Author's Note (A/N): This chapter is SO not late. Read bottom for details.
Previously:
A new guy appears and is claimed to be the real Summoner. Sakura gets away with her life and finds her way back to Shadow's castle where they all decide that its time to leave and find people to fight with them in the so-called final battle.
Chapter 24: Relaxation
"Elaine, what's wrong?" Candice asked as they walked through the Light Realm.
"It's nothing. I'm fine," Elaine replied with a forced smile. "I… Never mind… I'm fine."
"Elaine, if something's wrong, it's best to talk about it. I know that you're still thinking about your father, but it's time to move on," Sigma said, turning to look Elaine in the eye.
Elaine dropped her gaze, not wanting to face Sigma directly and started sniffling. "But… He used to be… I just…"
"Sigma, give it a rest. She's only fifteen!" Candice hissed. "Elaine, we're here for you. That's all Sigma's trying to tell you. We'll be here for you no matter what, ok? Come on, cheer up."
"You don't understand! This isn't just about… about him… I can't… I'm sorry."
"You can't what, exactly?" Candice asked, staring blankly at Elaine.
"I can't take the throne. I just can't… I know you two will be there with me and help me take care of the politics and stuff… but… I'm not… I…" Elaine trailed off and started to cry again, staring off into the distance with teary eyes. "I want him back… I remember, some years ago, when I was really young… I… I came down with a fever… while we were out camping and he never left my side… He stood there, shielding me from the rain, and he… he got sick too. After a while, we made it back home and we saw a doctor. He promised me that we would always be together… till the day he died. He promised me!" Elaine screamed, turning back to Candice. "And now he's gone! He even… even built me that… that tree house that I wanted and told… he told me that as long as that tree house stood, he'd be next to me, no matter what!" Elaine yelled, uttering the words between sobs.
Sigma stared at Elaine and exchanged glances with Sigma, not sure how to respond. Elaine stared off into the distance, continuing to cry while struggling to accept what had happened.
"He promised… he… he promised…" Elaine muttered as tears streamed from her clear, blue eyes.
"Sigma, we have to do something! Maybe you and I can take over this Realm for now. We'll let her… get better first," Candice whispered to Sigma who simply nodded as he stared compassionately at Elaine.
"Why? He always loved me… promised me that he would… Why isn't he here now?" Elaine asked loudly, receiving only her echoing voice as an answer. "Why…?"
Candice walked over and embraced Elaine, holding her close and stroking her hair soothingly. "It'll be alright. Elaine, we have to do this now. You don't have to take the throne if you don't want to. We'll do it for you, but you have to cooperate. We have to do this to save as many lives as possible, understand?"
Elaine simply nodded in answer, burying her face in Candice's shirt and sobbing while clinging to Candice's arms. "Sigma, can I get you to go back through the Portal and bring me Flame? We'll make it to the castle sooner that way."
"No problem: so long as you don't expect me to ride him," Sigma replied, walking back a little ways and stepping through the Portal.
Candice heaved a sigh and sat down, holding Elaine in her hands as she continued to cry.
Broken families, prophecies, the destruction of the Realms, Shadow… I'd rather have nothing to do with any of this, but I guess that's no longer my choice.
Tyrell walked through the cloudy Realm as Lloyd followed, neither saying a word. Slowly, they made their way through the dreary Realm and headed towards the dark castle looming in the distance. At length, Tyrell broke the silence.
"Lloyd, when was the last time you were in this Realm?"
"I was about three," Lloyd answered simply, staring off into the distance as he'd been doing since they arrived.
Tyrell walked onwards, unable to start a conversation with his traveling companion and the two of them quietly walked towards the castle as thicker clouds gathered over their heads. A while later, the clouds burst and pellets of rain struck the two of them as they ran off to find shelter.
"Over here, Lor… Tyrell. There's a small house and they should allow us to stay for a while!" Lloyd yelled, making his way towards the small, humble shack.
Tyrell stepped up to the door as he and Lloyd approached and knocked twice. A short while later, the door opened and a young girl stood in the doorway.
"M-mama's not home right now… umm… sir. Could you… come back later?" the girl asked, dragging a small pink blanket along the floor behind her.
"We're sorry," Tyrell replied. "We don't mean to be rude, but it's raining out here and we'd like some shelter. Would you please let us in?"
The little girl looked up at the two men standing outside her house and nodded slightly, opening the door a little wider so the two of them could walk in. "Please, sit down," the girl said, leading the two soaked men over to a couple of wooden chairs.
"What's your name?" Tyrell asked, being careful not to get anything wet.
"My name is Ellen," the girl said, staring at the two older men and not sure what to do next. "Umm… my mom should be back really soon."
"Thank you very much Ellen for letting us stay here. Can you show me to the bathroom?" Tyrell asked as he removed his backpack.
The girl nodded again and led them deeper into the house. After going through the kitchen, what looked like a living room, and down a short hallway, the girl pointed to a dark open door next to the back door of the house. "Umm… There's the bathroom," the girl said before turning around and quickly heading away.
Tyrell took his backpack into the dark room and lit the half-melted candle with a small spark of electricity. As the candle flame cast flickering shadows on the wall, he unzipped his backpack to find everything inside completely dry. Hastily, he took out a dry set of clothes and changed before grabbing a few for Lloyd.
"Lor– umm... Tyrell, come quick!" Lloyd yelled down the hallway.
Tyrell left his backpack on the floor and ran out to find Ellen unconscious on the floor with Lloyd hunched over her. "What happened?" Tyrell demanded.
"I'm not sure. She was fine one minute, and then she just passed out," Lloyd replied, putting two fingers on Ellen's neck. "She's still got a pulse, but she feels pretty warm."
"I'm no doctor. There's nothing I can do about this right now!" Tyrell yelled, frustrated with himself.
Just then, the door opened and a middle-aged woman walked in to see two foreign people in her house, hunched over her unconscious daughter. "Who are you? What… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?" the woman asked, suddenly furious.
"We haven't done anything," Tyrell answered. "We came here to take shelter from the rain for a while when your daughter fainted here. She seems to have a pretty high fever," Tyrell said, explaining himself to the enraged woman.
"You… You're… Lord Tyrell! Umm… sit down… sorry for yelling. Umm… I'm sorry," the woman said, bowing down to Tyrell as she inched her way over to her daughter.
"It's alright. How can I help?" Tyrell asked.
"My daughter's been sick for a little over a week now. She's been coughing on and off and every so often she would just faint for no apparent reason. I went out to consult a doctor, but there aren't any around here. Lord Tyrell, is there any way you can help?"
Tyrell stared at the woman with the young girl in her arms, unable to tell them that there was nothing he could do. "I… I have no knowledge in the medical field. However, I can find a physician for you. I'm sorry," Tyrell said.
"Wait. Lor– Tyrell, I have some slight medical training. I can at least tell you what's wrong with her," Lloyd said suddenly.
"I see. Well, Lloyd, give it a shot," Tyrell said, leaving Ellen to Lloyd.
Lloyd leaned over the young girl and took her small hand in his, taking her pulse. He bent his head down further and laid it on her chest, listening to her heartbeat before turning her over and doing the same thing to her back. A moment later, a sharp aura surrounded him and he sent a small bolt of electricity into the young girl and carefully watched as he directed the bolt through her body.
"Ma'am… Your child has a rare disease. I've only seen this once before, and it's fatal if you don't get treatment soon. Umm… Tyrell, we need to take her with us. You should have some physicians in your castle that can treat her. I've only studied a little medicine and I really have no idea how to treat her."
"No… Ellen… Lord… Lord Tyrell, you have to help me. Take me with you to your castle. I'll carry Ellen," the woman said.
"Alright, we'll leave as soon as the rain stops," Tyrell replied, getting up off the ground.
"Thank you. Thank you, Lord Tyrell."
"Lor– Tyrell, do you feel that?" Lloyd asked, suddenly on edge.
"Yes, I do. Umm, Miss…?" Tyrell said, waiting for a name.
"Kayley," the woman replied.
"Miss Kayley, we'll be right back," Tyrell said as Lloyd opened the door and stepped out.
Tyrell followed Lloyd out, into the storm. A few seconds later, both of them were completely soaked again and felt like they were being watched. Tyrell whipped around, staring off in every direction as Lloyd looked in the opposite directions. Back-to-back, the two of them scoured the landscape, looking for anything suspicious.
"There!" Lloyd yelled, pointing on top of the house.
As Tyrell turned to look, a dark shape flew from the house and blurred past them, dropping a small piece of paper on the floor as the strange aura disappeared.
"It's gone. Lloyd, let's get back inside," Tyrell said, picking up the strangely dry piece of paper as they walked in.
"Are you ok?" Kayley asked, handing the two of them some towels.
"We're fine, thank you. Excuse me as I use your bathroom again," Tyrell said, smiling at the woman. "Lloyd, I've got some dry clothes for you in a moment. Wait here."
"Thank you, Lord Tyrell, but I don't need to change."
"Lloyd…"
"Yes?"
"Drop the 'Lord.' It's really unnecessary by now," Tyrell said, walking off to the bathroom with a slightly exasperated look on his face.
Tyrell stepped into the dimly lit bathroom and changed into yet another set of clothes before stepping back out with a small bundle of dry clothes for Lloyd.
"Here, these are your clothes. Go change," Tyrell said, tossing the bundle at Lloyd.
Lloyd caught the bundle of clothes and stalked off to the bathroom to change into them. He came out with a bundle of wet clothes and tossed them to Tyrell who caught them and stuck them in his backpack.
"Alright, the rain's stopped and we should get going. Miss Kayley, we should get going now," Tyrell said, opening the door and stepping out into the slightly brighter Realm.
Kayley and Lloyd followed him out of the small shack and the three of them, with Ellen unconscious on her mother's back, made for the castle off in the distance.
"Tyrell, what did that paper you picked up say?" Lloyd asked.
"I'll tell you later," he replied, casting a glance at the woman with her child, trudging along behind him. "It's not that important."
Sakura stared out across the vast expanse of sky. Small, floating bits of land could be seen here and there. In all other parts of the Realm, there was nothing. One false step, and you would fall forever.
"S-Solana… Umm… what if we fall?" Sakura asked, staying as far from the edge as possible.
"Sorry?" Solana replied. "Oh… Here, I'll show you," Solana said, stepping up to the edge of the small slab of land the Portal was on. A moment later, she took a step off the slab and was gently lifted up into the air as her long hair flowed through the sky behind her. "It's really quite simple. Everywhere here, there are strong updrafts that will carry you through the Realm. You can't fall," Solana said.
Sakura stared in amazement and tentatively walked off the small piece of land, laughing when she floated up into the air. "Come on, Li!" Sakura yelled, laughing as she made her way through the air.
Li watched Sakura, blushing when Sakura called for him. Slowly, he took a few uncertain steps off the land and floated up near Sakura. After a few moments of struggling to move, he settled down and made small, swimming motions to get through the Realm.
Sakura stared at Li and laughed as he floundered around. After a while of enjoying the Realm, Solana brought the two of them back to the slab of land where Zephyr was waiting and reminded them of their task.
"Ok, you can have more fun when we get back to the castle, but for now, we need to make it to the castle. You two can take Zephyr. She knows the way back. When you get there, give this to the guards. They should recognize Zephyr anyways, but this will help. Anyways, I'm off to find some people to help in the fight before coming back and getting some more supplies. You two enjoy yourselves," Solana said, smiling at Sakura.
"W-wait… How am I supposed to ride?" Li asked.
"Oh, it's simple really. Get up on Zephyr and hold on to her. Just don't squeeze too tight. Then, Sakura can get on and wrap her arms around your waist. Zephyr will do all the work. You don't have to steer her," Solana said innocently.
Li turned a new shade of red when he heard this before shooting uneasy glances at Sakura who was the same shade of red. Without noticing the each other's blushes, Li got up onto the pegasus with Sakura behind him, wrapping her arms around Li's waist.
"Alright Zephyr, go home!" Solana yelled, giving the pegasus a slight nudge.
Zephyr ran a few feet before whinnying and taking to the air, heading straight for the castle off in the distance with Li and Sakura on her back.
"Aaahh! Li!" Sakura yelled suddenly as Zephyr flew under a large rock, causing Sakura to lose her balance.
Li turned and grabbed Sakura wrist and pulled her back up onto Zephyr. "Are you alright?"
"Thank you. I'm fine," Sakura said, smiling.
Li turned around and stared off past Zephyr's head at the large castle they were approaching, blushing furiously again from Sakura's warm smile.
The two of them enjoyed the rest of their mostly uneventful ride as they sped through the Wind Realm, feeling the breeze blow past them in the air. As they approached the castle, two other pegasi rode out to meet them.
"Lady Solana, we're glad… who are you and what are you doing on Lady Solana's pegasus?" one of the pegasus riders asked.
"Umm… Solana told us to give this to you," Sakura said, handing the rider the small, folded sheet of paper Solana had given her.
"I see. Welcome to the castle then. Will the two of you be sharing a room?" the rider asked.
Li and Sakura exchanged glances before blushing furiously again. "I'll take that as a yes," the rider said as he led Zephyr down to the castle grounds.
Sakura got off Zephyr as they landed and Li followed shortly after as the two riders explained everything to the castle guards. A little while later, a man in a classy black tuxedo stepped up to them.
"This way, if you please," he said in a deep voice as he bowed before Li and Sakura.
Li followed after Sakura as they were both led by the butler across the glass floor of the castle. Sakura stared around her, amazed at the elegant beauty of the castle with its glass floor and ceiling.
"Your room, sir and madam," the butler said, bowing and showing them to a large room.
Sakura stepped into the room and looked around, smiling happily at its beauty. She walked up to the thin curtains opposite the door and opened them to find a large balcony hanging over the edge of the castle grounds. Sakura leaned over the edge of the balcony, enjoying the wind that blew up through her hair.
"Sakura…" Li said, walking up to her.
"Yes?"
"I… you… umm…" Li stuttered, turning very red. "I…"
At that moment, the door to their room banged open and a young man walked in. "Who are you?" he demanded.
Sakura jumped in surprise as the teenage boy entered the room. "My… my name is Sakura. We're Solana's guests," Sakura explained.
"Where is Solana!" the boy demanded fiercely.
"She's off doing something!" Sakura replied, backing away. "Wh-who are you?"
"None of your business!" The boy yelled before slamming the door behind him and stalking off through the castle.
"What… was that about?" Li asked, staring blankly at Sakura who merely shrugged in reply.
"I'm going to take a shower. If anyone needs me, tell them I'm busy," Sakura said, walking into the sparkling bathroom. Sakura looked around, captivated by the sheer beauty of the room. This is amazing! Everything is so clean! Sakura thought.
Sakura quickly got into the large tub and turned on the hot water, all the while examining all the other buttons.
I wonder what all these are for, Sakura pondered aimlessly as the tub filled with soothing hot water. For what seemed to be the first time since she arrived in the Realms, she was able to fully relax as she allowed the soothing hot water to wash away all of her worries.
When the tub was nearly full, Sakura leaned backwards and unintentionally turned one of the knobs with the back of her hand. To her pleasant surprise, jets of hot, comforting water bombarded her weary body, allowing Sakura to loosen up her sore muscles.
Sakura leaned against the back of the tub, enjoying the slightly tickling sensation from the water jets and allowing her mind to relax as well as her body.
Aaahh, for now, I've got nothing to worry about. This is wonderful, Sakura thought, lying in the soothing water.
What seemed to Sakura as only a few minutes later, a knock came to the door, followed by Li's voice. "Sakura? Sakura are you ok?"
Sakura roused from her comfortable position, noticing how odd it was that the water level hadn't changed since she last saw it. "Li? What's wrong?"
"You… You've been in there for a little over an hour now and I was just wondering if you were ok. I was… afraid something might have happened to you," Li replied.
"I've been in here for an hour? But… Li, you have to try this. It's great!" Sakura replied, drying herself off and finding a bathrobe to get into. She picked up her old clothes and brought them with her, opening the bathroom door and letting Li in.
"That bath is so comfortable. I must've… dozed off somehow. I'm sorry to have worried you."
"It… It's ok. I'll… I'll try it sometime," Li replied, his face radiating a deep shade of red.
"You should try it now, while you've got a chance. Go on, try it!" Sakura said, pushing Li into the bathroom and shutting the door when she walked out. "You'll love it!"
Li walked through the bathroom, wondering what could possibly be so great about a tub of water. Slowly, he stepped into a tub, making sure that his clothes were in a nice, neat pile away from the tub, and turned on the water.
It's just a tub. What am I supposed to enjoy so much about it? Li thought, curious as to the secret of the wonderful tub.
As if answering his thoughts, Sakura's voice came from the other side of the door. "Try turning the knob a bit on the far side of the tub, away from the faucet!" Sakura yelled before leaving.
Li did as he was told and turned to find a small, flat disc on the side of the tub. Slowly, he turned the knob and a small jet of water shot out at him from an invisible hole in the side of the tub. As he turned the knob further, the water rushed at him more intensely, soothing his fatigued body. As the somniferous, hot water slowly massaged his muscles, Li thought back over everything that had happened and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Sitting a few yards from the bathroom door, Sakura laid on the large, soft bed, cozily under the covers as she stared up through the glass ceiling at the clouds. When this is all over, I need to spend a vacation here. This place… It's so beautiful.
An hour or so later, Li walked out of the bathroom, completely refreshed, to find Sakura lying on the bed, asleep with a smile on her face. "Sakura… Why can't I tell you?" Li whispered quietly as he ran a hand through Sakura's hair. Li found Sakura's small pile of clothes and added his own to them before deciding to wash them all before Sakura awakened.
Sakura was right. That bath… it's amazing. I just hope that we'll be able to enjoy it again sometime… After this is all over… Maybe together…
Li took the pile of clothes and found what he assumed was the laundry room. He stepped into the small room, with a tiny pool of water at the far end of it and tossed the clothes into the miniature lake before settling down to washing the clothes. As he mindlessly washed the clothes, he thought again about Sakura. All of his thoughts seemed to dawn on a single point: he must tell Sakura as soon as possible.
"L… Li?" Sakura asked, walking into the room while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Slightly startled, Li whipped around to see Sakura standing in the doorway, staring at him. "Y-yes?"
"You don't have to wash my clothes for me. You should get some rest. I'll finish the clothes," Sakura said, walking up to Li.
"Sakura… I… Thank you. I'll go get some sleep while I still have the chance. Oh… and thanks for telling me about the bath. It was… wonderful."
"No problem. When do you want me to wake you up?" Sakura asked, crouching down and taking the still submerged clothes from Li and washing them as she spoke.
Li stood up and turned from Sakura, yawning and stretching as he walked away. "Oh… wake me up when Solana gets back. Or… well, wake me up when there's something to eat," Li said, smiling wryly before plopping down on the bed and dozing off, berating himself for not having the courage to say three, strong, meaningful words to the girl he loved.
Sakura finished the laundry a while later and hung the wet clothes to dry. She found some fluffy, pink slippers near the door and slipped into them before walking out of the room and downstairs to find some food.
"Hey, you!" came a gruff voice from behind her. "Where are you going?"
Sakura turned around to see the boy that had barged into her room earlier staring at her spitefully. "I… was just going downstairs to… to the kitchen," Sakura replied shakily.
"Yeah? Well I don't believe it! Where's your friend? What are you planning? What have you done with Solana?" the boy said, replying with a barrage of questions.
"He's sleeping… I… I'm not planning anything… except getting him some food, and Solana's off on an errand. I… I didn't do anything!" Sakura yelled angrily.
"Really?" the boy answered sarcastically. "If I'm not mistaken, you came here on Solana's pegasus. She doesn't let anyone ride Zephyr without her. You had to have stolen it from her! Admit it, you stole her pegasus and now you want to steal the Realm from her!"
"No! I didn't do any of that! Why? Why do you have to accuse me of these things?"
"How else can you explain her disappearance and your appearance in her place? You want to usurp the throne! You've probably already kil–"
"I'm back!" came Solana's voice from the castle's foyer, cutting off the overly-emphatic boy who turned a shade of red before rushing past Sakura, nearly knocking her off her feet and greeting Solana.
"Hi, I did your laundry for you and I made sure that everything is just how you wanted it. The laundry is hanging to dry and your dinner–"
"Thanks. Where's Sakura and Li?" Solana asked, ignoring everything else the boy had said.
"You mean the two guests? Umm… you… they... umm…"
"Come on, out with it. Where are they?" Solana asked sternly.
"Well, the girl's up in the stairwell, and she said that the other guy was sleeping. Martin here gave them a room, and they're probably tired, and the girl said that she wanted some food, and she was going to… and… umm…" the boy stuttered, staring down at the floor, attempting and failing to avoid Solana's piercing gaze.
"Stop scaring my guests! I'll deal with you later!" Solana said before turning a corner and finding Sakura at the bottom of the stairwell. "Did… did you hear all of that?"
"You were pretty loud..." Sakura said, trailing off. "Li said he wanted to talk to you, but he's sleeping right now. Umm, we're both hungry though. Can you show me to the kitchen?"
"No problem. The kitchen is right over there, around the corner. How was you're room?"
"It's great! I love the hottub. Umm, do you mind, if after this is all over… well, can I come here, like for a vacation or something after we finish everything?"
"Of course. You and Li are sharing a room, right? Can you tell me where you're room is?"
"It's right at the top of the stairs, to your left," Sakura replied, getting ready to walk off to the kitchen.
"Alright, so tell me what you want to eat and I'll bring it up to you," Solana said.
Sakura quickly thanked Solana for the kind offer and replied that anything would be nice before going back up the stairs. As she walked into her room, she noticed that Li was missing from the bed and called for him.
"Sakura? I'm over here. Come look at this!" Li said, deeper in the room.
Sakura followed Li's voice to find a large, nearly empty room with a mahogany table with matching chairs in the middle. "Wow…" Sakura said, staring at the chandelier that hung from the ceiling.
"Well, looks like we'll be having dinner in here. I would say watching the sunset, but there doesn't seem to be a sun," Li replied. "Let's go get something to eat."
"Solana's bringing something up. She just got back. Do you still need to speak to her?"
Upon hearing the news, Li walked towards the table and took a seat, waiting patiently for his meal while replying to Sakura's question with a simple "no" and staring off into the distance, watching as the sky changed colors as it would during a beautiful sunset.
Yay, chapter. Stupid computer is having problems! I can't post this! Oddly enough, I'm still writing this author's note that you won't read til the chapter's posted. Sigh… odd of me, eh?
Well, hopefully I'll have the computer fixed soon. If not, I'll have a bunch of other chapters posted at the same time