Remnants of the Sky
By Zell's Girl
Rating: PG-13
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Chapter One: Two Paths
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Is love something that can be found? Is it something that is tangible
to your average person, or is it only for those the Goddess deems worthy?
Perhaps it is just falsehood, an illusion the human mind concocts? Love
is the question and answer, the paradox.
This is a story young woman's search of love and the broken heart of a noble knight. Remember: as hopeless as things seem, love is something to believe in.
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Miss Yumi felt lost amongst the many people of Budehuc Castle. There
was so much she did not know-- so much she had not experienced. Her life
seemed so easy back in the village, but now with all this before her, she realized how
simplistic things had been. Yumi greeted the outside world with alacrity.
She was ready to complicate everything at a moment's notice.
She watched her sister's resistance to change with utter . Keeping the
teaching seemed to be much more important to her then knowledge and experience.
Yuiri was stubborn and blindly loyal, and made sure to contraindicate everything
outside Alma Kinan.
Since Yun's sacrifice, Yumi's faith had been diminishing. It seemed
wrong. It didn't make sense. Looking at the world, her death seemed to
do nothing. Her little sister's sacrifice was in vain. War was occurring
and evil seemed to have prevailed in many occasions. Yuiri just seemed
to disregard what was happening, which was more frustrating the anything.
The wind blew Yumi's hair about as she watched the sunset from the deck
of the boat attached to Budehuc Castle. Several others were scattered about,
but none of them seemed to notice her. Jacques and Aila were silently watching
the sky, Sharon and Futch were discussing some matters about the Toran Dragon
Knights, and Luce was singing quietly to herself as she pulled some laundry from
the lines.
It was quite a beautiful scene. The sun was a bright vermilion and the
wispy clouds were a dark violet. Yumi sighed to herself, smiling.
"Why hello there." A low, quiet voice whispered from behind her. Yumi whirled
around, rather flabbergasted.
Behind her stood Ace, grinning widely. Yumi let out a sigh of relief,
and returned a small smile. "Hello, Sir Ace."
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ace asked, gesturing towards the sky.
"Very." Yumi agreed, unsure of what Ace was trying to pull. From what
she'd heard from her older sister, Ace wasn't a very nice person and should
best be avoided. He seemed kind enough to Yumi, but he did come off as
rather slick.
"Well," Ace whispered, "not nearly as beautiful as you." Yumi turned
a bright shade of crimson. She had never heard such a thing before, and
she wasn't quite sure of what she should say in response.
"W-why thank you sir."
"No need to thank me for speaking an obvious truth." Ace said happily,
a devious look spreading across his sharp facial features. As Yumi's blush
darkened, she turned away quickly to hide her face. Ace laughed quietly,
careful to call his presence to the attention of the others. "Miss Yumi,
would you like to join me for some drinks? I would really like to get to
know you better."
"Um, okay." Yumi agreed. With that, she followed Ace off the ship.
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Borus Redrum was always one for the beauties of nature, though most
did not know it. Full moons and autumn leaves-- those kinds of things always
enchanted him. As he and Lady Chris patrolled that evening, the picturesque
sunset caught his eye. Borus stopped by the turbulent lakeside. Chris took
several steps ahead before she noticed he partner had stopped.
Several gulls flew overhead darted towards the sun as Chris took her
place beside Borus. Borus looked at her, then towards the sky. He knew
this would probably be the best moment he'd find. He said a quick mental
prayer to Sadie and drew a deep breath.
"Chris…" he murmured, "I… I've been…"
Chris looked at him in that concerned way that he recalled from many
past occurrences. He closed his eyes and braced himself. "Is something
wrong?"
Borus laughed nervously. "Apart from the fact I'm in love with you,
no."
Borus forced his eyes open to inspect her reaction. Her face seemed
flushed and her eyes were wide. And with her reaction, he felt all his
hopes that he'd held onto for years slip out of him, and fly away like
the gulls.
"Borus, you know Percival and I…"
Borus forced a smile. "I know, milady, it matters not anyway. I just
thought I should tell you, that is all."
Chris looked towards he feet. "Borus, I'm sorry…"
"No need to be, Chris! As I said, it doesn't matter." It was so difficult
for Borus to keep so calm after his heart was pulverized, but he would
do anything for Lady Chris. And the thing he needed to do just then was
to assure her that is was not important. "It's nothing, milady."
The rest of the patrol was quite awkward, and for the most part, silent. Once they were finished, Borus quickly retreated to his quarters.
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Yumi looked down at the glass in front of her. The thick amber liquid
was unlike anything she had tasted before. She actually found the taste
unpleasent, but drank it as to not offend her companion. The bar was quite
busy this evening. Miss Anne and Sir Leo appeared to be having some sort
of competition that interested the other custumers.
Yumi found it to be quite the spectacle. They were apparently seeing
who could drink the most before they fell ill. Yumi noted how odd that
was for a form of entertainment as she took a sip of her own beverage and
to continue to watch the odd behavior of the two.
"Enjoying yourself, Miss Yumi?" Ace asked, grinning at her.
"I suppose." She replied, finishing off the liquid. Ace eyed her empty
glass. He signaled to the bartender to bring another round of drinks. "I
really don't need another drink. I would rather not be a waste of your
money."
"Oh," Ace looked rather disappointed, "Well, I insist."
"All right." Yumi said. The Karayan warrior who was filling in for Anne
brought her another glass of identical liquid.
"Please, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?" He leaned in close
to Yumi, which made her rather uncomfortable.
"I'm from Alma Kinan. It's quite a ways east of here…"
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Borus peeled of his armor as soon as he entered the room. He shed all
of the cold metal plates that were attached to his gloves and boots. Borus
ran his bare hands through his messy blonde hair and fell backwards onto
his bed. "Great job Borus," he said aloud, "on how many plains must you
screw things up?"
Borus stared up at the white ceiling and tried to analyze how horribly
he had made things. If she decided to mention this to the others, he would
be the cynosure of the group. Not to mention, he knew he'd sooner or later
get a nice 'talking to' from Percival, which may or may not involve his
fists.
It was all to be expected though. Borus knew this to be true before he had even
opened his mouth. None the less, he knew he would have slipped this information sooner or later.
His rejection was obviously inevitable. He had just hastened the fall of
the blade.
It was something he wanted to say for years, something that he'd felt
since he was twenty years old. Back when they were in school together,
he knew there was probably a chance. The hope seemed to be justified. But
as the years passed, she seemed to drift away. Despite this he said nothing.
Damn it.
"Damn it all."
Borus looked towards the wall. It was ten fifty. Borus smiled. A few
drinks would be enough to calm him down, and to his advantage the bar was
open until eleven.
Borus walked down the winding stairs and turned down the hall. He moved
quietly as to not wake some of the younger castle inhabitants. As he opened
one door to the bar, the other closed. Anne had closed shop early and had
just left, so the entire room was empty and dark. Borus mentally cursed.
He was about to leave when a noise caught his attention.
"Unhhhhh…."
Borus turned back into the empty room. "Hello?"
No answer.
"Hello, is anyone here?" he asked again.
Despite the lack of response, Borus knew he heard some heavy breathing
coming from one of the tables. He turned on the light and looked about,
quickly spotting someone at the corner table.
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Yumi opened her eyes. Something was wrong. The bed she was in was so
comfortable, so unfamiliar. Her vision was fuzzy and unfocused. She mentally
began to panic. When she tried to move, her limbs felt as if they were made
of stone. Through her foggy vision, She could distinctly see two pale brown
eyes staring down at her.
End Chapter One
Author's Notes: Hey there, Suiko Gamers!
Welcome to my first Suiko-fic. Oh, don't
get the wrong impression about the ending -.-.
I've noticed so much anti-Borus sentiment at
this site, and I hope that a few of you might
come to understand him a little better. Not
to mention, if you got all 108 stars and get
the alternate ending, well, you'll come to
understand his past actions. Also, Don't hate
me for the coupling. That's not the entire story,
you know! Grr.... Anyway, tune back for
more later, Suiko-gamers!
Joji-sa to you all, Kate