Standard disclaimer: I don't own Squall and co. and will never be able to!
So just enjoy this little fic of mine and R&R pls! :p sorry this
installment was late because of the holidays and school…. Anyway here it
is!!
Chapter 16
She was floating away to a place where pain does not exist, a place where she could rest in eternal slumber. Away, far away from the body that held her as a prisoner for too long, away from the powers that she had never wanted. It was almost as if she was back in space, floating among the stars but this time she did not feel the thirst for oxygen, or the want to live. Rinoa opened her eyes slowly and stared at the dot of light at the end of this dark tunnel. Strange how she could not even feel her own self in this 'tunnel', it was as if her limbs were all separated and numbed. Briefly, she felt herself smiling in this alien yet comforting environment. Soon, very soon. . .
Suddenly, she felt a sensation in her right palm. Moving in a daze, Rinoa turned her head and stared at her own palm, watching in disbelief as blood started welling out of a deep wound. Where did the wound come from? She wondered. In a dazed fascination, she continued staring at the one drop of blood that started sliding down her own skin and fell deeper and deeper into the darkness. Rinoa stared at it, watching it fall when she realized that she was no longer in the dark tunnel. The black haziness melted away and had transformed into the same flower field where Squall had given his promise.
The flower field was as beautiful as ever with the sun shining down brightly on the many different varieties of flowers. Standing at the edge of the field Rinoa lifted a hand to shade her eyes from the dazzling sun rays while her eyes scanned the entire flower field. . . and rested upon a figure standing right in the middle of the field. Looking at that familiar figure wearing a long sleeve white shirt and black leather pants, Rinoa felt a painful lump at the back of her throat and a sharp pricking in her eyes. Why was he here?
That figure turned around and faced her. Across the field, brown eyes met with grayish-blue and suddenly, everything came to a standstill, even the breeze that was blowing gently across the field. There was a gap between the both of them, a gap that seemed so wide and unbridgeable. Rinoa stood still, afraid to take the first step and face its consequences. She simply stood there until Squall took the first step and then the next again and again until he was only a step away from her. All this while, he never broke the eye contact, his eyes remained steadfastly locked onto hers. Rinoa did not know how to respond to this, she wanted to laugh and cry, run away and stay; she was confused. Staring at Squall, she licked her dry lips, wanting to say something, anything, but she could not come up with even a single word.
After a few minutes, the silence was finally broken.
"Rinoa, come back to me please?" Squall's heart ached at the sight of her. Hyne, how much he wanted to hold her again in his arms, to hear her call out his name, even to hear her whine! But Squall forced himself to have a measure of control over himself least he appalled her and so he could only stare into those chocolate coloured eyes and lose himself in those sweet depths.
Rinoa merely stared at him, his words having a hard time registering in her mind. 'Squall, what do you want of me?' She thought in her mind, while she looked deep into his eyes, searching for an answer. With a sob, Rinoa ran into his arms, hugging him tight, feeling his warmth and. . .love.
Gratefully, Squall hugged her back and relished the feeling of Rinoa back in his arms. Hyne, the price was worth it; who cares whether about longevity? Not him, not if it can bring Rinoa back to him. Slowly disentangling himself from her, Squall pushed Rinoa away slightly so that he could look at her face. Smiling, Squall lifted a hand to caress her cheek, brushing away the tears that streaked down her face like shooting stars.
Something was not right; Rinoa sensed it in her bones. Something was wrong though she could not say what. . .until she saw the blood on Squall's hand and felt the wet liquid on her cheeks. Looking at Squall through her powers, she saw a white-purplish mist around Squall, ensnaring him, leeching away his life force. Momentarily, she was so overwhelmed that no words could come out from her mouth.
"Squall, why? You don't have to do this." Rinoa asked in harsh sobs. 'Why Squall? Why?' "I'm not worth it!" Rinoa cried. Weeping, she slid out of his embrace and took a few steps backward before collapsing onto the ground.
Squall did not know how to reply and watched helplessly as she left his arms. Kneeling down beside her, Squall took her hands and kept quiet. How was he to say it? He did not know how to explain his own feelings. 'Damn it! Tell her! Tell her!' His mind shouted at him.
"Because. . . you are my everything." It sounded so lame even to his own ears and Squall winced. How he wished he could have phrased it in a better way, more romantic perhaps but then he never knew how to please women anyway. Frustrated with himself, Squall could only stare at the ground bitterly. Damn! If only he was as glib as Irvine!
Oh Squall! Rinoa thought while her heart was suddenly overwhelmed by her love for this warrior. Wordlessly, she raised a blood stained hand and caress his face gently. Squall felt her touch and veryquietly, he also lifted his hand to hold hers. Rinoa smiled, a sad smile. 'My lion, my knight.' Rinoa thought wistfully before melting into his embrace. From now on, there would be no more turning back, their fates were as intertwined as tightly as the many strands of threads in a tapestry.
Squall returned her embrace with such tenderness that Rinoa nearly cried again. Very softly, he whispered in her ear, "My angel, my savior."
==
"What do you think is happening now Angelo?" Seifer whispered softly as he sat outside Rinoa's ward. Squall had been inside for a damn long period of a time and Seifer was, frankly, getting quite worried. He had speculated that Squall will go and get Rinoa back by one or another extreme means, but does it usually take so long? Cursing sorcery under his breath, Seifer stroked Angelo's head. The old girl herself was also getting quite restless and high strung. Damn! Something good better happen now!
==
Rinoa's eyes fluttered open and for a sharp moment she closed them once more. Was it all a dream? She wondered. No, the heartbeat that she heard and felt right now was too real. It was not a dream, not when she could feel Squall's body warmth. Yes, she was leaning on his chest, just like in the past. Wearily, Rinoa raised her right palm, expecting to see more blood. Instead, a white scar graced her skin. It had healed very quickly, all thanks to her power and Squall's life force. Just the mention of his name made her smile. "But, what about Quistis?" Rinoa thought with a pang of fear.
"Awake?" A tender voice spoke into her ear. Rinoa smiled once more and leaned further back while nodding her head. Then before he could say more, Rinoa asked the one question that had been weighing on her mind.
"Squall, are you bluffing me?" She was so afraid to know the answer, but she wanted the truth now. Rinoa needed some sort of confirmation; everything that had happened was too good to be true.
"No. Why would I?" He answered back in that tender tone and Rinoa felt her heart grew lighter. "Then. . . what about Quistis?" Rinoa blurted out another question. She needed to know if Quistis would get hurt, she needed to know if Squall loved Quistis. "Do you love her?"
Wordlessly, Squall took Griever out from his pocket and placed it on her palm. "Rinoa. . . she and I. . ."Squall paused for a moment to reorganize his thoughts, "she was never the one for me." Squall finished it off as best as he could; he always hated explaining emotional things especially when it had something to do with him, it's so bloody difficult!
Hearing his detached tone, Rinoa smiled once more; he always used this tone whenever he had to explain his feelings. 'Squall, you never really changed much do you?' she wondered. But what are they to do now? Rinoa thought.
"Squall, let's leave this place. . .I'll never be accepted here because. . ."Rinoa proposed the idea tentatively, scared that Squall will reject it. 'Will he? This means so much to me. Right now, there must be a lot of people who hates me. I cannot stay here.' Rinoa fingered the ring on her palm while her eyes narrowed in thought. Sometimes, she hated reality, it was usually so bleak and horribly stark.
"No one wants a sorceress Squall. I have to leave. I have no choice." Rinoa explained, still afraid to meet his eyes, to know his answer.
"Let's go." Squall decided. There was really no point in staying here any longer; he never really did like his work and leaving it behind did not seem like a painful thing to do. Rinoa turned around and stared at him with her eyes wide with surprise.
"Let's leave here. . .together. I have enough Gil to last us for a few years. I can always find another job, another place to live. A real home. . .with you." Squall mind was already working far ahead, thinking about the possibilities of having a different job, a different life. Suddenly, the future looked wonderfully rosy and frightening. If he leaves this Garden, it would be like stepping into a different world, a world where he was no longer Squall Leonhart the man who had helped saved the world. He would be just a nobody, an ordinary person. Does he dare? Honestly, his stomach was turning queasy at the thought of facing this new and alien fear but looking into Rinoa's eyes, he found the courage.
"Yes, let's leave here Rinoa." Decisively, he took her hand and held it. Rinoa narrowed her eyes in sadness.
"Are you sure Squall? Am I really worth it?" Rinoa asked. She dared not dream that Squall will give up everything to be with her, it was too much to ask of him. And besides, she was just a sorceress. . .a rogue sorceress, one who can't even control her own powers, a weakling.
Squall could see the pain in her eyes and his heart ached for her. Hyne, how weary she looked, she carried far too much burden on her young shoulder. Putting a finger under her chin, he tipped her head up to stare into her brown eyes, eyes that was so full of warmth and love, but now was filled with pain and self-anger instead.
"Rinoa, I'm sure. . .I don't care if you are a sorceress or not, it does not matter. I care because. . .I love you." There he said it. Squall had wanted to tell her how much she meant to him but every time the courage to speak up always wilted away at the last moment. Now he finally said it and Squall wondered why he never did it earlier. Rinoa's eyes were tearing up again but this time, it was out of happiness. A faint blush was staining her cheeks and she looked so beautiful that Squall could not resist it and kissed her.
They were together again and everything going to be all right. Rinoa knew it in her soul as she clutched Griever tightly to her heart.
==
That early morning a ghostly pair flitted through the corridors of the Garden with a dog following closely behind. The girl was wearing a blue outfit and she was carrying a backpack and a weapon case. Similarly, the young man was also carrying a backpack and a weapon case but his demeanor was different. Sometimes, laughter akin to the wind chimes tinkling in the breeze would be heard from the young woman. The young man was however grave and solemn but sometimes his eyes will twinkle in the darkness, hinting at the happiness he felt in his heart.
Watching from the shadows, Seifer smiled and waved them a silent goodbye as Squall and Rinoa walked through the Garden gates forever.
p.s:: how?? like it?? R&R!!! if this is receiving enough good reviews, I might add in another chapter to wrap things up!! :p
Chapter 16
She was floating away to a place where pain does not exist, a place where she could rest in eternal slumber. Away, far away from the body that held her as a prisoner for too long, away from the powers that she had never wanted. It was almost as if she was back in space, floating among the stars but this time she did not feel the thirst for oxygen, or the want to live. Rinoa opened her eyes slowly and stared at the dot of light at the end of this dark tunnel. Strange how she could not even feel her own self in this 'tunnel', it was as if her limbs were all separated and numbed. Briefly, she felt herself smiling in this alien yet comforting environment. Soon, very soon. . .
Suddenly, she felt a sensation in her right palm. Moving in a daze, Rinoa turned her head and stared at her own palm, watching in disbelief as blood started welling out of a deep wound. Where did the wound come from? She wondered. In a dazed fascination, she continued staring at the one drop of blood that started sliding down her own skin and fell deeper and deeper into the darkness. Rinoa stared at it, watching it fall when she realized that she was no longer in the dark tunnel. The black haziness melted away and had transformed into the same flower field where Squall had given his promise.
The flower field was as beautiful as ever with the sun shining down brightly on the many different varieties of flowers. Standing at the edge of the field Rinoa lifted a hand to shade her eyes from the dazzling sun rays while her eyes scanned the entire flower field. . . and rested upon a figure standing right in the middle of the field. Looking at that familiar figure wearing a long sleeve white shirt and black leather pants, Rinoa felt a painful lump at the back of her throat and a sharp pricking in her eyes. Why was he here?
That figure turned around and faced her. Across the field, brown eyes met with grayish-blue and suddenly, everything came to a standstill, even the breeze that was blowing gently across the field. There was a gap between the both of them, a gap that seemed so wide and unbridgeable. Rinoa stood still, afraid to take the first step and face its consequences. She simply stood there until Squall took the first step and then the next again and again until he was only a step away from her. All this while, he never broke the eye contact, his eyes remained steadfastly locked onto hers. Rinoa did not know how to respond to this, she wanted to laugh and cry, run away and stay; she was confused. Staring at Squall, she licked her dry lips, wanting to say something, anything, but she could not come up with even a single word.
After a few minutes, the silence was finally broken.
"Rinoa, come back to me please?" Squall's heart ached at the sight of her. Hyne, how much he wanted to hold her again in his arms, to hear her call out his name, even to hear her whine! But Squall forced himself to have a measure of control over himself least he appalled her and so he could only stare into those chocolate coloured eyes and lose himself in those sweet depths.
Rinoa merely stared at him, his words having a hard time registering in her mind. 'Squall, what do you want of me?' She thought in her mind, while she looked deep into his eyes, searching for an answer. With a sob, Rinoa ran into his arms, hugging him tight, feeling his warmth and. . .love.
Gratefully, Squall hugged her back and relished the feeling of Rinoa back in his arms. Hyne, the price was worth it; who cares whether about longevity? Not him, not if it can bring Rinoa back to him. Slowly disentangling himself from her, Squall pushed Rinoa away slightly so that he could look at her face. Smiling, Squall lifted a hand to caress her cheek, brushing away the tears that streaked down her face like shooting stars.
Something was not right; Rinoa sensed it in her bones. Something was wrong though she could not say what. . .until she saw the blood on Squall's hand and felt the wet liquid on her cheeks. Looking at Squall through her powers, she saw a white-purplish mist around Squall, ensnaring him, leeching away his life force. Momentarily, she was so overwhelmed that no words could come out from her mouth.
"Squall, why? You don't have to do this." Rinoa asked in harsh sobs. 'Why Squall? Why?' "I'm not worth it!" Rinoa cried. Weeping, she slid out of his embrace and took a few steps backward before collapsing onto the ground.
Squall did not know how to reply and watched helplessly as she left his arms. Kneeling down beside her, Squall took her hands and kept quiet. How was he to say it? He did not know how to explain his own feelings. 'Damn it! Tell her! Tell her!' His mind shouted at him.
"Because. . . you are my everything." It sounded so lame even to his own ears and Squall winced. How he wished he could have phrased it in a better way, more romantic perhaps but then he never knew how to please women anyway. Frustrated with himself, Squall could only stare at the ground bitterly. Damn! If only he was as glib as Irvine!
Oh Squall! Rinoa thought while her heart was suddenly overwhelmed by her love for this warrior. Wordlessly, she raised a blood stained hand and caress his face gently. Squall felt her touch and veryquietly, he also lifted his hand to hold hers. Rinoa smiled, a sad smile. 'My lion, my knight.' Rinoa thought wistfully before melting into his embrace. From now on, there would be no more turning back, their fates were as intertwined as tightly as the many strands of threads in a tapestry.
Squall returned her embrace with such tenderness that Rinoa nearly cried again. Very softly, he whispered in her ear, "My angel, my savior."
==
"What do you think is happening now Angelo?" Seifer whispered softly as he sat outside Rinoa's ward. Squall had been inside for a damn long period of a time and Seifer was, frankly, getting quite worried. He had speculated that Squall will go and get Rinoa back by one or another extreme means, but does it usually take so long? Cursing sorcery under his breath, Seifer stroked Angelo's head. The old girl herself was also getting quite restless and high strung. Damn! Something good better happen now!
==
Rinoa's eyes fluttered open and for a sharp moment she closed them once more. Was it all a dream? She wondered. No, the heartbeat that she heard and felt right now was too real. It was not a dream, not when she could feel Squall's body warmth. Yes, she was leaning on his chest, just like in the past. Wearily, Rinoa raised her right palm, expecting to see more blood. Instead, a white scar graced her skin. It had healed very quickly, all thanks to her power and Squall's life force. Just the mention of his name made her smile. "But, what about Quistis?" Rinoa thought with a pang of fear.
"Awake?" A tender voice spoke into her ear. Rinoa smiled once more and leaned further back while nodding her head. Then before he could say more, Rinoa asked the one question that had been weighing on her mind.
"Squall, are you bluffing me?" She was so afraid to know the answer, but she wanted the truth now. Rinoa needed some sort of confirmation; everything that had happened was too good to be true.
"No. Why would I?" He answered back in that tender tone and Rinoa felt her heart grew lighter. "Then. . . what about Quistis?" Rinoa blurted out another question. She needed to know if Quistis would get hurt, she needed to know if Squall loved Quistis. "Do you love her?"
Wordlessly, Squall took Griever out from his pocket and placed it on her palm. "Rinoa. . . she and I. . ."Squall paused for a moment to reorganize his thoughts, "she was never the one for me." Squall finished it off as best as he could; he always hated explaining emotional things especially when it had something to do with him, it's so bloody difficult!
Hearing his detached tone, Rinoa smiled once more; he always used this tone whenever he had to explain his feelings. 'Squall, you never really changed much do you?' she wondered. But what are they to do now? Rinoa thought.
"Squall, let's leave this place. . .I'll never be accepted here because. . ."Rinoa proposed the idea tentatively, scared that Squall will reject it. 'Will he? This means so much to me. Right now, there must be a lot of people who hates me. I cannot stay here.' Rinoa fingered the ring on her palm while her eyes narrowed in thought. Sometimes, she hated reality, it was usually so bleak and horribly stark.
"No one wants a sorceress Squall. I have to leave. I have no choice." Rinoa explained, still afraid to meet his eyes, to know his answer.
"Let's go." Squall decided. There was really no point in staying here any longer; he never really did like his work and leaving it behind did not seem like a painful thing to do. Rinoa turned around and stared at him with her eyes wide with surprise.
"Let's leave here. . .together. I have enough Gil to last us for a few years. I can always find another job, another place to live. A real home. . .with you." Squall mind was already working far ahead, thinking about the possibilities of having a different job, a different life. Suddenly, the future looked wonderfully rosy and frightening. If he leaves this Garden, it would be like stepping into a different world, a world where he was no longer Squall Leonhart the man who had helped saved the world. He would be just a nobody, an ordinary person. Does he dare? Honestly, his stomach was turning queasy at the thought of facing this new and alien fear but looking into Rinoa's eyes, he found the courage.
"Yes, let's leave here Rinoa." Decisively, he took her hand and held it. Rinoa narrowed her eyes in sadness.
"Are you sure Squall? Am I really worth it?" Rinoa asked. She dared not dream that Squall will give up everything to be with her, it was too much to ask of him. And besides, she was just a sorceress. . .a rogue sorceress, one who can't even control her own powers, a weakling.
Squall could see the pain in her eyes and his heart ached for her. Hyne, how weary she looked, she carried far too much burden on her young shoulder. Putting a finger under her chin, he tipped her head up to stare into her brown eyes, eyes that was so full of warmth and love, but now was filled with pain and self-anger instead.
"Rinoa, I'm sure. . .I don't care if you are a sorceress or not, it does not matter. I care because. . .I love you." There he said it. Squall had wanted to tell her how much she meant to him but every time the courage to speak up always wilted away at the last moment. Now he finally said it and Squall wondered why he never did it earlier. Rinoa's eyes were tearing up again but this time, it was out of happiness. A faint blush was staining her cheeks and she looked so beautiful that Squall could not resist it and kissed her.
They were together again and everything going to be all right. Rinoa knew it in her soul as she clutched Griever tightly to her heart.
==
That early morning a ghostly pair flitted through the corridors of the Garden with a dog following closely behind. The girl was wearing a blue outfit and she was carrying a backpack and a weapon case. Similarly, the young man was also carrying a backpack and a weapon case but his demeanor was different. Sometimes, laughter akin to the wind chimes tinkling in the breeze would be heard from the young woman. The young man was however grave and solemn but sometimes his eyes will twinkle in the darkness, hinting at the happiness he felt in his heart.
Watching from the shadows, Seifer smiled and waved them a silent goodbye as Squall and Rinoa walked through the Garden gates forever.
p.s:: how?? like it?? R&R!!! if this is receiving enough good reviews, I might add in another chapter to wrap things up!! :p
