Chapter 2
The next morning, Edge saw Kain off with many wishes for a safe and successful journey. Then Edge made preparations for his own journey, and his first sight of Rydia in three months and twenty-four days.
Rydia. Edge carried a picture of her in his back pocket at all times, although not even Kain knew that. Besides, he didn't need it -- he could always remember exactly how she looked the first time he met her, when she and Cecil and the others had saved her from Rubicant. Those large, green eyes, that somehow kept their innocence even during a journey to save mankind from evil, peered down at him with the care that Rydia felt for all living creatures. Her dark hair had been down to her shoulders, held back by her protective tiara. It wasn't until much later, after they'd exited the cave and even fought through the Tower of Bab-il, that he realized that her dark hair shone green in the sunlight. When he'd asked her about the strange color, she'd blushed and answered that it was because she'd lived in the Land of the Summoned Monsters for many months, and that had had an effect on her entire physical appearance. Then she teased him about the bluish tint to his own hair, which had been passed down through generations in the royal family of Eblan.
She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, more beautiful, he thought, than even Rosa, who was usually acknowledged as the fairest woman in the world. Rosa was lovely, of course, but there was something about Rydia that tugged at his heartstrings. And throughout the battles, the nights of exhausted camping after days of travel and fighting, he had gotten to know her better. They'd usually been the ones to cook of the team, since Kain and Cecil didn't have the faintest idea how to, and Rosa hated it. They'd come up with some pretty creative ways of cooking, especially in the days on the moon, when they had to use some of the more animalistic enemies they'd slain for meat. It was always strange, eating a creature from the moon, but with experiments, they'd usually come up with something good. And Edge relished whatever time, however little they had to spare, that he had spent looking for herbs and seasoning with Rydia. He had gotten to know her. And he had fallen in love.
Edge had never directly asked her if she felt the same way. He'd never indirectly asked her, either. He was too scared of the response. She had gathered a lot about his past with women, and was, of course, disapproving, maybe even hurt, but Edge couldn't tell. And he didn't know how to tell her that he wanted to give all of that up, would even have preferred not to have that past, because now he knew what true love was.
But perhaps she didn't love him back. That was the idea that Edge couldn't stand.
He sighed and shook himself from his thoughts. The small crew had been waiting for a few minutes now. He yelled to them, "Ready?"
"Ready, sir!" they bellowed back.
"Then let's get over there!" he grinned, and gunned the engine.
Shortly after they'd returned from the moon, among all of the rejoicing, they'd discovered that Cid, the master engineer at Baron, was in the middle of crafting airships for each of the heroes -- which they considered quite a compliment, especially since he'd assumed they'd all come back alive. Cecil, Rosa, Kain, and Cid, of course, lived at the castle of Baron, the center of air power in the world, and so had no need of individual airships. But Cid presented Rydia, Edge, Edward, the Elder of Mysidia, and Yang each with their own airships, complete with lessons of how to fly them. The Elder couldn't quite handle flying himself, but the other four thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Each of the airships was even specially engineered to be able to fly over magma, allowing for visits to the underground whenever necessary. This was especially handy for Rydia, who decided to take up residence in the underground, in the Land of the Summoned Monsters.
For Edge, flying the airship was one of his favorite pastimes. The journey to Baron took almost five hours, even in the extremely fast airship that Cid had designed, but Edge enjoyed every second of it. He piloted himself, with an expert navigator of Eblan. Other than that, he had two footmen and the Chamberlain to accompany him, but that was the entire crew. The world was at peace now, and there was nothing to be afraid of. Besides that, he was an excellent Ninja, and knew no fear.
They arrived at Baron in the afternoon and were ushered in with great ceremony. The only other hero-guest who had arrived so far was Yang, and he, Cecil, and Rosa were talking in the throne room when Edge entered, the Masamune at his side.
Cecil and Rosa stood. "Edge!" they cried, and embraced him warmly. "Welcome," Rosa said, and two footmen appeared as if out of nowhere and brought a chair for him. "This is Yang, the king and great Karate master of Fabul. Yang, meet Edge, Ninja king of Eblan."
"Of course, I have heard much about you," Edge said courteously.
"I can say the same," Yang replied. "Much has been said about the prowess of the Ninjas of Eblan."
The conversation between the two deepened. Both martial arts masters had recently inherited their thrones, and discussed the trials that they'd discovered in ruling frankly. Cecil and Rosa listened interestedly; they were, after all, about to become the King and Queen of their own kingdom.
"You see, the city of Fabul is in fact inside the castle of Fabul," Yang explained triumphantly. "It proved useful during the air raid by Golbez, I can tell you that!"
"Ah, if only I'd heard about that before we rebuilt the city, maybe the city of Eblan would be inside the castle of Eblan too!" Edge said, slapping his knee. "It's a good idea, I can tell you that. Although I think the city of Eblan might be a little too big for that."
"Well, it can't work everywhere, but it does suit us very well," Yang agreed. "Did the rebuilding of Eblan go well?"
"Oh, incredibly well, and incredibly quickly," Edge said. "We had been hiding in a cave at the foot of the Tower of Bab-il after our kingdom was destroyed, you know. But right after we came out of Bab-il, I sent a messenger to instruct the people of the city to leave the caves and return to Eblan to begin rebuilding right away. I knew that Golbez and the Red Wings would no longer be a problem, so I thought that we could start early. With the generosity of Baron," and here Edge nodded to Cecil, who nodded back courteously, "our castle had already been repaired by the time I returned. It was a great help."
"Yes, I hear Damcyan is in the midst of rebuilding its castle now," Rosa put in. "They are well on their way, I believe, with much help from Toroia, where Edward stayed for so long."
"But they're all girls at Toroia," Edge said.
"Mostly funds and materials," Cecil smiled. "With a fleet of Cid's airships, much lumber from Toroia's forests has been flown to Damcyan."
"You carry your blade everywhere you go?" Yang asked, catching sight of it under Edge's cloak.
Edge said sheepishly, "Only this one," and he drew it out of its scabbard. It flashed golden in the light, and anyone could see the strength inherent in it.
"The Masamune," Cecil said reverently. "Plucked from the grasp of the Ogopogo on the moon."
"That was a dreadful battle," Rosa commented.
"Yeah, and what kind of name is Ogopogo, anyway?" Edge joked. "But seriously, it's a treasure, and I don't treat it lightly," he explained to Yang. "Not like Cecil's blade isn't worth two of these." He nodded to the scabbard at Cecil's waist, who blushed and put a hand on it protectively.
"I only brought it down today to show Yang, actually," he said, and withdrew it. It positively glittered with power.
"Killed the Wyvern for that," Edge recalled as Cecil replaced it in its sheath. "That battle sucked, too." The four heroes laughed together, happy that they were in a time of peace and could discuss such past wars as they were -- in the past.
~~~
Two nights later, Edge and Yang were again relaxing in the throne room with Cecil and Rosa, with Yang's wife, Ling, this time. The Elder of Mysidia and the famous young wizards Palom and Porom were expected to arrive later that night, along with Rydia. Many of the other esteemed guests had already taken up abode in the castle. The Dwarf King Giott and his daughter Luca, two of the eight clerics of Toroia, King Edward of Damcyan, and Kokkol, the famous blacksmith of the underground, were among the esteemed company. Most of the monsters that had been invited had declined politely but firmly, including Leviatan and Asura, Master and Queen of the Summoned Monsters.
The five in the throne room were in high spirits, greatly looking forward to the complete reunion (minus Kain) the following day.
"I wonder how the blade of a Ninja would do against the claws of a Karate master?" Yang asked idly.
Edge cocked his head. "That's an interesting question. I haven't had hand- to-hand combat against anyone except a Ninja in so long, I wouldn't know how to fight."
"Why don't you boys just fight it out?" Ling suggested sarcastically.
"That's a great idea!" Yang said. "What do you think, Edge?"
"Sounds like fun to me," Edge shrugged.
"I didn't mean -- " Ling began, then sighed when she saw the looks on their faces.
"It's a good thing there are no frying pans around for her to hit me with," Yang joked, and Cecil and Edge laughed.
Rosa chided, "Isn't this a little dangerous, you two?"
"It's just an experiment," Edge protested.
"An entirely friendly one," Yang agreed.
"It should be interesting," Cecil admitted with a smile.
Rosa just threw up her hands in exasperation. "Boys will be boys, I suppose," she grumbled. "I hope Rydia gets here soon."
Cecil laughed. "Do you two have arms, or would you like me to provide them?" he asked.
"You may not use the Masamune against me," Yang said emphatically, and Edge agreed.
"Any two long blades will do for me," he told Cecil. "Blunt ones, though. No getting hurt."
"I have my own claws," Yang said, pulling them out of a pocket.
"I actually have dueling suits that I think you two should wear, just in case," Cecil said. "Don't want anyone getting poisoned from that claw of yours, Yang, or sliced with Edge's power even though it's a dull blade."
A footman brought two lightweight dueling suits and, as the two put them on, the blades for Edge appeared as well. He took them from the velvet pillow and experimented with them. They flashed with amazing quickness as he tested them out. It was easy to see why he was a master Ninja.
"Well, let's go!" Yang said, and attacked immediately, rushing towards Edge with upraised hand.
Claw clanged against blade as Edge blocked the blow with quick reflexes, swinging with his left arm even as he did so. Yang responded equally quickly, though, ducking under one of Edge's blades and spin-kicking the other away.
"Impressive," Yang nodded with a smile.
"And the same to you," Edge responded, and attacked with both blades.
Yang dropped to the floor, and as the blades whistled over his head, he tried to kick Edge's legs from under him. Edge, however, jumped to avoid the blow, and as soon as he landed was faced with one of Yang's claws. The two began a dangerous dance, claw against blade against claw against blade, darting back and forth over the floor of Baron's magnificent throne room.
"I can see I'm interrupting," a new voice said.
Edge and Yang stopped their paces abruptly and looked to the entrance of the throne room. The footman, who had nervously been trying to get their attention, said, "Rydia, Caller of the Mist!"
The sight of her flashed through Edge instantaneously and pierced his heart. Her hair had grown longer and looked softer and perhaps a tint more green, and she was dressed in a wispy green dress. But her eyes remained as wide and innocent as ever, and just as beautiful.
"Rydia!" Cecil and Rosa exclaimed with one voice, rushing across the throne room to meet her. "I thought you weren't due until later tonight," Rosa said, hugging her warmly.
"Rydia, my dear," Cecil greeted her, and kissed her on the cheek. "Welcome to Baron."
"Hello, Rydia," Yang said, and shook her hand. He hadn't known her that well, so he was slightly reserved. His wife, however, rushed forward with a hug.
"Did the sylphs make that dress for you?" she asked almost immediately, to the amusement of the others. Yang turned red from embarrassment at his wife's unreserved, though well-meaning, behavior. "It's gorgeous! Do you visit them often? Do they come to the Land of the Summoned Monsters, too? Oh, I couldn't imagine living with monsters! It sounds so interesting!"
"Rydia," Edge finally said.
"Hello, Edge," she murmured in response, and looked up at him. Edge bent and kissed on her cheek. She blushed faintly in response, although she hadn't when Cecil had done so.
"You must be so tired, coming all the way from the underworld," Rosa said. "Come on, I'll take you to your room. No, no, the footmen will of course get your things." And Rydia left the room, chatting with Rosa about happenings since they'd last met.
"Well, more battle?" Yang offered, but Edge shook his head.
"It was a good fight, but I'm a bit tired myself," he lied, and returned the blades to the footman standing ready.
Ling made a little cough involuntarily, but said nothing. "I think I'll just go to bed," Edge said, trying to act as he had before Rydia had entered. "Big day tomorrow, you know! Going to spend hours in the morning dressing," and they all laughed as he exited.
"I'd know that look anywhere," Ling burst out as soon as he left.
Cecil and Yang looked at her curiously. "What are you talking about, wife?" Yang asked her.
"Didn't you see how he looked when she came in?" she scolded them.
"I'm sorry, Ling, I don't understand," Cecil said.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, if you don't get it, there's no use in telling you," she said, and refused to say any more on the subject.
The next morning, Edge saw Kain off with many wishes for a safe and successful journey. Then Edge made preparations for his own journey, and his first sight of Rydia in three months and twenty-four days.
Rydia. Edge carried a picture of her in his back pocket at all times, although not even Kain knew that. Besides, he didn't need it -- he could always remember exactly how she looked the first time he met her, when she and Cecil and the others had saved her from Rubicant. Those large, green eyes, that somehow kept their innocence even during a journey to save mankind from evil, peered down at him with the care that Rydia felt for all living creatures. Her dark hair had been down to her shoulders, held back by her protective tiara. It wasn't until much later, after they'd exited the cave and even fought through the Tower of Bab-il, that he realized that her dark hair shone green in the sunlight. When he'd asked her about the strange color, she'd blushed and answered that it was because she'd lived in the Land of the Summoned Monsters for many months, and that had had an effect on her entire physical appearance. Then she teased him about the bluish tint to his own hair, which had been passed down through generations in the royal family of Eblan.
She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, more beautiful, he thought, than even Rosa, who was usually acknowledged as the fairest woman in the world. Rosa was lovely, of course, but there was something about Rydia that tugged at his heartstrings. And throughout the battles, the nights of exhausted camping after days of travel and fighting, he had gotten to know her better. They'd usually been the ones to cook of the team, since Kain and Cecil didn't have the faintest idea how to, and Rosa hated it. They'd come up with some pretty creative ways of cooking, especially in the days on the moon, when they had to use some of the more animalistic enemies they'd slain for meat. It was always strange, eating a creature from the moon, but with experiments, they'd usually come up with something good. And Edge relished whatever time, however little they had to spare, that he had spent looking for herbs and seasoning with Rydia. He had gotten to know her. And he had fallen in love.
Edge had never directly asked her if she felt the same way. He'd never indirectly asked her, either. He was too scared of the response. She had gathered a lot about his past with women, and was, of course, disapproving, maybe even hurt, but Edge couldn't tell. And he didn't know how to tell her that he wanted to give all of that up, would even have preferred not to have that past, because now he knew what true love was.
But perhaps she didn't love him back. That was the idea that Edge couldn't stand.
He sighed and shook himself from his thoughts. The small crew had been waiting for a few minutes now. He yelled to them, "Ready?"
"Ready, sir!" they bellowed back.
"Then let's get over there!" he grinned, and gunned the engine.
Shortly after they'd returned from the moon, among all of the rejoicing, they'd discovered that Cid, the master engineer at Baron, was in the middle of crafting airships for each of the heroes -- which they considered quite a compliment, especially since he'd assumed they'd all come back alive. Cecil, Rosa, Kain, and Cid, of course, lived at the castle of Baron, the center of air power in the world, and so had no need of individual airships. But Cid presented Rydia, Edge, Edward, the Elder of Mysidia, and Yang each with their own airships, complete with lessons of how to fly them. The Elder couldn't quite handle flying himself, but the other four thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Each of the airships was even specially engineered to be able to fly over magma, allowing for visits to the underground whenever necessary. This was especially handy for Rydia, who decided to take up residence in the underground, in the Land of the Summoned Monsters.
For Edge, flying the airship was one of his favorite pastimes. The journey to Baron took almost five hours, even in the extremely fast airship that Cid had designed, but Edge enjoyed every second of it. He piloted himself, with an expert navigator of Eblan. Other than that, he had two footmen and the Chamberlain to accompany him, but that was the entire crew. The world was at peace now, and there was nothing to be afraid of. Besides that, he was an excellent Ninja, and knew no fear.
They arrived at Baron in the afternoon and were ushered in with great ceremony. The only other hero-guest who had arrived so far was Yang, and he, Cecil, and Rosa were talking in the throne room when Edge entered, the Masamune at his side.
Cecil and Rosa stood. "Edge!" they cried, and embraced him warmly. "Welcome," Rosa said, and two footmen appeared as if out of nowhere and brought a chair for him. "This is Yang, the king and great Karate master of Fabul. Yang, meet Edge, Ninja king of Eblan."
"Of course, I have heard much about you," Edge said courteously.
"I can say the same," Yang replied. "Much has been said about the prowess of the Ninjas of Eblan."
The conversation between the two deepened. Both martial arts masters had recently inherited their thrones, and discussed the trials that they'd discovered in ruling frankly. Cecil and Rosa listened interestedly; they were, after all, about to become the King and Queen of their own kingdom.
"You see, the city of Fabul is in fact inside the castle of Fabul," Yang explained triumphantly. "It proved useful during the air raid by Golbez, I can tell you that!"
"Ah, if only I'd heard about that before we rebuilt the city, maybe the city of Eblan would be inside the castle of Eblan too!" Edge said, slapping his knee. "It's a good idea, I can tell you that. Although I think the city of Eblan might be a little too big for that."
"Well, it can't work everywhere, but it does suit us very well," Yang agreed. "Did the rebuilding of Eblan go well?"
"Oh, incredibly well, and incredibly quickly," Edge said. "We had been hiding in a cave at the foot of the Tower of Bab-il after our kingdom was destroyed, you know. But right after we came out of Bab-il, I sent a messenger to instruct the people of the city to leave the caves and return to Eblan to begin rebuilding right away. I knew that Golbez and the Red Wings would no longer be a problem, so I thought that we could start early. With the generosity of Baron," and here Edge nodded to Cecil, who nodded back courteously, "our castle had already been repaired by the time I returned. It was a great help."
"Yes, I hear Damcyan is in the midst of rebuilding its castle now," Rosa put in. "They are well on their way, I believe, with much help from Toroia, where Edward stayed for so long."
"But they're all girls at Toroia," Edge said.
"Mostly funds and materials," Cecil smiled. "With a fleet of Cid's airships, much lumber from Toroia's forests has been flown to Damcyan."
"You carry your blade everywhere you go?" Yang asked, catching sight of it under Edge's cloak.
Edge said sheepishly, "Only this one," and he drew it out of its scabbard. It flashed golden in the light, and anyone could see the strength inherent in it.
"The Masamune," Cecil said reverently. "Plucked from the grasp of the Ogopogo on the moon."
"That was a dreadful battle," Rosa commented.
"Yeah, and what kind of name is Ogopogo, anyway?" Edge joked. "But seriously, it's a treasure, and I don't treat it lightly," he explained to Yang. "Not like Cecil's blade isn't worth two of these." He nodded to the scabbard at Cecil's waist, who blushed and put a hand on it protectively.
"I only brought it down today to show Yang, actually," he said, and withdrew it. It positively glittered with power.
"Killed the Wyvern for that," Edge recalled as Cecil replaced it in its sheath. "That battle sucked, too." The four heroes laughed together, happy that they were in a time of peace and could discuss such past wars as they were -- in the past.
~~~
Two nights later, Edge and Yang were again relaxing in the throne room with Cecil and Rosa, with Yang's wife, Ling, this time. The Elder of Mysidia and the famous young wizards Palom and Porom were expected to arrive later that night, along with Rydia. Many of the other esteemed guests had already taken up abode in the castle. The Dwarf King Giott and his daughter Luca, two of the eight clerics of Toroia, King Edward of Damcyan, and Kokkol, the famous blacksmith of the underground, were among the esteemed company. Most of the monsters that had been invited had declined politely but firmly, including Leviatan and Asura, Master and Queen of the Summoned Monsters.
The five in the throne room were in high spirits, greatly looking forward to the complete reunion (minus Kain) the following day.
"I wonder how the blade of a Ninja would do against the claws of a Karate master?" Yang asked idly.
Edge cocked his head. "That's an interesting question. I haven't had hand- to-hand combat against anyone except a Ninja in so long, I wouldn't know how to fight."
"Why don't you boys just fight it out?" Ling suggested sarcastically.
"That's a great idea!" Yang said. "What do you think, Edge?"
"Sounds like fun to me," Edge shrugged.
"I didn't mean -- " Ling began, then sighed when she saw the looks on their faces.
"It's a good thing there are no frying pans around for her to hit me with," Yang joked, and Cecil and Edge laughed.
Rosa chided, "Isn't this a little dangerous, you two?"
"It's just an experiment," Edge protested.
"An entirely friendly one," Yang agreed.
"It should be interesting," Cecil admitted with a smile.
Rosa just threw up her hands in exasperation. "Boys will be boys, I suppose," she grumbled. "I hope Rydia gets here soon."
Cecil laughed. "Do you two have arms, or would you like me to provide them?" he asked.
"You may not use the Masamune against me," Yang said emphatically, and Edge agreed.
"Any two long blades will do for me," he told Cecil. "Blunt ones, though. No getting hurt."
"I have my own claws," Yang said, pulling them out of a pocket.
"I actually have dueling suits that I think you two should wear, just in case," Cecil said. "Don't want anyone getting poisoned from that claw of yours, Yang, or sliced with Edge's power even though it's a dull blade."
A footman brought two lightweight dueling suits and, as the two put them on, the blades for Edge appeared as well. He took them from the velvet pillow and experimented with them. They flashed with amazing quickness as he tested them out. It was easy to see why he was a master Ninja.
"Well, let's go!" Yang said, and attacked immediately, rushing towards Edge with upraised hand.
Claw clanged against blade as Edge blocked the blow with quick reflexes, swinging with his left arm even as he did so. Yang responded equally quickly, though, ducking under one of Edge's blades and spin-kicking the other away.
"Impressive," Yang nodded with a smile.
"And the same to you," Edge responded, and attacked with both blades.
Yang dropped to the floor, and as the blades whistled over his head, he tried to kick Edge's legs from under him. Edge, however, jumped to avoid the blow, and as soon as he landed was faced with one of Yang's claws. The two began a dangerous dance, claw against blade against claw against blade, darting back and forth over the floor of Baron's magnificent throne room.
"I can see I'm interrupting," a new voice said.
Edge and Yang stopped their paces abruptly and looked to the entrance of the throne room. The footman, who had nervously been trying to get their attention, said, "Rydia, Caller of the Mist!"
The sight of her flashed through Edge instantaneously and pierced his heart. Her hair had grown longer and looked softer and perhaps a tint more green, and she was dressed in a wispy green dress. But her eyes remained as wide and innocent as ever, and just as beautiful.
"Rydia!" Cecil and Rosa exclaimed with one voice, rushing across the throne room to meet her. "I thought you weren't due until later tonight," Rosa said, hugging her warmly.
"Rydia, my dear," Cecil greeted her, and kissed her on the cheek. "Welcome to Baron."
"Hello, Rydia," Yang said, and shook her hand. He hadn't known her that well, so he was slightly reserved. His wife, however, rushed forward with a hug.
"Did the sylphs make that dress for you?" she asked almost immediately, to the amusement of the others. Yang turned red from embarrassment at his wife's unreserved, though well-meaning, behavior. "It's gorgeous! Do you visit them often? Do they come to the Land of the Summoned Monsters, too? Oh, I couldn't imagine living with monsters! It sounds so interesting!"
"Rydia," Edge finally said.
"Hello, Edge," she murmured in response, and looked up at him. Edge bent and kissed on her cheek. She blushed faintly in response, although she hadn't when Cecil had done so.
"You must be so tired, coming all the way from the underworld," Rosa said. "Come on, I'll take you to your room. No, no, the footmen will of course get your things." And Rydia left the room, chatting with Rosa about happenings since they'd last met.
"Well, more battle?" Yang offered, but Edge shook his head.
"It was a good fight, but I'm a bit tired myself," he lied, and returned the blades to the footman standing ready.
Ling made a little cough involuntarily, but said nothing. "I think I'll just go to bed," Edge said, trying to act as he had before Rydia had entered. "Big day tomorrow, you know! Going to spend hours in the morning dressing," and they all laughed as he exited.
"I'd know that look anywhere," Ling burst out as soon as he left.
Cecil and Yang looked at her curiously. "What are you talking about, wife?" Yang asked her.
"Didn't you see how he looked when she came in?" she scolded them.
"I'm sorry, Ling, I don't understand," Cecil said.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, if you don't get it, there's no use in telling you," she said, and refused to say any more on the subject.