It was in the late hours of the night, barely the morning of the next day that the door to the Kaipo Inn was opened with a bang. Two Baron guards and their general, all in their red uniforms that were the main garments of the Red Wings, stormed in, glaring at the frightened Innkeeper. The Innkeeper whimpered and backed against the wall. The guards ignored him, and headed towards the end of the Inn where Cecil and Rydia were fast asleep.
The general brandished his sword in front of Cecil's face, the wind from the blade waking Cecil. "Cecil!" the general confirmed in a loud, booming voice. "I've finally found you!" he looked to the little girl who was still asleep, and grabbed her arm roughly. Her eyes shot open and she let out a scream, trying in vain to pull away from the guard.
Cecil sat up and jumped out of his bed, grabbing his sword. "Wait!" he told the general.
Shaking his head, the general responded, "I am here on the King's orders. All summoners from Mist are to be annihilated! Hand over the girl, now!" Cecil shook his hand again, grasping his sword. "So be it. Then you shall die!" the guard yelled, letting go of the girl to turn on Cecil.
Cecil waved his sword threateningly at the two guards accompanying the general, almost grazing their faces. The blade of the sword managed to clip one on the shoulder, and seeing the anger in Cecil's eyes the two exchanged a glance, and then ran away. They knew that they were no match for Cecil. Then Cecil turned to the general, ready to strike, when the general too turned and ran out of the Inn.
Cecil shook his head. "Cowards," he whispered bitterly, and then turned to the cowering and whimpering little girl. Slowly she crept across her bed towards Cecil.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a small voice, reaching out and grabbing the hem of Cecil's sleeve.
Cecil was breathing hard, but he nodded his yes. "I'm all right. Don't worry about me. I won't let anyone take you away or hurt you."
The little girl pulled harder on his sleeve. "You promise?" she asked, gazing up at him in wonder.
Cecil gave her a small smile and nodded. "Yeah. I promise."
Smiling shyly and hooking of piece of curly green hair behind her ears, she looked up at Cecil. "I'm Rydia," she told him.
"Rydia…" Cecil trailed off, smiling back as he engraved the name into his memory. "Well, Rydia, let's try and get some more sleep. Tomorrow we'll figure out where we're going to go to keep Baron and the Red Wings away from you, okay?"
Rydia was already nestled back in her bed, but she nodded sleepily at Cecil. "Okay," she yawned, closing her eyes and falling asleep. Cecil patted her on the shoulder before climbing back into his bed and falling asleep as well.
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"Wake up, Cecil! Cecil, wake up!" Rydia began shaking Cecil's shoulder in the morning, after she had been awake for about an hour. She continued shaking until Cecil groggily sat up, blinking and rubbing his eyes.
After Cecil had gotten his bearings, he smiled at Rydia. "Good morning. Are you feeling all right?" When Rydia nodded her yes, Cecil stood up and began putting all of his armor back on. "Are you ready to leave, Rydia?" he asked, but he was barely paying attention. He was too busy trying to plot a plan in his mind for where they were going to go.
"As ready as I'll ever be!" Rydia responded brightly. Cecil was happy to see that she was more talkative than she had been and couldn't help but smile.
The two of them left the Inn, after profusely thanking the Innkeeper for the free night there.
As they walked through the town, Cecil couldn't help but overhear all the gossip that the citizens of Kaipo were pondering over.
"Yeah, they say that the girl came from Baron…it seems that she's looking for someone. She keeps saying the same name over and over again. They say that all she's been saying is 'Cecil' over and over."
Cecil's head shot up at that. He knew it couldn't be, but still he couldn't shake the bad feeling from his head. He tapped the gossiper on the shoulder. "Excuse me, the girl from Baron? Where is she now?" he asked frantically, motioning for Rydia to follow him and stay beside him.
The woman smiled sadly. "It's horrible, isn't it? The owners of the far northeast house have taken her in and are caring for her now. I hope she gets better…" the woman pointed out the said house.
"Thank you," Cecil nodded hurriedly, grabbing Rydia's hand and running through the town towards the house.
"Cecil!" Rydia yelled at him, tugging on his hand to make him stop running. "What's the matter? Why do we have to run?"
They both reached the door and Cecil pounded on it, continuously banging until the door was opened. A brown-haired woman stood in the doorway, smiling at Cecil and Rydia. "Hello, can I help you two?" she asked.
Cecil nodded shortly. "The girl from Baron. Where is she? Is she all right? Is she saying anything? When did she come here?"
The woman's face turned grave. "So many questions…please, come in and sit down. The girl is upstairs. My husband found her passed out in the middle of the desert late last night. I think she's come down with the Desert Fever. Were you a friend of hers?"
Cecil hesitated. "Yeah…yeah, you could say that. Can I go see her?"
The woman nodded and gestured to the stairs. Cecil ran up them without hesitation, and when he arrived at the top his worst fear was confirmed. "Rosa!" he yelled helplessly, running over to her beside and falling on his knees beside her. "Rosa…" he sighed, reaching out and taking her hand and holding it.
Rosa murmured in her deep sleep, sighing. "Cecil…" she whispered, shivering from the Desert Fever.
Cecil gasped happily and held on to her hand. "Rosa!" he called to her, but it seemed as though she couldn't hear him and was still asleep.
"Be careful, Cecil!" Rosa said in her sleep, then became quiet again. She only moved to cough loudly or to shiver.
The happy look on Cecil's face disappeared. "Oh, Rosa…" he sighed, and when he said it he almost felt her hand squeeze his, but he knew he was probably just imagining it. Cecil could feel the heaviness in his heart almost wearing him down as he watched Rosa breathe steadily under the blankets. He cleared his throat and turned to the man that had been watching over Rosa. "What will cure her?"
The man looked somber as he watched Cecil almost whimper by Rosa's side. He tapped the open page of the book next to him. "To cure her Desert Fever, you need a rare gem that is called the Sand Ruby. It is found only in the cave where the Antlion dwells. The Antlion cave is rather close to Kaipo, to the northeast and in the mountains. "However, you will have to pass through Damcyan on your way, you will certainly be exhausted.. Perhaps if you explain your situation to King Edward, he will let you rest in the castle for the night."
Cecil nodded. "Thank you for watching over her. Could you possibly continue to do so while I look for the Sand Ruby to heal her?" The man nodded agreement, and Cecil bowed his head. "I thank you," he told the man, turning back to Rosa. He gently put his hand up to her cheek, and he found that her skin was burning up with fever. "Don't worry, Rosa," he whispered to her. "You'll be all right. I'll make sure of it.