--one year later--
It was dark and she was alone.
Walking, maybe....floating, possibly.
But she wasn't afraid. In fact, she couldn't feel anything at all. It was like she was surounded by a vacuum inside and out...
Suddenly it was there, waiting. Her face stared back at her with empty, mocking eyes. It didn't blink or move, but all the same it dared her...challenged her. She knew who she was. Quistis Trepe never backed down, even from herself.
With one swift gesture, she smashed the reflection into a million tiny stars that fell dying all around her. Turning, satisfied, she faced the back of another mirror. But this one showed a boy with shaggy blonde hair, his face obscured and shadowed. Though what struck her was not the boy, but the fact that Griever dangled around his neck. She opened her mouth to speak, to question or demand, but found her voice was sucked dry and lost in the black silence.
The phantom moved toward her and she stepped back into nothingness. Falling, slowly, he reached out to her.
She hesitated...and grabbed his hand.
As their fingertips touched a great bolt of light shot through her and swallowed the sky. It consumed her, blinded her, and threw her violently into a wall of chains. They tangled about her, binding her wrists and ankles, and wrapping themselves around her eyes. She hung there, vulnerable and exposed for what could have been a moment...or all of eternity.
Though she knew that now she wasn't alone. She could feel a presence circling her, toying with her. The sound of metal screeching against metal rent the suffocating silence and she fell again, the weight of the chains crushing her from above though they were as transparent as air.
Footsteps crunched louder, closer, in perfect beat with her racing heart. Now she was afraid. She couldn't make him out, her assailant was swathed in shadows and broken light. A black, gloved hand plunged in after her and dragged her up by her throat.
He held her, almost nonchalantly, one hand on his gunblade and the other keeping her aloft several inches above the ground. She made no move to fight back even as she felt the life bleeding from her lips.
"Squall...", she mouthed softly. He smiled at her, his eyes forgiving, as he reared back and thrust the blade into her heart.
------
The sound of her own sobbing finally woke her. Quistis pushed the wet strands of hair off her hot cheeks and sat up wearily. The nightmares had been progressively getting worse every night for the last week. People were beginning to comment on how tired she looked, but they were always deftly brushed off as Quistis promised herself again that she's see Dr. Kadowaki first thing tomorrow morning.
But this one by far had to be the worst yet. Back against the headboard, Quistis hugged her knees to her chest and gazed blankly at the shafts of moonlight that were able to seep through her half-closed blinds. She could still feel his hand gripping her neck. The realization sent a cold shiver up her spine. And Squall of all people....
Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her to finally give up on her feelings for him. Or maybe this was all just being stressed about resubmitting for instructorship. Or maybe she was just crazy.
Wrapping herself in the warm feather coverlet, she tried to forget about or rationalize what she was experiencing. But the silhouette of the blonde boy was burned into the back of her eyelids, and she knew she was in for another sleepless night....
It was dark and she was alone.
Walking, maybe....floating, possibly.
But she wasn't afraid. In fact, she couldn't feel anything at all. It was like she was surounded by a vacuum inside and out...
Suddenly it was there, waiting. Her face stared back at her with empty, mocking eyes. It didn't blink or move, but all the same it dared her...challenged her. She knew who she was. Quistis Trepe never backed down, even from herself.
With one swift gesture, she smashed the reflection into a million tiny stars that fell dying all around her. Turning, satisfied, she faced the back of another mirror. But this one showed a boy with shaggy blonde hair, his face obscured and shadowed. Though what struck her was not the boy, but the fact that Griever dangled around his neck. She opened her mouth to speak, to question or demand, but found her voice was sucked dry and lost in the black silence.
The phantom moved toward her and she stepped back into nothingness. Falling, slowly, he reached out to her.
She hesitated...and grabbed his hand.
As their fingertips touched a great bolt of light shot through her and swallowed the sky. It consumed her, blinded her, and threw her violently into a wall of chains. They tangled about her, binding her wrists and ankles, and wrapping themselves around her eyes. She hung there, vulnerable and exposed for what could have been a moment...or all of eternity.
Though she knew that now she wasn't alone. She could feel a presence circling her, toying with her. The sound of metal screeching against metal rent the suffocating silence and she fell again, the weight of the chains crushing her from above though they were as transparent as air.
Footsteps crunched louder, closer, in perfect beat with her racing heart. Now she was afraid. She couldn't make him out, her assailant was swathed in shadows and broken light. A black, gloved hand plunged in after her and dragged her up by her throat.
He held her, almost nonchalantly, one hand on his gunblade and the other keeping her aloft several inches above the ground. She made no move to fight back even as she felt the life bleeding from her lips.
"Squall...", she mouthed softly. He smiled at her, his eyes forgiving, as he reared back and thrust the blade into her heart.
------
The sound of her own sobbing finally woke her. Quistis pushed the wet strands of hair off her hot cheeks and sat up wearily. The nightmares had been progressively getting worse every night for the last week. People were beginning to comment on how tired she looked, but they were always deftly brushed off as Quistis promised herself again that she's see Dr. Kadowaki first thing tomorrow morning.
But this one by far had to be the worst yet. Back against the headboard, Quistis hugged her knees to her chest and gazed blankly at the shafts of moonlight that were able to seep through her half-closed blinds. She could still feel his hand gripping her neck. The realization sent a cold shiver up her spine. And Squall of all people....
Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her to finally give up on her feelings for him. Or maybe this was all just being stressed about resubmitting for instructorship. Or maybe she was just crazy.
Wrapping herself in the warm feather coverlet, she tried to forget about or rationalize what she was experiencing. But the silhouette of the blonde boy was burned into the back of her eyelids, and she knew she was in for another sleepless night....