Chapter Six
Rydia's dreams turned in circles. One moment she was in Mist, singing rhymes at the table she shared with her mother; the next moment she was atop Mount Hobbs, listening to the worries and joys of her much older friends; then she was in the Feymarch listening to Ramuh recite lists of herbs while Black snored in a corner; and finally, she was surrounded by each of her current companions, sitting around an unlit fire, everyone facing out rather than in. Will we ever find peace? Rosa asked quietly…
Rydia's eyes fluttered open, suddenly feeling an immense weight on her chest.
"What in the world…" she said quietly to herself, alarmed. She sat up on her bedroll and
looked around, finding the tent empty. The Feymarch had heightened her senses, surely, but to be able to dream so vividly still? Was it a sign of things to come? Was what she had seen happening now? Rydia held her head in her hand for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"Hold yourself together, Rydia. It's just the heat."
She steadied herself and wondered why no one had awakened her earlier. She didn't want to be the one that held up the journey. Straightening her robes as she stood, she stepped out of the tent. When the canvas flap fell back, Rydia was amazed. For a split second, she had the impression that she'd stepped into a different world. The air had cooled off, and even the brightness of the magma was not as overpowering. It was as if night had truly fallen on the Underworld.
Rosa was standing a few feet in front of her with her arms folded across her chest. When Rydia drew abreast of her, she saw the white mage frowning.
"Rosa?"
Rosa stirred, as if caught in the middle of some unpleasant thought, and glanced at Rydia.
"Good morning," she said distractedly.
"Is everything alright?"
Rosa suddenly smiled, but Rydia wasn't convinced the emotion behind it was genuine.
"Everything's fine. We're about ready to leave."
Rydia looked past Rosa and saw Cecil standing in the distance looking grim. Her dream suddenly returned to the front of her thoughts.
"The air has cooled off," Rosa mused. "Even the middle of the Earth sleeps from time to time. Just wish it would stay this way until we reach the Tower."
Rydia looked at her friend. She felt like she was looking at one piece of a puzzle she didn't understand. All of them fit into it in different ways, but why couldn't she see the larger picture? Why couldn't she know how things would turn out? She didn't have much time to ask the white mage any questions. The routine of the march was so familiar that the entire encampment was removed and packed within a few minutes. Rydia kept an eye on each of her companions, waiting for clues, waiting for anything. The idea that they were two separate groups had been gnawing at her for a while even before Yang had spoken to her about it, but what would happen if she brought it to their attention? Would it solve anything? Would it drive them farther apart?
She put her doubts aside, hoping that by the time they reached the Tower, her unease would abate. She tried for several days. Tried and failed.
Kain made her suspicious, even afraid. It had started off small, but after another day of marching, his attitude changed her suspicion to concern. He remained separate from them on most occasions, rarely spoke, rarely ate…rarely did much of anything aside from being Cecil's right-hand in battle. He had even taken longer watches than the rest of them whenever they stopped to rest. Why didn't Cecil notice?
Doubt had certainly become a growing force among the group. Finally she confided in Yang.
"It's getting worse," she said.
Yang made a small nod of affirmation, his dark eyes pinned ahead as if trying to spot bad weather. "There's tension everywhere," he acknowledged.
"Is that why he's returned? To hold us back—to put the mission in danger?"
Yang cast a knowing gaze on her for a moment, looking tired, but also wise. "I don't think that's the case. But there are wounds that are still raw. Only time will tell if we have the courage to mend all the ill that's been wrought by this war."
"That's it? But you said that we were supposed to be watchful, to prevent this from happening! What about Cecil, shouldn't we tell him what's going on?"
"He already knows," Yang said finally.
Rydia looked at Cecil walking ahead of her. "Knows what exactly?"
"That there's tension and doubt. What he's ignoring is that his friend has unresolved demons."
"Does he not realize what this is doing to Rosa—to the rest of us?"
"When I said they were too close to each other, Rosa is the main issue. The hearts of men are sometimes hard to discern, Rydia, but they often lead to trouble."
Rydia scrunched her brow, trying to figure out what he meant exactly. "Each of them wants to protect her in their own way?" she asked.
Yang smiled, "Yes, you could say that."
"I don't like this. Walking blindly, ignoring the truth!" she declared, a little more loudly than she intended.
She noticed with a jolt of panic, that Rosa had turned around and was looking at her oddly. "Ignoring the truth about what?" Rosa asked.
Rydia chewed on her lower lip. Should she tell them? Was this the time?
"That we've all gone mad," Rydia lied—well, half-lied.
"Why do you say that?"
Rydia's tired mind worked hard to find an explanation. In the end it was Yang who saved her.
"We agreed to walk all this way," he said wryly.
Rosa nodded with a knowing look and a small smile, before she returned to her conversation with Cecil.
When Rydia was certain Rosa was no longer listening, she turned again to Yang. "Why are they content to stay this way?"
Yang frowned a little, "I suspect that they prefer a broken system that works. We might be limping along, but we're still moving."
Rydia ran fingers through tangled and sweat matted hair. "I don't understand this at all."
"With time, maybe, you will," Yang assured her. "For now, we have to know where to draw the line between what works and what's dangerous. I don't see the danger yet, but we've a long way to go in this war. Who knows what will happen between all of us."
Rydia was contented only a little by her conversation with Yang. The slow, drawn out nature of their travels kept her mind wandering dark paths. Whenever they paused to rest and her suspicions were beginning to overwhelm her, she asked Yang other questions. He calmed her with stories of what had happened to him when they'd all been separated by Leviathan—what happened when Caignazzo was killed and the kingdom of Baron was lifted out of madness. She was fascinated by Edward's part of the tale and his quick thinking that saved them from the Dark Elf. These distractions kept her from finding more reasons to dislike the Dragoon, but they were only temporary.
They'd traveled two more days before the ground began to convulse with enough force that Rydia and the others stumbled to their knees.
"Is the Underworld collapsing?" Rosa exclaimed with a shriek when dust began to thicken the air.
"Kain, can you see anything from higher up?" Cecil asked, looking at the clouds of dust with concern.
The dragoon ran forward, gaining speed, and then lifted into the air, a blue blur among the tawny clouds and fumes. They waited for what seemed an eternity before he returned to the ground.
"It's a bombardment," he said, out of breath. "The dwarves are engaging the Tower."
"They're causing this much commotion?" Rosa gasped.
"How far are we from reaching them?" Yang asked.
"Maybe a half day's march," Kain estimated.
Cecil quickly looked at everyone, assessing them. "We don't have that much time. If the tower remains under siege for too long, Golbez is bound to return to protect his fortress. Can we move any faster?"
Rydia glanced at Rosa, thinking quickly. "Rosa, can you cast a spell on us?"
Rosa, seeming to know where this line of thinking was headed, frowned. "I could cast the Haste Spell, but it would make us more exhausted by the time we reached the Tower."
"We might have to take that chance," Cecil said grimly.
"I don't like this, Cecil," Rosa warned. "We'll move faster, certainly, but the distance being crossed is still the same. There might not be time to rest when we reach the Tower."
"If worse comes to worse, we'll have to dip into our stock of potions," Cecil mentioned.
"Potions can give us that kind of energy?" Rydia asked, curious.
"Honestly, I've never tried it," Cecil admitted.
Rosa rolled her eyes. "Their effects will only last for so long. Eventually our bodies will deteriorate."
"What if we make sure to drink extra water?" Rydia asked.
"That might work, but the magic of the spell can only bolster us to a point, the rest is up to us. Water will help stave off the exhaustion, but I've never tested it against conditions like this."
"Time to take chances," Cecil said resolutely.
Rosa gave him a look, and then turned to Rydia. "Rydia, I'm relying on you to keep those canteens filled."
Rydia nodded emphatically, and watched as Rosa began to chant. The soft green glow of white magic surrounded her. She outstretched her hand and the rest of them were also suffused with the power of the spell. Rydia felt her body flood with energy. She felt like she could do anything.
"Let's go!" Cecil shouted, sprinting across the rocks like some wild thing.
They all followed, moving far faster than their bodies would ordinarily allow. Every few minutes, Rosa would call them to a halt to drink from their canteens. It seemed like the white mage was worrying over nothing to Rydia, whose body felt electrified, but when she looked at their surroundings, she found that they had traveled great distances in very short periods of time.
They were about to pass around the plateaus that loomed between themselves and the Tower when Rydia suddenly felt like a rug had been pulled from beneath her feet. Time seemed to move backwards and her eyes blurred. She fell to her knees, and she wasn't the only one.
All five of them came to the ground panting.
"I told you," Rosa wheezed.
Rydia, never remembering the after-effects of a haste spell was completely caught off-guard.
"Cast it again," Cecil demanded.
"No," Rosa insisted, shaking her head.
"We're close," Kain said, leaning heavily on one knee.
"I agree with Rosa," Yang interjected. "I don't think I could go through that again. Battle is one thing, traveling great distances is another. I'm too old for this sort of travel."
"Now what? Crawl the rest of the way?" Cecil asked.
"I warned you this could happen," Rosa said, glaring at him.
"I feel like I've just been run over by Titan," Rydia mumbled, almost incoherently, laying flat on her back.
"We should get—OOF!" Kain said, only to fall back to the ground with a long stone quill embedded in his shoulder. It had penetrated the plating of his armor, and the wound was already weeping blood.
"Kain!" Rosa cried, rushing over to him.
The rest of them turned to look at what had assaulted them. Several rodents, and slate-gray basilisks that put their Upperworld kin to shame appeared among the rocks. In the rush of exhaustion, none of them had paid attention to their surroundings—plenty of crags and ravines. Perfect for hiding. Perfect for an ambush.
Rydia was tired. She was tired of the heat, of walking, and of the tensions between her companions. She wanted this over as quickly as possible. She had already decided which Eidolon to summon, and she gathered her wits and began to chant.
…
As Rosa kept her hand pressed to Kain's armor, she wondered when they had all lost their wits. She herself wasn't in her best form. Sleep was elusive, and nightmares returned sometimes in the middle of the day. She'd tried to blame them on mirages, but the chill on her heart was so powerful, it felt like the inferno around them was nothing but a warm breeze. Kain still made her jump sometimes, as if she couldn't be sure which version of him she was seeing from one minute to the next. And now the rest of them had convinced her into this fool-hardy plan. Look where it had gotten them!
Rosa despised feeling helpless.
"Rosa, help…help the others. I'm fine," Kain rasped.
"Be quiet," she said with force.
"Rosa…"
Rosa looked down at him, at the blue eyes she could now see with his helmet tipped upwards. There was a storm brewing there, and for a moment she felt it too. This was all her fault. She knew it. All because of whom she had chosen…
"If you die here, I'll pursue you through every level of the afterlife," she declared, fully realizing that it was something Cid would say. What had come over her? Truthfully she felt a bit light, as if she could do almost anything.
She spared a glance toward Cecil, but her vision was overcome by a sudden white maelstrom. Rydia stood in the middle of it, an oasis of color in a white world, her thin arms held as if in meditation. A woman stood beside her, pale glistening skin, with long dark hair frosted by a layer of ice. The woman raised her hand in an elegant gesture, then brought it down like the stroke of a blade. Ice flew in every direction, cutting, biting ice. Rosa couldn't see a thing for a moment, and then it was gone. The woman was gone, only Rydia remained standing, hands lowering. The creatures were decimated, and the ice from the spell evaporating into a fog, made the entire scene, well, otherworldly.
"Nice work," Rosa heard Yang say, clapping a hand on Rydia's shoulder. They both turned to look at her where she sat beside Kain.
Rydia's expression was hard to read, but the Summoner's gaze shifted to Cecil, and Rosa noticed that Cecil was staring at herself.
"Is he alright?"
"He will be once I get some help," Rosa said resolutely.
Cecil walked over to her and knelt beside his friend.
"I'm fine," Kain said weakly.
"Idiot," Cecil said. "You're been pierced through the shoulder."
"I've been worse," Kain muttered, blood showing at the corners of his mouth.
"Keep quiet," Rosa told him. Looking at Cecil, she said, "I need you to pull the spike out when I tell you to. I'll begin the incantation."
"What should I do exactly?"
"Put pressure around the wound and then pull upwards as straight as possible."
"How will I know when you've almost finished the incantation?"
"You'll know. I'll give you a sign."
Rosa began to chant, and when she felt confident that she'd woven together the necessary threads of healing she required, she reached out and touched Cecil's hand. This was her sign.
Cecil pulled, she finished the incantation, and the harmony of several elements working in concert, knitting flesh back together, consumed her attention.
Kain sighed and closed his eyes. Rosa frowned. The wound was deep. Closing it was taking more effort than she had planned. Finally, after several minutes of sustained magic, the damage had been healed. Rosa leaned over, doubly exhausted.
"Can you stand?" Cecil asked, offering both of them a hand.
Rosa looked at Cecil with wonder. She seemed to be doing a lot of that recently. When she expected him to act one way, he acted another. His disposition as a paladin was far warmer than it had been when he wore the Dark Armor. He was as she'd known him when they were small, just children—before all this bloodshed.
It amazed her how quickly he had come to trust Kain—how quickly she had come to trust him.
They both stood, and she found Yang and Rydia standing close by, staring at them with concern. Rydia seemed distant, which was so different from the Rydia she had once known. It seemed to Rosa that she was experiencing a brief moment of clarity, when it finally occurred to her how much each of them had changed. She couldn't tell if it was for good or bad.
"The exhaustion's not so bad anymore," Cecil observed with a smile.
"You're right," Yang agreed.
Another round of bombardment shook the ground, this time more powerful than the last. "We're close," Yang continued. "Let's get this business over with."
Rosa nodded wearily, and looked around at everyone, trying to pinpoint what was bothering her. She was going to figure this out sooner or later, she decided. For now, they just had to survive this mission.
…..
A/N:
Sorry, guys. I've been working on this for about five weeks, now. Just don't know why I couldn't write it faster…There's been bad weather, flooding, and work, I guess…lol. Good times. Next chapter they're in the Tower! Sweeeeet.
I know in one line I say that Kain was Cecil's right-hand in battle. Yes, I'm aware that he's left-handed.
The argument about the Haste Spell is rather techno-babbly. Not sure how I feel about that, other than I've been watching inordinate amounts of Star Trek lately…
I'll probably end up switching POVs more often in future chapters. It's ridiculously hard to only use one character's perspective and opinions of others, when there are so many other fun characters to play with. Diversity is good. The next chapter hopefully won't prove as difficult to write as this one…I'll try to have it up faster.
Aaaand finally, there WILL be more consistent updates all through the fall. I'm not in classes this fall, so YAY! Writing!
Thanks for waiting and continuing to read! Hope you're all enjoying August!
~myth