[Final Fantasy VI] First Test (Celes)
Pairings/Characters: Celes, Cid, Gestahl, Leo
Rating: G
Warnings: Spoilers up to events immediately following the Floating Continent.
Notes: A thousand thanks to celeloriel for beta-editing. 1100 words. Written for esper_cave, themes #16 Magic, #18 Power, #88 Learn, #93 Precision
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VI belongs to Squaresoft. I own neither the characters nor the setting, nor do I make any profit from my fanfiction, which is purely for my own enjoyment.
Summary: Cid hadn't expected her to be so facile with her spells the first time out.
Cid lifted Celes's shoulders gently and eased another pillow behind her back so that she sat half propped up. Her eyes remained closed. He sighed a little to himself and picked up the bowl of warm broth that sat on the bedside table. Spooning up a little bit of the broth, he pressed the spoon against her lips and tipped the liquid into her mouth. She swallowed automatically. Patiently, bit by bit, he fed her the broth until the bowl was empty. The others who had washed ashore with them had mocked him for his efforts to keep her alive, though she had remained unconscious for the better part of a year. Still, Cid remembered her as a child too small for the power he had infused her body with, and he stuck by her, keeping her alive while hope dwindled away beyond the walls of their little cottage. He smoothed back her hair and studied her face, blank in unconsciousness. A chill ran down his spine as he recalled the last time he had seen her like this.
"Are you quite sure, Professor Cid, that this infusion was a success?" The cool edge to Gestahl's tone had the skin on the back of Cid's neck crawling. He hadn't forgotten the Emperor's reaction when the Magi-Tek infusion had warped Kefka's mind. The girl in the room below them, a pale wraith of a figure against the dark metal of Vector's walls and floor, was far more valuable to the Empire, given the cost of genetically engineering such people.
"Yes, Emperor. We isolated the issue with the infusion process and corrected it prior to Miss Chere's infusion." Cid cleared his throat and tugged unnecessarily at the hem of his lab coat. He winced when he realized he'd forgotten, yet again, to take it to the cleaners, so three weeks' worth of coffee stains decorated the cheery yellow fabric. Then again, the Emperor didn't pay him to be a model of sartorial elegance.
"Begin the testing," Gestahl ordered.
Cid took a deep breath. Due to the nature of the experiment, and the subject's youth at the time of infusion, Gestahl had ordered him to keep the five-year-old under the effects of Silence from the date of infusion four years past to the present. He thought it a cruel order, but could not think of another precaution that would serve so well. It seemed her caretakers understood her gestures well enough, but he saw the child slip through the halls of Vector at General Leo's heels like a silent wraith, and he wondered if what they did was the right thing to do.
He cleared his throat and tapped the microphone that connected their observation booth to the testing room. "Alen, please begin the experiment."
His assistant gestured, and eight Imperial soldiers carried out a cage containing a very irritated Areneid. The creature writhed and flopped against the bars of the cage and attempted to burrow into the sand beneath it, which was too shallow for its purpose. The soldiers set down the cage and beat a hasty retreat from the room. The girl stared straight ahead, acknowledging neither the progressively more upset Areneid, nor the soldiers. Alen stepped forward and offered the child a small, dried leaf. She put it in her mouth and chewed it while Alen hurried to get behind the special screen designed to block any stray spells.
She swallowed the leaf and stood motionless, hands clasped in a parade rest stance. Cid wondered how so young a girl could be so composed and disciplined. Children should run and shout and play, not stand there like miniature soldiers awaiting orders.
"Celes, I would like you to try casting an Ice spell on the Areneid in the cage," Cid instructed. Beside him, the Emperor leaned forward slightly.
She chanted so quietly he could not hear it over the rattle of the Areneid's hardened exoskeleton against the sides of the cage. He saw, though, the flare of red light around her, and the perfectly shaped ice crystal that formed within the cage. The ice shattered into glittering shards, a few scattering outside the cage, and then vanished, leaving nothing but the pulverized and still-twitching remains of a creature larger than the girl who had just destroyed it.
Cid swallowed hard. The Emperor sat back with a faint look of satisfaction on his face.
"Her aim is commendable," the Emperor said. "You are certain this is the first time she has cast a spell?"
"I have kept her under Silence as you requested, Emperor," Cid replied. Below, Celes stood motionless, her hands clasped.
"She will come to your laboratory for two hours each day," Gestahl said, "in addition to her current schedule training under General Leo. Please ensure that she learns sufficient spells to serve the army at full capacity in ten years."
Cid barely kept the frown from his face. To set a fifteen-year-old to command troops, some of whom would be thrice her age…ah, well, he was no military strategist, to determine the value of such a decision. "She is no longer to be kept under Silence, then?"
"Provided she does not run about destroying things," Gestahl said, "I do not wish her silenced. See that she is taught to hold her tongue, and to keep her magic in check."
"Yes, sir." Cid bowed.
"Carry on, Professor." The Emperor left the small observation chamber.
Behind him, General Leo stirred. Cid started. He'd all but forgotten the man was there; the General had stood still as a statue for the last hour. "It is time for her combat training," General Leo said. "I will consult with you later as regards the best time for her to come to you for instruction in magic."
"Good day, General," Cid said. Leo nodded and left the room. A few moments later, he entered the room below. Celes followed him out like an obedient automaton.
Cid sighed, made notes of the readings from his sensors, and poured himself another cup of coffee. He had a long afternoon before him, planning the best order to teach her the spells so as not to strain her developing abilities and to maximize her potential as a Rune Knight.
The clatter of a loose shutter banging against the cottage wall startled him out of his memories. He looked hopefully at the young woman who lay so still upon the bed, but she had not so much as twitched. With a sigh, he tucked the blankets more securely around her, and pulled on his coat. There was much to do to keep things going until she should awaken.
Rating: G
Warnings: Spoilers up to events immediately following the Floating Continent.
Notes: A thousand thanks to celeloriel for beta-editing. 1100 words. Written for esper_cave, themes #16 Magic, #18 Power, #88 Learn, #93 Precision
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VI belongs to Squaresoft. I own neither the characters nor the setting, nor do I make any profit from my fanfiction, which is purely for my own enjoyment.
Summary: Cid hadn't expected her to be so facile with her spells the first time out.
Cid lifted Celes's shoulders gently and eased another pillow behind her back so that she sat half propped up. Her eyes remained closed. He sighed a little to himself and picked up the bowl of warm broth that sat on the bedside table. Spooning up a little bit of the broth, he pressed the spoon against her lips and tipped the liquid into her mouth. She swallowed automatically. Patiently, bit by bit, he fed her the broth until the bowl was empty. The others who had washed ashore with them had mocked him for his efforts to keep her alive, though she had remained unconscious for the better part of a year. Still, Cid remembered her as a child too small for the power he had infused her body with, and he stuck by her, keeping her alive while hope dwindled away beyond the walls of their little cottage. He smoothed back her hair and studied her face, blank in unconsciousness. A chill ran down his spine as he recalled the last time he had seen her like this.
"Are you quite sure, Professor Cid, that this infusion was a success?" The cool edge to Gestahl's tone had the skin on the back of Cid's neck crawling. He hadn't forgotten the Emperor's reaction when the Magi-Tek infusion had warped Kefka's mind. The girl in the room below them, a pale wraith of a figure against the dark metal of Vector's walls and floor, was far more valuable to the Empire, given the cost of genetically engineering such people.
"Yes, Emperor. We isolated the issue with the infusion process and corrected it prior to Miss Chere's infusion." Cid cleared his throat and tugged unnecessarily at the hem of his lab coat. He winced when he realized he'd forgotten, yet again, to take it to the cleaners, so three weeks' worth of coffee stains decorated the cheery yellow fabric. Then again, the Emperor didn't pay him to be a model of sartorial elegance.
"Begin the testing," Gestahl ordered.
Cid took a deep breath. Due to the nature of the experiment, and the subject's youth at the time of infusion, Gestahl had ordered him to keep the five-year-old under the effects of Silence from the date of infusion four years past to the present. He thought it a cruel order, but could not think of another precaution that would serve so well. It seemed her caretakers understood her gestures well enough, but he saw the child slip through the halls of Vector at General Leo's heels like a silent wraith, and he wondered if what they did was the right thing to do.
He cleared his throat and tapped the microphone that connected their observation booth to the testing room. "Alen, please begin the experiment."
His assistant gestured, and eight Imperial soldiers carried out a cage containing a very irritated Areneid. The creature writhed and flopped against the bars of the cage and attempted to burrow into the sand beneath it, which was too shallow for its purpose. The soldiers set down the cage and beat a hasty retreat from the room. The girl stared straight ahead, acknowledging neither the progressively more upset Areneid, nor the soldiers. Alen stepped forward and offered the child a small, dried leaf. She put it in her mouth and chewed it while Alen hurried to get behind the special screen designed to block any stray spells.
She swallowed the leaf and stood motionless, hands clasped in a parade rest stance. Cid wondered how so young a girl could be so composed and disciplined. Children should run and shout and play, not stand there like miniature soldiers awaiting orders.
"Celes, I would like you to try casting an Ice spell on the Areneid in the cage," Cid instructed. Beside him, the Emperor leaned forward slightly.
She chanted so quietly he could not hear it over the rattle of the Areneid's hardened exoskeleton against the sides of the cage. He saw, though, the flare of red light around her, and the perfectly shaped ice crystal that formed within the cage. The ice shattered into glittering shards, a few scattering outside the cage, and then vanished, leaving nothing but the pulverized and still-twitching remains of a creature larger than the girl who had just destroyed it.
Cid swallowed hard. The Emperor sat back with a faint look of satisfaction on his face.
"Her aim is commendable," the Emperor said. "You are certain this is the first time she has cast a spell?"
"I have kept her under Silence as you requested, Emperor," Cid replied. Below, Celes stood motionless, her hands clasped.
"She will come to your laboratory for two hours each day," Gestahl said, "in addition to her current schedule training under General Leo. Please ensure that she learns sufficient spells to serve the army at full capacity in ten years."
Cid barely kept the frown from his face. To set a fifteen-year-old to command troops, some of whom would be thrice her age…ah, well, he was no military strategist, to determine the value of such a decision. "She is no longer to be kept under Silence, then?"
"Provided she does not run about destroying things," Gestahl said, "I do not wish her silenced. See that she is taught to hold her tongue, and to keep her magic in check."
"Yes, sir." Cid bowed.
"Carry on, Professor." The Emperor left the small observation chamber.
Behind him, General Leo stirred. Cid started. He'd all but forgotten the man was there; the General had stood still as a statue for the last hour. "It is time for her combat training," General Leo said. "I will consult with you later as regards the best time for her to come to you for instruction in magic."
"Good day, General," Cid said. Leo nodded and left the room. A few moments later, he entered the room below. Celes followed him out like an obedient automaton.
Cid sighed, made notes of the readings from his sensors, and poured himself another cup of coffee. He had a long afternoon before him, planning the best order to teach her the spells so as not to strain her developing abilities and to maximize her potential as a Rune Knight.
The clatter of a loose shutter banging against the cottage wall startled him out of his memories. He looked hopefully at the young woman who lay so still upon the bed, but she had not so much as twitched. With a sigh, he tucked the blankets more securely around her, and pulled on his coat. There was much to do to keep things going until she should awaken.