Chapter 2: Travelling…

Meiou's face was getting hot, but she kept her eyes closed. The scent of the ocean had been replaced by the scent of burning cedar. Something soft covered her and made her want to sleep some more. But she opened her eyes and yawned instead.

"Hey! Good to see you're awake!"

She looked behind him to see Zell, sitting on a table and eating. The scent of coffee and sausages wafted to her nose, and she realized that she hadn't eaten for a while. She was about to stand up when she realized she didn't have any clothes on.

She blushed underneath the blanket, "Uh… Zell. Where are my clothes?"

Zell's face turned red but he muttered, "Uh… ah… the SeeDs here are mending your clothes to something more… comfortable." He coughed as he stood up, "I'm finished with breakfast so you can… uh… go ahead and eat here. Uh… there's a dress there you might want to wear while you're…uh… right…" He took a giant gulp of coffee and left with a 'See yah!'.

She smiled when she heard the door close and the lock turn. She stood up and looked for the dress, slipping it on her. She sat down on the table and started eating, smiling as she remembered Zell's red face. She had to admit, even with that weird tattoo on his face, he looked somewhat cute…

Zell was savoring the scent of the ocean as he stood at the tip of the White SeeD ship. He still remembered Meiou, and how she looked in the bed that morning. How tousled her hair was, how she modestly covered her body, how white her skin was, what would it be like to be with her… naked beside the bed…

His blue eyes widened when he realized what he was doing and he shook his head, furious at himself. What am I doing!, he thought to himself, I should be protecting her, not raping her!

"Zell…"

He jumped at the sound of the voice behind him. He turned, seeing Meiou, but he gasped to see what she was wearing.

The SeeDs had altered her dress, so instead of a white dress, she now wore a white mini-skirt with long sleeves. The cloak was still present, covering her wings from view, but the veil that used to cover her face was now weaved through her hair, accenting the silver color of her hair against the white fabric. She wore a pair of white knee-length, high-heeled boots. A dagger was sheathed on her waist, which must be the weapon of choice she wanted. She smiled nervously at him, "Do… do I look okay?"

He had to swallow before speaking, "Yes… yeah! You look…"

Ravishing…? Gorgeous?

"Beautiful…"

It seems like he finally got his words right, because a smile and a blush brightened her features. She ducked her head slightly and started walking towards him. She clung on to a line of rope and sat down on the edge of the ship, "What are you doing here alone?"

He sat down beside her, "I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

He looked at her before turning his attention back to the ocean before him, "About my family in Balamb. I kinda miss them. It's been a long time since I visited them, ya know… with all my SeeD duties and stuff."

Meiou nodded, " I see… I miss my family too, but… I can't do anything to bring them back now."

Zell nodded too, "I know. I only have my mom now, but that's okay. I love my neighbors too. They're sorta like family to me now. Everybody's just helpin' everybody. But it's no wonder that we're all closely knit… Balamb is a just a little town."

Meiou's eyes gazed down to the ocean, "But still, it must be wonderful to have so much people around you. I…" She swallowed, "I don't have anybody with me anymore…"

He saw the sadness in her eyes and wished he could do something to cheer her up. He bit his bottom lip as he thought. Finally, he thought of something.

"Hey, would you like to be my blood sister?"

Meiou looked at him, her eyes gleaming with tears, "Wh… what?"

Zell reached out and took her dagger from her waist. To Meiou's surprise, he removed his glove and wounded his hand. He raised his bloodied hand to her, "I vow to have you as my sister and I shall do everything that I can to protect you…"

She continued to stare at him, but she took the dagger and wounded her hand. She reached it out and Zell placed his hand on hers, the blood in their wounds mingling with each other. He felt some sort of warmth enter his hand and his arm but he didn't mind it. He simply grinned and said, "Welcome to the Dintch family, Meiou!"

They both laughed as their blood mingled. "Thanks… brother…" Meiou said, gratefully. She laughed again as she removed her hand from him and looked at her palm, "Wow! I have a brother now! I've never had a brother…"

Zell tapped his chest with a fist, "Well, I'm your brother now. So you don't have to worry. I'll protect you."

She smiled as she nodded. But a frown entered her face as she looked her bloodied palm, "Are you sure it's okay we did this?"

He was already bandaging his own hand when she spoke, but he raised his gaze to her, "Yeah. Why'd you ask?"

"Coz you know… I don't want to get infected with Zell's Disease…"

The joke got into his brain as he stood up, "Zell's Disease! Why you…!"

Meiou's face registered feigned surprise as she stood up and ran away from him, his arms reaching her sides and tickling her breathless.

Meiou clutched Zell's arm and hid behind him as they entered the town of Timber. People were looking at them strangely and Meiou's eyes widened at the sight of people.

Zell's arm snaked around her and held her hand, "Don't worry. We'll be okay."

She nodded as they continued to walk towards the inn.

The clerk looked at her strangely, looking at her weirdly colored eyes and her thick white cloak. She saw the woman swallow before speaking, "How may I help you sir?"

Zell rose up the two registration forms in his hand and laid it on the desk, "A reservation for Dintch. Balamb Garden made the arrangement…"

The clerk looked nervously at Meiou before turning to the computer terminal, "Yes. There was a reservation. Its in room 14." She looked at Meiou, "Is there anything else the missus would want?"

Meiou realized that the woman thought that the two of them were married. She was about to answer when Zell spoke, "Nah. She's fine. But I'm sure she will call on you if she needs anything."

The clerk nodded as she handed them the keys to their room. Soon, Zell opened the door to their room and led her inside.

" You'll be safe here." He said as he led her inside, "I'll go outside for a while and gather information. I'll check and see if he trains for Balamb had already left. I'll see the schedule for tomorrow."

Meiou looked around the room for a while before settling down on the bed. "O… okay… how long will you be gone?"

He closed the door and put down the bag where she kept her things. "I'll be here by nightfall. You should go to sleep. I'm sure you're tired."

She shook her head throwing her silver hair around, "No I'm not tired yet. I'll wait for you…"

I'll wait for you…

Something about Meiou's words made his throat constrict, and before he could stop himself, he reached over behind her head and kissed her forehead, "I'll be back soon. Don't worry." He smiled as he left, while Meiou still sat on the bed with a hint of worry on her eyes.

Zell cursed as went inside the inn. He was able to get the tickets; unfortunately, the train had already left. They had to wait until morning for the next train to come.

He turned the key to the lock of their door only to see Meiou, still sitting where she sat before. A mixed expression of worry, surprise and alarm filled her features as he entered.

"Meiou? What are you doing?"

Her face relaxed when she saw that it was him. "I was… waiting for you."

He looked around to see that everything had been what it had before. He looked at her in surprise, "You hadn't moved since we got here?"

A blush entered her face as she nodded.

He sighed as he locked the door and came to her, "Why? Did you think I was in danger?"

She turned to another deeper shade of red as she nodded again.

He smiled, and it was such a cute smile at Meiou instantly smiled herself, "You don't have to worry. I'm very much okay. I have my fists you see. I can knock out anyone I want with these fists." He held up a fist as he spoke.

Meiou carefully raised a hand and laid it on his fist. He felt her warm hand through his gloves and he stared at her white fingers. "Yes… It was wrong of me to worry… I can see your strength. I'm sure you'll be able to protect both of us but…" She looked at him with her sky blue eyes and he was surprised to see tears in them. "Can… can you protect me…from me… as well?"

Zell looked into her eyes and he became lost. His fingers automatically loosened and gripped the hand that held him. Then she spoke, "I want someone to protect me. I've… I've been so scared all my life. I'm so tired of running for my life… of leaving the people of my life because of this…" She indicated her wings with the sweep of her other free hand. "I… don't want to hide anymore! I'm so sick of being scared! I feel like I'm some animal being hunted! I'm…" she burst out crying as she continued, "I'm so scared of everything now! It's like I don't have the courage to live anymore!"

Everything around them faded… the bed, the room, and the whole town of Timber faded from their thoughts as Zell embraced her as she continued crying. She was sobbing continuously now, and Zell comforted her by running his hand through her silvery hair. His fingers stirred the silver locks, and faint scent of gardenias came from it. She had somehow gotten her arms around him, and he brought her even closer to his body. This is madness; Zell thought as his own body started to react, I should stop before it gets out of hand. Before I…before I…

But even before he could stop himself, Zell found his lips kissing her face and neck. Meiou seemed to have noticed, but apparently paid no heed, as she inclined her head to allow him more access to her neck. His lips continued their journey up, to her chin, to her cheeks and finally her lips, where her mouth eagerly awaited him.

Her kiss was passionate, her body responsive as Zell carefully laid her down on the bed. Her wings lifted from her back and wrapped itself around the two of them, enveloping them both with white, downy feathers. His fingers continued to weave through her silken tresses, as his other hand traced a path down her shoulders to her back and down her bottom, before stopping in the area behind her knees as he raised her leg up to give him room. The touch of his hand on her bare legs was warm and maddening and through their mouths, he felt her gasp, and he instantly rose himself up.

"'S matter?" He asked worriedly, but his lips continued to kiss her face.

"No…nothing." She panted as her own hands ran through his spiky hair (how did it stay up like that anyway, she wondered) and down the muscles of his back through the thick fabric of his jacket. "It's just that… I've never felt like this before…"

She felt him chuckle as he looked up at her, his eyes gleaming with happiness. "Me neither…"

Meiou laughed then, and she looked at him with a question in her eyes, "What time is it, Zell?"

Zell raised himself up for a moment, looking at the time and saying, "It's after eight…why?"

A grin entered her features as she winded her arms around him and pulled him down to her face, "It's still pretty early… can you think of something to keep us busy?"

A passionate look entered Zell's eyes as he pulled off his jacket and gloves, "I think I just might have an idea…"