queenofheartsrp | first stanza [video]

first stanza [video]

[The Vine opens on a curious scene. Something has transpired in the new arrival area. A broad swath of garden has been destroyed. The scarred area is not huge, but it is not insignificant. It's not immediately clear what the cause was, but smoke is rising from the ground, and three large bears have gathered to deal with the problem.

Standing watching the animals is a woman wearing the familiar white shift of a newcomer. Her back is to the mirror. Her long hair is silver with a lavender tinge, a tall feather rising from the midst of it. Beneath the hem of her shift, a tail can be seen, twitching in agitation as she watches the animals and the blasted earth. She hadn't meant for anything of the kind to happen. Suddenly, the world had changed. All her strength had come rushing back in a single moment. When had her control grown so tenuous?

She speaks. She might be addressing the bears or talking to herself.]

Absurd. I shouldn't be here. What is this place? Death should not be a garden. It should be an absence of sight, sound, self. A perfect void. [Others' souls might live on, but that is what her death should be, what she wanted. No, not what she'd wanted, but what she'd asked for.]

[She takes a step toward the bears. One turns to look at her. Perhaps she is addressing them after all. Though they don't speak, it's possible she has some way of communicating with them. Her tone is imperious, yet strained.] Such stubborn brutes. You can't blame me for that. When you throw a spark on dry grass, certainly it will blaze. Fire burns. That is its nature.

[She turns at last, showing her face to the Vine, searching her surroundings for something she does not appear to find.] Zidane! [She pauses. She must be able to see the mirror, but she doesn't take it in. It's clear from her expression that she is not entirely present, perhaps disoriented.] He couldn't have done this. Then did he go...? Good. [Yet she looks almost disappointed.]

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[She turns toward the mirror, surprised for a moment by the voice and the face of the girl. Irritation flickers briefly across her face, then disappears. She is more composed when she speaks.]

Of course it cannot be death, child. That is what I meant when I spoke of death being unlike a garden. Few understand death better than I do. I know very mask it wears, and I have tasted its sharp flavor on my lips. I-- [She breaks off, abruptly deciding to abandon this line of conversation.]

Who are you?

I thought I had tasted death. But because I am here, maybe I was wrong.

I am Alfimi Einst.

I know that I have, if not necessarily in the way that you mean. [A taste of death is not always fatal, for one can taste it as the bringer of death as well, but Kuja has no intention of making her meaning clear.] But it is, at last, a bitter taste. [She pauses, sorting through her thoughts.]

Perhaps we should be dead indeed, Alfimi, but we are both assuredly alive, and here, although--I do not yet know where here is. [Having had a fire and bears and disorientation to deal with, Kuja is not particularly well-informed concerning the Gardens and their purpose.] Except that it does seem to be a garden.

[She hesitates an instant before giving her name, along with a slight bow.] I am Kuja.

[Alfimi wonders if she is talking about killing. She has killed many humans. If not by her own hands in Persoenlichkeit then through the Einst minions she once commanded. She is not proud.] If we are thinking of the same thing... then yes... bitter. Very bitter...

Yes. This place is called The Gardens. I have only been here a few days. It is a strange place.

[Alfimi mimics Kuja's bow. What was she supposed to say in situations like this?] Pleasure to meet you.

[Kuja's interest is piqued.] Ah, perhaps we are. What do you know of death's bitterness, then?

The Gardens? Such a simple name. It has no other? Is this all there is to it--grasses and trees, a pastoral air? [She can glimpse the ruins in the distance, but they seem to be nothing more than ruins.] Are we meant to rest curled among the flowers?

Tell me what you have learned, in your days here. [She does not return the pleasantry, simply as if she hadn't noticed it.]

Killing... [Those on the ground below. Those who rose to fight her. She and her Einst companions killed many. It didn't matter what faction they worked for. Humans in military bases on the ground, trying to defend themselves... those of the federation, of the Neo Divine Crusaders, even of Shadow Mirror. It didn't matter to her who they were. She killed them to further the plans of the Einst...] I have killed many humans.

I know of no other name. There are other areas to it, though. Lodgings... sand... trees... many things.

I have met people. Some confuse me. Some were kind to me. And I have learned that there are only girls... that there is a queen who brought us here.

Killing, yes. [Kuja is thoughtful. She knows very well not to judge someone's killing capabilities by their appearance. She wonders if this is some ordinary murderer, or soldier, or if it is someone more like her, created to cause death. Surely there are few who are truly like her, who can destroy souls and worlds--not that she is proud of that. Not now. Yet the regret she feels does not color her tone.] Humans do die so easily, don't they? Are you not human, then?

I will have to investigate further. At least it is more than a mere garden where we are expected to lie down in the grass like animals.

That is not particularly informative, but knowing that there are girls and a queen is helpful enough. Have you met this queen? What is she like?

They do. [Humans do die easily. But their lives used to mean nothing to her. Used to. She frowns. Is this guilt?] I am not human. I am Einst.

I have not wandered far, so I do not know the extent of this place.

I'm fairly new here myself. I know little of this place. I don't even know why I am here. I have not met the queen. Those I speak to say she doesn't show herself often.

They are so delicate... like flowers, almost, blooming and dying in a single season.

It seems we have something in common, for I too am not human. I am unfamiliar with the name of Einst, so I can but assume that you do not know what a Genome is. [As Alfimi has identified herself, she makes an identification in kind, in spite of her reservations and the flare of annoyance that she feels.] Yet that is what I am.

I will see what is to be seen. I can traverse great distances easily. If I discover something useful, perhaps I can inform you. [She feels a little more kindly disposed than usual to this non-human, but still, it feels odd to offer her help for no reason. A small part of her wonders if she is still beneath the Iifa tree, dying, and whether this might not be a delusion, in which she lives out some odd, altruistic fantasy in the moments before her death.]

A queen who is also a mystery? I've never dealt with a reclusive regent. [Kuja is wary of taking people at face value.] Perhaps she is no queen at all.

I have found them to be very strong-willed when it comes to protecting what is dear to them...

You are... Genome. I do not know that word, either. But I will remember that it is what you are.

Thank you. I don't know what it is that I am to do here. I... don't have a purpose here.

Yes. She could be anything. Something with such power... to bring people here... it is possible, yet it doesn't make sense to me.

Oh, indeed. They can be quite strong. I would not deny that. Though I am stronger. [She says this unthinkingly. Without another Genome, they could not have stopped her. It is odd, though, to hear herself called by that name, by someone she doesn't know, but she is being honest and having a conversation. Perhaps she should not have been so honest.] It is more important that I am Kuja. Genomes can differ a great deal. There is only one like me.

I too have no purpose. [Yet she seems a bit pleased about that.] Though I am still an actress. And a poet. Those things cannot be taken from me. It could be you don't need a purpose so much as an identity.

Such a being is not completely unfamiliar to me. One who gathers and controls others and tries to direct their actions, with some purpose in mind. She should not be trusted.

Is being strong important?

Yes. There is no other Einst like me, either. [She's the only one that looks human.] But who you are... is more important than what you are... Kuja.

Actress... poet... those seem like good things to be. I don't know much about them, however.[She understands those words, but only very vaguely.] Purpose... Identity... I don't think I have an 'identity' either. Maybe I can find one.

I was fooled by a being like that. So I agree. We must be careful.

It is through strength that one can win and preserve one's freedom. In some ways, strength is all. In nature, the strong survive and the weak die. [That is what she has said in the past, but it does not seem like a philosophy she should cling to, so she adds, belatedly:] Though the strong should show mercy for the weak.

Being a Genome hardly matters anymore, that is true. There will be no more of us. [There are some few of them left, but she destroyed most of them, and those that are left will not be what they were meant to be. Living or dead, she freed them, with her strength. No one can use them, now. Alfimi herself reminds Kuja of one of the soulless Genomes, in some ways.]

No purpose or identity--and why do you not have such things? Were you made only to kill? [This, Kuja can understand.]

I too was fooled by such a being. [Hatred flashes in her eyes for a moment.] I will not allow that to happen again.

Hmmm. Perhaps you are right. The strength that the humans possessed, that destructive power... when it was brought to bear in a concentrated effort... that is what saved them.

There should be no more Einst as well. If I find more... I will have to stop them. [All the Einst should be dead, but if she's alive, perhaps there is a small possibility...]

I am... a copy. I failed my purpose... It was more than just killing... or so I thought. But in the end... there was only death. The death of everything. If the humans hadn't stopped us... I only understood... near the end.

[Alfimi nods, looking serious.] Neither will I. I'll find my own path.

When humans join forces, they can increase their strength. It is ever the way with social animals. That is why their instinct draws them together.

Oh, there are Genomes remaining. There will be no more made, that is all. Those that there are likely all there will be. [She wonders how many of them Zidane saved, and what became of them. She feels a sudden rush of strange feeling, and her hands tremble slightly.] They are under my protection. [What an odd thing to say. How can she protect anything now?] They are my brothers and sisters.

[She considers Alfimi's words. what a coincidence that she should meet such a person here.] The death of everything. I know it well. I passed so close to its dark body, nearly touched the frigid surface of its hide. Though I am no copy, but am unique in all creation, I too had a purpose once, and that was death.

Now I think it is better to have no purpose. To have instead, a self. I hope you will find your path.

I see. I want to get to know many humans and non-humans, too.

Your... brothers and sisters? [Alfimi looks down. She has little love left for her Einst brethren, though she does miss Persönlichkeit.]

No matter the reason or benefit... I will not work towards death any longer. I'll fight against it if it comes to that.

That sounds good. Maybe I will concentrate on finding a self instead of worrying about my purpose. Thank you.

[To get to know many humans--the idea does not appeal to her. She is not gregarious by nature, and she is not yet sure how much she wants to interact with others.] As I said, most humans are eager for social contact, so you should not find it difficult to become acquainted with them. If you display some interest in them, they will be flattered.

Yes, my siblings. They were made for a purpose, but I set them free. [Twisting the truth just a little makes her a savior.] My brother was with me, when I came here. [She frowns. That silly fool.

Yet a moment later, her expression softens.] I too have no more desire to cause death.

There is no need to thank me, child. I speak my mind.

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