Chapter Five: Last Glimpse of Freedom
Sitaten halted breathing for a few moments. Surely they were joking. Surely she misheard them. What would they want to do in Bevelle? And why was it so important to bring them along?
"What?"
"Have you lost your grasp of the language, or are you deaf? Bevelle. You are coming with us to Bevelle."
"I'm not going anywhere!" Sitaten huffed angrily and spun around, attempting to stomp off. Unfortunately, Gippal blocked her path, looking down at her smugly.
"No you aren't small fry. But you can stay and listen." Blast him! What are they doing? Have they lost their marbles? She can't go to Bevelle: she just left!
"I am not going to Bevelle, more importantly I am not going anywhere with you, Shuyin!" Sitaten stamped her foot for emphasis. The man before her chuckled softly and shook his head.
"Come on," Gippal grabbed her by the shoulder and led her through the hall.
"I refuse." Sitaten sat on the small bed with her arms crossed over her chest and nose held high in the air.
"You'd better start packing, princess, before Paine gets impatient and show you where she got her name from." Gippal smirked. Standing in the corner, he watched he with amusement.
"I refuse to aid you in my own kidnapping."
"You should have thought twice before you decided to eavesdrop, now you have to respect the consequences, little girl." At first Sitaten loved his drawl, but why did he always have to be so condescending?
"I'm not going."
"You'd better start packing or you'll find yourself walking without provisions and wearing that every day of the trip. Although I don't think it will make the journey." Sitaten did nothing in response.
"Okay, if that's how you feel about it." He stepped forward, and for a moment, Sitaten believed that he was going to pick her up again. How inappropriate! But instead, he kneeled before the foot of her bed and began rummaging through her trunk.
"Get out of my things!" Sitaten closed the top of the trunk, him pulling out his hands just in time.
"I never imagined an acolyte to wear this under her robes." Gippal was swinging a pair of her lacey underwear with a devilish smirk. Eyes widening and blush creeping, she snatched the article from his hands and hid them behind her back.
"It's always the quiet ones, huh?" he scratched the top of his head.
"Get out!" Sitaten shouted. If only Korista ran her shops on Thursdays, she would not have this problem. But then again, it did seem like they would be able to subdue her in no time.
"I'm not leaving until you start packing." Gippal shook his head. Sitaten sighed in defeat. She knew she would lose this battle anyway. She never had to stick up for herself before, and now that is all she ever does since her arrival here.
"Fine…just turn around."
"Spare me, Sita, I've seen it all. Why be so shy, now?" he asked, but turned away nonetheless. It gave Sitaten time to rummage through her trunk and find the first outfit that she and Rikku had picked out the other day and some jeans and a yellow tank top. The places they would travel through would be unbearably hot, especially since it was nearing the summer equinox. After picking out a few choice items and plenty of undergarments, Sitaten picked up her yellow shoulder pack and allowed Gippal to face her again.
"I hope you have everything of value. We won't have time to bring you back here, and I'm not sure if your landlady won't give your things away after hearing of your tragic death."
"Korista would never do that!" Sitaten shouted, "She will probably send my things to my… father." She looked away and choked on her own words. How hurt would her father be? She would have to escape and find him to show him that it was nothing more than a lie. He feared losing her, and she was afraid of what he would do if he ever thought he did.
"Whatever, kid, let's just go." He said, pulling her by the arm.
"I still don't get why we're going to Bevelle or why it has to be such a big secret."
"Ask Shuyin." He replied as they traveled down the steps.
"But he won't tell me anything." Sitaten stepped carefully on the grate.
"Neither will I." Gippal said as he pushed the door open, both squinting against the sun.
"I miss the old Gippal."
"You hardly knew him."
"Yeah, well he seemed a lot nicer than this one." She said as she seated herself in the car, which immediately sped off, definitely breaking the limit.
"I miss the old Sita, she seemed to be more of a pushover."
Sitaten did not know what happened next, but all of a sudden, she was not inside the car, but instead, stood on the beach. She looked around in confusion, turning round and round and round until someone stopped her by placing their hands on her shoulders.
"You'll make yourself sick." Sitaten dizzily looked up to see Baralai's face slide in and out of focus. She was relieved that it was not Gippal.
"Where are we?" Sitaten asked.
"On the beach." Paine seemed to appear out of nowhere, immediately walking past her and onto the dock.
"But… what happened, I thought"
"You just had a very bad accident. All passengers ejected from the car. We died immediately while you and Rikku have another good ten minutes before you kick the bucket." Paine replied in that flat, lifeless tone of her that reminded her so much of Shuyin's.
"You staged our deaths, you…" Sitaten let out a frustrated growl, angrier with herself when she realized she was about to use a very bad word.
"It won't help fussing over it. Get on the ship and we'll leave without anyone noticing us." Rikku frowned at Paine's tone.
"Look, we're already off schedule because of your delaying us, so we need you on the ship, now." Paine pulled Rikku in and Shuyin pushed Sitaten onto the planks of the ship.
"Is that it, young lady?" a shipmate ran up to Paine.
"Yes, we may depart."
"With pleasure… men, make way!" the captain shouted. The crew immediately sprang to life, untying the ropes that restrained the ship and casting off methodically, talking about non-sensible things as they worked.
Sitaten turned and watched as the place she was hoping to call home fade away. It was the only place she felt free- the only place she did not feel like just another acolyte. In Zanarkand she was an individual, and the taste of freedom lingered in her mouth even as she watched it grow steadily smaller before her eyes.
She was unsure how long she stood there like that, watching Zanarkand slip away from her, disappearing over the horizon. She hardly noticed the transition from warm afternoon to chilly night. She barely felt the weight of Baralai's overcoat fall onto her arms as she absently shivered. She could not realize when she fell asleep either, her body crumpling into a heap right before the balustrade.
When Sitaten awoke, the first thought was pain-absolute, excruciating pain. Moaning softly as she lifted herself up slowly, she nearly cried out when her stiff muscles protested. Looking around, she knew that she was no longer where she fell asleep, but inside the passenger's quarters. By the look of the five empty, disheveled beds surrounding the plain, utilitarian room, the others were already up and about. Despite the consequences, Sitaten threw the covers off her and stood.
It was eerie, this sense of calm surrounding her. She was miserable, empty, and outraged at their audacity. For a moment she planned on escaping, but now, the only thought that ran through her mind was to make them regret what they did. Irritating them to no end would be a pleasure, and inexplicably easy: all she had to do was be herself, but ten times as sweet and kind.
Sitaten climbed the ladder that dropped down from the ceiling of the room and opened the latch to have to wind whip her hair about her face. Continuing the trek up, she reveled in the feeling of the forceful wind and it tugged her this way and that. Making her way to the balustrade, she let her hair down from its customary ponytail and allowed the tresses to slash across her face violently as she looked over the bright sea as the sun was barely over the horizon.
"Humph. You seemed like the type to enjoy the scenery." It was Paine. The person she wanted to see the least, so she did not turn around.
"It's beautiful, why not?" Sitaten replied, remembering her vow. Paine did not dignify her with an answer. Sitaten sighed and continued to gaze at the endless sea, thinking to herself.
"Shuyin wishes to speak with you." Paine finally spoke again.
"Oh? What does he want to talk to me about?" Sitaten turned to face her. Paine held her gaze for a moment and then looked away.
"You'll just have to go downstairs and find out, now won't you?" and then she turned and left without another word. Sitaten sighed, hoping that the woman would not prove to be so disagreeable throughout the entire trip.
Gathering her bearings, Sitaten stepped down the ladder and walked to the passenger's quarters. Dreading what was to come, Sitaten was surprised to find Gippal, Baralai, and Rikku leaning on a wall talking, while Shuyin sat down on a bed opposite the one she occupied only an hour ago.
"Take a seat." Shuyin, wearing his trademark sunglasses, gestured towards her bed. Sitaten crossed her arms o her chest and sniffed.
"I don't take orders for one, and I like standing." She stubbornly thrust her nose into the air.
"Very well, then," Shuyin replied and reclined lazily, his elbow supporting his weight. A long period of silence ensued and Sitaten, running out of her wonderful patience, snapped.
"Fine!" she shouted, and plopped down onto the uncomfortable springs.
"I'm going to keep this quick and to the point, Sitaten." He spoke her name as though it were a dirty word, "When you overheard our plans to fake our deaths and leave Bevelle, you severely complicated things. The mission we embark upon is of the utmost importance, and if you or Rikku knew of them, there was the possibility that officials would interview you and you would give away our plans.
"Fortunately for us we had the choice to kill or kidnap you: lucky for you, we opted to abduct you instead. I don't want you or Rikku to get in our way, therefore I'm going to let you in on a little of what we set out to do." Sitaten gulped at his words: he was so concise, so blunt.
"Tidus and Yuna departed directly after Alchemy to make their way to Kilika Port. From there they will travel through the region until they arrive at Luca, which sends boats to and from Bevelle. Once inside the 'Holy' city, they will infiltrate the temple"
"But that's foolhardy!" Sitaten exclaimed, "Everyone knows that the Temple in next to impregnable! The last people who tried to enter the temple were caught. One was severely punished, but three miraculously escaped with their lives. Anyone of the opposing force who dares to enter the temple deserves to meet their fate."
"You should watch your words, Terrai." Shuyin began to grit his teeth. Sitaten furrowed her eyebrows at the show of anger. It was the first time he had ever displayed emotion other than interest or slight amusement.
"It's like this, Princess," Gippal began, "the temple contains documents that disproves the faith. Supposedly it'll be enough to stop the war. Bevelle's got it hidden away so they could wipe out any opposing forces and take control of Spira. That's all this war is- a power struggle."
"Well if that's the case how come there haven't been any rumors about this specific document. And if this document does exist, which I'm not saying I believe it does, don't you think some of the more liberal Yevonites who sympathize with the opposition would have sought to discover it?" Sitaten raised her eyebrows. What they were telling her did not make any sense.
"You're looking at him right now, Sita." Baralai was the next one to speak up. So the second -in –power was in on this, too? What was Spira coming to?
"I don't get it. You're almost as high up as the Praetor, why didn't you just take the documents, yourself?" Sitaten asked.
"Only the Praetor knows exactly where the documents are hidden. The higher clergy are the only ones who even knows this thing exists." Sitaten growled and rubbed her temples. This was starting to annoy her.
"And you expect to find them how…?" Sitaten frowned.
"We already know where they're located, we just don't know how to get to them." Gippal replied.
"Uh-huh, and what makes you think that you'll succeed this time?"
"We know what to do." Paine answered.
"Might I remind you that the last people to break into the temple barely escaped alive? One didn't even retain that much."
"Watch your words," Shuyin growled. Sitaten furrowed her eyebrows again and sized him up. What was she doing that was so bad? Maybe he was just in a bad mood.
"Two things guard these documents: Maybe those years ago you felt the ground trembling? Or perhaps you heard a mysterious roar?" Sitaten's face fell as realization hit her.
"Bahamut." Baralai nodded.
"Not to mention the underground passageway beneath the streets. A cloister of some sort keeps the foolhardy out: a most terrible Aeon protects a long forgotten temple." Sitaten frowned at that clue. She had never heard of a forgotten temple with a cloister. The only one should could think of was the stolen Fayth near the Calm Lands, and she was sure that it was not the one they were looking for.
"Let's say that Tidus and Yuna make it all the way to Bevelle, get in somehow, and make it through Bevelle's cloisters. How will they defeat Bahamut alone? He's the strongest Aeon imagined!"
"Yuna's been practicing calling her Aeons."
"She's a summoner?" Sitaten's eyes grew wide.
"Yeah, after her father stood up and defeated Sin, she decided to become a summoner. It was against most of our wishes, but Yuna does what she wants to do, and Tidus always supports her regardless." Gippal shrugged.
"Summoners, special soldiers defending the non-Yevonite nations, destroying Sin over and again to keep it from destroying too many villages or cities." Sitaten whispered, "So what do these documents say?"
"That Sin was created by none other than Yevon himself."