Part I: Rosebud
Prologue
The world was once a beautiful place. A normal place, before the fall of the floating continent. Even before the Empire's obsession with magic...or so my parents used to tell me. I don't remember much before that day when everything...died, I guess. After the statues were realigned, it was almost as if the world stopped trying and whatever gods were watching over us just gave up.
I know the gods gave up on me. I knew it the moment my mother and father died. Kefka's judgment fell on my hometown Mobliz. There was a flash of light, and the ground beneath us opened up. I only looked down for a second, but the darkness below was...endless. Many of the children, including myself, were taken to safety. I'm not sure if our parents knew they were sacrificing themselves in doing so, but in the process of defending us, the earth shook violently and opened up even wider, swallowing them up forever. I still saw them in my nightmares for the longest time. Trapped in the darkness. Still falling. Forever.
Then one day, a young woman wandered into town. I was outside fetching some water when I saw her.
"Hello," she said.
I froze. I hadn't seen anyone come in to Mobliz since before the world ended. At that point, I assumed we were the only ones left.
She stepped closer. My eyes began to water and she spoke again softly, "I'm not going to hurt you sweetheart. My name is Terra. What's yours?"
Not many people can say what it's like to live as an 8 year old child with all the responsibilities of an adult. There had been no one over the age of 16 in Mobliz for almost a year. To top it off, we weren't just living; we were surviving. We were hungry and scared. Most of all, though, we were exhausted. I was exhausted. From crying myself to sleep almost every night. From waking up screaming at nightmares about my parents. From fighting to live.
I looked at Terra, and I thought about all those things. I wasn't afraid of Terra at all. I was relieved with the hope that just for a moment, I could be treated like a child again. The only thing I could stifle was a whimper, and the tears in my eyes began streaming. She came over, took me in her arms, and I could almost hear my mother's voice speaking through Terra's lips.
"Oh sweetheart, it's ok. You're okay, you're safe now. Shhhhhh. Everything's going to be alright."
We sat there for a few minutes until I stopped crying and caught my breath a bit. Terra looked at me, kissed me on the forehead, smiled and said, "Now, let's start over, hmm? What's your name?"
There was something about Terra that was different from anyone I had ever seen. At first glance, it probably wasn't noticeable. Her skin, though. It was perfect. I don't mean in a sense that she was pretty. She was pretty, but she didn't have so much as a scratch on her face or arms. Why, in a world so torn and battered, was she able to come through it unscathed? It made being near her feel safe.
"Claire," I replied.
"Well that's a pretty name. Are you all alone?"
"No. It's me and a few other kids, but we only come outside one at a time to get water. We take turns."
I could see the concern building on Terra's face, "But honey, what about your parents? Aren't there any adults?"
Lowering my head, trying to hold back more tears, I told her, "Kefka's judgment. All of our parents are gone."
She put her arms around me again, "I didn't know, I'm so sorry Claire."
I didn't want to talk about that, "How come you're all the way out here? Are you lost?"
"Actually, I'm looking for someone."
"Who are you looking for?"
"That doesn't matter right now. I'd like to meet the rest of your friends, if that's ok."
And that was it. Terra never told me who she was looking for. She never left until her friends came looking for her and wisped her away to go save the world. Funny how things work sometimes.
