Yep, that's right, an FF1 fic. Anyway, Final Fantasy and all related trademarks and names © Nintendo and SquareEnix. Characters such as Vaiss, Coro, Alanis, and Merino © Magebrush. This work of fanfiction may only be hosted on

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"Alanis, my child."

The girl spun around, her straight, scarlet locks invading the range of her bright, green eyes. She brushed her hair away from her fair-skinned face as she answered, "Yes, Mother Vale?"

The old abbess gave a slight smile as she talked. "I would like to speak with you before you leave the abbey today, child." Alanis nodded. She turned eighteen three days ago, therefore forcing her to either stay and become part of the Order of the abbey or leave and practice as a white mage. Seeing as she planned to marry (staying in the abbey would mean a chastity vow), she did not have to ponder her decision for very long.

"Are you content with your decision?" Another nod. Leaving was still difficult, however, since this place was the only home she had ever known.

"In that case, I insist that you at least learn Cure before you act further." She handed her a light, white tome. "This should take you not more than an hour. Return to me then and demonstrate your competence." She left the cell slowly, with a touch of wistfulness.

After the abbess departed, the maiden heaved a sigh and opened the volume. Her competence was arguably unquestioned. The only problem that rose during the whole time was that she rather disliked reading spellbooks. It was always the same incantations over and over, on every page. These needed to be burned into the mind before one could use the spell. Luckily for Alanis, this incantation was short, only lasting one page.

Half an hour later, she was finished with the tome. "Now all I need to do is see if I can cast it right…" she said to herself. But how could she cure something that did not need it? Alas, she found nothing to test herself on. The best she could do at this point was to go straight to the abbess.

It was never extremely difficult to do so; if she was not making her rounds, then she was in her chamber. Today she sat at her desk, facing the door as if she were expecting someone to enter at any moment. Before making her entry, however, she still found it proper to knock and announce herself. "Mother Vale, I am ready to present myself."

About three seconds passed before she received a response. "Enter, my child." She confidently stepped to the desk, remaining standing. "We have a patient in the infirmary. He is not very ill, yet a cure would do him well. If he returns with you, I shall know that you are ready to leave this abbey. Go now, my child."

"I shall return, Mother." She took the short stroll toward the sick bay; it was not far, just three rooms over. Quietly, she turned the doorknob and pushed the heavy cherrywood door open.

Creeping in quietly, she saw a sleeping form on one of the four beds. Upon closer inspection, she found a blue-robed man lying on his stomach, his straw hat on the small table beside the bed. She realized he must be a black mage. It soon dawned on her that this was one of the few moments she would ever see one with his face exposed. His thick, brown hair was tousled a bit, either from his hat or from sleeping. He had a small, thin form not unlike that of someone suffering malnourishment.

After examining him some more, she decided it was time to put her magic to the test. Taking a hold of his hand, she softly whispered, "Cure." Briefly, a small, white light shone from her hand, then disappeared into a stream of green sparkles flowing down his arm into his chest, where it seemingly stopped. A white aura enveloped the man before dissipating into nothing.

As expected, he stirred after a few seconds. For a short while he was unaware of Alanis as he sat up and looked around. The moment he caught sight of her, however, he quickly forced his hat on top of his head, effectively obscuring his face once more. She had only had long enough to notice his bright, blue eyes and soft facial features.

Quickly realizing that he may have offended her, he quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm not used to letting strangers see my face."

Despite hearing about the notorious self-occlusion of the black mages, his action still surprised the girl. "Not a problem. I was here to heal you. Do you feel any better?" Nervously, she threw a sentence together in hopes of coherency. She was, too, afraid that she had offended him through her actions.

"Oh yes, much better. Thanks!" In spite of the dark shadow cast over his face, his eyes still managed to pierce through to her vision. At the very least she could tell that he was sincere.

It was then she remembered she was to bring him back to Mother Vale. "Pray tell, sir, what is your name?"

As he stood, his blue robe was revealed to only be some sort of heavy cloak. His blue and yellow pinstriped pants extended up to his waistline, where it was held in place by a brown, leather belt. From his belt up, only a blue long-sleeved shirt was visible until the cuffs reached the brown leather gloves covering his hands.

"I'm Merino Aguant, and I'm from Cornelia." He had really just tacked on the last part of the statement in hopes of acquiring an escort on his return trip. This time, he had been lucky enough to have had a fainting spell outside the abbey. Next time, however…

"And I am Alanis Escint. Pleased to meet you." Instead of giving him the curtsy he had expected, she continued on. "I must take you to see the Mother Abbess now. She shall want to know about your condition." She turned and left before he could react; he had to real choice except to follow her back out.

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