Chapter 13
Selphie awoke bright and early for two reasons. First, her alarm's monotone was beeping loudly, and second, the moment Rocks noticed her stirring from her sleep, he jumped onto her bed and began planting slobbery kisses on every bit of her skin not covered by blankets. Normally, she would have hit the snooze button five more times and covered her face with a pillow to keep from really having to get out of bed, but she had hardly been able to sleep during the previous night anyway. "Today's the day!" she smiled, patting Rocks. He jumped off of the bed and ran over to what had previously been his corner — it was now stacked with an impressive pile of luggage — and stretched dramatically.
Upon standing, Selphie stretched herself and trudged into the bathroom, patting Rocks' head again as she passed. "You're coming this time, boy!" she said, ruffling his ears. After taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth, she threw on a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. For a trip as long as this one, comfort was going to be key.
Rocks kept peering around the bathroom door expectantly. With a laugh, she grabbed his leash. His ears perked up and he stood up a little straighter as she clipped the leash onto his collar. As the two walked to the door, Rocks pulled slightly on the leash in his eagerness to do his morning business, but upon opening the door, Selphie just tied his leash around a stone column. "Stay here, I'll be right back!" she said, pointing at his nose. She ran back inside her dorm and emerged again, this time dragging all of her luggage behind her.
"So heavy …" she grunted as she struggled down the hall with the bags. Luckily, just outside of the ladies' dorms, she ran into Zell. From the smell of dirt and sweat, she guessed he'd just finished some early morning training.
"Well Hyne, Selphie. You'll only be gone a week, but with this much baggage you could be traveling around the world!" he laughed.
"Squall told me to whittle it down to just the basics, so I did!" she said, matter-of-factly.
"And … you still have this much?"
"It is all necessary!" she declared, with a smile on her face.
"Well, in that case, I'll help you out then," he said, seemingly confused at what Selphie's interpretation of necessary meant. He bent down and picked up two of her suitcases, leaving her with the rolling one and a duffel bag. "Where are we going with these?" he asked.
"The entrance. The Garden car is supposed to be waiting up there for me."
"Did you hear about the ice storm last night?"
"What ice storm?" she asked, her voice suddenly serious.
"It hit Balamb at about three o'clock this morning," he explained, "and everything is covered in ice, so it's really slick."
"Oh man," Selphie groaned, "Squall parked the car up front last night so he wouldn't have to do it early this morning."
Zell laughed and said, "Well, you're going to have fun getting into it, that's for sure!"
Upon exiting the building, Selphie saw that Zell was not exaggerating. Everything was coated in a thin layer of ice, making the world seem as if it were carved out of crystal. The two friends slipped and slid all the way to the parked car, where Selphie gasped in horror, "Oh no! It's a car-cicle!"
Zell laughed again, glanced at his watch, then did a double-take. "Aw, crap. I'm sorry, Selph," he apologized, sitting her luggage down. "I wish I could help you out, but I have to get into town to help Seth out with the dojo."
"That's okay, I think I can manage," she sighed as she looked at the frozen car. Zell waved goodbye then walked off, breathing into his hands and rubbing them together frantically. Selphie looked back at the vehicle and pressed her face against the window. The ice distorted the view of the interior, but she could luckily she could make out enough to see that the doors were unlocked.
Looking back at the car, Selphie pointed a threatening finger at it. "You willopen!" she told the trunk. As hard as she could, she drove her elbow into the trunk door. The ice splintered into a spiderweb of shards. Little by little, chunks of ice fell to the ground. She continued to work until she had finally uncovered the door handle. Triumphantly, she grasped the now-freed handle, but no matter how hard she pulled the door was still iced shut. Laughing at her own feeble attempts, Selphie put her boot against the side of the door for support and continued to pry and struggle.
Slowly, she could ear the ice begin to crack and give way. Surprised at her own strength, she continued to pull harder, grunting as she did so.
"Selphie, what are you doing?" she heard a familiar voice drone behind her.
"Squall! Where've you been? This is your job, not mi —" Selphie started to say, but before she could to finish her sentence, the ice broke off of the door in one giant sheet and it swung open, throwing her off balance. For a few seconds, Selphie appeared to be performing some sort of strange dance on the ice as she desperately tried to regain her balance. Squall reached forward in an attempt to catch her before she fell, but her erratic flailing, combined with the extra weight, caused him to slip as well. Before long, the two landed on the ground together with a sickening "thud" and a prominent "riiiiiip."
"Owie!" Selphie cried, rubbing her bottom and standing up very carefully. Squall stood up as well, also minding his footing. He felt around his backside, and his face flushed red immediately. "Did you —?" she started, but the Commander had already spun around trying to examine the rip in his jeans.
"How bad is it?" he asked, when he finally determined he would be unable to see for himself.
Selphie, slightly embarrassed about staring, replied, "It ripped right under the pocket." She paused for a moment. "It's not thatnoticeable," she lied, examining Squall's boxers, which appeared to be covered in chocobos. She decided not to inform him she had noticed this, but instead began to limp back into Garden.
"Hey, where are you going?" he called after her.
"I'm going to let you handle the rest," she yelled over her shoulder. "I got one of the doors open, so I've done my good deed for the day. Besides, I need to get my dog, so be a gentleman and load my luggage!"
Squall watched her retreating figure until it finally disappeared into Garden. He tiredly ran his hand through his dark hair, and, with a smirk, began loading their combined luggage into the back of the Garden car. By the time Selphie returned with the ever-enthusiastic Rocks, Squall was sitting in the car waiting for them.
"How'd you get it open?" she breathed in amazement.
"I started the car, turned on the heater, and waited."
"Ugh!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms dramatically, "Well, only because I did the hard work of getting one door open for you!"
"And I thank you for it," he said quietly.
She climbed into the passenger seat and was pleased to find that the car was very warm inside. Rocks was happy too. He jumped into the backseat and then turned around in circles a couple times before situating himself comfortably.
"What time does our train leave?"
"Forty-five minutes."
"Hopefully the roads aren't bad," Selphie said with an optimistic smile.
Squall was ominously silent. "How long of a train ride are we in for?" Selphie asked nervously.
"Twenty hours or so," Squall said, glancing at his watch. "By the time we get there, after traveling time and figuring in time change, it'll be around six in the evening Esthar time." Selphie almost fell forward into the dashboard. "I thought you liked trains," he said.
"I do, but …"
"Well, it's a nonstop, transcontinental, very fast ride to Esthar. Normally, this trip would take several days."
"A-Rank privilege?"
"I guess you could say that," he thought aloud.
"Why couldn't we just take the Ragnarok?" she complained loudly.
"It's for emergency use only now."
"That sucks," she folded her arms across her chest and looked out the window. It was so white outside that they almost appeared to be motionless, with only an occasional tree zooming past to remind them otherwise. Several times she attempted to start a conversation with Squall, but he was so lethargic that it was more interesting talking to Rocks.
She glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard. It was only six thirty in the morning — early enough that even she was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open.
Squall watched out of the corner of his eye as Selphie nodded in and out of consciousness. Every time she fell asleep, her head fell either forward or backward, then after a few seconds it snapped upright. A wide-eyed Selphie would peer around, declaring that she was awake, but just minutes later would repeat the entire process all over again.
Finally, Squall pulled the car into the train station and lightly shook Selphie's shoulder. She awoke and looked around in a bewildered state, then her eyes widened and she blushed. "I wasn't sleeping," she said quickly.
"I know," Squall answered, "I'll get a trolley for our luggage."
He didn't have to go very far for a trolley. When Selphie saw him returning, she let herself out of the car, wrapping her green scarf around her face.
She walked to the back and opened the trunk. Rocks' head was staring at her from over the back seats. He barked a greeting, and she reached up to scratch his head. "You can come out if you'll stay," she said through the thick knitted fabric covering her mouth. Almost instantly, the golden retriever bounded out of the car and sat at her heels, his tail thumping against the icy pavement. It wasn't until Selphie had gotten most of the luggage out that Squall arrived with the trolley.
"Good, I was starting to think you'd been knocked unconscious fighting some old woman for a trolley."
"No, but you'd be surprised," he sighed. Selphie stared at him momentarily, trying to decipher whether or not he was being sarcastic. Seconds later, she gave up, for she had other things to think about, such as not slipping on the ice.
Finally, the SeeDs' trolley was piled high with luggage, so they carefully made their way down the platforms to their train.
It wasn't a very big train. It was quite tiny compared to the normal passenger train, and minuscule compared to a freight train. The only thing she could compare it to was the Timber Owls' personal train. It was basically an engine connected to a couple of passenger cars, a boxcar for luggage, and then the caboose, all bearing the golden SeeD emblem painted on the jet black metal.
"Wow!" Selphie breathed, completely awestruck. "This is so much coolerthan any other train ever built!"
Upon approaching the immobile machine, a man dressed in a fancy uniform took the trolley from them and ushered the two stunned SeeDs aboard. Rocks was taken to a separate compartment.
The entrance car on the train was similar to what Selphie was used to, but a bit more complex. Squall pulled the two tickets from his pocket and inserted them one at a time into a slot.
"Passenger fifty-three, Squall Leonhard, please swipe your A-Rank ID card," an electronic voice instructed. After searching through his wallet the Commander did as he was asked. "Confirming …" the voice said, and then, "ID confirmed." Squall stood expectantly waiting for the thick metal door to open, but instead the computer he was standing at thrust a strange flat box at him. "Please place your hand on the scanner," the voice said again.
"This is ridiculous," Squall said under his breath, but nevertheless he did.
"Confirming … access granted." The mechanical doors slid open.
"I'll meet you in our room," Squall said over his shoulder.
"What's the number?"
"15A."
"Okay!" she called after him. The doors slammed shut and Selphie was stuck at the computer.
"Passenger fifty-four, Selphie Tilmitt, please swipe your A-Rank ID card."
Selphie dropped her carry-on duffel bag and rummaged through her purse, silently praying to Hyne that she had actually remembered to bring her ID. Finally grasping it, she swiped it through the slot. "Confirming … ID confirmed. Please place your hand on the scanner."
"Stupid high tech security systems …" Selphie muttered, placing her hand over the scanner. There was a pause as the computer made a beeping sound. "Confirming … access granted."
The metallic door slid open, and Selphie walked inside, stunned by the compartment's interior. The car she had just set foot in looked more like the lobby of a fancy hotel. There were exotic potted plants, expensive-looking couches and tables covered with intricate cloths. Squall was nowhere to be seen, but Selphie did spot a few familiar faces from the Council. A girl she recognized from Galbadia Garden approached her.
"Hello," she smiled extending her hand. "You're our new negotiator, aren't you?"
Selphie blushed slightly, nodded, and shook the girl's hand. "I'm Selphie," she said.
"Selphie, huh? My name's Delia, I'm an intelligence expert," she smiled using her fingers to make quotation marks around her title. "I just wanted you to know that I think you're very brave, very admirable!"
"Why, thank you!" Selphie beamed, feeling slightly better about the assigned job she was still having trouble coping with.
Then, switching modes completely, Delia gasped and pointed at Selphie's scarf. "I loveyour scarf! Did you knit that yourself?"
Selphie reached up and unwrapped the green scarf from around her neck. "This?" she asked. "Oh no, I didn't make it, a —" she stopped and thought for a moment. Nida would probably kill her if she let slip that he enjoyed knitting in his spare time. ("A man needs to keep his dignity!" he would say.) "A friend made it for me."
"Wow, she's really good!"
Selphie had to force herself not to laugh.
Delia opened her over-sized purse and pulled out some knitting needles and yarn. She was working on what appeared to be a large red sock. "I just started a few months ago, but I'm still having trouble pearling. Maybe your friend can teach me?"
This time Selphie did laugh aloud, but she promptly covered her mouth and regained her composure. "I would ask, but she's very busy now."
Delia looked utterly heartbroken. "Oh …" she said dejectedly, placing her work-in-progress back in her purse.
"I'm sorry, Delia. It was nice to meet you and all …but I need to find …"
"Squall?" Delia perked up again, "He went that way!" she said as she pointed down the hall.
"How did you know?"
"He came in right before you, and you both arrived late to your first meeting together, you go to the same Garden —"
"I get the picture," Selphie stopped her.
"Tell him I like his chocobo boxers!" Delia said, smiling broadly as the two walked in opposite directions.
As Selphie strolled down the suite car looking for her room, she passed a group of older male SeeDs she didn't recognize. "A-Ranks are traveling in style now," one of them was saying. "I wish that we could alwaysuse this train."
"Why can't we?" another asked
"I guess it's mainly used for transporting A-Rank SeeDs to problem zones quickly."
"I see …"
Their voices faded as she walked further away. Eventually she found 15A. The door was ajar and she could see Squall sitting in a chair just inside. He seemed to be wearing a fresh new pair of un-ripped jeans.
He looked at her inquiringly, and interpreting his look she said, "I got held up by a girl who is a bit …"
"Ah," he said, averting his eyes back to the newspaper he was skimming through. "That would be Delia."
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"I saw her, and I avoided her."
Selphie laughed, "Well you didn't completely succeed. She still saw you."
"Of course she did, no one can slip by her unnoticed. As crazy as she is, she is very smart. Quistis can't standher." Then, dropping his voice and looking around, as if making sure the instructor wasn't listening in at that very moment, "Delia got a higher score than she did on both the SeeD entrance exam and the A-Rank exam."
"Oh, so that's why she's an intelligence expert."
"That would be why." Squall straightened out his newspaper with a flick of his wrist, then resumed his reading.
Selphie promptly dropped her duffel-bag on the floor and crawled up the ladder onto the top bunk of the bed. "I call top bunk!" she announced, peering at the Commander over the bed's wooden bed frame.
"I figured you would," he replied monotonously.
She smiled and sprawled out on the bed. Across the wall just ahead of her was a screen with LEDs continuously scrolling across it, spelling out announcements such as: 'Please make sure any firearms you may be carrying have the safety on.' or 'Please no explosives in or around the engine car.'
As she stared at the glowing red letters continuing to scroll across the wall, her eyes began to feel heavier and heavier. Before she could even think to fight it, sleep overtook her tired body and nothing, not even the jostling of the train, could bother her.
When Selphie awoke, she gave a great yawn and stretched her arms above her head. Eyes still blurry from sleep, she glanced to where she had last seen Squall reading the paper. She had expected to see him still there, but both the chair and the rest of the room were empty. She glanced at her watch and realized she had been asleep for over three hours.
"Poop!" she exclaimed, scurrying down the ladder. "I'm useless without alarm clocks!" Brimming with a surge of energy from her power nap, Selphie dashed from their compartment to begin searching for Squall.
The train was very different compared to the other trains she was accustomed to riding. The compartments were much more extravagant, and the cars seemed longer, too. Selphie walked through three cars, passing all sorts of SeeDs she did not recognize, but she got the feeling that every single one of them knew her. They all whispered as she walked by, making her feel very uncomfortable. One group of older guys catcalled her as she passed them.
"Nice," she said over her shoulder sarcastically.
"Dude, you better watch it," she could hear one of the boys whisper. "That's Squall's new girl."
"Squall?" a couple of them exclaimed at once. One of them promptly turned around to apologize to her retreating figure, but before he was able to, she decided to have some fun.
She turned around and asked as sweetly as she could, "I'm sorry to bother you, have you seen Commander Leonhart? I've been looking all over for him, but I just cannot find him anywhere!"
The stranger stared back at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. The entire gang followed in suit. They offered no information, and instead all just looked at her stupidly. "I guess not," she said, frowning, as she continued through the car.
As she passed through the door to the next car she heard one of the guys stutter, "You-you don't think she'd say anything to him about that … d-do you?"
Once she was sure she was out of earshot, she laughed gleefully. However, her laughter came to a sudden stop as she realized she had walked into the dining car, and all of the SeeDs occupying it were staring at her. Immediately, Selphie turned a brilliant red. Quickly scanning the dining car, she saw no sign of Squall and wondered where on Terra he could be. Just as she was getting ready to backtrack, she heard someone squeal, "Selphie!"
Upon hearing her name, Selphie spun around and was suddenly face-to-face with a very excited-looking Delia. "I didn't see you for a few hours, so I was wondering where you went!"
"Oh … I took a nap."
"Well that would explain it. You didn't miss much, of course, but why don't you sit down?" she said, patting the booth beside her.
Selphie looked at her and smiled politely, "I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of looking for Squall —"
"SIT!" Delia ordered.
There was something about that direct command that made Selphie decide not to argue. Used to following orders, she scrambled into the booth and looked at Delia's face, which was now smiling in a friendly manner. Delia flipped a lock of her blond hair over her shoulder and picked up her knitting needles. "I've been working on a sweatshirt for our headmaster. It's going to be his Christmas gift," Delia announced, even though Selphie didn't ask.
"That's neat."
"What are you getting for Squall?"
"I guess I haven't really thought about it yet …"
Delia stared at her, shocked, as if this were the worst thing she'd ever heard. "But Christmas is coming up next week!"
Selphie blushed again. "I'll think of something creative. I just need time."
"You should learn to knit. Then you can make lots of gifts for cheap."
"Maybe, but some other time." Mustering all of her courage, Selphie decided to attempt her escape. "I need to look for Squall."
Slowly she stood up, but Delia made a weird shrieking noise and pulled her back down. "You need to learn to knit first!" The blond girl thrust a pair of knitting needles into Selphie's empty hands and immediately began giving instructions.
An hour later, Selphie emerged from the dining car with an odd lump of knotted yarn —her first attempt at knitting — as well as her own set of needles and a ball of yarn. Delia had called them 'early Christmas presents.' Selphie didn't think she would ever be very good at knitting, despite Delia's constant reassurances that she would improve. Her so-called 'pot holder' was evidence enough, not to mention knitting made her hands and neck cramp up.
Upon entering their room again, Selphie placed her new knitting supplies on the table, saw Squall was still not there, and left again. This time she was determined to find him, so she wandered toward the opposite direction of the train. The cars seemed identical to each other and were mainly empty. Occasionally she saw a SeeD or two, wandering around just as aimlessly as she was.
Most people she didn't recognize, but she still couldn't help feeling like everyone already knew her. Mostly, people quickly looked away when she tried to make eye contact. Some smiled at her, but their smiles seemed to mask something other than friendliness.
She walked and walked until she came to the last car. Still no sign of Squall. The only logical explanation was spontaneous combustion, but since she was sure an explosion would have woken her earlier, there seemed to be no evidence to support her theory. Frustrated, she opened the heavy door that led to the back of the caboose. Sure enough, she saw a familiar bomber jacket and joined Squall outside.
The frigid air combined with the whipping wind caused by the speed of the train made her immediately regret not having brought her jacket. Teeth chattering, she managed to stutter out, "Have you b-b-been out h-here all d-d-d-day?" She rubbed her hands up and down her arms to keep them warm.
He looked over his shoulder. His mouth wasn't smiling, but his eyes were. She knew this was his 'yes' answer.
"Are you c-crazy? It's f-f-f-freez-zing out here! And I've b-b-been looking f-for y-you t-t-too! I w-was int-tercepted b-by D-D-Delia …"
"Sorry," he said quietly, then looked back over the railing of the caboose.
"W-W-What are you d-d-doing out h-here anyway?"
"Thinking."
"Ab-b-bout?"
This time he gave no sign of an answer, he merely looked out and beyond. Selphie moved next to him still shivering violently. When he saw this, Squall opened up his jacket and motioned her over to him. He wrapped the jacket around the two of them. She was pleased to find that Squall's chest was very warm. She noticed that they were above ground at the moment, as it was bright outside and there was also quite a bit of snow.
"Where are we now?" she asked.
"Don't know." Squall sighed. "We've been on the train for about four hours already, give or take. So we're not even a quarter of the way through our trip yet."
Selphie inhaled the cold air and watched the snow slowly descend. It was quite peaceful outside, despite the rushing wind and freezing air. It was silent between the two of them. Selphie just stood there, wrapped in Squall's jacket and breathing in his cologne, so close she could feel his heartbeat.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked again.
Squall groaned, but still didn't answer her. Selphie, however, had already been through a crash course of 'Understanding Squall 101,' and though she occasionally failed miserably, she usually had a way of hitting the nail on the head. "Is it about Laguna?"
Again, Squall remained silent, thus giving the answer away.
"You're being silly, you shouldn't worry about it. Laguna is a nice, laid-back guy. You don't have to worry about impressing him or anything. You just need to be yourself … maybe a little nicer." For this comment, she received a friendly poke.
"It's hard to explain," Squall sighed.
"Don't worry about explaining it," she smiled. "Look at it this way. Laguna is much nicer than General Caraway. Look at Rinny. She's been trying to get closer to her father, and she's failed because he's too judgemental. It's the opposite with you. Laguna is trying to be a father again, and the only thing holding him back is you. He's afraid of you, Squall. He's afraid of being rejected by you …"
They were silent again, and then a revelation hit her like a brick wall. Selphie knew exactly what was bothering Squall. He had lived as an orphan his entire life, constantly feeling the sting of never being one of the lucky ones in the orphanage to find a home. He'd been abandoned once, and he didn't want it to happen again. She turned around inside his jacket and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It'll all turn out okay. You'll see. I'm sure of it!"
"I hope so," he murmured.
"You smell good," she said, not really sure why the statement was leaving her mouth, but the change of subject seemed to be perfectly fine with Squall. He gave a small laugh that sounded like a snort.
"Ready to go in?" he finally asked.
"Are you kidding? It's freezingout here!"
Selphie ran inside, and Squall followed at a much slower pace behind her. Once in their room, Squall removed his jacket and sat down on his bed. Selphie looked at him and a giggle burst out. She immediately covered her mouth to hide it.
"What?" he asked.
"Your nose is all red."
"Well, yours is too."
"Yeah, but you look funnier!"
"Oh, is that so?"
As much as Selphie loved trains, most of an entire day was just too much to spend on one. She was very glad to set foot on good old solid terra firma again. The first thing she noticed as she stepped onto the platform was just how bright the sun was. The second thing was the man with long brown hair, hopping up and down and bearing a sign that said, 'Welcome Home, Son!' and shouting, "SQUALL! SELPHIE! OVER HERE! OVER HEEERE!"
It wouldn't have been quite so comical had the train station not been completely silent and motionless. Most SeeDs were getting off the train and embracing friends and family. Some were walking away from the train alone with their belongings slung casually over their shoulder. There was very little commotion. The train station wasn't crowded enough for it. Therefore, the sight of Laguna's desperate attempts to get their attention made Squall mumble a profanity under his breath and turn a shade of crimson Selphie had never before seen him achieve.
Just behind the president were dozens of news reporters. They were leaning excitedly forward, waiting for the prodigal son who was finally coming home. Female reporters fluffed their hair and casually placed their microphones in front of Laguna, asking silly questions like, "How long has it been since you last saw your son?" Laguna waved them all away and continued his yelling.
Selphie nudged Squall in the side, and, beaming, stepped toward the excited president. Kiros was standing close by. He seemed to be trying to persuade Laguna to stop his yelling, but was having little luck. Squall followed reluctantly behind his much happier counterpart.
As soon as she was within ten feet of Laguna, the overly-excited president cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Selphie! Do you see me? I'm right HERE!"
"Yes, Sir Laguna, I see you. Boy, it sure is a good thing that you stand out in such a crowd. Otherwise, we might not have ever found you!"
Laguna gave Kiros a look that clearly meant, "I told you so," and smiled at the two SeeDs laden with luggage. "I'm so happy that you came to spend the holidays here in Esthar! Kiros, Ward, will you carry their luggage for them?"
Not so enthusiastically, Laguna's friends complied.
"I'll be right back!" Selphie announced, holding her finger up. She ran back toward the A-Rank train. As she approached the car that Rocks was in, she whistled and the door opened. A man wearing his SeeD uniform led Rocks out by his collar. "Here you go, Ms. Tilmitt," he said with a smile. "Have a good day!"
Rocks looked happier than ever as he bounded toward her. He immediately jumped up and gave her several slobbery kisses on her face. "Are you ready, Rocks? You're going to be living in the lap of luxury for a week!" Selphie laughed, patting her dog on the head. "Come on!" Excitedly, Rocks followed.
"Do we have everyone?" Laguna asked upon her return, still ignoring the reporters throwing questions at him.
"I think so. Laguna, have you met Rocks yet?"
"I don't believe I have," the president admitted with a grin.
"Rocks, this is Sir Laguna, he's the president of Esthar. And Laguna, this is Rocks. He's a dog," Selphie stated matter-of-factly with a wink.
"Hello Rocks, will you be staying with us for the holidays too?"
Rocks barked his response, and Laguna laughed and petted him on the head. "I like him. Where did you get him?" he asked pushing his way through the eager press. Everyone tried their best to keep up.
"I saved him from a butcher."
"A butcher? How terrible!"
"It's not how it sounds," Squall muttered.
Laguna looked at Selphie as if asking her to confirm Squall's statement, but the girl was too busy gazing at the wondrous city outside the train station. "I love this city!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms over her head. "I do wish it snowed here though," she sighed, looking back at the group of men following her. "As a native Trabia girl, I do love the snow!" she smiled.
"It's hard for it to snow here, honey," Kiros said as he struggled with a handful of luggage. "The entire city has a controlled climate."
"Yeah …and outside the city is desert and the salt flats," Laguna added.
"I know, but still, this city would be really pretty covered in snow."
"It would, wouldn't it?" Laguna quietly agreed.
"Never mind that," Kiros said quickly, still struggling under the weight of the luggage, "Let's hurry back to the palace." Squall took some of his baggage back from the older man and helped him carry it to the limousine waiting for them outside the train station. They loaded the luggage into the long vehicle, then slowly squeezed themselves in as well.
"How long to the palace?" Selphie asked, situating herself on the corner of one of the seats.
"Not long!" Laguna smiled. It was a good thing too, because the drive there was very awkward. On a normal day, under normal circumstances, the five of them would have fit perfectly well and comfortably within that limousine. However, Selphie's inability to pack light, combined with the lack of a big enough trunk to fit all of their luggage, meant the area inside was very cramped. Every once in a while, Laguna made an attempt to start a conversation, but not even Selphie felt like talking at that point. The limousine finally stopped before the large Presidential Palace.
Selphie, being closest to the door, began opening it. "I'd wait if I were you!" Laguna yelled quickly, but it was too late. Reporters and paparazzi were already leaning into the car, shoving their cameras in and clicking blindly, hoping for a good shot. Moments later, the driver successfully pushed them back enough that everyone could climb out of the limo.
"Squall, who is this that you brought along with you?" one reporter asked, shoving a microphone in his face. He ignored her and pushed past them, carrying a couple bags from the car.
Selphie shouldered her duffel bag and began following him, Rocks bounding along at her heels. "Do you have anything you wish to say to the people of Esthar?" one reporter asked, cutting Selphie off in her progression to the palace.
"Um …" she looked around, "Everyone, love and peace!" she smiled and threw up the peace sign. Rocks barked his agreement, then expertly weaved through the reporters and began romping on the extensive lawn the Palace offered.
The reporters all exclaimed something and snapped more photos. Responding to that one question made all of the other reporters jump at her like animals starving for food. Not sure what to do, Selphie was relieved to feel a strong hand behind her guide her forward. She turned around to see Ward smiling down at her silently as he led her through the crowd and into the palace.
Once everyone was inside, Rocks came bounding indoors as well. Laguna led the two tired SeeDs up a long flight of spiral stairs. Kiros and Ward lingered behind, still dragging in the last of their belongings. Lining the halls of the palace were many paintings and expensive-looking statues and artifacts. One in particular caught Selphie's and Rocks' eyes, though for completely different reasons. A life-size statue of the president stood along one of the corridors and at its base was a placard that read, "A Gift From the Shumi Village." Squall and Laguna continued ahead unknowingly, but Selphie stared at it until finally Rocks broke her concentration. He walked up to the statue and began to lift his leg. "Ahhh!" she yelled sternly, and before he could squeeze anything out of his bladder, all of his paws were grounded. "What did I tell you about peeing on priceless artifacts?" she asked, shaking a finger at the dog. His ears lowered and he walked away, defeated. "Let's go catch up to the other two!" she said, slapping her leg to get his attention. Laguna and Squall had stopped at the end of the long hallway to wait for her. Finally, Laguna opened up a door and motioned the two inside. "This is where you'll be staying while you're here."
Selphie blushed as she saw there was only one giant bed. Misinterpreting her reaction, Laguna automatically exclaimed, "If you don't like what we've done to it, you're welcome to decorate it however you like!"
"Oh, it's not that — it's beautiful!" Selphie immediately responded, holding her hands up defensively. "It's just … where am I staying?"
Laguna's face dropped. "Oh I'm sorry, I assumed you two were … err …" He looked from Squall to Selphie and back again. "I have another room you're welcome to stay in, it's just, well…" He looked uncomfortable.
"The heater is broken," Kiros said, finishing for him.
"No!" Laguna said angrily, "It's haunted."
"Haunted?" Selphie exclaimed.
"Yes, there are these awful wails that come from it"
"Because the heater is broken."
"And the walls shake."
"Because the heater is broken." Kiros drawled again. Laguna glared at him, but Kiros shrugged and said, "It's an old radiator heater. It's been broken since before we moved in here, but Laguna won't have anyone come fix it because he thinks the room is haunted."
"I would wish it upon no one to enter that room!" Laguna declared.
Selphie giggled. "It's okay," she said. "I just didn't expect to share a room, that's all. But it is a lovely room."
"Good," Laguna beamed, "Ell decorated it. She was so excited that the two of you were coming, I didn't even have to ask her. Speaking of Ell, she's downstairs, if the two of you want to say hi."
Squall's face lit up when he heard this. "Sis is here?"
"Sure is! And she brought a charming young man with her this time. Let's all go see them. Dinner should be just about done anyway!" He led them back downstairs and into a massive dining room with a long wooden table. Selphie imagined that it was more for entertaining large dinner parties of diplomats rather than family and friends, but it appeared they would be dining there nonetheless.
Laguna swept behind Selphie and pulled a chair out for her, gesturing politely. "Thanks!" she beamed, taking her seat.
"I'll find Ell," Laguna announced, leaving Squall and Selphie with Kiros and Ward in the dining room. Laguna's friends sat down in what Selphie assumed to be their normal seats, and Squall took the seat next to her.
Anyone looking in would probably assume Ward was not the only mute in the room. Kiros and Selphie chatted politely, but Squall seemed to be silently studying the cutlery in front of him.
"So you're from Trabia?" Kiros asked.
"Yes. Well, actually, I'm not really sure," she began, stroking Rocks' head, which was laying now in her lap. "My adoptive parents lived in Trabia, and most of my childhood was spent there. I transferred to Balamb Garden about a year ago."
"Lived in Trabia? Where do they live now?" he asked.
"Well, um, they died," she said awkwardly. Kiros looked shocked and opened his mouth to apologize, but Selphie held up her hands. "Honestly, it's all right, you didn't know," she said quietly. "During the first sorceress war," she began, "As I'm sure you remember, the Estharian army back then was under her control. After the war ended, the spell broke and most soldiers returned home as if nothing had ever happened. But for some reason, the spell never wore off on some, or maybe they just enjoyed killing by then. They called themselves her knights. Even though Adel had been trapped and entombed in space, they continued to do her bidding across the countryside. They made it through to Trabia eventually and, well," she paused for a moment and sighed, "My parents stood with many others trying to fight them off. It was because our town stood up to them that the last of the knights were either killed or arrested, but my parents didn't make it."
"I'd heard about the knights," Kiros breathed. "I'm sorry to hear your family fell victim."
"Nah," she smiled, "They weren't victims. They didn't go down easily. But anyway, after they gave their life to protect the world from what was left of the sorceress' regime, I decided I should too. I lied about my age and enrolled in Trabia Garden, and the rest is history!"
"Impressive," Kiros smiled.
Suddenly there was some commotion in the doorway as Ellone bustled through it, followed by Laguna and a tall, and somewhat familiar blond man. "Squall! Selphie!" she cried, running to them. "How was your trip? I'm so glad you could come!" she exclaimed giving them each hugs in turn. Then standing up straight, she turned around and gestured at the man. "This is Nolan," she said with a smile.
Squall stood up and shook his hand, a bit of confusion on his face. "You seem familiar," he said quietly.
"Nolan was a White SeeD," Ellone said, smiling broadly.
"Oh, well then that explains how you know Sis!" Selphie said, also standing to shake his hand.
"Nice to meet you both again," Nolan said grinning, then he took Ellone by the hand and they walked to the other side of the table, where they took the seats opposite Squall and Selphie. It fell awkwardly silent at the table again as everyone got situated.
"So what's for dinner tonight, Uncle Laguna?" Ell asked sweetly as she plucked her cloth napkin from the table and set it in her lap.
"You'll see!" he said in a sing-song voice, also putting the napkin in his lap. Just moments later a very dignified looking butler stepped into the dining room.
"May I bring anyone a drink?" he asked smoothly.
"I'm good with water!" Selphie said quickly.
"Water," Squall said as well. He was echoed by Ellone and Nolan.
"He'll have water too!" Selphie said, pointing at Rocks, who was sitting beside her chair.
"Of course, madam," the butler nodded curtly.
"The usual," Laguna said with a smile.
"Same," Kiros said, and Ward gave a nod.
The butler gave a stiff bow and walked away, returning just moments later with all the drinks. Laguna's "usual" appeared to be some sort of amber colored liquor, but it came out in a very tall glass. The president picked up the glass and took several gulps of it.
"Ahh, nothing like sweet tea," he said with a grin. Selphie and Ellone glanced at each other, smiling, then Ellone cleared her throat as the butler bustled through the doors carrying salads.
"Well," she started slowly. "Now that everyone is here, I have some news."
If it was awkwardly silent before, now it was even worse. Laguna put his drink down and stared at her stupidly. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
Everyone stared at her as she turned a pale shade of pink, "I'm fine," she said softly, then looking up from her lap she said with a very large grin on her face, "Everyone, Uncle Laguna, we're getting married." If at all possible, her smile widened even more, showing off all of her dazzling teeth. She held out her hand so that everyone could examine the ring on her finger. It was a beautiful white gold ring, with a modest stone on top.
The silence was suddenly broken with an uproar of excitement. The butler came scrambling back into the dining room for fear that someone had dropped something. Laguna, who had jumped out of his chair, grabbed the butler around the shoulders and said, "Mikey, I'm going to need to you to bring champagne for everyone!" he exclaimed, gesturing around the table.
Selphie and Squall looked at each other and back to Laguna. "E-Except those two," Laguna quickly added, pointing at the two teenagers. "Not old enough."
The butler disappeared again, but returned fairly quickly with five champagne flutes and a bottle. He presented the bottle to Laguna, who laughed. "Sure, sure, good choice," he said, and waved the butler off. "Honestly I wouldn't know a bad choice if it hit me in the face," he said with a wink. "But champagne is champagne!" He tore the foil off from around the neck, untwisted the wire cage that held the cork down, and then pulled the cork out with a deafening pop. The champagne fizzed and threatened to overflow from the bottle. Laguna hastily poured some into each of the glasses, passed them to those in the room old enough to partake, and raised his own in a toast.
"To Ell and Nolan!" he exclaimed. Selphie was holding up her water glass to participate in the toast, and Squall quickly copied her. "May you love as long as you live, and live as long as you love!"
"Here, here!" everyone said in unison as they clinked their glasses together and each took a sip.
"So, do tell!" Selphie said excitedly, taking her seat again. "You said he was a White SeeD, but how did you meet?"
"Well," Ellone began, "We've known each other since we were very young. You see, he was in the orphanage too."
"Really?" Selphie exclaimed.
Ellone smiled again and continued, "He used to ask me to marry him all the time when we were young, do you remember, Nolan?"
Nolan chuckled, "Of course I do — You always said no!" Then shaking his head, Nolan continued the story. "The first time I met Ellone, I was five, and she was about four. She'd just been brought to the orphanage. I was smitten with her immediately and asked her to marry me, but she told me that we were too young to worry about something like that."
"Well, we were!" she giggled.
"After the time compression and the destruction of the Ellone Junction Machine, there wasn't really a need for White SeeDs. We were given the option of going to Garden and becoming just normal SeeDs, but a lot of us decided to pursue other interests. Ellone determined that she wanted to travel back to many of the places in her childhood, starting with Winhill, so I decided to go with her," he said, grasping her hand on the table.
"We travelled to many places, but we finally found ourselves back on Centra, at the beach by the orphanage," Ellone continued, her eyes sparkling with tears. "He laughed and said to me, 'Do you remember when I used to pester you about marrying me? Man we've really grown up since then, haven't we?' I said yes, then suddenly he was on one knee. He asked me, 'So are you ready now then?' and showed me the ring." Her face was now blushing, but her smile didn't falter.
"That is soromantic!" Selphie swooned.
"'Atta boy!" Laguna yelled, raising his champagne glass again. Nolan lifted his as well and they both drank to their mutual toast.
Squall muttered a congratulations under his breath, but was now glowering at Nolan.
Selphie glanced at Squall confusedly, and then looked back to Ellone. "So when are you thinking the big day is going to be?"
"Well," Ellone's eyes met with Nolan's for a brief second, then she looked back at Selphie. "We aren't sure yet. We want it to be about a year from now though. Maybe next fall?"
Nolan nodded his agreement. "We'll have to see what we plan on doing for the ceremony and what's available and when," he said as the kitchen doors were thrown open once again. Now a short parade of chefs and staff came bustling into the room. Two were carrying a a roasted animal kneeling on a platter, an apple placed squarely in its mouth.
Selphie's eyes widened in horror, and noticing her reaction, one of the chefs quickly explained, "Roasted young mesmerize."
"I think I'm becoming a vegetarian," she said quietly to Squall.
Many more platters were set down on the table, then the staff promptly bowed and left the room.
Laguna rubbed his hands together. "So!" he exclaimed, pulling the lid from some of the platters. "We have steamed cactuar, turtapod soup and caterchipillar rolls. We don't have guests very often, so the chefs outdid themselves tonight!" he beamed. "Everyone, help yourself!"
Kiros stood up and started to cut into the mesmerize, offering slices of the meat to everyone at the table as he did so. He finally got to Selphie and held out a slice of the meat. She put her hands up, and as politely as she could, said, "I'm sorry, I can't eat anything that's staring at me …"
Kiros looked confused and glanced at the mesmerize. "Its eyes have been removed …"
"Not the point," she said quickly, averting her gaze from the animal in the center of the table. She spent the rest of dinner avoiding eye contact (or lack thereof) with the beast.
Once everyone started to eat, the ice was completely broken and there was casual conversation at the table. Even Squall spoke up every once in a while. Everything that Selphie tasted was very good. She would have never guessed she'd like cactuar, or caterchipillar for that matter. The butler had even set out a bowl of food for Rocks. This, however, was completely untouched, as Rocks was glued to Laguna's side, eagerly anticipating the next morsel that the president would slip him under the table.
Two bottles of champagne and half a mesmerize later, everyone's stomachs were filled to capacity. The butler had returned and offered dessert. Nearly everyone refused, hands over their guts, saying that they couldn't even thinkof eating more food. Ward, however, was more than willing to partake in dessert. He raised his large hand and nodded to the butler, who must have known exactly what he meant, as he returned with some ice cream minutes later.
"I know you're both probably exhausted with the time change and all, but it's still only about eight thirty," Laguna said, throwing his napkin on the table. "What do you say to a game, hmm? Of course if you're too tired, you don't have to!" he added hastily.
Selphie looked at Squall long enough to determine if this request bothered him at all. If it did, he didn't show it. "We'd love to!" she said, also removing her napkin from her lap. "What are we playing?"
Everyone had their own opinion on what game they should play — everyone except Squall, that is. Finally, however, everyone had agreed on a game of Pictionary, and the group had headed to the palace's living room. They had all pulled straws, and Selphie, Ellone, Laguna and Ward were going head to head with Squall, Nolan and Kiros. The game was getting heated and steadily more competitive.
It was Selphie's turn to draw something for her team, and the card she drew said "stove" on it. She thought momentarily, but time was ticking away, so she finally drew a square and began drawing a swirl in one corner when Ellone blurted out, "Stove!"
Selphie turned and pointed at her excitedly, "That's right!"
"I thought it was a cassette tape…" Laguna said disappointedly.
"Ugh!" Nolan grunted loudly. "They're cheating, they must be!" he laughed, "How did you get a stove from that?" he asked pointing to the drawing.
"Hey, it's a very good stove!" Selphie laughed, putting her hands on her hips. She ran back to her team, high-fiving everyone as she sat, and then it was Squall's turn to draw.
His card said "gasoline." He muttered something to himself about how the other team always got the easy ones, then thought momentarily before he started drawing the first thing that came to mind — a gas can. As he started drawing he could hear Nolan behind him shouting, "Uh … um … house! No? Bucket! Bucket! Bucket! House? Bucket! Watering can? Bucket! Gas tank?"
Squall turned toward him and tried to motion he was on the right track, but this only made him repeat "Gas tank!" over and over again.
Squall irritatedly starting pointing to the line of liquid he'd drawn inside the gas can, and finally, very timidly Kiros asked, "Gas …?" Squall motioned him to continue, he was on the right track, "Oh! Gaso —"
"Eeeehhhh! Time's up!" Laguna screeched gleefully, holding up the little hour glass. Squall tossed the pen back onto the pad of paper and trudged back to his team, glaring unmistakably at Nolan as he passed.
"If it wasn't correct the first time, it wasn't correct," he muttered, sitting beside Kiros. Nolan had a terrible habit of repeating his guesses over and over, rather than coming up with new ones. It was driving Squall crazy, he decided not to whack him in the back of the head for Ell's sake, no matter how much he was convinced Nolan deserved it. Besides, even though his team was losing by a significant margin, he was enjoying himself. He would, however, never let anyone figure that out easily.
Now Laguna was at the board. His word was "spoon." Quickly, he drew a line with a circle at the top. Immediately shouts of "lollipop!" "stop sign!" and "person!" were heard coming from the girls, both of whom were sitting on the edge of the couch. Laguna shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, then started drawing a fork next to his primitive spoon. Suddenly, Ward leaned forward and began intensely pantomiming something. Selphie looked at him and immediately understood what he was doing. "SPOON!" she shouted.
"YES!" Laguna exclaimed, jumping into the air and doing a little victory dance. Instantaneously, flashes of light started coming through the window. Selphie, who immediately equated the sudden flashes to lightning, began to cower until she realized she was hearing the unmistakable sound of shutters clicking.
Laguna walked over the window and shut the curtains as if this were a common occurrence.
"They must've climbed the wall again," Kiros said, shaking his head. "I swear, there's no keeping those people out! I'll page security right away." He stood up and walked out of the room.
But it seemed that the security guards were already aware of the situation. Outside Selphie heard a man exclaim, "I think I got a good one of President Loire!"
"You're intruding on private property," said a second, much deeper, voice. "I'll be taking those …"
"I … I have every right to be here! And that's my personal property — hey!" she heard the photographer exclaim, but his protests faded as he was led away from the window. Selphie wondered nervously what was happening to the man, but Laguna didn't look very concerned.
"It's ok, Selphie," Ellone said grabbing her hand. "You get used to it eventually."
"They're not hurting him, are they?"
"No! No, not at all. They'll probably erase the pictures he just took and hand him over to the local police for trespassing. "He'll probably only have to pay a fine, nothing to worry about," Laguna said, waving his hand at her. Then, noticing the time, he exclaimed, "Wow! I think it's high time we called it a night. It's almost midnight, and I'm sure you two are about ready to pass out. Get to bed, and sleep as late as you want tomorrow. You had a long day today, and break is all about rest and relaxation."
Laguna beamed at them, and gestured them toward their room. Everyone else in the room stood up and stretched, tiredly exchanged 'good nights' and retired to their rooms.
Back in the bedroom, although Selphie wanted nothing more than to collapse on the bed and fall asleep with all of her clothes still on, she had exploring to do. The room was gorgeous, and she had only seen it for a brief second when they had dropped their bags off.
"Oh, wow, Squall! We have our own bathroom!" she said, running into the attached bathroom. "AND THE TUB IS GINORMOUS! I should have brought my swimming suit! I think you can dive into this thing!" she said, pointing to the jacuzzi. Of course this was an exaggeration, but the tub was very large. Around the edges were decorative bottles filled with different essential oils, bubble baths and scented bath salts. Selphie made sure to pluck each one up, open the bottle and sniff it. Occasionally she would hand one to Squall for him to smell as well, with a declaration of, "Oooh, that one smells wonderful!"
His responses were not nearly as enthusiastic, ranging normally from "Yeah … nice," to "Hmm," or even the occasional, "Meh …"
"Well, obviouslyyou don't appreciate the amenities, but you won't stop mefrom enjoying them!" she announced, then she turned him around and led him out of the bathroom. She closed the door behind him, turned on the faucet and began filling the tub with hot water. Carelessly, she tossed her clothes on the floor and stepped into the tub, letting the warm water wash over her. She decided on lavender scented bubble bath and some calming chamomile bath salts. Within minutes she was laying in a full tub, jets on, with at least a foot of bubbles surrounding her.
It was heavenly — that was really the only word to describe it. She felt pampered, calm, and most importantly, clean. She hummed to herself, wiggling her toes in time and slowly felt herself melt into the water. It wasn't until nearly all the bubbles had popped, the water was getting cold, and her fingers and toes resembled raisins, that she reluctantly got up from the tub and drained the water. Laguna had really thought of everything, she mused, as she wrapped herself in the smaller of the two plush robes hanging on the wall. She dried her hair with a fluffy towel and walked out of the bathroom.
Squall was now sleeping in the bed, with Rocks, also asleep, at his feet. As quietly as she could, Selphie tip-toed to her bag, removed her pajamas, then glancing backwards to ensure Squall was really asleep, slipped them on. Now she was faced with a tough decision.
True, she and Squall had slept close to each other before, but for some reason, sleeping in the same vicinity seemed so much less risque than sleeping in the same bed. She looked around the room, but her only other option was an overstuffed chair in the corner. With a sigh, she looked longingly back at the bed. It looked so comfortable, and she had just finished taking that wonderful bath and felt so relaxed. Who would want to sleep in a chair after that?
She stared between the bed and the chair, and finally gave in. She slipped into the bed next to Squall, who didn't budge. Smiling slyly, she leaned over and kissed his forehead. One corner of his mouth raised into an unconscious smile. Feeling satisfied with herself, she snuggled deeper into the sheets, turned onto her side and and said, "G'night!" Squall stirred momentarily and gave an incomprehensible grunt as his reply. Rocks heaved a deep sigh, which Selphie echoed, and then, smiling into her pillow, she drifted to sleep.