Yeah, this chapter is kinda busted out in a hurry… But I'll be gone for a week, so I figured I'd leave you guys with something to read before I left… I apologize if I mess up, or if the chapter seems somewhat off… I was doing it in a hurry…
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Chapter 2: Goodbye
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A Month Later…
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"Gaddes?"
The sergeant left his position at the window to return to Allen's side. "Yeah, Boss?"
"I just received a message from Van of Fanelia. He says that he requires help from us, either in rebuilding or a new threat of some sort. I'm not sure which."
"It didn't say?"
"It was very vague," Allen explained, "but insistent enough that I understood he wasn't just shooting at the wind."
"Ah." Gaddes nodded as if he fully understood, about to tell the men, when Allen put a restraining hand on his arm.
"Celena's month at the Asturian palace is also up."
Gaddes looked at the blonde questioningly. Allen's eyebrow was raised in one of those expressions that said 'you-know-what-I'm-asking.' "Yeah?"
"Well, we all can't go to Asturia and Fanelia at the same time. I need you to go fetch her."
"What?! Listen, Boss, your sister's nice, she really is, but I don't want to be her babysitter halfway across the Gaean continent!"
Or that's what Gaddes thought to say. What came out was, "Alright, Boss." 'Go fetch her,' he mimicked in his mind. What the hell?
He grimaced to himself. Since when had he had such mutinous thoughts? There must be something seriously wrong with him…
"We're going to meet up with Dryden's convoy in a few hours, and he'll take you the rest of the way to Asturia. Find a ship there and return to Fanelia as soon as you can."
Dryden. Maybe he can help me figure out what's wrong with me. The dark-haired man brushed his hair back from his forehead and said, "Okay, Boss, I'll make sure your sister gets back without trouble."
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Seeing the Crusade sailing away without him gave Gaddes a funny feeling in his gut. Had he ever seen the ship like this? He was sure he didn't like it at all.
A hand clapped his shoulder, and he turned with a smile of greeting. "Dryden! How've you been doing?"
"As well as could be expected, I imagine."
"So what brings you back to Asturia so soon? Finished what you set out to do?"
"Not entirely, actually. A message from my wife is making me come back."
"Oh, really?" Gaddes lifted his eyebrows. "What did the message say?"
"Not a whole lot, other than the polite insinuation that I was to return home as soon as I could."
Gaddes frowned slightly. "Seems no one's really writing anything nowadays…" he muttered to himself.
Dryden chuckled. "Yeah, just about." He gestured towards the library, and they began walking as the conversation continued. "Now, I couldn't help but notice you had this 'we-have-to-talk' look on your face when I first saw you. What's up?"
"I'm not really sure," Gaddes admitted hesitantly. "I feel disloyal talking like this, but… I can't really deal with Allen all that much lately."
The merchant frowned. "Why not?"
"See, that's what I can't figure. Not much changed within the past month, but I feel almost relieved about being away from his commands. Before I could've cared less – he was my commander, after all, so of course I obeyed him unquestioningly."
"You said you're 'almost' relieved? Why's that?"
Gaddes grimaced. "He keeps shoving his sister off onto me because he can't talk to her. I've basically become the designated babysitter for her. And that's why I'm 'almost' relieved."
"She seems rather old to need a babysitter."
"You know Allen," Gaddes stated. "According to him, her mind is still like a five-year-old's. She can't do anything for herself."
"That's what Allen says about all women," Dryden said with a dry grin, settling into a chair behind the desk. His statement wasn't really designed to speak badly about his former rival, just spoken like a simple fact.
Gaddes had to laugh at that. "That's true," he admitted, relaxing into a plush chair in the middle of several stacks of books. "But I don't see how that would screw with our relationship."
"Well, I'm no psychologist, mind you. But I have read some on this – "
"What haven't you read up on?"
He leaned back in the chair with a smile, putting his hands behind his long hair. "Well, the two of you just have different ways on viewing how to handle things. And this is the first situation when you don't feel the need to acquiesce to everything Allen has to say on the matter, since I'm assuming you have ample experience in that area, am I correct?"
"Assuming I understand some of what you're saying, I guess I have some experience."
"You have a sister?" he asked, adjusting his glasses slightly.
"One."
"Older or younger?"
"Older."
"I see…"
Gaddes raised an eyebrow. "So what, that explains everything?"
Dryden laughed. "Not at all. But I'd guess, since she was older, you didn't take care of her so much as her taking care of herself, which would mean you're more used to women being self-sufficient. Therefore, you subconsciously disagree with Allen's treatment, and find yourself at odds with him."
He looked at the man behind the desk skeptically. "How you can read so much into one statement, I don't understand…"
Dryden shrugged. "I try not to dabble too much into the subject." His eyes lit up with mischief. "Imagine if I actually did."
Gaddes rolled his eyes. "Oh, God…" was all he said, making Dryden laugh all the more.
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Gaddes arrived at the palace, feeling relieved that at least part of the journey was finally completed. Soon, he'd be in Fanelia, rid of the responsibility of Allen's sister, and able to confront whatever the problem was he faced. Dryden had tried to explain it further, but Gaddes hadn't been fully convinced by any of his explanations. He just kept using too many fancy words that really meant nothing to Gaddes. There had to be a far simpler explanation to all of it.
He stood nonchalantly in the doorway, letting Dryden enter the room first.
Millerna looked up from the book she had been reading, a broad smile curving her lips along with the blush that spread across her cheeks. "Dryden!" She stood up in a very reserved manner, and walked over to her husband, giving him a warm hug which he returned gladly. The hug lasted an extra second longer than she intended, because she pulled away, somewhat embarrassed. "It's… good to have you back."
"It's good to be back," Dryden said softly.
Gaddes watched the brief exchange with interest. Dryden was so obviously in love with the Queen… and she actually appeared to be warming up to him. Most interesting…
Millerna finally took note of Gaddes' presence, and she gasped, "Oh! I'm sorry!" She gave him a quick, chaste hug and said, "It's good to see you again, Gaddes. How are you?"
"Doing alright," he said casually, with a crooked grin on his face. "I'm just here to pick up Celena."
"Oh, that's right," she said, turning her head to call towards a door that was propped open. "Celena! Gaddes is here."
Gaddes turned his eyes towards the doorway, expecting the tomboyish girl to emerge.
Instead, an angel appeared.
He blinked.
Her hair had grown marginally in the past month, but something had been done to it to make it look far more…feminine. Almost reminiscent of Hitomi, except Celena's hair was an incredibly soft, light blonde color. The light reflected off of her hair, giving the foolish appearance of a white, gleaming halo around her head. The dress she wore was simple, but it was a dress, something he'd never seen her in before. A dark, sapphire blue dress that seemed to flow like liquid shadow around her legs and bring out curves he hadn't known existed…
She looked up at him, and for the first time he noticed the color of her eyes. Almost akin to the blue of her brother's eyes, except for the haunting hint of green within them…
Damn it, what was it about women that they could just put on a dress and doll themselves up and make any man around them dumb as an ox?
Gaddes shifted uncomfortably, mind blank. As if he'd ever been all that well-spoken in the first place.
"Wow, you clean up good," Dryden said with a grin, breaking the silence. "I see Millerna has done well with you."
She nodded politely, her lips curved in a very slight smile.
"So," Gaddes began, clearing his throat. "You want to leave now, or what?"
Before Celena could give any sort of response, Millerna said, "Why don't you both stay for dinner?"
And before Gaddes could say anything to that, Dryden said, "Yes, that would be great. You'll stay, right?"
Gaddes shrugged slightly. "Uh… sure." He looked at Celena belatedly. "It's a little late to be asking you, but is that fine?"
Her eyes twinkled, and she nodded again.
"Well, I'm glad you're the agreeable type," he quipped under his breath as Millerna ushered them off to the dining hall.
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"You have everything you'll need, right?" Gaddes asked his charge, looking at the bag slung over her shoulder.
She just gave him her characteristic nod, and he shrugged to himself. "Alright, then. Let's get to the docks and get passage to Fanelia."
Turning to Gaddes and Millerna, he said, "Thanks for dinner, guys. I'll be seeing you around, probably."
Millerna gave Celena a kiss on the cheek. "Have a safe trip, you two."
Dryden gave Gaddes a manly slap on the back. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he winked.
Gaddes couldn't help but grin back at his comrade. "See ya," he said, waving as they began to walk down the street.
"Goodbye," Celena tossed back in her soft voice.
Gaddes looked down at her with amusement as they continued walking. "After this whole time, you only spoke to say goodbye?"
She smiled impishly up at him, not explaining any further.
He raised an eyebrow. "You're a strange bird, you know that?"
She shrugged, looking down at her hands.
"I don't mean that in a bad way, mind you." They walked on for a bit longer before Gaddes spoke again. "I suppose this will be a really silent trip, huh?"
She just shrugged again, looking to the sunset with contentment on her face.
The shock of her appearance having since worn off, Gaddes decided to just let himself enjoy the silence (which he doubted he'd actually 'enjoy,' but figured it was worth a shot). He looked off to the side, only to find two people in the shadows ducking away from his vision. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but they seemed awful suspicious. Vowing to keep his eye out, they continued nearing the docks, but Gaddes couldn't rid himself of the creeping feeling going up his spine.
Maybe Celena could sense something too. The look of contentment had vanished into an unreadable expression.
"Wait here," Gaddes said once they reached a port. "I'll go find ourselves passage to Fanelia; you just try and stay inconspicuous."
He walked to a merchant's ship not that far away, when he heard some voices coming from just beyond the ship.
"Is that Dilandau?"
"Are you kidding? It's a girl, man."
Gaddes slowed slightly, listening intently.
"I know that, you jackass, but don't you know he's a girl too?"
"What? How?"
"I don't know how the bastard does it, but it's his disguise."
"Damn, he's good…"
"He sure as hell isn't getting away with anything. He killed my wife and children when he went on one of his damn rampages… By God, he ain't gonna breathe a second longer so long as I have him in my sights…"
Gaddes' eyes widened, and he shouted, "Celena! Duck!" just as an arrow shot through the air to the space she had just been standing in.
Roaring with rage, one of the men Gaddes had seen earlier stepped out from behind a levistone on the ship, intent on pursuing the young girl. Gaddes quickly knocked him hard on the head, making the man waver long enough for the girl to run into the bustling street market. Gaddes quickly followed, checking behind him to see if the men had noticed him. The second would-be assassin was too busy tending to the first to pursue him, and the dark-haired man let out a sigh of relief. Now to find the girl. Knowing women, she'd probably run clear to the other end of the market with her fright, and it'd take the rest of daylight to find her. Sighing to himself, he passed a stand with bright, colorful blankets draped across it. A hand snagged his arm.
He turned abruptly in a fighting stance, only to find Celena standing there.
She wasn't trembling in fear, or even slightly worried.
That surprised Gaddes to no small extent. She was completely and utterly calm in the face of her near-death experience.
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"So, Millerna, what's wrong?" Dryden asked.
"I'm not certain, Dryden, I just… I missed you."
Millerna couldn't look him in the eye, and her husband gently tilted her chin upwards so that she was forced to look at him. "I know that's not it. You can tell me."
She sighed. "I'm worried about Celena. The girl never speaks."
Dryden just smiled. "So I noticed. But that's not all bad, is it?"
"Allen had hoped that I would be able to turn her into a cultured lady, and totally transform her from Dilandau into Celena. But since she wouldn't speak… I don't know if I could."
"She certainly didn't look like a psychopathic murderer to me."
"That's not it. I mean, she's not evil anymore… but there's something about her that I couldn't reach."
"That's not enough to worry about to call me all the way back to Palas, though."
"No…" She blushed. "I heard talk, too… From people in the market place and such. Dilandau has an… unsavory reputation, let's just say. If they found out that Celena had been Dilandau, even unwillingly, I worry about what might happen to her…"
Dryden put a comforting arm around her, and she leaned into it with relief. "And I also thought, well, if they found that out, and knew I had been helping her…they might go after me, too…"
He kissed the top of her head lovingly. "I won't let anything happen to you, don't worry."
She sighed in his half-embrace. "And I did miss you a little, too…"
He grinned. "Oh, really?"
She squirmed slightly, her lashes hiding her eyes from him. "A little…"
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"Come on," Gaddes said quietly. "We need to get out of the open and hide. Your life is in danger."
She lifted an eyebrow as if to say, "no joke, genius."
Looking at her speculatively, he said, "We need to cover your hair somehow. It's too noticeable. Stay here." He left without watching for her reaction to go to the stall across the street and purchase a large handkerchief. Handing it to the girl standing in the shadows, he said, "Tie this around your head so no one can see your hair."
Giving him another of those "I'm not a total idiot" looks, she deftly wrapped the kerchief around her head so that very little of the hair was showing.
"That'll have to do," he said, taking her arm hurriedly. "Now let's go before they recognize you."
They had just stepped out from behind the stall when Gaddes heard, "That's the guy who hit me!"
Feeling his heart jump, he tightened his grip on Celena's arm, intent on dragging her along with him as he ran. It turned out that it wasn't necessary; she was already running with equal speed alongside him. They tried their best to go against the flow of people, hoping that would slow their pursuers down.
Gaddes' grudge against his boss returned to the small part of his brain that was not concerned with escaping. Of course, he would wind up in a mess where he'd have to run for his life and for the girl's. Anyone else sent on one of these kind of jobs would have just gone and come back without incident. But his luck just seemed to take a turn for the worst. Goodbye, simplicity, he thought cynically.
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Feel free to let me know what ya think. Hopefully the summary is more interesting… I like the short ones that leave much to the imagination. If anyone can think of anything better, I'm open to suggestions. Hope you enjoyed it so far…
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