No more answering anyone's reviews. Not that anyone ever reviews anyway...
*means thought*
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~~~Tempered Tears~~~
"Where is she?" I, Braska, roar. "She did not just disappear! Someone tell me." I drop to the ground. "Where's Auron?" I bury my face into my hands.
"Didn't you say that Auron went back to the temple? As to you sister, you do remember what you were told, right? I can only hope that they got away safely..." she trails off.
"You can only hope what? Remember what? Tell me, Kakri, please." I finally look up, remembering. "Is she going to be alright? When they said... when they said that they were going to take her somewhere where she would be safe, I though... I thought that she would be home by now. Otherwise, I would never have agreed! And now, now you tell me that I might never see her again?"
Kakri, a young blonde Al Bhed with swirly green eyes, walks over and kneels down beside me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "I'm sorry, Braska, I really am. Is there anything I can do to help?"
-~-Zali's POV-~-
I stand at the edge of the boat loosely gripping the railing. My hands are lightly bound, more for show or as a reminder, because it would be a simple task to escape the bonds. The wind blows my hair behind me, playfully tugging at it. Unbidden, melodies fill my head and I unconsciously begin singing.
Cid stands stoically in the background, watching me. As my song reaches his ears the stone wall around his heart begins to melt. He walks up to me and stands at the railing next to me, listening to my song.
After awhile he finally speaks, "Who is it you sing of? You must love him very much to sing such a heart wrenching song."
"Auron... I sing of Auron. Perhaps you remember him?" My gaze never leaves the twinkling ocean.
"If he's the red-clad boy who was with you who was with you when we talked at your birthday? Yes, I remember him." Silence falls between us.
"Look!" I exclaim suddenly, pointing to the ocean. "The ocean is signing, and the waves are dancing." My eyes mirror the twinkling, dancing waves.
*It's amazing,* he thinks, *that she can go through so much pain and yet her eyes are still able to dance. If only there were more people like her...* "It's getting late, Zali. You should go to bed."
"Can't I stay out here for a little longer? Please Cid!" My eyes plead with him.
"You mean 'may I', and the answer is still no. You may not and you can not."
"Please!" my eyes fill with tears as he shakes his head. "Meanie, I hate you!" I sit down with my back against the side of the boat. "I'm not going to bed, and you can't make me!"
"Do you want me to drag you, or will you walk." I glare at him. "You know, at the age of thirteen, one would think that you would be too old for temper tantrums."
"You kidnap me, you shoot me, you tie me up, you shove me on a ship, and then you try and act like my dad. And now you say that I have no reason to be upset?" I start off quietly, but my volume rises quickly, so by the end I am yelling. "I've had enough, you set down all of these stupid rules, ones that have no purpose, and expect me to obey them." I take a deep breath, "It isn't fair that you take me from those I love. It just isn't fair! What did I ever do to you?"
"Absolutely nothing, but you still should go to bed. A good night's rest will help calm you down. Even if you say you aren't tired, your little... fit... here says otherwise." He extends one hand to me, to help me up, but I just glare at it. "Very well, if that's the way you're going to act, so be it."
He motions for several of the Al Bhed standing previously unnoticed in the background to come forward. I am then unceremoniously picked up and slung over one of their shoulders. I spent the next few moments kicking and beating my fists against my carrier.
Cid is barely able to cover his laugh with his hand. I lose sight of him as my bearer rounds a corner. But when he reappears in my view, his face is straight. After several other twists and turns, we make it to my room on the boat.
"Just set her down on the bed." Cid informs the guard. "Are you hungry?" he asks, he has to repeat the question because I am too lost in my thoughts to hear what was said. I nod, my stomach growling. "I'll be right back then. Stay here." He includes the other Al Bhed, the one who was carrying me, in his command also.
Cid leaves the room and I stand up. The Al Bhed's expression clearly tells me to sit back down. So I do what any sane, cooped up teenager would do, I walk around the room inspecting everything.
Cid returns to find me happily wandering around the room, giggling my head off, and the other Al Bhed glaring at me. "Zali, will you please sit down so you can eat?" A black and blue blur, me, streaks across the room. In the space of a heartbeat I am sitting at the table, my legs crossed on the chair.
He smiles and sets the food down in front of me. I begin eating. Within minutes I have eaten all he brought. I begin to feel sleepy, so very sleepy. I just want to close my eyes and... "you... drugged it!" I exclaim before falling asleep on the empty plates. I am only semi-conscious of being settled into bed.
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A/N: Another chapter written... and expect the unexpected, that way you can never be surprised.
Arcander