Author Notes: I don't have too much to say with this. It's a short drabble really that I wrote for Tumblr just because I had the urge to write something. Either way I hope you guys enjoy it despite its shortness. For those not into spoilers for Lightning Returns I advise you to step away unless you have played the side-mission "The Saint's Stone" which is available in Luxerion after mission 1-5.
Editing for typos and errors was done by Luminille of Tumblr. ^^
Setting: Luxerion – The Divine City's Cathedral shortly after Vanille and Fang awake, yet set after Fang has left for Dead Dunes
Pairing: VaniHopu (Don't like? Don't read.)
Summary: The Saint of Luxerion spends her days listening to the cries of the dead from inside the Chaos. However, there's one voice she can't hear and she's not quite sure why.
"Pardon me for asking, but is there someone you've been trying to hear, Lady Vanille?" Aremiah asked as she entered the room. In the days since Lady Fang had set out to find the clavis, the saint Vanille had set out on a mission of her own. Though what it was, Aremiah wasn't quite sure. All she knew was the Saint seemed to have been acting down-in-the-dumps ever since she'd been told about the disappearance of Hope Estheim.
To the people here, it had been 500 years since the end of the world and 169 years ago when they last laid eyes on Hope – the leader of mankind. But looking from the Saint's point-of-view it had been 1,000 years, possibly a few more since she last saw him.
Hearing the words, Vanille's emerald eyes slowly opened as she raised her head a bit, a slight chime echoing as the metal dangles on her veil clanged at the movement. "You could say so," she breathed out as she slightly turned Aremiah's way. "But… no matta how many times I listen I can't hear him."
"Him?" Aremiah questioned as she tilted her head a bit, her silver locks following the motion. However, it didn't take her long to figure it out as she watched the Saint tighten her grip on the crystal shard in her hand. "Do you mean Hope Estheim, the Director?"
The girl didn't know it, but ever since they told Vanille of what became of her friends – Hope specifically – time seemed to stop figuratively for her. The moment they said it, the future she dreamed of in her sleep – all those years and all the things she wanted to tell him – shattered in an instant. She was looking forward to seeing him, seeing the man he'd become. But instead he was gone… and nobody knew why.
Hearing his name, Vanille nodded numbly as sadness crossed over her face. "Yes…"
Noticing the pain in her voice, Aremiah approached Vanille. She leaned down and touched her shoulder gently as she told her, "You shouldn't be saddened by his disappearance, Lady Vanille. You know the people; they say that God summoned him back to his side. If that's true, the Director, he's in a much better place. Don't you think?"
Turning away, Vanille looked back down at her crystal her grip tightening on it. "That's just – hope…Wishful thinking," she mumbled, her eyes not leaving the crystal as it showed a glimmer of a dream she had had many times over. The broken images were enough to make her smile with hope as a small tear slid down her cheek. "But… I'd like to think it's true."