Yay, this is my first ever fan fiction on here. First of all lets start with the disclaimer!!
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy or the gaming series, the original characters are not mine although i have put some original characters of mine in this, so please do not steal them! This is a purely fan based fiction, All right for the original FF characters go to their rightful owners at SqaureSoft.
So then, what do you need to know about this fanfiction of mine??? - well basically, this is a fanfiction of Shuyin and Lenne before the beginning of FFX and FFX-2.. it's also, how i think their stories could have fit better into the story of FFX, please review, but also please don't be nasty, this is my first fanfiction to be published here.. Thanks xxx
Chapter 7: Betrail
Shuyin got home late a few days later. The public transport ships had been experiencing a few technical problems, which put a delay on his return journey. He'd managed to escape the underground chamber safely, apart from a few injuries to his arm and one to his side.
Lenne was already tucked up in bed when he got home, through the window again. He'd changed into his blitzball uniform when he reported back to the commander in the temple. Placing a gloved hand on his wife's shoulder, gently turning her to see if she was alright, he kissed her forehead before heading out to the living room, only to find Mahra waiting for him in the kitchen.
He immediately tensed up, hoping she wouldn't see him stood there whilst he tried to find a way out.
"Don't even think about running." She said, with her back to him. "I know you're there."
"Uh…" He replied, still frozen.
"It's alright, you can relax. Lenne told me all about you two."
"She did?" He was quite surprised to hear that, he thought they had agreed not to tell anyone, but he knew that Lenne was uneasy about lying to Mahra, so she must have told her after not being able to handle the pressure. He couldn't think of any other reason. Mahra turned to reveal a glass of brandy in her hand and a second one next to her. She handed the one in her hand over to him, her eyes tired from taking care of her ill sister all night.
"It's cold out; this should warm you up a little."
"Thank you," Shuyin replied, taking the glass from her gently. "So, she told you everything?"
"Yes, don't worry; the secret is safe with me. I'm actually offended that I wasn't invited to the wedding." Both of them chuckled slightly before taking a sip of brandy.
"We didn't want anyone to know, I'm sure you can understand that?"
"With all the temple's teaching and laws, I'm not surprised. If any of them found out that it was you she married then you would both be thrown in jail. And you don't need that right now."
"Right." Shuyin agreed and took another mouthful of drink.
Mahra paused. "Lenne's been worried sick about you. She knows that you've been off to Bevelle again."
"She knows? Oh great!" He replied sarcastically, "Now I'm really gonna get it!"
Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and a sleepy voice sounded in the darkness of the hallway. "Mahra? Is Shuyin back home yet?"
Shuyin put his drink down on the kitchen unit and turned to face the direction that the voice came from. "I'm here sweetheart. I'm home." He replied instead of Mahra and opened his arms to receive his wife close to his chest. Encasing her in a loving embrace, "I'm sorry I was away so long."
"Mmm." Lenne replied against the fabric of his shirt, and then she looked over to her sister. "Mahra! You're drinking!"
"Yea, I couldn't sleep with him making all that racket trying to get through the window. I'm surprised that you could stay asleep. So I poured us both a drink."
Lenne giggled tiredly and then took Shuyin's hand "Are you coming back to bed?"
"Sure, that is of course, if Mahra has no problem with it?" He gave a cheeky grin to his sister-in-law.
Mahra put her hands up, careful not to spill her brandy all over the smooth floor. "It's not my house! You two are the married couple! But I will have a problem if I hear a peep coming from that room!" She gave Shuyin the evils and then trotted back over to the sofa in her fluffy pyjamas whilst Shuyin and Lenne made their way back down the dark hall to their bedroom.
Lenne lay with her back to Shuyin whilst he ran the backs of his fingers down the exposed skin of her arm. She sighed, not being able to relax without knowing why he was in Bevelle again.
"Shuyin?" She said quietly, turning over gently so as that the baby was comfortable. "Why were you in Bevelle again?"
Shuyin sighed and turned onto his back, the moonlight from outside the window highlighting his face. "Who told you?" He asked.
"Mahra got a phone call from Jecht saying that you didn't show up to practice, and you left me here alone for four days, again. He said that someone saw you get on a public transport ship to Bevelle and that you were seen going into the temple."
"Can't a man pray to Yevon for the health of his wife and luck of his team?" Shuyin asked, slightly bothered by the questioning.
"You never pray Shuyin; it's not in your nature. Please tell me, why were you in the temple?"
"It's late Lenne, go back to sleep." Without another word he turned away from her and closed his eyes. Lenne was uneasy now, knowing that her husband was sneaking around Bevelle and into the temple, but why?
She turned back over and laid a hand on her flat stomach. It's okay baby, Daddy's not always like this, I'll get to the bottom of it sooner or later, and then I'll tell him about you.
ABOUT TWO MONTHS LATER
Lenne sat at the piano, hitting a few notes. Today marked her fourteen weeks of pregnancy. Shuyin still didn't know, and neither did Teran. Shuyin was still sneaking off to Bevelle every now and again, and Lenne was still no closer to finding out why he was always in the temple. It felt like she didn't know who he was anymore.
The Shuyin she knew would sit at the piano and play her songs whilst she sang them to him before he went to work. He would take her out to dinner, pretending to just be her good friend in public. And he would tell her how much he loved her when they were together at night.
These days he could barely look at her, he never sat with her at dinner, and she always fell asleep alone at night. Honestly, she was sick and tired of it. If they were going to raise this baby, which he still didn't know about, then she had to find out what he was doing behind her back.
In her days of being alone, she wrote a song which she began to sing in the empty apartment this morning.
Suddenly, her phone rang and she answered it to her sister. "Mahra?"
"Lenne, are you feeling better today?"
"A lot better, yes, thank you. I think I've started to show a little." She giggled, rubbing her belly with one hand.
"Aw, that's great. Could you wrap up warm and come up to the temple. The head monk would like to see you."
"Uh, sure. Is there a reason?"
"No, he would just like to talk to you."
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."
Lenne put the phone down and immediately went to get dressed. She put on a thick jumper over her lose clothing and got into her airship before driving up to the temple.
She took a steady pace up the stone steps. Quite shaken to see so many soldiers lining the steps, this wasn't the place for soldiers. This was a place of piece, not war.
What truly made her feel uneasy was seeing the guarded entrance. She hadn't been to the temple for a while, and was quite concerned to know the reason why it had become so guarded. She looked at both soldiers on the door; they both looked quite young, one dark haired and one blonde. They were tall and well built, with no expression on their mouth. She couldn't see their eyes, they were shielded by a dark visor, and blocked her from entering the temple.
"Sorry Ma'am. We can't let any civilians pass." The dark haired one protested.
"Excuse me!" Lenne exclaimed at the rude outburst from the young man. "Don't you recognise your own High summoner?! I was called here by the head monk, now let me pass."
The two soldiers stiffened, "sorry, m'lady, please forgive us."
"Very well, you are forgiven." They un-crossed their spears and let her pass and she walked more calmly into the main hall of the temple, where there were even more soldiers and Mahra waited for her with the head monk and his assistants.
She strode over to the monk and bowed at his hands, "you sent for me my lord?"
"Yes Lady Summoner, I did. As you can see the temple has become a headquarters for the army, and as you are aware, Bevelle and Zanarkand are both preparing to go to war with each other."
"Yes I am aware sir. But why have you called on me? this is not a job for the High Summoner."
"I have called on you because I need your advice."
"As you wish my lord, but I think this matter will be better suited in your office."
A temple maid brought in tea for the trio once they were in the monk's office. Lenne had learnt that the Commander of the army and the temple were now in alliance with each other, and the teachings that she had lived under were nothing more than pieces of paper now. Lenne sat with tears in her eyes as she heard from her master's mouth. She had always been taught that fighting was not the answer, that she was to protect the people, fight against the enemy with more fighting, just shield the city.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this master." She sobbed, taking a tissue from Mahra.
"This is a time for change; the Commander has assured me that if we use the Aeons along with the army then we have an excellent battle plan."
"Master, the commander has a lust for bloodshed. This isn't the way forward, you might as well offer up the whole city on a silver platter to Bevelle. Our Aeons are no match for the Al Bhed machines that have been built there."
"Never the less, we must protect the city at all costs. I feel that this is the only way. As of now, the temple is under the rule of the Commander, prepare yourself for war Lady Summoner, you have only a few months left."
Lenne wiped her eyes. "No!" She protested.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said No! Don't ask me to fight against them. I'll protect this city with all my strength, but I'm not going use physical force. I don't know what the commander has said or given to you in order to make you feel this way, but fighting is not the answer. It's not the summoners' place to fight in a war, it would be better off we just left the fighting to the army."
"I've made up my mind Lenne. I'm sending all the summoners to the front line with the soldiers."
"So you're sending people to their doom?!" Lenne yelled.
"I am not responsible for what happens in battle!"
"No, the Commander is, in that case count me out. I've got a life to live; I'm not going to obey orders from a corrupted system and I'm not going to sit back and watch innocent people who I've grown up with be massacred at the hands of a man who has a passion for battle!"
By now, tears were streaming down Lenne's face and she had to steady herself by holding onto the coffee table with both hands.
"You will do well to obey the temple young summoner."
"NO!" Lenne yelled even louder, and then calmed herself for the sake of her baby again. "I'm sick of being quiet and doing as I am told. For years I've obeyed the temple's teachings, but now that the temple has gone against itself, I've decided to go against what it's become."
The monk seemed quite shocked at Lenne's sudden resolve; he'd only ever seen the quiet, obedient side of her. "Lady Summoner, what on Earth has brought on such behaviour?"
Lenne took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself further, though tears still streamed her face. "My lord, the system that you built for the summoning community is falling apart. You taught us that physical violence is not the answer. We just need to use our Aeons for defence, not to fight back. Now you say that the commander has told you that it would be better to fight back. Because you believe him, you're gonna send all of the summoners to their death, they're no match for the machina. There must be another way?" Lenne almost begged, Mahra had her arms around her, to help her stay calm for the sake of the baby.
"I'm afraid there is no other way. Why are you so against this, and why won't you defend your city against the enemy?"
"My Lord, I don't want to see innocent people die. I believe that we can win this war some other way besides fighting. I won't go to war because of this, and because… I can't"
"You can't? Why not?"
Lenne paused, Mahra whispered in protest but Lenne put up a hand to silence her sister. Staring into the eyes of her old teacher, Lenne knew that now was the time. The temple was corrupt as it was, this would make no difference. "Sir, I can't go to war because… I'm pregnant."
There was a deadly silence in the room. Lenne cast her eyes down to her knees again.
"You say that I'm going against the teachings," the monk began. "Yet you allowed this to happen to your body, you allowed yourself to let your feelings get in the way of your duty."
"I never let anything to get in the way of my duty; I would gladly give my life for this city, by defence. It's only human that I fell in love, but it's not human to send people off to their doom. That's barbaric!"
"I don't know how you can show your face in here, knowing that you broke the teachings yourself, then coming to tell me that I'm wrong!"
Suddenly, temple guards burst through the doors and grabbed Lenne and Mahra by the arms to drag them out.
When she was in the main hall she shouted at the top of her lungs. "How can you call yourself the Temple master?! When you go against your own teachings and send your summoners off to their death!"
"What on Earth is going on here?!" A booming voice called from the other end of the hall. Lenne turned to see the Commander walking in from his own office, accompanied by one female assistant and a familiar, blonde young man who Lenne recognised as her husband.
"Shuyin?" She whispered to herself, what was he doing here, with the Commander? Then she focused on him instead. "You!" she yelled, breaking free from the guards and running over to him, "You're the reason that the summoners are being sent to war. You've corrupted the mind of an old man so that you can have your way, so that he'll do anything you say. Surely you of all people would be able to see that you're plan wouldn't work."
"Who let this mad woman in here? Get her out of my site!"
Mahra immediately took hold of Lenne's shoulders. Lenne then looked at her Husband. "Is this where you've been sneaking off too?! You joined the army and you've been on secret missions to spy on the enemy?!"
Shuyin looked at Lenne with wide and hurt eyes. He never wanted her to find out like this. "Lenne…"
"I thought I could trust you!" She yelled, and then gave into Mahra's pulling and they left the temple together.
Lenne sat curled up on Mahra's sofa with a strong cup of tea, letting tears slip into the liquid. Shuyin was working behind her back, against everything she believed in, for the Commander. She had seen it with her own eyes; Shuyin was stood by the man who had corrupted the temple, who was sending innocent summoners to their death.
The man she loved, the man she married, the man who was the father of her child, was betraying her, and she had no idea what to do.
"Lenne, you should get some sleep, you'll feel better then. I'll wake you up when we need to get ready for the ball tonight." Mahra said, taking her tea away and replacing it with a thick blanked. "All this crying isn't good for the baby."
"You're right Mahra; did you have my dress brought over?"
Mahra nodded, and tucked her sister into the sofa so that she was warm, sooner than they both thought, Lenne was fast asleep.
A few hours later, Lenne found herself in a long purple ball gown with a huge skirt. Mahra had done her make-up and soon they were on their way to the winter ball that was being held at the Dome. Lenne had to be there regardless of what had happened earlier, they had asked her to perform, and she couldn't refuse. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do, walk into a room full of people who were expecting her to be an innocent High Summoner. They had no clue that she was a pregnant rebel High summoner. Neither did Shuyin, yet.
oooo, things are beginning to heat up now, update coming soon x x x