A/N: Hey, guys! Well, I decided to pop out this short little ficlet for a very close friend. You see, this friend introduced the Kefka/Terra pairing to me, and I immediately fell in love with it. Now, this isn't a particularly romantic pairing. They could not function in any sort of relationship. But, I believe in their... bond, I suppose? Almost like... relatives or such. And, I wanted to show a bit of that here.
Also, as strange as it is for me, expect a few FF6 fanfics in the upcoming... month.
"Once upon a time..."
So many stories began with these four simple words; so many thrilling adventures, tragic losses, everlasting romances... Terra had heard these words time and again, hundreds of stories told by different voices in separate places of the earth, all in individual times of her life.
In her youngest memories, a soft voice would relay the tales to her, in a place where the smell of honeysuckles would always grace her little nose, and the only sights she could remember were of willow trees and warm hands. These stories are distant dreams, so far back that she wonders if they were even real at all. Colors and shapes blur together, princesses are forgotten and all the happy endings seem the same. Sometimes, it would hurt to think about the earliest times, as they were the happiest, yet most fleeting. Because, unlike in the fairytales her mother would read, Terra was no princess, and instead of a prince to sweep her off her feet, there was a cruel emperor who simply swept her away. And after that, the gentle winds and warm, happy scents... were gone.
The palace wasn't a truly bad place. It was.. lonely. And cold. The metal walls were drafty, and though the natural layers of baby chub on the small child's legs and arms added a bit of extra insulation, it seemed as though her skin was always prickled at a chill in the air. Her thoughts became fluent here, in this dark fortress with the test tubes and large machines... metal armor that looked like cruel, powerful beasts...
Terra didn't hate how the scientists would prick her, drawing blood for testing because she was 'special'. It didn't hurt too badly and they would always put a bandage on it afterwords, and when she would pick at the cloth, a little bit of blood would come out and stain her fingers a pretty color of scarlet- the same color that her new friend would wear on his eyes. His blonde bangs would sometimes slip from the ponytail that held them, and the strands would linger on his cheeks and brow. In those times, he was gentle and kind, even. Terra, still a child of barely four years, would reach up and push the hairs off of his face. She looked down at her fingers once, after such an act, to see the tips dyed red. When she first came there, he didn't wear the paint. But, as the days, years passed.. the gory color had appeared and grown darker, more noticeable. It was almost becoming like a mask...
But, Terra liked Kefka. He told her that she was beautiful, and an angel. Just like her mom had once... True, his voice was somewhat shrill, and sometimes angry... but never towards her. He would brush her seafoam hair and comment on how she was getting taller, or how her bangs needed a trim. After her daily lessons, Kefka would be waiting in her bedroom, and they would play and he would look at her with sad eyes, then laugh if she asked about how he was feeling... She always wondered if Kefka was sick, but he assured her it was nothing that Doctor Cid's medicine couldn't handle.
But... the thing she loved most about time with Kefka were the stories. He began with tales any child would know, reading from a thick, dusty, leather-bound book. She was used to silly, happy stories like The Leafer Who Wouldn't Eat Cabbage and Sunshine on Mobliz, but after a while, she grew tired of them, and the man began to read her things from the his own collection. Novels and plays... History books... All the knowledge of the world into such a tiny head. It made her question.. everything. The city of Vector, the life outside it, the Empire, men and women, and... herself. Who was she? What was she? She voiced her concerns to Kefka, and he simply stayed silent, looking away from her because she knew that he knew that Terra saw through his sad eyes and knew he was avoiding the subject. That was around the time when Kefka started to stop being her friend, and when she began to grow from a curious, bouncing child into a quiet girl who aged too quickly. By the time she was thirteen, she didn't see Kefka much at all anymore...
And by the time she was fourteen, she didn't see anything.
One night, the man visited her room, after she was already laid down to sleep. His face had changed over the years, he was now a full-grown adult, instead of the thin teen who first saw Terra, wrapped in a blanket in the general's arms, a 'weapon of greatest importance' as Gestahl had declared.
Now, ten years had passed. His face had grown dark, and excessive paint and color was a normal attribute to his appearance.
Terra, too, was different. Breasts had begun to grow, forming small but soft mounds on her chest. Her waist had thinned, due to training in combat and magicks, whereas her hips had widened somewhat. Kefka's eyes trailed over her body, a thin sheet draped over her, showing every dip and curve. He felt.. strange, dirty.. looking at little Terra, his 'angel', in such a changed form.
She noticed a presence, and blinked her lashes open. The man propped lightly on the edge of her bed was a surprise, and she grinned at him. "Kefka!"
He smiled back, not meeting her eyes.
"Terra.. the Emperor has given me a gift to present to you."
Terra squinted slightly, confused.
"Hey... do you remember the books I used to read to you? You always did love them..."
A gentle upturn of her lips. Of course she remembered, Kefka's voice... the smell of the dust and sunlight coming through the library window that was such beautiful, warm welcome that it almost was able to take away the chill of the castle. Those were the happiest times she could remember. But.. something seemed off...
"Is there... is there anything wrong, Kefka...?"
He shook off the question, as if it hadn't been uttered, and kept speaking.
"You see, I have another story for you. Once upon a time, there was a princess. She was beautiful... with bright blue eyes and soft, pink lips..." His voice trailed. "But... she was too smart and perfect for her own good. And an evil king wanted to use her and beat her... …until she broke."
"...Kefk-?"
"BUT THEN! A hero came to save her! Because, every princess must have a knight to rescue and protect her, right Terra? Right?"
Kefka's voice had risen from a whisper to close to a shout. He sounded almost manic, and it frightened Terra... She rendered something akin to a whimper, and scooted back against her headboard. But, the painted man's opaque eyes weren't looking at her, or seeing her at all. He stared at some other world that she was sure only he could see and continued his story.
"...Then.." He cleared his throat, nervously, like a boy confessing his feelings. "...he gave her a present... A gift to show her and the rest of the world that she was his princess. ...His angel..."
His hands held her down, and she struggled and cried out in fear of the strength his once gentle, brotherly hands were using to pin her against her bed. He began to place a circlet upon her head, muttering to her -or perhaps himself- things like 'a crown for a princess!' or 'won't this be pretty on you?', and the last thing she noticed was the smile on his face... and the tears dripping from his eyes.
Then... she didn't really notice anything.
She... became nothing. For years.
"Mommy! I wanna hear another story!'
Terra smiled at the small girl clinging to the hem of her skirt, the small head upturned to point big, brown eyes at her. "Hahaha, all right, Sera. What do you want to hear?"
Mobliz was a wonderful place. It had been wreaked with tragedy and despair, yet hope still bloomed everywhere... In the vines that crept up the walls of the ruined buildings, the flower garden they had all so diligently grown... It was peaceful here. She could smell the fragrance of lilies and chrysanthemums in the wind, and, sometimes, even a hint of honeysuckle that brought back memories long lost. The sunshine here was warm and inviting, and even the rain was gentle and calm.
Terra.. loved it here. Loved the children and all their warmth. Loved reading to them, and telling them happy fairytales. Sometimes even Sabin or Setzer would drop by and relay exciting tales from their adventures, back before The Peace. It was on those days when Terra would go and gather herbs, or something of the sort... She didn't like hearing about those times. Sure, some of it was fun! They went to a lot of different places, and met many new and wonderful friends. But... there had been so much death. So much.. pain...
Back then, Terra didn't even know who she was... it was a cold, and confusing time, that is better left forgotten, she told herself.
The child, Sera, was joined by another girl, slightly older, by the name of Leena.
"I wanna hear a story about a princess!" The elder pronounced excitedly.
…Terra's face fell. However, the girls didn't notice and simply began to spin about humming happily.
"Come on, Mommy! A princess story!" Sera was beaming expectantly.
"Yes, Terra! I'm sure you have dozens!"
Terra looked at them, their hair mussed up from playing, their cheeks red and glowing... It was hard to disappoint them.
"Well... let's see..." She began. "...Once upon a time.. there was a girl, who actually wasn't a princess."
"Heeey!" "You said this was gonna be a princess story!"
"Just listen, girls. It's only just beginning."
The two reluctantly nodded, obvious skepticism on their faces.
"Anyway... She wasn't a princess, really. But, one day.. she was taken to a castle. And, then, she became a princess."
"Can that really happen?"
Terra didn't look at the girl. "Yes. It can."
"I wanna become a princess!" Sera shouted out gleefully.
"...One day, she left the castle. And realized, she had been under a spell. A spell she never even knew was on her."
"How can you not know when you're under a spell?" Leena exclaimed. "What a stupid princess!"
"...Yes. Yes, she was. Because, after she had the spell lifted, she was very frightened. The spell had put her in a world where nothing bad happened and nothing hurt. But... nothing good happened either. She had gone so long with... nothing. No feelings, emotions, of any sort... that she was afraid of the things she was beginning to feel.
Some very kind people helped her, and she slowly became.. a person again. Not just a princess. But then..."
Terra's voice broke a little, and the girls looked at her, worried. She cleared her throat and gave a reassuring smile to them.
"Then, the princess met a man, a man she had known since she was a child. It was... her knight. The knight who she had always thought would rescue her and they would live happily ever after. But.. he had changed, and was dark then. And.. he hated the princess. He wanted to hurt her.
But, the friends... her kind, wonderful friends who had helped her from the spell... protected her. And the evil knight was defeated. And... the princess lived happily ever after."
Both children were silent, and Sera stared at the ground.
"That... that wasn't a very good story, Mommy. Why.. why did the knight have to be evil? It's not fair! That's not the way stories are supposed to go!"
Terra leaned down to push a bit of hair from the girl's cheek.
"Sometimes, Sera... things aren't the way they're 'supposed' to be. But... the princess was happy. And that's what matters, isn't it?"
Sera grinned up at her 'mommy' and nodded happily. "Yep! As long as she was happy in the end, I guess it's okay!"
She grabbed hold of the woman's hand and led her off, practically dragging her towards the house, begging for dinner all the way.
Leena was left alone, pondering. She looked towards their home and could see Terra's retreating form, their mother looking smaller, more fragile than she remembered. She whispered to herself, her usually irate voice softened.
"But... that's not right. There's no way she could be happy like that..."