Compass

Author's note: Hello here and Happy New Year! I wish you the best for 2014 ^^

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read, review, and follow or favorite this story! Every time it brightens my day, and I really hope this chapter will please you.

I have a lot of "flash" about this story lately, scenes that keep popping here and there. I'll try to update more regularly (maybe a monthly rhythm), and to continue my other story to.

Enjoy !

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Xillia series!

CHAPTER 4

The moon shone brightly in the sky, bathing the city of Sharilton in its light. The usual lively atmosphere was replaced by a calm and peaceful silence, stray cats and one or two couples sitting on a bench the only living beings in the streets.

This eerie scenery didn't last long, as two loud voices could be heard near the main plaza.

"You just could have been more careful with your gigantic sword; you nearly cut me in two!"

"Maybe that's because you are always at the wrong place!"

And there they were again, bickering over small things. Alvin sighed, exhausted by the journey they made together. At first, it was amusing: they threw mocking jokes at each other, fighting nonetheless in sync (they even went for Leia's handshake once or twice), but as the night went on, tiredness of the day mixed with the surrounding darkness had made everything difficult. Their last encounter with monsters could have turned to tragedy; their moves were slower and less accurate than before.

Alvin stopped and turned to the young woman, his head bowed.

"Look Leia, I'm sorry for earlier. I guess I was exhausted and I should have been more focused."

He was also tired of their constant arguments, even if most of them were based on humor.

I just want to be able to talk to her normally, like a friend would, dammit!

"I'll go the inn and take two rooms. I guess it's a bit late to show at Driselle's, take it as an apology. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" he added in a low voice.

He turned on his heels and went for the inn, his shoulders slightly slumped.

I knew it wouldn't be easy, but... Maybe there's no way, maybe I haven't changed enough for her to see my real intentions... the real me...

Leia saw him leave, her expression frozen. The day had definitely been full of surprises, the main one being Alvin himself.

He still was overconfident and cocky, but he seemed more honest and mature than before. She didn't recognize him fully, and he acted strange with her, as she was made of glass and he was afraid to break her.

And to be honest, she was at fault too in this last fight: she also felt unfocused and she should have casted this arte sooner.

Bickering was nice and fun, but maybe this last one wasn't necessary...

She ran and overtook him, making him stop by fixing her body in front of the brown haired man.

She planted her green gaze on his chocolate one, hoping that it would help her apologize sounding as sincere as she wanted.

"Alvin... I..."

The stuttering wasn't planned at all, and doubt was making his way in her mind. She hadn't prepared what she was about to say, and her old spontaneity was not yet back.

In front of her, Alvin was waiting for her to talk, his patience still short after the day they had. The only thing keeping him from snapping at her was her eyes fixed on him, reflecting her earnestness. They were panicked, lightly shining with unshed tears.

She was so vulnerable now, far from the Leia he knew. Even after the event in Hamil, she hadn't been this fragile. And yet, she was still fighting with all her might, journeying alone.

Something in him stirred, a surge of protectiveness mixed with another thing he couldn't figure out.

His hands gripped her shoulders gently, slowly, as if he was letting her choose whether or not she wanted his gesture of kindness. She wasn't in front of an enemy, not yet a close friend, just someone who cared for her and feared to scare her.

So she chose to let him in this time, taking a little step, transforming the gesture in a kind of awkward hug.

"You shouldn't be the only one to apologize. I was at fault too. And..."

"You don't need to talk. I understand. Don't worry."

She let out a sigh, breathing deeply to calm herself.

"You know, if someone told me that I'll let you take me in your arms like that six months ago, I would have thrown quite a tantrum..."

He chuckled, releasing her slowly.

"To be honest, I think I wouldn't have tried to. Maybe I'm getting better at reading the mood of the people in front of me."

"Here you are, getting full of yourself again," she laughed.

"Shall we go, now that we have settled this matter? "

"Yep, but we share the fee, I insist!"

He nodded with a smile and began to cross the plaza, heading toward the inn. His hands and arms were tingling with warmth, and he felt light-headed, as if he had reached a cap in his life. Everything was kind of confused, but he had never felt this serene before.

She started to walk alongside with him, deep in thoughts, trying to analyze what had happened two minutes ago. She acted on an impulse, by letting him touch her like this. She felt safe, whereas she was ready to snap at him this afternoon. This friendly gesture, the respect he showed... How could have this man changed this much, in so little time?

Her head suddenly ached. She really needed her rest to see clearly in this mess.

She nearly tripped backwards as two human forms crashed against her.

"Leia ! You should have warned us!"

Driselle had dropped everything she was doing to run and jumped on her, soon joined by Elize who went out of her room when she heard the commotion.

"I... need... air...," Leia gasped between to squeals.

"Oops, sorry!"

Since she had put a foot in the manor, her face had been lit by a smile. She truly was happy to see them again, and when everyone calmed down, she engulfed each one in a proper hug.

"I'm sorry to drop by without warning, but I really missed you and wanted to make a little surprise."

"You're welcome, anytime, I hope you know it," Driselle said, her voice steady and calm again.

"I don't want to interrupt your work; I know you're quite busy. I just wanted to let you know I was in town"

"I got carried away, I'm glad to see you here. How about we all meet for tea? I'll be finished by then, and we could enjoy the night together."

"Sounds good to me. And for you Elize?"

"I'm Ok with that. You could come and stay with me this afternoon if you want," the young girl replied, while twirling her fingers together.

Leia kneeled in front of her and smiled.

"I'll be glad to do so! We have a lot of catch up to do!"

Driselle looked at the two ladies climbing the stairs, wondering what really brought Leia here. She didn't doubt the sincerity of her friend when she said she missed them, but there was more than that, she was sure of it. But before having her answer, she had to take care of her city.

Elize and Leia sat on the carpeted floor, chatting lively.

"So, you visited Jude? How was he?"

"You know his habitual self... Working and worrying like crazy!" Leia said while laughing.

"I sometimes miss our time together; it was so much fun... I felt like I had a family."

Leia smiled and patted her head kindly.

"We kinda are a family: Rowen is like our grandpa, wise and compassionate."

"You and Milla are my big sisters; I want to be just like the both of you, strong and beautiful!"

"Jude is like an overprotective brother, right?" Leia said, holding back a chuckle.

"Hey, I would love having Jude as my brother... He is overprotective, but he accepted me when no one wanted to..." Elize replied with a light pout.

"Yeah, you have a point. I'm mocking him but he is really a good person."

"And the big fat liar is our funny big brother, joking around but being there when we need it," the young girl exclaimed, clapping her hand.

Leia remained silent: could Alvin really be considered like this? Elize suddenly stopped, her eyes lit with realization.

"Leia, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that!"

"Hey hey, don't worry, it's in the past. In a way, you're right; he stood with us until the end after all."

"Still, it's not because I have forgiven him and I consider him as a friend that everyone do the same. I have some progress to do with understanding the others..."

Elize sighed and turned her head from Leia. It was not the first time: she had already hurt her friend's feeling in the past, in the research center. And even if she made a lot of efforts everyday to speak for herself, sometimes she was afraid to make the same mistakes again. Sometimes she wanted to take Teepo back with her when hopelessness was invading her.

She bit her lip, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall. She didn't want to be weak again; she had changed and wanted to show that to everyone.

Suddenly her head hit a warm and soft thing: Leia was holding her, patting her back.

"Hey, you're doing great: haven't you talked about your friends in your last letter? Things are great with Driselle too!"

"Yeah but…"

"No buts, Elize. You have changed, and you'll continue to change, step by step."

Elize nodded, still in her friend's embrace, taking everything in.

"You know, I have hurt your feeling and other's feelings too, and I'll still make mistakes, as you will too."

Driselle called for them from downstairs to take the tea.

"How about we spend some time with your friends tomorrow?"

"Okay!"

They helped each other up and headed to the door. Elize went ahead and turned around when she put her foot on the first step of the stairs.

"Leia, you're really the best sister I could ask for!" said Elize with a big grin on her face.

Leia smiled and took her hand, climbing down the stairs, joining Driselle that was waiting for them, smiling.

"Ready to have some fun?"

"You bet!"

Two ice creams and a few shopping bags later, the three girls were reaching the manor's portal, laughing.

"Leia, you should have seen your face with this hat, it was priceless!"

Leia stuck her tongue at Driselle, smiling.

"This dress with the yellow, green and pink dots suited you so well!"

Elize snickered, holding her new backpack in her arms.

"Well, that's a lovely view!" resounded a deep voice with an amused tone.

The girls stopped immediately, eyes widening for two of them.

"Of course, he had to show off once again," murmured Leia, a grin still on her lips.

"Big fat liaaaaaar," screamed Elize, running towards him.

He seized the little girl and spun her in the air.

"Hey spud! Glad to see you again! Energetic as ever!"

Driselle smiled, turning to Leia.

"You knew, right?"

"Well, we kinda arrived together yesterday: he had things to do this afternoon, but he said he would drop by later."

"Elize will be ecstatic to spend the night with both of you. She does well and is making friends, but you are special to her, and I can't totally replace you."

"You are special to her too, don't underestimate yourself like that."

They crossed the distance separating them from the others, waving at Alvin.

"Well, that's a surprise! How about having dinner at the manor, then, and catch up?" said Driselle, her gaze going from Alvin to Leia, asking silently for their agreement.

They nodded and headed to the mansion's door, Elize still in Alvin's arms, discussing with Driselle. And Leia couldn't help but find this scene comforting and disturbing in the same way. Like she was returning home where her family was waiting for her, but with a heart full of happiness and sadness. Like she didn't belong here anymore, but craved for acceptance anyway. She pushed the thought aside, remembering the purpose of all this: finding herself. And she still had to talk to Driselle. As she crossed the doorway, she plastered a smile on her face, and failed to see the look Alvin gave her while putting Elize back on her feet.

The dinner went very well, full of laughter and stories told by Alvin about Jurgen's and his business, jokes about his cousin and his fail experiments (resulting in explosion and spiked burnt hair). Elize was telling about her days at school and the games she played with her friends. Driselle and Leia kept silent, joining here and then the conversation. Soon enough, the younger member of the crew was closing her eyes fighting her sleepiness.

"I'll go upstairs and prepare this young lady for bed. We'll take the tea after if you want."

"Okay Driselle. See you tomorrow Elize!" said Leia while patting the girl's head.

"Sweet dreams, spud!"

Elize headed clumsily towards the stairs, holding Driselle's hand, waving back sleepily.

The silence fell on the two remaining people: Leia was looking outside, her head in the clouds, thinking back at the feeling she had before dinner. She didn't sense the man standing next to her, calling her name. She got out of her trance when Alvin touched her shoulder.

"Leia?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, i was…"

"Spacing out, I saw that. You do it often lately…"

She bowed her head, blushing. She wasn't use to him being so observant.

"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go in the garden while Driselle is away."

She got up and nodded, seizing the occasion to avoid the subject of her behavior.

They went on the porch of the manor, enjoying the night with a more serene atmosphere than yesterday. Alvin couldn't help to watch her, concern gleaming in his eyes. They had a lot of things to sort out, but he wasn't ready: he never had problems to talk and socialize with people, but he felt at loss of words and didn't know what to do with her, for her. It was new, thrilling and scaring, like a new challenge to overcome. He went to her side, looking in the same direction than her.

She was breathing steadily, her gaze fixed on the sky, like she waited for something to come from it. She knew he was watching her and this awareness complicated things. She knew what she had to do, but her mind was still blurry, and her heart was tired. They couldn't fix things now, for she wasn't totally at ease around him.

"You know…," they both said, after inhaling deeply.

They looked at each other before smiling and chuckling.

"Ladies first!" he offered with an exaggerated bow.

"When did you become so aware of everything? I mean… You know that I was down since we entered the manor, right?"

He silently nodded, waiting if she had something to add. When she kept silent, he replied, his voice just a whisper.

"I have always used my observation skill to manipulate people… And since our little adventure, I realized that it was cutting me from the real things that I wanted. So I decided to change my view of the world."

"It seems so easy when you say it like that."

"It's not. And I'm not finished yet. I don't know what hurt you tonight for example."

She sighed, turning her head away from him.

"I… Let it slide, it's ridiculous," she muttered, heading back to the manor.

He seized her arm lightly, but firmly enough to hold her back.

"What's ridiculous is bottling it inside. I can understand that you don't want to open up to me though. But…"

She turned completely, shaking his hand off her arm.

"The truth is that I want to be able to talk to you, because I feel that you're the only one that can understand. But I'm not ready to do so, and I don't understand why I feel that."

"You… you are serious?"

She shrugged and looked at his idiotic and dumbfounded expression. She poured her heart to him, and this was the only thing he was able to say?

"I'm not a liar, for reminder. And if that's bothering you, I'll do things by myself!"

She began to walk to the portal, huffing, avoiding his gaze, her fists clenched.

"Leia, wait!"

He overtook her, blocking her with his body. She tried to dodge him by ducking under one of his arm, while he followed every step she made. He finally seized her arms after two minutes of this silent game.

"Come with me."

She looked at him, her eyes full of surprise and incomprehension.

"What?"

He took a breath, searching his words.

"I wanted to ask you to accompany me during my trip on Rieze Maxia."

"But… why?"

"I… I feel that there are things that we must settle, but we are both not ready to do so. So why not travel together and try to talk about it step by step? Besides, after yesterday's event…"

"Stop your sentence right now, mister. I can handle myself!"

Alvin smirked slightly, but it faded when she stayed silent, not starting the ruckus he thought she would make after his teasing.

She looked at him, unsure of what to do, stepping back from him.

"Let me think about it. When did you plan to leave Sharilton?"

"I wanted to stay 3 days, I still have appointments. But I…"

"Don't delay your departure. I'll give you an answer by then."

Driselle had been watching the whole scene from the porch, unsure of what to think about everything. She knew what happened between them in the past, and had been surprised to learn that they had travelled together; surprised to see how Alvin cared for Leia (he had been throwing glances to her during their meal). The man clearly begged for her forgiveness, in a proper way this time. And Leia seemed off sometimes, her eyes dull, her expression thoughtful. The whole purpose of her journey seemed to be deeper than what she told her this morning.

Leia crossed the doorway, and stopped beside her, smiling.

"Mind if I stay here tonight? I don't want to lose a moment with all of you."

"Useless to ask, a room is prepared since this afternoon. I have time tomorrow morning, so we could spend some times together? If you have nothing else to do, that's it."

Leia's face brightened lightly, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, I'll go rest now!"

Driselle saw her go upstairs, and let her azure gaze land on the man in the garden.

He still was facing the door, deep in thoughts.

Guess he needs a hand too…

She headed to him and patted his arm.

"You are not the only one that noticed that something is off. Thank you for helping her in your way."

Alvin watched her with curious eyes.

"I'm not as discreet and stealthy as I used to be," he chuckled, ruffling his hair with his right hand.

"It's hard to hide things from an open personality like her. She tends to rub off on you!"

"Yeah, I see what you mean…"

"Anyway, leave things to me tomorrow. I think she needs some girl advices".

He pondered about what the young woman said. He still had things to do, and he felt that he had done enough. At least, Leia and he had talked and the bond he sensed yesterday seemed more concrete. He bid his farewell to Driselle for the night, and went back to the inn, his heart divided between hope that she'll accept his offer, and fear of what was awaiting them.