Immediately after he said her name, Rydia stepped timidly from the corner of the weapons chamber. Her face was not clearly visible in the chamber, but the orange glow of the torchlight attached to her hair and glimmered eerily throughout the chamber.

Edward took a step toward her angrily.

"What are you doing here?!"

His voice was so choked with rage that he could barely speak.

"You were supposed to be with Rosa!"

He stepped closer.

She was clutching her bow tightly in one hand, and her hazel eyes were sparkling in the torchlight. Edward glared at her, too appalled to say anything, until she finally declared in a defiant tone:

"I’m coming with you!"

She started to walk toward him, but in one angry stride Edward was next to her.

"You are not coming with me!

He clutched her arm viciously and pulled her face close to his.

"Did you…"

"Ow!" she squealed as his fingers dug into her upper arm.

"Do you understand?!" he shouted harshly at her, and she appeared terrified. "You cannot…"

"Ouch! Edward!" She jerked her arm loose from his claw-like grip. "You’re hurting me!"

Rydia backed away until she was beside the firelight; it spilled over the childish features of her face and traced the pained and shocked expression, but for a moment Edward didn’t care.

"You cannot come with me, Rydia!" he repeated fiercely, glaring at her where she stood near the torch. Her lower lip quivered as she stared up at him, and the air of defiance about her was extinguished into nothing but shame.

"…why…not?" she asked weakly, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of crying.

Edward continued to glare at her, but as her disheveled hair fell over her face, all he could see in her was a small, frightened

(vulnerable)

child. He was forced to turn away as he stared into her eyes and noticed the sad glimmer in them that reminded him so much of…someone else…

He could not speak for a long time.

Rydia continued to gaze at him with the sorrowful expression and repeated:

"Why can’t I come with you…?"

Edward didn’t look at her, but he kneeled down and stared at the floor. He could almost feel her eyes…they seemed to physically pierce him…and he wished desperately that she would turn away. Finally he spun around, replying urgently:

"…because..you…will…get hurt..!"

She gazed at him, a tear trickling down her cheek.

"Won’t…you?"

Edward froze.

"Won’t you get…hurt…Edward…?" she repeated innocently, her voice quivering.

He couldn’t look at her; without warning she burst into tears and flung her small arms around his neck, sobbing pitifully:

"Edward…I’m sorry!"

Suddenly a lump had risen in his throat, and he could not swallow to speak. He had to blink away tears as he thought of what she had said. How innocent and sweet…her asking for his forgiveness when he was the one who should have apologized. She was sobbing against his shoulder, and after a moment she declared through the tears:

"I just wanted to be with you to make sure you were okay!"

A tear rolled down Edward’s cheek now, and he bit hard into his lip to prevent others from falling. He pressed his hands into her hair and held her head against his shoulder as she cried…she cried..so upset now..not because she could not be with him…but because she could not be sure that he would be okay.

A sob escaped from his lips. "..oh God…"

He gently lifted her head from his shoulder and stared intently into her tear-stained eyes.

"Rydia…I will..!" he assured her, breathless from the sorrow in his heart. He brushed away strands of her hair, now glowing with an orangish tint in the firelight, and he drew her head close to his shoulder tenderly and whispered:

"I …will be..okay.."

His heart suddenly welled with anger…anger aimed at himself…anger that was on the brink of hatred…at himself…for not showing sympathy to this small girl who was now far away from her home…far away..without her mother or her father..so young and innocent now, but who would one day come to the haunting realization that she was, undeniably, despite all of the events of the day or week or year..she would discover the awful truth that she was…alone…

…but the only thing that she cared about was whether or not Edward would be okay…