Her Own World
Chapter 13: Morning
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight"
- Unknown
Disclaimer: I got Squaresoft/SquareEnix for Christmas but it didn't fit so I had to take it back for a refund.
"I've tried everything you asked. I left the photo…I followed her around…I tried to lead her away from the alleyway and I showed her the future. She doesn't want to listen. She doesn't care!" He knelt down in front of her.
"No…don't give up please. Just don't give up. They must be a way to alter it. We just need to focus a little more. I'm sure it will happen. It must"
..~**~..
As soon as he entered the apartment, the smell of Pine Clean eucalyptus disinfectant enveloped him to the point of nearly fainting. Rinoa jumped into his sight, dressed in a light white sun dress and wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey Rinoa"
"I decided to do some cleaning since we're leaving here soon anyway" She said, although muffled through his shirt.
"But…I thought we were staying here at least another week!" With this he pulled away and tipped her head up to face him. She frowned and shrugged him off. He playfully grabbed her arm and pushed her back over to him. "Well?"
"I know that…but I don't want to stay in here and Laguna did say Ellone was away. So let's have a holiday. Like you promised. We can speak with Ellone when we get back"
"Rinoa I know. But we need to speak with her now. You said it yourself"
"That was before I knew what was wrong. I figured that I must be going through a sort of sorceress metamorphosis. I'm changing a little that's all" She smiled reassuring and looked him in the eyes. "Please don't worry about me; it'll just make it worse"
Yes Rinoa, You are changing. In ways I don't seem to like
"Okay. We'll have our holiday. Why do I always seem to give into you?" He sighed.
"Because I am the sorceress and you will abide by me and do as I wish me faithful knight!" She laughed, twirling her finger around at his nose. She kissed him quickly on the mouth and disappeared into the bathroom. "Get packing!" She called. "We're going to the island closest to heaven!"
"Rinoa. Not long ago you were almost down to tears, telling me about horrifying dreams and premonitions, someone talking to you after you fainted in a hotel…you went crazy and hit your head in Timber…we can't just ignore this and blame on your condition" Rinoa stepped out of the bathroom.
"Condition? Is that what this is?"
"No…no, I mean you being a sorceress"
"You called it a condition. Listen Squall; there is nothing wrong with me. Stop worrying and…just have fun okay. We'll be out of here soon"
What's wrong with you?!
"Whatever you say" He sat down on the bed and eyed his suitcase down on the ground. It was packed and the clothes he had on were the only things missing from it. Looking back at Rinoa, busily tidying up in the bathroom and checking off last-minute things, he smiled. "What do you mean by get packing? It's all packed for me"
"Yes I had time to spare so I started on it. Besides I knew you would say yes to us leaving" She smiled cheekily and threw her suitcase on the bed beside him. She jumped onto it eagerly and looked him in the eyes for the second time. He leaned over to her wrapped his arms around her waist, shifting her onto his lap.
"Squall…why can't we be normal? You know. Going out to the park on weekends and eating freshly cut salads with our friends while laughing at the pathetic antics of our teenage kids"
"One, because we're not normal…we're unique, and two…we don't have kids, and finally three, because that scenario is far off considering that our kids would already be teenagers!" She hit him playfully on the chest and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "One day…one day I'll give you that dream. I promise"
He could feel her heartbeat, her breathing and was fully aware of her fingers running through his hair. She began to hum quietly and his eyelids became heavy. Her hand reached over to her suitcase and grabbed a small bottle. With this bottle she raised it over Squall's head and popped open its lid.
It was a few seconds after that, when he felt a cold liquid ooze into his hair and down his forehead. A liquid that smelt a lot like shampoo…
"Arrg! Rinoa I knew it!" She quickly sat off the bed and recoiled herself back in laughter as the SeeD commander wiped blobs of shampoo of his head. "I knew you should not have been trusted!" He laughed. Catching a nice portion in his hand, he threw it at her, only to miss and hit the wall. This was a bad course of action because she had the entire bottle and emptied its contents onto him.
The antics of the two children continued on for at least another few minutes. Throughout this time they emptied three bottles of shampoo, two bottles of conditioner and a can soft drink…
..~**~..
"Yeah so Squall was like, "Maybe we can sort something out" and I was like, "Of course we can! That would be greeeaat!" So like, you don't think I went too overboard did you Kiros? I mean…it's not like we argued or anything. He didn't yell at all! That's a definite improvement right? Right Kiros?"
"Of course it Laguna, but might I ask, where exactly are these two people in question?"
"Don't be silly Kiros they're right in…here"
But true to his word, Kiros was right. The small apartment meant for two was completely empty and silent. Both men stepped in and studied their surroundings. They checked each room, calling for both Rinoa and Squall but made it back to the main room empty handed. Laguna shrugged.
"Maybe they went out for coffee"
"A good suggestion Laguna but there is a fault. Squall doesn't drink coffee and all of their gear is gone. Also the entire place is clean, suggesting they tidied up before they left"
"But…why would they leave?"
"Because they're going on holidays"
"Whoa! That was a quick assumption. How'd you figure that one out? Did they leave some sort of clue like a toothbrush on the ground or a flower in a vase… or something unique as to suggest holiday activity!" Laguna's eyes sparkled as he rubbed his hands together in enthusiasm.
"No. They left a note here on the dresser. I just read it when we came in. It says they've gone on holidays and to say hello to Ellone"
"Oh right. Good one"
"Thankyou. Now I presume we need to get back to the office?"
"Huhm? Oh right! The office of course!" He chuckled, walking out with Kiros following behind. "I worry about you sometimes Laguna"
"Thanks! I worry about you too!" Laguna smiled at his friend and ran down the corridor with his arms spread like the wings of a plane. "Brrrruuuummm! Come on Kiros!"
"Oh boy…"
..~**~..
"Windell!"
The dark silhouetted figure crept along the ships deck silently.
"Windell!" It whispered fiercely, avoiding the green light that shone down from above the wall next to him. The woman in question snapped her head to side and saw the shadowy figure. She ran up to him and grabbed his arm, bringing it over her shoulder, and drew her knee high into his gut. He recoiled and fell down clutching his mid section. As she bent down to whip him another blow, his face came into the light.
"Oh god Michael!" She stood up and clasped both her hands over her mouth to hide her shock. "M-Michael!" She repeated.
"Yeah…ack…it's me…phew"
"I'm so sorry. I really didn't know it was you!"
"Yeah" He laughed. "You always do like a good reason to bash some poor guy up. Aye Windell?"
"Well if anyone's asking…what are you doing out here anyway?"
"Well you know… I just wanted to chat and catch up. I mean it has been three hours since we last spoke. How's the family?"
"What information do you want" She grinned.
"Well now that I have the chance to ask… Vaun"
She shook her head and started off toward the bow. He followed on her heels. "I'm sorry. I still haven't got much on him. It's a little hard too, now that he's president and all"
"Just tell me what you do have"
"But…I'm not supposed to and all…"
"Come on Windell. Please?"
She leaned her head back and groaned. "Alright. Word's out that he has Caraway working for him now"
"Ha! What would he want that old dodger for?"
"I don't know. Besides, he was pretty good during that sorceress war. Maybe he built himself a good rep. Who knows? And like I said, it's just the word. I have yet to know whether it's true or not" She watched as Michael rolled his eyes and shook his head distastefully.
She leaned against the railing. "What do you think is going to happen?" She asked quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. The ocean breeze brushed over both of them and whisked their hair around.
"Uhm. What do you mean? What's gonna happen with what?"
"With Vaun. Stupid. I mean, with all these rumors flying around about the new age war, and history's greatest dictator. I'm worried. Galbadia was in ruins after Vinzer brought it down. Now his god damned son is going to finish the job"
"Yeah all we need now is a good sorceress war to clear things up a bit" He joked.
"Don't say that!" She punched him in the arm and frowned. "That's not going to happened and I hope to god nothing like that ever starts. I hate wars. They're wrong. The third sorceress war is a myth and a stupid excuse for tabloids to make more money. So don't you start making up more rumors to make me feel uneasy"
"Whoa, if you hate war so much then why did you join the army?"
"To stop them!" She whacked him the back of the head. "Anyway the Caraway thing is all I know about Vaun right now. But again I'm not sure if it's true"
"Pshh, of course it's true"
"Oh yeah, why are you so sure?"
"Call it a gut feeling"
"Well, call it what you like, but I'm still skeptical. Now get back to work you slack off. Before I tell the officer on duty and have him beat you! Ha!"
"Oooh nasty!" he poked his tongue out at the younger cadet and walked back along the ships deck. "I'll be hearing from you again young lady!" He called back, still rubbing his gut.
Windell watched him leave then turned her gaze to the ocean. It looked completely black in the night's atmosphere. The moonlight gave each ripple a silver lining. Unclipping her hair, she leaned over the edge and let the salty air wash over her. The green glow behind her set her mood, aggravated and fiddly.
Caraway won't let Vaun play with him but…I wonder if he's going to use him to get to the sorceress. Maybe Caraway is just his asset for war. His intentions are never pure. If he gets to the sorceress and…whoa, slow down girl. Since when did your thoughts get like this? Your letting that damn Michael get to your head too much. Nosey little vermin
Although thousands of miles of ocean separated her from her home, she never felt closer then any time before.
..~**~..
-Two Days Later-
"Why am I here?"
"Because we're going to relax, get sunburnt, have countless waves dump us and learn to unwind and buy a book on cooking coconuts in over one hundred ways" Rinoa answered.
"No I still don't get it. Why did I let you talk me into coming here? It's so…paradise like. Almost as if I'm reading a passage from Utopia" He smiled.
"It's okay young one. This is called a h-o-l-i-d-a-y. Just hold my hand now, and I'll lead you onto the beach…come on. It's okay" She cooed, and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the surf. He laughed and pulled back.
"But the last time I was at a beach, I nearly drowned!"
"That's because Seifer made you go out to fetch a dead sea-horse and Matron saved you just in time. Please Squall; this is no time to re live child hood memories. Now come on!"
He finally gave up the struggle and walked with her toward the edge of the water. Once close enough he sighed and relaxed his muscles. The sea air was comforting and having seagulls, not Bit Bugs, fly over him was…relaxing. The thought that back a year ago, he would never be seen dead here kept him reasonably calm. Rinoa held his hand beside him and shielded her eyes from the sun with the other. They stood in silence watching the waves together for quite some time. Just such a simple activity completely blew their minds away. Rinoa looked up at the man next to her and nudged him in the side.
"Ready to go for a swim?"
"Oh no…you got me this far. I'm going no further"
"Fine stay here" She let go of his hand and faced her back to the water. "Make sure I stay between the flags okay?" She giggled and began stepping back, taking her top off, revealing her blue bikini top underneath, and threw her sarong down next to him. "I wouldn't want to suddenly get caught in a rip or something…" She started walking back faster and sat back into the water.
Squall's eyes widened as he saw a wave coming up behind her. He was about to shout out, but she flicked herself around and swum underneath the swirl of water. When she resurfaced, she started laughing at him and waving her arms around. Soft white foam brushed his feet as the wave dispersed.
"Come on! We can body surf and dump each other. It'll be fun, I promise"
He gave in, shaking his head and walked into the water with her. She took his hand and they both ran into the choppy waters.
"I can't believe I'm doing this" Squall laughed. Still taken back by his actions. Rinoa pointed to the horizon and faced him. "If you get dumped, stand up and look for that line. If you can't see it, swim sideward. That's what my mum always used to tell me"
"Okay thanks" They both jumped as a minor wave tumbled in. Together, slowly, they walked further and further out into the surf until their feet could no longer touch the bottom. From then on, they let the water carry them back in and out. With each new wave, they dove into its swirling cylinder of power and resurfaced, exhilarated and tired. Having never done such a thing in their lives before, they stayed out in the water until the sun began to set.
A/N : Right. So maybe I was wrong. It doesn't all start yet. But patience is a virtue. Right?
Chichiri's-girl : Aww, thankyou. I'm glad it was getting good. I especially made sure this chapter wasn't short for you. Each few minutes I checked the word count to make sure I did over 2 and half thousand words. :D
Kupo: If you want some Monkeys, you might be able to get some on Ebay pretty cheap. But I hear they were all out of stock. Thanks for the review; I can always count you to say more than five words in a review. Thanks!
The Angel of the Lion: Thankyou for reviewing again. Hey, are you going to update Breaking Away? That's a great story.
Ethereal Moon: Thanks for reviewing the chapters separately, it means a lot. :D Your reviews were very nice and encouraging.
I updated quickly because I'm trying to get this story finished before the end of term one at school. Man, that's going to be tough.