Broken Wings - Chapter Fourteen
Somebody rapped a fist against Aralyn's skull and she winced in irritation, stifling a cry when her attacker hit a bruise. "Anybody home?" The voice was that of a grown male, but was playful, like a little boy's dropped an octave.
"Leave her alone, Reno."
"Aw, you're no fun!"
"She's in enough pain without your interference."
"It couldn't have been that bad." Her arm was lifted, inspected, and then dropped carelessly.
"Yes, it could." The second voice was deeper and far more serious and adamant.
She felt fingers prying her eyes open, and after the white light, she made out the image of a bright red haired man. "See? She's up!"
She was in a simple but elegant room. It was undoubtedly a hospital room, even though it was masked, but great effort had been made to make her feel at home. A table beside her held an elaborate arrangement of white and blood red roses, and the windows were draped in pleasant gauzy material embroidered with faded green vines running the height of the drapes. The walls, instead of being whitewashed, were a soft blue-gray. The bedding was soft cotton, and the quilt was stuffed with down feathers. Her IV was even hidden behind a desk.
A darker skinned, bald, and muscular man came to her rescue, jerking him back by the thin red ponytail that hung down his back. In Reno's attempts to get away, he flailed his arms back, but in the process, struck Aralyn across one bandaged cheek. She whimpered weakly at the fierce, biting sting.
"Ah! Sorry! I meant to hit Rude. I'm sorry!" Reno pulled away, looking away and bashfully ruffling his hair with one hand.
"Just like you're sorry for everything else you did," Rude replied.
"I would never hit a girl!" Reno protested, and for a moment you could believe his chivalry…almost, anyway.
Rude simply raised an eyebrow in disagreement, his silence begging Reno to talk himself further into the lie.
"Okay, at least I wouldn't hit a girl who's been bed ridden for days," Reno revised, nodding as if he was only believing it after it had been spoken.
"I'll relay that proclamation of your honor to Elena. Seems to me like she will protest that."
"She was taunting me!"
"She could barely squeak out a syllable!"
Reno gave up, turning to Aralyn for support. "I'm harmless, really! You believe me, don't you?"
Aralyn thought it best not to reply to that, especially when he was giving her outrageous puppy eyes.
"Reno, isn't there a commitment you should be fulfilling?" Rude reminded him.
Reno sighed and threw himself in the easy chair not far from Aralyn's bed. He swung his feet over the armrest and let his head loll back. "I don't feel like it. Rude, will you do me a favor?" When Rude didn't move, he made a dismissing motion with a flick of his hand in the other's direction. "Shoo, shoo. He said as soon as she's up."
Rude glared at him through dark glasses for a while, but the left to perform Reno's errand.
"Smart guy," Reno said. By the look on his face, she knew that blackmail, intimidation, or maybe both were involved in Rude's compliance.
Aralyn shifted in her bed. "Cloud?" she asked.
"Did you think he just left you?" He stood, stretched for many long seconds, and then pulled a beverage out of the tiny refrigerator in the corner. "I'll be the first to admit, the guy is kinda thick in the skull." He flicked the top open with a quick rotation of his fingers, offering it to Aralyn, who shook her head. "And he actually made it in record time with his whole crew. But he ain't exactly a doctor, you see. So he called."
Aralyn made an odd face, and Reno quickly justified himself. "Not me personally! And stop giving me that look; I wasn't your nurse." He downed a large swig of the pinkish liquid in one gulp and then continued. "Your nurse was actually a member of your own gender, you'll be glad to know. Cloud called my boss, who owed him a favor, and he arranged it all."
"I owed it not only to him, but to you, Aralyn."
Rufus Shinra walked into the room, tall and confident, with Rude right behind him. Aralyn sighed deeply, closing her eyes for quite a while.
"I can understand why you would be reluctant to speak with me, Aralyn," Rufus said cautiously. "But I think you will agree that there are things that need to be discussed between you and I."
"How'd you know about the roses?" She asked blandly, reaching out one wired hand to stroke the velvet petals longingly.
"Something Sephiroth once said to me."
"Sep—I mean…what did he…!?" But she closed her mouth quickly, biting her bottom lip until she tasted blood. She took a deep breath, and then continued. "Could we speak…in private?"
Rufus nodded, dismissing Reno and Rude by tilting his head slightly toward the door. When the door clicked behind them, Aralyn waited for Rufus to speak. He didn't, and Aralyn's patience was the first to break.
"So talk," she whispered bitterly. Her voice was hoarse, but distinguashable.
"Let's start with the basic formalities then. How have you been?"
Aralyn stared at him. "Fine. Just fine." She answered cautiously, wondering where he would go with it.
"We could see every one of your ribs through your skin. Care to elaborate?"
Aralyn started, wrapping her arms around her slim torso. "I…times have been…hard."
"Times have been hard, Aralyn?" He looked at her for a long time, waiting for her to continue, but when she didn't, he elaborated for her.
"There was nothing in your cabinet but half a loaf of molded bread and scarce remnants of peanut butter clinging to the sides of a can. I didn't know humans under such conditions existed here in Edge."
"I…"
"There are holes in your roof that are plugged with fabric, some of them appearing to once have been beautiful evening gowns. What was in your closet was clearly purchased years ago, and the only thing of value in there was a carefully preserved wedding dress."
"It's none of your business!"
"You only live in the home you do because the payments were made in full six years ago. Since then you have been largely unemployed. Not because you are lazy, or unintelligent, or unethical. You are the ideal worker. Why, then, would any company seeking a profit refuse the help of such a woman? Tell me, Aralyn."
"The same reason Shinra refused to employ me!" she shot back.
"That is not true."
"Then what is?" she cried. "Tell me that, and I will give you your answer, Shinra! Because they are one and the same!"
A/N: Who's later than late. ME. I'd give an excuse but they're not really all that good anyway. Blame writer's block. You'll notice that I skipped the flashback. It will come back later after I finish this idea. Next chapter is called "Answers".