The Echo
Chapter 10: Uncharted Territory

"Trust me!" he said, smiling up at me from the rocks below. "I wouldn't bring you here if you couldn't handle the climb."

I huffily stared down at him, my hands on my hips. "My idea of a romantic evening getaway doesn't include climbing down insane cliffs next to the freezing cold ocean, Gippal!"

"But mine does, so stop being opinionated and get down here. The sooner you do that, the sooner we can get away from the insane cliff and the freezing cold ocean." He only smirked, and I rolled my eyes. Once I'd found comfortable hand holds, I made my way slowly down the face of the cliff, frowning moodily all the while.

Once I reached the last few feet of the cliff, I felt his hands on my waist, and I blushed, my frown fading. "I've got you," he said, and I grinned, jumping down from my place on the rock, his firm grip steadying my descent.

I grinned at him as he leaned closer, leaning his head to one side. I knew what he wanted. But instead, I pulled away and meandered off down the path despite the fact that I had no idea where I was going. "So, let's get away from the cliff and the water."

"Rikku…" he groaned, frustrated. But there was a smirk on his face, and I knew he hadn't expected anything else. "Fine, c'mon…" He reached for my hand and tugged me off in the opposite direction. I rolled my eyes and staggered along behind him as he laughed at my clumsiness.

"Where are you taking me?" I whined, planting my feet as he led me into a fissure in the cliff-side.

"It's a surprise," he said, with fake frustration. I sighed heavily.

"You keep saying that!"

"That's because it's true!" I followed him silently as the fissure became a cave, trusting him despite the eerie feeling I was getting from the dark atmosphere.

Finally, the cave became a stairwell, and I planted my feet. "Alright, where are you taking me!" I asked, squinting in the dark.

"It's not far, now… I promise, I wouldn't take you there if it weren't perfectly safe." I rolled my eyes again.

"I could handle myself if it weren't safe."

"I know, but I wouldn't put you in an unsafe position, if I had anything to say about it." He grinned cheekily and pulled me along up the stairs.

After a few more minutes, we finally reached a doorway. I peered inside and grinned, the candlelight from within lighting my face. "What is this?"

"Apparently, five hundred years ago, those summoning parties who reached Djose were tested, to see who was worthy and able to go on with the pilgrimage. The summoners went through the usual Cloister of Trials with their guardians, but in order for the summoners to be released from the Chamber of the Fayth, the guardians had to locate this room within five hours of their summoners' entrance to the Chamber. The Chamber of the Fayth is on the other side. I don't really understand the custom, but I know that it stopped about five hundred years after Sin's first attack. We only found this place a few weeks ago." He pulled me within the room and pointed up at the doorway. "'The Chamber of the Guardian'," he read aloud. I grinned over at him.

"So this is what you wanted me to see?"

"Well… you're a guardian. I thought you might like it. That it might be a nice little surprise." He shrugged and walked off across the room, toward a small basket in the corner, that rested on a blanket. "And I brought dinner down here earlier, so we can celebrate your first week in Djose without all those rowdy workers around." I laughed and crossed the room, sitting next to him on the blanket.

After giving him a quick kiss, I looked around the large chamber with interest. "It was a nice little surprise." He just grinned and unpacked the contents of the basket, as I looked around appreciatively.

I looked about my room skeptically. I'd been to Bevelle with Yuna just after she'd defeated Sin. The room that Baralai had so graciously refused to let me pass up was just as big as the suite she'd been given back then. It was a room fit for a High Summoner. Not an ex-guardian. "Do you have anything less… huge?" I asked, looking back at the Praetor.

He laughed. His laugh was nice, light and airy. "You deserve a little rest and relaxation, I think. Why not take it?"

"Because. I'm already feeling lonely enough, I don't need a huge room to make me feel any more lost and tiny and… alone." I frowned for a moment. Must I really make myself sound so very pitiful?

He frowned slightly, but shook his head. "This is the perfect relaxation room for a new mother. Go, rest… I'll make sure to come and wake you for dinner."

I held his gaze in protest for a moment, but then I remembered something that Yuna had told me long ago about not fighting with politicians when they were trying to make themselves feel benevolent, and I stood down. With a little smile, and I waved him off. "Thanks… see you tonight."

He nodded and I closed the door, locking it behind me. My gaze wandered toward the huge bed that rested against the far wall, and I climbed upon it with haste, exhausted from traveling. The mattress was the finest money could buy, and I was asleep within minutes. I didn't even bother to change out of my traveling clothes.

That evening, I sat at a small table near the back of the palace's grand dining room, staring out the window at the waters. I'd ordered a light salad for dinner, but I'd barely eaten any of it. With a glance around the large, empty room, I suddenly felt lonelier than I had in a long while. I wanted to just forget about all of this and go back. But things weren't that simple.

I stabbed my fork into a piece of chicken and twirled it as I stared miserably at my plate. Footsteps echoed through the empty room, and I looked toward the entrance. Baralai smiled back at me, a tray in his hands. "I went up to find you, but you weren't in your room."

"I was hungry," I stated quietly, shrugging as he pulled out the chair opposite me and sat down.

He stared down at my plate and cocked an eyebrow, his expression so close to Gippal's usual smirk that I looked away. "Uh-huh…" With a sigh, he picked up a fork and began to poke at his own salad. "If you're hungry you should eat that."

"I said I was hungry. That doesn't mean I still am." I put my fork down and stared miserably down at my plate, almost oblivious to his presence.

"You aren't taking care of yourself, are you?" he asked quietly, setting his own fork down.

And even when my mind acknowledged that statement, anger started to boil in my veins. "Who are you to make that assumption?"

"A friend, I thought." His voice was concerned, but not angry. Gippal would have been furious… concerned, but furious at my subtle suggestion that he wasn't. That he had no right to be.

"Yeah, but…" I was quiet for moment, before I relented under Baralai's knowing gaze. "Without Yuna and Lulu around to force me, or Brother, or Cid… or Gippal… it's… well, I just…"

"You're depressed. You're still adjusting to the baby, who, by the way, I still haven't seen a picture of. You're mad at Gippal, and you're mad at yourself. Of course you're not going to want to eat, or do anything for that matter." I was silent for a moment, as I stared at him.

"How do you know all that? As far as I can tell, you've never had a baby and run away from everything before… you're mister responsibility…" I chuckled softly, but without much heart.

"No, but I'm trying to understand… so let me help you. I know I'm not Yuna, or Lulu, Cid, Brother… but at least let me try." His gentle eyes met my own slightly misted ones, and I wasn't sure what to think.

But then I nodded. "Okay… thanks."

He nodded with a smile and picked up his fork again. With cheeky grin, he pointed at my own fork. "Now eat."

I gave a small chuckle and picked up my fork, shaking my head with a grin.

The little boat sailed out over the water of the wide bay. I stared down through the clear liquid at the schools of fish circling far below, lost in thought. Baralai sat next to me, minding the sails, maneuvering them to catch the wind. I sighed heavily and protested as he tried to show me how to hold the rudder straight. "I'm really just… not in the mood to try to learn anything right now. I'm too tired."

"Rikku, come on, it'll be fun. I promise."

"Baralai!"

"Just… try it. I've never known you to be one to crash out on a party. This will be fun!"

I glared at him for a moment, but then I grinned. "Fine. But only because I'm tired of being boring."

"I'm tired of you being boring, too." He chuckled as I playfully smacked him, and proceeded to position my hands on the rudder. "Just keep it steady, so we keep going straight."

I grinned and mischievously let the rudder wander to the left. "Like that?"

He reached out and steadied my hands, keeping a firm grip on them, grinning all the while despite his stern voice. "No, like this."

I rolled my eyes and held the rudder straight, squinting up into the sun at him. "I've never been sailing before, don't get annoyed with me."

"How could I ever get annoyed with you?" he asked, laughing heartily. I smacked him and giggled, slightly amazed of how infectious his laughter was.

"Shush," I said, holding onto the rudder while I leaned on the side of the boat.

"Yes, ma'am!" Baralai began to mess with the sails as I frowned at him.

"And don't call me that, it makes me feel old." He just laughed… I couldn't help but laugh, too.

I leaned against the cold metal railing of one of the Faction's salvage ships, the hood of my sweatshirt pulled up over my head to protect me from the sea-spray. I pointed out over the water toward the Baaj Temple. "Alright, crew, we found one airship here, and now we're going to try and find more. Be careful down there, there's these nasty evil fish things that try to eat you and chase you around… and stuff…" The crew members laughed at my explanation, and I just grinned happily back at them. "Get going!"

As soon as the crew scattered, I went back to leaning on the rail. I was only supervising this excavation, though I'd rather be down in the water, finding things myself. I stared absently at the cold gray waters as I thought about the last few weeks. Gippal had promoted me to Djose, and now I was supervising, designing… being a mechanic. It was a wonderful job, and I'd already made some friends and developed a bond with my crew. But the best part of this job was being able to see Gippal… our relationship was finally beginning to move forward.

As I thought about him, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I grinned slightly and shook my head. "I'm working, Gippal!" His arms wrapped around my waist, and he hugged me tightly. I noticed how cute he looked in a baggy sweatshirt as I turned around to give him a small kiss on the cheek.

"I'm paying you!"

"You should be working, too."

"I'm taking a break. I can afford to do that every… ten minutes or so." I rolled my eyes at him.

"We're going to have dinner together tonight, aren't we?" I asked, pouting slightly. He'd been busy the night before, and had had to cancel our dinner date.

"I'm trying, Rikku, but I have a lot of orders to fill and customers to yell at before quittin' time."

"Then get back to work so we can have dinner!" I laughed as he hugged me tightly again, pressing his cheek to mine. When he pulled away, he saluted me.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Don't call me that, it makes me feel old."

"Alright, then. Yes, Missy!" I giggled and he meandered back towards the doorway to the inside of the ship. I shook my head and returned to watching my crew.

I'd never had the chance to look at Bevelle under the night sky, before. The last time I'd been there over night, I'd been in a jail cell, in a watery world of death… fighting an unsent Maester. I hadn't had the time to look. During the Gullwings' travel, we hadn't stayed longer than we needed to. But now, I got to see the city in all its glory. Downtown Luca was beautiful at night, with all of the colored lights shining from the windows of the stores and clubs, but all of Bevelle sparkled.

Lights came from every area of the city, in a scattered rainbow of colors. The waters of the bay that surrounded it glinted as the waves lapped against the piers. I smiled as Baralai passed a glass of wine into my hands. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I nodded, taking a sip of the fine chardonnay. "Yeah… I've never seen it before." I pointed out toward the Macalania woods, which were just visible on the shoreline. "Two years ago, if you slept in the woods, the trees would glow. The city kind of looks like that."

Baralai frowned. "I wish we could find a way to preserve the woods. They really are exquisite."

I nodded, though I wouldn't have chosen 'exquisite' to describe them. The woods were beautiful, special… of course, in a way, they were exquisite, but they meant too much to simply be appreciated for that. But I agreed, in any case. "That they are."

He was quiet for a moment, as he leaned on the railing. I looked out toward the woods, calmly tapping my fingers against my wine glass. "You are, too," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

I froze for a moment, not certain that I'd heard him correctly. "I'm what, too?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Exquisite." He looked back at me with a small smile on his lips. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

"I wouldn't call myself that," I said, hesitantly. Where is he going with this?

"That's because you don't see yourself how everyone else sees you." Baralai approached me, and I looked up at him from where I sat, not sure of what to think.

"What does that mean?"

"You're an amazing girl, Rikku."

"…what does that mean?"

He knelt in front of me, that soft smile on his lips, and leaned forward. I was confused for a moment, until his lips met mine in a chaste kiss. My eyes were wide with shock for a second, before he pulled away. "Does that answer your question?" he asked quietly, his hand on my knee.

I just blinked at him silently, my mind boggled. He leaned forward again, catching my lips. A gentle breeze caught my hair, and I closed my eyes unconsciously, responding to the kiss ever so slightly.

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that that took so long. My play closed and I had a series of social gatherings that I couldn't ignore, and then school started. Since I didn't do any of my summer homework until the day before, I kind of had to put this off until now. Now that school is back in session (I'M A SENIOR, YESSSS), I think one chapter a week is going to be the maximum. Dance will start again soon, too, in which case I'll probably be updating once a week on the weekends (Fri-Sun). So, thanks for all the reviews! I hope you all continue to like it. Strangely enough, this chapter is kind of the driver for the real plotline to begin! So, thanks to FairyIce for beta and all the wonderful advice, and to Andrea Roberts for pre-reading for me last night when I really needed a second opinion and I couldn't find FairyIce (lol). So, I hope you enjoy!

Please Review!