Terra

~**~

  Terra

  The Terra Saga | Book One

  © 1999 By Nona Mae King

  Inspired by the characters Terra, King Edgar Figaro,

  and other characters from

  Final Fantasy VI © SquareEnix

  Published by Mintfield Books

  Cover design by Nona Mae King

  Discover other titles by Nona Mae King:

  Fantasy:

  To Save A Soul

  Romance:

  My Fair Princess

  Searching for Sara

  Fan-Fiction:

  Bookworms and Booya (series)

  Few Words

  The Reluctant Knight

  In Theory

  A Rose By Any Other Name

  Terra (series)

  Ace of Diamonds

  Digital Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the site and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  ~**~

  Glossary of Characters:

  Terra Branford-- the daughter of a human and a magic creature known as an "esper". Mentally enslaved by the Empire, they exploited her magic powers until she was rescued by rebels. She later vowed to make the world safe for children.

  Edgar Roni Figaro--As King of Figaro, he maintains an alliance with the Empire, but secretly provided aid to a rebel group seeking the liberation of conquered city-states. He fancies himself a ladies' man, earning a reputation as a die-hard womanizer.

  Locke Cole-- a thief who prefers the title "treasure hunter". He bears a personal vendetta against the Empire for assaulting his hometown and killing his first love. He is the rebel who freed Terra from the Empire.

  Celes Chere-- a former general of the Empire genetically enhanced into a Magitek Knight. Rescued by Locke before her impending execution over protesting the poisoning of Doma Castle. She and Locke are tentatively engaged.

  Sabin Rene Figaro-- the younger twin brother of King Edgar who trained under a world-famous martial arts master. He joined the cause against the Empire.

  Shadow-- a mysterious and cynical assassin/mercenary always accompanied by his faithful attack dog.

  Setzer Gabbiani-- a gambler who owns the Blackjack, the only known airship in the world. He is tricked into kidnapping Celes Chere instead of Maria, the opera diva, who then coerces him into a losing bet, the result of which is his joining the rebels and committing his airship to their service.

  Cyan Garamonde-- a retainer to the king of Doma, a nation at war with the Empire. He joins the rebels after the Empire poisons their water supply, killing everyone in the castle, including his wife and child.

  Backstory | Final Fantasy VI

  A thousand years before, three entities known as the Warring Triad initiated a conflict that would come to be called the War of the Magi. This quarrel grew to catastrophic proportions, unleashing magical energy into the world which transformed afflicted humans into espers—magical beings who themselves were used as soldiers in the war.

  One thousand years later, the most advanced nation is the Empire, a cruel and expanding dictatorship led by Emperor Gestahl and his clownish general Kefka. Using the espers as a power source, Gestahl initiated a research program to combine magic with machinery and infuse humans with magical powers, the result being a craft known as Magitek. Kefka became the first experimental prototype of a line of magically empowered soldiers called Magitek Knights, drastically impairing his sanity. Gestahl's military dominion is opposed by the Returners, a rebel organization seeking to overthrow the Empire and free its territories.

  The Returners destroy the Empire and Kefka, causing all magic to disappear. Though Terra weakens due to her half-esper heritage, she survives because of holding to her human side.

  Author's Note: The following is a work of Fan-Fiction based on the world and characters from the video game Final Fantasy VI by Square-Enix. Additional information about the game and characters can be found at Wikipedia.

  Terra | Book One

  1: A Lurking Shadow

  Terra Branford stared out at the fading sun with unseeing eyes. A tear slid down her pale cheek, and she lowered her head as the breeze ruffled the light green waves of her hair. She could still feel the thrill of freedom when she let her memories drift to the days that she'd been free to soar.

  "Mamma!" A young girl wailed, blond ponytails dripping as she ran into the room. The drops from her pale yellow jumper quickly formed a puddle at her feet. "Mamma, R-Robby dumped his w-water on me," she sobbed.

  Terra smiled and scooped the weeping six-year-old into her arms. The little girl snuggled into them to cry into her shoulder. "It's only water. I don't think you'll melt."

  The quiet, soothing tone quieted the girl until she merely sniffled as she clung to Terra's neck. While at one time saving the world from Kefka's insanity had seemed a much easier task than taking care of so many children, now Terra couldn't imagine her life without them.

  "Come on, Cera. Let's get you dried off, and then we'll go find Robby," Terra offered.

  Cera sniffed a few more times as she peered at Terra with puzzled blue eyes. "Why?"

  "Little boys love picking on little girls until . . . well . . . ." Terra touched Cera on the nose with a slender finger. "I'll tell you when you're older. Right now, let's go dump water on him and see how he likes it."

  "Oh goody!" And Cera's eyes twinkled with delight.

  The little girl wriggled down from Terra's grasp, squealing with giggles as she streaked from the room. A trail of water droplets marked her path. Terra sent another longing glance over her shoulder toward the pink and lavender sky before turning with a sigh and following Cera's trail.

  It had been months since the long series of battles at the Tower of Kefka where her friends had defeated the tormented soul of its namesake. Those months since magic's existence faded had left her feeling strangely hollow.

  Locke and Celes came to visit whenever they could, and she was always glad to see them, but they were so involved with each other that being in the same room usually made Terra feel worse. She knew Locke suspected something was wrong, but how could she tell him that seeing the two happy made her miserable? Locke would have felt guilty and taken it upon himself to try and help her, although she knew he wouldn't have had any idea how. She didn't even know what bothered her.

  Terra released a deep breath, and then a reluctant smile danced on her lips. The children were thrilled when Shadow materialized in his ever-mysterious ninja fashion. She had no idea what to say to him when he did come, and he seemed content with the silence as he watched her and the children. Shadow sometimes stayed for dinner, where he would always be persuaded to tell a brief story before bed. Then he would disappear into the night without another word.

  She understood him as little now as she had during their adventures together.

  Terra took hold of a few thick handmade towels and helped Cera dry off and change her clothes.

  "There." Terra turned Cera to face her. "Now. I'll get you a glass of water while you try and remember where you saw him last. Okay?"

  Cera nodded; her eyes and expression were serious concentration and thought. Terra giggled and turned away, making her way into the back room set up as a functional kitchen. She pulled a glass down from the cupboard as Cera slowly made her way into the kitchen behind her, chewing on the end of one of her ponytails as Terra pumped the water into the glass.

  Terra turned to Cera with the full glass of water and gave the girl a mischi
evous smile. "Okay, then. I've got the water. Do you remember where you left him?"

  Cera nodded, still serious, and pointed out of the kitchen. "He ran to the house where we all sleep."

  Terra nodded and took hold of Cera's hand. "All right. Let's go get him."

  Cera grinned, skipping along beside Terra as they exited the house near the entrance of Mobliz, making their way to the houses situated to the west. There weren't any signs of children anywhere, but Terra knew it was because they'd gotten quite good at the game of hide-and-seek. Shadow must be giving them pointers. And that thought brought a wider smile to Terra's face.

  "I don't see him," Cera whispered.

  "I know. Neither do I. Let's keep looking," Terra whispered back.

  Terra's hand tightened around Cera's as she led her toward the back of the main house. The house where Sabin, Celes, and Locke had found her after Kefka ruined the world. She heard a whisper and sent Cera a grin as she handed her the glass of water. Cera nodded, took the glass carefully from Terra's outstretched hand, and then tiptoed around the house. Terra heard a shriek.

  Terra laughed and came around the corner of the house. Robby stood by the back porch with arms held carefully away from his body. His soaked hair dripped water into his eyes as his mouth gaped open. "You won't be drenching any others now will you?" Terra asked. Robby shook his head. "Cera, why don't you go help Robby get dried off?"

  "Okay." Cera grinned. She turned toward Robby and took his arm. "Come on, Robby."

  Terra watched them leave, a smile dancing on her lips and on her expression. Then the wind caressed her face and she turned . . . . Terra took in a deep breath of the fresh air and released it slowly. Then she lay on a grassy patch of ground as the wind continued to tease her hair. She picked a strange white flower and stared down at it as the wind whistled in her ears.

  The world had finally begun to recover from Kefka's evil influence. She knew it would take time before it was the same grassy paradise she'd come to know and love in the presence of her friends. It would take time and patience. Time. She sighed. I guess that's what everything needs. Even General Leo had said she needed time. And hadn't he been right? Hadn't she learned to love these children who had no family of their own?

  But there seemed to be some part of her soul that didn't feel . . . whole. A longing had started to grow over the past few months that she didn't understand, and she didn't even know who to talk to about it. She got so embarrassed when she tried to bring it up with Celes, and she felt even worse when Sabin asked her what was wrong.

  Terra sighed deeply and lifted her eyes to the horizon. What is it? What's pulling at me? It was as if an invisible hand held her heart and wouldn't let go until she discovered who it belonged to. But how will I know who it is? Mobliz has been deserted for so long that I don't think anyone but my friends realize it's even here.

  Terra tossed the flower aside with a quick breath of exasperation and rolled over onto her back--to gaze up into a handsome face with a full smile and twinkling blue eyes.

  She sat up. "Edgar!"

  King Edgar of Figaro bowed deep. His typical lopsided smirk heightened his blond good looks as he made a flourish with his ever-present cape. "At your service, my lady," he said with laughter in his voice. "Your wish is my command."

  Edgar offered her his hand, and she accepted it. Terra pulled him into a hug once she was fully on her feet, and she smiled with a slight sigh when his arms went around her. She heard him chuckle and pulled back, self-consciously wiping dust and debris from her burgundy trousers and ivory blouse. She occasionally lifted a glance up to see if anyone had come with him. No one had.

  She met his laughing gaze. "What are you doing here? And how in the world did you get the Chancellor to let you come alone?" Terra's lips rose in a smile. "Don't you usually have a 'bodyguard' with you?"

  And that was a preposterous idea, too. He was one of the foremost minds when it came to mechanical battle weapons, and he'd always been able to hold his own in battle. She'd seen him in action enough times to know he didn't need a bodyguard.

  "I have come to see you," Edgar said as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I had no wish to watch my entourage guard us guarding every word we say to one another."

  Terra's cheeks flushed slightly as her eyes grew wider. "You came to see . . . me?"

  His eyes twinkled. "You, my lady, are the light of my heart. How could I stay away from that?"

  Terra saw the familiar glint in his eyes and smiled. "Edgar, why do you always have to be such a tease?" she said, giggling. He paused for a very long time, so long that Terra's smile wavered. "Edgar?"

  Edgar's lips finally tilted upward. "I continue to forget you knew me when. I am sorry, Terra. Running a kingdom well depends on a certain level of . . . smooth talk, and I am the king."

  "In more ways than one," Terra countered.

  He bowed. "Touché."

  She passed by him to sit on the bench a few of the older boys had painstakingly built on the side of the house. She offered Edgar the space beside her. "Seriously, Edgar," she told him. "What are you doing here?"

  He sat with a flourish of his deep purple cape and leaned back. Edgar's aura alone seemed to transform the dilapidated bench into a velvet lounge.

  Edgar's brilliant blue eyes focused on the horizon. "As I said before, I've come to see you. Setzer and the others have made it the point of their existence to tell me how . . . different you've seemed lately. I suppose they believe I'll be able to change you for the better."

  Terra leaned back against the chair, pulling her legs up to hug her knees to her chest as she stared at the patch of white flowers with an unseeing gaze. "I don't know what's the matter with me," she said softly. "But I'm glad they care enough to be worried."

  Edgar's gaze moved from the horizon to an examination of her profile. "Terra, we love you. Of course anything odd in your demeanor will cause us worry."

  Terra's lips lifted in a smile. It was good to hear that. It made her feel . . . nice and . . . different. She didn't remember much of her life with the Empire, but she certainly didn't recall any firm and close friendships like what she had with Setzer, Celes, Locke, Sabin, and Edgar.

  "This life is much different than our time traveling together, isn't it?" he asked in a quiet tone.

  She slightly nodded, adjusting her arms around her legs as her smile disappeared. "Yes, but I don't think that's the problem. I mean, I've been living here with the children for almost three years. Why would that start being a problem now?" She shook her head.

  "This does begin a mystery, doesn't it?" Edgar moved his gaze from her profile and crossed his arms. "Have you thought much of the possible reasons?"

  Terra sighed with a bit of a shrug. "It just feels as if . . . as if something's calling me. It won't let me go. It's always there, and I can't ever really hear what it's saying."

  "How exasperating."

  Terra giggled and sent him a sidelong glance. "Yes, it is, and I've been trying to figure out a way to talk to someone about it, but it's so . . ." She looked away again.

  "Embarrassing?"

  Terra's smile widened a bit and she gave a slight nod. "Yes."

  Edgar reached out and stroked her back once, twice, three times in comfort and encouragement before retracting his hand and once more tucking it tightly under his other arm. "I apologize, then, that this visit has been so long in coming."

  Terra released her hold on her legs and rocked forward a little to grip the seat of the bench instead. "Don't feel bad, Edgar."

  "And why should I? You're a close friend," he said softly. "You deserved the time, especially if you had need, which you apparently do."

  She faced him to place a hand on his arm. "Edgar, it's all right."

  Edgar freed his right hand from his crossed arms and covered her hand, lightly stroking it with his thumb. "I appreciate your forgiveness." He sent her a quick glance before refocusing his gaze on the horizon. "I've been a cad," he admitted. "I should hav
e listened to Sabin as he made it a point of reminding me of that fact each time he saw my smug face."

  "You don't have a smug face," she protested with a laugh as she continued to watch his profile.

  "This is what I have always thought," he said with mock seriousness as he released her hand. "In any regard, Sabin was sure that I had done you a great wrong. Now that I see I have, I am determined to set it right."

  "But . . . how?"

  Terra watched him with a smile as he laid out the reason for his visit, loosing hold of her thoughts and letting them roam to memories of shared laughter and stories and adventures in the company of her friends. Those memories made the hold on her heart drift and fade to practically nothing. Setzer had been right about the visits of her friends being what she'd needed to chase away the oppressive pull. It was nice to feel the calm and peace again.

  Terra leaned back against the bench as his friendly voice drifted in and out of her thoughts. It was soothing and . . . and she didn't really know. It just made her forget things like the nightmares and the press of each day, of her responsibilities, of her duties, and of life in general. His presence, in combination with Sabin and Setzer and the others, made her breathe on a different level. With the comfort of her friends she felt more . . . complete.

  ". . . so, as you can see, I have a problem."

  Terra flushed and moved her focus to his eyes. "I'm sorry. What can I do to help?"

  Edgar looked over at her reddened cheeks and chuckled. "You weren't paying attention, dear lady. Here I laid my heart at your feet and you didn't hear a word I said." He shook his head and brought a hand up to cover his heart. "My heart is broken."

  A flash of something flushed her cheeks to an even darker shade as she stood from the bench and moved a step away to stare at the sunset. "I said I was sorry," she told him in a short tone, and she immediately felt bad. She knew he'd only been joking.

  Terra wrapped her arms around herself, chewing her lower lip to keep back the tears that burned at her eyes as Edgar came to stand beside her. The breeze ruffled his cape, making it gently caress her leg. Terra took in a deep breath as she sent him a sidelong glance. His face was unreadable as he stared out at the distant mountains, and that made Terra's stomach knot up. She'd never seen him that way before.