Chapter 22: AKA One of Kat's Favorites

Raine just couldn't get any sleep. She decided to rest in the castle after all, at King Ingobert's insistence, but that didn't help her nerves. The way that Mohs stopped to look at her bothered her. Was he, in fact, the faction related to the Church of Martel? Or was it really Ion's faction after all and Mohs just knew about it? Either way, he studied her as if he knew she was an anomaly, possibly someone from Sylvarant.

At the very least, judging by his behavior, he knew she was strange and he was trying to figure out what was so strange about her. But it bothered her that she couldn't quite place how he knew. Was it what she had said? Was it the fact that she crashed a flying machine? Did he know how Class M was coming along with theirs? Was it the spirit seals?

How did he know?!

The next morning, she snapped awake with a sudden feeling of defensiveness. Someone had knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"My apologies, Miss. His Majesty wants you to join the others in the throne room."

So. King Ingobert VI invited Raine back into the throne room. The whole trip there was spent in sheer anxiety. Did he want to see her because of Mohs? But when she arrived, Jade and Guy were already there. As was the princess herself, sitting proper next to her father. She seemed in a much less bossy mood, but certainly not a happy one.

Duke Fabre stood next to Alpine wearing a serious expression, but he also felt distant, like his thoughts were elsewhere. That didn't surprise Raine since he treated Luke with distance yesterday, too.

Shortly after Raine arrived, a soldier entered with a beautiful stone in his hands. It reminded her of the crystals she saw in the sky, but she had no clue what it was. Asking about it, though, would be unwise since it seemed to hold significance. After all, it was in the meeting of several important people, including the King of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and Duke Fabre.

They seemed to be waiting on someone else now. Were they waiting on Mohs? She hoped he spent as much time as he wanted to show up. Maybe she should run while she had the chance. Maybe she should ask His Majesty about Sheena. Now might be a good time with both Mohs and Ion not there.

But as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, the doors to the hall opened, and Luke walked in with Mohs and Tear behind him. She closed her mouth again.

"Ah, we've been waiting for you, Luke." The king waved him in. Luke joined Guy in standing with everyone else. Initially, Raine wasn't sure why they wanted her there, but that curiosity died when she noticed Mohs watching her. Even though she noticed, he refused to take his eyes off of her, and the longer he watched, the more prominent his frown. Something was definitely up. Her mouth went completely dry. What was going to happen? What was this about?

"An emergency assembly was called last night," Alpine said. "We agreed to formalize a treaty with Malkuth." Raine's brow wrinkled with confusion. This… seemed strange. Why did they want her here for this? The tension in her heart strengthened.

"The letter from Malkuth contained the proposal for the peace treaty," King Ingobert continued, "but also a request for aid. There is a mining city in Malkuth called Akzeriuth. It is facing a crisis due to the miasma, the poison blight that seeps up from Gnome's domain. Malkuth can't rescue its own citizens because the miasma is blocking their road to Akzeriuth. Since Akzeriuth was originally our territory, we also have a road to Akzeriuth. With that in mind, they requested our aid to protect their citizens."

"Yeah, helping their people would be a nice gesture, but what's that got to do with me?" Luke asked. Raine couldn't believe it. He was the king's nephew, wasn't he? Why didn't he care about world events? He was a position of power to affect change with stuff like this. At least Princess Natalia took an interest.

Duke Fabre didn't seem to think any better of Luke's question than Raine did. He nearly chided his son. "His Majesty has graciously assigned you the honor of becoming Kimlasca-Lanvaldear's goodwill ambassador."

"Me?! No! I've had enough fighting already."

"Luke, Natalia told me about Van," King Ingobert said. "We, too, are uncertain regarding Van's guilt. Thus, we have a proposal. If you will travel to Akzeriuth as a goodwill ambassador, we will release Van and have him aid you."

"Master Van's been arrested? But..." He seemed to consider the offer and it didn't take long for his shoulders to sag in defeat. "I guess if you'll let Master Van go..."

"You become a lot more cooperative when Van is involved," Jade said. Raine privately agreed. But she began to wonder… did they want her help, too? Oh, she hoped that was why they wanted her here! But seriously doubted it.

"I'm glad you've agreed to help," King Ingobert said. "There's actually a reason why you must be the one to fulfill this role." There was? Raine didn't like the sound of that.

"Huh?"

Duke Fabre pointed to the crystal, and Raine tensed. She knew it. The thing was significant. "Look at this fonstone. This is part of Yulia Jue's Sixth Fonstone, which fell into our nation's territory." So it did come from the sky. She thought it looked like the ones hanging in a ring around Tethe'alla. It has the same sheen, the same color, the same textures. But she still couldn't understand why she hadn't seen them before as a child.

"Tear, read the Score that is written on the lower portion of this fonstone." Raine's heart beat faster. The Score... it kept coming up but she still wasn't sure what it was.

"Yes, Your Majesty." As Tear walked over to the crystal, Raine felt her anxiety rise. What did all of this mean? Tear held her hands over the fonstone and it glowed. "ND2000. In Kimlasca shall be born the scion of Lorelei's power. He will be of royal blood with hair of red. He shall be called the Light of the Sacred Flame and he will lead Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to new prosperity."

Raine held her breath. This... this sounded like a prophecy...

"ND2018. The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city. There... and the rest is missing."

"That's sufficient," King Ingobert said. "In other words, Luke, you are the chosen youth."

"Chosen..." Raine didn't realize she muttered it, but now she understood. Sheena had called Tethe'alla's chosen an idiot, and Luke certainly fit that description a lot. Except… Sheena sounded like she knew Luke, but Luke didn't remember her. No, he lost his memories, that's why. But why wasn't Sheena here? This seemed like such an important thing. She looked around with confusion.

"Is something wrong?" Guy whispered.

"No, it's nothing."

Mohs caught her eyes again and she held her breath. He watched her with the precision of a hunter and its prey. This wasn't good. She shifted her weight. What was Mohs thinking? What did he want from her? How much did he know about her?

King Ingobert continued addressing Luke. "We had to confine you because people sought you for your power. Now, though, it is time you became a hero."

But Raine couldn't understand. What power were they talking about? It couldn't be his status, could it? Or was there something more to the power Luke had? After all, Mohs didn't say anything to Luke's behavior yesterday. Was it tangible power? Did he have an exsphere? She hadn't seen him wearing one and she certainly hadn't seen him doing anything more amazing than what Jade could do. Colette had always been a human with an exsphere, and Luke certainly didn't have anything like that as evidenced by his fighting skills. What on this planet was going on?

"What will you do, Raine?" King Ingobert asked her, breaking her away from her thoughts. For a moment, she wasn't sure what he said. "You mentioned yesterday that you would like to head to Belkend to find your brother. But I was informed that you'd be a valuable ally in this mission." In-informed? By whom?! "Will you go with Luke to Akzeriuth?" She checked Mohs's face again. This time, he waited, emotionless. Her answer would determine something in his mind. She was sure of it. But what did this all mean?

"Oh, I… I umm…."

Jade turned to look at her and then to Guy, giving him an almost knowing look. Jade didn't think it was a good idea for her to come along, and no wonder. He didn't know she could use fonons to fight. Then she turned to Guy, too, and whispered sharply, "did you tell them?"

"Tell them what?" he whispered back.

"Raine? Is there a problem?"

"One—one moment, Your Highness." Her voice shook. Everyone watched her. What should she do? Guy shrugged and whispered, "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't tell them anything."

She glanced around the room, from one person to the next. What should she do? "If—if it pleases Your Majesty, I'd… I'd still like to go to Belkend." Mohs smiled and visibly relaxed. Raine turned her attention back to King Ingobert. "Please, I really need to—" Was it safe to say? She really needed to know anyway. This was her chance. Possibly, her last chance to find out for sure. She checked with Luke, then Mohs, and finally, back to King Ingobert. Her last chance. "I really need to meet with Sheena about something very important. Your Highness…."

"Sheena?" Confused, King Ingobert looked to Alpine who shrugged. Did neither one of them know her? Oh, no, she didn't like the implications of that…. "Very well. There is a ship that will leave from port later today. We'll make sure you get to Belkend."

Raine passed her glances again. Mohs both look intrigued and didn't seem to have understood what she said. Throwing caution to the wind, she said, "Um, hasn't Sheena been here to meet with you?"

"I'm sorry," King Ingobert replied. "I'm afraid I haven't met anyone by that name."

Raine's blood froze.

A small "thank you" escaped her, and she turned to Mohs again. His confused stare suggested he hadn't met anyone by that name either. In fact, as she looked around, Raine realized no one seemed to have heard of her.

Raine bowed slightly and took a step back, but with the blood rushing to her ears, she couldn't hear anything else.

King Ingobert had never met with Sheena, didn't even know who she was. How could he have sent her on a mission with the Renegades? She heard him continue speaking but his words were lost to her. It couldn't be possible, could it? But that would mean this world wasn't….

The unfamiliar written language, the God-Generals, the Order of Lorelei, fonic artes, Yulia's hymns, "fonons" the strange mana of a different frequency—

"In that case," King Ingobert said to Luke, "meet the others in front of the castle when you're ready to go."

Luke rushed off. To where, Raine didn't care.

The meeting ended suddenly and the party broke up. Unsure what to do, Raine followed Tear, Jade, and Guy. Luke had hurried out the doors and was halfway down the tall staircase before Raine stood at the top of it, dizzy from the steps. She held the rails, taking the steps one at a time.

You knew this all along. Can you really deny it? She asked herself. King Ingobert must have known Sheena! She said the king sent her to Sylvarant to kill Colette so the mana flow wouldn't be reversed. Without Sheena, Tethe'alla would lose the mana it had left. Without mana, this world wouldn't exist.

Yet their concern is poisonous gas seeping up through the ground. Mana was converted into fonons. Maybe that was why they didn't worry about the mana shortage. Jade did say it was converted into more efficient energy.

What about the chosen? This is the first you're hearing of that and you've traveled with him all along. Luke is a chosen of the Score and now he has to help these people. Sheena said their chosen was intolerable and Luke certainly was. It didn't sound like he knew it, but maybe there was a reason for that? Besides, this trip sounded similar to the Journey of Regeneration… A way to get the Chosen out into the world the way that Cruxis wanted.

Does it really? True, they didn't give Luke an exsphere to wear. There was no oracle, there wasn't even mention of the Tower of Salvation. They were merely headed to help Malkuth civilians, but maybe there was more to this journey. Just like with the Journey of Regeneration, this might not be what it appeared to be.

But what of Cruxis? Cruxis wouldn't be interested in Luke, anyway. They were looking for a body for Martel and found one in Colette. He can focus on something like this. Something foretold in the Score, something Sylvarant didn't have.

They've never mentioned the Church of Martel. But she had heard them mention the Order of Lorelei and the Score. The Score...

Elder McGovern had asked her about it. "Is leaving now what your Score says to do?" At the time, it sounded bizarre, but now that she understood what the Score was, it made sense. The Score was a sort of prophecy, and the king followed it closely... which meant...

She shook her head. No... There was no way... this can't be true... there was no way that he would've sent Sheena to Sylvarant unless it was foretold in the Score. Maybe it was.... Her bleeding heart suggested otherwise. There were simply too many things that didn't add up, but with this...

No... there's another explanation for this. In the face of the only king she knew existed in this world and he didn't recognize Sheena's name. There was only one conclusion Raine could draw.

I'm really not in Tethe'alla. Her eyes stung.

Which meant, she could scour this planet until the sun kills itself, she could dig to the center of the earth, and check every crystal in the sky, and Genis wouldn't be anywhere. The thought hurt too much and sent spasms all through her chest, making it too hard to breathe.

Calm down. This might not be true. She could ask the others. She could ask Guy. They could confirm.

"Guy. Everyone. A moment." She took her last step at the top of the stairs as he turned around. Tear and Jade followed him to her; she inhaled a ragged breath.

"What is it?" Guy asked. "What's wrong?"

"I... I have a strange question for you." She let the breath out slowly, mostly to calm her nerves. Please tell me what I want to hear. Why? You know he's not going to say it. "I trust you all will keep this a secret?"

Guy nodded. "Absolutely."

"Yes," Tear promised.

"Finally willing to open up?" Jade asked in a quip. But upon seeing the seriousness of her pleading expression, he relented. "Of course."

"Is King Ingobert the only king?"

Jade raised an eyebrow. Tear answered her. "Yes. We just have King Ingobert VI of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear."

Guy added, "There's also Emperor Peony IX of Malkuth. You've met Astor of the Chesedonia Merchant's Guild and Ion runs the Order of Lorelei. There's no other ruling body."

Jade crossed his arms as he considered her. "The last extinct kingdom perished after the War of the Borders. That was over 500 years ago. Since then, Kimlasca has remained the only true kingdom. What king did you expect Sheena to know?"

Raine shook her head. Sheena hadn't told her the name of the king. Just that he was a king. "What about Martel? Does Martel mean anything to you? Any of you?"

Jade's eyes moved to the upper left, thinking. An eye motion that someone did when they tried to remember something. He didn't have to say a word for her lungs to collapse. "Is that your caretaker's name?" Raine shook her head. Not even Jade knew. "What does it mean, then?"

Tear shook her head. "I've never heard that word before."

Then Guy's eyes lit up. "Oh! Isn't Martel one of the characters in the Ant Lion Man stories?" For a moment, Raine stared at him, caught off-guard. Then he looked up again and held his chin. "Wait, maybe that wasn't Martel."

Jade agreed with him. "I haven't read any Ant Lion Man stories with the name Martel."

Then Tear offered Guy, "Do you mean Misika? Misika was one of the Kowz."

"Oh. Well, is Martel someone you've mentioned before?" Guy asked. "I remember hearing about Sheena..."

Raine fought for air as if she were drowning in the ocean. No, she needed a more definitive question. Jade hadn't heard about Martel, but that could mean any number of things. He read about mana but the Church of Martel could've been a such a closely guarded secret that the Order disposed of any texts relating to it. Clearly none of them were people privy to the knowledge of Sylvarant and the nature of the two worlds. She needed something concrete.

But what could she ask? The best option she could see would be incredibly dangerous. She scanned them. Guy had said she could tell him anything….

She leaned to Guy. "Guy. Private. Please." He turned to Tear and Jade, offering a look of apology.

Worried, Tear gave a curt nod and walked down the stairs. Jade sighed and followed her. "If we must." His tone strongly indicated his disappointment.

Curious but concerned, Guy reached a hand out to steady her, but hesitated. "You look like you're going to pass out."

She shook her head, clinging to the banister for stability. She inhaled as deep a breath as she could manage with such restriction to her lungs and whispered, "What about Tethe'alla? Have you heard that name before? Tethe'alla?"

"Tethe'alla?" He shook his head. "No, I don't know that name. Who is that?"

Her grip tightened as she fought to restrain tears and the stinging in her heart. "You're seriously not okay." She could only nod. She didn't notice he was much closer than usual. Alarmed, he offered a hand. "Do you need some help? What can I do?"

Genis... At first, she shook her head, but then she reached for his hand. Amidst her heartbreak, she noticed his firm support, but for once, he didn't jump back from her, his body didn't react. He led her outside of the castle where a large fountain sprayed in the middle of a square. She wasn't aware of anything other than her feet stumbling on the cobble and Guy's firm support.

She sat at the fountain, struggling to regain her composure. Tear, Guy, and Jade watched her from a small huddle.

"Guy, I'm surprised you were able to help her," Tear said. "How did you do it?"

"Actually, I'm not sure. I was just so worried about her."

"What did she ask you about?" Jade asked. "She seems terribly distressed by the answer."

"Something about Sheena," he lied. "You guys wouldn't be able to help." Jade's eyebrow went up.

"And you could?"

"Hey, she's asked me questions about Sheena before."

Raine would've been thankful for it if she didn't feel so much like every muscle she had was falling apart.

She couldn't help but cry. As she broke down, everyone else kept their distance.

"Should we take her to the port with us?" someone asked, she was too distressed to tell who.

"The Oracle Knights have blocked off the port."

"What? So how are we going to leave?"

"I suppose we should ask Van about that."

Raine couldn't breathe. Her throat, no, her air failed her. Genis wasn't here. He was never going to be here. She was never going to find him. She wasn't in Tethe'alla. She went to a completely different world.

Everything made sense now though. Sheena never mentioned all those things because she didn't know about them. Raine glanced up, her eyes so full of tears she couldn't see who was in front of her. There was no way to find Genis now.

"I don't understand…." Someone touched Raine's shoulder with tenderness. It had to be Tear. "Please tell us what's going on."

Raine felt herself shaking as she wiped away her tears. "I just—I'm sorry." She inhaled a quick, shallow breath and reached for Tear who helped her stand. "I just realized that—" She surveyed the group. They weren't Tethe'allans. Whoever they were, whatever they called themselves, they weren't from a world vying for mana against Sylvarant. What would they think of her...? What was their true opinion of half-elves?

"We should probably be going." Jade said. "Our ambassador has returned." Sure enough, Luke and Van emerged from the castle doors.

"Excuse me." Raine ran for it. Luke wasn't the Chosen that Sheena spoke of. She had to get out of here. She had to find somewhere else to go.

She sniffed, still clearing her vision with her sleeve. She knew they were back at the castle, worried. But she couldn't tell them. What was worse than telling Tethe'allans that she's from Sylvarant was telling people who only knew of one world that she wasn't from their world. And this world… this world tracked a prophecy that they clearly followed.

She stopped. What if she wasn't in the Score? And what if they noticed? Was that what concerned Mohs? Mohs definitely knew something was wrong, and if anyone knew, it would be someone who checked the Score often. Tear had said once that Mohs was only concerned with the Score. Someone like that would check it for important events, right? And what was more important than Luke's trip as an ambassador?

Nothing. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here to witness it.

Raine stepped onto the elevator and leaned over the edge, working hard to breathe. After a while, she felt the elevator move, but barely as more people boarded. She was numb to anything else around her. Her stomach lurched against the elevator's pull and she felt like throwing up. When she looked up, she saw the others were now crowding the other end of the elevator. Even Van seemed alarmed. Next to him, Guy. It was this moment when Raine realized it.

Guy had held her hand and supported her as he led her down the stairs. Surprised, she stared at her hand that he touched. Finally, her blood was human enough for him and the elven blood didn't matter.

No, is that really what it was?

A/N: Noishe... I don't think she's in Kansas anymore... O.O Too bad he can't pass along the message.

So... the way brains work is interesting. Even though you might have an extreme trigger of fear, in the presence of someone else's extreme distress, your fears can take a backseat to your concern and you're able to do things you weren't originally capable of.

~~Kat =^-^=