I just couldn't wait to write another chapter! (of course I won't really have it up until tomorrow, I'll keep telling myself that it's cool that I wrote two chapters in one day…haha)
It was her second night to stay in the Bevelle palace, but the events of her father's haunting visit still hung fresh in Yuna's memory. She lay awake on the blue silk sheets of her bed waiting for what she was not quite sure. No matter how hard she tried, it was not sleep that would come to her, only more restlessness. She couldn't take it much longer, she had to go find it, keep it near her like her father asked her to. Arising quietly as to not disturb a lightly sleeping Kerra, she rushed lightly out the door of the bedchamber, taking care to grab a heavy robe from the gold hook protruding from the indigo wall.
Yuna made her way to her room aboard the Celsius, at an almost running pace. 'Why? What could he possibly want with it? Who is he? ' Yuna opened an Al Bhed treasure chest she kept in her room at the foot of her bed, and flung out all the cloth until she reached a small, plain wooden box at the bottom. 'How could they even know about it…only father knew…and he was the one who gave it to me. I thought it was simply a pretty piece of jewelry.' She cradled the sole content of the box in two hands as if it would shatter if she dropped it. A dull light, the kind that was emitted by all spheres spilled from the miniature crystal sphere mounted in the pendant. It became a mystery to her all of the sudden why she had never wondered what it was for, or where it had come from. 'Daddy…what is it for?'
She should have known better to ask for an answer now. Braska had gone back to the farplane, she had seen it with her own eyes. 'Why does it always happen to me?' she wanted to scream. 'Why can't I just live a normal life like everyone else!' This question she knew the answer to. Because she was the high summoner, and the daughter of the one before her, her life was not meant to be normal, or easy. The silver chain of the pendant glinted as it caught the ray of platinum moonlight through the Celsius window. She slipped it over her head and grinned as it hung from her neck, the crystal sphere in the center seemingly mirroring the moon with it's own faint glow. The sight of it comforted her, her father had meant for her to have it, to keep it safe. This is what she would do, keep it safe from whomever wished to use it for ill purposes. Yuna tucked it inside the neckline of her purple nightgown, and ran back to the palace as quickly as she had come, nodding slightly, she was tired now.
As hard as Yuna had tried not to wake her, Kerra heard her anyway. She was also restless, woken by a strange dream, which she was deeply disturbed by. She had dreamed the same the night before. What made it more of a horror was she could not tell whether it was nightmare or dream. Rising to her feet, letting the bottom of her white nightdress drape to the floor, she walked toward the doors to the balcony and swung them open. The night air caressed her pale skin in a welcome way, and she it in as if it were the scent of lavender or strawberries. Or maybe some other scent she couldn't quite put her finger on, and once she did, she completely dismissed the idea as quickly as her foggy mind would allow. Above her stars winked at her from above, letting on to the endless secrets those heavenly diamonds held. She wondered what they were, and how many each held, how many there where at all. Something drew her gaze then, movement across the courtyard. Yuna. She was returning from her journey to who knows where. Kerra also felt more eyes beaming down on her, but seeing no one she tried to forget about it, but she couldn't shake the feeling.
He was glad to see he was not the only insomniac this clear night. The stars were too beautiful to miss out on. However, it wasn't the stars he was looking at. He stood there, peering out of the window of his private chamber at the balcony across the courtyard. Her pale hands touched the mahogany rails of the balcony, making her almost glow. Her golden hair fluttered in the breeze, as it was quite a bit too short to flow. He loved how she never bound it, how she let it fly however it wanted to at any given moment. This was something the prim and proper temple girls would never be able to do, it wasn't who they were. This thought made him frown. That was the type of girl he would be forced to marry, whether he loved her or not. A tight-faced girl with bound hair and a robe without a wrinkle within a mile. He stared longingly at the angel he saw in the balcony, hair flying and nightdress loose and flowing with the sway of the night air. He would remember, someday. He would find the Baralai that slept within him, dormant, and when he did, he wouldn't care. He wouldn't let himself be bottled up behind the praetor image anymore, he wouldn't let himself forget again. "I wouldn't let them choose my bride." he promised himself out loud. His head shot up, surprised he said that audibly, and in utter embarrassment he pretended to be intent on writing something on the table he sat at. He had been caught.
Kerra had not heard what he had yelled, but she knew the voice in which it was spoken. She had not known where his private chamber was, let alone that it was across the courtyard from her. Now she saw it, the single orange light emerging from the candle by the surprisingly plain window. He surprised Kerra in the fact that even for that small moment, he looked more like a human being than a god he was always trying to be. His heavy and equally heavily decorated coat was nowhere to be seen and missing along with it was the blue headband. The laces of his white shirt remained untied, letting it hang open, a sign that he had thrown it on in a hurry. His silver-white hair, usually carefully slicked back had been tossed in every which direction, she assumed by his own tossing and turning from sleeplessness. The front of it hung down while it sharply contrasted his golden brown skin, meeting his eyes. Amber-brown, they were a beautifully rich color. Kerra had never denied that he was a handsome man, just arrogant and insufferable. Just then, however, she had caught an emotion in those eyes that had made him seem human, if only for a little while. It was that same embarrassment that she had seen two days ago at the engagement dinner. His soft warm lips whispered words to whatever he was writing. She quickly pulled her hands back from the railing as it they had suddenly caught fire. Soft? Warm? How did she know this? His lips were someplace she had never explored, and really never thought to. All she truly ever explored of him were possible ways to close them, to keep his sharp, courtly remarks to his own ears and not hers. While she debated with herself, the shadow grew across his well tanned face as his eyes shut and his lips parted just enough to snuff the candle's flame, and Kerra was alone again with the slight rhythm of Yuna's sleeping breath in the room behind her.
It was her second night to stay in the Bevelle palace, but the events of her father's haunting visit still hung fresh in Yuna's memory. She lay awake on the blue silk sheets of her bed waiting for what she was not quite sure. No matter how hard she tried, it was not sleep that would come to her, only more restlessness. She couldn't take it much longer, she had to go find it, keep it near her like her father asked her to. Arising quietly as to not disturb a lightly sleeping Kerra, she rushed lightly out the door of the bedchamber, taking care to grab a heavy robe from the gold hook protruding from the indigo wall.
Yuna made her way to her room aboard the Celsius, at an almost running pace. 'Why? What could he possibly want with it? Who is he? ' Yuna opened an Al Bhed treasure chest she kept in her room at the foot of her bed, and flung out all the cloth until she reached a small, plain wooden box at the bottom. 'How could they even know about it…only father knew…and he was the one who gave it to me. I thought it was simply a pretty piece of jewelry.' She cradled the sole content of the box in two hands as if it would shatter if she dropped it. A dull light, the kind that was emitted by all spheres spilled from the miniature crystal sphere mounted in the pendant. It became a mystery to her all of the sudden why she had never wondered what it was for, or where it had come from. 'Daddy…what is it for?'
She should have known better to ask for an answer now. Braska had gone back to the farplane, she had seen it with her own eyes. 'Why does it always happen to me?' she wanted to scream. 'Why can't I just live a normal life like everyone else!' This question she knew the answer to. Because she was the high summoner, and the daughter of the one before her, her life was not meant to be normal, or easy. The silver chain of the pendant glinted as it caught the ray of platinum moonlight through the Celsius window. She slipped it over her head and grinned as it hung from her neck, the crystal sphere in the center seemingly mirroring the moon with it's own faint glow. The sight of it comforted her, her father had meant for her to have it, to keep it safe. This is what she would do, keep it safe from whomever wished to use it for ill purposes. Yuna tucked it inside the neckline of her purple nightgown, and ran back to the palace as quickly as she had come, nodding slightly, she was tired now.
As hard as Yuna had tried not to wake her, Kerra heard her anyway. She was also restless, woken by a strange dream, which she was deeply disturbed by. She had dreamed the same the night before. What made it more of a horror was she could not tell whether it was nightmare or dream. Rising to her feet, letting the bottom of her white nightdress drape to the floor, she walked toward the doors to the balcony and swung them open. The night air caressed her pale skin in a welcome way, and she it in as if it were the scent of lavender or strawberries. Or maybe some other scent she couldn't quite put her finger on, and once she did, she completely dismissed the idea as quickly as her foggy mind would allow. Above her stars winked at her from above, letting on to the endless secrets those heavenly diamonds held. She wondered what they were, and how many each held, how many there where at all. Something drew her gaze then, movement across the courtyard. Yuna. She was returning from her journey to who knows where. Kerra also felt more eyes beaming down on her, but seeing no one she tried to forget about it, but she couldn't shake the feeling.
He was glad to see he was not the only insomniac this clear night. The stars were too beautiful to miss out on. However, it wasn't the stars he was looking at. He stood there, peering out of the window of his private chamber at the balcony across the courtyard. Her pale hands touched the mahogany rails of the balcony, making her almost glow. Her golden hair fluttered in the breeze, as it was quite a bit too short to flow. He loved how she never bound it, how she let it fly however it wanted to at any given moment. This was something the prim and proper temple girls would never be able to do, it wasn't who they were. This thought made him frown. That was the type of girl he would be forced to marry, whether he loved her or not. A tight-faced girl with bound hair and a robe without a wrinkle within a mile. He stared longingly at the angel he saw in the balcony, hair flying and nightdress loose and flowing with the sway of the night air. He would remember, someday. He would find the Baralai that slept within him, dormant, and when he did, he wouldn't care. He wouldn't let himself be bottled up behind the praetor image anymore, he wouldn't let himself forget again. "I wouldn't let them choose my bride." he promised himself out loud. His head shot up, surprised he said that audibly, and in utter embarrassment he pretended to be intent on writing something on the table he sat at. He had been caught.
Kerra had not heard what he had yelled, but she knew the voice in which it was spoken. She had not known where his private chamber was, let alone that it was across the courtyard from her. Now she saw it, the single orange light emerging from the candle by the surprisingly plain window. He surprised Kerra in the fact that even for that small moment, he looked more like a human being than a god he was always trying to be. His heavy and equally heavily decorated coat was nowhere to be seen and missing along with it was the blue headband. The laces of his white shirt remained untied, letting it hang open, a sign that he had thrown it on in a hurry. His silver-white hair, usually carefully slicked back had been tossed in every which direction, she assumed by his own tossing and turning from sleeplessness. The front of it hung down while it sharply contrasted his golden brown skin, meeting his eyes. Amber-brown, they were a beautifully rich color. Kerra had never denied that he was a handsome man, just arrogant and insufferable. Just then, however, she had caught an emotion in those eyes that had made him seem human, if only for a little while. It was that same embarrassment that she had seen two days ago at the engagement dinner. His soft warm lips whispered words to whatever he was writing. She quickly pulled her hands back from the railing as it they had suddenly caught fire. Soft? Warm? How did she know this? His lips were someplace she had never explored, and really never thought to. All she truly ever explored of him were possible ways to close them, to keep his sharp, courtly remarks to his own ears and not hers. While she debated with herself, the shadow grew across his well tanned face as his eyes shut and his lips parted just enough to snuff the candle's flame, and Kerra was alone again with the slight rhythm of Yuna's sleeping breath in the room behind her.