Chapter 3 ~~~The Beginning of a Journey~~~

~~Colette~~

Colette hadn't noticed how fast the days were passing her by until John told her that they would arrive in Triet by nightfall. Shocked by how fast they managed to get there, she realized that she had been on the ferry for quite a while.

"Oh really," Colette said. "I haven't even realized how much time has passed since I boarded."

"Yeah, we kind of noticed," John replied. "We didn't want to pry but we did notice how much you were sulking around. I hope you find your peace in your studies."

"Oh…," Colette muttered. "I didn't realize… But thank you, I hope I do too"

John smiled and patted her shoulder. And with that, he went back to his duties on the ship.

Colette went to the front of the vessel and stared out to the ocean where she could see the outline of land coming into view. This was it. From here on out it was just a trip through the desert and over the Ossa Trails and she was home free.

~~Lloyd and Sheena~~

"Thank you so much for letting us stay here," Lloyd said to Regal as they were preparing for their departure back to Meltokio. "We had a really wonderful time and it is all thanks to you."

"It's really no problem at all," Regal said to his friends. "I'm glad you were able to enjoy you're time here. I hope you have a safe trip back."

Lloyd smiled and they parted ways.

It wasn't long before the couple arrived in Meltokio thanks to the Rheiards they took. As Lloyd was dragging all their stuff back to their home all he could think about was crashing onto his bead and resting. Luckily for him (and Sheena), all his sunburns had healed and no longer experienced any pain. However, it wasn't long after they entered their house when they got a visitor.

"What, someone already," Lloyd whined. "I'm so tired and I don't really want company."

"Oh shush," Sheena said as she opened the door. "Presea?"

Lloyd expected Colette to accompany her and was shocked to see that she wasn't and that Presea was in tears.

"Something bad has happened," Presea managed to get out. "I… I don't know how to put this. Colette…Colette ran away. But part of me… part of me feels that she didn't go because she wanted to…"

"Oh my Martel," Sheena exclaimed. "Are you sure? What happened?"

Presea explained to them of how she went home that night and how Colette wasn't there. She showed them the note she found and felt that Colette wasn't the type of person to just run away from a problem. Lloyd agreed and felt that if Colette was going to leave she would at least say her goodbyes in person. But then he quickly remembered how nostalgic their meeting in the church was. He couldn't help but think that that was a low-key goodbye. That she already planned to leave but didn't want to be found.

"Have you told anyone else," Lloyd questioned. "This happened a little more than a week ago. Who knows how far she could have gotten in that time."

"Yes," Presea gulped. "A search team has already departed… but I felt that you were more a more suitable person to track her down. No one knows her as well as you do and I thought that you might be able to think of where she would go if she did go according to her own will."

Sheena looked away and Lloyd couldn't break his stare with the letter in Presea's hands.

"I'll go," he said after a few moments of silence. "I'll leave in the morning."

"I'll go with you," Sheena said as she looked into his eyes. "It could be dangerous."

"No, I have to go alone," Lloyd said as he looked away. "Besides, I couldn't risk you getting hurt."

~~Colette~~

Colette said goodbye to her new friends before entering the city to rest before her journey through the desert. She knew that her best bet would be to only travel at night so that she could avoid the overwhelming heat of the day. She wouldn't have Raine's healing artes on this trip so she needed to be as careful as she could be. And with that she departed from Triet seeing as she didn't have many hours of night left.

"Oh Goddess Martel," Colette prayed as she walked, "please grant me your protection during my perilous journey."

~~Lloyd and Sheena~~

"Are you sure you want to go alone," Sheena asked as Lloyd packed. "I could go with you. It would be just like old times."

"No, you should stay," Lloyd said. "As much as I would love for you to come, I'm worried about how the people would react if they found out that the Chosen went missing. I trust you to keep the situation under control. Besides, I can handle a few monsters."

Sheena sighed and realized that, even though Chosens were a thing of the past, the people would worry because they see her a beacon of hope for a better future. And she knew that Lloyd could handle himself against a few monsters. Her real worry was that he might not come home even if he found her.

"You're right," Sheena agreed. "You should go and I'll stay. Have a safe trip and I'll pray for you to come home safe."

Lloyd smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace. She blushed as he held her in his arms tightly.

"Don't worry, I'll find her and come home," Lloyd assured her. "And soon enough we can work on having a little Lloyd to worry about."

"A… little… Lloyd," Sheena muttered as she blushed. "Yeah… A little Lloyd. I like the sound of that."

More assured now than ever because of what Lloyd said to her, Sheena watched as her husband departed in the direction of the sunrise. All she could do now was pray for his safe return.

A/N: Whoo! Another chapter down! So now Lloyd and Colette are both traveling alone. And all Sheena can do is hope that her husband doesn't run off with someone else. I hope that those who read my stuff (and you have my gratitude :D) like how the story is going so far. Until next time. :D