Disclaimer: I own nothing in affiliation to Final Fantasy VIII.
As usual, thank you to all of my reviewers!
Timeless Enigma- Heyy... I like your name; it's really cool! Thanks for your review!
Rebekka- I hope that this was soon enough for you^^
Angelwingedprincess- You're so nice-telling me to take as long as I need=). A big fan? I just love you, lol. Thanks soo much for your feedback.
Ecstatic chick- I'm not so sure about the *raping* thing, but I'm more than 50% sure that it won't happen; it's scary! Thanks for your review and helpful hint!
Anonymous- Yeah, I know! How can Squall completely shut her out!? Hey, just let it out, lol; the fiction itself is PG-13. Thanks for the review!
Hiasha- Seifer The Asshole! I tried to update as soon as I found the time. By the way, please update your story soon as well! Thanks bunches for your continual support! ^_^
Liliangel- I'm updating whenever I can, so I hope that it's quick enough for you. ^^
Here's a new thing to notice/remember...
/.../=thought(s)
That's all for now; enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Four:
The Beginning of Torture
Bianka-chan.
RINOA'S POV
I woke up from my fitful sleep, beads of sweat trickling down my sore back. /It's all over.... The dream is over, right? What a bad dream, living in complete darkness. Torn between two males, both stark opposites from the other. A weird, timeless dream.... / It was then that I heard the door burst open and was lifted off of the bed by rough, seemingly uncaring hands.
"Sq-Squall...?"
The intruder pushed me farther back until my head hit the wall. "Are you still that blind to the truth?"
I blinked several times and swayed back and forth. "Blind...blind...."
With a sudden jerk I was against the chest of a man. / Seifer...he's Seifer.... / I knew all too well what was going to happen next, so I did the only thing that I could: I screamed.
Seifer immediately put a hand to my mouth and thrust my head against the wall for a second time, making me feel dizzy. "Shut your stupid mouth, you wench!"
I struggled to maintain consciousness. "Wh-why? Will...Squall hear me?"
Both of my arms were seized and I was sent back into the wall, immediately birthing a crack from the aged barricade. / I'm gonna fall through; I'm gonna fall through.... It's all over.... /
From the distance I heard heeled shoes clicking, nearing rapidly. It stopped suddenly, and I felt Seifer's hands loosen. "What the hell are you doing, Seifer? And who the hell is she?"
When Seifer finally let go, I let out a big sigh of relief. The mattress raised suddenly, signifying that Seifer had gotten off. I heard him tapping his foot and scoffing, "Calm down, Quistis. She's just a new servant."
Quistis replied with a scoff of her own, " 'Just a new servant', you say? From the looks of it, you were about to send the poor girl threw the wall." She paused and took a step forward, her shoe clicking even louder in the hollow silence. "Am I right?"
As Seifer's presence began drifting further away, I guessed that he was about to storm off. "No, Quistis dear...you're not."
Quistis laughed melodically then, slightly lessening my fright. "You know that you can't hide anything from me, Seifer. If you weren't going to thrust her out the wall, you were going to rape her." I was surprised at how cool and nonchalant her voice was, gracing the room with its melody.
I heard Seifer gasp. In what seemed like rebellion, Quistis laughed again. "Oh, come on! I'm not stupid. Now why would our last servant, Selphie Tilmitt, leave so suddenly with lawsuit attempts?"
"Shut up," Seifer growled.
Quistis only went on. "Had you not paid them those three million Gil, you'd be in jail for the rest of your life."
I heard a heavy thud and a small screech escape Quistis' lips, followed by the cracking of the floor. /Did Seifer...hit her?/ "And you won't bring that up again, got it?"
The door slammed shut. I trembled as I crawled down off of the bed and got down on all fours once I reached the sticky, leveled ground. Why was I trying to find her? She saved me, right? But why would she?
" Are you all right, Miss Quistis?" I asked her softly, almost afraid that she would be violent like Seifer. She certainly knew how to get under his skin. Now curious, I began to wonder what her connection was with Seifer. How could she possibly stand living with someone like him?
Quistis grunted and rose, her hair flying into my face as she did so. "I'm fine. Who are you?"
I sat up on the ground and swallowed. "I'm Rinoa. Did Seifer hit you?"
Suddenly, I felt something motioning near my face. Quistis was probably waving her hands before my eyes. "What? Are you blind or something?"
Immediately I felt sheepish. But it was all in vain, and Squall couldn't help me anymore.
I'm all alone again....
I shook out of reverie and instantly capitulated to Quistis' demand. "Yeah... I am."
SQUALL'S POV
I was walking down the steps when I heard the scream. There was no mistaking it; that was her. Sighing, I shook my head and continued on my path to my downstairs office. / Why should I care when she doesn't? It's all her fault, anyway. She can just...deal with it. /
She can just...deal with it....
Since when did I become so heartless?
BAH! Heartless? She was the one who cheated on me!
"I'm just...going to my office now," I began to talk to myself in an attempt to relieve me of the contradicting thoughts I was having. I took a few steps to the left where the door to outside was. "Yeah, I'm going to my office, which is very far away now...."
Screw the office!
I opened the front door and started sprinting to the side of Seifer's house, leaving my briefcase in the dust. Finally, I found and approached the window that I'd caught a glance of Rinoa in. Eagerly, I looked inside and saw her nearing the window that I was side-glancing into.
Feeling on the defense, I darted back into the shadows. But then I remembered... / Rinoa's blind. / I shook my head quickly. / No, no, wait. I told her that I didn't believe her. She probably isn't.... /
Despite my skeptical ideas, I came out of the shadows and stared at her face to face. She was obviously trying to stick her head out the window, but probably forgot of such a thing called glass....
She bashed her head riiight into the window.
/ Okay, so maybe she's blind after all. / I chuckled to myself. / That's embarrassing.... /
Rinoa's eyes widened and she fidgeted with the lock on the window, opening it after a few moments. She jammed her head out. "Is anybody there?"
I froze in place and stared at her, mesmerized by her sweaty face. Squinting, I gasped. Along the sides of her cheek were blue bruises and dried blood.
I longed to ask her what happened, but heard the voice of a woman from behind her. Taking a last look at Rinoa's suffering face, I ran back to my house.
/ Rinoa...what've I done?/
RINOA'S POV
Quistis shut the window loudly and sat down on the bed, making it creek with the sudden weight. "Nobody's out there. The people that live next door are too pompous to step out of their house. You've been there before, haven't you? Then you most definitely agree with me on that, right?"
I ran my fingers along the bed and found myself a place to sit. "Yeah, I totally agree...."
The room fell silent. Quistis broke the silence with her now sad voice, "I apologize for what Seifer did earlier. He's changed and I really don't know what to do with him."
I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "Why are you apologizing for him? It's not like it's your fault or something."
Quistis sighed and stood up from the bed and opened the window, bringing in a light breeze. "Oh, but it is my fault. You see... Seifer's my husband."
_______________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Ooh...what will happen next? Has Squall figured out what's going on? Will he try to save her? What will Seifer try now? Will Rinoa manage to survive long enough to regain her eyesight and see Squall for the first time? Why am I asking so many questions? Anyways, lol, I really hope that you enjoyed it, and I apologize for the extremely long wait! I've endured a few family crises and such so I haven't had the time. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thank you, my faithful readers. Now, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review! Have a nice day! ^_^ ~Bianka-chan 5/29/03