ride the wind Denna Lockehart Normal Denna Lockehart 3 18 2001-10-30T09:52:00Z 2001-11-02T07:25:00Z 2 720 4106 Acer International Inc. 34 8 5042 9.2720 1 6 pt 8.15 pt 2 2

ride the wind

by Lockehart

            If Hawk had known how cold stone floors could be at this time of year--and day--he might not have decided on going unshod. As it was, clomping around the corridors at midnight in boots would probably have brought the whole Rolantean army down on him. Ninjas had special shoes for that sort of thing, but he'd left all of his back at Navarre. The moment he stepped out into the corridor, he almost abandoned his plan of seeing Lise, but he simply had to talk to her, about their meeting in the tower, about her words, and most especially about her sudden exit and the unshed tears he'd seen shining in her eyes.

            Lise's room seemed empty and dark as pitch, but Hawk's ninja-trained eyes were as sharp as those of the bird he was named for, and could pick out things in the dark, to boot. The shadow half-hidden in the curtains hung along the wall shifted slightly as Hawk neared, and finally spoke.

            "Who is it?" She obviously didn't share his eyes. Light from the moon from the window gleamed on the blade of the spear she always carried with her.

            "Me." He spoke simply, surprised that she could summon up so much indifference in her tone when in the afternoon, when she'd told him not to blame himself, she'd sounded like she was talking more to herself than him. perhaps she simply refused to show such emotion to anyone not a friend.

            "Hawk?" Now she sounded surprised; why was that? He crossed the room to her, drew the curtains open so he could see her face illuminated by moonlight. She'd been crying, he realized; her eyes were blotchy and red, although that faded to a pale pink in moonlight.

            "What- you've been crying." When she turned her face away to look out, he continued, knowing that he was right. "You were talking about yourself, weren't you? -When you said that I didn't--kill her--you were trying to reassure yourself. You've been running from it." He paused expectantly.

            "You're right," she admitted. "I-I have to. Amazonesses respect strength, you should know that. There's so much that has happened here, too much. We're barely at half strength after the invasion, and there's the shock of Eliott--my father..." She turned to face him, suddenly fierce. "My people need a strong leader! They have to see me strong, to gain the courage they need to go on. I can't think about things like that, I can't!"

            Flinging herself at him, she made a rough grab for his shirt and buried her face in it, shoulder's shaking. It took Hawk a moment to realize she was crying. Tentatively he patted her head, then sighed and simply let her cry herself out. When she finally fell silent, Hawk offered her a handkerchief.

            "Maybe that's what you needed to do all along," he offered. "Let it go." Pausing in the middle of wiping the tears off her face, Lise regarded him with a suspicious stare and sniffed.

            "Fine thing to say. It's what you need to do too."

            "Maybe, maybe not. Different people have different ways of dealing with problems."

            "And your is to run insanely up a mountain." Another acerbic sniff. "Pigheaded men."

            Hawk smiled at her, feeling Jessica pressing down on the back of his skull like a weight. He didn't want to let go, couldn't let go. Not yet. He came out of a short reverie to find Lise looking at him oddly. The silence seemed to stretch uncomfortably long.

            "Hawk?"

            "Hn?"

            "Stay while, won't you?" Lise sounded tentative, unsure. When he didn't answer her at first, she clapped a hand to her mouth, as if just realizing she'd said something she hadn't meant to. In the moonlight, the queen of Rolante looked like a young girl waiting for her first kiss. Well, maybe it was. He could read the look in her eyes; see the unspoken need burning like a fire.

            "You know I can't forget Jessica--"

            "I know! I want this, but"--she flushed, but continued bravely--"but I also need someone who can treat me like a friend, who won't be... attached, who won't make a fuss if I have to make a marriage to strengthen Rolante or cement an alliance... Please, Hawk."

            When he replied, it wasn't with words, and for a while, Jessica seemed to stop pressing on his skull.

Okay, explanations. First of all, I hadn't finished playing Seiken Densetsu III when I wrote this trilogy of fics, so I didn't know the ending. Secondly, the scenario I was playing was Angela's, not Lise's, so I don't know if Eliott lives or dies. For the sake of great dark angst, I'm going to assume that he got possessed by the dark prince and Lise was forced to kill him. Okay? That's because it's not fair if Jessica can die and Eliott doesn't which makes the angst balance a little off. (lise is not as angsty as hawk, eh heh heh) Third, don't kill me for writing Hawk and Lise together. It's just fun. Mwahahahaha. Beware the insane fanfic writer with a penchant for odd pairings (I once had an idea for a pairing: ffviii's fujin and rk's soujiro. weird ne?).

-Lockehart (2-11-2001)(the notes were written later than the stories)