Disclaimer: Legend of Dragoon characters, places and terms belong to their respective owners. No profit is gleaned from this by me. This is done for fun and nothing more.
Author's Note: Before I get slammed with reviews from people who have played and finished the game, yes, I am aware of how it originally ended. I didn't like the ending. I wrote my own. Here is what happens after my ending.
Deliver Us
by
Raichutec
Chapter 1: Winter
Dear Emille,
I received your letter and I'm a touch uncertain as to why you ask me to seek answers for you in the stars, but I could never deny my beloved sister a request. So, I will soon do as you ask.
The quill pen halted, blotching the ink as Lisa stared out toward the melting skies. The night would soon blanket the world in a sea of diamond stars and constellations. And as usual, she would go to commune with the heavenly abodes for answers and insights into the future of Tiborea. Rarely did she ask for predictions, merely guidance. Now Emille had asked the oddest thing of her and it would mean a bit more energy expended to get any sort of concrete answer. For some reason, the idea of it left a cold knot in her stomach. Or maybe it was simply the question to be asked. Lisa wasn't sure she wanted an answer to it, not for her sake but instead for Emille's.
Setting the quill down after blotting the unnecessary ink, the princess rose gracefully from her chair, smoothing satin skirts before quietly approaching the balcony to watch the last remnants of the sun dip below the horizon and leave the world in night's shroud. She waited there until the first twinkling lights appeared, old friends to her by now and how she always knew their places. Intimate with the cold and distant beauty of ages. She closed her eyes and reached out with her inner will, feeling their presence at the corners of her mind.
Tell me what is to become of my sister.
And so they spoke. Not with words, as humans had known only what they could hear and see, but instead by a method few would ever hope to comprehend. Her brows furrowed, her lips parted as a gasp came with a sharp inhalation of air. Blue eyes suddenly popped open before she could even thank her heavenly friends for their advice and she raced back toward the parchment on her desk, her handwriting scribbled and hasty as she rushed the words out into the letter. Desperate strokes, urgency far more important than keeping her letters perfect. As she finished, she folded it over carefully and quickly lit the candle hold the flame over the waxing sealing, dripping it over the edges until it began to hold fast in cooling. She pressed her sigil ring into it, a private letter for her sister's eyes only.
She only prayed that Emille would read her words in time.
Miranda groaned quietly to herself, drumming her fingers against the table absently as she waited the inevitable. Meru simply couldn't settle anywhere for long. Last Miranda knew, the wingly had found love and gotten engaged to a childhood friend. So why Meru wasn't in her wingly village, tied down to a husband by now was beyond the Sacred Sister's understanding. Instead, Meru traveled extensively, spending time with all her 'friends' from the Dragon Conflict, as it had been dubbed nearly two years prior. She flitted from Tiborea to Mille Seseau to Serdio and back again, annoying or cheering up those she had come to care about.
In Miranda's case, it was annoying. And it appeared that it was, yet again, her turn to endure Meru's silly and rather inane jokes and constant chatter.
"Hello, Meru," she greeted with a bland voice as she heard the shuffle of wingly feet entering the dining hall. Her dinner sat in front of her, most likely to go uneaten now. Her appetite left her the moment that grating, high pitched voice began calling for her from down the corridor.
If Meru knew she was being an annoyance it didn't show. The wingly bounced into the room, twirled around gracefully and sank into a chair opposite the Sacred Sister, prodding at the cooling stew with a spoon grabbed from the table. "Hmmm. Mutton stew again? Do you ever eat anything else?"
"I eat what the soldiers eat. Meru... isn't it Serdio's turn for a visit from you?"
"Oh," Meru replied, wrinkling her nose. "Nah, the King is just way too serious lately. I think him and Emille are having problems or something. Honeymoon is over, or that's what Haschel was saying when I visited him. I don't quite get that. What's a honey-moon anyway? Got anything to do with the Moon that Never Sets or something?"
"If you ever go home to your fiancé, you might find out," Miranda sighed in an exasperated tone, resting a cheek against her palm as she propped an elbow on the table. There was no way to get around Meru's visits other than to tolerate them and wait till she became bored enough to leave for her next visit, or victim as the Sacred Sister saw it. Perhaps it was the fact that the Conflict drew them all together that kept her tongue tamed, or perhaps Miranda was just going soft. She could brow beat a lazy soldier till he trembled in fear or wet his own breeches, but she couldn't bring herself to snap at Meru and throw her out of the reconstructed Crystal Palace. Remembering this, she reached for the mug of warm ale, bringing it to her lips before asking, "I take it you aren't going to the Christening ceremony in Serdio, then?"
"Well, of course I am," Meru huffed. "Why... Shana and Dart's little baby is gonna be there to be blessed. I wouldn't miss it for the whole world. I just figured that since I was close to you, I'd drop by and go with you. You're going, right?"
"I was thinking about it," Miranda shrugged her shoulders, pushing the stew toward Meru. The wingly graciously accepted the offer and began eating it without further ado.
"Mmph, s'good, shouldn't waste it," Meru kept on talking even with a mouthful of mutton. "Sooo... mmph, why don't you wanna go? Still got that crush on King Albert?"
Miranda froze, stiffening at the mention of her supposed crush on the King of Serdio. "You don't ever plan to let that go, do you. Albert is soon to be married, Meru. I have my duties here. I do not have a crush on him." But no matter how many times she asserted this, Meru never seemed to hear it. Or at least she refused to believe it.
"Then you're going to the ceremony. Nothing to worry about, right? Besides, I wanna see Dart's kid. I bet it looks more like Shana. I hope anyway. Especially if it's a girl..."
And with that Meru launched into lengthy chit chat regarding Dart and Shana and their newborn child who neither wingly nor Sacred Sister knew much about just yet. Miranda found herself tuning the other out, eyes growing distant while the dull drone of Meru's animated voice provided excellent backdrop for one's mind to begin wandering. She found herself dreading this ceremony, and had been actively looking for an excuse not to attend. To make amends later by paying a visit to Danau and giving a private gift to the new child and its parents. She liked visiting Dart and Shana, after all, or welcoming them to Mille Seseau the few times they visited, but she wanted to avoid Serdio. She and Albert got along as well as oil and vinegar.
She wasn't sure how or when it began. At first she and the King of Serdio were at least polite to one another, if not a little cool. It was Rose she had a hard time getting along with. Darkness and Light were bound to feel a little friction, so no one paid it much mind other than to tell the both of them to knock it off if their arguments became too heated. But after events settled and everyone began rebuilding toward the future, she and Albert began meetings to create trade agreements and other pacts and alliances between Mille Seseau and Serdio. It was then that the friction truly became noticeable. Unfortunately, things came to a head the previous spring, with everyone visiting for the Mille Seseau Renewal Festival. And all with an ill placed comment regarding Albert's betrothed.
"That's the Princess Emille? Surely you jest. She looks frail enough for the ocean breeze to carry her away. Is that how you like your women, Albert? Dainty and precious?"
Miranda's thoughts on Emille were meant for public consumption, just as the rest of her opinions tended to be. Meru's hands flew up to her mouth, eyes wide as saucers as she stared at the First Sacred Sister in horror. You didn't talk that way about Emille when Albert was nearby, see, and the wingly was expecting a sudden verbal parlay to begin. 'Verbal parlay' meaning a rather nasty insultive battle of wits between King and Sacred Sister.
Indeed, Albert whirled around so quickly that the green cape tangled around his legs before drifting away to sway back and forth behind him. A gloved hand lifted, then pointed at Miranda while the gears in the King's mind churned, anger clearly darkening his cheeks. "You... you mindless, tactless, disgusting -thing- you." Unlike Albert, indeed, for it was rare that anyone drove him to the boiling point and rarer still that he had no fancy and witty insult to hurl. "How dare you speak of Emille like that, her beauty and kindness transcends above your barbaric and brainless manners."
Miranda sniffed at him, haughty expression and stance radiating from her like an aura. Her chin lifted just as regally as Albert's and the hand against her hip shifted as she fit her weight to one leg. "She's a frail little wisp of a girl, Albert. Good gods, you could do better, what in the world were you thinking? Is she a rebound effort on your part to forget Lavitz for a bit?"
Clearly Miranda had the upper hand in this one. Albert stared at her, expression shocked, skin suddenly pale. Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, both fists clenched so hard the worn leather of his gloves creaked. "Miranda," he began, his voice eerily steady and calm, belying the rage that tensed his stance. "I well and truly hate thee." And without another word, he turned again, stalking off before either the Sacred Sister or the wingly could manage to say another word to him. Miranda didn't stick around either, turning on the toes of one boot to stalk off in the opposite direction with her nose high in the air and her hair swaying back and forth in its plaited form.
"What in the world was that all about?" a small voice asked, Shana finally peering her head out from a doorway to see if it were safe to emerge. Realizing that Albert and Miranda had already left, she slowly slipped around to lean against the doorframe. Meru sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
"I think they're in love. Do you think they'll do that lip press thing that you and Dart do all the time next or-- Shana? Hey wait! Where are you going?"
It wasn't until later that Miranda got wind of Meru's assessment and from Haschel, no less. She remembered clearly how hot she'd gotten and nearly tossed the wingly out on her ear. In love with Albert, indeed! She would never even think about being some prissy, brainless girl to satisfy the King's need for an ear to bend for his pompous poetry. But as the months passed and Spring warmed up to Summer and then boiled down into Autumn and finally crawled toward Winter, Miranda found herself feeling guilty for her comments. Blunt as she was, and stubborn as a mule, eventually her own tongue caught up with her and she felt the need to make amends.
Trouble was, she had no idea if Albert would be forgiving at all. She had insulted Emille, after all, and rather harshly.
"Miranda? Hey, Miranda stop thinking about Albert for cryin' out loud!" Meru's elevated voice drew the Sister out of her thoughts. She blinked twice, then cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Meru, I am not thinking about Albert."
"Yes you are, yes you are!" Meru countered tauntingly, getting up to stand on her chair and point at Miranda while bouncing. "Look your cheeks are even turning pink! Liar liar, pants on fire sitt- Ohhhhh, Albert and Miranda sittin' in a tree, K - I - S--- Ack!"
Finally tired of the antics, Miranda ended the teasing session with a well placed shove to the table, which pushed forward enough to tap on the chair Meru had herself balanced on. It sent both chair and wingly crashing backwards to the ground. She got up afterwards, using the moment to finally escape Meru's presence. But, not without a parting comment shouted at her fleeing back.
"Heeeey! You can't deny it forever! Albert and Miranda sittin' in a tree, K - I - S..."
And the singsong voice faded away as Miranda hurried herself from the mess hall.
He found her in the sitting room, washed by the morning sunlight that streamed through the picture glass doors leading out to the balcony. Even this early she radiated a muted beauty, gold hair spun into a carefully crafted headdress of gold and diamonds. Her dress swept off the shoulder, colored the delicate, soft pink she so adored. Her repose was thoughtful, eyes staring off into the distance without really looking at anything beyond the scene in her mind's eye. Albert gave pause to watch, wondering if he should even disturb her thoughts. In front of her rested a half eaten breakfast, tea gone lukewarm by now and eggs cold. She hadn't eaten well in the last few months, so seeing that she at least ate part of it assauged some of the King's worries. Other concerns continued to haunt regardless of her eating habits.
"Good morning, Emille," he called softly, drifting closer as she inhaled sharply, startled.
"Oh! Albert, good morning," she replied after a hand flew up to rest against her chest. A thin smile graced her lips as her betrothed seated himself beside her though a degree of separation left unspoken yet acknowledged still kept them miles apart. "You surprised me."
"My apologies, I hadn't meant to disturb you."
Silence permeated the room, Albert and Emille finding themselves looking elsewhere, anywhere but at one another. It pained Albert that this continued. For months now Emille had fallen into a mysterious melancholy, beginning with the official announcement of their betrothal at the start of the Summer season. He courted her properly for over a year, allying with Tiborea as he did with Mille Seseau. Her father approved of the union, even her sister seemed delighted by it and up until that moment, he thought she shared his feelings. But as the days stretched into long and tedious months full of her shadowed smiles and haunted gestures, he wondered if this impending marriage was what she wanted and, if not, what had suddenly changed her mind.
"Dart and Shana will be here later."
It was Emille who broke the silence, looking up toward Albert with a quiet smile. For a moment his heart leapt, sitting up from the slight slouch he'd fallen into despite himself. Hope did that to him and anything, no matter how remotely small, from Emille uplifted him. At least until he realized her smile was forced, for her eyes were still distant as she gazed at him.
"Yes," he replied awkwardly. "It will be good to see them again. I hear their son is already beginning to talk."
"Aye," she replied absently and again they lapsed into uncomfortable silence.
With a sigh, Albert ran a hand through cinnamon colored locks of hair, closing his eyes for a moment while he considered how to end this. How to confront Emille and understand what had her so unhappy. Finally he leaned forward, gloved hands folding on the table as he looked toward Emille. She still couldn't meet his gaze.
"Emille, do I make you unhappy? I cannot marry you, in good faith, if you no longer love me..."
She looked up at him sharply before dipping her chin again, sighing quietly. Her hands wrung in her lap, then smoothed out the satiny fabric as she willed her hands still finally. "No, Albert it isn't that you make me unhappy but... Oh I don't know." She rose to her feet then, turning from him entirely to gaze out the picture window. "I haven't been home in so long. Do you think... would it be all right if I were to go home for a while? To see my sister and my father?"
Albert blinked, rising to his feet before slowly approaching his betrothed from behind. "Is that all this is? Homesickness? By the gods, Emille, could I ever deny you anything? You had only to ask."
She turned then, her smile far more bright, alive, no longer forced or sad. "Really? Oh Albert!" And she threw her arms around him then, resting her cheek against his chest. He smiled, relieved to feel her close again and kissed the top of her head. Something nagged at the back of his mind, a niggling sensation that not even this could mend the growing distance between them. But, as Lavitz once told him, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
He only prayed it would not make her more forgetful instead.
"It's been awhile since we've been back in Serdio," Shana sighed with a contented smile. The babe in her arms slept peacefully, the gentle rocking of the ship easily helped put him under while his parents enjoyed the short trip to Serdio. When Albert accepted their request to Christen the child in his castle, Shana excitedly looked forward to the eventual trip. Dart had been so overprotective of her all through her pregnancy that she'd grown more than tired of sitting about the house with nothing to do. This was finally a chance to leave their home and see old friends.The entire idea had originally been Haschel's. As soon as he got wind of his grandchild's birth, he had paid a visit, brightening their lives with his wit and charm. Shana adored him, even if some never quite understood Haschel's childlike humor. Though he was in his sixties, the old man would never grow up and Shana would never have him any other way.
Dart had settled considerably in the time since the Dragon Conflict. He leaned against the edge of the boat, ocean breeze tugging at his unruly locks of gold hair. His expression betrayed his love for Shana, married to her just under two years now, and a father to a disgustingly cute baby. Since then, he'd given up his adventuring days, hanging up his sword and armor to pick up pruning shears instead. The pair had one of the largest gardens in all of Danau, which was an accomplishment considering the entire city was one large herbarium. He had apprenticed himself to Lynn while Shana became friends with Kate. Their children would play together and sometimes Kate even teased that their son might someday marry her daughter. They could always hope, for Shana and Dart had begun their love as childhood friends.
"It'll be nice, yeah. I wonder how Albert and Emille are doing," he finally replied, reaching out to brush his fingers over the smattering of pale hair atop the babe's head. Shana's smile faded slightly, recalling how Haschel described things as being 'difficult' for the King and his betrothed. She prayed quietly that things would work out between them; they had seemed so happy once upon a time and Shana wanted all the Dragoons to share her happiness, to have good lives.
"Everyone will be there, or so I hear. Haschel and Kongol, maybe Miranda and Meru. With Albert there, we'll all be gathered again."
All except for Rose, but that was left unsaid. She had sacrificed herself, going to the next world with her beloved at last. Gone, but certainly not forgotten. Her Dragoon Spirit had eventually been located, alongside the Red Eye Dragoon Spirit Dart once held. Both now resided in Serdio, set in cases within a royal chamber of the castle, heavily under guard. Dart wanted nothing more to do with being a Dragoon, not when he had a wife and family to look after. The others still kept their Spirits, as far as Shana knew, but privately she was relieved to see Dart hand the Spirits over to Albert. She wanted him at home with her, settled now that their grand adventure was over and he no longer searched for the Black Monster or needed revenge.
"It'll be a grand celebration!" came Haschel's voice as if on cue. Coming up from belowdeck, he approached the young couple with his hands clasped behind his back, dark eyes squinting in the morning sunlight. Weathered of face and graying of hair, Haschel's body still belied his sixty some odd years of life, appearing twenty years younger easily. Perhaps it was the inner warmth that radiated from him, or just his inability to ever be serious about anything. "And it should be. We haven't gotten together in a long time. I can't wait to see Albert and Miranda again. And Meru, too, of course."
Behind him lumbered Kongol, silently shadowing his mentor to the deck of the ship. The Gigantos rarely parted from Haschel's side since he began training in the mysterious Rogue School Martial Arts. Dart and Shana both had a hard time picturing anyone as large and slow as Kongol performing such speedy and precise movements, but according to Haschel, he made an excellent student. "Kongol not seen King of Humans in long time. Happy to see him soon."
Though Kongol had bonded with just about everyone in the group eventually, he had a special soft spot for Haschel and Albert, who had taken great lengths to befriend the Gigantos and show him how the races really could live together in harmony. Albert had even set laws into motion, banning discrimination against Gigantos and Winglies. It would be a good number of years before social mindsets changed, but at least steps had been set into motion.
"Wasn't Meru with you not that long ago?" Dart queried of Haschel.
The old man chuckled softly, since he understood that he was one of the few who could tolerate Meru's visits for long without wanting to tear his hair out. "Aye, she was until a few days ago. She decided to go fetch Sister Miranda from Mille Seseau, seeing as she figured Miranda would make up any excuse she could to keep from going to Serdio and facing Albert."
Shana groaned softly, still recalling the incident. "Are those two still fighting over that? I love Miranda like a sister, but she should just apologize and get it over with."
"Either that or kiss the King and get it over with," Haschel couldn't help but add. Everyone, even Kongol, looked at him with exasperated expressions. "What? Hey, I can't help it, it's true!"
"Haschel!" rang the chorus. In unison.
(To be continued...)