[M0:0]Sometimes it pays to be the strong, silent type.[Xb0:xStrayKnightx]
Joined: Jan 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,666 Location: Ruins of New Mombasa.
Origins (FF8 Fanfic, rated MA) « Thread Started on Jul 14, 2009, 11:02pm »
This is a story about how Ellone, Squall's 'sister', takes his mind back to the time after his mother, Raine, had died, and Laguna had departed for Esthar. This is shortly before the First Sorceress War against Sorceress Adel. Squall is at the age of four in the flashback.
Squall looked around his simple surroundings in a house he'd rented for his and Rinoa's short stay in Winhill. His stell blue eyes ran down to the sleeping figure of Rinoa, and he smiled. 'Pity,' he thought. 'She looks beautiful.' She wore a simple nightdress, but anything on her looked as if a master seamstress had crafted it. Barely reaching to her mid thigh, it accentuated her curves fantastically. As always, it was a shade of blue, this particular shade being of sky hue. It shimmered with the light from the moon outside and moved with the wind from the open window.
His little Sorceress was a vain one. She had these little blue framed glasses that she needed unless she was reading, but she refused to wear them in the presence of anyone else. He'd suggested that she wear them, but she'd gotten mad and pouted and stomped. Squall loved teasing her; she was so cute when she got mad. All scrunched up nose and pouting lower lip. He'd tease her enough just to get that face.
He walked towards where she lay on the lounge. He supposed she tried to wait for him, but eventually succumbed to sleep. He picked her up gently and placed her on the bed nearby, kissing her forehead to reassure her subconscious that he was here. She went into a deep, peaceful sleep, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
Squall stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing. 'Who'd have thought,' he pondered, 'that I was related to Laguna?' In that instant, a sharp, blinding pain filled his head, and a high-pitched whistle was flying through his ears. 'Not now, Ellone!' 'You need to see this. I have to show you what your life was like before you went to GARDEN.' Ellone's thoughts echoed in his head, her mind mingling with his. Squall gasped as he fell to the ground, his minds eye traveling backwards.
Little Elle fought back tears as she thought about Raine's death, and hadn't realised till the tiny, under-fed form of Squall tugged at her sleeve. 'Stop spitting on me Elle, you're gross!' He leaned into her vision, an inquisitive look in his eyes. 'Why're yoo cryin'?' Elle shook her head and pasted on a smile. 'Nothing, silly. Hey, let's lay down, kay?' The pair of them promptly fell down in a shaded part of the grass path near his mother's grave (though, at the time, he didn't know it), and Squall began sucking at his thumb.
Then, a shout split the calm in the air.
'There they are!' Before either of them could do anything, Squall was ripped up into the air by his arm. Paying attention, he saw that the mean man was holding him...again. 'Look at you, you little cretin! Just as bad as you're no good father! How many times have you been told to stay the hell away from here!? You don't deserve to be near her, you killed her. You, and your good for nothing father.' the man spoke with pure hatred dripping from every word. The small boy began to cry. Elle was kicking the man in the shins, screaming, 'Don’t listen to him Squall he’s a liar! Yoo’re a good boy, Raine loved yoo! Yoo’re a bad man! Leave him alone! Leave him alone!' He paid no attention to the girl, instead pulling Squall further up so he was eye to eye with the frightened child. 'Not content with killing Raine, you try and turn this little princess bad too? Well, we’re having none of that. You’re going away Leonhart, far away where you can’t hurt little Elle.' 'No! Please, I’ll be good, I pwomise! Elle’s my sis, she’s gotta take care of me! I love Elle!' Squall pleaded, but it was futile.
'No one cares about you Leonhart. Not even your idiot father. He can’t even be bothered to come and collect his spawn. You’re nothing and you will always be nothing. Deal with it.' The red faced man sneered, Elle was still kicking him, 'He’s not Leonhart, he’s Loire! Raine said so, Raine said so! Yoo gotta call him Squall Loire! Put my brother down!' The man tossed Squall away like a rag and he fell badly, becoming unconscious. He made to pick up Elle gently, but she ran to Squall’s side and started screaming as she saw the blood pouring from an open head wound. 'Yoo killed him! Yoo killed my brother! I’m telling Uncle Laguna! He’s gonna be mad at yoo!' she sobbed hysterically.
'He’s not dead princess, he’s sleeping. Now come on, why don’t you come get some ice cream with me? My wife just made some this morning!' the man said cheerily, trying to placate her. 'Only if Squall comes.' She sniffed. Tch. Fine. But we’re not feeding him.' He picked up the boy roughly and carried them to the house. Later that night when the two returned to the house where they stayed with the old women they found that Squall's toys were gone, not that he had many to start with. Elle had always had many; the villagers loved her and gave her presents every day, not just birthdays and Christmas. Squall had never had a birthday or a Christmas. His one toy was an old blanket that he’d had since birth, and now it was missing, along with his makeshift bed of old crates and torn quilts.
'Where’s Squall’s things? Where is he gonna sleep?' Elle demanded. 'He’s going to sleep on the floor. It’s better than he deserves. I threw that old blanket out, it was dirty.' The old women eyed Squall distastefully and sniffed. 'But it was his. And he’ll freeze without a bed and bedclothes.' 'What’s your point Elle? Don’t give him any of your blankets either, or he’ll not be here when you wake up. Good night princess. Squall, get in the corner.' She ordered. Squall curled himself up into a small ball in the corner and started crying. A flash of silver around his neck caught the woman’s eye.
'Ah hah! Been thieving have you? This necklace ain’t yours, it was Raine's and she would never have given it to you.' She attempted to snatch it triumphantly, but Elle leaped in front of Squall. 'It IS Squall’s! She gave it to him. Don’t dare touch it or I won’t be here when YOU wake up!' Elle’s threat was not empty and the old woman backed down. 'Tch. Fine.' 'Why are yoo so mean to him? He’s only a little boy, he’s never done anything to anybody.' Elle's curiosity got the better of her. 'He killed Raine. Him and that stranger robbed us of her. Why aren’t you angry that he did that?' the old woman despaired. 'He didn’t. Raine wanted to go see the fairies. So she went, it had nothing to do with Squall.' Elle explained calmly, silly woman; they’d been mistaken! Now they’d like Squall she reasoned.
'Giving birth to that...thing killed her Elle!' This shocked Elle into silence for a moment, but the woman’s smugness at thinking she had won was short lived. 'No. Squall saved her, she told me so. She said he was a gift from the fairies, and that one day he would show us all what it meant to have the strength and courage and pride of a lion. He’s going to be a great man and accomplish wonderful things she said. Her and Greiver are always watching over him she said, and Raine doesn’t lie. So she’ll be seeing what yoo’re doing to her little boy and she won’t like yoo. Squall, come and share my bed, snuggle under and get warm. I’ll always look after yoo.' With that, the pair had fallen into an easy sleep; huddled together to keep warm in such a cold hearted town.
Squall awoke on the floor of his room with Ellone standing over him. 'How are you, Squall?' He sat up, rubbing his forehead. 'Gee, thanks Elle, I really needed to see why I was so hated as a little kid. Appreciate it.' Elle smiled, remembering her little brother was never in a good mood when woken. 'I thought you'd like to know about Raine.' Squall sighed. 'Thanks for that. Really, I appreciate it. Sorry I snapped. What happened after that?' Ellone paused for a second in thought. 'Well, about two weeks after that, we went to the orphanage, met the gang and had fun!' She smiled and left, leaving Squall to his own devices.
*********
A FEW DAYS LATER
*********
A lone figure stood at the edge of the pretty, rural town. The air hung heavily suspended in the silence. Pastel pinks and vibrant shades of red scarred the sky as dusk approached; a faint breeze stirred the man from his prone position. A young woman held back, tears marring her features as her Knight knelt in front of a simple grave, flowers clutched in trembling hands.
"Brat!"
"Monster."
"Why don’t you run off and just get lost?"
"Go play in traffic."
"Why don’t you do us all a favour? Just curl up and die."
"Murderer!"
"No wonder your mother died. Who’d want to raise a thing like you? I’d die to get out of it too."
He blinked back tears, remembering those hate filled days. Why? Why did they hate a defenceless child so much? He stroked the grass covering his mother’s burial site and read the intricate inscription; lovingly and painstakingly carved by hand. It had been defaced, but the inscription was still clear: Raine Loire; beloved wife and mother. Sleep well amongst the stars, my love. He laid the flowers down and ran a hand over the cool marble; a silent vow was made. If I ever find who did this I swear to Hyne he shall not escape my blade. 'Squall!' A sweet voice broke through his murderous thoughts, and he looked up to see the angel in blue standing over him. She touched his shoulder lightly. 'Are you ok?'
He exhaled sharply, never looking up. 'I’m fine. Let’s go find an inn. I...I need to rest.' A hint of sympathy crept into her voice, 'I know.' She was startled into silence when he looked straight into her eyes, searching so deeply for something, it was almost as if he was trying to reach her soul with those pleading eyes. 'Do you ever visit your mom?'
'No. I don’t know where she is. That man would never let me see her. I never even got to say goodbye.' Her face hardened, shutting him from her emotions. He stood slowly and embraced her, his face buried in her raven hair. He whispered softly to her, 'I’m sorry. We’ve both lost so much. But you know what? We should move on, let it go. Maybe we should go speak to your Dad, try to reconcile things?' 'No! No. It’s none of your business Squall. You didn’t want to get involved in a family feud two months ago, don’t break the habit of a lifetime.' She stormed off, leaving a confused Squall watching her rapidly retreating form.
He turned to see his the locals gaping at Rinoa’s sudden departure, not wishing to explain the situation he strode off. Where would she be? It was a small town, he knew it better than she did, it shouldn’t be too hard to find her he reasoned. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the approach of a large, ignorant man. The man jostled him and snapped him from his thoughts.
'Watch where you’re going punk!' 'Sorry.' Squall mumbled, not even looking up. The man pushed him. 'You should have some respect for those that live here boy. We don’t take kindly to outsiders. Why the hell were you at that grave?' Squall pondered playing all his cards at once, instead he held back, 'What happened to that woman’s grave stone?'
'I happened to it. That poor woman’s relationship to that cretin she spawned and the loser that she married has no place here. It doesn’t deserve acknowledgement.' He sneered, thinking he had won the battle. Squall’s head snapped up. He recognised that voice. The man who had tormented him at his mother’s grave as a child was right here in front of him. The man who had defiled his mothers resting-place. Anger flashed in his grey-blue eyes, a storm seeming to brew in them. He drew himself up to his full height and looked the man square in the eyes, his nose an inch from the mans own.
'Do you recognise me?' He asked softly. 'Why the fuck should I recognise a worthless outsider?' 'Take a good look, not just at me, but at everything around you, because these are going to be your last few moments on this planet. Do you recognise me?' Squall yelled at the frozen figure before him. The man shook his head dumbly. 'N-no.'
'I can’t believe your conscience is so under developed that you can’t remember someone who’s life you made hell. You nearly killed me on so many occasions. Well, I’m glad I finally get the chance to return the favour.' The man’s eyes widened first with surprise, then recognition, 'Leonhart…' 'Yeah, Leonhart. The kid who was a nothing, a nobody. The kid you tried to kill. The kid who saved the whole fucking world, including this shitty town. Do you still wish I were dead? Do you? Answer me you piece of shit!' He was screaming at the man, tears running freely down his face.
The man scoffed at him; 'We’ve never needed you Leonhart. Someone else would’ve saved us if you weren’t here. You’re still nothing, you’re worthless. My only regret is that I didn’t succeed in killing you when you were a snivelling little brat. Nothing much as changed though has it? You’re still wailing away, just like in the good ol’ days. I can still make you cry. Some hero.' His smug satisfaction changed to terror when Squall took his gunblade from its holster. He raised it above the mans head and brought it down with a warriors cry. 'Squall!' The gunblade stopped an inch from striking the man down and Squall turned to face the voice.
Rinoa ran over and shook him, 'What the hell are you thinking? This isn’t you…Squall?' 'He...he was the one Rinoa. He tried to kill me when I lived here.' Squall was trembling uncontrollably. The gunblade dropped from his hands. Rinoa turned and looked at the man, rage noticeable in her eyes, blackening them with her fury. 'I think you should leave now, or he won’t be the only one trying to kill you.' The man responded by leaving a trail of dust in his wake.
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