Author's Notes: This is a sequel to my story Second Chances, set just two years later. For this story, I'll largely be focusing on my all-time favorite video game character: Laguna Loire.

The prologue is a little fluffy, but it's more to set the scene and establish what is going on in everyone's lives. More of what has happened in the last two years will be revealed later, and don't worry – everyone WILL be in this story (with a few minor exceptions). Hope you enjoy!

Prologue

"Once upon a time, there was a handsome king of a great nation. The king was very happy! He had a beautiful palace, with kind servants. His son, the handsome prince lived nearby with his beautiful princess wife and beautiful princess daughter. He led a good life, and was loved by all in his kingdom…

"Until…

"One day, the king's trusted advisors conspired against him. They took the king captive against his will! Even his own beloved son became ensnared in the conspiracy! They took him prisoner in his own castle, stormed him out of his beloved kingdom, and banished him to a cold, barren, lonely land, far, far away! The king's only hope was his cherished granddaughter, the light of his life… The apple of his eye…."

Cassidy Leonhart looked up at her grandfather with a long-suffering look. "Fat chance, Grandpa," she replied. "You need a vacation."

Laguna Loire shot the child a mock-glare. "You're no help," he chided, ruffling her dark hair.

The pair was seated on a couch in Laguna's office spending a bit of time together before Laguna headed out for a much-deserved vacation. Cass had asked him to tell her a story, but the one she had been given wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind.

From across the room, Kylah Deraldi Leonhart looked up from a file folder that she was browsing through and rolled her blue eyes. "It's not like we're hanging you up by your toenails and subjecting you to cruel and unusual torture, such as ten stacks of paperwork while wearing a 3-piece suit," she said, dryly. Cass giggled at the image. "We're sending you to a lovely ski resort in Trabia."

From his perch on the couch, Laguna sent Kylah a glare. "It's not fun or a vacation if you have to go by yourself, and if someone's making you go," he retorted. He paused for a moment. "Are you sure you can handle things on your own while I'm gone?"

The redhead hid a chuckle behind the file folder. "Absolutely," she replied. "Your schedule has been almost completely cleared for the next two weeks, so I only have my own workload to contend with for the most part. The only thing we couldn't reschedule was that meeting with President Caraway, and, well… My official title is Minister of Foreign Relations. I think I can handle that," she said, sending him a grin and a wink.

Restlessly, Laguna rose from the couch and began meandering around the office. He randomly picked up a few items from his desk and then replaced them seemingly without thinking. Suddenly, it appeared that an idea occurred to him. He whirled around and pointed to Kylah's middle. "And what if I miss Junior's appearance while I'm gone?" he asked, a triumphant ring in his tone. He finally had a valid excuse to stay home. "You wouldn't make me miss the birth of my second grandchild, would you? Since I missed the birth of the first one… And my only child…"

Kylah rolled her eyes skyward and counted to ten. "The sympathy card is falling on deaf ears, Mr. President," she replied, resting her hand on her expanding stomach. "I'm just barely six months along, so this kid isn't going anywhere for a while. By the time you get back, I'll still have more than two months to go."

"Face it, Grandpa," Cassidy's five-year-old voice spoke up as she flipped through a coloring book. "You're going." The child paused as she reached for a crayon, and then looked up at him hopefully. "I could go with you!"

Laguna chuckled and scooped her up. "Sorry kiddo," he replied, giving her a tight squeeze. "You have school, so I doubt the parental units would let you go."

Cass gave him a conspiratorial wink. "I'll just slip into a suitcase. They'll never know the difference."

"Never mind that I just heard you making your plans," Kylah pointed out, chuckling.

"Busted!" Cass and Laguna both said together.

"Laguna, man," Kiros spoke up as he and Ward entered the room, "I didn't want to have to resort to this…" he shot Kylah an amused look, "but you leave me with no choice." He fished into his jacket and pulled out a rolled up magazine. "This just hit the stands today. The ladies will go crazy over it."

He tossed the magazine onto Laguna's desk, allowing it to unroll as it fell. When it lay unrolled for all to see, Laguna's smiling face stared back at them from the glossy cover.

From her grandfather's arms, Cass peered down at it. "W—World's" she began sounding out. She was learning to read, and devoured any written materials she could get her hands on. "Most El-i-gi-ble Ba—Bach—Bachelor. What's a 'bachelor' and what is he eligible for?" she asked, looking up at Kylah.

Kylah chortled. "Laguna? You wanna take this one?"

Esthar's president responded by glaring darkly at her and flushing a rather bright shade of crimson.

Kiros picked up the magazine and began thumbing through it. "It really is a great article," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching as he fought a grin. "'The strikingly handsome Laguna Loire presents an imposing figure in the political arena. But don't be fooled by those dashing good looks, ladies. Behind that imposing figure is a boyish charm and warm sense of humor.'"

"…"

"Ward says that he never knew you had such beautiful moss green eyes."

"Gimme that," Laguna muttered, snatching the article from Kiros' hands. The color began to drain further and further from his face as he read more of the article.

Kylah exchanged a triumphant look with Kiros and Ward. "That'll be hitting every newsstand in Esthar round about tomorrow," she said, casually.

"Actually, it's hit several today," Kiros added. He handed Laguna several slips of paper. "Those are the messages that you've already been left. The one from Midori over on the other side of town is a particularly interesting offer…"

Cass's eyes scanned the message as Laguna read it. "Mom," she said to Kylah, "what's a—" her question was interrupted as her grandfather's eyes widened and he clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry about it," he replied as he sat his granddaughter back on the floor. "We'll tell you when you're older."

The girl sighed. "How come you never answer my questions?"

"So," Kylah asked, "have we thoroughly convinced you to take a vacation? Or are you willing to stick around for a while and allow the female population of the entire world to begin stalking you?"

Reluctantly, Laguna sighed. "How fast can I get my bags packed?"