Chapter Three
"All ready for your first mission," Seifer said.
Quistis sighed, Seifer
looked ready to burst with energy.
They had been told to go
near Roshfall forest at Timber. Some monsters had been found savaged by
something big. Apparently a friend of Andria's had told them about it, and they
had been sent to find out what was going on.
"Here."
Andria gave Quistis a
small dagger.
"To protect you," she
said.
The crafted dragon on the
handle intrigued Quistis.
"Come on." Sia dragged to
the airship. It was small and sleek, capable of moving fast.
"Who's gonna fly it,"
Quistis asked.
"I will," Sia said, "I
don't trust Seifer after the last time when he decided that scaring us was
fun."
Sia continued when she saw
Quistis's look. "He nearly flew into a mountain, just pulled away at the last
second. It was really close, we won't let him pilot now."
"Great," she whispered,
"this is gonna be fun."
Taking a deep breath,
Quistis entered the ship; she could hear Seifer and Sia in a heated argument
about the pilot's chair. Seifer gave up the chair when Sia twisted his ear.
Defeated, he sat in the corner of the ship and sulked.
**********
"What can I do for you
Laguna," Andria asked as he stepped into her dormitory.
"Uh…It's about Squall."
Andria knew what was coming next; it had only been a matter of time before this
was going to happen.
"I know you don't want him
to know, about you, but Quistis is right, you're turning him into me and he
hates me more than anyone else in the world."
Andria put Jake, her son
down on her bed and faced Laguna, "Hate comes from love Laguna, remember that."
Laguna wasn't happy; she
still hadn't helped him. "Look I don't want to pressure you, but…"
"Well you are," Andria
shot back; she didn't want to hear this from him, "please leave." Laguna
started to protest, but he knew it would get him nowhere. Sighing he retreated,
he would try to persuade her again later.
Andria sat down next to Jake and stroked his face tenderly; he looked so much
like Squall, even now. Her heart ached for him, but she knew it too late, he
would never love her like Rinoa.
"Where are you Sati," she
whispered.
Sati had not visited her
in months; she had disappeared. Andria could have used her friend's guidance
right about now.
**********
Dollet was a quiet place to be at night. Perfect to hide.
Walking along a young
girl, about 12, walked the deserted streets. Her ebony black hair hung around
her face, concealing her eyes. Her skin was white. Her tattered dress hung from
her tiny body.
She stepped carefully and
slowly. Coming to the centre of the town, she sat by the fountain and stared at
the moon reflecting in the water.
Behind her another woman appeared from the shadows. The girl played with the
water oblivious to the woman coming towards her. Only at the last minute did
the girl realise someone was behind her.
She whirred round and
stared up, her eyes shown for the first time, they were as black as the darkest
night, darker than her hair.
"Ria," she whispered.
Ria sat down beside the
girl and stroked hair.
"I have seen her friend,
soon she will be gone. We will only have to be rid of the sorceress, and then
we shall show the people real power and leadership. Our kind will rightfully
take back what once belonged to us."
"Why don't you ask her to
join us?"
"Daina, my dear, she will
not turn to us, she will have to die like Sati."
**********
"Andria, what's
wrong."
Seifer stepped into the
meeting room. He had just come back from the mission.
Andria turned from the
window and faced him.
"Nothing," she said.
Seifer gave her his "I know you're lying" look. Andria rolled her eyes at him.
"Either you tell me," he
said, "or I'll torture you till you do."
"What choice do I have,"
she muttered dryly.
"Well, neither of us are
leaving here till you tell me," Seifer said.
"It's Laguna," she said finally.
Seifer immediately looked
uncomfortable, he hadn't wanted to get involved with the Squall and Andria
thing.
"Look, I know you hate
Squall and it's taken a while for you to get over wanting to kill him, but
please hear me out, I need some advice."
Seifer sat back and waited
for her to speak again.
"… Laguna thinks I should
tell Squall, well everything, but my gut says I shouldn't. What do you think?"
Seifer thought for a second, the answer was simple, "Don't tell him, let him
suffer, if he finds out, so what."
Andria frowned, "I knew I
shouldn't have asked his number one enemy."
Seifer laughed.
"You're part of each
other, you know," Andria said. He stared at her, confused at her odd statement.
"What one of you lacks
makes up in the other. You, Seifer lack responsibility, while Squall has that.
He lacks a sense of humour and fun, but you have all of that. Both of you
together make one whole."
"Actually," he said, with
his knowing smile, "you're wrong. I have responsibilities now."
Andria burst out in a fit
of giggles.
"What's so funny," he
asked, amused slightly by her outburst, she hadn't laughed like that in a
while.
"Oh, just your responsible
nature, terrified most of us when you stuck super glue to the pilot's chair,
right before Ling was meant to fly, for a joke."
"Hey," he said defensively, "She found the funny side of it."
"Eventually."
**********
"Hey Quistis, I heard you just got back."
Ling ran up to her, but
stopped a metre away. The green goo had made a trail from where Quistis had
come from.
"One of Seifer's jokes
again." Ling said sympathetically, "he usually explodes them when we're right
next to them, you should have punched him."
Quistis growled, the stuff
was dripping out of her hair and it smelled awful.
She turned around and started walking away slowly. When she walked there was a
squelching sound from her boots.
Ling chuckled and ran
after her, Quistis was going in the wrong direction for the showers.