~A Wild Heart~

Chapter Eighteen

~~~ooooo~~~

"Zack and I were talking the other day, and I got this idea…" Tifa was saying doggedly at Aeris' heels as she herded the sheep inside the barn and into their pen.

Dread filled Aeris, but she knew she had to give her friend the benefit of the doubt and hear her out. "Yes?"

Tifa took a deep breath. "It is said that fairies can grant wishes," she said, jumping nimbly out of the way for the shepherdess to swing the gate closed behind the last sheep. "If you must have him, test him then. Test his feelings for you."

Aeris secured the latch on the gate and waited, her back still to Tifa. "How?" she asked quietly.

"Ask a wish of him. Ask him to help us and give us water. If he cares for you, he would do it," her housemate replied. "Aeris, think about it. Think about what you can do for everyone here. I wouldn't ask you but you're the only one who...who..."

"Who knows a fairy?" She turned and met Tifa straight in the eyes. Her lips twisted in self-deprecation at the mutinous look on her companion's face. "How foolish of me not to have taken him for everything he could give us. I forgot that the value of a person lies only in what he can do for you."

Tifa must have sensed her hidden doubts underneath the sarcasm. "That's it, isn't it?" she asked. When Aeris remained silent, she pounced. "You don't think he'll do it! He doesn't return your feelings. You love him but you don't know if he loves you. Here you have Zack, a wonderful, handsome young man who loves you, but it's not enough for you." Her voice turned hard. "Any other girl would give their arms and legs to have him look at them the way he looks at you, but you want the love of a fairy. A fairy who doesn't even care for you."

Every word Tifa uttered was like a knife stabbing her in the chest and all she could do was think of the way Cloud touched her. He could be so gentle, she thought, and the pain in her heart was almost enough to break. She could still see the look on his face the first time he traced his fingers down her cheek, skimmed over the buttons on her blouse, felt the ribbon in her hair, his hands trembling slightly and his eyes lit even brighter with wonder. She could hear the tremor in his voice, remember the brush of his lips on hers. And then there were times when they would get carried away and she could feel the need and heat burning through his body just as it did hers, and he would suddenly stop and just rest his forehead against hers and let their hearts and breathing slow to their normal rate.

"Zack may not love you the way you love this Cloud or want to be loved by him, but he does love you, in his own way," her housemate was saying. "A fairy's love is no better or more special than a human's love. And Cloud doesn't love you. He will never love you. You know that. I'm sure he would if he could, but he can't. He doesn't have the ability to love."

Tifa was wrong. Fairies were not completely without feelings. Aeris would bet her life on it. Despite the fears and doubts her friend's words had brought to the forefront, she refused to let them stand in the way of what she herself had learned about them and now knew.

Tifa saw that her words were falling on deaf ears.

"It's because he's a fairy, isn't it?" She peered closer into Aeris' face, eyes narrowing. "You want him because he's a fairy. And Zack being a normal, regular man without any magical powers can't compare to him in your eyes."

Before Aeris could reply, Tifa spoke again. "He's a fairy, and fairies are immortal. Where will you be in ten, twenty, or fifty years from now? He will be young forever. You won't be. What happens then?"

Stricken anew, Aeris lifted her chin and whispered, "It won't change how I feel about him."

Something flashed in Tifa's eyes before she wheeled about and made to leave. "Fine then," she said coldly. "But you saved his life. Why can't he help you now? Why can't you just ask him?"

But, Aeris thought despairingly as she stared at the barn entrance after Tifa left, she'd already asked him.

~~~ooooo~~~

"Would the young lad object to sharing his shade with a weary traveler?"

Zack looked up from his meat-pie, eyebrows rising at seeing an old woman with stooped shoulders standing over him. His irritation at having his solitude disturbed vanished abruptly as he set his pie down and moved over to make room for his unexpected guest under the rock he was sitting. "Please, sit down and rest your feet for a while, ma'am." He took her walking stick and bag from her, and helped her sit down.

"These old joints aren't as good as they used to be." She winced as she rearranged her stiff legs in a more comfortable position and leaned back against the cool stone behind them, inhaled deeply. "You picked a nice spot to have your lunch. A very nice spot indeed."

His eyes made a quick pass over the rock above them. Most of it was buried in the hillside, but the front end and parts of the underside and both sides were visible, unlike the two stones it rested upon, whose faces at their backs were the only parts that were left uncovered. He nodded curtly. "You must be hungry." He inclined his head at the food he'd unpacked and laid out on the grass. "Please help yourself. One man can't eat this much food by himself."

"Thank you, lad, but I still have a bit o' pasty that the baker's wife gave me," she said, patting her bag fondly. "But I am rather parched."

He passed his canteen to her and watched, bemused, as she nearly drained it.

"A heavy heart makes the day needlessly long and weary," said the woman, turning a pair of disconcertingly dark purple eyes upon him as she replaced the cork and handed the canteen back to him.

Zack glanced away, discomfited by the penetrating gaze that seemed to see too much. He picked up his pie only to set it down again, his thoughts in turmoil as it had been these last few days and yet there was a calm to them that hadn't been there before.

"Fickleness is not a quality a man desires in a wife." He felt her eyes still on him. "Or is it?"

He swiveled back around and stared at her. "I don't know," he said, and grimaced. He seemed to be saying that a lot lately. "That is to say, I don't know if she's fickle."

"Why do you want someone who has given her heart so readily to another?"

"I don't know for certain that she has," he began, but stopped short and raked his fingers through his hair as he heard himself repeating the same old line again.

"Those fellows...your friend, Hans. He worries about you." She tilted her head at where the other farmers were eating their lunch but she never took her eyes away from him.

Zack frowned. "Did they say that?"

"They didn't have to."

"I didn't see you with anyone else. Who were you talk—?"

"You doubt her and you doubt yourself."

He found himself wondering how the traveler had known what he was thinking and how she'd even happen to come his way when he'd deliberately sought out the shelter of the rocks to put some distance between himself and the other men.

As if she'd heard his thoughts, the old woman fell quiet and the two of them sat together in a strangely pleasant silence.

At length, she grabbed her walking stick and with some effort, pushed herself up onto her feet. "I must be on my way."

He glanced up, ashamed at once at the realization that he'd been a very poor host to her.

"Look inside yourself, Zack. The answer is in your heart." She accepted the bag he held up for her and placed her hand briefly on his shoulder. "You are a good man. You do your parents proud."

Zack nodded absently, his eyes drifting to the massive stones scattered about on the slope of the hill across from them and never noticed when the woman took her leave.

~~~ooooo~~~

A low growl from Daisy alerted Aeris from her troublesome thoughts, bringing her head up. Surprised pleasure flooded through her at the sight of the brunette climbing the hill toward her, her lovely face wreathed in smiles. She jumped to her feet and rushed forward to greet one of her oldest and dearest friends with the dog trailing her heels.

"Beatrix!"

They embraced one another warmly as Daisy ran happily around them in circles, apparently having come to the conclusion that their visitor was a good friend and not a predator of sheep.

"How are you?" Aeris beamed. "How's your family? It's been a while since I've seen any of you!"

"Good afternoon, Aeris! We're fine, everybody's fine. How have you been?" Beatrix was breathing heavily, two bright pink spots on her ivory cheeks. "Goodness," she continued breathlessly. "I thought my legs were gonna give out before I ever found you!"

"Oh dear," Aeris said in consternation. "Come." She took her hand and led her back to the tree. "It's cool here in the shade and I have plenty of water."

"Oh, no," Beatrix said dismissively as the two of them sat down and she removed her bonnet. "You don't live in the hills and not know to carry a waterjug whenever you leave your farm."

Aeris grinned. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what brings you so far out here today?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Beatrix said wryly. "You brought me out here. I was looking for you."

She gave her a quizzical glance.

"Aeris," Beatrix said, then hesitated. "I don't see you around anymore and... Why are you out so far by yourself?" she asked suddenly, in that blunt, forthright way of hers that most everyone would have found completely out of character except for the few who knew her best. "How are you not lost? I don't think I know how to get home!"

She chuckled. "I like it out here. It's isolated."

"You can say that again." Beatrix looked perplexed. "I'm amazed we haven't stumbled clear up to our necks in the sea!"

Aeris laughed. "We're nowhere near that far. Home is that way." She pointed northwest and brought her other hand up to her eyes, squinting a little into the distance. "See those three hills over there? They look almost identical save for the one in the middle that has a crown of trees. The farms are behind them, but a bit farther on. If you head toward them from here and climb to the top of any of those three hills, you will see your farmhouse. The route is much shorter than using Goliath or Titan as your guide," she said, referring to two of the biggest hills that every child knew to look for to help them find their way home.

Beatrix grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. "Your reputation is well-deserved."

Aeris' smile faded. "You didn't come here just to tell me that."

Her friend gave a rueful shake of her head, brown curls bouncing. "I never could hide anything from you when we were children. I don't know why I thought I could now."

"That and you coming out here when I'm not anywhere near your family's farm gave you away."

Beatrix smiled weakly. "Yes, there is that. It feels like I haven't seen you for ages."

"Bea."

"People..." she began haltingly. "There's been talk going around..."

"Talk?" Aeris inquired. "About me?"

"No!" The other girl was swift to deny. "Of course not! It's just...talk."

"Talk about what then?"

"About this place." Beatrix gestured to the landscape and let out a sigh of frustration. "You know how it is. Everyone's always talking about all the odd things going on around here. About everything and nothing."

She nodded in understanding. "I think it would be more odd if there was nothing odd going on around these parts."

"Well, yes, that's true," Beatrix allowed. "But I suppose I meant more talk than the usual. So I came looking for you because I was worried. I don't like the thought of you being out here alone. I never did."

Was that a warning Aeris heard in her voice? Whatever it was, it gave her pause. "I'm all right."

"I guess I should have known," the dark-haired girl said with a wistful smile. "You have Zack and Tifa now and maybe you don't really need company while you're out with the sheep, but perhaps... you can use an old friend. I... I just came to see you really."

Her words moved Aeris and it suddenly struck her how long it had been since she last saw Beatrix, or any of their neighbors, for that matter. "I can always use an old friend."

Beatrix gave her hand another squeeze. "Aeris, take care. Please take care. Be careful."

"I will," she said with a touch of surprise. "Thank you."

"Whatever happens, I want you to know that I have faith in you and I will stand by you." Beatrix's voice trembled but she smiled, her old, trusting smile that Aeris remembered so clearly from their childhood days and she knew everything would be all right. "I know you."