Chapter 16

Misconceptions

NOW Pies remembered why he wasn't all that fond of Prox. It was the same reason he was none-too-crazy about Imil. Because in either part of the world all the poor man would ever hear was:

"Alex, did you get new cloths?"

"Alex, why did you come back?"

"Alex, is something wrong with your eyes?"

"Alex, go do us a favor and DIE."

"Alex, I thought Mia would never forgive you, you don't deserve her."

Alex, Alex, Alex, ALEX! Why the hell did people automatically assume he was ALEX?

Piers dropped down onto the padded bench in the Inn facing one of the three welcoming fires. Pinching the bridge of his nose slightly, the Mariner tried to order his thoughts in a way that would help him keep his temper with these, apparently short-sighted, villagers and think on more important things.

'I hope that crazy old bat with the broom didn't follow m—umm I mean, uh... I wonder when exactly I can coax a Djinni from Sheba or Ivan. Yeah, Ivan or Sheba...' It took him a few moments, but Piers was eventually able to get his thoughts on a set track, and begin making a few tweaks to the evenings plans.

"Hi, Piers." The Mariner looked up as Mia walked over to where he was sitting; he smiled slightly as she came down next to him. Her cloak and hood slightly damp with melting snow, meaning she had just come from outside.

"And how have you been?" He asked politely, not hearing the slight shuffling behind him as Mia smiled.

"I'm good, a little cold, but I was speaking with the Great Healer." Mia said, placing her hand over his and moved to lean against him, and Piers shifted slightly so as to find a comfortable position. The mariner smiled slightly as she rested her head against his shoulder, one hand curled up under her chin as she looked up slightly to see his face.

"How has your day been?" She asked sleepily, shaking off her cloak and managing to place it on the back of the bench. Piers couldn't keep his smile from growing slightly as Mia's fingers moved across the small patterns along the edge of his head-dress, the golden ends falling down within her reach.

"Hmm..." He said, thinking up a reasonable answer. The girls had gotten mad when they hadn't been in the loop about bringing Felix to Prox, so he wasn't so sure they'd like this idea either. But hey, this time he was the only member of the original eight who was in on it. So they couldn't cry foul about the boys scheming without them.

Of course, this also meant that there were even MORE people to get mad at, and possibly HURT, him, should they find out.

Piers was spared the trouble of answering though, as Mia seemed to look past him briefly. Sapphire eyes widening in surprise as Piers-

SHMAK!

-got clubbed in the back of the head with a broom handle...

"Evil, conniving, FREAK!"

"Wha-?"

"You're with him too, aren't you? AREN'T YOU?"

"Ma'am, I think you should sit-"

BAM!

"OW!"

"KILL THE CREEP!"

"What the-!?"

"GRANDMA!"

As Piers blinked the black spots out of his vision, and was surprised to find that he was on the floor, and that there was a sizable bump forming on the back of his head that was pounding viciously.

"Piers, are you alright?" The Mariner looked up to see Mia rubbing a sore spot on the side of her head, one hand out to help him up.

"Grandma, no, this isn't Alex, he LOOKS like Alex, but he isn't."

"It's ALEX damn you! It's that miserable turd who took my darling Agatio away..."

"Grandma, I'm right here."

"AGATIO! Thank the Gods you're alive!"

Piers blinked a few times as the frail old woman threw her arms around a bemused Agatio. His sister cocking one mid-night brow as she made sure her grandmother wouldn't make another grab for the broom she now held.

The Mariner glanced to his side as he felt Mia tugging on his hand, nodding his head towards the step that would lead down-stairs, but Piers shook his head silently. He'd seen Felix when he'd come back in from where ever he'd been, and Piers was pretty sure his friend needed some time alone.

Not that he was likely to get any with a certain Mars-Adept breathing down his neck...

"So? Aren't you going to DO anything?" Jenna asked, getting more and more annoyed as Felix seemed disinclined to answer her, her brother seemingly very mellow today. Not that he wasn't always bottled up he just seemed... more so, today.

"What is there to do?" He asked, glancing away. Jenna gave a sigh and walked over to the bed and sat down next to him, resting her head against her brother's shoulder.

"Do you care about this girl?" She asked, "I mean, really care?" Felix closed his eyes for a moment, keeping them shut as he nodded. "You almost lost her once, didn't you?" He opened one eye to regard her.

"Did Piers tell you that?" He questioned, lifting his head a bit as she shook her head.

"No, I figured that out on my own." She looked down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap, "I know you saw her, today." Jenna paused again, reaching out to gently hold her brother's hand, "Why can't you two try and work things out?"

Karst's mind was blank as she moved through the snow towards the inn. The wind at her back seeming to push her forwards, even as she felt more like turning around.

The storm was growing stronger. The icy winds gusting about, bringing flurries of snow, flakes seeming confused in the changing currents; they were flying in all directions, even up. It was still a far cry from the mid-winter months, but enough to make the cross-village trek slow.

No one seemed to be out today, which didn't change anything really. People would be preparing their dinner about now, not running around in a storm.

Karst wiped a few flakes from her face as she spotted the Inn up ahead; the smoke billowing from the chimney was hardly visible in the thick snowfall. She paused for a moment once she made her way under the small wooden awning over the door. Taking the time to stomp the snow from her boots, and brush the rest off. When she caught herself fingering her hair, she berated herself, feeling stupid fussing over little things.

The warrior felt her eyebrows climb into her hair, as she opened the door and stepped into the warmth of the Inn. Agatio's grandmother was in the middle of the room, apparently chasing the two blue-haired adepts Felix traveled with, round and round one of the inn's large square dining tables. She was shaking a broom at them menacingly, and muttering angry threats in their direction. Maria and Agatio were franticly trying to get her to calm down, or, at least attempting to take the broom from her.

"Thought you could get away from ME did you, Alex!?" She shrieked, raising the broom over her head, "I'll show you!" The man, whom she was calling Alex, ducked as the broom whipped past his head. Karst, apparently un-noticed, closed the door behind her as another gust of wind brought some snow inside. Careful to stay away from the broom-wielding else, Karst stayed near the door, trying to get a good look of the man's face.

"How DARE you desert our warriors!" Another swing. Another miss.

"WHAT? I'm not—"

Karst simply stood there a moment longer, taking in the comedy of the situation.

Okay, the man did hold a resemblance to Alex. Karst could admit to that. But his clothing was completely different; there was a headdress with a band across his brow, decorated with gold leaf, the dress itself coming down to his elbows. His vest seemed made of a stiff material that flared out past his belt, and followed the line of his body up to his chin. As well as a pair of boots and shorts that left his knees exposed to the cold.

Not something Alex would wear.

"Grandma, WAIT!" Karst's eyes went wide as the head of the broom flew off this time, spraying straw all over the floor. And in this sudden confusion, Agatio's grandmother landed a few choice hits on Felix's friend.

"DIE you miserable wretch! Take THAT! And THAT! And some of THAT!"

"Ma'am, I didn't do anything!"

"MOTHER!"

It seemed the Mercurian's salvation had come in the form of Agatio's father. The heavily built Proxian rushed in, hands wet from doing the washing, and gently began trying to get his mother to calm down. And, of course, remove an offensive broom-handle from her possession as well.

"Ma, he's a guest. He's a guest, Ma. MA!" Karst rethought her decision to walk through the main part of the Inn, instead spotting one of the two entrances to the kitchen. A bit of a detour, but it was better than getting smacked with a broom.

"You just... don't know..." Felix muttered as he stood up, running one hand back through his bangs again, and pacing slightly. Jenna frowned as she watched her brother.

"That's because you won't tell me." She argued, but her voice lacked any spark that could start a fight. Felix pinched the bridge of his nose as he stopped walking. Jenna waited a moment, before she got up and wrapped her arms around him; Felix returning the embrace and rubbing her back slowly.

"Do you not trust me?" She asked quietly, Felix sighed and remained silent for a moment, letting his face drop against the top of his sister's hair.

"It's not that... I guess I'm..." He trailed off, and once more the two lapsed into silence.

"You're afraid?" Jenna asked, pulling away slightly to get a better look at her brother. When his dark eyes turned away, she felt her eyes widen considerably. "This is a part of you I haven't seen in a long time." She exclaimed, "Even against the Lighthouse Dragon you had nerves of steel." That light, taunting tone in her voice vanished as Felix didn't take the bait and fight back, but instead remained silent and inched away a bit, as if he would start pacing again.

"Sorry." She apologized; Felix just shook his head, seemingly still to caught-up in his own thoughts to answer her. "I know this must be very difficult for you." He let out a small laugh at that, allowing a rule-full smile to spread over his features as he faced her again.

"You don't even know the half of it..." He said; Jenna frowned again at his tone, stepping closer and trying to comfort him again with her presence.

"...I love you Felix, you know that, right?" She said softly, "You're so incredibly important to me, I hate seeing my only brother in pain..." The last part was whispered so softly, Jenna wasn't even sure he'd heard her or not. But Felix's arm came up around her again, and she felt him move to kiss the top of her head gently.

"I love you too."

Karst let the door slip closed again, her breathing shallow as she silently crept back up the steps.

'I love you Felix.'

And he placed a gentle kiss on top of her head.

'I love you too.'

She hadn't seen the girl, hadn't been able to make out her face, but it didn't matter. Jenna was out in the village, wasn't that what the blue-haired girl had been saying? 'Will you believe Jenna when she gets back?' And if it wasn't Jenna then... who?

A small cry slipped past her lips, at the sound Karst slapped her hands over her mouth and bit down sharply on her tongue. She was not going to run out of here crying, she wasn't. Karst was not going to allow herself to be seen by Agatio's family, and Felix's companions in this state.

She paused a moment as she came too the door at the top of the steps. Behind it was the main part of the Inn where everyone else was. Karst tried to get her breathing under control and clear her face of any expression.

The light from the fires after the shadowy staircase made Karst blink a few times, the commotion seemed to have died down. The man, who was being healed, Agatio, and his sister Maria, all looked startled as she entered the room.

"Karst?" Agatio asked dumbly, "When did you get h—" Karst forced herself not to hear him as she marched across the room, feeling their eyes along her back. She forced herself to keep moving even as her knees felt weak.

'I love you Felix.'

'I love you too.'

Damn it, it wasn't fair. I just didn't seem fair that that woman down there could say those words, and hear him return them. It just didn't seem fair that she had to lose him, before she'd ever really had him to begin with.

As she slammed the door behind herself, and stepped out into the storm, the first tears spilled over.

"What did you do?"

"What? What are you talking about!?"

"YOU know what we're talking about!"

"Agatio! Piers! I didn't do anything, I swear!" Felix put his hands out in front of himself as his friends advanced on him. He didn't know when Agatio and Piers had found some sort of friendship with one another, but it wasn't that important as the two continued to gang up on him.

"Jenna, why don't you come with me?" Maria asked, shooting Felix a dark glare, but her tone was still light.

"What? Why?" The other woman asked, and giving the Proxian a sharp look as she grabbed her arm, and began pulling her up the stairs.

"Because. Agatio, I trust you can handle this?" She asked, ignoring Jenna as she shoved her up the stairs first. Agatio nodded before turning back to Felix, who was feeling very annoyed with the situation.

"Oh yeah, we'll be fine." He said. The three men waited until the girls, more importantly Jenna, were out of hearing range before they started speaking.

"What in the Gods name has gotten into you two?" Felix asked testily, folding his arms and giving them both a level look, which they returned in kind.

"Simple." Piers said coldly, "Karst."