Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, heaven's no! By the way, it's AU!
Snow Waltz
Prologue: Snow Waltz
She'd always come to pause and glance at the pale wintry sun as it slowly made its descent into the thick and gloomy clouds just before the horizon. She'd stand on the overpass leading into the main city, place her shoulder bag unto the ground beside her, and gaze at the peculiar light that seemed to stretch and reach everything. She'd then become oblivious to the growing shadows of night until that mysterious entity would almost completely delve into the horizon, then she'd have to rush home, submit to punishment her caretaker would surely give her, then feed the angry children who'd patiently await her.
But, this evening, something felt oddly wrong to her. Just above her was the overpass that ran parallel with the tunnel she walked in, and yet she found her booted feet inching further into the black recesses of the underpass for reasons unclear to her. The mounting snow blown in by the gusts of wind became thin as she ventured deeper into the dark passageway. She could sense—and feel—something just before the end of the tunnel beckoning to her. This strange palpable thing was what lured her here, and now she was almost face-to-face with whatever it was. Perplexed by her own actions, and amazed by it as well, she knelt down and stretched her gloved hands forward, puffs of unseen breath escaping her throat.
The cold seemed to penetrate through her oversized winter coat into her very bones, and the longer she crouched down, touching the nothingness, the sensation biting at her rosy cheeks became overwhelming. She was certain that it was well past six and that she had fooled around far too long, so the girl stood, and slowly turned around giving up, leaving for home. Her boots crunched the melting snow below and as she did so, a loud expel of breath sounded behind her, as if someone had been holding their breath too long and needed to release. Gasping in fear, the girl's eyes averted from the white blur of light just before her, back to the darkness. Now, the noise sounded as if someone were gasping. Her body spun fully around and she backed up a bit.
Instantly reaching into her bag positioned beside her, the girl fondled through the warm bundles of fresh food until she found her diminutive flashlight. Flicking the nub, a blue-white light spilled unto the cluster of dirty rags that seemed to shroud something blond with the palest green eyes she had ever seen. Her mouth opened as she realized that the cluster of rags appeared to be a young boy. He stared back at her, wincing from the light, but she could see the indignant look in them.
They could only stare at each other, for they were both too shocked to realize. The boy had expected some old haggard to discover him in the abandoned tunnel that once led into the underground of the main city, after all no young girl would be caught walking alone in these poor parts. She was too pretty for her approximate age of fourteen, and the loss of color in her skin due to the bitter cold, did not at all suite her radiant azure eyes and the blonde locks that slightly blew under her woolen hat.
"What?" he said in response to her gawking. She closed her mouth, the rest of her body unmoving including the irritatingly bright flashlight.
"I-I . . . Well, I . . . oh, you poor thing," she sympathized, letting her imagination wonder the possibility of her ending up like him. She knelt down, inching closer. Her knees, encased in woolen stockings, touched the damp ground. "Here," she whispered, digging into her tote bag for a wrapped sandwich she bought for herself while passing through the street markets. She handed the cooling turkey sandwich to him, but he kept staring at her pathetically sad eyes. "Go ahead. I can wait," she assured him.
"Don't you have anything better to do? Get out of here," he coldly commanded. Taken aback by his harsh and sudden words, the blond girl snatched the sandwich back to her chest when he swatted it away. She stood from her crouched position, her heart pounding.
"I'm . . . sorry." she softly spoke, unable to conjure anything else better to say, she was still taken aback by his attitude.
"Yeah, whatever," he dismissed, and she turned to leave again. "Stupid chick," he muttered.
"Were you holding your breath?" she suddenly queried, her heart skittering. Some unknown force made her ask the question just so she could converse with him more. His hard and slender eyes were already intriguing, and maybe his personality was too.
"What?" was all he could say. The girl turned around again, placing her flashlight into her pocket now. The sandwich remained in her left hand.
"You didn't want me to find you, is that it?" she asked, her voice sounding hopeful even though there was no need to be. She was already disappointed by her discovery. Now kneeling down, she placed the sandwich unto the ground. "Well, here, I'm giving this to you anyway. You may not choose to eat it now, but you will. . . ."
She was definitely an intelligent one, probably one of those uptown girls' daughters his superiors always had in their company. He watched as she turned to leave, hopefully this time for good.
He rolled his eyes when she paused again.
She was thinking of the enjoyment of being in the company of a loving family, sitting by a warm fire during the winter nights and laughing about old times. She was pondering on the fact that this boy was missing so much and he didn't realize it. Her feet were acting on its own again for untold reasons. Her gloved hands were grabbing his slender wrist and she was pulling him from his position. She grabbed his cloak and she dragged him out of the tunnel.
"You'll like it with me," she stated. "Trust me."
"What?" he said again. "Where are you taking me. Let go, you dumb chick!"
