Three Memories

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII doesn't belong to me. Therefore, I do not own it. I am making no money off of this, it is purely for my own enjoyment, and for those who see fit to read it.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: The Puppy

> > >

I was so confused as I sat on the curb outside Garden with Seifer. I was angry with him, I was sad for him, but I also felt like there was this boundary I couldn't cross with him. This was because of Squall, and no matter how angry I was with him, some part of me knew it wasn't permanent. It didn't stop making feel like shit, though.

Seifer looked so broken. It shouldn't have surprised me. He was a broken man. He gambled everything on the whole sorceress deal and lost it all. I didn't like seeing him like that, when all I knew of Seifer before was a firm sort of pride.

I should have known Squall would have reacted the way he did. His long-time rival and enemy making an unwelcome appearance in his life, just when things were starting to go well for the first time in a long while. It scared me. I was afraid something would trigger him like that again. I didn't want to see Squall so out of control, the same way I don't want to see Seifer torn apart.

So in all honestly, I was lost in despair when I asked Seifer what I should do. It was rhetorical. I would have ended up saying goodbye to him, and gone back inside to make up with Squall. I didn't expect Seifer to do what he did.

He grabbed my hands. "Rinoa, those times you hated Garden. Do you really mean it?"

I shifted. "Of course I do. I hate it now," I added truthfully. I really did. I would have still been on that Forest Owls train if I never heard of Balamb Garden. All of this could have been avoided.

Seifer seemed to make a decision. He stood up, pulling me to my feet. "Alright then, let's go."

I blinked. "Go?" He didn't let go of my hands.

"Whenever I felt I hated Garden, all I wanted to do was get away from it for awhile. So let's go away." Seifer said, making it seem like the most reasonable thing in the world.

Half of me ached to go. To get away from the tangled mess I had created there and the notion that my absence was temporary made it seem less…cowardly, I suppose. The other half said I had responsibilities to see to. I couldn't just abandon Squall here without any warning. And to leave him for Seifer! The darker part of this was someone had to watch over me, just in case. I was the sorceress, after all. I could blow up any town at any given time of the day. I sighed.

I tried to pull away from him. Seifer held me tight. "I can't, Seifer." I said as firmly as I could.

"Why not?" He said. His green eyes were almost hypnotic to me. "Just for awhile, until things settle down and you feel ready to go back."

I became uncertain. "I can't just run from things…" I paused. Well, it wouldn't be the first time.

> > >

I was almost fifteen. At that time, my father still hired private tutors for me. Back then, he probably still hoped that I would follow in his footsteps and have some sort of political or military career. I was made to learn history and geography, politics and math, rhetoric and public speaking. My father was a pompous airbag and called it a superlative blend of classical and modern learning. I guess he did care about me in his strange way, and I've come to terms with it. Too bad it wasn't enough.

After my lessons that day, my father's aide came to me with a message from him.

"Miss Caraway, the General requests that you join him for dinner tonight."

I bit my tongue. The people who worked for my father persisted in calling me Miss Caraway, even after I told them to call me Rinoa. Miss Caraway wasn't me. "My father would like me to join him at the office?" I said acidly. I always ate alone at our stupidly huge table, and even when he was home in time for dinner, he avoided me.

The man was well trained. He didn't even blink. "There will be a guest tonight, and the General would like you to be presentable."

I scowled. "Well then, I'll make sure I'm there in my best pajamas."

"The General assures me that he will be most displeased if you do not mind his request." The aide saluted as if I were my father and marched off.

If my father was upset, then all the better for me. He only seemed to know I existed when he was angry with me. I spent the afternoon shut in my room, reading some books. I heard my father return home in the evening, accompanied by a voice I hadn't heard before. I ignored the sounds and continued reading.

They probably had some drinks, because it was a good half hour before my maid, Elise, knocked on my door and let herself in. "Miss Rinoa, you better hurry and get dressed for dinner, your father is getting impatient."

I shrugged. "Why should I bother turning up for dinner when he never does?" It was a fair question. Elise looked so agitated I groaned. "Fine, fine. I'll be down soon." I wrenched my closet open and located a plain white blouse and some dress pants. I buttoned my shirt with the grim pleasure that I was dressed like some 'working commoner', in my father's terms.

My father was seated at the head of the table, doing a remarkable job of hiding his irritation. Some other man, dressed in a military uniform, sat at the opposite end, in what was supposed to be my seat. He was almost as old as my father, but didn't look quite as supercilious. I almost felt friendly towards him. I sat at the middle.

"Rinoa, this is Lieutenant General Dorcas." My father said. I nodded, politely enough. After that, I just sat pointlessly through the meal.

When coffee was being served, I found myself being addressed again by my father. "Rinoa, I asked the Lieutenant General for dinner because he has offered to further your education by letting you intern with him at work."

I spat out a bit of my coffee in spite of myself. "What?"

"You don't have to accept the offer now, of course. The General has told me about your impressive studies, and I think you'd be well suited for the program." Dorcas said.

"There is only one position, and the internship is very prestigious." My father was saying. "I'm sure Rinoa will accept."

I set my cup down on the table, shaking with resentment. I wasn't about to let him take control of my life. "I must apologize, Lieutenant General, but I have to decline. I'm not as suited for the position as my father thinks." I said loudly.

My father's eyes narrowed. "Rinoa," he said warningly.

"Excuse me." I pushed my chair back so hard it fell over, and left the room. I slammed the French doors as hard as I could, giving me more satisfaction. I didn't go back to my room. My father would have looked for me there. I went instead to the music room, where we have an old grand piano sitting there collecting dust.

I'm told mother used to play on it. My father never knew I liked to visit this room, but there's this large portrait of mother on the far wall, and I sometimes sit on the piano bench and stare at it.

I only remember her voice and her scent. I missed her. I still miss her. If only she didn't get into that car…if only she were still alive…

I don't know how long I sat there, staring at my mother's portrait, but I heard the door open. I didn't turn around, but I knew it was my father. He was silent for a moment, maybe looking at my mother too. But then he had to speak.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but I told Dorcas you will further consider the offer. I expect you to accept it, Rinoa." He said.

I didn't reply to him. I carefully creaked open the lid of the piano and hit some random notes, knowing it was anger him further. I would have liked to learn how to play the piano, and mother once promised me she would, but my father wouldn't let me after she died.

"Rinoa, did you hear me?"
Something in his tone made me snap. I slammed the cover back down onto the piano, and the thud reverberated in the room, sending dust flying into the air. I stood up and glared at him. "No. I am not doing it."

He was turning red, a sign that meant I was about to be yelled at. I didn't let him start. "First of all, I'm not even qualified for that position. Did you bully him into giving it to me? Did you pay him off? What did you do?"

"You are an ingrate." He said stonily. "Here you are, living in one of the nicest mansions in town, with a future assured, and all you want to do is ruin it?"

I laughed spitefully. "I'd rather live with rats in the sewer, they'd be better company than you."

"You are a Caraway and my daughter, so you better start acting like one."

"I'm no Caraway, and I certainly don't want to be your daughter." I spat out. "What would mother think of you if she were still alive?" I was hit with sudden inspiration. "Screw being a Caraway. If all I am is a disgrace to your stupid name, I'll take mother's instead. At least she cared for me." My father stood, struck dumb-struck for once. Having proven my point, I pushed past him. I was leaving. I was getting out of the house.

I ran straight out of the front door, ignoring the guards. I didn't realize it was raining. It didn't matter to me. It felt cleansing. There was no more oppressed Rinoa Caraway. I was Rinoa Heartilly, free and in charge of her life. I caught a passing bus on the way to the shopping arcade, because there was no where else for me to go.

I went straight to the pet store. My father always forbade me to have a dog, and I was determined to have a constant companion who loved me unconditionally. My heart fell when I looked at the prices. Dogs were not cheap, and I couldn't have it charged to the Caraway account after I denounced him like that. I watched the puppies play for awhile, and trudged back outside.

The rain had stopped, so I figured I'd walk around town. The good thing about Deling is that everything is always open, so I didn't have to go back anytime soon. I paused for a moment by the hotel. I knew mother used to play the piano there. I contemplated whether I should visit it or not.

I was distracted out of my thoughts when I heard some garbage cans crash in the alleyway next to the hotel. I moved towards the noise carefully. Then I heard a happy sort of whining. It was a dirty puppy looking through the garbage for food. A stray, judging from it's mixed look. I crouched and held my hand out to it, and it eagerly came to sniff my finger, licking it frantically.

That settled it for me. I picked the puppy up in my arms, and I didn't care that it was making my white shirt dirty. I knew what to name it. I had a name chosen for a puppy ever since mother died. I called the dog Angelo, and I stood for a moment, happily stroking its head. I jumped when the garbage cans crashed again, and Angelo leapt out of my arms, growling in warning.

I was afraid. What was I doing in an alleyway in Galbadia, anyway? Countless of people get robbed in the dark side streets, and it wasn't unusual for a body to turn up every now and then. I began to edge away from the voices approaching me.

"We're not going to hurt anyone….not yet, okay?"

"So we are?"

"Only the bastards who deserve it. Like Deling, for one. That's a fathead if I ever saw one."

"I dunno, Watts, my stomach won't be able to handle – "

Stupidly, I slipped over some garbage and landed heavily on the ground, knocking over some bottles. Angelo began to bark.

"Hey! Who's there?"

I began to curse myself. If I was murdered, it would have been because of my own stupidity. The two men caught up with me. I peered up at them in the darkness. They didn't seem to be too much older than myself, and somehow, didn't seem to be very dangerous. One of them was crouched in front of my, clutching his stomach, and Angelo was running circles around him. I wanted to laugh.

"I'm Rinoa," I said as the other one pulled me to my feet. "And you were planning on killing Vinzer Deling."

"No we weren't," said the guy who was standing.

"I heard you." I pointed out. "Are you some sort of resistance group? I've heard a lot about Deling. In fact, I have sources." It was true, if my father deigned to speak with me at all, it was to go on about him. I don't know why I offered this to them, but they just seemed so…ill-prepared for an assassination. It seemed like a game. Squall was probably right about the Forest Owls.

"How can we trust you?"

"I live at the Caraway mansion."

The crouching guy jumped up. "What? You're the General's daughter?" His eyes were fairly bulging, probably because he realized how useful I could be.

I shrugged. "Biologically speaking…we're not on very good terms." For the second time that night, inspiration struck me. "Listen. I can get you information about anyone you want in the Galbadian government. My father isn't very tight-lipped about business at home, because he wants me to go into the government as well. He doesn't keep his study locked either, and all his papers are there. I can help your resistance group out."

"What do you want in return?"

I smiled. "Just a place to live, and a guarantee that you won't do anything to my father. We may not be on good terms, but he's still my father. Besides, that's where most of our info will come from."

They looked at each other. "Alright." The crouching one said. "I'm Zone, this is Watts."

Watts shook my hand. "We're the Forest Owls."

> > >

Seifer leaned his head over on my shoulder, and the sudden weight of him made my heart skip a beat. "Think of it as a vacation, princess." He said softly, his lips brushing my neck lightly.

I involuntarily sighed, and he took it as my agreement, because he pulled me to my feet. I think I lost all of my resistance to him in that moment, because we were walking away from Garden, hand in hand, and I didn't see fit to stop him. A tiny niggle in the back of my mind was still screaming Squall's name, but I didn't want to hear it anymore. I didn't want to put the effort into pretending I loved being at Balamb Garden every single second of the day to make Squall happy. I wanted his happiness, yes, but it didn't seem like he cared so much about mine.

"The car I rented isn't far off from here, and from Balamb we can head to Fisherman's Horizon." Seifer was saying. I wasn't listening properly. Everything took a delightfully fuzzy haze for me, as if my mind were draining itself, letting only my instincts take over.

For a second, I worried that it was the sorceress in me taking over, making me feel so light. As soon as the thought surfaced, it evaporated. I was left carefree and happy, like a huge burden had been lifted.

> > >

To be continued…

Hope you liked this chapter! I veered off temporarily from the main story to fill in some of Rinoa's backstory (I always wanted to do it). If you didn't want to read it, you could have just scrolled down to the present time in the story, but it becomes so much shorter. Anyway, sorry for the wait, I was away camping during the Canada Day long weekend, as you might have already known. I'll have the next chapter up in the next few days, but definitely not tomorrow. Thanks for reading, reviews are always a boon!