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moogle_workshop2011-02-19 02:34 pm
arivess.livejournal.com) wrote in moogle_workshop2011-02-19 02:34 pm
V-Day Fic: Celes and Terra
Username: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
arivess
Class: Thief
Title:I should make one shouldn't I
Summary: Celes and Terra talk about strength
Characters/Pairings: Celes+Terra
Word count: 739
Notes: V-day short fic contest entry.
V-day Fic
“I've hated you for so long.”
Celes hadn't meant to say it; the words slipped out before she could notice. An admission, a truth. The easier of the two truths she had kept hidden. A dim, cramped room, an underground cellar, really. Hushed voices, lest the children hear and wonder. What a place for a confession.
“Hated... me?”
And how expressive her eyes were, Celes thought, how she wore her heart on her sleeves. She could see the changes flicker across Terra's face, shock, disbelief, and a touch of sadness, so different from her. Calm, steady, the general as cold and pure as ice--
She took a deep breath. No tremble, no weakness, no admission of fear. “You were...” She barely dared to allow herself a moment of hesitation, but she knew Terra would never notice. “You were everything they wanted me to be.” She shook her head. “You were the Empire's prized toy.” There, a flicker of pain. “But you didn't even realize.”
“Did you want that?”
A cry saved her from having to come up with an immediate answer. Terra rushed over to where two children were having an argument, a little girl pushed down. By the time she returned, Celes had regained her composure.
“The only one whose approval I wanted was Granddad's,” she said carefully. “Not the Emperor's, not that clown, Kefka's. But I thought...” Nevermind what she thought, she wanted to say, but the pained look in Terra's eyes drew the words out of her. “But I thought that if I could become what you were, he would be proud of me. If I could attain your power, his research would be complete.”
“Celes...”
“I don't need your pity!” Harsh and loud, much harsher and louder than she had meant it to be. The buzz of conversation died as all eyes in the room turned to her. Ice could melt, could crack; she had been thawing for a long time. Celes took a deep breath and stood, bending in a stiff bow. “Excuse me. My companions are waiting for me.”
“My,” or “our;” she wondered if she was not so pure now. But then, not so cold, either. Cold was the outside breeze, carrying the sharp nip of not-yet-spring. Cold and pure, fresh air filling her lungs, carrying with every breath a reminder of the world for which she fought. If Terra no longer wanted to protect that world...
“Wait!”
Celes stopped.
“How is everyone now?”
She couldn't look into those eyes again, but the same sorrow coated every word. When Terra fell into step beside her, she walked forward again, her gaze straight forward. “They're... We're...” Broken? Waiting? Hopeful? Why-don't-you-see-for-yourself? “We're all right.”
Silence, the deep silence of the eye of the storm. One attack had just passed, and they both knew another would come. And not just here, but everywhere. As they walked through fields of wilting grass, Celes wondered what she was doing, stalling time here, instead of going after the root of the problem. But maybe it felt nice, simply being there with the one person who lived the same life as her, who knew what it was like to be different. A weapon, a puppet, a monster.
“I admired you.” The words flowed out more easily this time, though Celes could barely believe they came from her lips. Terra's gentle silence, listening, waiting, urged her on. “So many times I thought you would cave under their pressure, but you never did. You freed yourself so much more thoroughly than I ever could. When I saw you again, you had broken every shackle the Empire placed on you, and you never needed to close yourself off. It was that strength I wanted.”
“But... I'm not strong.” There was a special despair in Terra's voice, and Celes wondered just who she was trying to convince. “I couldn't do anything. I could only depend on everyone else.”
“Everyone else depends on us now.” Pausing, Celes looked across the wasteland of Kefka's world: the town, a tiny beacon of light, guiding their way; the airship, the last ray of hope for the people whose lives they both helped to destroy and to rebuild. “I'm going to protect them.”
“Will you?” she didn't dare to ask.
arivessClass: Thief
Title:
Summary: Celes and Terra talk about strength
Characters/Pairings: Celes+Terra
Word count: 739
Notes: V-day short fic contest entry.
V-day Fic
“I've hated you for so long.”
Celes hadn't meant to say it; the words slipped out before she could notice. An admission, a truth. The easier of the two truths she had kept hidden. A dim, cramped room, an underground cellar, really. Hushed voices, lest the children hear and wonder. What a place for a confession.
“Hated... me?”
And how expressive her eyes were, Celes thought, how she wore her heart on her sleeves. She could see the changes flicker across Terra's face, shock, disbelief, and a touch of sadness, so different from her. Calm, steady, the general as cold and pure as ice--
She took a deep breath. No tremble, no weakness, no admission of fear. “You were...” She barely dared to allow herself a moment of hesitation, but she knew Terra would never notice. “You were everything they wanted me to be.” She shook her head. “You were the Empire's prized toy.” There, a flicker of pain. “But you didn't even realize.”
“Did you want that?”
A cry saved her from having to come up with an immediate answer. Terra rushed over to where two children were having an argument, a little girl pushed down. By the time she returned, Celes had regained her composure.
“The only one whose approval I wanted was Granddad's,” she said carefully. “Not the Emperor's, not that clown, Kefka's. But I thought...” Nevermind what she thought, she wanted to say, but the pained look in Terra's eyes drew the words out of her. “But I thought that if I could become what you were, he would be proud of me. If I could attain your power, his research would be complete.”
“Celes...”
“I don't need your pity!” Harsh and loud, much harsher and louder than she had meant it to be. The buzz of conversation died as all eyes in the room turned to her. Ice could melt, could crack; she had been thawing for a long time. Celes took a deep breath and stood, bending in a stiff bow. “Excuse me. My companions are waiting for me.”
“My,” or “our;” she wondered if she was not so pure now. But then, not so cold, either. Cold was the outside breeze, carrying the sharp nip of not-yet-spring. Cold and pure, fresh air filling her lungs, carrying with every breath a reminder of the world for which she fought. If Terra no longer wanted to protect that world...
“Wait!”
Celes stopped.
“How is everyone now?”
She couldn't look into those eyes again, but the same sorrow coated every word. When Terra fell into step beside her, she walked forward again, her gaze straight forward. “They're... We're...” Broken? Waiting? Hopeful? Why-don't-you-see-for-yourself? “We're all right.”
Silence, the deep silence of the eye of the storm. One attack had just passed, and they both knew another would come. And not just here, but everywhere. As they walked through fields of wilting grass, Celes wondered what she was doing, stalling time here, instead of going after the root of the problem. But maybe it felt nice, simply being there with the one person who lived the same life as her, who knew what it was like to be different. A weapon, a puppet, a monster.
“I admired you.” The words flowed out more easily this time, though Celes could barely believe they came from her lips. Terra's gentle silence, listening, waiting, urged her on. “So many times I thought you would cave under their pressure, but you never did. You freed yourself so much more thoroughly than I ever could. When I saw you again, you had broken every shackle the Empire placed on you, and you never needed to close yourself off. It was that strength I wanted.”
“But... I'm not strong.” There was a special despair in Terra's voice, and Celes wondered just who she was trying to convince. “I couldn't do anything. I could only depend on everyone else.”
“Everyone else depends on us now.” Pausing, Celes looked across the wasteland of Kefka's world: the town, a tiny beacon of light, guiding their way; the airship, the last ray of hope for the people whose lives they both helped to destroy and to rebuild. “I'm going to protect them.”
“Will you?” she didn't dare to ask.
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