Hope for the Nations Chapter 1: Two, a shining force fanfic

Author's Notes:

Hope For the Nations follows up on plot threads and original characters introduced in my earlier Shining Force CD fics: "The King's Friends", "Deanna and Natasha", "While You Guys Were Out", "The Proposal", and "Loyalties". HOWEVER, I have taken care to summarize any pertinent backgrounds, so you should be able to follow along without having read the earlier stories. (Though you'll probably appreciate this fic better if you've read the earlier ones first.)

This fic is split into three parts. Part 1(the first four chapters) contains a small amount of explicit sex, and numerous sexual references. If that turns you off, you can skip Part 1; it has several major plot developments, but nothing you can't pick up on in later chapters. Parts 2 and 3 have some allusions to sex but nothing explicit.

Both praise and constructive criticism are appreciated, so post those reviews!

Technical Notes: The milieu of this fanfic is property of Sega, as are a lot of the characters. Many, many of the characters are mine... if you're not sure which is which, and would like to know, drop me a PM. This story is set five months after Shining Force CD, with the exception of Part 1, which begins immediately after Shining Force Gaiden II(Shining Force CD Book 2).

Hope for the Nations

plot and script - Martin III

with special thanks to Demonic Weasel for assorted helpful advice on the plot

Part 1: Love

"How will I find you O my love

in the darkness of day?

I will look in glass forests

where electric fish play

How will I see you when I find you

in the brightness of light?

I will see you on the silver train

that people call night

How will I know you when I see you

in the bareness of spring?

I will know you by starlight

where the road's echoes sing

How will I love you when I know you

in the greyness of mist?

I will love you forever

where sadness has kissed"

- Chapter 1: Two -

They had made this same physical journey once before, with fear and uncertainty towards both the enemies awaiting them and their own feelings. Now they made it as though in a dream, buoyed along by emotions that surpassed their own understanding. They could not remember the tracks of the roads they walked, the forests they passed through, or how they had managed to find a ship with a crew that would take them to Iom. Through it all, they only had eyes for each other.

They talked often. Though it was generally Natasha who opened the conversations, Deanna was always quite willing to talk - and, more importantly, to listen. They spoke of mundane things like the surrounding countryside, but also of the place they were going, and the people they were leaving behind.

"I wish I'd thanked Mayfair before we left," Natasha said, leaning her head against Deanna's shoulder.

He adjusted his hand around hers. "She was... almost like a mother to you, wasn't she?"

"Always. She was so encouraging, so supportive. I was thinking of the last thing she did for me, though. Telling me to tell you how I feel." She smiled. "Listening to her was the best decision I ever made."

"It doesn't bother you... that I was going to betray you all to Iom?"

"But you didn't. You couldn't have... it wouldn't have been you. Besides, in your boots I'd have been tempted to do the same thing for Cypress's sake."

"But that's just it," he said with an tangible lump in his throat, taking his hand away from hers. "I wasn't thinking of betraying you for Iom's sake... it was for my own sake. I thought you couldn't forgive me if you knew who I really was, and how I'd lied to you. The only way I could keep you from finding out was..."

"Shush," she interrupted, grabbing his hand back. "I told you before, none of that matters. You're the only person who can make me feel this alive; that's all I care about. I love to hear anything about you, even the bad parts, but if you're going to use it as a reason to pull away from me, then just don't say it."

There was a pause. "It's still so hard to believe."

"What?"

"That you could... love me. Love me enough to leave your home, your friends..."

She smiled. "It can't be any harder to believe than that someone as brave and handsome as you could love an ordinary girl like me."

"There's nothing ordinary about you," he returned. "You're kind, and gentle. You even felt for the Iom soldiers we had to fight. You're the one who's brave. I'm... a coward."

The blissful expression on Natasha's face cracked. For a moment she looked almost angry. Her brow furrowed, and she opened her mouth to offer some remonstrance. Then she closed it again, and studied him for a minute in silence. He fidgeted uncomfortably.

At last she said, "I remember the first time you said something like that. It was right after you recovered from your fall from the cliffs. You said... you said you were a disappointment to your brother. Even though you became a sergeant at such a young age."

"You know Hindel was a general of Iom now," he said sadly. "Don't you see... how I became a sergeant so easily?"

There was a moment of silence as realization dawned in. "...I don't understand, though. I've seen you in battle; you are brave. Maybe not at first, but... you changed. Didn't you?"

"Because of you. I never won a single fight until I met you." He'd been looking down - away from her. At this, he suddenly looked directly into her face. "I had to protect you. You were... are... too special for me to let harm come to you."

Putting a hand on his shoulder, she pressed her lips to his. He returned the kiss willingly, accepting that she loved him against every logic he could see.

When their lips at last parted, she said, "That's one of the things I love about you; you don't even realize what a charmer you are."

He smiled, not understanding, and not caring.

Cool evening air fell over his skin like a bed sheet. The cold season was settling over Iom, Deanna realized. He'd been losing track of time. And yet, it hadn't been that long... Just a few months ago, he believed Cypress to be a land of terror and cruelty, strength was an alien concept to him, Hindel was alive, and he had never met anyone named Natasha.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

He gave a weak shrug. "I'm not sure... I was just going to keep walking until I find someone I can help. ...Where do you think we should go?"

"Your plan sounds fine to me." Natasha rubbed at her sleeves. "Boy, it's getting cold."

"Yes." There was silence for a few moments, and then Deanna slapped a hand to his head. "Oh! ...I'm sorry..."

"What?" she said, mildly alarmed.

"I didn't think... the nearest town I know of is the port we just left, and that's a couple hours back..."

It took her a moment to catch the implication. "You mean, we're going to have to sleep out in the open?"

He nodded ashamedly. As much as I've grown these past few months, I can still be completely thoughtless. "I knew we'd have to... I didn't think of how you wouldn't be used to this weather..."

"It's okay," she said, hugging herself to his chest. "I'll survive."

But as the sun left its last beams upon the land, he could feel her begin to shiver. His heart hung down with shame and fear. If she came down with something...

His fear proved to be groundless. As they found a spot to settle down for the night, he remembered that Prince Nick had included a small blanket in the pack of supplies he'd given him. After satiating their hunger on some fruits gathered from the nearby trees, Natasha found a good spot to lie in and Deanna spread the blanket over her. It covered hardly more than the upper half of her body, but it would be sufficient.

"What about you?" she prodded.

"I don't need one." He hesitated a moment, then bent down to kiss her brow. "Good night."

She watched him lie down in a spot several feet away from her - on his front side, like her - and smiled. "Good night, my love."

Deanna awoke to a soft sound of discomfort escaping Natasha's mouth. He looked over to see her restlessly adjusting the blanket over herself, shifting and pulling at it in a clear attempt to make it cover the absolute maximum amount possible.

"Natasha? Are you... okay?"

She nodded. "Just cold."

He was silent for a minute, watching her. In a second it occurred to him what to do, but the presumptuousness of it made him hesitate. A few months ago, he wouldn't even have considered it. Even so, it was solely for her sake, so... would it really hurt?

He scooted himself closer to her. "Here... let me..." He couldn't figure out how to finish that sentence, but she regarded him with quiet trust, so he went ahead and moved the blanket down so that it covered her legs. After gingerly tucking it in, he spread his cloak over her upper body and, though the boldness of the move set a current through him that was nearly painful, wrapped his arm around her shoulders for good measure. He watched her eyes, ready to retreat at the first sign of a negative reaction.

For a moment, she showed no reaction at all. Then the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she said, "Thank you. That's much better."

Her eyes closed, and in hardly more than a minute they were both asleep.