Disclaimer:  I don't own Suikoden.

Author Notes:  Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers!  I can't believe I actually got reviews on the first chapter.  You have no idea how happy this makes me.  First, I would like to be ashamed that I spelled 'Zexen' wrong every time.  I typed it with an 'a' once and my fingers memorized it.  Don't worry though, I went back and fixed it.  Okay… anyways.  I know a lot of people that are married where one of them is at least 10 years older.  My uncle is 7 years younger than my aunt, too.  Freaky.  Holy crap this A/N is getting long…  Anyways, I am definitely planning to add some Thomas/Cecile, even if it's only a little.  I was also considering Geddoe/Queen, and now I just might do that.  This story will definitely not have any Aila/Jacques.  By the way, I do NOT like Borus' character.  He just gets on my nerves.  You have no idea how much fun I had beating on him with Geddoe and Queen.  Don't worry Borus-fans; I will try not to demonize him too much.  So by now you people have probably skipped straight to the reading anyways, so if you're still here, go.

Dreams and Nightmares

Chapter II

What a Name Can Say

By:  Luke 'Deathplight'

         Hugo yawned sitting up in his bed.  He stretched his arms out and blinked his eyes several times until his vision finally came into focus.  He stood up and looked around trying to remember where he was.  After a minute the young Karayan finally realized that he was in a hotel room in the Brass Castle.  He walked over to the little window and looked outside to see how late he had slept.  The sun was just rising over the top of the horizon and a pretty reddish-pink color filled that part of the sky.

         "Hm… it's almost as beautiful as Chris," he said allowed without thinking.  Hugo then realized what he had just said.  "Ack, where did that come from?"

         Hugo sighed.  His thoughts were becoming very annoying.  For now he would just try to ignore them and not do anything stupid.  That of course would be easier said than done.

         Hugo got changed and made the bed that he was previously occupying.  Hugo wasn't sure how long to wait and just sat at the edge of the bed.  He listened to the spirits in order to help pass the time.  There was a gentle breeze coming through the window, which made it very easy to hear the wind spirits.  They were singing very loudly today.  In Karaya many of the people liked to dance to the song of the spirits when they were so loud and easy to hear.  It was a soothing melody.

         He decided to wait until the sky turned blue and the sun was completely yellow before leaving the room.  Hugo changed out of his pajamas and walked down the hallway towards the room that Chris occupied.  He had no idea how late Zexens slept so he hoped that he wouldn't wake her.

         The soon-to-be village chief now stood outside of the door.  He just stood there for a moment contemplating whether he should knock yet or not.  Hugo finally just knocked on the door and prayed that she wasn't still asleep.

         Luckily, it didn't seem like he had woken her as she answered the door quickly.  Hugo was pleasantly surprised to find that she was not wearing her armor this morning.

         "What took you so long, Hugo?  I though you said you wake up before sunrise," she commented.

         "Today I woke up right at sunrise.  I wasn't sure how long I should wait before coming.  I actually stood outside of the door for about ten minutes."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "Well come in."

         Once Hugo entered he noticed Louis sitting down on the couch.  "Hey Louis, how's it going?"

         "Um… pretty good," Louis replied tentatively.  Hugo smiled.  "Well, I guess I'll get the breakfast now."

         "Thank you."  Hugo sat down on the couch, and Louis left the room.  Hugo tilted his head back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling.  "Louis doesn't want to become a knight does he?"

         Chris shook her head 'no' and sat down in a chair.  "He'd much rather just serve me.  I promised that I'd turn him into a full fledged knight, though."

         Hugo looked at Chris and noticed her posture.  She was sitting straight up.  Hugo doubted that she ever did otherwise.

         "Don't you ever relax?" he asked with a small smile.

         "What do you mean?"

         "Every time that I see you, you act so proper and you're posture is always stiff.  Do you ever calm down a little or slouch?"

         Chris shook her head.  "I guess I don't.  It was just the way I was taught."

         Louis arrived a short time later with only to plates.  He put one in front of Hugo and one in front of Chris.

         "What about you?" Hugo asked him.

         "I already ate," Louis replied.  Hugo saw Chris glare at him.  "Well, I guess I better get to my training," and he walked off with a sigh.

         "I can't believe him," Chris said slightly frustrated.  Hugo just smiled and laughed a little.

         "Well I guess it's just you and me."  The two ate there breakfast without much talking.  There was a lot of uneasiness and they were both too consumed in there own thoughts.  Hugo finished first.  He relaxed himself and began to listen to the spirits.  The wind was still singing that same slow clear melody.

         "What are you doing?" Hugo heard Chris ask.

         "Listening to the spirits," Hugo replied.  "The wind is singing very loudly today."

         "That's just a superstition."

         Hugo raised an eyebrow.  "Is it?  Or are you just not listening?  Here, I'll show you.  Give me your left hand."

         Chris held out her left hand.  She was obviously very skeptical about the whole thing.  Hugo took her hand in his own hand.

         "Okay, now close your eyes.  Focus only on the sound of the wind.  I'll try to channel it to you," he said.

         After a moment Chris said, "Wait… I think I can hear it.  Is it like music?"

         "Yes," Hugo replied.  "Right now you will probably only be able to hear the spirits with my help or with the help of someone else who can hear them.  You should be able to hear water on your own, though, because of your rune.  Eventually you will be able to hear them all by yourself."

         "Thank you, Hugo."

         "Hm… would to care to dance?" Hugo asked.

         "What?"

         "In Karaya, a lot of the people dance when it's this easy to hear the music.  I don't though because I've never had anybody to dance with.  So, how about it?"

         "Um… I guess…"

         They stood up and Hugo now took her right hand in his left.  Her left hand was resting on his shoulder while his right was oddly placed near her waist.  It was incredibly odd and uneasy at first.  Eventually they settled into the music, however, swaying back and forth.  Anybody who walked in at that moment would have been incredibly confused unless they too could hear the spirits.

         As they danced, both of Hugo's arms somehow ended up around Chris' waist and Chris' arms around Hugo's neck.  Neither of them was thinking about much of anything.  Eventually they stopped and just stared into each other's eyes.  They just stood like that for a while.

         "Milady…" came a voice from the door.  The two quickly separated and found that Louis was the owner of the voice.

         "Oh um… Louis…" Chris replied slowly.

         "Um… I think I'll just be leaving now…" Hugo stated and walked out of the door passing Louis.

         'What the hell was that?' he thought as he exited the room.

*~~~*

         "What are you doing here Louis?  I thought you were headed to the training room," said Chris.

         "I came back to see how your breakfast was going.  It seemed to be going… well," Louis replied with a huge grin on his face.

         "What do you mean by that?"

         Louis then burst out laughing.  "You two looked like you were going to start making out if I hadn't shown up!"

         "That's preposterous.  Hugo was only showing me how to listen to the spirits," exclaimed Chris in her defense.  This caused Louis to start laughing even harder.

         "Yeah, sure, I bet."

         "You could even ask him to show you sometime.  You'll know I'm not lying then."

         "I would, but I just don't feel that way towards Hugo."

         "You really know how to get on my nerves sometimes, Louis."

         Louis' breathing finally began to slow down.  "Oh man, I need a glass of water."

         "Well I guess I'll be leaving now too."

         Louis broke out another smirk.  "Going to find Hugo, I suppose?"

         "Louis, forgive me for saying this, but fuck off."

         Louis started laughing again.  One thing was for sure.  Chris was never going to dance with Hugo again.

*~~~*

         Hugo was in his own room getting his things ready.  He was just about to leave for Vinay.  He was looking forward to his ride there.  The young Karayan did not like being cooped up in the castle.  While where he was heading was an even worse place, the ride might almost make up for it.  Hopefully it would not take too long.  He didn't want to waste much of his vacation in that busy place.

         He was just about to leave when he heard a knock on the door.  Who would be knocking on this door?  It was probably a maid or something.  Hugo opened the door to and was surprised to find Chris on the other side?

         "Chris, what are you doing here?"

         "Hugo, do you mind if I join you on your trip to Vinay?  I really want to get out of this castle and I would also like to see what has been taking so long.  It took them six months to finally look at one of the proposed treaties and now it has been six more months since then."

         Hugo studied her face for a moment and smiled.  "Louis gave you a hard time didn't he?"

         "Yes, you have no idea," she replied.

         "I really am sorry about what happened.  I kinda got messed up there…  So sure you can come with me if you want.  I don't have anything against it, but don't you have 'knight stuff' to do or something?"

         "No, actually, I was given a week's leave."

         "Cool.  What'll you do about the other knights?"

         "I've already told them that I was going to be heading to Vinay."

         Hugo raised an eyebrow.  "Well, I was just about to leave.  I'll wait for you to get your things."

         "Thank you, Hugo."

         "Uh… your welcome I guess.  You really didn't need to ask me if you could go to Vinay, though.  I guess I'll wait for you by the exit to the castle.  I have to go get Fubar first."

         "Okay, I'll meet you there."

*~~~*

         Hugo left the room after gathering all of his things ended headed out of the castle to the east courtyard.  He walked until he reached the stables and entered.  Fubar was lying down on the ground and was apparently sleeping.  Hugo nudged the griffon a little to wake him up.

         "Hey, Fubar.  We're gonna leave now."

         Fubar stood up and let out and excited, "Kueee!"

         Hugo smiled at the griffon.  He took him out of the stables and began walking to the courtyard on the other side of the castle.  He reached the westernmost part of the castle territory and waited for Chris to show up.

*~~~*

         Chris picked up her things and headed out.  She had decided not to wear her armor.  It was extremely uncomfortable at times even if it was useful in battle.  She had also let her hair down.

         She began walking towards the stables in order to get her horse.  She passed through the courtyard and into the stables.  The Zexen captain walked over to her white mare and opened the gate to let him out.   Chris did not mount the horse yet and simply pulled it by the reins towards the western exit of the castle.  As she passed through she heard a familiar voice from behind.

         "I see you are leaving now, Lady Chris," said Borus, the owner of the voice.

         Chris turned and nodded.  "Yes, you are correct."

         "I hope you don't mind if I see you off?" he asked.  This could end up disastrous if Borus saw Hugo.  Borus' jealous nature would set off even though nothing was going on between Chris and Hugo.

         "Thank you, but there is no need for that."

         "I insist."

         Chris sighed.  She couldn't very well just say 'no'.  Chris really hoped that Hugo was not there waiting for her yet.

         Sure enough, as Chris and Borus neared the end of the Brass Castle, Hugo, mounted on his griffon, came into view.  This could definitely lead to problems.

         "I wonder what he's doing here," Borus commented.

         Once they became in proper speaking distance to Hugo, Borus relayed that question to him.

         "What brings you here?"

         Hugo looked down.  He seemed to have been lost in thought.  After surveying the situation and seeing Chris' face he said, "Oh, I'm just taking Fubar out for a ride.  What are you doing?"

         "I'm leaving for Vinay.  Sir Borus is seeing me off," came Chris' answer.  She was relieved that Hugo was a rather good actor.

         "Oh, okay.  Well, see you around."  Hugo and Fubar took to the air and began circling around the castle.  Chris let out a sigh of relief.  There was one awful situation that was avoided.  She said goodbye to Borus and left the castle.

*~~~*

         Hugo waited for a moment and then he and Fubar landed next down next to Chris who had already started on the path.

         "What was that about?" he asked her.

         "On my way to the eastern part of the castle Borus saw me and insisted on seeing me off," she responded.

         Hugo laughed.  "He's a really strange guy, alright."

         Chris smiled.  "Yes, he is."

         "I see you're not wearing your armor."

         "It is rather uncomfortable.  I don't really like wearing it."

         "That's why I never wear it.  I usually stick to chain mail even though it doesn't offer as much protection," Hugo said and pulled down the front of his shirt a little to show that chain mail that he was wearing.  He then sighed.  The Karayan had no idea what was going on between this woman and him.  Was he really falling in love with her? And why was she acting so strange towards him lately?

         "What are you thinking?" questioned Chris.

         Hugo laughed.  All of the times for her to ask that questioned.  "Oh, nothing important."

         "Tell me."

         "Chris… I'd rather not.  It's kind of… personal?"

         "Okay," she replied.  Little did Hugo know, after saying that it was 'personal' she knew exactly what his thoughts were.

         "Why? What are you thinking?" he asked.

         "Um… like yours it's also kind of personal?" she responded.  Unlike Chris, Hugo had no idea what she was thinking.

         "Well, let's go," Hugo said smiling.  He and Fubar sped up and Chris followed suit.

*~~~*

         They had been riding on the plains for a long time, and Hugo was becoming very restless.  There was a gentle breeze in the air that had a sweet fragrance of flowers in the air.  It was a welcome change to the metal and human smell of the Brass Castle.  He relaxed in his position on Fubar and listened to the spirits intently.

         The wind's song could be heard, though it was not nearly as loud as the other day.  The melody was still incredibly soothing to a tired soul.  The earth let out a gentle hum that would lull a person to sleep if they were not wide-awake.  Hugo could now hear the fire spirits more often now that he had his rune.  While he could hear them when there was an actual fire before, those occurrences were on the rare side.  Now all he had to due was listen to the True Rune.  The fire had a growl or roar that was still soothing in its own way.  He could currently hear the water spirits merely because of the True Water Rune that Chris possessed.  Normally he could only hear them near water.  Those spirits thrived in places like the duck clan.  They also had a song, but it was a little quicker than that of the wind's song.  The only spirit he could not hear right now was the lightning spirits.  That was a pity because they were one of Hugo's favorite spirits to listen too.  While some people were scared of storms, Hugo welcomed them with open arms.  The lightning spirits were always excited and tended to make Hugo hyper out of his mind.  They had a certain presence that was not loud or overwhelming like the fire could be at times but it was not calm like the wind spirits either.  Lightning was the most mysterious of the five elements.  He decided to put the spirits into conversation with Chris.

         "Have you been able to hear the water spirits on your own?" Hugo questioned.  Chris looked up slightly surprised in the sudden break of silence.  They were now riding side by side.

         "Yes.  I think I've also been able to hear traces of the wind spirits," she said.  Hugo noticed a slight blush on her face, and he assumed that she must have remembered the last time Hugo had let her hear the wind.

         Hugo smiled.  "Would you care to hear any of the others?" he questioned.

         Chris seemed to be debating this in her head.

         "Don't worry," Hugo assured.  "I won't ask you to dance or anything again."

         "Okay… alright," she responded and held out her hand.

         Hugo took her hand in his right hand.  "Try to listen to the fire.  It is a kind of roar."

         Chris complied and after a moment she smiled.  "I can hear it."

         "All right, now try and listen to the earth."

         "You can hear the earth spirits?"

         Hugo nodded in response.  "It's a kind of rumbling and it can lull you to sleep if you don't watch out."

         After waiting another moment Chris also heard this too.

         "You hear it?" Hugo questioned.

         "Yes, I can," she replied.

         "I wish I could show you the lightning spirits.  I'll have to wait until the next storm that takes place when I'm with you or maybe until Geddoe shows up.  It's kind of strange that normal runes' spirits don't really sound like the spirits that are free.  It's different with the True Runes for some reason."

         Hugo subconsciously didn't want to release his hold on Chris' hand but she did it for him when she pulled her hand back rather quickly.

         Hugo just looked at her for a moment and then said, "You're beautiful."  It was completely out of the blue.

         "What?  Um… thank you…" Chris responded tentatively.

         "Nobody has ever told you that you're beautiful before?" asked Hugo.

         "No, it's just that—"

         "Nobody who knows you really are has ever told you," Hugo finished for her.

         "That's right.  How did you know?"

         "I see all the people that admire you.  It's great that they have somebody to look up to, but they don't know who you really are and they don't care to try and find out."

         Chris nodded in agreement.

         "That's one of the reasons that I'm glad I'm a Grasslander.  Most of the people in the clans that I visit often knew me before I became the Flame Champion.  Because of this not much has really changed since then.  Some of them seem to respect me more, but that is mostly just because we all fought together as Fire Bringer."

         "I wish I had that in Zexen," Chris said slightly sadly.

         "I wish you had that too."

         Chris just looked at him after he said that.  Hugo really wished he knew what she was thinking right now.

         "Look, we're about to enter the forest," stated Chris.

         Hugo nodded.  Should he really pursue what his heart was feeling?

*~~~*

         The two of them were at the beginning of the forest.  Fortunately, most of the beasts didn't bother them and the ones that did would be weak and easily dealt with.  Chris was incredibly consumed in her thoughts a lot more since Hugo had visited.  She honestly had no idea why she asked to come with him on this trip.  Chris told herself that it was just to get away from the Brass Castle, but she honestly didn't know if this was really true or not.  Perhaps she just wanted to find out what was going on between her and Hugo.  One thing was for sure; the remainder of the trip would be very interesting.

         Chris also noticed that Hugo was actually hitting on her a bit also.  She would often times find him just staring at her.  It was also interesting that she found herself staring into his eyes a lot also.  They were the most wonderful shade of turquoise that she had ever seen.

         "Let's pick up the pace," said Hugo interrupting Chris' thoughts.  "I love riding but I'm starting to get bored and I think Fubar might be, too."

         Chris smiled.  "All right, let's go."

         "I'll race you," challenged Hugo and took off on Fubar.

         "No you don't."

         They just rode through the forest as quickly as possible on their mounts.  They were both having too much fun to notice any beasts that they passed, and they laughed the whole way.  They finally reached the other end of the forest and Vinay came into sight.  They slowed down and made their way up to the entrance of the city.

         Chris heard Hugo sigh.  "I really don't like this place," he commented.  "I just don't like the feeling of it here.  Even the spirits seem off in this place."

         Chris nodded and they entered the city.

*~~~*

         It was just as bad as Hugo remembered it was.  The streets were busy and people were everywhere.  He thought the last time he had been here was probably better than this time.  Most of the people had tried to avoid him the last time he was here.  This time people seemed to gather around because of Chris, not Hugo.  They just decided to ignore Hugo for the time being.  Everybody that passed would make an excuse to pass Chris and give some sort of greeting to her.

         Chris had already put her horse in the stables while Hugo had decided to left Fubar go where he pleased outside of the city.  He knew that Fubar would probably not be able to take the stables, in addition to the amount of noise in the city.

         Hugo and Chris soon approached her large house.

         "Could you wait a moment, Hugo?  I would just like to let the butler know that I am here.  You're welcome to come in if you like."  She told him.

         "That's okay, I'd better go to the inn and make sure I have a room for tonight."

         "You'll do know such thing." She replied.

         "I won't?"

         "Of course not.  You'll be staying in one of the guest rooms."

         "Um… Okay.  Thank you," he said and smiled.

         "You are quite welcome.  So will you come in now?"

         "All right.  Sure."

         They entered the house, and once again Hugo was in awe of what he saw.  This building was huge and very elegant indeed.  It also seemed like the butler was the only person who was really here.  Chris was always somewhere else.

         "This place is bigger than I remember," he commented.

         "Oh that's right.  You were here before weren't you?"

         "Yes.  I was delivering a message from Jimba.  It was strange to find out later that the message had been false all along."

         "Yes…" Chris said sadly.

         Hugo then realized what he'd said.  "I'm sorry, Chris.  I shouldn't have brought it up."

         "Don't worry it's okay," she said and put on a smile.  Hugo quickly hugged her and stepped back.  The butler soon came down the steps and smiled.

         "Lady Chris, it is so good to see you!" he said.

         "It's good to see you.  I would just like to let you know that I'll be spending the night here.  Hugo is to stay in one of the guestrooms if you could please prepare it," Chris said and then motioned to Hugo.  Hugo just stood there and didn't say anything.

         "Certainly, madam."

         "Well, if you'll please excuse us.  We need to speak to the council now."

         "Okay, Milady.  I'll see you when you return."

         With that Hugo and Chris exited from the house and began to walk towards the council building.  Hugo's last meeting with the council had not been very favorable.  Hopefully he wouldn't have two wait two or three days again, but he doubted that that would be a problem since Chris was with him.

         They walked up the steps and were greeted by the guard.

         "Good day, Lady Chris," he said.  "I'm assuming you wish to speak you may enter."

         "Thank you."

         The guard then noticed Hugo.  "And what do you want 'barbarian'?" he said with more than a little scorn in his voice.  The rage Hugo felt right now started to unintentionally fuel the True Fire Rune that he bore.  Fortunately, his lessons had taught him how to act somewhat diplomatic and not lash out, but the anger was still there.  The Fire Rune then began to glow slightly in his hand.  The guard's eyes widened.

         "The Flame Champion and I wish to speak to the council."

         "Y-yes, of course," the guard stuttered, and then he allowed them to pass.  Hugo calmed himself and the Rune's glow faded as the entered the building.

         "What was that?" Chris questioned Hugo.

         "Sorry.  When I get pissed off it starts to glow for some reason," he replied.

         "I see… Well you certainly gave that guard quite a scare."

         Hugo chuckled a little.  "Well he definitely deserved it.  Thank god for the lessons my mother gives me though.  I'd never be able to handle this kind of thing without them."

         Chris nodded and they headed up to the council room.  Most of the council was already there and the two met with them.

*~~~*

         The council meeting had lasted very long.  Hugo had delivered the message from his mother and they insisted on making it an hour-long conversation about nothing.  Hugo got the entire point they were trying to put across within the first five minutes.  They idea was very clear.  The council didn't want to sign the treaty but they knew they could not refuse it.  They had made all kinds of excuses, but they all pointed to that same answer.  Hugo noticed that Chris also had seemed to get rather annoyed with the council after a time.  After the meeting finally ended, Hugo and Chris left the council room.

         Chris led the way while Hugo trailed behind.  Just as they were about to exit the building a group of knights approached them.

         "Lady Chris, would you care to join us in the training area?" one of them asked hopefully.  All of the other knights agreed.

         Chris sighed.  "Do you mind, Hugo?" she asked.

         Hugo shook his head.  "I'll just watch."

         The group of knights had gathered around Chris as they heading to the training area.  Hugo trailed to the back and couldn't help but feeling left out.

         Hugo watched them train for a while with a little smile on his face.  After a while though, he couldn't help but start feeling bored.  He decided to wander around the place for a bit.

         He turned and accidentally bumped into one of the knights.

         "Watch where you're going, 'barbarian'!" the knight yelled angrily.

         "Sorry," Hugo muttered.

         "Well you should be asshole."

         Needless to say Hugo was pissed.  "Shall we settle this with a friendly duel?" Hugo questioned.

         "Might as well.  I'd like to see you last two minutes."

         "I'd like to see you last two seconds," Hugo retorted.  Needless to say Hugo's hand started to glow.  The man's reaction was similar to the guards outside.  Now nearly all the eyes in the room were looking at Hugo and the knight.

         Hugo walked over to Chris, who had also seen the confrontation.

         "Chris could you please use your Water Rune on my hand?  It'd probably burn right through the wooden sword."

         Chris nodded and complied.  Now that Hugo's hand wasn't glowing anymore he started to walk over to the wooden weapons.

         "Hugo?" Chris called.  He turned to look at her.  "Kick his ass."

         Hugo smiled and a muttering of all the people occurred in the area.  Hugo picked up a wooden sword and got ready to face off with the knight who seemed stunned beyond belief.

         "Are you… the Flame Champion, Hugo?" somebody had the courage to ask.

         Hugo nodded in reply.

         Somebody else made a comment directed at the knight.  "You just picked a fight with the Flame Champion!  He'll slaughter you!"

         The knight, apparently, didn't need to be told this.

         Hugo charged and the knight fell to his knees and folded his hands together.

         "Please don't hurt me!" he cried.

         Hugo stopped before he even got in striking distance of the knight.  He just stood there.  Then finally the young Karayan started laughing.  Everything was silent for a moment until Chris walked over to Hugo.

         "What's so funny?" she asked.

         "It's amazing what a name can do."

         Chris nodded.  "Let's go.  I'm getting sick of this place."

         "Yeah, me too."

         They left the area and headed towards the house.  It was just about dinnertime.

*~~~*

         Hugo and Chris had just finished eating when she asked out of nowhere, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

         Hugo smiled.  "Wouldn't being seen with a 'barbarian' tarnish your image?" he asked jokingly.

         "I sure hope so," she said and smiled in return.

         "All right.  Sure I'll go for a walk with you."

         They headed out of the house and took to the streets.  For once, Hugo didn't lag behind.  He stood right next to her.  They were only about an inch away each other standing side to side.  Walking that close would probably project a bad image to the rest of the people in the city, but since Chris didn't seem to care Hugo didn't either.  It was getting dark out and the only lights came from the moon and a few torches that were lit to light the way.  Some of the shops were also still open.

         They just walked for a while silently.  They approached the dock that headed out to the sea.  The water spirits could be heard not only from Chris' Rune but from the water as well.

         "Are you listening to the water spirits right now?" Hugo asked.

         "No," Chris replied.

         "You should.  Your rune is happy that it's near the sea."

         Hugo watched as Chris opened herself up to the spirits.  He saw her smile.

         "You're right," she said.

         They continued walking.  The two were now walking through the bazaar.  There were still a few shops open, but they would be closing soon.  Most of the people were off the streets now that it was getting late, and in the darkness few of the people that were out there didn't recognize Chris.

         "What's it like to be famous?" Hugo asked her.

         "What do you mean?"

         "Everywhere that we go it seems like people know who you are and want to hang around," he explained.

         "I don't know… I guess it's always been like that.  But everybody knows you, too," she replied.

         "Yeah, but nobody knows what I look like.  They see me walking with you and they look at us really strangely.  They just assume that I'm another Grasslander and refer to me as a 'barbarian'.  Honestly, I think I like it that way.  The only time people act strange when they see me is if somebody mentions 'Hugo' or 'Flame Champion' or 'Leader of the Fire Bringer'.  I don't know if I would be able to take it if everybody in Zexen recognized me.  And it seems like when they do figure out who I am they just get really scared."

         Chris listened to his little speech.  "I guess you're right she said."

         Hugo sighed.  "Chris… can I talk to you about something?"

         "Sure."

         "Chris… I…" he said and trailed off.  "I… never mind.  Forget it."

         "Tell me.  What is it?"

         Hugo sighed again.  "Don't worry about it.  It's not important.  We should be getting back.  It's kind of late."

         He could see that Chris was still very curious about what he was going to say, but he was relieved that she decided to drop the subject.

         They then headed back to the house.  Hugo and Chris washed up; not at the same time of course, and just kind of hung around for a while.  Chris gave Hugo a little tour of the house.  It was a grand building.  It was the biggest living establishment that Hugo could ever remember seeing where only one or two people lived there.  Once it got late Chris headed to her room and Hugo took to the bedroom.

         'What's going on with me lately?' he asked himself silently.  'Am I really falling in love with her?'

         He was consumed in his thoughts for a moment as he sat up in the bed.  There was a small flame coming from a candle that flickered and bounced Hugo's shadow.  The young Karayan then came to the one of the most important questions he had asked himself that night.

         'What would have happened if I had finished that sentence?  What would have happened if I told Chris right to her face that I was falling in love with her?'

         Hugo sighed and still thought about everything that came to mind.  He slowly drifted into a calm, peaceful sleep.

         He dreamt of her.

*~~~*

         Ha ha!  Another chapter is done.  I don't really have much to say about this now.  Thanks again for all the reviews.  I really hope I get feedback as good for this chapter too.  It was the reason that I got this chapter out so much more quickly than I had expected.  And remember:

~When you are faced with a death plight, it's best to turn the other cheek.~