*Jeweled*
A Legend of Mana fanfic
Written by Rap's (RaptorJNB@aol.com)
OKay... DO NOT KILL ME!!! I wrote this because my online buddy, Anna *glares at her* suckered me into writing a ficcy that *cough* INVOLVES Elazul (my absolute favorite character) And pearl. (The woman I want to destroy) It's VERY corny. It's Very cute... and its not that long either. Why I decided to put this up here is... Kinda a long story- so I won't bother boring ya. ^_^ Read and.. Hopefully enjoy! Any comments would be appreciated- as im always trying to further my skills as an author. *GAK* even if I myself don't exactly approve of the subject matter...
*Wanders off, KNOWING Anna lay smirking somewhere nearby*
***
((This takes place after the end of the game- all quests completed.))
Dawning over a new horizon, the sun came to burn. It's first rays touched gold and green and white, exploding the world below into vibrant life. Here it came to watch, and listen. Upwards it traveled so that, little by little, darkness would return to it's eternal void yet again and allow the sun it's spectacular reign.
Wake up! Nature whispered. Wake up and see!-
-For now the sunlight was illuminating it's amber glow against the power of life. The radiant beams traveled softly- and gloriously- over the endless span of vitality and strength which was the Mana tree. Up the rays crawled as the sun crept higher. Further- further still. The stunning outline of pure existence was now encased within an aura of glowing, pulsing light.
It was the first dawn of a new era. Love and life. The future was as seamless as the past- in all it's violence.
We make our own happiness. We live- because we enjoy living.
We make our own future.
And a young woman, soul echoing these thoughts as she watched, reached her hands to the spanning dawn sky and let each finger explore the colors her eyes could only see. Vibrant, true and pure.
The world was alive.
They were alive.
With a sigh, air of awe escaping her lungs, the slender female Jumi allowed herself to gaze further. It seemed almost some form of crime. As if she were looking upon something so beautiful, so innocent, that her tender eyes alone might disturb the power of nature before her. The tree... it's branches swept over it's children like a mother who desired to protect. Everyone- everything- rested now under her essence. Comforting and humbling, both at once, Pearl took a step away from her place atop the winding cliffs of her home. Her true home- the Bejeweled city.
A sigh.
Finally her arms lowered. Outstretched hands closed at her sides. For a moment- gazing into the incredible sunrise with arms wide open... it had seemed she were flying. Could so many colors exist? The sunrise glimmered it's spectrum onto her radiant city, and the jewels amongst it would soon begin to catch- holding the sunlight that bounced along the precious gems as if they meant to glow with their own heavenly light. By sun and moon- it was a spectacular vision.
She wondered how others, below, would see them. The dying Jumi- their homeland restored- their cores now bright with life, heart and spirit. They would survive now. They could live again among the beauty of what she saw before her.
Let love prevail, mother tree- And the hunters will not come again.
She believed in that.
Her core shimmered, the silver of it's surface sending a tiny chime like bells into the air. The sound fluttered as the morning birds might- soaring high above. She did not need to turn to know who approached her. Pearl always knew.
She believed in her knight, as well.
Elazul...
She heard the blue flash of his essence spark into the air behind her. He was walking- careful in approaching her as not to startle thoughts that were always aflounder. Thoughts he always believed were directed far beyond. Maybe to the clouds- maybe past the reaches of dreams.
More then then once, Pearl had been thinking only of him. And she might have told Elazul that at one point- worried as he might become as she wandered off time after time in search of her past.
"The others are wondering about you..." He said, finally. It had been a few minutes now- standing silently behind her some few feet away. Pearl didn't answer a moment, and closed her eyes as a gentle wind ran over her skin. Opening them, she turned her head to the figure behind her with a slight smile.
"It's a wonderful word, isn't it Elazul?"
His expression, for the most part, remained unchanged. Left eye hidden behind a curtain of deep green- his right narrowed in confusion to reveal the actions of both. The blue there was deep enough to drown in, if you gazed for any period of time. Perhaps that was why she turned away again as a slight rush of color flooded her soft face.
"Pearl?" He questioned.
"To say 'others' and mean more. More of our kind. It seemed forever that you would say that word and have to force hope into it's substance. To keep yourself going. And me, too." Her eyes lifted back into the sunrise. "It's... nice. Hearing it like this."
There was no answer, but she could visualize his approach as she heard each soft step over the ground behind her. The path was inclined- as was it's entire winding length from bottom to top. Here they stood just below the palace, the area glittering with gems and stones of unearthly nature as the entire city did. After a moment or so, and she registered his body beside her own.
"I... hadn't thought of it that way." He confided. Softly.
Pearl glanced at him, if anything- surprised that he had answered and had done so in such a quiet manner. He wasn't a person that spoke much- Pearl knew. Not without a certain arrogance and aggression to his words. He'd been overprotective to the point of absurdity in past years, giving every traveler that dared pass or meet them a gaze of icy warning.
Don't you come near her- don't you look at her- don't you say a word.
And no one ever did, really. Apart from the young hero that Elazul had somehow taken to trusting. Whom she trusted now, as well.
The world owed him their freedom from hate. The Jumi owed him their existence. They had cried to restore him to life- he and his pure heart.
With a sigh, Pearl walked forwards and seated herself over a small outcrop of smooth rock- very close to the cliff's edge. Thinking about things like this- the wars and the pain. The life that had been restored... she could only know how very thankful she was that everything, in the end, turned out for the better.
For everyone.
A hand touched her shoulder, and then rested there lightly. Pearl moved to look once at the hand- and then up at Elazul. She expected him to gently move her away. Your sitting to close- he would begin. You could fall.
Instead of moving- Pearl said simply; "You would catch me."
And of course, she would be right. As sure as she could second guess his thoughts.
But Elazul, motionless as he stood, surprised her greatly in the moments after. He didn't nod a brisk confirmation, nor did he insist upon her stepping away- whatever the case. In fact, his response alone might have caused her to start and tumble forwards...
He was smiling. No scowl or annoyed frown. Just a grin.
And Elazul *never* smiled. You might be able to force it out- like when he saw her brought back into life by the hero's tears. But never just... not so easily!
"It's not like you at all!" Pearl giggled- lifting her hand near the side of his thin mouth. "Do I amuse you?"
"What?"
His looked turned to such innocent confusion that Pearl burst into laughter- leaving her dumbfounded Knight to stare at her short episode with a touch of anxiety. That expression too- she found hysterical. Not the way it was- of course, but the fact that he could actually sustain such a thing. Gracefully she stood, turned fully, and lifted away the stream of hair that covered his left eye.
Elazul blinked under the bright morning sun.
Pearl blushed and stepped away.
But when her left foot hit the cool open air and not the ground she had unconsciously expected- Elazul instantly caught her right wrist and pulled the stunned female Jumi directly into his arms.
Pearl gasped at the sudden transition- then at Elazul.
And he were only glaring at the high cliff wall in utter menace.
"Told you." She whispered with a grin.
Elazul looked back to her, and smiled again.
~*fin*~
