beauty & the beast
by Ornery-chan
Disclaimer: Not. Mine. Final Fantasy Nine. (Hey, that rhymes.) It's Squaresoft's. Beauty & the Beast is Disney's. N'Sync owns "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You".
Author's Note: This is, yes, my friends, the second-to-the-last chapter. More Blank confusion abounds.
Chapter 5
How do I start this? I grasped the knot of my makeshift cape and viciously pulled it off, letting it drop on the floor. What was I feeling? Did I actually have the right to be disappointed? After all, I wasn't-sure-where Miki and I stood.
SLAM! The door burst open with one abrupt push. I didn't even bother to keep the noise down. Who cared, anyway. She didn't.
Sounds from the ongoing play seeped through the untended walls of the corridors leading from the backstage to the audience. Darkness wrapped around me, but I didn't mind. In fact, I was grateful to it, if I had the reason to thank anything. I was trying to hide from the pain that seemed to pierce my heart.
Whatever. Someone told me once that there were five stages of grief: hurt, sorrow, frustration, contemplation, and the mask. Although I was crumbling inside, my mask was firmly set, resolved not to let my feelings show through. I was hurt, yes, but the mask protected me.
I quickly jumped the steps, when I heard a long, earsplitting shriek from Ruby. Suddenly, I knew it was the part. The part I had been waiting for. The part that I wanted her to hear. How ironic, that the moment I reached the audience, it had to play.
"No! Prithee, wilt thou not leave me!" Ruby sobbed, crying false tears (she was so good at it). The dying beast-Marcus lay at her lap. "Stay strong!"
Marcus coughed, the fake blood spraying their costumes. I found myself not daring to breathe. It was time.
"Can this be true? Tell me, God, how can this be real?" His voice was soft, and he coughed again.
"How can I put into words what I feel..." I whispered, continuing that special verse.
"My life was complete. I thought...I was whole."
I turned my back to the stage. I didn't have to hear this. But why do I feel like I'm losing control?
"Never didst I expect that love could find me, and it would feel like this. Rubella, thou hath changed my world. While I am a beast, ugly inside and out, how can this be? Right here, beside me..."
There's an angel...it's a miracle...
In all of creation, all things great and small,
You are the one that surpasses them all.
More precious than and diamond or pearl,
They broke the mold when you came in this world.
And I'm trying hard to figure out
Just how I ever did without
The warmth of your smile
The heart of a child
That's deep inside
And leaves me purified...
Get me away from this! The pain was back, the piercing stroke that was breaking my heart. I ran past the rows of people, to reach the double doors of the exit.
That was when I saw the golden hair flash in the corner of my eye. I skidded to a stop. There, below the boxes...
It was her, the subject of my whole speech, the reason why I had not slept a-many nights just to get the perfect words to describe her. My heart started beating again, filling itself with confused emotions. She arrived, but she was late. Should I be mad, or should I be elated?
But there was something wrong with the picture. Her usually combed hair was - there was no other word for it - disheveled. Her tail was drooping. Leaning on the pillar, she looked like she was about to faint on the spot, even if she was watching the play.
The sight washed away any anger out of me.
"Miki!"
***
Was it his voice that called my name? Slowly, I tore my eyes from the stage. A figure in a grey jacket stood a few feet away from me. My eyes were so weary, I wasn't even sure who it was. The red hair gave it away, though. "Blank, is that you?"
He ran towards me, clasping both hands on my shoulders. I must have looked very unstable. "Yes, it's me, Miki. What..." His eyes traveled over my whole appearance. "What happened to you?"
"You look...different." I answered, not wanting to explain everything then and there.
A sigh (of frustration, I could tell) escaped him. "I'm in costume." He said curtly. "Don't bother about me. Are you alright?"
I wanted to answer: No! I'm not! I feel so tired that I might pass out right now. But I had to be brave. So I closed my eyes, and smiled. "Zidane was right. You do always play the bad guy."
"Damn it, Miki, answer me!" Blank's exasperation was so startling that I stepped back, if only his hands weren't holding onto me. I regained my composure and raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm fine, Blank. I'm fine. I just need to rest."
The crowd suddenly burst into applause. Blank craned his neck to see what was going on.
"The gods almighty! You 'ave changed!" Ruby's voice echoed throughout the whole theatre.
"T'was thy love that freed me from that accursed body." Marcus exhaled in reply. I turned to the stage to see the final scene. However, Blank had pulled me back on my feet. I couldn't help wincing. It hurt so much...
"What's the problem? Can you walk?" He asked, apparently alarmed.
This time I wasn't so sure. "I...I think there's something wrong with my foot."
He understood at once, from the look in his face. Although I was supposed to be a 'perfect' genome, everytime I moved my right foot was sheer agony. I had the pillar for support then. Thank God that Blank was here now.
But what he did, I did not expect. It took me by shock, really.
"Blank? What are you doing...wait!" Then I had to grab his neck. He didn't mind. In fact, he grinned an teasing sort of grin. My red-haired friend carried me out of the theatre.
Always timestamp your works!
1/21/2002 -10:04 PM
