Chapter Three:
Dancing in the Firelight
Three weeks had passed since 'The Doman Uprising,' or 'The Doman Massacre' as the world outside the Empire had quickly come to know it. The story, at least what was publicly known, told tales of the Kingdom of Doma resisting the advances of the Empire and becoming utterly destroyed as a consequence. What remained shrouded in secrecy, false truths, and fake news was that this one particular event created a divide in the Empire's high command.
The folklore, as it was, started with Doman strategist and knight Sir Cyan Garamonde having captured several Imperial scouts who hadn't been scouty enough to remain out of sight. To reclaim his men, Emperor Gestahl sent two of his generals, General Leo Christophe and Royal Court Mage Kefka Palazzo. One was highly regarded amongst Imperials and their opponents alike as a model soldier and overall decent human being. The other was legendary for his flippancy, crazed laughter, total disregard for life, and the amount of hate (and fear) he generated on both sides of the line.
Sir Cyan, finding that his people were outnumbered, led his country in refuge behind the sturdy walls of their castle and the strong currents surrounding them; a classic waiting game. A week had passed them all by before General Leo, concerned for the well-being of all parties involved, made headway in negotiations to see the safe release of his men from the gallows. But just before anything could be finalized, the Emperor requested that Leo return to Vector.
Depending on who asked, the outcome of this one decision was either a great tragedy or among the greatest of Imperial achievements. No sooner had Leo's boots hit dirt outside the camp, Kefka ordered his soldiers to poison Doma's water supply by cover of night. Within twenty-four hours the waiting game boarded the Phantom Train to the afterlife. Men, women, children, the elderly; none survived the horrible effects of the poison. Doma had become a civilization of abandonment and ghosts.
Even with a lack of evidence supporting it, thanks to Elite Imperial MagiTek Soldiers blocking access to the castle, there were whispers of something more sinister having taken place within those walls. Most believers of this particular version of the tale tended to wear tinfoil hats and swear upon their mother's grave that religious icons appeared on their toast or the bubbles in their bathtub. Nobody knew the truth of what happened save the Empire and Doma's dead. Neither were talking, thus making the task of sorting through fake news that much more difficult.
Vector rushed Kefka back as a hero of the Imperial named 'Doman Uprising.' Most of the high command praised his ferocity and never-ending drive. Parades were held in his honor, the truth of what he had done soon buried behind piles of ticket-tape, lies, and bureaucracy. But not all was well in the Empire for cracks were starting to divide its people. It began with several key low-ranking officers speaking out against Kefka's methods. They soon disappeared, either by reassignment or other mysterious ways. Both happened quite often in the Empire, so no one thought much about it.
Things really changed when the Empire's youngest and most popular general, Celes Chere, took center stage to speak her mind. All reports officially filed described nothing but what glorious heroics had taken place. Her argument had been that no bodies had been collected, Doman or otherwise, and that the only survivors had been Kefka and a handful of his elite guard. She had warned, "Control his disastrous antics or find me on the opposite side of the battlefield controlling them myself." Celes had figured that threatening a defection to the opposition, the rag-tag and disorganized Returners, would push the necessary buttons to get things under control. How wrong she had been. Instead of watching that madman receive his punishment, she instead watched herself receive hers. Not even a day after her outburst, she ended up back where she had started her career as general, stationed at South Figaro where nothing ever happened.
This change of events hadn't come as a surprise; there was no question when it was clear that Kefka was the most favored of the generals, despite being the least popular. Considering that he always displayed an "I do what I want when I want! Nyah-nyah!" type of attitude, Celes should have seen it coming sooner. If anything, she should have said something sooner rather than later.
She also hadn't been surprised that no sooner had she made it to South Figaro, before she could enact her personal plans to travel to Figaro Castle, Kefka and his Royal Guard seemingly appeared from nowhere. As he talked her down and usurped her command of her troops, that grin, that stupid psychotic grin was ever present. As much as she wanted to scream and tear down every one of her soldiers, she found that she couldn't. She wouldn't win. While her men would normally follow her to the ends of Gaia and back, there wasn't much she could do to protect them from Kefka's screamed threats of serving guacamole made from their testicles if they failed to side with him. Knowing Kefka, he wouldn't just stop at a soldier's groin. Baldur's Gate, no. Every single groin in that soldier's circle of family and friends were at stake.
All for want of intact groins was how Celes found herself in her current predicament, in the middle of a South Figarian forest, lying in the grass like a discarded doll with hands and feet bound by thick, sturdy rope. She had struggled as Kefka's Royal Guard had stripped her bare of her mythril armor and uniform, leaving her with only a tank top and her underwear as protection. Saying that she was slightly miffed at the situation was an understatement, but humiliation won over as the emotion of the day. Bastards.
Kefka, wearing a gleeful grin to end all grins, maniacally stared down at her. Celes angrily returned the gaze. She hated that stupid toothy grin. She wanted to smack the damn teeth out of his head and pound them into the ground with a heel, the alternative being shoving them up his ass. Either would most certainly be enjoyable payback. That'd show him.
If his face wasn't creepy enough already being covered in makeup and half hidden by shadows, the fact that he hadn't said anything to her sent shivers of creepiness down her spine. His squatting down next to her and grinning like a calculating idiot did not help matters, either. To buy some space between them, Celes did the only thing she could do in such a situation; she spat at him. Glee filled her as the flying phlegm landed square on his rather large and pointed nasal appendage.
It had been amusing watching the gears turn in his head as he tried to figure out what had happened. At first, it was denial, which had been plainly visible as he wiped his face clear. Then, the expected stage of anger seemed to have gotten lost somewhere en route and the emotion known as delight stepped in excitedly as a replacement. Kefka cackled psychotically and danced a prancing dance in an imaginary circle.
Well, that certainly was a reaction to spit that no one had ever seen before. Most normal individuals would have become enraged at such things. The only rational explanation: Kefka was crazy. Celes had always suspected him of it, and the rumors of his mental instability had their roots in a time before his MagiTek infusions – hell, before she had even been born. And being accused of treason because she disagreed with his methods absolutely did not change her opinion of him. Then again, perhaps she was the crazy one for thinking she could speak against the Emperor and his right hand and not find herself in this predicament, popularity be damned.
After some time, he finally decided to address her concerns about his actions at Doma, several weeks too late of course. Or, based on the faraway look in his eyes, he had been addressing the voices in his head. One couldn't be sure. "A thousand voices… All screaming in agony," he whispered with a shudder of pleasure. "Why, I know what you're thinking, General. But I had a rebellion to put down! They were getting incredibly rabid and, why, had to be put down like the dogs they were!"
That sneer had been so much of a greasy insult that it left her feeling unclean and seething behind clenched teeth. She angrily shook her head and looked away as best she could when he got down on all fours and brought his face within touching distance to hers.
"Oh, don't give me that look, Celes!" he mockingly pleaded. "I did what any good soldier would do to win a war." He showed his teeth the world before licking his lips and uttering in a guttural tone, "Anything." He cackled once more and, in an instant, shot up to dance excitedly in place.
To Kefka, his actions at Doma would have been like reading his daily paper while eating breakfast in the morning. No sane person would have been able to do what he had done and been able to turn around and gloat about it. "You poisoned women and children, arsehole!" Celes spat at him. "That's not fighting a war! That's cold-blooded murder!"
Kefka laughed his ever-present and ever annoying laugh before snapping his fingers at his nearby royal guard. "You there!" he said with stifled snickers. "Don't you know that littering is bad for the environment?! Pick this rubbish up!"
After a tense moment of listening to nothing but cackling, Celes felt strong hands grip by her shoulders and watched as her perspective of the world returned to normal. Well, as normal as it could get. Kefka was still present and his eyes were still those of a crazy person.
"Murder she says," he giggled as he caressed her cheek. She roughly turned her head away from his violating touch. "Hypocrite much, Ice Queen?" Another giggle. "The sacker of Maranda! She who freezes the hearts of men!"
Celes involuntarily winced at the mention of her unofficial titles. It hadn't been her fault that men needlessly threw their unwanted affections at her. And Maranda… She didn't want to remember that disaster.
"Alas, the tragedy of Doma! Those poor fools became something more as they perished!" Kefka theatrically sang as he paced. "They became art! They sang to me of their woes! Their pains! Their frustrations! It was the greatest of the greatest operas!" He uncharacteristically fell into silence as he regarded the raging fire nearby. "Perhaps…"
A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told Celes that she wasn't going to like where this situation was heading. Kefka slowly turned toward her enough to stare at her from the corner of his eye, a slow grin spreading across his lips. With the way the flickering shadows fell across his face, she genuinely felt scared. Rarely did she feel fear.
"Perhaps you'd like to sing for me, my dear," he said with a hint of lust. It wasn't a request; it was a demand, and that made all the difference. He cackled and rubbed his long, grimy hands together. "Sing of your woes! Your pains! Your frustrations! Sing as I choke your veins with the very poison you detest!" The cackling doubled in intensity as he pulled a vial of purple liquid from under his billowing cape.
In response, Celes struggled against her binds and the massive brute holding her just out of reach of solid ground. She spat once more at her free-range adversary, the pitch going wide in a foul. "Do what you will!" she growled. "But what will the Emperor say when he finds out I'm dead? What excuse could you possibly feed him?"
Kefka's grin went even wider as he pulled the cork off the vial. In a singsong manner, he said, "'I must apologize, my liege, but I uncovered a nefarious plot against you! Your dear General Celes, dead!' I'd say! 'Why, oh, why, dear sweet Kefka?!' he'd exclaim quite concerned." He cackled again as he swung his arms wide. Bits of the poison spilled out and, to Celes' horror, immediately killed patches of grass. "'A vile, nasty, nefarious plot, sir! Alas! Poor Celes! Betrayed us for the Returners! Betrayed you, my liege! Betrayed you for a gaggle of ragtag ruffians! Alas, poor sweet Celes! Talk sense into her I tried, but… Wo unto me! Killed her I had to! She threatened everything this Empire stands for! Everything you stand for!'"
When Kefka hovered his face a mere hair's breadth from hers, Celes attempted to lean back. Of course, it was hard to do so when being held up against one's will. He glared daggers at her as he whispered harshly, "And believe me he would because unlike you, General, unlike that goody-two-shoes Leo, I am his most trusted adviser!" Using his free hand, he abruptly backhanded her across the face. She squealed and wished that her feet were free so that she could kick him in the balls. In her ear, he finalized his tirade with a whispered, "I, as a good and loyal servant, merely saw that the Emperor's will be done. Besides, how do you think it would have looked on my part if I, a lowly jester, had refused the order for their untimely demises? Your…untimely demise? Hmm?"
Her untimely demise? Celes was at a loss for words. She honestly had no idea on how to respond to this tirade or even to the accusation of the Emperor being behind something as heinous as the deaths of helpless women and children. Her own predicament she could understand; it was the Imperial Way, kill them before they defect. Sending her to South Figaro had just been a teaser. They had never intended to let her go any closer to Castle Figaro. It had been false hope, and, like a chump, she had believed it.
When Kefka turned his back to her with a laugh and a wave of his hand, she knew what was coming. The aching jaw had been just a taste. "Boys," he said, "show the girl what the Emperor does to traitors."
Celes choked out "You sonova-!" before she was overrun by the Royal Guard and her stomach malformed into a well-used punching bag. Every punch felt as if she were being hit with a battering ram. As soon as one was over, the next popped up to replace it. She lost track of events in a sea burning until the men assigned under her joined in, and even then, every hit, every burst of pain felt incrementally worse, like falling down the side of the world's tallest mountain. Every strike doubly felt as if they were punching her in the heart.
Some of these men had been with her from the very beginning of her career, following her to hell and back in defending Vector from Returner attacks and The Maranda Uprising. She wanted to ask why they'd pull a dick move and turn on her, but there was no need. They feared Kefka more than her. She only threatened kicks to the balls and rarely followed through. Kefka, on the other hand, had a recipe for testicular guacamole not to be taken lightly. He always followed through and always without warning. Sometimes for no reason.
When the barrage finally ended, Celes slumped in her captor's grip, tried mentally to block out the sharp pain, and blatantly ignored the tears rolling down her face. One last soldier approached and gave her one last swift punch to the gut that produced a painful coughing fit. She understood now why they removed her armor beforehand, not only for shaming but this as well. She spat red-tinged fluid once her lungs decided to stop spasming. How bloody fantastic. She may have been beaten, but she certainly wasn't broken. "That all you got, mate?" she weakly slurred. A grin popped into place and laughter rang out in-between pain-riddled coughs. She stared him down from under sweat-matted strands of hair. If her defiance surprised him, he didn't show it from behind his sneering grin. "Why don't you give me some more, ya fuckin' wanker? And since you're fuckin' me, a bouquet of bloody flowers would be nice, too."
Nervous laughter traveled amongst her soldiers, and she knew why. Just like the Ice Queen to want more, and that intimidated the Royal Guard felt the same, it was hard to tell. Their elaborate masks and robes prevented their faces from being seen.
Kefka finally laughed a shrill cackling that echoed throughout the forest. "Oh, I most certainly can, my dear!" he said excitedly, his grin eating up even more of his face. "But for the moment, I need to discuss some things with your playmates, so just…" He laughed again. "…relax."
The laughing continued long after Celes's perspective to the ground turned intimate. She landed on her stomach and cried out from the sharp pain shooting throughout her body. Every breath was a new adventure in a new world shrouded in a haze of agony. As the fog faded, she became aware of low, excited talking. She could have sworn that she heard the words "Returner scum," "captive," and "South Figaro," but it was hard to tell if she was hallucinating or even if she heard things properly over her own raspy breathing. She tried to turn herself around to get a better view, but the aching in her all over kept her in position.
Without warning, Kefka's curled shoes appeared before her eyes and burst into laughter and dance. "Well!" they exclaimed. "It would seem that our secret mission into Narshe was a success!"
Celes once again found her perspective involuntarily changing and nearly gagged when Kefka started dancing with her. 'Dragged about' probably described the baffling and rather painful situation the most accurate. All he did was swing her from side to side and in circles, and, after he had his fill, he let go mid-swing, discarding her like yesterday's newspaper. The landing was painful enough that she had to adopt a fetal position to lessen the throbbing sting, for what little good it did.
Kefka said, "And my little pet! Who would have thought that she harbored such power?!" Again, his shoes cackled like a lunatic. Little pet? Surely he didn't mean- "Oooh! So exciting! And a bonus! A Returner spy for me to interrogate!"
Celes gritted her teeth and pathetically whimpered when he forced her into a sitting position by yanking her hair.
He whispered theatrically into her ear, "Today is your lucky day, my dear! Be happy! As a celebration, I'll allow the men to do to you as they please! This poison…" He licked his lips hungrily before throwing her back to the ground, the world once again turning sideways. "I think I'll keep for my new friend who will be arriving in South Figaro for me to entertain soon." He giggled quietly before he and the Royal Guard disappeared from sight altogether. "Ta ta!"
Kefka was gone. Bloody good riddance.
There was no time to let the pain or the humiliation she suffered bring her down. Celes needed to escape, but after a quick reconnaissance, she learned real quick that an entire battalion still surrounded her. A technicality, of course, and one that wasn't in her favor. However, from what she could see, none of them were paying her any attention. A group was stationed nearby, assumedly to keep watch over her, but they were more engrossed in their game of Triple Triad. Overall, this was a terrible situation, but it was one that could still be overcome with a plan of action in hand.
First thing to do, use ice magic to break through these ropes. Second thing to do, escape. Third, seek out assistance from King Edgar Figaro. It was no secret in the Empire that he was 'secretly' a Returner. He was as bad a liar as he was a womanizer, but he was the kind of assistance that she needed. The only reason the Emperor let him run free was due to his scary intelligence with machines and engineering that wasn't related to MagiTek technology. Or, perhaps she could jump into the Returners' good graces by rescuing their operative straight off the bat?
In your underwear and injured? Her internal voice laughed at her. You're a bloody loony.
Celes silently scoffed and focused on her task despite the pain. Even if she failed to save the operative, she could still be useful to the Returners. The number of Imperial trade secrets she had been privy to, the weaknesses of the various MagiTek machines that she knew about, hell, even her magic. But…
Once a traitor, always a traitor.
She scoffed at her pessimistic side. Either way, it didn't matter. She had no intentions of sticking around to find out what else the Empire had in store for her. With Kefka and his Royal Guard gone she could make her escape. None of these men were MagiTek Knights like her so she could work her magic, and no one'd be the wiser. Still, even if she did bust loose, she'd be noticed and would have to fight her way out. She was in no condition for that. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she could stand, let alone crawl, but her desire to vacate the premises was greater than the need to remain. The air around her fingertips rapidly chilled as a sharpened icicle formed within her grasp.
Suddenly, an odd thought occurred: Knights typically rescued princesses. So, who rescued the knights when the knights were in trouble? The princesses? She wished a princess would show up right about now, which prompted her internal voice to laugh at her again. As if such a thing like that would happen.
Celes sternly watched the group of soldiers nearby as she sawed through the ropes with her frozen knife. Kefka had been right, in a way, to brand her as a traitor. She'd make him regret turning her into an enemy. It was too bad that she couldn't stomp up to the Emperor himself, hand in her resignation, and tell him just what she thought of- A portion of the rope snapped, loosening its grasp on her. Not much longer now. If she made it out of here unscathed, the first thing she was going to do was drink herself stupid in celebration of her dumb luck. Another rope snapped. Wait. Safety first, then drinking. Hell, she still had to think of a way to get her feet unbound without being noticed.
When the last of the rope binding her wrists came free, her worst fears of the situation came to light. The soldiers that had been playing cards had been paying attention to her after all. Or maybe they just now were wanting to mess with her.
"Seriously, Ice Queen," one of them sneered. "I've gotta know. What exactly were you trying to accomplish?"
He looked just like the others with his face hidden behind his helmet, but the voice was unmistakable. Brave Dave, a formidable soldier with a stupid rhyming nickname who severely lacked social constructs. He had been a thorn in her side for years with attempts to get her out of her pants and into his. A punch to the jaw and a shouted 'piss off' only made his disposition towards her even worse. Their feuding had been so bad that General Leo had them separated at one point. There was no mistaking; Kefka had brought him here on purpose.
He continued with multiple layers of snark, "Did you really think that Lord Kefka'd let you slander his good name and get away with it?"
Slander? She was going to do more than slander. Celes chose to ignore his questions and responded with an ice-loaded glare. This prompted laughter from the group.
"Oi, Dave," chuckled one of the others, "I think she's gettin' aggro."
Dave's tight grip encapsulated her jaw, forcing her to her knees. What was with everyone wanting to touch her damn face today? "I don't care if she is or not!" Dave hissed. "Whaddaya say, mateys? Should we find out how cold the Ice Queen really is?" This earned laughter from the group.
Celes, having other ideas, swiftly brought the blunt end of her ice weapon up into Dave's not so secured groinal area, immediately securing a release. As he went down with a girlish cry, the other two in the group drew their swords. She quickly threw her ice dagger at one, catching him in the chest and knocking him down, and froze the other to the ground with a speedy Hadouken of ice magic.
She didn't have much time. Surely, this scuffle had been noticed and would be investigated by other soldiers, screwing her chances horribly. She worked on undoing the binds on her legs as quickly as she could, but her hurried panic, the sting in her stomach, and a sudden powerful niggling in the back of her head made it difficult to focus. What the hell was that infernal buzzing?!
After some fumbling, she had finally reached the last knot at her ankles, but a sword pointed at her nose made her reconsider touching it. "Oi! I wouldn't move another muscle, Queenie." She followed the high-pitched voice and trembling blade upwards to find Dave scowling at her from behind it. For whatever reason, he had undone his trousers and gestured to the opening with his free hand. "I think you need to kiss it all better. It's bad form to bash a bloke in the balls, you know."
Celes briefly considered creating another ice dagger and ramming it up point first. See how much he'd like that. But the campfire burning behind him soon attracted her attention. It had tripled in size and started throwing out sparks that had set ablaze several of the soldiers who had been lounging around it. Then there was the screaming from the sky. It was piercing and loud, almost reminiscent of a cat dangling from a window by its caught tail. She looked up in time to see, for a split second, what looked like a flaming pink cat dive-bomb their location like a meteor. Several soldiers did cry out warnings, but too little, too late.
A fiery explosion engulfed the entire clearing and was powerful enough to send Celes and everything else skidding several inches across the ground. Because of the dusty haze and being flat on her back, she couldn't see what was happening, but that hadn't affected her hearing.
"What the bloody hell was that?!" said one soldier followed by the sounds of drawn swords.
"Some kind of flaming pink cat thing?" said another followed by more drawn swords.
Celes brought herself to a sitting position and couldn't believe what was happening around her. Brave Dave and his group had abandoned her to join the other soldiers in surrounding what looked like something out of an War of the Magi fairy tale. The humanoid cat beast raised itself from its crouching position and stared down the entire company of confused soldiers with a slow turn of its, no, her head. In her clawed hand, she held a small magical ball of fire. Rather than outright attack, this creature flipped her lavender hair from her face and followed up by casting a sidelong glance in Celes' direction.
Celes couldn't figure out whether she should have felt relieved or threatened. Instead, she continued staring slack-jawed at the creature's beauty. In the back of her mind, familiarity tried saying hello, but that was impossible.
"All right, mateys. Who ordered the fuzzy hooker for me birthday?" Dave quipped nonchalantly. This incited laughter from the group.
"Right, mate?" said another. "Who needs the bloody Ice Queen when we've got a sexy Fire Kitty?" This prompted more laughter.
In response, the creature raised a slender arm and sent her flame ball on a mission of setting chuckling soldiers on fire. The explosion sent them flying in all directions, whole and in pieces. The ones who hadn't been hit fell back to what they presumed to be a safe distance. Except one. Dave rushed forward and tried gutting her. The tactic would have worked if the creature hadn't somersaulted over his head, grabbed him by the shoulders, and sent him flying hard and fast. He flew over Celes' position and smashed into a tree some distance away with a sickening snap and a gurgle.
Well, so much for him being a problem in the future.
All hell broke loose at this point, as the entire leaderless battalion tried attacking the creature all at once. Wanting to put as much distance between herself and the chaos, Celes scrambled away. She didn't get very far with her stomach screaming at her or with the rope tripping her up, but was able to collapse behind a nearby tree and subsequently prayed that she was out of the danger zone. She could have made a break for it, but curiosity wasn't letting her. She had to know what this creature was.
She poked her head around the tree trunk to watch in awe as the lithe creature did nothing more to attack the soldiers; she simply dodged all of their attacks and used the chaos of the situation to trick them into attacking themselves. Her movements were fluid and quick, almost like a dance. The only way to explain it was powerful magic emanating in pulses so substantial that no matter how much she wanted to look away she couldn't.
She was enraptured by this…beautiful creature.
One blink and the battle was over with the snap of a neck. Celes stared wide-eyed as the creature let the last soldier fall before observing the carnage she had taken part. A deafening quiet soon fell over the forest. Fifty soldiers, dead in less time than it would take to skip a rock across a pond. Blood coated the ground like spilled paint. Throughout the entire clearing, the bodies of the Imperial soldiers lay gutted, burnt, and soiled with their own excrement. A smoky haze added to the dark and gloomy sight. The only space that seemed to have been spared the chaos had been Celes' own. She could do nothing but stare with her mouth agape in shock.
The creature licked at one of its wrists briefly before once again acknowledging Celes' presence with a side-long stare. Or perhaps, psychological mind-fuckery was at work. Either way, Celes swore under her breath and considered her options, of which she had very little. But intense familiarity made her hesitate. The shape of those eyes and that nose. The thinness of the lips. If it hadn't been for the non-human features, the ears, teeth, and fur, she could have sworn it was someone she knew.
The little girl in the back of her mind swooned so hard it was embarrassing. A princess in shining, fuzzy nakedness had come to her rescue! The stone cold general, the one usually in charge, wanted nothing to do with any of it. Still, even the general couldn't look away; it was all too bloody confusing.
The creature sauntered towards her, prompting Celes to struggle to her feet and use the tree to keep upright. "Stay back!" she said with a slight waver. "I'm not like the others! I can use magic!" Oh, that was smart. If the creature was hostile, she had just blown her element of surprise. Hell, she didn't even know if the approaching cat-woman was intelligent or not.
The creature stopped within an arm's reach and cocked her head to one side as she looked Celes up and down. No, it obviously was intelligent; the question was 'Did it speak Vectorian.' Despite the carnage that had just occurred, Celes couldn't help but find this person/thing—What was the right word?—adorable?
She yelped with surprise when strong arms and a lithe body pinned her to the tree. Staring into burning red eyes presented no blazing malice, not like before. Now they shone with the kind of warmth that one would find in a loving home with a cozy kitchen. The cat-woman's fur was also surprisingly soft, almost like phoenix down[1], and invoked a scent very reminiscent of strawberries[2]; an odd thing to be reminded of considering the heavy smell of copper and ash in the air. It was intoxicating, much like the magical field that now encapsulated her.
The more this creature dominated her, the more Celes wanted. The more she stared into those eyes, the more she became convinced of a familiar presence, but who continued to elude her. Was she being charmed? "What…do you want from me?" she managed to stammer out.
The creature responded by flattening itself onto her and kissing her. Not knowing what to do, Celes closed her eyes and froze in hopes that the ordeal would be over quickly. But familiarity and a certain swooning ego in the back of head shoved that desire aside and had her responding in kind. The powerful magic buzzing in the air certainly wasn't helping things.
In her mind's eye, the cat-woman changed her likeness into that of a human and one that was immediately recognizable. That mass of lavender hair turned to a shade of grass green, burning eyes cooled to expressive emerald green, the cutest little button nose lost its white fur and pink tip, the biggest and softest heart she had ever met formed on an arm like a sleeve. There was no mistaking it. It was almost as if it was Ter-
The confusing and blissful spell was broken with a sudden and slurred, "I'm tired…"
The strength and powerful magic subsided, disappeared, and left Celes kissing not a long-lost mythological creature, but the very girl she had imagined in her head. Her long-lost final fantasy—no—friend. "Terra?" In her surprise, her hold slackened, and the naked girl collapsed to the ground with a dull thud. She remained leaning against the tree and wracked her mind to work out what the hell had just happened. This had flown completely from out of left field.
Celes eased herself into a painful kneeling position beside the unconscious Terra and took a moment to look her over. It had been nearly a year and a half since she last seen her friend, and things were definitely different about her. She was emaciated, so much weight lost, and her body covered in a roadmap of scarring. She looked sickly and needed medical attention. Even more of a reason to get to Figaro Castle as quickly as possible. And if Terra truly had been that creature, then chances were high that Kefka had felt her powerful magical field. She did not want to be around if and/or when he returned.
Celes wandered the remains of her camp in search of undamaged supplies and clothing. Sadly, near everything had been incinerated and damaged in some way. All she had been able to procure had been a canteen of water, a single sleeping bag, and a pack to carry them in. She sourly looked to the chocobo[3] kennels to find them either empty or containing dead mounts. Poor things must've been so scared with the fighting.
Unfortunately, they were traveling on foot.
As she passed through the site where Terra initially made impact with the ground, her bare foot struck something metallic embedded in the dirt. After several choice curse words and short time hopping on one foot, she uncovered the object and was rewarded with a tiara – Terra's tiara. Even though it was half melted, slightly twisted, and missing several of its gemstones, there was no mistaking it. She didn't understand why Terra had even started wearing the gaudy thing in the first place, especially since she had never been one for headgear. She shoved it in her pack and made it a point to ask Edgar about it when or if she reached the castle.
Celes paused before trying to pick Terra up. Not only was she dreading the pain her stomach would be screaming about, but she found it hard to believe that in wishing for a savior in a bad situation, one just happened to fall from the sky. It was especially hard to believe considering that savior was someone she had written off some time ago.
Ignoring the stinging and the cramping in her stomach, Celes lifted Terra into her arms and slowly made off in the direction she hoped was South Figaro. As much as she hated thinking it, she was glad Terra was skin and bones, otherwise, she'd never be able to support her. But once they reached civilization, she was going to make that girl eat a damn sandwich. Or ten. What the hell had Kefka done to her while she'd been under his leadership? Terra used to have curves in all the- She shook the thought from her head. First safety, then she could daydream about other things.
As they slipped into the covering darkness of the forest, Celes couldn't help but whisper, "What the bloody hell are you doing out here?"
[1] Birds of a flaming feather flock together, as they say.
[2] Every woman has a particular fruity smell that catches someone's attention. Why this is, the world can speculate. Why always fruit, the world may never know.
[3] Large ostrich-like birds used as pack animals and transportation, much like the real world equivalent donkey and horse. The birds are known for usually being named 'Choco' or 'Boko' and having chirps that sound like a child screaming "wark" at the top of his lungs.
