Mecale awoke quickly and sat up, a scream lodged in her throat. She found that she was drenched in sweat and was trembling. The dream was unnerving to say the least. She had had nightmares before, almost everyone had, but she'd never had one that was so realistic. She could still feel the icy breeze on her skin. Her heart was still beating like a drum and although she wasn't exactly scared, she was anxious and apprehensive, as if she were waiting for something. She nearly jumped out of the bed when Kouji knocked on the door.
"Mecale! Time to wake up! The sun will be coming over the mountains in a few minutes!" He pushed the door open and smiled when he saw Mecale sitting up in bed. "Oh good, you're already awake. The morning calls."
"I'll be out in a few minutes," Mecale told him. He grabbed his jogging outfit and left her alone to dress.
Mecale climbed out of the bed and peeled off her sweat-soaked pajamas. She threw them into the clothes hamper in the corner and dressed quickly in her jogging suit and Nikes. She met Kouji in the living room and they left on their morning run.
During the entire run, the nightmare she had had kept resurfacing in Mecale's mind. It was odd that such a strange dream would have an impact on her memory. As far as she knew, the dream meant nothing.
After they had returned from their run, taken their showers and had eaten their breakfast, Kouji suggested they spend the day at the beach.
"You've been here for almost a week and you still haven't been to the beach," Kouji commented as he rinsed the breakfast dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. "I think it's time you tried out one of those new bathing suits."
Mecale agreed and went to change while Kouji finished with the dishes. She chose and orange, two piece suit, a white tank top and orange shorts that matched the suit. She changed and looked at herself in the mirror. The bathing suit was quite revealing and she didn't want to even walk out of the bedroom without covering herself up. Luckily, with the shorts and tank top, she deemed the outfit acceptable and went back into the living room. She found Kouji, already changed into blue swim trunks and a white, wife beater tank top, making sandwiches for their lunches.
"Need some help?" she questioned.
"Sure," Kouji nodded, "put some chips into baggies for lunch."
Mecale nodded and got the chips and baggies out of their respective cupboards. Once that task was done, she helped him put everything into a bag and load a small ice chest with sodas and ice. Once everything was packed, they were ready to go. Kouji handed Mecale the bag of food and also a bag that contained two beach towels, a blanket and a bottle of sunscreen.
"You know, while we're at it, we should take those clothes back to Lisa," Kouji commented, "her house is on the way."
Mecale but the bags down and went back into the bedroom. She grabbed the outfit that Lisa had lent to her and went back into the kitchen.
"All set?" Kouji asked.
"Yep." Mecale grabbed the two bags from the counter. Kouji grabbed the ice chest and they left the apartment. They put everything into the trunk of Kouji's car and then pulled out of the apartment complex. Instead of driving the three blocks to the beach near his house, Kouji drove away from the beach towards the center of Seaport. He turned down a few streets and was heading towards the beach again.
"In case you're wondering what I'm doing, I'm taking you to a private beach," Kouji informed, "my agent, Lisa's dad, lives in an estate that owns the beach in front of all the houses. You have to be a resident of the estate to use the beach but my agent pulled a few strings and got me a pass." He pointed to a plastic sign hanging from his rearview mirror. It was turquoise and white and said "Resident of Beachfront Estates."
After a few more minutes of driving, Kouji pulled up to a huge black gate. A sign above it read "Beachfront Estates" and there was a guardhouse on the left side. The guard, an older man, looked at them through the removed top. He obviously recognized Kouji because he smiled and opened the gate for them. Kouji smiled back and drove the car through.
Inside, Mecale marveled at the size of the houses. Of course, being the member of a Royal Family, she had seen much bigger dwellings. The Fanelian palace was bigger than these houses and the Asturian palace was bigger than Fanelia's, but she had never seen so many large houses together. Upon seeing the first house, her thought was that it was owned by some royal but as they drove deeper into the estate, she saw that all of the houses were large, some bigger than the others. She knew that so many royals wouldn't be living so close and besides, Kouji had said Lisa lived here and Lisa wasn't royalty. The only conclusion she could make was that the houses belonged to normal people.
Kouji turned down a side street and drove up the driveway of a huge house. The house itself was set back from the road about two hundred feet and was surrounded by a beautiful lawn. Kouji stopped the car and the two of them climbed out.
"Lisa lives here?" Mecale asked as Kouji got the clothes out of the trunk.
"Yep," Kouji nodded and closed the trunk. "Lisa's grandparents were rich. When they died, they left it all to her mom."
"Wow," Mecale murmured as they walked up to the door. Kouji rang the doorbell and it was opened by a man in tan slacks and a white, button up shirt. He smiled when he saw Kouji.
"Good morning Kouji," the man greeted, "Mr. Davis didn't tell me he was expecting you."
"He's not," Kouji informed, "I'm here to see Lisa. I wanted to return some clothes she lent to my friend."
The man turned to Mecale. "Oh! How rude of me. My name is John." He held out his hand to her.
"Hello John," Mecale shook his hand, "I'm Mecale. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Come on in." John stepped aside so they could enter. "I think Lisa is up in her room. I'll go tell her you're here. Can I get you two anything to drink?"
"I'm fine, thanks," Kouji declined.
"No thank you," Mecale replied.
John nodded and hurried up the double staircase that stood in front of them. Mecale looked around at the foyer of the house where they stood. The two staircases flanked a set of double doors. From the roof hung a crystal chandelier and on both sides of the room there were doors that led to different parts of the house.
Mecale turned her attention to the stairs as Lisa came down the left flight. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit?" the petite blonde asked.
"The return of your borrowed clothes." Kouji held them out to her.
"Thank you." Lisa took the clothes from him. "So what are you two up to today?"
"I'm taking Mecale to the beach," Kouji answered.
"Ooo, sounds like fun," Lisa commented, "I wish I could come but I have to take my darling little brother to his karate class."
From another room in the house, a little boy's voice rang out. "No mommy, no! Don't let Lisa take me to karate class! She'll make me ride in the trunk!"
Lisa chuckled nervously. "What a kidder. Anyway, you two have fun. Maybe we can get together sometime next week."
Kouji and Mecale said goodbye to Lisa and left the house. They got into the car and Kouji pulled back onto the road. They turned down a few more roads and finally found themselves in a parking lot. There were about ten cars in the parking lot, all of them expensive models that obviously belonged to the residents of Beachfront Estates. Beyond the parking lot stretched a sandy beach and beyond that, the clear blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Kouji parked the car and the two of them got out. They got the bags and the ice chest out of the trunk and made their way onto the beach. Kouji picked a spot that was a little ways away from everyone else and he spread the blanket out for them to sit on. Kouji then explained to Mecale what the sun block was for and convinced her to put it on. Once they had both put sunscreen on, Kouji pulled his tank top off and stood up.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going in the water," he informed, "It's getting hot out here already."
Mecale looked up and her eyes locked on Kouji. It was obvious that he went to the beach a lot. His skin was tanned a light bronze. As Mecale stared up at him, she found her eyes trailing down to the toned muscles of Kouji's chest. As he had said, the temperature was already hot, causing a think layer of sweat to break out and glisten on his chest.
Suddenly very embarrassed by the way she was staring, Mecale tore her eyes away. What's wrong with you? Mecale scolded herself, You are acting like a tramp! Angry with herself, she kept her eyes on the blanket.
"Are you coming?" Kouji asked.
"Yes," Mecale answered, still keeping her eyes away from him. She stood up and looked down the length of the beach. No one was wearing clothes over their bathing suit and some were more revealing than her own. Reluctantly, Mecale took off the tank top and shorts so that she would fit in. She folded them and put them on the blanket. When she stood back up, Kouji was staring at her.
"What?" she demanded, more than a little self-consciously.
"N.nothing," Kouji stammered and shook his head. "Come on, let's get into the water."
Mecale nodded reluctantly and followed him to the edge of the water. Without delay, Kouji walked into the gentle surf. Mecale hesitated.
"Come on," Kouji urged, "the water's perfect!"
"Are you sure its' safe?" Mecale inquired, "I mean, aren't there animals and things in the water?" On Gaea, it was dangerous to go into the waters of the ocean because there were many animals that could and would harm a person. Her aunt Hitomi had told her that the oceans on the Mystic Moon were different, that people swam in them every day, but she was still a little nervous.
"Of course it's safe," Kouji assured, "would I be in here if it wasn't?"
"I guess not," Mecale admitted but she was still reluctant to step in.
"Don't worry," Kouji comforted with a grin, "I won't let anything chew on you."
Mecale couldn't help but smile back. "Promise?"
"Promise," Kouji swore, "Now come on."
Mecale smiled again and followed Kouji into the water.
------------------------------------------------------
Folken was bent over a table in the palace's library, carefully reading through the Draconian book that he had taken from the Record's House. He was going over every piece of information in the book, looking for something they might have missed. He was so engrossed in the reading that when the library door opened, he didn't look up to see who had entered. He didn't have to because a second later she was standing next to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Folken, you've been at this all morning," Adrina stated, "You need to take a break and eat something."
"Not until I'm satisfied that we didn't miss anything," Folken told her without looking up from the book.
"You know you won't find anything more," Adrina said, "We've been over the book hundreds of times. You practically know most of it by heart. There is no hidden secret.
Folken sighed and looked up at his wife. "I know Rina. I just don't want to give up. There has to be some other way."
"Please don't dwell on this Folken," Adrina begged, "Mecale will make it back in time."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Folken informed. He paused. "This boy she has chosen as her samurai, does she love him?"
"She will."
"Then how can we let them go through with it?" Folken asked, "How will she react when she finds out that one of them must die to defeat the shadow?"
"She would sacrifice herself," Adrina replied, "Which is why we cannot tell her what must be done. He will give up his life for her when the time comes."
"How will she handle that? It will devastate her," Folken insisted.
"I know," Adrina admitted grimly, "But there is nothing we can do. It has to be Mecale or her samurai."
"What if we send Riley as her samurai?" Folken suggested, "I don't think that would have a negative emotional effect on her if he were to give up his life for her."
"That boy wouldn't give up his hairbrush for Mecale," Adrina scoffed, "No, the samurai must love Mecale and be willing to give up his life for her. You know this."
"Then what if I were her samurai?" Folken inquired, "I would gladly give up my life for her."
"Do you think losing her father would be any less devastating than losing the man she loves?" Adrina spat, angry that he would even suggest such a thing.
"But he would be there to comfort her."
"And you will be there to comfort her when her samurai is gone," Adrina reminded, "You cannot be her samurai. She has already decided, although she doesn't know it yet. The boy must die and there is nothing we can do about it."
Folken looked back down at the book. "I'm not giving up."
Adrina nodded. "I'll have some lunch brought to you."
Folken remained silent and Adrina left him alone to his studies.
-------------------------------------------
"I love the beach!" Mecale announced as they walked into Kouji's apartment. They had spent the entire day at the beach and had come home only when the sun began to set.
Kouji put the now empty ice chest on the counter. "I'm glad you had fun."
"I've had more fun in the last few days than I've had in my entire live!" Mecale exclaimed and put the bags on the counter as well. "I love it here!"
"Compared to where?" Kouji asked, thinking that maybe her memory was coming back.
Mecale realized what he was thinking and pretended she was confused. "I don't know. Wherever I used to live, I guess."
"Well, judging by you reaction to simple things such as the movies and the beach, I'm guessing you used to lived a very sheltered life." Kouji pretended to think for a moment. "Maybe you lived in a cave. Or maybe in Siberia. Yeah, I bet that's it, Siberia. No beaches or movie theaters and it would explain the accent."
Mecale blushed, realizing that she was overreacting to such simple things. Kouji saw her red cheeks and spoke.
"You know what? Honestly, the past few days have been the most fun I've had in a long time so I have no room to talk."
Mecale smiled again and Kouji smiled back. He then quickly looked away and opened the refrigerator. "How about spaghetti for dinner?"
"Sounds good to me," Mecale replied. Kouji began to gather the ingredients while Mecale went and changed into some dry clothes. She then helped Kouji with dinner by putting together a salad and buttering French bread. After the meal was prepared, they sat down to eat.
After dinner, the two of them sat down on the couch to watch TV. Mecale began to feel sleepy after an hour so she said good night to Kouji and went to bed.
Mecale stood in the clearing and gazed towards Zaibach, her view blocked by trees and mountains. A cold wind began to encircle her, stirring her dress and whipping her hair around her face. As she stared, the mountains and trees disappeared to give her a full view of the Zaibach landscape. In the corner, where it always was, rested the mysterious shadow.
As she watched, the shadow began to move and change into the face of a man like it did the night before. This time, the face became clearly defined, although she didn't recognize the man. Suddenly, she felt as if something was pulling her towards the shadow and the man's face. Mecale closed her eyes tightly, hoping that everything would go back to the way it was.
When she opened her eyes, Mecale was terrified to find herself in front of the shadow. It's blackness was so intense that it hurt her eyes to try and make out anything in the dark. All of a sudden, a wave of fear washed over her and she had the distinct feeling that something was coming towards her out of the shadow. She tried to run, but her feet were stuck. She felt paralyzed and didn't know what to do. She began to struggle but it was all in vain.
Mecale looked back into the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of what was coming. She saw nothing but knew that it would step into the light any second. Frantic, Mecale began to struggle ever harder. She also began to chant one word over and over.
"No no no no no no no."
Mecale turned her gaze from her paralyzed body back to the shadow. It was there, whatever it was, standing just on the other side of the blackness, waiting for the right moment to step out and reveal itself. She had the distinct feeling that if it did come out into the light, there would be nothing she could do to stop it.
She sensed it move. It was ready. It was coming out.
"Nooooo!"