Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Seifer was wrong. A
week after the meeting with Cid and Edea, Quistis was still there. Cid had given her until the day after Squall
and Rinoa's wedding to decide where she wanted to go from Balamb. Until then, she was restricted to garden
grounds.
She'd tried correspondence with Esthar and Galbadia. Both outs were, as Squall had said,
blocked. None of the military would
have her. But they had plenty of
positions in other areas.
I'm not a pencil pusher!
Galbadia in particular was in a special situation; after the
death of Vinzer Deling, the country went into anarchy. Timber revolted, and became its own
country. Various factions tried to gain
power, but SeeD kept the country in a state of somewhat loose order. The Galbadian Government, with the assistance
of SeeD, was trying to pick up its own pieces to hold a democratic election. Seifer Almasy was the SeeD in charge of
structuring the changes of Galbadia, and keeping the peace. He'd taken his full name legally the day
after the meeting.
The announcement took the Galbadian nation by surprise. While some people remembered the father, the
young Deling had already gained favor with much of the population of the
nation, and within a week of his declaration, his name was accepted, and
the name Deling was started on a new page.
Both of the now-forming parties hoped that he'd choose to run for the
Senate when the elections came. Seifer
Almasy Deling, they touted, was the name of the future.
The name made her angry.
He was popular on campus.
She never paid attention to gossip, but some things were obvious. The group of Treppies had disbanded with her
indifference to the Garden and lack of contact with the student body. However, a group of Almasians were forming,
and Seifer was one of the most admired instructors, by students and faculty.
The young diplomat… she thought acridly.
Seifer had not persisted in socializing with her, and it was
as if she was going out of her way to avoid him. Therefore, he left her alone.
He knew when he wasn't wanted.
There were some things they could not dance out of,
though. Like the wedding preparations. In a sudden burst of inspiration, and after
some discussion with Selphie, Rinoa decided that Quistis was to be her Maid of
Honor.
Quistis was pissed beyond belief, because she knew it was a
set up: Seifer was the best man.
Seifer took the gesture thankfully in good nature, because
he knew his friends had the best of intentions. A joke every once in a while about marriage got her consistently
angry with him, and not the others, and after a while, he had her believing
that perhaps it was him that had the other two fix her up in this
wedding with him.
She now stood angrily on a flamboyantly ornate stool in a
disgustingly pink room in the middle of Balamb City, while women bustled about
her and Rinoa and Selphie cooed sickeningly.
She did love the two, but dammit, there were times…
"Oh, it's perfect for your eyes. Seifer was right!" Rinoa
cheered. "I was going to choose a light
blue to match her eyes," she said to Selphie, "but Seifer told me that
her eyes were light purple. And
what do you know? He was right!" She
said triumphantly.
Selphie's eyes were glazed over in admiration. "You look gorgeous, Quistis."
Quistis remained quiet and watched her reflection in her
mirror. The dress clung to her figure
almost uncomfortably, and the cut was flattering but exposed quite a bit. Her hair was still pulled back and her face
free of makeup, but she couldn't help but feel that Quistis Trabia
looked back at her.
Lady Quistis Lauryn Trabia was born for dresses and the
like. She was a gentlewoman: elegant,
gracious and beautiful. Lady Trabia was
born to charm.
Quistis Trepe was raised to be a fighter. She was a warrior: cold, commanding, and
astute. There was nothing charming
about her behavior. Some time in the
last three years she'd lost her ability to be polite in good company.
Quistis Trabia was not her destiny.
"Ladies, I come with glad tidings," a man entered with
bouquets and bouquets of roses in his arms.
The spacious cushiony room immediately felt smaller and
stuffy. Quistis felt her guard go up.
"Seifer!" Rinoa got up out of her seat, took the roses out
of his arms, and kissed him on the cheek.
"What's up?"
"Thought you might want to see some of the flowers…they came
about an hour ago. Your gentlemen are
back in the pavilion and I must admit it is a sight to see those three play
with flowers."
"We're almost done; just fitting Quistis now. We'll join you momentarily."
Seifer now allowed himself a look at her. He was rendered speechless as all thought
was lodged in his throat. The dress
hugged her form so lovingly, and the color suited her. He dared a look at her face in the mirror,
to find to his pleasant surprise that she was already looking at him
coolly. He gave her a wink and had a
scowl on her face within a breath. He
turned to Rinoa. "She looks great."
"You were right. The
color was absolutely perfect."
"Don't tell Squall.
He might say I'm getting soft."
"Of course I won't" smiled Rinoa, who had already told
Squall within an hour of Seifer's first suggestion.
"Anyhow, I stopped by to drop these off on my way to the
caterer's, actually. Squall's too moony
to be mean now, so I'm going to do my duty…" Seifer smiled.
Selfie and Rinoa grinned.
"See you later."
"Later, ladies…and Quistis," he said to Quistis, meeting her
eyes in the mirror again.
She hated his use of her name.
*-*-*-*
She left the day before the wedding. She did not even say goodbye.
Early in the morning of her abrupt departure, Seifer was
doing pushups when Selphie came running into the weight room, clearly with
distress written on her face.
"Selphie, what's wrong?"
"Seif, it's Quistis.
No one can find her, and her dorm room is cleared. One of the hovercrafts is missing."
"…then I guess she left."
Selphie collapsed onto the bench press. "…Cid's office was broken into. Nothing was stolen, but Cid's letter of
recommendation for her headmastership at Trabia is missing."
"Well looks like she'll go there then."
"…Yeah. She didn't
say goodbye…"
Seifer continued his exercises in silence while Selphie
watched his profile for a while, in contemplation. Finally, she got up, straightened her skirt, and went to leave.
"You know, Seif?" she turned before exiting.
"Yeah?" he did not pause in his activities.
"I wish she had said yes."
Seifer grunted an acknowledgement, as he continued his
workout.
*-*-*-*
A half year later.
"But you just sent him on Ragnorak! I told you that it needed repairs. He'll be lucky to make it to the mission
itself; he won't even get past Trabia." Zell shook his head.
"That's what I'm counting on."
Zell looked at Squall in surprise, considering him. "I never made you out for matchmaker," he
said at length.
"I'm a friend. A
damn good one."
*-*-*-*
Seifer took Xu and made it to the mission, and watched his
students impress the doubtful evaluator.
Amazed, she knew that she'd pass them all, but that was news for home.
Seifer, satisfied, sat back in the pilot's chair. "What?"
Xu sat up rigidly, and considered him for a second. "You know, I don't know what I was
expecting, but it wasn't this."
"…it's been three and a half years. People change."
"I had avoided evaluating your instructorship for a while,
because Cid asked me to, and because I wanted to. But you're not half-bad, as an instructor or person. I hope you get her." Xu mused.
"Who?" Seifer asked.
"Quistis."
Silience.
"There was big talk half a year ago about you and her…I
didn't know if the…proposal meant anything to you at all…" Xu said softly.
"Well a proposal Iis/I a big deal."
Xu watched him carefully.
"I can't tell at all. You're so
confusing, Deling."
Seifer threw back his head and laughed. The Almasians' (they hadn't changed their
name) numbers were growing, and it was no wonder. He was growing more admirable with every task he took on and
accomplished.
Seifer took their attentions with graciousness and
tact. It felt good that people admired
him. They worked harder for him and he
liked it. He took care not to toy with
feelings, however, and that made it all the better. He flirted with all the ladies and stayed out of their grasp, a
maneuver that had many of the women instructors taken with him themselves.
Xu could believe that three and half years could change a
person. Seifer Almasy Deling was an
admirable man now. And his feelings, or
whatever they were, for Quistis seemed to be…absolute, considering he showed no
serious interest whatsoever in any other women. Pity, she thought, as she watched his profile once more.
But then again, Trepe or Trabia or whatever she went by now
deserved some happiness.
*-*-*-*
As expected, Ragnorak broke down at 1623 when they were on
their way back to Balamb. Seifer
managed to land the craft without any problems, and looked to Xu in the
copilot's seat. He sighed. "Well, we get to quiz our candidates again,"
he said to her optimistically, unbuckling himself.
"Everyone out of the aircraft," he said into the speaker
system.
They assembled outside, and Seifer looked at the line of
candidates. "So what now?"
A soft-voiced girl spoke up. "We find the nearest garden and report to it, Instructor."
"Good, and that would be Trabia Garden. There's a chocobo forest nearby, about three
kilometers east. I've got five greens,
and if you seat two to a bird, the nine of you and Xu can make it to Trabia on
chocobo within…" he checked his coordinates on the locator "…two hours. I will set out on foot. Xu, report to the headmaster when you
arrive, and tell her of our situation, and ask her to send some transportation
for me."
Xu nodded in affirmative, and Seifer handed her the greens,
a map and a locator. "Take care to do
it quickly. We have about two hours
until sunset, from the looks of it, and I'm afraid of the dark," he kidded.
It loosened the situation a bit, and the students and Xu departed
with determination and alacrity.
Seifer watched them leave.
He should have known. He took
out his comlink.
"Leonheart…" the communication was picked up.
"I was wondering why you let me borrow her with no
qualms. Squall, you really shouldn't have."
"Let me be the one to decide about that. Take care, Seif. Don't scratch my baby."
"Your baby is scratched and dirty. And you're not going to get her back in one piece," Seifer said.
Squall laughed.
"…Thank you."
On the other side of the line, Squall was silent with
surprise, and before he could say anything Seifer cut off the
communication. He then laughed, and
went back to the charms of daily work.
Seifer set out on foot.
Quistis.
She made him so frustrated in the last three weeks she was at
Balamb. It was much, much easier to
make peace with Squall and the others.
They had been a lot more…settled.
But the turbulent Quistis was the only one who had not moved on. Every look of disdain, disgust, and
dismissal tore at something that was very fragile in him, and just now becoming
real to him: his ability to care.
No, he didn't love her.
But he cared for her. A lot,
because she seemed to need it the most, and he knew what it meant.
His locator placed him at a three and half hours' walk to
Trabia, assuming he didn't run into anything.
As the last time he'd actually junctioned a GF was pre-Ultimecia, he
didn't junction now either. Diablos and
encounter-none remained back at Balamb.
It was going to be a long trip, and he needed to stay warm. He hoped that he'd get there by dark; Trabia
was freezing without sunlight, and he wasn't dressed for the weather.
He expected that she'd take her time sending reinforcements,
though.
She didn't disappoint.
Two hours later, his comlink blipped.
"Deling…" he answered.
"Instructor."
"Headmaster," he replied.
"How wonderful to hear from you again," he said sarcastically. He was not in a good mood. Battles abounded during the afternoon, and
fighting in darkness was not on his agenda.
He knew she resented him, but he didn't deserve to be tortured by
battle, and cold.
"We need your coordinates.
A transport is on its way."
"A345.54 and M9200.3."
"It will meet with you shortly. Report to my office once you arrive."
"I look forward to nothing else," he replied bitingly.
The communication was cut off with a harsh click.
Why did he let her get to him? Sarcasm was a habit of the past, and though he used it with the
others now, it was hardly this bitter in nature.
But the others had not left him to fend for himself in the
wilderness.
She sounded the same as when she'd left. Pity, it would have been better if she'd
actually enjoyed her new position a little.
But she sounded more like the bitter exile from Balamb than the
distinguished headmaster of Trabia.
True to her word, a vehicle met him within fifteen minutes
and an hour later, Seifer entered Trabia Garden and was escorted to the
headmaster's office.
"She will be right with you."
Seifer nodded. "My
students?"
"They are resting, and preparing for tonight's festivities."
"Festivities?"
"The first graduation at new Trabia. You, Instructor, are also invited to
attend."
"Thank you."
Momentarily, he was left alone in the office, and he took
the opportunity to inpect it. The
office was organized and clean. It was
also especially cold, and sparsely decorated.
Texts of war, history and strategy lined the bookshelves. There were no pictures. A window afforded a view of the entire
Garden, and he could see that preparations were being made in the courtyard for
tonight's celebration.
Her desk was disgustingly neat. He took up a business card.
She still went by Quistis Trepe.
He fingered the gold seal of Trabia Garden, and traced the bold black
letters. He pocketed the card, and took
an extra. Squall might want to see it.
"Instructor Deling, I trust that you found your journey back
uneventful?"
Seifer turned to the woman who now entered, dressed in
Trabia's burgundy and black SeeD uniform.
She'd taken a step up in dress code from her previous combat-wear, but
the look was a little too cold and calculated.
She did not meet his eyes, and waved off his salute. "Dull beyond words, Headmaster Trabia," he
replied warmly.
The warmth of his tone had her hands quivering just the
tiniest bit in apprehension, and the use of the name made her
uncomfortable. "Xu has explained your
situation. I have contacted Headmaster
Cid and made him aware of your circumstance."
"Thank you."
"A SeeD will meet you at the front gate and will bring you,
your team, and a mechanic to your ship Ragnorak tomorrow morning at 0800
hours. The mechanic should be able to
fix your craft and you should be back at Balamb by evening."
"Thank you."
"Well if that's all, you are dismissed. Good evening, Instructor Deling," she said,
turning away towards the windows.
Seifer looked at her back and considered. "I'll tell them you send your love," he said
smugly.
He saw her back stiffen before he turned around and exited.
*-*-*-*
He knew she probably didn't want him to attend, and for that
reason decided that it was absolutely necessary.
He'd been curious about Trabia's new facilities, and had
taken a walk immediately after leaving his meeting with Quistis. It gave him the chance to relax, and take in
the new gymnasium, the extremely smooth and technologically advanced
classrooms, the cool and crisp library and the neatly arranged training
center. The facilities were
amazing. Teaching here must have been a
dream.
But he had other interests that evening: take in gossip on the
headmaster in the halls.
There wasn't much time to collect as everyone was also
preparing for the SeeD ball later that night.
She was admired and respected, but maintained distance from
everyone. The instructors noted that
she intended to lead her own class the coming term, one especially rigorous in
training. Students were excited and
intimidated.
So she was back to instructing. That was good.
In other news, she had a good rapport with the faculty but
never socialized. She was not
considered proud, but busy.
Busy doing what?
Seifer entered Trabia's ballroom and found his
students. He quickly greeted them and
they were all happy to see their instructor safe and sound. Seifer moved through the crowd, allowed
himself some minor flirtations, and located Xu amidst a small group of very
lovely ladies, some he recognized as instructors he'd spoken with before and he
invited himself to converse charmingly and easily with them.
That's how Quistis saw him when she entered. Vivacious.
Charming. She frowned, but
ignored, as she moved through the crowd, congratulating her first graduating
class of students.
Still in the uniform, he mused. While the instructors wore more relaxed attire, Quistis was cool
and professional. While the students
appreciated her well-wishes, he could see that they were not particularly close
friends with her.
"Excuse me, ladies," he said the group at large.
Xu watched with amused pleasure as he weaved through the
crowd. "So that's the
Headmaster's story…" an instructor mused.
"You would expect she'd have the finest one on a string…"
"But it doesn't look like she yanks it much…"
She'd finished her rounds and was about to leave when she
felt a tap on her shoulder. Before
turning around, she knew it was him.
She turned rigidly.
"You haven't danced," Seifer noted.
He'd had no choice but to wear his SeeD uniform, as it was
what he was wearing when he had arrived.
But he'd cleaned up a bit, and he knew she was surprised at his
neatness.
"I'm a headmaster. I don't have to."
"Dance with me," he took her hand. She pulled her hand back reflexively but his grip remained
firm. No one had touched her, besides
little handshakes, since the last time he'd touched her in the weight
room. The touch was as unsettling as it
had been before.
"Watch your actions, Instructor. I've still been training," she quipped.
He could guess that.
He wondered if it was safer now than before; her being a headmaster
meant she reported to no one if she ran off to Heaven and Hell. Obviously her job wasn't keeping her busy
enough. "One dance," he clasped her
hand softly.
"No," she successfully pulled her hand away with more force
this time, and turned away.
"Marry me?" he asked hopefully as she walked away.
"No."
While he had no immediate gratification of seeing her
sarcastically smile at the comment, as he'd desired (she'd smiled so little, he
could tell, in the past year), he would have been content to know that she
actually laughed later that night, when she stood in darkness, watching the festivities,
and perhaps him, from the security of her office window.
It was bitter, but entwined in it was a note of amusement
that she had not felt for some time.
*-*-*-*
The next day, 1830 found Ragnorak docking in the landing bay
of Balamb Garden.
Squall, Edea, and Cid greeted the aircraft. The students saluted and were
dismissed. Xu smiled at Cid and
arranged a debriefing for later.
And that left Seifer, who exited Ragnorak last. He embraced Edea and shook hands with Squall
and Cid.
"Success?" Cid asked.
"Your mission, yes.
Squall's, no."
Squall threw his head back and laughed. "I think this man deserves a beer."
"More than one.
You're paying, by the way."
"Seifer, I want to meet with you early next morning. Anytime will be fine. Xu will be revealing results tonight on your
students' SeeD examination, but there's something else to discuss in the
morning."
"I'll be around later to see how my students did anyhow, but
tomorrow morning, sure."
Squall and Seifer walked away as Edea approached Cid. "How do you think it went?"
"My mission or Squall's?
I'd imagine both were successful in their own ways."
"He didn't sound too optimistic about Quistis…"
"That's because he hasn't read the offer Trabia Garden made
this afternoon for our young Instructor Deling. It appears that they would like a few gunblade SeeD over there,
and were impressed with what they'd seen of Seifer's students yesterday."
Edea's eyes widened.
"Bold move."
"A strategic one if anything. She wants gunblades. It is
foolish to keep them all at Balamb. If
you want to be romantic about it, yes.
But I hardly think she did it out of romantic sentiment."
*-*-*-*
They all passed.
Seifer lazily smiled.
Excellent. He knew he won Xu
over now. So what was the next challenge? Seifer had carefully laid out his plans in
Balamb for the past two and half years, slowly winning the respect of his
comrades. But now, well he'd
accomplished it.
What was to challenge him now?
At 0800 the next morning he reported to Cid's office whistling
a happy fishing tune. The halls were
abuzz with talks of the coming evening's graduation festivities.
"Good morning, Instructor Deling."
"Good morning, Headmaster."
"I take it you are pleased with your students' success."
He shrugged casually.
"I knew they'd all pass. I
worked them hard, and they didn't complain, and followed. They deserved it."
"It does you credit that you believe in your students."
"They earn it."
"As an instructor, your progress has been tremendous. You began in a very peculiar position, when
you surprised us all by being already quite skilled at instruction. I did not expect you to improve, but you
did, and your teachings have become a matter of pride at Balamb."
"I thank you."
"Others have noticed your prowess…" Cid said, making the
transition. "This came to me yesterday
afternoon," he handed the document to Seifer.
Seifer recognized Trabia's header at the top of the very
official-looking letter.
"Read it aloud, Instructor."
"Dear Headmaster Cid.
It has come to our attention that one of your instructors, Seifer Almasy
Deling, has done exceptional work in the area of instructing SeeD in gunblade
technique. With Trabia's success in the
graduation of its first class of SeeD just yesterday, Trabia would like to extend
its boundaries of study and continue to improve its quality of
instruction. We take this opportunity
to inform you and Instructor Deling that the position of head instructor is now
available, and we would like for him to apply…" Seifer's voice failed him, as he looked up at Cid with gleaming,
excited eyes.
"Head instructor, huh?
They must really want you," Cid said modestly.
"I never thought…" he croaked. He scanned down to the bottom of the letter. Sincerely, Quistis Trepe.
His face was rosy and his eyes were glittering. Had he finally gained her respect?
"Head Instructor?!?" Seifer said again to himself.
"No guarantees. As
the letter says, it's simply asking for an application, but even if you do not
gain the position, I think that Trabia would like to take on a gunblade
master. I can't let go of Squall, as
he's taken some of my duties from me…"
"Trying to rain on my parade?" Seifer asked laughingly. "I've got to tell the others," he reached
his hand across the desk to shake Cid's vigorously.
Cid smiled as the exuberant young man ran out of the room.
"Do you really think he's got competition for the head
instructor spot?" Edea asked as she entered the office from their quarters.
"There is a star or two in the Galbadian Garden ranks, but I
think it's safe to say that Seifer will obtain the position."
Edea grinned. "You
don't think she actually…"
"She probably had some say, but I think it was probably
female faculty. I may have…grilled Xu a
little on our Instructor's operations during his stay in Trabia."
"But he thinks it's her."
"Yeah, I'd say so," Cid replied.
"Let's not spoil it for him."
"Sounds lovely, dear."
*-*-*-*
"So are you going to take it?" Selphie asked excitedly, as
Seifer twirled her in his arms.
"I'm definitely going to apply, at the very least."
Selphie squealed with delight as he dipped her exceptionally
low. "You're so happy!"
"It's not every day that I get offered head instructor
anywhere…" Seifer teased.
"Are you sure it's not because a certain person asked you to
be her head instructor?" she teased.
Seifer laughed.
"Perhaps."
"Wow…speak of the devil."
"I try not too…it brings bad luck…" he said.
"No, Seif, look."
Seifer looked to the doorway, where Selphie pointed. Quistis Trepe, in (of course) SeeD uniform,
stood at the doorway, flanked on both sides by Trabian SeeD.
Cid was now greeting her, and Seifer looked back to Selphie.
"Maybe we should stop," Selphie said, noting the slight
tightening of his jaw, and the faint glimmer of his eyes. He was confused.
"Nah, let's finish this dance."
*-*-*-*
The Trabian SeeDs that arrived with her mingled with the
crowd, and she was now speaking with Squall, who took her warmly into his
embrace. Seifer watched with a tinge of
hurt, but almost chuckled when he saw her stiffen in Squall's arms. Definitely not a people person.
He approached the two now.
"Seif! Look who came
looking for you!" Squall said insinuatingly.
Quistis shifted awkwardly, but denial would just draw
attention.
"Um, Squall, can you give us a second?" Seifer asked.
"If you think it takes that long," he grinned, winked at
Seifer, and left.
Seifer looked at Quistis Trepe, whose gaze rested just above
his right shoulder. "Headmaster," he
bowed.
"Instructor," she nodded in acknowledgement.
"Care to dance?"
"I came here to clear up a matter of some confusion."
Seifer frowned.
"Well let's go out to the balcony and talk." He held out his hand gently, but she did not take it. So he turned and walked, knowing the click
of the heels behind him was her.
"Is anything wrong, Headmaster?" he turned to her on the
balcony.
"I did not want to send another communication, as that would
complicate things, so I decided to deal with the matter myself. I understand that a letter to you was sent by
express yesterday, offering you head instructorship at Trabia Garden."
"That is correct."
"The offer is in fact truth, but I wanted to clear something
up. I didn't propose to offer you the
position: the faculty did."
He met her eyes now, hiding his disappointment.
"I wanted you to know before you had some….expectation. The offer to you is in no way personal."
He treated it lightly.
Taking it seriously would make the disappointment hurt too much. "You came all the way from Trabia to tell me
that you weren't interested in me romantically."
She hesitated. "I
was invited to partake in the festivities.
It was just a matter that needed to be clarified, and I was given the
chance…"
"As if my knowing you or your faculty offered me the
position made a difference…" he said, smiling, moving closer to her, smoothly.
She stepped back and coolly replied. "I'm not sure if it did or not, which is why
I wanted to clear up matters."
"You didn't come here out of concern for my emotions, then…"
he asked, in lower teasing tones.
"Of course not," she stepped back again, finding herself
cornered against a wall.
He lowered his head by her ear, and she shifted again
uncomfortably. "Good," his lips brushed
the shell of her ear.
Immediately, he was pushed back strongly, and Quistis
regarded him with disdain.
It was claustrophobia, she told the beat of her heart to
slow down in rhythm. She turned away,
closed her eyes, not caring for his presence.
When she opened her eyes again, he was gone, and when she
entered the ballroom and saw him again, he was flirting with one of the SeeDs
that she'd brought with her to Balamb.
She scowled. Well, that business
was over with.
*-*-*-*
