Chapter 3: Forgive and Forget

  The young SeeDs helped Edea put the children to bed and clean up the eating area. Being back at the orphanage stirred faint memories in their minds. Edea had succeeded in rebuilding parts of the crumbling building to make it of use again. It was exactly as they had remembered it was. The stone pillars lining the entrance walkway, the creaky wooden door, and the steep and narrow pathway that led down to the shore. Recalling most of their childhoods had been difficult, due to the GFs and Junction system. Irvine had pointed that out from the beginning. Now that they knew their roots, they all knew they were connected to eachother in a way that would be highly difficult to ever seperate. The only exception to that was Seifer. They were all amazed, Squall in particular, at how different he had become. He was...soft. However, that mistrust and a lingering grudge floated around in each of their heads. They were all just too stunned to bring those feelings of betrayal up again.
  After all the children had gone off to their beds, Squall rounded up the others in the main foyer in preparations for departure. Edea stopped them quickly.
"Where are you going? You just arrived!"
Squall looked to her, a little startled by her demanding tone. "We were sent to make sure you were alright. It looks like everything's fine here, so I just thought..."
Edea shook her head. "No. I insist that you all stay the night. There's plenty of room now with the new wing I added on."
Squall opened his mouth to argue again, but Edea silenced him with a "look".
"That's not a request, Squall. It's an order."
Squall gave in and nodded silently. Selphie jumped in excitement.
"This is SO cool! It'll be like when we were little again!!"
Irvine grinned. "Yeah! So that means we'll all be sleeping in the same room, huh? Sharing beds, like we used to? Quistis is with me, then. OOF! Selphie?! What'd you do THAT for?", Irvine whined, rubbing his bruised shin. Selphie stuck her tounge out at him, a little hurt that her sweet heart would pick another woman before herself. Quistis rolled her eyes.
"Not in your life time, Irvine.", she said smugly as Selphie moved to stand near her. Selphie continued to scowl at Irvine in a most disturbing manner. Irvine chuckled nervously.
"Heh...hah ha, um...c'mon! I was only joking! You guys need to lighten up. Sheesh."
Edea shook her head, smiling. "He was right on one part. You all will be staying in the same quarters. However there are enough beds so that you will not have to share with anyone else." Motioning towards the northern wing, she ushered the others. "Shall we go? You must be tired. Go get some sleep. In the morning, you may do what you wish."
The room they were taken to was large and open, except for the four sets of bunk beds lining each adjacent wall. Zell, Rinoa, and Selphie quickly called dibs for top bunks. Quistis, Squall, and Irvine settled for bottom ones. After taking respective bathroom shifts, they settled into their bunks...or tried to at least. Irvine had the problem of length to deal with. His legs were too long for the short bed, so his feet stuck out over the footboard. Within minutes, however, he was snoring fit to rival a lumberjack with a chainsaw. The crickets chirped softly, barely audible over the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore. Squall couldn't sleep. He checked his wrist watch. 1:20 AM. How long had he been laying there, trying to fall asleep? He had been thinking, mainly about Seifer. There were things he couldn't understand. Like how he managed to forgive himself for his trespasses, but Squall couldn't so easily overlook his sins.
"Matron must have brainwashed him.", he thought bitterly. "Wait, that's not fair. She's too kind for something that manipulative. I just don't get it. If I can forgive Matron for all that she caused, eventhough it wasn't really her, why can't I forgive Seifer? Wasn't he manipulated like Matron was? His "dream"...he always bragged about that. 'I'm the Sorceress' Knight...' Maybe it was his determination to achieve that goal, no matter what it took, that made him do the things he did. Ultimecia could have had a hold on him too, though. If she could plan out something as complicated as Time Compression, then using a human to do her will should have been no problem at all."
Squall rolled over on his side, folding his left arm up under his head. He looked at his right hand. He had weilded a weapon, his Gunblade, and had killed many enemies with it. He was no cleaner than Seifer, or anyone else for that matter. So who was really at fault here? Him? But he didn't try to take over all of space and time. He put an end to it and saved humanity and their timelines. He was still stained though. Even as a child he had never thought he'd be a fighter. The only thing of value to him was Ellone and Matron. That was all he cared about. But now, he had more to protect. His friends, Rinoa...all that was worth a stained hand, in his mind. He flipped back over on his back, staring up at the wooden planks inches above his face. Looking over to his right, he could see Irvine stirring in his sleep, rolling over, adjusting his body, unconsciously trying to make it fit in the tiny bed. Squall rubbed his eyes. All that thinking had erased any fatigue he may have felt before. He decided he'd walk down to the shore and sit there for a while. Silently rising from his bed, he slowly made his way to the door. Opening it as quietly as he could to avoid any creaky hinges, he slipped through the opening and made his way down the hall to the side door that led to the beach. Moonlight streamed through narrow windows, lighting his darkened pathway. Feeling his way along the wall, he passed through the eating area they had been in earlier. He didn't notice the figure sitting at the table.
"Never knew you were a sleep-walker.",spoke a smooth, baritone voice from the shadows. Squall turned quickly, startled because he hadn't heard anyone there. Seifer pushed the chair across from him back with his foot and motioned for Squall to sit. Squall didn't move. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark, he could see Seifer sitting at the dining table. He was looking at something on the flat surface, something bulky.
"I'm not asleep.",Squall replied in a defensive way. Seifer sighed in frustration.
"I'm not trying to start anything. Just a talk, man to man. Sit.", he commanded, motioning at the vacant chair. Squall obliged and sat, instinctively keeping his guard up. Part of him still didn't quite trust Seifer. He had, after all, given the woman in Squall's life to Adel as a potential sacrifice. Squall crossed his arms over his chest, nodding a greeting to Seifer.
"Still silent, huh? I'd expect that of you."
"What's this about, Seifer?", Squall questioned defensively. Seifer gave a critical snort.
"Look, like I said, I just wanted a man to man talk. I assumed you'd be mature enough to handle it."
Squall choaked back his retort. "This is stupid..."
"Now? Are we ready to have a civilized conversation? No tearing at eachother's throats?", Seifer breathed. Squall nodded.
"Sorry.", he said in a short reply. "It's just I'd never thought we'd be in this situation."
Seifer smirked. "Yeah, I know. Actually, I wasn't planning for you to come through here, but since you did....why not? I've got a few things to say anyway."
Squall nodded. "I guess I'm obligated to listen then." Seifer shook his head.
"You don't have to listen at all. But I'd like for you to hear me out."
Seifer's request ruffeled Squall's already disorted feathers. He was his sworn enemy and he's making demands? Squall's head spun. He was too mentally exhausted to argue any. He nodded quitely to Seifer. Seifer brought a fist to his mouth, clearing his throat.
"Yeah, so...how's Garden? I hear you're a high ranking SeeD now."
"He sounds like an old person, interrogating me like this.", Squall scoffed skeptically. He nodded again, shifting in his wooden chair. "Yeah, they promoted me after the Sorceress battle."
Seifer nodded, running a thumb across the table. His shoulders shook with an involuntary chuckle. "And knowing you, you fought against it all you could, right?"
Squall shrugged an affirmative anwser, feeling his defensive attitude slowly melt away. Seifer shook his head in a disbelieving way. "You know, when you guys made it into SeeD....I envied you."
Squall sat erect at Seifer's confession. He sounded so...vunerable. Seifer nodded as if to confirm Squall's disbelief.
"Yeah....envy. I was too big of an ass to realize that it was my own fault. That stupid dream I had....Sorceress' Knight. Pathetic. Who was I trying to fool?"
Squall's brow puckered. Seifer was beating himself up infront of him. He wasn't sure if he should say something or not. Seifer silently brushed sand from the bulk resting on the table, revealing itself to be what looked like a canvas knap-sack. Squall swallowed a large amount of saliva before continuing.
"But you still have it. You have your dream."
Seifer cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "Yeah? How?"
"Well...these kids here seem to look up to you a lot.", Squall stated quietly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. "I guess in a way...you're their knight, as well as Matron's."
Seifer's miserable countenance vanished into enlightenment at Squall's words. He nodded again, a smirk tugging at his full lips. "You almost sound poetic, Squall."
Squall shrugged nonchalantly. "Would you have rather me said you suck and you're a complete failure?" Judging by Seifer's offended expression, Squall smirked. "I didn't think so.", he finished smugly. Seifer shook his head, chuckling.
"Yeah....they were the only ones who'd give me a second chance. I was grateful..."
The conversation had strayed into a sensitive topic area, so Squall clumsily tried to change subjects. He didn't particularly feel like having Seifer pour his heart out to him. Squall tossed his head in the knap-sack's general direction. "What's that?"
Seifer snapped his wandering thoughts back to reality. "Oh....this?", he replied, rubbing one of the tattered straps with his thumb. "We think it's that girl's. It was a few feet from where we found her."
Intrigued by the mysterious bag, Squall sat forward, taking part in the examination.
"Was there anything in it?"
"Not much that wasn't already water-logged. When we looked inside, all we found were some flares, a hand pistol, a first-aid kit, and a change of clothes. No money and no rations."
Squall pulled the sack towards him, taking it upon himself to peek into the small pockets that lined the outside. "Strange....", he muttered to himself. Seifer reached across the table to reclaim the sack.
"What's even stranger," he started, "Was this." He motioned to a faded emblem with his finger. Squall got close enough to see it clearly. It was a small, round patch with a tiny, grey battleship embroidered on a black surface. The letters "B-I-R-I" were monogramed underneath the ship in a now dull gold. Seifer sat back, watching Squall continue to study the patch.
"My guess is that's an old Battleship Island logo."
"Battleship Island? You mean the Deep Sea Reasearch Center, right?"
"Well, yeah. They're both the same place, aren't they?"
"That's stupid.", Squall murmured. "What affiliation would she have with the research center?"
Seifer shrugged cooly. "Got me. It's not like she had some sort of 'name badge' on when we found her with her life's story written all over it."
Squall was about to make a retort, but a stumble from the hallway snagged his attention. Seifer groaned, rubbing his eyes. Slowly rising, he walked towards the noise.
"It must be Lucas. He's having bed-wetting issues now..."
The thought of Seifer having to tend to a potty-trained deficit kid was a very pleasing thought in Squall's mind. He supposed it was a form of bad karma; Seifer was now playing nanny because of his treatment of Squall when he was younger. Now that he thought about it, when he was older too. Seifer had always taken great pleasure in bullying Squall. It was only until Squall had learned to ignore Seifer that his assaults grew less intense. Squall felt his mouth curving upwards into a grin at pondering Seifer's clean-up duties further. He hardly noticed the first urgent hiss of his name. It wasn't until Seifer barked at him a second time that things began to fall into place within his mind.
"Squall!", Seifer said firmly. "Get your ass over here now!"
Scowling, but somewhat startled at his tone, Squall strode quickly to where Seifer's voice was coming from. A shaft of moonlight illuminated Seifer's form. But wait...that other person was too big to be one of the children. Squall watched as Seifer shifted the body in his arms, flipping it over so it was facing up. Lovely, feminine features met his calm gaze. His heart skipped a beat, however, at the sight of a trickle of blood dripping from her nose. Seifer pinched her nose tightly and tilted her head forward slightly.
"Go....go wake up Matron.", he said quietly, a slight tremor in his tone. Squall's face was set in concern as he nodded and ran off to wake the sleeping woman.

Squall quickly woke Edea and rushed her the hallway. Seifer and the girl were gone, but a trail of blood droplets led them back to the girl's bedroom. Seifer was in the process of laying her down when Edea scurried to her side.
"What happened?", she gasped, seeing how the blood was now trickling slowly down the sides of her mouth, nearly reaching her chin. Seifer gently laid her head back on the pillow, a releaved sign escaping her parched lips.
"We don't know. I heard a noise and went to the hall and she was lying on the ground.", he said quietly, his voice distant and cool. Squall watched silently from the doorway as Edea hovered over the unconcious woman. A muffled yawn sounded from behind him and he turned his gaze to look over his shoulder. A groggy, bed-headed Zell scratched his chest with his right hand while stifling another yawn with the left.
"Hey...yo...what's all th' noise for?", he asked sleepliy. His awareness focused as the images in the room clicked in his mind. His eyes grew wide at the sight before him. "Holy sh---"
"Zell,", Edea said firmly. "Every thing's under control. Please, go back to sleep."
Zell was unable to move his stunned body. This was totally unexpected. It didn't look right, her pretty face wet with blood. Seifer's glare shook Zell from his stuper, and he shakily nodded and stumbled off back down the hall.
"You know he's going to wake the others.", Squall said flatly. Edea sighed, proceeding to wipe blood from the girl's chin with the edge of the sheets. Soon enough, a set of footsteps arrived at the door. Irvine's tall frame shadowed over Quistis, Zell, Rinoa, and a very sleepy Selphie.
"What's going on?", she whined, rubbing her eyes. She yipped in shock when she realized the situation. "Oh God....", she gasped, immideately turning away. She buried her face into Irvine's chest as he put his hands on her shoulders, murmuring that it was going to be alright. Having stopped the bleeding, Edea stepped over to the others.
"I'll need a few things to get her cleaned up and comfortable.", she sighed, brushing strands of graying hair from her face. She sent Quistis off to get some clean water, Zell to get some fresh sheets, Rinoa to find a set of clean clothes, and the others out of the room since they were going to have to change her. All of the desired items were found, except for the clean clothes.
"We didn't pack any extra clothes since we weren't planning to stay over night.", Rinoa explained. Edea nodded.
"Yes...and I'm afraid all I have are dresses. Nothing suitable for her to wear."
"Matron...", Seifer's smooth voice spoke, "...can you use this?" He pulled his t-shirt over head and off his shoulders, extending it towards Edea. Edea slowly took the black t-shirt from his hand, a bit startled that he would give the shirt off his own back to a stranger they knew little about. She murmured a thank you; Seifer nodded in reply. He knew they wouldn't want his presence in the room, him being a male and all, so he turned and quietly walked from the room, his back now bare, skin prickling from the night air.

The sun rose gracefully over the horizon, causing the sea to sparkle with a golden-pink light. The previous night was nothing more than a memory and everyone had gathered for breakfast in the eating area. The children were as lively as usual, at least as lively at a pack of 5 and 6 year olds could be at 9:00 in the morning. The adults however were taking a vow of silence. They had barely spoken a word since they went to bed the night before after the comotion had died away. The clink and clatter of utensils on dinnerware, the crunch of bacon and toast, and the gulping of milk was the melody of the morning. Mirina, the smallest of the children, had excused herself to the bathroom, barely halfway through her waffle. The meal continued on without interruption, until Mirina returned, holding the hand of the strange girl, leading her into the room with the others. Utensils clattered to their plates as their owners dropped them in suprise. Edea rose and quickly ushered the groggy girl to an arm chair in the parlor. Mirina tried to follow, but Seifer called her back.
"Mirina," he said, motioning with his head to her empty spot at the table. "Finish eating.", he finished through a mouthful of eggs. Mirina sulked as she sat back down. The others (Squall & Co.) rose one by one to file into the parlor. Edea was sitting on a footstool facing the girl, who's head was wearily propped against the back of the chair. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them, and her long, magohany-colored hair was unkempt and tangled. Her lips were cracked and she licked them periodically inbetween her heavy breaths.
"Will one of you please get me a glass of water?", Edea requested. Irvine, once again, was at the back of the group, so he obliged since he was closer to the kitchen. He returned momentarily and handed Edea the glass. Edea helped the girl hold it to her lips as she clumsily tried to drink down the cool liquid. It dribbled down her chin as she slurped it thirstily.
"Careful," Edea said gently, chuckling a bit. The girl finished the glass in record time, breathing a little heavier because she had drank the water so fast. She slowly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes roaming from the faces in the room. Where was she? Some of the people in the room felt familiar, especially the dark-haired woman crouching lovingly at her side. A new face appeared in the doorway - a young man with a jagged scar crossing between his eyes. His presence felt familiar as well.
"What...is this place?", she croaked, her voice strained. Edea hushed her quickly.
"Don't talk if it's too difficult.", she hushed. "You're safe...at my orphanage."
The girl nodded slowly, as if to understand. Her confused expression softened a bit, but she still looked perplexed. Edea continued feeding her information bit by tiny bit, so as to not overload her.
"My name is Edea. You may call me Matron if you wish..."
The girl's lips mouthed the names Edea had given her as her eyes continued to roam the faces surrounding her. Edea followed her gaze.
"These people you see...they once lived here too, when they were children. Now they're all grown up, and they've come from a place called 'Garden'. You see," she said, taking one of the girl's hands in her own. "There was a terrible storm several weeks ago. We found you on the shore a day or so after the storm had ended."
The girl turned her head and looked down at the floor, still holding on to Edea's hand. Her brows forrowed, and her expression flickered between hard realization and denial.
"Thank you....for saving me then.", she said horsely. Edea nodded, her ageing face spreading into a smile. The girl looked up again at the others. Tilting her head curiously, she spoke again. "Who are...they again?", she asked, ending her question in a series of rough coughs. Squall motioned for the others to follow him closer. Taking the initative, he introduced himself and everyone else.
"My name is Squall, and this is Rinoa, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Irvine...and Seifer.", he said motioning to them in that respective order. The girl nodded slowly, taking in the newly named faces infront of her. They seemed like good people; she could tell that much by looking in their eyes. Even the one man who seemed so familiar...even when he didn't look up to meet her gaze, she could still tell he was remotely decent. Edea patted the girl's hand.
"Do you have a name, dear?", she asked gently. The girl frowned, trying to gather her thoughts. A memory surfaced, but it was unclear and it hurt her head to try to focus on it. Grunting slightly, she put a palm to her forehead, scrunching up her nose in concentration. A name....she had to have a name. She knew she had one...but what was it?
"D o m i n i q u e.", whispered a thick voice inside her head, one that was not her own.
"Dominique.", she repeated softly, looking up into Edea's face.
"Dominique? What a pretty name. It suits you, dear.", she said, smiling gently back at her. Dominique managed a weak smile. Edea looked over her shoulder to Seifer.
"The children?"
"They're getting dressed and making their beds. At least that's what I told them to do.", Seifer replied, leaning one shoulder against wall. Edea nodded, refocusing her attention on Dominique.
"Can you walk?"
Dominique nodded dumbly, and struggled to stand on her own legs. Apparently her body was too weak from bed-rest for her legs to support her full weight, and she stumbled into Edea's shoulder. Edea motioned for one of the men to assist her, seeing how her small body was much heavier than it looked. Zell moved to step forward, but Seifer beat him to it. He threw one of Dominique's arms over his shoulders, grasping her hand in one of his and wrapping the other around her waist. Slowly, they scraped past the others and back into the kitchen. Seifer's t-shirt Dominique wore was oversized for her, and nearly reached her knees. Still, Edea handed her an old skirt from her closet and helped Dominique pull it on. After several more glasses of water, a sketchy conversation began within the small group. Questions were exchanged, like did Dominique know how she got to Centra, how long she had been sleeping, and if she knew she had been casting low-level Cure spells in her sleep. The anwser to all of these and more was negative. Dominique looked distressed at her lack of memories. Her face was worn and she looked much older than she probably was. Her skin was pastey and hair dull. Her eyes, which were an exotic honey-gold, were glassy and bloodshot. Edea, as well as the others, came to the conclusion that she was suffering from a form of amnesia. After a length of silent contemplation, Dominique stated that she was able to move on her own and wished to clean herself up. During that time, Squall rounded everyone up for the return trip home. About two more hours passed before they were ready to leave. Dominique had emerged from the bath, looking a bit more alive. She stood next to Seifer, still wearing his oversized black t-shirt (a tiny cactuar emblem was printed in the center of the shirt) and Edea's flat, gray skirt, her hair falling over her shoulders in damp waves. The children had gathered to bid them a farewell. They "Oohed" and "Aahed" at the massive dragon-like ship, excitedly asking rapid questions about it. Edea pulled Squall over to the side.
"Squall, I have another favor to ask of you.", she said in a hushed tone. Squall wondered why she was speaking so quietly, but he saw her glance over her shoulder at Seifer, who inturn had taken a glace in their direction and turned sharply away. Edea continued in a quiet voice.
"I'm concerned about Dominique. Her health doesn't look very well. I can't give her the proper care she needs to get her strength back. I can only tend to a child with a high fever, not an amnesiatic girl who looks completely drained of life."
"I hear what you're saying Matron, but I don't understand.", Squall replied. Edea grasped his gloved hands.
"I want you to take her with you. She needs a doctor, Squall....not magic spells."
Squall's mind chewed on this for a moment. To bring her back to Garden to heal her. After she was better, then what? He wasn't sure if they'd let her stay as a free-loader. But he saw no other way. She looked terribly weak, and in his opinion, on the verge of dehydration. Nodding solemnly to Edea, he consented.
"Okay," he said softly. "We'll take her with us."
Edea smiled gratefully and went to where Dominique and Seifer were watching the children jump around the Ragnarok. Squall walked off to notify Quistis of their change of plans. She was in charge of making sure the ship was prepped to go.
"Go with them?", Dominique asked slowly, looking between Edea, the Ragnarok, Squall, and Seifer. She looked highly confused and for some reason, reluctant to leave Seifer's side. Edea nodded incouragingly.
"Yes, they have a doctor there who will see that you get your proper strength back."
"She'll take care of you. We all will.", Squall quietly confirmed. Dominique pulled on a strand of her long hair. She was obviously torn between decisions.
"If you go with them, I'm sure you'll find the anwsers you want to hear.", Seifer said from his position against a crumbling column. Dominique turned bewildered eyes on him. Edea agreed with Seifer.
"I agree. There are many resources that may help you regain some of your memory."
Dominique looked around again. Edea's worried expression, Seifer's cool gaze, Squall's expectant face...so they all wanted her to go. The offer sounded tempting. She started mumbling a broken conversation to herself under her breath, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. They could still see her lips moving slightly, however. A few seconds ticked by, and Dominique snapped out of her day dream chat.
"....okay...I'll come with you.", she said softly. Edea gave her a gentle hug good-bye, sending her off with wishes of good luck and a few prayers. Seifer nodded cooly, silent and not moving to wish her good-bye. Dominique smiled a little at his resilliance before she was ushered away by Squall. Seifer jumped up from the column.
"Squall!", he shouted, walking briskly towards him. Squall motioned for Dominique to continue to the Ragnarok and she did, passing Irvine and Selphie (who were entertaining the children's rapid questions) on the way. Squall turned back to face Seifer, a bit perturbed since they hadn't already taken off. He hoped they wouldn't be late returning to Garden.
"Squall...", Seifer started, his voice flat. "You'd better take care of her.", he finished in a more firm tone. Squall nodded, smirking slightly.
"She'll be taken care of. You have my word."
Turning away from Seifer he headed towards the Ragnarok. Then he did something even he didn't expect. Pausing, he called out over his shoulder.
"You know...there's room for one more. You could come back to Garden too...maybe get a clean start."
Seifer shook his head. "Nah. I've got my start here. These people have forgiven me and forgotten about what I did. Others may not be so forgiving...", he finished, his voice trailing off. Squall nodded in understanding. He gave Seifer and Edea the SeeD salute and ran off towards the Ragnarok, ushering Selphie and Irvine along, and herding the children back to Edea.
"Cute kids...", Irvine chuckled. He grabbed Selphie's shoulders and pulled her to him. Grinning widely, he finished. "Maybe we'll have some of our own some day, eh Sefie?"
A bright red flushed to her cheeks and she broke away, scampering off in embarassment to pilot the ship home. Squall rolled his eyes and shook his head, stepping up the incline of the cargo ramp. Irvine scratched his head, following Squall's lead.
"What'd I do?", he muttered to himself. They entered the passenger area, seeing that Dominique was beind tended to by Rinoa. She had given her a blanket and another glass of water and suggested she sleep some. Dominique obliged gratefully and settled down into her seat, though not quite ready to drift off. This ship facinated her and she wanted to take it all in before going to sleep. It rumbled and shook as it began to leave the ground, and a perky, high-pitched voice sounded over the speakers.
"Fasten your seat belts everyone.", Selphie giggled. "We're ready to take off!"
Dominique copied the other's motions of clicking the belts around their waists. Within no time, they were soaring slickly through the atmosphere. Dominique silently looked around at the crew/passengers. A tall, lanky guy wearing a hat was stretched out in his seat, apparently taking a nap. Another male, one with spikey blond hair and a strange mark on the side of his face was listening to music through a portable CD player, tapping his foot to the beat of the invisible tune and flipping absently through a magazine. A pretty woman with strawberry blond hair was also flipping through a magazine. The man who introduced himself to be Squall was closer to the front, and he was sitting next to a young woman in light blue; they were having a hushed conversation. These strange people were somewhat amusing to her. She smiled slightly and listened to the whir and hum of the engines. There were anwsers to questions she had. She hoped Edea was right about being able to regain her lost memories. She wasn't sure how she'd do it, but she was certain she'd find some way. She finished her glass of water and set in into the cup holder next to her. Her shoulder blades were tingling and she reached back as best she could to rub the soreness from them. She felt the rise of scar tissue through her shirt. Dominique guessed the gashes had healed properly. That was one thing she didn't need to remember...the reason she had those gashes. There was something within herself constantly reminding her of it. The deep voice in her mind whispered a tempting offer of sleep, insisting that she needed it for her sake as well as its own. Dominique's eyes felt heavy. The hum of the engines and the whispering of the voice soon sung her into a deep, dark sleep.

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