Unattainable
A look on the overused character traits of Squaresoft
By: Novalon
From far off he gazed at her, the one thought entering his mind that he was close, but could never be too close. She… was too good for him, she was in fact one of a stature that wouldn't even be considered for one like himself, who wasn't even of the right blood, certainly not noble, and therefore he could never consider her.
She was beautiful, perhaps the greatest treasure of beauty to have ever been found on the world. She had battle prowess, and could hold her own against practically anything, much unlike her near ancestors. And… she had spent time with him so much, they had adventured for so long… yet he felt that as close as they were, whatever relationship he wished was so far.
The first time he knew he had a serious crush on her, was at possibly the worst point of time in which to happen. In the middle of battle, as she began casting magic all around.
Her smooth lips carefully enunciated the healing spell's intricate words. As a wind softly made her hair flow, her hands in an outward position as energy flowed from them outward to their friendly targets. Perhaps it was the healing energies that gave off such a feeling… but it was there, and perhaps could not possibly be overlooked.
He remembered several times in which she had fallen in battle, and he would quickly revive her with whatever he had. Getting back up, she would acknowledge him, say his name with thanks, before she would go off to doing whatever her mind was set to previously.
Beautiful, and yet sometimes she was ice cold… though it was all expected with all the problems she faced with her family.
Thinking back to all they had gone through together, he thought of how much the journey would have suffered had she not have been there. In fact, he was sure the journey would not have succeeded without her, indeed, she was just as much an integral part as she was a beautiful one.
But there was that lingering question… and he could not keep it from resurfacing in his mind.
Does she feel the same way? Would she, even royalty, look upon me in the same way that I look upon her despite her extravagant upbringing?
Though for him, the answer to that question was still yet to be found. Though he was the best warrior the planet had ever seen, this one thing that crossed his mind was possibly the hardest task that he would ever have to deal with.
And if I told her… how would she answer me?
And it pained his mind to think of how she would answer. He would hear that pretty laugh of hers once more, as she would answer that the two of them were never meant for each other. That one without noble blood would not even be considered for her.
Such an answer would drive him to suicide… the strongest warrior in all the world felled by the cold harshness of the beautiful royal lady that he held first in his heart.
It would be the death of him for sure…
Nevertheless, not telling this would surely kill him as well.
He prepared as he always had before, but this was no mere battle…
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Bartz carefully weighed his options, before making his way to Princess Reina's room. She had requested an audience of him for some reason… he guessed it was merely to catch up with each other.
Faris, her elder sister who was nearly her equal in beauty had stopped him in the hallway before he reached the room.
"Hey Bartz, how be ye today?" The thick pirate accent still lingered in her speech.
He smiled, "I am alright, Faris, just on my way to see Reina…"
She nodded, "Aie, my sister has something she really needs to speak wit ye about… I told her t'wouldn't be a problem for her, but still…"
Her face contorted into one of worry.
"Ye Gods, Bartz, I gotta know… but I can't ask ye without givin' away what she wants to speak at ye for."
He was confused, at least that's how his face looked. Deep down, he wondered if it had anything remotely close to what he had been thinking of before he came here. Finally, he answered her.
"You'll just have to ask after I am done speaking with her, then you'll know, I guess…"
He strode past her in silence and made his way to her door, making a few soft knocks on the door.
"Reina? It's Bartz…"
He could hear her voice on the inside, "Come in… I've been needing to talk with you about something very important…"
He strode in, slowly closing the door behind him. She continued to talk in a quiet voice.
"Bartz… there's been something I've been needing to say to you… and I feel that it can no longer wait…"
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Crono dispatched the last of the hostile forest dwelling creatures that lived near the castle. He gazed upon the looming structure as his mind whirled at the thought of just having a glimpse of the princess once again.
Surprisingly, he did not have far to go, she had been waiting for him at the edge of the forest.
"Crono!" Marle exclaimed, leaping up in the air for emphasation.
He smiled, "Hey Marle… what did you need to talk about?"
"Um…"
She put her arms behind her back, and he noticed her right foot nervously shuffling on the forest floor.
"I need to talk to you… Crono, but we need to go somewhere a little more… private."
What could she possibly look nervous about? Could it have any remote possibility to what he was thinking earlier?
Finally, he motioned to the east, "How about the clearing that we used the time gate to escape the chancellor?"
She nodded, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the area, once there, she continued to grasp his hand as she began the conversation.
"As I had the message sent to you… Crono… there is something very important that I need to talk to you about… and I need to say it now…"
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Zidane calmly looked at his intricately created knife as loose robes billowed around him. He watched offstage as the scene before him played out.
His nerves were shot, he could just barely see her sitting in the balcony, Garnet, the newly crowned Queen of Alexandria, and her two generals were staying close by to protect her.
"Ol' Rusty and Beatrix… who would've thought that they would get together all because of some stupid letter that Eiko tried to send to me?"
Baku had told him all about it… at least the first half anyway, the rest he deduced from Steiner while they had been journeying to Pandemonia in the Invincible.
Finally, he heard his cue, and pulled the hood over his head to conceal his identity. After all, his friends out there thought him dead… and the performance would be ruined if he didn't reveal himself in a dramatic ending. He deduced that the finest time would be during his monologue… all he'd have to do is add the right words…
It was his greatest performance ever… he would not disappoint her.
"… and I ask the Sun, the Moon, and the stars…"
This was it, there was no turning back. He held a hand to his hood… then in one fell swoop, flung the entire garment off his body.
"Bring my Dagger back to me!"
The shock he received from the crowd was staggering. All his friends had masks of sheer crazed confusion as they light the sight sink in… before a resounding cheer erupted from their lips.
He looked to the balcony, but found that she had disappeared. About to give up hope that she had missed his performance, he found the crowds near the stage part as she was running up to him as fast as her legs could carry her.
The tears in her eyes, the look on her face… could that emotion being shown have anything remote to do with what he was thinking earlier?
He nearly collapsed as she flung her body up against him, wrapping her arms around him in a near-death grip. As she beat her fist upon his body, he could hear her words…
"God, Zidane! Where have you been? I thought you were dead…"
Her voice was heard in between sobs, finally she continued.
"I thought you were gone for good… but now that you're back, I finally get the chance to say the most important thing on my mind right now… one that I thought I would never get the chance to tell you…"
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He waited for what she was to say to him. Although from what he had seen recently, he deduced what it was about.
And her actions as she was trying to find the words were no exception.
She was close to him, probably the closest she ever had been…
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Bartz realized that the last time they were this close was when he was saving Reina from the death throes of X-Death.
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Crono could think of no other time that Marle had been this close to him than when he had been newly revived on Death Peak.
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Zidane knew that they had been nearly this close before… in fact when he was saving Garnet… Dagger, from the horrible destruction that Bahamut was causing to Alexandria.
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As she struggled to find the words… just as he had finally wondered what she was about to say… she looked at him, straight in the eyes, tears streaming from them.
The emotion shown in them was enough to know… but the words only acknowledged it.
"I have been wanting to tell you this for so long… but the words have been so hard to say… and despite what others would say… I don't care…
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"Bartz…"
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"Crono…"
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"Zidane…"
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"… I… I… love you… more than life itself, and it took me so long just to finally realize how much it consumed me… how much I had to just come out with it and say it…"
And he answered her, saying her name softly before adding with his own words.
"I have been waiting for this time for so long… I was on my way to tell you myself… but to hear it from you first… dear God…"
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"Reina…"
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"Marle…"
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"Dagger…"
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"I feel the same way… my heart yearns just as much… if not in fact more. I love you more now than even when I met you…"
And at these words, the beautiful vision of royalty, the unattainable one, brought her lips close, and the warrior knight drew himself closer…
The greatest warrior of the planet, and a girl that was thought to be unattainable to him… sealed their future with a kiss.
Author's note: Wow, that's my first sappy fan fiction… but can you see the similarities with the characters? Please review this fic once you have finished, I'd dearly love to hear your comments.
- Novalon