(a/n: Okay, yeah, it did take me a while to upload but FF.net was down for a while and then when it came back up, I was gone off someplace. Sorry!)
Chapter Three - Silence
She had freckles. He hadn't noticed them before, but scattered on her nose were the small marks. He had been watching her sleep for quite the while after the medics had left, but not before they showered her with potions in hope to heal her wounds. She was recovering nicely and they expected her to revive from her unconscious state any time from now.
He wasn't sure what he would say or what he would do when she awoke. Perhaps he would use the excuse that Guaraha had made him vow that Meru would not be harmed, thus being the reason that he saved her life. Lloyd himself never really had a reason for any of the actions he took. He relied completely on instinct. He had surprised himself by not wondering about what had attacked Meru, but by gathering her in his arms as quickly as he could, and running to Ferno. He had never felt anything like it. It was as if he himself would stop living if she was to pass into the other world. But, then again, he had.
Only fragments remained in his memory of his time away from the living. There was complete blackness and he was so cold. There were no thoughts in his mind. He was literally lifeless, simply remaining in a mute state, yet feeling the pain of everyone he had ever harmed. Unfortunately, the pain he felt physically was nothing compared to what she made him feel. Her shadowed silhouette would haunt him and he could hear in whispers in his ears. All he wanted to do was to see her face and to hold her, but the darkness would never lift and she would never materialize. Now he knew why the blue rose was so important -it was the only coloured on her, softly rested on her hair at the nape of her neck.
" ...Ugh..."
He turned his attention to Meru to see her stirring and her eyes fluttering open. He gently placed his hand on her forehead, and noticed that her temperature had dropped to normal.
" What...happened?" She whispered while attempting to sit up. Lloyd pushed her back down.
" You were attacked yesterday, and you want to get back up?" He said angrily. " If anything happens to you, I will be held responsible, now remain on your back!"
She wrinkled her nose and grabbed Lloyd's arm, trying to pull his grip off of her.
" You aren't my keeper, you pervert!"
" Pervert?"
"...Your hand is on my chest..."
He snapped his hand back up and glared at the small girl on the bed.
" I was trying to--"
" Forget it!" She turned her back to him and all was quiet once more. He had assumed that she went back into slumber when her tiny voice piped once more, but softly. " Why did you save me?"
He was afraid that this would come. But lying always had been a major factor in his life.
" ...Guaraha made me vow that I would protect you. And so I did." The lie came out more easier than he had expected it to, probably since her back was toward him and he would not be forced to look at her face.
" Oh..."
The silence overtook them once more.
*&*
" Ah, she is well to go," The healer said while pinching Meru's cheeks. " It's good that your husband brought you here."
" He's not my--"
" Yes, well, we must get going," Lloyd said, casting Meru a sharp glare. Once out of the building, Meru gave him a hard punch on the arm.
" Why didn't you protest when that man assumed that I was married to you?!" She demanded, stomping her foot on the ground. Lloyd sighed in impatience, wondering if he would be able to control his temper when around her.
" Meru, why does it matter?"
" Because we aren't!"
" So?"
" I-- Well you--ugh. Let's just get going." She began to walk toward the southern entrance, while talking over her shoulder about how they could rent a boat and take the long route toward the Crystal Palace. Lloyd listened with only half his attention, for he didn't want to follow the girl's plan.
" Meru," He said, stopping and waiting for her to notice that he was not coming her way. It took a couple of minutes before she realized that he was behind her and she came running back to him, anger painted on her face.
" Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked haughtily. " I can't be forced to wait for you forever!"
" Listen to me." Lloyd placed his hand lightly on her shoulder and Meru looked at it wearily. He instantly removed it after seeing the expression on her face, but continued. " We're going through the Forest. I don't have the time to take your route, that will draw me back at least three days."
" What?" Meru jumped in front of Lloyd, her eyes wide with disbelief. " You can't be serious!"
" I'm on a journey -you asked to join me, and now you chose to stop me?" Lloyd asked. Annoyed as he was, the curiosity inside him edged him to stay and hear her out. Meru never did seem like the type to worry.
" We were attacked on our way to Deningrad, what if it happens again?" Meru questioned, casting her fretful glances once more toward the emerald forest on the west of them.
" Then stay," Lloyd said angrily, hating her childish paranoia. She would come if she knew what was good for her. She wouldn't risk travelling alone any longer, and she knew as well as he did that he wouldn't accompany her back to Evergreen forest.
He turned to leave and as predicted, the small and hurried foot steps of the woman Wingly followed. She was silent, but by the way she was fiddling with the newly sewn patch on the abdomen of her dress, it was clear that she was nervous and anxiety was eating away at her. When they entered the Forest, Lloyd was surprised to see that Meru had pushed up against him. Almost instinctively, he wrapped an arm around her, causing her to look up with question.
" You're safe as long as you're with me," He said. A part of him wished that he would have kept his mouth shut, but the other was warmed at heart to see her smile at him gratefully. Besides, he had only said that to keep her calm and it had worked quite nicely. They made it through the forest without any troubles and once out, Meru let out a relieved sigh. Lloyd cleared his throat and quickly Meru detached herself from him, blushing slightly.
" I believe that the palace is right past those hills," Lloyd said, pointing to a valley filled with soft, rolling hills in spring induced greenery. " But I don't really remember."
" You don't remember much, do you?" Meru asked. Lloyd stopped walking for a moment and stared at Meru intensely.
" Just let me tell you this," Lloyd said while small fragments of what he wished to forget ran through his mind. " You should wish never to be in a place such as the Otherworld."
" Lloyd," Meru cried out, then hugged him abruptly. He was startled and wasn't sure what to do while the small girl latched her arms around him. But as quickly as she had embraced him, she let go and pointed to the hills with a smile on her face.
" Past those hills, right?"
Lloyd nodded and began to walk toward the valley, wondering about who Meru truly was.
*&*
By the cry of a Baby Dragon, Meru jumped onto Lloyd with a small screech. He had been sleeping quite peacefully before she had rudely awakened him, but he understood her fear.
" I'm sorry," She whispered after seeing the annoyed expression on Lloyd's face. " I...I just can't stop thinking about the creature that attacked me."
" No matter," Lloyd mumbled, rubbing his eyes of sleep. He looked up to see the sky scattered with stars and couldn't help but to be mesmerized by them.
" Beautiful, aren't they?" Meru whispered, staring at the navy sky as well. " So subtle yet so...magnificent."
Lloyd tore his eyes from above to glance at Meru. Perhaps being with her kind once more had brought forth a new maturity in her. He could vaguely remember how childish she was during the Dragoon Campaign II. When he had fought against her, Dart and Rose, he knew that she was the weakest of them all, and the most fearful. Courage was in her, of course, but that couldn't mask the fear in her eyes when he had transformed into a Dragoon before them.
A small smile came to his face when he remembered how she herself had looked like in her Dragoon armour. It had suited her more nicely than it did Lenus and she did look stunning in it.
" What is it?" Meru asked, noticing how he was staring at her. Lloyd blinked when hearing her voice and shook his head. How he even allow himself to think such a thing? This was Meru, a woman who was most likely ten years younger than himself.
" Nothing, " Lloyd said, then forced himself to stand up from where he was laying. " It's best that we be off now."
" But it's so dark!" Meru cried out. " Please, can't we wait until daybreak?"
" We'll be tired by then," Lloyd said, already gathering his sword, which was his only belonging. " We're awake now, so let's make the most of it."
Meru grumbled and managed to haul herself off of the grass. She brushed off the dirt on her dress and followed Lloyd through the valley.
When the sky had advanced to a dark lavender colour, they were halfway across the hillside. From where they were, they could see the dazzling Crystal Palace, and they also began to feel the chill of the snowy weather. At their current location, it wasn't as cold as it would be once they finished crossing the valley.
Lloyd suddenly noticed that the girl was gone out of his sight and he began to look around frantically for her. He didn't want to call out her name, but after a few minutes it seemed that it was the only solution.
" Meru!" He yelled. His voice echoed through the hills and was responded by nothing until he heard someone vaguely shouting his name. He followed the noise until he came across a small clearing which had trees surrounding it. Meru was standing near a small lake that had steam emitting from it.
" Lloyd, can we stop here for a moment?" She asked, but not waiting for an answer, she ran to the lake. Once her shoe had been pulled off, she dipped a toe in the water and her eyes widened.
" It's hot!" She said.
" A hot spring," Lloyd said dryly. " How long are we going to be here?"
" Actually, I was hoping that you would leave for a while," Meru said shyly. " I want to wash my dress..."
A groan escaped the elder Wingly's lips for he had known of the ridiculous habits of women. He had thought that Meru would be different, but obviously she wasn't.
" I'm sorry," She was saying. The hot spring had a rather large rock conveniently situated in the middle and Meru had ventured to the other side. " But I am not going to the Crystal Palace with my dress having soil and grass stains on it."
" Hurry it up then," Lloyd said, having leaned against a tree.
" I want you to wash up as well," She called out. " You will absolutely not go to the palace wearing your soiled clothing, will you?"
Lloyd looked down at his black garb, wanting to protest but then he noticed the dirt and various stains of blood on it. He glanced at the rock where Meru was situated on the other side of and saw that her dress was now draped over it. Despite himself, his cheeks began to flush. How would he ever be able to bathe in the same spring as her? Nevertheless, he wanted to make a good impression when reached Deningrad. If she truly was there, then he had to.
He removed his clothes quickly and deposited them in the spring along with himself. The warmth was comforting and he was instantly enveloped in it. It had been a while since he had ever felt so relaxed. Every muscle in his body was healed and ...frankly he felt clean. He had just sunk lower into the spring when an all too familiar scream pierced his ears.
Even in his haste to swim to Meru's rescue, he couldn't' help but to think of how trouble was rather attracted to her. Was she this much of a nuisance to Dart when she had travelled with him? A small smile graced Lloyd's face when he thought about how Meru probably had driven that blond Dragoon up the wall.
Once he had reached the other side of the rock, the blood quickly left his face and he couldn't remember a time when his heart had thundered faster. There was no sign of the pretty girl. Painfully, he forced himself to move forward, hoping that perhaps she had simply gone off to dry herself or was nearby. The stillness was nerve racking and he knew that something was amiss.
Then a small ripple caught his eye and under further examination, he saw that beneath the ripple was dozens of tiny bubbles. He scowled, then thrust out his hand. A pillar of flames emerged and struck the ripple, and suddenly in a burst the creature that was dwelling beneath the surface emerged. It was not as large as the silver haired man wished it to be and he was a bit disappointed by it being only about twice the size of himself. Shaped as an octopus, Lloyd knew he had encountered a Kraken, which enjoyed to reside in warm waters. Its many tentacles didn't agitate him; what caused his throat to close up was that in one of the long arms, Meru was wrapped around tightly.
He felt almost disgusted to see her in such a state and in his fury, he cast the most powerful fire magic he had on the monster. Before it exploded into tiny, charred flecks, Lloyd's wings emerged from his back and he flew up to where Meru was and grabbed her into his arms. He flew to the top of the rock and placed her down, hoping that she was alright.
In the matter of five tense minutes, Meru awoke to see Lloyd looming over her, his hand on the side of her face. It was a few seconds before she realized what had happened and ... where she was. In a startled (and ashamed ) gasp she scrambled away from him and searched frantically for her clothes. It was at that moment Lloyd also noticed what Meru had. They were both very wet and very exposed.
In their mortified state, they mutely ran to their clothing and shoved it on, despite still being wet. Minutes passed slowly and gradually the duo began to realize another thing -how cold the area near Deningrad was.
(a/n: Ooh, what are they going to do now? Hee hee, you can't believe how ecstatic I was when I saw the amount of reviews I received! You guys are so sweet! *hugs all of her reviewers*.)
