She didn't want to move but had no say in the matter. Her father, General Caraway, was assigned to govern the Winhill province and because of that, she was forced to leave her childhood home in Deling City.
Deling City was the largest city on the continent and always had something to do. Whether it be libraries, museums, restaurants or parks, there was always something anyone would need to keep themselves occupied. Winhill was nothing like that.
Winhill was a tiny town that boasted a very successful tavern and Chocobo farm. Not even a public library. They did have an abundance of monsters that roamed into town which was one thing Deling City didn't have; not exactly a positive thing.
In addition to the small size, it was also far away and took at least three days driving non-stop to arrive finally. The entire trip Rinoa hadn't said a word to her father, she was still too mad. They had a huge fight when he told her of his new posting the only way he managed to get her to go along was by promising they would only be there temporarily. She intended to hold him to that.
"Even though this is a small town, I still want you to be very careful Rinoa," He father ordered.
"Humph," was her only reply.
"I'm serious Rinoa, the monsters are dangerous, and these people are not very happy about being under Galbadian rule. Who knows what they might try," he continued.
"Humph," she replied again.
The driver removed her bags from the trunk of the car and she immediately grabbed them to head into their new home at the Winhill mansion.
She had to admit; it was quite a beautiful piece of architecture and considerably larger than her home in Deling. It was much more elegant in its design with the marble floors and walls and all the stained glass, but Rinoa refused to show any admiration of the place. She didn't want her father to think she would like it here and try to stay longer than promised.
"Rinoa," Caraway called.
She stopped with a sigh and turned to face him.
"Be careful," he ordered.
"Ugh, fine, whatever," she grumbled.
She carried her bags up the winding staircase, guided by one of the mansion staff, to her new bedroom, which was relatively gigantic. It was a similar color scheme to her room back home, her father's doing no doubt, but she wasn't appeased. She did give him some credit for trying, but it wasn't enough.
Rinoa didn't even bother unpacking her clothes, she instead flopped backward onto the large plush bed and let out a hefty sigh. The room was beautiful, as was the rest of the mansion or at least what she had seen of it. Her room was fit for a princess, with its pink and white color scheme, oversized stuffed animals, king sized bed cover in pink frilly throw pillows and the frilly pink canopy. Under different circumstances, she would have loved the room, but she didn't. She wanted to go home.
Frustrated at the events that led up to this point, she started to cry.
Rinoa had cried herself to sleep, and by the time she woke up, it was after dark. She was disoriented and for a moment forgot where she was. When she remembered, the frustration returned. Given there wasn't anything she could do about it, she thought it best just to unpack and suffer till she was finally able to go home.
She looked around for her bags, but they were gone.
Maybe the staff put my things away, she thought.
She crossed the room to the large ornate dresser and pulled open one of the drawers to confirm her suspicion.
Rinoa's clothes were indeed put away which was a relief; she hated unpacking. She closed the drawer, and her stomach grumbled. It was past dinner time, but the kitchen must have some leftovers, so she went to find them.
When she got to the main floor, it hit her that she didn't know where to locate the kitchen. She didn't know where most anything was in this place except her room and she found that with help. Still, she felt confident she would find it in no time.
It was surprising how many lights were on, despite the time. When Rinoa walked through the double doors between the staircases the sound of music and people talking could be heard echoing through the halls. She followed the sound past the dining room and drawing room to another set of double doors that opened into a ballroom filled with people.
"What the?" Rinoa mumbled.
"Rinoa, glad you finally decided to join us!" Her father called cheerfully.
"Uh, Daddy, what's going on?" Rinoa asked.
She looked around the large room, one side had a wall cover entirely in mirrors, the other side was windows, and columns evenly spaced with gold drapes hanging from them. The ceiling curved upward into a dome with murals of cherubs and angel surrounding a giant crystal chandelier.
"The mayor wanted to welcome us to the town," Caraway explained, "since the Ballroom is the largest space in town this is where the party is taking place."
Obviously, she thought.
"I thought you said they weren't happy about being under Galbadian rule?" She whispered.
"They aren't," he answered darkly, "but apparently, they will use any excuse they can to have a party and drink. Even if they hate us."
So she was in a room full of people who hated her. That was just the icing on the cake for this entire move.
She made her way through the ballroom getting sideways glances the whole way to the buffet. The food momentarily made her forget that all eyes seemed to be on her and proceeded to load up a plate to fill her empty belly.
"Hello there," a husky voice came from beside her.
She turned to face the extremely attractive man it came from and let out a nervous snorting chuckle and was immediately embarrassed.
"Hi," she replied.
He was tall, with slicked back blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His navy blue button down shirt hugged his well-toned frame in all the right places; his jeans did the same for his lower half.
"So you're the general's daughter?" He asked.
"I prefer Rinoa," she said shoving a roll in her mouth.
"Seifer," he replied gesturing to himself.
"Nice to meet you," she said, making her way to one of the tables that dotted the room.
"How are you enjoying small town life?" Seifer asked sitting next to her.
She gave him a sideways glance as she dug into her food then rolled her eyes.
"That good?" He laughed.
Rinoa looked around, and everyone was staring at her and whispering about her, at least she assumed they were whispering about her. She couldn't hear them, so there was no way of knowing for sure.
"Everyone is looking at me," she mumbled.
"Well yeah," Seifer laughed. "Have you looked in a mirror recently?"
"No, why?" She asked.
"Well, if I'm honest— "he started.
She looked over to the mirror wall, and her reflection was something out of a nightmare. Her makeup was in black streaks down her face, and she had a few smudges on her cheeks from where she wiped her tears away. It was no wonder everyone was staring.
"—you look a little slobby," he continued.
"Oh my," she whispered.
Endless embarrassment. Rinoa had been walking through the room looking like this and the only person to say anything was this man she just met. A new wave of anger towards the general bubbled in her gut. Either he was too self-centered to notice how grungy she looked or he didn't care enough to tell her. She didn't care which answer was the correct one both of them made her just as mad.
"I have to go," she said quickly.
She grabbed her plate and made a quick exit back to her room to cry over her embarrassing entrance.
The next morning Rinoa woke to the sound of birds chirping loudly outside her window. It was familiar and comforting since the house in Deling had extensive gardens birds were frequent visitors, and they often woke her with their chirps.
She let out a sigh and rolled out of bed. Stretching her tired limbs, she slowly made her way to her bathroom to clean herself up and dress for breakfast. This time she made sure that her face wasn't covered in smudges.
She made her way to the ground floor, the smell of breakfast was intoxicating and made her stomach growl. When she entered the dining room her father was sitting at the head of the table, his face buried in the newspaper; unaware that she was even in the room. She sat down in one of the empty seats and filled her plate with food from the dishes on the table, trying to be as loud as possible to get noticed by the General. It didn't work.
She rolled her eyes and just focused on eating her food, again, as loud as possible.
"Any plans today, dear?" He asked, not looking away from his paper and when her mouth was full of food.
"Uh, not really. I was thinking of just looking around town," Rinoa answered. "What about you?"
"I'm doing a land survey with the mayor," Caraway answered calmly.
"Land survey?" Rinoa asked. "What's that all about?"
"Standard procedure. We'll go through town and do and inspection to make sure all the documents match what exists in town and make amendments as necessary," he explained.
"Sounds boring," she replied, "have fun."
She got up to leave but stopped when her father called after her.
"Stay inside the town proper," he ordered, "rumor has it there is a beast that roams around outside of town."
She rolled her eyes at the silly story but agreed to humor him. If she hadn't, then he might not have let her leave the mansion.
As she walked the cobblestone of the town square, she noticed something strange. There was no one around. It could be argued that everyone was at work but it was summertime, there should at least be kids out playing. Now it could be that they were all still in bed as it was eight o'clock in the morning, it just seemed strange that she saw more people last night in her house than she saw in the street.
The silence was unsettling, the hustle and bustle of Deling was comforting. She could expect some madness to come out of the noise, but here she didn't know what to expect.
"You clean up nicely."
She jumped at the familiar voice behind her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Seifer chuckled.
"It's alright," she sighed.
She couldn't remember his name, but she did remember him. He was even better looking in the sunlight though his blue eyes were hidden by the dark pair of sunglasses and his white t-shirt and jeans made him look like a model in a fashion magazine.
"Seifer, my name is Seifer," he chuckled.
"Right, Seifer. Nice to see you again," she smiled.
"You too," he said with a flirty tone.
"So, where is everyone?" She asked nervously.
"Most everyone works out in the fields during the day, people who don't usually stay inside till the patrols are finished, and the all clear goes out," he explained.
"Patrols?" Rinoa asked.
"Yeah, monsters like to wander into town, so the patrols clear them out," Seifer answered.
"Who does these 'patrols'?" She asked.
"I do," he answered proudly.
Rinoa hadn't noticed it initially, but he was carrying a sword like weapon and had it resting casually on his shoulder.
"Just you?" She laughed.
"Well, me and my posse," he added.
"Posse? Makes you sound like a street gang," Rinoa laughed.
"Maybe we are," he flirted. "The good kind, though. I like to think of myself as the Knight of Winhill!"
"Sounds regal," Rinoa laughed.
She was relieved to be able to spend time with someone her age. Since it was such a small town she expected a lot of senior citizens, which there were, but as she found out the night before there were just as many young adults, teenagers and children as well. It was also a relief that they Seifer at least seemed relatively normal.
"So where is your 'posse'?" Rinoa laughed.
Before Seifer could answer her, two people came running up to them. One was a large man with dark skin and a staff that looked like it could do some damage. The other was a petite woman with white hair and an eye-patch.
"What's the word?" Seifer asked.
"All clear, ya know," the bulky one answered.
"Good, go ring the bell," Seifer ordered.
"INTRODUCTION," the small one barked.
Rinoa jumped, she hadn't expected the abruptness of her statement or the volume.
"Oh, yeah. This is Rinoa," Seifer said placing a hand on her shoulder. "Rinoa, this is Raijin and Fujin."
"Good to meet ya, ya know," the one Seifer identified as Raijin said, offering his hand to shake.
Fujin nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing and offered no handshake.
"Likewise," Rinoa replied, politely refusing the handshake.
"So what brings you to Winhill?" Raijin asked.
"My father," Rinoa answered bitterly.
Raijin was about to reply when Fujin kicked him hard in the shin.
"BELL," she barked.
"Alright, alright!" Raijin yelled in pain. "It was nice meeting you Rinoa, ya know."
"You too," Rinoa replied, wincing sympathetically. "Is it always like that?"
"Like what?" Seifer asked.
"Never mind," Rinoa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Is there anything fun to do in this town?"
"That depends on what you find fun," Seifer replied.
"Okay, what do YOU do for fun?" She asked.
"I hunt monsters," he shrugged.
"Do you hunt the 'beast of Winhill'?" She laughed.
"I would if it were real," he chuckled.
"You don't think it's real?"
"Why should I? No one has seen it and the people who say they saw it only believe that they saw it and it usually turns out to be nothing," Seifer explained.
"I'm curious about it," Rinoa admitted.
"Prepare to be disappointed," Seifer sighed.
"Story of my life," Rinoa mused.
They walked in silence through the town, the bell rang, people emerged from their houses and the town started to buzz.
Seifer stayed by her side all through town as she explored, though she would have preferred to explore on her own. When she returned to the mansion, it was almost lunch time, and Seifer was still with her.
"So this town is a lot more fun after dark," he smiled. "Would you like to join me in some Winhill fun later?"
"Are you asking me out on a date?" She smiled wryly.
"If you want it to be a date, I'd be ok with it," he smiled.
"Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything else to do," she agreed.
If she had to be miserable in this little town, she might as well do it with the tall, blonde beefcake.
He smiled again and said: "Alright then, I'll pick you up at six-thirty."
She smiled and nodded before heading inside. She looked out the side window to watch him walk away into the distance before going back outside to explore on her own.
Rinoa had enjoyed Seifer's company, but she set out this morning to experience the town in her way. The whole time they were walking she felt like she had a bodyguard and that was something she never liked. Not even when it was necessary.
She followed the road that went past the mansion, making sure not to go the same direction Seifer had gone so she didn't run into him again.
It was paved with cobblestone up to the town gates before turning to dirt and lined with trees with branches that hung overhead forming an archway as far as she could see. It was only wide enough to support one car, not that she worried at all, the only car she'd seen was the one that dropped her off. The citizens of the town usually walked or still used Chocobo drawn carts.
After a while, she came to a fork and decided it might be best to turn back, but before she did, she heard a terrified shriek and turned to see a man running frightened toward her.
"The beast got him!" He yelled breathlessly.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, her voice shaking.
"The beast of Griever castle," he panted, "the beast has the General!" He grabbed Rinoa by the shoulder and shook her slightly.
"What?!" she cried. "How?!"
"I told him not to go in, that it was dangerous, but he insisted on it," the man explained. "he said 'we have to survey every property in the Winhill province if you don't come I'll just go by myself!'"
Typical Caraway, hard-headed as ever. He didn't even care that he could have been hurt and now he most likely was injured. She had to do something; she couldn't sit idly by, she was still angry at him but he was her father; she didn't want him hurt.
"Are you sure this 'beast' got him?" She asked.
"He went into the castle, he's as good as dead!"
"That doesn't mean anything, for all we know the castle is empty, and he's perfectly fine," she tried to calm the man, but it wasn't working. "Why don't we go and make sure," She offered.
"If you want to go, then be my guest," he said throwing his hands in the air, "but I won't be going back and I won't allow anyone else from town to go there either!" He barked then turned toward town and started running again.
"Coward!" She shouted after him, then turned to where the man ran from and started walking.
The man said castle, and he wasn't kidding. The structure was an impressive piece of architecture. The large wrought iron gate was held in place by a stone wall that surrounded the castle grounds. Inside the walls, the towers of the castle reached high into the sky with ominous gargoyles staring down at her.
Rinoa pushed the gate open, it groaned in protest from years of unused and she was only able to open it just enough to squeeze her slender frame through. Shrubs were growing out of control, and potted flowers were lying dead against the stones of the overgrown walkway. Butterflies started to flutter around in her stomach as she approached the large wooden doors; the closer she got, the butterflies turned to birds that turned to bowling balls.
She reached out to grab one of the metal lion's head knockers but stopped short. She took a deep breath before finally knocking.
The sound echoed, and the door creaked open slowly.
"H-hello?" She said nervously as she ducked her head inside the castle.
Empty. Rinoa stepped inside slowly, looking all around. It was sparsely decorated and surprisingly clean.
"Daddy?" she called. "Hello?" she called louder.
No answer. It was both a relief and upsetting at the same time. While it might have meant that no one was hostile it also meant that her father could be hurt or dead. Or maybe he had left, he might not be close enough to hear either. Anyone that was hostile could be out of earshot as well.
She walked up the nearby staircase to the next level and called out, again and again, she got no response. The further she went in the castle, the more nervous she got. It seemed like she wouldn't find her father.
Rinoa turned a corner and felt someone grab her from behind and hold her tightly. She tried to scream, but a gloved hand covered her mouth.
She was pulled down the hall, she tried to fight, but her captor was stronger, she made it difficult for them. She made sure she to be dragged kicking and screaming until they entered a sitting room where she was tossed onto one of the couches. She scrambled to her feet but was forced into a sitting position.
Sitting across from her was an angry looking man with spiky blonde hair and a tribal tattoo on his face. He lounged on the sofa; his hands stretched across the back and his feet, resting on the coffee table.
"Who are you?" She asked nervously.
"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted.
"I asked you first," she snapped.
He narrowed his eyes at her, and she did the same to him.
"Zell," he conceded.
"Rinoa," she replied sharply.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I'm looking for my father," she answered.
"Your father trespassed in my castle," another man's voice echoed.
Zell jumped to his feet at the sound: "Master," he murmured.
Rinoa turned to see the source. He was tall, chin length chestnut hair, blue eyes, and stoic expression. He stood with his arms crossed leaning against the door frame. He had a long sleeve black V-neck t-shirt on and black cargo pants.
"He was just doing his job," she croaked. "He has to survey the entire Winhill province."
"This castle may be in the Winhill province, but it's under the control of Esthar. Your father has no right to be here," the brown haired man said.
"He didn't know that," she whispered.
"He's a prisoner of Esthar," he said flatly.
"You have to let him go," Rinoa pleaded.
"No," he replied.
"Master," Zell interrupted. "What if she takes his place?" He offered.
"W-what?" Rinoa asked. "No."
"You want him freed so badly, you can take his place," Zell said.
"That's not— "
"Those are the terms," the master said. "Do you want your father free?"
"Yes, but— "
"Then you accept the terms," he said quickly. "Take her to one of the guest rooms till I have a use for her," he ordered her captor.
"Wait, no!" she yelled as she was taken captive again and dragged down the hall once more.
I'm trying to make this as fluffy as I can. It's pretty much going to be as close as possible to Beauty and the Beast. As always, feedback is appreciated.