Forgotten
Memories
By Tarlia
Version 2.0
All characters from the game
Final Fantasy VIII are © Square. This
work of fan fiction and all original characters are © the author. Please do not distribute or use without permission.
Chapter 1: Succession of Witches
It was a
winter's morning, just three days into the month of January, and the day was
bright and cold. The sun shone brightly
on the white ice carpet that had spread all over the small, Galbadian village,
for it had snowed all night, and only as dawn cast its first bright rays across
the country did the last clouds break and leave the sky blue and clear.
She trudged
down the street with difficulty, basket in one hand while the other was used to
keep her skirt from getting in the way.
The fresh snow reached almost to the knees of her short legs, and her
boots and stockings were already soaking wet.
But like most children, little Edea enjoyed the snow and didn't at all
seem to mind. She hummed cheerfully to
herself as she made her way past the different buildings, trying hard to not
stop on the way to look in the window of the candy store.
Outside the
grocery shop, two middle-aged women stood and chatted, one with a bag of
potatoes in her hand. Edea paused for a
moment, watching them with curious brown eyes as she listened. Usually the talk of adults didn't concern
her, but for once the subject seemed at least a little interesting. And her mother always enjoyed gossip, she
knew that.
"Did you
hear about the Loires?" Asked one
woman, while wrapping her shawl more tightly around her neck. The other woman shook her head, her
expression questioning.
"I bumped
into the doctor earlier this morning.
He was just on his way home from their farm, after delivering the
Loires' baby!"
"Really?" The woman with the potato bag sounded
eager. "So what is it?"
"A
boy." The first woman chuckled in a
mocking manner. "Just what we need –
another goof-ball like Mr. Loire. In my
opinion, they should – Oh."
Edea was
startled as the eyes of the chatting females were suddenly upon her, but she
tried her best to seem innocent by giving them one of her most sweet
smiles. "M-mornin' Mrs. Potts, Mrs.
Olson."
"Good
morning, Edea," replied Mrs. Olson, the one with the potatoes. "What are you doing out and about this
early?"
"Goin' to
the bakery t'get bread," Edea said, her smile brightening even more. "Mama sent me!"
Mrs. Potts
lifted her eyebrows in what appeared to be concern, but probably was doubtful
surprise. "All alone, dear? With all that's been going on lately? Those soldiers did tell us to be careful; that
witch could still be about."
"You mean
they haven't caught her yet?"
Mrs. Olson looked shocked.
"No, from
what I heard, she was injured badly but got away," Mrs. Potts shook her head,
"I know I wouldn't let my children out on their own before she's gone
and dead."
The little
girl tugged on her long black ponytail as she looked between the two women, not
quite understanding what the problem was.
Recently the village's usual peace had been disturbed by a large group
of Galbadian soldiers who had come there hunting for what they called a witch –
a Sorceress. She was supposed to be
evil and dangerous, something horrible from the fairy tales mothers would tell
to their children, but Edea hadn't seen any evil witch. In fact, no one had seen anything, but one
night – just a few days earlier - Edea had been woken by a loud, pained scream
and sounds of gunfire and people fighting.
When looking out the window, she'd seen bright lights and red flames in
the faraway distance. Her mother had
come into her room, pulled down the roller blind and ushered Edea back to
bed. Edea had asked her if the soldiers
had killed the evil Sorceress, but her mother had only looked at her sadly and
said: "No, child. They killed an
innocent woman."
Those words
had haunted Edea, and somehow she got the feeling that the Sorceress couldn't
be as bad as everyone thought. She was
starting to get very cold by standing still in the snow for so long, and
decided to politely bid the women farewell.
"I gotta go," she chirped, "Dun' worry 'bout me, I'm a big gurl
now! Even Mama said so! Jus' turned five years!" She held up one hand and showed all five
fingers, smiling proudly.
Mrs. Olson
smiled back at her kindly. "Then you'd
better run along, dear, before your mother gets worried. Off with you."
Still
smiling, Edea waved her hand goodbye to them, then continued down the
street. From the other side of the
town, the church bell chimed once. Uh
oh, she was already late! Mama would be
angry. She hurried through the masses
of snow, but then stopped all of a sudden as she saw the dark alley snaking its
way between two buildings. If she
remembered correctly, that would be a definite shortcut to the bakery, and it
would spare her of some trouble. So
without a second thought, she made a turn and headed into the alley.
It was damp
and creepy in there, and occasionally big lumps of melted snow would fall from
the roofs above, just barely missing the young girl as she clung to her basket
and tried to get through as fast as possible.
Loud voices from the other end of the alley caused her to freeze in her
step, and her eyes went wide. Male
voices, and they sounded excited and urgent.
"Where'd
she go?!"
"This way!"
As she
carefully rounded the corner, Edea saw men dressed in blue and carrying swords
rush right past the alley. Her heart
started to beat faster, but it was only when she saw her that it almost
seemed to actually skip a beat, and she momentarily forgot to breathe. Her.
It was a woman in ragged and dirty clothes, and she was crawling through
the snow on all fours, only barely able to support her own weight. Her hair was long and golden, and hung
around her bruised and thin, yet youthful face like heavy curtains. And there was blood – the woman was bleeding
from countless wounds, though Edea noticed that the trail of blood had been
wiped out behind the woman. In fact,
there weren't even footprints. Just sparkling
white, untouched snow.
She wanted
to run, but then the woman looked up at her, and eyes just as golden as her
hair met Edea's frightened gaze.
Sorceress Che'echa groaned both in pain and despair. "Oh dear… you're only a child."
Edea stared,
unblinking. "Yoo-yoo're-"
"The
Sorceress, yes." The woman struggled to
speak, and had to pause to catch her breath, "Don't be afraid, child… Come… come closer. I won't hurt you."
Still
terrified and stunned, Edea quickly shook her head, but the dying golden haired
witch pleaded weakly. "Please,
child… I promise I won't hurt you… But I need your help." Che'echa seemed about to collapse in the
snow, and she reached out with a hand towards Edea. "Please…"
The blood,
the yellow eyes, the eerie feeling of danger…
Everything screamed at Edea to do otherwise, to flee, but she couldn't
help but feel sorry for the poor woman.
And her mother did always tell her one should help those in need. Slowly, hesitantly, she stepped over to the
Sorceress…
Suddenly
the witch grabbed her firmly by her arm and yanked her closer with a strength a
female in her condition shouldn't be able to have. Edea opened her mouth to shriek in fear, but a green light
flashed around her, and no sound came out no matter how hard she tried. "I'm sorry, little one…," the Sorceress
whispered. "But I have no choice…"
The next
thing Edea knew, the whole world was turned upside down, and all she could see
was a pale, white brightness that blinded her, all she could feel was a
tingling, powerful sensation that spread throughout her entire, tiny body.
Che'echa
sighed for the last time and her injured form fell to the ground, as she
slipped into her eternal rest. Next to
her was the limp figure of an extremely young Sorceress. And an empty bread basket was lying in the
January snow.
