Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XII, or any of the characters used in this fic. They all belong to Square-Enix. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.
All I Saw Was Red
Petals fell as he yanked them from the stems of the flowers, watching as they slipped through his fingers. It was really pretty silly, coming out this far into the desert just so he could find Galbana Lilies. Now, they just dropped right out of his hands, falling into the endless sands. He stared down at the red stains on the earth, solemn. It was here, just before he'd left Rabanastre, that he'd buried his brother's ring.
The last pice of Reks that he had left.
Before his friends had shown up, everything had been horrid. Just him and Kytes, along with the other kids, running through the streets, pickinng pockets and harassing Imperials. All because he'd been angry with the Empire.
What they'd done was horrid, starting a war for little more than an extention of power. It had sickened him. Even moreso when Reks had told him that he'd joined the Dalmascan Army, and had been stationed to serve at Nalbina. Vaan had gone to live with Penelo then.
When Reks had come home, damaged and scarred by war, he'd just been a shell. He hadn't been the loving older brother than Vaan had clung to after their parents had died. He'd ended up as nothing more than a remnant, burned and turned to ashes. And then, he'd vanished.
He hadn't seen anything beyond his own hatred for the Empire. His most fervent wish had been to take to the skies with a ship of his own, not only for freedom, but for his brother's death. The world he'd seen for two years had been filled with little more than red.
"I wanted him dead, you know," he said, kneeling into the sand. "They fooled all of us, making Basch out to be your killer. But... he's not so bad, really. He's like you were, doing everything he could for Dalmasca."
The way he saw it, were Reks still alive, he'd be pleased with how Vaan had turned out. From the time they'd been children, Vaan had valued his brother's opinion over that of anyone else. If Reks had thought that he shouldn't do something, Vaan would have put the task behind him, just to make his brother smile.
He looked at what was left of the lilies, the last few petals clenched in his hand. They had bled out into his palm, leaving his skin a pale red color. It was shocking to think that, had he not found friends like Ashe and Balthier, people who had suffered like himself and overcome the world, he could have ended up with Basch's blood on his hands.
Vaan smiled, casting the crushed petals aside.
Like the ring, those old feelings of vengeance would disappear, swallowed by the Estersand.