Disclaimer: All characters from Final Fantasy VIII belong to Squaresoft. No profit is being made from their use.
Author's Note: Sometimes, I have a strange way of thinking up stories. Sometimes, a song will catch my attention, and I'll get little… flashes, I guess you could call them, of something that would make an interesting story. It's kinda like my inspiration comes in the form of a music video. Well, 'Against the Odds' came to me one night while lying in bed, and they played Evanescence's 'Bring Me To Life' on the radio, and for some reason, this story is what popped in my head. Most of the scenes in this chapter came into being that night, and the next morning, at work, I came up with the basic plot. And that's the backstory to this fic – and the explanation of why this chapter is named after the song.
By the way, don't expect any more updates to come quickly; I'm in the process of moving, and I've been too busy packing to get much work done on any of my stories. We're all suffering, here.
AGAINST THE ODDS
Chapter Three
Bring Me To Life
"Keep your eyes closed," a gentle voice warned Squall. He obeyed as he felt the last of the bandages pulled away from his face but, despite the precaution, the light that shone through his eyelids nearly blinded him after a week spent in darkness. He gasped at the unexpected pain, but it was a relief, as well. The medics had been concerned Squall had lost his vision completely, despite the Potion.
Despite her. The light of hope in the darkness where he'd found himself.
"All right, now open your eyes." Squall again obeyed, then shut his eyes with a groan. "What's wrong?" the medic asked, concerned.
"My vision…" Squall couldn't quite explain.
"Open your left eye and tell me what you see."
Squall cracked one eye. "My vision's clear." Then, anticipating the woman's next command, he shut his left eye and opened his right. "But out of this eye, it's all black and grey, like shadows." Squall explored the side of his face, feeling the scar tissue that almost obscured the one he'd received from Seifer a lifetime ago.
"Does it affect your vision badly?" the medic asked. At Squall's nod, she said, "You'll have to wear an eye patch then, or spend the rest of your life with one eye closed." Her tone was faintly teasing, and Squall spared an amused thought at the strain that would cause him. He was unfazed by the prospect of wearing an eye patch; he'd spent a week fearing he'd lose his vision entirely and, while his depth perception was shot, one eye was better than none. "What about the rest of my wounds?" His shoulder was still bound and his right arm was in a sling to keep it stable.
"Still healing. You were lucky; you only caught the edge of the grenade's blast. You've got some second degree burns on your shoulder, and you'll end up with some scarring, but it should heal well enough, thanks to the Potion."
Potion… so they are using our name for it. Squall suppressed the surge of hope at the thought. To know it by that name, they'd have to had learned it from someone from his homeland. But that didn't mean it was Rinoa… Ships were lost at sea all the time, and a survivor could have found their way here.
"You won't be able to go on duty for several weeks yet," the medic was saying. "But you should be well enough to attend the queen's presentation in two days." At this, the medic sounded irritated. "It's mandatory to attend, and I've had to rush some patients care so they'd be well enough to go."
"Presentation?" Squall repeated. He'd shut both eyes to ease the strain, but they snapped open again at the medic's announcement. "Of the queen?"
"Yes," the medic said, nodding vigorously. "Too few people have seen her, yet she's supposed to have done wonders for the King's army. His majesty the king is taking her around to all the cities his army has liberated. We're going to be the first to see her!"
Squall shut his eyes again in thought. He'd get to see the queen… actually see her. What if it was Rinoa? What would he do if it was? She was married to another man, and she was a queen! Here, she wouldn't be feared for being a sorceress. Here, she could be loved for who she was, and for what her caring nature could do for the people.
But, it would be enough to know she was alive. Or so he tried to tell himself.
Squall's face showed no outward sign of his hopes and fears. "I'll have an eye patch for you by tomorrow, I expect. But for now, Private, I want you to lay back down and get some rest. You won't be able to manage too much more for awhile."
He hated being confined to a bed, but his body had taken quite a beating, and hadn't received the healing that it truly needed. He had no choice but to listen to the woman and lay back on the small cot provided for him. She sounds far too much like Dr. Kadowaki, he thought with a wave of homesickness. It was comforting to know doctors were the same the world over. Squall listened for a moment to the sound of the medic moving on to the patient on the other side of the divider to Squall's left, then sighed and tried to settle as comfortably as his wounded form allowed.
In two days time, he'd know if the queen was who he hoped she was, feared she was. He wasn't sure if finding out Rinoa was alive and well would make him feel better – or shatter his world into pieces.
* * *
Rinoa watched in the mirror as the torture commenced. The women hired by Andor were good at their job, Rinoa had to admit, but sitting through hours of being made up like a doll was agony… especially when one was suffering from morning sickness. She fought the nausea as one of the women clipped back her dark hair to reveal the thin white scar along her hairline that extended back to her ear.
Andor hated that scar, and insisted she cover it in public. To Rinoa, however, it was a blessing: the head wound was the only reason Andor believed her lies about her memory being partially lost. She sighed, ignoring the disapproving look from the second woman doing her face makeup as the movement contorted her face and ruined the woman's laborious application. The woman muttered under her breath, exasperated words one would never say in the presence of a true queen.
"Really, my Queen," the woman finally snapped as Rinoa fidgeted under her touch. "If you would keep still, this would go faster."
My Queen… Despite the woman's use of the honorific, Rinoa could hear the scorn in her voice. Some queen I make. I'm to be shown off in a few hours like a prize pig. Rinoa hid the scowl that threatened, knowing it would only make her maids angrier. And the last time she'd upset them, they'd been less careful of her feelings, pinning her hair back far too tightly, and nearly jabbing her in the eye with the eyeliner. It occurred to Rinoa that these women would make very effective assassins… Death by cotton swabs… What a way to go! The thought made Rinoa smile, until the maids frowned again.
Under their careful ministrations, her face was transformed, hiding the pallor from her nausea and covering the scar. Her hair was swept into a configuration Rinoa wouldn't have suspected was physically possible, and then the maids pulled away in satisfaction.
Now for the dress… Rinoa allowed herself to be led from the bathroom back to her bedroom, where an elegant dress in shades of gold and bronze that reminded her of autumn leaves lay on the bed. Rinoa eyed it critically for a moment, then relaxed. Nothing too tight, nor too revealing. Her figure was only slightly altered by her unborn child, but the last time she'd tried to squeeze into a tight gown, she'd vomited. All over one of the maids. Rinoa suppressed a grin at the memory of the scandalized look on the woman's face. Andor had actually laughed at the incident, and since then, all her clothing had been comfortable, though still stylish.
She didn't put up a fuss as the maids stripped her of her robe and then carefully dressed her, though the feel of their hands on her body still made her uncomfortable. She hated not being allowed to dress herself. But it was what Andor insisted on, and Rinoa wanted to minimize confrontation with him as much as possible.
"Your Majesty, the king insists that you remove this necklace," one of her maids said, her hands going to Rinoa's throat. "He has selected a beautiful piece for you to wear."
For the first time, Rinoa reacted. "No!" she said sharply, her hand going to the thin silver chain that held the two rings that meant so much to her. "I won't take it off."
"Please," the woman pleaded, as the other held up a velvet case containing a truly magnificent necklace of rubies worked into a gold design. "This one is far more suited-"
Rinoa didn't think; her hand lashed out, catching the first woman across the cheek. The maid backed away, stunned, and her companion set the box on the nightstand and went to the other's side. "I… I'm sorry…" Rinoa stuttered, surprised at her own reaction. "This is very dear to me," she explained, struggling to justify her actions. The two women kept silent, their gazes downcast, and they moved away from her to tidy up the already spotless room.
Finally, one looked up and, without meeting Rinoa's eyes, muttered, "It's time for you to go, my Queen."
Still feeling ashamed of her actions, Rinoa left her maids to meet Andor at the foot of the stairs.
* * *
He could walk unaided, but he had to take it slowly, so as not to jostle his healing shoulder. Squall walked stiffly, following the other patients who had been deemed well enough to attend the presentation the king was putting on.
Using only one eye was taking some getting used to. The bandages he was still using until he was fully healed felt uncomfortable on his face and, while he didn't need to strain himself by keeping the eye shut, the change in depth perception left him feeling dizzy. This would take some getting used to. If only it was enough to get me out of this stupid war! But it would only be a matter of weeks before he was off invading some other innocent town, moving in on another governor's territory in King Kielan's attempt to turn the rule of this continent into a monarchy under his power. SeeD had been formed to fight against such actions! It frustrated him that a man with less power than a sorceress could succeed where Ultimecia could not.
Squall kept his face expressionless as the group was guided towards what had served as a theater for the town's entertainment. It was small, but the presentation wasn't meant for the king's entire army scattered across the continent, only those who had 'victoriously' conquered this town. Squall thought he was going to be ill. But he followed unprotestingly, taking a seat in the second row with the other wounded.
It seemed to take forever for the assorted soldiers to arrive. Men and women of all ranks and ages took their seats in an orderly fashion, and waited with the silence attentiveness only the military-trained seemed to manage. Garden suddenly seemed like an undisciplined mob of teenagers; Squall couldn't remember any big meetings without Selphie's cheerfulness or Zell's rambunctiousness. Squall winced inwardly at the thought – Zell wouldn't complain about his empty stomach during a strategy meeting ever again.
At last there was a stir on the stage, and Squall dragged himself out of the stupor he'd lapsed in to. The king and queen must have arrived in their helicopter, if the sudden increase of guards around the stage was any indication. After another ten minutes, King Andor Kielan himself stepped onto the stage.
Squall shut out the speech, knowing it was only another spiel designed to boost morale. He had to admit, though, that the king was a charismatic speaker; his words were greeted with enthusiastic hollering from the soldiers around him.
But Squall had heard such speeches before; had even tried to give them himself. He paid no attention to the king. His attention was for the still-absent queen alone. She can't be Rinoa, Squall tried to convince himself, to still his jittering nerves. She's just a woman of this world. She's nothing to me. Nothing.
* * *
Rinoa listened to Andor from her place behind the curtains, marveling at the transformation that overcame him when he was in public. Why, oh why, couldn't the man she married be the same as the man speaking out to his army right now?
Nervously, she wiped an imaginary speck of dust from a fold of her dress, and the armed guards standing around her frowned at the distracting movement. She was in the midst of an enemy town that had been subdued, not annihilated. Assassins could lurk around every corner, and the guards seemed to think the only way she would stay alive was to be completely still.
As if she'd be safer on the stage… She wished she'd never agreed to Andor's proposal, never entered this world of politics and conquest. Sorceresses seemed a much milder foe in comparison.
"And now," Andor said on the stage, holding his arm in her direction, "I'd like you to meet the reason so many of you are alive today, my wife, who has shared with our medics the secrets of the marvelous Potions that have healed so many of your wounds. I have kept her hidden away for so long to keep her safe from my enemies, but with every conquest, you make this world safer for my queen… and our unborn heir. Without further delay, I would like to at last present to you... Her Majesty, the Queen Rinoa Kielan."
* * *
Squall had half fallen asleep as the king continued on. A detached part of him was listening, and he couldn't help but think the king's speeches were more like those of a president than of a man born to royalty. Though Laguna could never speak this eloquently, even with the best speech writers in Esthar to help him out. He supposed it was an apt comparison; until Kielan had come to power, the rulers of each country had been elected presidents. And that, he supposed, was why he called himself King Kielan, referring to himself by his last name like a president would, rather than King Andor, as the kings of the past would have done.
Then Squall was startled out of his musings when the king began to speak of his wife. And then he said her name… And then she came on stage…
His whole body began to tremble. It's not her… My vision is messed up, I'm not seeing her correctly… It can't be Rinoa! He saw long black hair, highlighted with brown streaks, swept back. It's an uncommon coloration, but not one-of-a-kind! he scolded himself as emotions he'd thought dead began to stir within him. He saw brown eyes, wide and dark, set in a beautifully sculpted face. She's gorgeous! She looks more mature… more regal… Can it… can it really be my Rinoa? Did he dare believe it? No! It was just a coincidence! There must be many women who look like her!
Then she spoke in a musical, lilting voice edged with a hint of sadness. The voice that had sung as she healed him after the battle. The voice that had promised to love him, when everyone else was too wary to get close to him. It is her! Without knowing quite what he was doing, Squall leapt to his feet and, giving voice to emotions he'd thought long lost, screamed, "Rinoa!"
* * *
Rinoa didn't dare react when she walked to her husband's side and he placed one arm protectively over her shoulder. She saw him glance her way, saw his face darken when he saw she still wore her necklace. His lips tightened almost imperceptibly, and Rinoa's body tensed. She knew that look… But he wouldn't dare hit her here, not in front of his army. She wasn't looking forward to the trip back to his palace, however.
Hiding her fear of his wrath, Rinoa stepped forward as rehearsed, and launched into the speech she'd memorized earlier, congratulating the army on their great victory (over a small, nearly defenseless town) and telling them all how pleased she was with them (a lie; she was sickened) but she didn't let her feelings show in her voice. For once, her father's high station in Galbadia and her responsibility to be a proper daughter was paying off.
She was certain nobody in the office sensed that how much she hated herself for all of this. Not one of them knew how much she wished she were dead. If only one of them was an assassin and would end this now…
When someone screamed her name, she thought for one terrified/exalted moment that her prayers had been answered. Rinoa watched in astonishment as one of the injured soldiers in the second row, standing unsteadily on his feet, pushed his way to the aisle and came towards her.
For an instant, no one reacted. Even her bodyguards, still concealed behind the curtains, seemed to be reacting in slow motion as the invalid came towards her, his hands uplifted as if to touch her. Her breath caught in her throat as the man came closer, and she suddenly realized she didn't want to die after all. She began to back away…
* * *
She was running from him! Of course she would; with his bandaged face, she probably didn't even recognize him. She probably thought he was dead. But he wasn't; he felt more alive now than he had since the crash. She was here, she was alive! "Rinoa! Wait!" he cried desperately. Calling upon a reserve of strength he didn't know he had, he leapt onto the stage, not even noticing the uniformed men heading towards him with weapons raised. "It's me!"
Rinoa slowed, turning her wide brown eyes towards him. Their gazes met, and the world seemed to fade away until it was just the two of them. "S-Squall?" Rinoa whispered.
He was so close to her… He could almost reach out to touch her… Suddenly, a heavy bulk slammed into him as one of the bodyguards tried to knock him down, but Squall managed to keep his feet, and he continued to reach out to Rinoa. His hand brushed her face… "Save me," he thought he heard her say softly, but he couldn't be sure.
A second bodyguard grabbed his injured shoulder, and Squall cried out in pain. He was pulled back, and his left hand was jerked down, snagging in the chain of Rinoa's necklace. It broke free from her neck at the pressure and dangled from the fingertips. "No!" he heard her cry as the bodyguard grappling with him finally succeeded in knocking him to the floor, and his head hit with a crack that sent him spinning into blackness.
* * *
"Are you all right?" Andor asked, sounding concerned for the first time since she'd known him. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Rinoa blinked, blearily looking around, wondering where she was. She didn't remember leaving the stage, didn't remember anything except for that one brief instant when her world had come alive again, when Squall had been there, right before her! He'd come so close…
"What happened?" Rinoa asked.
"You were attacked," Andor said, misunderstanding the question. She'd wanted to know what had happened to Squall… "We're looking in to who's responsible. Don't worry… I won't risk you at any more presentations," the king said, sounding genuinely distressed. Of course; it was his heir at stake, after all…
"But what about S – the man?" Rinoa asked as the fog slowly lifted from her mind.
"Him? Don't worry." Andor chuckled, an evil sound that made Rinoa shudder. "You'll never see him again. He'll be executed by dawn."
To Be Continued…
