Bittersweet Apathy

Chapter 9

The clock bell tolled midnight. A lone shadow sat at the Library, her hair jet black and frizzy, her face pale as ash with blood shut eyes and mouth oozing with drool.

An unfamiliar mist shrouded the library; a scary scene, as if ripped out from a horror movie.

A cloaked figure passed though the bookcases. A light moan and groan could be heard echoing in the darkened room behind the bookshelves where few have ventured to look. As the footsteps of the cloaked figure came closer and closer to the table where the shadow sat, the groan became louder and louder, turning into a deep breathing sound.

The clanking of the footsteps stopped before the table where the shadow groaned. Silence stood still save for the deep breathing echoes. The cloaked figure took out a seemingly sharp stick, and in a sweeping motion, hit it against the table missing the shadow just by a few inches away.

SMACK!

Echoed the stick as it hit the table.

"No sleeping in the Library!" the cloaked lady exclaimed. As the moonlight passed through the window, her face was unveiled; it was the new head librarian shivering at the cold mist of the air conditioned room.

Shocked by the sudden whack at the side of her ear, Xu immediately opened her eyes from sleep and quickly sat up with wide-opened eyes and a pounding heartbeat.

"So it's you again! It's been a week since I found you here at late hours—sleeping and DROOLING all over the books!" scolded the librarian as she twitched Xu's ear and dragged her out of the seat.

"OW! Oooowww...owowow!" uttered Xu as she got up from her chair carried by the strength of the librarian.

"Do you realize that your excessive drooling has caused some of our texts to smudge!" the librarian continued with infuriated expression, "What are you up to? I've never seen you come here before."

"I...ahhh...had been doing research." Xu explained, aware of the new librarian's unfamiliar face, she didn't bother to argue. Instead, she motioned to the librarian to release her ear and play innocent.

"Go on, I'm listening." The librarian finally took off her grip from Xu's ear and folded her arms instead, waiting for Xu's reply.

"Well...you see I have been looking for a book about enchantment and spells. I need to make a love potion you see—for a friend." She explained, poking her pointing finger against each other like a little girl.

"A love potion you say?" The librarian's tone turned from angry to curious. She was about to cast Xu away when she began to have second thoughts. Looking at Xu's desperate expression, she felt pity and decided to help out the poor girl. "For one, I can tell you that your search is in vain. The Garden has forbidden us to provide books about the dark arts and those hullabaloos—for safety precautions. But for both our sakes and for the books you are about to drool on, I'll tell you a little secret. Not everyone knows about this, but I know where to get your love potion. Go to Dollet and wait at the fountain over at Central Square. By the strike of midnight, an old woman in a black cloak will arrive carrying a chest full of mystical items. One of the things she sells is the much sought after love potion, also, a recipe booklet for her potions, love potion included. She may be a push over for new customers, but she gives quite a bargain if you know how to talk things through...although I never really got good prices from her."

"How do you know all this?" Xu curiously asked with suspicious eyes.

"Well...it's uhhh...it's complicated." The librarian fumbled for words. Unable to justify her reason, she took the initiative of leading Xu out of the library, pressing her palm against Xu's back to push her out. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'll be forty this year for crying out loud!" she finally blurted as Xu reached the door; she was about to close it when she added, "It's good to be young and single, but at this point in life, I'd be damned to find myself a husband before turning forty! Now leave and don't come back—because of you, I'm now bombarded with the thoughts of singlehood and solitude!" she complained like a paranoid and slamming the door at Xu.

"No wonder you're single." was Xu's only comment to the door before leaving back to her room. Nonetheless, she got what she wanted and walked all the way to her room with a mischievous grin.

o O o

After about a week with her little encounter with the librarian, she had been busier than ever to come up with a scheme of the century. It was too obvious that she had made her preparation well. Big dark eye bags drooped down her cheeks as she had been often spotted sleeping in her office for several days now, so much so that she has caught Quistis' attention. Quistis, worried about her best friend's situation, decided to visit her in one of her breaks to talk about what has been going on with her for the past week.

"Xu, can we talk?" Quistis concernedly asked as she opened the door to Xu's office, who at that time was speaking with the fortune teller of Dollet.

"Quisty! Just the one I wanted to see." Xu smiled with delight as soon as she saw Quistis enter the door. "Great timing, I invited Lady Aurora for a little fortune telling about my love life. Care to give it a shot? She's really good." Xu briefly introduced them then had Quistis seated across the woman.

Indeed it was an excellent timing; Xu had just finished briefing Aurora about the supposed upturn of events and was about to leave and go to Quistis when she suddenly came in to their benefit.

"Hello there my dear, can you open your palm and place them on the crystal ball for me?" The fortune teller eerily requested pointing at the glowing piece of orb situated at the middle of the table.

Quistis looked the old woman thinking whether she should do as she said or not. Part of her was curious to know what was laid before her—her love life that is—but part of her was also afraid to hear a possible unwanted future. There was something about the old woman's stare which made her uncomfortable. It was like the old woman was seeing right through her soul, trying to read her mind and transcending a hypnotic stare, ordering her feed her curiosity.

The woman had deep purple eyes which made her seem enchanting beneath her wrinkled face and white hair. Quistis felt drawn to the crystal ball that unconsciously, she opened her palm and placed it on the surface of the sphere as instructed. The moment her hand touched the crystal, lights of many luminescent color clouded within, swirling heavily like disturbed mist.

"Ahhhh...yesssss...I can see it...it is written in the stars." The old woman uttered as she circled her hands hovering around the crystal ball as if in a trance. "Yes...it won't be long before the man you've been waiting for will return your hidden affections. The man you will be for the rest of your life, your destiny, your soul mate, the prince charming and knight in shining armor you've so longed for will be the one to give you your fairytale ending." She paused and gave Quistis a modest but meaningful look. "On the night of the first full moon this month, you will meet him under a lone tree over by the coast of Balamb. At the stroke of midnight, he will hold out a vial of clear liquid. If the liquid turns red when you toast it with his, then your love is meant to last a lifetime, but if it remains transparent, then you are not meant for each other. But whatever the result, you will seal your fate with a toast and by drinking all of its contents. Make sure you stare at each other's eye the moment you swallow the liquid. With that toast of true love, your destinies will entwine and you will have your happily ever after."

For moment, she contemplated with what she heard. "...But who?"

"The man has a long scar across his forehead, his name starts with an 'S' and also happens to be your childhood friend."

"Squall?" Quistis whispered to herself, but was loud enough to be overheard by the woman.

Abashed when she realized that there was another man that went with the same description, she stuttered for an answer recalling every detail about the man Xu had described. "NO! He's blonde, about 6'2, deep green eyes and was a Sorceress' Knight—"

"SEIFER!" She was startled when she heard herself react so much at the thought of his name.

"—YES! THAT'S THE GUY! Tall and a fine looking stud."

She was totally caught off guard and didn't know how to react, whether she felt the slightest bit of gladness, she at that instant forgot since it was so uncalled for. How the woman reacted and described him made her feel odd, it seemed all too planned that she glanced at Xu to see her reaction, but Xu seemed innocent with her expressionless facade. Quistis quickly returned her gaze at the old woman and narrowed her eyes to see if there was a hint of deception, but the old woman's stare was unreadable making Quistis feel queasy with the thought of an inevitable future with Seifer.

"Never will there be a love more powerful than that destined by the stars when blossomed under the moon, their master, in its fullest form." Although Quistis seemed hesitant with her fortune, the woman made a wise comment which made Quistis consider their future a possibility. "I can sense the crystal ball is telling me that the reason why you cannot find a man is because you have a particular intention of having a romantic fairytale story. I can feel that this Seifer fellow will be the one to give you that, after all he was a knight at one time in his life. Do not doubt me, for the world has inevitable forces that make all our destinies happen, and in your case, circumstances such as this is what will lead you to your eventual happily ever after."

"But why do we have drink from a vial to make it all happen?" it was a question of suspicion, "It doesn't happen to be a love potion is it?"

"I was afraid you'd ask...but no, it's sort of not." She lied, but it came out obvious.

"...Sort of?" Quistis continued her interrogation, not convinced by the old woman's answer.

"Oh my! Now look at the time—aren't you suppose to be leaving?" Xu interrupted, aware that it was getting too risky if the old woman would say anything more.

Immediately the old woman gathered all her stuff spread across the table and shoved it in her bag then hurried for the door. "Yes yes, look at the time! I have to go now. I need to catch the ferry to Dollet!" but right before she closed the door, she turned back to give Quistis a parting glance, smiled, then left.

"That was a little…weird." Quistis uttered with a crinkled forehead.

"No, that's what fortune tellers do, do weird stuff." Xu explained with a little giggle, then got into more serious matters. "So, Seifer's your soul mate, eh?"

"I don't know...I'm as confused as you are."

"This may sound weird, but I believe he is."

"Not you too..." Quistis sighed shaking her head in disbelief. "Listen, I know you guys had been trying to hook us up for some apparent reason, and we have figured that one out already, but please, tell me why in the world do you think Seifer is the right guy for me?"

"I've been thinking a lot...and it IS possible. I mean, it's like the universe itself is pushing you together. You've been together since you met at the orphanage, you may have separated ways for a while, but you got back together here in the Garden—twice. You became classmates for a few years then you became his instructor—TWICE! You guys may have started on the wrong foot, but now you seem to be each other's company just when you no longer have to be together. Plus, you had a thing for Squall while he was involved with Rinoa, now they ended up together while you both were left single. I mean, don't you think that means something?"

Xu's words got her thinking—hard. "I never really thought of it as that."

"This is it Quisty—this is the fairytale story that fate has been slowly shaping for you your whole life! You've just been taking in the wrong signs since you've been unconscious about it because you thought it was Squall, but didn't you notice that Seifer was also there the whole time? I mean, from your childhood, to you being classmates, up to becoming his student…and even in the war, you never really seem to have parted ways…until now, there is still something that makes your lives collide, but you never seem to notice, and yet fate again has made it possible for you to meet Lady Aurora to tell you straight on this time. That's too many signs already!"

That was a hard slap of reality on the face for her. Was Xu actually right? That she had mistaken Squall to be the one when it was actually Seifer the whole time? Was all the little things that had been happening between them, from them being orphaned and meeting at the orphanage, them being classmates for over four years, their being stuck together as his private tutor, Seifer's first mission at Dollet, and more recently, their prize at the Amazing Race was an engagement ring, was all of it fate's doing to get them together? It all seemed too sudden for just one afternoon to swallow, especially when it had been something apparent her whole life. But still, she had no feelings for Seifer; he was just another one of her friends, nothing more. She felt like Xu was one of those pairing them up, but to her defense, she was making it all too real, no longer the fooling-around that the others were doing.

"And let me remind you that it was he who saved you after getting lost in time. Now that makes him your knight in shining armor…and kinda like a prince charming in a way…he is kinda cute except for the attitude, he'll make a fine prince charming." She giggled and couldn't stop but ask when she noticed Quistis was beginning to have blushed cheeks. "Does it bother you that Seifer's actually the one you've been waiting for your whole life?"

"Yes!" she retorted with the obvious shock in her face still lingering. Xu made her point clear, Seifer could be the one. But reality came in too fast that she had to force her heart to stop acting and started to order her mind to take its place. She shook her head and took a step back to frown at Xu. "I mean, this is all too sudden."

"I don't think so. After all, it's been thirteen years in the making—the fairytale thing."

"Wait—I thought you didn't like Seifer, how come you're now insisting that he's the guy for me?" Quistis suddenly realized that it was Xu she was talking with.

The words came piercing in like a dart, she was dead right, she didn't favor Seifer and had been telling Quistis that for a long time, several times, now that the tables were turned, she had to think fast. "About that..." She cleared her throat to stall some time to think. "Good question..." she added, clearing her throat again. "That's because I'm your best friend. I don't want you to miss your chance of finding true love because of me. If Seifer's the guy for you, then so be it, that'll be my problem to deal with, right?" She gave Quistis a quick hug with a trembling heart; it was her who needed the hug.

"You'd do that?" Quistis spoke with the mixed feeling of gladness and confusion as she hugged her back. At that point, she didn't know what else to think or how to react. Xu did the impossible, made Quistis' heart overshadow her mind. But all that mixed feelings could be saved for later, now it was time to 'help' Xu.

"H-hey, what are friends for?" she replied trembling, this time with relief.

"Now let's talk about you...what have you been up to? How come you seem out of yourself lately?" Quistis asked in concern as she released her grip to look at Xu.

"Curse!" she surprisingly thought out loud. She couldn't possibly say she was so busy making appointments at midnight with the Lady Aurora. She was caught off guard for the second time and had to think fast yet again.

"What, a curse?"

"Y-yes?" she agreed to deny. "It's a curse from Lady Aurora." She went along as she tried to make an excuse, "She told me of my fortune, but I refused to follow her instructions...so I was cursed. That's why she was here—to remove it."

"I'll be cursed if I don't do as she says?"

"Exactly!" she exclaimed when a new idea popped in her head. She had the gift of being a quick thinker and a good liar that it was a good mix to manipulate someone like…say…her best friend. "That's why you have to do exactly as she says or you'll be cursed real bad. And trust me, it ain't nice!" she threatened pointing at her sluggish eyes. "Oh, and by the way, here's the vial she's talking about." She suddenly remembered. She dug deep into her skirt's pocket and took out a small bottle containing an oily liquid.

"How come you have it? Nevermind...just tell me what this stuff is. It's not a love potion is it?" she curiously asked again as she held the bottle and swivelled the liquid inside.

"Tsk! Love potion! Now where did you get that idea?" she snickered flapping her palm at her in ridicule.

"Then what else is it supposed to be, how come we have to drink it?" she raised her brow and folded her arms, seemingly suspicious.

She took the item from Quistis' hand, and with it an explanation, "It's a special potion that will cast away the curse I was talking about. That's why you HAVE to drink it and follow EXACTLY as she instructed to have to make it work. At the stroke of midnight, under the full moon, you will toast it with Seifer, drink the whole bottle then look exactly straight into his eyes. You're supposed to feel a little queasy right after, but that'll be just the potion taking effect. If you don't do it right, you'll be cursed real bad, and I'm talking out of experience here."

"Then in that case," she took the bottle from Xu's hand and looked at it one more time before placing it in her pocket, "I don't have a choice."

"Pretty much!" she grinned.

o O o

Lady Aurora was about to step out of the gate when Seifer happened to pass by dragging along his Hyperion. At that instant, when they exchanged glances, Lady Aurora knew he was the one she had been looking for the entire afternoon. Seifer had passed by several steps when she decided to take the opportunity and get her job done. She quickly took out the picture of Seifer Xu had given her and compared the faces, just to make sure.

It made a match.

"Wait! You there, young man who wields a gunblade and a scar on his face with green eyes and blonde hair, wearing a trench coat—"

"What'd you want grandma? You're obviously calling my attention." Seifer finally turned around to face her, overhearing the old woman's rather detailed description of him.

She quickly scanned through her bag and took out a deck of tarot cards then spread it on her fingers. "Pick a card."

"I don't have time to play your silly little game." He was rather uninterested by the offer.

"You will PICK a CARD." The old woman's voice turned from sweet into a deep groan like a voice from the depths of hell.

Seifer was so startled by the old woman that he unconsciously picked up a random card from the deck and gave it to her without saying a word. She received it with a smile, turned it, then immediately her curved lips went the other way around. He picked up a Twin Tarot, a card with no possible meaning or connection about love. Her only initiative was to quietly return the card back to the deck then selected the card herself.

"That wasn't the card you want, this is." She said pointing at the half-drawn card, her voice returned to sweet and tender.

"I thought I get to choose the card!" Seifer complained waving his hand.

"Yes, and THIS IS THE CARD YOU GET TO CHOOSE." The old woman hissed. Her purple eyes turned fiery red startling Seifer the second time.

He twitched his lip and took out the card she wanted him to pick, this time without complain. She turned over the card, and just as she expected, it was the Love Tarot. Placing the card on the cemented ground, she sat and motioned Seifer to sit across her. He grumbled a few words but caught her piercing red eyes, so he did as he was told. With the Love Tarot between them, she placed four more cards, the Full Moon Tarot on its north, the Knight Tarot on its left, the Beauty Tarot on its right, and the Water Element Tarot on its south, respectively. He raised his brow at the cards laid before him.

"A new and unending love is about to blossom between you and the woman of your dreams. You will meet under the full moon three days from now, under the lone tree near the shore at Balamb. There, at the stroke of midnight, you will toast with her, this." She took out from her bag the very same vial she gave to Xu earlier that day and handed it to him, then went on when she didn't hear him speak. "This is the enchanted oil of Centra, it will seal your fate with her and that's when you will find true love in her eyes. Stare directly into the depths of her eyes, find her soul, there you will see yourself...with her. She is the woman you are destined to be with for the rest of your life."

After she had spoken, she gave him an enigmatic smile, waiting for a reaction.

He looked at her long and hard. After a while, he started to giggle which eventually turned into a boisterous laugh. "That's the best joke I heard in years!"

"IT'S NOT A JOKE!" She exclaimed in rage, infuriated by his rudeness.

"If it's not, then it's stupid!" He kept on laughing so hard that his stomach began to feel pain from his consistent giggle.

The woman gave him a poisonous look, but she eventually snapped. Grabbing his neck with her hand, she injected her sharp nails through his flesh causing it to bleed. Seifer was in grave shock but instinctively struggled to remove his neck from her grip, but she was ridiculously strong.

"YOU listen to me...if you cannot take my word seriously, I swear I'll curse you to grow old and miserable and alone on your deathbed!"

"What the fuck do you want!" he gulped gritting his teeth from the screeching pain on his neck.

"I want you to do exactly as I told you—OR ELSE!" she emphasized her threat with a stronger grip.

"Shit! Who are you!"

"I'm Lady Aurora, fortune teller of the moon." She courtly introduced herself, finally releasing him from her choking grip. "If you want my advice, I say you should go and do what I told you. The woman I'm referring to is worth checking out."

He wiped the blood off on his neck. She was serious and he no longer wanted to offend her, so instead he played along. "Really? I wonder who?"

"If you're talking about a beautiful blonde with long hair, enchanting blue eyes, plump lips, sexy, about 5'6, and was your instructor, then you're dead on."

"Instructor?" he raised a brow, "Quistis?"

"Yup! But trust me, I don't know her. It's the cards that's whispering to me, saying that she's the woman you're bound to fall in love with, the woman you're destined to love."

"Are you sure you're a fortune teller?" he muttered, no longer impolite.

"I got the mysterious looks, the mysterious magic cards, the enchanted looking bag—what more do you want!" she ranted.

"Because you're talkin' bout Quistis—Quistis Trepe!" he said with a disbelieving expression.

"You're one tough nut that's hard to crack, aren't you? Take my word, you're proposal has been way overdue!"

"Wo-wo-wo—proposal!" he jerked in surprise.

"Ahhh SUSH!" The woman cut him off by grabbing his lip and sealing it with her fingers. "Now where was I? Ahhh...yessss...with the trophy ring that's made of sapphire, you will place it on her left ring finger right after you drank from the vial. If the liquid turns ruby red at your toast, then your love is meant blossom like the summer rose for never before is there a love more powerful than that witnessed by a full moon with the grace of the enchanted oil." Releasing her finger off his lip, she smiled at him, while he simply gave her a weird look.

"If you miss your deadline three days from now, then your chances of ever loving a woman will be gone." The old woman said as parting words before she took off with an ominous laugh.

Seifer was left thunderstruck and perplexed more than ever.

Sneak Preview:

Serendipity

Chapter 10

His hand reached down his pocket, there he felt the ring colder than ever. He should have disposed of it when he had the chance, he could have been spending cash instead of getting himself an early and unwanted engagement. He had several chances of pawning it at Balamb, but whenever he tried to, something always came up, and the closest he got to selling it he ended up backing out. It was like somewhere deep within him was not permitting him to sell the ring.

Was it his conscience telling him that it belonged to Quistis?

Or was it fate telling him that it was meant for someone?

So far, he didn't know because all he could think about was him, proposing to Quistis right after the toast.

There was a border between curiosity and seeing things through, what he wanted was the latter. Though he knew the proposal would be a hoax and wouldn't stick to his word, he wanted to see, just to know,

Was their relationship enough for Quistis to accept his proposal?

A/N: As you will seem to notice, the story is now shifting from light comedy to a heavier story plot...although I'm still trying to employ some humor every now and then, I'm really starting to go to the romantic side of the story now. As for Lady Aurora, I simply loved to mess up with her that her character almost seemed like a joke with such an inconsistent attitude...but hey, her role turned out well, she's like this lunatic of a fortune teller. Hahaha! And so time and time again, I encourage you to leave me your thoughts about this fic.