Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ I Know What Lies Beneath the Snowfields ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields"
Chapter 4

When she opened her eyes, the girl realized that she was in a very warm
bed. Aeris (she *did* look like Aeris) blinked slowly for a few moments.

It's so quiet, she thought, and so warm.

She slowly sat up in bed, wondering where she was. Two thick blankets and
a quilt covered her. She saw on the table next to the bed a white basin of
cool water and a folded towel.

The room was dimly lit, but she could see that it was very small. A desk
and a bookcase humbly occupied one corner, while the closet stood in front
of the bed. Near the desk was a closed window overlooking the street below.
It was getting dark outside and the snow fell quietly.

"Wh..where am I??" she whispered.

She immediately jumped out of bed, but froze on the spot when noticing
something peculiar: someone had changed her clothes while she was asleep!
She was dressed only in a black, long-sleeved wooly shirt that barely
managed to cover her thighs. Also, the shirt was too big for her slender
body; one side constantly fell off her shoulder because the collar was too
wide.

She fingered it suspiciously. Even the sleeves were too long for her arms.

"Why, this is a MAN's shirt!!" she cried aloud.

Aeris turned red at the thought that perhaps a *man* had undressed her and
clothed her in his shirt.Looking around the room again, she hoped to
discover an answer, but found nothing.

Sighing in annoyance, she walked to the door. Aeris cautiously opened it,
then peeked to see what was there.

"An apartment," she thought.

She was, indeed, in an appartment, but the silence weighed on the place so
heavily, Aeris dared not make a sound. Neverless, she stepped forward,
determined to explore this strange place.

The apartment, as she soon discovered, consisted of only four rooms, all
connected by a hallway stretched in the middle. Judging from the size of
the appartment, Aeris guessed that only one person lived here, two at most.

She was particularly struck by the amount of books in the living room. The
two bookcases that covered an entire wall were absolutely crammed with
books of all sorts. Some were even placed on the table infront of the
couch.

When she reached the enterance of the kitchen, Aeris stood at it, but did
not enter. It was small, with a wooden table and two chairs placed in the
center. Perceiving something on the table, Aeris walked up to check it, not
without some uneasiness.

A disassembled gun lay on a white handkerchief, with several of its pieces
surrounding it neatly. A bottle full of a yellow liquid stood near the gun.

Aeris picked up the gun, then examined it with extreme curiosity. She
wondered who could own such a cold, grim weapon.

As if answering her question, a sound of approaching footsteps reached her
ears. A sudden panic gripped her heart. She couldn't quite explain why, but
this unreasonable terror made her listen intently as the footsteps grew
closer and louder.

When the footsteps stopped, Aeris heard a slight rattle at the doorknob,
as though a key was being placed in it. She dropped the gun and rushed to
the hall, clasping both her hands over her heart in anticipation.

Vincent swung the door open and staggered in with a bag full of groceries.
After removing the key, he shut the door again. Coughing a bit, he stomped
his feet and brushed some snow off his black overcoat while still holding
the bag.

On noticing Aeris standing in the hallway, he finally turned around. But
Aeris jumped back in alarm when she met his eyes. It never occured to her
that *this* man who had persued her in the alley was the one who brought
her here. What struck her more strange was the fright she felt the minute
that man noticed her.

"Oh, so you woke up, huh?" he asked calmly.

She wanted to answer, but her voice failed her. When she realized that
Vincent had walked up to her and was touching her forehead with his hand,
she sprang back apprehensively.

"Who..who are you?!!" she finally cried.

Vincent looked at her very thoughtfully, but did not advance towards her.
She glared back at him with mistrust and confusion.

"Do you remember me?" he inquired.

"Y..yes..you're that man who shot those men in the alley."

"No, I mean do you remember me from before?"

She fidgetted at her big shirt nervously before making any reply.

"No..I've never seen you before..I don't remember.."

Vincent narrowed his eyes as he studied her face, which made Aeris blush
in embarrassment. But he soon brushed past her and stepped into the
kitchen. He dumped the burdensome bag on the counter and began unloading
it.

Though she wouldn't dare come near him, Aeris curiously examined Vincent
from the door. She remembered him fully now, but didn't recall his face
clearly because it was so dark when they met.

He struck her as very handsome, but extremely cold. Furthermore, though
his facial features were quite dignified, he seemed strangely out of place;
almost as if he didn't belong here. His thick, long black hair contrasted
sharply with his pale skin and bloody-red eyes.

He's like a monster..or some demon, Aeris noted as she observed him from
the door.

She spotted his iron claw glitter as he threw a roll of French bread into
the bread basket, and shivered in spite of herself. She instantly
remembered how cold it felt on her mouth.

I wonder why he bothered saving me, she thought.

"Hey," he said, turning to her from the counter,"You want something to
eat?"

Aeris blinked at him in surprise, but remained silent by the door. Vincent
gave her an odd look, as if wondering whether she understood him or not,
then turned his back to her again.

She didn't know what he was doing, as he began pouring water into a pot
and turning some dial. He then ripped some packet open and poured its
contents into the pot.

Not once did Vincent turn around, but Aeris knew he didn't need to; he
could still see her behind him.

When he finally finished, Vincent placed a small, steaming bowl of soup on
the table. He took off his coat, tossed it on the counter carelessly, then
sank into the chair in front of the disassembled gun. Aeris looked at him
mistrustfully.

"If you're hungry, you can drink that," he said coolly, indicating the
soup. He picked up the gun and examined it carefully.

She remained near the door for a few moments, then stepped cautiously into
the kitchen. Vincent, however, ignored her and squirted some of the
bottle's liquid on a piece of cotton. He began rubbing the muzzle of the
gun.

She stood facing Vincent, in front of the bowl of the soup. Despite the
suspicious look she gave him, he continued to clean the gun. Sitting down,
Aeris slowly picked up the bowl. Vincent glanced at her as he squirted more
of the liquid on the cotton; but otherwise, he paid no attention to her.

"Mm! This is delicious!!" she exclaimed after she took a sip. She gulped
the whole soup at once, and smiled delightedly. Vincent picked up another
gun part and cleaned it silently.

"You're an excellent cook!" she praised.

"I only boiled the water," he replied, not looking at her, " anybody can
make soup if it comes from a packet."

Aeris smiled at him more trustfully. He did appear frightening, but she
felt sure he meant her no harm.

"What's your name?" she asked timidly.

"Vincent. Vincent Valentine."

"Vincent Valentine.." she repeated in a whisper.

He looked up at her significantly, and she felt her face turn crimson: she
did not feel comfortable when he scrutinized her so intently.

"And...you called me 'Aeris'...right?"

"Yes," he answered, fitting a tight spring into the top of the gun.

"Hm.."

"What's your name?"

"I don't have a name, really. Um..they sometimes call me 'girl' or
'A-25'."

"Who are 'they'?"

Aeris was silent for some minutes. As she bent her head thoughtfully, some
of her loose, thick curls fell on her face and bare shoulder. Vincent was
surprised he never noticed before how pretty Aeris was.

"The guards..and the Professor. They call me that.."

"What Professor?" he asked, assembling his gun indifferently. Aeris was
impressed how easily and quickly he fitted the gun parts together; he
wasn't even looking at what he was doing. She realized that Vincent was no
amateur, but had complete mastery over that gun.

Vincent loaded the gun with a loud click, which startled Aeris. He looked
her straight in the face, expecting an answer.

"I..I don't know him. I never saw him," she stammered, "but he does all
these ...things to me. Things that hurt me. So, I just ran away last
night.."

"Three days ago."

"Huh?" she looked up quizzically.

"It's been three days since you've escaped. You've had a severe fever for
the last three days because you weren't dressed warmly, and went running
around in the cold."

"Oh," she said quietly. she felt her cheeks flush red as she lowered her
eyes bashfully, "then, I suppose *you* undressed me and put this shirt on
me."

Vincent understood why she blushed, and turned his head away.

"Ah.." he answered, with a slight cough, "you must understand, Aeris, your
clothes were drenched, so I had to remove them."

she looked up at him, and thought she saw him blushing slightly too; but
she couldn't be too sure.

"Sorry the shirt's too big for you," he apologized, "It was the only clean
one I had at the time."

"It's alright," she smiled kindly, "I still have to thank you for saving
me and taking care of me. Thank you, Vincent."

She bowed her head gratefully. Vincent seemed slightly embarrassed as he
scratched the back of his head nervously.

"No problem," he muttered.

"Now," she began after a slight pause, "can you tell me why you keep on
calling me 'Aeris'?"

"Yes. About a year ago, I knew a young girl named Aeris. We weren't
intimate, mind you. In fact, she barely knew my name."

"Hm..and this Aeris..she looked exactly like me?"

"Yes. However, she died about a year ago."

For some reason, Aeris kept her eyes downcast, even though she knew
Vincent's eyes were fixed on her. She began feeling very uneasy.

"Maybe...," she faltered, "maybe she never died.."

"Impossible. A man stabbed her with a sword right through her chest. She
couldn't have survived."

Suddenly, Aeris jumped out of her chair and stared at Vincent sharply.
Something immediately struck her.

"I have a scar on my back and chest..is that where I got them?! Some man
stabbed me with a sword?! You saw the scar when you were dressing me,
didn't you?!!"

"Yes, I did," he replied calmly.

"Then..how come I'm standing here, when I should be dead? You..you say I'm
dead..but I...."

Vincent got up and moved towards her, but she ran away to the far corner
of the kitchen, giving him a dirty look.

"And how do I know you're not lying? How do I know you're not just trying
to confuse me?" she glared at him. Vincent listened to her, but did not
advance towards her.

"Heh!" she laughed nervously, "You could be with that Professor!! he's
always saying things like that. 'Girl,' he'd say, 'it's such a shame you
died..but never mind!' or he'd say, 'You're perfect..just like
Aeris!'..I..I.."

She gasped for breath, but still fixed her eyes on Vincent with increasing
suspicion. He had remained silently rooted to his spot by the chair,
staring intensely at her face.

"I don't remember anything," she continued, "I don't remember having
friends like you..I don't remember my parents..or what I did last
year..Vincent, I couldn't even remember my name!"

"Aeris..listen to.."

"I'M NOT AERIS, DAMN YOU!!" she screamed.

"Yes, yes you are," he replied, "just listen to me.."

"Let me out!! I don't want to go back to that Professor!!!"

Sweat broke out on her forehead as she yelled. Despite the burning
sensation on her face, her body felt very cold. She began shivering
involintarily and grew unsteady on her feet. Vincent looked at her in
alarm.

"Let me go...let me go..." she whispered tiredly.

But Vincent was by her side in two steps and picked her up quickly. He
carried her back to the bed then covered her with the blankets. Aeris
steadily regained self-control, but her face still felt so unbearably hot.

"Aeris," he whispered, sitting near her on the bed, "you should sleep a
bit now. The fever's worn off, but you could have a relapse." He soaked the
towel into the basin and wiped it gently on her forehead and cheeks.

"I know you're feeling confused now, but you should realize that I'm not
connected with this 'Professor', do you understand?"

Aeris looked at him wearily, but understood him.

"You hardly know me, so it would be unfair to ask you trust me," he
continued, "but two of your friends will come here in a little while. Maybe
they can help you find an answer. Now, go to sleep."

Aeris turned her back to him and shut her eyes. Picking up the basin and
towel, Vincent walked out of the room. He closed the door quietly.

As she lay in bed, Aeris drfted into deep thought. She recalled that she
ran away from the Laboratory...was persued...and then this strange man
claims he knows her...and that she died, or should've died, a year ago. But
she couldn't remember any of that! Not one single memory from the past. It
seemed to her she had always lived in the lab...but how when...

She threw the covers over her head, trying to stop all those thoughts from
bombarding her brain. In one minute, she was fast asleep.