Moonlit Shadows

The Beginning

Princess Tifa sat slouched in her chair after breakfast. Her eyes slid half way closed with her arm propped to support the side of her face and the other hanging off the arm of her chair. She was bored. She missed the days where she could run around the fields, laughing and playing with the other girls. She no longer kept in touch with her friends, they all had gone their separate ways, and they all had their own lives to live…

To sit our bottoms on royalty and rot with absolute boredom, thought Tifa as she groaned. Tifa had always detested being a princess; it was never what she wanted. Many girls' fairytale dream would be to become a princess…so that one day, their knight in shining armour would come and sweep them off their feet. Tifa rolled her eyes as a yawn escaped her lips. Sure, she may have been that dreamy girl years back, but she was faced with a dead end and very quickly she realized life was not a fairytale. No matter how hard her father tried to make her life perfect, she knew some things could not be changed. He couldn't stop the sun from setting, allowing her to play outside just a little longer nor could he prevent her from catching the flu from her friends. There were a lot of things, even with great power, he could not do… he couldn't save her mother, he couldn't bring her back…he couldn't even find Cloud.

She sighed. Not again. The dreams had not stopped, almost every night her peaceful slumbers were interrupted by her childhood friend again and again. And the part that frustrated her more than anything was that she didn't know why. Why did he decide to pop up in her mind out of nowhere? Had she thought of him? Had she wished to see him or had even she missed him at all?

No! Absolutely not! Tifa rubbed her face with her hands.

And what was more annoying than ever was how his boyish face flashed from every corner. He would appear out of thin air when she'd stare out her balcony, or when she'd gaze absentmindedly at her father's empty chair across from her during breakfast. She's even see his face while training with Master Zangan, and one time she became so disgruntled she swung a hard punch in her master's gut. Surprised and quite proud with her improvement, Zangan had rewarded her by bringing her up to the next level.

But really! This is far too much...I need to get out. Yes, I think a bit of fresh air should help. Pushing herself off the chair she strolled down the quiet hallway. It was usually calm during the morning; the maids would go off to the market to prepare for lunch and dinner. It would start getting busy right before noon. She quickly climbed the stairs up to her room to change out of her sleeping gown.

The weather was fairly nice outside. There was a light summer's breeze swaying along the wispy clouds. Tifa smiled as the scent of outdoors consumed her while walking through the garden that lay behind the palace. Lifting the hood of her red cloak to cover her head, she made her way towards the gates leading to a pathway of pebbles and stones. As she approached, she spotted two guards lazily leaning against each door. They immediately straightened as the princess of Amortania came into view.

"Your Highness," they both bowed.

Tifa gave a light nod in response. "I'm going for a little walk, I'll be back before noon."

Before the guards had any time to protest, Tifa had briskly walked through the gates. Her father had become very protective of her since the past couple of months, and Tifa was not particularly fond of her new boundaries. She had not been given any reason for her father's strange actions, and thus being the stubborn girl that she was, she chose to do what she desired.

And at this moment, all she wanted was some fresh air.

Is that too much to ask?!

A sudden movement a few meters ahead of her caused a falter in her steps. A gasp escaped her as a dark clad figure collapsed onto the ground with soft groan. Despite the guards' sharp objections, warning her that it may be dangerous, Tifa was by the unfamiliar figure's side in an instant. As she gently rolled the body over, she was met with a young face of a boy. His brown hair was slightly mussed, freckles were lightly showered over his pale cheeks, and his small lips were parted slightly. His eyes were shut tight and his teeth were clenched.

"Hey!" Tifa shook him lightly, but he didn't budge. "Are you alright?" her voice was frantic as she pressed her ear to his chest; his heart was beating really fast. She quickly lifted his shirt, checking to see if he was hurt. Fortunately, apart from a few small bruises, the boy was fine. She gently brushed the hair in his eyes away. "Don't worry," she whispered. "You'll be alright."

His brows furrowed and his eyes squinted in the broad sunlight, revealing pained blue eyes. He let out a groan as he attempted to get up. His fingers clenched into tight fists as his expressions reflected anger and anguish. His eyes slowly travelled up and locked onto Tifa's. He licked his dry lips before speaking.

"P-princess Tifa?" his voice was hopeful.

Startled, she nodded while supporting his back with her hands, urging him to continue. He didn't say any more, though he did reach into his pocket and pulled out crumpled piece of parchment. He held it out to her.

Tifa reached out with a hesitant hand, grabbing the piece of paper, and sending the boy a questioning gaze. He merely shrugged, looking away.

Princess Tifa,

Find Him.

Before they find you.

Be careful.

Eyes snapped to the boy, wide and horrified. "What is this? Who--?"

"The Queen is dead." He muttered, his eyes still cast elsewhere. "Everyone is dead. Romoldane is dead."

What was this she was hearing? Tifa did not know how to respond...Cloud's mother was dead? How--? She let out another gasp as her eyes caught dark ashes of smoke rising amongst the clouds. It was coming from behind the forest. It was coming from Amortania's closest ally. It was coming from the palace she knew so well...

A shaky hand found its way up to her lips. Eyes still, too terrified to look away from the black soot rising from behind the green trees. "No..."

Her intent gaze was broken as the boy spoke. "Yes..." his sad eyes slowly moved to meet with hers. "They're all gone, Princess..."

Her eyes shut tightly as she shook her head in refusal. " No! They can't!" How could this have happened? The whole kingdom wiped clean; destroyed? Who would have done something as brutal as this? The kingdoms of Romoldane and Amortania were known as a neighbourhood of peace and tranquility. Cloud's home was always as second home to Tifa,

Before she knew it, her legs were carrying her fast into the thicket of dark trees. Her heart was beating with each step she took as she clutched tightly at the crumpled parchment. Desperately praying that this was all a lie, she turned down a dark and shady pathway that she knew all too well. At last, after a few minutes of sprinting, she was faced with the end of the cliff.

Her heart sunk lower than it already had, and she couldn't believe it, she didn't know what to think of it. Furious flames of fire enveloped the ashen castle as black clouds of smoke erupted from every angle. The lush green grass, that once covered the planes of Romoldane had been stripped into a dirt pile of mud.

Hands covered her mouth as she felt her knees give way, and found herself slowly lowering on to the ground. This couldn't be happening...

---

Tifa lay in the comfort of her bed as she attempted to listen to the murmurs from the other room. Her father was immediately contacted, and he had rushed to come home, demanding to know what exactly had happened. She could only make out so much from their hushed whispers, that she gave up. Her mind was too occupied with what she had witnessed...

She squeezed her eyes shut at her memories.

Her mind was an honest mess at the moment. She wasn't ready for this...she had put the past behind her and after so many years finally learned to move on. And out of nowhere, she starts dreaming of him...and then his home …and that note.

Find him.

Before they find you-

Her eyes snapped open.

Was that it?! Was that why I kept dreaming of him? Is that...Was he trying to tell me something? Oh Lord...Was I to prevent all this from happening? NO...it couldn't...Goodness this isn't happening!

Tifa pressed her fingers to her temples and she closed her eyes again. The crumpled noted was pressed tightly underneath her sweaty palm. There was no way she would show this to her father…not until she figured this out for herself. Checking to make sure her father was still busy conversing with his advisors, Tifa quickly grabbed her cloak and darted out the palace.