Chapter Text
At a royal ball all are expected to dance. They are also expected to drink lest scandal breaks out that someone bears a child or a man is simply too loose to hold his liquor. Watching his subjects dance and drink before his narrowed eyes, the prince scoffed as a heavily inebriated girl tripped over her heels. There was nothing to celebrate this evening. He was still but a prince yet his king remained dead. The sky boomed in anger at everyone's mirth, as the room grew darker. Still, everyone danced and the band simply played louder.
To further his annoyance, a steward bumbled his way over, leaning just so over the throne steps into a bow. "Your highness," he hissed out. The prince did not look down as the steward continued. "A woman from the town is requesting your audience."
"She must wait 'til morning, as all my wanting subjects must." The prince sighed out.
"She has refused to leave, your highness." The steward began to stutter as the prince's face began to twist ever so slightly. "She arrived over an hour ago. She is asking to escape the rain." He fumbled to explain. "The guards wish to wait by your command. She appears sickly.”
A few stragglers from the ballroom floor lingered some footsteps away, not so subtly peeking over their wine glasses to peer at the scene. The prince sighed in frustration and stood from his seat. “Her name?” He demanded as he swiftly stepped down and began to exit the ballroom. He caught the gaze of his brothers across the floor and beckoned them to follow.
The steward rushed behind. “She presented herself only as a simple flower peddler, your highness.”
The prince stalked into the hall, catching sight of some guards crowded around a feeble old woman, her clothes tattered, and her hair knotted. Upon the prince’s arrival the guards stepped back, allowing him to look onto the woman. She did not bow. Further irked by such inappropriate manners, the prince waved his brothers over. “Excuse me, madam, but I’m quite busy hosting tonight,” he began. The woman tried to speak and he quickly continued, “I cannot allow you entry. Such stench will disturb my guests, you see.” He leered down at her, his distaste clear on his face. “Return home, before the storm worsens.”
“My home has been flooded.” The woman croaked. “Please,” She begged. "I only ask for the night.” The prince watched as she held out her hand…
A yellow lily nestled between her dainty fingertips. “Only three gil each, sir.” Aerith sing-sang as she went about her usual day trying to persuade the locals into purchasing some flowers. Her prices rose and dropped depending on who walked past. Her basket was almost empty and she grew eager to finish and hurry home. “Just two gil to make your girlfriend’s day!” She promised. People continued to walk passed, some ignoring her, some looking on in pity or amusement. Very few were buying. Just as she began to feel the weight of the day, she felt something bump behind her, almost jostling the basket from her arm. “Hey!” She cried out, and as she spun around to tell the jerk off, she was greeted with a familiar beaming face.
“How about you let me buy out the rest of those for you, and we grab some dinner?” Zack suggested, and Aerith relaxed as she looked up at his charming grin.
“Zack! How am I to make an honest living when you keep buying out my stock everyday?” Aerith asked in mock disbelief, placing her hand on her hip with an exaggerated tilt of her head.
“Marry me, and you won’t need to work to make a living.” Zack teased nonchalantly as he began guiding her off the streets and into the shopping district.
Aerith ignored his remark and shoved her basket into hands. “That’ll be 25 gil, sir. “ She smiled.
The rest of the evening was shared between the two with laughs and soft gazes. They filled up on cheap food and flat drinks. With the aftertaste of salt and starch still on her tongue, Aerith led the way back to her house as Zack walked closely beside her. The evening grew colder and Aerith resisted the urge to step in even closer to the man as she suppressed a shiver, knowing it would make him much too pleased.
Upon reaching her house Zack stopped her before she bid her goodnites. Aerith stood slightly dumbfounded, taken aback as Zack took her hand in his, tracing her veins with the pad of his thumb. “I mean it Aerith.” He said softly, gazing down at their joined hands. Aerith knew where this was going, as Zack brought it up at least every weekend after he’d had enough drinks to warm up his cheeks. She placed her other hand over his before he could start and bent down to catch his eyes. She knew she couldn’t stare into those blues for too long before she’d crack. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Gently pulling her hand away with little resistance from Zack’s end, she stepped onto her porch. “I'll have another special order of bouquets ready for you to purchase too.” She added with a little grin, trying to lighten the mood.
Zack simply smiled softly, accepting his defeat. As he began to walk away, he called out to her, “I’ll be dreaming of you, Aerith.” He waved her off, and as she watched him go, the weight of the day finally fell upon her as Zack’s uplifting presence drifted further away. With a sigh she pushed into the house where her mother waited to greet her. Aerith pushed her earned gil into her mother’s hands but Elmyra shook her head.
"Hold onto it for me, hun." She insisted with a small smile, placing the gil back into her palm and clasping her hands around hers. "I'll need you to fetch some more flour for me once the week starts anyway." She patted the top of her hand and turned away to the kitchen.
Aerith trailed behind her picking up stray dishes as she went. They scrubbed them clean together as Aerith began to gossip with Elmyra, giggling as her mother hung onto every word she said, whether it was true or not. Her mother knew it was all in good fun and her eyes crinkled as she gave a sly grin.
"And what of Zack these days, hmm? I still miss seeing him around." She said softly.
Aerith rolled her eyes. "Mom," She groaned, "I told you that's over." She said curtly with a shrug, her voice higher pitched than usual.
"Oh, I know you two are so young." Elmyra sighed and looked back down at her working hands. With another mischievous grin, she bumped her shoulder to Aerith's. "He's filled out quite nicely though, wouldn't you agree?" Aerith blushed but laughed anyway with her mother.
Up in her room Aerith rebraided her hair as she readied for bed. The days were long yet the evenings flew by. Her mattress creaked and dipped low as she settled in, and she couldn't help a content giggle slip as she eagerly awaited for sleep. She dreamed of bright blue eyes as she always did, and woke quickly to early construction in the distance and some stray chirping near her window.
At the start of the day, she knew she needed to make haste to the church. Her stock was low, and her funds short. Her mother wished her luck and handed over a parcel of bread as Aerith ventured out. As she neared the church, the air grew humid and she hoped with bated breath that today bore good growth. She smiled through her anxiety as a passerby waved and they wished each other good morning. Stepping into the church, her smile fell as she found the patch of grass grown through the broken floorboards was just that; grass.
“Not again…” She mumbled to herself, plopping down on the adjacent pew. The season was right she knew, yet the blooms remained stubborn. She also knew she smelled a lot more pollution in the air than usual the past month, and that the days seemed to be in a perpetual state of dimness no matter the hour. It was time for a career shift, but for the time being she decided she needed more flowers.
Standing from the pew, she marched out of the church and headed out towards the outskirts of the slums. The sooner she left the sooner she’d be home in time before her mother began to wonder. Aerith thought briefly of Zack, a little bubble of guilt gnawing at her core. She knew she’d be fine, as she’s wandered outside the walls before. Anyone from sector 5 knew getting out was easy enough in part due to the fact that the walls were cracked and Shinra couldn’t be damned to fork out the gil to fix them.
Aerith wasted little time, easily avoiding any curious eyes as she made her way to the crack. With little hesitance she slipped through as she already knew her destination. A field about two miles out was as green as ever if luck was on her side. It shaved off a bit of time from her day but she felt it was a necessary evil. With a little mantra of encouragement in her head, she pushed forward, her legs growing heavy not used to such uneven terrain. She made sure to take in the sights as she treaded on. The farther she walked from the walls the brighter the sky became. Stray petals, caught in the weave of her basket, fluttered away as a breeze ran past. She could still smell the heavy air, but a dewiness lingered as she neared tall grass. The approaching field was a beacon of hope for Aerith’s weary legs that dragged more the closer she got. Now in the middle of the field she looked around for her rightful glory. Again, there was only grass. With a frustrated groan, she allowed her legs to give as she plopped down on the ground. Her basket rolled on its side as she cast it away. Falling onto her back she gazed up at the clouds drifting ahead, noticing the slight pickup in their pace since she last bothered to look up back at the wall.
She thought again of Zack, and wondered if his day was faring any better than hers. She knew she ought to head back now, knowing a few flowers wasn’t really worth all the trouble. Of course, as much as she’d tell herself otherwise, it wasn’t really the flowers that brought her out to this field so much anyway.
After a few long beats, Aerith heaved herself back up. One could only dream so much. Just as she turned to head back, a loud crack whipped through the air not too far off. Startled, Aerith froze as her skin tingled. She waited with baited breath for the source of the sound yet none revealed itself for almost a full minute until suddenly the tall grass rustled along in a jagged path leaving her field of vision. Aerith crept over to where the rustling started and peered down at a set of rusty jaws clamped shut. Her secret field was not as secret as she had so hoped and assumed.
With the realization that other people may be near, her heartbeat picked up. She turned back to retrieve her basket only to drop it as yet another loud crack rung in the air except this time a long wail that refused to cease followed after it. Her chest immediately began to ache with dread and she stalled as she debated just leaving but she knew her choice before she even made it. Stalking over to the cry for help some 30 feet away from the first trap, Aerith searched for the creature.
It was, of course, small game; a rabbit, caught by its hind leg. Aerith quickly knelt down to try pulling the jaws apart, grunting as she exerted as much strength as she could muster until the jaws finally gave. The rabbit bounded out instantly despite its injury and scampered off in the same direction as its other half. Aerith let the jaws snap back shut and as she dusted herself off she was once again startled but this time by the cry of men. A group of seemingly angry men heading straight for her. She had released their catch, and she knew they seek recompensation from her one way or another.
Rushing to her feet, Aerith scrambled in the opposite direction away from the walls and towards the hills, the stocky men not far behind her. One of them whistled as another laughed and jeered. Her hair fell loose from its braid and began whipping around her as she ran as hard as she could on her already tired legs, her lungs beginning to burn. Nothing else registered as she focused on escape, with no clue where she was headed. The sky grew darker as she ran and the air frigid but she would not stop until the voices were gone. Delving into a cluster of trees she thought this might be it for half a second until on the other side she happened upon a most peculiar thing.
A crumbled stone wall atop a broken stone path. Aerith was no longer sure she heard the men anymore but she headed to the ruins anyway in search of more cover. She tucked herself into the corner of what once might have been a room. Completely still besides her quivering puffs for air, she listened for a sign of anyone but only heard the rush of her blood pumping through her ears. All was quiet yet she was stuck, petrified as her chest pounded. Her eyes began to wander and she knew she was lost.
For the third time that day she thought of Zack and felt a yearning to be back at home in her gardens. So what if it was dying. Better the flowers than her. She berated herself for ever leaving the slums this morning as her eyes began to sting and her throat tightened. She screwed her eyes shut and saw bright blue ones peering into hers. With several deep breaths she steeled herself and pushed off the wall. With newfound resolve she stepped around the wall ready to find her way back home.
Only to meet the chest of a tall slender man who peered down at her curiously. "What do we have here now?" Another spoke from behind her with a chuckle, almost identical to the first man. Movement rushed behind him and she caught sight off in the distance of a disheveled lump on the ground. Her eyes grew wide and she choked as she realized it was one of the men chasing her down, an arrow protruding from his neck. She quickly cast her eyes aside as she began to see red. Her head spun as she found the sharp face of the tall man leering at her, a blur of silver floating around him as she began to lose grip. Before she knew it, she was gone, no longer seeing anything.