Everheart: Chapter 3

It was time to return home for the night, and the lovers were strolling arm in arm back up the Emerald Avenue towards the aetheryte plaza.  Even so late into the evening, Ul'dah's streets were packed with dancers and performers, eager merchants, and adventurers looking to drown their sorrows and joys alike at the city's best taverns.  

They stopped to listen to an elezen bard on the street corner, strumming her harp to an ode to the full moon's beauty.  Selah opened the small coin purse hanging from her sash and tossed a hundred-gil piece into the minstrel's bowl.  The dark-skinned woman bowed her head with a smile and eyed the two lovers.

"Out for a stroll after a night on the town?" she inquired.

"Oh, close enough," Selah answered with a wry grin.

"A special evening out deserves a special song, I think!"

The bard set her harp aside and took a mandolin from its case.  The couple listened happily as she strummed an upbeat melody, the song she sang in accompaniment a heartwarming call from someone to their lover to join them in a starlit dance.

Selah pulled away from Ginal to bow and offer her hand, "Dance with me?"

Ginal took her beloved's hand with a smile, and was pulled close.  The miqo'te wrapped her arms around the hyur's neck, as Selah rested her hands on Ginal's hips.  They slowly rocked back and forth to the cheery song, feeling their hearts swelling with happiness, warmth and love.  The volume of the music seemed to gradually fade as they became more lost in each other's gaze.  Selah realized that her eyes were wet with happiness, and she softly laughed at herself.

"My Kitten... I love you so much."

"I love you, too, my Lady Selah."

They leaned toward each other for a kiss that lingered long enough to make their hearts flutter.  They embraced for a wonderfully silent moment, Ginal enjoying the lavender scent the hyur wore, and Selah relishing her miqo'te's gentle, contented purr.

When the two finally separated and looked about, they realized that the bard had withdrawn to give them some space.  The elezen winked at the lovers, and Selah tossed the woman another hundred-gil coin with a smile.  They resumed their walk to the aetheryte as they held each other's hand. 

"Well, well, aren't you two a sight?" drawled a harsh, but familiar young man's voice.

The women turned to find Thadthadius.  His entire body was tense, and he seemed to radiate an off-putting hostility as his lion's tail whipped sharply. 

"Thad... Where have you been?" Ginal asked.

"Here and there.  I needed to prepare myself."

Selah eyed the man suspiciously, sensing something dark and disturbing about his presence.  She instinctively stepped forward to guard her beloved.

"For...what?" Ginal again inquired.

"For punishing Miss Phocina's lies and deception!" he snarled.

His mouth twisted into a bellicose grin as his purple eyes began to glow.  He locked his gaze with Selah's as she swept her arm out to push Ginal behind her.

"Isn't this the guy who kissed you?" Selah asked.

"Yeah, but... there's something very wrong.  Did you see his eyes?"

The dragoon nodded with a grim expression.

"You have horrible taste in men, Kitten."

"Ginal was mine, you damnable witch!" Thadthadius spat.  "But you...You poisoned her with your lies and tricks, and stole her from me!"

Citizens walking the streets began to notice the disturbance and kept an active distance, as Ginal stepped out from her lover's protective stance.

"Whoa, now, Thad.  I'm sorry, but I never actually wanted you that way."  She shook her head in disbelief.  "I don't want any man that way.  I like women, Thad."

The summoner growled through clenched teeth, his balled fists trembling.  "Lies.  Lies!  LIES!"

With an enraged cry, he swept his arm before him.  A sudden burst of wind slammed into Ginal and threw her against a lamppost, forcing a pained gasp.  She landed on her stomach in a daze, only half aware that Selah was already kneeling at her side.

"Kitten!  Ginal!  Can you hear me?"

The miqo'te woman slowly nodded an affirmative as she tried, and failed, to push herself onto her knees.  The hyur scooped her lover from the ground and laid her on a nearby bench, then turned to the gathering onlookers.

"Get the guards!" she ordered.  "And a healer!  She's hurt!"

Thadthadius looked in shock and horror at his own hands, but shook the thoughts away and glared at the hyur.

"This is your fault!  If you hadn't taken her from me, she wouldn't have been hurt!"

Selah silently rose and hiked the long skirt of her dress up to her waist, tying it in a knot to give her legs room, and kicked off her high-heeled sandals.  She quickly glanced around, and spotted a small a-frame sign advertising some local shop.  She seized the sign and spun about, hurling it at her opponent.  The summoner threw his hand out to unleash a bolt of aether, detonating the sign.  As the airborne debris scattered, Selah sailed through with a snarl and connected her fist to his jaw.

He reeled as energy swirled about his hands, and threw another colorless bolt at the dragoon.  She swerved to avoid it, but felt a searing, electric heat graze her arm that forced her to wince.  Selah ignored her pain, and concentrated on her opponent.

You're gonna pay for hurting her, you son of a bitch!

Thadthadius roared, and Selah rolled forward to avoid another attack, feeling a crackle of electricity in the air as it narrowly missed her.  She sprang into the air and instantly closed the gap between them.  Her outstretched legs connected with her foe, and she kicked away to launch herself back to her starting position.

The man stumbled, his eyes again glowing as he swept his arm outward to unleash another gust, which sent Selah spiraling through the air.  She leaned herself forward to land against the storefront, then launched herself forward like an arrow.  Thadthadius grabbed the large, hardbound tome from his belt, but it was promptly torn from his hand when the hyur landed beside him.

"Nobody..."

She connected the tome to his face with a resounding thunk.

"...hurts..."

The tome slammed into Thadthadius' side with enough force to push him aside.

"...Ginal..."

Selah closed the gap and swung the tome into his midsection, winding the summoner.

"...any...."

She dropped low and swung the tome behind his legs, sweeping him from his feet.  He hit the paved road with a pained groan and a slight cracking sound.

"...MORE!"

Another blow across his face, and Selah threw the book aside.  She stared at him, panting and baring her teeth as he lay sprawled on the ground.

"What's all this?" demanded an older male voice.

Selah turned to see three hyur men pushing through the crowd, all wearing the visors and red and gray armor of the city's guard.

"This man attacked us," Selah explained.

The guards formed a semi-circle around the groaning Thadthadius and studied him for a moment.

"Lass, why's he the one with bruises?"

"Because I beat the complete hells out of the lunatic!  He hurt my girl!"

"It's true!" someone from the crowd shouted.  "He went nutty and started throwing his magic at them!"

The guards nodded to each other and picked up the defeated summoner from the pavement.  Selah allowed herself a satisfied grin when she noticed the blood pouring from his nose.  She made her way through the crowd and found a white-robed elezen man leaning over Ginal, aether swirling about his hands.

"She doesn't seem bad off," the elezen observed.  "I think she was just dazed, mostly, but this should reduce the bruising on her back."

Selah rested a hand on the healer's shoulder with a grateful smile, and he nodded as he moved away.  Ginal slowly sat up, and smiled as Selah sat and embraced her lovingly.

"This night has been awful," Ginal commented.

"I know.  I'm sorry about your friend."

"I wonder what in the hells pushed him over the edge like that...?"

The lovers sat in silence under the night's starry canvas, and exhausted by the long and terrible evening.  Ginal purred affectionately as they held hands, and after a long moment, they decided to take the aethernet home.

Arm in arm, they ambled down the street that wound its way through the Goblet towards their company's house.  It was past midnight, and the moon cast a loving blanket of soft, silver light over the village.  Ginal smirked as she noticed the wrinkles left in Selah's skirt by the knot.

"You really looked great in the dress, my Lady."

Selah chuckled and shook her head.  "Maybe so, but... I think I'd rather not wear one again for quite a while."

"Really?  That's a shame.  I always imagined you'd wear something grand and flowing at our bonding ceremony."

They stopped mid-step, and the hyur looked upon her lover.

"We've not really talked about that, Kitten... That almost sounds like a proposal."

Ginal bit her lip as she blushed, and looked down at the gold band she wore on her thumb.

"I, um... Do you know what this ring is?"

The hyur shook her head, "I've noticed it, of course.  I knew it wasn't a bonding band because of where you wear it."

"It's a family signet my mother's grandmother had crafted for us, when she and her man left the tribes behind."

The miqo'te took the ring from her thumb and held it in the moonlight to more clearly display the engraved rune.

"It's the ancient elezen character for 'destiny,'" she continued.  "It was supposed to mean that we Celahs were free to find our destiny, away from any old tribal traditions."

Selah  slowly nodded as she listened.  She was a little confused, as the conversation seemed to have turned sharply from the subject, but this was important, and she wouldn't interrupt.

"You're my family now, Selah...and you're the destiny I choose."

Ginal slid the band onto Selah's left ring finger, and looked at her with a silent plea in her her eyes.  Her heart thundered in her ears and her legs felt weak.  She opened her mouth to properly ask the question, but the words fell apart in her throat.

Selah stared at the ring on her finger, and then at her beloved, so clearly struggling to ask the most important question of her life.  The hyur joined her hands with the miqo'te's, the beaming smile on her face genuine and full of love.

"Yes, my Kitten, of course I will be bonded to you."

The lovers felt the moon's silver blanket envelop them as they shared a long, tender kiss.  It briefly felt like they were floating, and for a moment, it seemed as though the stars themselves shone brighter than ever before.



Neither of the lovers slept particularly well.  They were restless and filled with excitement over the long day, and it's culminating event.  It was early in the morning, not long after dawn, that they rose and began their day, fueled by affection and optimism.  Candles flickered in the soft glow of the early morning light, and Ginal found a seat on Selah's lap as the two sipped mugs of coffee.

"We're engaged..." Ginal purred the words with a smile.

Selah returned the smile and kissed the miqo'te's forehead, "It took us long enough."

Ginal was suddenly overcome by an excited squeal, and leaped up from her favored seat.

"We're getting bonded!"

The hyur laughed as she watched her lover's ears and tail twitch with excitement.  Ginal's enthusiasm was infectious, and Selah set her coffee aside to embrace her beloved.

"We're getting bonded, and I couldn't be happier."

"Oh gods, it's going to be so wonderful!" Ginal declared.  "And soon enough we'll have our own house!"

"Mmhmm, with our own garden."

"And our own bar!"

"A stable for Dinornis."

"And our kids!  I mean, I'm not entirely sure if we can, but... I've got the parts, and there's a handful of half-races around Eorzea, so..."

Selah felt her heart sink.  She had never wanted to broach the subject with Ginal, because she didn't want to disappoint or hurt her.  It was yet another thing she had held back, but she knew continued silence wouldn't help anything.

"Kitten..."

Ginal recognized the pensive expression and knew her beloved had something important she was trying to word carefully.  She also knew she wasn't going to like hearing whatever it was.  The miqo'te wrapped her hands around the hyur's and met her gaze.

"Just tell me."

The hyur drew in and released a long breath.  " I can't have children, Ginal."

"Oh..."

"It's because of him, another scar I have to live with."

While Ginal certainly felt disappointed by the confession, she felt more concerned for her fiance.  Selah's previous bonding seemed to have done everything but kill her, and the miqo'te was having to stifle the impulse to go on the war path and make someone pay.  Instead she simply reached up to caress her lover's cheek.

"What happened?"

The hyur didn't want to relive those memories, but the previous night had finally taught her how important it was to let Ginal share her burdens.

"It was about a year into the bonding when I became pregnant with his child."

Selah instinctively closed her eyes to try to remain calm.  She hated telling this story.

"You have to understand, Kitten... I hated him with all I had.  He did...a lot of very terrible things to me, to varying degrees, and knew how to leave no immediate evidence.  I was overcome by rage and hatred that drove me to the edge..."

Ginal silently wrapped her arms around her beloved and nuzzled at Selah's bust.  It was all she could think to do to soothe her lover.

"I was terrified of what Geoff might do to his own child, and what the child could become with such a father.  But...I was also disgusted.  The thought of carrying that bastard's spawn made me sick, and angry, and desperate, so... So I..."

The hyur held tightly to her miqo'te and forced the words from her throat.

"Before Geoffrey could find out, I visited a crone in the village.  She gave me quicksilver, mandrake, morbol vine and formic acid...and ate and drank it all raw."

The miqo'te knew exactly what those things were used for, and stared in disbelief and horror.

"Gods be good... Selah, it's a miracle you didn't kill yourself!"

"I...was trying to." she confessed.  "And believe me, it made me violently sick for certain, but...I lived.  The baby did not, nor did my uterus survive.  Hadn't you noticed that I haven't had a period since we've been together?"

Ginal honestly hadn't noticed, since there seemed to always be something going on that demanded immediate attention.  It made feel a little dim, and she had no words to offer as her heart was torn between sadness, anger and a need to comfort her beloved, and assure her she would forever be safe in this love.  So she simply held onto Selah.

"And I need to be honest, Ginal.  Even if i could...I still wouldn't want to carry children."

"Why not?"

"Even when i was younger, the idea never appealed to me.  It's nothing against children, some of them are adorable.  I just...genuinely never wanted to be pregnant.  And that sentiment has only grown stronger since my miscarriage.  The only time I was pregnant was horrible.  I understand that it means a lot to you, but...I'm sorry.  I just can't go through that again."

It was a lot for Ginal to take in, and in truth she felt fairly angry.  Almost like she was being denied something.  But as her tail flicked sharply and her blood began to heat, she realized that she had no right to feel this way.  It was Selah's body, not hers.  In the months since Ginal had truly accepted her body, she had felt a desire to try to sire children with the woman she loved, and had assumed that since Selah never used any alchemical protection that she wanted the same.

But does this really change anything?  She loves me no less, and I love her no less... Can I let it go, and keep what's important?

Selah could see the signs of agitation in her beloved, and even though she didn't want to deal with yet another possible blow-up, she understood that it was a lot for Ginal to take in, and she'd need a while to process it all.  And there was another option, one the hyur wasn't opposed to.

"Kitten..."

"Hm?"

"What about adoption?  There are many children out there who are unwanted and have no place to go."

The miqo'te mulled the thought over for a moment, and could admit she didn't dislike it.  "Something you and I know all about."

"Indeed we do."

Ginal smiled up at her fiancee.  "Okay.  Let's think about it.  I love you."

"And I love you."

"So, to make this up to me...you're gonna let me have your ass whenever I want, right?" Ginal grinned mischievously. 

"Don't push it."

Ginal giggled as she nuzzled her beloved.  "Well...we can certainly still have a lot fun pretending to try for it, hm?"

"Indeed we can, my love." Selah grinned back, and kissed the miqo'te's forehead.

Selah led her fiance back to their couch, and they resumed their breakfast.  Even with the surge of emotions, and the admitted disappointment, Ginal still knew that nothing important had changed.  Things could be just fine, as long as she let them.

And as she ran her fingers across the ring her lover now wore on her finger, the miqo'te knew she had a great deal to look forward to.

Later into the afternoon, Selah was dressed in her work linens to tend to the company garden.  Ginal was fast asleep after they had made love an hour or so prior, which was typical of the miqo'te.  Ginal seemed to pour the entirety of her passions into their intimate moments, and her climaxes often left her drained to the point of trembling exhaustion.  It never failed to amaze Selah just how her touch got such a consistent reaction, and it never failed to make her smile.

Not that it was any less good for the hyur, for Ginal had learned very well how to please Selah.  But, as she packed the topsoil over a patch of new seedlings, she felt only restless unease, brought by dark dreams and broken sleep, for the miqo'te wasn't the only one who had been seeing nightmares of desperate battles.

A dark skinned miqo'te woman, wielding sword and shield and clad in shining steel boots and breastplate, roared a warning as she swung her blade.  Selah felt the air rush past her long, pointed ears as she ducked, and the blade struck the tall tree behind her.  Squirrels chattered anxiously as the kept their distance from the two combatants, and the various woodland birds flew away, taking their songs with them.  

Selah grimaced as she poured water over the soil.  These dreams were too similar to be coincidence.  And though she hadn't asked her lover, she suspected that when Ginal said she saw themselves in different forms, that she was seeing herself in this dark-skinned and blonde-headed body, and that Selah must also have been a dark-haired elezen.

The elezen reached a hand up, then pointed at the swordswoman.  A bolt of lightning fell from the heavens, striking the spot where the miqo'te had been a moment before.

"Please, put your sword away!" Selah pleaded.  "It doesn't matter where we came from!  We don't need to fight!"

The hyur pulled her trowel from the ground and starred at it blankly.  Her desire to work the soil was suddenly rather depleted.  A familiar pair of arms wrapped around her torso as a body pressed against her, accompanied by a soft mewling and a purr.

"Rest well, Kitten."

"Mmhmm.  Love you, Amani."

Selah turned to look at her fiancee, her expression of bewilderment obvious.  "What was that?"

Ginal blinked and rubbed her still sleepy eyes. "I said...I love you, Selah?"

Did she say Amani?  And what did I call her the other day...Serafine?  And...these dreams...

The hyur shook her head and smiled, wrapping her arms around the redhead to hold her close.

It's just stress.  Our lives are changing, and... Yes, just stress.

"I love you, too, my wonderful, hot blooded Ginal."

They shared a loving kiss, and rose to head back into their company's manor.

"Let's clean up and take the aethernet to the city," Selah suggested.  "We'll go to the noodle house."