DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy 2/IV and all FFIV characters are the property of Square.

Note: I've really enjoyed writing this story. As "Trust" is only the first part of three, reviews and comments are very welcome also because I am from Europe and no native English speaker.

Please send comments to: (or just review…)

New author's notes: As the whole trilogy is finished by now and some people even took the time to reread the first two parts, I decided to fix some major grammar/spelling mistakes in "Trust" and "Betrayal", so that one doesn't have to wonder: "What did she mean with that?" all the time…;)

Also, when I look through my old parts now, it is tempting to reword some paragraphs, as my writing style has changed (or improved - that's at least what I hope…) during the years. However, when I wrote this part some years ago, it seemed just fine in my eyes, so I will respect the way the text looks for now and just try to repair some things. Also, the story is now divided in thirteen chapters with chapter headlines…sighs Don't you just hate to read your old works? ;)

Three sides of the moon

First part: TRUST

Prologue

A view from above

The blond, long-haired young man stood on the mountaintop and surveyed the landscape below. Tomorrow he would leave this place which he had called his home for nearly a year and return once again to the world of the living - he would return to Baron Castle.

Baron - the place where he had been raised together with his best friends Cecil and Rosa and the place where these two had been married one year ago...

Suddenly a voice behind him startled Kain: "At last going, boy?"

"Yeah", Kain replied and faced the owner of the voice - a tall hooded figure with hardly recognizable features. This strange old fellow had been around him for some days now - still Kain did not even know his name. This did matter to him little, anyway - the people seeking guidance and purity on Mt. Ordeals were all strange fellows - lost to the world and to themselves. Still, Kain felt that this man was special; though he could not say why - the only thing he knew was that he did not like him or his tone...

"Any problems with my leaving, old man?" he asked sharply and took a step towards the frail figure.

The man shrank back a bit, though answered with a calm voice: "Not at all, my young friend. Finally decided to leave the past behind, eh?" He motioned with his hand towards a dark pile of armor, which lay next to Kain's feet - the armor of a Dragoon.

Kain just nodded calmly, turned away and continued to study the world below.

A harsh wind blew in his face and made his eyes water. It was just like the day one year ago as he had stood here on Mt. Ordeals for the first time and had tried to imagine how everyone back in Baron was attending the wedding: laughing and admiring their new King and Queen - without him. He had been afraid then as he was afraid now, to face his former friends - to face Cecil, whom he had betrayed badly and to face Rosa, the woman he had loved as long as he could think of - and still did...

"Cecil must have looked strikingly in his white paladin garb, radiating an aura of holiness and light," Kain thought. "And Rosa-she surely must have been a beautiful bride with flowers decorating her long, golden hair…" Hair, which had the sweetest scent Kain could imagine.

"I wonder if Cecil has made her happy..."

"And if not?" the dark voice of the stranger broke his thoughts. Kain realized that he probably had uttered his last thought aloud. He whirled around and faced the man with a cold gaze.

"I mean, " the man continued unimpressed, "I do not know who this "Cecil" fellow is nor do I know "her", but I guess she's someone very dear to you. I just wondered-"

"Silence!" Kain bellowed, "It is none of your concern!"

Surprised by this sudden outburst, the man took a step back: "Hey, now you stay calm! I just wanted to help you - I did not mean any harm..." he murmured, sounding hurt.

Kain's expression softened. "I am sorry… No apologize needed, I should not have thought aloud... It is just that-" he paused for a moment. "It is just that this "she" is a woman who means very much to me and tomorrow I will see her again..." He bowed his head in shame - why did he felt the urge to tell a complete stranger all this?

The hooded fellow studied him for a while then gave him a slight smile: "Hmm, so my suspect was right - loving a married woman aren't we, my friend? Dangerous game - did play it myself when I was young. You have to be careful not to get burned, eh!" He playfully slapped Kain on the shoulder, but quickly drew away as he noticed that the other's eyes were taking on a dangerous expression. But he was too slow - before he was able to take even two steps back, Kain had gripped him already at the front of his cape and had hurled him violently at a nearby stone formation.

"One sentence more and you are dead!" the blond man hissed, and tightened his grip even more. "It is not the way you think... I would never, never again hurt one of them! I am playing no games – darn, I... " he suddenly felt tears rising in his eyes. "How could you possibly understand? What do you know of love ...?"

He pressed the frail figure one more time to the wall, then loosened his grip and walked back to the pile of armor. He nearly felt the urge to slap himself. "Damn - why did you had to become so agitated, you worthless excuse for a knight? " he thought to himself. "Tomorrow you will see the most important people in your life again after one year of hardship and prayer and still such a crazy old man is enough to make you lose your self- control completely..." He slowly felt the coldness creeping back into him as he saw his old armor which reminded him of what he had come here for...

As he shoved the pile of rubble with his foot into the abyss, the coldness in his heart became mixed with the feeling of grief and the strange realization that things would never be same again as they once were…

"Rosa, Cecil," he whispered as he watched the pieces disappear in the darkness below, "I know that I can never undo the things I have done to you, but I will at least try to make it up to you - I promise, I willprove that I have changed ..."

"Hahaha..." the soft chuckle of the hooded man sent Kain spinning around again - but he could not spot him anywhere.

The voice continued: "Noble words - but have you really changed, have your feelings really changed - this burning love for Rosa, the sudden feeling of jealousy and hate when you see "him"?"

"That's enough, old man!" Kain shouted. "Where are you? Show yourself - you do know nothing of me!"

"So do you, Kain!"

Still, Kain could not spot the origin of the voice.

"Why do you always overestimate yourself so much? You have to accept your nature - or do you think throwing away your rusty armor will make you a better man?"

"No!" Kain shook his head in rage, "But it is a start, something to begin with - to make it up to them..."

"Hmmm, how noble - but who knows if your "nobility" is wanted, little Dragoon - or do you think your friends will welcome you with open arms again? Maybe Cecil will let you visit his beautiful wife in the bedroom right away - for the sake of old times, eh..." The voice did not stop to mock him.

"Stop it!" Kain screamed on the top of his lungs. "They are not like that! Cecil has "changed" long ago himself - he knows that it is possible…He is one of the most decent and purest men ever to walk the earth! He, together with Rosa, will surely help me to continue walking the right path - I will do everything to gain their trust and friendship once more ..."

"Gain their trust? To what purpose? You have said yourself that you cannot undo the things you did ... Things will never be the way they were... So why do you want to gain their trust?" ...You are silent? Well, let me tell you then, why: To betray them again and again and again. As nothing can change your nature!"

"No! That is not true!" Kain fell to his knees, tears flooding down his face, his hands trying to cover his ears as the voice continued speaking on and on, reminding him of his lies and dirty deeds during all these years, telling him to let go of his false pretences and urging him to accept his true nature and to embrace evil again. Finally the voice stopped, leaving a collapsed, sobbing man to his own misery...