"If... I could travel back in time. Serah... Aerith, mom, and dad. They... could all be saved."
The temple of Etro. Lightning had just gotten off the carriage and headed in by herself. The doors felt heavy as she pushed it open. Nothing has changed since she last been here last year. Well... nothing but herself. Her footsteps were heavy, filled with guilt. Her eyes roamed to her right, looking at the great stone plaque briefly. She thought of her war buddies, friends, and... Aerith. When her eyes soften briefly, she looked away, back to the shrine, she can't allow herself to look too long at the plaque. When she arrived in front of Etro, she kneeled before her.
"Divine Etro. Please hear me...
I don't have much time left. Soon, I will become a monster and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
This... is my punishment. I embrace it with open arms.
But Serah... Serah is innocent. It... it is my fault she's not here. That is my sin. My doing.
Divine Etro... When I pass, I will be your eternal servant.
So... please bring Serah back to me.
If we can laugh together just one more time. Well... then I have nothing left to wish for."
-xiii-
When Lightning stepped out of the shrine, it was none other than the Duke that greeted her. Annoyed, she ignored him, choosing to walk towards the carriage.
"Hey sis... come on now."
"Do not call me that!" Lightning could feel her heart racing with anger. She needed to step away or...
Snow laughed and raised his two hands up in surrender. "Now now, Lightning... Just thought I welcome you back to Eden. The King has prepared you a place to stay in the palace. I trust that you will attend the meeting tonight before the ball."
"Tch..." She turned her back on Snow and stepped into her carriage with a huff.
But the voice of that bumbling idiot still rang in her ears. Meeting with the King... she thought. She must approach this calmly... just like before, but when she looked out the window again, Snow was being... inappropriate to Vanille which drove Lightning mad.
"Elmyra!" Lightning barked. "We're leaving!"
Lightning watched as Elmyra pushed Vanille away and into the carriage. Her thoughts wandered to the red head. "Vanille..." She unconsciously said out loud. She had been noticing the girl ever since they've met... ever since that night. She thought of how the girl would amuse herself by humming when she thought she was alone. How she would thumb through her books then put it back as if she's never touched it or misplaced the bookmark Lightning had left there before. Or how she frequently visited Odin to brush his fur. The girl was gentle. Too gentle and too familiar. Lightning touched her chest. She didn't understand why... why she had the need to claim her. Shaking away that feeling she looked back at the window.
Nevertheless... Vanille would make... a good distraction for tonight.
-xiii-
Arriving at the castle, Lightning was greeted by two guards including the captain Rygdea. Lightning shrugged, why can't they all just leave her alone? She turned to look at Elmyra and Vanille, but her eyes stalled a little too long on Vanille. The red headed girl was like a child with her eyes twinkling with happiness as she wandered a little too far from Elmyra. Snapping out of her daze, she turned to Elmyra.
"Elmyra." She paused thinking about her decision. "Get Vanille a dress." Elmyra looked at her confused then she clarified for her. "I want her to attend the ball tonight."
Elmyra gave her a look of shock, but quickly shook it off and responded. "Yes master."
With that, Lightning followed Rygdea and the other guard. The walk was almost silent, just the sound of shoes thumping against the carpeted floor.
"You haven't changed a bit, General Farron." Rygdea started.
Lightning hated her false title. "Hmmph." As they walked towards the king's meeting hall. Lightning started to feel her heart thump. Her eyebrows furrowed and she stopped mid step.
Rygdea turned around to look at her. "Is... everything ok, General Farron?"
"I need to freshen up before the meeting." She lied.
The captain cleared his voice. "I... I can't let you do that. I have my orders, General."
"Tch. I'm not breaking any rules, am I? By going to the bathroom?" Her tone was stern almost deadpan as she gave him her cold glare. "Unless you want to follow me there too."
Rygdea blushed and laugh. "Ah... of course not, General. Please... this way."
The captain led Lightning to the washroom and without a word, she went in. As soon as she was alone she collapsed against the wall. This was... getting worst. She was getting worst. Walking over to the window, she made sure the curtains were closed. With the room slightly darkened, she went over to the mirror and opened the top few buttons of her shirt revealing her L'cie mark and the poisonous veins that stretched from the arrows almost up to her neck. She could see at the center that the red eye was slowly forming. Quickly she reached into her pocket for a metal syringe.
Adjusting her sleeves, she shot the syringe into her, giving her painful relief.
With her eyes closed, she waited til the pain stopped and her heartbeat slowed. Her eyes opened, the world shook around her, her vision blurred.
"Nnngghh."
Through long research and her many trips away, she found that Slow was the best combatting drug against the ticking Cie'th clock. She wasn't sure how it worked exactly, but it seemed to trick her body into thinking it had more time. It slowed her heart rate and made her body numb. Being a L'cie also had a lot to do with her emotional state which she combatted by controlling her emotions which... wasn't always easy when Snow was around.
Injecting poison into herself however... was no better. She was aware of the consequences of long time uses. In her second year as a L'cie... she was almost dependent on it. She stared into the mirror seeing a distorted image of herself in which she learned to hate. These stupid mandatory events... she thought. The only reason she was here was because she didn't want to raise any suspicions. She laughed bitterly. Although... nothing would really help her case more.
No matter the cost though. She thought. She needed to live on.
-xiii-
Entering the meeting room. She was met with some familiar faces such as her former commander, General Rosch, and her former captain, Amodar. The rest were all royalty or officials which she never bothered to mingle with. Even with the Slow, her body started to tense. She didn't like crowds. She needed to stay cool so she shook off any nervous feelings and calmly approached the crowd. Amodar was first to greet her.
"Sergeant Farron! Oh... my bad... I mean General." He had his hand on Lightning's shoulder.
Lightning gave a nod. "Captain."
Amodar smiled genuinely, something Lightning did not see anymore. "It's good to see you again."
"Likewise." Walking closer to the crowd, she greeted her former commander. "General."
Yaag gave a polite salute. Though they are the same rank, Lightning's title held no water. It is Rosch who is the true leader of the army. Lightning did not mind this though. After the war, Lightning had refused any sort of compensation... There was nothing that Lightning wanted that could be given to her.
In a cool voice, Yaag spoke. "I wish you would reconsider and come back to the city. There is much to be done around here. Your leadership is much appreciated."
Lightning shook her head. "I can not, Sir. I hope you understand."
Yaag nodded with respect.
"Sis!"
...Then there was the idiot. Lightning shrugged as the Duke approached her, but before she had a chance to shut him up, she could feel her heart tighten all of sudden. The King has arrived. Lightning avoided contact at all cost. She chimed in when it came time to greet the King. She had hoped to blend in the crowd... but it was impossible.
"General Farron." Strong and regal, the King spoke.
Lightning tensed. Sweat trickled from her forehead as her teeth clenched. "Your Majesty."
"I thought you weren't going to come." King Raine's said with a light tone. "This... celebration would not be the same without my two generals." He spoke about Rosch as well who quickly bowed in respect.
Her heart beat faster. Why isn't the Slow working? She thought.
"Is... everything alright, General?"
She felt him approach her. She could see his boots approaching her. Her fist shook. Before he could get any closer, she quickly responded. "Yes, your Majesty. It is an honor to be here."
A pause. "Fantastic."
Lightning could breathe again. The King turned to everybody else. The King's announcements were drowned out and the Slow took effect once again. Everything was a haze. As she blinked and saw the King's lips opening and closing, she remembered every reason she shouldn't be here. One in particular pops to mind. She bit her lip as her fist curled up into a ball.
Damn you. Barthandelus.
-xiii-
Her breathing finally becoming normal. She suited up for the ball. Shooting another bit of the poison into her, she steadied herself for the big night ahead. Looking into the mirror she could see that she was decorated in war medals. They felt heavy against her. Sheathing her sabre, she left her room.
Upon entering Elmyra's room, she heard a conversation going on inside briefly. She raised her hand to knock, but decided against it. She was a master, why should she knock after all. So she pushed the door open.
From the corner of her eye she could see Elmyra looking at her, but her attention wasn't at her trusted maid, but at the beautiful red head in the center of the room who has yet realized that she was in the room. Her gaze fell at Vanille's exposed creamy white neck then down on her thin waist. She was mesmerized by every detail and wished she could somehow tear the dress to see more of her. Then when those green eyes looked back at her, Lightning realized she was caught staring.
She heard Elmyra speak. "Master."
Then she watched as Vanille cutely stuttered. "Mas-"
"Lightning." She didn't even realized she said out loud. Vanille looked up at her with a confused expression. Quickly, Lightning recovered and spoke in a commanding voice. "You will call me Lightning tonight." The red headed girl looked down almost scared. Why was she so afraid of me? She thought... but then she knew the answer. Everybody... feared her. Impatient, Lightning started again. "Well?"
"Yes M-" Vanille bit her lip quickly correcting herself. "Lightning."
The way... Vanille said her name just now. Lightning knew that she wanted to hear her say it again.
No. She needed to hear it again.
Hope this doesn't come as too much of a surprise. Like in the games. The first game, Vanille was the narrator and in the second, Lightning was. The story will sort of mimic that, but at one point the both will intertwine.
Hope everybody is still on board.
And thank you to everybody who stuck around and left a review. Reviews are quite awesome, not gonna lie.
Shout outs to all of you.
If you're reading this ;D stick around, leave a review, and junk.