This chapter is dedicated to Nancy, Emily, and Vykie. Thank you guys.
Garnet:
I woke up the next morning and felt better. I wondered what time it was as I walked around the room.
I got my suitcase and began packing my stuff. I sighed at the thought that I wouldn't be able to say goodbye to Noctis since he is so busy. I barely had anything so it took me about ten minutes. I looked out the window and smiled. I'll cherish the memories I had there with him. I took my rolling suitcase, and my book bag and strolled out of my room. I walked into the ball room and Sophie rushed to me.
"You made your decision?"
"Yes..." I sadly said. I really didn't want to leave. But it was best for me.
"Are...Are you sure about this Garnet?"
"Sophie, haha! You're acting like I am going overseas. If you miss me, just come visit YOUR home."
I tried to lighten things up with a laugh, but Sophie just stared at me with sadden eyes. She rushed into me, wrapping her arms around me.
"You're all grown up on me." Sophie sadly said.
"Huh?" I pushed Sophie off of me to look at her.
"It's only been 3 years Sophie!" I joked.
"But you've grown within those years. I watched you develop your kind personality, and become a strong, beautiful young lady. At least...I feel that way."
Sophie is always so honest with the how she feels. I smiled at the thought, that she felt this way about me. I know I have to say something, and be honest about it.
"You're right Sophie.." Sophie looked at me.
"I..had been a wanderer since the age of eleven. Several people took me in for a short time. But none of them treated me as wonderful as you have. Nor did they ever get a conversation or smile from me. I was a mute, and I always kept to myself."
Sophie stared at me, astonished.
"So, yes! You did watch me grow. You helped me through life, and helped me find who I wanted to be. With your love and generosity, I became this kind girl you and everyone knows."
I looked down.
"I...I don't know what would have became of me, if you never came into my life. I fear the thought and I am just thankful."
I smiled at my own words and looked up at Sophie, who had tears in her eyes.
"Oh. Garnet!" Sophie embraced me, tighter this time. I held her back and smiled. I felt a bit teary on the inside. After letting her calm down and saying my farewell for now and walked out of the palace.
Noctis:
Father summoned me into his head quarters. I stood there as he stared out the window from behind his desk.
"One of our guest is leaving..."
I stood there quiet and confused. My father turned around and said,
"The one who fainted the other day, she is walking out with her luggage."
"Is that so...?" Though it saddened me to hear she was leaving, I tried to hide it from my father. I knew it was probably best for her anyways.
"You're not bothered?" My father asked with eyes that could tell I was deceiving him.
"No...Father. Why do you ask such a question?" My eyes looked away and looked back at my father as I spoke to him.
"It's just a question I wanted to ask. That is all." I remained silent.
"Son, you know why you're here?" I looked at my father straight in his eyes.
"I have a few ideas...But I'd rather hear everything from you and not waste any time." My father snickered and put his hands on his desk.
"Unfortunately, we're stuck within a war. It may not seem like it has begun yet. But, I wanted to clarify everything with you before it gets too late." I looked away and sighed to myself. War was inevitable, but it was still something I didn't want.
"I am placing you as Major general of the army." I was astonished by the news.
"Father?" My eyes widened.
" As bearer of our crystal, you don't belong under anyone's order. You are the strongest in our kingdom. The responsibility must fall within your hands."
"I never asked for such power..." I softly whispered to myself.
"What?"
"I never asked for any of this!"
"Then what do you want?"
"I would rather fight alone!"
"Are you asking to die?" I couldn't find the words to respond in time.
"You haven't fully awaken the powers of the crystal. And you think you can win battles alone without your allies?"
"You mean, pawns..."
"They are the servants of our kingdom. They would be proud to die protecting the son of their King."
"I would rather die then have people sacrifice themselves for my mistakes!"
"You need to stop thinking that way! It makes you weak! Sometimes I worry about you being on the battlefield. Makes me wonder if you have what it takes to kill someone threatening your life!"
" A lot of changes can happen in the heat of the moment." My father began to irritate me.
"Noctis, there is always one rule in war." My father said walking up to me.
"It's either kill, or be killed." My father stared into my angry eyes. He smiled and put his hands on my shoulders.
" Soon or later, you'll see where I am coming from."
It's true, we need to kill to defend our lives. But killing wasn't something I wanted to do. Even if it wasn't for defending my life, we would have to kill just to win the war. Maybe I am weak at heart. I care too much for a life. I need to change, if I want to protect all the innocence that lies within the hearts of my people.
Garnet:
I was strolling through tons of people, rolling my suitcase, through the crowded streets. I felt free again, the sounds of people talking, people selling items. Children laughing and running around. This is the scenario I missed. But still, I felt guilty for not saying goodbye to Noctis. But this was something I needed to do one my own.
"Garnie!" The children yelled as they ran up to me. I put my book bag down and hugged them as they embraced me.
"Hey guys! It's been a while hasn't it?" They giggled and nodded their heads. Finally, I sat on my bed.
The house was so silent and empty. I actually felt depressed over it.
It's been about two weeks now, and I have been running the bar as usual. Everything went smoothly and I've learned to live on my own. Silly, I actually felt like I was maturing in such a way. Even though I lost my parents at a young age, Sophie was always like a motherly figure to me.
"The general of Scartus himself came down here almost a month ago to talk to King Leo." I was eavesdropping as I dried cups in front of one of my customers. He was an old man, talking to his fellow elderly friend. Though I was trying not to be noticed, I stared right at him, wondering what he was talking about.
"Is is true that the General hasn't came back at all?" The old man's friend said.
"Yes, which means, it isn't good." I widen my eyes. I was trying to stray away from where they were taking this conversation.
"C'mon! Just because he hasn't returned doesn't mean the meeting went bad." His friend said shaking his hand.
"I have a close friend, and his cousin works as a guard in the castle. He says that his cousin told him that while standing at the door, he heard yelling."
"This sounds so cliche. He said, she said crap. I'm not listening to you." His friend said in an exhausted way, trying to turn around to get back to his drink.
"No, listen! He says the voices sounded like the Prince and the King. That they were yelling about a crystal or something!" I was shocked. The word crystal sparked a part of my memory that I completely forgotten without noticing. The old men looked at me. Without noticing, I was spacing out at them.
"Ma'am?" I blinked and took a deep breath.
"Yes?" I kindly said.
"Are you, alright?"
"W...Why yes! I am sorry for intruding on your conversation." I put the cup down and walked away, buying time by asking other customers how they were. After that, my head was somewhere else. I felt terrible about it because I didn't notice a few of my customers who kept constantly repeating themselves about their orders. The crystal just stayed on my mind like it was printed on there. It wouldn't go away. I had this urge inside me that filled me with suspense. I had to hurry up and get out of work so this feeling would go away.
Finally, work was over. It was quite dark outside and I quickly walked down the street. I took a few subways, and continued walking. My mind set on my destination. I passed the place where Noctis took me to look at the fireflies. That is when I remembered why it looked familiar. My home, my real home wasn't too far from here. I walked into the subways and took the train to leave Nalia. Hours passed and it felt like an eternity.
I don't know what time is was, but I finally left the kingdom of Scartus. Mountains and nature was all that surrounded me. I tried to remember for the life of me, but I let my heart lead me and I walked on. An hour of walking and I turned to see the Kingdom so far away. It triggered a picture in my mind. I remembered seeing this same view, though some buildings weren't completely built, as I walked towards the kingdom. By that, I knew I was going in the right direction.
I grew tired and sat on a large rock. I felt like this was futile. My home could be either occupied by someone else, or torn down. I took a couple of short breaths and looked around. I saw a chimney in the distance. I got up and ran forward. I came closer to the house and stood on a steep grassy hill. I looked out at the view. It was so beautiful. The moon was huge and I looked below to see the wooden cabin that was my home. In front was a sand road and off the road was another grassy hill that was cut off by a flowing river. The rest, was surrounded by a forest. I took in the scenery and stared out for a while.
Then I stumbled down the hill and reached my house. I stood in front of the entrance. Time hit it hard. Cobwebs were everywhere, the wood was chipping and the hinge of the door rusted off making the door lopsided. I hesitated to open the door. I took out my flashlight from my bag and went into... my home...
"Ack!" I choked on the dust that whirled away. I covered my face and walked forward. I was in the kitchen. I walked near the sink and remembered my mom use to wash the dishes and smile at me. I smiled at the happy memories. But...they were only memories...
"Garnet! You came here for a reason!" I tried to remind myself so I wouldn't get too carried away. I turned and stared out into the dining room. I touched the table and thought about how father would always try and built something. As I walked on the wooden floors, one of them creaked in the most. I paused and looked down. I flashed my light on the exact spot and knelt down.
I pushed in the rectangle shaped wood and tried to push it down. I had almost forgotten that father would always slide the wood from the weak spot. After doing so, I flashed the light inside and there it was, the box. I pulled it out and dusted it off. I was scared to open it. I took it outside and sat on the grassy hill, the exact spot where mother and I would sit. I looked up at the moon for guidance.
"Please...Give me courage to look inside..." I looked down at the box. It was made out of wood. But it was glossy and smooth. Weird designs and symbols surrounded the frame of the box and an unknown symbol rested on the top of it. I studied it, but it didn't look familiar at all. I put my hands on each side and paused.
"Okay..." I braced myself. I opened the top and my eyes ran all over. A beautiful pendant rested upon a purple cloth made out of silk. The pendant was a beautiful semi big crystal that seemed to be missing it's other half. The crystal was connected into this silver crown like top. The necklace part was also silver but thin. I lifted the pendant and it left its mark into the silk. It was a bit heavy despite it's size. I suppose the weight all came from the crystal.
The moon sparkled the crystal's true colors. It was silver with a hint of a colorful radiance on the inside. I moved it away from the moon and it looked plain and silver. But still, it shined. The other side of the crystal was smooth. I twisted the necklace by its chain back and forth, making the crystal turn round and round in front of my eyes.
"It's beautiful..." Through the crystal, I saw a small round red light. I put my arm down making the crystal leave my face. It was a firefly. Then came a green one. Other colors came in front of my eyes. I looked around and saw tons of them coming up from the grass. I was surrounded by colorful fireflies. Though I was accompanied by them, It was silent and I was alone. Though I tried, tears filled my eyes. I couldn't fight it. Actually, I didn't have to fight it anymore. I pushed my face into my knees and sobbed. I missed my mother. The times we shared. The way I lived in the past. My father. I wanted it back more than anything. I was stripped of them too early before I could really ever know them or understand enough for me to know them. How they felt, what they went through, why they argued, or why they loved each other. I was ignorant to that. All I knew was of their love for me. I yearned to know more. But never would I be able to. I gripped the necklace in my fists. The fireflies, surrounding me...
REVIEWS? Am I being too descriptive of Garnet's feelings. I feel that her words could cause confusion on how she really felt. The story is finally reaching its true plot. Thank you for reading
