TYGER, TYGER, BURNING BRIGHT
**Disclaimer: yeah, I dont own any of the characters...**
**I appreciate constructive criticism...I'm 13 and haven't written many fanfics...**
TYGER TYGER BURNING BRIGHT
Tyger, Tyger, burning bright
In the darkness of the night...
Burning bright...
Eyes, paradoxically and eternally reflected in the millions of wavering, unsure, yet fiery slivers that sway seductively to the moon's quiet song, roaring in a choir of silvery whispers. Leaping, dancing, mingling, they shed their flickering light onto the debris of green leaves and twigs that litter the floor. Soon they are consumed, engulfed by this magnificent and deadly wall of radiating light, emanating heat, dangerous and alluring fire.
Burning Bright.
**
"Quisty! We have to - we have to - "
The blonde male bent over the slender, injured body of the girl he loved, the light of the fire outside their leafy bower illuminating the silvery trails of tears on his cheeks and the shine of perspiration on his forehead; both from the heat and the agony. He lifted up her head and supported it in his barely shaking arms. He trailed a finger down her cheekbones, her jaw, her chin, leaving a searing trail where his fingers touched.
"What are you doing?"
The words were choked by the acrid smoke starting to pour in, but were clear, enunciated, lucidity itself. Her eyes were starting to fill with water, starting to sting, yet she kept them open. She wanted to be able to see Seifer, when she died.
"Getting to know you."
She looked up at him. She had never been like this before. She couldn't believe the swell of love she was feeling for the man kneeling beside her, in the midst of such destruction. The expression on his face was one she never thought she would see again. He couldn't die. She wouldn't let him die.
"Seif - "
"NO!"
He knew what she was trying to tell him. Save himself. He couldn't move her on his own. She was telling him to leave her, to leave her to die. He couldn't do that! He would never forgive himself.
But what else was he supposed to do?
Quistis knew what he was thinking. He had to leave. She couldn't be the cause of his death. She knew - she could feel - she was going to die. He was living in a pretence, staying with her. She had to make him go. She had to make him leave. She had to make him save himself.
"Seifer - you can go - to get help. To get help. You can't move me alone."
"I don't want to leave you..."
"It's the only way..."
She knew she had convinced him now. His face was furrowed in concern and thought. Then he came to a decision.
"I'll be right back. I promise..."
"I know. I know. Seifer - "
"Yes, darling?"
"Tell - tell Squall I'm sorry."
Seifer didn't ask why. But her words disturbed him. In more ways than one.
"You'll be able to tell him yourself, when we rescue you. Quistis. When we rescue you."
Quistis knew she had to play along, play along with his pretence that she would live. She had wanted to die anyway. Why was letting him go so...hard?
"Of course I will...but I might be unconscious...you know."
Seifer nodded, and lowered his lips to her bloodless ones. The soft pressure made her feel complete. As he got up to crawl through the bushes, to walk away, away from the flames, away from her, she wanted to scream...
*NO! DON'T GO!*
"Seifer!"
He turned around, the tears shining in his eyes. He would save her, no matter what.
"What is it, Quisty?"
"I...I love you Seif."
"I love you too, Quisty."
Then his lean figure had disappearead, disappeared into the shadows that flickered and danced in vehement mockery of her futility.
Oh why did fatuous sunbeams shine,
To break earth's sleep at all?
***
"Holy Hyne..."
Zell stopped in his tracks and stared in horror at the raging inferno before him. Flames were licking at every tree and every twig, consuming every thing in sight. Billows of acrid smoke were pouring out from the gates. If there was anyone in there...
Zell shook his head in terror and agitation.
If there was anyone in there, they were dead.
Just as Zell took a tentative step forwards, a lean, panting figure emerged from the gates, coughing and spluttering. The white trenchcoat was stained with - blood?
"Seifer? Are you - are you all right?"
Seifer leant down and placed his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. "I'm fine...but..."
The truth dawned on Zell, ever so slowly. "There's somebody else in there?!"
"Quistis."
"Quist...oh HYNE! It's an inferno in there Seifer! We have no equipment, no extinguishers..."
"She;s injured." Seifer's voice was rising. "She's helpless and alone. We're going in there, if it kills us, I swear, I would die rather than leave her to be burned alive in there."
There was a brief pause while Zell gathered strength and courage.
"Junction all the water magic you've got, man. Leviathan too, incase we meet with any fire monsters. We're going in there."
***
Selphie knelt down and caressed the broken pieces of Squall's Lionheart gunblade, finally broken. It had lost all its lustre; it simply was a dull silver now, no longer the rainbow of pearls it had once boasted. What did this mean? Was Squall...
Selphie wrinkled her youthful brow. First Rinoa and now Squall! Were they linked, somehow, inextricably? They couldn't be - they couldn't be dead?
She picked up a piece of the shattered blade and ran her trembling finger down the tip, along the engraving of the lion, its mouth stretched open grotesquely in a magnificent roar of victory.
Only then did she notice the ring upon the floor. No chain. Just the ring. Squall's ring. Rinoa's ring.
She picked it up and turned it over and over in her delicate white hands. Here was the engraving - and the words, "Griever", written on the inside. Griever...they had defeated him. Ultimecia's minion. She had always wondered why his name was written in Squall's ring. She held the ring up to the light, where it glinted evilly in her eyes. The inscription caught the light and its bevelled edges twinkled like tiny diamond chips in a silver, storm-ridden sky. "Griever..." she breathed. The tiny engraving was - was it moving? Moving, the tiny wings beating uselessly within the ring, straining, growing bigger - the ring couldn't restrain it...what was happening?
The ring splintered into a thousand silver pieces which rained down upon her like a million minute needles. The light that confronted her was so blinding, and the smoke so all-obscuring, that she was momentarily blinded, the rainbow patterns dancing frantically in the dark abyss behind her eyelids.
The smoke was clearing...and a monster, the grotesque form of the GF they thought they had defeated, hovered above her, its claws positioned above her head. She turned to run but was frozen by a quick "Stop" charm. As she stood there, hopelessly rooted into place, her thoughts raced wildly. Only one thing stood out, clear in the umbled mass of terror that engulfed her...
"Griever...trapped forever in a ring..."
***
The Galbadian cowboy lay face up on the bare mattress, his face flushed and his eyes narrowed. The ceiling flickered and died as the prickling behind his eyelids started again. What time was it?
He wasn't sure, but he knew it was early. He tugged off his ponytail ring and the soft, silky chestnut hair fell to his shoulders. It wisped around his neck, tickling his ears. He raked a hand through it impatiently, frustratedly. What was he going to do?
Rinoa's disappearance had come as an enormous shock to him. It had affected everyone. He didn't know why, but he had always been close to Rinoa. She would always listen to him, and was always so sweet and willing. He wasn't attracted to her, no; even when he had made that pass on her in that train, so long ago, he had never really been in love. Sure, she was young. Sure, she was cute. And he had liked to flirt. But he had never truly been attracted to anybody.
Until now.
Her youthful, bubbly face shimmered before him, the shining hazel eyes smiling into his, the flick of maple-brown hair bouncing at her shoulders. Her ridiculously short dress was rippled slightly by the wind, the bright yellow shining in the sun. Why couldn't he pluck up the courage to tell her how he felt? His sunshine.
His sunny Sefie.
Determination filled him. He rose from his bed. Forget anybody else. Just think about him, and Selphie. Forever. The rest of the world could stop turning, just for them. The world WOULD stop turning. He would make it so. For his sunshine.
***
"Quisty!"
The acrid smoke made the word dissolve into a hacking cough, but Seifer plunged on through the wall of fire. Behind him, Zell conjured up another quenching jet of water which extinguished a path for them, through the bushes, to Quistis.
"She's in here!"
Seifer scrambled through the tangle of creepers, horrible, insidious things that turned their backs on him, mocking him in his futility.
If anything might raise him now
The kind old sun will know.
The sun gave no light now; only the roaring flames, murderous flames, licking at his heels. He could see her body now. Was she unconscious?
"Quisty!" He was at her side in an instant. Zell joined him quickly. The heat was stifling. The flames were threatening to burst into the small hideout at any moment.
"Is she..."
Seifer looked down at the ashen face and realised the answer in that one instant. He leant down over her, sliding a hand under her slim back.
She was his everything. She was his morning star. And she was supposed to have waited for him.
What do u think? Don't sue me now, you haven't read the next part of the story yet! Please review so I can decide whether 2 continue or not!!
**Disclaimer: yeah, I dont own any of the characters...**
**I appreciate constructive criticism...I'm 13 and haven't written many fanfics...**
TYGER TYGER BURNING BRIGHT
Tyger, Tyger, burning bright
In the darkness of the night...
Burning bright...
Eyes, paradoxically and eternally reflected in the millions of wavering, unsure, yet fiery slivers that sway seductively to the moon's quiet song, roaring in a choir of silvery whispers. Leaping, dancing, mingling, they shed their flickering light onto the debris of green leaves and twigs that litter the floor. Soon they are consumed, engulfed by this magnificent and deadly wall of radiating light, emanating heat, dangerous and alluring fire.
Burning Bright.
**
"Quisty! We have to - we have to - "
The blonde male bent over the slender, injured body of the girl he loved, the light of the fire outside their leafy bower illuminating the silvery trails of tears on his cheeks and the shine of perspiration on his forehead; both from the heat and the agony. He lifted up her head and supported it in his barely shaking arms. He trailed a finger down her cheekbones, her jaw, her chin, leaving a searing trail where his fingers touched.
"What are you doing?"
The words were choked by the acrid smoke starting to pour in, but were clear, enunciated, lucidity itself. Her eyes were starting to fill with water, starting to sting, yet she kept them open. She wanted to be able to see Seifer, when she died.
"Getting to know you."
She looked up at him. She had never been like this before. She couldn't believe the swell of love she was feeling for the man kneeling beside her, in the midst of such destruction. The expression on his face was one she never thought she would see again. He couldn't die. She wouldn't let him die.
"Seif - "
"NO!"
He knew what she was trying to tell him. Save himself. He couldn't move her on his own. She was telling him to leave her, to leave her to die. He couldn't do that! He would never forgive himself.
But what else was he supposed to do?
Quistis knew what he was thinking. He had to leave. She couldn't be the cause of his death. She knew - she could feel - she was going to die. He was living in a pretence, staying with her. She had to make him go. She had to make him leave. She had to make him save himself.
"Seifer - you can go - to get help. To get help. You can't move me alone."
"I don't want to leave you..."
"It's the only way..."
She knew she had convinced him now. His face was furrowed in concern and thought. Then he came to a decision.
"I'll be right back. I promise..."
"I know. I know. Seifer - "
"Yes, darling?"
"Tell - tell Squall I'm sorry."
Seifer didn't ask why. But her words disturbed him. In more ways than one.
"You'll be able to tell him yourself, when we rescue you. Quistis. When we rescue you."
Quistis knew she had to play along, play along with his pretence that she would live. She had wanted to die anyway. Why was letting him go so...hard?
"Of course I will...but I might be unconscious...you know."
Seifer nodded, and lowered his lips to her bloodless ones. The soft pressure made her feel complete. As he got up to crawl through the bushes, to walk away, away from the flames, away from her, she wanted to scream...
*NO! DON'T GO!*
"Seifer!"
He turned around, the tears shining in his eyes. He would save her, no matter what.
"What is it, Quisty?"
"I...I love you Seif."
"I love you too, Quisty."
Then his lean figure had disappearead, disappeared into the shadows that flickered and danced in vehement mockery of her futility.
Oh why did fatuous sunbeams shine,
To break earth's sleep at all?
***
"Holy Hyne..."
Zell stopped in his tracks and stared in horror at the raging inferno before him. Flames were licking at every tree and every twig, consuming every thing in sight. Billows of acrid smoke were pouring out from the gates. If there was anyone in there...
Zell shook his head in terror and agitation.
If there was anyone in there, they were dead.
Just as Zell took a tentative step forwards, a lean, panting figure emerged from the gates, coughing and spluttering. The white trenchcoat was stained with - blood?
"Seifer? Are you - are you all right?"
Seifer leant down and placed his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. "I'm fine...but..."
The truth dawned on Zell, ever so slowly. "There's somebody else in there?!"
"Quistis."
"Quist...oh HYNE! It's an inferno in there Seifer! We have no equipment, no extinguishers..."
"She;s injured." Seifer's voice was rising. "She's helpless and alone. We're going in there, if it kills us, I swear, I would die rather than leave her to be burned alive in there."
There was a brief pause while Zell gathered strength and courage.
"Junction all the water magic you've got, man. Leviathan too, incase we meet with any fire monsters. We're going in there."
***
Selphie knelt down and caressed the broken pieces of Squall's Lionheart gunblade, finally broken. It had lost all its lustre; it simply was a dull silver now, no longer the rainbow of pearls it had once boasted. What did this mean? Was Squall...
Selphie wrinkled her youthful brow. First Rinoa and now Squall! Were they linked, somehow, inextricably? They couldn't be - they couldn't be dead?
She picked up a piece of the shattered blade and ran her trembling finger down the tip, along the engraving of the lion, its mouth stretched open grotesquely in a magnificent roar of victory.
Only then did she notice the ring upon the floor. No chain. Just the ring. Squall's ring. Rinoa's ring.
She picked it up and turned it over and over in her delicate white hands. Here was the engraving - and the words, "Griever", written on the inside. Griever...they had defeated him. Ultimecia's minion. She had always wondered why his name was written in Squall's ring. She held the ring up to the light, where it glinted evilly in her eyes. The inscription caught the light and its bevelled edges twinkled like tiny diamond chips in a silver, storm-ridden sky. "Griever..." she breathed. The tiny engraving was - was it moving? Moving, the tiny wings beating uselessly within the ring, straining, growing bigger - the ring couldn't restrain it...what was happening?
The ring splintered into a thousand silver pieces which rained down upon her like a million minute needles. The light that confronted her was so blinding, and the smoke so all-obscuring, that she was momentarily blinded, the rainbow patterns dancing frantically in the dark abyss behind her eyelids.
The smoke was clearing...and a monster, the grotesque form of the GF they thought they had defeated, hovered above her, its claws positioned above her head. She turned to run but was frozen by a quick "Stop" charm. As she stood there, hopelessly rooted into place, her thoughts raced wildly. Only one thing stood out, clear in the umbled mass of terror that engulfed her...
"Griever...trapped forever in a ring..."
***
The Galbadian cowboy lay face up on the bare mattress, his face flushed and his eyes narrowed. The ceiling flickered and died as the prickling behind his eyelids started again. What time was it?
He wasn't sure, but he knew it was early. He tugged off his ponytail ring and the soft, silky chestnut hair fell to his shoulders. It wisped around his neck, tickling his ears. He raked a hand through it impatiently, frustratedly. What was he going to do?
Rinoa's disappearance had come as an enormous shock to him. It had affected everyone. He didn't know why, but he had always been close to Rinoa. She would always listen to him, and was always so sweet and willing. He wasn't attracted to her, no; even when he had made that pass on her in that train, so long ago, he had never really been in love. Sure, she was young. Sure, she was cute. And he had liked to flirt. But he had never truly been attracted to anybody.
Until now.
Her youthful, bubbly face shimmered before him, the shining hazel eyes smiling into his, the flick of maple-brown hair bouncing at her shoulders. Her ridiculously short dress was rippled slightly by the wind, the bright yellow shining in the sun. Why couldn't he pluck up the courage to tell her how he felt? His sunshine.
His sunny Sefie.
Determination filled him. He rose from his bed. Forget anybody else. Just think about him, and Selphie. Forever. The rest of the world could stop turning, just for them. The world WOULD stop turning. He would make it so. For his sunshine.
***
"Quisty!"
The acrid smoke made the word dissolve into a hacking cough, but Seifer plunged on through the wall of fire. Behind him, Zell conjured up another quenching jet of water which extinguished a path for them, through the bushes, to Quistis.
"She's in here!"
Seifer scrambled through the tangle of creepers, horrible, insidious things that turned their backs on him, mocking him in his futility.
If anything might raise him now
The kind old sun will know.
The sun gave no light now; only the roaring flames, murderous flames, licking at his heels. He could see her body now. Was she unconscious?
"Quisty!" He was at her side in an instant. Zell joined him quickly. The heat was stifling. The flames were threatening to burst into the small hideout at any moment.
"Is she..."
Seifer looked down at the ashen face and realised the answer in that one instant. He leant down over her, sliding a hand under her slim back.
She was his everything. She was his morning star. And she was supposed to have waited for him.
What do u think? Don't sue me now, you haven't read the next part of the story yet! Please review so I can decide whether 2 continue or not!!