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She wondered how a rose could communicate. Out of all the things she had seen in her short life, that was probably the strangest. But the rose had been there for a few weeks now. It was just a normal seasonal spirit to everyone. That and the child. No one really knew his name.
All the children just called him the little prince.
Sitri didn’t know what to think of him at first. He was so innocent, it was just jarring to her at first. She was annoyed at their first encounter. It took her longer than she’d like to admit to find him in that garden. Sitri then became intrigued by him. He wasn't a sky child but he had the ability of flight.
Just what was he?
The more Sitri met him, the more intrigued she became. She eventually found it nice to be around him. It reminded her of the early months of her life.
The playful innocence of childhood.
She would admit that his words tugged at her heart at times. She won’t say that when he called her a dear friend, no she won’t say it nearly drove her to tears.
She heard a rumor from Takuya that the little prince will be departing soon. Sitri became confused. There were at least a few more weeks of the season left. It’s too soon.
She then made her way to the Starlight Desert. She hoped that if he was leaving, that she could get to speak with him one last time.
Such an interesting little prince.
The rose had a different energy about it. It somehow seemed worried.
“Search for him”
“What?” Sitri knew how this went. She would go find him and they would talk how they usually would.
“He ponders sadly.”
“Where?”
The rose turned, it’s leaf pointed towards the area in which no one has been able to go through. The winds were so high that the children could barely walk in there, much less fly.
But he’s in there. Alone.
Sitri had no idea but she made great haste.
Soon she was there at the edge of where the storm began. She couldn’t fly now. It’ll be on foot from this point on.
The winds were so high, her mask was barely able to stay on her face. The only other place she knew that had terrible winds like this was-
E d e n.
She had seen the mountain was visible from the desert. But now she clearly saw that this path would lead right to it.
Sitri went as fast as she could. She needed to warn the child or even stop him. He’s too naive to understand the dangers of Eden.
In the distance she spots him. He’s still a long distance ahead of her and isn’t stopping.
“Hey! Wait!” Sitri tried calling out to him, but the storm was still too strong. She’ll just have to catch up.
The winds are cold and harsh. The sky children don’t really have a problem with temperature but what about him? Sitri just kept thinking about the little prince. Why was he doing this? She already knows how much he likes to explore. But why is she feeling like this?
What is she feeling?
Finally she reaches an area where the wind has calmed down and she sees the prince. He’s at a campfire, shivering.
Of course. It’s very cold out and unlike the sky children, he can’t produce a flame.
“Oh Sitri. Hello there.” He says in a kind but shivering voice.
“Oh for flames sake. What are you doing?! Going out in a storm like this?” Sitri scolded him as she lit the campfire.
Finally feeling the fire's warmth, the little prince stops shivering.
“Ah so serious. As always. Serious Sitri.”
She smirked at the little nickname he gave her. He was always so lighthearted and kind. She was always so blunt and serious. But she always looked forward to their conversations. He helped her remember what fun life can be. She didn’t have much time for it anymore. Her cause always had her attention and she had to keep up the leader's role for the group. They had gotten four new members this season. She became stressed with responsibility.
These conversations were her salvation in a way.
If what Takuya said was true, then she wanted to give the little prince a good farewell.
“Well do you want to tell me why you’re all the way out here or what?”
“Yeah. Well I… want to give you a present.”
“….. a what” Sitri almost couldn’t believe.
A fucking present?!
“Yep, a present.”
“All the way out here?”
“Yes.”
“*sigh* fine. what is it?”
“Hahaha hahaha” Sitri was confused by the laughter.
“That was my present. Just that.”
Sitri sat in utter disbelief as the little prince just smiled.
“PFFFT HAHAHA.” Sitri then laughed as well. How stupid. A laugh for a present. Just stupid.
“Hm, it's nice to see you not as serious for once. Makes this almost a little easier.”
Ah there it is.
“I am going back home tonight.”
So it was true. Sitri’s heart began to ache. She knows how it feels when someone leaves for good. It was such a sad feeling.
“Come on Sitri. Don’t be so sad”
“I’m not sad. Though I am not happy either.”
“Oh. Are you mad?”
“Of course not. I’m not good with goodbyes. That’s all.”
“Oh okay.”
They stay in a moment of silence.
The little prince then looked up at the starry sky.
“On one of the stars I shall be living. On one of them I shall be laughing.”
Sitri then looked at the sky too
“And so when you look at the sky at night…
It will be as if all the stars are laughing.”
The prince then let out a laugh but wiped at his face as if he shed a tear.
They both sat in silence again. Just looking at the flame of the campfire.
“Will you be okay on your own?”
The prince took a moment before he answered.
“It is very far and will be very difficult. I shall be much more afraid.”
Sitri then looked up at the little prince with concern. He still looked at the fire.
“It will look as if I were suffering.”
Sitri almost let out a gasp.
“If it’s that dangerous then I’ll go with you. I can guard you and I can bring my group as well. We’ll make sure you get there safely.”
He shook his head.
“Do not come to see that.”
“But-“
“Please, Sitri.”
She clenched her fist but then relaxed and sighed deeply.
“Fine,” she said very quietly.
They both had sadness in their eyes. Goodbyes are never easy.
He then broke the silence once more.
“At night you will look up at the stars.”
They both looked up at the sky again.
“My star will just be one of the stars, for you.
And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens.”
Sitri could feel her heart ache more and more. She wanted to tell him to stop talking otherwise she felt like she’d explode.
“They will all be your friends.”
That was it. The final straw.
“Sitri?”
She feel like she could barely hear him. Tears began pouring from her eye.
The stars are her friends? Oh if only he knew.
“Ggehh *hic* damn it” she was full on sobbing now.
Memories of the past. Her new friend’s words of goodbye. It all was just too much.
Sitri held her cape as if she was trying to comfort herself by wrapping it all around herself.
Or maybe she was trying to stop herself from crying even more. Either way. She didn’t notice the small pat the little prince gave to her head. He then gave her a little hug.
“Heheh. You sky kids are so warm.”
Sitri continued to cry. It went on for so long that when she finally stopped, the little prince was fast asleep by the fire. After all that crying, Sitri decided to fall asleep as well. She was exhausted.
——
Sitri woke up and yawned. After that nap she felt a bit better.
Wow. She hadn’t cried like that in so long. She hoped she didn’t make things awkward. That would be pretty lame for a goodbye. She then turned to the little prince.
Only he wasn't there.
She was completely alone.
“Huh?” Still groggy from the nap, Sitri tried to stand up but ended up falling to her side.
“Shit…” before she tried to get back up again, she could see faint footprints in the sand.
They were faint but he must’ve left not that long ago. Sitri then got up quickly and followed the trail.
In the distance, she can see the mountain of Eden.
Please, she hoped, please don’t let him go through there. It’d be too much. He couldn’t handle it.
Then she saw him. He was standing on top of a rock. He was still pretty far away from her but if just stays there for a bit, she could perhaps get to say goodbye. It’d be embarrassing if the last conversation they had was the one that ended with her sobbing like crazy.
Then it came. The Dark Dragon.
Why?! Why was it here?
Sitri stopped dead in her tracks. The wind was blowing hard again. She couldn’t fight this one. Not like this. But then she realized.
The little prince was too close to it. She began to run as fast as she could but the wind seemed to slow her down by a lot.
“Run! Please! Get away!” If he had gotten hit by the krill, who knows what would happen. Sky kids had some endurance to them but getting hit enough times could still be life threatening.
She knew what a hit from a krill felt like. She would never want him to feel that pain.
“Go! Just go!” She kept shouting hoping he could hear her warnings.
Then he was in the krills sight.
“NO! GET AWAY!!!!” Sitri shouted so loud, it almost hurt her.
The little prince still didn’t hear. He just stood. Looking at the krill. The krill saw him too. It was right above him now.
“NOOOO!” Sitri couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to see. At any moment, the krill would attack.
But it never did. It’s light remained blue. It just stared at him.
“W-what?” She was so confused. What’s going on??
She decided that she didn’t have time to wonder why the krill is still. She needed to get the little prince out of there. Sitri began to run towards him again. The wind still came down hard against her. She could only hope that the krill wouldn’t change its mind.
Sitri just kept running. She suddenly felt a pain in her bad eye.
“Dammit. Not now!” She said to herself. Perhaps seeing the krill was bringing up the sudden pain.
Still she had to push on.
Finally, the krill began to move away from the prince. It’s patrol light remained it’s light blue color.
Sitri sighed with relief. She continued making her way through the storm. She was almost there.
Then the little prince got down from the rock and disappeared from Sitris sight.
“Huh? Hey wait!” Sitri tried to call out but she knew that he couldn’t hear her still.
When Sitri finally made it to the rock that the prince was at previously, she could see that he was still making his way towards the Eden mountain.
But why? Why there?!
Sitri tried to run towards him again but the winds were even stronger than before. She could barely walk.
But she had to try.
“Ugh. Shit. Hey! Wait!”
She wouldn’t lose another dear friend to that terrible place.
“Come back!”
No.
“Don’t go through there!”
Not again.
“It’s not safe!”
…
He kept going.
“You need- AH SHIT!”
The wind was unbelievably strong now. It had flipped Sitri onto her back and blew her a couple feet back.
“No no.”
The prince was even further away now.
“Oh flame.”
Closer to Eden.
“You can’t…”
He’ll die.
“Please…”
She dug her hands into the sand.
“Come back.”
“Don’t leave me.”
She couldn’t tell if it was because of the wind or because of how her emotions began to get the better of her, but her eye was tearing up again.
Sitri wiped her face, but by then the little prince was gone from her sight.
Sitri just sat there. Feeling absolutely defeated.
After what seemed like forever, Sitri finally got up and began to make her way out of the desert. She had her head low, barely looking up at the campfire when she passed by. She didn’t notice when she had finally made it back to the rose. She wondered if the flower could feel her pain too.
“He has gone?”
Sitri just nodded.
The two fell silent. Then the rose spoke its usual words it would speak after every encounter with the little prince.
“How to reach him? Where to find him? It’s so mysterious, the land of tears.”
Sitri just sighed. It’s words were always so bittersweet.
The rose then showed her one of its final memories.
The poor thing was dying. As it died, he was in their thoughts.
Sitri then sat to be transported back to the home area. She didn’t even stay to collect her gift from the rose. This desert was beginning to be hard to stay in.
Besides, she wasn’t good with goodbyes.