By the time we awoke, we were in Kilika. And boy, had it changed. But then again, the last time I saw it Sin had just attacked. What was once a modest little village was now a bustling town. And they even were building a headquarters for the Youth League. See after the defeat of Sin, some wanted answers, and when the church of Yevon wouldn't give them any they joined together and started calling themselves the Youth League. And the churches became known as New Yevon. Then the Al Bhed started their own base at Djose Temple called the Machine Faction. I had heard of all three factions and stayed away from all of them. I wanted nothing to do with any of them. And apparently neither did Yuna.
While Yuna took the boys exploring, I gathered all the items that were just out of sight. Then I looked for Yuna and the others. I found them talking to the lady about monkeys. This made me laugh. They must have heard me because they turned around and waved me over. I asked them if they had seen the new Youth League Headquarters and when they told me they hadn't, I walked them over to the boat. After seeing the building thru binoculars, Yuna asked the boys if they wanted to take the airship or a regular ship. Zaon wanted to take the ship since we never took one with him. And then he turned to beg Auron and Rikku. So we ended up on a ship bound for Luca. Paine reluctantly joined us. The trip would take a day or so, but I think they chose it because Zaon gave them puppy-dog eyes. Sora and Zaon were the happiest of us all, but you could see the joy on Yuna's face too. And that is all I needed to see. All of Braska's children are happy and healthy.
Once in Luca, Yuna told her brothers all about the mission to get her garment grid back thru her eyes. She even got them balloons while we were there. When we finally made it to the Mi'ihen Highroad, the boys ran off ahead. Rikku ran off following them, while Paine walked with us. Although Paine didn't seem to worry about the boys, she did ask if they would be okay on the highroad alone. Yuna and I looked at each other and laughed harder than we thought we would.
"Sora wields magic like he was born in this world, and Zaon was taught by the Ronso. His spear abilities are only second to the best Ronso warrior. And in two years of hunting fiends for fun, I would say that those boys are more feared the afraid. Besides, they are the sons of Braska. And he would be proud of all his children." I laughed. Yuna looked at me with that happy look again, while Paine's eye widened.
"If they are Braska's sons, then that means...you are his second wife?" She asked me, and I nodded.
"I am Braska's second wife, mother of his sons, and stepmother of his daughter." I chuckled. Yuna started to giggle at that moment, and so did the boys who had just returned to our side. Paine's mouth dropped and when she addressed me next, she addressed me as "my lady". I was so tired of hearing that, and I told her that Rose was just fine. That freaked her out I think. That is when I explained.
"First, I was Lady Rose, Lord Braska's wife. Then, Mi'lady Summoner. I am so tired of being held higher than others because of who I married, or what I wanted to do. Now I choose to go by Rose, my given name. There are no longer Summoners and as much as I love Braska, I can no longer deal with the title I seemed to gain when I married. And I know that he would not fault me for getting rid of the title. Just like Yuna dropped the High Summoner title when she joined the Gullwings, I did too. So just calling me Rose is fine by me." I told her and at last, I knew she had gotten the hint. We continued talking and defeating fiends until we finally made it to the Travel Agency. The boys were excited and asked Rikku to teach them Al Bhed.
"I guess I could teach you our language. But it will not be easy. You ready for the challenge?" Rikku teased them. But of course, I had to show off.
"Ku ayco uh dras cehla drao yna uhmo getc." I told her. Her head shot up at my words and took only a few minutes to nod. I was glad that she was going to take it easy on the boys. We entered the travel agency and I paid for two rooms, one for me and one for the boys. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine each were able to pay for their own rooms and did so for the night. Dinner was a Al Bhed speciality, which was actually delicious even though it didn't look the greatest. As we sat down, Rikku could no longer hold in her question.
"Where did you learn Al Bhed?" She blurted out. That's when I told her about helping the Al Bhed set up the travel agency in the Calm Lands during Braska's time. She understood clearly how and where I learned the language now.
"It was actually a fun experience, even with me worrying about Braska. I learned so much on my first journey that it made my journey with Yuna easier." I remarked. Yuna snickered as we talked, at least until I mentioned Tidus.
"Jecht was always talking about Tidus. Sometimes he would go on and on, and that bored us to tears." I casually spoke, forgetting that Tidus was a sensitive subject with Yuna. Rikku had forgotten too, because she laughed. Just as I was about to continue, Auron cleared his throat. We had not noticed that we had reached the turn for Mushroom Rock Road. And that is when Sora spotted LeBlanc's henchmen.