Chapter 2
President Shinra led his son Rufus and four Turks confidently towards the Highwind/Kisaragi residence. People had gathered in the small courtyard area in front of the house already. Sobbing young girls could be heard, lamenting the fact that it was not them that had been chosen as the young Shinra's bride. Still, the merry mood of the men and their wives was enough to overcome the fangirls' depression. Everyone (save the fangirls) was happy that the young vice president had found someone for him.
Said young vice president did not share their enthusiasm.
"Father, I really don't think -"
"Nonsense! Any girl you proposed to would instantly accept. We must hold the wedding immediately."
Rufus Shinra never dared to openly glare at his father, but he stared at him with the calmest and most blank expression he could manage while putting as much loathing and disgust in his gaze as possible. "I am flattered by your faith in my charm, however misguided it may be, but I must say -"
"Misguided?" The older Shinra spun around and grabbed his son by the collar of his dress shirt. "My faith is not misguided, boy! I raised you to do anything for this company! And now, you will propose to this girl and become the future ruler of Wutai! And you will not fail me. Do I make myself clear, boy?"
There was a long silence. The Turks behind them, all friends of Rufus, tensed. If it came to a father-son fight, none of them could know which side to take.
Rufus's previous expression of loathing was now completely resigned, and, the Turks were shocked to notice, fearful. "I understand, Father."
President Shinra released his son. "Good. Now hurry. The guests are waiting." He strode into the courtyard to be met by happy cheers, raising his hands for silence.
"My friends, I thank you all for coming to my son's wedding. Truly, I have never been -"
Rufus stood by the Turks, all of them tuning out the long-winded speech.
"You still have to propose, right?" Elena whispered to him.
A nod and a roll of his eyes.
"Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Reno teased.
Rude disguised his chuckle as a soft cough. Tseng rolled his eyes. "Perhaps, in this case, bad luck is exactly what we want, is it not?" he asked under his breath.
Rufus smirked. "Maybe so."
Yuffie looked up, startled, at a knock on the door. No one ever came to visit, and Cid would be gone for at least a few days. She tiptoed to peek through the cat's eye in the door, only to look away and groan softly at the sight of Rufus Shinra. For a brief moment, she considered sneaking out the back, but, against her better judgment, she found herself opening the door to admit him.
She did her best to put on a surprised smile. "Oh, hey! Uh, what brings you here, Rufus?" She ushered him inside cautiously. "Um, would you like some tea?"
Rufus smiled, but the motion seemed strained. "No, thank you. I'd rather make this quick."
Yuffie put down the teapot and cocked an eyebrow. "So...you wanted to see me...why?"
He got straight to the point. "Yuffie Kisaragi, will you marry me?"
Her answer was equally blunt. "No."
The young man smiled, but the expression was only surface-deep. "Please reconsider. It would be best if you'd just accept my proposal happily. There would be much less complication that way."
Yuffie laughed, staring at him incredulously. "What kind of argument is that?" She frowned at the lack of response.
Rufus still wore the same, seemingly composed smile, but she could tell that his emotions were in turmoil. Beneath the calm, cocky mask, there was a vast sea of resentment, pain, and fear, though toward whom or what, she didn't know.
When she next spoke, her tone was kinder, sympathetic. "Rufus, I can't say yes because I don't know you. Not at all. I'd have to know you to love you, and I'd have to love you to marry you. But I don't, and I can't. Alright?"
Emotions escalated, desperation leaking into the mix ever so slightly. "Please, Yuffie, you must trust me when I say that it would be best for the both of us if you were to accept. You would link my company and your country in a firm alliance, and my fa -" He cut off suddenly, looking flustered. After several moments of grasping at words, he finished pathetically with, "Please."
Yuffie gritted her teeth in fury. She was pretty sure that the ShinRa heir had been about to say "father". So he was the bastard behind all this! Just as she'd thought! "Rufus, I'm not going to marry you. I don't want to marry you, and I'm pretty sure I don't deserve to marry you either. Just as you don't deserve to be bossed around by your dumbass of an old man. And if he tries to do anything to you for my choice, just give me a call." She smirked. "The bastard won't be able to do jack shit with me on his ass!"
Rufus's breath caught. He stared at her in shock. For one, he'd never heard that many expletives uttered by a female in a single response, other than from Elena. Secondly, and most importantly, she knew. Maybe not in detail, but she knew something. And she was willing to help, something that even the Turks would not do. "You'd...help me?" he finally choked out.
She grinned. "Sure! You're a lot nicer when you're not trying to be an arrogant asshole. We can be friends, right?"
Rufus stared, still shocked. He'd always taken the Wutain girl at face value, seeing her happy, carefree attitude and assuming that she was a complete bimbo. But now...he could see the young woman that would be queen of Wutai. He nodded slowly. "But...what now?"
Yuffie smirked mischievously. "I'm going to kick you out of my house, and you are going to act as though you have been vehemently rejected."
The young vice president barely had time to register her words before she yanked the door open, shoved him out and down the patio stairs, and slammed it behind him.
Needless to say, he didn't have to fake looking scandalized. Staring back at the house with an expression of shock came easily enough. Still, as the Turks rushed forward and escorted him back towards home, his mind was abuzz. A friend. He'd made a real, honest-to-god friend. Even as his father glared at him, his expression promising severe punishment, Rufus was able to smile.
Yuffie peeked out the door. "Okay, coast clear!" she called to no one in particular. She sat on the patio stairs with a sigh. For a while, she did nothing but pluck grass and play with the dandelions. When she spoke, her voice was tired and drained, but still furious.
"I can't believe that old man. How could he...that total...AGH..." she yelled, frustrated. "Why me? It's not like I want to be princess of Wutai. I'd much rather be a ninja or something. Some kind of job that lets me go out and kick ass." She smiled at the thought. "Maybe a Turk like my cousin. Ha! That'd be a laugh. Why can't he rule Wutai anyway? All this crap about direct heirs...jeez, give a girl a break, would ya? Maybe if they went back to the whole male dominance idea, I wouldn't have to go through all this." Another sigh. "That stupid son of a bitch old Shinra! I swear to god, if I ever get the chance, I'll stab his eyes out and -"
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud "WARK!" She jolted up and looked down the road. "Aura?" Yuffie ran to the frightened chocobo. "Hey, steady, Aura, steady..." she spoke soothingly. Then she looked around and frowned. "Aura, where's the old man?" He was no where to be found. Traces of panic found their way into her voice. "Where's Cid, Aura? C'mon, we have to find him!" She quickly unhitched the cart and threw on her cloak. Climbing onto the steed, she urged her forward. "Go, Aura, take me to him!" The golden chocobo dashed down the road.
An hour or so later, they came to the gate of a large mansion. Aura kweh-d anxiously struggled against the reins. Yuffie slid off. "Shh...steady..." Pushing the gate open, she spotted an abandoned stable. After letting Aura settle in comfortably among the hay and greens, she made her way to the door.
"I can't believe him. He can't be that much of a heartless bastard! Can he?"
The silver candle, known as none other than Sephiroth, looked up at the black candle, Zack, who was currently shuffling back and forth across the table. "He can."
"Ugh, you're not helping! This is all your fault anyway. You just had to leave the door unlocked, didn't you?"
Sephiroth glared. "Perhaps if you'd kept quiet, he'd have left."
Cloud, the golden candle, jolted up. "Shh! I think I heard something!"
Sure enough, from a nearby door into the main hall, a feminine voice called, "Hey, old man? Where are you? Anyone here?"
Quick as a flash, the three candlesticks raced to the door and peered around the edge.
Zack stared. "It's a girl!"
Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "Oh, how could we possibly survive without your superior observation skills?"
Gold shushed both of them. However, Zack was far too excited. "Don't you get it? She could be the one! She could break the spell!" And with that, he bounced as fast as he could down the hall.
Yuffie caught the glow of candlelight going down the stairs to the basement. "H-hey, wait! I'm looking for a guy that came here about a day ago, could you help me?" She dashed after it.
She frowned at the source of the light, a black candelabrum with a sparkler-like flame. "Where...?"
"Who's there?"
Yuffie jolted at the sound of a weak voice. Then her eyes widened. "Oh my god, Cid!" She ran for the nearest cell.
"Yuffie? How'd ya get here?"
The young princess grabbed his outstretched hand. "I'll explain later. We've got to get you out of here." She looked around quickly for something she could use to break down the door or pick the lock.
"No, kid, you get the hell out now, ya hear?" The mechanic's voice was alarmingly weak.
Yuffie shook her head angrily. "I'm not leaving you here!"
"Can't explain, you just get -"
A loud snarl came from the doorway. The light from the torches was extinguished, leaving the room in darkness, save the small glow of the candle in the stairway. Yuffie looked around frantically. "W-who's there?"
"You trespassed here. You have no right to ask questions." The voice was a low, menacing growl.
She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady. "Please, let this man go."
Her eyes found two points of glowing gold in the darkness. They narrowed like eyes. "He's a prisoner here."
"B-but he needs some food or water or something! He could die here!"
The golden eyes bored into her. "Then he should not have come. He stays until he either escapes or dies. I rather doubt the chances of escaping."
Yuffie pleaded. "Please, let him go, I'll do anything!"
The voice seemed amused by this. "What could you possibly do?"
Yuffie blurted something out frantically. "I-I'll take his place!"
There was silence. The voice seemed to compose itself. "You'd have to stay for the rest of your life. Would you do that for him?"
She frowned. Something was definitely off about this situation. "Who are you? Come out and let me see you!" she demanded.
There was a long silence. After a moment or two, the candlelight descended down the stairs. The black candelabrum she'd seen earlier hopped into view, but Yuffie was too occupied with the creature before her to notice.
The figure was humanoid enough, but the skin of the face was a cold, icy color. Atop the head were several large, blood red and black spikes that jutted out in a twisted imitation of a crown. A crimson bandana wrapped around the base of these, holding back what would have been hair. The figure was dressed all in black, though the left hand was replaced with a gold, metallic claw, the feet similarly clad. Two huge, bat-like wings, crimson and black in color, spread from the back, folding to resemble a sort of cape. The glowing gold eyes she'd seen earlier gazed down at her blankly, the irises filling up the whole eye, the pupils snake-like. Humanoid it may have been, but there was no mistaking this creature for a human.
Yuffie instinctively shrunk back. Cid gripped her hand to comfort her, whispering harsh warnings to her, ordering her not to go through with it.
She ignored these and stood up as regally and confidently as she could, fighting to keep her voice steady. "You have my word."
"Done." There was no time to reconsider, no small hesitation. As soon as she spoke the words, the answer had been there. The demon strode past her as she stood there, frozen in shock, and unlocked the cell. Cid was upon her in an instant.
"Ya can't fuckin' do this! Ya got a country to rule, remember? Just - AGH!" Before Yuffie could speak a word to argue back, he'd been dragged away. She stared after him, still shocked stiff. What had just happened?
It all hit her then. She'd given up her freedom. She'd never blow stuff up with Cid, never stare in awe at the legendary swords at Zangan's shop, never tease the fangirls for their misguided attempts for Rufus Shinra's attention, never laugh inanely at Cid's obsession with tea, never roll her eyes at the idiot politicians that thought of her as a child, never rule Wutai like she was meant to, never follow her own dreams of adventure and excitement. She'd never leave this mansion again.
Tears had begun even before she collapsed into a sobbing heap.
"Dammit, let me go, ya fuckin' bastard!" Cid struggled futilely against the demon's unbreakable hold. "Don't -"
His protests were cut off as he was thrown into a carriage, the door slamming behind him. The demon glared at him through the window. "The girl is out of your hands."
"Like hell she is! Let me -!"
"Take him back to Nibelheim." The carriage sped away, leaving the raging mechanic to stare after the demon as he stalked back inside.
"Ahem."
The demon snarled at the trio of candlesticks. "What?" he snapped.
Zack did the candlestick approximation of shuffling his feet nervously. "Well, the girl, she's gonna be here a while, so, um..." He glanced at Cloud pleadingly.
He took the hint. "We -" Sephiroth glared, "fine, I thought it would be nice if you maybe gave her a better place to sleep than the dungeon."
The demon made no response except to stalk away, grabbing him to light the way.
The other two stared after them. "That...could have gone better..." Zack mumbled.
The demon heard the sound of soft crying as he approached the dungeon. Yuffie had curled up in the corner, sobbing drily.
A small stab of sympathy flashed across his expression before he could control it. Gold gave him a meaningful glance. He sighed.
"Come this way."
She jerked up. "What?"
"Would you like to sleep on a bed tonight, or do you prefer to stay in the dungeon?" She made no response. "This way." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and started back up the stairs. Moments later, Yuffie scrambled to follow.
The more she saw of the mansion, the more Yuffie wanted to dash out the door. Dark, heavy curtains had been drawn over all the windows; there was almost no light, save that of the candles. A large, ornate chandelier hung over the entrance hall, but the candlelight cast eerie shadows over it, making it seem like a huge, golden trap, waiting to fall. Cobwebs hung in corners, and dust coated everything. Portraits, faded with age, lined the walls, their eyes seeming to follow her everywhere.
The demon led her up the main staircase, past a bureau that was centered oddly at the top of the stairs. She caught her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red from the tears, her expression exhausted and mournful. Everything seemed so different from yesterday. She quickly averted her eyes and quickened her pace to catch up.
Cloud glared at the demon, one eyebrow raised, gesturing as much as he could without drawing attention. "Well? Say something!" he whispered harshly.
The demon stiffened. His mind raced to think of something to say. "I...hope you enjoy your stay," he managed to force out. The candle nudged him on. "Since this is your home now, you may go anywhere you like. Except for the northeastern-most room."
Yuffie looked up, confused. "What's in the -?"
"That is not your concern." The sudden venom in the demon's voice surprised her. The rest of the walk was in silence.
Finally, the demon stopped and opened a door. The room was furnished nicely. A tall, ebony wardrobe stood in the corner, its contours elegantly curved. In the middle was a large, queen-sized canopy bed. All in all, it looked far more comfortable than the dungeon.
"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. The other residents will take care of you." Cloud elbowed him in the side of the head. "Dinner is in an hour."
She turned away. "I-I'm not hungry."
Golden eyes narrowed angrily. "You will be there," he growled.
Yuffie spun around to protest. The door slammed shut. Fresh, angry tears began to fall.
After a few minutes, a knock roused Yuffie from her misery. "Who is it?"
The answering voice was feminine and compassionate. "It's Shera, dear." The door was pushed open of its own accord, but no one came in. Several clinks came from below her vision, and she looked down. Her eyes widened in shock.
A teapot sat at her feet, made of plain, unadorned white ceramic. A simple, brown wooden handle curved elegantly the side opposite the spout, which was currently turned toward her. Warm, hazel eyes gazed up at her from over the spout, lips turned up in a small smile. A teacup with a pink handle clinked forward, and the teapot leaned over it, pouring some of the warm drink into it. "Tea, dearest?" she asked kindly.
Yuffie slowly backed away, and, in doing so, she crashed into the large ebony wardrobe, which shifted aside and pushed her forward lightly. She spun around.
"Hey, be careful there! You could hurt yourself!" Mahogany eyes peered down at her from above the wardrobe's doors.
She jolted backwards again, sinking weakly to the floor. "What...? This is..."
The wardrobe chuckled. "Trust me, you have no idea. Imagine just minding your own business, trying to help out a friend, and maybe get a shot at a cute blonde when this happens." One of the doors gestured around vaguely. "But here we are. The world is a truly messed up place."
Yuffie took a few deep breaths, trying to regain her senses. After a moment, she began to ask, "How did this all -?"
"I'm Tifa, by the way. What's your name?" Her kind smile was the tiniest bit more strained than before.
"I'm Yuffie." Something small and warm jabbed her leg. She looked down and spotted a small white teacup with a pink handle, filled to the brim with tea. The teacup smiled shyly. "I'm Marlene! And that's Denzel!" Marlene turned back towards the door, gesturing at another teacup, but with a blue handle, hiding behind Shera. Her motions caused some of the tea to slosh over the sides.
Shera frowned sternly. "Now, Marlene, don't spill. And Yuffie, drink your tea, dear!"
Yuffie smiled slightly and sipped the warm liquid. Suddenly, she was reminded of home. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes, and she turned away, embarrassed.
The enchanted furniture watched with sympathy. "You were very brave," Shera consoled.
Tifa nodded. "We all think so," she affirmed kindly.
Yuffie sniffed. "But...everyone...I'll never..." She choked back sobs.
Shera smiled warmly. "Don't worry. Everything will turn out alright." She gestured for Marlene to follow her. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to leave you now. I can't have that idiot stove burning dinner!" She winked cheerily before clinking out the door, the two teacups trailing behind her.
The young princess stiffened at the mention of the meal. She was going to save her protests for later, perhaps to scream them at that demon, but a black candelabrum chose that moment to hop through the door. "Dinner's rea -"
"I'm not going." The words were firm, authoritative, icy, the same tone she used with the idiot nobles that had coddled her like a child, forgetting that she was in charge. It was calm, collected, but she might as well have screamed bloody death threats at the top of her lungs. No one argued with that tone. Not even Zack, idiot though he sometimes could be. This time, he wisely shut up and scuttled back out the door.
Much could be said of the demon's self-restraint. Upon receiving the news, he did not rage aimlessly and start smashing things. Instead, he calmly picked up all three candles and glided noiselessly to Yuffie's door, where he dropped said candles and knocked quietly.
The door was yanked open, revealing a very angry ninja. Two seconds later, it slammed shut. "What?" she snapped.
"Come to dinner," he responded with equal vehemence.
"I'm staying right here, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Cloud gently elbowed his ankles. "Be nice!"
The demon glared, but composed himself. "Please, you must eat."
"I can starve."
What little patience he'd had left ran out. "You can't stay in there forever."
"Try me."
Nothing was said for a few minutes, each waiting for the other's resolve to break. Then the demon turned swiftly on his heel. "Fine. Starve. See if I care." Crimson wings spread and took flight.
Yuffie stood for a long time, staring at the door in shock. At the sound of a slamming door somewhere down the hall, her glare returned, and she started throwing furious kicks at the bedpost.
Tifa tried to calm her. "He's not really that bad! He just...hasn't had much contact over the years! His social skills need a little brushing up. Before all this happened, he was one of the nicest people you'd ever meet! He's really a wonderful person once you give him a chance!"
The young princess lashed out at the bedpost one last time before collapsing onto the mattress, still glaring at the doorway. "He's used all his chances. He can go burn in hell for all I care."
The wardrobe made one last-ditch effort. "Come on; just get to know him a little!"
Yuffie didn't even move. "I do not want to get to know him. He's not worth knowing."
Deep underground, as the demon watched this in rage and agony, a petal drooped ever so slightly before breaking away from the crimson blossom, fluttering down to meet the surface of the table.
And so the second petal fell.
A/N: Oh, my god, I'm so sorry for the delay in updating! And now I've come back only to give you a crappy chapter. This one was really hard to force out. And it wouldn't end! I really, really hated it, but these are pretty much mandatory plot events, so I couldn't skip it...
And so, we have the identities of our candlestick trio (as if I didn't make that obvious enough from the beginning)! Tifa is that wardrobe, and Shera is the teapot (kinda obvious why). Next chapter, we'll be meeting many other characters/furniture/household items! I'm going to have so much fun with this next one! It'll probably take a while though. It will undoubtedly be my favorite chapter; therefore, I'm going to want it perfect. So just hang tight! Once again I'm really sorry, and I'll try to have the next chapter out as soon as I can.
Lots of love!
If you don't review, I swear to god, I'll kill someone...perhaps Genesis would like to go first...