"In Saintly Arms"

rorudesu-chan

.::.::.::.

Game over. Remains of the proficient use of magic and violent clash of weapons scarred the battlefield. Broken concrete was everywhere. Piles of debris and shattered glass had scattered. Lamp posts and traffic lights had fallen over. Vehicles were overturned in which some had exploded as a result of leaked gasoline and friction. The mechanized tanks and android sapiens utilized by the enemy were no longer functional, and had become nothing but their former selves made up of iron and circuits. There were cracks and holes on the dusty pavement. The scene painted a picture that proved the fight which had taken place was born out of a greedy cause and had ended up in an unnecessary ruthless way. But the result was a triumph in which the good had won over the evil. In one side of the street, the perpetrator of all the madness and bloodshed lay defeated – crystallized by his own lust for power. Meanwhile, on the other side, the victor, the one who had ended the war between two opposing kingdoms, stood proudly yet weakly at the same time. She bent over, leaning on her golden rapier for support as she pressed a hand over her bleeding abdomen.

Niveus, the man who was now preserved like a statue, pursued her aggressively when he learned that she had taken hold of the crystal to lead him away from engaging in a battle with Prince Noctis. He must not die, Stella thought, for the prince has a destiny to fulfill that is far greater than defeating Niveus and retrieving the crystal from his hands. Stella had always known that there was something that the 'light' wanted her to do. Something that only she could. At first, she thought that her mission was to stop the prince from getting back the crystal that was stolen by Niveus from his kingdom. Her kingdom of Tenebrae was an ally nation of Niveus' Niflheim, so she immediately thought that her allegiance followed the same rule. But in the course of her encounters with the prince, on and off the battlefield, her one-sided principles were changed by his strong convictions, and she herself was becoming indecisive towards her goals. It was when he had saved her from a platoon of heavily-armed soldiers – who were orderd by Niveus to dispose those who had failed several times to kill the prince – that Stella's true allegiance had finally chosen its side. Moreover, she had also recognized certain developing feelings towards the enemy – feelings which made her want to protect his life instead. It was no wonder that she had disappointed Niveus. She could have killed Noctis already if she had used her weapons with full force. But she was seemingly reluctant with every blow of her rapier, thus allowing an opening for him to strike back or a chance to escape. Stella felt that she did not want to be alone anymore. And somewhere, deep inside her, she felt that she would be in that state again if she did kill that man. That man who, like her, wondered why there were those who could see Etro's light and those who could not.

Stella glanced at the hand that covered her wound and realized that the bottom part of her white blouse, and the front of her black skirt were both soaked in her blood. She was starting to feel the place around her spinning, and she knew that she might not last long. But it did not matter if she didn't. She had done her mission. Niveus was gone and she had retrieved the crystal. But most importantly, Noctis was somewhere else alive and safe – thanks to Ignis, one of the prince's companions who had told him instead that Stella had gone back to Tenebrae to try and persuade its people to stop siding with Niflheim. But in reality, she actually went to face Niveus alone. If Noctis knew the truth, what would he say? Stella asked herself this as she tried to forget about the throbbing pain in her stomach that was draining her energy by the minute. Then suddenly, she heard her name being called from a faint distance. She turned around to see if she was simply hearing things. But when Stella saw a man running fast towards her, she wondered as well if she was also simply seeing it. She breathed his name before falling on her knees, scathing them as rough asphalt scratched against smooth flesh.

"Stella!" The man reached her. "You're hurt!" He bent on his knees as well, with his hands on her shoulders to give her additional support besides her hand holding onto her weapon. The presence before her convinced her that she was definitely not having an illusion.

Stella looked at him, and saw him staring back at her with a worried look in his handsome face. "It's nothing-ugh!" She answered, with a jolt of pain coming from where Niveus had stabbed her with his sword.

"Stay here," Noctis replied. "I'll get some help." He tried to stand up, but found himself staying on his knees as Stella tugged on his sleeves.

"You're bleeding!"

"No, don't go anywhere. There isn't-ngh! Much time. You have to… go to Etro and…" Her rapier fell to the ground with a clang as she moved her hand to her skirt's pocket to retrieve a fist-sized rock that was glowing faintly in color. "Take this with you."

Noctis received the precious artifact that Stella enclosed in the palm of his right hand. This signified that his pursuit for the stolen crystal was over, that his quest to avenge his father's death was finished. Both of his life's goals had been done, not by him, but for him.

"You did all these, knowing that you may be sacrificing your life. Why?" Noctis clenched the rock tightly in his hand. "Stay here, Stella. I'll go get help."

"No." She leaned completely on him, tucking her head under his chin, and placing her weak hands on top of his broad, firm shoulders. "It's fine. It'll be over soon."

"Stella." He whispered her name, and gave up trying to find a way to prevent her from leaving his side. He embraced her and hung on to the last moments that they could share with each other.

"Hey," He heard her say softly. "Do you remember… when we first met?"

"How could I forget that night?" He smiled. "During a party, this girl in a white dress came up to me and suddenly asked if I could see the 'light'. I didn't know who she was, but I was surprised that she said she could see it as much as I did. I hated seeing the light. I didn't even like talking about it, but she did. And ever since then, our paths would always cross. That girl became my enemy, but she also…"

Stella listened carefully. To him, yes. But in truth, she listened more to the rhythmic sound of his beating heart. But as she did, it dawned upon her that she was being selfish. The whole world was still in great peril. Not because the surviving Niflheim forces might continue attacking to avenge the death of their leader – such is an earthly cause for endangering the lives of all humankind. It is something much graver, something that is of a celestial level. Stella knew about the curse of the crystal, and the anger of the Goddess Etro that might soon tear the world apart. Time was quickly running out, yet here she was, indulging in the warmth and security that she felt in his arms. He was the only one who could protect all of them, but she was keeping him all to herself.

"Listen to me," Stella lifted her face off his chest. She would use whatever strength she had left, not to confess – she would let their position together speak for itself – but to tell him what needed more to be said. "Return the crystal… to Etro. She wants it back because we… we abused its powers."

"Etro's angry because a war was waged for the crystal, when it shouldn't be." Noctis retorted. "But humankind mustn't suffer for what one greedy bastard did! He should—"

"Niveus has already paid the price… He tried to take in the crystal's power… but it was too much for him."

Noctis averted his gaze forward and saw a man, a feet away from them, crystallized in a defensive stance. His eyes had almost bulged out of their sockets in frustration, and his mouth, wide open in hysteria. It was as if he could not accept the fact that he had miscalculated everything.

"You have to give back the crystal," Noctis turned his attention back to her. "And save everyone… and live on… I—"

He caught her as soon as her hands slipped off his shoulders. "Stella!"

"Believe in you, Noct."

"Hang in there!"

She smiled. She believed in him.

Noctis shoved the crystal into his pocket. He touched the hilt of Stella's rapier and the weapon itself vanished, indicating that he had absorbed her sword to become an addition to his arsenal. A part of her is now a part of him. He stood up, his fallen star asleep in his arms. He walked towards a man, wearing rectangular-shaped spectacles, who had been observing them from behind.

"Looks like we've won because of her." The man greeted the approaching prince with a calm expression in his face.

"Ignis," Noctis carefully handed the girl in his arms over to him. "Take care of Stella. There's something that I have to finish."

"Where are you going? The fighting is over."

"No," his eyes flashed crimson. "The real one's just begun." He took a step forward and he was gone.

Ignis looked up at the sky and saw a dark, cloudless night illuminated by a single, bright star. He never really could see the light from the legend. He shifted his gaze to the girl he held in his arms; her body had gone cold. But at that moment, it was as though he understood what fate awaited those who could see the light. And those who chose to fight it.

Author's Note: There's a sequel to this piece, but it won't be a follow-up chapter since I'm collaborating with my fellow author, Yorumiko, on this project. We've both agreed that the stories will be written in such a way that they can be read as stand-alones or as part of a mini-series, published seperately. Please review! Constructive criticism is welcome too. Thank you!

UPDATE (May 18, 2011) - The sequel to this one shot is entitled, "Black Snow".

x Roru