Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII and all its characters are property of SquareSoft
Words Left Unspoken by remote_mine
The blood was dripping slowly from his body, the image of him being so helpless burned into her mind. And she couldn't do anything.
The reality was beyond imagining. Nothing could ever compare with the oxymorons of life. The kindness of life. The brutality of life. Life has its ups, but even so, has even worse falls. And this was among the worst.
She watched, helpless, as the blood gushed out of his wounds. The blood that sustained his life was cruelly taken from him. Life was a gift, and a curse. She couldn't feel anything as she stared in horror as the spurting blood began to slow down to a trickle. Her thoughts had gone and disappeared when she first realized what had happened. And she was yet powerless.
His breathing was shallow and labored; it seemed as though he was running a marathon through water. His deadened eyes were a small window into the suffering he was going through. She couldn't do anything to help him or even alleviate his pain. The death of him tortured her, and yet she was unable to do a single thing. It was as if life mocked them; to bring them together, and to tear them apart. To be rescued and to be denied rescue.
His eyes fluttered as the final blood drained from his body, making him seem even paler than normal. He seemed as if he was asleep, except for the gaping injuries. He stopped breathing; his muscles relaxed. She couldn't believe it, accept it. But it was true.
Her mind caught up as his final breath had released her mind from the state of shock. She felt that she betrayed him. She felt the guilt wash over her, making her relive those moments. Those words she couldn't have spoken because of the silence spell. She hadn't protected herself against being silenced. She didn't have items; she had assumed they were of no need due to her magic, and paid the price. The death of one she cared about, while she was right next to him and unable to stop the inevitable. She had failed him. One, single mistake. Those wounds she could have cured if she hadn't been silenced. One, single mistake that would haunt her. It would haunt her to the grave and beyond. Those words she wished she could communicate to him, the strength sustaining her. Her love for him.
He had been blinded; he couldn't see the claws that were rushing toward him. She had tried to scream to him to dodge them, but her voice came out as a whisper. Only then had she realized that she had been silenced. She could only watch as he was impaled through the chest by those claws. The sickening blood had sprayed all over the place, coating the monster and gleaming against the metal deck of the Ragnarok. Even if the blood was cleaned, it would never remove the stain from her mind.
He had saved her, but she couldn't save him.
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A/N: Ahh, my first true angst story. Just wondered how it would feel like if Rinoa had been silenced and could do nothing to help Squall if he was dying. And the Ragnarok was just such a perfect place: the Propagators can use Blind and Silence, so it fit perfectly. Imagine that; Squall saves Rinoa in space, but she can't save him on the Ragnarok. Just a thought! And something similar did happen to my characters on my last game. Squall was blinded and got KO'd, while Rinoa was left silenced. She kicked that Propagator's *** with Angel Wing though.