Final Fantasy IV: The Novel

by Celes Chere

Based on the storylines of Final Fantasy IV DS & FFIV: The After Years, this is the story of Cecil Harvey, a dark knight whose journey for redemption draws himself, his best friend Kain and his lover Rosa into a dangerous battle for their planet.

4. Act Four: The Ties That Bind

Act Four: The Ties That Bind

The stench of incineration and death hit Cecil like a knock to the head, his nostrils burning as he clasped his hand to mouth and swallowed back against the ashy lump that had formed in his throat. The dust from the castle debris and the ruptured desert sands hung in the air so thick that one could part it with their fingers like a curtain. Rydia lifted the wrap that was dangling around her waist up to her mouth, breathing through it like a mask the way Cecil had instructed her. He couldn't comprehend how Tellah could function in any of this – the old man was frenziedly scaling one of the collapsed stairwells with his bare hands that would have taken them to the castle gates. Rydia was desperately trying to cool his path with a chain of Blizzard spells so that his skin didn't singe off from the trapped heat, and he was almost too fast for her to keep up. He was so focused on clawing his way inside that he didn't even notice her efforts – Cecil could hear the rattle of his breath all the way from where he stood.

There has to be another way inside, Cecil thought, his eyes darting across the devastation. Tellah reached the top of the rubble, unleashing a vulgar curse that made even Cecil blush when he next found himself blocked by the decimated gatehouse, which he started beating relentlessly with his staff.

"If only I remembered those damnable incantations for Tornado or Flare…!"

Across a macabre bridge of smoking trellises, their silver plating still glowing orange from the heat, Cecil could make out a fallen tower that had strewn itself across what would have once been the castle's grand hall. If they could make their way up the tower and over, perhaps they could drop right inside…

Rydia kneeled over one of the trellises, her eyes watering as she reached for one of the wilting flowers, a jewel-toned hyacinth that was burning alongside the blackened wish that had been tied next to it. Cecil caught her out of the corner of his eye, quickly swooping down to grab her by the waist and yanking her away.

"Rydia, stop! You'll get burned. Don't touch anything."

"Ugh…" Rydia sniffled, not bothering to fight him as he tossed her over his shoulder and cupped his free hand around his mouth, calling to Tellah.

"I think I've found a way in!"

"Well don't just stand there – lead the way!" Tellah growled, sliding back down the way he had come before Cecil could offer his help. Miraculously, Tellah made it to the ground without any broken bones, so Cecil took him around the corner to the tower, explaining what they should do.

"Give me a boost, and I'll go in first," Tellah insisted. Cecil had a feeling if he objected in any way, it would be a smack to the head with the staff for him, so he knelt down, lacing his fingers together to create a step. After shoving Tellah over the edge of the tower, the old man scrambled back to his feet and took off running for the keep without another word.

"OK Rydia, you're next."

"N-No way," Rydia huffed, driving her balled-up fist into Cecil's backside. "It's too high – I'll get dizzy and fall. The waterfall was bad enough!"

Time was wasting, and if Tellah got too far without them, who the hell knew what he would do next?

"Very well – hold on tight," Cecil relented, and Rydia grabbed hold of his neck, swinging her body around so that she was clutching his chest with her entwined legs. Silently counting to three, Cecil launched himself up the side of the tower, his gauntlets screeching against the marble as he struggled to grab a handhold or any kind of defective spur in the stone. At last, his foot got caught in a deep gouge where a chunk of marble had been knocked out, and he drew in a shaking breath, counting to three one more time before attempting to catapult himself up the rest of the way. Rydia screeched in his ear as he flopped over the curved ledge, swinging his legs around to stabilize them before they went rolling back down in the opposite direction.

"Uhhh…uhhh…" Cecil panted, lowering his head as his muscles throbbed in agony – now that they were actually up on the tower, he wasn't so sure he would actually be able to get up and walk the rest of the way. Rydia's weight on his back felt like a chest of forged iron, when only a minute ago when he had picked her up, it had been nothing at all.

There's something seriously wrong with me… Cecil gritted his teeth. Why is my body breaking down now? Has the blood on my hands fueled the darkness inside me – has it already overpowered my ability to temper it for my own survival?

"Rydia…I need you to get off of me," Cecil moaned, clenching his eyes shut to try to block out the dancing stars that blinded the way ahead. "Please…I need you to be brave…for Anna and Rosa's sake. Can you do that?"

"Cecil…" Rydia gulped, something in his plea telling her that she shouldn't argue. She inched her way away from him, holding her breath as she staggered to her feet and extended her arms outward for balance. Her extraction was as if a blast of oxygen had been pumped into his veins, and he felt the feeling rush back to his legs. She carefully stepped in front of him, pressing her hands to her knees. "…Did I hurt you?"

"No, no," Cecil replied quickly, opening one eye to peer up at her. "That was just… a lot. Kain was always the better jumper…"

"We should have Tellah use another Cura spell on you," Rydia frowned, standing back up straight. "I'll go get him."

"D-Don't," Cecil groaned, making it a point to haul himself up even though every cell within was screaming. "I'll be all right. Let's just go find him before he does something drastic."

The two of them gingerly crossed the tower together, Rydia's hand snaking into his own. The shattered spire at the tower's end made for set of clumsy steps that ushered them into the courtyard – Cecil had already been wondering if a jump down would kill him, and thanked whatever lucky star he had been born under that the gods had been merciful in this one instance. His gratitude, however, quickly drained away when he took notice of the carnage that had been laid at their feet. A few small fires were still raging, having not yet extinguished the life from the flower beds, shattered crates and rumpled banners that were fueling them. It seemed that every few yards a body had been deposited, some of them so broken and disfigured that Cecil could only imagine that they had come crashing down with the towers, or had leapt from them out of fear of being burned alive. Tellah was frantically running to each one, checking even the most hopeless cases for life. Many of them were blanketed in dust and debris bloated from the rivers of blood seeping into the scorched earth beneath.

"Ah…ahhh…" Rydia whimpered, clenching Cecil's hand tighter. His guilt for bringing her along only to witness such violence intensified one-hundred fold, realizing with a sharp pang that this could not, in any imaginable way, be good for helping her forget his own brand of terrorism he had laid upon Mist just a few days prior.

"ANNA!" Tellah screamed, not even noticing Cecil and Rydia had arrived. "ANNA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Ugh…" a soft moan replied, and the three of them snapped to attention, turning in unison toward the next staircase that would take them inside the castle proper. Several steps had suffered damage, but not enough to impede progress – one of the great hall's doors had even been blown right open for them. Hanging off of the top ledge beneath a railing was a man in a black and violet soldier's uniform, the helmet on his head cracked clean in half. As Cecil made his approach, he saw a pool of blood making a steady drip down the stairs, and following its trail in reverse lead to a spreading stain in the torso of the man's uniform. Cecil realized with sinking horror that the man had not merely managed to cling to the stairs despite his injuries – he had been impaled through the railing, and was pinned in place.

The soldier's head lolled to the left as Cecil climbed up the stairs, moaning louder. Half of his helmet flopped off from the effort, bouncing down the stairs and hitting Cecil's foot.

"Who goes there?"

The light had already left his gaze, a shroud of ashen mist having taken the soldier's irises. Cecil realized he had been blinded.

"Sir, I am a traveler," Cecil began, feeling Rydia shake next to him as she took in the scene. Tellah stood a few paces behind, his head lowered as he clenched his staff. "Do you know of any other survivors?"

"His Majesty…Her Highness…they must still be in the throne room…" the soldier gasped, a trickle of blood rushing out of the side of his mouth as he struggled to get the rest of his sentence out. "His Highness Prince Edward…he…" But before he could finish, a strange gurgling noise erupted from the depths of his throat, and he went still.

"Damn it all," Cecil muttered, looking to Tellah. "There was no time for any of them to run…"

"It's despicable," Tellah growled, sweeping past to enter the great hall. From within, they heard him shouting Anna's name over and over, his desperation rising until all that came out when he called was a strangled scream. Cecil kneeled next to the soldier, quickly closing his eyes shut with his fingertips and whispering a prayer under his breath. When he stood up, he realized Rydia had disappeared – he spun around, only to see her rushing back up the steps, a bundle of crushed hyacinths in her hands.

"Rydia…" Cecil murmured, deciding to hold his lecture about her about touching anything as she dropped the flowers upon the fallen soldier's chest, her eyes blazing with defiance as they met Cecil's.

"These flowers…they were my favorite. They grew by the pond where Mommy and I always went to read. I…I never thought I would see them in a place like this."

"…It's OK," Cecil frowned. He wondered if she meant she never thought she would experience the world outside of Mist, or if she never thought she would have to wander through such a hellscape where innocent beauty, like her favorite flower, was exterminated before her very eyes.

And I shall never forget that I'm the reaper who lead her here…

They joined Tellah in the great hall, which unfortunately, was more of the same of what they had found outside – there were no apparent survivors, and a fire was ravaging what remained of an informal dining hall whose ceiling had crashed in and was unleashing plumes of black smoke against the picture-perfect sky. Cecil spotted their next exit, which had a body slumped across one of the dented iron doors.

"We should see if that soldier was right about the royal family and head to the throne room."

"Fool, where else do you suppose I should go?" Tellah barked, and Cecil raised his hands, quickly shaking his head. He knew the chaos that was eating away at Tellah's heart as well as anyone else, and wasn't trying to be an imbecile – but the Tellah that was standing before him now wasn't even remotely close to the same bumbling coot they had met in the waterway. Something unsettling – bloodthirsty – had overtaken his eyes.

"Cecil, I feel sick…" Rydia moaned, burying her head in his legs. "The smell of the blood and the smoke…"

"I know," Cecil frowned, taking her hand protectively as he eyed Tellah's retreating form. "Just close your eyes, and hold on to me."

In the next hallway, they came to a pair of heavy oak double-doors that had once been decorated with golden shields, crests, and other emblems, all of which were now shattered on the floor before their feet, some of the broken shards smeared with blood. Tellah struggled to push open the doors, but they simply would not give – Cecil wondered if a barricade had been put in place.

"Let me do it," Cecil said, and pulled out his sword, which he was shocked to see was already glowing with dark energy. My failing strength…has the cause been the shadowblade absorbing it for its own this entire time?

Cecil swung the shadowblade against the mount of the keyhole, and the doors exploded open away from them, pieces of wood and stone scattering across the floor. They ran up a shorter flight of stairs covered in a soft, luxurious red carpet that was riddled with gravel, stopping dead in the threshold where the corridor delivered them to the next chamber.

Both the ceiling and the majority of the standing walls had been completely blown away, leaving the throne room utterly vulnerable to the harsh desert atmosphere. Stationed ahead against what had presumably once been the northernmost wall were two golden, jewel-encrusted thrones interwoven with live flowering vines, each with a lifeless body slumped forward in the seat. Cecil could tell immediately from their dress and adornments that these were the former rulers of Damcyan. Their chests and backs were littered in arrows that had been shot from multiple directions, some of them still burning out. A hint of blue emerged from the waist-length curtain of daffodil yellow hair swept over the queen's shoulder – upon closer inspection, Cecil realized it was her heart-shaped mouth, her lips deprived of oxygen and smeared with drying blood.

Several soldiers and guardsman were scattered about as well, all as lifeless as their monarchs and many of them maimed beyond recognition. It obvious that the throne room had been the target of the Red Wings' attack based on the pure brutality of the destruction and the vicious attacks left on the royal family and infantry. What few architectural elements remained standing all had Baron's mark of carnage imprinted upon them – blown-out windows, gaping holes in the marble from explosions, and banners that were still hanging from the walls had all been lit aflame.

Cecil stepped forward, unlatching his helmet and letting it hang limply from his side so he could see the full scope of his homeland's newfound taste for manslaughter. His pulse quickening with each step forward, he tried to rationalize how this could have all happened – his men had been aghast at their behavior in Mysidia, so how could this cruel madness had manifested among their ranks so quickly? What had been the purpose in all this that would have convinced them to commit slaughter in the king's name once again?

What imperceptible threat could Damcyan had held for Baron? Cecil seethed. This is not a nation driven by war or any military might by any stretch of the imagination – and they've never spoken an untoward word toward His Majesty!

"Aheh…hack!"

Not realizing he had begun to pace erratically, Cecil suddenly paused in place when he heard a flimsy cough echo in the air, as fragile as glass. He looked to Rydia and Tellah, who were both still staring in unabashed horror at the sight of the doomed king and queen – it hadn't been either of them.

What…was that?

Cecil slowly turned back around, raising his sword over his chest. The blade, still crackling with violet lightning, seemed to come even more alive in this prison of death. But it was in the reflection of the pulsing steal that Cecil at last found the culprit, and spun around, gaping at the southwestern corner of the room that was set in a depression and swathed in shadows from the surviving walls – all thanks to the sun's position in the afternoon sky. Hiding in a crumbling corner was a slender young man with flaxen, shoulder-length hair sticking out of a velvet red cap adorned with a chocobo feather, a goldenrod cape draped over his shoulders. His ivory face turned ashen with terror as his eyes met Cecil's, tears streaking down his cheeks from swollen, doe-like brown eyes. Wrapped around his neck was a gold and jade scarf, made with the kind of silk that even Cecil could tell was ridiculously expensive just from the way it hung with feigned perfection from the man's petite frame. He was dressed in a rich red suit that matched his hat with a leather traveler's vest strapped across his chest, covered in ash and dust like all the other unfortunates in the room. Clutched in his arms was a young woman in a golden-yellow gown, her wavy auburn hair pouring down over her shoulders and back in loose, frayed ringlets. Her eyes were closed, several arrows sticking out of her chest directly over her heart.

"Who are you?" Cecil gasped. At the sound of Cecil's voice, Rydia and Tellah came barreling over, the little girl skidding to a stop and swallowing a cry when she noticed the dead girl in the stranger's arms. A horrible gagging noise sputtered from Tellah's throat, his staff crashing to the floor as he ran toward the couple, immediately shoving the man out of the way and pulling the girl to his chest.

"Anna!? Oh, Anna!" Tellah gasped, and Cecil's heart dropped into his stomach.

No…we were too late…!

Tellah's premonition…it was real…?

The young man cried out as he stumbled backwards from Tellah's violent push, crashing into a pile of debris that erupted into a cloud of filth. He looked so delicate that Cecil was afraid he was going to shatter right then and there. Rydia whimpered, stepping forward, but Cecil held out his arm, shaking his head. He wasn't going to let Rydia out of his sight until he figured out just what the hell was going on.

"You…" Tellah snarled dangerously, gently laying Anna's body upon the floor and then launching himself at the man like a rabid animal, scrambling back to his feet with a surprising burst of agility and pulling the stranger up off the floor by his fancy scarf. "You're that bard! You're the one responsible for this!"

"N-No!" the accused cried, even more tears rushing from his eyes. "Please–"

The bard that ran off with Anna!? Rydia gulped. He was really here?

"You spoony bard!" Tellah screamed, and with that proclamation, threw the man down, extending his right hand toward Cecil and Rydia. The two of them stared in shock as Tellah's staff began to twitch in place on the floor, suddenly shooting forward into its master's grasp. His weapon in hand, he stepped toward the bard, swinging his staff high in the air and fully intending to make contact with the poor bastard's head. The bard screeched under his breath, trying to scramble away but getting tangled in his cape as he crashed into another pile of debris.

"Tellah!" Cecil cried, finally recovering himself. "Please, stop this!" It was beyond obvious that this was not going to be a fair fight.

"Tellah...!" Rydia whimpered, her hands clasped over her mouth.

The stranger made no further attempt to run. Instead of fighting back, he merely held up his arms over his head, curling himself into as small a ball as possible. With a nauseating crack, Tellah's staff struck the bard's folded forearms and sent the man reeling backwards from the blow.

Cecil shouted again, harried desperation coating his words. "STOP!"

Ignoring his captive audience, Tellah marched over to where the man had collapsed, raising his staff again. The man looked up at Tellah, tears streaming down his beautiful face, and clasped his hands together, as if to beg – or perhaps he was praying for safe passage to the next life.

"Please, things are not as you believe!"

"I see quite well how they are!" Tellah bristled, this time swinging the staff so that it struck the man in his side. He crumpled into a heap as he howled in agony, Tellah giving him a few swift kicks as he managed to curl himself back up into a defenseless ball.

"I-I beg you, hear my words!"

"Choke on your words, boy!" With that, Tellah raised the staff for the final time, squarely over the man's head. The crooked shadow of his staff made it look as if the bard's face had been shattered like a china doll's.

"Why won't he fight back?" Rydia cried.

"Damnation..." Cecil gasped. Tellah means to kill him right here and now! He rushed to throw himself between Tellah and the man, only to have Tellah quickly counter with a Fire spell. It was weak, perhaps not on purpose, but the flames were still enough to push Cecil back for fear of getting cooked alive in his armor.

"Please, I implore you!" the man whimpered, his voice now shaking as hard as his body. With Cecil out of the way, Tellah turned back to the man, his hard eyes disappearing behind the smoke and filth that had dirtied the lenses of his glasses.

"Know this pain…" Tellah muttered, raising his staff higher. "Know Anna's pain!"

"But, Anna and I…"

Just as the staff was about to come crashing down upon the bard's head, a soft voice called out to them like a crystalline bell, causing both Tellah and the bard to freeze in place.

"Edward, Father... Please, stop this."

As if in slow motion, Tellah lowered his staff, turning toward the corner from which the voice had drifted. Still laying where he had left her, her cornflower blue eyes now half-open, was Anna, her breathing labored as the implanted arrows gently bobbed up and down inside her chest with each forced word. Her left hand was draped across her stomach, a glittering canary diamond blinding in its brilliance.

Dropping his weapon as if he were under a spell, Tellah rushed to Anna's side, gingerly propping her up against him and cradling her in his arms, his lips pressed to her hair. The man, who Cecil could now only guess was the "Edward" Anna had called out to, limped over to Anna's opposite side, collapsing next to her at a respectable distance away from Tellah and reaching to take hold of her hand. Tellah was so enamored by his daughter that he didn't even register Edward's presence.

"Oh Anna!" Tellah wept happily. "There is still some life in you yet! I will bring you home immediately to Kaipo and find the best white mage possible…"

"Father…" Anna winced at the effort to speak, but nevertheless, a small smile curled on her blood-red lips as he gaze flicked to the man kneeling at her side. "Please…just listen to me. Edward – he is the Prince of Damcyan. He disguised himself as a bard to avoid attention." With great effort, her fingers folded into his, and Edward pressed his mouth to the diamond, a tear splashing on Anna's finger.

"W-What?" Tellah gasped. "That's…impossible."

Of course, Cecil thought, lowering his head. That explains the string of disappearances in Kaipo – Prince Edward wasn't missing, he was eloping with his bride. How many times had Cecil dreamt of being able to do the same with Rosa, knowing the lifetime of disapproval he would face from her mother?

"Forgive me, Father, for running off with him," Anna bleated. Cecil could see the tendons in her neck clenching tighter as her breath grew shallower – she was in a great amount of pain. "Edward...I'm in love with him, Father. But I realized only too late I could not stay without your blessing. I was about to return to Kaipo, when..."

"…The Red Wings laid siege to us," Edward finished, lifting his head. "Led by a man named Golbez."

"Golbez?" Cecil interrupted, clutching his helmet so tightly he feared he might crush it right then and there. He had never heard of such an individual in the Red Wings - Cecil knew every soldier's name and rank, down to the most promising cadets that had yet to even be recruited.

"Yes. A figure clad in armor of deepest night – his strength beyond that of mortal man," Edward replied in almost poetic-like verse. "Every act of destruction you see before you in this room was by his hand alone. His ships took care of the rest."

A figure clad in armor of deepest night…another dark knight?

"And the Red Wings' purpose?" Cecil asked quickly. What would my mission had been if I were still captain?

"Our crystal…" Edward began to sob, his entire body shaking with each gasping breath, "And after they stole it, they rained fire upon us. I lost my mother and father. My dearly beloved cousins and friends who shared in Anna and I's joy in this very chamber. Men who have been loyal to my family for generations past. Then Anna tried to shield me from their arrows…"

The crystal… Cecil blanched, not believing the thought had not come to him sooner.

That's right – Damcyan holds the Crystal of Fire, the counterpart to Mysidia's Crystal of Water…

Tellah still refused to meet his gaze with Edward's, continuing instead to peer at Anna as he stroked her hair back tenderly from her face. "My dearest girl – you mean to tell me that you love this man that much?"

Anna nodded slightly, her eyes rolling toward the ceiling as a spasm rocked her chest. "Father, please forgive me…for I have been so selfish." Her ring flashed in Cecil's eyes as she wove her fingers deeper into Edward's, her eyes slowly sliding shut as a solitary tear slid down her cheek. Now that her father was here, she could finally say it – finally complete the nuptial vow that would bind her and her prince's souls for all eternity.

"Remember this always, Edward…I…love you."

Her small, but contented, smile froze on her lips as her last shallow breath released her from the excruciating ache reverberating in her heart.

"Anna!" Edward howled, throwing his arms around her waist and sobbing into her dress as her hand slipped lifelessly to the floor. Rydia lowered her head, clinging to Cecil's arm, but all Cecil could do was stare at the floor, horrified.

How…how could this have escalated so quickly? What could the king possibly hope to gain from this…WHAT!?

Tellah held Anna's lifeless body close to him, murmuring her name over and over as if he were chanting a spell. She fell into his shoulder as he let out a series of blistering coughs, a delicate gold circlet that had been hidden beneath her hair catching the light. While still not looking at Edward, Tellah then muttered his next command, his voice taking on the same dangerous tone from when he had been delivering his beatdown as if to warn Edward that he better answer swiftly and with full detail.

"This Golbez…tell me more of him."

Edward, who was close to choking on his tears, refused to let go of Anna as he mumbled everything he knew into her torso. "I've heard he came to Baron only recently. It would seem to me that he is using the Red Wings to steal crystals as their commander…" He broke down and could bring himself to say no more, sobbing louder.

Cecil couldn't believe a damned word he was hearing – just when he would think he had reached the core of this waking nightmare, a new layer would be peeled back before his very eyes.

His Majesty means to acquire all the crystals for his own purposes, and he's using this new recruit for the Red Wings to execute his plan?

If this is all true… That's as good as declaring war on the entirety of the planet…

Tellah huffed disgustedly and suddenly grabbed Edward by the hair, yanking his head up so that he was forced to look at Anna's still face. "Tears do not bring back the dead, boy! Anna's death must be avenged." He then promptly shoved Edward away, springing to his feet as his layers of cloaks smacked Edward in the face like an afterthought. Edward just sat there, blinking, as he watched Tellah make his way toward the exit. "I'll find this Golbez…and then…!"

"Tellah!" Cecil cried, grabbing the old man's arm as he raced past. "Not alone! The Red Wings…they're not just some backwater infantry – they're the most powerful army in the world."

"What do you know about any of this?" Tellah hissed, smacking Cecil's hand away with his staff. A throbbing ache shot up Cecil's arm as he retreated, clenching his jaw. "She was not your daughter! Her killer shall die by my hand!" With that, Tellah stormed out of the throne room in a whirlwind of violet and pink. A few seconds later, Cecil could hear a faint voice calling "Teleport!"

He knew what that spell meant – Tellah had as good as vanished – and they would have no idea where to find him now.

Cecil sighed, pressing his now-smarting hand against his chest. I knew more than you thought…I could have helped. But if I had told him I was from Baron, would he have declared me an enemy as well? It may have been better this way…

"A...Anna…" Edward continued to wail, his hat flopping over his face. "Please…don't leave me…" Rydia snorted, releasing Cecil's arm and stomping toward the wilting prince. She shoved her ice rod under his chin, eyes flashing dangerously as he lifted his head and stared at her, astonished at the petite tyrant towering over his shrunken form.

"Coward," Rydia hissed the declaration between clenched teeth, her fearless disposition reminding Cecil that she was the same little girl who had annihilated an entire mountain with her rage. "You're a man, aren't you? A grown man! Stop crying. I have."

"Rydia…" Cecil murmured under his breath. He realized that being a child, she thought perhaps this was the best way she could help Edward, but it disturbed him greatly that a little girl who had had her world turned upside-down was comforting someone Edward's age. She wasn't wrong about his whimpering, but…

I understand, Prince Edward, Cecil thought, his eyes drifting to Anna's corpse. You're living my worst fear realized – the embodiment of the despair I've harbored in my heart since the cursed day I accepted His Highness' wish to become a dark knight…

This is why I have to save Rosa…I must revive her, and convince her to stay as far away from me as possible…!

"Alas, you're right," Edward said gently, which made Rydia's jaw drop in surprise – that wasn't something she was used to hearing, let alone from a grown-up. "I'm nothing but a coward, just as you say. That's why I'm just going to stay at Anna's side. It doesn't matter anymore…nothing does!"

Cecil clenched his jaw. Now he could see that Rydia needed some help convincing this spoiled prince of the true significance of Anna's sacrifice. He was empathetic of Edward's pain, but that didn't mean he was going to stand by and watch the poor sap hand his life and his kingdom to Golbez – whoever that was. Abandoning his helmet on the gouged stone floors, he followed Rydia's lead, closing the distance between Edward and himself in a few lengthy strides and picking him up by the collar. Before Edward could utter a word, Cecil drew his hand back, delivering the last surviving heir of the Damcyan legacy a full-palmed smack to the face.

Edward shrieked in pain, his hand fluttering to the rapidly-rising swell on his cheek as Cecil dropped him and took his position next to Rydia, crossing his arms over his chest. The little girl was gingerly tapping the ice rod against her palm, doing her best to maintain a stoic stare even though what she had just witnessed had shaken her to her core.

Whoa…Cecil is really scary when he's mad…!

"You're not the only one who is grieving," Cecil said coolly, his eyes locking on Edward's. "Anna would not wish to see you fawning like a fool. Please, pull yourself together and listen to me – for I've desperate need of your help right now."

"What?" Edward squeaked, still reeling from the shock of being struck. "H-How in the world can I help someone like you?"

Cecil shook his head. You couldn't find a gleaming of this man's confidence in a thimble with a magnifying glass – is he really a prince? "My name is Cecil Harvey. A friend of mine has taken ill with desert fever in Kaipo, and needs a sand pearl if she is to live. And for that, I've need of your aid. The royal family is the only one who can tame an antlion to retrieve the sand pearl, correct?"

"You need...my aid," Edward repeated, not quite sure he had heard correctly. No one had ever needed him for anything before – not even Anna. She had loved him, certainly, but that was something entirely different – there had never been anything he had been able to do for her that she could not do for herself.

Including saving his own life, apparently.

"I do," Cecil insisted, lowering his head apologetically – maybe smacking Edward around hadn't been one of his better negotiation tactics. "Rosa's life depends on it – I am begging you."

Edward looked at Cecil, then back down to Rydia, not sure what to make of the two strangers that had suddenly stormed into his throne room at the climax of what had undoubtedly become the worst day of his twenty-four years of existence. Rydia was still wearing a glare, but her eyes held a genuine dread that even she could not disguise. The desolate tone in Cecil's plea had said it all – their friend really was in danger. They weren't just trying to distract him from everything that had happened – and he could feel deep in his heart that certainly they were no enemy of his. No, he was fairly sure that he had seen the true guise of evil when that dreaded man in black descended from the airship, his hand extended and alight with the darkest of magic…

"This woman you speak of…she means a great deal to you, doesn't she?" Edward inquired. "As Anna did...as Anna did to me." Cecil nodded, looking away. What words could he possibly offer that would even begin to describe what Rosa Joanna Farrell meant to him – had meant to him – the near entirety of his life?

Rosa is…the living dream to my every nightmare…

Edward pressed his lips together, wincing at the twinge of pain in his cheekbone. It was so obvious that this young man was drowning in a despair so palpable that he could reach out and grab it with his own fingers – something painful had been torn away from him, a bet Edward would have laid his life down on. He glanced over his shoulder at Anna, sighing softly.

Is this why you gave your life for mine, Anna? Was there some greater purpose I was meant to yet serve…?

A plan was beginning to formulate in his mind. He turned back to Cecil and Rydia, his gaze softening.

"You speak correctly of the method to obtaining a sand pearl. In a cave far to the east dwells a monstrous creature known as an antlion. The pearls you seek form from the fluid the beast secretes as it lays its eggs in the sand. There is no overland route to its den. We must cross the northern shoals to get there, instead."

"How are we supposed to cross shoals?" Rydia blinked. "Won't we be swept away by the ocean if we walk on them?"

"That is exactly what would happen," Edward frowned, tapping his chin. "I can't imagine anyone short of a legendary ninja from a storybook being able to achieve such a feat. But I digress – a hovercraft is docked here. With it, we can reach the creature's cave. It's also how we castle-dwellers make our way to Kaipo – it can bear us across the surf in the west so that we may avoid the waterway."

"Could the hovercraft have possibly outlasted the bombing?" Cecil asked. "We…we found no survivors on our way here…and there isn't an inch of the castle that's been left unscathed."

Edward lowered his head. It had seemed obvious that the Red Wings would leave no one alive just based on the brutal massacre he had witnessed, but hearing Cecil say it aloud meant that his worst fears had really come to pass. "Come. We must hurry. I have every confidence that the hovercraft is all right, but time is not on our side if we are to save your friend."

A miracle in our favor would be nice, Cecil sighed. Rosa, I am sorry we are taking so long…but we'll be there soon. Please, wait a little longer for me…!

Rydia knelt down, retrieving Cecil's helmet and dutifully handing it back over. As the two of them headed back down the stairs to scout a route that would get them out of the devastated castle, Edward turned to take in for the last time the carnage that had closed out the final chapter of his life as Damcyan's prince. Decaying walls infected by flame, all of his beloved family taken by Golbez's and the Red Wings' hands, and the promise of true love that was never meant to blossom. He walked over to his mother and father, standing between their thrones and taking each of their hands into his – already, they felt stiff, their chill spreading ice into Edward's veins as he closed his eyes.

"Good-bye, Mother and Father."

After bidding good-bye to the rest of his fallen kin – oh, why had they all been so supportive of his elopement that they had eagerly gathered to witness his vows in what had ultimately become their grave? – he at last crossed the room to Anna, kneeling as he gingerly traced one finger over the curve of her mouth before bowing to brush his lips over hers.

Thinking of the way the little girl who had accompanied Cecil had told him off for being a coward, he banished the tears from forming his eyes, his lower lip quivering as he pulled away.

I don't want the last thing Anna sees to be my sorrowful face…I'll smile for her…just this one last time.

"Farewell, my love." He forced his lips to curl into a pained smile as he reached into his jacket, retrieving a miniature golden harp from a hidden pocket. He laid it in her hands, positioning the hand bearing her engagement ring just so over the strings so that it would catch in the fast-fading afternoon sun, unleashing a riot of rainbows over the throne.

He stood up, drawing his cloak tighter around his shaking form as he willed his feet to carry him away from her, one step at a time.

He knew that if he looked back, he would never be able to summon the strength to leave her side again – so he clenched his eyes shut, praying that the gods would be merciful and safely guide him to the others.

---

Cecil and Rydia sat upon one of the toppled gates from the castle, waiting for Edward to return with the hovercraft. It had only been moments ago that he had come stumbling out of the castle keep like a zombie, and Cecil feared that something else had happened while he and Rydia had been searching for an escape route. But Edward had assured them he was fine, drifting aimlessly through the wreckage Cecil and Rydia had managed to clear away thanks to Chocobo's help. It had turned out that the gatehouse Tellah had initially tried to break through had been sealed off to thanks to a barricade that had collapsed and gotten jammed beneath some rubble. Once it had been taken care of, they were free to cross through the castle gates without any extraneous climbing and jumping. His own failing strength aside, Cecil had the suspicion that Edward wasn't exactly the athletic type, and was happy to make their escape as effortless as possible.

Rydia was carelessly kicking at the rocks by her feet, making a game of seeing how far she could send them flying. She had long since stopped looking for Edward, who had disappeared from her sight in the swells of the desert behind the castle. Cecil was cradling his head in his hands, trying to desperately scrape together any insight as to what Baron could possibly be thinking a pursuit of the world's crystals would grant them.

"I just can't believe it – now the Red Wings have been drawn into this conspiracy as well…" Cecil muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Rydia stopped swinging her feet and looked up at him, tilting her head.

"Rosa and Kain are from Baron too, right?"

"Yes, all three of us grew up there together," Cecil blinked. "Why do you ask?"

"Do they know Golbez?"

"I don't think so," Cecil frowned. "I've certainly never heard of him until now – it's vexing to me that an utter stranger could be appointed as the leader of the Red Wings in such short time."

"Who was the old leader?"

"You're looking at him."

"Oh…" Rydia scratched her head. "So that's what that scary man who broke into the inn was talking about when he said the king would restore your rank."

"You eavesdrop a lot," Cecil lectured half-seriously. "Someday, you're going to hear something you don't like, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself. You and Kain are two birds of a feather."

"Because nobody tells me anything," Rydia huffed.

"Nobody knows anything to tell," Cecil said, exasperated. "This Golbez…he's just another mystery the king has unwittingly left me to solve. It's thrice-frustrating coming from the man who raised me like his own – it would seem he kept a lot of secrets close to his breast. His trust in me must have been much shallower than I was lead to believe."

"Hmmm," Rydia replied, gazing down at her hands. "If you were raised by King Baron, how come you aren't a prince, like Edward?"

"It's complicated," Cecil shrugged. "Kain and I, we weren't raised to be princes. We were raised to be…" he trailed off, words failing him. Pawns, perhaps?

"But King Baron is still like your daddy then," Rydia pressed. "Would a daddy really want to hurt his son?"

"I…I don't know…" Cecil lowered his head. I don't know anything I thought I knew anymore…

"Oh, look, there's Edward!" Rydia gasped, suddenly leaping to her feet and waving frantically. Cecil glanced over her bouncing curls, a small smile forming at her obvious excitement. The desert sands to their west were billowing carelessly in the air as an orange-painted vehicle lined with gray rubber floats sped forward, a half-windshield mounted before the bench of front seats to provide eye protection from the blistering desert winds. Edward was sitting tall in the driver's seat, his downy blonde hair whipping in the air with his feathered cap perched primly on the seat next to him.

Amazing, Cecil thought, and couldn't help but feel a little giddy himself at the thought of never having to go in that dreaded waterway again. If Cid saw this, he'd be wanting to take the whole thing apart just to see how you would go about building one. I hope he and Amelia are holding out OK…

But Cid is valuable to His Highness right now, even if he doesn't want to be. That would guarantee his safety for the time being…right?

"We'll get Rosa's medicine in no time," Rydia smiled, impressed by how quickly Edward was catching up to them. "I know you keep telling people she's your friend, but she's really your girlfriend, right?"

"Uh…" Cecil could feel himself turning red and reached up to check and make sure his helmet was still on. "No, Rydia, really – we're friends." I saw to that the night before I left for Mist…

Rydia twisted her mouth into a little smirk. "Well, ok. But I've never kissed my friends like you kissed her in Kaipo… I'm just saying."

Cecil crossed his arms, shaking his head. It wasn't worth it to him to dignify her comment with a response. She's a little eavesdropper AND a spy…!

Even so, he couldn't help but notice the way his pulse raced in his ears when he thought back to the way Rosa's skin had branded his mouth, along with the taste of her name on his tongue… How no matter how much he told himself he could never have her like that again, it just made him ache for her even more.

Luckily for his increasingly stirring heart, at that point the conversation came to a forced end, because Edward had come roaring up to the gate where he and Rydia had been holding court. He shifted an out-of-sight gear, and the hovercraft came to a smooth stop, still floating a few inches off of the ground as the engine hummed in idle.

"Welcome aboard," Edward smiled. "Mind your step getting in, would you?"

Cecil lifted Rydia into the back seat before climbing in next to Edward. If they ran into any monsters, he wanted to be sure he could take them out first. Rydia snapped a buckle around her waist, clutching her rod eagerly, and Edward's fingers breezed over a series of controls, sending them sputtering off into drive. Cecil flopped back into the seat from the unexpected acceleration, his armor rattling.

"How did the hovercraft make it out OK?" Rydia gasped. "It doesn't look like it has a single scratch."

"It was hidden in plain sight," Edward explained. "We installed an underground blockhouse to bunk it in – only accessible if you know where to look for it. The desert takes care of all the camouflage we need."

Really…? Cecil wondered. I had no idea Damcyan was capable of anything like that. Supposedly, Baron has an underground hangar for airships, too…but Cid swears it doesn't exist, and he would know better than anyone.

As if reading Cecil's mind, Edward offered a stiff laugh. "Damcyan has – or had – a few aces up her sleeve. We've never been a nation focused on militaristic efforts – just protecting what is our own. It's a shame we didn't apply that philosophy to the Crystal of Fire… I suppose we thought there were sacred concordats even the mightiest nations wouldn't violate. The only reason I stand before you now is because I played dead after Anna shielded me."

Cecil said nothing as he pressed his fingers to his forehead, which had begun to throb once again just at the mention of Baron's depravity.

"It wasn't your fault that the crystal was stolen!" Rydia squeaked. "You mustn't think like that…"

"It's Rydia, right?" Edward asked as he briefly looked back at her, both of his hands clasped on the steering wheel. "I'm sorry we did not get formally introduced before."

"Rydia of Mist," Rydia bowed her head. "Thank you for accompanying us."

"She's so polite," Edward noted, and Cecil wondered if he had already forgotten when Rydia had disparaged him in the throne room, or if he had chosen to conveniently suppress the memory. "I'm Gilbert Chris von Muir, by the way – but my preference is that you call me 'Edward'."

"What?" Cecil blinked. "How does one get 'Edward' from a name like that?"

"Well, it's a lot easier to say than Gilbert Chris von Muir, isn't it?" Edward chuckled. "Besides, it's a nickname I've had since I was a child. All of the males of direct lineage in our family carry the same name, so it gets confusing without aliases."

"I suppose Baron is similar," Cecil mused aloud. He realized he had never had to think about it because he had only known one generation of the monarchy. Before he comprehended what he had let slip, Edward's shoulders hunched slightly, and he warily peered at Cecil as he made a sharp right turn, suddenly sending them careening over a pocket of shallows in the ocean that drenched the hovercraft with sea spray.

"Ah…is that from where you hail, Cecil Harvey?"

"I…" Cecil gritted his teeth, suddenly wishing he wasn't wearing armor that could also be described as the color of "deepest night" and that hid the terror etched on his face. "Yes, but…"

"I'll ask no further questions," Edward said softly, raising a hand. "You requested my help, and I intend to follow-through, regardless of the circumstances."

Still, Cecil didn't like the way the shadows under Edward's eyes seemed to suddenly deepen as he shifted his gaze away from Cecil and back to their route. He shook his head, turning in his seat toward Edward. "I didn't intend for it to be kept a secret – I swear to you. What the Red Wings did to your family…to your kingdom…I cannot condone!"

"Like I said, no further questions," Edward said again, this time a little more forcefully. Cecil clamped his mouth shut, getting the hint loud and clear. He realized now that the timing for their arrival on the heels of Baron's terrorism made him look even more suspicious, and felt a twinge of sickness rise into his throat. Had he been sitting with anyone other than Edward, he feared he would have been laid out in the ocean by now, floating face-down.

I fear this is merely a part of my new existence as a traitor…my every move being watched and questioned by ally and foe alike…

But it's not like I don't deserve it…not after all I've done.

Rydia twisted in her seat so that she could rest her head on the side of the hovercraft, closing her eyes. Even though she couldn't see Cecil's face, her heart ached at the palpable recoil in his voice.

She knew the weight of the guilt he harbored was breaking him down slowly from the inside-out, like a delayed-release poison.

---

Even with the chilly awkwardness between the two men hanging heavily in the air, the journey to Antlion Cave was mercifully short. Cecil anticipated that if the extraction of the sand pearl went smoothly, they would be in and out and back to Kaipo by sunset. Edward parked the hovercraft on a small beach outside the cavern, and they went inside. Compared to the ghostly dank of Mist or the dreary passage through the underground waterway, the cavern the antlions had chosen for their nest was indubitably pleasant. Its close proximity to the oceanfront filled the chambers with a dreamy mix of earthen essence and salt-splashed winds that made Cecil feel as if he had stepped into a heady mineral bath. Cracks of sunlight illuminated the cavern ceilings and walls, and Cecil could spot sleeping piles of Fell Turtles the size of small boulders clustered in the coveted sunspots. Even under the most ideal of circumstances, Fell Turtles were usually a class of beast one was best to avoid – Cecil had never seen any in the wild that were so lackadaisical to intruders.

Something doesn't feel quite right about this place. With the way monsters around the world have been progressively growing more and more unsettled, why has this cave remained shielded from the madness?

Edward noted Cecil's stare in the direction of the monsters, motioning for the dark knight and Rydia to follow him as he crossed the chamber, his footsteps feather-light as his lambskin boots sank into pockets of scattered pools of sand.

"The heirs of the Damcyan throne have been able to tame and even used to keep antlions as pets as far back as the first generation of royals," Edward explained as they made their descent. "As a result, most of the monsters that occupy this cave are used to humans, since so many would approach the cavern to breed and raise the antlions."

"Were there any antlions in the castle when the Red Wings…?" Rydia trailed off, and Edward quickly shook his head.

"No, no – none were on the premises. The tendency for my ancestors to domesticate the antlions sent their population into a steep decline, so it became a kingdom mandate that they were no longer allowed to be kept as pets. Now, we just watch over them in their various nests, with this one being the largest, and ensure they are not poached."

"What would you poach them for?" Rydia asked, really getting into this little field trip. Cecil bit his tongue and kept silent. Watching Edward and Rydia interact together was like watching two school girls talk over the teacher about their day, oblivious to everyone else around them. He could feel his unease paralyzing his neck muscles into a permanent cramp, unexplained agitation burning in his chest. Hanging unassumingly from his hip, he could even feel the shadowblade twitching with impatience, like it was feeding off of his nerves.

What is wrong with me!? Cecil clenched his fists, a trail of sweat escaping his temple and splashing down his neck. This…this isn't me…! He had used to pride himself on his ability to keep his calm in even the most dire of situations, but that had all gone to hell the night he had returned from Mysidia. He couldn't seem to get Rosa's face, flushed with scarlet and mouth twisted in exquisite agony, out of his head.

"They make a delicious antlion steak," Edward said, and Rydia clasped her hand over her mouth. Edward laughed quietly, wagging his finger. "Oh, but no worries my dear, I've never had the real thing! Just imitation. I hear there is a peculiar village in the far west that is actually quite fond of it…those who occupy it are supposedly a mix of beast and small people."

"N-No way…" Rydia's mouth took on an O-shape. "A place like that that can't be real."

"So, if the beasts here are no longer domesticated, is this antlion we are going to see tame enough to collect a sand pearl from?" Cecil finally interrupted, jaw clenched. It had taken every ounce of strength he had left to control the timbre of his voice so that he didn't come off as a lunatic to the only man in the world that could help him save Rosa's life – he at least still had enough sense to be cognizant of that.

"Ah, yes, of course," Edward replied, his tone dispensing of some of the animated joy he had used when telling Rydia his stories, for which Cecil instantly felt another crag of guilt sinking into his stomach. The man has just lost everything he has ever known and loved…why am I acting like this? Rydia bit her lip, eying the knight warily – she could practically feel the distress rolling off of Cecil in waves. If Edward sensed any of Cecil's unease, he politely didn't let on. "My family visited this cavern quite often. The antlion queen here will roll right over if you tickle her belly."

"Uh…no thanks," Cecil murmured, turning away. He could no longer her his own voice over the chaotic rush of his heartbeat.

"We're almost there," Edward announced, leading them through a cramped tunnel that took on a steep, sudden descent – Rydia accidentally slid smack into Cecil's backside as they walked, and his hand automatically shot back to catch and steady her, like he had been set to auto-pilot. The sound of a steady, relentless clicking greeting them as they stumbled into a large, pit-like chamber, where a single sand-strewn path bisected the center and lead to a frenzied clutter of sand, pearlescent eggs the size of a man's head, many broken shells, and tiny puddles of water that rippled with their footsteps. Sleeping in the center of the mess was a cluster of quivering, clacking joints and teeth; all belonging to one most hideous creature Cecil had ever laid eyes upon. Edward raised his hand as if he were announcing the arrival of the belle of a royal ball.

"This is the antlion queen of this nest – and this is where she lays her eggs."

It had a burnt orange, scaly exoskeleton, with four limbs that jutted out in different angles like a spider's, each covered with a spray of black hairs that were as heard as boar's bristles. Its head housed two massive, bulging eyeballs, which Cecil could see were rolling about under straining paper-thin eyelids. Jagged teeth were sticking out of its gash of a mouth, and two ivory pincers gently clicked against each other with each drawn breath. At the end of the pincers, Cecil could see the drips of what looked like a purple-tinged venom.

"Eek!" Rydia gasped against her hand, side-stepping behind Cecil. "T-That's what makes the sand pearls…?" Somehow, she had gotten it in her head that a creature that produced something as lovely-sounding as a sand pearl would be just as beautiful.

"There's nothing to fear," Edward assured her, stepping ahead and gingerly entering the antlion's pit. "Antlions are quite docile, even if they look scary. They won't harm humans." The antlion snorted through two fluttering, flapping nostrils as Edward made his approach, and popped opened one eye, which she kept trained on him like a sniper's rifle.

"Hello cutie," Edward smiled. "I just need one of your pearls, all right? I'm afraid I haven't a treat for you today." As he hummed a little tune to her under his breath, he didn't seem notice the purple drips from the Antlion's pincers growing thicker and plopping on the ground with greater haste, miniscule trails of gas rising from the disintegrating sands. Suddenly, the antlion opened its other eye, the pincers snapping together in a blur of white as the creature launched itself straight for Edward's abdomen.

"Aaagh!" Edward screamed, his legs paralyzed in fear as he covered his face with his hands.

"Edward!" Cecil cried, sliding down into the pit and knocking the prince out of the antlion's path, her pincers relieving him of a shredded chunk out of his cloak instead of the planned disembowelment. The two men tumbled into a cluster of reedy brown plants that were half-heartedly growing in the spill of sunlight from a crack in the ceiling, and the antlion skidded on the cavern floors as it righted itself, its sickle-like claws unleashing a painful shriek that made Rydia's ears ring.

"Are you all right?" Cecil gasped, pulling himself off of Edward. The prince was staring blankly at the ceiling, his hand clenched over his wildly fluttering heart as he choked on his confusion.

"Why…why would the antlion…?"

He's in a state of shock, Cecil frowned, noticing the torn cloak. But it seems I got to him just in time.

"Noooo!"

Cecil's head snapped up, only to see Rydia backing herself up against a wall, her ice rod rattling from her outstretched hands. As the antlion's grotesque legs protruded to ready itself for another jump, the ice rod suddenly exploded in a cloud of frost, which smashed into the antlion and blew it away in a heap of limbs back into its nest. Rydia shrieked as she lowered her weapon, her eyes spilling over with tears.

"I'm s-sorry…I didn't mean to harm it…!"

"Rydia, with me!" Cecil commanded, and she wasted no time, fleeing to his side before the antlion could disentangle itself. Cecil grabbed her hand, swinging her so that she was planted behind him, and withdrew his shadowblade, which was once again pulsing with an otherworldly darkness.

The antlion sprung back to its feet, spraying violet-tinged spittle as it hissed and thrashed its head about, trying to scrape away the ice Rydia had blasted over its pincers on nearby rocks and crushing some of its eggs in the process. Edward slowly sat up in the spill of reeds, his hair wild as he drank in the antlion's horrific fit of violence upon its own nest.

"N-No! At this rate, it will kill all of its unborn children…!"

"It would seem that Blizzard magic is its weakness," Cecil said, shifting into a defensive position. He could feel the power that had been gathered in the sword tugging at him, a small voice urging him to unleash a hellish revenge against the rabid beast and end it all now before any hope of Rosa's cure was ground to dust beneath its claws.

But if I use the darkness again, will I be able to control it so that it doesn't turn upon us? He thought back to the battle against the Octomammoth, and how the entire lake had seemed to plunge into depthless night when his attack had finally unleashed itself. Would I even survive long enough to get Rydia and Edward out of here?

Cecil winced, fighting the protesting muscle memory that wanted him to reverse his stance and turn his blade on their enemy. With just one turn of his wrist…it would all be so easy.

I simply cannot take that risk…! If I fall here, the sand pearl may never reach Rosa…

"We must guide the antlion away from the nest," Cecil decided, blinking away the sweat that had fallen into his eyes. "I'll be the lure. Rydia, once she's far enough away, I want you to cast Blizzard as much as you possibly can."

"What!?" Rydia whimpered. "But what if she bites you?"

"I'll be fine, as long as you have my back," Cecil smiled slightly. "Remember lightning in a bottle? We can do it again."

"Cecil, wait," Edward protested, gritting his teeth as he struggled to pull himself up. With an unsettling "pop", his ankle suddenly swung inward, and he fell back into a heap, sucking air between his teeth as he grasped his foot. "I cannot allow you to take responsibility for this…! It's my fault for not being more careful..."

"Rydia, protect Prince Edward," Cecil ordered, and with that, raced for the central depression of the pit. Rydia gave her foot a little defiant stomp, just softly enough that Cecil wouldn't hear. She glanced back at Edward, who was staring at Cecil like he was watching a man march to his executioner with open arms.

"Come here, girl," Cecil called, cocking his sword as he began to circle the nest. The click of metal got the antlion's attention, and her eyes flashed with a strange flicker of shadow as she took in the pulsing darkness of his blade. As if she were hypnotized, she slowly lumbered her way out of the nest, leaving behind a cringe-inducing number of freshly crushed eggs in her wake, a sticky, clear mucus clinging to the hairs on her hind legs from the carnage.

She's drawn to the darkness, Cecil thought, backing away from the nest step by agonizing step. Why is that? He didn't want to move too quickly, for fear that she would spring upon him – her four legs were much faster than his mere two, and he wanted to give Rydia the best opportunity possible to take aim. Rydia kept her eyes glued on the antlion, gnawing on her lower lip as she silently willed the Blizzard magic coursing through her veins to pour into the glowing sapphire at the top of her rod.

I'll pour all of my heart and soul into this shot…!

The antlion was starting to lose its interest in Cecil – the further he drew her away from her nest, the more the darkness's sway over her seemed to falter. Cecil could see the rage embedded in her pupils as they shrunk to pinholes, and with a sudden and violent crack, her pincers broke free of Rydia's first Blizzard spell, venom spraying across the cavern floor like blood splatter as she clicked them menacingly and prepared to lunge.

"Rydia, now!" Cecil gasped, raising his sword to parry the antlion's attack and bracing his legs for what might come next.

"Blizzard!" Rydia cried, clenching the rod with both her hands and swinging it toward the ground. A path of jagged icy spikes erupted in a glittering trail that shot straight for the antlion, the magic erupting beneath the monster like a volcano and piercing its thorax with a sickening crack that exploded within the chamber. Seizing his opportunity, Cecil swung his blade upon her, clenching his jaw as he willed the darkness to drain from his sword and absorb back inside him. A burst of adrenaline suddenly surged through his chest and arms, his attack connecting and slicing the antlion's pincers in half in one clean swipe. They flew half-way across the chamber as the antlion hissed furiously, eyes bulging as it ripped itself away from the ice spike, taking no notice of the blood gushing from its wound.

"Uh…ugh…" Cecil moaned, suddenly feeling as if someone had knocked him in the back of the head. The adrenaline shot faded into nothingness, his insides wrung out like a rag from the darkness that had ravaged and fled his form. He could feel his legs wobbling, his vision doubling as he struggled to focus on the seething monster before him. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to lift his weapon any longer – it was like trying to pick up an airship from the ground with his pinky.

"Cecil!" Rydia shrieked, immediately slinging another Blizzard spell at the antlion in an effort to buy him some time. What on earth was he doing, just standing there!? The creature's eyes ignited to a shade of blood-red as it skittered out of the way of the spell, rearing its head back to size up its assailant. Rydia gulped, lowering her rod sheepishly.

Uh-oh.

Suddenly, a cheerful hymn broke out from behind her, causing her to shriek in surprise – this was the last place she had expected to hear any kind of music. Turning on her heel, she saw Edward had shrugged off his jacket, and held a harp in his hands, his fingers effortlessly gliding over the strings. His eyes were closed and his lips pressed together as he hummed along – if Rydia didn't know any better, she would have sworn he was sleeping.

"W-What are you doing!?" Rydia squeaked, taking a few steps back as the antlion turned away from Cecil and made its approach. Edward continued to play, ignoring her protests as he plunged into the song's bridge. Across the cavern, Cecil could feel a tingly stirring in his lungs as the music drifted over his ears – it felt as if something celestial inside of him was being reborn.

My strength – it's returning to me, Cecil thought, his eyes slowly sliding open – he hadn't even realized they had been closed. That beautiful music…there's something deeply nostalgic about it. Where could it possibly be coming from?

He clenched his fist, realizing he was still grasping hold of his sword, and looked up confusedly. The antlion was scurrying away, making a beeline for Rydia and Edward, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Rydia was bracing herself in front of the prince, desperately trying to chant another spell, but she kept stumbling over words, tremoring more and more fiercely with each failure. Cecil realized she had to have been exhausted – she hadn't had a moment to rest since the waterway, and had surely depleted the mana she needed to cast magic. It was another principal of magic he had been taught by Rosa – a mage was only as capable of casting magic as her surplus of spiritual strength, otherwise known as mana. Once a mage's mana had been drained, they were as effective of magic caster as any regular person – that was to say, they were out of luck.

You did good, kid! Cecil thought. I'll finish what I've started!

Swinging the shadowblade over his head, Cecil took a running leap, plunging his sword into the antlion's retreating abdomen as it paused to make its final attack. The antlion, pinned by Cecil's sword, shrieked wildly as blood and venom began to pool from the wound, and within moments, it had collapsed to the ground, its four legs twitching manically. Rydia nearly screamed in relief as the monster's exoskeleton gave way to flaking ash, its body disintegrating and returning to the planet as it intermingled with the granules of sand on the cavern floor. She collapsed to her knees in a huff, the rod clattering to the ground in front of her.

"We…we did it...!"

The music stopped as suddenly as it had started, and Cecil peered over Rydia's shoulder at Edward, who was grasping a miniature harp against his chest, his cheeks flushed with a pleased glow.

"That music was coming from you?" Cecil gasped. "What was that song?"

"I call it 'Life's Anthem'," Edward replied, and to Cecil's surprise, he stood up on his own accord, his sprain appearing to be wholly cured. He tucked the harp back in his vest before tugging his jacket back on. "It's a song that is supposed to evoke the vibrancy of life, and is said to restore strength to those who hear it. Did it work?"

"Beautifully," Cecil admitted, sheathing his sword. "I don't understand what happened to me – but as soon as I heard your song, my senses returned. Why didn't you tell us you had such an incredible power?"

"Power?" Edward frowned, shaking his head. "I've no power of my own. This…this is just a diversion for me, at most. Music itself be incredibly powerful, of course, but I hold none of its strength within – I'm just the conduit."

Cecil saw it quite differently, but he could tell Edward was getting embarrassed by the flush of his cheeks, and decided not to push it any further. Rydia fetched her backpack, wordlessly seeking out an ether and draining it in two gulps to restore her drained mana. Edward pressed his hand to his forehead, muttering.

"It still makes no sense. Why would an antlion try to harm us?"

Cecil shook his head. "Monster populations are swelling, and beasts once harmless now turn hostile. Something is afoot – it's the very same in Baron."

Edward lowered his hand, shivering as his gaze met Cecil's. "I owe you an apology – I had not intended to be cold to you before when you revealed your Baronian nativity – I was just in shock. About a lot of things, mind you…"

He states the obvious, Cecil sighed. Can he really not forgive himself for surviving the suffering he has endured? "You've no reason to apologize to the likes of me. If we can agree that neither of us held ill intentions, that is well enough. So much has happened these past few days, that I can hardly recall my own name."

Edward nodded. "I can agree to those terms, certainly. But still, you saved my life, and the lives of these little ones as well… You owed me none of that." He wandered over to the nest, kneeling over a cluster of undisturbed eggs as he gently slipped his hand into one of the tiny pockets of water, lips pressed together. A few moments later, when he withdrew, a sparkling orb was nestled between his fingertips, translucent even in the limited light of the cavern. He retrieved an empty vial from his pocket, dropping the orb inside, and sealing it with a quiet flourish. Cecil could feel his right hand shaking as he gingerly extended it toward Edward. The prince gently deposited the vial in the knight's hand, making it a point to force Cecil's fingers to curl around it protectively.

"As promised…your sand pearl."

"T…Thank you so much," Cecil exhaled, suddenly feeling as if shroud of pitch-black had been torn away from his eyes. "With this…we can save Rosa." I could have saved Edward's life one-hundred times over, and I still would not be able to repay him for such a gift…

"Cecil, let's go back to Rosa," Rydia said softly, tugging on his other hand.

"Of course," Cecil nodded, clutching the sand pearl to his chest. He wasn't going to leave it out of his sight for the duration of their journey back to Kaipo. "Is it very far by hovercraft, Edward?"

"Not at all," Edward smiled slightly. "I'll get us there in no time."

"Right," Cecil sighed, turning away from the antlion nest. "Let's go!" He practically danced up the slope that would take them back out of the nest, disappearing from sight in the darkened tunnel thanks to his armor. Rydia slid her backpack over her shoulders, taking one last longing look at the abandoned antlion nest.

"Edward…what's going to happen to those orphaned babies now that their mommy is gone?"

What indeed? Edward sighed, gently resting his hand on her shoulder to help guide her back up the slope.

"You needn't worry about the younglings. The antlions that had hatched before we arrived haven't fled this nest entirely – it's normal for them to explore their home within their first few weeks of life, and eventually, they will return. They'll become the caretakers for these eggs, and will form a new family of their own making. They'll help raise the young, and thanks to Cecil's intervention, their legacy will live on for another generation."

"A new family…" Rydia chewed her lip in thought. "Is it really so easy?"

Edward lowered his gaze, swallowing back a sob as Cecil's sorrowful words echoed in his ears.

"You're not the only one who is grieving."

Both Cecil and this child…something cataclysmic has drawn them together, hasn't it…?

"It can be, if we only let it," Edward finally relented.

---

Dear Edward,

My father will not be reasonable with me. He will not even allow me out of the house out of concern that I will meet you in the streets! I fear at this point there is nothing more we can do to convince him that our love is not just the brief fancy of a wandering bard. I need to see you. Please, take me to Damcyan Castle, where we can finally make our vows to one another. I will wait for you in our special place tomorrow eve. Until then, I will walk with you in my dreams.

Love Always,

Anna

---

"Anna…" Edward whispered softly under his breath. The hum of the hovercraft engine kept his whimper secret from Cecil and Rydia – not that they would have noticed anyway. Cecil hadn't stopped staring at the vial in his hands since they had left the cavern, and Rydia was fast asleep, sprawled across the back seat like a little sloven princess being escorted home in her chariot. On their way down to Kaipo, they had been forced to pass Damcyan – or at least, what was left of it – and Edward couldn't help but reminiscence about his and Anna's last journey there together. They had only arrived a few days prior, after he had received a letter from her via carrier pigeon begging for them to meet. It had been getting more and more difficult to find time together in Kaipo – rumors were swirling about his secret identity, and Tellah had become more and more incensed that his daughter had taken up with what he perceived to be a common rogue.

The night she had managed to slip away to meet up, Edward had to admit he felt a slight hint of hesitation about what she was proposing they do next.

---

One week prior

"…Are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice wavering. "There will be no turning back – once we are married, your father will know the truth – all of it."

"And it will also mean there is nothing he can do to stop it," Anna countered. "I've tried talking with him – it doesn't matter if you're as poor as a pauper or the prince of Damcyan…he says something terrible will happen if I pursue my love." She closed her eyes, clasping his hands between her own – the engagement ring he had given her that she had only been able to wear on the nights they managed to meet was rivaling the waxing twin moons' brilliance that evening. "He won't explain himself – truth be told, I think he just doesn't want to let me go. I've been his sole companion since Mother died – he just wants to keep me close."

"Anna, I will do whatever makes you happy," Edward murmured, lifting her hand to his lips. "And if that means marrying you tonight, with the cacti here in the oasis as our witness, then so be it."

"Just take me back to Damcyan," Anna pleaded, her eyes wide. "Let's get married in the crystal room, like you've always wanted – let's receive the blessing of the Crystal of Fire so that we can live out a long, passionate life together."

"Consider it done," Edward whispered, nodding toward the outskirts of town. The hovercraft was parked in his usual inconspicuous hideaway beneath a shadow-heavy, sloping palm tree – ready to carry them off to their new future.

---

Current Day

What would have happened if I had tried harder that night to convince her to tell Tellah the truth? Edward wondered, tapping his fingers slowly against the stretched leather of the steering wheel. The hovercraft bounced lightly as it made the transition from ocean to desert, and Edward closed his eyes, drawing the crisp evening air so deeply into his lungs that it hurt to exhale. Even with his eyes shut, muscle memory would take them directly to Kaipo – how many times had he traveled this same exact route to see his Anna these past several years?

It's just that I thought the next time I came here, it would be with you by my side as my wife…

The last letter she had ever written him – the one from the night he had taken her home to Damcyan – had burned with the rest of his kingdom…had burned with every other trinket, portrait and silly memento of their secret life together. Other than the twin of the harp set he had used in the antlion nest that she had gifted him for his birthday, the other which was now laid at rest with her, Edward had the sobering realization that if he were to die tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever – there would never be any evidence that their life-altering love had ever come into existence.

We will never have children to carry on our legacy.

I will never be able to find our names inscribed in the Damcyan archives in a deed of marriage.

I will never again be able to study her handwriting, trace the loopy indentations in the paper carved by her very own hands.

The only survivor to witness our happiness is the Crystal of Fire – a lifeless piece of glass – and even that has been spirited away from me…

He closed his eyes again, willing himself not to cry. They would be at Kaipo soon – Cecil would want to be with his friend as she woke up, Edward was quite sure – they wouldn't need him around the entirety of the evening.

Anna – I'll meet you in our special place tonight…just for this last time.

---

After what felt like an eternity to Cecil, the brightly-illuminated Kaipo Oasis gates came into view, each wall lined with crackling torches that cast dancing, ghost-like orbs across the stretch of the desert. He hadn't realized that he had been half-asleep until he had heard a strange half-sob, spurring him fully back to consciousness. But when he looked up at Edward, the prince seemed well enough – his gaze was locked on the road ahead, and his mouth was pressed in a thin line, but Cecil could see no tears nor signs of distress. He turned in his seat to check on Rydia, who now was twisted into a human pretzel on the rear bench, drool pooling at the corner of her mouth.

Huh… Cecil thought, his gaze drifting back to the precious vial clenched in his hand. That couldn't have been me, could it? He had already forgotten whatever it was he had been dreaming about.

Edward parked the hovercraft, and this time, it was Cecil who got to lead, frantically rousing Rydia awake before jumping out of the vehicle. He practically sprinted through the village gates as he made his way back to the house to where Rosa was staying, Rydia and Edward huffing and puffing to keep up. Without bothering to knock, he threw open the door of the house and startled the woman, who was standing at what seemed like her usual post at the counter, making tea. (Odd as that was for this time of evening.)

"Cecil! My word, what are you doing?" She shrieked, almost dropping the kettle. "You nearly gave me a fright!"

"We have the sand pearl!" Cecil shouted back at her as he bolted up the stairs two at a time. "I need to see Rosa!" Her husband came in from the parlor where he had been reading a book, having heard the commotion and adjusting his glasses as he eyed the wide-open front door.

"Dear, I think we should start actually using our locks…"

Suddenly Edward and Rydia burst inside too, Rydia giving a quick wave before following Cecil right up the stairs. But Edward, ever the proper royal, paused in the entryway and made a deep bow to the lord and lady of the house.

"Please to make your acquaintances. On behalf of my friends, I thank you for taking care of dear Rosa in her troubled time."

"Uhhh…" The woman sputtered, her cheeks bursting into patches of crimson. "It's…It's Prince…Ed…ward."

"Are we interrupting anything?" Edward asked worriedly, every note of his voice serious. The woman quickly shook her head, and her husband merely gestured for Edward to proceed on his way. Edward bowed once more, thanking them profusely, and proceeded up the stairs at a much more delicate pace than his cohorts.

Cecil was kneeling at Rosa's bedside, his helmet tossed aside and his fingers shaking with nerves as he struggled to release the cork from the vial. Rydia was holding court at the foot of the bed, peering anxiously over the mattress. Rosa was as they had left her, swallowed in a billowing pile of blankets that only served to make her look frailer and smaller in the bed, her shallow breathing interrupted every few beats by a brutal dry cough. Cecil nearly jumped out of his skin as the cork finally popped off, smacking into the ceiling before bouncing off to gods only knew where. Edward appeared at the top of the stairs just as Cecil tipped the pearl into his hand, his throat clenching in panic when he realized he didn't actually know what to do with it.

"First, shine its light upon her," Edward offered from the bedroom's threshold, and Cecil did as he was told without bothering to turn around – he now knew Edward's melodic lilt as well as Kain or Rydia's. Pinching the pearl between his fingertips, Cecil lifted it high in the air, the stray moonbeams from Rosa's open window catching the translucent membrane and bathing her face and chest in a divine silver veil of light. Rosa let out a mournful groan, her eyebrows knitting together as another violent cough escaped her cracked lips.

"What's happening?" Cecil asked shakily. "Why won't she wake up?" As the light of the sand pearl spread over her form, the medicine began to break down into crystalline granules between his fingers, and he quickly cupped his hand to catch them before they spilled on the floor.

"The pearl is disintegrating!" Rydia gasped. "Did we break it!?"

"This is normal," Edward assured them, crossing the room so he could get a better look. "Now, you must sprinkle the pearl dust inside her mouth and over her chest."

"Understood," Cecil murmured, pouring some of the dust over her chest, the granules sparkling like a spray of stars over the shallow indent of her collarbone. Using his free hand, he pressed her lips open, the tendons in his neck flexing beneath his moonlit-streaked locks as he carefully sprinkled another helping over her tongue. Even so, she did not stir – Cecil moved aside as Edward leaned in to investigate.

"She's not swallowing – I can still see the dust on her tongue," Edward frowned. "Rydia, fetch a glass of water before she coughs it all out."

"Y-Yes," Rydia nodded, bolting up and rushing for the door. Cecil winced as he watched Rosa's chest seize up, her eyes scrunching tighter as she inhaled sharply.

She's going to cough, Cecil panicked. Rydia will never make it back from the kitchen in time.

Before he could stop to question what exactly it was he thought he was doing, Cecil poured the precious remaining granules of the sand pearl into his mouth, recoiling at the brackish taste that drowned his tongue. Grasping Rosa's face in his hands, he then pushed his lips to hers, gingerly nudging her tongue with his mouth to guide the medicine deeper inside. He could feel her body shudder in a coughing fit moments later – in response, he wrapped an arm around her neck, cradling her to his body so that their mouths couldn't break free.

Edward spun on his heel, blushing from head to toe as he clapped his hand over his mouth, mumbling.

"Well, that's another way to do it, I suppose…"

Just as Cecil feared he would need to come up for air, Rosa uttered a tired moan, and miracle of miracles – Cecil could feel her neck muscles tighten as she swallowed against his tongue. He pulled away anxiously, his fingers still lingering over the hollow of her cheek as he searched her face for any kind of reaction.

Please Rosa, open your eyes!

Rydia clomped back up the stairs, a pitcher along with a half-spilled glass of water clutched in her hands as she skidded back into the room. Suddenly, Rosa let out a violent cough square in Cecil's face and gasped for air, her bloodshot eyes snapping open. She stared blankly for a moment, surprised to see him kneeling right there, and clasped her hand over her mouth, blushing when she realized she had just hacked all over him.

"Rosa!" Cecil breathed, never so grateful in his life to be assaulted by sour morning breath.

"...Cecil!" Rosa smiled, pressing against his outstretched hand. "You're safe! Oh, thank goodness!"

Cecil sighed, rising to his feet and crossing his arms over his chest. Rosa peered up at him curiously, her smile wavering. Now that the niceties were out of the way…

"What were you thinking, Rosa?" Cecil admonished, his voice dropping a throaty octave. "What in god's name told you that following me here was a good idea?"

She shrunk back a bit in the bed, and then blew her sweat-dampened bangs out of her eyes, raising a finger and daring to jab it in the center of his chest – her fingernail made a little "ding" as it flicked his armor, and Cecil had to mentally suppress the urge to snatch her hand within his.

And do what with it?

"They told me you'd died in the earthquake at Mist. But...I knew it couldn't be true," she lowered her finger, blinking away a stray tear as she sat up higher against the headboard. "So I had to find you and see for myself. I found a way to charter a ship to Kaipo – I knew if you had escaped, you would be there – somehow, I just felt it in my heart you wouldn't come home again." She stared at the bed, with soon another tear following the first, and then another, before she started all-out bawling. The blood drained from Cecil's face, and he felt himself immediately begin to weaken toward her all over again.

In fact, he found that the more he wanted to yell at her for her breathtaking recklessness, the more he also wanted to shut himself up by pressing his mouth to hers. Repeatedly.

"Forgive me," Cecil sighed, trying to return his voice to as neutral a tone as possible. Regardless of what he had wanted to accomplish, riling her up wasn't on the list. "I didn't mean to make you worry. But Rosa, what's this talk of a man named Golbez?"

Rosa blinked away her tears and looked up, as if very surprised that Cecil knew that name.

"G-Golbez? The king called upon him to lead the Red Wings in your stead, the very day you left for Mist – and His Majesty has been acting even more peculiarly since Golbez came to Baron. He's not himself." She pressed her fingers together, lip quivering. "I can't be sure, but I have a feeling Golbez is the one manipulating the king – to gain the crystals for himself. The Water Crystal you took from Mysidia... The Fire Crystal of Damcyan... Fabul's Wind Crystal, and the Earth Crystal of Troia."

What!? Cecil could feel his knees weakening. It's not the king driving the need for the crystals – it's an usurper that's been hidden in plain sight all this time? An usurper none of us have even heard of until now?

How can this possibly be?

"The Fire Crystal is already taken, and with it, Damcyan," Edward murmured – he had been jarred by Rosa's comment that strongly implicated Cecil had something to do with the Crystal of Water's disappearance, and hadn't realized he had spoken his thoughts out loud. Rosa looked over at him, eyes wide, as if just realizing he were standing there for the first time, and he gave a quick bow.

"This is Edward, Damcyan's prince," Cecil explained, "It was thanks to him that we were able to save you." Cecil pointed to Rydia, who was still standing awkwardly behind him, holding the water. "And this is Rydia of Mist."

"Do you feel better now?" Rydia asked softly, stepping forward and hastily shoving the glass toward Rosa. Rosa smiled gratefully in reply, taking it in her hands.

"I do. Thank you Rydia. And you too, Prince Edward. But…" Rosa shook her head. "If Damcyan has fallen, he'll be swift to move against Fabul. We need to…" Rosa began to hack violently, quickly covering her mouth and closing her eyes.

"You need to rest," Cecil chided. "We will go to Fabul and warn them."

"That might be a slight problem," Edward frowned. "The castle received intel only days ago that the only path to Fabul, which is a road through Mount Hobs, is currently blocked by a wall of impenetrable ice."

"Ice?" Rosa shook her head. "Rydia, if you're from Mist, that must mean you're a summoner, right?"

"Yes," Rydia tilted her head. What did that have to do with anything?

"So, you must also be able to cast Fire? That would melt the ice quite easily."

"No…I can't," Rydia said quickly, turning away and slamming the pitcher on the nightstand so harshly that even Cecil jumped in the air, thinking a shot had gone off behind him.

Rosa's lips twisted in confusion. "Surely you've learned the spell? It's the most elementary of all…" She interrupted herself with another fit of coughing, a piercing whistle in her lungs accompanying each desperate gulp for air.

I can't bear to watch her suffer like this, Cecil thought, keeping his arms taut across his chest to hide the shaking in his hands. If Baron really is going to move on Fabul next, it means Kaipo should be relatively safe – they've already done all the damage they can here, now that the Crystal of Fire is gone. Rosa can stay here and recover in relative anonymity. He hated the thought of having to take Rydia along – he would have much rather left her behind with Rosa – but if she was the only one who could help them unblock their path, then he recognized he simply had no choice. He shook his head, pushing his fingers through his hair.

"Let us worry about what comes next Rosa. You're in no condition to go with us."

Rosa looked up at him, brazenly staring him dead in the eyes as she took a long gulp of water.

"I'll be fine. I won't be a burden. I am a white mage, after all."

Cecil's eyes narrowed suspiciously. That was her argument? Had she any idea how close she had come to dying in a stranger's bed – had any idea of the pure hell she had put him through these past two days? Rosa was the first between them to falter, her gaze flicking away as she mindlessly reached back, lifting her heavy, damp hair away from her neck. As she tied it into an unkept ponytail, stray waves falling free and dangling over her snow-white shoulders, Cecil couldn't help but follow the subtle movements in her body – it was as he had suddenly fallen in a trance. The silky curve of her now-exposed neck was right there, just inches away, and the dust from the sand pearl was still shining along the stretch of her collar, gifting her with an empyrean glow thanks to the burgeoning moonlight pouring into the room. He watched the tiny muscles in her neck flex as she swallowed another sip of water, and felt the heat rise in his face.

Edward cleared his throat quietly, resting a hand on Cecil's shoulder and whispering against his sand-strewn hair.

"Cecil...Rosa wants to be with you."

Cecil closed his eyes, trying to reason with himself over painful throbbing in his chest. He thought about poor Anna, lying broken and still in Edward's arms as the man cried himself into oblivion over everything the two of them would now never become.

…And I want to be with her – maybe more than I've ever wanted anything else in my life.

The only difference between us is…I understand how it will end if I give in to my heart.

How many times am I going to do this to myself – to us – before I finally stop failing her?

Cecil swallowed, the exhaustion of the past few days suddenly crashing into him like a ton of bricks. His trials against the Mist Dragon, the Octomammoth and the Antlion…all they had proven was that he was becoming more vulnerable to the darkness he harbored within by the day – maybe even by the hour. Something irrevocable had broken inside him that day in Mysidia, the very moment he had taken the Crystal of Water into his hands. Whatever had been keeping the grim impulses at bay that fueled a dark knight's true purpose – darkness, destruction…death – had faded away with the crystal's light.

She said she had to see for herself if I had survived the earthquake… That that was why she put herself in such reckless danger…

Maybe she doesn't love me anymore…but she still harbors too much affection, far more than a monster like me deserves. It was foolish of me to think we could still at least be friends.

This will be the last time. Once she has made a full recovery, I'll tell her about everything that's happened since Mysidia. She'll understand, at last, why I ended things between us that awful night. She's experienced first-hand the danger that being wrapped up in this madness will bring her – she simply has to understand now.

"…All right," Cecil conceded, trying to control the shaking in his voice. "We'll all go together. It's too dark to do anything tonight, so we should leave early in the morning. Make sure you get enough rest."

Rosa set down her empty glass, her lips twitching in a strange half-smile that took Cecil aback – was she not happy about his change of heart, or had she been expecting it all along? Either option unsettled him… "I will. Thank you, Cecil."

"How is everyone doing in here?"

Cecil, Edward, Rosa and Rydia jumped at the sound of the new voice, turning to see the bewildered residents of the house they had taken over filling the doorway.

"Hello," Rosa smiled, giving a dainty wave as if all she had done was just woken up from a power nap. "I'm feeling much better now, thank you!"

"What a relief!" the woman exclaimed. "Praise the gods!"

"You should stay through tonight, though," the man insisted. "Your friends can visit as long as they would like…"

"I was just going to ask if I could burden you for one more night," Rosa replied, bowing her head. "I sincerely appreciate the offer…I am tired after all the excitement."

"Let's meet at the inn tomorrow morning, OK?" Rydia asked, and Rosa nodded in agreement, smiling more. She was glad that at least Rydia no longer seemed to be upset by what she had said, but felt compelled to press the girl further tomorrow, once everyone had gotten a chance for a fresh start.

"We'll be on our way," Cecil said, retrieving his helmet and crossing the room to offer the man his hand. "Thank you so much for everything you've done…I've no means of paying you back for now, but…"

"Perish the thought," the man shook Cecil's hand. "More than anything, I'm just relieved you two found each other – it's nothing short of a miracle. I guess she was right to come after you, huh?"

A miracle… Cecil bit his lip as he pulled away and fastened his helmet, the sudden blanket of darkness far more comforting than he wanted to admit.

---

Edward bent over in his bed, tying the last lace on his boot before glancing over at his companions for the millionth time. Rydia was curled into a ball, facing him, but was totally dead to the world – she had fallen into bed the moment they had walked into the room and hadn't stirred since. Cecil didn't even bother to wrestle the sandals off her feet.

And speaking of, in the next bed over, furthest against the wall, the dark knight was sleeping with his back to Edward, albeit far less soundly than Rydia. Whatever he was dreaming about had to have been horrible – the pained groans emitting from his lips and the near-constant thrashing about could have woken the dead. Edward had debated with himself about rousing Cecil, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it might not be such a good idea. He had read the suffering etched in Cecil's features like a book as he had sparred back and forth with Rosa about their next steps, and had obviously been shaken by her news about Golbez and the crystals – nothing Edward could say to him in a midnight chat would make any of it better.

Planting both feet on the floor, Edward crept as quietly out of their shared room as he could, softly closing the door behind him. It was only when he had made it out of the inn that he released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in.

Out in the cool desert air, Edward admired the familiar, quiet glow that Kaipo gave off at night when no one was awake. It was tradition in Kaipo to keep candles lit in the windows every home and business, even at night, to guide any lost travelers from the desert. Those same lights had witnessed every clandestine rendezvous he had had with Anna, where they would breathlessly catch up on their time apart and spend hours dreaming about the amazing future that was yet to come. Their conversations would last for at least several laps around the village, always starting and ending at their favorite spot before dawn came – that was when Anna would need to flee back to her room before Tellah woke up and found her missing.

His feet carrying him forth under their own volition, he soon found himself standing at their secret hideaway, a pocket of sand stretched under a cluster of palm trees that were blanketed in an overgrown garden and fueled by the main spring the village had initially been built around. The spring itself stretched far beyond the village borders, but had been specially sectioned off in the northern sector so that the villagers always had access to water within the safety of the protective gates.

His and Anna's own little oasis…

Sighing and taking a seat under one of the trees, he gazed down and the water lapping next to him and shuddered at his reflection. The man staring back at him was now nothing more than a ghost: sickly pale, with dark circles under his eyes and blotchy, swollen skin from crying in his sleep.

He would never again be the same, would he? How could he be?

"Anna…I am so lost without you."

He whimpered at the pain of his throat clenching as he uttered her name out loud – he could still taste the metallic traces of blood from when he had kissed her good-bye – and closed his eyes, reaching for the harp inside his jacket. He let his fingers rest upon the strings for a few moments before settling on what to play, and plucked a few mournful notes that withered in the moonlight-stained sky before giving himself entirely to the music, his consciousness drifting away into a haze of deliciously numbing oblivion.

"Argghhh... Hissss…"

As the despair-ridden lullaby wove itself around the prince like a cocoon, he paid no notice to the scaly, webbed hand that had come rising out of the water at his feet, shattering Edward's reflection with one swipe of its talon-like black fingernails. The water splashed everywhere, breaking Edward's concentration as his vision slowly came back into focus. He was met with a slimy, emerald-skinned sahagin dragging himself out of the oasis, yellow, headlamp-shaped eyes narrowing dangerously as he unleashed a hissing screech that made the webbing on the sides of his jowls inflate and caused Edward's hair to fly back.

"Agh!" Edward screamed, rolling out of the way as the sahagin lunged forward, its claws extending with a sickening squelching sound as they broke free from the monster's mucus membrane protecting its skin. Crashing head-first into the trees, Edward rolled over onto his back as an explosion of stars filled his eyes, managing only the strength to shield his face with the harp as the stymied monster rose on its hind legs and bared a mouth full of jagged, yellow teeth. When Edward blinked, the creature had disappeared, leaping in the air to close the distance between them.

Edward slammed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the inevitable pain. A moment later, there came the sharp screech of vibrating harp string, and he heard a hollow thump. He felt a rush of heavenly warmth flood his core, a floaty embrace wrapping around his body like the wings of an angel.

Is…is this what it's like to die…? Edward smiled slightly, the grip over his harp loosening. It…it's not so bad…

I'm coming to be with you again, Anna… At long last…!

"Edward!"

That voice… The dancing stars dissipated, and Edward's eyes snapped open, his forgotten harp tumbling to his lap as he bolted upright. The sahagin had been blown away back to the ledge of the oasis, covering its ear holes from the echo of the sour note that was still hanging in the air. A golden shroud of light was hanging over the oasis, pulsing with the same warmth Edward had felt in his dreams – he ran his hands over his face and his chest, which appeared unscathed. Maybe he hadn't been dying at all?

The sahagin cried out again as the light suddenly filled the oasis with a blinding brilliance, forcing Edward to cover his face. When it faded, left in its place was Anna, the waters of the oasis lapping over her bare white toes that peeked from beneath the hem of her golden gown. Her hands were clasped together at her waist, her curls flowing as if one with the wind.

"Be brave, my love!" she called, her lips curling in a secret smile. The monster, confused by the new voice, snarled and whirled around to swipe at Anna, but his claws sank right through her. Edward gasped and scrambled to his feet, clutching his harp.

"Anna!? Is that really you?"

She nodded slightly, extending her hand toward him even as the sahagin tried to attack her again, its efforts fruitless. "You are stronger than you know. But to call upon that strength, you must believe in yourself beyond all else!" She nodded toward the harp in Edward's hand, and he held it up in the moonlight, his eyes watering as he recalled what he had told Cecil in the antlion nest.

"Power? I've no power of my own. This…this is just a diversion for me, at most. Music itself be incredibly powerful, of course, but I hold none of its strength within – I'm just the conduit."

Anna…were you watching over me, even then…?

"I...I will try!" Edward gasped, pulling the harp close to his chest and closing his eyes. Giving himself to the music once more, just like when he had been so desperate to save Cecil, he began to strum a haunting melody that made the sahagin seize in place, writhing in agony as it dug its claws into its skull, desperate to block out the dreaded sound. After a few moments of struggling, it finally succumbed to Edward's song, the light in its eyes fading as it lolled backward like a toppling statue and passed out, falling into the oasis with a colossal splash that soaked Edward from head-to-toe.

"Anna!" Edward cried, throwing down the harp and running to the edge of the oasis, stopping just before he stumbled in after the monster. "You're – you're really here!"

"Edward…" Anna whispered, stretching her fingertips toward him as far as she could reach. Edward followed suit, pushing on his tiptoes until his fingers hovered mere millimeters over her own. Anna's smile faltered as his hand sank through hers like a curtain of mist, watching the happy light that had ignited in his gaze suddenly extinguish.

"…I can be with you for but this moment," she explained softly, curling her fingers back. "The planet calls me onward, to become part of it again."

"Anna…" Edward whimpered, lowering his hand. "No…you can't. Please…don't leave me. I'm not ready. I'll…I'll never be ready."

She shook her head, gazing toward the twin moons – Edward could see her throat clenching as she stumbled over her words. Oh, there was so much she needed to tell him – but so precious little time left.

"Edward, you must be brave. Golbez cannot be allowed to have the crystals. You gave your love to me once. Now I want you to share it with all the world."

"What's going to happen?" Edward cried, his gaze darting between the moons and his love. "I beg of you…what do you mean?"

She gently pressed her fingers to her lips and shook her head, eyes glittering with tears as she faded into a gossamer gleam in the spill of moonlight reflecting off the oasis. Edward stifled his moans as he sank to his knees, closing his eyes.

Anna, my love…I…I will try. But what would you have me do?