Chapter XI – Change of Plans

The summoner and her guardians exited Guadosalam through a tunnel that led to the southern end of the Thunder Plains. The Thunder Plains were grassland plains that always had clouds covering the skies, even though the Moonflow and Guadosalam had a perfectly clear day. Thunder always rained down on the floor, but luckily, some people had been thoughtful enough to build lightning rod towers. But through the years, no one was there to maintain the towers to their full power and brought the lightning rod towers that were supposed to attract the lightning bolts to a disaster. Now, with lots of hope, it might be possible for the towers to absorb the thunder.

As they approached the beginning of the long trek across the Thunder Plains, Helena seemed on her toes. Lightning struck the floor, spraying grass and dirt in a hole about twenty feet away from them. The Al Bhed girl shrieked as her face turned white with fear. As the company continued on, she seemed to be more frightened by lightning.

Finally, one bolt of thunder snapped her senses. "I wanna go home! I hate thunder! I hate lightning! Let's go rest over there!" Helena screamed suddenly, pointing to a small convenient inn which was designed for a halfway mark to travelers. "Please?"

Auron just continued to walk on. "The storm never stops. It's better to cross quickly," he said.

"I know, but…just for a little while?" The others ignored her and went on. As they approached the lodge, she still pleaded to them. "Pretty please? Just for a few minutes?" They walked away from her. "I'm scared of lightning! Let's rest, please? Pretty please?" She looked like she was scared of everything. "I'm too young to die," she whispered to herself. As the others ignored her again, she yelled at them. "You're mean! Cruel! Your moms would be ashamed of you! Are you having fun doing this to me?"

Auron sighed deeply. "Fine, we rest. She's even worse than the storm."

Cid and the others entered the lodge. "I'm…a little tired," Sara told them. She went to the front desk. "Do you have a room available?" The man at the front desk nodded and directed her down a hallway to a room.

Alexander looked at her suspiciously with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like her," muttered Lulu, shaking her head.

"Are you that scared?" asked Cid.

Helena nodded slowly as color returned to her face. "When I was little, a fiend attacked me as I was swimming at the beach. My brother tried to beat it back with a spell. But he missed and hit me instead! It was a Thunder spell!" She made a sound like the zapping of lightning and moved her hands to explain.

A young man with blonde hair and green eyes and dressed in a brown leather jacket and pants came out of the hallway. "Nice to see you. I am Rin, owner of the establishments of the Rin Travel Agency." He looked at Helena. "Oh?" Helena put a fingers to her lips and uttered a loud "Shhh!" Cid decided to go walk around the inn.

He heard strange sounds from Sara's room. Cid put his ear to the door but accidentally stumbled into her room. Sara looked startled.

"Y-Yes?"

"I…uh…It's nothing, really…I…uh…" Cid began to scratch the back of his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come in." Then he noticed, on a desk, a sphere. "Is that Lord Jyscal?"

Sara nodded. "The sphere is his will. It says 'Take care of my son.'" Cid apologized again and left the room.

The following morning, things hadn't changed at all with Helena's karaunophobia. "It's not stopping…is it?" she whispered slowly.

"Don't tell me you were hoping it would," grunted Auron. "Fine. Stay here."

"All right, already! But! You didn't have to say it like that, you know! You could be more comforting or something! You know, try to cheer me up? You just don't get me at all, do you? Hey! Are you listening?" shouted Helena. Lightning struck again. "I'm not scared! I'm not scared, you hear?"

The company traveled more until Sara stopped them. "Everyone, wait. I have something to tell you," she said.

"Here?" asked Lulu.

Helena was incredibly impatient. "We're almost out of here! Let's go!"

"I have to say it now…"

Auron pointed to an area with a roof shade. "Over there." They arrived shortly as Sara spoke the words that shot through Cid like a bullet.

"I've decided to marry."

"I thought so," commented Lulu, shaking her head again while putting a hand to her forehead.

"But why? Why'd you change your mind?" asked Alexander.

"For Gaia's future…and Yevon's unity. I thought it would be the best thing to do," answered the summoner in a brave voice.

"That's not good enough," replied Auron.

"Wait, is it because of Lord Jyscal?" wondered Lulu.

"Hey! That sphere!" exclaimed Cid. Auron demanded to see it, but Sara refused to let him.

"I can't," she explained. "I must speak to Maester Seymour first. I truly am sorry, but this is…this is a personal matter." She looked down at the ground. Cid wondered what she was thinking at that moment.

"Just one thing..." Auron began to say something.

"I won't quit my pilgrimage," responded Sara almost automatically.

"Then it is…fine." Auron continued to the north end of the Thunder Plains.

Cid stopped him. "Wait a minute, Auron! You don't care? I mean, you're not going to stop her?" Before he knew what he was doing, Cid had surprised himself by calling out Sir Auron's name and stopping him in his tracks. The pilgrimage truly was full of surprises.

"No, I'm not," Auron said. "As long as she is willing to face Sin, everything else is her concern. That is a summoner's privilege. As long as she journeys." Cid's face began to redden from frustration.

"Sara, just one question," Alexander spoke. "Can't you just talk to Maester Seymour? You absolutely have to marry him?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. But I think it is the right thing to do."

"Sara…" Helena put her hands on the summoner's shoulders. "I wish we could help somehow, some way!"

"It's okay…I'll be fine."

Auron was all business again. "Next, we're going to Macalania Temple. Sara can talk with Seymour there. We guardians will wait until they're done and plan out our next move."