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rose_in_winterPairings/Characters: Kain Highwind, plus cast
Rating: R (overall), PG (this chapter)
Warnings: Spoilers. Violence and language. Occasional sexual content.
Notes: This fic belongs to the Lucis Ante Terminum arc. Chapter list is here.
Summary: Though it is possible to return home, it is rarely possible to return affairs to their previous state. Sometimes the only course of action is to move forward.
Wordcount: 4000 this chapter.
Beta:celeloriel
Eight months later…
People actually live here. Kain stood in the prow of the Lady Fortune, looking around him at the marshy ground that surrounded Castle Eblana. He could see the scars that Golbez's attacks had left upon the castle, scorched and blasted stone piled up near the castle to be cut down and used as building material elsewhere. The castle itself had been rebuilt and flew Eblan's flag proudly. Cid was maneuvering the Lady Fortune to a landing spot just east of the castle, and the turns and movements of the large airship gave Kain a good view of the rebuilt city. It appeared to be thronging with people, many in the garb of Eblan's ninjas.
He knew, from his conversations with Cecil and the council, that some of the smaller, independent kingdoms nearby had pledged fealty to the Eblan throne after Golbez, seeking stability if a similar threat should arise. Yet standing here, looking over the marshy land, he wondered if the only people in the entire region lived in the castle town.
“Such a serious face,” Rosa said from behind him. He turned. She stood some distance back from the rails, cradling Jalen in her arms; though Jalen had a nurse, Laina, who hovered nearby, Rosa preferred to tend to her son herself.
"The only times I've been here, the people of Eblan were all living underground and nearly wiped out," Kain said. He did not reiterate his hand in it. They both knew well enough, and he didn’t like the sad look in Rosa’s eyes when he brought it up.
They stood in a companionable silence as the ship drew nearer the city. Then it shuddered slightly, and sank in slow-motion until it rested on the ground. Two of the technicians lowered the gangplank. Cecil emerged from the wheelhouse, where he had been observing Cid's piloting skills. His face was alight with the simple joy of being in flight, and he had pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. Rosa greeted him with a kiss.
"Your Majesty." Kain bowed. "Did I detect your skilled hand at work in the landing?"
Cecil frowned at him. Despite repeated injunctions, he had been unable to overcome Kain's formality in any save the most private circumstances. Kain preferred for matters to fall out thus. If only Cecil would be so diligent in managing the nobility, but that was another problem. "Yes, I did land the airship. I've missed flying them."
"You were the best Captain the Red Wings have ever had," Kain said honestly. Cecil gave him a mocking little bow.
A contingent of ninja, garbed in purple, had gathered at the foot of the gangplank, their honor guard to the throne room. Cecil had brought a few guards from Baron, though he would have preferred to trust in Edge’s guards, but he knew the value of show. They exchanged greetings with the Eblanese contingent; meanwhile, Rosa handed the baby over to Laina, and then she and Cecil descended. Kain waited for them to reach the bottom safely, and then he and Cid escorted Laina and Jalen behind them.
They were conducted into the main hall of Castle Eblan, and Kain could feel the weight of eyes on him, from people he could not see. He assumed that some of the Eblanese were watching from hiding, and it gave him a creeping feeling between the shoulder blades.
The castle’s hall was hung with the banners of smaller kingdoms, as well as those captured in battle. Edge awaited them at the far end, but his tolerance for protocol had apparently worn thin; he hurried down from his throne to greet them.
"Cecil!" Edge’s cloak swirled around him as he strode forward to shake Cecil's hand and clap him on the back. He bowed and kissed Rosa's hand, tickled the baby's chin, and then turned to face Kain. "Kain. Back for good this time?"
"So it would seem." Kain straightened from his bow and extended his hand, pleased when Edge took it; the ninja had come a long way from the snarling, rebellious prince he'd been when Kain first met him.
"Good to hear. I've had rooms prepared; I know you’ll want to rest, but Rydia is anxious to see you all." He turned and gestured, and Rydia stepped out of the shadows at the side of the room; as they slid away and she moved into the sun, Kain had a horrifying moment of remembering Golbez’s shadow dragon; the scars on his back shot to burning life before he recognized Rydia’s smaller shape, not Golbez’s massive armored one.
She had aged a little more than Kain would have expected. He put that down to the fact that she must have spent some time in the Land of the Summoned Monsters before returning to the Overworld. She gave Cecil and Rosa hugs, and kissed Jalen softly. She greeted Cid with an enthusiastic hug, and then squeaked when he returned her enthusiasm with interest. When she faced Kain, she paused a moment, looking up at him seriously.
"Are you quite finished blaming yourself?" she asked.
Kain stared back at her for a long moment without answering. She scowled but gave him a hug nonetheless, stretching up on her tiptoes. "When will you learn that you were not responsible for your actions under Golbez's control?" she murmured in his ear.
"I will not allow myself to believe a falsehood," he replied as quietly.
The glance she cast at him as she turned away was both irritated and reproachful. He ignored it and turned his attention instead to the castle as Edge guided them to the eastern tower. They had done an excellent job of rebuilding the castle, and were it to fall under assault from any force save the Red Wings, the ninjas could doubtless hunker down inside and wait for assistance to arrive.
As Edge led them up into the rebuilt eastern tower, Kain’s gaze fell on the ruined hulk of the Giant of Bab-il, far to the west, and he repressed a shudder. Eblan's lands surrounded the Overworld entrances to the Tower of Bab-il. That had been the reasoning behind Golbez’s attack, or so he had claimed, though Eblan had never made a show of protecting the Tower. Sometimes Kain wondered if it had merely been for the satisfaction of watching nations crumble at his whim.
Edge led them to the top of the eastern tower, where four rooms opened off the central hallway. "Cecil and Rosa, I gave you the north room because it's larger. Kain, you have the east, and Cid, the west." He rested a hand on Rydia's shoulder. "Rydia's to the south."
"Thank you," Cecil said.
"Dinner's in the great hall at seven. You're all at the high table. I'll see you then!" Edge waved, kissed Rydia's cheek quickly, and then dashed off down the stairs. The summoner stood, shaking her head.
"He hasn't changed much," Rosa murmured.
"He has, some," Rydia replied. "I have some things to take care of before dinner. Rosa, I was hoping perhaps we could speak?”
"Certainly." Rosa followed the summoner into the south room.
Kain looked at Cid and Cecil. "I think we've been dismissed," Cid remarked.
"I believe you may be right." Kain shrugged and glanced outside. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, but it was still a few hours to dinner. "The wedding's tomorrow?"
Cecil nodded. "Edge mentioned something about a party later this evening."
Cid chortled. "Can't wait to see what sort of bachelor party he puts on!"
"Sometimes I think his life is one big bachelor party," Kain muttered.
"This one didn't let us throw him a party," Cid said, jerking his thumb in Cecil's direction. "Said there was no need for such foolishness, as he'd no desire to be hung over for the wedding and had all the woman he needed for a wife."
Kain gave Cecil a look of mock disbelief. The paladin returned it steadily, though he flushed red.
"It would not be proper," he said.
"No one said you had to do anything with the women," Cid pointed out.
"It still wouldn't be proper." There was a note of desperation under the statement, as though Cecil thought he had to hold up a perfect image instead of simply being himself. Kain rather missed the friend who had joined him in Baron’s taverns when they were newly promoted; he had taken himself less seriously when he bore the dark sword.
"Well, Edge ought to know how to throw a party, anyway." Cid grinned and rubbed his hands together.
Rydia poked her head out of her room. "And you'd best see he keeps his hands off the dancers, old man, or you'll be to blame for him arriving to his wedding with a bloody nose and broken ribs!"
"Not to mention scorch marks," Kain suggested.
Rydia's mouth curved in a wicked grin. "Those too," she agreed. She pointed a slender finger at Cid, her expression stern. "I'm holding you personally responsible for him," she repeated, and then vanished into her room once again and closed the door.
Cid scratched at the back of his head. "Perhaps we'd best hold this conversation somewhere else?"
They adjourned to the northern room, where Cid sprawled in a large chair that groaned under his weight. Cecil chose a seat on the sofa, while Kain wandered aimlessly about the room. As he passed by the north window, Kain heard the distinctive whine of airship propellers and glanced outside to see the Falcon arrowing in over the northern mountains. "Cecil, who is flying the Falcon?" he asked.
"Hmm?" Cecil glanced outside and shrugged. "I sent the ship, with a pilot, to pick up Edward, Yang, and the Elder of Mysidia. There's no sense in them traveling for months when I can arrange for transport in less than two days."
Kain watched the airship land and release its passengers. Near the bulk of the Falcon, he could see a dark blur that was undoubtedly the Elder, and sunlight gleaming off Edward's pale hair and Yang's shaved head. A vivid splash of red next to Yang must be the monk's wife.
"It will be good to see everyone again," Cecil said quietly. "I miss traveling. Though I do not miss worrying every moment that Rosa would be harmed."
Kain nodded. He remembered very little of their seemingly endless trek through the Overworld, the Underworld, and the depths of the Moon. The parts that did not involve the slimy chill of Golbez's magic and Barbariccia's skin warm and slick against his were a hazy blur of exhaustion, cold, hunger, and pain, with a single bright ribbon running through them: Rosa. He and Cecil had guarded her in dozens of subtle ways, from making sure to nudge her toward the smoothest and easiest path, to stepping forward to distract enemies from striking her. Cecil had always arranged their sleeping bags so that he was between Rosa and anything that might attack as they slept; Kain stayed awake as much of the night as he could manage, vigilant against their foes.
A morose silence pervaded the room. Kain turned away from Cecil, who was staring at the floor with a brooding expression, and paced around the room once more. Cid sat looking back and forth between the two of them. Abruptly the engineer rose to his feet. “With your permission, King Cecil, if we're going to be up all night drinking and watching dancers, I need to get some rest. I ain't as young as I used to be!"
"I should rest as well," Kain said. He bowed to Cecil. "By your leave, Your Majesty?"
Cecil waved them out. Cid turned immediately into his room. Kain entered his own room, crossing it to stare out the window at the ocean outside. The day had been calm enough when the Lady Fortune arrived in Eblan, but the water now looked rough, with streaks of white foam a vivid contrast to the choppy grey-green waves. Where the afternoon had been bright and serene, now dark clouds rolled in from the west, blotting out the sinking sun. Kain opened the window to let in the sea breeze and leaned on the sill, savouring the fresh salt tang of the air, so like and yet unlike home.
He turned north, until he could no longer see from the window, and fixed his gaze somewhere in middle distance, seeing Baron in his mind's eye. Home. It was a word that had once conjured images of safety, of security, of a loving if stern father figure in King Odin. Once, home had meant his mother, slim and graceful. She had always smelled of lavender. Then she had taken ill, and had become so thin that he could feel her bones when she hugged him. He remembered standing by her bedside while she coughed, and being led away by King Odin when the coughing ceased.
Before Cagnazzo and Golbez, Baron had been a quiet kingdom, with great military strength that it had little need to utilize, for their neighbours were peaceful, especially after the defeat of Palamecia. Every youth in Baron learned how to handle some kind of weapon, even if it was merely a simple bow to hunt for the family table or a staff for the rudest self-defense. Kain remembered several loud and intense fights with King Odin while he tried to plead his case for joining the Dragon Knights rather than taking up the dark sword as Cecil, ever obedient to the King's wish, had done without complaint. He knew why the King had resisted the idea: with Cecil commanding the Red Wings and himself in command of the Dragon Knights, the delicate balance that King Odin maintained between his own power and that of the nobles had been badly disrupted, though they had been chosen more for ability than nepotism. King Odin was not one to dispense or maintain sinecures. Still, he had wanted to be a dragoon since he was a child, and he wondered, now, that Odin had either not seen it or chosen to ignore it.
He desperately wanted to return to those days, when the worst thing he had to worry about was disappointing the King, and the headaches and hassles of politics were beyond the boundaries of his world, something that was handled by old men and powerful ministers. He had but to fight, not embarrass King Odin with inappropriate public behaviour, behave with honour in all circumstances, and flirt with pretty girls on long summer afternoons.
Then Golbez had come.
And Kain had not been strong enough to resist his magic.
Rydia could spout all she liked about Golbez's control and Lunarian magic. The fact remained that he had not been strong enough. His vaunted honour had fallen by the wayside and he had been obedient to Golbez's every command. He had consorted with one of the four Elemental Lords. He had slain hundreds if not thousands. He had attacked Cecil and held Rosa captive.
Two years alone on a mountaintop could not begin to atone for his actions. Two centuries in the pits of hell could not make amends.
Two millennia could be a beginning point.
Kain stood watching the ocean waves as the sky steadily darkened. Bright, blue-white streaks of lightning split the dark clouds asunder momentarily, followed by a rolling boom of thunder that rattled the very stones of the castle. The wind picked up speed, moaning as it raced past the castle and whipped the tapestries on his wall into a frenzy of motion. There was a tension in the air he could almost taste and a reckless thrill that raced along his skin.
It felt like the times Barbariccia had taken him soaring above the mountains, and then they fell together, skin slipping and sliding as they moved until, at the very last moment, she pulled them out of their spiral and they soared back into the sky, still reeling in the aftermath of their passion.
The tension in the air grew more intense, and more still, until at last another bolt of lightning rent the sky and, with the roar of thunder still echoing in his ears, he heard the first raindrops fall. First they were a few, and then a torrential downpour so heavy he could barely see past the windowsill.
He had heard that storms in Eblan were glorious, but had not yet witnessed one firsthand.
He stood watching the storm until Cecil knocked to call him to dinner.
~*~
"More ale for my friend the King of Baron!" Edge shouted, flailing his arms at the serving girl.
"No, I don't need more ale." Cecil rose unsteadily to his feet. His face was flushed, and his hair was quite mussed. "I need to go to sleep. Rosa will be worrying."
"I'm sure she and Rydia are keeping each other company." Edge paused, frowned. "Wait…Do you think they are? Keeping each other company?"
"Now don't you go talking about my Rosa that way!" Cid shouted, brandishing his tankard at Edge. "There's plenty of women here for you, you young upstart, and you'll leave her out of this if you know what's good for you!"
"Hmm, true," Edge mumbled, looking down at the very scantily-clad dancer who was kneeling just to his right, displaying her ample cleavage to its best advantage.
"Your Majesty, I am compelled to remind you," Kain said, "that if you put your hands on that woman, Rydia will either electrocute you or roast you over an open fire. As amusing as that would be for the rest of us, it would probably be bad for your kingdom."
"I thought she told Cid to keep track of him." Cecil wobbled slightly as he turned toward the door once more. Two ninja immediately coalesced from the shadows, prepared to escort him wherever he wished to be.
"She did. He's not. I am." Kain sipped sparingly from his tankard. He'd had rather less to drink than the rest of them, but enough to make him a bit unsteady on his feet, should he attempt to return to his room at this juncture.
"I am too! If he so much as lays a hand on her I'll stop him!" Cid staggered toward the door. "'Scuse me, I need to go and water the flowers."
Kain grimaced and waved away the woman trying to settle on his lap. She wore naught but her long blonde hair and two flimsy scraps of cloth, and she reminded him entirely too much of Barbariccia.
Strange that he'd always preferred blondes.
Cecil was making his way toward the door. "I'm going to sleep," he said with as much dignity as he could muster.
Kain followed him to the door, and looked outside. Two of the Baronian guards who had accompanied them snapped to attention as the King stepped outside, and joined the ninja to escort him back. Satisfied that Cecil was in good hands, Kain went for the garderobe himself.
A few minutes later, Kain returned to the party, where a slender redhead was cooing over Edge. He was mostly ignoring her, being entirely more entertained by Cid's expression as a voluptuous brunette slithered onto his lap.
"Cecil all right?" Edge asked, taking another swig of ale.
“The guards are escorting him to his chamber." Kain seated himself. The blonde refilled his tankard, but he ignored it.
"Good. He was dragging down the party, sitting there with his paladin attitude." Edge sat up as straight as he could, given his condition, and affected a pompous tone. "This debauchery is not fitting for a king or a paladin!" he intoned.
“Edge,” Kain said, even if he agreed.
Edge flushed slightly. “I know,” he said.
"He wasn't really dragging down the party," Cid said. "He still knows how to have a good time." His voice was somewhat muffled, as he had to keep bending this way and that to see around his lapful of woman.
The redhead attempted to sit on Edge's lap, and he shook his head. She backed off with a pout. "Yeah, I know, he's not all bad," Edge grumbled. "Just...awkward. I don't know." He picked up his tankard and drained it. “It’s good to have you back, Kain.”
Kain put his own tankard down carefully; surely he had misheard, or else he’d had more to drink than he’d thought. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said cautiously. “May I ask what prompted this?”
“I worry about him.” Edge spun the tankard on the table, then caught it with surprising deftness when it tumbled off. “He’s so…optimistic, and I mean, that’s good, but it’s not great, sometimes.”
Kain didn’t dare speak his agreement aloud.
“Yeah, I know, honour and duty.” Edge reached for a platter of food and plucked up a steamed dumpling—cold now, but he chewed it with enthusiasm. “Besides, you’re the only one other than Rydia who argues with me when I’m being an ass, which I’m honest enough to admit is often.”
Kain choked on his ale. Edge guffawed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Take a compliment. Anyway, if Cecil’s being obdu—obsti—if he’s being stubborn, and doesn’t want to hear the truth, come to me, all right?”
Kain’s heart ached a little at Edge’s perceptiveness. “I thank you,” he said. “I had…worried.” Even that much was hard to say.
“I’ve got your back, same as you’ve got mine, when evil moon sorcerers aren’t rummaging around inside your brain.” Edge fumbled with his tankard, remembered it was empty, and set it aside. “Speaking of having my back, I need a best man. You’re appointed. Royal command.”
“I—beg your pardon?”
“There’s nothing wrong with your hearing. I was going to write a letter, but I wanted to ask in person, mostly because your expression is great.” Edge leaned forward, and swayed. “Damn. Good ale,” he said, and then pulled himself upright again. “I haven’t got brothers, and you’ll stop me from doing something stupid like running away. Not that I want to run. It’s just terrifying.”
“I will certainly keep you from running away,” Kain said, and Edge laughed harder than the statement warranted.
Kain glanced at the clock. "It's getting on to two in the morning."
"So what you're saying is I should go to bed so I can keep Rydia up all night tomorrow?" He grinned.
"Something like that." Kain rose. The ninja had to make a couple of attempts, but he eventually struggled to his feet and stayed there. Cid just looked vaguely bemused as the brunette began planting an excessive amount of kisses on his face.
"C'mon, Cid. You don't want to be hung over for the wedding." Kain strode over, tapping the brunette on the shoulder. She slid off Cid's lap slowly. Kain held out his hand to help the older man up. Cid wobbled and nearly went down again. Kain looped the engineer's arm around his neck and nodded to Edge. "All right. Let's go."
Edge headed off to his chambers in the western tower, with two of his guards by his side. The remaining guards escorted Kain and Cid up to the third floor. Cid was having serious difficulties getting up the stairs; he kept tripping on the edge of each riser. Kain just kept hauling him up by sheer strength, grateful that he'd had the good sense to drink only a small amount tonight.
He eventually got Cid to the third floor and into his room, where the servant assigned to him took over. In his own room, he politely dismissed the servant and undressed, then lay on his bed watching the lightning illuminate the room in bright flashes while thunder pounded outside.
Sleep was a long time in coming to him.
Rating: R (overall), PG (this chapter)
Warnings: Spoilers. Violence and language. Occasional sexual content.
Notes: This fic belongs to the Lucis Ante Terminum arc. Chapter list is here.
Summary: Though it is possible to return home, it is rarely possible to return affairs to their previous state. Sometimes the only course of action is to move forward.
Wordcount: 4000 this chapter.
Beta:
celelorielEight months later…
People actually live here. Kain stood in the prow of the Lady Fortune, looking around him at the marshy ground that surrounded Castle Eblana. He could see the scars that Golbez's attacks had left upon the castle, scorched and blasted stone piled up near the castle to be cut down and used as building material elsewhere. The castle itself had been rebuilt and flew Eblan's flag proudly. Cid was maneuvering the Lady Fortune to a landing spot just east of the castle, and the turns and movements of the large airship gave Kain a good view of the rebuilt city. It appeared to be thronging with people, many in the garb of Eblan's ninjas.
He knew, from his conversations with Cecil and the council, that some of the smaller, independent kingdoms nearby had pledged fealty to the Eblan throne after Golbez, seeking stability if a similar threat should arise. Yet standing here, looking over the marshy land, he wondered if the only people in the entire region lived in the castle town.
“Such a serious face,” Rosa said from behind him. He turned. She stood some distance back from the rails, cradling Jalen in her arms; though Jalen had a nurse, Laina, who hovered nearby, Rosa preferred to tend to her son herself.
"The only times I've been here, the people of Eblan were all living underground and nearly wiped out," Kain said. He did not reiterate his hand in it. They both knew well enough, and he didn’t like the sad look in Rosa’s eyes when he brought it up.
They stood in a companionable silence as the ship drew nearer the city. Then it shuddered slightly, and sank in slow-motion until it rested on the ground. Two of the technicians lowered the gangplank. Cecil emerged from the wheelhouse, where he had been observing Cid's piloting skills. His face was alight with the simple joy of being in flight, and he had pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. Rosa greeted him with a kiss.
"Your Majesty." Kain bowed. "Did I detect your skilled hand at work in the landing?"
Cecil frowned at him. Despite repeated injunctions, he had been unable to overcome Kain's formality in any save the most private circumstances. Kain preferred for matters to fall out thus. If only Cecil would be so diligent in managing the nobility, but that was another problem. "Yes, I did land the airship. I've missed flying them."
"You were the best Captain the Red Wings have ever had," Kain said honestly. Cecil gave him a mocking little bow.
A contingent of ninja, garbed in purple, had gathered at the foot of the gangplank, their honor guard to the throne room. Cecil had brought a few guards from Baron, though he would have preferred to trust in Edge’s guards, but he knew the value of show. They exchanged greetings with the Eblanese contingent; meanwhile, Rosa handed the baby over to Laina, and then she and Cecil descended. Kain waited for them to reach the bottom safely, and then he and Cid escorted Laina and Jalen behind them.
They were conducted into the main hall of Castle Eblan, and Kain could feel the weight of eyes on him, from people he could not see. He assumed that some of the Eblanese were watching from hiding, and it gave him a creeping feeling between the shoulder blades.
The castle’s hall was hung with the banners of smaller kingdoms, as well as those captured in battle. Edge awaited them at the far end, but his tolerance for protocol had apparently worn thin; he hurried down from his throne to greet them.
"Cecil!" Edge’s cloak swirled around him as he strode forward to shake Cecil's hand and clap him on the back. He bowed and kissed Rosa's hand, tickled the baby's chin, and then turned to face Kain. "Kain. Back for good this time?"
"So it would seem." Kain straightened from his bow and extended his hand, pleased when Edge took it; the ninja had come a long way from the snarling, rebellious prince he'd been when Kain first met him.
"Good to hear. I've had rooms prepared; I know you’ll want to rest, but Rydia is anxious to see you all." He turned and gestured, and Rydia stepped out of the shadows at the side of the room; as they slid away and she moved into the sun, Kain had a horrifying moment of remembering Golbez’s shadow dragon; the scars on his back shot to burning life before he recognized Rydia’s smaller shape, not Golbez’s massive armored one.
She had aged a little more than Kain would have expected. He put that down to the fact that she must have spent some time in the Land of the Summoned Monsters before returning to the Overworld. She gave Cecil and Rosa hugs, and kissed Jalen softly. She greeted Cid with an enthusiastic hug, and then squeaked when he returned her enthusiasm with interest. When she faced Kain, she paused a moment, looking up at him seriously.
"Are you quite finished blaming yourself?" she asked.
Kain stared back at her for a long moment without answering. She scowled but gave him a hug nonetheless, stretching up on her tiptoes. "When will you learn that you were not responsible for your actions under Golbez's control?" she murmured in his ear.
"I will not allow myself to believe a falsehood," he replied as quietly.
The glance she cast at him as she turned away was both irritated and reproachful. He ignored it and turned his attention instead to the castle as Edge guided them to the eastern tower. They had done an excellent job of rebuilding the castle, and were it to fall under assault from any force save the Red Wings, the ninjas could doubtless hunker down inside and wait for assistance to arrive.
As Edge led them up into the rebuilt eastern tower, Kain’s gaze fell on the ruined hulk of the Giant of Bab-il, far to the west, and he repressed a shudder. Eblan's lands surrounded the Overworld entrances to the Tower of Bab-il. That had been the reasoning behind Golbez’s attack, or so he had claimed, though Eblan had never made a show of protecting the Tower. Sometimes Kain wondered if it had merely been for the satisfaction of watching nations crumble at his whim.
Edge led them to the top of the eastern tower, where four rooms opened off the central hallway. "Cecil and Rosa, I gave you the north room because it's larger. Kain, you have the east, and Cid, the west." He rested a hand on Rydia's shoulder. "Rydia's to the south."
"Thank you," Cecil said.
"Dinner's in the great hall at seven. You're all at the high table. I'll see you then!" Edge waved, kissed Rydia's cheek quickly, and then dashed off down the stairs. The summoner stood, shaking her head.
"He hasn't changed much," Rosa murmured.
"He has, some," Rydia replied. "I have some things to take care of before dinner. Rosa, I was hoping perhaps we could speak?”
"Certainly." Rosa followed the summoner into the south room.
Kain looked at Cid and Cecil. "I think we've been dismissed," Cid remarked.
"I believe you may be right." Kain shrugged and glanced outside. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, but it was still a few hours to dinner. "The wedding's tomorrow?"
Cecil nodded. "Edge mentioned something about a party later this evening."
Cid chortled. "Can't wait to see what sort of bachelor party he puts on!"
"Sometimes I think his life is one big bachelor party," Kain muttered.
"This one didn't let us throw him a party," Cid said, jerking his thumb in Cecil's direction. "Said there was no need for such foolishness, as he'd no desire to be hung over for the wedding and had all the woman he needed for a wife."
Kain gave Cecil a look of mock disbelief. The paladin returned it steadily, though he flushed red.
"It would not be proper," he said.
"No one said you had to do anything with the women," Cid pointed out.
"It still wouldn't be proper." There was a note of desperation under the statement, as though Cecil thought he had to hold up a perfect image instead of simply being himself. Kain rather missed the friend who had joined him in Baron’s taverns when they were newly promoted; he had taken himself less seriously when he bore the dark sword.
"Well, Edge ought to know how to throw a party, anyway." Cid grinned and rubbed his hands together.
Rydia poked her head out of her room. "And you'd best see he keeps his hands off the dancers, old man, or you'll be to blame for him arriving to his wedding with a bloody nose and broken ribs!"
"Not to mention scorch marks," Kain suggested.
Rydia's mouth curved in a wicked grin. "Those too," she agreed. She pointed a slender finger at Cid, her expression stern. "I'm holding you personally responsible for him," she repeated, and then vanished into her room once again and closed the door.
Cid scratched at the back of his head. "Perhaps we'd best hold this conversation somewhere else?"
They adjourned to the northern room, where Cid sprawled in a large chair that groaned under his weight. Cecil chose a seat on the sofa, while Kain wandered aimlessly about the room. As he passed by the north window, Kain heard the distinctive whine of airship propellers and glanced outside to see the Falcon arrowing in over the northern mountains. "Cecil, who is flying the Falcon?" he asked.
"Hmm?" Cecil glanced outside and shrugged. "I sent the ship, with a pilot, to pick up Edward, Yang, and the Elder of Mysidia. There's no sense in them traveling for months when I can arrange for transport in less than two days."
Kain watched the airship land and release its passengers. Near the bulk of the Falcon, he could see a dark blur that was undoubtedly the Elder, and sunlight gleaming off Edward's pale hair and Yang's shaved head. A vivid splash of red next to Yang must be the monk's wife.
"It will be good to see everyone again," Cecil said quietly. "I miss traveling. Though I do not miss worrying every moment that Rosa would be harmed."
Kain nodded. He remembered very little of their seemingly endless trek through the Overworld, the Underworld, and the depths of the Moon. The parts that did not involve the slimy chill of Golbez's magic and Barbariccia's skin warm and slick against his were a hazy blur of exhaustion, cold, hunger, and pain, with a single bright ribbon running through them: Rosa. He and Cecil had guarded her in dozens of subtle ways, from making sure to nudge her toward the smoothest and easiest path, to stepping forward to distract enemies from striking her. Cecil had always arranged their sleeping bags so that he was between Rosa and anything that might attack as they slept; Kain stayed awake as much of the night as he could manage, vigilant against their foes.
A morose silence pervaded the room. Kain turned away from Cecil, who was staring at the floor with a brooding expression, and paced around the room once more. Cid sat looking back and forth between the two of them. Abruptly the engineer rose to his feet. “With your permission, King Cecil, if we're going to be up all night drinking and watching dancers, I need to get some rest. I ain't as young as I used to be!"
"I should rest as well," Kain said. He bowed to Cecil. "By your leave, Your Majesty?"
Cecil waved them out. Cid turned immediately into his room. Kain entered his own room, crossing it to stare out the window at the ocean outside. The day had been calm enough when the Lady Fortune arrived in Eblan, but the water now looked rough, with streaks of white foam a vivid contrast to the choppy grey-green waves. Where the afternoon had been bright and serene, now dark clouds rolled in from the west, blotting out the sinking sun. Kain opened the window to let in the sea breeze and leaned on the sill, savouring the fresh salt tang of the air, so like and yet unlike home.
He turned north, until he could no longer see from the window, and fixed his gaze somewhere in middle distance, seeing Baron in his mind's eye. Home. It was a word that had once conjured images of safety, of security, of a loving if stern father figure in King Odin. Once, home had meant his mother, slim and graceful. She had always smelled of lavender. Then she had taken ill, and had become so thin that he could feel her bones when she hugged him. He remembered standing by her bedside while she coughed, and being led away by King Odin when the coughing ceased.
Before Cagnazzo and Golbez, Baron had been a quiet kingdom, with great military strength that it had little need to utilize, for their neighbours were peaceful, especially after the defeat of Palamecia. Every youth in Baron learned how to handle some kind of weapon, even if it was merely a simple bow to hunt for the family table or a staff for the rudest self-defense. Kain remembered several loud and intense fights with King Odin while he tried to plead his case for joining the Dragon Knights rather than taking up the dark sword as Cecil, ever obedient to the King's wish, had done without complaint. He knew why the King had resisted the idea: with Cecil commanding the Red Wings and himself in command of the Dragon Knights, the delicate balance that King Odin maintained between his own power and that of the nobles had been badly disrupted, though they had been chosen more for ability than nepotism. King Odin was not one to dispense or maintain sinecures. Still, he had wanted to be a dragoon since he was a child, and he wondered, now, that Odin had either not seen it or chosen to ignore it.
He desperately wanted to return to those days, when the worst thing he had to worry about was disappointing the King, and the headaches and hassles of politics were beyond the boundaries of his world, something that was handled by old men and powerful ministers. He had but to fight, not embarrass King Odin with inappropriate public behaviour, behave with honour in all circumstances, and flirt with pretty girls on long summer afternoons.
Then Golbez had come.
And Kain had not been strong enough to resist his magic.
Rydia could spout all she liked about Golbez's control and Lunarian magic. The fact remained that he had not been strong enough. His vaunted honour had fallen by the wayside and he had been obedient to Golbez's every command. He had consorted with one of the four Elemental Lords. He had slain hundreds if not thousands. He had attacked Cecil and held Rosa captive.
Two years alone on a mountaintop could not begin to atone for his actions. Two centuries in the pits of hell could not make amends.
Two millennia could be a beginning point.
Kain stood watching the ocean waves as the sky steadily darkened. Bright, blue-white streaks of lightning split the dark clouds asunder momentarily, followed by a rolling boom of thunder that rattled the very stones of the castle. The wind picked up speed, moaning as it raced past the castle and whipped the tapestries on his wall into a frenzy of motion. There was a tension in the air he could almost taste and a reckless thrill that raced along his skin.
It felt like the times Barbariccia had taken him soaring above the mountains, and then they fell together, skin slipping and sliding as they moved until, at the very last moment, she pulled them out of their spiral and they soared back into the sky, still reeling in the aftermath of their passion.
The tension in the air grew more intense, and more still, until at last another bolt of lightning rent the sky and, with the roar of thunder still echoing in his ears, he heard the first raindrops fall. First they were a few, and then a torrential downpour so heavy he could barely see past the windowsill.
He had heard that storms in Eblan were glorious, but had not yet witnessed one firsthand.
He stood watching the storm until Cecil knocked to call him to dinner.
~*~
"More ale for my friend the King of Baron!" Edge shouted, flailing his arms at the serving girl.
"No, I don't need more ale." Cecil rose unsteadily to his feet. His face was flushed, and his hair was quite mussed. "I need to go to sleep. Rosa will be worrying."
"I'm sure she and Rydia are keeping each other company." Edge paused, frowned. "Wait…Do you think they are? Keeping each other company?"
"Now don't you go talking about my Rosa that way!" Cid shouted, brandishing his tankard at Edge. "There's plenty of women here for you, you young upstart, and you'll leave her out of this if you know what's good for you!"
"Hmm, true," Edge mumbled, looking down at the very scantily-clad dancer who was kneeling just to his right, displaying her ample cleavage to its best advantage.
"Your Majesty, I am compelled to remind you," Kain said, "that if you put your hands on that woman, Rydia will either electrocute you or roast you over an open fire. As amusing as that would be for the rest of us, it would probably be bad for your kingdom."
"I thought she told Cid to keep track of him." Cecil wobbled slightly as he turned toward the door once more. Two ninja immediately coalesced from the shadows, prepared to escort him wherever he wished to be.
"She did. He's not. I am." Kain sipped sparingly from his tankard. He'd had rather less to drink than the rest of them, but enough to make him a bit unsteady on his feet, should he attempt to return to his room at this juncture.
"I am too! If he so much as lays a hand on her I'll stop him!" Cid staggered toward the door. "'Scuse me, I need to go and water the flowers."
Kain grimaced and waved away the woman trying to settle on his lap. She wore naught but her long blonde hair and two flimsy scraps of cloth, and she reminded him entirely too much of Barbariccia.
Strange that he'd always preferred blondes.
Cecil was making his way toward the door. "I'm going to sleep," he said with as much dignity as he could muster.
Kain followed him to the door, and looked outside. Two of the Baronian guards who had accompanied them snapped to attention as the King stepped outside, and joined the ninja to escort him back. Satisfied that Cecil was in good hands, Kain went for the garderobe himself.
A few minutes later, Kain returned to the party, where a slender redhead was cooing over Edge. He was mostly ignoring her, being entirely more entertained by Cid's expression as a voluptuous brunette slithered onto his lap.
"Cecil all right?" Edge asked, taking another swig of ale.
“The guards are escorting him to his chamber." Kain seated himself. The blonde refilled his tankard, but he ignored it.
"Good. He was dragging down the party, sitting there with his paladin attitude." Edge sat up as straight as he could, given his condition, and affected a pompous tone. "This debauchery is not fitting for a king or a paladin!" he intoned.
“Edge,” Kain said, even if he agreed.
Edge flushed slightly. “I know,” he said.
"He wasn't really dragging down the party," Cid said. "He still knows how to have a good time." His voice was somewhat muffled, as he had to keep bending this way and that to see around his lapful of woman.
The redhead attempted to sit on Edge's lap, and he shook his head. She backed off with a pout. "Yeah, I know, he's not all bad," Edge grumbled. "Just...awkward. I don't know." He picked up his tankard and drained it. “It’s good to have you back, Kain.”
Kain put his own tankard down carefully; surely he had misheard, or else he’d had more to drink than he’d thought. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said cautiously. “May I ask what prompted this?”
“I worry about him.” Edge spun the tankard on the table, then caught it with surprising deftness when it tumbled off. “He’s so…optimistic, and I mean, that’s good, but it’s not great, sometimes.”
Kain didn’t dare speak his agreement aloud.
“Yeah, I know, honour and duty.” Edge reached for a platter of food and plucked up a steamed dumpling—cold now, but he chewed it with enthusiasm. “Besides, you’re the only one other than Rydia who argues with me when I’m being an ass, which I’m honest enough to admit is often.”
Kain choked on his ale. Edge guffawed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Take a compliment. Anyway, if Cecil’s being obdu—obsti—if he’s being stubborn, and doesn’t want to hear the truth, come to me, all right?”
Kain’s heart ached a little at Edge’s perceptiveness. “I thank you,” he said. “I had…worried.” Even that much was hard to say.
“I’ve got your back, same as you’ve got mine, when evil moon sorcerers aren’t rummaging around inside your brain.” Edge fumbled with his tankard, remembered it was empty, and set it aside. “Speaking of having my back, I need a best man. You’re appointed. Royal command.”
“I—beg your pardon?”
“There’s nothing wrong with your hearing. I was going to write a letter, but I wanted to ask in person, mostly because your expression is great.” Edge leaned forward, and swayed. “Damn. Good ale,” he said, and then pulled himself upright again. “I haven’t got brothers, and you’ll stop me from doing something stupid like running away. Not that I want to run. It’s just terrifying.”
“I will certainly keep you from running away,” Kain said, and Edge laughed harder than the statement warranted.
Kain glanced at the clock. "It's getting on to two in the morning."
"So what you're saying is I should go to bed so I can keep Rydia up all night tomorrow?" He grinned.
"Something like that." Kain rose. The ninja had to make a couple of attempts, but he eventually struggled to his feet and stayed there. Cid just looked vaguely bemused as the brunette began planting an excessive amount of kisses on his face.
"C'mon, Cid. You don't want to be hung over for the wedding." Kain strode over, tapping the brunette on the shoulder. She slid off Cid's lap slowly. Kain held out his hand to help the older man up. Cid wobbled and nearly went down again. Kain looped the engineer's arm around his neck and nodded to Edge. "All right. Let's go."
Edge headed off to his chambers in the western tower, with two of his guards by his side. The remaining guards escorted Kain and Cid up to the third floor. Cid was having serious difficulties getting up the stairs; he kept tripping on the edge of each riser. Kain just kept hauling him up by sheer strength, grateful that he'd had the good sense to drink only a small amount tonight.
He eventually got Cid to the third floor and into his room, where the servant assigned to him took over. In his own room, he politely dismissed the servant and undressed, then lay on his bed watching the lightning illuminate the room in bright flashes while thunder pounded outside.
Sleep was a long time in coming to him.