A repeat of history: Sorceress Wars (Chapter 3)
"Dying?" Quistis asked in disbelief. "That's impossible! King Laguna was perfectly fine this afternoon!"
When they'd returned from Esthar City, Kiros had summoned them to the council chambers to break the news of the dying king.
Kiros himself did not look well. His dark face, once the image of strength and calm, now looked old and tired.
"What happened?" It was Squall this time, his voice firm and calm.
"Laguna went into a series of seizures in the late afternoon. He's very weak now. We fear… another seizure will kill him."
"Isn't there any medication…?"
"No, my daughter. The physicians cannot help him. He is dying."
"Seizures…how come they occurred one after the other? Isn't there usually a break or so in between?" Quistis argued.
"Yes. This illness has all the court physicians baffled. No one knows what it is."
"Can I see him?" Squall's face was perfectly composed.
"Of course, Prince. Come with me."
The King lay on his bed, still and cold. Gathered by his bedside were the Queen, Seifer, and the other ministers.
The King's once beautiful face, so like Squall's, was lined and gray. His expression was contorted with pain.
"Father." Squall stepped up to clasp the king's hand.
Laguna opened his eyes with great effort. "My son. Raine…"
With a gasp, he continued. "Be the King you were born to be. Prince Leonhart, I name you as my heir."
"No!" It was a snarl from Adel. "The Kingship belongs to Seifer!"
The king shuddered, breathing hard. "My decision, Adel. While I am still king…" He moved his head slightly to look at Quistis. "Look after my son, Lady Quistis, as King's champion…"
Queen Adel's eyes were wild. "The king is in great state of pain, my Lords. Surely he does not know what he is talking about!"
There was silence for a while. Then Kiros coolly replied, "While the King is alive, all decisions are his to make."
The tension was dissolved by a strangled gasp from Laguna. As they watched, the King went into his last seizure. Quistis closed her eyes and leaned her head on Kiros's shoulder for support.
A storm of wailing from the Queen told her that the King was dead. Tears trickled down her cheeks, to fall unheeded onto the cold stone floor.
"Hold her." It was Kiros talking to someone else. She felt herself be transferred into another person's arms, and she leaned in to him, grateful for the comfort he provided. But when she raised her head, she got a nasty shock.
Seifer.
"What in Hyne...?" she cursed, shying away from his touch. What was that soft look in his eyes?
She forced herself to look at the king. Kiros had covered the body with the sheet, and she could only make out a shape beneath it. Which was perfectly fine by her.
Squall…what was he thinking now? He had just lost his father, and had inherited Laguna's most important possession of all. The Kingship.
He stood there alone. Untouchable. For a moment their eyes locked, and she read easily the lost look in those familiar blue-gray orbs. Squall would have looked like a stone statue to anyone else, but Quistis, who had spent the last fifteen years of her life with him, could see how confused he was.He dropped his eyes, as the people in the room began to move out.
"Don't get too confident yet," Seifer hissed, green eyes aflame as he pushed past Squall. "Brother," he added, spitting out the word as if it was an obscenity. The usual arrogant smirk was gone from his face. Instead, it bore a look of suppressed fury.
The funeral took place two days later, on a national basis. Straight after the funeral was the coronation of Prince Leonhart and the installation of the Lady Quistis as King's Champion. At first there had been many disputes about allowing a woman to do what they thought was a man's job, but as Quistis was well known in Esthar Castle for her academic achievements as well as her skill with the chain whip, those who had objected had been cried down.
It was an honorable occasion, to be crowned King of Esthar. But Squall, sitting regally on the high seat, could not be happy. He was too conscious of the figure of his half-brother sitting on the far side of the high seat.
For all his life it had been like this, Seifer spoiling his pleasure in his accomplishments. There was the scar Seifer had left on his shoulder, a memento from the time he had earned his father's praise in his swordsmanship. He had been thirteen then, he remembered, and Seifer fourteen.
There was the time…he was lost in bitter memories, totally oblivious to anything else. Only when he felt Quistis's fingers on his arm did he look up to acknowledge the speech the Kiros, as former Champion, was making for him.
He felt Seifer's eyes boring into the side of his head and knew that he had spoilt this moment too.
It was very late when the celebration was finally over and the new King and his champion were allowed to retire for the
night. Quistis and Squall made their way back to their quarters in companiable
silence, neither speaking.
"Uh…want to come in for a while?" Squall finally offered.
"Thought you'd never ask," Quistis teased, smiling as she stepped into the room. The servants had already built the fire, and the orange glow filled the room, giving it a warm, inviting atmosphere.
"It all happened so fast."
"Huh?" Squall asked.
"Laguna's death. Your coronation…can you believe it? You're the new ruler of Esthar. A new era is beginning."
"I've got you to help me, don't I?"
"Still, I didn't want it this way…not Laguna to leave so early."
"It's the way of Life. That's what Father used to tell me when I was younger."
"I suppose." She stretched out on the rug beside the fire. Squall was sprawled out next to her.
"I wonder what Seifer will do. He didn't look too happy tonight."
"What can he do? He has no power." He lifted his head. "You worry too much."
"I don't. I'm just cautious, that's all. You'd best get used to it, because I'm your new Champion. It's my duty to fuss over you."
"That's a blunt way to put it." There was that little half-smile of his, which always caused her heart to flip-flop. Then, without warning, he tackled her.
"Aaah!" She choked out in alarm, arms and legs flailing as he tickled her mercilessly. Squeals and giggles filled the room as she struggled to get out of the vicinity of his fingers.
"Squall…stop…you're killing me!"
"You need to relax." He answered blandly.
He could still remember where she was ticklish, and his hands roamed her soft curves, poking and jabbing while she laughed and wriggled helplessly. She was not a little girl anymore, he realized, as his hands made contact with her womanly body. No more a child… The feel of her was sending urges raging through his veins.
The two rolled back and forth on the rug, until Squall pinned Quistis's arms to the ground to prevent her from moving. He loomed above her, a triumphant smirk on his face.
Squall's hands, all over her body…that was all Quistis could feel, and the aftershocks of the touches sent tingles all over her body. She shut her eyes, smiling faintly – it was a nice feeling, to have him touching her where no one else would ever have.
Something feather-light brushed across her lips, and her eyes popped open again. What was that? She never would have believed it.
He had just kissed her.
He had released her arms and sat watching her thoughtfully, a strange look in his eyes. She sat up too, and released her hair from its ponytail, which most of had come undone in the struggle.
The flickering light touched her hair with fire, illuminating the gold strands falling about her shoulders. She had never looked so appealing in his entire life. So desirable…so sexy.
Before he knew it, she had straddled him, pushing his upper body to lie back on the floor. Her ruby lips bent closer, while his arms reached up to pull her down to him.
A loud clap of thunder crashed, and lightning streaked the sky. There was something very wrong about it, however. The clouds were moving too fast…swirling…
"Squall!" Quistis was already halfway out the door. Muttering choice oaths under his breath, he grabbed his gunblade and went after her.
The whole castle seemed to be shaking, and they raced through the halls, trying to find the source of discord.
"Someone's using powerful magic," Quistis yelled over the howling gale. Oh, Hyne…the exact same thing had happened all those centuries ago, during the sorceress wars…the words sprang into her mind, straight out of her history book.
The door to the throne room glowed furiously, and as Squall put his hand on the door handle, an unseen force hurled them both back.
She gasped in pain as her body hit the wall, the impact knocking the breath out of her. The door swung open to reveal the room bathed in glowing green light.
"Welcome, my king and my lady." A mocking voice reached their ears.
"Seifer! Who – what -?"
"So ends your reign." He stood in front of a giant, towering figure.
"Adel." Squall could barely make out the features of Esthar's once beautiful queen. The blond hair was gone, and a green mask covered her face. Sparks flew from her fingers.
"Ah, my Lord King, And his loyal Champion, the lady Quistis." The voice was not Adel's, rather, it had a rich, vibrating timbre, tinged with scorn. The voice carried a depth that suggested an age-old life.
"You were always a thorn in my side, King Leonhart. No matter, though. Once I kill you, the Kingship will belong to my son, and I, will rule all of Esthar! With the birth of the girl-child with the time compressing powers, I will dominate the world!"
Quistis had no idea what the sorceress was talking about. Defiance rang in her voice as she retorted, "You'll have to pass the King's Champion first, Adel. After which you can try to kill him."
"Seifer was right about your loyalty, Quistis. He wanted you as his Queen, but I'm afraid I won't be able to grant him that. Your affections for the bastard King are too deep."
With a little laugh, she continued. "You understand why I had to kill Laguna, don't you? The time was nearing for the birth of the girl-child. I needed complete rule of Esthar, so that when I had her powers, world dominance would be possible for me. I hadn't counted on Laguna changing his mind about his successor at the last moment. The poison must have scrambled his brain."
"My father was poisoned?"
"You cannot succeed, Ultemicia." Another voice spoke this time, soft and calm. Mistress Edea had just entered the room.
Black and purple mist began swirling around Squall and Quistis. The world seemed to fade away into nothing. All around them was complete gray, and there seemed to be only the three of them in this strange, empty world – Edea, Squall, and Quistis.
"Mistress Edea, what's going on?"
"The prophecy told of the birth of a girl-child with amazing powers to compress time. When Ultemicia, a sorceress from the future, heard of it, she determined to get the powers for her to rule the entire world, by compressing all time into one time frame."
"Who is this child?"
"We have yet to know. Listen, my children. We cannot defeat her here. Our magic is too weak. To save the world I can only think of one way – to use my knowledge of time magic send you into the future."
"I don't understand."
"Ultemicia grows stronger yet. Time runs short. You will understand it all – in due time."
"Send us to the future?"
"You, Squall, Laguna, Raine, Kiros, Seifer…all of the key people in Ultemicia's scheme. You were born to face her. You are no match for her now, but perhaps in the future, where you will have stronger understanding of magic... perhaps then you will be ready."
"Mistress Edea?"
"Go now, my children." She faded away, leaving the two of them in the strange gray mist.
Their surroundings darkened and began to spin in a whorl of black and purple. The clouds swirled again, and lightning split the sky into several fractions. Quistis clung to Squall in confusion. He held her tight in that spinning vortex, and lowered his head to hers.
"Did I ever tell you…" he said softly, pushing blond strands of hair away from her ear, "that I love you?"
"Never," she replied, just as quietly. "But I knew you did."
Just as before, the thunder crashed, and Quistis felt herself being pulled out of Squall's comforting arms. She was traveling fast, so fast. The gale created by her speed blew her hair back and blinded her eyes, and then the world exploded into a million pieces.
- end chapter 3 -
All right, so that was crappy…you know, flames may even be welcome this time.
I've still got an epilogue to go, and then this story is done. As usual, R&R please!