Colin and Emalia walked in silence to the stables in Westbridge. They would not return to the cottage, since Colin had the foresight to bring along all their provisions. They were to buy a couple chocobos and head to the mountains. She could barely contain her malicious laughter at Colin when he fell off of his bird. Part of her felt terrible for this, but the other half of her felt justified, as if he deserved it - this little petty unplanned revenge.
They both rode north until the base of the mountains and paused for Colin to take a drink from his canteen. The birds were still fresh, as was Emalia, but she wasn't wanting another argument, and so when he made the request, she gave in and walked to a nearby group of trees for shade.
The silence seemed to have the effect Emalia had hoped for. Colin stared at his canteen as he spoke. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Who you were, what you did, what you taught my uncle, why my mother thought you so dangerous..."
"I went by the name Visha. What i did... I was driven by power, control. I sought it out everywhere, to all ends. And I found there is great strength in the darker magics. Not only was the magic strong, but it inspired fear, respect, control. All things which made it even more desirable. That was how your uncle came to me. He has his own reasons for wanting power. For him he wanted to be able to protect those dear to him. He wanted me to teach him the ways of magic that others would not. And so I did."
Emalia sat there, stunned as Colin went through his story. It was one thing hearing this foreign name that Colin used to refer to himself from before, but hearing that her Uncle went to him to learn such things was quite hard for her to comprehend.
Colin continued to discuss how he had come into the body she knew. "Your uncle helped me to make this, it was his last act of working with me and was going to repay me for all I had taught him. When the process was complete I found two things, though. I was still without magic, and I was different. My lust for power and control was held in check. That was your uncle's doing. He made it so that while my spirit was contained within my new body those things were held in check."
The revelation left Emalia speechless for a moment. She had inadvertently freed a man from a prison by giving him life. "So... they're held in check... but... by what now? I... I mean... y... you are alive."
"That's the beautiful thing. It's not anymore. I have you to thank for so much Emalia. Not only have you shown me love and you have made me truly alive again but through the actions of your uncle and being with you that part of me is gone for good. It's not held in check, it's just not there."
Emalia looked over at Colin, her eyes skeptical and her mind spinning. Just not there? But he had memories of this old life, and it also brought to her mind the questions - what if something happened to her? What if something happened to Brin? What would come out of Colin if anything were to happen...
