A/N Edit: Sorry this took so long to post! I was gone camping for a week (and in a state of computer withdrawal). o.O
Chapter IIA year after Gwen's fateful encounter with the portal of light, she stood on the beach of Besaid Isle, gazing out at the horizon as the sun came up. Golden rays reached out across the sky as if the sun were reaching out to the opposite end of the world. Condors called out from deep in the jungle behind her.
Gwen had not changed much in the time she had spent in Besaid. She no longer wore her signature jean jacket, but a simple tunic. She lived in a tent in the village as opposed to Uncle Doug's ranch. She visited the beach every morning instead of the horses (unfortunately, there were no horses here). Still the blonde girl who made the most of life was there, and she was, of course, making the most of life.
When Gwen returned to the village, she ascended the blue marble steps in front of the temple, going into the main hall to pray.
It was a normal part of their day; everyone in Besaid prayed. Gwen had to follow the crowd, or else they would all ignore her and that was exactly what she didn't need, stranded on an alien planet. But she didn't know that now, after so long alone in Besaid, praying would lead her to make an important discovery…
Inside the temple, Gwen gazed around the spacious main hall at the small statues around the edges of the room, partly covered in shadow and partly lit by the feeble torchlight. Several other villagers were already kneeling in front of them, praying. Acolytes and monks walked back and forth from the side chambers. Across from her was the large staircase leading up to the Cloister of Trials, with large statues of the high summoners on either side.
Gwen nodded in greeting to the head priest as he passed her. She sat down on the cold stone floor, with her legs folded under her, and raised her arms to pray. She could clearly hear the Hymn of the Fayth echoing through the main hall.
Suddenly the heavy doors to the Cloister of Trials opened and a pair of young ladies emerged. One was a girl wearing what appeared to be some light armor. A long thin sword rested on one of her hips. Next to her was an even younger girl with curly hair and ivory skin, looking thoroughly exhausted.
The two walked down the stairs as the head priest approached them hastily.
"My lady summoner," he said, quickly performing the complex gesture Gwen had come to know as the prayer of Yevon.
The younger girl sighed and smiled. It was very ironic to hear her called "lady" summoner, because she didn't even look that old.
The one behind her in the armor walked up. "She's pretty tired…"
"So, you have done it?…"
Gwen became aware that the other villagers in the temple were gazing curiously at the group. She now knew it must be the apprentice summoner, and the guardian the head priest had sent for from the main temple in Bevelle. They had gone into the Cloister last night so that the summoner could receive her first aeon, her first real summon.
Gwen took an interest in this event. She had learned, along with the customs of this new world, that summoners would set out on a journey to destroy the monster Sin that terrorized the entire planet, but this was the first time she had seen an actual summoner. She had always thought that they must look like royalty, the way people regarded them, but the girl looked no nobler than the people of Besaid.
"Do you think she could take a nap before she heads off tonight?" the guardian asked.
The head priest nodded vigorously and brought an acolyte forth to guide the summoner to her room. He spoke some more with the guardian as the young girl passed by Gwen slowly. As she went by, Gwen gasped slightly to herself. Now that she was closer…
"Katie?" she exclaimed.
The girl stopped, the acolyte pausing beside her. "Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry," Gwen said, not knowing what else to say, "but aren't you Katie?"
The girl looked inquisitive and even kind of concerned. "No… My name is Taika. Lady Taika."
Taika nodded slightly, and reluctantly went off again. Gwen remained still in her spot, feeling thoroughly embarrassed but at the same time confused. She was sure that that was Katie. She had the same bright, sunny disposition and childlike look. And yet she called herself Taika…
She quickly turned to inspect Taika's guardian. She had a lingering suspicion now set in her mind that she could not rid herself of. Yes… She was right. Something was going on here…
Because the guardian looked like Ann, with orange hair and wondering blue eyes. She even had Ann's casual sort of gait…
Gwen's mind swiftly concluded that this was a sign, a sign that there was a way for her to return to her home and escape this lonely life in Besaid, and the opportunity was here. Here and now. Why else would she discover two girls that looked just like Katie and Ann? They had been good friends of hers when she still lived at the ranch outside Flower Bud Village, and the summoner and her guardian bore an uncanny likeness to them.
The head priest finally finished his discussion with the Ann look-alike and walked off. The young guardian turned and looked briefly up to the statue of High Summoner Yunalesca. It was at this time that Gwen approached her.
"Um… hello."
The girl turned to look at her, but seemed hesitant to reply.
"My name is Gwen," she said. "Do you… um… recognize me?"
The guardian raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. Gwen rushed to say something else.
"Well, it's just… You look like someone I knew from my old home… Her name was Ann."
"I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about," the guardian answered in a tone that seemed genuinely apologetic.
"Oh… I see…"
Gwen couldn't help but rapidly turn and walk away under the girl's intense glare. She exited the temple and went to go cook lunch, but she did not forget the two that were so identical to Katie and Ann.
-
When the sun was set, and the sky had become a soft indigo color, Gwen was sitting in the entrance to the tent with a book on chocobos lying in her lap. She was just examining a painted image of the tall yellow bird with its scrawny legs when she noticed out of the corner of her eye something huge flying by.
"Eh? What the – " she stammered as a last gale of wind beat her in the face from the thing's flight.
She rushed to stand up and peer outside. There in the center of the village, Lady Taika stood stroking the head of a great winged beast. Gwen stared in awe at the scarlet-feathered creature's magnificent, almost bat-like wings stretched out behind it.
"Cool! An aeon!" she exclaimed.
She looked half bewildered at the girl petting its head. She really did look like Katie right down the last copper curl. Was it really Maria? Because never in all of Gwen's time at Flower Bud Village did she imagine that Katie, her bubbly youthful friend, would be standing there, with so much power, having called such a being…
Katie, or Taika as she called herself, stepped back to the acolytes and monks who were all watching the aeon with wonder. A few villagers also stood spread out, viewing the summoning.
The aeon flew upward with one fierce beat of its wings. The wind that was created caused some of the dirt from the ground to rise and swirl around the area. The aeon departed and rose into the clouds, the dust slowly settling again.
The attentive crowd applauded. Taika smiled and bowed to them all.
"Taika, are you really leaving?"
"Already?"
"Oh, good luck, lady summoner."
Leaving? Gwen's mind was all in a tizzy. They were leaving… Gwen would probably never see them again. Would that mean her opportunity to go home would disappear as well? Almost certainly… They claimed they were not who Gwen thought they were, but she had all but assured herself it was Katie and Ann.
Gwen ran into the tent to fling herself at a bag on the floor. In a flash, she grabbed all the clothes, books, and other items and stuffed them in the bag. She dashed to get her few things she had acquired in Besaid together, and looked back out of the tent.
She scuttled out to the village center and stopped a random person, asking, "Where's Lady Taika?"
"Well, didn't you hear?" the woman said. "They left. Lady Taika is beginning her pilgrimage. She went to the pier."
"Crap!" Gwen shouted. She scampered out of the village leaving the woman baffled about her sudden departure. She had completely abandoned all thoughts of making the best of being in a strange place, who knew how far from home. Now that she had that chance, she was going to use it.
Up the village slope she went, the whole while saying to herself, "Come ooooon, I wanna go home!"
She confidently continued to run up the steep descent, almost losing her footing on the loose, dark soil quite a few times, each step exhausting her. She struggled to see through the shadows of the twilight. Why did they have to travel at night?…
"Gah!" she grunted when she suddenly hit something. It wasn't hard enough to be a rock or any related object, but it still hurt pretty badly. The force of the impact knocked her backward and she hit the ground, the straps of the bag wrapping around her arm, her elbows scraping against the dirt and small rocks.
"Who is that?" someone called.
Gwen looked and saw the guardian who looked like Ann, staring at her with an appalled and shocked expression. Behind her was Taika, her back turned to them as she kneeled in front of a statue of a sword, adorned with aquamarine jewels and quite weathered and chipped. Her head swiveled around and her eyes locked on Gwen.
"Aella, what's up?" she asked as if she had no idea what was happening.
"I…" the guardian started, then addressed Gwen once more. "What do you want?"
Gwen opened her mouth widely. Eventually, she formed the words, "Well…"
Crap. She didn't have an excuse…
"I was wondering… Do you mind if I tag along?" Gwen asked. Taika and Aella looked at her strangely.
"I don't really know my way around…" she quickly explained, "and I don't have anyone to help me out. I don't have many friends here, you know…"
She looked downward, feeling a bit lonely as she said that, because she knew it wasn't entirely a lie.
"Ohhh," Taika said, getting up off the ground and coming to Aella's side. "I see. That's too bad… You can always come with us."
She smiled warmly to Gwen. "I'm Taika as I've told you, and this is my guardian Aella… We are heading to the island of Kilika first of all. What about you?"
Gwen took this opportunity to stand up, still feeling nervous but also quite relieved that Taika was willing to let her accompany them on their journey. "Where am I going?"
Taika nodded.
"I'm going… to…" she stopped for a moment and received more confused looks from Taika and Aella. She looked into Aella's blue eyes, so like Ann's, and at the sword on her waist. "I'm going to other temples seeking a summoner to guard."
Gwen gave a confident nod, even though she had no idea where this was going to go…
"Oh, I see…" Taika replied. "Well you can come with us to the temple in Kilika."
She began to walk briskly over to the trail winding off into the cliffs, past the magnificent view of the village far below and the ocean beyond that. "Let's go. We'll miss the boat."
Aella ran up to her quickly and Gwen, whose head was still teeming with doubts and questions, went along with her.