Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Heart ❯ Moro ( Chapter 4 )

Thunder rumbled high in the sky above them, but no one bothered to move from where they sat in center of the city. Nanaki was speaking softly with Cloud as Zack fed Goldie, who chirped happily. Vincent stood a ways away, watching everyone before him, leaning against a fallen pillar that was covered in vines and greenery. Still perched on a tower, Moro looked up at the sky, murmuring softly to herself. After a while, Nanaki and Cloud nodded and the blonde stood up, looking at the rest of them.

 

“Nanaki knows where the WRO and the rest of the rebels are hiding. He said that he will take us there.”

 

“Where are they at?” Vincent asked.

 

Cloud looked at Vincent, his eyes still cold towards him. “Midgar…”

 

“Aw come on!” Zack complained. “We were just there a week ago! Are you serious?”

 

Cloud chuckled and said, “It's the best place for them. Deepground and the Empire are afraid to go in there, especially since the old church is there, and they are afraid to disturb `the spirits of the Ancients'.”

 

Zack laughed and said, “These bastards aren't as tough as they think.”

 

“They're tough,” Vincent said. “Don't let them fool you with their superstitions… they can wipe out an entire city… I've seen them do it. If the WRO and the rebels don't have enough men and aren't strong enough, Deepground will wipe them out as quickly as wiping off dust from a table.”

 

Nanaki nodded and said, “Vincent is right. We must be fully prepared.” Then the lion-wolf looked up at Moro and asked, “Will you be joining us?”

 

Moro looked at Nanaki and nodded. “Yes...”

 

“What's wrong, Moro?” Cloud asked.

 

Moro sighed and shifted where she stood. “Long ago,” she started, “when the world believed that dragons no longer flew in this world, a young half-breed, who was called a Dragon Child by both humans and dragons, searched out for more of her kind. Instead, she discovered that dragons were still around, hiding from the world n which they once roamed. So she sought out the eldest of our race and they gathered all of the other dragons together in one place for the first time in centuries.

 

“It was then that we all vowed to not abandoned the planet again and protect the humans who lived on this planet for the rest of time. It was then that we began to heal the planet, make it what it once been long ago. The Dragon Child worked hard, but she missed her family deeply. But she knew that she had to help with the reconstruction of the planet. So we all pitched in and helped the humans rebuild the planet. And when they needed us, we helped them, with a power so ancient, that many of our kind forgot that it existed.

 

“It was with that power that I healed a dying warrior. I shared my heart with him so he may live, but with a price... I could never see this man again. This man meant everything to me and I knew that I could never see him again, but I did it because I wanted him to live... but, I guess fate does what it desires...”

 

Vincent looked up at the dragon, everything that she said sinking in. Thunder boomed high overhead, signaling the rain to fall. Through the rain, Vincent looked up at the red dragon that stared down at him with crimson eyes… glowing crimson eyes. Tears mingled with the rain that fell down his face. “Aneilla…” he managed to choke out.

 

The dragon bowed her head and with a thrust of her wings, she was airborne for only a moment. She hovered down to the ground, her body glowing with red light and shrinking as she neared the ground. When she landed, the wings folded and disappeared to her body as the light faded. Standing before him, a few feet away, was the woman he loved more than life itself.

 

She'd changed in the years: her long hair, which was tied in a braid, was now a blood red and fell to her waist. Her face seemed narrower, her skin was like the color of ivory and her ears had a slight point to them like an elf's. Every step she took was graceful and fluid. But she was still petite, her face still looked the same and her eyes stilled glowed with the Mako that flowed through her veins. She was dressed in a white top that was close fitting, but flared out from her waist, going to mid-thigh and was held down with a white leather belt around her waist. The sleeves were long and had splits along the outside and it flared out a bit at the wrists. She had on black leather leggings tucked under knee high black laced boots.

 

Aneilla looked away from Vincent, but not before he could see the hurt in her eyes. “I thought you would understand,” she said softly. “I thought that you would understand that I would never leave you unless I had a dire reason… but I guess I was wrong…”

 

“Aneilla…”

 

“You see this!” she exclaimed, bring her braid up over her shoulder, holding it for him to see. “This color is the blood of the dragons you killed! All their deaths came back onto me! Can't you understand why I hid from you? I couldn't bear to look at you! When you approached me at the falls, I was so ready to kill you that day! But I couldn't… I can't… because a part of me still loves you, despite the pain you put me through.”

 

Vincent didn't realize that the others had slipped away, leaving only him and Aneilla. So if Aneilla decided to go through with her threat that she always said of roasting him, there would be no one to stop her, and Vincent felt that he wouldn't want her to be stopped. He hurt her, and he knew that… how could she forgive him now? “Aneilla,” he whispered, his legs threatening to give away. “I know that nothing I can say or do will make you forgive me… I'm sorry for what I've done, I'm sorry that I hurt you… the last thing that I ever wanted to do was hurt you, but I did it, and I'm sorry… I'm not worthy of this world anymore, or you… Chaos is gone, but I'm still a monster… I…” Vincent dropped to his knees, everything that he'd been holding back for four hundred and ninety six years coming down on him all at once. Anger, loss, sorrow, guilt… everything that he'd felt and held back came crashing down on him and he couldn't hold back the tears that fell. “Why!?” he screamed at her as the rain fell down harder. “Why did you just leave? Why did you tell Cloud and the others to lie to me, to tell me that you left me and no longer loved me? Why couldn't you just explain it to me? I hated you, Aneilla! I wanted you dead for the pain you caused me!”

 

Before he could react, Aneilla was there, her arms folding around him. He could see the tears swimming in her eyes as se looked up at him. “I wanted to,” she said. “Ancients help me, I wanted to tell you Vincent. You can't understand how many times I wanted to go back to you. I missed you, Vince, more than anything! But when you started killing all the dragons, I thought you hated me and I was afraid to go to you then, because I wanted you to stay alive, despite you killing everyone. I was selfish, but I didn't care. I knew that if you killed me, you would die too, and I didn't want that. I wanted you to stay alive. But when I saw you at those falls, something boiled inside of me. I didn't know that it was you, Vincent, you changed so much. I was ready to kill you until I struck you and felt the same pain you did, and then I knew. I couldn't kill you, so I told you that story, to see your reaction. When I saw the sorrow and guilt in your eyes, I knew that deep down, you still loved me, but I was still afraid to tell you who I was.”

 

“Why now?” Vincent asked, pulling away from Aneilla. He stood up shaking, using the fallen pillar for support. He looked down at her and asked again, “Why now? Why did you show yourself to me now?”

 

Aneilla shook her head, pushing herself to her feet. “I don't know, but something inside of me told me that it was time. Perhaps it was the sorrow I felt coming from you… I don't know… but I wanted to let you know that I was alive… and that… I… love you.” Aneilla looked at Vincent as the rain washed away the tears as quickly as they fell. “I love you and I forgive you… if you can forgive me in return…”

 

Vincent gasped and lunged at her. He pulled her close to him and buried his face into her neck, his body shaking uncontrollably. “I forgive you… Aneilla, I love you… I don't deserve your forgiveness…”

 

“And I don't deserve yours,” Aneilla said, pressing her face into his chest. “Vincent, I missed you so much.”

 

Vincent couldn't speak anymore. This is a dream... he thought to himself. He just held Aneilla tightly, praying that he wouldn't wake up.

 

*~*~*

 

Vincent woke up the next morning, instantly remembering the night before and in his mind, he knew that it must have been all a dream. He opened his eyes and gasped softly when he saw a pair of crimson staring back at him. “Oh Ancients…” he groaned, closing his eyes. “I'm still dreaming…”

 

“You're not dreaming, Vincent,” her voice said softly. “I'm really here.”

 

Vincent opened his eyes and looked at her. She was lying next to him on his sleeping mat, her face inches from his. Hesitantly, he reached up and touched the side of her face with his fingers. Her skin felt cooler than he remembered and was as smooth as marble. Her eyes seemed darker and he could see a faint ring of purple under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in a few days. She was strikingly, inhumanly beautiful. There was no way to explain it… “They said you died…” Vincent said softly. “Cloud… even you did… why did you tell me that you died?”

 

Aneilla sighed and covered his hand with hers. “I did die, Vince… that's why I'm like this… a part of me died when you destroyed my part of our heart. It's to the point where if one of us dies, the other won't as well. I broke that connection to you Vincent. When my heart finally collapsed, it broke that connection. The heart you have now is still half of a dragon's, but it beats on its own and is no longer connected, life wise. We still feel each others pain and emotions if they are strong enough.” She looked at Vincent and said, “It's hard to explain… but if you killed me that day, I would have died, but you would have only felt an immense pain in your heart that would never fade away. It would fade, yes, but you would always have a throbbing in your chest, as if you were about to have a heart attack…”

 

“So you did die…” Vincent said softly. “This is only a dream…”

 

“How can I convince you that this isn't a dream?” Aneilla asked.

 

Vincent ignored that comment. If this really was a dream, then he wanted to ask the questions that had been burning in his heart for years. “Why did you have people tell me that you didn't want me anymore, that you moved on? Did you truly not love me anymore?”

 

“Vincent, leaving you was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I thought that you wouldn't have believed the lie so easily, after the many times I told you that I loved you. I hoped that you would move on and live a happy life, that's why I had Cloud tell you anything that would convince you that I wasn't coming back but without telling you the real reason.

 

“Vince, when I wasn't helping healing the planet, I was practically curled into a ball and mourning you, missing you. I wanted to be with you so much, but I didn't know how to… now, I wish I just came back to you, then we could have avoided all of this. I should have never left, despite what the laws say, because I'm not full dragon. So now, I'm really sorry and I want you to know that I do love you, even though I ran away and had people lie and say that I didn't. I would die if you were taken off this planet and returned to the Lifestream. I don't think I could exist if you didn't.”

 

Vincent looked at Aneilla and saw the sincerity in her eyes. He rested his hand against her face and nodded. “I believe you,” he said.

 

“Now can you answer me one question?”

 

“Anything…”

 

“After everything that's happened, after everything that I put you through, can you still love me, or have you truly moved on. I can understand if you did, and I won't get in the way of your happiness…”

 

Vincent placed a finger on her lips and said, “I love you, Annie… and if you can forgive me and still love me after everything that I've done, then there is no reason that I can't either. I love you and nothing will ever change that.”

 

Aneilla smiled and said, “That's what I wanted to hear.” Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

 

Vincent knew at that moment that this wasn't a dream: it was all too real. He pulled Aneilla close and returned the kiss. He felt her fingers memorizing every feature of his face and the feeling felt good, despite how cold her fingers were against his warm skin. Finally they pulled away for air and he smiled at Aneilla. Brushing a strand of hair from her face, he whispered, “Thank you for coming back to me.”

 

Aneilla smiled and she buried her face into his chest. “Thank you for taking me back,” she said softly.