Bedtime Stories
a post-FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus fanfiction by Tripleguess
Fourth in the Radiance collection
Possible mild spoilers for DoC
Genre: Drama/Character
Rated PG-13 lite for fantasy violence
October 18, 2006

Summary: You never know who's listening...

"A story, Big Sister! Tell me a story!" Young eyes danced in firelight, imploring in time to energetic yanks on said big sister's arm.

"Nnng..." Big Sister was relaxing against a tree trunk, trying vainly to catch a nap at the end of this long day. Her patrols of the town's wooded outskirts had turned up nothing, which was reassuring in its own way; she didn't want her villages targeted again. But they'd also tired her out, and it was getting late, and she really wanted to sleep. Her weary brain, though, seemed unable to convey that much information to her mouth. "I don't know any stories, Ayame..."

"Yes you do! Yes you do!" Yank, yank.

The kid's energy, Big Sister mused, seemed inversely proportional to her own. "I do?"

"Uh-huh!" Yank. "Tell me the one you told me before, when you put me to sleep!"

"Oh, that one." Big Sister inhaled slowly, letting the scent of pine permeate her lungs. "You're okay with a rerun?"

Sensing victory, Ayame squealed in anticipation and flopped down on her tatami, clutching her chin in her hands.

"All right, then." Big Sister's eyes closed as she conjured up her emergency bedtime creation once more. "Once upon a time..."

X X X

Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a foreign land far, far away. It was a tiny land, but also a happy and prosperous one.

One day, however, the land's wise ruler fell ill. He was greatly beloved by his daughter and people, and many prayers were made on his behalf. But still his condition worsened until it was whispered that he would soon die. His daughter cried herself to sleep night after night, fearing for his life.

One day, long after the sun had set, the ruler called for his daughter. She dressed in haste and went to him, crossing the threshold of his chamber at the stroke of midnight.

"My pearl and my treasure," the ruler began, "I am sorry indeed to be the cause of so much grief. Yet perhaps I can now begin to make amends. Being so close to death has brought great clarity to my dreams. In my visions last night, I saw why I have become ill."

He closed his eyes to gather strength, then went on. "There is a great kingdom over the sea where a great samurai lord once ruled with compassion and justice. But one of his generals grew jealous and overthrew him by deceit, for she lured him to a mysterious cavern deep beneath the palace and by wicked arts sealed him within a giant crystal. Then the general began to rule in the samurai's name, claiming that the samurai lord was ill and had made her his proxy. Some were suspicious when she forbid all visiting, letters, and get-well cards, but they dared not challenge the general."

The princess leaned closer, hanging on every word.

"Not content with stealing one kingdom, the imposter sent out evil one-winged birds to spread tainted crystal dust on the surrounding lands. Wherever that dust fell, the rulers of the lands became ill and began to die."

"And that is why you are sick?" the princess cried. "Because of those evil birds and their crystal dust?"

"Yes."

"But what can I do?" she pleaded. "How can we put a stop to this?"

"There is only one way, my daughter. You must take my fastest mount and cross the great sea. Then go to the palace of that kingdom and find a way to release the samurai lord from his crystal prison."

Then the ruler fell into a deep sleep from which the physicians could not wake him.

X X X

The princess knew that her father had little time. So she saddled his swiftest chocobo and set off across the great sea, taking only three of her most treasured possessions: her father's ring, whose stone was said to be the crystallized tear of a dragon; a necklace of materia pearls that had been her mother's; and a mighty shuriken that was her constant companion, for it had been forged from steel and diamond blood especially for her.

When she reached the country across the sea she faltered, for she could sense a thick cloud of evil and sorrow covering the land. And she wept, for the sorrow pierced her heart, but the evil could not overcome the protection of her father's ring. So she went on.

It seemed to her as though she traveled through the fog for days, but when she arrived at the palace the tears were still wet on her cheeks. So perhaps it was only moments, after all.

The palace was heavily guarded and there were many SOLDIERS coming and going, but this did not deter her, for she was also a shadow warrior and had been trained in the art of stealth from birth. She hid her chocobo and stole the clothes of a kitchen girl who was swimming in the river. Dressed as a scullery maid, she slipped into the palace with a group of washerwomen who were bringing fresh linens and uniforms, hiding her foreign face behind an armload of tablecloths.

Once inside, she ducked into the darkest corridor she could find and began following the grief in her heart. It led her ever deeper; past the kitchens, the barracks, the armory, and even the dungeons, until she was in a cramped passageway hacked from bedrock. At last the passageway ended at a stone door. She wiped her face and reached for the handle, and the door flew open at her damp touch.

Inside, a tiny black box lay on purple velvet. The princess laid her mother's necklace on the cloth and stepped inside its circle of materia pearls. Immediately she grew smaller, or the box grew bigger. In any case, she could now easily fit inside the box. She opened the lid and stepped in, fearing the dark interior but knowing from the grief in her heart what she must do.

The box seemed bottomless. She fell and she fell and she fell until finally a deep pool of water broke her descent. Although she was far underground, she could clearly see that she was in a cavern, for the pool was lit by many glowing crystals that clung to the walls. She remembered her father's dream and took courage, though the grief in her heart was stronger than ever.

As she pressed on, a great monster dropped from the cavern roof to block her way. He had flaming white eyes and great leathery wings which he spread to keep her from passing.

"Tell me why you are here," he demanded, licking his chops greedily.

"I have come to heal my father," she replied, though she was very frightened.

"Oh-ho, is that all?" The monster scratched his head in disappointment. "The master said to eat anyone who tried to free the samurai lord, but he didn't mention anything about fathers." Then he brightened. "But you look very tasty, and they forgot to send me lunch. I think I'll eat you anyway."

"Oh, no! That would be a foolish thing to do," she warned him. "If you eat me, you'll be stricken with the grief in my heart, and you'll waste away down here in endless mourning."

"You don't say!" the monster exclaimed in horror, for he could see the tears still running down her face. "Then I'm very glad you're only here to heal your father, since I would have had to eat you otherwise."

So he stepped aside and let her pass. He was not a very bright monster. The general was afraid to post a smart guardian for fear it would free the samurai lord to gain his favor.

As the princess walked on, the pain in her heart became sharper and deeper until she was crying uncontrollably. She could sense other feelings twisted in with the grief; fear, anger, loneliness, guilt... and longing.

At last she came to a marvelous chamber whose walls sparkled with layer upon layer of luminous crystals. At the center of the chamber was a single large crystal, and trapped within that crystal was a crimson-clad man who could only be the samurai lord. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed over his chest as though for burial. He looked peaceful except for the great pain in his sleeping face.

His fashion sense, the princess decided, was deplorable, but that wasn't any reason to leave him locked up. She raised her mighty shuriken and threw it straight at the samurai's grieving heart, shattering the huge crystal with a single blow.

X X X

The samurai lord was most grateful. He immediately set things straight with his treacherous general, a discussion which naturally involved much shouting and sword-waving as well as a summary execution or two. He pledged his eternal protection to the foreign princess, not that she needed it, and made her promise to call on him should she ever need aid. He also, without her knowledge, assigned the stupid monster to watch over her secretly in return for its life, a task the penitent monster undertook willingly since the princess had saved him from eating something so unwholesome as a grieving heart.

So she returned home over the sea on her chocobo with a heart lighter than the clouds, and found her father awake and rapidly regaining his strength. The crystal dust that had caused the sickness was rendered powerless by the death of its parent crystal, and so many other lands the world over rejoiced at the sudden recovery of their rulers.

The samurai lord undid the damage his general had caused as best he could, and ruled with even more wisdom and compassion than before. And they all lived happily ever after.

X X X

Ayame blinked. "Except the general, right?"

"Except the general," Big Sister assured her, pouring herself a cup of tea from the campfire's kettle. "She went down in mako-hot flames."

Ayame stretched contentedly. "Oh, good."

A shadow at the edge of the firelight crossed its arms, almost indistinguishable against the night-shrouded forest. "That's not quite the way I remember it..."

Big Sister sucked in a surprised breath, and along with it half the hot tea. Vincent watched calmly as she choked, coughed, sputtered and flapped her hands. Goodness knew how long he'd been standing there.

"Darn you, Vincent! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I thought surprising a ninja was impossible," he said innocently.

She inhaled for a mighty harangue and went off into another coughing spasm. Vincent shrugged and helped himself to the tea.

-The End

A.N. -- Hi everyone and welcome back. A few weeks ago I volunteered to babysit four kids while their usual caretaker ran an errand. To avoid being pulled in pieces (yank, yank), I told them part of the Lord of the Rings story, beginning with Bilbo's party. Would you believe they were spellbound? I was shocked. We're talking about kids who get bored of TV in under ten minutes, yet they hardly made a sound until I stopped. (Ha, then I caught it.)

BTW, Radiance now has more hits, alerts, reviews, and favs than anything else I've posted on FFNet. So a great big THANK YOU to everyone who gave me such neat feedback. You rock.

I always appreciate hearing reader reactions. Yes, I mean yours. Favorite lines, random feedback, whatever -- it means a lot to me that someone enjoyed my work, cliche as it might be at times. (grin)

Disclaimer: This story not created, acknowledged or endorsed by Square-Enix, to whom all relevant characters and trademarks belong. No infringement is intended. Bedtime Stories itself is fan domain and may be freely recopied and archived.