After reading several short stories regarding Star Ocean: The Last Hope, I have finally decided to write my own. The story is based around Lymle and Faize. Sorry, to those of you who are fans of other characters, but those two have always been my favorites. x3 Alright, I'll spare you my theories about the chemistry of the characters, and just jump right on into the story. :p

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Star Ocean: The Last Hope nor any of it's characters.

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Behind Closed Hearts

Prologue: Regrets

Lymle Lemuri Phi, unable to sleep, worked her way out of bed. She walked over toward her closet, and slipped on a pair of boots, without bothering to first put on socks, then walked over to the wooden door, and opened it slowly. She tip-toed out the front door, being extra careful not to make the floors creak.

After exiting the house, she walked a little ways down a snowy trail, then sat on a rock near the wall, surrounding the town. Outside it was all but dark. The moon and the stars shined upon snow, illuminating everywhere that it had fallen, with a dim glow.

Looking toward the sky, she began to feel nostalgic. After all, only a few months ago she had been far beyond the boundaries of the skies, themselves. She sighed, shifting her gaze to the ground.

Would you have really stayed, if I told you that ugly old cape looked good on you? She thought to herself. It didn't have to be this way, you know. We could have destroyed those stupid rocks, and all be happy, right now.

Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. She closed her hand, tightly, as if she were gripping onto something as hard as she possibly could. Why do I care so much about you? Why can't I stop thinking about you? She closed her eyes, trying to hold off any more tears.

"Lymle," called a familiar voice. She gasped, quickly opening her eyes, and turning her head in the direction of the voice. "Are you okay?" asked her childhood friend, whom she had failed to notice nearing her, in a concerned voice, as she sat down beside Lymle.

"I'm fine, 'kay?" she retorted, her voice quivering. Lutea studied her face for a moment, then frowned, aware the young girl's response was a cover up.

"Have you been crying, Lym?" she questioned, knowingly.

"I said: I'm fine, 'kay?" The small girl replied, exasperation evident in her voice. Taking the hint, she dropped the subject. Lymle turned her focus back toward the ground, her expression unreadable.

"What are you doing out here, so late?" The older girl asked, staring at her friend.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came outside to get some fresh air, 'kay?"

"I see..." Lutea trailed off, dropping her head. She was more than aware Lymle was keeping a lot to herself. She hadn't really been herself, since her return. Every time she approached Lymle to ask how she was feeling, she always had the same answer: "fine," yet her eyes were always so full of pain.

What could have happened to her? She thought, shaking her head. She moans in her sleep almost every night, sometimes she even screams the name 'Faize'.

She contemplated for a moment, then turned back to her friend, who hadn't noticed she had even moved. I'm fairly certain this 'Faize' must have been someone important to her. What I can't figure out is: does she miss him, or did something terrible happen to him?

After a long silence, the wind began to pick up, as snow started emerging from the sky. "Lym, we better go inside now," Lutea said, giving the young girl's blouse a gentle tug.

"'Kay," she agreed, indifferently. The two girls stood, brushing the snow off of them, and set route toward the house. As the front door closed, the fall of snow almost simultaneously grew in fury.

I'm sorry, I didn't try to stop you, Lymle thought, as she began to fall into slumber.

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Okay, I know, the beginning is a little depressing. :[ I promise the whole story won't be this way!

Please tell me what you think, this is my first writing, so some feedback would be really nice. :D