Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ By Your Side ❯ Confrontations ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: Confrontations

Marche was in the middle of reaching for his new life partner's hands when the chapel doors burst open.

Two burly Bangaa (the very same that Marche had assigned to guard the doors) muscled their way in, holding the heavy doors wide open.

"What's wrong with Tony and Pallanza?"

"Charmed, by the look of them," Shanon whispered in his ear. "And I can guess who's responsible."

A moment later, Shara entered the chapel, carrying Ritz on her back. They headed straight up the aisle, making a beeline for where Marche stood.

"Should I stop them?" Shanon asked. Even though she had dressed as a White Mage at Marche's request, he could see the gleam of her katana, Masamune, beneath her Light Robe.

"Not just yet," Marche answered. He didn't seem at all upset at the interruption. In fact, there was something of an odd smile on his face.

* * * * *

Shara had honestly expected more resistance, but she wasn't complaining. The sooner Marche made his intentions clear, the sooner she could help Ritz through the rejection.

She was only a few feet from Marche when a long, blue tail slammed the ground in front of her. Shara looked up to see a huge Icedrake blocking their path, growling menacingly.

"Down, Propus!" Ritz snapped. "Bad dragon!" In a flash, she hit him with a double dose of Sleep, and the mighty creature swayed woozily before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

Something occurred to Shara as she looked at the sleeping Icedrake. "Ritz, do you even-"

"Not now, Shara." Ritz climbed off of her friend's back. "I have strength enough for these last few steps." She started to go around the dragon, but then smirked and marched straight up his neck, over his back, and down his tail. The instant her foot returned to the ground, however, a ring of flame dropped around her shoulders.

"Hey!" Ritz cried indignantly as the ring tightened against her struggling. There was an odd numbness shooting throughout her body, and she dropped to her knees, feeling her strength drain away.

"I'm sorry, Ritz," said a familiar voice from somewhere beyond her head, but she knew the owner well enough by that alone.

"Rosetta! I thought you were on my side!" Ritz growled weakly.

"Your legs aren't the only parts of you that needed some air, Ritz. You obviously came here to stop the ceremony, but why? Are you any more prepared to be bound to Marche than anyone else here?"

Ritz couldn't have replied if she'd wanted to. Her voice was gone, and at any rate, she couldn't move her lips. Since Rosetta was the one who'd done this to her in the first place, it must have been a rhetorical question.

"Maybe you are. Maybe you came here to stop Marche from making a mistake. Maybe you wanted him to marry you, instead? If that's the case, I'm sure we can proceed right into-"

"Stop it, Rosetta," Marche said suddenly. His face had taken on a strained look, as if her words had been aimed at him instead of Ritz.

"No, Marche. Ritz came here without realizing what she was doing. She needs to know that her actions have consequences." Rosetta walked to Ritz and lifted her chin with one hand. "She needs to realize that she is not a prize to be won by force…and neither are you."

"Should we proceed, then?" Shanon asked. "She can hardly do anything to interfere now."

"Not yet." Marche walked quickly to Ritz and stood her up. "I plan to go through with this. But I won't be so cruel as to force Ritz to watch." He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, allowing healing energy to flow through both of them.

As all of Ritz's limbs began to respond again, she grabbed Marche and slapped him hard across the face. "What were you thinking?!" she shouted. "Getting married?!"

Marche didn't even flinch. "If you want me to, I'll propose to you right now, Ritz."

All the color drained out of her face. "You…what? But…"

"Don't be alarmed. I would do it for you, but you must know that it would mean nothing." Marche closed his eyes and stepped back. "I do love you, Ritz. But I'm not in love with you, and I can't make either of us happy by pretending I am any longer."

Unshed tears prickled behind Ritz's eyes. "You…you could've said something sooner…"

"No. You wouldn't have believed me, and I wouldn't have accepted it. You died for me, Ritz. There's nothing I could do to repay you for that, ever. When I thought you were gone for good, I realized for the first time that I loved you…but not as much as you loved me."

She stared at him for a long moment, not saying anything.

Marche sighed and opened his eyes. "I truly am sorry, Ritz."

"Prove it," she said in a small voice. "Prove that you don't love me. Right here, right now."

He started to say something, but decided against it.

"Well? I'm waiting."

At that moment, Marche drew twin swords from his sides. "You will always be welcome in our home, Ritz. But if you try to stop me from being bound, I will strike you down with everything that I am. I won't let anyone ruin this day for us." His gaze shifted to the Viera behind Ritz. "Please take her home, Shara."

Ritz was aware of Shara's hands taking her own gently, but she didn't actually move until she felt the Viera's breath on her ear.

"Let's go, Ritz. There's nothing left for you here."

"No! I won't-"

Marche crossed his swords and took a menacing step towards them.

"Please, honey," Shara whispered, wrapping her arms around Ritz's waist. "I don't want you to be hurt any more than you already are."

"Shara," Ritz murmured, tears in her eyes now. "I can't. I mean…it isn't supposed to happen this way…"

"You came here to be bound? Is that it?" Shara asked. "Was Rosetta right?"

"I…I don't know anymore," Ritz admitted. "I guess so, but…"

Shara gently turned Ritz's face to her own. "You still can be, Ritz. Just not to Marche."

"What? But who else is there?"

Instead of answering, Shara simply stared at Ritz, letting the pain in her eyes answer for her.

Realization washed over Ritz like a flood, and she suddenly felt extremely cold inside. "Shara…you can't be serious…"

"Why can't I be?" Shara asked, tears falling from her own eyes. "Why can't I love you? What's wrong with that? Why can't we be bound?" She took a deep, shaky breath and gasped, "Why won't you love me back?!"

Ritz felt trapped, and with good reason. Shara was supporting her completely now, and her arms were still locked around Ritz's waist. Even if she did break free, she would only collapse there at Shara's feet.

"I would do anything for you, Ritz," Shara confessed. "You must know that by now. How many times must I prove my devotion to you? What will it take for you to trust me completely?"

"This isn't fair," Ritz said at last. "You said you'd help me settle things with Marche first!"

"And you did," Shara countered. "Now it's time you settled things with me, Ritz."

"Shara, please! Can't we do this some other time?"

"No. I love you now, and I want an answer now. Either tell me how you feel, or why you won't accept me."

A look of desperation crossed Ritz's face. "Shara, you're a Viera. I'm…not, no matter how much I want to be, or how much you want me to be."

"I don't WANT you to be a Viera!" Shara cried. "I want you to say that you don't care about any of that because you love me, too!"

"But-"

"I don't understand you, Ritz. Why did you let me kiss you if you don't love me?" Shara cupped Ritz's face in her hands. "Why did you kiss me back? What changed between then and now?"

"I…I didn't know about Marche then…"

"No, Ritz. You didn't care about Marche when we kissed. He was the furthest thing from your mind, just as he should be now. This is between you and I. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

"If that's true, why are you trying to get us bound in front of everyone? We only kissed for the first time today, Shara!"

"Because I love you, and I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with you, whether we are bound or not. I just wanted to make it official. I didn't want you to feel alone, especially not today. I never want you to feel alone, Ritz. And you never should. You'll always have me, one way or another."

Ritz bit her lip nervously. "I don't understand. Why do you love me so much?"

Shara smiled. "It only matters that I do, Ritz, and nothing will ever change that."

"Then…taking care of me wasn't a chore for you?"

"I treasure every moment I'm with you. It doesn't matter what we do, only that we're together."

"I hate to interrupt," Marche said suddenly, "but if you two aren't going to be bound, could you keep it down so I can?"

* * * * *

Marche went to visit Ritz the next afternoon. She and Shara had left before the ceremony ended, having their own relationship to discuss in great detail. Though they were not involved anymore, Marche felt he at least owed Ritz a formal introduction of his new wife.

When he knocked on the door of Ritz's room, there was no reply or sound from within. He carefully eased the door open and poked his head in. He stared for a long moment, and then finally stepped back and closed the door.

"Where they in?" Eldena asked, somewhat anxiously.

Marche blinked. "Um…you could say that…but they're…pretty busy."

"They're still talking?" she asked in surprise.

"Not so much. But I really think we should come back later. Maybe next week, even."

"Why so long?"

"I think they need some more time alone," Marche replied confidently, taking her hand. "Maybe we do, too."

Perhaps it was their retreating footsteps that Ritz sensed, or the slightly furry arm draped over her bare waist. At any rate, she was fully awake a few seconds later. The events of the previous day were all a blur for her, and she had no idea how she'd ended up here. All she knew for certain was that she was naked, in bed with Shara, and…for some strange reason…she could find absolutely nothing wrong with that.

With a small shrug, Ritz closed her eyes and pressed her face into Shara's neck, figuring she could sort all this out later. Something told her that Shara wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon, and neither would she.

The End.

End Notes:

I find Viera fascinating. Maybe that's why I mess with them so much. A large part of this fic is just how I imagine Viera might do things, based on what I know of them.

Reproduction: Well, they have to be compatible with SOMETHING, because Viera aren't an endangered species, and there are no males. I figure they can't be too different from hairy women. At any rate, I refuse to believe I'm the only one that could find one (a Viera, not a hairy woman) attractive. Although I imagine both are appreciated in certain circles. I'll stop now.

Lesbianism: They're all female. Think about it. Just for a minute.

Polygamy: Originally, I was going to do a story where Marche was bound to Eldena, Shanon, and Rosetta. Ritz came for a visit (fuming all the while), and Marche tried to explain why he found it necessary to propose to all three, and how happy they all were. Then it occurred to me that Ritz would want someone for her, and that's where the idea of her and Shara first came from. Eventually, I decided that three Viera falling for Marche seemed a bit far-fetched, if he can't even handle one human girl (although I think anyone would have a tough time courting Ritz). Shara is perhaps the only one I think that stands a decent chance of making Ritz thoroughly happy.

Ritz's Jobs: Frankly, I think Ritz was tougher as a Red Mage, and was sorely disappointed to earn little more than a glorified Fencer after all that work.

Littlevili: I assume she's the younger sister of Vili, leader of the Brown Rabbits. It seems the most likely way for them to be related, and is kinder than implying Vili isn't keeping an eye on her kid. If you know the connection for sure, please tell me. But actual proof is preferred.

Mewt: Someone asked about him. Yes, he's still in St. Ivalice with Llednar. No, he isn't going anywhere. He blames Marche for the loss of both his parents, so they're not friends anymore. Plus I NEVER liked him, so there.

Introducing my next attempt at a captivating FFTA tale:

Forever Knight: The Curse of Lini

Lini is legend among Moogles, and anyone named after him enjoys a kind of forced fame. But when young Juggler Haweh accepts a dangerous rescue mission with his clanmate Lini, he discovers that his friend hides a terrible secret. Can they work together long enough to rescue the famous Clan Dread, or will Lini's dark hunger consume them all?

If I get enough scary demands, I might do another story detailing the further adventures of Clan Grey Clan. Yes, you read that right, didn't realize the "Clan" part was automatic in the name the first time I played…