| Chapter Four
Rinoa sat on a soft cushioned couch, staring out the window watching the rain fall peacefully, as if soothing it. Seifer had left earlier this afternoon saying he needed to take care of some training business. Whatever that meant, she thought. Her mind wondered back to the heated conversation they had this morning, how he called her a runaway. The way he said the word sounded as if he was disgusted by it. Did she repulse him? Rinoa thought long and hard about how she was going to reveal her true identity to this sweet man who took her in, not knowing a thing about her and yet cared for her. She feared that he would take her back to the dreadful place she called home. Rinoa clasped her hand over her ring necklace. ”Forgive me, mother,” she whispered.Sighing, she looked down at the tray of food set on the table. She told the old maid that she would wait for Seifer to return and they would eat together, but hours had passed and still there was no sign of him. Was he out with her? Mimi. Rinoa’s angelic face turned into a dark scowl. She despised how that woman threw herself at her Seifer. My Seifer, she thought, not hers. Seifer was right about her feeling jealous, but she didnt want to admit it. She didnt want Seifer to know this feeling she had for him, not yet. The sound of Seifers heavy boots interrupted Rinoas thoughts.She gasped at the sight she saw. Seifer’s face was drenched with blood. His eyes were cold and tired. His pearl white trench coat was dripping wet with fresh mud and speckled with stains of blood. The rain drizzled down on his face, the blood flowing from his forehead all the way down to his neck. He grabbed the doorframe for support as he walked in. Hurriedly, Rinoa ran to him and caught him before he fell. ”Damn, that puberty boy,” Seifer choked out. Rinoa hushed him and with all her might, dragged his weak body to the bathroom. She stripped him naked and managed to force him into the bathtub. She ran hot water and tended to his head while the water filled up. Rinoa grimaced at the large slanted slash across his forehead.”Just a scratch,” Seifer gave a small smirk, but Rinoa can see the pain in his deep azure eyes. She swallowed hard, the sight of blood made her knees weak but she kept a straight face and a smile for Seifers sake. She rinsed the cut clean but blood still ran from the incision. Rinoa decided to tend to it after she bathed Seifer. ”Hold this up like this,” Rinoa grabbed Seifer’s hand and placed it on his forehead, holding the small cloth in place.She grabbed a bar of soap and lathered it in her hands. She hesitated for a moment, not knowing where to began or exactly how to do bath him. Rinoa shrugged and thought she should bath him like how she bathed herself. She drew in a deep breath as she touched the warm, smooth skin of his chest. Her hands playing with the thick muscles of his stomach and she smiled to herself in delight. ”Are you enjoying yourself?” Seifer chuckled. Rinoa looked up and saw that he had his eyes on her, a smug smile played on his lips. Trying to conceal her blushes, she began to wash his face.”Close your eyes,” she ordered, she wanted to enjoy this moment without his scrutiny. Seifer cocked one eyebrow up high, but then obediently closed his eyes. Rinoa smiled widely, now she could continue his bathing in peace. She ran light fingertips over his handsome face then over his lips. Suddenly, his eye lashes began to move. Scared that he was about to open his eyes, Rinoa quickly rubbed her soapy fingers over each eyelid. Rinoa sighed in relief. She didn’t want him to see her face, fearing that he’ll see the blissful expression she detained.Once she was done washing the rest of his body, she splashed warm water over him and helped him get up. Rinoa toweled him dry and looked up at him. The white cloth he held to his forehead was was now a dark crimson color. ”Here, sit down and let me fix your injury,” Rinoa put the toilet set down and motioned for him to sit on it.With the towel around his waist, Seifer sat heavily on the toilet seat. Rinoa removed the blood soaked cloth revealing the deep slice and saw his fresh pink flesh. She got onto his lap and dabbed a large cotton ball of alcohol on it. Seifer shut his eyes tight and gave a loud grunt through clenched teeth at the excruciating sting. He clutched his hands hard on Rinoa’s hips, threatening to break her. ”You’re such a baby,” she said, laughing at his mean look he flashed her. ”How did this happen?” Rinoa applied Neosporin on his gash.”I fell,” he lied. He didn’t want to tell her that him and his training partner got carried away in training, he didnt want to worry her. ”Clumsy little boy,” Rinoa giggled, she leaned forward and kissed his now bandaged forehead, “All better.”~*~*~*~ The next three days left Rinoa exhausted. Seifer insisted every meal to be spoon fed by Rinoa and demanded a warm sponge bath twice or maybe even three times a day. He took to being pampered and spoiled as fast as a three year old child did. And whenever Rinoa decided that he should get up and walk around to regain strength, he would put his hand to his head and moan of the headache that plagued him so and said that Rinoa should kiss his forehead every minute to make it feel better.Once Seifer was finally sound asleep, Rinoa slowly removed his arm from her chest and eased herself out of bed, being careful not to wake him. Holding her breath, she silently tiptoed out of the room. As quietly as possible, she managed to shut the door without a sound and then proceeded down the stairs, heading towards the little restaurant. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Mimi at the foot of the steps. She wore a radiant satin red dress. Rinoa started to climb back up the stairs but it was too late. ”Hey Rinoa!” Mimi called.Wincing at the sound of her squeaky voice, Rinoa turned around slowly and faced Mimi. I gotta face her sooner or later, she thought. Rinoa continued to walk down the stairs and gave Mimi a big warm smile. ”Let’s go to the lobby, I’ve been wanting to speak with you.” Before Rinoa could utter word, she grabbed Rinoa’s small hand and lead her to the lobby. She sat down on one of the fluffy couches and patted the seat next to her, motioning Rinoa to come sit next to her.”What is it you wanted to talk about?” Rinoa softly asked. ”I really came to apologize for my unforgivable rudeness several nights ago,” Mimi started, ”I’m Mimi by the way,” she smiled and held her hand out.Rinoa politly shook it and forced a smile. Although Mimi was polite and kind, Rinoa couldn’t help this jealous and envious feeling inside her. ”Yes, Seifer has told me about you already.””Oh? And what did Seify say?” Rinoa shot her a puzzled look. “He told me that you two were friends for a long time.”Mimi pouted and looked away. There was a long pause before Mimi spoke. ”You see, Seifer and I have been sweethearts since we were ten. We did everything together and everyone thought we were a pair. So, of course it shocked me when he introduced me to you, his girlfriend, last night.” She looked up at Rinoa, her eyes watery. ”You understand me, right?””Of course,” Rinoa whispered. ”We both are orphans so he was basically my family,” Mimi said.There was so much pain in her voice that Rinoa winced. ”Well, I feel as though I am an orphan myself,” Rinoa took a deep breath before continuing, ”Seifer doesnt know this, but I ran away about five days ago from my father. I had no where to go and no idea where I was going and he was the one that took me in from the streets.”There was silence. When Mimi didn’t respond Rinoa looked up to see Mimi’s eyes opened wide at her, fire seemed to burn in her hazel eyes. ”So that’s why he’s with you!” Mimi shouted.Rinoa jumped at the sound of her voice. ”I’m sorry!” Mimi put a hand up to her lips. “I never seem to say the right thing. It’s just I wondered why he chose another over me, I mean, we are practically engaged,” she smiled brightly.Rinoa looked away, hurt. Mimi saw this look of hurt on Rinoas face and decided to continue. ”I should of thought of that, perhaps I should of just ran away from my adopted parents and he would take me in as well,” Mimi stated, her eyes glowing. “Oh! Pardon me, my mouth seems to have run away again. Anyways, I must go dear,” Mimi stood and bent over to Rinoa, kissing the air beside her cheek then turned to leave. “Give Seifer a kiss hello for me!” she called over her shoulder before exiting through the front door.Rinoa sat there, dumbfounded. Is what this woman saying true? Seifer is only with her because he pities her as a runaway? What if she told him her last name, would he really just return her after what they have done together? Tears began to build up in her eyes, blurring up her vision. She dried her eyes and took deep breaths, calming herself, before entering the restaurant. She quickly ordered Seifer’s food and hurried up the stairs to her room. Outside, the wind howled and soon enough, rain began to pour. Rinoa sat on the floor next to the bed quietly watching Seifer’s sleeping form. Her mind was filled with Mimi’s harsh words. Seifer was the first and only man she had began to love, but she didn’t know if he felt the same. He never said anything about his feelings towards her.”Do you love me?” Rinoa whispered to Seifer as her finger lightly traced his jaw. “Or am I just one of your many conquests?” Snapping back to reality, Rinoa stood and went to Seifer’s desk. She pulled out a piece of paper and began writing, telling him that she was leaving and that he can have the woman he loved.Violently, but quietly, Rinoa rammed all her dresses in a cloth bag. She reached for Seifer’s dark pants and retrieved his wallet. She took all the gil that was in it and stuck it in the bag as well. Putting on a heavy jacket, she headed towards the door, but stopped. She took one last glance at Seifer’s peaceful form and left before she had any regrets. ~*~*~*~The rain pounded down hard on Rinoa as she walked briskly calling for a taxi whenever one passed by. None stopped for her. Shivering in utmost cold, she tightened the strings on her hood to shield her face from the intruding rain. Suddenly, she heard a commotion going about from behind. Knowing that it was probably Seifer, she started to run as fast as she could, not wanting to be captured again. She finally stopped when she reached the city’s train station. Confused and not knowing what to do, Rinoa hastily bought a train ticket to the next destination and boarded the train. ”NEXT STOP! TIMBER!” the stocky man hollered as the train doors sealed shut and the railway gates opened wide.Rinoa found her seat next to a window and sat down heavily, her heart still racing. She kept imagining Seifer’s face when he read the letter. Quickly, she shook the image out of her head, relieving herself of the burdened emotions inside. She was truly free now. No Caraway. No annoying servants. No Seifer. Just herself, and her destiny. She glanced out the window at the city she grew up in for a split second and turned her head away and smiled at the thought of leaving it. Her smile was gone when she caught a flash of pearl white in the corner of her eye. No! It was Seifer. She placed her fingertips on the cold window and watched him as he gripped a man by the shirt, held him up high, then dropping him like a bag of potatoes. Behind him followed Rajin, who was also pushing people around asking if they have seen Rinoa’s presence anywhere.As Rinoa’s eyes began to tighten, she blinked her tears back and forced herself to look away in an effort to bury her emotions. The train began to depart, and she was happy.
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