I never really know where to begin telling my story. Starting from the beginning often takes up too much time, and I have better things to do that explain every facet of my past. Honestly, I'm having trouble remember much of it. They say that utilizing Guardian Forces too often causes profound memory loss. Maybe if I keep writing down all the things I remember, I won't be able to forget them. I've already forgotten so much, and I can't imagine having to let go of the memories I've made in these past few weeks.
My name is Rowan Littleton, and I am a soldier stationed at Galbadia Garden. I have been told that I am 19 years old, but with all the lies I have been fed in the last few years, I wouldn't be surprised if this is also false. Until recently I did a lot of odd jobs for both Headmasters Martine and Kramer, as I have a rather peculiar set of skills. However, this is not pertinent to the story I want to tell. I don't remember how I came to Garden; I can only remember the last two years or so of my life, thanks to the multiple GFs I've had junctioned since then. I never really thought about my past, until now.
Anyway, I want to get to the heart of this story. I'm still trying to pick up the pieces of what happened in the last few days, and it all started when I met a curious group of young SeeDs.
For the past few months, I've been contracted by General Caraway of the Galbadian Army to serve as a bodyguard to his daughter, Rinoa Heartilly. Since then Rinoa and I have lived in Timber with her revolutionary group, the Timber Forest Owls. I don't know much about their plans, and I honestly try my hardest to not involve myself. I'm here to protect Rinoa; that's my only job. I really don't care about Timber's independence or anything other than doing my job to the best of my ability and making sure Rinoa is never hurt. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to start from the day I met this band of kids who changed my life and helped me realize the humanity I never thought I had.
I awoke to the sound of my phone's ringer blaring in my ears. Cursing quietly, I rolled over to pick it up. I flicked it open and held it to my ear.
"What do you want?" I inquired groggily.
"Major Littleton?" The voice on the other end was shrill and fell hard on my ear. "Are you free this morning?"
"Speaking?" I grumble.
"Oh, sorry, Major," says the voice. "This is Xu. From Balamb Garden?"
"Oh, hello, Xu," I said, trying to save face. I don't need BG on my ass just for being rude to an instructor.
Xu paused. "We have a situation here. One of our adjudicators has fallen ill, and we need you to take her place. We have a student who still needs to acquire a GF in the Fire Cavern."
I rolled my eyes, stifling a groan. "There aren't any other instructors who can do it?" Please let there be another adjudicator. I'm already adjudicating a field exam later today, I thought.
"Unfortunately, they're all rather busy," hemmed Xu. "We really need you to come do it. Can you be here in two hours?"
Two hours?! I thought bitterly. I'm in Timber! I breathed in deeply.
"Sure, yeah, I'll be there as soon as possible," I promised, rising from my bed.
"Thank you so much, Major!" exclaimed Xu. "I'll email you the necessary files as soon as we hang up. We owe you one!"
You already owe me, I thought. "No problem," I lied.
Xu and I both hung up. In the dark, I gingerly tiptoed around my bed to my dresser, pulling out some practical clothes which I hoped matched. I printed out the materials Xu sent and packed them with my clipboard and my dress and combat uniforms. I then wrapped and buckled up my belt, and sheathed my twin daggers into the holsters I had sewn on my belt. Leaving a note for my charge letting her know I left early, I grabbed a jacket, then pulled on my boots, laced them up, and quietly left the room. I already had a ticket to Balamb which BG had paid for; I took my ticket to the Timber train station and got my old ticket replaced with a new one. Thankfully, I had made it to the station just in time, and the train was leaving in less than half an hour.
The train ride from Timber to Balamb was uneventful. I spent the time preparing my clipboard and organizing the documents necessary for adjudicating the exams. The mission was easy enough; the Fire Cavern was right next to Garden, and only had a few chambers. Hyne, I hope this kid isn't a doofus, I thought. I read his file during the ride. He was seventeen, trained in martial arts, and was signed up to take the SeeD field exam later that day. Zell Dincht. How do you even pronounce that? Is that German? Why am I even doing this? I could have stayed in bed for another three hours.
The train arrived in Balamb about a half hour before the test was to begin. I hurried out of the station and made my way toward Garden. Barreling through the checkpoint gate and flashing my pass at the guard, I made it into Balamb Garden just in time to meet up with Xu. I found her in the first floor lobby.
Xu turned to greet me. "Major Littleton," she said, "You're just in time!"
"Yeah, yeah." I shrugged. "Where's this kid? And how do I pronounce his family name?"
Xu giggled, squinting her eyes. She's actually kinda cute. If only she wasn't so infuriating. "It's pronounced Dincht; it rhymes with sinked."
That's not actually a word. I frowned. "Do you know him at all?"
Xu stopped and shook her head. "Sorry, I don't think I've ever had a conversation with him. I've only even seen him in the cafeteria."
Alright, it could be worse, I reminded myself. At least he doesn't have a reputation.
We waited for a few minutes in silence. At approximately 1000 hours, Quistis Trepe arrived, trailed by a wiry, blond kid with a tribal tattoo on his face. Both of them saluted. I hastily shoved Dincht's paperwork in my bag and faced them.
"Major Littleton, this is Zell Dincht, one of my students," explained Trepe. She smoothed her long, blonde hair in what seemed to be anxiety. "Thank you for volunteering to serve as support for his test at such short notice." I curtly nodded in reply.
Dincht approached me with a wide grin on his face. "It's nice to meet you, Major Littleton!" he exclaimed excitedly. He rubbed his glove-clad palm on his pants and extended his hand to shake mine. I didn't acknowledge that he made the gesture. His face fell a bit.
"Well, I have to go check on a student in the infirmary," said Trepe. Xu looked at Trepe worriedly.
"Yep, Seifer Almasy and Squall Leonhart were at it again," explained Trepe. Sounds like Almasy, I thought. Trepe turned back to Dincht. "Good luck, Zell." Dincht turned to her, his spirit perking back up. Xu gave him a thumbs-up gesture. Both women turned to leave, leaving me alone with this goofy kid in the lobby.
"Let's not waste time," I said, a bit irritated. I turned to leave, and Dincht followed.
We passed through the gate and the courtyard in awkward silence. I could tell that Dincht was squirming in the awkwardness, but I'm not one for small talk. I broke the silence once we reached the final gate separating Garden from the Balamb wilderness.
"So, you know what the objective is?" I asked coolly.
Dincht puffed up his chest. "Explore the Fire Cavern and acquire a GF!" he exclaimed proudly.
"Good job," I said dryly. "Make sure you have another GF equipped before we get there."
"Already got it! I'll never be lost as long as I've got Quetzalcoatl equipped!" Man, this kid is getting on my nerves, and I've only known him for about five minutes.
"What about magic?" I inquired.
"Yup! I already have Blizzard junctioned to my attack! Piece of cake!" And he's a know-it-all. Great.
We reached the Fire Cavern and approached the Garden staff blocking the entrance. They addressed Dincht coldly.
"Objective: To obtain a low-level GF. A SeeD member must support. Are you ready?"
"Heck yeah I am!" said Dincht enthusiastically.
"I'm his support," I offered, saluting. "Major Rowan Littleton."
The staff again addressed Dincht and asked him a few more questions. He answered, and the staff parted, allowing Dincht and myself to enter the Cavern. We entered, and the staff resumed their original places blocking the entrance.
The trip inside the Cavern was largely uneventful. Dincht became quiet as he focused on discerning a path to take, and he was able to defeat the few monsters we encountered on the way with little help from me. He became much more focused in this environment, and at times seemed to forget I was even there. Wow, this kid is awkward, but he ain't half bad.
We came to a break in the path right before the GF's chamber. Dincht stopped with his back to me and surveyed the choices. After thinking it through for a about half a minute. He decided on the right fork. He actually knows what he's doing; he just needs to shut up and think a bit more.
Battling Ifrit was a bit harder than the smaller enemies we had come across, but it wasn't too difficult to manage. I put in a bit more effort in supporting Dincht's efforts, but the GF didn't put up much of a fight.
After summarily defeating the GF, Dincht let out a whoop and kicked up his heels.
"ALRIGHT! I GOT IFRIT! I'M KING OF THE WORLD!" he shouted gleefully. I let him have this moment, then reminded him he still had a time limit to meet. He quickly finished celebrating, and we headed back through the Cavern. We made it back about three minutes before his time limit was up. The Garden staff made note of this, then sent us back to Garden.
When we left the Cavern, the grin Dincht had had on his face earlier was back. I escorted Dincht back to the first gate.
"Well, you passed that test with flying colors," I said to him. "How do you feel?"
"Pretty freaking fantastic," he said confidently. "Like I can do anything! Now I feel ready for my field exam!"
"Good," I said. I almost smiled.
As we continued through the courtyard, Dincht faced me. "Major Littleton," he started, "I have a question for you."
I returned his gaze. "Yeah?"
"Um . . ." For once, it seemed that Dincht was having trouble coming up with something to say. "Never mind," he corrected. "You just remind me of somebody."
"What?" I asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Never mind. It's nothing." He smiled, but it faltered a bit. What was all that about?
We reached the lobby. "Remember to assemble at the lobby at 1600 hours in your uniform," I reminded him.
"Yeah, sure thing!" said Dincht. "Thanks for helping me with the GF test, Major Littleton!" He saluted.
"No problem," I smirked. "Good luck in your field exam."
"Thanks!" he said, and skipped down the hall toward the dormitories. Odd kid. Nice enough, but odd.