Part 3: Just a Girl

Albrook. After many days travelling the treacherous waters of the Solitary Island, that was where Celes had ended up. This place was just as desolate as the island she had left behind, except that there was more than just barely thriving plant life. There were actually buildings that remained barely intact, holding together through thick and thin. She had grown up in Vector as a teenager, and Albrook was the nearest port town from there. She was glad to be someplace where she would actually know her way around.

She saw the buildings in the distance, and this gave her hope. As she got closer, she could even see a glowing campfire surrounded by people trying to get warm. She drew nearer to the town, but tried to keep her distance from the people. Although she wanted to talk to another human being immensely, she feared her life. She was, after all, an Imperial rebel, who may still be wanted in an Imperial city like Albrook. She could see some Magitek Suits which lined the side of a home, and they made her remember her rebel status. She could be captured at any moment.

She had to spend a lot of the little money that she had on an inn, if she didn't she would have to move onto the next town without any rest. After such a long trip, it would not be a good idea.

She arrived at the inn in no time once entering the town's border. The inn was a small stone building, but it would do. The innkeeper, a young girl of fifteen or sixteen years old, looked a little nervous as Celes entered. She sat behind the counter and gave a weak smile to Celes as she walked up to her.

"Welcome," she began, her wavy brown hair shaking slightly, "to the Albrook Inn, it will be 50 GP to stay..." Celes counted out her gold, calculating in her head if she would have enough money to buy necessary food from the nearby café.

"Thank you." The girl paused before continuing, "Um...are you alright, ma'am? You look awfully distressed. Oh! I hope you don't take offense to that. I mean, it has been a rough year on all of us, of course. So anyone has a reason to be upset. Or something like that. I was just wondering.... ...You don't look so well." She winced at her own words. She had meant to sound helpful and concerned, but the always seemed to make it sound worse the more she rambled on.

Celes blinked for a few seconds, and noticed her reflection in small mirror on the wall. Although she was only nineteen years old, her tired face looked thin and aged. She had been in rough condition for a long time on the island. She also looked rather dirty from travelling nonstop. "I see what you mean." Celes was surprised by her appearance. The girl still looked worried, so Celes assured her, "Ah, don't worry, I don't take offence to that at all, you're just stating the truth." Celes laughed a little, the first laugh she had heard from herself in a long time.

The girl smiled. She glanced out the front window of the little inn, and after assuring herself that no one was coming in, she spoke. "I wasn't sure if it was you...you look different than I remember...." The girl spoke quickly in a soft inquiring whisper. "You're...the General of the Imperial General who was convicted of being a rebel, Celes Chere...aren't you? What are you doing in a port city like Albrook? This city is under occupation, there are soldiers all over the place, aren't you worried of being captured? Someone may try to report you if they recognize you. Of course, I'm not trying to make you leave Albrook or anything like that. I just wouldn't want to see you get hurt."

Celes tried to absorb the girl's many trains of thought. She still seemed extremely nervous around her. Celes' mind was thinking out of control: This girl worked in a city inn which was under the Empire's rule. She was extremely nervous by her presence and she knew who she was. 'Oh no! She must think that I'm going to hurt her since I'm a rebel against her people. ...But then why wouldn't she want me to get hurt by the soldiers, wouldn't she want me to get captured? Maybe she's just a really kind person who fears her.'

"Ano..." The girl interrupted her thoughts. "Are you okay? I'm sorry to have bothered you with all those questions. I didn't mean to cause you a disturbance. Please, ignore me." She hung her head in shame. "I'm so sorry."

Celes didn't realize how long she was standing there without replying. "Ah! No, I'm sorry, I just got a little dazed by all your questions at once." She looked at the young girl, who was looking up slightly at her. She sounded so nice, and Celes couldn't help find herself trusting the girl. Her apologetic words were a little much, but that was just her personality, and Celes knew that she couldn't take it the wrong way. She was just a little overwhelming to take in all at once. "You're right, I am Celes."

"I can't believe I'm talking with you, right now!" The girl smiled brightly, but suddenly a look of panic washed over her face. "You haven't returned to Albrook to rejoin with the Empire, have you?"

"No," Celes assured her, "This is just the first city I came to since I've been on the mainland."

"I'm so glad!" Her voice was excited, and she tried to calm herself. "Are you going to be leading an uprising? Against the Empire? You know, life here is strict with the Imperial soldiers in the city. We business owners have to accept any soldiers into our shops for free, and have to do bargaining to stop them from closing us down. Any citizen in town must also fully accommodate any soldiers into their homes - no choice to refuse. Although we are a colony of the Empire, many of the citizens here do not agree with their philosophies." By this point, her voice was barely more than a whisper. "I'm trusting you with this information, you know. Never speak a word of this outside the doors. He can hear you. He can find out, and can end your life. His 'Light of Judgement' has already caused chaos up north, in Tzen. They were planning something, and he found out, so many of their buildings were destroyed as a final warning."

"Who is he?"

"He? The Emperor, Kefka."

The colour drained from Celes' face. He had truly had become ruler. She had watched him kill Gestahl, and he had replaced him. She clenched her fist; something had to be done. "There's no planned rebellion right now. I've just gotten here, and you are, in fact, the first human being I've talked to since I've arrived. There's no way that I can lead something like that now, I'm too known. They already know to watch out for me. I've got to lay low for a while. I need to try to gather my friends who joined me before the world...crumbled. I don't think I could do anything without them now."

The girl sat on her hands. "What are you going to do then? Are you going to live away from the cities for a while? Will your friends know where to look for you?"

"I guess I'll just do a little travelling and try to find their whereabouts. I don't even know if they're still.... I'll just have to have a little hope." Celes tried to smile.

"You'll persevere!" The girl pumped her fist in the air in a cheer. "I mean, you're Celes Chere!"

"About that...how do you know me?"

She looked shocked. "You're famous for being the first female General around here, you shouldn't think so little of yourself. In fact, I used to hate you...you burned the city of Maranda...my grandparents lived there, and now...they don't." She gazed at the floor. " I hated the fact that you were being applauded for that. When I heard that General Chere had been dismissed for being a traitor, I was happy that you came to your senses. Even though I live in an Imperial city, I don't have their beliefs."

Celes smiled, remembering Edgar, King of Figaro, saying something along those lines. 'The Empire is evil...but not all of their citizens are!'

"Oh my god!" The girl exclaimed. "I just told you that I used to hate you! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I meant to say that I 'disliked' your actions."

"Really, it's okay!" Celes patted the girl's head. "I hated me back then too. I was just a puppet on strings. I've cut those strings completely now. I'm sorry about your grandparents...I only thought strategically for the benefit of the Emperor, not for the benefit of people in the Empire."

She nodded in response, but didn't say anything.

"So what's your name? Have you always lived in Albrook?"

"No, I haven't always lived her. I used to live in Vector, but since it's no longer here, I've started a new life here. My name is Lani.

"No longer here?!" Celes exclaimed.

"You didn't know that?" Lani was amazed. "Vector was destroyed, and the debris from the city formed Kefka's Tower, the Tower of Darkness."

"Wow..." Celes felt a little lost for words. She didn't remember much of her childhood - most of it was spent in the Vector Training Academy - but she remembered spending her days as a small child with her mother and father in a tiny house in downtown Vector. She couldn't even recall their faces anymore. With Vector gone, it felt like she had lost a piece of her childhood.

"Anyways," Lani began, changing subject after seeing Celes' crestfallen face, "it's nearly time for me to lock the main door for the night. In the morning, make sure you come to see me before you leave. I have some old clothes that I'll let you borrow. If you want to leave this city without anyone recognising you, you'll need to wear clothes that'll make you look a lot different." Celes was about to open her mouth to protest, but she continued on. "Now, don't worry about it one bit, I know you'll need these. You did stand up for your beliefs back when you were dismissed by the Emperor. I really want to help you, and this is all that I'm able to do." She nodded firmly. She looked like she was going to say more, but the front door swung open.

"Welcome to Albrook Inn." She called out to the man half heartedly. He was a soldier, still in uniform. "It will be 50 GP if you would like to stay."

The man walked up to the counter, and pushed Celes slightly out of his way. Celes didn't say a word in fear that he might recognise her if she spoke. "I do intend to stay, but you know the drill." He pointed to his badge on the arm of his uniform. "Soldiers don't need to pay since we're protecting this city. Give me the key to one of your rooms before I complain to them." He gave her a glare from his dark brown eyes.

She sighed and reached for a key and held it out to him . He placed his hand over the keys and held onto her hand for moment while leaning in to harshly whisper to her. "Come into my room later on tonight, I will require your 'services'." He gave her a sick grin, then took the keys from her hand. Celes stood there shocked for a second, resisting the urge to hit him. He walked into one of the rooms and closed his door.

Lani whispered to her. "That's what these soldiers are like...I hate them. Since they've occupied the city, I haven't been working as much in order to avoid them, but my uncle has to run another business too, and I promised I'd take care of the inn when he's too busy."

"You don't have to comply to his wishes...do you?" Celes was worried, she could tell by the look on her face that she truly did not want to be in that sort of position.

"If I don't....my uncle's inn would turned over to them for whatever they want it for. If they don't have a purpose for it, they burn it, just so that we can't have it. They're really cruel, I think. They don't seem to have a reason to be here. I just want things to be the way they used to be." Her voice quivered, and Celes could tell that she was about to cry any second. She walked behind the counter and put her arms around her, and let her cry into shoulder.

Celes wasn't used to hearing people cry; people were thought to be weak if they let a single tear fall in the training camps. Celes found tears coming to her eyes too, and she couldn't explain it to herself. Lani was barely more than a stranger, yet she felt a bond of friendship already forming between the two.

She was just a girl. This was the type of person Celes wanted to fight for. She didn't want to support the power hungry leaders of the world as she had done in the past. She wanted to fight for those who simply wanted life's little pleasures; friendship, fun, love, a bright sunny day.

* * * * *
you'll persevere! I mean, you're Celes Chere!
* * * * *

Random Author Notes:
Thank you for reading this story so far, I really do appreciate it ^^ If you could review it, I would love you! ^_^
ForYourInformation:
I chose the name Lani for the girl because it means "Sky" or "Heaven" in the Hawaiian culture.
I chose the name Samara (last chapter) for Celes' inner Esper because it means "Mountain, Outlook, ruled by God, guarded by God or seedling" She was awakened in the mountains of the Solitary island, and she is a new outlook for Celes, so I thought it would be perfect for her =)