CHAPTER 1: PROMISIES
Her small frail figure kneeled down at the church's altar; she felt the essence of the Planet rush through her body, racing through her mind and her soul while she prayed to the Holy. Her body seemed to radiate with a green glow, soft like her demeanor, it encircled her like an aura. The glow pulsated with her breathing; shallow and firm. Even the hem of her dress seemed to flicker with the beating of the subtle glow surrounding the girl. She sat there meditating for thirty minutes in almost complete silence, nothing but the sound of the breeze sweeping through the cracked stained glass window to disturb her thoughts.
Suddenly, as if awoken from a dream, she cautiously turned around; as she did so the glow that had been emanating from her faded within a split second. She heard footsteps outside the church's large doors… Who would be here at the church so late at night… she thought to herself as she rose from the floor. She dusted the dirt off her long pink dress and walked slowly around the flowers that were in the center of the floor, oddly growing before the alter she had just been at. The large oak door sluggishly opened, creaking on its rusted old hinges, letting the moonlight stream through the opening. She stood there silently in the semi-darkness of the church; the only form of light coming from small gaps of illumination from the full moon, (that managed to slip through the plates above Sector 7) through the stained glass windows that (oddly enough) remained (for the most part) still intact.
She held her breath for what seemed an eternity. It's the Turks, they've finally come to take me back… she thought to herself, her mind and body frozen in terror. She saw a gloved hand reach around the door, shoving it all the way open, and the owner emerged into the dark church; only his silhouette was visible to her. She cowered in the shadows, thoughts of her mother running through her head, What have they done to her? … or will do to her once they have me… Would they leave her be… All the want is me after all…What will she think or do when I don't return home… Oh dear, I have nowhere to escape to… Not this time… Finally caught, like a bird in a cage… The figure moved further into the church she could see more clearly now, it was indeed a man, he wore thick boots and slouchy pants… Uncharacteristically for a Turk to look so… shabby … she thought, still remaining motionless in the shadows.
"Aerith? Are you here?" called the voice of the man out into the darkness, his solid tenor reverberating off the walls.
She exhaled. How silly she now felt. A faint smiled played across her rose colored lips as she shook her head at her own childishness.
"Yes, I'm here Zack." She said moving into the moonlight so he could see her. Got myself worked up for nothing… It's just been so long since anyone visited me here… I shouldn't be doubtful, and so on edge, nothing has happened to indicate my status with the Turks has changed.
"Oh, good." He replied running his hand through his thick black hair, smiling at her. "I thought maybe I had come too late and missed you… I'm glad you're actually here."
"Oh why's that?" she said playfully smiling at him, overly swinging her arms beside her as she walked back over to her flowers.
"Well…" he started, running his hand through his hair again, looking down at the faded floorboards. "It's just been so long since I got to see you… I felt bad about not calling…" he let his words trail off as he kicked his foot against the floor in nervousness.
"Oh…" she said placing her hands behind her back, circling the flowerbed. He looked up at her rubbing the back of his neck now, his demeanor saddened by her response. "It's okay." She said smiling at him. "I understand, you said you were going away on an important mission… Plus it's not like I expect phone calls from you, you know…" she let her words trail off waiting for his reaction.
He frowned and looked down at the ground again.
"Although, I do have to admit… it is nice…" she said smiling at him again, rocking back and forth on the heels of her boots.
She's being playful as ever. Zack thought to himself, the corners of his lips turning up into a slight smile. "I am sorry though Aerith. I wanted to call you…" again rubbing his neck like he often did when feeling frustrated. "They wouldn't let us though… Not even letters…I tried." Her eyes widened at that. He even thought to write to me… she felt herself blush at the notion.
"Really…?" she asked timidly.
"Of course silly. I missed you. I wanted to talk to you and see how you were doing… Speaking of how is the flower cart fairing out?" Her face lit up instantly, like he knew it would.
"Oh its wonderful Zack, I'm able to sell so many flowers and bring so much happiness to people with it." she said spinning in a circle giggling as she did so. "I cannot thank you enough for helping me make it!" she finished her eyes meeting his. She felt a slight tingle down her spine as their eyes locked together, in that instant she remembered how his eyes glowed with Mako and how piercing his looks could be because of it. She pushed the thought away and only smiled more. His stare was unnerving, but his eyes were beautiful and expressed so much emotion. She looked down at the floor, blushing again at the way he looked at her. "So, how are you doing?" she quickly said to distract his gaze.
"I'm better than ever actually." He said smiling. "I got to fight alongside General Sephiroth again. He truly is as powerful as they say he is, I learned a lot from him on this mission. Its different learning from him than it was with Angeal…"
"Well that's good though, learning new things from someone else's point of view." She said smiling; now kneeling to tend to the flowers.
"Yeah it is, I'm not as good of fighters as they are, but someday Aerith… someday I will be."
She gently smiled up at him always impressed with his eagerness and want to become better and stronger. "I'm sure you will." She giggled. "But then who will be there to help me with my flowers when you become a famous Shin-Ra warrior like Sephiroth? He must always be busy on top secret missions and whatnot."
"…Well, I'd make time for you of course. And yeah he's a busy man, but he still has his time off like the rest of us… What he does with it I have no clue. I've only seen the man live for battle and keep to himself."
"He has no friends?" she asked seeming hurt by the thought. That was something about her he would never understand her ability to be sympathetic to anyone, for no reason whatsoever.
"Well… I wouldn't say they were friends, but Angeal and General Rhapsodos seemed to like him. They all went on missions together and trained together… Friends though wouldn't be the word I would describe them as… More of… I don't know, gee, brothers?" he finished uncertain in his own words, shrugging his shoulders. "He's seemed to become more quite since they both passed to the Lifestream." She nodded, still seeming saddened; she went back to tending her flowers. Zack shook his head and pursed his lips. "Sooo…" he said finally breaking the silence. She looked up at him, seeming to snap back to reality, and away from whatever sad thoughts she had about General Sephiroth. "The whole reason I came out her was to see you before I left again…"
"Again? You're leaving so soon?" a frown crossed her soft face.
"Yeah… Sephiroth wants to take me on a mission with him. I've only been back in town a few days and just found out this evening… We are leaving tomorrow…" he let his words trail off again. "I wanted to see you more, you know… I don't wanna leave you again so soon…" She smiled warmly at him.
"I know Zack. It's okay; it's not your fault. You're just so good at being SOLDIER that you're gonna be as good as Angeal was and the Great General Sephiroth one day soon… Right?" she said playfully. "They need you on those important missions." She said smiling at him.
"Thanks Aerith." He said smiling back. He immediately closed the gap between them and pulled her into his embrace. "I promise I won't forget you, I'll be back before you know it, and we will plant flowers all over Midgar." He whispered into her ear. She smiled and hugged him back for a moment before pulling away.
She took his hands in her and said "I only want one promise from you Zack Fair…" He nodded his head, looking intently into her bright green eyes. "You have to promise me that you'll try and befriend General Sephiroth." He looked at her puzzled not expecting that at all. "He must be so lonely… I bet he thinks everyone is afraid of him because of what he did in the war… Maybe he just needs someone who will reach out to him first. You've brought me so much happiness Zack; maybe you can do the same for him." She said smiling; her cheeks looked rosy in the moonlight. Blinking a few times, still bewildered by her request he nodded his head.
"I guess I can try… If that's what you really want of me. I'd do anything for you Aerith…"
"I know Zack, and I know you don't understand me at times… such as this… but there are times when I feel that maybe all it would take is one small act to change someone's bad day to good… I just like helping people I guess… And I want you to feel the same. Help him not be lonely… It must be terrible to live with the atrocities of war he's lived through…" her words trailed off, her eyes looking so sad again. He nodded.
"Promise." He said crossing his heart. "I'll give it my all, like you did me." He said smiling at her. "Anything else you want to ask me before I go…?" he asked slowly.
"Ummm….well…." she said looking away from his piercing eyes. "For you to come back a lot sooner this time… I know it's not something I should ask… It's nothing you have control over…" she said a slight frown on her face again. He gently grabbed her chin and lifted it up to his gaze.
"A request from you is never something I take lightly… I will be back as soon as I can, I swear." She blushed at being so close to him. His eyes so bright in the night, staring at her, right through to her soul she felt. She blinked and nodded. His fingers still on her chin, he leaned in and kissed her sweetly and softly. He pulled away unwantedly, her eyes still closed, her breath still. "I'll be back in no time!" he said a determined look in his eye. She was breathless, her eyes opened slowly as if blinking away a mist, she had never been kissed before by a man. She quivered slightly at the thought of his soft lips on hers. How she wished he would do it again but before she could utter a word he was walking towards the door waving over his shoulder. "When I get back I'm going to be as famous as Angeal and Sephiroth himself! And then," he said pausing with his hand on the large door "we'll be together." He said winking at her as he closed the door behind him.
