Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Final
Fantasy 7
Ethereal Glances
~Chapter
1~
I see her clad in common household
clothes;
Her hair is plain, devoid of frills
and bows.
Her face is simple and she's
somewhat tired,
But still she labors on with hands
inspired.
~ Dave Jackson
She turned away and went into the large kitchen to scrub the
floors. Minutes and then hours passed and she wiped her brow from the sweat
that beaded down her forehead. Being a servant was hard work than she had
expected. And almost always, she got a break because of the gentle "manager" of
all servants. After all, she was just a kid. After having given her break, she
dropped the washcloth back into the bucket and went outside.
Through
a maze of grass walls and bushes she finally found herself in the courtyard
where a fountain gushed and fell into the pool below. Rocks stood out from the
still water and out of all the places in the palace, she loved this spot the
best. It gave her peace and lots of silence to think on her own. Lily pads were
suspended in the water, almost beckoning to her to step on them to reach that
topmost rock and just sit there on her own. The silver fishes darted back and
forth along the spring fountain. She pushed back strands of hair behind her ear
and crossed the lily pads that actually held her weight, and climbed the rock
and sat there, enjoying her reflection in the pond. She hugged her knees to her
chest and let the moonlight brush past her and shine itself through the crystal
clear pond where the silvery fishes swam.
The
silence, the iridescent glow of the moon, the fishes' company, and she being a
part of it let herself at ease. She felt comfortable, unlike when she was
around people. She grew into a timid girl, having not experienced the company
of people. It almost frightened her…
"Hey
you…" A boy that was obviously older than her walked into her secret hideout.
His shimmering eyes, although beautiful, scared the living daylights out of
her. It was too bright and seemed to be eyeing right through her…this boy
definitely took home the gold. Having been scared out of her wits, she fell
backwards into the mini lake and her weight made a small splash. She swam
towards surface and wiped her face. That was close enough to a shower…she
hadn't taken a bath in two days and that basically killed her. She climbed out
and heaved out a sigh.
"I
saw you earlier…what are you doing?"
She
was speechless. How could…this boy…deny her of her job? It was so
inappropriate! But…just sitting down was not her job at all. She shoved him
away and walked right past him, ignoring his question.
'Who
does he think he is anyway?' she thought angrily.
"I
would think that you would have thought that awfully rude to walk out of a
prince's way without responding to his question."
She
stopped midway…her heart stopped. This kind of insult resulted in peoples'
heads chopped off…or just maybe even a quick death. She had deserved it
though…it was fairly rude of her.
"Sorry
Your Highness. Didn't know." She said quietly, eyes cast down on the ground.
She
felt embarrassed…totally humiliated. Who knows what could happen to her now?
After years of avoiding contact with other people, here she was standing face
to face with one…a boy for that matter. When was the last time she ever
spoke to a person of the opposite sex?
"Don't
worry about it. Now, tell me what you're doing out here. I don't think servants
are able to come into the courtyard."
"Well,
for your information Your Highness, it is possible for a measly servant like me
to enter the courtyard, especially the fountain." She huffed. Her temper was
beginning to rise with this boy aggravating her.
With
that said, she stomped out of the courtyard and back into the castle, hoping that
the prince would leave her alone. He was really getting on her nerves.
"Geez,
woman! Wait up…I didn't mean to make you mad or anything." She stopped halfway
after he responded. She turned around and eyed him suspiciously. He was in
royal clothes, he looked like royalty, but his vocabulary…was…not at all great
like a real prince would have had.
"You're
not a prince are you?" She inquired. He looked at her, his expression taking a
turn for the bemused. Seconds later, he laughed.
"That's
funny, Miss. If you must inquire such a dull question, I am one. I was once
like you before I inherited riches." He replied with a casual tone.
'There
he goes trying to fool me again…this is so hard being me,' she thought.
"I
suppose you suspected that I wasn't royalty by the way I spoke, am I right?"
The
servant girl nodded in response, unable to speak, although that was a good
thing because she was at a loss of things to say. He scratched his head in
embarrassment and took a deep breath before talking again.
"I
was just like you. A servant for this family was all I was until this kind
woman took me in." He said simply. His eyes bore into hers and she felt her
knees begin to buckle.
'I
hope you know how I much I hate you already.'
"Well
since we cleared that up, mind telling me what your name is?" He stood there
waiting for an answer.
The
girl held her tongue, in fear that she'd provoke or insult him. "Tifa."
"Beautiful
name," and without warning he kissed her hand. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm Reno."
"Are
all the princes as immature as you are?" She asked innocently.
"I
hope not. I'm the one and only immature and stubborn one. You know,
except for Cloud who's supposed to marry Princess Aerisia."
Tifa
nodded. "…Who's he?"
He
grinned, showing several of his pearly whites. "Oh, he's the boy whom you
practically stared at earlier."
She
gulped. 'What an insensitive boy this is! How could he spy on me…I would
think that that was against the rules of sovereigns everywhere.'
"Listen,
I have to go. Meet me in the village near the broken down house." Not much to
say so he left her, bewildered at what he had done. The prospect of inviting a
servant girl was beyond the rules. According to his stepmother's book, that was
sheer stupidity. And what would the Queen who owned that servant think? He was
"borrowing" one of her slaves…
Tifa
watched him leave and once he disappeared in the darkness she went back inside
the castle. Upon entering, Cloud stood there, leaning against one side of the
doorframe.
She
sighed in exasperation. 'What else could possibly go wrong besides this?'
"Need
anything?" She asked. He merely smirked. "You're no longer a servant of this
palace."
Her
heart felt a pinch. Even if she didn't like her job this had been her home for
most of her life and now, of all times, she had to become someone else's
servant. When was this going to end anyhow? Without talking back, she quickly
went into her small room and pulled out her silken bag from under her cot, trudging
back outside to find that he was standing in front of her room.
'So
maybe I was mistaken about him. He's just a stalker…that's all he is. And he's
going to make my life miserable.'
"Cloud?"
The
boy turned around to respond to his name. Princess Aerisia was standing there,
elegant as ever. Tifa curtsied. Princess Aerisia was only 13, yet she looked
much older than that. Tifa looked up to her.
"Glad
to see you again, Princess."
Her
blush turned into what was a small hint of pink. "Your mother wants you to
hurry. The party is subsiding and she needs to fix things up with…her." She
looked at Tifa who just looked wildly confused as ever. What was going on?
Cloud
grabbed her hand and they walked, surprisingly slow, outside, which took almost
forever. The carriage was waiting and Tifa could already see Cloud's mother
dressed in the beautiful garments. Cloud led her in and she took a seat
opposite of the Queen. Cloud took the seat next to her. She tried to wiggle
away but he only drew her closer.
"Don't
worry Little One, we don't bite." She smiled generously at Tifa, who now felt a
bit more comfortable than when she came inside. Now, it was only Cloud who made
her uneasy.
"Forgive
me. I did not mean to buy you from Queen Ifalna…it's just that…you seemed so
gentle, and besides, my son wanted to buy you."
'Ifalna?
I thought it was Queen Ifalnia…and…he wanted to buy me? What am
I, an item?'
"I
don't think people are used as items, Milady." She said as politely as she
could, but she couldn't help but speaking openly with this woman. How dare
people higher than her rank treat them…like…like they were objects?! It was too
absurd.
"Sorry,
child, I did not mean that."
'I'm
amazed…she's really kind…'
All
the way through the ride, the moment was silent. She felt their eyes upon her
but she shrugged it off. All she concentrated on was what life would give her
now. It was going so well…but now…
* * * * *
*
"Can
I be excused from the table?" Tifa asked politely, glancing at Cloud and
Genevieve.
"Yes
you may."
Tifa
pushed herself away from the table and ran outside. They actually invited her
over for dinner…with them. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity…yet it
seemed so odd. What was the point of being a servant when she couldn't do
anything? They didn't give her any jobs to fulfill and she was beginning to
find this irritating. Walking to the kitchen, a husky man stopped her.
"Here,
Miss. Your first job is to go to the market and get these things for me. Be
home in three hours."
'Finally!'
Normally, she'd be thankful when she didn't have to do anything, but now that
everything returned to normal, she was as happy as ever.
* * * * *
*
She
picked up all the things she needed….but it was past three hours. She rushed
back to the castle and sneaked inside, hoping no one had noticed. The chef was
standing there, unfortunately, giving her the most dangerous glare ever.
With
a harsh grip, he dragged her to the dungeon, chaining her against the wall. A
candle was lit nearby and he disappeared.
'He's
not thinking of leaving me here, does he?'
She
was afraid and like all prisoners, she wanted to get out…and fast. She knew the
consequences of being late but she had thought they would be nice to her all
the time. So much for luck. Unexpectedly, he came back; only this time with a
whip. Soon, whipping sounds were heard and the sound of screams echoed through
the palace.
Moments
later, she was sitting down, unchained and scarred. Sure, she screamed her
heart out and she felt pain all over, but crying was a whole different story.
She'd gotten used to it when she was 6. She knew fear, pain, and labor when she
was 4 years old. Why should she stop knowing it now? Her view on happiness was
completely washed away after those ten minutes of whipping.
'So
kind…how naïve of me.' She hugged herself tightly and wished she would
disappear. Though thankful for the darkness that concealed her, she couldn't
prevent herself from being seen by Cloud once more. His eyes were glowing just
as much as Reno's. She felt cold and the fact that Cloud was staring at her
didn't help in the least. It was unnerving.
Standing
up, she limped past Cloud. He watched her leave the dungeon and for a moment,
he thought he felt his eyes get wet.
Author's Notes: Wow…too long for
me. I just got out of hand probably. Anyway, I have to get a few things covered
up. One, this chapter felt a bit awkward for me to write. I have no clue where
this story is going, to be honest with all of you, but for me, it's going out
rather well.
Second, Aeris' appearance in this
story will become more frequent? Why? I need her to complicate things…no, I'm
not trying to pick on her. I'll give you a little scoop on what's going on:
Cloud likes Tifa and he likes Aeris. Now what about our dear little Reno? Well,
he's got a crush on Tifa. Aeris…well…she's not happy because of two things, and
those two things are going to be confidential for the time being.
Third, the names…I gave Aeris the
name Aerisia because I wanted her to sound more…like royalty, I suppose. Same
goes for Ifalna. I didn't know how to alter Reno's or Cloud's but it's okay the
way it was. And Tifa…I left hers the same since she isn't any princess or
anything…maybe. ^_~
Fourth, the next chapter is more focused
on Cloud and Tifa. And I'm going to make it short and sweet…or maybe just
sweet. Hehe…
Fifth, please review! I beg of you!
I want to know how I'm doing. Besides, I cried at the end and I think it's
pathetic. Now I want you to tell me how you think of this whole distasteful
story of mine, okay? Thank you.
~Aya