Authors notes: I'm still mourning the loss of my mother and having health issues, so I don't know when I will update next time, but I hope it won't be as long as last time.
This is one of the chapters which are almost completely different from my original. That's because I've decided to add some stuff from the continued little story from Terra battle, but I will do it my way ^_ –
I've worked my but off to bring you this update, all in honour for Tifa's birthday! Hope you'll enjoy it.
And happy birthday Tifa :3
Ugh, seems like there was something wrong yesterday, no notifications after I updated, hope you get it now.
A lot has happened since the ball. The castle had been turned inside out before Lowell announced that he had rescued Leonie, and was hiding her until the trial because of the castle's lack of security.
Those news had not been well received by Zael and Calista. They had reluctantly agreed to it as a sign of good will, but there was now some tension between the former comrades. As well as between Dagran and Tifa, who had yet to clear the air between them.
Chapter 13: Aftermath.
Zael and Calista had just finished talking with the guards who were on guard duty the night of the ball. No one had seen anything suspicious at the ball, or anywhere else. The guards posted by Leonie's door had been knocked out by a man wearing a guard's uniform. They had however heard two set of footsteps, but neither had seen their attacker's face.
''Thank you, you are dismissed.'' Zael answered politely and watched as the group of guards left the room.
''I still don't get why Lowell had his cousin removed without saying anything.'' Calista murmured tiredly, her gaze connecting with her husband's before she walked over to the window. There she looked down towards the glistering sea, hoping it would have the usual calming effect on her. ''Doesn't he trust us?''
''Your guess is as good as mine. It's not like them to go behind people's backs like that. Something about this isn't right...'' He said and ran a hand through his messy hair. ''When I talked to Yurick, he said it was because Thornton has guards loyal to him within our guards and knights. Which I honestly can't say if it's true or not.''
''Regardless, we will still have to call for a trial,'' Calista said softly, walking over to the large oak desk in their private room. She picked up the letter lying before Zael. ''Inquisitor Thornton must still be held accountable for attacking Miss Balfour.''
''I agree,'' Zael said seriously as he eyed the letter in his wife's delicate hand. He sensed something was wrong, but could not pinpoint what. ''I'm not so sure about anything right now. Thornton claims he was set up, but even so, he still took the bait. He physically attacked her. I want to get to the bottom of this.''
Calista slid down on his lap and reached for the quill. She neatly started to scribble down some lines on the paper before them. ''I shall call for a trial 10 days from now, does that sound all right?'' she asked.
''That will be fine. It will give us plenty of time to investigate things further and for Miss Balfour to regain her strength.''
''And for Thornton to cool down a little.'' Calista murmured as she concentrated on her writing. She smiled shyly as she felt Zael's fingers travelling up her thighs. She straightened and managed to ignore his ministrations long enough to finish her task.
Zael smiled when he looked down on his wife. He felt so blessed, having her in his life. It was thanks to her that he could bear what happened two years ago. Her support and love gave him the will to let go of the past and focus on the future. His thoughts still returned to his dead friend often, but it did not feel as painful anymore. He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her neck. He gave a low chuckle when hearing her sharp inhale of breath. ''I love you, my dear Calista...'' he whispered hoarsely.
''and I, you...'' Calista answered softly as she put away the quill. Suddenly she found herself being carried towards their bed. The bad feeling she had carried with her for days went away and she let herself be distracted for a few lovely moments.
On the third day of insufferable tension and silence, Tifa had enough of it. She needed to be alone and away from people, so she decided to go back to the cabin in the woods. She grabbed her bag, and left the bar. Right in the middle of the night. Leaving a short note on her pillow, stating that she would be back in time for the trial.
Her energy was that of a snail and her mind was near a meltdown. Not only had the mission gone horrible wrong, so had her relationship with Dagran. Before they had been close friends, but a wall now stood between them. All because she had dared to kiss him, and even if he had kissed her back, he must have disliked the experience, or he wouldn't have looked so disgusted afterwards.
He hadn't said more than a few polite words to her since that night, and he seemed to ignore her. That combined with nightmares from what happened at the ball was the cause of her sorry state. The near rape had affected her more than she thought. In her dreams, she relived the moments she spent with Edward in the dark library and it had also stirred painful memories from her past. Memories she thought she had gotten past – years ago, in a different life. She felt the same way now as she had done in the past. She felt alone and scared.
Last time she had just been a teenager, with no one to help her. No one to dry her tears and make her feel safe again. Everyone she knew and loved were gone. To survive and adapt to Midgar, she had been forced to grow up fast. For almost a year she had stood on her own, taking care of herself. Learning to lock away what troubled her and put on a brave face. It was not until she met Barret and his gang, that she started to feel safe and secure again. He had taken her in, given her a place in his mismatched family.
Now she was in a strange place, with new companions at her side. Even if she liked them, one fact still remained: She did not know them very well. Before the ball, she and Dagran had been as close as two could get, but after what happened she didn't feel comfortable sharing her troubles with him.
The disgusted look on his face was burned into her mind. She had gambled with her own heart on that bold move. When the other Dagran had told her that the real Dagran cared for her, she had hoped it was something more than friendship, but after that look he had given her, she was not sure anymore.
Tifa decided to deal with this her own way. Be strong and work through it alone, letting it take the time it needed. She knew what could happen if she did not get past it, if that day came, she would just have to choose one of her new friends to confide in. She would not end up like Cloud, she refused to. Best medicine for her right now was to keep busy, and so she did. As soon as she came back to the cottage, she started cleaning the whole place. From top to bottom. When there was nothing more to clean, she attacked her herb garden, harvesting what she could and laid them out to dry, and tidied up the leaves here and there that were dead. Keeping busy had always helped her in the past. Your mind was on your troubles, but your hands were kept busy, that was how she worked through issues. That and some good old fashioned training.
Lowell sat with Syrenne closely pressed to his side and watched his friend by the window. He stood propped up against the wall, arms crossed across his chest, and his foot was tapping impatiently against the worn floor. His face was set in a scowl and his body was tense. It was clear to him that Tifa's disappearance was the cause of this behaviour. It had gone 6 days since they found her note, and he had to commend Dagran for his restraint so far. Had it been him in his stead, he would have run out to find her a long time ago.
''Oi! Are you trying to tap through the floor or something?.'' Syrenne not so helpfully commented, which earned her a withering glare. ''Don't give me that look, it's not my fault Tifa's gone...''
''Love, you're not helping...'' Lowell pointed out tiredly, but he could not help himself in thinking she was right. It was Dagran's fault. ''Do you have any idea where she could have gone?''
Dagran let out a tired sigh as he gazed out through the window. He knew he was to blame for how things were between him and Tifa. He had felt so bad about the whole ordeal that he did not even know how to behave towards her or what to say to her. He still believed it was right to wait until after the trial to see what lay between them, but now he was afraid he might never get the chance to. What if she never came back? No, he knew she would never break a promise, but he was worried about her.
''Yes, I believe I know-'' Dagran started to respond, but stopped when his gaze landed the couple on the sofa. ''Um, guys?''
Lowell playfully nuzzled Syrenne's nose, having completely blocked out everything else. His friend could surely not except him to pay attention when Dagran himself was lost in his own thoughts. Not when his beautiful lady sat next to him, not bickering for once either. His grin broadened when he heard her inhale after he had laid his arm around her. Just as he was about to claim her lips, he heard his friend stomp down on the floor. ''Go and clean up your own mess! We're in the middle of something here...''
''Fine!'' Dagran answered and sauntered out through the door. Leaving his lovestruck fools of friends behind. He rolled his eyes as his door slamming was rewarded by snickering. Lowell was right though, he had to set things right between him and Tifa, and only way of doing that was to track her down.
Right, left, flip and roll. Go from roll into crouch, from crouch into a sprint. Finish with a high aimed kick. Tifa kept repeating in her head, as she preformed her old intense training program. Her body slowly falling back into the rhythm it once preformed daily. Sweat drenched her clothes, and her breathing came out in strained puffs. Her whole body ached in protest, which only confirmed her own suspicions. She had let herself go after the war for the planet. Back then she had preformed her exercise with ease, but living in Edge, looking after the children and the bar had taken up most her time. Leaving very little time for training.
''Hiyah!'' Tifa finished with a last burst of energy, doing a perfect somersault, landing steadily on her feet only to backflip to avoid an invisible enemy. However, that landing was no way near perfect. When she landed her leg spasmed, making her fall hard on her butt.
''Time to call it a day...'' She groaned as she got up again on unsteady feet. A hand massaging her sore behind. Another thing she learned from all those years of training was when to push one self and when to rest. Her body definitely needed to rest. ''I think a warm bath will do the trick.''
It was a good thing she already prepared for a bath hours ago. The old wood cabin did not have the luxury of an installed bathtub, only a toilet. If one wanted to bathe, they had to do it the old fashioned way. Filling up a wood tub with the help of water buckets. Thanks to her materia though, she did not have to boil the water by the fire, she could use her fire magic to heat up the water.
She walked into the small house and locked the door behind her. Her eyes landing on the big tub standing in the middle of the room, next to the table. Her eyes eyes closed in brief concentration as she focused her magic on heating the water. When it was done she made the final preparation for the bath and poured a small amount of healing potion and a good amount of soap into the water. She stripped out of her clothes, placing them neatly on the table. Then she dissolved the braid which had bound her hair and slowly lowered her tired body into the tub.
''Sooo nice...'' Tifa let out a tired sigh, closing her eyes as the warm water eased her aching muscles. She picked up her sponge from the chair beside the tub and gently scrubbed away the grease and sweat from today's training. While her hands yet again keeping busy, her mind wandered away, being lead by her own thoughts.
As always her thoughts strayed to a certain man, though this time it was not in a romantic sense. She thought in her own defence, not that she needed to defend her thoughts, from herself, right? The night before she left she had overheard a conversation between Syrenne and Lowell. It had been about General Asthar. They had discussed the chance of Dagran getting acquitted from the General's death. There was no witnesses to their duel, so even her materia would not be of much help in proving his innocence. She had no idea how the penalties worked here, but she couldn't imagine it was much different from her own time.
''Oi, Tifa! Are you here?'' Dagran's voice cut through her thoughts. Making for a brutal wake up back to reality. Before she could reply, she watched in silent horror as the door slowly opened and all she could do was duck further into the tub, hoping there was enough bubbles to cover most of her. Their gazes met across the room, and an awkward silence followed. Damn it! Why did he have to show up right now!?
Dagran regained his senses and tore his gaze from her, and he closed the door behind him. Keeping his back towards her, respecting her need for privacy. He had made a whole speech up before coming here, but seeing her had blown the words right of his mind. Scattering them like leaves on winds. ''I...um...was worried about you.'' he finally settled on saying.
''I see...'' Tifa took the opportunity and stood up, quickly reaching for one of the small buckets of water beside her. She had no intention of continuing bathing in front of him, so she made the process short. She dunked one over herself, and tipped the other one a little more carefully. To make sure the soap was rinsed out of her hair. Then she climbed out of the tub, wrapping a towel securely around her body and damp hair.
''That's your response? 'I see.'' Dagran immediately countered, resisting the urge to turn around and face her. ''You just left, of course I was worried!''
''What do you want me to say then? I'm sorry for leaving after you ignored me for several days...'' Tifa spat out irritatedly, clumsily fidgeting with putting on clean clothes. Annoyed that her bath got interrupted and for having this particular conversation sooner than she'd liked. She knew they had to have it, but truth to be told, she was not ready for it at all. ''Don't be, I can take care of myself. As you can see I'm alive and all right.''
A pang of guilt struck Dagran when hearing the hurt laced in her voice. He turned at that, gaze immediately settling upon her tense form. She stood proudly and defiantly before him, her gaze locked with his. Daring him to question her, but he could see through her. He could see small changes since he last saw her. She was thinner, but the muscles in her arms and legs were more defined than before. Dark circles lay beneath her eyes, and her hauntingly beautiful eyes had lost their sparkle. ''I care for you, and you can't fool me. You are far from all right...'' he and walked over to her, gently laying his hands on her shoulders.
''Don't!'' Her voice hitched and she ducked away from his hands. Quickly walking past him and out of the cottage. She knew he was following her, there was no escape for her, but she kept walking until she reached the spot where they first stumbled onto each other. All around them the trees swayed in the warm autumn breeze.
''Tifa?''
Her life had become a parody. She had longed for Dagran's touch for a long time now, and against knowing better, she let the encounter with Edward and the other Dagran poison something which was far from ugly. Her mind and nerves felt so raw after several sleepless nights. It was impossible to control her own reactions. ''I can't sleep without reliving that night...I keep feeling his hands and mouth on my body...'' she paused to let out a shaky breath. Brushing away tears which trailed down her cheeks. ''The look of disgust on your face after I kissed you is imprinted in my brain...''
Dagran's own breath hitched when hearing this. She thought he found her disgusting? On the contrary, the truth was the opposite! He had been disgusted with himself, for thinking he had forced himself upon her. He had no memory of who had instigated their kiss, but he had assumed it had been him, ''You've misunderstood, I was not disgusted with you, it wa-''
''Dagran!?'' A voice called suddenly.
Both of them turned to the source of the voice interrupting their conversation. Zael came into the small clearing, accompanied by a was a very guilty looking Yurick and a furious looking Therius. It did not take much puzzling to know that the young fire mage must have slipped up.
The instant both Outsider wielders looked at each other, each of their powers flared around them. Bright blue flames sprung up around Zael, bathing him in a cold light, while flickering flames cast a warm light around Dagran. Their gazes was locked onto each other, as if their powers was battling for supremacy. The air around them bristled and small white lights rose from the ground around them. All the bright colors from the nature around them slowly faded. The earth around them slowly died as their powers flared brighter.
Therius took advantage of the situation and grabbed Tifa's arm, intent on dragging her away. She immediately dug her feet into the dry soil. He was surprised at how strong she seemed to be. Not at all like the delicate woman he'd danced with at the ball. ''I am glad to see you all right, but cease your resistance. Or you'll compromise yourself even more...'' He warned her.
''Compromise my butt! I had to flee the castle or I would have been killed...'' Tifa shot back, trying to tug her arm free, and glared up at the silver knight. She knew her disguise was not so different from her usual self, but this man had recognised her in an instant. Though, perhaps she should use this to her advantage?He did not know what she was capable of after all. ''I have done nothing wrong, so let me go!''
''Drop the act,'' Therius ordered her coldly. ''From where we stood it was quite clear that you know that man over there. Did you also know that he's wanted for the murder of a Imperial General? Think long, and hard before answering...''
''I don't need to think at all because there was no murder!'' Tifa spat as her patience ran out. She slammed her foot down hard on his, and then delivered a quick blow to his nose. Efficiently breaking free from him during his brief surprise. When he made to charge for her, she used his own momentum against him, easily throwing him to the ground and putting her heel against his throat. ''I'm sorry, but you really didn't give me a choice...''
''I swear I didn't know Dagran would be here...'' Yurick told her remorsefully as he came up beside her. ''The Emperor arrived today, and all hell broke loose at the castle. He opposes Zael and Calista's marriage, and when he learnt about what happened at the ball he demanded that you be brought to the castle for safe keeping...''
''You're in on this too, Yurick!?'' Therius bristled beneath Tifa's boot. ''I can't let this be, Yurick. I must honour the oaths I took when becoming a knight...''
''Be quiet.'' Tifa warned him by putting more pressure on his throat. Her gaze landed on the two men locked in trance. Worry prickled to life as she saw the damage to the area around them. They were sucking out all the energy from the earth and it had to stop. ''We'll deal with that later, we have another matter we must attend first.''
''I've already tried calling them but they won't respond. It's like they can't hear us.'' Yurick quickly informed her, looking as worried as she felt. ''I don't understand this, we released the Outsider so why are their power's draining the land...''
...Tifa put us to sleep, and escape when Yurick teleport us back to the castle...
''Dagran?'' Tifa asked bewilderedly, her eyes landing onto Dagran's still form. She could have sworn she heard his voice clearly in her head. ''I can't do that! I refuse to leave you!'' Yurick stepped into her line of sight, a frowning at her odd behaviour. With a sigh she told him, ''I heard Dagran's voice in my head, he wants me to put them to sleep and you to teleport the four of you back to the castle.''
''How's that even possible-''
...Do it! There isn't much time...
Both Tifa and Yurick flinched from the cheer force of his power. ''Never mind, but you'll get caught, probably thrown into jail or even executed!'' the younger mage argued while nonetheless doing what was asked of him. He started preparing a teleportation circle around his two friends. ''Are you positively sure about this?''
...Since when have I never known my own mind? I can't run from this, they will never let me go now that they have seen me. Better to face this head on...
Tifa let out a defeated sigh as the last remnant of his power rolled off from her. She knew he was right, but she did not want to take a chance with his life. She did not trust the rules of Lazulis island, nor the Emperor of a nation she'd never even seen. She concentrated and cast blind on the knight beneath her foot, then hauled him onto his feet.
''Sir Therius, I appeal to your honour to see to it that he gets a fair trial and a chance to defend himself.'' Tifa said to the silent knight as she handed him over to Yurick. ''Innocent until proven otherwise...remember that.''
''You have my word, I will follow the laws which I swore to uphold.'' Therius spoke solemnly, and grabbed hold of her hand, quickly raising it to his lips, and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. ''It is a shame our second meeting had to be like this, but despite this...I find you even more intriguing now than at the ball.''
''Mm-hm.'' Tifa managed to sound out, a blush quickly coloring her cheeks. She gave Yurick a nod then walked out of the circle, only pausing beside Dagran. His eyes were blazing red and locked with Zael's. She took his hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze. ''I still have you back, I will figure this out...somehow.'' She whispered before summoning her magic. As she passed the glowing circle she looked over her shoulder. Her gaze locked with Yurick's, who gave her a small nod of encouragement, ''Sleep...''
The tension in the air disappeared immediately and the Outsider's died just as abruptly. Like a candle's flame being extinguished. Before both men fell to the ground, Yurick activated his teleportation spell. In the blink of an eye the small group vanished. Leaving behind a patch of dead earth and white particles floating in the still air.
Tifa was determined to help Dagran, but after learning about the Emperor's arrival, what would await her at tomorrow's trial?
Would she be able to prove Thornton's guilt and Dagran's innocence or would she lose the man She had grown so fond of?
