Thief (7)
Thief
A Gentle Awakening
The Emperor walked into his chambers, moving stiffly with shock and despair. It was over. The walls were broken, Heartless were in the eternal city, and Chaser Prime was talking about the Emperor taking the field. Basch was never desperate, but the hard tactical calculations behind the keyblade-captain’s eyes were surely desperate indeed. Some Emperors had been real fighters in the past, but this one wasn’t.
All was lost. The center would not hold. It would end here, and it couldn’t end here, not yet. Not now, the emperor begged in his mind, speaking to any god he ever might have believed in. The city would fall, but the heroes, the Chasers, would ensure that he lived. He would run, and live, and watch as it all fell down. . .
“Fire,” the Emperor whispered, and there was fire. He had never been afraid of pain. He would make a death that men would remember for as long as memory remained. “Fire. Fire!” And the shouts of Centurion Terra outside his door were buried in the roaring of the flames.
Aqua screamed herself awake. She wasn’t alone. She was being held to something warm, with cloth outside and ribs underneath. Only her father had ever held her, since the nurses when she was very young. “Ven?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” he said, squeezing her close. “It’s okay.”
“That wasn’t the Dive to the Heart,” Aqua rasped. She was crying. “It was, it was. . .”
“Your father?” Aqua nodded against his chest. This ought to have been humiliating, crying into a street boy’s shirt, but just now it didn’t feel like that. It was probably because she wasn’t entirely awake yet. “Yeah, I know,” Ven said. “I dreamed about my Ma for weeks after she died. It doesn’t get easier, I guess, but you get stronger about it.”
“You hated my father,” Aqua said. Ven had never said that, exactly, but he’d almost said it too many times. Aqua wasn’t an idiot.
“I didn’t like my Ma, either,” Ven said calmly. “She was a hooker, and her pimp beat me up. She hit me sometimes, too, when she was high. But she was my Ma, and she loved me when she was straight, and when she died I was alone.”
“Did you know your father?” Aqua asked. She’d wondered that, because poor commoners sometimes didn’t. She didn’t know why she’d asked now.
“Nah,” Ven said. “He died before I was born.”
“My mother died that year, I think,” Aqua said. It was just after she’d been born, and she was older than Ven.
“Yeah. It was the same day, actually.”
“Ven,” Aqua said, “do you ever think we were meant to meet each other?”
“Gramps says so. It makes sense. Are you okay now?”
“Yes.” Aqua sat up. “Why didn’t the Dive work?” That was a small disaster, when they could ill afford another, and she’d hardly given it a thought until now.
“It’s supposed to pass in the royal blood, right?” Ven grinned. “If you weren’t a princess, Princess, I’d ask if you were sure you knew your father.”
“Do not be ridiculous,” Aqua snapped, but Ven just shrugged and laughed. “Ven. . .” They might die before morning, and Aqua felt something stirring that she no longer cared about containing. It would be nice if, just once. . . “Ven, will you kiss me?”
“No!” Ven said, not cruelly, but surprised, as though he never thought she would ask.
Aqua sat up straight, and looked away from him. “Very well,” she began.
“Oh, come on,” Ven interrupted her, “don’t get all princess-face, it’s not like that. Of course I love you.” Aqua’s eyes snapped back around. Her jaw would have dropped, except that such a break of control would have disappointed her father so. “Aqua, I’m your. . . I’m your friend, Princess. Always, no matter what. To the end of the worlds. Okay?” And he hugged her again, tight, so she could feel his heart beating against her right breast.
“All right,” Aqua said. She felt very strange.
“Okay,” Ven said, and let her go. “I’ve gotta go, before the sword-monkey figures I’m in here.”
“Wasn’t he standing outside?”
“Don’t think so,” Ven said, “but I skipped the hallway and came through the window.”
“Your Majesty!” Terra called. He sounded like he was downstairs. Aqua had gotten wiser since meeting Ven. Her eyes barely flickered at the shout, so she saw Ven climb out her window again.
“Just like old times,” Ven said as he vanished. Aqua went to see what Terra wanted, so she didn’t have to look out where Ven had gone, at the skyline of a dying city.
A Gentle Awakening
The Emperor walked into his chambers, moving stiffly with shock and despair. It was over. The walls were broken, Heartless were in the eternal city, and Chaser Prime was talking about the Emperor taking the field. Basch was never desperate, but the hard tactical calculations behind the keyblade-captain’s eyes were surely desperate indeed. Some Emperors had been real fighters in the past, but this one wasn’t.
All was lost. The center would not hold. It would end here, and it couldn’t end here, not yet. Not now, the emperor begged in his mind, speaking to any god he ever might have believed in. The city would fall, but the heroes, the Chasers, would ensure that he lived. He would run, and live, and watch as it all fell down. . .
“Fire,” the Emperor whispered, and there was fire. He had never been afraid of pain. He would make a death that men would remember for as long as memory remained. “Fire. Fire!” And the shouts of Centurion Terra outside his door were buried in the roaring of the flames.
Aqua screamed herself awake. She wasn’t alone. She was being held to something warm, with cloth outside and ribs underneath. Only her father had ever held her, since the nurses when she was very young. “Ven?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” he said, squeezing her close. “It’s okay.”
“That wasn’t the Dive to the Heart,” Aqua rasped. She was crying. “It was, it was. . .”
“Your father?” Aqua nodded against his chest. This ought to have been humiliating, crying into a street boy’s shirt, but just now it didn’t feel like that. It was probably because she wasn’t entirely awake yet. “Yeah, I know,” Ven said. “I dreamed about my Ma for weeks after she died. It doesn’t get easier, I guess, but you get stronger about it.”
“You hated my father,” Aqua said. Ven had never said that, exactly, but he’d almost said it too many times. Aqua wasn’t an idiot.
“I didn’t like my Ma, either,” Ven said calmly. “She was a hooker, and her pimp beat me up. She hit me sometimes, too, when she was high. But she was my Ma, and she loved me when she was straight, and when she died I was alone.”
“Did you know your father?” Aqua asked. She’d wondered that, because poor commoners sometimes didn’t. She didn’t know why she’d asked now.
“Nah,” Ven said. “He died before I was born.”
“My mother died that year, I think,” Aqua said. It was just after she’d been born, and she was older than Ven.
“Yeah. It was the same day, actually.”
“Ven,” Aqua said, “do you ever think we were meant to meet each other?”
“Gramps says so. It makes sense. Are you okay now?”
“Yes.” Aqua sat up. “Why didn’t the Dive work?” That was a small disaster, when they could ill afford another, and she’d hardly given it a thought until now.
“It’s supposed to pass in the royal blood, right?” Ven grinned. “If you weren’t a princess, Princess, I’d ask if you were sure you knew your father.”
“Do not be ridiculous,” Aqua snapped, but Ven just shrugged and laughed. “Ven. . .” They might die before morning, and Aqua felt something stirring that she no longer cared about containing. It would be nice if, just once. . . “Ven, will you kiss me?”
“No!” Ven said, not cruelly, but surprised, as though he never thought she would ask.
Aqua sat up straight, and looked away from him. “Very well,” she began.
“Oh, come on,” Ven interrupted her, “don’t get all princess-face, it’s not like that. Of course I love you.” Aqua’s eyes snapped back around. Her jaw would have dropped, except that such a break of control would have disappointed her father so. “Aqua, I’m your. . . I’m your friend, Princess. Always, no matter what. To the end of the worlds. Okay?” And he hugged her again, tight, so she could feel his heart beating against her right breast.
“All right,” Aqua said. She felt very strange.
“Okay,” Ven said, and let her go. “I’ve gotta go, before the sword-monkey figures I’m in here.”
“Wasn’t he standing outside?”
“Don’t think so,” Ven said, “but I skipped the hallway and came through the window.”
“Your Majesty!” Terra called. He sounded like he was downstairs. Aqua had gotten wiser since meeting Ven. Her eyes barely flickered at the shout, so she saw Ven climb out her window again.
“Just like old times,” Ven said as he vanished. Aqua went to see what Terra wanted, so she didn’t have to look out where Ven had gone, at the skyline of a dying city.