Reunion

Liss was a little apprehensive about going to class the next day, but she needn't have been. In the first class session, the other students had stopped talking immediately when she walked into the room, but Maura had quickly broken the ice with them, and soon everything was comfortable. The instructors must have been under strict instructions from Paine to not treat her differently from the other recruits, because they all took her introduction calmly, as if she were just another pupil. She did turn some heads in the halls, but with her height she was used to that.

Only one thing out of the ordinary happened, at the end of the day. It was in Sir Tidus's class, which was held out on the Highroad; he had gone over the basics of using a sword and demonstrated the beginning exercises. Then he went around to everyone as they practiced, correcting a grip here, a stance there. When he got to Liss, he leaned toward her ear.

"Can you stay for a minute after class?" he asked quietly. "I'd like to talk with you."

"Yes, sir."

"You've got good form. Just keep your legs a little farther apart," he commented, then moved on.

After the session was over, she hung back as everyone else prepared to get ready for dinner. Maura caught her eye, then left with the others.

Tidus put his own sword away and walked up to Liss. "I think I owe you an apology," he said.

Liss took a step back, mildly surprised. "Thank you, sir, but you really shouldn't worry about it. I understand that it came out of nowhere for you. I probably wouldn't have believed me, either."

He nodded. "You have to understand, I knew your dad pretty well. I think it's even safe to say that I probably knew him better than anyone else alive right now, except maybe for your mom. It kinda took me by surprise, that there was something so important about his life that I didn't know. I was even sort of angry that he might not have told me. I took it out on you, and I apologize for that."

Liss looked at her instructor, puzzled. "I mean no disrespect, sir. But why would he have told you? From everything that I've heard about my father, he was a very private man, and he held many secrets from you on your journey."

"Oh, he was, and he did. For sure. But I'm not talking about during Yuna's pilgrimage. I meant... after." He looked around nervously, running a hand through his hair. " Have you ever heard that I went to the Farplane and then came back?"

She nodded. Everyone knew that rumor. It had always seemed unlikely to her, but she suddenly had a feeling that he was about to confirm it.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well... that's pretty much true. I won't go into how or why or anything because that's a really long story, but I was on the Farplane for about two years. I spent a lot of that time with Auron, and we talked about lots of stuff, things he couldn't really discuss before."

Liss felt her eyes go wide. "So you could tell me--"

Tidus interrupted. "See, that's the thing. I don't really remember my time there all that well. I've been back for five years now, give or take, and the memories started to go fuzzy right away. Almost all the details have slipped away now. So when I met you, I couldn't really be sure what to think -- were you lying? Had he told me the truth and I'd forgotten? Or had he just never mentioned you? A lie seemed the most obvious option. But ever since our meeting, I've been trying really hard to remember, and it finally come back to me this morning." He looked down and scuffed the dirt with his foot. "Auron did tell me about you. And he told me to look out for you if we ever met. Instead, I jumped on you and accused you of lying and stealing and all kinds of other awful things." He met Liss's eyes. "And that's why I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course, sir," said Liss, saluting.

"Good," he replied, his face relaxing. "Like I said, I don't remember so much from the Farplane, but I have lots of stories about Auron from before that. Yuna does, too. Maybe someday you can come over for dinner, and we'll tell you all about them."

"I'd like that."

"It's a deal. Okay, let me show you what I was saying about your foot position..."

Months passed. I had always been naturally strong, and soon I could cleave even tough-shelled fiends with a single blow. I also developed a reputation for my stamina -- I could drill for hours without resting. I was excused from archery so that I could concentrate on my blade skills and learn the finer points of unarmed combat. This was typical -- by the end of the third month, most of the trainees had found a specialty or two. Only Kinoc continued taking a little bit of everything; he was developing into quite the generalist.

Life fell into a comfortable pattern. Most mornings were spent in instruction: history, tactics, the teachings of Yevon, meditation and prayer. In the afternoon, we drilled. Sometimes we fought one another. Other days, we'd march out into the field and battle live fiends, usually in Macalania or the Calm Lands. The best, though, were the days that full-fledged warrior monks came to spar with us -- I found this to be the best method of testing and improving my abilities.

My monthly visits to the city developed into a routine as well. I'd pick up letters and the occasional sphere from home first thing, then spend the morning and afternoon wandering around town with whoever I could find, usually Kinoc. I would drop by Braska's place in the late afternoon, staying for dinner if he was home, having tea with Tessa if he was away. Then it was off to one of the waterfront taverns for a night of drinking and carousing with the other trainees. Sometimes the others would go looking for female companionship; I always found an excuse to go home early on those nights.

It was a good life, and it came somewhat as a shock to me when the time came for it to change again.

Ten months after my arrival in Bevelle, I packed for my first visit home. We were all being given a month of leave. When it was over, we would return to the temple, finish up the last few weeks of training, and take our vows. Kinoc, Jan, and Kal were all taking a boat bound for Luca tomorrow morning, but there was no easy way to get back to Tzeki Village on the water. So I was traveling on foot, leaving this afternoon to get a bit of a head start. I would lose a week of leave to the round trip as it was, and I wanted to get as much time with Relle and my family as possible.

I strapped on my sword, then checked the buckles holding my bag shut before heaving it to my shoulder. Kal looked up from the clothes he was folding. "You heading out?" he asked.

I nodded. "See you all next month."

"Have a good visit," said Jan, clasping my hand in farewell.

Kinoc, who had been lying in his bunk, swung his legs down over the side of the bed. "Hold on, I'll walk with you." He went to the door and held it for me as I exited the room.

We walked silently down the corridor. When we reached the exit, Kinoc gripped my hand in a firm handshake.

"Thanks for everything," I said. "I don't know if I could have survived these months without you."

"I could say the same." He looked at me thoughtfully. "You are coming back, aren't you?"

I couldn't hide my surprise at the question. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, it's a test, you know." I raised an eyebrow. "That's why the leave is so long. After a month of relaxation, of the comforts of home and family, who is committed enough to Yevon to return?"

"Ah." I shook my head. "I'll be back. This is what I've wanted to do all my life. How could I give up now?"

"I agree," said Kinoc. "So then. I'll see you in a month."

"Right." Impulsively, I embraced him, this man who had become my closest friend in such a short time. He returned the hug, then saluted me. I raised my own arm across my chest in response, and we went our separate ways.

By all rights, I should have been exhausted. I left Bevelle at three in the afternoon and traveled without stopping until I reached the Thunder Plains well after midnight, avoiding fiends rather than fighting whenever possible. The next day, I rose at dawn and continued my trek, pausing only for brief rest and food breaks. I camped that night a few miles from Guadosalam, then started all over again the next morning. When late afternoon arrived, I ought to have been collapsing, but as the shoopuff station came into view, my tired legs found new energy, and I had practically run to catch the next Moonflow crossing.

Now, an hour later, the shoopuff was arriving at the riverbank. Too excited to sleep, too tired to stay alert, I had fallen into a pleasant stupor. "All departs!" called the Hypello driver as the creature stopped moving. I shook myself awake and disembarked, then walked over to the pavilion where my father usually set up shop. Before I got halfway there, a piercing shriek split the air, and I was hit by a meteor in the form of my sister.

"Hello," I said, hugging her fiercely.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked, looking up at me with a huge grin on her face. I could feel a similar one spreading on my own. "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

"I left half a day early, then I walked as quickly as I possibly could."

"Amazing. I don't know how you managed the trip in less than three days."

"Where's Father?"

"Guadosalam. Like I said, we weren't expecting you today. He'll be here tomorrow." Kera tilted her head back. "Are you taller?"

"Possibly," I said. "Maybe an inch or two. I haven't really measured." I studied her. "You've changed, too." But I couldn't quite put my finger on how -- was her face rounder? Maybe she'd put on some weight?

Her smile shifted, becoming less joyful and more knowing. "There's an easy explanation for that, little brother." She stepped back, then took my hand and placed it on her firm, round belly. "You're going to be an uncle in about two months."

My jaw dropped as a small foot kicked my hand. "Kera!" I embraced her again, but more gently this time. The truth was obvious when I actually looked at her. "Why didn't you mention this in your letters?"

She giggled. "Because then I wouldn't have gotten to see that priceless expression on your face!"

I threw my head back and laughed.

"Come on," she said after I had recovered. "Relle should have dinner ready soon. She was going to make something special tomorrow; sorry your first meal back will probably just be some stew or something."

I laid an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the village. "Believe me, Relle could cook up some mud and it would be better than anything they serve us at the temple."

We walked together, Kera chatting about everything and nothing throughout the ten minute trip. I mostly listened, just soaking up the sound of her voice. Soon we arrived at the door of my childhood home. "Xan and I are living here now," she said as she opened the door. "We needed the extra space for when the baby comes, so Father switched houses with us. But your old room will still be available if you want to stay in it while you're here. Not that I really expect you to." Her eyes twinkled. "I'm glad we moved back; it'll be nice to be closer to Relle, too. Speaking of whom..."

I entered the house. More than likely it looked much as it had when I left, but I couldn't spare an iota of attention to notice. Arelle stood in the kitchen, filling my vision. She turned around at the sound of the opening door, put down the knife she had been holding, and wiped her hands on her apron. She looked exactly the same.

The door closed behind me. I glanced back and saw that Kera had not followed me into the cottage.

A small smile played at the corners of Relle's mouth as she walked toward me. "You're early."

I started moving forward myself. "I knew every step I took was bringing me closer to you."

The smile became broader. "I see they're teaching you something about charm in that temple."

"Not really." I was close enough to touch her now. My heart was racing; I could barely breathe. "I've been planning that line for the last few hours." She laughed softly. I placed my hands on her shoulders, and her arms reached around my back. Tremors ran up and down my spine as my eyes met hers and I saw the longing there. I brushed my lips against hers in a swift, gentle kiss.

She tightened her arms, pulling herself close, burying her face in my neck with a sigh. My own arms encircled her; I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against her smooth hair. And we held on for a very long time.

The next three weeks passed pleasantly, if quickly. I drilled first thing every morning, both with my sword and empty-handed, doing the solo exercises the swordmaster had shown me for keeping sharp without a sparring partner. I spent most of my time with Kera, Relle, or both of them together. One day I spent with Dix in the shoopuff station, telling him tales of my training and my visits to Bevelle -- although I left out my growing friendship with Braska; I had a feeling that a disfavored priest was not the kind of connection he would approve of my cultivating. He was happy to learn about Kinoc, of course, and was especially interested in connections my friend might have through his own father. A few afternoons, I worked with Xan on the various repair and building projects he had around the village, and once I went on the daily fishing expedition.

Usually I had dinner at home with Kera, Xan, and Dix. Sometimes Relle would join us, although she preferred to stay out of my father's way. They had recently become business partners -- she made meat pies and other traveling foods for him to sell to his customers -- so relations between them were cordial, but he still disapproved of her as my choice of future wife. Once a week was the communal meal in the town square. I was always much in demand at these gatherings, as people wanted to know all about life in the big city.

The nights, I spent with Relle.

I enjoyed being in the village with my family, but I was surprised at how much I missed the temple. Somehow, in only ten months, that sparsely decorated barracks room had become as much my home as Tzeki was. Kinoc was my only truly close friend in Bevelle, although I also felt friendship and affection for Braska, Kal, and Jan. But even though I wasn't close to the other trainees individually, I had come to depend on the camaraderie we shared with one another and with all the other warrior monks. I was a part of something in Bevelle in a way that I never really had been here in the village. Before the second week had ended, I found myself actually looking forward to my return.

Really, there was only one thing that Tzeki had over Bevelle. And as the end of my visit approached, I hoped that I would have the strength to leave her.

On my last night in Tzeki Village, I lay in Relle's bed, watching the moonrise through her window. Her warm body rested on my arm, her back nestling against my chest, and I was comforted by her soft weight as well as the sound of her breathing. I should have been in a state of perfect bliss, but my mind was too busy to allow relaxation.

She moved against me and murmured something.

"What is it?" I asked, kissing the back of her neck.

"I said, aren't you going to sleep? You have a long trip ahead of you." She stroked the back of my hand, locking her fingers in mine, then lifted my palm to her lips.

I chuckled ruefully. "Can't. I'm too busy thinking."

She released my hand, rolled over, and smiled. "I know. I can hear your brain all the way from here." I swatted at her playfully. "What's on your mind?"

I didn't want to tell her. But I also couldn't not. "After I return to Bevelle, I'll be taking my vows. So the next time I see you..." I swallowed as my throat closed, unable to get the words out after all.

"I know," she said. "We won't be able to be together like this for awhile. But it's all right."

"Is it really?" I asked quietly. "I don't know, Relle. I'm not sure it's fair of me to ask you to wait. Bevelle politics already seem so complicated, and I can tell that I've only scratched the surface. It might be years before I can marry you. I love you, and I want you to be happy. Maybe that means I should--"

She rolled on top of me and stopped my words with a kiss. Her mouth pressed firmly against mine as my hands slid up her back and into her hair. She lifted her head, bracing herself with a hand on either side of my head. "Auron my love, how long have you known you would be a warrior monk? Since you were seven? You've been on this path for a long time. I knew where it led when I chose to join you on it." She smiled. "You'll be established in a few years. Then, Yevon willing, we'll have the rest of our lives to be together. What's a few years alone when I have that to look forward to?"

I looked up at this sweet, understanding, patient woman and thought that my heart might burst with love for her. "I don't deserve you," I whispered.

She stroked my hair. "Of course you do. I wouldn't love you otherwise." Lowering herself back down, she kissed me again, hard, catching my lower lip with her teeth, and I groaned with the pleasure of it. "And as for those vows," she murmured against my mouth, "let's just give you something to remember in the meantime."

Author's Note: I know this chapter has a lot of telling-not-showing ("first I did this and then I did that"), but I wanted to get through a bunch of stuff and it seemed the easiest way. I hope to avoid too much of that in the future. Thanks for reading!