AN: Okay, so this is my first Final Fantasy XIII fic. Forgive any OOC-ness, and anything that doesn't line up quite right with the game. I haven't actually finished it yet. This will be a multichaptered mini-fic, most likely no more than five or six chapters total, about Serah and an OC named Arial falling in love. This is mostly because Snow is the most irritating character to me, so I had to come up with a lesbian rival for him. By the way, this is girl/girl romance, so beware. This chapter takes place when Serah and Lightning's parents die, and it is before Serah ever met Snow. The main idea for the plot of the whole story (which hasn't been revealed yet) was inspired by Hero of War, by Rise Against, so that might give you some idea of what's to come in future chapters. Snow will eventually feature in this story, and I won't outright bash him, but keep in mind that I'm not too fond of him. Enough with my rambling! Enjoy, and please review.
The day Serah Farron met Arial Riley was ironically unfortunate.
Everything about it seemed to contradict the blessing that would come barreling towards Serah once darkness fell upon the sleepy seaside city of Bodhum. Celebration was minimal, an oddity for the tourist spot, and unenthusiastic partygoers sullenly trudged from one club to the next, searching for the usual exultant vibes the city seemed to be lacking on this particular day. The sky was cloudy, hinting of an impending storm, and the waves slapped against the shore with a steadily intensifying roar. Those who did not wish to soon be drenched in the search for a suitable dancing scene huddled together in tiny cafes, listening to the music softly playing from hidden speakers, clutching their steaming mugs, and muttering amongst themselves of the strangely dark day Bodhum was facing.
It was in this melancholic atmosphere that Serah Farron sat on the edge of a wildly bucking dock, her legs swinging freely, the bottoms of her sandals skimming the rolling water, her hair flailing about her face in the wind, and tears rolling freely down her cheeks. She was twelve years old.
"Serah!" a voice called in the distance. The girl clenched the sides of the wooden dock until splinters dug into her flesh and her knuckles turned white, but she did not acknowledge whoever was seeking her.
"Serah!" the voice called again, choking up into a sob. "Please, come home! Where are you, Serah?"
Serah struggled to hold back a sob herself, and she twisted her head around to see her older sister, Claire, jogging through the wet sand and the rain, which had only just begun to drizzle lightly over the beach. She pulled herself up from her seated position and, looking over her shoulder at her sister once more, began to lurch across the dock towards the beach, intent on getting as far away from Claire as she could. But the dock itself was pitching and swaying, and Serah struggled to get to the beach without getting thrown into the water.
Then, an exclamation of relief from Claire, who was drawing dangerously close to the dock and could now make out the form of her little sister stumbling from the hugely unsafe dock on to the beach, quickly followed by an alarmed yelp. "Serah, stop this right now! Come here!" Her light jog turned into a sprint as she fought to catch up to Serah.
But Serah did no such thing. She staggered along the beach, occasionally collapsing into particularly deep pits dug into the beach that she could not see thanks to the now heavy rain and the darkening sky. The tip of her shoe caught on a jutting rock and she tumbled sideways in an attempt to catch her fall, falling with a splash into the incoming waves. After a moment of struggle, she managed to get herself to her feet, and was about to continue distancing herself from Claire, when suddenly something collided with her with such force that she was sent sprawling back into the water.
"Shit!"
Water flooded her mouth and her nose, and Serah flailed her arms wildly, frightened, angry, trying to get rid of the weight that had settled square on her chest.
She faintly heard an unfamiliar voice. "Oh holy hell, now I'm drowning you." And then she was yanked from the water, and she felt the cold sand against the back of her neck, and someone was patting her face, talking to her, urging her to open her eyes.
Serah coughed to rid herself of the water in her lungs, and slowly eased open her eyes.
A girl a few years older than herself, perhaps the same age as Claire, hovered anxiously over her. She had raven black hair, about shoulder length, and shining emerald colored eyes. Her whole body was drenched, and she shook from the cold, as she was wearing only a short sleeve black shirt and shorts, both of which clung wetly to her skin.
"Are you okay?" she asked with concern. Her voice was hoarse, but not unpleasantly so. "I saw you running out here, and then you fell, and I thought you were drowning so I came out here to help, and I just ended up practically smothering you." Here the girl took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm such an idiot. But I'm rambling. You're not hurt, are you?"
"I-" Serah began, but before she could say anything else, and without knowing the reason behind her abrupt release of emotion, she suddenly burst into uncontrollable sobs.
The girl immediately wrapped her arms around Serah's trembling shoulders, mumuring soothingly to her until her tears let up enough for her to explain herself.
"I'm sorry, I just...I've had a bad day, my parents... there was an accident..they...I'm sorry," she stuttered, pulling back from the girl with an embarassed blush.
The girl shushed her. "We all have our bad days," she said softly. "I'm just glad I was lucky enough to catch you on yours, or else you wouldn't have had anyone around to valiantly rescue you."
Serah smiled for what was perhaps the first time in the entire day, and the girl returned the smile with a close hug.
"By the way," she mumured into her shoulder. "My name is Arial. Nice meeting you."
Serah giggled. "Serah."
And whether either of them knew it or not, that is the moment in which they inadvertantly decided to fall in love.
Later, after the death of Serah and Claire's parents became a mere thing of the past, and Arial and Serah were at the point in their relationship where they could jokingly and fondly refer to their first meeting, it would be found that it was impossible to unanimously decide if it was Arial who had been Serah's "savior", or if she had only contributed to her needing one in the first place. Claire, or "Lightning" as she now liked to call herself, would grunt and say that because of Arial, she had been forced to rescue Serah herself, from the thick-skulled moron who attempted to save damsels in distress, but all parties involved knew that this was not the reason Lightning had been chasing Serah, and all were wise enough to know better than to point this out. Serah was fond of calling Arial her "hero", and Arial joked that she should start wearing a cape, so that all in need would know of the great hero in their midst.
But once all joking was set aside, and the remembrance became sweet and somewhat somber, Serah and Arial would link hands, and Lightning would leave the room, walking stiffly, and a moment of serene, grieving silence would pass, a silence for the parents the two sisters lost, for their childhoods, cut far too short, and for Claire, who had lost herself to the cold, distant persona of Lightning. And once the silence had passed, Arial would look sideways at Serah, and Serah would grin, and both of them would simultaneously be struck with a distinct knowing of all being well with the world.