Balamb Garden's Yuletide Vacation

Chapter 16

Saturday, December the Sixteenth

The usual half-day of classes on Saturday were held despite the almost total milieu of the upcoming holiday. The atmosphere was due to, as per her promise, the holiday decorating that Rinoa's sub-committee had completed in the Garden.

There were so many different decorations and combinations of such that a person literally couldn't escape the sight of them no matter what part of the Garden they were in; including such obscure places as the laundry area, the pot and pan scullery, and the men and women's shower rooms. The interiors of individual toilet compartments in the public restrooms were decorated; some mistakenly with mistletoe that had led to some rather inappropriate joking. Most of the inhabitants of the Garden had breathed a sigh of relief when they realized there was actually nothing left for Rinoa and her sub-committee to decorate. Even the parking garage was crammed full of holiday paraphernalia.

Quistis sat in the last row of the small Garden chapel. There were two large pictures of Seifer at the front separated by a tiny altar. He was adorned in his usual long military coat and was holding Hyperion down by his side. The young woman noted how incredibly handsome he appeared in them.

Handsome?! Quistis thought embarrassedly as though someone in the room could read her thoughts. What is going on with me?

Also attending the Seifer Memorial Service were Selphie, Zell, Irvine, Nicole, and Rinoa. Quistis was deucedly uncomfortable with participating in a memorial service for someone who was still alive. Although she wasn't particularly superstitious, Quistis did feel as though it was bad karma to be involved in such; something akin to being careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

Selphie just refused to accept no as an answer from the instructor as she explained to Quistis that, "Nicole insisted something had to be done to appease Seifer's ghost." The blonde woman interrupted her musings as she realized Nicole had begun the service.

"We are gathered here today to remember one of Garden's sons who has passed on but apparently is still fettered to his earthly woes. This is not a pleasant situation for all involved, but it is particularly dangerous to Seifer who could miss his opportunity to pass to a higher plane and instead become chained to this one for all eternity."

"Oh no," Selphie murmured. "Poor Seifer."

Quistis glanced at her friend to ascertain if she were serious and the look of anguish visible across Selphie's usual pretty features assured the blonde woman that she was.

Selphie is such a caring person... but awfully silly at times, Quistis ruminated.

Nicole continued to speak. "Rinoa will now lead us in prayer."

Rinoa stepped to the front of the altar and directed, "Please bow your heads." Then she began her prayer. "Oh Great Hyne, bringer of all life, please hear our confused ramblings and thoughts as we beseech you to help us bring forth sense out of nonsense and faith out of faithlessness and humor out of humorless and whether out of whether or not and -."

"Rinoa, please," Nicole interrupted while placing her hand gently on the sorceress' arm.

"Huh? Oh...sorry," Rinoa murmured after giving her head a shake as if she had been in a trance. "Oh Great Hyne," the young woman began again. "Please give us a sign as to what we need to offer Seifer's ghost so he would be persuaded to move on."

Suddenly a disembodied voice said one word in a serpent-like sibilant tone, "Sex."

As Rinoa flushed crimson, Quistis ducked her head to hide her smile from the other occupants of the room. Looking around until she found the security camera in one of the corners, Quistis surreptitiously offered a wink. Many flights below in the MD level, Seifer was watching the religious farce on his computer screen and he guffawed in delight at his former instructor's reaction.

"No Great Hyne, I don't think you understood," Rinoa said attempting to reach out for help again. "What should we do to help Seifer's ghost to move on?"

"Offer him sex," the same disembodied voice explained.

The young sorceress suddenly stamped her foot slightly in frustration. "No, no, Great Hyne! I don't-."

Nicole stood up again and interrupted her friend one more time. "Rinoa," she admonished. "If the Great Hyne says we should offer sex to Seifer's ghost, then that's what -."

Here it suddenly occurred to the sweet, but sometimes not too bright, girlfriend of Zell what she was actually saying. She turned a deeper red than Rinoa and quickly sat down.

Rinoa completed the shambles by intoning, "Blessed be." Everyone in the room echoed her closure. Everyone inadvertently breathed a collective sigh of relief to have gotten through the ceremony apparently to Nicole's satisfaction.

"What now?" Zell asked.

"Well, I'm not actually sure," Nicole admitted. "I've never really been involved in something like this. I guess we wait and see if Seifer's ghost moves on or not."

"Maybe," said Rinoa, "we should talk about some of the good memories we have of Seifer. Perhaps the positivity of it will help his soul to move on?"

"Great idea," Nicole praised, though it was obvious from the expression on the librarian's face she wished she'd come up with the idea.

"Hey," Irvine interjected. "Does anyone remember when Seifer gave Selphie one of those funny pink mushrooms he found and she ate it?"

"Oh yeah!" Zell agreed. "I remember that. It was hysterical. Selphie thought she had become a little yellow butterfly and went from one of us to another collecting pollen and then carrying it on to someone else."

"Yes," Quistis remembered with a grimace. "That was disgusting."

"Huh?" asked Selphie. "What are you talking about? I don't remember anything like that ever happening."

"Never mind, dear," Quistis offered, patting her tiny friend's shoulder. "It isn't important, anyway."

"I'll tell you what was important," asserted Irvine. "I remember when we were little that Seifer always hated the holidays, even then. Apparently his birthday was real close to Solstice and sometimes even fell right on it and he always got cheated out of it because of the more important holiday of Solstice."

"Yeah, that's right," Quistis agreed. "And there was something else, Squall came to the orphanage originally right on Seifer's birthday and he ended up being ignored again."

"That's right!" Irvine agreed, "But the next year Ellone was taken away near the Solstice and Squall was devastated. Hey! I bet that's what is going on with him right now and he doesn't even realize it."

Selphie sighed. "Yes, Irvine you did suggest that before."

"That might well be, Irvine," Rinoa responded prissily, "but that doesn't give him the right to act the way he is now." Irvine wisely chose not to respond because he realized Rinoa had been on edge lately.

As the others sat and laughed over different situations and events from their childhood, Nicole and Rinoa discussed the finer aspects of Mystic Hyneism. Quistis realized she was beginning to understand the motivations that were currently driving Seifer to disrupt the holiday celebration as much as possible. She wondered what he was thinking as he listened to the reminiscing of his old childhood comrades.

Unfortunately Seifer had turned the video monitor off at the end of the prayer, assuming the service was over. He had gone out into the passageways to possibly track down some strange sounds he had been hearing when he moved through the Garden's walls.

~*~

It was thirty minutes later. Everyone had left the chapel after the memorial service excepting for Selphie, Nicole, and Zell. Nicole and Selphie had asked Zell to remain behind because they hoped to be able to intervene in the obviously disturbing progression of 'accidents' he appeared stuck in with Rinoa.

It had been determined beforehand that Selphie should begin the intervention as Zell wouldn't be as apt to be defensive with her as he might with his girlfriend.

"So Zell, what's this trouble between you and Rinoa anyway?"

Zell appeared thunderstruck and initially didn't respond at all, but finally managed to answer, "Me and Rinoa? I don't have any problems with Rinoa."

Nicole spoke up. Even though it had been agreed that Selphie would handle most of the conversation, Zell's girlfriend couldn't help herself. "I don't think Rinoa would agree with you, Zell."

"Why not?" he wondered. "I didn't think Rinoa was upset with me. What have I done?"

"What have you done?!" Selphie echoed. "You've almost killed her a number of times. It just doesn't make sense that all these incidents are just coincidence. You're obviously upset with her for some reason."

Zell flushed deeply. "I'm not upset with Rinoa. Why would I be upset with Rinoa?"

"Zell, that's what we're asking you," Nicole explained plaintively.

"I have no problems with Rinoa. In fact, I like Rinoa."

"You certainly have a strange way of showing it," Selphie pointed out. Suddenly the energetic female SeeD grew crafty in her appearance. "Are you certain that you don't have...let us say certain feelings toward Squall? And that these feelings are causing you to feel animosity toward Rinoa and wish her out of the way?"

Zell considered Selphie's proposition rather slowly. In fact, one could literally see the wheels turning in his head and the exact second that comprehension hit him as he suddenly jumped to his feet and excitedly retorted, "I do not! That's – that's disgusting. I don't know who you've been talking to or what you've been reading, but that's completely insane!"

Nicole, who had obviously thinking about Selphie's suggestion with great honesty, looked horrified. "Oh Zell… have you been using me as a trophy girlfriend so no one finds out your secret?"

Zell's jaw fell slack. He couldn't believe that even Nicole believed the ridiculous idea. "Sweet Shiva…"

"I'll always be your friend, you know," his girlfriend continued, "but you have to be honest with me."

Without further comment Zell turned on his heel. As Zell stalked from the chapel, Nicole called after him, "Zell, where are you going?"

"I'm going to work out and then if I calm down enough, I may see you at dinner."

After Zell had left, Nicole said to Selphie, "What do you think? I don't think that went very well."

"Me thinks he dost protest too much," she replied thoughtfully.

~*~

It was Saturday evening at Balamb Garden. Everything and everybody was involved in the usual happy hubbub of the one evening of the week that curfew was extended to midnight; plus Solstice Eve was only a mere few days away!

Many of the young women and men of the Garden were in their rooms preparing themselves to go out together on dates, despite the 'official' Garden guidelines that frowned on such relationships. Some of them were just going out with friends or going by themselves to do some last minute holiday shopping since the Balamb shops, including the mall, would be open unusually late because of the nearness of the holidays. A few of the male and female students would be attending the small weekly 'sock hops' that were held in the cafeteria. All of the tables and chairs were pushed over to the side and music was piped in over the intercom via X-199, the popular Deling City radio station.

The Garden heroes or perhaps by now if the truth be known some people would consider them anti-heroes, sans Squall and with the addition of Nicole, Andrea and Matt were meeting at the front gates. When Selphie arrived she discovered everyone, except Rinoa, waiting for her with their Shumi Flyer sleds standing by their sides. The sleds were constructed by Artisan and were considered the best sleds that could be found anywhere, no matter the price.

Rinoa was standing off to the side of the front gates amongst a large group of students and SeeDs, both male and female. Selphie noticed with great relief that Rinoa was appropriately dressed for the sledding activity and in fact looked cute as a 'lil ski bunny.

The sorceress was wearing a red beret at a cocky angle, giving her a mischievous appearance.  A stylish red and green checked woolen winter coat kept her safe from the chill winds, and green winter slacks accentuated her natural curves. On her feet were laced up winter boots that were color coordinated with her coat.

She's overdressed as far as I'm concerned, Selphie thought. The brown-haired SeeD was just a tad jealous due to the fact that she had just thrown on her dark colored official SeeD pullover over her usual skimpy yellow dress. The only other concession she had made to the cold was yellow woolen tights to protect her legs from being cut up should she fall into the snow. Selphie was quite vain about her shapely legs.

"Hey Rinoa!" Selphie called out attempting to keep her voice even. Rinoa looked and waved at her energetic but sometimes ebullient friend. Selphie heard Rinoa politely excuse herself before joining the excited group.

"Everybody ready?" Rinoa asked cheerfully.

"Where's Squall?" Matt asked. "Is he coming?"

"Oh who cares?" Rinoa retorted grimacing.

Oh this is just too bad, Quistis thought. I must make time to attempt to talk to Squall or he's going to end up being sorry for the rest of his life if he loses Rinoa. Quistis did not deny that she still harbored a small crush on the handsome commander, but she knew that he and Rinoa were made for one another.

Nicole asked, "Who were those people, Rinoa?"

"This is rather embarrassing, but they say they're my disciples," Rinoa explained and then giggled sweetly.

Nicole became rather flushed and exclaimed, "Oh no, Rinoa! That's not correct, you can't have disciples. Even if you could, you haven't even been ordained as a Mystic Hyneist Priestess."

"Well, I am a sorceress, you know. That should count for something," Rinoa retorted a little edge of frustration in her voice. "But as a matter of fact, I didn't say they were my disciples. I said they said they were my disciples. Besides how hard could it be to become a priestess, anyway? You seem to know all about it and you're not..."

Here the words very bright seemed to hang unspoken in the air, until Rinoa lamely finished by saying, "a priestess."

Oh ho! Quistis thought. What have we here...a little falling out between religious zealots? This should prove interesting.

Nicole began to interject a rejoinder to the young sorceress's defensive statements, but Selphie interrupted. "Ok, ok, we can talk about this later. Let's go! The snow's awaiting!"

"That's right," Matt agreed. "Time and Tide waits for no man."

"Huh?" Zell said.

I think he actually finally said something that made sense. "Come on, let's just go," Quistis said and she began walking towards the front gates.

It was a beautiful starlit night, cool and crisp, but comfortably so with a full moon shining down and nary a cloud in the sky. It had been decided beforehand that they would be content with sliding down the Balamb hillside rather than attempting to travel to Trabia or beyond to the land of the Shumi.

Upon reaching the outside, Quistis was quite surprised to observe that the outside of the Garden itself was now partially decorated with shiny holiday foil, tinsel, and garlands. Some electric lighting had been strung but was not hooked up yet.

"Rinoa, did you do this?" Quistis asked unable to keep amazement out of her voice.

"Yes, well, my sub-committee and I did it. Looks great, doesn't it?" Rinoa answered.

"Uh...well, Selphie, did you know about this?" Quistis replied.

"Yes," Selphie answered while offering her blonde friend a 'what are you going to do' shoulder shrug.

"Zell, what's that stuff?" Matt inquired.

Everyone turned to glance at Zell and observed he was rubbing some waxy substance on to the runners of his sled. He continued to splash on great quantities of it while he answered, "This is a silicon based non-caloric kitchen lubricant designed to make my sled go quicker."

"Oh good grief!" Selphie accused. "You're probably going to try to kill Rinoa again."

"Now Selphie," Rinoa cautioned, "don't be a Solstice meanie. You know Zell didn't mean anything by those incidents. They were just accidents."

"No, I'm not gonna try to kill Rinoa again," Zell denied in a whiny high-pitched voice. "I'm just gonna go faster and farther than any of you, that's all."

"Now Zell," Matt intoned, "Don't sell wolf tickets your ass can't cash."

"Matt!" Nicole gasped, aghast at his language.

While Quistis looked on suddenly intrigued with her boyfriend since she had never heard him speak in such a manner. Matt muttered an apology. "Oh, sorry, that just slipped out. I used to hang out on the street when I was younger. I meant to say don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

"Come on, everybody. Let's just go," Irvine suggested tiredly.

"That's right, let's go have some fun!" Rinoa exuberantly shouted out.

The rest of them looked at her rather quixotically and then turned and began walking up the nearest mountain trail pulling their sleds behind them. Fifteen minutes later as they had finally reached the top of the rather long hill, they all stood waiting to push off their sleds on their ride down.

Nicole and Andrea went first and appeared to get off to a good, safe start. The slope of the hill prevented the people at the very top from seeing more than the first dip. Beyond that the hill's drop became more steep and the two young women were soon out of sight. Irvine of course never missing an opportunity to flirt a little with a pretty young woman, even if Selphie was still irked with him, left next without saying a word to anyone.

"Well, I like that," Selphie complained. "Just butt ahead of everyone, Irvine!" she called out to him but he was already out of earshot. "Who wants to go next?" she asked.

"I'll go!" Rinoa cried out, chronically cheerful.

After the young sorceress had successfully made her getaway, Selphie made the suggestion that she go next followed by Quistis and Matt. Zell was to go last with enough room between him and Rinoa to insure her safety.

Everyone left on schedule amidst Zell's grumbling and then it was his turn. Zell sprinted holding his sled up with his strong arms until just before the slope downward began when he threw his sled down and then flopped on to it.

The ride down was so fast it far exceeded even Zell's wildest expectations as the sled and he were literally flying! It was amazing that the sled had managed to maintain any contact at all with the snow-covered ground as it flew down the hill. Zell was quickly upon Matt and Quistis and then he passed them so fast they were but a blur in his peripheral vision.

Behind him, Quistis observed the speed that Zell was traveling. Having a clear view of everyone ahead of her, the instructor just knew without saying that she was going to witness another disaster involving Zell. As the sled bearing Zell, who was just barely hanging on to it's back because it was traveling so fast, approached Selphie, Zell attempted to turn it right since he was headed directly at Rinoa!

His first indication that he was in serious trouble was when the sled refused to obey his directions to slant to the right. Either the sled's controls weren't working properly or more than likely it was just traveling so fast it couldn't react quickly enough to avoid Rinoa. Zell went crashing into the young dark-haired woman on her sled causing her to fly off and tumble sideways completely off the hill!

The martial artist couldn't stop even if he had wanted to, but he knew the people behind him would look after Rinoa. Besides, his major worry now was avoiding Nicole and Andrea, which he managed to do by scant inches. Zell was bending the controls back so hard to stop that they snapped off in his hands and still he flew forward when he and the sled reached the bottom of the hill just outside of Balamb City.

He and his sled continued to careen wildly as he just managed to avoid entering the town proper and instead slid by the outside of it and ended up landing face first, sled flying out of control never to be seen again into the Balamb landfill. Zell fought his way to the surface of the garbage spitting out pieces of trash.

Oh Holy Shiva! What have I done this time? he thought forlornly.

Rinoa did not regain consciousness until she had been transported to the infirmary. She awoke lying on a bed in the clinic with Selphie standing by her side and the doctor looking into the young sorceress' eyes with a small penlight.

"Welcome back, dear," the doctor said. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of concussion so you won't be any more addled brained than you were before," she joked.

Oh great, Selphie thought sardonically.

"What happened?" Rinoa asked.

"Zell tried to kill you again," Selphie answered.

"I'll check in on you again in a few minutes," the doctor said, leaving the room.

"Oh don't say that," Rinoa replied automatically by rote, but deep inside suspicions had become to form that possibly her friend wasn't far wrong. Could Zell be trying to kill me at Squall's request? You know he would do anything for Squall. He worships him. Maybe Squall not only doesn't love me anymore, he wants me out of the way so he can go out with Andrea.

Tears began to flow down Rinoa's cheeks uncontrolled. "What's wrong, honey? Are you in pain?" Selphie asked. Rinoa shook her head but couldn't answer. "Zell's waiting outside to talk with you. I'll tell him to come back later...okay?" suggested Selphie.

Rinoa continued to weep softly while Selphie went to the door to deliver the message.