Child of the Brave
Prelude

She walked as if all the evil in Ivalice weighed her down as the rain drizzled over her drenched cloak. The worn soles of her shoes became permeable to the wetness in the gravel, making them uncomfortable to walk in. Worst of all, her own qualms rubbed her thin.

Her movements resembled fidgets which expelled her nervousness in the quickest manner. Through the rain, one could still notice how she checked and drew up the bundle in her arms ever so tenderly. Though the weather was grim and her own whimpering could be heard under the storm, the child she carried under the blanket gave her a toothless grin. He had been born in a world contaminated with deceit, violence, and war, yet still he managed to smile at his mother with a light of hope and better beginnings. Even though he was only four months old, she was proud of him for he did not cry once since she parted from the prison that those who were evil confined her in. No amount of plush cushions, fine wine, or lovely dresses could be called treasures when the people who gave her these things only wanted to woo her onto the wrong side. Who could call the mansion an asylum when all those who lived in it could not be trusted and only hinted to destroying her family further and further?

No matter what the circumstance, she could not let her child be raised amongst them. He needed to be with people, who could teach him to love, cherish, and honor. She was swollen with pride. She could already see that he could uphold the family name and embrace the family code and honor; maybe better than any of her brothers.

She stopped before the wooden door of a church. She half stumbled and half ran to the altar in the far side of the hall just as she got through the doors.

"Father Samuel!" She cried as she fell to her knees. The wooden boards that made up the floor bruised her knees, but she bit back any pain from the fall because nothing could be more painful than what she was about to do.

"Yes, Child." A man in his forties, rushed out from the doorway behind the altar.

"I have sinned!"

The priest's horrified eyes flickered frantically over her wet face and then over at the bundle in her arms, which seemed more than aware of its mother's wailings. Little fists reached out from the blanket and started making annoyed gestures. She, who held it, could only press her wet face to its soft cheek in comfort.

"It is not your fault," Sam spoke knowingly. Then, he touched her bowed head placidly. The gesture soothed her just enough to calm the worrying baby. The baby suddenly looked interested when he peered at the arm touching his holder. "What a beautiful gift. May I?" The priest extended his free arm toward her child, a soft smile taking over his face.

Mystified, she let him touch her baby's face. He was the only one she could trust because those who she did trust were either fighting or gone from the world. She knew how to trust him because he was the only holy man in Ivalice, who spurned all the beliefs of the Glabados Church. In one of their private conversations, he had been the one to reveal to her the evil the Church was plotting and her purpose in its plot. However, he could not help her from the machinations of the sinful Church because he was the one who had to preserve the faith and the truth. Exposure of his distrust to the Church would only fling him into the messy crime of treachery, like her brother. Neither he nor she was ready to give up on Ivalice; it was decided that no one could sacrifice that much for just her. Even before coming to this conclusion, she had run out of tears to shed for her brothers, her child, and her self. She was ready to sacrifice her life, just like her brother, for justice.

Sam chuckled, bringing her back to her mind-numbing reality. Now, she noticed that his hand was wet from the spit bubbles the child was forming to entertain the new company.

"He's wonderful. Pray tell you do know his father's name."

She shook her head angrily. "He was a shrine knight."

With that statement, Sam hung his head low. "I see. Sometimes, hunger and lust make men do wicked things. Did your brother ever know?"

"No! It happened before Vormav stole me away from Riovanes Castle… It was when—when…" She gulped and her breathing quickened. "At Riovanes…" The words died on her lips.

Sam tried to comfort her, sweeping her wet bangs from her eyes. "At Riovanes Castle, on Izlude's orders, the Nanten Knights imprisoned me. Then a shrine knight, he…None of the Nanten knights knew he… They didn't care he…" She clutched his hand suddenly, not wanting to finish.

Sam seemed to understand for he clasped her hand with just as much strength. He took the baby with his other hand and held it with care "You need not say, anymore. You surely have upheld your father's honor, Child. You are brave like him."

"Please, take care of Aster while I am gone." Then, her fingers slipped from his grasp and she stood to leave.

"I do not know what kind of evil lives inside me that the Church wants, but do not let any thing evil leak into my son's heart. I beg…" She was not addressing Sam anymore. She was murmuring feverishly to her self, but Sam heard her loud and clear.

"Your son is not a sin. It is my instinct showing me that I have seen only the goodness of his mother's heart having touched his."

End Prelude