Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII, it belongs to Square Enix.
Rating: K+
Author's note: A little piece I wrote some time ago, about Lightning as a child. As you can tell, I'm not good at ending things, so I tried to wrap it up as fast as possible. I don't thing it worked to well, but meh.
A Time Forgotten
© Darkened Rhapsody
A girl with cotton candy colored hair sat on the soft, warm grains of sand that made up the beach of Bodhum, a prime tourist attraction for the city. Her bright blue eyes were filled with childish fascination as she gazed out on the rolling blue waters, thoughtfully chewing on her fingernail. The soft caress of the wind against her hair sent light pink strands flying in front of her eyes and she pushed it away again with a small measure of irritation. Her mother had said she needed a haircut….
"Claire!"
Surprised by the abrupt shout of her name, Claire Farron tilted her head curiously to the side. "Yeah?" she asked the little girl whose hair was the same remarkable shade of pink, her eyes filled with the same innocence. Her sister, Serah, was only four years old.
"What're you doing?"
The older of the two sister gave her counterpart a smile. "Watching the water," Claire replied, articulate for a six year old, "Isn't it pretty?"
Serah nodded enthusiatically. "Yeah!"
"C'mere," Claire tugged her sister down to the sand, coaxing her into sitting on the warm sand with her.
They would undoubtably be found by their parents soon. Whilst their mother and father had been idly browsing one of the seaside shops the two girls had snuck off. Claire, because she loved to watch the water on the beach, going as far as to claim a semi-permanent spot under the shade of a pair of trees as her own. Serah, because she was bored—she might as well follow her sister. Up until she had yelled her sister's name, Serah had been absently watching a group of seagulls fly past in the sky in perfect formation.
The two sisters sat in silence for a while, which was hard for the bouncy young four year old. Serah got bored of watching the waves and turned her innocent eyes to her big sister instead. In Serah's eyes, Claire could do no wrong. She was her idol. Serah shifted so that her head was resting on Claire's shoulder.
"You're comfy."
Claire laughed.
"Claire and Serah Farron!" A loud, female voice called over the serene atomsphere that had settled on the beach. "Get back here, right now!"
Both girls looked at each other. "Uh-oh."
Years later, long after their mother died and the whole l'Cie business, Claire (known to the world as Lightning) and Serah would sit in the exact same spot they had always sat on in their childhood and remember. Remember a time when they were free to be kids, when their mother and father were still alive, and when they could just be themselves.
"Claire, do you think you'll ever let anyone call you that again."
Lightning smirked. "I let you call me it, don't I?"
Serah smacked her arm. "No, other than me. Do you think you'll ever stop being Lightning?"
"I don't know, Serah. Maybe, maybe not." Lightning's gaze was fixed on the distance. "It doesn't matter, really. Now," she stood up and brushed the sand off herself, reaching out to help Serah up. "Let's go home and make dinner. I don't want your idiot attempting to cook again. I still don't think the Fire Department forgave us for that."
The Farron sisters laughed and set off home.