| Once you start on the path to something, don�t back down. You�ll miss out on way too much stuff. -Zidane Tribal to Vanel Cirron Part 75 It had been a few days since the party. Everyone had split up and Kuja, the only one with nowhere to go and the strength to admit it, had returned to Swiftwing with Tiovex and I. At first he�d been nervous about being alone in the castle, but I told him repeatedly that the castle was just as much his as it was mine. He�d eventually gotten more confident and wandered around by himself, ending up lost more than once. One day, he disappeared. I wasn�t worried initially; he�d go off on his own for hours at a time and reappear around the next mealtime. But he missed both breakfast and lunch and I began to fret. By two p.m., I�d decided to go find him. To help me, Tiovex tagged along. I trailed Kuja�s scent to a wall. That was as far as I could go. [Tiovex, open this thing up.] He did so and we slipped into a hidden tunnel. I recognized it as the way to the darkness contained by the castle. In the room was the maze and the eternal darkness, shot through with rainbow light. Also, though, were shafts of permanent light that alternated colors. They were twice as bright as the shots of rainbow. While I searched for Kuja, Tiovex went to inspect the source of the new light. [I . . . I don�t believe it!] I looked up from where I was nudging an unresponsive Kuja. [What?] [It�s . . . It�s the crystal! It�s here!] [Liar. It was destroyed, remember?] [No, I�m sure this is it. If it isn�t, it�s a damn good fake.] [Worry about it later. Since it�s not doing any harm, forget about it.] I settled Kuja on my back and dashed out of the room. [Is he okay?] Tiovex asked, catching up to me. [I don�t know yet. He never responded to anything I did.] The doctor was unable to do anything himself. [He just won�t respond. The best thing I can say is that he�ll die.] [Isn�t there anything that can be done?] He shook his head. [Nothing?] [ . . . There is one, but . . .] He looked at me meaningfully. I nodded. Tiovex looked back and forth between us. [Do you mean . . .?] He blinked at the look I gave him. [ . . . You do, don�t you?] [Both of you out,] I commanded. They left. I hopped up onto the bed and laid beside Kuja, wondering how to go about this. It had been easy with Zidane, but I wasn�t so sure . . . I lifted him up and held him against me. [I know you can hear me, Ajuk. You have to drink. This is a matter of life and death. If you don�t drink, you�ll die. You don�t want to die and I don�t want you to die. So drink.] Consciousness returned just long enough for him to begin the process. He winced visibly as his throat was burned, but I held his head there so he couldn�t let go. Dragon milk was the cure-all. Usually, if a dragon had some serious sickness, they could go to their mother and drink some milk, which would relieve the pain and the sickness over a varying span of time. This didn�t always work. It was an evenly-balanced risk. Kuja�s life now hung on that thin balance. I fell asleep, and the next morning found me alone. I rushed from the room in a desperate search for either Kuja or Tiovex. On my way to the throne room, I passed by the entrance to the garden. Skidding to a halt, I dashed into the garden and to the only being within sight. [Tiovex!] He turned. [Yes?] [Where�s Kuja?!] [Kuja? Uh . . . I haven�t seen him since last night.] Something grabbed my ribs, making me leap a mile and shriek at the top of my lungs. I landed on my back and laid there for a moment, stunned by the sound of two beings laughing. One was Tiovex and the other . . . I lunged, knocking the new being over and standing on them. They humphed as the air was forced from them. [Don�t do that to me!] Kuja blinked and let out a huff of air, gasping in a new breath. � . . . What are you talking about? The surprise or leaving without telling you?� [Both!] He blinked again and I let him up as quickly as possible, my eyes locked on his. They were green. About the same shade as Zidane�s. I stood on my rear feet and bent down, one hand on Kuja�s shoulder and the other holding his face, turning his head this way and that. He let me do so with no small amount of curiosity. � . . . What are you doing?� [Your eyes are green.] [Only to be expected . . .] Tiovex muttered. � So what?� [They shouldn�t have turned green. Not so quickly.] [He was ill . . .] Tiovex reminded me. � How did they get green?� [You were sick and the doctor said the only cure was dragon�s milk,] I explained elusively. I hated talking about the subject. It always made me a tad embarrassed for some reason. [Privacy freak . . .] was Tiovex�s tidbit. � Does it match?� I pulled back, confused. [Well . . . I don�t know. I�m not a fashion expert.] � I�m joking.� [Oh.] I rolled my eyes. [Good, because it probably doesn�t match and then you�d be stuck with mismatched everything for the rest of your life.] A thought then occured to me. [Tiovex, what�s today?] [ . . . Friday . . .] He paused, then started. [Oh!] I turned to Kuja. [We�re spending the weekend with Zidane. But he doesn�t know that yet.] � Is that so?� A cruel gleam appeared in his eyes. � Hm . . .� <--Part 74 Part 76--> |