Author's note: Okay this is a new story that I have been planning for quite
some time. It may seem a little weird and it will be a Squinoa. It kind of
goes through time so the next chapter may be a few years on. This was
inspired by various things, the main being Taken, Carrie by Stephen King,
Devil May Cry and of course Final Fantasy VIII. Some of the parts from the
game I have used in my story, as you will see from this chapter.
For those of you who haven't read my story 'Nobody Can Be Born Evil' you don't have to read this part so in 3.. 2.1..read! For those of who do read my story you'll have to listen to me blab on some more (sorry). I don't think that I will be updating my other story again for a while as I feel its gone pretty dry. I have been working on it for almost a year now and its becoming more of a burden than fun to write. Please forgive me! I will tell you when I next update it I just need a break from it for a while. Okay you may read my story now.
Enjoy!
One Winged Angel
Deling City, June 12, 2011
Running. As fast as he could he ran, at the same time he tried to ignore the pain through his lungs every time he breathed in. He could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ear; feel the blood pumping through his veins. Every limb in his body felt as though they were about to explode.
This seemed useless; he knew he was capable of killing the Galbadian soldiers who were following him. He knew he was capable but.he chose not to, that would make him as bad as them. They were catching up with him, their swords held tightly in their hands as they continued to run. Would they ever stop running?
They were the lion and he the deer. Hungry for their prey,or perhaps not their prey. Galbadian soldiers were nothing but the pawns on the board; they just followed their masters' orders without question.
He continued to run down the streets of Deling City, black locks of hair falling in his face. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder he saw the Galbadian soldiers closing in on him. Running on foot would not enable him to get away from them. The young man jumped into the air at a height no ordinary human could achieve and landed on the roof of a tall building.
Quickly he ducked down so no one should see him and to avoid gunfire which was aiming his way. Studying the surroundings he found nothing, which would be of any use to him. He only hoped the night sky would hide him from the rest of the world. "Check on the roof" he heard one of the soldiers say to his comrade. After hearing this he realised that he wouldn't make it if he didn't fight back, wouldn't make it back to the woman he loved. Everything seemed so much simpler as images of beauty filled his mind, images of her.
A soldier came through the door, which led up onto the roof and slowly stepped towards the man he had been ordered to capture. The soldier studied the man who was crouched down on the floor; he looked quite tall with his black hair loosely tied back. He guessed that he was somewhere in his early twenties. "Stand up" the soldier ordered "I have been told that if you don't co operate then I can kill you, so I suggest that you do as I say"
The man seemed to be looking up towards the sky but his gaze slowly floated down to the armed soldier who stood before him. "All that running seems to have worn me out" he said calmly "I think I'll stay here for a bit"
"It wasn't a question, it was an order" the soldier said surprised by his comment "Now stand up!" he shouted.
Slowly the man stood up and he stared blankly at the soldier stood before him "Do you have a name?" he asked. The soldier pressed his sword into the mans neck starting to get annoyed by his attitude "Colin, but its not like it has anything to do with you" he answered "Now if you do as I say and come with me to see the president you won't get hurt"
Ignoring the mans last comment the man didn't move "Its nice to meet you Colin, I suppose you know my name don't you?" "I've heard that your name is Laguna Loire. Now come with me or I'll have to kill you" Colin said putting more pressure with the sword on Laguna's neck.
"Have they told you why they need me?" Laguna asked staring the soldier in the face. "Shut up with all your questions and follow me already" Colin shouted.
Laguna was silent for a moment, and then answered "It looks like you'll have to kill me Colin"
Colin, who was taken back by his last statement, seemed confused by this man. He seemed to have a strange look in his eyes, almost.inhuman.
"Why the sudden silence?" Laguna asked curiously. "I'm not going with you so kill me. Either that or you can let me go"
Colin still couldn't understand this mans attitude he seemed so calm in the situation he was in and yet he was serious about his decisions. He'd rather die than turn himself in? He knew that a good Galbadian soldier was supposed to do as he was told without questioning, even if they didn't know the reasons they were fighting for. He couldn't help but ask, even if he knew his ranking would go down. "Why do they want you?"
Laguna was silent for a moment thinking of how he should answer this mans question "I'm. not like you" he said finally although he knew that the soldier would have no clue of what he was saying. He probably had only dealt with criminals before, or just simply killing people because he was told to without any explanation. The ringing of church bells celebrating the hour could be heard in the distance. He had to get away from all these Galbadian soldiers soon otherwise he would never be able to get away and end up going with them or even dying. Laguna turned to the man in front of him and without warning said three words, three simple words that would change the rest of Colin's life.
"Look at me."
The Galbadian soldier was a little confused but did as the man said and turned his attention back to Laguna. He found himself being drawn to his eyes, they looked as if they could see right through him and perhaps they could. His eyes seemed to be like a spiral never ending and he was getting deeper and deep like in some sort of trance, and then his world seemed to crumble away. He saw it like a home video deep inside Laguna's eyes. Colin saw himself playing in the sand when he was just a little boy, then a few years later he saw when he stole some money out of his mothers purse, a few more years forward his parents arguing in the kitchen.
He screamed.
All of his memories were flooding through his head, drowning him in all the emotions and feeling he'd had in his life. His legs could no longer keep him standing and he feel to the ground with a thump, although he didn't acknowledge it. Another wave of memories washed over him, all of his hopes and everything he had ever dreamed of, all of his mistakes and all of his worst fears.
Drowning.
Then nothing. As quickly as it came it disappeared. Once again he was alone on the roof with this strange man, but he was now a wreck and Laguna was walking away.
~*~
The street was lit up by all of the light streaming from the numerous buildings in Deling City. Avoiding the traffic, Laguna crossed the road, which led to the Galbadia Hotel. He stopped in front of the hotel as he saw it standing proudly with the hotel name in light and perfectly structured bricks.
He pushed open the glass door and stepped inside the beautiful building with cream coloured walls, delicately carved ornaments and plants that surrounded the reception area of the hotel. It was a well-furnished place with a slight aroma of flowers and spotless of any dust which may roam in the air.
As Laguna stepped up towards the front desk he was greeted by a young receptionist, her hair neatly pulled out of the way with a clip and a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose.
"Can I help you Sir?" asked the young lady in a friendly voice, giving him a warm smile.
"Yes, I'd like to have a room for the night," Laguna answered. He knew he could not return to his home, as it was no longer safer for him to live there. This hotel wasn't exactly the safest place to be but he wanted to stay just for one night, to see his angel one last time before he left.
The lady at the reception desk checked her book to make sure there was a room for him. "Can I have your name please, Sir?" she asked once she saw there was a vacancy.
"Ethan Kane," he lied. He would be shocked if Galbadian soldiers didn't search for him so for his own safety he decided to use a fake name.
"Here's the key to your room," she said, handing him the key. "I hope you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," he said before walking away. Once inside his room he headed into the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. Tomorrow morning he was to leave this place and go somewhere, somewhere far away where he wasn't known. He looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes looking more tired than usual but apart from that he looked the same. Pulling the band from his hair, which hadn't already come free, he let his dark hair fall loosely over his shoulders and then he turned to leave his hotel room and returned to the main area, which he had been in when he first came to the hotel.
As he walked past the reception desk the young receptionist gave him one of her usual smiles. He returned the gesture with a smile of his own and then he headed down a staircase on the right side of the room. As he walked down the staircase his ears were greeted by the soft tunes of a piano played by a young woman on the stage. Hanging from the ceiling were sheets of silk which almost looked as if they were floating, lights shone down from the ceiling also, their rays pointing down onto the stage. On the other side of the room there were tables and chairs, which many were already occupied by people staying at the hotel. On the left side of the room was a bar where drinks and snacks could be purchased, a bar maid stood there pouring some liquor into a glass for a man.
Laguna walked over to a vacant table in the corner, but close enough to the stage so he could see the pianist. Her porcelain face lit up by the lights from the ceiling, dark raven hair flowed freely over her exposed shoulders. The dress she wore consisted of a red wine colour along with black and gold and a slit up the side of it.
She was beautiful.
His eyes were drawn to her beauty, as if the music she was playing was a spell hypnotising him. He couldn't look away as if he was in a trance.
The song ended and everybody applauded her. Laguna was pulled out of his trance when he heard the sound of people clapping. He forced himself to look away from her. She always seemed to do this to him, he always found himself lost in her. He had tried to talk to her before but his leg had a terrible habit of cramping up whenever he was nervous.
'I'd give him a -3 on the manliness scale.'
Laguna closed his eyes as a voice in his head spoke out. Two ghosts would be sat beside him right now if he hadn't been so careless. Or perhaps it should be 'them' sat here without him, it would have never happened if he had never met them. Never become friends with Kiros and Ward. They would still be here today, they wouldn't be....he couldn't bring himself to even think the word. They were like brothers to him and it had been torturing him every second since it had happened. He could still hear their screams.
His senses picked up a presence coming towards him; quickly he turned his head around to see who the presence was and his heart stopped.
It was her. She smiled as she saw him turn his head towards her. The look on his face turned from serious to sheer fear as he saw who it was and she couldn't help but let a small laugh escape her lips. He stood up quickly obviously feeling awkward as she approached him.
"May I sit with you?" asked Julia.
If they were still here, he could imagine Kiros and Ward grinning at him and finding some sort of excuse to leave him alone with Julia. He felt his leg muscles cramp up into a numbing pain as it always did when he came near her. Deciding not to think about his two friends for the moment he turned to face Julia who was standing near him.
"Sure," he finally said suddenly feeling as though he couldn't breathe.
She took another step closer to him and sat down beside him. She looked up towards Laguna and saw how awkward he was sitting beside her.
"Did I interrupt anything?" she asked.
"N-n-not al all," he replied, feeling his leg cramping up once more.
"You okay now?" she asked acknowledging his leg.
"Yeah uh, why wouldn't I be?" he cringed after every word he said. He knew this wasn't the best conversation he could have thought of having with Julia.
"Your leg does it feel any better?"
"L-leg? Oh, this? Y-yeah, it's fine. Happens all the time when I get nervous."
Julia turned her attention to look into his eyes. "Were you nervous?"
"Oh yeah, I'm still kinda."
"You can relax. You don't have to be nervous around me."
"Oh, sorry," he said simply.
"Would you like to go somewhere private? I have a room here," Julia said hoping he would feel less nervous talking to her somewhere in private.
"I-in your room?"
"Well it's a lot quieter in there. If you'd like to, please come by. That is, if you want to."
"Of course I do," Laguna said clearing his throat.
Julia smiled at him. "Then I'll go ahead and wait for you. Ask for my room at the front desk."
Laguna watched in disbelief as she walked away from him. It was strange what she could do to him; he wasn't human yet the sight of her made him feel so much emotion. She made him feel like he had no problems and sometimes he almost felt human. Tonight she had spoken to him for the first time and he was grateful for the chance to hear her voice.
Sighing to himself he stood from his seat and made his way up the staircase back to the reception area. The same friendly face as before welcomed him and made him feel a little more at ease as he stepped up to the front desk. "Hi I'm here..I-I...." he said to the receptionist feeling a sense of nausea coming over him.
"You want to go see Julia?" the receptionist said with an urge to laugh at how nervous this man seemed to be. Still feeling a nervous he gave her a simple nod to answer her question.
"Her room is upstairs and the first room on the left," she said.
"Thank you," Laguna said quietly before walking away. The receptionist watched as the man walked away from her. She couldn't help the suspicious feeling that had been creeping over her since he had first entered the hotel. For one thing she could have sworn his name wasn't Ethan Kane. Her thoughts were distracted when two Galbadian soldiers entered the hotel and approached her.
"How may I help you?" she said with one of her usual smiles.
"Can you tell me if you've seen this man?" one of the soldiers said handing over a picture.
~*~
"Thanks for coming," Julia said gesturing for Laguna to step inside her room.
"Not at all," Laguna said feeling a little better. "Uh, thank you for inviting me."
"Have a seat," she said sitting down herself by her dressing table. She picked up a brush and began brushing it through her raven black hair. Looking at her reflection in the mirror she saw Laguna stood watching her and looking a little lost. Seeing how uneasy he was she had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't laugh. "Or I guess you could just stand if you want to," she said turning to face Laguna with a smile.
"Oh right, sorry," he said beginning to feel like an idiot. "It's just that I'm a big fan of yours, so I'm really kinda nervous."
A smile spread across her face and she had to look at the floor although she could feel his gaze on her. "So that's why you come to hear me play so often?"
At hearing this Laguna couldn't help the shock on his face. "You, you saw me?"
"You were almost smiling while listening, right? You have beautiful eyes, though they look a bit scared now. Don't worry I'm not going to pluck 'em out and eat 'em," she said with a smile. "I just want to talk, gazing into those eyes."
"I must be dreaming." Laguna said thinking out loud.
"So tell me about yourself."
"There's nothing much to say, I live in a small apartment here in Deling City," Laguna said feeling a little awkward of the subject at hand. "I'm going to be leaving soon. I want to explore and stuff." Although it was the truth, it wasn't the proper reason why he had to leave. The full truth, she would never know.
"Tell me about yourself. Like your dreams for the future," he said, turning away from the subject of his life.
"I-I want to sing. Not just play the piano but sing as well."
Laguna couldn't help but smile, she was the most beautiful person in the world to him and she was talking about her dreams. "I'd really love to hear it."
"But I can't. I'm no good at writing lyrics," she admitted.
"Hmm. That must be tough."
She smiled at him, one of those smiles that went right through his soul. "But thanks to you, I think I can come up with something."
Once again he felt uncomfortable. "Thanks to me!?"
"Yes," she said standing from her chair and stepped closer to him. "the many faces you've shown me. Times when you're hurt, worried, or felt pain deep inside you. Yore smile, your face, your eyes. You've shown me something. I think I can come up with a song."
The only thing Laguna felt he could do was stare at her in disbelief. "Wow. I must be dreaming."
Julia gently took hold of his hand and their eyes locked. "It's not a dream, is it?"
It felt like all his fears had gone, he no longer felt nervous or afraid, he just felt her taking his heart. She was so close to him. Before he realised what he was doing the gap between them had closed and his lips were on hers. He'd never felt so safe with anyone before. There was a knock at the door and Laguna was quick to pull away from the kiss, as if a child had been caught doing something they shouldn't.
Julia walked to the door to open it. She was pushed carelessly out of the doorway by a Galbadian soldier, who was entering the room, and hit her head against her dressing table. Two Galbadian soldiers were in her room, both armed and pointing their guns at Laguna.
"Thought you got away did you Mr. Loire?" one of the soldiers said. "Not this time."
The soldier signalled to the other soldier who pointed his gun towards Laguna, trying to ignore the desperate pleas from Julia. He pulled the trigger and there was a loud bang followed by the sound of a female scream.
Laguna fell limp on the floor feeling the red wine blood flow from his stomach. Time seemed to go in slow motion as he lay there hearing faint whimpers coming from Julia who was now crying. A sharp pain ran through his head and Laguna felt himself lose control of his body. He screamed from the pain as his newly formed wings tore from beneath his skin. Spikes pierced the skin at various parts of his body and he let out another scream from the pain.
Julia, along with the other two Galbadian soldiers, watched in horror as his body began shaking violently and claws tore from his skin. He slowly stood up and turned his eyes towards her, small slits instead of round circles where his pupils should be. For a long time he stood staring at her, before smashing through her window and flying out into the night sky.
Authors note: Oh I can feel the flames coming through now. Like I said before, this is a squinoa, you just have to bear with me. I'm going on holiday tomorrow so please drop me a review which I'll be able to read when I get back. Review!
For those of you who haven't read my story 'Nobody Can Be Born Evil' you don't have to read this part so in 3.. 2.1..read! For those of who do read my story you'll have to listen to me blab on some more (sorry). I don't think that I will be updating my other story again for a while as I feel its gone pretty dry. I have been working on it for almost a year now and its becoming more of a burden than fun to write. Please forgive me! I will tell you when I next update it I just need a break from it for a while. Okay you may read my story now.
Enjoy!
One Winged Angel
Deling City, June 12, 2011
Running. As fast as he could he ran, at the same time he tried to ignore the pain through his lungs every time he breathed in. He could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ear; feel the blood pumping through his veins. Every limb in his body felt as though they were about to explode.
This seemed useless; he knew he was capable of killing the Galbadian soldiers who were following him. He knew he was capable but.he chose not to, that would make him as bad as them. They were catching up with him, their swords held tightly in their hands as they continued to run. Would they ever stop running?
They were the lion and he the deer. Hungry for their prey,or perhaps not their prey. Galbadian soldiers were nothing but the pawns on the board; they just followed their masters' orders without question.
He continued to run down the streets of Deling City, black locks of hair falling in his face. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder he saw the Galbadian soldiers closing in on him. Running on foot would not enable him to get away from them. The young man jumped into the air at a height no ordinary human could achieve and landed on the roof of a tall building.
Quickly he ducked down so no one should see him and to avoid gunfire which was aiming his way. Studying the surroundings he found nothing, which would be of any use to him. He only hoped the night sky would hide him from the rest of the world. "Check on the roof" he heard one of the soldiers say to his comrade. After hearing this he realised that he wouldn't make it if he didn't fight back, wouldn't make it back to the woman he loved. Everything seemed so much simpler as images of beauty filled his mind, images of her.
A soldier came through the door, which led up onto the roof and slowly stepped towards the man he had been ordered to capture. The soldier studied the man who was crouched down on the floor; he looked quite tall with his black hair loosely tied back. He guessed that he was somewhere in his early twenties. "Stand up" the soldier ordered "I have been told that if you don't co operate then I can kill you, so I suggest that you do as I say"
The man seemed to be looking up towards the sky but his gaze slowly floated down to the armed soldier who stood before him. "All that running seems to have worn me out" he said calmly "I think I'll stay here for a bit"
"It wasn't a question, it was an order" the soldier said surprised by his comment "Now stand up!" he shouted.
Slowly the man stood up and he stared blankly at the soldier stood before him "Do you have a name?" he asked. The soldier pressed his sword into the mans neck starting to get annoyed by his attitude "Colin, but its not like it has anything to do with you" he answered "Now if you do as I say and come with me to see the president you won't get hurt"
Ignoring the mans last comment the man didn't move "Its nice to meet you Colin, I suppose you know my name don't you?" "I've heard that your name is Laguna Loire. Now come with me or I'll have to kill you" Colin said putting more pressure with the sword on Laguna's neck.
"Have they told you why they need me?" Laguna asked staring the soldier in the face. "Shut up with all your questions and follow me already" Colin shouted.
Laguna was silent for a moment, and then answered "It looks like you'll have to kill me Colin"
Colin, who was taken back by his last statement, seemed confused by this man. He seemed to have a strange look in his eyes, almost.inhuman.
"Why the sudden silence?" Laguna asked curiously. "I'm not going with you so kill me. Either that or you can let me go"
Colin still couldn't understand this mans attitude he seemed so calm in the situation he was in and yet he was serious about his decisions. He'd rather die than turn himself in? He knew that a good Galbadian soldier was supposed to do as he was told without questioning, even if they didn't know the reasons they were fighting for. He couldn't help but ask, even if he knew his ranking would go down. "Why do they want you?"
Laguna was silent for a moment thinking of how he should answer this mans question "I'm. not like you" he said finally although he knew that the soldier would have no clue of what he was saying. He probably had only dealt with criminals before, or just simply killing people because he was told to without any explanation. The ringing of church bells celebrating the hour could be heard in the distance. He had to get away from all these Galbadian soldiers soon otherwise he would never be able to get away and end up going with them or even dying. Laguna turned to the man in front of him and without warning said three words, three simple words that would change the rest of Colin's life.
"Look at me."
The Galbadian soldier was a little confused but did as the man said and turned his attention back to Laguna. He found himself being drawn to his eyes, they looked as if they could see right through him and perhaps they could. His eyes seemed to be like a spiral never ending and he was getting deeper and deep like in some sort of trance, and then his world seemed to crumble away. He saw it like a home video deep inside Laguna's eyes. Colin saw himself playing in the sand when he was just a little boy, then a few years later he saw when he stole some money out of his mothers purse, a few more years forward his parents arguing in the kitchen.
He screamed.
All of his memories were flooding through his head, drowning him in all the emotions and feeling he'd had in his life. His legs could no longer keep him standing and he feel to the ground with a thump, although he didn't acknowledge it. Another wave of memories washed over him, all of his hopes and everything he had ever dreamed of, all of his mistakes and all of his worst fears.
Drowning.
Then nothing. As quickly as it came it disappeared. Once again he was alone on the roof with this strange man, but he was now a wreck and Laguna was walking away.
~*~
The street was lit up by all of the light streaming from the numerous buildings in Deling City. Avoiding the traffic, Laguna crossed the road, which led to the Galbadia Hotel. He stopped in front of the hotel as he saw it standing proudly with the hotel name in light and perfectly structured bricks.
He pushed open the glass door and stepped inside the beautiful building with cream coloured walls, delicately carved ornaments and plants that surrounded the reception area of the hotel. It was a well-furnished place with a slight aroma of flowers and spotless of any dust which may roam in the air.
As Laguna stepped up towards the front desk he was greeted by a young receptionist, her hair neatly pulled out of the way with a clip and a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose.
"Can I help you Sir?" asked the young lady in a friendly voice, giving him a warm smile.
"Yes, I'd like to have a room for the night," Laguna answered. He knew he could not return to his home, as it was no longer safer for him to live there. This hotel wasn't exactly the safest place to be but he wanted to stay just for one night, to see his angel one last time before he left.
The lady at the reception desk checked her book to make sure there was a room for him. "Can I have your name please, Sir?" she asked once she saw there was a vacancy.
"Ethan Kane," he lied. He would be shocked if Galbadian soldiers didn't search for him so for his own safety he decided to use a fake name.
"Here's the key to your room," she said, handing him the key. "I hope you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," he said before walking away. Once inside his room he headed into the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. Tomorrow morning he was to leave this place and go somewhere, somewhere far away where he wasn't known. He looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes looking more tired than usual but apart from that he looked the same. Pulling the band from his hair, which hadn't already come free, he let his dark hair fall loosely over his shoulders and then he turned to leave his hotel room and returned to the main area, which he had been in when he first came to the hotel.
As he walked past the reception desk the young receptionist gave him one of her usual smiles. He returned the gesture with a smile of his own and then he headed down a staircase on the right side of the room. As he walked down the staircase his ears were greeted by the soft tunes of a piano played by a young woman on the stage. Hanging from the ceiling were sheets of silk which almost looked as if they were floating, lights shone down from the ceiling also, their rays pointing down onto the stage. On the other side of the room there were tables and chairs, which many were already occupied by people staying at the hotel. On the left side of the room was a bar where drinks and snacks could be purchased, a bar maid stood there pouring some liquor into a glass for a man.
Laguna walked over to a vacant table in the corner, but close enough to the stage so he could see the pianist. Her porcelain face lit up by the lights from the ceiling, dark raven hair flowed freely over her exposed shoulders. The dress she wore consisted of a red wine colour along with black and gold and a slit up the side of it.
She was beautiful.
His eyes were drawn to her beauty, as if the music she was playing was a spell hypnotising him. He couldn't look away as if he was in a trance.
The song ended and everybody applauded her. Laguna was pulled out of his trance when he heard the sound of people clapping. He forced himself to look away from her. She always seemed to do this to him, he always found himself lost in her. He had tried to talk to her before but his leg had a terrible habit of cramping up whenever he was nervous.
'I'd give him a -3 on the manliness scale.'
Laguna closed his eyes as a voice in his head spoke out. Two ghosts would be sat beside him right now if he hadn't been so careless. Or perhaps it should be 'them' sat here without him, it would have never happened if he had never met them. Never become friends with Kiros and Ward. They would still be here today, they wouldn't be....he couldn't bring himself to even think the word. They were like brothers to him and it had been torturing him every second since it had happened. He could still hear their screams.
His senses picked up a presence coming towards him; quickly he turned his head around to see who the presence was and his heart stopped.
It was her. She smiled as she saw him turn his head towards her. The look on his face turned from serious to sheer fear as he saw who it was and she couldn't help but let a small laugh escape her lips. He stood up quickly obviously feeling awkward as she approached him.
"May I sit with you?" asked Julia.
If they were still here, he could imagine Kiros and Ward grinning at him and finding some sort of excuse to leave him alone with Julia. He felt his leg muscles cramp up into a numbing pain as it always did when he came near her. Deciding not to think about his two friends for the moment he turned to face Julia who was standing near him.
"Sure," he finally said suddenly feeling as though he couldn't breathe.
She took another step closer to him and sat down beside him. She looked up towards Laguna and saw how awkward he was sitting beside her.
"Did I interrupt anything?" she asked.
"N-n-not al all," he replied, feeling his leg cramping up once more.
"You okay now?" she asked acknowledging his leg.
"Yeah uh, why wouldn't I be?" he cringed after every word he said. He knew this wasn't the best conversation he could have thought of having with Julia.
"Your leg does it feel any better?"
"L-leg? Oh, this? Y-yeah, it's fine. Happens all the time when I get nervous."
Julia turned her attention to look into his eyes. "Were you nervous?"
"Oh yeah, I'm still kinda."
"You can relax. You don't have to be nervous around me."
"Oh, sorry," he said simply.
"Would you like to go somewhere private? I have a room here," Julia said hoping he would feel less nervous talking to her somewhere in private.
"I-in your room?"
"Well it's a lot quieter in there. If you'd like to, please come by. That is, if you want to."
"Of course I do," Laguna said clearing his throat.
Julia smiled at him. "Then I'll go ahead and wait for you. Ask for my room at the front desk."
Laguna watched in disbelief as she walked away from him. It was strange what she could do to him; he wasn't human yet the sight of her made him feel so much emotion. She made him feel like he had no problems and sometimes he almost felt human. Tonight she had spoken to him for the first time and he was grateful for the chance to hear her voice.
Sighing to himself he stood from his seat and made his way up the staircase back to the reception area. The same friendly face as before welcomed him and made him feel a little more at ease as he stepped up to the front desk. "Hi I'm here..I-I...." he said to the receptionist feeling a sense of nausea coming over him.
"You want to go see Julia?" the receptionist said with an urge to laugh at how nervous this man seemed to be. Still feeling a nervous he gave her a simple nod to answer her question.
"Her room is upstairs and the first room on the left," she said.
"Thank you," Laguna said quietly before walking away. The receptionist watched as the man walked away from her. She couldn't help the suspicious feeling that had been creeping over her since he had first entered the hotel. For one thing she could have sworn his name wasn't Ethan Kane. Her thoughts were distracted when two Galbadian soldiers entered the hotel and approached her.
"How may I help you?" she said with one of her usual smiles.
"Can you tell me if you've seen this man?" one of the soldiers said handing over a picture.
~*~
"Thanks for coming," Julia said gesturing for Laguna to step inside her room.
"Not at all," Laguna said feeling a little better. "Uh, thank you for inviting me."
"Have a seat," she said sitting down herself by her dressing table. She picked up a brush and began brushing it through her raven black hair. Looking at her reflection in the mirror she saw Laguna stood watching her and looking a little lost. Seeing how uneasy he was she had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't laugh. "Or I guess you could just stand if you want to," she said turning to face Laguna with a smile.
"Oh right, sorry," he said beginning to feel like an idiot. "It's just that I'm a big fan of yours, so I'm really kinda nervous."
A smile spread across her face and she had to look at the floor although she could feel his gaze on her. "So that's why you come to hear me play so often?"
At hearing this Laguna couldn't help the shock on his face. "You, you saw me?"
"You were almost smiling while listening, right? You have beautiful eyes, though they look a bit scared now. Don't worry I'm not going to pluck 'em out and eat 'em," she said with a smile. "I just want to talk, gazing into those eyes."
"I must be dreaming." Laguna said thinking out loud.
"So tell me about yourself."
"There's nothing much to say, I live in a small apartment here in Deling City," Laguna said feeling a little awkward of the subject at hand. "I'm going to be leaving soon. I want to explore and stuff." Although it was the truth, it wasn't the proper reason why he had to leave. The full truth, she would never know.
"Tell me about yourself. Like your dreams for the future," he said, turning away from the subject of his life.
"I-I want to sing. Not just play the piano but sing as well."
Laguna couldn't help but smile, she was the most beautiful person in the world to him and she was talking about her dreams. "I'd really love to hear it."
"But I can't. I'm no good at writing lyrics," she admitted.
"Hmm. That must be tough."
She smiled at him, one of those smiles that went right through his soul. "But thanks to you, I think I can come up with something."
Once again he felt uncomfortable. "Thanks to me!?"
"Yes," she said standing from her chair and stepped closer to him. "the many faces you've shown me. Times when you're hurt, worried, or felt pain deep inside you. Yore smile, your face, your eyes. You've shown me something. I think I can come up with a song."
The only thing Laguna felt he could do was stare at her in disbelief. "Wow. I must be dreaming."
Julia gently took hold of his hand and their eyes locked. "It's not a dream, is it?"
It felt like all his fears had gone, he no longer felt nervous or afraid, he just felt her taking his heart. She was so close to him. Before he realised what he was doing the gap between them had closed and his lips were on hers. He'd never felt so safe with anyone before. There was a knock at the door and Laguna was quick to pull away from the kiss, as if a child had been caught doing something they shouldn't.
Julia walked to the door to open it. She was pushed carelessly out of the doorway by a Galbadian soldier, who was entering the room, and hit her head against her dressing table. Two Galbadian soldiers were in her room, both armed and pointing their guns at Laguna.
"Thought you got away did you Mr. Loire?" one of the soldiers said. "Not this time."
The soldier signalled to the other soldier who pointed his gun towards Laguna, trying to ignore the desperate pleas from Julia. He pulled the trigger and there was a loud bang followed by the sound of a female scream.
Laguna fell limp on the floor feeling the red wine blood flow from his stomach. Time seemed to go in slow motion as he lay there hearing faint whimpers coming from Julia who was now crying. A sharp pain ran through his head and Laguna felt himself lose control of his body. He screamed from the pain as his newly formed wings tore from beneath his skin. Spikes pierced the skin at various parts of his body and he let out another scream from the pain.
Julia, along with the other two Galbadian soldiers, watched in horror as his body began shaking violently and claws tore from his skin. He slowly stood up and turned his eyes towards her, small slits instead of round circles where his pupils should be. For a long time he stood staring at her, before smashing through her window and flying out into the night sky.
Authors note: Oh I can feel the flames coming through now. Like I said before, this is a squinoa, you just have to bear with me. I'm going on holiday tomorrow so please drop me a review which I'll be able to read when I get back. Review!