Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, creatures or locations from Final Fantasy 8 – they all belong to Squaresoft.
Aftermath
Chapter 6
From: Raine Loire, Winhill Pub
To: Edea Kramer, Centra Ruins Hotel
Greetings!
*********
Edea sat on the balcony of the hotel room she and Cid had rented, ready to enjoy a really girly letter from her young friend.
As always, Raine had continued to write once a week, sending her letters to the last address she had for Edea and Cid. Whenever they left a place, Edea would make arrangements for the letters to be held until she could send a forwarding address. During their six months of travelling, she and Cid would occasionally find a place where they wanted to stay for more than a few days; then they would rent a comfortable, yet reasonable, room and set up 'home'. Edea always spent the first few days taking long, hot baths and luxuriating in having a real mattress to sleep on. Not long after, a fat bundle of letters would arrive from Raine, and Edea would spend happy hours reading through them.
They had been in their current abode for three weeks, so the latest letter had arrived on it's own – and late. It had been a fortnight since Raine's last missive, but Edea had not worried about her, as Raine had given her a detailed itinerary of the planned honeymoon. But now, Edea wanted to know all the details.
*********
'I know you'll want all the details,' wrote Raine, 'so I'll try to get everything down! But I don't promise I'll remember everything, so you'll have to bear with me.
'The day of the wedding was glorious! It couldn't have been better if we'd booked it. The sun shone out of a perfectly blue sky – there wasn't a cloud in sight. Birds sang; the flowers bloomed just for us. It was perfect!
'I'm kidding – it poured with rain the whole day! Honestly, it didn't let up once. We had to rearrange the reception in Lord Winhill's front hall at the last minute; his housekeeper is still giving me funny looks after some joker put a sausage roll in the hand of the suit of armour. I had to leave the pub with Dad's old overcoat on to cover my dress, and a pair of hobnail boots on my feet! So much for the blushing bride – I was blushing from embarrassment, not maidenly modesty.
'Anyway, I made it to the church – in Jem's cart! It was all decked out for the occasion, but the rain had ruined the flowers, and the ribbons all hung limp and ragged down the sides. When we got to the church, I changed my shoes outside. Then I had to tidy Ellone up all over again. Jem's youngest lad, who drove the cart, had lifted her in and out of it so as not to ruin her shoes because we didn't have any boots for her. She was wearing one of Dad's jackets to protect her dress, and the fabric just got so creased. Oh, and she insisted on wearing her 'birthday scarf'! She said if Uncle Laguna and me getting married wasn't a special occasion she didn't know what was! I swear, that child was born twenty-five.
'So, when the two of us were as presentable as possible, I took Lord Winhill's arm and we set off down the aisle. It was so sweet of him to step into the breach. Kiros would have given me away, but Laguna had already claimed him as best man. Oh, I nearly forgot – the old lady from the flower shop was waiting by the door of the church with my bouquet and Ellone's flower basket. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to keep those flowers perfectly fresh and unbattered by the elements.
'When I entered the church, everyone stood up and turned to look at us – I felt like a queen walking past her subjects. The organ was playing quietly and the whole building was filled with the scent of flowers – and damp people! All in all, I think everyone will remember our wedding for it's unique atmosphere.
'After taking in the first quick impression, I looked down the aisle – and there was Laguna, looking absolutely terrified. Kiros had his hand on Laguna's arm, but whether it was to reassure him, or to stop him running away, I'm not sure! Then, our eyes met, and everything else just melted away. There was just me and him, and this perfect promise we were going to make to each other.
'Oh, no, I've blotted the page. I'm sorry, but the tears just well up every time I remember that moment. I'm just so happy I can't contain it!
'I honestly can't remember walking down the aisle – I just remember Laguna's eyes drawing me towards him. I'm afraid I hardly listened to the priest until the moment came for us to say our vows. My head was just full of the man standing next to me, close enough for me to feel the heat of his body, but not touching.
'Then we faced each other and made our promises – our eternal promises. I did vaguely hear the heavy shower outside turn into a violent storm with thunder crashing all around the building, but I was only really aware of the priest's voice and mine - and Laguna's. People told me afterwards that they hadn't heard our vows due to the thunder, but we heard each other and that's all that matters to us.
'Then the priest shouted, "You may kiss the bride!" and everyone clapped and cheered.
'While we signed the register, a member of the choir stood at the back of the church and sang an acapello version of "Eyes on Me". It was a surprise I had arranged for Laguna. When the song started, he turned to me with tears in his eyes and whispered, "Thank-you".
'After the service, it was a case of bundling Ellone and me up in our overcoats again, and sitting in the damp cart with Laguna and Kiros as we drove back to Winhill Hall. The thunder and lightning had stopped by then, and the rain had eased off, but people still dripped all over the tiled floor in the entrance hall!
'The ladies of Winhill had done us proud. There was a huge buffet, and I had managed to get some pretty decent wine at wholesale prices, so there was plenty to drink as well. And Lady Winhill's own pastry chef had made the cake – although Ellone wanted to know why she and Kiros weren't on the top as well as Laguna and me.
'I've included a swatch of the fabric from my dress and a pressed flower from my bouquet, as you requested. I know it isn't the same as being here, but I could feel you with us in spirit. As soon as you are settled, we'll all come down to see you. I can't wait for you to meet Laguna.'
********
Edea gently fingered the delicate scrap of cream silk which Raine had sent her. In one of Raine's recent letters was a sketch of the full dress which had a tight bodice with a sweetheart neckline, and a full skirt reaching down to mid-calf. Over the strapless dress, Raine had worn a lacy jacket. Ellone had worn a smaller version, with capped sleeves rather than it being strapless, made of sky-blue silk, which perfectly complimented her green 'birthday' scarf.
Raine's description of her happy day took Edea back to her own wedding, a much simpler affair by far. She had bought the first decent looking dress she had found in Deling City while Cid went to sort out the registry office. They asked the owner of the hotel where they were staying and his wife to be witnesses. Looking back, she was no longer sure what the urgency was, but less than a month had passed between them declaring their love for each other and their marriage.
Of course, it was just as well that they had got married when they did, as the Sorceress War had taken up every moment of their time since then. She wondered idly how things were going in Galbadia and Esthar. It all seemed so remote. With a heavy sigh she returned to the letter.
********
'So, then we went off on our honeymoon,' Edea read. 'I won't bore you with the details again, as we followed the itinerary I sent you almost to the letter. I think it's the soldier in Laguna – has to carry out the mission according to orders; though from what Kiros told me, orders aren't my other half's strongest point. Oh, well, suffice it to say that we arrived in the seaside resort to the East of Winhill after a couple of days bumping along country roads in Jem's cart.
'And now the sun did come out for us. We spent nearly every day on the beach splashing through the waves and making sandcastles. I felt like a child again – especially as we stayed at the same guesthouse my parents always used to take me to. We ate huge meals and slept like logs thanks to the sea air. I think Heaven must be a sleepy little seaside town.
'We took the boat-trip around the bay, too. Well, it was on our itinerary! Actually, it was a wonderful experience. The sea was a bit choppy, but that only added to the excitement, because you never knew when a wave was going to sneak over the side of the boat. They took us right out to the deep water; it was as clear as crystal. We could see the fish swimming around, and all the stones on the bottom.
'I managed not to miss Ellone too much, but I was very glad to see her when we got home. She ran into my arms and hugged me as if she hadn't seen me in months instead of days. Then she and Laguna chattered away about the things we had done; he's promised her a trip on the boat.
'Well, I know I'm really home now that I've written all my letters! It's nice to get away for a while, but it's even nicer to arrive home. You'll know when you've found your orphanage, because that's how it will make you feel – that you've arrived home.
'OK, that's all for now. The baby has been kicking like blazes since I started writing to you. You'd think it knew you and wanted to say, "Hello"!
'But now it's time to say, "Goodbye" – from me, Laguna, Ellone and Bump!'
*********
At the mention of Raine's unborn child, Edea felt an icy shiver travel down her spine. She retrieved the sketch of Ellone and Laguna, removing it carefully from its frame so that she could study it more closely. What was it about these two, whose faces were those of strangers, yet seemed so eerily familiar? And the baby – a boy, somehow she knew it was a boy – unseen even by its mother; how could it affect her so much?
She had no hope of answering these questions, but still they circled her thoughts more often than she would have liked to admit.
A/N – I hope you enjoyed Raine and Laguna's wedding. It reminds me very much of my own, which was also rained out, despite taking place in August. Our vows also had competition, although in our case it was the local Carnival (which stopped outside the church) not thunder. Still, it gives us something to talk about!