She was gone.

The general didn't know what to do. If this had been a security problem, then the Galbadian government might have fired him already. He was normally cool, calm and collected, but when it came to her, everything changed.

He was pacing back and forth in his room for more than an hour now, thinking about where she could've gone, or how she was at that moment. His head ached with worry; his heart was heavy with guilt. This was all his fault.

Now Julia Heartily is missing and nowhere to be found.

"She really can be reckless sometimes," he muttered in frustration as he rubbed his temples, in an effort to stop his headache from getting worse. His behavior was starting to be unbecoming of a general.

He had pulled the strings and used all his connections to find out where exactly she went but no one seemed to find the answers. She had always been good with hide-and-seek and she was slowly driving him insane.

"This is your fault you stupid fool…" he berated himself more as he punched the wall, imagining that he was punching himself.

Because of his frustration, he didn't even notice that his television was open. It was a good thing that he came around the moment the answer he was looking for appeared on the screen.

"A group of very eager fans have assembled on the train station in Fisherman's Horizon after famous pianist and singer Ms. Julia Heartily was said to have been spotted here today. This has caused a minor disturbance here but the police are trying to get the crowd to calm down…"

Leave it to the media to get information.

Richard Caraway's features lightened up a bit as he heard the news. He hurriedly grabbed his things and went to the train station.

"Julia, please be ok…"

----------------------------------------------

He was amazed to see Julia's horde of fans scattered all over the train station, as they waited patiently for more news about their idol. She was said to have boarded the train that was headed for Salt Lake; and everyone knew that she's scheduled to come back after a few hours. A few minutes after her train left, the ships docked there announced that all trips are cancelled for that day, due to a big storm that is said to hit the archipelago in the afternoon. Everyone knows that Salt Lake is just a barren wasteland with no hotels or sights to see. People go to Salt Lake for the ships, yet some adventurers and treasure seekers say that you might find the gates of the hidden city, Esthar there.

Like one of her fans, he waited for the train's arrival as patiently as he could. His heart was beating madly in his chest. Questions like, is she really going to be in there or will she ever forgive him continuously entered his mind. He could not help but be pessimistic as he saw the storm clouds building up in the horizon. All he could not stop himself from thinking that this could be an omen.

After a few more minutes, the train finally arrived. The media, the fans and everyone else eagerly waited for Julia to come down. The passengers came down one by one but the singer was not seen. Maybe she was still inside… maybe she was waiting for the crowd to dissipate before she came down, to avoid a commotion. Richard couldn't contain his emotions any longer as he fought his way through the crowd to be nearer the train's entrance.

"Is it true that Miss Heartily was on board this train?" he heard one reporter ask one of the crew.

"Uh… no comment," the man nervously replied as he tried his best to avoid any more questions. After a few minutes, the crowd slowly disappeared. Many supposed that it was all just a false rumor.

Richard didn't know why, but his gut instincts told him that Julia was indeed on that train. Was she still inside, hiding? He suddenly stepped on something. As he bent down to look at what he stepped on, he couldn't stifle a gasp when he realized it was Julia's key chain. She was on that train! Unable to control himself any longer, he desperately looked for another entrance.

"Please, let me through," he begged one of the crewmembers that blocked his way.

"I'm sorry sir, but …"

"Please, I am General Caraway, I need to speak to the train's pilot." He hated using his power to get his way… but this was an emergency.

"Oh, from the Galbadian Army. Good, we have been expecting you."

Richard was surprised at the man's remark, what could be wrong? Julia…

"Julia Heartily is not aboard this train… I repeat… Julia Heartily not on this train," he heard the pilot tell the people, loud and clear… but the key chain…

Richard ran after the pilot as soon as the crew shut all the doors. He was now very confused.

"Sir, I am sorry to interrupt, but is …"

"General, we called you because of an emergency. Miss Heartily…"

Called him? Emergency?

"This is a very confidential matter. We have been advised not to tell anyone to avoid a ruckus…"

"Miss Heartily was on this train?" the young general asked shakily.

"Yes, in fact she was. But due to unknown circumstances, she refused to come back with us."

Richard forgot how to breathe.

"We almost carried her here, believe me General, we did. But then she suddenly jumped off. We tried to stop the train to get her back, but our trains are set on automatic mode. Our emergency breaks will not work well because the tracks are too slippery due to the heavy rain." Apprehension was evident on the older man's face. "It was too risky. We couldn't get her back… General Caraway?" the pilot stopped when he saw how pale the young general was.

"She's alone there, in the middle of a storm!" Richard exclaimed as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"With all due respect to Miss Heartily, we honestly thought she had gone insane. Someone told us that she said something about 'looking for someone' so she had to be left behind."

He should've known this was going to happen. And now, she's in danger because of his foolishness.

"I'm going to get her back… I swear… I'm going to get her back."

"General Caraway? What are you saying?" the pilot asked worriedly, afraid that the General had gone insane too.

"I'm going to bring her back here, alive. I'll get her back no matter what… even if I have to die trying," The young general swore with finality, his eyes full of determination.

He's going to save Julia Heartily. He has to.

----------------------------------------------

He clutched the key chain tightly as he started his search for Julia. He had to hurry. He already wasted an hour getting all his supplies and begging the Galbadian army to send a rescue team with him to help with the search and rescue operation. His efforts were all in vain for Julia Heartily may be the most popular icon right now, but the army didn't want to risk more lives just for her. The Galbadian army seemed to be getting weaker and weaker, as the soldiers disappear one by one. They cannot afford to lose more soldiers.

But what they didn't know is that the young pianist was actually looking for one of their men, the soldier Laguna Loire. He's reported to be missing in action, after he and two other soldiers were sent to Centra to investigate.

"No time to think about that now…" he thought to himself. He needed to find Julia. After he got the supplies, it took him another 2 hours to get to Salt Lake. All modes of transportation were cancelled or not allowed to depart because of the storm. He swore to get there even if he had to swim. Finally, the military gave him permission to depart, only after he swore to be fully liable for his actions. He's on his own now; the army won't be backing up him up.

"Julia! Where are you?" he shouted desperately, his voice muffled by the pouring rain. Where was she! He had to find her before she … It's too cold. She might freeze to… No! He stopped himself from thinking of such things. But who could be optimistic at this moment? He couldn't think anymore. Maybe he had totally gone insane.

"Julia!" he can no longer hold back his tears. Julia might be dead and it was all his fault. He fell down to his knees and finally gave in to the inevitable. He shook almost violently because of his sorrow. The love of his life might be gone…

… And just when he thought everything was lost, he finally saw her, lying unconscious on the ground.

He ran to her and almost died when he finally held her in his arms. He hugged her to him, rocking back and forth, clinging as if she were his lifeline.

"I'll never let you go again," he whispered to her ear, though he knew he couldn't hear him. His heart swelled when he realized that she was still alive, although she's very weak. Her lips were turning to a deep shade of purple and she was deathly pale. He removed his cloak and ignored the wind slicing through his back. He covered her with it and lifted her in his arms. He had to get her to safety. He could barely see a thing and the cold white mud was already knee-deep. He didn't know where to go. He desperately looked into her face, and he felt something stir inside him. A new burst of energy surged through his whole body.

He had to save her.

He ran as fast as he could, blindly searching for a cave, a crevice or any form of shelter. He finally bumped into one and he carefully crawled inside.

He had to be strong. He was their only hope for survival. She started shivering and Richard just continued to hold on to her while rubbing her arms to warm her up.

"You're with me now… I'll keep you safe."

----------------------------------------------------

"Hey, guess who." the 11-year-old boy asked playfully as he covered his friend's eyes with his hands.

"Quit it Richard!" she exclaimed as she swatted away his hands.

"Ooh… no need to be angry. I was only joking," he said cheerfully while taking a seat beside the girl. Suddenly he noticed tears in her eyes.

"Julia? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Nothing," she answered calmly as she hurriedly wiped the tears away.

"C'mon, you can tell me. No secrets remember?"

"It's nothing important, really." She looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity and the kindness in them. "It's just that… I … I went to your house this morning and… I heard about…"

Richard looked away for a moment. She heard the conversation between him and his father. "Oh… so you know about…"

"…Yes…"

"I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you earlier… but my father really wants me to be a soldier…like him," he said seriously as he lay down on the grass.

"…So when are you going to leave?"

"Next month."

"Oh," she said sadly, she looked as if she's going to cry any moment now. He noticed this and suddenly sat up to put one of his arms on her shoulders.

"Hey, it's not as if we won't see each other again. I'll be home for the holidays, I'll write to you every week!" he said cheerfully, trying to lighten up the mood.

But it won't be the same; they both knew it. They have been the best of friends even before they barely knew how to talk. They were inseparable. Yes, they bickered a lot but most of the time, they enjoyed each other's company.

"Tell you what, I'll be the best there is. I'll be a general, and then I'll be your personal bodyguard when you become a famous pianist someday."

"I don't need a general to hang around and protect me," she mocked him a bit, a smile finally forming in her lips.

"But that would be fun! I mean, those other soldier guys will be scared of me so they won't bug you or anything."

"Ha! You're just jealous. You don't have to be my bodyguard. I can take care of myself," she said indignantly.

"No, but really! I promise you. I'll be the best so I can always keep you safe," he blurted out, caused by a sudden gush of emotion.

"What? Why are you so protective anyway?" she also asked out of the blue.

He didn't know what to say. He felt his cheeks warm up and he had to turn away from her so she won't see him blush.

"It's ah… because I'm 3 years older than you. Therefore, I need to protect you," he lamely told her as an excuse.

"That's it? I need to remind you that you're 2 years and 11 months older than me," she teased him, challenging him to come up with a good reply.

"I… um… tag you're it!" he couldn't think of anything else so he tagged her and ran away as fast as he could.

"Why you! I'll get you for that!" she shouted. Was her best friend weird or what!

--------------------------------

Richard awoke from his silent reverie. He swore to be the best, for her. That was 14 years ago… had it been that long? He couldn't tell her that he loved her then; that he swore to keep her safe because she was the most important person in his world. He chuckled slightly at the thought. He had kept the secret for 14 long years. And when he finally admitted it to her, she was already in love with someone else.

For 14 long years, he struggled to be the best. He studied hard, worked hard, and fought hard. His endeavors made him the youngest general in the history of Galbadian army. But what would he do with the title now that what he's fighting for is out of his grasp? She was in love with a man that's not even half his rank. But ranks don't really matter in her heart. For her, Laguna Loire would always be the best, not him.

But hope springs eternal. He had learned a very important lesson that day. The moment he lost all hope, she suddenly appeared right in front of him. He mustn't lose hope. Maybe she'd learn to love him someday. Maybe she'll forget about him. Maybe the two of them are meant to be together.

Now that he's holding her in his arms, keeping her safe, giving her his warmth, he doesn't really care if she'd learn to love him or not. He loves her. That's all that matters.