Part XVII: Can Old Friends be Trusted?

It wasn't long before Rosa and Rydia's waiting came to an end. All of the women in the mending room were sitting on the beds when the castle shuddered tremendously beneath their feet. Loud percussive explosions shook the tower that the mending room was in, and Rydia fell to the floor clutching her head in her hands. It felt like the tower was swaying back and forth, but she couldn't tell if it was actually happening or if it was her imagination.

"Everyone, get down!" she heard Rosa's clear voice ring above the noise.

There were screams from the menders, and suddenly a force so jarring it sent the beds sliding across the wooden floor, struck one of the walls and where there was once stones and mortar, now there was a gaping hole. Rydia could hear rocks falling and dust settling, and looked up to see the hole in the wall. Her eyes widened in panic. "Rosa!" she screamed.

At first the mage didn't answer, and Rydia's whole body froze with fear.

"Rosa!" she screamed again.

There was some movement in the room as the menders pulled themselves up from the floor and pushed beds aside. Rydia frantically searched their faces, looking for the golden haired mage. Finally, when one of the beds was turned over, Rosa pulled herself out from a tangle of blankets and rubble. She had a cut on her forehead and appeared a bit dazed, but looked otherwise alright. Overjoyed, Rydia ran up to her and tightly hugged Rosa's waist, almost so tight that the other woman had to gasp for air.

"I'm alright, I'm alright," Rosa assured her, saying it as if to assure herself of the fact as well. "How's everyone else? Are there any wounded?"

The other menders checked themselves and found that everyone was accounted for.

"What happened?" Rydia asked, still shaken.

Rosa slipped out of Rydia's grasp and walked towards the hole in the wall, investigating the damage.

"The Red Wings," she answered simply.

A few other menders joined Rosa at the opening in the wall, and while they peered down from the height of the tower to see what else had been damaged, a servant rushed into the room, out of breath.

"They're here! They're in the city! Baron is sending ground forces directly!"

Rosa turned, her face flushing. "Everyone, we need to get this room in order. We need the beds ready, and we need supplies ready to treat the wounded."

Rydia watched in amazement as the other women scurried about the room, driven by a common purpose. Rosa took command of the situation and directed the menders where to go, leaving Rydia with not much more to do but watch.

As the room was reorganized, a few new reports arrived from down below; updates on the invasion that kept the women informed as the minutes crawled past. Rydia waited for any news regarding Cecil, Edward, and Yang, but so far they had not been reported among the dead or wounded. As the battles below wore on, a few warriors of Fabul were brought to the mending room where they were quickly healed and bandaged. Thankfully, the injuries of the patients weren't too severe, and it made the work of mending them easier. Rydia helped where she could, wrapping bandages and trying to cheer the men, but she anxiously watched the door to see who would be brought up next.

An hour passed from the bombardment of the castle, and the updates on the progress of the invasion slowed significantly. Rosa stood near the doorway, listening down the stairwell.

Rydia looked up from bandaging to where Rosa was standing. The older woman looked tense, and suddenly met Rydia's gaze with fear in her eyes.

"They're in the tower! They're coming up!" she whispered urgently.

Rydia set down the bandages and ran to Rosa, peeking out into the stairwell. The other menders stopped and looked up from their chores as well.

"What should we do?" one of the menders asked Rosa.

Rosa gazed helplessly at the woman and then back out into the hall.

"I can keep them from coming up," Rydia said quietly, suddenly finding herself the center of everyone's attention.

"Rydia, are you sure?" Rosa asked, gazing down seriously at the girl.

"I think so," she answered, still a tad bit unsure of herself. "I can stop them with my magic."

"Rydia, please be careful. If you can't keep them from coming up, come get me," Rosa told her calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Rydia took a deep steadying breath and stepped into the hallway. She had never had so many people depend on her as they had the last few days, but she knew that once again she was the only one who could do it. She didn't want to let anyone down, so she closed her eyes and readied herself as she'd seen Tellah do every time they'd entered battle together. This was her first battle by herself, and she tried to remember everything she had learned from Cecil, Tellah, and all the others.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a pair of glowing green eyes leering up at her from farther down the stairwell. It was tall, whatever it was—tall and blue. It had scales and fins but walked like a human. She thought she had seen something like it in the water caverns, but she didn't care where it was from, she wanted it gone. She quickly set to work chanting a spell that by now had become second nature to her, releasing the lightning bolt as swiftly as a flick of the wrist.

Behind it were others, more blue finned creatures. She burned through them with the lightning as quickly as she could, sending the bolts in as many directions as the staircase would allow, but more kept coming. Imps, water creatures, and others--Rydia felt herself growing more and more tired as they advanced. She had used up too much energy casting lightning and she knew it. Her head was starting to ache and her body was sore as if she had just run a hundred miles. She set loose one more lightning bolt, and as she fell backwards onto the stairs, exhausted, she heard a shrill, triumphant cry behind her. She turned wearily to see a woman with long braided hair, pants, and a long tunic running down the tower stairs. The woman's hands were clutching onto the handle of what Rydia realized was a frying pan, and without hesitation, the woman plowed into the enemy attackers, swinging her pan without mercy. She smashed several of them in the head and they crashed to the floor, dead, but the woman didn't stop there.

"Get out of my city, you pitiful sacks of seafood! I'll personally fry you all!"

Rydia sat and watched in astonishment as the woman took down each and every one of the invaders with her frying pan.

When she had finished her attack, the woman cracked her neck and stood victoriously with her hands on her hips.

"That's right! And don't you dare come back!" she shouted down the staircase for anyone and everyone to hear.

"Thank you!" Rydia sighed in relief, causing the woman to turn around and look at her.

"You're very welcome, little one," the woman replied. "I couldn't let you have all the fun, you see."

The woman smiled and her face was full of energy. Rydia smiled back, grateful for the other's assistance.

"Where are the menders? Is everyone alright?" the woman quickly asked, her tone suddenly becoming insistent.

"They're fine," Rydia told her. "They should be in the mending room still."

"Good. I'm leaving things up to you again," the woman responded, as she began walking back up the stairs. "I'm Marcy by the way. If you should see my husband, Yang, anywhere, tell him I took care of everything on my end."

Rydia watched the woman go quizzically, wondering at the abrupt exchange between them, and suddenly startled to learn that Yang had a wife! She didn't understand Yang and Marcy as a married couple, being so different from each other as they seemed to be. She continued staring up the stairs until the door to the mending room opened and Rosa's concerned face looked out.

"Rydia? Are you alright?"

Rydia smiled brightly even though she was still exhausted from the fighting. "They're gone now. Yang's wife came down and helped me!" she announced.

Rosa furrowed her brow in confusion. "Yang's wife?"

Rydia nodded. "She fought them off with a frying pan!"

A smile slipped onto Rosa's lips. "I never knew Yang was married, but I'm glad you're alright. I knew you could do it, Rydia!"

As Rosa and Rydia stood in the stairwell, a messenger ran up to them from below.

"Is everyone alright up here? They broke through our defenses, and we were worried we wouldn't be able to stop them."

"Everything's fine here," Rosa answered him. "We fought them off, and no one was injured."

The messenger sighed. "Good to hear."

"Tell me," Rosa began, "how is the battle going down below?"

The messenger's face was grim. "The defenders have been pushed back to the crystal room. They're making a last stand there."

"Is Cecil still with them?"

"The dark knight was still alive the last I heard."

Rydia heard Rosa release a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

The messenger nodded and then returned down the stairs, leaving the two of them standing in silence.

Rydia was about to return to the mending room, but Rosa didn't move. Rydia stopped and looked up at her curiously.

"Rydia, I know we were told to stay behind and wait for them, but there's a time and a place to bend orders, and this is one of those times. I can't stay up here any longer. I think we've waited long enough, don't you?"

Another smile crossed Rydia's face. "I was hoping you'd say that!"

"Come on, I don't know how much time we have," Rosa urged, starting to run down the tower stairs with Rydia following after her.

……………………………………….

Rosa ran all the way down the tower, stepping around the bodies of invaders who had been thwarted by Fabulian defenders and some by Rydia's lightning bolts. They retraced their steps from the tower to the throne room, all the while avoiding unfriendly eyes. When they neared the throne room, the enemy was still being hindered by a few Fabulian defenders who were trying in one final effort to keep the throne room secure. In the confusion of the fighting, Rosa and Rydia slipped into the throne room behind the defenders and hid in the shadows to watch for an opening to run for the crystal room. They quietly crossed the room within the shadows of the pillars, but as they got closer to the door of the crystal room, the commotion outside the throne room came to an end. Rosa was the first to hear the door open, and ducked back behind a pillar, pulling Rydia down with her.

Rydia tried to keep her nerves in check as lines of enemy soldiers marched into the throne room a moment later. The defenders of Fabul had failed. The lines of armored soldiers filed in and stood at attention. They were waiting for something—or someone.

Rydia clung to Rosa, waiting for the older woman to make her move, when the lines of soldiers parted and another figure entered the room. Rydia felt her heart catch in her throat. It was him. She recognized his helmet, the weapon he carried, his calm even stride. She heard Rosa gasp.

"Kain," Rosa uttered in horror.

Finally Rydia had a name for the terror. This was the Kain Cecil had spoken about. This was the man who had wanted to kill the rest of the villagers, the man who had never apologized, the man who'd let her mother burn. She felt the tears well up in her eyes--the pain of everything coming back to her in that instant. All of the time she'd spent traveling with Cecil, all of their adventures, everything she had learned disappeared in that instant and was replaced by a strong and overwhelming anger. It was almost the same anger she'd felt towards Cecil long ago at the inn in Kaipo, but this was worse. Cecil had walked away from this life. Kain was still fighting for the same evil that had destroyed her village, and not only was he still fighting for it, but he'd destroyed Damcyan, and was trying to destroy Fabul as well. Her hands involuntarily balled themselves into fists.

Kain walked between the soldiers and entered the crystal room, only feet from where Rosa and Rydia were hiding. Once the door closed behind him, Rosa sat with Rydia in tense silence as they tried to figure out a way to get past the soldiers and into the room as well. They waited and waited, but none of the soldiers budged from their places, and the waiting was starting to fill Rydia with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. What if they couldn't help Cecil in time? What if something bad did happen?

After many minutes had passed, Rosa whispered into Rydia's ear, causing the girl to nearly jump. "Rydia, do you have the energy for one last lightning spell?"

Rydia looked up at Rosa, wondering what the other woman had in mind.

"I want you to hit that guard over there," Rosa directed her, pointing to a guard closest to the throne room's entrance.

Rydia understood, focused, and quietly chanted the lightning spell, sending a bolt into one of the guards, knocking him to the ground. The other soldiers in the room all turned to see what was going on, surprised by the attack, and rushed towards the opposite entrance of the room expecting to fight off any new advances that Fabul had sent.

Rosa took the opportunity and sprinted for the crystal room, dragging Rydia behind her. They crossed the room and ran through the door while the soldiers were still distracted, stepping into a world of crystal and light. Rydia had to blink to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but the moment her eyes made sense of the room, what she and Rosa saw caused them both to stop dead in their tracks. Rydia's eyes went wide with fear, taking in the danger of the situation. Halfway across the room from where they were standing, Cecil lay on the floor with his sword several feet from his grasp. He was wounded, and Kain stood beside him, his lance leveled to deal the killing blow.

"Time to put you out of your misery," he was saying as he lifted the lance for one final attack.

"No!" Rosa screamed, rushing towards Cecil with too many emotions on her face to read.

Kain hesitated, taken aback by both the intrusion and the source. "Rosa!" he stammered out.

The tension in the room was palpable as the white mage approached the dragoon with anger and pain in her eyes. Rosa's hands were clenched so tight her knuckles were white.

"You of all people, Kain," she scolded, the betrayal of his actions bringing tears to her eyes.

Kain's lance lowered to his side, Cecil's life momentarily spared. "No, I—" he attempted, searching for words, but not finding any to satisfy the accusation of the mage.

Rydia stood in the doorway watching Rosa approach her former companion. She couldn't step forward, all she could do was watch. There was too much pain to go forward; her legs felt as though they'd been turned to lead. She watched Rosa meet and hold Kain's gaze, trying to make him back down--to step away from Cecil. And then Rydia took a better look at Cecil still bleeding on the floor of the room that looked like it was made completely of glass, and she felt her heart break. The strong leader, the protector, the teacher, and the friend she had in him was slowly dying in front of her eyes, his life blood leaking out onto the polished floor. She couldn't believe this was happening and it was all his fault. He'd done this—to his own friend no less. As she stood there taking everything in, all of these events, she felt a dark presence enter the room behind her. The air around her suddenly became unbearable, like even breathing was impossible. She had never felt such a strong presence of evil, let alone one accompanied by such a strong magical force. Filled with an even greater fear of what was behind her than in front of her, she quickly bolted forward without looking back, suddenly wanting the comfort and protection of the white mage.

"Befuddled by a woman? You pitiful wretch."

Hiding behind Rosa's robes, Rydia peered around them to see another man in dark armor—black armor--stride into the room. He was the tallest man Rydia had ever seen and he wore a cape that was black on one side, deep blue on the other. Everything about him felt wrong. He had an icy stare, and all of his movements were crisp and calculated. The air crackled around him, as if he was constantly exuding some form of magic into the air that affected even his surroundings. Rydia took a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts in order. This man had to be a powerful sorcerer.

"Golbez!" she heard a shrill voice cry out, realizing it was Edward.

"So you're Golbez," Cecil forced out, his breathing ragged and slow.

"Cecil, I presume?" Golbez addressed him, keeping a snide tone in his voice. "Never hesitate to kill, Kain. Observe. This is how it's done!" Golbez continued, lifting his hand and spreading his fingers in Cecil's direction as a glow began to emanate from his fingertips.

"Cecil!" Edward shouted, rushing forward with Yang before they both had considered the movement.

"Silence!" Golbez snapped, flicking his hand in their direction and sending the energy from his fingers hurtling towards them in a wicked flash of light, knocking them both backwards and leaving them unconscious on the floor.

Rydia clung closer to Rosa, desperate to do something—to run, to hide, or even to fight back. The woman beside her seemed frozen in place, too stunned by Golbez's power to challenge him, but not willing to leave Cecil's side.

"Get the crystal," Golbez's menacing voice commanded, and Kain obediently nodded.

"Yes, sire."

Rosa finally moved, hurrying to the middle of the room to make one final plea before Cecil could stop her.

"Kain, please! Stop this madness and help Cecil! What's happened to you!"

"Rosa, no!" Cecil shouted, taking note of the danger she'd placed herself into.

Golbez, visibly surprised, stopped long enough to stare at Cecil.

"So you cherish this woman? Then I shall take her with me to raise the stakes," he laughed, sending shivers down Rydia's spine.

With that, he aproached the white mage from behind and swiftly took hold of her arms, squeezing them against her sides so she couldn't fight back. Rosa screamed, trying to kick and pull away, but she had lost. There was no hope for her escape.

Golbez turned, taking the struggling Rosa with him.

"Until next time, Cecil," he remarked, then left the room without another glance.

Rydia felt like her heart had stopped beating, and looked towards the crystal dais to see Kain coming down the steps with a brilliant white jewel in his hands. He strode towards Cecil on his way to the door and paused long enough to say, "Next time you won't be so lucky," before following his master out of the room.

"Rosa," Cecil muttered; the loss of her sinking into his mind.

Rydia just stared at the floor, unable to think. Rosa was gone, Kain was still the enemy, and the crystal was gone now as well. She walked slowly to the center of the room and stood between her three wounded companions, looking at each of them with tears in her eyes. She was still overwhelmed by what had just happened, but she knew she still had something left to do.

She drew upon the last of her strength and spoke the words of the only cure spell she knew. She spoke all the words, and when she said the last one, a powerful force erupted from her lips and all three men immediately came to, as if they had simply woken up, and not been wounded at all.

Dizzy, Rydia dropped to the floor, watching the sparkling room shimmer and dance in front of her eyes. A moment later she felt a strong pair of arms lift her off the floor and carry her. She glanced up to see Yang's calm face staring down at her with a smile. Relief flooded over Rydia to see a friendly face, and she glanced over Yang's arm to see Edward and Cecil both alive as well.

Edward was walking to where Cecil was, although Cecil was sitting on the floor slumped forward.

When Yang neared Cecil, he set Rydia down on the floor. She sat down and peered up at her companions.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes. Thank you, Rydia," Edward told her.

"Physically I am well enough, but I'm afraid I've failed. The crystal is gone," Yang answered dejectedly.

"Rosa…" Cecil murmured.

"Come on!" Rydia suddenly interrupted. "We have to go help Rosa! There's still time, isn't there?"

Edward stirred. "She's right. This is no time to lose ourselves in despair; we must rescue Rosa and retrieve the crystal. As long as we work together we should be able to succeed."

Yang nodded, "I agree with Edward. Now it is our turn to assist you, Cecil. Rosa will be rescued, you have my word."

"Thank you," Cecil replied gratefully.

"For now, however, let us heal our wounds and form a plan. There's nothing more we can do right now," Yang continued, offering Cecil his hand, which Cecil accepted, and pulling the dark knight to his feet.

"The inn is this way. In the morning I'll bring you before the king. He will probably offer his support as well, and from there we will begin our search," Yang said again, walking to the door of the crystal room.

Rydia followed her companions wearily. She wanted to rescue Rosa and put an end to all the fighting, but just thinking about where to start was overwhelming. What could she do besides go with Cecil? She was just a little girl.

As she thought about it, the more and more her eyes began to droop, until the last thing she could remember was being carried once again, and finally being swept off into a deep and well needed sleep.

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