Hello everyone. Samxxx here. I've has this fic floating around in my head for years and have finally managed to get a start on it. It's the first thing I've written in about 5 years and thought it was time I'd start up again. I've no beta, so please feel free to comment on the style, because I'm totally rusty. It's rated T for now because of some language but I plan on having some M rated scenes which I will warn people about when the time comes. Hopefully this chapter gives a good starting point for the story. There will be future couples, and I have some plans for a couple of original characters. I want to base the story on seifer, laguna, quistis and ellone although everyone will be involved. Of course Squaresoft owns the copyright to all final fantasy VIII characters and world. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment.
Chapter 1: A knights restDrip - Drip - Drip
That constant noise was gonna drive him crazy if it didn't stop soon. It was the middle of the night for Christ's sake and he had to be up early for the first of his monster scouting trips for the old timers who lived in winhill. But the bathroom tap refused to stop leaking, hence seifer found himself on his back beneath the sink, water droplets landing smack bang on his forehead and spanner in hand ready to throttle the valve he was tightening.
A couple more turns and then silence… ahh now I can finally get some bliss in here, he thought as he sat up admiring his handwork. No more damned drips to keep him awake.
Setting his toolkit aside, and pulling off the black tee he's soaked doing the job he walked into his adjoining bedroom, threw the soggy shirt in the laundry hamper in the corner of the room and collapsed into the soft mattress of his double bed.
After a few minuets of just lying there he shifted, pulling open the draw of his bedside table, and fishing out a small tin of polish. Leaning across so he could reach beneath his bed he felt for the handle of hyperon, finding it and placing it on his lap to begin his careful maintence of his weapon. He did this every night before turning in. It was during this nightly ritual he thought about his life and how he ended up in winhill in the first place.
Admittingly the place he rented wasn't balamb hotel. But it had everything he needed, a simple bathroom with shower over the bathtub, a bed without a lumpy mattress, and kitchen with a working stove. Simple was what he liked.
The old lady who was his landlord had the place decorated in pastel blue with the odd crocheted dolly here, there and everywhere, with solid wood furniture. "No fuddy, shoddy craftsmanship in my house" was how she put it.
He'd just arrived at winhill when he met her. Old Mrs Vera Sharp was at the flower shop when she came bussling out into the road after the shop owner. Turned out the summer season had brought out the bite bug's who's probably attacked the shop because of the fragrant stock inside. The owner had fled in panic to try and find someone who could get the pests out of the place, and 80 odd year old Vera had ran after her as much as her old legs could carry her, but being followed by the buzzing bugs, she fell.
That's when he'd stepped in. The pests stood no chance. They were easy pray for someone with his experience. After he'd helped Vera up and made sure she wasn't injured she'd insisted on first finding the shop owner and rewarding seifer with a cool drink and home baked cookies.
He tried to get out of it. It wasn't his style to stay in a place too long. He didn't want attachments back then. He just wanted to be left to do with his life what he wanted in peace and try to make up for his stupidity in his youth. Yep, he'd grown up to be a whole different man after the war.
He'd ended up travelling around after time compression looking for a place he felt he could settle quietly into, preferably as isolated as places could come. Who'd had thought seifer almasy would ever want a quiet life with his past dream and ambition.
But here he was, 21, and definitely a different man than the arrogant youngster he was. The events of the second sorceress war had changed him so much. Back then he thought he was gonna be the star, the grand knight in shining armour. Rushing off to save the day.
In reality he was simply used. A vessel to do the witch ultimecia's dirty work. He spent a whole lotta time thinking since he came out of time compression. Of course he was pulled out in public and put on trial for his war crimes when he'd been found at first. In all honesty he thought there'd be a man hunt for his blood but the world council (formed from leaders of the gardens and governments of esthar, galbadia and trabia) had found him not guilty, based on the evidence given by himself, edea and Dr Odine, and he was given the all clear.
To him the whole time was one blurry memory, like his mind was lost in the fog. Odine had research pulled out from his ass about sorceresses and their knights having a connection stronger than magic, than emotion and because ultimecia wasn't from our time she manipulated it or something like that. He couldn't really understand what Odine was actually going on about. The little strange man just seamed to talk forever but at least the world council seamed to understand.
Apparently there were a lot of comparisons made to the first sorceress war, but by then his attention span was off and he was lost in his own thoughts. Seifer smirked at himself… yup that day was surreal. They even offered an open ticket to return to balamb garden at the end of it all. He declined that because he just wanted to be alone for a while.
He'd been travelling for around a year and a half when he got to winhill and within 24 hours Vera had him in her home, cooking him a proper sit down meal and telling him all about her life. He found that he liked her, she was one of those fussy, but not overly so, women who liked her independence and also liked to take care of people.
She conversed about the community, how the population was growing so old and thin that having a strapping young man to cook for was refreshing. New blood giving new life to the place and so on. At first he was unsure about her reaction when she asked him for his story. He'd found a lot of hostility on his travels even if he were innocent. Vera had seen this hesitation and rattled off at him while fishing out another cup of tea.
He remembered her speech pretty well, and her level of tolerance and acceptance impressed him because it was the first he'd come across in a long, long time. She'd said "pysh don't think I don't recognise you, young man. Almasy isn't it. Waved around that gunblade of yours under the spell of a loony sorceress. Don't think I don't keep up with what's happening around. I listen to the news every night! I'm an old woman and I've been through two wars here. The first affected this community tremendously. Turned the young folk away. That council thingy said that you Knights cant control your actions back then and I say I believe that. What matters here is what happens today and you ain't done any harm to me so you will sit and eat and humour this old lady with what I am sure is a very interesting life story." It was stunning to him how full of life this old lady was.
She was one of the first people he'd met who'd wanted to listen to him. Others normally wanted him away from them as soon as possible. So Vera made him open up that very night. And the next day she asked him to do some work for her that she couldn't do in her old age, just general DIY jobs and so on while he was in town that she would pay him for.
Soon he had a few odd oldies ask him to do the same for them and the days turned into weeks, weeks into months. He was the youngest person in winhill, the next being the bar owner Pete, an who was a quiet geezer of about 55 who brought the place after some family tragedy during the first war. Pete told seifer one hot evening over a cold beer that he didn't know much about the previous owner, just that she needed to get to esthar as soon as possible but the woman died before she could get her travel plans finalized, she was in a right fluster apparently. That wasn't the first loss in the first war to the place either but seifer had a feeling that issue was very much hushed up and left to the past where it belonged.
The community feeling of the place was calming though. He was, for now, peaceful. Spent his days hunting any wondering monsters, doing odd DIY jobs and keeping the old women company, helping Pete with the bar.
The people here were comfortable and settled. Quiet. He picked up hyperion, looking into the reflection it now gave him, before placing it back in its box beneath his bed and putting the polishing kit back in his bedside draw.
Yup the old biddies loved having him about and he was beginning to have a good friend in Pete, and he hadn't felt that way since he met his posse and even though the posse split, he'd found it hard to find people to accept him and somehow he found that here in this village.
Although Vera did keep on remarking that he reminded her of someone from long ago though he didn't mind that because she would smile fondly about another strapping, good man and get on with whatever she would be doing.
He sat up on the side of his bed to pull off his boots and pants, just catching his reflection in the large mirror by his dresser. He took in his form, noticing that he didn't look so tired and withdrawn anymore. Sure he was attractive. The old women in town would often say they wished they were young again whenever he was doing the gardening for them with his top off.
He laughed at that, they sure were a randy lot in this place but harmless. They often admired the tattoo upon his chest. He looked down and tenderly brought up his hand to trace the outline.
To the ordinary person it looked like his firecross insignia, although they wouldn't notice the mystical lettering tied within its lines, or the claw like marking surrounding it. A permanent reminder of his past, of what he will forever be but in this place he felt he could stop for a little while, be forge a new being. It was time to settle, and he needed some good rest.
-X.X.X-
Clack – Clack – Clack
The constant echo of her footsteps down the halls of balamb garden followed quistis trepe as she marched towards the main elevator that ran the centre of the building. This time of night was her favourite. No students running all over the halls, no constant noise and distractions.
She liked the sense of stillness in garden at this late hour, in fact that was the beauty of balamb garden. The water fountains and sense of light and space you could only really see when no one else was around. She preferred the quietness; it let her really appreciate her surroundings even if her life was anything but quiet.
She walked at a rather fast pace, preferring to get to her destination within good time. She detested lateness, it just got her all riled up and ruffled when she was late. Glancing down at her wristwatch as she reached the base of the elevator she noted she had made good time today, having spent the evening in the library and finishing her latest student reports, getting done well before they were due.
That was why she decided to get them up to the office now. Squall normally left the office at 10.30pm at the latest and it was now 10pm so she'd figured she'd get them to him before closing in for the night, anyway Xu'd also be there if squall wasn't.
Walking the halls of garden always made her think and reflect on the importance of this place to her, it was after all her home. She could never see herself away from balamb. Time compression had left her at the secret spot in the training centre, the place she loved best and hated worst in garden.
She'd retreat to that place for its quietness to think and take in the best view that garden had to offer, that's why she loved it… she also hated it for its quietness because she was always alone when she was there. The one time she took someone there with her and she got told to talk to a wall. That was harsh. At the time she felt so sure that she wanted squall as her companion, of course now after all they've been through she felt that she was better off with him as a 'brother' and he was better off with rinoa as a partner.
But still, she felt she was the one left out of the gang more often than most. Her workload had grown so much since she got back to normal life at garden. It was natural that she was given her instructors licence back (as well as a big fat promotion to deputy instructor so her workload had in fact tripled) but in the end that meant more boring hours at the office.
She did love her teaching, her classes often hung on to her every word since she was one of the hero's of the war and her students would try to impress her so they worked harder than before. Downside to that was the number of trepies also tripled with her workload and fame. Oh she knew about that little organisation. They would find the lamest excuses to waste her time with, and all together she couldn't understand how they thought she was so special? They were a constant pain in her neck. But she put up with them because they were young and would move on and mature someday getting over her in the process.
The ping of the elevator brought her out of her deep thoughts and she stepped out, swiftly walking down the corridor and meeting Xu at the main reception desk. Xu was ever the same, always hidden behind the computer terminal that she never left, mountains of paperwork and briefs from squall and cid at her in tray. Still she never complained. Xu told her a lifetime ago that she enjoyed the responsibility of her work, that she felt like the hub of garden and loved being involved with everything that went on.
From field exams to canteen hotdog shortages Xu was there, and commander squall and headmaster cid wouldn't last a day without her. Upon hearing the clacking on the marble floor of quistis heels she looked up briefly and smiled widely, waving quistis through and taking the pile of folders from her hands "hey Quist, what lovely gifts you bring, are they for me?"
Quistis laughed lightly, nodding at the comment. Xu had a canny knack for making the workload just seem lighter hearted. Although Xu only ever revealed this attitude to her close friends and colleagues, to the cadets it was stone cold lieutenant Xu you do not want to mess with. Smiling at her close friend Quistis crossed her arms across her chest and grinned teasingly "Oh Xu, you do know how I love to give you early presents. These are the latest student progress reports for my underclassmen rank C. Literally just got them finished so got them up here before you get yourself to bed."
Xu shook her head at this, still giggling lightly from their conversation to end in a sigh "man you workaholic you. This isn't due in for another 72 hours. Thanks anyway, I can get them filed and on the database tomorrow, much more fun than the disciplinary committees meeting."
Quistis smirked at Xu as she placed the pile of folders at the top of her inbox tray, knowing that she was talking about the new team of seed's who ran the disciplinary committee annoyed the hell outta Xu. They were fresh from taking their exams, and completely avoided field work like hell, instead they were hell bent on working balamb garden's detention centre into a work of statistical art, reporting every tiny deviant act with such enthusiasm they bored Xu to tears at the annual monthly meeting.
She was just about to make a comment when the click of the doorknob at the end of the hall distracted both women, making them look at the end of the hallway as squall came into view. Quistis could tell by his hunched shoulders that he'd had a tiring day. He wasn't keen on the job at all but being the big hero of them all, he'd been talked into keeping his position as commander, with office, paperwork and all the lovely perks he hated.
Upon meeting quistis's gaze he nodded silently in greeting and walked up to Xu's desk, passing her a thick file. "Xu this needs to be seen by the headmaster tomorrow and could you arrange a meeting for 0800 hours Wednesday for us to discuss the contents. Cid has some information but this is the latest updates."
Xu nodded towards squall, unlocking a security draw within her desk and placing the mysterious file inside before locking the draw back up and flipping open the large black diary on her desk, finding Wednesday's schedule and filling in squalls request as she replied "yes commander, I'll get right on it. I'll see ya for lunch tomorrow as normal Quist?" Quistis quickly replied positive and left her busy friend with her late night work, bidding her a goodnight and following squall back towards the elevator.
Squall was running a hand through his hair as the doors slid open and he let Quistis step through first. Quistis could see that something was troubling his so clearly and knew he'd ask her opinion on whatever was on his mind soon. He was working on his communication skills. His job actually meant he had to open up to a degree; rinoa was working on the rest. Quistis found she was one of the lucky few who he'd actively talk to. Although she had a funny feeling it was a tiny bit because of his talk to a wall comment all those years ago.
Eventually Squall had admitted to her that it was the fact that quistis was so patient with him that made him open up to her with certain topic. Rinoa was quite pushy with him regarding the issue and had put to him that opening up to people meant his working life could be made easier. And squall would do anything to make life as commander easier. The doors slid shut and squall let out a small sigh. Quistis could visibly see the tension slipping from his body as he relaxed "looks like you've not had a break in a while, that folder looked like a lot of work."
Squall never moved to look towards her as he spoke "I'm just glad to get today over with, the days never seem to end and there's something I'm looking into as a favour to president Loire that's taking me forever to research and bloody figure out."
Quistis raised her eyebrow at this little spot of information in curiosity. She knew that while laguna wasn't on squall's list of favourite people in the world, ellone together with rinoa had urged him to try and build a friendship of sorts with his father. Squall turned towards quistis, sliding his hands in jacket pockets "You should know that gardens going to be travelling to esthar soon. I'm hoping to get some information sorted there and hopefully be able to get everyone out on a mission or two."
Quistis nodded at her commander and friend at this point "that sounds like something you're looking forward too." The elevator doors pinged open once more on the ground floor, and they both walked in comfortable silence towards the dormitories.
Before turning their separate ways to their own beds Squall stopped and faced Quistis "I'd suggest that you get plenty of rest over the next few days, we're all going to need it."
She smiled at him, inclining her head "I'll make sure I do, and you make sure you do too ok." Squall nodded once and walked away from her, towards his own bed and Quistis did hope that he'd manage to get some peace and rest for tonight.