Bare Necessities

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Squaresoft.

Summary: In the wake of the Magitek Research Facility incident, Celes reflects on what makes a soldier a soldier.

Bored writer plus spare time multiplied by chance inspiration equals random ficlet. Tell me what you think; my muse feeds on the juicy flesh of reviews.

Beheading. Torture. Or at the very least, lifelong confinement. It's what she had expected Gestahl to sentence her to. Though the betrayal against her in South Figaro was in the process of being resolved, the small matter of her aiding Returners in the infiltration of Devil's Lab remained glaringly at hand. So what did the emperor present her with?

A full pardon.

As she wandered the palace corridors back to her Executive Suite, Celes marveled at the absolute absurdity of it all. Everything she had done the last couple months was being overlooked, despite there being a strong case against her.

Benefits of being the emperor's favorite, no doubt.

Entering her suite for the first time in months, she threw her cloak over a chair and stood for a moment to let it all sink in. Absently glancing through the door to her bedroom, she noted her weapons and uniform had already been placed on her queen-sized bed. Drawing in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Celes sat down at the large mahogany desk in her office. Kicking off her boots and feeling the plush oriental rug beneath her feet, she reclined slightly in her leather chair, pensively pressing her fingertips together.

She looked at the walls of her office. A vast collection of swords, medals, plaques, and maps from her many achievements adorned the cold metal. Her ornate book shelves and cabinets, too, housed more trinkets and tributes, maps, and Imperial codebooks and manuals. Such things used to provide comfort to the general. Now, they appeared to be the source of her agitation.

Closing her eyes, Celes let her mind wander. There was a time when being a soldier seemed so much simpler.

(Twelve years ago…)

"Professor de la Vega."

Cid looked up from his workbench to see Nathan Vilas standing before him. "Lieutenant Vilas, what can I do for you?"

"I need to speak with you," the officer replied. "Privately."

"Of course." Cid glanced down at the seven-year old girl at Nathan's side. "Hello, Terra."

The child kept her head bowed shyly. "Hello, Professor."

Cid looked back to the lieutenant. "Privately, you said?"

"Yes, please."

The professor nodded, then called into a room adjacent to his office. "Celes!"

A girl Terra's age came out into the main laboratory. She immediately saluted to Vilas, then looked up at the scientist. "Yes, Uncle Cid?"

"Celes, this is Terra. I'd like to you entertain her for a time while speak with Lieutenant Vilas."

The small blonde gave the green-haired girl a skeptical once-over. Terra, in turn, kept her eyes glued to the cold floor tiles and seemed to shrink into herself.

Seeing this silent exchange, Cid knelt down to their level. "Celes, I think you'll find you have much in common with Terra. She can use magic as well."

The blonde merely tilted her head in response, as if to scrutinize the other girl further. Finally, she nodded in acceptance, and Cid gestured for Vilas to follow him into the scientist's office.

The door closed behind the two adults, and if Celes relaxed at all, Terra couldn't tell. She lifted her gaze a few fractions of an inch to study the young blonde. She quickly dropped her gaze back down when Celes turned from the professor's door.

After a moment, Celes finally spoke. "Come with me."

Terra obeyed without question and followed the slightly older girl out of the laboratories. She grew nervous as they began approaching sentries stationed at various doorways and corridor junctions. She was surprised when the soldiers let the girls pass with hardly more than a glance. Obviously, Celes had more freedom than Terra was allowed.

Eventually, the blonde withdrew a security card from her pocket and swiped it at one of a hundred other identical-looking doors. Just as Terra began to wonder what made Celes choose this particular door, the two stepped into what she realized was the blonde's personal quarters.

A standard-issue barracks cot sat in the corner with a simple nightstand next to it. A single bookshelf, small wooden desk and chair lining one wall were the only other pieces of furniture in the diminutive room. The iron walls themselves were adorned with a few old daggers and one short sword, and the metal floor was naked.

Terra temporarily forgot her shyness. "This is your room?"

Celes gave her a sidelong glance. "You don't sound very impressed."

"It's just a little…bare."

The blonde drew her small body up to her full height. "I'm going to be a soldier. I live how I'm meant to live. Why, what's your room like?"

Terra thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know…comfortable?"

Celes' face scrunched up as if in disdain. "A soldier's like isn't supposed to be comfortable. It's supposed to be…" She trailed off, searching for the right words.

"Not comfortable?" Terra guessed innocently.

"Just the bare necessities," Celes corrected, her ego slightly deflated.

Not much else was said before Terra had to go back to Vilas. The girl was afraid she had hurt Celes' feelings, so she resolved to do something for the blonde the next time they met.

Two weeks later, Celes was studying at her desk when there was a soft knock on her door. Putting her textbook down, she got up to answer it.

"Terra?"

The younger girl gave a timid wave. "Hey, Celes."

Glancing first at the girl's escort, the blonde regarded Terra indifferently. "What is it?"

"I have something for you." The green-haired child held out a small stuffed moogle. At Celes' raised brow, she explained. "I-I've had him for a long time. He helped me sleep at night, but I was thinking that maybe you could keep him."

This confused Celes even more. "Why?"

"Well, I didn't think you had anything like this, and-and I have other stuffed animals, so I figured you could…you know…have him."

Terra started turning bright red at her own ramble, suddenly thinking this was a bad idea. Much to her surprise, though, a bit of the blonde's true inner seven-year old shone through as a tiny smile, if only for an instant.

"Thoughtful," Celes said sincerely to which Terra returned a grin. "Hey, you want to practice using magic?"

The green-haired mage's smile grew brighter. "Sure!"

(Present day…)

As Celes continued to stare at her walls of her luxury suite, she wondered when things had changed and why she felt so empty. She couldn't be a general, at least not like she had been before; her status was forever tainted, no matter what Gestahl said or did. She also had never truly been a rebel nor could she be one now; her loyalties to the Empire were too deeply rooted.

Where did that leave her?

The one thing she knew she would always be was a soldier. With that revelation in mind, Celes stood abruptly from her chair and upturned her massive desk in one angry motion. In what looked like a fit of rage, the blonde tore everything off her walls and swept all objects off her shelves. Books, glass, and weapons crashed haphazardly to the floor.

The storm carried on to her closet, where Celes pulled various boxes out and unceremoniously shoved them behind her. She continued to dig to the very back of the closet until she finally found what she was looking for. Almost reverently, she carried the object over to the one bookshelf that remained standing. If she was going to be a soldier, she was going to have to start all over.

"…just the bare necessities…" she murmured, staring at the single object on her shelf.

Terra's stuffed moogle stared back in silent approval.

End.