~*~ Decisions ~*~
~*~ Chapter 17 ~*~
The train trip passed by with both Quistis and Seifer succeeding in avoiding each others presences. Only to occupy the same SeeD cabin to sleep. Now they both stood side by side in front of a desolate mansion. The mansion doors and windows were all covered with wooden boards crossing them with a shape of an X, as if it were to signal 'no trespassing' for anyone including the sun. Aside from the broken windows, and its neglected state, the mansion stood intact as if time stood for it mansion. Because of the isolation of the mansion, other types more major types of damage had kept its distance from the place throughout the years.
Quistis strode through the overgrown path leading up towards the steps of the sealed door. With her gloved hand she tried to pull on the weathered board. Hoping the rusty nails would give way. After pulling at the board a couple of times, she was only able to loosen the first panel of wood. Then with another jerk, one rusted nail popped from it place. Quistis was become frustrated at the stubborn panel, and started to pull at the other side of the board. Finally after much tugging, pulling, and twisting she was able to pull off the first board dismantling the X.
She sighed as the color flushed in her cheeks. She placed her hands strategically across the second long wooden board preparing to struggle with another stubborn old board. Just as she gather her strength again, two gloved hands came around her from behind and placed its hand on the wooden board next to her hands. With one strong jerk Seifer was able to release the rusty nails from the door and remove the board freeing the doors for them both to enter. He silently took the board and laid it next to the first discarded board on the floor.
Quistis returned her attention to the door and placed her hand on the tarnished handle. Wrapping her hand on the cool rough surface of the handle, she pushed down on the handle. Surprisingly with a soft click the door opened. She was surprise to see the door was unlocked, and continued to push the door in slowly as if afraid to disturb the stillness. The door creaked on its rusty hinges complaining of its disturbed rest.
They walked into the dark foyer. The air was dry and still. With each step they took, dust rose from the floor dancing around the heels of their boots.
Quistis looked at the grave room remembering the days she spent here with her family. Her eyes fell upon the large staircase leading up to present darkness of dust and cobwebs. She remembered her small self running up and down the stairs in her childhood innocence. She remembered greeting her father, or when she chased after her bouncing ball down the stairs. Then she remembered the laughs and the life that filled the mansion at one point in time. She remembered how sad she was when she would leave this summer home to return to Galbadia. All these memories were causing tears to well up in her eyes.
The interior of the place seemed to have been frozen in time as well as its exterior. The portraits and decorations were all exactly where she remembered. She walked through the room hovering her hand over everything as if to feel the life force of each inanimate object.
Seifer just stood there watching the flickering changes of emotion in Quistis as she walked from room to room. Then she arrived in the front of the closed door of her fathers study. Using both hands she pushed the double doors opened causing the settled dust to fly into the room and onto to their new resting place.
She remembered once tip toeing at the edge of her father's desk to see her father work. She remembered once while she was observing her father, she reached out to point at something and knocked over a picture frame on her father's desk, breaking it. She remembered crying over the broken glass and frame, and her father comforting her. He comforted and assured him that he wasn't angry, and in order to prove he was not angry at her he would fix the frame and have the picture to put in her room.
Her room.
Quistis quickly turned out of the study, and ran up the staircase leading towards her room. She weaved through the dusty hallways knowing exactly where she was head. She dashed through the door open, revealing a littler girl's room. The room was lighted with a stream of sunlight through the boards covering the window. The stream of sunlight shined over a neatly made bed with two stuffed bears propped up against the pillows, sitting there waiting for the return of their owner. On the formerly white night stand next to the bed. Propped up on the table as two framed pictures and a small notebook caked in a grey layer of dust.
She wiped the glass of the first frame she picked up, unveiling a family picture of her father, mother, and herself. In the picture she saw herself reflected in her mother's image, and around her mother's neck was the same necklace around her neck.
Returning the first frame to its original place, she picked up the other frame. Again she wiped the glass and gathered more dust on her gloves. The picture was of a little blond girl and a little blond boy sitting on the sandy beach building a sand castle. Both the boy and girl were smiling at the camera and showing off their creation.
"Look it's you," Quistis pointed at the little boy in the picture, breaking the silence that surrounded them.
Seifer nodded, "and that's you too," he noted.
Quistis turned to look at him, "What if this never happened? What if Ultimecia ever came to power? What if we didn't have to leave? What if…"
"…my father hadn't killed your parents," Seifer inserted. She shook her head to dismiss his comment and continued.
"What if we grew up together like were suppose to? Do you think we would have been happy? Do you think that…we would have fulfilled our parent's wishes?" she said hesitantly.
"What ifs. They are only question that can never be answered," he said flatly. Quistis nodded at the disappointing truth, and she started to wander around the room lost in her thoughts.
~~~
It was late afternoon when they pair emerged from the mansion. Squinting at the sunlight they instinctively dusted off clinging dust on their clothing.
Silently they started walking around the mansion towards the back garden. Quistis remembered Ivan Blaine saying that her parent's graves were behind the mansion near the now wild garden.
There they were two simple headstones, marking her parent's last resting place. Quistis knelt down in front one of the stones, and removed her glove and ran her hand over the engraved words of her mother and father's names. The cold surface of the stone caused a tingling chill to shoot up her arm.
"I'm home mother and father. Sorry it took so long, but I'm home," she whispered to the stone as her cheek leaned against the cool rock. A tear slipped from her eyes and absorbed into the dry stone.
Sitting back, she turned her attention to the other tombstone and notice it read Lana Almasy.
"Your mother…"she trailed off. Seifer nodded and ran a hand over the top of the study black stone.
Do you think we would have fulfilled our parent's wishes?
Those words were still haunting him. What did that mean? Had she made a decision, and she was trying to tell him that she can't or won't fulfill their parent's wishes? If that was true, his heart would tear. After acknowledging his love for her to his father, he did not realized how much he let himself fall deeper in love for her. The thought of her leaving him was tearing at him. He needed to know now.
With his hand still on his mother's tombstone as if using it for support he finally blurted out, "I love you."
The words came out so sudden, and as soon as Quistis heard them she froze. After an eternity of silence, she lifted her eyes and slowly stood up to face the blond man next to her. She looked at his face searching and found no hint of falseness in his declaration of his love for her. She only found truth and pain in his eyes of the uncertainty of her response.
Before Quistis could say anything, coming from behind Seifer in the horizon appeared three dark figures. Immediately Quistis knew it was the Soria and the other sorceresses. She was glad that they had finally come, for she had finally made her decision.
Seifer noticed Quistis shift in attention and turned his head to see the violet eyed woman and her companions arriving closer to them. Seifer returned his attention to Quistis to find a slight smile on her face. Right then he knew Quistis had made up her mind, and he would lose her forever. He turned his head away from her. He could not look at her anymore. He was afraid to reveal his weakness, even in front of the woman he loved.
Soria and her fellow companions stopped about ten feet away from the pair and waited for Quistis to approach them.
Just before Quistis could head toward them, Seifer gently grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Wait," he said. He reached his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out the Hyperion cross necklace, and put it in her hand. "This cross and the rose belong together. They were made for each other."
Quistis tightly enclosed her fingers around the necklace and sauntered to the group of sorceresses.
"Hello Quistis. Have you finally made your decision yet?" Soria asked in her sweet voice.
Quistis nodded her head. "Yes I have. She looked over to Seifer and saw him observing them with a solemn air.
After a couple minutes of discussion, Seifer saw Soria smile and pull Quistis into a motherly embrace. It looked as though his assumptions were correct. She was going to leave. When he said he loved her she didn't respond. Instead she went immediately to the sorceress. Here he was watching the one woman he loved and the only one who could complete him walk away from him. He was letting his Romantic dream fade into fantasy again. He turned his back against them and stared at his mother's grave stone, and tried to suppress his tears, for the second time in his adult life.
~~~
After releasing the young woman from her embrace, Soria smiled. "You are very much like your mother in appearance and at heart. I wish you the best of everything, dear child."
"Thank you," Quistis whispered to the sorceress and smiled. Then turned and silently waked away from her and back into the horizon where they came. She retuned her gaze to Seifer and saw that he hand turned his back from them. He was standing still like a statue with his grey trench coat hanging heavily on his body.
She quietly tiptoed behind him through the grass, and wrapped her arms around his waist leaning her head on his broad back. Again she felt the comfort and safety of having him as her support.
Seifer stiffened at the sudden embrace from behind. He thought she had gone, but she was right here! He quickly turned to face her. He wanted to see if these were true and he was not hallucinating. He half expected her to disappear, but instead he was greeted with a smile then a frown.
"Were you crying?" she asked with a hint of teasing.
"There was sand in my eye," he defended.
"Sand?" she looked around and saw only grass, and gave him an inquiry look. He just shrugged. "Well crying doesn't suit you," She said as she wiped way the remnants of the couple tears from his cheeks, and with her other hand she dangled the Hyperion Rose necklace. The rose intertwined as one with the cross.
"Look they are together like they were always meant to be," she said with a smile. "And like the Hyperion Rose we are destined to be together."
Seifer took the necklace from her hand and knelt down on the grass.
"Quistis Trepe, with the witness of our parents lying here, will you marry me?'
Quistis held Seifer's outstretched hand in hers tightly and pulled him up to stand up again. She threw her arms around him and whispered, "Yes" and kissed him.
After her acceptance he easily clasped the Hyperion Rose around her neck, and held her tightly in his embrace.
This was his romantic dream he thought. No, it was his romantic reality.
"What are you thinking?" His lover asked.
"I was just thinking about how long I've waited for this moment."
"Really?"
"Truly," he replied with a smile and kissed her again.
~*~ Finis ~*~
A/N: Okay finally it's done! Woo hoo...I didn't think I'd be able to do it but I did it! My first fic done! I want to thank all you guys who have been keeping up with my fic. Thank you guys so much. Because of you I definitely will continue writing despite my hectic life. Love you all. I'll have a more formal thank you up eventually XD…thanx again for all your support! *huggles*
