Elements

Genre: Romance/Supernatural (Songfiction)

Pairing: Sheba x Picard

Rating: PG

Warnings: Nothing mayor, actually. Just fluff.

Disclaimer: All I own is a copy of GS and TLA. Nothing more. Yes, I'm poor.

Notes: Ah yes, my first Golden Sun fanfiction. Considering how long the game is out already, it's a shame I never wrote one before. I also know that only few people support the Sheba/Picard pairing (and yes, I'm still calling him Picard since they called him Aaron in Germany and I refuse to accept that). But still, someone might actually like the story. Who knows?

I also hope no one is troubled by the fact that there might be some grammatical mistakes in the story since English is not my native language (I'm from Germany). I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

For the ones who have actually noticed that Shebas eyes are purple in the game and green on the official art - well, I sticked with purple here as it seems to be something which comes with being a Jupiter Adept (as can be noticed with Ivan and Hama).

I also apologize for the terrible formatting; which is thanks to the dude who made QuickEdit even more unbearable than it already was. Damn you, QuickEdit, I want to shake my fist angrily at you but can't since you won't allow me any action marks!

It was a day without sun, the sky remaining grey and therefore turning the sea into an equally dark depth. The wind was rough and seemed to bode nightmares by churning up the water. Just one of the four travellers who were sailing on the wondrous ship could be seen outside, affronting the dangers of the weather.

Picard stood there, steering the lemurian ship farther into the seemingly unforgiving vastness of the ocean. He remained calm and concentrated while the water soaked his clothes, making them heavy and bothersome.

Just then, the door leading into the warmth of the cabins opened and Sheba proceeded to walk outside. The planks were slippery and wet and while she had trouble to step forward safely one could wonder why she was left untouched by the wind; not one strand of her hair was floating in the cold breeze.

She made her way to her comrade who had seemingly not noticed her in his deep concentration.

"Picard, please." Carefully she placed her hand on his shoulder, not wanting to startle him. Her voice drowned in the howling wind, but Picard knew who had come even without turning around. Her touch send a bolt of electricity up his spine, making him draw a deep breath while he felt himself suddenly sway. Slowly, he turned around and faced the worry in her eyes.

"You will catch a cold or worse if you stay here much longer", she said and it was like the wind calmed down for this very moment so he could understand her. "It doesn't matter if we need a few more days if the ship goes astray; just don't fall ill."

Picard considered to protest but since the wind picked up again and since he knew she was right, he followed her inside. When they entered the kitchen, Felix and Jenna looked up and hurried to get them some towels.

"The weather is just getting worse", Picard finally broke the silence and gratefully accepted the towel Jenna handed him.

"Will it delay us much?" Felix asked.

"Not if we are lucky. The wind is blowing westwards, which is where we need to go anyway. I'm just concerned because of the storm, if the ship gets damaged we will have a tough time - there is nothing here but the sea." Picard tried to entangle his hair in vain.

"Let's just hope everything goes well", Sheba sighed. "There's not much we can do anyway. Please, Picard, don't overexert yourself. You are our healer and coxswain, we are lost without you."

Picard nodded, seemingly in thought. "Then please allow me to rest now. I admit that it really strained me quite a bit." Without waiting for an answer, he quickly walked away, averting his face so no one could see him blushing.

Finally in the safety of his cabin, he made sure he locked the door before sighing in relief and trying to calm his raging heart, which desperately tried to tell him that she obviously cared.

'Nonsense, I am the healer, that's why she cares - she said so herself', he told himself.

Finally getting a hold of himself, he changed into dry clothing and started to study one of the nautical charts. But after only a few minutes, he felt his thoughts going astray again. That's why he had stayed outside, even in this weather - only when he steered the ship the images of her ceased to be and allowed his tormented soul to rest.

Yes, he loved Sheba, loved her with a passion that could not be described. Since the first time they had met, he had felt this way. Their eyes had met and something had happened. His whole world had been crumbling that day and things spiraled down. He had continued his journey, but the more he had tried to remain true to his goals, the more the image of the goddess who had visited him in prison was consuming his mind.

And then, he had seen her again.

Just when he had managed to go on, she had returned to him, joined him. But quickly, Picard had realised that Felix had also set his eyes on her. Felix had saved her life. And the more he saw them together, saw her smiling one of her rare smiles when the Earth adept talked to her, the more he suffered.

Somehow, he had come to accepting the fact that he had to go on living. But then, it had happened. On a day just like this one, he had seen her outside, standing on the rail. Meaning to catch her if she would fall, he had opened the door in panic - just to find his own eternal downfall.

She had danced, danced in the wind and Picard would have sworn that her feet did not touch the rail. So he stood there, unable to avert his eyes from the beauty in front of him. The wind was blowing around her, her hair shining like gold against the grey horizon. Her eyes closed, she had raised her arms towards the sky and danced; lost herself in the wind, was loved by the wind as it played with her beauty, her dress, her hair.

Picard had seen her and cried. Cried in front of the goddess out there and her sheer grace, unbelieving that god had created such a perfect being. Cried tears of happiness, of admiring - and of despair, since he would never have her.

Just once, he wanted to hold her, to stroke her soft hair, to feel her lips on his skin. Yes, Picard would be able to live the rest of his life cherishing such a moment.

However, that was nothing but a dream. When he noticed the wet spots on the chart, he recognised that he had been crying again. Figuring he hadn't the energy to continue his research, he decided that he needed more sleep, even if his dreams were full of images he desperately tried to ignore.

Yes, Picard suffered every day and night. He knew it would break him eventually, but as long as Sheba wasn't troubled with his problems, he could bear it.

The sleep he found was again a restless one and when he awoke just one hour after later, he had the name of the goddess on his lips.

However, not only his despair had grown worse. Suddenly, the ship was swaying atop of the now raging ocean. Quickly, Picard made his way towards the upper deck.

"Picard, you must do something!", Jenna shouted when she spotted the Lemurian. "The storm will bury us here if nothing happens!"

Picard nodded and proceeded outside. The roaring wind greeted him together with the water and before he had even managed to make his first step, he was freezing and his clothes were as wet as the ones he had discarded earlier.

Stumbling, he continued onwards until he managed to reach the steering wheel. It took his whole power to stop the ship from crashing headwards into the giant waves, but he still couldn't prevent the swaying. At this rate, they would end up in the middle of nowhere - if they managed to survive.

And then, he saw the wave. He had sailed many oceans for many years, but this was something beyond even his understanding. Where it had come from he did not know, but they would surely be buried under the ten-meter wave that was racing towards them. Desperately, Picard tried to move the ship away, but it simply was too slow to escape something that gigantic.

Suddenly, he felt how someone clung onto his arm. He turned around to face Sheba.

"Not the ship! The water! Move the water!", she shouted. It took a few seconds to understand what she meant. But could he do it? Lose himself in the water, be the water? Just like Sheba did that day when she danced?

Doubting, he looked at her. Gold met purple and the second their eyes locked, he knew he would try with all his might. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the water, on the drops that wet his face, on the ocean under the ship and on the wave in front of him. He felt it flowing around him in infinite eternity, let it touch his heart and carry him away to a place deep within himself.

He was swept away by the waves, rode them on the way to the next rock they would meet just to be scattered again and continuing on in the endless circle of life. It was a state of perfection he never felt before, a calm imbedded in an everlasting movement. A small part of his mind was still 'Picard', not the water and it tried to clung to the task he had to accomplish. But he did not want to command the waves. He just wanted to be free like them, free from sorrow and despair. There was neither sadness nor pain. All that remained was peace...

...and the wind.

Suddenly, the waves felt the wind. It was twisting and turning, like an animal that was about to be tamed. Picard was hit by a blow and suddenly he found himself again. The wind! His eyes snapped open and he saw Sheba standing there; her head arched backwards, her mouth slightly open, whispering words he could not understand. The storm circled around both of them, forced by Sheba, trying to carry the wave away. But the water was resisting, not wanting to be constrained.

And then, Sheba took his hand.

The contact let sparks fly. Picard drowned in his feelings as the world crumbled once more. There was no wave and no storm, just Shebas soft skin which send small electric spark trough his fingers. Sheba was in his heart, in his mind. She owned his soul ever since and forever.

'Dance with me', she whispered and he danced. Once more he reached out to the water and sent it towards the wind, up into the air and around them. Combined them into a billowing curtain in the veiling storm. Dived into the ocean and broke it apart, allowing the wind to send it away. He was a dancing wave, eager to rise up into the air and join with the gusts, singing the song of the water and all the beings who were native in it.

And he rose up, dancing with the wind, feeling the wind, feeling Sheba and all she was. Her loneliness, her sadness, her search for the place she came from. And with all his love, he embraced her, trying to calm her tormented soul that was just like his own.

Felix and Jenna stood by the door, silent in front of the sight before them. Sheba and Picard, glowing in purple and cerulean, floating in the air, surrounded by the water, their djinn flying around them. Picard holding Sheba, singing a song in a language they could not decipher. But the wind seemed to understand, to dance to the words, carrying the water and the clouds away and leaving nothing but the two adepts in their embrace.

Then, it was over. Picard and Sheba sank down. He was the first to open his eyes, still not fully back into this world. Tears were streaming down his face in front of everything he had just lost. The water had gone, so had the wind and their union. He was Picard again.

But then, Sheba looked up and when he fell into her eyes again, he saw an understanding that had not been there before. And Picard understood. Understood that Sheba had experienced it too. Just as he had felt Shebas emotions, she had felt his own. Felt all the love he harboured in his heart.

Somehow, he managed to break the contact and looked at Felix. He did not want to let her go. Not now, not ever.

But instead of following his gaze, Sheba wrapped her arms around him.

The sparks turned into a fire and an inferno within. Finally, he buried his nose in her hair, smelling the sea and the wind and when Sheba suddenly looked up and closed the distance between their lips he found a part of their eternity again.

She tasted sweet, like sun and moon and heaven. There was nothing greater in this world as he pulled her against him, steadying her as she swayed on her feet.

Finally they had to break apart for air and both were left panting. Picard could not tear his gaze away from her. Her hair was wet and her clothes entangled, but the sparkle in her eyes and her brilliant smile radiated happiness. She had never been more beautiful.

Something in Picards heart fluttered, trying to assure him that this wasn't a dream. "Sheba...", he whispered, but before he could continue, she pulled him into another earth-shattering kiss and the world shook once more. There were no more words needed.

Slowly, they parted again but he still held her in his arms. Together they slowly made their way back; lost in their own world where wind and water were the same, found themselves in each other and danced above the sky.

Felix and Jenna were left there to see how the sun suddenly pierced the dark sky and the water was an unmoving, blue pool again.

The Earth adept then picked up a stone that had somehow found its way onto the ship. Throwing it up, he watched it dance through the air for a few seconds, just to fall down and be swallowed by the water.

Every author likes feedback. So I ask you to spend just a few seconds of your time to leave a review with either praise or constructive criticism since authors put hours, sometimes days of their time into a single chapter. I am just one of them.

Thank you for reading!

Sheba