I was sitting in the dark kitchen, going through the mail, mostly bills, quietly as not to wake my adopted daughter Ellone. It was the middle of the night, or, in a sense, the middle of the morning. I remembered what felt like forever ago looking at the clock and seeing that it was 1 a.m. It had to be at least three now.
The tiny town of Winhill was dead. Even the Galbadian soldiers that liked to stay out late were already in bed by now. There was a sharp, frantic knocking caught my attention. I jumped up, throwing the door open, afraid something had happened to my best friend Sakura. But it wasn't Sakura at all. A Galbadian soldier stood there. I'd seen him around before, but we weren't friends or anything.
"Miss Leonhart!" he said breathlessly.
I didn't even have to ask. I gasped, hurrying to clear a spot for the wounded soldier that the Galbadian had dragged in, half-dead. The wounded man must have been tough as nails to survive in the condition he was in… I got as many medical supplies as I could, working quickly but cautiously as not to hurt him too much. The other soldier had walked away; he obviously figured his good deed was done. Bloody Galbadian Soldiers… No compassion. Meanwhile, the wounded soldier wasn't making my job any easier by squirming and occasionally shouting out random obscenities. I couldn't help but get frustrated.
"Sh, I'm trying to help!" I muttered, attempting to calm him down, keep working, and hold him still all at once.
"Who the hell are you?! Let go of me! OW!" he struggled to get away, then winced and involuntionarily cried out in pain.
"I'm sorry if this hurts, sir," I said softly, feeling so sorry for him… this had to hurt… "But it'll hurt a whole lot more if we don't do something about this. My name is Raine Leonhart." I added, in response to his rudely put question.
He seemed to have completely given up now and was lying motionless, staring up at me helplessly. No more struggling, no more yelling. I felt really bad for him… I used my last potion on him. What could have happened to put him through this?!
"I'm so sorry, sir…." I read his name tag, "….Laguna…. I'll try to do all I can to make it better for you, okay? Thank you for calming down, that'll make it a hundred time easier…."
He glared angrily up at me in response. "I won't give you
the information. Just let me die. Even if you save me, I won't tell you
anything." He said slowly but bitterly, each word seeming to hurt him.
Galbadian soldiers… they were all the same…
"I don't want information." I sighed. "I just want to get you out of critical condition. I don't want you to die… no human deserves that."
"Maybe I do," Laguna sighed. "Laguna Loire, that's my name. I'm about twenty-one," I saw him force a smile, "I'm with the Galbadian army, Division Six—"
"Shhh." I put my finger to his lips. "Now isn't the time. You can tell me later. It'll hurt worse to talk, Laguna..."
It felt like forever…. Getting Laguna cleaned up. Mainly because he was covered in blood, and that made me want to throw up. I wanted him to be okay, though, so I did my best.
"Thank you, ma'am." He eventually said quietly, his voice hoarse.
"Your welcome." I smiled. "Now, is it okay if I set up a bed down here for the night? You need some rest, and it would be a very painful trip upstairs…"
"I can get up some stupid stairs," Laguna scowled.
"Not tonight, Laguna. It's four in the morning and we both need to get some sleep."
"Sleep… where am I? There a hotel around here? My money's in a hidden pocket in the jacket…"
"No, no, that's not important." I said and shook my head quickly. "It doesn't matter. You just need to relax."
I hurriedly put a bed together for him.
"What do I owe you, ma'am?"
"Nothing." I insisted.
"I'll fight with it later," he sighed, trying to stand up and stopping. Big mistake.
"Laguna…." I worriedly helped him to the bed.
"I've only known you for an hour and we're already having a slumber party?" he forced a smile, wincing as he laid down. "I could be bad, y'know. I have a gun, somewhere…."
"Not in this state." I smiled sadly. "Is there anything I can get for you?"
"Kiros and Ward… where they at?"
"I'm sorry, I've never met anyone by the name of Kiros or Ward. If they're still in town, I'll try to find them, though."
"Shouldn't have let me live." He mumbled, closing his eyes. "Stupid idea, Laguna…."
"Every life is previous, Laguna. Don't forget that. I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight, so I can hear you if you need anything. Don't hesitate to ask."
He miserably buried his face in the pillow, closing his eyes and mumbling his thanks. I crawled up on the couch; I was glad I'd already changed into pajama bottoms and my huge blue t-shirt. I hadn't felt so exhausted since Elle decided to run away when she was little. I sighed, hugged the pillow and let nightmares and dreams wash over me like the ride.