For Honor or Glory

Unexpected Encounter

Chapter 4

Alex had not made it far before she was pulled up short by the sound of whispers. She froze and tried to focus. It wasn't long before she heard them again. She frowned when she realized she hadn't been hearing things. It wasn't shocking that other children would be playing in the caves, but she wanted this part of the complex to be private.

With that thought in mind, she turned to see who it was. She still knew most of the kids in the village and had enough influence that if she asked, they would hopefully find another part to play in.

She had been following the sounds for nearly half an hour and hadn't seen anyone. Nor did she seem to be getting closer. She frowned when the voices continued to be at the edge of her hearing. She knew it was more than typical cave noises but was becoming frustrated. At least until she entered a new cavern and jerked to a halt.

In front of her loomed a humongous set of double doors. She stared on in shock as one of them creaked open while she watched. Her surprise wasn't because of the door opening on its own. No, it was because she recognized the place. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about the fantastic find they had discovered when they were so much younger. She and Angeal couldn't have been more than nine when they had happened upon the room with the pretty statue and giant branched materia. Despite how awed they were back then, they had all agreed to keep it secret. It would be their place, and no one else's.

Alex forgot all about the voices she had been chasing when she slowly walked forward and finished pushing the door open. She paused in the doorway and stared on in awe. It was just as beautiful as she remembered. There were a few shafts of light that filtered down through cracks in the hills above them that caught on the materia and shot sparkling refractions to bounce off the cave walls. The rainbow of colors made the iridescent material all the more eye-catching.

After staring for a few moments, Alex finally stepped into the room. She had a sudden urge to see if the branched materia would be as warm as it looked. When she reached it, she hardly paused before she reached out a hand and reverently touched the trunk.

As soon as her skin made contact with the cool materia, several things happened simultaneously. The door slammed shut, which caused her to jump, but she could not remover her hand. In front of her, the statue of the Goddess started to glow as she heard a clear, feminine voice. "Alexandra, it is finally time for you to remember."

By that point, Alex's brain was already scrambled. Things had happened too fast for her to make sense of them, but she wasn't given time to try. Almost as soon as she noticed the outline of a large blonde woman standing where the statue was, her brain suddenly seemed to explode as a lifetime of memories came rushing in at once. She was too overwhelmed to even try to hold back her scream. Her last thought was one of thankfulness when she felt her consciousness finally give way, and blackness rose up to claim her.

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Gillian was having a harder and harder time trying to hold back her frantic worry. Alex had never been the type of child to run away, so her continued absence after nightfall had the woman worried. Yes, Alex was an adult, but that didn't mean something hadn't happened. Especially after the conversation they had before the girl left.

Gillian had waited until it was several hours after dark before she had finally given in and called a few of her neighbors. Thankfully, they were just as worried about Alex and had been more than willing to help her search.

It was now near to dawn, and they had still seen no sign of the girl. They had even searched the caves, but it was such an expansive, twisting complex that they knew it could take days.