Katz o' 100 Tales Chapter 1: 10, 17, 75, a tales of symphonia fanfic

Title: Broken Oaths
Characters: Raine, Genis, Lloyd (mentioned)
Themes: #17 – Duty of Siblings, #10 – Burn, #75 - Oath

As drops pattered lazily against the windowpane outside, Raine tossed and turned heavily on the old mattress that lay on the bare floorboards. It had only been a week since her mother had carelessly pushed herself and Genis towards the strange circle of stones on an island near Altamira. She wasn't entirely sure of what the ruins were, but it seemed to the young girl's brilliant mind that it must have been a gate to another world. Raine knew she would have to find out as much as possible about this place to protect her brother.

Genis. The half-elf looked over her shoulder, across the floor to where a small boy, barely a toddler, lay wrapped in a blanket on a couple of moth-eaten cushions. At least her brother would never remember their home, if they never found a way to return. At least he wouldn't experience the hatred and discrimination they had all gone through in Heimdall. Half-elves weren't welcome in this world either, she had already gathered, but with a new world came a new chance.

A kindly farmer from the nearby village of Iselia had found the pair just past the Human Ranch, near the village entrance. The 10-year old girl had realized quite quickly that the nearby Ranch meant the hatred for half elves was probably the same in this place, wherever it was. She wove a tale of abandonment and pure elvish blood that, while not entirely true, was not entirely false. After all, they never bothered to ask where she was originally from or even if she had human blood along with the elvish blood she possessed. That was the beauty of it all. And so the slate was clean.

The villagers had been kind to them, even providing the girl and the brother she carried in her arms a small house on the edge of town. It wasn't in the best shape, and Raine would have to work off the debt of the house to the farmer who lent it, as well as to furnish it. A kind elderly couple with a small girl barely older than Genis (the...Chosen? She thought they had said so. They had been very proud at any rate) had given them the only furniture they now owned – a few pots and dishes, a couple of blankets, an mattress and some old pillows. The sooty hearth on the far wall snapped quietly in the grate as Raine considered this small building. Not quite a home just yet.

Raine had a flair for magic. And for learning. Perhaps, if she could amass enough knowledge while working in the fields of Iselia, she would be able to become a teacher. She had always wanted to do that. And certainly, that would give her an opportunity, and perhaps even an excuse to bury herself in research and the workings of this world. Perhaps she would find those ruins again if only she looked hard enough. Perhaps then…

A snort reverberated around the empty room, followed by a wailing cry. Raine snapped up and looked at Genis blearily. She had just begun to dose off. Genis wailed on and in a panic Raine ran to his side. She didn't want complaints from the neighbors for the noise, but what was she supposed to do? She'd never looked after a child and…wasn't he a bit old now to be crying? He could he very dependant in later years if she wasn't careful. Raine pulled Genis into her lap, blanket and all, and began to hum slowly and quietly, as she had often heard her mother do. Lightening scarred the stormy night outside, but inside, all was peaceful.

Lloyd had gone to bed already. If it weren't for the tense situation, waiting to see if Colette would recover from her illness, Raine would have been amused at the childlike quality that seemed too rare nowadays in their group.

Genis seemed subdued. It would appear Mithos' words had affected him more deeply than she had previously thought. Raine felt berated herself sharply. She had promised herself that she would be there for Genis always where their mother had not, to protect him from the suffering that the prejudice of the world could bring. Perhaps she had failed not only these things, but at educating him not to be prejudiced himself. He may have human friends, she thought, but he doesn't like humans. Even if he got along with humans and treated them much the same, he did still carry a deep-set resentment. She remembered having to berate and even hit him quite often for slipping out comments of human stupidity or inferiority, however innocent it had been.

Without a mother, or a sane mother at least, the half-elf felt it her responsibility to care for and raise her little brother. It would appear she had failed again. Didn't provide Genis a stable life, didn't protect themselves from racism…all she could do now was bandage the wounds from the battle in the Tower of Salvation, and heal the burns of fire Genis had clumsily cast in anger at the half elf.

She may not be able to heal the scorching remarks or discrimination that burned Genis' mind, but she could believe now that her brother, prejudiced as he inevitably was, knew right from wrong, and injustice when he saw it.

Without a mother, or a sane mother at least, the half-elf felt it her responsibility to care for and raise her little brother. It would appear she had failed again. Didn't provide Genis a stable life, didn't protect themselves from racism…all she could do now was bandage the wounds from the battle in the Tower of Salvation, and heal the burns of fire Genis had clumsily cast in anger at the half elf.

Ok so...Raine is a secretive person honestly. That's the only was I can justify her character in this. It just isn't good old Raine I think. And Genis is quite prejudiced, no matter his goals and friends. Noticed how many times he goes "You humans..." and such in the beginning, and he does listen to Mithos quite a bit? Perhaps he's not as bad as many humans and elves we meet, but he's not totally blameless himself, and I'm not making any assumptions that Raine is either. cough I'll stop now.

I dunno about this. It turned out a bit ramble-ish and a lot longer than I'd orginally intended. I have a lot of these to write, afterall..p.s. feedback is much loved. In fact flames are loved too...in their own little way. Constrcutive crit is adored. (End of shameless begging)