The next morning, Yuna began to see exactly what went on behind those big brown eyes. Lenne wasted no time in laying down the foundation.
As they stood in their room before heading to dinner, Lenne beckoned Yuna over to the big metal dresser, a secretive glint in her eyes. She took a silver necklace out of a jewelled box and whispered, "This is a necklace Shuyin gave me. It was their mom's, before she died. They would have a heart attack if it got stolen." She grinned and dangled the necklace in front of Yuna. It was pretty, with a silver chain and heart-shaped locket. A deep blue stone was set in the center, and written on the back was in flowing script was the phrase: Always follow your heart.
Yuna watched as Lenne silently crept into Eidoriana's room and tucked the necklace in a box. After a moment, she snuck back into their room, barely containing giggles of delight. "It's so pretty, Eidoriana won't be able to resist wearing it. And when she does, I'll cry thief. Then we sit back and watch the fireworks," she said with a cunning grin.
It wasn't until that night when they were all sitting on the couch (minus Auron. He'd gone out for a drink again) when Yuna spotted the necklace glinting silver in the overhead light. Lenne had told her what to do earlier, so she pointed at the necklace and said politely, "That's really pretty, Eidoriana."
Lenne looked at the necklace and gasped. "That's mine!" she exclaimed, the expression on her face the perfect combination of anger and disbelief. Yuna silently applauded Lenne's acting abilities. She was able to make her feelings obvious, without being overly dramatic.
Eidoriana stared at her. "What? No, it's not!" she protested, laying her hand protectively over the locket.
Lenne nodded, her eyes slowly filling up with tears. "You stole it!" she cried.
"I did not!" Eidoriana objected.
"I can't believe you!" Lenne ran out of the room, trying to stifle sobs of horror. Shuyin followed her, calling her name worriedly.
Tidus was staring at Eidoriana disbelievingly. "I can't believe it," he said incredulously.
"I didn't take it! You have to believe me!" Eidoriana cried. He just shook his head slowly and went to check on Lenne. Yuna was left sitting with Eidoriana. She stood up to dart after Lenne, uncomfortable in the thick tension in the room.
"I know you did this. I'll get you, Luna," Eidoriana hissed.
"It's Yuna. And I'll do whatever I have to to get him," Yuna retorted calmly, her anger overriding her embarrassment.
"He's mine, and he'll stay mine. Obviously, you don't watch enough television," Eidoriana snapped.
Yuna just raised one eyebrow, not bothering to dignify that with a response. Eidoriana stared at her, green eyes filling up with tears. Suddenly, she threw herself onto the couch and Yuna shot up so as not to be pinned beneath the girl. She left Eidoriana sitting on the couch crying and found Lenne sitting on the bed, sobbing inconsolably into Shuyin's shoulder. Tidus was leaning against the doorway, glaring darkly.
"Are you okay?" Yuna asked sympathetically.
Lenne sniffed and smiled weakly. "Yeah," she said quietly.
"Are you sure? I know how much that meant to you," Shuyin said, blatantly more concerned about Lenne than anyone else.
"I'll be okay," she assured her fiancé. "I think I just need a moment alone. I just can't believe she'd do that!" She let out another half-stifled sob, and Yuna barely hid an appreciative grin.
He nodded and walked out, dragging his brother along with him.
Yuna shut the door and grinned at Lenne. "You're good," she said. Lenne grinned back and pretended to blush modestly. Yuna sat down on the bed next to her and sighed. "What next?" she asked.
"That's my girl." Lenne slung one arm over Yuna's shoulder and started to explain their next step.
The next morning, Yuna woke up before the sunrise and drifted outside. She found Tidus outside bouncing a blitzball on his foot. "Hey," she said softly.
He spun. "Hey. I didn't know anyone else was up," he said, surprised.
"I usually get up early," she explained. He nodded and caught the blitzball. She sat down on the step and watched the machina Lenne had said were called "cars" speed by, on their way to somewhere. Tidus sat next to her, and she resisted the urge to lean her head on his shoulder. He looked at her.
"You know, you seem familiar to me," he said.
She nodded. "You, too," she replied, her heart beginning to race frantically.
"I thought so. It's kinda like I knew you a long time ago, but now I've forgotten," he explained.
She nodded again. "I get what you mean," she said softly. –Only in my case, I know you from a different reality in the future. Sort of,–the voice said. He put one arm around her shoulders, a faraway look in his eyes as if he didn't even realize he was doing it. She barely managed to suppress a smile.
"You know, I've been having the strangest dreams since you got here. Really weird stuff, like I was a thousand years in the future, and you were a summoner, and we were travelling with these other people to defeat this thing called Sin. And I had this really big secret, but I couldn't tell you. And we were in love." He looked at her, and she wanted so badly to tell him that it wasn't a dream, that they really were in love, and that she was the one he was supposed to marry, not Eidoriana. But instead she just smiled understandingly and let him talk. He started describing his blitzball team, and how great they were doing. They watched the sun rise over the great machina city, seeming to set the enormous buildings on fire.
Lenne opened the door and stuck her head out. "C'mon, you two. Breakfast," she said. They stood up, and as Yuna walked in, Lenne gave her an encouraging grin. Yuna blushed and followed Tidus inside. They all sat at the table and ate bowls of cereal, chatting lightly about the game that night. Eidoriana sat in stony silence, glaring at Lenne and Yuna and sitting as close to Tidus as she could without sitting on him. Yuna just regarded her with mild interest.
"I can't believe our wedding's tomorrow!" Eidoriana exclaimed to Tidus. He nodded and smiled, but Yuna could tell something was wrong. It was the same smile he'd given her when she asked him if he was going away, just before they defeated Sin.
A small part of her was infinitely satisfied, while another part was exclaiming shrilly, "Tomorrow? Oh, God, we're never going to pull this off!"
Lenne glanced at her, instantly detecting the subtle change in Yuna. "Don't worry," she murmured.
Yuna nodded and stood up. "I'm gonna walk to the stadium. Anyone want to come?" she asked on impulse.
"Can't. I've got stuff to do before the wedding," Lenne said with a secretive smile.
"I'll go with you. Maybe I can get a game started," Tidus said, getting to his feet.
Eidoriana grabbed his hand and held it in a vice-like grip. "No!" she exclaimed. He looked at her, annoyed and startled. "I mean, you can't leave me here alone." she stammered.
"Lenne will be here, and so will Shuyin. You'll be fine," he assured her, gently prying her fingers away from his. He followed Yuna outside and they headed toward the stadium dome. "So, you know anything about blitzball?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. A lot of the guys I know play," she answered.
He grinned. "Excellent. Eidoriana doesn't know anything about it, and refuses to listen to me," he said. They walked past through the few people on the streets, talking about blitzball and wandering in the general direction of the stadium. Someone bumped into Yuna's shoulder and she glanced at the man.
"Sorry," she said, smiling a little.
"That's quite all right, milady," the man replied in a strange accent. His grey eyes smiled at her, and his green-and-cream hat trembled as if it were threatening to fall off as he bowed a little. He turned and continued walking away.
Yuna stared after him. Something was familiar about that man, but she couldn't put her finger on what. It darted just out of sight of her thoughts, letting her see only a few glances of it. "Who's that?" she asked Tidus, pointing in the man's direction.
"That? Oh, that's Maechen. He's a little loose in the head, if you know what I mean. Always says stuff like, 'The dream and the real merged into one' and 'What are the fayth thinking?' and the stuff like that," the blond boy explained, shrugging.
Yuna nodded slowly, that familiar feeling still lurking. Then, like a thief caught in a flashlight beam, it came fully into view. "Maechen!" she cried, suddenly darting after the man.
"What–Yuna!" Tidus exclaimed, running after her. Yuna ran after the scholar, who was not quite so old anymore, but still the same man she knew. She grabbed his shoulder and he stopped, turning to look at her with a surprised expression.
"Do you require something?" he asked, his voice still slow and rich with the strange accent.
"Maechen…you're Maechen…I know you…"Yuna gasped, out of breath from her chase.
"Hmmm?" The scholar watched her with a calm interest, waiting for her to regain her bearings.
"You're from Spira, aren't you? You…I should have known. You know about them all…you know about the fayth, don't you?" She flung her questions at him, and he chuckled a little.
"You, too, were born in Spira, were you not? You are not native to this world, are you, child?" he asked. She shook her head as Tidus finally caught up with them. The rush of people had increased since they'd left the house, and the crowd pushed by the three as if they were merely lampposts.
"What's…going on? Yuna…what…was that…for?" Tidus gulped oxygen into his lungs between words, trying to replace the air he'd lost.
"This is Maechen! I know him…he's from where I'm from!" Yuna babbled. She knew she wasn't making a lick of sense, but she was too excited to care. She turned back to Maechen. "Tidus said you always talk about the dream and the real merging. Does that mean that this place isn't real?" she asked.
Maechen sighed and looked around. "Come. This is not the place for such discussion," he told her in a low voice. He spun with a speed she would not have attributed to him and melted into the crowd.