Weeks passed by. In that space of time, Lulu proved to be a quick learner. Already, she had control over her Black magic spells, and she was studying the second level magic. In one month, she could cast Fira with a leisurely wave of her hand. Neela was making excellent progress as well. Her skills as a White mage were, by this time, second only to Oneron's, and they continued to develop. During combat lessons, Lulu started taking care of Flans, Elements, and other fiends that the rest of the girls couldn't handle. Since Neela's daggers were needed less and less often, she was designated the official healer. Of course, she would still fight from time to time.
"Woohoo!" Lulu danced in a little circle as a White Element dissolved into pyreflies.
"Take that!" Neela smiled and shook her head.
"You're such a show-off, Lu." Lulu stopped dancing and blushed sheepishly.
"Sorry. You were good too, Neela." The older girl smirked as she wiped off her daggers.
"Now that's more like it." Lulu fidgeted, unable to hold still. She was getting to fight! She was doing a good job too. She was absolutely thrilled. She had so much energy, she didn't know what to do with it.
"Neela?"
"Mmm?"
"We make a good team, right?" Neela smiled and patted Lulu on the head.
"Of course we do. Someday, we'll probably bring about the Calm together. Just think- Lulu and Neela, the greatest mages of all time!" Lulu giggled.
"That'd be fun!" As they walked behind the rest of the class, Neela and Lulu heard something crashing through the trees and snow. The both turned and prepared to fight, Neela with her daggers drawn, and Lulu with her arm raised to cast a spell. However, it was not a fiend that emerged from the bushes, but one of the priests.
He ran right past the two startled girls, waving his hands and shouting, "High Priest Oneron! Lord Braska is arriving at the temple!" The priest skidded to a stop, nearly slipping in the snow. Oneron cocked an eyebrow.
"Lord Braska? You mean the summoner from Besaid?" The breathless man in front of him nodded weakly. Oneron's brow furrowed.
"I thought he had committed a sacrilege and married an Al Bhed woman." The other priest nodded again.
"He did." The High Priest's eyes narrowed and his face reddened.
"And you let him into the temple?! A sinner like that?! You're letting him pray to the fayth?!" The younger priest shrank back fearfully.
"No, Sir. He and his guardians are waiting outside the temple to talk to you." Oneron seemed to calm down a bit.
"That is fine. I will be there momentarily." He turned to the whispering girls behind him.
"Class is over for today. Return to the temple immediately and go straight to your rooms." The tone in Oneron's voice quieted the class instantly, and they all walked back to the temple.
Lulu waited until they were out of earshot, then tugged on Neela's sleeve.
"Neela, I know that man! He's from my village!" Neela's eyes widened a bit.
"Really? Well, you seem to know quite a few interesting people." Lulu looked downcast.
"I think mister Braska is in trouble. The High Priest didn't look very happy when he heard that Braska was here." Neela nodded grimly.
"Yeah, it's definitely safe to say he's in trouble." Lulu glanced up.
"Why is he in trouble, Neela?" Neela sighed and shook her head.
"Well, it's complicated. You know who the Al Bhed are, right?" Lulu nodded vigorously.
"They're the people who still use machina, right?"
"That's right, Lu. And, according to Yevon, most machina are evil, along with anyone who uses them. So that means that the Al Bhed are thought of as evil." Lulu frowned.
"They're evil?" Neela shook her head.
"Not really, but the priests say that they're evil. Because of that, marrying an Al Bhed is a very bad thing to do. It'll get you in a lot of trouble. And that's what Braska did." Lulu's face bore a mixed expression of shock and confusion.
"You mean mister Braska's wife was evil?" Neela shrugged.
"She was supposed to be. But even though Braska knew it was against the rules, he did it anyway. He even had a child with her. I think it was a girl…" Lulu gasped.
"Yuna!" Neela glanced at Lulu and cocked an eyebrow.
"What?"
"In Besaid, there was a girl named Yuna, and she was mister Braska's daughter. And her eyes were different colors! One was blue, and the other one was green." Neela scratched her head.
"Now that I think about it, I think that was the name of his child. She was named after Lady Yunalesca." Lulu's lower lip trembled and she suppressed a whimper. Thinking of the friends she'd left behind… It hurt… It hurt so much.
"Does… does that mean Yuna's evil too?" Neela shook her head.
"Definitely not! Sometimes, people just hate things they don't understand. They decide it's easier to look the other way than to try to change what they think. That's what's evil." They quieted as they passed through the temple entrance, and winced as they heard the heavy doors slam shut behind them.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Summoner Braska." The High Priest's voice practically dripped with venom and disgust.
"And I see that you have your guardians with you." Lulu's curiosity got the better of her and she snuck a glance over her shoulder. She saw Braska standing there, facing Oneron with a blank expression on his face. There were two men standing on either side of him. One was young and muscular, with a huge sword slung over his shoulder and narrowed eyes. He was wearing a long-sleeved, red robe, with black body armor underneath. The other man seemed much older, with scruffy hair held back with a bandana, and a blitzball cradled under one arm. His chest was bare and was covered with a tattoo of a strange design, while his back was crisscrossed with many scars. Oneron turned and glared at Lulu, and she paled and looked away. Their voices still echoed down the hallway.
"So, tell me, Braska… Is it true you committed a sacrilege and married an Al Bhed?" Braska's voice carried no shame or embarrassment.
"I did." Oneron nodded and stroked his chin.
"I see. And isn't that Sir Auron, the dishonored monk?" The man in red grunted and shifted the sword on his shoulder in warning, but Braska shot a glance at Auron and shook his head.
"Yes, it is." Oneron looked at Braska's other guardian.
"Then you must be Jecht, the blaspheming lunatic. You believe you're from Zanarkand, do you not?" The man called Jecht chuckled and shook his head.
"My reputation proceeds me, I see. Yeah, I'm from Zanarkand. What's it to ya?" Oneron smiled benevolently.
"Just curiosity, I suppose. I was wondering if you were as insane as the rumors said you were. And, there was another thing I was wondering…"
The friendly expression on Oneron's face was replaced by a murderous one as he shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY TEMPLE?!" Lulu froze as she detected the malice in Oneron's voice. Why did he hate mister Braska so badly? Why was everybody fighting? Memories, buried but not forgotten, began surfacing, drowning out the voices echoing in the temple hallway. She heard different voices now. One of them, a male voice, was yelling and screaming, while the other, the voice of a woman, did nothing but sob and cry out in pain. The paralysis that had already gripped her limbs began to spread, like a disease, until it infected the rest of her body, even her lungs. Things seemed to be spinning, shadows ringed the edges of her vision, and Lulu felt a sudden wave of nausea wash over her. If she'd lived in ancient Zanarkand, then a doctor would have told her that she'd suffered a panic attack, triggered by some traumatic memory.
"Lulu?" Neela's voice was weak and fuzzy, as though it was coming from very far away.
"Lulu! Look at me!" A small, quiet part of Lulu's brain noticed that there was panic creeping into her friend's voice, but this was not enough to drown out the other voices, the ones that dominated her entire brain.
"Lulu! Snap out of it!" Lulu felt as though she'd been physically pulled back to reality as she reached up and touched her cheek, which was red and slightly swollen from the slap she'd received. Neela lowered her hand, looking guilty.
"Sorry… you kinda scared me there… I didn't know what else to do…" Lulu nodded mutely. Neela smiled soothingly and put her arm around Lulu's shoulders.
"Come on. I think a nap would do you good."
Lulu blinked and sat up with a start. She scanned the room around her, finding it to be empty, with a single candle casting its feeble light over the walls. Lulu suddenly scrambled to her feet and rushed over to the window, standing on tiptoe to see outside. It was completely dark, obviously very late at night. Lulu rubbed her eyes and yawned as she wandered back over to her pallet. Neela had been right. Now that she'd taken a nap, Lulu felt much better. Lulu suddenly remembered the original cause of her distress and padded over to the door, pressing her ear against it. The hallway was silent; apparently, Oneron had finished his tirade some time ago. Lulu sighed, disappointed. That meant that Lord Braska was probably long gone. She had fervently hoped to see him again, and to talk to him about her training. As she thought this, there was a knock at the door. Lulu's face immediately brightened as she hastily pulled the door open, expecting to see Lord Braska standing there. But it was not Lord Braska. Rather, it had been one of his guardians knocking. The man gestured for Lulu to be quiet and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Sorry kid. Braska asked me to find you, but we're not even supposed to be in the temple right now, so I'm gonna hafta come in. Hope you don't mind." Lulu was slightly intimidated; after all, a stranger had just invited himself into her room. Still, he didn't seem to want to hurt her. He actually seemed very nice.
The man squatted down to Lulu's level, then extended his hand and said, "Name's Jecht. Nice t'meetcha." Lulu giggled.
"You talk funny!" Jecht cocked an eyebrow.
"I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted." He shrugged to himself.
"Anyway, kid, Braska wanted me to talk to you. You are Lulu, right?" Lulu nodded.
"Yup. That's me." Jecht half-smiled.
"Right. So, Braska says you're from Besaid?" Lulu nodded, then, reminded of the reason that she'd had to leave, lowered her eyes to the floor.
"I used to live there… but… nobody could take care of me any more…" Jecht tilted his head.
"Why not? What about your parents?" Lulu's eyes watered slightly, but she held the tears back.
"They're dead." Hearing the lack of emotion in the child's voice made Jecht wince.
"I'm sorry kid. I didn't mean to remind you about that…"
He studied her for a second, then, almost to himself, said, "My son was just a little older than you… Wonder how he's doin' now…"
Lulu looked up and asked, "You're a daddy?" Jecht shook his head sadly.
"Yeah, but I wasn't a very good one. Now, though, it looks like I'm never gonna see him again. I'll never get the chance to make it up to him." Lulu detected the sorrow in Jecht's voice and put her tiny hand on his large, calloused one.
"Don't worry," she said, smiling encouragingly.
"You'll be able to see him again." Jecht seemed to cheer up.
"You think so, huh?" Lulu nodded.
"Yup. You always run into the people you never thought you'd see again. After all, I got to see mister Braska again, even if it wasn't for very long!" Jecht chuckled.
"Yeah. That reminds me of Braska's message, too. He wanted me to tell you that he's really proud of you for being so brave. He can tell you've grown a whole lot, too."
Lulu's face brightened and she squeaked, "Really? He said that?"
"He sure did," Jecht replied, nodding in confirmation.
"And he wanted me t'tell ya that your friends from Besaid, Yuna, Wakka, and Chappu, all said 'hi,' and they hope you're doin' okay." Jecht could tell, from the smile on Lulu's face, that he'd just made her the happiest little girl in Spira. It made him feel better. The fact that he'd made one child happy helped ease the pain of knowing that he'd failed his own son.
Neela walked into the room, surprised to see one of Lord Braska's guardians sitting on Lulu's pallet and conversing with her, as though they were old friends. She made sure the hallway behind her was empty, then shut the door and looked at him warily.
"Who are you?" Jecht rubbed his neck, wincing.
"Sorry kid. Braska asked me to deliver a message to Lulu here, and we just got to talkin'." Neela noted the happy expression on Lulu's face and nodded.
"Alright. It was nice of you to keep her company. But, still, it's not a good idea for you to be here." Jecht clambered to his feet.
"I know, I know. I'm goin'." Lulu tugged at Jecht's pants and looked at him pleadingly.
"Will you come back, mister Jecht? I like talking to you. You're nice." Jecht laughed heartily.
"We'll see Lulu. I might not come back anytime soon, but I think we'll see each other again." Lulu smiled.
"Okay!" Jecht nodded a quick goodbye to Neela, who poked her head out the door and looked at him.
"It's clear, now go!" Jecht slipped out the door.
"Till next time, kids!" While Jecht didn't think that he really would see Lulu again, the fact was that, in time, their paths would eventually cross a once again.
