Chapter 3

White as snow

All he saw were eyes that were looking into his soul--

"You're not a bad person…"

/I am. Why can't YOU see it...?/

Lips that were giving way to the strangest of words--

"I've seen enough…"

/No, you have not seen my desire…/

A soul that was broken like his--

"I really wanted to help you…"

/It is a hopeless love… You understand, don't you?/

A heart that had been so pure, yet so full of grief--

"I love you…"

/Why am I sad? I'm neither the one in love nor the one who is loved…/

Tears--

No, not tears…

"Hey, wake up!"

Golbez's eyes flashed open as something cold was put on his forehead and then slid down his face, getting into his nose and mouth.

"Pfft!" His upper body came up in reflex and he spat out the last traces of molten snow. However, the stinging pain in his head and another fit of nauseamade him quickly lay down on the cold ground again.

"Hit you pretty hard, eh? You even passed out for some seconds," a cheerful voice stated and the grinning face of the flaxen haired swindler from the tavern looked down on Golbez.

Golbez stared back, a frown building on his face that only strengthened the pounding in his head.

"Seems the bottle of the man in the tavern had some effect on you after all. It's a wonder that you didn't break down right away--this guy is the strongest in town… But in the end alcohol brings even the strongest of men to his knees, they say!"

Golbez ignored the blabbering of the man and carefully tried to find out where he was; his observations found him lying on the back in the snow in the middle of a little alley behind some houses.

"It was pretty hard to drag you all the way here. Looked like a murderer was trying to hide his victim!" The young man started to laugh in an overbearing manner that unnerved Golbez immediately.

"Thank you. I don't know why you helped me, but now I must be going." Golbez slowly stood, feeling somewhat angry with his lack of constitution.

"I'm able to wield high level magic, but a simple hit of a bottle brings me down on my knees... "

"Hey, wait! You're bleeding!" The young man pointed at some traces of red in the white snow. "Let me help you. A friend of mine lives right--"

"Listen, I don't believe that a stranger has any interest in helping a person like me just out of the blue! That's a thing that happens only in bad stories!" Golbez sighed, kicking some snow from his black boots and trying to ignore the hammering in his head.

"Well, maybe I have an interest…" the young man grinned.

"Now he'll probably say something like 'You helped me back then, so I returned the favour', or 'I always wanted to have a friend and you looked like a nice person'," Golbez thought, at the same time amused and disgusted.

"And that interest would be...?" he asked, feigning curiosity.

"I want your money," the blond man stated.

The answer left Golbez baffled. "Why would he admit that he's some kind of thief?"

He felt for his bag of coins in the folds of his cloak; it was still there and obviously full, as well. "Why didn't you just take my money then while I was unconscious?" Golbez asked, though inertly wondered if all this talking was leading anywhere.

The man held up a hand: "Hey! Do I look like I would commit such kind of thievery--"

Golbez's look silenced him.

The young man grinned. "Okay, maybe I would do it… However, you look like you can fight very well, maybe even know some magic and I'm no fool who wants to die young. So I decided to take the easy way to relieve you of some cash by just helping you."

"The easy way?" Golbez frowned--himself and the expression "easy" did not fit well together. Even Cecil would never dream of calling anything involving his brother easy.

"Are you planning on standing here the whole day? Look, I want your money and you want to go to Mysidia. Doesn't that sound like we could get along? But first let's take care of this wound of yours." Without fear the man grabbed forGolbez's arm and pulled him towards a little house at the end of the alley, where he knocked on the door.

"Mary, open up! It's me!"

After a while the door was pushed a bit and the face of a young, pretty woman with brown hair in a ponytail looked out of the crack. "Tristan! What happened to you? Looks like you got into a fight, again…" she frowned and was about to close the door once more.

With astounding speed Tristan, as he was obviously called, put his foot in the space between door and frame. "Mary, this time I didn't do anything! But my friend here is a bit messed up and could really use some help. And you're the only one I can turn to!" he said in honeyed tones.

Mary glared at him. "The only one, eh? Well, yesterday I saw you "turning" to this little blond slut living near the marketplace…"

"Nancy?" Tristan blushed a bit, though Golbez presumed that even that was played.

"Great… He's not only a swindler, but a womanizer as well…" Golbez was about to leave this sad spectacle of human dishonesty and weakness silently, as Tristan played out his final trump:

"I only told Nancy that it is over between us," he smiled engagingly. "And that…" he made a dramatic pause while he took something golden out of his pocket, "I have decided for you."

"Tris! That's for me?" The girl started to giggle and took the present happily. "Oh you sweetie!" She fell around his neck and started to shower him with kisses--an action Tristan "endured" with much enjoyment, as it seemed.

"Can we come in now, Nan-eh Mary?" 'Tris' brought forth between two kisses.

"But of course! What's your friend's na--" Suddenly the girl froze and became pale as a ghost. She released her grip around Tristan's neck and took a step back. "You look exactly like--"

"Sweetheart, it doesn'tmatter who he reminds you off, I can assure you that this man here is no danger." Tristan smiled at her sweetly. "He's an old friend of mine. Don't frown, little rabbit. You know that I love you and that I would never bring criminals into your house. I'm an honest man and you can trust me."

"Well done, little boy. I've never heard anyone utter so many lies in a row…" Golbez thought, though not without amusement and he decided to play the game along a little longer--partly because he really needed to find a way to go to Mysidia, but also because the contact with a scoundrel such as this Tristan was… interesting. He wondered why Tristan seemed to be so carefree around him though he knew that he was the infamous Golbez--and the young man surely did know that, didn't he?

Tristan's "soothing" words had calmed Mary and she beckoned them both into her home, though eyed Golbez a bit nervously as he passed her by.

Mary's home was exactly like Golbez had expected it: It was neat, clean and every piece of the spare furniture in it seemed to get treated with extreme care.

"I guess one could call her a good girl… Though naïve and not too clever. And you can only afford one of these faults in life…" he thought while Mary motioned him to sit down on a chair.

"I'll be right back with something to treat the wound with," she said, though by the way she clutched Tristan's present happily in her hand, it was sure that this moment would take a bit longer than expected, as she had other things to inspect first…

Golbez looked at Tristan who had made himself comfortable on a chair as if the house belonged to him. "Don't you think that you should tell your little lady friend who I am?" Golbez asked him with raised eyebrow. "Why did I say that? I really don't care for the well-being of that girl… Cecil's influence must make me feel the urge to be "social"…"

Tristan flashed him a goofy grin and grabbed an apple from a bowl on the little table before him. "Oh yeah, we haven't exchanged names yet. As you probably have already noticed my name's Tristan. And you are…?"

Golbez gave him a cold stare. "Don't try to be funny. You know my name."

Tristan laughed. "What are you talking about? Where should I know you from? Mary seemed to know you, but then again she knows most men in town, if you know what I mean…" he winked mischievously and took a bite of the apple.

"So this explains a lot… He does not know who I am. But now it's time to end this little unpleasant social episode of my life…"

Golbez leaned back a bit in the chair and folded his arms.

"I'm Golbez."

Tristan frowned.

"That is it--as soon as his little brain has understood the meaning of my words, he won't be so self-confident any more."

"This apple tastes sour…" Tristan said and the frown disappeared as he put the half eaten fruit onto the table.

Now it was Golbez's turn to frown. "Excuse me?" his dark voice asked.

"Oh sorry, so your name is Golbez? I presume "the Golbez"?" Tristan was still as calm as before.

"Is he trying to be brave, or is he really that dumb?" As Golbez looked into Tristan's green, always slyly smiling eyes, he realized that the man before him was neither the one nor the other, but just plainly didn't fear him. "Impressive…" he unwillingly thought.

"Yes, I'm "the Golbez" as you so politely put it. To be honest I'm surprised that you do not seem to be disturbed by that fact…" he said with a raised eyebrow.

Tristan was still smiling. "If you were as hostile as they say, you would have done worse to the man in the tavern--and to me, by the way." He grinned even more and leaned a bit forward to say in a lower voice, "Also, we bad boys must hold together, don't you think so?" 

"We must… hold together?" Golbez thought that he had seen it all, but this man before him was just…an impossible person. For a moment it seemed even impossible that such a humans being could exist at all.

Before he could make his confusion air, Tristan silenced Golbez by laying a finger on the lips. "Shh. There comes someone who probably would be disturbed by your name," he said with a joking undertone.

Just then Mary had entered the room, carrying a piece of cloth. Giving Golbez a nervous glance, she positioned herself behind him and expected the wounds. "It's bleeding badly… How did you get it, Sir?" She asked, though Golbez had the impression that the question was directed to Tristan, who probably was only too willing to make up a new embarrassing lie.

"I slipped," Golbez said quickly.

Even this simple answer was enough to satisfy Mary's curiosity. "Okay, Sir, this might hurt a bit…" she said and pressed the antiseptic cloth to the wound.

Golbez just took a small, sharper breath than usual as the stinging and hammering in his head was joined by burning pain spreading on his head--pain was something he was used to and sometimes he nearly welcomed it as it showed him that he was feeling something.

This time, though, Tristan proved to be more interesting than the pain in his head.

The flaxen haired man had leaned comfortably back in his chair and had put his boots on the table, making it clear that Mary's house belonged him--in fact the young man always looked so self-confident, as if the whole world was his own.

"And his own to do as he pleases…" Golbez thought and reminded himself that he once too had realized his and the plans of his master by any means possible. For a moment he did not know whether to feel disgusted or amused by this obvious similarity between Tristan and himself.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Tristan got pale and stared wide eyed at Golbez.

"Maybe now he has understood who I am…"

On a second glance, it seemed to him, though, that Tristan wasn't staring at him, but at Mary--or better, her hand. Just then it dawned on Golbez. "He wouldn’t…" Carefully, Golbez searched though his pocket and found the terrible suspect to be right. "Why didn't I realize it sooner? I must have been distracted by the boy's annoying talk…"

Tristan's eyes widened in terror as he saw how Golbez's eyes narrowed to slits.

"I think that my head will be fine now, Miss. Let me put the bowl on the table..." Before Tristan could react, Golbez had taken the hand of the surprised girl in his own to get the bowl and held it just a bit longer than necessary to take a look at her finger.

"What a nice ring you have…" Only his mouth was smiling.

"Yes, I do think so too!" Mary beamed. "And Tristan has even engraved something for me, though I haven't read it yet!"

"And maybe you should do this later…" Tristan said quickly, cold sweat building on his forehead, though he tried his best to keep his smile on his face. "You know, when we're in private," he added suggestively--Golbez could not help but wonder how good Tristan was able to make up lies even when in danger.

Mary blushed and disappeared giggling into the kitchen to wash the cloth. Golbez let her go without saying anything.

For a moment there was only silence between the two men.

"I guess she will be surprised that the inscription deals with the kingdom of Baron…" Golbez said dryly after a pause.

"Look, I found this ring in your pocket and thought it would be a little… reward for getting your wound treated here, " Tristan explained his actions with a matter-of-fact tone, as if the theft had been the most natural thing in the world and he did not even seem ashamed of doing so.

"You can have money, but not the ring. Get it back or I will, myself." Golbez's tone was sharper now. The ring had been a gift of Cecil and although he did not plan on ever using it, he didn't feel like letting go of it.

Tristan was obviously nervous now. "If this ring is so important to you, I'll get it back before we leave, but on my way…" he grinned, and as soon as it had come, his nervousness was blown away. "We don't want to stay here all day, anyway. You wanted to go to Mysidia, right?"

"Yes. Though I still doubt that you can be any help in that. Your talents seem to lie on other fields…" Golbez remarked, turning around to watch Mary watching dishes in the kitchen. He did not like the thought of her losing the ring in the sink.

"You would be surprised of my talents. For example I can--"

"That's enough. We'll leave now and you tell me about your great abilities outside!" Golbez stood up abruptly, getting more than tired off all this unnecessary chatter. "And get the ring!" he hissed threateningly.

Even Tristan's self confidence seemed to have its limits and by Golbez's tone he knew that the other was not up for games. He quickly hurried into the kitchen. Several hushed spoken words and some clearly audible kisses later, Tristan emerged again.

"I told her I'll let a goldsmith produce a copy of the ring…for our weeding," Tristan whispered towards Golbez and uttered the most scornful little laugh in, as Golbez thought, the history of the Blue Planet. He then changed his expression to one of utter devotion and love to the girl of his heart and turn around to wave the brightly beaming Mary goodbye--a goodbye that unbeknownst to her would be a final one. Golbez presumed that it was very unlikely that Tristan would ever show his face in Mary's house, probably not even in this town, again. 

"Disgusting..." it passed through Golbez, though he wondered if it was just pity for the girl he felt. Although Tristan's actions were clearly something people would describe as morally disgusting, Golbez was normally not one to make such judgments and he could not help but be slightly impressed by the 'methods' of the young man. "If he really knows a way to go to Mysidia it might become an interesting voyage indeed…"

To his indignation, Golbez suddenly realized that he was actually considering taking up Tristan's offer, although the man was far from being trustworthy, was annoying him greatly with his talking, and was stealing everything he could get his hands on. Still, Tristan was able to play with humans and their emotions in a way that interested Golbez.

However, the time for playing was now over and if Tristan was to journey with him, it was useful to teach the boy that he could not get away with everything. As soon as they had left the house, Golbez started the lesson clear by slamming the surprised Tristan against a wall, where he held him with ease with an outstretched arm.

"The ring!" He demanded. "And then you will tell me about the way to Mysidia."

Smiling, despite his uncomfortable position between Golbez and the wall, Tristan managed to give the other the ring. "Here you are. And now calm down! I didn't know that this was the Royal Ring of Baron Kingdom!" He explained coolly, virtually unimpressed by Golbez's display of strength. "So if King Cecil gave you that, why didn't he give you a boat? Or an airship?"

"I didn't want to give him more trouble… To ask even more of him--what he has given me out of his free will was already enough… And I wanted to leave as soon as possible… before I would lose the courage to do so…"

"I didn't ask for one," he said to Tristan.

Tristan eyed him attentively. "You're one of the silent sort, aren't you?" But he quickly fell silent as Golbez's grip around his collar became stronger.

"Not as silent as you might like if this discussion continues this way. So, I have money, you have a boat I can use to go to Mysidia, right?"

Tristan smiled sheepishly. "Well, the money part is okay, but I don't have a boat--and even if I had, we would have to wait until spring to set over the ocean. The Serpent Way is also out of question as you surely do not want to return to Baron, do you?"

Golbez frowned. "You don't care much for the world around you, do you? The real problem of the Serpent Way lies elsewhere. It has lost its power and was sealed to prevent monsters from emerging out of it."

Tristan's eyes grew big. "Wow, who might have so much power to seal such a way? One could make a lot of money with such an ability."

"Really? Well, I'm the one who sealed it." Golbez said, his face a cold mask.

For a moment Tristan's jaw dropped down, but only for a moment. "Okay, seems we will have to take my "secret" route to Mysidia, then. First, I will show you a way over the mountains near Baron in order to get to Damcyan. With their hovercraft we can get to--"

Inertly, Golbez started to wonder if he hadn't overestimated Tristan beforehand. "You're making things up, aren't you? You don't really know a way to Mysidia, do you?"

Tristan looked at him reproachfully, though Golbez couldn't say whether it was played or not. "Listen to me, there's supposed to be a little cave near Damycan amongst the reefs in which an ancient magic was sealed and--" Tristan trailed off even before Golbez had started to laugh disdainfully, realizing the absurdity of his words. Still, Tristan was not one to give up--at all.

"You don't believe me. But it's true… I met this Agartian scholar and I was able to… partake in his knowledge. Another device similar to the Serpent Way and these caves are a likely place for it. Finding it would mean the magic of teleportation to wherever one wants…"

"Wherever…" Golbez's laughing stopped in an instant. Although he knew that Tristan was not one who could be trusted and his story seemed more than implausible, it did not seem to matter to him anymore as there now was a possibility; an unlikely one, but a possibility of not only being able to teleport to Mysidia but also…

"To the moon… to rest, forget… forever…."

Still, as tempting as it was, Golbez's natural sense of suspicion had not left him even in this moment. "But even if we found it, you wouldn't be able to operate it, would you?"

"Bingo!" Tristan exclaimed as cheerfully as he could while still being pinned on the wall. "Not much is known about the nature of the device--it could be a machine, but it could as well be only a spell scroll. I cannot use magic nor do I know anything about machines, also I cannot fight very well in case the caves are occupied… But you seem to be someone with many abilities… I have just been waiting for an individual like you!" He smiled brightly and so innocently that every person except Golbez might have fallen for it.

Still, even Golbez was inertly going through the pros and cons of undertaking the journey with Tristan. He wondered what possible benefit Tristan could gain from lying to him and found no obvious one. 

"I will believe your story for now…" Golbez mumbled and released his grip from Tristan's collar.

Tristan brushed his cloak. "So, do we have a deal? 100 gold now and 1000 later."

"Nothing now, 1000 later and I don't tell your Mary about the ring," Golbez tried to negotiate.

Tristan grinned triumphantly. "Blackmailing me? But I don't care if you tell Mary. I'll be able to get out of it."

It passed Golbez that Tristan's acting qualities would enable him in fact to get out of nearly every situation. "He's really impossible…Maybe he is just what I deserve…" Sighing, Golbez opened his bag of coins. "Fine," he counted out some money, "100 now and what you get later we'll see, right? And from now on I will not let you out of my sight. I don't want you to disappear with the money my broth--with the money I got."

Tristan shrugged. "Fine with me. So off to the market we go. We need some carrots."

"Carrots? You don't mean--"

"Exactly."

Golbez could no longer hold up his cool expression, and looked very weary all of a sudden. He knew that it was his fate to get punished, that he deserved every humiliation which was inflicted on him, but if there existed one humiliating thing in the world not even he deserved, it was riding on a chocobo…