pusher.
We managed to eat politely, while still eating as fast as possible. Neither of us had eaten since dinner the night before, and it was nearly midday. The two siblings tucked in just as avidly, if slower. Nyk finished first, and resumed bottling potions while the rest of us finished up.
"I'm sorry we can't offer you more hospitality, Lady Sky, but it is important to produce potions," Nyk said when the others put their spoons down. "This is quicker than healing each person individually."
"I understand," Sky replied. "In fact, I think we'll go to the temple now, and rest up after." I was about to protest- I was tired- but I realized Sky wanted to impose on these people as little as possible.
"Very well, then," Nyk replied. He led us towards the temple, as Sakura started to clean up the plates. She waved cheerfully as she took them back to a large pot next to one of the houses.
The temple was, in a way, exactly like Kilika's- yet completely different. The statues were there, but instead of larger-than-life painted carvings, they were actual statues. The whole temple was brighter- but that may have been because it was daytime. Sky and I walked up the steps to the Cloister of Trials as Nyk bowed and walked outside.
"They were nice," I commented.
Sky smiled. "We'll be able to expect something like that wherever we go. Summoners are apparently famous- who knew?" I laughed. "But I agree. They probably would have done something like that even if I wasn't a summoner."
"Without all the formalities, of course." We chuckled as we walked into the maze-like chamber.
We found ourselves in a small room. Sky walked over to the north wall, where a glowing glyph was. She touched it, and the east wall disappeared. I shivered- this place was much too odd for my liking- and we descended the steps.
I picked up a sphere from its place in a niche on the wall. Unlike Kilika's spheres, this one was light blue. Where Kilika's were warm, holding this sphere was like holding a breeze. A blue breeze encased in glass, but nevertheless, a breeze.
"Up here!" Sky called. I trotted up to see her gesturing at a door. Looking closer, I saw that instead of handles, there was a small slot. I placed the sphere in it to open the door. Sky took it out when we walked through.
We found ourselves in a hallway. After a few minutes of trotting back and forth, we managed to open up a small hole in one wall. Sky knelt down and picked up a staff.
"Huh? Why's that here?" There hadn't been anything like that in Kilika—at least, not that I had noticed.
Sky shrugged and smiled. "Who knows? Probably another reward for solving the puzzle." She passed her hand over the staff, and it faded away. I blinked, then shook my head and placed a sphere in the small pedestal. Both of us together could just push it to the end of the room. A platform appeared there; we stood on it and were brought down to a small room. Sky saluted me ironically and climbed the set of stairs leading into the chamber.
Fighting the urge to sleep, I counted the floor tiles. I was up to fourty-two before sleep overtook me.
I sat up quickly and cursed silently. What was I doing, falling asleep like this? I was a guardian! Without being able to see sun-shadows, I didn't even know how long it had been. Angrily, I resumed my floor tile counting. Three more hours passed, by my reckoning, before Sky stumbled out of the chamber. I stood up quickly, and helped her sit down on the bottom stair.
"Valefor," Sky gasped out. "The aeon's name…Valefor." She pulled a ribbon out of her pocket and tied her hair back, then produced a handkerchief from the same pocket and wiped the sweat off of her face.
We heard someone running in the hallway downstairs. Mystified, I looked at the platform. A moment later, it descended into the chamber.
"Sakura!" I said shakily. "Ah…wha.."
Ignoring both of our shocked looks—well, I was shocked; Sky was too tired to be shocked— she kneeled down and gasped, "Sin…Sinspawn… in the village!"
