Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Losses in Time ❯ Dark Meetings ( Chapter 3 )

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Chapter 3 -Dark Meetings

Rana walks down the path through the park in Bevelle after seeing Lulu. On her way home it gets darker as the sun lowers in the sky, the park becoming foreboding. She thinks nothing of danger. For she knows Bevelle is well guarded, it is considered one of the safest places in Spira.

As she is walks home this night lost in thought she neglects her surroundings, and because of that she fails to hear the footsteps behind her. Unaware of the footsteps, she reaches the darkest part of the park. She gets a chill, when a deep voice speaks up inquiring "What are you doing Lady Rana, all alone out here after sundown?"

She jumps when she hears the voice, startling her out of her thoughts. As she calms herself, she recognizes the voice of the intruder. Turning to face the voice, she scowls "Auron. How dare you do that, have you not caused enough trouble for me today?"

Hearing his name Auron steps out of the shadows, which hid him so well. A smirk of satisfaction on playing his face he answers back coolly "But my lady, I was not the one causing trouble earlier today. I simply finished it."

"Yes, perhaps you are right, but then you also had the nerve to go and speak to my father about it." She spoke calmly, as annoyance crept onto her face. "You had no right to do that, you do not know what you have done." Her voice filling with annoyance, and a hint of sadness.

Auron not noticing the change in her voice, gets angry "Excuse me little girl, but you are the one with out rights here. I had every right to go and speak to your father today, remember you were the one causing trouble. Your father deserved to know what his spoiled brat of a daughter had been up to. And do not tell me that you were there for any other reason then to prove that you can try and do anything that you would like. We monks have more important thing to do then to make sure that you stay out of trouble."

Rana stands there trying not to look defeated, she takes a deep breath and lets it back out. She looks at him again and talks calmly "Then you are closer to the truth then you realize. I do not want anyone guarding me, protecting me. I would like to learn for myself how to do that, I do not want others to put their lives in danger to for me. My father had someone come in to teach me with the staff of mine, but I was not taught very much. I wasn't meant to learn much. My father did that to shut me up, to get me out of his hair. I do not think he had intended for me to want to learn more, but I do."

He shakes his head not understanding "What has this to do with anything, how does it apply to what happened today? I can understand you fathers reasoning for not wanting you to learn, besides once you marry, your husband will be there to protect you"

She crosses he arms, turns away and shakes her head in frustration "Not you to, if my father has his way I will marry the person he wants, who he picks out for me. How can I trust someone that I don't even know? He also plans on keeping me here forever, never letting me out to see the rest of the word. And if I do get to leave it will only be by my husband's side. I do not want that, and I do not intend to end up like that."

She turns back to him pushing back her sadness, setting determination on her face "That is where all of this comes in, how it fits into what happened today. I have my reasons, even though they may not seem to be the best ones to you. I have been doing things like this incident for about a Month now, looking for someone willing to go against my father. Many I have been able to annoy enough to almost do something, but you had been the only one to directly not care. You didn't hesitate; you didn't worry about what might happen to you because of this. You have been the first one to pass my test, unfortunately you were also the one to go and tell on me." She turns her head away.

He looks at her in disbelief "You did all of this to find someone willing to train you? And they had to be willing to go against your fathers wishes. Are you stupid or something, I could have killed you today."

She smiles turning to face him "I was willing to take that chance, plus you called me mean names. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing; I have a reputation to keep up."

He shakes his head, looking at her like she's crazy. "Are you always like this?" he asks quizzically.

"Like what, stubborn, strong willed. Yes only when I am trying to get something I want." She says smiling sweetly.

"No, that isn't it," he says shaking his head "I thing annoying is the word I am looking for."

Her smile gets wiped off her face and her shoulders go slack "I can believe you, even now you must tease me. Perhaps I shall go and find someone else to help me."

Smiling smugly at her walks closer to her and says playfully "I didn't say that I wouldn't help; besides you would find no one else." His voice turns serious "This could get dangerous, the both of us could get into trouble. I especially, not only am I going against your father and his wishes for you, but I am also going against orders that he gave directly to me about you."

Rana looks up at Auron again with suspicion in her eyes, and her emotion showing in her voice "What orders did he give you about me?"

He places a hand on her shoulder "Rana, perhaps you should calm down." She throws his hand off of her, yelling at him "Do not tell me to calm down, Auron. Tell me what he asked of you."

He sighs, and then speaks softly "He asked me to follow you, to watch you and report back everything that I see and hear."

Looking at him in disbelief "It was you he had meant, you are the one he had sent to watch me. So all this will go back to him then? You will tell him everything that I have said to you?" Puts a hand up to her head, she closes her eyes to hold back the tears that are coming. In a weak voice "I am such a fool. Did you follow me there also? Did you follow me to orphanage, too? Did you listen to everything? Can I have no peace anymore?"

Auron watches her fall apart in front of him, feeling at a loss of what he should do. He speaks gently to her "Rana, this will not go back to your father. I will not tell him anything of what we have spoken of tonight. As for earlier, yes I did follow you; I did listen to what you said to her."

She opens her eyes to look at him, letting the tears flow down her face staining it with makeup. Letting all of her pain and conviction show in her voice "Do you have any idea what it is like to have no privacy, to always have someone watching you? No you don't, do you? Just being my fathers daughter, means that I have to watch every move I make. And that is just from the people, the guards just usually make sure that I don't get attacked. By going to see Lulu, was the only peace that I have ever gotten. No one followed me there, no one paid attention to what I did. I could be myself and they would be happy with that. Now I don't even have that, because of you."

Guilt creeping upon him "I'm sorry, you will not have to worry. I will not follow you there again." He takes a breath and lets it out "I want to help you still, if you will allow it."

"How do I know that this isn't all a trick, how do I know that you can be trusted," venom trickling in her voice "how do I know that I am not just playing into my father and your hands right now."

Auron looks at her sincerely "You don't know, but what other choice do you have right now? None, right? You have only me, I am willing to help. I do not ask you to trust me just yet, but eventually you will need to if I am to teach you things correctly. I will give you every reason to trust me, I will not betray you. I give you my word as a monk."

She turns away for a moment taking all that he had said into consideration; turning back her face a little bit calmer she looks into his eyes "You are right, I don't have any other choice other then to give up, which is something I will not do. I will hold you to your word; do not betray me because I will find a way to destroy you. Do you understand?"

"Yes." He shakes he head in agreement, no emotion written on his face.

She turns her eyes away in thought, and wipes the tears from her eyes "There is an open area near the orphanage, the children sometimes use it for picnics and such. No one else really goes over there; we can use it for the lessons. I will just need to talk this over with Mother Sala tomorrow, to make sure it will be ok. Meet me there at about 3:00 in the afternoon, the day after tomorrow. We will start then, ok?" She turns her eyes back to him, as he nods his answer. She questions him "What will you do about my father?"

He answers back seriously "I will not lie to him; I will report to him that you go to visit your friend. And any other normal things that you will do in a day, I will just not give him all the things you may do. Especially if they involve me, perhaps I will tell him also that I will try to make friends with you that will help me in not trying to stay out of sight of you and us being able to talk freely."

Rana shakes her head in agreement "Do you think this will work, you don't think he will suspect anything?"

"He might if I just go and try to be friend you, and you agree. But if I tell him that I will apologies to you for my actions, I think he will believe that you would take to me better with that. And of course I telling him about the fight you put up." A slight smirk shows on his face, as he watches Rana serious face change to one of annoyance.

"Don't like what you are implying about me, but I know that is how some see me. You are right, and I think that just might work. I even know how we can start the process." Her eyes glinting with playfulness.

Auron's voice amused "And how would that be?"

She smiles almost too sweetly "You walk me home; you really didn't think the High Maester's daughter should be walking home alone in the dark do you?"

Auron smiles at this and bows to her while gesturing the sign of Yevon mockingly. He holds out an arm to her and she takes it graciously, and they walk back to the manor. There are three guards at the entrance of the manor, Rana and Auron walk up to them. The third one that seemed to be giving orders to the two others turns around, hearing them come up. They both recognize him as Kinoc, the warrior monk that Auron was talking to earlier. Upon seeing Rana, Kinoc bows and gestures the sign of Yevon, Rana and Auron do the same.

Kinoc eyes Auron for a moment and then looks back to Rana cheerfully "Lady Rana to what do we owe the honor of seeing you tonight?"

Rana smiles softly "I was out visiting a friend tonight, and left not realizing how late it was. Thankfully Sir Auron was walking by and offered to walk me back to the manor."

Kinoc eyes them suspiciously "I thought after what happened today, you would not want to speak to him."

"You are right Sir Kinoc, at first I did not want to even look at him. Actually I had started walking in the opposite direction. But he stopped me, and apologized for his actions earlier today. I reluctantly forgave him, and he offered to make it up to me by walking me home. And now here we are." She said certainly.

Kinoc not sure what to believe, shook his head in agreement. Turning to Auron with a strange smile on his face "Well done Auron, you did well. I can take Lady Rana from here though, I was about to go and speak with her father anyways. Go and take some rest Auron it has been a long day for you."

Auron bows his head to Rana and Kinoc "Thank you, I think that I will. Good night to you Lady Rana, Kinoc."

Rana bows her head to him shyly "Good night, Sir Auron."

Auron takes his leave, and Kinoc offers an arm to Rana. She takes it, and they walk into the Manor. As they get closer to her quarters, she stops "I can make the rest of the way myself, Sir Kinoc."

She pulls her arm from Kinoc's feeling him letting it go hesitantly, but as she walks away he grabs her arm pulling her back. She looks back at him shocked, questioning him with her eyes. Desperately he says "Lady Rana, beware when you are around Auron. He is not everything he seems; I think he wants something from you. I also think that he may be trying to make you trust him for his own selfish reasons. You must believe me for I am telling you for your own good."

"For-my-own-good," she gathers the unsettling words in her mouth. As Rana looks at him with bitterness in her eyes and venom in her voice, she snatches her arm out of his grasp "Let go of me, if you feel the need to handle me like that again please restrain yourself. As for who I should trust, you needn't worry I have no trust for Auron. But then again, I can also say I have no trust for someone who can so easily betray his friend."

"Goodnight," she huffs and then walks the rest of the way to her room leaving a very distressed Kinoc mulling over what just happened.

Setting his jaw in determination he whispers "I will not let this get in my way." Kinoc then turns down another hallway and proceeds down to the High Maester's quarters.

Been a little bit since I have updated, I finished school and have a lot of free time on my hands right now. I hope to be putting up more in the not to distant future. Please Read and Review. Thank You.