Ancestral Prophecies
After sorting out all the books and magazines from the boxes, Squall took a checklist that Lara had given him earlier and ticked all the little squares beside the titles he had browsed through already. Giving the clipboard back to the pigtail girl, he approached Rinoa who had her nose pored all over one of the new book's pages and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. When she turned to look at him, he smiled at her sweetly, amused by the fact that she was so eager to read this book although it was restricted for borrowing at the moment.
"If you want to borrow that, I can ask Lara to archive the title right now for you," he said gently as he helped Rinoa up from the floor.
Blushing heavily, she shook her hands and her head nervously and said, "No no! It's alright Squall. You don't have to go through all that trouble for a little book!"
'Oh gosh, he's so sweet! All that just to make me happy. (Sigh) Why didn't I fall for him earlier?'
"Whatever," he smirked at his girlfriend. "Lara, will you archive this book's title in the system?" he asked the library girl as he placed the book Rinoa was reading earlier on the computer table.
"Sure Commander. But do you want to borrow this book so badly right now? I didn't know guys loved romance novels," she told Squall.
Squall laughed and shook his head. "No, it's for my girlfriend," he said as he winked at his sorceress. Rinoa blushed when he said that. Squall rarely addressed their relationship out in the open like it was hot news, but having him call her girlfriend simply was...different.
"Oh! I see..." grinned Lara when she typed in the book's ISBN number and other necessary information on the Balamb Garden library database. "Here you go. You know, you guys are really compatible. I have this cousin who writes romance novels, and I bet she would love so much to meet you guys. She could write a book about you."
Squall didn't know what to say, as he was at a loss for words. "Uh...thanks? Well, I guess I'd better be going now."
Lara smiled through her glasses and said, "Yes sir."
"Uh Lara? Do you think I can borrow that book you recently removed from the reserved books list?" Squall asked before he left the room.
Lara bent down and took the book from underneath the shelf and wiped the dust that accumulated over the years on the cover. It was an antique looking book, covered in old-fashioned leather with gold markings all over the spine. Symbols were inscribed on the beautiful burgundy of the cover, and the title was nicely written in very stylish calligraphy. The pages looked old, but not so old that they would crumble upon touch. Tinted cream with hints of age on the sides, it was an elegant article that seemed like a first edition copy that would have cost the Garden a lot of money.
"Talk about ancient," Lara said as she wiped the remaining dust on the cover. "The writer obviously had some classified stuff in this volume. This book seems to have a lock on it, don't you think?" She pointed to a clasp that bound both sides of the cover tightly. In the middle, there was a nicely designed lock with a keyhole in the middle.
"So how am I supposed to open this?" asked Squall as he inspected the book from top to bottom and side to side.
Lara crept down again and began searching for something under the shelves. "The...old librarian...always kept a little box...for any accessories...that accompanied books...Let's see...where is box number 20901E...aha! Found it!" She got up, showing a smallish leather box that opened to a little gold- plated key resting on a silk pillow. Squall took it from her hand and gazed at the intricate detail taken into designing the miniature piece of metal.
"You know Lara, this book really looks expensive. What happens if it gets wet or something?" asked Squall.
Fixing her glasses a bit, she answered, "Well, I guess that's going to come out of your salary commander." Squall looked appalled. "Just kidding of course!" she laughed. "But don't damage it. When I checked the database earlier, I found out that it is a first edition special copy of the book coming directly from the author itself. It's about fifty years old, so please be gentle with it."
Taking one of the boxes that lay on the floor, Squall gingerly placed the book inside while giving the key box to Rinoa. "I'll keep that in mind," he smirked at Lara. Rinoa and Squall walked outside the library, Squall carrying the box with the old book while Rinoa held on to the novel Squall had handed her earlier.
"Squall."
"Hmmm?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have that 'I am thinking about something right now and am talking to myself so you might as well go talk to a wall' look."
"Well, I was wondering..."
"Yes?"
"Why would Ouragan think of borrowing something like this, and just leave it in the library to collect dust?"
"Maybe he forgot to get it back? Who knows?"
"Yeah..." sighed Squall as they emerged from the library to the main hall. "Who knows..."
---------------
Quistis and Ouragan walked hand in hand towards the second floor balcony with one of the Garden staff in order to clear any hailstone debris that might have fallen on it. In fear of having clumsy students run around and slip when the ice melted, Squall had sent Quistis to inspect the area, as it was nearest her classroom. Ouragan, upon hearing this, decided to tag along.
"Ouragan, I know that you were a much better student than I was back then. Do you think this storm had anything to do with magic?" she asked the towering Estharian commander.
Ouragan rubbed his chin and answered, "Well, when I was younger, I was able to take this course on Magic history and all that in Garden. Thought it was pretty useless," he chuckled. "But then, I found that learning magic history was quite interesting if you really are an aficionado for rare spells and all that. Honestly, this storm seems more phenomenal than magical."
"Then why do Rinoa and Edea think that this is magically caused?" she asked her friend.
"Well, if you do think about it, it could have been a sorceress as well. However, magic of that magnitude disappeared more than a hundred years ago. In fact, only three sorceresses in human history have had the power to control weather, and they were siblings," he stated laconically.
Quistis skeptically asked, "Siblings? That's impossible! Sorceresses are bequeathed with magic only through reception, not through genetics."
Ouragan turned to her and said, "Well, it is rare, but it is quite possible actually. These siblings might have had very powerful parents so the powers might have quite naturally passed on to their children."
Quistis said nothing for a moment, pondering on all the information she had just received earlier, until she asked, "Do these sorceresses go by a name?"
Ouragan said, "Actually, yes and no. They never revealed their individual names, but they do go by the group name 'The Night Sisters.'"
"Night Sisters?" Quistis laughed out. "That's..."
"Kooky?" Ouragan added while laughing. "It does sound weird, but they were known as the most powerful sorceresses ever to have walked this planet. And guess what else?" he asked with a hint of a smile creeping on his face.
"What else?" Quistis asked, mimicking his look.
"They go by this catchphrase, 'To err is the key to life.'"
Quistis roared in laughter and said, "To err? Why?"
Ouragan was laughing with her and said, "Honestly, I don't know. But it does sound funny. Ahem..." he broke from his laughing fit and picked up his stern look. "The professor of my magic class however told me that it is through this phrase that you will discover the true identity of these magicians. Frankly, through all these years of trying to decipher their names, I've never come upon a perfect explanation for their identities."
Quistis gave him a friendly pat on the back and said, "Aw, that's alright. You're still one of the brightest students in the Garden, whether or not you discovered it."
Ouragan winked at her and said, "Thanks teach."
'Did he just wink at me? Oh joy!'
Quistis scowled at him and they just chased each other until they got to the balcony. Littered with ice and other sorts of Mother Nature's shrapnel, Quistis and Ouragan stared at the floor, bewildered with the amount of manpower needed to move all this litter.
"This is going to take us forever," Ouragan said, his mouth wide open.
"You said it," Quistis said in a similar way.
-------------------
Setting the books down on the bed, Squall removed his shirt and went over to Rinoa, who was reading the new book on the couch. Deciding that he wanted to catch her attention, he knelt down and brought a hand to her thigh and began caressing it softly, while flexing his muscles to show the fine bulges he had built over years of training.
Gazing at the rippling mass of firm, toned muscle, Rinoa immediately dropped the book and drooled at Squall's beautiful torso. She gasped when his hand went further into her pants and she placed her hand on his.
'Oh this feels so good. I want his hand up my...whoo!' Squall's hand had finally reached the vicinity of her most secret spot, teasing the area with feather-light touches. She was sucking for air as she squirmed on the sofa.
"Squall...stop!" she said while gasping for air, obviously pleasured by his foreplay. Squall grinned at her and planted a kiss on her forehead and walked to cabinet, grabbed a black shirt, and put it on.
Rinoa scowled at him and asked, "Squall!? Why did you stop?"
Squall returned to the couch and took the place beside Rinoa. Putting an arm around her in a very mischievous way, he winked at her and answered, "Because I, Sorceress Rinoa, am your most obedient knight."
Rinoa punched him in the shoulders playfully (but quite strongly) and Squall moaned out "Ow!"
"That's what you get for teasing moi Sir Squall," she said while kissing his shoulder.
Squall gave her his irritated look and asked, "Remind me, why am I your knight again?"
Rinoa pulled him close and purred in his ear, "Because you love me and because you can't stand a day without having sex with me...isn't that right Sir Squall?"
Squall laughed and kissed her. "Don't call me that." He put his arms around her waist and began running his hands up and down the length or her torso while kissing her. When he was about to pull her shirt off her, the lock on Ouragan's borrowed (or rather unborrowed) book glowed for a split second and opened. Squall immediately pulled back from their foreplay and asked Rinoa, "Did you see that?"
Apparently annoyed, she asked, "See what?"
Squall pointed to the book and said, "The lock just opened on its own. Did you...?"
Rinoa shook her head and said, "No. I didn't. Maybe it was already open when you got it from Lara."
Squall reached for the book and placed it on his lap. "But I checked it out before we left the library, and it was sealed tight. In fact, I think it glowed a bit before this thing unlatched open."
Rinoa moved closer to Squall's side and ran her hand over the ancient- looking cover. "Are you sure? I mean I certainly didn't do anything."
Squall removed the lock from the side and opened the covers to the first page. "I sure did see a light."
He began flipping the pages to reveal several beautiful Medieval-looking illustrations of creatures and figures that seemed to have belonged to the Middle Ages. "Do you want to check this out with me?" he asked Rinoa.
Rinoa gave him an affirmative grunt and traced her index finger over the drawing on the page. On the page was an illustration of a Ruby Dragon and a Blue Dragon fighting in a snowy, mountain background. Beside it, artistically written words in ancient calligraphy read, "And the beasts of the Kingdom of Fire shall slay the great society of the Blue Dragon's lair with its great breaths of fire, soaring over the air to scorch the once- known glory. The Red Dragon shall soar to the serene ally of the Blue Dragon. Thwarted however by the Ice Dragon's minions, the Red Dragon's demise shall come, and the great stalwart of the mystical East shall revive the Blue Dragon, and peace shall come."
"Hmmm?" Squall mumbled out as he read the obscurely written text.
After a few minutes of glancing and scanning the text, Rinoa said something that might have unlocked the key to the riddle. "Squall, I'm not very good with translations, but I think I get what this stuff means," she said as she took the book from Squall's lap and placed it on her own. "Remember Trabia Garden?"
"Yeah...so what does it have to do with the dragon brouhaha?" Squall asked her.
"I think what this woman is referring to is the attack from the missile base. The Blue Dragon is based in Trabia right? And missiles can be somehow represented by fire. If you read further and think back, the Ruby Dragon may represent Galbadia. I think this book refers to prophecies about the Garden and stuff like that. If that is how you see it, well...I don't know," she said.
Squall looked at the book and thought of Rinoa's explanation. "It's weird Rin, but I think you're on to something. Care to look at the other prophecies?"
Rinoa gave him back the book and they flipped the pages, some prophecies quite similar to the Ultimecia incident, and others rather irrelevant to Garden stuff. When they opened the pages to a chapter that was dedicated entirely to a chapter headed by the Latin words "i>De Augurium de Bicornis Luna/i>", Squall stopped suddenly exclaimed, "Rin, stop right here."
Rinoa looked at him and asked, "Huh? Why Squall?"
Squall turned his gaze from the heading to the illustration that completely covered the page on the left and said, "Can you somehow interpret this?"
She looked at the text beside the picture and began looking back and forth in an attempt to translate the prophecy. "No Squall, I don't understand Latin. But why are you interested in something like this?"
"Uh, I thought this chapter looked a bit different from the others. I mean everything was in English and this is in Latin. Just curious," he lied. He had remembered that the Double Moon was something that related to Ultimecia's resurrection, and he didn't have any intentions to scare Rinoa with the notion that Ultimecia might someday come back to possess her again.
Rinoa chuckled, "Okay Squall. Anyway, I'm going to take a shower. Care to join me?"
Squall kissed Rinoa's ruby lips and said, "Not now my love. I'm a bit tired. You go on and I'll just browse through this thing."
She pouted and said, "Are you sure? I'm going to turn it up real nice and steamy if you want. I'll even give you a massage."
Squall took Rinoa's hands and kissed them and turned to her. "I know...what if you give me a massage later in bed. I'm really sorry Rin," and he mustered the most innocent-looking puppy dog look his face could muster.
Rinoa laughed and kissed his forehead and said, "Alright Sir Squall, but you don't know what you're missing!" She swayed her hips seductively as she walked to the bathroom, leaving Squall on the couch.
"Hey! I said don't call me that!" Squall laughed back. He shook his head in amusement and turned to the next page. His brow furrowed however when he found an old-looking sheet of paper inserted in between the pages.
'What is this?' Squall picked up the parchment and read it. 'It's in English?'
A footnote at the bottom read, "For those who wish to read this chapter, please follow the notes I wrote on this page. Do not throw this away please for future reference. A signature was written on the bottom of the footnote, but Squall couldn't make it out. All he could read were the letters u and a.
'Whatever.' Squall turned his attention to a portion of the letters that were highlighted in the middle of the paper.
"And on the dawn of the era of compression, a prince shall be born to the legendary knight who inherits the powers of Luna, and to the Queen of the Night. A stormy night shall herald his birth, with raven skies pouring down torrents of rain. In the great halls of the lunar palace, he shall grow, only to be taken from his comfort by the hunter."
Beside that portion of text, penciled letters wrote "Note: A description of the Double Moon's birth. Separated due to some hunter."
Continuing on to another highlighted portion of the main text, he read, "And the two moons of Luna and the Queen of the Night shall rise. One shall seduce the evils of ages, and the other shall put it to rest with the powers of the moon. "
Below that, another penciled note read, "Must find the child before Ultimecia resurrects."
After reading that, Squall's eyes drifted to another portion of the article encircled in black ink. "Before the child slays the great evil, the truth of his past must be concealed from him. If all shall be revealed before the quarter of a moon, the glow of Luna will not shine upon his countenance. "
And of course, below that read, "Note: Cannot reveal the truth of the child's identity or his powers would not mature."
Squall read the article further until someone knocked on the door. From the shower room, he heard Rinoa say, "Squall, will you please get that?"
Squall got up and opened the door to welcome a distraught-looking Ouragan and Quistis.
"Uh Squall, the balcony's pretty messy, so we decided to ask your permission to ask some SeeDs to help us," Ouragan told Balamb Garden's commander.
"And some red tape would help too," added Quistis.
"How many do you need?" asked Squall.
"About fifteen strong SeeDs. It's a big mess up there," Ouragan said.
"Alright. Just make sure you get the job done," Squall replied.
Quistis and Ouragan saluted Squall but the Lion of Balamb stopped them and said, "Enough with the formalities. I'm on break. You want to come in to get a drink before you go back to work?"
Quistis and Ouragan nodded and followed Squall to the living room. Squall was in the kitchen fetching them glasses of water when Ouragan suddenly blurted out, "Hey, this is the book I was planning to borrow from the library a few years ago. How did it end up here?"
======================
And that ends Chapter 23. I hope you liked it as much as the other chapters, but this doesn't seem to get into the action of the story. I'm really sorry if it's boring! By the way, the De Augurium de Bicornis Luna means "The Prophecy of the Double Moon", if anyone was wondering. I'll try to work faster with the story, so please don't worry. Oh, and before I forget, please give reviews if you want to say something about my story. Be it a flame or a commendation, I don't mind. And the next chapter's title is, (drum rolls) Flagship and the Love Triangle. Thanks for the reviews by the way. And here is a dedication to my loyal readers.
To Karaoke Risa- Thanks for being loyal to Secrets in the Dark. Every time I read your wonderful reviews, I am inspired to write more Squinoa (and probably some naughty Seifer-Squall scenes ;) ). Honestly, when I first read your story, I didn't know the author of Time Apart was actually the same one reviewing my story. I'm so glad to have you as one of my wonderful readers! (By the way, I'm happy to know you like the few drops of ahem...yaoi I inserted in the story.)
To cheerlygal- One of the first few to open the link to my fiction, I will always be grateful to you for writing such heartwarming reviews. You were usually the first one to write a review a few minutes after I submitted a chapter to the site. I'm really sorry if I hadn't been able to submit my new chapters much faster, but I promise to make it up to you guys. Glad to have ya!
To ang3l-w1ngs- Ah... –writing my thanks- Wai Review more... Bah Love your reviews so much! Oo You are such a wonderful reviewer! I just love it when I see what you have to say about this fanfic. I hope you can write some stories and post them on the site. I will be sooooo glad to share some reviews. -blinks-... interesting reviews! ... oO Gonna read your anime story...hmm... ... And as you say, Squall and Rinoa forever! Love ya!
To DBZ Fanfiction Queen- Buon giorno mi amici! As always, your reviews are uplifting and quite inspiring for new ideas. I recently read your fanfic I Don't Know, by the way, and I loved it. A bit of a deviation from the FF8 story, but really interesting! I love it! Thanks for visiting my story, and I hope to see more of I Don't Know being updated. I'll tell you something though—you're somehow on to the true plot of Secrets in the Dark. Happy writing and Ciao!
After sorting out all the books and magazines from the boxes, Squall took a checklist that Lara had given him earlier and ticked all the little squares beside the titles he had browsed through already. Giving the clipboard back to the pigtail girl, he approached Rinoa who had her nose pored all over one of the new book's pages and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. When she turned to look at him, he smiled at her sweetly, amused by the fact that she was so eager to read this book although it was restricted for borrowing at the moment.
"If you want to borrow that, I can ask Lara to archive the title right now for you," he said gently as he helped Rinoa up from the floor.
Blushing heavily, she shook her hands and her head nervously and said, "No no! It's alright Squall. You don't have to go through all that trouble for a little book!"
'Oh gosh, he's so sweet! All that just to make me happy. (Sigh) Why didn't I fall for him earlier?'
"Whatever," he smirked at his girlfriend. "Lara, will you archive this book's title in the system?" he asked the library girl as he placed the book Rinoa was reading earlier on the computer table.
"Sure Commander. But do you want to borrow this book so badly right now? I didn't know guys loved romance novels," she told Squall.
Squall laughed and shook his head. "No, it's for my girlfriend," he said as he winked at his sorceress. Rinoa blushed when he said that. Squall rarely addressed their relationship out in the open like it was hot news, but having him call her girlfriend simply was...different.
"Oh! I see..." grinned Lara when she typed in the book's ISBN number and other necessary information on the Balamb Garden library database. "Here you go. You know, you guys are really compatible. I have this cousin who writes romance novels, and I bet she would love so much to meet you guys. She could write a book about you."
Squall didn't know what to say, as he was at a loss for words. "Uh...thanks? Well, I guess I'd better be going now."
Lara smiled through her glasses and said, "Yes sir."
"Uh Lara? Do you think I can borrow that book you recently removed from the reserved books list?" Squall asked before he left the room.
Lara bent down and took the book from underneath the shelf and wiped the dust that accumulated over the years on the cover. It was an antique looking book, covered in old-fashioned leather with gold markings all over the spine. Symbols were inscribed on the beautiful burgundy of the cover, and the title was nicely written in very stylish calligraphy. The pages looked old, but not so old that they would crumble upon touch. Tinted cream with hints of age on the sides, it was an elegant article that seemed like a first edition copy that would have cost the Garden a lot of money.
"Talk about ancient," Lara said as she wiped the remaining dust on the cover. "The writer obviously had some classified stuff in this volume. This book seems to have a lock on it, don't you think?" She pointed to a clasp that bound both sides of the cover tightly. In the middle, there was a nicely designed lock with a keyhole in the middle.
"So how am I supposed to open this?" asked Squall as he inspected the book from top to bottom and side to side.
Lara crept down again and began searching for something under the shelves. "The...old librarian...always kept a little box...for any accessories...that accompanied books...Let's see...where is box number 20901E...aha! Found it!" She got up, showing a smallish leather box that opened to a little gold- plated key resting on a silk pillow. Squall took it from her hand and gazed at the intricate detail taken into designing the miniature piece of metal.
"You know Lara, this book really looks expensive. What happens if it gets wet or something?" asked Squall.
Fixing her glasses a bit, she answered, "Well, I guess that's going to come out of your salary commander." Squall looked appalled. "Just kidding of course!" she laughed. "But don't damage it. When I checked the database earlier, I found out that it is a first edition special copy of the book coming directly from the author itself. It's about fifty years old, so please be gentle with it."
Taking one of the boxes that lay on the floor, Squall gingerly placed the book inside while giving the key box to Rinoa. "I'll keep that in mind," he smirked at Lara. Rinoa and Squall walked outside the library, Squall carrying the box with the old book while Rinoa held on to the novel Squall had handed her earlier.
"Squall."
"Hmmm?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have that 'I am thinking about something right now and am talking to myself so you might as well go talk to a wall' look."
"Well, I was wondering..."
"Yes?"
"Why would Ouragan think of borrowing something like this, and just leave it in the library to collect dust?"
"Maybe he forgot to get it back? Who knows?"
"Yeah..." sighed Squall as they emerged from the library to the main hall. "Who knows..."
---------------
Quistis and Ouragan walked hand in hand towards the second floor balcony with one of the Garden staff in order to clear any hailstone debris that might have fallen on it. In fear of having clumsy students run around and slip when the ice melted, Squall had sent Quistis to inspect the area, as it was nearest her classroom. Ouragan, upon hearing this, decided to tag along.
"Ouragan, I know that you were a much better student than I was back then. Do you think this storm had anything to do with magic?" she asked the towering Estharian commander.
Ouragan rubbed his chin and answered, "Well, when I was younger, I was able to take this course on Magic history and all that in Garden. Thought it was pretty useless," he chuckled. "But then, I found that learning magic history was quite interesting if you really are an aficionado for rare spells and all that. Honestly, this storm seems more phenomenal than magical."
"Then why do Rinoa and Edea think that this is magically caused?" she asked her friend.
"Well, if you do think about it, it could have been a sorceress as well. However, magic of that magnitude disappeared more than a hundred years ago. In fact, only three sorceresses in human history have had the power to control weather, and they were siblings," he stated laconically.
Quistis skeptically asked, "Siblings? That's impossible! Sorceresses are bequeathed with magic only through reception, not through genetics."
Ouragan turned to her and said, "Well, it is rare, but it is quite possible actually. These siblings might have had very powerful parents so the powers might have quite naturally passed on to their children."
Quistis said nothing for a moment, pondering on all the information she had just received earlier, until she asked, "Do these sorceresses go by a name?"
Ouragan said, "Actually, yes and no. They never revealed their individual names, but they do go by the group name 'The Night Sisters.'"
"Night Sisters?" Quistis laughed out. "That's..."
"Kooky?" Ouragan added while laughing. "It does sound weird, but they were known as the most powerful sorceresses ever to have walked this planet. And guess what else?" he asked with a hint of a smile creeping on his face.
"What else?" Quistis asked, mimicking his look.
"They go by this catchphrase, 'To err is the key to life.'"
Quistis roared in laughter and said, "To err? Why?"
Ouragan was laughing with her and said, "Honestly, I don't know. But it does sound funny. Ahem..." he broke from his laughing fit and picked up his stern look. "The professor of my magic class however told me that it is through this phrase that you will discover the true identity of these magicians. Frankly, through all these years of trying to decipher their names, I've never come upon a perfect explanation for their identities."
Quistis gave him a friendly pat on the back and said, "Aw, that's alright. You're still one of the brightest students in the Garden, whether or not you discovered it."
Ouragan winked at her and said, "Thanks teach."
'Did he just wink at me? Oh joy!'
Quistis scowled at him and they just chased each other until they got to the balcony. Littered with ice and other sorts of Mother Nature's shrapnel, Quistis and Ouragan stared at the floor, bewildered with the amount of manpower needed to move all this litter.
"This is going to take us forever," Ouragan said, his mouth wide open.
"You said it," Quistis said in a similar way.
-------------------
Setting the books down on the bed, Squall removed his shirt and went over to Rinoa, who was reading the new book on the couch. Deciding that he wanted to catch her attention, he knelt down and brought a hand to her thigh and began caressing it softly, while flexing his muscles to show the fine bulges he had built over years of training.
Gazing at the rippling mass of firm, toned muscle, Rinoa immediately dropped the book and drooled at Squall's beautiful torso. She gasped when his hand went further into her pants and she placed her hand on his.
'Oh this feels so good. I want his hand up my...whoo!' Squall's hand had finally reached the vicinity of her most secret spot, teasing the area with feather-light touches. She was sucking for air as she squirmed on the sofa.
"Squall...stop!" she said while gasping for air, obviously pleasured by his foreplay. Squall grinned at her and planted a kiss on her forehead and walked to cabinet, grabbed a black shirt, and put it on.
Rinoa scowled at him and asked, "Squall!? Why did you stop?"
Squall returned to the couch and took the place beside Rinoa. Putting an arm around her in a very mischievous way, he winked at her and answered, "Because I, Sorceress Rinoa, am your most obedient knight."
Rinoa punched him in the shoulders playfully (but quite strongly) and Squall moaned out "Ow!"
"That's what you get for teasing moi Sir Squall," she said while kissing his shoulder.
Squall gave her his irritated look and asked, "Remind me, why am I your knight again?"
Rinoa pulled him close and purred in his ear, "Because you love me and because you can't stand a day without having sex with me...isn't that right Sir Squall?"
Squall laughed and kissed her. "Don't call me that." He put his arms around her waist and began running his hands up and down the length or her torso while kissing her. When he was about to pull her shirt off her, the lock on Ouragan's borrowed (or rather unborrowed) book glowed for a split second and opened. Squall immediately pulled back from their foreplay and asked Rinoa, "Did you see that?"
Apparently annoyed, she asked, "See what?"
Squall pointed to the book and said, "The lock just opened on its own. Did you...?"
Rinoa shook her head and said, "No. I didn't. Maybe it was already open when you got it from Lara."
Squall reached for the book and placed it on his lap. "But I checked it out before we left the library, and it was sealed tight. In fact, I think it glowed a bit before this thing unlatched open."
Rinoa moved closer to Squall's side and ran her hand over the ancient- looking cover. "Are you sure? I mean I certainly didn't do anything."
Squall removed the lock from the side and opened the covers to the first page. "I sure did see a light."
He began flipping the pages to reveal several beautiful Medieval-looking illustrations of creatures and figures that seemed to have belonged to the Middle Ages. "Do you want to check this out with me?" he asked Rinoa.
Rinoa gave him an affirmative grunt and traced her index finger over the drawing on the page. On the page was an illustration of a Ruby Dragon and a Blue Dragon fighting in a snowy, mountain background. Beside it, artistically written words in ancient calligraphy read, "And the beasts of the Kingdom of Fire shall slay the great society of the Blue Dragon's lair with its great breaths of fire, soaring over the air to scorch the once- known glory. The Red Dragon shall soar to the serene ally of the Blue Dragon. Thwarted however by the Ice Dragon's minions, the Red Dragon's demise shall come, and the great stalwart of the mystical East shall revive the Blue Dragon, and peace shall come."
"Hmmm?" Squall mumbled out as he read the obscurely written text.
After a few minutes of glancing and scanning the text, Rinoa said something that might have unlocked the key to the riddle. "Squall, I'm not very good with translations, but I think I get what this stuff means," she said as she took the book from Squall's lap and placed it on her own. "Remember Trabia Garden?"
"Yeah...so what does it have to do with the dragon brouhaha?" Squall asked her.
"I think what this woman is referring to is the attack from the missile base. The Blue Dragon is based in Trabia right? And missiles can be somehow represented by fire. If you read further and think back, the Ruby Dragon may represent Galbadia. I think this book refers to prophecies about the Garden and stuff like that. If that is how you see it, well...I don't know," she said.
Squall looked at the book and thought of Rinoa's explanation. "It's weird Rin, but I think you're on to something. Care to look at the other prophecies?"
Rinoa gave him back the book and they flipped the pages, some prophecies quite similar to the Ultimecia incident, and others rather irrelevant to Garden stuff. When they opened the pages to a chapter that was dedicated entirely to a chapter headed by the Latin words "i>De Augurium de Bicornis Luna/i>", Squall stopped suddenly exclaimed, "Rin, stop right here."
Rinoa looked at him and asked, "Huh? Why Squall?"
Squall turned his gaze from the heading to the illustration that completely covered the page on the left and said, "Can you somehow interpret this?"
She looked at the text beside the picture and began looking back and forth in an attempt to translate the prophecy. "No Squall, I don't understand Latin. But why are you interested in something like this?"
"Uh, I thought this chapter looked a bit different from the others. I mean everything was in English and this is in Latin. Just curious," he lied. He had remembered that the Double Moon was something that related to Ultimecia's resurrection, and he didn't have any intentions to scare Rinoa with the notion that Ultimecia might someday come back to possess her again.
Rinoa chuckled, "Okay Squall. Anyway, I'm going to take a shower. Care to join me?"
Squall kissed Rinoa's ruby lips and said, "Not now my love. I'm a bit tired. You go on and I'll just browse through this thing."
She pouted and said, "Are you sure? I'm going to turn it up real nice and steamy if you want. I'll even give you a massage."
Squall took Rinoa's hands and kissed them and turned to her. "I know...what if you give me a massage later in bed. I'm really sorry Rin," and he mustered the most innocent-looking puppy dog look his face could muster.
Rinoa laughed and kissed his forehead and said, "Alright Sir Squall, but you don't know what you're missing!" She swayed her hips seductively as she walked to the bathroom, leaving Squall on the couch.
"Hey! I said don't call me that!" Squall laughed back. He shook his head in amusement and turned to the next page. His brow furrowed however when he found an old-looking sheet of paper inserted in between the pages.
'What is this?' Squall picked up the parchment and read it. 'It's in English?'
A footnote at the bottom read, "For those who wish to read this chapter, please follow the notes I wrote on this page. Do not throw this away please for future reference. A signature was written on the bottom of the footnote, but Squall couldn't make it out. All he could read were the letters u and a.
'Whatever.' Squall turned his attention to a portion of the letters that were highlighted in the middle of the paper.
"And on the dawn of the era of compression, a prince shall be born to the legendary knight who inherits the powers of Luna, and to the Queen of the Night. A stormy night shall herald his birth, with raven skies pouring down torrents of rain. In the great halls of the lunar palace, he shall grow, only to be taken from his comfort by the hunter."
Beside that portion of text, penciled letters wrote "Note: A description of the Double Moon's birth. Separated due to some hunter."
Continuing on to another highlighted portion of the main text, he read, "And the two moons of Luna and the Queen of the Night shall rise. One shall seduce the evils of ages, and the other shall put it to rest with the powers of the moon. "
Below that, another penciled note read, "Must find the child before Ultimecia resurrects."
After reading that, Squall's eyes drifted to another portion of the article encircled in black ink. "Before the child slays the great evil, the truth of his past must be concealed from him. If all shall be revealed before the quarter of a moon, the glow of Luna will not shine upon his countenance. "
And of course, below that read, "Note: Cannot reveal the truth of the child's identity or his powers would not mature."
Squall read the article further until someone knocked on the door. From the shower room, he heard Rinoa say, "Squall, will you please get that?"
Squall got up and opened the door to welcome a distraught-looking Ouragan and Quistis.
"Uh Squall, the balcony's pretty messy, so we decided to ask your permission to ask some SeeDs to help us," Ouragan told Balamb Garden's commander.
"And some red tape would help too," added Quistis.
"How many do you need?" asked Squall.
"About fifteen strong SeeDs. It's a big mess up there," Ouragan said.
"Alright. Just make sure you get the job done," Squall replied.
Quistis and Ouragan saluted Squall but the Lion of Balamb stopped them and said, "Enough with the formalities. I'm on break. You want to come in to get a drink before you go back to work?"
Quistis and Ouragan nodded and followed Squall to the living room. Squall was in the kitchen fetching them glasses of water when Ouragan suddenly blurted out, "Hey, this is the book I was planning to borrow from the library a few years ago. How did it end up here?"
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And that ends Chapter 23. I hope you liked it as much as the other chapters, but this doesn't seem to get into the action of the story. I'm really sorry if it's boring! By the way, the De Augurium de Bicornis Luna means "The Prophecy of the Double Moon", if anyone was wondering. I'll try to work faster with the story, so please don't worry. Oh, and before I forget, please give reviews if you want to say something about my story. Be it a flame or a commendation, I don't mind. And the next chapter's title is, (drum rolls) Flagship and the Love Triangle. Thanks for the reviews by the way. And here is a dedication to my loyal readers.
To Karaoke Risa- Thanks for being loyal to Secrets in the Dark. Every time I read your wonderful reviews, I am inspired to write more Squinoa (and probably some naughty Seifer-Squall scenes ;) ). Honestly, when I first read your story, I didn't know the author of Time Apart was actually the same one reviewing my story. I'm so glad to have you as one of my wonderful readers! (By the way, I'm happy to know you like the few drops of ahem...yaoi I inserted in the story.)
To cheerlygal- One of the first few to open the link to my fiction, I will always be grateful to you for writing such heartwarming reviews. You were usually the first one to write a review a few minutes after I submitted a chapter to the site. I'm really sorry if I hadn't been able to submit my new chapters much faster, but I promise to make it up to you guys. Glad to have ya!
To ang3l-w1ngs- Ah... –writing my thanks- Wai Review more... Bah Love your reviews so much! Oo You are such a wonderful reviewer! I just love it when I see what you have to say about this fanfic. I hope you can write some stories and post them on the site. I will be sooooo glad to share some reviews. -blinks-... interesting reviews! ... oO Gonna read your anime story...hmm... ... And as you say, Squall and Rinoa forever! Love ya!
To DBZ Fanfiction Queen- Buon giorno mi amici! As always, your reviews are uplifting and quite inspiring for new ideas. I recently read your fanfic I Don't Know, by the way, and I loved it. A bit of a deviation from the FF8 story, but really interesting! I love it! Thanks for visiting my story, and I hope to see more of I Don't Know being updated. I'll tell you something though—you're somehow on to the true plot of Secrets in the Dark. Happy writing and Ciao!