As usual, I don't own anything (except too many ocs and subplots that need resolving), I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow 62:
Slàinte nas fheàrr na beairteas.
Health is better than wealth.

40-

"Seles! Hey! Seles- hold on a second!"

Zelos nearly tripped on the rug as he stumbled down the hallway after his sister. Seles didn't turn around or acknowledge him, but she didn't change her pace, and he was eventually able to catch up.

"Hey, will you stop for a second?" he asked, grabbing one of her wrists to hold her in place. "About what Nika said back there… I know why you're upset, but the thing is-"

"Upset?" Seles finally spoke to him, pulling her hand away and turning around so that they could talk face to face. "You're mistaken. I'm just tired. Didn't I say that?"

Zelos let out a frustrated sigh. "Seles, come on now. Don't play this game with me."

"I'm not playing a game. I don't have the energy for it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my afternoon nap-" Seles turned around again, starting back down the hall. However, Zelos gave one more appeal.

"Seles, listen to me! I don't think she's right!"

Seles stopped, but didn't turn around. "Who?"

"Nika! Her mom! I…" Zelos stopped, let out a sigh, and smoothed his hair as he drew in another deep breath. "Maybe you're not upset, and that's fine. I can't speak for you. But I can speak for me, and I want you to know that I don't think the girls' mother made the right decision. The way Nika talked, she made her mother out to be some kind of hero, who sacrificed herself for Bianca's sake. But I don't find that heroic."

Seles frowned. "Zelos-"

"No, I guess that's not right to say. Bianca's a good kid and I'm happy she's alive. Having known her, I'd hate to think of her never being born. But she's grown up without a mother, clearly troubled by a sense of guilt that no child her age should have to deal with. And Nika- not only did she lose her mom at a young age, but she practically became a mom when she was… what… thirteen? All because her mother willingly allowed herself to die. She left those two children and Bianca's father alone. What she did wasn't wrong, but…" Zelos had been looking away up to this point, not wanting to scare Seles off with an intense glare. But he stopped speaking momentarily so that he could look up and catch his sister's eyes. "...if she had made a different decision; if she had chosen to prioritize her own life… she wouldn't have been wrong either. At least, that's what I believe."

Seles forced a pained smile and looked away. "It's incredible how you can say that with a straight face. Everything you just said- it contradicts itself. You're a hypocrite. We're all hypocrites."

"Seles-"

"You of all people know how much it would hurt a child to think they never should have been born. And here you are saying it would have been okay if Bianca never had. What's the point in that?"

"I didn't say it was okay!" Zelos grabbed Seles' face, his hands resting against her cheeks, and turned her head back to face him. "But it's not okay that Nika lost her mother either! Sometimes in life, we're forced to make choices where neither option is 'okay.' Whether it's our fault or not, it happens, and we have to make the choice that we believe will hurt the fewest people. We have to make the choice that we, ourselves, can live with. And if it is our fault, then we learn from our mistakes and move on. That's life."

Seles couldn't move her head with his hands against her cheeks, but she was making a clear effort not to look him in the eye. He sighed and pulled his hands away, taking a step back.

"Look at it this way. I've made a lot of bad choices in my life. I've made the wrong decision when there was a right decision to make. I did it so many times. But I can't ever go back and change what I did. As long as I learn from those times I didn't choose the right path, then letting my regrets weigh down on me only prevents me from making the right decisions in the future. So, to see someone I love obsessing over making a wrong decision when there wasn't even a right decision at all…" He let out a forced laugh. "...well, that's just stupid, y'know?"

Seles was quiet, looking down to the floor. She didn't say anything at first, just shifting her weight back and forth as she thought it over. Finally, she looked up, bit her lip, and threw her arms around her brother. Zelos was thrown off momentarily, but once he realized what was happening, he pulled her close.

"Thank you," Seles spoke, her voice muffled against his chest so that he almost couldn't hear her. "As much as I hate to admit it, I needed to hear that."

"What? That you can never do as much wrong as I have?" Zelos laughed.

"I guess that's part of it."

"Only part?"

"Well…" She shook her head, staying close to him. "...I want to take better care of my health. I want to improve so that someday, if faced with the same circumstances, I'll be able to make a right decision."

"Heh, I'd rather believe that you've learned your lesson and won't get careless again once your health has improved-"

"Brother!"

Zelos released his grip, prompting her to do the same, and then stepped back. "Sorry, I'm keeping you from your nap," he said with a grin and a wink. "You're still tired, right?"

"Oh, that's…" Seles blushed. "I, uh, was probably just drowsy after having such a big lunch. I'm okay-"

"What? After all that grief you gave me?" Zelos laughed again, this time loudly and genuinely, looping his arm around her shoulders. "Come on. Let's go."

"Go where?" Seles dug her heels into the carpet as he tried to corral her down the hallway.

"Uh, your room? You said yourself, you're late for your afternoon nap. Hazel will have my hide if I don't make sure you get your rest."

"Brother, please!"

Seles continued to protest, but it was more playful banter than any genuine argument, and Zelos could tell. He played along, escorting her back to her room and staying by her side as she made herself comfortable. The two continued their conversation for a while, Zelos perched on the end of the bed. Eventually he could see her starting to doze off, and left the room with a promise that he'd have dinner with her before leaving the city that evening.

"...be careful," she warned as he closed the door.

"Don't worry. I will."

Zelos closed the door gently, waiting for it to click before he took his hand off the knob. He turned and headed back toward the drawing room where he'd left Genis and the others before. They might not still be there, but it was a good place to start looking for them, at least. He wanted to apologize to them, especially to Nika and Bianca, hoping that Seles running off hadn't startled them.

"Oh, Mister Zelos! There you are!"

Seeing the look on Nika's face as she suddenly appeared around the corner, waving at him from down the hall, Zelos stopped short. It was a worried, almost pained expression.

No such luck, huh?

"Hey, Nika, what's going on-" Zelos stopped and waved, trying to keep things casual, but that only seemed to further her panic. Seeing him stop, she sprinted to make up the distance between them and had to pause to catch her breath before continuing.

"M...Mister… Zelos… I've been looking for you. Is Miss Seles alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She was just tired, so I took her back to her room and hung out with her 'til she fell asleep. She usually takes an afternoon nap around two o'clock, so she was a little overdue- you didn't scare her off or anything."

"I see… but even so…" Nika blushed, but she kept her eyes on Zelos. "Genis told me what happened. I had no idea, but I can see how what I said would've hurt you terribly-"

"Genis told you?" Zelos interrupted. "What did he tell you, exactly? What does he know?"

"Huh? Should he not have-?" Nika cut off her sentence and paused before rephrasing. "I mean, he didn't tell us much. Just that you and Seles lost your mothers when you were young, around the same time. I'm sorry if that was something you'd prefer to keep private- I promise I won't share it with anyone, and I'll talk to Bianca about-"

"No, no, that's fine!" Zelos had let out a sigh of relief as she spoke, but when she started to get frantic, he broke in again. "That's pretty much common knowledge. I was afraid that Colette might've said something else to Genis that I'd rather not- er, never mind. Point is- Seles says she's fine, that her leaving had nothing to do with what you said. And if it did bother her, it's her fault for staying and eavesdropping on your personal conversation. That's on her, not you."

"It really wasn't eavesdropping, since we knew she was there," Nika replied, wringing her hands. "So I still want to apologize to both of you. And say that I'm sorry about what happened with your mother."

By this point, Zelos had begun to realize that telling her not to apologize was no good. He just had to accept her apology, or this was going to go on forever.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. It actually means something coming from someone who knows what that's like."

Nika stood up straighter, putting her hands down by her sides. "Oh! Well, I mean, it was probably tougher for you. You were a little younger, and besides, I wasn't exactly… close to my mom."

"You weren't?"

"It's complicated."

Zelos smiled. That was the universal code for 'I don't want to talk about it,' and he respected that. "I see. Well, it's still tough. It was tough on my end, and my mom wasn't exactly close to me."

For the first time in the conversation, Nika smiled. "That's too bad. You're really a kind person, Mister Zelos."

"Hah! I'm not as bad as Genis makes me out to be, is what you're saying?"

"Wh-what? Oh no, he doesn't…" Nika's smile disappeared as she tried to defend Genis, but Zelos could see in her eyes as her voice trailed off that she'd almost cornered herself into a lie and was trying to regroup. "...I mean, he just…"

"It's okay. I don't hold it against him. He's got plenty of reasons to dislike me." Zelos held his hands up and shrugged his shoulders. "And besides that, we just like to mess with each other. That's how our friendship works. Speaking of which, where'd he and Bianca run off to?"

"Professor Raine and the others just got back from the doctor's house, so Genis and Bianca went to speak to them."

"Oh, good! They can give us an update on how Lloyd's doing while we eat dinner." Zelos started down the hallway and motioned for Nika to follow him. "Come on."

"Yes, sir!"

Her response was so formal and rehearsed, it reminded Zelos of the way his servants spoke. The thought reminded him of something that had been on his mind since that morning at Professor Low's, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Hey, come to think of it, I was wondering… your surname is Wilbur, right? And you mentioned a 'Master Wilbur' when you were taking earlier. Did you work for a Wilbur family at one time?"

"That's right!" Nika responded with a nod, her smile returning. "My family worked at the Crystal Paradise resort in the Toize Valley- the one that's run by the Duke and Duchess of Toize."

The two had been walking side by side down the hall toward the staircase, but Zelos stopped midway as she finished her statement.

"No. Way."

Nika had to stop and turn around. "What's that? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just… I didn't realize it was that Wilbur family. That's my aunt and uncle."

"Your what?"

"Yeah!" Zelos took a couple steps forward to catch up with Nika, and then another so that he could lean against the railing along the edge of the staircase. "Aunt Charis' maiden name was Wilder. She's my father's younger sister."

Nika stared quietly for a moment before running and grabbing Zelos' hands. "That's it! I knew you looked familiar, but I couldn't place it! It's been a long time, but I remember clearly; you so resemble Lady Charis and Young Master Emmett!"

Zelos tried not to let his expression falter as he heard Emmett's name. "Yeah, that's… that's right. It's that Wilder red hair. Once you're part of the family, there's no escaping it."

Nika giggled, moving one hand to cover her mouth. "You're just as charming as the young master too."

Zelos once again forced a smile. "Thanks… honestly, I'm glad you have fond memories of him. He had a reputation of treating the servants like-" He cut off and shook his head. "-er, not treating the servants well."

"Really? That's strange. He was always so kind and friendly to me."

"Yeah, well," Zelos replied, trying not to cringe as he said it, "I'm sure he was friendly with all the servants around your age."

Nika laughed again, but this time it sounded more nervous. "To tell the truth, there really weren't any other servants around my age. Most of them were far older, old enough to be my parents or even grandparents. I never minded being surrounded by adults, but it was nice that the young master was willing to be friends with me."

If Zelos had any remaining traces of a smile before, they were long gone by that point. He stared, examining her with a critical gaze, the thoughts in his head moving so fast that he couldn't quite pin them down. "You're not…"

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh!" Zelos' shoulders went stiff and he raised his hands in front of his face, waving them dismissively. "It's nothing; don't worry. I got carried away there for a second. I'm just so surprised that you used to work with my family, my brain started jumping to weird ideas before I could stop it."

"Weird ideas?"

He shook his head, hoping that would suffice to answer her question. "Emmett and I were close as kids, but we grew apart once we got older and we haven't managed to catch up. But Aunt Charis has stayed in touch occasionally." Zelos grinned and winked. "She's the cool aunt I can count on to give me good birthday presents. Not, like, socks or handkerchiefs or crap, y'know? Last year she gave me a gift inside a puzzle box that I had to decipher before I could even get into it-"

Nika didn't cover her mouth this time, laughing openly and throwing her arms around Zelos' neck as she tackled him in a hug. He was caught off-guard and stumbled backwards a few steps, but he caught his balance on the railing and was able to keep from falling over.

"You really are Lady Charis' nephew! This is amazing!" Nika was saying. "We're practically family!"

"Family, huh? I guess so."

Nika slid down from his shoulders, keeping just her arms hooked around them for balance. Zelos caught her waist so that she didn't fall, but it felt a little too intimate a gesture and he tried to encourage her to let go altogether.

"I think we're missing out on what the others are talking about. Why don't we-?"

"Nika? Did you find Zelos-?"

By the time Genis finished his question, he was already at the top of the stairs with Raine following behind him. They both stopped short and stared, Raine's mouth agape and Genis' face turning a bright red.

Before either of them could speak, Nika jumped away from Zelos and ran to approach them instead. "G-Genis, this isn't-! I didn't mean to... I-I just got excited when Zelos told me that he knew the Wilbur family I used to work for…"

"Don't worry," Zelos spoke up, casually leaning back against the railing, as he already knew exactly how this was going to go. Excuses weren't going to get him anywhere. He might as well accept their wrath like a man. "If they're gonna get mad at anyone, it's gonna be me. You're not in trouble."

Raine was already rolling up her sleeves. "You're damn right it's you we're going to blame-"

"N-no! He didn't do anything to me! In fact, he looked like he was uncomfortable and I totally ignored it…" Nika was already hanging onto one of Genis' arms and reached out to grab Raine's wrist with her free hand. "Don't worry about us, please. We're, like, cousins."

Genis shot Zelos a glare. "Cousins?"

"Like cousins," Zelos answered with a shrug and a wink. "So don't worry about it. In fact, now I want you two to be together even more! Wouldn't it be great for the two of us to be like cousins?"

"I don't want to be your cousin, Zelos."

"See? That's exactly what my real cousins say! We're practically family already!"

Raine let out a long, frustrated sigh. "We really don't have time to deal with your nonsense tonight, Zelos. Nika, why don't you go find Bianca? She's downstairs in the dining room talking with Colette and Sheena right now. Genis and I need to discuss our plans with Zelos right now, since the situation has changed somewhat."

"Y-yes, of course!" Nika let go of Raine's wrist and squeezed Genis' hand before disappearing down the staircase. There were a few moments of silence that followed, but Genis didn't need words to get his feelings across to Zelos. His expression said everything.

"Hey, buddy, don't look at me like that!" Zelos put his hands up. "Even if I weren't already head-over-heels for Colette, it's totally against my code to go after my bro's girl. Besides, Nika isn't my type anyway. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Not your type?" Genis asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Raine scoffed. "We should've known not to worry. As if Zelos would ever lower himself to pursue a half-elf-"

"That's not it! I'm just saying she's not Colette! Geez, you're determined to be mad at me, aren't you?"

Genis didn't look fazed by Zelos', excuse, but he looked up at Raine and she let out a sigh.

"Fine, we'll put this argument on hold for now. What's most important is altering our plans as best we can. Lloyd's condition really isn't ideal for transporting on a rheiard right now, so we'll have to figure out a safer way to get him to Iselia."

Zelos took a step over to one of the chairs that was placed against the wall, and motioned the others to sit down with him. "What do you mean, his condition isn't ideal? He seemed to be doing well enough yesterday."

Genis sat down beside Zelos- taking a moment to scoot the chair away a little- and replied with restrained frustration. "Yeah, well, that was yesterday."

"Did something happen?"

Raine didn't sit down, instead standing by Genis' chair. She wasn't as good at hiding her own frustration, and had to speak partially through clenched teeth. "Lloyd was healing very well until he decided to fall down an entire flight of stairs."

"He did WHAT?! How? When?"

"Just tonight," Raine answered. "He got worked up about his new sword being broken and tried to run down the stairs to speak to his father about it. Obviously it didn't go so well."

Zelos groaned, placing his head in one hand. "Gods, I love that idiot, but sometimes I wonder if he really has a brain in there."

"Song had to clean and re-stitch the wound, and it's likely that Lloyd will still be feeling some of the effects of the medication when we leave tomorrow."

"It's just local anesthesia, right? Song wouldn't put him under again just for stitches."

"Right," Genis replied, "but he'll still be in pain. He'll need something."

"I said he ought to have to bear it for a little while to teach him his lesson," Raine added, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "but the others said that was inhumane."

Zelos cringed. "Yeah, I think that's a bit much."

"For now," Genis began again, "we just need to figure out an alternative to rheiard transportation. Either that, or figure out some way to change up the design so that we can stabilize him while we're moving."

"Did Yuan and Kratos have any suggestions? They're the ones who'd know all the rheiards' functionalities."

Raine shook her head. "No, unfortunately they didn't. Kratos said that it would be better if we found an alternative mode of transportation, such as a boat. But then my worry would be transporting Lloyd safely to a port without being discovered. And I'd… prefer not to go by boat if we can help it."

Zelos closed his eyes, thinking it over. "How did Dirk get here so fast? He used some sort of secret underground Dwarven shortcut, right?"

"Yes, we asked him about that. He said that it was far too dangerous a trip for someone who's not an experienced spelunker- especially if that person were injured."

Genis sat back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. "What I'm wondering is whether we can reduce the risk of injury on a rheiard with some sort of brace. The wound is in Lloyd's back, right? So what if we got a back brace or something? They make those for people to wear following back surgery, don't they?"

"I considered that," Raine replied, "but with everything that happened at the hospital, I don't know if we could get one so easily. Song might be able to, but he's so busy, I don't want to-"

"I can get one."

Zelos' statement cut her off, and she and Genis both looked over at him. "You?" Raine asked. "Wouldn't someone get suspicious?"

"Yeah- if it were me. But I know a girl who works at the hospital who could get one for me. And she kinda owes me a favor anyway."

"Oh!" Genis and Raine exchanged a look of realization at the same time. "Hazel!"

"She's coming over later tonight to see Seles. I hate to interrupt them, since there are some things they really need to talk about, but… I'm sure Hazel can get a brace over to Colette and Sheena by tomorrow morning. That way, the three of us can go retrieve the rheiards tonight as planned." Zelos stood up and pointed toward the stairs. "Let's go talk it over."

"Right!" Genis hopped up beside him and moved ahead to descend the staircase. Zelos followed after him, unable to stifle an amused laugh at his hurry. However, he had only made it down one step before he felt someone grab the back of his shirt.

"Zelos."

It was Raine's voice.

"Yes?" Zelos turned around, offering a pleasant smile. The expression on Raine's face, however, wasn't pleasant at all.

"Remember what I told you when you started dating Colette?"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Zelos replied with a wave of his hand. "If I ever broke her heart, you'd kill me. Point noted. Now can we-"

"An addition to that," Raine broke in before he could go anywhere. "If you manage to break both Colette and Genis' hearts in one fell swoop, I will make you wish you were dead."

Zelos smiled, but it was more a nervous reflex than a genuine smile. "Hah… also noted. Thanks."

He stayed where he was standing, so Raine walked around him, descending the staircase on the opposite side. Once she got about halfway down, he found his voice again, and called out.

"Hang on just a sec, Raine!"

"What?"

Zelos stumbled down a few extra steps so that he was closer. "Listen… about Nika-"

"I'm not interested in hearing your excuses. My statement stands and that's all that matters at this point."

"No, it's not that! It's…" Zelos paused, shaking his head to collect his thoughts. "Look, Genis really likes her, and I think that's fantastic. I'm not one to talk about age differences, especially when she's only- what, two or three years older? But I think that, because of all that he's been through with the world regeneration and the exsphere problems, and all, he underestimates her experiences. Genis likes to think he's this mature, grown-up adult, but he's still a kid in many ways. I can't say for sure, and I'd never pry too far, but I get the feeling that Nika has been through some… some difficult situations in the past. And if Genis wants this relationship to go anywhere, he needs to realize that and respect her for her experience the way she respects him for his."

Raine's expression had softened as she listened to him speak, and once he finished, all she could say was "Zelos, that's… that's awfully observant of you."

"I'm just saying this to you because, if anyone has any idea how hard Nika's had it, it'd be you. So, y'know, do with this what you will. I just wanted you to think about it."

"..." Raine stepped aside, allowed Zelos to pass her on the stairs, and then followed him down to the main floor. They walked side by side as they started down the hall toward the dining room. "...thank you, Zelos. I'll remember that."

"On another note," Zelos continued as they walked, "I'm curious. She wears those loose, flowy dresses, so I didn't notice before she hugged me, but Nika is pretty impressive, if you catch my drift. Like, totally on Sheena's level, and maybe even getting up into Professor Low's territory… Do you and Genis have some sort of shared thing about girls with big-"

"Zelos," Raine hissed, "quit while you're ahead."

"-I'm just asking, like, is it mother issues? Because I can see it being mother issues, and-"

"Zelos. Quit while you're ahead."

That's what her voice said, but her expression told Zelos that he was about to get punched.

"Alright, already! Geez, I was just asking…"