chapter II- SWEET SORROW
Rinoa watches as squall gets up,she leans back into the shadows (squall). She tleports back to the house. Squall gazes towards the dark edge of the tree line as he senses a familiar energy (she was watching me).
GALBADIA
selphie peeps around the corner and glances down the hall, she could't afford another incident like just now, that guard almost got her. yes ,she'd have to be very careful now the lobby was straight ahead. As she approached it she could hear voices, barely uttered words that she could not clearly make out she would need to get closer, when selphie reaches the corner she kneels down and props her back up against the wall, she eases her head slightly around the it, she sees the man in the mask he is seated at a table and is facing her and the lady in the red is backing her, she strains her ears to hear the conversation properly
"YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE WILLING TO PAY THE FULL EIGHTY THOUSAND, I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT IN HALVES" " WELL IF YOU HAD BROUGHT THE PIECE ON TIME YOU WOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE PAYMENT IN FULL " "THIS IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE MISHKA PAY FULL NOW OR I KEEP THE PIECE FOR THE NEXT BIDDER" " ON THE CONTRARY YOU WILL BE DOING NO SUCH THING" Selphie watches in horror as the lady in red removes a revolver from her hand bag (no she's going to shoot him) "SEE GENERAL I CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT" She aims the gun straight at his head and keeps her finger trained on the trigger "YOU SEE I NEED THIS PIECE, THIS WILL GIVE ME THE POWER I NEED TO TAKE OVER THIS PATHETIC LITTLE COUNTRY OR EVEN THE WORLD, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME YOU SEE" " YOU ARE SICK MISHKA , THAT IS JUST AN OLD FOLKTALE THE GAUNTLET IS JUST A PICE OF JEWELERY THAT HAPPENED TO BELONG TO A VERY POWERFUL SORCERESS" " SEE THERE IS WHERE YOU ARE WRONG . IT'S MORE THAN JUST A PIECE OF JEWELERY, IT'S POWER, BUT YOU CAN'T SEE THAT. IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYWAY I HAVE NO NEED FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN MY COUNTRY " NO WHAT ARE GOING TO DO ?" " I'M GOING TO SHOOT YOU WHAT ELSE? BYE BYE GENERAL " " NO DON'T SHO........." his words trailed of as the booming blast echoed through the lobby and his voice was drowned out by the sick laughter of the lady in red. selphies hand tightened around the gun clenched between her fist even as the general's own fell to the ground lifeless. (you sick, evil, mean person. i don't think i would want to live in your country or your world or your anything) selphie runs from behind her protective sheild that was the hallway to face the lady in red " you killed someone now you will answer to me lady" "THE NAME'S MISHKA LITTLE GIRL AND I ADVISE YOU TO STAY OUT OF THIS" "you are not the boss of me " " HOW VERY TRUE, HOWEVER I HAVE NOT THE TIME FOR THIS, BOYS" a smile of sinister satisfaction crosses mishka's lips as she watches her guards surround selphie
" TA TA DEAR , I REALLY HAVE TO BE GOING" " really? to where pray tell?" mishka turns around surprised and annoyed to see quistis' double barreled shot gun staring her right between the eyes "we'll be taking that darlin" Irvine grabs the briefcase from her hand and heads over to help selphie with the gaurds " thought that you might need a little help, sweet" irvine says as he hits one of the guards with the butt of his gun " bout time" selpjie says between punches she was delivering to a guard who was staring at her a bit too stragely. "well it would have been a lot easier if you would just follow orders ya know selphie" zell says as he delivers an upper cut to the last guard. selphie just scowls at him.
"VERY IMPRESSIVE. I WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT A BUNCH OF HOOLIGANS WITH NO TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE LIKE YOURSELVES COULD MANAGE TO FOIL MY CAREFULLY PREPARED PLANS. I APPLAUD YOU" " ok lady you're really getting on my nerves, who da hell do you think you are. i mean before today we've never even heard of you" " WELL I WOULD'NT EXPECT LOWLIFES SUCH AS YOURSELVES TO EVEN KNOW SOMEONE OF MY CALIBRE" " you guys wouldn't mind if i shot her now would ya?" "yes we would quistis" zell says but he too is finding it hard to fight off the urge to slap the lady "ok, we know from selphie that your name's mishka and we also know why you want the gauntlet what we don't know is just who are you, our sources identified you as the lady in red nothing more" " HMMMM......HAHAHAH. I GUESS I COULD TELL YOU WHO I AM IF YOU TELL ME WHO YOU WORK FOR." "you first" "MY NAME'S MISHKA. I CAME FROM A CITY IN TRAVIA KNOWN AS CYPHRON CITY. MAYBE YOU HAVE HEARD IT?" "yes, a pleasure paradise for the richh and famous built recently to avoid co exsistence of the rich with the poor" "bunch of stuck up pigs" "NO NOT STUCK UP, JUST CLASSY. WE PREFER NOT TO MINGLE WITH THE AM.. AM.. HOW CAN I PUT IT NICELY ...THE PEASANTS. MY BLOODLINES RUN THROUGH THE SOME OF THE MOST RESPECTED FAMILIES AND I STAND TO INHERIT MY FATHERS EMPIRE WHEN HE DIES. YOUR TURN" "let's just say that we are not as untrained and inexperienced as you think" " WELL I GUESS I HAVE A LOT TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN PLANNING OUR FUTURE ENCOUNTERS" she removes a small pelet from her purse and rolls it between her fingers " who said anything about us meeting in the future" " I DID" she throws the pelet at quistis' feet. it explodes releasing thick white clouds of smoke " what the hell" quistis says as she realises that mishka had dissapeared from in front of her " where did she go"
OUTSIDE THE HOTEL
a red car speeds past the galbadian hotel " how did it go mishka" " i had a little trouble" "SeeD" "yes, you were right papa, they showed up just like you said" "but you got the gauntlet?" " i must admit it was quite a challenge getting out of there, i had to put it in my purse when my men jumped the girl, and i thought the one holding the gun to my head had seen me put it in my bag, but she didn't . they think it;s in that old briefcase." "very good job mishka, i'm proud. by the way what did you weigh down the briefcase with?" "oh, just that old bracelet mom gave me for my birthday" " we will celebrate tonight then, home driver" the car streaks down the street and turns the corner with a screech.
"she's gone!" "that's the least of our worries we've got to get this thing back to the museum before it causes any more problems" "yeah i hear ya, the caretaker said he'd wait at the garden until we returned" "well let's go then" they take off down the street.
IN THE VALLEY
squall returns from his walk, he knows rinoa saw him, she'd be worried. how could he tell her that he thinks their their happiness will not last much longer, how could he explain to her his obsession with a crazed sorceress' dying words, how could he tell her that he has doubts in their love and it's ability to withstand anything even another ultinmecia, how could he break her heart like that. she was happy here, she loved the fresh breeze the occasional cute forest animal and she loved sharing it with him, she even started to talk about having children, how could he let her know that he thinks he made the wrong choice. squall's heart sagged heavy as he reached out to turn the nob on the door ,he didn't want to face rinoa. he walked inside ,the house looked dark "rinoa, where are you?" he felt her hands on his back "right behind you" he turned around to face her, her eyes shining bright and understanding " i'm here squall, i'm always here" he hugged her tightly as if in fear that she might dissappear any second, he could feel her heart racing ,he smiles, he loved the way her heart raced everytime he touched her. he bent slightly and in one smooth movement swooped her off her feet " where are you taking me" " i thought you could read minds"
BALAMB GARDEN
"Nida is the caretaker still here?" "yes. he's becoming impatient though" " well we've got the stupid thing back so it isn't much of a deal" quistis and the others walk into the the garden commanders office where the caretaker is pacing up and down. his head snapps around as the door open "have you got it" "yes" "thank heavens it's about ti......" his mouth drops opens as he opens the breifcase and sees what's inside. "is this some knid of joke, if it is it is not very funny" "what are you talking about we delivered the gauntlet what more did you want extra large pizza heavy on the cheese" quistis walked up to him , staring him right in the eyes , she fast becoming annoyed with this man " you in competent fool this cheap peice of costume jewelery is not the gauntlet don't you people check before securing an item" quistis looked down at the breifcase and the gold object shining brightly inside "listen, you told us to retreive a gauntlet from a woman in a red dress, nothing more,how were we supposed to know what the hell it looked like" "well five years ago when one talked about seed they were referring to an elite class of agents who could accomplish the most impossible jobs with little resources, now it just a name to make fun at, if only commander leonhart were here, this garden would be a lot better off " within seconds quistis' hand connected with the caretaker's face, and he found himself on the ground not realising fully what had just occured.his cheek stung, he rubbed it as he looked up at quistis' angry eyes. "we can't all be bloody squall and even he isn't perfect, but you wouldn't know that would you . you only saw what other people saw you never knew the person.but that doesn't matter now does it he's not here we don't even know if he's dead or alive so you're going to have to do like every one else and bear with this peice of shit garden take it or leave it" by this time tears had filled her eyes and were already spilling down her face.she felt ashamed that she had exploded like that ,she ran from the room. the caretaker got to his feet and made his way to the door "whoever has the gauntlet can summon, against her own wiil, the strongest sorceress and command her do any thing he or she wants when that happens only the five can stop it" he closed the door behind himself.
IN THE VALLEY
Suall looks down on rinoa as she sleeps next to him, this is the only time he feels he can protect her when she 's close to him. he brushes a stray hair from her face and kisses her forehead. " i love you rinoa" he shocks himself. he could remeber a time when he didn't even know what those words meant now he says them like he said them every day of his life,then again she was his life. rinoa moans and moves her head a little closer to squall's chest. squall puts his arms around her and forces his troubled mind to rest peacefully while he had the chance to, while he still had her.
ELSEWHERE
"the party was great dad ,but now we have more pressing matters to attend to." mishka says to her father as they walk down the hallway to his study " i know dear, but there is no rush things will get done" the two enter the study . her father locks the door behind them. "alexander make sure that noone comes in, not even my wife" "understood sir" . he turns around and smiles graciously at his daughter "we may begin dear" "it says here that i am to read the incantation after which you will place the gauntlet on my right hand, then the sorceress will be ours" "ok my dear proceed" mishka walks over to the gauntlet and picks it up from where it rested on a satin pillow,she gives it her father . she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled peice of paper and begins to read the writing on it "sumect tandera goulin......" the gauntlet begins to glow " pesant zo canee wasint ........." the light begins to glow brighter " gerosh phultama miirosh. now daddy" her father places the gauntlet on her right hand. the jewels on the gauntlet begin to shine with unearthly brilliance " it's working daddy. it's working "
IN THE VALLEY
squall jumps from his sleep.what a nightmare. he dreamt of two people and some weird peice of jewelry with shining stones. his heart was racing,it was just a dream but there was an unsettling feeling in his stomach. something was happening but what .he was confused , he looked down at rinoa 's sleeping face he drew her closer to him but the scenes from the dream were so vivd that it began to burn his head (rinoa, what's happening) rinoa started to stir and began to breathe heavily. squall looked at her " rinoa wake up, rinoa" he started to shake her. her eyes began to open,but instead of thier normal brown color they were shining a brilliant purple . "rinoa what's happening, rinoa, rinoa" squall felt helpless , rinoa wasn't responding to him he couldn't believe it she was slipping from him before his very eyes and he could do nothing but see images from his dream playing over an over in his head " sqaull help me" rinoa's body began to dematerialise in squalls arms "help me" "i..i.. RINOA" squall could feel her going. he looked at her face, her eyse were glowing brighter now and her body was almost transparent " no rinoa , no " "squall i can't ..help me" her voice was beoming distant and the form that was her body had dissapeared all squall saw now were the traces of light that marked where her glowing eyes were "rinoa" but she was gone .squall lay alone in their bed looking at the spot where rinoa had just been sleeping in his arms . she was gone in a matter of minutes.just like that and he could do nothing, to stop it "rinoa ,RINOA" his voice echoes through the house, going on deaf ears. his heart was aching , he had lost her. and the dream was still playing in head.
Rinoa watches as squall gets up,she leans back into the shadows (squall). She tleports back to the house. Squall gazes towards the dark edge of the tree line as he senses a familiar energy (she was watching me).
GALBADIA
selphie peeps around the corner and glances down the hall, she could't afford another incident like just now, that guard almost got her. yes ,she'd have to be very careful now the lobby was straight ahead. As she approached it she could hear voices, barely uttered words that she could not clearly make out she would need to get closer, when selphie reaches the corner she kneels down and props her back up against the wall, she eases her head slightly around the it, she sees the man in the mask he is seated at a table and is facing her and the lady in the red is backing her, she strains her ears to hear the conversation properly
"YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE WILLING TO PAY THE FULL EIGHTY THOUSAND, I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT IN HALVES" " WELL IF YOU HAD BROUGHT THE PIECE ON TIME YOU WOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE PAYMENT IN FULL " "THIS IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE MISHKA PAY FULL NOW OR I KEEP THE PIECE FOR THE NEXT BIDDER" " ON THE CONTRARY YOU WILL BE DOING NO SUCH THING" Selphie watches in horror as the lady in red removes a revolver from her hand bag (no she's going to shoot him) "SEE GENERAL I CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT" She aims the gun straight at his head and keeps her finger trained on the trigger "YOU SEE I NEED THIS PIECE, THIS WILL GIVE ME THE POWER I NEED TO TAKE OVER THIS PATHETIC LITTLE COUNTRY OR EVEN THE WORLD, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME YOU SEE" " YOU ARE SICK MISHKA , THAT IS JUST AN OLD FOLKTALE THE GAUNTLET IS JUST A PICE OF JEWELERY THAT HAPPENED TO BELONG TO A VERY POWERFUL SORCERESS" " SEE THERE IS WHERE YOU ARE WRONG . IT'S MORE THAN JUST A PIECE OF JEWELERY, IT'S POWER, BUT YOU CAN'T SEE THAT. IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYWAY I HAVE NO NEED FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN MY COUNTRY " NO WHAT ARE GOING TO DO ?" " I'M GOING TO SHOOT YOU WHAT ELSE? BYE BYE GENERAL " " NO DON'T SHO........." his words trailed of as the booming blast echoed through the lobby and his voice was drowned out by the sick laughter of the lady in red. selphies hand tightened around the gun clenched between her fist even as the general's own fell to the ground lifeless. (you sick, evil, mean person. i don't think i would want to live in your country or your world or your anything) selphie runs from behind her protective sheild that was the hallway to face the lady in red " you killed someone now you will answer to me lady" "THE NAME'S MISHKA LITTLE GIRL AND I ADVISE YOU TO STAY OUT OF THIS" "you are not the boss of me " " HOW VERY TRUE, HOWEVER I HAVE NOT THE TIME FOR THIS, BOYS" a smile of sinister satisfaction crosses mishka's lips as she watches her guards surround selphie
" TA TA DEAR , I REALLY HAVE TO BE GOING" " really? to where pray tell?" mishka turns around surprised and annoyed to see quistis' double barreled shot gun staring her right between the eyes "we'll be taking that darlin" Irvine grabs the briefcase from her hand and heads over to help selphie with the gaurds " thought that you might need a little help, sweet" irvine says as he hits one of the guards with the butt of his gun " bout time" selpjie says between punches she was delivering to a guard who was staring at her a bit too stragely. "well it would have been a lot easier if you would just follow orders ya know selphie" zell says as he delivers an upper cut to the last guard. selphie just scowls at him.
"VERY IMPRESSIVE. I WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT A BUNCH OF HOOLIGANS WITH NO TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE LIKE YOURSELVES COULD MANAGE TO FOIL MY CAREFULLY PREPARED PLANS. I APPLAUD YOU" " ok lady you're really getting on my nerves, who da hell do you think you are. i mean before today we've never even heard of you" " WELL I WOULD'NT EXPECT LOWLIFES SUCH AS YOURSELVES TO EVEN KNOW SOMEONE OF MY CALIBRE" " you guys wouldn't mind if i shot her now would ya?" "yes we would quistis" zell says but he too is finding it hard to fight off the urge to slap the lady "ok, we know from selphie that your name's mishka and we also know why you want the gauntlet what we don't know is just who are you, our sources identified you as the lady in red nothing more" " HMMMM......HAHAHAH. I GUESS I COULD TELL YOU WHO I AM IF YOU TELL ME WHO YOU WORK FOR." "you first" "MY NAME'S MISHKA. I CAME FROM A CITY IN TRAVIA KNOWN AS CYPHRON CITY. MAYBE YOU HAVE HEARD IT?" "yes, a pleasure paradise for the richh and famous built recently to avoid co exsistence of the rich with the poor" "bunch of stuck up pigs" "NO NOT STUCK UP, JUST CLASSY. WE PREFER NOT TO MINGLE WITH THE AM.. AM.. HOW CAN I PUT IT NICELY ...THE PEASANTS. MY BLOODLINES RUN THROUGH THE SOME OF THE MOST RESPECTED FAMILIES AND I STAND TO INHERIT MY FATHERS EMPIRE WHEN HE DIES. YOUR TURN" "let's just say that we are not as untrained and inexperienced as you think" " WELL I GUESS I HAVE A LOT TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN PLANNING OUR FUTURE ENCOUNTERS" she removes a small pelet from her purse and rolls it between her fingers " who said anything about us meeting in the future" " I DID" she throws the pelet at quistis' feet. it explodes releasing thick white clouds of smoke " what the hell" quistis says as she realises that mishka had dissapeared from in front of her " where did she go"
OUTSIDE THE HOTEL
a red car speeds past the galbadian hotel " how did it go mishka" " i had a little trouble" "SeeD" "yes, you were right papa, they showed up just like you said" "but you got the gauntlet?" " i must admit it was quite a challenge getting out of there, i had to put it in my purse when my men jumped the girl, and i thought the one holding the gun to my head had seen me put it in my bag, but she didn't . they think it;s in that old briefcase." "very good job mishka, i'm proud. by the way what did you weigh down the briefcase with?" "oh, just that old bracelet mom gave me for my birthday" " we will celebrate tonight then, home driver" the car streaks down the street and turns the corner with a screech.
"she's gone!" "that's the least of our worries we've got to get this thing back to the museum before it causes any more problems" "yeah i hear ya, the caretaker said he'd wait at the garden until we returned" "well let's go then" they take off down the street.
IN THE VALLEY
squall returns from his walk, he knows rinoa saw him, she'd be worried. how could he tell her that he thinks their their happiness will not last much longer, how could he explain to her his obsession with a crazed sorceress' dying words, how could he tell her that he has doubts in their love and it's ability to withstand anything even another ultinmecia, how could he break her heart like that. she was happy here, she loved the fresh breeze the occasional cute forest animal and she loved sharing it with him, she even started to talk about having children, how could he let her know that he thinks he made the wrong choice. squall's heart sagged heavy as he reached out to turn the nob on the door ,he didn't want to face rinoa. he walked inside ,the house looked dark "rinoa, where are you?" he felt her hands on his back "right behind you" he turned around to face her, her eyes shining bright and understanding " i'm here squall, i'm always here" he hugged her tightly as if in fear that she might dissappear any second, he could feel her heart racing ,he smiles, he loved the way her heart raced everytime he touched her. he bent slightly and in one smooth movement swooped her off her feet " where are you taking me" " i thought you could read minds"
BALAMB GARDEN
"Nida is the caretaker still here?" "yes. he's becoming impatient though" " well we've got the stupid thing back so it isn't much of a deal" quistis and the others walk into the the garden commanders office where the caretaker is pacing up and down. his head snapps around as the door open "have you got it" "yes" "thank heavens it's about ti......" his mouth drops opens as he opens the breifcase and sees what's inside. "is this some knid of joke, if it is it is not very funny" "what are you talking about we delivered the gauntlet what more did you want extra large pizza heavy on the cheese" quistis walked up to him , staring him right in the eyes , she fast becoming annoyed with this man " you in competent fool this cheap peice of costume jewelery is not the gauntlet don't you people check before securing an item" quistis looked down at the breifcase and the gold object shining brightly inside "listen, you told us to retreive a gauntlet from a woman in a red dress, nothing more,how were we supposed to know what the hell it looked like" "well five years ago when one talked about seed they were referring to an elite class of agents who could accomplish the most impossible jobs with little resources, now it just a name to make fun at, if only commander leonhart were here, this garden would be a lot better off " within seconds quistis' hand connected with the caretaker's face, and he found himself on the ground not realising fully what had just occured.his cheek stung, he rubbed it as he looked up at quistis' angry eyes. "we can't all be bloody squall and even he isn't perfect, but you wouldn't know that would you . you only saw what other people saw you never knew the person.but that doesn't matter now does it he's not here we don't even know if he's dead or alive so you're going to have to do like every one else and bear with this peice of shit garden take it or leave it" by this time tears had filled her eyes and were already spilling down her face.she felt ashamed that she had exploded like that ,she ran from the room. the caretaker got to his feet and made his way to the door "whoever has the gauntlet can summon, against her own wiil, the strongest sorceress and command her do any thing he or she wants when that happens only the five can stop it" he closed the door behind himself.
IN THE VALLEY
Suall looks down on rinoa as she sleeps next to him, this is the only time he feels he can protect her when she 's close to him. he brushes a stray hair from her face and kisses her forehead. " i love you rinoa" he shocks himself. he could remeber a time when he didn't even know what those words meant now he says them like he said them every day of his life,then again she was his life. rinoa moans and moves her head a little closer to squall's chest. squall puts his arms around her and forces his troubled mind to rest peacefully while he had the chance to, while he still had her.
ELSEWHERE
"the party was great dad ,but now we have more pressing matters to attend to." mishka says to her father as they walk down the hallway to his study " i know dear, but there is no rush things will get done" the two enter the study . her father locks the door behind them. "alexander make sure that noone comes in, not even my wife" "understood sir" . he turns around and smiles graciously at his daughter "we may begin dear" "it says here that i am to read the incantation after which you will place the gauntlet on my right hand, then the sorceress will be ours" "ok my dear proceed" mishka walks over to the gauntlet and picks it up from where it rested on a satin pillow,she gives it her father . she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled peice of paper and begins to read the writing on it "sumect tandera goulin......" the gauntlet begins to glow " pesant zo canee wasint ........." the light begins to glow brighter " gerosh phultama miirosh. now daddy" her father places the gauntlet on her right hand. the jewels on the gauntlet begin to shine with unearthly brilliance " it's working daddy. it's working "
IN THE VALLEY
squall jumps from his sleep.what a nightmare. he dreamt of two people and some weird peice of jewelry with shining stones. his heart was racing,it was just a dream but there was an unsettling feeling in his stomach. something was happening but what .he was confused , he looked down at rinoa 's sleeping face he drew her closer to him but the scenes from the dream were so vivd that it began to burn his head (rinoa, what's happening) rinoa started to stir and began to breathe heavily. squall looked at her " rinoa wake up, rinoa" he started to shake her. her eyes began to open,but instead of thier normal brown color they were shining a brilliant purple . "rinoa what's happening, rinoa, rinoa" squall felt helpless , rinoa wasn't responding to him he couldn't believe it she was slipping from him before his very eyes and he could do nothing but see images from his dream playing over an over in his head " sqaull help me" rinoa's body began to dematerialise in squalls arms "help me" "i..i.. RINOA" squall could feel her going. he looked at her face, her eyse were glowing brighter now and her body was almost transparent " no rinoa , no " "squall i can't ..help me" her voice was beoming distant and the form that was her body had dissapeared all squall saw now were the traces of light that marked where her glowing eyes were "rinoa" but she was gone .squall lay alone in their bed looking at the spot where rinoa had just been sleeping in his arms . she was gone in a matter of minutes.just like that and he could do nothing, to stop it "rinoa ,RINOA" his voice echoes through the house, going on deaf ears. his heart was aching , he had lost her. and the dream was still playing in head.