Author's Note
Li: Hey, readers. Roy's sleeping. He nearly suffocated. Unfortunately, I had to explode the bunker to get him out, so he has to stay here until I find another one.
Voice of Reason: Why do you act as though you don't like me?
Li: You tried to kill my muse. I have a perfectly good reason to hate you.
VoR: Fine. Oh, by the way... so, so many hits, and NO REVIEWS? I told you the review button wouldn't hurt you. But if you don't start reviewing, I might...
Li: Quit scaring the readers! Oh, and enjoy this chapter! FLUFF AHOY!
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Chapter Seven: The Trials of Love
Tori walked Aria back to the boat. Once they were safely in a cabin, he asked quietly, "Aria? Do you... have something to hide?"
"What?" Aria asked. "I don't..."
"There's something you aren't saying." Tori said. "I don't know what it is, but... You seem worried, all the time. You hardly ever smile."
"Tori, you shouldn't worry about me. You should be worried about your sister, not me." Aria said, though it hurt her to say it.
"She is my sister, and I love her. But I love you too." Tori said. He waited, to see if she bolted, or threw something at him. To his surprise, she started to cry, again.
"What's wrong?" he asked, worried he had hurt her without realizing it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said..."
"No, no... don't apologize. I... I love you too, Tori. But..."
"But what?"
"I... can't..."
Tori walked over and sat down beside her. Drawing her into his arms, he asked, "Why? Are you, like, betrothed to someone, or something? Is there someone else?"
It's not fair! she thought. How can I be steadfast in my resolve when he loves me too? "No, Tori. Nothing like that." she whispered.
"Then what?"
"I don't want you to get hurt... If Alex wins, you'll die. And even now, having Alerai and I here lets him know where you are. If he finds out that we... like each other... he'll use us to hurt each other. I couldn't bear having something bad happen to you because of me... I don't deserve anyone as good as you..."
"Aria," Tori murmured. "I'm not scared of Alex. If you are scared, let me sweep your fear away. Let me be your guiding star, your light in the dark. Come what may, I will never stop loving you, no matter what. If Alex tries to hurt you, I will fight him till the end."
Aria closed her eyes, leaning into his embrace. Tori stroked her silver hair, feeling like the luckiest guy on the planet. Aria wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling closer to him.
"Thank you, Tori..." he heard her whisper.
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Piers and Lehran were up on the tower. Piers was trying to teach her Hover, starting out with some small rocks.
"This is pointless!" Lehran cried. "I cannot do this! You should get Lief to try. Or Aria. I bet a Moon Adept could do it..."
"I know you can do this, Lehran. Try once more. You have to think happily that the rocks will fly." Piers said. "Come on."
She tried. The rocks rose halfheartedly into the air, wobbled there a bit, then dropped back to the floor with a rattle.
"Not happy enough." Piers told her. Lehran sighed, setting the pebbles aside.
"Piers?"
"Yes?"
"What do you think this fight with Alex will be like? I know we've had this discussion before, but he doesn't even seem human anymore." Lehran said, sounding abashed.
"I know. It makes you wonder if he has a conscience anymore." Piers said quietly. "There's just... I don't even know what this will be like. I only met Alex twice. Once when he brought Karst and Agatio to threaten us in Champa, and the other in Jupiter Lighthouse when we went to save Isaac's group from Karst and Agatio. He always seemed very polite, yet secretive and vague. He never quite explained exactly what he meant by certain comments."
"I'm afraid of what's going to happen when we finally face him. But we have to, for Alexei's sake."
"Yes. We can't leave Tori's sister in Alex's hands. Leaving her at his mercy would be the worst thing we could do. If he's as ruthless as Aria and Alerai make him out to be, he wouldn't hesitate in killing a child." Piers said slowly. "Don't worry, Lehran. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe."
"Wouldn't you do that for any of us?" she asked, puzzled by his words. Piers turned crimson, and stammered as he searched for an explanation for his wording.
"Well, um, see... What I meant was..."
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Lief and Alerai were discussing various topics as they carefully stowed supplies in the boat's hold.
"This is going to be a long trip." Alerai said, shoving a container filled with fresh water into it's place in the corner. "It could take weeks to get to Prox. Where's a Teleport Lapis when you need one?"
"Piers used to be able to Teleport all eight of them, plus Kraden." Lief said. "But he told me that now he can only do one. If Lehran can learn Hover, it'll decrease the time tremendously. But I still wonder why Piers was so insistent that she learn it."
"Isn't it obvious?" Alerai asked. When Lief shot him a baffled look, he grinned wryly. "Piers likes your sister, my friend. I'm surprised you haven't noticed. And I think she likes him back. But neither know how to tell the other."
"Yes, well..." Lief mumbled grumpily, annoyed that he hadn't noticed. "Aria and Tori seem to be getting along pretty well, too."
"Ahh, yes." Alerai said lightly. "Not worried."
"Really? Could have fooled me." Lief said smugly. Alerai glared at him.
"And how do you know that?"
"One, you tensed as soon as I mentioned it." Lief said. "Two, last night you were talking in your sleep. You were obviously talking to Aria, and you were telling her that she couldn't tell Tori that she loved him. What is going on with you two?"
"We have many enemies." Alerai said simply. "Those we are close to get hurt. I do not want to see her wounded if something happens to Tori. Especially if Alex gets his way."
"Still, you cannot bind love forever." Lief mused. "I'm wondering about Lehran..."
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"Piers, come on! What did you mean by that?" Lehran asked the Lemurian. She was puzzled, not only by his words, but by his lack of an explanation for them.
"Lehran... I..." The normally poetic-sounding Lemurian was at a complete loss for words. He had no idea how to fix that tiny bit he had let slip. Finally, he decided that maybe just the truth would work best. "Okay. Lehran... I love you." he said softly. Lehran drew back with a gasp, and Piers internally smacked himself. Now she would hate him. He dared to ask, "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing." she whispered. "But... do you know how long I've liked you and not told you?"
"How long?" Piers asked, feeling happier than he had in a long time.
"Since you saved me from drowning. You made me feel so safe. I... I love you, Piers." Lehran said. She blushed, embarrassed. Piers smiled warmly at her. He drew her into his arms, cuddling her against his chest. Lehran smiled happily, burying her face in the Lemurian's shoulder. There they sat for several minutes. Finally, Lehran spoke again.
"Piers?"
"Yes, love?"
"Umm..." she hesitated. Then, "How old are you?"
Piers was somewhat taken aback by the question. Yet, he realized why she asked it. If she was fourteen, and he was so much older... "For you, I'm fifteen." Piers said, murmuring the words into her ear. She sat up and looked at him.
"What?"
"For you, I am fifteen years old." he repeated. "The amount of time I've lived in Lemuria, compared to how long I would continue to live, makes me fifteen in a normal span of years."
"But... how do you just give up being immortal?" Lehran asked, confused.
"Stop drinking from the Lemurian Spring." Piers told her. "That's what makes us live for so long. If I stopped now, I'd be a normal fifteen-year-old." He stood up, pulling her to her feet as well. "Come here." He led her down the tower, and told her to wait on the deck. He went into the inner part of the ship for a minute, and returned with a case. He opened it, and it contained what looked like bottled water. Speaking almost to himself, he said, "Lemurians rarely ever left Lemuria, even before it was banned, but when they did, they had to bring some of the spring's water with them." He opened one of the bottles, and poured the contents over the railing, into the sea. Lehran gasped, as Piers took another one and poured that out too.
"What are you doing?" she cried. Piers turned and came over to her.
"One lifetime with you, is better than a hundred lonely lifetimes in Lemuria." he whispered. He leaned forward and gently kissed her. Lehran wrapped her arms around his waist, as he drew her closer to him. When they finally broke apart, she rested her head on his shoulder, only able to murmur his name softly.
"I love you, Lehran." Piers whispered. "And I always will."
Suddenly, Lehran asked, "What about Hover? I still can't do it right."
Piers smiled impishly. He leaned down and kissed her again, saying, "Now try."
She tried. The ship lurched as the Anemos's Wings absorbed the Psynergy and lifted the boat off the ground. Happily, Lehran threw herself at Piers. He swung her around, saying, "Now, you'll always be able to do it."
Everyone boarded the boat hurriedly, preparing for the long trip to Prox. Even with Hover, it would still take about a week. They used the time to prep for the cold, and the inevitable confrontation that awaited them there.
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Li: Aww... Wasn't that sweet? My first attempt at fluff of any kind, so don't kill me. Oh, by the way. Sorry for taking so long to update. I have like four projects at school...
Voice of Reason: You also spent lots of time when you could have been working on this watching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children fanvideos on Youtube instead.
Li: But the movie comes out April 25! I can't wait that long!
VoR: Your problem, not mine.
Li: Grrr... Anyway, more happens next chapter. This was just filler to develop the characters more. See you later! Don't forget to review!
