Disclaimer: still don't own ff8. santa if you're listening….
A/N; well another chapter of this crazy tale I am glad people have liked it so far, and much thanks goes to my reviewers of the last chapter zellycat, crazy turkey, lilnaych, sparx, chibi-san, r, ae14, cerulean crystal and emo diva. You guys all rock! So here is some more of the tale of Rinoa and her (hot) guard. So the king showed up at the end of the last one…how will that turn out….read and see. hope you enjoy and merry Christmas xx
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-plans-
Rinoa's father. The king? King Caraway of Galbadia was there? Squall immediately felt panic rise in him. Rinoa was not exactly in an entirely presentable state, in fact she was in a very questionable state; injured, freezing, dizzy and wet. She was in such the state at present that people could quite easily question how capable of a guard Squall actually was. And that is exactly what happened when Seifer came storming out of the building with the King.
"What on the earth is going on?" Seifer demanded as soon as he laid eyes on Squall and the Princess. Squall immediately dropped his arm from around Rinoas shoulders-this setup looked bad enough as it was.
"There was a small event" Rinoa said to her father and Sir Seifer, both of whom looked pretty mad "the storm, it startled my horse and I fell"
The king looked Rinoa up and down and then flicked his gaze onto Squall "And who would you be again?"
Squall dutifully bowed to the King, although he was not particularly fond of him. Squall was aware of many things that King Caraway had done from his days as a soldier, and a lot of which were less than pleasant. He had actually been reluctant to take the position of guard to his daughter for such reasons, but at the time, his situation had left him little choice. Besides, the more he saw Rinoa, the more he began to think she was probably not involved in or even aware of a lot of the things her father did "Squall Leonhart, your majesty, I am one of your daughters guards"
"And were exactly where you when all this has happened?" the King asked him
This jolted something in Squall. It annoyed him. The King seemed more concerned with whether the people on his payroll were doing there jobs than he seemed about her daughter. He had not even asked if she was alright.
"I was there" Squall said
"And you let this happen?" Seifer demanded
"It was not his fault" Rinoa said "There was nothing he could have done to prevent the horse being startled. He was there to help me afterwards, which is important"
"We should get you inside, before people see you in such a state" The king said heading for the entrance of the castle, pulling Rinoa behind him
Once they were inside the castle, Sir Seifer stared at Squall and shook his head
"you idiot" he cursed
"I beg your pardon"
"Imagine bringing the Princess back in that state when the King was here, how could you be so irresponsible"
"Sir Seifer, the whole situation was inevitable. Unless you assume me able to control wild horses then you should know the accident could not have been prevented and unless you assume I also possess psychic powers you must accept that I had no idea the King would be here"
"you need to watch it Leonhart, this isn't the first time" Seifer said before storming off back into the castle.
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"Well" Rinoas father said demandingly as he paced the room "Explain yourself"
"I have Father, I have told you what happened. I fell off my horse"
"And that is the truth?" he asked suspiciously
"Yes Sir, it is. I landed in the snow, which is why I am quite wet"
"And what of that guard of yours"
"Squall?" Rinoa said slightly anxiously. She could easily see how her father and probably Sir Seifer were going to try and blame this whole thing on Squall. Seifer didn't like him anyway and Rinoa knew all her father was really concerned about was the outward impression she gave. If something went wrong it was always better to have someone to blame rather than have to blame it on your own daughter and risk your country looking at all questionable was her fathers way.
"I do not remember ever encountering him"
"He is relatively new, Sir Seifer hired him little over a month ago to replace my old guard. He is very good at his job father, this was not his fault" she explained. She really did not want Squall to get into any kind of trouble. In a strange way, he seemed to make the days more bearable.
"As you say. I shall leave Sir Seifer to deal with him, I do not lower myself to dealing with guards"
Rinoa was ever so slightly annoyed by this comment. She did not consider dealing with guards, or any people for that matter a task which needed lowering too, she saw it as part of life. Her father she knew was different, he saw anyone who was not royal or important as unworthy of his time.
"To what do I owe your visit, Father?"
"I have come to inform you that you will be hosting a ball, here at this castle. A week from today. I will make all the preparations, invitations have already been sent"
A ball? this was the first Rinoa had heard of any ball. "And what is the purpose of this party?"
"You are 18 now Rinoa, the time when you should be considering finding yourself a husband. I think this event would be perfect for you to start considering and observing possible suitors. There will be many eligible men attending"
"Father, I do not wish to marry yet"
"I am aware of that, but my dear not everything can be done to your liking. I will of course give you time, but remember you have a job as a representative of this family and this country and some things must be done to that end. And I forgot to mention, at your party, there will be a very important guest, I have invited Prince Irvine of Dollet"
"Father, I sincerely hope your intention is not to try to set me up with Prince Irvine in some sort of business deal" Rinoa had met prince Irvine, and she did not like him. He was young, arrogant and spoilt, he had inherited way too much power at a young age.
"Of course not, don't be so fanciful Rinoa" her father said, although Rinoa did not truly believe him. "he is merely one option you could consider"
After a little while longer, her father left and Rinoa began to dread this event that had been planned. Her father was up to something for sure. She prayed it was really not his intention to marry her off to Prince Irvine, although she sensed it may be, despite his denial of it. Rinoa did not know much about affairs of the heart, but she did know that she wanted to marry for love, not for position and power as she was sure her father would some day have her do. Of course the one problem was that her life lacked love completely. She had no idea what it really felt like to be in love or to be loved. She had spent her days in the company of people only concerned with her title. She had never known true friendship really, let alone true love. As she was thinking about this, as she often did, a familiar voice called through the door
"Permission to enter princess"
"Of course"
Squall walked into the room, and bowed. "I am very very sorry Princess"
"What for?" Rinoa asked a little puzzled
"For what happened earlier"
"Please Squall, as I told Seifer and my father, it was not your fault, you could not have prevented it in anyway. And you were very helpful to me, if it were not for you I would probably have lay there and passed out and caught my death from cold. So instead of you apologising, I should be thanking you. So thank you, Squall"
"It is not a problem mistress, I just hope you are feeling better now"
"I am, much thank you. Although I can not say I am looking forward to this party being held"
"yes, I have heard news of it. Sir Seifer told me of it."
"my father expects me to start looking for a husband there you know, he wishes me to marry soon." Rinoa was not entirely sure why exactly she was talking to Squall about all of this, it just felt good to know that someone would listen. Even if it was only because it was his job.
"I see your highness. I do not mean to be forward, but you do not seem happy with that"
"I am not. I would wish myself to marry for love, I would wish myself time to find the perfect person but I do not think that fits my fathers agenda."
"Perhaps. Although maybe you will be granted fortune and you will find love in the course of your fathers agenda. Maybe you will fall for someone whom he finds to be suitable for both his purposes and your own needs."
"Perhaps" Rinoa smiled slightly. Squall seemed to make her smile more than anyone else, again something she was not entirely sure of the reason behind this. Sure he was attractive-very attractive in fact with his stormy blue eyes and his long brown fringe and that mysterious scar-but there was something else about him, something that captivated her completely.
"Or" she continued, trying not to get too distracted by Squalls good looks "perhaps I will fall in love with someone entirely inappropriate…"
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teehee. And I wonder who that highly inappropriate person may be Rinoa squall cough cough squall. Anyway I hope you liked the chapter. This will obviously be the last update before Christmas but I will get some done soon after. Next few chapters are a little more exciting I promise and just as a taster they include parties and horse chases. Indeed. So please keep reading and review and let me know what you think and if people want me too I will conitnue. All the best this Christmas guys xxx