Chapter X: Beyond Ebony and Ivory
It seems as if Braska is back here with us again.
Auron continued patting Yuna's short brown hair as she wept without restraint on his shoulder. He smelled faintly of fragrant eastern liquor. On his other shoulder leaned his petite blonde protégé who was still shaking uncontrollably. Rikku's eyes were a quaint fusion of bright green and blood red.
Lulu sobbed silently on Wakka's chest as he caressed her long braided hair. She clung onto Wakka's neck as if he was the only one to hold onto during a vicious storm. She was somehow more composed than her two female companions yet she never became this unstable before. Wakka found it both strange and rewarding to comfort her in his arms. Witnessing Lulu this vulnerable was already a marvel.
"It's alright, Lu. It's alright," whispered Wakka. "It's all over now."
Yuna sobbed a few more until she looked up to see her comforter. "Th-Thank you Sir, um…"
"Auron," he answered. "That's what I'm called. I am that cold-blooded Slasher's godfather." He added with a light chuckle. "I pray Tidus didn't frighten your sanity away. That godson of mine never learns."
"It…it was so horrible, Sir Auron." Rikku said in her light faltering voice. She wept as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "He…He nearly killed her. I saw it happen! Hadn't Lulu gotten in the way, Yunie could've been… Yunie could have…"
"Enough, Rikku," replied Auron as he too patted her blonde hair. "Of course I'll never allow my godson to commit murder. He never has and he never will."
Yuna and Rikku finally drew away from Auron's embrace. The unyielding swordsman stood up and once again shouldered his oriental blade. He trudged towards the massive azure double doors. He turned around once more to face them.
"I'll protect all of you with my life. That's my oath as keeper of this bastion."
And with that, Auron tramped away, his heavy footsteps resounding down the azure hallway.
Lulu eventually disengaged herself from Wakka's affectionate hold. "Thank you, Wakka," she said, her voice quite incomplete. "I could have handled myself well though."
"Just admit it, Lu," replied Wakka humorously, "even a grouch like you has a soft side."
Lulu grinned and glared at her rising-haired companion as her hand began to generate electricity once more. Wakka began to look uneasy and replied with a quick, "Just kidding, Lu," then chuckled.
Rikku got up from the four-poster bed and walked to the shattered cerulean vase. She stared at it sadly and picked up the tangible pieces. The rest were pulverized into as fine as sand.
"I loved this vase," said Rikku longingly. "How could the young master have broken it to bits? It was even the lady's favorite."
"The lady?" Yuna asked. Could there be things more enigmatic in this bastion other than the cold-blooded Slasher?
"Oh, the former lady is the young master's mother," replied Rikku as she pocketed a fragment of the cerulean vase and stood up. "She used to sleep in this chamber but…"
"But…?" goaded Yuna, curiosity once more taking over her.
Lulu approached their withdrawn captive and held out a hand. "Come, we'll talk at the kitchen. It's quite a long story. Sir Auron will probably be down there. He knows more of Jecht and Niobe more than any of us do here."
Yuna was once again consumed by her reveries. Jecht? Niobe? What could have been their significance? Could they be one of the reasons why her captor came to be so…merciless and atrocious?
Wakka held his spiked ball firmly and walked out the door. "I'll go ahead and be on a lookout for our psycho master. One more session from him and I can no longer picture what would happen to Yuna and Rikku. I have to admit he sometimes freaks me out." And with that he trudged down the azure hallway aligned with the watchful yet lifeless statues of the great Aeon Valefor.
The basement kitchen seemed like a sunny welcome as Yuna stepped inside. She was greeted by the warmth generated by the oven and the enticing aroma of turkey. She sat together with Wakka and Auron at the long mahogany table as Lulu reheated the turkey and potatoes while Rikku prepared strawberry custard cakes. Yuna noticed a golden chandelier hanging at the very center of the ceiling.
"Jecht had that crafted ten years ago," commented Auron as he opened another jug of sake. "That was shortly before he… Never mind."
"By the way," Yuna began quite timidly. "Who are these Jecht and Niobe of which you speak of?"
"Sir Jecht is Tidus's father," answered Lulu as she laid bread, turkey and potatoes on the table. "He was once a well-respected swordsman. You've seen those elegant swords displayed at the antechamber. Those were his."
"And Lady Niobe is the young master's mom whom I mentioned earlier," followed Rikku as she began to distribute strawberry custard cakes. "I was told she was such a nice lady. But I heard she…she went years ago even before I got into this bastion. I really wish I got to meet her."
"You mean she…passed away?" Yuna said thoughtfully. "I-I'm sorry to hear that. But…how did she die?"
"A disease," answered Auron as he cut up his turkey. "Niobe caught a disease of unknown provenance. Jecht and I assumed it came from the stenches of a Marlboro or the weakening venom of an Ochu. We came up with many other theories but none seemed to provide answers. Jecht finally believed that it was no use drawing up conclusions. Without an itinerary, he went off and journeyed north."
Yuna laid a napkin on her lap, took a spoon and began to feed herself mashed potatoes. The story of the cold-blooded Slasher's parents seemed better than the epic novels she read back at the village library.
Wakka took his turn of storytelling. "Sir Jecht sought out the city of Bevelle at the far north. Many prominent White Mages lived there. Sir Jecht had a large amount of gil with him, hoping that the best White Mage might heal his wife back to perfect health. But…halfway through…"
"Then?" Yuna insisted, putting down her spoon to lean towards her newfound friends.
"A tragedy occurred," said Lulu as she too laid down her utensils and sat back onto her high-resting chair.
"Jecht was ambushed and killed by a herd of Behemoths…" sighed Auron. He raised his sake jug to his lips and sipped a little amount. "Knowing Jecht's impulsive personality, I went off to follow him. Had I only arrived earlier, I still could have saved him but…when I got to that area of the forest, I was greeted by the sight of Jecht lying on the ground, saturated in his own blood."
Yuna plunged hard into her sea of thoughts. So Tidus lost his parents too…
"I ran to him and held him in my arms. Jecht grabbed my hand while his other tightly clasped the hilt of his sword as if not wanting to give into death." Auron continued as he looked away. "With his dying breath, he gave me his final words…"
He took a deep breath to maintain his composure. "Tell Niobe I'm sorry and…take care of my son… And that…was the last I've heard from Jecht."
"But what about Lady Niobe?" asked Yuna.
"I returned to this bastion with a heavy heart," carried Auron on, "It was difficult to witness my best friend die in my arms. What was more difficult is letting his ill wife know of his death. Yet it was no use hiding it from her. I told her of Jecht's tragedy and…"
He sighed and raised his sake jug back to his lips and drank more vigorously.
"Lady Niobe lost all will to live," Wakka finished for him. "Since then, she did nothing but cry all day. I can say she literally cried herself to death."
"Wakka," inserted Lulu, "you're as sensitive as a butter knife," she added with much sarcasm.
"And…what of Tidus?" Yuna asked with more sympathy.
Rikku mutely chewed her custard cake and looked up to Yuna. "The young master has been...the loner since then. Sir Auron raised him like his own son yet he never returned the favor. All he'd do was lock himself up in the western tower and…who knows what he's been doing there."
Silence veiled them completely. Yuna, despite not having eaten for a day, suddenly lost her appetite. She merely stared at her meal and couldn't even raise her hand to her spoon. No, those couldn't have been the only reasons Tidus came to be the cold-blooded Slasher. Her curiosity coached her to ask for more stories yet they already seemed to tell her too much. She thought hard and formed her questions carefully.
"How did Wakka, Lulu and Rikku end up in this bastion? How are they related to Sir Jecht, Lady Niobe and…" she hesitated, not sure whether to address her captor with a 'Sir' or not.
"My godson?" Auron seemed to have regained his composure. He released a gruff chuckle as he turned to his three cohorts. "It's them you should ask."
"Wakka and I were both travelers to train ourselves. It was a little more than a year ago," said Lulu as she dabbed her lips with a napkin. "We ran out of gil during our journey and chanced upon this fortress. We offered to work for money so we could continue on our journey. Sir Auron graciously welcomed us."
"I don't know if fate was only playing around with us but I came just a few days after Wakka and Lulu did," added Rikku, "I ran away from that abusive orphanage where I grew up. They made the orphans work on making prohibited bombs and grenades for those greedy warlords. I snuck a few of those grenades while I did. I ran and ran until I reached this forest. I was so tired and hungry that I collapsed. If only Lulu hadn't found me, I would've been a goner."
"The young master was already that homicidal when we came," said Wakka through a mouthful of potatoes. "Just when we've earned enough to get back to our training, Lady Yunalesca came and cast the Black Spell on us."
"The Black Spell?" pondered Yuna.
Auron sighed. He stood up, took a small cup from the cupboard and took a different jar of sake which was milder than the one he usually drank. He poured Yuna a small amount and handed it to her.
"I urge you to drink. We have a lot to learn and more stories to tell…"
For the first and miraculous time, Yuna walked within the bastion without fear nor anxiety. She walked up the grand staircase and turned right to her chamber. So it was true that a good meal can affect one's mood. She was thankful that Lulu, no matter how sullen and serious she was, was a nurturing caretaker and a good cook.
They spent two more hours down the kitchen simply having conversations. She has just learned of the Black Spell and the wonders of Lady Yunalesca.
They kept one vital secret from Yuna, though. They never told her of the White Sphere and the way to break the Black Spell. They never wanted her to think the reason they might be keeping her here is to fall in love with the cold-blooded Slasher and free them from the curse.
Forcing someone to love was never an answer.
So that's why he had that horrible scar on his face…
Yuna contemplated. She was now back at the eastern hallway with the sapphire floors. She looked down to see her vertical reflection having the same faraway look. She no longer felt as restless as she first came here. At least now she has company to comfort and protect her from her inhuman captor.
She entered her azure chamber and sat on her bed with a monochrome of blue sheets and beddings. She thought hard.
He sought out the best White Mage in Bevelle to heal his wife back to perfect health.
"That's where father was going too," she thought to herself, "Ten years ago, had we only known about it, they would have approached father instead. But…could they have been really that…secluded, that nobody knew about them, that Tidus became a rumor in the process?"
She thought harder. Thinking about her father only pained her heart.
I may once have been the cold-blooded Slasher but I've never killed anyone!
Tidus's voice echoed in her head. It brought minimal relief to her. Just the possibility that her father was still alive was an enough consolation. She looked down on the bed she was sitting on.
Could this be the same spot where Lady Niobe died?
Yuna suddenly shook her head. The more she thought, the more she might grow anxious again. She stood up and took the book Into the Abyss: A Guide to Black Magic and read away. Maybe educating herself Black Magic might help. After all she needed a way to defend herself after having witnessed someone as dreadful as Tidus, the cold-blooded Slasher.
Even before she started reading the preamble, a thought suddenly struck her. What are all these books on magic doing in Lady Niobe's chamber? Could she have been an accomplished mage too like, heaven forbid, Seymour? Or did her joy merely rely on reading?
A long chain of thoughts segued, followed by Rikku's squeaky voice.
The young master has been...the loner since then. All he'd do was lock himself up in the western tower and…who knows what he's been doing there.
The chain extended further.
It's forbidden!
Tidus voice snarled in her mind. What could be in the western tower?
Yuna has now transformed to curiosity itself. She found the mysteries of the western tower more interesting than the origins of the Death and Flare spells. She closed the book and laid it on her bedside table. Her white cloak hung in the wardrobe. She took it and put it on, stood up and exited through the azure double doors.
It didn't feel like she was controlling her feet, but it was rather her feet were moving on their own. She arrived at the commodious antechamber and found it quite welcoming than it was when she first came. Moonlight shone abundantly, giving the area a tranquil gleam. She first had to check if Sir Auron or anyone was around.
Not a sight nor sound. They're all probably at the kitchen or somewhere else.
She crossed the massive staircase to the door on the left. It was the corridor that served as the dungeon at the same time. Yuna gripped her white cloak tightly around her body, giving her a sense of protection. No matter how she adapted herself to the bastion, this corridor chilled her to the core. She tried not to visualize her father suffering behind the steel bars.
The flaming Zu statues provided the right amount of light to make the corridor look less horrid. It was also here that she learned of the cold-blooded Slasher and his uncanny appearance. That long horrible scar and those empty blue eyes.
Those empty blue eyes that seemed lost…
"There must be still something human in them, I just feel so." Yuna whispered to herself. She walked as she immersed herself in deep thought once more. Tidus, too, lost his parents. He, too, had a lonely childhood. He, too, must just be…
…looking for an answer.
She passed by the withered wooden door where Braska was incarcerated. She tried not look at it and walked past that area. It is also where she was treated with no forgiveness. She tried not to remember that event and walked on, wrapping her white cloak protectively around herself.
After having seemed to wander into endless darkness, she reached the end of this extensively ghastly hallway. But then all the corridors in this bastion were rather long and spacious. She was then greeted by a lofty and splendid double-door. Its frame was made of pure ebony and the doors themselves were carved from authentic ivory. It had a luxurious door handle made of brass.
"What could Sir Jecht or perhaps Lady Niobe be thinking when they had this bastion built?" She thought once more. She felt the answer lied beyond this grand door of ebony and ivory. She noticed that upon each door was a relief of Shiva, the esoteric goddess of winter and frost. Both Shiva's assumed an elegant posture and faced each other. It fed the White Mage's curiosity even more.
With a deep breath, she covered her head more protectively with her hood and braced herself.
Beyond ebony and ivory may pacify the curious creature in her.
Fright, and not understanding, was what Yuna experienced beyond the door. She found it impossible to believe that an entrance depicting Shiva could lead something to this…terrible…
It was as if a swarm of bloodlust rogues sabotaged the room and destroyed whatever they laid their eyes on. Its size was exactly the same as Lady Niobe's chamber yet the interior was the exact opposite in ambience. The four-poster bed was eradicated to broken pieces of refined wood and savagely torn sheets. A chandelier that used to hang upon the ceiling was reduced to shards of crystal scattered upon the floor.
The curious creature within her seemed to have hibernated, just for the new creature of fear to awaken. Cold sweat trailed down her temples as she made her way across this hideous chamber. The bookshelf too was destroyed to practically nothingness. She examined the sapphire walls and they, too, bore large vicious slash marks. Many seemed to be done by quick continuous hacking whilst a few were done by slow, agonizing engravings. The entire room was deliberately inflicted with such violence.
Yuna felt she couldn't take anymore until a white delicate light captured her awareness. It seemed to come from the far corner.
A door of delicate crystal also stood at one end that led to a veranda. It seemed to be the only untainted fraction of this deathly chamber. Its location was also akin to the one in Lady Niobe's chamber. A tender shimmer seemed to originate from behind the door of crystal. Yuna never thought twice and entered the veranda.
Just as Lady Niobe's chamber didn't seem to be a part of this dire bastion, the crystalline veranda seemed a faraway place from this chamber beyond ebony and ivory. The balustrade was entwined with jade vines. The egress was built with pure ivory whilst the floor, too, was made completely of sapphire. The imposing moon and the stars as its subjects added to the veranda's grandeur.
At the center of the veranda was the most grandiose Yuna's mismatched eyes have witnessed. There overlooking the thick lightless forest stood a small table of rosewood. Levitating upon it was a gleaming sphere of white, with smaller orbs revolving around it like a small solar system.
A white sphere…
Yuna suddenly forgot all fear and apprehension and walked hypnotically towards the White Sphere. She unknowingly made a smile as she bent down towards the esoteric relic and stared at it. Upon staring at it further, she noticed the sphere was not all purity. It had unsightly hues of gray and the littler orbs seemed to be hovering weakly.
She didn't know why but she felt…serene. There was something magical about this sphere that she forgot where she found it in the first place. Without thinking, she reached out both hands to touch this mysterious entity.
And without warning, the sphere suddenly burst a light so blinding that Yuna felt she was pushed slightly backwards. The deluge of light immediately dispersed, only to be followed by the smaller orbs revolving so rapidly. She placed her gentle fists over her mouth as she watched the sphere react so fiercely.
She breathed quickly and deeply whilst she watched the relic. Its revolutions seemed to quicken and its light growing again slowly yet with more strength.
And yet the sound of breaking glass, followed by a cold voice.
"I told you not to come here."
That same cold, murderous voice.
Yuna turned only to be showered by shards of delicate crystal followed by the sound of violent chimes. She tightened her hood around her head and looked away. Beyond the spurs of miniscule crystal stood the muscular frame of the Slasher, cobalt steel raised horizontally at shoulder level.
Yuna's heart stopped. Fear paralyzed her completely. She tried to back away from her cold-blooded captor yet he was too swift for her. In one abrupt motion, he stepped towards her, seized her slender wrist and ruthlessly pulled her towards himself.
"Why are you here?!" roared Tidus as he glared at the White Mage into her tear-stricken eyes.
"No!" pleaded Yuna. She was too frightened to even struggle for freedom. "Please! I-I never meant to disobey you. I-I just…"
"Don't ever lay your hands on this sphere!" Tidus snarled as he now gripped her by her forearms. His hold was so rigid that Yuna could no longer feel the pain in her arms. Tears fell freely from her mismatched eyes, yet the cold blue opposing eyes never sympathized.
Out of unleashed fury, he thrust her harshly away from him. Yuna, overpowered and disoriented out of extreme fear, lost her balance and fell backwards. Her arms became numb from the grip's pressure as she had difficulty supporting herself.
"Damn you, woman." Tidus said in a faint yet severe voice. He raised Caladbolg to its fullest and targeted it towards the powerless White Mage. She lost control of her breathing as she glanced at the blade's edge threatening to take her life.
"Po-Protect!" screamed Yuna as she raised a palm to cast a defensive spell. "Protect! Protect!" Yet all she could conjure were sudden wisps of light. "No! Protect!"
Tidus swung Caladbolg to an erratic direction. The other panel of the crystalline door was diminished to bursting powdery glass. Yuna, on one elbow, shielded herself with her other arm as to not be sprinkled by fine dusts of crystal. Just as she thought the crystalline dusts have cleared, she felt a strong pair of hands seize her by her upper arms and lifted her up to her feet.
"Why have you come here?!" roared Tidus as he looked fiercely at Yuna's frail and bloodshot eyes. She kept her head bowed down for she was too horrified to look at him in his cold blue eyes. She whimpered as his pitiless hold around her tightened. Tears ran relentlessly down her cheeks.
She quivered as she felt his hand close slowly yet firmly around her neck. He didn't intend to take her life yet escape was impossible. With his other hand, he sheathed his deathly weapon of steel. He then caressed his hostage's silk-like hair while keeping an unyielding hold around her neck.
"I don't stand a chance then..." He whispered. Yuna, despite feeling powerless, looked faintly at Tidus's blue eyes. He then, with added gentleness, caressed her face from her forehead down to her chin which he firmly held. He felt him caressing her chaste neck with his thumb and fingertips.
Time seemed to have stop with that very moment. Yuna's emotions too have seemed to have frozen along with time. Her heart slowly changed from fear to apathy. She stared unknowingly at Tidus's eyes, not knowing what she was supposed to feel.
For one long moment, their eyes connected. Yuna's mismatched eyes still faltered under his cold blue ones. Then, as she witnessed, the emotion in his eyes seemed to have transitioned from deathly to mesmerized. Yuna's breathing was hard and slow yet her captor's grasp never wavered.
"Beautiful..."
Yuna's eyes flew open. Did she hear it for real? His hand shifted from her silk-like hair to her lips. To him they were as moist as dew drops. Yuna couldn't help but succumb to the slightly ticklish sensation as he touched one of the most sensual fragments of her body. He then glided his hand from her lips and returned to holding her captive by her chin.
"Beautiful, yet I don't stand a chance..."
Her breathing froze. She saw no bitterness at all in Tidus's eyes. Gently, he released his hold around her neck yet his other hand was still upon her chin. She didn't want to know what Tidus was intending.
He slowly closed his eyes and leaned forward. Yuna's heartbeat paced a hundredfold as she felt his faint breath upon her lips. All she could do was stand still. Pulling away from Tidus's grasp never crossed her mind. It felt as if she was under a spell.
The spell was broken as quickly as it was cast. He firmly yet tenderly set her aside and looked away. He gripped the hilt of Caladbolg but didn't withdraw it.
"Get out of my bastion..."
Yuna meekly looked at his back turned. She noticed the hand holding the cobalt steel was shaking.
"Wh-Why...?"
"Just get out," he said even more strictly.
She repelled. She moved like a stone exactly where she stood. She couldn't even make a breath. She didn't know why she was doing that contrasted what the cold-blooded Slasher ordered.
"GET OUT OR I'LL–"
He swiftly unsheathed his cobalt steel yet did not brandish it. His back was still towards her yet she could read him glibly. His breathing was slow and deep and his sword hand was vibrating like a cathedral bell.
Yuna no longer needed a second warning. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her and fled from the veranda. She ran past the devastated chamber and forced the doors of ebony and ivory open.
She ran without stopping across the sepulchral hallway. It was reverie in motion as she didn't feel herself. She was once again caught in a maelstrom of emotions. She didn't even know what she was supposed to feel.
She burst into the vast antechamber with tears struck violently upon her face. There she was greeted by an alarmed Wakka and Rikku. They seemed to have been looking for her.
"Yunie!" cried Rikku, "Where have you been? You weren't at the western tow–"
"Please! Don't mention that place!" reacted Yuna hysterically. "Your master's not human. He's a monster!"
"Yunie! Wait!" Rikku chased after her towards the double doors to the outside world and grabbed her arm. "What happened?!"
Yuna forcefully held Rikku's hand, "I'm sorry," and tossed it aside. "I can't stay here any longer." And with that she ran into the open courtyard without turning back.
Rikku was taken aback by Yuna's sudden gesture. Yet she quickly adapted back to reality and turned to Wakka.
"Wakka! Don't just stand there!" demanded Rikku as she stomped her foot. "Call Lulu and Sir Auron! I'm going after her!"
"But..." said the unsettled Wakka, "she might've gotten too far. You know we can't go past the–"
"JUST DO IT!" screamed Rikku who was now throwing a tantrum.
"Alright already, ya?" answered Wakka, still disoriented.
Yuna kicked her Chocobo steed, not caring whether her commands were harming him or not. It no longer mattered where she was going. All that mattered was getting away from that cold-blooded Slasher, as far as till the other end of the earth.
She was nearly enveloped by her cloak yet she still shivered from the cold. Yet it wasn't the physical cold that tortured her but ghastly words from Tidus.
"Beautiful, yet I don't stand a chance."
Author's Notes: Sue me. Condemn me. Look up all the words in your profanity dictionary to define me since I updated nine months late. My decent excuses are:
1. I'm a graduating student and workload is quite hectic especially my thesis leaving no space in my head for creativity.
2. I just broke up with my boyfriend of two years. But I'm happy with another man and he takes up a lot of time as well and
3. For absolutely no fucking reason, I can't open my account even if I'm certain I put my email and password correctly. The system simply says my email isn't recognized.
On a final note, Niobe is not necessarily an OC (Original Character) since Tidus has an unnamed mom in the actual game. I decided to name her and scanned my book on Roman Mythology and voila! Along came Niobe. Additionally there's no use conceptualizing her since she's deceased.
P.S. As a consolation for my delay, I have also published a new story. It is in-game and will still be within the context of FFX. It's also a Tidus-Yuna novelette entitled Cerulean Tryst. Please check my profile for more details.