9 hours...
     Rydia sighed again. To think, in only 9 hours I have to return home again. To Mist... And in 12 years, it hasn't been any easier to go back...
     Walking over to her dresser, she began to prepare for the Winter Fire Festival.
     A stupid name..., Rydia remembered Rosa saying to her. It sounds almost like a contradiction.
     Rydia laughed as she remembered the Chamberlain walk in and remind Rosa that it was an oxymoron, not a contradiction. That annoying Chancellor. Always coming in at the wrong times. And with that, Rydia laughed to herself.
     But at least he's better than the Chancellor of Eblan... What an annoying man. It's quite clear that he wants Edge to marry that Jilia and order me exiled from Eblan forever...
     Of course, Edge hadn't; but Rydia was becoming furious with his antics as of late.
     12 years of hauling him home from nights of drinking... Of course I'm starting to get sick of it! Who wouldn't be sick of that! And Rydia frowned at her reflection in the mirror.
     Rydia once thought that Edge might love her enough to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him... But lately, all Edge has been noticing is Jilia. I might as well be INVISIBLE; he never talks to me any more...
     At least I have Rosa to talk to. Maybe I should ask her what to do about this... I feel so sorry for her; what was Cecil thinking? Disappearing for 12 years, searching for his child; he doesn't even know what she looks like!
     Poor Rosa...
     Rydia and Rosa had become very close during the Crystal War; and they had grown even closer over the 12 years that followed. But what really brought them together was something they had in common; their backgrounds.
     As it turned out, Rosa's mother had originally been a Caller of Mist; but fearing the people's hatred of Callers, she elected to move to Baron with her infant daughter and hide her true background from her. Rosa could have been a Caller as well; but that choice had been taken away from her.
     Unfortunately, that was the last thing that Rosa had learned from her mother...
     And she sent a letter to me, asking if I could come to Baron to talk to her about something... I never expected this, though...
     And from then on, Rosa and Rydia always met in Baron to make the journey to Mist together for the Winter Fire Festival.
     To think, I actually look forward to that ceremony... It's supposed to be a day of mourning, remembering the Callers that had been killed in the fire at the beginning of the Crystal War... Killed by Cecil...
     But it wasn't Cecil's fault... It never was. I was just too young to see it...
     I'm still too young...Only 19 now... But I made the decision to return to the human world instead of staying in the Land Of Summoned Monsters...
     Queen Asura had warned Rydia that if she returned, her body's aging would slow down to allow her mind to catch up; for in the human world, Rydia was still only 7 at the time...
     And I don't look any older now than I did then... I guess the Queen was right; time is beginning to catch up to me again...
     Suddenly, there came a knock on the door. Rydia spun around quickly.
     "Who's there?" she called out.
     The door opened, and in walked one of the royal guard of Eblan. "Miss Rydia, the airship from Baron has arrived for you."
     "Thank you for informing me. I'll go in a few minutes."
     The guard nodded and left.
     Time to go to the festival. And once again, Edge isn't coming... I wonder if he even realizes how important this is to me...
     But then, I'm glad he isn't coming... Then he won't embarass me like he always does. Sometimes I wonder about him... One day he'll act totally normal, the next he'll come in totally drunk, and act like a complete idiot. I know I shouldn't be leaving; gives the Chancellor a chance to whisper behind my back. But I have to go. If not for me, for Rosa. I get the feeling that she's been in a depression for a number of years...
     Rydia took one last look in the mirror before she left. Everything looks alright. I guess I'm ready.
     And with that, Rydia walked out of her room, and towards the front of Castle Eblan.
~~~~~~~~~
     Rydia stood on the deck of the airship and let the wind blow through her hair. God, this feels good. I wish I could do this more often; but Eblan doesn't have a true fleet of airships. Just Falcon. And Edge is hardly ever around to fly it any more. I don't know how to fly it; neither do any of the guards.
     Rydia decided to walk up to the front of the ship and talk to the pilot. It would be better than standing around talking to herself.
     She walked around to the front of the ship, and greeted Cid. "How's it been going in Baron?"
     "Same as always. Rosa hates having to deal with all the meetings and stuff that comes with being a Queen; she shouldn't have to, but Cecil's not around to deal with it. I try to help out, but the people don't want to hear from me; they want the Queen. Same with the advisors."
     "How's Kain been doing, anyway?" Rydia asked. She remembered the last time she saw Kain, he was having serious self-confidence problems.
     "I thought Rosa told you last year that we haven't heard from him in years?" Cid asked.
     "She did; you still haven't heard from him?"
     "Nope; and nothing from Cecil either. It's like the two of them have dropped off the face of the Blue Planet."
     "Oh." Rydia felt kinda sad. She hoped, for Rosa's sake, that Cecil came back to Baron soon.
     "Excuse me, that's Baron below us. Can you go under the deck while I land?"
     "Sure." Rydia smiled and went below the deck.
~~~~~~~~~
     As Rydia walked into the throne room of Castle Baron, she braced herself for that overwhelming feeling that she always seemed to get whenever she walked into the Baron throne room. "It's like being at the center of the planet. You can feel that some of the most important decisions in the history of the Blue Planet were made here."
     "Yes, you can." A voice behind Rydia exclaimed.
     Rydia turned around. "Hi, Rosa." And she smiled at Rosa.
     Mother..., Rydia thought. I've always gotten that feeling from Rosa. When she smiles at me, it's like the smile a mother gives her daughter. And whenever I'm with her, it feels like I want her to protect me, like a mother.
     "I'm almost ready to go. I assume you're already ready, right?" Rosa asked.
     "I'm ready. Any time you want to leave. Luckily, we've got an airship to get us there fast; otherwise, we'd probably be very late." Rydia smiled again.
     "Only by a few days," Rosa stated.
     And with that, Rosa left to finish her preparations.
     Well, this is it. The 12th Winter Fire Festival. And I get the strange feeling that something important is going to happen today. I wonder where that feeling came from...
     And with that, Rydia decided to wait for Rosa at the entrance to Baron Castle.