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~*~Chapter Three~*~

~*~Will I Ever See Your Smile?~*~

Locke barely remembered to look at the ground and was relieved to see that a path of solid stone led to the source of the shimmering light. Quickly he went across the cavern to look.

The light was shining from the top of a stone pillar that was only a few inches lower than Locke's shoulder. A thin ray of sunlight poured down from the roof of the cave and struck a sapphire of stunning color and clarity. The blue of the stone was so intense it almost hurt Locke's eyes to look at it. Light shimmered off its many facets and gleamed amidst the shadows cast by its unusual shape.

Slowly Locke reached out and laid his hand over the glittering sapphire. It resembled a rose. The many petals were even delicately veined, as the petals of a real rose were. Locke felt awe for the natural forces that had shaped the gem, for legend had it that the sapphire had emerged from the earth as he now beheld it.

He picked it up and looked at it. In addition to the flower itself, there was a stem, complete with leaves, of emerald as beautifully detailed as the rose had been. They had been fused together by the powerful, creative forces long since lost to the world.

Looking at the rose brought tears to his eyes. Rachel, he thought. It was this gem, the legendary Sapphire Rose, that he and Rachel had been searching for, that terrible day when she had been injured...

She was unconscious when he found her, lying at the bottom of the deep chasm. He took her back to Kohlingen and stayed by her side until she regained consciousness.

But Rachel's recovery was not all that he had hoped for. She had lost all memory of him. Her father kicked him out of their house, claiming it was Locke's fault that Rachel had lost her memory. And it was, Locke thought, a terrible sadness welling up inside him. If I hadn't insisted on taking her with me...if I hadn't encouraged her to come treasure hunting...It's my fault...it's all my fault...

He could almost see her, standing in front of him--the long black hair, the keen emerald eyes that always sparkled with the simple joy of being alive. With a start, he realized that he was looking at Rachel--or at least, at her ghost. A chill rippled down his spine.

"Locke..." The ghost's face was inexpressibly sad. She floated nearer and looked at him. "Locke, you must move on. You must forget me."

"How could I, Rachel? How could I ever forget you?" Locke fought back tears. God, not this. Anything but this. It was easier to endure Celes's cruel taunts than to stare at the ghost of the woman he had been devoted to for most of his adult life.

"Locke, I am in your past. Why do you always look back?" Rachel floated still closer to him. He stared at her, unable to answer.

"There's no future in looking back. You must look forward now, Locke."

"But there's nothing to look forward to! Celes is..."

"Celes is waiting for you. She loves you."

"She said..."

"She was angry. Do you mean to tell me you've never been angry and said things you regret?" Oh, how familiar that gently chiding voice was. "Go to her, Locke. Live your life." Her expression became one of compassion. "I am dead. You have spent so much of your life trying to bring me back. For six years you searched for the Phoenix. Let it go now. Go back to Celes. Move on." Rachel's ghost seemed to shiver as it faded into nothingness. He reached out, his hands closing around nothing.

"Rachel!"

"There is no future in the past."

"Rachel! Don't leave me again!" He clutched at the air as she vanished completely.

Still, he heard her last words echoing around him. Look forward, my beloved. Please. Grant me this one last wish...

He looked down at the Sapphire Rose. It seemed to burn with a clear blue flame unlike anything he'd ever seen. The color made him think of Celes's eyes...and then it was her face he saw, clearer even than Rachel's...long blond hair streaming over her shoulders, the two thin braids on the left side of her face...eyes as blue as the sapphire in his hand, often cold as ice, but when she looked at him, they were warmer, glittering with blue fire...her features proud, sometimes cold, but other times softer, like when she smiled...the brilliant smile that lit up her entire face . . .

Locke tried to recall Rachel's face, to see her one last time, but suddenly he couldn't even remember the color of her hair, or her eyes...He reached out his other hand, trying to reach her, and found only her words...You must forget me...I am in your past...Look forward...Celes is waiting for you...

He didn't realize he was crying until the tears fell onto his hands, soft drops of water. He stared at them, astonished. Not even when Rachel died had he wept. Slowly he closed his hand around the Sapphire Rose. Now it was Celes who filled his heart and soul and mind...her face, her laughter--which he heard so rarely--her smile, the warrior spirit that had made her such a good general...and the love that shone in her blue eyes whenever she looked at him. He knew then, with sudden clarity, that he had come to the Verridian Cave to make peace with himself, even if he hadn't consciously chosen to. Yes, he wanted to give Celes the Sapphire Rose, but...was it really right, to give Celes a gem that he had intended to give to Rachel?

He wanted to marry Celes, had been waiting for the right time to ask. He had had so many opportunities, and hadn't taken them because he knew that some part of him still belonged to Rachel, and it hadn't felt right. Could he go to her with a clear conscience now?

Locke looked down at the pillar from which he had taken the Sapphire Rose. Words were inscribed on it, faint but still legible. He bent closer, struggling to make out the faint letters. "He who comes here with chaos in his heart, shall leave with peace and love, but it will be a long and lonely road back to that which he loves," he read aloud. Another cold shiver slid down his spine. They were just words. Only words. Slowly he turned away from the pillar and opened his belt pouch to put the Sapphire Rose away. He reached into it expecting to find the engagement gift he had bought for Celes: a sapphire bracelet set in white gold. When he didn't find it, he looked down, and seeing no bracelet, he dropped the Sapphire Rose into the pouch and began to look for the bracelet in earnest, even as he began to make his way out of the cave.

A loud grumbling echoed around him, and he looked up. All the rocks that had once formed the ceiling of the cave tumbled down toward him. Something bright green exploded around him just before everything went black.

Chapter List

Chapter Four: Love Goes Away