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

Dwarven Vow 128:
Tha fortan anns na tha air fhàgail.
There is luck in the leftovers.

39-

Lloyd was taking an afternoon nap in Song's room when his friends arrived, but once he managed to wake up enough to greet them, they could tell he was more alert than before. He wasn't under such strong influence from the pain medicine, and upon discussing their plans to escort him out of Meltokio the next morning, he was much less excitable in his contributions to the conversation.

"...yeah, Dad finally felt comfortable enough to scold me properly. Song gave me another exam this morning after breakfast and said I still needed to take it easy, especially after how worked up I got last night. Dad really let me have it after that- how I needed to be less impulsive and take better care of my body while I'm hurt…" He laughed weakly, shaking his head. "So I'll listen to what you guys tell me, don't worry."

"A wise decision," Raine replied with a satisfied smile. "Genis and I are going out with Zelos tonight to collect the rheiards, so you need to get as much rest as you can in the meantime."

Lloyd nodded and glanced around. "So, uh, where are Genis and Zelos?"

"Zelos stayed back to help his sister," Colette replied, "and Genis was talking with Nika and Bianca about family stuff."

"Family stuff? Geez." Lloyd cracked a cheeky grin. "Are they already that serious? I though Genis just asked Nika out."

Raine shook her head. "It was Bianca who asked him to stay. I think she's more serious about Genis and Nika's relationship than either of them are yet."

"Hah! I guess it's true what they say- when you date someone, you date their whole family."

"Is that a Dwarven Vow?" Colette asked, leaning closer.

"No, just a saying I've heard around. I think it's pretty accurate, though. Right, Sheena?" There was a pause, and while Lloyd tried to catch her eyes, she seemed to be looking elsewhere. "Sheena? Is something wrong? You've been totally quiet this whole time. Quieter than usual."

At the sound of her name a second time, Sheena flinched. "O-oh! Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Yeah, that's how you sound when you're not fine. What is it?"

Raine and Colette both glanced over at Sheena, waiting for her to explain. On the walk there, they'd discussed drawing straws to determine who had to break the news to Lloyd about his new sword. Sheena reluctantly volunteered to do it, figuring that she had a certain responsibility to Lloyd because of their relationship. But she'd been conspicuously quiet throughout the whole conversation, and both Raine and Colette were wondering if they should step in.

"It's-" Colette started, but Sheena cut her off.

"I'm sorry, I should've said something earlier. Do you... remember how you were wearing your new sword on Sunday?"

"Y-yeah, of course I do," Lloyd answered, a confused frown on his face. "If I'd swapped it out for one of my usual swords, I'd have been off-balance, so I wore it on my back instead-" He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening. "Wait, is it okay? It didn't get damaged when I got hit, did it? Sheena!"

She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. The blade was completely shattered."

"What? No, no, no!" Lloyd scrambled to sit up and clamber out of bed. "Let me see!"

"Wait, Lloyd! What did you just say about taking care of yourself-?" Colette jumped up and latched onto his arm, holding him in place.

"No way! You've gotta be kidding me! It can't have-"

"Lloyd, here."

Sheena's voice gave Lloyd and Colette pause. She pulled a metal object from the pouch on the side of her tunic and held it out toward them.

"This is what's left. The rest of the sword took the brunt of the hit for you. It saved your life, Lloyd."

Lloyd reached a hand shakily toward the hilt, wrapping his fingers around the warped outer casing. "It… saved…?"

"That's why you have all those stitches in your back," Raine responded with an affirmative nod. "The doctors at the hospital had to remove all the steel shards before they could close the wound."

"B-but the blade was made in the Dwarven style with iron laminations to prevent shattering-"

"The force contained in the assassin's spell was far greater and more concentrated than anything you'd find in physical combat."

"B-but it's said that the legendary smith Ferrera made blades so flexible that he could roll his sword up and hide it in his beard-"

"Lloyd, now you're just talking nonsense!"

"B-but-"

"What's all this commotion? Lloyd, I thought you were back on bedrest."

Another pair appeared in the doorway, the taller of the two watching with a critical frown. The group looked up, and Lloyd shrunk back in recognition and took a few steps back to sit on the bed.

"...K-Kratos… I'm so sorry…"

"Lloyd, sweetie, what's wrong?" Anna squeezed around Kratos so that she could run over to the bed and sit beside him. Colette and Sheena stepped away to give them some space, and Raine looked over at Kratos.

"Where did you come from? You weren't here when we got here."

"I just arrived to speak with Yuan about plans for tomorrow. I've coordinated militia support for the potential conflict at the Great Tree and needed to get his approval as the sponsor, but I wanted to see Lloyd before that. Anna said he was in here with you three."

"You have really good timing," Sheena began, "...or really bad timing. Either way, we needed to apologize to you- and thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

Lloyd bowed his head and held up the hilt for Kratos to see. "I'm so, so sorry, Kratos. I know this must've been really expensive, and you had it made just for me. I shouldn't have acted so recklessly while carrying it. The fact that you sent me such a wonderful gift made me so happy, and… and…"

As Lloyd's voice trailed off, Kratos reached down and took the warped hilt from his hands. He examined it, turning it over a few times as he did so.

"A gift… Anna, did you send Lloyd a gift and put my name on it?"

"Huh?" Anna asked, sitting up straighter. "No, of course not."

"Lloyd, where did you get this?" Kratos handed the hilt back to him. "I've never seen a handle with quite that design before."

Lloyd accepted the hilt back, but spent a few seconds looking back and forth between it and Kratos. "W-wait… what? You didn't send this to me? But it came in the mail with your gift! The one that said 'Happy Unification Day or Whatever, from Kratos."

"Or whatever?" Anna repeated, shooting a glance back at Kratos. "Happy unification day or whatever?"

Kratos flushed and buried his face in one hand. "That damned Yuan must have written the card…" He let out a sigh before picking his head up and continuing. "Yes, I sent you a gift, but only the vase-"

"It was an incense burner."

"-only the incense burner. If you received a sword, I had nothing to do with it."

"B-but they came in the mail together!" Lloyd protested. "If it wasn't you, then-"

"Actually, they weren't necessarily together," Sheena interrupted. "They were in separate boxes, remember? We assumed they were a set, but that was our own error. You said yourself, you'd told Kratos the day before that you wanted a sword like this. That being fresh in your mind, plus having received it at the same time as his gift, you'd naturally assume it was from him."

Lloyd frowned and looked over the hilt carefully. "But who besides Kratos would send me a sword like thi-?"

He froze, unable to even finish his question. The hilt fell from his hands and brushed against his leg before tumbling onto the floor. He fumbled for it as he jumped up from the bed and staggered toward the door.

"Dammit, damn it all! Dad must think I'm such an ungrateful little-" He got past the door and out into the hallway before stopping briefly and poking his head back into the room. "Where is Dad?"

"H-he's downstairs. Song promised to show him the kiln… but Lloyd, you can't-" Anna chased after him and grabbed hold of his arm. "-you can't run all the way down there. Just stay in bed and let us go get Dirk for you."

"No way! I've gotta find him myself!"

Lloyd wrenched his arm from her grip and made a dash down the hall. Colette and Sheena ran to help Anna, but they got stuck at the doorway as they both tried to exit at the same time. They were thrown off-balance as they bumped into one another and began to apologize, but Raine pushed them both out of the way so that she could get through.

"That idiot's going to hurt himself- and after all Doctor Lu has done to take care of him!"

Anna followed after Raine, but Colette and Sheena looked to Kratos for confirmation before they took off with the rest of the group. "Should we…?" Colette began, and stopped as Kratos responded with a dismissive wave.

"It's probably best not to have us all running around this little apartment. Let Anna and Raine take care of this one. If anyone can keep Lloyd from hurting himself, it's them."

Colette and Sheena weren't satisfied with that, but they stayed anyway. It was better than causing even more of a commotion.

"-so that the heat from the fuel circulates more evenly. This one is a pretty common kiln used here in Meltokio, but it can still create a reduction atmosphere similar to the large dragon kilns we used back in my hometown. The flue vents into the chimney here, see?"

Song was busy showing off his equipment to Dirk, positively ecstatic to find another craftsman interested in learning about his techniques. His enthusiasm was contagious, and Dirk couldn't help a smile as he watched.

"Whit temperature dae ye fire at, generally?" he asked, examining the firebox on the underside of the kiln.

"Well, typically I like to stay around 1250 degrees centigrade to get the best colors. It's easier to control using oil as fuel, but I prefer wood, since that's what we always used when I was a child."

"Keepin' wood fires at a constant temperature is a toogh job, especially when it's 'at hot. I use coal myself, an' hardly ever gie tae those kinds ay temperatures except wi' certain types ay steel. Is thaur a specific wood ye always use?"

Song ran over to a wood pile in the corner, holding up a couple of pieces to show off. "We use various types of wood, but pine is most common. Actually, that's what my name means- Song, written with the character for 'pine tree."

"Aye, is 'at sae? Someain named ye well, 'en."

"Haha, ya think?" Song blushed and put the wood back so that he had a hand free to self-consciously cover one cheek. "Oh, I haven't even shown you the best part! Let's go look at the outside of the chimney-"

"DAD?"

The voice from the top of the staircase cut off their conversation, and Dirk spun around to face the doorway. "Lloyd, whit ur ye doin'-" he began, more of a reprimand than a question, considering Lloyd was out of bed and had descended at least one flight of steps already. But Lloyd began to respond anyway as he rushed down the stairs to the basement workshop.

"I-I'm so sorry, I realized I never properly thanked you, and I just had to- agh!"

His foot hit the edge of one of the stairs at an angle as he descended, and it slipped against the smooth wood onto the step below, sending Lloyd toppling over. He reached frantically for the banister, but he hadn't had a grip on it to start with, and didn't manage to get ahold of it before it was too late. He skidded down the last few steps on his back, coming to rest in a split second at the bottom of the staircase with a pained expression.

"...oh gods, that hurt…"

"Lloyd!" Song shrieked, dashing over to kneel beside him and propping him up to examine. "What part of BEDREST do you not understand?!"

Dirk, meanwhile, had retrieved the metal object that had gone flying out of Lloyd's hand when he'd fallen. It had skidded across the basement floor and come to a stop practically at his feet, so he didn't have to go far. But examining it more closely gave him pause. "Lloyd, whit is-?"

"I'm so sorry, Dad…" Lloyd murmured, his words forced through gritted teeth despite the pain. "The sword you worked so hard on for my sake… was totally destroyed… all because of me…"

Song looked up for a split second once he'd finished unbuttoning Lloyd's shirt. "That sword- you made that sword?"

"...aye," Dirk responded, still staring at the warped remains of the hilt. "Bit I didnae 'hink ye'd gotten it yet-"

"That sword was incredibly well-made! Er, I don't know anything about swords, but from a doctor's point of view, it was a literal life-saver. Lloyd would've been dead without it. ...ah, shit. Lloyd, you've opened up five of your damn stitches. Can you not listen to people when they tell you to be careful? Dirk, get me the first aid kit that's on the bottom shelf over there."

Dirk was quiet as he retrieved the kit, following Song's instructions with the gauze and alcohol to clean the area. In the meantime, another pair of voices from the top of the stairs could be heard, and Song called up to them as he recognized them.

"Hey, Anna- fair warning, there's blood and an open wound down here, so I'd rather you not get close if you feel like you're going to vomit-"

The warning wasn't needed, but it also didn't do much good, as she was already at the bottom of the stairs by the time Song finished talking. "Lloyd, sweetie, what did you do?!"

"Fell down the stairs, it looks like," Raine added as she made it to the bottom of the staircase beside Anna. "You just can't follow directions, can you?"

"I-it already hurts bad enough, Raine…" Lloyd stammered. "Don't make it worse."

"I have to make it worse! You don't seem to learn any other way-"

"That's enaw," Dirk interrupted, and Raine took a step back at the seriousness in his voice. "Song, whit did ye mean when ye said 'at he'd be dead withit this sword?"

Song pressed an absorbent bandage against Lloyd's back so that he could take his focus off the wound for a moment. "Well, the attack that hit Lloyd was concentrated into an extremely small area of focus. It was meant as a killing blow, to rip open the target's chest cavity and cause death through severe organ trauma and hemorrhaging. But because it hit the blade straight on, the sword absorbed the majority of the shock. It shattered and prevented the attack from killing Lloyd instantly."

"Sae it…"

"It saved his life," Raine finished. "Did you make this sword, Dirk? If so, why didn't you say anything?"

"Aye, I did. Though I didnae 'hink it hud arrived yet. Th' mail tae Luin has bin unreliable since it was rooted ben Palmacosta instead ay bein' delivered directly tae th' port. I was late finishin' it an' didnae want tae ruin th' surprise ay th' gift if he hadn't gotten it. I didnae realize…"

"You worked so hard on it… it was a perfect, one-of-a-kind gift… I loved it so much… I'm so, so sorry, Dad…" Lloyd spoke with tears at the edges of his eyes, holding back sobs. Dirk sighed, reaching out and placing his hand against Lloyd's cheek.

"Ye didnae read mah note, did ye, Lloyd?"

"...n-note?"

"Th' sword was a gift, aye, bit it was also a challenge. I speart ye tae show me ye waur serious abit thes smithin' school by agreein' tae tak' oan a Dwarven-style blade as yer first project. Ye're a dual-swordsman, min'? Thes one was my gift tae ye, an' the companion sword was tae be forged by ye. That's whit mah note said."

"D-Dad…" Lloyd's face was already pale, but the way his eyes widened and his mouth hung agape seemed to heighten the effect. "I'm so sorry… you finally gave me a chance to prove myself and I broke it before I could even say thank you..."

Dirk wiped the tears away from Lloyd's eyes. "Swords can aye be forged again. Th' metalwork oan th' hilt can be salvaged an' we can make anither blade. Bit I only hae one son. If it means savin' yer life, I'd sacrifice a thousand swords, a million hours in th' forge… 'at is replaceable. Ye aren't." He paused and grinned. "If ye pure want tae apologize, dae it by stayin' in bed and lettin' yer body heal like th' doctur says. Ye've ne'er been guid at followin' directions, bit just thes aince, can ye please dae as ye're tald?"

"D-Dad…" Lloyd was crying openly by this point, his speech shaky and his eyes glazed over in pain. "...I-I love you so much, Dad…"

"Uh, Professor Sage, can you help me get Lloyd back upstairs?" Song asked, looking up at Raine. "My surgical thread is up there, as well as the anaesthetic. And Anna, if you could get me a package of sterile gloves, that'd be great."

Raine bent down to help get a better grip on Lloyd's legs, allowing Song to position his torso so that there wasn't too much stress on his back. "I say we skip the anaesthetic," she suggested. "He deserves a little extra punishment for acting so recklessly-"

"Nope. Nope. Nope. I am not going to stitch up a patient without anaesthetic- especially not one who's bigger and stronger than I am. Not happening. Not a chance."

Anna gave a nervous laugh. "You really are hard on him, aren't you, Raine?"

"I-I'm strict with him because I care!" she stammered. "Honestly, you sound like Genis! So what if he needs a little extra punishment to keep him on the right track… Dirk knows what I'm talking about, right?"

"Actually, I agree wi' Anna oan thes one. 'at's jist tae much."

"You too?! Come on…"

"Where to start…?" Nika murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. "How about this, Bianca? Since you're the one who asked, you tell me what you'd like to know."

Bianca smiled and leaned closer. "You always said you wouldn't tell me his name until I was older. Am I older yet?"

"That depends. You're resourceful, and that worries me. Are you mature enough to promise that you won't use his name to embark on some wild adventure to track him down?"

There was a pause as Bianca thought it over. She closed her eyes, frowned, and then shook her head. "You're right. I can't promise that."

Genis placed a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. "At least you're honest with yourself."

Bianca didn't respond to his comment, too wrapped up in thinking of another question. "So…" she began, looking back up at her sister, "...how did he meet Mama?"

"He worked at the estate too," Nika replied, "so he and Mama always kind of knew of each other. But it wasn't until a couple years after my dad died that they started to take interest in one another. Your father would often work late and requested that Mama bring cake and coffee to his quarters in the evenings. Some nights she'd stay with him and not get back until morning. Our coworkers in the kitchen worried about Mama, but I thought it was sweet..."

Seles leaned over and whispered to her brother as Nika continued the description.

"They probably had reason to worry for her. A half-elf indentured servant could very easily be taken advantage of by a higher-up, especially a human-"

Zelos cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Don't let Bianca hear you. This is her parents' love story, remember?"

"Would you have wanted to pretend that Father and your mother were in love even if it wasn't true?"

"If the truth hadn't been so painfully obvious?" Zelos hissed in reply. "Yeah, I think I might have. At least while I was a child."

"...and that even though he was busy with his work," Nika continued on, unaware of the Wilders' aside, "he always made time for Mama and me."

"What job did he do? Cleaning or something?"

"Oh, no!" Nika shook her head. "He worked directly with Master Wilbur handling important financial and business transactions. I didn't understand at first, so he sat me down one day and explained it to me. While I didn't really get all of it, he was patient with me and answered all of my questions." She closed her eyes, a fond smile passing over her face. "Being with him, I almost felt like I was really in school. He was like my own personal teacher."

Bianca pressed closer to Nika's side, her eyes growing wider as she listened. "What kinda things did he teach you?"

"All kinds! He let me borrow his own books and taught me things like mathematics and literature. We did problem sets together, and he'd give me assignments to work on myself- or he'd let me borrow a novel and read on my own time so that we could discuss it when we were together. He even went through and painstakingly graded my work, looking over every math problem and reading my essays on the literature themes…" Nika places a hand against one cheek as her face flushed with excitement. "...he'd scold me when I got things wrong, just like a real teacher would, but he'd also give me wonderful praise when I did well. I recall once when I got an A+ on a book report- it was a novel called 'The Good Earth,' all about a poor man who suddenly gains wealth and finds that happiness comes from family and not money- oh, he was so proud of me! The way his eyes sparkled… I'll never forget that day."

"Wow."

She had gotten so wrapped up in her personal flashback that she was surprised to open her eyes and find Genis staring at her, face bright red.

"...huh? Genis? You're staring- did I say something weird?"

"Wh-what? No, no!" Genis frantically waved his hands in front of him, trying to distract from his face without hitting Bianca. "I just, uh… th-that is… you looked so happy, I could see in your eyes how much you looked up to him. And seeing you that happy makes me really happytoo. Your face is…er, I mean, not just your face but the rest of you too… I-I mean, you're always pretty, but when you light up like this, you're just… um..." He bowed his head and quickly blurted out "SORRY, I'M INTERRUPTING. PLEASE CONTINUE."

Zelos smirked and muttered "smooth move, Romeo" under his breath.

Bianca was giggling at him, so Genis turned away so that she couldn't see his red face and waved her back in her sister's direction. "D-don't you have some other questions?"

Wiping a tear away from her eye, Bianca managed to stifle her laughter and continue the conversation. "S-so, Nika, how come he left the estate? Did he get a new job?"

"That's right. He got a prestigious job at some military institution and moved there to work."

"When was this? How old was I?"

Nika paused and thought it over, her expression clouding. "Ah, well… to tell the truth, I'm not completely sure. Around that time I fell very ill, so it's all a bit blurry. I was bedridden for a while, so I can't say for sure, but I think he left a few months before you were born."

Bianca froze, her earlier amusement completely gone. "B-before…? I thought he at least stayed until I was born."

"Did I say that? I don't think I ever did…" Nika forced a smile. "B-but even so, I send pictures regularly, so it isn't like he's never seen you…"

"Uh," Genis broke in, raising one hand, "may I ask what happened to you? I didn't know you'd been so sick-"

"Huh? Oh, no, no!" Nika was quick to cut him off. "It was just a one-time infection, really. I'm fine now, and that's all that matters."

"That's not-"

"But you didn't get to say goodbye to my dad, did you?" Bianca broke in, cutting off Genis' worried protests.

"No, I didn't."

"Doesn't that make you sad?"

"...a little, I suppose," Nika answered. "But it's not like I'd never see him again. My only real regret is being too sick to be there for you when you were born… I was so out of it, I couldn't get out of bed or do anything, I was unconscious half the time… it was like I fell asleep, then woke up three weeks later and you were just there."

There was a moment of silence. Bianca seemed to shrink a little, her eyes falling to the floor.

"I was there… and Mama wasn't."

Zelos was listening closely to the tone of their voices, and the way Bianca said that made his stomach churn. That was the voice of someone who blamed themselves for a tragedy; someone who wanted to apologize and yet felt that what they'd done was unforgivable. He didn't like that tone at all. It was too familiar- especially to hear from a child.

"D-don't you have any more questions? We're talking about your dad, remember?" Nika forced a smile and continued, her voice overly pleasant in light of the room's atmosphere. Bianca turned her face back up and replied with the same seriousness.

"Is that why my dad doesn't want anything to do with me? Does he blame me for taking Mama away from him?"

"What?" Nika's face went pale. "No, of course not! It's not anything like that! How could you even-"

"But if it weren't for me, Mama would still be alive!" Bianca protested. "It's my fault! Why else would he hate me so much?"

"He… he doesn't hate you… he could never…" Nika reached out and placed her hands on Bianca's shoulders, her expression growing stern. "Don't ever say that it's your fault. You hear me? Don't believe it, don't even think it. It wasn't your choice for Mama to go through what she did. It was her choice and hers alone."

"But-!" Bianca started to argue, but Nika cut her off.

"Mama knew it was dangerous for you to be born. She wasn't the right age to have a baby, and there were complications from the start. She knew she was putting herself in danger. But she wanted you to live, Bianca. She sacrificed her health, her wellbeing, her very life so that you could have a chance." Nika wrapped her arms around Bianca, pulling her in close. "Mama did what she did because she loved you. She was willing to sacrifice everything for you. So don't ever think…"

As Nika comforted her sister, Seles stood up and turned abruptly toward the door. "I've heard enough. I'm going to my room."

Zelos scrambled to his feet, chasing after her. "S-Seles, wait! Hold on a sec! This isn't-"

"Zelos?" Genis spoke up, staring across the room at where Seles had been sitting. "What happened-?"

"Oh, Seles is just tired! I'm gonna escort her back to her room so she can take a nap. I'm so sorry for interrupting. Don't mind me!"

"Wait!" Nika called out for him as he reached the door. "Was it something I said?"

The question gave him pause for a split second.

"No," Zelos lied. "Of course it wasn't."