Selphie Leonhart's
Best Laid Plans
Part Four
In the darkened room, the woman jerked in the chair. She sat in a reclining position, her arms strapped to the carved mahogany arms of the plush velvet and antique wood chair. Her elaborately painted eyes were taped shut, the inks used to trace the patterns on them smudged with sweat. Her mouth, rose pink lips forming a perfect pout, opened and closed as if she was fighting for breath.
Suddenly her head twisted to the side, and a moan escaped her lips. The wires
connected to her head strained, and the sound of sharply approaching footsteps filled the air. A latex-gloved hand stilled her, the deft hands holding her head still, calming her. The wires which had come loose were re-attached, and her pulse checked. The doctor stepped back to look at her as her eyes opened. It took a few seconds for her
to digest her surroundings, and recover her own voice.
"What happened?" she said hoarsely. The doctor bowed.
"There is no longer a host for you in that time, mistress," he said in a silky voice. Ultimecia frowned.
"Edea? What happened to her? Last I remember she was fighting against my control,
helping the girl..." she said, a look of disgust on her face. The doctor's upper lip switched, a nervous tic.
"She uh...Edea gave Rinoa more than life..." the doctor said. Ultimecia's expression
changed to one of loathing. "So now the power resides in that child..." she said, almost spitting the words out. The doctor hesitated.
"Um, well, no, in a way....she doesn't realise it yet, you see, she isn't a normal human,
she is dead, only given the power of thought, she could yet prove useful, you see, uh, her body is now indestructible...although her power, the power Edea had was almost all used up when she re-animated her...she is almost a non-sorceress in that respect," he said, tumbling over his words in fear of the Sorceress before him, even though she was bound to the chair, she sat in it as if it were a throne.
"But she is still a Sorceress....I can still possess her," Ultimecia said slowly. Her amber
eyes seemed to shine with a cold light as an idea formed in her mind. The doctor began
wringing his hands.
"Well no, uh, she isn't, you can't, um, well," he stammered. Ultimecia turned her
snake-like eyes on him. "What?" she hissed. The doctor began shaking.
"She, um, she's dead, there is nothing to possess. Her body is only a shell, uh, you see,
the possession, wouldn't be total, sometimes, if she is strong enough, you would only
reside in her mind, not control it, well, " he stuttered. Ultimecia turned her reptilian gaze on him.
"Get on with it," she snapped, impatient with his hesitation.
"She might be able to break free of your control for periods of time." he finished.
Ultimecia frowned.
"We have to try," she said softly.
*********************************************************************
"She's in a coma."
Seifer snorted in disgust and walked away from the young doctor.
"She is a Sorceress! How can she be in a coma?" he asked scathingly. The doctor
flinched.
"Massive amounts of energy...she....the magic..." he stammered. Seifer shook his head in dismissal.
"Leave. I need to think about what to do." he said. The doctor turned and walked quickly from the room.
"Damn," whispered Seifer, glancing at the sleeping Edea.
*********************************************************************
Rinoa glanced upwards at the sky, searching for the north star. It was her only assurance she wasn't going round and round in circles. No way would she want to see the prison on the horizon, especially after walking so far. Already, she was feeling an ache coming over her whole body, not tiredness, more like a weariness, as if what she was doing was hopeless.
All that kept her going was the image of that SeeD. She smiled at the thought of
him, then an uneasiness crossed her as she wondered what he would say to see her. Were they enemies? Certainly, he had saved her life, after almost taking it. Held her in his arms, looked deep into her eyes with his pained ones. What did it mean? She needed to find out.
Suddenly, Rinoa twisted her ankle on a tuft of coarse grass, one of many which was
scattered over the arid landscape. As she fell to her knees, coming into contact with the rough sand, a sudden coldness washed over her, as if cool water was being thrown over her. She opened her lips to cry out, but no sound was made. She felt a numbness, unlike the one she had felt earlier, and felt a detachment from her body, as if she was retreating into a corner of her mind which had no control over anything.
She laughed. Rinoa heard the unfamiliar sound, and instinctively tried to turn, but that was impossible. Then she realised it was *her* who was laughing. Then the voice spoke to her.
"Dont try and fight me," Ultimecia hissed. Rinoa couldn't respond. Ultimecia smiled,
twisting Rinoa's features into her own evil smirk. Rinoa felt sick as her eyes closed and
opened again, and she got to her feet, completely under Ultimecia's control. She felt like a puppet.
*Where are we going?* she thought with despair. Ultimecia answered her, the sound
echoing inside her her mind.
"To find your SeeD." She whispered.
*********************************************************************
The dawn made the sand sparkle with damp dew, the crystalline droplets clinging to the SeeD's clothes as they trudges through the bleak landscape, the grey half-light of the newly risen sun their only guidance. Not even the friendly stars acted as their compass, they only knew the East, and it was in that direction they headed, towards the sun itself.
"Where are we going?" asked Selphie wearily. It seemed a rhetorical question,
one she already knew the answer to. They were heading nowhere, aimlessly wandering. In the back of everyone's minds was a dull purpose, find the nearest Garden, make a report on their failed mission. But nothing seemed real out in the ethereal stillness of the desert, Gardens and reports seemed millenia away, almost as if they had never existed in the first place. Clarity of thought seemed a pleasure denied to them, hypnotised as they were by the neverending dunes and sparse, coarse tufts of desert grass. There were nowhere, yet it seemed like everything there ever would be.
"Garden," Squall said shortly. His mind was crowded with thoughts, with
questions. But however he tried to sort out his thoughts, file them clearly and cleanly
away, a certain image replayed itself, dancing again and again in his mind. The girl in the blue dress with the jet black hair and the sparkling eyes. She replayed over and over, her smile, the way her eyes had opened slowly to look up at him, the regal beauty of her in the Sorceress garb.
And then, the vision became reality.
"Oh!" cried Quistis as a figure appeared on the top of a sand dune facing them. Against
the sun she was backlit, she looked like a dark goddess as she stood proud, the wind not even daring to waft her hair away from her face. She looked down at them coldly, as if she was a queen and them her subjects.
"I am Rinoa," she said. Her voice was husky, deep. Squall frowned and took a
few steps closer to look at her. She gazed upon him, her mouth unmoving, her expression unchanged, but her eyes...something in them stirred, and something intangible passed between her and Squall. The next instant it had gone, and her amber eyes became cold once more.
"Help me, I am lost," she said softly. Her words seemed disjointed somehow, as if she was unused to speaking them. Quistis however, didn't notice.
"Who are you?!" she cried. Her expression was suspicious. She had seen Rinoa dead...
how could she be here now? The SeeD mission where they had been enemies didn't
matter...SeeD's remained neutral in political disputes. However, a return from the dead
warranted some explanation. Rinoa raised her hands, in an old fashioned gesture of
surrender.
"I am lost," she repeated, her voice softening. For the first time Squall noticed an accent to her words, a husky lilt as Selphie's voice still held slightly, one from the north eastern countries. Selphie's accent had diminished due to her living in another country and blending in, but it was noticble in Rinoa's voice now. Strange, that he hadn't noticed it before.
"Please, I woke up outside the prison, where they had left me wrapped in a shroud...I was covered in blood, they believed me dead. Now I want to get home," she whispered
Selphie ran up the dune to her, putting her arm around Rinoa's shoulder.
"Come with us, we're finding our way out of the desert too. We'll protect you," she said warmly, smiling reassuringly at Rinoa. The raven haired girl didn't smile back, but
allowed herself to be led as Selphie continued to walk towards the rising sun.
*********************************************************************
*Don't hurt them, please!* Rinoa pleaded with Ultimecia. Throughout the exchange with the SeeD's Rinoa had been screaming at Ultimecia to leave them alone, not to go with them, not to hurt them. But the malevolent one was stronger than she, and wouldn't heed Rinoa's desperate pleas.
*No!!!* Rinoa screamed as Ultimecia smiled at Selphie whilst the green eyes girl
chattered, unaware her silent companion was inwardly doing battle with herself.
*Don't hurt them! They've done nothing to you!* Rinoa sobbed. Ultimecia sent a
shockwave of anger over to Rinoa.
*And how do you know what they have done to me?* she seethed. Rinoa didn't answer.
*They took everything away from me. They ruined my home, my family....they tried to
force my kind into exile! But they couldn't...for I fought back against their oppression..
* she said darkly, her voice crackling with malice. Rinoa shuddered inwardly.
*Please...leave him alone...* she whispered tentatively. Ultimecia smiled bitterly.
*Oh no,* she hissed. *He is the most important of all...*
*********************************************************************
Irvine wondered how long he had been in this prison. A day, a week? Perhaps even a
month, it was hard to tell with the light never changing, the sounds of the prison never
varying, and the food never once different. The hard bed was the only object in his small cell, he had no weapons.
Am I waiting here to die? Irvine wondered to himself. Attempted assasination...
now surely that was a crime to by hung for. But he didn't kill the Sorceress, did he? No, she deflected the bullet...
A sharp stab of pain pierced his thoughts as he remembered that instant when he realised the Sorceress was unharmed. So overwhelmed with failure, he had never noticed, never cared about the small figure in front of Edea who fell, her arms outstretched as if expecting someone to catch her, her eyes wide open in shock and pain. She must have been his age...yet her life was over. No-one heard her fall, no-one noticed her blood or whimper of agony. Not one of the cheering, screaming, jostling crowd noticed the girl as she begged for help with her last breath. It was a thought that tortured Irvine.
The fact that she was innocent. He had, of course, had qualms about killing the
Sorceress herself. But after all, she was a murderer. But her young apprentice...Irvine
sighed. Thinking about it was too terrible, better to pretend there was no Sorceress, no
dead girl. No tiara lying discarded at the foot of the float, no mourning parents. Just nothing.
For those who began reading my story back in July 2000, I am very sorry about the delay in the release of this part. Now I?ve been able to settle back into school, I can think about writing again?and hopefully this will be finished by May at the latest. Thank you for
reading, and to those who wrote to encourage me to finish, the rest of this fic is dedicated to you =)
Selphie
Best Laid Plans
Part Four
In the darkened room, the woman jerked in the chair. She sat in a reclining position, her arms strapped to the carved mahogany arms of the plush velvet and antique wood chair. Her elaborately painted eyes were taped shut, the inks used to trace the patterns on them smudged with sweat. Her mouth, rose pink lips forming a perfect pout, opened and closed as if she was fighting for breath.
Suddenly her head twisted to the side, and a moan escaped her lips. The wires
connected to her head strained, and the sound of sharply approaching footsteps filled the air. A latex-gloved hand stilled her, the deft hands holding her head still, calming her. The wires which had come loose were re-attached, and her pulse checked. The doctor stepped back to look at her as her eyes opened. It took a few seconds for her
to digest her surroundings, and recover her own voice.
"What happened?" she said hoarsely. The doctor bowed.
"There is no longer a host for you in that time, mistress," he said in a silky voice. Ultimecia frowned.
"Edea? What happened to her? Last I remember she was fighting against my control,
helping the girl..." she said, a look of disgust on her face. The doctor's upper lip switched, a nervous tic.
"She uh...Edea gave Rinoa more than life..." the doctor said. Ultimecia's expression
changed to one of loathing. "So now the power resides in that child..." she said, almost spitting the words out. The doctor hesitated.
"Um, well, no, in a way....she doesn't realise it yet, you see, she isn't a normal human,
she is dead, only given the power of thought, she could yet prove useful, you see, uh, her body is now indestructible...although her power, the power Edea had was almost all used up when she re-animated her...she is almost a non-sorceress in that respect," he said, tumbling over his words in fear of the Sorceress before him, even though she was bound to the chair, she sat in it as if it were a throne.
"But she is still a Sorceress....I can still possess her," Ultimecia said slowly. Her amber
eyes seemed to shine with a cold light as an idea formed in her mind. The doctor began
wringing his hands.
"Well no, uh, she isn't, you can't, um, well," he stammered. Ultimecia turned her
snake-like eyes on him. "What?" she hissed. The doctor began shaking.
"She, um, she's dead, there is nothing to possess. Her body is only a shell, uh, you see,
the possession, wouldn't be total, sometimes, if she is strong enough, you would only
reside in her mind, not control it, well, " he stuttered. Ultimecia turned her reptilian gaze on him.
"Get on with it," she snapped, impatient with his hesitation.
"She might be able to break free of your control for periods of time." he finished.
Ultimecia frowned.
"We have to try," she said softly.
*********************************************************************
"She's in a coma."
Seifer snorted in disgust and walked away from the young doctor.
"She is a Sorceress! How can she be in a coma?" he asked scathingly. The doctor
flinched.
"Massive amounts of energy...she....the magic..." he stammered. Seifer shook his head in dismissal.
"Leave. I need to think about what to do." he said. The doctor turned and walked quickly from the room.
"Damn," whispered Seifer, glancing at the sleeping Edea.
*********************************************************************
Rinoa glanced upwards at the sky, searching for the north star. It was her only assurance she wasn't going round and round in circles. No way would she want to see the prison on the horizon, especially after walking so far. Already, she was feeling an ache coming over her whole body, not tiredness, more like a weariness, as if what she was doing was hopeless.
All that kept her going was the image of that SeeD. She smiled at the thought of
him, then an uneasiness crossed her as she wondered what he would say to see her. Were they enemies? Certainly, he had saved her life, after almost taking it. Held her in his arms, looked deep into her eyes with his pained ones. What did it mean? She needed to find out.
Suddenly, Rinoa twisted her ankle on a tuft of coarse grass, one of many which was
scattered over the arid landscape. As she fell to her knees, coming into contact with the rough sand, a sudden coldness washed over her, as if cool water was being thrown over her. She opened her lips to cry out, but no sound was made. She felt a numbness, unlike the one she had felt earlier, and felt a detachment from her body, as if she was retreating into a corner of her mind which had no control over anything.
She laughed. Rinoa heard the unfamiliar sound, and instinctively tried to turn, but that was impossible. Then she realised it was *her* who was laughing. Then the voice spoke to her.
"Dont try and fight me," Ultimecia hissed. Rinoa couldn't respond. Ultimecia smiled,
twisting Rinoa's features into her own evil smirk. Rinoa felt sick as her eyes closed and
opened again, and she got to her feet, completely under Ultimecia's control. She felt like a puppet.
*Where are we going?* she thought with despair. Ultimecia answered her, the sound
echoing inside her her mind.
"To find your SeeD." She whispered.
*********************************************************************
The dawn made the sand sparkle with damp dew, the crystalline droplets clinging to the SeeD's clothes as they trudges through the bleak landscape, the grey half-light of the newly risen sun their only guidance. Not even the friendly stars acted as their compass, they only knew the East, and it was in that direction they headed, towards the sun itself.
"Where are we going?" asked Selphie wearily. It seemed a rhetorical question,
one she already knew the answer to. They were heading nowhere, aimlessly wandering. In the back of everyone's minds was a dull purpose, find the nearest Garden, make a report on their failed mission. But nothing seemed real out in the ethereal stillness of the desert, Gardens and reports seemed millenia away, almost as if they had never existed in the first place. Clarity of thought seemed a pleasure denied to them, hypnotised as they were by the neverending dunes and sparse, coarse tufts of desert grass. There were nowhere, yet it seemed like everything there ever would be.
"Garden," Squall said shortly. His mind was crowded with thoughts, with
questions. But however he tried to sort out his thoughts, file them clearly and cleanly
away, a certain image replayed itself, dancing again and again in his mind. The girl in the blue dress with the jet black hair and the sparkling eyes. She replayed over and over, her smile, the way her eyes had opened slowly to look up at him, the regal beauty of her in the Sorceress garb.
And then, the vision became reality.
"Oh!" cried Quistis as a figure appeared on the top of a sand dune facing them. Against
the sun she was backlit, she looked like a dark goddess as she stood proud, the wind not even daring to waft her hair away from her face. She looked down at them coldly, as if she was a queen and them her subjects.
"I am Rinoa," she said. Her voice was husky, deep. Squall frowned and took a
few steps closer to look at her. She gazed upon him, her mouth unmoving, her expression unchanged, but her eyes...something in them stirred, and something intangible passed between her and Squall. The next instant it had gone, and her amber eyes became cold once more.
"Help me, I am lost," she said softly. Her words seemed disjointed somehow, as if she was unused to speaking them. Quistis however, didn't notice.
"Who are you?!" she cried. Her expression was suspicious. She had seen Rinoa dead...
how could she be here now? The SeeD mission where they had been enemies didn't
matter...SeeD's remained neutral in political disputes. However, a return from the dead
warranted some explanation. Rinoa raised her hands, in an old fashioned gesture of
surrender.
"I am lost," she repeated, her voice softening. For the first time Squall noticed an accent to her words, a husky lilt as Selphie's voice still held slightly, one from the north eastern countries. Selphie's accent had diminished due to her living in another country and blending in, but it was noticble in Rinoa's voice now. Strange, that he hadn't noticed it before.
"Please, I woke up outside the prison, where they had left me wrapped in a shroud...I was covered in blood, they believed me dead. Now I want to get home," she whispered
Selphie ran up the dune to her, putting her arm around Rinoa's shoulder.
"Come with us, we're finding our way out of the desert too. We'll protect you," she said warmly, smiling reassuringly at Rinoa. The raven haired girl didn't smile back, but
allowed herself to be led as Selphie continued to walk towards the rising sun.
*********************************************************************
*Don't hurt them, please!* Rinoa pleaded with Ultimecia. Throughout the exchange with the SeeD's Rinoa had been screaming at Ultimecia to leave them alone, not to go with them, not to hurt them. But the malevolent one was stronger than she, and wouldn't heed Rinoa's desperate pleas.
*No!!!* Rinoa screamed as Ultimecia smiled at Selphie whilst the green eyes girl
chattered, unaware her silent companion was inwardly doing battle with herself.
*Don't hurt them! They've done nothing to you!* Rinoa sobbed. Ultimecia sent a
shockwave of anger over to Rinoa.
*And how do you know what they have done to me?* she seethed. Rinoa didn't answer.
*They took everything away from me. They ruined my home, my family....they tried to
force my kind into exile! But they couldn't...for I fought back against their oppression..
* she said darkly, her voice crackling with malice. Rinoa shuddered inwardly.
*Please...leave him alone...* she whispered tentatively. Ultimecia smiled bitterly.
*Oh no,* she hissed. *He is the most important of all...*
*********************************************************************
Irvine wondered how long he had been in this prison. A day, a week? Perhaps even a
month, it was hard to tell with the light never changing, the sounds of the prison never
varying, and the food never once different. The hard bed was the only object in his small cell, he had no weapons.
Am I waiting here to die? Irvine wondered to himself. Attempted assasination...
now surely that was a crime to by hung for. But he didn't kill the Sorceress, did he? No, she deflected the bullet...
A sharp stab of pain pierced his thoughts as he remembered that instant when he realised the Sorceress was unharmed. So overwhelmed with failure, he had never noticed, never cared about the small figure in front of Edea who fell, her arms outstretched as if expecting someone to catch her, her eyes wide open in shock and pain. She must have been his age...yet her life was over. No-one heard her fall, no-one noticed her blood or whimper of agony. Not one of the cheering, screaming, jostling crowd noticed the girl as she begged for help with her last breath. It was a thought that tortured Irvine.
The fact that she was innocent. He had, of course, had qualms about killing the
Sorceress herself. But after all, she was a murderer. But her young apprentice...Irvine
sighed. Thinking about it was too terrible, better to pretend there was no Sorceress, no
dead girl. No tiara lying discarded at the foot of the float, no mourning parents. Just nothing.
For those who began reading my story back in July 2000, I am very sorry about the delay in the release of this part. Now I?ve been able to settle back into school, I can think about writing again?and hopefully this will be finished by May at the latest. Thank you for
reading, and to those who wrote to encourage me to finish, the rest of this fic is dedicated to you =)
Selphie