Larsa gasped and took an unconscious step back. "Father!" Aelia ran up to him and put her hand on his shoulders. The blush on her cheeks was gone, and she stared in horrified confusion at the Rozarrian.

There was a palpable silence in the room. I didn't care much personally, but it certainly wasn't going to make things easier for us, and I didn't like seeing Larsa so upset.

Al-Cid gave a quick look at the boy, then continued to Ashe, "Let us suppose you approach the Empire with a peaceful resolution. The late Emperor Gramis would have lent you his ear, that much is certain, but we are dealing with Vayne Solidor. Should the Princess return, he would claim her an impostor, all to tempt the Resistance into battle." He turned to the rest of us. "Vayne wants this war, that much is certain. As our ill luck would have it, the man is a military genius."

Larsa's face continued to fall as the death of his father mingled with the death of his plans and his hopes for peace. Aelia sensed it in him and pulled him into a hug. He leaned against her.

"The dreams have told me thus," Anastasis said in our minds. "To reveal yourself would imperil us all. I see war, and Vayne's name writ bold on history's page."

"Archadia's banners fly high," Al-Cid continued. "They are making ready for the coming war. According to our latest reports..." He held out a hand, and the woman with him handed him a sheet of paper. He read from the page. "The Western Armada prepares for war, under Vayne's command no less. The newly formed Twelfth Fleet has already been deployed. Oh yes, the Imperial First Fleet stands ready. They'll be under way as soon as the Odin's refit is complete. And there is more: the Second Kerwon Expeditionary Force is being called in to replace the missing Eighth, so there will be no gaps. The largest force ever seen!" He folded the paper angrily and looked to Ashe.

"And then," she said, "the nethicite is the coup de grâce." The Rozarrian nodded. Ashe turned to the Garn Kiltias. "Gran Kiltias, Your Grace, I spoke to you of my succession. Let us put that aside. Should I become Queen of Dalmasca now, powerless as I am, I can protect nothing. With a greater power at my disposal, perhaps then."

"It is the nethicite of which you dream?" he asked.

"I require something far greater."

The Gran Kiltias's eyes snapped open, and he said aloud, "To wield power against power. Truly the words of a hume-child."

"I am descended from the Dynast-King himself," Ashe replied, as if that refuted the criticism.

"Indeed." He regarded her somewhat warily. "Then you have but one choice. Seek you the other power Raithwall left."

"Does such a thing exist?" Ashe asked, stepping forward.

He nodded. "Journey across the Paramina Rift to the Stilshrine of Miriam. There rests the gift he entrusted to the Gran Kiltias of his time. Seek it out. The Sword of Kings can cut through nethicite." Ashe turned to leave, but he continued, "Why he would entrust the power to destroy nethicite, the instrument of his greatness to another and not his own progeny, I cannot say." He gave her another weighing look. "Awaken Ashelia B'nargin and take up your sword, or your dream will remain but a dream."

She nodded at him, gave a last look at Larsa who was still staring blankly into the distance, and walked off toward the door.

Basch hesitated, looking inquisitively at Aelia, who had made no move to join us.

She shook her head. "I think perhaps I am better suited here right now. Go on. I will be here when you return," she said, giving us a sad smile.

He nodded, and the rest of us seemed to agree that Larsa needed her more than we did.

Before she left, Penelo said quietly to Larsa, "I'm sorry. We'll be back."

I let Maeve guide me back down Bur-Omisace until we were safely nestled in the ravines of the Rift.

"What direction?" Vaan asked, looking around. It seemed like it would be easy to get lost here, and in the cold, which was not yet unbearable, that would be deadly.

"South," Fran announced, looking in that direction as though she could see our destination already.

"Then let us be quick," Ashe said, starting off.

When we got going, I turned to Maeve. "You see how Aelia was watching Al-Cid?"

She snorted. "Gods, yeah." She stopped walking so that she could make a face that looked somewhere between arousal and confusion. It was disturbingly accurate.

I cackled and elbowed her, and we kept walking. "I wouldn't have though 'hairy manslut' was her thing, but I guess you never know."

We laughed a little harder, then Maeve thought of something and laughed so hard she had to stop, doubled over and gasping for breath. When she was finally able to, she wheezed, "I bet his gator is super woolly."

I screeched, mouth hanging open as that very distinct image came into my mind and absolutely would not leave. From nearby, Vaan snorted and Penelo sighed. When we could breathe and walk again, Maeve and I went side-by-side. I looked around at our other companions. Vaan was still snickering while Penelo rolled her eyes at him; Ashe pretended like she hadn't heard, but her face was bright red so she definitely had; Fran was characteristically impassive, but I got the feeling that she was considering just how much she agreed with our assumptions; Basch was mildly pink-cheeked, but there was a hint of a smile on his face too; and Balthier was walking with a single eyebrow raised, probably also consider the Rozarrian's woolly gator.

And I looked at Maeve, who had managed to make me laugh so hard that my stomach hurt the day after I relived the most traumatic experience of my life. She kept doing that, making me forget to be sad or angry or lonely. It was a long time since I'd had a friend, but I don't think I could have asked for a better one than Maeve.

She caught me staring at her and narrowed her eyes at me. "What?"

I shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. "I dunno. I was just thinking how grateful I am that you passed out on that airship."

Maeve's eyes opened wide. "Holy shit, Karre loves me," she said, and her golden eyes sparkled.

My face got hot, and I tried to step away. "Wait, calm down. I just-"

She turned to Fran who was walking right beside her and said, "Hey, Karre loves me, did you know?" She went to Ashe next. "Karre loves me."

"I'm in Hell," I said, groaning but still smiling.

"But I'm with you, and you love me, so you can't be in Hell," Maeve countered, a giant, shit-eating grin on her face.

"If you try to kiss me again, I'll kill you."

She met my stare, the fire of challenge burning in her eyes, and then she threw out her arms and started running at me. I shrieked and ran, trying to keep in mind what direction we needed to go, how slippery the ground might be, and where the wolves, yetis, and zombies were lurking. I was surer on my feet than my perpetually inebriated friend, and I was avoiding her grasp up until she slipped. With a yell, she fell and slid on the icy snow. Laughing, I went over to lend her a hand. She took it but pulled me to the ground next to her. We lay laughing in the snow until our party caught up with us.

Penelo looked at us with one raised eyebrow. "You know, you two act more like kids than Vaan and I do."

"And that's saying something," Vaan added, "because she thinks I'm particularly childish."

I shrugged. It was hard to argue with either of those proclamations. "I am what I am."

Basch looked at us both with mild amusement and asked, "Are you two alright?"

I looked at Maeve, who had really fallen, but, other than the fact that Basch was leaning over us, she seemed fine. "We're good."

He smiled and held out his hand to help Maeve up. She stared at it for a long moment before finally, cautiously taking it. Improvement. A small step in the right direction, but it still counted. I took his hand after she was up.

"If you're quite finished, we have a sword to retrieve," Balthier said, walking past.

Maeve rolled her eyes, but we followed. Not long after, Maeve got close to me and said in what was almost a whisper, "I'm pretty grateful, too, Kar-Bear."