'Par Un Sourire (By One Smile)

Bonjour Tristesse' (Hello Sadness)

La Vie Immédiate. P Éluad.

Final Fantasy Eight

BY ONE SMILE

JetNoir

CHAPTER ONE

"Being first isn't always the most important thing in life;

It's where you end up that matters most."

Mum.

I was working by the sea again.

I always love it at this time of year, the rolling and crashing of the sea against the soft grains of the beach. I had always thought of myself as lucky, living in such a beautiful yet partially isolated location. It was some way from Winhill. Close enough to get there in a short amount of time, yet far enough away for solitude.

Except from her.

My love. My hate. My muse.

The sun has just risen, and is casting a soft yellow light over the soft yellow sand, and warm blue sea.

"Painting again?" called out a voice from the house, "That's all you ever do is bloody paint!"

Here she was. Illyana. Not Galbadian but Centran. Go figure.

She is wearing only a long silk purple slip that perfectly fits and accents her willowy body. She is of average height – about 5' 10" – with short brown hair that falls softly and a snub nose with a mouth that is neither small nor large.

She is not merely pretty, but is truly beautiful; although I have always felt that even those words could ever describe the true way she looks.

She walks towards me, her short delicate feet making decisive strides, echoed by the prints following her in the sand. When she is next to me, she puts her hands on her hips, pulling and tightening the material, her lips partly open, teasingly. All sweetness and light.

Yet.

There is something in her eyes. A steely determination. I kiss her gently on the cheek then turn back to my painting. She sighs heavily.

"Do you want some breakfast?" she asks. I turn and raise an eyebrow at the unusual request.

"Yes, please."

"Then make it yourself!" she snaps, and runs back to the house. This time I sigh and continue to paint.

Later that day, a few hours after lunch, I decide to go swimming. Perhaps to see the blue, to get up close and personal with the beautiful wet. Maybe to get away from the stony silence that Illyana has been exuding all day.

Once again I am painting. Night has fallen, and the only illumination is from the large and opalescent moon, with tiny stars, each a small brilliance of perception.

"Would you like to go swimming?" asks Illyana softly. I jumped, startled, as I did not hear her approach.

"Not at the minute, thankyou," I smiled, but by the look on her face I realised that I had made the wrong choice.

"Bastard!" she screamed, and slapped me, hard, on the face, "You just keep abandoning me! Leaving me to work on that stupid painting!" She stepped back, her face flushed, then kicked me in the groin. I double over gasping, unable to do anything but watch as she fled into the sea, still wearing the slip she had on this morning.

A few minutes later she returned. I hadn't moved and she was crying.

"I'm so sorry," she wept, kneeling over me, cradling my head with her arms. She stood up, and took a deep breath, still whispering apologies, then began to tear at her clothes, until she stood before me: wet, and naked, and beautiful.

"Just hold me," she whispered, lying down next to me.

And so we held each other, all night, lying on the sand, my painting forgotten.

Such is my life. It seems that this is how it's always been.

Note: So what's next? Paintings, lost cities, and an awful lot of rain!

Disclaimer: All the characters are copyright to Square Enix; and the story to me. This story has been written on the understanding that you may read it and print it out; but you may not pass it off as your own, hire it out, or sell it for money. You also may not put it on your own or any other web page without my express written permission. Thankyou!

JetNoir