Broken Wings - Chapter Forty Four

"Vincent?"

Aralyn walked further into the cave, her path lit by blue-green crystals. "Vincent!" she called again.

No answer, but she could see him now.

He sat on the ground, facing a pillar of the crystals that served as a prison for a brunette woman. He didn't move, and she couldn't even tell he was breathing unless she looked very hard. There was a feeling in the air that made her regret coming, like she was intruding on some sacred moment meant only for the two of them.

"Vincent?" she whispered again.

He raised his head a little, but didn't face her. "Aralyn." It was an unintentionally cold and distant greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," she said quietly. "You never come to Seventh Heaven anymore."

He didn't reply, though she waited a long time for him to do so.

"I can come back later."

He seemed to sense that she felt unwelcome here. "You can stay. You have more right to be here than I."

Aralyn really wanted to protest that, but she scooted a few steps forward to oblige him.

"She's your mother-in-law, is she not?" Vincent added.

Aralyn looked closer at the woman and admitted that she had never thought of it that way. The woman's eyes were closed, her hands folded over her heart. Her expression was anything but the calm that was said to accompany death; on the contrary, she looked mournful and as if she were besieged by nightmares.

"Why do you come here if it hurts you so much?" she asked.

"Why do you cling to Sephiroth? Wouldn't it be easier if you let go?"

Aralyn winced, feeling as if a barb in her heart had been twisted. "Would it be wrong of me to say that, despite everything, I still love him?"

"No more wrong than my presence here," he replied quietly.

Aralyn wished she could do something about the pain in his eyes. "Can I ask you something, Vincent?" she ventured carefully.

He nodded, his eyes not straying from Lucrecia.

"Why are you so protective of me?"

For the first time, his gaze turned to her. His expression clearly asked her to elaborate.

"I mean, I'm so grateful to you…I've never had anyone do that for me since…" she choked for a moment, but managed to calm herself. Vincent's expression did not change. "Why? You're risking so much."

Vincent turned back to Lucrecia. "Her," he whispered.

"I don't understand…"

"He's her son, no matter how much he claims that he is descended from Jenova. It's my way of repenting for my failure to protect her, by protecting him. I made that vow when Cloud first found me, to be something of a godfather, that I'd do all I could but…you know as well as I, he wasn't going to change. So, I'm doing the next best thing."

Aralyn looked at him in confusion.

"I'm protecting the woman he holds most dear."

"I could protest that," she whispered. "He doesn't care. He sent Kadaj to…worse than kill me."

"There's a rift between the remnants," he stated.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe nothing. But know that Kadaj was not acting under Sephiroth's orders when he hurt you. Kadaj was punished…severely." He left the sentence on that morbid note.

"Whatever your motives," Aralyn said, moving closer to him and wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace. "Thank you, for being my friend."

Vincent froze in her grip, seeming confused as to how to react. Aralyn held on for a little longer before releasing him.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

With that, she gave Vincent one last smile, then stood and left the cave. Something about the tense and worried look on her face told Vincent that she had really come to say goodbye.

Quite illogically, he began to worry about what she was up to that could darken her eyes so deeply.

A/N: I heard your pleas and complied. Enjoyment is wished for all of you! I hope this clears up the relationship between Vin-vin and Aralyn a little...sorry for making that so vague! bash-head-against-wall

Little hints that I've left over the past chapters are going to start coming together. I'm excited to write this next section along with the ending!

Broken Wings has officially reached 10,000 hits! As of right now, I have 86 reviews, 19 alerts, and am on the favorites list of 15 people. Thank you so much for making this possible! Thank you also for your patience, I know that this is turning into quite the novel.