"The Oath" is a fanfiction based on Final Fantasy XIII by Square Enix. All characters and situations other than my own are sole property of Square Enix.
I. First Dawn
The light rays of the sun slowly crept onto the face of a girl sleeping soundly at the corner on the lower bed of a bunkbed. The upper bed was empty, and so was the bunkbed next to it; the girl was the only one.
The girl frowned as the sunlight irritated her closed eyes. She mumbled incoherently and turned, straddling her right leg to the on the bed's left side, only to fall empty onto the soft mattress. The girl's eyes opened and blinked.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes before staring confusedly at the empty space next to her. She glanced at the other two bunkbeds and saw that they were empty too.
Where's everyone?
With her stomach growling, the girl jumped out of the bed and went down onto her knees, shoving her hand into the space under the bunkbed and pulled out a small box. Opening the box, she took out a fresh set of clothing and a pair of socks and placed it on the bed. Quickly, she changed out of her pyjamas and into the red top and white shorts.
She pulled on her socks and hurried out of the arch and to the doorway, where all the shoes were. Only her shoes remained. She bit her lower lip. Why was she left behind?
Putting on her shoes hurriedly, she opened the door and was about to rush downstairs when she heard a beeping sound. She turned and saw a robot rolling after her.
"Bhakti! Come along now! We are late!" the girl exclaimed to her pet robot, as she bolted out of the door. Bhakti the robot followed tightly, trying to keep up with its mistress to the lower floor where several voices could be heard.
At least a dozen people were seated at a large round table. They were laughing and talking, their bowls and plates void of food. A smaller group, made up of five adolescents, gathered at a smaller table at the right corner of the hall. They too, seemed to have finished their breakfast.
/ Ah! My breakfast! Did I miss it! / the girl thought mournfully as she ran down the stairs.
Her loud footsteps alerted the people in the hall and they looked toward the stairs.
"AH! Our little princess is finally awake! The sun bit her lovely ass, I suppose!" a middle-aged balding man teased. The other adults at the large round table laughed, and the girl blushed.
"You guys didn't finish everything, did you?" she asked anxiously.
One of the adults knocked his spoon on a huge pot to attract attention. Then he proceeded to overturn the pot, and nothing came out of it.
"Gone! All gone!" he proclaimed proudly.
"No!" the girl groaned, and the adults laughed uproariously. "BEEP BEEP!" Bhakti said almost sympathetically at her feet.
A tall girl at the smaller table stood up and waved her hand.
"Vanille! Over here!"
Still blushing, Vanille hurried past the adults' table and joined the smaller table.
"You didn't wake me!" she accused.
The tall girl smirked. "I did, sleepyhead. But what am I to do if you refuse to wake? I can't possibly box you, can I? Besides…" The tall girl smiled slyly, "You have really bad sleeping habits… your leg nearly strangled me out of breath last night."
"AH!" Vanille nearly screamed, but quickly quieted when she felt the adults looking her way. Their company was already laughing.
"Fang!" she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Her face was burning hot, and she wasn't sure if that was because she was mad or embarrassed, or both.
Fang waved her hand casually. "Come now. Everyone knows that. I'm the only one who still dares to share a bed with you."
"HUH!" was all Vanille managed. Okay, so she woke up late and had no breakfast. And now Fang embarrassed her in front of their friends. She decided she would be angry at Fang, and not talk to her until the day ends.
Fang smiled. She reached under the table and took out a bowl of food.
"Sleepyhead, this is for you."
A broad smile spread across Vanille's face when she saw the bowl of food.
"OH! So you did keep some food for me!"
"Of course."
Bhakti turned several rounds with lights blinking excitedly, displaying happiness for its mistress. Everything forgiven, Vanille jumped onto the couch next to Fang and begun tucking in. Fang smiled, patting her gently on the head.