Do you remember it, Jude?

I guess you wouldn't.

Everything was suddenly dark. Suffocating. Wet?

Was he-

It was a long, long time ago. You were still a baby.

He was underwater! How did he end up here? That…The lance of Kresnik, that was what Milla called it, right? It exploded. They asked him to-

Where your mother went after your father. She took you with her to this big building. It scared you, you were clinging so tightly to her.

The Four Great Spirits had asked him to keep Milla safe. Because of- Because of something- Keep Milla safe- Milla-

But at the front doors, the guard told her she couldn't go any further with you.

Jude looked around, eyes wide and bright under the water as he flailed to gather his bearings. Holding his breath, frantically looking around, he saw her. She was clearly not the best swimmer, as she moved her arms and legs in such a fashion that made her look much like a frog. Her eyes were narrowed, but she failed to hold her breath. Bubbles burst from her mouth, streaming up towards light.

So she left you outside with that guard. He wasn't a bad man. A bit quiet, and grumpy having to take care of a random child.

Jude aimed himself at her, darting towards her as quickly as he was able. When he was within arm's reach, he wrapped his arms about her waist, then made for the surface. She accepted his help, wrapping her arms around him and kicking with her own legs. They broke the water surface, gasping for air and began to head for the bridge.

You wandered off somewhere. That was when everything began to shake. The walls collapsed in on themselves, eaten up by fire and there was that deafening ringing in your ears.

He made sure to help her up onto the platform first, dragging his own soaked body up after her.

That was when you met her. She was a lot younger back then. Around six years old, I believe. Nowhere near as impressive as she is now.

Milla stumbled to her feet, panting heavily but not failing to stand. Jude coughed up water, pushing his bangs up and out of his face and staring at her.

"A-are you okay?" He gasped.

Milla gave a limp nod "Yes. Swimming is not as easy as Undine makes it look…"

"I bet." Jude rasped, pushing himself off of the ground. He dusted himself off, wiping water off of the corner of his mouth. Bronze eyes lingered on Milla as she waved her hair, sending sparkling specks of water into the lake. A frown set to his face and he gripped onto his wrist.

"Well, thank you for your assistance, Jude." Milla said with a nod. She immediately turned on heel, walking up the stairs and leaving Jude staring, flabbergasted.

He suddenly remembered something. The Lance had taken the Four from Milla, right? The Four Great Spirits-

"Celsius! Shadow! Volt! Aska!" He asked in a panicked frenzy. Were they taken too?

"Calm down." Came a tired reply. Jude sighed in relief.

"Celsius, I was worried-"

"Okay." Celsius interrupted "Jude, we're all here. But we're all really…tired. We're gonna….just…" the sound of her voice drifted off, leaving Jude to the relative silence. Jude sighed, worried for his friends but still happy they were still there. Now they were just sleeping- Do spirits sleep? Jude decided maybe that wasn't the best question for the time.

That wasn't the first time you were there, though. But you don't remember that either.

Jude twitched, swatting the side of his head as if to be rid of a bothersome insect. He shook his head, debating on what to do next as the clanging of metal caught his attention. Without another moment's thought, he bolted up the stairs to see Milla clumsily swinging her blade. An armed guard stood opposed of her. Jude chewed on his lip a moment, but against his better judgement, darted in.

When the guard was knocked out through blade and fist, Milla gave him another grateful smile.

"Thank you again, Jude." She turned to walk away, stopping and looking about. Jude fidgeted, opening his mouth to say something, then thinking better of it. He instead said:

"The entrance to the city is always filled with guards. You'd be a lot better off going towards the Sea Haven."

"I see." Milla said. She blinked "Which way is that?"

Jude sighed, gripping onto his wrist "Um… here. It's this way."

I am thankful for that.

A/N

Hey you know how it's been over a year since I updated this? Well, it's updated. But a short chapter. But future chapters will probably be longer as I actually have some clue what I'm doing with this now.

Drop a review, if you'd please!