Author's Note: Yes, I know you all hate me for leaving it where I did last time, but, what can I say? I like cliffhangers. I repeat, I REALLY like cliffhangers. *hint, hint*
And, I'm going to apologize in advance if Amaya seems to not act her age all of the time. It's been awhile since my nieces and nephews were that age, so...I'm kinda guessing at what kids can do and say at that age.
And, the chapter may be a little short, don't know yet. I know where I want the chapter to end, but I don't know how much will be in between the beginning and the end of it.
Note to Axa: That would be a cute name for her daughter. But, I picked Amaya because of what it means in Japanese, which Yuffie will explain in either this chapter of the next.
Note to HamstaMasta: You had a theory about Squall's disappearance? What was it? I'd be interested in it. Please?
Note to Dry Tears: Evil flying hamsters of DOOM?! 0_o
[Disclaimer: The only people I own are Amaya and Pierce and any other random character I may create in this story. No matter how much I want to, I will probably never own Squall.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Six
"It's now or never, Yuf," Aerith whispered as she carefully pulled the plastic away from the white gown and handed it to Yuffie. Nodding, the young bride wordlessly took the dress and stepped into it, allowing her pink-clad friend to zip the back up.
As she adjusted the skirt, Yuffie looked at her reflection in the mirror, remembering a time when she had dreamed about this day. Only, the dream was different then. The dream had Squall, not the tall Italian Pierce Maradei, the man of almost every woman's dream in Traverse Town. The phrase 'tall, dark, and handsome' fit Pierce perfectly...so perfectly, that sometimes Yuffie wondered why he had chosen to marry her when he could have any woman in town.
Behind her, Aerith was playing with Amaya, who was still sitting on the floor with all her toys spread out around her. "Amaya, sweetie, can you help mommy pick up your toys?" Yuffie asked her daughter gently, staring into the blue eyes that reminded her so much of someone else.
"Yuf, don't worry about it. Cloud and I will take care of it after you and Pierce leave for your honeymoon tonight," Aerith said softly while rising from the floor where she had sat to play with her 'niece.'
Taking a deep breath, Yuffie rubbed her forehead. "About the honeymoon, Aerith. I'm going to try and talk Pierce out of it. I don't feel comfortable being without Amaya that long. What if something happens to her? I can't deal--"
"Yuffie, you know Cloud and I will take care of her. Besides, it's only going to be two weeks. You're going to go, Yuf. You haven't been anywhere to enjoy yourself in over two years." The older woman placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "I promise you that nothing will happen to Amaya."
"Nothing's for certain," the dark haired woman said bitterly, remembering a time when she herself believed nothing could happen to her perfect happiness.
Hugging her, Aerith tried to comfort her friend. "If you're going to do this, please do it happily. For Amaya. Don't let her see you live an unhappy life."
"You're right." Yuffie forced a smile onto her face and turned back to the mirror to finish dressing while Aerith kept the young child occupied. An insistent rapping on the door grabbed the bride's attention as she went to open it, revealing her groom.
Seeing who was at the door, Aerith jumped up and tried to close it. "Pierce! You know it's bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony," she reprimanded as he stubbornly walked into the Green Room.
"Can I help it if I wanted to see my blushing bride?" the tall Italian practically purred as he pushed past Aerith to see Yuffie. Tilting the ninja's head up with one finger under her chin, he leaned over and kissed her. Yuffie simply stood there and let herself be kissed, not responding to his passion. "There, I'll go now and let you attend to matters," Pierce murmured as he released his hold on Yuffie and left the room.
Aerith shivered slightly as she thought to herself, finally deciding to divulge these thoughts to Yuffie. "I don't like him. There's something about him. His voice is too oily," she whispered in a conspiring manner.
"Aerith, I'm going to marry him. He can provide a life for Amaya that I can't. I have to marry him, for her sake." Yuffie tiredly rubbed her eyes with her hand, having had this conversation many times before with her friends.
"Yuffie, you know that Cloud and I will help you. Don't marry him if you don't love him. It would be worse for Amaya to see you live your life in a loveless marriage than to do without a few things." Aerith took a deep breath, preparing herself for her the next words out of her mouth. "Do you think Squall would want you to do this?"
Gulping for air, Yuffie turned to the flower girl. "Squall? How can you ask if he would want me to do this? He's the one who left me!" She stubbornly pushed back the tears, vowing she would not shed anymore over him. "He didn't give a flying rat's ass about what happened to me after he left!"
Amaya looked up at her mother when she heard the anger in her voice. "Mommy? You mad?"
"No, baby. Mommy's not mad. I'm just a little sad because..." she trailed off as she quickly tried to think up a lie. "Because I won't see my little angel for awhile. But, you'll be happy staying with Aunty Aerith and Uncle Cloud while Mommy's gone, won't you?"
Nodding, Amaya smiled brightly. "Love Aunty Aerith's house. It bigger than ours, Mommy," she replied, gesturing around the Green Room where she had spent most of her young life. "And Unkie Cloud gots funny hair."
Aerith and Yuffie laughed at the astute child's assessment. "Well, honey, that's what happens when you stick forks in electrical sockets for fun."
"Hey, I was fifteen and I did it on a dare! And how are you remembering? You were only seven at the time?!" a very upset Cloud called from the door he had opened just in time to hear the comments on his hair.
Ignoring the blonde, Amaya toddled over to her mother and gently tugged on her dress. "Mommy, what's a flyin' ratz azz?"
Yuffie massaged her temples and silently cursed her tongue and Cid for teaching her this language. "Nothing, Amaya. Just something Mommy shouldn't have said."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the docking bay of Traverse Town, a very dirty and beat up Gummi Ship landed along the rows of what could only be assumed to be Gummi's as they were all covered with what appeared to be dust covered tarps. Once the ship was safely on the ground, a disheveled man with long russet hair jumped out and looked around him in confusion. "What the hell?" he muttered as he roughly pushed the hair out of his face, revealing a long thin scar.
Upon closer inspection, the mysterious stranger found that the ships were indeed under tarps with dust, cobwebs, and dirt covering them. The man carefully lifted the corner of a tarp the hid a familiar ship, causing a flurry fluttering of moths and other insects to scurry away. Scratching his head, the man pondered the situation. "How the hell did all this dust get here in just a month?"
Shaking his head in confusion, he walked out of the docking bay with only one thought on his mind. He had to find the woman he loved. A month was far too long to be away from her, and had proved itself to him. He had found first hand that the saying 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' was more than just a myth for separated lovers. In his case, the statement rang true.
Finally reaching the doors to the town, the man roughly pushed them open and gasped in shock at what he saw. The once empty area was full of throngs of people idly standing around and chatting. The words 'wedding' and 'Maradei' assaulted the stranger's ears as he meandered through the crowd, still with the same one thought on his mind: finding his love. "Must be a party or something going on," he mumbled as he tried to explain away the crowds.
Glancing up from the ground, he recognized the Accessory Shop and decided to check there first on the off chance she was there. He ran to the door, grunting as he tried to push it open, only to find it was locked. "Strange...Cid never locks his shop during the day." Turning away, a small sign in the lower left hand corner of the window caught his eye. "Closed for wedding."
"Okay, that's definitely not like Cid." The man left the lock shop and hurried around the building and up the stairs to the Second District. Something's not right, he thought to himself. I can feel it in the air. More crowds of people filled the area, causing him to worry about his sanity. Where the hell did all these people come from? Traverse Town wasn't this busy when I left a month ago.
He increased his already fast gait, weaving his way through the multitude of townspeople. Hearing the name 'Kisaragi,' his heart seemed to stop momentarily and his ears perked up, only to have his hopes shattered when the name was no longer mentioned. Only the name 'Maradei' could be heard murmuring through the crowd, especially the female portion of the crowd.
"Maradei? Why does that name seem so familiar?" he asked himself under his breath as he rushed past the people. A sudden memory of his first date with his beloved threaded its way into his mind. Mentally slapping himself, he realized why the name 'Maradei' was familiar. He had taken his lover to a little Italian restaurant called 'Maradei's.' Of course, at the time, she wasn't his lover...that came later, but how could he forget the details of the night when their lips met for the first time.
Briefly touching his lips, he remembered the feel of hers against his. Even though it had been a month since he had kissed hers, he could still remember the feel of her soft mouth beneath his, the feel of her small hands tangled in his hair. The way her petite body melded into his. God, how he missed her this past month.
He stopped when he saw the large double doors to the Second District in front of him. They appeared different, more ornate. At the top of the door, a large banner proclaimed the specials 'Maradei's' offered in honor of the oldest son's marriage. So, that's what's going on. They must have flown extra people in for the wedding, he mused, not recollecting how unused the Gummi ships appeared in the docking bay.
Pushing open the doors, he ran to the hotel, knowing she had to be in the room they had shared. He stopped when he noticed the sign above the entrance. 'The Gas Light Inn.' The man furrowed his brows in confusion. 'The Gas Light Inn?' What happened to the hotel? Did they rename it? Shaking his head, he began to pull open the door, but stopped when he read the small sign beneath the hotel's name. 'Proprietors Cloud and Aerith Strife.'
"What the hell?" he uttered for what seemed like the hundredth time since he landed. "How did they save up enough money to buy this place in a month?" Pushing the thought away, he reached again for the doorknob, finding it was locked as well. He turned away and looked across the crowds of people around 'Maradei's,' deciding he might as well check there since he couldn't get into the hotel.
As he crossed the expanse to the restaurant, he noticed a large placard standing in front of it. He squinted his eyes as he read it aloud. "Maradei's is proud to announce the wedding of it's oldest son, Pierce, to Yuffie Kisaragi at eleven o'clock on this date of January 25, 2004." He stopped reading the rest as what he had just said hit him.
"Wedding of Pierce to Yuffie Kisaragi?! January 25, 2004?!" His hands ran through his long russet hair in desperation as he tried to pull the facts together. "It can't be 2004! I was only gone one damn month! And what is Yuffie doing getting married?! To Pierce Maradei?! She's only seventeen, dammit! She can't marry him!"
Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was already after eleven, causing even more panic to set in. He took off towards the church, his only intention in stopping the wedding of his beloved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yuffie, it's time," Aerith murmured as she lead her out of the same small room at the back of the church she had been in when waiting for her life with Cloud to begin.
The young bride silently nodded and gave her friend a reassuring smile. "I just wish you could have been my Matron of Honor, Aerith."
The lady in pink shook her head. "It's better this way, Yuf. You know that Amaya doesn't behave for anyone else."
"Are you insinuating that my little precious angel could possibly misbehave?" the young mother asked laughingly, knowing full well the escapades her daughter managed to pull off despite her young age. It was amazing, really. The girl was so much like her mother in her pranks, yet so much like her father in everything else. Yuffie vigorously shook her head, not wanting to dwell upon the thought of Squall any longer. Today was going to be the first day of the rest of her life in trying to forget him.
Aerith briefly touched her shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" her dulcet voice quietly asked.
Mustering all her false bravado, Yuffie put on the brightest smile she could manage under the conditions. "Of course. Nothing daunts a ninja, remember?"
"Okay, if you're sure." Aerith took Yuffie's nod as a yes. "Well, I'm going to join Cloud and Amaya up front then." She gave her friend another tight hug. "Just...do what makes you happy, okay?" she whispered before leaving her alone in the back with the man who would give her away, as he had done the bride before her, one Cid Highwind.
"You ready?" he asked gruffly as he offered her his arm and spit the toothpick out of his mouth.
Taking a steadying breath, Yuffie took the offered arm. "As ready as I'll get, old man," she replied, knowing the type of reaction she would receive.
"Dammit, Yuffie! I'm not an old man!" he exclaimed in exasperation.
The young woman beside him covered her mouth in faked shock. "Cid Highwind! Cursing in a church?! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
Before he could retort to her accusation, the music started, signaling their cue to start down the aisle. As Yuffie didn't have any other close girl friends besides Aerith, she had opted to not have a bridesmaid, much to the Maradei's disappointment. They were hoping their youngest daughter could have the honored place as a bridesmaid, but she and Yuffie had never gotten along, always causing fights between themselves. It would be a miracle if she and Yuffie would be able to put their differences aside now that they would be family.
While Yuffie pondered this, she hardly realized that she and Cid were walking closer and closer to the altar where Pierce stood waiting. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying as she remembered the wedding she had participated in only three short years ago. Oh, how she envied Aerith at this moment, knowing that Aerith was able to marry her one true love. But, Yuffie also scoffed at the idea of true love. How can there be such a thing as true love when the one she had loved with all her heart had abandoned her?
She was jerked out of her reverie when Cid passed her arm to Pierce after the Priest asked who would give her away. Realizing she was going through these actions mechanically, she tried to force all other thoughts away and concentrate on what she was doing. This is for the best, she kept telling herself. Amaya will live a better life with Pierce as a father than without one.
Facing Pierce, she didn't see the church doors burst open in the back. But, she could hear the loud gasps coming from the crowd as a man came running down the aisle. Furrowing her brows, she glanced over to where Amaya was sitting with Cloud and Aerith, who had covered her mouth in shock. Her complexion paled and her green eyes widened before they looked from the man racing down the aisle to Yuffie.
Confused at her friend's reaction, Yuffie took a closer look at the stranger who interrupted her wedding. Recognition hit her when she saw the long russet hair and the thin scar. Her knees began to give way and she felt her whole body begin to tremble.
"Squall?" she murmured before she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note: I told you at the top how much I love Cliffhangers. hehe...don't kill me. I'll get the next chapter started tomorrow because I really like the next chapter. So, anyways, tell me what you think. By the way, I haven't proofread this chapter because I'm anxious to get it posted. And, I was wrong about it being one of the shorter chapters. It's actually one of the longer ones. ^_^