I'm really excited about the future chapters now! I planned everything already. But not quite in details. So chapters will be updated a bit faster than before. Chapter dedicated to :Caitlyn
On this very gray morning, the sun hid behind the clouds. I sat on the broken brick sidewalk condemned like everything else. Bricks and glass laid on the floor around me. Everyone came back into town, scavenging for their personal belongings through the rubble. All my emotions escaped me. I felt nothing but emptiness from the day before.
[Flashback]
"Are you okay...?" The soldier asked me. I didn't give him a reply but stood there.
"I'm sorry..." I turned to him. He is very odd for a soldier from the enemy's kingdom.
"Why didn't you obey Nigel?" I boldly asked him. The soldier looked away. I stepped forward and said,
"You betrayed your kingdom!"
"I would rather die with my pride and moralities." He quickly turned and responded.
"In time of war there isn't such a thing as morality!" I shouted.
"War has to do with the ones fighting in it. Not the innocent people suffering cause of it!" I remained silent.
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to shout at you..." He kindly said.
"No...it's my fault for trying to lecture you on your own decisions. After all, you did save my life...I should be grateful..." I said with much regret. It was silent for a moment and I held out my hand.
"My name is Garnet" He stared at my hand and then looked back at me. He took off his helmet and revealed his brown spiky hair and blue eyes. He is much younger than I thought. He smiled and took my hand,
"I'm Sora!" We shook hands and though he smiled, I looked at him confused.
"How old are you Sora...?"
"Erm... I'm eighteen." So he is the same age as me.
"You were probably one of the youngest recruits huh?"
"I joined on my own accord."
"May I ask why...?" Just as he was about to speak, I heard yelling from a bunch of people. We both turned and saw a group of survivors walking up the road. I ran to them while Sora stayed.
"Everyone okay?" A woman hugged me as I paused in front of them. She was one of the people in the bar that I was running with before I turned back.
"Thank the heavens you're okay!" I smiled and embraced her back.
"What the hell is he doing here?" A man yelled and pointed at Sora. They were about to confront him until I stood in front of them.
"Stop! He didn't harm anyone! He was abandoned by his own people because he refused to obey orders!"
"You're going to believe his words?" The man argued back.
"Not his words! His actions!" I shouted.
"I lost my damn cousin because of you!" The man barged through the crowd and rushed towards Sora. I tried to stand in his way, but he shoved me to the ground.
"Do you have any shame?" The man shouted. I looked up and watched Sora get punched in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. Blood dripped down from his mouth and I ran in front of him before the man could get another hit in.
"STOP!" I screamed, making the man pause.
"Move out of my way lady!" He yelled.
"You shouldn't punish him for the actions of others!" I protested.
"Move out of my wa-" Before the man could finish his sentence Sora said,
"It's okay Garnet..." I turned my head and saw him wipe the blood away with his hair overshadowing his eyes. He slowly stood up and looked at me. He put his hands on my shoulders and gently moved me aside. He approached the man and stared him right in the eyes.
"I understand your rage. I can also comprehend why you are blaming me. So do as you will." My mind couldn't render what Sora had just said. He was going to allow someone to beat him up or even worse, kill him?
"But, let me remind you. Before I came here and saw the ruthlessness of the soldiers and my general...I thought what I was doing was right. I only defended myself against the soldiers who came and attacked me. You would have done the same in my position. In war, its either kill or be killed. But now, finding out the true intentions of my king and general made me realize that what happened here today was base upon a lie they brainwashed us with." The man just stared at Sora with rage shown in his face.
"I'm not asking you to forgive me. But to understand..." Everyone stared at Sora with different emotions.
"and I assure you...The blood on my hands isn't one of an innocent, defenseless life..." It was quiet for a moment. The buff man grabbed Sora by the neck and Sora just closed his eyes. The man screamed and pushed Sora back against the wall and let him go. Sora caught himself and opened his eyes. As the man stomped away, I ran to Sora.
"Are you okay...?" I said looking at him. He looked at the ground with grief in his eyes and said,
"Yeah..." I turned to the crowd who just stared at us. I grabbed Sora by his arm and dragged him away.
We hid in an alley. I checked around to see if anyone was around. Since the streets were empty, I turned and walked back to Sora who was still sulking.
"Sora!" I whispered. He looked up at me with the same painful eyes.
"You can't stay here wearing the armor of Scartus's army. Cause next time when someone wants to take revenge, you might not be so lucky."
"You're allowing me to stay?" Sora looked up and faced me, disorientated.
"Of course...Where else would you go? You can't go back to Scartus." Sora looked down. I looked at his sadden face and sighed.
"I didn't mean for it to come out so heartlessly..." Sora shook his head.
"You're right though. So don't worry about it." He smirked.
"Well...then let's go!" We both ran out of the alley. I had to sneak around like when I was protecting the kids, except this time I was protecting someone from civilians. Sora ran ahead,
"Hey!" I screamed at him as I watched him run recklessly. He ran towards the wall and grabbed his helmet. I caught up with him as he was putting his helmet on and stared. He turned and said,
"So no one knows what I look like. Besides the people who saw us earlier of course."
"Smart..." We ran down different alleys and found a car with it's door opened and keys inside. How lucky we are. We stood in front of it.
"Do you know how to drive?" I asked Sora.
"Of course!" He replied.
"Good!" I ran around to the passenger's door and hopped in. Sora sat in the driver's seat and started the car. I told him where to drive, and what roads to take. We parked right in front of "Yumei's Clothing Store," the same place where I took Noctis... We got out and stood in front of it. The store was empty,dark, and its' windows were shattered. We walked in through the broken window and looked were found on the ground. That could only mean one thing. We continued to walk.
(The soldiers were able to get this far...? I wonder if they reached the palace...)
Sora quickly picked out an outfit, I didn't catch a glimpse of what he chose before he went into a fitting room. I sat in the dark store with only the late sun lighting up the place. Sora walked out, shyly, He had on baby blue jeans with tears in it, and a white t-shirt with a weird looking black traced heart that was bleeding. His belt was checkered with thick pieces of baby blue and white. The surrounding of the belt was black. He wore a wrist band to match the belt. I stood up and examined him. He had a silver crown necklace on and a chain hanging from his belt loops that had the same crown. I looked him in the eyes.
"Where did you find those necklaces and chains?"
"They are mine. I had the necklace since I was born. The chain, my friend gave it to me before he passed away. So I wear it with me everywhere.
"I'm sorry..." I said looking away.
"Don't be! It's not like you knew." It was silent for a moment. I then looked back at him and said,
"Well! You look nice." Sora smiled with his eyes closed and scratched the back of his head and said,
"Haha. Thanks." His presence made me feel a bit better. He didn't seem so bad after all. We got back to the car and Sora put his armor in the trunk of the car. When he sat back into the driver's seat hand started the car, I stared at him. For a minute, he stared out of the wind shield with his hands on the wheel. But he looked at me.
"You okay...?" He asked.
"Sora...I want to check the palace..." His eyes widened.
"I know it sounds a bit crazy but... Someone important was working there for the queen. I want to check if she is alright...Its been eating me alive." I said looking away. Sora looked out the wind shield and took a deep breath and quickly exhaled.
"Alright. Just tell me where to go..." I looked back at him surprised.
"Okay?" He said turning my way with a smile. His smile was very contagious. I slightly smiled and looked straight.
"Thank you..." Sora drove off. With me giving him directions, we got to the huge bridge in no time. Especially with no traffic, it was a swift trip. We drove down the long bridge with the sun about to set. I looked at Sora and was reminded of how Noctis looked when he drove down this bridge wearing the similar style of clothing like Sora's. Noctis smiled that day when he was driving. I blinked and shook the image out of my head. Thank goodness Sora didn't see. When we arrived near the palace, I noticed the gate wasn't there anymore. He stopped in front of the palace and we got out.
It was too quiet. Surprisingly, there wasn't anyone around. I looked around, fearful for what I would find and I quickly ran in.
"Garnet!" Sora yelled. The palace was a complete reck. Lamps and the chandlier laid on the floor. The large portraits laid on the floor. A few bodies of gaurds and maids were hidden in the shadows, but were seen. Sora caught up to me and looked around. I shook my head and ran up the stairs. I ran into every room on the second floor and found the same scene from downstairs. I ran throughout the palace, and found no sign of Sophie or Ruby. On the third floor, I found bodies of soldiers from Scartus. I feared for the worse, but never found Sophie's body.
I collasped to my knees in lack of hope. Sora walked behind me and sighed.
{FLASHBACK END}
After, we attended an emergency meeting in city hall which was held at night time. That is where our soldiers told us they recovered the body of Ruby. And found a car in flames far down from here, which King Leo had evacuated in. Everyone fell into dispair. I wondered when they found Ruby. Cause no one was in the palace when I arrived there. Lost in my trace of thought, I didn't pay any attention to Sora who sat beside me on the sidewalk.
"Garnet...?" I came out of my daze and turned to Sora. He gave me a sweet potato that was warm. This is what everyone is eating now since we lost electricity and most of the homes were set on fire. The kids were put into an orphanage with the rest of the kids who lost their parents. I nibbled on the potato without a word. The cries of people were heard as they recovered bodies from beneath the rubble. It hurt, but didn't affect me as much as it should have.
"You need some sleep..." Sora said to me with sincerity in his voice. I shook my head.
"It's not good for your health." He replied
"I don't care..." Sora sighed and kept eating. After a period of silence. Sora said looking ahead,
"Were you and the Prince close...?" My mouth paused as it was about to bite into the pototo. Then I put my hand down and faced the floor.
"I don't know if "close" is the right word to use..."
"Then what were you guys...?" That is when I wondered myself. What exacly were we? We were friends right? But he had his friends who probably knew more than I did. Maybe...I was just a distraction or an escape for him.
"I was his distraction..." I softly said.
"A...distraction...?" Sora looked at me confused.
"Yes..." I said looking up at sky. Sora just looked back, knowing it wasn't right to ask anymore about it.
I wonder if i'm being honest with myself. Nothing mattered to me anymore except to find out if Sophie was safe or not...
After Sora and I were done eating, we hopped up to help the others find surivors under the rubble. Night slowly arrived and we were exhausted. I invited Sora into Sophie's home. He looked around and I went into the closet and took out an extra pillow and blanket. He stood by the front door as I walked back into the living room and put the blanket and pillow on the couch. I turned to him and pointed at the couch.
"You can sleep here." He looked uneasy in his eyes. He softly said,
"Okay...Thank you..." He bowed his head and walked up to the couch. He stood and stared at me until I walked upstairs to my room. I slammed my door and leaned on it. I slid down to the floor with my back against the door. I sat there, releasing a long sigh. My eyes closed as the many thoughts rampaged through my restless mind. It is night time, but yesterday seemed to never have ended. All the dead men,women and children haunted my mind. My body barely stood up and I rushed my body to my bed. Sleep was a stranger to me.
The next few days were all the same. Helping people, finding food, cleaning, and talking. Except, I kept to myself. Something was digging at me. Despite the worry of Sophie and surpringly the where about of Noctis, something else is eating at me. I wanted to do more than just this; which was the same routine, just a different day. It was boring and unsatisfying...
Early morning I was awoken by a knock at the door. Sora sat up on the couch, bracing himself for something as I walked down the stairs in my night gown. I opened the door and a soldier stood in front of me. My face barely showed it, but I was shocked and scared...scared for Sora.
"Hello..."
"Are You Garnet Alexandros...? Fear completely won over me. The thought of Nigel saying my name crossed my mind and took away my sense of security. From my periphal vision, I saw Sora leaning against the wall next to me, preparing to strike if anything were to happen.
"Ma'am?" I looked directly at the man and said,
"Yes..." The man reached into his pocket. I feared for the worse, but when he took out an envelope, the anxiety perished and just left me with wonder.
"This is for you..." My hands slowly grabbed the envelope, my eyes never left his. He tipped his hat and said,
"Have a good day." He said slightly smiling.
"Thank you..." I closed the door and stared at what seemed to be a letter. Sora followed me as I walked into the kitchen.
"What is it?" He quickly asked.
"I don't know..." I turned the envelope over and saw my name and a stamp which looked like the symbol of our army. I rushed to open it and took the paper out and read:
"Dear Garnet,
I am sorry to have left you in such a bad state without personally seeing you...
I'm going to skip the trifling details and just tell you that I have joined the army.
My reasons being is because I wanted to do more for our kingdom,
our future, and for you. I also wanted to start this new life, which was given to me
by Ruby, fighting for the kingdom she sacrificed herself for...
I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for Ruby. Please understand
my decisions. I know they were quick and irrational, but I know
in my heart that this is what I want to do. I think of you
every second of everyday. I am grateful to the gods and the heavens
that you are okay. Sadly, Noctis came back to the horrifying scene...Which is why
I knew you were okay. But Garnet he...He...
It's too sad to mention. But, do know that he is also okay. He is leading
our troops. I didn't notice him at first, his hair was blue, dark or light, depending
on the surroundings. But his eyes always remain the same color, dark red.
What happened to him while he was looking for you?
Anyways, I will be writing to you from now on, so write back.
Keep safe and help any chance you get. Hehe...not that I need to remind you.
The one who will always love you,
Sophie."
A great wave washed away all of my apprehension as I finished the letters. I gave a large sigh of relief and Sora looked at me. I feel a bit stupid for being scared of the soldier. I forgot I had told Sophie my true last name.
"Thank god..." I softly said to myself, holding my hand to my heart. Sora stared but, I saw a smile on his face. That night, the stars were finally visible. I sat at the top of the steps and I could see the whole street and other homes. The view wasn't as beautiful as before because of all the damage. But the sky is what I am looking at. The sound of crickets soothed me as the gentle wind hit my face. The sound of the door closing behind me caused me to turn. Sora stood there, smiling at me.
Of course, I smiled back. But I quickly turned and looked back at the sky again. Sora sat down next to me and looked up. It was silent for a while until Sora said,
"I'm glad you feel better..." His eyes remained at the sky.
"Hm..." I replied, smiling. I gave another sigh of relief and continued smiling.
"Hehe..." Sora slightly giggled. After a while, I finally asked,
"Sora...Why did you join the army...?"
"Why...?" Sora said turning to me. I looked back at him and said
"What lead to your decision about joining the army and fighting...?"
"Well..." Sora said looking back at the sky.
"For one, I wanted to do something with my life." I listened, staring at him.
"But...what drove me were the people I cared about. I wanted to do something to make sure they were always protected. I wanted to be the one to protect them. My life really didn't have a meaning...until I realized that I could fight for the loving people of my kingdom."
I looked down with a smirk. Sophie is fighting for me too... Sora scratched the back of his head and said.
"Gah! I can't really put it into words. But it was just something...I knew I wanted to do. I wanted to protect the weak and fight for them."
"Which is why you refused to obey Nigel's orders...Because it went against the reason you joined in the first place."
"Correct..." He said not even looking at me. I admire him and envy him. He knows what he wants to live and die for. I don't have any beliefs to believe in... no morals or even a known destiny. I am a stranger to myself. I want to do something...but what...? We both sat there for a while in silence, with a lot on our minds. I pieced Sora's words, Sophie and even Noctis together in my mind. My mind was black until the image of my father came into my head. His words as he told me about out family's pendant echoed throughout my mind...
{"Our family used this for centuries to make a better world."
"Only a few are chosen to use the crystal Garnet. Time can only reveal the mystery of whether or not you are one of those fortunate few..."
"You must push yourself to know the truth. For it only reveals itself to those who have earned it. Become gifted my child, and shape the world with your heart."}
I opened my eyes and quietly gasped. I thought of my father's words for a while.
"aah!" Sora yelled at his yawned. I turned and asked him,
"Sora...wouldn't you still want to fight for others...?"
"It's all I really know how to do...So yes, but why?" I remained silent for a while. I gripped my crystal and looked at Sora with a stern face.
"You and I should join the Sacrian army!"
Please Review:
So, how do you think things will go? Anyone like Sora? I made him much more manly than in KH.
I hope I am not rushing but I am so excited! I do not think Noctis will appear in the next chapter...maybe he will. I am not sure. I am on winter break! So expect quick updates!
ITS RIGHT DOWN THERE
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