Chapter 3: Cape of Good Hope
Edea took in a deep breath as she enjoyed the fresh breeze that carried along the salty smell of the sea, closing her eyes and letting the wind caress her. She shivered; it was still early spring and the winter hadn't entirely loosened its grip yet. Long, raven black hair whipped around her ears, and she shook her head a little in annoyance, pulling her black jacket more tightly around herself and her equally black dress. Hadn't it been for her gentle and motherly expression, she would indeed have looked like a witch.
"Why don't you get that hair out of your face, dear?" Cid approached from the beach, carrying another few planks that he dropped ungracefully onto the stony ground of the back yard. He wiped his brow with a hand, then moved over to circle his arms around her waist. She smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"Because braiding it makes me feel old. Only little girls and old women do that," she answered stubbornly.
Cid narrowed his eyes and his smile turned into a smirk. "You are thirty years old and don't look a day over twenty, Edea. I don't think you have any reason to worry about your youthful beauty."
"Cid! You should know better than to speak a woman's age out loud!" Edea laughed and wiggled out of his grasp, making her way over to the planks. "Are these for the house?"
Nodding to his wife, the former Galbadian soldier named Cid Kramer glanced to the ancient stone building they now had adopted as their home. Cape of Good Hope was a deserted place. After the great Lunar Cry that had occurred on Centra nearly a century ago, the entire continent was left barren and empty. Hardly anyone lived there at all, and all the large cities were long gone, evened with the ground by the countless monsters that had destroyed the land. This house on the very southern coast of Centra was one of the few structures that had survived, along with the lighthouse on the edge of the beach. It was a difficult area to access, the only way to get there was by travelling with a boat or a ship, and that suited the Kramer couple perfectly. Galbadia was not safe for them, nor was any other place where people might have been aware of Edea's identity. Any place where they knew the name Edea belonged to a Sorceress.
"It's starting to take shape now, Edea dear. And not a moment too soon," he sighed. "Things are getting ugly in Galbadia."
Her cheerfulness quickly faded, and she turned to look out across the ocean again, sombrely. "No wonder they have such hatred for sorceresses. All those poor little girls… and their poor parents. Oh my." Again, she closed her brown eyes and lowered her head. "When they suspected Adel was going to war against them, I'm sure the Galbadian government never expected this. A girl to be her successor… What about all those who she doesn't find good enough? All those deaths, all the pain and suffering and loss… all for nothing."
"Edea…" Cid never knew what to say when she got into those moods. He understood the reason behind her sorrow, but he couldn't understand why she blamed herself. There had been a time when he, like all other young Galbadian men, had been led to believe that all sorceresses were evil itself. But something had changed his opinion, she had changed his opinion and opened his eyes, made him realize that the world was never black and white, but shades of grey. It wasn't a sorceress' power that determined whether she was good or bad, but the personality behind the power, and Edea was definitely the sweetest, most lovely person he had ever met. He didn't see what she saw in him. Himself, he had been aged early by all his years in the army. Though his thick, brown hair showed no signs of grey, he had recently been forced to get himself a pair of glasses, and his body protested whenever he put himself through too much physical strain – he wasn't any fighter anymore.
But Cid had been the only one Edea could trust ever since her mother had died ten years earlier. She was always on the run, knowing the Galbadian army was after her, and there was no one she could talk to, no one could be allowed to know her name or know what she was. Cid had been a turning point in her life. He was willing to forget the fact she was a sorceress and treat her like a normal woman. Him, she could talk to, she could be herself around him. He had ambitions and hopes for life just as she did, and most importantly, he adored children. They had already agreed that having any of their own would be too risky. If anyone discovered that Edea was their mother, they'd be in just as much danger as Edea had been ever since that fateful day Sorceress Che'echa passed on her powers to her. That was why they were starting an orphanage. To give the children that didn't have any parents a second chance.
"Edea," Cid repeated, stepping up in front of her and taking her hand in one of his own, tilting up her chin with the other. "You are not responsible for this. You did not make the choice of becoming a sorceress, but you chose to become the wonderful person you are. Adel is an individual who never should have had such power, but there's nothing we can do about that now. While her soldiers continue to spread terror in Galbadia, there's only one thing we can do: Make sure that at least some of her victims will survive. And that's what we're going to do."
Looking at him with glassy eyes, Edea remained quiet, though eventually she smiled weakly and nodded. He smiled in return, then let go of her hand and bent down to take hold of the planks again. "Come on, if we hurry we'll be ready to start our work in only a few months. There's still plenty to do. Furniture to be made, walls to be repaired, rooms to be painted…" He trailed off as he walked in the door to the house, and once again, Edea was left alone.
She looked after him for a few minutes, until she heard the sounds of sawing and hammering from inside. Then she turned and walked down the path to the beach, having no trouble with balancing herself on high heels on the rocky ground. The sun was still high on the sky, and there were no clouds. It was a beautiful day.
There came a low sound from somewhere off to the side, almost like a mixture between a hiss and a growl, but not quite. A large, red and purple creature moved towards her through the air, its ugly eye glaring at her dangerously. Edea immediately knew what it was – a Jelleye, one that must have had gotten lost and somehow found its way from the plains and down to the beach. It was getting ready to attack her with one of its tentacles, but she knew better than to panic. Instead, Edea spread out her arms and bent her head back, summoning forces from nature itself, then pointed her hands towards the beast. The wind began to swirl around it, faster and faster, developing into a powerful and deadly Tornado. It shrieked as it was unwillingly tossed about inside the spell the sorceress had cast, and its energy was drained from its body. Once the magic faded, it dropped to the ground limply, having no time to realize what had happened before it was gone.
Edea sighed heavily and dropped her arms to her sides. One single spell such as that didn't take much effort. What might have been the death of any normal, seemingly defenceless woman, she defeated so easily that it had frightened her in the beginning. Now she was used to it. A useful skill, yet she'd so much rather be without it. She looked over her shoulder, and could see Cid standing there by the top of the path. He'd heard the noise, but had already seen that she was in no need of help. When she looked at him, he smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up, before walking back to the house. At least he'd never have to worry about leaving her there alone when going to Galbadia for materials and food.
Sometimes I wonder, she thought as she abandoned the monster's body and continued towards the old lighthouse. … if me raising children is such a good idea after all…
