Author's note: Awww.... thank you so much for the reviews, eventhough it was fairly small, but I still liked reading it! Hey, I know many of you are expecting a Queifer, but this is also a Zelphie fic, so... here is the first POV and it has something to do with a certain blond martial artists who doesn't use his fists as a weapon! I mean... come on! This is a Medieval era!
Chapter 4 - The Soldier
I wanted to stay with her, embrace her forever and ask her to marry me, but I was not ready to do that. I was not ready until I made sure that my work was done. I still have my duties. I fell in love with her the first time we raided through Galbadia that one warm afternoon when the leaves began to fall from the trees. The wind bit at the sides of my cheek as we marched along the marshes and noticed the tall castle just ahead of us. We were some twenty thousand men, each willing to die for the sake of Esthar's freedom. For a long time, we have been imprisoned in the greed of Galbadia and now that Balamb was on their side, we all knew we had to fight more desperately this time. I was not surprised, however the probability of Balamb and Galbadia joining them. I knew for a long time that sooner or later, Balamb had no other way to promote peace, other than have Princess Quistis and Prince Irvine marry at such a young age. Duke Squall of Esthar, after the death of his father, became the most powerful ally of Balamb, yet, ever since the death of the King and the increasing power of Galbadia with their advanced weapons and artillery, Esthar became Balamb's most powerful enemy. We felt betrayed by Balamb. The Duke felt betrayed by Balamb.
At that moment, we had arrived through the marshes and raided through the castle, taking no prisoners. The joint castles of Balbadia (which was once Balamb and Galbadia), were left with no soldiers to fight them. They were all back in the marshes, fighting our other men who had appeared. I, the highest ranking soldier of Esthar, had a mission. My only job was to march unto the throne and take the Queen, take her back to Esthar and make her sign a treaty that will make Balamb into an independent nation once again and make them our allies. Balamb had the right resources in weapons and armor, therefore, we wished for them to be our allies. Esthar was running out of weapons to protect the Kingdom. Galbadia plans on crushing the Power Kingdom and making the Kingdom their own. King Irvine was corrupted by greed and power and the only way to stop this, was to have the Queen sign the decree.
I ran through the long hallway of Balbadia, making turns as I go, knowing my mistakes. Yet, at that point, I felt I had no reason to hurry. I wanted to see what Balbadia was like, to make sure that what Esthar's words of King Irvine being a corrupted monster, were true. I turned left and ended up in the kitchen, where I spotted a young woman in a long yellow dress and with short brown hair sitting on a chair. When she noticed me, she quickly dropped the cloth from her hands and kneeled down behind the table, her head peeking out slightly to see me from behind. Fear suddenly struck her beautiful face.
"Please sir, I beg of you to have mercy on me," she spoke, with softness in her voice.
I stared at her, shaking my head. I do not intend to hurt her. I never wish for it. My only mission was to have the paper signed for the Queen and then I would be off. The men whom I was forced to work with, men with so much brutality and anger in their minds, were the men who were assigned to destroy anyone in their path. "I do not wish to hurt you." I looked at her, who was still crouched behind the table, her eyes full of fear and resentment. "But if you intend to leave, then you best do it now." I never meant to make myself sound threatening. I only wanted what was best for her. If one of my men come inside of where I was and once they see this woman there, they will come after her. No, I could not have that. I did no agree to this kind of atrocity. Surely, the Duke did not wish for this murder to occur. The men were becoming bastards of their own free will.
She glanced at me, unsure whether to trust me or not. Either way, we were still enemies. It seemed forever did we stare at each other in the eyes, making sure the other did not make the wrong move. When one of us decided to speak, Commander Saffron came calling to me. I glanced over my shoulder, noticing a shadow nearby and I knew I had to do something fast. Commander Saffron, loyal or not, was a monster all on his own. I did not agree to this, but I had to pretend in order to keep the only occupation that was best suited for me. If I lost my rank, I would lose my job; the only job that made me who I am today. I glanced at the woman, her eyes widening in fear. I quickly ran to her, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with me out the other door, making sure my footsteps were as quiet as possible. We ended up inside the food storage, our bodies almost touching. I put my finger to my lips to shush her and she immediately obeyed. I jerked my head towards the door, hearing loud footsteps enter the kitchen.
"Zell? Zell, where are you?" I heard a grunt and the footsteps fading. Peering through the small crack of the wall, I saw nothing but light. I glanced at the woman in front of me and nodded, opening the door once again. I lead the woman out the storage and back to the kitchen, keeping my eyes on the door to make sure none of my other men saw anything suspicious.
"Why-? Why did you help me?" the woman questioned, staring up at me.
I shook my head, sighing tiredly. "I'm tired of this war," I simply replied. "You must flee, before my Commander sees you."
"Thank you," the woman retorted. I felt a small, gentle hand touch my arm. I glanced over my shoulder and turned completely around to face her.
"What is it that you need?" I asked, with a touch of irritation in my voice.
She walked to me, wrapping her arms around my neck, much to my surprise and kissed me gently on the lips. The kiss was slight, yet very real. I had never felt a tingle on my neck before.
"Thank you," she repeated in a whisper. She pulled quickly away from me, giving me a smile before she turned and fled. I brushed my finger to the spot where she kissed me. I could still imagine her soft, warm lips touching my own.
That day, I had never forgotten. That day, all my duties were washed away by the rain that poured endlessly after the mission was completed.
****************
"Zell," a deep voice spoke behind me. Removing my eyes from my sword that I held in my hand, I turned to see the Duke of Esthar strolling towards me. I stood up quickly, giving him a bow and a slight grin forming on my lips.
"Yes, sir?" The Duke was the same age as mine, yet he stood as if he was higher than everyone else. He was slightly taller than I, with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Sometimes, the Duke was the most heartless man you could ever encounter, his personality as cold as the winter day, yet, deep downn inside, Duke Squall of Esthar, was a man you can count on. Even with the most coldness of his voice, Duke Leonhart had the heart of a courageous hero.
"I have been searching for you," he spoke, staring at me.
I nodded. "I am sorry, Your Highness," I apologized, laying down my sword on the cold stone beside me. "I had personal matters to take care of." In my mind, I imagined him knowing where I have been and sending his soldiers to cut my head. Selphie Tilmitt was in my mind every waking moment of my life. I knew that I have sinned for falling in love with Esthar's worst enemy. However, I had made my choice. I must not remember the woman. I must not picture her smile, her face and her energetic personality. I could not... I must forget.
****************
That night, I laid in my quarters, trying desperately to wash away all my thoughts on her. Yet, with every breath that I take and every moment that I am awake, I see her in my mind. I feel her in my touch and I sense her presence, like a ghost, eventhough she had not died. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to sleep and forget about her and when I was ready to sleep forever, a slight tap on the window interrupted me from my close slumber.
I sat up from bed quickly and looked out the window. I was shocked, no... frightened even to see Selphie standing out the window and staring at me with sadness in her face. I wanted to stay in bed and leave refuse to let her inside, yet as I looked at her, I felt I needed to. No... I wanted to. I loved her. Walking slowly towards the window, I unlocked it and waited for Selphie to step inside. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest, her tears soaking my tunic.
"Selphie? What is the matter?" I whispered in her ear, closing the window cautiously.
Selphie looked up from her tears and smiled. "Nothing... I just missed you so."
I could not lie to her anymore. "Selphie... we mustn't."
"Must not? What are you saying?"
I stared in her eyes and frowned. "You travelled this far to be with me. You could have been seen by the Estharian soldiers and could have been mistaken as a soldier and could have been killed instantly with the arrows. How foolish are you?" I stepped away from her, turning my eyes away from her hurt expression. "I do not wish to be the reason that you are in danger."
Selphie shook her head. "You have not caused me this danger, Zell. There is no danger for me." She attempted to wrap her arms around me again, but I pushed it away and stared at her, with a serious expression.
"No, Selphie. We must not. You and I are enemies."
"Enemies?"
"Yes. You are a Balbadian and I am an Estharian. We do not belong together." I could not look at her, for I knew I had hurt her so. I clenched my fists in anger. "You must leave now before they find you."
"It does not matter if we are enemies or not. We love each other." She placed a hand on my face, yet, I slapped it away from me. My action surprised her and I was able to see her hurtful look, the tears in her eyes and the redness on her face. She stepped away from me, her face so full of disbelief. "How-? Why are you doing this? I came all the way here to be with you. You left without a word and I was worried that something must have happened."
"Well, nothing happened!" I screamed, glaring at her. My heart was sinking fast. Her face was full of so much pain and loss. "I am here, alive and well. There is no reason for you to be here, now leave!" I pointed out the window.
She stared at me, more tears falling on her porcelain face. She closed her eyes and nodded, knowing my reason of throwing her out of my life. She knew. Yes, she knew. "Your duty is more important than myself... I understand now," she spoke softly. She turned towards the window and, taking one more hurtful glance towards me, she opened the window and stepped out of my life forever.
I closed the window quickly, watching as she disappeared into the forest, praying with all my heart that she will return to the castle safe. What have I done? My heart truly belonged to her. My love was truly meant for her, yet, try as hard as I could, I could not bring myself to run after her. I could not... I was too frightened.
GoodGurl: Man, that was sooo sad! I couldn't believe I wrote something sad for them! I hope you all like this! Please r/r! Thanx!!!!!!!!!!! ;) Hm.... could it really be Zell's duty as the Duke's soldier or is he frightened of the committment? Some guys may say... he's afraid of the committment... but... who knows? It could be both!
Chapter 4 - The Soldier
I wanted to stay with her, embrace her forever and ask her to marry me, but I was not ready to do that. I was not ready until I made sure that my work was done. I still have my duties. I fell in love with her the first time we raided through Galbadia that one warm afternoon when the leaves began to fall from the trees. The wind bit at the sides of my cheek as we marched along the marshes and noticed the tall castle just ahead of us. We were some twenty thousand men, each willing to die for the sake of Esthar's freedom. For a long time, we have been imprisoned in the greed of Galbadia and now that Balamb was on their side, we all knew we had to fight more desperately this time. I was not surprised, however the probability of Balamb and Galbadia joining them. I knew for a long time that sooner or later, Balamb had no other way to promote peace, other than have Princess Quistis and Prince Irvine marry at such a young age. Duke Squall of Esthar, after the death of his father, became the most powerful ally of Balamb, yet, ever since the death of the King and the increasing power of Galbadia with their advanced weapons and artillery, Esthar became Balamb's most powerful enemy. We felt betrayed by Balamb. The Duke felt betrayed by Balamb.
At that moment, we had arrived through the marshes and raided through the castle, taking no prisoners. The joint castles of Balbadia (which was once Balamb and Galbadia), were left with no soldiers to fight them. They were all back in the marshes, fighting our other men who had appeared. I, the highest ranking soldier of Esthar, had a mission. My only job was to march unto the throne and take the Queen, take her back to Esthar and make her sign a treaty that will make Balamb into an independent nation once again and make them our allies. Balamb had the right resources in weapons and armor, therefore, we wished for them to be our allies. Esthar was running out of weapons to protect the Kingdom. Galbadia plans on crushing the Power Kingdom and making the Kingdom their own. King Irvine was corrupted by greed and power and the only way to stop this, was to have the Queen sign the decree.
I ran through the long hallway of Balbadia, making turns as I go, knowing my mistakes. Yet, at that point, I felt I had no reason to hurry. I wanted to see what Balbadia was like, to make sure that what Esthar's words of King Irvine being a corrupted monster, were true. I turned left and ended up in the kitchen, where I spotted a young woman in a long yellow dress and with short brown hair sitting on a chair. When she noticed me, she quickly dropped the cloth from her hands and kneeled down behind the table, her head peeking out slightly to see me from behind. Fear suddenly struck her beautiful face.
"Please sir, I beg of you to have mercy on me," she spoke, with softness in her voice.
I stared at her, shaking my head. I do not intend to hurt her. I never wish for it. My only mission was to have the paper signed for the Queen and then I would be off. The men whom I was forced to work with, men with so much brutality and anger in their minds, were the men who were assigned to destroy anyone in their path. "I do not wish to hurt you." I looked at her, who was still crouched behind the table, her eyes full of fear and resentment. "But if you intend to leave, then you best do it now." I never meant to make myself sound threatening. I only wanted what was best for her. If one of my men come inside of where I was and once they see this woman there, they will come after her. No, I could not have that. I did no agree to this kind of atrocity. Surely, the Duke did not wish for this murder to occur. The men were becoming bastards of their own free will.
She glanced at me, unsure whether to trust me or not. Either way, we were still enemies. It seemed forever did we stare at each other in the eyes, making sure the other did not make the wrong move. When one of us decided to speak, Commander Saffron came calling to me. I glanced over my shoulder, noticing a shadow nearby and I knew I had to do something fast. Commander Saffron, loyal or not, was a monster all on his own. I did not agree to this, but I had to pretend in order to keep the only occupation that was best suited for me. If I lost my rank, I would lose my job; the only job that made me who I am today. I glanced at the woman, her eyes widening in fear. I quickly ran to her, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with me out the other door, making sure my footsteps were as quiet as possible. We ended up inside the food storage, our bodies almost touching. I put my finger to my lips to shush her and she immediately obeyed. I jerked my head towards the door, hearing loud footsteps enter the kitchen.
"Zell? Zell, where are you?" I heard a grunt and the footsteps fading. Peering through the small crack of the wall, I saw nothing but light. I glanced at the woman in front of me and nodded, opening the door once again. I lead the woman out the storage and back to the kitchen, keeping my eyes on the door to make sure none of my other men saw anything suspicious.
"Why-? Why did you help me?" the woman questioned, staring up at me.
I shook my head, sighing tiredly. "I'm tired of this war," I simply replied. "You must flee, before my Commander sees you."
"Thank you," the woman retorted. I felt a small, gentle hand touch my arm. I glanced over my shoulder and turned completely around to face her.
"What is it that you need?" I asked, with a touch of irritation in my voice.
She walked to me, wrapping her arms around my neck, much to my surprise and kissed me gently on the lips. The kiss was slight, yet very real. I had never felt a tingle on my neck before.
"Thank you," she repeated in a whisper. She pulled quickly away from me, giving me a smile before she turned and fled. I brushed my finger to the spot where she kissed me. I could still imagine her soft, warm lips touching my own.
That day, I had never forgotten. That day, all my duties were washed away by the rain that poured endlessly after the mission was completed.
****************
"Zell," a deep voice spoke behind me. Removing my eyes from my sword that I held in my hand, I turned to see the Duke of Esthar strolling towards me. I stood up quickly, giving him a bow and a slight grin forming on my lips.
"Yes, sir?" The Duke was the same age as mine, yet he stood as if he was higher than everyone else. He was slightly taller than I, with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Sometimes, the Duke was the most heartless man you could ever encounter, his personality as cold as the winter day, yet, deep downn inside, Duke Squall of Esthar, was a man you can count on. Even with the most coldness of his voice, Duke Leonhart had the heart of a courageous hero.
"I have been searching for you," he spoke, staring at me.
I nodded. "I am sorry, Your Highness," I apologized, laying down my sword on the cold stone beside me. "I had personal matters to take care of." In my mind, I imagined him knowing where I have been and sending his soldiers to cut my head. Selphie Tilmitt was in my mind every waking moment of my life. I knew that I have sinned for falling in love with Esthar's worst enemy. However, I had made my choice. I must not remember the woman. I must not picture her smile, her face and her energetic personality. I could not... I must forget.
****************
That night, I laid in my quarters, trying desperately to wash away all my thoughts on her. Yet, with every breath that I take and every moment that I am awake, I see her in my mind. I feel her in my touch and I sense her presence, like a ghost, eventhough she had not died. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to sleep and forget about her and when I was ready to sleep forever, a slight tap on the window interrupted me from my close slumber.
I sat up from bed quickly and looked out the window. I was shocked, no... frightened even to see Selphie standing out the window and staring at me with sadness in her face. I wanted to stay in bed and leave refuse to let her inside, yet as I looked at her, I felt I needed to. No... I wanted to. I loved her. Walking slowly towards the window, I unlocked it and waited for Selphie to step inside. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest, her tears soaking my tunic.
"Selphie? What is the matter?" I whispered in her ear, closing the window cautiously.
Selphie looked up from her tears and smiled. "Nothing... I just missed you so."
I could not lie to her anymore. "Selphie... we mustn't."
"Must not? What are you saying?"
I stared in her eyes and frowned. "You travelled this far to be with me. You could have been seen by the Estharian soldiers and could have been mistaken as a soldier and could have been killed instantly with the arrows. How foolish are you?" I stepped away from her, turning my eyes away from her hurt expression. "I do not wish to be the reason that you are in danger."
Selphie shook her head. "You have not caused me this danger, Zell. There is no danger for me." She attempted to wrap her arms around me again, but I pushed it away and stared at her, with a serious expression.
"No, Selphie. We must not. You and I are enemies."
"Enemies?"
"Yes. You are a Balbadian and I am an Estharian. We do not belong together." I could not look at her, for I knew I had hurt her so. I clenched my fists in anger. "You must leave now before they find you."
"It does not matter if we are enemies or not. We love each other." She placed a hand on my face, yet, I slapped it away from me. My action surprised her and I was able to see her hurtful look, the tears in her eyes and the redness on her face. She stepped away from me, her face so full of disbelief. "How-? Why are you doing this? I came all the way here to be with you. You left without a word and I was worried that something must have happened."
"Well, nothing happened!" I screamed, glaring at her. My heart was sinking fast. Her face was full of so much pain and loss. "I am here, alive and well. There is no reason for you to be here, now leave!" I pointed out the window.
She stared at me, more tears falling on her porcelain face. She closed her eyes and nodded, knowing my reason of throwing her out of my life. She knew. Yes, she knew. "Your duty is more important than myself... I understand now," she spoke softly. She turned towards the window and, taking one more hurtful glance towards me, she opened the window and stepped out of my life forever.
I closed the window quickly, watching as she disappeared into the forest, praying with all my heart that she will return to the castle safe. What have I done? My heart truly belonged to her. My love was truly meant for her, yet, try as hard as I could, I could not bring myself to run after her. I could not... I was too frightened.
GoodGurl: Man, that was sooo sad! I couldn't believe I wrote something sad for them! I hope you all like this! Please r/r! Thanx!!!!!!!!!!! ;) Hm.... could it really be Zell's duty as the Duke's soldier or is he frightened of the committment? Some guys may say... he's afraid of the committment... but... who knows? It could be both!