A/N: Trapped in the Temple of Darkness with no light… how scary does that have to be? Anyway…
The situation isn't good. If you've played the game and fought Abyssion, you know what I mean. Fighting him with 4 people was hard enough, but with only 3 people, one of which is wounded, and none of which are Raine… eep. Let's hope they can pull this off.
After I post this chapter, I will begin work on Chapter 2 of "A Fun, Easy Life" so… look forward to it! Without further ado here is today's installment of "Unconditional Love."
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Chapter 7: Through the Night
With a small flash of light, Kratos brought his blue wings into existence, bringing a small amount of light to the otherwise pitch-dark temple. With this new light, he began to examine Sheena's wound as a worried Lloyd crouched nearby.
He placed his hand on her side and whispered a few words as a soft, white light enveloped his hand and her wound. It began to slowly heal up. He looked up at Lloyd.
"She took a bad hit back there," he explained. "She'll make it, but she's lost a lot of blood. There's no way that she'll be able to fight tomorrow unless she gets more blood in her. She'll simply be too weak."
Lloyd's lips began to quiver. Although what happened to Sheena could in no way be Lloyd's fault, he still felt guilty, feeling as though he should have been able to do something to help her.
He looked up at his father. "Is there anything we can do? If we have to leave her behind, she won't have anyway to defend herself if we fail or if something else comes her way."
Kratos brought his free hand to his chin and began rubbing it. "Well… we could try a blood transfusion."
Lloyd scratched his head. "A blood what?"
Kratos brought his hand back down. Sheena's wound was almost completely healed now. "A blood transfusion. Basically, we transfer blood from one person to another. It's a fairly simple process that I can perform."
Lloyd looked down at the unconscious Sheena. He stroked her cold cheek with his hand. "Let's do it then. I'll give her some of my blood. I probably won't have to give too much right? I'm going to fight tomorrow. Just…" He looked back down at Sheena. That unknown, wonderful feeling came back to him. "If nothing else, give her enough so that I can talk to her."
Kratos nodded to him. "I should be able transfer enough of your blood without weakening you to a point beyond a night of rest can fix. Do you still want to?"
Lloyd nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Kratos began rummaging trough his pack, searching for the tools necessary to perform the transfusion with. "Then lie down next to her and try to relax. This will greatly weaken you until you get some sleep. If not sooner, try to get some sleep once I'm done performing the transfusion. Understood?"
Lloyd nodded again. "Yeah. Thanks dad."
Kratos finally found the tools he needed. "Don't mention it, I know how you feel. When you wake up, we need to talk."
Lloyd sat up for a moment and looked at Kratos. "Huh? What about?"
Kratos shook his head. "Don't worry about it now. Just relax. Let's begin."
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Hours Later…
Lloyd awakened with a mumble and rubbed his eyes. He was still feeling very tired, but they still had nearly 16 hours before the Guardian's light barrier wore off. He looked around. Still pitch-black. The only thing that could be seen was Kratos' blue wings as he walked around the main hall of the temple, possibly on patrol. He looked down at Sheena, barely able to see her. He brought his own red wings into existence to get a better look at her.
The wound was now nothing more than a mere scar. The color that had drained from her face had now returned, restoring her natural beauty. He picked up her left hand and held it tightly in both of his own. Once he did, she began to stir, much to his surprise.
She looked up at the red angel, trying to focus her blurry vision. "Lloyd…" she whispered.
Lloyd smiled when he saw her wake up. "Shh, it's okay Sheena. We're safe for now. Just try to get some rest."
Sheena was obviously still very weak, even more so than Lloyd. Despite this, she managed a weak smile. "Lloyd…" she whispered again.
Kratos waved to Lloyd from across the great hall. He motioned for him to come over. Lloyd nodded to him and held up one finger as if to say, One second."
"Sheena, Kratos needs me for a second. Here…" He pulled a blanket out of his pack and covered her with it. "There. It's very cold in here and you're still weak. Just try to stay warm. I'll be back in a moment."
Sheena could only manage the same word before as she struggled to wake up and focus her thoughts. "Lloyd…"
Lloyd got up and jogged over to Kratos. Once there, Kratos began to speak to him. "Lloyd, we need to talk."
Lloyd nodded. "Sure dad, what's up?"
Kratos began to pace a bit. "Tell me Lloyd. Just how do you feel about Sheena?"
Lloyd scratched his head. "Huh? What kind of question is that?"
Kratos didn't bother to turn to his son. "Answer the question, please."
Lloyd blinked a few times. Why would he ask a question like that? Wasn't it obvious that Sheena meant a lot to him? "Well uh… she's the best friend I've ever had. Even… even more so than Colette or Genis."
Kratos stopped to look at his son. "Is that all?" he asked as he crossed his arms.
Lloyd paused for a moment and thought. He then shook his head. "She's everything I could ask for in a person. She's smart, funny, beautiful and she's incredibly sweet to me."
Still not satisfied, Kratos asked again. "Is that all?"
No… no it wasn't. Lloyd now knew what Kratos was talking about when he asked a question with a seemingly obvious answer. Perhaps it wasn't so obvious now. He looked up at his angelic father.
"No," he started. "I… I don't know. I started getting this weird feeling when we were back in Flanoir. We decided to take a walk and when she started to get cold, I held her tightly so I could keep her warm. Once I did though, I started getting that weird, but good, feeling. It's strengthened ever since then. It felt much stronger when Sheena kissed my cheek in the Tower of Salvation." He rubbed his cheek after he said this. "I just don't know what it is dad. She's more important to me than anything."
Kratos rubbed his chin with a smile. "Is that so? Heh… perhaps you aren't as oblivious as I thought. You simply don't know what you're feeling. Perhaps you were never taught."
A slightly frustrated look crossed Lloyd's features. "Hey, who's oblivious?"
A bit more of a serious look came back to Kratos' face. He went back to his pacing. "Lloyd, would you die for her?"
Lloyd cocked an eyebrow after hearing the question. It struck him as both odd and obvious at the same time. "Of course I would. Like I said, she's more important to me than anything."
Kratos stopped and turned to his son, arms crossed as he did so. "And you don't know what it is that you're feeling, correct?"
Lloyd nodded. It was a simple enough question. "Yeah, that's right."
Kratos brought his hand to his chin and smiled. "It's love, Lloyd."
Lloyd scratched his head. "No way. I like her WAY more than my swords."
Kratos shook his head and waved his arms in front of Lloyd. "No no, Lloyd. Not that kind of love. The kind that I am referring to is… hmm…" Kratos did his best to come up with an example. "…the kind that brought myself and Anna together or Regal and the late Alicia."
Lloyd paused for a moment. He sat down on the cold, stone floor of the temple and just began to think. Lloyd didn't say anything for a full fifteen minutes. After a while, Kratos was beginning to wonder if Lloyd was making any progress in his train of thought.
"Lloyd?" he asked.
His son looked up. "I… I think I get it. The more that I think about it, the more nervous I get." He laughed nervously. "It makes me think about the way Genis first acted around Presea."
Kratos nodded. "Correct. Despite his very high level of intelligence, even Genis was dumbfounded by the newly discovered concept of "love". I felt the same way when I first met Anna, and I'm sure Regal, as noble and intelligent as he is, was no different. It's a very difficult thing to grasp Lloyd, I realize that. But…"
Kratos pointed over to the slightly stirring Sheena, barely visible thanks to the light generated by their wings. "I'm sure she feels the same way. She shows obvious signs of it. Like you, she probably feels nervous or perhaps even scared."
Lloyd tilted his head. "Scared? Scared of what?"
Kratos only need one word. "Rejection."
Lloyd blinked a few times and shook his head. "Rejection? I wouldn't reject her!"
Kratos stepped off to the side. "Then why don't you tell her that?"
It was hard to see in the dim light, but some of the color had faded from Lloyd's face. "But… but I… err…" He scratched his head, obviously embarrassed.
Kratos put his hand on his son's shoulder. He pointed back to Sheena. "Lloyd, there's no telling what awaits us tomorrow. We may not make it back alive. This may be your only chance, my son. If she is to die, I'm sure she doesn't want to be alone in the world when it happens."
Lloyd's eyes shot wide open. He almost couldn't believe what his own father just said. "Dad! Wh-"
Kratos waved his hand once. "Go to her Lloyd. We can argue later. She needs you."
Lloyd knew he was right. The wording was harsh, but the message was right-on. He nodded to his angelic father. "Alright dad."
Kratos began to walk away. "I'll worry about patrol duty. Just concentrate your attention on her. Good luck Lloyd." He walked away.
Lloyd watched the dimly lighted Kratos walk away as he began his rounds. "Thanks dad…" he whispered as he turned and walked back to Sheena.
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Sheena awakened from a very brief nap to see Lloyd standing above her. "Hmm?" she said, sleepily. "Oh, hello Lloyd. What did Kratos want?"
He sat down next to her and looked at the ground. "Oh, uh… nothing important."
She nodded. "I see." She looked all around her. "Hard to believe what we've gotten ourselves into, isn't it?"
Lloyd didn't look up. "Yeah."
Sheena felt the side that had been so badly wounded before, now nothing more than a scar. "How did you and Kratos manage to save me?"
Lloyd didn't change his posture but looked over at Sheena. "It was pretty easy, actually. My dad mended the wound with his healing magic but when he realized that you wouldn't have enough blood to function, he performed a… what's it called… blood transfusion between us." He pointed to an area on his arm now covered by a cloth bandage.
She smiled weakly. "You gave me some of your blood? That's so sweet of you Lloyd. Thank you."
Lloyd scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. "Ah, haha, it was nothing. Really."
Sheena struggled to scoot closer to him. "To me it is. Thank you again."
Lloyd's face began to grow red as Sheena struggled to sit up and lean against him. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head back on forth on his shoulders very slowly as if she was trying to find a comfortable position in a pillow.
"It's so cold in here. Will you please hold me Lloyd?" she asked sleepily.
Lloyd gave no response and instead wrapped his right arm around Sheena as she moved closer to him, doing her best to stay warm. He looked on as he watched his father walk around the perimeter of the main hall on his patrol duty. "Dad… can I really do this?" he thought to himself.
"Thank you Lloyd," she started. "You're a real gentleman."
Lloyd didn't say anything again. He was too busy wondering what he could say to her without sounding completely stupid. He looked down at her and brushed a few stray strands of hair away from her forehead. She wasn't asleep, but her eyes were closed. It was then that Lloyd realized just how beautiful his best friend was. Best friend? No… that was an understatement for how he felt now. He kept asking for help from within himself in order to take care of this. Nothing came though and he was left to fend for himself.
He began to stroke her exposed cheek lightly, taking in the soft texture of her skin as he did so.
"Hehe… that kinda tickles," she said groggily.
He smiled when he heard her say this. It completely warmed his heart when he saw her smile from the ticklish feeling. To him, it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. The warmth and kindness that her smile exuded was enough to melt even the coldest hearts.
She opened her eyes partway and smiled up at him. "Something wrong Lloyd? You can tell me."
There was that smile again, this one even more heartfelt than the last. Lloyd felt like such a fool. If he and Sheena had always been feeling the same way about each other as Kratos had suggested, then he truly hated himself for not realizing this great feeling earlier. It couldn't be helped though. It was in the past now. The only regret he had now is that he would come to express his true feelings within the cold, dark confines of the Temple of Darkness with their possible death coming just a little over half a day from now. There was no time for regrets though. If he was going to act, it had to be now.
"Actually Sheena… yeah, something's kinda wrong, but… well… not really," he said after a great deal of struggle.
She giggled lightly. "Silly. Wrong or not, you can tell me. We're… best friends, right?"
Best friends… that's what he had thought all along. No more of that, however. It was time to spill the beans and tell her just what he was thinking.
He took a deep breath and began to speak. "Sheena… I've got to tell you something. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how much you mean to me…"
Sheena displayed the same smile as before. "Thank you Lloyd. You're far too nice to me."
Lloyd shook his head. "No… no I haven't. I feel terrible for being such a damn fool."
This caught Sheena's attention and she sat completely up despite her relative weakness. "A fool? Why?"
Lloyd looked at the ground and away from her. "I haven't come to fully appreciate you. For a while now, I have considered you to be my best friend ever and nothing more. But… there was something more. Something greater than what I thought. Something I never knew how to properly express. Because of that, I missed out on so much more wonderful times with you."
Sheena was beginning to become confused with what Lloyd was saying. "What do you mean Lloyd? I don't un-"
He abruptly cut her off. He reached for both of her hands with both of his own and held them as gently as possible. "Sheena, what I'm trying to say is that I… err. I…"
A cold sweat formed on Lloyd's brow. He was so close. Only a little farther and this would be done and over with. He sat there motionless and wordless with Sheena for nearly two minutes before she spoke.
"Lloyd? Are you ok?" she asked.
A million thoughts rushed through Lloyd's mind as shook his head fairly roughly. He finally caught control of himself and leaned forward to look in Sheena's beautiful eyes, her kind gaze penetrating into the bottom depths of his soul. He took one last breath before he spoke again.
"Sheena, I… lo-love… you," he said with excruciating difficulty.
Sheena's eyes opened as widely as possible and she only stared at Lloyd. He moved to hold her close to him.
"I'm so sorry Sheena. I wish I would've known all of this sooner. Please forgive me," he said.
Sheena pulled back a little bit and looked back into his brown eyes again. "Lloyd… do you really mean it?"
Lloyd nodded. "Yes, I do. I've never felt this strongly about someone. I was sure it was… love. I… want to always be with you Sheena."
Sheena couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was so happy that she could cry. She didn't, however, and instead threw her arms around Lloyd's neck. "Lloyd Irving, I… love you too!"
That did it. As soon as she said that, tears of joy began to flow from Sheena's tired eyes as both laughed and cried at the same time.
Lloyd did the exact same thing, amazed at what he had just heard. "Y-you mean it too Sheena? Not just friends? Right?"
She pulled back a bit and smiled very warmly as she wiped a few tears away. "Yes Lloyd! Y-you're the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me! I always want to be with you!"
They laughed together and held each other close to them. After they shared a few more heart-felt tears, they pulled away from each other and stared into each other's eyes. It was as if they were looking into the other person's very soul. They remained like this for a moment, growing gradually closer to each other as they did so. Finally, what Sheena had always hoped for happened: they shared their first kiss as lovers.
It wasn't a quick kiss by any means. They remained locked to each other for nearly thirty seconds before they slowly pulled away from each other. They gazed at each other lovingly for a brief moment before they put their hands on the other's cheeks and kissed once more. The feelings of bliss were mutual as they thought about just how wonderful they felt at the moment. For a short time, Abyssion was completely forgotten as they became lost in their own world.
They pulled apart once more to catch their breath. They shared a brief laugh together as the tears continued to flow. They shared one last quick kiss before Sheena threw her arms around Lloyd and cuddled-up next to him.
"Lloyd… please don't ever let me go," she said as she closed her eyes, still feeling the effects of her weakness.
Lloyd looked down at his beautiful lover as he ran his hands through her hair. "Never," he whispered to her. He wrapped his arms around her and they lay down next to each. Shortly after, they fell asleep in each other's arms, their faces still wet from the tears they shed earlier.
Kratos watched from a distance and smiled once the two lovers found each other. Once he saw them fall asleep, he witnessed an amazing sight. A brilliant yet gentle light shined above the sleeping couple. From this light emerged a translucent being. It was Velius, the summon spirit of the heart.
Filled with wonder, Kratos said nothing as he observed the fox-like creature as it watched Lloyd and Sheena. After a moment, it turned to Kratos, nodded, and faded to nothingness once more. As it did so, a whisper could be heard: "Your vow is accepted, Sheena of Mizuho and Lloyd of Iselia. The pact is now sealed."
"Could it be?" Kratos asked himself. "Velius must approve of this. I've never seen anything like it before. I wonder…"
Kratos pondered it for a moment later and shook his head and resumed his patrol duty. He looked back once more at the sleeping couple.
"Heh… well done Lloyd." He looked upward. "Anna… we may get a daughter after-all. I shall do everything in my power to protect them. I promise," he said as he began his route.
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w00t! My longest chapter yet (3,000 words!). Ahem…
They're in love! Ain't that grand?! Sure, they confessed in the temple of darkness of all places, but hey… at least it happened!
Their celebration will be short-lived however, for tomorrow will bring the fight against the being called Abyssion. Will their love survive tomorrow's onslaught or will it falter before they ever realize just HOW deeply they love each other? Find out next time! Gimme reviews, please!
