Digital Fantasy
IMPORTANT STUFF: Digimon does not belong to me, and the Final Fantasy series is Squaresoft's.


A Digimon & Final Fantasy Tactics Fusion

DIGITAL FANTASY: LEGEND OF THE TWELVE DIGI-CRESTS

written by K-chan

Characters of Fate: PRIESTESS
"Without a Home"

She laid on the small cot, sobbing on the pillow until she couldn't feel any part of it dry, ignoring the flickering flame of the candle by her bedside. Her world was turning upside down because of the war. She had no home to return to since it was raided and destroyed. Her parents were found dead, and there was no news of her big brother who was in the war. She prayed every night that he would be safe but always ended up in tears, crying herself to sleep.

This convent must've been her sixth or seventh one already. Her parents had sent her away for schooling and safety during the war, but who would've thought that even a sacred place was no longer a safe haven. The first few times she and her classmates were forced to leave since the armies were order to use whatever space necessary for the wounded. At other times, there were news that the places would be attacked and the defense in the area was weak and didn't put up much of a battle.

Even during the trek to safety, she lost a few friends and encountered others who were frightened and withdrawn like her. Even after the war was over, she felt so alone--partly because she didn't have a home nor a family to return to. She would probably live the rest of her days in the convent, isolating herself in her studies. That was all she had left.

"Hey, Hikari!" a voice called, "Where are you?"

The brunette in the library looked up at the mentioning of her name. She brushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear as she stood up. "In here!" she shouted, gathering her books in a pile. She tucked them securely within her arms and headed for the doorway to meet her friends.

When she shut the door after she left, three girls spotted her and ran to the girl. One of them said, "Hikari, how can you find time to study when there's a war out there?!"

"Don't joke around," another said, "the abbess requested everyone to meet in the prayer room."

"Is something wrong?" Hikari asked.

They all shook their heads, not knowing. "Maybe we have to move again," the third suggested. "But I haven't heard any gossip 'bout any battles nearby."

"We'll find out soon," Hikari said. "Let's go." She took charge and lead the little group down the hall. They exited one building and crossed the stoned pathway to another that appeared to be the main church. The entered the side of the church and walked across the front. They paused in front of the altar and genuflected at the front of the church where a marble statue of the Great Mother stood. After the few seconds of adoration, they retreated towards another exit that lead them to a short hallway. It connected to several rooms, one of them being the prayer room.

The church had been their first move after being forced from the convent into the safer parts of the country. They had stayed there for a few months already and were comfortable with their new home, but they weren't sure when they would have to up and leave again. It was inevitable in a time of turmoil, but they kept their prayers of hop alive.

The four girls were the last to arrive and quickly settled down in the empty chairs. The room was rather small, holding about twenty girls and five nuns and the abbess. The elder woman seemed to have caught Hikari's eyes as she sat timidly in her seat, holding the books on her lap. The girl could see the sadness and sympathy in her aged eyes and wondered why such emotions were present and was she directing it at her.

The abbess nodded to one of the nuns, who stepped forward and said, "There are good news for some of you. We have received letters from your families, and some of you will be able to return home." As soon as those words were announced, the girls began to rejoice among themselves at the news, but the older women quickly silenced them.

The women began to give out the letters while the abbess walked over to Hikari's side and gently gestured her out to the hallway. Hikari quietly slipped out from the crowd of happy girls to meet her fate. A nervous sensation brewed in her stomach, telling her it wasn't a good sign. She glanced back into the room, wondering why she had to leave. She didn't want to miss the letter when they called her name. She wanted to know the state of her parents.

Just the thought of her family, all sorts of questiong twirled in her head that linked to her isolation in the hallway from the others. The nervousness became a heavy, dreadful feeling as she stood beneath the abbess's tender gaze. The old woman put her wrinkled hands gently on girl's shoulders and spoke, "Hikari, please be strong with what I have to tell you."

Her body seemed to have shut down as she stood petrified with her shock, brown eyes staring right through the woman, but her mind knew immediately what those words meant. She just wanted to collapse on the floor in uncontrollable sobs, but she just stood there, letting the tears quietly flow from her eyes, as if her whole body was paralyzed from the implied information.

"Abbess," she managed to say as the woman took the heartbroken girl into her arms and stroked her hair.

From that moment on, Hikari kept to herself, becoming withdrawn as the shelter life she once had was falling apart around. As the days went by, she watched her friends from afar as each one left the convent and returned to their homes and families while she remained in an uncertain life.

Every night, her whimpers faded into the darkness as the soft breaths of slumber filled the room. The girl didn't know the elderly abbess had been watching and praying that the girl's mind would rest. The other girls were in a similar position as her, but they seemed to have recovered better and were moving on with their lives. Only this restless one had the abbess and the other nuns worried the most.

Both of her parents were dead, but her brother's condition was unknown. Everyone prayed that the siblings would reunite if it were possible. The woman clasped her hands together in prayer, "Please Lord, have mercy on young Hikari. Give her the strength and hope to live."