Final Fantasy 8TM; and its characters are property of SquareSoft© :)
***************************************************************



Lies
Written by Quistis Kinneas.



- III -



"Love is something that aches so much..."
Phills Whitney


'Six o'clock.Balamb Garden was almost entirely sleeping,except for two young SeeD cadets.That would be the first mission for them,and each one prepared oneselves as they could.One didn't even sleep,the other sleeped as soon as he could...it didn't matter how they passed the night,they were all awake.
It would be a common event,as they were not the first SeeD cadets on Balamb,except for a special characteristic:one of them was just fifteen years old,the youngest person to enter SeeD,and this person was a woman.Sure,not a common woman.She was special and very competent,as she had proved on every Balamb test.Her grades were above expectation,her abilities better than many SeeD's students abilities,and she was also very intelligent.But one of her most appreciated characteristics was her sense of responsibility.She was very mature for her age.And she was also very beautiful.
Quistis looked herself in the mirror and tied her hair on a pony-tail that,on that time,didn't reach her shoulders.She arranged her uniform and wore some lipstick,not too dark because she didn't want to give a bad impression.It was her first mission on SeeD,and inside her heart,she was feeling anxious and worried.She knew that she was really good,or she would not be there using that uniform,but being THERE was something different.And as she was so young,she was afraid that she would not be treated with the same respect by the others...but Cid promised her that SeeD was a serious organisation,and this kind of treatment was not allowed.
She heard someone knocking the door and said an 'enter'from her bathroom.
"Quistis?Are you ready?"
She turned to the room and smiled to the man sitting on a chair next to the window:
"Principal...it's so good to see you..."
Cid smiled:
"I could not let you go without giving some advices..."
"They would be welcome."
"I'm very proud of you,you know?"
"And I'll try to make you even more proud.I'll do my best there..."
"I'm sure you will.Just take care.The Captain of your squad will be Arthur Hastings*.He is a very good Captain,and he will be giving you the orders.Your objective is to discover and defeat a monster around Timber on a cave called Velt.We're not sure about what you'll find there,but all we know is that this monster is scaring people...well it's not a difficult job,that's why only three people will be sent.Arthur,you,and other Balamb student.You'll have to go to Galbadia to meet Arthur.So take the train and rest as much as you can.Arthur will give you more details."
"I understood Principal.And I won't disappoint you,I promise."
Cid smiled:
"This should not take too long,so I guess you'll be back in two or three days."
"All right.I'll give my best for Balamb."
"I won't delay you anymore.Please,be very careful.I must talk to Mike now..."
She smiled and said:
"Right,Principal.I'll see you soon,then."
"Good luck.'

***************************************************************

'Galbadia Garden was completely different from Balamb.It had a serious atmosphere,the students were using common clothes and there was a bigger number of SeeD students.It also seemed bigger,with more corridors leading to a huge number of rooms.
Quistis looked around admired by the luxurious environment and the different 'air'.She was impressed by the differences,the dark lights,the huge SeeD symbol on the floor.There was pomposity everywhere,since the plants until the decoration.But Quistis didn't like it very much.It was beautiful,but too much rich...she liked the simplicity of Balamb.
"It is a beautiful place,"said the young boy by her side.
"Yes,a very beautiful place,Mike",agreed Quistis.
"I'd love to stay here for long..."
"I really don't like it very much.It seems so...dark..."
"You're just too used to Balamb.You should take a look around and appreciate the view...we'll have to wait for some time,you know..."
"Yes,I guess I'll take a look around."
"Okay.I'll eat something at the bar..."
Quistis turned to the corridor and walked forward a door that leaded to a huge field.There were some girls talking on the corridor,and she could hear their laughing.Some other students passed by her as she looked around.The majority was having classes or training,she supposed,as Galbadia Garden was so empty.
She reached the field and watched some students training,oriented by a woman that shouted the orders.Some of them were fighting in pairs and others just training some movements alone.She liked that view very much.It reminded her of her own days of hard training,not so distant of her present.She started her training very soon,by the age of ten,and during those years she gave her best to be what she was today.
"Excuse me,miss...but I see that you are not from here..."
Quistis turned around and faced the man that talked with her.She was surprised by the view of a handsome young man.His eyes were grey,his long black hair loosened around his tan face...his expression was so sweet and pleasant...she never met such a handsome man before.
"Yes,I'm not from here.I'm from Balamb Garden."
"Balamb?Oh!So you must be Quistis Tepe..."
"Trepe.Quistis Trepe."
"So nice to meet you Quistis.I'm coronel Arthur Hastings...but you can call me Arthur..."
He took Quistis' hand and kissed her back.
"Are YOU Coronel Arthur?"
He smiled:
"Yes,I am."
"You seem so young to be a coronel!"
"I know,but I'm not THAT young.I'm thirty-two...and also,you are young.The first student to enter SeeD with less than seventeen years..."
"Cid helped me a lot."
"He must be very proud of you.Your grades are excelent,your training results are very good and you are also very beautiful..."
Quistis smiled:
"Thank you.But...Cid told me that you would explain the mission for us..."
"Yes,yes,I will...but isn't it better to wait for the third component of our group?"
"Oh...Mike went to the bar to eat something."
"Well...so let's meet him there...and use this time to know each other better..."
"All right."
Arthur offered her his arm and she accepted.Then Arthur walked by her side through the corridor.'

***************************************************************

'The night felt over the mountain where Quistis campped with Arthur and Mike.They were there for three days already,more than they expected.The way was harder than they thought,the mountain was high,some of the ways were blocked.Also,it was raining,and the rain brought a terrible cold around them.
Arthur finished putting up their tents while Mike was igniting a bonfire.Quistis tried to keep her body warm but it was impossible.But she didn't care about the cold weather.Her attention was concentrated on the man in front of her.Even if her first mission was not as exciting as she thought,Arthur made it worth.For the past three days he has been treating her with so much tenderness,giving her his whole attention,that hardly Quistis would not be grateful.Since she met him on Galbadia Garden,she felt something for him.And,if it was not her mind,he also had something for her.
She observed him closing the last tent and,unconsciously,she sighed,smiling.Arthur looked at her and obviously noticed her dreamy look.He smiled and Quistis felt blushing.
"Urgh...it's really cold here!",said Mike,"happily we found this cave,and could keep this bonfire...without some fire,I would freeze.Quistis,could you bring that soup for us?"
"Right..."
Quistis came back in some seconds,bringing a pan and some spoons and plates.She arranged the pan over the bonfire and they waited for their dinner.
"I hope tomorrow it stops raining...this mountain will be impossible to walk in if it doesn't stop raining,"said Arthur,"but I guess that we are closer to our objective.I could swear that our monter up there is a kind of dragon.Did you hear the noises,last night?"
"Yes,I heard.It made me shiver,"commented Mike.
"Don't worry about it.It will not be a great challenge for us.And Quistis,I'm sorry for not give you a good adventure.You must be very disappointed..."
"No,I'm not.It's really funny,being here,camping,the rain...I like it.It reminds me my days of training on the fields of Balamb."
"Yes...I miss Balamb already,"said Mike.
"Oh...the soup is ready...",said Arthur getting up.
They ate the soup,talked for some time and made their plans for the next day.After this,Mike got up streching and said:
"Well...I guess it's too late.If you don't mind,I'll go to sleep...good night for you both..."
Mike entered his tent and let Quistis alone with Arthur.They watched the light inside his tent die away and then Arthur turned to Quistis,smiling:
"I'm sleepless by now...I have no intention of laying on my bed...and what about you?"
"I'm also sleepless.I guess that all this job let me awaken..."
"Well,so we'll have the opportunity of knowing each other better.Why don't you tell me something about you?For example,why did you decide to be part of SeeD?"
"I don't know exactly...I guess I just wanted to be someone,you know?I wanted to make something good for my country,for myself.I wanted to prove that I can be a woman,but I can be as good as a man is..."
"I see..."
"And you?How is the way that leads to a Galbadian Coronel?"
"Family.My father was a Coronel,and his father was one...I just had to follow them..."
"And do you like it?"
"Yes,it's good job.At least,I can know beautiful and attractive women..."
Quistis smiled:
"You sure meet many interesting people..."
"Yes...but sometimes being a Coronel is so much solitary...sometimes I just want to settle down,marry a beautiful woman,have children and live on a beautiful house..."
"You're still to young to quit the army..."
"I know.But I will be older than this someday...and you know,we always want to have someone waiting for us when we arrive at home..."
"I guess...I understand."
Arthur stared at her for some minutes.Quistis felt blushing and asked with a smile:
"What are you looking at?"
"Did I tell you that the fire gives you a wonderful colour?Your eyes...they seem to burn..."
"Really?"
"Yes...you are just so beautiful..."
"Arthur..."
"Maybe you don't believe me...but Quistis...when I saw you there,on that field...I...knew you were special.Somehow I knew that there was something happening here,"he poited to his heart,"and I knew that you were the responsible...that's why I'm not afraid of saying that...I love you..."
Quistis stared at him,impressed.She could never expect such words from a Coronel.
"I don't know what to say...I guess I...since I saw you for the first time...I guess I felt the same..."
He took her hands on his and said:
"So...let's be sincere to each other...and let things happen...as they want to...happen..."
Arthur's lips touched Quistis' and his arms involved Quistis firmly.Quistis was resisting in the begining,but Arthur had the power of making her forget everything.She was not used to let her feelings control her as that,she never let her feelings control her in anything,but this time she could not resist.Arthur was kind and gentle,his eyes stared at hers and seemed to reach the edge of her heart.She wanted to,but could not say no.
He kissed her lips deeply and she whispered:
"Promise me you'll never let me...I never,never let my feelings control me as now...but you mix up my thoughts..."
"I'll never disappoint you...I promise I'll be always there for you...I'll be always yours..."
She felt him raising her on his arms,and whispered:
'Wait,Arthur...I never..."
"Don't worry,"he interrupted her,"I'll guide you...
Quistis sighed and let him take her to her tent.'

***************************************************************

'Some weeks later...
Quistis reached the reception desk of Galbadia Garden and the woman behind it smiled to her:
"Hi,Miss.Can I help you?"
"Yes.I'm looking for Coronel Hastings.
The smile on the woman's face vanished:
"And...can I know what is the issue?"
"It's personal."
The woman sighed and faced Quistis with an odd look:
"What's your name?"
"Quistis Trepe."
The woman's eyes shone and a strange smile appeared in her lips:
"Oh...so you are Miss Trepe,from Balamb Garden..."
"Yes,I am."
"Well...I'm afraid that Coronel Hastings will be traveling to Derring City today..."
"And...how long will he be there?"
"Oh,some months...you know how it is,he stays here for ten months,he must spend at least some of them with his family..."
Quistis stared at the woman stunned:
"What did you say?You said...his family?!"
It seemed the most natural thing in the world for her,as she answered:
"Yes,his wife Tina and his children.They live there..."
"How...how long...are they..."
"Twelve years,I guess."
Quistis felt the floor under her foot disappear,but the blood on her veins burned:
"Where is he now?"
"He is on his room..."
"And where is it?"
"Through this corridor on the second door...but you can't go there now..."
Quistis turned and walked on the direction of his room.The woman shouted her name some times,but Quistis didn't hear.Her hands were so closed that her knots were almost white.The look on her face seemed to burn,and her expression never seemed so furious.
Without warning,she kicked the door violently.The door opened and Quistis found Arthur on the bed,by a woman's side.When he saw her,he jumped out of the bed with the sheets around his waist.The woman also covered herself with the sheets.
"Quistis?!",he asked frightened,"what are you doing here?!"
"How could I be so blind?How could I believe in you...you bloody bastard!"
She turned around exiting the room but Arthur followed her until the corridor,still with the sheets over him.He pulled Quistis by her wraist and forced her to face him:
"Quistis,please,let me explain..."
"Explain what?How stupid I was!I believed in your promises,your sweet words...'I'll be always by your side,I'll be always yours!'...bullshit!And I BELIEVED!I REALLY believed in you!You don't deserve even my hate,you bastard..."
"Quistis,I didn't mean to...I would tell you..."
"I know you would...you would tell me and half Galbadia that you are a LIAR!"
"No...Quistis...I really love you!"
Quistis opened her hand and slapped him on the face.
"I will never let this happen to me again...never more...I'll never fall in love again...especially with men like you!"
She turned around and let him standing on that corridor,with the sheets around his waist,and his free hand over the cheek where she had slapped him.'

***************************************************************

The first rays of light reached Quistis'face.She opened her eyes still under the impact of the night.When she arrived at her room on that night,she just couldn't sleep,worried about Irvine and her own feelings.She sat on a couch near the window and tried to find a solution...but the previous events were too much for her,and without noticing,she closed her eyes and slept...but it was't a good night.She didn't rest at all...her dreams were haunted by memories,memories of a not so distant past...memories that she regret.But remembering those things made her decision stronger.She did not want to let the same thing happen now.Of course,Irvine was not married,he had not a family.But she thought about Arthur's wife when she imagined her future life with Irvine.She would never trust him enough to live by his side,they would have the same life that Arthur had with his wife.Irvine was just the same as Arthur,a man that never cared about his wife,and betrayed her during twelve years...
She never saw Arthur after that,and didn't want to.She knew that she loved him,not as much as what she was felling now,but she cared about Arthur.And it was her first try,her first and only try.She was not prepared to face the other side of the drama...
She heard a distant bell on Balamb and suddenly her memorie brought her back to reality.Her first thought was about the appointment that Gabriel had with Irvine.She didn't want that Irvine got hurt,she would never forget herself if something happened to him...
Without thinking,she ran to the Cave of Fire,and didn't even change her clothes.She didn't notice anyone around,she didn't feel anything.But her heart almost stopped when she found Gabriel walkind on her direction,going up the stairs.He had a calm expression on his face and a smile on his lips.
Quistis approached him worried and he said:
"Good morning dear..."
"Where's him?",she asked ignoring his comment.
"Him?"
"Kinneas!Where's Kinneas?"
"Are you so worried about him?"
"What did you do to him?",her voice was almost reaching a high level.
"I did not do anything.If you are so concerned...he didn't come."
She stared at him stunned:
"How...he didn't come?..."
"Yes.I waited for him until now...and he didn't appear.I was just going to his room to know..."
"No...you won't go anywhere...let me see..."
Quistis didn't give him time to answer.She just turned to the building and let Gabriel there,with a strange look on his face.

***************************************************************

She couldn't understand it.She looked around once more,inside the closet,on the bed...nothing.Irvine's things were not there anymore.He just disappeared so quickly as he appeared on Balamb.And Quistis couldn't understand...
Sitting on his bed,she tried to find an explanation.But nothing could justify that...
"Quistis?Are you looking for Irvine?"
She looked to the door and found a young Garden cadet.The blond girl approached her and Quistis asked:
"Do you know where he is?"
"I met him half an hour ago...a cadet from Galbadia asked me to call him...I called Irvine on the fields,he came back,entered his room,packed up his things and just went away..."
"But...to where?"
"I don't know...I just saw him with his things and going away.I have no idea why or with whom...that's all I saw..."
Quistis sighed and said:
"Okay...thank you for the information..."
The young girl smiled and went away.Quistis got up and stared at the window.She closed her eyes and a tear fell down her face.
"I should have known...he would never take me that seriously...probably he asked someone from Galbadia to help him and went away...and what did I expect anyway?It's better like this...I must forget this and take a bath...that's all I'll do..."

***************************************************************

Selphie was sitting on a chair by Edea's side,on the restaurant of Balamb,having their breakfast.Selphie did not stop talking for one minute since they sat there,telling Edea about how good was the party.Edea just smiled to her,in agreement.
"And didn't you think that the lights were perfect?I believe that it was the best part of it.I loved the disco effect on the ballroom..."
"Yes,it was very beautiful."
"I just had an idea for the next party..."
"Next party?!",asked Edea gasping.
"Well,the students need a reception when they are back from their vacation..."
"Oh,no...",sighed Edea with her hands on her face,"Cid will love the idea..."
"Sure he will!But...the most important was not the party...you know that Irvine is in love with Quistis?"
Edea smiled:
"Yes,I do."
"How long you know?I thought I was the first one to notice!"
"Well...you were.But I know both very well.It was written on their eyes..."
Selphie also smiled:
"Yeah...but I am almost sure that they finally understood each other...I gave them a little help yesterday.I took Gabriel out of their way and let them talking alone...I am crazy to know the results because I couldn't see everything...I just know that Gabriel appeared some time after,but I could not see what happened."
Edea looked at her impressed:
"Really?I hope so.I'd love to see them together."
Selphie took a piece of pie and ate it.
"I also love the idea.I hate that stupid coronel Gabriel...hey...it's Quistis!Finally!Quistis!Hey,Quistis!We're here!",shouted Selphie.
Edea put her head down trying to not be seen.Quistis found them on the other side of the restaurant and walked on their direction.She put her tea-tray on the table and sat down.
"Good morning",she said as she sat down.Her voice seemed forced,and she put her head down to not face them.But Selphie and Edea had already noticed the red around her eyes,showing that she have been crying recently or did not have much sleep.
"Quistis?",asked Selphie,"are you okay?
She looked at her:
"Yes."
"So...what happened?Where is Irvine?"
"How can I know?",she said bitterly.
"But I thought..."
"What?What did you think?That your wonderful theatre would make something for us?'
"So...what happened?"
"Nothing.What would happen?Humpt...Gabriel and Irvine discussed and they decided to finish their problems today,with a duel..."
"Duel?",asked Edea.
"Yes.But don't you worry Edea.They didn't fight.Irvine ran away..."
"What?!",both Edea and Selphie asked.
"A girl said that...he took his things this morning and went away with a Galbadia cadet."
"Galbadia cadet?But I didn't receive any communication...",whispered Edea.
"Sure you didn't.He just used him as an excuse to not put himself in danger...as a coward.I knew he would never be capable of something so big for someone..."
"You're being selfish,Quistis.I know Irvine,he would never ran away like this...I'm sure that something happened",Edea said.
"Yes.Really..."
"Oh...how great,"mumbled Selphie.Edea looked on the direction where Selphie was looking and found Gabriel,walking on their direction.He kissed Quistis' cheek and sat down by her side.
"Good morning misses..."
"Morning,"answered Selphie.
"Do you know why Irvine went away,Coronel?",asked Edea.
"Irvine?Oh,yes...I met a Galbadia cadet outside...he was waiting for Irvine...I guess that they needed him for a mission somewhere..."
"And where did he go?"
"I have no idea..."
"It's so strange...Galbadia Principal did not tell me anything...",said Edea.
"Maybe it was urgent..."
Edea and Selphie looked each other suspicious.Gabriel turned to Quistis and said:
"You know dear...I've been thinking about our weeding...I think that it's a waste of time to wait util the end of the month..."
Quistis looked at him:
"Yes?"
"Yes.As everything is ready,we could marry sooner,don't you think?"
She didn't answer,just turned her head to her plate.
"What do you think about...the day after tomorrow?"
She turned to him stunned:
"Why so soon?"
"As I said...there is no need to wait.Don't you think?"
Quistis sighed.Edea and Selphie looked at her while she answered:
"Why not?That's okay for me."
Gabriel smiled.Edea and Selphie just looked each other in silence,still not believing in what they heard.
Edea just made a mental note.There was something very strange about that,and she would look for the answers.

***************************************************************

*Ps:Ops...Arthur Hastings?Did anyone talk about Agatha Christie?