Suikoden III: First Hope
Apr. 8th, 2007 03:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runicloreWhyyyyyy can't I stop writing Suikoden? Just, all of the sudden? D:
This kinda sorta takes place after the last one, I guess. Way after.
...................................................
The night this time was long. When Sarah closed her eyes at last, choking on dust and flinching every time a column fell and stray shards of stone struck her face, Luc was still, though his face was still warm. She had reached out to brush the traces of his tears away, but her hand would not carry. When she awoke from that dream to the comfort of a thick quilt, and a slightly chill breath of air ruffling her fringe, her throat seized and she had to swallow several times to breathe again.
A dream, was her first hope. Her forehead burned, and though she couldn't lift her hands from under the quilt to look at them, she knew the left rune was gone. Her hair was down, and she felt only a slip between her skin and the sheets.
The missing rune struck her hope down. She wouldn't sleep without it.
The canopy was dark blue and stretched flat between the posts. The edges were scalloped, and tasteful lace trimming glowed in the filtered light, so clean and white. The breeze smelled of orange blossoms, and she recognized a tang of water that she didn't think was from the sea. It made her eyes burn, the light and the air. She closed them, and the lace left an afterimage burned onto her lids.
When she woke again the light was golden and dim, coloring the lace trim a dark ivory. It must be a real lamp, a real flame, or it wouldn't flicker - she breathed a weak sigh and relaxed. She liked blue, but this shade... it reminded her of uniforms, of an imperial blue that wasn't really blue. Even Harmonia was not rich enough to produce real indigo variants for its millions of troops. She tested it once on a whim. She knew.
Sarah struggled to sit up. Her arms burned from the effort of lifting, fighting against the heavy coverlet. It rustled loudly as feathers do, and she heard a chair move back and a heavy set of boots. She turned her head and vertigo pressed her back against the pillows, lingering when she opened her eyes again to see who was at fault for her presence here, wherever it was.
Albert appeared in her field of vision with a leather-bound book in hand, his place marked by a finger. He looked surprised. "You're awake after all. I'm told there have been many false alarms."
"Why?" Her voice cracked, coming out more of a cry than the yell she wanted. She would have yelled her throat raw. "Why am I here? Why?"
He marked his book with a ribbon and placed it on the nightstand with more care than was necessary, avoiding her gaze. "You are far away from Harmonia at the least," he said instead of answering. "That was no easy task. You were very near death when we transported you."
Nearly? Only nearly? Words jumbled in her throat, her hands clenched around fist-fulls of the quilt, but there was no force in any of it; she could barely keep her hands closed. An inarticulate sound, too much a sob, came in place of the scathing words she would have rather delivered, and hot tears welled up and spilled over. She could barely see him, but knew he hadn't moved. That he wasn't watching was small comfort. Sarah turned her head away sharply.
Her own intentions for the end, whether the plan was a success or failure, were never a secret. His betrayal of their location hadn't been a surprise when she figured it out, but to be this thourough--? A bitter taste filled her mouth, dry and parched. She would have cursed him, or thrown her strongest spell; what she could do, only barely, was rub her forehead.
As if Albert sensed what she was thinking - and perhaps he did know, he was always good at that - he said what she'd hoped not to hear: "It was his wish, Sarah. The last thing he asked me to do."
She imagined the casual indifference with which he usually spoke, and had to turn back to see if it was there. "You're lying." He wouldn't have asked Albert. The idea was ludicrous.
He looked about to say something, but his mouth set in a slight frown and he merely shook his head. "As you wish, Sarah." He retrieved his book, and as he turned toward the door, said, "I apologize about the rune. Your nightmares were too destructive to leave it unsealed."
....................
Meeeeeh, I lost it about four paragraphs from the end. I think someone came in - I don't remember. ^^ And then the angst - I mean, gawd.
This idea - Albert saving Sarah at the end and subjecting her to the oh-so-miserable task of living on - has been knocking around in my head for a while. It was better up there, come to think of it. Sarah without Luc makes me sad, but this would be the perfect opportunity to pair her with somebody else, if the mood strikes me. Someone taller. :P
This kinda sorta takes place after the last one, I guess. Way after.
...................................................
The night this time was long. When Sarah closed her eyes at last, choking on dust and flinching every time a column fell and stray shards of stone struck her face, Luc was still, though his face was still warm. She had reached out to brush the traces of his tears away, but her hand would not carry. When she awoke from that dream to the comfort of a thick quilt, and a slightly chill breath of air ruffling her fringe, her throat seized and she had to swallow several times to breathe again.
A dream, was her first hope. Her forehead burned, and though she couldn't lift her hands from under the quilt to look at them, she knew the left rune was gone. Her hair was down, and she felt only a slip between her skin and the sheets.
The missing rune struck her hope down. She wouldn't sleep without it.
The canopy was dark blue and stretched flat between the posts. The edges were scalloped, and tasteful lace trimming glowed in the filtered light, so clean and white. The breeze smelled of orange blossoms, and she recognized a tang of water that she didn't think was from the sea. It made her eyes burn, the light and the air. She closed them, and the lace left an afterimage burned onto her lids.
When she woke again the light was golden and dim, coloring the lace trim a dark ivory. It must be a real lamp, a real flame, or it wouldn't flicker - she breathed a weak sigh and relaxed. She liked blue, but this shade... it reminded her of uniforms, of an imperial blue that wasn't really blue. Even Harmonia was not rich enough to produce real indigo variants for its millions of troops. She tested it once on a whim. She knew.
Sarah struggled to sit up. Her arms burned from the effort of lifting, fighting against the heavy coverlet. It rustled loudly as feathers do, and she heard a chair move back and a heavy set of boots. She turned her head and vertigo pressed her back against the pillows, lingering when she opened her eyes again to see who was at fault for her presence here, wherever it was.
Albert appeared in her field of vision with a leather-bound book in hand, his place marked by a finger. He looked surprised. "You're awake after all. I'm told there have been many false alarms."
"Why?" Her voice cracked, coming out more of a cry than the yell she wanted. She would have yelled her throat raw. "Why am I here? Why?"
He marked his book with a ribbon and placed it on the nightstand with more care than was necessary, avoiding her gaze. "You are far away from Harmonia at the least," he said instead of answering. "That was no easy task. You were very near death when we transported you."
Nearly? Only nearly? Words jumbled in her throat, her hands clenched around fist-fulls of the quilt, but there was no force in any of it; she could barely keep her hands closed. An inarticulate sound, too much a sob, came in place of the scathing words she would have rather delivered, and hot tears welled up and spilled over. She could barely see him, but knew he hadn't moved. That he wasn't watching was small comfort. Sarah turned her head away sharply.
Her own intentions for the end, whether the plan was a success or failure, were never a secret. His betrayal of their location hadn't been a surprise when she figured it out, but to be this thourough--? A bitter taste filled her mouth, dry and parched. She would have cursed him, or thrown her strongest spell; what she could do, only barely, was rub her forehead.
As if Albert sensed what she was thinking - and perhaps he did know, he was always good at that - he said what she'd hoped not to hear: "It was his wish, Sarah. The last thing he asked me to do."
She imagined the casual indifference with which he usually spoke, and had to turn back to see if it was there. "You're lying." He wouldn't have asked Albert. The idea was ludicrous.
He looked about to say something, but his mouth set in a slight frown and he merely shook his head. "As you wish, Sarah." He retrieved his book, and as he turned toward the door, said, "I apologize about the rune. Your nightmares were too destructive to leave it unsealed."
....................
Meeeeeh, I lost it about four paragraphs from the end. I think someone came in - I don't remember. ^^ And then the angst - I mean, gawd.
This idea - Albert saving Sarah at the end and subjecting her to the oh-so-miserable task of living on - has been knocking around in my head for a while. It was better up there, come to think of it. Sarah without Luc makes me sad, but this would be the perfect opportunity to pair her with somebody else, if the mood strikes me. Someone taller. :P
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no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 04:55 am (UTC)mine ends somewhere along the line of those two having mad sex, rawrI can't write for beans, so, yeah.The way you write
puppyAlbert, the way he acts around Sarah, is peculiar, to say the least; it's not how I've seen other people portray him, with all the arrogance of a noble and all that. Suffice to say though, I actually quite like how you give voice to his character; it's still not as dynamic as let's say the voice you give to Sarah, but hey, it comes close to that.As much as I like Sarah to be with Luc forever and ever, seeing the possible interactions between Albert and Sarah fascinates me so.
Keep building ^_^
no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 10:20 am (UTC)I... don't know what to do with Albert. My ideas clash with what the rest of the fandom seems to think, so I always feel a little awkward writing him. While I think he can be arrogant, the most important aspect of his character to me is that he's young and maybe trying too hard to be what he wants to be. (I wonder about Leon-worship sometimes. :p)
It's also very hard to portray characters who are supposed to be super intelligent. I'm obviously not a tactical genius, so how do I write a person like that? We also don't see much of his other interests; I'm sure he has them. His family wouldn't want him to be socially incompetant.
... I'm rambling. Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate them. It helps to hear someone else's thoughts.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-13 08:51 am (UTC)My ideas end there too. They just take a little longer to get there.
Oh, really now? That certainly wouldn't be that bad. *whistles*
Seeing as how very little we get of Albert that has nothing to do with the progression of the plot, I would think a bit of leeway is required, eh? We all know he's arrogant (to an extent) and ambitious and ruthless to his cause, but other than that, he's a blank slate. Although considering factors such as his age and satus as a nobleman (I'm not entirely sure on the "nobleman" part, just what I got from bits and pieces of the manga. It'd be great if you could clear this up for me. :D), making him more uncertain and vulnerable to certain areas of life is entirely believable. Besides, there's nothing wrong with making characters more human. So there.
if that doesn't help you, then try getting inspired through reading trashy historical romance novels and pretend I never typed this downOh, dear, now I'm rambling. Sorry about that. XD
She just keeps going, and going...
Date: 2007-04-13 11:19 am (UTC)The whole Silverberg blood = genius thing irks me, but that's an unrelated topic. Anyway, the name is meaningful even in Harmonia to an extent (or so I interpret the success of his plan, which actually wasn't all that genius), so their formal status almost doesn't matter.
So I'd expect Albert and Ceasar were brought up privileged and sent to school with a class of Harmonian brats. :p That influence can't be good for anybody. Actually... come to think of it, even of Soledt academy sees a fair number of foreign students, the way they build up Harmonia in all the extra-canon publications you'd think Albert and his brother would be at a slight disadvantage. Not with the staff maybe, but with their peers.
They both have a lot to live up to, but Albert seems to be taking Leon's legacy to heart, which means he must really have something to prove. The game sets Ceasar up to be the sibling who has to prove his worth, but in the end I felt that his stake in the war was proving his point to Albert, while Albert's stake in the conflict was much more complicated and probably not related at all to his brother. He has to prove his worth to the aristocracy, and maybe he wants some kind of recognition from his own family.
I really don't imagine the Silverberg family as warm and supportive. ^^ Despite his attitude in the game, I thought Sarah's concept of loyalty would be attractive to him after he got over the cliche. I mean, among other things. :P
I think there's a lot under his mask that isn't cool or suave or even particularly smart. XD
Re: She just keeps going, and going...
Date: 2007-04-13 01:54 pm (UTC)On the Silverberg = genius issue, well, I never really took that seriously, despite how important they are considered in the game’s history, frankly because I never considered their so-called tactical prowess in battle to be brilliant. This, of course, I attribute to one of the game’s flaws. I still think they’re more charismatic than genius nevertheless.
Well, it can't be simple being the eldest child (male, at that) trying to measure up to his forefather's name. It's easy to presume that their must have been a lot pressure, anxiety and maybe even resentment on Albert's part. Their are a lot more points here to delve deeper into, I'm just not in my right state of mind to do that now.
I think there's a lot under his mask that isn't cool or suave or even particularly smart.
Agreed. He isn’t the be-all-end-all character most people portray or view him as. It’s interesting
and amusingto see him stumble and get awkward at times; if it’s with Sarah, then all the better. XD