Chapter Four: The Long-Awaited Reunion
She lay in a pool of her own blood, gasping for breath. Harle could have at least tried to heal her, but no. Well, bugger that damn dragon. Maybe the Time Devourer would eat her or something.
These were some of the thoughts that ran through Kid's mind while she attempted to raise her head enough to see more than just the pale blue sky of morning. No sun yet? Either the ordeal with the Time Devourer had taken only a few minutes... or she had been asleep for a day and a night. Kid decided that the first guess was actually more likely, judging by how fast she was losing blood.
And then the soft sound of someone shifting position in the sand caught her ear. Taking a deep breath and gritting her teeth, she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. It hurt like hell, but her strong will kept her from screaming. Now she could see Serge sitting with his back to her, watching the light in the eastern sky. The Astral Amulet was held tightly in his hands.
With the very last speck of strength in her tortured body, the star- stealing girl dragged herself closer to the boy who she had been searching for. Sand stuck painfully to her many wounds, but she did her best to ignore it. With pain coursing through her body like fire, she reached out her left hand desperately, but it fell short. She whimpered almost silently, but it was enough to get Serge to turn. his eyes widened and a gasp caught in his throat as he bent over the bleeding girl. He delicately turned her over and lifted her head into his lap.
"I... found ya..." were kid's last words before falling back into dark unconciousness.
When Kid awoke, she felt as if she had been sleeping for weeks, and yet she was still extremely tired. She was lying on her back in a small but comfortable bed. The blankets were soft and clean, as were the bandages which covered most of her body. Moving just a bit, she found her lower right arm to be in a splint. Someone, hopefully female, had dressed her in a thin nightgown and taken down her hair. Supporting herself on one elbow, she tried to investigate the room with her eyes, but her body was racked by a harsh coughing fit.
From close beside her, a gentle hand touched her shoulder and pushed her back down. "Don't move too much, Kid. You've got a few broken ribs, and Radius says that one of them punctured a lung," Serge's quiet voice explained.
Tentatively, she turned her head. Sure enough, her blue-haired angel sat in a chair next to the bed, a concerned expression on his handsom face. Kid's lips pulled into the faintest of smiles. "You remembered my name..." she mumbled hoarsly.
Serge nodded, smiling back. "I remembered everything as soon as I saw you two days ago. How could I ever forget you, Kid?"
"Two days?" she asked, holding her breath to quell another cough. "It feels like.. I've been sleeping longer... than that." Her sentences were broken up as she constantly fought the blood that gathered in her pierced lung. She lost control again, sitting up suddenly as she was shaken by the persistant cough. Serge patted her carefully on the back to help cease the agonizing spasms, and then put a finger to her blood-specked lips to silence her. "Please stop talking. Your hurting yourself..." he pleaded, moving his hand to her forehead in a gesture of affection, his touch bringing solace burning skin. She noticed only then that she had a fever. Just one more thing added to her list of problems, but at least Serge was there to help her now. At that moment, with her mind and body weakened but her spirit dancing with love and joy, she wanted only to be with Serge forever, safe in his arms.
During the days that followed, Kid frequently drifted in and out of conciousness. Occassionally she would even wake up at night to find Serge stretched out on the floor with a pillow and blanket. The boy spent nearly all of his time nursing her back to health, and she enjoyed the attention at first, but as she regained some of her strength and the shields that defended those emotions which she considered to be weak were rebuilt, the firey young warrior's helpless state embarrassed her. He did not use any healing elements to speed her recovery, but she forgot to ask him about it. Marge also helped, but only for the few things that involved removing clothes, such as bathing and applying fresh bandages. Eventually she convinced them both to let her wear her traveling clothes instead of the nightgown.
After losing track of how many days she had been stuck in what she found out was in fact Serge's bed, Kid had serious cabin fever.
"Argh! Bugger!"
Serge heard the exclaimation while helping his mother prepare dinner, and he turned around just in time to catch his wounded friend as she stumbled out of his room, clutching her ribs. "Kid! What are you doing out here?!" he asked a little to loudly while guiding her to the nearest chair.
"Getting outa that damn bed," she said almost venomously. "I can't stand bein' cooped up any longer, and anyway, I need excercise. How am I supposed to be a good thief if I can't even run?" Her words were interupted only once by a weak cough, a great improvement compared to the fits which had tormented her in the beginning.
With a sigh, Serge sprinkled a pinch of herbs into a bowl of hot soup and handed it to her before replying. "Okay, you're right, but try to be careful. I don't want to lose you again so soon after you found me." Unnoticed by the pair, Serge's mother Marge smiled at her son's words.
"It's a bit late tonight," Serge continued, filling two more bowls with soup for himself and Marge, "but if you're up to it, we can go for a short walk tomorrow."
As promised, Kid made it down the steep steps and into the outside world, leaning heavily on Serge's shoulder. As it turned out, Leena had been waiting for them.
"I haven't seen you in days, Serge! I know you were taking care of your friend, but you could have at least come to see me while she was asleep!"
Kid glared in annoyance at Leena for interupting her time with Serge, and Leena glared right back for not letting her have any time with Serge. The poor boy had no idea what to do. He was just glad that Harle was not there.
"Oh la la, zhe dogs are fighting over you, Mon Ami."
Wishing he had not even thought about Harle, Serge prepared to spin around to face the obnoxious dragon, but remembered just in time that if he moved to quickly, Kid would fall. Instead, he satisfied himself by craning his neck around to give her a pointed look. "How did you survive the destruction of the Time Devourer?"
"you of all people should know zhat. Zhe Time Devourer is alive, and it is what hurt your precious Kid so badly. Zhe one who saved her was none ozzer zhen moi," and the jester bowed extravagantly.
"Thank you, Harle. We owe you so much," said Serge, to Kid's extreme irritation.
"Oi, Serge, what're ya thankin' her for? If she had stopped the Time Devourer sooner, he wouldn't have beat me up. It's a shame they didn't just kill eachother..." Kid grumbled unhappily, and now Serge was trying not to glare at her.
"Please stop fighting. You have no reason to be enemies now, especially if Harle's telling the truth about saving you, Kid."
"Um, excuse me, but what are you talking about? And did you just call me a dog?" Leena finally asked, completely confused by the conversation.
"Zhat is far to long a story for right now, Madamoizelle Leena. Perhaps Monsieur Serge will tell it to you later," Harle suggested before turning and dissapearing into the thick foliage behind Serge's house.
"She is so... so..." Kid searched for the right word.
"Annoying? Rude? Freaky?" Leena supplied, still watching the spot where the clown girl had vanished.
"Yeah, that," Kid coughed.
Serge just sighed, mentally wondering why they couldn't all just get along. Leena then decided to demonstrate what a gracious young lady she was by leaving Serge and Kid alone, but the walk was not as enjoyable as it would have been without the interferance.
Even so, Kid insisted on stretching her legs outdoors at least once a day, lengthening her walks each time as well as accepting less and less help from Serge. When her arm could be taken out of the splint, she also started practicing with her dagger, and Serge remembered to spend some time with Leena as well, feeling responsible for upsetting her.
At one point, all three of them were together in the small clearing outside of Radius's house. Kid was standing with her back against a fence, swinging her dagger in swift patterns through the air, while Serge and Leena sat nearby.
"So Serge, will you be helping out with the decorations?" Leena asked suddenly.
"For the festival, you mean? I think so. What's this year's theme?"
Kid paused, letting herself slide down into a sitting position. "What festival?"
Serge grinned as if hinting at great fun. "The Arni Summer Solstice Festival. It's small, nothing like the Termina Festival that was a couple months ago, but it's still fun."
Leena nodded. "The theme for this year is music. There's going to be a contest, as well as several regular performances. Actually, I was thinking of signing up for one," and she smiled almost as much as Serge.
Kid and Serge gave eachother thoughtful looks. "Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking, Kid?" asked Serge.
"You think we can get Ni-"
"Shh," he cut her off, "don't say names! It would be a great surprise."
She nodded understandingly, and Leena looked back and fourth between the two with no idea of what they were planning.
Once they had convinced Leena that she would really love the surprise if she let them plan in private, they returned to Serge's room to decide how to get Nikki and the Magical Dreamers to come to the festival.
"The problem, Mate, is that he won't remember us," warned Kid.
"Actually," Serge mused, taking the time to check Kid's arm to see how using the dagger had affected it, "the Nikki in this world is not the one who was directly involved with the Chrono Cross. The only time he helped was the concert in Marbule. It's just a hypothesis, but he might still have his memories... maybe. And even if he doesn't, with all the money and rare items we collected over the course of that adventure, we could easily hire him."
"Serge, yer a genius!" Kid said with a bright grin, but it soon faded. "But... um... what about me? I'm not too keen on being left behind while you go off lookin' for him."
"I know. Radius had an old sail boat that should work well enough. Once we're out on the ocean, you won't have to worry about walking, of course."
They agreed on the plan, and Serge went to tell Radius what they were doing. Not wanting to spend a night in a boat, they waited until early the next morning to haul the boat to the beach, with Kid riding inside. Serge had already packed plenty of food and elements, though he knew the area in which the Magical Dreamers' ship was, and he did not think it would be to long of a journey.
As it turned out, the wind was at their back and it took less than two days. The two spent most of this time talking, until the constant motion of the waves beneath them set off Kid's cough again. She wiped blood away from her mouth, letting the sea water rinse it off of her hand. "Bugger... I thought my lung was healed by now."
Serge could see the pain in her eyes. "It must have reopened. Let's turn back." He started to stand, but Kid caught his hand in hers and pulled him back down. "I'll be fine. We're more than half way there, anyway."
"Alright, Kid..." Serge gave in, trusting the girl's strength, "but let's stop for the night, at least." With Kid's permission, he steered the boat torwards a small island and, after securing it to a seaside palm tree, they made camp on the beach.
Long after Serge had fallen asleep, Kid lay awake, staring up at the tiny yet brilliant stars. She concentrated on patterns, ignoring official constellations, and making up her own. First a ship, then a dragon, and then one that resembled Serge in a battle stance, his double-bladed weapon held forward. suppressing a smile, she turned her head to look at where Serge was sleeping on the other side of the campfire, only to find his eyes open and watching her. She thought she saw something almost sinister in those ocean blue eyes, sending a shivver down Kid's spine.
The incident was all but forgotten in the morning, and Kid sat up to find Serge cooking breakfast over the fire. When she saw him toss an unfamiliar herb into one bowl nut not the other, she questioned him.
"Oh, it's a medicinal plant that grows in the woods outside Arni. I've been putting it in your food ever since I brought you to the village. I'm surprised you didn't notice."
"I see," she mumbled in an uninterested tone. Later, when they were back on the boat, she dug a handful the dried herbs out of the pack just in case she needed them in the future. Serge was too occupied with controlling the boat to notice.
Both the Zelbess and the Magical Dreamer ships were exactly where Serge had thought, between the main island and Earth Dragon Isle. After tying Radius's boat to the side of the ship, he hailed the crew of the Magical Dreamer ship, and they lowered a rope ladder. It proved a difficult climb for Kid, but Serge came right behind her and helped her up. When they reached the deck, she leaned weakly against him, coughing and trying to catch her breath. He told one of the crew members that they were friends of Nikki, and also that Kid had been injured recently. The sailor showed them an empty room where Kid could rest, but needed more proof before he would allow Serge into Nikki's cabin. In the end, the rock star himself had to be called out.
Nikki watched Serge thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. "I... think I remember you. You say you were there when I performed at Marbule? Huh... for some reason I thought that had been a dream..." Although he was unsettled by the memory or lack there of, he shrugged it off. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Serge described the festival and that he wanted to hire Nikki's band, and when he agreed to Nikki's offered price, the singer had no other arguments. It turned out that the band had been looking for a gig, and did not mind that Arni was such a small village. They were still attached to the Zelbess, so the cruise ship went too.
The villagers of Arni stared in total wonder as the two huge ships squeezed into the harbor, which was just barely big enough, and dropped anchor. Leena was bouncing up and down with excitement when Serge and Kid docked the sail boat.
"It's... it's the Magical Dreamers! Serge, I love you! How'd you get them to come, anyway?!"
"I, er, had some money saved up, that's all..." the blue-haired boy said with a blush, ignoring Kid's look of jealousy. "I see you went ahead and decorated while we were gone," he said to change the subject, admiring the many ribbons, banners, and flags that had been placed around the village, as well as the small stage set up.
Unfortunately for Kid, the trip seemed to have strained her still unhealed wounds, and she was forced to stay in bed again. To comfort her, Serge promised that she would get to enjoy the festival, even if it meant he had to carry her the whole time, which was a possibility. With nothing better to do, Kid slept most of the time, and the festival was upon her and her friends within no time.
She lay in a pool of her own blood, gasping for breath. Harle could have at least tried to heal her, but no. Well, bugger that damn dragon. Maybe the Time Devourer would eat her or something.
These were some of the thoughts that ran through Kid's mind while she attempted to raise her head enough to see more than just the pale blue sky of morning. No sun yet? Either the ordeal with the Time Devourer had taken only a few minutes... or she had been asleep for a day and a night. Kid decided that the first guess was actually more likely, judging by how fast she was losing blood.
And then the soft sound of someone shifting position in the sand caught her ear. Taking a deep breath and gritting her teeth, she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. It hurt like hell, but her strong will kept her from screaming. Now she could see Serge sitting with his back to her, watching the light in the eastern sky. The Astral Amulet was held tightly in his hands.
With the very last speck of strength in her tortured body, the star- stealing girl dragged herself closer to the boy who she had been searching for. Sand stuck painfully to her many wounds, but she did her best to ignore it. With pain coursing through her body like fire, she reached out her left hand desperately, but it fell short. She whimpered almost silently, but it was enough to get Serge to turn. his eyes widened and a gasp caught in his throat as he bent over the bleeding girl. He delicately turned her over and lifted her head into his lap.
"I... found ya..." were kid's last words before falling back into dark unconciousness.
When Kid awoke, she felt as if she had been sleeping for weeks, and yet she was still extremely tired. She was lying on her back in a small but comfortable bed. The blankets were soft and clean, as were the bandages which covered most of her body. Moving just a bit, she found her lower right arm to be in a splint. Someone, hopefully female, had dressed her in a thin nightgown and taken down her hair. Supporting herself on one elbow, she tried to investigate the room with her eyes, but her body was racked by a harsh coughing fit.
From close beside her, a gentle hand touched her shoulder and pushed her back down. "Don't move too much, Kid. You've got a few broken ribs, and Radius says that one of them punctured a lung," Serge's quiet voice explained.
Tentatively, she turned her head. Sure enough, her blue-haired angel sat in a chair next to the bed, a concerned expression on his handsom face. Kid's lips pulled into the faintest of smiles. "You remembered my name..." she mumbled hoarsly.
Serge nodded, smiling back. "I remembered everything as soon as I saw you two days ago. How could I ever forget you, Kid?"
"Two days?" she asked, holding her breath to quell another cough. "It feels like.. I've been sleeping longer... than that." Her sentences were broken up as she constantly fought the blood that gathered in her pierced lung. She lost control again, sitting up suddenly as she was shaken by the persistant cough. Serge patted her carefully on the back to help cease the agonizing spasms, and then put a finger to her blood-specked lips to silence her. "Please stop talking. Your hurting yourself..." he pleaded, moving his hand to her forehead in a gesture of affection, his touch bringing solace burning skin. She noticed only then that she had a fever. Just one more thing added to her list of problems, but at least Serge was there to help her now. At that moment, with her mind and body weakened but her spirit dancing with love and joy, she wanted only to be with Serge forever, safe in his arms.
During the days that followed, Kid frequently drifted in and out of conciousness. Occassionally she would even wake up at night to find Serge stretched out on the floor with a pillow and blanket. The boy spent nearly all of his time nursing her back to health, and she enjoyed the attention at first, but as she regained some of her strength and the shields that defended those emotions which she considered to be weak were rebuilt, the firey young warrior's helpless state embarrassed her. He did not use any healing elements to speed her recovery, but she forgot to ask him about it. Marge also helped, but only for the few things that involved removing clothes, such as bathing and applying fresh bandages. Eventually she convinced them both to let her wear her traveling clothes instead of the nightgown.
After losing track of how many days she had been stuck in what she found out was in fact Serge's bed, Kid had serious cabin fever.
"Argh! Bugger!"
Serge heard the exclaimation while helping his mother prepare dinner, and he turned around just in time to catch his wounded friend as she stumbled out of his room, clutching her ribs. "Kid! What are you doing out here?!" he asked a little to loudly while guiding her to the nearest chair.
"Getting outa that damn bed," she said almost venomously. "I can't stand bein' cooped up any longer, and anyway, I need excercise. How am I supposed to be a good thief if I can't even run?" Her words were interupted only once by a weak cough, a great improvement compared to the fits which had tormented her in the beginning.
With a sigh, Serge sprinkled a pinch of herbs into a bowl of hot soup and handed it to her before replying. "Okay, you're right, but try to be careful. I don't want to lose you again so soon after you found me." Unnoticed by the pair, Serge's mother Marge smiled at her son's words.
"It's a bit late tonight," Serge continued, filling two more bowls with soup for himself and Marge, "but if you're up to it, we can go for a short walk tomorrow."
As promised, Kid made it down the steep steps and into the outside world, leaning heavily on Serge's shoulder. As it turned out, Leena had been waiting for them.
"I haven't seen you in days, Serge! I know you were taking care of your friend, but you could have at least come to see me while she was asleep!"
Kid glared in annoyance at Leena for interupting her time with Serge, and Leena glared right back for not letting her have any time with Serge. The poor boy had no idea what to do. He was just glad that Harle was not there.
"Oh la la, zhe dogs are fighting over you, Mon Ami."
Wishing he had not even thought about Harle, Serge prepared to spin around to face the obnoxious dragon, but remembered just in time that if he moved to quickly, Kid would fall. Instead, he satisfied himself by craning his neck around to give her a pointed look. "How did you survive the destruction of the Time Devourer?"
"you of all people should know zhat. Zhe Time Devourer is alive, and it is what hurt your precious Kid so badly. Zhe one who saved her was none ozzer zhen moi," and the jester bowed extravagantly.
"Thank you, Harle. We owe you so much," said Serge, to Kid's extreme irritation.
"Oi, Serge, what're ya thankin' her for? If she had stopped the Time Devourer sooner, he wouldn't have beat me up. It's a shame they didn't just kill eachother..." Kid grumbled unhappily, and now Serge was trying not to glare at her.
"Please stop fighting. You have no reason to be enemies now, especially if Harle's telling the truth about saving you, Kid."
"Um, excuse me, but what are you talking about? And did you just call me a dog?" Leena finally asked, completely confused by the conversation.
"Zhat is far to long a story for right now, Madamoizelle Leena. Perhaps Monsieur Serge will tell it to you later," Harle suggested before turning and dissapearing into the thick foliage behind Serge's house.
"She is so... so..." Kid searched for the right word.
"Annoying? Rude? Freaky?" Leena supplied, still watching the spot where the clown girl had vanished.
"Yeah, that," Kid coughed.
Serge just sighed, mentally wondering why they couldn't all just get along. Leena then decided to demonstrate what a gracious young lady she was by leaving Serge and Kid alone, but the walk was not as enjoyable as it would have been without the interferance.
Even so, Kid insisted on stretching her legs outdoors at least once a day, lengthening her walks each time as well as accepting less and less help from Serge. When her arm could be taken out of the splint, she also started practicing with her dagger, and Serge remembered to spend some time with Leena as well, feeling responsible for upsetting her.
At one point, all three of them were together in the small clearing outside of Radius's house. Kid was standing with her back against a fence, swinging her dagger in swift patterns through the air, while Serge and Leena sat nearby.
"So Serge, will you be helping out with the decorations?" Leena asked suddenly.
"For the festival, you mean? I think so. What's this year's theme?"
Kid paused, letting herself slide down into a sitting position. "What festival?"
Serge grinned as if hinting at great fun. "The Arni Summer Solstice Festival. It's small, nothing like the Termina Festival that was a couple months ago, but it's still fun."
Leena nodded. "The theme for this year is music. There's going to be a contest, as well as several regular performances. Actually, I was thinking of signing up for one," and she smiled almost as much as Serge.
Kid and Serge gave eachother thoughtful looks. "Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking, Kid?" asked Serge.
"You think we can get Ni-"
"Shh," he cut her off, "don't say names! It would be a great surprise."
She nodded understandingly, and Leena looked back and fourth between the two with no idea of what they were planning.
Once they had convinced Leena that she would really love the surprise if she let them plan in private, they returned to Serge's room to decide how to get Nikki and the Magical Dreamers to come to the festival.
"The problem, Mate, is that he won't remember us," warned Kid.
"Actually," Serge mused, taking the time to check Kid's arm to see how using the dagger had affected it, "the Nikki in this world is not the one who was directly involved with the Chrono Cross. The only time he helped was the concert in Marbule. It's just a hypothesis, but he might still have his memories... maybe. And even if he doesn't, with all the money and rare items we collected over the course of that adventure, we could easily hire him."
"Serge, yer a genius!" Kid said with a bright grin, but it soon faded. "But... um... what about me? I'm not too keen on being left behind while you go off lookin' for him."
"I know. Radius had an old sail boat that should work well enough. Once we're out on the ocean, you won't have to worry about walking, of course."
They agreed on the plan, and Serge went to tell Radius what they were doing. Not wanting to spend a night in a boat, they waited until early the next morning to haul the boat to the beach, with Kid riding inside. Serge had already packed plenty of food and elements, though he knew the area in which the Magical Dreamers' ship was, and he did not think it would be to long of a journey.
As it turned out, the wind was at their back and it took less than two days. The two spent most of this time talking, until the constant motion of the waves beneath them set off Kid's cough again. She wiped blood away from her mouth, letting the sea water rinse it off of her hand. "Bugger... I thought my lung was healed by now."
Serge could see the pain in her eyes. "It must have reopened. Let's turn back." He started to stand, but Kid caught his hand in hers and pulled him back down. "I'll be fine. We're more than half way there, anyway."
"Alright, Kid..." Serge gave in, trusting the girl's strength, "but let's stop for the night, at least." With Kid's permission, he steered the boat torwards a small island and, after securing it to a seaside palm tree, they made camp on the beach.
Long after Serge had fallen asleep, Kid lay awake, staring up at the tiny yet brilliant stars. She concentrated on patterns, ignoring official constellations, and making up her own. First a ship, then a dragon, and then one that resembled Serge in a battle stance, his double-bladed weapon held forward. suppressing a smile, she turned her head to look at where Serge was sleeping on the other side of the campfire, only to find his eyes open and watching her. She thought she saw something almost sinister in those ocean blue eyes, sending a shivver down Kid's spine.
The incident was all but forgotten in the morning, and Kid sat up to find Serge cooking breakfast over the fire. When she saw him toss an unfamiliar herb into one bowl nut not the other, she questioned him.
"Oh, it's a medicinal plant that grows in the woods outside Arni. I've been putting it in your food ever since I brought you to the village. I'm surprised you didn't notice."
"I see," she mumbled in an uninterested tone. Later, when they were back on the boat, she dug a handful the dried herbs out of the pack just in case she needed them in the future. Serge was too occupied with controlling the boat to notice.
Both the Zelbess and the Magical Dreamer ships were exactly where Serge had thought, between the main island and Earth Dragon Isle. After tying Radius's boat to the side of the ship, he hailed the crew of the Magical Dreamer ship, and they lowered a rope ladder. It proved a difficult climb for Kid, but Serge came right behind her and helped her up. When they reached the deck, she leaned weakly against him, coughing and trying to catch her breath. He told one of the crew members that they were friends of Nikki, and also that Kid had been injured recently. The sailor showed them an empty room where Kid could rest, but needed more proof before he would allow Serge into Nikki's cabin. In the end, the rock star himself had to be called out.
Nikki watched Serge thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. "I... think I remember you. You say you were there when I performed at Marbule? Huh... for some reason I thought that had been a dream..." Although he was unsettled by the memory or lack there of, he shrugged it off. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Serge described the festival and that he wanted to hire Nikki's band, and when he agreed to Nikki's offered price, the singer had no other arguments. It turned out that the band had been looking for a gig, and did not mind that Arni was such a small village. They were still attached to the Zelbess, so the cruise ship went too.
The villagers of Arni stared in total wonder as the two huge ships squeezed into the harbor, which was just barely big enough, and dropped anchor. Leena was bouncing up and down with excitement when Serge and Kid docked the sail boat.
"It's... it's the Magical Dreamers! Serge, I love you! How'd you get them to come, anyway?!"
"I, er, had some money saved up, that's all..." the blue-haired boy said with a blush, ignoring Kid's look of jealousy. "I see you went ahead and decorated while we were gone," he said to change the subject, admiring the many ribbons, banners, and flags that had been placed around the village, as well as the small stage set up.
Unfortunately for Kid, the trip seemed to have strained her still unhealed wounds, and she was forced to stay in bed again. To comfort her, Serge promised that she would get to enjoy the festival, even if it meant he had to carry her the whole time, which was a possibility. With nothing better to do, Kid slept most of the time, and the festival was upon her and her friends within no time.