Chapter 6:
Somewhere north of Trabia, three months later…
"It's official. I, Laguna Loire, HATE Ruby Dragons," Laguna sat on a large boulder, rubbing his wounded arm as Kiros cast a Cure spell on him.
"Hey, if you hadn't been so stupid and thought it was us, you could have run away and we wouldn't have to fight that thing," Kiros said, smirking at Laguna's complaining.
"Well, if you hadn't convinced me to take this stupid job…"
"……" said Ward, lifting both eyebrows.
"Okay, okay," Laguna grumbled, leaping down from the rock as the cure spell took effect and made him feel better.
"At least you didn't fall off a cliff and end up in bed for a month again," Kiros cast cure on himself, then turned to look out at the landscape. All that could be seen in front of them, apart from the few, small villages, was mountains, snow and forests. Then there was that strange light in the far south… Whatever it was, the three of them had a feeling they were going in the right direction.
"Hey, man. Give me a break. That was an accident," Laguna walked up next to Kiros, frowning. Soon, Ward joined them too, "Besides, the Shumis happen to be very friendly."
"We have to stop wasting our time, Laguna. You want to go back to Raine as soon as possible, right? And who knows what they're doing to Ellone right at this moment while we're standing here, talking…," Kiros trailed off.
"I know that! Don't you think I know that?!" Laguna looked like he was about to jump at Kiros - who backed away - but quickly managed to calm down. Ward just stared, eyes wide, and Kiros wore an almost frightened expression, "Sorry…," Laguna breathed, "I just… can't stand the thought of…"
Ward stepped forward and put a hand on Laguna's shoulder. Kiros sighed, "I know, Laguna, I'm sorry. Look, I think we're getting close. We just gotta hurry, you know?"
Laguna nodded slowly, biting his lower lip. Turning his steel blue eyes to the horizon, he watched the mysterious beam that seemed to shine like sunlight from the ground. Get Ellone… Then back to Raine. But was he ready, yet? As much as he hated to admit it, he had enjoyed the past few months. He had enjoyed traveling around the world with his two best friends, like he used to do in the old days when they were soldiers. Seeing new places, experiencing new things.. And then sit down and write about them. Although Timber Maniacs didn't pay too much for his articles, he still loved to write them. It was worth the effort, even if it was just for the pleasure of knowing that people all over Galbadia would be reading about his journeys.
The boy inside him longed to see more of the world, too. When he found Ellone, would he be ready to return to his wife? Spend the rest of his life as a husband at home, never leaving the small village. He loved Raine, there was no doubt of that, but had he made the right choice?
"Let's go," Kiros said. The two others nodded, and soon, the three friends were heading down the path… Oblivious of the fact they were about to enter history…
"We'll be there soon, sweetie, don't worry," the young woman - no, girl - headed down the dark streets of Deling city. In her arms, she held a poorly clothed baby. One so young it couldn't be more than a couple days old. The mother, a short, brown haired teenager, with dirty clothes and dust in her face, couldn't be more than 15 or 16 herself. She didn't feel safe there, noting all the looks from the drunk men that sat in the corners of the street. She never felt safe, even less when she had this new burden to take care of.
But not for long. Lily Tilmitt was barely able to keep herself alive. The baby wouldn't live for long if she was to remain under her birth mother's care.
The girl stopped in front of a small building. She knew that the two old sisters who lived there used to take care of orphaned children, and saw this as her only way out. For a long while, she stood there, watching the house. Then she looked down at her daughter, who was peacefully asleep in her arms. Oh, how beautiful she was! Her daughter, her own little angel, with fuzz of light brown hair on her tiny head, and eyes of the most wonderful, jade green. Just like her father's eyes, Lily mused. It tore her apart that she had to give up on the only one she had ever really loved in this cruel world. But that was just it – she loved her child too much to keep her.
Sighing sadly, she pulled out a piece of paper from her jacket pocket, read through it's content quickly, then placed the note beneath the blanket wrapped around her baby. Then she gently laid the baby on the doorstep. The girl woke as she felt the cold stone replace her mother's warm grasp, and started crying. Lily bit her lip, knocked on the door twice, and then fled and disappeared into the shadows.
An elderly woman opened the door, surprised at the sight that met her, "Mimi! There's a baby out here!"
"Another abandoned one? Oh, dear God. We don't have room for any more!" a voice replied from inside, mixed with the voices of children crying and bickering. Charlotte, the woman that had opened the door, bent down and picked up the screaming baby, "My, my… you aren't old, are you?" … Then she noticed the paper sticking out from the blanket. Pulling it out, she read:
'Dear ladies.
I can't take care of my baby. Please, give her a nice home and be good to her, cause I love her very much. Her name is Selphie. Her last name is Tilmitt, like mine. Don't try to find me. She'll be a good girl, I promise.'
Charlotte lowered the paper slowly, sighing quietly to herself. They already had ten children – and there was a limit for how many kids you could raise at the age of 60. Then, she had an idea. Closing the door behind her, she walked into the living room.
"Mimi? I read about this orphanage … Run by a woman named Edea …Kramer? Yeah, wife of that man building a huge military school in Balamb. It was an article in Timber Maniacs…"
Chapter 7:
Winhill, August 18.
"Raine, Raine, Raine!" Heads popped out of windows from all the houses in the small village as the clear and well known voice of Winhill's youngest member was heard. Ellone was running all the way, and her escort could barely keep up with her, "Little lady, PLEASE! I'm too old for this!" he panted.
Raine was still in bed, dozing lightly, even if it was getting pretty late. It wasn't easy to walk about when you were in your ninth month of pregnancy.
…There was something wrong about her dream. Every night, she would dream of her husband returning with the girl that had become as dear to them as a daughter. She would hear their voices, see their smiles, feel their skin touch hers… They would be there to see her child be born. Their child, Raine and Laguna's child. But every night, it was the same. They vanished. Their voices faded as she woke, and again, it was only a dream. She would be sitting wide awake in her bed, with the memories still fresh in her mind, and sob like a little baby.
But today, there was something wrong with her dream. She could feel she was starting to wake, but the voices remained. Or rather, the voice. Ellone? She sounded so real… So..
Raine's eyes went wide open. She sat up, as quickly as she could with her huge belly, and got out of bed, walking to the window and looking out just in time to see her brown haired, blue dressed angel run across the little bridge and towards her house. This wasn't a dream!
"Ellone! Elle!" Careful not to stumble in her own feet, Raine ran down the stairs and out the door. Ellone ran straight into her foster mother's arms, and the two females hugged each other so tightly, and so long that Ellone's escort thought they had grown stuck to each other.
Tears of joy ran down Raine's cheeks. She closed her eyes, burying her nose in Ellone's hair and just feeling, sensing her presence. "Raine…," Ellone said quietly, smiling from ear to ear as the woman finally let her go.
"Thank God you're all right… Oh, I've missed you so much! I was so worried!" Raine said, still holding Ellone's arms and looking into her eyes. Ellone, being only four years old, was rather blunt when noticing Raine's stomach, "Raine, why're ya so fat?"
Blinking, Mrs. Loire glanced at her own stomach, then smiled at Ellone, "That's… I'll explain later," she looked around, narrowed her eyes, then looked around again, "Where's Laguna?"
"Oh, that's right," Ellone's escort suddenly said – He had been quiet until now. He was wearing a Galbadian uniform, but looked older and less formal than the soldiers that had been guarding the village a year earlier. 'Why did they have to leave? If they hadn't, the Estharians wouldn't have taken Ellone in the first place…' Raine thought bitterly.
"I'm Ellone's escort," the man explained, "A man from Esthar came with a small boat to Dollet. He asked for someone who could take his 'friend' to Winhill, said he would pay them. Since I just happened to be going this way anyway, I offered to help him," seeing Raine's annoyed 'get on with it' expression, he cleared his voice and continued, "Ah, anyway. This man was a friend of a man named Laguna Loire. He told me to bring this girl to a woman named Raine Loire, and I assume that is you?"
Raine nodded. It was an unnecessary question.
"Right. Anyway, he had a message for you," the escort handed Raine a piece of paper.
Ellone looked curiously over Raine's shoulder as she read, even if she couldn't read herself and knew most of what was in the letter already, only with easier words.
'Raine, my dearest.
I kept my promise. If you get this letter, it means that Ellone has been brought back to you and that you are both safe in Winhill. Some crazy doctor had her captured. I'm not sure why, but I was told she had some sort of special ability...? I apologize for not being there. I'm not sure how to start – There are so many things to explain, and so little time. I have joined a resistance group in Esthar. They helped me free Ellone, so the only right thing I could do was to help them in return. We are currently thinking of a way to get rid of Sorceress Adel, but it's not easy. I'm afraid it can take a while before I am able to return to you. Please forgive me. Just know that if I succeed in this, I'll be helping a lot of people.
Love you,
Laguna.'
The look of hurt in Raine's face was unimaginable. She didn't even notice how her hand was closing around the paper, crumpling it to a little ball. A resistance group?? Why in the world would he… Would he rather help complete strangers in a difficult and dangerous job to free a whole country, which probably was impossible anyway, and leave his family to fend for themselves? Swallowing, Raine fought back tears and stood up. The escort looked questioningly at her, but she waved him off with a hand, "Thanks for your help. I guess the man in Dollet already paid you," she said, her voice strangely plain. He nodded, cocking a brow, then saluted to them both, "I will be on my way then."
As the escort turned and walked away, Ellone looked up at Raine, who obviously was fighting back tears, "Raine…?"
Raine sniffed and took Ellone's hand, "Let's go inside, honey. I'll make us some lunch. You know what? Soon, you're going to be a big sister..."
Chapter 8:
Winhill, late evening, August 23.
"She's finally asleep," Mrs. Gordon said quietly as she walked down the stairs from Raine's room, "The girl too," she shook her head sadly, "Poor dears. They have both been through so much, and now this…"
"How is she doing?" Old Mr. Gordon asked. He was sitting in a chair in a corner, and in his arms, he was holding a tiny, newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket. The baby boy sucked eagerly on the nipple of the milk bottle that Mr. Gordon was feeding him with.
"Not too good," the old lady walked over to her husband, and sighed as she watched him care for the baby just as he had cared for their own children, a long time ago. He was such a gentle man, wasn't he? "She lost a lot of blood. A lot. She's very weak and I think she's got some sort of infection, too. I'm afraid she's not going to… make it."
Mr. Gordon frowned and stood up, a bit too quickly. The baby was startled and lost his grip on the bottle, then started screaming. So much for being gentle. Mrs. Gordon took him out of her husband's arms and grabbed the bottle, and the boy was content as soon as he started feeding again.
"It's all that… that… soldier's fault! Good for nothing brat, was he. Should have thought he was 7, not 27. He should never have come here. If he had just stayed away, Raine would have found a decent man instead!"
"Calm down, dear! You'll just wake them again!" his wife hissed.
"Well, good! Maybe then Raine will realize the truth! She'll see what a stupid choice she made! And don't say I didn't warn her!"
"Eric!"
The baby was crying again.
Upstairs, Ellone was lying huddled up against Raine, her eyes wide and moist. Raine felt warm tears on her face once again – she had been crying almost nonstop for the past week, and was just as exhausted from her heartache as she was from the difficult birth.
"Raine… do they hate Uncle Laguna?" Ellone whispered, her voice vague and alien.
The woman didn't reply. She listened to the old couple argue downstairs, to the sound of her newborn son crying. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were such a nice couple, but they truly disliked Laguna – especially Mr. Gordon had despised her love from the day he arrived in the village, badly wounded and unable to care for himself.
"Laguna…," Raine whispered. She drew in a shaky breath, and moaned as a sharp twinge of pain shot through her chest and down her back. Ellone lifted her head, an alarmed look in her face.
"Elle… would you be a dear… And tell Mrs. Gordon to come up here? …And ask her… to bring my son…," Raine winced, the pain throbbing through her entire body. She could literally feel her life and energy being sucked out of her.
Ellone was hesitant to leave Raine like this, but she obeyed.
Left alone, Raine closed her eyes again, "Oh, Laguna…. Why did you leave me? Now I'll never see your eyes again, your smile… I just wanted you to see our son. I wanted to see your expression when you saw him. I wanted us all to be together…," she breathed, her brows narrowing in a pained frown, "Did you really love me, Laguna…? Or was it just… because …" It hurt too much, even to whisper. She had to save her strength for talking with Mrs. Gordon.
(Was I just a replacement for that singer, Julia? I saw your expression whenever you heard her song… I know that song was about you. Did you leave me because you realized I wasn't your true love?)
(Then why did you ask me to marry you…? Why…?)
"I knew he was trouble! The moment he arrived, I knew!"
"Eric! Please! She might die, and you're…" Mrs. Gordon and her husband fell quiet at the same time. The only sound heard was the baby boy's unstoppable, heart piercing crying.
At the base of the stairs, little Ellone stood, looking at the two of them with huge brown eyes, her expression stiff with fear and sadness.
Mrs. Gordon shot the elderly man a sharp look, then went over to the girl, "Elle, honey… I thought you were asleep? What's the matter?"
Elle, not crying, not saying a word, just stared at the woman. She lifted her hand, pointing upstairs. Mrs. Gordon blinked, and fearing the worst, she handed the baby to her husband and started to move up the stairs.
Ellone shook her head, "Lil' bro go with you…," she said quietly, "Raine wants her baby."
"Raine?" Mrs. Gordon stepped over to the bed, carrying the still crying baby in her arms.
"Nina…," Raine slowly opened her eyes. She coughed, twice, then cleared her voice, "May I… hold him?"
Without answering, Mrs. Gordon gave the baby to his mother. Raine held him with such care and love that only a mother could, cooing to him quietly, "Shhh, don't cry, my little boy.. My little angel.. Don't cry..," she whispered, holding him close to her face, so she could smell the sweetness of his baby skin and feel the fuzz of dark hair on his head brush against her soft cheek. Soon, her son calmed down and stopped crying, his eyes closing.
Mrs. Gordon watched with amazement. Ellone had followed, and she was standing a bit behind the old woman, watching.
"I want to give him a name… before I must go," Raine said softly, looking up at Mrs. Gordon. The other woman frowned and shook her head, "Don't say that, Raine, you'll be just fine."
Looking at the girl behind, Raine didn't like the expression on Ellone's face. Blank, staring.
Turning her attention back to her baby, Raine took in a gasp of air, then mouthed, barely loud enough to be heard, "Squall."
"What?" Mrs. Gordon asked.
(Rain, lagoon… water. Mixed with wind. Storm. Strong. You need to be strong, my little Squall.) "His name is Squall… Squall Leonhart."
"Your maiden name? Why?"
(Because he needs to be strong.) (Because he will need to have a lion's heart - Brave and strong. Because soon, he will have no parents.)
"Raine?"
(Because I am his mother. I will die as Raine Loire, Laguna Loire's wife. But he will live as Squall Leonhart, Raine Leonhart's son. …Because Laguna will never be his father. Sometimes blood isn't thicker than water.)
(He abandoned us.)
"Because I insist," Raine said firmly, her dark blue eyes meeting Nina's gaze, "Consider it my last wish."
(My grave will say Raine Loire. Fooled by a man whose boyish dreams hadn't yet left him. A boy who didn't want a family, but who wanted to save the world and be a hero, like the heroes in cartoons he admired when he was little.)
(He doesn't even know he has a son.)
Suddenly, Raine gasped as pain went through her body again. She felt her will to keep her eyes open fade.
Mrs. Gordon was deeply concerned, "Raine, you ought to get some rest."
"No," the young mother reached up to the back of her neck, and lifted off the necklace that hung there. The one she always wore, but kept hidden beneath her shirt. Attached to it was a lion's head made out of silver. Griever. A Guardian Force who had many glorious and mysterious rumors circling Its name. Raine's father had given the necklace to her when she was a girl.
Ever so gently, Raine placed it around Squall's neck instead. The boy in her arms didn't move, but kept sleeping like the angel he was.
"Squall Leonhart… Don't forget who you are," Raine whispered, and glanced at Ellone, "Elle… Take care of him." Again, she felt the overwhelming pain and weakness get its grip on her, and she couldn't resist it any longer. Her head fell back, and she was lost in a deep sleep. The two others present held their breath and went cold with fear. Was it over? No, her chest still rose and fell. For now. Squall was comfortable with his head against his mother's chest.
"Raine!" Ellone cried, running over to the woman that had served as her foster mother. She buried her head against Raine's side and sobbed, "Raine, don't die…"
Chapter 9:
Centra, Cape of Good Hope, September 1.
Things had been quiet at the orphanage after Marion, Peter and Stephen had all left. Edea was left with 'her' four youngest children: Quistis, 11 months old, Seifer, 8 and ½ months old, Zell, 5 ½ months, and little Selphie, only 1 ½ months old.
Edea was alone with the responsibility, and she didn't mind. Taking care of the babies had never been a problem. It was the… loneliness that ached in her heart. She wanted to be with Cid, her love, her husband… her knight. She longed to be around other adults, but… No one could learn the truth about her identity. Had they all known she was truly a Sorceress, they would never have sent any children to her. They all feared Sorceress Adel, and would surely see Sorceress Edea was a similar threat, had they known.
It was so peaceful out there on the southern part of Centra. This old stone building, surrounded only by an endless bed of flowers and the sea, had served as her home from when she was a child herself. This was where she wanted to live her life – And when the day came, the place she wanted to die.
No need to worry about that, though. She was still young; she had her life ahead of her. And should her and Cid's plan succeed - Raising special combat trained mercenaries, SeeDs, to fight and defeat Adel and any evil and power hungry Sorceress that might come after her - she would truly have accomplished something in her life.
Edea sighed as she gazed out the window, holding a sleeping Selphie in her arms. Behind her, Quistis was practicing walking, holding onto the side of her bed. Seifer was watching with interest, crawling after her and trying to imitate the older girl's moves. Zell was asleep in his own bed.
Suddenly, Edea noticed something near the lighthouse. There was a small boat there. Strange, as it was all the wrong time for food supplies to be delivered, and Cid hadn't planned any visits in the near future. Narrowing her eyes, Edea walked over to Selphie's bed and laid the baby down without waking her, checked on Quistis and Seifer to make sure they weren't causing any trouble, then opened the door and went outside to meet the strangers.
"Mrs. Edea Kramer?" The young man asked as he eventually made his way from the boat and up to Edea's house. By his side, a young girl was walking – not more than 4 or 5 years old – and he was carrying what could only be an infant. Inwardly, Edea felt so sorry for all these orphans. Most of their parents had been killed in war, like Quistis' and Zell's, some had died under other circumstances or had been forced to leave their baby, like Selphie's mother, or they had simply not wanted their child… Edea could clearly remember the day she was handed the care of Seifer.
She had been in Timber, on a two day trip to see how things were going – Galbadia had just invaded the city, and it was likely there were many orphans there – while one of Cid's most trusted friends was taking care of the children back at the orphanage.
A blonde and rather handsome man had walked up to her, holding a month old boy. From what Edea could tell from his harsh expression and his ragged clothes, this man was a resistance group member. These groups had formed just a few weeks after Timber was forced under Galbadian control – these citizens weren't the kid to just give up, "Are you that orphan woman?" he had asked, gruffly.
Edea nodded, but her eyes were on the child, "Your son?"
"Unfortunately. I don't need a kid right now. His mom was killed by couple'a soldiers," the man shrugged, "I heard you were comin' here, so I was kinda hoping you'd take him…"
Edea always wished parents would keep their children themselves, but she couldn't refuse Mr. Almasy's request for help. Even if she had convinced him to keep his son, he probably wouldn't have done a very good job in raising him. This man was the reckless type – the one who wanted to fight for the mere pleasure of fighting rather than standing up for something he believed in. Not a very good father figure. And not to mention children were often killed in war.
"Mrs. Kramer?"
The man before her cleared his voice, and Edea snapped back to the present. She nodded, and looked down at the two children, "I assume these are… mine to take?"
"Yeah, they're from Winhill. The boy's name is …," he frowned and picked out a little note of his pocket, looking over it quickly, "…Squall Leonhart. Quite a unique name, eh? And the girl's name is Ellone. She's old enough to talk and all, but she's not said a word during the whole journey here. Makes you wonder what she's seen, eh?"
Edea didn't answer at first. She kneeled before the girl, shaking her head slowly, "Oh, the poor dears…," she whispered to herself, then her eyes met the girl's frightened ones, "Don't look so scared, my child. My name is Edea, but you may call me Matron. So, your name is Ellone, hmm? That's a pretty name…" No reply.
Ellone… Ellone, where had she heard that name before?
Then she remembered. That man that had been here a few months back… Laguna? Something like that? He had been looking for a girl named Ellone… Who had been taken by Esthar soldiers. What did Adel want with her? …Must be something special. Edea frowned. How had this girl ended up here, and why? Where was this Laguna character? And who was the baby boy?
"Uh… Ma'am, I'd better be on my way. Do you think you could…"
"Oh! Of course," Edea, having received nothing but a stare from Ellone, stood up and took the baby the man was holding, "Squall, you say?" she chewed gently at her lip, then noticed the way too large necklace hanging around the baby's neck. The young man nodded, "That's correct. Have a nice day, Mrs. Kramer," he lifted his hand to do a quick salute, similar to the one the Galbadian soldiers used, then turned and walked back to the boat.
Edea was left wondering, with an infant only a couple weeks old and a girl who wouldn't talk. She held onto the silver lion's head, and looked after the man as his boat started to sail away.
"That's Griever," Ellone suddenly said in a quiet voice.
"What did you say, sweetheart?" Edea was surprised, and turned her soft eyes down to the girl.
"The lion's name's Griever."
"Really? It has a name? Well… I'll remember that.. Ellone."
Inside, one of the other babies started crying, as usual, "Let me show you the house you and your … brother are going to live in," Edea took Ellone's hand.
"He's not really my brother."
"Well, there's a lot of babies here, and all are much younger than you. I guess you'll be a big sister to all of them. You like that?"
Ellone looked up and nodded vaguely, a very faint hint of a smile upon her lips, "Yeah… I'll be Squall's and everyone's Sis."
Chapter 10:
Esthar, about nine months after Squall's birth.
Laguna was leaning back in his chair, looking out the window of his new office. The city and population was still badly wounded by Adel's rough rule, but things were slowly calming down and the rebuilding of the society had already started. While there were still plenty of rebels that were against the project to get rid of the evil Sorceress, most were relieved that Adel was safely sealed as far away from them as she could possibly get – out in space.
While he had accepted the fact the resistance group had chosen him as Leader, Laguna was still stunned by the fact they wanted him to be the new President. What a huge, but honoring responsibility that was! But with the help of his trusted friends, Ward and Kiros, he was sure he could do it. After all, this was far by the most important thing he had ever done – Without him, Esthar would never have been free. He couldn't take all the credit, though. There were a lot of good people who had helped him – He had just led them and come up with the final idea that meant the end of Sorceress Adel's time as ruler.
Content, Laguna sighed and stretched out. They had even given him this nice office, and were redesigning Adel's Palace to be a Presidental Palace. Life was good. Sometimes, though, when things got quiet… He wondered how Ellone and Raine were doing. He had really missed them and realized Raine was probably angry at him, but now when things were all right in Esthar, he could finally do what he had intended to for some time now – Have his wife and Ellone move to Esthar to live with him.
He did think about Julia now and then, too. It had been such a pain when he traveled through Galbadia and happened to hear her song at one of the bars he had visited. "Eyes on Me". Was she happy with this General she had married? Laguna heard she had a daughter now. Well, maybe she wasn't his type after all – He wasn't ready yet to have kids. Sure, he and Raine had Ellone, but he didn't want any more children before Esthar had truly become a safe place to live, and that would still take a few years.
Someone opened the door to his office, and Laguna whirled around in his chair to see who it was. Kiros walked in. He was holding a few papers in his hands, and had a strangely grim expression on his face, but Laguna was so excited these days he didn't even notice.
"Laguna…"
"Kiros!" Laguna got out of his chair, a huge grin spreading on his face, "Any more news? Gee, isn't all of this just great? Adel's gone, the city has been liberated…"
"…Yes, it's nice, but Laguna… there's something I…"
"And they chose ME as President! Me, can you believe it? I know it's been days, but I still can't believe it! I'd never have imagined this when I first came here – Heck, I was just here to save Ellone, and now…"
"Laguna, please…"
"We're gonna get this country on its feet again, man. All we gotta do is make sure nothin' goes wrong with crazy Adel up there, and we're fine! And you and Ward are helping me, it's not gonna be any problem. Hey, I need to get you your own office too, and –"
"Laguna!" Kiros' harsh voice caught Laguna off-guard and he turned around, looking at his friend in surprise, "Laguna, please sit down…"
Laguna frowned, but he did as Kiros told him and sunk back down in his chair, "What's the matter, man? You look like somebody died."
Kiros sighed heavily and took in a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy, "Laguna, I just received a message from Winhill…"
…………
It was so silent in the office that you could hear a fly's footsteps as it walked across the wall. Ward was standing in a corner of the room, and even though he couldn't talk, his expression said it all. Kiros leaned against the wall near the window, his hand folding and unfolding around the crumpled papers he was holding. Laguna was sitting in his chair, elbows leaning on the desk and his face buried in his hands. He had been sitting like that for almost an hour.
Ward sent Kiros a glance. Kiros shook his head a little, but Ward's eyes were pleading. Still hesitant about being the first to say something, Kiros cleared his voice and asked, quietly, "So… what are you going to do now?"
Laguna took in a shivering breath and lifted his head, blinking his red eyes, "I… don't know…"
"What about the boy?"
"…I can't, Kiros… Not now. I met this Edea lady… She's nice. He and Elle will be fine there…"
"But Laguna…"
"I CAN'T, dammit!" Laguna slammed his fist down at the desk, then stood up abruptly, "Look, I have lots of things to do here, I'm the President. I can't take care of two kids alone, okay? Not without…," feeling himself choke up again, he turned and stared out the window, trying to swallow the big lump in his throat.
Ward sighed sadly and walked towards his two friends. Kiros shook his head again, although this time out of the impossible situation. What else could they do? They had never seen Laguna this upset before.
"Damn…," Laguna leaned his forehead against the window glass and closed his eyes, "Guys… Could you just… leave me alone for a while… Please?"
The two of them looked at each other, then, reluctantly, nodded and left the office.
"Raine…," Laguna whispered, "I'm sorry…"