Terra Page 11

  Something like a lightning bolt seemed to strike her from the inside out, tingling from her toes to her lips. She pulled back, gazing up at him in surprise and . . . .

  Edgar examined her expression. "Terra?"

  Terra brought a hand up to her lips. "You kissed me."

  He smiled, his face relaxing into the expression. "I did, didn't I?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

  Terra blinked up at him. "Why?"

  Edgar's smile softened to something she couldn't put a name to, and then he reached out with a hand and cupped her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. The touch was so tender and gentle that it brought tears to her eyes.

  "Because I love you," he admitted in a quiet voice.

  "Y-You--" Terra blinked, but couldn't finish the sentence.

  Edgar lowered his hand from her face as he turned his head away. "I should have told you before, but I didn't know how. You always thought of me as a tease. A flirt and sweet-talker without a sincere bone in his body. How could I prove otherwise when even Locke was against me?"

  Terra watched his face as he continued. Little by little the haggard lines and paleness that came with exhaustion had begun to fade.

  Edgar released a deep breath and brought his gaze back to her face. He gathered her hands into his. "You have been the light of my heart for what seems such a very long time, Terra. That was one reason I stayed away. I was afraid it would ruin our friendship. That's why I simply sent you the flowers, invitations, and gifts on different birthdays. So that you would know I hadn't forgotten you." A smile caressed his lips and danced within the blue of his eyes. "I would never forget you," he said as he brought each hand to his lips.

  She tightened her hold on his hands. "Edgar, why didn't you say something?"

  "I don't know," he said gruffly, as if he were punishing himself. "I, the ladies man of Figaro Castle, didn't know how to say I cared what you went through. So many times I tried, but--" Edgar released another deep breath and gave a slight shake of his head. "Fear is a powerful thing, Terra. It can grip the soul of a very brave man and make him a coward."

  And the expression on his face twisted her heart. "So those times I thought you were teasing . . . you weren't, were you?"

  He smiled, but the pain clearly showed in his eyes. "I was quite serious, Terra, but it seemed to come out wrong. Habit, I suppose."

  "Then you don't really want me to marry Sabin?" she pressed.

  Edgar's smile lightened. "If you marry Sabin, I shall kill him myself. But I've a suspicion this was a plot to make me realize what an idiot I have been." He caressed her cheek with a finger, brushing a stray wisp of hair from her forehead and lightly touching a winged eyebrow. "All those nights of adventure against Kefka you were so close . . . . How could I have been so blind?"

  Terra's eyes twinkled at him as she reached up to take his hand from her face, cradling it in her lap between both hands. "How do I know you're not just being your usual self? Maybe I just present a challenge?"

  Edgar chuckled. "There's only one way to prove my honesty, my lady," he said. Edgar bent down on one knee by her bedside and covered her hands with his. "Will you rescue me from my miserable existence, my Esper angel? Will you marry me?"

  Tears flowed silent and steady down her cheeks as she gazed down at him. "I--" Terra threw her arms around his neck. "Yes! Oh yes!"

  He gently pulled back, gazing into the unique eyes that had come to be a part of his soul. "Never again, Terra. Never again shall I allow you to be lonely or in need of comfort or companionship. Should you marry me, I shall forever be in your presence."

  Terra held his face in her hands and smiled into his bright expression and twinkling eyes with violet eyes afire with love and renewed purpose. She caressed his face with her thumbs. "Just try to leave."

  He swept her hands from his face, kissed each palm, and then drew her close to kiss her quite thoroughly.

  Epilogue

  "I told you it would work." Sabin elbowed Setzer and laughed. "Too bad Umaro couldn't come to the wedding, though. I really wanted to catch Locke's explanation to both him and Celes as to why he was going to have to slow dance with the brute. It would've been a riot."

  Setzer shook his head and took another glass of the best wine Figaro had to offer. "You have a sick sense of humor, my friend. You should be glad Edgar found it in his heart to forgive you for toying with his mind."

  Sabin made a face. "Edgar's on cloud nine, Setzer. He doesn't care what I did just as long as he's finally got a ring on her finger."

  "And Celes is happy because she has her double wedding."

  "And Locke is happy because she's happy." Sabin grimaced. "All this happiness is making me sick. I need to get back out in the real world and hit something."

  Setzer shook his head again with a chuckle. "I believe I'll talk Locke into marrying you off as well. A steady woman would do wonders for your soul."

  "What?" Sabin looked positively spooked. "You keep Locke away from me. I don't need any of his matchmaking to mess up my life. I like it how it is."

  "Very well, but the Fates often have--"

  "Spare me," Sabin cut in.

  "Isn't this great?" Relm made her way up to the two men and gave them each a wide smile. "I love weddings. So many pictures to draw."

  "Where's your grandpa?" Sabin looked around the crowd and raised an eyebrow when Shadow was seen coming toward them. "Hello, Shadow. Didn't expect to see you here."

  "I'm here with Relm."

  His voice was unemotional, as usual, but there was something different about his eyes. Sabin and Setzer both decided against a comment.

  "Yeah, he's more fun than old fuddy-duddy. Besides, Shadow doesn't talk all the time." Relm made a face, and then she smiled wide again. "You should hear all the stories he tells at night, though. Much scarier than Grandpa's. Of course, I've heard his about a jillion times already," she said with another grimace.

  Setzer and Sabin shared a laugh, and Sabin could have sworn he heard a sound from Shadow's direction.

  "Come on, Shadow," Relm said suddenly with a tug on the ninja's arm. "We've gotta find your doggie and give him some cake. I promised I would."

  With that, Setzer and Sabin watched in amazement as Relm grabbed Shadow's hand and led him away, cheerfully chatting up at him about the different things only a fellow pre-teen would have found interesting. Shadow took it in stride and continued to hold her hand. Setzer and Sabin exchanged a glance, and then they just shrugged.

  "So, where are the honeymooners bound?" Setzer asked nonchalant as his eyes surveyed the room.

  "Don't know. Edgar refused to say and Locke told me to get lost. I kind of got the impression they wanted it to be a secret; so we couldn't pester them if the world went to pot."

  "How long are they going to 'disappear'?"

  "Don't know that either. Edgar just smiled, and I couldn't even find Locke to ask. If I didn't know my brother, I'd think they were going to camp as far away from civilization as possible."

  "With Edgar being as dependent on the luxuries as he is? I highly doubt it."

  Sabin nodded his agreement. "That's exactly what I thought, but he didn't admit to anything."

  "Did you ask Terra? She's always been hard-pressed to keep a secret," Setzer reminded. "I think it's something about her face that a person can read like a book."

  Sabin smiled. "Yep. That would be Terra-- Say, she looked hot in that wedding dress, didn't she?"

  Setzer chuckled. "Be careful of those thoughts, my friend. Edgar is liable to be a jealous husband with a gem such as she."

  "Don't be silly. I love Terra like a sister. He knows that."

  Setzer caught sight of a bluish-black-haired beauty and raised his hand to attract her attention. She smiled and brought a finger to her forehead in a slight salute. Setzer changed his attention back to Sabin. "Perhaps your comment about wanting to marry her changed that."

  Sabin made a face. "Stop, Setzer. Edgar knows it was just a way for me to get him to wise-up
."

  "Then why didn't he tell you where they were honeymooning?" Sabin remained silent as he took a drink of his spiced cider. Setzer chuckled. "I'll leave you to your bachelorhood, my friend. Perhaps some unknowing dolt will start a fight with you?"

  And with that, Setzer purposefully made his way toward the tall woman in the corner with the bluish-black hair and sparkling eyes.

  ~~~

  "So what do you think?"

  Terra stared at the newly rebuilt house in Mobliz with wide eyes. "When--How--Edgar, when did you do this?"

  He smiled and lifted her slight frame into his arms to carry her over the threshold of the house. Once inside, he kept her in his arms and smiled down at her. "I've had my men working on it day and night since I asked you to marry me. I gave them strict instructions to change as little as possible . . . and to keep it a secret from Sabin."

  She tightened her arms around his neck with a smile. "So that's why you wouldn't tell me where we were going. You didn't think I could keep it a secret from your brother, did you?"

  Edgar began forward. "Your face would have given it away, my little Esper angel. I had to keep our getaway a secret. I wanted as few interruptions as possible."

  "Surely Sabin wouldn't have come knocking on our door during our honeymoon?"

  Edgar's eyes twinkled as he closed the door to the bedroom with his foot. "You don't know my brother as well as you think."

  "There's only one Figaro I want to know that well," she told him with an innocent look.

  Edgar looked down at her in surprise, and then he laughed. "You are always able to surprise me, Terra."

  "Good. I wouldn't want your life to be dull."

  He laid her on the bed, leaning over her to gently stroke her hairline with a finger. "I doubt that will happen for quite a while."

  And when her lips responded to his kiss, his mind and body quickly amended, If ever.

  The End

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  Other Books in the Terra saga

  The Ace of Diamonds | Book Two

  Shadows of the Past | Book Three

  The Adventures of Youth

  Heart of the Veldt | Book Four

  About the Author | Nona Mae King

  Writing has been my passion since I was a child when I began creating skits and songs. My life would be empty without this call. There would be no purpose. No ending to guide my daily struggle. No story toward which to strive. Each day something beckons, and that--I know--is the waiting tale. One last happy ending.

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