A repeat of History: Sorceress Wars (Chapter 2)
By Silver Dolphin
Squall suddenly came awake. His sleeping chamber was pitch dark, but that told him nothing about the time. There had been no moon the previous night.
Still, he knew it was early, probably around three o'clock. He had always had a sixth sense about time. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep again.
Quistis. Probably the center of his life, the only one he was truly comfortable with. No one would have believed it, but deep in his heart there was affection for the energetic, determined and sometimes-bossy girl.
Oh, well. He might as well get up and start preparations. At least this time she wouldn't be waiting there, tapping her foot impatiently.
The torches burned in the wall sconces, illuminating the stables with warm orange light. He went straight to his bay-colored mount and began grooming him. Squall was never one to trust his horse to one of those careless stable hands.
As the sky began to lighten, shot with silver streaks, the stable doors opened and Quistis entered, with her chain whip wrapped around her waist. She stopped short in surprise.
"You're early."
"No, you're late."
"I am not. I'm never late."
"Hn."
"Come on, before it starts to get noisy around here."
Quistis led her creamy mare out of the stable, with Squall right behind her. Once out on the grassy stable yard, she turned around to Squall.
"Race you there." Without waiting for an answer she swung up into her saddle and galloped off.
"Hey - " Squall quickly mounted too, and soon his horse was thundering after hers. At the last second, Squall's larger stallion overtook her, and he slowed to a halt.
"You cheated." He slipped off the saddle, a tiny smile on his lips.
"So? You still beat me in the end." He came round to lift her off her saddle, and for once she didn't scorn the help, allowing his hands to slide down the length of her body as unselfconsciously as a child.
"Warmed up? Let's go." She unwrapped her whip from around her waist, and cracked it sharply once.
Squall took his position opposite her and poised himself. Both stood with their weapons ready, carefully assessing each other.
It was Quistis who made the first move. In a lightning-quick movement she flicked her whip, and he blocked easily. Then he made a lunge at her, wielding the heavy gunblade as if it weighed nothing, while she brought her whip up to defend herself.
The two continued to spar, and the sound of whip cracks and sword blows rang loudly in the silent clearing. Both fought fiercely, each for reasons different from the other. Knowing that this was a friendly sparring session, Squall was able to utilize his skill fully, without worrying that his opponent would throw the match and let him, the Prince, win. Quistis, being Quistis, would never do that.
Quistis, striving to prove herself worthy of being King's Champion, continued pressing her attacks on Squall. But then a heavily landed blow caused her to loosen her grip on her whip, and the weapon slipped out of her hands.
"Give up?" He stood, gunblade pointed, while she clutched her aching wrist.
"Nope!" She vaulted over into a somersault, and, measuring the distance carefully, deftly kicked the blade hard. Unprepared for the sudden blow, Squall let the weapon go, and it fell to the ground with a solid 'thunk'.
Quistis finished her move by landing neatly on one leg, and then pouncing on Squall. The two fell and rolled over, and then, before the prince could get up, Quistis had straddled him, using her hands to pin his shoulders to the ground.
"Game over." She smiled sweetly at him, eyes still glowing from the heat of the battle.
Gasping slightly, he tried to sit up, pushing her off his stomach as he did so. "That wasn't fair."
"And why not?" she raised her eyebrow.
He opened his mouth, then shut it again. "Forget it."
She tried to push herself off the ground, but sharp pains shot through her wrist. "Ow."
"What happened?" He picked her wrist up for a closer look. The gunblade had scored her silken flesh, and the blood was coagulated on the cut. The area around the cut had swelled slightly.
"It's nothing." She tried to remove her wrist. His fingers were sending electric shocks up her arm.
"Hn." She could see he was getting ready to cast cure.
"It'll heal by itself in a few days."
He gave her a flat look. "You want me to get a roasting from Kiros when we get back?"
She sighed. "Okay."
The spell crept around the cut, tickling slightly as it closed the flesh. Soon the pain was gone.
Squall, however, kept his hand on her forearm.
"Aren't you a little old to go around dressed like that?"
"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" She wore a sleeveless tunic, belted at the waist, and pants that hugged her legs.
"You should be wearing gowns and jewellery, learning how to be a lady. Instead of accompanying the Prince on his riding expeditions."
"I AM a lady."
"That's not what I meant."
She ignored him. "I happen to like riding and training. These clothes are best suited for that. And the Prince happens to be my best friend."
"You're probably going to get a rowing from Kiros. Again."
"So?"
"It's your choice."
"Why these questions? You don't like my company?"
"It's not that." Far from it. He was afraid that one day, she would leave his side to become a proper Lady.
"Well then, what?"
He refused to look at her. "The sun's up. Let's go." Then, as she didn't move, "Aren't you hungry?"
"Come to think of it, yeah." She mounted her mare, and, with a small smile at him, started for home.
Quistis opened the door to her living quarters, wincing as it creaked. So much for a stealthy entrance.
As if on cue, Kiros came out of his room. "That you, Quisty?"
"Yes. Good morning, Kiros. " She stood up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Then she stepped back and prepared herself for a long lecture.
Kiros's eyes took in her sweaty clothes and chain whip, as well as the state her hair was in. "Practicing again."
"Yes." A wary note crept into her voice.
"When are you going to grow up?"
"I am."
"Other girls your age are happily married now."
"I'm not other girls. I'm your daughter. I take after you. I want to be a warrior, not a housewife." Her hand went to the whip at her waist.
"It's your choice, Quistis. I'm not going to nag anymore. You're grown up now, and you know what you want."
"Huh?"
"You've had your share of suitors, and you've turned them all down." He smiled crookedly. "I guess you've made your point, adding a few white hairs to my head in the process."
"I don't want to get married. I'm going to be Squall's Champion."
Kiros's eyes watched her sharply. "You love him, don't you?"
"What…what makes you say that?"
"I can see. He's a good boy. Which is more than I can say for Seifer."
"What's going to happen when Seifer becomes King?"
"You're to be his Champion. Make sure you advise him wisely. That boy's only got selfish intentions in his head. It's Adel's fault, that."
"What if I don't want to be?"
"No such thing." He pushed her off to the bathroom. "Hurry up and take a shower."
Half an hour later she made her way to the dining hall, putting her hair into a loose ponytail as she walked. It was still slightly damp.
"Ah, my Lady Quistis."
She turned around in surprise. "Seifer."
He smirked at her. Up close, she had to admit that he was very handsome.
"It's such a waste. The most beautiful girl in Esthar hasn't spent a night with me yet."
"Forget it, Seifer. I'm not as sex-crazed as all those other bimbos you bed every night."
"Loyal to the end, are we?" he mocked her. "What loyalty does a bastard deserve?"
"He's your brother, Prince."
"An accident of birth, Lady mine." His eyes narrowed. "When that Raine realized that she wasn't going to be Queen, she had that bastard to mess things up."
"That's enough!" Quistis cut in. "Squall's just as good a Prince as you are! That's why you're jealous, isn't it!"
"Jealous?" he laughed scornfully. "I'm ashamed of you, Quistis. For the smartest person in Esthar you're certainly dense in perceiving things."
Still smirking, he walked ahead of her.
Oooh. Quistis found that she was quivering with anger. "Prince, my foot." She muttered under her breath. "I pray that Hyne will bless our kingdom when Laguna is gone."
She was still fuming when she slipped into the dining hall and took her place. Squall wasn't there yet. Neither was the King, although Adel was already seated next to Seifer. As her eyes met his, he gave her a sly wink. She resisted the urge to pick up her knife and hurl it at him.
The great doors opened again, this time at the entrance of Laguna and Squall. As Quistis watched, Adel's eyes blazed with sudden fire, and she cast a look at her son. Seifer didn't notice, however. His gaze was fixed, unwinking, on the figure of his half-brother.
The royal pair took their places, Squall beside Quistis, Laguna beside Squall. Adel sat on Laguna's other side, followed by Seifer.
Throughout the meal, she kept her eyes on the Queen, all the while feeling the presence of Squall next to her.
She feared for him who was so unfearful for himself. Sorceress Adel was not one to take lightly.
"You need to be careful," she said softly to Squall.
"Hmm?" he asked, putting his knife and fork down.
"Adel. Didn't you see the look on her face when you came in?"
"I know. She can't do anything, not while Laguna is my father."
That was how she feared he'd take it. Squall tended to think he was invincible.
"Quistis!" She started out of her thoughts, and turned round to answer Kiros.
Straight after breakfast she was obliged to go to the library for lessons with Mistress Edea. Quistis was a fast learner, much faster than any of the other scholars in Esthar. Therefore, her father and King Laguna had decided to let her have lessons one-on-one.
There was something very wrong with Mistress Edea today, she decided as she leafed through her history book. The woman was talking a whole bunch of crap about some sorceress war. And the name Adel kept cropping up.
But weren't the sorceress wars a thing of the past? The horrible dictatorship of a long line of sorceresses, all the bloodshed and unhappiness?
"Uh…Mistress Edea?"
"Yes, child?"
"Isn't all that you're saying…all in the past?"
Edea sighed. "So we'd like to believe, child. I feel the past awakening. I fear…that destruction is upon us all."
"I don't get it."
"It's all right. Just my ramblings, really… let's get started on another chapter, shall we?"
And the rest of the morning passed without any more incidents.
"Where can that idiot be?" Quistis muttered to herself as she roamed the halls of Esthar Castle. She had looked for Squall in every conceivable place she could think of, but he was nowhere to be found. Add that to the creepy feeling she'd been having since that conversation with Edea…yep, the morning was definitely not going her way.
In desperation she entered the throne room. It was highly unlikely, but he might be with his father.
"Yes, Lady Quistis?" The king's friendly voice reached her ears. Laguna stood up from where he was bent over a scroll on his throne. From where she was standing, he looked exhausted.
"I was looking for Prince Leonhart, my Lord," she replied in a resigned tone. "I guess he's not here."
"No, he's not. I believe he's in the infirmary."
"Why?" Squall had not set foot into that room for years, not since the time he'd fallen out of that huge tree they'd been climbing and broken his arm.
"A gunblade accident. I think he was sparring with Seifer."
"Oh, Hyne." Without even bothering to bow to Laguna she turned heel and raced off. Her long legs ate the distance between the throne room and the infirmary quickly.
She burst through the door, worry evident in her clear azure eyes. Squall was lying on a high mattress – with half his face covered in blood.
"Dear Hyne, what happened?" Squall jerked up at the sound of her voice, but the physician held him down firmly.
"Since you're here, my Lady, could you help me with cleaning his face? I'll need to prepare the needle."
"Needle?" she asked incredulously, taking the cloths from the physician.
"The cut is very deep. It needs to be sewn." The woman hurried off to the other side of the room.
"Okay, my Lord Prince, exactly what were you thinking of?"
"Seifer challenged me," he replied defensively. "I had to accept."
"And how many more challenges are you going to accept?" There was a steely note in her voice. "Until he kills you?"
"I can take care of myself."
"Sure, you can. Let's see how many scars it takes to prove that." In contrast to her cutting tone, however, her hands were gentle as she cleaned the drying blood off his face.
He shut his eyes, flinching slightly whenever the cut smarted.
"Sorry. There." She removed the bloody cloth from his face. Up close, she could see how deep the cut was. It ran from forehead to the bridge of his nose, and it was a raw, nasty red.
"What exactly was the challenge about, anyway?" she asked, smoothing the hair off his forehead so that it wouldn't get into the gash. "I wouldn't have thought there was anything left to challenge you about."
He sighed. "You."
"Me?" she repeated skeptically.
"He started spouting rubbish about how I should defend your loyalty. I don't think he knew what he was talking about, himself. He was just itching for a fight."
"Well then, why did you bother to answer him?"
"I just didn't like the way he was talking about you."
"Men!" she rolled her eyes skywards, but inside – she was touched that he'd fight Seifer because of her.
"How'd you find me?"
"Laguna."
"Oh, yeah. My father came across us fighting. I think he yelled at Seifer to stop after Seifer clobbered my head."
"How?"
"He used magic." Disgust was evident in Squall's voice. "Cheat."
"You're too noble for your own good."
He scowled at her, then winced as the movement brought pain to his forehead.
At that moment the physician came over, needle in hand. Quistis hastily backed away. Needles were definitely not her favorite things.
When the sewing was done, she studied his face critically. "It's not that bad, actually. It kind of makes you look more human."
"Do I look like a monster to you?"
"Not that way." She frowned at him. "It ruins your perfect beauty, though." She smiled that odd little smile of hers, the one that he could never decipher. "I guess you're going to break the hearts of many young ladies then."
"WHAT ladies?" there was actually a panicked look in his eyes.
"I was just joking." She paused. "Are you going to lie there all day?"
"Of course not." He got up and touched the scar gingerly. "Doesn't hurt that bad."
Quistis laughed and impulsively gave him a hug. Gone were the days when she'd been taller than him. He was grown up now, no longer the little boy she'd felt an elder sister's need to protect. Holding him this close, she could feel that very clearly.
He gave her a bemused look. "What was that for?"
"Nothing." She smiled mysteriously, then tugged on his arm. "Come on. Let's go to the city for awhile, shall we?"
"Okay." So saying, they went to saddle their horses.
It was very late when they returned from Esthar City. Only then did they learn that the king was dying.
- end chapter 2 -
And so the plot thickens (although very slightly). It's a slow process so be patient okay? Should I still continue this series?