Don't Close Your Eyes
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Chapter One
She was dead. The peaceful figure of an old woman lay sprawled across a beautiful bed of flowers. Dressed in a beautiful white robe her pale skin showed no colour. Her hands had been layed carefully on her waist. She wore a faint smile. An unsure trace of hapiness. She lay across a bed of brilliantly white tulips. Her favourite. Her usually long grey hair was tied up perfectly on her head with a few strands of her silvery-white hair fell by her cheek. Her body glowed in an eerie light. Materia had finally gotten the better of her. All those years being the battle hardened war hero had now, at last, taken their toll. Slowly they had weakened her, bit by bit, until she could stand it no more and simply gave up. She hadn't given up until her last breath was lost. Even then she seemed as if she was merely sleeping. She had seen all her friends die. All except one. It wasn't even human. It didn't even bother to show up for the ceremony.
The usually lazy town of Nibelheim was awash with madness. Hundreds had turned out to see a last glimpse of her. Even the sun had come out from behind the clouds to sneak a glance. The town was decorated in all different kinds of flowers. It seemed to be blooming. Flowers burst from every creak and crevice. Red, gold, white and blue. Strange how surreal and dreamy everything can look sometimes. Beautiful silver silk curtains were draped from house to house, until each finally met over the arch of her motionless body.
Roughly twenty were allowed close to the body. The rest hovered awkardly outside their houses. Some watched from their high windows while others resorted to climb trees to get a better view.
The warm summer air was filled with muffled sobs and angry tears. Others stood shocked, vacantly watching the body. Countless tears fell upon the lush green grass. The men stood tall, brooding over their loss. Their women stood beside them, their arm gripping their lovers waist, as they held a hankerchief to their face. Letting the soft white fabric clean away the tears. A few people mysty eyed friends of hers stepped forward to say a few words. Most only managed about half of their speech before falling into a fit of sobs and being gently ushered away.
Pain was in the air that day. The day that Tifa Lockheart passed away. The pain flooded the town like a raging river. No one was left untouched. Even the infants stopped figeting and sat staring solemnly at their elders.
In the distance a faint howl rang in their ears.
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Outside the small village, a calm, tranquil river flowed peacefully from the mountains. A large blossom tree, in full bloom, sat embedded in the ground by the water. Its massive roots formed a perfect angle for sitting. A favourite spot for the townspeople, their were many proclamations of love carved into the deep bark of the ancient tree. It was the most beautiful spot for miles around. The blossom flowers fell like gentle rain from heaven. A young woman sat there, only about nineteen, her dark brown hair fell easily to her waist. She wore a long black dress that looked more like it belonged at the funeral ceremony instead of here. Seeing a figure approach, she stood up wiping the tears from her eyes.
It was a young man, probably the same age as her. He was dressed in a black suit as he was coming from the funeral. Fairly tall and muscular for his age, he had short spiky black hair. His sleeves were pushed back up his arms as far as his elbows.
The young woman gave him a soft smile and absent-mindedly sat back down again. When he had gotten close enough to her, he went to speak but his mouth went dry. Giving up he just sat down beside her. For a while they both said nothing, each staring into the depths of the still river. Then slowly, the young woman bent her head softly on his shoulder. He stroked her long brown hair softly. Finally she gave up and began sobbing painfully into his shoulder. They were still silent. The only sound was her silent, breathless sobs. He kept staring over the horizon line.
By dusk the visitors to the town had already left, save the few who wiled away the night in the pub. Things were finally returning too normal. The silk drapes were taken down but the flowers remained. A few children still played football by the old water tower. The sky soon sparkled as if the sky was on fire. A full moon crept up from behind the ragged Nibelheim Mountains.
The same young woman sat alone in her room, comfortably nestled in her bed. She clutched a silver picture frame in her hand. The picture was old and torn but that didn't matter. It showed two tall men and a young woman. The taller man had long silvery hair that fell past his waist. He clutched a long narrow sword. His face was expressionless, as always. The second man was, however, beaming. Spiky black hair, he reminded her of Rick. After taking her home from the old blossom tree he'd just said goodnight and returned home. She sighed.
The last figure in the picture was of a beautiful young woman. Her grandmother Tifa. She wore a wide-brimmed straw hat and was the essence of happiness. Putting the picture aside she began to stare out the window.
'The stars are bright tonight.' She thought as she pressed her forehead against the cold glass pane.
After a while she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door.
It was her mother. She was far too old and weary looking for her age. The added stress of the funeral hadn't helped either. Absent-mindedly she noticed that her mother held a small silvery box.
Her mother didn't move from the door. 'Are you okay honey?' She gave her daughter a sad smile. She nodded and went back to her stargazing. Soon, her mother sat on the bed beside her. They started talking. About everything. Anything that came into their mournful heads. It was mostly the two consoling themselves and remembering the 'good times', as Leah's mother put it. It was almost eleven when they finally stopped. As her mother was leaving, Leah remembered the box.
'Whats in the box?' She asked slowly. Her mother looked as if she just remembered something.
'Here you are honey,' She said handing it to her, ' its from your Grandma...she wanted you to have it.' Her mother finally left leaving Leah alone with the box.
Tears filled her eyes as she struggled with the lock. When she finally managed to open it she gasped in suprise.
In the box was a small red orb glowing eerily in the moonlight.
She dropped it immediately on the carpet.
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Tossing. Turning.
Leah simply couldn't find the tiredness to wash over her. She angrily kicked off her hot and sticky blanket. She tried closing her eyes and breathing deeply. No good. A fiery red sphere seemed to burn forever in front of her eyes every time she closed them. Better to leave them open. She couldn't get the idea of that materia to leave her alone. It tortured her relentlessly. Was it what she thought it was? Could she have kept it all that time? She had to know.
Switching the bedside lamp on, she leaned over the side of her bed. It must have fallen out of the casket when she had dropped it. She groped around under her bed for a while until her hand fell on a perfectly spherical object. Before even picking it up, she knew. The feeling, the warmth, the energy that pulsated from it. The ultimate. The end.
Knights of the Round
Why her? Already she could feel its energy flowing through her thicker than blood. It purified her, revitalised her. There was no getting to sleep now.
Why her? It wasn't like she was the up-and-coming, fighting machine Leah Lockhart. She could barely hold a materia. Well, okay, that wasn't exactly true. She had graduated top of the class during her self defence lessons in school. But that was different, it had been expected of her. She had had to. After all she was the grand-daughter of the legendary Tifa Lockhart. It was expected of her.
But why? What does she expect me to do with this? Go out a slay a giant green Weapon harnessing the power of the planet or destroy an evil, life energy-sucking corporation bent on global domination? This materia was too powerful for her to even comprehend, let alone use. It was more trouble than it was worth. She had to find a way to get rid of it and quick. She was already finding it hard to put it down. She absent-mindedly placed it carefully under her pillow and then removed it after the shocking revelation of realising she had put it there. She quickly put it in her bedside drawer and slammed it shut. It was dangerous, almost like a drug. What effect would using it have on her? She was already contemplating taking it out of the drawer just to look at it and feel the energy radiating from it. After a few deep breaths she settled down and slowly closed her eyes.
A faint red orb burned brightly in front of her closed eyes.
Please review each chapter! I spent ages writing this! So please tell me what you thought of each chapter, thanx!