Ollen70: There are so many under-rated characters in FF-6, and this piece gave me an opportunity to expand on them, if in a somewhat unorthodox way. No, I don't have any idea what exactly went on in Cyan's entire past, so I made up a few things to make the story a bit more interesting. Please don't hate me for it. Big thanks to Kd Zeal for her review. )

Regret

Lord Retainer, Beloved husband,

This letter will never reach you. It is not permitted that the dead should pass such trifles on to the living, no matter how I beg. Be it Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory, the realms of those who have fallen do not suffer themselves with the living. I cannot reach you until the train comes for you in its right time. May it be that such a time does not come soon, though I long for you.

My dear husband... the love I felt for you will never dim, nor will it diminish. And yet, I seal it away in this letter. When the dead dwell too much on what is behind them, they lose their footing on the path to eternity. I would not become a specter, forever haunting the forgotten corners of the world. I cannot tie myself to you any longer, nor can I let you hold on to my memory and forsake the life that you must live.

And you must live, Cyan Garamonde. Our world and our kingdom may be lost past recovery. Your soul is not. Do not stake it to a ground that will crumble and burn. Do not so lightly throw away the chance for redemption, when it comes to you, for a cold vengeance or a sense of worldly honor. I could not face the Heavens without you. I need your rebirth, for I am a selfish woman.

Perhaps I am not the only one who is selfish. I watch from afar and grow saddened with what I see of you. Are you willing to hold on to the past until you, as well, are nothing but a specter, wearing your flesh like a cloak to hide this final truth? Have you not realized the purpose of your existence? You were not meant to bemoan what cannot be recovered, but to strive and to build again, if only to watch those things crumble as well. When the dream shatters, what can one do but build another?

This lesson I learned from you, dear husband. Owain was not our first child... and how my heart broke, when you took that first limp body from my arms and cast it into the snowy ground. I hated you for it, for not mourning as I myself mourned. Now that I see what your mourning has done, I could almost wish that you felt no compassion nor remorse. They are destroying you, my love. What a horrid thing, that such a beautiful past could become the tool of your daemons.

I would have you fight, and I would see you live. The time of your struggles is not ended, but if you are Cyan Garamonde, my lover and my friend above all others, you will rise. Never have I seen you defeated. I will not.

And so, my dearest love, I give you my strength. If these arms, now translucent and lost to the physical truths of the world, could lift blade or don armor, I would fight your battles for you. Your suffering wounds me as well, though you will never know it. Someday I'll be able to take your pain, when you and I are together in the halls of all Eternity. Until then, my love, know that what you mean to me will never fade. You will live because you must. Because I need you to.

Ollen70: Again, this is kind of a piece I just work on when I'm feeling inspired in one way or another, so I really have no idea how long it'll end up being. As always, reviews are very much appreciated. I like knowing what I'm doing right (or, more likely, wrong.) Thanks again for reading.