A/N: Thanks for telling me about the center tags Pierson, they shouldn't be there anymore. And to everyone who reviewed, thanks for the wonderful reviews!
Chapter Two
Beginning of the End
Rinoa blinked once.
Good morning to you too, Griever. She thought. She'd called it Griever since the day she noticed that name etched into the inner side of the ring.
She sat up and pushed stray locks of hair back, away from her face. Sunlight poured into her room, warming her skin as the satin comforter fell off her shoulders and away from her arms.
That dream, again...but I'm not crying...
She moved her legs over the side of the bed and stood, the comforter falling away. She walked over to the window and looked at out the wispy clouds scattered over the blue sky.
No...it wasn't the same one. It finished this time.
She vaguely noticed that she was still wearing crimson gown she'd worn to the meeting last night, along with the leather jacket. She quickly dismissed this from thought and frowned, thinking about the dream again.
And I wasn't alone this time...
She remembered the tear, and the hand that touched her cheek.
It was Him. I know it was.
She sat down at the nook, brought her feet up onto it, and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her left hand closed around the bangle on her right arm and she was reminded of it's presence. She frowned and forced her attention to the window.
There was a knock at the door.
She turned her head. "What?!"
"Sorceress, I have your breakfast--" a female voice replied.
"I won't be dining this morning." she interrupted, irritation in her tone. "Just go."
"Sorceress? Are you sure?" the voice behind the door came again.
"Yes I'm sure!" Rinoa retorted, standing from the nook. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't sure now leave me alone!"
The voice never replied.
Rinoa paced across the room and slid her closet door open. "The dream has to mean something..." she murmured to herself. "It shouldn't have finished...it shouldn't..." she paused, her gaze falling on the bangle around her arm.
Why couldn't she remove it?
Because you're a Sorceress, because it suppresses your power and therefore eliminates danger to others and yourself, because this is the only way you will be able to live safely outside the Sorceress Memorial...
The answers she'd been fed countless times by countless people flooded her mind the instant she questioned it's use.
"Yes, of course, I'm living safely," she whispered bitterly, rummaging through the closet, not even really concentrating on picking out something. "You're living safely too, aren't you?! In your nice little homes and your nice little families and--" her voice caught in her throat. She realized how upset she'd let herself become.
None of them know what it is not to know what you are, not know why your life is so different from everyone else's, or how you even came to be in the first place. Her vision blurred as she backed away from the closet and sat on the foot of the bed, her elbows propped on her thighs and her forehead falling into her hands.
Where is He now? Where is the hand that wipes my tears?
She raised her head, a tear sliding down her pale cheek. "Where are you now, huh? How can I find you?" she seemed to speak to the air. She stood and walked to the window, gripping the frame. "I'm crying, do you see the tear?! Where is your hand now?!"
The tear dropped from her chin as more joined in the journey down her face, now both her cheeks wet with streaks of salty tears. The habit of grabbing the rings around her neck once again took hold. Her lip trembled, and she exhaled deeply before sharply taking in more air.
How can I find you? So many questions...all I want is answers. I'll go anywhere, I'll do anything, I swear it. I'm...so tired of being lost. What do I do? How does this change?
She brought her hand to her face, wiping her finger across each cheek to brush away her tears. Once again the Odine bangle caught her attention. Determination gripped her like a vise. "Off you come." she spoke to it. "I don't care what they do, today you're off. Things are going to start changing, and you're the first."
She abandoned the window and paced across the room to the mahogany desk, pulling out the chair and sitting on the deep blue cushion. She held her right arm in front of her, twisting it so she could see all sides of the device.
She frowned in thought. Only one breach in the bangle, a slim crack straight down one side. She pushed the tips of her nails into the crack and pulled with all the strength in her left arm. It didn't budge.
She exhaled loudly with frustration and slammed her right forearm against the desk hard. She didn't feel a thing, but flinched at the loud cracking sound she'd made. Anyone in the halls outside her room definitely would have heard it. She looked over her shoulder at the door. If anyone did, they certainly would have come to her door by now.
She turned to face the desk once again. She brought up her arm and examined it more closely.
Is it locked from within...?
The word "locked" brought more worries into her mind.
Is it really locked onto my arm? Do I have to have a key?!
She frowned. "You're coming off, even if I have to saw half my arm off." she murmured, pulling open the desk drawer. She thrust left hand into it, shoving things around inside. "You will come off...here we are." she withdrew a paper clip.
She bent and twisted it using both hands until it was the closest it would ever be to straight. With her left hand she gripped it, and positioned her right arm with the breach in the bangle facing upwards. She stuck the end of the bent paperclip into the crack as far as it would go. She felt it poke her arm.
So it does go all the way through...
She ran the end of the paperclip down the crack, the tip of it grazing over her arm until mid-way down the crack it wouldn't slide any further. She raised the paperclip slightly, then jammed the end down into whatever it was holding the crack shut. To her amazement, the bangle immediately popped open with a 'crack' and she was looking down at the skin of her right arm.
Her vision blurred. She stood and pushed back with her heels, stumbling around the chair as it toppled over. The world twisted and turned around her and she lost her balance, falling onto the ground, her back hitting the edge of the bed. She placed her palms against the plush carpet and tried to push herself up more against the bed, but she found herself too weak. She gave up the battle and looked around, her eyes obeying none of her commands. Her eyelids slid down, blocking half her vision.
What...what is this...?
The blood seemed to tingle in her veins. Her breaths were deep and fast, her chest rising and falling as she tried to suck in all the air she could. She curled and uncurled her fingers, slowly bending and straightening her legs, her feet sliding across the carpet.
Her heart raced, her eyes now completely closed. Her fingers and legs became slow and sluggish until at last lay idle. She was vaguely aware of the cold sweat in her palms. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, rhythmic and soft, yet strong.
Only moments had passed since she'd cracked open Odine's bangle, but when her eyelids parted, it felt as if she were waking from the most restful sleep of her life. Her breaths were still deep, but now slowed to a steady pace.
A lock of hair fell across her face as she pushed herself up so her back was straighter against the bed. She brushed the hair away with her hand.
Was that...?!
She grabbed a fistful of the ends of her hair and held it in front of her eyes. She almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.
White...my hair is white?!
She stood. Her legs felt unusually strong, forceful. At her full height, confidence and power surged through her system. She glanced around the room. Everything seemed different, yet it was the exact same room it had always been.
She walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes widened as she gazed at the woman in the mirror.
My reflection?! It can't be...
Silvery-white hair framed pale skin, with a faint ribbon of purple streaking down from her hairline through each cheek, at the inside of each eye, and from there a slash up to each temple. Her lips had changed from their former flesh-pink shade to the color of blood. Her eyelids had taken on a dark shade, painted in smoky way that was much like makeup--but more surprisingly her eyes had changed, too. What used to be a warm almond iris was now a startlingly bright yellow.
She simply stared, her gaze wandering from one feature to the other.
This...is me?
She frowned.
This is who I am, then?
Someone knocked at the door. She was so caught up in her own thoughts the sound startled her. The thought finally crossed her mind--how was she going to manage like this without them knowing? She couldn't.
The rap on the door sounded again.
"I can't come to the door now, what do you want?!" she yelled. The muffled reply that came was inaudible from the bathroom. She stepped out into the living room and nearer to the door. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you, what was that?"
"Sorceress Rinoa, Headmaster Whitchurch would like to inform you that we will be stopping in Fisherman's Horizon shortly. He would also like to extend a personal invitation to you to dine with himself, a few other Garden officials, and the Mayor and Mayor's wife tonight."
Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Oh please, he doesn't want my company. He's afraid I'll get my panties in a twist and decide to try and use my big bad powers if he doesn't extend an invitation to me." Rinoa snapped.
Powers that I'm not even positive exist, yet everyone seems to fear.
"E-Excuse me...?" the man replied unsurely.
Rinoa realized she'd let her mouth run a little too freely. She sighed. "Tell him I'll come to his little dinner party. When will my escort arrive?"
"We will be stepping off Garden at seven o'clock tonight, Sorceress." he answered.
"Thank you." she replied.
"You're welcome. And good morning to you Sorceress." he said.
"Right, of course. Now get way from my door." she said with a roll of her eyes.
She walked back over to the desk and bent to pick up the Odine bangle. A thought crossed her mind--what if she were to put it back on? Why this drastic change in appearance? Yes--the purpose of the bangle was to somehow prevent usage of Sorceress powers--but how exactly did it work?
Why did I change so much?
She placed it on top of the desk and shut the drawer she'd pulled the paperclip out of earlier.
Now what? Look at me...I might as well be a different person. Where do I go from here?
She walked over to the window and crawled up onto the nook seat.
I'll have to leave Garden. There's no reason for staying, anyhow. What is here for me? A bedroom. Food. Countless nights of the Headmaster's meetings and dinner parties with various country officials and ambassadors and who knows who else. People asking for my input regarding Garden to make me feel important. Everyone watching every Hyne-damned second...
"Not anymore..." she murmured.
The answers are out there, I know it. All I have to do is find them. Only, where do I go first? What is the best place to start? And what of those who cross my path--Hyne knows there will be many--what of them? Death? I don't want to. Still, I can't let anything stop me...
She remembered the books she'd read about Esthar. She remembered the way it's technology amazed her last she'd been there--for some kind of meeting, no doubt.
Esthar, City of the Future they sometimes say. The largest and most advanced city in the world, plethora of information, of scientists who know magic use better than the soldiers that use it. There must be something there for me, some kind of information of some use. I will find my answers--I will find Him--if it means the end of me.
Her decision had been made, and her willpower would stand against all odds imaginable.