The simple minded
And the uninformed
Can be easily led astray
And those who cannot connect the dots
Hey, look the other way
People believe what they want to believe
When it makes no sense at all
And I wish you along the sideline
Had the strength to walk tall

-"Walk Tall" by John Mellencamp

I stood for a few moments in that lavender washroom, staring into a bright purple mirror at my messy reflection. My hair still had bits off cookie crumbs in it, and was sticking out at the sides from Auron running his fingers through it. My cheeks were flushed, my dress was wrinkled, but my eyes looked beautiful, for once in my life.

Auron was the one. I almost couldn't believe how stupid I was not to notice it before. I didn't notice how he protected me, how easily we got along, how much he loved cinnamon cookies? Very, very, very stupid of me. But now that I knew, I just had to act on it. Hold hands with him, dance around with him, spin circles and bake cookies and be HAPPY for the rest of my seeming to be very short life.

I heard the click of the door opening behind me, and I spun, smiling as wide as I possibly could. "Oh, thank you, Auron!"

"Auron isn't here, princess."

I froze in my spot, my smile fading faster than a speeding chocobo. "I... I don't know what you're talking about, my lord. You must have the wrong person."

Seymour stood in the doorway, silliouetted by the the light in the hallway. He slid inside, his robes trailing along the ground like a gigantic broomstick, sweeping the floor spotless behind him. The door shut behind him with a fatal sounding click, and another snap indicated that the door was locked.

I was trapped, and I had no escape.

"I know exactly who you are, Rikku, bnehlacc of the Al Bhed. I was thought so when I heard your name, but I was absolutly sure when I saw your eyes for the first time. Sunglasses were a nice touch, my dear," his voice sounded more and more menacing as he continued to step closer and closer to me.

My panic started to reach a fevered pitch, where I knew I had no place to run, no place to hide, and I was desperate to get away. But, the slightly royal upbringing that I had forced me to be proud and stare the Maester directly in the eyes. They were cold as ice, and I felt a shiver go up my spine. "Get to the point, Seymour. I highly doubt you're in here just to visit with me."

"You're right," he snarled as he made another step, two, three, which caused me to make another back step, two, three, right into the wall. "You're a smart girl, princess." My back hit the cold surface and I looked around frantically, searching for a trap door, a hole in the floor, ANYTHING. But there was nothing, and I was forced to straighten my back, raise up my shoulders, and stare Guadoboy in the eyes again.

"Why thank you. Now, get to the point."

His hand reached up, and he had claws. Great, great, great. The tips of his claws traced my jawline and he smirked at me, and I could feel my heart rate jump up, and my mind start to spin. I needed an escape route, FAST.

"Tell me where Home is, and maybe I'll let you and your little friends live."

I sucked in my breath as the implications of his demand hit my mind. If I told him where Home was, he would send troups and kill everyone in my family, and there was NO way that was going to happen. But, if I didn't tell, he would kill Yunie and Tidus and everyone and.... Auron, oh my great googleberries, he would kill Auron.

Three hundred Al Bhed family members, or six friends. Three hundred people who raised me and made me into who I am, or six friends who took care of me at my worst.

One hundred and fifty eligible Al Bhed bachelors, or the man of my dreams.

"I... I refuse. You can take all seven of us, but I will not let you kill my entire family."

"What would your friends think of your decision, dear princess?" he asked sarcastically as he continued to trace my face and now my neckline of my dress. "Only three hundred of you dirty traitors left, but if I kill Lady Yuna, Sin will kill the rest of Spira. Only three hundred left of the dirty, desert scum, traitors left, and if I killed them off, it would be a gift that Spira would thank me for, but if Yuna died, everyone on Spira would die, including your family."

My mind filled with rage at the names that he called my family, but I made myself back down. If I act indifferent, maybe he'll let them live... please please, let them Yunie and everyone live. "There will be other summoners," I added.

"Hmm... I have another plan, desert flower," he whispered as he started to trace my arms with those claws of his. I could feel my breath catch in my throat, and I knew exactly what he wanted. "If you decided to be my slave, maybe I could spare everyone else's lives."

"A... A Maester, having an Al Bhed slave? What would the people of Yevon say?" I forced myself to say flippantly.

"They would say nothing, because you would be hidden from view. You would be in a cell, in the dark of the lowest quarters of this house, chained to a wall, waiting every moment of your life for me to walk through that door. It would be great fun for both of us. Agreed?"

"Never," I spit out. "I would rather drown in the deepest sea than be your slave."

"Aha, I was afraid you were going to say that," he chuckled. "But I'm afraid I have an offer that will be absolutly impossible to refuse."

"And that is?"

Suddenly, he grabbed my hands and pressed himself against me, forcing me up next to the wall. "If you aren't my slave," he hissed, "I'll destroy the Legendary Guardian."

"No.." I breathed.

"I won't kill him, at least at first. I'll just play with his mind and make it so that he wishes he was dead... And you'll be forced to stand and watch the big, powerful, Sir Auron, fall to his knees and beg for me to kill him."

"He... That would be pointless, because he means nothing to me," I whispered as Seymour let me go and I slid into a pile on the floor. I stared up at him from the cold dirty tile, my eyes breathing green fire. "Nothing, you hear? I don't care what you do, he means NOTHING."

I was lying, straight through my teeth, and I could feel my heart rip into pieces. If Seymour laid one of his disgusting fingers on him, I would tear the Maester to shreds. That simple. But as long as Seymour didn't think I cared for him, he would leave Auron alone. Please, please, let him leave Auron alone.

"Your answer, princess."

"Give me time..." I whispered. "I need time to consider your amazing offer, my lord."

"I will be leaving tonight for the Macalania Temple. I'll give your party a good reason to stop there, but when you reach the temple, you must have an answer. Understood?"

"Yes..." I breathed. "I understand perfectly. You will have your answer. I give you my word."

"Very well. It was a pleasure meeting you, bnehlacc," he chuckled as he unlocked the door and slid out of the washroom, leaving me broken in pieces on the floor.

I was crushed on the ground for what seemed like hours, broken, unable to make myself rise up. I knew what I needed to do, and I could feel myself start to sob into my hands, my dress becoming wet and rumpled underneath me. I was bawling, sucking in my breath and crying with everything in me, barely able to breath, wanting to scream.

And this was how Auron found me.

"Oh, Rikku..." he breathed as he came through the door, locking it behind him. But this time the click wasn't menacing, it was beautiful, and I opened up my arms and he came crashing into them. I clung onto him with all of my strength, and cried and cried and cried, tears coming out in buckets due to my scare.

And, due to what I knew I had to do.

He stroked my back, and ran his fingers through my crusty hair, murmuring words of love and grace and beauty to me. And I smiled through my tears at his antics, and realized how thankful I was to have him here with me, if it was only for a few minutes.

But when he broke away, he noticed the bruises and scratches starting to form down my face and arms. Fury jumped into his expression in a split second, and I almost started crying all over again.

"Rikku... What the hell happened?"

"He found me," I sniffed. "...and now we have a problem."

"Seymour did this?!" he growled, tracing the marks with his fingers, healing them without even intending to.

"Yes he did, but that's not really the problem."

"He knows who you are... He knows... He tried to kill you, didn't he?"

"No, he has better plans than that, but they're all pretty much on the killing frame of mind," I said, a bit sarcastically, feeling myself start to get upset again. "Pretty much, either I give up my family and they die, or I give up you guys, and you guys die, or I become a slave, and no one dies."

"No..." he sucked in his breath, staring me in the eyes. "You refused, correct?"

"If I refused, then, well... Something horrible would happen, and I can't let it happen, understand?"

"What would happen, Rikku? Tell me, I need to know."

"NO!" I screamed, as I pushed him off of me and stood up in a flurry of dress fabric and cookie crumbs. "Auron, you have to understand something. I asked for time, and that's all that he was willing to give. But, us... me and you... We can't do this!"

"No, Rikku, don't do something you're going to regret," he stood up quickly, and tried to hold me again.

I pushed him away. "Go. Get away from me."

"Please, no, Rikku, don't do this. I don't know what he said to you, but I'll protect you, understand? I'll won't let anything happen to you!"

I turned away from him, refusing to see the pain in his eye, because I knew if I saw that my resolve would break. "I don't need your protection, Sir Auron. And I don't need you."

He froze at my words, and I looked him straight in the eye, and read the pain and sorrow and everything that I was doing to him. But it was only for a split second before he covered his face with indifference and I nearly died from the pain. I couldn't believe that I was doing this to him, but I HAD to.

"Very well, Rikku. Your summoner is waiting in the hall for you. Don't waste her precious time," he said, voice dripping with ice, and I could feel myself start to lose it. Then, without a second look, he turned away from me and walked quickly out of the door.

The click of the door behind him, this time, was the sound of my heart splitting into a billion pieces.