Chapter Three: The Ribbon and the Shadow
"Rosa dear, you took longer back then I expected."
"I'm sorry Mother." Rosa said as she stepped in the door of her house. Her hair was once again neatly brushed, her dress had been put back on over the leotard, and her boots were polished clean at the palace and free of dust. She was carrying a small box of her father's belongings that had been found in his room when he had to stay in Baron Palace, and she had not yet opened them to reveal their contents. Alexia appeared in the room and smiled as Rosa handed the box over and prepared to retreat into her room for the remainder of the morning.
"Rosa!"
"Yes?" Rosa turned around tiredly and was surprised to see her mother gesturing for her to come over.
"Lets look at these together, alright?" Alexia asked. Rosa nodded and trudged back over. Cecil's ambitions to become a Dark Knight and Cid's mentioning of her father sort of ripped open the scab in her soul that she was trying to nurse back to health. It was something that a white magic spell couldn't help heal, but Rosa prayed every night she would feel her best again so she could be strong for her mother. But... nothing seemed to be doing too awfully much. She had been lying to herself before when she thought that archery and magic lessons would make it fade away.
"I'm going to be a Dark Knight, of course."
".....Cecil..." Rosa sighed to herself so that her mother couldn't hear. She sat down at their dining room table across from Alexia and slowly, the box was opened and its contents removed. Inside were a few books, some more clothes, and a small piece of parchment labeling who the items belonged to. That was it. Rosa stood up to go, when her mother suddenly cleared her throat, making Rosa stop.
"Is something wrong dear?" Alexia asked. Rosa wanted to tell her all about Cecil, and how she was suddenly feeling about Father, but instead, she shook her head and put on a smile.
"I am a little tired from running around all morning." Rosa said. "I think I am just going to lie down for a while."
"I hope you're not getting sick." Alexia said worriedly.
"No, no, I'm SURE I'm fine!" Rosa said, and flinched at her bad over- enthusiasm. "I mean...Er..."
"Hee-hee, it's ok, I understand." Alexia said, and waved her hand. "No need to go into details honey. I think every woman in the world can relate with you there." Rosa gulped and cringed when she realized what her mother was thinking.
"No, Mother, it's not..."
"Go on back to bed dear, and I'll make you some tea." Rosa sighed in an over-exaggerated way and went to her room, dropping down onto her lacy canopy bed and gazing up at the ceiling. What an unusual morning she had had... it was definately the most exciting and yet annoying thing that had happened to her in quite a long time. She had thought highly of Cecil, especially after he saved her life, but he ignored her until he learned of who her father was! How rude was that? But at least Kain had been friendly to her. She guessed that he and Cecil must have been the best of friends since they seemingly did everything together. They seemed so in sync with each other.
Even though she knew she would probably never see Cecil again, Rosa couldn't help but think about him more and try fill in the details he had left out of his life. All she knew was that he and Kain had been adopted by the king at ages two and three... Did that make them royalty? Rosa giggled to herself and smiled a little. And he and Kain had returned to Baron after three years to go into Baron's Military Academy... The Master Engineer Cid seemed so surprised when he saw those two. Had they changed that much? Rosa had only known Cecil for two hours and she realized she could never picture him as anything less the serious self he was now.
"Arg, Rosa, stop thinking about him!" Rosa scolded. "It's silly...really..."
"Rosa, who are you talking to?" Alexia asked from the doorway.
"Oh, no one... I was singing." Rosa said, and sat up quickly. Alexia smiled and handed Rosa her favorite herbal tea. Rosa thanked her and took a small sip, letting the warm liquid slide down her throat. "Mother, would you mind letting me be for a while now? I really am going to try to rest." Rosa wanted more time to think to herself, and then maybe, just maybe, she would work on her magic a bit.
**********
Cecil sighed to himself as he once again rolled over to a new position in bed, this time stomach up. He gazed up at his ceiling, wondering why he couldn't fall asleep. It had been a long day, and even though he was excited to be home, all Cecil had wanted to do was nap after he had changed out of his wet clothes and shoes. But a small pang of guilt was keeping him from doing that.
"That girl..." He murmured as he folded his hands behind his head. He had asked King Baron about her after his reunion with Cid, but he didn't find out much. All he learned was that she was from a wealthy family, and that she lived by herself with her mother. She was 14, and while she was an excellent archerer, she wasn't so good at white magic, which was a dormant ability of hers. She took lessons in the palace almost every day of the week except Sunday, so Cecil figured he might see more of her then he had expected from before.
"I think you hurt her feelings before, Cecil." Kain had told him when she left. "She looked pretty upset."
"What did she have to be upset over?" Cecil asked. "After all, I saved her life!"
"Well, I don't know, it's just what I think." Kain said, and smiled some. "But I don't know anything about girls!"
So did I hurt her feelings? Cecil thought to himself. ......I didn't mean to, if I did. No one seems to understand that they shouldn't get worked up over the trivial things in life. People should have priorities... Didn't....Rosa say that too? Well, I have priorities. I hurried back to Baron as fast as possible so that I could complete my training and become a Dark Knight... just like his Highness ordered...
"Cecil!" Kain's voice suddenly called from the hallway. A second later, his door was thrown open, with an excited Kain in the doorway to greet Cecil.
"Huh?" Cecil asked as he sat up.
"We're finally free to go into town on our own!" Kain exclaimed. "I got us permission from the king! Do you want to go into town and do something?"
"...Well, sure." Cecil said. He decided that he should get out as much as possible with his best friend before the summer was over, because all they would be focusing on in the fall was training.
"Well, hurry up, lets go!" Kain said. Cecil jumped out of bed and smiled a little, which surprised Kain, as he rarely saw his friend smile.
"What is it?" Kain asked suspiciously.
"Can I borrow a pair of boots?" Cecil asked, and laughed nervously. "Mine are still wet..."
"Ugh, ok, come on." Kain said, shaking his head in a joking manner. "You know, a real man wouldn't whimper over wet boots..."
"Hey!" Cecil exclaimed, and punched Kain lightly on the shoulder. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you can lecture me!"
"A whole year makes a lot of difference!" Kain pointed out, and laughed as he ran down the twisting palace hallway to his room for a pair of boots.
"Yeah right man!" Cecil called after him, and crossed his arms over his chest. He would just wait patiently for Kain to return with his boots.
**********
".....Cure!!!" Rosa said excitedly, and opened her eyes after finishing her magic chant to see her spell come to life. Instead of the pale blue and golden light she was expecting to sprinkle over an old stuffed bear, nothing happened. Rosa glared at the bear and grabbed it in an iron fist, launching it across the room only for it's flight to be interrupted by her bedroom wall. The bear made a light thump before hitting the floor, looking more raggedy then ever now.
"The most simple of spells, and I can't cast it!" Rosa huffed, and stood up. "I need some fresh air, I've been trapped in my room all afternoon!" Still dressed in her pink gown, Rosa decided not to change and grabbed a lacy matching hat off of a peg in her wall to shove on her head so that she wouldn't be sunburned outside. She was too frustrated to bother with switching clothes across the street at the store. As Rosa exited her home, she noticed her mother fast asleep in a parlor chair, her cheeks stained with dried tears. Biting her lower lip, Rosa proceeded on, shutting the door quietly behind her.
The streets were much more busy than in the morning. Rosa had no idea where she was going, but anywhere had to have been better then home at the moment. Rosa realized that she certainly did not have much to do when she didn't have her lessons at the palace. She let out a small sigh as she saw a group of teenagers run past her, laughing and pushing each other to hurry along to wherever they had to go.
"I can't remember ever having friends like that." Rosa said softly to herself. "Have my ambitions for the future been keeping me out of the reach of others...? Like Father...?" Rosa felt her heart skip a beat at this thought. She never had time to think about these things previously... Suddenly, she felt as if she had much growing up to do.
At that moment, she heard a familar laugh. When Rosa looked up, she saw the young dragoon Kain and Cecil sitting on the side of the road, sipping something colored from the bottles in their hands. Rosa's gaze slowly drifted from Kain to Cecil, who was smiling and flashing a brilliant smile. She felt her face immediately darken with red, and tugged down her hat to hide her face as she slowly walked by them. Neither one recognized her. When Rosa turned her head for one last gaze, she saw Cecil on his hands and knees, peering at something behind a crate in front of the store.
"What are you doing?" She heard Kain shout before she looked away and continued on. Before she knew it, she had reached the end of Baron, unintentionally. The town's gates were standing tall and proud, well recovered from the destruction they received in war all those years ago. Rosa still found it hard to believe that Baron had ever been touched by war. She rested a hand on the brick gate and gazed out into the distance, not being able to see anything ahead of her but miles and miles of Baron's beautiful green plains. She thought about her father was gazing at these same plains at one point or another in his short life, and her heart began to ache again.
"Oh Father... I.... I still can't get over it...!" Rosa murmured, and collapsed against the wall, her eyes stinging with tears. Suddenly, the environment around Rosa seemed to drop drastically in temperature, and when she rubbed her eyes, she realized she was engulfed in an enourmus shadow.
"What?!?" Rosa cried, and looked up, only to receive the shock of her life. Soaring right above Baron was a giant bird! No, not a bird.... it was more like a ship with wings! A beautiful, magnificant creation...! Right when Rosa was about to leap to her feet to follow it, a gust of warm wind hit her, and as a result, something blew right into her eyes. Rosa cringed as she peeled whatever it was off of her face, and let out a small gasp. It was her ribbon that she had lost this morning! It was a bit dirty from being in the street, but none the less, it was her ribbon, all in one piece! Was it a miracle?? Rosa's senses leaped to attention when she thought she heard the sound of frantic footsteps. Still within the flying ship's shadow, Rosa looked up and peered into the darkness, where she could see a tall figure running off.
"Wait!" Rosa cried as she shoved her ribbon down the front of her dress so that she wouldn't lose it again. She took off running herself, but found this very difficult in her dress, and soon had to give up. Huffing and wheezing against the tightness of her dress, Rosa collapsed down into the street and lowered her head to gain her breath as she rested her hand over her chest. She hated this constrained feeling... both of having the gown on and not being able to catch the runner! She was hoping whoever it was would be kind enough to stop and see if she was ok, but no one came back to her.
"Figures!" Rosa snapped, and steadily got back on her feet. By this time, the flying ship had long since passed over Rosa, and was making its way to the palace... her next destination!
"Rosa dear, you took longer back then I expected."
"I'm sorry Mother." Rosa said as she stepped in the door of her house. Her hair was once again neatly brushed, her dress had been put back on over the leotard, and her boots were polished clean at the palace and free of dust. She was carrying a small box of her father's belongings that had been found in his room when he had to stay in Baron Palace, and she had not yet opened them to reveal their contents. Alexia appeared in the room and smiled as Rosa handed the box over and prepared to retreat into her room for the remainder of the morning.
"Rosa!"
"Yes?" Rosa turned around tiredly and was surprised to see her mother gesturing for her to come over.
"Lets look at these together, alright?" Alexia asked. Rosa nodded and trudged back over. Cecil's ambitions to become a Dark Knight and Cid's mentioning of her father sort of ripped open the scab in her soul that she was trying to nurse back to health. It was something that a white magic spell couldn't help heal, but Rosa prayed every night she would feel her best again so she could be strong for her mother. But... nothing seemed to be doing too awfully much. She had been lying to herself before when she thought that archery and magic lessons would make it fade away.
"I'm going to be a Dark Knight, of course."
".....Cecil..." Rosa sighed to herself so that her mother couldn't hear. She sat down at their dining room table across from Alexia and slowly, the box was opened and its contents removed. Inside were a few books, some more clothes, and a small piece of parchment labeling who the items belonged to. That was it. Rosa stood up to go, when her mother suddenly cleared her throat, making Rosa stop.
"Is something wrong dear?" Alexia asked. Rosa wanted to tell her all about Cecil, and how she was suddenly feeling about Father, but instead, she shook her head and put on a smile.
"I am a little tired from running around all morning." Rosa said. "I think I am just going to lie down for a while."
"I hope you're not getting sick." Alexia said worriedly.
"No, no, I'm SURE I'm fine!" Rosa said, and flinched at her bad over- enthusiasm. "I mean...Er..."
"Hee-hee, it's ok, I understand." Alexia said, and waved her hand. "No need to go into details honey. I think every woman in the world can relate with you there." Rosa gulped and cringed when she realized what her mother was thinking.
"No, Mother, it's not..."
"Go on back to bed dear, and I'll make you some tea." Rosa sighed in an over-exaggerated way and went to her room, dropping down onto her lacy canopy bed and gazing up at the ceiling. What an unusual morning she had had... it was definately the most exciting and yet annoying thing that had happened to her in quite a long time. She had thought highly of Cecil, especially after he saved her life, but he ignored her until he learned of who her father was! How rude was that? But at least Kain had been friendly to her. She guessed that he and Cecil must have been the best of friends since they seemingly did everything together. They seemed so in sync with each other.
Even though she knew she would probably never see Cecil again, Rosa couldn't help but think about him more and try fill in the details he had left out of his life. All she knew was that he and Kain had been adopted by the king at ages two and three... Did that make them royalty? Rosa giggled to herself and smiled a little. And he and Kain had returned to Baron after three years to go into Baron's Military Academy... The Master Engineer Cid seemed so surprised when he saw those two. Had they changed that much? Rosa had only known Cecil for two hours and she realized she could never picture him as anything less the serious self he was now.
"Arg, Rosa, stop thinking about him!" Rosa scolded. "It's silly...really..."
"Rosa, who are you talking to?" Alexia asked from the doorway.
"Oh, no one... I was singing." Rosa said, and sat up quickly. Alexia smiled and handed Rosa her favorite herbal tea. Rosa thanked her and took a small sip, letting the warm liquid slide down her throat. "Mother, would you mind letting me be for a while now? I really am going to try to rest." Rosa wanted more time to think to herself, and then maybe, just maybe, she would work on her magic a bit.
**********
Cecil sighed to himself as he once again rolled over to a new position in bed, this time stomach up. He gazed up at his ceiling, wondering why he couldn't fall asleep. It had been a long day, and even though he was excited to be home, all Cecil had wanted to do was nap after he had changed out of his wet clothes and shoes. But a small pang of guilt was keeping him from doing that.
"That girl..." He murmured as he folded his hands behind his head. He had asked King Baron about her after his reunion with Cid, but he didn't find out much. All he learned was that she was from a wealthy family, and that she lived by herself with her mother. She was 14, and while she was an excellent archerer, she wasn't so good at white magic, which was a dormant ability of hers. She took lessons in the palace almost every day of the week except Sunday, so Cecil figured he might see more of her then he had expected from before.
"I think you hurt her feelings before, Cecil." Kain had told him when she left. "She looked pretty upset."
"What did she have to be upset over?" Cecil asked. "After all, I saved her life!"
"Well, I don't know, it's just what I think." Kain said, and smiled some. "But I don't know anything about girls!"
So did I hurt her feelings? Cecil thought to himself. ......I didn't mean to, if I did. No one seems to understand that they shouldn't get worked up over the trivial things in life. People should have priorities... Didn't....Rosa say that too? Well, I have priorities. I hurried back to Baron as fast as possible so that I could complete my training and become a Dark Knight... just like his Highness ordered...
"Cecil!" Kain's voice suddenly called from the hallway. A second later, his door was thrown open, with an excited Kain in the doorway to greet Cecil.
"Huh?" Cecil asked as he sat up.
"We're finally free to go into town on our own!" Kain exclaimed. "I got us permission from the king! Do you want to go into town and do something?"
"...Well, sure." Cecil said. He decided that he should get out as much as possible with his best friend before the summer was over, because all they would be focusing on in the fall was training.
"Well, hurry up, lets go!" Kain said. Cecil jumped out of bed and smiled a little, which surprised Kain, as he rarely saw his friend smile.
"What is it?" Kain asked suspiciously.
"Can I borrow a pair of boots?" Cecil asked, and laughed nervously. "Mine are still wet..."
"Ugh, ok, come on." Kain said, shaking his head in a joking manner. "You know, a real man wouldn't whimper over wet boots..."
"Hey!" Cecil exclaimed, and punched Kain lightly on the shoulder. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you can lecture me!"
"A whole year makes a lot of difference!" Kain pointed out, and laughed as he ran down the twisting palace hallway to his room for a pair of boots.
"Yeah right man!" Cecil called after him, and crossed his arms over his chest. He would just wait patiently for Kain to return with his boots.
**********
".....Cure!!!" Rosa said excitedly, and opened her eyes after finishing her magic chant to see her spell come to life. Instead of the pale blue and golden light she was expecting to sprinkle over an old stuffed bear, nothing happened. Rosa glared at the bear and grabbed it in an iron fist, launching it across the room only for it's flight to be interrupted by her bedroom wall. The bear made a light thump before hitting the floor, looking more raggedy then ever now.
"The most simple of spells, and I can't cast it!" Rosa huffed, and stood up. "I need some fresh air, I've been trapped in my room all afternoon!" Still dressed in her pink gown, Rosa decided not to change and grabbed a lacy matching hat off of a peg in her wall to shove on her head so that she wouldn't be sunburned outside. She was too frustrated to bother with switching clothes across the street at the store. As Rosa exited her home, she noticed her mother fast asleep in a parlor chair, her cheeks stained with dried tears. Biting her lower lip, Rosa proceeded on, shutting the door quietly behind her.
The streets were much more busy than in the morning. Rosa had no idea where she was going, but anywhere had to have been better then home at the moment. Rosa realized that she certainly did not have much to do when she didn't have her lessons at the palace. She let out a small sigh as she saw a group of teenagers run past her, laughing and pushing each other to hurry along to wherever they had to go.
"I can't remember ever having friends like that." Rosa said softly to herself. "Have my ambitions for the future been keeping me out of the reach of others...? Like Father...?" Rosa felt her heart skip a beat at this thought. She never had time to think about these things previously... Suddenly, she felt as if she had much growing up to do.
At that moment, she heard a familar laugh. When Rosa looked up, she saw the young dragoon Kain and Cecil sitting on the side of the road, sipping something colored from the bottles in their hands. Rosa's gaze slowly drifted from Kain to Cecil, who was smiling and flashing a brilliant smile. She felt her face immediately darken with red, and tugged down her hat to hide her face as she slowly walked by them. Neither one recognized her. When Rosa turned her head for one last gaze, she saw Cecil on his hands and knees, peering at something behind a crate in front of the store.
"What are you doing?" She heard Kain shout before she looked away and continued on. Before she knew it, she had reached the end of Baron, unintentionally. The town's gates were standing tall and proud, well recovered from the destruction they received in war all those years ago. Rosa still found it hard to believe that Baron had ever been touched by war. She rested a hand on the brick gate and gazed out into the distance, not being able to see anything ahead of her but miles and miles of Baron's beautiful green plains. She thought about her father was gazing at these same plains at one point or another in his short life, and her heart began to ache again.
"Oh Father... I.... I still can't get over it...!" Rosa murmured, and collapsed against the wall, her eyes stinging with tears. Suddenly, the environment around Rosa seemed to drop drastically in temperature, and when she rubbed her eyes, she realized she was engulfed in an enourmus shadow.
"What?!?" Rosa cried, and looked up, only to receive the shock of her life. Soaring right above Baron was a giant bird! No, not a bird.... it was more like a ship with wings! A beautiful, magnificant creation...! Right when Rosa was about to leap to her feet to follow it, a gust of warm wind hit her, and as a result, something blew right into her eyes. Rosa cringed as she peeled whatever it was off of her face, and let out a small gasp. It was her ribbon that she had lost this morning! It was a bit dirty from being in the street, but none the less, it was her ribbon, all in one piece! Was it a miracle?? Rosa's senses leaped to attention when she thought she heard the sound of frantic footsteps. Still within the flying ship's shadow, Rosa looked up and peered into the darkness, where she could see a tall figure running off.
"Wait!" Rosa cried as she shoved her ribbon down the front of her dress so that she wouldn't lose it again. She took off running herself, but found this very difficult in her dress, and soon had to give up. Huffing and wheezing against the tightness of her dress, Rosa collapsed down into the street and lowered her head to gain her breath as she rested her hand over her chest. She hated this constrained feeling... both of having the gown on and not being able to catch the runner! She was hoping whoever it was would be kind enough to stop and see if she was ok, but no one came back to her.
"Figures!" Rosa snapped, and steadily got back on her feet. By this time, the flying ship had long since passed over Rosa, and was making its way to the palace... her next destination!
