Sorry again for the semi-late chapter, but I'm kind of under the weather at the moment and I am severally low on energy. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Thanks again for all the hits and reviews, your feedback really do give my strength and encourage me to make a better story. I also want to thank my beta zealousfreak27 for putting up with my stupid grammar mistakes.

Now, onward to the story.

Chapter 7: Similar and Different

The walk was quiet at first, but soon Colette wouldn't stop asking questions about the forest. She kept pointing to certain plants, trees, and animals that caught her interest.

Lloyd provided as much information as he could. Dirk had taught him a lot about these woods and that information had kept him alive in this forest. The wildlife was not completely dangerous and vicious, but they could do damage if you were caught off-guard. Which made Colette easy prey since her attention span was not that long. Truthfully, neither did Lloyd. He was just able to jump back to attention faster than Colette.

Colette suddenly stopped talking when a certain smell hit her senses. It was bad, worst than anything else she had ever known. The only thing she could compare it to was when one of the kids left their lunch in the school building over a particularly hot weekend.

"What is that?" Colette asked.

"That's the Ranch," Lloyd said as he looked towards the cliff where the steel building stood. "You've never been near one before?

Colette shook her head. "Never, I've only hear of them."

Lloyd tapped his hand before he came to a decision. "Do you want to see it?"

Colette looked at Lloyd in surprise. "But isn't it forbidden to go near the Ranch?"

"Yeah, but we'll be fine as long as we don't mess with the Desians," Lloyd assured as he began to walk ahead. Colette only hesitated for a moment before she joined him.

They walked up a steep slope and began to see more of the Ranch's fence. The smell also got worse and Colette began to feel sick. The stink was affecting even Lloyd.

"Why does the Ranch smells like that?" Colette asked.

"You're see once we get to the Ranch," Lloyd answered.

Within another few minutes, they reached a wired fence that wrapped around the side of the Ranch's main steel gate. Lloyd led Colette into some brushes so they wouldn't be seen.

Colette watched in horror as she looked at the people trapped within the Ranch. The people were forced to push giant steel blocks around the yard. It took almost all their effort just to move them a couple of inches. Every time someone attempted to stop and catch their breath, a Desian was on top of them and brutally beat them before forcing them back to work.

How the people looked, however, was what really broke Colette's heart. They wore dirty brown outfits that were soiled with sweat and blood. She could also saw stains in the crotch area, showing that the people might have wet themselves. Given how the Desians didn't seem to give the people breaks, it was possible that the people were force to use the restroom in their clothes.

The dirt and filth was also ingrained into their skin. Their hair were also so matted up that it made them look less than human. They looked like they could break in two at any moment because they were so frail and thin. How could anyone be so cruel?

"This is horrible," Colette managed to whisper.

"This is a Human Ranch," Lloyd said, barely controlling his anger. "Dirk took me up here once to show me what happens to those who are caught by the Desians. He said if it ever happened to me, it would be better to take my own life."

Colette had always been always taught that ending your own life was the same as murder. However, she could not blame anyone for choosing death over this kind of treatment. Seeing the dead, hopeless looks in those people's eyes told her that they had all but given up on life.

"It's stuff like this that makes me hate the Desians," Lloyd continued. "Evil, they're just pure evil."

"That is why I must regenerate the world," Colette said. "To awaken the Goddess and to banish the Desians."

"If Martel's so great, why can't she banish the Desians herself?" Lloyd grumbled. "Why's she sleeping and letting evil people do these kind of things?"

Colette frowned. "Because people have lost faith in her. When people lose faith in Martel, she grows weaker and isn't able to maintain her power. That's why she has fallen into a deep sleep."

Lloyd wanted to say that was a load of bull, but something told him to keep his mouth closed on the subject.

"Which is why I'm the only one destined to stop the Desians and free these people," Colette finished as she watched an older woman get beaten half to death by the Desians. "I just wish there was something I could do now."

Lloyd knew that feeling all too well. He had thought about coming here many times and freeing these people, but he knew he didn't have the strength to do it. He was just a simple child and the Desians could use magic and had better weapons. He also knew they could harm Dirk if he did anything against them. Although Dirk wasn't his father, he still didn't want any harm to come to him.

"We better leave. I'm starting to get used to the smell," Lloyd said as he crawled out of the bushes, making sure that no one saw him.

Colette did the same and they walked back down the slope. As soon as they reached the safety of the bottom, Lloyd was suddenly attacked by a blur of white and green. Lloyd fell on his butt as he looked to see what had hit him.

"Noishe?" Lloyd questioned as his dog began to lick his face furiously. "Get off! Dammit, get off!"

"Doggie!" Colette exclaimed happily as she patted Noishe.

He turned around to face her and began to sniff her clothes. He then began to lick Colette's face, who happily giggled.

Lloyd stood up as he wiped his face. "Chosen, this is Noishe."

Colette smiled. "Hello, Noishe. You're such a good doggie."

Noishe whined happily.

"I guess Dirk sent Noishe to find me," Lloyd said as he rubbed his head. "We better hurry home." Lloyd then climbed on top of Noishe.

"You can ride him?" Colette asked in awe.

"Yeah, as long as there're no monsters nearby," Lloyd said as he patted Noishe's head kind of harshly. "Noishe is a big coward if there're any monsters nearby. Although he doesn't mind going near the Ranch."

Noishe barked.

Colette looked over the giant dog. "How do I get on?"

Lloyd reached down his hand and pulled Colette up. Once they were secure, they were off. Noishe was faster than anything Colette had ever ridden before, which caused her to hold on to dear life to Lloyd. He smirked at the contact, but said nothing.

From there, it only took a few minutes to reach Dirk's house. Noishe stopped a before reaching the little wooden bridge to the house and allowed Lloyd to climb down.

"I'm home, mom!" Lloyd called. He then turned around and helped Colette get off Noishe.

Dirk was walking towards them by the time Colette's feet touched the grab. "Where were you, lad? I heard you were chased out of the village."

Lloyd lowered his head. "I...I left after the mayor wanted to take my sword."

Dirk shook his head. "How foolish. You should have just let that young fool have it."

"But Dirk, it's my sword," Lloyd said as he grabbed onto his sword's handle fiercely.

"Running out of the village and into the forest by yourself was dangerous," Dirk said firmly. "What if some beast got ya or worse, the Desians."

Lloyd huffed. "No Desian is going to take me alive."

Dirk sighed as he finally noticed Colette. "Chosen...what in Origin's name are you doing here!"

Colette began to look down at her own feet as she rung her hands together. "I wanted to say sorry to Lloyd for the way the village treated him."

Dirk shook his head. "Lass, does your grandmother know you're here?"

"No, I came by myself," Colette said with a hint of shame. "But, Lloyd protected me in the forest. He even beat up a gang of doggies."

Dirk looked towards Lloyd. "Doggies?"

"Timber wolves," Lloyd stated. "It's no big deal, though. I was just nearby when she ran into trouble."

"Well, the most important thing is that you're safe," Dirk said. "Although the village is going to have a fit once they find out that you're missing."

"I could walk back myself," Colette offered. "I don't want to get you and Lloyd in trouble."

Dirk shook his head. "No, it would be safer if I went back to the village myself and got someone to pick you up. I could take you back myself, but the villagers tend to be unreasonable when scare."

Truthfully, he was scared that the villagers might try to kill him on sight if he was caught with the Chosen. Knowing those fools, they would think he kidnapped her.

Lloyd looked at Colette. "I guess you're going to be here longer than I thought."

"I don't mind," Colette said cheerfully. "This gives us a chance to know each other better."

"Lloyd, keep an eye on Colette and don't leave this area," Dirk said firmly. "I should be back within two hours."

Lloyd nodded. "Yes, Dirk."

Dirk walked back to his house to get his hammer before he left. Colette decided to take a tour of the yard when she came across a grave to the side of the house.

"Who's this?" Colette asked.

Lloyd walked up beside her. "That's my mom."

"Your mom," Colette whispered. "So the person you were yelling at was..."

"I got into that habit a long time ago," Lloyd admitted. "Every time I come here, I feel compelled to tell my mom that I'm home. Even if this isn't my real home."

"Why isn't this your real home?" Colette asked.

"My home is where ever my real dad is," Lloyd answered. "I'm just here until he finds me."

Colette bit her lip. "But haven't you been here since you were little? What happened to your father?"

Lloyd flinched when he heard that question. "I...I don't know. Dirk told me that he never found his body, so he must be alive somewhere. He just wouldn't have abandoned my mother and me."

"What do you remember of him?" Colette asked further.

Lloyd lowered his head in thought. "I don't really remember. I remember him being tall and lifting me up on his shoulders to look at the stars. But I can never recall what he looked like."

"I'm sorry," Colette whispered. "I lost my mommy too when I was born. I was raised by my grandmother and my human father, Frank."

"Human father?" Lloyd asked.

"For as I could remember, I was always told that my real father was an angel and he was the one who got my mommy pregnant," Colette said. "So, Frank and even my grandmother are not my real family and they're just my caregivers until I become an angel."

Lloyd paused for a second. "Well...that sucks."

"It's all from being the Chosen," Colette said. "Even so, I still see Frank as my father. Regardless of if we're actually related or not."

"But you really don't know. I know Dirk is not my father," Lloyd said. "So it's not completely the same thing."

"Well, I feel that we're all brothers and sisters under Martel, so we're all family regardless of blood," Colette said. "She's everyone's mother."

Lloyd snorted. "If she's everyone's mother, why did she take my mom away from me? Why hasn't she brought my dad here to find me?"

Colette put her hands together like she was going to say a prayer. "We can't understand Martel's plan for the world. But I know she doesn't give us anything we can't handle. Maybe Martel needed her for a special purpose that is outside our world."

"That all just sounds like a bunch of excuses," Lloyd griped.

"Well, maybe I'll learn the truth once I become a full angel," Colette said in a cheery voice.

"Are you always this bright and sunny?" Lloyd muttered. No one could be this happy all the time.

"I just don't see the point in feeling unhappy," Colette said. "I mean, does sitting around feeling sad make you feel better about what has already happened?"

Lloyd was taken off-guard by the question. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she did have a point. Did he actually feel better from always moping about what was taken from him? He knew what the honest answer was, but the truth was still hard to shallow.

"Lets go inside," Lloyd said, changing the subject. "I can fix you a snack or something."

Colette smiled. "I would like that."

They walked into the house and Lloyd began to look through the cabinets. "What would you like?"

"Umm," Colette patted her cheek in thought. "What about an apple salad."

"An apple salad?" Lloyd repeated.

"Yeah, that's my favorite dish," Colette said.

Lloyd frowned as he looked through the cabinets. Dirk and he didn't eat too many fresh fruits. They were fairly expensive to buy and it was hard to find ripe ones in the forest before the animals got to them. However, after much searching, he did find some sour apples.

"How about apple slices?" Lloyd asked. He really didn't want to make an entire salad.

"Okay," Colette said cheerfully.

Within a few minutes, the apples were cut up and ready to serve. He sat a plate down for Colette, who happily ate it.

"So, this is the house Dirk built," Colette said as she looked around. "You're even lucky enough to have a second-story."

Lloyd smiled. "That's my room. I have the entire upper floor to myself."

"That has to be nice," Colette said as she ate her apples. There was a long pause before she found the courage to ask her next question. "Lloyd, what's Dirk's faith?"

"What?" Lloyd asked, not expecting the question.

"What're Dirk's beliefs?" Colette asked again. "All I've heard is that dwarves don't believe in Martel."

"He doesn't," Lloyd said, more harshly then the meant to. "He believes in Origin, King of the Summon Spirits."

Colette tilted her head. "Who's Origin?"

Lloyd gasped in surprise. "You...you never heard of Origin?"

Colette shook her head. "I do know the nine summon spirits; Aska, Luna, Shadow, Sylph, Volt, Undine, Gnome, Efreet, and Celsius."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, but you've forgotten Maxwell, Ruler of the Elements."

"Wow, there're more summon spirits then I thought." Colette said in awe.

"How can you know the other summon spirits without knowing the big two, especially Origin?" Lloyd asked in disbelief.

"Well, the nine summon spirits are important because they're servants of Martel," Colette said.

Lloyd shook his head. "No, all the summon spirits are followers of Origin. He ruled over them along with Maxwell. In the dwarven world, they believe that all the summon spirits are all parts of Origin."

"That's not what I was taught," Colette noted.

"Ever considered you were taught wrong?" Lloyd asked almost smugly.

Colette didn't catch the conceited tone. "No, what about you?"

It was simple comeback and she said it with no malice or mockery, unlike Lloyd. He found himself unable to answer since he never considered he could be wrong. For some reason, he always felt he right about the spirits. Especially with all the dwarven books he looked at along with his study of the stars.

Colette tapped her hands together. "Where did you get all your information from?"

"From Dirk and looking at star charts," Lloyd answered.

"What do stars have to do with the spirits?" Colette asked.

Lloyd nearly fell off his chair. "You mean you never studied the constellations!"

Colette shook her head. "Should I have?"

It took Lloyd several moments to find his tongue again. "Well, the constellations is the star you're born under," he paused for a moment. "Like, what month and date you were born on?"

"The sixth month on the twenty-fifth," Colette answered.

"Oh, so you were born under the star of Luna," Lloyd said.

"Is that a good thing?" Colette asked.

Lloyd nodded. "Luna is the light of the moon and is also called the light of hope. You shrine through even on the darkest of nights until the sun finally arrives." He thought about his own words for a moment. "Strange, that really does sound like your role in life."

"So, the constellations tell us what we will become?" Colette asked in confusing.

"It is something like that," Lloyd said. "But, I haven't read everything about it and some of the stuff is really confusing."

"What star was Dirk born under?" Colette questioned.

"He was born under the star of Gnome," Lloyd answered. "He's really sturdy and strong willed in both body and mind. They also tend to be more realistic than most and stubborn."

Colette giggled. "That sounds like Dirk."

"Yeah, but he doesn't believe in the stars either," Lloyd sighed.

"It sounds like you don't believe in Dirk's religion either," Colette said.

"It's not that I don't believe in it, but there's stuff in his beliefs that I don't agree with," Lloyd said. "Like when we die, we rejoin Origin and become a part of him again. Which caused us to lose our mortal memories. I don't want to believe that my mom has forgotten about me in death and I will forget her."

Colette nodded. She wouldn't want that either, but the Dwarven's faith seemed to echo her own future. "So, you don't really believe in anything."

"What does it matter?" Lloyd almost growled. "Why do people care so much about who I do and don't worship?"

"People just want you to be happy, Lloyd," Colette answered. "Through the Goddess Martel, this world will be regenerated one day. But maybe we shouldn't focus so much on what we don't have in common."

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, we have so many things in common," Colette explained. "We both lost someone dear to us, we both want a better world, we want happiness to everyone. Really, do we need to have anything else in common?"

Her statement once again took Lloyd back. He was so focused on what she was and what she represented, that he completely blinded himself to the things that made them the same. Such as them both hating the Desians and expressing a desire to stop them one day. The details maybe different, but he didn't agree with everything Dirk said or did either.

"You're not what I expected at all," Lloyd finally said.

Colette put her head down in shame. "I know. I don't act very Chosen like."

"No, I mean...you don't act like the people at the Church," Lloyd said slowly. "Every time I go there, they always try to force their ideas down my throat. Because of that, I always had this chip on my shoulder about them and you by extension."

Colette shook her head. "The Church is not supposed to force anyone to convert. We do that by teaching and leading by example for the world to follow. It would be pointless to force someone to accept Martel, otherwise their hearts wouldn't be really open to her and we would be cheated that person out of paradise."

Lloyd stared at her blank expression. "But you still believe that the only path towards happiness is through Martel."

"Of course," Colette said as if that was the only natural answer. "Once the world is regenerated, you will see Martel's glory for yourself and be inspired."

Lloyd doubted that, but it was still nice to know that the Chosen didn't look down on him. That the Chosen may see him as misguided, but not sinful or evil. Given the situation, he couldn't ask for anything more.

"You know, you're okay, Colette," Lloyd said. Colette stared at him wide-eyed, unnerving Lloyd for a moment. "What's wrong?"

Colette looked closed to tears. "This is the first time you ever called me Colette."

Lloyd quickly realized that was true. He had always addressed her as Chosen when he saw her. Maybe because this was the first time he truly felt comfortable around her.

"Colette, are you in there!" a voice yelled.

"Grandma!" Colette exclaimed as she ran outside.

Lloyd attempted to follow her out the door. He saw Dirk standing some distance away with Phaidra walking towards him at a fast pace.

Phaidra grabbed Colette and gave her a tight hug. "Colette, you scared the entire village."

"Sorry, grandma," Colette said. "But I was in good hands. Lloyd protected me."

Phaidra looked over at Lloyd, who didn't move from the doorway. "I owe you a great debt for caring for my granddaughter."

Lloyd blushed lightly. "It was nothing. I was partly responsible anyway."

"Well, thank you," Phaidra said. "Despite what the mayor and the others did to you, you're still welcome at my house. Just be more mindful of the weapon law."

Lloyd sighed. "Yes, Phaidra."

"Thank you too, Dirk." Phaidra said. "I hate to ask, but can you escort us back."

"No problem, Phaidra," Dirk said as he looked towards Lloyd. "Behave yourself, Lloyd. I'll be back soon." He then disappeared into the forest with Colette and Phaidra. Colette turned one last time to look at Lloyd and gave him a small smile.

Lloyd returned the gesture as they disappear into the forest.

If you're wondering what the smell of the Ranch is based on, it is based on the old slave ships of the Middle Passage. According to most accounts, slave ships were notorious for it stink. It was so bad that you could smell a slave ship coming long before you actually see it if you were down wind. Morbid, I know, but I wanted to share that information.

Until next time.