Waiting For Your Return
Ramza filled us all in on what had happened while I was unconscious. He'd chased Vormov to the chapel, where the monster summoned a group of demons. Vormov had also called back Zalbag's zombie, and controlled him to attack Ramza. That forced Ramza to fight against and kill his other brother. It also gave him some time to escape to Orbone, where he had some urgent business.
"I'm going to follow him," Ramza said, "With me will go Tess, Tyler, Margurita, and Pete. Everyone else will go with me as far as Dorter, and wait there for our return. I don't want to risk the lives of anyone who is not going to participate in the coming battles."
That caused quite a few groans from the rest of the group. They all wanted to know why Ramza was leaving them behind. Some people - - Malak, who wouldn't have fought anyway - - were complaining about the whole situation, and why no one wanted him to fight.
"That's enough! Meliadoul is hurt, so I can't risk her getting killed in the battle. I also need Sage and Leon to stay behind and make sure her wounds heal completely. There are also some people who might attack them, so I need the others to protect the three of them. That's why I only want four people coming with me. All of them have the Item command, so we won't be short on healers. And these are some really good warriors," Ramza told us.
Agrias asked, "Why aren't you taking Orlandu? He's one of the strongest warriors in our group. You must make sure to come back safely. For Meliadoul's sake."
Once, Sage had told me that two girls were willing to go to war over Ramza's heart. I later learned that those two girls had been Agrias and Rafa. I knew how hard it had been for her to say, "for Meliadoul's sake," and not, "for my sake".
Ramza shook his head. "I just have a bad feeling about taking Orlandu. I'll admit he's a good warrior, an his Excalibur helps him attain the speed of a man in his prime. The same goes for the rest of you. I think that we're safest with this group. That's what I feel in my gut."
I still worried, it wasn't safe. But I had learned to trust Ramza's feelings, and knew he would return to me. Knowing this, I gave him my ring for safekeeping, and he gave me his bandanna.
So we all continued onwards to Dorter Trade City. There, our group divided in two as planned. I watched as Ramza and his group headed towards Orbonne. The rest of us headed for the Inn, to wait on their safe return.
* * *
A week passed since they went to the monastery, and there was no word. I was beginning to worry about them, that Ramza's feeling had been wrong. Some days, I went with Agrias to the road Ramza had taken, hoping to see him returning.
Soon, we heard the bad news. There had been an explosion of some sort in the monastery basement. Ramza, his allies, Alma, and all of the Shrine Knights had been killed. A funeral was going to be held for Alma, whose body was found by some priests who were checking it out.
Orlandu decided it was too dangerous to remain here. So we all packed up and began to head towards Bervennia Free City. We figured a free town would be the safest place for us to hide out until I recovered completely. Then, we would continue to travel around, until we were able to find a place where no one would be able to hurt us for following Ramza.
As we began to leave Dorter, I took one look back. A tear fell down my face, as I though of Ramza's death. How had it happened? Did my father cause the explosions, willing to die if he could take Ramza with him? Or had one of them accidentally set some powder on fire, after deciding to have a secondary in magic rather than Item?
But whatever happened down there, it didn't matter. Whoever caused the explosions was not important to me. Ramza was dead, the only man I'd ever loved in my life.
* * *
A year passed since the final battle. The Lion War had ended, and King Delita was ruling over the people with a fair hand. He was also rumored to be planning an intense investigation into the mysterious explosions at Orbonne, not for Ramza's sake, but to save face with the people.
His Queen, Ovelia, had died on her last birthday. She had been praying in the church, when an assassin had come and stabbed her with a knife. He then tried to knife the king, but Delita had managed to turn the dagger back the way it came and avenge his wife. Agrias, at least, didn't believe a word of his story, and I'm sure Margurita wouldn't have believed it either.
Margurita. . .she died so young. And Tess, Tyler, and Pete as well. I often saw how sad that Sage and Leon would get when they talked about their dead lovers. Although they would show a brave face in front of the rest of us, I could see how they really felt.
Oh, Reis is pregnant. She conceived near the beginning of June. I can't wait to see what the child looks like. She and Beowulf look so happy.
I had grown healthy and strong in this time. The only sign of my near fatal wound was a large scar on my back. It was a constant reminder to the loneliness in my heart.
I didn't care much about anything anymore. Often, you could find me in a bar, drinking a small glass of wine. No, I never got drunk in the bar, I wasn't that stupid. I just had a little in order to forget myself for a little while.
One day, I came in the bar, and sat down. The girl next to me was talking cheerfully to the bartender about a new rumor. She had long blond hair tied in a ponytail, and brown eyes. She seemed to be a type of cleric. I'd never seen anyone that happy in my life. To tell you the truth, I was jealous. How could she be happy, when I was so sad.
"Well thank you mister," she finished, "My brother will appreciate the information. We need a new job, or we might go broke."
"You're traveling with your brother?" I asked.
The girl replied, "Yup, and his friends. Hey, why don't you join up with us? We always could use a new helping hand around the camp."
Before I could answer, the girl grabbed me by the arm and began pulling me along. I decided that I liked my arm just where it was, and followed. We left town, and headed to where the group had pitched their tents.
There, I saw a blond Female Ninja, a brunet Male Monk, a red headed Male Archer, and a Female Samurai with light brown hair. They all seemed so familiar to me, as if I had seen people like them in another lifetime. It brought a twang of sorrow to my heart.
The girl ran to a tent and called inside. "Brother, I brought back a guest. Come on in and meet her. She's really nice."
Out from the tent came a man with short blond hair and brown eyes. He was in the armor of an Mega Squire. But I then saw him wearing my ring on a chain around his neck.
"Ramza!" I exclaimed, "Is it really you?"
"Yes Meliadoul, I'm alive. And I've finally come home to you," he replied.
I ran to him, right into his outstretched arms. We embraced for the first time in a year. Then, he kissed me. We stayed like that for a long time, with the cheers of the others in my ears.
When we finished, I began to lead them all back to the Inn. I watched in tears as Pete and Margurita were finally reunited with Sage and Leon. Then, Ramza introduced his sister to the rest of the group. We spent the night in that Inn, and in the morning we continued our journey. One day, we'll find the place where we'll be free, but until then, at least we have each other.
- - - -
A sweet ending. I know Ramza doesn't wear a bandana, but he doesn't have to wear one to own one. I just didn't know what he should trade with Meliadoul for her ring. Now I'd like to thank the following people for making this possible. First, to Square for making the game. Next, to Aviral Levigne, as her song Sk8er Boi inspired the theme. Then, to Namco, as Ramza and Meliadoul remind me of their characters Stahn and Rutee, who also fall in love (which is why I'm into Ramza/Meliadoul in the first place). Finally, to my best friend Dan, who recommended the game in the first place.
Ramza filled us all in on what had happened while I was unconscious. He'd chased Vormov to the chapel, where the monster summoned a group of demons. Vormov had also called back Zalbag's zombie, and controlled him to attack Ramza. That forced Ramza to fight against and kill his other brother. It also gave him some time to escape to Orbone, where he had some urgent business.
"I'm going to follow him," Ramza said, "With me will go Tess, Tyler, Margurita, and Pete. Everyone else will go with me as far as Dorter, and wait there for our return. I don't want to risk the lives of anyone who is not going to participate in the coming battles."
That caused quite a few groans from the rest of the group. They all wanted to know why Ramza was leaving them behind. Some people - - Malak, who wouldn't have fought anyway - - were complaining about the whole situation, and why no one wanted him to fight.
"That's enough! Meliadoul is hurt, so I can't risk her getting killed in the battle. I also need Sage and Leon to stay behind and make sure her wounds heal completely. There are also some people who might attack them, so I need the others to protect the three of them. That's why I only want four people coming with me. All of them have the Item command, so we won't be short on healers. And these are some really good warriors," Ramza told us.
Agrias asked, "Why aren't you taking Orlandu? He's one of the strongest warriors in our group. You must make sure to come back safely. For Meliadoul's sake."
Once, Sage had told me that two girls were willing to go to war over Ramza's heart. I later learned that those two girls had been Agrias and Rafa. I knew how hard it had been for her to say, "for Meliadoul's sake," and not, "for my sake".
Ramza shook his head. "I just have a bad feeling about taking Orlandu. I'll admit he's a good warrior, an his Excalibur helps him attain the speed of a man in his prime. The same goes for the rest of you. I think that we're safest with this group. That's what I feel in my gut."
I still worried, it wasn't safe. But I had learned to trust Ramza's feelings, and knew he would return to me. Knowing this, I gave him my ring for safekeeping, and he gave me his bandanna.
So we all continued onwards to Dorter Trade City. There, our group divided in two as planned. I watched as Ramza and his group headed towards Orbonne. The rest of us headed for the Inn, to wait on their safe return.
* * *
A week passed since they went to the monastery, and there was no word. I was beginning to worry about them, that Ramza's feeling had been wrong. Some days, I went with Agrias to the road Ramza had taken, hoping to see him returning.
Soon, we heard the bad news. There had been an explosion of some sort in the monastery basement. Ramza, his allies, Alma, and all of the Shrine Knights had been killed. A funeral was going to be held for Alma, whose body was found by some priests who were checking it out.
Orlandu decided it was too dangerous to remain here. So we all packed up and began to head towards Bervennia Free City. We figured a free town would be the safest place for us to hide out until I recovered completely. Then, we would continue to travel around, until we were able to find a place where no one would be able to hurt us for following Ramza.
As we began to leave Dorter, I took one look back. A tear fell down my face, as I though of Ramza's death. How had it happened? Did my father cause the explosions, willing to die if he could take Ramza with him? Or had one of them accidentally set some powder on fire, after deciding to have a secondary in magic rather than Item?
But whatever happened down there, it didn't matter. Whoever caused the explosions was not important to me. Ramza was dead, the only man I'd ever loved in my life.
* * *
A year passed since the final battle. The Lion War had ended, and King Delita was ruling over the people with a fair hand. He was also rumored to be planning an intense investigation into the mysterious explosions at Orbonne, not for Ramza's sake, but to save face with the people.
His Queen, Ovelia, had died on her last birthday. She had been praying in the church, when an assassin had come and stabbed her with a knife. He then tried to knife the king, but Delita had managed to turn the dagger back the way it came and avenge his wife. Agrias, at least, didn't believe a word of his story, and I'm sure Margurita wouldn't have believed it either.
Margurita. . .she died so young. And Tess, Tyler, and Pete as well. I often saw how sad that Sage and Leon would get when they talked about their dead lovers. Although they would show a brave face in front of the rest of us, I could see how they really felt.
Oh, Reis is pregnant. She conceived near the beginning of June. I can't wait to see what the child looks like. She and Beowulf look so happy.
I had grown healthy and strong in this time. The only sign of my near fatal wound was a large scar on my back. It was a constant reminder to the loneliness in my heart.
I didn't care much about anything anymore. Often, you could find me in a bar, drinking a small glass of wine. No, I never got drunk in the bar, I wasn't that stupid. I just had a little in order to forget myself for a little while.
One day, I came in the bar, and sat down. The girl next to me was talking cheerfully to the bartender about a new rumor. She had long blond hair tied in a ponytail, and brown eyes. She seemed to be a type of cleric. I'd never seen anyone that happy in my life. To tell you the truth, I was jealous. How could she be happy, when I was so sad.
"Well thank you mister," she finished, "My brother will appreciate the information. We need a new job, or we might go broke."
"You're traveling with your brother?" I asked.
The girl replied, "Yup, and his friends. Hey, why don't you join up with us? We always could use a new helping hand around the camp."
Before I could answer, the girl grabbed me by the arm and began pulling me along. I decided that I liked my arm just where it was, and followed. We left town, and headed to where the group had pitched their tents.
There, I saw a blond Female Ninja, a brunet Male Monk, a red headed Male Archer, and a Female Samurai with light brown hair. They all seemed so familiar to me, as if I had seen people like them in another lifetime. It brought a twang of sorrow to my heart.
The girl ran to a tent and called inside. "Brother, I brought back a guest. Come on in and meet her. She's really nice."
Out from the tent came a man with short blond hair and brown eyes. He was in the armor of an Mega Squire. But I then saw him wearing my ring on a chain around his neck.
"Ramza!" I exclaimed, "Is it really you?"
"Yes Meliadoul, I'm alive. And I've finally come home to you," he replied.
I ran to him, right into his outstretched arms. We embraced for the first time in a year. Then, he kissed me. We stayed like that for a long time, with the cheers of the others in my ears.
When we finished, I began to lead them all back to the Inn. I watched in tears as Pete and Margurita were finally reunited with Sage and Leon. Then, Ramza introduced his sister to the rest of the group. We spent the night in that Inn, and in the morning we continued our journey. One day, we'll find the place where we'll be free, but until then, at least we have each other.
- - - -
A sweet ending. I know Ramza doesn't wear a bandana, but he doesn't have to wear one to own one. I just didn't know what he should trade with Meliadoul for her ring. Now I'd like to thank the following people for making this possible. First, to Square for making the game. Next, to Aviral Levigne, as her song Sk8er Boi inspired the theme. Then, to Namco, as Ramza and Meliadoul remind me of their characters Stahn and Rutee, who also fall in love (which is why I'm into Ramza/Meliadoul in the first place). Finally, to my best friend Dan, who recommended the game in the first place.