Chapter 1: Little Town...
Little town, it's a quiet village...
It was only an hour or so after dawn had broken, but the small town of Nibelheim was already at its busiest.
Every day like the one before...
Everywhere, people went about their daily routines, lining up by the street vendors, haggling for food and supplies. Merchants shouted advertisements for the same goods they had sold yesterday, loudly claiming theirs to be the best of all.
Little town, full of little people...
Among the throngs of bright or fair-haired folk, a young girl with raven black hair stood out. She clung to be back of a chocobo-drawn carriage, on the lookout for something. After turning the corner, she smiled brightly, hopped off the fast-moving carriage as easily as one would step off a curb, and strode into a small store.
Waking up to say...
"Heya, Zangan!"
The shopkeeper, a man in his mid-thirties with the same dark hair and angular features, looked up and grinned widely. "Well, if it isn't my favorite customer!" He finished positioning a seven-foot long blade in the display window and returned her warm embrace.
The young girl looked around excitedly. "Got anything new, or is it just same old, same old, huh?"
Zangan smiled. "Remember how you asked about the three heroes last time?" After her confirmation, he continued. "I believe I have something that might help you with that mystery." He rummaged around behind the counter and pulled out -
"A book?" She stared incredulously. "You know I can't finish a book to save my life!"
He laughed, and then was serious. "This book records most of the travels of the three warriors. Some say it was written by Sephiroth himself."
The girl was instantly attentive. "Seriously? Where'd he find time to write, in between killing things and destroying entire armies single-handedly?"
Zangan laughed again. "Who knows? Here." He passed the book to her, watching as she stared at it reverently. "You can keep it."
She looked up in shock. "B-but, it's gotta be worth, like -"
He shook his head. "I have no need for it. Something tells me you'll find it interesting." He smiled at her frantic thanks. "Now, out with you!"
Yuffie grinned. "Sure thing, sensei!" she called as she skipped merrily out the door.
Across town, Rufus Shinra, vice president (and son of the president) of the largest and wealthiest worldwide trading company, was reading a letter from his father, who was on a business venture in far-away Wutai. With each word he read, his expression darkened a little more. Upon reaching the end, he folded the letter into a perfect hang-glider and launched it into the fire, watching his father's words burn with a grim satisfaction.
Reno, a Turk, or hired bodyguard/assassin, cocked an eyebrow. "Trouble, boss? Or just the old man being an asshole as always?"
This caused a small smile, though the bitterness was still there. "Father has requested that I seek out a bride."
The Turk nodded. "That ain't so bad. Just pick up some chick on the street. They all worship the dust you kick up anyway."
"A certain bride."
Curiosity. Did he care how many cats it had killed? No. A Turk's curiosity was insatiable. "Huh, really? Who?"
Rufus ignored the question. "Grab your coat, Reno. We're going out."
Yuffie sat down at the fountain, ignoring all the stares she was getting. It was only to be expected. She was one of three Wutains in the entire town, and the only female Wutain. Nibelheim was a small, isolated place, and anything new was regarded with either great suspicion or viewed with great curiosity. And, in the case of the younger men, lust. Though, in her opinion, she wasn't nearly as beautiful as the native Nibel women, her exotic background made her the target of many roving eyes. She didn't mind terribly, but the men here were so cocky. Like every one of them thought they were the center of the universe. Yuffie wanted someone that could deal with her constant seeking of excitement, which meant no one in Nibelheim, no matter how sexy they came.
She flipped open the book and stared at the picture in the inside cover. There stood three men. The two on either side both had gravity defying hair, one black and one blonde, the blond one a little younger-looking than the other. The man in the middle had long, silver hair that reached at least to his knees, with startling green eyes and an air of power about him. She started rethinking her previous thoughts. Wow...
The clock chimed, startling her out of her awed reverie. It was already nine?! "Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" Yuffie jumped to her feet and ninja-d her way through the crowd, breaking through and making a mad dash for her house.
Rufus stared grimly toward the mass of people, waiting just enough off to the side to appear casual. Reno fidgeted at his side. "Wow, this chick must be hot if you're waiting this long," he attempted to joke.
The young vice president laughed bitterly. "You know what they say. The prettiest women are the hardest to get." He scowled darkly. "This one in particular."
Reno made another attempt. "Um, yeah, so who is this again?"
His charge's expression suddenly settled into his cocky, charismatic mask that he always wore in public, his eyes fixed on someone breaking out of the crowd. The Turk followed his gaze to find a young, scantily clad Wutain girl that was sprinting toward them at top speed.
Rufus strode into her path confidently. "Hello, Miss Kisaragi."
Yuffie stopped abruptly to avoid crashing into him and looked up to meet his eyes in surprise. "Um, hey, Rufus." Only the sense of decorum that had been roughly beaten into her by both her "father" and teacher kept her from making a run for it. Ew, ew, ew, Rufus fucking Shinra. Dammit.
He smiled politely, though it came out as more of a confident smirk. "Would you like to take a walk with me? Perhaps it would help you relax. You do seem oddly rushed."
Yuffie blinked. This was unexpected. Everyone hit on her at one point or another, but Rufus? This was a new one. How on earth was she supposed to turn down possibly the second-most powerful man in the world, and be polite about it? "Um, maybe another day. I am kinda in a hurry." 'Maybe another day'? Dammit, now he'll think I'm offering! She tried to edge around him.
Rufus seemed perplexed. "Oh? What's the rush?" he asked, blocking her way again.
Her mind reeled. What the hell was going on? "Um, I gotta get back home to help my old man, you know?"
At this, Reno snorted in derision. "Ha! That crazy old guy with his rockets and tea?"
Yuffie's expression changed from one of cautious politeness to fury in a split second. "Do NOT talk about him like that!"
At the same time, Rufus elbowed the Turk sharply, though his eyes were laughing. "Shut up, Reno."
The young girl glared furiously at both of them. "I'll have you know that that 'crazy old guy' could kick your asses any day!"
BOOM!
As if on cue, there was a loud explosion from the small residence behind them. Yuffie spun around in shock. "Oh, shit!" she yelled, as she ran for the house.
Rufus and Reno both waited until she was out of earshot before bursting into hysterical laughter.
Yuffie opened the door to the basement, only to be met with a torrent of smoke. "Old man!" she called, coughing violently. "Hey, old man!"
As the smoke cleared, she was able to see the mechanic better, soot blackening his face, a scowl adorning his face. "I'm only fuckin' 32, goddamit! I ain't that old!"
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." Her expression turned concerned. "You okay? What happened?"
At this, he broke into a huge grin. "It worked! That's what fuckin' happened!"
Her eyes widened. "Seriously?!"
The mechanic nodded and pushed himself up to his feet proudly. "Hell yeah it did, or my name ain't Cid Highwind!"
Yuffie squealed and propelled herself into his arms for a hug. "Awesome! Now you can make a million of 'em and sell them and be totally famous and rich and stuff and oh my GOD I'm so happy!"
Cid rolled his eyes and patted her on the head. "Yeah, yeah, now straighten up, kid. You're the fuckin' princess of Wutai, remember?"
She sighed and pulled away. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me," she grumbled. After a moment of thought, she spoke up again. "Wait a sec, maybe that's why Shinra was all flirty and stuff!"
The mechanic looked up from the half-assembled missile he was working on. "Huh? Fuckin' Shinra was hittin' on ya today?" He gawked and shook his head when she confirmed it. "Coulda sworn the guy was a fruit."
Yuffie chuckled. Then frowned again. "Well, his dad did go to Wutai for some business thing, right? Maybe the people said something. Where I'm being brought up isn't exactly a secret in Wutai." She nodded. "Yeah, it makes sense! The old bastard would want to have control over Wutai, and since he can hardly bring in armies and force surrender, he'd want to do it through marriage!" Yuffie shuddered at the thought. "Now Rufus Shinra is gonna be after me? Ew, just, ew."
Cid laughed at his surrogate daughter's discomfort. "Why so grumpy? He's powerful, rich, and a handsome kinda guy. All the other girls like him. What's so bad about the guy? Pass me that doohickey over there, would ya?"
The young princess tossed the 'doohickey' over to the mechanic, even as she groaned exasperatedly. "He's just so boring! I wouldn't be able to have any fun with a guy like him! He'd pack me off to etiquette school, and I'd have to be a lady in public and stuff! And he's got that whole 'I'm Rufus Shinra, the most powerful man in the world' thing going on. Ha! More like the most cocky, pompous ass in the world!" She sighed. "He's just...not my type, okay?"
Cid straightened up from the now-finished rocket. "Well, sorry to leave ya like this, but I gotta be goin'. Don't worry about Shinra, a' right? Just tell him you ain't interested. He's a big boy, he can handle it."
Yuffie looked up thankfully at her adoptive father. "Yeah, thanks, old man," she said, smiling teasingly.
He threw a light punch at her, which she dodged easily. "Not fuckin' old! Now help me load this shit onto Aura!"
She laughed lightheartedly, any dark thoughts banished. "Yes, sir!"
Aura, their trusty, carefully bred golden chocobo, trotted off merrily down the path with Cid astride her, drawing behind them a cartload of machinery, warking happily. It wasn't until an hour into the trip that Cid scratched his head and pulled her to a stop.
"Should be there by now..." he mumbled, checking his map again. "Huh...maybe we missed that turn..." He looked up to find a fork in the road. "Ah, fuck." Cid examined the two roads, trying to decide which one to take. After a while, he chose the left, solely based on the fact that there were less leaves on the ground. "Giddy-up, Aura," he coaxed the chocobo forward. He peered around, looking for signs of anything familiar. Aura kweh-ed nervously.
Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed. The gold chocobo panicked and threw its rider off, dashing back the way she'd come at high speed.
"Fuck! Aura, hey, wai - aw, sunnava..." he cursed under his breath as rain started pelting down. Cid sighed and looked around. Something in the woods howled. He gulped and started walking forward quickly.
After a few minutes, he saw a large mansion up ahead of him. The mechanic sighed in relief and ran towards it, shoving open the door, not bothering to wonder why it was unlocked.
He was met with complete silence. "Uh, hello?" he called. No one answered. "Well, uh, sorry 'bout bustin' in like this, but, uh, there's a storm and stuff and, uh..." he trailed off. "Oh, fuck it," Cid muttered under his breath and made his way through the mansion.
"Whose idea was it to leave the door unlocked?" There was an angry whisper from behind him. He spun around, finding no one.
"Shh! He'll hear you!" Another whisper. Cid's eyes whipped around frantically.
There was a sigh. "Too late for that. Hey, mister, over here!" the disembodied voice called out.
Cid looked around, finding nothing but a few candelabras sitting on a table. He grabbed one of them and looked around. "Where the hell are ya?"
"Over here!" From behind him? He spun around. "Where?!"
Someone tapped his hand. He stared at the candlestick. It was grinning at him. "Hi!"
Needless to say, he dropped the candle.
It (he?) hit the ground with an indignant squawk. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"
Cid stared at it. It was a normal looking candelabrum. The metal it was made of was black, which was a little unusual, but it didn't explain the talking. Or the face that was scowling up at him from the center candlestick. The flames also burned black, and not like normal flames, but like a sparkler, shooting out in different directions. Nothing that couldn't be accomplished without the proper combination of chemicals. But the face? And the talking?
A quiet chuckle came from the table. Cid spun around and stared. The two other candelabra were laughing. One of them was made of gold, its flame the same color, also shooting outward. The other was silver, flame and material both. However, this one's flame burned normally, despite its abnormal color.
It was this one that spoke. "Very gracefully done, as always." The deep baritone was dripping with sarcasm.
The black candle on the ground glared petulantly. "So says you, Mr. I-Left-The-Fucking-Door-Open-But-I'm-Much-Too-Awesome-To-Admit-It. Do you have any idea what he's gonna do when he finds out?" This made the silver candle's smug expression to falter slightly.
The gold candle addressed Cid. "Just ignore them. And try to block out the craziness of all this. It's probably not every day you see a bunch of talking candlesticks, right?"
Cid walked over to the table, still slightly awed. "Uh, yeah?"
The candle smiled. "You want to sit down, dry off or something?"
This caused the other two to stop bickering and react violently. "No!"
Gold (Cid started calling them by color in his head) glared at the two of them. "Hey, he's already here, we're already screwed, and he," he nodded upward, "is already going to kill us. We might as well be nice in the last moments of out lives." Gold smiled at Cid. "So, dry off?"
The mechanic nodded, dumbfounded. Silver and Gold both hopped off the table and led him toward a room off to the side. Cid began to follow -
- only to be hit, hard, in the back of the head. The last things he saw before blacking out were furious golden eyes and huge, leathery wings.
Cid woke up, groaning. He looked around.
He'd been locked in a small, stone cell. There were no windows, only a door with a small, barred opening at the bottom. He made his way towards it, hoping to find a way out.
He cocked his head. Was that...? Cid frowned in concentration and listened hard. Yes, there were sounds of arguing from somewhere nearby!
"He was cold! Besides, we've been stuck here for thirty years! It's about time you did something!" That sounded like Gold.
There was a feral snarl, then a new voice, deep and menacing. "That is not for you to decide! And I must do nothing. The terms were that it would start wilting when someone visited. Nothing was said about prisoners."
"So you're just going to let him die in there? Is that it?" Black's voice this time.
The unfamiliar voice spoke again, though it was much tenser this time. "He will be...provided for." The words sounded like they were forced.
"You would let an innocent man die to save yourself." It was Silver.
There was no answer. Nothing else could be heard.
Cid lay down in the pile of hay in the corner of his cell, fear racing through his veins. It seemed like the man...or perhaps the demon, he thought, remembering the golden eyes and wings...was going to let him rot. For the first time since childhood, Cid clasped his hands together and prayed for a miracle to save him from death.
Up in the highest room of the mansion, where no one was watching, a bright red rose floated underneath a glass dome. A single petal drooped lower, then, almost as if through water, gently fluttered and sank to the table.
And so the first petal fell.
Well, there it is. The first chapter. Yay. The next one won't be out for a while, due to the crazy evilness of Asian mothers. You might have heard stories about it, but honestly, you have no idea.
Review for pudding! It has magical healing properties!