lone
By Mr-Mikul
This is another Felix/Sheba fic, which I was inspired to create when I was musing about the two of them being outcasts, and of being cheated of normal childhoods. I was inspired to write this after listening to 'A night in Garoh' because of the solitude that the song represents, and it makes me think of the bond between Felix and Sheba.
Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun, but I do have the talent to steal the Sol Blade off of Felix.
It was a bright morning in Garoh, village of the Werewolves. Felix and the group were to shortly leave for Madra, but not before receiving a final gift from the Clan leader, Maha. He had instructed his people to play some of their ceremonial music as thanks for the group's efforts to the village in showing them that they weren't the only ones that were different from the people of Weyard. Felix had initially declined the offer, saying that they had tasks to perform that couldn't wait, but he was promptly overruled by combined objections of Jenna, Kraden and Sheba.
"Brother, don't be such a stick in the mud!" Jenna complained.
"Jenna. We don't have the time. Between proving Piers' innocence, exploring Air's Rock, and making our way back to Madra, the whole tour has taken far too much time." Felix dryly replied.
"I'm with Jenna here Felix." Kraden mentioned. "I don't want to miss hearing a hidden society's ceremonial music that no one outside of this village has heard. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Staying here some 30 minutes isn't going to hurt Felix."
"Yeah Felix, it's only 30 minutes, so can we please stay and hear the music?" Sheba pleaded, giving a 'puppy eyed' look at Felix, who somehow changed his mind.
"Fine, we'll stay and listen to their ceremonial music, but this had better be good…"
As such, the group listened to a song rarely heard by anyone not of Garoh. The song was slow, solemn and spoke of solitude, of being outcast from the rest of society. The flutes, harps and humming wove in a sad and moving melody that left a deep mark upon the four travellers. Upon the song finishing, the four travellers thanked the villagers, and they all mentioned how moving the song was. With that they finally left so they could travel back to Madra.
Several hours later, Sheba was still hearing the haunting music of Garoh in her mind, so much so that she was losing awareness of what was happening around her. She was lucky that the group had settled for a moment's rest, as well as some lunch.
'Why am I still hearing this song? It's been hours since I heard it, but it won't leave me alone. Why is this song reminding me of my past, as well as Felix?' Another thought drifted into her mind.
'It's because the song was created by a village of outcasts and lonely people. Both Felix and I have had to deal with being alone, without friends and family, as well as being made to do things that neither of us would have wanted to do.' Her past started coming back to her.
'I fell from the sky above Lalivero some 10 years ago, somehow exposing the ruins that would lead to Venus Lighthouse. I was dubbed the 'Child of the Gods' because of it. I was pampered and treated like royalty. I did enjoy that a bit, but at the same time, I didn't make many friends with the kids my age because of the way everyone else put me first before any of them. They were jealous and I couldn't do anything about that. Not knowing who my real parent's were made me feel more like an outsider than I was.'
'Then I was taken away from my home, as a ransom to ensure that the townsfolk of Lalivero did Babi's bidding in building the 'Babi Lighthouse'.
Faran and Iodem were having a heated argument about the planned construction of Babi Lighthouse. Iodem had been instructed to take Sheba away from Lalivero to ensure that the people of Lalivero would finish the project that Babi wanted to be finished. Sheba knew this because she was eavesdropping from her room.
"Iodem, are you mad? Taking away my daughter just so the Babi Lighthouse will be finished? Have you even considered what it's going to do to her? She's barely got any friends here!" Iodem composed himself and said;
"I know that you are concerned with Sheba's well being, I know all to well how you have looked after her like your own daughter. She won't be harmed while she's in Tolbi. She may be able to make new friends once she arrives." Faran was losing control of the anger building in his chest. He spoke with an icy tone;
"Tell me that when your Babi has her killed if we don't do as he commands." Iodem flinched, but kept speaking with calm confidence;
"You know it won't come to that, Babi may be a bit cold, but he's not that cruel. You have my word that I will do all in my power to keep her safe and unharmed." Knowing that this was a lost cause, Faran gave in.
"Fine, take her, but you do know that the people of this town worship her, and if something does go wrong, the town would demand blood for the loss of Sheba."
"I know, and I wouldn't want to bring any anguish upon your house, Faran. She will be ok. I must get going soon and tell Babi that everything will go as he planned." Sheba could no longer bear what she was hearing and burst into the room in tears.
"Dad! Please don't let the soldiers take me away, please! I'll be lonely…" Faran could only embrace his foster daughter and whisper words of comfort.
"I'm sorry, but I have to let them take you to Tolbi. You'll be ok; Iodem will be looking after you." Sheba's sobbing only got worse.
"But I don't want to go! 'sniff' It's not fair!" Feeling tears of his own falling; knowing that he couldn't stop Sheba from being taken away, Faran said;
"Pack your gear; you're leaving in an hour. Be careful, and you'll be back here sooner than you think."
'Being locked in Babi's Palace was far from a happy experience. While there were kind people that volunteered to look after me, and they did care about my wellbeing I was forbidden from exploring the town, lest I run away and die in the wilderness. I was a loner again, with no true friends to be with, and my foster family was so far away. It was depressing and heartbreaking.'
'It didn't last long though, the Tolbi games were over, and I was about to be sent back home again. Little did I know that I was about to be taken away against my will again.'
-Flashback-
The soldiers of Tolbi were yelling above the sounds of raging windstorms, trying to agree on the best way to get to Lalivero.
"The sandstorms of the Suhalla Desert are raging fiercer than ever! We must find a way to go back! If Sheba doesn't make it to Lalivero alive, our heads will be on the chopping block." one soldier complained. Another one promptly yelled back at him;
"It's too late to go back, the sandstorms that we stopped before have started up again, just as strong as before! Our only hope is to get through to the other side of this forsaken desert. Sheba must be protected at all costs!" A deep, grim laugh was heard cutting through the wind.
"Heh-heh-heh… Then allow us to relieve you of the burden that this Sheba has been causing you!"
Without warning the soldiers were attacked by pair of mysterious warriors who were masters of fire, and used it to remove the soldiers in their way of claiming what they wanted. Sheba cowered in terror at the powers that the pair wielded. Having finished off the soldiers that had vainly tried to protect Sheba, they made their way over to her. The woman spoke;
"Come with us if you want to live. NOW." She grabbed Sheba roughly and they headed to the group of adepts that they were travelling with. The blue haired mage, called Alex spoke up.
"Who is this measly girl that you have kidnapped? Is she what we need?" He checked her out for any signs of her being an Adept. "Yes, she's just what we've been looking for. She's a Jupiter Adept. We'll have to take her with us." Sheba could only think in despair,
'So I get kidnapped again, after finally getting the chance to go home and see my foster family for the first time in months. Why can't I have any friends, am I doomed to spend my life all alone?' She started crying, but upon hearing this, the woman that had dragged her here gave her a rough shove.
"Quiet! We don't have time for your snivelling!! If you want to stay alive, you'd better do everything that we tell you!!" A new voice joined in, clearly unhappy with the situation.
"Leave her alone! She's been through enough as it is Menardi! And what happened to your promise to not involve anyone else in what we're doing?" Menardi looked at the young man that had boldly told her what to do. She snarled;
"Well then Felix, if you're so concerned about her well being, why don't you look after this little brat?" Felix shot back;
"Fine! I'll do just that! At least she won't be scared out of her wits by the way you speak to her!" He then looked towards the newest addition to the group and spoke softly.
"Are you going to be ok?" Sheba could only stutter.
"I-I should be…" Felix smiled and said with certainty,
"You will be; I promise you. I'm Felix, from Vale. What's your name?" Hearing the strength in his voice, Sheba found the courage to start speaking;
"I am Sheba, I come from Lalivero."
'From there, we managed to open up to each other and start an unusual but comfortable friendship.' That got her thinking of the person that she had been travelling with for so long, ever since she was taken by Menardi in the Suhalla Desert.
'Felix, my protector. My best friend. The night I was kidnapped, Felix and I started talking about our lives before I was kidnapped. We bonded quickly, and the night before we climbed Venus Lighthouse I spoke about my painful past, and he told me of why he was travelling with these adepts, who wanted to break the seal on Alchemy. Three years ago, he was lost to his hometown during a massive storm, where he almost died. But Saturos and Menardi saved his life as well as the lives of his parents; who were currently being held hostage in the far off town of Prox. So he was helping bring the return of alchemy to the world in order to save his parents, as well as the life of his sister, Jenna, who was travelling with them.'
'It wasn't made easier by the fact that two childhood friends of his were trying to stop the group from what they were doing. He had said on occasion that while he didn't want to fight his old friends, he would if he had to, though it would break his heart. So he acted as a 'lone wolf', not involving anyone else in his quest, nor making any friends and making himself look like a villain, so that they wouldn't be burdened by what he had to do.'
'Felix isn't much of a talker, but deep down, he's a gentle person that doesn't want anyone to get hurt. While we were travelling to Venus Lighthouse I saw that he obviously cared about me, whether I was safe from monsters, or just comforting me when I was upset that I wouldn't get to see my family yet. I returned the favour when I could by making little comments and jokes that would get him smiling, if only a little bit. I asked him just before we got to Venus Lighthouse why he had stepped forward to look after me. He had a determined look on his face, and he simply said;'
"When I first saw you, I saw a sad, lonely person who had been denied a happy childhood like myself. I want you to smile, to enjoy life again and not to despair anymore. I'm going to do everything I can to give you a chance to do so."
'That made me really happy, knowing that he was really determined to look out for me. If it weren't for the fact that I had been kidnapped again, I would have been grinning for an hour. He then promised to protect me, no matter what happened to him as a result. And he did look out for me, putting his life on the line for me several times; and he somehow stood up to Saturos and Menardi to try and get me away from the Lighthouse, despite what they might have done to him. Then there was the lighting of the beacon itself…'
-Flashback-
"NO! Sheba! Grab hold of my hand!" I tried my hardest, but I didn't have the strength to reach up. Panic was taking over, tears starting to form on my face.
"I CAN'T!!" Felix was looking increasingly worried.
"You have to TRY! You'll fall if you don't try harder!" Half slipping, I saw what was happening at the bottom of the lighthouse, and called out to him.
"Look below Felix, the foundations of the lighthouse are crumbling!!" Astonishment was all over his face, and he yelled back;
"Why is this happening? Is it to protect the lighthouse itself??" I felt my grip loosen, and I was almost out of time with my friend and protector. I was crying.
"I'm slipping Felix, I-I can't hold on for much longer…" Felix was breaking into tears and yelled out in desperation;
"NO! Sheba, please don't do this, try and hold on, please don't die…" I could only say one more thing to him, so I smiled and said;
"Good-bye Felix, and thank you.. For everything" I let go; knowing that I could hold on no longer. A brief look of confusion passed over his face, and then I heard Felix scream my name;
"SHEBA! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!!" And he jumped after me. I reached out for him, hoping that he would get closer to me, but he just couldn't reach me in time. I fell into the ocean, and everything went black. And yet he managed to find me when we both fell into the ocean, and swim towards the floating island of Idejima with me in tow.
'I'll never forget the lengths he went to so that I would live. I hope that I can do something to help him just as much as he helped me someday. Since then, we've been talking a lot more often, and our friendship is growing.' The slightest blush tinged her face. 'I-I kinda like him too. Not just for saving my life, but also for being the best friend I could ever hope to have.'
At that point Felix had noticed Sheba was daydreaming or was just lost in thought.
'This is just like her.' he thought, a warm smile spreading on his face. 'While she is usually loud and tends to speak for the group, she has her quiet moments. It's quite endearing. Still we need to get going, so I'd better let her know.' He cleared his throat, and spoke up;
"You know if you keep quiet like that, you might be left behind when the rest of us leave." Sheba turned and gave him an amused look, and raised an eyebrow.
"You'd leave me behind? I feel betrayed. Don't you want me with you anymore Felix??" Felix gave a rare laugh and shot back;
"I'm hurt, since when have I ever NOT wanted you around Sheba? We do need to get going however; Jenna's cranky enough already without waiting for us." He bowed and offered his hand to Sheba and asked;
"Shall we get going then?" Sheba giggled and chirped;
"Of course we'll get going. You're such a gentleman Felix." Felix laughed again while Sheba took his hand. But as she did so, she received a short glimpse of the future. Not of images, but a feeling. She somehow knew that their friendship would slowly grow into something more. Not straight away, but if they could succeed in their quest, they'd have all the time in the world…
'I could get used to this.' Sheba thought with a grin on her face. 'I guess it's because we both know the pain of being alone, just like the people of Garoh; that we've become so close.'
Fin
There we go, another short story finished. Read and review if it's any good!