Chapter Five: Fault
It was like a dream. But…she was awake. She had no control over her body, her emotions, her voice…
She pressed a hand to the glass window, the same instant as an explosion of light lit up the sky. Sprays of red split evenly across the darkness and fell back onto the land, erupting in flames. It engulfed the many people, armed with machinery and firepower.
A few droplets of water trickled down the window, caused from the steam and she leaned her forehead against it. Their worthless bodies fell the ground. A sea of flames licked the edges of the cliff and the remaining life either jumped or let themselves be fed the ever-growing wave of heat.
All the while, she kept her hand pressed against the glass and her head tilted slightly. Her eyes moved up to the sky. Se focused on a star. It shown brightly against the rising smoke and to her, it was the only one in the sky. The only one game enough to show its beauty. A pair of warm, protective arms wrapped neatly around her waist. She smiled comfortably and turned her head.
" Look what we've done…"
Her hazel eyes opened quickly and she slowly became aware of the brightness of the room. In one swift motion she lifted herself out of the bed and slid down the side. The sheets slipped down around her as she sat down on the floor. Slowly her knees came up to her chest and she laid her head down on them. Her breathing came out quick and raspy. Never before had a dream ever seemed so real. A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, past her nose and onto her cheek. She brushed it away and looked up.
8:17
She sighed deeply and reached her hand up to the desk. She grabbed her mobile down and dialed in ten separate numbers. When she heard it ringing she brought it close to her ear.
" Hello?" The voice on the other end asked. She waited for a second then took a deep breath and began speaking. " Squall…I'm scared" On the other end she could almost see him frowning and sitting up in bed. " Rinoa just hang on a minute. I'll be there soon" She mumbled her yes and hung up. Placing the phone back on the desk, she resumed her position and closed her eyes
"Look what we've done"..~**~..
" Squall…it was so real. It was like I was actually there and it actually happened. How can you explain that?"
The couple sat on the large bed opposite each other. Rinoa was still in her pajamas and held onto Squall's hand tightly. " Can you…go through the details? Maybe we can make sense of it" She shook her head.
" There's no point. It was just some dumb nightmare and I'm getting all worked up about it because I can't take it seriously" She rubbed her temples and looked up. " I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you here. Its not that serious…just a nightmare" She repeated.
He sighed. Why are you being difficult? " I know you might think that way but…I want to help. I said before that I would" She smiled at this leaned over. She placed her arms around his shoulders and held on tightly. " I know Squall. But give me some time and I'll tell you everything" He hugged her back and closed his eyes. I hope you know what your doing Rinoa, because I don't
He placed a hand over her raven hair and spoke to her softly. " Rinoa…remember what you told me on the train?" He received a muffled reply, then continued. " Well, I think we really need to talk about it" He let her go and held her at arms length. " Whether you want to or not"
She scrunched her nose up sighed. He laughed lightly at this gesture and looked her in the eyes. " Well?"
She rolled her eyes, still smiling, and nodded. " I'm going to get dressed then go back down to the city hall and speak with caraway. I'm sure you need to give a report to Cid or something, so meet me out the front of the hotel at lunchtime ok? We'll talk then"
Satisfied with her answer he nodded and quickly kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room. She sat on the bed for a minute, eyes closed, then hopped off and walked to the bathroom. She turned the tap in the shower on and undressed. As soon as she was in the cold stream of water she was instantly relieved. All her troubles from the night washed off along the droplets of water.
She quietly began humming. A tune she had picked up from the radio on the way here in the limo. From within the apartment she heard a distant 'thump'. Stopping her song she leaned out of the shower and looked into the room. The lamp next to her bed had fallen over. She rolled her eyes for the second time that morning and resumed her shower.
I can't believe how paranoid I've become
She almost felt disgusted in herself…
..~**~..
" So anyway, the garden festival is coming up soon right Sephy?" The yellow clad SeeD grinned happily and almost squealed back. " Yep! And I'm organizing it, again! I can't wait!"
Zell entered the room. He waved to her as he passed by and sat down at a nearby chair. She waved back and pressed the mobile closer to her ear.
" Hey Sephy, when are guys all coming back?" She looked over at Zell and asked him the same thing, hoping maybe Squall had told him something. He shrugged simply and picked up a magazine. She sighed and turned her attention back to Irvine on the phone.
" Nope, sorry, I haven't been told anything yet. I'll have more info later on though. Squall said he was just going to contact Cid and give him a report. Then we're a having a quick meeting. I'll ask then ok?"
" Ok, but just make sure you ring me back…I know how forgetful you are" He laughed. She giggled lightly and looked over at Zell again. He was deep in thought, reading a sport magazine. " Ok Irvy see you soon ok?" She waited for his reply then hung up.
" Hey Zell, lets get going" He placed the magazine down (much to his dismay) and followed her out of the room. She paused in the corridor. " Hey Zell, there's general Caraway" The two SeeD's walked briskly over to the general. When he noticed them he smiled warmly waved.
" I'm waiting for Rinoa" He said to them, " We're going to have a quick chat before you leave to Balamb" They both nodded and Selphie swung her right leg up behind her held on with hand in a regular stretch. From that point on, they began a very progressive conversation.
..~**~..
Rinoa steadily made her way through the streets of Timber. She watched as people lined up at the newspaper stand, eager to hear about how Timber had finally become free. Some people had already got their copy and sat on the sidewalk reading. She bowed her head and smiled. This had been her dream…her goal.
The city hall was just up in front. But before she got there she stopped by the timber maniac's office. Once inside she placed her sun glassed atop her head and walked up to the receptionist.
" Hi, could you please tell Zone and Watts that Rinoa Heartily is here" The receptionists face lit up. " Your Rinoa Heartily? The girl that helped free Timber?" Rinoa flushed slightly and nodded.
" Thankyou so much Rinoa! You have no idea how much you've helped this town!" She held out her head. Rinoa accepted her handshake and placed her bag on the ground. Remembering her position, the lady walked off into the main corridor and into the office section.
After waiting a while. She returned with Zone behind her.
" Rinoa!" He yelled. She happily embraced him in a quick hug. " How have you been princess?" She giggled slightly and they both sat down on the couch. " Zone you seem so surprised to see me. It's only been a month since I've seen you" He nodded vigorously.
" Yeah but this is the first time we've spoken since Timber got freed!" She rolled her eyes and smiled. " Yeah I suppose" Same old Zone
" So I'm going out to Balamb tomorrow. I'm staying there with my friends, you know. Will you be able to get some free time?" He thought for a moment. " I might be able to princess. I'll give you a call if I can" She smiled thoughtfully and gave him one more hug before going back out into the street.
She leaned her shoulder against the doors and pushed. They opened up and aloud her to get inside the city hall, where she saw her father, waiting patiently.
" Hi…" She whispered. He turned around and smiled as he saw her. They both walked up to each other and waited.
Come on Caraway, you called this meeting. Now say something
" What did you want to talk about?" She asked. She was clearly angry he hadn't tried to start the conversation off. He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back.
" I wanted to congratulate you on you speech…I was listening and I thought that you did very well. I was…proud…to have you as my daughter"
In any other situation she would have simply thought he was trying to get on her good side. But she sighed and looked down. His words sounded genuine. Still, this was General Caraway, and she still didn't like him.
" What do you want?" She asked again. He sighed, obviously upset about something. Somewhere deep inside, she felt a pang of guilt. She rested her hand over her stomach to hide the feeling as he spoke. " Rinoa, I really am being truthful" She looked into his pleading eyes. She knew when someone was lying.
And he was definitely not lying…
" I'm sorry…" She whispered. This was her father. The one who was responsible for her. He may also be a heartless general and he may have ignored her for the past few years…but
He was still her father…
" I'm just not used to…us…you know?" He nodded. " I'm aware. And I know it might take a while but…I'm willing to wait. I want to know who you are Rinoa"
You're not the only one
" Yeah and I want to know who you are too. So lets just take this whole, 'father and daughter' thing slowly and maybe we can get something out of it" He nodded, satisfied with her response and turned on his heel. " I'll be seeing you later then…and in all honesty…I really am proud of you"
She watched him leave. He turned around before heading outside to give her a quick glance, then he was out of sight. She looked down at her stomach and frowned.
"Damnit…I hate feeling guilty…so stop it!" She felt silly, telling her emotions off, but still if nothing could help it…
I'm trying so hard. I want to give him a chance…but I cant just…as the saying goes, I can forgive but I can never forget. And for me, that's hard to do
" Hey…your Rinoa heartily right? The sorceress?"
She spun around to meet the stranger. She was surprised to see the man Squall had been talking to earlier. The one from the resistance. She nodded dumbly and quickly took her hand off her stomach.
The mans face twisted into an ugly expression of disgust. This gave her an even worse feeling. He wasn't a 'sorceress hater' was he?
" Do you know where my father and brother are?" Without waiting for her answer, he continued. " They're dead…and do you know why?"
What is he getting at?
" I don't know…" She replied. He laughed. An almost disbelieving laugh. How he could laugh in such a manner during a conversation of this type…she didn't know.
Maybe he escaped from a nuthouse…
" They were in Esthar…back when Adel ruled. Adel had my father improsined. And then, in called blood, she killed him!" He yelled. She was surprised, even though they were alone in the foyer, that no one else heard.
" What are you trying to say?" She almost yelled it…but kept her cool. This time he simply and stared at her. Definitely an escapee… " Are you going to answer me?"
" Then, in the second sorceress war, my brother was working in the space station. He was killed there too. When it exploded. When you caused it to explode.
Sad coincidence, nothing else
" How dare you accuse me of that!"
" Simple! You…are…a…sorceress! Every single one of your kind has caused nothing but pain! Dictators and rulers! You'll turn against us too!"
She'd had enough. She turned and ran. All the while, from behind her, the man continued to yell out his insults, his taunts and his accusations. She slammed on the double doors and threw herself out into the street. A few people turned to look at her and her eyes widened in terror.
Leave me alone…
" No…" She turned away from them and headed down the path. Bumping into people as she passed. She moved quickly, needing to get away. By now quite a lot of people were looking her way.
Just leave me alone!
She could read their thoughts. They all thought the same. They hated her, blamed her and accused her of all the wrong in the world. It was all her fault. She had done it all. She had killed thousands and destroyed millions. Either her…or her ancestors.
LEAVE ME ALONE!
She placed her hand over her ears and closed her eyes. Slowly she backed away from the noise and the crowds. She ran into an alleyway and stopped. It was blocked off. When she turned…they were gone. No one had followed her. Still, she felt crowded and leaned on a garbage bin. Her legs trembled and her breath came out as choke cries. Slowly she let herself fall. Her head hit on the ground hard and she cringed in pain. She gave up her struggle and fell unconscious.
Scribbles: Woo-hoo! I think I really like this chapter. Please please please review! I'm trying soooo hard on this fic. I hope you can tell. I really need some feedback! So please review.
~Karla