A/N: This chapter contains some disturbing stuff--Siobhan did NOT have a very happy childhood. If bad things happening to kids bothers you, do yourself a favor and DON'T READ IT.
To A Voice in the Wind: Thanks for your review. You asked for more about Siobhan…well, here's more than you probably wanted to know about her! :D
*****
Fox and Hound
Chapter Three
Midsummer had always been her favorite time of the year. The trees surrounding her mountain home were a riot of fragrance and color. Siobhan had been away for a long time--she couldn't remember exactly why. It wasn't important, anyway. The only important thing was finding Irvine. She'd hurt him, and he was probably pissed off at her--again, she couldn't quite remember how or why--but she'd make everything up to him. And as long as there was breath left in her body, she'd never be separated from him again.
The door to her house was unlocked and stood slightly ajar. Good. Irvine must already be here, waiting for her. Perhaps he wanted reconciliation as much as she did. Pushing the door open, Siobhan stepped inside. Dropping her duffle in the foyer, she hurried into the sitting room, eagerly calling her lover's name.
The draperies were closed against the bright sunlight, shrouding the room in shadow. The air within was stale and still, and no one moved within the room's interior. Wherever Irvine was, he wasn't here. She quickly checked the remaining downstairs rooms, but her handsome Galbadian was in none of them. Even better. He was obviously waiting for her upstairs in their bedroom--hopefully, in their bed.
Siobhan wasn't even aware of running up the stairs. Suddenly, however, she found herself outside the bedroom door. Again calling her lover's name, she entered the room.
The bedroom was as devoid of life as the other rooms of the house. Disappointed, Siobhan was about to leave, when a small movement caught her eye. The French doors leading out to the balcony were open; a light summer breeze fluttered the draperies. Through the sheer fabric, Siobhan could discern her lover's familiar form leaning casually against the balcony's railing, his back to her, gazing out at the Trabian landscape.
Siobhan swiftly crossed the room to the balcony's entrance. "Irvine," she called softly, "I'm--"
At the sound of her voice, the sniper turned slowly to face her. The first thing Siobhan noticed was the insanity that burned in the amethyst eyes and twisted the beautiful face into the visage of a beast.
Oh gods! She thought in horror, the bastards have finally driven him mad!
"Hyne, Irvine--I'm so sorry!" she cried, reaching out for the stricken man.
The gunman quickly raised Exeter to his shoulder and aimed the weapon at Siobhan.
"I'm a SeeD," he said in a dead, flat voice. "And SeeDs were created for one purpose."
As her maddened lover squeezed the shotgun's trigger, Siobhan suddenly realized that Irvine was not alone on the balcony. A young man with a scarred forehead obscured by an unruly mop of dark hair stood just behind the sniper. He gripped the ends of a leash that extended from his gloved hands to a barbed collar that encircled Irvine's throat.
The room's silence was shattered by he shotgun's thundering report. Almost instantaneously, Siobhan felt a searing pain in her chest as the round of ammo slammed into her, stopping her heart.
Gasping, Siobhan sat bolt upright. For a moment, she had no idea where she was and flailed wildly about in the darkness, trying to discern her whereabouts.
CALM YOURSELF, LITTLE ONE, came Drake's soothing rumble. YOU'RE SAFE ABOARD THE TRAIN TO DELING CITY.
At the Guardian's words, Siobhan became aware of the engine's roar and the rocking of the compartment as the train rolled over the tracks.
SeeDs were created for one purpose…
Siobhan shuddered over the memory of her nightmare. Irvine's words haunted her. He had said them in order to justify his acceptance of the damned mission that had been the cause of Siobhan's flight. Her dream had taken her lover's words and twisted them, giving them a far more personal cast than Irvine had ever intended.
*****
NEW SORCERESS CONSPIRACY EXPOSED
Every day, some such headline appeared in the papers, inflaming the public's anti-sorceress sentiments even further. Ever since the last Sorceress War three years prior, it seemed that everything from rap music to fluctuations in the stock market was blamed on the nefarious schemes of sorceresses. This particular article claimed that the newest plot to achieve world domination was to seize control of the world's financial centers.
Jeez…they didn't even mention the part about eating babies and conducting obscene orgiastic rituals with various and sundry farm animals, Siobhan thought sarcastically.
Sorceresses had never been exactly popular--no one wielding such power ever was--but things had gotten worse since the Ultimecia incident. Restrictions against civilian use of all types of magic had been quickly enacted. Possession of Guardian Forces by anyone other than SeeD or "authorized military personnel"--whatever the hell that meant--was strictly forbidden. Siobhan and Irvine could be sent to prison for the rest of their natural lives for that little infraction. So, they took great care to summon or use magic only when no one else was nearby.
Things grew steadily worse. Any woman known--or even suspected--of possessing sorceress powers was taken into "protective custody." They were usually never heard from again. The prohibitions against civilian magic use naturally increased requests for Garden assistance with everything from controlling local monster populations to climate manipulation to aid with crop production. Suddenly, SeeD controlled almost all aspects of civilian life. The Gardens were so efficient that they were able to assume this control without most people realizing what was happening until it was too late.
"Mornin' darlin." Irvine dropped a kiss on the top of her head before heading into the kitchen.
"About time you got your lazy ass out of bed, Cowboy."
Her lover made a wry face. "What do you expect when you keep me up all night, having your wicked way with me?" He poured himself a cup of coffee, nimbly dodging the potholder that sailed over the counter at him.
"I was there too, you know" she reminded him, "If I can get up early, you should be able to," Siobhan said smugly.
"Aw…I could never hope to live up to such a superior example as yourself," Irvine chuckled.
"True," Siobhan agreed, batting away the potholder on its return flight across the counter.
Irvine re-entered the dining area and dropped into the seat next to Siobhan. "So, what's going on in the world today, boo'ful?" he asked, looking over her shoulder at the newspaper.
"Same old crap," she said with a sour grimace. Frowning at the headline, Siobhan turned to the marksman and asked, "What do you think about all this anti-sorceress propaganda the media's been spouting lately?"
Irvine tilted back his ever-present Stetson, scratched his head and looked blankly at Siobhan. "Propaganda?" he repeated. "Isn't that a bit strong?" Grabbing the pack of Siobhan's spiced cigarettes that lay on the table between them, he withdrew two, lit them, and handed one back to Siobhan.
"Is it?" Siobhan asked, tapping the article she'd been reading. "Do you really believe this stuff?"
The sniper skimmed the article. Shrugging, Irvine commented, "That story may be a little farfetched--but I wouldn't put anything past those bitches."
"Oh--come on, Irv," Siobhan protested. "This is just political crap. Garden, Esthar, Galbadia--hell, even Trabia just want a scapegoat so that they have an excuse for seizing more and more power. They see u--sorceresses as a threat, so they try to make them out to be the enemy."
Irvine took a deep drag on his cigarette, considering Siobhan's words. Exhaling a cloud of fragrant smoke, he answered. "Maybe, darlin. But all I know is that I fought three of 'em, and from where I stand, they are the enemy."
Siobhan shook her head. "Okay…maybe they were, but does it naturally follow that all of them are?"
Shrugging, Irvine answered, "Well, Rinoa was Okay. But she's the only good one I know about."
Thunder cloud grey eyes flashed a challenge at the sniper, "And how many sorceresses do you know?"
"Only those I just mentioned."
Siobhan rolled her eyes. "Not a very large sampling to judge an entire group on," she chided.
"Maybe not," Irvine agreed, "but based on what I do know of them, I wouldn't trust one of those psycho bitches as far as I could throw Garden."
Siobhan said nothing more, but went back to scowling at the newspaper. After a few moments, Irvine leaned over towards his lover and affectionately nuzzled her ear.
"I suppose I'll have to fix breakfast again, as usual," he growled in mock annoyance. "How d'you want your eggs, darlin?"
Siobhan turned to him and spat out several improbable, immoral--and possibly illegal--things that Irvine could do with the eggs, and then stormed from the room.
*****
SeeD were created for one purpose…
To kill sorceresses.
To kill…me?
All the "expert" scientists were wrong. Not all sorceresses inherited their powers. Siobhan had been born with her gifts--although she hadn't known what she was until the age of ten--when Drake had suddenly come into her life.
*****
"Nikko wasn't lying, you are a pretty one."
Siobhan looked up at the sound of a strange voice. An elderly man had entered her cell and approached the bed on which she was laying.
Why are they always so old and ugly?
The man sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to her, cupping her chin with one dry, age-withered hand, forcing her to look up into his pale, watery blue eyes.
I guess the young, pretty ones don't have to pay for sex.
"So young too…and fresh." If a snake could speak, it would do so with this man's voice. As hardened as Siobhan was after two years in Nikko's brothel, this old man chilled her to the bone.
Siobhan wrenched herself out of the man's grasp and scrabbled to the other side of the bed, dropping onto the floor.
"Come back here, child, I won't hurt you."
You lie, old man.
Her client wanted more than just sex; she could read it in his cold, watery eyes. He wanted her pain, her blood--possibly even her life. The thought of letting him touch her made Siobhan's flesh crawl, so she remained huddled between the bed and her cell wall, shivering with revulsion and terror.
The man stretched out a hand to her. "Don't be foolish, girl--it's not like you haven't done this before." Although he tried to adopt an amused, soothing tone, Siobhan could detect the underlying anger and impatience in the cold voice.
"Now, come here, and don't make me fetch you." A cruel smile spread across the man's face, and Siobhan knew that the old man was hoping he'd have to do exactly that.
COURAGE, LITTLE ONE, a deep voice rumbled in her head.
Startled, Siobhan darted her eyes around her cell, trying to locate the voice's owner. Aside from herself and the old man, the room was empty.
Great. I'm going crazy on top of everything else.
The deep voice chuckled inside her head. YOU'RE NOT CRAZY, LITTLE SORCERESS. I AM HERE, AND I CAN HELP YOU. NOW, GO TO HIM. TAKE HIS HAND.
No!
TRUST ME, the voice urged. I WILL PROTECT YOU.
Her unseen champion then told her how to draw his power to herself. Rising from the floor, Siobhan smiled tentatively at the man and reached out to grasp the extended hand.
"Draw Draconis!" Siobhan felt a sudden onrush of tremendous power as her new friend merged with her and made himself at home in her consciousness.
A sharp blow sent the girl reeling backwards into the cell wall. Siobhan's head struck the hard cement, and she slid down to the floor, dazed.
"Give it back!" the old man shrieked, his face a mask of fury as he advanced on the ten-year-old. "Give it back, you fucking whore! You don't have the slightest idea how to use such power!" The enraged man dropped down into a crouch beside Siobhan, wrapped a gnarled hand around her throat, and began to squeeze the life out of her.
Her protector, however, was already murmuring to her, instructing her in the words that would allow her to fully access the power now raging within her.
The only man's eyes widened in surprise and…fear?…as the unfamiliar words tumbled from Siobhan's lips. Releasing the ten-year-old's throat, he tried to scrabble away from her.
Too late, you sick fuck.
The girl watched impassively as a huge, red beast materialized before her and spouted a jet of white-hot flames at the old man. The stench of roasting flesh filled the small cell, causing Siobhan to gag. Still, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the burning man.
"What the fuck is going on in here?" Nikko, drawn by the racket coming from Siobhan's cell, had poked his head in the door, ready to kick some ten-year-old ass if the girl was being difficult. Eyes as bright and cunning as a sewer rat's moved from Siobhan, to the dragon to the charred and smoldering heap on the floor. Not liking the sum of this particular equation, the brothel owner turned tail and ran for his life.
SHALL I DISPOSE OF THAT ONE AS WELL? Drake asked.
Siobhan shook her head, tangled in a confused web of emotions. Nikko often beat her when she was being "difficult" as he called it--sometimes, even when she wasn't--but he always tended her injuries himself, weeping over what her stubbornness had forced him to do to her. When he took her--as he usually did after beating the crap out of her--he at least tried to be gentle with her, unlike most of the sickos he sold her to. As much as she hated him, Nikko was the closest thing she had to a father, and Siobhan couldn't bring herself to kill him.
No. She finally answered her Guardian. Don't kill him…unless he screws with us.
AS YOU WISH, LITTLE ONE. The rumbling bass voice sounded regretful as the beast merged back into her.
We need to get out of here, Siobhan thought. If Nikko does come back, I'm gonna be in BIG trouble.
Siobhan padded to her cell door and peered cautiously into the hallway. Most of the other cell doors had opened, clients and the other captive children looking around for the source of the disturbance. Her eyes lighted on the closest, a boy who occupied the cell across from hers. A sweaty fat man stood gaping behind him.
"Make sure the others get out," Siobhan told the boy.
"Watcha gonna do?" he asked, wide-eyed.
"Burn it all up," she answered. With a contemptuous glance at the gaping fat man, she added, "You don't have to bother with them if you don't wanna." With a feral grin, the boy ran into the corridor and began ushering the others out.
Once again, the words of power spilled from her lips and Drake roared his fury from above her.
Burn it! Burn it all down!
WITH PLEASURE, BELOVED.
And then, Siobhan was running toward the brothel entrance amidst a crowd of children. Behind them rose the sounds of Draconis's fury and the screams of the clients as they experienced the full weight of a dragon's wrath.
Even in the Deling slums, a herd of naked children flooding into the street was not a common sight. Those on the street when the captives made their escape, gawked for a moment, and then, shrugging, turned their attention elsewhere. Unusual though the sight was, it never paid to be too curious.
Once outside, Siobhan paused, waiting for the dragon's return. The other children didn't hesitate for a moment, but scattered off in different directions like leaves driven before an autumn wind.
WE'D BEST MAKE OURSELVES SCARCE, LITTLE ONE, Drake said as he merged back into Siobhan's consciousness. THE POLICE AREN'T AS OBLIGING AS THESE FOLKS ABOUT MINDING THEIR OWN BUSINESS.
Siobhan began to run again. Another figure appeared beside her--the boy who'd helped free the others. Stopping in her tracks, she turned to face her companion.
"Whatchoo want?" she asked curiously.
The boy, who up close appeared to be a couple of years older than Siobhan, smiled shyly at her. "Just wanted to say thanks," he said softly. Grasping her wrist lightly, the boy pulled Siobhan to him and pressed his lips firmly to hers. His kiss was much to passionate and much too knowing for a child…Like hers.
After a moment, the boy released her. "Well, good luck!" he said before pelting off into the night.
"You too!" Siobhan called after him before darting off in the opposite direction.
*****
Siobhan never saw the boy again, but neither did she forget him. The boy and his too-expert kiss was one of the few happy childhood memories she had. She often wondered what had become of him, where he was now, and if he ever thought about her--or even remembered her at all.
Well…a little girl with a pet dragon would be hard to forget, I suppose.
Smiling at the memory, Siobhan let herself recline back onto the bed.
Better get some sleep before meeting Jared tomorrow--You know how he is--one look at these steamer trunks under your eyes and he'll have you strapped down to a hospital bed…probably have Finn hang around to make sure you stay there too…
Siobhan closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind so that sleep could enter. Sleep however, evaded the sorceress; Irvine's eyes haunted her whenever she closed her own.
Giving up on sleep finally, Siobhan sat up again, flicking on the compartment's light switch. Retrieving her duffle from the floor, she reached in and withdrew her cigarette case.
Fuck the no-smoking rules. I NEED this.
Thumbing her lighter, Siobhan touched cigarette to flame and inhaled the spicy smoke. Flicking the light off again, she leaned her forehead wearily against the cool glass of the compartment window and glared out into the night.
*****
In the year or so since Siobhan had escaped from Nikko's, Drake had taught her many useful abilities. With his help, for example, she was able to move, unseen, through a crowd. It was in this way that she was able to feed and clothe herself--since no one seemed willing to give an eleven-year-old child a job. Not a legitimate job, at any rate. So, she stole to survive. She wasn't proud of it, but it was better than starving.
Her Guardian had also begun to teach her how to use her own innate powers. How to draw up energy from the planet itself and mold it into the form she wanted it to take. It was hard to do, so the dragon began to teach her simple meditation techniques that would strengthen her concentration and focus.
One evening, the young sorceress was practicing an exercise that Drake had given her: visualize a tree--see its form, feel the texture of the bark under her hands, smell its woodiness and the scent of the foliage. The tree popped into focus behind her closed eyelids--along with an entire forest. Although Siobhan knew that the sun was just beginning to set; however, in her vision, the sky was dark, with just a sliver of moon smiling down at her through the tree's branches. From somewhere nearby, a beautiful melody floated through the air.
The music seemed to be coming from the tree--her tree--so she stood up and walked over to where it sprang up from the forest floor. Yes. It was definitely coming from somewhere deep inside the tree's wooden heart. Trailing one hand along the rough bark of the trunk, Siobhan walked slowly around the tree.
Suddenly, her hand passed through the trunk's surface, and Siobhan found herself standing before a yawning black doorway. The gentle strains of melody wafted out to her, and without thinking twice, she entered.
Following the music, Siobhan passed through a dark passageway lit only by scattered rush-lights along the ceiling. Eventually, the passage opened into a brightly lit chamber: the source of the melody she was following.
In the room, two figures, a man and woman, danced together. The woman had black hair, like a cloud at midnight, and her eyes were twin silver moons glowing up at her partner. The man's long, silver-white hair was caught into a thick braid that snaked down his back, brushing the floor as he danced. His eyes were the color of the sun. Spinning and whirling in time to the music, the couple swept over the floor closer and closer to where Siobhan stood watching.
As the couple drew near, they turned to the young girl and extended their arms to her, smiling.
"Come dance with us, little sister," the woman called out, laughing.
Siobhan ran to the pair, wrapped an arm around the waist of each and allowed herself to be swept into the dance.
Her partners smiled down at her. "We've waited a long time for you to come to us," the man chided gently.
"I'm sorry," Siobhan said, "I didn't know you were waiting for me."
The woman gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Of course you didn't, child." Giving her partner an exasperated glare, she continued. "You're here now, that's the important thing."
"Who are you?" Siobhan asked.
The woman chuckled and shot a challenging glance at her partner. "Would you like to field that one, hot stuff?"
The man beside her looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Um…no?" he said hopefully.
The woman rolled her silver eyes and laughed. "Wimp," she said affectionately, and stuck her tongue out at her partner.
"Promises, promises," the man chuckled, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at the woman.
Sheesh, someone needs to hose those two down, Siobhan thought to herself. They're getting embarrassing.
The girl cleared her throat impatiently, bringing the attention of the overheated pair back to her question.
"Oh…right," the woman said, a slight flush streaking across her cheeks. "Well, to put is bluntly, kid…I'm you…or rather, you used to be me."
"Huh?" Siobhan struggled to make sense out of the woman's words.
The man rolled his eyes. "I could've done better than that," he said wryly, chuckling at his partner's angry glare.
"I can't give you all the background right now," the woman said, "our time here is very limited--but suffice it to say that we all live many lifetimes--usually with the same souls popping up together in various guises--as friends, parents, siblings, etc."
Siobhan nodded. Drake had mentioned something like this in one of his lessons.
Noting the girl's sudden comprehension, the woman continued, "Some souls travel together through lifetime after lifetime, becoming so closely intertwined that they seem to be two halves of the same whole rather than separate beings--follow me?"
Siobhan nodded again. "So…if you're me," she said, looking at the woman, "then he's…"
The woman nodded, smiling, "Right! This, I'm sorry to say, is what the fates have stuck us with for all eternity." The woman's mischievous smile took the sting from her words.
"But something's gone wrong this time," the man told her. "You were supposed to have found me by now--" he broke off, looking confused, "or rather, you were supposed to have found my counterpart--" The man broke off again, giving the woman an exasperated look. "This is damn hard to explain."
"Showing's easier than telling," the woman said.
Still clasping Siobhan between them, the couple began to twirl faster and faster. Suddenly, the room was filled with dancing couples, spinning and stepping in time to the music.
Wide-eyed, Siobhan asked, "Are those all--"
"Us," the man and woman finished in unison.
"We're very old souls," the woman explained.
"Ah," the man said, "There's your partner, I believe." He pointed across the room.
On the other side of the chamber stood a boy about Siobhan's age. He seemed to be mostly a tangle of long arms and legs as he slouched against the far wall, trying to exude an aura of coolness. A black Stetson that looked to be at least two sizes too big was tilted forward over his face.
Siobhan looked at the older couple in dismay. "A cowboy?" she wailed. "Couldn't he be, like, a biker, or something cool like that?"
The couple laughed. "Go over and talk to him," the woman urged, "I think you'll like him."
"Yeah…right," Siobhan muttered, but did as she was told.
At Siobhan's approach, the boy straightened up and tilted back his hat, revealing his face.
I think I can work with this.
"Hey, pretty lady," the boy drawled in a voice that was just beginning the transformation from childish tenor to the soft baritone of adulthood, "I see the ol' Kinneas charm drew you over like a moth to a flame."
Siobhan giggled, "It's you, all right!" She glanced back at the older couple across the room.
"Huh?" The boy scratched his head, causing his hat to tip back over his face. He pouted for a moment when Siobhan laughed again, but after a bit, a broad grin stretched across his face.
"I'm Irvine Kinneas," he said, extending his hand.
"Siobhan O'Hara." Siobhan took the offered hand, but instead of shaking hands with her, Irvine lifted her had to his lips and dropped a gentle kiss onto it.
The young sorceress rolled her eyes. This kid was a piece of work, alright. Again, she glanced over at the other couple who stood beaming like proud parents at their current incarnations.
Irvine followed Siobhan's line of vision. "They your parents?" he asked, a wistful note creeping into his voice.
"Um…sorta," Siobhan said hesitantly, not quite sure how to explain who the couple really was.
The boy slumped back against the wall. "Must be nice…" he sighed. "I ain't got no parents." Dusky violet eyes again gazed wistfully at the pair across the room and blinked back the tears that suddenly welled up within them.
Unsure of herself in the role of comforter, Siobhan snaked an arm tentatively around the boy's thin shoulders. They stood together in silence for a moment, neither child sure what to say next. Suddenly, Irvine stepped away from Siobhan, his infectious grin firmly back in place.
"Hey, you don't need to worry about me!" he said cheerfully. "I'm doin great! Just started sniper training this year--at Galbadia Garden, you know--I'm gonna be a SeeD someday."
"A seed?" Siobhan repeated, puzzled. "What kind of seed?"
The boy rolled his eyes with the scorn that only the worldly wisdom of twelve can assume towards the ignorance of eleven. "Jeez, don't you know nothin?" he asked. "A SeeD--you know, a mercenary. I may even fight a sorceress someday," he said proudly.
Siobhan gulped. "Why a sorceress?" she asked in a choked voice.
"'Cos that's what SeeDs do," Irvine explained patiently.
"Oh." Siobhan stared at the floor, blushing.
"Siobhan," the woman called from across the room, "it's time to go now, child."
The young sorceress turned back to the boy. "I gotta go now, Okay?" she said, "maybe I'll see you again, though, huh?"
The young cowboy grinned and tilted back the hat that had once again slipped over his eyes. "Yeah doll, that'll be great--if I can schedule you in. I'm a pretty busy guy, you know."
Shaking her head, Siobhan turned away and began walking back towards the older couple. A slim hand touched her shoulder, and she turned to find Irvine looking at her seriously, all traces of his former bravado gone.
"Um…Sha--Sha--" he stumbled over the unfamiliar syllables of her name.
"Shih-vawn" Siobhan pronounced slowly for him.
"Shih-vawn," he repeated carefully. "Thanks." He looked down at the floor, a slight blush setting off the dusting of freckles that ran across the bridge of his nose.
"Umm…I-I was just kiddin' a minute ago…uh…I'dreallylikeitifyoucouldcomebacksometimeokay?" The words, once he'd decided to say them, came out in a torrent. When he'd finished, Irvine turned pleading eyes up to meet Siobhan's.
"O-okay," Siobhan stammered, "I'll try."
The young cowboy heaved a sigh of relief. "Great!" he exclaimed. "Hurry back soon, Shi--um…Vonnie!" Smiling shyly, he added, "I really like you!" He kissed Siobhan on the cheek and then ran toward the exit.
Siobhan touched the place on her cheek where Irvine had kissed her. "I like you too, Cowboy!" she called after the retreating figure.
Irvine paused for a moment. He tipped his oversized hat, winked, and then pelted off towards the exit again.
"Well, Siobhan, how did you like your partner?" The man and woman had appeared by her side again. Looking around, Siobhan noticed that the other dancers had disappeared, and the music had stopped.
"I liked him," she said smiling.
The couple laughed. "Of course you did," the man said smugly, flicking his long braid over his shoulder. "After all, what's not to like?"
Siobhan and the woman both laughed. "What indeed?" the woman said, gazing at her partner affectionately.
"So…what do I do now?" the young sorceress asked.
"Go to him, of course," the woman said, astonished that Siobhan even had to ask. "You know where he is, don't you?"
The girl nodded. "Galbadia Garden."
"Good," the man said. "Now listen carefully, child, our time is almost up, and there's a bit more we have to tell you."
"First of all," the woman began, "When you find him in the real world, he won't remember this little…encounter…so don't expect him to."
"Second," the man continued, "Something--we don't know what exactly--has gone wrong with this incarnation. The two of you should have met long before this. The pattern has been almost completely disrupted--neither of you had the childhood you were supposed to have. Irvine was never supposed to enter Garden--he's--we're--completely unsuited to that sort of life. You were certainly never supposed to be used the way that Nikko bastard used you--" the man's golden eyes turned blood red at the thought of Siobhan's previous life.
The woman squeezed her partner's hand, "Never mind, love," she said softly, "It's over now, and she's strong--we're strong." The two counterparts smiled at each other.
"So, in order to bring the pattern back to its proper state," the woman continued, "you must find your cowboy and ask him to dance."
"Dance?" Siobhan asked, confused.
"I'm speaking metaphorically, of course," the woman explained vaguely. "Once he accepts, you must make sure to hold him tight, and never--I repeat, never--let go of his hand."
"If you do," the man warned, "the pattern will fall into even greater disorder, which would bring disaster for both of you."
"I'll remember," Siobhan promised solemnly.
" Our time is at an end, little sister," the woman said, "Farewell!"
*****
…Find your cowboy and ask him to dance…hold him tight…never let go of his hand…I'll remember…
Siobhan sat up suddenly, banging her head painfully against the top of her berth.
I didn't remember! Shit, it didn't even make sense to me at the time! What the hell kind of idiot talks in metaphor to a fucking eleven-year-old anyway?
The words from her childhood vision had puzzled her at the time--but now, they finally made sense--terrible sense.
Fuck, fuck, FUCK! I fucking let go of his fucking hand!
By leaving Irvine, Siobhan had thought that she would be making things easier for him in the long run. He was a SeeD, she was a sorceress, and never the twain shall meet. He would do what he had to do; she, what she had to. And maybe, when it was all over, they would be able to work things out between them--if they both survived. Siobhan had thought she was doing the right thing, but as it turned out, she'd probably just destroyed them both.
Gods, Irv--I'm sorry…I'm so fucking sorry!
*****
A/N: Phew! This was a loooong chapter! Siobhan obviously had a lot on her mind.
I know all the characters are flashing back like refugees from the original Woodstock, but all the flashbacks seem to be necessary to the story. Eventually, everything will be explained and the flashbacks will cease.
Thanks to the reviewers--BOTH of you!--for your kind words. I hope someone else will R/R as well, because I'M beginning to feel like the "voice howling in the wilderness."