Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay. I've been struck down by a heinous disease called SENIORITIS!!! Don don donnnn. Anyway, I'm back, this is the last chapter of this fic ::tear:: so I hope you all enjoy!
~Jess~
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As we were walking down the winding tubular halls of the vessel, I was clinging to Squall's arm and would not let myself fall even one step behind. We walked for a short time, but the time seemed to last longer, because of our mutual fear. Our footfalls were very light on the flooring of the ship, as we hurried along the small corridors. I hoped that Squall remembered the way from which he came, because each hallway was identical to the previous one. For the first time in a while I felt protected. I didn't fear Seifer or anyone else entering my cell and hurting me either emotionally or physically. Squall was with me and he would protect me from any kind of disaster.
The carving started hurting again, so I placed my hand on it. As I withdrew my hand, I saw that it was covered in a thin layer blood from the wound I sustained on my chest. I thought to myself that the cure spells must have worn off, and I would be feeling it fully very soon. The same way I felt it all those years ago after that snowy night. I mentally cursed Seifer for all the pain he has made me endure during my entire life. I had always feared him since that night.
Suddenly, Squall stopped dead in his tracks, and threw his arm up against me to keep me from walking forward. We both strained our ears to hear what Squall had heard or only imagined. We stood still for a what seemed like an eternity, and I noticed that Squall had stopped breathing in order to amplify his hearing. Then I heard the sound we had both been dreading. It sounded far away at that point, but it was as clear as a bell. I gasped, and the breath caught in my throat as we both listened to the footfalls that sounded like cement blocks crashing on the grating of the floor. Squall turned and grabbed my hand, then lead me down a flight of stairs that we found shortly after, and then we waited at the bottom of the stairwell.
"What are we going to do Squall?" I whispered to him.
"We're going to wait until they pass the door, then get back up there when it seems safe. Don't worry Rinoa, I'll protect you."
I hugged him closer and we both listened and did not speak another word for what seemed like an hour. We both watched the light streaming through the door at the top of the stairs for a sign of any sort. Then we got an unmistakable sign. We heard the door to the stairwell open, and voices talking about what was going on. They didn't seem too interested in the conversation, and must not have been very great soldiers, because they were not racing about the ship in any way during this emergency. Squall took my hand again, and we escaped quietly from their earshot by going through the door at the bottom of the stairs. Then Squall directed me into a room nearby, and we hid in there, praying that we would be alone in the room, and they would pass right by it.
We heard voices for many minutes after that. The two were standing in the hall chatting about frivolous things, and as they talked, I heard Squall sigh a little with relief. He smiled down at me, as I was gripping his arm and pressing myself closer to him. Squall noticed my blood soaked shirt then, and cast another Curaga on me, even if it was only for temporary relief. After a while, the two guards left and we decided to wait a little while longer just to make sure they were not going to return. When we heard no sound, Squall got up to check. He tried to slither his arm away from my grasp, but I wouldn't have any of it. I clutched on to it, and followed him to the door, where he again put his neck out into the hallway and looked left to right. He glanced back at me and nodded, and we left the room. We walked across the hallway, when we saw the feet of other guards coming down the stairs. Squall turned us to go back into our hiding room, when we heard other guards coming from the hallway to the right of us.
The guards saw us soon after, and started advancing toward us. Squall started running around the ship, pulling me along with him in any attempt to escape the guards. We ran down many different hallways and soon I had no idea of where we were. I prayed that Squall did, otherwise I had no idea what we would do. When we finally lost them, Squall and I caught our breath. We pressed ourselves against the wall of the aisle, while our bodies pushed oxygen in and out of our lungs.
When we couldn't wait around any longer for fear of capture, we continued walking down the corridor we had found ourselves in. This corridor was different from all the other ones that we had been chased through, for this one had a door to the outside of the ship that lead to the hull. We walked out cautiously, as we had been doing the entire day. I could finally see the sky, it seemed a while since I could look up and see the sky, and I will never forget how it looked that night. It was gray out, but had its own kind of beauty. Although I couldn't see the moon, as I had been yearning to for so long, I still thought it to be beautiful.
We walked out onto the hull, and peered off the bow into the water searching for Selphie and Zell's boat. It was nowhere to be seen and terror struck inside us.
"Where the hell are they?" I heard Squall mutter to himself.
"Who?"
"Selphie and Zell, they are supposed to be out at the front of the boat to distract them if it was necessary."
"Please tell me that nothing has happened to them. I'd feel horrible if harm was caused by me."
"Rinoa, you wouldn't be at fault, it would be Seifer's doings that hurt them." Squall tried to reassure me that they were all right by squeezing my side really tight as he held me. I smiled up at him, and we kissed a sweet soft kiss. Afterwards, he pressed his forehead against mine, and just stared into my eyes, whispering, "Don't worry Rinoa, it will be all right. We'll get out of this."
Suddenly, Squall jerked his head to the side to see something I had not seen. I felt Squall move away from me, in order to stand in front of me; protecting me once again. All I could see was a large white flash, coming at an unbelievable speed toward us. Squall drew his gunblade and stood in the stance that he is known for. I noticed that the white flash was topped with blonde. I gasped; Seifer had found our position.
Squall pushed me back out of the way of Seifer's Hyperion. As I stepped back I saw the sparks from the swords clashing scatter along the deck of the ship. I felt compelled to rush in between them and somehow stop this horrible act, but it was then that I heard a whip crack. I turned, and saw Quistis coming from the other side of the captain's quarters. I started backing up further. Squall had not equipped me with a weapon, and I was defenseless since I no longer had my sorceress powers. I backed up away from the reach of Quistis' long whip, until I was tripped by a large rope for the anchor of the ship. Quistis smiled an unsettling smile at me, and I tried to get up but I was in a hard position to climb back up on my feet.
Suddenly, from behind Quistis; I saw Zell. As she cracked her whip and was about to bring it down upon me, Zell jumped in front of her, and tried to wrestle the whip away from her. He managed to pry the whip out of her grasp, and they started fumbling around, hitting each other and wrestling. In the background, I heard Squall and Seifer's battle rage on. Finally, I got up from being entangled in the rope, it had been so much harder for me to get up, since I was bearing more weight. As I ascended, I noticed what Quistis had been doing. Quistis was backing Zell up into the quarrel by going after him. Zell obviously didn't want to hurt Quistis because of all of their past friendship. He was blatantly taking it easy on her.
"Zell!" I cried, trying to protect him, as I was reaching out to him I said, "She's leading you into a trap!"
Zell shot me a glance and nodded, then went into an offensive position to block Quistis from pushing him into the savage brawl. I looked over to what was going on with Squall and Seifer to see if I could help. I could hear Squall murmuring obscenities at Seifer, and pouring out all his hatred from his burning heart. Their battle didn't seem like it could end anytime soon, they were too evenly matched. I looked on in horror, praying that Squall would overcome this brawl, praying that all of us could overcome this brawl.
Quistis had stopped holding back her strength, and began to attack Zell with everything she had. Suddenly, I was hearing gunshots that seemed to be getting closer, and I automatically recognized the shots from Irvine's gun. I realized that when we didn't return to the ship, they must have come onboard looking for us. They were so loyal, and I found tears begin to sting my eyes. I blinked them back, I knew that I couldn't loose my cool. Quistis was leaving marks on Zell from her whip, and they began to bleed. I was going to help, but then I heard Zell mutter something. He was pressed up against her to escape her whip, and he caught her off guard. He muttered, "I'm really sorry Quistis." Then with his shoulder, he pushed her off the boat into the freezing cold water. I ran over to the railing of the boat, and watched her struggle in the water. As I did, her whip went flying in the air, to strike Zell on the head; knocking him unconscious.
I ran over to him, and ripped a piece of my dress and blotted the blood flowing from his head. I started nudging him to see if he would wake up. Then checking his pulse I knew that he was still alive, just knocked unconscious by Quistis' final blow. For one ultimate check, I put my hand over his mouth. His hot breath hit my hand, confirming my suspicions. I pulled him gently away from the battle that was still raging on between Seifer and Squall. When we had gotten far enough away, I stood up. I was trying to find anyway to help my husband. I scanned the deck of the ship for a weapon, and found nothing.
I tried to pick up one of the big ropes that is used for the anchor on the ship in order to trip Seifer, but it was too heavy, and I would not be able to use it. Looking over, I saw that Seifer had found some new strength inside him, and was on the offensive to my worn-out Squall. My face got red with anger and as it did, I felt a tingling deep inside me. I felt my sorceress power beginning to restore themselves in me. Seifer started smashing Squall's gunblade with his own, as sparks flew everywhere, the two pushed up against one other, each trying to end the battle with one quick flick of the wrist. I focused on Seifer, and with my restored powers I screamed, "FIRAGA!" A burst of flame erupted from my hands, and as I screamed, Seifer's attention was drawn to me, and so was knocked off-guard over the railing of the ship into the waiting sea. After his fall, I felt my powers leave me again for good.
I breathed one deep breath of relief, and ran over to Squall, who was kneeling on the ground holding his chest. I kneeled in front of him, and pushed the sweat soaked hair out of his face. He removed his hand from his chest, and brought it to my face. As he did so, I saw the large wound on his chest that Seifer must have given to him sometime during the fight. I felt Squall's hand slide off my face, as he plopped down into a sitting position on the ground.
Quickly, I put a hand of mine behind his head, so he would not smash it on the ground. With my free hand, I ripped more of my dress and took the piece and applied pressure to his wound. He felt like a little baby in my arms, looking up at me like he only trusted me in the entire world, as I cradled him. He placed his right hand on my stomach, and whispered to me with laboring breaths, "Rinoa, I love you. Take care of our child. Please."
Tears streamed down my face, I said to him sniffling, "No Squall, you are going to be all right. Don't talk like that. You are gonna be fine. We're gonna bring you back, and Dr. Kadowaki is going to fix up this up!" I stroked his cheek, and started to plead with him, "Squall, don't leave me. Please Squall, you are going to be fine. Don't leave me now that we are back in each other's arms. Don't leave me to raise our child alone. Squall…please…"
Squall stared at me with his stormy blue eyes, that matched the storm raging above us. Rain drops began to fall loudly on the ship, a few striking Squall's face making his eyes flutter. He took a deep breath, and with it he told me words that would never leave me, "Rin. I will always be with you. I will be watching over you and our child even if it is from above." He smiled at me, and the strength left his hand and it fell from my face and came to rest on my stomach. My tears dripped onto his angelic face, along with the rain pouring from above, as he lay there; lifeless in my arms.
Squall was buried with a commander's honor and procession. All of the Garden mourned the lose of my Squall. For weeks, total strangers would come up to me and give me their condolences, and each time, it was like a knife in my heart. I often confided in Selphie about how I was feeling, and we became better friends over time. Everything had changed, I felt all the eyes of Garden staring at me, no matter what I was doing. Though, eventually, life seemed to take to a schedule, and I got on with living it.
I found out from the newspapers, that not only did they pull Seifer and Quistis's bodies from the sea, but one other. They found an unborn child, bearing the blood of Seifer and Quistis. I then realized what Quistis meant by what she had said to me that day. Perhaps her intuition about the upcoming events spawned those questions that she asked me. Or perhaps she had just found out about her pregnancy, and wanted to talk to someone that knew all about the subject. My feelings about Quistis's death were different than Seifer's. Quistis had done what I would have done in the situation, protect her love no matter the cost.
I also found out that Selphie and Irvine had been taking care of the guards and other such people on the ship so they would not come out to the hull and overpower us. Later, when officials arrived, Seifer's people were imprisoned in the D - District Prison. Many of them been liberated by parole, because they had only been following orders of a superior. Balamb never did uncover who in Galbadia had hired Seifer to capture Cid, or even if there was such a plot, but these days Cid is more well guarded, and has even begun to take self defense classes.
During the day and even as I shower, Griever now hangs around my neck, next to my scar. I wear it because I am now the griever, I grieve daily for the death of Squall. Someday, I pray the pendant will hang from the neck of Kali, our daughter. Also, each day, I am reminded of the scar on my chest. But the carving did not turn out as Seifer had anticipated. Although I always think of Seifer when I see it, I am more reminded of Squall. For the "A" was never finished, and as it healed it turned into an "l." So I bear the initials, "Sl," Squall's initials. And each day, I smile at the memory of Squall, how he opened up to me as he did no other, and our love that entwined our entire beings.
Our baby turned into a beautiful daughter who is full of life. Her eyes are stormy gray, and her hair is feathery, just like her father's. Her hair bearing my raven color and her body shaped as mine is. Each time someone tells Kali a story of her father, she becomes very intrigued. She is very interested in everything having to do with him. I see a lot of him in her, especially when I look into her clouded eyes. Kali loves him, and seems to understand things about him, even though she has never met him. She is even taking gunblade training, so she can be a gunblade specialist, just like him. But, Kali has never been able to use magic, or a even GF for that matter. I believe that it was her power that helped me send Seifer off of that boat. She used up so much power as an unborn baby, that she will never be able to attain it now.
Right now, I am in the office of our dorm. On the mantle across from my desk is Squall's gunblade that I keep there as though it protects us from any wrongdoings. Our wedding picture also sits atop the mantle place, a baby picture of Kali and Squall's leather jacket in a case. I have been collecting these memories, to explain to Kali the whole story of your death, Squall. I can hear Kali in her bedroom, breathing softly in her sleep. This morning I know that she will wake up upset as she does each year on this day. It is father-daughter day for the SeeDs and cadets. I know how much you would have liked to spend it with her, Squall. She is one of the few girls here, that cannot celebrate this day because she does not have a father. Sometimes Zell or Irvine would accompany her to the festivities, until they began to have daughters of their own to share it with. This year I'm keeping her in. I'm going to tell her the surroundings of your death, Squall, so she can fully understand everything. I have never told her the entire story, because I felt that it is too morbid for her young mind, with all the deception and lies of close friends. Also, I feel that I have never been strong enough to tell her. I know now that she is now mature enough to handle this, or else I would continue to wait until the right time.
Squall, I know you'll be watching over me as I tell our daughter the circumstances of your death. You will help me to tell our daughter, that nothing either good or bad, nothing lasts forever.
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I'm really sorry about the long wait! I know this isn't the ending you all wanted, but I've been thinking about making it like this since I wrote a second chapter, you can even see in the note on chapter 2 that I wanted to make it a tragedy. But, that is why I've been writing in the povs I have been writing in. I hope I did a good job on this, but you will all let me know right? Please?
~Jess~
~Jess~
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As we were walking down the winding tubular halls of the vessel, I was clinging to Squall's arm and would not let myself fall even one step behind. We walked for a short time, but the time seemed to last longer, because of our mutual fear. Our footfalls were very light on the flooring of the ship, as we hurried along the small corridors. I hoped that Squall remembered the way from which he came, because each hallway was identical to the previous one. For the first time in a while I felt protected. I didn't fear Seifer or anyone else entering my cell and hurting me either emotionally or physically. Squall was with me and he would protect me from any kind of disaster.
The carving started hurting again, so I placed my hand on it. As I withdrew my hand, I saw that it was covered in a thin layer blood from the wound I sustained on my chest. I thought to myself that the cure spells must have worn off, and I would be feeling it fully very soon. The same way I felt it all those years ago after that snowy night. I mentally cursed Seifer for all the pain he has made me endure during my entire life. I had always feared him since that night.
Suddenly, Squall stopped dead in his tracks, and threw his arm up against me to keep me from walking forward. We both strained our ears to hear what Squall had heard or only imagined. We stood still for a what seemed like an eternity, and I noticed that Squall had stopped breathing in order to amplify his hearing. Then I heard the sound we had both been dreading. It sounded far away at that point, but it was as clear as a bell. I gasped, and the breath caught in my throat as we both listened to the footfalls that sounded like cement blocks crashing on the grating of the floor. Squall turned and grabbed my hand, then lead me down a flight of stairs that we found shortly after, and then we waited at the bottom of the stairwell.
"What are we going to do Squall?" I whispered to him.
"We're going to wait until they pass the door, then get back up there when it seems safe. Don't worry Rinoa, I'll protect you."
I hugged him closer and we both listened and did not speak another word for what seemed like an hour. We both watched the light streaming through the door at the top of the stairs for a sign of any sort. Then we got an unmistakable sign. We heard the door to the stairwell open, and voices talking about what was going on. They didn't seem too interested in the conversation, and must not have been very great soldiers, because they were not racing about the ship in any way during this emergency. Squall took my hand again, and we escaped quietly from their earshot by going through the door at the bottom of the stairs. Then Squall directed me into a room nearby, and we hid in there, praying that we would be alone in the room, and they would pass right by it.
We heard voices for many minutes after that. The two were standing in the hall chatting about frivolous things, and as they talked, I heard Squall sigh a little with relief. He smiled down at me, as I was gripping his arm and pressing myself closer to him. Squall noticed my blood soaked shirt then, and cast another Curaga on me, even if it was only for temporary relief. After a while, the two guards left and we decided to wait a little while longer just to make sure they were not going to return. When we heard no sound, Squall got up to check. He tried to slither his arm away from my grasp, but I wouldn't have any of it. I clutched on to it, and followed him to the door, where he again put his neck out into the hallway and looked left to right. He glanced back at me and nodded, and we left the room. We walked across the hallway, when we saw the feet of other guards coming down the stairs. Squall turned us to go back into our hiding room, when we heard other guards coming from the hallway to the right of us.
The guards saw us soon after, and started advancing toward us. Squall started running around the ship, pulling me along with him in any attempt to escape the guards. We ran down many different hallways and soon I had no idea of where we were. I prayed that Squall did, otherwise I had no idea what we would do. When we finally lost them, Squall and I caught our breath. We pressed ourselves against the wall of the aisle, while our bodies pushed oxygen in and out of our lungs.
When we couldn't wait around any longer for fear of capture, we continued walking down the corridor we had found ourselves in. This corridor was different from all the other ones that we had been chased through, for this one had a door to the outside of the ship that lead to the hull. We walked out cautiously, as we had been doing the entire day. I could finally see the sky, it seemed a while since I could look up and see the sky, and I will never forget how it looked that night. It was gray out, but had its own kind of beauty. Although I couldn't see the moon, as I had been yearning to for so long, I still thought it to be beautiful.
We walked out onto the hull, and peered off the bow into the water searching for Selphie and Zell's boat. It was nowhere to be seen and terror struck inside us.
"Where the hell are they?" I heard Squall mutter to himself.
"Who?"
"Selphie and Zell, they are supposed to be out at the front of the boat to distract them if it was necessary."
"Please tell me that nothing has happened to them. I'd feel horrible if harm was caused by me."
"Rinoa, you wouldn't be at fault, it would be Seifer's doings that hurt them." Squall tried to reassure me that they were all right by squeezing my side really tight as he held me. I smiled up at him, and we kissed a sweet soft kiss. Afterwards, he pressed his forehead against mine, and just stared into my eyes, whispering, "Don't worry Rinoa, it will be all right. We'll get out of this."
Suddenly, Squall jerked his head to the side to see something I had not seen. I felt Squall move away from me, in order to stand in front of me; protecting me once again. All I could see was a large white flash, coming at an unbelievable speed toward us. Squall drew his gunblade and stood in the stance that he is known for. I noticed that the white flash was topped with blonde. I gasped; Seifer had found our position.
Squall pushed me back out of the way of Seifer's Hyperion. As I stepped back I saw the sparks from the swords clashing scatter along the deck of the ship. I felt compelled to rush in between them and somehow stop this horrible act, but it was then that I heard a whip crack. I turned, and saw Quistis coming from the other side of the captain's quarters. I started backing up further. Squall had not equipped me with a weapon, and I was defenseless since I no longer had my sorceress powers. I backed up away from the reach of Quistis' long whip, until I was tripped by a large rope for the anchor of the ship. Quistis smiled an unsettling smile at me, and I tried to get up but I was in a hard position to climb back up on my feet.
Suddenly, from behind Quistis; I saw Zell. As she cracked her whip and was about to bring it down upon me, Zell jumped in front of her, and tried to wrestle the whip away from her. He managed to pry the whip out of her grasp, and they started fumbling around, hitting each other and wrestling. In the background, I heard Squall and Seifer's battle rage on. Finally, I got up from being entangled in the rope, it had been so much harder for me to get up, since I was bearing more weight. As I ascended, I noticed what Quistis had been doing. Quistis was backing Zell up into the quarrel by going after him. Zell obviously didn't want to hurt Quistis because of all of their past friendship. He was blatantly taking it easy on her.
"Zell!" I cried, trying to protect him, as I was reaching out to him I said, "She's leading you into a trap!"
Zell shot me a glance and nodded, then went into an offensive position to block Quistis from pushing him into the savage brawl. I looked over to what was going on with Squall and Seifer to see if I could help. I could hear Squall murmuring obscenities at Seifer, and pouring out all his hatred from his burning heart. Their battle didn't seem like it could end anytime soon, they were too evenly matched. I looked on in horror, praying that Squall would overcome this brawl, praying that all of us could overcome this brawl.
Quistis had stopped holding back her strength, and began to attack Zell with everything she had. Suddenly, I was hearing gunshots that seemed to be getting closer, and I automatically recognized the shots from Irvine's gun. I realized that when we didn't return to the ship, they must have come onboard looking for us. They were so loyal, and I found tears begin to sting my eyes. I blinked them back, I knew that I couldn't loose my cool. Quistis was leaving marks on Zell from her whip, and they began to bleed. I was going to help, but then I heard Zell mutter something. He was pressed up against her to escape her whip, and he caught her off guard. He muttered, "I'm really sorry Quistis." Then with his shoulder, he pushed her off the boat into the freezing cold water. I ran over to the railing of the boat, and watched her struggle in the water. As I did, her whip went flying in the air, to strike Zell on the head; knocking him unconscious.
I ran over to him, and ripped a piece of my dress and blotted the blood flowing from his head. I started nudging him to see if he would wake up. Then checking his pulse I knew that he was still alive, just knocked unconscious by Quistis' final blow. For one ultimate check, I put my hand over his mouth. His hot breath hit my hand, confirming my suspicions. I pulled him gently away from the battle that was still raging on between Seifer and Squall. When we had gotten far enough away, I stood up. I was trying to find anyway to help my husband. I scanned the deck of the ship for a weapon, and found nothing.
I tried to pick up one of the big ropes that is used for the anchor on the ship in order to trip Seifer, but it was too heavy, and I would not be able to use it. Looking over, I saw that Seifer had found some new strength inside him, and was on the offensive to my worn-out Squall. My face got red with anger and as it did, I felt a tingling deep inside me. I felt my sorceress power beginning to restore themselves in me. Seifer started smashing Squall's gunblade with his own, as sparks flew everywhere, the two pushed up against one other, each trying to end the battle with one quick flick of the wrist. I focused on Seifer, and with my restored powers I screamed, "FIRAGA!" A burst of flame erupted from my hands, and as I screamed, Seifer's attention was drawn to me, and so was knocked off-guard over the railing of the ship into the waiting sea. After his fall, I felt my powers leave me again for good.
I breathed one deep breath of relief, and ran over to Squall, who was kneeling on the ground holding his chest. I kneeled in front of him, and pushed the sweat soaked hair out of his face. He removed his hand from his chest, and brought it to my face. As he did so, I saw the large wound on his chest that Seifer must have given to him sometime during the fight. I felt Squall's hand slide off my face, as he plopped down into a sitting position on the ground.
Quickly, I put a hand of mine behind his head, so he would not smash it on the ground. With my free hand, I ripped more of my dress and took the piece and applied pressure to his wound. He felt like a little baby in my arms, looking up at me like he only trusted me in the entire world, as I cradled him. He placed his right hand on my stomach, and whispered to me with laboring breaths, "Rinoa, I love you. Take care of our child. Please."
Tears streamed down my face, I said to him sniffling, "No Squall, you are going to be all right. Don't talk like that. You are gonna be fine. We're gonna bring you back, and Dr. Kadowaki is going to fix up this up!" I stroked his cheek, and started to plead with him, "Squall, don't leave me. Please Squall, you are going to be fine. Don't leave me now that we are back in each other's arms. Don't leave me to raise our child alone. Squall…please…"
Squall stared at me with his stormy blue eyes, that matched the storm raging above us. Rain drops began to fall loudly on the ship, a few striking Squall's face making his eyes flutter. He took a deep breath, and with it he told me words that would never leave me, "Rin. I will always be with you. I will be watching over you and our child even if it is from above." He smiled at me, and the strength left his hand and it fell from my face and came to rest on my stomach. My tears dripped onto his angelic face, along with the rain pouring from above, as he lay there; lifeless in my arms.
Squall was buried with a commander's honor and procession. All of the Garden mourned the lose of my Squall. For weeks, total strangers would come up to me and give me their condolences, and each time, it was like a knife in my heart. I often confided in Selphie about how I was feeling, and we became better friends over time. Everything had changed, I felt all the eyes of Garden staring at me, no matter what I was doing. Though, eventually, life seemed to take to a schedule, and I got on with living it.
I found out from the newspapers, that not only did they pull Seifer and Quistis's bodies from the sea, but one other. They found an unborn child, bearing the blood of Seifer and Quistis. I then realized what Quistis meant by what she had said to me that day. Perhaps her intuition about the upcoming events spawned those questions that she asked me. Or perhaps she had just found out about her pregnancy, and wanted to talk to someone that knew all about the subject. My feelings about Quistis's death were different than Seifer's. Quistis had done what I would have done in the situation, protect her love no matter the cost.
I also found out that Selphie and Irvine had been taking care of the guards and other such people on the ship so they would not come out to the hull and overpower us. Later, when officials arrived, Seifer's people were imprisoned in the D - District Prison. Many of them been liberated by parole, because they had only been following orders of a superior. Balamb never did uncover who in Galbadia had hired Seifer to capture Cid, or even if there was such a plot, but these days Cid is more well guarded, and has even begun to take self defense classes.
During the day and even as I shower, Griever now hangs around my neck, next to my scar. I wear it because I am now the griever, I grieve daily for the death of Squall. Someday, I pray the pendant will hang from the neck of Kali, our daughter. Also, each day, I am reminded of the scar on my chest. But the carving did not turn out as Seifer had anticipated. Although I always think of Seifer when I see it, I am more reminded of Squall. For the "A" was never finished, and as it healed it turned into an "l." So I bear the initials, "Sl," Squall's initials. And each day, I smile at the memory of Squall, how he opened up to me as he did no other, and our love that entwined our entire beings.
Our baby turned into a beautiful daughter who is full of life. Her eyes are stormy gray, and her hair is feathery, just like her father's. Her hair bearing my raven color and her body shaped as mine is. Each time someone tells Kali a story of her father, she becomes very intrigued. She is very interested in everything having to do with him. I see a lot of him in her, especially when I look into her clouded eyes. Kali loves him, and seems to understand things about him, even though she has never met him. She is even taking gunblade training, so she can be a gunblade specialist, just like him. But, Kali has never been able to use magic, or a even GF for that matter. I believe that it was her power that helped me send Seifer off of that boat. She used up so much power as an unborn baby, that she will never be able to attain it now.
Right now, I am in the office of our dorm. On the mantle across from my desk is Squall's gunblade that I keep there as though it protects us from any wrongdoings. Our wedding picture also sits atop the mantle place, a baby picture of Kali and Squall's leather jacket in a case. I have been collecting these memories, to explain to Kali the whole story of your death, Squall. I can hear Kali in her bedroom, breathing softly in her sleep. This morning I know that she will wake up upset as she does each year on this day. It is father-daughter day for the SeeDs and cadets. I know how much you would have liked to spend it with her, Squall. She is one of the few girls here, that cannot celebrate this day because she does not have a father. Sometimes Zell or Irvine would accompany her to the festivities, until they began to have daughters of their own to share it with. This year I'm keeping her in. I'm going to tell her the surroundings of your death, Squall, so she can fully understand everything. I have never told her the entire story, because I felt that it is too morbid for her young mind, with all the deception and lies of close friends. Also, I feel that I have never been strong enough to tell her. I know now that she is now mature enough to handle this, or else I would continue to wait until the right time.
Squall, I know you'll be watching over me as I tell our daughter the circumstances of your death. You will help me to tell our daughter, that nothing either good or bad, nothing lasts forever.
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I'm really sorry about the long wait! I know this isn't the ending you all wanted, but I've been thinking about making it like this since I wrote a second chapter, you can even see in the note on chapter 2 that I wanted to make it a tragedy. But, that is why I've been writing in the povs I have been writing in. I hope I did a good job on this, but you will all let me know right? Please?
~Jess~