Two young princesses strugle to adapt to a new life after war, but when their lives get intertwined with the ones of two young man of mysterious powers and pasts, they see themselves hunted down by a shadowy group and new danger looming in the horizon wich may break them apart forever. At the same time, haunted by strange dreams, Larsa finds himself in possesion of a magickal crystal, but the truth behind such a jewell is more than he ever expected. A power wanted by many and, feared by the ones who truly holds it and which may put the life of a young girl at risk and turns the young prince in the only one who can save her.
It was supposed to be part of my rewrite, but it got too many chapters, so I decided to separe this one into a shorter prequel. I will relaunch Time Rift as soon as this one is over.
I don't own Final Fantasy, but you all know that. I just own the OCs and MOCs, the kingdom of Kristelia and general Rift concept, I do not own the MCs exactly, but am the one responsible for the changes from their respective mirrors and I don't even know what to say about the GCs.
Prolog: A Tale of a Lost Kingdom
Once again, a powerful shoot from one of the airships above the frontier-city of Lunnia, on the border between the Kingdom of Kristelia and the city-state of Archadia, shook the entire palace. The little baby on her mother's arms began to cry, scared, one of her older, twin sisters hugged the middle sister, who also looked scared.
A soldier ran down the nearby watch tower into the room.
"The wall has fallen, sir." He announced to both, the king and the captain. "They're coming."
The attack was announced a few days ago, by a traveling Viera, who ran back to the city as soon as she saw the signs of the army coming. All the city had been evacuated, but the royal family, residing in the fortress since the capital was invaded by the Mist, the nature growing too wild for living, decided on staying behind, thrusting the magical barriers that protected the inner walls of the fortress, but even them had fallen by now and reinforcements were far from arriving on time.
The Archadian soldiers came by the hundreds, by the immense gap in the wall. The attackers razed the defenders of the fortress with the ease with which a hurricane devastated the marsh grass.
"The fortress is no longer safe." The king turned to the guards who accompanied the royal family. "Regulus, bring my armor. Sean, Send a message to the nearest towns. Captain Tally, I take charge of the security of our beloved queen and the princesses. Take them to the shelter, run the emergency procedure and protect the place. Others should prepare to face the enemy with me. "
"Yes sir!" All the soldiers replied, departing to follow the orders given.
"Dad, can't I fight?" Asked the younger of the twins, drawing her small dagger with courage far beyond the expected for a princess of only seven years old.
The king laughed and ruffled his daughter's hair.
"Maybe when you are older, Larxly. For now, your sisters need you more than me."
Larxly looked at her twin sister, but nodded and forced a small smile to her father.
"Do not worry, Father, I will take care of my sisters." Valery offered, politely. While Larxly had that rebel and brave side, she was completely like the princess she actually was.
"I know. I will join you soon. Now you all must go. Everything will be fine."
He then embraced and tenderly kissed the Queen and each of the girls. Vanille was now crying too, as did her baby sister. Vallery was the one who did her best to remain impassive in the face of everything, but she had a terrible feeling.
The shoes were beginning to bother Alva but she hesitated on taking them off. Even with her feet shaped to walk in these stilettos they still hurt a bit after climbing the whole hill by foot. She looked wild on the mysterious mirrors the Mist formed around her, long ears stained with blood, hair dirty and messed up, clothes thorn and also dirty, but she couldn't bring herself up to actually care.
Anyway, the shoes did not bother the young Viera more than the high concentration of Mist swirling inside the royal palace of Irvlyn, in the kingdom of Kristelia. She was not so sensitive to that like other Viera; still it made her a little unstable. The sweet scent it gave off reminded Alva of home, a home she had lost too many years ago.
Lost between memories she would rather let behind not to feel their weight, the words began to flow from her before she could think and stop them, forming a song she never thought she would sing, but one she had heard so many times before. A song not meant to the world of Ivalice, not meant to a Sky Pirate like her, not meant to these dark and hollow hallways she made her way through, too happy to her slow and slight dark voice. It sounded like a ghost.
"Angel, Angel, look at yourself. Look what you have done to yourself." A little girl could occasionally be seen, walking backwards in front of her. "No more than a shadow of what once was the greatest Sky Pirate of the Bridge. What have you done?"
Alva ignored the little girl before her, just shook her head and kept walking. She doesn't exist. She told herself. A shadow of the past, she isn't real. And no, she wasn't going to talk to an illusion, she had to keep her sanity through all that.
Her slender fingers trailed the border of the well at the center of the garden as she stopped singing. The water was pure and clear, like mostly water in Kristelia, but the bottom of the well gave out a strange bluish glow. Alva put both her hands by the sides of the well and closed her eyes doing, maybe, the most stupid thing of her life. A new song filled the air as the Mist grew stronger, the water shone brighter and the little pendant around the Viera's neck ignited into a spark.
She began to lose her support and fall towards the water, when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind and pushed her away from the well. The two feel to the ground with a loud metallic sound, but Alva recovered quick and jumped to her feet, drawing her dagger.
She quickly recognized her stalker and savior as Leon, a young soldier from Kristelia. She didn't relax to at the sight, her senses too tense from the Mist effect.
"What are you doing here?" The Viera hissed. He shouldn't be there and she did not like to be surprised like that.
"I was sent for word of the researches going on here." He stood up, dusting off his armor. "Where is everyone?" Leon looked around, suddenly worried.
It was after the comet passed a month ago, the Mist began to get stronger, from inside the castle and spreading around the city. All the nature began to grow wild and monsters began to attack, until the city had to be evacuated. A group of researches went back to look for the root of the problem, so why there wasn't anyone around?
His gaze went towards the Viera, who still held her dagger and a ferocious look he'd never seen before, then noticed the little of blood that stained her clothes and he stepped back, also drawing his sword.
Alva gave out a dark chuckle. Humes were so drawn to jump to conclusions...
"I haven't seen a living soul, except for a few dark wolves and the well." She told him, turning to look back at the water, the glow had diminished. "Get out while you still have the chance."
"Is this a menace?" He stood firm, ready to fight if necessary, even unsure if he could win.
"A warning. This place is not meant for Humes anymore."
She made her way back inside, consciously she was being followed, but ignored her Hume partner and began to look out for any other sign of life.
It was easy to see things through the Mist. Reflections of her family and friends long lost, but she tried to ignore the memories. They came to a stop by the throne room, as she examined a dragon engraved in the wall. Around it were twelve crystal-shaped holes in a circle, each with a zodiac symbol below.
"Twelve Zodiac Stars, one to each sign, one to each knight." Leon told her, approaching. "But the original Stars were lost long ago."
I know. Alva told herself. All about the Order of the Zodiac and its knights were her object of study for the last six years. To her partner she asked:
"What is this for?"
"I do not know. Legends are too vague about the power locked by the Zodiac spell, but it came from the stars centuries ago, like the last comet."
It sounded too familiar to Alva, like a totally different kind of star, fallen four centuries ago, its glow long lost, its power long faded. She held a hand to her chest and sighed, walking away from the dragon, rage building up.
If fate was a real thing, it had been too cruel with her. Taken appart from her family and friends, forced to live in a boring cycle of attempts and failures with barelly any hope. It was an adventure she really wished to end, a part of her history she wanted to pretend never happened, yet something she could not run from. Some people believed they could control the flow of time but it was no more than an illusion.
As she turned her back to the wall, the young Viera saw the Mist so thick she barelly could see the room around. Her body began to glow in a faint blue light; the pouch hidden inside her clothes gave out a fiery light. A single memory came a little to strong to her mind, of a moment before all of that happened, when she came to the realization she was caught into a trap and the last treasure she fought for was more than she even wished for, a piece of the past in challenge of the future...
She could faintly hear Leon calling for her at the distance. The movements came involuntary as Alva turned to look at the wall again, the song she sang by the well spread through the air and the dragon's eyes began to shine. She approached the wall and saw one of the holes glowing. Once again the Viera held a hand to her chest, singing with the voiceless song.
And it came in a flash, before she could fathom the magick; the stone dragon moved its head and bit down on her. It wasn't big enough to eat her in a bite or to do her in pieces, but the fangs were powerful enough to cross the pieces of armor she wore and her own magickal shield was already too weakened to save her.
Through the pain, all Alva could register was Leon's voice, now louder and closer, and the little girl, smiling at her a few meters away before everything went dark.
A small group of soldiers riding their chocobos soon overtook the group in the Black Swamp.
Tally saw them coming, she looked at both soldiers that accompanied them, both giving sign they also were aware of the approaching enemy. They would not get very far; she would have to find another way...
"Your Majesty! Take the girls to the shelter. I and my men will take care of our persecutors."
But she didn't need to when a Twilister emerged from the nearby river and attacked the soldiers. That specie dragon had been a major threat to all Kristelia since the passage of blue comet, but it was a welcome distraction.
But that was not the only danger of the wild swamp. They were surrounded by a bunch of Dark Wolves and a little battle was formed.
Amid the confusion, Larxly pulled Vallery and Vanille away through the trees. She had said she would protect them and that's what she would do. But it was not a very wise decision to move away from their guards. A pair of wolves attacked the princesses; Larxly pulled out her dagger but was attacked and saved by her twin sister with a little spell. Vanille began to run back to where her mother was, dodged from a wolf attack, lost her balance and fell into the swamp.
While Vallery tried to keep the wolves at bay with the few weak spells she knew, Larxly tried to rescue her younger sister, but she was again attacked, the dagger slipped from her hand and slid away and she was forced to retreat.
Vanille could not swim, but struggled, scared, trying to get out of the water. In desperation she tried to use magic, as she usually saw her older sisters doing, but she did not know much, the magic escaped her control, beginning to freeze the water. The last thing she saw was a spot of a creature of blue feathers or fur, before blackening out.
The twins were also getting desperate. Tired and frightened, they found themselves trapped in the shade of a large tree, when a boomerang came out of nowhere and hit the wolves, giving off sparks that scared them away. The man retrieved his weapons and ran to the girls' side.
"Are you all right? Are any of you injured?" He asked worriedly.
"No." Larxly said. "But Vanny fell in the swamp. I tried to save her but the wolves ..."
Flyin ran to near the water to find it completely frozen by now, except for a hole at the center. But the little girl was safe in the nearby bank, completely soaked, frost covering part of her clothes and hair and she looked paler than usual.
"Little Princess!" He quickly took her in his arms and found out she was cold but breathing. "She is alive." He murmured, relieved, even if that wasn't enough. He was a Blue Mage, but his magic wasn't enough to identify the problem with the little princess and to save her. There was a strange resistance from the Mist around.
"Vanny will be fine?" Vallery asked, checking out her little sister.
"I do not know, little princess."
Flyin turned his attention to the battle, but this apparently had ended. Two Archadian guards were dead, the others fled, the dragon seemed fast asleep, or probably very sore, but definitely still alive and unconscious. For the rest of his group some seemed injured, but definitely they were all alive.
Deep down he was relieved. He had come looking for his girlfriend and arrived in time to save the three older princesses. On the other hand, Flyin was concerned with the fate of Vanille and what had taken the girl off the water.
"We need a white mage urgent!" He urged the group, handing the injured princess to one of the guards. "She fell on the swamp; I do not know what happened."
"That is all right." Tally nodded to her boyfriend. "We will take her to the shelter." She turned to the queen. "She will be fine."
"No." Calyssa replied, weakly resting against a nearby tree. Flyin rushed to her and took Lily out of her arms.
"Are you all right, your majesty?"
"No, Mr. Feinster." She showed him a long cut alongside her left forearm. "A cursed blade, I think. We will not reach the shelter in enough time to the antidote be of any help."
"We can…" The guard who wasn't with the princess began to suggest, but was gently interrupted by the queen.
"No. The time is almost over, so does the battle, I assume. The abandoned aerodrome is nearby; take the girls away from Kristelia, to a safe place."
"Princess Vanille just has one or two days left." The guard carrying said girl informed. "I reckon the symptoms of a magickal explosion. The only place we could reach in time flying an old airship would be Archadia and it is no safe ground."
"The Shooting Star is no old airship. Alva would never abandon an unfinished story, seek Flare and ask for her help." She sighed and sat down, Flyin knelt down by her side and the twins ran to their mother as well. The queen tried to smile at her little girls. Vallery was already crying. "My dear girls, be brave. I know it is hard, but a time will come when you will need to fight for the things you believe in, for your lives and the ones you love. Nothing would make me happier than to know my fight was not in vain. Go now and make me proud." She hugged the two girls, then kissed the younger one's cheek and made a gesture, clearly dismissing the group.
"Your Majesty." Tally bowed, respectfully, then took both girls by the hands and began to walk away without a word. She knew it was her duty and all the queen said was true.
Almost crying, her boyfriend did the same, soon followed by the soldier carrying Vanille. The other soldier stood by the queen's side until the end, then taking her body back to the shelter.
The rest of the group was silent during the trip to the old aerodrome, except for occasional sniffs and sobs, from the twin princesses and sometimes the Blue Mage. Years before there was a route connecting two cities and a travelers point in between, but the high concentration of Mist in the swamp quickly altered the environment and they abandoned the road. The old aerodrome still worked through, with a few old airships belonging to no one in particular. But when Alva arrived in the city, six years ago, she and her Moogle partner, Flare, made of the place a kind of base, living in their ship, the Shooting Star, which the Viera claimed to be the fastest in Ivalice.
The place was dark and silent, like any abandoned place should be. Two of the three airships outside looked rusted and abandoned, just like the place, but the third was blue and golden, with a rare design and seemed gleaming new. As the group approached, a little Moogle jumped off the trees.
"Hello, people! What a surprise to have visitors!" She claimed. "Why the long faces?" No one replied, not knowing what to say, but Flare seemed to understand as she lowered her head and her smile faded. "I understand… In fact, I did expect it. Do you all need a ride? Sorry, but the Shoot was not made to take this much people inside. Alva is out for now, but she gave me specific instructions, to take the mage and the younger princesses to Rajn, in Dalmasca and send the others off somewhere else. Luckily, for you all, I have the old Comet there just fixed, if any of you can fly it. Before any of you ask why to separate, it would be easy for two airships to be caught going to the same place and the Shoot is too fast for any Comet, even a new one." The Moogle said in a single breath.
"Wait!" Tally observed her, suspicious. "She knew we were coming?"
"She knew you were the last ones to the shelter. Alva is smart and I have learnt not to question her. So, let's go before the Archadians come for us, can we?"
Aily woke up scared, feeling the pain that ran through her entire body. She curled herself up, watching the other Viera before her prepare a potion, probably to help her. it had never been like this and she felt a strange lack of energy... What was going on?
She heard the sounds of an airship's engines, too nearby to just come from the nearby city. No longer after, a man of short, light brown hair and blue eyes came in, carrying an unconscious, dark-haired girl, around four or five years old. The man looked at her and she forced a weak smile back while Rajn approached the newcomers.
"May I help you?" The older Viera asked, examining the girl.
"She has gone through a magickal explosion a day ago. Can you help?"
The Viera touched the girl's forehead, then nodded.
"She has gone through a slight freeze, but you brought her quick to me, she will be fine. She just need to be warmed up, but if it affected her brain, her memories may never completely recover." She took the girl on her own arms and laid her on an empty and nearby bed. "She should be awake in a day or two, but it is safer if she stay a little longer, just to be sure."
"I can take care of her, if you want." The younger Viera suggested, from her spot. "At least untill she is ready to go home." Flyin lowered his head, just now thinking he had no further instruction on what to do with the girls or where to meet the rest of the group. "Here is maybe the safest place in Ivalice for younger girls right now." She added.
"What if she had no home to go back?"
"I would tell you she would be safe with us. Are you her father?"
"No."
"Then she is welcome. Any girl is. I may take a time to recover, but the Roses will take care of her."
Flyin considered his options. He could let the girl over, if they would also take care of Lily while he tried to locate the other princesses. Dalmasca was far enough from Archadia to be safe, maybe they should all move there later. For some strange reason, this young Viera reminded him so much of Alva, but could him trust her? He looked back at her deep blue eyes and somehow knew he could.