
06-25-2007, 01:08 AM
*Chapter One*
The Man in Red, The Green Eyed Girl
Yuna and her guardians had just had a nasty run in with a group of Al Bhed, on the other side of the Moonflow, a girl collasped on the shore...
Rikku stirred as a hand shook her shoulder, her eyes slowly opened and focused on the blurry shadow above her.
"Rikku!! No way, it's you! Do you remember me?!" Tidus said through his laughter, Rikku held her head and slowly got up. Rikku felt her wetsuit tighten around her as it dried, so she decided to take it off.
"Thought I was done for back there.." Rikku said as she took off her goggles.
"You beat me up back there you know?! I almost drowned!" Rikku said as she stomped her foot on the ground, Tidus merely blinked in confusion. Yuna and the rest of her guardians caught up with Tidus, Tidus explained how him and Rikku met.
"Wow...what luck of you guys running into each other, ya?" Wakka said with a smile on his face, the others were amazed that Wakka had no idea that Rikku was an Al Bhed! Yuna turned to Auron and shyly spoke
"Auron...I'd like for Rikku to become a guardian..." Yuna's words surprised the rest of the group, Auron looked at Rikku for a moment and then looked back at Yuna.
"If it's what you want..." Auron walked towards Rikku, she had her head down as if she was afraid to show her face. Auron placed his hand on her chin and Rikku looked up at him with her eyes closed.
"Open your eyes..." Auron said as he broke the silence, Rikku opened up one of her eyes, then followed with her other one. Auron didn't show it, but he was taken aback by how green her eyes were.
"As I thought." Auron added, Rikku felt her face flame and she swallowed hard.
"Are you certain..." Auron asked her, he wanted to know if she was completely ready to become a guardian and Rikku smiled.
"One hundred percent!" Rikku said as she breathed a sigh of relief, Auron didn't care whether she was Al Bhed or not. He wasn't like Wakka or Yevon.
"Then it's settled, Yuna, it's getting dark. We rest here for the night." Auron commanded the group, the group decided, that Auron was the leader of their party. Due to his experience serving Braska, fighting fiends and the like, he was the best choice to lead the team. Slowly but surely, the sun set on the Moonflow, the lake was beautiful. All the flowers were lit by the aura from the pyreflies, the team sat in a circle around the fire. Auron seperated himself from the group as he usually did, keeping a close eye on everyone to make sure that fiends didn't attack. Rikku sat on the edge of the lake, looking out at the stars, Auron looked at the newest addition to the party. Even though Rikku was a cheeful girl, she had an aura of sadness about her, Auron suspected it was because of the hatred and ignorance of Yevon. Auron shuffled around in his spot restlessly, groaning, not being able to find a suitable spot to rest, sat near Rikku. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them, Rikku looked over her shoulder and smiled awkwardly at Auron, he simply cleared his throat. Finally, Rikku had the nerve to speak to the formidable warrior.
"Umm...So, you guarded High Summoner Braska, he was a great man, don't you think?" Rikku said as she rocked back and forth, Auron nodded.
"Yes...He was, even though Yevon looked down on Jecht, myself and Braska. He never held a grudge to the temples, I respected him for that." Auron finished, there was a long pause before any of them spoke, Rikku sighed.
"So...You don't mind me being an Al Bhed?" Rikku whispered so that Wakka couldn't hear her if he was still awake, Auron shook his head.
"No, I don't. As long as you serve Yuna faithfully, I could care less." Auron muttered, he popped the cap off his jug and took a sip. Rikku looked at it curiously, she wondered what he was drinking, she figured it must have something alcoholic in it. Auron looked at her curious green eyes, he looked around to see what she was looking at, finally he realized that she was looking at his jug.
"Umm...what's in that?" Rikku asked him, Auron handed it to her and popped it open again. Rikku, picked it up, it was a lot heavier then she realized. Rikku slowly brought it up to her nose and inhaled, it was so strong that she had to pull it away from her.
"Forget it...I'm not taking my chances, that stuff could blind a man at twenty paces. How can you drink that stuff Auron?" Rikku lightly giggled, Auron took a whole swig down and wiped away the remnants off his lips with his gloved hand.
"Easily.." Auron said after he swallowed, Rikku slowly reached over and looked at Auron with an smug smile.
"If you can handle it, so can I!" Rikku nearly shouted, she took the jug from his hand and took a huge gulp, Rikku swallowed it and almost instantly turned pale. Auron tried to hide his amusement, but he couldn't, Auron let out a small chuckle. Rikku looked at him with a twinge of annoyance
"Hey...Don't laugh at other peoples...maladies!" Rikku managed to get out, she was still not fully recovered from whatever she drunk, Auron took an empty potion bottle and filled it with water from a nearby spring.
"Here...Drink this, it'll clear your system." Auron said as he gave it to Rikku, Rikku slowly drank the water and she felt a lot better. Rikku blinked several times to focus herself again.
"Auron...what is that stuff anyway?!" Rikku asked him again, Auron sighed and leaned back on a tree, Rikku lied back on the ground.
"Nog. It's very bitter and strong, but it's a benificial substance though. It helps to make a person stronger in combat." Auron replied, Auron quickly realized the time, he needed to get some sleep and so did Rikku.
"But we must sleep, we don't want to slow down Yuna's pilgrimage." Auron sighed, Rikku nodded her head and got up from her spot to go back to her temporary bed.
"Good night Auron...Oh! I'm sorry, I've been calling you Auron all this time...Would you rather me calling you Sir Auron instead?" Rikku asked as she scratched her face, Auron placed a hand on her shoulder and he gave her a small smile.
"Auron's fine...I don't think I deserve to be called Sir Auron until Yuna's pilgrimage is over..." Auron walked away, he turned to face Rikku and nodded his head.
"Good night Rikku...Rest well..." Auron said politely, Rikku nodded back and got settled down, Auron slowly made it over to the spot he made himself. He looked across from him, Rikku was sleeping already, sleep always was a hard thing for Auron. He was haunted by visions of the past, they kept chasing him, nipping at his heels, threatening to swallow him up whole. Auron kept fidgeting until he found a comfortable place to sleep, slowly, he fell into a deep sleep. Looks like the fiends were going to give him a break tonight...
Morning arrived like clockwork, the party in charge of saving Spira from Sin started their morning by eating breakfast.
"Man...I wish I had some bacon and eggs right now..." Tidus complained as he looked down at what appeared to be food.
"Enough complaining, at least you have something to eat." Auron snapped at the younger guardian, Auron took a bite from his plate, it was terrible.
"That's the last time we put Kimarhi in charge of food." Auron thought to himself, Kimarhi was a Ronso, he was used to eating food like this. When breakfast was over, the party gathered their things and continued the journey to Guadosalam. Rikku's stomach was churning, she deeply regretted having Auron's "Nog". Rikku rubbed her eyes and bumped into Auron, Auron looked down at the dizzy Al Bhed girl. Auron helped her to steady herself, Rikku face flamed again as it did yesterday.
"Sorry Auron...I really shouldn't have had your Nog last night..." Rikku whispered, Auron gave her another bottle of water, Rikku drank it fast.
"Thanks, I'm kinda nervous today...We're heading towards Guadosalam, there's a lot of Yevonites there, they hate Al Bhed...I'm probably gonna make trouble for Yunie..." Rikku gulped as she gave Auron back the bottle, Auron saw the sad and lonesome look in Rikku's eyes, being subject to prejudice must of taken it's toll on her.
"Our visit there will be short, we won't be there long enough for anybody to find out. Yevonites as you call them, aren't saints you know..." Auron trailed off, Rikku strained to hear what he was saying, she swore that she heard him say "hypocrites". Rikku smiled slightly, she felt secure and safe around Auron because he was the first one to accept her. Auron felt a tug on his sleeve, Rikku's eyes met his and she smiled.
"Thanks for accepting me so openly Auron, it makes me feel better!" Rikku said as she scratched her face, Auron simply nodded and walked ahead of her. Rikku walked beside Yuna and Lulu, but her eyes rested on Auron. He was so mysterious, but strong and formidable. Auron was also intelligent and could read people very well, he had strong instincts...Rikku got lost in her thoughts, she was taken off guard by a large fiend that attacked the group, just when she was about to get slashed by the claw of the fiend, Auron jumped in front of her and severed the fiend in half. Pyreflies surrounded Auron and Rikku, Rikku's heart raced, she stood there with her hands trembling. Auron sheathed his sword and looked at the young Al Bhed girl, she was trembling and she held her hands to her stomach.
"Rikku, pay attention when you're in the fiends territory. They strike unexpectantly, someday you might be alone, what then?! There will be no one to save you." Auron snapped coldly at her, Rikku took a step back and bit her lip, she didn't want to start crying in front of him. So much for Mr. Nice Auron, she looked away and trudged on with Yuna and Lulu, she blinked back the gathering tears. As the party walked, Auron started to regret what he said to Rikku, it was the truth but he said it in such a cold way. Rikku was insecure as it is, now she would avoid him, Auron wondered why this Al Bhed girl was making him feel like he was walking on eggshells. She was the youngest guardian and the youngest in the team, maybe that was it. They finally reached Guadosalam, Rikku felt a pang of worry in her stomach, she was in Yevon country now. She looked at Auron, even though he yelled at her earlier, Auron was her protection.
"Lady Yuna, so good to see you." And elderly Guado man walked towards them, Yuna stepped back, her guardians watched him closely.
"I am Tromell, assistant to Maester Seymour Guado. He wishes you and her guardians to visit him at his estate, follow me." Yuna and her party followed Tromell to Seymour's place, Tromell left the room and the party waited in the foyer. The room was a oval shape, surrounded by pictures of Seymours family and ornate floral decorations. The place felt eerie, it was beautiful, yet for some reason a great feeling of unrest surrounded the party. Rikku hated being in there, she felt uneasy, she hated being an Al Bhed right now. Tromell invited them into the parlour, almost everybody saw the platter of various vegetables and fruits, Rikku jumped at the chance to eat some real food. The rest of the party sat on the couches, from the back of the room, Seymour smiled at his guests. He motioned Yuna to come closer to him, Tidus looked at him with his eyes narrowed, but then the room transformed into something amazing! The room transformed into what Zanarkand looked like a thousand years ago, Tidus looked at his home with a deep seated sorrow, Auron looked at Jecht's son with sympathy. Seymour showed them Lady Yunalesca, Auron's grip on his sword tightened as he saw the bane of his existance, his anger boiled. He hated the fact that all that Seymour was spewing about her, was all lies, if only they knew...Rikku saw Auron's face darken, her heart skipped a beat, that look could make even the toughest fiend crumble in fear. When Seymour was finished, he whispered something in Yuna's ear, Yuna's eyes widened. Yuna's mouth went dry, she frantically drank a glass of water.
"What did he say?" Auron asked Yuna, Yuna held her hand to her chest and calmed herself.
"He asked me to be his wife..." Yuna said in a near whisper, Auron growled and looked at Seymour in distain.
"You know what Yuna must do! She must continue her pilgrimage." Auron snarled, Seymour smiled eerily and spoke in his defence.
"Think of the happiness that it will bring Spira..." Seymour said calmly, Auron's face grew dark and he had to contain his anger.
"A moments diversion won't make Spira forget about Sin, if there is no other business, we're leaving." Auron turned to leave, Seymour spoke up again.
"You know Auron...We Guado are keen in the scent of the farplane..." Seymour said cryptically, Tidus blinked in confusion as he sniffed around Auron. Auron pushed Tidus away from him in anger, he slammed the door behind him. Yuna and the others discussed about the proposal, after they talked, Yuna went back to talk to Seymour. But they soon found out that Seymour had gone off to the Temple of Macalania, but before they continued Yuna's pilgrimage, Yuna wanted to go to the farplane to see her father.
This is all that I have so far, I want comments and opinions!
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