The Final Fantasy: Part I
After the last sorceress war ended, Squall Leonhart became a classic legend in, now the world-famous, Balamb Garden. Evil and darkness seemed to perish from the universe, leaving a residue of remaining malevolence, now weakened. Commander Leonhart¡¯s fellow comrades: Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, and Irvine Kinneas, became accomplished and well-known leaders in their respective areas of study in the Garden. However, after the war ended, one member of the respected group disappeared from the limelight. Her name was Rinoa Heartilly, the commander¡¯s love of his life. Now, after two years, would everything have changed from what it had been before?
Chapter One: Trapped heart and soul
A tiny, dark-haired girl, roughly the age of nineteen, never lifted her eyes from the dinner table. Her hair was neatly combed into a French twist; wild and layered ebony bangs were bobby-pinned out of the way from her clear and taut face. She wore an ivory silk blouse and a plaid skirt, much to her dismay, with opaque ivory stockings and shined, black Mary-Janes. Her name was Rinoa Heartilly: rich, sophisticated, and devastatingly beautiful. She sat at the end of a long and narrow cherry-wood dinner table. Her father, General Caraway, sat at the other end. The dinner was perfectly executed with fine food, excellent service from the family¡¯s servants, and uninterrupted silence from the only two people in the large and ornate dining room. Rinoa hated it. Oh, how she loathed being back at her father¡¯s mansion in Deling City. But, did she have a choice? After she realized how cold she had been to her father, and how lonely he was without her, Rinoa made a decision to go back to Deling City instead of going back to Timber. What a decision! After she had stepped back into her original domain, Rinoa was forced to go back to high school to finish off the tuition she¡¯d missed out on from being a resistance leader. After, she was to go to a decent university in Esthar, where she would learn to be a skilled and prosperous electrical engineer. General Caraway had his daughter¡¯s whole life planned out accordingly to what he thought was best for her. In deciding his little girl¡¯s future, he panned out the unnecessary ¡°aspects¡± and ¡°activities.¡± For example, Caraway had the power to shut down any city or town with a wave of a hand. With this power, he forbid Rinoa to go ANYWHERE but to Deling City and Esthar. If she escaped, she¡¯d be promptly returned back to General Caraway. However, this wasn¡¯t the worst part. Lastly, Rinoa was never allowed to communicate with any of the people she had been in the Sorceress War with. None, whosoever, including her camaraderie in Timber, Watts and Zone. Caraway thought that these ¡°hooligans¡± had nothing better to do but to stir up ruckus, and they¡¯d plant ignorance and loud ideas into his fragile daughter¡¯s mind. Now, without any communication or independence, Rinoa was fated to live a life of normalcy. She truly regretted coming back to Deling. What a sorry mistake.
Rinoa looked down into her soup bowl. Aside from the chopped up lentil, carrots, and potatoes, she saw her own reflection staring back at her. Her once vibrant and sparkling eyes were now dulled and droopy due to excessive hours of studying. Her once loose and shining ebony hair was now usually wrapped up into a bun or a twist or a horrible braid. Her sense of style was now diminished to wearing plaid skirts and plain blouses. Instead of her toting around her weapon, the deadly Shooting Star, she carried around heavy books on philosophy and physics. Oh, the utter shame. Rinoa Heartilly was no longer Rinoa Heartilly. She felt her spirit broken, defeated, confined. Her heart was torn to shreds, pieces too little to mend.
Rinoa could have dealt with these tragic losses if she hadn¡¯t been forced to leave behind her true love, Squall Leonhart. Her intrinsic and introverted Lion she had learned to tame! Rinoa cried to sleep every night thinking of him, knowing that she couldn¡¯t hear his voice or touch his face ever again. Squall couldn¡¯t get a hold of her no matter how hard he tried. Caraway fooled many people into thinking that Rinoa was now with somebody else, someone more her ¡°league.¡± This undoubtedly crushed Squall. When he visited her house, he was immediately turned away. When he called, the line was cut and the number switched and unlisted. Squall couldn¡¯t understand this. He thought Caraway liked him. Well, Squall was wrong. He gave up eventually, thinking that Rinoa was engaged to a rich and powerful man, making him feel inadequate to win back her love.
Rinoa sniffed a little and wiped away a small tear, thinking of Squall. Caraway noticed this right away. As he cut up his filet mignon, he cleared his throat to finally talk. ¡°Dear heart, what is the matter?¡± His deep voice cut through the silence like a hot knife through soft butter. Rinoa didn¡¯t look up but managed to answer. ¡°I-I just had a rough day in Calculus. The problems were pretty overwhelming¡¦I¡¯ll be fine, though, ¡° she lied.
Caraway wiped his mouth with the linen napkin. ¡°Well, Rinoa, this means that you must study harder. Esthar University tolerates nothing of this sort. They expect you to master this course.¡±
Rinoa clenched the hold of the spoon in her hand. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±
Caraway smiled. ¡°By the way, I heard that you are getting straight A¡¯s this semester, once again! At this rate, you are going to definitely be Esthar-bound. And, darling, did you receive any acceptance letters yet?¡±
Rinoa had to smile mischievously. She had received acceptance letters: From all four universities she applied to: Esthar Tech, University of Esthar, Deling University, and Deling Tech. Rinoa was extremely intelligent, and the colleges seemed to notice that, despite her lack of attendance during the past three years. But, she didn¡¯t want to become what her father intended her to be. It wasn¡¯t her. She didn¡¯t want it. Rinoa starved for adventure and excitement. She was headstrong and stubborn, qualities good for leadership. And, what a leader she turned out to be! The head of a small, but impacting resistance group, the Owls. The perfect occupation for Rinoa would be a military leader, a teacher, or a commander. She did not want to be tied down in research and study in electrical engineering. It was too boring for her. Every day, she added bits and pieces to the plan she conceived not long after she decided to stay at her father¡¯s house. She was going to break her father down once and for all. She was going to get her freedom back. She just needed the right time to execute it. But, now wasn¡¯t the time. Rinoa had to still polish up her elaborate ideas. She needed to stall.
¡°No, not yet, father. I wonder what¡¯s taking so long?¡±
Caraway scratched his whiskers. ¡°Humph, that is certainly odd. We sent those admission papers out long ago. We should be getting responses by now.¡±
Rinoa kept her cool. She smiled with ease. ¡°Oh, father, you know how those colleges are! Nowadays, they extra check to make sure that the candidates are fully able to survive in their environments. It¡¯s probably a minor delay. Don¡¯t worry too much, father, because I have a positive outlook on my applications. I¡¯m too good to pass up.¡±
General Caraway looked partially relieved. ¡°I trust my daughter on this fact. Alright. Let¡¯s wait an extra one or two weeks.¡±
¡®Score!¡¯ thought Rinoa. ¡®More time to seal the plan. I just hope he doesn¡¯t suspect¡¦¡¯