I've reuploaded this chapter because I screwed up in the scene where Dr. Lockheart was talking to 'Angelica' about her memories. In the messed up version, he is asking her questions and she is answering them. He asks her if she is getting to like Winhill and she replies "of course" then out of nowhere it says "October 4th". He was supposed to ask her her birthday in between the "Of course" response and "October 4th". I was typing so fast that I guess I left it out. Here's the fixed version and sorry if that confused anyone.
********************************************
Seifer left his dorm and headed towards the Quad. Selphie had called an emergency Garden Festival meeting to discuss the location of the Festival. Seifer couldn't care less where it was held but he knew Selphie would be pissed if he didn't at least show up. He entered the Quad and joined the group of people who were already gathered. Selphie stood in front of the crowd on the stage that he and a few others had busted their asses to build perfectly. Seifer spotted Fujin and Raijin in the mess of people and joined them. A few more people entered and after they had settled in the crowd, Selphie spoke.
"Hi everybody and thanks for coming!" she grinned, "As you know, there is some debate on whether the Garden Festival should be held in Timber or Winhill. We received a call from the mayor of Timber last night and he regretted to inform us that he can't host the Garden Festival this year." Ripples of disappointment and an all-out groan from Rinoa were heard from the crowd. "So that means the location of this year's Garden Festival is Winhill! That's all for now, I'll see you all tomorrow!"
Everyone began to disperse after the meeting ended. Seifer decided to head for the training center. He said goodbye to his friends and headed towards the hallway. He was almost there when he was stopped by a short teenage girl with red hair. She smiled at him seductively.
"Hi Seifer," she purred, "I was wondering if you had a date for the Garden Festival yet."
"What?" Seifer stared at the woman in disbelief. Had he heard her right?
"Because I don't have a date yet," the redhead continued, "And I was thinking that maybe you and I could go together."
Seifer felt the anger rise up in him and he struggled hard to force it down. He mustered a sinister smile. "Janai, isn't it?" The girl nodded vigorously, the smile never leaving her face. "Well, Janai, I don't know if you remember, but a little less than a month ago, my fiancée was lost in an attack on the Garden. Now, I'm guessing by the fact that you even dared ask me out on a date that either you've never been in love or you're just very ignorant. Let me break it down for you Janai: I love Quistis. Nothing, not even death, can change that. Maybe you'll understand one day but until you do, don't bother me, okay?"
Seifer pushed past the stunned girl and continued on towards the training center.
----------------------------------------------------
"The Garden Festival is coming to Winhill!" Marta exclaimed as she red the paper at the breakfast table.
"The Garden Festival?" Angelica repeated in confusion.
"It's an annual Festival held by Balamb Garden," Marta gushed, "they have music and plays and dancing! James and I went to the Garden Festival a few years ago in Deling City. It was a magical evening. That Miss Tilmitt is absolutely brilliant when it comes to organizing the Festival."
"Selphie?" Angelica blurted out. James and Marta both turned to look at her.
"What did you say dear?" Marta questioned.
"Um…nothing," Angelica replied.
"Yes you did," James insisted, "You said 'Selphie', why?"
"I don't know," Angelica answered. She stood up from the table quickly. "I've got to go! I don't want to be later for work!" She was out of the door before they could call her back.
"I think we should tell Dr. Lockheart about this," Marta suggested.
"Why?"
"Selphie is Miss Tilmitt's first name," Marta informed, "I think that Angelica may have remembered hearing about her before her accident."
James agreed and they returned to eating their breakfast.
Outside, Angelica hurried across the cobblestone towards Raine's Pub, a million thoughts swirling through her head. Why did I say that? Who is Selphie? Do I know her? She was still contemplating this when she entered the Pub.
"Hey Angie!" Pete greeted as she entered.
"Hi, Pete," Angelica answered less than enthusiastically.
"I've just got a lot on my mind," Angelica told him as she put on her apron.
"You wanna talk about it?" Pete inquired. Angelica shrugged her shoulders. "Come on! You can tell ol' Petey!"
Angelica smiled at his playful words. "This morning, Marta was talking about the Garden Festival and she mentioned a woman named Miss Tilmitt and out of the blue I blurted out 'Selphie' and I have no idea why. Then Marta and James both looked at me strangely and started asking me questions. I got nervous and told them I had to go to work and I left."
After she had finished, Pete thought for a moment. "Do you think that maybe your memory is coming back?"
"I don't know," Angelica admitted, "I kind of think it might be. About a week ago I woke up from a dream. My heart was racing and I was covered in sweat. The dream was so real but when I woke up, I couldn't remember it at all. I think it might've been a memory too."
"Did you talk to Dr. Lockheart about it?" Pete asked.
"No," Angelica replied, "I didn't tell him because I don't want him to get my hopes up."
"I think you should tell him," Pete said. A jingling of bells had them both turning to the front door as two men walked in.
"Hi Pete! Hi Angie!" the men called and sat down at the table.
Pete waved and then turned to Angelica. "You're on kid."
Angelica smiled and walked over to the table. "Hello, Mr. Curtis, hello Mr. Linney. What can I get you today?"
"The usual," Mr. Curtis replied.
"And start us off with coffee," Mr. Linney added.
"Coming right up." Angelica went to the back to the kitchen and hung the order on the spinning device specifically for that purpose.
"Another day," Lili the dark haired cook said to Angelica as she began to cook the food.
"Another gil," Angelica added and headed back out to the front with the coffee.
------------------------------------------------------
"Angelica, Dr. Lockheart is coming by to see you tonight," Marta informed as Angelica got home from work.
"Oh," Angelica was caught off guard, "well, good, I needed to talk to him about something."
"I told him about his morning," Marta told her, "I hope you don't mind."
"No, in fact that's one of the things I wanted to talk to him about," Angelica said, "I think it might have something to do with my amnesia."
"That is exactly what I thought," Marta exclaimed, "which is why James and I invited the doctor over. Well, he should be here any minute. He said he would come over as soon as you got home from work." As if on cue, the doorbell rang. "That must be him!"
Marta hurried to the door while Angelica waited for her by the kitchen. She heard Marta greet Dr. Lockheart and invite him in. A second later, he appeared in the entryway with Marta.
"Hi Angie," he greeted, "let's go into the living room." Angelica agreed and the three of them went into the living room. Dr. Lockheart sat down on the couch while Angelica opted for the chair across from him. Marta remained standing.
"I'll go put a pot of coffee on," She offered.
"That would be great, thanks," Dr. Lockheart acknowledged. Marta nodded and left the room. Once the older woman was gone, Dr. Lockheart turned to Angelica. "So Angie, how are you?"
"Fine," Angelica answered.
"Do you like working at Raine's Pub?" he inquired.
"Yes."
"Are the hours too much?"
"No, they're fine."
"Are you getting to like Winhill?"
"Of course."
"When is your birthday?"
"October 4th."
Both of them stopped as Angelica answered. Previously, she had been unable to remember. She looked over in surprise at the doctor and saw a smile tracing his lips.
"It's a technique I've been reading up on," he explained, "when someone with amnesia starts answering a long string of questions without much thought, the brain tends to open up more, which is why you remembered your birthday."
"That was amazing!" Angelica breathed, "I wasn't even thinking. I just answered. Can you do it again?"
"Sorry," Dr. Lockheart apologized, "it only works when the subject isn't expecting it. If I tried it again now you would be thinking too much."
"I understand," Angelica whispered sadly.
"Don't be upset!" Dr. Lockheart instructed, "The fact that it worked proves that your mind is beginning to relinquish your forgotten memories."
"So I'm getting better?" Angelica asked hopefully.
"Well, that's what I came here to talk to you about," Dr. Lockheart told her, "Marta and James told me about this morning. Do you remember why you said 'Selphie' when Marta mentioned Miss Tilmitt?"
"No," Angelica shook her head, "I just blurted it out, like when you asked me my birthday. I still have no idea who 'Selphie' is or why talking about the Garden Festival made me think of her."
"Selphie is Miss Tilmitt," Dr. Lockheart informed, "she is a SeeD at Balamb Garden. Does any of that sound familiar to you?"
"No," Angelica replied, "not really. Why? Do you think I know Selphie?"
"It's possible," Dr. Lockheart said, "but it's also possible that you just heard of her, either before or after your accident."
"So then there's no lead to who I might be or where I came from," Angelica concluded sadly. She hadn't admitted it to herself, but she had hoped that Selphie, whoever she was, was the key to unlocking the mysteries of her life.
"I didn't say that for sure," the doctor corrected, "first, I need to know if you have had any other flashes of memory."
"Well," Angelica started, "about a month ago, Tank was lying by the front door and Marta was leaving. She said something to him and he 'smiled', you know what I mean?" The dark haired doctor nodded. "When he smiled, I thought, 'Angelo used to do that all the time.' I don't know where the thought came from of who Angelo is, although I assume it's a dog."
"Good," the doctor nodded thoughtfully, "anything else?"
"About a week ago I had a dream," Angelica recalled, "I don't remember what the dream was about but I woke up scared. I don't know why but something makes me think that it was a memory from my past."
"You don't remember anything from the dream?" Dr. Lockheart prodded.
Angelica thought for a moment. "Nothing major," she answered, "just two little things."
"What were they?"
"A tunnel of light and green eyes," Angelica told him.
At that moment, Marta entered carrying a tray with three mugs and a plate of cookies on it. She sat the tray down on the coffee table and took a seat next to Dr. Lockheart on the couch.
"I brought some cookies too," Marta announced.
"Thank you Marta," Dr. Lockheart said and picked up his coffee and a cookie. Angelica took her mug too, as did Marta.
"So doctor," Marta began as they sipped their coffee, "is Angelica all right?"
"She's fine," Dr. Lockheart assured, "in fact, I believe her memory is starting to return."
"Oh that's wonderful!" Marta gushed but Angelica could see a flicker of regret in her gray eyes. Over the past few weeks, Angelica and Marta had become close. She knew that Marta wanted her to be happy and to get her memory back but was also dreading that she would inevitably leave after she did.
"I'm hoping that she'll begin to remember things clearly soon," Dr. Lockheart informed, "but there's no way to tell how soon. All we can do is wait." He looked down at his watch. "I'd better go, Ani and I are taking the kids into Timber for dinner." They all stood up and walked to the door.
"Thank you for coming by Doctor," Marta said, "we really appreciate it."
"No problem," Dr. Lockheart assured, "I'm glad to help."
"I really appreciate you help Dr. Leonhart," Angelica started, then paused as the wrong surname left her lips. "I…I mean Dr. Lockheart." Angelica's face turned red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from."
"It's all right," Dr. Lockheart told her "I think it's more of your memory coming back. Don't hesitate to call me if you remember anything else."
"All right," Angelica agreed. The woman waved goodbye as the doctor left the house.
Once he had left, Marta shut the door and the two of them went into the kitchen to make dinner. James got home right before it was done and they sat down to a nice meal. After dinner, Angelica and James played a few games of cards while Marta talked about the Garden Festival. It would take place in four days and Marta was very excited. Angelica was also anticipating the Garden Festival but for different reasons. She hoped that Selphie Tilmitt would recognize her or at the very least, jog her memory.
After she retired to her room, Angelica lay for a long time under her blankets staring at the diamond engagement ring on her finger. She hadn't told anyone, but not remembering the man she was to be married to bothered her more than anything else. At first she had wondered why he hadn't come looking for her but then she realized that he probably thought she was dead. If that was the case, had he moved on, found someone new? Despite her memory loss, the thought of him, whoever he was, with another woman squeezed her heart painfully. It was so strange to have such strong feelings for someone she couldn't remember. As she drifted off to sleep, she hoped that in four days when the Garden Festival was to be held, that some of her questions would be answered and that Selphie Tilmitt would be willing to see her.
The little blonde girl sat on the beach, her sapphire eyes watching as the waves rolled in and out on the tide. Behind her, the sounds of the other children playing reached her ears but she ignored them. She hated playing War with them. Every time they played War, someone always got hurt, mostly Zell. He would get hurt by either Seifer or Selphie and go crying to Matron. She hated it when Zell cried to Matron because then they would all get lectured about being nice to each other.
As if on cue, a loud wail filled the air. She cringed and silently thanked Hyne that she had decided not to play with them today. She listened as the wailing faded and she assumed that Zell had gone into the house to find Matron. A few moments later she heard someone running across the sand and was only mildly surprised to see Seifer plop down next to her.
"What did yoo do to Zell this time?" she asked casually.
"Nothin'," Seifer answered irritated, "we were playin' War and I killed him fair and square but he said he wasn't dead, only wounded, so I hit him."
"That doesn't sound like nothin' to me," she commented.
Seifer narrowed his green eyes at her. "Yoo callin' me a liar?"
"Maybe," she replied defiantly, "what're yoo gonna do? Hit me?"
"Nah," Seifer told her and relaxed, "yoo know I won't hit you."
"Only 'cause I can make yoo cry," she teased.
"Can not!" he defended.
"Can too!" she argued.
"Can not!"
"Can too!"
"Can not!"
"Can too!"
"Can n…"
"Seifer! Quistis!" Matrons' melodic voice broke into their argument. "Can the two of you come here please?"
She looked over at Seifer, whose eyes were wide and pleading. "If I get into twouble again, Matwyn's gonna make me do all the dishes for a week! Please Quisty, will you tell Matwyn that I was out here wif you?"
She stared into his pleading emerald eyes and heard herself answer. "Okay."
"Okay." The two blondes stood up and walked over to where the dark haired Matron was waiting for them. Zell was clinging to her leg, his face red and tearstained. He smiled smugly at Seifer as they stopped in front of them.
"Zell said that you hit him," Matron started, "is that true Seifer?"
"No." Seifer shook his head solemnly. "I was out on the beach wif Quisty the whole time."
Matron looked at the other children, the three brunettes. "Is that true?" They all looked at Seifer, who glared at them. Rather than face his ire later, the others nodded. Matron turned her gaze to the blonde girl. "Is that true Quistis?"
She swallowed hard. She didn't want to lie to Matron but she didn't want to betray Seifer. She looked straight at the older woman. "Yes Matwyn, it's twoo. Seifer has been wif me all morning."
Matron stared at her for a few more seconds, then nodded. "All right. You children need to be more careful when you are playing." With that, Matron turned and reentered the house. Zell, afraid of what Seifer might do to him for tattling again, hurried in after her. The other three children drifted off to their own games, leaving the two blondes standing alone.
"Thank yoo Quisty," Seifer mumbled and avoided her eyes.
"Yoo're welcome," she smiled. He looked up and smiled also.
"Yoo wanna build a sand castle?" Seifer asked sheepishly.
"Okay!" she agreed and the two hurried off towards the beach.
In the dark room in Winhill, Angelica shifted in her sleep and her brow furrowed in confusion and frustration.
She laughed and kissed him. "Come on, let's go back inside." She started towards the ballroom.
"Wait!"
She turned back, her pale orange gown fanning out around her as she did so. Seifer hadn't moved and he looked nervous. Her brow furrowed with confusion.
"Seifer?" She walked back over to him, "What's wrong?"
"I…I need to…ask you something," Seifer told her and refused to meet her eyes.
"What is it?" She was becoming worried by his actions.
"Quistis, I…" he paused as he tried to find the words, "You know that I love you, right?"
"Of course," she smiled.
"Well, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and…"
As he trailed off, she noticed he was playing with something in his pocket. She looked up at him and their eyes locked.
"Hyne, Quistis," he breathed, "I love you so much and I know I don't deserve you but I want you to be by my side forever and…well, I'm just gonna say it." He took a deep breath, "Quistis Angelica Trepe, will you marry me?"
Her mouth dropped open as she started at the man in front of her. She watched as his eyes changed from nervous, to scared, to sad and then to relieved in the space of a few seconds. She smiled and tears began to fall down her cheeks.
"Yes," she whispered.
A smile illuminated his own features and he hugged her tightly. He swung her around a few times before putting her back on her feet and kissing her deeply. He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside was a sparkling diamond set into a golden ring. Seifer carefully took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her slender finger. It was a perfect fit.
"I love you, Quisty," he whispered against her lips.
She looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. "I love you too, Seifer."
Angelica's eyes flew open and she sat up as the dream ended. She looked around wildly, trying to remember what the dream had contained. She knew the dream was important, that it held the key to her past, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember.
Frustrated at her own limitations and angry at her mind, Angelica began to weep into her hands, her thin body shivering violently. She was still crying thirty minutes later when Marta came in to wake her up for work.
"Angelica!" Marta exclaimed and ran to her side, "what's wrong sweetheart?"
Angelica took a shuddering breath and forced the tears to stop. "N…nothing Marta. I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."
"Are you sure?" Worry marred her elderly features.
"Positive," Angelica assured with a weak smile. "I was just a little upset but I'll be all right."
"Okay," Marta agreed reluctantly and left the room.
Once she was gone, Angelica go up and got ready for work, while the dream stayed in the back of her mind, unwilling to step forward and let itself be seen.