Author's Note: Been busy lately, so that's why this post is so late. And this story just seems to get longer and longer the more I think about it, so I think there will be more than three chapters. From now on, I'm giving no more promises about when This Loneliness ends. It's over when it's over!

Word spread that the seeress was searching for a way to save Paddra.

The Farseers, reassured by her efforts, lost their unease and worry; Yeul had never failed them before, and the people were confident that they would survive the Ugallu's wrath.

Yeul spent the next few days searching through the historical records and reading the sermons authored by the Yeuls proceeding her. There was no prediction of the Ugallu's untimely arrival, nor had the previous seers ever been faced with a threat that her Guardian could not banish.

She did not give up.

Caius watched one evening as Yeul lit a lamp and set it beside her on the floor, where various documents were spread out around her like a staggered fan. She raised a hand to push away the hair from her forehead and Caius looked away. "Is denying this destiny the wisest action?" He asked softly, hoping that Yeul would not read a rebuke in his question.

"Obliteration by the Ugally is not our fate," she answered distractedly. She held up a fraying page and peered at it. Through the light of the lamp, Caius could see the golden-brown woven fibers of the paper. "Paddra's future was changed."

"You foresaw it."

"I do not accept it!" She dropped the document, her eyes flashing angrily at him. Caius met her gaze silently and after a few moments Yeul let out her breath in a sigh. "I am sorry, Caius. I believe the goddess does not wish me to fail, but..." She blinked at him bleakly. "It has been three days. The Ugallu is fast approaching."

"Permit me to fight," he said. "I will not stand by to watch your slaughter and do nothing."

"Many l'Cie and mighty warriors, comparable to you in valor and prowess, have fought the Ugallu and were torn to pieces. I do not doubt your skill, Caius. However..." She shook her head, her voice growing quiet. "I do not want to see another Guardian die."

The words struck Caius with a tangible pain, like a thin blade between his ribs. He did not know his predecessor's death had bothered Yeul. It shamed him to know that he had brought this hurt to her and that, even after living with her for more than a year, he had not realized this until now.

Yeul studied her hands in the dim light. "I wish this monster could be rid of as easily as he came," she murmured. "I wish I could banish the Ugallu back through the timespace tear..." She paused, her mouth widening a little. "Caius..." She stared up at him. "You have studied magic. Is this possible?"

"Perhaps." He shut his eyes, feeling as though he had disappointed her yet again.

She scrambled to her feet. "Will you help me?" The pitch of her voice grew higher, betraying her budding hope. "You can read the symbols; perhaps together we can find a spell to be rid of the Ugallu."

"Yes," he said tersely. Caius took the lantern and led the way to the Temple of Etro's private library, where a vast majority of the magical tomes of instruction, summoning and incantation were housed. "I will pull the volumes that I believe are most relevant," he said, setting down the metal cage of the lantern.

Yeul watched as he moved to the closest bookshelf. "What is wrong?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing." His eyes scanned the titles and tags etched on the spines. Her comment pained him further; Yeul was observant, more than he had been.

He heard her soft steps as she walked up behind him. "I do not know why this trial has come," she said slowly, "but I am grateful for your loyalty and strength these last few days. Thank you for standing at my side."

"I am your Guardian," he said. He pulled a slim manuscript from the shelf.

"Caius." Yeul slipped one of her hands into his large one. His body became rigid with the contact; the pads of her fingers were soft and cool. "I do not know why you are angry," she said softly, "but I am sorry."

He thought of her tenderness and earnest devotion for her people, which now led her to break her vows and change the future. He thought of the brave face she showed to comfort the masses, proving that she was deserving of their trust.

Her confidence was not hard to mimic. Caius faced Yeul and nodded. He allowed a slight smile to curve his lips and watched as the anxiety faded from her eyes. "Thank you," he murmured, and her hand tightened in his.

Yeul searched the manuscripts with Caius leaning over her shoulder, translating the magical runes and spells so she could understand. All through the night they looked for the right incantation that would save Paddra. Caius's voice became hoarse and as the sun began to rise, Yeul fell into an exhausted sleep, her head pillowed on an open book. Caius extinguished the lantern's flickering flame with his fingers and gently lifted Yeul's cloak to settle it around her shoulders. There was just enough light coming through the high windows to see by, and Caius pulled the waiting stacks of books over to his side of the table, continuing the task Yeul had begun.

As the sun reached its zenith in the sky, Caius found the spell they were looking for.

He hesitated to wake Yeul; it seemed an almost intimate thing, to wake someone from their dreams. He scowled at his reluctance and gently touched her shoulder. Immediately Yeul straightened, rubbing at her eyes with the inside of her wrist. She saw the amount of natural lighting in the room and paled. "So late?"

"Noon," Caius responded. He pushed the book with the spell in front of her. "This will rid Paddra of Ugallu."

She leaned over the page. "What will it do?"

He pointed with long brown fingers. "Time is suspended around the Ugallu, isolating it. Timelessness cannot exist in this terrestrial realm, so the Ugallu will be drawn to a location where time is also suspended."

Yeul frowned. "Not to Valhalla?"

"No; none enters there without hearing the goddess's call."

"The shadows of Valhalla, then." She looked up. "The Void Beyond."

"Yes."

They stared at each other from across the table. A small smile crossed Yeul's face and she passed the book back to Caius. "Teach me the spell."

Yeul pulled her hood up over her forehead and tucked her hair behind her neck. She led the way through the grid-like streets of Paddra, staying in the shadows and keeping close to the walls of the stone flat-fronted buildings. Caius was at her back, the musty tome in the crook of his elbow. There were a few more hours of daylight left and the business districts were crowded with lingering buyers , desperate sellers, and enthusiastic children who had been released from school for the day. Caius could hear the raised voices like a low hum, even from several blocks away.

"We must hurry," Yeul had told Caius as he flung his dark cloak around his shoulders. "The Ugallu is nearly here."

"We will avoid the streets and squares," he had said, nodding to her. "We will move faster if we do not attract attention."

But Yeul did not seem to be satisfied with the cautious pace they had agreed upon; now she was running down the straight, paved streets, her cloak billowing out behind her. His long legs allowed Caius to keep up with her, and soon the seeress was jogging out the city gate, her guardian a step behind.

"We must... hurry faster," Yeul puffed. A few strands of silvery hair had come loose and were streaming behind her. "We must meet it... before..."

"Stop." It was clear that Yeul was not prepared for extended exercise over long distances. "Would you permit me to - "

Her chest heaved. "Yes. Yes," she said, her hood sliding back from her head.

Caius came behind her and lifted her carefully into his arms. He ran. His long legs, used to the exertion, ate up the ground beneath his light feet. He ran until he reached the valley opening, when Yeul's hand tightened on his arm.

"Here," she whispered.

He gently placed her on the ground. Yeul silently took the book from him. She walked a few steps away, her shoulders straight. She knelt on the ground, laying the book open before her in the swaying grass.

"Look," she murmured, and Caius looked up. There, silhouetted against the rocks, stood a slim, muscular body. A broad scar was etched across one massive shoulder - a testament to the warriors who had failed to fell the beast. The long, blade-like claws were bone white, even across the distance. Jagged teeth poked through a grinning, wicked smile.

Yeul began to whisper the words to the spell, her hands moving to emphasize the powerful incantations. The Ugallu cocked its head, as if listening. It trotted down the hillside towards them, the mouth widening in a grimace of glee.

Caius twisted aside his cloak and slowly drew his broad, spiked sword. The Ugallu, seeing the weapon, gave a joyful leap and lowered its head, running faster.

It is mocking us. His hand tightened on the leather grip of his blade. He shifted closer to Yeul without breaking eye-contact with the monster. Etro's heart, burning boldly in his chest, thudded with the expectation of battle. He could feel the hot wind pushing against his back. He heard Yeul's quiet murmur and, even softer, the delicate click cli-click of the Ugallu's claws on stone. Caius stood, completely still, and watched as the Ugallu bounded towards them.

And, suddenly, it stopped in mid-leap.

For a long moment Caius stared at the unmoving Ugallu, above him in the sky. He straightened, slowly lowering his sword from the attack position. He risked a small glance at Yeul; she had finished the spell and was sitting back on her ankles, her long hair pooling out from beneath her fallen hood. Caius looked back at the Ugallu as a ragged black tear opened in the sky. He saw, fleetingly, darkness and grey crumbling stone and could smell the heaviness of stale air before the bright mouth of spacetime closed around the monster, swallowing it into its depths. Caius blinked and Ugallu was gone; the wind was blowing, the sun seemed brighter, and he was almost deafened by the sudden rush of air into his lungs.

"We have... succeeded," Yeul said quietly, wonderingly.

Caius slowly latched his sword onto his shoulders. The glimpses of the Void Between burned in his mind. "Yes," he said, feeling stunned himself.

"We have succeeded," Yeul repeated. Her mouth tilted up a little, then a little more. She turned to Caius and her eyes were so bright, so relieved, so proud that he couldn't help smiling back at her.

"You may prove to be a fair mage," Caius said as Yeul stood and picked up the book. "You show future promise, Yeul."

Her smile turned into a laugh. "You will teach me magic, too? So I may attack my enemies while I disarm their weapons?" She handed him the tome.

He tucked the book into the corner of one arm once again and shook his head with a small chuckle of his own.

Yeul looked up at him, her smile slipping slightly. She blinked a few times and then looked down, taking a step to collide into Caius. Caius started to step away, but her arms had already encircled his waist. "Thank you," she murmured, her cheek pressed against the sun-warmed armor over his right breast. "Thank you for helping me, Caius."

He paused, his arm lifted above her head so he wouldn't touch her. He looked down at her shining head and slowly rested his arm along her shoulders. Her soft skin was terribly pale against his dark hand. "Yes," he said softy, unsure of what to say in the situation but feeling nonetheless oddly... pleased.

They must have stood that way for a few minutes, until Caius noticed the stream of people running out of the city gates toward them. His hand tightened over her arm. "The people of Paddra are coming out to meet you."

Yeul leaned away from Caius to look. "They must have seen us leave the city, or saw the Ugallu vanish."

Caius's arm dropped from Yeul's back and she stepped away. They watched as a wave of people crowded into the valley opening and filled in around them. Yeul's hands were kissed by tearful old women and her shoulders clapped by tall men with shaky smiles. Little children handed her weed flowers and newly-plucked grass blossoms, their wide eyes and respectful expressions showing at a glance that they didn't truly comprehend their parents' fuss.

A few men moved past Caius and murmured thanks. Women, standing near to their children, cast him brief looks over their shoulders. No one touched him. No one met his eye. He hadn't expected any less; his predecessor had been well-known and his naturally charismatic nature made him well-liked. Caius was too solemn, too unsociable for the general public of Paddra to be completely comfortable with.

The people were pressing to get closer to Yeul. Though these were the seeress's people, Caius stayed within a few feet of Yeul. He watched her accept the flowers and, between the shoulders of her grateful admirers, Yeul turned and looked his way, catching his eye. Her lips curved and she tipped her head toward him.

Caius found himself smiling back and wondered at the power that she seemed to have over him.

"You asked to see me, seeress?" The spymaster asked the following afternoon.

Yeul looked up. A sea of colorful glass and crystal beads radiated out around her from where she was sitting on the floor. Caius, kneeling behind her, glanced up from the small clasp he was fashioning from twisted metal.

"Yes." Yeul stood, looking slight before the spymaster's broad chest. "I wanted to know if any of your agents have heard about the Ugallu. Did one of the tribes call it?"

The spymaster frowned. "We have a few men in the Nightsummoner Clan, but there has been very little activity for the past several months."

Yeul pressed her palms together. "What of the Warmaker Clan, who attacked us a year and six moons ago? Or the Silentknife Clan, or the Blooddancer Clan, or the other city states who continually move against our borders? Do you think the Ugallu was summoned from any of their magicians?"

The spymaster's frown deepened. "Actually... I haven't received word from several of my spies recently. There's been some disturbance in the north that has made safe travel difficult."

"The north?" Caius rose soundlessly to his feet. "Where the assassin originated from?"

"Yes."

His eyes narrowed. "What is the disturbance?"

The spymaster lifted his chin, looking steadily into Caius's face. In a low voice, he said, "The Silentknife Clan is mobilizing."

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