The Darkness Rising

Edgar turned his head, staring at the woman that lay in bed beside him. Terra was laying on her side, facing him. One arm was draped over his chest; the other was barely touching his upper arm. Taking care so as not to wake her, he gently raised one hand to brush her bangs away from her eyes. Once they were out of the way he placed his hand on her cheek; she seemed to glow in the morning sun. "I have an angel in bed beside me." He thought as she sighed, then opened her eyes.

"Good morning." She said, smiling.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Terra sat up, stretched, and let out a small yawn, nodding. "Uh-huh."

"Good. So did I." He grinned as she ran one hand though her hair. "How could you, after all your snoring?" Edgar sat up in bed next to her. "I do not snore… Do I?"

Terra slid out of bed, stretched again, and slowly walked to the dresser. "Yes, you do. Very soft, cute, little snores."

Edgar had stopped listening after the word 'yes'. For he had just noticed that, in the morning sun, Terra's nightgown was slightly transparent; giving him a good view of her silhouette beneath it. The view was tantalizingly blurred through the fabric, showing no real detail. Then Terra stepped into the bathroom with a change of clothes, as soon as she was out of sight Edgar slapped himself, letting the pain cool his rising lust. "Don't lose control." He said to himself, feeling his conscious beginning to stir. As he slipped out of bed and went to his pack it said, "You want her." Over the past week Edgar had come to see that the voice was usually right, and that agreeing with it was much easier than arguing with it. "Yes" He told it miserably. "I want her so badly that just a glimpse is enough to set me on edge, so badly I can almost taste it! But she's completely ignorant, last time I checked she didn't even fully understand her own feelings about love. I have no doubt that I could seduce into bed with me, but…"

Edgar was reasonably sure that if he pushed the right buttons he could easily have Terra in bed, willingly giving herself to him. But there was something that stopped him, it was like a kind of light that surrounded her. Edgar knew that, if he were to seduce her, that light would go out; that loss, would be more than he could bear…

"If you care for her, then take it slowly." His conscious said. Edgar stopped, looking towards the bathroom door. "Take it slowly…?"

Terra began to pull her hair into its usual ponytail, then stopped wondering if she should just leave it down. Glancing in the mirror to see which was better, Terra froze. Staring back at her was her own reflection… with two golden eyes. The eyes had the same color, shade, and intensity as the esper; she could almost hear it in her ears: "Terra… The time is nearly upon you. You must remember…"

Terra blinked, and two green eyes watched her frightfully from the mirror. "Ponytail." She decided "I don't look like… It, with my hair up." Despite herself, Terra began thinking back on what it said. "The time is nearly upon you…" She whispered. "I always thought that my dreams were my repressed memories, and that they were leading up to something… maybe I'll finally find out what it is…" The thought left her feeling cold as she dressed, then walked back into the bedroom where she saw Edgar sitting on the bed with a set of his own clothes. After he entered, closing the door behind him, Terra walked over to her nightstand and quickly wrote what had just happened in her dream dairy. It wasn't a dream, But she still felt it was important.

Throughout the week, Terra showed Edgar the preparations that had been done for party, helping to tie up the last few loose ends. Over the next few days Terra noticed that Edgar was subtly getting closer to her. It manifested itself in small gestures: gently stroking her hair, putting his arm around her waist instead of her shoulders, the boldest move was staying with her instead of getting his own room. And Terra loved every moment of it…

At first she wondered about his subtle attempts at getting closer, then she realized that Edgar was completely ignorant about what Celes had really taught her; and it seemed that he was trying to be gentle with her. However, that raised a serious question: Did he just want her in bed, or did he actually care for her? The question bounced around in her skull, refusing to be silent. Terra decided that, once again, she would ask Celes for advice.

She got her chance the day before the party when Celes and Relm insisted that they go shopping for a party dress in town; although in reality, only Celes and Terra were shopping for dresses, Relm already had one, and was content to sit and draw portraits of them. Terra still didn't understand how, even without magic, she could draw a realistic picture of a moving person.

After two hours of trying different dresses in front of a mirror Terra noticed that Relm had excused herself to go to the ladies room. Seeing her opportunity, Terra cornered Celes before she could enter another changing room, and quickly told her the situation.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask how things have been between you two." She said, then leaned against the wall. "You're worried that Edgar is just doing this to get you naked?" Terra nodded. For a few minutes Celes said nothing, finally she pushed herself off the wall, "Edgar may be a bit of a pervert, but he's still an honorable man. I don't think he would just use you like that… By your own account he's being considerate and taking things slow and easy."

Terra nodded in understanding. "Thank you."

Celes just smiled as Terra turned away. She didn't want to see her friend hurt, and she might be if Edgar was being honest. "You'd better mean everything you say and do… Edgar.

"The time is nigh, Terra…" The esper hissed from the swirling shadows. "You must remember…"

Terra turned, furiously scanning the void for the esper, it was nealy invisible against the darkness, but the bright golden eyes always give it away. The creature's voice echoed in the void, "It is upon you… Terra, you must remember…"

"Remember what?" She called out. As if waiting for her question, the esper materialized in front of her.

"Remember… Remember and everything will become clear… The time has come to remember…"

"What?" She almost begged, "Remember what?"

The images were upon her before she could react. Only this time they were clearer, sharper…

A bloody sword came down in an arc as a little girl screamed…

A room frozen in ice, with two figures facing off in it's center…

A finger pointing at a group of soldiers, as if casting judgment on them…

A stone floor soaked with running blood…

"Remember… You must remember everything…"

"It doesn't make any sense!"

The esper laughed. "Remember… Soon you will remember…"

"Soon… You shall…"

"Remember…"