Reflections: Reflections

The sweet, earthy smell of Golmore Jungle was like a warm embrace to Fran. She removed her shoes and dug her toes into the loose dirt. Home. Even after all these years it still felt like home. Very little had changed in Golmore Jungle during the one hundred years that had passed. This did not surprise Fran in the least. Although it was always growing, the Wood hardly ever changed. Where a tree fell and rotted a new one of its exact kind grew.

Like the Wood, Fran hadn’t changed much at all either. Perhaps she wasn’t as fast or strong as she used to be, her eyes were tired, and her hair had lost some of its buoyancy, but mostly she remained the same.

The viera left her shoes at the entrance to the jungle and walked along one of the winding pathways. She had her bow slung over her back, but didn’t really need it. There weren’t many monsters left these days. She kept it more for sentimental reasons. A single ray of sunshine poked through the thick canopy of leaves and Fran paused, turning her face up towards it. This simple action opened a floodgate of memories. Memories of the finest hume she’d ever known and the matchless friends she had made.

Fran had known many humes and had many hume partners after leaving the wood, but none of them compared to Balthier. Though a little cocky and smug the man had never treated her poorly. From day one he’d shown her respect and sought her input instead of dismissing it. The fact that he had a cute butt didn’t hurt either. Fran had loved him a great deal, however she never acted upon it. The viera kept her feelings locked away inside. She’d been with humes romantically before and it had never worked out. The fact that she would age much, much slower than they dawned on them eventually and they all ran. Fran did not think Balthier would react like that, but she sorely did not want to test that theory out. She didn’t think she could bear the pain if her theory was proven wrong. She also didn’t begrudge Balthier when he found himself a lover. It seemed the desert thief turned wannabe sky pirate was custom made for Balthier and she was merely happy to see her partner happy.

Penelo. Another hume she could have come to love if she had let herself. Beautiful, intelligent, kind, and caring, Penelo was the best friend that Fran had sought after once leaving the Wood. Penelo was always there to heal your wounds, be they physical or emotional. Always prepared with a gentle smile and kind words. Fran had never really known that females could interact peacefully until she had met Penelo.

Queen Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca… or simply ‘Ashe’ as Fran had known her. Although they didn’t interact much, Fran was certain her aura intimidated the Princess a little, they still had their moments. Her connection to Ashe was more… silent. Unspoken. They could exchange an exasperated or knowing look and understand each other perfectly. There was a bit of tension, mostly on Ashe’s behalf, when the Princess developed a small crush on Balthier, but their silent understanding seemed to smooth that over too. Unfortunately the Princess was only just starting to relax and open up around Fran as their journey together was coming to an end. Ashe did make an effort to keep their friendship alive, but in the end their vastly different destinies pulled them away from each other.

Basch. The captain was cute in a boyish sort of way. He knew perfectly well that Fran hadn’t intentionally sprung him from the dungeon, but he was grateful to her for the remainder of his life nevertheless. Near the end of his life he had made a bow especially for her, the bow slung across her back at that very moment. The captain had passed the silver bow silently to her, blushing profusely. She accepted it, also without speaking, but Basch understood. They were even.

And last, but not least, Vaan. The desert thief. The boy who won Balthier’s affections. Admittedly Fran thought him a bit of an idiot when she first met him. However, after journeying with him, she realized that he was simply naïve and curious, just as she had been after leaving the Wood. She could hardly resent him for that. He also made Balthier very happy which is all Fran cared about in the end anyway.

The end. It seemed to come too quickly for Fran, though it went by slowly for her hume friends.

Basch passed away first at the age of fifty-two. The man had died in the line of duty, saving Larsa from an assassination attempt before succumbing to his wounds. Basch never married and produced no heirs, but he had died happy. He had lived his life doing what he loved. His reputation had been restored and his countrymen saw him as a hero once again. A Dalmascan captain guarding an Archadian Emperor helped bring peace and unity between the two nations. After Basch’s death, Larsa made sure his ever faithful bodyguard was buried beside his twin.

Once Larsa was old enough to properly woo Penelo she took his advances more seriously and on the Emperor’s 21st birthday she married him. It was a big scandal at the time. The Emperor not only married a commoner, but a commoner five years his senior. Larsa, of course, handled the situation in his usual calm, diplomatic manner and the scandal was soon reduced to mere gossip spread by little old grannies. The people came to love and accept Penelo as their Empress in no time at all. And a mere two years later Penelo gave birth to House Solidor’s first and only heirs: a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. A smile came to Fran’s lips when she’d heard the twins were to be named Noah and Amalia. Both Penelo and Larsa lived well into their nineties before they passed on. Fran stood among the large crowd gathered at both of their public funerals. She had long since been out of touch with them by that time, but couldn’t bear the thought of not saying goodbye.

Ashe married Al-Cid of all people. Fran thought it a rather odd match, but evidently Ashe and Al-Cid didn’t think so as they produced eight children together. The Rozarrian line was still alive to this day thanks to Ashe and Al-Cid’s… vigorous work. Tragically Ashe died quite suddenly the night of her sixtieth birthday. Although he was now in his seventies Al-Cid was still popular with the ladies and Fran expected him to remarry quickly (and would shoot him in the foot with an arrow or two when he did), but the man never remarried. Evidently he did love his Queen.

One of the happiest surprises in her life was that Balthier and Vaan stayed together until the very end. She visited them the most frequently, even when it hurt her to see Vaan’s hair turning from blond to silver and Balthier’s cocky grin becoming weaker and weaker. Balthier was also quite deaf by the time he was sixty but, ever the vigilant lover, Vaan had taught Balthier sign language. He taught Fran as well and their hours of silent conversation were some of her fondest memories.

Vaan was seventy-one when he passed away on a rainy spring morning. Balthier wept for hours in her arms. His pain was great and it echoed through her in thunderous waves.

After that, the life and happiness was gone from Balthier. He lived for fifteen more years after Vaan’s death and missed his desert thief every single day. Fran cared for Balthier during the last ten years of his life. It pained her even today to think of how miserable her former sky pirate partner had been. He had only been happy in his last few minutes, as he knew he would soon be with Vaan once again.

“I love you.” Fran had said as Balthier’s old, tired eyes slowly slid closed.

Afterwards she’d stood up from Balthier’s bedside and had gone outside, turning her face up towards the sun.

The memories were fading now. Fran’s eyes slowly opened and a lone tear rolled down her upturned face.

“My child…”

Fran gasped. The green word. The voice of the Wood. She hadn’t heard it in so long. She had forgotten its beautiful sound.

“My sweet child.” The Wood said gently. “Are you ready to return to me?”

“Yes.”

From the moment she answered Fran’s body slowly began to disintegrate, sparkling green particles flew and swirled up into the air. Hundreds of jewel bright butterflies encircled the viera, accompanying her departing soul into the sky. It only took mere minutes for Fran’s body to vanish. Even her bow vanished with her, turning into shimmering emerald specks. All that was left behind was a single plant seed which floated dreamily on the wind before coming to a rest off the path. It settled into the soil and would soon mature into a brilliant purple flower. A flower that had never been in Golmore Jungle before. The Wood had changed.

The End.

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I don't know much about the Viera. I don't know if they merely have longevity or if they're immortal. I don't know what really happens when they die or even if they can die. I also don't know if they can hear the green word ever again once they leave the Wood. So basically, this is just my take on one Viera life.