Note: *Tee hee hee hee! Did I make you guys wait THAT long? Gomen a thousand times over! I know, I haven't been committing myself, but you have to understand, I was just trying to figure out EXACTLY how to end it and how to go about from where I left off. Well, I guess this is good enough...There's at least a few more chapters until it's over! See ya! Oh yeah, in this chapter, it's mostly pure Zelphie and please don't kill me for it :D. Don't worry Seiftis fans! There is also a lot of treats for you as well... heh heh, maybe a few Terris bashing!
Chapter 16 - The truth about Terris
"Terris! What do you think you are doing?!" He grasped her arm tightly, stopping her from running away and glanced at the object in her arms. A small baby was wrapped gently in between her arms, his green eyes looking up tiredly towards him. This was his son and someone was about to do something to him...but what? He placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and glared into her eyes closely. "I said, what are you doing?" he repeated.
Terris said nothing, turning her head away from him. With a low, growl, the blond woman grimaced, her eyes staring firmly on the ground and looked up at him. "I want to get rid of this child! He is not yours! She is lying to you!" One of her fingers immediately pointed towards the woman standing just behind him, her eyes full of fear to how the child was being handled- almost to the point of being dropped.
Calik glared at her. She could be right, but in the back of his mind, he doubted Terris' conclusions about the baby. "This is ridiculous, Terris! My child or not, you are going to hurt someone innocent."
Quistis watched as Terris glanced at the child in her arms. The shorter woman took a short, dangerous look towards the taller woman, her eyes then traveling towards the man she loved. It was as if she was trying to make a decision.
"What's the meaning of this?" Terris looked up at the sound of her father's voice.
Nero pushed his way gently through the crowd that quickly formed the moment Calik's voice was heard calling Terris' name and was shocked to find his daughter holding a baby inappropriately, one hand holding him by his waist, while the other, was rested on his back. He immediately ran to her, grabbing the baby gently in his arms and glaring at his daughter. "Terris! Is this what the commotion is all about? What are you thinking, my child? This baby must not be handled this way!"
Terris looked down on the ground shamefully. She was ashamed for trying to hurt a child. All she wanted was for Calik to love her again and to look at her the way he looks at that woman. However, it all changed now. Since her arrival a few days ago, all Calik has ever talked about while she was near him was HER. Quistis. Every time she would hear that name, she just wanted to reach out for a rock and strike that person over the head.
Her eyes immediately shot up when she heard her father's footsteps retreating. She watched as the man handed the baby back in Quistis' arms and all Terris could do was watch in anger. How could her father be soft on her? She was the reason she was unhappy.
Quistis cradled her child in her arms. For days now, she had to tolerate the looks Terris was looking her way. She could not blame her, however, for being jealous of Seifer's love for her. All this time, Seifer had been staying in this village, maybe even falling for the village chief's daughter and she in return. But she had to take him away now. She loved him too much to let her go. She had to bring the real Seifer back in his arms so Russell can have a father to look up to. "I apologize for all the pain I caused you, Terris. I know it must been hard for you to let go of something you always wanted." Quistis looked closely into Terris' eyes to see if she believed her or not.
The shorthaired woman frowned. What was she trying to do, make her buy her lies? She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. She was about to turn her head away from her, when her father's voice interrupted her. "She apologized, Terris. What do you say to that?"
The woman looked at her father and frowned. "I am sorry as well," she spoke, without even looking at Quistis.
Quistis nodded. Despite her lack of people skills, the woman sighed a breath of relief and told her she forgave Terris. Surprised, Terris looked at her this time as she turned and walked away, making her way through the crowd with her child back in her arms and went back to her the tent provided for her while they stayed there.
****************
Selphie laid in her bed. It has been days that passed since she looked into that empty bed and watched him lying there, smiling while he talked to her stomach...to their child. Tears streamed down her face, her body aching with defeat from lack of sleep.
'You promised,' she thought. 'You promised you would never leave me!' Selphie slammed a fist down on the bed and wept. "You promised you would always stay with me! You broke it!" she yelled out loud.
(Flashback)
"Hey, Selph!" Selphie looked up. Zell was smiling at her as they sat on the hill, watching the sunset. It was good they were in this village. This village held a view that was so beautiful that makes people want to stay all day just to watch the sunrise and fall. Zell wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. With the other hand, he touched her belly and sighed. "What do you plan on naming our child?" He was surprised at first when she came into the tent, holding his hand and telling him it was going to be all right. He was ready to tell her what Nero had said, that he had poison in his blood, that he was going to die soon. However, her own caught him off guard, enabling him to tell her. She alone told him that she...was...
With child...
He glanced back at his lover, waiting for her answer.
Selphie thought for a moment, then looked down on her stomach, placing a hand on top of Zell's. "If it is a girl, it would be Aesia and if it is a boy..." Her train of thought disappeared. She never even thought of a name for a boy.
Zell laughed. "I guess you were wishing for a girl, were you not?"
Selphie blushed and nodded. She sighed, collapsing in his arms.
"Well, if it IS a boy, how about Camus?" Zell laid down, pulling Selphie along with him and laid his head on the cool, green grass. He could feel the poison slowly creeping around the insides of his veins.
Selphie laid her head on his chest and thought for a moment. "Hm... that would be nice." She yawned. She was unaware of how tired she was ever since they got here. She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping only to rest for a bit, when her mind suddenly drifted quickly to sleep. In few seconds flat, she had already fallen asleep in Zell's arms.
Zell felt her breathing, telling him she had fallen asleep. He could always tell, by the way she was breathing. When she slept, her breathing was slower and when she was awake, it got stronger and faster, because she was full of energy. He sighed. He was definitely going to miss her. He laid a warm hand on her back and pulled her closer so that he was cheek to cheek with her.
Her smile.
Her laughter.
The way her eyes sparkled green.
The way her hair smelled of lemon.
He was going to miss all of them. He was going to miss the way her lips touched his and the way she would put her arms around him and cried in his shoulder when she needed him. Now... it was all going to change. He will no longer be there with her...to comfort her, to make her smile or to make her laugh.
Zell felt the poison again. It was creeping its way to his heart. Nero had told him he had a few hours to live and he was good at manipulating Selphie into letting him come with her up on the hills that he saw through the window of the tent so he could see the sun one last time with her. It was going to be their last watching it together. "I'm sorry," he spoke. He was sorry. He had to lie to her, had to tell her he was all right so she did not have to worry. She will find someone else to love, someone else who would take care of her and their child.
Suddenly, he was getting tired. He knew this was the effect on the poison. He closed his eyes, breathing hard now. Death was gripping him by his shoulders. Zell looked down at Selphie and cried tears of joy. He was glad he met her. He was glad that he was able to spend all this time with her, despite the many distractions from the war. He pulled her a little bit closer and whispered in her ear, "Thank you and I love you," before he closed his eyes. The poison finally hit its mark in his heart and no matter how much it pained Zell, he did not have any torturous attacks that could wake up Selphie. It merely stopped his breathing and before long... he was no longer awake.
Selphie woke up the next morning, all rested and refreshed from their nap. She slept longer than she anticipated as she glanced at Zell. Smiling, Selphie leaned down and kissed him on the lips gently. "Wake up, sleepy head!" she spoke, shifting her whole body to face him.
He did not move.
Selphie giggled. "Hah hah, that is very funny, Zell, pretending you did not hear me! It's morning already!" She shook him with all her might, thinking he was trying to pretend he did not feel her shaking.
He still did not move.
Annoyed, Selphie placed a hand on his chest, maybe to tickle him a little bit. A tickle on the chest usually wakes him up. She waited for him to react as she slowly made her hand walk from his stomach to his chest and when she reached his chest, where his heart is suppose to be, she jerked her hand away from him.
His heart.
It was not beating.
"This is not funny, Zell!" Selphie yelled, shaking him again.
Nothing.
Fear crept inside her. Selphie leaned forward and placed an ear on his chest to hear...nothing? Frantically, she lifted up a hand in her own to feel a pulse, however, she felt nothing, but cold blood and felt no beating. "No..." she spoke, barely a whisper. "No! You can't leave me like this! You lied to me! You told me you were okay!" She closed her hands into fists and slammed them hard on his chest, hoping those would revive him somehow. "Why did you not tell me you were sick?! How could you do this to me?! Zell! Do not leave me and our child alone?! You promised you would take care of us?!"
Tears of frustration and sadness mixed together as they landed on his lifeless form. Selphie shook him many times and beat at his chest, hoping against all hope that he was still alive and after a few more minutes of pain... Selphie collapsed on the ground, her head on his chest, weeping.
(End of Flashback)
Selphie closed her eyes. Tears were now spreading on her bed like wild fire and she was unable to tell whether she could not stop it, or just forcing herself to let it come. She was feeling sad and alone and she has been like that for days now, just trapped in her own world, never caring about anyone anymore, not even the child that now stood by the door, watching her.
"Sis?" The child, Nadia, even after a few days, had gotten used to calling Selphie her sister. She approached the young woman quietly and sat down at the foot of the bed and looked at her. Selphie neither looked up, nor spoke a word towards the little girl. Nadia stared at her, hoping that she would talk. "Sis?" she called again.
"I'm not your sister, Nadia," she finally spoke.
Nadia nodded and looked down sadly. "I miss him too."
Selphie jerked her head up and frowned. "You barely knew him, so why would you miss him?!" She was angry with Zell, even after he died. How dare he leave her like this? In pain! In sadness! "Can you just leave me alone?!"
Nadia did not move at her request. She placed a hand on her heart and smiled. "Even if it hurts, Sis, you will always remember him in your heart. He will always be with you, even though he is not here in person. I learned not to cry, because my mother and father told me not to. They told me that if anything happened to them, I should not cry, and if I do, then the pain would get worst. All I have to do is remember them here in my heart and remember the good times we had."
Selphie said nothing. She was surprised at how much knowledge the little girl had and how much she talked. The young woman waited for her to continue. It was not all that bad to hear the girl talk. In truth, it was making her feel better.
"The baby, Sis, without him, you can always look at the baby and be reminded of him. That is one of the other happy memories you will always share with him, in this world and the next." Nadia took a deep breath and put her arms down beside her.
Tears suddenly fell from Selphie's eyes. "Zell..." She closed her eyes and remembered how he used to smile, despite the desperate times they had. He was cheerful like her and outgoing like her. She had no idea how so much alike they were. He would wrap her arms around her when she felt sad and he would calm her with his soothing words. Selphie smiled and looked at Nadia. "You are right, Nadia. I am sorry for yelling at you."
Nadia smiled. "In reality, Sis, Zell will never disappear. Not even from your heart."
Selphie was touched by her words. Unconsciously, she reached out and wrapped her arms around the little girl and wept against her small shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear. "Thank you very much."
****************
"I apologize for all this," he spoke. Quistis looked up, teary eyed from fear of almost losing her baby. Calik glanced at Terris, who was being spoken to by her father, obviously preoccupied by her thoughts on her him. "She and I..." He stopped just in time before his words stung the blond woman. He looked at her with an apologetic expression and Quistis just shook her head in response.
"Do not you worry about it. I understand." Quistis was ready to take a rest, when the tall man's hand encased itself around her shoulder. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.
"Are you hurting?" The question was an odd one coming from his lips. Calik hesitated for a while to wait for her answer, but decided against it and waited patiently. He did not mean to pry in her thoughts.
Quistis sighed. "I am, Seifer. It hurts me that you turn away from me and not give me a chance to let you remember who you really are. It hurts me how you promised to come back to me, when you did not."
Calik said nothing as she continued.
Quistis turned around, the baby now moving about in her arms. "Russell needs her father and if you will not let me in, then he will never have one."
"I am not sure if I should," Calik spoke. "I want to remember myself on my own."
"Why?" Quistis asked, looking up. "I can help you remember. Together...it is much faster. Why are you trying to hide the-"
"I am NOT HIDING?!" Seifer suddenly yelled, interrupting Quistis. When he noticed the way she looked, Seifer took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "It is better for you that I do not belong with you in the castle." He turned and left, leaving Quistis confused.
What did he mean?
***************
Calik was ready to retire in bed; ready to rest his head on the soft cushion of the buffalo skinned pillow and ready to ease his mind of the confusion in his head. Why did she have to come here looking for him? Why did she have to make his life more complicated than it already is?
Quistis' image flashed in his mind. Why did she mean so much to him? Why was he thinking these thoughts about his life and hers? What was going on? Who was he? Calik buttoned the tent door and plopped on his bed tiredly. By tomorrow, everything will be fine. His mind will ease and there will be no more complications.
Soon, he had fallen asleep.
****************
"Seifer..." Quistis called in the darkness. She approached him slowly while he slept. She needed him to remember, needed him to see who he was really was. Not the Calik that the people of this village knows or the one that Terris is in love with, but the Seifer that she met and fell in love with. Slowly, she waited until he turned around to face her and when he did, she slowly laid down beside him and took his arm and wrapped them around her, putting the blanket over both of them. "Seifer, I'll help you remember." Quistis closed her eyes and dreamed of that first night they were together.
In the same room, quietly watching in the distance, Terris held evil eyes on Quistis, her mind full of evil thoughts, wanting and lusting for the man they both love. She smiled and remembered what she could do to manipulate Calik's mind so he could love her instead of that woman with child.
"You will never get him!" Terris whispered a growl.
****************
Calik was dreaming.
He was dreaming that he was in someone's room. A large room and inside was a woman, her back to him as he stood watching her. She turned towards him, her face covered in the darkness of the night.
"Who..? Who are you?"
The woman smiled, wrapping her naked self with a blanket. "I'm the woman that you love."
He approached her slowly. "The woman that I love? Do I know you?"
"Of course you do," she replied. "My future is with you." She moved closer to the light, revealing her true self to him.
Calik backed away for a moment, hoping his eyes were deceiving him. Terris sat on the bed, standing up and approaching him. Her eyes were a deep burgundy, almost red in his eyes and her hair was chancing into a deep red, almost matching someone's blood. "Terris?!'
"I was going to take it easy on you, but I guess I have no choice. My mother did not know how to handle anything from the moment she gave birth to me!" Terris spoke. "She would not let me do whatever I wanted and now...thanks to you and your dead friend, I can finally HAVE what I want. But first..." Calik watched as Terris clicked her fingers together. Quistis appeared right in front of her and before he could react, Terris' already large arms laced around her, chocking her.
"Wait! What are you doing to her?!"
"However, there is one flaw of my mother's death! She would have stopped this woman from following you, would have killed her before she could get to you, even before she died in your sword!" Terris held her arms tighter around Quistis' neck. "She dies here!"
"NO!" Calik yelled, running towards them. Quistis was coughing, her life withering away in the arms of the woman who resented her, the woman who loved him most of the all. Why this now? Why does everything have to happen to him?
"Say good bye to her, Seifer Almasy!" Terris yelled, before the world around Calik became darker and foggier. Calik looked around. He was Seifer? She called him Seifer. Was the real Seifer that Quistis was calling for?
"You (cough) are (cough) Seifer! (cough)." Quistis collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Calik closed his eyes. He was Seifer! He remembers now! Seifer Almasy. A knight in King Irvine's court...his friend...and a Queen... Irvine's wife...his lover... Seifer's lover... He could see visions of him making love to the Queen...a blond woman with the familiar face of Quistis. He was the one who betrayed the King. His best friend...
"QUISTIS!" Seifer yelled to the heavens, praying to God that she was going to survive this. Seifer ran to her, reached out to her, but Quistis was disappearing fast from his dream. Quistis reached out to him as well, smiling... why was she smiling? Why was she smiling while she was dying?
As if she heard him, Quistis opened her mouth to speak. "I am happy, Seifer, that you know who you are. All this time, I believe that you were alive. No one believed me, but my heart alone did and I knew that if I kept my love burning for you, our flames of passion will never die." With that said, Quistis disappeared from his sight. Seifer ran faster, but it was too late...she was already gone.
***************
She opened her eyes quickly, sitting up from bed. She looked around. She heard something... a scream... someone screaming out her Queen's name! "Quistis!" Selphie yelled, getting up from bed.
Nadia rubbed her eyes and looked up just in time to see Selphie running out of the tent and towards the tent where Calik was staying. "Big sister?" she called.
Selphie ran as fast as she could towards the tent. The woolly door flew open as she burst in, seeing Seifer holding Quistis in his arms. "Your highness!" she yelled.
Seifer looked up with tears in his eyes. "Quistis... she... My Queen!" He buried his face to her chest and wept. What has he done? All this time she has been searching for him and all he has ever done were forget who he was! He did not try hard enough to remember who he was. He was too happy on where he was, instead of finding out the real truth about himself... about Seifer Almasy.
Selphie ran to the other side of her Queen and placed a hand on her upward palm to feel a pulse. Nothing. Fearfully, she looked up at Seifer. "What did you do to her?"
The blond shook his head, cradling Quistis' head in his arms. "I did nothing. And I am sorry for that. I did nothing to save her."
Selphie wanted to yell at him for being stupid, for being an ignorant fool all this time, however, as she looked into Seifer's weeping eyes, she could not help but feel pity for this man. Nero had explained to her before that Seifer had lost all his memory and when his daughter found him in the woods, they immediately accepted him as their own. She wanted to accept his excuse for not coming back to the castle to be with Quistis and their child, but she was too angry with herself for believing that he was dead, while she crushed all of Quistis' hopes that he was alive. "You should not apologize. This is not your fault."
"You are right..." a voice came from out of nowhere. Selphie stood up and turned around to find Terris standing there, with a menacing look.
"Terris! What is going on?!"
"You witch! What have you done to her!" Selphie glanced at Seifer, whose eyes were also holding a menacing look. He placed Quistis on his bed and turned around to face Terris. "You do not deserve to live after what you have done to her! You did this to me! You made me forget who I am!"
"I see...I guess my spell was not as strong as I hoped it would be. I could have used you for something far more greater, but since you know who you are, I guess I have no choice but to kill you..." Seifer took a step, but Terris' growling voice stopped him. "If you come nearer, I will have your son's head!" From behind her back, she was holding Russell by the neck. The baby cried as loud as it could, opening its mouth to show everyone he meant business that he was in pain. "I can easily snap this child's neck!"
Seifer's eyes glowed. He glanced behind him. Quistis was moving, he could tell by the way her chest was moving up and down. Thank goodness she was alive, he thought. He turned his attention back on Terris. "This is too small of a place for you and I to do battle."
Terris smirked. "Hmph! Well, I guess outside would not be a bad idea. My father will see how much I have grown!"
Before Seifer could move outside, Terris had transported them outside quicker than lightning. They were standing in the middle of the village. The villagers stood outside their homes, wondering what all the commotion was about. They must have heard his scream.
"Hah hah! Seifer, do you remember the time you got lost in the woods, wondering why you ever got lost in the woods so quickly?" Terris asked. "It was because I did all that to confuse you so you could come to me! I admire you, Seifer. I admire your skills and your charisma to help people. We need people like you here in the village."
"So you forced me here, pretending to be someone you are not?!" Seifer yelled, clenching his fists at his sides. "You killed people, sacrificed Zell's life, ruined Selphie's and almost killed Quistis!"
Almost? Terris thought. She glanced behind Seifer and swore in her head. She was supposed to be dead!
"Not anymore, Terris!" a voice growled in the distance. Terris turned and noticed her father coming, with a long staff in his hand. "This deceit is over for you, my dear daughter!" He used his magic to take the baby from Terris' arms and handed him to Selphie, who was watching in fear for him.
Terris gritted her teeth together. "Shut up! I am NOT your daughter! I know all about YOUR own lies! My mother gave me to you so she could go lay with mortal men!"
Nero sighed and nodded. "That is true. I am not your real father, but Terris, this has to stop. What your mother did should not lay on your hands. I know you did not want to hurt those people. You were made into believing you should because your mother raised you this way. You are not a bad witch, Terris."
"SHUT UP! I'll kill you first!" Terris' eyes glowed a bright green and she raised her arms high in the air, chanting some unusual words. Her short blond hair had grown much longer than it usually was and had not changed into the reddish color; the same color Seifer saw the last time Squall died. Red? A witch?
His mother once read him the legend of a witch with fiery red mane that possessed people's bodies. This witch had fallen in love with a mortal, which she was not suppose to and gave birth to his child. The council of witches found out about this deceit and banished her forever. She blamed the man for making her fall in love with him and went insane, killing innocent people and possessing bodies and then ruling over their homes as if they were her own. The witch hated the world of mortals so she possessed a King one day and made them quarrel with other kingdoms, thus, the war began... Seifer never thought it could come true at first. When he was a child, he believed it and as he grew, he stopped believing and now... he is beginning to see.
Bright, glowing aura surrounded Terris' body. The villagers gasped and screamed at the sight of her. She had ranged from five feet tall to seven foot six, a height unusual for a woman and her arms and legs were taller and thicker with muscles. "Behold the sight of my true self! I am the daughter of higher beings, destined to destroy mortals who have destroyed them! DIE!" A ball of red flame appeared in the palm of her hands and before Nero could react, she fired towards him, giving out a force so large that many were horrified at the amount of pressure towards the village. Seifer drew his sword and quickly ran for Nero's aid. With one quick strike and power, he reflected the power back towards Terris.
"NO!" Terris yelled. She cast reflect on herself, however it was too late, the fire hit her, burned her all over her body. Terris yelled and screamed from the pain. Nero, Seifer and Selphie watched, wide eyed. Terris died quickly and the battle ended.
Nero sighed, tears falling from his eyes. "For a long time, I did not know that my daughter felt saddened by her mother's lose. I was not aware of her growing powers. I believed that it would not happen to her and if I knew, I would have warned the six kingdoms but..." He felt a hand on his shoulder. Nero looked up and frowned.
"It was also our duty ourselves to protect our own kingdom and each other. We cannot blame others for what others have done. It is all over now. Terris can now rest in peace to what anger still lies in her heart," Seifer spoke. "She can join her mother to wherever she may be."
Nero nodded. "But, I could have done must better to be a better father to her."
"You did all you could do. You can slowly redeem yourself by rebuilding this village to its original state and help me rebuild Balbadia and all the other kingdoms. But for now, you must rest. It seems you have not slept in centuries."
Nero looked up. "Thank you very much, Seifer," he whispered.
Seifer nodded. "No...thank you. Thank you for helping me regain my memories."
"Seifer?" Both men looked up and noticed Quistis walking out of the tent, rubbing her eyes as if awaken from a dream.
Seifer glanced back at Nero. "Thank you for saving her as well."
Nero smiled. "You are welcome, my son." He patted Seifer on the shoulders and turned around to tend to the victims that almost fell to the attack on him.
"Seifer..." Quistis looked at him, unsure whether he had his memories back and frowned.
"What is it, Quistis?" Seifer approached her, catching her as she almost fell. Quistis looked up, squinting to see if he remembered now of who he was and when she was sure, tears fell from her eyes.
"Seifer!" She wrapped her arms around him and wept, burying her face in his chest. "I knew you would come back to me!"
"I promised, did I not?"
"Quistis... Seifer..." Both blondes looked up and saw Selphie walking up to them with Russell in her arms. She handed the baby to Quistis and stood back, watching as Quistis and Seifer held the baby close together. "You are now a family..." she whispered.
Seifer gently pinched Russell's cheeks, making the baby and Quistis smile. Selphie smiled as well, remembering all the happy memories being with Zell. It was all over now, she thought. It is all over now, Zell. Your warnings saved this family and myself. I promise to take care of our child. I promise to take care of Mira and Nadia and I promise to always cherish you in my heart.
GoodGurl: Heh, ^_^; I got lazy at the end, but I'm just glad its over! See ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanx for all the reviews!!!!!!!!
Chapter 16 - The truth about Terris
"Terris! What do you think you are doing?!" He grasped her arm tightly, stopping her from running away and glanced at the object in her arms. A small baby was wrapped gently in between her arms, his green eyes looking up tiredly towards him. This was his son and someone was about to do something to him...but what? He placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and glared into her eyes closely. "I said, what are you doing?" he repeated.
Terris said nothing, turning her head away from him. With a low, growl, the blond woman grimaced, her eyes staring firmly on the ground and looked up at him. "I want to get rid of this child! He is not yours! She is lying to you!" One of her fingers immediately pointed towards the woman standing just behind him, her eyes full of fear to how the child was being handled- almost to the point of being dropped.
Calik glared at her. She could be right, but in the back of his mind, he doubted Terris' conclusions about the baby. "This is ridiculous, Terris! My child or not, you are going to hurt someone innocent."
Quistis watched as Terris glanced at the child in her arms. The shorter woman took a short, dangerous look towards the taller woman, her eyes then traveling towards the man she loved. It was as if she was trying to make a decision.
"What's the meaning of this?" Terris looked up at the sound of her father's voice.
Nero pushed his way gently through the crowd that quickly formed the moment Calik's voice was heard calling Terris' name and was shocked to find his daughter holding a baby inappropriately, one hand holding him by his waist, while the other, was rested on his back. He immediately ran to her, grabbing the baby gently in his arms and glaring at his daughter. "Terris! Is this what the commotion is all about? What are you thinking, my child? This baby must not be handled this way!"
Terris looked down on the ground shamefully. She was ashamed for trying to hurt a child. All she wanted was for Calik to love her again and to look at her the way he looks at that woman. However, it all changed now. Since her arrival a few days ago, all Calik has ever talked about while she was near him was HER. Quistis. Every time she would hear that name, she just wanted to reach out for a rock and strike that person over the head.
Her eyes immediately shot up when she heard her father's footsteps retreating. She watched as the man handed the baby back in Quistis' arms and all Terris could do was watch in anger. How could her father be soft on her? She was the reason she was unhappy.
Quistis cradled her child in her arms. For days now, she had to tolerate the looks Terris was looking her way. She could not blame her, however, for being jealous of Seifer's love for her. All this time, Seifer had been staying in this village, maybe even falling for the village chief's daughter and she in return. But she had to take him away now. She loved him too much to let her go. She had to bring the real Seifer back in his arms so Russell can have a father to look up to. "I apologize for all the pain I caused you, Terris. I know it must been hard for you to let go of something you always wanted." Quistis looked closely into Terris' eyes to see if she believed her or not.
The shorthaired woman frowned. What was she trying to do, make her buy her lies? She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. She was about to turn her head away from her, when her father's voice interrupted her. "She apologized, Terris. What do you say to that?"
The woman looked at her father and frowned. "I am sorry as well," she spoke, without even looking at Quistis.
Quistis nodded. Despite her lack of people skills, the woman sighed a breath of relief and told her she forgave Terris. Surprised, Terris looked at her this time as she turned and walked away, making her way through the crowd with her child back in her arms and went back to her the tent provided for her while they stayed there.
****************
Selphie laid in her bed. It has been days that passed since she looked into that empty bed and watched him lying there, smiling while he talked to her stomach...to their child. Tears streamed down her face, her body aching with defeat from lack of sleep.
'You promised,' she thought. 'You promised you would never leave me!' Selphie slammed a fist down on the bed and wept. "You promised you would always stay with me! You broke it!" she yelled out loud.
(Flashback)
"Hey, Selph!" Selphie looked up. Zell was smiling at her as they sat on the hill, watching the sunset. It was good they were in this village. This village held a view that was so beautiful that makes people want to stay all day just to watch the sunrise and fall. Zell wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. With the other hand, he touched her belly and sighed. "What do you plan on naming our child?" He was surprised at first when she came into the tent, holding his hand and telling him it was going to be all right. He was ready to tell her what Nero had said, that he had poison in his blood, that he was going to die soon. However, her own caught him off guard, enabling him to tell her. She alone told him that she...was...
With child...
He glanced back at his lover, waiting for her answer.
Selphie thought for a moment, then looked down on her stomach, placing a hand on top of Zell's. "If it is a girl, it would be Aesia and if it is a boy..." Her train of thought disappeared. She never even thought of a name for a boy.
Zell laughed. "I guess you were wishing for a girl, were you not?"
Selphie blushed and nodded. She sighed, collapsing in his arms.
"Well, if it IS a boy, how about Camus?" Zell laid down, pulling Selphie along with him and laid his head on the cool, green grass. He could feel the poison slowly creeping around the insides of his veins.
Selphie laid her head on his chest and thought for a moment. "Hm... that would be nice." She yawned. She was unaware of how tired she was ever since they got here. She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping only to rest for a bit, when her mind suddenly drifted quickly to sleep. In few seconds flat, she had already fallen asleep in Zell's arms.
Zell felt her breathing, telling him she had fallen asleep. He could always tell, by the way she was breathing. When she slept, her breathing was slower and when she was awake, it got stronger and faster, because she was full of energy. He sighed. He was definitely going to miss her. He laid a warm hand on her back and pulled her closer so that he was cheek to cheek with her.
Her smile.
Her laughter.
The way her eyes sparkled green.
The way her hair smelled of lemon.
He was going to miss all of them. He was going to miss the way her lips touched his and the way she would put her arms around him and cried in his shoulder when she needed him. Now... it was all going to change. He will no longer be there with her...to comfort her, to make her smile or to make her laugh.
Zell felt the poison again. It was creeping its way to his heart. Nero had told him he had a few hours to live and he was good at manipulating Selphie into letting him come with her up on the hills that he saw through the window of the tent so he could see the sun one last time with her. It was going to be their last watching it together. "I'm sorry," he spoke. He was sorry. He had to lie to her, had to tell her he was all right so she did not have to worry. She will find someone else to love, someone else who would take care of her and their child.
Suddenly, he was getting tired. He knew this was the effect on the poison. He closed his eyes, breathing hard now. Death was gripping him by his shoulders. Zell looked down at Selphie and cried tears of joy. He was glad he met her. He was glad that he was able to spend all this time with her, despite the many distractions from the war. He pulled her a little bit closer and whispered in her ear, "Thank you and I love you," before he closed his eyes. The poison finally hit its mark in his heart and no matter how much it pained Zell, he did not have any torturous attacks that could wake up Selphie. It merely stopped his breathing and before long... he was no longer awake.
Selphie woke up the next morning, all rested and refreshed from their nap. She slept longer than she anticipated as she glanced at Zell. Smiling, Selphie leaned down and kissed him on the lips gently. "Wake up, sleepy head!" she spoke, shifting her whole body to face him.
He did not move.
Selphie giggled. "Hah hah, that is very funny, Zell, pretending you did not hear me! It's morning already!" She shook him with all her might, thinking he was trying to pretend he did not feel her shaking.
He still did not move.
Annoyed, Selphie placed a hand on his chest, maybe to tickle him a little bit. A tickle on the chest usually wakes him up. She waited for him to react as she slowly made her hand walk from his stomach to his chest and when she reached his chest, where his heart is suppose to be, she jerked her hand away from him.
His heart.
It was not beating.
"This is not funny, Zell!" Selphie yelled, shaking him again.
Nothing.
Fear crept inside her. Selphie leaned forward and placed an ear on his chest to hear...nothing? Frantically, she lifted up a hand in her own to feel a pulse, however, she felt nothing, but cold blood and felt no beating. "No..." she spoke, barely a whisper. "No! You can't leave me like this! You lied to me! You told me you were okay!" She closed her hands into fists and slammed them hard on his chest, hoping those would revive him somehow. "Why did you not tell me you were sick?! How could you do this to me?! Zell! Do not leave me and our child alone?! You promised you would take care of us?!"
Tears of frustration and sadness mixed together as they landed on his lifeless form. Selphie shook him many times and beat at his chest, hoping against all hope that he was still alive and after a few more minutes of pain... Selphie collapsed on the ground, her head on his chest, weeping.
(End of Flashback)
Selphie closed her eyes. Tears were now spreading on her bed like wild fire and she was unable to tell whether she could not stop it, or just forcing herself to let it come. She was feeling sad and alone and she has been like that for days now, just trapped in her own world, never caring about anyone anymore, not even the child that now stood by the door, watching her.
"Sis?" The child, Nadia, even after a few days, had gotten used to calling Selphie her sister. She approached the young woman quietly and sat down at the foot of the bed and looked at her. Selphie neither looked up, nor spoke a word towards the little girl. Nadia stared at her, hoping that she would talk. "Sis?" she called again.
"I'm not your sister, Nadia," she finally spoke.
Nadia nodded and looked down sadly. "I miss him too."
Selphie jerked her head up and frowned. "You barely knew him, so why would you miss him?!" She was angry with Zell, even after he died. How dare he leave her like this? In pain! In sadness! "Can you just leave me alone?!"
Nadia did not move at her request. She placed a hand on her heart and smiled. "Even if it hurts, Sis, you will always remember him in your heart. He will always be with you, even though he is not here in person. I learned not to cry, because my mother and father told me not to. They told me that if anything happened to them, I should not cry, and if I do, then the pain would get worst. All I have to do is remember them here in my heart and remember the good times we had."
Selphie said nothing. She was surprised at how much knowledge the little girl had and how much she talked. The young woman waited for her to continue. It was not all that bad to hear the girl talk. In truth, it was making her feel better.
"The baby, Sis, without him, you can always look at the baby and be reminded of him. That is one of the other happy memories you will always share with him, in this world and the next." Nadia took a deep breath and put her arms down beside her.
Tears suddenly fell from Selphie's eyes. "Zell..." She closed her eyes and remembered how he used to smile, despite the desperate times they had. He was cheerful like her and outgoing like her. She had no idea how so much alike they were. He would wrap her arms around her when she felt sad and he would calm her with his soothing words. Selphie smiled and looked at Nadia. "You are right, Nadia. I am sorry for yelling at you."
Nadia smiled. "In reality, Sis, Zell will never disappear. Not even from your heart."
Selphie was touched by her words. Unconsciously, she reached out and wrapped her arms around the little girl and wept against her small shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear. "Thank you very much."
****************
"I apologize for all this," he spoke. Quistis looked up, teary eyed from fear of almost losing her baby. Calik glanced at Terris, who was being spoken to by her father, obviously preoccupied by her thoughts on her him. "She and I..." He stopped just in time before his words stung the blond woman. He looked at her with an apologetic expression and Quistis just shook her head in response.
"Do not you worry about it. I understand." Quistis was ready to take a rest, when the tall man's hand encased itself around her shoulder. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.
"Are you hurting?" The question was an odd one coming from his lips. Calik hesitated for a while to wait for her answer, but decided against it and waited patiently. He did not mean to pry in her thoughts.
Quistis sighed. "I am, Seifer. It hurts me that you turn away from me and not give me a chance to let you remember who you really are. It hurts me how you promised to come back to me, when you did not."
Calik said nothing as she continued.
Quistis turned around, the baby now moving about in her arms. "Russell needs her father and if you will not let me in, then he will never have one."
"I am not sure if I should," Calik spoke. "I want to remember myself on my own."
"Why?" Quistis asked, looking up. "I can help you remember. Together...it is much faster. Why are you trying to hide the-"
"I am NOT HIDING?!" Seifer suddenly yelled, interrupting Quistis. When he noticed the way she looked, Seifer took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "It is better for you that I do not belong with you in the castle." He turned and left, leaving Quistis confused.
What did he mean?
***************
Calik was ready to retire in bed; ready to rest his head on the soft cushion of the buffalo skinned pillow and ready to ease his mind of the confusion in his head. Why did she have to come here looking for him? Why did she have to make his life more complicated than it already is?
Quistis' image flashed in his mind. Why did she mean so much to him? Why was he thinking these thoughts about his life and hers? What was going on? Who was he? Calik buttoned the tent door and plopped on his bed tiredly. By tomorrow, everything will be fine. His mind will ease and there will be no more complications.
Soon, he had fallen asleep.
****************
"Seifer..." Quistis called in the darkness. She approached him slowly while he slept. She needed him to remember, needed him to see who he was really was. Not the Calik that the people of this village knows or the one that Terris is in love with, but the Seifer that she met and fell in love with. Slowly, she waited until he turned around to face her and when he did, she slowly laid down beside him and took his arm and wrapped them around her, putting the blanket over both of them. "Seifer, I'll help you remember." Quistis closed her eyes and dreamed of that first night they were together.
In the same room, quietly watching in the distance, Terris held evil eyes on Quistis, her mind full of evil thoughts, wanting and lusting for the man they both love. She smiled and remembered what she could do to manipulate Calik's mind so he could love her instead of that woman with child.
"You will never get him!" Terris whispered a growl.
****************
Calik was dreaming.
He was dreaming that he was in someone's room. A large room and inside was a woman, her back to him as he stood watching her. She turned towards him, her face covered in the darkness of the night.
"Who..? Who are you?"
The woman smiled, wrapping her naked self with a blanket. "I'm the woman that you love."
He approached her slowly. "The woman that I love? Do I know you?"
"Of course you do," she replied. "My future is with you." She moved closer to the light, revealing her true self to him.
Calik backed away for a moment, hoping his eyes were deceiving him. Terris sat on the bed, standing up and approaching him. Her eyes were a deep burgundy, almost red in his eyes and her hair was chancing into a deep red, almost matching someone's blood. "Terris?!'
"I was going to take it easy on you, but I guess I have no choice. My mother did not know how to handle anything from the moment she gave birth to me!" Terris spoke. "She would not let me do whatever I wanted and now...thanks to you and your dead friend, I can finally HAVE what I want. But first..." Calik watched as Terris clicked her fingers together. Quistis appeared right in front of her and before he could react, Terris' already large arms laced around her, chocking her.
"Wait! What are you doing to her?!"
"However, there is one flaw of my mother's death! She would have stopped this woman from following you, would have killed her before she could get to you, even before she died in your sword!" Terris held her arms tighter around Quistis' neck. "She dies here!"
"NO!" Calik yelled, running towards them. Quistis was coughing, her life withering away in the arms of the woman who resented her, the woman who loved him most of the all. Why this now? Why does everything have to happen to him?
"Say good bye to her, Seifer Almasy!" Terris yelled, before the world around Calik became darker and foggier. Calik looked around. He was Seifer? She called him Seifer. Was the real Seifer that Quistis was calling for?
"You (cough) are (cough) Seifer! (cough)." Quistis collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Calik closed his eyes. He was Seifer! He remembers now! Seifer Almasy. A knight in King Irvine's court...his friend...and a Queen... Irvine's wife...his lover... Seifer's lover... He could see visions of him making love to the Queen...a blond woman with the familiar face of Quistis. He was the one who betrayed the King. His best friend...
"QUISTIS!" Seifer yelled to the heavens, praying to God that she was going to survive this. Seifer ran to her, reached out to her, but Quistis was disappearing fast from his dream. Quistis reached out to him as well, smiling... why was she smiling? Why was she smiling while she was dying?
As if she heard him, Quistis opened her mouth to speak. "I am happy, Seifer, that you know who you are. All this time, I believe that you were alive. No one believed me, but my heart alone did and I knew that if I kept my love burning for you, our flames of passion will never die." With that said, Quistis disappeared from his sight. Seifer ran faster, but it was too late...she was already gone.
***************
She opened her eyes quickly, sitting up from bed. She looked around. She heard something... a scream... someone screaming out her Queen's name! "Quistis!" Selphie yelled, getting up from bed.
Nadia rubbed her eyes and looked up just in time to see Selphie running out of the tent and towards the tent where Calik was staying. "Big sister?" she called.
Selphie ran as fast as she could towards the tent. The woolly door flew open as she burst in, seeing Seifer holding Quistis in his arms. "Your highness!" she yelled.
Seifer looked up with tears in his eyes. "Quistis... she... My Queen!" He buried his face to her chest and wept. What has he done? All this time she has been searching for him and all he has ever done were forget who he was! He did not try hard enough to remember who he was. He was too happy on where he was, instead of finding out the real truth about himself... about Seifer Almasy.
Selphie ran to the other side of her Queen and placed a hand on her upward palm to feel a pulse. Nothing. Fearfully, she looked up at Seifer. "What did you do to her?"
The blond shook his head, cradling Quistis' head in his arms. "I did nothing. And I am sorry for that. I did nothing to save her."
Selphie wanted to yell at him for being stupid, for being an ignorant fool all this time, however, as she looked into Seifer's weeping eyes, she could not help but feel pity for this man. Nero had explained to her before that Seifer had lost all his memory and when his daughter found him in the woods, they immediately accepted him as their own. She wanted to accept his excuse for not coming back to the castle to be with Quistis and their child, but she was too angry with herself for believing that he was dead, while she crushed all of Quistis' hopes that he was alive. "You should not apologize. This is not your fault."
"You are right..." a voice came from out of nowhere. Selphie stood up and turned around to find Terris standing there, with a menacing look.
"Terris! What is going on?!"
"You witch! What have you done to her!" Selphie glanced at Seifer, whose eyes were also holding a menacing look. He placed Quistis on his bed and turned around to face Terris. "You do not deserve to live after what you have done to her! You did this to me! You made me forget who I am!"
"I see...I guess my spell was not as strong as I hoped it would be. I could have used you for something far more greater, but since you know who you are, I guess I have no choice but to kill you..." Seifer took a step, but Terris' growling voice stopped him. "If you come nearer, I will have your son's head!" From behind her back, she was holding Russell by the neck. The baby cried as loud as it could, opening its mouth to show everyone he meant business that he was in pain. "I can easily snap this child's neck!"
Seifer's eyes glowed. He glanced behind him. Quistis was moving, he could tell by the way her chest was moving up and down. Thank goodness she was alive, he thought. He turned his attention back on Terris. "This is too small of a place for you and I to do battle."
Terris smirked. "Hmph! Well, I guess outside would not be a bad idea. My father will see how much I have grown!"
Before Seifer could move outside, Terris had transported them outside quicker than lightning. They were standing in the middle of the village. The villagers stood outside their homes, wondering what all the commotion was about. They must have heard his scream.
"Hah hah! Seifer, do you remember the time you got lost in the woods, wondering why you ever got lost in the woods so quickly?" Terris asked. "It was because I did all that to confuse you so you could come to me! I admire you, Seifer. I admire your skills and your charisma to help people. We need people like you here in the village."
"So you forced me here, pretending to be someone you are not?!" Seifer yelled, clenching his fists at his sides. "You killed people, sacrificed Zell's life, ruined Selphie's and almost killed Quistis!"
Almost? Terris thought. She glanced behind Seifer and swore in her head. She was supposed to be dead!
"Not anymore, Terris!" a voice growled in the distance. Terris turned and noticed her father coming, with a long staff in his hand. "This deceit is over for you, my dear daughter!" He used his magic to take the baby from Terris' arms and handed him to Selphie, who was watching in fear for him.
Terris gritted her teeth together. "Shut up! I am NOT your daughter! I know all about YOUR own lies! My mother gave me to you so she could go lay with mortal men!"
Nero sighed and nodded. "That is true. I am not your real father, but Terris, this has to stop. What your mother did should not lay on your hands. I know you did not want to hurt those people. You were made into believing you should because your mother raised you this way. You are not a bad witch, Terris."
"SHUT UP! I'll kill you first!" Terris' eyes glowed a bright green and she raised her arms high in the air, chanting some unusual words. Her short blond hair had grown much longer than it usually was and had not changed into the reddish color; the same color Seifer saw the last time Squall died. Red? A witch?
His mother once read him the legend of a witch with fiery red mane that possessed people's bodies. This witch had fallen in love with a mortal, which she was not suppose to and gave birth to his child. The council of witches found out about this deceit and banished her forever. She blamed the man for making her fall in love with him and went insane, killing innocent people and possessing bodies and then ruling over their homes as if they were her own. The witch hated the world of mortals so she possessed a King one day and made them quarrel with other kingdoms, thus, the war began... Seifer never thought it could come true at first. When he was a child, he believed it and as he grew, he stopped believing and now... he is beginning to see.
Bright, glowing aura surrounded Terris' body. The villagers gasped and screamed at the sight of her. She had ranged from five feet tall to seven foot six, a height unusual for a woman and her arms and legs were taller and thicker with muscles. "Behold the sight of my true self! I am the daughter of higher beings, destined to destroy mortals who have destroyed them! DIE!" A ball of red flame appeared in the palm of her hands and before Nero could react, she fired towards him, giving out a force so large that many were horrified at the amount of pressure towards the village. Seifer drew his sword and quickly ran for Nero's aid. With one quick strike and power, he reflected the power back towards Terris.
"NO!" Terris yelled. She cast reflect on herself, however it was too late, the fire hit her, burned her all over her body. Terris yelled and screamed from the pain. Nero, Seifer and Selphie watched, wide eyed. Terris died quickly and the battle ended.
Nero sighed, tears falling from his eyes. "For a long time, I did not know that my daughter felt saddened by her mother's lose. I was not aware of her growing powers. I believed that it would not happen to her and if I knew, I would have warned the six kingdoms but..." He felt a hand on his shoulder. Nero looked up and frowned.
"It was also our duty ourselves to protect our own kingdom and each other. We cannot blame others for what others have done. It is all over now. Terris can now rest in peace to what anger still lies in her heart," Seifer spoke. "She can join her mother to wherever she may be."
Nero nodded. "But, I could have done must better to be a better father to her."
"You did all you could do. You can slowly redeem yourself by rebuilding this village to its original state and help me rebuild Balbadia and all the other kingdoms. But for now, you must rest. It seems you have not slept in centuries."
Nero looked up. "Thank you very much, Seifer," he whispered.
Seifer nodded. "No...thank you. Thank you for helping me regain my memories."
"Seifer?" Both men looked up and noticed Quistis walking out of the tent, rubbing her eyes as if awaken from a dream.
Seifer glanced back at Nero. "Thank you for saving her as well."
Nero smiled. "You are welcome, my son." He patted Seifer on the shoulders and turned around to tend to the victims that almost fell to the attack on him.
"Seifer..." Quistis looked at him, unsure whether he had his memories back and frowned.
"What is it, Quistis?" Seifer approached her, catching her as she almost fell. Quistis looked up, squinting to see if he remembered now of who he was and when she was sure, tears fell from her eyes.
"Seifer!" She wrapped her arms around him and wept, burying her face in his chest. "I knew you would come back to me!"
"I promised, did I not?"
"Quistis... Seifer..." Both blondes looked up and saw Selphie walking up to them with Russell in her arms. She handed the baby to Quistis and stood back, watching as Quistis and Seifer held the baby close together. "You are now a family..." she whispered.
Seifer gently pinched Russell's cheeks, making the baby and Quistis smile. Selphie smiled as well, remembering all the happy memories being with Zell. It was all over now, she thought. It is all over now, Zell. Your warnings saved this family and myself. I promise to take care of our child. I promise to take care of Mira and Nadia and I promise to always cherish you in my heart.
GoodGurl: Heh, ^_^; I got lazy at the end, but I'm just glad its over! See ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanx for all the reviews!!!!!!!!