Night Aria

The moon shone bright on this cold October night and the wind let out an eerie howl. The leaves rustled loudly as they clung desperately to the branches of the trees with their last strength.

Quick footsteps could be heard crushing the leaves on the floor while running unwavering to the destination they sought. She didn't know why she ran. No one was chasing her and it wasn't like her time would run out.
She only knew that she had to see her. All the terrible things she had heard today… She couldn't believe even one word!
No, she could have never harmed even the weakest of animals.

Oh my hero, so far away now.
Will I ever see your smile?
Love goes away, like night into day.
It's just a fading dream.

Pale light found its way through the bars. It wasn't much, but enough to illuminate the cell and the figure that was crouched against the stone wall under the latticed window.
Screams of agony echoed in her mind together with the image of living soldiers torching to ashes before her very own eyes.

How…?

Only one word was constantly repeated inside her head. She had killed 50 soldiers with her magic and there was nothing she could have done against it. How did she let that happen?

She knew it was the thing that Kefka had put on her head this morning. He had told her it was some kind of a new "armor". However, she should have known better than that.

Terra had protested and screamed. She didn't want to kill humans. She had never wanted to. But the screams had only been in her head. Her body hadn't reacted to her thoughts anymore. And the worst thing was: The soldiers hadn't been enemies – they were from the Empire. They had been her allies.

That's why they threw her in this cell.
As a punishment.
They couldn't kill her. Her powers were too precious after all.

The thought of her crime haunted her. All the families that lost their fathers, sons and brothers because of her…
All the souls who hated her for stealing their lives…
Hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

I'm the darkness, you're the stars.
Our love is brighter than the sun.
For eternity, for me there can be,
Only you, my chosen one...

Celes kneeled down in front of the barred window and tried to peer through the holes. It was more of an air duct than a window, though. Prison cells didn't have windows, especially not the ones in the basement.

She couldn't see much in the moonlight. However, her trained eyes found the outline of the person she was looking for beneath her: crouched against the stone wall, the feet pulled close and the face resting on the knees.
A wave of relief swept through her body when she saw Terra.

She was still alive.

After all that happened… they could have easily executed her for her crime.
"Terra", she finally found her voice again and slowly called out the green-haired girl.

The girl reacted almost immediately upon hearing her name. She lifted her head and looked towards the bars.
"Celes?" Her voice was hoarse and weak. Even though this was a question, Terra had recognized that voice instantly. How couldn't she, after all?
They were so close…

She wiped her tears away and stood up, taking a few steps away from the wall to get a better look at Celes.

Her blue eyes were filled with sorrow, something she had never seen before in them.

Terra had seen tenderness in these ice-blue eyes, love and even happiness – and she herself had felt those emotions in the arms of the blonde general. But never once had she seen her worried like now.

"You… are alive…" were the only words that Celes managed to utter as she fell down on her knees.
They were the only thing that had been on her mind when she ran across the yards of the imperial Palace as if she had been chased by a behemoth: Please, let her be alive.

Her lips formed a week smile.

Must I forget you? Our solemn promise?
Will autumn take the place of spring?
What shall I do? I'm lost without you.
Speak to me once more!

"You shouldn't have come. If they find you, they'll punish you too."

Terra was happy that Celes had come for her, very happy even. They had promised that they would never leave each other and Celes always kept her promises. But if someone saw her, speaking with "the witch", then she would pay for that. They could degrade her from her status as general.
Celes had worked hard to earn it; Terra didn't want it to be taken from the blonde because of her.

"I could never do that, I promised you." The blonde general told her with that gentle soft voice that she only used when they were alone. "And I couldn't leave you alone, especially not tonight."

Terra blinked. "Is something special tonight?" She asked, seemingly confused. The green-haired girl heard how the cold wind swirled up the leaves from the ground and seconds later, she felt the chilly air on her skin.
She was cold.

"Silly…" Celes reprimanded her gently. "It's October 18th."

"What?" Terra's eyes widened in surprise. "You came here, just because of that?"

Celes didn't always do stupid things, but when she did them it was just because of Terra. Like now, where she put her rang as a general on the line, just because she wanted to see her on her birthday.

"Yes." The blonde didn't even try to defend herself. "And because I wanted to see you", she added.

After all she had heard, she feared that Terra wouldn't have been the same anymore; that she wasn't "her" Terra anymore, but only a doll who obeyed every of Kefka's orders. She had been afraid. So afraid, that the Empire had taken the person she loved most away from her.
It was an unknown feeling to her and that had frightened her even more.

Terra shook her head, but she managed to put a little smile on her face. Since when did Celes act so rash?

She stepped to the small window again and reached her hand up. The window lay high and even though she stretched her whole body, she couldn't reach the bars and touch the other woman.

Celes reached her hand out too. She had to put her whole arm between the bars and couldn't see were Terra was, though she still managed to find her hand and stroke it.

The contact didn't last long, because Terra was too weak to stretch herself for a longer time, but it was enough for her. Enough to know that Celes still loved her, enough to give her strength and enough to put her mind at ease.
She took her hand back and touched it with her right hand at the spot where the other woman's fingers had been moments ago.

Celes sighed and sat against the wall, next to the window.
It hurt her to see Terra like that.

"Sorry, I couldn't bring you any presents", she apologized.

Terra wanted to protest, to say, that her being there was enough, but the blonde woman continued to speak before she could voice her thoughts.

"So I thought, I could sing you at least a birthday song."

"Sure…" There was nothing else left for her to say. Instead, the green-haired young woman sat down, closed her eyes and waited for Celes to start.

The general paused for a moment and inhaled deeply. She gazed at the moon and began to sing the generic 'Happy Birthday'. She didn't have the time to think of anything else. The news of Terra's imprisonment had completely thrown her off and now she just wanted to be with her, stay at her side and try to take the other female's fears away. Celes did not want to imagine how Terra felt in this moment, after what she had done against her will.

Terra had never heard the blonde sing and was very surprised to find how beautiful her singing voice was.

Celes sang the song slowly; her voice was filled with emotions: Love, sadness and also despair. It wasn't the fast-paced and happy song that one knew from children's parties.

The melody seemed to fit perfect with their situation – only the lyrics were off.

However, Terra didn't mind that. It was the most beautiful thing she had heard her entire life.
When she ended, a teardrop had escaped from Terra's green eyes without her notice.

"Celes?" She asked feebly.

"Yes?"

"Would you grant me a wish?"

The blonde pulled her knees to her body and put her arms around them. The night had advanced and even she felt the autumn cold now.
"Everything", she whispered loud enough for Terra to hear.

"Can you sing more? I love your voice. I want to hear it again."

"Sure."

Terra had never heard her sing, because Celes didn't like it. She didn't like to sing in front of others like a caged canary bird and she didn't want to be praised for singing like some opera singer.
She had always wanted to be praised for the things she did as general, to be praised for being a good fighter – but these emotions wavered now.
Seeing Terra jailed like that, caged by the very Empire she wanted to acknowledge her actions, made her question all the things she had believed in until now.

She forced herself to not think about these things and to remember songs she had heard when she was little.
Celes began to sing everything that came to her mind and improvised the lyrics when she didn't remember them.

When she finished her third song an aria popped up in her mind. She had listened to it long ago with her uncle Cid. Back then, she had liked it a lot and even memorized the lyrics because she found them so beautiful. She had been a kid when she learned them, but something told her that she still knew them by heart.

The blonde woman took a deep breath and started to singe once again.

We must part now, my life goes on.
But my heart won't give you up.
Ere I walk away, let me hear you say
I meant as much to you...

The sun was setting.

Celes had complied with Terra's wish and sang the whole night every little song that she remembered.
She knew the guards would arrive here soon on their regular morning patrol and that she couldn't allow herself to stay longer. They were not supposed to see her, but she also had duties as a general that she could not afford to miss without raising suspicions.

Terra knew that the blonde had to go. Even though she had desperately wished for the night not to end, dawn still came way too soon.

"I have to go now."

She really wished she hadn't heard these words.
Again she reached up to the window and Celes lowered her hand towards her so that they could touch one more time.

"I'll come back. I will… I will find a way to get you out of here. I promise." Celes said.
Her eyes were tired; nevertheless they seemed determined as ever.

Terra clasped Celes's hand with both of hers.

Celes knew that Terra didn't want to let go of her and even though she felt the same she forced herself to think that it was the only right thing to do.
"I'll come back", she whispered again as she let go.

Steps could be heard from afar. They were the steady and solid steps that belonged to the boots of a soldier.

Terra only nodded. She knew that she would start to cry if she tried to speak to Celes again.
She would wait for her. What else could she do anyway?

She didn't doubt the general's words – Celes always kept her promises – but she couldn't help but feel that she was left alone, when she heard Celes's steps fading in the distance.

So gently, you touched my heart.
I will be forever yours.
Come what may, I won't age a day,
I'll wait for you, always...

The blonde woman never got a chance to keep her last promise. Next time she visited Terra's cell the green-haired woman had been removed.
When Celes asked the guards where Terra was, they only shrugged and told her that she was sent with two other soldiers to Narshe.