Chapter Text
Land of Departure was a special place for Aqua. She wasn't born or raised there like Liz or Visha, but her family had passed down the Keyblade to her, and she was eager to train and learn. Aqua had joined them at fourteen. At almost sixteen, she met Eraqus' golden boy, the one everyone kept talking about.
Prodigy, they said.
He had long brown hair and was always in black, brown and grey clothes. Sometimes Eraqus would put him in golden accessories, ornaments of sorts. He looked a bit shy, not the talkative type.
Eraqus jested with the masters that he and Aqua were opposites in almost everything, especially the fighting spectrum. He liked to point out when they both made mistakes that would easily be brushed aside if they fought together instead. Terra seemed to disagree with that, always frowning when his master said something the matter.
Eraqus had been pairing them in training for weeks, saying they should learn with each other. Aqua didn't had many to learn with, really. Not that she hadn't tried, no, but she had always been a people pleaser at heart — just like her Ma was.
Visha had been her closest friend, but since they met Terra, she had been distant. Her light and long red hair was cut short for combat. She used to say she'd be a magic user, instead of focusing on dexterity like the majority. Visha wasn't focusing on spell casting anymore. Aqua had never been keen on offenses, which was what Eraqus was trying to hammer down on her head that she needed to learn.
Visha had been focusing on tension spells, propulsion and force. That was Terra's best field on magic, was what Aqua heard, though she was yet to see him use any spells or casting at all. It was odd, seeing her do all of that.
But Eraqus took notice of her hard work. So did the other masters, apparently. Visha had been getting praises left and right — and the ego boost that came with it was kind of annoying.
At least to Aqua, that was. It was quite obvious the reason for the sudden change, Visha would glare at her when master Eraqus called upon her to pair with Terra in most exercises. But then again, Eraqus would put Aqua next to Terra and only Aqua next to Terra. Some of the older wielders said it was a privilege, an honor to be siding with Eraqus' chosen one. Aqua didn't really felt like it was. Terra barely even spoke to her.
He barely spoke in general, always focused on training and that alone. He'd not even eat in the common area. If Visha took notice, she hadn't blamed it on Terra but Aqua instead.
It was so odd to her.
Aqua had a way to find him, it seemed, as she had found him yet again in the gardens instead of the common area. He had his head on the bushes, muttering disconnected and discontent words at the poor flowers held by the chains of the Castle. There were books on the floor. Usually Aqua would tell Eraqus about everything. Even when she didn't want to, because he asked, and asked, and she couldn't deny her master to know something he would deem important — it was for her safety.
But this wasn't her safety alone. It was the Land's.
Terra was researching Eraqus' old books, the scriptures from the Age of Fairytales. The ones he saved from his school before he became a survivor. Eraqus had told this story many times over. The books were not supposed to be touched. Most of them were myths anyway, if not all of it. A War fought by children to keep the world safe from Darkness didn't seem realistic at all. Child warriors?
Aqua kicked a book lightly. She'd not touch them.
"Go away," Were Terra's first words.
He was still wearing the golden ornaments Eraqus had put on his hair, still wearing the white cloak. His hands were dirty with dust and a few bleeding cuts from early training. But the books were crystal clean.
Aqua crouched beside him. "Unless you want me to call the masters, then I'll walk away, sure."
Terra shrugged. He didn't move much after that. He knew when Aqua bluffed, surprisingly enough.
"Right," Aqua sighed. "Did you eat yet?"
He moved away from the bush. His eyebags were heavy, darker, but he didn't look tired. Terra looked angry, frustrated with something. He didn't say a word, though. He kept staring at one of the books.
It was one about the blades what could be done with them. What kind of blade would come to you when your will manifested onto it. The natural flow of magic through the wielder and the keychains.
Aqua tilted her head a little, just to read onto it. When she looked up at Terra again, he was staring.
"What?" She frowned. "If you're not talking, I might as well read with you, no?"
"... With me," Terra blinked, slow. "You can have them."
"The books?"
He gave her a curt nod. Didn't say much else. Neither did Aqua, as she got up and sighed again, exasperated. She didn't understood Terra at all. Most wielders would focus on what was being taught and focus on getting better at what they found suited them most. Not Terra, apparently. He was searching up old armory, in books of myths. A strange creature, he was. Maybe Eraqus knew and just didn't care much. Terra was his best apprentice after all. Maybe he'd spoil him like that too.
They stood in silence as Terra read through open pages, eyeing Aqua when a page needed to be turned, and Aqua simply obliged. Terra wasn't great with healing magic and Aqua sure as hells wasn't going to cast any spell outside training grounds. It was getting dark, and some masters came looking for missing students. It was now or never. Aqua stared at Terra, glaring eyes, as she waited for him to do anything. Anything. Terra slowly looked up at her again, and then at the Castle entrance.
"You should go," He mumbled. "It's getting late."
"So should you," Aqua whispered. "It is late already, and you need to heal your wounds."
Terra stared at her, half confused as his brows furrowed and his lips parted slightly.
To hells with it, then. Aqua took his hands, whispering the words she had learned for healing. Spell casting without her blade wasn't her best work, really, but she had been learning defense and healing alone for a while. It was why Eraqus would always praise her work — where she had been flexible, Terra was stone-set. Where he had been offensive as a front liner, she had been a barrier.
Cure didn't came as naturally for her as shield spells, but oh well. It wasn't as well adapted as the masters' casting, but it healed him nicely anyhow. The scent wasn't like the scholars had said it would be. Sweetgrass. Instead, it was scented as wet soil. Terra stared at her as if he had been graced with something otherworldly. Aqua nodded to the books.
"Good luck with that," She mumbled and Terra nodded back.
Aqua went back inside the Castle.
It didn't took long for the whispers to reach her ears.
Apparently someone saw her casting outside training grounds. The new kids were all asking if she had permission to, as it was something only scholars and masters did. Aqua didn't really answered them but she didn't lie either. Someone needed the help and she could help, so she did. It would reach the masters' ears anyway, better for it to be her side than anyone else's, and she didn't want Terra to suffer any consequences of something as stupid as that.
That night, she almost didn't sleep. It kept coming and going, and Aqua didn't wanted to take a potion just for that. She reached training grounds before she knew it and summoned Rainfell. Dummies would do just fine. She needed to practice alone anyhow. Completely alone, that was.
Away from the glares of the other teens and the judging eyes of the masters. Especially Eraqus. His eyes weren't judging by all means, but it was easy to be swayed by the eyes of a proud father more than the eyes of a judging man.
Gods knew she needed her own time away from all of them equally.
Aqua focused on dexterity, evading with most of her body without losing balance and timing. It was something she had been practicing — to dance with her blade instead of fighting the weight of it. She hadn't noticed when Terra appeared, and she wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't said anything.
"Your stances are wrong,"
It was a simple comment. He wasn't wrong either. Aqua huffed, ignoring the way Terra tilted his head as she kept training one particular movement and kept either missing the dummy or her foot balance. It wasn't until Terra grabbed her hand and adjusted her grip on Rainfell that Aqua fully regarded him. With a glare and offended frown, Aqua turned her head to Terra, that simply manhandled her as if she was nothing but a toy.
He moved her blade arm up, adjusted her footing and the entirety of her lower body. Eraqus said he was shy. He didn't spoke much. This? This wasn't shy at all. He seemed kind of irritated, really. Like a begrudged father tutoring his kid or something. Aqua didn't say anything, but she had tensed up so much that Terra had to pat her shoulders to loosen the strength of her hold again.
"If you want light flow, you can't hold your keyblade as if you're going to slam it down on someone's head." He said lightly.
Aqua wrinkled her nose. "I should, any suggestions?"
"Me, I guess," Terra shrugged. "Try doing what you were doing before."
Aqua opened her mouth. Closed it. Narrowed her eyes at Terra. Stared at the dummy again. Swallowed. Her fringes got a bit in the way, but it was manageable. She ran, casted Aero, loosened her grip, like Terra told her to, and when she dashed forward with the wind, Rainfell not only sliced the dummy in half, it made a dent on the floor when the attack hit it. Aero gave out. Aqua breathed in, shallow little things, smiling like a fool. Hands on her knees, she turned her head toward Terra.
His eyes were locked on the dummy, brows raised. Aero had messed up his hair, she noticed. Aqua turned to him fully and walked toward him, biting her inner cheek. Mostly she wanted to thank him, but that would give way for him to do all of... That. Again. And Aqua really didn't knew if she could handle it as well as she did this time because it would be in front of others and. No. Definitely no. Her thanks would be very silent, something small.
Terra's eyes finally focused again, on Aqua, curious when she raised a hand and a bit alarmed when she started grooming his hair back to it's normal form. It was Terra's turn to swallow, eyes darting this way and that, trying to look anywhere but Aqua. She patted his arm once she was done with his hair.
"Let's go back to our rooms." Aqua said lightly. "Unless you want to spar..."
Terra blinked. It was rare that he showed any other emotion beside quiet wonder and quiet anger. Eraqus had been right, he was shy. From the way he bit his lip and held it with his teeth to the fidgeting fingers. That was new, and Aqua found it kind of sweet. Even Eraqus' golden boy got nervous.
"I don't think it would be a fair fight," Terra mumbled.
Aqua narrowed her eyes. She didn't knew if she should be amused or offended.
"There you are, Te—"
Oh. Aqua froze. Terra went stiff. Neither of them turned. Eraqus walked past them, towards the destroyed dummy and the struck floor. He whistled, then chuckled and turned around to his apprentices.
"Hah," Eraqus shook his head lightly, a smile dancing on his lips. "I see. Don't tire yourselves, I expect you both awake at seven."
And just like that, he went back from where he came. Terra let out a long, long sigh. Aqua breathed out, uneven and nervous. Terra looked at the dummy again, then back at Aqua. He took a few steps back. Aqua did the same. So he had chosen.
***
It became a common occurrence. The sparring. Terra was right, it was not a fair fight. She had only been in training for two years while he had been trained his whole life, almost. But Aqua adapted faster than Terra, even though he knew most techniques and all stances for wielders there was.
It was not a fair fight, but it was entertaining, at the very least. Terra had a very unconventional way of fighting when he got really locked into it. Slow hits but all of them heavyweighted. Sometimes they'd lose track of time and when some other wielders and masters reached training grounds, they'd still be there. Eraqus let them. Sometimes he even watched, no impromptu or anything. Simply to watch, in the shadows of the training room, where his kids wouldn't see him or his shining eyes and smile.
One of these days, most wielders woke up at dusk, rumors had reached most of them either way. They wanted to see if it was true. And sure enough, the whole place was staring. Aqua didn't even noticed them at the first — or last — minutes.
Terra had been doing a number on her that day, really. Not that he never did, it was mostly because of, again, her Gods be damned stances. Terra had noticed she'd wrinkle her nose or frown at all the manhandling, but he never stopped with it either.
They tried once and it didn't work. Aqua was a visual learner and Terra was a terrible narrator.
His feet moved hers a bit further apart. "There, and now you slash. Not a cut. Slash."
Aqua rolled her eyes. "Yessir,"
He repositioned, Aqua ran forward, to him. Their blades hit one another fast. Terra was on the defensive this time, and gradually, Aqua realized he had matched her timing almost perfectly by just moving her around. He never trained dexterity, so she didn't knew he could do that.
Rainfell hit Earthshaker again, less force and move velocity. Terra gave her a rare small smile.
"You can still stack, you know," He said quietly, breathed out.
Aqua huffed a chuckle. "And you can attack, too."
"End your torment, you mean," Terra shook his head lightly, still smiling.
Aqua slashed, then cut. The fact that Terra knew she'd cut before she even did was a novelty.
"Mine? Really?" She breathed out.
Terra tilted his head a little. "Stance."
Oh, for the love of—
Aqua redirected, jumping over his blade. Terra snickered. He threw her backwards.
"Stance," He said again. "Or you want me to—"
"No, thank you," Aqua cut, adjusting her grip and balance. Terra nodded. She narrowed her eyes. "Satisfied, mister?"
"He might not be, but I surely am," Eraqus said.
Whispers exploded inside the training grounds. Terra went stiff, jaw clenched. Aqua bit her lip. They both slowly bowed their heads to the watching party of masters, and some of them nodded, the others simply muttered to each other. Eraqus was smiling from ear to ear, a rare grin. Terra looked up, almost as if the ceiling had been calling to him and he had only now noticed. Aqua took a deep breath.
"Now, now," Eraqus put a hand on Aqua's shoulder. "You may continue later. Let us begin magic work, yes?"
Terra's eyes snapped back down, to Eraqus. A silent conversation happened in a matter of a few seconds, and Eraqus nodded.
"But not for you, Terra." He said, pointing towards the main door. "The library may fit you well."
Terra nodded. "Yes, fa- master," He very reluctantly left the training grounds.
Huh. That... Was new. Terra wasn't always in the Spell Casting classes but everyone had figured he simply couldn't cast without his Keyblade or maybe just battle casting.
Knowing that Eraqus himself didn't allowed him to participate was at the very least unsettling. Why was he not allowed to? It didn't made sense. Terra was his golden child, his best apprentice. He surely was just as good with magic. He had to be. Visha glared at Aqua, sized her up, scoffed. Aqua frown deepened. That was also odd.
For the rest of the day, night and the next twenty four hours, no one saw Terra. Aqua wasn't really worried, no. No one bothered to search in the gardens. Dinner was served in the common area. Visha sit beside Aqua this time. She threw a mocking smile at her, and ate in silence. Aqua really didn't understood the change. They were friends, weren't they? She really didn't understood it.
"He grew tired of you," She whispered.
Aqua stared at her food, blinked. "Who?"
"Terra, whom else?"
Aqua almost laughed. She hummed instead. "Great, then. I'll tell master Eraqus he did."
Visha glared at her. "Master Eraqus favors you."
"What?" Aqua asked, genuine confusion on her voice. "Why would you think that?"
"You're the only one he lets Terra pair with in training, and now he's allowing you to... Whatever that was two days ago."
Aqua stared at her, eyes wide. "He didn't even knew, Visha."
Visha went still. She slowly turned her head to Aqua. She stared at her for a few seconds, shocked. Then she huffed and waved a hand.
"Of course he did. He knows everything Terra does."
Aqua opened her mouth. Closed it. Visha had a point, horrible as it was. Did Terra told Eraqus of the books, then? Probably. That was how he got them in the first place, wasn't it? Aqua sighed. If Terra did grew tired of her, it meant she would be free to sleep at dusk, at least. Terra was a bit relentless.
"At least I can sleep now," Aqua mumbled to herself.
"At least now we can duo again," Visha said. "You can be my mage."
Aqua blinked once or twice. She giggled. "Sure,"
And then, it happened.
The doors to the common area opened, the masters walking in, and just behind Eraqus was Terra himself. His hands were bandaged, his eyes lowered to the ground, his eyebags heavy and his lower lip was bleeding. Murmurs spread through the common area like wildfire, but Terra ignored all of them. With Eraqus' white cape over him, he looked almost his actual age, almost like all the other teenagers in the room and not Eraqus' privileged, spoiled kid.
Eraqus had him glued to him throughout the week, only allowing Terra spare time during his trainings and sleep. Aqua wasn't really worried. According to the older wielders, it had been like that before Eraqus had seen Aqua as Terra's equal.
Over the weekend, some graduations happened. A ball, of sorts. It was the celebration of birthdays during the month, all in one day. Every month they had one like this, but Aqua had spent her birthdays with her Ma. This time, old Master Odin didn't let anyone out, and Aqua would be forced to celebrate there with all other kids. Not that she wasn't happy.
It just wasn't like her at all. She didn't like being the center of attention, though she liked the attention of specific people — her family, her friends. Having to dress up pretty was definitely not her thing, either. Visha jumped on the opportunity to dress her up, and so did Liz, one of Visha's friends.
They fought a lot about how to dress their new doll, but at the end of it, Aqua was dressed in a white gown, the skirt build with layers of light blue and silver fabric, a white corset with silver ornaments and black boots. Visha fought to put Aqua in a white necklace as well, with way too many silver cords and hanging onyx coming from it. It was beautiful, but Aqua definitely wouldn't wear stuff like this on her own accord. It was hard to move, the dangling gems on her neck making her uncomfortable.
But at least she wasn't the only one. Most of the older wielders looked uncomfortable in the clothes of the celebration, some of them down right almost passing out the moment the masters came into view.
Liz took her to the side, eyes gleaning in the dark. She looked half concerned, half happy. Aqua wasn't close to her so she didn't understood why she had been taken aside with her and into the Gardens. Liz took her to where very few people were, closer to where she had found Terra once.
"Please don't tell Visha I told you this," Liz said in a hurried whisper. "Visha said today you'll be finally out of the way..."
Out of the way? Aqua stared at her, lips parted slightly, brows furrowed. "What?"
"She thinks you like Terra!" Liz blurted out. "Because she likes Terra, and I wanted to interfere with what she said she'd do with you before she did..."
"What... What she said... What did she said?"
Liz looked around, uncomfortable, then closed a bit more distance between them. "Something about presentations, since you never spend your birthdays here, something about Master Eraqus finally opening his eyes to her and how compatible she is to Terra."
Aqua raised an eyebrow. "She'd save me some time, then,"
Liz snorted. "She thinks you like him too, I just said."
"Then she really wasn't paying attention." Aqua groaned. "I really don't care if Master Eraqus pairs them for training. All I care now is these boots eating my feet."
"You know why she thinks that?"
Aqua narrowed her eyes. She had a suspicion, but shook her head no anyway.
"Terra doesn't smile a lot, to most people, and it's always that little polite thing..." Liz waved a hand. "And he smiles because he wants to, with you."
The ball was a mess, and much to Visha's dismay, Terra wasn't even there. Aqua forgot about the topic as soon as Liz walked away, but watching Visha's smile slowly fade away as she realized Terra wouldn't come for the festivities was kind of funny. Aqua didn't hold it to heart, people had strange ways to show affection and she wasn't going to get frustrated with Visha because of that. She had other reasons to. The way she had been treated for something she had no control over, for one.
Walking around the celebrations bare feet was definitely a choice she'd come to regret later, but her feet hurt. Horrible ideia it had been to use heel boots for an event she'd have to stand for most of it. She had been walking around closer to the main library, tired of all the music on her ears. It was her sixteenth birthday celebration but she hadn't felt this dislocated in forever. It wasn't truly bad, just new.
Aqua really did seem to have an instinct for where Terra was, as she walked inside the library searching for the quiet space only to find disheveled brown hair and blue bloodshot eyes staring out one of the main windows. He wore a black coat with golden details. And he looked paler, somehow looking like a ghost of the person he was.
Aqua was about to turn around and leave him be, when he tilted his head toward her, his eyes never leaving the windows.
"You don't have to leave if don't want to, Aqua," Came muttered, his voice barely there.
Maybe all the manhandling paid off. She hadn't made much noise when she had entered the space, yet he knew exactly whom it was. She let out a soft sigh and turned to grab a book. The lamps were softer in the library than they were in the ball, which made for a nice, less brighter view of the place. It also made the red around Terra's eyes more prominent, his tired blue eyes more vivid with the contrasts of soft orange light and the black and gold of his clothes. He looked etheral in a sad way.
Aqua didn't knew what to say, so she didn't say anything. Instead, she focused on her book, reading through the tales came easier than making conversation with Eraqus' golden boy. One little whisper inside her head kept nagging at her.
Why is he crying?
It wasn't her place to speak. It wasn't her place to question it, either. Aqua kept trying to read through the same sentence again, and again, and again. She heard movement, looked up, and sure enough, there he was, head on the table, hiding from the world.
Why is he crying?
Aqua stared at him, almost glared. Terra moved, little by little, until their eyes met. His cheeks were wet with both old and new tears. He lowered his head again. Aqua breathed in, put the book down.
And.
"Are you alright?"
Terra went stiff. Took a few seconds in tense silence.
"I'm fine," He managed.
Aqua sighed, shifted, moved up. Walked around the table until she was right beside him. Crouched down. She was uncertain of how to approach him, really, so she mustered all her discontent with his manhandling in the sparring sessions they had and huffed, tapping his thigh.
If Terra was startled, he didn't show at all.
"Look at me,"
He did, slowly, eyes narrowed.
Aqua decided to approach him like she did with the kids in the spell work training and the ones her Ma helped raising when she was younger. She mentally prepared herself for the worse reactions and sighed softly, trying not to look curious or annoyed.
"Why are you crying?" She asked, slow and quiet.
Terra simply stared. He kept his eyes narrowed, not as a glare like before but as suspicion.
"I'm fine, Aqua," He repeated, slow, deliberate, breathed out. "Don't worry. It'll pass."
She stared at him, uncertainty crawling at her skin.
"That's... Not what I asked,"
Terra scoffed through his nose, and then it turned into a huffed chuckle. "It's not."
Terra stared at something down her neck and his brows creased a little. He let out a quiet "Huh," and before Aqua could even think to get up, Terra moved, leaned in, way too close, and snatched one of the gems on his fingers. Aqua wrinkled her nose.
He looked up, lips twitching. "Where did you got those?"
Her brows moved slightly down for a second. "The necklace? A friend of a friend."
He let go, leaned back onto the chair and let his head fall on the table again, but he was still turned to her, his eyes a strange vivid blue. "I see."
"You're... Really not gonna answer, are you?"
Terra narrowed his eyes again. "You're not gonna drop it, are you?"
Aqua shook her head no, her grip tightening a little, a bit more firm. Terra's eyes snapped at her hand but he just breathed in. If he was annoyed, he didn't told her. He leaned in again, took the same gem to his fingers, kept fidgeting with it until he found his voice again, strained and tired.
"Today isn't a great day for me, is all,"
"Something happened?"
Terra's smile was small and sad. "Not to me," He whispered. "But to me all the same."
Aqua hummed. "Bad memory?"
His eyes were on the gems at her neck. "... Maybe,"
Aqua moved her other hand to his one holding her necklace. "It's alright, everyone has bad days. It's just..."
Terra looked at the onyx as if it had personally offended him. "Just...?" He whispered.
"You... I, uh," Aqua looked at her hands, one at the time. "You scared me,"
Terra chuckled again, but didn't say anything else. He looked so tired, it was so odd seeing Terra like that. He took her hand off his thigh, held with his, intertwining their fingers. Aqua didn't mind it this time, since he seemed like he needed the comfort and she was more than happy to help him feel a little better. She had been the comfort of a lot of children, the wards that came from villages on the worlds in between.
They were mostly orphans and her Ma took care of them — in a way, Aqua had a whole room of siblings, even if they didn't live with her at her home or there at Land of Departure.
They hadn't been her age, no, but she knew how to deal with people with all needs because of them. Because of her Ma, Aqua had learned to be gentle.
"I'm sorry I made you worried," Terra said, after a quiet moment.
He looked like he was about to scold her for being worried, but instead, he let go of her necklace gems, hand holding hers instead. At least he wasn't crying anymore and that was what she wanted, in the end.
"When you're ready to talk, I'll be here for you," Came from her mouth before she could stop.
It was what she had always heard her Ma saying to the children that came to her. They would usually lit up in tears again and start speaking, but Terra simply stared, as if debating something.
"Whatever I want?"
Aqua's brows furrowed a little. "Sure,"
He leaned him, a mischievous glint on his eyes. Their forehead touched, and Aqua flinched away a bit.
"Thank you," He whispered. "For everything."
Aqua really didn't knew what to say, so she didn't say anything at all. She nodded a bit, slowly, and got up just as slow. Their hands, she noticed, were still intertwined. Terra didn't let go. Neither did she. Her mind told her to, but her hands simply didn't move, and neither did her feet.
Aqua was staring down at him, now, and Terra really didn't seem to mind the change. That was a first, too, since he was taller and would usually glare when he was below someone in training. Quiet anger. That was all there was to him, she had thought before. But now? Now there was something else, not as quiet, but oh, so shy, hiding in plain sight. It was a blink and you'll miss it kind of thing.
Aqua didn't blink, not now that she had seen it.
She could ignore it, yes.
Just as she ignored that her heart was trying very hard to climb up her throat, loud and terrified, just as she ignored her face warming when Terra let go of one of her hands and moved it up until it was cupping her cheek, thumb stroking it ever so slightly.
"I'm grateful you're here, Aqua," He whispered.
Aqua swallowed hard, nodded, stumbled backwards, gathered her stuff and left with not a word coming out of her mouth. She did heard him giggling when she left, but couldn't muster courage to turn around and glare at him. Her hands were tingling, and she let her feet carry her away to her room.
Visha found her at the staircase.
"Did you had fun?" She asked, venomous.
Aqua took a deep breath. Turned around. She could see the frustration in every movement Visha made, her shaky hands, her defensive stance. She looked about to reach for Aqua and slap her. Someone was coming from the corridor to the main library too, but Aqua didn't really mind. Visha was seething.
"I don't know what you're—"
"Cut it," Visha snapped. "How did you even knew where he was? Liz was supposed to hold you the entire night!"
Aqua blinked. "And she did,"
"If she had done her job right, you wouldn't had found him."
Aqua tilted her head and crossed her arms. "I see, this is about Terra. You can find him in the main library if you still want to confess to him."
Visha snapped her mouth shut. Stared at Aqua with a mix of horror and anger. Aqua shook her head, sighing. She would really put her crush above her friend, huh. Impressive, really. Aqua should have known better, but she truly hoped Visha would come around and finally understand that there was nothing going on with them — it was just fun to spar without anyone's attention. And if Visha hadn't been treating her like competition in the wrong area, Aqua would have done the exact same with her.
"You should really go, though," Aqua pointed at the main hall with a shake of her head. "He might disappear again and you won't have the direction."
Visha made a sound, almost like she was about to go off again, but Aqua interrupted.
"And Liz did her job just fine, just so you know."
She turned around, ignoring Visha completely, finally climbed all the stairs and found her room. She opened the door so fast she might've become one with the wind for a second, and then she collapsed.
Sitting on the floor, her back to the door, Aqua broke. One of her friends just snapped, deciding that she was only worth for one thing. Maybe Visha hadn't been her friend at all, from the beginning, and Aqua just didn't saw it. Shaking her head to that thought, Aqua sniffed a bit. She missed her Ma. Aqua might've cried herself to sleep, because the light knock on the door made her jump awake.
"Hello?" She asked.
Nothing.
Aqua got up, glaring at the door before she opened it. Then her eyes turned murderous when Terra tilted his head and frowned at her. Great, incredible. Before she could even think of what she was doing exactly, her hands pulled Terra to her room, closed the door shut, and pushed him to sit on her bed. Aqua really didn't care of how it would look to other people, and Terra clearly didn't either. She never heard of late night visits, just late night gatherings in small groups and even then, it had to be spoken to a master beforehand. If Terra told Eraqus he would be here at this hour, Aqua would throw him out the window, no remorse and without breaking a sweat.
"You're crying," He said, quiet, as Aqua stomped toward him. "And angry."
"What is wrong with you?" Aqua hissed. "Do you know how late it is?"
Terra blinked, deliberately slow. "I heard her. And you. She came to me after you left."
Aqua stopped. Stared. Glared, then. "Good for her."
His lips twitched as if he was fighting the urge to smile, and Aqua's left eye twitched in an angry response to it.
"You said you'd hear me with anything," Terra pointed out.
Aqua almost. Almost. Threw him out the window.
"I did," She forced herself to say. "But not—"
"I don't understand what she wants," Terra said, so soft and honest that it made Aqua's anger crumble.
"She... Likes you, is what I heard." She shrugged.
Terra frowned. "Why?"
Aqua blinked. Opened her mouth. Closed it. Swallowed, eyes closing when she sighed again.
"Did you ask her?"
"I did,"
"So... Whatever she said is the reason why."
Terra's frown deepened. "What she said didn't made sense."
Aqua narrowed her eyes. "These things don't normally make sense, Terra. Love finds it's way, or whatever it is they say."
"It feels forced," He mumbled, then. "Like an obligation borne out of admiration."
Aqua bit her lip for a second and let go. "Maybe it is, I don't know. Do you liker her?"
Terra looked at her as if she has grown a second head. "How can a person like someone else if they don't know each other?"
Aqua just stared at him, impassive. "Do you?"
Terra shook his head lightly. "I don't even think I can."
Aqua scoffed at that. "I'd believe you if you didn't..." She waved a hand, suddenly very self aware, heart racing all over again, her hands tingling.
Terra narrowed his eyes. "If I didn't...?"
"Nevermind, maybe you can't. You should tell her that, then."
The smile he was fighting finally won, appearing slowly onto his lips. "So you do believe me."
Aqua sit by his side on her bed, trying to calm her terrified heart. "You really don't know what you're doing, do you?"
"I'm asking for advice, is what I'm doing." He said immediately, defensive.
"You want advice from me?" Aqua asked, baffled.
Terra huffed a chuckle and lightly shook his head. "I told her what I just told you. I don't think she took it well, so... Yes, I'm asking for advice."
Aqua groaned and put her hands over her face. "You told me a lot of things, Terra."
"I can't like someone I don't know," Terra repeated.
"And she didn't took it well." Aqua stared at him through her fingers.
"She said something and..." Terra giggled, nervous. "It also didn't made sense. Not to me, but she seemed clearly, uh, confident that what she said was true and I really didn't understood where any of that came from."
Aqua let go of her hands, heart suddenly halting to a stop. Her stomach sunk. Oh. Oh, Goddess, no. Visha was probably seething now, and Aqua was about to find out how jealousy could ruin someone else's relationship entirely.
"She's just nervous," Aqua murmured. "So she blamed me."
Terra was quiet, very much so. The silence was telling, though. Aqua turned to him completely, intent on having an concrete answer. Terra looked at her necklace the entire time, almost as if he could take it of by just staring. Sure, Aqua was annoyed by it, but he seemed genuinely spiteful of it. Of the gems, more specifically. His brows kept twitching like he was fighting a frown and she stared at him.
"Terra," She called, whispered.
His eyes snapped up to her face. "Hm?"
"What exactly did she told you?"
He stared, bit his lip, looked away. Aqua waited.
"That I— that I didn't had to lie," He waved a hand, though the motion was tired, just as he was. "To protect you. That I didn't had to lie for you, because she knew the truth. I didn't knew what to say, so I didn't say anything."
Aqua sighed again, moving to take off the necklace. "Were you lying?"
Terra frowned but stood quiet, until Aqua clicked her tongue as the necklace lock kept escaping her fingers. He moved on her bed, turned her around, took her fingers away from the necklace and took it off almost immediately. He breathed out, a soft but cold sigh against her neck.
Aqua's shoulders went up.
"I don't know," He said. "You're... A reminder. One I don't like. But I do like you, just not in the way Visha thinks I do."
Aqua turned around fast, staring at Terra as if he had confessed a crime. "What reminder?"
He deadpanned. "None. You're not gonna help me, are you?"
"If I could, I would," Aqua shrugged. "That's Visha's problem, really. You told her the truth, now she has to deal with. It's not that hard."
Terra tilted his head. "So I was right, then? No harm done with anything I said?"
"You told her how you felt after she told you how she felt, I guess it was expected."
He nodded, a hand moving to her cheek. Terra gave her a ghost of a smile, something barely there. Aqua closed her eyes for a moment, just trying to forget the staircase incident and pretend half of what they said ever happened. Terra saw her as someone almost close to a friend, but not exactly an acquaintance either, and she didn't knew what to make of it. Did he ever had a friend?
Did he even want one?
His behaviour said a big bold NO, but his eyes said the softest of YES Aqua had ever seen on someone.
* * *
Terra didn't knew what to make of anything master Eraqus had done. Assign him to a partner he didn't knew? Problem. That she was the daughter of one of the very few students that Eraqus had trained with and had survived the Wielder's Purge? Another problem. Eraqus favored her, immediately.
Terra knew.
He just didn't understood why, not until they begun sparring. Aqua was one of the very few people that didn't treat him like he had been born in royalty — probably because she didn't knew he was.
All she saw was his grumpy side and he was hellbent on keeping things that way.
He was an orphan, but all the others and the masters saw was ''Eraqus' little light'' slapped onto him. He didn't knew his family very well, and he was very sure he wasn't as important as his ancestors, but master Eraqus made him be perceived as important.
All Terra remembered from his family was smoke and fire, the taste of iron, the scent of burnt flesh, the ocean and ozone. Those were his early memories. The ones that had escaped Eraqus' mental block, the ones that resisted, even when his Keyblade materialized. Terra had been six when he had been found, seven when Eraqus begun training him in magic, eight when the Keyblade came to him.
He was sixteen when Aqua first appeared at the common area, being assigned with the other teens.
He was seventeen, almost eighteen, when master Eraqus decided he had avoided partnerships for too long, and paired him with Aqua. It had been an odd year, that one. Terra had decided to not speak with her at all, avoid her at all costs if he could, and be as neutral and impartial to her as possible. That was working perfectly, until his curiosity won.
And sparring was fun. She didn't treat him well, but she didn't treat him bad either. So he decided he could humor Eraqus for a while. He'd stop forcing them together eventually, Terra knew, because Aqua trained with Spell Casting classes more than with Research and Combat ones. And Eraqus would not have Terra near any spell casters that weren't masters. He couldn't risk it. Terra knew.
It didn't bothered him as much as it did when he was younger. When he did question it, when he was still on edge about being a failure to his legacy, both his blood and his new family. Eraqus assured him he wasn't with words and a bit of torment in training. Terra knew better now than to question his master. But then Aqua was casting spells to boost herself, and heal him during sparring.
He never had any side effects aside of a few odd dreams.
Until the Month of Lights came, the Gods be damned festival that happened every month for all children born over the month. One entire day and one entire night of festivities. Terra was used to not going, but this time he did. He didn't knew why he did, just that he wanted to see how things would go and whose birth-month it was. Visha, Liz, Yoric, Luxierie, some masters that Terra didn't bother remembering the name, a whole room of teens from twelve to fifteen.
And Aqua. He had never seen Aqua in white. It gave him a headache. Someone thought it would be really funny to dress her almost like his family would at the wedding gatherings, onyx and all, and Terra was half amused half terrified. If they had put her in gold ornaments, he might've been willing to throw a punch, but it was silver. It still made him want to cry.
No one knew he went there, anyhow. No one but Eraqus, and he had that very smug smile over his face as if he had planned it all. He probably did planned the party to be on Terra's exact birth day just to make him come out of the main library, but he probably didn't expect someone to dress the girl he had assigned to be Terra's official partner in training as a bride.
Especially not a bride of a culture that has extinguished, perished in fire and blood, with only one survivor remaining and only scriptures inside books and neighboring villages and Kingdoms to teach them about the culture and paintings that were salvaged in a Kingdom long gone.
Terra hid in the main library again, casting the only spell he knew that wasn't for battle, — the one that not even Eraqus could lock away from his heart — Silence. And he screamed.
The next hours were a blur. He hid in the shadows of the library until his throat, his eyes and his head hurt. He casted until he had his Mana drained from him, limbs as heavy as his eyes. Then he kept staring at the moon, the stars, anything and everything outside the window. That was when Aqua walked into the room, bare feet, not really looking around. He saw her from the reflections on the window.
Aqua was beautiful, Terra realized. And completely disliked that he thought that, so he ignored it. He decided that he hated how pretty she looked in white, how pretty she was in general, how well she wore the crystals that were one of the symbols of his lost first home. Instead he focused on the flicker of annoyance on her eyes, the glare, the discontent.
Definitely not the way her breath stuttered when he leaned on her personal space out of spite, not the way her eyes fluttered half closed whenever he did it and most definitely he did not focused on how she came in looking tired, pale and annoyed, and went away looking concerned, frustrated and down right red with embarrassment.
It was a side effect he didn't knew if he wanted to deal with, though it was funny to see.
Terra heard the entire conversation. So that was why Visha was acting odd with him, staring too much, doing too much. It didn't make sense. Not to him. How could she like him if she had never even cared to know him? Terra was so confused he barely even heard her explanations.
Nothing she said made sense, it felt as if she had been blinded by some sort of admiration and felt obligated to compromise on it in a way that would be acceptable and not that she truly liked him. He didn't knew what to do, so he told her exactly that — Visha really didn't took it well.
He didn't hope she would, but at least that gave him an hour to make up an excuse to see Aqua again. And then by the time he reached her door, he was frowning and mentally scowling at his thoughts.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Terra noticed that Aqua was crying the moment she had said "Hello", but he chose to ignore it as well in favor of his questions. He didn't answer her before so he doubted she would answer him now. And by now she had to be used to his manhandling, because she didn't frown or wrinkled her nose when he took the necklace off. That she told him it was exactly how he thought it was, Visha's problem and not his, made him feel a little better.
At least he got what he wanted. It wasn't a sound solution, but it was nice anyway. It was nice to know he was not in the wrong for not saying no, for staying truthful to what he believed.
He ended up sleeping there, which would not be any problem if Liz and Yoric didn't came knocking on her door at five in the morning. Normally the day after the festivities were just for resting, but Terra just knew master Odin would pull something like that. Terra himself didn't saw sleeping on someone else's room as a problem, but he knew the rules. If the masters didn't knew beforehand, it was just as bad as a death wish. Yoric stared at him with wide eyes when he sit up on the spare mattress on the floor.
"Uh," Liz said, intellectually.
Yoric, however, didn't seem as confused. "What's Terra doing here?"
Aqua blinked, one eye at the time. She slowly turned to Terra, then back to Yoric. His blond and black hair was tied up in a ponytail half undone, and they were both still on their festivities wardrobe. Yoric was in a black suit with silver details and Lazulis on his silver earrings. Liz was wearing some sort of black half skirt that lead to a black short with golden chains, a black top with golden details on the laced sleeves. Her light pink hair was a mess, and Aqua might've not notice but Terra did. Liz was out of breath, and both of them were blushing lightly. Huh.
"Sleeping," Terra said. "Was, I mean."
Aqua blinked again. "Liz?"
"Master Odin wants to have breakfast with all of the month kids." Liz said hurriedly to compensate her lack of air.
It definitely wasn't because of the stairs, not with the way Yoric cringed slightly.
Aqua groaned, but nodded. She cleaned her face with a paper towel, gave some to Terra, put back the necklace, much to Terra's dismay, the black heel shoes and simply left with them. Terra stared at the door for about an hour before Eraqus opened it, frowning.
"I hope you have an explanation for this transgression, my boy."
Terra smiled softly at his master. "I don't. We talked ourselves to sleep, but you're not going to believe me, so I don't have an explanation for you, master."
Eraqus stared at the room, in clear search for anything out of the ordinary, and when he found none, he sighed and shook his head.
"I believe you," Eraqus muttered. "I was just scared."
"Sorry," Terra said quietly. "I didn't want to disappear last night, I was just... Tired."
"It's quite alright," Eraqus smiled. "At least you two got to talk, instead of silently fighting."
Terra rolled his eyes at that. Yes, they got to talk, but they'd be fighting again in no time, he had a feeling about it. They were both too stubborn to quit it. Eraqus knelt and held Terra's chin, eye to eye.
"You were crying," The master pointed out. "And so was she."
Terra sighed. "We didn't fight."
"Not physically,"
"Not verbally either, master."
Eraqus stared at him in silence for about thirty seconds before he lightly snorted, making Terra crease his brows and narrow his eyes in suspicion.
"I saw exactly what you saw, my boy." He admitted. "Liz told me a friend of theirs made sure to research before dressing her up, so it was not on purpose for her part. I already had a talk with Liz about it."
Terra blinked a few times. "It doesn't matter."
Eraqus arched his eyebrows. "Doesn't?"
"They're gone, master, so it doesn't matter."
Eraqus frowned and cupped Terra's cheeks with his hands. "They're not gone, Terra. You're still here, their legacy lies within you. Their will is upon you, and always will be." He smiled, sly. "And she wore it well, did she not? Liz said it was supposed to make you upset, but it seems to me that it had quite the opposite effect, no?"
Terra swallowed, smiled nervously, took his master's hands away from him and looked down before answering. "You're wrong."
"We shall see, hm?"
Terra narrowed his eyes at Eraqus. "You're happy about it?"
"About... What?"
Sly fox, he was. Terra got up, hands tingling, shaking his head in disapproval. "Nothing, master."
* * *
For the next two weeks, Terra evaded both Eraqus, Aqua and Visha. He didn't want to deal with any of them, really. He had trained alone for years, what would be two weeks, right? Right. He could do that again, and he would. He did. Terra wasn't afraid of being alone, no, he was afraid of being confronted.
He read through the books sealed on the Masters Tower, being the only apprentice that could enter that site without supervision. Inside master Eraqus' quarters were the chambers where he had hidden Terra's old life. The life the masters and wielders knew from stories alone and never by eyes.
Terra found not-so-old paintings, the ones Eraqus had paid to get restored from the fire. He wasn't supposed to see them, but he did anyhow. The ceremonial clothes of his old home were there too, for coming-of-age. Terra huffed out a humorless chuckle. Eraqus really did spend a lot with these.
He lost track of time, if only for a short period.
Enough for another pair of boots to clack around Eraqus' room. Terra tilted his head toward the sound. He recognized it almost immediately and frowned. The old master Odin definitely had sent her there, because Spell Casting was up now. Eraqus might've convinced old Odin to let her climb up the Tower.
Aqua was muttering something, and Terra wasn't feeling talkative, so he let her be and turned his head back to the paintings. The small ones, the ones to be hanged in walls. His ancestors. His legacy. Terra stared at the clothes, the ceremonial ones. The light see-through black cape embedded with rubies, golden lines and onyx, forming a crest on the back with the gems. The formal wear that came right beneath it, black and gold. It felt right against his hand, it felt better than his master's clothes.
But Terra didn't risk it. None of it. Only what Eraqus gave him, not what Eraqus hid from the others. Enough for people to see him as royalty, not enough to figure from what Kingdom, never enough to figure what World. Not even Terra knew these ones, though he had an idea of where exactly he was from by the things Eraqus was hiding inside his closet.
"There we go, all done," He heard Aqua mumble.
Close. Very much so. Terra remained silent.
"I should... Oh?" Aqua walked in.
Her eyes landed on the paintings before anything else. She swallowed, backed away from the closet, stumbled at some of the furniture around master Eraqus' room and hurried to the center halls of the Masters Tower. Terra closed his eyes for a long moment. This was fine. It was fine. It was fine.
Terra found her before she left, eyes narrowed at Aqua as if she had invaded his room and not his master's. She stared at the cape on his hand, then her eyes slowly made their way to his.
"You're..." She swallowed again. "Late to Research and Combat."
Terra blinked. A smile slowly reached his lips. "I am?"
"Luxierie was grumpy during most of Spell Casting," Aqua said. "Something about his best duo not showing up in the main library anymore."
Terra snickered. That was right. He shook his head. Somethings never changed, truly. Luxierie was one of these things that had never changed. Used to be the only person that would find him there, too. He had a suspicion that no matter what he did, where he hid, Aqua would always find him, one way or another.
"Thanks for the warning," He said, then, turning back to the chambers. "But I'm not—"
"Yoric told me that if I ever found you, to warn you he wants to speak. Just the two of you."
Terra blinked. Composure almost left him as he glared at the floor. He breathed in. It wasn't Aqua's fault, it wasn't Yoric's either. The masters had all turned to protect the other worlds, taking more of the trainees than necessary. Some had said it was the Darkness, that they kept succumbing. Terra doubted that was the true reason. Something was off. And if Yoric of all people wanted to talk, that was his bait.
"Where?" He asked quietly.
"The Gardens, but I don't know the exact spot." Aqua shrugged. "Didn't mind asking either."
Terra nodded, stared at the cape over his forearm. He took one deep breath and walked towards Aqua.
"Can you keep a secret?"
Aqua blinked. "For whom?"
"Me."
She stared at him, not answering. He raised an eyebrow and Aqua sighed, nodding. Good. He took her to the closet, the door hidden inside Eraqus' own wardrobe, and showed her the secret small room with all of Terra's real history. Aqua stared at it with wide eyes, then turned slowly to Terra.
"If whatever Yoric says gets us expelled," He begun and Aqua hissed.
"Expelled? Why?"
"There's a few notes of where to find me, one inside that book," He ignored her and pointed at the book. "One inside the pocket of those pants. One on master Eraqus' special clothes. He will understand what I mean when you tell him."
Aqua glared at him. "Why would you be expelled?"
Terra shrugged. "That can happen. It's an hypothetical scenario."
"Why are you trusting me with this?" Aqua decided to ask instead of whatever she wanted to say.
Terra stared at the paintings for a long, quiet moment. He didn't knew these people, some of them he felt like he should, they felt familiar in a way the others didn't. In a way only Eraqus ever did. Family.
"I trust you," He decided. "And if we don't get expelled then... Well, you'll be the only one to ever know I had a plan. Hypothetically, I mean."
Aqua grabbed one of his hands, stared at him as if she could heal his soul or burn it to the ground, and for a moment he silently sent a prayer to all Gods beyond and the patron deity of his family to never let Aqua decide to use her magic if not for the benefit of all those around her. If she ever went mad, they'd have a real problem, bigger than the rift between Eraqus and Xehanort, as old Odin had told him once. She had a way of looking vulnerable and way too powerful at the same time that made Terra feel like a humble, miserable child.
"You won't be expelled." She said, firm. Her eyes softened a bit. "Thank you for trusting me. I won't tell."
He smiled, genuine. Like he only ever did with Eraqus, his remaining family. The family that had taught him patience and healing. And Aqua could be a part of that family, if he squinted hard enough. Then again, did he need anyone else on his little family — his pretend family. Aqua didn't need to play pretend. Not with them, not with anyone.
"Do you really want me to hold a secret for you?"
Terra tilted his head slightly. "I already told you, so."
Aqua narrowed her eyes. Stared at the cape on his forearm. Stared back at his eyes. Smiled. "Okay. Go ahead, I think Yoric is waiting."
Terra knew how to evade the other students very well, he was good with shadows. Better than what master Eraqus would like, and he tried not to be as much, to appease his master. He was trying. He found Yoric soon enough, but he was speaking with someone else. Their eyes met, and there was urgency inside them like Terra had only seen a few times. When they got to finally speak, Yoric called him for a mission he could not take Liz with.
To visit Grandmother Willow. To seek and commune with natural elemental magic. Master Odin had sent Yoric to Willow for a renewal of a sacred pact the Guardians had with the Worlds' natural protectors. It was something oddly diplomatic for Yoric to do alone but Visha had been selected to go with him. And that was exactly where the problem was.
Visha was great with magic overall, but she was too straightforward with her words. It was always her way or the highway, and Yoric was stubborn. And she had been feeding from the theories from the released kids — the ones that renounced their Keyblades. About master Odin, his health state, the status of the Castle itself.
Yoric didn't like that she was too eager about conspiracy as she was going with him. So to appease the masters, he agreed but with one condition. Terra. He was the condition. They all knew he was connected to some sort of royal family, anyways, so what evil would it be to bring an actual aristocrat with them?
Eraqus had denied, but master Odin agreed, and so they had to call upon YenSid to decide the fate of the mission. At the end, Yoric's condition had been accepted. Terra had two days to ready himself to be the leader of the mission, and master Odin debriefing didn't help at all: go to Grandmother Willow, ask of any imbalance felt on the forests, renew the pact and go home. As if he knew how to renew the pact at all, but Terra agreed to it.
Many of the other trainees whispered about how much of an honour it was to go to another World just like that, but Terra wasn't feeling any more honourable than he felt the day he was rescued. Visha was ego-drunk from all the attention and Yoric had hid at night to escape the embarrassment of having to deal with this many people asking him useless stuff. Departure day was a funny one.
Everyone came to see them and master Eraqus had that look on his face that made Terra worry the was going to fail without even trying at all. Liz had a suspicious look on her face when she glanced at Visha that should have worried Terra more than Eraqus' stare but one was his master and the other was a friend. So he ignored Liz, he could do that.
Whom he couldn't ignore, however, was Aqua. If master Eraqus and Liz weren't holding her hands Terra was very sure she'd simply keel over. He should be able to ignore her, though. It was common occurrence to him at this point. She looked sick. It was master Eraqus that opened the portal. Master Odin was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't a problem for Terra or Yoric. It was apparently a big issue for Visha, however.
But they didn't linger on that more than he lingered on Aqua's worried eyes when they stepped inside the portal, armors activated and Keyblades at hand.
It took them a week to return. Master Odin had died during that week, and they had no way to tell Terra, Yoric and Visha about it. Aqua was still going to Spell Classes, just to hear Master Eraqus teaching — how his approach to the magic was different from Master Odin's, but she didn't care. More apprentices were released, giving up the way of Light. Some of them wanted to blame Land of Departure itself during that week — Master Eraqus made sure they were sent to their original Worlds or just the villages beneath them.
Everyday, they'd wait for a sign in the sky, for a Portal to open. It did at night, on the last day of the week. Terra stepped out first, face hidden by his armour, just as Yoric was. Yoric confirmed to Master Eraqus that the contracts were sealed again, but Visha deserted. They told the students she fell to darkness and Aqua felt bile coming up her throat. Her friend succumbed... Just like the others.
It was important to her that they told everyone right away.
"She's just gone," Yoric said, willing his armour away.
Terra was still wearing it, still posed beside Master Eraqus like a fierce bodyguard. Yoric looked paler than he was, eyes haunted and distant.
"What did she do?" Liz asked softly, holding one of his hands.
"She tried to attack me..." Yoric swallowed. "The Willow Forest... Something warned Terra, something in there told him where she was. He defended me."
Liz and Aqua both stared at Terra, at how tense he was. Master Eraqus was saying something to the students but Aqua wasn't listening, and Liz probably wasn't either. It was late, and everyone looked a little off, a little scared. With a hand over her heart, Aqua felt her vision blurring. They had a hundred students before, and now they had barely more than half of that. The amount of people that gave up protecting the Light just because old Master Odin died was absolutely staggering. She hoped neither Liz or Yoric would.
Night became day, and she pretended not to see Terra in the Training Grounds at midnight. Her steps were light around the room, hoping he wouldn't notice. He looked pale, eyes bloodshot. His Keyblade was emanating a Light that looked a bit off — it wasn't the soft copper aura it had around it but dark green instead. Maybe a blessing? Aqua didn't knew. Terra himself looked like a ghost.
"It's fine," She heard Terra murmuring. "It happened before. You can handle it, just like you did back then."
Aqua frowned.
"Why are you here?" He asked a bit louder.
Aqua paused, breathed in. "You look horrible."
Terra snorted and shook his head. "Thanks."
She turned around and went to him, taking light steps. When she was right beside him, Terra turned to face her. His eyes looked a bit off, a bit too dark. She forced a smile and tilted her head a little.
"You're talking alone, also." She raised an eyebrow. "To yourself or your Keyblade?"
Terra sighed. "Does it matter? Neither will answer."
"She doesn't answer you?" Aqua frowned again. "Your Keyblade?"
"Sometimes," Terra mumbled. He shook his head lightly. "It's fine, though. She answers when it matters."
"Did she warn you?"
"No."
"What did, then?"
Terra glared at her.
Aqua shrugged. "I'm not curious, Terra, I'm worried for Yoric. He deserves some peace."
His eyes softened a bit and he looked away. Then nodded.
"It wasn't my Keyblade, it was the sounds," Terra answered then, eyes focused on Earthshaker. "Everything felt a little off, and the sound of magic is kind of distinct... I knew where she was and I moved before I could think. I guess that scared her off. She said pretty weird things to Yoric, about how Master Odin was already dead before we left." He wills his Keyblade away. "About poison on our food. On our minds. I think she just had a breakdown, but her Keyblade was vibrating a lot."
Aqua swallowed. "She truly did believe what she was saying, then."
"She wanted us to believe her."
"So she ran off when you didn't," Aqua assumes.
Terra gave her a weird look, something like relief flashing under guilt. He nodded and looked away again, it made Aqua take a moment to just be with him. Everytime she had a real talk with him, he looked tired and guilty. And this was the first time she noticed how pretty he was — which was an absurd thought, since he was a friend in suffering.
Impulse came, then, and before she could stop, her hands found his and she took them to her heart. Terra blinked consecutively at her, visibly confused, but at that moment Aqua didn't care.
Terra was cold enough ice would feel warmer than him.
"Did something happen to you?"
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Shook his head no.
"You're cold, Terra. Dead cold." She clarified. "You're not telling me something, but did you tell Master Eraqus?"
Terra sighed again, shifted his weight. "I did."
Aqua let go of his hands. "Good. That's good. Don't kill yourself here, we have class tomorrow morning."
"Yoric asked to be released." Terra blurted out.
Aqua stared at him in horror. "What?"
"He asked me, but I'm no master." Terra closed his eyes and breathed in. "So I asked on his behalf to Master Eraqus. He's going to be released tomorrow morning."
Aqua felt her breath hitching. "So he'll just... Be gone, as well?"
Terra smiled, polite. "Down the villages."
"Oh,"
He looked her in the eyes. "This is good for him, and now that you know, you'll be there for him."
"You won't?"
"No."
"Why?"
Terra looked at the throne chairs. "Master Eraqus didn't allow me to."
Stars. Aqua nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault," Terra forced out. "Thanks... For staying. Right now."
Aqua gave him a weak smile. "Anytime, Terra. We're friends, right? That's what I'm here for."
He gave her another weird look — this time it was easier to read. Bewilderment. He nodded slowly, stiff. Then he walked away, back to his room. Aqua did the same with worry consuming her mind.
They didn't heard from Visha for the next two months. More and more kids were being released, more fell to darkness as they began questioning it's power. Questioning why they wouldn't use it in class, why not train and tame it. They didn't heard from Visha when Liz got released, either. She and Aqua still maintained a friendship, in that year. Aqua made sure to spend the rest of it going to her house in the villages whenever she could. Sometimes Yoric was there, also, sometimes it was Terra — Liz called him everytime Aqua went there, but he flinched everytime Aqua told him.
The next year, they didn't had three Months of Light, because none of the students remaining were born those months. Most of the students chose to stay in Land of Departure so they could keep in touch, and so, the villages grew a bit more. It was practically a city now, right down the Castle grounds. When April came, it was Liz's birthday. And she asked Master Eraqus to come see her as well.
It was a surprise for Master Eraqus, for the other students, however, it wasn't. Liz was getting married to Yoric, and Aqua didn't knew if it was fake or not. They even kissed. She looked so pretty in the embroidered dress, all silver and light rose. Yoric was dressed in black, because why not.
Something about it being a commoner's wedding got Aqua thinking about how little she actually knew of the World she was in. Master Eraqus cried from beginning to end, eyes teary and joyful. He gave them his blessing, too, which was nice. There was a custom, something about throwing their rings instead of using, so the next couple could use it until it was their turn to get married.
Liz threw it really high, as did Yoric. One of them fell on her head — Master Eraqus said it was a sign of good fortune, that she would soon find someone important for her, someone she could love with all her heart. That talk got her bright red and denying every single word that left Master Eraqus' mouth. Got Liz and Yoric laughing hard.
Terra patted her shoulders. "Good luck with that."
"Don't," Aqua scowled. "Not you too."
"You deserve it." Terra shrugged. "This." He gestured vaguely to the party. "You deserve happiness."
"So do you." Aqua pointed with her chin at Master Eraqus, as he was drinking something black and weird. "What's that?"
"Beer," Terra scoffed. "And he said he wouldn't drink."
Aqua snorted. "We should too, since he's doing it."
Terra raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want that?"
"What?" Aqua giggled. "It can't be that bad."
Terra shrugged, hands on his hips.
Aqua got them drinks, Liz forced more down their throats. For a moment, it felt as if nothing bad had ever happened.
By the time it was Aqua's birthday, the month after, they were the only ones left.