A/N: I just realized... I'm writing this story in a weird way.
The way I'm writing it is that its Kratos' memories...but I'm writing them in third person.
Doesn't that seem weird to you? 0.o
There is an update on why I've been gone for so long in my profile, if you would like to know. Also there is some information regarding the future of this story, so if you like what you're reading (or if you don't? D:), you should probably read it.
Marble led the group into a handsome stone building.
"Well," she said nervously. "What say you?"
Neither of the men said anything. Yuan stared at the ceiling with his arms crossed and Kratos was eying a display of Lemon and Pineapple Gels in the corner.
Not wanting Marble to feel bad, Anna spoke up. Ignoring the pain in her face when she spoke, she said, "Its very lovely, Marble."
Marble smiled. "Thank you, dear. I would've never expected such a compliment from a Desian." She bowed.
"What? Oh--I'm not a Desian!" said Anna, laughing nervously.
"Eh?" said Marble, snapping out of her bow quickly. "Not a--? Thank goodness! Honestly, I was only trying to be polite, really I was repulsed by having a Desian in my home! N-Not because they're half-elves!" she added quickly, as Yuan threw her a furious look, "But because...my husband...he..." she couldn't go on.
"Oh," whispered Anna, "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," said Marble, quickly recovering her composure. "My husband died fighting, defending his ideals. Its how he would've wanted to go. But never mind that now. If you aren't a Desian, then why are you dressed as one?" For the first time, she sounded suspicious.
"I--" began Anna. She didn't know if she should tell Marble that she had escaped. Would she kick them out? Anna didn't think so. She was about to tell Marble but suddenly she had an image in her head of the kind old lady being tortured by Desians for information about her whereabouts. She shuddered. She didn't know what to do. Thankfully, Kratos stepped in.
"It doesn't really matter, does it? The important thing is that she isn't one."
Marble nodded. "Yes, you're right. Well, I suppose I should show you to your room then."
She led them up a long staircase and into a large room with two beds.
"I'm sorry that its a little under furnished. I'm redecorating. This used to be an inn, you see. But I closed it to make room for my daughter and her husband. They're coming home from Luin. They seem to think I need help maintaining the place," she laughed, "But that's just their cover story, of course. The real reason is that they have to get away from that awful Asgard Ranch."
"I know how they feel," Anna whispered to Kratos.
Marble looked at them all for a moment, then sighed. "Well, I guess I'll leave you alone. Everything you need should be downstairs. Just call me if there is anything I can get you."
She left the room and Anna walked over to the window.
"Such a nice woman," she said. "Its so nice to be around people again!"
"I'm glad you are happy, Anna," said Kratos. Yuan rolled his eyes. "But we have to take care of your injuries. Come here."
She walked to the edge of one of the beds and sat down.
"Its just a simple healing spell," Kratos continued, placing a hand on Anna's face. "It should take care of everything."
He closed his eyes. Anna watched him, but nothing appeared to be happening. Then, almost suddenly, she felt a warm sensation cover her face. She glanced down to see a magic circle beneath Kratos' feet. And he was glowing! Her face felt like it was disconnected from her body, and then she felt something like warm water trickle over her skin.
Kratos removed his hand. Anna blinked and was amazed to find that it didn't hurt. She ran to the wall mirror and stared at her reflection eagerly. With wide eyes, she ran her fingers along her face, which was as smooth and flawless as the day she had arrived at the ranch. Her hands too had been healed. They were no longer covered in blisters and callouses.
She ran to Kratos and hugged him tightly. "Oh Kratos! I'm...I am...thank you so much!" She lightly kissed his cheek without thinking.
Yuan scoffed. "Listen, we have important things that we need to discuss! Do you two think you can keep your hands off each other for a while?"
Anna backed away from Kratos quickly, obviously embarrassed. "Y-You're right, Yuan," she said. "I...um...I wonder if Marble has a washtub?" She hurriedly left the room.
Kratos turned angrily to Yuan. "Yuan! Why did you do that? She wasn't doing anything wrong and you embarrassed her!"
Yuan rolled his eyes. "Watch your temper, Kratos. This hot head is so not like you. Do you think I care if I embarrass her? Who is she, anyway?"
Kratos looked sheepish. "She...her name is Anna."
"I don't care about her name! Where did you get her?"
"You talk of her like she's an unwanted dog!" yelled Kratos, his anger at Yuan rising again. "I got her from...she was Kvar's."
"Was?Was? Kratos, what did you do?"
"I took her, OK? She's the Angelus Project!"
"She's the--?" Yuan fell on the bed. "Kratos, what have you done?" he asked with something like fear in his eyes.
Kratos crossed his arms. "I have done nothing wrong," he said stubbornly.
"Nothing wrong? Mithos sent you there to put her in line, not to kidnap her!"
"I didn't kidnap her! I just...I like her, and they were...she was...they were killing her! I was going to ask Mithos to--"
"You were going to ask Mithos to free the girl?" said Yuan with sarcastic amusement.
"Shut up!" yelled Kratos. "Yes! But then we left Cruxis. I couldn't just leave her there to die. Not after I had promised to help her."
Yuan sighed. "But Kratos," he said, "Don't you see what kind of danger you have put us all in?"
"What do you mean?"
"Not only will we have Cruxis on our tail, but now we will have Kvar after us. You have stolen his pet right out from under his nose!"
"Quit speaking about her like she's an animal!" Kratos fumed. But suddenly he realized, he hadput them in terrible danger. Not just himself and Yuan, but Anna too. And that, to him, was a million times worse.
He was about to ask Yuan what he thought they should do, but at that moment, Anna entered the room, and the sight of her took his breath away.
She had taken a bath; all the dirt and grime had been washed away from her body. Her skin shone like porcelain. Her scent made his heart beat faster. She smelled absolutely wonderful, like a field of flowers after a rain storm.
Her hair was clean and had been brushed. Without the knots and tangles, it was nearly twice as long as it had been when Kratos first met her. It almost reached her waist.
She was wearing a long, white dress with gold trim. Her crimson and gold Cruxis Crystal gleamed just above the neckline.
Maybe it was the way her brown hair encircled her head like a halo, or perhaps it was the way the dress gathered just below her chest and then flared out again, making her appear to dance when she walked. Whatever the reason, she was absolutely beautiful and Kratos couldn't take his eyes off of her.
"Um...?" she said softly, fully aware that both Kratos and Yuan were watching her intently. She blushed. "Oh...I...its the dress, isn't it? Its a bit extravagant, isn't it? But its the only thing that Marble could find..."
"No--Ah..." said Kratos, shaking his head to clear it. "Its fine."
Yuan shook his head too, but it had nothing to do with emotion. "How do you expect her to travel in that dress? If we have to run, she'll trip. We're going through Triet, are we not? If we take her through the dessert, she'll burn up in that dress! Its much too long and thick, not to mention the color. It will get filthy!"
"Yuan?" said Kratos.
"What?"
"Shut up!" Kratos said, rolling his eyes.
"Excuse me?!"
"We can get her some different clothes before we leave Palmacosta tomorrow. Right now, let her relax. She hasn't worn a decent outfit in seven years." He didn't add that he liked how she looked in the long, white dress and that he would be very put out if she had to change.
The next morning they set out, with Marble bidding them farewell and promising to pray to Martel for their safe journey.
"So," said Anna happily, "Where are we going now?"
"We're going to get you some proper clothes," said Yuan. "You can't expect to travel in a gaudy ball gown like that. Not to mention fighting. Wait...please tell me you know how to fight?"
"Fight? N-No, I've been a captive at the ranch since I was thirteen, how would I have learned how to fight?"
"I see," he sad. "So you shall merely be a burden."
"I will not!" Anna said angrily. "I mean, I can...I can learn, you know. I'm not stupid."
"Humph...whatever you say. I shall leave it up to Kratos to teach you how to defend yourself. You can...handle that, can't you, Kratos?"
"...Of course."
"Good. Now go find an appropriate outfit. I'll wait outside the city. Be quick about it. We shouldn't stay in one place for too long." Without another word, he left them.
As they walked in silence toward the clothing shop in the shopping district, Anna started up a conversation. "Kratos I...I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have acted that way in front of Yuan. He seemed so..."
"Please, don't mind Yuan. He just...just..."
"Why is he so angry? And its not just anger, I sense such a horrible sadness coming from him. Sadness, and regret."
"Yuan has very justifiable reasons for the way he is. Wounds from long ago have made him this way, and they aren't likely to heal anytime soon."
"But you, Kratos, I sense the same sadness and regret in you as well."
"Yuan and I share the same past, Anna, and it is a past filled with pain, loss, and mistakes. It is only logical that we should carry identical regret and sadness in our hearts."
"Butwhy?"
Kratos shook his head. "No. To tell you anymore would be to betray Yuan's trust. If you wish to know details, you must ask Yuan yourself, which I don't recommend doing anytime soon. He will hate you for it."
They had arrived at the shop and entered. An old woman with fluffy white hair, huge glasses, and a tape measure draped over her shoulders, noticed them and made a tutting noise. "Another young couple?! Martel spare me! I suppose you two need outfits made for the Palmacosta Ball as well?" She marched over to Anna and began taking her measurements.
"W-wait, ma'am!" cried Anna, as the old woman grabbed one of her arms and began measuring it, "We're just looking for some regular clothes!"
"What was that?" said the old woman, who had started to measure Anna's hips. "Regular clothes, eh?"
"Y-yes."
"Thank heaven!" sighed the old lady, dropping her tape measure and wiping her brow with a handkerchief, "Its been nonstop work for the past week! Couples in and out of my shop. 'I need a new dress, Baba.' 'Hem this skirt, Baba.' 'I need a new pair slacks, Baba.' Dress shirts, new stockings, I've even been making ties and hair ribbons that match. Goodness, I'm only one person, and elderly besides." she stared at Kratos. "Well, don't just stand there, sonny, help this old woman up!"
"What?" said Kratos. "Ah, of course..." He extended a hand and helped the old lady back to her feet.
"A nice strong grip, this one has," she said to Anna with a wink. "That's a good trait in a man. It means he won't let you go when he needs to hang on to you. And you make such a handsome couple, besides. Ah, yes, reminds me of my dear Paul, Goddess rest his soul, when we were young, he was the most handsome man in our village..."
"Um...Mrs. Baba, ma'am, we really need to get on our way, so..."
"Oh, dear, you don't need to call me Baba, its just something the young folk around here call me because it means 'grandma' in the language of the village I grew up in. My realname is Lorene. But anyway, your clothes, yes. You should find traveling clothes over there--I assume you're looking for traveling clothes?"
"Yes, thank you."
They headed off to the corner of the shop that Baba had indicated as the door was thrown open behind them and a flustered blond girl came in. "Oh Baba," she said, I'm glad you're here, James needs a new pair of boots for the ball!"
"Oh for heaven's sake, Clara, I'm a tailor, not a shoe maker! You want Mr. Walker down the way!"
Anna laughed. "Wow...everyone's so excited about this ball. It must be really something."
"So it would seem," said Kratos, as he examined an outfit which was on display. "Unfortunately, we do not have time to think about it. I'm sorry."
"No, I know. Its OK. I doubt if I remember how to dance anyway." she laughed, but it was hollow. There was so much pain in that one statement that it almost made Kratos hurt just to hear her say it. Seven years had been taken from her and there was no way for her to ever get it back.
"Kratos, what about this one?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, do you like it?"
"I do. It has pants rather than a skirt, which will make it easier to move quickly. Also, it has a high neckline, and that will be useful in hiding my Cruxis Crystal."
"Hiding your--? Oh, yes, I suppose we'll need to keep it covered up. Most humans don't have expheres. Yes, I think this will do fine. Do you have suitable shoes on?"
Anna smiled shyly. "I'm actually wearing hiking boots under here. I was too clumsy to wear the high heels that matched the dress. I kept falling down. Pretty stupid, huh?"
"Of course not. Besides, it will save us time. I would imagine that Yuan is already getting mad."
"Well, its not like its our fault. That Baba is quite a talkative one..."
They paid for the clothes while Baba muttered something about "...I don't care if the boy is the Governor-General's son...wouldn't matter if he was the Governor-General himself, I can't make something that I don't know how to make..."
Kratos and Anna met up with Yuan, who was indeed angry as Kratos predicted. He lectured them for quite a while until Anna finally fell asleep on Noishe's back where she had been riding. So in silence, the angels and the protozoan kept walking, heading toward their goal, far away in the desert lands.