Alright, people. Ellone is about to confess and spread the bad word... What will be the result? Will she be able to go through with it and kill Squall's newfound spirit? I can't watch...
These creatures are owned by Squaresoft, and not myself.
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Squall woke up with a strange sensation. It was weird to wake up next to someone, but it was also soothing. "Rinoa…" He whispered to himself as he had done so many times before. She lay asleep on his bare chest so serene… he didn't want to move a muscle. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes again.
There was a rapping at the door. Squall ignored it at first but then it came again. "Damn…" he cursed as he tried to gently slide himself from the bed. The next knock came harder and he raced to the door to stop the assailant. He opened the door quickly and wide exposing his boxers as if to say 'look, you woke me up, dude' but then he saw it was his sister and quickly brought the door to a crack and hid his butt behind it. "Sis?" he asked dumbly.
"Squall… I need to talk to you about something."
"Uh," Squall rubbed his hand down his face, "right now?"
Ellone was about to barge in there right that second to drop her load on him, skinnies or not, but then she heard a soft voice.
"Squall? Is someone at the door?"
"No, no rush. We have plenty of time." Ellone hastily turned away.
"Elle?" he sounded worried. "But you're ok, right?"
Ellone smiled not a reassuring smile, but one that was good enough for Squall. "I'll see you in the library." She turned and headed straight for the library. At least she now knew that she couldn't speak in front of Rinoa.
He turned back into bed. "It was Ellone." He said as he moved over her, showering her with gentle kisses down her face and neck. Rinoa giggled and folded her arms around his shoulders.
Ellone sat in the library with out a book, solemnly running her fingers along the pattern of the oak writing table, especially encircling the portion that resembled a face. She threw a lazy glance to the overhead clock. It seemed much slower than usual. She returned her gaze to the table and ran her finger around the figure some more.
"Hello, little Elle," a familiar voice called. She turned and was greeted by that infamous wide smile, and she stood up to meet him.
"Hi, Uncle Cid…" Ellone put on a prize-winning smile, herself, but her voice wasn't in it.
The former headmaster frowned with concern. "What's wrong?" he asked as he set a hand on her shoulder.
"Nothing…" she said as her gaze retuned to the oak. She had been found out and she bent back into the chair. Her mind was racing. She had to evade Cid's concern.
Cid looked over the young figure he had known as a child. For the first time this girl had closed him off, appearing very artificial. He knew something was wrong and he was determined to find out what. "Elle," he paused easing himself down into a neighboring chair with a groan. "tell me what's wrong. You can tell me anything." He leaned in close to Ellone.
His voice was so sincere it nearly brought a tear to her eye that to keep this secret. Her breath stopped as the right words were on her lips. "…I was worried about Edea."
"Edea?" Cid leaned back into his chair. "Edea's just fine. She is walking around the garden with some of the kids. She's no longer a sorceress, you know that…" he cocked his head, "Why are you worried about her?"
"Well, we came so close to losing her…" Ellone's gaze remained fixated on the figure in the oak.
"Yes, we did…" he sighed in remembrance. "If we had lost her… I don't know what I would have done."
Ellone looked up, "But you lead the attack on her?"
"No, I cowardly handed that task over to Squall. And as far as SeeD goes, SeeD was Edea's idea. I wanted no part in it and would have had no part in it if Edea wasn't so persistent." He sighed, "She is the love of my life and without her… I'd be lost."
Ellone clasped her uncle's hand. He smiled heartily and patted her lovingly.
After a short pause he asked, "What are you doing here, anyways? You know Edea would love to see you."
"Oh, I'm waiting for my brother."
"He hasn't kept you long has he?"
She shook her head.
Cid rose with a grunt. "Alright then…" he stooped over and gave Ellone a peck on the cheek. "See you later, kiddo," he smiled brightly and she beamed back.
She watched him leave her company and heaved a sigh as she thought what a nice man he was and as a kind of release to the pressure she felt, that is, until he ran into Squall. Ellone's heart began to beat harder. After a brief exchange, Cid was heading out the door and Squall was heading towards Elle.
Squall pulled up a chair and slouched in it lending an elbow to each knee.
There was a pause before Ellone spoke. "Squall…" she looked into her younger brother's eyes. These well known 'curious puppy-dog eyes' were unusually bright and liquid. Was this the effect of Rinoa? His eyes were imbued with the innocence of first love.
"…Yes?"
"(…I don't want to lose you, Squall.)" She pulled away from the conversation. "…I don't know…"
Squall was puzzled, and looked at his hands folded between his legs. "(She doesn't know why she called me here? What's going on? Why is she acting all weird?)" He looked back up. "(Oh, that's why…) Sis," he began, "I don't blame you for leaving, and I hold no grudge. It was a long time ago. Everything turned out fine, after all. So, don't worry about it."
"Thank you, Squall," she said tearfully.
He saw his big sister reach her hand up to wipe away her tears, and he leaned in and grabbed her. Elle held him tight. She won't let the harmful truth come to her little brother. She didn't want to see him withdraw into himself again. Squall pulled away softly.
"You're my big sis," he smiled a smile that came from memories that were merely a whisper in his mind.
"I love you." She smiled through her tears.
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Ellone stood amongst the holographic buildings while Laguna sat on the edge of his desk. Laguna heard the whole story. He, too, knew this information would cause his son disarray.
"It's not like Rinoa is Ultimecia yet. There's no trouble from her, so there's no need to take any action just yet." Laguna strolled around the desk, "I wonder, even, if we can stop her. I'll consult Odine on that—but in the meantime, we'll put this in a classified file and it will all be very hush-hush." Laguna returned to the front of the desk with a heavy sigh. "Oh, man, if Squall ever found out… it would kill him. I'm glad you came to me Elle," he patted her lovingly on the head.
