The chanting was overwhelming. Cloud wanted to shrink away and hide in some nice chocobo stable. His hair would be easy enough to be mistaken as a chick if he climbed into a bale of hay and left his hair out.
Behind Cloud they paraded Tifa and Jessie. Angeal and Genesis were behind the girls respectively. Cloud had a good look when someone threw some fruit that splattered on his face with enough force to send him down.
Cloud felt his blood boil. And it was noticed. Zack was quick to pull the blond to his feet and focus on keep walking. However more fruit was being thrown at Cloud in protest. By his clothes he wasn't a woman, and his guess was correct that they never brought back any boys before.
And he was being walked before the two most prized girls of this latest raid. While Cloud understood their messed up logic, it didn't make it any easier to accept it since he was apparently more important than a girl.
When the fruit was switched to rocks Zack rushed their pace. Even Sephiroth had to make a show of wrapping his arm around the blond's waist to show he will protect Cloud if he had to.
The rocks stopped being thrown.
But the shouting didn't stop. It was a strange language Cloud had no expertise in. Even so he didn't have to understand to know that they still felt a certain way about his existence.
Finally they reached the grand doors of the longhouse. Sephiroth removed his arm and resumed being in front. He pushed the doors open with ease and Cloud didn't have time to examine the carvings before he was pushed inside by Zack.
Cloud caught sight of three small children close to the ages of eight to ten, rushing to Sephiroth. They all had the same silver hair and otherworldly green eyes.
"Big brother! Big brother!" They chanted.
For some reason this made Cloud not so sick to his stomach. For first impressions he thought they were Sephiroth's children. He was at the proper age to have a family of his own by now.
"Have you three been behaving?" Sephiroth greeted them.
"Yes!" The three chimed at once.
"Did you bring gifts? How was the raid? Is there lots of treasure?" One of them asked with pure excitement.
"We have lots of treasures. But not all of them are material things." Sephiroth smirked at their confusion.
Cloud almost rolled his eyes.
"My handsome son! You've returned! And not a moment too soon. It is almost time for the festival for summers end." A sweet voice called out.
All turned to study her. She wasn't as tall as Sephiroth, but she was still imposing in her height. Long silver hair. But instead of otherworldly green eyes she had pink or purple that seemed to be glowing under the sunlight.
"Mother." Sephiroth greeted with warmth. "Is Ifalna well? I brought a late bloomer Seer. He had some...interesting visions."
"Oh? This boy?" She approached to study Cloud up and down.
"Yes, this one." Sephiroth answered. "He dreamed of me reaching the Promised Land."
Gasps of surprise that quickly followed by silence. Cloud was confused. What did he mean Promised Land? Was that the interpretation that Sephiroth had?
"An outsider with such visions. Surely this was meant to be." The queen finally spoke. This time her eyes really scrutinized Cloud with more interest.
"It is my thoughts exactly." Sephiroth agreed.
"Unfortunately Ifalna is sick today. I will send someone to ask if she will be well by supper. Until then, let us celebrate Prince Sephiroth's return with more bountiful treasures! May the Goddess continue to guide them for the search of the Promised Land!"
The entire hall bellowed at her declaration.
"Pretty up the boy and the two best girls." Sephiroth turned to the three who had the best three captives. "Take as much time as necessary. But, do make sure they remain pure."
Cloud hated the phrasing. He even dared to glare at the prince as Zack lead him away. Sephiroth smirked at the open display. It was a show that he thoroughly enjoyed watching Cloud despising the new orders.
Cloud was brought to a building behind the longhouse. The structure was strange and very decorative. Behind him he heard Tifa and Jessie also being shuffled towards the same building.
"Normally, the best captives get to bathe together. But, since you're a boy, you get to be all by yourself. Don't get any ideas, though. I'm watching your every move." Zack explained.
"How do I know my friends won't be harmed?" Cloud hissed.
"Well, uh, Angeal and Genesis are kinda in a relationship together. No sense to touching girls. So trust me in that I am saying they're safe." Zack answered.
Well that explained Genesis being flashy.
Cloud relaxed at the knowledge. He supposed that meant they would be fine. At the current moment he didn't care for himself. The prospect of a bath sounded better than anything.
Cloud was brought to a room with hot spring water beyond the room. Zack made him promise not to do anything before undoing the rope. The blond stretched and rotated his arms.
He noticed drastically how much weight he lost. Cloud studied his arms. The muscles weren't defined anymore. He had spent too much time not using the forge, let alone eating actual meals that wasn't dried meats or bread.
As Cloud wondered how he could get back into shape Zack surprised him by removing the tunic. He glared for not being given a warning, but it wasn't a deadly one.
Shamelessly Cloud pulled off his thin pants. He had bathed in front of plenty of boys his age. At Nibelheim the few springs they had were for everyone's use. They weren't blocked off and used by certain people like this.
"Damn, cutie. If I didn't have my heart set on someone already you would be a top contender." Zack commented with a whistle.
"Shut up. I don't like people." Cloud scoffed before making towards the water. He tested it with his foot to find it pleasantly warm. He climbed in the rest of the way with a sigh as the spring worked wonders on his aches and pains.
"Wait. So you really don't feel anything towards anyone?" Zack wondered, genuinely curious.
"Ask Jessie how boring I am." Cloud mumbled irritably.
"Jessie as in one of the girls?"
"The brunette with the jarl's daughter."
"Oh that cute face. You know, it's strange. For a small village, it sure produced a lot of cuties."
This boy didn't keep a one mind track, did he? Zack reminded Cloud of a hyper chocobo that was antsy to race. And that was all the chocobo wanted to do.
"We're all related some way or another." Cloud shrugged.
"Hmm. No trouble with inbreding?"
"Not that I know of. But we did suffer a huge loss the year I was born."
"Right. That storm that raged during your birth." That earned a shocked glance from Cloud.
"Angeal told me. He found it interesting that you have a strange sort of luck."
"Right. Like everyone dying but me. What a blessed life." Cloud deadpanned.
"Hey, it's not so bad here. You've seen how big Midgar is. It's a show of how strong we are. The strongest around I bet."
"And what exactly will my fate be once the Seer gets what they want out of me?" Cloud turned to meet Zack's gaze with cold eyes. "Will I be forced into slavery? Blacksmith? Signed up to be the next Seer? Or Sephiroth's personal wife?"
At the last word Zack flinched.
It took a long moment until anyone said anything. Cloud looked away to relax and enjoy the water. Zack cleared his throat softly before he spoke his mind.
"You know, you're in a peculiar position. You've got two talents that can grant you your own freedoms. But if you're thrown to be with Sephiroth, well, he admired your work. He's not that heartless to let talent go to waste."
"I wonder how long that will take while he's mounting me." Cloud huffed.
"You know, one would think you want him like that." Zack observed with a smirk.
"As if!" Cloud sent a wave of water at the other. It didn't phase Zack, only made him snicker at the childish behavior.
"To be fair, he is roughly the same as you. No one caught his interest no matter how many people his mother threw at him. But you come along and he's changed."
This didn't settle Cloud's head at all. It just meant that everything he noticed was true. And he didn't know how to process this information let alone feel.
"I don't want him as a mate."
"Mate? Is that what your village call your partners? That's a bit primitive. You understand he is the heir to Midgar, right?"
"And? He's got three siblings to name as his heir." Cloud had a solid point when Zack didn't have anything to counter it.
And if the three were all boys? Well, all the better. The age gap really gives the image Sephiroth was their father instead of a sibling.
"So, what happened with the king?" Cloud had a thought.
"He left this world to join the Promised Land five years ago. Prince Sephiroth felt he wasn't ready, so Queen Jenova has remained in power."
"He didn't want to take the responsibility?" Cloud was surprised at this detail.
"Yeah. Confused a lot of us. But I think it's his way to get out of being forced to take a wife."
Somehow Cloud could relate.
"What is the Promised Land anyway?" He asked.
"It's the perfect place to live. The land beautiful, plentiful, no enemies to conquer or overtake us. It is the land we have been searching for."
"That's too idealistic." Cloud didn't like this. He knew for sure that this Promised Land didn't exist. And he knew that wasn't part of his visions at all.
So then did Sephiroth say that to appease the people? To appease the queen? It was random when Cloud heard nothing about this belief these people had beforehand.
Cloud supposed he can get answers later. If the queen allowed him to live. But if the reading from their Seer gave them favor then Cloud knew he would be in good standing to keep living. How he will contribute to the community remained to be seen.
Soon the bath was done. As he dried Zack had servants brought clothes in various sizes. And each of them Cloud hated. The fabric was overly shiny and smoothe. But to Cloud it was impractical.
They were also various colors.
Such luxury that he was unused to. As a blacksmith he wore clothes without color, else the daily routine of the forge would stain them.
In the end he chose dark blue to match his eyes. His pants were black. Around his waist was the simplest leather belt with intricate designs. Then Zack lead him back to the longhouse. It was loud in celebration. Zack maneuvers them straight to Sephiroth.
"Perfect timing. Ifalna the Seer will be here soon." Sephiroth eyed Cloud in the local garments.
Cloud wished he could grab a cup of mead.
Sephiroth surprised everyone within vision of them by bringing his cup to Cloud's mouth. He gulped two big portions when Sephiroth pulled the cup away. Zack snickered beside them, already seeing what Cloud refused to see.
Watching from the sidelines was Jenova.
