:: 7 ::
:: Water ::
( Constructive criticism and reviews only, no flames )
…
Chesedonia felt like heaven to the group of eight, after walking through the hot desert sands and under the burning sun. The town itself wasn't so bad, either. Stalls and tents were spread out in different places, maximizing the large area. Small buildings could also be seen, as well as what seemed to be a castle. (Somebody's home, perhaps?)
Amongst the calls and shouts of vendors and merchants Luke spoke. "Finally, we're here! Now we can catch up to Master Van!" Tear sighed and shook her head. "Is my brother all you ever think about?" she said, quite irately.
"Like I said before, Tear, don't be so hard on him!" Guy joked, grinning as he rubbed the back of his head. "The important thing is that we're here in one piece, right?" he added. Natalia nodded in agreement. "Yes. We were lucky to have beaten the God-Generals and save the Fon Master with little difficulty."
"Whatever! Can't we just go and meet up with Master Van already?" he whined back. Tear sighed again. Sophia giggled from her place near the back and patted Tear's shoulder, giving her a warm smile. "Are you alright, Tear?" she whispered. Tear blinked and nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry. Maybe it's the heat that's making us all jumpy."
"Alright, if that's what you say."
"Thank you for asking, Sophia. I appreciate it." The younger female responded quietly, and both smiled at each other. Anise ran up from behind, the Fon Master in tow. "So, what do we do now? Ion! Are you still alright? Do you need to rest?" she asked.
Ion gave her a comforting look and shook his head. "No, it's okay Anise. Luke wants to see Van soon, and I don't want to be a burden."
She sighed. "That's it Ion! You're resting, whether you like it or not! That's okay, right Luke?" He didn't respond. "Hey Luke, Anise is asking you a question." Guy repeated. He still, failed to respond. "Luke?"
Luke cringed silently, a huge jolt of pain streaming through his head. He used both hands to grab his head and he closed his eyes, wishing strongly, for the pain to stop. "Argh!" he finally screeched. "D-Damn it…"
"Luke!" Guy shouted. He ran beside his friend, still wincing in pain. "Is it one of those headaches again?" he asked, worriedly. He nodded slightly. "I-It's different this time…Damn it…I-I hear…voices! Argh!"
"Voices?"
…
We entered Chesedonia a little later than we had expected. After successfully defeating (Although our victory wasn't expected to end the way it did.) Sync and Largo back at the ruins, we hurried to Chesedonia.
I was surprised, then, when I heard Sophia (Of all people, I would have never expected her.) warn me of an incoming attack by Sync. It was fortunate that she had hidden out of the battle; I don't even want to think of what might happen if she had joined in. (My, I never expected it to come out that way either.)
I was pretty sure when we left, that she had thought she was useless. I was, after all, given the rare gift of perception. (My, I'm so humble.) We talked again, and after she had somehow regained her confidence. (She had a certain aura that I couldn't begin to describe.)
After arriving in Chesedonia, I had come to think about what I had just said to her back at the Zao Ruins. I didn't expect to say that, but it had come out anyway. I don't regret telling her that she wasn't useless, though. (Ah, there goes my gentlemanly side.)
I am happy, at least, that Tear is making an effort to talk to her. Age makes little difference among women, I'm afraid. (Did that just come out as a negative sexist remark? My, forgive me if it did then.)
I had a bad feeling when our resident prince (Ahem.) told us his head had started to hurt, and that he was hearing voices. I shook off the feeling, and tried to push the thought at the back of my head, although it was making good progress in returning.
After some discussion and…interesting talks, we decided to go to the inn for the moment and rest. (The heat is quite unbearable if one is not used to it…that's what I would have wanted to think.)
Unexpectedly, Luke (Oh dear, I seemed to have given it away again.) started to draw his sword and then he aimed it aggressively at Tear. (I tried, again, to push the thoughts away.) He stopped and dropped his sword before collapsing to the ground.
I already had…a vague idea of what was happening, no matter how much I didn't want to believe it. What had Dist done to him, in Choral Castle? (Such an idiot, no matter where I go.)
I heard Sophia gasp in between Tear and Natalia's worried protests to get to the inn faster. It was made quite obvious of how Sophia didn't like Luke (It was interesting back at the ruins, as well. Educational, if I may say.) so I was quite amazed at her show of concern.
Guy ended up carrying Luke inside the inn and laying him down on the bed.
I left after a few minutes, and came to think to myself. Hearing voices, being controlled all of a sudden (I can point out that obvious fact as well, thank you very much.), headaches getting more frequent…
Perfect isofons…it can't be. Asch and Luke…no. I must be mistaken.
I have to be.
I hadn't realized that standing near the doorway of the room could allow me to… eavesdrop, although I hate to use such a strong word, on their conversation. Well, I'm here. There isn't any harm, now is there? (My, my, I amaze myself at times.)
Ion was the first to talk.
"I hope Luke is okay…"
I heard Tear sigh. "I wonder what happened…why did he do that all of a sudden? Did it have something to do with those headaches?"
"I'm not sure…this hasn't happened before…Up 'till now, that is." Guy joined in. I sighed, silently. Just listening to them wonder I was already starting to doubt myself.
This shouldn't…couldn't be happening.
"Could it be the heat back at the desert?" I heard my dear fiancé say gently. (I' not being sarcastic…Believe me.) I heard her sip something. Was she drinking water or tea? (I would love a glass, but I have to wonder where in Auldrant she got it.)
"Is that tea you're drinking, Sophia?" I heard Natalia ask. I didn't really anticipate my question to be answered so quickly. I heard no response, so it must either be a nod or not. "No, just water in a fancy cup."
"Man! Speaking of water, I'm drenched!" I now heard Anise whine. I must admit, I think everyone that had traveled to the ruins is thirsty. (Did I refer to myself as well?) And then I heard chair legs drag. Someone was getting up.
"I'll be happy to get you some, Anise." Sophia offered her. After protesting and scolding from Natalia (I had to chuckle. That was quite amusing.), I heard her walk across the room, and saw her head pop out from the doorway.
She noticed my presence at the side of the door and gasped a little. I let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry. It seems you've caught me."
She blinked and looked back to the room. She smiled again, and walked towards me, eventually passing me. As she did, I heard her whisper. "I won't tell anyone, Colonel." She giggled.
I sighed in response and watched her leave the room. When I was sure that she was gone, I walked back inside and sat down near the corner, waiting for Luke to wake up. Things had to be explained, but nothing in depth, at the moment.
I guess when I sit down they're all compelled to ask me questions. After Sophia left and I took a seat near the corner, I saw all of them turn to me. "Don't tell me I have something on my face, now."
"Colonel, have you been getting along…with…Sophia?" Natalia asked me suddenly. Ah, here goes the old interrogation method. These kids should know I almost invented that. Well, time to answer…
"Well, of course I am. Why ever should I not be?" I answered, as casually as I could. I was telling the truth, after all. I had nothing to hide.
"You say that so sarcastically. It's hard to take you seriously." Tear responded. (Oh dear, I'm hurt!)
"Come on, Colonel! Give us some information here! You're totally leaving us hanging!" Anise whined. I beg to differ! I was leaving no one hanging. I suppressed a chuckle. Who knows what they might have asked me if I didn't make a slight reaction.
"Alright, what do you want to ask me?" I questioned them. If they were so serious about the topic, then I can spare them the same attitude, don't you think?
They were silent and looked at each other. The Fon Master was just smiling. "Then I'll ask the first question. Do you mind Jade?" Guy volunteered. I told the truth, of course.
"Actually, now that you do mention it—"
"Okay, like we said, how are you doing?" Dear, he cut me off! Now, this is really getting to be interesting. I smiled at him as normally as I could and adjusted my glasses…To keep them from falling off my nose, of course.
"Like I said as well, we are doing just fine. What were you expecting me to do? Hm? Kiss her?" I was dying to hear what they had to say for this one.
I saw him shrug, while the others looked away. Oh, did I get them now? "Well, I didn't say that. You make us sound so horrible, Jade." He replied, rubbing the back of his head. He seems to do that a lot.
"It's just that, we don't see you talk that often. Shouldn't you be making an effort to at least get to know her as a friend?" Isn't that what I've been doing?
I sighed. "I'll get to know her on my own pace at my own time, thank you for the advice, Guy. Is that all?"
"Now that Guy mentioned it, I haven't seen you two talk either!" Tear and Natalia joined in afterwards. I'm being pinned down by youngsters…What next? Dear me.
"I've seen them communicate back in the ruins, but only for a brief moment. And I also heard her shout when Sync was about to attack the Colonel. Does that count?" Natalia spoke.
"I think so."
I sighed again. "I'm flattered that you all care so much about what's going on in my private life, but if I haven't said this before, then I'll say it now. This isn't the appropriate time for a social experiment. When the right time comes…Well, we'll just have to wait and see, now won't we? Now, are you all satisfied?"
They probably gave up on interrogating me after I said that. (I told you, I invented interrogation. Kids today…) They were all so silent afterwards, until it grew too much for them and they began discussing something else.
Of course, I was left to my thoughts. In terms of standing right now, friendship would be a good course of action between myself and Sophia. But there are more important things than that. If I get distracted who knows what may happen.
Although, I think the biggest thing to worry about at the moment is what my comrades had planned for me. (Mischievous, aren't they?)
Sophia returned with another glass of water after a few minutes and gave it to Anise. She grinned and thanked her happily. "You're great, Sophia! Thanks!" She smiled again and took her seat near the doorway.
I grinned to myself. I should be a little more careful, next time.
"Is he awake?" Sophia asked. Tear shook her head, although it was obvious Luke was still out.
As if the devil had been listening to our conversation, Luke awoke. He rubbed his head and tried to stand, but was pulled back by Guy. "What the hell happened?" he asked irately. (Temper, temper.)
We ended up explaining to him what happened after he collapsed, and I ended up telling everyone about what it had to do with Dist. "Unless we find dear old Dist the Runny, there isn't much we can do about your condition, Luke."
Of course, that caused His Majesty to complain about a few things, as he was prone to do when he was irritated. One tirade was all about the Fon Master coming with us and what we would do while we were with him. I must say, ambassadors of peace have changed these days. Everyone had suggested bringing Ion along, and that way we could also protect him from any assaults from the Oracle Knights. Seeing as how apparent a certain somebody was at projecting his annoyance, we agreed to take Ion along.
"Okay, fine! Do whatever you want! Let's just get to Master Van!" Ah, once again it's all about the Commandant.
"Where is he?" Luke had added.
"The Malkuth consulate should know. Shall we be going then?" I answered him. We left the inn and continued to the consulate, a few blocks away from here.
I don't know if it's just me or not, but I began to notice, whenever we headed out, that they all seemed to walk a bit faster than both Sophia and myself. It's as if they're leaving us behind, together, on purpose. (Subtle, yet very palpable.)
I sighed and continued walking towards our next destination. I suppose there isn't any harm in it, for now. I didn't mind. What I was worried about was where we would go after all of this. It is wise to think ahead, is it not? I'm quite certain that we both have our doubts. But I can't go back on this, definitely not now that I've started something.
I just need to focus, that's all.
We arrived at the consulate and, unfortunately for Luke, Van had already left Chesedonia. We were about to plan our next motive when, suddenly, Guy cringed in pain. He was clutching his arm and, out of the blue, lashed out at Luke when he tried to help. Strange…I didn't see Dist do anything to Guy.
"Guy! You obviously aren't feeling well! Let's call a doctor. C'mon!" I heard the red-head say. Guy, of course, denied any help and Ion realized that the pain was from a curse slot seal. It triggers memories from someone's subconscious and uses them to control the victim. Back at Choral Castle…Maybe that was where it had happened and I failed to see it.
I saw Sophia try to approach Guy, apparently worried. "Guy, are you sure you're okay?" she asked him. He grinned and stood up with Luke's help. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. You don't need to worry."
She smiled at him and accepted his answer. Although, it was quite obvious that she wasn't buying it. (I can see these kinds of things. Part of my observational talents, perhaps?) The effects of the seal vary with range. The one in control must be in the area, here in Chesedonia.
We left as soon as we were able to and boarded a ship.
Guy felt better after we left the city. I had a feeling that the Fon Master knew who was controlling that cursed slot seal. He was in a deep state of thought before we hurried outside the city.
The ship started to sail on, and we all waited on deck. Others boarded rooms.
I stayed outside since I felt I needed a bit of fresh air. I was trapped in my own thoughts when I became aware of someone else's presence: Sophia's.
I didn't turn to face her, rather, I just waited there for her to come closer to me. (Well, who would have thought that she actually would?) "May I stand here?" she asked me, quietly.
I nodded. "I don't see why not."
We spent the trip in silence, both of us just looking at the sky. (Well, I was looking at the sky; she may have been looking at the water.)
I heard her cough politely and I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. "Is Akzeriuth as bad as they say it is?" She asked me. Ah, our third conversation of the week. How, stimulating. I nodded. "Yes, the miasma the planet is generating is quite a problem in that area."
She nodded back. "I see. Then we should get there as fast as we can."
"I've noticed you aren't a fan of Luke."
Well, I was stating a fact. When she thought no one was looking I could see in her facial expression; her dislike for the ambassador. She hid it well, though, when she talked to him.
And, at least it isn't as noteworthy as hatred. (She still shows some concern for him, albeit a little cautiously.)
She chuckled. The wind from the sea was blowing now, and the air became a little cooler. "I'm being judgmental, really. Forgive me for that, Colonel." She answered back. I haven't really noticed how she looked, up 'till now. I don't lie, like I had said before. She really was beautiful. Long blonde hair complimented her, as did her sky colored eyes. Truly, a citizen of Malkuth.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It was just an observation."
Damn, I had given it away. Oh dear.
She chuckled again, this time softer. "I don't dislike him…It's just…a bad impression, is all it is. There must be more to him than just that." I didn't expect that kind of answer, but we never get what we expect, now do we?
"Indeed. Let us observe him together, shall we?"
She smiled at me and nodded. "It would be an honor, Colonel."
We spent the last few minutes of that trip in stillness. I didn't bother to talk anymore; I had said everything I had wanted too. My mind was now focused on Akzeriuth; the longer we took, the longer the people there would suffer. After a stretched-out moment of silence, she spoke up once more.
"Colonel, may I ask you something. If you don't mind, that is."
I turned, slightly, to look at her. "Ask away."
"I heard Luke say you had your fon slots sealed as well. Is that the same as…mine?" I felt her fix her gaze at me.
I faced her and turned back to the sky, answering her question as best as I could. I couldn't be specific about it, since I don't really know how she had hers sealed.
"I can't say for certain but, yes, my fon slots are sealed temporarily." She was silent, but listening, so I continued. "Largo sealed them with a mechanism back at the Tartarus a few weeks ago.
Or perhaps it was longer; time passes so quickly. The seal reduces my capabilities, but I am still capable of using fonic artes."
She blinked and looked away. "I see. So they aren't the same after all."
"Since you asked me a question, may I ask you something?"
She smiled. "Of course. Please do." I fixed my glasses; they were falling off the bridge of my nose again. (I need to get these fixed one day.) I cleared my throat before continuing.
"You said before that you were a Seventh Fonist, correct?"
She nodded. "Yes, I was."
"And that you can't use them because your fon slots are sealed, right?"
She nodded again, a little slower this time. "Yes, that is correct."
"Mind telling me how that had happened? I haven't heard of a fon slot seal mechanism that seals a person's fon slots permanently. When were they sealed?" I didn't mean to shoot out so many questions at once, but sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me. She smiled.
"I don't really remember when they were sealed, and I don't know how they were sealed either. It's all a blur, I'm afraid."
I sighed and left the deck, walking slowly as I pushed the door back into the ship's holding room. She glanced at me, wondering.
"Colonel? Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
I didn't look back though. With that one smile she had given me, the truth already came to me, ironically. I don't want to bother with lies like this, so I'll ask her again some other time when she's ready.
I sighed once more and continued. But I answered her question before I left. I was hoping to befriend her, as Guy and the others oh so subtly told me too, but, I guess she just isn't ready to trust me. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
"Well, not particularly but you are a very bad liar."
