Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.
As the brilliant General Leo struck the blade from my hand, I fell to the wooden floor, clutching my wrist.
"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, rushing to my side. A dark bruise formed, and as he lifted my hand in inspection, a jolt of agony drew a groan through my teeth.
"I-I'm fine," I said.
"Nice try. Come on, let's get you to a doc—"
"I said I'm fine." I hadn't meant to yell, but every wave of searing pain burned away the tattered remains of my pride. "I'll…go and see the professor."
Leo nodded, a slight frown contorting his normally stoic face. "Take the day to rest, Celes. Tomorrow will be long."
Waving my uninjured hand in parting, I took my leave.
I shouldn't have lashed out at him.
I was eight when I first picked up a sword, and through the ten years since, Leo remained my diligent, watchful teacher. Stern, focused—the honorable general swung a blade better than anyone in all the Gestahlian Empire. Under his command, even the most timid soldiers found their courage, ready to brave muck and long odds by their infallible commander's side. He was the truest form a general could take. Whereas I…
As I weaved through the palace halls, several pairs of eyes followed me. Officers, advisors—everyone worth a damn watching me pass after yet another obvious string of losses to Leo. I knew what they whispered to one another: that the Emperor erred in naming me his newest general. That if it weren't for the magic infused into me at a young age, I'd never have earned His Majesty's favor.
And they were right.
I burst into Professor Cid's office, nearly causing the sharp-eyed man within to leap straight through his yellow jumpsuit. When his eyes found the bruise on my wrist, he set his book on the floor and beckoned me to his desk.
"Here," he said, offering me a glass bottle. The bitter fumes from the green potion within made me gag every time.
Unable to pinch my nose, I braced myself and downed it all at once.
"Thanks," I choked out, fighting the urge to hurl.
With a nod, he fetched a clean bandage from his desk drawer and circled around me. "Raise your arm," he said, and once I complied, he set to work fashioning me a sling.
"Don't you get tired of this?" I asked.
"Tired of what?"
"My barging into your office almost every week unannounced, always bringing a new injury."
He chuckled, gently lifting my arm with the bandage and tying the ends behind my neck. "You're a far better sight than my colleagues, unpleasant circumstances aside."
"Still…"
Returning to his seat across the desk, he took my free hand, blanketing it with his own. His hands were always warm.
"What's on your mind?" he asked.
Pulling a lever beneath his desk, he locked the door behind me with a click. None would disturb our privacy.
"I don't think I can do this," I said. "I leave tomorrow with five thousand men at my back, and I'm still nowhere close to beating Leo."
"General Leo is twelve years your senior," he said. "He lives by the sword, whereas you—"
"Whereas I have my magic. I know, but even on that front, I'm so much weaker than Kefka and Terra. I just…at this rate, I'll never measure up to any of them."
"Must you?"
"His Majesty's counting on me."
With a hum, he gently pat the back of my hand and made his way to his office's sole window. Vibrant, red flowers with large petals grew from a tall, white vase of porcelain.
"I never told you of my parents, have I?"
I shook my head.
"Before His Majesty wrought this age of steel, Vector's sky was a deep blue, and the streets were lined with endless green. So many flowers and grasses and trees. My mother tended a small garden beside our house, and every day, I'd help her pluck the weeds as she sang to flowers of every hue."
"Surely you're joking," I said. "There's hardly a speck of green in Vector outside of your greenhouse."
He laughed. "Much can change in forty years. I had no grand aspirations then. All I found fascinating were mother's flowers and how they grew. At times, it felt as if they had distinct moods and wills of their own. These, in particular, were the hardiest of them all."
Lifting the vase, he carefully carried it to his desk, setting it down before me. Their large, round petals were a light red, bordering on orange, with a fuzzy, golden eye in its center. They'd been my favorite of Cid's collection ever since I first visited his greenhouse as a young girl, and throughout the year, he ensured the vase in my own room always had a fresh bloom.
"She'd sometimes ask me which was my favorite," he continued. "And I'd always point to these. Cid, of all the flowers you could have chosen, why not the rose? Or the camellia?"
"Your roses do seem popular with the ladies."
"Hah, that's because they only give each flower a passing sniff before setting it upon their sill. Even back then, roses wouldn't bloom for half the year. But as a child, you were instead drawn to these. Why?"
I shook my head. "I suppose…they were always there. When we had that blizzard years ago, most of your flowers wilted or died, but these were somehow as pretty as ever. Every morning, when I wake and see them catching the sunlight, it's as if they grant me some of their strength, too."
Smiling, Cid drew a flower from the vase and offered it to me. "They may not be as popular as roses or camellias, but that doesn't mean they don't have qualities of their own. They bloom throughout the year, they endure both heat and cold, and just recently, I discovered that their roots enhance the healing properties of potions. Can you move your wrist?"
Cocking my head to the side, I hesitated. Fractions of an inch at a time, I raised my arm from my sling. Where a sharp pain would have greeted me mere moments ago, only a dull ache remained, as if my wrist had already spent several days mending.
"What on earth?" I said under my breath, jumping to my feet.
"Until I presented them to His Majesty, they were far too obscure to carry a common name," he said, beaming through his thick mustache. "And so, the honor of naming them fell to me. I decided to call them Celestials."
A warm blush consumed my face. "But how? How did you figure this out?"
He laughed. "Years and years of careful study, of course! I cared for them, gave them room to grow, and in the end, they surprised me with something entirely unexpected. How could I not name them after you?"
Biting my lip, I fell back into the chair, unable to keep eye contact with the professor any longer. I lifted the empty potion bottle carefully to my nose, taking another whiff. It carried the same, putrid smell of a typical potion, save for a subtle, floral fragrance. Whether the scent belonged to the potion or the flowers before me, I couldn't say for certain, but while Professor Cid was kind, he never consoled me with white lies. It was all true.
"You may not see your worth just yet, General Celes," he said. "But you're far more than some shadow of Terra or General Leo or, gods forbid, Kefka. Give yourself more room to grow, and someday, you'll see it, too."
A cry fast approached, but I forced the lump back down my throat. Instead, I smiled, rounding Cid's desk and throwing myself into his arms. He pat my back as he always did.
Savoring his warmth, I allowed myself this moment of weakness—just one more before we'd say farewell. This campaign would likely take years, even with the Empire's newfound strength, and there'd be no one to confide in across the sea. I'd have to be strong, not only for myself, but for the thousands under my command.
Once I managed to piece myself back together, I returned to my feet and cleared my throat. "Thank you, Professor Cid."
He nodded. "You've some preparations to see to before tomorrow, I take it? You'd best get going. A march through the northern continent won't be some leisurely stroll."
"Then I'll do just that."
With a deep breath, I straightened my back and offered him a sharp, imperial salute. He saluted me right back.
"Be well, Celes, and come home safely."
"And you, Professor Cid. Next time we meet, I'll be a general you can be proud of."
He smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."
Author's Note:
Hey there!
Thank you so much for reading! Final Fantasy VI has been my hands down favorite game for many, many years. As an aspiring author, I couldn't help but start my public writing journey here. Celes in particular has always had my heart, and I hope to do her character justice with one shots and novelizations alike.
This is the first work I've posted online, so it might take me some time to get the hang of sharing my work. Please feel free to kindly let me know what you think, and thank you so much again!