Chapter 2

Lynna sat tearfully by Edgar's bed, stroking his hair gently while the doctor examined him. Gerad stood silent and majestic, as majestic as anyone could muster at six years old anyway. He tried hard not to cry, his father had always told him to try to hold back tears. A tear leaked out and ran down his cheek, but he scrubbed it away quickly. But he had also said it was okay sometimes too. He sniffed and his mother hugged him. But he wouldn't cry. He had to make his mother feel better. Edgar groaned painfully and Gerad buried his face into his mother's dress.

"What happened to him?" she managed to choke out. "Poison, Your Highness, a very damaging one indeed," Tomas, Edgar's doctor, sighed regretfully. "Can you fix Daddy, Tomas? Can you?" Gerad whispered. "For your sake, and your mother's, I'll try, little one." he smiled sorrowfully and patted Gerad's head. "I'm afraid this kingdom needs him more than ever... but someone will need to keep the throne while he's ill. But who?" Tomas pondered.

Edgar opened his eyes a crack. "Sa...Sa..." Lynna held his head. "Edgar, don't talk... you need to rest!" Edgar ignored her and his eyebrows furrowed. "Sa...bin... Sabin..." he fell back and started to babble incoherantly. "Oh dear... This must be taxing his mind as well. It's worse than I thought... but curable I think. I'll work as hard as I can, Highness, but you must call Lord Sabin to the throne."

"Sabin... Edgar's brother. But I don't know where he is!"

"Daddy said he lives on Mount Koltz!"

"Nobody lives on Mount Koltz sweetheart."

"Daddy said!"

"Nobody lives up there Gerad, that's final," she snapped. She got up quickly, winced, and slowly sat back down. "My stomach hurts too much for me to go anywhere..." Tomas bolted upright. "Mayhaps you have the poison too! I must check! And the little Prince. Cyan, our new Commander, can go, surely! Mount Koltz is the only headway we have, so we might as well search there!"
"Aww... I wanna go with Cyan... Daddy never lets me go anywhere, and neither does Mommy... no fair."

Cyan was quickly called and sent out to Mount Koltz. His instructions were to safely but quickly scale the mountain, find Edgar's brother, Sabin Figaro, bring him back safely, and try not to annoy him too much with his odd way of talking. "Thou art trusting thine mission into good hands, sir!" Cyan mounted his chocabo and sped off out of the desert.

Sabin eyed his wife carefully from behind the bed; she looked quite dangerous swinging that frying pan about. "Look, Selena, I'm sorry! I didn't know Junior was sitting there! I didn't mean to knock him down!" Selena gestured at him furiously and Sabin lowered his head even further down. "Okay, okay, I did knock him out, but it was an accident, honest!" He gave her his best pitiful face, but at the moment, Selena was pitiless. Junior stuck his tongue out at him from behind his mother. Selena ground her teeth angrily. Sabin cowered even further down as she stalked closer and closer. His doom was coming.

He tensed himself for the coming blow, but she kissed him on the cheek instead. "Hmm? I'm not in trouble?" she hugged him and made a series of gestures. 'How could I be mad at you? I believe you.' She left, dragging a protesting Junior behind her. He sighed. Selena, his wife, couldn't talk, and sometimes he regretted that, but... there was definitely an up-side to it. He'd never be shouted at, for sure.

He got up.He had been thinking of his friend Locke while he was training. Training with his head in the clouds was certainly not healthy for Junior, but speaking of Locke... Locke was probably still treasure hunting. It was a sure-fire bet, not a probability, and there was no doubt that he and Celes Chere had gotten married. In his last letter, Locke had written that he had had two children already. Sabin frowned. But he didn't remember being invited to a wedding, and Locke had dodged the question, but he wouldn't... nah...

Junior would be positively furious. Sabin had been training outside, and Junior had gotten in his way, so Sabin had hit him, on accident. Unfortunately, the 'accidental punch' was so strong, that it conked Junior out for a good five hours, while Sabin tried to explain that the punch hadn't been that hard anyway, and once again had said it was an accident.

Then Selena had commenced chasing him around the house with a whole stack of pots and pans, since they were the closest things to hand. Only after she had thrown the rest at him had she decided she was going to catch him and bludgeon him with her frying pan, but it turned out she was only teasing him. What an exciting life he lived.

Luca, Junior's twin sister, pulled at his leg. "Dad, Dad! Stop daydreaming. Some guy that keeps saying 'Thou' wants you. He's a weird old guy." Sabin leapt off the bed and went to the door. "Cyan? I haven't seen you for years! Matter of fact, haven't seen anyone for years, 'cept Locke." he grinned, but it faltered at Cyan's serious face. "What's wrong?" "Sabin, thou art summoned to Figaro Castle to take over in Edgar's place!" Sabin gaped at him. "Wha-what! What happened to Edgar! Tell me! I knew something was wrong, I felt it!" he began to pace. "I... heard him screaming in my head... I didn't know... if it was just a dream or... doesn't he have anyone to take over instead of me!" Cyan shook his head. "Nay, his son, Prince Gerad, is much too young. Only six years."

"That old dog had a kid? That's a laugh. What's wrong with him, sick? Flu? Stomach ache?" Cyan shook his head again. "Poison, Sabin." Sabin stared uncomprehendingly, and his mouth worked silently. "N-no... not again... Not again! I'm not going to lose him too! I'll make sure he lives if I have to pound the life back into him again! What're you gawping at, Cyan? Let's go!"
He turned back to the house. "Selena! Junior, Luca! I'm leaving!" Selena ran to the door. 'Where to?'

"Where? I'm going... back... home," he said haltingly. She put her fists on her hips. 'What am I supposed to do with these two? We're coming too.' Sabin ran his hand through his hair irritibly. "You can't come! It's too dangerous!" She moved closer to him and looked right into his eyes. She wasn't nearly as tall as him, only as tall as his chest, but still... 'And it's not too dangerous for you? What do you think we'll do here without you? We'll starve!'

Cyan watched thoughtfully. "I'm assuming thine wife wants to come?"
"Mmm..." Sabin grumbled. "Tis no problem. Figaro is a large castle after all."
"Fine... you win Selena."