Author's Note: Important note. Updates may suffer due to my computer struggling to function. The processor threw a spark today, apparently, and my brother is constantly trying to fix it, meaning I can barely get near the dammed thing. So some days may go past without an update. If it suffers a horrific crash and I lose it completely, watch the reviews, because I'll try and get on a PC to leave one explaining the situation. Of course, that's if I haven't updated for a few days. As it stands, I might miss one or two lately while it's under repair. As usual, I'm really really sorry, but I'm helpless. I'll write whenever I can get on here though.

I'm still struggling with this storyline a little. I'm not sure what it is, I'm just finding it hard. Too many characters maybe? Perhaps it's the plot requiring quite a lot of skill to write, skill I don't have. I dunno. I'm just finding it hard. As per TheFrogKiller's request, I tried to put more of Trevia and Jeren interacting, but found it very very hard, so there's only two scenes this chapter. It's romantic dialogue, with drama thrown in, the two things I can't do well. So these scenes are a bit of a let down. Hopefully it'll pick up as the plot gets a move on.

Oh, and a final note, should go after really but I can't be bothered. Viliv is back with a bigger part this chapter. She's convenient, but wasn't really part of my plan. I wanted a storyline without Olose getting involved with royalty or people of high status, after Arcadia, and Astra, it's getting ridiculous. But I suppose it explains why he has good relations with every town and nation in the FFXI Chronicles. But I did want to do a storyline where he didn't get any support, but she serves a purpose here, so I've kept her in. Hope nobody minds.

And I've decided Viliv is too close to Vivli for my liking, in both character and name. Making an anagram of Vivli wasn't easy, but now she sounds like a clone. To the extent I've typed 'Vivli' by mistake a few times, but luckily caught myself. She's meant to be a distant ancestor, but is a little too close to her for my liking. I hope it doesn't bother anybody too much!

CHAPTER 48

RELATIONS

Trevia was sprawled on her bed as Jeren walked in gently.

"You alright?" He asked. He never was any good at sounding caring.

"Been betterrrr." Trevia replied. "Is that a sword?" She exclaimed in surprise, noticing the weapon hanging from Jeren's belt.

"Yeah. Just for your safety." He explained.

"But it's illegal for a male to carrrrry one of those!" Trevia explained.

"I know. I know. But I want to be prepared if this old friend of yours tries anything." Jeren told her.

"I'm sorry." She said sadly. "I can't help being scarrrred. I can't remember anything. Not a single thing. Anybody could lie to me about who I was and I wouldn't know any differrrrent." She whimpered slightly, before turning over to face away from Jeren.

"Come on, it's not all bad." Jeren said softly. "We get to spend more time together."

"Thanks for being herrrre." Trevia sighed. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hey, I can be hear forever, you know?" Jeren offered.

"You mean get married?" Trevia guessed. "How can I do that? I don't know what the other me would want. The me with the memories."

"Trevia, what if you're memories don't come back?" Jeren pointed out. "You can't live your life following the wishes of some woman who doesn't exist anymore. You are who you are. Not some strange woman who hung out with a werewolf." Trevia looked at him with confused eyes.

"I want to stay with you Jeren. I need you by my side." She said simply. "Marriage is a big, scarrrry step, but I'm willing. I want too. I need too. I can't handle this on my own." She started crying again, and Jeren hugged her.

"It's alright. I'll never abandon you Trevia. No matter what happens, or where we go, I'll do anything for you." He smiled. "As long as I'm around, you'll be safe. Forever." Trevia let a smile creep across her face, and hugged Jeren back.

Suse and Nadia burst into the tent.
"We've got bad news!" Nadia announced.

"What is it?" Olose asked quickly, having already returned.

"We stopped Trrrrrevia from going on the hunt!" Suse cried happily.

"Why's that bad?" Olose asked.

"Because we've stopped one problem to face another." Nadia muttered. "A marriage is being planned for this coming Firesday."

"But that's in four days!" Olose cried. "Damn." He quickly thought back to what the Doctor had said. "No, wait, this is good." He decided.

"Captain?" Phabrizoe rose an eyebrow.

"Kazham's doctor seems to think that an emotional peak may force Trevia's memories back into the forefront." Olose explained. "He recommended that the wedding was the best time to cause such a thing."

"So, what is your plan?" Arcadia asked.

"We go crash a wedding." Olose grinned.

He suddenly spun around in shock.

"What is it?" Nadia inquired.

"Mithra. Six of them. Approaching us." Olose answered.

"That's prrrrretty cool." Suse laughed.

"Wait. There's a seventh behind them." Olose continued. "They're armed. At least the main six."

"That doesn't sound good." Phabrizoe muttered, subconsciously preparing a spell in his mind. Nadia placed her hand on her sword hilt.

A little figure panted behind the heavily armed mithran guards..

"No! Stop!" Pleaded Viliv.

"Sorrrrrry Prrrrincess, we're on official orders from the Queen. She wants them removed." Snapped the guard. Viliv cursed to herself.

"They haven't done anything!" Viliv tried to explain.

"One is a werewolf. Just be thankful that we haven't killed him on the spot." The guard told her. "That's only because you wouldn't keep quiet."

"Hey! You can't speak to me like that!" Viliv protested. The guards continued walking and she gave up, kicking the ground. "Stupid guarrrrrds." She said to herself. She wasn't entirely sure why she was bothering anyway, she had done a favour for the group already, she just had that feeling. A feeling that they were good people. Not the type of people that deserved to be kicked out of Kazham.

By the time the guards arrived at the tent, the group inside had already left, and were stood before them.

"Olose Sampson?" Inquired the guard. Olose just stared at her. She was slightly unnerved. "Urm. You are hearrrrrby exiled from Kazham to never rrrreturn." Olose took a step forwards, towards her.

"You have my friend." He growled.

"This law has been passed by the Queen herself. Any resistance and we shall deploy our full military might against you."

"Try." Olose threatened. The guard gulped.

"Um. This is an official order. Resistance is war." She explained. Olose kept his dead stare at her.

"Are you going to make me?" He asked.

"Olose. Stop!" Arcadia stepped between the two. "We shall leave." Arcadia shot Olose a stare, and he broke off into a laugh.
"Bravest of the Kazham military there." He chuckled, slapping the guard on her shoulder. She blushed slightly, shaking with anger.

"Get out of Kazham and never rrrrreturn!" She snapped. Olose smiled.

"Of course." He replied.

"You resist us like that again, and we shall be forrrrced to destroy you." The guard warned.

"Yes. I'm sure." Olose responded casually. "Well, you've delivered your message. Turn around and leave." The guards grumbled to themselves, and walked away. Olose cursed to himself.

"What was all that about?" Arcadia cried as soon as the guards were gone.

"All what?" Olose asked.

"That." She stated. "That, threatening thing."

"Oh. Right." Olose laughed. "Well, I figured we're going to have to face those guards eventually. Those six are already unnerved. They'll spread stories. And those people who hear them will spread them. Fear will give us a big advantage."

"You're planning on fighting?" Nadia asked.

"No. But they are. You can tell. If we try to do anything, they'll try to fight us." Olose explained.

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Arcadia inquired.

"Get to the outskirts. The jungle outside can provide cover for us to set up some kind of hideout." Olose decided. "And then we wait for the wedding."

"We can't just wait outside. We need information." Phabrizoe decided.

"From who? We're all exiled." Olose sighed. "Never got a chance to ask why." He added thoughtfully.

"Maybe the werewolf thing?" Nadia suggested.

"That would make sense." Olose grumbled. "Not really fair they exiled you all as well."

"We're sympathetic to you. Could interfere with the wedding." Phabrizoe explained.

"I know that!" Olose sighed, rolling his eyes. "I was just saying it didn't seem particularly fair."

"I did not think they would do such a thing to us." Arcadia complained.

"You're status may protect us back on the mainland, but not here." Nadia pointed out.

"So, wherrrrre do we go now?" Suse asked.

"Out into the jungle, just outside of Kazham's walls. Like I said. Easy, they can't exile us from the jungle." Olose grinned.

"Are there not, bugs, and things, crawling around out there?" Arcadia said with a look of distaste on her face. This prompted Nadia to chuckle. Arcadia folded her arms angrily.

"Yeah, but I'd be more worried about the goblins and things." Olose told her.

"Goblins?" Arcadia repeated in fear.

"Why are there goblins everywhere we go in the world?" Sighed Phabrizoe.

"Well, we had best get moving before the guards return." Olose decided, beginning to take down the tents. The others nodded silently, used to following their captain's orders (except Arcadia, who watched anyway, not actually knowing how to take a tent down), and got to work.

Trevia was resting against her doorframe, watching a group of mithran guards march by. She felt Jeren wrap his arms around her from behind.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sensing her distraction.

"Are those guarrrrds going after that man? The werrrrewolf?" She inquired.

"Hopefully." Jeren replied. "I informed the Queen straight away, so she should be taking action."

"You did?" Trevia sounded slightly upset. "It's for the best, I guess."

"You're disappointed." Jeren guessed.

"It's just-" Trevia paused. "-Just that he was the only clue to who I was." Jeren let out a warm smile and hugged her tighter.

"Don't you understand. It doesn't matter who you were. You don't need to know. You didn't even live here in Kazham. So now, you can start over. A new life. With me." She turned around and rested her head on his shoulders. He ran his hands down her arms, feeling her muscles. They were large, and she was clearly very strong, which was somewhat hard to imagine considering how she acted in her amnesiac state.

"But I can't just walk away from an entirrrre life." She said tearfully.

"For all you need to know, it never existed. You can't remember it. The others have packed up and left. Why be so worried about it? Just enjoy what you have." Trevia looked up at Jeren, who smiled again. That warm smile that showed how much he cared.

"I guess I'll have too." Trevia grumbled, sounding unconvinced. Her head was pounding. She hated that shadowy feeling she had of the memories she couldn't reach. She hadn't even gotten an explanation as to why she felt that way. Her last memory was of her when she was twelve, and she was playing with Jeren in the street, throwing a ball to him. Yet she acted differently. Her matured brain meant she wasn't quite the twelve year old she was back then, yet she didn't have any of the memories, experience, or skills. She swayed a little, and let herself fall into Jeren's arms as he took her weight. She felt sleepy, so she shut her eyes, resting against his chest.

Viliv had gone four seconds before she realised she was outside of Kazham's gates without a bodyguard for the first time. She shivered. She wasn't a huntress like the others. Ironically, her position meant she could avoid the tradition of hunting. She hated combat, not really having the build for it and seeming to lack all natural talent for fighting anyway. She took a few more steps bravely, knowing she couldn't turn back, before she heard a grunt. She shut her eyes. There came another grunt. She managed to open one to see a goblin curiously eyeing her. She gulped, hard. It drew its dagger, and she became painfully aware that she had no weapon.

"Help." She squeaked, too frightened to muster a loud voice. The goblin began to scurry towards her. She turned to run, but tripped over her own tail in a fairly embarrassing manner. "HELP!" She managed to scream just before the goblin was on top of her. Just before it reached her, something took it out. It dropped down, dead. Viliv rose slowly, looking at it. A dagger had been hurled into its head. Sticky blood oozed out of the wound. "Ew." She commented.
"You alright?" Came a voice from behind. Viliv turned to see the man was looking for. Olose Sampson. She had only seen him at a distance before, but recognised him easily. Especially since Suse and Nadia were by his side. Viliv silently nodded, before standing, dusting herself off.

"Thank you." She curtseyed awkwardly. "I'm-"
"Viliv, I presume." Olose pre-empted her.

"Urm. Yes." Viliv answered. "Prrrrrincess of Kazham." She added with a smile.

"Nadia here mentioned you. I figured that was who you were." Small and weak looking, as Nadia had described her. "Urm, why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to help." She explained. "Good job I did of that." She added in a grumble. "I want to help you help your friend. She seems to mean a lot to you, and I underrrrstand that you can't leave her."

"Help us?" Olose pondered. "Can you find out all the information on the upcoming wedding and pass it to us?"

"Yes, shouldn't be too harrrrd." Viliv decided. "Is that all I can do?"

"For the moment. Probably shouldn't let anybody know, you may be a princess, but your parents are firmly against us interfering, you know?" Olose decided.

"I know." Viliv answered quietly. "I'll do my best not to be found out."

"Oh, and see if you can't visit the Doctor." Olose suggested. "He's also on our side, and might be able to give you something to help you hide from the creatures out here. I'd hate to be responsible for the Princess of Kazham's death." Viliv shivered visibly.

"Olose!" Arcadia scolded. "Do not say things like that!"

"No, it's alright. I'll see him." Viliv decided. "Well, I'll come back when I've found out all the plans."

"Fantastic." Olose grinned. "Thank you, Princess."

Lava bubbled within the fiery depths of Ifrit's Cauldron as the mysterious figure stared into it. Jacob approached from behind.

"You gave Jeren the sword. Do you think he can handle it?" The figure asked.

"No." Jacob replied bluntly. "But I'm sure the sword will come into play, making the murder of Olose a result of angry guards or an accident before long. I'll do it myself if I have too."

"Yes. Yes. Indeed." The figure snapped. "Just don't take too long. My plan will occur with precise timing. If Olose is not dead, he must be distracted sufficiently to be caught in our cleansing operation."

"Of course. And we must be exempt from it." Jacob figured.

"Yes. We must." The figure spoke slowly. "It's almost too impersonal, killing him this way. But I think I'll settle. To watch him die as he realises an entire civilisation is falling around him. To know that he is the very catalyst for that destruction. Oh, the irony. Olose Sampson, hero of the people, killed in a disaster that is his fault!"

"His fault?" Inquired Jacob.

"Do not fool yourself, my friend." The figure said quickly. "I am helping your cause, but do not care for it. You're goal shall be achieved purely as a side effect. Olose's death is my concern."

"As long as you don't try to betray me." Jacob warned.

"I wouldn't think of it." Laughed the figure, sinisterly, before turning back to the lava. Jacob paused, and walked away.