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The Guardian Vesuvius Chapter 16: A Heart Worth Breaking

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The heart is the medium through which emotions and feelings enter and exit our beings. Our sadness and love is felt throughout the whole body, but its epicenter is the heart, pulsing outwards or converging inwards. When the heart sends emotion rushing through our body, it seeks to go further than the mere boundaries of our inner self. It yearns to emit from us like a beacon, through our words, body language and temperament. However, as is very often the case, we feel embarrassed, uneasy or afraid of what our hearts are trying to say, so we close off these outlets.

We keep it all inside of us, we keep something very dangerous.

We keep a secret.

Secrets, trapped messages of our heart, battering the walls of its cage every time our thoughts drift to it. For whatever reason we choose to keep a secret, we create a concentrated, sealed pocket of emotions, like a bomb in our hearts. They simply must be guarded, and respected by those we share them with. For if a secret is unwillingly revealed, that pocket of emotion we trapped away is released, the message we didn’t want to send blares out like a siren.

The bomb in our heart...explodes.

Such a sudden, enormous and involuntary rush of emotion, this instant loss of control, this horrific sense of vulnerability, betrayal and shame, wreaks havoc on our hearts. This is the danger of secrets, the unforgiving master that is our heart punishes us for silencing its message.

Oh heart, if you want us to be so open, if you will torture us so for hiding what you say, then why must you speak only of that which is so very close to us, that which we simply cannot express in so careless a fashion!
I will create a world where we do not need to fear the message of our heart, and so cannot be hurt by it. People and their hearts won’t need to be at odds anymore, they can be in harmony, as it was always meant to be!”

Outside of the city, Ted and Al had stopped in a cafe to take a break from the amount of not just dead ends, but irritatingly similar dead ends, which their investigation had seemingly lead them too. Ted had become uneasy about the whole thing ever since the suspicious exchange at the military roadblock earlier that day. Now, as two suited men made their way towards the cafe, Ted seemed surer than ever that there was something about Funuchi’s death that neither he nor Al knew about, and it was something dangerous to be involved in.

The two men entered the cafe with silence and purpose, they were glaringly out of place in the run down area, it was nearly pointless to be subtle, the two men made no secret of staring straight at the two detectives. Ted stared straight back at them, Al hovered his hand near his firearm, fixing his eyes on his partner and listening intently to the distinctive footsteps behind him.

“Are you Alex Davids and Ted Bosley?” one of the men asked as they reached the table, he spoke in a clear, sharp tone. Ted grew increasingly bothered by the complete lack of secrecy about these men, whoever they were sent by had no need to be subtle about his business, at least not here outside the city.
Al remained cocky in both his expression and voice, totally unintimidated by the suited thugs. “Depends...who’s asking?”

The man flashed an I.D. card on the inside of his coat as he replied. “We work for the Governor, he has gotten wind of the investigation you two are involved in and has some information to share with you.”

Both Ted and Al’s eyes widened upon hearing this, but each for very different reasons. Al was first to speak, his attitude towards them shifted dramatically, his investigation had been going nowhere ever since it had started all those years ago. It was the very reason he even began detective work, so to hear that none other than the governor knew something that would help was amazing news to him. He was so elated that it didn’t cross his mind how the Governor had even found out about his investigation or why he would even care about it.

“Ah...Are you serious?!” Al sharply rose from his chair. “What is it? Any help he can give would be...just...incredible!”

“The Governor wishes to discuss it with you in private at the town hall, we will take you there. Don’t worry, we will meet a military escort at the city’s borders so we will arrive safely.”

“Oh...right, of course. Well whatever is fine.” Al, still writhe with eagerness looked over at Ted. “What do you say buddy? Finally we get a break!”

Ted did not share his partner’s enthusiasm, he stared forward, crossing his fingers before his face and staring forward in silent thought, his brow furrowed in concern. He knew a lot of The Governor, for all the wrong reasons. He had been a person of interest with the police for a long time and had even been charged several times for involvement in gang crime, but always evaded prosecution. Ted worried where this could lead to, Baxton getting involved in the investigation did more than confirm his fears from before, it deepened them. Al was surely aware of how unscrupulous a character Baxton was, Ted thought of saying something to him but he couldn’t bring himself to take away this new lease of life from him. He knew how important the search for Sandra’s killer was to him and had promised to help him with it, so against his better judgment he decided to keep his protests to himself.
“Alright then, this way we can at least get into the city.” Ted got up and gestured to the men, staring hard into their eyes to let them know he was wary of them. “Lead the way”

Meanwhile, following her disastrous meeting with Valyos, Ferrah and Taurg had brought the distraught Mirril back to where she was staying. As they passed through the corridors of the castle, through the streets of the city, passers by offered their condolences and looked on in sympathy when they felt her pain, all of the people in the Sky Sanctuary had felt heartbreak many times in their lives, but far fewer had experienced such heartaches so close together, pushing a person deeper into sorrow before they had a chance to rise from it.

Mirril was silent and morbid, even a well mannered and courteous girl like her could barely manage a smile when the people approached her. Taurg and Ferrah, whose great power meant they could feel the full extent of Mirril’s sadness, worried dearly for her. Glancing over at his fellow council member, Ferrah caught Tarug’s eyes, and in the short moment they stared at one another, Taurg managed to guess what Ferrah was thinking.

Once they arrived at Mirril’s home, the two of them stood her in front of them. Kneeling down to be seen by Mirril’s downcast eyes, Ferrah placed a hand on her shoulder and broke the silence the three had shared since leaving the Pivot.

“Mirril...there’s something I think you should know...about Valyos.”
Before anyone could continue, Taurg quickly interrupted. “Ferrah! Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Ferrah clenched his fist as he fought his own hesitations. He knew involving himself further in this would increase the risk of Valyos discovering it, but he could not let what might be his last chance to save Valyos end like this.“She needs to know...I...just can’t leave her believing that Valyos is just a heartless brat.”

“I...I don’t think that.” Mirril suddenly spoke, standing otherwise motionless in her doorway, despite her state her voice was clear and raised. “...when he saved me from those horrible men, I...I heard him speak in a voice...it had so much warmth...and...and there was so much heart in it, it was completely different to how he’s sounded since. I believe that inside him is someone who really cares...I...I don’t think he would have become a guardian...if he was as bad as he acts like.”

Ferrah and Taurg were astonished, this little girl who outwardly seemed naive and simple had already seen through Valyos’ ruse. Something that most guardians couldn’t do, and they were trained in the power of sensing feelings and emotions. She seemed to have a natural understanding of the heart. Seeing her go through what she did and still have such faith in Valyos, not holding anything against him, Ferrah and Taurg knew she was worth whatever risks were taken by telling her about Valyos’ past. A smile finding its way to his face through his heavy heart, Ferrah made his choice.

“Then we’ll tell you. About the past that brought Valyos here...and the terrible vow he has made. It is that past and that vow that makes Valyos so cold.” Ferrah sighed as he thought where to begin, then with a deep breath and one final push in his mind to bring himself to start, he told Mirril the sad story of Valyos.

Upon hearing of Valyos’ painful past and his vow to end his life, Mirril was seemingly brought back to life, while she of course was pained at first to hear it, it seemed to fill her with a purpose. It seemed that like Ferrah she felt that Valyos needed to be saved from himself. Whatever feelings she had for him, they drove her to bring herself out of her defeated attitude. Sensing she had come around, Ferrah decided to take his leave.

Taurg knelt down before her and spoke softly, “Be sure to take care of that wonderful heart of yours my child, and of yourself too. Sleep well now.” With his cape he dabbed her teary eyes. “If you need us, we will already be here.” With that he smiled before making his way after Ferrah.

From some way down the path, lost in the darkness of the night, Ferrah called out to the girl. “Mirril...I have never given up on Valyos, so...please don’t either.”

The little girl was drained from the emotional roller coaster she had been through tonight, she managed only a smile in return as she closed the door, but it was all Ferrah needed, even with his worrying mind he had a faith in Mirril that he didn’t completely understand. He did worry that his enthusiastic idea of destiny with the new arrivals was driving him to do foolish or selfish things, but he knew that to not do anything would be something his heart simply would not allow.

As Taurg caught up with him, he gave a heavy sigh and continued down the path. “I hope...that I’m not pressuring her into this. Into more pain.”
Taurg walked alongside him “It’s impossible to tell, but regardless, you cannot fault your motives Ferrah...and whatever happens nobody will think less of you, not me, not Mirril and believe it or not, not Valyos either. It’s in your nature to go out of your way to ease the pain of others.”

“Yes...I suppose your right, thank you Taurg.” Ferrah was one to lose himself in troubling thoughts and doubts in his head, and along with Zanados, Taurg was always ready with wise words to bring him peace of mind. He was truly grateful that he found his way here to the Sky Sanctuary. Ferrah needed to surround himself with wonderful, kind people to balance his own painful past.
The pain he will never allow to leave.

The following day was bright and warm. Vance, as he now began every day, was at his guardian training. Vance had applied himself totally to it, pouring every single measure of effort he possibly could into each second he spent in training halls at Valkerie Castle, driven by eagerness and passion he pushed himself to his limit every time. With him already having a strong base in martial arts, Vance was able to advance quickly through the basic classes, but he quickly found himself challenged by some of training required of him, it was far from a simple feat to climb to the near superhuman level the guardians reached. Vance however had the perfect attitude to progress, he channeled all the hurtful and powerful emotions brought about by his family’s murder, his burning pride and his unwavering enthusiasm into his training, and it had not gone unnoticed.

“You ought to take a break soon, Vance.” The guardian had to raise her voice to be heard over Vance’s energetic training. The voice was familiar to him and he immediately stopped and turned to face the guardian, trying his best to hold himself with respect despite how clearly exhausted he was.

“Y-Yes Master Nikitah...I’m sorry to make you come over and tell me again, I just lose all track of time when I get going I guess, haha.” Vance was in his comfort zone here in the training halls, he felt completely unburdened and happy even with what had happened to him. Many guardians in training spent many weeks overcoming their harsh pasts before they were truly be able to focus on their training, but Vance just switched on to the mindset almost instantly.

“It’s fine, I’m only happy to see you so into your training, but I don’t want you hurting yourself.” Nikitah was in charge of the entire guardian training up to the level where the masters of the sentinel council took over. She was tall woman with a powerful posture, the high winds that swept through the open training floors of the castle swept up her shoulder length red hair. Her voice was deep but smooth and although she had a powerful frame, she was undeniably youthful and fair. She pondered for a moment then spoke again, “You have enormous potential Vance, more than I’ve seen in these halls for a good long time. Your father’s training really shows in you, he must have been a remarkable man.”

Vance felt both a shot of pain and swell of pride in his heart at the mention of his father, “Thank you master, he truly was... He was nothing short of my hero.”

Nikitah nodded and smiled, “I think with someone like you, what would be best is to oversee your training personally. You need to be directed so you can get the most out of that extraordinary drive. What do you think? Think you’re up to some one on one training with me?”

Vance almost lept at the idea of an even greater challenge, the opportunity to progress even faster, his face lit up, “Really? Wow! You bet I am!” he was likeable to an excited child, completely losing the military like stance of respect guardians made themselves uphold in the presence of much higher ranking members. Realizing this, Vance sharply snapped to attention and became a little embarrassed, reeling in his emotions and voice. “Ah...that is to say, Thank you Master Nikitah, it would be an honor.”

Nikitah broke into laughter at the sight of Vance’s forced serious face. “Haha, I can tell this is going to be a lot of fun.” She patted the exhausted boy on the shoulder. “Best call it a day for now then Vance, you’ll need all the rest you can get for tomorrow, I won’t lie, it’s going to be tough. It will dwarf anything you’ve been doing here.”

Vance gave a determined smile, “I won’t let you down Master, I will be ready.” With that he bowed and made his way out of the training halls. His eyes wandered down to the family sash around his sword and his heart rose, with each word of praise he received and each time he moved on to the next stage of his training early, he felt he was doing his family proud and making good on his promise to them, to his father. Now with Master Nikitah herself taking notice of his talent and effort, he felt incredible. The pursuit of this power of the guardians he so admired was an amazing rush for him.
Nikitah turned to stare out of the balcony, she didn’t let on but she too was eagerly looking forward to tomorrow. “Heh...it’ll feel good to be sparring again. It’s been too long.” She had long waited for someone like Vance to come along and give her another chance to fight again, the last time was when Valyos, the prodigy came to the Sanctuary and he sailed through the training in what was for her, far too short a time to satisfy her love of combat, the prodigy picked up and mastered everything so fast it was difficult to keep up with his progress, perhaps that was why she felt the need to get involved with Vance so early she thought.

Nikitah wasn’t the only one who had noticed Vance’s fiery passion in his training. From behind a voice suddenly carried itself past her ear and she was helpless but to gasp with both the shock and the familiarity of the voice she heard. She would never have been able to sense the ghostly Shylock enter the training halls and approach her.

“He is quite the character...isn’t he?” He said as he came level to her, facing out into the open view.

“M...Master Shylock!” She stood in respect and bowed at him. “Umm...yes, he has really been taking to the training in an outstanding way. He has a strong knowledge of martial arts and a heart that embraces our ideals.”

Shylock cocked his head upwards, as if staring into his own thoughts, thoughts that no Guardian could even begin to guess at. “Oh...I think it’s more than that...don’t you? He has a wonderful fire inside him...he seethes in a desire for justice, and the power to dispense it.” He paused for an ominous moment, Nikitah was left not knowing how to respond, when Shylock abruptly turned his head to face her. “He will make an exemplary Guardian...and in the not too distant future aswell.”

“I will see to it personally Master Shylock, he has his heart set on becoming a Guardian, he trains tirelessly.” Nikitah was worried as to why Shylock had shown such interest in Vance, it was not unknown for the other masters to come to the training halls and see how the guardians in training were coming along, but Shylock very rarely made an appearance.

Shylock swung himself around and Nikitah felt a horrid chill in her soul as his empty stare fixed on her. “I shall leave it in your capable, trusted hands Nikitah...I very much hope he will decide to train under me when the time comes.” Shylock was making his way out of the training halls when he suddenly stopped and spoke again, this time in his much softer, child like voice “NIkitah...you really don’t need to be so afraid.” He looked over his shoulder at her, an expression that would normally be described as pleasant and inviting on his face. It may have been the scarring from his burns or his terrible reputation, but on Shylock, the expression took on a whole new and unsettling meaning. “...but I’m very sorry that I make you...make others...feel that way.” His voice started to trail off like he was becoming sad, but his face didn’t change at all. “I...I just care a great deal, that is all. I’m sure you understand.”

Nikitah shook her head, forcing a formal tone in her voice as much as she could. “You need not justify or prove yourself to me Master Shylock, I would never doubt you.”

“Huh...I guess...it can’t be helped.” He moved his head back round with a haunting slowness. He continued on his way without another word, a dead silence left in his wake as the door shut behind him, but the cold from his stare lingered on long after he had left. Nikitah’s panicked breathing became clear to hear, she clutched on to herself, vainly trying to warm away the feeling. She knew Shylock had wanted Vesuvius killed for what he did and worried about what he truly thought of the kids that had arrived at the Sanctuary because of Vesuvius’ actions. Breathing a heavy sigh to calm her nerves, she turned back to the balcony and closed her eyes.
“Please, be careful Vance.”

Away from the castle, within the winding, paved streets of Valkerie City, a child much less sure of himself waited anxiously on a corner. Misaro had become much closer to Fayth than he had ever imagined he would, and had grown in strength in ways he once could never have guessed someone like him could. Despite this, as he waited for the girl he had enshrined in his heart to arrive, he felt just as nervous as he had done back in the citylite night club back on the surface.

What had truly thrown Misaro was that it was Fayth who had arranged this meeting to begin with. After all those years of trying to talk with her and become part of her life, in keeping with all the unexpected things that were happening to him recently, it was her who ended up doing the hard part. This interest she seemed to show in him was a catalyst for his wild imagination, his thoughts would trail off into stories of how she had fallen for him, of how something was going to happen today. Yet unlike before, the pessimist in him that would usually bring him down from these daydreams wasn’t there, maybe all this had caused Misaro to start to believe in what he thought was impossible, to not be so quick to doubt what could be. This new found freedom within his mind was something he had sorely needed and he spared no hesitation to indulge in it. Misaro allowed it to make him smile, something else he had been too long without.

“Misaro! Over here!” The voice that had shaped his world quickly grabbed his attention. Waving from down the road, Fayth hurried over to him holding a straw hat onto her head. She had just come from the plantations were she had been helping out. “Sorry, had you been waiting long?”

Misaro chuckled nervously “N-no not long.” The truth was Misaro had been waiting for over half an hour, but that was him bieng over cautious, this meeting was a huge deal for him regardless of how casual and innocent it was.

“Umm...that’s a nice hat you have on.”

“Huh? Oh this? ” She giggled as she took it off. “ I just borrowed this while I was in the fields, its pretty hot out today.” Fayth was chirpy and energetic, a character that had surfaced in her ever since she had seen the last of Funuchi and the hell she went through at his hands. Misaro, forever reading into every detail, worried that her seeming so at ease around him meant she didn’t see him as anything more than a friend, then again not everyone would be so helplessly obvious about their feelings as he was, he thought.

“I wanted to show you them.” She continued. “The fields, they’re so beautiful! Come on!” then without even the slightest thought about it, she grabbed onto his hand and pulled him along back the way she came. Misaro’s chest pounded fast from the moment he felt her soft skin touch his, the feeling hadn’t dulled at all from the other times this had happened.

“Surely you must know.” He found himself whispering as quietly as he could. “How something like this...would make me feel.” Misaro was confused, she took his hand so quickly and nonchalantly it almost robbed it of all romantic meaning, yet he was so obviously in love with her would she really take his hand if she didn’t feel something similar? This situation was so completely alien to Misaro that he had absolutely no idea how to interpret anything. In the end he decided he had plenty of time to mull everything over in his mind later, for now he should just enjoy her company and the touch of her hand. As soon as had moved all the doubts and questions to the back of his mind, his emotions came forward, his heart melted and he smiled, ever so delicately holding onto her hand in return.

A little distance down the pathway and the pair came to a short stone wall and archway, through which was the plantations. A single large stone building stood at its center, surrounded by densely packed fields full of tall plants, grown in straight lines. There were several people here who had been farmers on the surface who found themselves at home here, teaching others how to work with the crops. All the work had to be done by hand but there was no shortage of people willing to lend their own two to the task. The green, serene scene, the pleasant scent and the call of the birds that frequented the fields made for a very calming place to pass time. It was ideal for those who had painful and raging emotions from the surface but no guardian training through which to channel it. The friendly company and something to occupy them helped to ease the hurt from the horrid pasts that had befallen all who ended up in the Sky Sanctuary.

Fayth lead him up to the wall and gestured her hand outward, a little out of breath from the run. “What do you think...isn’t it really nice?” Fayth’s voice was full of such genuine emotion and feeling, it really stood out to Misaro. Ever since Vesuvius had told him she was hiding everything behind false smiles, he had become very perceptive of that kind of thing. Knowing she was free of that mask now brought a huge smile to Misaro’s face, and maybe, he thought, feeling so much happiness from that alone showed that he wasn’t so selfish after all, like he had convinced himself.

“Yes...yes it is. It’s wonderful.” He said, half looking at her as well as the fields.

Snapping him out of his daze from looking at her, a woman’s voice called out from in the fields. “Oh Fayth, it’s lucky you came back. The Field Master wanted to speak to you before you left but forgot to mention it, do you mind coming in now?”

Fayth waved back at her. “Oh...sure, no problem.” She turned to Misaro and patted his hand. “Wait here, I won’t be long. Take a good look at the fields okay? There’s so much to notice about them!” She dashed off, leaving Misaro still trying to catch up from his trance.

“Umm...okay, I’ll be here.” He said after her. He watched her hurry down the path to the house at the center of the plantations. The fields were something to behold like she had said, but he was unable to take his eyes off her when she was around, and was happy to not do. Being so much more a part of her life brought a brand new sensation to his feelings. No more did they sting him when they flared up, there was no more of that choking feeling of longing and distance, now it was love as love should be, warming and uplifting. He sighed as she disappeared into the house and was about to turn to the fields when another familiar voice grabbed his attention.

“Now I know where I’ve seen you before!” The voice snapped.

Misaro spun round to see Vance was behind him, on his way back from his guardian training he had come this way to see if Fayth was still here at the plantations. He had an unfriendly scowl on his face as he stepped closer to Misaro.

“Oh...Vance, wasn’t it? Nice to see you again, what have you been up to?” Misaro panicked as Vance closed on him, even with his best efforts his tone and posture showed he was more than a little afraid of him.

Vance retorted so quickly he almost cut Misaro off. “Knock that off, you know me alright...from Citylite. You were there all the time, hovering around Fayth like some sort of creep. It was your eyes just now that reminded me, the same as in the nightclub.” Vance pointed sharply at him and his tone got more aggressive. “Listen, you better keep your distance from Fayth if you know whats good for you. She is mine!”

Misaro realized there was no more use pretending. He did indeed know Vance, he was Fayth’s ex-boyfriend. They had been friends for a while but for a nearly two years they had dated, Misaro remembered it very clearly as some of the most painful months he had ever been through to see her with someone else. A few years ago though Fayth broke it off, it was only now that Misaro thought it might have been something to do with Funuchi. If so, now that that wasn’t an issue anymore would Fayth get back together with him? It was clear that Vance had something like that in mind. Through all these thoughts Misaro still had no idea how to reply to Vance.

“W...we’re just friends.” He finally said, not able to look Vance in the eye as he did, he stared at the fields instead.

Vance wasn’t buying it at all. “Not if you had it your way! I’m not an idiot, I can tell you like her, I’m just telling you now, you better make sure you stay just friends.”

Misaro started feeling anger welling up inside him, true enough he was scared of Vance and wanted to avoid crossing him as much as he could. He was more than willing to simply go with whatever Vance said for the sake of keeping this exchange as short and easy as possible, but suddenly, like when Vesuvius had told him he couldn’t help Fayth back when they first met, Misaro felt a growing urge to stand up for himself and say no. He brought his eyes up to look at Vance, the defiance already written all over his face, the two locked eyes and tension between them quickly mounted. Misaro was enormously grateful when he heard Fayth’s voice call out, putting a stop to whatever he would have said and however Vance would have acted, he felt there was literally seconds before things would have kicked off between them.

“Oh, hey Vance! What are you doing here?” she said as she came over, Misaro broke eye contact with Vance and turned to her, Vance however stared a while longer at Misaro, even leaving a noticeable pause before he replied to Fayth.
“I just finished my Guardian training for today and came to see you. When I bumped into your friend here” Vance’s emphasized the word “friend” and glanced at Misaro when he did, making no secret of it to either him or Fayth.
Seemingly oblivious, Fayth just smiled and clapped her hands together. “Oh wow, how is that going? That’s right up your street isn’t it?”

Vance nodded and a slight smile escaped his angered mood. “Heh...you bet, it’s going really well. What about you? Aren’t you going crazy here with these dumb flowers?” he said jovially.

“Hey! There not dumb, and I’m doing brilliantly thank you!” She shoved his shoulder. “The Field Master was just praising my efforts as a matter of fact!”

Vance looked back over at Misaro, who had stayed silent and still so far. “What about you Misaro? You working with the dumb flowers too? That would suit well for a little weed like you!” Vance kept his tone playful, but Misaro knew he was intentionally insulting him.

Some of the anger from before still swirling inside him, Misaro gave Vance a dagger like stare. “You know... I just might. Fayth was showing me around and I think it would be pretty cool to work with her here.” Misaro made a point of showing Vance he had no intention of distancing himself from Fayth.

Fayth prodded Vance and pouted at him, “Hey! Be nice you! Misaro is one of us now so don’t start all your usual carry on with him!” her motherly scolding seemed to quell any desire Vance might have had to fight with Misaro any further.

“Tch! We’ll see...well I’ll leave you to it. See you around Misaro.” After his subtle threat and an unfriendly glare he slung his bag over his shoulder and continued on his way down the path, waving over his shoulder as he went. Misaro felt his heart sink as the courage and anger left him, even if Vance would never get away with attacking him here, he still feared how this sudden bitter rivalry between them would escalate. Misaro made a decision to face it on his own though, he wouldn’t run to Vesuvius with this, he wanted to believe in his own strength and to show it to Fayth. That sounded noble enough but he wondered if he was just trying to act big to impress her.
Noticing he was troubled Fayth put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, once his eyes met her sweet smile he was quickly unburdened of all his worries. “Don't mind Vance, he’s always like that, he’ll come around eventually, he is a nice guy believe it or not. Come on, if you want to work here I’ll take you to the Field Master.”

Vance on the other hand had no such smile to clear his head of the conflict, his footsteps steadily grew heavier. “Gah!” He eventually mumbled to himself. “Like I’m gonna let that little freak ruin my day, he’s not even important. I’m starting my one to one training tomorrow! That’s what matters right now!” Despite his words, he couldn’t shake Misaro and Fayth from his head, he clenched his fists and teeth as he worked himself up. “As if Fayth would pick a pathetic wimp like him over me anyway!” His thoughts were a raging shout in his head. “Picking fucking flowers, what a joke! I’m the only one of us who is really doing anything to make things right! I’ll become a Guardian and make a difference while he can hide up here like a little girl. I’ve got nothing to worry about!”

Not far from the plantations, Ferrah had retreated to the quiet of the fields to take a moment and truly think about what he was doing. When he had noticed the feelings in Valyos and Mirril it was so clear to him what he had to do, but after what he had brought upon Mirril he had been filled with doubt as he so easily was. Taurg had told him that the good intentions in his motives could not be questioned, but was that enough to justify continuing to push Mirril towards Valyos?

“Surely, she would have found happiness in the Sanctuary without getting into this. Probably a lot sooner as well.” He whispered into the wind. The fields extended to the walls of the Sanctuary and from where he stood, Ferrah could see through one of its windows out into the clouds, a stream of air rushed through the window and blew against him. “ And Valyos is content with the choice he has made, maybe this is selfish of me, should I be like Zanados and just respect his wishes.” Ferrah stared solemnly at the gently billowing clouds, he knew that no matter how long he contemplated it all in his head here, he wouldn’t be able to find any clarity or be comfortable with any decision he managed to make.

“The heart is...such a complex thing, how does Zanados do it?” Ferrah sighed into his palm and shook his head, he would have to ask Zanados for advice. Ferrah was aware that Zanados had probably already guessed he was doing something like this, but he still felt embarrassed and even ashamed about it so approaching him about it was something he had wanted to avoid, but once he realized that the happiness of that little girl could be at stake, there was no choice but to swallow his pride and go to him. He was about to make his way to the castle when a voice from the fields called out to him.
“Hey Ferrah! Is that you? Over here!”

Nicola had stayed behind a little later at the fields to help finish the last few jobs and had seen Ferrah standing alone, little did Ferrah know, she had been standing watching him for a while before she had managed to speak to him. Back on the surface Nicola was known among her friends for being something of a flirt and very much in her comfort zone around men, but with guardians and especially with Ferrah, it was different. Maybe it was because of how guardians knew you much more intimately and were able to reach right into your heart and say what you wanted to hear. She wasn’t used to being spoken to like that, like the way Ferrah had spoken to her earlier that day. Those words had never been far from her mind since.

Ferrah felt his heart grow heavier, Mirril was one of Nicola’s friends and he dreaded to think how she would be made to feel when she learned of what happened.

“It might be best...” He thought, “If I tell her myself.” With that he made his way over to her, he could wait a little longer before speaking to Zanados, he wanted to brave as much of this as he could without relying on him in what was already a very trying time for the Master of the Guardians.
“What are you doing out here on your own?” She placed her hands on her hips and gave a suspicious smile. “It’s getting pretty late, you okay?” Her tone was friendly but truly concerned, Nicola had spent many years with Mirril and Fayth and so was used to the way people might act when something is bothering them. She had become a little adept at recognizing the subtle signs they would give when they were hiding something. Ferrah was in a particularly troubled state and so it was easy for her to see.

“It’s nothing to worry yourself over, I come out here from time to time when I need to think clearly about things.” Ferrah wandered his gaze across the fields and out of the window in the wall again and sighed quietly. “It’s a very busy place in my tower right now with all that’s going on down on the surface, it helps to get away to somewhere quiet and take time to make sense of things.”

“Oh...well you know, sometimes it takes talking about it to someone for things to start making sense.” Nicola walked over to stand next to him and stared out the same way as him for a moment before turning back to him and smiling. “So let’s have it, tell me what’s bothering you!”

Ferrah chuckled. “Haha, well if you put it like that what choice do I have? I’m not sure what you’ll make of it though...it’s about Mirril.”

Meanwhile, Ted and Al had been taken back into the city, the nightmarish scene they had left it in had all but disappeared but it was little reprieve as the city was no more welcoming for it, the destruction that had been left behind was just as shocking a sight. The last of the thugs and criminals were being rounded up.

“No way...” Ted thought out loud as he stared in disbelief, a lump of dread in his chest as the ruined state of the city he called home surrounded the car. “...things got as bad as this in just one night? I...I can’t believe it!” As they were driven further into the city, Ted began to notice the heavy military presence, especially the tanks and anti aircraft platforms, the menacing vehicles were dotted around the city, anyone would have thought a full scale war was going on.

“What the hell is with all this heavy metal? It’s no wonder the city ended up in such a mess!” his voice was raising as he became annoyed and unsettled, his suspicions were already on alert, now he was sure something underhand and terrible was happening, and that Baxton was at the center of it. After getting no response from the shady characters who had picked them up, Ted turned to his partner sat next to him in the back, his tone lowered to a whisper, though he wasn’t too bothered whether or not the two in front could hear him.

“Al...We need to be really careful. Surely you’ve gotta have noticed, something here is seriously screwed up, and whatever it is we’re getting ourselves involved by meeting with Baxton!”

Although Al was still excited with the prospect of finally getting somewhere with his investigation, he had not abandoned his rational thought, he had realized the possible dangers of what they were doing. Still, it would take far more than this to deter him, this was the break he had been needing with his search for his sister’s killer. “I know I know, just roll with it pal, let’s see what the big bad governor has to say. If it gets too much, we’ll just bail out so don’t sweat it.”

Al seemed to be keeping a level head, but Ted was still worried that his eagerness would lead him into trouble. Ted had promised Al to help him though, so he left it at that. He laid back into his chair and turned his attention back to the city, whatever happened he was sure as hell going to watch Baxton’s every word like a hawk to make sure he didn’t take advantage of Al’s singled mindedness, he didn’t want them to get tricked into doing Baxton’s dirty work.

Lead by the armed jeeps that had met them at the blockades, the black car pulled up outside the town hall, still untouched by the bedlam that had recently surrounded it. Now that the riots had been brought under control, the building had become a hive of activity, and Ted was certain that all of it was bad news. The suited men lead Ted and Al through the rows of armed guards lining the stairs to the main entrance and down the tiled corridors. Even on the inside the sinister feel that now loomed around the hall persisted. It was as if the whole situation in the city, and knowing Baxton was now at the helm of whatever was going on here gave everything a dark connotation, even thing innocent or commonplace enough as stacks of paperwork been carried from office to office or thequiet whispers of officials to one another. Already on edge, Ted suspected everything he saw, his eyes darted around, from corner to corner of each new room they passed through, searching for clues or answers, he knew something definitely didn’t add up.

Eventually they were lead to the door of the office where Baxton waited for them. The two detectives were near polar opposites in their moods and expectations of what the Governor had to say to them. Ted glanced over at Al and caught sight of the excitement written about his partners demeanor, he sighed quietly under his breath with worry for him, hr began to lift his arm and open his mouth as if to say be careful, but their escorts knocking on the door of the office cut him short, the seasoned detective almost jumping at the sudden noise, Ted’s concern was turning into fear, a fear that promised to turn to panic if Ted didn’t start to relax. Pulling himself together through sheer will, Ted focused hard to see this through and protect Al for Baxton and his own eagerness at every moment.

The door opened, the crazed grin of Crevan came into view, and all of Ted’s effort to find courage, were quashed in an instant.

“Aaaaaah!...” the assassin’s voice, sounding like he was always on the edge of bursting into manic laughter, choked the old detectives heart. “…you must be the two detectives the boss has been looking….I mean waiting for.” Crevan followed his obviously deliberate slip with a chilling snigger, the assassin was so unreservedly dark in his actions and words, there was no effort to mask his nature or meaning, there was no shame or guilt, and no fear. This was the result of a psychopath of Crevan’s prowess and strength, who was untouchable by the law, free to do as he pleased without consequence. Only Baxton could order Crevan, and they were more often then not orders that suited him just fine.

“Come right in.” Crevan continued, stepping to the side and gesturing for them to enter, sneering like a demon guiding souls into hell.

Al was not aware of Crevan and his notorious reputation, he didn’t recognise him like Ted did, and unlike Ted, wasn’t aware of just how much more dangerous this had become now that Crevan had been added to picture. As the door was closed behind them and they were left alone with the Governor and the assassin, it was already far too late for Ted to warn Al.

“We should never have come here.” Ted despaired within his thoughts. “…now there is no way were leaving this building without getting fucked over.” Ted meant that phrase in every possible sense, with Crevan here it became much harder, even dangerous, to go against anything Baxton said or asked of them.
Baxton was filling in forms at his desk as Ted and Al entered. He glared up from the form to take in the detectives, his unimpressed frown remained on his face for a few seconds, before his expression was forcefully changed to greet his ‘guests’.

“Ah! Detectives! Please, take a seat, we have much to discuss.” Baxton’s voice boomed out, its deep and loud tone, coupled with his daunting reputation made even the simplest request come across as an order. His eyes followed the detectives as they sat, only the devil could know what thoughts and intentions hid behind that statue smile. Ted was silenced just thinking about it, but Al had other thoughts commanding his mind, ones that couldn’t allow silence.

“Mister Governor sir, sorry but, do you really have something to help me…er…us? I..I just find it hard to believe.”

“Indeed. Believe it or not…Alan? Alan, we have been searching for the same thing for some time. This caped vigilante that you’re searching for, we have been searching for them as well, it is a matter of national security, which is why it is imperative that we combine our efforts. I think someone like you,  with a real passion behind this cause, could be the final piece needed to bring this case to an end.”

Al paused for a moment while he took in the details of what he was just told, one in particular caught his attention. “Wait a minute, you said ‘them’, you mean to say there’s more than just one?”

Baxton nodded, getting up from his chair and moving to the window as he spoke, his voice spoke of urgency and severity, Ted, already in the mindset to question every word and gesture that came from Baxton, wondered how much of it was sincere. “Oh yes Alan, in fact we have had reports of sightings with similarities to your caped man that are simply indismissible, sightings that spread to every corner of the word”. He smiled and turned back to them, “Isolated, they all sound like the rabbles of madmen and drunkards, but you and I are the first to bring them together and see, there is definitely something large at work here. A secret order of these people, kidnapping and murdering all over the Earth, an order that operates from this very city, and with your help we can bring them down.” Baxton spoke in way as if to inspire Al with a feeling of great importance, and he bought right into it. The young detective swelled with pride, to so suddenly switch from a struggling investigation run off his own back to now teaming up with high ranking politicians sent a surge of enthusiasm and energy through Al. Yet Baxton had one more card to play, that would undoubtedly secure Al’s co-operation.

“With your help, we can bring what we both need. Security for this torn city for me, and for you…well you can finally get the justice you’ve been sorely seeking for your tragic sister.” Baxton spoke directly to Al, it was as if he had targeted him, seen his naivety as weakness and preyed on it, choosing to ignore the more wise and wary Ted almost completely. But Ted wasn’t ignoring Baxton one bit, and as soon as Sandra was brought up, he knew he needed to step in and catch Al before he fell into the trap, but seemingly anticipating him, Crevan clasped violently onto Ted’s shoulder before he had barely shuffled an inch to speak, reminding Ted of the risk that he would run speaking out of turn here. Ted paused, clenching his fists as he hesitated over what he should do, but in the end he had no choice but to let Baxton have his way. Ted could do no more now that stay by Al and make sure that whatever happened, he at least lived to regret this decision.

With a fateful shaking of hands, the sinister partnership was made.
“Well then Governor.” Ted broke his silence. “Now that we are your tools, where will you put us to work?”

Baxton smiled, choosing to ignore Ted’s sly jab at his expense. “You might remember an old man you spoke to not so long ago, I think you should go talk to him a little more.”

Away from the destruction and corruption on the surface, despite the lingering sorrow of the withdrawal and its devastating and curious aftermath, life in the sanctuary continued as normal, at least for those living in the city. Mirril was on her way home after a day in the plantations, Nicola had stayed behind so today she was walking alone, although here she was never left to feel that way, as she walked through the streets she received cheerful greetings from everyone who saw her, some guardians even took a few minutes to walk with her. Everyone who came to the sanctuary was welcomed warmly and immediately accepted into the society, yet with these newest arrivals that had come fresh out of the chaos of the withdrawal, there was that extra bit of concern and care for them, especially for Mirril after what had happened to her. Despite it though, Mirril soldiered on seemingly undaunted much to the city’s awe.

By the time she had got home she hadn’t had much time to herself for her mind to wander, perhaps that was a kindness the people who spoke to her were intending, but now she was home. Nicola was still at the fields and Fayth was still out with Misaro, here she would be truly alone.
Or at least, so she thought.

A figure stood at the gate to her house, the sky was getting dark by this hour, but the figure was unmistakeable. It was a person she longed to be around, but at the same time dreaded it. She stopped in her steps for a short while. Valyos simply stared downwards as ever, he surely must have felt her there, her emotions where out of control, but he just waited, he had decided to take a much gentler approach to her tonight, and allowed her the time she needed to calm her nerves and come on her own.

Meekly and anxiously, Mirril eventually stepped over to him, her heart pounding in unison with her footsteps, intensifying with each increasingly difficult step. Mirril had a few boys on in her past that she had gotten close too, but she had never felt anything as profound as this, she had no idea at all how to act on it or to deal with it. It was too powerful to hide but as she had brutally discovered yesterday, too powerful for her to express.

Valyos spared her another painful silence, and spoke first, she felt herself flinch as he moved to speak, expecting his usual scolding, callous tone to come, but what came was something a little different, it was much closer to the voice she had been longing to hear again, the voice that saved her life. Valyos spoke as if he was caught somewhere between his two persona’s.

“Listen to me carefully girl, I will NOT repeat this…and..don’t get me wrong when I do. Just…I want to apologise, for how I acted yesterday. I’t wasn’t fair of me to be so harsh to you.”

The voice was hardly soft nor the words sincere, but upon hearing them Mirril felt her fear lift away, compared to how he had last spoken to her, this was as gentle as could be to her ears. She lifted her head to look at Valyos, from inside his hood she could see he was struggling with this, she recognized the same nervousness that she was feeling right now. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she felt empowered, as if coming round from a trance, her body sprung into life and motion. She shook her head and smiled sweetly.

“It…It’s okay, you don’t need to be sorry. It was silly of me to bother you like that…”

Valyos felt a pain in his chest as he heard Mirril blame herself, he looked up at her, clearly uncomfortable with what he was doing, but he was determined to see this through. “ Quiet!” He snapped. ”Don’t talk!…I…I’m sick of your moping already, it wasn’t…wasn’t your fault.” Valyos sighed, this was a lot harder than he thought it would be, for some reason keeping up his cruel attitude had become difficult around Mirril. He turned silent, unsure of how he could word what he wanted to say.

Mirril of course knew what Valyos was trying to say, he wanted to explain to Mirril about his oath and his past, he wanted to tell her that he was pushing everyone away and being so cold so that he could cause a little pain as possible when he left. But to simply tell someone would defeat the point.

In a reversal of roles, this time it was Mirrl to save Valyos from the awkward silence. “Really Valyos, it’s fine…you don’t need to explain yourself. You’re a guardian, and you saved my life…I know from that alone that inside you is a pure and kind heart…” She blushed as she found her words drifting closer to her feelings. “…just you being here, shows who you are…so thank you. I…I…really like yo-“

Valyos suddenly and sharply raised his hand to cut her off, he spoke in a hiss of desperation and anger, yet despite his best efforts to hide it, Valyos’ voice was wrapped in a bottled sorrow that was ready to brust. “NO…SHUT UP! I SAID TO LISTEN!…” His tone turned solemn, and his expression was sad, it was only subtle but in comparison to the usual frowning or stoic faces it was obvious.

Mirril snapped to attention as Valyos raised his voice, she seemed to fear it less now she knew the reason for it. She could see Valyos battling to keep his disguise intact even as he tried to speak from his heart, so rather than make this even harder for him by adding her own words, she did as she was told.

His head tilted back to the safety of the ground. ” You were brought to the sanctuary to find solace from your pain, to find happiness….I..we all want that for you. You have plenty of people here who will make you happy…it’s senseless to be chasing after me, there is no happiness to be found around me…I will only,” he didn’t finish, Valyos felt he was revealing too much, saying anything unnecessary would only complicate things. He brought his heart back in line, sealing it away again, nothing more needed to be said, he thought.

“Just leave me alone!”

Mirril watched as he turned and left. She felt her heart grow even fonder for him as she realised the risk he was taking for her. To put the integrity of his facade on the line to help her be happy. She wanted to call out to him and tell him that she knew everything, but she knew better than that, it would likely only scare Valyos away and distance him from her so much she would never get close to him again, not to mention the rift it would cause between the sentinel council if Valyos found out how she knew. Yet, rather than be sorrowful, she took happiness from the fact that Valyos bothered to come down here and apologize. To finally hear even a hint of that soft voice again was for now at least, enough to sate her heart.

Opening the gate to her house, she knew already that staying away from him was something she simply could not do. Like Ferrah, she could not let Valyos go on believing death was the only was he could escape his demons, but Mirril had many different reasons to save Valyos than Ferrah did, reason that perhaps were selfish, but ones she was powerless to ignore.

Such heart to heart conversations happen in the sanctuary every day, the guardian way of life makes for an extremely honest and open people, with everyone being able to sense each others feelings, it is as easy as can be to find someone who understands and is willing to listen. However, it is far rarer for the sentinel council, their great power makes their feelings nigh impossible for those below them to read, as such, they can only confide it each other, or more commonly in Zanados, the great master, the only one who can read their feelings easily, and understands even the most complex and confused heart.

But, sometimes, even amongst the great power of the guardians to sense pain and emotion, there is still the odd occasion where the natural way of revealing your feelings finds its way back, and for Ferrah, someone who actively avoids confiding in others, preferring to find his peace in helping others, he finds himself strangely in that very mind frame, affected in ways he never expected by the tomboyish girl he recently met.

Ferrah had revealed to Nicola what had happened between him and Mirril, how he felt as though he had used her and her feelings to his own end of reaching to Valyos. Feeling that Nicola was very protective of Mirril, he expected to lose her respect then, but he didn’t.

“Are you serious? I can’t believe how hard you’re being on yourself. For doing…what? Trying to help your friend? I mean, I’ve tried to set Mirril up with nice guys all the time, if it doesn’t work out it doesn’t work out, I don’t beat myself up over it.”

Ferrah was taken back her nonchalance over the matter, he thought to himself, was he being too dramatic? Was he taking it all to heart too much? The reaction he got from Nicola was so different than what he was expecting, it made him think whether or not he was making things seem more sever in his own mind.
“But…I can’t help it…I guess it’s just the way my heart works.”
Nicola picked up on Ferrah’s softening tone. His mind was wandering to deep places in his heart and it came through in his voice. Nicola was curious, she wanted to see into his heart like he could into hers. She had only been around Ferrah a few times, yet she was already noticing things about him, she wanted to know more, she was drawn to him and yearned to understand him on the same level he did her.

“Tell me more…about how your heart works...about you.” She said softly, her hand even moved a little closer to his, she thought about touching it, but she stopped herself. She didn’t want to make things awkward, or maybe she was afraid he would pull away.

Ferrah gave a weak laugh, “My heart…nah, it’s not a story you want to hear. I don’t have a tradgic sad past like the others here, where my life was stolen by some terrible accident or a monster of man. There is only one person to blame for what became of me, it’s my burden…I wouldn’t wish it on you...or anyone.”

“Well…I guess if it’s not something you wanna share, then that’s okay.” Nicola smiled at him, catching Ferrah’s eyes he turned to look back, he may have only said she was beautiful before as passing remark, but now he saw it for sure, she really was very beautiful. When she dropped the boisterous attitude and got close, you could see her feminine beauty shine. It enchanted him for a while, but it soon brought up painful memories and he broke away. But Nicola went on “…but you know, after the things you must have done for me, my friends, everyone in the world…nothing you say could make me think less of you.” Then, spurred on by the moment, she took a chance and placed her briefly atop his as she got up and left him. Only once she was well clear him did she give a big sigh of relief, she may of acted cool and calm, but speaking to Ferrah like that got her more than hot and bothered, she hadn’t even though about Ferrah being able to sense the feelings she was trying so hard to hide, she was too preoccupied convincing herself how good of a job she did making her move.

Ferrah remained where he sat a while longer, contemplating all he had heard. In the end he decided he no longer needed to trouble Zanados with his concerns. It amazed him how he was affected by such a simple conversation with Nicola had moved him, Taurg and Zanados had talked to him many times before about the way Ferrah wouldn’t share his pain with others, wouldn’t let it heal and wouldn’t let himself forget. But only now, when a regular girl, who couldn’t read his feeling, didn’t know his past and hadn’t known him for long told him the same thing, did it start to cross his mind.
“Heh…so curious, Is this yet another mystery of the heart, Zanados.”

A storm of emotions, emotion long left dormant, stirred in the sanctuary’s walls. But nothing compared to the dreadful storm that was brewing beneath them, for the corruption and evil of man ran even deeper than the guardians could know, and was beginning to move in powerful ways. While tender connections of the heart were blooming in the sky, deals were being made with the devil.

Heaven and Hell…

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Thank you for taking the time to read, I've been thinking of adding occasional drawings to these chapters, to illustrate key scenes in each chapters. Just to help break up the walls of text, make it easier on the eye and perhaps more appealing to read. Let me know what you think, or anything you think I could do to make this better.

Again I can't thank you enough for reading my story, I hope its not too bad ^_^' heh

Chapter 17 is on its way ^w^ the wheels in my head are turning as we speak!

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