Chapter Text
Rufus did not want to leave the Castle.
The Organization couldn't see him in the Castle, couldn't get to him when Maleficent's magic shielded him. They'd gotten lucky against Demyx— Rufus had already had two nightmares about the musician drowning his guards while he watched helplessly.
But the prince knew he could only stay protected in the Castle for so long before he caught a bad case of cabin fever, so he had agreed to an excursion beyond Maleficent's protections to seek another ally. At least they had a destination in mind — Rude knew of an independent village that the Chocobo Riders visited annually to trade with.
With a frustrated snort, Rufus guided his mount to Rude's side. "Tell me about these farmers," he demanded. Rude understood his meaning, but held his peace until all his thoughts were aligned.
"They don't believe they require the Dark Queen's… patronage," he said carefully. "They have… a means of defence against the Heartless."
Pale brows rose. "Oh?"
But Rude would say no more.
Frowning, Rufus let Rude pull ahead. Whatever it was the farmers used for protection, Rude didn't like it.
The walls of a village had just come into view when Tseng suddenly pulled up. "Who is that?"
Rufus followed his guard's gaze to see a youngster with long blond hair moving smoothly over a pond, almost as if they were skating over it. He blinked twice, then looked up at the blazing midday sun, then around at his companions — all were wearing sleeveless shirts due to the day's heat.
Rude's silence somehow became louder.
Reno broke it. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin', boss?"
Tseng's black eyes glittered. "If she's the one who froze the pond—"
"No," Rude interrupted.
Startled, they all looked at him.
His hands were so tight on the reins the leather was creaking; his broad shoulders hunched up so that they nearly touched his ears. His jaw was set tight enough Rufus fancied he could hear the older boy's teeth grinding together.
"…no?" Tseng hazarded after a moment.
"Her name is Elena," Rude said, so soft that it was almost lost in the rush of wind. "And she is why Omelas Village feels it can spurn the Queen's protection."
The words rumbled into place like falling rocks preceding an avalanche.
Rufus looked at Rude again, at his clenched hands and clenched jaw, then turned his gaze to the girl.
There was something oddly familiar about her — but that was lost as it dawned on him that she was younger than he was. That she was so far from the village that, were Heartless to suddenly descend, she wouldn't be able to reach the gates.
That Rude had just implied she was the village's means of defence against the Heartless.
"Explain," he said, his tone implacable.
Rude, understandably, didn't know much. But what he did know made both Tseng and Rufus look at the girl with new eyes. She was strong enough, magically speaking, to be considered a prodigy. And she had been battling the Heartless almost since they had overrun Radiant Garden.
"The Heartless attacked when we were here trading some years ago," Rude explained. "Omelas offered us shelter. Elena walked outside the village, and dragged herself back in three hours later."
Tseng scowled.
Rufus kicked his chocobo, heading towards the girl. "Hi!" he called, waving a hand in her direction.
Elena's head snapped up, and she slipped on the ice she'd created a moment later. Later, Rufus would ruefully admit that the icy pond was likely the only reason she hadn't run from his surprising greeting.
She was on her feet with surprising quickness, but by the time she reached the grass the quartet were on the bank. Rude spoke before Rufus could. "Elena," he said, and actually smiled at her.
Vague alarm gave way to a startled expression, and Rufus wondered if anyone had smiled at her before. "You're not Omelan," she said, her voice still youthful, uncertain. "But I've seen you…?"
Rude inclined his head. "Yes," he agreed. "Two years ago, when my people came to trade."
Brown eyes swept to the other three, and Rufus took over. "We're not Chocobo Riders," he said. Reno made a noise of protest that Rufus ignored. "We come from the capital city to the south."
Elena shivered. "The Heartless always come from the south."
"There's reasons for that," Tseng grumbled, but Elena nodded as though she already knew them.
Rufus dismounted but, catching the look in her eyes, stayed by his white chocobo. Idly he stroked its neck, considering what to say to her. This close, the vague sense of familiar was even stronger. It was irritating that he couldn't source the cause, but he kept his expression mild.
Her eyes stayed on him like she knew he was in charge, so he smiled — until she said, "Omelas is half a mile from here, if that's where you're heading."
Reno started to say something, but Tseng kicked him. "'S'a nice day," the redhead amended casually. "Surprised there's not more people with ya."
Elena's face closed off instantly. "The children play north of the village," she said.
And she played south, closer to the Heartless, nary an adult in sight. Rufus was beginning to see why Rude didn't like Omelas.
Tseng dismounted as well, handing his reins up to Reno and approaching the pond. "I'm Tseng," he said, his voice gentle for all the fury in his posture. "The redhead is Reno, the big one Rude. Our white rider is Prince Rufus."
Something like fear came into the girl's eyes, and she slid back a few paces. "The— prince?" Her voice was shaking; her hands were too. "I— what— what more must I do to atone…?"
What.
Rude inhaled like a dragon about to raze an unsuspecting village, and Rufus knew his target. Half afraid the bigger boy actually would set Omelas on fire, he hurriedly said, "You don't have to atone! You don't have anything to atone for!"
She couldn't be any older than nine, ten at the most, he thought, fury curling in his heart at the confusion and fear in her face.
Reno dismounted as well, but he sat on the ground rather than scare her further. Sunlight gilded his red hair as he looked piercingly at her. "What're you atoning for?" he asked.
"I— my father," she said, hesitantly, looking from one to the other. "You're… if you're Prince Rufus… then you… then you know… my father… my father is why the Heartless…"
The truth struck Rufus like a bolt of lightning.
Even.
Tseng inhaled, exhaled. Soft and fell, he said, "My dear girl." The tone of his voice was so like Even, with a dose of Maleficent at her most maliciously pleasant, Rufus stared at him. Ignoring him, Tseng went on, "Rufus and I were both in the palace when the Heartless attacked. If it was the fault of any one man, that man was not your father."
Elena's brown eyes were wide with disbelief, but she didn't answer.
Rufus stepped in, his voice now tight with the control he'd forced on his rage. "I am the Prince Regent of Radiant Garden," he said. "Ultimately, five men were responsible for her fall and transformation into this Hollow Bastion. Your father may have been a part of it — but you are not accountable for his actions."
"I think," Rude rumbled, "that you have been badly used for your magic." His voice carried a warning aimed directly at Tseng. Rufus had never heard him speak that way before.
Wide amber eyes flicked from Tseng to Rufus to Rude, and Rufus noted with alarm that Elena had gone bone-white.
But Reno was suddenly at her feet and grinning up at her so winningly Rufus forgot to wonder how he'd gotten so close without seeming to move. "It's a lot to take in, yo," he said sympathetically. "But that lot, they ain't mad at you. In fact, you're exactly the kinda person we were hopin' to find out here."
Elena blinked twice, some of the colour returning to her cheeks, and Rufus made a mental note to thank Reno profusely. Taking his cue from the redhead, he agreed, "You are," and managed to dredge up a smile of his own.
"Why… why me?" Elena asked softly.
"Because we need your help," Rufus admitted. "The men who destroyed Radiant Garden — they've been trying to capture me for years. The one they sent last time — he's not one of them. Well, he is, but he wasn't then. And we got lucky. We need a strong mage, because next time he shows up…."
"I guess I should thank you for the perfect cue, then," a tenor voice rang out.
Rufus whirled, but Reno was already on his feet and lunging for Demyx, iron pipe out and a Thunder spell on his lips. Sea-green eyes went wide and the musician stumbled back with a yelp, only narrowly avoiding a pipe to the teeth.
He struck a chord on his sitar and a thick ceiling of water appeared over his head, catching most of the lightning bolt and dissipating it to the sides. With a snarl on his lips, he played another chord, and water was yanked from Elena's frozen pond to swamp Rude and Reno.
"Aerora!" shouted Tseng, shielding both Riders from Demyx's onslaught.
Elena stared wide-eyed at the sudden fight, and Rufus had a sudden flash of panic that Demyx might attack her, too. "Run!" he yelled at her. "Get out of here, get somewhere safe—"
"Dance, water, dance!"
Shit.
Demyx had learned from the last time. Instead of swarming them with dozens of the water forms, he only used ten: Two to Reno, three to Tseng, and five to Rude. Rufus couldn't bear to watch, instead focusing on getting to Elena to guard her from attack. She didn't need to suffer any more.
All too soon, it was over; like a scene out of his nightmares, his three guardians lay motionless, drenched in seawater where none should exist.
A small, soft gasp escaped Elena as Demyx strode confidently towards them. "Run!" Rufus hissed again, then took five steps away from her, raising his fists. If they made it out of this, he promised himself, he would find a weapon and learn to use it.
Thankfully, Demyx ignored Elena, keeping his cruel green eyes on Rufus. "Give up already," he ordered.
"Make me," Rufus snapped back.
Demyx sighed like he was annoyed, then bent over his sitar and played a lively tune. Before Rufus realised what he was doing, a huge wave splashed from the hole Demyx had torn through the icy pond, bowling Rufus completely over before dragging him backwards onto the ice.
Shivering, he looked up at Demyx with a snarl on his lips.
"Give up," Demyx said again, with no hint of the bumbling persona he pretended to. "Or I'll kill them."
Rufus' eyes went wide, and he looked past the musician to his guards—
They were breathing, he realised in relief.
"Hey!" Demyx protested suddenly, and Rufus looked up to see Elena standing between them.
"Elena, no!" Rufus yelled. "Run! You're not part of this!"
"You asked me to be," she said, so soft he almost didn't hear her.
"Move," Demyx demanded, "or I'll give you what I gave them!" He jerked his thumb at the unconscious boys scattered behind him.
Rufus saw her hand tighten around the stick she held. "You can try," she declared confidently. "I'm Elena of Om— of Rufus' Guard! If you want him, you'll have to go through me!"
Demyx shrugged. "Your funeral," he said, then struck a too-familiar chord. "Dance, water, dance!"
Rufus watched in horror as the water forms arose from the puddles on the grass—
Elena raised her wand arm and pointed it at the rising tide. "Freeze!"
Rufus' and Demyx's jaws dropped simultaneously: every single water form had been frozen solid.
Elena was trembling, as though she'd put all she had into that spell, and Rufus was rather certain she had. If Demyx realised that—
"Thunder!"
Reno's voice was weak, hoarse, but still intelligible; lightning snapped through the air and struck Demyx head-on. The musician shrieked in pain, stumbling to the right—
"Aero!"
Tseng didn't sound much better than Reno. His spell struck the ground beneath Demyx's feet, churning it up and spinning him around—
Rude didn't bother with magic. With Reno's pipe in his hand, he bore down on Demyx before he could recover, cracking him so hard across the jaw they all heard bone break. He brought the pipe around again, but Demyx raised his sitar and caught the blow on the neck of the weapon, which he then shoved hard into Rude's gut.
In clear pain, Demyx fled, opening a portal and vanishing as though he'd never been there.
Elena's knees wobbled and she collapsed; Rufus only barely caught her. "Tseng!" he yelled. "I need an ether!"
Tseng didn't reply — he'd been coughing since he cast his spell, as had Reno — but seven seconds later an ether hit Rufus in the head and fell into Elena's lap.
Hilarious.
He snatched up the ether and jostled Elena a bit. "C'mon, open up," he urged her. "You used up all your magic on those things, you gotta replenish it."
Elena made a faint whining sound, but she opened her mouth, and he popped the cube inside. The face she made when she chewed carried surprise, and Rufus realised she'd never had one before.
"Elena walked outside the village, and dragged herself back in three hours later."
Suddenly, terribly, Rufus understood what Rude meant.
"Ow," said Elena weakly.
Looking down, Rufus realised he was holding her too tight, and loosened his grip. "Sorry," he said, a little sheepish.
"So," said Reno, plopping down on the grass beside them. "Rufus' Guard, huh?"
Elena flushed. "It sounded better than 'Omelas,'" she mumbled.
The redhead's laughter was interspersed with more coughing. "Yeah, it does. Wanna make it official?"
"Not under that name," Rufus said. It was too close to Royal Guard. He kept his eyes were on Tseng, knowing the older boy was likely wondering about Di— about Xaldin. "We'll think up another one. Tseng?"
"Reno, Elena, you stay here," he said. "Rufus, Rude, the chocobos spooked. We're going to get them."
"What if that guy comes back?" Elena protested.
Rude looked smug. "Can't cast with a broken jaw," he said, then started coughing.
Rufus scowled. "No one's going anywhere until I heal the lot of you," he said. "Now, come here."
It was just as well he had a natural talent for the Cure spell, Rufus thought as the older boys submitted to his order. Otherwise he'd never be able to repay them for guarding him.
He, Rude, and Tseng were halfway to the village when Tseng suddenly signalled a halt. A rider was approaching then, their missing birds on a leading string. The trio waited, Tseng with a restraining hand on Rude's shoulder.
He has to reach up to do it now, Rufus suddenly realised. Rude's half a head taller. When did that happen?
Then the rider reined to a halt, canting her head to one side as she looked them over. "These yours?" she asked, indicating the string. But her eyes were past them now, looking to where Reno still sat with Elena.
"Yes," Tseng said shortly. "They spooked when we were attacked."
The girl bit her lip. "Heartless?"
"No," Rufus said. She was clearly Omelan, which did her no favours in his eyes.
Before he could tell her so, she blurted, "Is Elena all right?"
"Why do you care?" Rude demanded, glowering.
Her cheeks reddened with anger. "Don't blame me for how Mother and the other adults treat her!"
"Rude," Tseng said, his voice a dire warning. Rude grumbled, but fell silent; the girl looked affronted.
Rufus took over damage control. "Rude here dislikes how Elena's been treated. So does Tseng. And so do I, Prince Rufus."
The girl paled, but held her chin high. "Then you know it's your name they threaten her with."
Rufus nodded unhappily; that was something he would rectify. "And since they saw fit to do so, I'm sure there will be no objections when she leaves with us."
Her eyes went wide, and she looked past them again. Her lips moved soundlessly, then she took a deep breath and met Rude's eyes. "Everyone knows you can trust the Chocobo Riders," she said, offering Tseng the string of chocobos without looking at him. "And Elena deserves better."
"Yes," said Rude, holding her gaze. "She does."
They held eye contact for nearly a minute longer, then she abruptly dismounted, handing the reins of her bird to Rude. "I taught Elena to ride," she said quickly. "I'll cover for you. Hurry."
Rufus blinked. "Why are you—"
"We grew up together," the girl said. "Mother and the rest, they treat her worse than the farmers treat their birds— no, their ploughs. I think Mother hates her." She looked deeply saddened. "She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve Mother's hate. She's only ten."
There was a degree of guilt and self-loathing in her voice that Rufus knew well. "She'll be safe with us," he promised her softly. "She saved me today."
"And I will teach her," Tseng added, sounding older than his fifteen years.
Surprise warred with relief on her face. "She needs one," she said. "She's the strongest mage in Omelas."
The boys exchanged looks. "There are others?" Rufus growled.
"The healer. He listens to Mother about Elena."
Perhaps Maleficent would be interested to discover Omelas could no longer defend against the Heartless.
"If something happens," Rude said, his mind clearly going down the same path as Rufus', "seek out the Chocobo Riders. Tell them Rude sent you."
Tseng glowered at both of them, but said nothing. Instead he turned back to the girl. "Castle Town is a few hours' ride south of here. And chocobos easily outrun Heartless."
She nodded. "I won't forget." She bowed to Rufus, then turned and began walking back to Omelas.
With a muffled oath, Tseng swung himself astride his usual mount, a placid black bird with a fondness for Reno's hair. "Let's head back," he said, leaning forward to smooth down some of her feathers. "Elena needs rest."
Rufus knew better than to argue. But as the five of them made the return trip, he plotted how best to make Omelas regret their treatment of Elena.