Warrior Soul
Part I: Chosen one
By Tanthalas Fierolobo
"Many people say that
Love is a cureless disease that cures all diseases. However, I feel like I've
been vaccinated against love for life."
- Rinoa Heartilly, 'Diary of a Sorceress.'
CHAPTER TWO:
Forgotten soul. Dreams and nightmares. A feeling.
3. Ride the winds
The sun finally vanished behind the mountains
around Winhill, the light dying with it. Squall observed the wonderful sunset
in delight, as every evening. The sunset was different every day, because he
was always in a different place when it came. He had seen it from the large
plains of Esthar, the steep mountains of Trabia, the arid deserts of Galbadia,
the deep forests of Centra… from every place imaginable. He was a nomad, a lone
walker, a forgotten soul… and he loved it. His solitude was absolute, the
silence around him, infinite. His long brown hair moved with a sudden torrid
breeze that embraced him like an ethereal lover. "Winhill is damn hot in
summer", he thought. He was wearing a white, thin, cotton shirt and black
leather trousers. His hair was tied with a leather strip at the nape of his
neck, a large ponytail falling over his back, moving back and forth with the
wind. He had been sleeping under the stars for eleven years and eight months:
he had not talked to another human in all that time. He never went into cities,
towns or villages; he lived from what nature gave him (roasted Alagar was very
tasty) carried with him the few belongings he needed (a backpack with some
clothes, two blankets, provisions and water; a sleeping bag and very few gil),
he used his magic only when necessary (he used to cast sleep on the animals he
was going to eat, and then killed them without pain) and when he was in danger
Shiva came to his aid (She appeared in matter of one or two seconds). He had
not abandoned Garden discipline; he was finely shaved and had an acceptable
hygiene: there were lots of streams, rivers and lakes around the world where he
was able to clean the dust of the road from his body. He had grown an expert in
curative herbs: he had had time for learning about many, many types of
medicinal plants (he had had as well many stomach problems testing his own-made
medicines) and knew a lot about the planet's fauna. He was now brother, lover
and son of Mother Nature.
He
had seen this sunset before, around seven or eight years ago, while visiting
Winhill's surroundings, but he decided to come again to see if Winhill had
changed much in all that time: when he arrived, he saw that it was almost the
same, only with one or two new houses. From his position, he could see the
entire village, only illuminated by the moon and the light of the street lamps.
The night was calm, peaceful, the silence only broken by the crickets' cry. "If
I decide to settle down, I'll come here", Squall thought. Then, he prepared his
sleeping bag, ate something, laid down looking at the dark firmament, and
observed the flickering stars until he fell asleep.
4. I miss you
- It's better this way, I tell you.
- Said Irvine.
-
How can you say that!? - Selphie was upset. - Don't you miss him?
- To tell you the truth, no. Look, if
he had stayed, Quistis wouldn't be the Commander right now. And you know what
Quistis, and Xu, have done to Garden… We don't "hire" orphans any more, for
example. We give home to orphans, of course, but now all SeeDs and students
alike are volunteers: they are here because they want to, not because there's
no other place they can go. We are not mere assassins any more: we do all sort
of missions, from stealth to humanitarian ones. Now Garden is like an
intermediary between Galbadia and Esthar… thanks to "Wise Rinoa" the war has
not begun. They have made this all possible… - relations between Galbadia and
Esthar were agonizing. Only because of the influence the White Sorceress had in
their respective leaders (General Caraway and President Laguna Loire*) the war
had not exploded. - Now Timber is free and independent because of Rinoa's
"slight" intervention… She even persuaded Laguna for giving us the Ragnarok and
start the construction of Esthar Garden!**
-
I know, but she could have done all those things by Squall's side…
-
Ha! I don't think so… You know how Squall's disappearance changed Rinoa; she
wouldn't be as she is now if Squall had stayed. I think we must thank him for
leaving.
-
Don't dare to say that again! I thought you were his friend!
-
You said it: I was. He ceased being
my friend when he abandoned us.
-
Hmph! - Selphie crossed her arms over her chest, putting an end to the
conversation. This was the only disagreement between them: they had had similar
discussions like this before, but they never got angry at each other; they
simply had a different opinion on the matter. They were sitting at the Quad in
a bench beside Squall's statue; this statue had been elaborated during the year
next to his "death", by the greatest of the artisans from everywhere in the
planet. It was a perfect replica of him, exact in each detail, representing him
in a defying combat stance. It was set over a marble block, a silvery plaque
over it: inscribed were the words:
To the Memory of Squall Leonhart,
first of the Ultimecia Heroes.
You will always be our leader.
They looked upon the endless ocean,
seeing the sun slowly fading behind the horizon. It was an amazing sight they
loved to share when they were at home. After a while, Irvine put his arm over
her shoulders, and pulled her closer, the discussion totally forgotten by both
of them before the extraordinary picture. They silently remained there,
lovingly embracing each other, until the sun completely set.
They
didn't notice a blond man that was approaching them. But this time, Zell did
not interrupt them; with a lonely tear running through his cheek, he turned
around to leave, and headed for his room. He lie down on his bed, and felt
horribly alone as he remembered again the day of her death.
"We were having a holiday at Esthar. You took my hand and forced me to
get up; although the sun had just risen you were completely bright and full of
energy. With a smile, I went out of our bed and embraced you, and we kissed. I
was the happiest man in the world. You had never been in Esthar, and wanted to
see everything, so I would be your guide. We went out of the room and visited
the Presidential Palace, and I introduced Laguna to you. You were so excited…
so beautiful…
"We went through the streets of Esthar, to the Airport, to
Odine's Laboratory, to the Lunatic Pandora Museum. We visited Tear's Point, and
spent the afternoon there, admiring the amazing statues, talking, laughing…
loving each other. How could I have known that kiss we shared under the sunset
light would be our last kiss? Melisa… my sweetheart…
"We returned to Esthar, and went to the Commercial Centre. You
wanted to be in the huge library of Esthar; "I want to get lost with you there,
and disappear between all that knowledge", you said to me. How you loved books,
and reading… We were in our way to the library when it happened. We heard a
shout behind us: "Die Estharian bastards!" A lunatic Galbadian terrorist had
infiltrated somehow into the city, and had pulled out a sub-machine gun from
his trench-coat. You were his first target. I tried to cover you with my own
body, but to no avail: the first bullet went through your bare throat, the next
five ones through my arm and shoulder. The screams of the crowd were
insupportable, as I saw you falling to the ground. Ignoring the tearing pain,
anger and hatred moving my wounded body with inhuman speed, I ran to the bloody
bastard, avoiding his poorly aimed bursts of bullets. With a kick I sent the
weapon far from him, and hit him to death, in wild frenzy. It was the first man
I killed, but I didn't care. I went to your side then, blinded with tears. I
knelt beside you, took your still warm hand between mine and cried, desperately
cried over your dead body until collapsing for the loss of blood."
"Why you, Melisa? Why you? Melisa… how I miss your smile, your voice,
your words, your laugh, your eyes… How I miss you…"***
Zell stayed in his dorm a little
more, thinking, remembering, wondering. A while after he went out and, with a
sad, stormy sigh, headed for the Training Centre.
*****
*Author's note: Esthar people REALLY love
Laguna… he has been re-elected all those years because there's no opposition!
Caraway is other thing… Galbadia inhabitants begin to be tired of this
dictator, although he's much better than Deling (He's like Cuba's Fidel Castro,
for example). He's charismatic and knows how to handle the masses against his
enemies.
**Other Author's note: Rinoa did not use any of
her magic for doing all those things (Quistis - and Rinoa herself - would never
allow that). She has become an excellent diplomatic, her incredibly sharp mind
making her almost insuperable in a discussion.
***And other Author's note: the Zell thing has
nothing to do with the main storyline at all, but I wanted to explain why the
ponytail girl (you guessed it, Melisa) is not with him.
5. Shadows from the
past
Rinoa
was really scared. Someone, or something
was following her, but she couldn't see what, only able to hear its deep
breathing. She was walking through the streets of Deling by night, her heels
knocking loudly in the silent darkness of the deserted city. The breathing was
approaching, and she fastened the pace. Suddenly she heard a long, horrible
howl beside her, and, in complete panic, began to run as fast as she could,
trying to escape from the beast that persecuted her. She turned a corner, and
abruptly bumped into a dark form that tenderly embraced her. "Don't be afraid, Rinoa." The shadow
whispered in her ear, his dark hand caressing her hair. "I'm here, I'll protect you". She knew that voice, a voice she had
once loved, a voice she knew in each detail. The creature was coming, but she
didn't care any more; she was safe now. But when it approached, the shadow
roughly released her and pulled her closer to the demon. "No! Don't leave me now!" she cried out in terror as he, ignoring
her pleads, turned around to leave. "Please…
I need you…" she saw him disappear behind a veil of tears. Suddenly all
went black. The pain was insufferable as the claws and fangs of the creature
tore skin, flesh and bone…
Rinoa
opened wide her eyes, and sat in her bed trembling, still feeling the horrible
agony, her pulse racing. She glanced around in her dormitory panicked, not
knowing where she was, until she realized. "Stupid nightmare..." she thought,
lying down again, her heart slowly settling down.
Then, she burst into tears. She
buried her face in her pillow and silently cried, the most piercing, intense
pain tormenting her soul, until she fell asleep, totally exhausted.
6. Dreadful vision
Next day, Quistis went out of her
room with the sunrise and headed for the cafeteria as usual. She was gladly
surprised to see Rinoa sitting there, eating a toast with some coffee, a blank
look in her eyes. She ordered her breakfast and sat opposite to her, a little
concerned when she saw her expression. Rinoa seemed like she had not noticed
Quistis, although she was right in front of her.
-
Rinoa… - She startled when the woman touched her hand. Now Quistis was
seriously worried. Rinoa never behaved this way; she was always alert, always
ready to act: she perceived almost everything that happened in her
surroundings. - What is it? What happened? - The Sorceress raised her eyes from
the table, looking very tired.
-
I had a nightmare about Squall and cried the whole night. - Now was Quistis'
turn to startle. She would never get used to her bluntness. "I thought the
nightmares stopped years ago," she said to herself then. - And they stopped. -
Rinoa stated, frowning. Quistis jumped again. Mind reading: other thing she
couldn't get used to. - I would never let it happen again. - Rinoa shivered,
remembering the dreadful visions against her will. She had all kind of horrible
nightmares after his disappearance,
partly because her newly discovered (and consequently still uncontrolled)
powers, partly because she had felt incredibly guilty about his departure. This
combination tormented her body, mind and soul; she couldn't think clearly, was
too weak for speak and even refused to eat: she had been close to dead from
starvation, but she didn't perish because of her friends' constant attentions.
One day, without apparent reason, the nightmares stopped, and she slowly
recovered. Only she knew what happened inside her brain; she couldn't describe
the horrors she saw in her dreams even now, burying them in the deepest corners
of her mind. It made a deep impression in her; they completely changed Rinoa
indeed. - It has a meaning, I'm sure of it. I feel something awful is coming. -
After saying this, she calmly took a sip of her coffee, like she had said
something as "I think it's going to rain". Quistis' lips became a thin line.
She was more and more worried; Rinoa, in one or another way, was always right
in her "feelings".
-
We will talk about this in my office. - She said as a waitress came with her
breakfast. Rinoa scowled, looked annoyed.
-
I don't want to talk about it. There's nothing we can talk about.
-
Okay, if you say so… - Quistis sighed. - Maybe it was just a bad dream.
-
Maybe... - she replied, doubtful. They finished eating without saying anything
more, and headed for the Commander's office.
7. Of love and Gardens
The
flying Garden arrived to Trabia continent at midnight, and Trabia Garden would
show up around dawn. Selphie was too excited to sleep. She was at the quad
looking upon the dark silhouette of the mountains, a yawning Irvine by her side
(Selphie literally pulled him to the Quad from their bed), waiting for the
Garden to appear with the rising sun. They had been one hour and a half there
when the first lights of dawn came, reflecting on the little patches of snow
that remained in the steep mountains: although summer was at its heights in the
rest of the world, Trabia still was in a cold spring. Irvine embraced her from
behind.
- Past those mountains is your
beloved Garden, my dear. - He whispered, the warmth of his breath tickling in
her ear. Selphie smiled happily.
-
Yes… - A sudden cold breeze surrounded them. Irvine embraced her tighter when
she shivered. - I love this air. It's so… clean. - He tenderly kissed her head,
with short, soft kisses, and Selphie quietly moaned in delight. - I feel I
could stay like this forever. - She muttered, bowing her head backwards,
leaning it over his chest.
-
So let's stay. Let's remain like this forever. - He said between kiss and kiss.
Selphie turned around in his arms and, wrapping hers around his neck, she
kissed his lips, with a light, soft kiss. Irvine gave it back. Selphie grinned;
a mischievous grin. They completely forgot about Trabia, gardens or parties.
End of chapter two.
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