A/N: I'm soooooooooo sorry for not being able to write and post this before! Hopefully I'll have more time to write now. Remember to review, please! =D
Chapter 2
When she awoke her body felt weightless and the ocean that surrounded her was red with blood; clouds of dark red shrouded figures in the water. Splashing sounds could be heard above her. A squeeze in her hand-made her remember him. She glanced at the black presence by her side; he was looking at the surface. She followed his gaze. Her face contorted as immeasurable pain touched her chest. A body clad in a bright yellow dress started sinking deeper until it floated at almost touching distance. Her face distorted in agony.
"Sel-"
She froze as splash after splash hit the surface. Lionheart sunk to the depths with astounding speed as it passed her.
Reluctantly she looked up again; a scream burst from her mouth.
Excruciating pain was etched into all her friends faces; arms and legs were missing. Blood wrapped around them like a sheer veil.
The dark presence beside her tried to keep her still by wrapping his arms around her but after headbutting him she managed to free her arms.
After casting Double, Life and Curaga shot from her hands. She was losing control; magic shooting from her hands so fast they were negating each other and obstructing her veins. Only when she finally noticed that she was feeling faint and that he was pulling her away from them did she notice the damage to her forearms and hands; her forearms had burst completely open. Her own blood enveloping her body. She had burned through half her healing magic stock in less than five minutes and a tiny voice in her brain remembered her that she would be in a coma in a couple of hours and dead in a few more if left unattended.
Shiva.
The black figure held her closer to its body as her body became heavier. Tears running down her face; eyes bloodshot.
Help them... Please.
The black figure continued to hold her silently as it gazed at her. As a last attempt she cast Mighty Guard.
I'll do anything! Save them, Seifer!
As she said his name the black that surrounded him was washed away by the ocean surrounding them. Cyan eyes stared blankly at her and she felt relief at seeing his face rid of all the darkness. He was okay.
They're dead.
The bodies of her friends started to sink deeper away from her as the remaining bodies that, up until now were silhouettes, started to float towards her.
Trabian uniforms. All these bodies were the result of her failure.
Her arms became numb and her head heavy; she let her head fall back into Seifer's shoulder.
"I did all of this?" She mumbled.
"I can make it go away. I can get you away from this."
"Away? To where?"
She felt her head raise a few inches as he shrugged.
"It doesn't matter."
Her body gave out but before complete darkness took hold she could feel the warm Sun on her face and the sound of wind bothering leaves.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Opening her eyes she turned her head to the digital clock on her nightstand; 07:42.
She did need to buy some things for the house; clean here and there as well.
With a sigh she flung the red sheet off her body and made her way to her new bathroom. As she took her usual five-minute shower she made mental notes as to what she needed the most in her humble abode. It felt nice to think of what colour towels to buy or what was going to be the kitchen floor: wood or stone? Maybe a ceramic tile floor…
First she had to find someone to actually renovate the house. The plumbing was fine but no one had actually lived in the house for over ten years and these things needs use or they will simply degrade. Money was not an issue so maybe she should just change everything? Again, it's better to check with an expert.
After getting dressed she combed her hair (and tied it in its usual fashion), secured Save the Queen at its place at her waist and applied the white magic fused ointment Dr. Kadowaki had given her for her forearm wounds. By looking at them now no one would know that time compression had happened almost a month ago. Kadowaki was an amazing healer.
Grabbing a purse she left the house.
If Xu, Selphie and Rinoa could see her now. A purse! An actual purse! They would, as some people put it, shit bricks. She smiled.
She probably had to thank Cid for the lack of people knocking on her door the day before. That had given her time to clean the entrance, bedroom and bathroom from top to bottom. They probably hadn't even noticed she had left… Maybe it was for the best.
Because Balamb lacked shops she had to ask the people around town as to who could do the type of work her house needed. They all told her the same name. One of the fisherman had a son living in Timber who was married to a woman whose father had that kind of business. She didn't know if the fact that everyone gave the exact same answer was good or not. One lady even told her that a cousin of said person owned a pet-shop in case she was looking for company...
They all recognized her but they ignored her "hero" status and talked to her like she was anyone else. She knew they would. That was why she had chosen Balamb. Everyone she saw smiled at her and kept to themselves. Exactly what she needed. After shoving a piece of paper with the name and address of the person that could help her she made her way to Balamb Station. She made a quick stop at the only Café in Balamb Town and ordered a Quezacotl Macchiato and a blueberry Blobra Donut.
Her trip to Timber was uneventful. As soon as she arrived she searched the town for the correct address. It was easy to find with the help of some passersby.
Her talk with the constructor, Zion, took her a bit more than she expected but she ended up choosing everything she wanted for the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living-room. The matter of her library or office would have to be discussed only after he could see the actual size of what used to be the fishmonger shop. They agreed that the next day he would be knocking at her door with one of his workers at about 10:00. After thanking Zion she grabbed the chance to buy some new sheets, drapes, towels, some food and a few kitchen utensils. She supposed she'd finally have time to learn how to cook.
She arrived at Balamb at 18:36 carrying so many bags that she had difficulty getting out of the train. As she stumbled down the steps of the Train Station a few kids laughed at her. A little girl approached her.
"Need any help, miss?"
"Maybe. Are you gonna help me?" She said with a smile.
"Sure. Hey, meanies, help too!"
The other two boys that were with her approached them. Quistis looked at her bags and then at the children. The problem was not the weight of the bags but the volume. The pillows where just getting in her way.
"Here. You take the pillows and I'll take the rest. Okay?"
One of the boys pouted with a rosy tint to his cheeks.
"I'm strong! I can take one of those bags. Let these babies take the pillows."
"So am I. The truth is, it's not polite to make people you just met carry your things. Especially heavy things. Tell you what, in a few weeks I'm going to have my books delivered to my house and you can help me put them on the shelves. Ok?"
With a smile and a wink the kid grabbed two pillows and blushed a deeper shade of red.
"Ok."
"I live in that house on the docks. The one with that big glass window. Shall we get going?"
To anyone watching the scene Quistis was the mother duck and the children were her little ducklings. Laughter from the boys and squeals from the girl as she hugged the pillow on her little arms were heard all the way home. Home.
After thanking the children for their help she put everything in its place and sat on her bed. Three knocks stumbled through the corridor into her bedroom.
She opened the door.
"Quistis."
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger! Next Chapter will be Seifer POV.
