Excerpt from Unconditional Love by Holyknightsteve Chapter 7: Through the Night
They pulled apart once more to catch their breath. They shared a brief laugh together as the tears continued to flow. They shared one last quick kiss before Sheena threw her arms around Lloyd and cuddled-up next to him. "Lloyd… please don't ever let me go," she said as she closed her eyes, still feeling the effects of her weakness. Lloyd looked down at his beautiful lover as he ran his hands through her hair. "Never," he whispered to her. He wrapped his arms around her and they lay down next to each. Shortly after, they fell asleep in each other's arms, their faces still wet from the tears they shed earlier. Kratos watched from a distance and smiled once the two lovers found each other. Once he saw them fall asleep, he witnessed an amazing sight. A brilliant yet gentle light shined above the sleeping couple. From this light emerged a translucent being. It was Velius, the summon spirit of the heart. Filled with wonder, Kratos said nothing as he observed the fox-like creature as it watched Lloyd and Sheena. After a moment, it turned to Kratos, nodded, and faded to nothingness once more. As it did so, a whisper could be heard: "Your vow is accepted, Sheena of Mizuho and Lloyd of Iselia. The pact is now sealed."
Where do I begin? I've mentioned before that Sheena/Lloyd was my first ever serious ship, and this fic was a big reason as to why. When I first read it... God, 20 years ago... it lodged itself in my brain and never left. This scene in particular, where two lovers form a pact with the Summon Spirit of the Heart, made such perfect sense that I'm not surprised DotNW later did that exact plot point. But I saw it here first. To me this is truly the seminal Sheeloyd work.
Holyknightsteve, I don't know if you'll ever see this. I've messaged you, but I know I don't check my fanfiction.net DMs anymore. But if you do, I've been thinking about your writing for more than half of my life. Thank you.
And @frayed-symphony, thank you for running this event and waking these old brainworms back from their slumber.
Textless version under the cut!
