Enchantment Passing Through

By the Almighty SporkGoddess

Chapter 8: Still the Gap Between Us Is Too Wide

And though I'll think about him til the earth draws in around me
And though I choose to leave him for another kind of love

There is no denial, no betrayal but redemption
Redeemed in my own eyes and in the pantheon above
It's easy
It's easy as life

- Easy as Life- Aida

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Seitt's POV

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I glanced at the woman next to me and sighed. Finally she'd agreed to come and see me. When I asked her about her reluctance, she just said she was uncomfortable with everyone's disapproval.

"I'm going to go get something from the machine downstairs." She said, referring to the one in the lobby of the hotel I was staying at. I nodded, and took out my wallet.

"Allow me," I said, taking out some coins. As I did so, however, something fell and landed on the floor with a –clink-. Oh shit, I thought. Allenby blinked and looked down at the ground.

"What's this?" She picked up a ring that had would have been sparkling had it not been in the dusty confines of my wallet.

I sat on the bed, and could hear the springs squeak in protest. "It was for Rain." I admitted, and she frowned as she examined it.

"You were going to propose? Or did you propose?"

"I… was going to, but she left before I could." I muttered, clenching my hands together. I could still feel the rain pelting down on me, stinging my eyes, as Rain's friend told me she had left with barely a trace. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could block out the memory of that day.

"Seitt? Hello? Earth to Seitt?" Allenby waved her hand in front of my face. I smiled at her, suddenly. She had a way of being able to cheer me up… She was the only one who could bring a smile to my face these days…

"Marry me." I told her. She blinked.

"… Are you joking? You're joking, right?"

"I love you…"

"I barely know you!" She screamed.

"Neither did Romeo and Juliet." I said.

"Shut up!" Allenby yelled, standing up. "You're not an impulsive person, normally! I know you're thinking of her! You're never NOT thinking of her! You carried around that stupid ring in your wallet all these years, for god's sake! I know that I like you, but who knows? After all, Rain thought she loved you and she was obviously wrong!"

I couldn't reply. I just stared. I should have known she possessed the ability to scream like that, but I'd never really thought that she would do it to me.

She took a deep breath. "Look, our relationship hasn't been under the most normal of circumstances. I think we both know that. I know you've been hurt, but being with me is only hurting the both of us. You don't even know who I am… I don't even know who you are. We didn't want to admit it, but in the end there's no way to deny it… we're just a rebound. Or should I say… we were just a rebound."

"You're breaking up with me?"

She sighed. "We slept together and then started hanging out together, but I don't think we were ever really together. There wasn't any emotional commitment… was there?"

I couldn't respond, and she merely sighed again. "I can't do this anymore. I want to go to college someday. I want to continue training. I can't deal with this, not right now anyway. I don't want to be your replacement Rain."

Now I was getting angry. "Oh, like you were really into the relationship one hundred percent, yourself! It's amazing you didn't cry out his name the night we slept together!"

Her wide eyes somehow opened even wider. I've always considered myself to be more of a thinker than a fighter, so I never considered the fact that anger was one emotion you can express with more than words. This was one time she didn't need the Berserker Mode to be in frenzy; her yells and punches were oddly reminiscent of what I had sometimes seen on TV.

I didn't even fight back. I just stood there taking it. I had been out of line, and I deserved every hit I received. Suddenly, she stopped. I looked at her eyes again, and saw that they were brimming with tears.

"We're really fucked up, aren't we?" She muttered.

I blinked. I had never, ever heard her say anything like that before. Happiness, anger, sadness – yes, but this vulgar, unadulterated cynicism may have well been in Spanish for as natural as it sounded coming from her mouth.

"It's not you, Allenby. It's me who's…"

"I know." She said quickly, trying to smile yet, for the first time as far as I could tell, failing.

We were silent, just staring at each other for a few more minutes.

"It's for the best, you know." She said quietly.

"I know." I echoed her previous statement.

She stood up, hugging her arms to her chest as she looked at me, and yet looked away at the same time.

"Will I ever see you again?" I whispered.

"I don't know." She sounded so lost, and unsure. It made me realize that although she'd been through a lot of pain, Allenby was still just a child. She'd had undying trust in me. She'd defended me in front of the friends that had known her for far longer, including her first love…. and I'd failed her.

"I guess that's a no… I should be going back to my own country soon, anyway."

"You're leaving?"

"There's no reason for me to stay, is there?"

She was silent; I guess she saw my point.

"Well… um… I guess this is it…. It was nice knowing you?"

She laughed, a bitter laugh that sounded even more incongruous than that other statement.

"I guess you could say that."

"Allenby…"

"You know it's better this way." She turned around, and briefly kissed me on the cheek. "For you, for me… for everyone."

I watched her go, my heart feeling every bit as heavy as it had back on that rainy day.

Author's Note: Oh man, Seitt screwed things up yet again – and this time it seems to be rather fatalistic…. Then again, this is me writing here. XD Anyway, no, this is not the end of the story yet. I'm not –that- cruel…

Disclaimer: See chapter 1… the title of this chapter is from I Know Him So Well from Chess.