Belle Et La Bete (Liberi Fatali Arc)
Chapter Two
Never told to trust you blindly...
Quistis made her way cautiously along the large, darkened hallways. The hallways themselves didn't bother her. She had, after all, lived here long enough. No, what made her cautious was the person who had caused the destruction to the halls the closer she got to him. He wasn't very well known for his good moods, so she had to be. .. delicate in her wording, or she could end up like that shredded couch.
On the outside, a person could be fooled into thinking that Quistis wore a blank expression and nothing more. However, inside she was slightly fearful of her lord's response to this surprising development. He, at the best of times had a fiery temper. Even before the…event. He had always flown off the handle quite easily. Quistis pursed her lips in disapproval. Having a bad temper was not an endearing quality in others eyes. It would make finding a wife very challenging for someone like him. Usually, this wouldn't matter, but it was very important for everyone to find him a loving wife. To be honest, he would have trouble enough without that challenge as it was. What was worse, was that the person who had entered the premises was not likely to be eligible.
Their master was harsh, demanded high standards from himself, and was not interested in anyone who would not live up to those standards. It didn't help that he was often hostile. However, he was not unkind. Quistis did not doubt that he had seen the poor human chased by wolves. He would at least allow him to stay until the morning. He would not however, show his face unnecessarily.
Having reached her destination, Quistis nodded to the two guards outside the door hesitantly. They must've seen the human also, as they let her past without question, which wasn't usual. She knocked on the main door that led to his chambers.
"What?" She heard growled from the other side of the door.
"Well milord. There is a human downstairs. He seems to have lost his way. So I came to-" She was interrupted harshly.
"Do what you will. Just be sure that he is gone by tomorrow, and that he doesn't come near here. Now leave me be".
And that was that. She nodded towards the door, even though he was unable to see the motion. This was the reason why Quistis led the household. She, like the two guards she walked past again, knew how to handle their Lord in a way that would cause minimal damage. The last time that they'd almost let Selphie near the door, she had had to race up the stairs to grab the poor girl by the scruff of the neck before she did something that they would all pay for. She sighed as she hurried along, and once again drew her lips once more in a disapproving line as she heard an unmistakable ruckus coming from downstairs. As she passed, she shooed away Angelo, Rinoa's three headed pet dog. He bounded downstairs and bouldered into the human, who seemed to take their forms in his stride. He made an awful fuss of Angelo, giving plenty of stroking attention to each of the three heads. He then allowed himself to be led by the hand towards the sitting room. Luckily, Quistis (as dislikeable the job was to her) had made sure that the fires had been stoked earlier. She signalled to Rinoa to alert the kitchen of his arrival. She hoped that this human ate normal food. It was true that she knew more (or at least remembered more) about humans than the others, but she knew that usually it was almost impossible to make it through the forest alive, so they rarely received human guests. This didn't help her master's chances.
"So, what's it like being a humus?" Selphie asked the human. Quistis rolled her eyes. To the human's credit, he answered pretty well.
"Not bad I guess. Is that what you call us? Humuses? Well, I wouldn't mind having a pair of those beautiful wings though, would save Boko some back pain."
"What's a Boko, and why would you be giving it a back ache?" Zell asked quizzically, his quills of hair protruding beyond gravity's limitations.
Quistis sighed lightly. Was this how 'She' had wanted it? No memory of their past lives? So that they could give no aid to their Master? Why then, did she remember more, while the others didn't? Was it an age thing? She dismissed her thoughts for a later time. For now, she had to deal with the hu-that was a point.
"What is your name?" She interrupted Selphie, who was in the middle of showing him her wings up close. The human looked at her in surprise for a moment, which made her inwardly smile, something she could not do physically. So he found a three headed dog, a girl with feather wings, a girl with bat wings and a boy with fins protruding from his sides fine, but SHE was weird?
She did have to admit, to a human, she may look quite strange. Her body was speckled in a blue, ice like skin, and her eyes were an abnormally vivid blue. Her hair had blue streaks mixed with the blonde, but she was sure that humans dyed their hair. Why should that be so abnormal? Selphie giggled, and then Quistis remembered.
The scantily clad clothing. Quistis frowned. Well she didn't need warmth, and her skin was too hard for her to wear shoes, so why should she? She inwardly sighed. It must be seen as inappropriate.
"Ah, if you feel that this is inappropriate and it embarrasses you, I will go and change"
"Ah...oh, no, don't trouble yourself, it's just…unusual to see…I'm Laguna" he held out a hand. Selphie leaned forward, but Quistis glared at her. This was not the time for Selphie to show ignorance to human customs by rubbing her face against his hand. Quistis took the human's…Laguna's hand for a moment, and shook it. It felt overly warm, a trait that all humans seemed to annoyingly possess. His response however, was much more entertaining to her, when he jerked his hand back.
"I'm sorry, it's just...cold." Quistis waved her hand dismissively. Rinoa reappeared from the kitchen and catching her attention, nodded to her.
" If you would follow Rinoa to the kitchen, food has been prepared for you. Please let us know if you require anything that will make your stay for the evening more pleasant." And with that, she went along her way, shooing Selphie and Zell along with the human. They still needed to keep an eye on him, to make sure that he didn't do anything...dangerous, such as wander the halls alone.
If he met the master, he would wish for her cold hand once more to cool the burn that was her master's temper.
Laguna found himself spoiled for choice. He had been fed all manner of things. He hadn't known what some of the dishes were, but had eaten them anyway. All in all, Laguna felt himself quite lucky to have found this castle, though his hosts seemed to find it strange that he had found his way in the first place. He had tried to explain the route he took, but that seemed to confuse them even more.
"You see Lagunie, we have never been able to find our way through the forest. None of us."
"No one?" Laguna said incredulously, not bothering to correct Selphie on his new nickname of 'Lagunie'. His heart sank. How was he supposed to get back? Quistis saw his expression and spoke up.
"You will be fine. You are not like us. The longer you stay here, the harder it is to return. As long as you depart tomorrow, you will have no issues with leaving" Selphie hummed in agreement
"Oh yes, it must be because you are human. I guess that it doesn't work on humans too well. Everyone here has tried...even Lord S…" Quistis silenced Selphie with a look. She scanned everyone's faces, before turning back towards Laguna, ignoring the obviously burning questions that showed in his eyes.
"Regardless, I hope that you have been fed well and have been kept warm" She stated this as a fact rather than in a well-wishing way. Laguna nodded to this.
"Very well. Selphie, would you lead Mr. Laguna up to his rooms?" Selphie hastened to obey
"And Selphie" she said as Laguna left the room.
"Yes Quisty?"
"Do not mention our Eminence to him. Especially not in such a revealing and derogatory manner. You know he dislikes the use of his actual name" Quistis' eyes cut through Selphie like ice, and she nodded.
"Sorry Quisty. I forgot myself." She stared like a rabbit in the headlights for a moment, before scampering off.
She quickly caught up to Laguna (who had no idea where he was going anyway) and led him upstairs. There was silence for a moment, as Laguna watched the shadows caused by the plethora of flickering candles spread about the castle.
"So, does Quistis own the castle? She seems like she's in charge" Laguna joked. Selphie fidgeted.
"Um…no…she's not the master of this place" She looked at her feet.
"Oh. So, will I get to meet your Master? Or are they busy?" Laguna pressed gently.
"W...well, I don't know, Master is in his chambers. He doesn't like to be disturbed" She huffed a little at this. Laguna caught onto this motion.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh...nothing! This is your room" Selphie said, glad that she had caught herself before she had gone into what was bothering her. Luckily, his room had been just up the stairs, so it had been a short trip.
"Please let one of us know if you need anything. You have a bell pull beside your bed. There are fresh clothes in the wardrobe. Have a peaceful night!" She waved and sped off, relieved that she'd escaped the third degree questioning that she had mistakenly tripped into.
Laguna sighed, before entering the room. He took a bath, and changed into some of the spare clothes in the wardrobe. Upon leaving the bathroom, he found his own clothes washed and folded on the bed. Now re-clothed, he watched in mild interest through his window, as the sudden arrival of rain soaked the courtyard grounds from which he'd entered. He hoped that Boko had made it back safely, and wasn't too wet.
Whatever strangeness he'd landed himself into, he was warm, and (probably) safe for the evening. The room was in a deep red, and in the candlelight, it was quite inviting and snug. It was better than any tent he would've used. And the tent would've been all soaked by now.
Cheered slightly by this thought, he turned now to the mystery of the castle, and what such an old building was doing in such a modern age. The servants of this house were obviously magical creatures. Laguna settled down into bed, thinking over the strange things that he had seen, before he slowly drifted off to sleep; warm and safe from harm. His last thought was of his children. He hoped he wasn't worrying them...
"Hey Squall?" Ellone looked over at her brother, who was lying on a one seated armchair, reading a book, his body too large for it. His legs dangled off the end, and he slouched slightly. To her, it looked very uncomfortable, but Squall always did it. He could sprawl out on the sofa literally metres away from him, but he preferred small spaces.
"Hmm?"
"When do you think father will be back? He's been gone for a fortnight now." Squall shrugged non-committedly, and when he realised she was waiting expectantly for more of an answer than that, seemed to slouch more into the chair.
"When he finds your rose I suspect"
Ellone looked at him earnestly.
"You know I don't actually mind if he doesn't bring it back, he was just so insistent"
"Hence why I stay in my room when he's about to leave. I don't like getting dragged into those sort of things." Ellone pouted slightly.
"Be nice, someone had to say goodbye to him face to face. He would've been upset if both his children had hid away."
"Do you not recall any of your previous birthdays?" He protested. Ellone giggled at this. He always left on these grand adventures. His advisors always insisted that he should give up his globe-trotting, as he had a city to run. So, he stopped telling his advisors when he was gone, leaving things in Kiros' hands. Squall frowned. How could a person be the president of an entire city when he was always sneaking off to go adventuring?
"So, today didn't go well with Vince" Ellone commented mildly. She didn't fail to notice the stiffening of his body, before it remembered the comfort of the armchair and relaxed once more.
"How did you know he was here?"
"Squall, you may be able to hide these things from Father but did you think I wouldn't see what he was doing?"
"It's fine. I can handle it"
"You shouldn't have to! Father can deal with the political side of things. You don't have to play nice with the opposing side"
"I wouldn't call this playing nice" He muttered, gesturing with his hand, the knuckles sore and red. This made Ellone giggle, which released some of the tension
"It's still not getting through to him though it seems..." Ellone leaned on her forearms, expectant.
"Tell me your troubles"
Squall gripped the book tighter in irritation, then once again, remembered what it was, and loosened his grip.
"What about me exactly screams 'take me now' may I ask? There are plenty of people in the city that would fall for his 'charms' and failing that, his money. Why can't he leave me alone? I'm not interested in dating anyone, male or female" Ellone held a giggle behind her hand. The way Squall gestured with the book as he ranted was very like their father, though she wouldn't dare to admit it to him.
"Well, maybe that's why. Everyone seems drawn to him, while you skulk away into the shadows" She reasoned.
"I do not 'skulk'. I walk past him like a normal human being"
"Well, he likes attention, and you're not giving it to him. He just wants a reaction of some kind, some kind of attention from you"
"I'd never give him the satisfaction El. Never" Ellone laughed.
"Stubborn"
"You always see the good in everyone El"
"That's because there is good in everyone"
"Why don't you go out with him then? Bring his good side to the surface"
"Maybe I will" Ellone said lightly, watching in amusement at Squall's backpedalling reaction to this.
"Hell no! I mean-how could you even- argh! Forget I said anything. And don't even think about giving him-just no El!"
"You suggested it Squall"
Ellone was laughing now as Squall attempted to play the protective brother role against his own words. Eventually, Squall made a noise of frustration and went back to sullenly reading his book…now upside down. Ellone smiled.
"Don't worry, I would never do that"
Silence for a moment.
"...Kiros and Ward are probably out looking for him right now" Ellone was confused for a moment. Why would they be looking for Vince? Then she realised his not so subtle change of subject.
"Still, it's a big world out there, and father hasn't got the sense to let anyone know where he's going."
"We thought he was taking Kiros and Ward with him"
"I hope he's okay"
"It'll be fine. He'll come wandering back here eventually like he always does, with some sort of trouble for Kiros to sort out. Maybe Kiros should run the city instead" Ellone laughed.
"But then we'd never see Father"
"I could live with that"
"Squall!" She chided, not catching the small smile hidden behind the book.
"He'll be back, sooner that you think, no doubt"
"Yeah…I guess you're right. "
There was silence for a moment.
"Squall?"
"Mmm?"
"Thanks"
"Mmm"
He couldn't believe it.
How could this be possible?
He was staring at it, right now, as Selphie and Zell accompanied him around the garden He hadn't noticed them on the way to the stables, as the garden led in a large circle around the house, and they had walked around the whole way back to the courtyard. That was then he had noticed them.
He actually thought that they hadn't existed anymore, and that he was going to have to find Ellone a fake. But here, right here, growing quite beautifully, was a rose bush. The roses, vivid red in colour (Ruby dragons paled in comparison) and the rain from the night before had done them good, for they were shining with beads of light, as the morning sun caught the liquid. Both Zell and Selphie hadn't noticed that he had stopped, and was staring at these flowers. He didn't think about it as he reached out to take one, concerned now with how he was going to preserve it until he got back.
What he did think about though, was the terrible sky-ripping roar that echoed through the house. It reverberated through the halls and out into the garden. Laguna jerked back his hand in both fear and pain, the rose tearing from its stem on the rose bush. Blood was now nestled in the wrinkles of his hand, which he held tightly in pain, rose still behind clenched fingers. Selphie reacted in both fear and concern, attempting to pull the rose from Laguna's hands. She hoped to both remove the evidence from his fingers, and to inspect the wound. He would not let go. The rest of the staff gathered together in fright as a figure rushed past them outside to the courtyard. Even Quistis, the usually stoic Quistis, had to hold her hands tightly to keep them from shaking.
Selphie and Zell were there. Suddenly, they weren't. They were far off to the side, the two kneeling on the floor. Laguna looked from them to the front of him, where a large cloaked figure stood. Even in the dark folds of the hood, he could see glimmering fangs. When he spoke, it was with a voice so alarmingly quiet, Laguna flinched at each rage suppressed word.
"Who said you could take my roses?" Laguna stepped back slightly.
"I...I apologise. I did not realise that they were of great importance to you."
"I take you in, make sure you are fed, clothed and rested, give you supplies for you to continue your journey, and you still want more from me? You try to steal the only beautiful thing I have left, for a petty moment of lust? Is this how you repay your host?" Laguna could only look into the depths of the cloak, where he met furious eyes. Deadly eyes which would rip a person to shreds.
"Again, I sincerely apologise. I did not mean to steal from you, but rather…I have a daughter, very dear to me, who begged me for a rose, a rare beautiful rose. I have only ever seen one once, and never again until this time, and I was struck again by its beauty and didn't think. Please forgive me!"
"What you have done cannot be forgiven, only paid for in like. You say you have a daughter, who is precious to you? Then an eye for an eye it shall be. The rose is worthy of your daughter? Then your daughter is worthy of the rose. You may keep the rose then. In return, send your daughter to me. I shall release you and send you back to your home."
The creature moved suddenly, and Laguna was knocked to the floor. The rose went flying from his fingers. His eyes swimming in tears of pain, he noticed the blood that had been bleeding from his left shoulder was rapidly healing, leaving what looked like four claw gashes. Selphie held her hands to her mouth, but dared not move. The figure wiped the blood from claws onto what seemed to be a ring. The stone changed colour; from a pale white to a darkened red.
"I have cursed you. You shall take this blood ring…" a jingle signified the ring hitting the floor. "…and return home instantly. You have three days for your daughter to say her farewells, then she must return using the ring, or you in her place, as one's own life is just as precious. If you do not return within the appointed time, that mark will darken, and you will die anyway. Now, begone with you, worthless thief."
It was then that Laguna saw the figure's face, saw what he had condemned his daughter to. He shrank back in panic. A second of hurt flashed across the creature's face, but no one saw it. The cloak billowed as the figure strode away. Once gone, Laguna crumpled on the floor. Selphie, Zell, Rinoa and even Quistis crowded round him in concern.
"What have I done?!" He sobbed to no one, but his poor daughter, who right now, was sitting at home, waiting for her father to come home, ready to welcome him with relieved open arms, with or without a rose.
Squall muttered angrily as the pounding continued.
"Goway" He sleepily called. He was sure that was a word, his warm bed was telling him so. Soothing him, telling him that he'd done his work. That he could now fall back into slumber…
"Squall! Wake up! Father's home!"
The bed seemed to sigh in disappointment and sag slightly as Squall blearily sat up. It had lost its protected, for now. He chanced a look outside as he lifted up the blinds, and was not pleased as the morning light assaulted his light sensitive eyes from every direction.
Holy Hyne! Why was there so much light at dawn? Why?
He dropped the blind like it was poisonous, as he tried to reclaim his short lived vision. He rubbed his eyes several times. Once he was certain that the blob in front of him was a room, he was able to make his way carefully to the source of the noise. In his sleep addled state, the offending noise either had to be compromised with, or destroyed. This was depending on whether he liked the person enough. If it was Ellone, compromise. Laguna... probably destruction, maybe.
Moving to the door, he attempted to curse in sleep language at his rude awakening. His bed would be proud of his new vocabulary. Mmm, bed. Maybe he could sneak back…
"Squall if you don't get up right now I'm going to send compromising pictures of you to Vince"
...Maybe he would destroy Ellone after all.
He unlocked the door, and was pleased when it obeyed him first time.
"Geez, you take your sweet time. Come on, father's home" She tugged on his arm. He tried to formulate a proper response, but needed to figure out what words made him sound human.
"Why..wake...me...up?" He grumbled. That was no reason to get him up at dawn.
"Kiros said that he wanted to see us, to see all of us"
"I knew…home soon" He yawned as he said this. Ellone almost looked impressed with his linguistic progression, or maybe that was irritation, he couldn't tell.
"Kiros found him just outside Esthar, crying to himself. Maybe he got hurt?"
"Maybe he lost to a Grat…" Squall muttered darkly, realising with annoyance that he was (finally) waking up properly. There was no chance of going back to bed now. He mourned the loss of his bed sullenly, as they sped along the corridors leading to the presidential quarters.
Now in the suite, Squall was jerked to full awareness by his father's posture. Although he didn't go as far as Ellone to rush over and hug him in concern, he was still worried about the change in the usually happy man.
"Father? What's wrong. Please tell me. This isn't like you. Why is there blood on...Hyne! You've been injured!" Ellone seemed horrified. He was hurt many times on his adventures, but he always came back with a smile on his face. The fact that he looked distraught made the wound seem hideous.
Squall moved forward abruptly. His father crying was one thing, he cried almost on a daily basis about something, usually trivial in nature. His father injured however, was something different. He was stopped however, by a large hand on his shoulder. Ward.
Ward and Kiros walked passed and helped their long time friend up from the floor.
"Come on Laguna. Let's get over to the infirmary so they can have a proper look. I'm no doctor but…"
"I've doomed her Kir… I've doomed myself" Laguna continued to blame himself as the group made their way to the infirmary area of the building.
It didn't take long for them to get the entire story, including the horrors of the cruel beast that resided in the dark castle.
"I wasn't even going to tell either of you. I was planning to come back to say goodbye, but…I wanted you to know why I was saying goodbye. I didn't want you two to feel that I'd abandoned you" Ellone gave a kind smile, trying to hide her shaking from her father and keep up a brave face.
"Yeah, wouldn't want Squall become introverted, because he's so loud and open, I couldn't bear to lose that now" Laguna gave a weak smile at the joke, and then looked to Squall as Ellone elbowed her brother in the ribs slightly. It was unfair of the…beast to say that Ellone was his most precious thing. They both were. They were the result of the love that he and Raine had shared. He suddenly recalled something. An odd memory considering the circumstances, but it made him smile ever so slightly. He remembered how his little Ellone used to tease Squall, saying that when Raine fell into a Laguna's arms, it made a Squall. He had turned round and asked her what kind of storm an Ellone was then. Squall always had a response to things. He had that quality from when he was young, and couldn't defend himself and his sister physically from any bullies. So, he used his tongue, and his words. Now he was able to defend in both ways. He was relieved, as he knew he could trust Squall to look after Ellone.
Kind, sweet, innocent Ellone, his precious daughter. The one who always comforted him when he was sad, the one who indulged him by staying up and watching bad movies with him. The one who always brought him hot drinks during his later nights. The one the beast thought he was going to trade away. Well he wouldn't. He would return, as let the beast rip him to shreds for all he cared. Just as long as his children were safe.
Squall stared dully as he analysed the information in his head. He didn't want anyone to read his thoughts, so settled for a bitter expression to hide the plans he was making. His father and Ellone were now arguing with each other over who should go in front of him. He had to be careful to watch Kiros. He had a surprisingly sharp eye and he didn't want to give Kiros any idea of what he was thinking. Luckily, he was currently making phone calls, attempting to call in help regarding the situation. Many people had seen the president of the City collapse outside his estate, and the media had to be quelled quickly and quietly. People were demanding to see the President in person in order to find out what had caused his injuries, and whether it would be a threat to the city. People opposing Laguna's rule were stating Laguna's incompetence and how they could handle the city much better. Everything had blown out of proportion, and through it all, Ellone and Laguna were still arguing.
"Father, I will go! You can't stop me"
"Ellone, this is my mistake. I won't let you suffer for it"
It made no difference to Squall, neither of them were going. He would leave after the evening meal. Ellone would usually take a bath, and Laguna would retreat into his study to research new places of interest. If the events of today affected his plans, he would wait until they slept. He thumbed the doorway continuously, the only sign of his irritation. Yes, he was ignoring how sad he was at the fact that this could potentially be his last day alive, but at least he wouldn't have to put up with Vince anymore. He gave a small smile at that. Always a silver feather hidden on the moodiest Chocobo, that's what she always used to say to them. At times like this, he did miss his mother. He felt that she would know what to do, that she would stride in, tell both him and Laguna off for being reckless, and make things magically better.
He cocked his head to the side slightly as the arguing stopped. Ellone had stormed out, tears on her face. Ward had followed her, to keep an eye on things until they calmed down. Kiros was still on the phone, but Squall could tell that he was watching him out of the corner of his eye. He supposed that he'd better put up a performance to keep Kiros off his back. He sat by Laguna, who had his head in his hands.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way so that neither of you have to go" Squall reassured him, silently promising him. Laguna looked up. When he spoke, it was in a slow manner, of a man who had given up for the moment.
"You look so much like Raine Squall..." He sighed, for the first time, seeming his age. When he spoke again, it was through a voice filled with despair.
"I wish she was here. She always knew what to do. I...I just don't know what to do. I can't let El be taken. I can't."
"She won't be, and neither will you" Squall countered fiercely. Laguna continued to shake his head.
"This beast won't break our family apart. We will find a different way" Squall felt almost guilty at the thankful hope that entered Laguna's eyes. He reached over and pulled Squall into a one armed hug.
"You're right. You always are. We shouldn't be arguing. We should be coming up with another solution...right Kiros?" Kiros, who had finally put down the phone, gave a wry smile.
"That sounds a bit more like you 'Guna. I thought I was the cynical one. Squall's right. I've called some people, and I'm going to see if we can't investigate this. We have three days right? That's plenty of time." Squall took this moment to disentangle himself from his father, who seemed to have momentarily forgotten that he was holding a live person, and not a stuffed toy.
"Let me know if I can do anything to help" Squall was impressed at how sincere he sounded. Was he overdoing it? He'd never had a chance to practice.
At first, he'd made sure to do mundane, unimportant things around the house, in case he was being watched. During said errands, he managed to pack together a few things. The hardest had been filching the ring from his father. It was a task that had been made easier when his father had hugged him. He had been aware of Kiros' gaze and the quick motion had seemed to have slipped by his watchful eye. He knew his father wouldn't check for it until later, and by then, he would already be gone. He didn't have anything much that he needed to take; he didn't assume that he would live that long. However, he couldn't leave without Lion Heart, he just couldn't. He'd also taken things to remind him of his family in his (possibly) last hours: the green shawl that Ellone always wore (taken from Laguna's pack), and a book given to him by his mother. He had Griever, both in ring and necklace form to remind him of Laguna.
He had wondered for a moment whether it was worth saying goodbye to his school friends, his work colleagues. Eventually, he had decided that he couldn't risk saying goodbye to them without alerting everyone.
"You're surprisingly uninvolved in this Squall" A mild tone caught Squall's attention.
Squall was surprised that Kiros had snuck up on him, but let no emotion brush across his face as he turned around.
"It's not like I can make either of them change their mind. At this rate, they're both going to be going there together. Maybe I should pack for a family trip there. I'm sure the beast at the other end would be glad to have us"
"It seems that they've both agreed to a truce, but I feel that they are both of the mindset that they will sneak off when everyone sleeps." Kiros gave an entertained smile as he said this, but looked rather pointedly at him. There always seemed to be an amusement to his words, yet Squall knew that that was a façade. He knew how important it was to give nothing away to him.
"Well, I'm sure you won't let them do something so stupid" He made to walk off, but Kiros stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"You know Laguna would kill me if I ever let anything happen to the two of you" He stated.
"Nothing is going to happen to any of us. Laguna worries too much"
Squall didn't know why, but when he was talking with someone else about his father, he always referred to him by name. Maybe that way it would feel less personal if anything did happen to him. Kiros surveyed him, before dropping his hand and giving a smile.
"As long as you know how important you and Ellone are to him. It would kill him, if that nasty wound doesn't first"
And now Kiros was back to being light-hearted.
"You know he always makes a big fuss over small wounds" Kiros gave a short laugh at this.
"Well, his appetite is as strong as ever. Maybe you should get there quickly before everything is gone" Kiros commented lightly before continuing into the study. Squall walked along the corridor towards the dining area, barely glancing at Ward. Squall liked Ward, but didn't have the energy to be interrogated by the both of them with barely five minutes between. He reached for the handle, but the door opened first.
"Oh! Squall, I was just coming to get you. Dinner's been ready for a while." Ellone tried to say this brightly, but there was a catch in her voice. Squall smiled faintly and made his way to the table. Usually, if all three of them were in, they would all eat together, alongside Kiros and Ward. Tonight however, it was just the three of them and Ward, as Kiros attempted to put out the political fires. He sat down. The spread was lavish, a result of the surprising skill that Ward had in the kitchen. They had originally hired a cook, but Ward had chased him out pretty quickly after finding out that the chef was trying to poison the family.
It all looked delicious, and he felt bad for Ward, but he knew that he wouldn't be eating any of it tonight. Kiros had done a good job, played the perfect role of innocence. Unfortunately, he didn't trust Kiros. Not at all. He checked his pocket casually for the ring.
Which was gone…
Of course.
Kiros checked in the room half an hour later. They were all asleep. He had made sure that soup was not served tonight. He wouldn't put it past Laguna to somehow manage to drown in it during sleep. He fingered the ring as he sat back at his desk a few minutes later. He had known the young Leonhart was going to attempt something like this, and annoyingly, Laguna was too dense to realise this. It was an almost perfect performance, right up to the part where he had offered any help if it was needed. It had sounded too hopeful, too sincere. He had watched the young Leonhart wander around, casually, but constantly looking over his shoulder. He knew he would have to take things into his own hands then. Ellone and Laguna were far more predictable and easier to gauge. They all needed to take the time to calm down, and think up a solution that did not require a human sacrifice. Perhaps they could send a group of guards with the ring? Would it take that many people? Would it only work with Laguna's blood?
He placed the ring down thoughtfully. He kept up this pattern for a while, milling through different scenarios, picking up the ring, twirling it between his fingers, before casting a gaze at his own food. He had purposefully had the food prepared especially outside of the kitchen. He placed the ring down yet again
It was after a few thoughtful mouthfuls that he realised how far behind he had been in trying to counter Squall. He pushed aside the food that gave a slightly bitter taste. Had the food been hot, he wouldn't have tasted the bitterness at all. Unfortunately, the strong taste also meant it was very potent, and even the small amount that he had ingested was taking effect. His eyelids began to grow heavy. He made it as far as the door before he could walk no farther. He dropped slowly to the floor; sad, but almost proud of Squall.
"Sorry Kiros, but I need to do this"
Footsteps moved towards his desk, took the ring. Kiros tried to reach for the figure.
"Say bye to them for me. Tell them I love them"
And he was gone.
Laguna awoke slowly. He looked round. He was in bed. He put a hand to his forehead. Did he dream everything up? Was everything fine?
"Sorry 'Guna. I tried my best" Laguna looked over at the door. Kiros stood there, looking both tired and upset. Why was he upset?
"What's wrong? How did I get in bed like this?" Laguna was concerned. Kiros kneeled by his friend.
"He's left with it."
Laguna looked up. Who had left with what?
"The ring. Squall went in your place"
