Disclaimer: Bleh. O.o;; I'm writing more often. Odd. Now if only the pwetty squiggly lines were still working. .;;; Aaaaaaanyways. Back to what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't own what I don't own! So there!
Note: Thanks to all of you who reviewed my last story. -;; I always get nervous when I try a new section. Now it's just a matter of how long until I mess up! - Yay!
Prayers—A Rekka No Ken Fanfiction
By Forever3330
She was on her knees, and she was crying. The last thing he'd wanted anyone to be doing. The only thing he hadn't wanted them to do.
I'm sworn to St. Elimine too! Eyes flashed. Lucius isn't the only one who can pray, Matthew. She…was my friend. L-leila was my friend, no matter what anyone else said.
He should have said no. Really. It wasn't as if he hadn't known Serra for years now. They worked for the same man. And no one should cry, not now. This wasn't the time for mourning. And Leila wouldn't have wanted it, would she of?
She would have wanted them to smile, the smiles she lived for. Right? She wouldn't have wanted them to risk clouded minds and hearts in battle.
So why was Serra crying, when she knew Leila as well as he?
Let me say her prayers, Matthew. I'll never forgive you if you don't.
And she had meant it, too, and despite their bickering and general chaos, she was his friend. And she was Leila's friend, too. Leila had said, once, that she was glad she knew the girl, watching as she pestered Hector about something or other. She said she was glad she knew him, too.
He knew she was, even if he'd never been able to say it in return. If he had, maybe he could have stopped it.
There was a time before that, sitting with Leila as Hector brought in a fresh-faced cleric, introductions as nice as you please. And for the first time in his service to the lord, someone had given him a bright, sincere smile, knowing his profession, as she had done to Leila seconds before.
"Hello there. Nice to meet you, and it must be just wonderful for you to meet me! I'm Serra, by the way. You really should show respect!" Without a thought she brought a smile to Hector's face, twitching, he who had been pale from his aunt's death days before. No one had been quite so frank in weeks.
Leila had laughed, and Matthew had smiled.
She never did allow them to get too far into the darker things of life.
If you won't cry, I'll cry for you. I know you won't, so I will!
And she did, and he had no idea what to do, watching her and standing back, not moving. What could he do? What did she expect? He couldn't cry. He didn't know if he would if he could, despite…everything.
And she would have wept for him anyways. For him, for her, for them, but most of all for Leila.
Serra didn't care about the moments coming ahead, as he did, looking to the future, the next battle, keeping to duty at the time when he most wanted to break it.
She lived in the moment, the present, the soft memory of Leila. For now. So she could weep.
When the cleric stood from kneeling in front of the make-shift grave, she clasped her hands and knelt her head, eyes closed. "May St. Elimine give you wings from the tears of those who love you so you may fly." A pause. "Goodbye, Leila."
Turning, she walked to him, tear-stained, dirt-streaked, and took his hand. "Let's go."
And she smiled, faintly.
END
Notes: Eh. Random little thing I cooked up. O.o;; Yes, I do realize I'm insane. I've always known it. You just never knew. -