The cargo room seemed to be stiflingly small all of a sudden. Tidus crouched against the wall with his head lowered, arms propped up on his knees, deep in thought. Yuna was asleep, a mere foot away from him, curled up against a wooden crate. Even in the darkness, he could faintly make out her features, how tranquil she looked, even in such a dangerous time.
The young man's contemplation momentarily flickered back to his home, where Yuna had undressed before him, offering herself in payment for the huge responsibility he had taken on for her. He knew she had not wanted to do it . . . he could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, though she had tried to mask it with sultry words and emphatic expressions. Oh, how he had wanted to take her, right then and there. If she had wanted him as badly as he had wanted her, then he would have grabbed her and carried to his bed in a heartbeat.
Ah, he cursed his gentlemanly ways.
He sighed heavily and leaned his head back against the metal of the airship's wall. His brain was aching from all the thoughts and questions swirling around inside. Was Yuna lying to him about the Children of Light ceremony? Was it really a huge sham to hide the dark and terrible secret of Sin? How could he be sure that she was trustworthy? What if his mother had just been another gruesome sacrifice for Sin's survival? His blood boiled at the mere thought. The idea that his mother had been slaughtered rather than sent to a heavenly paradise was almost unbearable. He wanted desperately to believe Yuna, and most of his conscience did, but there was still a shadow of doubt within that he could not fully shake, a faint trace of hope that maybe she was wrong and that his mother was really alive and well in the Farplane. He had seen no deceit in Yuna's eyes, nor did he hear it hidden in her voice. She was either telling the truth, or an extremely talented actress. He sincerely hoped it was the former.
Tidus had a gift for searching out honesty. He had always been good at smelling lies or foul play. But if he had fallen into a trap because of this girl . . . this bewitching and bright-eyed girl who had somehow charmed him into helping her . . . then the punishment would most certainly be death. How could he turn his back on his faith so readily? How could he forsake the laws of Yevon, which he had followed so diligently for his whole life? Maybe a secret part of him had always questioned the ways of Yevon, but he had never dared to voice them or act upon them. He knew no other way of living than by the ways of the temple.
"I'm such an idiot," he whispered out loud. "What the hell was I thinking?"
Yuna's breathing faltered, and she stirred suddenly. Tidus quieted his own breathing so that he could listen to hers, in case something was wrong. He once had to share quarters with an epileptic man who had seizures in his sleep, suddenly and without warning. Tidus had trained himself to listen for signs of trouble.
It appeared that she was having a nightmare. She whimpered quietly and let out a vague sob. Tidus' eyes, which were fully accustomed to the dark, watched her face curiously. Her expression was taut with fear and anxiety, and she suddenly flinched as if she had been struck. She looked alone and lost, like an abandoned child.
Any anger or mistrust Tidus felt towards this young woman instantly evaporated, at least for a while. He simply could not summon any resentment towards a girl who appeared so utterly helpless and afraid. Besides, he feared that her voice would give away their hiding place.
He reached down with one hand and rested it lightly on her silken hair. Its softness almost startled him. He gently stroked her head, careful not to wake her, until her whimpers faded and her trembling stopped. She sighed breathily in peace, and relaxed, falling once again into a relaxed slumber.
Tidus kept his hand on her, almost afraid to remove it in case she had another nightmarish attack. To his surprise, Yuna's hand suddenly moved up and grabbed his, swift and gentle, but firm. Her hand was warm and soft, like the feminine hands of a princess. Tidus swallowed and stared down at her, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to let go, but was worried that Yuna would be suspicious if she woke up and saw that their hands were clasped together.
Still, the temptation to hold on was too great to shake off. Tidus relaxed and lightly squeezed her hand, telling her subconscious that he was there with her, and would protect her from any harm whether in reality or her dreams.
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Tidus awoke with a start. The splash of dropping anchors jolted him out of his sleep. He blinked and frowned. When had he fallen asleep? He should have been awake to watch out for any danger of getting caught acting as a stowaway.
Next to him, Yuna jumped awake as well, and only then did it dawn on Tidus that he was still holding her hand. He quickly let go of her before she could become fully aware of her surroundings once more. Her eyes focused and she sat up slowly, looking around in confusion.
"Are we stopping?" she asked. Tidus stood up and listened.
"We should get back into the crate," he said. She nodded and rose to her feet as Tidus pushed back the lid and crawled into the box. He made room for her and closed the lid over their bowed heads, and the two of them waited breathlessly as the door to the cargo room opened and the plank was lowered to the ground for unloading.
The crate shifted as a few pairs of worker hands grabbed it and began to carry it down the plank. Tidus braced himself against the corner to keep from falling over, and Yuna did the same across from him.
The box was painfully hot, and Tidus wished feverishly that air holes had been provided. He breathed heavily to keep cool, but was careful to remain quiet. He could smell sweat forming on Yuna's skin, as well as his own.
'I should have known Luca would be this hot in summer,' he thought, irritated at himself.
Without warning the box dropped to the ground as the workers let go of it, and Yuna fell forward from the force of the impact. She stopped herself in time before ramming into Tidus, but she banged her knee soundly on the wood. Tidus could see her biting her lip to keep from groaning in pain.
Outside, seagulls shrieked and Tidus could hear ocean waves falling upon the shore. So, they were on the beach once more, he concluded.
"We wait until the coast is clear," he whispered, leaning in close to Yuna so she could hear him. "And then we bolt. We find a place to buy horses and supplies, and then we head for Bevelle." He knew that using machina would be much faster, but it would be much more expensive than horses . . . Tidus supposed it didn't matter anymore that using machina is an offence to Yevon.
She nodded in understanding, and changed her position to a more comfortable one to wait.
An hour passed, and Tidus felt as though he would suffocate in that heated crate. He wanted desperately to take a breath of cool clean air, but he did not feel safe enough to expose himself yet. He could still hear faint voices outside as the workers ate their lunch before preparing to work again. He bit back an impatient and uncomfortable sigh.
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A seemingly endless amount of time passed before Tidus suddenly became aware of a heavy silence. He pressed his ear to the wall of the crate and listened closely. All he could hear was the gentle lapping of waves on the sand. No voices to be heard.
In the darkness he reached out and touched Yuna's shoulder, for neither of them could see each other in the darkness of the crate. He felt her move under his touch, and then tapped his hand to show that she was awake and listening.
"Let me check," he whispered. He slowly pushed the lid up and peered outside, sucking in a whiff of cool fresh air while doing so. It was dark outside, but the sun had only just set. The docks were empty of people and the ship was gone, but they only had a few minutes before a watchman would come by to oversee the cargo.
Tidus swallowed. Perhaps any minute now people would be coming down the beach to get their stuff back. He quickly stood up, shoving the lid away, and stepped out onto the dock. His body was cramped from being trapped in the box for so long, and he and Yuna took a moment to stretch and massage out their aches.
"We should wear these and hide our faces, and pose as priestesses in training," Yuna said, finding two long pieces of material from the crate. She tossed one to Tidus and wrapped hers around her shoulders and head, shielding her eyes. When Tidus did not move, she peeked under the cloth to look at him.
"Nobody outside the temple is allowed to talk to the girls until they reach their full priestess rank," she explained, raising an eyebrow. "If it bothers you so much, just pretend to be my bodyguard."
Tidus pondered this new option, and then nodded once in approval. He draped the material around his body and hid his face the way Yuna did. Then the two of them silently walked towards the road that led through the residential area of Luca. Gradually the sounds of the sea receded, and were soon overwhelmed by the chaotic noise of city life. It had not been long since Tidus was last in a city, for he had only been stationed in Besaid for a short amount of time. It was odd how familiar it all was; the crowds, the noise, the confusion, the lights . . . it had all once been common for him, in spite of his once strict Yevonite beliefs on machina. Now he found himself missing the quiet solitude of Besaid.
The giant city towers loomed up in the distance as they neared the residential area, and Tidus noticed a bright flashing billboard out of the corner of his eye. He caught a glimpse of Yuna's face.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks. Yuna turned to see what he was staring at, and blanched at the sight that greeted her.
LADY YUNA DAUGHTER OF LORD BRASKA KIDNAPPED BY MAD YEVONITE WARRIOR! BE ON LOOK OUT FOR OUR BELOVED SUMMONER'S DAUGHTER! SHE HAS BEEN CHOSEN FOR THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT CEREMONY! IF FOUND PLEASE CONTACT THE TEMPLE IN YOUR AREA!
Yuna's face appeared on screen again, and then was replaced by a picture of Tidus' face. Tidus swallowed and felt his stomach churn with a sickly feeling. Yuna was shaking.
"So . . . now the world knows . . ." she breathed, never once taking her eyes away from the billboard. Tidus licked his lips and drew the cloth tighter around his head, as if worried it would suddenly disappear on him.
"The market usually has horses," he said quietly, gently pushing Yuna forward again. "It should be closed by now. We can steal two and leave money at the front to pay for it. Nobody will let us buy them without asking to see our faces anyway."
"You're very kind to be doing this for me," she told him, placing a hand against his shoulder earnestly. "But if you get into any danger because of this-"
"Going back is out of the question, my lady," Tidus interrupted. "No matter what anyone says, I broke the law helping you escape. I'm in just as deep as you are."
She lowered her face for a moment.
"There's no need to be so formal. Please, just call me Yuna.
Her voice had a tired edge to it. For a moment, all of the events that had just transpired over the last day and night came rushing back to Tidus. Not for the first time he found himself cursing his decision to help her, wishing that it had been anyone else but him who had to escort her to the Final Sending.. He could be home by now, eating Besaidian fruit with his friends, or sleeping in his comfortable bed listening to the sea crashing against the shore. The young man sighed inaudibly and looked back to his companion.
'It doesn't matter now,' he thought grimly. 'We're in this together.'
"The market area is just ahead," Tidus whispered into her ear after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence passed. They were now walking along a busy crowded street downtown, just beyond the residential area. The market was another two blocks away. The two of them kept their faces hidden and drew their 'cloaks' around themselves tightly. Tidus, who was much bigger than Yuna, made an imposing figure directly behind her like a protective shadow as if he really were her bodyguard.
"Lookit here, Tekkan," a gruff voice said from their side. "We got ourselves a liddle priestess."
Yuna backed up and almost walked into Tidus' chest as two seedy-looking men emerged from a pub entrance, leering at her grotesquely. She turned her head away, careful to keep the upper half of her face concealed.
"Who's the other one?" the second man, Tekkan, hiccupped uncertainly, sizing up Tidus' build.
"Her escort," Tidus answered coolly, reaching for his sword beneath his cloak. He kept his hand on the hilt, prepared in an instant to use the blue blade.
"Oh ho, the liddle lady needs an escort, eh?" the first man chuckled. "Me 'n' Tekkan would be more 'n' happy to take her off yer hands, sir." Tekkan chuckled blearily in accordance.
Yuna wisely refrained from speaking, keeping to her priestess guise. Instead she tried to avoid the confrontation entirely and made to walk forward, but the man's hand lashed out and grabbed her wrist tightly. He clenched so hard that she felt as if her wrist was breaking in half. She gasped in pain and tried to shake him off, but he only laughed at her weak attempts.
"Come on now, missy, ain't you gonna warm up to us?" he said chillingly, offering her a cruel smile.
Neither he nor Tekkan had time to react before the point of a blue sword suddenly appeared at his throat, resting dangerously at the jugular. Tidus leaned in over Yuna's shoulder and hissed at the sweating drunkard menacingly.
"Let her go, sir," he said, spitting out the last word with venom. By now a small crowd of people had stopped and turned to see what was going on. A few uneasy murmurs rippled from person to person, and Tidus prayed that nobody would try to interfere.
Tekkan blinked slowly.
"Kobba, mehbe we should jus' go," he said, swaying a little on his feet. Kobba swallowed visibly and slowly let go of Yuna's arm. She jerked it away and held it gingerly against her chest.
"Now step out of our way," Tidus growled, pressing the blade ever so slightly harder against Kobba's neck. The two men backed up immediately.
"Come along, my lady," Tidus said formally, gently urging Yuna forward. The two of them began walking through the crowd, which had now lost interest and was gradually dispersing from the scene, when Tidus felt a rough hand on the back of his neck. Kobba had grabbed him in a cheap attack and pulled the material back from Tidus' face.
A sharp gasp rose up from the surrounding people. An excited voice rose up in the stunned silence.
"It's them! Lady Yuna and her kidnapper!"