Disclaimer: Not mine; still theirs and they aren't returning my calls....

A Legend's Journey

Chapter 6

Auron awoke with the first streams of light in the eastern sky. It had been a fitful night and he didn't rest well. Somehow, he just never got comfortable. He pulled on clean exercise clothing of light weight, loose-fitting pants but decided to forgo the shirt. In the kitchen he put coffee on to perk; food would come later.

He checked in on Raine. Her thick dark hair was tousled and in her face, the covers were all askew, attesting to her own restless night, though she showed no signs of stirring for now.

A cup of the dark coffee downed, he retrieved his massive sword from its place on the wall and headed upstairs to the roof.

Before beginning, he stood still, eyes closed, breathing deeply, gathering his focus and centering himself. Then, slowly he began his daily workout, an ancient ritual whose ordered steps and movements were established in untold years of the past.

Having done it many thousands of times before, he could actually lose himself in the familiar ritual. He reached, lunged, stepped, whirled, low, high, the huge sword slashing the air on either side of him, above him. A ballet of warrior and weapon.

The pace very slowly but steadily increased. Increasing. Increasing. The sound of the blade singing in its passage through the air. Sunlight catching on the facets cut into one edge added sparkle to the shining blur as the warrior and the weapon moved as one into the final phase of their dance.

So fast as to deceive the eye, it would be difficult now to discern the direction of the blade or the line of its travel. It was everywhere at once. It would be seem impossible that a human could control that singing, spinning, slashing, monstrously huge blade.

In one last flash, the blade came to a halt, perfectly centered in front of its owner, in a perfectly controlled ending. Silence.

After a moment, Auron took a deep breath and stepped back. He swung the blade across his right shoulder and reached to pick up a towel to wipe the sweat from his face. As he did, he saw Raine, still in her white gown, perfectly frozen in the rooftop doorway.

Raine could not have moved if her life had depended upon it! She had awakened to a silent house and, frightened, came in search of Auron. Not finding him in the villa, she ascended the stairs. Stepping into the doorway to the roof, she had seen the most electrifying, thrilling and stunningly powerful scene she had ever witnessed!

Auron was in a realm of his own, going through the ritual paces of the ancient workout, in complete control of, and in harmony with, a whirling, spinning sword whose sheer size was intimidating. One tiny slip would surely leave him maimed for the rest of his life, if he survived it at all.

The magnificence of what she had just witnessed took her breath away! The powerful control he exhibited in the smooth, fluid moves of his muscled body were beyond her imagination. For the first time, she began to have some understanding of the awe in which people universally held the man before her.

Realizing that he was looking at her with a dark scowl on his face made her feel as if she had been doing something wrong.

"Oh. I – I'm sorry! I c-couldn't find you. I didn't mean to intrude...." Feeling her face flush, she turned quickly and fled back downstairs.

She returned to her small room, shut the door and sat on the side of the bed, hands twisting in her lap. He looked angry and she couldn't face that. She hadn't intended to do anything wrong.

He had taken her in and was sheltering her from a completely alien world and there was no other place for her to go. She had to find a way to stay out of his way, or at least not upset him! She felt terribly insecure and frightened.

Tears began to sting her eyes. No! She wouldn't allow it. She would not cry!

She heard the sounds of water running in the shower. Maybe she could just stay out of his way until he got over his anger.

Then a tap on her door startled her.

"Raine? May I come in?"

He probably wanted to chew her out for interfering or something. 'Well, let's get it over with', she thought.

"Y-yes."

Auron filled the small room just by stepping into it. She looked so sad and forlorn sitting there, a sparkle of moisture in her eyes, absently pulling at her own fingers.

She took a deep breath and looked up at him with trepidation. "Auron, I'm really sorry. I woke up and the house was silent, I - I couldn't find you. I'll try to stay out of your way. It won't happen again, I promise!"

The tears she had been battling were gaining ground on her, as they threatened to spill over at any second. She swallowed hard.

Auron looked at this perfect picture of misery and sighed. There was no way on this earth he could stay angry with this woman. Why was that?

His workouts had always been his private time, his alone. It was the one time he could breath freely and meld his spirit with that of his weapon. No people, no demands being made on him by others, no feelings to keep masked at all costs, just him and his blade.

Her unexpected presence and observance of the ritual workout had unnerved him and he had reacted the way he always did – with scowling anger designed to drive people away. And that's the last thing he wanted to do now, he realized.

In any case, she didn't deserve to be treated this way. She had come looking for the only source of security that she had. She had done nothing deserving of his anger.

He knelt in front of her and looked into those blue eyes now full of tears. Taking her hands in his, he spoke softly in his low voice. "Raine, it's OK. You've done nothing wrong. I apologize for my reaction. It was uncalled for."

He began to explain it to her, revealing more of his unmasked inner self than he knew. As he talked, she saw the real loneliness of the man, she saw the constant demands made upon him and she saw the sacrifices he had made to meet those demands. The treasured moments in the dawn with his weapon and the steps of the ancient ritual were all that he ever asked for himself. She saw him for himself, the selfless, noble man that he was, not the Legend, not the ever-brave man in the stories. Him! And her tears spilled over.

Instinctively Auron started to put his arms around her but suddenly the Monks began to scream in his mind and he stopped with just his hands on her shoulders.

Those blue eyes were so close. So close it seemed that his lips were being drawn to hers like a moth to a flame, closer, almost touching, he could feel her soft, warm breath.

"Guardian! Control your emotions!"

Auron snapped back, his breathing rough. Raine didn't seem to be breathing at all, as her breath was caught somewhere in her throat.

Standing, his deep gravely voice was rough but soft. "I'm sorry, Raine. Please forgive me!" And he was gone.

'What just happened??' Her heart was pounding! She was stunned and her mind was reeling. 'What just happened?'

As she tried to gather her remaining wits, she slowly collected her clothing with shaking hands and went to get a shower. Wonderful hot water and fragrant soap washed over her but the only thought registering on her mind was an almost-kiss. 'What - just - happened?!'

Why did he make her heart pound so ridiculously hard? Why did she want this man she had just met to take her in his arms and kiss her? 'Raine, your brain must be scrambled!' Oh, boy, did she need time to think!

Freshly bathed, dressed, hair brushed and shiny, Raine cleaned up the bathroom, went towards the living room and stopped dead in her tracks!

Standing there talking in a low voice with Auron was a - what did Auron say? - Ronso? How could one creature be so massively tall? Auron was huge and this creature towered over him!

Auron caught sight of her. He saw the expression on her face as she saw the Ronso.

Raine thought, 'This is Auron's best and most trusted friend. He asked me to accept him. Okay. I can do this. I can do this!'

Auron saw her take a deep breath, straighten her back, raise her chin and glide into the room seemingly as self-assured as any royalty anywhere.

"Good morning."

Kimahri, who had been standing with his back to her, turned to see a most lovely young lady smiling at him. The same one he had scared witless only a few days ago.

Auron stepped forward. "Raine, I would like for you to meet my friend Kimahri. Kimahri, this is Raine."

Not being sure of the custom, Raine tentatively offered her hand to Kimahri. With incredible gentleness, he took her hand and bowed over it.

He emitted a deep rumble, "Kimahri delighted. Kimahri regrets first meeting. Raine welcome in Spira!"

Raine was touched by the gentleness and obvious sincerity of this huge creature. With her unique ability to see straight to the heart, she saw much goodness in this incredible creature.

Still holding his soft hand (paw?), Raine looked up into golden eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Kimahri. I am honored! I hope you will be here often. I have much to learn of this world and I hope you will help me."

The big Ronso was totally swept off his feet. This small woman had wrapped him around her little pinky finger within seconds of their meeting.

Auron could hardly believe what he was seeing! Had it not been for his thick fur, he knew without doubt that the Ronso would be sporting a bright red glow on his face! His own face twitched as he tried to control himself at this revelation.

He looked at Raine with something akin to pride in his eyes. He understood the terror she had felt when she first arrived and now he saw the result of her conquering that fear by her inner strength. He knew she did it because he had asked her to accept his friend.

She looked at Auron, her smile for Kimahri still on her face, but her eyes were puzzled.

She turned back to Kimahri and laughed softly. "In my society, it is polite to offer refreshments to guests – but I'm afraid my ignorance is on display. I don't know the customs here."

Kimahri's chest rumbled in what Auron knew was a laugh. Humor spoke for itself in the golden eyes as he responded. "Kimahri understand; Raine not worry. All learn; all be better. Kimahri very happy Raine here!"

Kimahri took his leave with a promise to return soon, leaving Auron and Raine alone again.

A brief awkward silence, then Auron said, "Thank you. You did very well. Kimahri likes you."

She smiled gently and said, "I like Kimahri. There is a great deal of goodness in him!" Not knowing what else to say, she looked down then headed for the kitchen.

Breakfast was coffee that Auron had prepared earlier, eggs which she cooked, and toast. At first Auron was uneasy about having her cook, but she wanted to get accustomed to this world, so it was another step in her journey. And the eggs were cooked to perfection - light, fluffy and very good.

But they ate in silence. Neither seemed to know what to say to the other. Auron sensed her confusion but there was no way he could explain. He was too confused himself.

Raine said she would clean up so Auron wandered off to the rooftop. She hoped to have a few minutes to try to sort out some of her thoughts and emotions. She mostly needed to understand her own emotions. She had no experience to draw upon when it came to men. And she didn't understand the new feelings that had suddenly made their presence known within her. She was so attracted to this man even though she hardly knew him.

She decided that the best thing she could do would be to stay out of sight as much as possible, though she wasn't sure how that was really possible in the small house. She didn't dare venture outside!

Her thoughts were interrupted by the tinkling bells at the outer door. She looked at the empty stairs and waited a moment, but Auron apparently didn't hear them. 'OK. I can do this,' she thought.

She went to the wall door, opened it and stifled a scream at the last second! There was a creature - tall, green with reptilian eyes.

"M-May I help you?" she asked with as much aplomb as she could muster.

"Oh, good morning, miss. I wass hoping to ssee Ssir Auron. Iss he available?"

Blinking, gulping and trying to control her heart rate, Raine gave a small bow and said, "If you will wait one m-moment, sir, I'll ch-check for you."

Closing the door, she flew into the house as fast as her feet would carry her.

"AURON!"

Auron was descending the steps as she flew into the living room and skidded to a stop as she saw him, eyes huge, breathless, hands twisting each other, her pulse pounding in her throat.

He frowned in concern. "What's wrong, Raine?"

Trying to control her breath and respond calmly, she swallowed and said, "Auron, th – there's..."

"There's what?" he prompted.

Giving a small gesture over her shoulder toward the doors behind her, she gulped and said, "There's a lizard at the door!"

"A what???"

Then the answer came to Auron as he realized who it would be and he laughed. A great booming laugh that floated out into the square and stopped people in mid-stride, looking around, wondering at the source of the sound not heard before, then recognizing The Guardian's villa as the source of the sound. People looked at each other and shrugged. This was new to them.

Still smiling to himself, he went to the outer door and spoke with the visitor, then returned to the house. "A lizard," a rumbling chuckle from somewhere in his chest.

The visitor was indeed of the reptile family, though not a lizard. With the passage of the centuries, his people too had developed into a race of their own and were accepted in all society. This particular one was a leader in the community and had come to ask a bit of advice from Sir Auron.

Raine was still standing where he had left her, eyes large in a pale face. Auron's good humor was still sparkling in his dark eyes as he took her shaking hands. "I'm sorry you had such a start. There is much to learn and you will master it so give yourself time. You can't know it all immediately."

He went on to explain about the reptile races and several others she was likely to encounter so she would be more prepared. Raine listened carefully. It was quiet for a moment.

"Auron?"

"Yes."

"The chickens. The big yellow ones."

"What about chickens?"

"Are they people, too?"

The big booming laugh rang out again. Those in the square who heard it found themselves smiling, too.

Raine was just plain confused. 'One minute he's scowling and angry, the next he's laughing. At me! Men make no sense at all! Wherever he goes, I'm going in the opposite direction!'