(I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters.)

Final Fairy Tale VIII: Cinderinoa

Prologue

The sun beat down on Prince Seifer's face, causing him to squint. He sneered as he tasted gritty dust in his mouth. The castle courtyard was hot and dry and clouds of dust hung in the air around him. He repressed a cough. Maybe he shouldn't have run out there. It only stirred up the dust more.

Despite his discomfort, he chose not to change the place where they usually practiced. No matter how nice a cool patch of shade would be right then, he didn't want to look weak in front of others. Especially not him. He'd feign invulnerability as usual. He never lacked confidence in himself.

The sound of his brother's footsteps fell softly behind him.

"Ready for a good match, brother?" spoke Seifer. He didn't expect a response. His younger brother didn't speak much, but Seifer could tell that he was up for a match. If his brother didn't feel like fighting, he wouldn't have come outside with Seifer in the first place.

It was midday and time for some fencing practice. Seifer preferred bigger and heavy swords, but it never hurt to be versed in different modes of combat. He walked over to the middle of the stone courtyard and waved his épée around in the air elegantly. As a warm-up he wrote his name in the air with the sword and made a thrusting jab to dot the "i" in his name.

His brother looked at the ground and sighed.

"Impatient to start?" Seifer asked. "You look SO excited." He loved teasing his younger brother.

"Wait!" cried a voice. A young woman ran through the courtyard to catch up with them. It was their older sister, Princess Ellone. "Don't forget to put on your facemasks!"

"We're already suited up. We have enough protective gear on, and it's hot enough without any masks," Seifer said.

"You NEED to put on your facemasks!" she said while holding out the masks in each of her hands.

"Why are you so insistent today?" Seifer asked. "What did you do to them?"

"Why would you think I'd do something to them?" she asked while cocking her head to the side with a smile.

Seifer snorted before crossing his arms and swaying his head side to side.

"Oh, I don't know. You are quite a prankster. Did you smear honey all over the inside? Preserves of fruit? I know how much you love a good joke."

"I did no such thing brother," she said with a wide, mischievous smile.

"Then why are you smiling so much?"

"I like to smile," she said quickly.

"I bet you do," he answered while taking a menacing step closer. Seifer was proud of his great height, and he liked using it to intimidate people. Scaring the townspeople was wonderful fun. They scattered like chickens when they saw him coming. It was a predictable, yet mild thrill.

The shuffling sound of stones being scattered made Ellone and Seifer look over at their younger brother Squall.

"Squall, doesn't want us to keep talking. He wants to fight you, I think," Ellone said.

"You don't have to speak for him. If you keep doing that, the baby will never learn to talk," Seifer laughed.

Squall narrowed his eyes and glared at Seifer.

"Body language doesn't really count as talking," Seifer said. "Eloquent speech is what separates man from the animals... and princes from peasants too, now that I'm thinking about it."

Squall's lips curled into a snarl. He was ready to fight, and he didn't need to be irritated by Seifer any further.

"Yea, well let's get started," Seifer replied while taking several steps away from Ellone to ensure she would not be near the fencing match.

"Seifer, for the last time, put on your fencing mask," she begged.

"No Ellone! I don't like being told what to do, and I don't trust you. Anyways, I don't want to mess up my hair. It's looking rather fine today."

A soft chuckle escaped from Squall's lips.

"Squall," Ellone said while turning towards her youngest brother. "You're a good boy. You should put on your face mask." She held out his mask to him with large pleading eyes and a small smile. She knew how much her little brother loved her, and this face almost never failed to get results.

"If Seifer isn't wearing his. I don't need to either," Squall said abruptly.

Ellone was taken aback by her younger brother's words. He usually followed instructions. Well he did most times, unless he was provoked by Seifer.

"Come on baby boy Squall. Put on your baby bonnet so you don't get hurt," Seifer said in a high pitched voice.

Squall's eyes narrowed at Seifer's mocking tone.

"Trust me. You're going to need it," Seifer said while slicing his sword through the air with a whistle.

In response, Squall walked across the courtyard and took a stance showing that he was ready to fight. Seifer smiled and quickly returned the favor. He didn't even announce the beginning of the match. He jumped right in and began attacking Squall.

The sharp sound of steel on steel made Ellone jump. Part was fear, part was excitement.

"Be careful!" Ellone shouted breathlessly while backing away from her brothers.

They quickly danced around in a circle, taking turns attacking and parrying. The sun was hot, and the glare was causing them both to squint. Squall had to repeatedly shake his sweaty bangs out of his eyes, but he never took his gaze off of Seifer. He had to anticipate his moves. Seifer didn't go easy on him just because he was his little brother. If anything he was harder on him than anyone. Seifer figured it was for his brother's own good. Youngest siblings often were coddled and soft, and he was just trying to make him tougher. He wished Ellone had been the youngest, then it wouldn't matter if she were soft, at least not to him. It would have been best if he, Seifer, had been the oldest, then Squall, then Ellone.

Seifer dodged Squall's attack, and it interrupted his wandering train of thought. Time to return his thoughts to the match at hand.

"Had enough yet today baby boy?" Seifer teased.

"Stop calling me that," Squall rasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just so used to calling you my baby brother. I guess I should reflect on how much you've grown recently. Your new name shall be Puberty Boy," Seifer said with a laugh. Ellone couldn't help but giggle behind her hand.

Squall was hurt by both his older siblings picking on him. Especially his beloved sister. Color flared in his cheeks. While Seifer and Ellone laughed, Squall took the opportunity to try and score a hit. Seifer evaded his brother's jab easily.

"Hey there Puberty Boy. Don't keep attacking me while I'm talking to you. That's rude," spoke Seifer.

Squall relaxed his stance and wiped the back of his hand over his forehead. Sweat had been running down his face, and it was making it hard for him to see. While Squall took a brief break, he didn't notice that Seifer had not stopped fighting, no matter what he'd just said.

A brief light flared across Squall's eyes and he was suddenly down on one knee. His face felt sticky and wet.

"Haha, that's what you get for attacking me while I wasn't done laughing at you. You need to learn some manners. Maybe a small scratch will help you learn your lesson."

Squall touched his forehead again and took his hand away. His fencing glove was covered in redness. Crimson blood was running down his face and dripping into the dry and dusty ground of the courtyard. He couldn't believe it.

Seifer stopped laughing when Squall hadn't gotten up. He looked over to see what was the matter, and was alarmed to see blood smeared all over his younger brother. He hadn't meant to actually hurt him. Guilt swam in the pit of his stomach. What would his parents say? He didn't have time to think of their possible reactions because the next thing he knew, Squall was on his feet and charging at him. Suddenly Squall's sword flicked out and gave a mirror image of the injury that he'd just been given.

Seifer stumbled backwards and grabbed at his forehead. Sticky blood was now running down his face. He could hear Ellone screaming at the top of her lungs. His ears were ringing.

"Ellone, be quiet!" Seifer snapped while trying to get his own emotions under control.

"Stop it! Both of you just stop it!" she screamed. "I told you to put on your facemasks! I TOLD YOU!"

"We're fine," Squall said while trying to give the illusion of calm composure. It was hard to take him seriously with the blood still running down his face.

"You both are a bunch of stupid boys! Your faces are pouring fountains of blood and you are certainly NOT fine!" she yelled.

"Ellone I think you are overacting ," Seifer said while continuing to grip his forehead.

"Shut your mouth Seifer! Don't look at me like that Squall!" she yelled. "Just stay right there. I'm going to go fetch Medicine Woman Kadowaki. Maybe she can bandage you both up or give you guys poultices or something!"

Ellone ran off in search of the Medicine Woman, leaving both Squall and Seifer to bake in the hot sun and reflect on their own actions.

"Hopefully our handsome faces aren't going to be ruined for the upcoming ball," Seifer quipped. "Although you'd love any excuse to get out of showing your face at any royal party."

Squall squinted up through the blood at Seifer, a wishful look was on his face.

"Don't get your hopes up Puberty Boy, there's no way father is going to let you mope alone in your room while a fabulous royal party is going on inside the castle. He'll tickle you into submission and then drag you bodily down to the ballroom to dance... even if he has to keep a hold on you and dance with you all night."

Squall let out a sigh and covered his bloodied face with his hand. He knew what Seifer was saying was more than a colorful exaggeration, knowing their father, it was completely true.

End of Prologue

Author's Notes: Okay, I've been sitting on this for well over a year. Recently my computer got messed up and I thought this was lost forever, so I might as well post it before it gets lost again. I don't know if I will write the whole story ever, but I thought this part was fun enough to share. I have other little bits of it. I also recovered some of my Sunspots story too, so hopefully I'll be able to write more of that eventually. The baby is keeping me really busy and my wrists are really sore from all the baby stuff.