Chapter Seven: Fond Farewells
The Minister banged his cane on the floor twice: the signal to start moving. Six guards hoisted the coffin up to shoulder level, and followed Artania as he swept through the double doors. Riku, Zexion and I were close behind.
Outside, the streets were crowded with thousands of people; all dressed in black, and all wailing in despair. Everyone had turned up to say goodbye to a brilliant Regent. Gildas had touched so many lives, and I never even realised. There was so much I hadn’t known about him, so many changes that had happened – and I wasn’t there to see them happen. I wanted him back. I wanted to see him, talk to him…apologise. But I refused to cry. Today, I stayed strong. I owed him that much.
Eventually the slow procession reached the cathedral. A small cluster of people were waiting there already, and as we all took our seats, I could count about thirty-five people. The reverend stood at the front, and began his speech. I couldn’t listen, nothing seemed to be sinking in…and his voice was so dull and dreary. This wasn’t what Gildas deserved. I stood up. Riku tried to pull me back down, but I flapped him away. “What are you doing?” he hissed, but I didn’t respond.
I addressed everyone in the cathedral. “This isn’t Gildas’s style. He was a fun, exciting person who was always up for a laugh. He wouldn’t sit still for more than a minute, and he didn’t listen to the stuff he didn’t want to hear. That’s just how he was, and he wasn’t going to change for anyone. So to hear you droning on about a person you didn’t know in the slightest is an insult to his memory. I want to hear someone who knew about him, cared for him as a person, talk about him and his life and how much we all miss him. Because I, for one, can’t stand that he’s gone.” I broke off, breathing heavily, and looked at Zexion expectantly.
Zexion rose slowly, and walked to the front. “I loved Gildas…with all I had. And more than I realised that I had. He was such a wonderful person, he lit every room and he just made life more fun. He meant everything to me, so to imagine life without him in it is…painful, to say the least. With him, I was home. No matter where we were, it was warm and comforting. The times I spent with him were the best of my life, and knowing that I won’t ever see him again, speak to him, touch him…I…” He paused, looking around, trying to form the words that could accurately portray his feelings. “I will always love him,” he finished. He looked as though he thought it wasn’t enough, but for me it summed everything up perfectly.
The reverend resumed his speech, and then the coffin was carried outside, ready to be buried. Now, only Zexion, Riku and I remained. This was our final chance to say goodbye. Riku went first, murmuring quietly. Zexion spoke after him, again too quiet to hear. Finally, I stepped forwards, and placed a fragile orchid in Gildas’s crossed hands. “Goodbye, Gildas. You did more for me than I could ever have done for you. I just wish that I had…I was so proud to be able to call you my friend. I always wanted to do the same for you, but now I guess I can’t,” I whispered, and stepped backwards, into Riku’s warm hug.
Two weeks had passed since Gildas’s funeral. Zexion had finally stopped sobbing constantly, although I was certain he would still cry himself to sleep. A week after his actual death, we had received a shock in the form of Blank and Misa. Their bodies had turned up in the crater, with a blue tint to their skin. The sight had disgusted most people, but not me. I had noticed their calm, happy expressions, and knew now that they were happier in death, with those they loved. They had been buried quietly the next day.
Kairi, however, had not turned up. Every so often, Riku would gaze out of the window, towards Destiny Islands, and I knew he was thinking about her. But I didn’t mind anymore. I finally understood that she was a part of his past the same way that Gildas was a part of mine.
The crater in the Town Square had finally been filled in, and a statue of Gildas had been erected there. It was made out of white marble, and shone dazzlingly whenever the sun was out. I guess the Alpha-Six robot made the perfect foundations for it. But more than that, it showed that Gildas had truly been at the heart of the kingdom. It made me smile every time I saw it. Obviously I was still sad that he had had to die…but I was slowly learning to celebrate that he lived at all.
Riku and I were due to be crowned the King and Queen of Lindblum in a week. I was so nervous. “Riku…” I said anxiously. He looked up at me from the pile of paperwork he was submersed in. “Do you think I can do this? I can barely look after myself, how am I supposed to look after other people?” He sighed, and took my hand. “How many times do we have to go over this?” he laughed. “You will be a great ruler. I have faith in you. All you need now is a little faith in yourself.” I smiled slightly, and nodded. “Okay.”
Zexion had stayed on as our Chief Advisor – and I couldn’t be any gladder. We were going to need his help; as he had spent so much time watching Gildas rule, he had knowledge that would be invulnerable. Riku and I so wanted to do a good job ruling Lindblum…as good as Gildas would have wanted from us.
There was only one thing left to do before the coronation…Riku and I were getting married. We had just come out of a meeting with Artania – he wanted to discuss the details for the crowning ceremony. Riku had gotten down on one knee and presented a ring with a diamond set in the centre, with two peridots (my birthstone) on either side. He had said that he thought it was the right time, that he was madly in love with me, and that it just seemed to make sense. I had, of course, accepted. And the day after tomorrow, I would be a married woman. The only thing missing was my maid of honour…Gildas should have been there, taking that important role.
The depths of the cavern were lit with small candles, each one giving off a faint, golden light in the darkness. He walked silently along the underground corridors, dragging himself along each wall, panting for breath. Though his hopes had been crushed forever, his life nearly ended, he would not give in. Weakness was something he would never have. His mother’s blood ran in him, after all. Or at least, he called her his mother. Her cells infused with Lucrecia’s blood to fuel his own, and with the birth of his brother, he knew his purpose in life.
Sephiroth crawled, slowly, painfully along the dirty floors, reaching the room beyond. In an instant, he was blasted by magic lightning, but rather than kill him, it energized each cell within his body. A new vitality within him, he rose, and bowed. “My Lady, I have returned. Gildas is dead, and with him, my safety. Soon, Lindblum will have new monarchs, and then it shall be out of your reach. The Alignment Pact will be restored. Now is the time you must act.” The Lady laughed, a loud, high-pitched cackle that had every essence of purest evil. Light shone in the chamber. Down the marble steps His Lady walked, and upon reaching Sephiroth, the cloaked figure stopped. In a split-second, Sephiroth lay down, dead upon the floor. The Lady In White laughed once more. Things couldn’t have gone better.
