Chapter 7: Family

Dear diary,

I think I've finally gotten over my illness. I managed to make it through today without any medicine, and I can walk on the sand without my leg hurting anymore. I'm going to make extra sure that I don't get struck by another arrow…I'll never forget the near death experience and the lesson I learnt because of it.

We recently fought a fight in the desert against this group of bandits. I was made to fight the mages again, but what Lucius told me a couple of nights ago really made me think. I actually felt like I wasn't just being deployed thoughtlessly, I felt I contributed to the fight this time.

Come to think of it, Lucius has been really nice to me lately. Not to say he's always nice, I've seen him help a lot of people out. But when I was struggling with Huey, when even my sister told me to speed up, he came to help me. Ever since now, every time we set out, he's been there, waiting for me so we can go together, leading Huey through the sand. Nobody's ever done that for me.

He's such a good friend…

The following morning would be the day they would exit the desert. There was a new tension amidst the group now. They were heading for Bern, the strongest military based country in all of Elibe. Everybody knew of the danger that was waiting ahead for him or her, conscious of the fact that getting caught in Bern would be very, very bad. It was unlike any tension that had faced them before. They knew now the challenge was brought to a new level, and whether it could be met or not was yet to be determined.

Lucius had finished organizing his satchel for the coming morning and lay his head down on his pillow. He decided to sleep in his robes to ward the cold night away from him; the tent offered him little shelter.

As he attempted to sleep, the cold kept him from falling into a deep slumber. He was half aware of his surroundings as he slept; lightly and uncomfortably.

Nearby, he could hear voices outside of his tent. The half of his consciousness that was still present tuned into the conversation, a skill he had developed quite well over the past few days. He recognized one of the voices immediately.

"Raymond? What are you doing here?"

"I'm the night watch tonight, remember? You should be sleeping, Priscilla"

"I know…b-but I can't"

"Don't tell me you're worried about the next few days"

"…I am…"

"…Come here. Sit next to me"

"Aren't you cold?"

"No…well, a little. But it doesn't bother me. I have other things on my mind"

"Oh Raymond…you still can't be holding your grudge?"

"I will have my revenge"

"Brother, this is the attitude which is going to bring you down! You can't be trapping yourself in this mentality! It's poisonous!"

"Haven't you forgotten what that oaf's merciless brother did? Him and his whole house?"

"No, but…"

"Then why do you leap to their defense? Some sister you are!"

"Raymond, enough. You know better than anyone that I would leap to your side if I were forced to choose between you and anything else. You're all I have in this world now...the same goes for you"

"I know…I just can't be in a group with someone I can't trust"

"I'm not saying you should forget about it. Just…just wait until this is all over. For me?"

"Fine. For you"

"Thank you…"

"…"

"…"

"…If you intend to stay out here, the sit a little closer to me, Priscilla. The night will only grow colder"

"Okay, Brother…"

Florina woke up to the sight of her opened diary. Instantly, as soon as she noticed the unusual image (diaries were meant to be closed and locked), she sprung up from her slumber and picked up the diary, scanning the pages after her entry to see if anyone had vandalized or written in it. Flicking to her previous entry, Florina quickly realized why the diary was open. The last sentence trailed into a descending line, the stroke of her pencil becoming weaker as it trailed down to the bottom of the paper. She had fallen asleep whilst updating her journal. The last sentence read, "He's such a good friend…"

Sighing, Florina closed the diary, regretting not sleeping well the past few nights. It was her fatigue from the desert that had caused her to ruin her diary entry, wasting valuable paper in the meantime. The diary had roughly a hundred entries in it, written at various different intervals in the past few years. The diary, which was a gift from Florina's mother before she undertook her training as a pegasus knight, was very expensive; therefore such a slumberous mistake was considered by Florina to be a serious error.

Binding the diary with the turquoise silk ribbon attacked to the cover, she placed it back in her satchel before peeking outside of her tent to see what was happening. Some members of the group had already woken up and were busy eating their breakfast rations, drinking the last of the desert-designated water. Rubbing her eyes from her slumber, she stepped out of her tent with her own provisions. The sun had begun to rise and the cold of the night was slowly being replaced by the blaze of the day. It was the one moment in the desert that actually felt quite good to be in.

Sitting by herself on a rock nearby the extinguished fireplace, she started to eat away at her breakfast. Quietly peeking around, she saw that Lucius was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, her peeking had caught Fiora's attention, who had already eaten and was surveying her own pegasus's meal. She smiled before walking over to Florina.

"Good morning!" she called. Florina smiled a little, but she didn't forget what her sister had done days ago at the beginning of the journey in Nabata. Florina's state of mind projected clearly to her sister, who sensed the slight withdrawal and saddened at the change of expression.

"Good morning Fiora…" Florina said quietly. Fiora, who was slight taller in stature to Florina, sat down closely next to her, clearing her throat.

"Um…I know you don't think very much of me right now" Fiora begun. Florina's eyes opened suddenly, almost spitting out the chunk of bread she had in her mouth.

"No, that's not true!' she protested, her mouth still half full. Fiora shook her head slowly.

"You have every right to be mad at me, sister…" Fiora continued. "What I did a few days ago, refusing to help you when you needed it…it wasn't right of me"

"But…b-but" Florina stuttered, trying to calm her sister's slight anguish. "I-I'm not mad…"

Fiora looked to her younger sister and smiled, waving her hair away from her face. She put an arm around Florina. Who leant into her sister's chest, sighing.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry" she said. "I….I think the heat of the desert is getting to me. I'll be glad when we can get out of here"

"Me too…"

Florina watched as Fiora looked towards the distance.

"…Do you miss home?" Fiora asked. Florina quickly cast her mind back to her hometown in Ilia. She thought of the snow tipped mountains, the small communities, and her little village where she lived with her sisters. She also thought about the large castle near her town where she underwent her training.

"…I do" Florina replied quietly, still resting on her sister. Fiora brought her other arm around and hugged Florina, placing her head softly above hers.

"Once this is all over, we'll both go back to Ilia" she said.

"What happened to Farina?" Florina asked.

"I'm not sure" Fiora explained. "Working as a freelance mercenary, no doubt. But I'm sure she'll come home at some point. Once she does, then we can stay together at home"

"That sounds so nice…I miss home"

"I do too, Florina…I do too"

Fiora then let go of her sister and stood up, stretching herself. Florina continued to eat while she looked up at her sister. Fiora looked back down towards Florina, smiling warmly to her.

"If you want to talk about anything or if you need any help, then you know where to find me" she said, before walking off to talk to another member of the group.

Florina looked back down at her food, thinking about her home, her village, all of her friends. She really did miss Ilia, and thinking about it made her feel depressed. It was a memory that would hawk on her mind for some time after she initially thought of it.