Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy VII or its characters; those belong to Square Soft/Enix.
The Truth
Chapter One
The spring breeze blew cold as the lady Tifa Lockhart sat in her father's gathering room, her heart pounding audibly in her wrists.
"And so it is decided," proclaimed he, raising one arm to the sky, the long sleeve of his hakama wafting. "My daughter, Tifa, shall marry you, sir Cloud."
An arranged marriage to the most noble and eligible bachelor in the village, and yet Tifa could feel the bile rise through her throat. Perhaps from her not having a say in who she marries and does not? Not even she knew.
Hours later she took a relaxing stroll through the garden meadow beyond the entrance to the palace, dark navy kimono dragging along the dirt surface, lady in waiting Aeris following attentively behind. The moon rose high in the sky, reflecting off the small meditation pond her father had exclusively installed to ponder who was suitable to wed his only daughter.
"Milady," whispered Aeris, standing behind as Tifa stood before the circle of water. "You've been awful sound for quite some time. Is it from my not congratulating you on your betrothed?"
She shook her head, trying to tune out Aeris as she herself tried out this meditation pond of her father's. "Not at all, Aeris."
"Then why are you so quiet this evening? After all, you're marrying quite a fine man in a matter of weeks?"
"I'd rather not talk about it, Aeris." She knelt down to grace the glassy surface of the water with the tips of her fingers, chills running up her spine at the liquid's temperature.
Aeris was right. Cloud was a terrific man to marry to aid her in ruling this small corner of Japan, and all the women would surely envy her, but still my happiness is no where to be found…
It was time to comply with him.
"Could you give me a moment? I'm more than capable of finding my way back to the palace."
"Of course, my lady…" she hesitated at first, then slowly turned to the opposite direction and headed for the palace.
Once Tifa determined the coast was clear, she pulled out a crimson whistle, and blew gently into its mouthpiece. A dull flash of an identical shade of crimson swooped around her before settling underneath a nearby cherry blossom tree, revealing the form of a man: long black hair, apple red eyes, a cold look on his face with almost invisible softness to it. He stared over at Tifa, waiting.
"You called, milady?" asked he.
"Stop that, I told you to just call me 'Tifa'" she scolded playfully before making her way across the ground and wrapping her arms around his waist. He laid one strong hand on the middle of her back.
"What is the matter?" he asked, looking down at the top of her head, the black strands glowing silver in the moonlight.
Vincent, an ancient and centuries old demon confined to a mere whistle and only able to stay among the living world for three hours was actually worried about her timid little problems. She smiled, closing her eyes; face still pressed against his chest.
"Congratulate me, I'm to marry soon."
He stiffened under her grip, becoming uncomfortable but retaining his coolness never the less. "I see."
"And to make matters worse, I have all these doubts flying amuck in my head." She placed her hand to her temple for emphasis.
"Who, if I may?"
"His name is Cloud…" the wind gusted just then, as if to yet again remind Tifa that a young human girl should not be doing business with the likes of a demon. She shuddered and he held her close, as close as he felt comfortable with.
Vincent cared immensely for Tifa, dreaming of the next moment she will place her pink angelic lips to his whistle prison and release him, even for just a moment, so he may lay his dark red eyes onto her bright mahogany ones. But, when he was actually among the living hundreds and hundreds of years ago he once again fell in love with a beautiful human maiden by the name of Lucrecia. Sadly, fate would not shine upon their unrequited love, and once her father caught word of his daughter's unspoken affair he acquired the abilities of a local witch to banish Vincent into a small tomb, and to be lost in the depths of Japan forever. Nothing had ever been the same for Vincent, as even before he met Lucrecia he held a great deal of respect and kindness for humans just as he did for demons.
"Cloud." he grunted, staring into the tilled patch of soil nearby where beautiful orchids he helped Tifa plant still strived.
He could feel her face nod through his black hakama and red robes. They stood in that position silent for some time before Tifa broke through the silence. "What are you thinking, Vincent?"
He inhaled deeply before answering, wondering how he could answer the young girl who still trembled in his arms due to the evening's weather. "I believe you should marry him. The village…" he glanced once more at the orchids, "the village will grow into something beautiful with you as the ruler, and you cannot take that position without being wed…" his arms tighten around her frame, as if she were about to blow away with the midnight wind.
Her fist dug into his clothing, her heart beat rapid once more, trying to accept what one of her closest confidents was telling her. Marry Cloud? Marry Cloud? I don't think I could, but just as every other female member of royalty and nobility had been taught all across the globe was that they were to remain silent during these situations, regardless of whether they wanted to leap with joy or die with opposition. She released herself from his grip, and proceeded over to their very own make shift garden of pink and purple orchids. She knelt to the blossoms, touching them with the same soft, quiet touch of a mother to her child. She smiled at the memory of the day after the two planted these, several midnights ago.
They tilled the land and dug the holes and housed the seeds, afterwards adding only simple, plain water to the whole procedure. Vincent then after sent Tifa away to bed, promising to let himself back into his prison chamber on his own, and the next day when she returned to the patch of land for the second watering a group of priestesses, Aeris included in the mix, gathered around the fully matured orchids, proclaiming that they were a miracle from Buddha himself as they were not there the day before. From behind the group of squawking ladies, Tifa could not contain her blissful laughter, knowing Vincent must have been up to something when he told her to leave without his usual, timid peck on the cheek. The women thought she had gone mad, and Vincent, in an attempt to be coy, swore he had nothing to do with the matter.
"Do you remember when we planted these? The priestesses where up in a roar over them, and still to this day care and honor them as if they were a holy relic of Buddha's. You caused quite a commotion." She laughed once more.
"I told you before, I had nothing to do with that."
"Yes, yes…" one flower looked especially healthy among the others, and a brilliant idea popped into Tifa's mind. She plucked the thin green stem from the earth, and walked over to Vincent, still under the tree but now sitting down. "When I'm married, I don't know how often I'll be able to see you again. Perhaps weeks or months apart from the last. Could you perform some of that demonic magic to make this one blossom last forever?"
He stared at her, then back to the petals, which were outstanding in their beauty; not purple with white or pink with white, but a mixture of pink and purple with the same trademark white at the tips. He could understand why she had picked this one, and he took it from her hand and pressed his lips to one soft petal, and handed it back
"Did you do it?" Tifa whispered.
"I suppose. Is my word good enough for you?" he jabbed back.
She grinned once more. "Yes, yes it is."