Part XIII: The Cure
Edward took them across the entire Damcyan desert in hours. What would have taken weeks of traveling took them less than a day. Rydia and Cecil both sat anxiously in their seats, hoping the journey wouldn't take much longer, but nervously watching the sky darken into evening.
"Should we stop to rest?" Edward asked them at one point.
Cecil shook his head. "No. We need to reach Kaipo as soon as possible. We can rest once we get there."
Edward nodded and continued to fly the hovercraft across the sands. Rydia hung to the side of the craft and stared at the never-changing ground beneath them. She had never imagined that her life would have taken such an interesting turn of events; that she would be placed into a journey that would take her so far from her home. The world outside of Mist was a strange one. The people were full of grief and fear, and as she had seen with Tellah, anger. But then there were the people like Cecil and Edward, men who had loved and would fight to protect those loves. She was glad to know that even in a world so full of trouble, there were still people willing to fight for the ones they loved.
She knew the role Cecil had played in her mother's death, but she knew it wasn't his fault. The both of them had been victims of another man's greed, and now they had met others who had been hurt as well. It made Rydia angry that what happened to Mist might happen to someone else, and she didn't want to let that happen again. Curing Rosa was the first step in their journey. Rosa could help them, and together they could help the other kingdoms from meeting the same fate as Damcyan.
Rydia closed her eyes and tried to forget the burning of the castle; the rubble and the bodies, and as she leaned on the side of the hovercraft she felt a cool mist brush against her face. It was calm and soothing, and it smelled so fresh. It brought her back to happier times; times when she and her mother would walk around the village in the morning. Rydia remembered the mornings in Mist. How beautiful they were--always cool, the air always so clean--and she remembered that once she and her mother had visited the small pond just outside of the village to watch the Mist float up from the water and dance with the sun's rays. She could hear the voices of children leaving their houses in the early hours, the bell in the square ringing to mark the time, and the village elder already awake and telling stories from his stump in the practice fields.
Rydia soaked in every moment of it, the warmth of the memories, and wished when she opened her eyes it could all be that way, the way she remembered it. When she did open her eyes she saw the ocean fast approaching. Edward had flown them to the other side of the desert to the ocean on the far side. She looked left and right in surprise. They had come this far already?
They flew towards and over the waves, leaving a cool spray of water behind them in the night air. They followed the shallows for miles, skirting the kingdom's western border and watching the mountains rise and fall beside them on the shore.
The entire night was spent flying over the water, and without realizing it, Rydia fell asleep. She woke up to see the sun rising above the mountains and the desert surrounding them once again. Only this time she could see a cluster of buildings beside a glistening lake in the distance. Immediately, she sat upright.
"Is that Kaipo?" she asked.
"Yes it is," Edward answered her.
"Cecil, we're almost to Kaipo!" she said excitedly.
Cecil, who had been awake the entire time, nodded wearily when he heard her.
When they finally reached the village, all of them jumped out and ran through the gate. The villagers seemed surprised; surprised that they had returned, and surprised that Edward was with them. They all stopped their business and watched the three of them race for the far side of the village, to the house closest to the water.
Cecil knocked hard on the door, and the old woman opened it. Upon recognizing them, she ushered them all inside.
"Hurry, hurry, you've come just in time," she was saying.
As Rydia followed Cecil to the back room of the home, she saw him hastily remove his helmet, strands of silver hair falling to his shoulders, and take the sand ruby in his other hand. She and Edward both stood in the entrance to the room and watched as Cecil bent over Rosa and placed the ruby in the palm of her hand. The ruby began to glow a deep scarlet, and as it grew in color, Rosa's breathing steadied, and her flush cheeks reddened.
"It is draining the fever from her," the old man who had cared for Rosa told them while they watched it work.
"Will she be alright?" Cecil asked, anxiously.
"She should be, but give it time."
A few minutes later, Rosa's soft brown eyes fluttered open.
"Cecil? You're alive!" she happily exclaimed, attempting to sit up.
Cecil, visibly confused that she had been so worried about him, gently pushed her back down to her pillow. "How do you feel?"
"I feel fine," Rosa dismissed with a coaxing smile, "I thought I'd lost you, Cecil. Weren't you in Mist when the earthquake struck?"
Cecil paused, remembering. The earthquake. Rydia.
"I was. Rosa, I'm sorry I worried you."
Rosa's doe eyes gazed up at him, starting to shimmer with unshed tears. "You don't know how relieved I am to see you."
Cecil smiled sadly, "You don't know how relieved Iam to see you. But Rosa, there's something I don't understand. Who is Golbez, and what has he to do with Baron?"
Rosa's eyes darkened. "Golbez…"
She turned her head away and a troubled expression spread across her face. "He is the new captain of the Red Wings, appointed by the king himself. Cecil, I don't know what's become of the king, but something is terribly wrong. He hasn't been himself lately, and I fear that Golbez is manipulating the king to collect the crystals for himself. He already has the water crystal of Mysidia, and he's sure to go after the other three—the fire crystal of Damcyan, the air crystal of Fabul, and the earth crystal of Troia."
"The fire crystal of Damcyan is already lost, I'm afraid," Edward said, entering the conversation.
Turning, Cecil realized he hadn't introduced his companions. "Rosa, this is Edward, the prince of Damcyan, and Rydia, a summoner of Mist. I couldn't have gotten the sand ruby to cure you without them."
Rydia smiled shyly, "Hello."
"Hello, Rydia. Thank you both so much for all you've done. But if Damcyan has already fallen, the next target must be Fabul. We need to—" she attempted, but was cut off by her own coughs.
"Rosa, you need to rest!" Cecil interrupted her, concerned. "Don't worry, we'll travel to Fabul and warn them."
"But to reach Fabul we'll need to cross Mt. Hobbs, and last I heard, that pass was blocked by thick ice!" Edward protested.
Rosa rested her eyes on Rydia. "Rydia, can you cast fire?"
Rydia immediately froze; a chill running through her body. It was a long time before she answered.
"No."
"But fire is the most elementary of black magic spells. As a summoner, I'm sure it would be easy for you!"
Rosa couldn't go on, as she broke into another coughing fit.
"That's enough. You're definitely not coming with us." Cecil persisted.
"I'll be alright, Cecil," Rosa pled, "As a white mage, I promise I won't be a burden."
Edward took note of the situation and stepped forward. "Cecil, she only wants to be with you."
Cecil looked down at his hands that were resting on the edge of the bed and then looked into Rosa's eyes. "We'll go together, then. Make sure you get plenty of rest, and we'll head out in the morning."
"Thank you, Cecil," Rosa said warmly, her eyes still sparkling, and a smile spread across her face.
"But Cecil, it already is morning!" Rydia pointed out.
"So it is," Cecil acknowledged.
"It may be morning, but you all look exhausted, and you're welcome to stay here until tomorrow morning if you wish," the old man offered from behind them. "We'll just…ah…move some things around to make the room."
Cecil stood and walked over to the man to shake his hand. "I can't thank you enough for all you've done."
The old man smiled, "I was glad to do it. It's not often I have a chance to do something for so many young people."
"I'll add the story of your deeds in that book of songs I gave you," Edward said cheerfully.
The man chuckled. "I don't know if it's truly worthy of a song, but I was glad to be of help."
"Here are some blankets," the old woman chimed in, entering the room with an armload of sheets, blankets, and pillows so that her face was buried.
Rydia had to giggle at the sight, and the rest of the room started laughing too.
"If you need help with anything, let me know," she told them, "Otherwise, goodnight to you all!"
"Thank you!" they all replied in unison, as the old man and woman left them in the room with Rosa.
"We should all get to sleep," Cecil announced, taking the blankets off of the floor and passing them out among the others.
Rydia took her blanket with a smile and found herself a corner of the room to curl up in.
Edward and Cecil both found space on the floor to lie down, and before the candle that softly illuminated the room went out, blanketing the whole room in darkness, Rydia looked over at Cecil, and saw Rosa's hand in his.
A content smile spread across her face, knowing they hadn't been too late to save Rosa after all. But finding herself exhausted from their traveling, she quickly slipped into a deep sleep, the smile still on her lips.
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Author's Note:
I feel like this chapter is much longer than it actually is. It certainly took me long enough to write! Good grief. There isn't too much Rydia perspective on the second half of the chapter, mostly because it revolves around Cecil and Rosa. Therefore, I gave her the first half to balance things out. Yes, I know I didn't really resolve the whole issue with the fire spell that Rosa brings up, but don't worry, once Rosa's coughing fits subside, it'll be back with a vengeance. I'm also starting to pick up the pace a little bit more. I'm sure I'm not the only one impatient to get to the Land of the Summoned Monsters
Sorry for the delay in updates, this month has been busy, and at the moment, I'm a bit spazzed that I haven't gotten a call from my boy in Iraq for three weeks. That may be why I was so lazy with this chapter…the fact that it was the reunion of Cecil and Rosa. Lucky girl. I will also be gone this weekend, so no updates, and no reviews, I apologize. Perhaps on Monday? We shall see. Thanks again to all my reviewers, I'll light a fire under my butt and get down to business one of these days real soon.
