Chapter 4
Dad, General or Uncle?
If you find a path with no obstacles,
it probably doesn't lead anywhere.
-Anonymous-
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The little alarm clock greeted Rinoa with an ear piercing ring as it announced the beginning of a new day. It rightfully earned itself a careless knock-over before it fell to the carpet of Rinoa's small bedroom. Normally she would've awarded the clock with a pat on the head to stop it from causing her eardrums any damage, and then she would do her daily routine, brush her teeth, do her hair, apply soft make-up, get changed, eat a small breakfast and off to work she goes. But not today. Not when she only had two hours of sleep.
The missing object plagued her mind throughout the whole night. She wished she could just forget about it and allow herself a break, but she couldn't. Forgetting about it only meant she was giving up, losing hope, and so for that reason, she unconsciously forced herself to remember, forced herself to think about it even if it meant great discomfort.
During the night, Rinoa had tossed and turned but nothing seemed to bring her any comfort. It was only until when dawn was approaching did Rinoa drift off into an uneasy sleep.
Rinoa groaned loudly in annoyance as the constant ringing of the door bell would not come to an end. Therefore giving in to the fact that she wasn't allowed to sleep in, she groggily got out of her bed and hastily threw on something to cover her silk nightgown. Mumbling incoherent words, she walked past the kitchen to the door with her arms folded across her chest, a futile attempt of blocking out the chilliness of an early spring morning.
Upon reaching her destination, she tiredly opened the door to find herself facing a tall young man with a buttoned up t-shirt tucked neatly in his shorts. He had a cap on with small words that Rinoa was able to make out as 'Esthar's Postal Express.' He wore an enthusiastic smile on his face once he saw Rinoa.
"Good morning ma'am! There's a package here for Rinoa Heartilly!" he greeted happily.
Rinoa stood there stunned. How the hell could someone be so cheery at this hour? "It's 7.30 in the morning." She hissed, even though she hadn't meant to.
The delivery guy laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Uh, yeah I know. Sorry about that! But can you believe it, there was no one on this list with their last names ending any letter before 'H', so you were on the top of the list," he pointed to his cap, "And this is Esthar's best express postal!" He had resumed back to his cheerfulness.
Rinoa sighed. This guy was only doing his job; there were no reasons to hold a grudge against him for interrupting her sleep even if it was 7.30 am.
"I'm Rinoa Heartilly; do I have to sign anything?" Rinoa said, as she politely grabbed the thin box.
"Um yes, just here thanks!" he pointed on the sheet attached on the clipboard.
Placing the pen on the clipboard, Rinoa handed it back to the delivery guy and smiled kindly at him before biding him goodbye and closing the door. In a way, Rinoa kind of admired the cheerfulness he had. Not a care or worry in the world, just doing his job. And plus, his first reaction wasn't running away at the sight, because let's face it; Rinoa was not a pretty sight when she just woke up and in addition to it, when she was annoyed. Rinoa softly giggled to herself wondering just how bad she looked at the moment.
She casually threw the light box down on one of her sofas as she made her way into the bathroom. She had come to the decision of calling in sick today even though the aftermath of the car crash felt simply like a bad night's rest.
'Amy wouldn't mind!'
Once again, Rinoa giggled to herself as she thought of how she looked at the moment without her teeth brushed, face washed and hair combed.
Unknown to herself, that simple delivery young man had helped her temporarily ease the plague.
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Squall stared blankly at the table, not a word of what Laguna was saying registered in his mind. It was probably just the same old usual status report on Esthar. How the people were doing. How the improvements in the hospitals were going. What tunes the birds were singing today. Hyne did he find these one on one weekly meetings unproductive.
He glanced up at him to see if he had finished his useless babbling, but was disappointed to see that Laguna was still intently staring at the piece of white paper in front of him. So the only thing left for Squall to do was resuming back to counting the lines on the wooden table.
"There have been dramatic changes in the hospitals. More equipment has been added and I'm planning to extend the Esthar Hospital. What do you think about that?" Laguna looked up from the white piece of paper only to find Squall sitting in his expensive working outfit of a black suit, a navy blue shirt and tie staring at his table.
"Squall?"
The brunette looked up to the sound of his name and found Laguna looking at him like he was expecting an answer or something along those lines. As much as he found it unimportant, Squall didn't want Laguna to feel as though what he was saying was complete rubbish. So the only word he figured was most appropriate for this situation was, "Whatever."
"Great! Well then that's settled, I guess we can call it quits for today." Laguna announced, not quite speaking the way he would in the monthly meetings with representatives from elsewhere.
"Not quite yet sir."
Immediately Laguna waved his hand in the air, "Laguna will do." He corrected. He understood that Squall was still having difficulties with the terms 'dad' and 'father', so at the time being, 'Laguna' will have to do.
Ignoring the interruption, Squall cut straight to the point as he was beginning to get into his business form. "There has been suspicion of Odine lingering on the outskirts of Esthar. As I only found out about this yesterday, I was unable to do any follow ups yet."
"Suspicion, Squall, it may only be rumors."
"Sir, this should not be taken lightly. Even so, we have nothing to confirm that he is not back. We must take action; he is not a friendly man. He is dangerous." There was silence as Laguna was mentally contemplating everything Squall was saying. "Also, it's been said that he is back with a purpose. We cannot take the risk." Squall concluded firmly.
Laguna sighed; everything Squall said was right. He himself had heard of rumors dealing with Odine. He knew Odine was definitely someone not to be taken lightly. He knew everything. But where was the evidence? "Have you got anything to support this then?"
Squall looked the other direction, hating to admit defeat. "No."
All this information was from Seifer, but he believed Seifer. He was one to bullshit a lot, but he was not one to lie. He had his connections through ways that Squall chose to remain oblivious about.
"Okay." Laguna said softly, and then in a firm voice continued, "I advise you to follow up on this. And if you do find something supportive, then I can assure you, action will be taken. Until then, there is nothing we can do about it as it is completely out of our hands." Laguna had not meant it, but sometimes, Squall caused him to take business mode as well. "Meeting adjourned."
Slightly agitated, Squall got up from his chair and began making his way out of Laguna's office.
"Squall," Laguna had resumed back to his fatherly tone. The tall brunette paused, but did not bother to turn his full body around, just his head.
"The yearly ball is on next week. I um… Are you going?" Laguna held his breath.
There was a pause. "I'll have to check my schedule. I'll get Margaret to inform you once it's confirmed." And with that, Squall left the room.
Squall knew it was a stupid excuse. There was no way in hell that he would be busy on that night seeing that presidents and representatives were attending this ball from Deling, Timber, you name it. So in other words, everyone was going to this ball, everyone who mattered so to speak. For Hyne's sake, even Seifer was invited, and that's saying a lot.
Till this very day, Squall still found difficulty at understanding how in Hyne's name Seifer had become commander of Balamb Garden. What kind of dimwitted, brainless idiot would elect someone who was so proud, cocky, a complete smart arse and someone who knew how to fight and use the gunblade just like Squall Leonhart? Well that was easy, everyone did.
However, if it weren't for Squall's departure one year before both were qualified and old enough to become a Commander, Squall would've easily gotten the position instead.
The brunette continued walking down the halls of the 'working area' of the palace, chuckling to himself when he remembered the look of shock, disgust and fright all mixed together to form on Seifer's facial expression when he heard of the news. The look on his face was absolutely priceless and Squall regretted that he wasn't holding a camera with him at that moment. As much as Seifer hated the job, Squall had to admit, he still did pretty good with it despite the continuous firing and flirting.
As Squall kept walking, he noticed the people who worked for him rummaging around making the place look as chaotic as hell. Phones were ringing off the hook, fingers were typing madly on keyboards, workers were yelling out words that were basically drowned out by all the miscellaneous noises around them and papers were scattered messily on tables. But Squall was used to it. This was after all his department. He heard many voices formerly greeting him as he walked through the sliding doors but was immediately muted when the sliding closed behind him.
Upon seeing his arrival, his secretary instantly stood up to greet him. "Morning Mr. Leonhart!" she cheerfully chirped. The blonde haired woman was about in her mid thirties and had been working as Squall's secretary for over four years, breaking all records considering that Squall's previous secretaries didn't even last for four months. She, unlike the others, knew how to adjust to Squall's moods.
"Morning Margaret." Squall muttered.
She smiled, "Have a nice chat with President Loire huh? Anyway, a representative form Deling City called in not so long ago. He left a message saying-,"
Before she could finish, Squall waved his hand up and interrupted her, "Was it important?"
Margaret paused for a little while before smiling understandingly, "No."
The tall brunette nodded as he proceeded to walk past his opened double doors, making his way into his large office. He sat down on his chair awaiting another long boring day of work.
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"Coming!" Rinoa called out as she hastily walked to the door.
'Not one of those survey people please.'
To her delight, she opened the door to a familiar face instead of one of those annoying persistent surveyors.
"Quistis! Come in. How'd you know I was at home?" Rinoa moved out of the door way, allowing her visitor space to walk inside.
"I called Amy, she said you called in sick so I assumed that you were most likely bullshitting therefore I decided to come over. I prove my point." Quistis finished, smiling as she lifted an eyebrow.
"Okay okay, so I lied, but don't forget, I just left the hospital yesterday. Give an innocent girl a break alright?"
Quistis giggled, shaking her head, "Innocent, right, good one Rin." She said, sitting herself down on one of the light yellow couches.
"Whatever, want something to drink?" Rinoa asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Actually no. Hey Rin, what's this?" Quistis asked as she lifted up the light thin box.
Rinoa turned around from the kitchen to look at what her blonde friend was talking about. "I don't know; open it for me will ya?" Rinoa asked as she continued making herself a cup of coffee.
Quistis simply shrugged and did what Rinoa asked her to do. She delicately ripped off the tape and opened the lid of the box. However, once she caught a glimpse of a letter addressed to Rinoa placed on top of something that was wrapped up in tissue paper, she quickly closed it.
"Um, maybe you should open it yourself."
Rinoa turned around, looking slightly confused but she did not bother to ask why Quistis had stopped. She walked over to the lounge, coffee in her right hand as she placed it gently on the coffee table. Quistis handed her the thin box silently as if it were something highly confidential.
The raven haired girl lifted the lid off and immediately understood why Quistis had stopped. That writing, it was too familiar to her, so familiar that even Quistis knew who wrote it.
'Rinoa.'
She reluctantly picked up the white envelope, slowly opening it.
'Rinoa,
The yearly ball is next week. I hope you can make it.
General Caraway.'
Rinoa looked at the letter and laughed softly yet bitterly. "General Caraway. He can't even bear to say that he's my father."
Trying to lighten Rinoa's mood, Quistis quickly averted her attention to the gift. "Rin, open this, I wonder what it is." Helpful, yes, but lame, because judging by its shape and weight, it was obviously a dress.
A dress. Yes, but that was only half of the description. To be specific, it was a beautiful black dress. A 'V' neck in the front, a low back and diagonally cut from just above the right knee to the left ankle. It was so beautiful that it earned a little 'wow' from Quistis. But it did not faze Rinoa, sure she saw the beauty of it, but it was almost like it did not enter her mind that this was her dress if she chose to attend the ball. She couldn't even smile, the note hurt too much.
'General Caraway.'
And instantly, all the painful memories returned.
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The maid softly knocked on the door of Squall's study room causing echoes along the hall ways.
"Come in."
Once hearing his approval, the maid opened the door, taking only a few steps inside the room. "Sir, dinner is ready." She said nicely and respectfully.
Squall nodded, "I'll be down there soon." And with that, the maid left Squall to his doings.
He finished off signing a few more confidential files before he carelessly piled them to the side of his table. He leaned back into his chair and stretched softly as he had signed non stop for an hour. His stomach made noises indicating that it was in need of food; therefore he obliged by making his way downstairs to the dining area.
To his annoyance, the phone's shrill rings interrupted his journey to the dinner table when he was just a few more meters away from it. Rolling his eyes slightly, he stopped in his tracks before turning around to grab the phone situated on a marble table near the entrance of the palace.
"Hello?" he mumbled, showing obvious signs that he was completely uninterested.
"Yo Squall, it's Zell!"
'Look who decides to call. The perverted asshole.' Squall joked silently to himself as he allowed a slow smirk to spread on his face.
"Um, is Ell, I mean Ellone there?"
Squall couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Why do you want her for?" he wanted to laugh, but he was able to keep his voice dead and serious.
"I um… I wanted to ask her if ah, if I could borrow her, ah, her… Why do you care?!"
Squall simply wanted to drop the phone and laugh like crazy, but this game was way too fun.
"I don't." His voice dead and serious.
"Good then. So where's Ellone?"
"You still haven't told me why you want to speak to her."
"But you just said you didn't care!" The blonde spiky haired man exclaimed on the other line.
"Quite right, but not caring doesn't mean not wanting to know." Squall's voice still monotonous.
"What!"
Squall's smirk was so wide now that it was almost like a smile. Almost.
"Squall, is Ell even home?"
"No."
-Click-
Squall mentally tapped himself on the back as he succeeded in pissing Zell off.
"Who was it Squall?" Ellone asked once the brunette entered the dining room and sat himself on the opposite end of the long table.
"Just Zell."
Her eyes widened immediately but hid it as quickly as it came.
"Um, who was he looking for?"
"You."
"And you…?"
"And I told him you weren't home and hung up."
"WHAT! Why?"
He merely shrugged. Instantly Ellone rose from the table protesting to Squall and at the same time, leaving the table. Her 'brother' merely sat there, picking up his utensils and began stabbing at his food. "Ugh, I know you can hear me. Dad, I'm finished with dinner, I'm going to make a phone call now."
In a span of two seconds, Squall retorted, "Correction Ell, that's Uncle to you." And with that said, he resumed back to eating his dinner, hiding his small hint of amusement.
"Hyne!" Ellone exclaimed in frustration before she hastily ran upstairs.
Laguna, who was totally oblivious to the scene in front of him, placed his newspaper down only to have a look of cluelessness overpower his facial features.
"Where's Ellone?"
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An: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Worry not to all the readers waiting for Squall and Rinoa to meet. I can assure you they will meet very soon. For the time being just bear with me okay? I always felt sorry for Zell for being left out, so in this story I've paired him up with Ellone! :) Anyway, thank-you so much for the reviews along with the compliments, they help big time. So go and review now and give me your opinions! Thanks, bye!
[SkyeLight]
lil_ole_meh@hotmail.com