Chapter 5
Edge and Rydia reached the roof and stepped out into the moonlight, which flooded the balcony with light. It was a full moon. Edge looked up at it, hardly able to believe that just four months earlier, they had been walking on that surface. The ground had been illuminated, always glowing slightly, which was slightly eerie but more beautiful.
"Can you believe we were there?" Rydia asked, voicing his thoughts.
"No," Edge replied simply.
"I -- I liked that way of life," Rydia said, walking forward to put her hands against the railing. "I don't know. It was awful, you know. Fighting every day, sleeping in tents and cabins, cooking monster meat -- "
Edge laughed.
"But there was something about being a warrior," Rydia went on. "Something about having that mission always in front of us. It made you feel like you had a purpose."
"Because we had a purpose," Edge reminded her gently.
She looked at him as if just remembering that he was still there, and laughed. "Oh, yes, that's right."
"But it's not as if we don't have a purpose now," Edge said.
"Oh, it's easier for you to feel that way," Rydia said quickly. "You, and Cecil, and Rosa, and Edward, and Yang -- you all have your own kingdoms. You've got things to do. Even Kain, he's going to Mt. Ordeals now, that's his goal, and Cid, he's constantly working on his airships, and -- what do I have to do?" Rydia sighed. "I'm living in the Land of Summoned Monsters. I could make changes, but they don't need my changes. I'm a human -- they love me, but they don't want my ideas."
"Oh, Rydia," Edge said, understanding how she felt. They'd all felt that way after they'd come home. They'd saved the world and it had been amazing, but when they returned, what more was there to do? What greater purpose could they accomplish than that?
"It's okay," Edge said, walking up to put his arm around her shoulder. Sure, he was still thinking about her romantically, but she was his friend first, and he wanted to make her feel better. "You still have a purpose. But your purpose doesn't always have to be for the greater good of the world, you know! It can be just for you! Now's the time for you to fulfill all of *your* dreams."
"But all of my dreams *are* for the greater good of the world," Rydia protested quietly.
Edge looked at her and laughed. "The problem with you is that you are just too good for your own good," he told her.
Rydia smiled, but said, "I just want to be able to help people. And the monsters, though I love them, don't need my help."
There was a second of silence. Then Edge said, "Nor are they people."
Rydia laughed and hit his arm jokingly. "You're not helping," she said.
"But I am," Edge countered.
"Yeah, you are," Rydia admitted, snuggling into his protective arm. "Thanks."
They stood there in silence for a few moments. "Maybe you need a change of pace," Edge suggested at last. "You know, living with humans or something."
Rydia laughed. "I've only been underground for three months, Edge. It's not like a lifetime."
"Three months is pretty long to go without fresh air, as you pointed out last night," Edge reminded her.
"Yeah, that's true," she sighed. "Maybe I'll stay above ground for a little while."
"Why don't you come to Eblan?" Edge suggested, letting go of her. Rydia turned to look at him in surprise.
"I hadn't -- I was thinking about staying at Baron," she said.
"But I mean, you've never been to visit -- "
"Well, we did go that one time, you know, and plundered everything from your ruined castle," Rydia pointed out jokingly.
"Oh, shut up," Edge scoffed, "that obviously doesn't count. The castle was overrun by monsters then! We've made all of these renovations and rebuilt the entire town -- you could get away from the underground -- and I'd love to have you," he finished, looking into her eyes a little shyly.
Rydia didn't know what to say. "I -- I don't know," she hedged. "I need to think about it."
"That's fine," Edge said. "We're going to be here for three more days, you can either come home with me or stay here."
Rydia nodded. She was confused, though. The prospect of staying in Baron had sounded good, albeit not that interesting. With their new kingly and queenly duties, Cecil and Rosa would be thoroughly engaged in all the matters of Baron. Rydia would probably be able to help, but she knew that Cecil and Rosa would truly enjoy all of their new jobs, and would definitely not need her.
Going to Eblan, however, could be something else. They were in a time of regrowth there, and it promised to be a busy and happy place. Plus she could spend more time with Edge, her long-lost friend.
"You don't have to think about it *right now*," Edge teased her after some moments of quiet.
She shook herself out of her thoughts and laughed. The two moved to a thorough discussion of the ceremony and all of its details.
~~~
Three days later, Edge, Rydia, Cid, Yang, and Ling were relaxing in palace grounds. It was early afternoon, just after their extensive luncheon, and the sun was shining, birds twittering, and Baron generally looked gorgeous. A footman rushed up and bobbed his head importantly, breaking off their chatter.
"So sorry to interrupt, sirs, madams," the man said, "but Sir Kain has just arrived back at the castle!"
"Kain's back!" Edge exclaimed.
"Yes, sir, his wounds are being attended to in the Nursery," the man said quickly. "Nothing life-threatening, merely some deep scratches, but you will find him there. Cecil asked me to inform you of it, thinking you might want to visit him."
"I'd say we would," Edge agreed wholeheartedly. "Now, where is the Nursery again? . . . I still find myself getting lost around this castle sometimes . . ."
The others laughed and together, they found their way to the Nursery. Inside, Kain was gritting his teeth as an experienced nurse stitched up a wound.
"Hey, baby, at the Nursery again?" Edge teased him the second he entered, delighted to see him.
Kain turned. "Edge, you rascal!" he said, and Edge strode forward and gave him a hug. A rather gentle hug, as the nurse didn't seem to want to be interrupted.
"Kain, I'm glad you're back," Rydia said sincerely.
"Yeah, Kain, I'm glad you brought back my airship," Cid joked. Yang and Ling greeted him cordially as well.
"So, what happened?" Edge said excitedly. The five visitors pulled up chairs and stools and sat around him as he was attended to.
"Well, saw the light, came back down, it was good," Kain said matter-of- factly.
Edge laughed. "Come on, a little more detail than that, man!"
"Besides, he's leaving out a very important part," the nurse put in primly, not even looking up. Kain laughed a little embarrassedly.
"Thanks a lot," he said to her sarcastically, and she giggled. "Anyway, the light -- I mean, it was -- life-changing, but you know, I can't really describe it. But I made it, I'm a White Dragoon now, not a Dark one!"
Congratulations echoed round the circle of listeners. "What's this very important part she's talking about?" Edge asked curiously as soon as he could.
"Well -- on the way down I had a little bit of . . . trouble."
"Trouble?" Cid asked.
"That's how I got this," Kain said, and pulled up a sleeve to reveal an enormous bloody gash on his left arm. The others gasped.
"But, Kain, you're left-handed!" Rydia said. "How could you fight with that injury?"
"Yeah, that was the problem," Kain said. "It was a wicked monster, noticed my fighting hand and everything. A Hagumar."
The others shuddered. "I've never met one of those," Edge said.
"I have," Yang replied. "You're lucky."
"Yeah, the Hagumar are extremely old, extremely crafty, and extremely wicked," Kain said. "It didn't help that I was just reborn by the light, either. I mean, I still had all my experience, but I was sort of like a kid again, you know? So it watched me in hiding for like a day, and then jumped out and attacked me, really suddenly."
"The wretch!" Ling said indignantly.
"I managed to battle a little with my right hand, but couldn't get that much done," Kain went on. "I've got some more wounds on my chest, but I'll spare you the sight of them. But I think I was pretty much a goner if it hadn't been for Larisa." He almost blushed.
"Larisa?" the others echoed.
"She's this orphan who was raised in Mysidia as a White Wizard," Kain explained excitedly. "But I think she's got way more warrior blood in her than wizard blood. She's an excellent archer! She started shooting the Hagumar from some hidden place, and the Hagumar got all bothered, I mean who wouldn't if you were being attacked and you couldn't see who it was, and it went to look for her and she shot it in the heart and in the head and it died!"
"Rescued by a girl," Edge summarized it.
Kain shot him a look. "Then she came out of her hiding place and asked who I was, and said she was heading to the top of Mt. Ordeals herself, and she healed me up some. She's not a great White Wizard, though, she's much more of an archer. That's why I've still got these wounds and all. But of course she was a great help. And I wouldn't let her go all the way to the top by herself, especially not when I realized there were Hagumar about. So I climbed back up with her, which wasn't a big deal because we were most of the way there anyway, and then we journeyed back down together."
"Sounds like you were very lucky to meet up with her," Rydia said.
"Oh, yes," Kain said. "But that's not even the best part. I took her back to Mysidia in the airship, and then I found out that she was an orphan and had been brought up by the Elder. But that she never felt quite at home in Mysidia, because, like I said, she's more of a warrior so -- I brought her home to Baron with me!"
The audience was in shock. Even Edge hadn't expected something like that. Kain looked around, grinning at their stupor.
"She's resting over there," he ended, pointing to a bed on the other side of the room.
Immediately, all five of the others got up and rushed over to get a look at her. They saw a young, pretty girl, fast asleep, with long, long, curly light brown hair. She was dressed in a dark golden jumpsuit-type outfit, and her cape had been thrown aside. She was obviously exhausted; she'd even fallen asleep with her boots on.
They slowly retreated back to Kain, who said humorously, "Thanks for all ditching me like that."
"Are you two -- " Edge asked, voicing the question they'd all been wondering.
Kain's grin, if possible, got wider. "Yeah, I think she's it," he answered simply.
The five others looked at each other and tried not to squeal. Edge grinned broadly and gave Kain a hearty smack on the back in congratulations.
"Now, nothing's certain. No plans for any big steps or anything like that," Kain cautioned them all. "But things have been going well, and I really like her."
"Wow!" Edge couldn't help but saying. "Who'd think you could meet women on Mt. Ordeals! I've *got* to go there."
Later on that afternoon, Edge got the chance to fire more questions at Kain. He returned to the Nursery by himself, and Larisa was still sleeping in a far bed. They talked a little about his experience with the light on Mt. Ordeals, but Kain seemed mostly unable to talk about it, although he didn't stop smiling the entire time. But Larisa he could talk about.
"You know, we just got along so well the second she rescued me," he said exuberantly. "I mean, obviously I was grateful to her, but I liked her. And she's gorgeous!"
"You got that right," Edge said.
"Hey," Kain said, sitting up. "Hands off."
"Obviously," Edge said. "I've got my own problems."
"Oh, yeah, how are things with Rydia?" Kain asked interestedly. "Did you tell her about your deeeeep looooove for her?"
Edge glared at him. "What are you, ten years old?"
Kain laughed. "They say falling in love makes you young again."
"No, I didn't say anything to her, but I did invite her to stay at Eblan," Edge informed him.
Kain's eyes widened and he nodded approvingly. "Great! Is she going?"
"I don't know," Edge answered. "She's got to decide by tonight, though, I'm leaving in the morning."
"Well, tell me what happens," Kain said.
"Hey, you should come to Eblan sometime, too," Edge said. "Bring Larisa! It'll be fun."
Kain cocked his head. "Definitely. I haven't seen the place. Hey, I could come down now!"
"You know, that wouldn't be a bad idea," Edge said. "I bet that would convince Rydia to come, too! She's missed you, you know."
"Yeah, I don't think Larisa would mind," Kain said, casting an eye toward her sleeping form. "Of course, I've got to ask her. I can't promise anything, she might just want to stay around here, but hopefully we'll come."
"This'll be so fun!" Edge said.
By that night, Kain and Larisa had agreed wholeheartedly to visit Edge at Eblan for a week, as he excitedly informed Rydia that evening on the balcony.
"You should definitely come!" he urged her. "It'll be fun, the four of us. I mean, they're only staying a week, but you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."
"How is Larisa?" Rydia asked curiously. "Did you talk to her?"
"For a little bit," Edge said. "She seemed pretty nice. I'm sure we'll have a fun week. And you have to come!"
Rydia still hesitated. "But what about clothes? And how am I going to get back to the Land of the Summoned Monsters? I can't make it through the cave by myself."
"Well, let's see," Edge thought aloud. "Clothes -- I bet you can borrow a substantial number of clothes from Rosa, and you've got whatever you have, and we can have some clothes made at Eblan, too. You'll be fine on supplies. As for getting through the cave . . . how long do you think you'll stay with me?"
Rydia blushed. "I have no idea. As long as you'll have me."
"So then you'll stay forever, and we won't have to worry about an escort for you!" joked Edge. Rydia laughed aloud.
"Well, I'm sure Kain and I will be able to take some time out to take you back through the cave," Edge assured her. "It's not like we've got anything important to do."
"Like a kingdom to attend to, or anything," Rydia murmured.
"Right! Nothing important," Edge said. "Or, nothing more important than a friend in need. So come! The Sylphs can steer your airship back, and I'll fly you back to the underground whenever you want to go." He looked her in the eyes. "I promise."
Rydia couldn't help but smile. "All right, I'd love to come to Eblan with you," she conceded.
"Great! We're leaving in the morning, so you'd better go get ready," he told her. "Tell the Sylphs, get some clothes, and I'll see you in the morning!"
"Sounds good," Rydia said, and they parted for the evening.
"Thalithynia," Rydia called, entering the Sylphs' room. The three of them were flitting about their room, doing some mysterious nightly ritual, which they stopped when Rydia entered. She'd seen them do it before, but she'd obviously disrupted their concentration. "Oh, I'm sorry, girls," she said quickly. "Thalithynia? Can we talk in my room so the others can go on?"
"Sure," and the two hastened to Rydia's room.
"I'm going to visit Edge in Eblan for a little while," Rydia told her, quickly so that she couldn't change her mind. "Can you three inform Leviatan and Asura? Oh, can you also take the airship back and leave it at the Land of the Summoned Monsters for me? Edge will take me back."
Thalithynia looked surprised, but didn't ask questions. "When will you be returning?"
"I haven't decided yet," replied Rydia. "It's all been sort of spur-of-the- moment actually."
"Ah," Thalithynia murmured.
Rydia looked at her. "What?"
"Nothing."
"What is it, Thalithynia?"
"I think he likes you," Thalithynia said, with a wicked glance towards Rydia.
"What?"
"Edge, I think he likes you."
"Oh, please," Rydia scoffed, with a toss of her long hair.
"Oh, I see, you like him too!" Thalithynia exclaimed.
Rydia rolled her eyes and gasped in exasperation. "I don't like him like that. And he doesn't like me either. We're just friends. Really good friends."
"Really good friends," Thalithynia repeated, not even bothering to hide her skepticism.
"Absolutely," Rydia answered.
Edge and Rydia reached the roof and stepped out into the moonlight, which flooded the balcony with light. It was a full moon. Edge looked up at it, hardly able to believe that just four months earlier, they had been walking on that surface. The ground had been illuminated, always glowing slightly, which was slightly eerie but more beautiful.
"Can you believe we were there?" Rydia asked, voicing his thoughts.
"No," Edge replied simply.
"I -- I liked that way of life," Rydia said, walking forward to put her hands against the railing. "I don't know. It was awful, you know. Fighting every day, sleeping in tents and cabins, cooking monster meat -- "
Edge laughed.
"But there was something about being a warrior," Rydia went on. "Something about having that mission always in front of us. It made you feel like you had a purpose."
"Because we had a purpose," Edge reminded her gently.
She looked at him as if just remembering that he was still there, and laughed. "Oh, yes, that's right."
"But it's not as if we don't have a purpose now," Edge said.
"Oh, it's easier for you to feel that way," Rydia said quickly. "You, and Cecil, and Rosa, and Edward, and Yang -- you all have your own kingdoms. You've got things to do. Even Kain, he's going to Mt. Ordeals now, that's his goal, and Cid, he's constantly working on his airships, and -- what do I have to do?" Rydia sighed. "I'm living in the Land of Summoned Monsters. I could make changes, but they don't need my changes. I'm a human -- they love me, but they don't want my ideas."
"Oh, Rydia," Edge said, understanding how she felt. They'd all felt that way after they'd come home. They'd saved the world and it had been amazing, but when they returned, what more was there to do? What greater purpose could they accomplish than that?
"It's okay," Edge said, walking up to put his arm around her shoulder. Sure, he was still thinking about her romantically, but she was his friend first, and he wanted to make her feel better. "You still have a purpose. But your purpose doesn't always have to be for the greater good of the world, you know! It can be just for you! Now's the time for you to fulfill all of *your* dreams."
"But all of my dreams *are* for the greater good of the world," Rydia protested quietly.
Edge looked at her and laughed. "The problem with you is that you are just too good for your own good," he told her.
Rydia smiled, but said, "I just want to be able to help people. And the monsters, though I love them, don't need my help."
There was a second of silence. Then Edge said, "Nor are they people."
Rydia laughed and hit his arm jokingly. "You're not helping," she said.
"But I am," Edge countered.
"Yeah, you are," Rydia admitted, snuggling into his protective arm. "Thanks."
They stood there in silence for a few moments. "Maybe you need a change of pace," Edge suggested at last. "You know, living with humans or something."
Rydia laughed. "I've only been underground for three months, Edge. It's not like a lifetime."
"Three months is pretty long to go without fresh air, as you pointed out last night," Edge reminded her.
"Yeah, that's true," she sighed. "Maybe I'll stay above ground for a little while."
"Why don't you come to Eblan?" Edge suggested, letting go of her. Rydia turned to look at him in surprise.
"I hadn't -- I was thinking about staying at Baron," she said.
"But I mean, you've never been to visit -- "
"Well, we did go that one time, you know, and plundered everything from your ruined castle," Rydia pointed out jokingly.
"Oh, shut up," Edge scoffed, "that obviously doesn't count. The castle was overrun by monsters then! We've made all of these renovations and rebuilt the entire town -- you could get away from the underground -- and I'd love to have you," he finished, looking into her eyes a little shyly.
Rydia didn't know what to say. "I -- I don't know," she hedged. "I need to think about it."
"That's fine," Edge said. "We're going to be here for three more days, you can either come home with me or stay here."
Rydia nodded. She was confused, though. The prospect of staying in Baron had sounded good, albeit not that interesting. With their new kingly and queenly duties, Cecil and Rosa would be thoroughly engaged in all the matters of Baron. Rydia would probably be able to help, but she knew that Cecil and Rosa would truly enjoy all of their new jobs, and would definitely not need her.
Going to Eblan, however, could be something else. They were in a time of regrowth there, and it promised to be a busy and happy place. Plus she could spend more time with Edge, her long-lost friend.
"You don't have to think about it *right now*," Edge teased her after some moments of quiet.
She shook herself out of her thoughts and laughed. The two moved to a thorough discussion of the ceremony and all of its details.
~~~
Three days later, Edge, Rydia, Cid, Yang, and Ling were relaxing in palace grounds. It was early afternoon, just after their extensive luncheon, and the sun was shining, birds twittering, and Baron generally looked gorgeous. A footman rushed up and bobbed his head importantly, breaking off their chatter.
"So sorry to interrupt, sirs, madams," the man said, "but Sir Kain has just arrived back at the castle!"
"Kain's back!" Edge exclaimed.
"Yes, sir, his wounds are being attended to in the Nursery," the man said quickly. "Nothing life-threatening, merely some deep scratches, but you will find him there. Cecil asked me to inform you of it, thinking you might want to visit him."
"I'd say we would," Edge agreed wholeheartedly. "Now, where is the Nursery again? . . . I still find myself getting lost around this castle sometimes . . ."
The others laughed and together, they found their way to the Nursery. Inside, Kain was gritting his teeth as an experienced nurse stitched up a wound.
"Hey, baby, at the Nursery again?" Edge teased him the second he entered, delighted to see him.
Kain turned. "Edge, you rascal!" he said, and Edge strode forward and gave him a hug. A rather gentle hug, as the nurse didn't seem to want to be interrupted.
"Kain, I'm glad you're back," Rydia said sincerely.
"Yeah, Kain, I'm glad you brought back my airship," Cid joked. Yang and Ling greeted him cordially as well.
"So, what happened?" Edge said excitedly. The five visitors pulled up chairs and stools and sat around him as he was attended to.
"Well, saw the light, came back down, it was good," Kain said matter-of- factly.
Edge laughed. "Come on, a little more detail than that, man!"
"Besides, he's leaving out a very important part," the nurse put in primly, not even looking up. Kain laughed a little embarrassedly.
"Thanks a lot," he said to her sarcastically, and she giggled. "Anyway, the light -- I mean, it was -- life-changing, but you know, I can't really describe it. But I made it, I'm a White Dragoon now, not a Dark one!"
Congratulations echoed round the circle of listeners. "What's this very important part she's talking about?" Edge asked curiously as soon as he could.
"Well -- on the way down I had a little bit of . . . trouble."
"Trouble?" Cid asked.
"That's how I got this," Kain said, and pulled up a sleeve to reveal an enormous bloody gash on his left arm. The others gasped.
"But, Kain, you're left-handed!" Rydia said. "How could you fight with that injury?"
"Yeah, that was the problem," Kain said. "It was a wicked monster, noticed my fighting hand and everything. A Hagumar."
The others shuddered. "I've never met one of those," Edge said.
"I have," Yang replied. "You're lucky."
"Yeah, the Hagumar are extremely old, extremely crafty, and extremely wicked," Kain said. "It didn't help that I was just reborn by the light, either. I mean, I still had all my experience, but I was sort of like a kid again, you know? So it watched me in hiding for like a day, and then jumped out and attacked me, really suddenly."
"The wretch!" Ling said indignantly.
"I managed to battle a little with my right hand, but couldn't get that much done," Kain went on. "I've got some more wounds on my chest, but I'll spare you the sight of them. But I think I was pretty much a goner if it hadn't been for Larisa." He almost blushed.
"Larisa?" the others echoed.
"She's this orphan who was raised in Mysidia as a White Wizard," Kain explained excitedly. "But I think she's got way more warrior blood in her than wizard blood. She's an excellent archer! She started shooting the Hagumar from some hidden place, and the Hagumar got all bothered, I mean who wouldn't if you were being attacked and you couldn't see who it was, and it went to look for her and she shot it in the heart and in the head and it died!"
"Rescued by a girl," Edge summarized it.
Kain shot him a look. "Then she came out of her hiding place and asked who I was, and said she was heading to the top of Mt. Ordeals herself, and she healed me up some. She's not a great White Wizard, though, she's much more of an archer. That's why I've still got these wounds and all. But of course she was a great help. And I wouldn't let her go all the way to the top by herself, especially not when I realized there were Hagumar about. So I climbed back up with her, which wasn't a big deal because we were most of the way there anyway, and then we journeyed back down together."
"Sounds like you were very lucky to meet up with her," Rydia said.
"Oh, yes," Kain said. "But that's not even the best part. I took her back to Mysidia in the airship, and then I found out that she was an orphan and had been brought up by the Elder. But that she never felt quite at home in Mysidia, because, like I said, she's more of a warrior so -- I brought her home to Baron with me!"
The audience was in shock. Even Edge hadn't expected something like that. Kain looked around, grinning at their stupor.
"She's resting over there," he ended, pointing to a bed on the other side of the room.
Immediately, all five of the others got up and rushed over to get a look at her. They saw a young, pretty girl, fast asleep, with long, long, curly light brown hair. She was dressed in a dark golden jumpsuit-type outfit, and her cape had been thrown aside. She was obviously exhausted; she'd even fallen asleep with her boots on.
They slowly retreated back to Kain, who said humorously, "Thanks for all ditching me like that."
"Are you two -- " Edge asked, voicing the question they'd all been wondering.
Kain's grin, if possible, got wider. "Yeah, I think she's it," he answered simply.
The five others looked at each other and tried not to squeal. Edge grinned broadly and gave Kain a hearty smack on the back in congratulations.
"Now, nothing's certain. No plans for any big steps or anything like that," Kain cautioned them all. "But things have been going well, and I really like her."
"Wow!" Edge couldn't help but saying. "Who'd think you could meet women on Mt. Ordeals! I've *got* to go there."
Later on that afternoon, Edge got the chance to fire more questions at Kain. He returned to the Nursery by himself, and Larisa was still sleeping in a far bed. They talked a little about his experience with the light on Mt. Ordeals, but Kain seemed mostly unable to talk about it, although he didn't stop smiling the entire time. But Larisa he could talk about.
"You know, we just got along so well the second she rescued me," he said exuberantly. "I mean, obviously I was grateful to her, but I liked her. And she's gorgeous!"
"You got that right," Edge said.
"Hey," Kain said, sitting up. "Hands off."
"Obviously," Edge said. "I've got my own problems."
"Oh, yeah, how are things with Rydia?" Kain asked interestedly. "Did you tell her about your deeeeep looooove for her?"
Edge glared at him. "What are you, ten years old?"
Kain laughed. "They say falling in love makes you young again."
"No, I didn't say anything to her, but I did invite her to stay at Eblan," Edge informed him.
Kain's eyes widened and he nodded approvingly. "Great! Is she going?"
"I don't know," Edge answered. "She's got to decide by tonight, though, I'm leaving in the morning."
"Well, tell me what happens," Kain said.
"Hey, you should come to Eblan sometime, too," Edge said. "Bring Larisa! It'll be fun."
Kain cocked his head. "Definitely. I haven't seen the place. Hey, I could come down now!"
"You know, that wouldn't be a bad idea," Edge said. "I bet that would convince Rydia to come, too! She's missed you, you know."
"Yeah, I don't think Larisa would mind," Kain said, casting an eye toward her sleeping form. "Of course, I've got to ask her. I can't promise anything, she might just want to stay around here, but hopefully we'll come."
"This'll be so fun!" Edge said.
By that night, Kain and Larisa had agreed wholeheartedly to visit Edge at Eblan for a week, as he excitedly informed Rydia that evening on the balcony.
"You should definitely come!" he urged her. "It'll be fun, the four of us. I mean, they're only staying a week, but you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."
"How is Larisa?" Rydia asked curiously. "Did you talk to her?"
"For a little bit," Edge said. "She seemed pretty nice. I'm sure we'll have a fun week. And you have to come!"
Rydia still hesitated. "But what about clothes? And how am I going to get back to the Land of the Summoned Monsters? I can't make it through the cave by myself."
"Well, let's see," Edge thought aloud. "Clothes -- I bet you can borrow a substantial number of clothes from Rosa, and you've got whatever you have, and we can have some clothes made at Eblan, too. You'll be fine on supplies. As for getting through the cave . . . how long do you think you'll stay with me?"
Rydia blushed. "I have no idea. As long as you'll have me."
"So then you'll stay forever, and we won't have to worry about an escort for you!" joked Edge. Rydia laughed aloud.
"Well, I'm sure Kain and I will be able to take some time out to take you back through the cave," Edge assured her. "It's not like we've got anything important to do."
"Like a kingdom to attend to, or anything," Rydia murmured.
"Right! Nothing important," Edge said. "Or, nothing more important than a friend in need. So come! The Sylphs can steer your airship back, and I'll fly you back to the underground whenever you want to go." He looked her in the eyes. "I promise."
Rydia couldn't help but smile. "All right, I'd love to come to Eblan with you," she conceded.
"Great! We're leaving in the morning, so you'd better go get ready," he told her. "Tell the Sylphs, get some clothes, and I'll see you in the morning!"
"Sounds good," Rydia said, and they parted for the evening.
"Thalithynia," Rydia called, entering the Sylphs' room. The three of them were flitting about their room, doing some mysterious nightly ritual, which they stopped when Rydia entered. She'd seen them do it before, but she'd obviously disrupted their concentration. "Oh, I'm sorry, girls," she said quickly. "Thalithynia? Can we talk in my room so the others can go on?"
"Sure," and the two hastened to Rydia's room.
"I'm going to visit Edge in Eblan for a little while," Rydia told her, quickly so that she couldn't change her mind. "Can you three inform Leviatan and Asura? Oh, can you also take the airship back and leave it at the Land of the Summoned Monsters for me? Edge will take me back."
Thalithynia looked surprised, but didn't ask questions. "When will you be returning?"
"I haven't decided yet," replied Rydia. "It's all been sort of spur-of-the- moment actually."
"Ah," Thalithynia murmured.
Rydia looked at her. "What?"
"Nothing."
"What is it, Thalithynia?"
"I think he likes you," Thalithynia said, with a wicked glance towards Rydia.
"What?"
"Edge, I think he likes you."
"Oh, please," Rydia scoffed, with a toss of her long hair.
"Oh, I see, you like him too!" Thalithynia exclaimed.
Rydia rolled her eyes and gasped in exasperation. "I don't like him like that. And he doesn't like me either. We're just friends. Really good friends."
"Really good friends," Thalithynia repeated, not even bothering to hide her skepticism.
"Absolutely," Rydia answered.