Time had seemed to fly by, it feeling as though it had not even been so much as a day earlier that the two of them had been in Magnolia, having reunited again with Bianca, the one woman who perhaps more than anything, Leyaria had hoped to seek out and reach before the demonic taint within her inevitably claimed her life. Though she hoped that the symptoms would not show, she worried that as time went, they would be unmistakable, such that even Bianca would be able to identify them. At the same time too, so much had changed that Leyaria even struggled to wrap her head around it.

Had things changed so drastically since the last time they had met?

Leyaria was hardly the same as she once was, while perhaps not as broken on the inside as she once was, there was a level of guilt that remained inside of her for what she had done to Bianca. Though, it may have been secondary to her more physical change, the literal change to her body, her hair having been the memorable and recognizable blue with the lone green strand to that of a pale, almost ghostly white. Though, maybe that would not be too great of a shocker for Bianca to wrap her head around. After all, Bianca had seemed to have changed drastically as well, her appearance looking nothing like that of what Leyaria recalled. It had been such a change that at first, Leyaria had never even considered that it may have been her, but with how much had changed with her, it was impossible not to believe the same was not possible for others.

Those concerns, the questions, they persisted within her mind, as did the reason for why she wanted to see Bianca in the first place. The letters. Her epilogue as she came to more view them. They stood as her confessions to the woman, a hope that should anything have happened to her before meeting with Bianca again, that at least she would be able to know how she truly felt. Though their chance encounter, greater than anything she would have initially expected to have been, seemed like it no longer made it necessary, she still felt it important to give them to Bianca, before anything further afflicted her.

But that would be for another time. Now they were in Orchidia, within the festival that Leyaria could not have imagined, either in scope or how it seemed to wholly dominate Fiore seemingly. She was always a fan in the past as far as festivals went, going back to when she was growing up in Hargeon Town. In that city alone, she always had a blast there, regardless of how large they were, and this one, it dwarved anything which she could remember from her childhood.

To be honest, she was a bit overwhelmed.

While she did attend the festival with Bianca, she wasn't sure as to what to do first, where to go or anything. To be honest, she had not even envisioned going here initially, but now having arrived - and with Bianca at her side - she was so thrilled to be there. But more, it was the excitement of which the woman beside her conveyed that more than anything else excited her. Bianca was clearly excited for this, and Leyaria, for whatever reservations and worries she may have had as far as the festival went and what would follow later on, she was willing to put those concerns aside. Right now, she was determined to ensure that the two of them enjoyed themselves.

For all that had happened to the two of them, for all which had taken place in the time since they had last met, she was determined to see that these would be the memories they could look back upon.

She looked around, unsure of just what to do first. Instead, she turned her head towards her dear friend, a smile upon her face. "Well Bianca, what shall we do first?"

While the festival seemed rather large at first, it was upon looking further, realizing that the length of the artifical alleyways extended far further down, with no shortage of alternative paths in which one could have traveled, it began to dawn on Leyaria just how much grander in scope this festival was to what she figured it would have been. Merchants lined up stall upon stall, bartering goods from throughout Fiore and areas beyond. Numerous chefs and artisan cooks, all of whom had their own signature dish or sought to produce one and have it become a household name set up shop in Orchidia, the vibrant aromas of hot, fresh food filling the air to the point of intoxication. It was wholly believable that someone could have been consumed by everything going on. Dazzling new trinkets being dangle about in front of someone while the sound of comrodery filled the air and the smells of a grand feast overwhelming a person's sense of scent and taste.

Some might have equated it to a moment of bliss.

To some degree, Leyaria would be inclined to agree, though she was also a bit overwhelmed. Most of what she had heard of this festival outside of what Bianca had conveyed to her on the way from Magnolia were some whispers and a bit of excitement from the people there. But none of it gave her any reason to believe that it would have been to this scope, neither the one of first appearance, and certainly nothing that may have compared to just how large it actually was. Had she known, even perhaps a fraction of just what this thing would be like, she would have made a far more conscious attempt to act amongst the more engaged. Perhaps it was a miracle then that she had been travelling with Bianca, as it was highly unlikely that Leyaria could have been able to put together an outfit and appearance as well as her dear friend had managed to.

Leyaria had only managed to catch glances of herself at points throughout their leading to the festival to now, and she had to credit Bianca. She certainly did have good taste, and for a moment upon seeing herself, Leyaria felt like a completely new person. She only wished that that could have carried over further. But that was for later that she would give it more credence and thought. Not right now though. Rather, food was the main thing upon her's and likely Bianca's mind. It was hard not to be given the scent of everything around them.

Feeling a slight tug on her arm, Leyaria found herself being dragged towards one of the stalls by Bianca, there being an interesting scent of roasted meats mixed with a medley of flavors, making it nearly irresistible. She might not have considered getting one herself at first, but she had to give Bianca credit where it was due. These looked damn good. "Please, allow me," Leyaria insisted, pulling out several jewels and trading them to the merchant in favor of two of the dishes, first to Bianca and then one for herself. "Listen, Bianca, there's something..." Her words began, but very quickly trailed off, realizing the mistake she was making.

Taking a quick bite in hopes to recover, Leyaria's eyes widened at the realization of just how good it was. "Oh wow..." She was genuinely left speechless, surprised at just how good it actually was. Granted, it did smell good, but often times smells were deceiving. This though, it was every bit as good as it smelled, and Leyaria had to credit Bianca for it. "This was a good find! You like it?"

She was enjoying herself, that was no doubt. Though Leyaria might have had some reservations about attending the festival, namely that her appearance here was neither one that she anticipated or particularly had any say in, she quickly put those to rest. After all, the circumstances of her arriving were much to her delight, a personal request of Bianca, who in her own appearance caused a great cloud of worry to lift from Leyaria's shoulders. And to be honest, there always stood the chance that she would have attended the festival after she had arrived and made an effort to find Bianca in Oak Town. Though, much of that was also reliant on that she were to find out about the festival whilst there or while in Magnolia. Up until Bianca had mentioned it to her, never had Leyaria even heard of the Flower Festival, nor of the scale and magnitude of attraction that it had managed to generate in seemingly no time at all.

It honestly left Leyaria a bit like a sheep among wolves, not sure of just what to do. Had it not been for her friend, who evidently had a far greater understanding and more of an idea of what to expect from here, Leyaria might have found herself a bit frightened, just at how she could have been left so vulnerable and oblivous to what was going on. Even just looking around at the various stalls, it left her in awe at how well structured everything seemed to have been. She thought back to her time growing up in Hargeon Town, with the festivals and events that would be held there. Leyaria had thought that those were the most incredible things in the world, how everyone could just enjoy themselves, especially her. Now, as she sat alongside Bianca enjoying the delicious food before them, she could not help but feel a bit disappointed; had things been different, had she not been corrupted by this demonic taint, she may have been able to have a far more enjoyable time.

But for Bianca's sake, she was determined to enjoy it as much as she could. Looking back to Bianca, she was surprised to see that she had pretty much eaten her meal in what must have been a single bite. This brought a large smile upon Leyaria's face. "I guess so!" She quickly glanced down at her own meal, still more than half of it remaining. "You want some of mine? I... I'm honestly not sure I could finish it all," she partially lied. She was certainly hungry, but in recent days, it had been harder and harder for her to really eat, more attributed to a bit of depression than anything else. Likely, she could have finished this, but there was no telling if it would upset her stomach later, and given how fast Bianca had devoured her's, it was a safe bet that she might have been still hungry for more.

The stall that they had just ordered from was quickly filled with people, all hoping now to have gotten the same thing that they had, which more than anything else left Leyaria surprised. No doubt that there were some people who were just looking around, grabbing the first thing that came into focus or where they might have gravitated towards, similar to how they had. But there may have also been people knew what might have been around here, whether it was food, drink, or entertainment, which presented a unique problem that Leyaria couldn't really answer to. What to do next? Some thoughts crossed within her head, but this was not the time or place for them.


"So Bianca, I gotta be honest with you. All of this, I'm in the dark as to it all," she said, her imagination and suspicions of what might be going on here far outweighing what she could tell was actually to do. "There anything in particular you wanna see or do? For tonight, whatever you'd like, I'd be happy to oblige!"

To see Bianca enjoying herself as much as she was, it brought a smile on Leyaria's face. If she were to have her life taken away here, she was glad that she at least had a chance to make her last encounter Bianca one that the two of them could remember. She tensed her muscles slightly as the ripple of pain rushed through her again. It had only begun a little bit earlier, back right at the beginning when she had been eating. She knew what it had been, but she didn't want to say. Now was not the time, but from what she could tell, there wasn't much time left.

Walking in stride with Bianca, it seemed to have made all the difference. Leyaria wasn't feeling the pain, it having seemingly stopped while her own heart raced. This was the ideallic fantasy that she had come to wish for herself, what she imagined way back when she was a child in Hargeon, of being able to enjoy herself knowing that her best friend, her sister - or in this case, Bianca - was there with her to enjoy it. Holding back tears, Leyaria took towards what Bianca was pointing at, a large Ferris wheel, far greater than any that Leyaria had ever seen in her time. She shared Bianca's enthusiasm about going on it for a ride, though as they proceeded towards it again, the pain rushed back through her body, causing her to almost let out a small cry. But she fought through it, determined not to allow Bianca to see her like this.

Not like this.

The line was long to get on the Ferris wheel. From where they had originally seen it, it seemed much closer, though as they moved through the crowds, it became apparent what they were really looking was a very, very large Ferris wheel that was quite a distance away. Even on line just beneath it, it seemingly towered over anything and everything that was in eyeline of the Festival. While standing, Leyaria caught glimpses of Bianca, eagerly awaiting a chance to get on the ride, though with each ripple of pain that rushed through her, Leyaria found herself clenching and tightening her body as though to minimize the impact it was taking. It was getting worse and worse with each time it came about, to the point where Leyaria truly wondered just how much she could have endured.

It unfortunately meant as well that time was no longer a luxury that she had. She had hoped to have made this day one that Bianca would have forever loved, a chance for them to have even just a single day together as friends, as the sister Leyaria wished that she could have had. Reaching into the small satchel that she carried with her, Leyaria took out the two envelopes that had the 'B' written on them. She held them tightly for a moment, wondering when best to have her look at them. Hearing the sound of the people on the Ferris wheel, she realized the perfect time. Tapping Bianca on the shoulder, she handed both of the letters to Bianca, "I want you to read these. Please. But not until after we've been at the top," she pointed to the Ferris wheel, indicating at what point she should have a chance to look at them. Leyaria hoped that Bianca would understand.

As their turn came to be, Leyaria stepped away from Bianca for just a brief second to issue a request to the man operating the ride, to which he made a small nod as to not be too obvious. Leyaria smiled and nodded her head in appreciation and returned to Bianca, taking a seat right beside her. She waited with anticipation as the Ferris wheel carried the two of them up, more and more of the Festival Grounds being visible with every inclining motion the wheel made. The Grounds, though Leyaria knew to be expansive, were far greater than even what she could have dreamed it. The amount of land that it was occupying, it may as well have been its own city outside of Orchidia rather than an extension of it.

Then the ferris wheel stopped with them at the top. Just as Leyaria had asked to.

From there, seemingly everything in miles were viable. The Festival, Orchidia, the lands that extended far beyond that, it was though the two of them, Leyaria and Bianca, were sitting a top of the world. And to grace them as well, there was the sun, fleeing behind the mountains giving the two of them a truly memorable sight in the eve of a sunset coming down upon them. In all of her days, she could not have imagined a more beautiful image than this, in a scenario that seemed more akin to a fantasy than actual real life. That it was happening, she could not believe it.

"Bianca..." She began, her eyes beginning to tear up as the setting and her feelings right now found themselves manifesting within Leyaria. "Thank you. To have met you again, to be here next to you looking at something like... I'm just glad our last time together, I'm glad I could take part in something as beautiful as this with you."

She turned towards Bianca, pulling her in to a tight hug, her emotions extending the hug for as long as she was possibly able, the tears now beginning to fall down her cheeks. Not releasing her grip, she adjusted her head just enough such that she could have easily whispered into Bianca's ear. "I love you Bianca. I just want you to know that."

Leyaria did not know Bianca would react to that, but she felt that she had to tell her. Here. Now. She knew that the closest thing she had to a sister might not have understood just what Leyaria was hinting at, but at least she would have a chance to know Leyaria's true feelings. She hoped that maybe the letters would one day provide a bit of a better explanation than she.

First Letter's Contents:

Second Letter's Contents:

Leyaria clenched her arms around Bianca, for in this moment, no matter what would happen beyond now, whether or not they would last forever, it was all that she wanted. Her life had devolved into nothing, little more than a progressive and steady decline into nothing, but this, as Leyaria reflected upon it, upon everything, it made her life, the mistakes, the pain she had endured, to have come to this, she would not have turned it down if it had meant erasing this.

She knew her fate. She knew what was to happen next. But until that happened, the only thing she cared about was Bianca. As the sun set in the distance, Leyaria found herself crying alongside Bianca. It was a bittersweet pill to swallow, for the two women to be together, only for fate to tear them apart.

But Leyaria had proven herself to be a fighter. She lived on for Bianca's sake. She survived for love.

And Bianca? If there were anyone who Leyaria had faith and trust in to live on for the both of them, it would be her.

It broke her, to know that in what would follow this moment would be little more than a memory and a lifetime's worth of heartache. Though at the same time, to provide even the slightest moment of happiness to Bianca, to give to Bianca the love and affection that Leyaria had adorn towards her, Leyaria would have been willing to suffer the agony of this corruption time and time again.

If it meant being able to experience the beauty of this moment even just one more time with Bianca, Leyaria would have done anything.

For the moment though, she just focused on the woman sitting next to her.

The woman she loved.

[End]