I am so sorry for the long wait! (I'm actually on a weekend vacay, so this is brought to you by time off) -that was before today :/ I meant to post but have been writing a research paper due in three days, which is still not done yet.I know I keep saying it, but I will reply to reviews next time (hopefully) if I have time. Thank you for theM, though, I do read every one and they keep me going!

Disclaimer: no own, no profit, no sue me.


When the screeching metal contraption slammed into a flat expanse of grass in the heart of my village, a swarm of black-clad guards closed in around it like bees, weapons aimed like stingers. A man with a cigarette nestled between his thin lips emerged, his leathery scowl stretched like elastic across his grease-smeared face. He nonchalantly lea

ned against the gleaming metal handrail, his ice-blue eyes calculating, observing, judging.

He was a foreigner. I could tell that much from the short, sandy crop of hair on his head and the thick, bulky clothing of the relaxed Western Continent. I observed this from my place beside my husband. My head was lowered. My eyes were hidden. I observed these things in secret.

If I remained subtle, used discretion, I could peek from beneath my bangs. With a quick glance at the oblivious men browsing the butcher's selections, I gazed back at the airship. A new man had arrived, his presence a complete antithesis of the first.

He was tall, his shoulders more narrow than broad, and his musculature was lither than the built blonde's. He was a cat. A shadow. The wind. He had hair that resembled most men in my country, long, black, and silky, flowing freely around his body in the crisp breeze. He wore a black suit like a businessman and had such a regal posture that at once I lowered myself further as if he were royalty of another country.

Then his eyes drifted, and I briefly caught sight of the color ― red. His eyes glowed a dark crimson, like blood had leaked over his retinas and stained the iris. He had the eyes of a demon. A monster. The expression on his face matched the ghastly pallor and odd eye-color; he looked positively sinful.

His face was blank, but those wicked eyes expressed a deeper emotion. Stiffly, he approached the blonde man and growled in a deep and threatening voice, "Where is she?"

She? I wondered whom this man sought. The ire in his words spoke not of hatred for her, but perhaps for someone who had trespassed against her. I felt that maybe this man had come to retrieve a lost lover, and it would not be so strange or uncommon, for many women here pursued freedom, love, and adventure with the men outside of Wutai. The other countries... They weren't as oppressive to their women as Wutai.

But this could not be the case of lost lovers, not this time. The man was here for something more than just the rescue of his mistress. The demanding way in which he spoke and the formal way he behaved suggested a political agenda. Business. Multinational.

"Lady Yuffie," I whispered, realization dawning on me. Immediately my eyes flickered back to my husband whom I was relieved to find still occupied elsewhere.

Was he the man that Lord Godo had chosen for our lady's hand?

I scrutinized him again. He appeared tense, but at the same time, almost anxious in a pleased sort of way. The man beside him clapped him on the back and chuckled gruffly, stating, "Vince, she's fine. You're fine. You're both gonna be right as rain."

With a look that hinted at an underlying insecurity, the red-eyed man, Vince, breathed, "Yuffie is not known to take such things… lightly."

Yuffie. Short, clipped Yuffie. Simply Yuffie.

At first, I was rather taken aback by the informal, conversational quality of the way he said the lady's name. Then I recalled how unconventional the princess was and that she had traveled with these men for quite a while.

Taking a drag from his cigarette, the blonde agreed, "Yeah, she's got spunk. But she adores ya, Vin. She ain't gon' stay mad for too long." A peculiar expression crossed his face, and he added, "Say, Vincent, what are you plannin' on doin' 'bout this whole 'wedding' thing? You ain't goin' through with it, are ya? I mean, you ain't marryin' the brat, huh?"

I flinched at the demeaning term and narrowed my eyes. Vincent mimicked my reaction, and I felt a sense of respect for him grow within me.

"I am not sure what I am going to do, but I will consult with Yuffie about our final decision."

The cat, shadow, wind stepped off of the airship. His monster eyes flickered around. Finally, he turned to the pilot behind him and nodded. An armed guard approached, gesturing for Vincent to follow.

"If you will, sir," he addressed, "come with me. Lord Godo will be pleased to finally meet you."

The dark-haired man continued to stare into the sun. "The sunsets here have changed."


As the wrinkled seamstress thrust a wad of emerald and ruby chiffon into my hands, I suppressed the urge to gag. "Grandma Suki, what is this?"

The old woman swatted my shoulder and shoved me toward a mirror, pursing her lips. She held the corner of the fabric up beside my eyes and tsked. "Lady Yuffie, you must look your best for your husband ― even if he's seen you wallowing in mud like a pig!" With that, she yanked my kimono open, ignoring all concepts of decency. I was naked as the day I was born.

Come on, Leviathan! Not even a little feminine curve?

"This is crap!" I declared, resisting her attempts to move me toward the mirror. If Godo expected me to doll myself up for Vincent's visit, he had another thing coming! I, Yuffie Kisaragi, champion of Gaia, was perfectly fine the way I was.

Sighing, Suki shook her head. "And you must watch that mouth of yours! It won't do well for your husband to hear you talking like that. You can talk crap when you get back." A smirk and wink was thrown my way, and I couldn't help but appreciate Grandma Suki. She'd been my tutor and seamstress since my mother was alive, and after, she stepped forward to take care of me when Godo turned his back. She always seemed to sense what I was thinking or feeling, and she was as reckless as I was. Like wind. Like improper Wutain ladies.

"Now get dressed." And I was back to despising her.

The thick material felt like it weighed more than a behemoth as I pulled it over my head. Immediately it bunched around my neck and conformed to my face. "Help! Not breathing!" Grandma Suki sighed again and set about straightening out the dress, further suffocating me in the process. At last she had smoothed the gown over my hips, letting it billow out and touch the ground. I gasped.

The deep emerald chiffon cascaded to the floor, spilling over and trailing in the back. It had an empire waist of crimson red, and I slid my hand over the sash, imagining the red of Vincent's eyes. It wasn't gaudy like I expected, but simple, and it accentuated my slim build and the only curvy feature on my body, my hips.

But as Yuffie Kisaragi, I wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of knowing I liked the dress, so I covered the gasp with a snarky, "It's a gown. I thought I was going to be the empress of Wutai. Shouldn't I be wearing a kimono?"

Grandma Suki stuck a pin into her grey crop of hair. "You will be wearing something in the style of the Western Continent, while your husband shall be wearing Wutain garb. Godo and Reeve thought it would be a good sign of partnership between the continents. An exchange of sorts."

Of course. An exchange. That's all I'd ever been to Wutai. An object to do Godo's dirty work through stealing materia, or building up Wutai's reputation by working at the W.R.O. And now I was an exchange with the rest of the world, and for what? Business? Trade? I might as well have been born a legal document for the signing.

I ran my hand over my face, feeling the need to grab one of the pins out of my dress and stick it into my eyes. "Stop calling Vince my husband."

"But he is, dearie," the seamstress replied bluntly with a smile that nearly made her dark eyes disappear into the folds of her face. Right. My husband. Because of some decree.

How did this happen again?

I stood there, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The old woman finished pinning my dress and then fashioned my now long hair into a glossy braid. She finished the look by pinning a ruby ornament to the braid and sweeping my bangs back behind my ear. She left my face alone, thankfully, and only applied a light dusting of gold to my eyes, cheeks, and lips.

"You look beautiful, Lady Yuffie."

No, I looked like my mother. I gingerly fingered the hairpiece, knowing it had belonged to her. I wasn't Yuffie, I was what Wutai wanted me to be. A pawn. A pretty face. The submissive wife to a man chosen for me.

To Vincent.

To the man with the emotional range of a rock.

To the self-proclaimed monster who hurt everyone he loved.

… Leviathan, they were going to make me marry Vincent! As if all his "sins" weren't enough to torture him at night, now he'd have to go and add marrying me to the list!

And he'd hate himself for it.

"Oh, Grandma!" I sobbed, falling apart for the first time since I'd come home.


Godo stared at me and licked his lips anxiously. This situation, though foreign to most, was especially foreign to me. Conversation and social events never were my forte, but this certainly took the cake.

Yuffie's father was sitting across from me, sipping tea, with every intention of marrying his daughter off to be my wife.

His tea cup met his mouth and shook as he took a hesitant sip before setting it down on the saucer. One blink. Two blinks. Three.

He continued to stare. The air grew heavier.

After another calculated sip of his now cold tea, the emperor gulped and glanced at the door, a look of fleeting apprehension in his eyes. The clock on the wall behind us ticked. One tick. Two ticks. Three.

The clatter of a teacup drew my eyes back to Godo. He smiled sheepishly, calling for a maid to clean up the spilt liquid. As soon as she appeared, the servant was gone, and the man continued to stare with that doll-like smile on his face.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Well!" Godo cried, sitting back. "I'm sure my daughter won't be too much longer now."

I blinked, never having been very adept at conversation. After his failed attempt to reduce the tension, the Lord of Wutai glanced back at the door, tapping his fingers against the low table. Click.

Click. I flinched.

Click. Flinch.

Click. Flinch.

Suddenly, the door burst open and it appeared as though Godo had to forcibly prevent himself from crying out in relief at the distraction. Yuffie entered the room, her chin held high (a sign of rebellion towards her father, for sure). She stopped before us, and my breath caught.

She looked like an empress, like the one Wutai expected her to be. Like the one she would make no matter what.

I stood, allowing my strained legs to stretch. Bowing, I greeted, "La― Yuffie." I knew that using such formal greetings like Lady Yuffie and princess would only agitate her. At this moment the last thing I needed was unnecessary agitation. There was enough of it to begin with.

"Vinnie," she answered in flat monotone, her face a mask of expressionlessness. The impervious ninja kept her shadowy eyes on mine, refusing to look at her father. Another sign of rebellion.

Godo swept to his feet and came between us, happily gushing, "Yuffie, child, I was hoping we could discuss with Mister Valentine the arrangement of your marriage―"

"Go away, Godo," Yuffie snapped gruffly. Her father's face contorted into anger; when he began to scold her, she continued, "I wish to speak with Vincent alone."

Feeling that it was time to intervene, I nodded at the emperor and motioned for Yuffie to follow me. "Yes, I believe that that would be best."

She started toward the bonsai garden outside of the Pagoda, not waiting to see if I followed. Her pace quickened as soon as she'd emerged in the brilliantly bright sunshine. It was such a Yuffie thing to do. She basked in sunshine, in light. It fed her, gave her energy. No one should keep her from the light.

Certainly not a monster like myself.

"Yuffie," I started. She spun around to face me, and for the first time, I noticed the red tint of her eyes. It wasn't usually there, and immediately I discerned that she had been crying. Her dark eyelashes were stuck slightly together like they had been wet. "Why were you crying?"

"Crying!?" My words caused her to go on the defensive, and I cringed internally. I should've known better than to say something so forward to Yuffie. "As if! I haven't been―"

"Don't lie to me."

Her body stiffened. She turned away from me, her shoulders shaking lightly. Whatever had hurt her, I hoped it hadn't been me. Not knowing what to do, I retreated into myself, waiting for her to give some sign that she was alright.

"What are we going to do?"

So it had been me. I should have known. This marriage ― no, arrangement, spawned purely from the ludicrous idea of Godo and Reeve. Yuffie simply played the part of the obedient daughter. She had no choice in the matter, no right to refuse. At least not without brining dishonor to herself and possible disownment.

"I can call it off if you wish." It would have to be me. If Yuffie chose to speak against the wedding, she'd suffer serious retribution at her father's hand, while I would simply walk away with no rebuke.

A bark of vicious laughter erupted from her. Angrily she yanked her hairpiece out and squeezed it in her palm, scowling. "What good'll that do, Vince? They'll just say I'm the one who screwed us up."

There she went again, being purposely obstinate because she was unhappy with her situation. Though, in all fairness, she had a right to be. The sad, almost lost and hopeless look in her eyes caused my heart to twist. Odin, I couldn't let them do this to her. Not after she'd done so much to help me with my own life after Omega.

"Yuffie," I demanded softly, and she met my eyes, little drops of crystal tears sliding from the corners of her eyes. "Tell me what you want."

A hiccup came from her, before she buried her tear streaked face in her hands. "I want us to be okay!"

I hadn't expected that. Something along the lines of, 'break up this crap wedding-proposal,' yes. But not…

"I'm not sure what you mean." At that point, no other words could portray my utter confusion.

Slowly she lifted her head from her hands and met my gaze. "We can't… I can't get out of this, Vincent. I have to go through with this if I ever want to be empress. And yo―you're a better candidate than half the men my dad chooses. At least I know you won't abuse me. But…" She paused, taking another shaky breath.

Her words shocked me. Was this really…? Could I allow myself to marry her? I didn't think it was even possible. Not after I'd gotten Lucrecia killed and ― no. Yuffie and I had discussed this long ago. I was not responsible for her death.

Yuffie had saved me. I had to do something to help her.

"But I don't want to do this to you." Her unspoken words hung in the air. We both knew she was alluding to my guilt. If we were to marry, I'd be tied to her forever, and she'd be tied to a monster. I simply couldn't…

And yet, she worried for me when I should have worried for her. I truly was a monster, and she was as pure as snow.

How would we possibly fix this?


Well, there it is! I wanted to give the POV of a Wutain woman to show how unfairly they're treated. It helps relate to Yuffie. Also, I made Wutai this way because we already know Godo kind of looks down on Yuffie and just utilizes her abilities. So I built on her.

I hope y'all liked! Reviews always appreciated :)