They Were Four - Part 3
Dec. 26th, 2008 04:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crankyoldmanFandom: FFVIII
Characters/Pairings: Edea, Quistis, Squall, Seifer, Ellone, Rinoa implied Squall/Rinoa, Cid/Edea
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The beginning of the end
Notes: Behold! I've worked on this. God, Edea POV is so trippy sometimes. And there is only one more part! Yes, seriously. I know, this is sparse and weird. But I like sparse and weird. That was the whole point of this. I am so proud to have gotten another part written. God, it's been MONTHS. And now you know who was talking in the random dialog bits!
"Stay with me, in the here and now. I'll make it better."
"Conquering everything doesn't make anything better."
---
They flanked the door, the opposing knights of the chessboard allied because petty rivalries and jealousies were nothing in the face of possible Destruction. At her approach, she saw Seifer look away, just to his left. He'd never quite forgiven her and if he knew that she was coming, he probably wouldn't have been standing there. But that wasn't true. Seifer was always going to be in Squall's shadow. Always had been.
"She wants to talk to them." Edea was proud of Quistis's tone of voice, and her standing. How she, despite wringing her hands and never quite fitting into the stories as consort or fighter, knight or sorceress could still approach power without fear. The authority of years finally fit her, suited her, was tailored to her sharp curves.
"I was told not to let anyone in," Squall nearly mumbled. He was the champion of the leader of most of the world now, but in many ways he was still the little brother. Edea saw Cid the most in him--reluctant and trying very hard not to show it. And once upon a time Cid's hair fell into his face like that, and his gunblade sagged at his side like an anchor instead of a life raft.
"Let me closer to the door, then." She kept her tone soft and hopefully Seifer wouldn't flinch too much.
Her troubled sons moved away just a little, and she placed her hand on the door.
---
"So you would rather have nothing?"
"I want this dream to finally end, I've been here too long."
---
It burned. This was no ward, this was no normal way to keep from being disturbed in the middle of works. No, it was an invitation, one whose pull she hadn't felt for a very long time.
Do you know who I am now? It said. Her skin felt too tight, too rigid, too much. He was away that time too, but only just in the next town, this time he was away for all eternity and she couldn't do it to her sons again. She would face it alone.
All this time I've been dreaming, and you've been awake. There was always nothing you know.
In the stories, there were four. Now there were three. Outside the cities were burning, and she knew that Quistis was worried about the wrong one. Ellone and Rinoa were only two, and she, she was three. The fourth was laughing and dancing, energy and industry. She would tell her children to not let her in, that the yellow dress was stained with blood and the teeth were sharpened.
"Edea!"
"Say something."
"What did you see?"
"Come back!"
"Matron, please. Stay with us this time."
She didn't mean to slip.
---
"What do you mean, been here too long? You're Ellone Loire, you've always been here."
"No, no, I can see it now. I left a part of myself here, I was only curious."
"You're Squall's big sister, you're my friend."
"The woman in the photograph looked so nice, I wanted to see what her life was like."
"You're not--"
"And even when I lived like a normal girl, with a normal broken family, the losses just piled up. So I came back to claim the last bit of myself and destroy it all."
---
With Quistis's breath on her lips, she knew that she had only lived so long to be the last.
"You need to keep Selphie away from here," she said, gripping her troubled daughter's hand tightly. A smart girl like her would understand enough of what she implied. It was tragedy, really, that they should make it only to see the end of the circle. Adel's magic had to go somewhere, and it was Edea's own curse that led it to one of her own.
The one that had been the most angry about everything. And this time Cid wasn't there to hold her and keep her from Edea's nightmares.
"And what about Ellone and Rinoa?"
"You can't do anything for them. None of us can. And don't talk to Irvine!" This is the way the world ends.
She would have to find a seat somewhere. She had rather hoped to die without regret, or to meet the end without turning another child into an executioner, but she could resign herself and not them. Conquest and Famine were intertwined, she'd felt some of Rinoa's sky blue along with Ellone's--Ultimecia's--deep purple.
Maybe it wouldn't have happened if she'd accepted the infertility of sorceresses. It was why they could only be women, after all. The magic sank itself into the womb and turned it to stone.
Seifer helped her up; the stubborn desire for independence and loyalty that he hated won out over his guard duties. While they didn't speak, never spoke, he helped her to find a bench. Smoke was on the horizon.
Edea had never seen the city so quiet.
Characters/Pairings: Edea, Quistis, Squall, Seifer, Ellone, Rinoa implied Squall/Rinoa, Cid/Edea
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The beginning of the end
Notes: Behold! I've worked on this. God, Edea POV is so trippy sometimes. And there is only one more part! Yes, seriously. I know, this is sparse and weird. But I like sparse and weird. That was the whole point of this. I am so proud to have gotten another part written. God, it's been MONTHS. And now you know who was talking in the random dialog bits!
"Stay with me, in the here and now. I'll make it better."
"Conquering everything doesn't make anything better."
---
They flanked the door, the opposing knights of the chessboard allied because petty rivalries and jealousies were nothing in the face of possible Destruction. At her approach, she saw Seifer look away, just to his left. He'd never quite forgiven her and if he knew that she was coming, he probably wouldn't have been standing there. But that wasn't true. Seifer was always going to be in Squall's shadow. Always had been.
"She wants to talk to them." Edea was proud of Quistis's tone of voice, and her standing. How she, despite wringing her hands and never quite fitting into the stories as consort or fighter, knight or sorceress could still approach power without fear. The authority of years finally fit her, suited her, was tailored to her sharp curves.
"I was told not to let anyone in," Squall nearly mumbled. He was the champion of the leader of most of the world now, but in many ways he was still the little brother. Edea saw Cid the most in him--reluctant and trying very hard not to show it. And once upon a time Cid's hair fell into his face like that, and his gunblade sagged at his side like an anchor instead of a life raft.
"Let me closer to the door, then." She kept her tone soft and hopefully Seifer wouldn't flinch too much.
Her troubled sons moved away just a little, and she placed her hand on the door.
---
"So you would rather have nothing?"
"I want this dream to finally end, I've been here too long."
---
It burned. This was no ward, this was no normal way to keep from being disturbed in the middle of works. No, it was an invitation, one whose pull she hadn't felt for a very long time.
Do you know who I am now? It said. Her skin felt too tight, too rigid, too much. He was away that time too, but only just in the next town, this time he was away for all eternity and she couldn't do it to her sons again. She would face it alone.
All this time I've been dreaming, and you've been awake. There was always nothing you know.
In the stories, there were four. Now there were three. Outside the cities were burning, and she knew that Quistis was worried about the wrong one. Ellone and Rinoa were only two, and she, she was three. The fourth was laughing and dancing, energy and industry. She would tell her children to not let her in, that the yellow dress was stained with blood and the teeth were sharpened.
"Edea!"
"Say something."
"What did you see?"
"Come back!"
"Matron, please. Stay with us this time."
She didn't mean to slip.
---
"What do you mean, been here too long? You're Ellone Loire, you've always been here."
"No, no, I can see it now. I left a part of myself here, I was only curious."
"You're Squall's big sister, you're my friend."
"The woman in the photograph looked so nice, I wanted to see what her life was like."
"You're not--"
"And even when I lived like a normal girl, with a normal broken family, the losses just piled up. So I came back to claim the last bit of myself and destroy it all."
---
With Quistis's breath on her lips, she knew that she had only lived so long to be the last.
"You need to keep Selphie away from here," she said, gripping her troubled daughter's hand tightly. A smart girl like her would understand enough of what she implied. It was tragedy, really, that they should make it only to see the end of the circle. Adel's magic had to go somewhere, and it was Edea's own curse that led it to one of her own.
The one that had been the most angry about everything. And this time Cid wasn't there to hold her and keep her from Edea's nightmares.
"And what about Ellone and Rinoa?"
"You can't do anything for them. None of us can. And don't talk to Irvine!" This is the way the world ends.
She would have to find a seat somewhere. She had rather hoped to die without regret, or to meet the end without turning another child into an executioner, but she could resign herself and not them. Conquest and Famine were intertwined, she'd felt some of Rinoa's sky blue along with Ellone's--Ultimecia's--deep purple.
Maybe it wouldn't have happened if she'd accepted the infertility of sorceresses. It was why they could only be women, after all. The magic sank itself into the womb and turned it to stone.
Seifer helped her up; the stubborn desire for independence and loyalty that he hated won out over his guard duties. While they didn't speak, never spoke, he helped her to find a bench. Smoke was on the horizon.
Edea had never seen the city so quiet.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-27 06:14 pm (UTC)With Quistis's breath on her lips, she knew that she had only lived so long to be the last.
Was the strongest for me. It is where all the finality started. And it is fitting for Quistis, so steadfast, so driven to really be the last. Selphie is more of a survivor perhaps... but really powerful.