Chapter Two
She's dying of thirst, and there's no water to be found. She's tired, and she's dirty, and she feels like she's been all over Hyne's creation in pursuit of this guy; the guy she's supposed to find -- the guy who prevents all this from happening.
And always, always, she's overlooking the same scorched landscape. She's been stuck in this dream -- it has to be a dream, right? She refuses to believe this is an actual portent of things to come. -- for what feels like days now. She's tired of it, and she's tired of the Mystery Man's stupid riddles. She's been chasing after him for so long now.
Now, though, it's different. Now, as she stops running, trying to catch her breath, and as she surveys the destruction -- her destruction, apparently, according to Mr. Personality -- there's something else. A shape not too far ahead of her. The shape of a man.
"Heyyyy!" she calls out, jumping up and down, waving her arms. "Finally!" She takes off at a sprint, hoping to catch him before he can just disappear before her. She's tired of the mind games, and she's ready to just wake up and continue with her regularly scheduled life. Maybe he was the key to waking up from this prolonged nightmare.
"'Bout time," he calls back, but he doesn't move any closer.
Selphie tries to step forward, to go to him, but finds that she's blocked by some sort of invisible barrier. "What the …?"
"That's far enough," he says, and she can barely make out his -- jacket? -- flapping in the hot, dry wind.
"Why?" she asks, dangerously close to bursting into tears.
He chuckles, and she's not sure if he's laughing at her, or just laughing in general. Either way, it kind of pisses her off. "Because. You've come far enough. Gotta let him do some of the work now."
"Him? Don't you mean you?" Selphie asks, petulance evident in her voice.
"Me? Nah, I'm just a sort-of messenger. Kinda like you. Hey, remember when we first met?"
"What do you mean? We just met."
"Not when you met this me, dimwit," he snaps. "Think back, real hard. It's going to be important, you know."
"Who are you?" Selphie demands. "And who are you talking about?" His riddles are making her head spin, she can hardly stand it any longer. "I'm tired of this place. Why can't you just tell me what I need to know, so I can get outta here?"
"I'm disappointed in you." He makes a clucking sound. "I thought you'd have it figured out by now. It's all right though, I've given you enough to work with. Now you two idiots will just have to come to terms with this in the real world."
"So I've been chasing after you, all this time, and you're telling me that you're just some sort of messenger? You're not actually anyone important at all?" Selphie is at the end of her rope, and it's dangerously close to snapping now.
"Oh, I'm important, all right. Because if you know who I am, then you have your answer," he replies, and he takes a couple of steps toward her. "I am who you seek, but I'm not actually him, get it?"
Selphie shakes her head. "No, I don't get it. You're saying that you … look like … whoever it is I'm actually supposed to seek out, in the real world? Well, why can't I get a better look at you, then? And just who are you supposed to be to me, anyway?"
"You still don't get it, do you, girl?" He blows out a frustrated breath. "Honestly, who do you think is going to keep you from doing this?"
Selphie freezes and feels all the blood rush away from her face. "My Knight, right?" she squeaks. "You -- or whoever you're supposed to be -- you're my knight? I don't get to pick?"
"Not this time, nope. The magic has its own ideas for you. Ah, well, that's enough. Gotta go. And you need to wake up. Good luck, yeah? Hope you find me in time. Oh, and don't worry. I'll be home soon."
"Wait!" Selphie cries out, but it's too late.
Everything around her starts to fade away until she's left in inky darkness. Suddenly, as though she's surfacing after a dive in ice cold waters, she finds herself sitting up in her own bed at Balamb Garden, gasping for breath.
Rinoa is at her side in an instant. "Selphie!" she cries. "Oh, thank goodness, you're awake."
"Rin?" Selphie asks, her eyes slowly focusing on her surroundings. "How … long?"
"A week," Rinoa tells her. "How do you feel?"
Selphie reaches up and brushes the hair out of her eyes. "Confused … a little scared. I --"
"It's okay," Rinoa says gently, putting her arms about Selphie's shoulders. "It's okay to not have any answers right now. The important thing is that you're back with us."
"Right, I'm back." Selphie looks out the window above her desk, across the room. But what happens next?
Don't worry. I'll be home soon.
The words ring in her mind. Who will be home soon? And how will she even know?
~/~
She's in the library with Edea the next day when it happens. One second, she is skimming through a dusty old tome about the history of the Sorceress, with Edea explaining anything that doesn't make sense to her, and the next, she's dropped the book on the floor and is running down the hallway toward the lobby.
She hears Edea calling out to her, but she cannot -- physically cannot -- make herself turn around. It's as though she's attached to a string, and some unseen force is pulling her along, and she's powerless to do anything about it.
She reaches the lobby just as he does, and for a long second, all she can do is stare at him, trying to make sense of what she's seeing and what she's feeling.
She knew it, deep down, as soon as he was back on Garden property … she felt it. The pull of someone whose fate was intrinsically linked to hers. But she had no idea that it was going to be him. From the look in his eyes, she can tell he feels exactly the same way.
It's a long time before either of them speak. The vein in his forehead is about to pop and his nostrils are flaring in a decidedly unflattering manner, and Selphie can't take it any more.
"I knew you were here," is all she can think to say. He rolls his eyes, and for the first time, Selphie notices that they're green, like hers.
The angry expression never fades from his face. In an instant, Selphie can hear it all, every thought in his head. He's driven hours -- three full days and nights, non-stop -- from way up north, by Trabia, because he'd had some insane compulsion to get back to Garden. And for what? It's almost sickening, the level of distaste and disappointment she is feeling from him -- all directed towards her.
She shakes her head quickly, to get his thoughts out. "I think -- maybe we should talk?" she ventures cautiously. She reaches out to touch his shoulder, because she can't stop herself, but he jerks away quickly, as though she's burned him.
Selphie can feel the waves of annoyance and anger vibrating off of him. "Fuck this," he says, and stalks off toward the dorms -- away from her.
Selphie decides it's probably best not to follow him right now. Maybe after he's rested, he'd be more open to discussion.
She leans up against the Garden directory and closes her eyes. She takes several deep breaths to try and steady herself. It doesn't help, and now she's quivering with her own anger -- or is it his? She can't even tell right now.
Like so many other things in her life, she isn't even being given a choice. Magic she didn't want, a destiny she sure as hell wasn't prepared for, and the one person who was supposed to keep her safe and sane?
Well, he really and truly could care less whether she lived or died -- he'd already tried killing her once before. He'd destroyed her home. He'd remorselessly worked for their enemy.
He'd been Ultimecia's Knight.
And now, he was supposed to be hers? Of all the people in the whole world? Of course. Why wouldn't the fate of the world rest in the hands of Seifer Almasy?
And yet, even though she knows all this, and it goes against everything she believes in … she can't seem to stop staring at the spot where he'd been standing just moments before.
Fuck this, indeed.
