Faye and Fai

Chapter 1: Memories

This is my first attempt at a romance fic. Wish me luck! ^.^

I rode on the red steam engine, my purple eyes watching the landscape fly past.

Nothing really made sense anymore. Not that it ever did, really.

My memories after the age of eleven were all of the ones of Hogwarts. But before...

Before that, they were of Fai.

I couldn't remember distinct details, but I knew what had happened between him and his brother when they were young.

I knew that his brother gave his own life to save Fai.

I knew that Fai had tried to forget his own name, Yui, and assumed the name of his brother, Fai.

I knew all of this. And I didn't care.

My life was nothing but monotone before Fai. When he appeared, it was like my world woke up.

But while he was staying with King Asura, I got sick. I was bed-ridden for the good part of four months. No one but the doctors and my parents came in to check on me. Not that I had anyone else that would. I've never been much of a social person, so making friends didn't come easy.

Actually, it didn't come at all.

I had no friends in Celes. I stood alone in the snow while the girls chatted and the boys rough-housed.

I've always been fragile in health, and growing up in a frozen wasteland didn't help me. Not to mention my obsessively worrisome nature that got on everyone's nerves. I just couldn't seem to do anything right.

But then he showed up.

People were gossiping about the mysterious boy who the king had taken in. He found him and raised him as a son, since there was no heir to the throne.

I expected either a haughty, boasting prince-type, or someone popular, handsome and kind.

But Fai wasn't either.

He was small, shy and quiet. He seemed out of place and nervous, kind of like me, kind of not.

His big, blue eyes seemed too full of sadness and pain for someone that age. And when he looked at me, it was like he was begging me not to judge him.

Of course, people tried to warm up to him. Everyone was friendly to the little prince, but he didn't seem to like it.

In fact, he seemed scared.

One day, during a particularly cold wind storm, I saw him fall down.

People tried helping him up, but he wouldn't let them. He got up on his own, not even looking at them.

It wasn't that he was arrogant. It was that he didn't know how to accept help.

I didn't know it then, but he was really hurting and was afraid to cause others pain.

When I was sick one time, he stopped in, along with the king.

My parents and doctor got so flustered, they forgot all about me.

The little prince then found his way into my room.

"Hello." I said weakly.

"I was wondering if you were alright." he muttered, looking at his shoes.

I nodded, then lapsed into a coughing fit.

"Here." He held out a bottle of medicine without looking at me. "It's from the castle. I..." He blushed slightly and looked uncomfortable. "I hope you get better." And with that, he darted from the room as quickly as he could.

I held the bottle in my hand, staring after him.

After that, when I went back to school, I saw him.

"Thank you." I said, walking up to him.

He shook his head. "It was nothing. I just heard you were sick."

I leaned on the fence next to him.

"Still. It helped. Thank you, my prince."

"Fai." he said suddenly.

I looked at him questioningly.

"My name is Fai."

I smiled at him and held out my hand.

"That's funny. Our names sound similar. My name is Faye."

He shook my hand, unsure.

After that, we rarely spoke, but whenever he was around, I was usually near him.

I guess you could say we were friends. I didn't know really. It was just nice having someone else around.

The only thing was, he never smiled.

I remember everything perfectly. The wave of his blond hair. The sorrow in his deep, blue eyes. The soft blush on his cheeks when I was near him.

But not his smile. Never his smile. I wondered if he knew how.

At the age of ten, I came down with a terrible sickness.

No matter how much medicine I was given, my illness never seemed to waver.

Every day, Fai came to see me. We didn't talk much, but he sat in with me.

Just being around him somehow brightened my mood. Just knowing someone outside the family cared enough to come see me, it helped more than any medicine.

But one day, he stopped coming.

He never came back the next day. I waited, hoping he would show.

Four months passed and he never came to see me.

My body recovered finally and my sickness was gone.

I went to the castle, and learned Fai had left a while back.

He didn't tell me. He never even said goodbye.

~~~~~AA~~~~~

I was shaken from my stupor when someone came into my compartment.

"Hey Faye," Harry said, sitting down along with Ron and Hermione.

"Hi Harry." I smiled at him, even though I couldn't really bring myself to be happy.

The three of them chatted while I stayed silent.

I looked out the window and stared off into the grassy fields.

I was going into my fourth year of Hogwarts.

I was going into my fifth year without Fai.

I wondered when things would change.