CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE LAST STRETCH
When they left the hostel the following day, Edgar was quieter than usual, a bit more kingly and aloof. Terra wondered if this had anything to do with the fact that they would soon reach the Returners' hideout, where his title would be known. But it also seemed that he was fortifying his heart for something. His relief at not meeting his twin at the hostel appeared to be swallowed up by an even greater anticipation of meeting him in the near future.
Terra thought it was telling that no one at the dojo knew that Edgar was a king. It meant that his twin was equally silent about him.
They had reached the highest point of the pass by mid-afternoon that day, after which the path began to fall, first gradually, then precipitously, causing them to choose their steps carefully. All their effort now went into keeping a steady pace.
Then, at the end of the first march, Edgar spoke. "Do you remember back in South Figaro, my dear, when you saw my lookalike?"
Terra nodded, but tried not to show her eagerness.
"That was my twin brother. We haven't spoken in years: we don't get along very well, you see. That's why I have been silent on the subject."
Terra waited for more, but realized with a sense of anticlimax that he wasn't going to continue. There had to be more to the story, for brothers don't cut off all contact with each other just because they don't get along. But Terra, warned by a look from Locke, didn't ask any questions. She wondered why Edgar had decided to tell them now.
But now she had her own issues to deal with. She knew that, when they reached the hideout, many things would come to a head. She thought of poor Arvis with his beautiful ugly scars, probably dead, or worse. She thought of the Empire and the Returners, and sensed that any lingering doubt as to which side she belonged would have to be decided once for all. The fragmented knowledge of her past that she had collected did not yet add up to an incontestable whole. Who was she? And what (if not a witch) was she?—she who could bend nature to her will. What was the secret of her power, which for whatever reason was now inaccessible to her?
"Why do I feel no closer to the answer now than when I began?" Terra thought. And as she asked the question, two feelings rose up inside her which she tried to suppress as soon as they emerged: first, she felt a great and mighty immensity inside herself, something similar to the dread she'd felt towards Mount Kolts; secondly, a separation from Locke and Edgar and the whole human race that brought her to such a pitch of despair that she feared to lose herself in animal panic. Her heart beat wildly. She gasped, but suppressed the feeling before either of her friends noticed. More than one night this panic caused her to sit straight up suddenly, as one would upon sensing some danger.
It was hard that she felt such alienation without even the benefit of possessing those powers which alienated her. Little did she know it, but she would soon have need of them again.
The party was descending into a long—indeed, seemingly interminable valley. They were coming down into the southern end of a long stretch of green land entirely enclosed by mountains. If they could have looked down from the heavens, they might have supposed themselves to be entering into the bowl of a long and slightly crooked spoon, the handle of which extended far north, until it terminated at those impassible mountains beyond which lay the mouth of a serpentine river, and beyond that, the mountains of Narsha. This apparently roundabout route to the Returners' headquarters had really been the only way to travel there except by sea.
Sabil Valley had its own weather, quite apart from that of the outside world. On the other side of Mount Kolts it had been a hot and withering summer, but in the Valley it seemed a perpetual spring. Light and periodical rains raced down the Valley from the north, refreshing the wild flowers and the tall rolling grasses. The rains came and went so quickly that it often rained in bright daylight.
Terra was enjoying the fine weather, which provided some solace to her fears. They hoped to arrive at the Returners' hideout any day now, and this knowledge produced different effects on the party. For Terra, it meant decision and dread and an ominous encounter with the future and the past. Edgar grew sullen and taciturn, which caused Terra to think that he expected to find his brother. Locke, on the other hand, became more excited and impulsive.
"We're almost there, kid!" cried Locke when he couldn't contain himself any longer, and gave Terra a knowing wink. "Soon you'll meet Banon and the others. We're gonna stick it to the Empire now, aren't we? With you on our side…," then turning to Edgar, "hey, cheer up, buddy! Things are gonna start happening now!"
Edgar gave a half-hearted smile, and Terra was amused by the conflict of moods.
Then, one day, when Terra, Locke, and Edgar were walking their Chocobo and almost ready to mount again (which was fortunate, as the birds were now fully rested), they passed over the next hill and suddenly found, to their surprise, that they had walked almost directly into an imperial camp. Half a dozen soldiers looked up at the same time. There was a moment of bewildered amazement on both sides, and then all exploded into action.
"Ride!" cried either Locke or Edgar (Terra couldn't tell which). Instantly they mounted their birds and spurred them with all their might. The Chocobo took off like a shot straight through the enemy encampment. At the same time the soldiers jumped to their feet, overturning their dishes and a boiling pot on the campfire, which erupted into billowing clouds of smoke. One soldier went for his weapon, another for his horse; a third yelled, "It's the witch! Get her!" and jumped at Terra, trying to pull her down off her bird, but missed by a fraction of a second, just as her Chocobo leaped through the smoke of the extinguished campfire in order to evade him. Terra heard the soldier yell for her to stop: "Stop, Terra! Captain, stop!" For the briefest moment she was tempted to obey, but she didn't, and whether her frightened Chocobo would have obeyed her she didn't know. Her bird had a mind of its own, and ran full pelt.
By the time their pursuers had mounted, Terra, Locke, and Edgar had a good start on them. They were running in a V formation with Locke in lead, running hard up the Valley, though he didn't seem to know where they were heading. Most likely, Terra thought, Locke hoped to lose them in the forest ahead, but that was still a long way off.
It was a long race. Terra repeatedly looked over her shoulder at their pursuers. She counted eight soldiers on horseback, a sight which filled her with fear and the exhilaration of the chase.
"They're gaining!" yelled Edgar. It was true. Horses are faster than Chocobo, though the latter have more stamina. If only they could go long enough they could outrun their enemies. But it became increasingly clear that the soldiers would soon overtake them. Within minutes their enemies closed the distance between them.
They had not yet reached the woods when the party came within javelin-range. After the first missed throw, Locke took a hard turn. All the Chocobo moved as one, maneuvering so quickly that Terra almost fell off. The birds' ability to instantly change direction and to move in unison put some distance between them and their pursuers. Thus they managed to elude the soldiers until they reached the forest.
Once inside the trees Terra and her friends found a little-worn path, perhaps a deer path. She heard a long, high-pitched whistle somewhere in the forest, not from the direction of the thundering gallop of their enemies, but she could not give it any thought. Her face and limbs were constantly whipped by low branches. She shut her eyes tightly, but couldn't guard her face with her hands because the terrain grew uneven and treacherous and she had to cling tightly to her Chocobo. Thankfully, their surefooted birds navigated the ground with ease, climbing steep hills and dropping down ditches with agility, and keeping their pursuers from closing the gap again.
But eventually they had nowhere left to run. The path widened and led them out into a clearing, at the far end of which was a cave in the foot of a mountain. "We're trapped!" Terra screamed. She looked behind and saw the mounted soldiers emerge into the clearing in single file, then form a line and approach with swords drawn and spears raised. She was terrified; her heart beat rapidly. The party stopped and turned to face them. Terra wanted to flee, perhaps into the cave. She looked to Locke, who wore, even now, even at the very end, his mischievous grin. But now his eyes, too, were filled with mischief.
Suddenly she heard a whistling overhead, and looked at the soldiers just in time to see a shower of arrows descend on them. Half were killed with the first volley, after which the surrounding trees shot at will. The line broke and the horses panicked, throwing their riders, as the arrows struck down horse and man. Their disembodied spirits faded away over the treetops. It was over in less than a minute, and all but a few of their horses survived. The archers began to climb down the trees.
Terra, grieved but astonished at their unexpected salvation, looked at Locke, and found that he was already looking at her. "Returners!" he said with delight.
