She looked up and noticed a blood-red ship flying overhead and scowled. She stood and backed up into the tree, trying to hide herself. She drew up her hood, tucking her hair away.She glanced up at the statue across the hall from her. It was a ten-foot rendition of the phoenix supposedly five-hundred years old. She studied the statue carefully. Phoenix wondered if her true form was more frightening than this statue. After all, everyone in Thanos was scared of her, more so than they were of Zalera, the god of death.
Phoenix stepped over and ran a hand lightly down the peacock-like tail of the statue. �Is this just how people depicted the Phoenix so that they wouldn�t be scared of a hero,� she mused. �What do I really look like?� She felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced back at a tall man with silver hair and eyes. She could feel her lip quivering as she looked up at him. Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she looked up into his. He smiled kindly as she turned and hugged him tightly.
�Why are you crying,� he asked her.
�I don�t want to leave you,� she said, sniffling. �I�m still a child...I don�t know how to take care of myself...�
He smiled sadly, running a hand through her hair, lovingly. �I know you�re still young. Nevertheless, you have Gethin. He�ll be there to protect you.� Phoenix paled at this. She hadn�t told her father how Gethin and his other form had �protected� her before. Pater Godelva had trusted Gethin and his family long before Phoenix was even born. To tell him that Zalera had attacked her? It would break his heart. And she trusted Gethin...she just wasn�t sure about Zalera.
She nodded and Pater beamed. �I�m sure you�ll come to visit. It will be a long while before you and your companions are ready to fight the Army of Maldade.�
Phoenix nodded once more. She wasn�t sure that she�d be able to come back, but it was a nice thought. She then noticed her father�s eyes. He was sad. Extremely so. He hadn�t believed that she was going to return, either. He was trying to remain strong.
How many times had he done so, she wondered. He�d had to give up his baby to save her life right before his wife had been killed because Phoenix existed. They would have killed him to, had they not needed someone religious to calm the world. Pater knew that to fight back would have only got perhaps thousands more killed. He had to ignore his wife�s death, and now he would have to ignore Phoenix�s. He would have to smile and be proud that she was leaving. �Is it worth it,� she asked her father, looking up at him with doubt. �Many only pay lip service. Are they worth fighting for?�
He smiled in a sad way that seemed to show an age twenty years more than his actual age. �If you save even one faithful person from the army, is it worth it?�
Phoenix considered this for a moment before nodding slowly. Pater smiled and hugged her tightly. �Then they all are worth fighting for.�
Gethin entered the hall and bit his lip as he saw the two hugging, briefly wishing he had a family member to say goodbye to. He then realized that he was the luckier one between Phoenix and him. He was taking with him the person that mattered most. Phoenix would have to leave behind a very important aspect of her life.
He cleared his throat, �The sun is rising. We should be going if we want to make the most use of the light.�
Phoenix smiled sadly up at her father and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek. She slowly slipped out of his grip. �Good health, Father,� she said, barely above a whisper. A large lump had formed in her throat, making it very hard to speak at all.
Pater smiled. �Good health, Phoenix. Come home safe.� His voice rang almost too loudly throughout the hall.
Phoenix turned on her heel and slowly walked away, each footstep echoing just as loudly as her father�s voice. Every inch of her felt numb and everything surrounding her seemed surreal.
Gethin opened the door for her and she stepped outside, wincing a bit as the sun assaulted her eyes. Two large birds waited for the companions at the foot of the steps of the temple, full packs at their sides. A few people had gathered as well, though mostly out of curiosity over the chocobos. Live rides were rare in the city since it became a mechanically inclined. The members of the city had seen Phoenix and Gethin before. And word had not traveled from Thanos yet that the two were part of the Sete. They had not, however, seen Phoenix in traveling clothes before. A few stared at her curiously.
Phoenix stood tall, raising her chin. She had been taught by her father that a leader must never show their own feelings. They must be strong for the people. If she were to be a hero, she would have to stand tall, always. Phoenix mounted her chocobo. Gethin was soon after on his own. With a click of their heels, they were soon off, down the road toward Nevan, her father�s town of birth.
Tears fell down Vera�s cheek as she watched her daughter squirm at the soldier�s feet. �Gethin,� she choked out. �Gethin Javed.�
A smile slowly crept across the man�s face. �Good girl. Now the little one won�t have to suffer.�
He aimed his gun down at Jorjah�s head. �NO!� Vera screamed, but her voice was equaled by the sound of gunfire. Jorjah�s body went limp and the man removed his foot from her arm, scowling at the blood on his boot. He looked up, no longer addressing Vera, but the men that held her. �Take care of this mess.� He glanced at Vera as one would a puddle of mud, �All of it.�
He then turned and walked toward Gethin�s house. He knew it well. He had been one of the men there that day, several years ago, when the Javed couple had been executed. He sheathed his gun and reached up, pushing the door open slowly. He stepped into the house and glanced around. Seeing that no one was around, he began to search the house. When he came to the bedroom, his eyes fell on something shining on the bed. He stepped over and slowly reached to pick up the feather. He stared at it, twirling it between two fingers before crushing it in his hand. �So I was wrong,� he growled. �I should have killed the boy when I had a chance.�
�Sir,� called a young man from the doorway.
The man spun on him, his eyes narrowed darkly. �What,� he snapped at the boy.
�Lord Zalera was seen by the people. It seems that Zalera is a companion of the Phoenix.�
The man smirked. �Good. Destroy the town. We have what we needed.� He walked past the boy and out to where the airship waited, ignoring the screams and the pleading for mercy. Death, after all, was mercy.
She looked up and noticed a blood-red ship flying overhead and scowled. She stood and backed up into the tree, trying to hide herself. She drew up her hood, tucking her hair away.
It was then that she saw a flash of silver right before she felt something cold and metallic against her neck. �Don�t move, and you won�t be hurt,� said a young male voice at her ear, quietly.
Phoenix felt a gloved hand grasp her wrist and draw it behind her. The blade was removed from her neck and the boy spoke again, �Don�t try anything. I can kill you without a weapon.� He then snapped a cold metal shackle around the one wrist before taking her other wrist and shackling it as well.
He spun her around and looked up into her eyes. He was actually shorter than her, with silver eyes and hair, much like her father. But he was no human. He was a selkie. �I don�t have anything of worth,� she informed him.
He smirked up at her, �Racist. You assume a lot. I�m not after your money. I was sent after you.� She tensed, naturally trying to struggle with the shackles, and she backed away. In a flash, the dagger was at her throat and the boy�s face was inches from her own. �My investors would prefer you alive.� He smirked, �If you behave, I might even tell them that I killed your boyfriend while he stays here safe and alive.�
Phoenix gaped slightly at him before gritting her teeth and closing her eyes. She bowed her head submissively. She wouldn�t allow him to hurt Gethin. And she knew that she�d be okay. If he�d wanted to kill her, he could have.
The boy gripped her arm and led her down the hill away from Nevan toward a dark animal. As they neared, Phoenix realized that it was a black chocobo. The boy lifted her carefully and set her on the shoulders of the chocobo, in front of the saddle. He then got up, wrapping his arms around her to keep her steady and take the leads. He tapped the chocobo with his heel and they shot off.
Phoenix glanced back over her shoulder at the boy. He seemed to be purposefully ignoring her. She cleared her throat and turned back to look at the road, �He�s not my boyfriend.�
�What,� the boy slowed the chocobo, staring at her in disbelief. He was confused by the girl. He�d never heard one of his bounties strike up such a normal conversation.
�Gethin. He�s just a friend.�
�He�d be more if he�d just admit he liked you,� the boy stated, continuing to lead the bird down the road.
It was Phoenix�s turn to be bewildered. She glanced over her shoulder to stare at the boy. �You sound like you know us.�
�I�ve been following you for five days,� he stated, still watching the road. �It was very obvious that you two are attracted to one another.� Phoenix blushed at this statement and turned her head away once more. �So I used it to my advantage.�
Phoenix looked back at him once more, this time in shock. �You weren�t going to kill him...�
�They wouldn�t meet my assassination fee,� he said with a smirk. �Apparently they�d rather do it themselves.� Phoenix began struggling with her bonds again, but realized that she wouldn�t be able to get out of the shackles. And she couldn�t elbow him because of the way he had her bound. She narrowed her eyes hatefully at the boy. �Why?�
He laughed sardonically. �Let me guess...you�re a spoiled only child whose been sheltered from the strife of the rest of the world? I used the ruse to placate you so that you�d come along without a fight. You are too na�ve to be traveling alone. Especially with a man that interested in you. You should thank me, girl. I saved you from that boy. Who knows how much longer he would have resisted the urge to take you.� He smirked. Phoenix�s eyes began to glow. A sudden gust threw the boy off his chocobo. Phoenix�s eyes returned to normal. The spooked chocobo jolted and Phoenix was thrown off it as well. Unlike the lucky boy, however, she couldn�t catch herself and hit her head, blacking out.
When Phoenix woke, she found the boy bandaging her wounds. Her bindings had been changed so that her hands were in front of her. Her right wrist was throbbing, and she noticed a bluish tint to the skin that she could see. �You�re strong,� the boy admitted. �Those chains are supposed to keep you from using any powers you have.�
�Why are you helping me,� Phoenix asked, confused by his actions.
�I told you. You�re worth more alive,� the boy stated, callously.
�I�m assuming you were hired by the Army of Maldade. Why? They persecute other races even more than they do humans. Wouldn�t you think that it would behoove you to not allow them to take me?�
He stood and grabbed her up by the front of her shirt, dragging her to the edge of a cliff only a few feet away. �Would it? Are you worth more to me dead, then, Girl? Consider carefully.� He gritted his teeth. She�d obviously struck a chord, though she wasn�t sure how.
�I don�t think you�re the type to throw someone off a cliff,� Phoenix stated, looking up into his eyes.
He smirked, �Then you don�t know me very well. I hope you can flly...� Despite this, he wouldn�t let go.
Phoenix smiled calmly, �I can.�
He tensed, snarling at her obstinacy. He let go of the front of her shirt and she fell. He watched her with little guilt. Phoenix felt the same sense that she had felt before she had transformed. And then she felt panic. Something was wrong. She couldn�t transform. Her eyes widened and she felt that same sense calling out to someone. She didn�t recognize this person, as she had recognized it�s call to Gethin.
She then saw something blood-red and black shoot past her toward the ground. Her first thought was toward the Army of Maldade. That was their colours. She closed her eyes as she neared the ground. But she didn�t hit. Instead, she felt something soft catch her. She opened her eyes A mask covered the face of her rescuer. He set her down on her feet. The glow in his silver eyes disappeared and he stumbled back, slowly changing into the form of her kidnapper.
�You,� Phoenix asked in surprise and confusion.