NEW VERSION: [Final Fantasy VI] Fic: The Sleeping Beauty (Part 8 of 13)

[flonnebonne]

Title: The Sleeping Beauty
Fandom: FF6
Characters: Celes, Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Relm
Genre: Drama, AU
Wordcount: 11,975
Summary: What if, after one year asleep, Celes still does not wake?

Important Note: This is a revised version of the story I posted on April 2.
The main changes are:
1) New material at the beginning and end of the story, with significant changes to the plot;
2) Removal of unnecessary lines to promote clarity and better flow, hopefully, throughout the story;
3) Splitting up the story into thirteen sections instead of two, because I realize this is a damn long story;
4) Chapter titles.

Hopefully the story is better now! I am leaving the old version up for posterity's sake, if you'd like to compare. Comments and criticism are welcome, always.

Part 8: Epitaph

(A gaping hole in the canvas.)

The kid is right, you know.You're more than just a blank canvas for us to paint our symbols on. Nice metaphor, huh? Or is it too literal to be a metaphor?

(The smell of engine oil, of painter's oil.)

I'm clearly projecting my memories of Daryl onto you, even if it's Maria's dress you're wearing there. I dug up the Falcon for you, Celes. I put my girl away long ago, but you made me bring her out again.

(The lie of paint, of pictures.)

I won't be the kind of man who surrounds a dead woman with roses and won't let her go. You deserve better than that.

The truth is, I barely knew you, Celes. But...I would have liked it if I could have gotten to know you better.

(The ache of pictures never painted, yet still hoped for.)

---

(A voice from the old world, here in the new.)

Memories of the world before the fall remain...

But the light of dawn doth never change,

nor e'er the hearts of men...

(A silk flower placed by her bedside, one among many.)

There is no shame in flowers, my friend. Thou wilt wake. I choose to believe in thee.