Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8.......

~*chapter 9*~

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The morning air was warm. It blew gently against Rinoa's face as she walked down the pier of the castle. Her skirt whipped about her white legs. She reached the end of the pier and looked over the edge into the clear blue water. She slowly took her seat on the edge. Her legs dangled over the oceans blue tranquil water. She brought her gaze up from the water below her feet and placed it upon the mindless rolling hills of waves. The waves sparkled brightly as they tumbled over one another. She smiled as the thought of her friends came to her mind. She could see them playing in the waves and darting in and out of coral. She could just see Quistis telling them the precise rules of the game, Angelo looking at dirt thinking it is some kind of human object, Selphie digging furiously in the water for a new human item to add to her collection and Irvine making desperate attempts to pick up any female he could get his dirty wings on. Rinoa's smiled slowly disappeared as the thought of them came more into mind. She was happy for them but she wasn't with them. Her best friends. She had sacrificed all of them in her life for love. The chance of him falling in love with a girl with no voice was very improbable. Tears began to form in her eyes as she thought of how she would never see them again. Either way she looked at it, she was never going to see them. The tears pulled from her eyes and flew down her cheeks. She had sacrificed so much for this. To see him, to touch him, to hold him. It was a waste. She had better chances dreaming. She bent over the side and watched her salty tears race towards the water. They splashed lightly signaling they had become one with the sea.

'If there is a God. Then let him grant this one wish to me.' she hoped silently as she looked to the sky. 'A kiss from Squall.' she prayed as her eyes scanned the clear blue sky. She shifted a bit causing her left arm to support her more than her right. But that quickly became a bad movement on her part as the wood under her began to creak madly. She cautiously looked down and found the wooden boards splintering. Her eyes grew wide with fright. Not of the fact that the wood was breaking but of the fact that water was below her, she had no clue how to swim with legs. In an attempt to run, Rinoa shifted her leg toward her chest. Again the movement caused more splintering of the wood. She bit her lip hard as she more and more splinters fly up from the boards.

'Maybe I could make one big jump to the shore.' she thought to herself as she looked to her legs. She didn't waist any time as she threw herself to her feet. The boards under her feet cracked and fell into the water below. She tried to push off but there was no board. She fell backwards into the water, legs first. She shot down to the bottom like a torpedo. Her feet smashed against the bottom. She opened her mouth to scream for pain but nothing came out, only in. Water flowed freely into her mouth. She quickly shut her mouth for fear of swallowing more.

***

Squall sat quietly at his desk as he pushed a diamond encrusted ring around with his finger. The ring rolled to and for across the wooden desk. The suns rays blasted through the large open window. The rays lay still along with the rest of the quiet room. The only sound made in the entire room was the ring to the wood and Squall's occasional sighing. The room had basically been quiet for years and years. The only person aloud [(No pun intended)] to enter the room was Squall. Until he came of age to rule the kingdom or had found someone who he could share his life with, the room was to remain silent. He punched the ring with the tip of his index finger.

"Imagine," he began as he lifted the ring with his thumb and index finger. "You are going to be on women's finger. Lets hope I love her." he quietly continued as he examined it. "Rinoa." he blurted out. He took a puzzled look to his face from the outburst. He turned around and began to search the room. Squall silently searched the room with his eyes as they darted back and forth. He shook his head. "It was nothing, nothing at all." he assured himself. He took a deep breath of air and took his vision through the window and onto the pier. He smiled as he saw Rinoa there sitting perfectly still. He leaned forward on his desk, propping himself up with his elbows. His eyes became peaceful as they rested on the back of her head. Her coal black swayed with the wind. But his unusually tranquil disappeared as she suddenly jolted up from her sitting position but only to fall into the water. The wood had cracked under her weight. He quickly pushed open the window and flew out of it. Fortunately his room was on the first floor and at ocean level. He ran down the hill that connected the castle to the pier. He ran down the pier as fast as he could. He skidded to a stop as he laid eyes on the large hole at the end of the pier. He bent over the side of the whole and raced his eyes across the waters top in hopes of seeing her surface. To no avail, and he couldn't just sit and wait. He flung his jacket off of his shoulders and jumped in legs first.....

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A/N: Well, well???? I know the end is kinda corny but was the rest good?? Like How Rinoa looks back at her life....humph....well just review...

R+R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!