Author's Note: I live!!! I know I haven't posted anything for a couple years now so I decided to make my comeback with a revamp. :p I went over my old stories and decided this one could use a little more love and attention. After reading it I felt like I could do a lot better and it felt incomplete to me so I'm reposting the story with some revisions. Thank you so much to all of you who read and reviewed the original version of Winter's Knight; and if you read the original and are reading the new and improved version, you rock!!! And if this is your first time reading Winter's Knight, you rock!!! lol Ok enough rambling from me. Please please please leave a review. Good, bad, tell me what you think. COOKIES!!! Enjoy! ^_^
Disclaimer: If I actually owned the rights to anything remotely related to this game do you honestly think I would be writing nonprofit fanfiction about it?
Winter's Knight
Prologue
By Phoenix DeFuego
The white mists of Squall's labored breaths were torn from his cracked lips by the howling wind that swept across the frozen wasteland as the driving snow bit at his face and stung his stormy gray eyes. Squall struggled to lift his feet as he forced his way through the thick snow, the tiny flakes quickly covering any tracks made by his black boots.
"Man, I hate the cold!" a deep voice growled behind him.
Squall paused long enough to throw an icy glare over his right shoulder, towards Seifer.
"Tch! You're right at home aren't you Squall?" Seifer sneered as he caught up to his silent classmate. Seifer shivered as a gust of cold air whipped past the two students standing in the middle of the frozen tundra.
"Keep moving you two!" a female voice shouted from behind. Squall and Seifer glanced behind them to see their instructor, Quistis, marching up to them with her arms tightly wrapped around her torso. Her blonde hair was in its ever present bun, the long bangs that normally framed her delicate features dancing wildly in the freezing wind. Once she had reached the two teenagers Seifer snorted in defiance and marched onwards as if the cold had no effect on him. Squall just rolled his eyes and silently followed his arrogant companion, Quistis following him closely.
After what seemed ages of endless trudging through the deep snow, the three teenagers finally came upon a large cave in the middle of the snow swept plains. At first Seifer was thrilled, but his enthusiasm soon melted away when he realized that the entire cave was made of ice.
"There's no way I'm going in there," Seifer chattered angrily.
"Scared?" Squall asked the shivering blonde, gracefully arching a single brow. Seifer's jade eyes narrowed and the hotheaded blonde boldly crossed the icy threshold. Quistis shook her head as she watched the two boys venture into the Ice Cavern. The blonde instructor laid a hand on the handle of her whip before cautiously stepping into the cave of ice.
The inside of the cave shimmered and shined like glass, small rainbows filling the vast cavern as the crystal-like stalactites scattered the light. True to its name the Ice Cavern was made entirely out of ice, even the ground was made of ice. It was like being trapped inside a giant diamond. The young warriors gaped at their surroundings as they traversed the winding halls. With a sad smile Quistis imagined that this could be a rather romantic setting as she stole a glance at the silent brunette in front of her.
"Argh, we're lost!" Seifer shouted angrily, his voice echoing off of the frozen walls. The trio had been down several halls of ice and seemed to be making little to no progress.
"Maybe we should take a short break," Quistis suggested. Seifer grudgingly agreed and plopped down onto the frozen floor. Quistis gracefully sat down and tucked her legs beneath her. It worried her that they had not encountered any monsters of some sort. While to some this would seem a blessing, to the troubled instructor it was a cause of great worry. A similar cavern, aptly named the Fire Cavern, was full of over-grown bats and elemental bombs just waiting to sear the skin off of some hapless cadet. This cave, on the other hand, was completely bereft of life.
When Squall did not sit down Quistis looked at him with curiosity in her blue eyes; however, Squall was too preoccupied to pay any attention to Quistis' looks or Seifer's snide comments. Something, or someone, was calling to him.
Squall's brows knitted together as his head slowly lolled to the side. What was this strange feeling? It felt like something was reaching for him, like some unknown force was commanding him to come; but where was it coming from? As if being pulled by an invisible string, Squall approached the glimmering ice wall in front of him. Stopping scant centimeters away from the frozen barrier Squall stared past his reflection and into the depths of the icy wall. Something was in there.
"What's the matter Squally-boy? Never seen your own reflection before?" Seifer jeered. Quistis' eyebrow rose in curiosity and Seifer frowned in agitation when there was no response from the lithe boy. Seifer's taunts almost always elicited some sort of response out of the taciturn teenager.
"Squall?" Quistis asked tentatively, unable to hide the tone of concern in her wavering voice.
Lost in the overpowering trance that gripped his curiosity, Squall slowly lifted his gloved hand and lightly caressed the frozen wall. His comrades' shouts of alarm went unnoticed as a blinding white light flooded his vision and his head throbbed in pain. An icy whirlwind swallowed his body and he became nauseous from the intense feeling of vertigo. When he thought the howling wind that consumed his body would never stop, it suddenly vanished leaving him disoriented and off balance.
Once his head finally stopped swimming, Squall looked up and took in his new surroundings with a sense of awe. Although, like the rest of the cave, he was surrounded by ice instead of an empty cavern he was in an elaborately furbished room. The icy floor had been covered with ornate tapestries covered in painstakingly intricate designs finely woven into the rich fabric. Scattered across the plush carpet were extravagant pillows made of silver thread.
Off to his right the room was divided by finely carved pillars of crystalline ice, creating a separate room with an ornate fountain that spilled into a deep, luxurious pool filled with crystal clear water that sparkled in the light. Turning his attention to the wall opposite the pool, Squall's heart hammered wildly in his chest at the sight before him.
Against the far wall rested a four-poster bed intricately carved out of ice with sheer silk hanging from the posts like a shimmering canopy. Thick furs of various animals covered the icy bed, but the fine craftsmanship of the frozen bed was not what held Squall's rapt attention.
Lounging amidst the thick furs was a slender woman whose pale skin shimmered in the soft light of her icy room, as if covered by a thin layer of frost. Her long silvery hair lay fanned out across the lush pillows supporting her regal head, forming a shimmering halo around her angular features. The woman's icy blue eyes gazed upon the dumbfounded young teen with amusement as her pale blue lips curved into a sultry smile.
The woman arched her back and lifted her frozen breasts into the air as she slowly curled into a sitting position. As soon as he realized he was staring at her chest, Squall ripped his gaze from the woman's icy bosom and focused on her chilling eyes, a furious blush spreading across his cheeks. The frozen woman smiled at the boy's discomfort.
"I've been expecting you," she said in a sultry tone. Her fey voice sounded like tiny bells and sent shivers down Squall's spine. A single question burned in Squall's mind, but his tongue suddenly felt swollen and he had forgotten how to move his jaw. His heartbeat raced as the nude woman slid off of her bed and she slowly approached him, her sensual body swaying with hypnotic movements. The woman closed the distance between them, her breasts grazing against his white t-shirt with every breath, her sparkling eyes full of amusement.
"Who are you?" Squall finally managed to choke out, unsettled by the woman's closeness but too entranced to move away.
"You know who I am, Squall Leonhart," the woman replied, her icy breath ghosting across his flushed face.
"Shiva," Squall whispered in awed reverence. The woman's pale blue lips curved into a satisfied smile. "You're not…" Squall stuttered.
"Not what? Like those Guardian Forces you were taught about?" Shiva cooed into his ear. Squall nodded dumbly, his mind screaming at him to run but his feet unwilling to cooperate. "There are many things in this world that are not like the teachings of those SeeDs," Shiva purred as she snaked her frozen hands up the back of his shirt. Squall gasped at the contact of her icy fingers and tried to escape her cold touch, unintentionally pressing his body flush against her. Gasping for air Squall tried to wriggle out of Shiva's freezing arms.
"Shh," Shiva softly hissed as she locked the frozen young teen in her icy embrace. Unable to break away Squall's mind reeled as he shivered uncontrollably.
"How… How do you know… all of… this?" Squall chattered questioningly. He suddenly realized he was losing a battle he hadn't known he was fighting as he felt his body begin to go numb. His mind screamed for him to push her away, to draw his gunblade, anything but his body refused to listen as her icy touch seeped into his bones.
"I know many things, Squall Leonhart," Shiva purred.
(Is she going to kill me?) Squall thought frantically, the feeling in his arms and legs slowly dissipating. Shiva's twinkling laughter reverberated throughout the icy room.
"You're no use to me dead." Squall's eyes would have widened in shock if he had the energy. Seeing no other way out of his predicament, Squall gave in to the numbness growing inside of him and surrendered to the icy chill that enveloped his body.
Releasing Squall from her frozen embrace, Shiva cupped his face with her hand and smiled upon her newest prize. With a certain degree of awe, Squall realized that Shiva's hand did not feel so cold anymore and found himself leaning into the woman's affectionate touch.
"Come," Shiva beckoned as she moved towards the large pool guarded by icy pillars. Without hesitation Squall obeyed her simple command and followed her to the waters edge. His muscles tensed as she began to remove his jacket, but forced himself to relax as she placed a single finger upon his lips. "In order to use my full powers you must first purify yourself," Shiva cooed once he had stripped the last of his clothing.
Shiva stepped into the frigid water, motioning for Squall to follow her. He obeyed. As the icy water touched Squall's bare skin he gasped but refused to stop until he was immersed in the freezing water. As Squall bathed in the cold water a silvery blue hue slowly seeped into his skin and tainted his lips. Shiva watched his transformation with a look of pride and triumph.
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