The Fire of Our Love
I don't know if anyone has written this thing yet, but I just dreamt it so I decided to write it.
Rage roared through the hallways of Balamb Garden on the last day out. The halls echoed many shouts and protests, and many scared out of their wits end.
'How can you do this?' Rinoa Heartilly was screaming in Headmaster Cid's office. Her face was red and her hair was messy. However, Cid's anger seemed above shouts and turns.
'You've had the pleasure of becoming a woman!' he yelled back, and Rinoa clutched her ears. 'But now you must face the consequences! We take these things seriously here in Balamb Garden, and it was right on your introduction sheet that there would be no dirty work here! You've seduced a Commander, and you'll have to face it!'
Rinoa went quiet. She swayed for a while on her feet and looked like she was about to fall down. 'No,' she whispered, 'no, you couldn't have...what...where is Squall? What have you done to him...?
'Nothing yet, I'll assure you,' Headmaster Cid said, 'but he must take part of the blame also! He will be dishonored here from now on, he shall have no high position, and of course, he must take the punishment every man here takes for doing what you two have done...'
'No!' Rinoa gasped. 'I'll take the blame. Me...alone...don't...do anything to him, please! Take - take me instead, take me...'
Cid stared at Rinoa's white face defiantly. 'A woman cannot handle this,' he said coldly, 'so you will not. You're dismissed...from Balamb Garden after this year is over. You are never allowed to take a step in this garden upon the pain of death. Now move it! Squall's waiting for my lecture to him outside the door...I have no time for riff-raffs in my office! Now go...go! You will not take the whole blame...you're punishment is to become exile here.'
And he opened the door for Rinoa to pass. 'What - ?' Squall started but then he saw that Rinoa was close to tears; her eyes were not looking as she passed Squall, Zell, Irvine, Selphie and Quistis.
'Squall?' Cid's eyes were hard. 'Come in...shoo, go away Rinoa, haven't I told you I've got no time for riff-raffs in this school?' Rinoa ran off crying, and Squall's fist clenched. Zell restrained Squall from punching Headmaster Cid in the nose.
'Now Squall,' Cid said, as he ushered Squall into his office. Squall returned thirty minutes later, but not white faced. His gloved hand was clenched, and his eyes were angry.
'My punishment's tomorrow for three days,' Squall said between gritted teeth as the door slammed behind him. 'Only Rinoa and the Headmaster are allowed there.'
'Oh Squall, tell me what's Rinoa's punishment!' Selphie exclaimed, clinging onto Squalls fur jacket.
'She's an exile here,' Squall said, this time, he looked as if he was fighting the itch to just break down the door and do something bad to Cid. 'And she's not allowed into the school next year or she'll be killed...murdered by who we thought was a friend...'
'Oh!' Quistis exclaimed. 'We've got to see her; she's probably very lonely right now, since we're all grouped around Squall!' And they all headed off towards the dark corridor where Rinoa's dormitory was.
The next day was bright and sunny. Squall woke up to the pounding on his door. Just Zell, he thought as he pulled on his clothes and opened the door. Two of the Garden guards were standing there, looking very cross. 'You're punishment, Mr. Leonheart,' they grunted, 'for three days. Miss Heartilly is already down there, and she's quite hysterical, if you ask me. She's just heard what your punishment is going to be - I don't think she'll let them guards do it to you - everyone thinks she's so pretty when she cries, you know - '
The guard stopped talking just as he was punched in the nose. 'SHUT UP!' Squall roared. The other guard extracted some rope from his pack, and with the help of the bleeding guard, he was able to bind Squall's arms behind his back, even though he resisted.
The two led Squall down the hall towards the teacher's lounge on the top floor, where the floor was carpeted since no muddy students could trample them over. Headmaster Cid was there with Rinoa, who was trembling like mad.
'Now, now, Squall, no resisting around here,' Cid said as cheerfully as he possible could. Then, he bound Squall's legs together, and his arms were bound even tighter then they already were. Looking up, Squall saw that Rinoa wasn't looking; she was sobbing silently.
'What are you going to do?' Squall demanded loudly.
'Not to worry, it's only for three days,' Cid said aloud.
Squall's head was pushed down, and a black gag was inserted in his mouth. Now, he couldn't move except his head, and he didn't feel very comfortable at all. Cid wasn't smiling, and he looked quite grave.
'Now,' he said, and then he kicked open a trapdoor. In it, Squall saw a dentist's chair that had straps on it, on which he was tied.
'Look here, Squall,' Cid said. 'You're just going to stay in here like this for three days. No food, drink or massage of any kind, OK? This is our way to demand obedience from all our male students. I'm sorry.'
The last thing Squall saw and heard before the trapdoor was closed and the light out was Rinoa looking into the trap door and quickly recoiling. 'Will he be OK, Headmaster?' Rinoa said sincerely, even though her voice was shaking.
'Yes, yes, of course, Rinoa,' Cid said. 'Just three days...three days...'
And then the trap door closed and a darkness engulfed Squall. His eyes hardened as he thought of his troops of SeeDs. 'They'll just love to see famous Commander Squall now,' he thought bitterly, as he fell asleep. He could feel the hunger and thirst closing in.
*****
'Oh Rinoa! Where's Squall?' Zell shouted as Rinoa made her way down the carpeted stairs. Hundreds of students were looking at Rinoa, and demanding the same question. But Rinoa wouldn't say a thing, and neither would Headmaster Cid.
'Rinoa,' Cid said loudly so that the whole hall strained their ears to hear, 'you'll be going at the end of Squall's punishment, I believe? I've already set a train to Deling City.'
'No, I'm headed for Timber,' Rinoa said shortly and then, she sped through the crowds without so much as a backwards glance.
Three days later, as Squall lay on the chair, hungry and very dehydrated, the trapdoor suddenly opened very slightly, and Cid looked in.
'You can come out now, Squall,' he whispered as two of the guards grabbed Squall from the chair and untied him. Squall was then led down to the cafeteria, where all in a second, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine bombarded him with questions.
'What was the punishment,' Quistis asked.
'Oh,' Squall said absent-mindedly. 'They tie you up and keep you in this room and you get no food or drink for three days. I spent most of it sleeping on the chair they make you sit on - you can't escape because they strap you on and only they have the key. Hey, where's Rinoa?'
Selphie and Quistis looked at each other nervously.
'Squall, she left this morning,' Selphie said slowly, 'I don't know why, but the headmaster was very anxious to get her out of the Garden, and he kept reminding her she wasn't allowed here ever again. She tried to ask if she could see you...one last time...but Cid rejected.'
Quistis wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. 'It was so sad,' she said. 'All her trunks and all her things all packed onto the carriage, and her begging Cid to let her see you...and him saying no, and the look of hurt on her face. Oh, I wish I'd never been horrible to her!'
Quistis didn't finish for Squall had just stepped up and punched the air. He didn't look messy and hungry and tired as he had when he first came down the stairs; now he was angry and wild. 'Cid's down enough damage!' he said loudly. 'Why can't he just let Rinoa see me? Hey, where is she right now, anyway?'
'Said she was headed for Timber,' Irvine said.
'Yep,' Zell said. His hotdog had lost its taste. 'She looked mighty sad to leave Selphie and everyone...once, she even almost decided to live in Deling City to be closer to us...I thought Cid could at least have been more sympathetic, but oh no! "You must go, you must," he said. And then, she hailed a carriage and she went off into the forest.'
Squall was seething with anger. 'I'm going to make that Headmaster pay, if it's the last thing I do,' he vowed.
*****
Five years past without great incident. In all, Squall became a commander again, and was heading for the position as a general. He had once again become the lone wolf, but he wasn't a young boy this time. He was a man.
Squall never took much interest in girls as he had done once; his heart was on Rinoa, even though he had no contact with her and didn't even know if she was alive or well.
'Squall Leonheart,' Cid said one sunny day when he had summoned Squall to his office, 'you'll be on a mission to save Timber from destruction from the enemy forces.' Squall nodded his head and left. He hadn't forgotten his vow from five years ago yet.
Timber was very far away. Zell and Irvine came along with Squall and were part of Team A, the team that was supposed to help the people of Timber escape the enemies. Selphie and Quistis were in Team B, which had to save all the structures.
A man was at the front wall when the troops of Balamb arrived. 'Ooo!' he said. 'Wait until I tell the Princess this!'
And he scurried off.
'Sorry about him,' an old hag from behind the counter at an inn said. The men had come to enjoy a drink. 'But everyone around here is superstitious about Balamb Garden and the SeeDs. The Princess was one, of course.'
Squall accidentally spat out the beer he had just dumped into his mouth. 'Princess? A SeeD?' he said weakly. 'Does the Princess have long, black hair? White skin?'
'Why yes,' the hag said from behind the counter. 'Mighty pretty, she is, also. She's had at least a thousand proposals ever since she returned to us five years ago. She looked quite helpless and sad then. Took a lot from us to make her gain her confidence again. Oh yes, about the proposals. Yes, she had many of them, but each time, she would say, "I'm sorry, but I can't". She's not a virgin any longer, you know. Did it with someone...I don't know who.'
Squall, Zell, and Irvine were breathing hard now. 'And - and what's her name?' Squall said thickly.
'Oh, her name's Princess Rinoa. Well, not any longer. Her mother just died, so she'll be Queen Rinoa from now on. Took the blow mighty hard, that girl. Once, she even tried to drown herself in the river. We found her, of course, and then she came back to her senses. I can arrange a meeting with her for you, if you like.'
'Yeah,' Squall said. 'That'd be great.'
Squall, Zell, and Irvine hurried out the doors and found Selphie and Quistis waiting for them. 'What took you so long?' they demanded. 'The other men were out ages ago!'
'Never mind that,' Zell said. 'Guess what? Rinoa is here...in Timber!' Selphie's jaw dropped.
'Yeah, and that's not all!' Irvine continued. 'She's a Queen!'
'Wow!' Selphie exclaimed. And then, the old hag returned.
'The Queen says she'll love to have guest for dinner!' she said. 'The castle's right up there!' And she left.
OK, catch chapter two! This one was sort of sucky, oh well!
I don't know if anyone has written this thing yet, but I just dreamt it so I decided to write it.
Rage roared through the hallways of Balamb Garden on the last day out. The halls echoed many shouts and protests, and many scared out of their wits end.
'How can you do this?' Rinoa Heartilly was screaming in Headmaster Cid's office. Her face was red and her hair was messy. However, Cid's anger seemed above shouts and turns.
'You've had the pleasure of becoming a woman!' he yelled back, and Rinoa clutched her ears. 'But now you must face the consequences! We take these things seriously here in Balamb Garden, and it was right on your introduction sheet that there would be no dirty work here! You've seduced a Commander, and you'll have to face it!'
Rinoa went quiet. She swayed for a while on her feet and looked like she was about to fall down. 'No,' she whispered, 'no, you couldn't have...what...where is Squall? What have you done to him...?
'Nothing yet, I'll assure you,' Headmaster Cid said, 'but he must take part of the blame also! He will be dishonored here from now on, he shall have no high position, and of course, he must take the punishment every man here takes for doing what you two have done...'
'No!' Rinoa gasped. 'I'll take the blame. Me...alone...don't...do anything to him, please! Take - take me instead, take me...'
Cid stared at Rinoa's white face defiantly. 'A woman cannot handle this,' he said coldly, 'so you will not. You're dismissed...from Balamb Garden after this year is over. You are never allowed to take a step in this garden upon the pain of death. Now move it! Squall's waiting for my lecture to him outside the door...I have no time for riff-raffs in my office! Now go...go! You will not take the whole blame...you're punishment is to become exile here.'
And he opened the door for Rinoa to pass. 'What - ?' Squall started but then he saw that Rinoa was close to tears; her eyes were not looking as she passed Squall, Zell, Irvine, Selphie and Quistis.
'Squall?' Cid's eyes were hard. 'Come in...shoo, go away Rinoa, haven't I told you I've got no time for riff-raffs in this school?' Rinoa ran off crying, and Squall's fist clenched. Zell restrained Squall from punching Headmaster Cid in the nose.
'Now Squall,' Cid said, as he ushered Squall into his office. Squall returned thirty minutes later, but not white faced. His gloved hand was clenched, and his eyes were angry.
'My punishment's tomorrow for three days,' Squall said between gritted teeth as the door slammed behind him. 'Only Rinoa and the Headmaster are allowed there.'
'Oh Squall, tell me what's Rinoa's punishment!' Selphie exclaimed, clinging onto Squalls fur jacket.
'She's an exile here,' Squall said, this time, he looked as if he was fighting the itch to just break down the door and do something bad to Cid. 'And she's not allowed into the school next year or she'll be killed...murdered by who we thought was a friend...'
'Oh!' Quistis exclaimed. 'We've got to see her; she's probably very lonely right now, since we're all grouped around Squall!' And they all headed off towards the dark corridor where Rinoa's dormitory was.
The next day was bright and sunny. Squall woke up to the pounding on his door. Just Zell, he thought as he pulled on his clothes and opened the door. Two of the Garden guards were standing there, looking very cross. 'You're punishment, Mr. Leonheart,' they grunted, 'for three days. Miss Heartilly is already down there, and she's quite hysterical, if you ask me. She's just heard what your punishment is going to be - I don't think she'll let them guards do it to you - everyone thinks she's so pretty when she cries, you know - '
The guard stopped talking just as he was punched in the nose. 'SHUT UP!' Squall roared. The other guard extracted some rope from his pack, and with the help of the bleeding guard, he was able to bind Squall's arms behind his back, even though he resisted.
The two led Squall down the hall towards the teacher's lounge on the top floor, where the floor was carpeted since no muddy students could trample them over. Headmaster Cid was there with Rinoa, who was trembling like mad.
'Now, now, Squall, no resisting around here,' Cid said as cheerfully as he possible could. Then, he bound Squall's legs together, and his arms were bound even tighter then they already were. Looking up, Squall saw that Rinoa wasn't looking; she was sobbing silently.
'What are you going to do?' Squall demanded loudly.
'Not to worry, it's only for three days,' Cid said aloud.
Squall's head was pushed down, and a black gag was inserted in his mouth. Now, he couldn't move except his head, and he didn't feel very comfortable at all. Cid wasn't smiling, and he looked quite grave.
'Now,' he said, and then he kicked open a trapdoor. In it, Squall saw a dentist's chair that had straps on it, on which he was tied.
'Look here, Squall,' Cid said. 'You're just going to stay in here like this for three days. No food, drink or massage of any kind, OK? This is our way to demand obedience from all our male students. I'm sorry.'
The last thing Squall saw and heard before the trapdoor was closed and the light out was Rinoa looking into the trap door and quickly recoiling. 'Will he be OK, Headmaster?' Rinoa said sincerely, even though her voice was shaking.
'Yes, yes, of course, Rinoa,' Cid said. 'Just three days...three days...'
And then the trap door closed and a darkness engulfed Squall. His eyes hardened as he thought of his troops of SeeDs. 'They'll just love to see famous Commander Squall now,' he thought bitterly, as he fell asleep. He could feel the hunger and thirst closing in.
*****
'Oh Rinoa! Where's Squall?' Zell shouted as Rinoa made her way down the carpeted stairs. Hundreds of students were looking at Rinoa, and demanding the same question. But Rinoa wouldn't say a thing, and neither would Headmaster Cid.
'Rinoa,' Cid said loudly so that the whole hall strained their ears to hear, 'you'll be going at the end of Squall's punishment, I believe? I've already set a train to Deling City.'
'No, I'm headed for Timber,' Rinoa said shortly and then, she sped through the crowds without so much as a backwards glance.
Three days later, as Squall lay on the chair, hungry and very dehydrated, the trapdoor suddenly opened very slightly, and Cid looked in.
'You can come out now, Squall,' he whispered as two of the guards grabbed Squall from the chair and untied him. Squall was then led down to the cafeteria, where all in a second, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine bombarded him with questions.
'What was the punishment,' Quistis asked.
'Oh,' Squall said absent-mindedly. 'They tie you up and keep you in this room and you get no food or drink for three days. I spent most of it sleeping on the chair they make you sit on - you can't escape because they strap you on and only they have the key. Hey, where's Rinoa?'
Selphie and Quistis looked at each other nervously.
'Squall, she left this morning,' Selphie said slowly, 'I don't know why, but the headmaster was very anxious to get her out of the Garden, and he kept reminding her she wasn't allowed here ever again. She tried to ask if she could see you...one last time...but Cid rejected.'
Quistis wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. 'It was so sad,' she said. 'All her trunks and all her things all packed onto the carriage, and her begging Cid to let her see you...and him saying no, and the look of hurt on her face. Oh, I wish I'd never been horrible to her!'
Quistis didn't finish for Squall had just stepped up and punched the air. He didn't look messy and hungry and tired as he had when he first came down the stairs; now he was angry and wild. 'Cid's down enough damage!' he said loudly. 'Why can't he just let Rinoa see me? Hey, where is she right now, anyway?'
'Said she was headed for Timber,' Irvine said.
'Yep,' Zell said. His hotdog had lost its taste. 'She looked mighty sad to leave Selphie and everyone...once, she even almost decided to live in Deling City to be closer to us...I thought Cid could at least have been more sympathetic, but oh no! "You must go, you must," he said. And then, she hailed a carriage and she went off into the forest.'
Squall was seething with anger. 'I'm going to make that Headmaster pay, if it's the last thing I do,' he vowed.
*****
Five years past without great incident. In all, Squall became a commander again, and was heading for the position as a general. He had once again become the lone wolf, but he wasn't a young boy this time. He was a man.
Squall never took much interest in girls as he had done once; his heart was on Rinoa, even though he had no contact with her and didn't even know if she was alive or well.
'Squall Leonheart,' Cid said one sunny day when he had summoned Squall to his office, 'you'll be on a mission to save Timber from destruction from the enemy forces.' Squall nodded his head and left. He hadn't forgotten his vow from five years ago yet.
Timber was very far away. Zell and Irvine came along with Squall and were part of Team A, the team that was supposed to help the people of Timber escape the enemies. Selphie and Quistis were in Team B, which had to save all the structures.
A man was at the front wall when the troops of Balamb arrived. 'Ooo!' he said. 'Wait until I tell the Princess this!'
And he scurried off.
'Sorry about him,' an old hag from behind the counter at an inn said. The men had come to enjoy a drink. 'But everyone around here is superstitious about Balamb Garden and the SeeDs. The Princess was one, of course.'
Squall accidentally spat out the beer he had just dumped into his mouth. 'Princess? A SeeD?' he said weakly. 'Does the Princess have long, black hair? White skin?'
'Why yes,' the hag said from behind the counter. 'Mighty pretty, she is, also. She's had at least a thousand proposals ever since she returned to us five years ago. She looked quite helpless and sad then. Took a lot from us to make her gain her confidence again. Oh yes, about the proposals. Yes, she had many of them, but each time, she would say, "I'm sorry, but I can't". She's not a virgin any longer, you know. Did it with someone...I don't know who.'
Squall, Zell, and Irvine were breathing hard now. 'And - and what's her name?' Squall said thickly.
'Oh, her name's Princess Rinoa. Well, not any longer. Her mother just died, so she'll be Queen Rinoa from now on. Took the blow mighty hard, that girl. Once, she even tried to drown herself in the river. We found her, of course, and then she came back to her senses. I can arrange a meeting with her for you, if you like.'
'Yeah,' Squall said. 'That'd be great.'
Squall, Zell, and Irvine hurried out the doors and found Selphie and Quistis waiting for them. 'What took you so long?' they demanded. 'The other men were out ages ago!'
'Never mind that,' Zell said. 'Guess what? Rinoa is here...in Timber!' Selphie's jaw dropped.
'Yeah, and that's not all!' Irvine continued. 'She's a Queen!'
'Wow!' Selphie exclaimed. And then, the old hag returned.
'The Queen says she'll love to have guest for dinner!' she said. 'The castle's right up there!' And she left.
OK, catch chapter two! This one was sort of sucky, oh well!