Longer chapter this week! I really like this one, especially the first half… not much plot development, but I feel like I'm really getting to know the characters. Ossa Trail next chapter, I promise.
…
Fire. Fire everywhere. The whole town was in flames; the smoke was visible even from the forest. Legs pumping, he ran as fast and as hard as he could. Fire ahead, fire in his limbs, fire in his heart. He knew Genis was falling behind, but he couldn't make himself slow down, even to let his friend catch up. His heart pounded too loud for him to concentrate on anything; all he heard was his pulse racing in time with his footsteps, and all he saw was the smoke, the fire.
They had left his house for Iselia, confused as to why Colette had already left. But halfway there, they had seen the smoke. "The village… Come on!" he had yelled as he set off sprinting, his dog beside him and his best friend following. They became more worried as the smoke grew thicker and thicker, the wind blowing towards them, making their breathing even more difficult, even more labored.
Flames in front of him now: figures in red uniforms laughing as they threw torches onto the cottage, roaring in laughter as the innocent villagers ran out, screaming. One grinned maliciously as he thrust his sword into a man's stomach, wrenching it to the side before pulling it out, letting the man slump to the ground, moaning in agony as he clutched his gaping wound. The Desian only laughed again as he brought his sword down again, severing the man's neck. The other soldier laughed as he held a woman who screamed in horror; he dragged her easily toward the burning house, stabbed her through the stomach, and tossed her into the flames. "Burn, you miserable worm!" he shouted over her shrieks. Lloyd was too far away to do anything but watch in horror.
Together, he and Genis cut down all Desians they saw; Lloyd knew he was bleeding from several small gashes, but he couldn't feel it. It was only more red in his sight to add to the fires. Behind him, Genis was only winded as Lloyd had taken all the direct attacks. They made their way farther into the village, where they could hear more screams.
"M—my house!" Genis cried, sinking to his knees as he saw the only real home he had ever known half-collapsed, all his possessions burning.
"Come on, we have to stop them," Lloyd said, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do about it now." The boy nodded shakily, his silver hair hiding his face, and he stood up. Although his friend didn't seem very steady, Lloyd led him to the back of the village, towards more fire and smoke.
"Lloyd Irving, come forth! Present yourself!"
The call came from further on, near Colette's house. They raced towards the sound.
Lloyd wanted to heave; all that he had just seen, all that he had justdone, and now this before him: more homes burning, more bodies on the ground. A group of villagers had taken refuge in the school, but there were many trapped on the path between two groups of soldiers.
"Lloyd Irving!"
A commander called out his name again. More soldiers holding torches had Phaidra and Frank trapped against their house, apart from the rest of the townspeople. Behind the rest of the Desians, a teal-haired man stood leaning against a gate, looking bored. A red patch covered his right eye, and his left arm had been replaced with some kind of metal thing…
"You're attacking the village again?" Lloyd shouted. "I've had enough of this!"
"What are you talking about?" one of the soldiers snarled at him.
"He speaks nonsense," the man in the back said without emotion. "Ignore him." He pushed himself from his resting place and strode forward, coming to a halt in front of his officers. "Listen up, inferior beings. I am Forcystus, one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals. I rule over the ranch where we cultivate you pathetic humans." He turned to face Lloyd. "You, Lloyd, have been found guilty for the crime of violating the non-aggression treaty. Therefore, I bring judgment upon you and this village!"
The Desians only laughed when Genis protested, ignored the fact that they had broken the treaty first.
"What have you done?" the mayor cried. "How many times have we told you to stay away from the ranch?"
Then… then they led the monster out. Lloyd's adrenaline was still coursing through him; he didn't notice the cuts inflicted on him, concentrated only on defending himself, defending Genis, doing as much damage as possible to his foe… more blood, more fire, more red filling his vision.
"Lord Forcystus! It's just as you thought, the boy has an exsphere!" It had happened: despite all of Dad's warnings, the Desians discovered the small stone on his hand, the only thing he had inherited from his mother, the thing that they had hunted and killed her for.
"It must be the Angelus Project that we've been searching for!" the man said, looking at Lloyd with renewed interest. "Give it to me, boy!"
"No! This is a memento of my mom's, who you Desians murdered!"
"What are you talking about, boy?" Forcystus raised one aqua eyebrow. "Your mother was—" Suddenly, the monster heaved itself off the ground and collapsed on top of the Grand Cardinal, pinning him.
"Run… away… Genis, Lloyd…"
That moan—that sickened, disgusting wail—made Lloyd freeze in horror. No, no, no… No, it couldn't be… Please, no…
"Wh—What was that voice?" Genis asked, severely shaken. "It… sounded like… Marble?"
"It can't be… It can't be!" Please, gods, no, no…
The moan came again: "Get away… hurry! … Genis… you were like a grandson to me… Thank you… Good-bye."
Lloyd was still in shock. He had just—oh gods, he had justkilled—this couldn't be real…
A huge flash, an explosion, almost, and it was gone. Forcystus crouched, burns and gashes across his arms. A small object fell, rolled towards them, and Genis stepped forward dazedly to pick it up.
"Protect Lord Forcystus!" the Desian commander yelled.
"…Lloyd." He looked up automatically; through the haze, some part of his mind focused on the man in front of him. "We will always come after you as long as you possess that exsphere. Always!"
"Lloyd?"
He jumped before turning to look at Kratos. "What?"
"I asked you if you wanted to train," he reiterated, looking at the teen curiously.
"O-oh," Lloyd replied incoherently as he gathered his thoughts. It had been a few days since they left Triet, and they were now starting to set up camp. The sand beneath them was slowly mixing with dirt and some sparse plant growth. Lloyd could smack himself; judging by the position of the sun, he must have been walking in a daze, trapped in memories, for at least an hour. His legs shook slightly, and the sweat on his brow had nothing to do with the heat.
"Well?" Kratos asked, cutting into Lloyd's thoughts again.
"N-no, not right now…" he said, still trying to get his bearings.
Kratos stared at him for a moment. "Are you feeling all right? You should see your teacher if you aren't well."
Lloyd shook his head vehemently. "No, I'm fine," he protested, much to Kratos' apparent skepticism. "I just… I just don't wanna train right now."
"…As you will," the mercenary replied after a slight pause.
…
"What have you done? Look! Look what you've done to our village! This is all your fault! If not for you, this wouldn't have happened!"
"I—I'm sorry…"
"You think apologizing will do anything? Do you know how many people died because of you?"
"That's not fair, Lloyd didn't do anything wrong! He just saved Marble!"
"Any involvement with the ranch is forbidden!"
"But I didn't mean for this—"
"You can't fix this by wishing it hadn't happened. The Desians marked you as their enemy! As long as you are here, this village will never be at peace!"
"Mayor, surely you won't exile achild…"
"He isn't even from this village! He's an outsider; a barbarian raised by a dwarf! He brought this upon us, and he will take the punishment."
Lloyd buried his face in his hands. Those voices wouldn't stop playing through his head.
Shortly after supper, Lloyd had said he wanted to take a walk, and declined the offers of company. He could still see their fire a ways away; he had collapsed onto the ground once he was a fair distance away from them, wanting time alone to think. No matter what he did, memories of his last day in Iselia plagued him, wouldn't leave him alone. He knew Genis felt similarly, but Lloyd couldn't talk about it, even to him. Besides, it wasn't as bad for Genis; he hadn't had to fight hand-to-hand, hadn't been able to see their malicious faces clearly, hadn't suffered the injuries or seen the bloodshed, caused the bloodshed, like Lloyd had.
"Why…" he muttered to himself. "Why?"
"Lloyd?"
For the second time that day, Kratos startled him out of his thoughts.
"Don't do that!" he snapped, resentful of the unwanted company. Kratos ignored his animosity and sat beside him.
"What's wrong, Lloyd?" he asked quietly.
"It's nothing," he replied quickly, "Let's go back—"
Kratos grabbed his arm as he moved to stand. "They're worried, Lloyd, but no one wants to ask you about it."
Lloyd sighed and slumped back down. "So why are you here?"
"Merely to see if you wanted to talk."
"What makes you think I'd want to talk to you about it?" Lloyd couldn't help lashing out, despite how he was coming to like the mercenary; the memories had been battering him too hard.
Kratos said nothing for a long while, and Lloyd had begun to debate trying to leave again when he finally spoke. "You're thinking of what happened in Iselia, are you not?"
"How'd you…"
"I was there when Genis told his sister and the Chosen what happened," he said softly.
"Right…" Lloyd hung his head, ashamed that Kratos knew about it. Suddenly, the words came tumbling out. "I didn't think that that would happen! I mean, they already broke the treaty and everything, and I didn't think they saw me. All I did was try to help Marble—" Lloyd broke off and shuddered at the thought of Marble, at what he had done… After a moment, he continued in a much more subdued tone, "Do you think it was right? Helping her?"
"You did the only thing your conscience would allow."
"I can't even tell what that means," Lloyd muttered, annoyed at Kratos' vocabulary.
Kratos sighed. "You could not forgive yourself if you hadn't intervened; therefore, you took your only option."
"But how could I be right, when it's my fault that Iselia was attacked?"
"Right and wrong are not definite things, Lloyd. What appears to be right to you could seem unforgivable to someone else."
"Why can't you give a straight answer?"
"Because there are none."
Lloyd glared. "You're a big help," he grumbled at the man.
"In this situation, Lloyd, no one can help you." The teen looked up in bewilderment, but the mercenary stared ahead, any emotions masked. "Only you can decide your own right and wrong, your good and evil, what is truth against the lies. The decisions of others cannot define your thoughts; it is something one has to choose alone."
"But what if I can't tell?" Lloyd yelled. "What if I have no idea what I should have done? I couldn't just do nothing, but when I tried to help, it only made everything worse! I thought I was doing the right thing, but because of me, the village was destroyed! There was nothing I could do. I don't know what the right answer is!"
"There is no 'right answer', Lloyd. That's the cold truth of the world."
Lloyd glared at the man. "I thought you said that no one else could tell me what the truth was?"
Kratos finally looked at him; a bitter smile twisted his lips. "Now you're starting to understand."
For some reason, Lloyd couldn't help but laugh. There was no real humor in it, but it somehow made everything look a little less daunting. "You're really only confusing me more, you know."
"It will make sense in time."
"Yeah, I think it will, that's what confuses me."
Kratos' eyes glinted in amusement, but he quickly turned away and stood up. "We should get back to camp, Lloyd. Your friends are concerned about you."
"You say it like you aren't." Kratos looked back at him; Lloyd continued. "I mean, you wouldn't have come talk to me if you didn't care, right? Don't pretend like nothing matters to you."
Kratos stared at him for another moment, his eyes hidden in the growing darkness. Finally, he shrugged slightly and began to walk back to the fire. Lloyd scrambled up and followed him.
…
"You're too slow, Lloyd."
The teen groaned as he picked himself up off the ground yet again; he had actually managed to block Kratos' blows for a few minutes, but as soon as he took the offensive, Kratos seemed to vanish before appearing just to his side and knocking him to the ground once more.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the Professor asked from the sidelines; she sat on the ground with her brother and Colette, eating sandwiches. The group had stopped for lunch, and Lloyd wanted to make up for not training the night before. Skah lounged a short ways away, basking in the sun, and Yuan and Sophie sat near each other further on, although the purple-haired traveler didn't seem incredibly pleased with her company.
"What do you mean, Professor? What's wrong with training?" Lloyd rested the tip of one sword into the ground and leaned on it, taking a short break from the fight.
"I'm not sure it's beneficial for you to take so much damage for the sake of practice," she replied, eyeing him with concern as he tried to catch his breath.
"So you would rather have him seriously injured in battle from lack of experience?" Kratos countered.
The elven woman huffed. "Fine then, go ahead."
Lloyd straightened, holding his swords at the ready. Once more, Kratos attacked, and the teen frantically blocked the hits. How was it that the mercenary could attack so fast with one sword that Lloyd could hardly block the hits with two?
His arms ached from taking the pressure of all the blows; he decided to try a different tactic. Instead of knocking the sword away, he began to jump back from the attacks. He watched more carefully where Kratos would strike, and stepped to the side of his swings instead of countering them.
"Heh, I wondered when you would realize the mistake in your tactics," Kratos said as he swung again, missing Lloyd by a breath.
"You're my teacher, aren't you supposed to tell me what to do?"
"Sometimes you need to recognize things on your own." The man spun to the side, swiftly moving behind him; Lloyd jumped back and just barely missed the hit. "You don't need to move so much, you're only wasting energy."
"How am I supposed to dodge you then?"
Distracted by the conversation, Lloyd moved a fraction of a second too slow, and Kratos' sword caught his arm. "Pay attention."
Lloyd made a face at the mercenary as the attacks stopped. "Do you have to be such a jerk about it?" he asked, mock-pouting. Kratos only glared back.
The teen stretched his aching limbs, but a sharp sting made him swear softly and look down at his arm. The Professor caught sight of the small injury as he examined it. "Lloyd, you're bleeding!" His teacher rushed forward, pulling his arm toward her, and consequently bringing him closer too. "I told you to go easy," she murmured as she examined the cut.
His face was on fire; Lloyd pulled himself away. "It's only a scratch, Professor, really. I've done worse just working on projects at home."
Genis laughed loudly from the background at Lloyd's embarrassment; he quite juvenilely found it amusing that Lloyd was being treated like a child. It was worse that Skah, Yuan, and even Sophie chuckled, because they understood Lloyd's thoughts better…
"Really, Lloyd, you need to be more careful," she scolded as she cast First Aid. The skin of his arm swiftly healed over, leaving no scar; it looked like he'd be able to fix the tear in his coat pretty easily too.
"Leave the kid alone," Yuan sighed. "He's fine."
Raine glared at the half-elf. "He is my student; I'm responsible for his safety here."
"Will you guys please stop treating me like I'm ten?" Lloyd protested loudly. "I can take care of myself!"
Genis laughed even harder when Raine ignored him and turned to Kratos. "I've told you before, Mr. Aurion, that this is dangerous, did I not?"
"Not as dangerous as leaving him untrained, I assure you."
"And using real blades!" she continued angrily. "At least when he used wooden swords, he wasn't in danger of hurting himself."
"Or any of his attackers."
"I can't believe you're so callous—"
"Professor!" Lloyd shouted, successfully halting the argument. "It's not Kratos' fault, so leave him alone. I want to learn to fight, and I'm better off having a teacher than trying to do it on my own. And really, it's not like I really got hurt, so it's no big deal, all right?"
His teacher stared at him for a moment, then finally turned away, calming herself. "If you insist, Lloyd, then there is nothing I can do to stop you." She walked back to where Colette and Genis were finishing their lunch and sat down, pointedly ignoring everyone.
"So…" Lloyd said awkwardly, uncomfortable in the silence. "Kratos, are we gonna keep going?"
The mercenary shook his head. "I think it best if we stop for the day."
"Aww, seriously? That's no fun…" Seeing that Kratos was indeed serious, he turned to survey his friends, and grinned at the blond swordsman sitting in the sparse grass of the plain. "Hey Skah, you wanna give it a go?"
"Nope."
"Come on, why not?"
"No way, kid," Skah shook his head. "I really don't want to humiliate you like that."
"You wish," Lloyd countered. Seeing his persuasion was doing no good on the blonde, he turned hopefully to the cobalt-haired half-elf. "Yuan, how about you?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't hold back. If I fought you, you'd end up dead, and your lovely teacher would kill me, so no."
Lloyd frowned. "You guys are no fun…" His gaze shifted to the small purple-haired woman sitting next to Yuan. "Sophie, do you fight?"
"I can defend myself," she said, sounding slightly offended.
"You wanna try fighting?"
She smirked. "You wouldn't be able to keep up with me."
"Just watch me." Lloyd grinned. "Come on, let's see who's better."
Raine frowned. "Lloyd, I think you've had enough practice for one day."
Her student scowled. "I'm fine, Professor."
"Lloyd, I really don't think…"
Colette said cheerfully, "What if Lloyd uses his wooden swords?"
The older Sage sibling looked unsure, but the younger Sage was suddenly excited. "Sophie could try to dodge while Lloyd attacks! Then we can see who's faster."
"Yeah!" Lloyd looked hopefully at the traveler, eager for a challenge. "Sophie, how about it?"
She though for a moment before a small smile spread across her lips. "I accept your challenge." She stood slowly and moved out a ways from the rest of the group as Lloyd grabbed his wooden swords and came to face her.
"I'll try not to go too hard on you, Sophie," Lloyd taunted, "but no promises."
"And I'll try not to embarrass you too much," she countered. "Whenever you're ready."
Lloyd charged, although not at his top speed, holding back most of his power. However, the woman moved surprisingly fast, easily side-stepping him. He attacked again, faster this time, and she still spun away quickly. He quickly spun, lashing out again, only to find that Sophie was not where he thought she was; his attacks missed by a huge margin.
"You're not too bad," Lloyd said as he struck out at her, missing only by a hair.
She smirked. "I'd like to say the same for you, however…" She gracefully ducked to the side, underneath one of the wooden blades. "I don't like to lie."
Lloyd's attacks began to come faster and harder, but no matter what he did, his opponent merely spun out of the way effortlessly, that small smile of hers mocking him the entire time. She somehow managed to dodge between his swords, and looked much more elegant doing it than Lloyd had done while evading Kratos.
Suddenly, as she ducked his blade again, he saw a small opening in her defenses. He lunged, anxious to land a hit and stop the laughter of his friends on the sidelines; unfortunately, in his desperation he lost focus and thrust a bit too hard, too sloppily. Sophie saw the obvious attack coming, and spun to the other side. A light tap to Lloyd's back ruined his already precarious balance and sent him sprawling face-first into the ground.
"I think that's enough," she said smugly as Lloyd brushed the dirt off himself, spitting some out with disgust.
"Wow, Lloyd, you just got beat by a girl!" Genis crowed, enjoying his best friend's embarrassment. Colette giggled along with him while congratulating Sophie. Yuan chuckled slightly.
Lloyd ignored his friends and turned to his opponent, a reluctant smile on his face. "You're good, Sophie. Where'd you learn that?"
She shrugged, smiling coyly. "I've had a bit of training." Although she seemed casual, there was something in her tone that made Lloyd think she didn't want to talk about it, and he decided not to press. He'd still have time to get to know her before they got to Izoold anyway.
Raine looked up from where she was packing up their lunch supplies. "We should get moving," she said, and the rest of the group nodded. They were all eager to get to their next destination, so the faster they traveled, the better.
Lloyd looked up at the sky, watching the wind blow swiftly through the wispy clouds. This was the farthest away from home he had ever been, and they would soon be going farther; then again, home wasn't really home to him any more, it couldn't be after what had happened, so the only thing left to do was keep moving forward. He smiled in anticipation of the adventures awaiting him. Now all he had to do was go find them.