Chapter III – Brotherly Love
Two lives rejoiced…
Another found a new source of support…
All because of one meeting.
On a typical Friday at 0900 hours, the faint rays of the morning sun already lighted Balamb Garden. Quistis was casually making her way to the Quad with a thick book hugged to her chest, dying to catch up on some reading outside in the warm sun. She loved early mornings and late nights – they were the quietest times during the span of a day. But what I wouldn't give to hear the chatter of students in a classroom again.
The Quad was as quiet as the rest of Garden if not quieter. Quistis saw Lydia sitting on a bench, scanning a magazine. The two ladies saw each other and exchanged small greetings. Lydia grinned delightfully while Quistis only smiled and turned away, slow enough so Lydia wouldn't think she didn't want to see her. I don't dislike the girl. She just looks too happy. Like Selphie. Quistis sighed and sat down on another bench a little ways away from Lydia.
Selphie suddenly appeared, looking breathless. Quistis's eyes widened for a moment when she saw Selphie charge at her. The hyperactive girl managed to screeched to a halt before she hit Quistis. Selphie looked happier than usual, if such a thing was possible.
"Quisty, Quisty! I knocked at your dorm for soooooo long and no one answered, so I thought you were probably awake! I've been looking all over for you!" Selphie exclaimed with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Why so early in the morning, Selphie?" Quistis inquired, unconsciously and impatiently tapping her fingers on the hard cover of her book.
Selphie brought her hands out from behind so quickly she almost hit Quistis in the face. It was a white envelope with 'Quistis Trepe' written on its surface with fancy gold lettering.
"What is this?" Quistis turned the envelope around and stared at the circular silver seal.
"Open it! Open it now!" Selphie rocked back and forth on her heels as she watched Quistis carefully pick the sticker off with her fingernails. It was a plain white card that read:
President Laguna Loireof Esthar
requests the pleasure of your company at the marriage of his son
Mr. Squall Leonhart to Ms. Rinoa Heartilly
at the Balamb Garden Quad
this coming Wednesday at 1700 hours
Evening banquet and dance to follow in the Balamb Garden Ball Room
Quistis's hands trembled.
"Quistis? Is everything okay?" Selphie's hand on Quistis's shoulder shook her away from her thoughts.
"Oh, of course, Selphie." Quistis put on her usual mask. "They're finally getting married. I'm happy for them."
"Me, too!" Selphie giggled. "I thought Squall would never do something like that!" I think we all know how he's changed since Rinoa came into the picture. "So, you're going, right? Who wouldn't go to a wedding? Rinoa said she'd be very happy if we could be her bridesmaids! She also said we could wear whatever we want as long as it looks appropriate for a wedding!"
"What?" Quistis was about to shout the rest of her opinions, but she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to herself so she toned it down to a fierce whisper. "Selphie, you know how I feel about these functions!"
"Come on, Quisty! You need to have some fun once in a while! You can't wear that darn thing forever!" Selphie pointed at Quistis's SeeD uniform. The uniform was ages old, but still looked brand new due to Quistis's careful maintenance. "You need a new dress."
"I don't see what's wrong with this uniform. I've worn it to SeeD inauguration parties for as long as I can remember, and no one's ever made any bad comments." Selphie opened her mouth to speak again but Quistis was quicker. "But, I understand this is not suitable for a wedding, so I promise I will find something else."
"Okay, I trust you!" Selphie held up a finger and waved it in Quistis's face as a warning. From where Quistis was standing, it looked as if Selphie had bounced out of the Quad rather than walked.
Quistis sighed, read the invitation one last time, and placed it back in the envelope. If this had happened a year ago, she would've fled from where she stood, and ran to her dorm room to do something rash. But she felt almost nothing. She looked around and saw that Lydia had long disappeared. Quistis sat down and opened The Origin and History of Guardian Forces to the page where her bookmark was resting.
Gripping Hyperion securely, Seifer moved quickly across Alcauld Plains, visibly ticked off. He was sick and tired of running into incompetent Bite Bugs every ten steps. They would not leave him alone.
It can't be my cologne. I don't even wear cologne.
It seemed the Bite Bug population had grown around these parts, and it never did any good to ignore them since the noise of their flapping wings could drive you insane. At this rate, he wouldn't reach Garden until nightfall. You'd think Esthar would've invented some kind of Bite Bug spray by now.
Something buzzed in his ear. Seifer groaned. Oh, COME ON! Without watching where he was aiming, Seifer hit the Bite Bug with the hilt of his gunblade and knocked it out of consciousness. At least they're weak.
Balamb Garden finally came within range. He walked up the steps of the Front Gate. That Cure Draw Point is still there. Did they not change anything around this dump?
When Seifer reached the entrance, the security guard halted him. "Excuse me, sir. If you're a visitor, you have to—" Seifer wasn't surprised when the young man's eyes widened. He was used to this. "Y-y-you're…S-seifer Almasy! T-t-the Sorceress's Knight! Uh…ex-knight!"
"That I am," Seifer replied, looking slightly amused, "now if you would kindly let me insi—"
"N-no!" the man interrupted. "Not unless you have permission!"
"And who said I don't?"
"No one told me I was supposed to be expecting you!"
"I'm sorry, Hank. That's my fault," a voice entered the scene. Seifer turned to see Headmaster Cid. "I thought I'd get here before he did. Sorry about that, Hank."
"It's okay, sir," Hank said, embarrassed.
Cid glanced at his watch before turning to Seifer. "Hello, Seifer. The Garden Executive Team – we call it the gee-ee-tee here – is waiting. Right this way." The Headmaster stepped aside so Seifer could come through the small gate. They walked down the long hallway to the elevator, where Seifer received many curious and vicious looks from several Cadets and SeeDs. When they reached the elevator, Cid pressed the down button. Seifer had never been in the basement before. Finally, something new. Ever since NORG was defeated and the Sorceress War ended, the basement was turned into a boardroom. Most GET meetings were held at Balamb Garden because of this convenience.
The elevator stopped when it reached the designated floor. There was a brightly lit room with a large square table in the middle. Seifer blinked several times. Was the table…gleaming? Some idiot probably used too much polish. There were a total of five people seated at the table in swivel armchairs, and on the table lay stark white folders filled with papers. Seifer saw no familiar faces except for two. Oh, Hyne…not them.
Squall Leonhart and Martine, the Headmaster of Galbadia.
Great. Puberty Boy's on the team, along with that snobby Martine. This is EXACTLY what I need.
"Have a seat, Seifer," Cid said. Seifer did as he was told, not wanting to seem terribly disobedient. "Let's begin with the introductions, shall we? This," Cid pointed to an unsmiling blond woman in her late thirties, "is Cahira Ashthorne, Headmistress of Trabia Garden." Cahira nodded.
"Next to her is Senior Instructor Cedric Dolan, also from Trabia." Seifer looked at the serious but handsome young man with soft brown hair. Instructor Dolan didn't look any older than 25.
"We have a Rank A officer from Galbadia, Burke Berwyn." The middle-aged Galbadian sat unblinking as he was introduced. "Also, Martine, Galbadia Garden's Headmaster."
"We've met," Martine said in an aloof tone. Seifer and Martine stared each other down. Martine's eyes filled with disdain while Seifer tried to remain neutral.
Cid noticed the spark between the two and quickly moved on. "And last but not least, Balamb Garden's very own Commander, Squall Leonhart." So the Legendary Leonhart's a Commander now, eh? "You remember Squall, don't you, Seifer?"
Seifer smirked in Squall's general direction. "Just barely."
"Now that introductions have been made," Cid continued, "let's get right to the point. Does anyone have any objections to readmitting Seifer as a Balamb Garden Cadet?"
Martine spoke up almost immediately, as if he'd been dying to say something all this time. His tone wasn't rude but his words were. "He is a traitor, if not to Garden, then to the world. And for that, he can't be allowed back. I sure hope everyone here knows that."
Seifer tried not to scowl. He was doing his best to keep his voice steady. He could not afford to let his anger get in the way. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I've learned my lesson?"
"Speaking of learning, Mr. Almasy," Cahira spoke with a northern accent while going through some of the files. "I read through your records, and I can honestly say that I am not impressed. Although it states here under comments from an Instructor No. 14 that you are highly intelligent, physically and mentally capable of being a SeeD, it seems you can't follow orders, which is one of the most important aspects of being a mercenary."
Instructor No. 14? How can Trepe manage to do this to me when she's not even here? Incredible. At least she thought I was smart.
Burke decided to put in his two Gil, "Headmistress Ashthorne, I really don't think comments from that particular Instructor can be considered valid." He held up a piece of paper for everyone to see. The document had many segments of small writing and a Garden-issue photo of Quistis in her SeeD uniform. "According to Garden records, Instructor No. 14 was stripped of her Instructor's License a couple of weeks before the War began."
Trepe was no longer an Instructor? Interesting.
"I've seen her before," Burke continued. "She was one of the SeeDs who helped end the War. I've heard she's got quite a reputation at Balamb." He stared at Quistis's photo in the file. "Quite a looker, too."
Seifer narrowed his eyes, and though he hadn't met Burke until today, he already hated him. Maybe it's because he's Galbadian.
Cid cleared his throat. "Everyone, I think we should get back to the original topic."
"I agree, Cid. I'd like to end this meeting as soon as possible. I don't have all day. I've got important things to do," Martine said frostily while he glared at Seifer for more than the third time. "I don't think we should let him back. End of discussion."
"Just a moment, Headmaster Martine," the silent Instructor from Trabia finally decided to speak. "I understand how you feel about his actions. He used Galbadia Garden like a toy and destroyed Trabia, and yes, he did betray us, but that's in the past. It's possible that he has learned something from his disloyalty, as Seifer himself stated." Instructor Dolan emphasized his next sentence. "You can't just walk away from everything he went through and not change."
"What are you trying to say, Dolan?" Martine didn't like where this was going.
Cedric was not in the mood to play Martine's game today. "You know exactly what I'm trying to say. I'm asking for us to give him a second chance. Everyone deserves a second chance, including him. Maybe he'll do better this time around."
"Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me like this!" Martine started.
"Yes, he can, Martine," Cid reminded him. "In case you've forgotten, everyone on the GET has equal say."
Martine, in his current emotional state, had stood up without realizing. He sat back down, obviously upset, and spoke directly to Seifer, "Fine, Almasy. If you want a second chance that badly, then take it. But I insist that you be placed on probation. Don't think we don't have all your records. You're already nineteen and if you don't make SeeD by twenty, you know what happens. Not even I can do anything about it then."
"Come now, Martine," Cahira said. "Garden rules are not set in stone. Haven't we ever had a graduate past the age of twenty? Surely there must have been a few."
"Now that I think of it, that age limit does sound a bit unreasonable," Burke said, stroking his chin.
"We'll discuss that at the next meeting," Cid spoke loudly. "It's settled. I move that we allow Seifer Almasy back into Balamb Garden with a two-month probation, no exceptions."
Squall suddenly spoke up, to everyone's surprise, "Instructor Dolan's right. If we keep dwelling in the past, then we'll never get anything done. Maybe Seifer could be of some use to Garden." That's Puberty Boy for you. Always thinking of the establishment. He's as bad as Quistis if not worse. "I second that motion."
Are my ears betraying me now? Puberty Boy? Sticking up for me?
Everyone stood up to leave, but before anyone could say anything else, Martine said, "I'll see you all at the next meeting." Burke followed. When Martine walked past Seifer, he stood in front of him and gave him a warning, "If I hear anything bad about you within the next two months, I will personally see to it that you are removed from the face of this planet, do you understand?" Without waiting for a reply, Martine and his comrade left.
Seifer and the rest of the GET took the elevator back up to the main floor. Seifer and Cid walked Headmistress Cahira and Instructor Dolan to the Front Gate. Squall claimed that he had some paperwork to finish up. While Cid made small talk with Cahira, Seifer pulled Dolan aside.
"Hey, if it weren't for you…" Seifer trailed off. His pride had already taken a hit from having had his fate inadvertently thrust into the hands of a stranger. Thanking the stranger in question wouldn't make a difference.
"Don't worry about it," Cedric replied.
"But why? You said it yourself: I betrayed the world. Why did you help me?"
Cedric crossed his arms and sighed. "To tell you the truth, you remind me of myself when I was young. I did something I regretted but no one would give me a second chance, until one day… Well, I won't give you the details, but if someone hadn't given me a second chance, I wouldn't have been able to help you today. The universe works in mysterious ways." He smiled at Seifer. "Besides, you're friendlier than Martine said you are. And don't worry about Martine. I think you and I both know that he's stubborn."
Seifer understood all too well. "I owe you one."
"No, it's fine. But if you insist, you could help me get a date with the former Instructor Trepe." Cedric winked. He laughed when Seifer's smile quivered. "I'm joking. I saw how you reacted when Burke was going on about her. You looked like you were about to feed him to a hungry swarm of Caterchipillar. Is she your girlfriend?" Seifer muttered a 'no'. I don't think she even thinks of me as a friend. I don't think she thinks of me at all. Cedric laughed again. "I think I actually met her a year ago at an Instructor Convention in Deling, but she probably doesn't remember me. She once told me about you."
Seifer's curiosity got to him. "What did she say?"
"She said you were unruly, but you have good potential." Cedric shrugged. "Well, I should get going. Looks like Cahira's almost done with Cid. Maybe I'll see you around some time. Work hard, Almasy, and watch yourself. Don't let all our work go to waste. It's not as easy as it looks to stand up to Martine."
"I won't disappoint." The two men shook hands.
"Take care now, Almasy." With that, he left Seifer's side and joined Cahira to get ready for their departure.
Cid looked at his watch. "It's ten-thirty-five already? I didn't think it would take that long. I think we should begin as soon as possible. Come with me to my office and I'll give you a key card for your dorm. I'm afraid Xu took some time off, so I can't get you your schedule until Monday." Cid and Seifer walked back inside together. "I don't suppose you want a uniform this time?"
"I didn't want one last time. I'm not changing my mind now."
"Okay, Seifer." Cid knew that even if he was the Headmaster, he still needed to stay on Seifer's good side, just in case.
Seifer was pleased by the way things had turned out today. He even made a friend…sort of. He never was the type to make quick friends, but Seifer had a feeling that Cedric could be trusted.
After receiving all the necessary items and manuals from Cid's office and checking into his dorm room just to make sure the key card worked, Seifer decided to take a walk around Garden to see if anything else had changed. To his great disappointment, nothing had.
Without watching where he was going, he bumped into something soft. It didn't feel nice bumping into someone like Seifer due to his height and size. On top of that, he had been walking fairly fast. He reacted quickly, wrapping one arm around the victim's shoulders and the other around a waist. Seifer looked down and saw Quistis Trepe.
Her eyes were closed for a split second, as if she was preparing herself for impact. When that didn't come, she opened her eyes and couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her lips.
"Seifer?" Quistis asked, confusion written all over her face. Seifer could've sworn she was also blushing.
She hasn't forgotten me. That's a good sign. "You called, Instructor?" Seifer replied smugly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just stopped your pretty little head from hitting the floor and not even a word of thanks?"
"Stop dodging the question, and for Hyne's sake, let go of me!" His eyes shone with a certain mischief and he unwrapped his arms from her body. Quistis let out a yelp of surprise and fell to the ground with a thud. "Hyne, Seifer! What did you do that for?" Quistis pressed a hand to her back.
"Just obeying orders, Instructor. Need a hand?" Seifer held out his gloved palm in front of Quistis, who swatted it away.
"I'm fully capable of getting up on my own." She did so and asked again, "You never answered my question. What are you doing here?"
"What, am I not allowed to come visit my favorite Instructor?" Seifer smirked as he watched her turn a slight shade of pink.
"Don't answer questions with questions, Almasy, it's—"
"Impolite," he interrupted, "I know. You've told me that hundreds of times."
"It's nice to see that you actually listened."
"If you want to know why I'm here, go ask Cid. I'm sure he can give a better explanation. Of course, knowing you, you'd probably just say, 'No, Seifer! I shan't bother the Headmaster with such trivial things!'" Seifer mocked her in a flimsy falsetto.
"This is hardly trivial, Seifer."
"Look, Instructor, it's not like people are rioting over my return. Don't make such a big deal out of this."
Quistis put a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath. Seifer could tell he was getting to her. "Seifer, I really do not have the time for this. Go bother someone else." She brushed past him and kept walking.
He stared after her and caught himself staring at that one place between her back and her legs. Great work, Almasy. How many more times does she need to walk away from you before you learn— Wait, learn what? He shook his head again to clear his thoughts. He began to walk away but something on the floor caught his eye. He bent down to pick up an envelope addressed to Quistis. She must've dropped it. Seifer smirked to himself.
Looks like Hyne just gave me another excuse to see her.