Heya. Sorry it's been a while. I've been at my grandmother's house for the last few weeks, and therefore couldn't write this. I've put up another fic though. It's called "Panic", and it's an EdgexRydia story. But, anywho, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

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Facing the music

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Three days later, the party left Troia for the cave of the Dark Elf. It was, by no means, an easy trip. Even though there was a chocobo forest located conveniently to the north, it took two days to get there, and half a day to fly to the island on which the cave was located. And with all the monster battles between, it took a while. By the time they'd finally gotten to the cave everyone's nerves were gone.

"Someone remind me whywe are doing this again," Tellah said gruffly.

"Because we need to get the crystal," Yang said flatly.

"And why did we need the crystal?" Tellah asked.

"So that it will be safe and Kain won't get it," Cecil explained, wishing that Tellah wouldn't talk anymore.

Tellah didn't stop talking; instead he began complaining about various things such as the weather being too hot, the fire not being high enough, and that they ought to go back to Troia on account that this mission was folly. Cecil vaguely wondered if this was how all old men used their time. He cringed at the thought that this might happen to himself later.

Finally, Cid couldn't take it anymore and yelled at Tellah, "Look, just stoptalking! We've got a hell of a lot of walking to do tomorrow and we'll never be able to sleep if you don't stop talking!" Then he picked up a rock and chucked it Tellah's head before storming away. That was the last exchange of words that passed between them for the rest of that night.

Cecil hoped that things would shape up. The looming fight wouldn't go so well if they were all fighting with each other. And he doubted that Edward's harp would do them much good. What good would a simple harp do?

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Back in Troia, Edward was still contemplating the conversation that he'd had with Cecil a few days earlier (you know, the one about marrying Alara). He'd resolved to follow Cecil's advise about think really hard before he made such a commitment, and decided that he'd try and get to know Alara better. He had a lot of time for that, since he was still bed-ridden, and it didn't look like he'd be going anywhere for a while.

On the fifth day after the party had left, Alara came in (as usual) and began her work. It generally consisted of brewing potions, making healing teas, and looking after her patient, but when she had time she'd sit down and talk with him. On that particular day she asked him about the harp that he'd sent Cecil away with.

"What does it do?" She asked.

"It does something very special and rather difficult to do. Only a skilled bard can do it properly," Edward explained.

"What is it?" Alara asked, eager to see what this event was.

"You'll see it when t happens. I predict that you'll see it within the week, actually..." Edward said slowly. "I'd be more specific, but I can't really describe it."

Alara didn't press him further about the matter. The way she saw it was that there were enough spoiled surprises in the world, and she'd see it soon anyway, so she didn't ask further. Plus she didn't want to annoy Edward. But she couldn't help wishing that she could see it now.

"So, you're a bard then? That's really neat," She said. Edward smiled at her. It was nice to know that his music was appreciated by someone; especially by someone he was in love with.

"Once I can use my arms again, I'll play for you," He said. both his arms had been broken in the wreck and they refused to mend, due to his frailness.

"I'd like that. You must be very good," Alara said sweetly.

Alara was very pretty when she smiled. She lit up a room when she smiled or laughed. She was also impressed and satisfied by simple things, such as flowers, or the sky. She didn't need a lot of really fancy things to make her happy. Edward wondered what she'd think of being a queen. Would she like being surrounded by elaborate and expensive things all the time? So he asked her.

"What would you think if you were a queen?" He asked as aloofly as he could.

Alara thought about it for a minute, and the she said, "I guess it would be nice to be a queen for a day. I don't know how much I'd like it until I've tried it. But since can't do that, so I suppose I'll never know. Oh well."

Well, I don't know about that... Edward thought.

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On the seventh day, and what had seemed like an eternity to our intrepid band of heroes, Tellah sensed a presence close at hand. "I think we're getting closer to our quarry. Only one more flight of stairs, I shouldn't wonder," He said, gripping his staff so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Cecil didn't much care for this gesture. Tellah was nervous; very much so. Knowing that the fight ahead was unnerving Tellah unnerved him as well. Cid and Yang couldn't see this as clearly as the paladin and his cool paladin-powers, but they could feel something (a vibe, if you will) and they grew uneasy as well.

Sure enough, as they climbed the nearby staircase, there was the Dark Elf. He didn't see them at first, since his back was turned to them. He was holding the crystal up above his head, as if holing to a light that wasn't there. He seemed to be mumbling something or other to it, but whatever he was saying was inaudible. But it was apparent that he was cooing it's praises, as he stroked it tenderly, as if it were a cat. But then it felt the presence of strangers nearby and turned to face our heroes.

He grinned evilly and said, with a slightly Transilvanian accent, "I commend you for finding your way here. But your exurtion ends here."

"Maybe not. We can still defeat you," Cecil said as bravely as he could.

The Dark Elf laughed and said, "You'll never defeat me! At least not with those puny weapons you have!"

Everyone eyed their weapons; Cid had a wooden hammer, Cecil had a bow (which he wasn't very good with), Tellah had a wooden staff, and Yang had his claws. They hated to admit it, but their chances of winning were pretty slim. And Cecil still didn't see how Edward's harp would do much good right now.

"Well... I've still got my spells!" Tellah put in. "Let's do this!" He yelled and plunged into battle, followed by his friends.

They fought with the Dark Elf for more than 10 minutes, but they took far more damage than he did. Their wooden armor didn't really shield them from their opponent's wrath. They began dropping like flies as the fight progressed.

Cecil, finding himself suddenly lying on the floor with what felt like a broken arm, whispered to the air, "If only I could use my sword..."

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Back in Troia, Edward suddenly sat up in bed. Something was wrong; he could feel it. It felt odd to be sitting up. He hadn't sat up in weeks, and was very sore, but the need to help his friends was worse than the stiffness in his back.

Alara, who was standing nearby stirring the deep red liquid in a pot, heard him sit up and turned around. "Edward, what's wrong?" She asked, wanting to add that he shouldn't be sitting up in his state.

"It's Cecil and the others! They're in danger!" He cried, and jumped out of bed. He was actually able to run three steps, but then he fell to the ground.

A horrified expression came over Alara's face and she ran over to him. "Edward, what in the Blue Planet are you doing! You're in no condition to move!" She scolded, trying to help him up.

"I'm fine!" Edward insisted, attempting to brush her off. "I just need to get to my harp," He said and tried to stand up, but fell again.

"Edward, please, get back in bed," Alara pleaded.

"I need to help them. Hand me my harp," He said.

Alara hesitated slightly before running to get the harp over from it's place in the corner. She didn't quite understand how playing a harp would help anyone, but she brought it to him, nonetheless. Once Edward had the harp he began playing a sprightly tune. It was pretty, but it had something sinister behind it too. Alara sat there on the floor listening to the music. She'd never heard anything like it before. It was beautiful...

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In the cave, the party heard a strange sound echoing through the cave. It sounded like a harp, but they didn't understand how there could be a harp playing n the cave.

"That music... Where is it coming from?" Tellah asked tiredly, but feeling stronger for some reason.

Cecil pushed himself up on his arm and felt a vibrating sensation coming from his pack. He opened it and took the harp out, and saw the strings twanging with the music.

"It's coming from the harp..." He said. And then a wave of realization came over him.

"It's Edward!" He cried.

The Dark Elf began screaming, and covered his ears with his hands. "What is that torturous sound! I can't stand it!" He wailed. The buzzing that had accompanied the party for their hole trip through the cave (and which they knew to be the magnetic shield the Dark Elf had put up) abruptly stopped.

A familiar voice came through the music now, saying, "He can't control the magnetic shield while I'm playing. Draw your metal weapons and fight!" The voice faded, but the music continued, and the party knew what to do now.

Feeling re-energized, the party stood back up. They all drew the metallic weapons stored in their bags and charged the Dark Elf. With the shield down he was helpless to their attacks. And when he transformed into a long worm-like dragon he was already so weak that he didn't last very long. In the end, Cecil whacked his head off. With the elf gone, the crystal was theirs for the taking. The music stopped.

While everyone else was catching their breath, Yang walked over and picked up the crystal. The crystal was a brown color, and it sparkled even though there was no light in the cave, say for a few lighted candles.

"So, I guess we go back to Troia now?" He asked the others.

"What else do we do?" Cid inquired.

"Everyone gather 'round and I'll chant the teleport spell," Tellah instructed. They all did as the sage said, and he began the spell. The cave began to spin and melt out of focus. When the world steadied, there was a rising sun on the egde of the sea, and a black chocobo waiting for them nearby.

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Edward's music slowed, and stopped. He was breathing hard and sweating a little, but other than that he seemed fine. Alara found herself breathing pretty hard as well. Though the music was sweet and made one want to dance, the time had passed tensely, solemnly, and silently. But now that it was over Alara wanted to say about fifty different things.

But all that she could do was whisper, "That was amazing."

"Thank you," Edward said quietly.

"I've never heard music so beautiful. You truly are a wonderful bard," She said.

Edward smiled at her. "If I did it right, they defeated the Dark Elf," He said. "But I hope I never have to do it again," He added. He looked down at his hands and realized that his arms weren't broken anymore. The rest of his body was still sore, but nothing appeared to be broken anymore.

Alara noticed this too (she was a white mage; of course she could tell!). "When you're fully healed, you're not going to leave, are you?" She asked timidly, trying to cover up the fact that she could tell that he was, somehow, almost completely healed now.

"Do you want me to stay?" He asked.

"I wouldn't mind if you did. I... I like you a lot," She said sheepishly.

Edward took her hand in his and said, "I like you a lot, too. And I don't think that I'll leave for a while."

Alara beamed at this news. "In fact, I think I love you," She admitted, feeling silly and shy.

"I love you, too," Edward said, squeezing her hand. A moment of silence passed between the two; they didn't know what to say. Finally, Alara kissed his cheek and said,

"Back to bed now. You've had a busy day."

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When she kissed me, I nearly had a heart attack! I was so happy; like "I've just won a million dollars!" happy, only better. Yes, better, if you can believe it. Let Cecil argue with that! I knew it. I just knew it was meant to be!

I could go on and on about it; you know, I could. But I have to contain myself. I have to try to get some sleep, or this dratted stiffness'll never clear out, and I'll never get out of bed. I worked hard today. I know it didn't seem like it, but I did. (yawn) I should sleep now. I doubt if I can after all that's just happened, but I suppose I should try...

I'm so happy!

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This took a lot longer to complete than I'd expected. Usually I can dash these chapters off and have them on the site in under an hour. But I got writers block several times, what with switching from the cave to Troia again and again throughout the chapter. But here it is, after all this time! Only one more chapter left to go, I think.