I don't know. I shouldn't be starting anything...I have things to do and people to reply to. But...I don't have the heart for it right now. I just don't. I hope anyone following my other stories will forgive me, but this little series of one-shots will be a way for me to let off some unhappy steam. I don't know how many I'll do or if I'll even post them all, but writing them makes me feel better somehow. But enough of me.
The main character will change with each update. Each character gets one chapter, unless stated otherwise. There are spoilers. For now, that is all.
I thank those who read this, for taking the time to do so.
She is afraid.
There is no way around it, she is simply afraid.
She has been marked as a Pulse l'Cie, the enemy of Cocoon, and for all her optimism she just can't find a way around her fate; a monster or crystal. All of her loved ones, all of the people she cares for, are now at risk because of her very existence. She is their enemy now-either kill or be killed.
Serah is terrified of what it means.
And so, she takes her life in her hands and tries to break it up. Shatter it like glass and drop the shining shards to the floor. Anything at all that would help ease the pain somehow. Alleviate the burden for both her and her family and friends. She does not need Lightning sick with worry-after everything she has done for Serah, the least she can do is give her sister the chance to have peace. Even if it means her death or departure or whatever it is she will do.
Serah thinks of never being able to enter her house again-never have Lightning's cooking and never smiling at her sister again. Shudders at the idea that maybe Lightning will hate her, now that she has been branded a l'Cie.
But even before that, she has to tell Snow that they're over.
It's better-
It'd be better for him...if I just disappeared...
But then he does the unthinkable-he runs after her, tells her no. That he will stay. And later, he even proposes to her under brilliant, flashing, neon fireworks. They kiss on his bike and he gives her an engagement necklace. Tells her that he loves her no matter what-that somehow they will fix it.
He is kind enough to even tell Lightning with her. And in that moment, under the night sky with the fireworks and the man she loves in front of her, giving her his strength, she feels loved. She is safe again. There is no brand on her arm, ticking away at her life. She is not a monster, bound to destroy Cocoon, or be destroyed in turn.
She is Serah Farron. And Serah Farron is standing in front of her future husband, who has managed to fill her with more love than she thought possible. Who gave her a token of this same, endless devotion in the form of a necklace and is swearing to stand by her side.
Who just kissed her under the fireworks and promised to have a family with her.
It's so much that Serah can't help the sob that escapes her, or the way her heart stutters in her chest, trying to take it in. Snow hugs her and soothes her and she is so grateful to this man for showing her that she is not alone. She grabs him, holds him, and thanks him over and over.
But when they are walking home, reality hits her again. Strikes her core and sucks the breath from her lungs in a single motion. Her legs wobble and Snow is glancing back at her, his eyes wide with concern. He rushes when she drops to her knees and gasps, her hands grasping her arm where the brand has been etched.
Serah sobs.
Her brand advances.