Author's intro: This story was inspired by "Lions and Lilacs" by Dubslider, and I am happy to know I am not the only Alisha x Sergei shipper out there. I own no rights to Zestiria or its characters. Thank you for reading and taking the time to read and review. -Kero

Chapter 1: Sleeping hearts

Brave words Alisha Diphda. Remember the promise you made before the ruins of Camlann? You have no time for tears or doubt now. She stared wordlessly at her own reflection in the mirror, as if willing her confidence to surface.

It was time for her to undo all the damage her former mentor Maltan had wrought on the kingdom, even though Alisha had no idea how. Even dressed in the finest Hyland blue silks and velvet she somehow felt like a sham. Sure, the last meeting with her cousin, the King of Hyland, and his advisors was only slightly less than disastrous. How was she supposed to know it was a dinner party and she was the only one wearing armor? That had clearly been omitted from the invitation.

Or perhaps the Universe was once again pointing out what a sad joke her life was.

Even when her royal cousin pulled her aside and tried to give her some pointers on how to relax and schmooze with the kingdom's movers and shakers, Alisha couldn't quite smile naturally. The point of that meeting was to discuss her post war reports to determine what needed to be done to ensure the well-being of the people. From crop rotation to digging wells, Alisha had traveled Hyland with her vanguard as the King's Knight, a position her cousin had created for her, to meet with mayors and village chiefs and develop ideas to rebuild the country. She wanted to discuss the prospect of free trade with the open border policy between Hyland and Rolance but most of the attendees of the soiree were more interested in the delectable sweets, dancing and card tables.

Her cousin, King Albert, had gently poked fun at her, even though he was several years her junior; being king gave him that right. In the end her smile for the evening probably looked more like a grimace, if the looks she received in return were any indication.

She would need all the confidence she could summon for today's meeting, the last gathering of the old Council employed by the now very deceased Chancellor Bartlow. There was no love lost between her and Bartlow, but some of his more conciliatory Council members had helped her transition from lowly, bottom ranked princess to useful politician and advisor.

This meeting was important because it intended to cede powers back to the king, who now no longer needed a regent like Bartlow, and as her cousin's staunch supporter, Alisha with his advisors would set the groundwork for the bureaucracy that would replace the Council.

It didn't matter that she barely slept the night before because she had been a little nervous. Alisha couldn't stop thinking of her reports and the plans she had in mind. At three in the morning, nothing had seemed more important to Alisha than rethinking the winter stores for the cold season.

Of course she regretted it now.

The cloudy skies did nothing to improve her mood. The threat of spring rain loomed without granting relief, leaving a moist, quiet heaviness in the air. She clutched the frills of her lacy blouse above her heart. There was a constant ache there, one she usually tried to ignore. Sometimes it felt like pricking from a thin needle imbedding itself into her chest. Other times, it weighed heavily, like a lead plate depriving her of air, where she had to will herself to breathe deeply. At first Alisha had attributed it to nerves and stress, yet she knew she didn't feel this way until after she had traveled back to Camlann with Rose. It began when she first saw the pure white light piercing the heavens from the crater deep in the earth. Alisha remembered the first moments of silence before she had made her pledge in front of his resting place; how she, for a moment, longed to be up and over the blue sky to touch and embrace his pure white light. Another prick at her heart made her wince. The others also felt his absence keenly and she could not burden them with her own moroseness.

Everyone had decided their own "answer" and made an unspoken pact before the ruins of Camlann to carry on with the same passion for life as they had in their quest against Heldalf. They would create a new world in the name of their dear friend, the former Shepherd.

In her solitude she simply missed her friend. He was her very first friend. From the moment she met him she knew he was special, that he was the one who could change the world. He was the one whom she believed in and who in turn unfailingly believed in her despite her faults. The one she had traveled with, who had come down from the mountain simply because she had asked; the one who looked into her eyes honestly, and always with a shy smile. The friend Alisha had admired so keenly was both gone from her life and yet still there spiritually, supporting her powers as his former Squire, while he slept in dreamless peace.

Even now, as she closed her eyes she could feel the power under her skin: fire, wind, water and earth gently caressing her, like Sorey's soft embrace. He was the friend she did not realize how clearly she loved him until she saw that light.

Alisha turned from the mirror and trained her eyes out toward the gray skies over Camlann, willing now instead the clouds to part so she could see his light piercing into the blue and somehow feel closer.