The Next Chapter...Sephiroth Kingdom

Chapter 3

Pov Van

The brush was fairly thick with quite a few fallen branches and twigs littering the ground which made my job far easier. I had to be wary of the area; there were numerous tusk and claw marks scared onto the trunk of the trees surrounding the brush. I was absolutely certain that there was a pack of territorial monsters on the loose nearby. My thoughts strayed as I gathered the splintered branches into a decent pile carefully tying them together with some twine I had on hand.

Legretta truly puzzled me on various occasions she seemed to have multiple sides to her personality that I had been unaware of until recently. She had a militaristic side that demanded professionalism and perfection at all times. When she was in this particular persona I had never witnessed her laugh or so much as crack a smile because of her seriousness for her military image. It came off as intimidating and often scared off the new recruits that has recently joined the Order making them go from frolicking to military attention within seconds of her walking into the room. Along with this militaristic persona also came a sort of cold demeanor as well. Affection was never shown to her fellow comrades on or off the battlefield. It seemed as if she could care less about the people she worked with, but that was quite the opposite. Though people rarely spot her at the ceremonies because of her keeping herself out of sight; she attends every single one that her comrades are being honored. She even goes as far as to visit the graves of those who have fallen tending to their tombstones and leaving a single orchid while thanking them for their hard work and service to the order.

She also seems to have a soft spot for children. Out of all the things that I had discovered about Legretta this surprised me the most. Recently, I had seen her interact with the children at the monument located just outside of Daath's outskirts I had assumed that she would be the most awkward and her having no idea of how to even interact with children. To the contrary she was comfortable with the children. She had even smiled as she returned a doll a little girl had dropped while her brother was chasing her. Legretta seemed to have a natural knack for kids; for she continued to play with them for a short time while I was checking my equipment for the trip to Yulia city. Before then I had only seen her interact with adults never batting an eye at the children she passed in the cathedral. It made me wonder what prompted her to suddenly interact with the kids at the monument since she seemed to avoid contact with them within Daath. It also made me wonder if she have ever wished to have a family of her own when she retired from her military life, since she would be a great mother from what I ascertained.

I knew that I had once wanted to have a family of my own when I was younger. Those thoughts left my mind as time went on and I had focused on other more important things such as my ambition for the new world. To be completely honest I still, although very seldom, dream of having a family and marrying the perfect wife. We would live in a medium sized house and have a pet of some sort with at least a few children running around…...

I quickly shake the offending thoughts from my head heaving the few bundles of wood I had finished gathering and bundling onto my shoulder. I had no time to be entertaining those thoughts when I have a dream that I must accomplish to make a truly free world. A free world that is wrested from the shackles of the score and liberated from the future written with the ink of death. I must remain steadfast and carry out my ideals for a better future.

After I had trekked out of the brush I looked around the camp to see if I could spot Legretta; only she was no where to be seen. I came to the center of the camp to still see my sleeping bag and supplies untouched next to the tree where I had left them before I had left to gather the wood for the fire. With a small grunt I placed the bundles of firewood onto the ground near my feet untying one of the bundles arranging the sticks to create a fire. I mumble a small incantation of the fifth fonon lighting the arrangement creating a pleasant warmth that permeated throughout the atmosphere. When I was sure the fire was stable I stood and looked once more for any sign of Legretta. My head shot up when I heard the rustle of the leaves from above. My body went into autopilot when I saw someone descending from the tree quickly jumping back and drawing my sword ready to strike. When the figure landed I realized that it was only Legretta when I saw a wisp of her blond hair that now, had a warmer tone from the fires glow. I sighed as I sheathed my sword and stepped towards the fire settling next to its warmth.

"I'm sorry if I startled you sir." Legretta apologized while seating herself across from him. "I should have warned you of my decent.""

I nodded back to her in response. "No worries Major. I should have taken you seriously when you told me you were going to be within that tree. I thought you were joking about sleeping in the branches, but it seems you were serious about the notion."

Legretta tried to muffle her laughter, but I had heard it anyways. Her laughter was a thing to behold. It sounded like chimes in the wind; it was fairly contagious, so not too long after I found myself chuckling as well. After the laughter died out we both agreed to heat the soup we had for dinner. It was quiet as we both ate our respective bowls of soup. Not even an idle chat was initiated by either of us, but it wasn't awkward for there was a comfortable silence that allowed us to enjoy one another s company. The sun was long set by the time we had finished our meals. The sun had set and gave way to the moon and the trillions of stars that now dotted the sky with their soft twinkling and glow. Unlike the morning and afternoon the night had been fairly calm and was passing without any monsters rearing any of their unwanted presences. This gave both Legretta and I some time to relax before we would eventually turn in for the night. Legretta had settled herself against the trunk of the tree while I remained by the fire.

"Commandant, what are your plans for when we arrive in Yulia City?" Legretta asked softly.

"I plan to introduce you to my sister, Mystearica, who you will train in the ways of a soldier. Then I plan on conducting some research within Yulia's archives on the protectors." I answered.

For a moment I could of sworn I had heard a sharp intake of breath from Legretta when she heard my response to her question. I glanced in her direction to see if she had acted as I thought she had, but she seemed as calm as before. Calm however, was not the right word as she seemed more resolved than anything.

"The protectors? Who are they?" Legretta questioned further. "How will they help your cause?"

I took a moment to gather an appropriate answer to her questions. I raised my knee and draped my arm over it bringing my left hand to chin.

"I'm not quite sure how they would aid me, but they are people who are not bound to the score as other people are. I was thinking if we could somehow harness that power and apply it to the rest of the world and free it from the score. As you may know those in Yulia City are called the Watchers because they watch as the score while it runs its course. They make sure the score is being carried out as it deems. The protector's however protect the Sephiroth and are contracted to the Sephiroth giving them immense power. If I could use that power they hold I may be able to use it to negate the score and obliterate it from existence." I explained with a slight excitement. This could be a breakthrough for my dream of a scoreless world why wouldn't I become slightly excited for the possible lead?

Legretta hummed in response. "I see." she said with a small sigh.

"I was hoping that you would be willing to help me when you are not occupied with training Mystearica." I proposed "This way the research could be done at an accelerated rate."

"Of course sir. "Legretta responded drowsily. She seemed to be at the edge of nodding off into a blissful sleep.

"Legretta if you preferred I can take the first night watch." I offered "This way you can rest."

I looked in Legretta's direction when I failed to get a response. Legretta had already fallen asleep while leaning against the trunk of the tree with her head slightly tilted to the side with her hands in her lap and her legs tucked into herself. She seemed at peace when she slept almost as if she hadn't had a care in the world. I caught her shiver when a light but sharp breeze blew by, so I shrugged off my coat and draped it over her to shield her from the oncoming cold. It didn't surprise me to find her asleep, since I often found her overworking herself more often than not.

I returned to the fire to have a better viewpoint to see oncoming dangers the night may bring. The embers of the fire wisped about as if giving a final dance before they disappeared into the encompassing darkness around them. My thought continuously drifted from one thought to another as I observed the dancing flames tossing a much needed twig into the fire.