The Day I Died.
Chapter 5. The past and the present.
Yuna was sleeping in her bed, when Seymour came in. There was no one else in the cabin, so he decided to sit in the chair and wait for her awakening. As time passed, and Seymour didn't want to wake her, he just simply stared at the wall in front of him. He, however, did not really see anything, as his thoughts drifted somewhere else…
Once again he ended up thinking about his past, his mother, who had died for him.
She became an aeon for him, Anima, as her last, desperate act to save her son, who was no older than eight at the time.
Lord Jyscal, Seymour's father, had banished both of them to the small island of Baaj, because other Guado seemed to resent, even despise the little half-human, half-Guado boy. Jyscal was sure that this was the only way to save his country from a likely civil war, because the Guado didn't want to see their race, which they were really proud of, to blend with the Humans, which they considered as an inferior race, and vice-versa.
Jyscal knew that Seymour would be haunted for the rest of his childhood for what he was; "special", "unique", "the only one"…These names sounded rather nice, didn't they? But Seymour knew better. He was no "special", he was a freak.
These names what he was called, assured that he was to be left alone, fortunately, as his father was in such a high position among his people, the loneliness shielded this little boy from the taunts of other children, from the painful names the others would have given him mercilessly, without ending.
After those years they had spent on Baaj, without any contact from his father, Seymour's mother became seriously ill, and she knew that some day, very soon, she would die.
But her son, Seymour, was too young to be left alone, so the most natural thing for a mother to do, she decided to stay with him to the end. Therefore, Anima was born.
That day she promised him power, and that day she corrupted him.
Now that his mother was gone, there would be no one to protect him from the taunts of others, and no one to hush his cry, when the world became too great and painful to bear.
He never had anything, except for power.
Knowing, that his father was a great man among his people, Seymour knew that someday he would lead them as well. Many years later, when he returned to Guadosalam, he had indeed thought of something! Such a malicious conspiracy was formed, and now, finally, he could be content. After all, was not power achieved trough sacrifices?
There he was again, thinking about his past. These memories haunted him, the names he was called, the pain he received, his mother's voice that echoed in his mind every time he summoned his aeon, his father's dying groans, when the poisonous wine reached his lips…a nightmare, which never ceased.
So, if he had these kinds of memories, this pain, would there be others who suffered more than him? Of course there would be. No happiness without destruction, no bliss without death…
A utopia he would have created.
And this…. This…girl somehow managed to do the deed, which was believed to be impossible! She destroyed Sin, and his hopes of salvation along with it.
Seymour frowned and banished those ill-fated thoughts away from his mind, and he just simply ended up staring at the young woman, who was sleeping in her bed. "Sleeping rather restlessly, actually…" Seymour added in his thoughts, and watched as the girl squirmed and whimpered in her sleep.
When this didn't stop after a moment, Seymour began to worry. He got closer to the bed, where Yuna was resting, and kneeled before her to look at the girl more closely.
She was soaking wet from cold sweat, and she was frowning in her sleep.
"A nightmare." Seymour quickly concluded, as he too, had too much experience from them.
He touched her cheek gently, and in that moment something happened.
Yuna hurtled herself quickly to sitting position gasping for air at the same time, like she was about to suffocate. She looked around the cabin, like she had forgot were she was! After a moment her gaze wondered around the tiny cabin, she noticed Seymour, who was still on his knees on the floor next to her bed.
At first, Yuna said nothing. She just stared at him, her expression first scared, and then a relieved smile was on her lips, when she remembered who the man was.
"Seymour…thank you." She said with a weak voice, and still it was full of kindness what was almost her trademark. "But Yuna…for what?" Seymour asked with concern, which was almost, but not quite, real. He really didn't understand what she was saying, but nonetheless he did not like to show it.
He looked at her, and a sudden need to dry the sweat pearls on her forehead popped into his head, but he managed to restrain that unfamiliar feeling away, and he concentrated to observe her with an expression, which Yuna would read as concern.
"You brought me back. You saved me." Yuna said quietly, and she did something what she, nor Seymour never thought of. She gently took his hand into her own smiling at him kindly at the same time. He looked back into her colourful mirrors of so many emotions, and her expression was so sincere, so pure, that Seymour looked away hastily. "So innocent"…this thought almost made him shiver from pure respect towards her. Blood of others did not cover her hands entirely…."Unlike yours did." A small voice in his head whispered into his ear, and Seymour could almost feel the cold breath of his conscience. With a small, the tiniest sting to his heart, Seymour remained silent and almost wished that he could just run away from her, that Yuna would leave him alone to dwell in his own thoughts again.
Twenty-eight years he had been free from this tiny voice in his head, and now it had found him. This thought almost made him shiver.
They simply sat there, holding their hands for a moment that Seymour wished it would end immediately and in the same time, he didn't want to let go of her. A small part of him wanted this moment last forever.
Seymour had began to like silent moments such as this, and for once, he was even happy, at least a while. There was no more that uncomfortable silence, just contented peace…just what he had always wished.
"Aaaw. Aren't we getting comfortable?" Karis drawled, and shut the door behind him. Seymour let go of Yuna´s hand immediately and glared at the man. Karis sneered at Yuna and slumped down on the free chair, still grinning like an idiot.
"No, not an idiot, but a mental case." Yuna added in her mind, and made a mental note to herself: "Never be alone with that man". Yuna suddenly felt a tiny shiver run along in her spine, as she discovered what Karis was staring at. Her.
He didn't even try at any means to hide his lustful staring, and a sickening little sneer crept into his lips as Karis continued his unrestrained stare. Yuna, shy girl as she was, started to feel quite uncomfortable by his sudden chance of opinion about her, and she tried to look anywhere but at him.
They both, Seymour and Yuna, observed that indescribable rude man with the corner of their eyes.
"We are soon at Luca, less than half an hour by now…you should get ready." Karis said, not removing his stare from the High Summoner.
Yuna was quite bothered by this, so she rose up from the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles of her purple skirt anxiously.
Seymour also stood up so much as he was able to, and spoke to him with a questioning tone. "Don't you have anything else to do?". Karis startled and stood up immediately. "Ahh.. Err…Yes. Yes, I have. I'll be going now." Again, he yelped and vanished trough the door, and Yuna followed him. "Yuna, where are you going?" Seymour asked as she stepped outside. "To the deck. Ah…I need fresh air a little bit, that's all." she said quickly and she too vanished outside.
Cursing at her bad excuses, he followed her to the deck.
Seymour found her as she was leaning to the railing, and it was clear that she needed to be alone for a while. He didn't dare to interrupt her thoughts, so he leaned to the wall and observed her from the shadows.
Yuna enjoyed watching the sea; it made her understand many things from she weren't able to find correct answers. Why he came here, and not Tidus? What does he want? And what does she want? So many unanswered questions, which even the ancient sea couldn't give answers to. "Arrgh. What is with him? Why he just sat there when I was asleep, and didn't do anything…bad? He had the perfect moment to draw forth his revenge on me. Why he just…held me?" Yuna, being so confused as she was now, tried to not think about him, or that terrible dream she had either in the cabin.
Trying not to think about it made her of course think about it again.
In the dream, she was usually in the meadow, looking for someone, but not really knowing who. Tidus´ image had vanished from her dreams a long time ago, but being replaced only by another. A much darker, sinister one.
That man…it always, every time, felt like he was able to look inside her very soul itself, and his gaze burnt her soft skin all the way to the bone.
And his eyes…dark and dismal they were, and the eyes´ bright blue, almost violet colour reminded Yuna of…him. Seymour.
The man was one of the tallest people Yuna had ever seen, and he was well over a head taller than she. With his raven dark hair, he was not easily missed in the crowd, but only his physical appearance didn't reveal anything from his intentions.
He always whispered cold, dead words to her ear, but she wasn't able to understand them.
Not yet.
But the man always, always, managed to hurt her. If not physically, but verbally.
Whispers in the darkest of nights, dismal and atrocious they were! But what scared her the most… she did not try to stop him in those dreams anymore. A tiny, slowly growing part of her wanted to be hurt. That part wanted to embrace him; it wanted to be touched by him.
To be touched…something pressed to her right shoulder gently during her deep thoughts and Yuna startled automatically. She turned around quickly only to meet Seymour's deep, violet eyes that were directed straight to her frightened ones.
"Alone in your thoughts again? There is something troubling you, I know. But if you do not want to talk to me, I understand. But trust me, when I say you have nothing to fear. Well…I have to admit that I am a little curious. Care to share with me your worries?" Seymour asked with a new, friendly tone, and Yuna could not help but to smile.
The rest of the trip Yuna explained her dreams to Seymour, and he listened and frowned in every time she explained the parts where the man tortured her, and not once did Seymour interrupt her. He listened every word, and in the end, he turned to gaze the ocean one last time, before they disembarked. His head was lowered, and he seemed to think feverishly. When Yuna tried to look at his face, he quickly turned to face her, and the corners of his lips rose again.
"Did you thought of something already?" Yuna asked in bewilderment and Seymour turned his smiling, warm gaze to her once again. "No…but it seems that we are at Luca already. Come!" Seymour smiled at her under his black hood, and grabbed her smooth hand into his. They descended the steps to the pier and Karis followed the couple few meters behind. He switched his gaze from Yuna to Seymour's hand, which still held her own in a pleasant grip. His eyes narrowed to slits by this sight, and he continued to follow the couple with dark thoughts roaming in his mind.
The city had chanced, indeed. People seemed more anxious, more alarmed as men dressed in black cloaks, red belts and silvery masks wandered in the city. In the people's living area of the city, they seemed to check every family systematically, house by house.
But people did not seem to be shocked by this; some of them were practically following the soldiers as they forced their way to people's houses and every now and then dragged someone out of their home.
There were people who even dared to mock cruelly those people who were arrested.
No one seemed to defend those people, and as Yuna continued to observe the situation more carefully, it was clear that they didn't even want to defend them. Instead, many people had a disgusted look on their faces as they watched when the soldiers dragged more people out. Those same people who had such a foul expression also avoided the captives, as they were filthy, rabid rats.
And everywhere, everywhere, were hanged blood-red banners and flags with a golden bird, a phoenix, painted in.
"Behold the Lord's power!" a small sign said. "The Mudbloods are inferior. Do not let them corrupt you!" another proclaimed. "The Lord shall favour you too, when you join our cause! Spira´s future depends on you!" the third, and the biggest almost yelled it's message to the masses from the high wall, where it was hanged.
"What has happened?" Yuna whispered quietly, and Seymour remained silent. He had expected something like this, but not anything so severe.
"This, my Lady, is the doing of our faction. The Lord has trusted a great task to the people of Spira: to purify the earth from the corrupted, the false and the infidel seed of the Mudbloods! They are plaguing our people, and staining our noble blood.
The people who are false by their blood, such as he, -" Karis nods to Seymour with a very disgusted look in his eyes, "- will eventually ruin this land with their pathetic existence. Only the humans are glorious in the end. That's what the Lord says, and we shall greet him as our liberator from the torment and the warmongers of Guadosalam."
He ended his speech with a triumphant and ignorant smile, and Seymour literally glared at the man, and Yuna too felt a tingle of anger bubbling deep inside her.
"Yuna, please, wait here. I have something to say to this dwarf." Seymour stated, as if talking about the weather, but Yuna knew better than that. " With pleasure, Seymour." Yuna answered and glanced at Karis very, very coldly.
In an instant, Seymour had dragged the short man in a darkest corner of the alley where they were, and grabbed his clothes with both hands with a firm grip, not so far from the place where the throat was located. Making sure Yuna wasn't close enough to hear, he simply started to speak with a very silent and cold voice.
"I would cut off your head, if it would stood any higher from the ground, Karis. Remember whom you are working with. I do not wish to hear anymore of that previous rubbish, and Yuna surely does not want to hear it either. And one thing…too long you have watched the Summoner with that pathetic lust of yours. YOU are pathetic.
Do not follow her around. Do not haunt her steps anymore. She may have not noticed you in Luca, and to tell you the truth, you are worse pursuer than a shoopuff. I spotted you in the second you walked into the stadium. Go harass someone else; the Summoner is off-limits. And, I told you this already: If you betray me,
I. Will. Kill. You. I hope I don't need to say this again." Seymour finished, and let go of Karis´ shirt. Instead of whimpering in the corner, begging for his dear life, Karis stood straight and stared directly to Seymour's eyes and smiled a defiant and arrogant smile.
"What? You would kill your spy? Who would lead you to the Lord then? The Hypello, perhaps?" His voice cracked, and he started to laugh with a mocking tone, and for the first time in his life, Seymour lost his temper.
Faster than a blink of an eye, Seymour had a tight grip of the man's throat, and surprisingly enough, Karis wasn't laughing anymore.
"Being a Maester gives you some…privileges. In order for your brains to comprehend, let me say this simply: I have more money what you could ever attain.
You think I am not capable to just simply hire a new spy?" Seymour let his words ring in the cool air, and a little later Karis gulped and took a step backwards.
"Well, I thought so too. " Seymour said quietly and let another smile form in to his lips.
Meanwhile, Yuna was getting rather bored waiting the two men, and she started to walk back and forth in the alley. After ten minutes, she was getting rather cold in the dark without any sunlight, and just when she seriously started to think to do some jumps to stay warm, a cold voice interrupted her.
"A…Summoner? Who are you?" the speaker was a man, and when she turned around, it would have been too late to run away.
Life's a bitch, isn't it? Just when you thought that everything was going well, it smacks you right across the face and laughs, and then everything goes down the sewer.
An Inquisitor was standing right in front of her in all his menace and sinister glory.
He took a step closer to her and Yuna stiffened from fear. "What's wrong? If you haven't done anything, why do you look me like I am some kind of an murderer?" with a low chuckle, he then added,"-well, maybe I am. Now. Look at me." Slowly, Yuna lifted her head and the soldier stopped in his tracks.
"Your eyes! You…you are a Mudblood!" He literally hissed the last word and revealed his sword from his cloak. "And now, Mudblood, now you will die." He stated with a weird, blank voice, and took another step forward.
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A/N: Whew, quite a long chapter! I am, still, in a burning need for a beta-reader!
I prefer someone who speaks British English, because I am not really fond of
The American slang, so if there is anyone who is interested, let me know. ; )
Lucrecia, I would be more than glad, if you would help me in this! Yea! = )
As ever, I really need some reviews to give me enough spirit to go ooon….
So, please, review! It makes me want to dance and do some other...err.. things.
I hope that "dwarf" thingy didn´t mislead you…Yeah, I know that there aren´t
Any dwarfs in Spira, but what else is small enough to taunt you with? ; )