Freedom
Disclaimer and Author's Note – I do not own Final Fantasy in any way shape or form. All I own is the unfamiliar. Also, the first few chapters are going to be the past, then we will get into the present. Italics will show the past, so that I don't confuse myself…Well, here I go…
Chapter 1
It's been nearly three years since I was brought from my homeland, Nabradia, to be a 'servant of the Empire'. I was seventeen when I was noticed by a Judge, a man who was known for both his cruelty and his intelligence. What made the man look twice was first my beauty, I curse my face every day and pray for time to hurry and age me into a shriveled crone, but secondly was my magick ability. I had been playing with a group of children, my charges having begged me for illusions to go with the story I was telling, when he spotted me. I had grown careless after not seeing any of the Empire's men about for many days and had not worn my usual veil and wide-brimmed hat, the usual attire for women then, and had left my face in plain sight.
The children were entranced by my story and I was so busy telling it and casting my spells that I didn't hear the Judge's armor as he approached. When the children noticed him, they had all gasped and ran, leaving me alone. I turned in time for the Judge to grab me by the arm and call for two of his men to take me to their airship and ordered them to take me to a private room.
"Have her cleaned up. We'll present her to Lord Gramis and let him decide."
I struggled, but I must admit that I am not very strong. My magick was out, so there were no spells I could throw at them… Finally I gave up and let them take me to the airship, tears running down my face.
"Well, you are pretty, aren't you? Take off those old clothes and get in the tub. I'll be back with new clothes in a moment."
The speaker was a woman of maybe fifty, dressed in a dark red dress with long sleeves, the skirt brushing the tops of her shining black shoes. She had happy brown eyes and her graying hair was tied in a neat knot at the back of her head. My clothes, a simple green shirt and a grey pair of pants, were given to another woman and I carefully climbed into the tub of steaming water. Looking around, I found a small mirror and reached out for it. When I picked it up, I found it was very heavy.
I looked into the mirror, trying to see what was so special. I looked, I thought, very plain. My eyes were wide and slanted, black like the eyes of my father, with thick eyelashes that I had inherited from my mother. My face was heart shaped, with clear skin that was my people's typical olive hue and a straight narrow nose. My mouth was my favorite feature, I suppose. It was small with the bottom lip seeming to be in an eternal pout. My hair was rough from the sun, but was very thick and as black as night as it hung in a tight mass curls down to my waist… I didn't see what the older woman was talking about when she called me pretty, to me there was nothing special about my face or body. Before I could try to inspect the rest of me to try to figure it out, the woman came back.
"Put the mirror down girl and lean back, there will be plenty of time for looking at your face later."
I didn't like how she made me sound vain, but I put the mirror down and allowed her to wash my hair with rough hands. She picked up another bottle and set it on a heating plate and waited while I washed myself with the sweet smelling soap she handed me. She told me to get out of the tub and lay on a raised platform and put my neck into a cradle to hold it still while my head and damp hair hung freely in the air.
"What are you doing?"
"Your hair is so dry, I'm putting hot oil on it."
"Hot oil?!"
"It'll make your hair shine. It's such a pretty black. Hair your color isn't seen very often in Archades, save for in a few noble families. Now hold still."
I held my breath as she pulled the bottle off the hot plate and poured the oil over my hair. While she worked she told me all about the emperor and what an honor it was for me, a street nobody, to be brought before him. Her words put my mind in a fog that lasted for hours. I don't remember being dressed by the women or having my face painted and my eyebrows plucked and my fingernails painted burgundy… I don't remember walking into the room that would be where my fate was decided, but I do remember him…The Emperor Gramis…
When the other women left, I heard the old man rise from his chair behind the desk and looked up. He was bald with a beard, his skin wrinkled and spotted with age. His crown, made of gold, rested on his head and seemed to bend him over slightly. His eyes were what caught my attention. I expected the conqueror to have eyes as cold as the swords that killed my people, but… his eyes were so sad, so kind…
He asked me my name.
So I told him.
"Talamina Sho."