As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow 58
Gu tric fear beul bhris shròn.
It's often a man's mouth that breaks his nose.

15-

"What do you mean you found Adora?"

Kratos' question was far more serious than Lloyd thought it had any reason to be, and he frowned in confusion.

"Did Colette not tell you what happened?"

"No, she did not." Kratos shook his head, stepping back and sitting on the bed. He reached back and grabbed the remaining piece of the clean pajama set that Lloyd had gotten out. "Here. Put your shirt on and keep talking. Where did you find Adora?"

Lloyd caught the shirt as Kratos tossed it to him. "By the Great Tree. It was when I went to meet with Genis and Colette on Tuesday morning."

"Had she been abandoned there?"

"Sort of… I guess." Lloyd sat down on the bed across from Kratos, tossing the shirt back and forth between his hands. "We found her by accident. Colette tripped and fell, and uncovered a box that had been buried in the hill. When we dug it up, we found Adora in-"

"A box? She was in the box?" Lloyd saw Kratos' eyes widen. "It wasn't, by any chance, a box with a mirror, was it?"

"A mirror?"

"On the front or side- anywhere on the outside of the box?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No, I don't remember there being a mirror at all. Why? Is that important?"

"Yes. Well, it would-" Kratos cut himself off and shook his head. "Never mind. Continue, please."

The expression on Lloyd's face darkened in confusion. "When we opened the box, we found Adora, but… she couldn't breathe. Her throat was closed up 'cause of some disease that Professor Sage said was common in half-elves…"

"Tracheal stenosis?" Kratos asked.

"Yeah, I think that was the word." Lloyd nodded. "We took her to Professor Sage, and she was able to heal her easily, but we were really scared at first."

There was a period of silence and Kratos nodded his head. "For a long time, it was unclear what caused the disease. Some mild cases could be survived, but generally it was a death sentence for an infant. I could imagine that finding out a child had it could be devastating for any parent. Losing a child is a pain no one should ever have to bear."

Lloyd could swear there was a twinge of pain in Kratos' voice as he spoke that last sentence, but he didn't want to bring it up for fear of sending the conversation down the wrong path. He busied himself tapping his fingers against the fabric of the shirt he was holding while he thought things over. Eventually Kratos cleared his throat and continued his line of questions.

"While there may not have been a mirror, could you describe the box? How was it latched? Was there any metal on it that could have acted as a reflective surface?"

"I mean, it was just a regular metal latch," Lloyd answered with a shrug. "The box was old and really dirty, so it was tough to see what was on the surface, but there was a carving on the top with the words Adora Martel on it. Genis said that the Adora part was probably a reference to goddess worship, but that's what Colette decided to call the baby once we realized that we didn't know her name-"

"So Adora isn't her real name?"

"No. I mean, not unless it's her name that was written on the box- is Martel also a surname?"

"I've never heard it used as one," Kratos replied with a shake of his head. He stood up and began to fold the towel he'd been using. "Still, I don't like the sound of this. Some of the practices of the Church of Martel may have survived, but the actual worship of Martel as a goddess has generally abated. Plus, you said the box was old. I wonder if the name is just a coincidence…" He stopped speaking and turned back to face Lloyd. "Who opened the box?"

"Huh?" Lloyd pointed to himself in surprise. "W-well, I was going to open it, but Genis stopped me and yelled at me for defacing religious artifacts. Then Colette started to open it, but Genis made her close it again, and-"

"So it was Colette who first opened the latch?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. That can't be a coincidence, then."

The certainty of the statement caught Lloyd off-guard. "What do you mean? What's going on? Do you know something about-"

"Thank you," Kratos interrupted, having placed his towel on the nightstand and approaching Lloyd to snatch the shirt out of his hands, "for telling me. It helps me a lot. Here- I can help with your shirt, if you like."

"I-It's not a problem! And I can dress myself!" Lloyd blushed a little and snatched his shirt back. He hurriedly shoved the shirt over his head and struggled to find the sleeves. Once he had it on, he gave a little choke at the way the fabric pressed against his throat and realized that it was backwards. It took him slightly longer to figure out how to twist it around, but he eventually managed to get it right. "There."

Kratos' expression remained deadpan, but he gave a nod. "Very good. You've improved a little since you were three."

"D-don't make fun of me!"

Lloyd lunged at him, his arms flailing in mock aggression, but this only elicited a grin and a low chuckle from Kratos. "Alright, Lloyd, I get it. Let's shift our focus back to the matter at hand. Have you heard anything from Genis or Raine that might provide some insight on our friend Dr. Watson?"

"No, I don't think so. At least, not from Genis. But for some reason the name Doctor Watson sounds really familiar, and I almost think it was Professor Sage…"

Kratos perked up at the statement. "Is that so? Where did she mention it?"

"I think… I think… I remember it from school. Doctor Watson was an author who wrote one of the books we read in class."

"An author?" Kratos murmured, drawing in a breath. "What kind of textbook was it? If you can remember, maybe we can find it and track the author down."

"Erm, um…" Lloyd had to wrack his brain around the idea as he dragged up memories of a long-forgotten book that he'd really only half-read and then copied the book report off of Genis. That's right, Raine had not only failed him on that report, but given him negative points for copying Genis' report. "Yeah, that was the one where I copied Ge- er, I mean, I got some help from Genis on my book report. It was about the theme of indecisiveness, that by leaving an act up to fate rather than making an active decision, a person is directly committing the evil that might follow."

"Philosophy, hmm?" Kratos murmured.

"Yeah. I didn't really get it, but Genis seemed to. He wrote all about how the two pills were representative of the murderer's internal conflict and inability to live with decisions he'd made himself-"

"Wait." Kratos held a hand up to interrupt. "Pills?"

"Yeah! Something about one being poison and the other being harmless. Colette actually cried in class when we got to one part because they killed the dog testing the pills! She was hysterical, her dad had to come pick her up and everything, it was a disaster-"

"L-Lloyd," Kratos began again through clenched teeth. "This book you're speaking of… wouldn't happen to have been Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, would it?"

"Yeah, that was it! I remember because we read it was the year after we read The Scarlet Letter, and I liked this one waaay better-"

He cut his sentence off at the sight of Kratos burying his face in one hand. "...Lloyd…" he groaned, "...you're right, I guess, but the Doctor Watson from A Study in Scarlet isn't really the writer. He's the fictional narrator. You're thinking of the sidekick to Sherlock Holmes."

That statement got Lloyd's attention, and he felt another small blush creeping over his cheeks. "O-oops. I didn't realize that was fake. I mean, I guess I should've been tipped off by all the weird place names- like, London? Cleveland? Salt Lake City? That definitely doesn't exist in Sylvarant or Tethe'alla-"

"Don't worry. You didn't do anything wrong. I asked you to remember a Doctor Watson and you did so." Kratos shook his head. "Though I can't say that the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are necessarily applicable to..."

His voice trailed off and Lloyd looked up in surprise. "Something wrong, Kratos?"

"John Watson. Doctor John Hamish Watson. Lloyd, the fictional character Watson has the same initials as our letter-writer."

Lloyd's face lit up. "Oh! So that means the book Watson is real after all?"

"No, it means that our writer may be using the fictional character's name as a pseudonym."

"Ah, right. That would make more sense."

Lloyd fished in his dresser drawer for a hair tie and began pulling his hair back. He looked back over at Kratos, waiting for him to continue. However, he was quiet, a pensive frown on his face.

"I don't like the implications of that, though," Kratos finally said.

"Huh? What do you mean? I figured that, maybe it was a good thing- maybe he's not really a doctor and he's just playing a cruel joke."

Kratos shook his head. "But you have to think about the name in context. The character Doctor Watson is famous specifically for being Sherlock Holmes' sidekick. For a person to name themselves after a literary sidekickmust mean that they're deferring to a superior in some fashion."

Lloyd had heard those words before, but not strung together like that, and it caught him off-guard. He tilted his head as he offered a "...um, and that means…?"

"It means," Kratos responded with a clear, slow voice so that Lloyd could follow, "if Watson is the one creating all this chaos, I'm afraid to imagine what Holmes is capable of."

Oh. Lloyd couldn't do much but nod. This whole situation was too much for him to take in at the moment, and he sat down on the bed and lay back. Staring up at the ceiling with a sigh, he focused on the sound of insects and frogs out the window. The cool night air was so calming, it felt like sleep was beckoning for him once again.

"It's too early for so much thinking."

"True," Kratos offered with a nod. "Perhaps I should leave you to get some more sleep, then? I'll go let Anna know and send Sheena back over here."

"Would you? Thanks a bunch!" Lloyd jumped to his feet again so that he could approach Kratos. "Seriously, I appreciate your help tonight… and always. You always seem to know what to do."

The statement caught Kratos off-guard, and he offered a shrug in response. "I didn't do anything special. Sheena was the one who saved the day this time."

"Yeah, but you were out there before any of us trying to figure out how to help. And you took charge in figuring out who the culprit was and searching for him. You do a lot more than I tend to give you credit for, so thanks."

A split-second passed where Lloyd could swear he saw a fond smile on Kratos' face. It disappeared, though, and his expression had returned to normal by the time Kratos placed his hand on Lloyd's head.

"Don't worry about it. You're working hard too."

The compliment brought a smile to Lloyd's face, and he was still thinking about it once Kratos had gathered all of his belongings. He started for the door, but then stopped himself as he realized something.

"Oh, I almost forgot. A piece of advice for you- just for future reference."

"Hm?" Lloyd looked on in curiosity. "What's that?"

"In case you ever need it, olibanum oil works wonders for getting rid of bruises. A little bit on your skin should clear it right up."

The intention of the statement was lost on Lloyd, and he frowned as he tried to reason with it. "If you're saying-" he began "-that things could get even worse in Meltokio as we get closer to the festival, I know that. I'm prepared to do what I have to in order to keep the peace, and if that means putting myself in harm's way for other people, so be it. It's nothing I haven't done before."

Kratos' expression was unreadable, and Lloyd waited impatiently for a response.

"You're a good man, Lloyd," he began with what sounded almost like a laugh, "but I was talking about more personal matters. It's nobody else's business what you do for fun, so-" Kratos tapped the side of his neck with a nod toward Lloyd. "-try to remember that."

Lloyd stiffened and turned around so that he could see his reflection in the mirror. He pulled back the collar of his shirt to examine his neck and shoulder, and his face immediately flashed a bright red color.

"Th-th-th-that's not-! I mean, I just-! Those are-!" Stammering like this was no use and Lloyd knew it, so he instead threw himself on the bed and covered his head with a pillow. "J-just go already!"

"I'm not trying to embarrass you, Lloyd. I'm trying to save you future embarrassment. I don't care, but if somebody like Zelos saw that-"

"I know, Sheena and I would never hear the end of it. But that's different- Zelos is my friend. You're my dad. It's weird."

"It shouldn't be. Your father is supposed to be your source on these sorts of things. Friends are the ones who encourage you to be reckless, while parents remind you to act responsibly-"

Lloyd let out a groan and turned away from Kratos, keeping his head hidden behind the pillow. "I know, I know! I've heard it all before. Be careful, don't do anything stupid, or I'll end up with an unwanted kid like you and Mom did with me. Now will you let me die of embarrassment in peace?"

He could feel the bed shift as Kratos sat down beside him, indicating that he was not, in fact, going to honor Lloyd's request. Lloyd considered sitting up and throwing the pillow at him, but Kratos spoke before he had the chance, and the tone of his voice caught Lloyd off-guard.

"Lloyd." His voice sounded almost pained. "You were not unwanted. Unplanned, perhaps, but never unwanted."

Lloyd poked his head out from under the pillow. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. I was exaggerating. This is weird and embarrassing and, I don't know, I just spoke without thinking."

"I understand. But still, I don't want you to ever think that."

Kratos reached out and began running his hand through Lloyd's hair. It was an unfamiliar sensation, and yet Lloyd couldn't help feeling comforted by it. It felt as though he was a child again, safe and comfortable...

"I know I might've said some things that would make you think that. For a time, I wasn't sure myself, only because I was worried. Most of our hiding places from Cruxis were no place for a baby. I didn't want you to be born into danger like that. But that was only because I loved you and Anna so much."

Lloyd didn't respond, so Kratos pulled his hand away and glanced out the window. He could see down the street a short distance to the house on the corner, where Anna and Sheena were likely still in conversation. The air still smelled a little like smoke, but the frogs and insects were chirping as though nothing had happened.

"It's amazing how quickly things can return to being peaceful," Kratos finally continued, allowing himself to smile. "We humans cause bad things to happen all the time. But if we let nature take its course, the world can heal itself just as easily. I sometimes wonder if nature knows better than we do what's best for us. Life, mana, the Great Tree… it's all connected." He paused and shook his head. "I'm not trying to get all philosophical on you. What I'm really trying to say is, well… your mother and I haven't really been giving much thought to the future since we started living together again. It's kind of like when we were first together. The future was this fuzzy, uncertain thing that we didn't want to acknowledge, so we focused on the present moments we had together. But you changed that for us. Suddenly we wanted to make the world a better place, not for us in the present, but for someone else in the future. And history seems to have a way of repeating itself. Just a couple weeks ago... we found out that Anna is expecting another baby. All these years later, after losing everything and getting it all back, we- um, Lloyd?"

The lack of response to his revelation made Kratos suspicious, and he turned back around to look at Lloyd. His eyes were closed and his mouth moved only slightly with deep, regular breaths. It looked like he didn't have a care in the world… or any idea what was going on around him.

"Lloyd? Hey, Lloyd." Kratos grabbed Lloyd's arm and shook it. It worked in bringing the boy to awareness, and he awoke with a sudden inhale.

"I-I'm listening!" Lloyd stammered, lifting his head from the pillow.

"So you heard what I said?"

"Yeah! Something about… mana is life and the Great Tree knows best… right?"

Kratos pressed his fingers to his temple and tried to force a smile. "Yes, Lloyd, that's right about where I was. You didn't miss anything."

"Something wrong, Kratos?"

Kratos stood up, waving his hand dismissively. "No, it's nothing. I should get going. I was just thinking- you really are your mother's son, you know that?"

Lloyd wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment, and Kratos left before he could ask.

Oh, well. He'd take it as a compliment.

Zelos tapped his fingers against the edge of the table, staring down into his breakfast instead of eating it. He heard the clock in the next room chime eight times and sighed.

"Colette should be in class by now. I guess she really did take Adora with her. I wonder if she's mad at me for last night." Here he'd been, waiting all morning for her to show up so that he could apologize properly, and yet there was no sign of her. Seles shook her head, glaring at him from across the table.

"It wasn't your fault that you had to take me home. She probably didn't want to burden Miss Veronica with more work now that she has her hands full with me."

"Seles, dear, you're not a handful at all~" The woman's voice came from behind Seles as Veronica approached the table and placed a few pill capsules and a small cup of brown liquid beside Seles' plate. "I added some vitamin B12 for energy. We'll see if that does any good for you."

"Thank you, Miss Veronica." Seles nodded and began taking her medicine. Zelos watched and eventually sighed, pushing his plate away from him.

"If you would, tell Sebastian I'm finished with breakfast," he spoke with a wave to Veronica.

She frowned in response, offering a look of disapproval. "Zelos, darling, you've barely touched your eggs. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine. Just not hungry for eggs this morning, is all." He shrugged and stood up, pushing his chair back under the table. "I'm going to head over to the grammar school to make sure everything's alright with Colette and Adora-"

"But Brother, you promised," Seles interrupted.

"I- what?"

"My piano lesson. You promised last night that we'd practice this morning. That's what gave me the motivation to get out of bed, you know!"

Zelos felt a blush creep over his face. "Oh, right. I'll definitely be ready to do that as soon as I get back-"

"You're always bothering Colette at school- what kind of example does that set for her students? Let her do her job for once. You can visit during lunch hours."

"She's right, love." Veronica took Zelos' plate from the table, offering him a comforting smile. "Miss Brunel is a most responsible young woman. I'm sure she has the situation under her full control. You should worry less- all that frowning will lead to premature wrinkles, you know."

Zelos' hand flew to his face. "I'm not getting wrinkles. My skincare regime is flawless."

Veronica ignored him. "I'll ask Sebastian to make you a cup of tea while you wait for Seles to finish breakfast."

"Thanks." Zelos nodded with a sigh. "I appreciate it."

After what had happened the night before, Seles performed surprisingly well. It wasn't until about halfway through the lesson that Zelos noticed her eyes starting to lose focus on the sheet music, and when he suggested they cut things short, she perked up again. He couldn't deny that she was well-practiced enough to perform at the formal dinner on Sunday night, but he still worried about her getting up in front of people like that. She was supposed to appear on stage with him at the picnic that afternoon, after all. But she was excited, and he couldn't begrudge her that. Reluctantly, he told her to keep practicing for the Sunday night performance.

By the time that early afternoon rolled around, Zelos had already set out for the school, his bag packed with a pair of packaged fruit parfaits- a special treat meant to drive home his apology to Colette. Meltokio's main square was already full of people setting up for Saturday's pre-celebration festivities, and it was hard not to be drawn in by the upbeat atmosphere. Zelos stopped at one point to appreciate the nice weather, and was almost immediately interrupted by the sound of his name being called.

"Hey! Zelos!"

He recognised the voice and spun on his heels. "Trevor?"

"Dude, how's Seles? Is she okay? Do you know what happened to her?" The questions began before Zelos could say anything else and he had to take a step back.

"Seles is fine. She just overexerted herself, is all. I took her home and got her in bed, and she was feeling better in no time-"

"That's such a relief to hear. She had us all really scared just falling out like that, y'know?"

Zelos nodded. "Thanks for looking out for her. It's good to know she has friends like you."

Trevor scratched the back of his head sheepishly, though he couldn't hide the bright grin on his face. "Aw, it's nothing. Seles is a great kid. Besides, we bastard aristocrats gotta stick together, right?"

"Well, thank you regardless." Zelos didn't feel like he had the right to do anything but acknowledge that last statement. He flipped his hair and offered a suave smile before turning back to the path. "It's good to see you. I look forward to the dinner on Sunday night-"

"Wait a minute! Don't go just yet!"

Trevor grabbed Zelos' arm, almost having to jump to do so. It knocked Zelos off-balance and he nearly fell over. He was about to scold Trevor for it, but he wasn't able to get a word in edgewise.

"Are you free for lunch today? You're usually free, right? Nancy and I are going out to lunch, and I was wondering if you wanted to tag along."

A lunch date with Trevor and Nancy? It sounded fun, but it was exactly what he didn't need right now. The Meltokio Grammar School's lunch period only lasted an hour, after all.

Still, Zelos didn't want to hurt his friend's feelings. He gave his characteristic smirk along with a wink for good measure. "I know I'm a guy in high demand, but as a master of romance, I don't want to end up being a third-wheel. Maybe later I can bring Colette and we can do a double date-"

"No, that's not it," Trevor interrupted with a shake of his head. "Nancy's invited some old friends of hers from out of town to eat with us. I don't know 'em, and I don't want to be the odd one out…" He bowed his head and clasped his hands together. "...please, can you hang out with us? Just for a little while?"

Zelos felt bad for Trevor, he really did, but he just couldn't. Shaking his head, he began "I wish I could, but-"

"There he is now! Oh, and Zelos too. Hi, Zelos!"

Before Zelos could get any further, Nancy appeared from around the corner, accompanied by three others who were trailing behind her. Zelos stiffened as he recognized them, already all-too familiar with that little posse from years of Wilder family reunions.

Oh gods, anyone but my cousins. Sorry Trevor, but you're on your own.

"ZELOS!" One member of the group, a young woman wearing an outfit that definitely would've earned her a dress-code violation if she'd set foot in the Meltokio Grammar School with it, bounded forward to greet Zelos. She covered this distance in an impressive four steps and threw herself into his arms, kissing him right on the mouth. He staggered backwards from her weight and finally gathered himself enough to place his hand on top of her head and wrench her away from his face.

"Ah, Stella. My favorite first-cousin." He spoke the last words pointedly, though with a smile. "How many years has it been now? I'd have thought you'd given up on me and found yourself a man with less, uh, genetic relation to you."

Stella responded with a bubbly giggle, inching herself closer. "As if I could settle for any man but you, Zelos! Ancient royalty always married their cousins to preserve the purity of the bloodline-"

"Just like old times, eh Zelos? Always a true ladies' man." A man with bright red hair pushed Stella aside so that he could toss a playful punch to Zelos' shoulder. "Nice to see some people never change."

"Emmett." Zelos gave the man a nod. "Though sometimes change isn't such a bad thing… I heard you were just given a big promotion within the treasury council. Guess it pays to be a graduate from the Tethe'allan Military Academy, huh?"

"They do train the best," Emmett replied with a wink. "But thanks. It's a pretty big deal- are you coming to lunch with us? I can tell you all about it-"

Trevor stepped in, allowing Zelos some relief. "Sorry, I invited him but he was just telling me that he can't stay. But I'd love to hear your story, Mister uh-"

"Emmett." Nancy gestured back and forth between the group. "Emmett, Stella, Taylor, this is my husband that I've been telling you about. Trevor, these are my friends."

Taylor glanced him over, adjusting a pair of thick-framed glasses. "I see. So this is the commoner. He looks just as quaint as I'd imagined him to."

Zelos felt a surge of anger in his throat at the statement, but he choked it back and forced a smile at them. "I-It's great to see you all again, but I'd better be-"

"Aww, Zelos, you're not staying?" Stella grabbed his arm again. "I was so looking forward to holding hands under the table~."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Stel, you can't expect him to drop everything just for lunch with us. He's the Chosen. No matter what happens, the Chosen's job is never done. Right, Zelos?"

The Chosen, huh?

Up until this point, Zelos had been trying to get away. But his cousin's stupid, smarmy face- the one he'd decided long ago that he didn't want anything to do with- was smiling back at him with an air of understanding. Like he knew what being the Chosen meant. Like he knew what the role of the Chosen was now that the worlds were reunited. The very thought dug at Zelos' skin like… well, just like that awful speech he'd been writing.

Was this what the outcome of the speech would be? Giving everyone in Meltokio- no, in the world- the right to think they knew who the Chosen was and what he should be doing?

Not a chance.

Before Zelos was totally aware of what he was doing, he reached a hand out and slapped it down on Emmett's shoulder. "Actually, I'm totally free this afternoon. Now that the worlds are reunited, there's not much for the Chosen to do. Let's all do lunch- my treat."