Lost Memories of my Love

Chapter 40 – Behind the Veil

Squall stood in front of the mirror lifelessly, just staring at his reflection. He was dressed in his black wedding tux; looking handsome with his neat attire, perfect complexion, but still holding his somewhat scruffy hair. Feeling unsatisfied with himself, he fixed his bowtie and combed his hair some more. But still, he looked wrong. He felt wrong…

He tried to think of a way to get out of the wedding with Ashleigh. Everything crossed his mind, but no matter what he thought of, all of his answers had something wrong with them. There was no way to get out of it. Either way, Rinoa was going to lose. Rinoa was the victim no matter what. He wanted to grab his gunblade and just kill somebody … he couldn't believe that he let something like this happen. He promised that he would protect Rinoa no matter what. Somehow, he had failed her. But then again, in a way, he fulfilled that promise…

He hadn't spoken to Ashleigh for a while now. He wondered how their marriage was going to work. He didn't know how she felt about him, but he was sure that he had a strong dislike for her. Or at least, he thought he did. When she had said sorry to him so long ago, he tried to brush it off, but somehow it stuck to his mind like glue. He considered a divorce straight after their marriage, but a divorce could still drive Sera to spread Rinoa's secret.

"Are you ready, Squall?"

Squall turned around at the sound of a new voice. He found Ellone at his door, dressed in an elegant white bride's maid dress. She was Ashleigh's maid of honour. Ellone's dark hair was up neatly in a loose bun with diamonds encrusted around the hair band, and the make up she wore highlighted her porcelain features. She held a small, delicate smile on her face.

"The wedding isn't for another four hours, Elle," sighed Squall.

"I know," said Ellone quietly, "I'm asking if you're ready … for the short journey I'm about to take you on…"

"What?"

"…I'm sorry, Squall," whispered Ellone.

Before Squall could say anything, he felt his head throb. His heart began to race and his blood pumped faster than usual. His vision became hazy and a deafening screeching sound pierced at his ears. He collapsed on one knee, trying to endorse the pain.

"Urghh … Ellone … not now," Squall moaned.

Before he knew it, Squall had blacked out on the floor of his room. Strange colours and shapes fluttered around his mind, blinding his senses. Suddenly, he found himself in a familiar environment. The room he was in was painted a tranquil blue, and the lighting illuminated the room.

He looked around, wondering where and why Ellone had taken him at such a time. He was too used to Ellone's power, and knew better than to try and get out of the past she wanted to show him. As his eyes wandered around, he found that the bedroom had belonged to Rinoa in the Caraway mansion.

"…What are you doing?"

The voice immediately caught Squall's attention. He looked over to one of the beds, where Rinoa and Ashleigh had suddenly appeared. He folded his arms and leaned against Rinoa's wardrobe, watching the two stepsisters with veiled interest. He might as well have gotten comfortable, seeing as how neither of them could see him.

"That's not going to wash out!" cried Rinoa angrily.

"I don't care," grumbled Ashleigh.

Rinoa snatched something from her stepsister furiously. Squall peered over Ashleigh's shoulder to get a better look at what was going on. For a moment, he wasn't sure, but what he saw did not take long for him to process. His eyes widened when he recognised the object Rinoa snatched from Ashleigh as the dress he had given to her so long ago. The pure white dress was no longer pure, but drenched in black ink along the waistline.

Squall tried to piece together what was going on, however it was difficult for him. Was this why Rinoa never wore that dress? She had told him that it was too small-fitting … why did she lie to him?

Rinoa ran to the dressing table and frantically began spraying water on the dress. "Why in Hyne's name did you do that for?" she exclaimed, vigorously scrubbing at the dress.

"So you can't wear that fricking dress anymore," growled Ashleigh, "It's ugly. I'm doing you a favour."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" demanded Rinoa, throwing the dress on the floor in anger. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I. Don't. Like. You," said Ashleigh bluntly.

Before Squall had time to process what was happening in front of him, the scene of Rinoa's room suddenly dispersed. He found himself not leaning against the wardrobe anymore, but now leaning against the wall at the back of the room.

Squall looked around and accepted his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was now. He soon came to realise that he was in a classroom at Balamb Garden. At that moment, people came into view. A younger Quistis was standing at the front of the room, teaching the class. More unfamiliar faces of students were in front of him, but then he noticed Rinoa sitting in the second last row, in front of Ashleigh. They were all whispering, but Squall could barely make out what they were saying.

"Do you know what you what you're wearing tonight, Ash?" asked one of Ashleigh's friends.

"No, I was going to wear the dress from the dinner we went to together," said Ashleigh, "But my big sister spilled ink all over it. She said it was an accident, but I bet she did it on purpose. But I forgave her anyway…"

"Jeez, what a bitch," murmured another of Ashleigh's friends.

Squall felt taken aback when he heard that. He distinctly remembered from the previous scenario that it was in fact Ashleigh that spilled all over the dress that Squall gave to Rinoa, and Ashleigh had worn Rinoa's dress. Not only that, she lied and said that the dress belonged to her, when it didn't, and she had spilled ink all over the dress so Rinoa would never be able to wear it again. If this hadn't angered Squall enough, the fact that Ashleigh told her friends that it was Rinoa that ruined her own dress added more fuel to the fire beginning to burn within him, and the 'jeez, what a bitch' comment was not very pleasing either.

The Garden classroom began to vanish, and in its place came Rinoa's house again. Sera and Ashleigh were standing with their arms folded, and Rinoa was heading up the stairs in a hurry.

"You're going to the airport, aren't you?" demanded Sera.

Rinoa said nothing and continued up the stairs.

"You aren't going anywhere!" shouted Sera menacingly, "I know you're just going to hop onto the next flight to Esthar without your father's approval!"

Rinoa turned around, wide-eyed. "No, I'm not! I swear!"

Sera headed up the stairs after her stepdaughter and grabbed her by the arm. "You can't fool me, you little wench." Her grip tightened as she dragged Rinoa toward the linen closet.

"Let me go!" screamed Rinoa.

Rinoa's cries for mercy seemed futile, as Sera opened the closet door with her free hand. Squall wanted so desperately to pull Rinoa away from Sera and hold her in his arms. He knew what this day was … this was the day he and his friends were going to Esthar.

He ran up to Rinoa angrily, trying to free her from her stepmother. But reality hurt him so much when his hands went straight through Rinoa, as if she were thin air. His insides churned, knowing that Rinoa was right in front of him, in trouble, and he couldn't do a thing to help her.

Sera thrust Rinoa into the closet and slammed the door shut, locking it. Rinoa's muffled screams and bangs against the wood came from within.

"NO! Let me out!" yelled Rinoa, her voice trembling and full of distress, "LET ME OUT!"

Squall gasped aloud, and ran into the closet, walking right through the door. He watched in dismay as Rinoa continued to bang against the door, calling for someone to free her. The sight wounded Squall … he couldn't believe this had happened. Why didn't he know about this? All of this pain that Rinoa endured behind Squall's back was mauling him … he really thought that the both of them would bleed and cry together, not the other way around.

Rinoa finally stopped banging against the door, and her screams turned into sobs. She slumped down against the closet door and huddled her knees closer to her chest, crying into her hands. As if it was programmed inside of him, Squall sat himself down next to Rinoa and tried to put his arm around Rinoa to comfort her. But to no avail … Squall's arm went straight through Rinoa as if she weren't there.

The anger and realisation inside of him made him want to scream. He couldn't believe how blind he was. He couldn't believe he couldn't see the pain in Rinoa's eyes so long ago. Knowing this now, he felt like killing himself.

Rinoa gripped at the ring hanging on the chain around her neck, wiping a silver tear away.

"I'm … I'm so sorry, Squall," she sobbed.

Squall found his voice. He ignored the fact that Rinoa couldn't hear him. "No … I'm sorry, Rinoa…"

Rinoa let out another sob, and with that, the scene began to change again. The dark atmosphere of the linen closet faded, and the den of the Caraway mansion came into play. Squall still found himself sitting on the floor, however he was alone. He looked around, and saw Sera fiddling with the telephone.

"Why are you disconnecting the phone line?"

Squall averted his gaze from Sera and found his eyes wandering to a newly arrived Rinoa. She seemed to have a disconcerted look pasted on her face, with her arms folded and a concealed sadness within her eyes that only Squall could spot.

"I'm not disconnecting it," snapped Sera, picking up the telephone in her hands. "I'm moving it to my room."

"Why?" asked Rinoa, as if it were the craziest thing ever.

"So you can't use it, of course."

"But…!" Rinoa's passive state suddenly flipped as her eyes widened in horror.

"You'll be distracted from your studies," said Sera simply.

"How so?" cried Rinoa.

"You'll be talking to the Loire boy," said Sera placidly.

Squall's insides churned when he realised whom Sera was talking about. This didn't sound good.

"Squall…?" said Rinoa slowly, "He's leaving for four years! I can't not talk to him…"

"Then the Loire boy will be distracted," said Sera, "He's learning to be president of a country for Hyne's sake."

"Bull shit," muttered Squall under his breath, shaking his head in disgust.

"Don't think I don't know anything, Rinoa, sweetie," said Sera sharply. "I know everything about you. You and the Loire boy."

"Stop calling him that!" said Rinoa, raising her voice. "His name is Squall. Squall Leonhart."

"That's right," murmured Squall.

Suddenly, things were making more sense to him. Before he could think about it any further, the den faded and the Caraways' front lawn took its place. Rinoa and Sera had disappeared, and at first there was no sound or movement coming from the scene. Squall picked himself up, not knowing whether something was going to happen or not, but before he knew it, Ashleigh had appeared by the mailbox, flipping through some of the mail in her hands.

"Caraway … Caraway … junk … bill … bill…" she murmured to herself, going through the envelopes. "Caraway … junk…" She paused after shuffling the last few letters. "Rinoa?"

Squall watched keenly at the scenario before him, wondering what kind of crazy thing would happen. He walked closer towards Ashleigh from behind, peering over her shoulder at what she was holding. He was glad that he was invisible in this world.

Ashleigh turned the envelope around. To Squall's interest, it was addressed from himself to Rinoa. He heard the girl smirk, as she tore the envelope open and unfolded the fine paper. Squall narrowed his eyes at this gesture, not liking this one bit.

"Is there anything for me?"

Squall looked up and found Rinoa heading out of the front door, her arms folded in her passive yet moody stance again. Ashleigh jumped in surprise and also looked up at Rinoa, folding up the paper and putting it back in the envelope.

"No, there's nothing for you," said Ashleigh flatly, walking straight past Rinoa and into the house.

"Hyne," groaned Squall angrily, shaking his head in disgust. He really couldn't believe his eyes and ears. Were these all the awful things that were happening behind Squall's back? He still couldn't believe he had never even known about them…

The Caraways' front yard disappeared into nothingness, and Rinoa's bedroom once again came into view. Rinoa appeared out of nowhere, kneeling on the floor and fiddling with something. Squall walked up to the illusionary girl to take a closer look. What he saw didn't cease to amaze him. She was holding a photograph; one that was torn into two … but it wasn't just any photograph. It was the photograph of Squall and Rinoa in each other's arms, smiling warmly.

It didn't take long for Squall to realise that it must have been Ashleigh, or Sera who had torn the photograph up. Because by judging from Rinoa's expression, she did not seem too happy about it, and was mending it as carefully as she could with tape. Squall let out an angry sigh, watching Rinoa fix her messy cupboard full of memories in silence.

"What are you doing?"

Both Rinoa and Squall turned around, and found Ashleigh at the door with her arms folded disapprovingly.

"What does it look like?" snapped Rinoa, "I'm putting all the stuff you stole back to where it belongs."

"You're going through my things?" cried Ashleigh, walking into the room.

"Your things?" exclaimed Rinoa in utter disbelief, "These are MY things! YOU were the one who stole them!'

"Shut your mouth," growled Ashleigh, "You just left these things lying around. This is my room too. Whatever is in here is considered my property also."

Rinoa stood up angrily. "How can you say that?" shouted Rinoa, "You wouldn't destroy your own property, would you!"

"I didn't destroy anything," snarled Ashleigh, taking a step closer to Rinoa. "You're getting confused with destroy and adjust."

"ADJUST?" repeated Rinoa furiously, "You flaming bitch! You just don't know when to quit, do you? Is it your duty to make my life a living hell?"

"How dare you!" shrieked Ashleigh, "You call me a bitch? Who's the little whore two-timing your boyfriend, Squall?"

Squall almost jumped when he heard his name, not to mention the fact that Ashleigh was accusing Rinoa of two-timing. Although his jaw dropped in shock, his mind simply did not believe it.

"What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Rinoa, looking outraged.

My thoughts exactly, thought Squall, slightly relieved that Rinoa had said that. He knew about sibling rivalry … but this was just ridiculous…

When he thought that something else was going to happen, Rinoa's bedroom once again disappeared. Squall braced himself for what was going to happen next – he was sure that things were going from bad to worse. Suddenly, it was nighttime and Squall found himself on the streets of Deling. He was standing on the sidewalk, the chilly air almost too real to be an illusion.

"Squall!"

Squall turned slightly to his right, to find Rinoa standing on the edge of the path with her back facing him. He titled his head in wonder, not recognising this moment. But when he looked into the direction Rinoa was staring at, it all came back to him. He saw himself on Deling Bridge, staring down at Rinoa with an easy smile. Next to him was Quistis, and behind him were Irvine, Selphie and Zell.

No … I don't want to see this again, thought Squall bitterly. Why, Ellone…?

"Rinoa!" yelled Quistis with a smile, waving back at the raven-haired woman.

Squall glanced at Rinoa, who was waving with the utmost enthusiasm at her friends. He looked back at his friends and 'himself'. But the happiness he saw in himself made him shudder … it looked so real, so genuine … but at the time, he had no idea that it would be the last moment he could see Rinoa…

"You're looking as beautiful as ever, Rin!" called Irvine.

"Yeah? You're all looking pretty fine yourself!"

"So, how're things, Rin?" yelled Zell.

"Absolutely, positively … wonderful!" Rinoa shouted back.

"Why are we still up here?" screamed Selphie, "And why are you still over there!"

Rinoa laughed. "I don't know! I'm just so happy to see you guys again!"

"And I'm … we're … happy to see you too," called out Squall.

Squall shuddered again at the sound of his voice. Something about it discomforted him. Maybe it was because he had been so miserable in Esthar for those four years he was away, and that was the first time he was actually happy. For those few short moments, he was happy … after four years of misery, five seconds worth of joy was welcoming. But that moment of joy … it only ended up with more pain, more grief when he found out Rinoa had 'died'…

"Well … what are you waiting for?" yelled Quistis.

"Nothing!" said Rinoa excitedly.

Squall watched himself and his friends disappear as the five of them darted down the stairs of the bridge to meet Rinoa. He folded his arms and looked away from the empty bridge, and back towards Rinoa. He sighed, waiting for it to happen … waiting for that dreaded moment that he did not want to re-live…

Rinoa bolted off the sidewalk in excitement; her arms wide open in preparation for a hug. All of a sudden, a dark blue car sped from around the corner and down the road. Rinoa did not see it. Everything was happening too fast for Squall to handle.

"Shit … RINOA!" shouted Squall. He ran across the street and towards Rinoa, forgetting that all of this was an illusion. He didn't think that he would actually see the way Rinoa died … and now that he was seeing it, he felt his heart throb in his chest.

As Squall reached Rinoa, he pushed her out of the way defensively, but only to be met with the cold, hard asphalt when he went straight through the transparent girl. As he came into physical contact with the road, it felt as if his senses were knocked back into him when he remembered he had no control over the events taking place.

Crash.

The noise almost made Squall's eardrums shatter. He quickly picked himself up and whirled around, and to his sheer horror, he found Rinoa lying on the ground, covered in blood. He ran up to her, almost afraid to see the sight, but the curiosity within him took control of his body. He kneeled down beside the sorceress, his eyes almost filling with tears at what he saw.

Rinoa … his pure Rinoa … she was on the ground, eyes shut, her joyful look dispersed and replaced with an empty one. Crimson stains were all over her dress, her arm oozing with blood. An enormous bruise swelled on her elbow, and the back of her head was bleeding uncontrollably. In her hand was a photograph … it was the torn photograph of her and Squall, submerged in blood.

Squall clenched his fist in anger, not bearing to see Rinoa in this condition and not being able to do a thing about it. His hand made his way towards her bloodied face, and to his amazement, it did not go straight through her like it did all the other times. Not caring why this was, he caressed her beautiful hair, stroking her pale skin, the feeling sending shivers up his spine.

Suddenly, the door of the blue car swung open. Squall looked up with a start, and the person who was getting out almost made his heart stop. It had to be a dream. It couldn't have been real. But seeing all of those flashbacks from before did not make this any more unbelievable than it could've been.

Squall stood up slowly, staring at the redhead with a stony gaze. He backed away, wondering what Ashleigh was going to do. She looked frightened and disoriented. But most of all, she had a look of splurging guilt stamped across her face. Squall knew straight away that this was no accident, and that only infuriated him even more.

Ashleigh leaned over the body with a clear look of terror. She hesitated, and finally picked up Rinoa's limp body, getting blood all over her white suit in the process. The redhead rushed back to her car with one of Rinoa's arms wrapped around her shoulder, and threw Rinoa's body into the backseat. She slammed the door shut and got into the front, still terrified. With that, she sped down the road again until she was out of sight.

Squall stood there numbly, not knowing what to think or say. He looked back to the mysterious pool of blood on the road, which was not so mysterious to him anymore. Suddenly, footsteps pounded down the staircase of the bridge, and he found his illusionary self at the bottom of the stairs, pleasantly smiling … but that pleasant smile turned upside down in almost an instant.

Squall couldn't believe how quickly those events had happened. All of that occurred whilst he and his friends were running down the stairs to meet Rinoa. She was run over by her own stepsister in only a couple of seconds, and taken away mysteriously, without them even knowing. It was so unbelievable that he had to believe it.

As Squall stood there, a lone figure in the night, Deling began to morph. Slowly, it disintegrated and a new environment took its place. The place Squall found himself in was unfamiliar to him – he had never seen it before in his life. He looked around, to find a small, cosy room with a single bed by a window and a chair beside it. The window was left open, and beyond the curtains was the visible night sky.

People began to magically appear in the room. A flaxen haired man sat in the chair with his arms folded, and in the bed was a woman wrapped in bandages. Squall recognised the woman straight away as Rinoa, and the man to be Seifer … but to him, he was still Marcel.

Silence filled the room, and Squall shifted positions to get a closer look at things. The only thing to be heard was the loud ticking of the clock on the wall, and Rinoa's very shallow breathing.

This must be that time when he nursed her back to health after 'the incident', thought Squall, recalling what Seifer had told him at one of their dinners.

Suddenly, Seifer got out of his chair and stretched with a yawn. It seemed that he was sitting there for a very long time. As he put his arms down, he stood over Rinoa, peering down at her with an expressionless face.

"Curaga," he murmured.

Squall looked at Seifer with curiosity. He wondered what was going to happen. Somehow, he felt a tinge of jealousy that Seifer was able to be present in Rinoa's time of need and Squall wasn't. He wondered if this was how the two of them became a couple. And that only made him feel a lot stranger.

"Curaga," said Seifer again, watching the twinkling blue aura dance on Rinoa's body. It had no effect. "Curaga. Curaga! Curaga! CURAGA!"

It appeared that Seifer was out of magic, and took his position back in his seat again. He sat silently, watching Rinoa's motionless body. Squall did also.

Rinoa stirred. At this slight sign of movement, Seifer got up with a start and peered over her again.

"Cure!" said Seifer, as sparkling green particles fell onto Rinoa.

At this, Rinoa's eyes fluttered open, and Squall felt his heart skip beats. She attempted to sit up, but let out a loud wince when she was met with a searing pain in her chest.

"Rinoa!" roared Seifer, "Don't move … it'll open your wounds."

What? So he did know that she was Rinoa? Squall blinked, in a daze. All this time he thought that Seifer had found Rinoa unconscious, and wanted to help her out, and when he didn't know who she was he had made up an identity to keep her safe. But, that didn't seem to be the case … and that was very alarming to Squall.

"Rinoa…?" said Rinoa slowly, laying back down. "Who's … who's Rinoa?" She paused. "Am … am I … Rinoa?"

"N-No," said Seifer uneasily, "You're not Rinoa."

Squall felt his jaw clench along with his fist. His temper was beyond boiling point, and if this weren't an illusion, he would have smashed Seifer to bits.

"Then … then who am I? What's my name? W-Where am I?" Rinoa touched her forehead, fingering the bandages wrapped around it. "My head hurts. What … what happened?"

"You're … you're Sierra," said Seifer. "Your name is Sierra Hearten. There was a fire at your house and … and you were badly hurt. You're at my house now, and I've been taking care of you."

Squall groaned in anger, trying to contain himself. So this is how it happened…

"Where's my family?" asked Rinoa, "Are they okay?"

Seifer shook his head. "No … I'm sorry. Your parents were killed in the fire. You're the only one alive."

"W-What?" shrieked Rinoa, fright in her voice. "N-No! That … that can't be right. I want to see my family … please…" She tried to get up again, but yelped when she was met with pain in her chest.

"Don't move!" roared Seifer. He calmed himself down. "I'm sorry, Sierra. Your … your family is gone now."

Rinoa closed her eyes, as if trying to remember something. When she opened them, all that clouded across them was bemusement. "I … I can't remember anything."

"Don't worry," said Seifer, "I'll … I'll help you remember everything."

Rinoa smiled. "Thank you. But … who are you?"

Seifer hesitated for a moment. "Marcel. My name is Marcel."

"Oh … are you my brother…?" asked Rinoa.

Seifer hesitated once more. "No, Sierra … I'm not your brother."

"Then who are you…?" asked Rinoa. "My doctor…? You're wearing a white coat…"

Seifer shook his head again. "I'm … I'm your boyfriend, Sierra."

Squall, at that moment, roared in fury. He charged towards Seifer with a clenched fist, wanting to unleash all his anger. So much rage built up in his little trip to the past … anger with Seifer, anger with Sera, anger with Ashleigh … but especially anger with himself. He couldn't believe how much had happened behind his back. He couldn't believe how bad the other side to things were. He couldn't believe that he didn't pick any of this up and do something about it…

As Squall was about to make contact with Seifer, he was met once again with the feeling of the solid ground at his face. For a moment, he felt a searing pain in his head, gripping at his mind tightly. Everything turned black, and Squall was unable to move.

In less than a split second, the pain had stopped. He heard the humming of the air conditioner of his normal room, feeling the familiar and ordinary atmosphere again. He tried to open his eyes, but it felt like they were glued shut. He suddenly heard knocking at his door.

At this, Squall's eyes flickered open and he picked himself up from the floor, holding his head and trying to get used to the real world again. At first he struggled to keep his balance. He was never going to get used to the after-feeling of Ellone's power.

Squall made his way to the door and opened it, wondering whom it was. To his utter astonishment, it was Seifer standing before him. As soon as Squall saw the blonde man's face, he felt like packing a punch right at him after what he saw. Instead, he tried to contain his emotions. He said nothing and kept an expressionless look on his face, waiting for Seifer to speak.

"Remember me?" sneered Seifer. He was wearing a white suit with the top few buttons undone and his tie was scrappily done around his neck. His shirt was half tucked, half-untucked and it appeared that he was invited to the wedding.

"How can I help you?" asked Squall edgily.

"Just thought I'd say congratulations," said Seifer with an arrogant smirk, "I mean, you're marrying my sister, after all."

Squall froze. His sister? But at the dinner … he and Ashleigh acted as if they didn't know each other. And if he's Ashleigh's brother … then that would make Rinoa his…

"What?" exclaimed Squall.

Seifer smirked again, and simply turned his back on Squall and walked away, leaving the bridegroom speechless.

What the hell is going on? Squall thought, composing himself as he shut the door. What's he playing at? Is he trying to make my life worse? Knowing that the woman I'm about to marry almost killed Rinoa is bad enough … now I find out that her stepbrother was the one who caused half of this?

Squall quickly shook the thoughts out of his head, not wanting to venture so far. Before he knew it, there was another knock at his door. He groaned in exasperation and headed for the door once again.

"What—" As he opened the door, he found Quistis at the door with a forced smile on her doll-like face. She looked rather pretty with her white bridesmaid dress on and the light make up applied to her face. Her blonde hair was let down on her shoulders and she was carrying a small bouquet of flowers. "Oh. Quistis. What is it?"

"It's almost time, Squall," said Quistis quietly.

"Oh Hyne, are you serious?" said Squall, surprised. He looked at his watch to find that there was exactly half an hour until he was expected in the church.

"Can I come in?" asked Quistis.

Squall looked up at her in bemusement, but nodded anyway. He stepped out of the way to let Quistis inside. She walked in and seated herself on the sofa, carefully placing her dress down so as not to ruin it. Squall followed her inside as he closed the door and sat down next to her in silence, placing his elbows on his lap and putting his head in his hands heavily.

There was awkward silence between the two of them for a few moments.

"Squall … you know, it's not too late to change the outcome of today," said Quistis suddenly.

Squall looked up at her with a stony gaze. "What are you saying?"

The blonde sighed. "The truth … just because you are afraid of it, doesn't mean everyone else would be."

"What are you talking about?" asked Squall sharply.

"Please, Squall," said Quistis, "Don't try to hide the truth because hiding it will only lead to a lot more distrust from the people you care about than you think."

Squall gawked at Quistis as if she was crazy. This was not the time for her to be giving her weird lectures that required a load of riddle solving. He was not in the mood for her little talks about senseless pride and all of that.

"Sera … she's not as powerful as you think," said Quistis.

Squall turned away from his companion and looked ahead at the wall in front of him. He didn't know why Quistis had said such a thing, but he couldn't help but flinch at the thought of Sera. "You don't know the circumstances, Quistis…"

"I know more than you think," whispered Quistis.

Squall didn't quite hear her and looked back at her in puzzlement. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," said Quistis, shaking her head, "Come on, let's get to the church."

Squall sighed and watched his blonde friend stand up. As she headed for the door, he couldn't help but keep in mind what she had said…


Rinoa sat at the pew in complete silence. She was sitting in the first row of seats on the left side by herself. She was one of the first to arrive, and she watched as the church began to fill up with people. Most of the guests were dressed in rather classy clothes, and Rinoa figured that they were all important people and allies and friends of the government. She spotted many people she recognised from work as well, but nobody had approached her at all. That was somewhat of a relief … she did not want anyone to see her on one of the most miserable days of her life.

But Squall wants you here, said a voice in Rinoa's head. At this thought, she didn't know whether she wanted to smile or cry.

The church was almost completely full of chatty and excited people. Rinoa fiddled with the rings on her neck, not standing the hearty atmosphere.

"Hey there," said a voice behind her.

Rinoa turned around and almost shrieked in shock when she found Seifer standing behind her. He grinned sheepishly and slid over to her, sitting down with his arms folded.

"Seifer," she said, trying to contain any feelings inside of her, "What are you doing here?"

"Eh … you know, I wouldn't miss my sister's wedding for the world," said Seifer with a smirk.

Rinoa looked rather taken aback at the reminder of her doom collapsing on top of her. Seifer sensed this and decided to change the topic.

"Hey, don't worry about it," said Seifer, putting his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, "Everything is going to be okay. Seriously."

Rinoa forced a weak smile. "Thanks," she said, but her heart was flooding with doubt.

Seifer sensed the doubt in her voice, but said nothing of it. "You know … after today, I'll probably be dead. And if I am, I want you to know that I've always cared about you. And so has Squall."

Rinoa opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say. Instead, she shut it again and said nothing.

"And please," added Seifer, "Don't be afraid of the truth. Nobody will judge you, I swear it."

Rinoa furrowed her brow, wondering what Seifer was talking about.

"Anyway, I need to run … big brother stuff," said Seifer quickly, glancing up at the front of the church, "See you later. Maybe."

"Bye—"

Before Rinoa could finish her sentence, Seifer stood up and made a run for it out the back door of the church. She sighed and looked back to the front of the church, and saw Sera coming out of one of the small rooms with a smug look on her face. Rinoa found this quite odd, seeing as how Seifer made a run for it as soon as he saw Sera.

What's going on? Rinoa thought to herself.

A/N: Yea...halfway there, halfway there. I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, the next one is a lot more exciting. I'd still like a review to see what you think before you move onto the grande finale, but it's up to you. Well, carry on :D