It's Time to Let Go
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone at all except the obviously made-up characters.
"Baralai," she said with concern in her voice, "I have to tell you something that I've kept inside of me for a long time."
"Paine, what is it?" asked Baralai with worry as he sat up in their bed. Ever since Baralai and Paine had gotten married a month ago, Paine would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. She said it was just her sad past, haunting her, but refused to elaborate.
Paine lit candles. "Look into my eyes," she asked of her husband. Baralai took a moment and then gazed into her eyes. He could not help but get lost in them. They were like pools of blood. Haunting, but beautiful, and so flawless. But suddenly he snapped back into reality and took a look. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but suddenly there was movement in her eyes. It took the form of a woman falling, dead, into the rubble of what was once a house. The woman fell next to who appeared to be her husband, or her lover. The woman had long, dark hair but pale skin and red eyes like the beholder. The man had short grey hair like Baralai's wife, but his eyes were closed. They both looked not even twenty years old.
"This is your dream?" asked Baralai, knowing the answer before he asked, "And they were your parents." Paine just nodded. Baralai averted his gaze to the whole face of his beloved before wiping the tears that had begun to mist over and threatened to fall from her eyes.
Paine
got up and got out a pouch that she kept hidden from sight. From it
she shakily pulled out a pyrefly and held it in the flat of her hand.
"This is all I've had to remember my mother by until now," she
said, "I was only an infant when Sin came and destroyed the village
I lived in. I was taken in by the temple and cared for." Her
last two words were harsh and brittle, "They ignored me, aside from
giving me food, clothes, and water. They didn't care where I was,
so long as I was out of the way and quiet. When the maesters came,
they threatened to kill me or throw me out if I misbehaved or told
them how they treated me. Onetime I almost told. They beat me until I
was bloody. And they gave me a horrible scar," she said, tracing
her finger down a line from her left shoulder to her right hip."
Paine was crying openly now and Baralai held her in his arms,
tenderly.
When Paine was ready to continue, she did. "I ran
away that day. I was ten years old. I had been living in Djose at the
time, so I decided to go to the innkeepers in Guadosalam. They were a
lovely Al Bhed family who our family was great friends with. But when
I arrived, I learned that they had been killed by Sin also. They had
been coming to Kilika as a surprise visit. Iran into the Farplane to
try to call my parents, but they did not come. Instead came the Al
Bhed family I wanted to see. They told me that my parents had not
been sent. But they somehow gave me a pouch. It contained a single
pyrefly in it and a necklace. They told me that they were my
mother's, both the pyrefly and the necklace. They also handed me a
sword. They told me it had been my father's. I left the Farplane and
went to the deserted inn. I knew that the family speaking to me in
the Farplane was very rare, so I took it as a sign that I was meant
to live. At night when I was curled up in a bed at the inn, now my
home, I let the pyre fly's sad songs lull me to sleep, its sighs so
mournful and peaceful. I sometimes thought of returning to the
temple. But I knew I couldn't. They wouldn't take me in. But one day,
as I was going off to visit the family in the Farplane, a Guado man
came up to me and kicked me. He then started to beat me. I recognized
him once he hit my scar. He was one of the people who visited. The
people at Djose must have told him about me. As I was lying on the
ground in front of the Farplane, a couple stumbled over me. They were
kind to me. I took them to be a newly-married couple. The man was a
regular human like us, but the woman was an Al Bhed. I don't know
why, but when they asked what was wrong, I told them absolutely
everything. They decided to take me to their home in Kilika with
them. Asia left Guadosalam, I saw a faint ghost of the innkeeper wave
goodbye to me. I then understood that they had willed this good
fortune to me. I became the daughter of the family and grew up with
them for five happy years in Kilika. But then Sin attacked, killing
both of them and the rest of the housed on our dock. I joined the
Crimson Squad to start anew. I was feeling a mix of emotions: angry
at Sin, hurt by having two families destroyed, but also hopeful that
this new me would be a better one. But after that, I vowed to stay
away from the happy emotions, knowing I could get crushed again. But
you and Nooj and Gippal became my family and I learned how to feel
happiness and trust again. I loved all of you. But you helped me the
most. And I thank you. E muja oui."
When Paine finished, Baralai found that they both were crying. But he had to wonder. "What was it time for?" he asked.
"I've held this inside of me for so long," Paine replied, and after a long pause added, "And it's time to let go."
E muja oui- I love you
Well, what did you think? This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment story. I had an idea, what does Paine keep in a secret pouch? I answered that one: a pyrefly. If you are going to flame, be gentle, but please review. I want to know how I am doing.
