Disclaimer: All Suikoden elements belong to Konami.

Note: I've decided that this chapter will be told from the third-person limited point of view…specifically, from Sierra's point of view. It's a little hard for me to write in Nash's perspective right now, as the audience doesn't know what's been going on with him lately…

Rebirth

Chapter 14: Reunion

by ArchFaith

"Sierra…?"

She nodded.

Sierra.

He was much the same as he had always been; standing there, tall and muscular, his frame still visible under the thick green cloaks he wore around his body. Still dressed in the familiar thick tunics and leggings which protected from both the elements and any would-be attackers; the ratty old scarf was still draped around his neck. There was a large pack of supplies lying at his feet, as well; most likely a tent, cooking supplies, and clothing for a long journey.

But his face—ah, his face. He had not changed at all in appearance; his blonde hair retained its slightly wavy appearance, and his azure eyes…it was plain to see that this man was where Sylvia inherited her bright, amazing orbs. But the expression on his face, now…when last she had seen him, he was still just a boy; naïve, fairly inexperienced, charming in a youthful sort of way.

But now, as she laid eyes on him for the first time in over seven years, the first thing that struck her was the almost indiscernible expression on his face. No longer was he the young, dashing boy whose heart she once held so dear to hers; no. He was truly a man now; in his eyes she saw experience, passion, extreme heartache…remnants of a long-ago love.

A total stranger…and yet, to her the person she knew best in all the world.

Nash.

At the first sight of her, he had temporarily loosened his grip on Sylvia's small shoulders; but now, as she quietly stepped in through the open door and slowly crossed the room over to where they stood, by the counter of the old inn, he tightened his hold on the little girl once again.

Sylvia, the poor innocent child—happily ignorant of the entire miserable situation, she smiled up at the guilty-looking vampire. "Miss Sierra…this is my father, Nash Latkje." Turning her head slightly, she motioned up to the swordsman, who still bore a look of extreme disbelief upon his face. "Nashie, this is Miss Sierra…she's the one who helped me when the wolves were attacking me. If it weren't for her, I'd be dead by now!"

Nash's eyes were still locked to Sierra's ruby gaze; incredulousness, brought on by the sudden appearance of the traitorous vampire just when he thought he had lost the dearest thing in the world to him, was slowly giving way to a different kind of feeling, now…through all the great shock and surprise this strange situation had produced, his aching mind struggled to sift through the bits and pieces of information presented to him: Sylvia had been attacked by a wolf…Sierra had somehow found her and rescued her, and brought her back here, to him…but surely it was not a coincidence…

This woman…this selfish, uncaring woman who had abandoned both him and their child…and yet…the woman he hadn't been able to stop thinking about for all these years gone by…

"Did…did you know we'd be here?" he suddenly, his first words to her; spoken with a slightly accusatory nature, he regretted the phrase as soon as it came out of his mouth.

She shook her head. "I had no idea." She averted her eyes to the floor. "I had no idea who this little girl was until she started speaking to me."

It seemed as though they had forgotten others were listening in on their conversation. Sylvia's confused eyes now roved from the swordsman over to the vampire, and the old innkeeper was leaning against the counter, a perplexed expression upon his face.

"Dad," the little girl whispered, tugging at one of his green cloaks. "Do you and Miss Sierra know each other?"

Nash sighed; there was no way he could possibly explain this to the child. So small, so innocent; none of it had been her fault. She could not be exposed to this madness; and, even though he hated the option, he had to devise a charade. "Yeah, Sylvie…from a very long time ago," he answered, gently patting the girl on the shoulder.

The innkeeper shifted uncomfortably against the wooden panels of the counter. "Excuse me," he interrupted, looking around at the awkward assemblage, "I don't quite know what's going here, but…look, sir, I'm very glad you found your daughter, and very glad to know this lady here rescued her," he said, nodding to Sierra. "But as of right now, it's an extremely ungodly time to be awake. My guess is that you all must be pretty tired. You've been though a lot tonight…tell you what." The innkeeper pushed his thin glasses up his nose as he continued. "You can all stay here for free tonight…it's on the house. You and your daughter can have one room, sir," he said, looking to Nash and Sylvia, "and this lady here can have her own," he finished, glancing at Sierra.

It was almost too good of a proposition; glancing at the swordsman, whose hands had tightened around the girl's shoulders, the vampire suddenly felt a cold shiver travel down the length of her spine; clenching her fists together in a rapid realization, she quickly looked down to the little girl, who was now watching her with a grin on her face.

"Oh, that sounds so nice…could Miss Sierra have the room next to ours?" she asked, turning to look up at her father.

Scratching his head, Nash looked over to the innkeeper. "Are you sure it's alright?" he asked, stealing a quick look at Sierra. "I can pay for our room…that's what we'd been planning to do, anyway."

The innkeeper quickly shook his head. "Don't worry about it, son," he said, gesturing with his hand. Turning, he reached under the counter, his bony hands quickly grabbing hold of a pair of keys which he then laid upon the table. "I have children myself…I know what it's like to be afraid one of them might be lost." He kindly smiled down at the little girl. "These two rooms are connected, so you can still talk to this brave lady here…they're right upstairs, the first and second rooms to your right."

"Oh, thanks sir!" Sylvia answered, smiling. The innkeeper nodded politely, and quickly retreated back behind the counter, through a small wooden door that was built crudely into the wall. Returning to bed, no doubt…of course. All of his worries were over; he had no idea how much this little meeting meant to them. Having done his good deed for the day, he would just leave everyone to their own devices. Just a minor player in a story…just a character in the march of life. Everyone else in the world, it seemed, had found an easy way out. An easy way to fall in love; an easy way to have a child; an easy way to build a life together.

Looking back at the blonde swordsman, she gently sighed.

She, regrettably, had chosen the hard path so many years ago.

"When all is said and done…we shall speak," she whispered, looking up to the swordsman's intent gaze. "But not now."

Nash nodded, his expression almost unreadable in the half-light of the slowly dying oil lantern. "Sounds good to me," he said, a hint of sarcasm present in his voice as he looked down to the small girl, who had reached onto the table and was now clutching both sets of keys in her hands. "Don't you think you should give Sierra her key, Sylvie?"

Smilingly, the girl gently placed the key in Sierra's pale hands. "Will you stay up and talk with us, Miss Sierra? Since you and Nashie know each other, you must have a lot to talk about!"

Forcing a smile out of her stricken lips, Sierra gently patted the girl's shoulder. "If you wish me to, my dear. But are you not tired? You have had a long day, after all…perhaps you should rest."

Yes; the little girl must be put to bed as soon as possible. There was no way she and Nash could talk if there was even the slightest possibility she was awake. But until that time, both of them had to act rationally. As hard as it was not to start accusing and apologizing, they could not lose themselves in front of their daughter.

His daughter…our daughter…

The interior of the inn was dark, save for the waning oil lamp on the counter; its dim light partially illuminated the small space, letting various details slip into view. There was a small wooden bench in the corner, squarely set next to a round wooden table which had a small potted plant on it. Besides that, there was not really anything else in the room, save for two curtained windows, straining to keep out the strong moonlight. The stairs to the next floor were in the far corner of the room.

Sylvia gently tugged on the edges of Nash's long cloak. "Dad, will you carry me upstairs?" she asked innocently, bringing balled fists up to her eyes, rubbing them in a slow, sleepy motion. "Miss Sierra was right…I am kinda tired…"

Cocking his head, the swordsman knelt and carefully gathered the little one in his arms, letting her short legs swing over his arms as the girl rested her blonde head against his chest. "Teehee," she giggled; for as tired as she was, it seemed she would never lose that cheerful sense of humor. "That's a lot better."

Sierra watched the simple exchange with a sudden ball of guilt welling up inside her throat; apparently, from what she had seen, father and daughter were indeed close. But it was not as if she had had any reason to doubt this; for underneath the swordsman's skillful, deadly exterior, there lay the other side of him—teasing, gentle, sometimes tender. And affectionate to a fault; it was clear Sylvia had been raised in love.

Love. The one thing she had been unable to give…

"Coming, Sierra?" she heard his hard, almost demanding voice once again; Nash was a few paces ahead of her, standing at the foot of the long flight of stairs. His look was neutral, unreadable on the outside; but it was clear. After all the surprise, all the shock, the natural amazement at coincidentally running into the very woman he had loved all those years ago…he was angry. Furious…seething with hate, it seemed. Sierra herself did not know; but she was sure he was. For he had every right to be; yes. For the first time in their long relationship, it was he who was going to be angry with her. And she…she could say nothing.

Sighing, she squeezed the wooden key in her hand and turned to follow Nash, who was already halfway up the stairs. From over his shoulder, Sylvia peered down, a gentle smile upon her face as always—what a torture it was. She was so sweet, so innocent…she was the same being Sierra had once referred to as more of a thing than a child, the same creature she thought to be a demon or a monster…

What have I done…?

And then, when "all was said and done"—when Sylvia was safely out of hearing range—what would she tell him? What could she ever hope to say that would ever atone for…to regret her sins, against both him and the child they had created together…what could she say?

It was a short walk up; at the top of the stairs Nash set Sylvia down, much to her extreme resentment. Blinking sleepily, she looked up to her father with a questioning glance as he gave her a light pat on the shoulder. He turned his blonde head to look Sierra in the eyes; his azure gaze was especially intense. Powerful, as well; but perhaps, she reminded herself, it might have been because she had not witnessed his eyes for such a long time. In all actuality, they were still the same eyes; and yet, she had a feeling they were not.

"Sierra…the innkeeper gave you a separate room, right?" he asked, looking down at the key in her hands.

She nodded. Ah…she could see where he was going with this. "Yes, he did. Perhaps Sylvia should sleep in my room for tonight."

"Is that because you and Miss Sierra want to talk, Dad?" Sylvia asked sleepily, trying with little success to suppress a yawn.

Nash shifted his gaze to her, and reached out with a gloved hand to affectionately tousle her hair. "That's right, Sylvie," he answered, in what he hoped to be a light-sounding voice.

The child said nothing; she was far too exhausted to argue or to question why. With half-closed eyes, she watched languidly as Sierra approached the door and placed the key squarely into the small hole. With a satisfying click the door swung open, and the vampire stepped into the room.

It was small, and simple; there were only a few pieces of key furniture, which included a bed with a mended quilt for a cover, a small nightstand set with a lamp and a water pitcher, and a large chest placed at the foot of the bed's wooden frame. The windows were hung with white cotton curtains, and a single chair had placed next to the bed. As the innkeeper had promised, next to the nightstand was another door; no doubt connecting to an adjoining room.

He and I used to sleep in these kinds of places on our travels together, she mused as she looked to the blonde swordsman, who was slowly guiding the little girl to the bed. Mmm…that was a long time ago.

Sylvia gently sat down upon the bed, her sleepy hands reaching for the closure of her sky blue cloak. With a single gesture she flung the cape off her back and placed it rather messily on top of the old straw chair. She reached down to her feet, and tugged the brown boots off with some difficulty. The small leather pouch which hung across her hips was placed onto the small nightstand. Now dressed only in her loose tunic shirt with gray leggings, she contentedly swung her legs up and stretched out full-length on the bed, her small frame leaving plenty of space for two or three more people to crowd in with her.

Nash had absently been watching her, his eyes roving from Sylvia's rather mundane rituals to Sierra's uncomfortable gaze. Now though, he crossed the room and slowly sat down next to Sylvia on the bed, his eyes now showing a patient yet nervous quality.

"What about your gloves, kid?" he asked, giving her a pat on her blonde head.

Sylvia looked up at him, confusion evident in her large azure eyes. Her gaze gradually shifted from his to that of Sierra's, and she slowly sat up, placing her still-gloved hands in her lap. "But Dad…you told me…"

Nash shook his head. "It's alright, Sylvie…you can take them off in front of her." Turning back to the vampire, he lightly motioned for her to come nearer.

The vampire had been standing with her arms crossed over her chest, as if to protect herself from any guilt that might try to pry its way into her heart. Reluctantly, she slowly came forward, approaching the bed as the little girl removed her black leather gloves.

For a moment, she almost did not remember what was so important about the girl's hands; it was with a confused expression she drew near, to see why the child had been so secretive about removing her gloves. But now, as the girl slid the thick gloves down her small hands, the vampire suddenly realized why the child had been so special in the first place.

There it was—the markings, the strange, circle-like markings that had been visible on her right hand since birth. A abrupt remembrance overtook the ruby-eyed woman, suddenly—long-ago memories of a small, blonde-haired baby with azure eyes, helpless and tiny as she lay there in her young father's arms….so serene.

A memory so…twisted, by her own selfish decisions. A future that had been lost to her…years she had missed in the childhood of this beautiful little creature. With a sudden gasp she drew back, placing her hand over her mouth; she was not surprised to see the markings, and yet, she was suddenly horrified by the memories they had provoked. In the blink of an eye, all her misgivings, all her sins had returned to haunt her.

Sylvia immediately covered her hand upon seeing Sierra's startled reaction. Looking back to her father, she shook her head in worry. "She's scared…" the girl whispered, indicating Sierra with a glance of her eyes. "I shouldn't have taken off my gloves…."

The swordsman sighed resignedly. "No, Sylvie, it's alright," he answered, briefly glancing over his shoulder to catch a look at the vampire, who looked positively stricken. "Sierra has seen your hand before, long ago…when you were just a baby."

Immediately trying to play into the charade, Sierra nodded. "Ah…yes. I am not scared, my dear…it just brings back many memories, seeing these markings on your hand. But I am not appalled at all, I assure you."

"Uh…okay…" Sylvia answered with uncertainty, frowning. "I mean…but you'll tell her about it, right, Dad?" She gently reached out, to take his much larger hand into her tiny grasp. "You'll tell her what it means, right?"

Giving her a smile, Nash squeezed the small hand which grasped his so tightly. "Don't worry about it, Sylvie. I'll tell her everything. But I want you to get some rest…you've had a pretty busy day, don't you think?"

The girl nodded. "Alright," she agreed, a small grin playing on her face. "I am pretty tired…"

Nash gently rose off the bed, and pulled the coverlet of the blanket back to accommodate Sylvia's small form. He tucked the blanket up to her chin; she looked almost doll-like as she lay there, half-closed azure eyes framed by her wavy blonde hair. "Goodnight, Nashie," she whispered, blinking sleepily. "Will you give me a kiss?"

Nash smiled, and quickly leaned down to give the girl a gentle kiss on her cheek. The girl giggled and shifted slightly on the bed. "And Miss Sierra…you have to give me a kiss too!"

At the sudden request Sierra felt her nerves suddenly stiffen; a kiss? The little girl wanted a kiss…but surely she could not kiss her! She was unworthy of even touching her hand, of even making eye contact with her; this was the same child she had abandoned so long ago…and the same child who wanted a sign of affection, now…

In a daze she walked towards the bed, her steps slow as Nash watched her with a discerning eye. She knelt down next to the soft mattress, her skirt trailing against the floor as she placed herself at eye level with the smiling child. Awkwardly, the vampire moved her face close to that of the child…ah, but she could not do it, she could not…

But the little girl deserved this much…the sweet, innocent child. With a sigh, the vampire planted a light kiss against the girl's forehead, causing the girl to break out into a grin. "Teehee," she laughed as Sierra moved away. "Goodnight, Miss Sierra."

"Goodnight, child," the vampire replied, rising from her place on the floor.

"I can leave this lantern on, right, Dad?" the girl asked as Sierra moved across the floor to stand near the blonde swordsman. The oil lantern which stood on the nightstand next to the bed was still burning with a dim light; clearly, Sierra thought, Sylvia had not inherited her mother's taste for quiet and darkness.

"Sure," the man replied as he turned to Sierra, a serious expression upon his face as he turned to the vampire. "We'd better talk in here," he whispered to her, looking into her ruby eyes. He gestured towards the door leading to the other room.

Sierra nodded. "Yes," she agreed. Nash reached out and gently turned the knob. With a last goodnight from the half-asleep Sylvia, both of them stepped into the next room, Sierra gently closing the door behind her.

"Well, Sierra," the swordsman's voice called to her, his tone a strange mixture of anger and curiosity as he again locked into her ruby gaze. "I guess it's time we had a talk."

To be continued…

End notes: Hmm….I don't know about this one. First of all, not much happened in this chapter, but I felt that I had to show a transition period between Nash and Sierra…I would have loved to have them talk in this chapter, but then I would have had to omit the whole "Sylvia goes to bed" scene. I felt it was important to show exactly what happened after Sierra met up with Nash again, and not just provide a summary to the audience. I know nothing really exciting happened here, but please review anyway! I love reading all your comments and criticisms…everything helps me develop into a better writer!

Side note: For me, school is about to start…in a week, in fact. So, while I will still be working on this fanfic, I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I'm hoping to have it by next week, before I leave, but if I don't, then it will most definitely come within the next month. Blah news, but I gotta concentrate for real this time…going off to college, you see. I hope I find some Suikoden lovers…

by.ur.side: Thanks so much! I'm so glad you liked my story…and don't worry, I don't mind speculation in reviews. It's quite fun to read, in fact…actually, your review made me really consider changing something around in the conclusion of the story…but in the end, I decided to go with my original idea! Keep on thinking though, cause your thoughts are really well-organized…

Virtue: Hehe, thanks! Glad you think Sylvia is cute…I just tried to give her a really sensitive, sweet nature, to balance out Sierra's often mean, bored behavior. Amazing how mother and daughter can turn out so differently (in my fic, anyway!)

PsychoLeopard: Yes, I know…I really should have expanded on Nash's fear. I was trying to make him seem panicked, and I didn't exactly remember how to write panic…so I kind of just made his thoughts short, to simulate someone who isn't thinking very straight. Blah…I'll do a better job in later chapters!

L4zyL4dy: Don't ya just love random stories? I once randomly clicked on a Star Wars story one day, and geez, it turned out to be so amazing…

Don Quixote: Teehee, don't worry, I'm working on the next one as I write!

Next chapter: Well, it's the final showdown…once passionate lovers, the swordsman and the vampire find themselves at odds as they catch up with each after seven years of being apart. Will this reunion end well…or will it end rather badly? Stay tuned!