The Lion, the Princess, and the Knight
Chapter 1
"It's a cat. It got up there, it can get back down." Squall looked up at the tree branch with his arms crossed.
"You gonna leave Buttons all alone in the tree?" the little girl cried.
Squall turned to the girl, intending to attempt yet another explanation on the nature and abilities of cats, when Laguna cut in.
"Of course not! Don't worry, we'll get him!" Laguna approached the trunk of the tree.
"Dad…" Squall sighed and dropped his arms. This wasn't going to end well. The cat was perhaps fifteen feet off the ground. Not far for a cat to jump, but a long ways for an adult man to fall.
Laguna grabbed onto a low branch and hauled himself up.
Squall hurried to the branch and grabbed his father by the ankle. "Why don't you let me do the climbing?"
"I got it. Piece of cake!" Laguna pulled his ankle away from Squall and continued to climb. It took him only a few moves to get to the branch with the kitten. The kitten was crouched in the middle of the branch, a few feet from the trunk. Laguna took an unsteady step out onto the branch, balancing himself by holding onto higher branches. The kitten moved farther out onto the branch as Laguna approached.
"Um, Dad, I think you're scaring it."
"You're right. I must look too big." Laguna let go of the high branches and knelt down on the branch he was standing on. He crawled on his hands and knees toward the kitten. The kitten trotted away from Laguna. After a few steps, the thinning branch bent under the weight of the kitten and the kitten slipped off.
The little girl shrieked.
Laguna lunged for the kitten. He couldn't reach it and he lost his balance, sliding off the top of the branch and finding himself clinging to the underside.
The kitten landed on Squall's head, claws out.
"Ow." Squall removed the kitten from his head and thrust it to the little girl.
"Buttons!" the girl squealed, taking the kitten and running home.
"You're welcome," Squall muttered as the girl disappeared up the road. "You gonna come down now?" he asked Laguna.
"Yeah, uh, just a…." Laguna twisted his body to see the ground, then quickly tightened his grip on the branch. "You're going to have to catch me."
"What? I can't catch you."
"Of course you can! You're a big strong boy! Ready?" Laguna let go of the branch.
"No—" Squall was certain there was an easier way for Laguna to get down, but nonetheless he held out his arms and stepped forward. Laguna landed heavily in Squall's arms, causing him to stumble forward and fall to one knee. The gravel of the road bit into the skin of Squall's knee, right through his pants.
Laguna cheerfully hopped out of Squall's arms, as though Squall had been lowering his father to the ground, rather than falling to his knee under his weight.
"See? I knew you could do it!" Laguna mussed Squall's hair as Squall rose to his feet.
Squall clenched his fists and hissed through his teeth. The patrol had been over before they got involved with the kitten, and now they would be late for dinner.
A few minutes later, Ellone and Raine were waiting by the door when Squall and Laguna arrived home. Seeing his sister and mother immediately made Squall forget his annoyance with his father.
"How was the patrol?" Raine asked.
"It was an adventure!" Laguna declared before Squall could respond.
"Oh my gosh, you're bleeding!" Ellone dabbed at Squall's forehead with a handkerchief.
"It's nothing," Squall replied.
"And your knee! What happened? Come in so I can clean you up." Ellone took Squall's hand and dragged him into the house.
Raine regarded Laguna. "What trouble did you get into today?"
Laguna grinned. "You should be very proud. Your mighty son did battle with a lion!"
"It was a baby cat," Squall called from the washroom. "And I believe we were supposed to be rescuing it, not battling it."
His wounds treated, Squall left the washroom and entered the bar. It was Sunday, so the bar was closed to patrons. Squall took a seat at the usual table, Ellone close behind him. His parents were watching the television intently. Squall looked curiously at the screen. His mom often kept the screen on for her customers, but she rarely paid it any attention herself.
Ellone leaned close to Squall. "Can you believe it? The war is over. The Sorceress is dead."
"Struck down by her own Knight," Laguna read off the screen.
"If you believe the official story," Raine added pointedly.
Laguna turned toward Raine. "You don't believe it?"
Raine shrugged. "It just seems a bit convenient, doesn't it? One day he's the Sorceress's loyal lap dog, the next he kills her to free the world?"
"He didn't do it for the world," Ellone corrected in a wistful tone. "He did it for love."
"For…love?" Squall's jaw tightened. "Love of…Rinoa?"
All wistfulness suddenly gone, Ellone bit her lip and nodded once. "His fiancée."
Squall's features remained steadily neutral as he rose from his seat and headed to his room. Ellone watched him leave. Laguna and Raine remained glued to the television set.
Author Note: If anyone is reading this, I'd love to know what you think!