Have Faith
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Riviera (no shit, Sherlock!), Ein, Ledah, Malice, Rizuna, or anything else that happens to belong to Sting. I know about this much (holds up fingers) official info about these guys' home lives in Asgard, so you should know that nearly everything about Ledah in here was made up by me (or borrowed from another author, wink wink).
It was raining hard, with big fat drops of wet pelting from the heavens like the incessant rattle of drumbeats. There was also a fierce wind, which caused the rain to fall in an acute diagonal slant. Not even the strongest adult angels would've dared fly in this horrific weather, especially with the distinct probability that the angry black clouds would begin to spew the sparks that would cause lightning to form at any minute. So there was no chance of a child as young as little Ein, whose wings had just gotten large enough for him to learn to glide, doing anything but running along the empty streets of Asgard, covering his head with both arms as he went in a futile attempt to keep from getting rained on.
It was early morning, and he had simply struggled into a sleeveless shirt and pair of shorts before running barefoot outside. His guardians hadn't been paying attention, as usual, so it had been sadly easy to get out—just a flipped latch, and he was free. Breakfast wasn't a problem. The nice ladies at the library usually had treats to share, so he wouldn't be hungry for long. Sure, it was a little early, but Ledah would be up soon, and he would have company then.
The library, a huge marble building filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves, was essentially one big playground as far as Ein was concerned. Grown-ups usually only came to check something or take out a book, and no one really stayed for very long, so the halls formed by the bookshelves were dark empty labyrinths perfect for a child to explore. None of the other kids liked the library; that was just as well, for Ein found most of the children of Asgard to be cold and cruel and hurtful, prone to hitting, kicking, and pulling his short hair and still-tiny wings. But he didn't like thinking about that—it still hurt too much. Ein didn't know why they wouldn't play with him and tried to do bad things to him when they saw him, but whenever he asked about it, Ledah just looked sad and told him in a very gentle voice that maybe he was better off not knowing.
Even though it was the end of summer, the rain was icy cold, and Ein's clothes were soaked within minutes. Shivering, he finally reached the big library doors, and pulled hard on the big handles until they opened enough for him to slip inside.
It was chilly on the other side of the doors too, but at least it was dry, and Ein's damp clothes would get back to normal here. Briefly, he wondered if Malice was going to come read with him and Ledah today; he liked the books she picked, even if she did get really impatient when he had to stop to ask her or Ledah what a word meant. She was loud and bossy a lot, even though everybody knew you had to be v-e-r-y q-u-i-e-t in the library, but she wasn't silly like other girls. Ein never knew when she was going to come or when she wasn't, though. Ledah had told him once that Malice's mommy was very, very sick, and she didn't have a daddy anymore, so she had to do all the chores around her house, and run errands all the time, so Ein supposed she couldn't help it. And she did seem really worried about her mommy all the time…
Ein had been coming to the library every day like this ever since he'd met Ledah a year ago. A bunch of mean kids had been picking on him, but Ledah, who was bigger and older than any of the others, had rescued him and brought him here, and told him that he should keep coming so that no one would be able to hurt him anymore. Not knowing what to do, Ein had followed Ledah around helplessly until the older boy had finally sat down and started reading to him out of a really, really big book he'd taken down out of the shelves. Sitting spellbound, Ein had let Ledah's words take him to a magical world he never could've imagined on his own—and ever since that moment, their friendship and been sealed in stone. He still wasn't very good at reading yet—his guardians never had the time to teach him, so Ledah was trying to help him learn—but he liked listening to Ledah or Malice better, anyway. The library was a very special place, and would be forever.
Ein was five years old, and had short, messy bluish-brown hair and big, innocent gray-blue eyes. His wings, still far too short for flight, had a weird greenish tint to their white feathers that Ledah said made him special because nobody else had wings like that. He was still too little to get to half the shelves in the library; he was barely even three feet tall, and it was probably going to take him a while to grow big enough to be able to fly. When he complained, Ledah would only laugh and take Ein's tiny hands in his larger ones, as if to show him just how much he would grow in seven years, then spin him around and promise to take the younger boy flying as soon as he learned how (Ledah's wings were almost, almost big enough for him to really fly, but not yet).
Ein didn't have a mommy or a daddy, which was why he lived with the soldiers who were called his guardians. He didn't know what it meant, but he'd heard people say that the Seven Magi made him (Ein knew just enough about where babies came from to be confused by that). And then the grown-ups would shake their heads and look sorry for him, while the kids just got mean. The guardians were supposed to be like mommies and daddies were for other people, but they mostly just ignored Ein and let him do what he wanted. They didn't care. But since Ein had Ledah and Malice and the library, that was okay. He didn't know what it would've been like if he'd had loving parents, and he couldn't miss what he'd never known.
Ein was heading back to his and his friends' favorite corner, the one where all the books about the war called Ragnarok were, when he heard a very faint sound.
It was the sound of someone crying, and it was close.
Heart starting to beat faster, Ein hurried down the big halls of books towards the sound, his little feet pattering on the cold wooden floors. It sounded like…
Curled into a fetal position in one of the big reading chairs, her face pressed to the green cushion on the back and her wings flared in almost-defiant misery, was Malice.
Eight years old, possessing impossibly bright blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and the worldly, self-assured manner that convinced Ein that she must know almost as much as Ledah (who surely knew everything there was to know), and always rushing around to do whatever her mommy needed taken care of, Malice never cried. Not when the other kids said mean things about her (she beat them up when they did), not when she fell down and got hurt, not even when her mommy got even more sick than usual. The way she was acting was shocking and, to Ein, very scary. It was almost as if the sky had fallen and lay in shattered pieces around him.
Trembling a little, Ein walked hesitantly up to Malice, slowly reaching out as if to lay a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Shut up and go away!" she spat in a fierce sob, her voice muffled in the cushion of the chair. She had not even bothered to turn around and look at him.
Though cowed, Ein was not to be deterred. "Please tell me what's wrong?" he tried again, almost crying himself. "Is it your mommy? Is she sick again? Is—"
"I said shut up!" Malice yelled, whirling, glaring dangerously, her face tear-streaked and flaming. "She's dead, alright! My mother's dead, and there's nothing you can do about it, so go away!"
Ein blinked, barely able to comprehend her words. He knew what death was; Ledah had told him long ago that sometimes the spirit inside a person went away and never came back. It could happen when you were very hurt or very sick, or very old. Those who died in acts of bravery or led glorious, righteous lives went to Valhalla to join the gods. Lots and lots of people died in wars like Ragnarok, Ein knew. But he had always been removed from death, had always felt in some strange way that it wasn't really real. He had never known anyone or anything that died before.
"Malice, I…" Ein stood staring at her out of big wounded eyes.
"Don't you look at me like that!" she snapped, standing up, her hands balled into dangerous fists, tears still streaming down her face. "Don't pretend like you know how I feel! You don't have parents! You could never understand! Go away and leave me alone, you… you…"
"What's going on?" a soft voice behind Ein asked. Turning around and looking up, Ein let a few of the frightened tears in his eyes fall out of relief. It was Ledah.
Ledah had golden-blonde, shaggy hair that he cut himself whenever he realized that it was getting too long and kind carmine eyes. He wore a somewhat faded fawn-colored robe and scuffed leather shoes that he'd had for at least a year already, with his silver-rimmed reading glasses starting to slip down his nose. As usual, the older boy had on the pendant he called a "rosary", which had round wooden beads and a cross of dull metal on the end. Although Ein knew that Ledah's family was rich, his dearest friend's clothes always looked old, messy, and almost secondhand; the robe he was wearing was a little too small, and he'd cut the toes off his shoes so that he could keep wearing them. Ein didn't really understand. There was a fresh circle of bruises visible along Ledah's right wrist where his sleeve fell short; vaguely, Ein wondered where his friend had gotten them.
Thin and small for his twelve years, Ledah was still two inches short of five feet tall, though he seemed to tower over little Ein where he stood. Characteristically, there was a large leather-bound book already tucked beneath the young angel's right arm; though he was sopping wet from the rain, out of breath, and bewildered, Ein still saw his coming as the sign that everything was going to be alright after all—he nearly idolized Ledah, his savior and best friend.
Disregarding the older boy's soaked clothes, Ein threw his arms around Ledah's waist and clung to him, looking from his face to Malice's and back again.
"Go away," the blonde girl seethed, a dangerous, almost crazy glint in her pale blue eyes. "Just go away and leave me alone."
Ledah shook his head. "Malice…" He paused, then found the words he was looking for. "It's your mother, isn't it?" She didn't respond, other than a slight tremor in her fisted hands. He sighed. "You can't really say that you didn't see this coming… she's been sick for so long, since before Ein was even born… so please… don't take it out on him when he tries to help."
"Shut UP!" Malice's shout rose into a shriek, stamping her right foot hysterically. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
Laying a gentle hand on Ein's head, Ledah held out the book he was carrying to the younger boy. Understanding, Ein took it, holding it tightly to his chest as Ledah took a few slow steps towards Malice. "But, please, try to understand… your mother's death is not just some random act of divine cruelty. Everything happens for a reason. You wouldn't have to suffer like this unless something important could one day come of it."
"Like what!" Malice demanded. "What's so damn important that they had to take my mother away for it!"
Ein winced and almost covered his ears. That was one of the Very Bad Words that Ledah always told him that kids were Not Supposed To Say. It wasn't such a Bad Thing for grown-ups, but for someone like Malice…
"I don't know," Ledah said gently, now standing only a few feet away from her. "No one can know right now. Maybe you and I never will. But I'll tell you what you can do to find out… pray."
"Pray?" Malice repeated, and let out a short, choked laugh. "Pray? I used to go to chapel every day and pray that Mom would get better! I did everything I could for her. I spent so long begging the gods for her life, but you know what? The gods can't help, they're dead too! Praying doesn't do anything! There's no one there to listen to you! There's no point and you can't tell me what to do!"
"Malice…" Ledah said softly, reaching out to her.
She dashed his hand away. "Well, fuck the gods! And fuck you too!" Ein, clutching the book even closer, let out a tiny moan. "How can you just stand there and preach at me! Don't you understand that this was my mother's life—her life!"
"Malice, I know." Ledah put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to hold his gaze. "And there's no way for any of us to know whether or not the gods can still hear us. But that's what having faith is all about. And if we let the things that have happened to us take away our faith, then we have nothing left. I pray every day for the answer to why my own parents cannot love me—all I can do is hope that one day, those prayers will be answered. If you look for answers long enough, you'll find them, Malice. Just don't ever give up looking. The gods gave their lives to make sure this world existed. Don't shut out that sacrifice in your own pain… you have to have somewhere to turn now, don't you…?"
"But… but…" Her fury collapsing in on itself, Malice crumpled, burying her tear-stained face in Ledah's chest. "All the money's already gone and I don't have anybody left anybody and there's no place to go anymore and what do I do? o gods, what do I do?" Words and worries spent, she sobbed brokenly into the front of Ledah's robes as he stood with his bruise-marked arms around her, her voice becoming one long, crescendoing moan of pain and terror.
Whimpering, Ein put the book down and ran to them, throwing his little arms around Malice's still-shaking body as well, starting to cry in earnest. Ledah, silent though there were a few tearstreaks on his face, held both of them tightly.
They stood that way for a very long time.
---
Ein shivered and curled into a tighter ball in his bed, unable to help thinking about what had happened earlier that day. He hoped that Malice was going to be okay. It had to be really scary to suddenly be all alone in the world.
There was a soft tap on the window; sitting up, Ein saw that Ledah was stretched up on tiptoe to reach it, gently rapping on one of the glass panes with an intent look on his face. Standing up, Ein scrambled to the window and unlatched it; Ledah swung himself through, then closed and locked the panes behind him.
"I needed to get out of the house again," Ledah murmured breathlessly, turning to face Ein. With a sick jolt, the young boy saw a livid, purpling bruise forming along Ledah's cheek, stretching from just below his eye to level with his lip, which was cracked and bleeding. "Sorry to just barge in again…"
"That's okay," Ein told him, reaching up to give his friend a hug.
More and more often, Ledah had been appearing in the building Ein lived in at night, usually simply claiming that he felt the need to get away from his parents when he did. He would stay until morning, falling asleep on the floor or (at Ein's insistence) in the same bed as his young friend. Ein liked it when Ledah slept over, but lately, there had been scary bruises on his friend's body when he slipped through the window, and once he had even been shaking so hard he'd barely been able to get into bed. And sometimes, he cried in his sleep, softly asking the question of "why" over and over.
Leading Ledah over to the bed, then sitting down beside him, Ein hesitated, then reached up to very gently touch the mark on the blonde boy's cheek with his small hand. "Why does your mommy hit you?" he asked, his child's treble plaintive and tremulous.
Drawing his knees up to his chest, Ledah hid his face behind them. "I wish I knew," he said softly and sadly, voice muffled against his own flesh.
"Ledah…" Shivering, Ein put both hands on his friend's sharp shoulder, giving him a hesitant shake. "Please, Ledah, don't cry! I'm here…"
The blonde looked up at him out of frighteningly hopeless, nearly apathetic carmine eyes. As he slowly blinked, one full, shimmering tear slipped along his bruised cheek to drip audibly on the soft white comforter of Ein's bed.
Young as he was, Ein felt a swift fierce chill crawl along his back; it was a feeling that he would eventually name foreboding.
Unable to take any more, Ein threw his arms around Ledah, clinging tightly and trying to choke back tears. The blonde boy slumped down over him, his uninjured cheek resting in the soft niche between the nape of Ein's neck and the soft, downy base of his right wing.
"Oh, Ein…" And when he spoke, Ledah's voice was twisted horribly with previously contained sobs. Not knowing what else to do, Ein simply sat and held on as hard as he could as the best and strongest person he knew dissolved into silent tears.
There was a long, awkward silence as Ledah's spasms gentled, then died away. He remained draped over Ein's far smaller body, with his arms in a loose grip around the young child's torso, his breath soft and warm against Ein's smooth skin.
"Will you be better now?" Ein asked at last, treble voice trembling in anxiety.
"I… think so." Sitting up again, Ledah wiped away the traces of tears, and then attempted a smile. "I'm sorry… I'm always doing this without even thinking, I…"
"No! It's okay," Ein insisted. Gripping Ledah's wrist in both hands, he tugged gently. "Come lay down. It's cold."
"I don't need…" Ledah began awkwardly, starting to blush, but Ein kept tugging, a slight pout on his full-cheeked baby face. Unable to stand it, the young blonde gave in almost instantly, shifting his wings in embarrassment.
With a sigh, he stood, then slipped his too-worn robes over his head. Ein gasped, horrified. Beneath the layer of old, fraying linen, Ledah's body was covered in the same purplish bruises that marked his face and arms. A few of his feathers had been tugged askew, and it looked now as if he was favoring his left wing, refraining from moving it as much as he normally would've.
Why do they do these things to you? was what Ein felt like asking, but instead, he winced and said "Doesn't that hurt?" in a tiny voice.
"Not really…" Ledah replied, sighing. "I've gotten used to it." Wearing only his underclothes, the young angel slipped into bed next to Ein, snuggling close beside him. "Don't worry about me."
"How can you get used to being all over bruises?" Ein couldn't help but cry, his eyes huge and pleading. "How, Ledah?"
Ledah's smile was sad, but calm. "Because… before it was them, it was the other kids. Haven't you ever wondered why I don't go to school? I got taken out in the middle of my first year because I never made it through a single day without being attacked and beaten by some of the other students."
As Ein's horror-filled eyes grew larger and larger, Ledah continued. "I had to leave, for my own safety. My teacher came and forced my parents to give me a private tutor… and self-defense classes. People leave me alone now because I can fight better than any of the people my age."
"But why?" Ein asked, his voice trembling. "Why did they want to hurt you?"
"I don't know. It could be anything… from being from a rich family to the clothes I have to wear. And I was just too smart for them, I guess." Ledah shrugged; the gesture was only somewhat pained. "But I don't have to worry about them anymore… and as long as you stay with me, neither do you."
Ein was silent for a moment; then he inched closer to Ledah, tucking his face against his friend's chest. "…You're so brave…"
"What?"
"I couldn't live like you do… go back to a mommy and daddy that hate me. I'm too scared of being hurt. But you… how do you do it?"
"It's like I told Malice," Ledah said softly, and Ein could tell by the sound of his voice that he was smiling. "All that I can do is have faith that one day things will be different. I'm not as strong as you think I am, Ein… I keep going back home because I don't know what I would do on my own. All that I can do is trust in the gods' plan."
"But what if it's like Malice said?" Ein whispered. "If the gods… if they really are dead…"
"We haven't gotten to the end of the book about Ragnarok yet, have we?" Ledah asked him. Ein, looking up, saw that his friend's smile had grown. "Yes, the gods chose to give up their lives and their power so that the Grim Angels would be born. And at the end of the war, every one of them died and went to Valhalla. But, Ein…" Lowering his voice to the softest whisper, Ledah leaned in to speak directly into Ein's ear. "Before the gods left… they made the world a promise."
"What kind of promise?" Ein asked, whispering in return.
"They swore to the Magi, and the angels, and the humans, and the Sprites… that one day, they would rise again, even stronger than ever. That's why the Magi are only considered proxies of the gods. They've only been entrusted with the world for as long as it takes until the gods return. Ein… no one knows how or when, but they will come back when we truly need them again. This is all happening according to the gods' plan. Everything happens for a reason… or at least, that's what I believe."
"What if the gods don't come back, though? What if they can't?" Ein asked, shivering, his voice going plaintive again.
Ledah smiled again, and gave Ein a gentle brother's kiss on the forehead. "No one can really know if they will, and if they do, it could be years and years after both of us are gone. But I have faith in the gods… because if I didn't, Ein… what kind of life would this be…?
"You must never forget your faith, Ein. When the world grows dark around you, and you're in pain, and it seems like you can see the gates of Hel themselves… believe in the gods. Believe that you have a purpose. Only that will give you the courage to keep fighting. So have faith, little one, and never let anything you see or hear take that faith away."
Ein blinked, confused. "I don't get it."
Ledah laughed and lovingly stroked Ein's hair. "You will someday, don't worry about that." Seeing how his young friend's eyelids were fluttering lower and lower, the blonde boy smiled. "And I think it's bedtime for you. Go to sleep, and don't worry about me. As long as I'm with you, I know I'll be alright."
Ein yawned, sleepily putting his arms around Ledah's neck. "As long as you'll reeeally be okay."
"I will. Goodnight, Ein."
"Okaaay… 'Nighty, Ledah…"
Burying his face in his dear friend's chest, Ein drifted into sleep, shedding the cares and concerns of the day in the soothing, dreamless realm of the night.
---
The jagged crystalline exterior of the castle lying at the center of the Isle of Goriate loomed ominous on the horizon.
"Just looking at it makes me feel like something awful is going to happen," Fia murmured, clasping her hands on Rosier's ornate hilt.
"But we'll keep going—we must," Cierra told her, though her nearly-violet eyes were worried. "If we don't stop Hector and Malice, all of Riviera will suffer."
There was a long moment of silence.
"Guys, I've been thinkin'…" Serene said slowly. The others turned to her, and she shifted uneasily, fingering the haft of her scythe, Infinite Arc. "What if what Malice said was true—that this, all of this, with Riviera and the Retribution—was part of the gods' plan, and was supposed to happen…? Are we just fighting fate by trying to resist?"
"I'm surprised at you," Fia said sternly. "After what happened to your people, I can't believe that you're talking like this…"
"It's because of what happened in Rosalina that I'm starting to get a little concerned," Serene replied defensively. "If the Retribution is inevitable, maybe it'd be better trying to get everyone who can travel out of Riviera before it happens. Enough people've already died. Not even counting the way my race got massacred, we just saw someone get murdered right in front of us and weren't able to save him. If the same kind of thing happens all over…"
"We can't do that," Ein said decisively.
The girls all turned to look at him. Alone out of their number, Ein was still turned to face Hector's castle, glaring up at it almost defiantly. He was gripping his Diviner so tightly that the well-worn leather of his glove was tugged tight against his knuckles.
"I believe in the gods," he explained. "I just can't bring myself to accept that the powerful beings who sacrificed themselves rather than seeing the world overrun by demons would advocate the sacrifice of millions of lives just for a temporary solution. No… this can't be their true will. The gods gave up their lives to create the Grim Angels so that the world could live in peace until they returned. For the sake of all the Sprites who've died in order to make Hector's twisted schemes come this far… and for Ledah's sake, too… I can't let them do this. This is my destiny. Everyone… if you don't want to come with me, that's okay. I don't want to force you into fighting, after everything that's happened. But I won't give up. I'll never give up."
"Ein…" Fia whispered, staring at him with an almost wondering look in her eyes.
Turning to look over his shoulder, Ein smiled at the girls, and there was fierce conviction mingled with regret in his eyes as he met their gaze. "A long time ago, someone I loved told me to have faith. I didn't really understand what he meant then, but I do now. This is what I believe in, and I'm not gonna let anything hold me back. Not Hector, not the Magi, not Seth, and definitely not Malice. I won't let Ledah's sacrifice be in vain… and I'll defend this world the gods died to protect."
"(Now you're talking like a Grim Angel,)" Rose purred. "(Come on everyone, let's do this!)"
"Ein's right," Lina said staunchly, bouncing over to his side. "We can't give up now… we've come so far!"
"Pffft… yeah, what am I thinkin'? How am I going to avenge everybody if we run away?" Stretching, Serene swung Infinite Arc experimentally. "Sorry about that, Ein. Okay, I'm ready… we should get going now."
"That's the spirit," Cierra told them, smiling.
"Come on, Fia," Ein said, holding out his free hand to her. "We have to end it… for all the lives, and for the gods… and for ourselves, too. People like you and me… weren't meant to turn our backs on our faith, after all."
Wordlessly, Fia put her small hand in his. Ein squeezed it.
"I've lost the best friend I ever had, but I've still got all of you," he told her softly. "And as long as you're here, as long as I still have breath in this body… I will fight. We can never give up."
And, slowly, the six travelers began to make their way towards the castle, their beliefs the blazing torch that lit their way.
:owari: