The commander hasn't said anything more about his mission since his return two days ago. The King of Baron summoned him repeatedly into meetings, leaving Meriwether and I to continue training our forces. Today is the day that the replacement for Cecil is to arrive.

It begins a normal day, at least, as normal as possible for the situation that is. My bow and quiver is slung over my shoulder, while I hold a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. "Come on, work on your guard!" I shout.

"Yes sir!" Immediately, the men straighten up into better positions.

"That's better. Now pair up and practice dueling. Especially work on your ability to jump," I command as I walk up and down the line. I must say, I'm pleased with how well they're improving. Their defense, strength, and agility is very close to being impeccable.

Captain Baigan marches onto the training grounds. "The presence of the Dragoon Lumen is requested in the throne room at this time." The men look at me questioningly.

"Meriwether, you're in charge." He salutes.

"Yes, sir." I quickly follow Baigan. Perhaps I can get him to talk about what is going on. But, my rank doesn't exactly put me in a position to ask questions, so I simply follow silently; my lips as silent as my feet. Baigan doesn't look back, but begins to speak.

"So... You are the new Dragoon- the Archer," he pauses.

"And Commander Kain's prodigy." I don't respond, and this time he does look back. "Where are you from, and what's your surname?"

"I hail from Mythril, and I have no surname," I state. There is something disturbingly off about this man. Almost like. . . He has an odor about him; one much akin to spoiled meat.

"Hm. . . Surely you have a surname." My distrust grows as I shake my head.

"I have none. My father died when I was young, and my mother disowned me." This explanation seemed to satisfy Baigan, as he simply grunts as the doors to the throne room open for us.

"A pity," he responds, then steps aside and motions me forward.

Ahead, a few guards are stationed. Kain also stands among them. The figure to first catch my attention though, is a man clad in deep black armor. I would've simply thought him to be an imposing figure- had I not seen him before. This stranger in front of me is the same man who was in my nightmare.

Still, I say nothing. Then at the center, upon the throne, is King Baron. He wears the red robes of royalty, and a golden circlet with a ruby upon his silver hair. I ascend the steps, and bow before him.

"You may rise," he commands authoritatively, and I stand and take my place beside Kain.

"Now that the final man has arrived, as was requested by Commander Kain, we may continue our conversation from before." The King's deep voice echoes throughout the throne room. With a wave of his hand, he motions the man in black forward.

"I have commissioned this man here as the new Captain of the Baron Red Wings. He is a sorcerer of great power, by the name of Golbez."

"It is an honor to serve you, m'lord." Like the King, this man's voice is very deep and echoes throughout the room. However, his voice lacks the richness; his voice is deep and foreboding.

And empty. It matches the voice of the murderer in my dream. In that dream, this is the man who killed Rosa, Kain, and that monk.

"Now, for what I have gathered you all here today. You are all here to swear your loyalty to our magnificent nation." So. . . To you, I think to myself. I wasn't as close to His Majesty as the others, but even I think this is unlike him. Regardless, every palace guard kneels before the King, and Golbez dips his head.

"You have my allegiance," he rasps through his helmet. Golbez turns to Kain. "And I am sure Commander Highwind also gives you his allegiance." With that, my commander kneels.

"Upon my honor, my loyalty goes to you, Your Majesty." The King settles his gaze on me.

"Now what of your second-in-command? This young man has said nothing this entire meeting." The Commander looks to me, his blue eyes dimmer than usual. These irises glare at me, but deep beneath, they plead with me not to do this.

But... He pledged allegiance. I don't trust Golbez at all. But... I must obey my commanding officer. I find myself going onto my knees.

"Do not worry, you have my loyalty, my liege," I hear myself saying. With a wave of his hand, he waves the palace guards away, and then the rest of us.

Out in the hall, I feel an intense gaze on my back, so I turn around. It is he, Golbez. "So you are Kain's pet dog." I don't respond.

How dare he! I am no one's pet dog!

Restraining myself, I reply, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Sir."

"I believe that's only the second time I've heard you speak. For a man, your voice is fairly high. How old are you?" I bristle at his comment. Seriously, I'm getting fed up, but I have to watch my mouth.

"I am eighteen years old," I respond calmly. He studies my face closely, making me very uncomfortable.

"Your face is still round, like a child's. You don't look like much. Yet, he must keep you around for something. Are you his bedside partner?" My cheeks color at what he's implying.

"Hell no," I seethe, trying to restrain myself from shooting him with an arrow or skewering him with a spear. "As a matter of fact, I am his second-in-command. His orders are my command." I turn and begin walking away. "Excuse me; my squadron requires my help for training." I'm several feet away when the man speaks again.

"You... You are smarter than I originally thought."

And you, Golbez, are... Different. My commander began acting unlike himself when you arrived, and my King has begun acting even more strangely-

Suddenly I become aware of another consciousness trying to enter my mind, and I begin repeating a meditative chant in my head.
~*~*~
"To help recover your focus, you can meditate. You won't always be able to sit down and meditate though, so you have to be able to get your focus quickly."

"But Rosa," I whined. "I can't do any magic. Why are you teaching me this?" She grasped my hand.

"You don't need magic to do this. You have a brilliant mind, and that's all you need. This is so that you can protect yourself from bad people with magic. Now listen to what  I say very carefully." She began chanting a complex series of words. I had some difficulty catching onto her words, but the words became ingrained in my mind.

"Now chant that in your mind while I cast Confuse on you. Don't worry, if your chant fails, I'll just cast Esuna to fix you, and we'll try again." I nodded, and began the chant. I was only vaguely aware of my sister casting a spell on me, but it didn't take effect at all.

"Lumina!" She squealed happily, hugging me. "You did it! I couldn't get through!"

"I don't get it. How does this help?"

"That chant is the ultimate safeguard against magic that targets your mind. Nobody has a right to your private thoughts. You have the right to shield your mind. You have to always remember this, ok, Mina?" I nodded.

"Ok, Rosie, I promise."

~*~*~
I hear the giant man give off a quiet gasp of surprise. I pretend that I have no idea what he just tried to do, and continue walking. It will be better for me if this man does not know I have the capacity to block his trespass. From my peripheral vision, I can see that he is still standing in the hall, and I quicken to a brisk walk.

This man is dangerous. He just tried to get into my mind. Who knows what he's capable of? I must warn the men-" I crash into Kain's shoulder, and he turns to look down at me on the floor.

"You should watch where you tread." I nod quickly.

"Yes, sir." The Dragoon walks away quickly.

Now I know something's wrong with him. Is it Golbez? Is the king also under his control?

The King may have placed him as the leader of the Red Wings, but I know he's after more than that. I just know it. He must be a usurper. . .

But what can I do? I've already pledged allegiance to this King, who may or may not be controlled by this sorcerer.

~*~*~
That night, in the bunk room, I call the other Dragoons around. "The new Captain of the Red Wings arrived today," I explain. Riley perks up.

"So that's what you got called for. What's the guy like?" I shake my head.

"I'll leave you to make your own opinions. Just trust your guts."

"You think he's that bad?" One man asks. I nod.

"This has to be a secret, but he tried to get into my mind." Their eyes widen. "I think he might be capable of anything, especially with that magic of his."

"So what should we do?" Meriwether asks quietly.

"Swear allegiance, but be on guard. Use your best judgement, but do what it takes to keep yourselves alive," I say lowly. This is responded to by the group nodding simultaneously.

"What of Commander?" Someone finally asks. I inhale. This is difficult...

"Do as you are told, and do it to the best of your ability. However," I let my sentence linger. "Do whatever it will take to keep yourselves and your loved ones safe in the long run."

"So how do we protect our minds?" Meriwether asks. "That's one of the main dangers, right?" I nod.

"He is a sorcerer. Good defense and good offense will protect you somewhat against his offensive magic and any physical attacks. If he gets in your mind though, you're hosed.

"However, I am going to teach you something, but it has to stay between us, alright?" The men nod eagerly and I call them closer until they surround me. "Listen carefully to what I say. Memorize the sequence of my words- they may just save your life someday. It's easier to block someone out of your head than to kick them out when they're already in." I begin reciting the chant just loud enough so that every man can hear. All sound dissolves around me, until it's just the chant, our breathing, and my own heartbeat. When it ends, I inhale a large gulp of air as I stumble backwards. Meriwether and Riley grab each of my arms to steady me.

"Easy, Lumen," Meriwether says quickly. I manage to crack a grin.

"Did you all get it?" He and Riley nod, but a quarter of the other men shake their heads. I sigh.

"Practice it with each other quietly before you go to sleep. Remember, it's not meant to be spoken like I just did. Really, you repeat it mentally. It's only spoken like this to be taught to others or for practice. Whatever you do, this remains with us only, alright?"

"Yes, Sir," they reply. Their faces are somber, but just now, seeing Meriwether and Riley whispering the chant to some younger Dragoons, I think I saw a faint flash of something.

Hope.