Chapter 9: The Beginning
Should I tell him about the dreams?
Rinoa jumped up from the curb and looked into the sunshine. It burned her glossy pupils and made them water. Frowning she held her hand up. Yes…he needs to know everything Squall looked across the street and at both ends of the road. He nodded in satisfaction and they crossed over. Oh but what if he overreacts…No wait…He's Squall Leonheart. He'll think it through rationally and come up with a way of combating it. Yeah. That sounds like the Squall I know
They reached the jetty. Squall sat by the edge and looked down at the water below his dangling feet. Rinoa stood beside him, looking out on the horizon.
" So…" He began, " We came here to talk. I noticed you've been acting a little…strangely lately. Not meaning to sound rude or anything…" She smiled fondly and let him continue. " Like in the training center before…you remember?" The memory came back and she inwardly grimaced, but sent him an encouraging smile. " Well…I think that may have had something to do with your sorcery. You are new to it all and everything. On that note, has anything happened that you're not telling me about?"
She bit her lip. Now or never " Yes…I have been keeping a few things from you" She lowered herself down and looked into the depths of the ocean. Her eyes filled with sadness and she steadily avoided his gaze. " Your probably right about it being my sorcery, you know?" She waited for a moment before continuing. " Because I've been having these strange dreams. You were in one of them…well maybe in both but I don't know. The first was…horrible to say the least and the next one was…well it just felt as if it was a premonition more than anything else. Because it felt so nice. I felt like I was free and being alone with you like that was something I had dreamed about for so long…" She realized she was talking to herself more than anything.
Remembering Squall, she turned to face him. "Sorry… I think I got caught up" He shook his head. " No, no…continue" Taking that as a good sign she regained her recent composure and continued on.
" Well…I suppose I should describe them. The first was a war. I was a witness and somehow I felt responsible too. I was happy to see people die… and sad too. I think you were there with me" She gazed at him with pleading eyes. " Please don't think of me as crazy…just listen ok?"
" I am, don't worry" He said, reassuring.
She didn't want to go into detail of the first dream much…so she moved on." The second dream I was in a…hotel room. I was lying asleep in bed next to you and I tried to wake you up. You said something funny and I got up and walked to the window. Someone knocked on the door and…that was it. Nothing drastic"
At the hotel in Timber…
Her eyes lit up as she remembered. " Oh…and when we were staying at the hotel in Timber…I fainted" Her voice carried this message as if it were just any topic. His eyes turned worried. " You fainted? Why?"
She shrugged. " I don't know. But the more interesting part…was what I saw when I was unconscious. I had a vision. I was back at Ultimecia's Castle…"
Squall's face registered shock as he turned to face her again. She held her hand up to him and shook her head. " Just let me finish…" She said.
" That's not all. Someone was talking to me. I think it was someone I know. He was male. But I just couldn't place it. He asked me about Ultimecia and something about her time blending with mine…that's all he told me before I woke up again and you came in"
Squall sighed and hung his head in hands, clearly frustrated. " Rin, this is serious. You should have told me straight away! What if she's trying to posses you again!" Rinoa became taken back by his sudden anger. " Squall…I'm sorry…I was just scared" His face softened and he lifted his head again. Oops… He mentally hit himself. " Rin…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been angry. Listen, just keep this our secret until we get back to Garden, then we can contact Laguna…okay?"
She nodded thankfully and wrapped her arms around him. " Thanks" A thought came to his head and grinned. " And what was that about you saying I said something funny? It probably wasn't me then you know…" She rolled her eyes and returned the grin. " Quiet you"
..~**~..
When they returned to the Dincht's place. Selphie was bouncing around the room happily and Zell was busily talking with Ma.
" Did we miss something?" Squall asked.
Noticing them for the first time, Selphie ran over to him. " We contacted Cid, and he said there is no client and this isn't a mission. He just wants us to take a holiday!" She said extremely fast with a squeal. " So I'm going to take Irvy to Trabia, Zell is staying here with Ma…"
Zell looked over. " And you and Rinoa can have some quality time together" He said with a wink. That sounds like something Irvine would say… Squall rolled his eyes and turned to Rinoa. " Hey, since we're officially on vacation now, do you want to go Esthar and see Laguna and Elle directly?"
She nodded and added happily, " Yeah then lets go to a beach resort or something!" He smiled back. " Sure" Squall looked over at the others. " When are we expected back at Garden?" Selphie grinned even wider. " We have a month!"
" A whole month?"
" Yep!"
Squall sighed but smiled too. A month seemed a little bit too long…but what the heck. He needed a holiday. And some 'quality time' with Rinoa. He looked over to where their bags were. " We'll take the ragnarok and head straight over to Esthar" He told them, " If you need to contact us, just radio or mobile" They all nodded.
" Rin, have a look around town and get anything you need ok?" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as a reply and walked briskly out the door. Shopping was the key to a woman's heart it seemed. " Selphie, when are you guys leaving?"
Zell answered. " Tomorrow. We're going to stay here for the night"
" Okay"
..~**~..
"Do you remember this?" Rinoa asked. Squall looked over to where she was seated. Rinoa was leaning on the driver's seat, her finger pressed lightly on the non-gravity switch. He rolled his eyes and didn't answer. He didn't need to. She took this as a yes…and switched it. Almost immediately the atmosphere around them turned hazy. Her eyes ached and for the slightest second a lump came up in her throat. She swallowed it down and smiled. Her feet had become slightly unwanting to touch the ground.
Squall's mouth moved up a hair at the corner when he remembered. How could he forget? He was about to reply with one of his rare sarcastic remarks when something caught his eyes…
With a hint of curiosity, she held onto the seat and lifted her feet up…they stayed up. Hovering just above the ground. She giggled happily and let go of the seat. " Hey Squall! Look!" She floated down to the ground, just inches away from it, and stretched out in a laying position. " I could fall asleep like this…"
Squall had motioned to look over for a slight second. But never turned his eyes away from the crumpled piece of paper in his hands. He had found it lying on the ground, clear as day, for him to pick up. He suddenly felt nauseous as the picture registered in his mind.
It was a photo. A very old photo. And it wasn't the fact of how old it looked…but what was in the photo. A pang of shock spread through his body as he realized who it was…
..~**~..
" Quisty…I'm bored"
"Irvine Kinneas please refrain from telling me how bored you are again, I plan on staying sane for the next hour"
" But I am bored. I should be out doing stuff! Like, you know, hunting down some young chocobo's and picking em' off! Then when the mother chocobo comes I let her chase me down for a while and then I turn around at the last minute and…BAM!…Just imagine a lot of yellow feathers slowly drifting down…" He jumped up at his last scene and chuckled mildly.
" Sure…I'll get it for you at Christmas…" Quistis absentmindedly mumbled. Irvine cocked his head to the side in confusion yet said nothing. Giving up, Quistis sat up in frustration and headed for the headmasters office, muttering something along the lines of, "This is so…I cant believe that I…I knew I should have…" Irvine sighed over dramatically and sat back down, continuing his fantasies of chocobo's. While he dreamed, a smile spread across his face.
Inside the office, Quistis had lowered her expression to a mere mask of nothing. She looked Cid directly in the eye. " Sir…are you going to be assigning Irvine and I a mission…or do you not need us anymore?" She had tried desperately to rid her voice of any hint of annoyance…but failed. Cid sighed sadly and sat down.
" Oh…Quistis, sorry. Yes you and Irvine can go now. Squall, Selphie, Zell and Rinoa will most likely not be returning to Garden anytime soon…although I think Selphie may…but you are both dismissed for the remaining month"
"Uh…pardon sir?"
" You are all officially on vacation. It is up to you what you wish to spend your time with, now, dismissed"
She numbly walked out of the office and back into the reception. Irvine was asleep on the couch. She sat down next to him and grinned.
Holiday!
Scribbles: That's right! Holiday! School is over for two weeks! Yipee! Please please fulfill my holiday wish and review!