Gem: According to yoo-hoo, the refrigerator was invented before the toilet but a fridge would require plumbing so I figured that sinks and other such necessities would be inside every house. I halfway own a fridge and I do not own a toilet or FFIX.
I sat bolt upright early one morning. I thought I had heard sobbing or something like it outside the clock-tower's entrance. Grabbing my bandana, I tied it at an angle over my eyes before heading out of the bedroom. The years had passed faster than expected. As I got to the entrance, I nearly ran into Marcus who was backing into the hideout halfway carrying someone. I tapped him and then grabbed the girl's legs. I gave Marcus a hand in maneuvering the girl into an empty room and onto the bed.
The girl looked a lot like Ruby or so Marcus said. Even after four years of being blind, I could only pick up the most basic features. I could sense that her face was dirty and her dress torn. She was also very cold so we started to pile blankets on her. No reason for some girl we just dragged in to die. I went down to the kitchen to grab a bowl and find some rags. As I started washing the girl's face, she woke up. She jumped and scootched backwards as fast as she could.
"Wait."
I held out the hand holding the washcloth.
"Where am I? What did you do to me?" She then took notice of her torn dress. "Why!?"
The next thing I knew, I was being assaulted by her. I fended her off as gently as I could manage without upsetting the bowl in my lap or hurting her. She abruptly quit and started crying. I was at a huge loss of what to do. Placing the bowl down in my seat, I hopped up on the bed next to her. I had sensed someone else hug another person once so I tried it. She buried her head in my shoulder and cried. I very awkwardly patted her back until she started to pull away.
I could sense her composing herself before she started searching for a tissue. I held out the cloth I had used to wash her face. She took it. I used this time to try to figure out what I could about her. She seemed close to my age, barely ten and very small. Her hair was somewhere between the middle of her back and her waist but it was hard to tell. She finished using the washcloth and dumped it in the bowl.
"What's your name?" I asked.
She gave me a look that I was unable to determine before answering with "Ruby."
"I'm Blank."
An awkward silence followed until Ruby asked why I wore a bandana over my eyes. It was one I wasn't ready to answer. Right then, not even my brothers knew the full reason why. I was spared from answering by Marcus walking into the room.
"You're up!"
Gee, thanks Captain Obvious. Ruby slid closer to me; apparently despite my appearance, I was to be trusted more. I carefully detached her from my arm and turned slightly in Marcus's direction.
"Bro, don't startle her."
"I'm sorry," Marcus apologized to Ruby. "I'm Marcus and you are?"
"Ruby."
The Ruby I had know the years before had been fairly outgoing and quite willing to pick a fight with anyone who didn't agree with her. This one was shy and obviously scared. I brought myself back to the present as Marcus told me that he had talked to Boss.
"ATCHOOOOOO!"
All three of us jumped. Frankly, Marcus and I should have expected it; Boss tended to sneeze when the hideout was at its quietest. I felt Boss's presence in the doorway almost right on top of Marcus's presence. Ruby had shied backwards and somewhat behind me again. I grabbed her gently and pulled her out.
I whispered quietly to her, "He's not scary, just very loud."
I sensed what might have been a slight giggle from her before she turned her face away. I was somewhat paying attention to the conversation going on between Ruby, Marcus, and Boss; apparently, Boss was wondering if she was the daughter of Lord Arkwright.
"I don't remember. There was crash….a fire….I was trying to get away. I don't know where I'm from or who my parents are. I don't even know if Ruby's my real name."
She sounded so unsure of herself. I decided then and there to help her regain what was lost. Everything seemed to be easier when you had someone to lean on.
"Well girl, you'll stay here with us until you figure out what happened. And Blank? Take her up to the room in the attic. It'll be her's until she decides to leave."
I nodded to show that I understood and gently pulled her off the bed. I'd come back for the sheets later. Not much was said as we headed up to the attic.
"This room is your's," I said as I opened a door. I knew from exploring the hideout that the roof was slanted and at one point you could get up in the rafters. A bed with fresh sheets on it sat in the middle of the room with a night stand beside it. There were several dressers all about the room and the window was open to let in a slight breeze. I left her to go rummaging in a dresser since I knew that there were dresses in one.
"Here."
"Thanks," Ruby said as she took the dress from me.
"I'll leave you to get dressed."
I shut the door behind me on the way out and then waited. The hideout wasn't that big but it was confusing on occasion. Especially since Zidane had a thing for leaving every other door open including a few doors that shouldn't have been open, like the door to a storage closet full of stolen goods.
"Blank?"
I turned and offered a slight smile. That's all my expressions ever were; they never were fully formed. I didn't know what color dress she had on but I knew that she looked much better now that she was not wearing a dirty, torn dress. I sensed Ruby twirling to show herself off and smiled again. I don't think she realized I couldn't see her.
"Let's go. You need to eat something."
I could sense her following and checking out the entire hideout as we headed down to the kitchen. I also paused periodically to shut the doors Zidane had left open. I sensed the odd look and question long before it was even asked.
"One of the other boys, Zidane, has a thing for leaving every other door open."
"Oh."
We continued our walk down towards the kitchen where Zidane and Cinna had finally dragged both their butts out of bed, and Marcus and Boss were busy finishing making breakfast. I led Ruby to the extra place before taking a seat next to her. I was about to get up to help bring in breakfast dishes but was pushed back down into my seat. Apparently, Zidane and Cinna had that job since they had gotten up late.
I pointed out which of the other two was which while breakfast was still being brought in. After we all sat down, food started to get dished out. I was better at figuring out where all the bowls and glasses were on the table. Boss had insisted on having at least one sit down meal daily after I could find the kitchen by myself. I rarely if ever knocked things over now.
Ruby seemed confused from what I could tell. Despite being a group of thieves, we were also a family. I didn't know the other boys' stories but I knew that times like this brought us closer. I handed her the bowl full of scrambled eggs and asked if she wanted some. She gave me a slightly weird look from what I could tell of people's expressions.
"I'm blind."
Somehow, now it didn't seem to bother me so much. I had gotten used to it and knew that it wasn't going to change anytime soon. I also knew that I had a one up on the rest of the guys since what took them two to four years to learn only took me one.
"Oh. And thanks."
She took the eggs from me and I passed another bowl. We began to rehearse for our next performance. Since Gem was no longer around, we were forced to take the any and all girls' parts.
"Marcus?" said Marcus in the most girly voice he could manage while scowling. Holding out his arms across the table he added, "Sweet Marcus, I fear I love thee more than I should!"
I sensed the bowl of potatoes in his hands. Ruby probably thought we all were insane.
Zidane had Marcus's usual part; he spoke through a mouthful of potatoes. "Princess...wilt thou be happy, married to a lowly peasant such as I?" A bit dramatic on Zidane's part but quite funny nonetheless.
"Swallow your food boy. That was disgusting," Baku told Zidane.
"Prithee, call me 'princess' no more! Marcus, wilt thou truly cherish me, the king's only daughter? Or is such a desire too dear to wish for!? After the nuptials, shall I become no more than a puppet? A mindless puppet, never to laugh, never to cry? I wish to live my life under the sky. At times I shall laugh, at other times cry. For no life is more insincere than that lived as a masquerade."
From what I could tell Marcus was still scowling. But he knew these lines better than the rest of us, and he was no longer holding out a bowl of potatoes.
"So much consideration thou hast given it! But worry not! Cast away thy trappings of royalty, and I shall swaddle thee in a gown of pure love! Never again will I part from thee! Pray, my love, make me thy canary to keep me forever in the cage of thy bosom! Let us embark on the first ship tomorrow, before dawn can tell of our elopement!" Zidane was milking his part for all it was worth.
"All my fortunes at thy foot, I lay, and I shall follow thee throughout the world!"
"No cloud, no squall shall hinder us!" Zidane said right before he was supposed to 'leave.'
"O, love is the sweetest joy and the wildest woe. All I wish is to be by my sweet Marcus's side."
The scowl on his face was so pronounced by now that I didn't even need Cinna's description of it to feel it. I had technically 'entered' the stage at this point.
"Fie! It shall be war again unless this marriage is stopped. Ne'er will I let their plan come to fruition." I said as if to myself. I turned towards Marcus and managed to keep from laughing. "Good day to ye, Highness."
"Good day..." was more muttered than actually said correctly.
"Wist thee of Marcus?" I asked.
"Marcus!? What news dost thou bring?"
"This!" I answer making a slight punching motion and pretending to lift a body over my shoulders.
By now, I was having a hard time not laughing as we rehearsed. I hadn't realized it then but these people were my family. I could banter with them without ever feeling left out. They had accepted me and helped me overcome my problems. I may have not been able to see them but they became my eyes. I had gone from having no real family to having one that wasn't even related.
We would manage to get by and somehow, I couldn't imagine living without any of them.
Blank finished up his story and looked around the room. He may not have been able to see it but he knew that the others were smiling. By now it was late in the day. The story seemed to have taken more than a day to tell but the others had only truly interrupted once. They may not have looked like family but they truly were one. Ruby had amnesia and bluish green hair, Marcus wore a bandana over his own hair, Zidane had a monkey tail, Cinna liked to cook more than a lot of girls Blank had happened to know, and Blank himself was blind but not scared of it anymore.
"After all, if it weren't for one unfortunate event in my life, I wouldn't have the family I have today. Even though I may never be able to see again, I have the one thing that you never need to see: a family. One I'm proud to be a part of."