Without Remorse - Ch2
I really enjoyed writing this, even if it's just something of a skeleton right now. =X Still working on Tellah's POV, and I'm pondering adding in the twins, Elder, Cid, and Anna. Cecil is definite, though.
Bit unedited. Talks of character death. Set during FFIV. First-person POV (obviously. :B). Read at your own risk. :D
Once in life, I was enthusiastic about the times and charades those in fairy tales were blessed to conceive. Out of all the United Nations within Gaia, Damcyan seemed to be the closest to the celestial skies that held promise for all the dreamers seeking safe harbor from their own problems. Likewise, none believed that the cold grip of war could ever lay fingers across this protective shield, and break it with the sword so many of us had feared.
When I met Anna, I was certain that the magic veil covered over the confines of Damcyan would finally have the last star that needed to be stitched in; my parents were aging fast, and were more than happy to accept the daughter of the great Mysidian sage, Tellah, as my princess; my queen, if this damnable tragedy hadn't left us to run amongst the colorless fields.
It has been weeks since her death, almost a month since the day that the Red Wings had shattered our illusions, up to the very hour that Golbez had greedily slain everyone in his vain attempts for the Fire crystal. Had my parents of ordered the surrender of the ruby object rather than keep it by force, I am certain they would be among the living. Many other innocent people wouldn’t of had to run from the refuge they had once called home, and Anna wouldn’t have sacrificed her promising life for my pitiful existence.
It was because of her father, Tellah, that I was about to regain a glimmer of hope that perhaps Avalon might still exist elsewhere. When he had stormed into Damcyan, I was all but confident that he could play Father Time, and reverse the damage inflicted on Anna. He carried a regal sense about him, one of a man that had his song already versed and memorized by heart, such that commanded an air of respect wherever he walked. It didn’t surprise me when he had stormed back out after the last few breaths of life had faded away from her, a fiery nettle set between the two of us in our hearts.
He was angered at me, yes, but at the same time, I was angered at him as well. How could a magician renowned the worlds over, boasting at every opportunity, just leave his daughter to die? Clearly, I should study on the ways of the arcane, but I still feel as though there could have been something else for him and I to do...
It surprised me when he acknowledged me here, bound to a bed in the Toroian nursing facility after Leviathan‘s attack. Something so fiery had finally been iced over to a controllable flame, and the thorny vines across our mouths had parted ways, allowing us to speak freely. I could have broken into tears when he had said that Anna’s death wasn’t my fault; yet all I did was attempt to straighten myself when he had added how 'pathetic' I looked. There was a smile that lingered on his lips afterwards, though I wonder now if he had thought his mustache and beard would have fully concealed it; regardless, I felt closer to the man who I had pondered calling 'Father.'
A week has passed since he returned from the Magnus cave, Cecil, Cid, and Yang in tow. Preparations were being made for the crystal of Earth to be used as a fair trade to free Rosa from her captivity, and they had come to return the harp I had loaned them for use of claiming the crystal in the meantime. The determination in everyone’s faces was almost frightening; I wanted to leave Toroia then, and fight alongside them, for everyone’s sake.
I was sure Tellah nearly burst out laughing when I told them this. He merely shook his head, and pushed my shoulder almost roughly towards the bed, that same, hidden smile still apparent. Everyone had chimed in afterwards how my health still wasn’t up to par, and I eventually agreed.
Before they were lead away by a councilor of the clerics, I struggled for one last look at them: Cecil, brave and determined; Yang, a devout follower to his homeland; and Cid, ready to bust someone’s head open with the many wrenches he carried proudly on his tool-belt. Out of them, I hadn’t expected Tellah to slow to a halt behind them, and look back at me, his face pliable and left to chance, almost suspended in time.
Anna had told me many stories of her childhood, from how she didn‘t remember her mother at all, to the day she had graduated from the Mysidian Academy as an accomplished Red Mage. Each of their sublets had evolved into one huge web, Tellah at the center of its core. The fire in his eyes, she had told me, had always been there, watching over her like the heavens at night, only changing when her actions did. She admitted that she feared the day that light in his eyes, in the world, would fade; it was all she had ever known, and to change it would be the same as committing murder.
As I locked gazes with him, I think I began to see what she had meant: never once had I seen those dark blue eyes of his out of the many fires that burned within his heart. What was usually dancing in rage was then quiet, almost reluctant.
"All I wanted him to know is that I loved him," Anna had sighed, looking into the murky depths of the water below. "If that hatred of his is still there, it will be consumed; if the ice has cooled into sorrow, it will be too late..."
Too... Late...
I wanted to struggle from the confines again, to escape my bed, and run up to the Sage. Maybe if I begged him not to go, it would have ignited the fires of hell once again, and caused yet another injury to add to my growing list. At least, then, he wouldn’t of left like that...
I opened my mouth, but there was no need. Just as I was beginning to speak, he shook his head, as though his beard had been concealing that look in his eyes as well. A curt nod, and he bade something that I will always look upon, and treasure:
"I'll kill that bastard for you too. Anna's death is not yours alone, and when I come back, I'll make sure of it."
The fire in his eyes... Oh, Anna, you were right... Like always.
I smiled weakly, and nodded back as he turned, and walked out of the room. There was nothing else to do then, but wait.
I was confident, however, that maybe there would be a happy ending after all. Tellah would extract his revenge on Golbez, and come back alive. With him gone, the world would return close to its former state. Maybe he could study ways for Anna and many others to return to the world of the living, as though he really were Father Time. There would be blessings, and the world would be showered in the sweet smell of cherry blossoms once again.
Never did I imagine that my idea of a fairy tale would inevitably turn out to be one.
They had left just hours ago, Cecil being the first to speak. When he, Cid, and Yang had come into the room without him, I knew he didn't have to.
"Edward... Tellah... Tellah's..."
I had smiled stupidly at the paladin I had grown to respect, though inside, my heart had been shattered for a second time.
Anna, you were right. The light in his eyes had faded, and there wasn’t enough time to make it right again. He knew he was going to...
I couldn't say anything, except nod, and accept the news, though I silently broke into tears after they had departed.
But... Why? Tellah was the strongest man in the world, a legend. Could a legend be so easily...?
Was this how Tellah had felt when Anna had died - the same love between family? I had my parents, yes, but even through the years when we were separated by council meetings and world travel, they didn’t feel as close to me as Anna and Tellah had.
I still hold on to my image of Anna as my wife, my queen, and Tellah with his blessings behind us, even now. I look out towards the nighttime sky that has covered Toroia castle with its promises encased in the stars, and sigh. The perfect beams of light take my gaze from the heavens, and to the cold ground settled far below.
I once believed in fairy tales. Maybe I still do.
---------
The only thing I'm worried about: -Does- it sound like it could be bordering on Edward/Tellah (ala possible incestuous pairing EW GROSS)? =X? I was shooting for Edward's respect of Tellah as a father-type figure, but I think it went kinda overboard... >_>;
Meh. Still more editing. =P
Bit unedited. Talks of character death. Set during FFIV. First-person POV (obviously. :B). Read at your own risk. :D
Once in life, I was enthusiastic about the times and charades those in fairy tales were blessed to conceive. Out of all the United Nations within Gaia, Damcyan seemed to be the closest to the celestial skies that held promise for all the dreamers seeking safe harbor from their own problems. Likewise, none believed that the cold grip of war could ever lay fingers across this protective shield, and break it with the sword so many of us had feared.
When I met Anna, I was certain that the magic veil covered over the confines of Damcyan would finally have the last star that needed to be stitched in; my parents were aging fast, and were more than happy to accept the daughter of the great Mysidian sage, Tellah, as my princess; my queen, if this damnable tragedy hadn't left us to run amongst the colorless fields.
It has been weeks since her death, almost a month since the day that the Red Wings had shattered our illusions, up to the very hour that Golbez had greedily slain everyone in his vain attempts for the Fire crystal. Had my parents of ordered the surrender of the ruby object rather than keep it by force, I am certain they would be among the living. Many other innocent people wouldn’t of had to run from the refuge they had once called home, and Anna wouldn’t have sacrificed her promising life for my pitiful existence.
It was because of her father, Tellah, that I was about to regain a glimmer of hope that perhaps Avalon might still exist elsewhere. When he had stormed into Damcyan, I was all but confident that he could play Father Time, and reverse the damage inflicted on Anna. He carried a regal sense about him, one of a man that had his song already versed and memorized by heart, such that commanded an air of respect wherever he walked. It didn’t surprise me when he had stormed back out after the last few breaths of life had faded away from her, a fiery nettle set between the two of us in our hearts.
He was angered at me, yes, but at the same time, I was angered at him as well. How could a magician renowned the worlds over, boasting at every opportunity, just leave his daughter to die? Clearly, I should study on the ways of the arcane, but I still feel as though there could have been something else for him and I to do...
It surprised me when he acknowledged me here, bound to a bed in the Toroian nursing facility after Leviathan‘s attack. Something so fiery had finally been iced over to a controllable flame, and the thorny vines across our mouths had parted ways, allowing us to speak freely. I could have broken into tears when he had said that Anna’s death wasn’t my fault; yet all I did was attempt to straighten myself when he had added how 'pathetic' I looked. There was a smile that lingered on his lips afterwards, though I wonder now if he had thought his mustache and beard would have fully concealed it; regardless, I felt closer to the man who I had pondered calling 'Father.'
A week has passed since he returned from the Magnus cave, Cecil, Cid, and Yang in tow. Preparations were being made for the crystal of Earth to be used as a fair trade to free Rosa from her captivity, and they had come to return the harp I had loaned them for use of claiming the crystal in the meantime. The determination in everyone’s faces was almost frightening; I wanted to leave Toroia then, and fight alongside them, for everyone’s sake.
I was sure Tellah nearly burst out laughing when I told them this. He merely shook his head, and pushed my shoulder almost roughly towards the bed, that same, hidden smile still apparent. Everyone had chimed in afterwards how my health still wasn’t up to par, and I eventually agreed.
Before they were lead away by a councilor of the clerics, I struggled for one last look at them: Cecil, brave and determined; Yang, a devout follower to his homeland; and Cid, ready to bust someone’s head open with the many wrenches he carried proudly on his tool-belt. Out of them, I hadn’t expected Tellah to slow to a halt behind them, and look back at me, his face pliable and left to chance, almost suspended in time.
Anna had told me many stories of her childhood, from how she didn‘t remember her mother at all, to the day she had graduated from the Mysidian Academy as an accomplished Red Mage. Each of their sublets had evolved into one huge web, Tellah at the center of its core. The fire in his eyes, she had told me, had always been there, watching over her like the heavens at night, only changing when her actions did. She admitted that she feared the day that light in his eyes, in the world, would fade; it was all she had ever known, and to change it would be the same as committing murder.
As I locked gazes with him, I think I began to see what she had meant: never once had I seen those dark blue eyes of his out of the many fires that burned within his heart. What was usually dancing in rage was then quiet, almost reluctant.
"All I wanted him to know is that I loved him," Anna had sighed, looking into the murky depths of the water below. "If that hatred of his is still there, it will be consumed; if the ice has cooled into sorrow, it will be too late..."
Too... Late...
I wanted to struggle from the confines again, to escape my bed, and run up to the Sage. Maybe if I begged him not to go, it would have ignited the fires of hell once again, and caused yet another injury to add to my growing list. At least, then, he wouldn’t of left like that...
I opened my mouth, but there was no need. Just as I was beginning to speak, he shook his head, as though his beard had been concealing that look in his eyes as well. A curt nod, and he bade something that I will always look upon, and treasure:
"I'll kill that bastard for you too. Anna's death is not yours alone, and when I come back, I'll make sure of it."
The fire in his eyes... Oh, Anna, you were right... Like always.
I smiled weakly, and nodded back as he turned, and walked out of the room. There was nothing else to do then, but wait.
I was confident, however, that maybe there would be a happy ending after all. Tellah would extract his revenge on Golbez, and come back alive. With him gone, the world would return close to its former state. Maybe he could study ways for Anna and many others to return to the world of the living, as though he really were Father Time. There would be blessings, and the world would be showered in the sweet smell of cherry blossoms once again.
Never did I imagine that my idea of a fairy tale would inevitably turn out to be one.
They had left just hours ago, Cecil being the first to speak. When he, Cid, and Yang had come into the room without him, I knew he didn't have to.
"Edward... Tellah... Tellah's..."
I had smiled stupidly at the paladin I had grown to respect, though inside, my heart had been shattered for a second time.
Anna, you were right. The light in his eyes had faded, and there wasn’t enough time to make it right again. He knew he was going to...
I couldn't say anything, except nod, and accept the news, though I silently broke into tears after they had departed.
But... Why? Tellah was the strongest man in the world, a legend. Could a legend be so easily...?
Was this how Tellah had felt when Anna had died - the same love between family? I had my parents, yes, but even through the years when we were separated by council meetings and world travel, they didn’t feel as close to me as Anna and Tellah had.
I still hold on to my image of Anna as my wife, my queen, and Tellah with his blessings behind us, even now. I look out towards the nighttime sky that has covered Toroia castle with its promises encased in the stars, and sigh. The perfect beams of light take my gaze from the heavens, and to the cold ground settled far below.
I once believed in fairy tales. Maybe I still do.
---------
The only thing I'm worried about: -Does- it sound like it could be bordering on Edward/Tellah (ala possible incestuous pairing EW GROSS)? =X? I was shooting for Edward's respect of Tellah as a father-type figure, but I think it went kinda overboard... >_>;
Meh. Still more editing. =P