Hey guys, a belated happy holidays to you all! And yet another apology for the long gap between updates. I find plenty of time to write in my classes...it's just a matter of getting it onto the computer to upload. But you have my promise that I will finish this story, no matter how long it takes me!
Kerra gazed down the endless hole beneath the depths of Bevelle's secret dungeons. Was she really going to jump down into this thing? This will definately not be pleasant she thought to herself with dread. She momentarily wished she didn't love him enough to do something like this. Nevertheless, she did, and there was no turning back now.... Her heart pounded in her chest and pulsed throughout her body when suddenly something surprisingly simple came to her mind. Why am I so afraid? She smiled at herself and her momentary stupidity. I'm going home! She didn't think she would ever go home again.
He watched her robed form kneel beside the hole, anticipating their journey. "You know" Gippal came up behind the nervous Baralai. "There's no guarentee you'll reach the bottom together. Are you willing to risk losing her down there?" It's not like he hadn't thought about it. In fact, he was terrified at the prospect of being separated down there, and most likely he would never find her. Gippal laughed and simply said "Just hold on to her!" Baralai had to laugh. Leave it to Gippal to come up with something so simple. He looked on and watched Kerra struggle to stand by herself in her gown.
"Oof!!" Kerra fell over in attempt to stand up. Stupid Gown she thought. She tried again, but this time with Baralai helping her up, the task was infinately easier. "Are you ready?" he spoke softly, obviously for only her to hear. Yet, as usual, he didn't look her in the eyes. She wondered if he ever would. "Yes, my lord." her voice cracked a bit. The fear had returned to haunt her. "I am ready." Due to the thickness of the accursed cloth around her, she couldn't feel Baralai's arm around her waist, but she didn't need to feel it to know it was there. Kerra caught one last glimpse of what she was getting herself into, the dark abyss threatening to engulf her forever, shut her eyes tight, and let Baralai pull her to the depths.
It may have been sometime later or even immediately, there was no way to tell, when Baralai awoke among a familliar patch of farplane blooms. They reminded him of Shuyin and the time that his body had not been his own, the time when he himself almost single-handedly destroyed all of Spira, simply because he couldn't controll some other man's rage. Maybe that was why he worked so hard to be what the people expected, because he felt he had to make up for it. He felt he had to atone for the wrongs Shuyin had caused, and almost taking the lives of every last one of them. However, such are the ways of the Farplane, the beauty of the blossoms calmed him and the dancing pyreflies carried his concerns to a place he did not wonder. His silver hair had tossed itself from it's usual style to over his eyes, so he gave up, untied the blue headband and flung it somewhere. It's not like there was anyone here anyway. He lay there enjoying the beauty of the farplane, the pyreflies, the crystal fountains, all glinting in a radiant, rainbow light. Kerra lay asleep a few feet away, though she struggled to breathe.
"Kerra" he traced her outstretched arm lightly to wake her. Her eyes slowly opened as the sleepy girl tried to push herself to sit against the will of what she was wearing. She fell, and struggled up again time after time, and it was obvious she was becoming a bit irritated. "All right!" she finally said forcefully. "This thing is going to have to go!" She tried to reach her arms to the sashes tied around her waist, but for all the fabric, Kerra found out that she couldn't quite reach that far. This made for quite a humorous sight, one that would have had herself laughing if only she could breathe easy enough to do it. "You want me to help you with that?" he inquired, fully laughing at the hillarity and happy to see her lauging too. A real laugh this time, the kind he liked. "You mind?" she asked. Baralai jumped to his feet, and helped her to hers. She turned around to face away from him. He was able to untie the sashes with ease, but to his brief puzzlement he was met with the intricate laces of the corset type garment. "Umm, Kerra? I'm not exactly sure how to..." "I do" she said cheerfully. She reached for a dagger he was carrying just in case around his waist and held it up to him. He grinned at the brief return of the old Kerra. "Are you sure?" he asked her. "Would I have handed it to you if I wasn't?" she mocked him a bit. Recalling his previous desire to free Kerra's spirit from this wretched thing, he took the dagged and carefully slid it beneith the tightly bound laces. With each lace he broke, Baralai noticed the appearance of a familliar sky blue. Only a touch of the soft fabric and he recognized at once. The shirt he had left her, perhaps there was a bit of her left underneith the whole disguise all along. Before her realized it, Baralai slipped his hands underneith the ornate Yevon robe along the soft wrap he had recognized as his, and slid the cursed things off. Watching her, he noticed that in her old clothes she no longer had to struggle to breathe. His hands, that had been resting on her shoulders now reached for the pins that held her wild hair tightly bound.
Kerra did not know what to think as her hair tumbled from atop her head, or at least she didn't know what she was supposed to think. She knew exactly how her heart was beating, and that these feelings were no one else's. She would never again be anyone else but herself, and right now, who she was wanted to close the gap. She turned slowly to face him, which startled him a bit. He took his hands away from her and stepped back a bit, hanging his head to avoid eye contact. She desperately wanted to know what was going through his head. Surely he wouldn't reject her again?
What on Spira were you thinking?! he asked himself. He was so caught up in the fact that he was free from his usual stifling constant supevision, he didn't even stop to think how she would react or what she would think. Baralai was snapped from his session of self-cursing by the realization of sensation of soft hands intertwined with his own. He laced his fingers between hers as he looked up awkwardly to face her. "Kerra" his voice spoke softly to ease her apparent anxiety. He didn't blame her, he had rejected her before. That was different then...then he was afraid. Then, he let himself be stifled by what others thought of him and expected him to be. He wouldn't make that mistake again. "Promise me something..."
"What is it?" she looked up at him puzzled.
"
Promise me...that you'll never let me forget who you are. Never again."
He pulled her closer to him, her hands still within his. He came to the realization, that for the first time he was looking her in the eyes. Just as he always had feared, he couldn't pull himself from them, the captivating spell of the ocean blue. Only now, he did not fear it. He opened the doorway to his heart, and let himself be lost in her enchantment. Releasing her hands from his, he slipped his them this time behind her head, letting his fingetips run through the golden threads of her hair. Kerra clasped her hands behind his neck, and again showed him her real emotion.
This time...he returned hers with his own.
Phew!! That took forever to type!! And a short note to all you sick minded people out there. There is no lemon in this story thanks...so don't read one into it!! Thank you, and have a great day...haha.