There Be Frogs Here, and ewww, the ground is squishy! ><

By then, it was early afternoon, and the long shadows cast by the mountain were drawing ever nearer to the airship . . . soon, Gwendoline and Scarlet would awaken, to prepare themselves to take over piloting the airship once the sun was fully below the horizon (still a some four hours or so away). Some clouds were present, but the weather looked to be holding - even the clouds were pleasantly light and puffy.

"Awww Kael..." Tracey looked up to him and touched his muzzle with a finger. "I don't want to sound disrespectful really, but maybe its best not to think about it. My step-mother Breena taught me that you shouldn't worry about anything because it won't change the outcome of what your worried about, and nothing positive comes from it. All we can do is hope for the best.

"And don't worry about thinking your only burdening me by bringing me along, I wanted to come with you. If I had a choice, would I just sit home and read books about adventures, or go out into the world and go along by your side in my very own adventure? I think we both know what the answer to that is. After all, what kind of future love would I be if I chose otherwise. In fact, going with you had been the most exciting and happiest time of my life! And I wouldn't trade it all for anything!" She let her hand hold onto his. "The day I left out into the world to search for my mother, I found adventure, I found knowledge, I found new friends, and...I even found you, the love of my life and future husband. I don't regret a single decision from this point on, and I certainly wont regret anymore from here on out. We are going to get to that monestary, we are going to save that monestary, and we are going to live in that monestary together someday!" Tracey grinned up to Kael with a glint in her eyes. "So what do you say?"

Lost in his thoughts, Kael nearly jumped in surprise at Tracey's touch - but it took him only a second to get over his surprise, and smile gently at her concern. She's right, of course. She isn't a monk, but with such practical wisdom as that, I think we'll do quite well together.

I suppose I knew it at heart, but it really makes a difference to hear it from her. Kael held onto her hand, and waited for her to continue.

Kael's smile grew until it split his face, signs of worry having vanished like fog before the morning sun. He squeezed her hand, and answered, "I'd say I chose the right girl! You said exactly what I needed to hear. And you gave me an idea . . . I think I might be able to shave a day or so off of our trip, but it'll be a bit risky. There is a certain kind of fish that lives on the beaches of the Forgotten Continent that sometimes ends up stuck in tidal pools when the tide goes out. Though they can't breathe air, they will swim as fast as they can and burst from their little tidal pool, trying to fly far enough to reach the next pool, and so on until they return to the ocean."

This time, it was Kael's eyes that got the glint. "We could do something similar. These mountains are too high for us to FLY over - that's why they had to build the Gates - but this airship might just be fast enough to LEAP over them. If we did that, we'd be in the Cleyran desert, just a day or two away from the estate grounds. But it'll be dangerous: if I miscalculate, we'll probably be moving too fast to turn away before crashing. That said, I think we can do it, and if you're okay with it we'll give it a shot."

Tracey put a hand under her muzzle and contemplated. "Hmmm...leap over the gates huh? Sounds risky indeed, I heard they are planted there to be in the highest peaks in the land. But if some fish can do it, then we can do it too! Alright Kael!" She jumped up for added effect. "Let's do it!"

It was the day of the big wedding, and Gwen was late. She rushed from the dressing room, resplendent in her wedding gown . . . at least, she was sure she was, though she couldn't ever quite seem to make it out in the mirror. As soon as she left the room, there he was, standing at the altar.

But he wasn't alone. A girl was with him - instantly recognizable as Tracey, and also recognizable as being several years older, of marriageable age. Flabbergasted, Gwen opened her mouth to object, but she suddenly found herself growing weak. She looked at the back of her hands, eyes wide as she saw her skin begin to wrinkle. Meanwhile, Kael stood in the background, and Tracey was as young and radiant as before, mocking Gwen by her presence.

---

The mortal would-be monk woke up gasping, fists clenched with a sudden rage. With the speed of practice, she forced herself to calm down before leaving her bunk, lest her vampire mentor see her turmoil. It was then that she heard Kael and Tracey talking together, and laughing. She peeked around the corner to look down the hallway and into the bridge . . . and caught sight of Tracey touching Kael's muzzle, them holding hands and smiling at each other, talking excitedly . . . unable to watch any more, she pulled her head back from the corner and out of view.

The trip to find Kael had gone nothing like she'd expected. She'd been sure they'd find him, lonely from his travels. Gwen, now grown, would woo and court him. After all, how could he resist? At long last she would have the life she'd dreamed of: a fortune to fill her wallet, an estate to fulfill her social ambitions, and the man she'd had her eye on . . . she'd produce an heir for him, and she would be a part of all the most exclusive social circles.

Ever since being found at the monastery gates as a child, she'd known that all she needed was to gain the favor of someone powerful enough to give her the life she deserved. She'd picked Kael as her chosen one early on: he was roughly her age, and had been an aspiring monk, like Gwen herself.

The difference lay in the outcome. He had completed his training under Scarlet's tutelage, going out into the world to do whatever it was that monks did. Gwen never quite made the cut, though she took the same mentor as Kael had. With each failure, she'd grown progressively bitter about the whole thing . . . yet here was this young white mage, prodigously talented.

I'm no monk, not even a very good fighter - I can't hold a candle to the power that girl has, but I've got something that she doesn't, and something I'm sure Kael can't resist: womanly charms. She can flirt all she wants, but she can't yet deliver. If he marries me instead, I can, and I can do it immediately rather than after a few years of waiting. But of course, he wouldn't take well to me coming out and saying it, so I suppose that I'll just have to make it clear to see, won't I? That much is easily done: I've a number of ideas that will ensure even HE can't ignore me!

Then, once I have his "attention", the rest will be easy. The unspoken promise of honeymoon night ought to prove quite the lure . . . Hmm, but how to do it without him or the girl suspecting? I can handle the former, Kael's never been quick to pick up on my schemes. He probably still thinks I don't know about those jokes he played on me! But that girl . . . she might suspect. And even if she doesn't, Kael might hesitate to leave her out of some silly feeling of obligation. So, all I have to do is find out more about their relationship and how it began, and then I can play upon the fears and insecurities she surely has.

So, I gather information while stuck onboard this rattletrap machine. I ought to arrange getting his "attention" as soon as I can, the better to get him distracted by me. The girl will surely notice when he starts to stare at me, but because I will have said nothing, will only be able to conclude that it's due to her own inadequacy. More ammunition to use, once I'm certain I have all the information I need. Easy.

Gwendoline smiled, and lay back down in bed.

“Heh, I wish there were Gates through this part of the mountains! Normally, to get from the plains where Scarlet picked us up to the Arcturus estate, we'd go through South Gate, then over the Evil Forest and through North Gate to Burmecia. But since that explosion at South Gate that Scarlet told us about, the only way to Burmecia is around the mountains and through the Cleyran desert. Here, take a look at the map: we passed Gizamaluke's Grotto two days ago, and right now we're almost directly southwest of Cleyra, flying over that bay, right there. We started out southeast of the Chocobo Forest, so we're more than halfway there as it . . . and my rambling delays our action. You got it, here we go!”

Kael took the controls again, gently edging the airship away from the steep-sided mountains to starboard. After a few moments, the monk judged there to be enough distance, and hauled the control yoke over to bring the airship back at the mountains. He immediately shoved the throttles fully forward, and the motors roared with increased power. It also began to vibrate madly as the engines neared redline . . . the monk waited, and waited as the craft picked up speed, keeping the throttles as far forward as they could go.

When the speedometer's clockwise rotation slowed, and it seemed they were about to crash into the mountains, Kael called out “Hold on!” and jerked the control column back into his lap. The airship's battered old frame groaned in protest, and Kael could only pray that it would all hold together, and that they had enough speed . . . he glanced hopefully over at Tracey, then returned his attention to the peaks still above him and the gauges in front of him.

They very nearly didn't make it . . . but Kael had chosen his target wisely, and the old airship had just enough fight left in it to do the trick. As the vessel continued to gain altitude, it became uncontrollable, just like a fish leaping from its pond. Had Kael aimed just a few degrees to port or starboard, they would've augered into the mountainside . . . and as it was, the airship's belly scraped the top of the ridge, breaking off chunks of ice and snow to fall into the desert below. And with that, Tracey and her betrothed had entered the Cleyran desert.

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