There were no words spoken at the familiar
round table in the cafeteria. Tears streamed silently down the girls’ faces,
while the guys only half-heartedly tried to comfort them. Disbelief was still
registered on Squall’s face, seething anger on Seifer’s, and
Upon reaching Garden, Zell had
disappeared, not even bothering to see Cid for debriefing, a punishable
offense. No one had the heart to tell him to wait to grieve, and besides, the
Commander had been there.
Quistis stared at her hands blankly.
It wasn’t supposed to be Lex, her mind chanted. He
wants revenge on me. What better way than to kill off those dear to you? the voice chided and her blue eyes widened, more tears
springing to hover there. Blindly she looked around at her friends, seeing them
and not really seeing them.
Friends.
That was probably the first time she’s called them that. And Lex had been a friend too. Lex…the
cute pigtailed librarian with a heart of gold and a deadly way of wielding a
staff, that even the huge Raijin respected. How could
she have been so overcome, so mutilated? And by what?
Especially without alerting anyone else, SeeDs no
less. Quistis raised her eyes to the pink-haired girl at the end of the table.
Ari. She seemed nice enough
and genuinely upset. But could she…? Ridiculous. Why
would she want to hurt anyone at Garden? They were related in no way
whatsoever. Ari’s dark gray eyes met Quistis’ blue
ones, and Quistis plainly saw the misery and guilt reflected in her own. No,
she was innocent. Slowly Ari rose, murmuring
something about the infirmary, and stumbled away.
They all watched her go, and Seifer
voiced everyone’s thoughts.
“I don’t trust her.”
Quistis lay a hand on his knee
before she rose. “I think we all need some rest,” she said quietly, swallowing
the lump in her throat. “We have to sleep. We have to stay well,” her voice
cracked. “For Lex.” Dashing
tears from her eyes, the blonde turned and managed to keep from running until
she was out of sight of the cafeteria.
The door to her room slid open and
she stepped inside, pulling it closed behind her. Closing her eyes, Quistis
leaned against the door and breathed in deeply. She pushed herself off and went
to the bathroom, stripping off her sweat-stained dirty clothes as she went,
intent on a shower.
When she emerged some time later,
wrapped in a fluffy white towel, the moon shone through her large window, the
stars twinkling like unshed tears. Aware that Garden was asleep, she didn’t
bother closing her curtain, instead staring at the moon, one hand holding the
towel closed. The image of the moon began to blur and Quistis smashed her fist
against the wall, leaning her forehead against the window. Her shoulders shook
as tears tumbled down her face, shimmering in the light to land in sparkling
droplets on the floor.
The quiet sound of a door closing
had her head jerk up, and slowly she turned, knowing who stood there before she
saw him.
* * *
He’d been standing in the shadows
since the water of her shower ceased running. He watched as she paused when her
eyes caught the moon, watched as she tried not to cry, watched as she refused
to give in to the loud sobs trying to force themselves out. The fist did him
in, the diamond tears. And he opened the door and silently closed it, alerting
her to his presence.
Her head jerked up before she turned
to face him. He caught his breath at the sight, just staring at her, staring
into her silver-lit sapphire eyes. Both her hands dropped to her sides and the
towel fell to the floor, forgotten. He too forgot everything except her.
Her golden hair fell about her face,
resting on her strong pale shoulders. The moon cast an ethereal silver glow
over her porcelain body and he suddenly found it difficult to breathe, as the
full orb formed a halo around her head. She was the angel. His
beautiful angel. The fine white lines of her star-shaped scars faded
into the rest of her skin, presenting him with the image of perfection. Her
long fine legs stretched for miles and the muscles in them were plainly visible
even as she stood defenseless and vulnerable. Her muscular arms hung loose at
her sides, but her fingers nervously rubbed together, and he returned his gaze
to hers.
Neither of them said anything for a
long time.
Quistis’ head dropped, then she raised it again, fresh tears glistening in her
eyes. Her mouth opened, but she swallowed hard and tried again. No sound came
out. “Seifer…” she finally murmured, pleadingly.
He strode toward her, jade eyes
intent on her moonlit face, but stopped a few feet from her.
Her hand reached up, paused, then continued to his face. She dropped it again, but
refused to drop her gaze, trying to gather her courage. Still Seifer did not
speak. Taking a deep breath, Quistis reached out a hand between them. “Love me.
Please.” Her dark blue eyes beckoned him, pleaded with him. Loved
him.
Never once breaking her gaze, Seifer
extended his own hand and took hers. “I already do.”
Her eyes lit up with a tearful
smile, and he pulled her to him. Their lips met and Quistis wrapped her arms
around his neck, rising onto the balls of her feet to better fit herself against him. His clothes joined the towel on the
floor.
And they lost themselves, their
sorrows, their concerns, in the oblivion of their love.
* * *
Ari shivered
uncontrollably beneath her thermal blanket, and the candle on the windowsill
flickered wildly. She shut her eyes and every time she did, the visions came
back to haunt her. Not only the old ones, but new ones.
Images of Lex, images of death, blood. Why am I
bringing death to these people?!
Her eyes opened again, blank and
staring as the voice ran through her mind.
<You are my pawn. You are my
instrument>
No. No more. Too
much death already.
An evil laugh.
Hard eyes. Flickering candle.
<You have no say, little girl.
You do as I say>
Please stop. Let them live…L…
Ari’s eyes
closed again, and she thrashed in the blankets, wanting to awaken but unable to
free herself from the horrible images ingrained in her mind. Her mouth opened
to scream, but no sound came out and she found her eyes glued shut, forced to
watch the terrible things running through her mind. No escape. Blinking light.
<Pleasant dreams, dear friend.
I’m so sorry it had to work out like this>
The laugh
again, reverberating in Ari’s skull, warning her,
controlling her.
Dark gray eyes popped open again,
void of any emotion, any feeling, any humanity.
“I am your instrument,” she
whispered.
The candle on the windowsill
flickered out.