Chapter 17: A Pocketful of Sunshine

Celine Branford

The middle of the ocean provided the peace that everyone needed. Clear blue skies hid the rest of the world from the Garden, and the Garden from the rest of the world. Their lives was serene. Everything was asleep. The truth was hiding in the deep, though, creeping eerily against the backs of their necks, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.

She didn't even know where they were. She didn't even care. They've been living in Galbadia Garden ever since they returned from their mission. She knew it would end soon. And the thought made her nauseous.

The truth is that the war is far from over. The states of Trabia and FH have all but collapsed in the might of the alliance between the superpowers of the world. The girl hated what was happening. There was this ugly feeling at the pit of her stomach every time Trabia crosses her mind while she remains there in the Garden, relaxing and worrying about what to wear for tomorrow. She hates that she couldn't do anything but wait.

The truth is that you'll never find peace when the world is at war. Even if you're in a tranquil place, there's still no harmony from within.

A couple of medics in-training passed by Celine Branford as she walked towards Louie's room. He'll be discharged today. Louie sent her a text that said he'll need help because his wound was still hurting.

Galbadia Garden's hospital wing smelled of disinfectant but the blinding white light that filled the hallway reminded her of Trabia's snow. It felt oddly refreshing, yet somehow her feelings of discomfort grew as her footsteps echoed through the white walls. By the time she reached his hospital room door, disturbing thoughts of Trabia already filled her mind and that ugly feeling at the pit of her stomach was back. She twisted the knob to his room while attempting to shake her feelings off, as well as the tears that welled up in her eyes. The door was unlocked.

Louie was on his hospital bed. His eyes locked onto the hard-bound book he was holding up. Celine walked in. The faded gold emboss on the cover made her stomach turn. "Sorcery throughout History" it said. Her daydreams of Trabia disappeared and her thoughts wandered to another disturbing train. Louie didn't seem to notice her. She didn't seem to notice him either. That was until she leaned on the open door.

"Hey." Louie Leonhart heard the loud creak of the door slamming into its frame. "Thanks for coming."

The boy smiled at her.

"Oh. I'm.. sorry. Did I startle you?" the door was particularly heavy and the walls of the hospital wing aren't exactly sound proof. One can hear the medics whisper as they walk by.

"Not at all."

"Are you ready to get out of here?" she told him as she walked over to his bed. He didn't have any shirt on. The doctors probably told him it would be better for his wound.

"Wait." he said as he lifted his left arm to the couch and a black shirt came flying to his hand. The injured sorcerer put his left hand into the sleeve and struggled to insert the other one. Guessing it would be rude not to help the boy, Celine stood up.

"Here. I'll help." she said as her shaking hands grabbed his right arm.

"Ow!" the girl realized she might've grabbed it too forcefully. She quickly brought her hands back into her pockets. The boy was finally able to wear the shirt after a while and the girl figured it was probably the reason he was shirtless in the first place.

"What the hell, Celine? Why were you shaking?" asked the boy as he moved towards the edge of the bed, reaching for the crutch that rested on the nightstand.

"I was nervous, okay?" she grabbed the crutch and positioned it next to him.

"Nervous? Of me?" he grinned.

"No. Not of you. Of this. Of... of everything.. Of stuff... Of things..."

"What?" his smile grew to a chuckle.

"Nevermind." She rolled her eyes and stood up. "All set?" she walked to the door without looking back.

"Oh come on, Celine. I was trying to make you laugh."

The girl turned. "Well we finally found something you're not good at, Leonhart. And I thought you were just injured in the shoulder area. Why is your whole arm hurting?" Of course she knew about what happened to him. She was the team's medic after all, even if she was unconscious then.

"Have you ever heard of bullet fragments?"

"Yeah why?

"Apparently, the bullet broke right before impact and hit this whole area right here." He motioned towards his shoulder and arm. "Although, the center part of the bullet, the one that's supposed to hit me, was found right below my collarbone. What stupid gunner would shoot someone in there, right?" he smiled again before standing up and slowly walking for the door. It seemed like every step was hurting him.

"Oh and the bullet had this venom that made my limbs a little weak." He stood up slowly. She just looked at how he walked towards the door.

He was near the door when she decided to assist him. She remembered it was the reason why he asked for her. "Wait!" she said as she tied her hair up in a ponytail and reached for his right arm, slinging it around her neck. Half of his weight was on her and she had to hold on to his waist so they wouldn't fall over.

"Thanks." She caught a whiff of his scent. Cologne and freshly brewed coffee.

"The doctor said no caffeine." she reached for the doorknob while hearing a soft chuckle from the guy she was helping.

"It's decaf." He smiled at her again, their faces were nearer this time. "And thanks for the concern. Get my bag please."

She reached out to the bag that was right in front of her, while never letting go of his waist, carried the bag with her right hand. He then handed her the book he was reading and they stepped out to the hallway.

He walked slowly, as if every step was killing him. The hallways were not that crowded. There were a few students who walked around the Garden in their uniforms since classes weren't suspended. Field exams and SeeD exams, however, were.

The girls they passed were giving her cat eyes. She rolled her eyes. She figured that the young Leonhart was pretty popular in G-Garden and it annoyed the hell out of the brown-haired girl. He didn't seem to care, though. She glanced unto him and saw that he was concentrating on not falling over, each step a physical and a mental struggle.

"These girls." She whispered.

"What girls?" he was still looking at his feet, being very careful not to take the wrong step.

"They're all looking at me funny."

She felt him stop walking so she turned to look at him. He was smiling before he spoke. "Don't mind them, Celine. Just relax. We'll get there."

"Well you have to relax as well."

"Why me? I'm relaxed. I'm like, super chill right now."

"No you're not. Look, I've got you, okay? You don't need to watch every step you take to make sure we don't fall over. I got this."

"Fine." They started walking again. "Oh I never got to thank you for the birthday surprise."

"It's nothing. It was just a cake and a cup of coffee."

"I would've been fine with a greeting and a card."

"Well, the card shops were all closed that night. And we were lucky you woke up, or we would have to buy another cup and another slice."

He laughed. "Yeah. I guess I was lucky. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." That was when she felt him stop moving.

She looked up. It was Commander Squall Leonhart, waiting for Louie in front of his dorm room.

"Dad?" he said. She hurriedly gave him the salute. Suddenly realizing she let go of Louie without any warning, she looked to her left and saw a struggling raven-haired sorcerer holding on to the metal railing.

She hurried to his aid, reaching for his right arm and hurriedly bringing it back around her neck.

"Ow! Celine! It hurts! Ow!" Louie exclaimed. She let go immediately and watched him begin to stagger once more.

"Oh my goodness. I am so sorry, Louie. I mean I don't... I just.. I panicked."

"At ease, You two." Louie stood straight now. "Louie. Here are the keys to your new dorm room here in Galbadia Garden." The commander handed him a key.

"Why are we here, dad?" he asked.

"Well, I'll be going back to Balamb in a while. Only you and your uncle Seifer will remain here. Do not disturb him, though. He's very..."

"Mad?"

"No. Just get out of his way. And mine."

Celine saw Louie roll his eyes. "Your mom says it's better for you if you weren't in Balamb Garden. That would be the first place they'll look." There was tension between Louie and his father. Awkward seconds came right after another and Celine's palms started to sweat.

"So I guess you didn't need any help moving in?" she exhaled as the commander broke the deafening silence. "Although I'm not sure if you made the right decision."

"Dad. This is Celine you're talking about. She would never abandon me." Her eyes widened at the sentence. "She's a good cadet, remember? And she's the medic in our squad."

Oh. Never mind.

Squall turned to face Celine. Realizing he still looked good even at his age, she squealed internally. "How are your wounds, Branford?" A small whimper escaped her lips at the sound of the commander asking about her. Louie chuckled.

"F...Fine sir."

"Good. Don't treat this guy like a baby. He'll never heal if you did. It's best to ignore him sometimes."

She smiled at his remark until she saw the commander's eyes. He was serious. "Oh. Uhm.. Alright. Noted, Commander."

"Whatever, dad." The tension was back. The Commander started walking away. Louie's eyes followed his father as the Commander walked past him. Then he looked at her.

"Thanks for dropping me."

"I panicked. It was the Commander."

"Whatever." he said as he walked towards his door. She was about to assist him again when he opened the door with his right hand, obviously ignoring her aid. Realizing he was probably in the bad mood after the little riff with his father, she simply carried his bag inside. He walked inside after her and slammed the door.

She heard him sit on the bed. "Just drop the bag somewhere."

An eyebrow popped from above her left eye as she heard an obvious emphasis on the word 'drop'. She turned toward him and as she was about to say something, she realized he was staring at her. It was enough to stop her. She was confused.

"Why are you still here?" he blurted out.

"Oh I'm sorry." Startled, she started to leave.

"Celine, I was just asking why you're here. I didn't ask you to leave." She turned around and saw him smiling again. She sighed.

"Why were you staring at me, then?"

"Oh." His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. "W..Was I?" A rosy tint started to color his cheeks.

"I..I didn't mean to. I'm sorry I was just thinking... I mean.. I was thinking but not about you... I mean... It was my dad. Okay? He just..." He sighed and smiled a shy little grin "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She said as she sat on the couch beside the door. The space between the bed and the door was huge. One side of his bed was stuck to the wall where the window was while the other side was where he was sitting. Above his bed there was a bookcase and beside it was a door that led to the bathroom. In front of it was a huge mirror and his revolver gunblade inside a black box leaning against the glass. There was a lot of empty space in his room. The brown-haired girl thought of what she could do with this room if it was hers.

"Louie. I have to tell you something." he looked up at her.

"What is it?" his voice was softer.

"Uhmmm. No one else in the world knows this, alright? So shut up."

"Okay."

"Uhmmmm. Me and Drew... broke up."

"What?!"

"Shhh! No one else knows but you, okay?"

"Even Elaine?"

"Yes."

The green-eyed girl grew silent, staring at the blue carpet on the floor. Silence filled the room. Eerie silence. It must have been too silent for Louie, because he got up and sat beside her. A move that was unlikely for the young Leonhart to do. He said nothing, though. She said nothing too, as her train of thought moved away from the room. She was still wrapping her head around the break-up. It was all too sudden and there was no time to process it, with the aftermath and all. It seems like it all came crashing down on the brown-haired girl at that particular moment. It was the truth. And the truth isn't always a vision of the sun beautifully kissing the horizon. It wasn't anything like that at all.

She felt an arm wrap around her and she leaned in.

"Since when?" he spoke up.

"Day before our first anniversary."

It was silent again. Their distance was too close for his comfort but he didn't seem to notice. She could hear the steady rhythm of his heart.

"That wasn't very nice. Or romantic." he finally blurted out. She smiled. He was there for her and she liked the feeling of his arm wrapped around her while the smell of his cologne filled her nose. It soothed her.

Louie finally noticed the distance and pulled away. She glanced at him. He was busy thinking again, staring at the dark blue carpet that matched his ice blue eyes.

"What are you thinking about, Louie?"

He looked up, seemingly unaware of her presence until she spoke. "Nothing."

"Come on. Spill."

"You."

Celine gulped as her eyes widened. "Me?"

Louie's eyes widened at the realization of what he just said. He was really bad at conversations. "No. It's not that. It's because... I... think..."

He sighed, regaining his composure. "I think you're a sorceress now, Celine."

A heavy breath escaped her mouth. Of course he knew about this. He was the one who tried to prevent this from happening.

"I know." Truth after truth weighed heavily on her shoulders today. It wasn't easy. "So does your mom and your dad. And Elaine."

"Is this why Drew broke up with you?"

"No! I didn't tell him!"

"So the only people who know about you being a sorceress is me, my parents and Elaine?"

"Yup."

"Good." He looked at her olive green eyes. "I was worried about you. I was worried that you would be mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I was supposed to get Sylphia's powers. I didn't know that was going to happen."

"I know Louie and I'm alright." She reached out a hand and held his. "We're okay."

The feel of her skin seemed like electricity to the young Leonhart as he moved away, almost instantly.

"There's something else."

She could see that something was really bothering him.

"I think... I..."

"For Hyne's sake, Louie, just spit it out!"

"I think I know who your real mother is."

Silence. She slowly stood up from the couch they were both sitting on and walked towards the window. Celine knew nothing about her mother. It didn't matter, though. She didn't care for the woman who left her.

"I don't want to hear this, Louie."

"Celine, please. I think your mother would want you to hear this." He struggled to stand.

"I don't care." She turned to him "And why should you?"

"Don't be mad at her, Celine. It's not her fault."

"I'm not mad at her, Louie! Honestly! How many times do I have to tell you, Louie. I don't care for her." Her voice was getting louder and her emerald eyes were focused on his blue ones, intent on delivering her message in every form.

"Then who are you so mad at, Celine?!"

"Nobody." She headed for the door. "I'm leaving. This room and this topic."

"Celine, wait." She saw him in her periphery, struggling to stop her from reaching for the knob." Please, Celine. I think you're missing something."

"Why?

He was silent. He didn't know why. But his eyes were still filled with the determination to let her know the truth.

"Just because I'm adopted and I don't know my real mother, doesn't mean that my life is incomplete. I am perfectly happy and content with my parents."

"No, Celine. I didn't mean it like that." His tone was soft and apologetic.

There was silence again. The brown-haired sorceress figured she should control her temper. Bad things happen when sorceresses get mad.

"Look, Louie I know that stress won't be helpful for your condition, or for mine. So please just let it go, at least for now."

"But—"

"I said drop it."

"Celine please."

"I don't need this."

"I know you don't"

What?

"If you're not gonna do it for you or for me, then do it for your real mother. She would want you to know."

"Why can't you understand that I don't want to hear anything from my mother?! I don't even want to know if she's alive or not. I don't care. I don't want to care, Louie." Her voice started to shake and tears from her eyes reflected the fluorescent light of the room.

"My family and my friends are already in danger in Trabia. I'm a sorceress now. There is a lot at risk, Louie. Once I know who she is, I'm just gonna lose her. I don't want to deal with loss anymore. I'm tired. Why can't you understand that I don't want another person in my life that I'm going to have to lose?! Just like Sylphia... Or you."

Silence.

He was staring at her again, thinking. She turned away from him as he struggled to walk towards her. Suddenly, she felt his arms wrapped behind her again. The distinctive smell of coffee and cologne filled her nose once more and she heard his voice.

"You're not going to lose me. I promise."

She wished that what he told her was somehow true. That somehow, someway, the universe heard what said and decided to fulfill it. The truth is that the universe is unforgiving and relentless. She knew he told her she wasn't going to lose him. But it was hardly truth. It was just a promise. And promises aren't the truth. They're just words. Still, she turned around to hug him back. For right now, words were enough for her.

He broke away from the hug moments later and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. It seemed that he was really planning on doing this today. That was why he didn't invite Elaine to come over to help him. He handed her the photo. It was a picture of a lady dressed in all black who was oddly familiar and a baby who's probably me. I turned the picture around to read what's written on it.

My daughter,

I have never known you for so long but you already make us so happy.
It will get harder and harder to give you up but eventually, I'm going to have to.
Even if you wouldn't be able to read this, just know that I love you and I will always be your mother
even if I know you are going to hate me when I give you up.
I am sorry I have to do this. I am sorry that the world isn't ready
for us as a family. I am so sorry that the world is unfair to us.
But you will never know of this so I'm happy. I'm happy that you will live a normal life.
I'm happy that you are not doomed to suffer like I did.
I'm happy that you are not like me.
Well, I hope that you are not like me.

I love you, my dear.

Edea, your mother.

Her olive green eyes widened at the last sentence. She gulped.

She spoke. "Are you trying to make me laugh, Leonhart? It's not funny." Her voice was shaking, filled with anger and confusion. Celine turned to the door after tossing the old photo back towards Louie. She was able to push open the door when the boy behind her spoke.

"I'm serious, Celine. Would you just calm down?" He lifted his left arm. The door slammed hard and the doorknob turned.

She turned back to him. "Let me out, Louie! This isn't funny!"

"I'm not trying to be funny. Calm the hell down, Branford or I swear." His left arm was raised.

Silence. They froze in their feet, Celine looking intently at Louie, trying to process what is happening, and Louie ready to cast a spell to make sure she'll listen.

A sigh escaped her lips as she looked away from Louie and towards the bed by the window. "As if you had the nerve to cast a spell on me Leonhart."

She walked towards the bed. Louie brought his arm back to his sides and sat on the couch, opposite her.

"Spill." Her death stare piercing through his soul, colder than his ice blue eyes.

"Calm down. Yes. Edea Kramer, our Matron is your mother. Headmaster Cid was your father. Aunt Ellone was able to give you up for adoption back when you were a baby. In Trabia."

"Why?" She was calmer than when she first found out.

"It was about 17 years ago. Matron was still in trial for the murder of President Deling. She said she had no choice."

"Does she know that it's me?" He expected to see tears in her eyes again, but there was nothing but the green orbs staring at the plush blue carpet.

"No."

"Good." She stood up and walked towards the door, reaching for the knob swiftly before Louie can stop her again.

"Celine, please."

"Louie, just leave me alone. I... I don't know how to feel. And why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I just thought that you should know. Aunt Ellone told me that it was my choice, and who was I to hide the truth from you?"

"She's a sorceress, Louie."

"Yeah, I thought that you kne—"

"No! I mean, she's a sorceress. Like me, like you. And we both are in danger, and she is too."

"It's not your job to protect her, Celine."

She stood there, in silence. Louie's last sentenced escaped her ears. She was staring at the photo that was still on the floor. He was looking up at her empty green eyes, lost in thought.

"I don't want to lose two mothers, Louie. Both of them are in danger. And I can't do anything but wait. And hope. And pray."

"You know she's here right? Somewhere in the Garden. We can talk to her."

"No."

He stood up slowly and walked towards her. "Look, I know you're not ready so we're not going to tell her. We'll just talk to her. You'll see what she's like. She'll tell you about being a sorceress, about magic, paramagic. Stuff like that."

"What difference does that make?" Her eyes shifted from the photo on the floor to his blue eyes.

"Nothing. She'll still be in danger. We'll still be targets. This is the truth, Celine and there's nothing we can do about this. But I promise you'll feel a little bit better. And if I'm wrong, you can, punch me in my wound or something like that." He smirked at her, which made her smile.

"Fine." She said as she walked out onto the sunlit hallways, carrying the truth in her pockets. Her stomach was still turning and the white walls still reminded her of home.