Candles lit dark rooms at late hours. Torches shed light upon the many paths within the fortress. Hearth fires warmed shivering bodies in the dead of winter. In time, people learned to value fire, though it was a beauty to behold for only the eyes. Despite the aid and nourishment, each instance of fire was never to be touched. The pain searing through the mere lick of a flame made a swordsman's swift blade a more pleasant fate. Any closer and the flickering ribbons would dare to consume whatever it touched.
Terra was no different.
Just like a spark igniting, she seemingly appeared from thin air. A young girl with loose curls pulled back into a high ponytail. Patterned silks clung to her small body as she laughed throughout the halls. The warmth in her smile and the inviting nature of her body language turned heads within the Empire. She moved like an ember fleeing from the hearth and spoke like a blaze daring to blind those lost in the darkness. And when the flames - the honest to gods flames - crackled to life in her hands, everyone remembered to take two steps away from the child.
She didn't emulate fire; she was fire.
And Celes loathed her very existence.
In the first decade of her life, the young blonde underwent more military training than the average adult soldier. Regardless of the rumors, Celes received no special treatment. She wasn't chosen; she survived. Weaker test subjects died in the early stages of magical infusion, but Celes persisted and served as one of the select few to walk the path of a Magitek knight. Said path wasn't one of privilege and luxury; the Empire made it known that she, a rare case, was still replaceable. If she did so much as slack, it would mean a fate worse than death. For the Empire could afford to infuse more subjects, willing or not, in hopes for a more self-driven soldier, even with the success rates not in their favor.
Every day spent mastering her skills and techniques was another tally to Celes' ensured survival. She would prove all the naysayers wrong, give them a reason to fear her. Let them all know the spoiled brat they whispered of in between training could handle an elite Magitek armor solo. No special treatment was required to confirm her prowess.
But along came the girl who commanded fire. Not once had Celes spotted Terra during training and there she was, walking amongst soldiers as if she was one of them. No ill words or crass comments were thrown in Terra's direction. She dodged all the scrutiny, all because word spoke of the Emperor favoring her.
Her. Not Celes, but her.
While she had no desire to be seen by Gestahl's side like a pampered, purebred pet, his favor was a hard earned sentiment. He did not hand out compliments to sweeten the air with the sound of his voice and yet he wouldn't shut up about Terra. She was the remarkable girl, the one gifted with magic without infusion. Overnight, the military came to respect the young mage.
She was everything Celes could never be.
The fiery girl flashed before Celes' mind during training routines. The limp bodies of straw and wood morphed into a figment of Terra. Celes clenched her teeth, white-knuckled fists gripping her rune blade as she tore the target open. Her superiors praised her for the ability to take out a target in one strike. After the tenth time, though, she was advised to pursue other activities to ease the rage boiling over. All of her peers stepped back when Celes exited, mindlessly chucking her blade to the ground, the hilt frozen over in a layer of ice.
Cid offered the private gardens for her to spend down time in. Celes preferred a weapon in her hand and not a flower, but he insisted it would help calm her down. Crossing her arms tight along her chest, she stood to Cid's side as a reluctant apprentice. He instructed her how to trim dead leaves, to check the soil, to water the plants, and to nurture every flower to its greatest potential. Celes muttered to herself and mimicked Cid's actions, unable to absorb his gardening lessons.
"I don't see why this will help me when I'm facing an enemy," Celes hissed at one point.
Cid laughed. "A flower may not be a sword, but no one can wield a blade with a clouded mind. Relax, my dear. The more you think about it, the less of a favor you're doing for yourself." He poked at her nose. "No muscle in your face is going to help the flowers grow."
With time, Celes' hands softened and her mind quieted to a whisper. Cid was right; she had overthought the process of gardening initially. Every action was to be perfected and Celes was desperate not to mar her work. Tending the flowers, however, was an art form. Imperfections added to the serene beauty. It was when Celes witnessed improvement in her training and tests that she frequented the garden daily.
She didn't expect Terra to be there that one day.
They had never been alone together. Nothing past required pleasantries left their lips in passing. Their unfamiliarity with each other wasn't a notion Celes ever wished to solve, though with how Terra touched Celes' favorite roses, she had no other option but to put the magical girl in her place.
Terra caught sight of her first. "Oh! Hello! I didn't think anyone else came in here. Did you come to smell the flowers?"
Celes kept exactly six feet between her and the girl. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
Terra smiled at Celes' cold face. "I always walk by here in the morning and smell the flowers from the hallway, but I'm so busy and never found the time to come in here." She giggled. "But I found some today! Isn't it great? So happy to sneak in." She bent at the hip and inhaled the roses. "You're Celes, right?"
"You shouldn't be here."
"Oh, but neither should you," Terra teased. "Don't worry! I won't tell anyone if you won't. It can be our little secret. I promise!"
With a heavy sigh, Celes wished nothing more than for Terra to leave and respect her solitude. The ethereal glow about Terra - the mixture of innocence with mischief - had its allure, much like the tales of faeries Celes read of in the past. But Terra was no faerie, despite the similarities. A mere request for Terra to leave would be ignored, or so Celes thought.
It was that same defiant air about Terra that brought the girl to tear a single rose from the vines. Celes' eyes widened. She choked on her breath.
"What are you doing?!" Celes squeaked out.
"No one's going to notice a single rose missing," Terra explained. "It's one of a hundred!" She giggled while tucking the rose behind her ear. "Here." Once more she tore mindlessly from the rose bush, extending the flower out to Celes. "You can have one, too!"
Her hard work, months of tender care and patience, crumbled in careless hands seeking to destroy everything. The rose would die without nourishment from the vine and wilt away. Of course Terra wouldn't understand. Celes didn't expect so much from the other girl.
Whatever peaceful composure the garden had taught her snapped, just like the rose in Terra's grasp. Celes charged forward, one hand balled up as the other opened flat to smack across that stupid face. A startled gasp parted Terra's lips. The rose fell to the ground. Before she could react, Celes shoved Terra hard, knocking her weak legs off balance and plummeting her to the floor.
Tights ripped and tears swelled. Terra cowered before Celes. Huge eyes begged for mercy from the blonde looming above with clenched fists. Celes intended to scream out the many thoughts she bottled up since Terra came into existence in Vector, the ones which sparked Celes' imagined rivalry. Terra needed to know her place; she couldn't do as she pleased, simply because she was unique. Celes refused to let anyone, especially another girl her age, pass by on such grounds when Celes worked herself down to the bone to achieve a sliver of recognition.
But Terra blinked back streams of tears, sniffled with every breath, and trembled beyond her control. Without another word, she scurried up to standing and darted past Celes. Even when Celes' breaths flowed through her lungs with little resistance, Terra's sobs thrummed through the walls.
No one spoke of the incident to Celes. When she and Terra crossed paths in the halls, the other girl didn't smile, let alone look at Celes. Good, she thought. Maybe now Terra understood and would stay in line.
Celes was of the opinion she wouldn't be crushed if she never dealt with Terra again. The military was vast enough, fit for the likes of Vector. They would lose one another in the metropolis.
For some time, Terra was but a whisper amongst troops. The only words quieter than those were in regards to the icy presence that followed the young Magitek knight.
Celes never predicted a mission years later would pair the two together. Her and Terra. Celes nearly marched straight to the Emperor to protest, but her better judgment changed her mind. While she disapproved of fighting by Terra's side, now was the time to show the other girl, the one gifted with magic, who was truly superior.
Their travels brought them to the east. Celes was to be in charge of escorting captured military officers back to Vector. An easy mission for one who trained profusely for such tasks, but no amount of routine and experience prepared even the hardened soldiers for an ambush.
Celes brandished both her rune blade and ice magic in combat, proving to be a formidable opponent. As a child, she fought like a seasoned soldier. Well into her teens, she made a violent blizzard comforting. But Celes was still mortal and countless foes singled her out. She had insisted she could take them on and ordered the troops to march forward without her. Just to prove a point.
On her knees, Celes growled through the pain and blood, mentally demanding herself to rise and strike before they beat her to it. Her body rebelled and trembled. Her enemies laughed at the sight. They spoke amongst themselves in regards to how they would deal with the Imperial bitch. Celes spat out blood in their direction and wore a vicious glare despite her injuries.
Once more they laughed. It was the last time any of them relished the freeing action, for the fires flooding in forced their lungs to scream.
Celes watched them all burn, engulfed by flames that peeled back skin and muscles before charring the bones black. Their shrieks were desperate, horrified. The fire tortured them until they dropped to the floor, deprived of air, then life.
Stepping through the fiery wall was a face she didn't expect to see.
Terra rushed to Celes side and dropped to her knees. Panic filled her eyes and she prepped a restorative spell. She told Celes to hang on. Or she thought Terra did. The woman's voice grew distant and fuzzy. All Celes remembered before her eyes rolled back were the flames roaring all around them and the echo of terrified cries.
Celes woke up with bandages covering her body. The stiff bed she was confined to did little to relieve the soreness residing in her bones, but she held her tongue from complaining. She was alive and wounds would heal in time, faster for a Magitek knight.
As she lolled her head to the side, she found Terra perched beside her.
"You're alive!" she exclaimed and hovered over Celes.
After hesitating, she responded. "You saved me?" And Terra nodded. "Why?"
Terra tilted her head. "Why not?"
For many reasons, all of which Celes quickly concluded were made up within her head. Only she viewed Terra as a rival, yet the fiery woman found no error in turning her heels back to defend her comrade.
"You should have left me to die," Celes said.
"I wouldn't let you die."
She wanted to know why, but Terra already demonstrated her lack of an answer, thus Celes fell silent. Being bound in bed was not how she planned on spending her time wisely, even if it was for a few days. Her muscles itched to be free and return to her practice. Despite being decades ahead of her peers, Celes felt herself lagging behind.
"I... never had anyone I knew before sent off to the infirmary," Terra murmured, eyes cast elsewhere.
Celes blinked. "But you certainly know others. The soldiers, the officers, the-"
"They all look away when I walk the halls, though. I've tried to get to know them, but most have fallen silent or found an excuse to run off." She eyed Celes. "You didn't. You weren't afraid of me."
No, Celes thought. I hated you, instead.
"I asked Professor Cid what I should do for you, seeing you two are close. He told me I did everything I could by saving your life."
"And you did," Celes confirmed.
"But it wasn't enough for me. I..." She frowned and averted her eyes again. "I wanted to get you flowers. That's what people do when someone they care about isn't well, right? Livens up the space. Reminds you that someone is thinking of you." A pause. "But I didn't want to upset you."
The memory of the young girl - the stupid girl - mindlessly plucking away the roses flashed before Celes. Anger mixed with illogical jealousy pulsed through her blood and drove her to strike her peer down. There were tears and scrapes and maybe even fear. All of it clung to Terra. Even now.
Celes moved her arm despite the bandages and bruises inhibiting most of her movement. Her palm rested on Terra's hand and the other woman perked up.
"You wouldn't upset me," she told Terra.
And she loved the way Terra smiled back at her.
Once Celes was able to leave her bed and return to most of her duties, she headed to the garden first. Cid wasn't there to inquire about her activities and few soldiers dared to eye her when she walked the halls in search for someone.
She found Terra alone in passing. Red and pink fabrics lined with gold and white swirled about her body. Celes swore it brought out her eyes.
"Celes!" she spoke with a bounce in her step. "I didn't know you were out of the infirmary! Are you doing well?"
Nodding, Celes stepped forward and extended a hand to Terra. "This is for you."
Terra's eyes widened to the beautiful rose, pink at the tips and bleeding into a pure white. She treated it like a ceramic sculpture in her hands. With it inches from her face, she inhaled the crisp scent and hummed with a smile.
"It's beautiful," Terra whispered.
And Celes leaned in to press her lips on Terra's forehead. "Thank you. For everything."
Terra's face matched the pink dye in her fabrics as she chirped and jerked up. When had she been so adorable?
Celes pulled away with a slight smile. As for Terra, she stepped into Celes, both their bodies crushing into one another. An arm looped around Celes' neck while she fluttered her eyes. Her gentle gasp was silenced by Terra's lips locking against hers for a deep, passionate kiss. On instinct, Celes' hands fell to Terra's waist and pulled her in closer, feeling a coo upon Terra's mouth when their hips connected. She was so soft, so delicate, so refreshing. Celes wanted to stay submerged in her mouth forever.
Their lungs begged for air and in time they broke the kiss. Neither stepped away, their touches lingering along the each other's warm body. For the first time, Celes' smile matched Terra's.
"Thank you," Terra purred while nuzzling her nose into Celes'.