Final Fantasy: Rosas Journey

Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure/ Mystery
Setting: Technically the world of FF9, but it also travels all over the place
Main Characters: Rosa, Tog

Part 5

Rosa's eyes flickered open. She stared upwards at the ceiling, thinking. She felt no pain in her knees, yet distinctly remembered the pain from before. She wondered if everything had been a dream up til now. But as she gazed upwards a small thought told her that it wasn't her home. She sat up quickly. Her eyes swept the room. It was a circular room, with a wood ceiling, criss-crossed with beams. There was a single window, covered in a pane of dirty glass. Rosa looked down at her knees. They were completely healed. Swallowing, she stood up, swaying as her weakened legs tried to hold her up. She staggered groggily over to the window, and, using her sleeve, she wiped a small circle through the grime and dust that covered the window. She peered through the glass at the barren landscape. It was clear that she was in a small tower, and she could see the house below her. She staggered back to the bed and sat gingerly on the edge of it.

She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Her gaze riveted on the heavy wooden door to the tower. As she watched the approaching footsteps drew closer, and somebody rapped smartly on the door. As she watched, the handle turned and the door creaked open ominously. The man from earlier then stepped into the room. He saw Rosa sitting up on the bed, and gave a smart bow. He straightened up, and Rosa's curiosity overcame her.

"Who are you?" she asked. The man looked blankly at her.

"My name is unimportant. I am merely the butler here madam. I am glad to see madam has awoken."

"Where am I?"

"In my masters home. Madam was injured. I healed you. Perhaps madam would care for some food before leaving?" Rosa though for a second. The tone of the butlers voice suggested that she wasn't really welcome here. She smiled.

"I think I need a bit more rest first." The butlers expression didn't falter for a moment.

"As madam wishes" He bowed again and left the room, closing the door behind him. Rosa flopped back on the bed, thinking. If she wasn't welcome here, clearly there was something that the master of this place wished to hide. She listened intently to the butlers footsteps fading away. She could slip out of the room easily, and snoop around a bit. But if she ran into the master of the home, or even the butler, who knew what kind of trouble she may find herself in. Still, she thought, if she stayed here she would learn nothing. And she was actually starving. She figured that there must be some sort of food here. Quietly, she stood. Swaying on the spot, she waited until some sort of feeling returned to her legs, before walking cautiously to the door. It creaked when opened. That was a bit of a problem. She listened intently for sounds. Fortunately she heard no sound. Perhaps the door wouldn't be heard from any other part of the house. Taking a deep breath she opened the door carefully. It creaked horribly as it opened, and Rosa felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't want to be caught this soon. But nobody came running to see what it was. She breathed out softly, before creeping down the narrow passageway that led to the room.

She felt hopelessly lost. Every passage in this house looked the same as the others. Every few minutes she stopped listening intently, to see if anyone had heard her creeping, or if anyone happened to be walking towards her. Her stomach was growling almost consistently. She was starving. She was now trying to find some sort of food, rather than what was hidden in the house. She slumped against a wall in frustration. Then she heard it. A quiet mumbling. It seemed to be coming from the door just to her left. She approached it curiously, kneeling down by the large keyhole. She listened intently, but the mumbling was no clearer. All she could make out was a masculine sounding voice, and every so often an harsh, feminine voice cutting in with remarks. There was an even more muffled voice as well. Curiously, she lay her head on the floor, peering through the crack under the floor. As she looked through the crack she saw two people heading, with their backs to her, out of a door at the far end of the room. Just before they left the room, one of them, a tall man, turned to the other, and said something, angrily it seemed to Rosa. They both left the room, and the door closed behind them. Rosa allowed her gaze to travel over the room, searching for the owner of the third voice. Her gaze fell upon it. A girl was tied to a chair, by her wrists and ankles. A gag stopped her from shouting for help. As Rosa watched, the girl struggled against her bonds. Rosa wondered whether she should help. She stood cautiously. She rested her hand on the door handle, thinking about what to do. As she thought a sound reached her ears. A regular tapping rhythm. In shock, Rosa realised someone was walking down a passage towards her. Thinking quickly, she pushed open the door, closing it swiftly behind her, and praying that the girl was not an enemy.

END OF PART 5