Visit to the Farplane [Closed]

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

Characters: Delita & Garnet
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Coming face to face with people from the past
Location: Farplane
Date: November (before the Heads of State Meeting)
Warnings: N/A

Delita was still awake. Still not trusting the inhabitants nearby, he had not felt comfortable letting his guard down. While he trusted the Queen as much as he would trust any noble, he did not wish for her to watch over him, and allowing this self-proclaimed emperor to stand watch was not an event he wished for.

Sitting up alone in the middle of the night allowed him time to meditate on the events of the day and he allowed his thoughts to dwell on this Farplane he had heard spoken of. It was unbelievable to think of the dead coming to visit in this place, yet his curiousity was aroused. He was wrestling with sneaking off to see this place or staying put and guarding Garnet.

His love for his sister won over his intrique over the ruler of Alexandria and he quietly opened the door and snuck out into the street. In no way was he going to allow anyone to see him grieve for his sister, but he would risk everything to see her once more.

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[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

With things as they were, they'd had no trouble securing a room in Guadosalam's inn. Even so, Garnet had found it difficult to sleep. Things were very wrong, and though she dozed in and out, she never achieved a truly deep slumber. As such, as soon as the door opened, Garnet roused from her light sleep. The room was quiet, and still, and once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that one body was missing from the room.

"...Delita?" she whispered to the darkness, pulling her blanket up around her chest. No answer. She hadn't really expected one.

With a glance at Larsa's sleeping form, Garnet slipped from the bed, putting on the shoes that went with her strange Guado-style garb, and inched towards the door. Had he just gone to find a washroom? What could have caused him to leave in the dead of night?

Curious, she tip-toed out the door, and the path she thought he may have taken.

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

Having already made up his mind to go to the Farplane, Delita did not waste any time contemplating whether he should go or not. He strode a direct path towards the location, allowing his thoughts to dwell on his sister. Uncharacteristically, he did not notice the diminutive Queen following him.

Stepping into the Farplane, he was relieved to find the place empty. It was then that his nerves finally caught up to him as he sluggishly walked towards the edge.

His breath caught as Tietra began to materialize.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet was clever, but tracking had never been one of her stronger traits. Following Delita had taken a lot of guess-work, and she'd finally caught sight of him.

"De--" she stopped short.

The sight before her was strange and beautiful; so much so, that it stopped her completely. A long, root-bound staircase, leading up to a big, blue surface. Tiny swirling multi-colored lights, like fireflies, drifted this way and that. By the time she's regained her composure (images of Pandemonium overlapping in her mind) Delita had disappeared through the liquid-like blue surface.

Where is he going?! she thought, as she quickly ascended the staircase, barefoot, and stopped at the top. True, she had just seen him walk through it, but that didn't mean she really believed she could step through it as well. Hesitantly, he lifted one hand, reaching fingertips for the would-be gateway. Her hand passed through, as if through air; she felt no tactile difference at all. Closing her eyes, she stepped through.

The other side was nothing like she expected. a barren, rocky platform, suspended in what appeared to be a vast NOTHINGNESS. Swirling clouds, that parted here and there, revealing the most grand waterfalls and fields of alien flowers in the farthest distances. Silent, her feet moved without her permission, her eyes wandering the strange space. Was she dreaming? It certainly didn't feel real.

And then, she stopped suddenly. There stood Delita, and before him, the hoovering image of a girl, not fully there, quite nearly see-through.

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

He stared at the image of his sister. The one time she had really needed him and he didn't help her. He wanted to call out to her, but the image just stared at him serenely. It accused his very soul of abandoning her to those reprehensible nobles.

All coherent thought exited his being as he slumped to his knees. He was the big brother. It was his job to protect her and this was all that remained of her - an image. His eyes began to turn red with puffiness as he closed his eyes to keep the tears from coming.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

For a long moment, Garnet just stared at the back of Delita's head, her gaze occasionally drifting to the ghostly girl. She was so... still. she had to have been a ghost though, what with the waning opacity of her, and the way she floated beyond the edge of the rocky platform. Just out of his reach.

Another step closer. "..Delita?"

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

He was still wallowing in self-pity when a quiet voice pronounced his name. It jarred him back to reality. Swallowing hard, he returned to his feet and resumed his fixation on the floating reflection before him.

Overwhelmed that she had found him, he steeled himself for the surely patronizing response yet to come.

He endeavored to respond to her, yet his voice had still not returned.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet nearly winced. She'd interrupted a private moment. She glanced from Delita, to the girl apparently unmoved by the young man's turmoil. Gingerly, the young queen stepped closer, until she stood behind Delita. A dainty hand reached out, resting on his shoulder.

"Do you... Know each other?"

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

He was startled by the unexpected show of compassion from the Queen. It surprised him that the touch of her hand could be a comfort and strength to he, a simple commoner.

"My sister was the only family I had."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Was. So the image before them really was of someone dead. Someone who had been very important to Delita. But what is her spirit doing here? Was it merely an illusion?

Illusion or not, the effect was the same. Garnet's thoughts turned to her own family... her face fell.

"I'm sorry. I understand how you feel. My parents..." she paused. The father whose face she did not even remember, and the father who had read her bed-time stories. The mother who gave birth to her, and the mother who had raised her, taken her in as her own flesh and blood. "They are also gone. I never had any brothers or sisters... But we are not so different, really."

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

"'Tis my apologies, M'Lady for allowing mine own grief to cause your own. I had so hoped not to disturb anyone by my departure, yet it seems in my haste I ended your slumber."

With that, Delita turned slightly so that the Queen would not need to stand firm as his strength and perhaps he could return the gesture.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet shook her head, eyes closed and gaze downward; her hand did not leave his shoulder just yet. "You don't have to apologize. It's something I think about often. Especially lately. I wonder, what would they think of me, if they could see me now."

She was trying not to let her thoughts wander too far. She didn't need to make this about herself. She was here to see after Delita's well-being. It was the least she could do, after his many gestures of kindness towards her. But even so... thoughts of his mother ran through her mind. It was nearly constant now, especially at the smallest suggestion. What would mother think of her, unmarried at twenty? In love with the very same boy who'd 'kidnapped' her so many years ago.

Garnet was so distracted, that at first, she didn't notice the image that was manifesting itself; a heavy set woman, nearly as much girth as height, draped in tacky fabrics and elaborate head-dress. How something so large could ever possible hope to float would have been astounding, if not for the fact that this new image, like the one of Delita's sister, were more transparent than not.

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

Delita was feeling extremely conflicted at the moment. He had sworn to hate all nobility, but Garnet acted more a kind-hearted woman than a ruthless ruler at times. He could tell that her mind was beginning to wander, yet she was still attempting to comfort him.

He watched as an image appeared next to Tietra. He could only assume the woman appearing was the Queen's Mother. For reasons unknown to himself, he felt compelled to say something genuinely nice.

"'Tis obvious to me now, your beauty and strength was a gift from your Mother."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet paused. She'd not yet seen the vision of Alexandria's last queen, and took the compliment with a faint smile. Before she could thank him properly though, her eyes caught on the familiarly eccentric garb, and her gaze was drawn away.

She stared in silent shock, her body frozen. Portraits of the late queen still hung in the corridors of the palace Alexandria, and Garnet looked upon them daily. Still, a posed portrait could not compare to the distinct, three-dimensional form of her mother, 'standing' just out of her reach.

"...It... can't be..."

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

Delita subtly took Garnet's free hand between his own in benevolence.

"It cannot be, yet there they both stand."

What a pair they were, queen and rebel drawing comfort from the other. He resumed his focus on Tietra. While he still hated the nobility for ending her life, he could no longer channel that hate to the woman beside him for their shared grief had revealed her purity of spirit.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

At first, she seemed not to notice his grip, her attention so fixed on the silent image of her mother. Portraits and memories could not compare to the manifestation before her eyes.

"...why do they not speak..." she wondered aloud, her grip tightening around his.

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

It is painfully obvious to him why they don't speak. He knows that even in this land that Tietra is dead. Not wishing to further upset the Queen, he does not share his idea.

"Perhaps they stay quiet so as to not disturb our admiration."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

"I... want to hear her voice again," Garnet whispered, daring to take another step closer. Beyond the image of her late mother, a vision of beauty. Was this heaven they had stumbled in to? Flowers, and waterfalls, and glowing swirls, like fireflies whose lights never flickered.

"Mother..." she addressed the image, pleading in that one word for her to speak, react, same anything, even if only her name...

But she did nothing more than look at Garnet. Did this ghost even see her? Or did she simply not want to speak to her? Was she ashamed? Have I disappointed you somehow?

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

It seems that Delita's wallow into self pity had come to an end. Garnet needed a support that only someone present could give and it would have to be him.

If the Queen was not careful, she was going to walk straight off the edge of the Farplane. He held tightly to her hand as he placed himself between her and the edge, his free hand raising to her shoulder. He had no thoughts of hindering the view of her mother.

He lowered his voice to a whisper, "Garnet...It's not...It's only...It's ok. I'm here for you."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

She turned sharply toward him, as if startled by his voice, or some new revelation. Pain filled her eyes, threatening to spill out in the form of tears.

"What about your sister? Doesn't it bother you that all they do is... is..."

The sudden surge of emotion seemed to die away just as quickly as it had risen. The young queen pursed her lips together, and averted her gaze.

[lionwarhero.livejournal.com]

Delita stood there unmoving as visions of he and Tietra playing in the grass flashed before his eyes. His throat dry, he swallowed before even attempting to speak. As his body toughened up to withstand the emotional onslaught, he rose his gaze to Garnet.

"I do not need yet another reminder of how I failed her. I already know that my sister ... that Tietra .. is dead. I have already accepted that long ago."

Of course it bothered her that she was dead, murdered solely to prove a noble's power.

"As much as I would try to believe it, there is nothing I may do to bring her back. Instead, I prefer to spend this time supporting the Queen, the lady before me."

His eyes finish telling the story that he is thankful that at least one noble valued her life.