“I think a part of me has always known,†Roen murmured softly. “It… is my coping mechanism, of sort. I lost my mother. I was losing my father, so I thought if I showed him my worth, he would come back to me. And when I discovered I had a brother, when I thought I was all alone here in Eorzea, saving him meant that I had another chance to save my family. It is how I made sense of the loneliness and the loss. That drive is what would guide me back into the light.â€
The paladin studied the figure, as if she was trying to memorize every detail of him. Her breath caught every time she recognized even the briefest glimpse of the vibrant man he used to be. His smiles, even upon his ghostly face, still made her tremble.
“You saved me,†she confessed with a bow of her head. “Did you know that? When I met you, I had just…†She paused, starting over again. “I needed to believe in something. Someone. I needed to do something that banished the paralyzing helplessness that I felt at my core. I needed to know that I could make a difference again.†Her grey eyes rose to come to rest upon his face fully, this time without trepidation. “You saved me. In your own way. I never did get a chance to tell you that before.â€
She stepped closer to him, her movements slowed and careful as if a wrong gesture would scatter the shadows that somehow held him whole. Her hand shed her gauntlet as it rose to hover near his cheek, and her fingers trembled. She canted her head as she traced his jawline, before she closed her hand into a fist to still their shaking. Grief flitted across her face, but she subdued them with a firm press of her lips.
“All the things you said, my need to save others... perhaps even my need to be a martyr,†Roen added with a quiet snort. “It had not chained me. It had not crippled me. At least, not until I lost you.†A sad smile emerged. “In trying so hard to fix you, I broke myself.â€
“I do know myself. Perhaps it is time I accepted it.†She inhaled deeply and glanced at the mirror from the corner of her eyes. “I do not know what may come, or if I will even understand it.†She breathed out slowly, a calm settling onto her frame. “But… I am ready for what comes next.â€
The blazing light of the mirror called to her, and Roen knew what she had to do next. But she could not move. Her hand had dropped to her side, and her feet remained rooted where she stood. She did not want to move. She glanced once more at the man, her eyes filled with sorrow.
“Will I see you again?â€
The paladin studied the figure, as if she was trying to memorize every detail of him. Her breath caught every time she recognized even the briefest glimpse of the vibrant man he used to be. His smiles, even upon his ghostly face, still made her tremble.
“You saved me,†she confessed with a bow of her head. “Did you know that? When I met you, I had just…†She paused, starting over again. “I needed to believe in something. Someone. I needed to do something that banished the paralyzing helplessness that I felt at my core. I needed to know that I could make a difference again.†Her grey eyes rose to come to rest upon his face fully, this time without trepidation. “You saved me. In your own way. I never did get a chance to tell you that before.â€
She stepped closer to him, her movements slowed and careful as if a wrong gesture would scatter the shadows that somehow held him whole. Her hand shed her gauntlet as it rose to hover near his cheek, and her fingers trembled. She canted her head as she traced his jawline, before she closed her hand into a fist to still their shaking. Grief flitted across her face, but she subdued them with a firm press of her lips.
“All the things you said, my need to save others... perhaps even my need to be a martyr,†Roen added with a quiet snort. “It had not chained me. It had not crippled me. At least, not until I lost you.†A sad smile emerged. “In trying so hard to fix you, I broke myself.â€
“I do know myself. Perhaps it is time I accepted it.†She inhaled deeply and glanced at the mirror from the corner of her eyes. “I do not know what may come, or if I will even understand it.†She breathed out slowly, a calm settling onto her frame. “But… I am ready for what comes next.â€
The blazing light of the mirror called to her, and Roen knew what she had to do next. But she could not move. Her hand had dropped to her side, and her feet remained rooted where she stood. She did not want to move. She glanced once more at the man, her eyes filled with sorrow.
“Will I see you again?â€
