Chapter Twenty-One
I'm Lost Without You

Part One
"She's getting married at five, ya?" Wakka asked. They had made it only as far as the Moonflow by nightfall, and Auron had insisted that they keep going until they could no longer keep their eyes open. They had continued on till nearly six the next morning, when they had finally decided to stop at the Travel Agency in the Thunder Plains.

Lulu nodded. "Yes. She said in her letter that there would be an airship waiting for us just past the Macalania Travel Agency. And from there, it's another two-and-a-half hours."

Yuna mentally calculated the times in her head. "We may not make it in time," she said softly.

Auron shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Married or not, she'll be leaving that place with me."

"She'll be pretty damn surprised to see ya, dat's for sure, Sir Auron," Wakka laughed as he headed off to his room. Lulu followed him, leaving Yuna and Sir Auron alone in the lobby.

"Don't worry, Sir Auron," Yuna said gently. "No matter what, once she sees you, nothing else is going to matter."

Auron looked at his former summoner quietly. "How are you faring, Yuna? In all this excitement, no one seems to worry about you."

Yuna smiled a bit sheepishly. "That's because I keep my pain hidden well. I should have known that you would be the one to see through my mask. To be honest, it hurts. A lot. And – seeing you, back here and all, kind of makes it worse. I mean, I'm glad you're back, don't misunderstand me. I just wish that Tidus could be with us, as well. This journey feels strange without him."

Auron understood her perfectly. This was the same journey they had made nearly nine months ago, yet two key players were missing. And the void they left was indescribable.

"Are you angry at her, Sir Auron?" Yuna asked. "For agreeing to marry another?"

Auron shook his head. "I understand. When your father came to me in my dream that night, I thought that everything would happen a lot faster than it did. I thought that we would defeat Sin, and that I would be alive. I had no idea it was going to take nearly an entire year for the whole deal to go down.

"I understand her need to not disgrace her loved ones. She is your kin after all, and family – and the honoring of one's family – is very important to you."

Yuna sighed. "She didn't want to. She never once said it was something she wanted to do. Just that it was her 'duty'."

Auron smiled sardonically. "That helps, thank you."

Yuna patted him softly on the arm as she headed off to bed. "Sleep for a few hours, okay?" she told him. "We have miles to go before we sleep again."

He sat alone in his room for a while, listening to the thunder crash outside, and he thought of her. The way she had begged and pleaded to rest for a while at this very Inn. The way she had cowered in the corner for nearly the entire evening.

And the way she had looked while she slept that night. Like an angel. So pure, so untainted. He had taken away that purity the night that he had told her he was unsent. And he knew he had shattered her spirit when he left her alone.

"My poor Rikku," he said quietly, looking out the window at the sunrise. "Don't give up on me just yet. I'm coming to save you, just like I promised I would."

Part Two
The next day dawned all too quickly for Rikku. Her room was soon invaded with a mass of Al Bhed women, ready to deck Rikku out in the simple, pale green slip dress that she was to wear for her wedding, and to style her hair and apply her makeup.

Rikku hated it. She hated the dress, she hated the people, she hated Gippal. She hated even being alive any more. It didn't mean anything to her. She wanted nothing more than to run as far from here as she could, to get lost in the desert and never be found.

She was finally given five minutes to herself and she just sat and stared at the girl who looked back at her in the mirror. She wore the green dress, her golden hair was curled, and flowers adorned it. Moonlilies no less. She started to frantically pull them from her ringlets. She would be damned if she was going to wear Auron's flowers in her hair on the day she married Gippal.

Tears began to fall then. Once the dam had broken, she couldn't make it stop. At five o'clock that evening, she would be married to Gippal. And she would be more alone than if she never married at all.

"Oh, Auron," she whispered, fingering one of the lilies that she had pulled from her hair. "Please – I can't do this anymore. I – I can't. I'm not strong. I'm not brave. I am just a selfish and silly little girl! And I want you back!"

Gippal had been standing in the doorway of his bride-to-be's room, and he had heard her musings to herself. So, he thought, Sir Auron is the father of the child – the great love of her life. How interesting. Well, it's a good thing he's dead – or I might just have to kill him myself.

Gippal had always wanted Rikku for himself. It wasn't really Rikku that he was interested in, but the amount of power she could give him. Once her father died, well, that meant a substantial amount of power would be passed on to Cid's son, daughter, and whomever they happened to marry. Gippal could use that power.

As for the child, well, he had plans worked out for it. He couldn't have Sir Auron's heir running around, threatening to ruin everything. As it was, Gippal didn't fear much. The only person who could possibly give Rikku any reason to cancel this wedding was long gone, enjoying his eternal rest on the Farplane.

Gippal turned and left Rikku alone with her tears. That crying crap is gonna stop too, once she's my wife. I'll not have my wife crying over another man. We'll be in the public eye. Gotta keep up appearances.

He stepped outside and looked up at the sky, in the direction he assumed the Farplane was in. "Don't worry, Sir Auron. Soon, you won't be all alone on the Farplane. I'll see to it that you spend every minute that you can with your child." He laughed cruelly and then went to join his friends for a toast to his upcoming "marriage."

A/N: Ooh, he's so damn evil! lol It's kinda fun to write evil stuff in -- spices it up a bit. So this is the last chapter for tonight. I will definitely post more tomorrow -- it's getting suspenseful, even for me! 'Cause truthfully, I'm still not sure how it all is gonna end up! lol I kinda write by the seat of my pants, ya know? I never plan stuff out -- I just start writing and whatever comes out is usually what I go with. I guess it's worked well for me so far. So enjoy this and I will post more on the morrow! lol Enjoy and keep reviewing! Love the reviews:) Those reviews are the reason this story is still going strong! Love to all:) Rhianna :)