Shadows of An Endless Night
By C-chan
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. Threads of Fate (Dewprism in Japan) and all its characters are the rightful property of Squaresoft and are used in this story without permission. Everything else that wasn't part of the game is all mine. All events portrayed bear no relation to actual incidents; any similarities are entirely coincidental.
Book One ~ Before The Storm
Chapter 1: Dreams
Rue woke with a start, a strangled cry lodged in his throat. He sat up on the bed, heart beating a frantic tattoo in his chest. His eyes, still clouded from the dream, stared about him with a sense of panic. His gaze caught and stayed on a reflection of himself in the mirror hanging on the wall opposite the bed. His reflection stared back at him, wide-eyed and sweaty-faced. Rue blinked, his sense of time and place beginning to reassert itself, and gradually relaxed.
With a sigh, he lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was a familiar one, having spent many a sleepless night staring at its wooden beams. This time, though, he was unable to lose himself in the patterns on the wood, and his thoughts tumbled chaotic in his head. He couldn't even recall what the dream had been about, yet the feeling of fear remained. A vague kind of fear, like some great shadow glimpsed hiding on the edges of his awareness waiting only the onset of night to descend.
"A dream, just a dream." In a sudden, swift motion, Rue rolled out of bed and padded across the room, reaching out for the handle of the Arc Edge as it lay against the wall. The weapon felt cool and heavy in his hands, the solid weight of it reassuring. The Arc Edge was as much a part of him as his arms or legs, and Rue felt his tension drain away as he swung it against an imaginary opponent, the heavy blade slicing the air as graceful as any sword. Losing himself in the ageless motions of battle, the silver-haired young man hacked and swung, parried and blocked, moving around the room in a silent, deadly dance.
For several minutes the only sound in the room was the sound of the battle-dance — of feet sliding across the wooden floor, of the Arc Edge as it clove the morning air, of Rue's panting breaths. Then, with a shout, the heavy blade descended with startling suddenness, stopping within a hair's breadth of shattering the mirror. Once again Rue stared at his reflection, seeing this time a calmness in the other's eyes that hadn't been there moments before. He lowered the blade, drawing as he did so a deep, calming breath.
"Well, that was impressive. I guess I don't have to worry about you, after all."
Rue turned to regard the woman who stood just inside the doorway watching him appraisingly. Despite himself, he couldn't prevent his lips from twitching as he took in the woman's... rather eccentric attire. A bunny-style hat, clothes that seemed all frills, and elaborately styled hair that looked like it could walk on its own power hardly seemed like the height of fashion to the bemused young man. Still, Rue had to admit that the wacky getup suited Mel, or Fancy Mel as others called her, among other, less flattering names.
"How long have you been standing there?" he asked her, returning the Arc Edge to its usual place by the bed. Mel's eyes followed him as he crossed the floor, and Rue shivered as he realized that he was standing there in a thin cotton undershirt, shorts, and little else. It wasn't his sense of modesty acting up — the clothes, though spare, provided cover enough — but that Mel sometimes had a way of looking at you as if she was looking into your deepest, darkest secrets. He trusted Mel, of course, but it was unnerving. Wearing armor didn't really do anything to prevent that, but at least Rue didn't feel as naked with it. Looking around, he saw his armor draped over a chair, and made a beeline for it.
Mel watched without answering as Rue slowly donned the leather armor, a slight frown on her smooth face. As he finished, she hesitantly asked, "Do you... remember anything?"
"Remember?"
"You were found by the edge of the lake three days ago," she explained. "You've been asleep ever since. It was probably just that you were exhausted from what had happened, but sometimes a sleep that long could be a symptom for something worse. I want to be sure." She looked hard into his eyes. "So, how's your memory?"
His memory? Rue frowned as he thought back to recent events; the dream had pushed everything else out of his mind. Then his eyes widened as the memories of the past few days came crashing down on him. He remembered Valen's floating fortress, of the search for the ultimate relic, the Dewprism. Of his final encounter with Doll Master and learning the truth about himself. Of battling Valen beside Mint. He remembered...
... Claire.
"Claire? Is she...?"
Mel smiled. "Claire's fine. We found her at the same time we found you."
Claire. It seemed impossible; he had waited so long for this day to arrive, and now that it had he didn't know what to do. "Is she awake? Can I go see her?" he asked eagerly.
"She's awake. In fact, she woke up long before you did. But Rue...," she said gently, "I don't think she's quite ready to see you yet. She needs time — to prepare, to get used to everything. You do understand, don't you?"
Rue fought down the slight surge of disappointment at Mel's words. He did understand, really — there was a part of him that was just as nervous about finally meeting Claire. But if Claire wanted to wait, then he'd go along with it. "I, I guess I can wait," he said finally. "After waiting three years for this day, a few more hours won't matter."
"That's good," Mel nodded approvingly. "Well, since you seem alright to me, I guess I'll leave you here. I've got another patient to look after."
"Oh? Who is it?"
"It's Mint," Mel replied, looking worried. "She and her sister escaped Valen's fortress at the same time you and Claire did. Maya was okay when we found her — a little shaken up, but otherwise fine — but Mint..."
"She's not seriously hurt, is she?" Rue asked, becoming worried as well. The last he had seen of the little redheaded princess was when they were trying to escape Valen's crumbling fortress. Thinking back, Rue didn't remember Mint being injured, though they were rather rushed at the time, so he might have missed something.
"It's not that," Mel assured him. "Her physical injuries are negligible — in fact, you were in a worse state when we found you than she was."
Rue was confused. "Then what's wrong with her?"
"I don't know, and that's what worries me." Shaking her head in frustration, Mel continued, "It's her — aura, I guess you could call it. Her magic. It's fluctuating, changing with every minute. I've never seen anything like it."
"Is that bad?"
"I'm not sure; it might be. It's taking a toll on her body, of that I'm certain. She hasn't awakened since we found her, or even responded to stimulus. It's almost as if she's in a coma, though I hope it isn't that."
The room was silent for several moments, and Fancy Mel glanced up to see Rue staring at nothing with a grim expression on his face. She walked over to the distraught young man and laid a reassuring hand on his arm.
"I might have an idea of what's caused it," she told him. "Maya told me some of what happened in Valen's fortress, and I think it has something to do with when she transferred the power of the Book of Cosmos to her sister. If I'm right about the cause, then I might be able to figure something out."
The Book of Cosmos. Rue remembered that Aeon relic, the heirloom of the rulers of East Heaven Kingdom, to which Maya and Mint both belonged. As he recalled, it was never far from Princess Maya's hands. So Mint had the power of the Book now. But how was that possible? He thought it had been destroyed back in Maya's tower when Doll Master had forced him to tear the Book apart. Rue searched Mel's face for any sign that she had been less than truthful with him, but found none. Apparently the Book of Cosmos did survive. It was ironic, he thought. In a way, one of Mint's dreams had been fulfilled — that of gaining the power of an Aeon's relic — but that same power was now causing her harm.
"Is there any hope, do you think?" he asked quietly.
"There's always hope," Fancy Mel replied. "Remember that. All is not as dark as you think, Rue. This is Mint we're talking about, and no one has a stronger will than she does. She'll pull out of this, just you wait. Mint never gives up."
Rue nodded. "That's true," he agreed. Mel was right; Mint was never one to give up easily. He smiled, thinking of something someone had once said about her. "She's crazy as hell, but she sure inspires." Rue could only hope that that same tenacious spirit would help Mint through this. He sighed. There really wasn't much he could do to help, except to hope for the best.
"Well," he said, turning to Mel, "If there's anyone who can help her, it's you. I guess you'll be rather busy, so if you don't mind, I think I'll go look around for a while until Claire's ready to see me. And later, if it's not too much trouble, maybe I could drop by and check on Mint."
"I'm sure she'd love that," Mel replied warmly.
Rue nodded, retrieving the Arc Edge and jamming his hat onto his head. He headed for the door, looking back over his shoulder at her. "Until later, then."
Mel hated lying to Rue, even if it was the right thing to do. Letting him see how worried she really was would serve no real purpose and might even worsen the present situation. Yes, it was better this way. Rue didn't need to know the truth.
For the truth was not even Mel knew how things would turn out. No one's ever possessed — truly possessed — the power of an Aeon relic. The situation was unprecedented. Mel feared that Mint's body would not be able to handle the strain of the forces within her, that she would be torn apart by her own magic. Already there'd been several close calls where the little princess' body had seemed on the verge of collapse. It was almost a miracle the girl had survived this long. Mel sighed fretfully. She was afraid that she was fighting a losing battle. She could only treat the symptoms, not the cause of the problem itself. Mint would have to pull through on her own.
Mel sighed again, moving down the hall towards Mint's room. There was some truth in what she'd told Rue. Mint was strong, and there was a slim possibility that she would make it. But even if she did, there was no telling what other side effects the power of the Book might have on the girl. She almost wished Maya and Mint hadn't done what they did. But they had no other choice at the time, Mel knew, and she herself might have done the same in their position.
Entering Mint's room, her eyes immediately went to the girl on the bed. The redheaded princess looked a little pale and sweaty, but otherwise one would have thought her to be just sleeping. Mel knew better. She opened her senses, probing beneath the physical. What she found was hardly reassuring.
The princess was a boiling, tempestuous mass of magical energy. She could almost see the colorful strands of pure magic coiling and writhing in the depths of the young girl's being, pushing against the boundaries of Mint's corporeal self. Worse yet, she could feel the power emanating from the bedridden girl, and Mel knew that it was more power than any human could safely handle. More power than Mel herself possessed.
Mel turned to the only other person in the room. Princess Maya sat in a chair by the bed, her eyes never leaving her older sister's face. Her face looked drawn and haggard, having spent the night and most of the day before watching over her sister. The younger girl was so engrossed in her vigil that she didn't even notice Mel's arrival.
"Any changes?" Mel softly asked.
Without ending her contemplation of her sister's face, Maya absently replied, "She cried out a few times. That's something, isn't it?"
Mel didn't answer, instead drawing the tired girl to her feet. "Go get some rest, dear," she advised the girl. "You're almost dead on your feet. Come on now, off to bed, or else I'll have two to worry about."
Maya didn't have the strength to resist her. "But, but I have to stay with her!" she protested weakly.
"I'll watch her," Mel promised, as she firmly led Maya out the door. "You, on the other hand, need to rest."
The heir to the throne of East Heaven meekly allowed herself to be led away, but glanced back one last time at the girl on the bed. "It's all my fault," she said despairingly. "If I hadn't come up with that idea, hadn't convinced Mint to let me transfer the power of the Book to her, none of this would have happened!"
"Maybe; and maybe Valen would have won and we'd all be dead by now." Mel dragged the unresisting girl down the stairs of the inn, pausing once to voice a greeting to the innkeeper, Ms. Cartha, before heading for the hotel next door. She continued, "You did the best you could, given the circumstances. Facing an Aeon is no small thing, and I'm sure your sister was well aware of the risks involved when you used the Book."
"But Mint is—"
"Mint is alive, and that's what matters," she interrupted firmly. "All we have to do is make sure she stays that way. That's my job. You've done enough already; you have to take care of yourself now. Rest. I'll wake you if there's any change." They stopped outside the door of the hotel.
"You promise?"
"Of course."
Maya looked up at the older woman with gratitude. "I— Thank you. I'm so grateful for all that you've done — more grateful than I can say."
Mel smiled at her. "It was my pleasure, dear. I just wish there was more I could do. Now go and rest. I daresay you need it."
"I will," Maya replied, bowing. "And thank you again."
Rue's thoughts were in turmoil as he left Ms. Cartha's inn. He still couldn't believe it. Mint, hurt? It seemed an impossibility. The little princess' personality seemed so larger than life that at times Rue could almost believe she would live forever. He had a hard time accepting that she could be brought low now, after all they'd been through, all the adventures they'd had together. Not Mint.
Mint. Claire. Two women who'd had such a large impact on his life, though in different ways. One brought back to life by an Aeon relic; the other whose life now hangs in danger because of another Aeon relic. Fate — or the gods — sure had a strange sense of humor. Rue had never been a religious person. How could he, when for most of his known life he'd had no idea who, or what, he was? When the only identity he'd had was a name dredged up from the depths of his flawed memory, and his only sense of self had been what other people had made of him? But he prayed now to whatever gods were listening, prayed with all his heart.
Rue's restless wandering eventually brought him standing before the town's only tavern. Staring at its oaken doors, the young man pondered the idea of going in for a drink or two. While he didn't care much for alcoholic drinks — and it was doubtful that Jargen, the proprietor, would let him have one anyway — a spot or two of something strong wouldn't be remiss right about now. At least it would give him something to do. So deciding, Rue pushed past the tavern door... and entered a scene of mild confusion.
Carona was a port town, the bulk of its population made up mostly of traveling merchants, sailors of docked ships, and other transients. Right now it seemed as if the whole town was packed into the smoky little tavern. Rue stared at the scene with some bemusement.
"Rue!" Looking around for the source of that call, he noticed Annette, the tavern's only waitress, expertly wending her way through the oppressing crush of people towards him. Within moments he was the recipient of a rather enthusiastic hug from the young woman.
"Rue," she said, speaking loudly to be heard over the din, smiling as she stepped back to look him over. "It's good to see that you're all right. You had us worried for the past three days. So is Mint...?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her yet, but Mel told me she's still unconscious," he replied, and Annette's smiled dimmed a little.
"That's too bad," said the young woman. "I hope she'll be all right."
"Yeah." They lapsed into uncomfortable silence. Rue saw Annette worriedly run her fingers over an exquisitely jeweled brooch she wore, and he suddenly remembered that it was a gift from Mint.
"You seem to be rather busy right now," he said, looking around at the packed and crowded tavern. There was a definite lack of empty tables all around, and elbow room seemed to be at a premium. "I guess I'll come by later."
"No, stay," Annette urged.
Rue shook his head. "You probably have your hands full with this crowd. I wouldn't want to trouble you." As if on cue, a large group of rowdy sailors began calling for the waitress, their inebriated voices rising above the noise. Annette winced.
"Coming!" she called back. Turning back to Rue, she continued, "No, really, it's no trouble. Um, if you don't mind sharing a table, that is."
Spotting a pair of familiar faces, Rue smiled, and replied, "No, I don't mind. I think I'll stay after all."
"Good." Annette nodded approvingly, then winced again as the shouted demands rose in volume. Casting a harried look over her shoulder, she said, "Look, I have to get back to work before Jargen chews me out. Why don't you find a seat while I take care of your order? So what'll you have? And don't worry about the cost; for you, everything's on the house."
"Uh, thanks." Remembering his earlier decision about liquor, he added, "I'll have some beer, I guess, and maybe some of that stew I smell coming from the kitchen."
Annette looked doubtful. "Beer and stew it is, though Jargen'll probably have a lot to say about me serving beer to minors."
"Tell him I'm not really a minor," Rue advised. And was that an understatement! Though he looked only eighteen — nineteen at the most — he was in actuality more than a thousand years old, created long ago by the Aeon Valen. Part of that longevity he could credit to the state of suspended animation he'd been subjected to after the fall of the Aeons, but if Doll Master was any indication, chances are he'll live a few hundred years more at the least. Valen, perfectionist that he was, created his Dolls to last.
"If you say so." Annette still looked dubious, but at that moment all the other neglected customers started to raise a ruckus, complaining about Rue monopolizing the girl. The resulting din was loud enough to draw Jargen out of his kitchen sanctuary. Seeing the state of his tavern, he frowned.
"Annette!" he bellowed, casting a yellowed glare at the girl in question. Annette jumped, glancing nervously at where the burly proprietor stood framed in the kitchen doorway.
"Sorry, gotta go!" she said hurriedly to Rue, jumping back into the crush of people. Rue watched interestedly as the waitress moved through the crowd, somehow avoiding elbows, toes, and the occasional attempted pat on her behind. Shaking his head, he too made his way through the sea of people towards the pair he had spotted earlier. His journey was a lot less smoother than the girl's had been, though no one tried to pat his behind, but he did get jostled up quite a bit by the time he reached his destination.
"Quite a crowd, eh?" Duke observed, raising a tankard at him in salute. At the other end of the table, Belle snorted.
"Bunch of rabble, more like," she muttered, nursing her own cup. She glanced around the humid little room with distaste. "Don't they have anything better to do?"
"In Carona?" Rue asked wryly.
"You have a point," Belle conceded.
"Actually, I'm rather surprised to find you here," Rue told them. "Are sure you can afford it?" As far as he knew, Belle and Duke were always strapped for cash. Rumor had it that the tab on the ill-fortuned pair of treasure hunters was almost enough to pay a king's ransom.
Belle looked insulted. "Of course we can afford it!" she snapped.
"Actually, we had some good luck recently," Duke confided. "While you and Mint were fighting Valen, I've been wandering around the fortress and I found some stuff that turned out to be pretty valuable. Right now, we're loaded!" he declared with satisfaction. His smug smile turned into a pained grimace was Belle reached over and knocked him on the head.
"Idiot!" Belle shook her head in disgust. "He was supposed to wait by the Pinto and guard Prima Doll, but he just had to try and follow Mint into the fortress. He got lost in the first few minutes."
"Milady!" Duke protested. "It wasn't like that at all!"
"Yes, it was. I talked to Prima."
"Well, it certainly was a lucky break," Rue interjected before Belle could get any more worked up.
"Lucky for him, you mean," she said, directing a scathing look at Duke. "That's the only reason why I haven't killed him yet."
Duke rubbed his head sheepishly. "Milady..."
"Well, enough about that," Belle declared, turning to Rue. "I heard that the brat's still out cold. What's up with that?"
"Uh, you mean Mint?" he asked. Belle nodded. "Well, I don't know much, just that it has something to do with her magic."
Mint's archrival smirked knowingly. "She got greedy, didn't she? Bit off more than she could chew. She got what she deserved, the brat."
"Milady!" Duke exclaimed, appalled at his boss' seeming callousness, but Belle waved his objections aside.
"Oh, don't looked so shocked," she admonished. "Something like this wouldn't kill her. We have a score to settle, the brat and I. I'm gonna pay her back for what she did to me a year ago. The only time she's gonna is when I kill her." Belle's eyes were shining at the thought of incipient vengeance.
"Milady..." Duke stared at his partner in awe. Then his expression firmed. "Right!" he exclaimed, turning to Rue. "Listen up, man. Next time we meet I'll beat you for sure. I can't let my archrival get too far ahead, so I'm gonna train hard. So prepare yourself, too. Man, my heart's burning just thinking of our next match!"
Rue stared at the pair of treasure hunters bemusedly. Those two never gave up, even after all the times they've been knocked down. He had to admire their persistence. Once again Rue wondered what it was that Mint had done to Belle a year ago. It must have been really bad for the treasure hunter to still be angry over it after all this time. Not that he was going to try asking again; the last time he had done that Belle had worked herself up into such a state that she had been incoherent for hours, and he didn't even get a straight answer out of her. As for Duke, his self-proclaimed archrival, Rue didn't know what to think. Rod had certainly had a great deal of influence on the man, what with Duke's recent talks about 'heart', but it was something of an improvement over the treasure hunter's former self. Not that much of an improvement, though. Rod was a great guy and all, and Rue had a great deal of respect for him, but he could be a bit strange sometimes.
Lost in their respective fantasies, the pair of treasure hunters paid no notice as Annette approached the table carrying a loaded tray. Rue glanced up at the waitress as she drew closer, glad for the distraction. Having two people stare ecstatically at nothing for several minutes was downright creepy.
"Oh, there you are!" Annette said when she saw him. "Sorry it took me so long; this place has me running ragged. If only Jargen would stop his penny-pinching and hire another waitress..." Shaking her head at her employer's miserly ways, Annette placed a steaming bowl and a medium-sized mug before the silver-haired young man.
Rue stared at the bowl in front of him and his mouth watered. Stew. He couldn't tell whether it was made from monster meat or just the regular kind, but that didn't matter to him. Food was food, and in any case it smelled delicious. The mug held beer.
"Jargen didn't give you any trouble over the beer, did he?" he asked her.
"Not a bit," the girl replied. "I told him it was for you, but he didn't even kick up a fuss like he usually does. Jargen's always been strict about selling liquor to minors so I asked him about it, and he said that anyone brave enough to go toe to toe with whatever was in that floating fortress was considered a man in his book."
Rue flushed with with embarrassment, yet was strangely pleased with the compliment. Not many knew what had really happened in Valen's fortress — in fact, not many even knew what an Aeon was — but rumors did spread, and the people of Carona knew that it was Rue and Mint who were responsible for bringing down the ominous-looking fortress. Rue just hoped that it was indirectly their fault that the fortress was there in the first place. To cover up his embarrassment, he asked, "How much?"
"I told you — it's on the house," answered the waitress. "Think of it as a gift." Seeing Belle and Duke, she continued, "And what will your friends be having?"
"Uh, I don't know." Staring at the two still figures disconcertedly, Rue wondered if he should try to break them out of their reverie or just order for them. Luckily, he didn't have to do either as the mismatched pair of treasure hunters came out of their fugue at Annette's question.
"More beer," Duke answered quickly, pushing his empty tankard towards the girl. Belle nodded in agreement.
"The same, And stew for us both; I'm getting hungry."
"But Milady, aren't you supposed to be on a diet? You've been getting a bit broad at the—"
"Shut up!"
Rue winced in sympathy as Duke's face met the hardwood surface of the table. That had to hurt. Duke evidently agreed as he was clutching at his nose with an expression of extreme agony.
"Owb! Wab you do dat bor?"
"Because you're a moron!" Belle retorted. To Rue, she said, "Ignore him, he doesn't know what he's talking about. You know, I still don't know what really happened inside that fortress. I talked to Prima and Mr. Moron here, but they don't know the full story. You're the only person — other than the brat, and she doesn't count — that I know who's ever met a real Aeon. So what was Valen like? How did you defeat him?" Suddenly realizing that recent events might be a touchy subject for the the silver-haired youth, Belle reddened. "If... if you don't mind, that is," she hastened to add.
Rue considered the question carefully. At length, he replied, "I guess I don't mind. I'll probably have to talk about it someday; I might as well start now."
(to be continued...)
Chapter Status: Incomplete