A Time of No Rain - a Final Fantasy VIII fanfic
by Erika Riggio [Filia]
Disclaimer: All of the characters of FFVIII belong to Squaresoft/SquareEnix.
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Chapter 3
Ellone Loire was lying on her back, staring up at the bright morning sky. The setting was lovely, ignoring the fact that she was lying on her back on the top of a skyscraper in the city of Esthar. She loved the city because it meant she got to be around Uncle Laguna all the time, but it got to be stifling. Sometimes, like today, she just needed to escape.
At least, that was what everyone assumed. It was true, but it wasn't the whole story.
She fingered the edge of her scarf idly, watching as the rays of the rising sun turned the edges of the clouds a soft pink. She wondered where he was. He was usually so prompt.
"Elle?" called a soft voice from the stairwell several feet away.
Ellone looked up, a teasing smile playing on her lips. It was about time. "You're late," she said with mock seriousness, sitting up to get a good look at her companion.
"You're early," Seifer replied coldly, although Ellone could detect a hint of a smile in the edges of his tone.
Ellone cocked her head with a disapproving look. "You never want to take responsibility, do you, Seifer?" She frowned, but it wasn't entirely convincing.
Seifer sighed. "Fine. Fujin and Raijin were out in the hall when I left. They asked me where I was going. I couldn't tell them the truth, of course; you can only imagine how they'd react. First I told them I was going to train out in the desert, but that only riled Raijin up and made him want to come with me. Finally I told them that Laguna sent me on some kind of mission, and that 'training' was the cover. They bought that." He smirked as he seated himself on the roof next to Ellone.
She laughed. "You know I don't care, Seif," she said, leaning against his arm. "I'm just happy you came."
"Why wouldn't I come? I always come." He reached up and wrapped his strong arm around her small shoulders. "You need protecting, milady, no matter where you go."
Ellone rolled her eyes. "If you're still operating under that guise, you can go back to your 'secret mission' right now, Seifer," she replied haughtily.
"I'm not," Seifer answered, giving her shoulders a squeeze. It was only partly a lie; the logical part of his brain needed to be given that excuse every now and then, but the other part, the part that Ellone had helped him discover in the first place, needed no convincing whatsoever.
"Good," she answered, curling up next to him. Even though it was spring, there was still a bite of cold in the morning air. The two sat like this for a moment, silent; there was no need for words.
After a few moments, Seifer heard someone at the door which opened to the roof. He jumped up, startling Ellone, and went to stand several feet away from her. Ellone was surprised, but understood when she saw one of Laguna's messengers come through the door.
"Ah, Lady Ellone. I thought you might be here. There's a message for you." The middle-aged man looked over and caught sight of Seifer. "Sir Seifer?" There was a pause; both Ellone and Seifer feared the worst. "You should probably come, too. The contents of the message might interest you as well." With that, the messenger turned around and headed for the door.
Once the door was closed, Seifer and Ellone shared a look of confusion and curiosity. "I guess we should go downstairs," Ellone said with a hint of reluctance, despite the fact that she was ultimately curious about what kind of message would warrant the interruption of her morning reverie.
"I guess," Seifer replied, sounding even more reluctant than his companion. Well, it was probably something important. He felt Ellone reach over and grab his hand; he was momentarily surprised, but got over it quickly -- he would have to get used to such things, after all.
Ellone scampered as fast as her feet would carry her down the stairs, with Seifer in tow. She finally reached the mail room just outside Laguna's office. She approached the elderly woman at the desk. "There's a message for me?" she asked somewhat breathlessly.
"Ah, yes, Lady Ellone," said the old woman, slowly getting up from her chair to sort through the pile of messages on the table behind her. Seifer rolled his eyes; the old bag always took forever, it seemed.
As the old woman shuffled through the messages, she glanced over at Seifer. "Brought your bodyguard with you, milady? It's not a dangerous message, you know." She went back to shuffling.
Seifer glared at the back of the woman's head and opened his mouth to say something, but Ellone intervened. "The messenger said that the letter would interest Seifer as well," she replied quickly, shooting a look at Seifer. He recognized that glance and shut his mouth.
After what seemed like years, the mail woman finally produced a small envelope. "There you are, milady," she said with a smile.
"Thank you," Ellone said curtly, turning and exiting into the hall, then practically throwing herself down onto the ground in a cross-legged position to read the letter. Seifer sat down next to her, but with decidedly more grace.
After reading the letter through once, Ellone's eyes widened and she repeated the contents aloud for Seifer's benefit:
"Dearest Ellone,
"I am dreadfully sorry that I was not able to contact you sooner, but the events of the past few months have been quite traumatic and have kept me rather busy. In short, I regret to inform you that Squall has been diagnosed with cancer. We are currently not sure how much longer he has to live. He has expressed a strong desire to see you, but unfortunately Quistis has suggested that travel might not be the best option in his condition. If you could spare some time to come to Winhill, even for a few days, I would be incredibly grateful.
"The other news I have to share can be either cheerful or otherwise, depending on your perspective. At the same time as Squall's diagnosis, it was discovered that I am, at long last, pregnant. I have to take this news with a grain of salt, however, as it is very likely that Squall will never see our child, and I will almost definitely be raising the child alone.
"I don't mean to bore you with the details of our rather disarrayed lives; all I mean to convey is that a visit from you would be very much appreciated as soon as you can manage to get away. If you can bring Laguna with you, all the better, although I don't expect that he will have time to spare, even for his son.
"I hope to see you soon.
"Regards, Rinoa Leonhart"
Seifer blinked; he was at a loss for words. Squall, dying? No, it couldn't be. It had to be a mistake. There had to be something someone could do.
Suddently he looked feverishly at Ellone. "Elle, couldn't you--"
"You know it wouldn't work, Seif," she replied, her voice very small and afraid. "I tried with Uncle Laguna, remember? I tried with Rinoa, too. There's no reason to believe that it would work this time." She wrung her hands, frustrated with the uselessness of her powers. "Besides, where would I send someone even if my powers could change time? He got this from Raine, I know it. And--" she choked on her words, a few tears escaping. "I tried to change that already," she said in a murmur. "Uncle Laguna asked me to, right after I came to Esthar after the Sorceress was defeated. But I couldn't do it." She curled up, leaning against Seifer for support. "I can't do anything, Seifer."
Seifer wrapped his arms around Ellone, giving her a gentle squeeze. He was vaguely aware that someone could easily see them here and realize what had been going on between them, but he realized that he didn't really care anymore. Besides, people might just write it off as a private, comforting moment between a lady and her bodyguard, nothing more.
"You can do something," he said finally.
Ellone looked up at Seifer's face, tears glistening on her cheeks and in her eyes. "What? What can I do, Seifer? There's nothing!"
Seifer shrugged, releasing her and standing up. "You can go be with him."
Ellone froze and bit her lip. Her first thought was to retort with how that wouldn't help anything, but she quickly realized that it might, in its own small way. "Okay," she said, standing up with confidence. She took a few steps toward her room to pack, then turned on her heel and looked at Seifer. "You'll come, too, right?"
Seifer blinked. "Me?" He chuckled. "Squall wouldn't want to see me."
"I think he would," Ellone insisted. She paused. "Besides," she added, "I want to see you."
Seifer looked somewhat surprised, then smiled a rare smile. "All right," he said. "I'll see you at the airship dock in--?"
"An hour," Ellone finished, looking confident. She looked as if she was about to walk away again, but walked toward Seifer instead, enveloping him in a hug. "Thank you, Seif," she breathed into his chest.
Seifer planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "Any time, milady," he replied into her hair.
The airship port was bustling with activity. Spring was a prime time for airship travel, and most businesses in Esthar found themselves seeking temporary employees to fill the gaps left by so many people taking off for a vacation to Balamb or Dollet or even Galbadia. Ellone and Seifer found it was easy to hide themselves among the crowds of people; apart from a few sharp-eyed youths here and there, everyone was too wrapped up in his or her own affairs to notice that the adopted daughter of the President of Esthar and her personal bodyguard were making their way to the private presidential airship.
Laguna had quickly adopted the Ragnarok as his personal airship soon after the defeat of Ultimecia. None of the Sorceress Six had wanted to keep it around besides Selphie, and she was talked out of it by Irvine, who seemed to be somewhat terrified of the prospect that Selphie might devote any portion of her free time to flying the airship. So it had been left at the dock in Esthar, the only airship port at the time, and would have sat collecting dust if Laguna had not stepped in. Even so, the Ragnarok did spend a sufficient amount of time collecting dust, as Laguna was often too busy to take any time off of work. The only time the airship was used was when Laguna's presence was required at a World Conference, and those were only every couple of years or so. Thus, Ellone had decided that Laguna would likely not notice if she and Seifer took the ship to visit Squall in Winhill.
Ellone impulsively reached out and grabbed Seifer's hand as they stood before the Ragnarok, an airship that had once been a towering spectacle of majesty and glory before the defeat of Ultimecia and the Airship Revolution. Now even more glorious airships were seen daily in the skies over Esthar, but none were more revered than the Ragnarok. Ellone had not ridden on it in years, and she was filled with excitement. She turned to Seifer.
"Isn't this exciting?" she exclaimed, her face lit up with joy. She lowered her voice and leaned towards him slightly. "We can imagine we're going on a romantic getaway together," she murmured, having to force herself not to show any sign of affection; they were still in public, after all.
"Seifer?" called a voice from amid the crowd. Seifer looked up, then rolled his eyes when he saw the large man who had been the source of the call.
"Why now, of all times," he muttered to himself, shaking his head and pulling away from Ellone. She looked up at him curiously, then she too saw the figure coming towards them and understood.
"Seifer? Whatcha doing here, you know?" Raijin asked, looking around as if he expected to see a monster come down from the ceiling for Seifer to do battle with.
A slim silver-haired woman came up beside Raijin. "MISSION," she said curtly, glaring at Seifer, a look on her face that was part confusion, part contempt.
Seifer looked momentarily confused, but then he leaned casually against a post as if nothing had happened. "Oh, that dumb mission. I finished that ages ago." He glanced at Ellone, silently telling her not to say anything. She didn't need to be told, of course.
"Oh. We thought you'd be gone all day, you know? Maybe a few days, you know?" Raijin looked even more confused than usual, then the confusion slipped from his face and was replaced by a grin. "Not that it matters, you know? I'm glad you're back, you know?"
"ELLONE," Fujin said, pointing at her. Fujin never had much to say, but she made it very clear what she meant when she did speak.
Seifer paused, thinking, but Ellone jumped in, much to his chagrin. "He's escorting me," she said quickly, glancing at Seifer as if to say "sorry, that's all I've got."
Seifer was unsure as to what else to add. "Yeah, escorting her," he repeated lamely after a moment.
Raijin, always the curious one, asked the question that neither Seifer nor Ellone had wanted him to ask. "Where's she going, you know?" He smiled, obviously fooled by the ruse, but just wanting more information.
Fujin had always been the sharper one. "FOLLOW," she added, meaning that if Seifer was going to go somewhere (apparently for the second time today), she and Raijin wanted to come along, too.
Seifer had just about given up hope, and Ellone stepped in again. "We're going to Winhill," she replied. Seifer gave her a shocked look; had she just blown their cover? "I'm visiting my mother's grave," she added in a softer tone, glaring up at Seifer for not trusting her.
Raijin looked dejected. "Oh. Well, I guess we should let you go, then, you know?" He started to walk away, then stopped next to Seifer and whispered to him, "We never do anything together anymore, you know?" Then he disappeared into the crowd again.
Fujin cocked her head at Ellone, obviously still suspicious. "SYMPATHY," she said finally, and she followed Raijin into the crowd.
Ellone breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close," she said under her breath, walking over to where Seifer was standing. She took his arm and pulled him towards the Ragnarok. They took the elevator up to the doors.
"Do you think they suspect anything?" Ellone asked nervously once they were safely inside the airship.
Seifer glanced out of a window and shrugged. "Fujin probably does. But I think she's suspected something about us for a while now. She seemed suspicious about my 'mission' this morning, too." He smirked. "Raijin is clueless, though. I can promise you that."
Ellone sighed. They had reached the passenger bay and she settled herself in a seat. "I just hope they don't do anything stupid," she said, mostly to herself.
Seifer seated himself next to her and smirked again. "If there's one thing you can count on Fujin and Raijin to do, it's something stupid."