Chapter Six
The Vision of Esuna
Kuja found Clover sitting alone in the clearing. The others had retreated to the edges of the clearing, leaving Kuja space. The look on Clover's face was not a happy one.
"What did she look like?"
"Who?" Kuja asked in puzzlement.
"Esuna."
"Why do you ask about her so much?"
"Just tell me, Kuja."
Kuja blinked at her tone. She had her back to him, the cool breeze ruffling her dark honey colored locks.
"She had long black hair, and it looked purple in the sun."
Clover whirled to face him, her face pale and her eyes wide. She made a small choking sound and turned away, her mind whirling.
I have no reason to believe that was her. After all, everyone said she was dead.
Everyone watched in puzzlement as Clover gasped.
"No!" she cried aloud. "It was Flare who said that! And. . .he carried her away. . ."
Kuja started and ran forward to her, hugging her tight as what seemed like a headache gripped her head mercilessly. Her hands flew to her temples, and she collapsed against Kuja.
Images flooded her mind. Kuja. . .he was there. He and Esuna. Their lips were touching. What was this? A vision of the past? So. . .Kuja did have an affair with her. He never really told me about her, and when I asked if he was her friend, he said 'Sort of.' That could have meant anything. . .
She turned back to the scene before her, the hurt in her heart clutching at her and refusing to let go. She tried to move her body, but couldn't. She was only an observer.
Helplessly she watched as Kuja's hand slid up the back of the black shirt that Esuna was wearing, his silver tail wrapping around her.
Please, she silently begged. Don't make me watch this.
You will watch! a voice screamed at her.
Why? Why must you make me see this? she demanded of the voice.
To know that he is mine! You will never fully have Kuja, because he belongs to me. He always have, and he always will.
No! she cried out. He may have once been yours, but now he is his own!
We shall see, she voice said coyly, where his loyalties lie.
"....Clover? Clover!"
Clover stirred and blinked blurry eyes. Kuja's face slowly came into focus above her. Her head was swimming, but she still recalled her dream. She sat up abruptly.
"What was Esuna to you?" she demanded.
"A friend," he responded. "Even though I didn't know her very long. She helped me escape the magical seal on the Desert Palace."
"So that's how he did it," Zidane whispered to Garnet on the edge of the clearing. She nodded slowly.
"Look at me, Kuja."
Kuja looked Clover in the eye.
"Was she ever more to you than a friend?"
"No! I barely knew her, Clover. What brought this up all of the sudden?"
"But --" she protested at herself, her voice barely an audible whisper. "I saw you and her. . ."
"Saw us what?"
Clover shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
Kuja looked bemusedly at her as she stood up. She swayed slightly, but seemed okay.
"I'm sorry," she said, turning to him once again. "I have no right to ask questions like those. I believe you, Kuja."
He smiled and took a step closer to her. Eiko tugged on Garnet's sleeve.
"Let's go," she whispered, poking Zidane in the ribs to get him to look at her. The three left into deeper woods, Garnet puzzling over Clover.
"She really adopted you quickly, Eiko," Garnet observed. "I don't know if Kuja is evil anymore, but she certainly isn't."
"He isn't evil," Zidane said. "He was confused, and lonely. Not to mention full of rage. Put that together, and it's not surprising he blew up a planet. Like I said, I probably would have done the same thing in his shoes."
"Yeah," Eiko said softly. "He seems completely normal. He almost flirts as much as you do, Zidane."
Garnet giggled at that. "I don't think so."
"Seriously, though, I wonder what Clover saw?" asked Zidane.
"Whatever it was, I hope she'll at least tell Kuja. It had something to do with Flare. I don't trust him, either."
Clover had so many things that she wanted to tell Kuja, but he wouldn't let her. Every time she tried to say something, he would kiss her long enough to leave her breathless. Clover flopped down on the forest floor.
"What's it like?" Clover asked softly. "Having so much magic and power at your command?"
"It makes me a little dizzy, actually," Kuja responded, laying down beside her. "But my magic always comes at hand when I need it."
"That's good."
"Uh huh. But I know what's better."
"What?"
He leaned over to kiss her shoulder lightly. "When you make me dizzy."
She chuckled. "You've never made me dizzy."
His kisses slowly roamed to the center of her throat, then along her collar. "Really?" he asked, between kisses. "I'll have to try harder, then."
"I guess so," she said, twisting to kiss behind his ear. Their lips met, and Clover had a sudden wish that she could stay like this forever. And she had another wish, a hidden wish. . .
She blushed, pulling back and putting a hand to her cheek. Kuja put his hand on her other cheek, kissing the corner of her mouth.
"What?" he asked lazily.
"It doesn't matter. It's just a thought."
"I like your thoughts."
Clover shook her head. "I don't think I can tell you this one."
"Then show it to me," he replied, his kisses reaching her cheekbone, making Clover's stomach flutter.
"Well, back on Earth, I went shopping, and I found something, but I wasn't sure if you'd like it."
Kuja's eyes widened as he felt something slip onto his ring finger.
"It was a crazy idea," Clover continued. "But I had been hoping --"
Her words were, once again, cut off by Kuja's mouth. He had never felt happier, and right then, neither had she. Clover had had trouble dreaming that he would say yes.
"You want me to say yes, right?" asked Kuja.
"Yeah," Clover replied, trying to stop the sinking feeling in her.
"Well, I won't. Instead. . ." and he kissed her once more.
Clover shot a quick glance around the clearing to make sure that they were alone, and then giggled. She tugged Kuja's armor off his shoulders, and he grinned at her.
"I'm really happy, Clover. But you know what? I still have to make you dizzy."
"So, what did you do when you were with Clover on earth?" Zidane asked his brother curiously.
Kuja shrugged. "Earth things. I cooked a lot."
Zidane chuckled. "Cooked?"
"Uh huh." Kuja shook his head as he walked along in the forest. "Clover can only cook simple things well. But she's a good artist. She reminds me of what I first thought Garnet would be like."
Zidane nodded. "She's like that, a little bit. Woo. I don't even want to think of the fall I'd be in for if she found out I was saying this to you."
"Too late," a voice said behind them.
Zidane turned to see the girls behind him. Clover grinned suddenly and whispered something in Garnet's ear.
"You. . . you WHAT!" she cried.
Clover snickered and whispered to her again.
"Maybe," Garnet said dubiously. Clover nodded vigorously.
"You really should," she said with a wink. "It works."
"How would you know tha --" Garnet clamped her hand over her mouth. "Never mind."
"Ha ha. You got it, toots," said Clover brightly.
"What are you talking about? I don't like that look, Clover," Kuja said dubiously.
"Hmm?" Clover asked innocently, batting her eyelashes and turning her knee in. "Whatever do you mean? I haven't the faintest --"
"Enough! Forget I asked. Where's Eiko, anyway?"
Garnet shrugged. "We can't tell you. But don't go looking for her."
"Why?" asked Zidane.
"Just. . . " Garnet began.
"Because," Clover finished firmly.
Kuja raised an eyebrow. "When you say that, it means, 'Go have a look-see.' So, which direction did she go?"
Clover rushed up and rammed Kuja into a tree, pinning him there. "I don't think so, you," she said slyly, grinning at him. "You ain't goin' no where."
"Says who?"
"Says me," Clover replied, pushing Kuja to the forest floor and sitting on him. Garnet laughed at such an absurdity, that the once most powerful man on Gaia should be shoved down and sat on by a small teenager. Zidane chuckled, caught up in Garnet's mirth as well.
Kuja wrapped his arms around Clover's waist. "Fine. But if I stay here, so do you."
"I can live with that," she replied, leaning against him. As Kuja's hands went up to hold Clover's shoulders, Zidane caught a glimpse of silver on his finger. His eyes widened.
"Um. . .Kuja?"
"Hmm?" the silver haired man asked, tilting his head to one side.
"What's on your finger?" Garnet asked the question for Zidane.
Clover and Kuja both rolled their eyes. "A ring. Duh."
"I've got one too," Clover replied brightly, holding up her right hand. "See?"
On the two rings were matching amethysts, shaped like a small explosion of spikes. The purple light within them could only be seen at the core of the gems, and they glinted brilliantly in the sunlight. The silver bands attached to the stones were not silver at all, but a gray metal that had a purple sheen to it.
"You two are. . .getting married?" Garnet asked, a little stunned.
Kuja shrugged. "Sooner or later."
Clover pinched him. "Sooner, ya big oaf."
"Alright, alright, sooner," he replied airily, kissing the back of her neck lightly.
"Humph. Better be," she said with mock menace in her voice.
"Anyway," Zidane said. "I never thought I'd see you get married."
Clover smirked. "Really? Me neither. With his horrible cooking skills. . ."
"Look who's talking!" Kuja shot back, grinning. "You're the one who can burn Jell-o!"
She snorted. "You're the one who made spaghetti instead of something from Gaia --"
"You're the one who enjoyed the after taste," he said, his grin growing even wider.
She tried to supress her smile. "Well, you've got me there."
"I don't even want to know," Eiko said, coming up behind them.
"Then don't ask," Clover said sensibly.
"Alright. Hey, Clover? What was it that you saw, back in the clearing?"
"Um. . .well, I saw Flare take off."
"Duh," Kuja said, rolling his eyes. "But you can get away with that, because you aren't lying. You're just leaving out half the truth."
"I'm sorry," Clover said, pouting slightly. "I saw. . .what Esuna wanted me to see."
Kuja's grip around her waist tightened severely. Clover made a small gasp.
"Sorry," Kuja apologized, lightening his grasp so that it felt like a caress rather than a vice. Clover leaned her head back against his shoulder.
"I'm confused, Kuja. Look into my head, I'll leave my mind open for you. I need to know if what I saw was real."
"Ok."
The other three watched quietly as Kuja closed his eyes, and saw. . .
Flare, taking off. Himself, running through the clearing toward him. Him? No, Clover. He was seeing through Clover's eyes. Then he saw darkness, and then himself again, but with Esuna.
His mental eyes widened as he realized why Clover had been like she had. Did Esuna send Clover this? He thought that Esuna had been dead, but then as he saw her riding on Flare. . .
He gasped as his physical self awakened. "Clover."
The tone in Kuja's voice made Clover's head snap around to look at him.
"That did not happen. Hear me?"
She silently nodded, relief flooding her face as she hid herself in the curve of his neck, his silver hair pooling around her. He held her even tighter, his lips tight with anger.
"So. Esuna in alive."
"What!" Garnet yelled.
Kuja nodded. "She sent Clover a. . .vision. And, Clover saw her taking off with Flare. I saw it too, through her." He looked at Zidane. "I think be have another fight coming, brother. But this time, I am not your enemy."
Clover gasped and pulled her face out of the sanctuary of his hair, and he realized too late what he had said. "You. . .were enemies?"
He nodded slowly.
"Tell me. Tell me what you did," Clover said simply in a no-nonsense tone.
"I. . .hurt them very much. Destroyed Zidane's home world, Terra." Kuja wasn't sure how he was saying these things. He wished, for a moment, that he could retain the callous old self that would have let these things roll off his tongue like they meant nothing. But now, they had meaning. Because of Clover. He decided to just let it out, and fast. He looked away. "I killed Garnet's mother, destroyed Alexandria, created Black Mages that had a soul, though I meant them to be soulless. I killed Eiko's best friend. . .and them, in return, they saved me. Taught me the truth. And Zidane took my body from the Iifa tree, his own life at risk, and brought me out. I have. . .sinned beyond the point where a soul can bear it."
Clover watched as these things unraveled from Kuja, his eyes staring vacantly at a nearby tree. He closed them, hung his head slightly, and brought his hand to his brow. Her heart was torn at the pain he had caused, and the pain that was now within him. Finally, she stood.
"I've got some things to think about," she said, and strode into the lighter edges of the forest. The foliage was shining with tiny droplets of rainwater.
The stars are crying. . .
Where did that come from? Clover was no poet. That was more Kuja's department.
Kuja.
She had to think about him, though she didn't want to.
"Please. Let me feel what Kuja felt, and see what he saw."
Clover hadn't realized she had prayed aloud, and her body rocked as she collapsed against a tree. Garnet stood several yards from her, the rod outstretched slightly. White magic could also dive into a persons conscience. It took great energy to send one soul into another, but she had done it. Now, Clover could see the truth for herself.
The Vision of Esuna
Kuja found Clover sitting alone in the clearing. The others had retreated to the edges of the clearing, leaving Kuja space. The look on Clover's face was not a happy one.
"What did she look like?"
"Who?" Kuja asked in puzzlement.
"Esuna."
"Why do you ask about her so much?"
"Just tell me, Kuja."
Kuja blinked at her tone. She had her back to him, the cool breeze ruffling her dark honey colored locks.
"She had long black hair, and it looked purple in the sun."
Clover whirled to face him, her face pale and her eyes wide. She made a small choking sound and turned away, her mind whirling.
I have no reason to believe that was her. After all, everyone said she was dead.
Everyone watched in puzzlement as Clover gasped.
"No!" she cried aloud. "It was Flare who said that! And. . .he carried her away. . ."
Kuja started and ran forward to her, hugging her tight as what seemed like a headache gripped her head mercilessly. Her hands flew to her temples, and she collapsed against Kuja.
Images flooded her mind. Kuja. . .he was there. He and Esuna. Their lips were touching. What was this? A vision of the past? So. . .Kuja did have an affair with her. He never really told me about her, and when I asked if he was her friend, he said 'Sort of.' That could have meant anything. . .
She turned back to the scene before her, the hurt in her heart clutching at her and refusing to let go. She tried to move her body, but couldn't. She was only an observer.
Helplessly she watched as Kuja's hand slid up the back of the black shirt that Esuna was wearing, his silver tail wrapping around her.
Please, she silently begged. Don't make me watch this.
You will watch! a voice screamed at her.
Why? Why must you make me see this? she demanded of the voice.
To know that he is mine! You will never fully have Kuja, because he belongs to me. He always have, and he always will.
No! she cried out. He may have once been yours, but now he is his own!
We shall see, she voice said coyly, where his loyalties lie.
"....Clover? Clover!"
Clover stirred and blinked blurry eyes. Kuja's face slowly came into focus above her. Her head was swimming, but she still recalled her dream. She sat up abruptly.
"What was Esuna to you?" she demanded.
"A friend," he responded. "Even though I didn't know her very long. She helped me escape the magical seal on the Desert Palace."
"So that's how he did it," Zidane whispered to Garnet on the edge of the clearing. She nodded slowly.
"Look at me, Kuja."
Kuja looked Clover in the eye.
"Was she ever more to you than a friend?"
"No! I barely knew her, Clover. What brought this up all of the sudden?"
"But --" she protested at herself, her voice barely an audible whisper. "I saw you and her. . ."
"Saw us what?"
Clover shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
Kuja looked bemusedly at her as she stood up. She swayed slightly, but seemed okay.
"I'm sorry," she said, turning to him once again. "I have no right to ask questions like those. I believe you, Kuja."
He smiled and took a step closer to her. Eiko tugged on Garnet's sleeve.
"Let's go," she whispered, poking Zidane in the ribs to get him to look at her. The three left into deeper woods, Garnet puzzling over Clover.
"She really adopted you quickly, Eiko," Garnet observed. "I don't know if Kuja is evil anymore, but she certainly isn't."
"He isn't evil," Zidane said. "He was confused, and lonely. Not to mention full of rage. Put that together, and it's not surprising he blew up a planet. Like I said, I probably would have done the same thing in his shoes."
"Yeah," Eiko said softly. "He seems completely normal. He almost flirts as much as you do, Zidane."
Garnet giggled at that. "I don't think so."
"Seriously, though, I wonder what Clover saw?" asked Zidane.
"Whatever it was, I hope she'll at least tell Kuja. It had something to do with Flare. I don't trust him, either."
Clover had so many things that she wanted to tell Kuja, but he wouldn't let her. Every time she tried to say something, he would kiss her long enough to leave her breathless. Clover flopped down on the forest floor.
"What's it like?" Clover asked softly. "Having so much magic and power at your command?"
"It makes me a little dizzy, actually," Kuja responded, laying down beside her. "But my magic always comes at hand when I need it."
"That's good."
"Uh huh. But I know what's better."
"What?"
He leaned over to kiss her shoulder lightly. "When you make me dizzy."
She chuckled. "You've never made me dizzy."
His kisses slowly roamed to the center of her throat, then along her collar. "Really?" he asked, between kisses. "I'll have to try harder, then."
"I guess so," she said, twisting to kiss behind his ear. Their lips met, and Clover had a sudden wish that she could stay like this forever. And she had another wish, a hidden wish. . .
She blushed, pulling back and putting a hand to her cheek. Kuja put his hand on her other cheek, kissing the corner of her mouth.
"What?" he asked lazily.
"It doesn't matter. It's just a thought."
"I like your thoughts."
Clover shook her head. "I don't think I can tell you this one."
"Then show it to me," he replied, his kisses reaching her cheekbone, making Clover's stomach flutter.
"Well, back on Earth, I went shopping, and I found something, but I wasn't sure if you'd like it."
Kuja's eyes widened as he felt something slip onto his ring finger.
"It was a crazy idea," Clover continued. "But I had been hoping --"
Her words were, once again, cut off by Kuja's mouth. He had never felt happier, and right then, neither had she. Clover had had trouble dreaming that he would say yes.
"You want me to say yes, right?" asked Kuja.
"Yeah," Clover replied, trying to stop the sinking feeling in her.
"Well, I won't. Instead. . ." and he kissed her once more.
Clover shot a quick glance around the clearing to make sure that they were alone, and then giggled. She tugged Kuja's armor off his shoulders, and he grinned at her.
"I'm really happy, Clover. But you know what? I still have to make you dizzy."
"So, what did you do when you were with Clover on earth?" Zidane asked his brother curiously.
Kuja shrugged. "Earth things. I cooked a lot."
Zidane chuckled. "Cooked?"
"Uh huh." Kuja shook his head as he walked along in the forest. "Clover can only cook simple things well. But she's a good artist. She reminds me of what I first thought Garnet would be like."
Zidane nodded. "She's like that, a little bit. Woo. I don't even want to think of the fall I'd be in for if she found out I was saying this to you."
"Too late," a voice said behind them.
Zidane turned to see the girls behind him. Clover grinned suddenly and whispered something in Garnet's ear.
"You. . . you WHAT!" she cried.
Clover snickered and whispered to her again.
"Maybe," Garnet said dubiously. Clover nodded vigorously.
"You really should," she said with a wink. "It works."
"How would you know tha --" Garnet clamped her hand over her mouth. "Never mind."
"Ha ha. You got it, toots," said Clover brightly.
"What are you talking about? I don't like that look, Clover," Kuja said dubiously.
"Hmm?" Clover asked innocently, batting her eyelashes and turning her knee in. "Whatever do you mean? I haven't the faintest --"
"Enough! Forget I asked. Where's Eiko, anyway?"
Garnet shrugged. "We can't tell you. But don't go looking for her."
"Why?" asked Zidane.
"Just. . . " Garnet began.
"Because," Clover finished firmly.
Kuja raised an eyebrow. "When you say that, it means, 'Go have a look-see.' So, which direction did she go?"
Clover rushed up and rammed Kuja into a tree, pinning him there. "I don't think so, you," she said slyly, grinning at him. "You ain't goin' no where."
"Says who?"
"Says me," Clover replied, pushing Kuja to the forest floor and sitting on him. Garnet laughed at such an absurdity, that the once most powerful man on Gaia should be shoved down and sat on by a small teenager. Zidane chuckled, caught up in Garnet's mirth as well.
Kuja wrapped his arms around Clover's waist. "Fine. But if I stay here, so do you."
"I can live with that," she replied, leaning against him. As Kuja's hands went up to hold Clover's shoulders, Zidane caught a glimpse of silver on his finger. His eyes widened.
"Um. . .Kuja?"
"Hmm?" the silver haired man asked, tilting his head to one side.
"What's on your finger?" Garnet asked the question for Zidane.
Clover and Kuja both rolled their eyes. "A ring. Duh."
"I've got one too," Clover replied brightly, holding up her right hand. "See?"
On the two rings were matching amethysts, shaped like a small explosion of spikes. The purple light within them could only be seen at the core of the gems, and they glinted brilliantly in the sunlight. The silver bands attached to the stones were not silver at all, but a gray metal that had a purple sheen to it.
"You two are. . .getting married?" Garnet asked, a little stunned.
Kuja shrugged. "Sooner or later."
Clover pinched him. "Sooner, ya big oaf."
"Alright, alright, sooner," he replied airily, kissing the back of her neck lightly.
"Humph. Better be," she said with mock menace in her voice.
"Anyway," Zidane said. "I never thought I'd see you get married."
Clover smirked. "Really? Me neither. With his horrible cooking skills. . ."
"Look who's talking!" Kuja shot back, grinning. "You're the one who can burn Jell-o!"
She snorted. "You're the one who made spaghetti instead of something from Gaia --"
"You're the one who enjoyed the after taste," he said, his grin growing even wider.
She tried to supress her smile. "Well, you've got me there."
"I don't even want to know," Eiko said, coming up behind them.
"Then don't ask," Clover said sensibly.
"Alright. Hey, Clover? What was it that you saw, back in the clearing?"
"Um. . .well, I saw Flare take off."
"Duh," Kuja said, rolling his eyes. "But you can get away with that, because you aren't lying. You're just leaving out half the truth."
"I'm sorry," Clover said, pouting slightly. "I saw. . .what Esuna wanted me to see."
Kuja's grip around her waist tightened severely. Clover made a small gasp.
"Sorry," Kuja apologized, lightening his grasp so that it felt like a caress rather than a vice. Clover leaned her head back against his shoulder.
"I'm confused, Kuja. Look into my head, I'll leave my mind open for you. I need to know if what I saw was real."
"Ok."
The other three watched quietly as Kuja closed his eyes, and saw. . .
Flare, taking off. Himself, running through the clearing toward him. Him? No, Clover. He was seeing through Clover's eyes. Then he saw darkness, and then himself again, but with Esuna.
His mental eyes widened as he realized why Clover had been like she had. Did Esuna send Clover this? He thought that Esuna had been dead, but then as he saw her riding on Flare. . .
He gasped as his physical self awakened. "Clover."
The tone in Kuja's voice made Clover's head snap around to look at him.
"That did not happen. Hear me?"
She silently nodded, relief flooding her face as she hid herself in the curve of his neck, his silver hair pooling around her. He held her even tighter, his lips tight with anger.
"So. Esuna in alive."
"What!" Garnet yelled.
Kuja nodded. "She sent Clover a. . .vision. And, Clover saw her taking off with Flare. I saw it too, through her." He looked at Zidane. "I think be have another fight coming, brother. But this time, I am not your enemy."
Clover gasped and pulled her face out of the sanctuary of his hair, and he realized too late what he had said. "You. . .were enemies?"
He nodded slowly.
"Tell me. Tell me what you did," Clover said simply in a no-nonsense tone.
"I. . .hurt them very much. Destroyed Zidane's home world, Terra." Kuja wasn't sure how he was saying these things. He wished, for a moment, that he could retain the callous old self that would have let these things roll off his tongue like they meant nothing. But now, they had meaning. Because of Clover. He decided to just let it out, and fast. He looked away. "I killed Garnet's mother, destroyed Alexandria, created Black Mages that had a soul, though I meant them to be soulless. I killed Eiko's best friend. . .and them, in return, they saved me. Taught me the truth. And Zidane took my body from the Iifa tree, his own life at risk, and brought me out. I have. . .sinned beyond the point where a soul can bear it."
Clover watched as these things unraveled from Kuja, his eyes staring vacantly at a nearby tree. He closed them, hung his head slightly, and brought his hand to his brow. Her heart was torn at the pain he had caused, and the pain that was now within him. Finally, she stood.
"I've got some things to think about," she said, and strode into the lighter edges of the forest. The foliage was shining with tiny droplets of rainwater.
The stars are crying. . .
Where did that come from? Clover was no poet. That was more Kuja's department.
Kuja.
She had to think about him, though she didn't want to.
"Please. Let me feel what Kuja felt, and see what he saw."
Clover hadn't realized she had prayed aloud, and her body rocked as she collapsed against a tree. Garnet stood several yards from her, the rod outstretched slightly. White magic could also dive into a persons conscience. It took great energy to send one soul into another, but she had done it. Now, Clover could see the truth for herself.