Just Focus (FFXIII)

5) Devoted

~9 years before~

"The prince, having succeeded in defeating his mortal enemy, was seated upon the throne and the sunlight returned to the land. Even in death, he was able to bring peace to his country, and his people lived happily ever after."

"Tell me another!" I squeal, gathering a fistful of soft, blue blankets and pulling them up to my chin. "Please, Cid?"

"It's late," Cid replies dryly, shaking his head and starting to stand. Cassie, stands in the doorway, smiling softly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's not!" I protest, grabbing the end of his sleeve. He sighs, offering me a weak smile. "Please?"

"You only get one story a night, Marhi, you know that."

"... You're upset."

"No, I'm not. I'm just tired. Why don't you get some sleep? I'll see you in the morning."

"Come on, Marhi," Cassie urges, shaking her long hair out of her face. "We have school tomorrow."

"Are they being mean to you?" I ask Cid, ignoring my sister's prompting.

"What?" His dark eyebrows pinch together. "I told you, there's nothing wrong."

"But there is!" I insist, sitting up and giving him my best, biggest puppy eyes. Shaking his head, my brother sits back down on the edge of my bed. "I'm gonna get whoever's being mean to you!"

"Are you?" Cid asks, though there's a playful note to his voice and his lips have quirked into a slight smile. He reaches out a hand and smooths my wild short hair. "You always were a tough one." Cassie laughs, skipping over to sit cross-legged on her bed.

"Yeah!" I pull up the sleeve of my white shirt and flex my bicep as hard as I can. "I'll beat 'em up!"

"We'll see," he laughs softly, standing and glancing at Cassie. "But you have to get some rest before your big fight."

"Duh!" I stick out my tongue and pull the covers back up, screwing my eyes shut. "Turn the light off, Cid! I'm getting ready!"

"Alright." The lights switch off and Cid glances at me once more before pulling the door closed gently. I peek open one eye and throw my legs out of bed, hurrying to the window on the other side of my bedroom. I fall to my knees, clasping my hands together and shutting my eyes.

"What're you doing?" Cassie asks, curious. I peek open one eye, frowning at her before going back to what I was doing before.

"Dear fal'Cie," I start, chewing on my lip. "Please give me big muscles so I can beat up Cid's bullies. Thank you!" Feeling much happier, I leap to my feet and skip back to my bed. I roll over and pull my blankets over my head. Cassie snickers. My door creaks open seconds later.

"Guys?" Cid calls. I squeeze my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. He sighs, closing the door quietly. Under the covers, I grin. You're not alone anymore.

As we continue down the winding path of crystal that weaves through the debris of the Hanging Edge, I begin to notice that we're crossing less and less Cie'th and more of the metal guard dogs crafted by PSICOM. I don't feel bad killing those off; they're only machines. It's the soldiers that I refuse to fight. I'm not ready to take another human life. I know he would be disappointed, but I have time to grow—if I make it out of this. I take a deep breath, crossing my arms loosely. I'm not sure how to react to the distinct feeling of relief that floods through my body every time a spell fires from the palm of my hand. It's as if the pressure's been building inside my body this whole time, and little by little, I'm setting it free.