Traitor
-written by Dragonkiri-

Kain watched Rosa. The girl was fastened tightly to the throne-like chair at the back of the topmost chamber in the Tower of Zot. For once, she did not struggle against the steel bindings, sitting quietly with her eyes closed. Kain could not tell if she slept, but took the moment to regard her. Rosa was a forlorn sight after weeks of imprisonment. Her elegant golden locks, usually tied back in a glorious honeyed waterfall, now hung loosely around her shoulders, muted and matted and lank. Her finely-tailored tunic had been replaced by what wasn't much more than a shapeless vegetable sack. The depths to which this lovely angel had fallen were truly pitiable, he thought to himself. One corner of his mouth turned up into a smile that held no amusement.

She moved then, turning her head to the side as she murmured something in her sleep. Her voice was nearly inaudible, but Kain caught one word she spoke: "Cecil." His expression darkened, and the glare he shot at the captive maiden was venomous.

"Do you think of nothing else?" he snarled, unable to contain himself.

Rosa's eyes blinked open at once in startlement. "Kain..." she whispered haltingly. Her eyes held puzzlement and frustration, just as they had the moment she had seen him in Fabul's crystal room. Every time she looked upon him, he could practically see her mind working furiously, trying to understand why he was acting the way he was. She could not reconcile her childhood friend to this impassive, cold man, but her gaze never revealed fear. It grated his nerves.

"That is indeed my name, yes," he drawled sarcastically. He smirked, relishing the look of hurt that flashed across the girl's face. "Did you sleep well?"

"I wasn't asleep." Rosa looked away from him.

"Daydreaming, then?" Kain snorted. "Wishing for your hero to come and rescue you?" His lip curled.

"He will." Her voice did not waver; the white mage was certain of this fact. "I know it." She turned again to him, that searching look back full-force in her eyes. "And we'll find out how to cure you, Kain!"

His eyes narrowed. "You are so foolishly naïve, Rosa. There is nothing to cure."

"I don't believe that!" she challenged, frowning. "Golbez has obviously done something to you! You do not act like the Kain Highwind I know!"

"Then you know me very little, Rosa." The Dragoon bent low in front of her, placed his fingers underneath her chin, and tilted her face up close to his. "I don't think you realize that all of this is for your very own good. Your love, your hero, your Cecil is a traitor to Baron. I had it from his own lips; he confessed to me in Mist that he was willing to go against the crown. He was willing to betray the very same King who raised him as his own."

"That's not true!" Rosa's eyes were narrowed; she looked insulted. "Everything he does is for Baron's sake! And not even simply for Baron alone; he fights for the good of everyone!"

"Would that he could be so selfless! If that were true, Rosa, he wouldn't be willing to trade the Earth Crystal for you. What a service he does for the women of Troia!" He chuckled bitterly. "You can talk all day of his 'nobility'; nothing you say can convince me otherwise."

"How can you say these things about him," the white mage gasped, her glorious blue eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "He's your friend, Kain, you know him better than that!"

"He's treacherous scum, Rosa!" Kain's voice lowered to an impassioned, harsh whisper. "Why can't you see this? He had nothing! Everything he is now was granted with grace by our King and his country, and what has he done? He plans to overthrow Baron – the country that gave him everything! How can you overlook that? Or are you so blind with love for that damned traitor that you would cast away your duty?"

"I don't understand how you could say such things, Kain." Rosa's eyes pooled with unshed tears. "You know Cecil. He's not like that! What Baron is doing... it's unconscionable! Cecil is only trying to do what is right! He – he's even become a Paladin, Kain! You can't deny that his actions are true!"

Kain was darkly amused by her words. "I care not if he has painted his armor white and thrown his helmet aside. A man's nature does not change overnight. A Dark Knight knows nothing of righteousness, and never will. You really are quite naïve, my dear." His fingers traced her jawline, and then he cupped her cheek.

She drew back, or tried to. "Kain—!"

He grasped her jaw once more, this time none too gently. His next words were said in a gratingly harsh voice, forced through clenched teeth. "I swear to you, Rosa, I will show you that my words are the truth! In time, you will realize that I am your true ally. And then, perhaps..." He drew himself down closer to her, and she froze. With deliberate gentleness, he kissed her unresponsive, petal-soft lips.

"Am I so undesirable, Rosa?" he whispered beseechingly. Her eyes clenched shut, and she did not answer. Tears fell down her pale cheeks in glittering trails.

After a moment, Kain released the trembling Rosa and then stood again. He looked dispassionately down upon her, noting how stiffly she sat, as if she were bracing herself. "Worry not," he spat. "I would not force my affections upon you." He paused, then added, "You would do well to remember, Rosa Farrell, that you are a lady. You shame your class by wasting yourself on that lowborn cur."

He turned and walked away, leaving her alone to fill the room with her quiet sobs.

Author's note: Whee. Here is a rather different take on Kain and his motivations. I wanted to flesh him out a little, and I didn't want to rely on his infatuation with Rosa. I think he could be a much more complex character, and I decided to write him as a noble bastard. This is the result. The storyline I've come up with theorizes that he had been on the "other" side for quite some time before Mist - and although some of it was indeed mind-control, it was based upon planting seeds of doubt of Cecil's character.

Before anyone says anything, I'd like to disclaim a plot-hole; if Kain is so angry about Cecil betraying Baron, you ask, what about the fact that at this point of the game, it had been revealed that Cagnazzo, the Fiend of Water, had killed and displaced the King? Wouldn't it make his argument sort of.. really really moot? Well, not if Golbez had been relying on Kain's righteous anger about Cecil's apparent duplicity. Golbez has always struck me as being very crafty, and very in control of everything, including what his followers know. For the purposes of this plot, Kain and Rosa do not know that the King was replaced. All they know of Cagnazzo was that he had been one of the Fiends and that Cecil had defeated him.

Special thanks to: Capsulekei for your thoughts, as always, Monie for your support, and Kai Askari for telling me when I've done weird things with grammar.