The Symmetry of the Strings
Rinoa stirred slightly and inhaled the sweet morning air before waking up to the beautiful Italian morning. Sniffing slightly to smell the scent of dew...er...man? She thought she felt something firm yet somewhat tender as she began massaging her arms around the mystery pillow she was clutching to her chest.
'Since when did the pillow get this big and firm?' she wondered. She smelled the lump in front of her, still keeping her eyes closed, and thought, 'Smells musky...oh no! Please don't let it be true!'
Cautiously opening her eyes to see what was in front of her, she was surprised when she found herself resting her head against Squall's muscular back. Her eyes grew as large as watermelons and then...she screamed.
"Squall! What am I doing here?" she demanded as she got off the bed dashed towards the other side of the room.
Squall woke up from Rinoa's shrill scream and said, "Huh? Oh. You were asleep when we got here and I decided to bring you to your room. It was locked, so I had to let you stay here. I can't let you sleep in the couch you know."
Rinoa felt like panicking. Here she was inside the room of the guy of her dreams and she was going nuts because she had slept with him last night. 'Rinoa! How could you refuse this!" "Squall, I am so sorry. Did I disturb you at all last night? I mean, I should have slept in the couch. I mean, didn't you find my key?" She was frantically searching for her key when it suddenly dawned to her. "Oh my gosh I left it inside my room! I'm really sorry Squall! Forgive me, but I was just so sleepy last night. I had a fun time but I think the jetlag's getting to me. Squall..."
Squall approached her and silenced her by placing a finger on her lips. "Don't speak. I had a good time last night. And to be honest, I've never slept better in years."
Rinoa felt her heart skip five beats. "You did?" she skeptically asked him. 'Oh gosh, he likes me, I think. I'm gonna melt! Help!'
"I did," Squall affirmed with a nod. "And it's because you were there." He moved closer to her, almost pinning the girl against the wall.
Rinoa knew that her heart wanted to break her rib bones and lunge out at Squall, but she had to control herself. "Squall, I'm sorry but...I have to go downstairs. I have to talk with your dad about my violin. Um, but thanks for last night. I had a really wonderful time." She opened the door behind her and sprinted towards Sophia to get a spare key, leaving Squall inside all alone.
Squall shook his head and sighed deeply. 'At least she enjoyed last night,' he noted as he entered the bathroom to take his morning shower.
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Squall and Rinoa came down together for breakfast, ignoring each other a bit to try to forget what had happened last night. An air of uneasiness also entered the room with them, and when they started picking out some of the wonderful breakfast pastries on the table, Zell suddenly asked a question.
"Now what the hotdog is going on with the both of you?" he said after taking a bite of his bologna sandwich. "It's like, hello! Welcome to earth and snap out of it!" He waved a hand in front of Squall's eyes and stopped when Squall gave him the look.
Ellone rested her chin on both her hands and purred, "Well...it seems that Rinoa and Squall had a wonderful time last night and somehow woke up on the wrong side of the BED." She winked at Rinoa and the violinist blushed like an apple.
She gulped the apple pastry down quickly and said, "NO! It wasn't like that! Nothing happened between us!"
Irvine chuckled and forked an ample amount of scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Yeah right! You guys were dating and I guess you forgot your key in your room. I saw you convincing Sophia to lend you the spares."
"And I went to the kitchen last night and saw no one in the couch. Now where could you have slept last night? Oh yeah! All the guest rooms were locked!" Ellone evilly told them all.
Selphie raised her hand and waved it back and forth. "Hey guys! I have a confession to make!" Everyone huddled around to hear her secret and she said, "I can talk to animals!"
Seifer shook his head and said, "Yeah right, and I have two horns on my head."
Quistis smiled at him and said, "You do, it's just not two though."
Seifer whirled to face her and demanded, "Hey what does that mean?"
Quistis happily took a sip of her juice and said, "It's a matter of life and gel."
Seifer poked his gelled hair and felt all the spikes touching his palms. "Hey! Now that was sarcastic!"
Selphie waved again and said, "Hello guys! Don't ignore me here! Like I said, I can talk to animals. Anyway, a bird flew to the window sill beside Squall's room and saw Rinoa clutching Squall's waist while they were asleep."
Ellone winked at Squall and loudly said, "Aw! Now isn't that sweet? Squall has a girlfriend!"
Zell joined in and soon the entire table was saying the "Squall and Rinoa sitting on a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G" rhyme in a very annoying, singsong manner.
Rinoa blushed even redder and mouthed the words, "Squall, help me" to the guy whom she had slept with last night. Squall just winked at her and smiled.
"Well what do you want me to do? Wake up Sophia and ask her for the keys? It was midnight for crying out loud!" Squall loudly blurted out suddenly silencing everyone else. "Besides, I can't let Rinoa sleep on the couch! That would be impolite."
Ellone just smiled wryly and ate a grape. "Oh, what a gentleman!"
Squall threw Ellone a dirty look and said, "Yeah, I am a gentleman."
Ellone put both her hands on the table and inched closer to Squall. "Really? Then why didn't you treat our last lady visitor...Monica, I think...so well? Oh, I see. It's because you're in lo..."
Squall suddenly took the liberty to jam her mouth with a slice of peach, shutting Ellone up for the moment. "Yeah, it's because I'm in l...limbo!"
Ellone gulped down the peach slice and Zell asked, "Limbo? I thought you were going to say..."
Squall irritably shot, "Oh shut up and eat a hotdog Zell."
Everyone laughed and continued eating their breakfast and silence, but Ellone couldn't ignore the glances Squall and Rinoa kept stealing at each other. After finishing her food, she picked up her plate and was about to leave the room when she said, "Um, some of us came here a bit late so I guess the early birds have to leave the room to give SOME people a liiiitle bit of privacy." She left the room and fell into fits of laughter.
Seifer and Quistis looked at each other. They shrugged and carried their plates to the kitchen as well. "Yup, some people want to be alone," Quistis mumbled audibly.
"I agree," Irvine said, following everyone else. Rinoa was just about to pull him over and tell him not to leave them alone when Selphie jumped in front of Irvine and said, "Let's go talk to the animals!"
Rinoa just sat back on her chair and shook her head, leaving her alone with Zell and Squall. Zell had just popped his last bologna sandwich into his mouth and said through a full mouth, "Well you know what they say, 'In Rome, do as the Romans do.'" He ensued with the leaving act and finally left Squall and Rinoa in the dining room. Alone.
Rinoa poked mindlessly at her peaches with a fork. "So, I'm not done yet."
Squall stared at his cold cuts and added, "Me neither."
There was an awkward silence between them when Rinoa said, "Sorry about a while ago."
Squall looked up from his food and cocked his head on one side. "Hmm?"
"I shouldn't have blown you off this morning. I wanted to thank you for letting me sleep somewhere other than the couch," she sheepishly told him.
"Nah! Don't even think about it. I'm sure you were just shocked to be sleeping next to a guy you barely know," he told her with a grin.
"Maybe...then again, maybe it's because I like..." Rinoa stopped at the middle of her sentence and decided to shut up.
"Like what?" Squall asked her. 'Does she like me?'
Rinoa fidgeted with her fork and felt queasy. Her head had begun spinning but she was able to manage to keep her hormones in control. "I like sleeping...um...on...on...on beds!"
Squall looked down at his plate in disappointment. "Oh."
Rinoa edged around her seat uneasily. "So...after breakfast can we take a walk? Like in your private forest maybe?"
Squall tilted his head slightly from its dreary position and he smiled at her. "Sure. Yeah, I'd like that."
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Squall and Rinoa took a stroll in the woods behind the mansion. The scent of the saps of pine, spruce, birch, and maple perfumed the air with their dewy fragrance, allowing the wind to carry the smells of nature all over the estate. Up in those tall, tall trees, robins were flying, blackbirds nesting, and sparrows cuddling up in their round nest. In the forests below, two friends walked hand in hand exploring this untouched paradise in the Loire estate.
"Rinoa..."
"Hmm?"
"When did you start taking up violin lessons?" Squall inquired the virtuoso violinist.
Rinoa paused to think and answered, "I think I was about three when I started taking up lessons, and then I was sent by my mom to Italy to learn under the masters of the bow here at fourteen. Three years later, I went to Juilliard in New York and took master classes for two years, and Cid Kramer discovered me during one of the classes and had me perform a song, and I guess that was it."
"Wow, you really are talented. Not many violinists can finish learning the instrument and master it at such a young age. So you're nineteen right now?" he asked her.
She nodded her head and replied, "Nineteen and a half, to be exact. I'm turning twenty in a few months. What about you Squall? How old are you?"
He smiled and began walking again. "I'm nineteen too, only that I'm turning twenty two months from now."
Rinoa beamed and gushed, "So that means you're older than me!" She stopped smiling though when Squall gave her a skeptical look.
"And what does older have to do with anything?" he questioned her. 'Is she thinking of something?'
Rinoa blushed and thought, 'I was thinking that you could marry me...wait! Why am I thinking about marriage?' "Um, nothing! I was just surprised at how much older you are than me by...four months." 'Oh my gosh does he know?'
Once again, there was an awkward silence between them, and they stopped by a couple of large rocks overlooking a pristine lake.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Squall asked while gazing from the scenery back to her.
"Yeah..." murmured Rinoa as she took in the breathtaking view. Walking over to one of the rocks, she sat on the biggest one she could find and stared at the peaceful place. Squall soon joined her and tried looking for what she was staring at.
"What are you looking at?"
Rinoa turned to face him and gave him a lovely smile. "Everything. Everything is so peaceful...and beautiful." She sighed contentedly and rested her head against the soft moss.
Squall then decided to become a bit more daring and placed his arm around Rinoa's shoulder. He could feel her muscles tense up a bit upon contact, but they eventually relaxed and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Squall..." Rinoa almost said in a whisper. "Have you ever loved a girl before?"
Squall tilted his head so that it was leaning against Rinoa's. "Yeah...Ellone."
Rinoa looked up at him and laughed. "No. Not that kind of love. I was talking about...you know, a girlfriend and boyfriend kind of love."
Squall gave her the "Thinker" look and answered, "I actually did once, but this girl found someone else. I guess that's why I was so afraid of bumping into another one of these relationships."
Rinoa smiled at him and brushed off one of his messy bangs off his forehead. "I don't think any girl should do that to you. You are such a wonderful guy, and..." she blushed before continuing, "...if only I had the chance to be that girl, I would look back at my mistake and give myself a slap on the head." Her heart was once again bouncing and running faster than the Energizer Bunny, electrifying her feet and hands and head. She could see dots in front of her eyes and felt like she needed...him...all of him.
Squall grinned at her and mumbled, "You really would? (boy, that must have sounded stupid) I mean, would you? Right now? If I asked you that is." He looked deeply into her eyes and moved closer to meet her face.
Rinoa shyly nodded and smiled at him. "Squall, I really would, and I promise, I won't leave you." Their lips were only inches away from their first kiss.
"Rinoa, I...I...I don't know what to say..." Squall blurted out as his nose was literally a centimeter away from hers.
Rinoa blinked her eyes and felt her heart ripping through her insides. "Squall..." she whispered passionately. Their lips were JUST about to meet when the both of them suddenly heard someone calling them from outside the forest.
"Squall! Rinoa!" Zell called aloud as he looked for them while trying to wring himself free from the clutches of a bush's branches. "Laguna's looking for the both of you!"
Squall reluctantly faced Zell and swore inwardly. 'Shit! Of all the times to come in and...' "Yeah what?!?"
Zell found them and practically ran for cover as Squall advanced towards him. "Hey! It's not my fault! Your da was calling you for something important. What were you guys doing anyway?"
Squall murmured, "None of your..."
Rinoa interrupted him by saying, "We were just enjoying the forest. That's all. Has Dr. Loire found something about my Strad?"
Zell smoothed his leaf-ruffled hair and ran towards them both. "Yup! I think he found something about the structure of your instrument. It's actually a bunch of scientific crap but I guess you should come to see what he has in the lab. Come on!" The blonde punk ran out of the forest, with Rinoa and Squall trailing behind him. Neither one spoke to each other until they left the vicinity of the sprawling trees.
"Hey," Squall sexily called her.
Rinoa smiled at him and said, "Hey."
"So, we'll just continue this later okay?" Squall suggested.
Rinoa nodded in agreement and replied, "I agree." 'Zell! If only I knew you long enough, I would have wrung your neck for ruining that moment!'
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As they entered the lab, Zell, Squall, and Rinoa took their seats on the wonderful, black leather sofa near the fireplace. A few minutes passed, and Laguna emerged from his laboratory carrying the Seduzione violin case along with a folder containing thick bundles of research material. Setting down the things on top of the coffee table, he sat down on the one-man sofa chair in front of the large, three-seater and flipped out some stapled sheets from the folder.
"Rinoa, earlier during the day, I inspected your violin under a geometric analysis spectrum and found something rather unusual. Are you ready for whatever I'm going to be telling you?" the doctor inquired the violinist before giving her the results.
Rinoa gave an affirmative 'mmph' before Laguna continued, "I'm not sure if you're familiar with the history of violin-making, as you simply play the instrument, but if you were able to study the design concepts of Strads, Guarnieris, Amatis, and other violins of the high Italian 17th century caliber, you might have studied somewhere that those violins are based on a pattern of circles symmetrically lined to produce a model that releases a most heavenly note. Do you remember Leonardo da Vinci's model of the Vitruvian man?"
Rinoa cocked an eyebrow and skeptically asked, "The naked sketch of a man with multiple arms and legs?"
Laguna snapped his fingers enthusiastically and began pointing it at her back and forth. "Yes! That's it! These violins were based of da Vinci's principles of symmetry. Just like the Vitruvian man, whose limbs are perfectly a mirror image of either side, the antique violins are like mirrors. No modern violin is perfectly symmetrical, even if they are machine made. Those great antique instruments, however, have both sides that are almost identical to each other. That is why these violins produce superior, rich sounds."
Rinoa then questioned him, "But what does this have to do with my Strad?"
Laguna took the case and set it once again in front of them on the coffee table. Taking another ancient-looking violin from a compartment underneath the sofa, he gave both violins to Rinoa and added, "Rinoa, if you may, please do try playing a note in one of these instruments. The other Strad first."
Rinoa picked up the bow and pulled it gently over the strings. It produced a richly amusing tone that sent chills through her spine. It was an instrument of a rarely high quality—one that comes with Strads tracing their origins from the early 1700s. "It's beautiful Sir Laguna! But it isn't as rich as my Strad is it?"
Laguna replied, "Ah, a violinist's trained ear indeed. You are right, the tones aren't as dark or seductive as your Seduzione. It certainly is a Stradivarius violin of an extremely high caliber, the ones produced from his workshop during the prime of his life. However, please do compare it with your violin."
Rinoa lifted her own instrument from the table and ran the hairs of her bow along the G String. The difference was immediately noticeable. While the first Stradivarius produced a rich note of a beautiful, singing quality, her own Seduzione gave out one that lured listeners immediately to the depth of its dark, yet amazingly high qualities. Richness was not compromised as she played the instrument a few octaves higher, and that made her instrument seemingly creamier in sound.
Laguna replaced his violin back into the compartment and said, "As you might know, no two Strads are similar to each other. However, the sound given out by most of the master's instruments usually give tones similar to the Cremona Dolphin you were playing earlier."
Rinoa gasped, "That was the Dolphin? THE Dolphin? You must be joking right Sir Laguna?"
Laguna chuckled and replied, "Apparently, I'm not. That was the Dolphin and I bought it from one of the dying patrons who owned that Strad. Going back to the matter of your instrument however, let me add one more detail I forgot to leave out. While most of the high-end violins produced by the great Italian masters were at least 99.2% symmetrical, only one violin was pronounced to be perfect in every sense. That violin was thought to have been lost in a fire in a colonial billionaire's mansion in Hampton, New York about a century ago, apparently, it is lying in this very living room at the moment—in your hands, Miss Heartilly. Your legendary Seduzione is the missing Stradivari violin. Although I believe your patrons may have acquired it through some unknown means where the instrument was mistakenly sold twice the seven to ten million dollar mark given for such sacred relics, that instrument was never meant to be given at such a paltry amount of money. Being a violin maker, I would say that your instrument should rather be sold at the low, low price of one hundred million dollars. I should say, that was the very violin Paganini used to compose his haunting 24 Caprices."
Rinoa felt like a lead weight had just been dropped into her stomach. "But sir...I cannot give this violin back to the authorities! This has been in my family for years," she pleaded the professor.
"Don't worry Rinoa. I won't report this case to the police. I don't think it is necessary to do that after an obsolete hundred year case right? And besides, you weren't the first person to be able to use that Strad," he said with a sad look on his face.
"What do you mean Sir?" she asked the depressed-looking doctor.
"Your mother Julia, she was the first woman ever to brandish that beautiful violin in one of her even lovelier recitals. I was a young man back then, and two of my friends led me to the theater urging me to watch this wonderful woman playing the violin. I had studied the instrument already by that time, but it intrigued me to be able to see what this talk of the town violin had in it. When I saw your mother playing that violin, I sort of fell in love with her, literally. I later entered her backstage room and brought her some flowers, congratulating her for a wonderful performance. We talked for a few hours and then, I believe, as some would put it, it was love at first sight. I was in love with her, and she with me. I would take her around Milan, bringing her to the most romantic spots in the city, and we would often stay out for hours just talking outside the steps of the Duomo in the middle of the night. One day, I had to leave for the United States because of some business and I vowed to return to her and marry her," he narrated to them all. "I returned about two months later learning that another man had whisked her away. Although she left me, I still knew that somehow, she loved me. Secretly, she had wanted to become a singer, and I was able to encourage her to pursue her dreams. A year later, while I was in Milan eating at a café with some friends, I heard this most beautiful song blasting out of the radios. "Eyes on Me" they called it. She even recorded it in Italian, and I think they called it "Gli Occhi sur Me" , and when I realized that the song was sung by her, and after listening to the lyrics, I somehow knew that she was singing about us. It was then that I regretted leaving her. I could never hate her though. She was too precious for me to hate. Eventually, I found someone else, but no matter how the world turns around, your mother took a special place in my heart that only two women could have occupied—my wife and her. Rinoa, I would never bring that violin to the authorities. It holds too many memories to be chucked at those inexperienced people."
Rinoa listened to his story and said, "I see. Thank you Sir Laguna. I'm sure my mother was happy while she was still with you."
Laguna chuckled half-heartedly and said, "I hope so. Oh well, I think that's all for today. Rinoa, I'm not yet done with your violin so please give me some more time."
Rinoa complied with his request and gave him back the Seduzione. Laguna ruffled her hair gently as a father would and sighed, "I'm sure Julia would have been proud of you if she had seen you now. You remind me of her in many ways, Rinoa. I just hope Squall here finds someone as wonderful as you."
Squall and Rinoa looked at each other and almost laughed, but decided not to because of Laguna's unusually depressing mood. He bid them goodbye and slowly returned to his laboratory.
Squall raised an eyebrow when Zell had also gone in and asked Rinoa, "Your mother and my father dated?"
Rinoa grinned and said, "I guess that's what it looks like."
Squall moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I don't know about destiny but can we continue where we left off?"
"I'd love that," she purred while sitting right beside him. Rinoa inched closer to Squall and was just about to kiss his lips when Quistis entered the room.
"Squall! Rinoa! Hi! So like, we were planning to take a day trip to Bergamo and we were wondering if you wanted to come and...oh my gosh what are you guys doing?" she exclaimed when she realized that they were about to kiss.
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Busted! Or not? Please read and review as always and enjoy the story. How are you liking it so far?
Rinoa stirred slightly and inhaled the sweet morning air before waking up to the beautiful Italian morning. Sniffing slightly to smell the scent of dew...er...man? She thought she felt something firm yet somewhat tender as she began massaging her arms around the mystery pillow she was clutching to her chest.
'Since when did the pillow get this big and firm?' she wondered. She smelled the lump in front of her, still keeping her eyes closed, and thought, 'Smells musky...oh no! Please don't let it be true!'
Cautiously opening her eyes to see what was in front of her, she was surprised when she found herself resting her head against Squall's muscular back. Her eyes grew as large as watermelons and then...she screamed.
"Squall! What am I doing here?" she demanded as she got off the bed dashed towards the other side of the room.
Squall woke up from Rinoa's shrill scream and said, "Huh? Oh. You were asleep when we got here and I decided to bring you to your room. It was locked, so I had to let you stay here. I can't let you sleep in the couch you know."
Rinoa felt like panicking. Here she was inside the room of the guy of her dreams and she was going nuts because she had slept with him last night. 'Rinoa! How could you refuse this!" "Squall, I am so sorry. Did I disturb you at all last night? I mean, I should have slept in the couch. I mean, didn't you find my key?" She was frantically searching for her key when it suddenly dawned to her. "Oh my gosh I left it inside my room! I'm really sorry Squall! Forgive me, but I was just so sleepy last night. I had a fun time but I think the jetlag's getting to me. Squall..."
Squall approached her and silenced her by placing a finger on her lips. "Don't speak. I had a good time last night. And to be honest, I've never slept better in years."
Rinoa felt her heart skip five beats. "You did?" she skeptically asked him. 'Oh gosh, he likes me, I think. I'm gonna melt! Help!'
"I did," Squall affirmed with a nod. "And it's because you were there." He moved closer to her, almost pinning the girl against the wall.
Rinoa knew that her heart wanted to break her rib bones and lunge out at Squall, but she had to control herself. "Squall, I'm sorry but...I have to go downstairs. I have to talk with your dad about my violin. Um, but thanks for last night. I had a really wonderful time." She opened the door behind her and sprinted towards Sophia to get a spare key, leaving Squall inside all alone.
Squall shook his head and sighed deeply. 'At least she enjoyed last night,' he noted as he entered the bathroom to take his morning shower.
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Squall and Rinoa came down together for breakfast, ignoring each other a bit to try to forget what had happened last night. An air of uneasiness also entered the room with them, and when they started picking out some of the wonderful breakfast pastries on the table, Zell suddenly asked a question.
"Now what the hotdog is going on with the both of you?" he said after taking a bite of his bologna sandwich. "It's like, hello! Welcome to earth and snap out of it!" He waved a hand in front of Squall's eyes and stopped when Squall gave him the look.
Ellone rested her chin on both her hands and purred, "Well...it seems that Rinoa and Squall had a wonderful time last night and somehow woke up on the wrong side of the BED." She winked at Rinoa and the violinist blushed like an apple.
She gulped the apple pastry down quickly and said, "NO! It wasn't like that! Nothing happened between us!"
Irvine chuckled and forked an ample amount of scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Yeah right! You guys were dating and I guess you forgot your key in your room. I saw you convincing Sophia to lend you the spares."
"And I went to the kitchen last night and saw no one in the couch. Now where could you have slept last night? Oh yeah! All the guest rooms were locked!" Ellone evilly told them all.
Selphie raised her hand and waved it back and forth. "Hey guys! I have a confession to make!" Everyone huddled around to hear her secret and she said, "I can talk to animals!"
Seifer shook his head and said, "Yeah right, and I have two horns on my head."
Quistis smiled at him and said, "You do, it's just not two though."
Seifer whirled to face her and demanded, "Hey what does that mean?"
Quistis happily took a sip of her juice and said, "It's a matter of life and gel."
Seifer poked his gelled hair and felt all the spikes touching his palms. "Hey! Now that was sarcastic!"
Selphie waved again and said, "Hello guys! Don't ignore me here! Like I said, I can talk to animals. Anyway, a bird flew to the window sill beside Squall's room and saw Rinoa clutching Squall's waist while they were asleep."
Ellone winked at Squall and loudly said, "Aw! Now isn't that sweet? Squall has a girlfriend!"
Zell joined in and soon the entire table was saying the "Squall and Rinoa sitting on a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G" rhyme in a very annoying, singsong manner.
Rinoa blushed even redder and mouthed the words, "Squall, help me" to the guy whom she had slept with last night. Squall just winked at her and smiled.
"Well what do you want me to do? Wake up Sophia and ask her for the keys? It was midnight for crying out loud!" Squall loudly blurted out suddenly silencing everyone else. "Besides, I can't let Rinoa sleep on the couch! That would be impolite."
Ellone just smiled wryly and ate a grape. "Oh, what a gentleman!"
Squall threw Ellone a dirty look and said, "Yeah, I am a gentleman."
Ellone put both her hands on the table and inched closer to Squall. "Really? Then why didn't you treat our last lady visitor...Monica, I think...so well? Oh, I see. It's because you're in lo..."
Squall suddenly took the liberty to jam her mouth with a slice of peach, shutting Ellone up for the moment. "Yeah, it's because I'm in l...limbo!"
Ellone gulped down the peach slice and Zell asked, "Limbo? I thought you were going to say..."
Squall irritably shot, "Oh shut up and eat a hotdog Zell."
Everyone laughed and continued eating their breakfast and silence, but Ellone couldn't ignore the glances Squall and Rinoa kept stealing at each other. After finishing her food, she picked up her plate and was about to leave the room when she said, "Um, some of us came here a bit late so I guess the early birds have to leave the room to give SOME people a liiiitle bit of privacy." She left the room and fell into fits of laughter.
Seifer and Quistis looked at each other. They shrugged and carried their plates to the kitchen as well. "Yup, some people want to be alone," Quistis mumbled audibly.
"I agree," Irvine said, following everyone else. Rinoa was just about to pull him over and tell him not to leave them alone when Selphie jumped in front of Irvine and said, "Let's go talk to the animals!"
Rinoa just sat back on her chair and shook her head, leaving her alone with Zell and Squall. Zell had just popped his last bologna sandwich into his mouth and said through a full mouth, "Well you know what they say, 'In Rome, do as the Romans do.'" He ensued with the leaving act and finally left Squall and Rinoa in the dining room. Alone.
Rinoa poked mindlessly at her peaches with a fork. "So, I'm not done yet."
Squall stared at his cold cuts and added, "Me neither."
There was an awkward silence between them when Rinoa said, "Sorry about a while ago."
Squall looked up from his food and cocked his head on one side. "Hmm?"
"I shouldn't have blown you off this morning. I wanted to thank you for letting me sleep somewhere other than the couch," she sheepishly told him.
"Nah! Don't even think about it. I'm sure you were just shocked to be sleeping next to a guy you barely know," he told her with a grin.
"Maybe...then again, maybe it's because I like..." Rinoa stopped at the middle of her sentence and decided to shut up.
"Like what?" Squall asked her. 'Does she like me?'
Rinoa fidgeted with her fork and felt queasy. Her head had begun spinning but she was able to manage to keep her hormones in control. "I like sleeping...um...on...on...on beds!"
Squall looked down at his plate in disappointment. "Oh."
Rinoa edged around her seat uneasily. "So...after breakfast can we take a walk? Like in your private forest maybe?"
Squall tilted his head slightly from its dreary position and he smiled at her. "Sure. Yeah, I'd like that."
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Squall and Rinoa took a stroll in the woods behind the mansion. The scent of the saps of pine, spruce, birch, and maple perfumed the air with their dewy fragrance, allowing the wind to carry the smells of nature all over the estate. Up in those tall, tall trees, robins were flying, blackbirds nesting, and sparrows cuddling up in their round nest. In the forests below, two friends walked hand in hand exploring this untouched paradise in the Loire estate.
"Rinoa..."
"Hmm?"
"When did you start taking up violin lessons?" Squall inquired the virtuoso violinist.
Rinoa paused to think and answered, "I think I was about three when I started taking up lessons, and then I was sent by my mom to Italy to learn under the masters of the bow here at fourteen. Three years later, I went to Juilliard in New York and took master classes for two years, and Cid Kramer discovered me during one of the classes and had me perform a song, and I guess that was it."
"Wow, you really are talented. Not many violinists can finish learning the instrument and master it at such a young age. So you're nineteen right now?" he asked her.
She nodded her head and replied, "Nineteen and a half, to be exact. I'm turning twenty in a few months. What about you Squall? How old are you?"
He smiled and began walking again. "I'm nineteen too, only that I'm turning twenty two months from now."
Rinoa beamed and gushed, "So that means you're older than me!" She stopped smiling though when Squall gave her a skeptical look.
"And what does older have to do with anything?" he questioned her. 'Is she thinking of something?'
Rinoa blushed and thought, 'I was thinking that you could marry me...wait! Why am I thinking about marriage?' "Um, nothing! I was just surprised at how much older you are than me by...four months." 'Oh my gosh does he know?'
Once again, there was an awkward silence between them, and they stopped by a couple of large rocks overlooking a pristine lake.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Squall asked while gazing from the scenery back to her.
"Yeah..." murmured Rinoa as she took in the breathtaking view. Walking over to one of the rocks, she sat on the biggest one she could find and stared at the peaceful place. Squall soon joined her and tried looking for what she was staring at.
"What are you looking at?"
Rinoa turned to face him and gave him a lovely smile. "Everything. Everything is so peaceful...and beautiful." She sighed contentedly and rested her head against the soft moss.
Squall then decided to become a bit more daring and placed his arm around Rinoa's shoulder. He could feel her muscles tense up a bit upon contact, but they eventually relaxed and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Squall..." Rinoa almost said in a whisper. "Have you ever loved a girl before?"
Squall tilted his head so that it was leaning against Rinoa's. "Yeah...Ellone."
Rinoa looked up at him and laughed. "No. Not that kind of love. I was talking about...you know, a girlfriend and boyfriend kind of love."
Squall gave her the "Thinker" look and answered, "I actually did once, but this girl found someone else. I guess that's why I was so afraid of bumping into another one of these relationships."
Rinoa smiled at him and brushed off one of his messy bangs off his forehead. "I don't think any girl should do that to you. You are such a wonderful guy, and..." she blushed before continuing, "...if only I had the chance to be that girl, I would look back at my mistake and give myself a slap on the head." Her heart was once again bouncing and running faster than the Energizer Bunny, electrifying her feet and hands and head. She could see dots in front of her eyes and felt like she needed...him...all of him.
Squall grinned at her and mumbled, "You really would? (boy, that must have sounded stupid) I mean, would you? Right now? If I asked you that is." He looked deeply into her eyes and moved closer to meet her face.
Rinoa shyly nodded and smiled at him. "Squall, I really would, and I promise, I won't leave you." Their lips were only inches away from their first kiss.
"Rinoa, I...I...I don't know what to say..." Squall blurted out as his nose was literally a centimeter away from hers.
Rinoa blinked her eyes and felt her heart ripping through her insides. "Squall..." she whispered passionately. Their lips were JUST about to meet when the both of them suddenly heard someone calling them from outside the forest.
"Squall! Rinoa!" Zell called aloud as he looked for them while trying to wring himself free from the clutches of a bush's branches. "Laguna's looking for the both of you!"
Squall reluctantly faced Zell and swore inwardly. 'Shit! Of all the times to come in and...' "Yeah what?!?"
Zell found them and practically ran for cover as Squall advanced towards him. "Hey! It's not my fault! Your da was calling you for something important. What were you guys doing anyway?"
Squall murmured, "None of your..."
Rinoa interrupted him by saying, "We were just enjoying the forest. That's all. Has Dr. Loire found something about my Strad?"
Zell smoothed his leaf-ruffled hair and ran towards them both. "Yup! I think he found something about the structure of your instrument. It's actually a bunch of scientific crap but I guess you should come to see what he has in the lab. Come on!" The blonde punk ran out of the forest, with Rinoa and Squall trailing behind him. Neither one spoke to each other until they left the vicinity of the sprawling trees.
"Hey," Squall sexily called her.
Rinoa smiled at him and said, "Hey."
"So, we'll just continue this later okay?" Squall suggested.
Rinoa nodded in agreement and replied, "I agree." 'Zell! If only I knew you long enough, I would have wrung your neck for ruining that moment!'
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As they entered the lab, Zell, Squall, and Rinoa took their seats on the wonderful, black leather sofa near the fireplace. A few minutes passed, and Laguna emerged from his laboratory carrying the Seduzione violin case along with a folder containing thick bundles of research material. Setting down the things on top of the coffee table, he sat down on the one-man sofa chair in front of the large, three-seater and flipped out some stapled sheets from the folder.
"Rinoa, earlier during the day, I inspected your violin under a geometric analysis spectrum and found something rather unusual. Are you ready for whatever I'm going to be telling you?" the doctor inquired the violinist before giving her the results.
Rinoa gave an affirmative 'mmph' before Laguna continued, "I'm not sure if you're familiar with the history of violin-making, as you simply play the instrument, but if you were able to study the design concepts of Strads, Guarnieris, Amatis, and other violins of the high Italian 17th century caliber, you might have studied somewhere that those violins are based on a pattern of circles symmetrically lined to produce a model that releases a most heavenly note. Do you remember Leonardo da Vinci's model of the Vitruvian man?"
Rinoa cocked an eyebrow and skeptically asked, "The naked sketch of a man with multiple arms and legs?"
Laguna snapped his fingers enthusiastically and began pointing it at her back and forth. "Yes! That's it! These violins were based of da Vinci's principles of symmetry. Just like the Vitruvian man, whose limbs are perfectly a mirror image of either side, the antique violins are like mirrors. No modern violin is perfectly symmetrical, even if they are machine made. Those great antique instruments, however, have both sides that are almost identical to each other. That is why these violins produce superior, rich sounds."
Rinoa then questioned him, "But what does this have to do with my Strad?"
Laguna took the case and set it once again in front of them on the coffee table. Taking another ancient-looking violin from a compartment underneath the sofa, he gave both violins to Rinoa and added, "Rinoa, if you may, please do try playing a note in one of these instruments. The other Strad first."
Rinoa picked up the bow and pulled it gently over the strings. It produced a richly amusing tone that sent chills through her spine. It was an instrument of a rarely high quality—one that comes with Strads tracing their origins from the early 1700s. "It's beautiful Sir Laguna! But it isn't as rich as my Strad is it?"
Laguna replied, "Ah, a violinist's trained ear indeed. You are right, the tones aren't as dark or seductive as your Seduzione. It certainly is a Stradivarius violin of an extremely high caliber, the ones produced from his workshop during the prime of his life. However, please do compare it with your violin."
Rinoa lifted her own instrument from the table and ran the hairs of her bow along the G String. The difference was immediately noticeable. While the first Stradivarius produced a rich note of a beautiful, singing quality, her own Seduzione gave out one that lured listeners immediately to the depth of its dark, yet amazingly high qualities. Richness was not compromised as she played the instrument a few octaves higher, and that made her instrument seemingly creamier in sound.
Laguna replaced his violin back into the compartment and said, "As you might know, no two Strads are similar to each other. However, the sound given out by most of the master's instruments usually give tones similar to the Cremona Dolphin you were playing earlier."
Rinoa gasped, "That was the Dolphin? THE Dolphin? You must be joking right Sir Laguna?"
Laguna chuckled and replied, "Apparently, I'm not. That was the Dolphin and I bought it from one of the dying patrons who owned that Strad. Going back to the matter of your instrument however, let me add one more detail I forgot to leave out. While most of the high-end violins produced by the great Italian masters were at least 99.2% symmetrical, only one violin was pronounced to be perfect in every sense. That violin was thought to have been lost in a fire in a colonial billionaire's mansion in Hampton, New York about a century ago, apparently, it is lying in this very living room at the moment—in your hands, Miss Heartilly. Your legendary Seduzione is the missing Stradivari violin. Although I believe your patrons may have acquired it through some unknown means where the instrument was mistakenly sold twice the seven to ten million dollar mark given for such sacred relics, that instrument was never meant to be given at such a paltry amount of money. Being a violin maker, I would say that your instrument should rather be sold at the low, low price of one hundred million dollars. I should say, that was the very violin Paganini used to compose his haunting 24 Caprices."
Rinoa felt like a lead weight had just been dropped into her stomach. "But sir...I cannot give this violin back to the authorities! This has been in my family for years," she pleaded the professor.
"Don't worry Rinoa. I won't report this case to the police. I don't think it is necessary to do that after an obsolete hundred year case right? And besides, you weren't the first person to be able to use that Strad," he said with a sad look on his face.
"What do you mean Sir?" she asked the depressed-looking doctor.
"Your mother Julia, she was the first woman ever to brandish that beautiful violin in one of her even lovelier recitals. I was a young man back then, and two of my friends led me to the theater urging me to watch this wonderful woman playing the violin. I had studied the instrument already by that time, but it intrigued me to be able to see what this talk of the town violin had in it. When I saw your mother playing that violin, I sort of fell in love with her, literally. I later entered her backstage room and brought her some flowers, congratulating her for a wonderful performance. We talked for a few hours and then, I believe, as some would put it, it was love at first sight. I was in love with her, and she with me. I would take her around Milan, bringing her to the most romantic spots in the city, and we would often stay out for hours just talking outside the steps of the Duomo in the middle of the night. One day, I had to leave for the United States because of some business and I vowed to return to her and marry her," he narrated to them all. "I returned about two months later learning that another man had whisked her away. Although she left me, I still knew that somehow, she loved me. Secretly, she had wanted to become a singer, and I was able to encourage her to pursue her dreams. A year later, while I was in Milan eating at a café with some friends, I heard this most beautiful song blasting out of the radios. "Eyes on Me" they called it. She even recorded it in Italian, and I think they called it "Gli Occhi sur Me" , and when I realized that the song was sung by her, and after listening to the lyrics, I somehow knew that she was singing about us. It was then that I regretted leaving her. I could never hate her though. She was too precious for me to hate. Eventually, I found someone else, but no matter how the world turns around, your mother took a special place in my heart that only two women could have occupied—my wife and her. Rinoa, I would never bring that violin to the authorities. It holds too many memories to be chucked at those inexperienced people."
Rinoa listened to his story and said, "I see. Thank you Sir Laguna. I'm sure my mother was happy while she was still with you."
Laguna chuckled half-heartedly and said, "I hope so. Oh well, I think that's all for today. Rinoa, I'm not yet done with your violin so please give me some more time."
Rinoa complied with his request and gave him back the Seduzione. Laguna ruffled her hair gently as a father would and sighed, "I'm sure Julia would have been proud of you if she had seen you now. You remind me of her in many ways, Rinoa. I just hope Squall here finds someone as wonderful as you."
Squall and Rinoa looked at each other and almost laughed, but decided not to because of Laguna's unusually depressing mood. He bid them goodbye and slowly returned to his laboratory.
Squall raised an eyebrow when Zell had also gone in and asked Rinoa, "Your mother and my father dated?"
Rinoa grinned and said, "I guess that's what it looks like."
Squall moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I don't know about destiny but can we continue where we left off?"
"I'd love that," she purred while sitting right beside him. Rinoa inched closer to Squall and was just about to kiss his lips when Quistis entered the room.
"Squall! Rinoa! Hi! So like, we were planning to take a day trip to Bergamo and we were wondering if you wanted to come and...oh my gosh what are you guys doing?" she exclaimed when she realized that they were about to kiss.
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