Vanille awoke and pushed back the covers, slipping out of bed. She had been lying awake for the last hour, watching the sunlight slowly creeping through the curtains. The only sound in the room, apart from Fang's soft breathing was the tick of the clock that showed it was just past 7 o'clock. Careful not to wake Fang, she padded downstairs, her bare feet making no noise on the metal stairs. Despite being dressed only in a light t-shirt that stretched to her knees, the air was already warm, promising another hot day to come. Opening the door to the living room, she pulled open the curtains and curled herself up in the chair, staring out at the sun rising over the mountains, with her head resting on her shoulder.
Fang rolled over in bed, feeling the cold space next to her and she sat up, looking around the empty room and she frowned. Swinging her legs out of bed, she wrapped a robe around herself and headed downstairs, where she found Vanille curled up in a chair, staring blankly out of the window.
'Vanille.' She said softly and Vanille turned towards her.
'Morning, Fang.' She said, getting to her feet and hugging her. 'Did you sleep well?'
'Did you?' Fang asked, returning her hug and pushing her back by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. 'You've been waking up early these days. Is everything alright?'
'I'm fine.' Vanille said, with a smile. 'I'm going to have a shower if you want to go for a run, and then I'll make us some breakfast.'
'Vanille...' Fang began, but she brushed past her, heading back upstairs.
Vanille stepped out from the shower, wrapping her towel around herself and drying her hair as she walked upstairs to their bedroom. She changed into fresh clothes, glancing out of the window as she did so, where Fang was running around the dirt track that she had laid out in front of the house. Fang glanced up and Vanille hurriedly plastered a smile on her face, giving her a quick wave before heading back downstairs to the kitchen, busying herself as Fang came in and headed upstairs. By the time Fang came back down, Vanille was standing over the small stove frying bacon and cooking pancakes, filling the room with a mouth-watering smell.
'Nearly ready.' She said, as Fang sat down, pouring herself a glass of milk. Quickly, she dished up the pancakes, layered the bacon on top and carried the plates to the table. Even though she didn't feel that hungry, she knew that she needed to eat, so she picked up her fork and speared a piece of bacon. Fang watched her for a second, before turning to her own breakfast.
'What are you going to do, today?' She asked, between mouthfuls.
'I've got plenty to do here.' Vanille said, without looking up. 'I'll need to change the sheets and do the laundry. We need a few things, so I'll probably head down to the market, later.'
'...Alright.' She said, after a moment. 'I'll be back around 7:00.'
Fang climbed astride her motorbike and, with a last look back at the house, gunned the engine and road away. There was something bothering Vanille. She knew it, but there was nothing that she could do about it now, and she needed to work so that she could put food on the table. For now, she needed to put out of her mind and focus.
Yeah, right. As if it's that simple.
The landscape that reminded her of the Archlyte Steppe flashed past and, in a few minutes, she was pulling up inside the ranch. Killing the engine, she kicked down the stand and strode past the rough iron sheds as Aidan emerged round the corner.
'Fang.' He said without preamble. 'The others are waiting in the off-roader. We're leaving in five minutes.' He jerked his thumb towards the vehicle behind him and Fang nodded, crossing over to it and climbing into the back seat. Next to her, Sam had his headphones in and his eyes closed, not even looking round as she fastened her seatbelt. In the front passenger seat, Tobias gave her a soft smile, just as Aidan climbed into the front and turned towards them.
'Listen up.' He said, tapping Sam on the knee, who scowled as he took his headphones out, folding his arms across his chest. 'We're going out to on the herd on the Northern Pasture. They all need to be rounded up, checked and tagged in time for the market this afternoon, so we've not got any time to waste. Let's go.'
The engine roared to life and the off-roader rumbled out of the ranch, bouncing and bumping its way over the rocky ground.
Vanille sat on the chair by the kitchen table with the phone clutched in one hand, her finger hovering of the 'dial' button for a second, before punching in the number. The phone rang twice and then a voice said
'Hope Estheim.'
'Hi, Hope.' She said. 'It's Vanille. Am I calling at a bad time?'
'No. I'm just going over some schematics. You're coming down this month, right?'
'We'll try.' Vanille said, chewing her bottom lip. 'Fang's having to work pretty long hours right now, but we should be able to make it.'
'Good. There's something I want to show you all.'
'What?' Vanille asked.
'Uh-uh. You'll have to wait and see.' He said, with a soft laugh, before his voice turned serious.
'Anyway, how are you doing?'
'I'm fine.'
'Vanille...' He said, and she sagged in the chair.
'I'm...okay. Really.'
'If you want to talk...'
'Talking isn't going to help, Hope.' She said, softly. 'You've been very kind, but I don't need to talk to anyone. I just have to live with it.'
'What about Fang?' Hope asked. 'Have you told her how you feel?'
'No. She's got enough problems with earning enough money for us. I'm not going to give her any more problems.'
'Vanille...'
'I've got to go, Hope.' She said, quickly. 'I'll...we'll see you soon.'
She hung up, staring out of the window, a single tear trickling down her cheek.
I can't tell her. I've been enough of a burden already.
The last of the cattle entered the pen and Fang swung the gate shut, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, tacking a deep swig from her water bottle. It had taken them several hours, but they had finally got them all rounded up, tagged and into the pen. Aidan stuck his fingers into his mouth and whistled, signalling Sam and Tobias to come over.
'Alright.' He said. 'That's it. We're done here. Come on.' He pulled open the rear door of the off-roader and dragged a crate of beer towards him, passing one each to Fang, Sam and Tobias. Twisting the cap off his, he took a deep swig, looking at each of them in turn.
'Well done, everyone.' He said, leaning back against the off-roader with a satisfied smile. 'These will fetch a fine price at the Market tomorrow. Everybody, take five and then we'll get them onto the truck and head back to the ranch.'
Fang finished her beer and stood up, strolling away from the others, staring up at the sky.
It's very peaceful here.
She headed towards the shade of the barn where the others were waiting, her ears pricking up as she heard a faint thunk. Stepping inside, she saw Sam pulling a knife out of one of the wooden posts. As she watched, he walked back a few paces and turned, letting the knife fly again to embed it's self in the post, where a crude target had been scratched. Seeing Fang watching, he gave her a smug grin.
'Pretty good, huh?' He asked.
'Pretty good.' Fang replied. 'But your wrists are too stiff.'
'Huh. Think you can do better?' Sam asked, hotly and Fang nodded.
'I know it.'
'Yeah? Prove it!' Sam said, holding out the knife towards her. 'Fifty Gil says you can't do better than me.'
Fang glanced up at Tobias, who was sitting above in the hayloft, who sighed.
'The bet is fifty Gil.' He said. 'Best of three knives.'
Fang accepted the knife from Sam, hefting it in her hand for a moment, before letting fly to strike the target just shy of the centre. Recovering the knife, she handed it to Sam, who threw it to embedded itself to the right of the target, at 3 o'clock.
'Round one to Fang.' Tobias said, as Fang recovered the knife. Her next shot hit at 12, high and outside the inner ring, while Sam placed his inside at 8.
'Round two goes to Sam.' Tobias said as Fang recovered the knife. Taking a deep breath, she threw the knife overarm to hit the target dead centre. Sam stalked past her and snatched the knife from the post, returning to the line. He'd need to hit it dead centre to win. He let fly, the knife whistling through the air, hitting the target to the left of the bull's-eye.
'Fang wins.' Tobias said and Sam clenched his hands into fists. Angrily, he dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out fifty Gil, which he slapped into Fang's open hand, before turning and storming away. Tobias watched him go with a sad shake of his head, before lying back on the straw bale and pulling his hat over his eyes. Fang pocketed the coins and moved to sit down in the shade, still staring at the knife in the post.
Fang glanced at Vanille, who was staring out of the window, having left her dinner half-eaten.
'Is everything alright?' Fang asked and Vanille glanced up, forcing a smile.
'Yeah, I'm fine.' She said and Fang put down her own fork, pushing her plate away.
'No, you're not, Vanille. I can see it. What's wrong?'
'Nothing.' She insisted and Fang shook her head.
'Don't lie to me, Vanille. Tell me what's wrong.'
'Fang...'
'We said that we'd always be there for each other, Vanille. Please, let me in.'
'I can't stop thinking about it.' Vanille said. 'Everything I've done. Helping the Order. Lying to you. Letting you become Ragnarok alone. I'm sorry for everything.'
She hung her head, tears spilling down her cheeks and Fang clenched her fists.
'Why didn't you tell me?!'
'I've been such a burden to you already. We've got a second chance for a new life. I didn't want to ruin this one, too.'
'That's just what you were doing.' Fang said, angrily, her voice softening. 'Vanille, I love you. And I know when something's wrong. How do you think I felt, worrying about it every day when you wouldn't even talk about it?'
She got up and moved round the table, kneeling next to her and wrapping her arms around her.
'Vanille, we're family, now. We share everything, the good and the bad, and we're stronger for it. And, for the record, you were never a burden. I'd never have gotten through everything if it wasn't for you. And, you were there when I really needed you. Becoming Ragnarok. Turning into crystal. None of that mattered, because you were with me.'
Vanille turned and hugged Fang, burying her head on her shoulder.
'I'm sorry...'
'Hush. We've all got enough regrets for one lifetime. But, we've got a new one now, like you said. We need to make the most of it. And, I think I know just where to start.'
'What do you...' Vanille began, Fang cutting her off with a kiss.
'Oh.' Vanille said as she took her by the hand and lead her towards their bedroom.