Interlude - A Maiden's Prayer

The darkness...it...it won't go away...

Brother...brother Ramza...please...help me...save me...

I don't want to be alone again...

Where have you gone...?

I can't remember anything...when I awoke, I was here...surrounded by nothing but dismal abyss.

I'm frightened brother...where are you...?

Save me...please...

I wish I were strong enough to do this by myself, but I'm not...

I curse the fates for bequeathing me such a frail body and mind...but there is nothing I can do about that...

I need someone to protect me...to stay by my side and keep me safe from harm...

It's not something I am capable of alone...

Why won't the darkness go away...?

Why won't it let me go...?

Am I forever destined to live a life in the shadows of the world...?

To be used time and again, and then thrown away like an unwanted toy...?

I don't want that...

I never wanted the life of a noble, nor the repercussions that went with it...

I just wanted to exist, to live as my own person...

For one brief moment in time, I had my wish...

I was able to live peacefully, with you...

My dear brother...Ramza...

But here I am once again, ensnared by this merciless darkness...

My heart cries out for you...brother Ramza...

I wish you were here with me...

If you were, then everything would be okay...

You always made everything right...

Ever since we were young children, you would always protect me...

I was so immature, I could not fully understand what I was feeling at the time...

But when I heard news of Teta's death, and what it did to Delita, it all became perfectly clear.

I need you, brother...and you need me...

We are the last remaining descendants of our father, the mighty Balbanes Beoulve.

I loved father dearly, he too protected me from all the harsh realities of the world, keeping me wrapped in safety within his veil of love.

But he has long since left me, and now only you remain...

Brother Ramza...

I can't even begin to imagine life without you...

I am your sister...related in both blood and in name, but I love you as any woman would love a man. I cannot help these feelings that stir within me. You've done so much for me, putting your own life behind my own, always making sure I was safe. I was ecstatic to see that such an admirable trait was not lost on you when you became a soldier. After your descent into the fires of war, you became the light of my life.

Whenever the darkness would come for me, you would drive it away with your sword and your valor.

You are what any knight strives to be, and for that, I can safely say my feelings for you are not misplaced. Whenever decadence struck down those around me, you remained, standing tall, never bending to anyone's twisted will, always leading me by the hand to the right path...

I know that what I feel could most likely never be returned...but this is what my heart tells me...

Even if I am not able to love you like that, I will still shower you with the love of a sibling, if it is my only way of showing how much you mean to me, then I will gladly take that chance.

...As this darkness continues to swirl around me, I somehow know that you are out there, searching high and low for me. I pray with all of my weak heart that you are doing alright without me at your side, that you are not writhing in the agony of loneliness as I am right now...

I'll do whatever I can to help you...even if it be ultimately futile...

Please, hear my words, wherever you may be in the world...

I love you more than you could ever know, and my devotion to you is what keeps me within the bounds of sanity...

I'll hold off the horrible delusions of my own despair as long as possible, so that you may find me.

Our fates require that we remain together, for the sake of both of us.

We are two sides of the same coin, we depend on each other to exist in a world that spurns us.

Just as I curse the fates for being so weak, I also curse them for binding us together by name...

It is incredibly selfish for me to think in such a way, but I have but one desire, and that is to remain at your side, keeping you safe, as you do the same for me. To lose myself in your tender embrace, and never once return. To feel the warmth of your true love, and not just that of a sibling. That is the only thing I ask of the world...

But that is impossible.

It frightens me to think of what may happen should my paternal love for you not be enough...

Will you leave me...?

Will you vanish from my life forever...?

I beg of you, dearest brother, help me...

Save me from the tangled web of confusion...

If I cannot love you with all of my heart, then I accept that, but I must be with you to exist...you are the only remaining piece of truth in a world full of lies.

Please...brother Ramza...hear my words...