Chapter 2
A couple of days passed when I finally was able to go back to the old church. With a sigh of relief, I skipped my way to it. I walked towards the very center of the church, where a flowerbed was located.
Fortunately, the flowers had not died out.
Slowly and carefully, I stooped down to them and began to whisper to them. I knew that it was strange to talk to a bunch of silly flowers, but I had no one else. I had no friends at all.
Suddenly, the roof crashed.
I looked up startled, and saw the roof coming down at me. But then, as I closed my eyes to wait for my death, a strange light surrounded me, and shielded me from the falling roof.
When I reopened my eyes, I saw the same young man who had bought the flower from me lying on the flowerbed. It appeared that he was unconscious. He must have fallen from the roof.
I watched as he moved, attempting to get up. "Oh! It moved," I exclaimed excitedly. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Yeah."
"Can you get up?"
"I guess so." The young man finally opened his eyes and looked at me. "You. You're that flower girl from the slums," he said as he saw me.
I backed away, giving him room to stand. I watched him carefully, saying nothing.
He looked around the room as he got up. "Where am I? How did I survive?" he asked.
"You fell from the roof. Luckily you fell onto the flowerbed," I answered, studying his face. Then I smiled. "I'm Aeris Gainsborough," I finally said introducing myself. "I was here when the roof fell on me. It gave me a real scare."
The young man finally realized where he had fallen and blushed. "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking at the ruined flowers.
I shook my head. "It's alright," I answered beginning to water the plants.
It appeared that the young man was studying the flowers carefully. "You don't see many flowers around here do you? Why do flowers grow here?" he asked curiously.
I continued to water the plants. "I guess because this place is…special," I answered hesitantly. "Do you happen to have any Materia?"
"Yeah. Do you?"
I finally looked up with interest. "I do. I have some myself, but they're useless," I responded carefully. I turned my back towards him. "Wait for a moment, okay?" I asked him as I continued to tend to the plants. After I was finished, I looked at him. "I want to hire you," I said without thinking. "I want to hire you for my bodyguard."
He looked at me and frowned. "It's gonna cost you," he answered.
I thought for a moment. "Well, I don't have any money, so…I'll go out with you on one date if you'll be my bodyguard," I said cheerfully.
He thought about this for a moment. "Well, alright. I'll be your new bodyguard. I'm Cloud," he answered with a shrug.
Before I could say anything more, someone interrupted us.
"Well isn't this touching," a Turk said. His hair was a dark color of red, and he was dressed in black.
~And to think good guys wear black,~ I thought in my head as I recognized his face.
"I'm Reno of the Turks. I'm here to get you, Miss Gainsborough."
Cloud looked at me. "Turks. Do you know them?" he asked.
I nodded my head. "They're usually bothering me. I think we should get out of here," I suggested in a whisper so only he could hear.
Cloud unsheathed his sword as Reno and the rest came closer to me.
"Wait! Don't fight in here! You'll ruin the flowers," I cried out, running as fast as I could, as I led Cloud towards the back of the church. We had almost reached the top, but then Reno and a bunch of Shinra soldiers caught up with us.
Cloud leaped through a big gap, and landed on his feet. "C'mon!" he called to me in a hurry. "Jump!"
I looked at him as if as if he were crazy. I had never been the athletic type before, and my skirt would probably trip me if I tried to jump. But I pushed those thoughts aside, scolding myself for being such a coward. Then, closing my eyes, I prepared to jump. But before I could, I felt a bullet zooming past me. In shock, I stumbled down and fell to the floor.
As I fell, two Shinra soldiers came towards me, pointing their guns at me.
I cringed on the wall, fearfully. "What should I do!?" I cried out to Cloud.
"Hold on!" he cried out to me.
I waited for a moment, taking out my staff to get the soldier away.
The two soldiers cried out, as a barrel dropped on them.
I took this very opportunity to run for my life. But as I tried, another pair of soldiers blocked my path. But like what happened last time, a barrel dropped on them, knocking them unconscious. Barrels dropped several times on the soldiers, until they all got out of my way.
Cloud and I sat on the church roof for a moment, watching the befuddled soldiers.
I laughed. "They're after me again."
"You know them? Why are they after you?"
"Is it that bad?"
"They're the Turks. They're involved in murder, kidnapping, and all that other dirty stuff," Cloud informed.
"I think they think I have what it takes to be in SOLDIER," I joked, while giggling.
Cloud grinned at my humor, making me blush slightly. "Come on," he said, jumping towards a pile of junk. I followed close by.
"Wait!" I cried out trying to catch up to him as I hopped off from piles of rubble and trash. "I said wait!"
Finally, the young man stopped and let me catch my breath before moving on. "I thought you said you had what it takes to be in SOLDIER?" he teased.
"Oh you're terrible!" I cried out, laughing at his sense of humor.
We walked in silence for a while, until we got to the entrance of sector seven. Cloud suddenly made a stop as he saw a chocobo dragging a carriage with a woman riding in it.
I watched the chocobo go by and frowned at Cloud. "What's wrong?" I asked.
Cloud shook his head. "Nothing…"
I doubted it. But I said nothing, not wanting to pry into his business. I looked up at the old slide I stood in front of. "I haven't been here in ages," I said climbing onto the top of the slide.
Cloud followed, sitting next to me. "I think we should go now. Where do you live anyway?" he asked me.
"At sector six," I answered. "I hope its not much trouble."
Cloud slid off the slide, and I followed. We headed towards sector six in silence. When we finally got there, we stopped at a nearby house to check on a sick man.
I looked at him pitifully. He couldn't understand a word we said. I studied him carefully. He had a peculiar tattoo on him. It held the number three on it. After spending a moment talking to him, we both arrived at my house.
I slowly opened the door to my house. "Mom, I'm home!" I called out.
"Aeris, is that you?" Elmyra asked walking down the stairs. She frowned as she saw Cloud standing next to me.
"This is Cloud," I said introducing him. "He's my new bodyguard."
At this Elmyra smiled. "Is that so? Will you be staying for dinner, Cloud?" she asked kindly.
Cloud shrugged. "I guess. But I'll be on my way to sector seven. I have to find out where Tifa went," he answered.
"Tifa? Was that the girl in that carriage?" I grinned wickedly. "Is she your girlfriend?" I teased.
Cloud blushed. "I guess," he mumbled.
"You'll go to find her the first thing in the morning. But now you'll have to rest," Elmyra said. "Aeris, make a bed for Cloud, will you?"
I nodded, walking up the stairs. But I stayed at the top step, hidden from the wall. I knew Elmyra would be saying anything to get me away. ~She probably wants a word with Cloud,~ I thought silently to myself.
I was right, as I heard Elmyra's voice in a low whisper.
"I don't want you dragging her into any danger. It would be best if you left without her knowing," Elmyra said to Cloud.
"Alright."
I grinned, knowing what to do. I then headed towards the guestroom to prepare a bed for him.
After dinner, I led Cloud upstairs. "There's your room," I said calmly.
Cloud nodded, walking towards his room.
"Oh, and Cloud?"
Cloud turned around to glance at me.
"Goodnight," I said, smiling as I walked down the stairs.
*
That night, I quietly waited at my door for Cloud to leave. It took a moment until I heard soft footsteps walk out towards the stairs and out through the door.
I grinned, grabbing my metal staff. Walking silently as ever, I peeped through Elmyra's bedroom and gave her a sweet smile, knowing I would probably never see her again. I then left her room, and ran out the back door, into a shortcut. There, I met Cloud.
Cloud looked at me, startled. "Aeris, what are doing here?"
I smiled. "You want to find Tifa don't you? C'mon, I'll lead you to where she went," I said running off without him.
"But…Aeris, wait!" Cloud cried out after me.