"Is everything alright?"

Sabin sighed lightly and turned his head until he could see Cyan, the older man had become a close friend over their time together, he had fond memories of the little makeshift family, he, the knight and little Gau had made. He had never told the man, knowing what had happened to his family, that he had grown to see in him, a little of his own father. He knew Gau revered the man like the father he should have had. But since He'd found that Edgar couldn't remember anything, he had withdrawn himself a lot from the others.

It was only now, since Edgar had realised the truth and they had come to their agreement; that he had noticed the yawning gap that now lay between him and everyone else.

"Perfect." He said, but he knew his tone gave him away in a lie.

Cyan hesitated, and Sabin nearly winched at another reminder of how he had treated those he called friends. He would need to apologise to everyone, especially to little Gau, he couldn't even recall a time in the past two months that he had even seen the boy.

At last Cyan took a seat beside him.

"Your brother hast explained his decision to us."

Sabin nodded, but he was surprised, he had expected Edgar to wait until he was present as well. He had waited nearly a week already. In a way Sabin was glad he had not been there. He was still coming to terms with it himself, hearing it all again would have been too much.

Cyan sighed. "You have worried us these past weeks." He said.

"I worried myself." Sabin admitted.

There was silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It reminded him of evenings spent on the Vedlt waiting for Gau to return from his play.

"If I may." Cyan began, waiting until Sabin had nodded before continuing. "What was written in the missive King Edgar penned you?"

Sabin shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. He had guarded that note jealously, as his last link to Edgar, no one else had ever had the chance to glimpse it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the note, the paper crinkled and torn, old before it's time. He handed it to Cyan, who took it with great care, honouring Sabin's attachment to it.

Sabin looked away as he read it, the words were burned into his very soul now. Turned from words of pain and anguish into words of hope.

Cyan was silent for so long that Sabin had to look at him to see what he was thinking.

"Your reaction seems somewhat extreme." Was all he said, and Sabin had to laugh, one that hovered the edge between hollow and hysterical.

"Everyday, every single day I read those words, and he didn't come back. And everyday my world broke just a little bit more. I've been selfish my entire life. I ran away and left Edgar to deal with our kingdom on his own, I've done so many things in my life, and left him to pick up the pieces for me. And suddenly, when he wasn't there to do it anymore, I realised what a terrible brother I've been. I wanted to apologise to him, since I woke up to find him gone I wanted nothing more than to fall to my knees and apologise, and everyday he wasn't there I felt like I'd lost my chance forever." He sighed. "I still haven't done it yet, and he's been back a week."

A hand came to rest on his shoulder. "You know he would not accept your apology." Cyan said, and Sabin had to smile at his friends perception. "You feel guilt, I can understand, I too feel it. I did not protect my wife and son, nor my king, nor those under my command. But since I have joined you and our companions at arms, I have come to realise that I cannot be held accountable for things over which I have no control. It was not I who put poison in the water, and there was nothing I could have done to stop it."

Sabin looked at him and frowned.

"Sabin, it was not your fault your brother fell. It was not your fault he lost his memories. It was not your fault he joined the returners, and it was not your fault that he became king and you did not. I have heard the story of that, from King Edgars own lips, and it was he who made the decision to use the two headed coin, not you."

"But he only did it because he knew how much I hated the idea of being King. He hated it just as much, more even." Sabin exclaimed.

"No, he did it because he loved you enough to give you want you wanted, and that made him content enough to take his place on the throne. And as to everything else, Emperor Gestal and Kefka are directly responsible for that."

Sabin swallowed.

The hand squeezed his shoulder and Cyan stood. "We will see you inside later? We have missed your company greatly these past months."

Sabin nodded, and accepted the note when Cyan hand it back. He unfolded it to read it once more, and was startled to hear Cyan speak again, from the door back inside.

"It seems to me that King Edgar had already made his decision before he left, he just needed some time to allow his head to catch up to his heart."

Sabin looked back at the words on the page, and shook his head in wonder. Cyan was right.

I will return

Don't break it while I'm gone

Told you I'd end up writing follow-ups, I'm a little too obsessed with this story at the moment I think. Sorry about Cyan, I am only restarting the game, so I haven't got his 'voice' in my head. I just felt that he would be the best to speak to Sabin. I also wanted to share the contents of the letter, and the reasons behind Sabin's self destructive streak. I hope you enjoyed.