I don't own any of the characters/ names in the game Final Fantasy 7. Square Enix owns them.
Child of the Sword
Jewel walked through the deserted alleyway in the ruins of Midgar. Something had drawn her to this place. She visited almost daily since she began to fell this odd pull. 'There must be something here,' She always thought, as she looked around, but never found anything.
Jewel turned around to head back home when something caught her eye. It was a small yellow flower sitting in a basket. 'How could she have missed something like this she thought,' but dismissed the baskets odd origins. Picking up the flower to examine it she noticed something in the basket, a note.
"Meet me at the old church three days from today."
To make sure she hadn't missed anything Jewel turned the odd note over in her hands. There was nothing more to the message. She looked back down at the flower. "Well it looks freshly picked," she said aloud to herself, "But how do I know the note is for me." Something moved at the end of the alley, or else the dim light was playing a trick on her eyes. The note was unsigned, and didn't give any details on what church, or where it was. Sighing she picked up the basket and turned to go home, checking over her shoulder as she left.
Jewel noticed immediately, as she walked in the front door to the house she shared with her mother, that things were not going to be easy tonight. There were alcohol bottles on the kitchen counter, and in the living room. Her mother had been drinking again. Jewel thought about leaving, and not coming back. She thought about doing this many times, but never did. Her mother needed her during times like this. She couldn't leave her alone. Setting the basket with the flower and note on the counter, Jewel went to the lonely task of cleaning up the mess. Her mother would be passed out by now.
Jewel's mother Ashe was beautiful before she met Jewel's father, but after Jewel was born Ashe took up drinking. Ashe hated her daughter most days, but there was the rare moment when the two would bond. Jewel remembered each day they would spend together happily, but the happiness would always end. Jewel never had a chance to learn who her father was. Her mother would become violent every time Jewel brought up the subject. Something her father had done made her mother angry. Jewel had a pretty good idea though who her father might be, but no one would confirm, nor deny her suspicion. Jewel had bright green eyes, which she was named for, and long beautiful silver hair, and was much taller than most other people. She was almost afraid to know who her father was. Looking back at the beer bottles in her hands, Jewel thought, she didn't want to meet anyone who can make a person do this to themselves. He father had literally driven her mother to drinking.
Hearing something from upstairs Jewel put the bottles in her hands in the garbage can and went to check on her mother. There were more beer bottles on the stair, and even more probably in the bedroom. Stopping by the bathroom door Jewel heard the sound of a flushing toilet. "Mother must have gotten stared early today to be this hung over now," Jewel whispered to herself so her mother wouldn't hear. Checking in the bedroom Jewel found what she expected to find. 'It's almost like she's trying to drink herself to death' Jewel thought to herself. After clearing away some of the bottles Jewel went downstairs to fix her mother a light snack. She glanced at the basket when she got downstairs, but didn't think of much when she saw it, more focused on a snack for her mother. She got out the bread and other things needed to make a sandwich, but something bothered her. She glanced back at the basket. Was she being followed? How else would someone know to leave the basket where she would find it? Or was the basket meant for someone else? Dismissing these thoughts, Jewel took the now prepared sandwich and a glass of water upstairs. Stopping by the bathroom door again Jewel listened, still in there, good Jewel thought. She really didn't want to have to deal with her mother like this.
Jewel placed the plate with the sandwich on it on the dresser, and the glass of water on the table next to the bed. She was about to leave when Jewel noticed something sparkling on the floor in the corner. It was a delicate necklace made out of silver. Her mother must have thrown it in the corner. Jewel recognized it; it was a necklace her father had given her mother, a heart with a tiny rose in the middle. Hearing the toilet flush again Jewel shoved the necklace into her jeans pocket, and ran downstairs, she did not want to have to confront her mother when she was like this.
The next few days past without incident, her mother barely left her room, so Jewel made meals and set them outside the door. Each day making her trip to the alley, but she didn't feel like she had to go anymore, was the basket what she was looking for? On her way back home Jewel noticed the kitchen light was on. She considered going for a longer walk, but knew it would only be worse facing her mother later.
Jewel walked in the front door and knew there would be a fight. The whole house smelled like alcohol. She heard her mother in the kitchen, so Jewel tried to sneak quietly up to her room, but her mother knew, somehow, her mother always knew when she came home.
"JEWEL!" came the sharp yell from the kitchen. 'I can always run away' Jewel thought as she walked in the kitchen, but dismissed the thought. Her mother was standing in the middle of the kitchen with a beer bottle in hand. "You thief!" her mother yelled as she walked in the room, "You stole my jewelry." Jewel barely had time to duck as the beer bottle went hurling through the air above her head. "What did I take from you this time," Jewel remarked almost sarcastically. "Your money, your jewels, or is it something else this time." "You know what you took you thief," another bottle followed this accusation. Jewel spent the next few minutes dodging beer bottles, and trying not to cut herself on the broken glass littering the floor.
Once her mother ran out of bottles, Jewel found herself trying to dodge other things, like cups, plates, and the occasional steak knife. Jewel dodged this all without much thought until the basket with the flower came flying her way. The flower and note fell to the floor between the two, and the basket went sailing past Jewel's head, barely missing her. Before she had time to think Jewel dove for the flower and note, then ran out the front door, with flower and note in hand. She had never run out on her mother.
Jewel walked almost absent-mindedly through the ruins of Midgar for what seemed like hours when she looked up. 'That building almost could have been a church at one time,' she thought, 'Oh well, wouldn't hurt just to look.' Jewel walked in and was amazed at what she saw, from the outside it looked like an old rundown building, but inside there was a beautiful pond with yellow flower petals floating in the water. Jewel was so in awe of the pond that she did not see the blonde haired man in the corner unsheathe an enormous sword.
"I almost thought you were too smart to take the bait, clone," the man said a split second before attacking. Jewel barely had time to duck out of the way of the massive sword. Confused Jewel tried to ask a question, but the blonde spiky haired man ignored her and took another swing. "You must have the wrong person" Jewel tried hastily before having to dodge another swing of the sword. This one aimed for her head. "You have the wrong person", she tried again, "I'm not a clone!" getting desperate Jewel tried to duck behind one of the columns, but the man followed her. The fight continued for what Jewel thought must have been at least two hours, before Jewel was just too exhausted to dodge anymore and collapsed. The man advanced on her with his sword held up, ready for a killing blow. But for some reason he stopped. "Leave" was all the man said. Jewel didn't stick around to find out the reason for the man's odd behavior, she ran out of the church with newfound strength, and didn't stop until she was well away from the church.
Jewel collapsed against the wall of a ruined building gasping for air, after the fight, and running the whole way from the church, Jewel felt ready to pass out. She had to make her way home still. She didn't want to think about what she would have to put up with when she got home. If her mother wasn't passed out yet she would still be angry. Jewel reached into her pocket and felt the necklace, 'was that what she was upset about?' Jewel wondered. She took it out of her pocket and looked at it. It was a simple yet beautiful. The silver still looked new, 'did her mother ever wear it?' Jewel wondered. Having enough strength to make it back to the house Jewel got up and began her slow walk home.
When she saw the motorcycle in the yard Jewel froze, her mother had another man over. The last man her mother brought home had been abusive. He cornered Jewel in her room and beat her. Jewel almost turned and ran she was afraid now. These men were never good news. Jewel marched forward though; she had to be there in case her mother needed her. No mater how bad her mother got, Jewel would always be there for her.
When she got in the house she heard arguing immediately, not wanting to make it worse Jewel kept quiet and got a glass of water from the sink. Drinking deeply from the glass Jewel thought about leaving the house for a few more hours, when she heard it, a gunshot.
Jewel raced up the stair and into her mother's room. It was silent and Jewel had to walk into the room a ways before she could see her mother. She was face down in a pool of blood not moving. The man was standing over Ashe's body with a small handgun in his hand. Jewel stood frozen for a long time before she screamed, and startled the man. He turned raised the gun and shot before Jewel had the chance to move, she barely saw the man's face.
The bullet hit her in the shoulder and Jewel screamed out before she hit the ground, causing her to scream again. The man raised the gun to shoot again, but something flashed through the air and the man fell to the ground, his upper body falling one way and his lower body falling the other. The last thing Jewel saw before she passed out was her mother laying facedown in her own blood.
Author notes- Yeah kind of weird, but it will get better once I get into the storyline. First chapter was just to kind of introduce some stuff. Post Advent Children, or at least that's what I want it to seem like. More FF7 influence coming later. And yes I did leave a cliffhanger, don't be too mad, I'll update soon.