A Night at the Operas
Rinoa laid her back against the comfortable Italian leather on one of the La Scala library's reading chairs. On her lap, she held a large, old- looking book which she had been reading for the past four hours. After getting to the end of the page, she closed the large tome and stretched out her arms.
'Sigh...this library has so many references on great violins, I don't even know where to start," she thought to herself as she removed her reading glasses and placed them in her sweater's breast pocket. 'I'm going to get some shut eye.'
She closed her eyes and her thoughts began drifting to Squall. 'Squall...he's such a nice guy. I wonder if he likes me. He's cute, smart, really sexy, and such a gentleman. There aren't many guys like him around, and he's really sweet when you get to know him. I just hope he and I could connect just a bit more, rather than just talk and go around the place as if I were some houseguest. Squall...'
"Squall..." she whispered when sleep began to drug her senses.
"Yes?" she heard a voice say behind her.
Rinoa whirled around and saw Squall wearing thin frame, half rim silver glasses standing behind the chair. "Squall! What are you doing here?" 'Whoa! He looks so handsome with those glasses!'
Squall chuckled and softly said, "Relax. I'm taking you out to lunch remember?"
Rinoa placed the book on the table beside the chair and stood up. "Oh yeah. Thanks." She didn't notice that she was blushing while she stood there smiling awkwardly at the manager of the Teatro. "Um, I didn't know that you wear glasses."
"Oh, these?" Squall inquired as he removed the beautiful glasses from the bridge of his nose. "I'm a bit nearsighted so I guess I need these before my myopia worsens. Why, you don't like them?" 'Bummer. I thought she'd like them. Sandra told me these glasses make you look smart and sexy.'
Rinoa drastically shook her hands and head and said, "Oh no, I love them! I mean, they look really nice! I mean, they make you look really sexy. I mean, yeah, I like them!" 'Control yourself Rinoa. You can't break down in front of Squall!'
"Sexy?" Squall skeptically questioned her. 'Did she say sexy? Yeah!'
"Well, they make you look intelligent. I think that adds some sex appeal don't you think?" suggested Rinoa. 'Why am I even saying these things? I never use the word sexy in my vocabulary.' "Um, what brand is that pair?"
Squall adjusted the frames and replied, "Hugo Boss. Now do they really give me sex appeal? (Yes!) Oh well, at least I got a nice pair. So, what do you want to have for lunch?"
Rinoa looked up at the ceiling for an answer and answered, "Is there a great pizzeria here?"
Squall smiled warmly at her and replied, "Sure there is. It's just across the street." Squall pointed to a little pizzeria across the library window and continued, "They serve great wood-fire oven pizzas in that little bistro."
"You really know this place like the back of your hand don't you?" Rinoa asked him as she put on her light jacket.
Squall kept his glasses in his pocket and said, "Well, I grew up here and work here so I guess you can call it home."
Squall led Rinoa outside the library and crossed the street to get to the pizzeria. When they got in, they noticed that it was an almost full house.
"Wow! The food here must be good. Look at this crowd!" exclaimed Rinoa when she saw models, tourists, locals, businessmen, old people, and students partaking the thin discs of well-dressed bread from their tables. She also noticed men in uniforms patting, twirling, and stretching great masses of pizza dough, applying sauces and cheese with minimal toppings.
"In Italy, we don't have anything like Hawaiian or Sausage pizzas in the style of Pizza Hut. No thick crust either," Squall informed her after a waiter led them to a table located in the corner of the café.
Rinoa settled down on the café chair and placed her jacket on her lap. "Oh that's alright. I'll have whatever you think is good. I don't like thick crust pizzas anyway."
"Yeah, me too," murmured Squall as he signaled a waiter to come to their table. After ordering a traditional Pizza Margherita, he turned back to Rinoa and flashed her a winsome smile. "So how was the library? Did you like it?"
Rinoa nodded and replied, "That was the most complete music library I've ever visited in years. Can you believe they have detailed accounts of every Stradivarius ever made? And they have the complete biography of Niccolo Paganini along with scores of his works! I'd stay and read if only I had more time."
"Oh! So you wanted to stay there? Don't worry, I can always bring you to La Scala everyday while your violin is still being inspected. My dad told me that he still can't quite figure out the anatomy or something of your Strad so you guys can enjoy Italy for the time being," Squall said while grabbing a pack of breath mints from his pockets. He popped one into his mouth and let the menthol roll around his tongue and listened for what Rinoa had to say.
"So he hasn't gotten down to the mystery of my violin yet? Oh well, I guess my concerts have to be postponed then..." she sadly sighed.
Squall noticed the dismal look on her face and felt like he wanted to do something for her. "You know, La Scala is going to be void of performances next week so I might invite you to play the violin there. That is, if you want to."
"And risk killing you? Sorry Squall, I don't want to see anyone else die, especially you (oops! Slip up!). I can't afford to lose any more patrons in my concerts," she retorted.
"But I was suggesting that you use one of the Strads in our house collection. They don't sound as rich as yours but I'm sure they play wonderfully if compared with other antique violins," he offered.
"Really? But what if people won't come to my concert? What if word had gotten around that they would die if they listen to me play the violin?"
"Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. I'll take care of the publicity and you ready yourself, okay?"
"Thank you Squall," she said she gazed into his lovely blue eyes. At this point, she was wondering whether she ought to tell Squall about how much she felt for him. "Squall..." And Rinoa was just about to confess about her little crush when a huge pizza was set in front of them.
"Buon appetito!" the waiter uttered as he grinned at the couple and left.
'Maybe it's too soon...' thought Rinoa as Squall asked, "You were saying?"
"Nothing. Let's eat," Rinoa replied softly. "Why isn't this pizza sliced?'
Squall tore a piece of from the large hunk of a pizza and placed it on a smaller plate. "In here, they never slice their pizzas like pies. Instead, they tear them like the priests do with the communion bread."
"I see. That's sounds interesting, can I try?" she queried him after he placed chunks of bubbly cheese and tomato covered dough on her plate. Squall nodded and she tore of a piece of the pizza, getting her nails covered in red sauce. She laughed and said, "At least I don't need a manicure anymore!"
Squall laughed heartily too and dug his teeth into a piece. Both of them shared the pizza until not a single crumb was left on the serving platter.
"Thank you Squall. I enjoyed lunch today," Rinoa shyly told Squall after wiping her lips with a napkin. 'I enjoyed talking to you more.'
"No problem. Uh, I'll just ask for the check and I'll give you a tour of Milan." When he received the check, Squall paid up and led her back to the entrance of La Scala.
"What are we doing here?" Rinoa asked when she noticed that Squall was headed for the famed opera house.
"Getting a taxi," came the short response from Squall.
When the cab arrived, Squall told the driver to take both of them to the Duomo, a grandiose church in the city that took not 500 years to complete as it went through a myriad of periodical architecture changes.
"Wow! That must be the most beautiful church I've ever seen!" Rinoa blurted out as they entered the intricately designed edifice. "You said it took five hundred years to complete? It's amazing!"
"Well, of course it is. It's designed by the ever so clever Italians," Squall proudly added.
Rinoa gaped at the temple in awe. It was so beautiful, and although it wasn't as magnificent in the art factor as was the Vatican church, it was splendid in every manner possible. The interior was a combination of the old Roman style along with some medieval century flavor, while the exterior—no words could describe the intricacy of the little contours and carvings embedded into those little crannies of rock.
"Squall, can we go in?" she asked him, never averting her gaze from the awesome cathedral.
"Sure, why not?" Squall added as he walked into the church. "You want to say some prayers? Or perhaps offer some candles on the altar." He pointed to a little table with a depression that hand candles lit all over its surface.
Rinoa fished out a few Euros from her pocket and placed them inside a little slot beside the table. Taking a candle from a box beside the money collecting device, she lit the wick by placing the little light close to one of the flickering flames and set it on one of the stands. 'Heavenly Father,' she silently prayed in her mind. 'It is truly wonderful to see how you've been working my talent all these years to make me play music so beautifully. But please, whatever it takes, allow me to play my Strad again in public. Please help Sir Laguna, o gracious Lord, remove whatever evil forces remain in that sacred instrument. And that is all I have to say to you. Oh, and I pray that You make Squall like me too! I mean, like- like me!'
After finishing her prayer, she returned to Squall who was now sitting on a bench and tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm done!"
Squall stood up and followed her out of the church. "So what did you pray for?"
Rinoa grinned really wide and said, "Well, I thanked God for my wonderful talent and I also prayed for something else."
"Oh? What was that other thing?" Squall questioned her as they walked on the Milanese cobblestone streets. 'I wonder if she prayed for me to like her. She doesn't have to though...'
Rinoa smiled and blushed and softly told Squall, "Well, it's a secret. I can't tell you that just yet."
"Whatever. A secret's a secret so I'll leave you to that. Anyway, do you like shopping?" Squall was secretly hoping that he could somehow tell her how he truly felt them. 'Maybe she's not interested in me after all...'
'He didn't ask?' Rinoa wondered. "Well, I'm a girl so I'm supposed to like it right?"
Squall and Rinoa strolled around until they reached the Galleria Vittoriale Emmanuele, a nineteenth century structure turned mall covered in glass. Boutiques and restaurants littered the place, and Rinoa drooled at the gorgeous designer dresses displayed on the windows of the great names of fashion.
"You need a dress for tonight right?" she heard Squall say while she spotted an adorable Fendi outfit.
"Huh?" she muttered as she looked back at Squall.
"You're accompanying me to see an opera, and you told me that you didn't want to come to La Scala wearing your sweater and jeans. So why don't you let me buy you something to wear?" he offered to the violinist who blushed maroon again.
Rinoa turned pale and then red and back again and looked at Squall guiltily. "Squall! You know I can't do that! We're just acquaintances, not dates! (Although I wish we were) I won't feel good about spending your money for my clothes. I tell you what, we go to one of these shops and I'll try some stuff on and you tell me what you like. Does that sound alright?"
'Just acquaintances? I don't treat acquaintances to lunch like that and talk to them the way I talk to you Rinoa.'
Squall was about to say something when Rinoa stopped him. "No Squall. I'm spending for my dresses. I make my own money and I guess I can afford a nice Fendi so don't say anything or I'll protest here in the gallery."
Squall gave a nod and defeat and complied by following her to the Fendi boutique. After Rinoa picked out a beautiful blue evening dress, she entered one of the dressing rooms. A few minutes later, after a few zips and a couple of tucks, she came out of the little cubicle and presented herself to Squall. "Well, what do you think?"
Squall's mouth dropped about an inch as he stared at the extremely beautiful woman in front of him. Her wonderful body was curvy in a most pleasant way and her creamy shoulders were covered in a shawl. Although her makeup was minimal, to say the least, she was even more beautiful than all the models who had their faces posted in the Galleria's shopping windows.
"Well, Miss Heartilly, you sure...look...beautiful in that dress," Squall managed to say. He didn't notice that his palms were sweating like mad and that his gaze never strayed away from the violinist's to die for body.
"Why thank you Squall," she almost whispered happily as her body flushed with heat. 'Did he say that I looked beautiful? Oh thank you Lord for answering my prayers!'
When she returned to the dressing room, Squall approached the store lady and curtly asked, "How much is that dress that she was trying out?"
"Four hundred and fifty Euro," the woman informed him with a strong Italian accent. "Why, are you buying for your girlfriend?"
Squall paused for a moment and gave the lady his credit card. "Yeah, I am buying for my girlfriend." After the lady quickly registered his card and he signed the credit slip, she gave him back the card and gave him a wink. "Your girlfriend must be lucky to have a nice boyfriend like you."
Squall just smiled and said, "Yeah..." 'I wish she was my girlfriend though.'
When Rinoa came out of the dressing room, she approached the lady on the counter and asked, "How much does this dress cost?"
The woman gave her a wicked smile and replied, "Signorina, there is no need to give me money no more. Your nice boyrfriend over there has just given me money for that lovely dress you want. If you ask me, you should marry him. He's such a nice man." The lady placed a large Fendi boutique bag on the counter and gave it to her.
Rinoa blushed heavily and said, "Oh! Thank you! But he's not my boyfriend..."
"And I speak like an American," the lady sarcastically rebutted her in a strong accent. "Well if the both of you like each other, you should tell your friend. I think he likes you, and he is handsome boy too. If you want him, get him before the other figlias (girls) out there do." "Alright, I'll give it a try," she whispered back to the woman. She flashed Squall one of those "Why did you do that?" looks and smiled at the lady on the counter. After taking the bag, she moved rapidly towards Squall, who was comfortably sitting on one of the couches in the shop. "Squall, why did you buy this dress for me? I told you not to spend any more big money for me today. Do you even know how much this costs? Four hundred fifty Euro! That's about five hundred Dollars! Squall, I know you meant well but when I say that you shouldn't spend for me, I meant it. "
"But I wanted to buy you something, even if it's just a dress. Come on, I know you wanted it. I'll tell you what. As friends, let it be my treat. I can't stand just being acquaintances with you so let's call this a friend's gift for another friend okay?" he said while offering her a hand.
'Friends?' Rinoa wondered as she extended her hand. "Well, I don't know what to say. Thank you Squall. Just let me treat you the next time okay? I earn money through my concerts so at least let me buy you something."
"Deal."
They left the shop and after an hour of touring around Milan, they headed back for La Scala Opera House. After arriving at the library, Squall took a book from one of the shelves and gave it to Rinoa. "Here. I'm sure you will like this."
Rinoa received the book and looked at the title—"Masters of the Violin". "Thank you Squall. So I'll see you tonight?"
"Yeah."
"But, um, where should I change?"
"Oh, that one. Well you can come to my office and change there."
"Okay then. See you later."
"Bye."
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The moon brightened the skies with its warm, ethereal glow, the rays of the white heavenly body shining down upon Milan's semi-modern streets that reflected back its beautiful light. Tonight, La Scala was showing the season's premiere of Giacomo Puccini's famous Chinese-inspired Grand Opera, Turandot. Outside the theater, an enthusiastic crowd lined up with their tickets waiting silently for the doors to open. Above the communal area, a man stared at them through a small window overlooking the front foyer.
"Squall, no peeking okay?" he heard someone say behind him as he watched the number of people build up below.
"Okay," he replied with a chuckle. Rinoa had come into his office earlier taking her blue dress with her. Since the bathroom was accidentally locked (or was it) and there was no other place to change, she decided to get into her evening dress right in the middle of the office.
"I'm done Squall. You can turn around now," she whispered behind him.
Squall turned around and looked at Rinoa. "Why, you look even more beautiful now than you did when you were in the shop my lady."
Rinoa smiled wryly and smartly said, "Well Mr. Leonhart, I think it is so because it's already evening. That must be why they call them evening dresses."
Squall extended his arm to her. "Shall we?"
Rinoa nodded and followed Squall to the second floor doors adjacent to the private boxes of the main auditorium. When Squall entered his private box, he motioned for Rinoa to sit down.
"I don't know if you enjoy opera but I guess you will like this one. They will be flashing English subtitles on the top of the stage so I hope that helps," he informed her. Rinoa gave an affirmative grunt and they waited for the opera to commence. The auditorium below was already starting to fill up with people, and a few boxes across, Squall noticed a woman waving at him. He waved back and motioned for her to come over.
A few minutes later, the door to their box opened and a middle-aged lady in a black dress came in. "Squall! So good to see you!"
Squall stood up and shook the woman's hands. "Doctor Kadowaki, so good to see you here!"
"Squall, I must admit, you've outdone yourself again this time. Your sets are just amazing, and the designers you've commissioned to make these costumes are excellent. If I should say, you've brought bigger crowds to La Scala ever since it reopened," she congratulated the younger man. "To be honest, your sets are so much better than the ones in the Chicago Lyric and Metropolitan Opera Houses."
"Why thank you Doctor, that's very kind of you," Squall thanked her. He then remembered Rinoa and decided to introduce her to the doctor. "Doctor Kadowaki, this is, by the way, the famed violinist Rinoa Heartilly." He pointed over to Rinoa and the doctor shook her hand as well.
"Are you THE Rinoa Heartilly? The one who plays the Seduzione violin?" she asked the young girl.
"Yes Madame," Rinoa politely returned.
"So glad to meet you! Are you Squall's girlfriend?" she asked the young lady.
Rinoa blushed for the nth time that day and said, "Oh no, we're just friends." She saw Squall laughing behind Doctor Kadowaki and threw him an annoyed look.
"Friends...as Squall would often say, whatever. Oh well, I'll just leave both of you soon to be lovebirds here," the Japanese woman said as she left the room. "I'll see you later. The opera's starting in fifteen minutes and my husband is waiting. By the way Miss Heartilly, if you're looking forward to one of Squall's operas, you should see his Aida. It's magnificent!"
When the doctor was back in her little hole, Squall turned to Rinoa. "Cheerful personality, don't you think?"
"Yeah. She's from the U.S. right? I can tell from her accent," Rinoa told Squall.
"Doctor Kadowaki is my dad's doctor who comes here every now and then to check up on him. Don't worry about him though, he's perfectly healthy," Squall added when he saw the look of shock on Rinoa's face. "She's a big opera fan and she comes here to La Scala to see the shows I produce when she gets the chance to do so."
Neither of them said anything to each other until the lights of the auditorium dimmed slightly. "Squall, it's about to start," Rinoa whispered when the lights had completely dimmed and the crowd below had finally kept their silence.
Immediately, the large, resonant boom of a Chinese gong signaled the beginning of the opera, and the curtains cleared to reveal a magnificent set displaying a stunning replica of China's Forbidden City. In the middle of the stage, a messenger began declaring to the crowd that was the chorus about the Princess Turandot's order—that the men who have enough courage to step up to her should pay the price of death for three riddles in exchange for her hand in marriage. The chorus' great voices echoed throughout the chamber, and the spotlight later shifted to the story's hero Calaf who approaches his long lost father. After exchanging words with the aging man, he finds the servant girl, Liu, who helped save him back in their homeland. Calaf thanks Liu, and then the bloodthirsty grand chorus began singing and pleading the executioner to bring out the man who had staked his life for Turandot.
Pu-Tin-Pao, the executioner, emerged with a young man, the Prince of Persia, whose head was about to be cut off for his inability to correctly answer the princess' questions. Even though the crowd had been lusting for blood that night, the youth of the prince had appalled them, and so they began pleading for the princess for a pardon. The princess did come out, but instead of pardoning the prince, she signaled the executioner to cut his head off. The prince looked up at her with much pride in his eyes, and with one last look at the beautiful princess, his life was ended by the swift blade of the executioner. Calaf, who was watching this scene unfold before his eyes, was first angered at the princess' cruelty, but then saw her and immediately fell in love with her exotic beauty. He quickly ran up to the gong, and despite his father's attempts to stop him, he rang it, signaling for the princess to question him with the riddles. Although many had tried to convince him not to end his life, he persisted to conquer her ice cold heart, and that was the end of the first act, and the beginning of a thirty minute intermission.
Rinoa sat on her comfortable leather chair with her mouth agape. "That was your set?"
Squall edged uncomfortably in his seat. "You didn't like it?"
Rinoa whirled to face him and said, "Like it? I loved it! It was so passionate and...and...so romantic! Imagine someone testing death for love! Squall, you produced this?"
Squall nodded. "Yeah, why don't you believe me?"
Rinoa chuckled and shook her head. "Of course I do. It's just that your set is so much better than the stage productions I've seen before. I haven't seen much opera but I've watched The Phantom of the Opera and Evita. I've even seen some Cirque du Soleil shows but this blows them all out of the water. Of course, the acrobatics aren't as excellent as Cirque's shows but this is singing combined with acting and some acrobatics."
"So you like it?" Squall skeptically asked her.
"Yeah, of course I do. I'm not the opera buff but this kind of set would change my mind. Your Chinese palace looks so...so real! And the costumes, were they made of silk?"
Squall grinned mischievously at the lady beside him. "What do you think?"
Rinoa's jaw dropped and she exclaimed in a silent whisper, "No kidding! That must have cost you a lot!"
Squall shook his neck left and right and replied, "It did but it isn't like those costumes aren't reusable. Besides, if this Turandot set becomes a success, I plan to take them around on a world tour."
"A world tour?" Rinoa queried him. "Isn't that a bit ambitious for an opera?"
Squall paused for a moment to think and answered, "It is, but remember that the 2008 Olympics are being held in Beijing. What I plan to do is to take them there and let loose their voices in the opening night."
"Sounds grand Squall. Um, do you think I can play as first violin in La Scala's orchestra when that happens?" she questioned him.
"Why first violin? You can be a soloist! I promise, I'll set a date for your performance. Just make sure that you're ready with some pieces. Besides, if you are coming with me to Beijing to see that production, I want you to be by my side watching," he told the beautiful violinist.
Rinoa gave Squall a heart-stopping smile. "Oh thank you Squall. Don't worry, I won't disappoint you! So, how many minutes left before the second act?"
Squall looked at his watch and returned, "Five more minutes, give or take."
Rinoa nodded and returned her gaze to the stage. Exactly five minutes after Squall looked at his watch, the lights dimmed again, and this time, the curtains were drawn to reveal a beautiful princess wearing a costume made of gold silk. She told her story of her ancestress, about how she died at the hands of a man, and thus revealing to Calaf why she detested all men. She then asked him the riddles, which Calaf answered impeccably of course. The people rejoiced at the prospect of having the princess marry, but the woman's heart of ice had not melted yet. Calaf then told her that if she was able to discover her name by dawn, he will comply with her wish to execute him.
The stage darkened, and once again they were outside in the Imperial City. A chorus began declaring the new order of the princess to get everyone to discover his name if they wanted to avoid death. Calaf emerged from the darkness and began singing his signature aria.
"I know this!" Rinoa exclaimed in a whisper. "This is Nessun Dorma!"
Squall whispered to her, "And you said you didn't know much about opera."
"But I know this one! Pavarotti sang this in the world cup right?" she silently asked him.
"Yeah, you're right about that one."
After the last, hair-raising note by the heroic tenor, the scene switched to the crowd that had now closed in upon Liu and Calaf's father, Timur. Since they(the people) had seen them talking with Calaf earlier, they decided to coax the two to spit out the prince's name. The chorus vented their rage on Liu first, and the guards tortured her in hopes to get Calaf's name out. Liu, who was suffering all this time, was brought before the princess. Before she ended her own life, she told the princess that she had to love the prince, for Liu had loved him silently and for that, she decided to trade her happiness for death. Taking a knife from one of the guards, she stabbed herself and fell on the Prince's feet.
Squall noticed Rinoa crying softly and handed her a napkin. She didn't blush, but she took it anyway and mouthed a silent thank you to Squall.
Upon Liu's tragic death, the crowd immediately cleared up and Calaf approached the Princess. After telling her that he would conquer her, he opened the veil that covered her face and kissed her. Turandot then exclaimed that never before had she felt anything so wonderful. He then decided to tell her his name, but instead of taking the Prince to Pu-Tin- Pao, she brings her to her father and declares that she knows his name. It is Love. They kiss and the people rejoice, ending the grand opera with the grandest of endings.
Upon that last note, the audience all stood up and gave the singers, the orchestra, the conductor, and everyone else who participated in the production a well-deserved applause and an ovation to add to that. Squall and Rinoa silently left the auditorium while the people below were clapping and went to Squall's office.
"Squall, that was wonderful. Thank you," she shyly told him.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you," Squall replied. "Thank you Rinoa for coming with me tonight. You made it really special for me."
Rinoa blushed and whispered, "Oh Squall, stop it."
Squall laughed out loud. "Sure. Now, you have got to change back into your sweater and jeans. You don't want to go to the train station looking like that."
"Yeah. Um, Squall, I'm gonna change so will you turn around?"
Squall blushed and turned around. When she was done, they both took the backstage exit of the theater and took a cab back to the station. After boarding the train back to Cremona, Squall guided Rinoa to their cabin.
"Why don't you sit here beside me? The view at night is beautiful too," Squall offered as he took his seat on the comfortable sofa.
Rinoa nodded and sat beside him. And once again, the train made another journey back to Cremona. Forty-five minutes later, the coach arrived at the station in Cremona, and Squall took Rinoa to his private garage. Upon the moment they entered the Ferrari, Rinoa rested her back against the leather seats of Squall's expensive car and felt the sandman working its magic of slumber on her nerves. Along the way to the estate, she fell asleep. Another half hour had passed and the Ferrari had finally arrived at the gates of the house after zooming through the now emptied streets of the city. When Squall stopped the car in front of the manor's entrance, he noticed that Rinoa was out cold. Shaking his head, he exited from his side and opened Rinoa's door. Lifting the woman in his arms, he struggled to open the knob of the door and set her down on the sofa in the front foyer.
'I wonder what I'm going to do with you Princess,' Squall mentally told her as he got up the stairs. He walked to Rinoa's room and opened the door, his eyes widening when he discovered that it was locked.
'Oh crap! Now where is she going to sleep? Hmm...' Squall returned to the foyer and picked up the sleeping beauty into his arms. Slowly walking up the stairs so as not to wake her, he opened his room's door and put her down gently on his bed. Taking the blanket and putting it over her, he wished her a good night as he changed into a shirt and a pair of boxers.
He crept silently into his side of the bed and turned off the lights.
"Mommy..." he heard Rinoa whisper beside him. She turned around and unconsciously put her arms around his waist, burying her head in the warmth of his back. "Mommy, please don't leave me."
'She's obviously dreaming," Squall thought when her arms wrapped tightly but comfortably around his waist. 'Better not wake her up though.' Squall picked up one of the hands that had managed to make its way around him and kissed it gently, stifling the cries coming out of the girl beside him.
Squall was usually a light sleeper. For years, sleeping problems had robbed him of rest, yet for the first time in those years, Squall slept through the night comfortably. And he wondered, was it because of this girl?
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Sorry this chapter took a bit long for me to write. I hope you guys like it and please submit a review if you do have the time.
Rinoa laid her back against the comfortable Italian leather on one of the La Scala library's reading chairs. On her lap, she held a large, old- looking book which she had been reading for the past four hours. After getting to the end of the page, she closed the large tome and stretched out her arms.
'Sigh...this library has so many references on great violins, I don't even know where to start," she thought to herself as she removed her reading glasses and placed them in her sweater's breast pocket. 'I'm going to get some shut eye.'
She closed her eyes and her thoughts began drifting to Squall. 'Squall...he's such a nice guy. I wonder if he likes me. He's cute, smart, really sexy, and such a gentleman. There aren't many guys like him around, and he's really sweet when you get to know him. I just hope he and I could connect just a bit more, rather than just talk and go around the place as if I were some houseguest. Squall...'
"Squall..." she whispered when sleep began to drug her senses.
"Yes?" she heard a voice say behind her.
Rinoa whirled around and saw Squall wearing thin frame, half rim silver glasses standing behind the chair. "Squall! What are you doing here?" 'Whoa! He looks so handsome with those glasses!'
Squall chuckled and softly said, "Relax. I'm taking you out to lunch remember?"
Rinoa placed the book on the table beside the chair and stood up. "Oh yeah. Thanks." She didn't notice that she was blushing while she stood there smiling awkwardly at the manager of the Teatro. "Um, I didn't know that you wear glasses."
"Oh, these?" Squall inquired as he removed the beautiful glasses from the bridge of his nose. "I'm a bit nearsighted so I guess I need these before my myopia worsens. Why, you don't like them?" 'Bummer. I thought she'd like them. Sandra told me these glasses make you look smart and sexy.'
Rinoa drastically shook her hands and head and said, "Oh no, I love them! I mean, they look really nice! I mean, they make you look really sexy. I mean, yeah, I like them!" 'Control yourself Rinoa. You can't break down in front of Squall!'
"Sexy?" Squall skeptically questioned her. 'Did she say sexy? Yeah!'
"Well, they make you look intelligent. I think that adds some sex appeal don't you think?" suggested Rinoa. 'Why am I even saying these things? I never use the word sexy in my vocabulary.' "Um, what brand is that pair?"
Squall adjusted the frames and replied, "Hugo Boss. Now do they really give me sex appeal? (Yes!) Oh well, at least I got a nice pair. So, what do you want to have for lunch?"
Rinoa looked up at the ceiling for an answer and answered, "Is there a great pizzeria here?"
Squall smiled warmly at her and replied, "Sure there is. It's just across the street." Squall pointed to a little pizzeria across the library window and continued, "They serve great wood-fire oven pizzas in that little bistro."
"You really know this place like the back of your hand don't you?" Rinoa asked him as she put on her light jacket.
Squall kept his glasses in his pocket and said, "Well, I grew up here and work here so I guess you can call it home."
Squall led Rinoa outside the library and crossed the street to get to the pizzeria. When they got in, they noticed that it was an almost full house.
"Wow! The food here must be good. Look at this crowd!" exclaimed Rinoa when she saw models, tourists, locals, businessmen, old people, and students partaking the thin discs of well-dressed bread from their tables. She also noticed men in uniforms patting, twirling, and stretching great masses of pizza dough, applying sauces and cheese with minimal toppings.
"In Italy, we don't have anything like Hawaiian or Sausage pizzas in the style of Pizza Hut. No thick crust either," Squall informed her after a waiter led them to a table located in the corner of the café.
Rinoa settled down on the café chair and placed her jacket on her lap. "Oh that's alright. I'll have whatever you think is good. I don't like thick crust pizzas anyway."
"Yeah, me too," murmured Squall as he signaled a waiter to come to their table. After ordering a traditional Pizza Margherita, he turned back to Rinoa and flashed her a winsome smile. "So how was the library? Did you like it?"
Rinoa nodded and replied, "That was the most complete music library I've ever visited in years. Can you believe they have detailed accounts of every Stradivarius ever made? And they have the complete biography of Niccolo Paganini along with scores of his works! I'd stay and read if only I had more time."
"Oh! So you wanted to stay there? Don't worry, I can always bring you to La Scala everyday while your violin is still being inspected. My dad told me that he still can't quite figure out the anatomy or something of your Strad so you guys can enjoy Italy for the time being," Squall said while grabbing a pack of breath mints from his pockets. He popped one into his mouth and let the menthol roll around his tongue and listened for what Rinoa had to say.
"So he hasn't gotten down to the mystery of my violin yet? Oh well, I guess my concerts have to be postponed then..." she sadly sighed.
Squall noticed the dismal look on her face and felt like he wanted to do something for her. "You know, La Scala is going to be void of performances next week so I might invite you to play the violin there. That is, if you want to."
"And risk killing you? Sorry Squall, I don't want to see anyone else die, especially you (oops! Slip up!). I can't afford to lose any more patrons in my concerts," she retorted.
"But I was suggesting that you use one of the Strads in our house collection. They don't sound as rich as yours but I'm sure they play wonderfully if compared with other antique violins," he offered.
"Really? But what if people won't come to my concert? What if word had gotten around that they would die if they listen to me play the violin?"
"Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. I'll take care of the publicity and you ready yourself, okay?"
"Thank you Squall," she said she gazed into his lovely blue eyes. At this point, she was wondering whether she ought to tell Squall about how much she felt for him. "Squall..." And Rinoa was just about to confess about her little crush when a huge pizza was set in front of them.
"Buon appetito!" the waiter uttered as he grinned at the couple and left.
'Maybe it's too soon...' thought Rinoa as Squall asked, "You were saying?"
"Nothing. Let's eat," Rinoa replied softly. "Why isn't this pizza sliced?'
Squall tore a piece of from the large hunk of a pizza and placed it on a smaller plate. "In here, they never slice their pizzas like pies. Instead, they tear them like the priests do with the communion bread."
"I see. That's sounds interesting, can I try?" she queried him after he placed chunks of bubbly cheese and tomato covered dough on her plate. Squall nodded and she tore of a piece of the pizza, getting her nails covered in red sauce. She laughed and said, "At least I don't need a manicure anymore!"
Squall laughed heartily too and dug his teeth into a piece. Both of them shared the pizza until not a single crumb was left on the serving platter.
"Thank you Squall. I enjoyed lunch today," Rinoa shyly told Squall after wiping her lips with a napkin. 'I enjoyed talking to you more.'
"No problem. Uh, I'll just ask for the check and I'll give you a tour of Milan." When he received the check, Squall paid up and led her back to the entrance of La Scala.
"What are we doing here?" Rinoa asked when she noticed that Squall was headed for the famed opera house.
"Getting a taxi," came the short response from Squall.
When the cab arrived, Squall told the driver to take both of them to the Duomo, a grandiose church in the city that took not 500 years to complete as it went through a myriad of periodical architecture changes.
"Wow! That must be the most beautiful church I've ever seen!" Rinoa blurted out as they entered the intricately designed edifice. "You said it took five hundred years to complete? It's amazing!"
"Well, of course it is. It's designed by the ever so clever Italians," Squall proudly added.
Rinoa gaped at the temple in awe. It was so beautiful, and although it wasn't as magnificent in the art factor as was the Vatican church, it was splendid in every manner possible. The interior was a combination of the old Roman style along with some medieval century flavor, while the exterior—no words could describe the intricacy of the little contours and carvings embedded into those little crannies of rock.
"Squall, can we go in?" she asked him, never averting her gaze from the awesome cathedral.
"Sure, why not?" Squall added as he walked into the church. "You want to say some prayers? Or perhaps offer some candles on the altar." He pointed to a little table with a depression that hand candles lit all over its surface.
Rinoa fished out a few Euros from her pocket and placed them inside a little slot beside the table. Taking a candle from a box beside the money collecting device, she lit the wick by placing the little light close to one of the flickering flames and set it on one of the stands. 'Heavenly Father,' she silently prayed in her mind. 'It is truly wonderful to see how you've been working my talent all these years to make me play music so beautifully. But please, whatever it takes, allow me to play my Strad again in public. Please help Sir Laguna, o gracious Lord, remove whatever evil forces remain in that sacred instrument. And that is all I have to say to you. Oh, and I pray that You make Squall like me too! I mean, like- like me!'
After finishing her prayer, she returned to Squall who was now sitting on a bench and tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm done!"
Squall stood up and followed her out of the church. "So what did you pray for?"
Rinoa grinned really wide and said, "Well, I thanked God for my wonderful talent and I also prayed for something else."
"Oh? What was that other thing?" Squall questioned her as they walked on the Milanese cobblestone streets. 'I wonder if she prayed for me to like her. She doesn't have to though...'
Rinoa smiled and blushed and softly told Squall, "Well, it's a secret. I can't tell you that just yet."
"Whatever. A secret's a secret so I'll leave you to that. Anyway, do you like shopping?" Squall was secretly hoping that he could somehow tell her how he truly felt them. 'Maybe she's not interested in me after all...'
'He didn't ask?' Rinoa wondered. "Well, I'm a girl so I'm supposed to like it right?"
Squall and Rinoa strolled around until they reached the Galleria Vittoriale Emmanuele, a nineteenth century structure turned mall covered in glass. Boutiques and restaurants littered the place, and Rinoa drooled at the gorgeous designer dresses displayed on the windows of the great names of fashion.
"You need a dress for tonight right?" she heard Squall say while she spotted an adorable Fendi outfit.
"Huh?" she muttered as she looked back at Squall.
"You're accompanying me to see an opera, and you told me that you didn't want to come to La Scala wearing your sweater and jeans. So why don't you let me buy you something to wear?" he offered to the violinist who blushed maroon again.
Rinoa turned pale and then red and back again and looked at Squall guiltily. "Squall! You know I can't do that! We're just acquaintances, not dates! (Although I wish we were) I won't feel good about spending your money for my clothes. I tell you what, we go to one of these shops and I'll try some stuff on and you tell me what you like. Does that sound alright?"
'Just acquaintances? I don't treat acquaintances to lunch like that and talk to them the way I talk to you Rinoa.'
Squall was about to say something when Rinoa stopped him. "No Squall. I'm spending for my dresses. I make my own money and I guess I can afford a nice Fendi so don't say anything or I'll protest here in the gallery."
Squall gave a nod and defeat and complied by following her to the Fendi boutique. After Rinoa picked out a beautiful blue evening dress, she entered one of the dressing rooms. A few minutes later, after a few zips and a couple of tucks, she came out of the little cubicle and presented herself to Squall. "Well, what do you think?"
Squall's mouth dropped about an inch as he stared at the extremely beautiful woman in front of him. Her wonderful body was curvy in a most pleasant way and her creamy shoulders were covered in a shawl. Although her makeup was minimal, to say the least, she was even more beautiful than all the models who had their faces posted in the Galleria's shopping windows.
"Well, Miss Heartilly, you sure...look...beautiful in that dress," Squall managed to say. He didn't notice that his palms were sweating like mad and that his gaze never strayed away from the violinist's to die for body.
"Why thank you Squall," she almost whispered happily as her body flushed with heat. 'Did he say that I looked beautiful? Oh thank you Lord for answering my prayers!'
When she returned to the dressing room, Squall approached the store lady and curtly asked, "How much is that dress that she was trying out?"
"Four hundred and fifty Euro," the woman informed him with a strong Italian accent. "Why, are you buying for your girlfriend?"
Squall paused for a moment and gave the lady his credit card. "Yeah, I am buying for my girlfriend." After the lady quickly registered his card and he signed the credit slip, she gave him back the card and gave him a wink. "Your girlfriend must be lucky to have a nice boyfriend like you."
Squall just smiled and said, "Yeah..." 'I wish she was my girlfriend though.'
When Rinoa came out of the dressing room, she approached the lady on the counter and asked, "How much does this dress cost?"
The woman gave her a wicked smile and replied, "Signorina, there is no need to give me money no more. Your nice boyrfriend over there has just given me money for that lovely dress you want. If you ask me, you should marry him. He's such a nice man." The lady placed a large Fendi boutique bag on the counter and gave it to her.
Rinoa blushed heavily and said, "Oh! Thank you! But he's not my boyfriend..."
"And I speak like an American," the lady sarcastically rebutted her in a strong accent. "Well if the both of you like each other, you should tell your friend. I think he likes you, and he is handsome boy too. If you want him, get him before the other figlias (girls) out there do." "Alright, I'll give it a try," she whispered back to the woman. She flashed Squall one of those "Why did you do that?" looks and smiled at the lady on the counter. After taking the bag, she moved rapidly towards Squall, who was comfortably sitting on one of the couches in the shop. "Squall, why did you buy this dress for me? I told you not to spend any more big money for me today. Do you even know how much this costs? Four hundred fifty Euro! That's about five hundred Dollars! Squall, I know you meant well but when I say that you shouldn't spend for me, I meant it. "
"But I wanted to buy you something, even if it's just a dress. Come on, I know you wanted it. I'll tell you what. As friends, let it be my treat. I can't stand just being acquaintances with you so let's call this a friend's gift for another friend okay?" he said while offering her a hand.
'Friends?' Rinoa wondered as she extended her hand. "Well, I don't know what to say. Thank you Squall. Just let me treat you the next time okay? I earn money through my concerts so at least let me buy you something."
"Deal."
They left the shop and after an hour of touring around Milan, they headed back for La Scala Opera House. After arriving at the library, Squall took a book from one of the shelves and gave it to Rinoa. "Here. I'm sure you will like this."
Rinoa received the book and looked at the title—"Masters of the Violin". "Thank you Squall. So I'll see you tonight?"
"Yeah."
"But, um, where should I change?"
"Oh, that one. Well you can come to my office and change there."
"Okay then. See you later."
"Bye."
---------------------------
The moon brightened the skies with its warm, ethereal glow, the rays of the white heavenly body shining down upon Milan's semi-modern streets that reflected back its beautiful light. Tonight, La Scala was showing the season's premiere of Giacomo Puccini's famous Chinese-inspired Grand Opera, Turandot. Outside the theater, an enthusiastic crowd lined up with their tickets waiting silently for the doors to open. Above the communal area, a man stared at them through a small window overlooking the front foyer.
"Squall, no peeking okay?" he heard someone say behind him as he watched the number of people build up below.
"Okay," he replied with a chuckle. Rinoa had come into his office earlier taking her blue dress with her. Since the bathroom was accidentally locked (or was it) and there was no other place to change, she decided to get into her evening dress right in the middle of the office.
"I'm done Squall. You can turn around now," she whispered behind him.
Squall turned around and looked at Rinoa. "Why, you look even more beautiful now than you did when you were in the shop my lady."
Rinoa smiled wryly and smartly said, "Well Mr. Leonhart, I think it is so because it's already evening. That must be why they call them evening dresses."
Squall extended his arm to her. "Shall we?"
Rinoa nodded and followed Squall to the second floor doors adjacent to the private boxes of the main auditorium. When Squall entered his private box, he motioned for Rinoa to sit down.
"I don't know if you enjoy opera but I guess you will like this one. They will be flashing English subtitles on the top of the stage so I hope that helps," he informed her. Rinoa gave an affirmative grunt and they waited for the opera to commence. The auditorium below was already starting to fill up with people, and a few boxes across, Squall noticed a woman waving at him. He waved back and motioned for her to come over.
A few minutes later, the door to their box opened and a middle-aged lady in a black dress came in. "Squall! So good to see you!"
Squall stood up and shook the woman's hands. "Doctor Kadowaki, so good to see you here!"
"Squall, I must admit, you've outdone yourself again this time. Your sets are just amazing, and the designers you've commissioned to make these costumes are excellent. If I should say, you've brought bigger crowds to La Scala ever since it reopened," she congratulated the younger man. "To be honest, your sets are so much better than the ones in the Chicago Lyric and Metropolitan Opera Houses."
"Why thank you Doctor, that's very kind of you," Squall thanked her. He then remembered Rinoa and decided to introduce her to the doctor. "Doctor Kadowaki, this is, by the way, the famed violinist Rinoa Heartilly." He pointed over to Rinoa and the doctor shook her hand as well.
"Are you THE Rinoa Heartilly? The one who plays the Seduzione violin?" she asked the young girl.
"Yes Madame," Rinoa politely returned.
"So glad to meet you! Are you Squall's girlfriend?" she asked the young lady.
Rinoa blushed for the nth time that day and said, "Oh no, we're just friends." She saw Squall laughing behind Doctor Kadowaki and threw him an annoyed look.
"Friends...as Squall would often say, whatever. Oh well, I'll just leave both of you soon to be lovebirds here," the Japanese woman said as she left the room. "I'll see you later. The opera's starting in fifteen minutes and my husband is waiting. By the way Miss Heartilly, if you're looking forward to one of Squall's operas, you should see his Aida. It's magnificent!"
When the doctor was back in her little hole, Squall turned to Rinoa. "Cheerful personality, don't you think?"
"Yeah. She's from the U.S. right? I can tell from her accent," Rinoa told Squall.
"Doctor Kadowaki is my dad's doctor who comes here every now and then to check up on him. Don't worry about him though, he's perfectly healthy," Squall added when he saw the look of shock on Rinoa's face. "She's a big opera fan and she comes here to La Scala to see the shows I produce when she gets the chance to do so."
Neither of them said anything to each other until the lights of the auditorium dimmed slightly. "Squall, it's about to start," Rinoa whispered when the lights had completely dimmed and the crowd below had finally kept their silence.
Immediately, the large, resonant boom of a Chinese gong signaled the beginning of the opera, and the curtains cleared to reveal a magnificent set displaying a stunning replica of China's Forbidden City. In the middle of the stage, a messenger began declaring to the crowd that was the chorus about the Princess Turandot's order—that the men who have enough courage to step up to her should pay the price of death for three riddles in exchange for her hand in marriage. The chorus' great voices echoed throughout the chamber, and the spotlight later shifted to the story's hero Calaf who approaches his long lost father. After exchanging words with the aging man, he finds the servant girl, Liu, who helped save him back in their homeland. Calaf thanks Liu, and then the bloodthirsty grand chorus began singing and pleading the executioner to bring out the man who had staked his life for Turandot.
Pu-Tin-Pao, the executioner, emerged with a young man, the Prince of Persia, whose head was about to be cut off for his inability to correctly answer the princess' questions. Even though the crowd had been lusting for blood that night, the youth of the prince had appalled them, and so they began pleading for the princess for a pardon. The princess did come out, but instead of pardoning the prince, she signaled the executioner to cut his head off. The prince looked up at her with much pride in his eyes, and with one last look at the beautiful princess, his life was ended by the swift blade of the executioner. Calaf, who was watching this scene unfold before his eyes, was first angered at the princess' cruelty, but then saw her and immediately fell in love with her exotic beauty. He quickly ran up to the gong, and despite his father's attempts to stop him, he rang it, signaling for the princess to question him with the riddles. Although many had tried to convince him not to end his life, he persisted to conquer her ice cold heart, and that was the end of the first act, and the beginning of a thirty minute intermission.
Rinoa sat on her comfortable leather chair with her mouth agape. "That was your set?"
Squall edged uncomfortably in his seat. "You didn't like it?"
Rinoa whirled to face him and said, "Like it? I loved it! It was so passionate and...and...so romantic! Imagine someone testing death for love! Squall, you produced this?"
Squall nodded. "Yeah, why don't you believe me?"
Rinoa chuckled and shook her head. "Of course I do. It's just that your set is so much better than the stage productions I've seen before. I haven't seen much opera but I've watched The Phantom of the Opera and Evita. I've even seen some Cirque du Soleil shows but this blows them all out of the water. Of course, the acrobatics aren't as excellent as Cirque's shows but this is singing combined with acting and some acrobatics."
"So you like it?" Squall skeptically asked her.
"Yeah, of course I do. I'm not the opera buff but this kind of set would change my mind. Your Chinese palace looks so...so real! And the costumes, were they made of silk?"
Squall grinned mischievously at the lady beside him. "What do you think?"
Rinoa's jaw dropped and she exclaimed in a silent whisper, "No kidding! That must have cost you a lot!"
Squall shook his neck left and right and replied, "It did but it isn't like those costumes aren't reusable. Besides, if this Turandot set becomes a success, I plan to take them around on a world tour."
"A world tour?" Rinoa queried him. "Isn't that a bit ambitious for an opera?"
Squall paused for a moment to think and answered, "It is, but remember that the 2008 Olympics are being held in Beijing. What I plan to do is to take them there and let loose their voices in the opening night."
"Sounds grand Squall. Um, do you think I can play as first violin in La Scala's orchestra when that happens?" she questioned him.
"Why first violin? You can be a soloist! I promise, I'll set a date for your performance. Just make sure that you're ready with some pieces. Besides, if you are coming with me to Beijing to see that production, I want you to be by my side watching," he told the beautiful violinist.
Rinoa gave Squall a heart-stopping smile. "Oh thank you Squall. Don't worry, I won't disappoint you! So, how many minutes left before the second act?"
Squall looked at his watch and returned, "Five more minutes, give or take."
Rinoa nodded and returned her gaze to the stage. Exactly five minutes after Squall looked at his watch, the lights dimmed again, and this time, the curtains were drawn to reveal a beautiful princess wearing a costume made of gold silk. She told her story of her ancestress, about how she died at the hands of a man, and thus revealing to Calaf why she detested all men. She then asked him the riddles, which Calaf answered impeccably of course. The people rejoiced at the prospect of having the princess marry, but the woman's heart of ice had not melted yet. Calaf then told her that if she was able to discover her name by dawn, he will comply with her wish to execute him.
The stage darkened, and once again they were outside in the Imperial City. A chorus began declaring the new order of the princess to get everyone to discover his name if they wanted to avoid death. Calaf emerged from the darkness and began singing his signature aria.
"I know this!" Rinoa exclaimed in a whisper. "This is Nessun Dorma!"
Squall whispered to her, "And you said you didn't know much about opera."
"But I know this one! Pavarotti sang this in the world cup right?" she silently asked him.
"Yeah, you're right about that one."
After the last, hair-raising note by the heroic tenor, the scene switched to the crowd that had now closed in upon Liu and Calaf's father, Timur. Since they(the people) had seen them talking with Calaf earlier, they decided to coax the two to spit out the prince's name. The chorus vented their rage on Liu first, and the guards tortured her in hopes to get Calaf's name out. Liu, who was suffering all this time, was brought before the princess. Before she ended her own life, she told the princess that she had to love the prince, for Liu had loved him silently and for that, she decided to trade her happiness for death. Taking a knife from one of the guards, she stabbed herself and fell on the Prince's feet.
Squall noticed Rinoa crying softly and handed her a napkin. She didn't blush, but she took it anyway and mouthed a silent thank you to Squall.
Upon Liu's tragic death, the crowd immediately cleared up and Calaf approached the Princess. After telling her that he would conquer her, he opened the veil that covered her face and kissed her. Turandot then exclaimed that never before had she felt anything so wonderful. He then decided to tell her his name, but instead of taking the Prince to Pu-Tin- Pao, she brings her to her father and declares that she knows his name. It is Love. They kiss and the people rejoice, ending the grand opera with the grandest of endings.
Upon that last note, the audience all stood up and gave the singers, the orchestra, the conductor, and everyone else who participated in the production a well-deserved applause and an ovation to add to that. Squall and Rinoa silently left the auditorium while the people below were clapping and went to Squall's office.
"Squall, that was wonderful. Thank you," she shyly told him.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you," Squall replied. "Thank you Rinoa for coming with me tonight. You made it really special for me."
Rinoa blushed and whispered, "Oh Squall, stop it."
Squall laughed out loud. "Sure. Now, you have got to change back into your sweater and jeans. You don't want to go to the train station looking like that."
"Yeah. Um, Squall, I'm gonna change so will you turn around?"
Squall blushed and turned around. When she was done, they both took the backstage exit of the theater and took a cab back to the station. After boarding the train back to Cremona, Squall guided Rinoa to their cabin.
"Why don't you sit here beside me? The view at night is beautiful too," Squall offered as he took his seat on the comfortable sofa.
Rinoa nodded and sat beside him. And once again, the train made another journey back to Cremona. Forty-five minutes later, the coach arrived at the station in Cremona, and Squall took Rinoa to his private garage. Upon the moment they entered the Ferrari, Rinoa rested her back against the leather seats of Squall's expensive car and felt the sandman working its magic of slumber on her nerves. Along the way to the estate, she fell asleep. Another half hour had passed and the Ferrari had finally arrived at the gates of the house after zooming through the now emptied streets of the city. When Squall stopped the car in front of the manor's entrance, he noticed that Rinoa was out cold. Shaking his head, he exited from his side and opened Rinoa's door. Lifting the woman in his arms, he struggled to open the knob of the door and set her down on the sofa in the front foyer.
'I wonder what I'm going to do with you Princess,' Squall mentally told her as he got up the stairs. He walked to Rinoa's room and opened the door, his eyes widening when he discovered that it was locked.
'Oh crap! Now where is she going to sleep? Hmm...' Squall returned to the foyer and picked up the sleeping beauty into his arms. Slowly walking up the stairs so as not to wake her, he opened his room's door and put her down gently on his bed. Taking the blanket and putting it over her, he wished her a good night as he changed into a shirt and a pair of boxers.
He crept silently into his side of the bed and turned off the lights.
"Mommy..." he heard Rinoa whisper beside him. She turned around and unconsciously put her arms around his waist, burying her head in the warmth of his back. "Mommy, please don't leave me."
'She's obviously dreaming," Squall thought when her arms wrapped tightly but comfortably around his waist. 'Better not wake her up though.' Squall picked up one of the hands that had managed to make its way around him and kissed it gently, stifling the cries coming out of the girl beside him.
Squall was usually a light sleeper. For years, sleeping problems had robbed him of rest, yet for the first time in those years, Squall slept through the night comfortably. And he wondered, was it because of this girl?
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Sorry this chapter took a bit long for me to write. I hope you guys like it and please submit a review if you do have the time.