!!! ATTENTION !!! I'm looking for a beta reader for my fics. If interested, email me at kebon4 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or any characters used in this fan fiction. But, I do own original characters and well as my imagination.
Author's Notes: Hello guys! It's nice to be back with my newest fanfic here to hit the net. Please do enjoy this fic and maybe drop a line or two at the review section? This will be hopefully a weekly update, but don't expect one every week. Well on with the show, folks! BTW, I kind of altered the last moments of the game so don't be confused.
Encounters with a Knight
By: Aurenzo
"So... we meet again."
The unknown Sorceress casted some sort of spell. It blinded the whole room and made her body numb. Quistis was forcefully kneeled on the floor of the Timber Broadcast studio. The mysterious woman was talking to Seifer. The blonde couldn't hear, as if sound had completely ringed trough her ears. 'Seifer, please, don't go with her!' Quistis pleaded in her mind.
The emerald eyed man could not read Quistis' thoughts. The woman was luring him to a paradise, a place of glory, his dream. Could he resist? Not a chance. He went along with her through the black depths of the portal. If he only knew what would happen to him in the future.
Quistis pleaded all she could, but there was no chance. This may be the last time she saw him, she lost another student. She failed as an instructor and failed her student from then on.
There was a white flash of blinding light. Seifer was gone, she was mobile and she could see the rest of her ex-students and the young woman who was at the SeeD inauguration ball.
She paused for a while. Her thoughts were with Seifer silently pleading to Hyne that he would be alright. She last reminisced her and him during the wait in the Balamb-Timber train cabin.
! Flashback !
Quistis sighed at the recent incident with her and Seifer, they sprinted through the halls of Balamb Garden. He injured so many and now, she was stuck with him hitching a ride to Timber.
Seifer had been awfully quiet when they sneaked into one of the cabins in the train. She knew he was infuriated after learning what Puberty Boy, Chickenwuss and Messenger girl were doing with Rinoa's mission.
He mentally swore for not making SeeD this time. It was his chance to help Rinoa when he was SeeD, but they sent Puberty Boy to go with Rinoa. He turned around to look at his instructor.
"You didn't have to come, you know." Seifer killed the silence. Quistis looked up ready to reply to his statement. "I chose to come." Seifer smirked. Looking down again, her eyes showed sorrow and misery.
"What happened to the straight posture with a stick up her ass look?" Seifer bitterly shot at her. Quistis chose not to answer that question. Instead, she drooped even lower. The tresses of blonde hair nearly covered her face and covering the brimming tears ready to fall down like a waterfall.
The blonde held back her tears as much as she could. Her icy walls were ready to crack right there for Seifer's amusement. Quistis hastily wiped away the tears before Seifer could notice. She thought he turned around, not facing her but Seifer saw the whole thing.
Not saying anything, he abruptly sat down across from her, forgetting what happened recently, he tried to sleep. He opened one eye to look at Quistis. He didn't notice, but she looked like mess. Single tresses of hair shot out at every possible angle. Her eyes were red and puffy with dark circles around it. She tried so hard to cover them with her glasses but only partially covered them.
Quistis was looking out the window; her eyes were blank as if all the sparkle had died out. She was a total mess.
"You okay?" The blonde asked with a slight concern in his tone. Silence. "Quistis? What's wrong with you?" This time his tone was in serious concern. Still silence. The female blonde struggled to hold back her tears.
Seifer was screaming at her at the top of his lungs asking her if she was alright or okay. He was replied with an eerie silence. Quistis was not herself, as if her soul had been banished to move the fragile body of hers.
Seifer stood up and walked to her seat. He grasped her shoulders and shook them to the extent to wake her up from her blank stare. In doing so, Seifer's face turned from angry to concern. His strong, pride-filled instructor was frail as a leaf, her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks were drenched in her salty tears and her lip was quivering.
Seifer was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. This time, he didn't let his mouth do the work. He followed his heart's instincts and gently wrapped his strong arms around her, giving her the only comfort he knew how to give.
Quistis' mind was racing at a thousand miles a second. The arrogant cocky student of hers was hugging her. She silently wept on his chest taking out all the emotions that were kept on the inside. No words were needed. There in the train cabin, actions spoke louder than words.
! End of Flashback !
When Quistis ended the reminisced memory of Seifer back in the train cabin, a part of Quistis broke down and worried for Seifer. Quickly erasing the thought, she ran for the door right behind the girl Squall danced with at the inauguration ball.
Inside the dark walls of Ultimecia's manor, the gang sought to find the Ultimecia and destroy her with all they got. They needed to save the world from this mad woman. Every one split up into parties, Squall, Rinoa, and Irvine was one team and that left Selphie, Zell and Quistis as the other party.
But it seemed that Quistis found herself nowhere near the bubbly and energetic duo. She must've stumbled into a room. She dusted away invisible dust from her peach battle gear outfit and found herself in some sort of an open area, it sort of looked like Balamb Garden's ballroom only a bit dingier, dark and definitely a lot of cobwebs. It had a gothic sort of feel and it sent shivers into the blonde's spine.
Wishing Selphie, Zell or anyone would be here, she became suddenly frightened. She sat on the floor shivering and placing her body into a fetal position, trying to calm herself. She felt a very chilly breeze past through her and her insides turned upside down. Her sight became blurry and soon enough she was drifted off to sleep.
Footsteps were heard in the ballroom type of area. It echoed through the entire place making you feel very alone. Seifer's hands went right down to the side of his body after casting a sleep spell on Quistis. He smirked, and bent down to examine her.
He brushed away a lone strand of hair and quickly picked her up and placed her unconscious self on his shoulder. Hyperion with one hand and his instructor on the other, Seifer walked through the double iron doors to one of the castle quarters.
His eyes gleamed with an aura of evil. The young arrogant and cocky man that once stepped a foot on Balamb Garden grounds, was now the evil sorceress' knight. After the fiasco with Squall and his dogs during the Lunatic Pandora incident, Seifer was quickly teleported back into his Sorceress.
Seifer entered one of the many quarters of Ulitimecia's manor. He laid Quistis Trepe on the soft crimson silk and feather filled pillows. She was still under the spell but would turn up sooner or later. He smirked, and then followed by locking the door behind him.
"Selph, I wonder where Quistis is?" Zell questioned his bubbly friend. "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find her or Squall and tell him that we lost her. But for now, let's retrace our steps." Selphie offered. Echoes and eerie noises were heard and Selphie jumped right after hearing them.
Even though as SeeD, Selphie was afraid of a few things. She shuddered at the sight of the many creepy crawlers running along the think dark hardwood floors of the Castle. Silently squealing, she was fully alert in her surroundings, she didn't like them at all.
A second later, Zell and Selphie saw a glimpse of brow, grey and sky blue. 'The others!' Selphie jumped. Zell and Selphie ran up to Squall and the rest of the gang.
"Where's Quistis?" Squall asked. Selphie and Zell were frowning telling them that they somehow lost Quistis or Quistis ran off somewhere else. Squall froze after hearing what had happened. Who knew what might've happened to her.
The blonde fluttered her eyes, revealing the sapphire blue. Quistis found herself on a red silk bed. It was furnished with the finest oak furniture. It gave a gothic feel to the now shivering blonde.
Quistis wondered where she ended up. She remembered walking into a Ballroom or Hall. But she did remember a shivering breeze passing her. Her eyes widened, someone had casted a sleep spell on her and that caster must have been-
"Seifer" Quistis whispered.
She found him sleeping peacefully on the leather sofa. Hyperion was next to him as he silently slept in a deep slumber. Quistis looked at his face. There was no face that showed a sleeping child, but a face with pure sorrow.
She knelt beside the sleeping blonde. Her face showed pain. He had hurt them, especially her. She reminisced when he sided with the sorceress. Quistis struggled to break free from her statue like state but failed. Not only she failed from breaking out of her frozen body, she failed as an instructor, failed him.
Blue eyes were still on his face. Quistis smiled. He was back with her. Trembling fingers lightly caressed his chiseled face from his cheek bone over to his soft pink lips. Quistis had to admit that he was indeed handsome. But that thought quickly went away when his eyes start to flutter.
She quickly froze and then tried to do the next thing. She tried to stand up but failed miserably and she tripped on her own foot and collided her bottom with the hard wood floor.
His blurry vision cleared away and found an amusing sight in front of him. He found his good ol' instructor with flailing arms as she tumbled onto the floor. He stifled a laugh and covered it up with one of his mocking smirks.
She quickly fixed her disheveled image into a straight posture. She froze and saw Seifer's mocking gaze. She cleared her throat and grabbed her whip. Her whip was taken away from her. She glared at Seifer and readied a spell. But she found out that there weren't any and presumed that Seifer drew them all out of her.
Seifer stood high and mighty towering over Quistis. Quistis quickly tried to move out of his way and ran for the door. Frustrated, she tried to open the door knob but found it to be locked as well. She turned around and Seifer was still standing there.
"So... we meet again." Seifer whispered.
"Seifer..."
"Miss me?" Seifer mocked unsheathing his blade.
"Please... NO!" She pleaded, tears brimming up her eyes.
When Quistis' plea had reached the ears of Seifer, his terrifying gaze turned into a child's innocent feature. The villainous blade the blonde held had dropped into a string of clinks and clanks of noises. Knees trembled, a second passed and Seifer was on the floor. Gazing into his gloved hands, he could see invisible blood stains on them. His hands were tainted and couldn't be cleansed off.
"W-what have I d-done?" Seifer asked rhetorically.
His face had trembled and the blonde instructor picked up the heavy piece of metal that was called Hyperion and threw it out of Seifer's arms reach. The peach clad blonde knelt in front of Seifer. Frantically trying to help him out of his panic attack, Quistis had embraced Seifer's brawn body in order for him to cool down. As if Seifer was a baby, Quistis gently cooed and soothed him telling it was alright.
His quivering body and turned to normal and returned the one sided hug that his instructor was giving him. He sighed with relief and heartedly hugged her tighter as if she was his only last breath of air.
"I'm so sorry." Was all Seifer could whisper to her ear.
Aurenzo's Notes: So... how do you like it? Unfortunately, this won't be updated regularly. I update when I usually have time. If you'd like for me to continue this as soon as possible, I can make it a weekly update depending on the feedback I get.
Reviews, comments, and constructive criticism are welcomed and will be greatly appreciated.