Elie woke up to find that it was no longer day. A cool breeze sent
chills up her spine. The little fireflies in the sky winked down at her
and the moon shined brightly. She moaned and slowly sat up. It wasn't
surprising that she was in the cart. It was strange, though, that they had
stopped. Elie wondered how long she had been out. Then everything came
back to her, Recha's grave, what Viola told her, everything. Elie put her
head in her hands and moaned again.
Haru, who was sleeping against the cart, woke up with a start. He quickly stood up, causing the wold to spin. Ignoring it, Haru looked into the cart to check on Elie. When he saw that Elie was awake he climbed to her side. Elie smiled warmly at Haru, happy to see him.
"Are you okay?" asked Haru.
"I'm fine, "answered Elie, no longer holding her head.
Elie noticed that Haru seem sad about something. Had Haru been that worried about her? She looked out into the darkness and saw a small fire. Looking closely, Elie could make out let's funny hair, Sieg Hart's blue glow, and Musica's silver necklace. She tried to find Plue and Griff, but Elie couldn't see them. Haru turned around to see what Elie was looking for. He saw the others and figured who she was looking for.
"Plue and Griff are beside you," laughed Haru.
Elie looked down and saw them snuggled up closely. They looked cut together, all huddled. Elie laughed, and soon Haru joined her. Haru was the first to stop and he looked at Elie thoughtfully. He was glad that she was all right. It was possible that the strain of Recha's grave caused her to faint, Elie was stronger than that. Haru wondered what else had happened when she was at the grave.
"Elie, why did you faint?" asked Haru.
"Don't worry about me, Haru," smiled Elie, "I'm fine."
Elie looked away from Haru. She decided to stand and stretch her legs. With some difficulty, Elie climbed out of the cart. Her legs wobbled as she stood up and tried to walk. Elie felt her knee give and she fell. Haru jumped off the cart and helped her back up. It was a funny sight, Elie walking and falling. Haru helped her until she could walk again. After thanking Haru, Elie realized that Viola and Ruby weren't around.
"Where are Viola and Ruby?" she wondered out loud.
"In the front of the cart." Explained Haru. "Viola rested there and Ruby snuggled on her. It was really strange."
Elie nodded in agreement, even though she though all of them were strange. Let had this mysterious past that he didn't share, Musica was looking for something of great power, Plue was a bug-dog, and Sieg Hart was bad gone good. She smiled at Haru, unsure of what to think of Ruby and Griff. Haru was strange in a way Elie wasn't sure. Every time she was around him, she felt more comfortable, and like she could be herself no matter what. Elie didn't know what to think of Viola, who had opened a scar in her heart that Elie never knew she had. It would be hard to be around Viola after that.
"I'm so tired," yawned Elie.
Haru sat back down against the side of the cart, yawning too. Elie yawned again and climbed back into the cart. She avoided hitting Plue and Griff, then laid down.
"Good night, Elie," said Haru, closing his eyes.
Elie closed her own eyes and tried to go to sleep. The boards of the cart gave Elie little comfort. She rolled over and found that it was no different. Elie climbed out of the cart and lay down on the ground. The rocks hurt her head and upper back. Elie rolled to her side and tried to ignore the pain.
Elie caught sight of Haru, sitting back against the cart. He looked a lot more comfortable then Elie felt. She sat up and got an idea of a better way to sleep. Crawling over to Haru, Elie tried not to wake him up. Elie lay down beside him and put her head in his lap. It was a lot more comfortable then the ground or the cart. She closed her eyes and cuddled into a ball.
"Good night, Haru," whispered Elie.
Elie fell into a deep sleep; never noticing Haru place his hand on her shoulder and whispering good night back to her.
Elie felt a soft tapping on her head and she opened her eyes. It was barely light and she felt too comfortable to move. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep but another tapping interrupted her. Elie opened her eyes and looked towards the sky. White clouds floating above her made her smile, until she saw Haru looking down at her. Elie quickly sat up and stretched. Musica snickered behind her, and Elie turned towards him.
"You two looked really cozy together," teased Musica.
"W-what!" Elie blushed.
"Come on, Musica," said Haru, embarrassed, "it was nothing."
Haru stood up and helped Elie to her feet. Plue and Griff climbed out of the cart and joined them. Elie saws that everyone was already up, even Ruby, who tended to sleep later then the others. It was embarrassing that they had all seen Haru and her. Viola, Let, and Sieg Hart ignored Musica's teasing and worked on putting out the fire. The whole matter, unfortunately, hurt Griff.
"I wanted to sleep with Elie," he whined.
Musica frowned at Griff; "You stay away from Elie,"
Griff pouted and climbed back into the cart. He rummaged through a few of his things and pulled out the map of the area. Ruby helped him unroll it and they waited for the others. Plue and Ruby helped hold the may in place for the others to see. Musica, Let, and Sieg Hart moved by the cart, examining Griff's map. Viola kept her distance and looked out into the desert. She wasn't really part of the group, Viola knew. No one trusted her, especially after what happened to Elie.
"We are here," said Griff, pointing to a spot not too far from 3173, "I've marked the location of the other two Raves, here and here,"
"There's a town in the direction of Pastel Island," noticed Musica.
"It's so far away..." complained Elie.
Sieg moved closer to the map and narrowed his eyes. He whirled around, gazing out into the desert, in the direction of the town. Sieg turned back to the others and folded his arms.
"That's close to the direction Lucia went in, along with Orashion Sei." Said Sieg.
Everyone stopped and looked at him. It wasn't often that Sieg spoke, except when it was something worth hearing. This was one of those times. Elie lightly touched her lips and turned away. She never wanted to see Lucia again, after what he had done. Haru looked at her in worry. One day he would face Lucia and defeat him for hurting Elie. It was surprised them when Viola got up and walked over to them. She looked over the map and avoided Sieg's cold glare.
"Well, if we run into him, we'll just have to kick his ass," laughed Musica.
"Cold Manor is over there, the home base of Demon Card," muttered Sieg.
Viola looked at him and shook her head. She had a feeling that they would plan to charge in and take the base. They were all fools.
"None of you could beat Lucia," Viola sneered.
They ignored her and decided to make their way towards Starter Town. Then it would be off to Pastel Island to find the second Rave. Plue and Haru were the only ones excited by the plan. Even Elie felt uncomfortable about going so close to the trail that Lucia and Orashion Sei took. A run in could be fatal to all of them, no matter how strong. Elie was well aware of how close they had been to getting killed, even if Sieg had saved them. Starter Town sounded like a nice enough place, though. It was a comfort to know that they would soon be around other people, and possibly a casino.
They packed up the cart and took one last look in the direction of the oasis. Elie claimed a spot in the cart with Haru. Griff demanded prime seats and was knocked out by Musica who knew what he meant. Ruby sat beside Elie and watched over Griff. Musica stayed beside Tanchimo with Let on the other side of him. Sieg stayed behind the cart and avoided all conversation. The strangest part was Plue wanted to stay with Viola instead of Elie or Haru. Viola just smiled sadly and picked him up into her arms. Elie and Haru were happy that Plue had found a new friend, although it was someone they hardly knew. Viola was definitely a mysterious girl, who hadn't revealed much about herself since she joined them.
As they walked, the day grew hotter as the sun rose high into the sky. Time seemed to slip by without letting them know just how fast. It grew unreasonably hot, even for a barren land such a Symphonia. It was nothing but a miserable desert. Even Sieg found difficulty in letting his thoughts wander. His mind drifted on to Viola, no matter how much he tried to avoid it. Where she had come from and what she was doing in the oasis was a mystery. Even how she knew that Haru would easily lose to Lucia gave him further reason to question her. Sieg suddenly realized that some how she had known such a thing, although she was unaware of Haru's Rave. She definitely couldn't know Lucia, or else she would have to be a member of Demon Card or he would have killed her. Sieg stopped in his tracks and looked after Viola. Was she a member of Demon Card? He certainly wasn't familiar with her. Haru noticed Sieg stop and he jumped off the cart.
"What's wrong, Sieg?" Haru asked.
Sieg looked at Haru briefly; "I don't trust this new girl,"
Let and Musica heard Sieg and had Tanchimo stop. They looked from Sieg to Viola, who was apparently ignoring them. Let walked to Sieg's side and looked at Haru.
"I don't trust her either," Let sneered.
"We don't know her," Haru tried to defend, but only gave further reason for an argument.
"That's right, Haru, we don't know her." Muttered Musica.
Elie watched them for a moment, then glared at Plue, who was still in Viola's arms. Sieg brushed past Haru and walked to where Viola stood. Viola didn't look at him and instead glanced over at Elie.
"How do you know Lucia?" he demanded, hand prepared for attack.
Viola gently put down Plue and looked away from Sieg. Musica approached slowly, with his silver spear in hand. Sieg quickly glared back at Musica, signaling him to stay back. Haru felt that he should stop Sieg, but the thought that Viola was a member of Demon Card infuriated him. Plue moaned and looked up at Viola, then over at Elie.
"Answer me," Sieg growled.
"His cell was directly beside mine." muttered Viola. "The guards never felt comfortable about Lucia having someone to talk to, but we hardly talked. Lucia spent most of his time gaining power and being manipulated by Sinclair. We became what you could call friends, except we never did anything that usual people did. Sinclair took most of his time, the stupid woman. Lucia often said I sounded just like her, and I hated him for it."
Elie felt tears come to her eyes. She began shaking at the thought of Sinclair, especially Lucia. Haru himself felt betrayed that the girl before them had been Lucia's cellmate. His fury grew inside of him and he fought desperately to sustain it. Musica ended up having to keep Let back, who was reminded of Julia. Sieg glared at Viola, telling her to continue her story. Viola looked at Sieg and took a step back from him.
"The guards often spoke of what went on outside of the jail, especially about Demon Card." Said Viola. "Sinclair taught Lucia terrible things and whenever he disobeyed her, she would talk about his mother. Lucia valued her very much and often swore to kill the Glorys for what Gail Glory had done. Sinclair manipulated both of us, so even I learned from her. About two weeks ago, Sinclair had us escape the prison. She told me to find the oasis, and exactly where Resha's grave was. Lucia and her went in a different direction."
Haru felt warm tears flow down his cheeks. He clenched his fists and stared at the ground. Elie found that she couldn't stop shaking and she hugged her knees. Sieg stayed where he was as if wanted to ask something else. The moment had made the air cold and the hot sun no longer bothered them. Plue wobbled over to Haru and tried to comfort him, knowing what pain he must feel. Suddenly, Haru couldn't take it anymore and he cracked.
"Did Sinclair ever tell you that it was the police that had done it?" cried Haru. "Or how Demon Card destroyed so many lives? He set up my mother and had my father watch as he slashed. Then he put the tool that could be used to create another overdrive, inside of my dad."
Viola wiped a tear from her eye and looked over at Haru. She began to walk to Haru but Sieg grabbed her arm. He glared at her and shook his head. Viola brushed his hand off and walked up to Haru. Haru met her eyes and Viola smiled sadly.
"I know," she whispered, "Resha told me everything, at least her ghost did,"
Haru gaped at her, not sure of what to say. He wiped his eyes and was surprised when Elie came to his side. She smiled at him, trying to comfort him. Musica replaced his necklace and glared at Sieg. There was an unwanted silence between all of them. Everything was still until Haru finally smiled at Viola.
"Are you still coming with us to Starters Town?" asked Haru.
"What!" cried Musica, "After everything she just said?"
Haru laughed, "I trust her, why can't you?"
Musica muttered to himself and stormed back to Tanchimo. Elie smiled at Haru and Viola glad that the sad moment was over. She picked up Plue and gently patted him on the head, then squeezed his nose. Haru saw her and panicked. He chased Elie in circles around the cart trying to rescue Plue from the notorious Plue. Musica and even Viola began laughing. Let and Sieg walked behind the cart as Griff had Tanchimo start up again. Elie and Haru ran ahead of them, and Viola stayed some distance behind Sieg.
"Everyone follow the leader!" commanded Elie.
"Who's that?" asked Musica.
"Me!" cried Elie, squeezing Plue's nose.
"Elie, don't do that!" cried Haru, running after her, in a vain attempt to save Plue.
Haru, who was sleeping against the cart, woke up with a start. He quickly stood up, causing the wold to spin. Ignoring it, Haru looked into the cart to check on Elie. When he saw that Elie was awake he climbed to her side. Elie smiled warmly at Haru, happy to see him.
"Are you okay?" asked Haru.
"I'm fine, "answered Elie, no longer holding her head.
Elie noticed that Haru seem sad about something. Had Haru been that worried about her? She looked out into the darkness and saw a small fire. Looking closely, Elie could make out let's funny hair, Sieg Hart's blue glow, and Musica's silver necklace. She tried to find Plue and Griff, but Elie couldn't see them. Haru turned around to see what Elie was looking for. He saw the others and figured who she was looking for.
"Plue and Griff are beside you," laughed Haru.
Elie looked down and saw them snuggled up closely. They looked cut together, all huddled. Elie laughed, and soon Haru joined her. Haru was the first to stop and he looked at Elie thoughtfully. He was glad that she was all right. It was possible that the strain of Recha's grave caused her to faint, Elie was stronger than that. Haru wondered what else had happened when she was at the grave.
"Elie, why did you faint?" asked Haru.
"Don't worry about me, Haru," smiled Elie, "I'm fine."
Elie looked away from Haru. She decided to stand and stretch her legs. With some difficulty, Elie climbed out of the cart. Her legs wobbled as she stood up and tried to walk. Elie felt her knee give and she fell. Haru jumped off the cart and helped her back up. It was a funny sight, Elie walking and falling. Haru helped her until she could walk again. After thanking Haru, Elie realized that Viola and Ruby weren't around.
"Where are Viola and Ruby?" she wondered out loud.
"In the front of the cart." Explained Haru. "Viola rested there and Ruby snuggled on her. It was really strange."
Elie nodded in agreement, even though she though all of them were strange. Let had this mysterious past that he didn't share, Musica was looking for something of great power, Plue was a bug-dog, and Sieg Hart was bad gone good. She smiled at Haru, unsure of what to think of Ruby and Griff. Haru was strange in a way Elie wasn't sure. Every time she was around him, she felt more comfortable, and like she could be herself no matter what. Elie didn't know what to think of Viola, who had opened a scar in her heart that Elie never knew she had. It would be hard to be around Viola after that.
"I'm so tired," yawned Elie.
Haru sat back down against the side of the cart, yawning too. Elie yawned again and climbed back into the cart. She avoided hitting Plue and Griff, then laid down.
"Good night, Elie," said Haru, closing his eyes.
Elie closed her own eyes and tried to go to sleep. The boards of the cart gave Elie little comfort. She rolled over and found that it was no different. Elie climbed out of the cart and lay down on the ground. The rocks hurt her head and upper back. Elie rolled to her side and tried to ignore the pain.
Elie caught sight of Haru, sitting back against the cart. He looked a lot more comfortable then Elie felt. She sat up and got an idea of a better way to sleep. Crawling over to Haru, Elie tried not to wake him up. Elie lay down beside him and put her head in his lap. It was a lot more comfortable then the ground or the cart. She closed her eyes and cuddled into a ball.
"Good night, Haru," whispered Elie.
Elie fell into a deep sleep; never noticing Haru place his hand on her shoulder and whispering good night back to her.
Elie felt a soft tapping on her head and she opened her eyes. It was barely light and she felt too comfortable to move. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep but another tapping interrupted her. Elie opened her eyes and looked towards the sky. White clouds floating above her made her smile, until she saw Haru looking down at her. Elie quickly sat up and stretched. Musica snickered behind her, and Elie turned towards him.
"You two looked really cozy together," teased Musica.
"W-what!" Elie blushed.
"Come on, Musica," said Haru, embarrassed, "it was nothing."
Haru stood up and helped Elie to her feet. Plue and Griff climbed out of the cart and joined them. Elie saws that everyone was already up, even Ruby, who tended to sleep later then the others. It was embarrassing that they had all seen Haru and her. Viola, Let, and Sieg Hart ignored Musica's teasing and worked on putting out the fire. The whole matter, unfortunately, hurt Griff.
"I wanted to sleep with Elie," he whined.
Musica frowned at Griff; "You stay away from Elie,"
Griff pouted and climbed back into the cart. He rummaged through a few of his things and pulled out the map of the area. Ruby helped him unroll it and they waited for the others. Plue and Ruby helped hold the may in place for the others to see. Musica, Let, and Sieg Hart moved by the cart, examining Griff's map. Viola kept her distance and looked out into the desert. She wasn't really part of the group, Viola knew. No one trusted her, especially after what happened to Elie.
"We are here," said Griff, pointing to a spot not too far from 3173, "I've marked the location of the other two Raves, here and here,"
"There's a town in the direction of Pastel Island," noticed Musica.
"It's so far away..." complained Elie.
Sieg moved closer to the map and narrowed his eyes. He whirled around, gazing out into the desert, in the direction of the town. Sieg turned back to the others and folded his arms.
"That's close to the direction Lucia went in, along with Orashion Sei." Said Sieg.
Everyone stopped and looked at him. It wasn't often that Sieg spoke, except when it was something worth hearing. This was one of those times. Elie lightly touched her lips and turned away. She never wanted to see Lucia again, after what he had done. Haru looked at her in worry. One day he would face Lucia and defeat him for hurting Elie. It was surprised them when Viola got up and walked over to them. She looked over the map and avoided Sieg's cold glare.
"Well, if we run into him, we'll just have to kick his ass," laughed Musica.
"Cold Manor is over there, the home base of Demon Card," muttered Sieg.
Viola looked at him and shook her head. She had a feeling that they would plan to charge in and take the base. They were all fools.
"None of you could beat Lucia," Viola sneered.
They ignored her and decided to make their way towards Starter Town. Then it would be off to Pastel Island to find the second Rave. Plue and Haru were the only ones excited by the plan. Even Elie felt uncomfortable about going so close to the trail that Lucia and Orashion Sei took. A run in could be fatal to all of them, no matter how strong. Elie was well aware of how close they had been to getting killed, even if Sieg had saved them. Starter Town sounded like a nice enough place, though. It was a comfort to know that they would soon be around other people, and possibly a casino.
They packed up the cart and took one last look in the direction of the oasis. Elie claimed a spot in the cart with Haru. Griff demanded prime seats and was knocked out by Musica who knew what he meant. Ruby sat beside Elie and watched over Griff. Musica stayed beside Tanchimo with Let on the other side of him. Sieg stayed behind the cart and avoided all conversation. The strangest part was Plue wanted to stay with Viola instead of Elie or Haru. Viola just smiled sadly and picked him up into her arms. Elie and Haru were happy that Plue had found a new friend, although it was someone they hardly knew. Viola was definitely a mysterious girl, who hadn't revealed much about herself since she joined them.
As they walked, the day grew hotter as the sun rose high into the sky. Time seemed to slip by without letting them know just how fast. It grew unreasonably hot, even for a barren land such a Symphonia. It was nothing but a miserable desert. Even Sieg found difficulty in letting his thoughts wander. His mind drifted on to Viola, no matter how much he tried to avoid it. Where she had come from and what she was doing in the oasis was a mystery. Even how she knew that Haru would easily lose to Lucia gave him further reason to question her. Sieg suddenly realized that some how she had known such a thing, although she was unaware of Haru's Rave. She definitely couldn't know Lucia, or else she would have to be a member of Demon Card or he would have killed her. Sieg stopped in his tracks and looked after Viola. Was she a member of Demon Card? He certainly wasn't familiar with her. Haru noticed Sieg stop and he jumped off the cart.
"What's wrong, Sieg?" Haru asked.
Sieg looked at Haru briefly; "I don't trust this new girl,"
Let and Musica heard Sieg and had Tanchimo stop. They looked from Sieg to Viola, who was apparently ignoring them. Let walked to Sieg's side and looked at Haru.
"I don't trust her either," Let sneered.
"We don't know her," Haru tried to defend, but only gave further reason for an argument.
"That's right, Haru, we don't know her." Muttered Musica.
Elie watched them for a moment, then glared at Plue, who was still in Viola's arms. Sieg brushed past Haru and walked to where Viola stood. Viola didn't look at him and instead glanced over at Elie.
"How do you know Lucia?" he demanded, hand prepared for attack.
Viola gently put down Plue and looked away from Sieg. Musica approached slowly, with his silver spear in hand. Sieg quickly glared back at Musica, signaling him to stay back. Haru felt that he should stop Sieg, but the thought that Viola was a member of Demon Card infuriated him. Plue moaned and looked up at Viola, then over at Elie.
"Answer me," Sieg growled.
"His cell was directly beside mine." muttered Viola. "The guards never felt comfortable about Lucia having someone to talk to, but we hardly talked. Lucia spent most of his time gaining power and being manipulated by Sinclair. We became what you could call friends, except we never did anything that usual people did. Sinclair took most of his time, the stupid woman. Lucia often said I sounded just like her, and I hated him for it."
Elie felt tears come to her eyes. She began shaking at the thought of Sinclair, especially Lucia. Haru himself felt betrayed that the girl before them had been Lucia's cellmate. His fury grew inside of him and he fought desperately to sustain it. Musica ended up having to keep Let back, who was reminded of Julia. Sieg glared at Viola, telling her to continue her story. Viola looked at Sieg and took a step back from him.
"The guards often spoke of what went on outside of the jail, especially about Demon Card." Said Viola. "Sinclair taught Lucia terrible things and whenever he disobeyed her, she would talk about his mother. Lucia valued her very much and often swore to kill the Glorys for what Gail Glory had done. Sinclair manipulated both of us, so even I learned from her. About two weeks ago, Sinclair had us escape the prison. She told me to find the oasis, and exactly where Resha's grave was. Lucia and her went in a different direction."
Haru felt warm tears flow down his cheeks. He clenched his fists and stared at the ground. Elie found that she couldn't stop shaking and she hugged her knees. Sieg stayed where he was as if wanted to ask something else. The moment had made the air cold and the hot sun no longer bothered them. Plue wobbled over to Haru and tried to comfort him, knowing what pain he must feel. Suddenly, Haru couldn't take it anymore and he cracked.
"Did Sinclair ever tell you that it was the police that had done it?" cried Haru. "Or how Demon Card destroyed so many lives? He set up my mother and had my father watch as he slashed. Then he put the tool that could be used to create another overdrive, inside of my dad."
Viola wiped a tear from her eye and looked over at Haru. She began to walk to Haru but Sieg grabbed her arm. He glared at her and shook his head. Viola brushed his hand off and walked up to Haru. Haru met her eyes and Viola smiled sadly.
"I know," she whispered, "Resha told me everything, at least her ghost did,"
Haru gaped at her, not sure of what to say. He wiped his eyes and was surprised when Elie came to his side. She smiled at him, trying to comfort him. Musica replaced his necklace and glared at Sieg. There was an unwanted silence between all of them. Everything was still until Haru finally smiled at Viola.
"Are you still coming with us to Starters Town?" asked Haru.
"What!" cried Musica, "After everything she just said?"
Haru laughed, "I trust her, why can't you?"
Musica muttered to himself and stormed back to Tanchimo. Elie smiled at Haru and Viola glad that the sad moment was over. She picked up Plue and gently patted him on the head, then squeezed his nose. Haru saw her and panicked. He chased Elie in circles around the cart trying to rescue Plue from the notorious Plue. Musica and even Viola began laughing. Let and Sieg walked behind the cart as Griff had Tanchimo start up again. Elie and Haru ran ahead of them, and Viola stayed some distance behind Sieg.
"Everyone follow the leader!" commanded Elie.
"Who's that?" asked Musica.
"Me!" cried Elie, squeezing Plue's nose.
"Elie, don't do that!" cried Haru, running after her, in a vain attempt to save Plue.
