She snuggled into Lloyd for another moment before pushing away from him.

"Gotta get outta here," Ceres remarked stated in response to his near-offended stare.

"The water ways of the castle, I take it?"

"If you make one remark about the peculiar scent I've picked up from the moat . . ."

Lloyd grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her gently on the forehead. "We were in the middle of rescuing me?"

"Yeah. Let's get going before I realize the mistake I just made." Ceres eyed the Dragon Block Staff curiously, resisting the urge to snag it. Upon reflection, she realized there was enough to worry about without having to lug the precarious artifact along with them. Lloyd staggered along behind her as they left the cell.

ooo

"She's not in her room," Ellis exclaimed. He slumped down into the nearest chair. "This is all just a mess. And I can't see a way to straighten it out. We're nowhere closer to finding Fire or Darkness. We have a dragoon spirit that is completely useless to us. The next wraith attack could be any day now and now we've lost Ceres." An apple core suddenly hit him in the side of his head. Ellis turned to the culprit casually.

"You're over-thinking again," Estell commented. "Calm down. Ceres probably just went for a walk. Hell, I'm just about getting cabin fever being cooped up in this dingy place." She eyed the cobwebs and mildew pointedly.

"Well, we wouldn't be in such a horrible little Inn if you two hadn't -" at the sudden frown that appeared on Estell's face, he stopped short. "It's besides the point. We're here now. I guess we'll just have to wait for her to get back."

Estell rolled her eyes, as she returned to her dinner. "Gives you more time to figure this mess out anyways."

ooo

Searing sunlight hammered Lloyd's head, pierced his eyes as the two emerged from the darkness of the castle passageway. He stepped back into the shadows alongside Ceres. She had led them to the lower docks. Across the waters were the main wharf was located, a sleek corvette was being prepared for launch.

"What's that?"

"The king's fastest ship, I'm assuming."

"Huh?"

"The other dragoons are going back to the Tree of Life looking for the Fire and Darkness spirits. They're not there, though. It's a waste of time," Lloyd explained.

"How do you know?" Ceres queried skeptically.

He avoided her eyes as he spoke. "To make a long story short, I was there quite recently and there was no sign of any of the stones."

Ceres snorted in disbelief. "And why would they show themselves to you?"

Lloyd didn't like where this was going. But he didn't have time to convince her of something else before the thought verbalized:

"We should tag along. My spirit might be waiting for me!"

"What happened to the part where you're rescuing me? What about Ellis and Estell?" he attempted.

"Ellis? We'd have to sit here for a week trying to figure out if it was the best course of action," Ceres mocked, talking in her Ellis voice. She moved closer to the edge of the dock.

Lloyd snatched her wrist. "Let's forget all this."

Ceres regarded him quizzically as she shook off his grasp. She flashed a mischievious smile and then dropped into the murky waters.

"I'll buy you a house, a horse! Anything!" Lloyd called after her without thinking. Motion in his periphery caught his attention. A flurry of movement on the opposite wharf. Faces he knew too well. Of all the timing, he looked to the water, its surface was immaculate.

ooo

They were standing on the boarding ramp when the familiar voice cut through the air.

"How the hell did he?" Miranda exclaimed.

Dart was already reaching for his sword. "Don't care."

Albert put his hand out in front of his friend. "Let the guard handle it, we have places to be, my friend."

It was clear in Dart's eyes that he was not happy with the idea of leaving the likes of Lloyd to the royal guard now approaching the Wingly. Miranda stepped clear of the two men, shoving a hand into her pocket.

"I'll handle him, Dart. You need to be at the Tree of Life. You're the only one who has a chance of finding the Fire spirit."

The two exchanged glances before she ran off.

Lloyd was standing on the opposite deck, almost expectantly.