 | | | |
 | | ||
 |  |  | |
 | | ||
 | | ||
 | | ||
 | | ||
 | | ||
 | | ||
At
an Arm's Length
A Final Fantasy VIII Story
by
Aligator
Chapter 16 - By the Light of the Moon
As the Ragnarok lifted off from Esthar air station, Ellone smiled brightly to her younger compatriots aboard the massive ship. The pieces are coming together. She started when a strong arm unexpectedly slid around her shoulder.
“You’re looking rather pleased with yourself, Elle,” the Estharian president half-chuckled. “I don’t suppose you’d share your thoughts with the old man?”
She grimaced at his choice of words. Old man. . . he’s anything but. “Uncle Laguna, I’ll be more than happy to share details of the trip with you, but I’d prefer to do so when we get back to the residence, O.K.?”
Noting the sparkle in his charge’s eyes, he couldn’t help grinning. “All right, but you’d better not back out of our little appointment.”
She smiled warmly. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I’m going to need your help now more than ever.
*****
“Good night, Kiros, Ward.”
“G’night,” the two men replied in unison as they exited his office.
President. Of Esthar. If only Raine could see me now, Laguna thought while he waited for his computer to shut down.
This was his favorite time of day. Or night, rather. The time when most members of his staff had retired to their homes, and he was able to walk freely along the corridors and passages of the presidential grounds.
Moonlight passed through the dramatic windows that lined the hallway from his office to his quarters. It pooled along the hardwood floor in an almost liquid fashion. Instead of heading straight to his suite, he made a detour downstairs and through the garden to Elle’s favorite spot.
It was a bewitching location, and he loved it for the same reason she did. It reminded him of his wife. It wasn’t anything in particular. For some reason, they just both felt closer to her there.
A bluish cast fell over the full, white roses and bench that inhabited the deserted corner.
10:45 p.m. She’s late, he thought as he sat down wearily.
“Uncle Laguna?” A soft voice interrupted his racing thoughts.
“Over here, kiddo,” he replied.
A tired smile greeted her as she joined him on the bench. “So what’s the big secret?”
“This is where you give away your background as a journalist. You always have cut to the chase –”
“Especially where you’re concerned. After all, you are my daughter.”
The solemn look in his eyes betrayed his smile. He would always blame himself for what happened to Squall and their resulting lack of a father-son relationship.
He’s a kind man, and all the world realizes it. . . except for the person whose opinion matters most. She gave him a peck on the cheek. “I’m both proud and thankful for that,” she said lightly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t fill you in about our trip before, but there is some delicate information that needs to stay between us –”
“Say no more. My curiosity is killing me at this point. Hurry up.”
“Yes, sir,” she answered with a mischievous smirk and a mock salute. “You remember my friend Quistis?”
“The really pretty, blond, little ladylike one that has my Secret Service squad practically falling all over themselves like schoolboys? That Quistis?”
Elle giggled softly. “That Quistis. Don’t forget ‘smart’. She’s probably one of the smartest people we’ll ever meet in our lifetimes.”
“Well, I didn’t get to talk to her to discover that. I think you’d better add shy to her list of attributes, too. She didn’t seem antisocial or ill at ease among the gaggle of people that surrounded us the nights ya’ll spent here, but she certainly isn’t as . . .” he searched for the right word, “boisterous as your friend Selphie.”
“Uncle Laguna, nobody is as boisterous as Selphie. But I think you’re right about Quistis. She is shy, although I’m not sure anyone around Garden would use that word. . . They’re too much in awe of her,” she finished with a slight frown. “She’s lonely.”
“Well, they do say you can be at your loneliest in a crowd,” he continued for her, sighing just slightly. Raine.
“You understand, and I know you’ll understand what I have to tell you. It is incredibly important, though, that we keep this between the two of us.”
Laguna gave his stepdaughter a wary look before answering. “Consider me sworn to secrecy. I take it that this is about your power and that it has something to do with your friend, the lovely Miss Trepe?”
He received a quick nod in response, as she added, “We also need to keep this from Edea and Cid.”
“O.K.”
“I’ve told you about my years at the orphanage, and you’ve met most of the kids that grew up with me. Well, you haven’t met all of them. . . or at least, all of them in person since the second Sorceress conflict.”
“I’m assuming you mean Seifer Almasy?”
“Yes. Seifer. Let me explain what he has to do with this and with Quistis. He and she had a connection. I don’t fully understand what it was or is and what it means, but it was disrupted when Seifer was brainwashed and made Edea’s knight.”
“They never proved it was brainwashing,” Laguna interrupted with a slightly critical expression on his face.
“They never disproved it either,” she countered quickly. “The little boy I knew was a mischievous troublemaker, but he had honor. He would protect the orphanage kids from bullies whenever Matron would take us to town for supplies. He protected the weak because it was a ‘knight’s duty.’ And he was exceptionally devoted to one person in particular.”
“Quistis?”
“Quistis. They were inseparable when I knew them, and Matron says they were until the day those horrible people adopted her,” she continued, a slightly venomous tone creeping into her voice. “Edea says that after she left, it was like a switch had been flipped. He had always been competitive with Squall, but things increased exponentially without Quistis around. It got even worse once they entered Garden.”
“But she was with them there, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, but she was already using the Guardian Forces’ powers by the time she encountered them, so I don’t know how much or if she remembered either of them at all.”
Laguna’s eyebrows furrowed together. “That couldn’t have been good.”
“I don’t think so, either, but that brings us to our current problem. Now, SeeD officers use a new protocol – one that was developed to reduce the side effects of junctioning, but a lot of them are still in the process of regaining their memories. Quistis has pretty much stopped using GFs, but –”
“She hasn’t regained her memory?”
“Only bits and pieces. In particular, she doesn’t remember Seifer. . . which is strange because he was so important to her.”
“O.K., but why is this so important now?”
“Irvine and Matron both think she’s depressed and acting kind of strangely. And then, during the trip, there was the sleepwalking incident. . .”
As Ellone related what Irvine had told her, Laguna’s face grew more and more serious with each word.
“Now that is one thing entirely, but after Irvine and I joined them for breakfast, Selphie started going on about some new necklace that Quistis was wearing. . .” she paused. “I know it’s going to sound really strange, but please go with me on this.”
Laguna nodded.
“Like I said, Quistis and Seifer were practically joined at the hip when they were younger, so it wasn’t anything unusual for them to go off on their own for hours at a time. Even though there was always the potential that Seifer would get into trouble, Quistis was a good girl, so we let them,” she smiled. “One day, after they had disappeared for a very long time, I found them on a stretch of beach – which, incidentally, is where Irvine found Quistis the day before yesterday – bickering. Seifer was excited and wanted to show me something he found, and she was trying to dissuade him.
“First, he grabbed her hand and described to me a ring that she was wearing. Now, he was very specific, but from I could see, she wasn’t wearing a ring. I went along with him, figuring he was playacting. He also described a necklace he said he was wearing. Again, he was very specific: it was a small, diamond cross on a thin chain, and he said it was from his mother. I told them that they’d have to return to the orphanage in ten minutes and started back. As I was leaving, I heard Quistis scolding him, and Seifer answering with something along the line of ‘See, I told you no one else could see them. We’re the only ones who can.’”
Ellone shrugged and rubbed her temple. “I hadn’t thought about it in years. . . until that morning at breakfast. Quistis was wearing the necklace I remember Seifer describing.”
“Whoa,”
Laguna’s mouth hung open for a brief second in surprise. “That’s
kind of
. . . weird. Like spooky book kind of weird. So what do you need me
to do?”
“Well, we need to keep this on the QT, and that includes Edea and Cid. I think Seifer is one of the keys to Quistis’ memory. The sooner we find him and can keep an eye on him, the better things will be in the long run.”
“I’ll put out the word discreetly.”
“Thank you,” Elle responded. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “And if he’s in the hands of hostile forces, you might need to negotiate to take custody of him.”
An incredulous, but wry smile spread across her stepfather’s face. He knew better than to ask for details when it came to Ellone’s powers and her insights to the future. “As you wish, kid. Is that all?” he asked as he stood to take his leave.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“At least I can make one of my children happy,” he said softly, giving her a goodnight kiss on the forehead.
She watched him quietly trudge back to the impressive architecture that served as his current home and then turned her attention to the starry night sky, her eyes filled with tears.
“Aunt Raine, he makes people happy every day.” And he doesn’t know it, but tonight. . . I think he ensured that many more will have the chance that the two of you never had. “Happily ever after, right?”
To be continued.
. .
Next week: Chapter 17 – A Shot in the Dark, Part I
Back
to the Top of This Page
Next Chapter
Official Disclaimer: AT
AN ARM'S LENGTH © 2002-2004 A.L. Roberts.
FINAL FANTASY VIII © Squaresoft. They own these characters,
I’m
just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your
money!
PROJECT
SURLY GIRL.COM
and all contents within, unless otherwise designated,
© 2002-2004 A.L. Roberts.
The contents of this site may not be modified, published, transmitted or exploited in any way without prior written consent. Direct all inquiries here.
