Author's Note: Hey. This idea has been poking me for a while, so I decided to see where I could take it. Oh, and just to be safe: if you haven't played to the end of ToD, you probably shouldn't be reading this, as there will be spoilers.
I'm merging remake and original canon here, hence this being an 'AU' rather than a simple 'what if'. Curimuch was kind enough to provide me with lots of good remake information, so thank you. :) With that being said...
Disclaimer: Tales of Destiny belongs to Namco, not me.
The fear of crashing the escape pod was the only thing keeping her tears at bay.
Marian had been hesitant about flying this thing. Stahn's initial reaction to the escape pod had made her uneasy. Once she got in, she realized that there would be no disaster and that it was actually surprisingly easy for someone like her, completely machinery illiterate, to handle. The flight was still rather jerky, but she was doing the best that she could.
A sigh escaped her lips and she almost laughed. He had always been one to get airsick on even the smoothest of flights; her flying would have nearly kill--she bit her lip.
That's not even funny.
She had a white knuckled grip on the controls and her destination couldn't be more clear. The young Phandarian king, Garr, had told her to go to Seinegald to inform the king of all that had happened... but that wasn't where she was heading.
"Leon is dead."
Those words... when they were said, Marian's blood turned to ice and she could have sworn that her heart stopped beating for a second.
He couldn't be.
"But we're not sure if he's dead yet..."
Philia tried to be encouraging, but her face had been etched with doubt. Still, that little bit of hope she'd offered was enough to make Marian take this detour.
Marian didn't really believe that Leon had survived. The factory had been destroyed by the rapids and he hadn't made it out. She knew it was nearly impossible. However, it was the word nearly that was propelling her forward, even in spite of her best efforts to accept the fact that the boy who had pretty much been her life over the past decade or so was gone. As long as there was a chance that he had escaped with his life, she would not allow her hope to completely fizzle out.
She wouldn't be able to rest until his body was found and confirmed dead or alive and she felt that she was the only person who could look for it. Stahn and his friends, understandably, had to move on and Hugo had been apathetic about Leon's well-being for the last sixteen years. Disgusted, Marian highly doubted that he would start caring now. She was still furious that Hugo had used her as a bargaining tool to force the boy into cooperating with him. She'd begged Leon not to worry about her, but he'd refused to let her to die.
"Why do you think I brought this woman?" Hugo smirked and pushed a strand of his dark hair out of his face, looking sickeningly complacent. "She's only a hostage... or," he raised a questioning eyebrow, "did you forget your promise that you'd help me if I spared this woman's life?" He roughly jerked on Marian's arm, forcing her forward.
"Emilio, stop it! I don't care what happens to me!" It wasn't until later that she realized how much truth was in those words. She would have gladly died there if it meant Leon's freedom.
He shook his head firmly, his eyes narrowed with bitter determination. Marian closed her eyes, trying and failing to ignore the not-quite-healed wounds on his face. She knew there were more like that on his body, too... the other bargaining tool.
"This is insane..." she murmured desolately, seeing absolutely no way out of this situation.
Hugo turned on her. "A hostage should be quiet... or must I gag your mouth by force?"
"Don't you dare touch Marian!" Leon immediately jumped to the woman's defence. Hugo looked at him expectantly. The boy bowed his head. "You're right," he admitted. "I'll do anything if you save her life."
"Emilio..." Marian felt tears spring to her eyes. She wanted to tell him that she was expendable and that he should just leave her and run, but before she could, she heard Hugo laughing.
"I'm glad we have an understanding." He smiled at Leon, but the smile was not a friendly one. "If you behave yourself, she won't have to die. Why couldn't you be more understanding like this from the beginning, Emilio?"
In all honesty, Marian wasn't even one hundred percent certain of how long it had been since then. It seemed like years, mostly because the maid felt weary, as though she had aged fifteen years between the last time she saw him and now. She looked older, too; all ashen faced with bruise coloured shadows beneath her tired eyes.
Suddenly, she tensed.
"There it is," she whispered, a tremor in her voice.
This is it... Marian felt like there were countless anxious butterflies in her stomach and mentally cursed herself for expecting to find anything other than a corpse in the area.
When it came time to land, the only thing debated was where she would leave the pod. This was it. She didn't care how long it took; Marian vowed that she would search every last square foot of that area if she had to. It wasn't as though she had much more to lose. There was bound to be at least a trace--him, his sword, a piece of clothing, anything to provide her with some kind of closure.
"Leon is dead."
"But we're not sure if he's dead yet..."
Soon, Marian thought. Something inside of her chest clutched as she awkwardly prepared the pod for landing, eyes gravely fixated on the spot. Soon, we will be sure.
A/N: This chapter is kinda short, but the rest should be longer. I just had to set the stage a little.