Note: I know it's been a long time, but I have been busy! Just want to tell you that I am alive and well and that my fanfics are still going, so don't be disappointed now! I will be done and by the time this is done, I think I'm going to repeat my 'M' ideas like last year, which I didn't really finish. If you don't remember anything about the first 'M' Series I wrote, which was called Modern Day, I'm going to make you all happy by making a whole new Modern Day story, which makes the characters much younger this time! There's no more college. This time, it deals with high school students and... yeah, I think I'll just skip that part and tell you what happened the last time you all read the last chapter of Medieval Day! Here is a brief summary:
Quistis gives birth to a baby boy who looks exactly like Seifer, apparently, Irvine doesn't seem to realize it, but let's just say he didn't see it all right? (LOL)
Rinoa gets killed by her own lover, who was actually the Duke of Esthar, who happened to be Squall, possessed by a red-headed woman (you can probably guess who it is, since I can guess 100% that you're all finish with the game). The reason why 'Squall' killed her is because she had grown attached to the Queen, which was not her job. She was supposed to take the child away from her, but since Rinoa grew a bond with Quistis, she couldn't. She let Quistis escape with the child when Rinoa announced to her that the Estharians had made it inside the castle, looking for the Queen.
Irvine left of course to battle against the Estharians, but there is no word yet on where he had gone off. Maybe he went to fight off the Estharians in the marshes, while the Commander, who, while Seifer is 'absent' takes over the Knight's army to defend the castle. It is evident that they were all killed since the Duke did make it inside.
Zell and Selphie flee from the castle, believing that Quistis and the baby escaped unharmed. While they were running towards back castle gates, they find a little girl, whose parents died when a cannon smashed through the castle wall. They take her with them and continued on foot towards the castle entrance.
Seifer, AKA, Calik, is remembering himself one by one and he decides to take his Chocobo out into the night. He had a feeling that something was going on outside of the woods that he has lived in for months. A brief encounter between Calik and Terris (his 'wife) made it more complicated for him as he prepared to leave. Terris admits she misses her 'husband' and that she still loves him, but Calik believes that she loves him because she was forced to. Leaving her aghast, Calik gets on his Chocobo and rides off into the night, while Squall catches up with Quistis and a scared child in her arms.
Who will rescue her?
Chapter 14 - Searching The Truth
Swords clashed and anger rose from the mouths of the combatants. Quistis watched them back away from each other, as the man who attempted to kill her child wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, from Zell's attack.
Squall looked up with evil eyes at the blond man and smirked, showing no pain from the wound. "I see you've improved, Zell. You would have become my personal Knight if only you have not betrayed me."
"You're wrong! You're the one who betrayed your people and myself! You have betrayed your father as well!" Zell hissed, fixing the sword in his right hand. He gripped the sword tightly and glanced over his shoulder towards Selphie who was holding the Queen's arm. "Selphie, flee with the Queen!"
Selphie looked up and frowned. "What about you?"
Quistis stepped forward, handing the child towards Selphie. "I will fight with you!" she retorted, unsheathing a small dagger she produced from the side of her waist, from the belt that she made out of fabric, in case she needed a weapon to protect herself.
Zell shook his head. "Don't worry about me! You all must go!" He turned his head back towards Squall and gritted his teeth in annoyance. "You are no longer yourself, your Highness, but I promise to rid of the misery that you have endured during these months."
The Duke stared at him, with a puzzled face, but said nothing. Instead, he gripped his hand tightly around his sword and readied himself for another fight. He brandished his sword high and charged himself at the blond.
Quistis was about to protest, when she felt Selphie grab her arm. Slightly annoyed by Zell's stubbornness to fight him alone, she almost decided to shake her friend's arm away from her, but decided against it, when she noticed Zell's devastating look when he noticed her hesitating.
"Please, your highness. The least I could do for saving me from death is to repay you by protecting you and your child."
Quistis looked into his eyes. "All right," she spoke, finally. Without another word, she followed Selphie out the back door towards the back entrance of the castle.
*****************
The darkness now consumed the lands that were once peaceful. Creatures of the night now conquered the swamps and the rivers that flowed through the desolate forest. He rode his Chocobo quietly as it trotted pass the trees that were new to him. For months, he has been trying to find himself and he did it by living in a cave for so long that he was unfamiliar with the other surroundings of the forest. Calik looked around, ready to unsheathe his sword from the side of his trousers if any would dare attack him. However, as the Chocobo continued on, there was nothing or no one who risked the wrath of his sword. He passed a few more trees, ones that seemed so old that they were about to collapse on top of him. A gust of wind blew the blond bangs near his eyes, along with the branches, swaying back and forth in the darkness. The branches were like hands trying to reach out to him. Calik paused. A voice was speaking in his head- no... there were two voices speaking- a man and a woman.
"You have all the wealth and the power to control the Kingdom of Balamb and soon, you will have the wealth and power of Galbadia as well. The townspeople struggle in life. They have to work hard to provide for their family. Some die of famine and some die of thirst. Some live a life as peasants, working day and night to protect their crops for food. They only wish nothing but to be in the castle and become of Royal birth."
"I was lucky, Princess. I was lucky enough to be pulled away from that struggle in life. I worked hard, day and night to become a Knight like my father. My father and I were pulled from that famine and the thirst. When my mother died, we did not know what to do. My father was too young then. He was only eighteen when I was born and he had no skills in sword fighting. He worked hard, no sleep and no play. The only way to get away from the struggle was for him to become a Knight, where he could get paid a reasonable price so he could provide food for both of us. His determination turned him into a Knight and he became the most trusted Knight ever since. Now, I want to follow in his footsteps."
A Knight... he thought.
"Yes, you struggled in life. Common folks struggle in life, yet there is one thing that they have that I do not have... happiness..."
He looked up into the weeping willows and stared at his curiously. The willows seemed to be talking to him with two voices, reaching out to him. Who were these people? He recognized them. Calik blinked, shaking his head irritably. He was hallucinating. That's it!
"Must move on," he whispered to himself. Calik's eyes widened. He realized now that they had gotten out of the forest. He looked down at his Chocobo and stroked its chin. "Good boy," he said.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps nearby. Calik quickly unsheathed his sword and, by the time the footsteps got closer, the sharp side of his sword met the neck of a fourteen-year-old boy dressed in a silver armor. This boy had dirty blond hair, yet there was a familiarity about him that he could not quite see. Somehow, he has met this boy before.
"Who are you? Why do you run?" he asked through the darkness. The boy could not see the man's face, nor could he see whether he was speaking at all.
The fourteen-year-old boy gulped, feeling the sword to his throat. "I uh..." Drops of sweat fell at the side of his forehead as he felt the sword move closer to his left cheek.
"Speak, I say!" the man commanded. The boy felt a sharp pang of memory in his mind. The voice sounded familiar to him. Though he wanted to find out, he could not risk himself being slashed with the sword while trying to run away from the disaster from the castle.
"I had fled from the massacre of the castle, sir!" he finally spoke, taking another gulp. The sword moved down again to his throat, then towards his left hand, as it was reaching for his weapon.
"Remove your hands from your weapon!" He yelled, the sword almost cutting through his fingers. The boy nodded and slowly removed his hands from his small sword given to him by his Captain those months ago.
The man waited until the boy's hands were no longer blocking the sword he was trying to reach and stared at the weapon at his side. There was something familiar as well with the sword, the way it gleamed in the moonlight and reflected back in his memories. For a moment, all was silence between the two men. Calik placed his sword back in its sheath and looked at him carefully.
"This sword... where did you get it?" He glanced at the sword, the handle decorated in sheen of gold as if it has never been used all these years. There was a hawk with its wings spread from left to right of the handle, its eyes full of valor and pride, as if it was staring right into the eyes of its prey. The sword was only half as long as his, but it still held the power to cut through things as easily as a normal sword. He realized it was a dagger. "The dagger..."
The boy nodded. "It is indeed a dagger, sir. A brave man who led the army of Balbadia gave it to me months ago. Now... I am no longer certain if Balbadia will survive Esthar's raid."
Calik frowned. "Esthar? Balbadia? Are these places?"
The boy stared at him curiously. Does this man have any knowledge of the kingdoms? "Yes, sir," he replied.
"Hm..." The man looked up over the boy's head and in the distance, he noticed a cloud of smoke just over top a large castle. "Why do they fight?"
The boy continued to stare at him. Who was this man? "They have fought for years now to fight over the land they wish."
Calik nodded, his eyes still lingering towards the nearly destroyed castle. Without another word, he gripped his hands tightly around the reigns of his chocobo and patted the bird in the neck to signal for it to go. Surprised, the boy stood where he was and watched the stranger on the chocobo trot towards Balbadia. There was something familiar about him, the boy thought.
***************
They ran for nearly an hour now, she noticed. Ahead of her, ran Selphie with Russell in her arms, while she, feeling tired from the escape, held a small child's hand. She looked down and noticed the little girl whom Selphie and Zell came with gasping for breath. With one hand, Quistis placed it on top of her head. The girl looked up and frowned, fear already decided in her eyes, but Quistis just smiled down on her.
"It's all right now, little one," she whispered in an assuring, soft voice. "I will protect you from that bad man."
The little girl nodded and her frown quickly changed into a rare smile. She nodded and held her hand tightly against the larger hands of the Queen. Quistis smiled for the first time since Seifer left her arms forever. No... Seifer has not left her. He was alive... somewhere, she thought. Quistis looked up towards the back of Selphie, just a few seconds away from her. She heard her son's cry and Quistis felt a pang of guilt. She wanted to hold her son in her arms.
The Queen paused.
"Selphie..." she whispered. Selphie stopped and turned her whole body around to face her friend. She noticed Quistis holding out her arms towards her. "May I hold my child?"
Selphie stared at her curiously; beads of sweat falling from the sides of her face. "But... your highness... we must be out of sight from this forest. It would be easy for that man to find us." She noticed Quistis' worried look and she couldn't help but give up. Selphie sighed and nodded, stepping forward towards her, while the child lay still in her arms.
Quistis gently took Russell in her arms, letting go of Nadia's little hand and smiled down on her child. "I will protect you," she whispered in his small ear. She kissed his cheek, tears flowing from her eyes. Quistis felt someone tugging at her skirt and she looked down to find Nadia staring up at her. The blond Queen placed a hand on her head and smiled. "I will protect you too," she replied.
A sound of distant chocobo footsteps could be heard in the distance. The two women, suddenly alarmed with the surroundings, closed their months as their eyes began to search around for the noise. Selphie stepped closely towards Quistis so Nadia was in between her and the Queen, while Quistis held her baby close to her heart. With one hand, she reached for her dagger and moved it to her side so she was ready to ward off any villains trying to kill her and her baby.
"Stay close together," Quistis whispered. With her trained eyes, she shifted her head from left to right, ready and alert for any danger that was nearby. The darkness already consumed the light from the moon, so there was only trees surrounding them and the wind whispering to them. The branches of the trees swayed back and forth, as if calling to them, warning them that danger was coming.
They heard it again.
Patter! Patter! Patter!
It was getting closer and louder. Selphie closed her fists together, ready to fight with her fists if she needed to, even though she had no knowledge to fight and aimed for the closest thing that was a danger to them.
Patter! Patter! Patter!
Quistis gritted her teeth in annoyance. She was about to yell out for the figure to show himself, when a shadow loomed somewhere in front of them. A silhouette of a man on his chocobo revealed him from the trees and slowly made his way to the two women and the children.
"Get away!" Quistis yelled, handing Russell to the unsuspecting Selphie. She gripped her hand tightly around the hilt of her dagger and took a step forward towards the chocobo. "Get away or I will kill your chocobo!" she threatened, trying to look menacing.
No word came from the man's lips.
"Your highness!" Selphie yelped, taking a step forward, but paused, when the man suddenly jumped off his chocobo. He walked towards them, his face covered with the darkness. Quistis suddenly felt her hair stand on end as the man approached them.
"So, you are a Queen," the man finally spoke, making Quistis even nervous.
Boldly, she took another step forward. "If I am, I know you will kill you. You Estharians are animals!"
The man stopped and stared at her curiously. "You think I am an Estharian?"
"You say you are not?" Selphie spoke from behind.
The man finally laid his eyes on the woman behind the blond. "If I am, why is it that I have not attempted to kill you yet? Do Estharians kill women and children as well?"
Quistis frowned. "Why do you ask questions? You are an Estharian!"
"Are you certain of that? Do you know who I am? Do tell me, for I do not know who I really am," the man retorted, taking two steps forward.
"Dare to come near us and I will kill you, Estharian!" Quistis hissed, pointing the sharp end towards him. "You will have to go through me to get through my son!"
The man paused once more, this time, standing still, as if something hit him. Quistis looked at him strangely, suddenly realizing that this man was not out to kill him, so she prepared to put her arm down.
Without alarm, the man abruptly charged towards her. Quistis had no time to defend herself, as the man pushed her out of the way, grabbing Selphie, Russell and the little girl along with him on the ground. Quistis looked up, wide-eyed, glancing behind the man towards three arrows that dug deep into a tree nearby. Aghast, she stared at the man's face, finally being able to see who saved her life and was shocked to find whom it was.
"Seifer...?" she whispered.
A wave of recognition overwhelmed her and when she could no longer take it, she wrapped her arms around the man who seemed like a stranger to her a moment ago and cried close to his heart. The same blond hair that was now tied into a ponytail and the same, hopeful green eyes that bore through her soul the eyes that saw through her heart were staring right at her. Tears streaked down her beautiful face as she recognized the same man she loved those months ago.
The man pried her gently away from him and stared at her curiously, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"It is I... Quistis..."
"You must have mistaken me with someone else," he spoke, interrupting her. "My name is Calik..." Standing up, he helped Quistis on her feet and jerked his head towards the person responsible for trying to kill the woman. Walking towards them was a man around their age, with wavy, brown hair and piercing blue eyes that were as cold as ice. "Who are you?"
The man stopped and stared at him. "I should be asking you. Then again, I can probably guess who you are. You must be a Knight saving the damsel in distress from the danger, am I right?"
The man, calling himself Calik, unsheathed a familiar sword from the side of his pants and glared at the man. How dare he attempted to harm women and children? "Who are you to dare kill innocent women and children?"
"My name is the Duke of Esthar, at your service," he replied, mockingly bowing towards the blond man. "You might recognize me as the conqueror of all the nations."
Calik gritted his teeth. "No... I must have missed that part," he spoke. He felt slender arms around his waist and Calik turned his head gently towards the same woman who claimed that he was this man named, 'Seifer.'
"Seifer..." she whispered. Quistis rested her head on his back and whimpered. "I knew you'd be alive. I knew in my heart that you were alive."
"Please, madam," he said. "This is your chance to flee with your friend and your children." He removed her arms from him and stared back at the man, without another glance towards Quistis.
Quistis felt her heart torn in two.
"What have you done with Zell?!" Selphie yelled, startling Quistis from her thoughts. She wrapped an arm around the small girl, while the other wrapped tightly around Russell, tears now visible in her eyes and frowned. Quistis could tell Selphie was trying to be bold.
"Well, my dear..." the Duke began. "I disposed of him, just as you asked!"
"NO!" Selphie screamed.
"You must flee now!" the stranger hissed, turning his head towards Selphie and Quistis.
Quistis stared at the man. He noticed a strange bump in his forehead and that is when she knew something had erased him memories. He claimed to be Calik, but she knows in her heart that this man was Seifer, even though Selphie could not see it. Without a second thought, she wrapped her arms quickly once again around the man and whispered something in his ear, then took Russell from Selphie's arms and fled from the scene, followed by her friend and the child.
Calik's eyes followed the blond woman as they left. Her words hung like an arrow through his heart and the blood soaking through his tunic- the words he has not heard from the woman who claimed to know him and the words that brought an image in his mind... an image of her crying for him to come home. This woman... he now recognized her.
"I love you," she said. "Even though you do not remember yourself, I know that once day you will remember the love we shared and the child that came because of it. Russell needs his father and I need my love back..." The words hung deep in his soul like water overflowing a boat. He was ready to sink in the water from those few words spoken. She knew him! She was the one who could bring the memory he had longed for, yet, he pushed her away. Why? Before he had a chance to answer the question himself, a raspy voice cut through the thin air.
"This is certainly going to be interesting," Squall spoke. "I get to fight a mere stranger who does not seem to belong to any of the Kingdoms. I would say you are a man trying to look for who he is... am I correct?"
Calik said nothing.
"Oh well, I will rid of that torture you have endured all your life if you wish..."
Once more, the blond said nothing.
"Okay, I guess you want me to take the first shot, am I correct?"
The blond shrugged cockily. "Be my guest..."
GoodGurl: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH a showdown between 'Calik' and Squall! The end is near and who will win? Now that Quistis finally knows that Seifer is alive, why did Calik deny that he was Seifer? Why did he turn Quistis away from him? And Zell! gasp! What happened to him? Poor Selphie! Don't worry; all questions will be answered on the next exciting chapter of Medieval Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned!!!!!!!
Quistis gives birth to a baby boy who looks exactly like Seifer, apparently, Irvine doesn't seem to realize it, but let's just say he didn't see it all right? (LOL)
Rinoa gets killed by her own lover, who was actually the Duke of Esthar, who happened to be Squall, possessed by a red-headed woman (you can probably guess who it is, since I can guess 100% that you're all finish with the game). The reason why 'Squall' killed her is because she had grown attached to the Queen, which was not her job. She was supposed to take the child away from her, but since Rinoa grew a bond with Quistis, she couldn't. She let Quistis escape with the child when Rinoa announced to her that the Estharians had made it inside the castle, looking for the Queen.
Irvine left of course to battle against the Estharians, but there is no word yet on where he had gone off. Maybe he went to fight off the Estharians in the marshes, while the Commander, who, while Seifer is 'absent' takes over the Knight's army to defend the castle. It is evident that they were all killed since the Duke did make it inside.
Zell and Selphie flee from the castle, believing that Quistis and the baby escaped unharmed. While they were running towards back castle gates, they find a little girl, whose parents died when a cannon smashed through the castle wall. They take her with them and continued on foot towards the castle entrance.
Seifer, AKA, Calik, is remembering himself one by one and he decides to take his Chocobo out into the night. He had a feeling that something was going on outside of the woods that he has lived in for months. A brief encounter between Calik and Terris (his 'wife) made it more complicated for him as he prepared to leave. Terris admits she misses her 'husband' and that she still loves him, but Calik believes that she loves him because she was forced to. Leaving her aghast, Calik gets on his Chocobo and rides off into the night, while Squall catches up with Quistis and a scared child in her arms.
Who will rescue her?
Chapter 14 - Searching The Truth
Swords clashed and anger rose from the mouths of the combatants. Quistis watched them back away from each other, as the man who attempted to kill her child wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, from Zell's attack.
Squall looked up with evil eyes at the blond man and smirked, showing no pain from the wound. "I see you've improved, Zell. You would have become my personal Knight if only you have not betrayed me."
"You're wrong! You're the one who betrayed your people and myself! You have betrayed your father as well!" Zell hissed, fixing the sword in his right hand. He gripped the sword tightly and glanced over his shoulder towards Selphie who was holding the Queen's arm. "Selphie, flee with the Queen!"
Selphie looked up and frowned. "What about you?"
Quistis stepped forward, handing the child towards Selphie. "I will fight with you!" she retorted, unsheathing a small dagger she produced from the side of her waist, from the belt that she made out of fabric, in case she needed a weapon to protect herself.
Zell shook his head. "Don't worry about me! You all must go!" He turned his head back towards Squall and gritted his teeth in annoyance. "You are no longer yourself, your Highness, but I promise to rid of the misery that you have endured during these months."
The Duke stared at him, with a puzzled face, but said nothing. Instead, he gripped his hand tightly around his sword and readied himself for another fight. He brandished his sword high and charged himself at the blond.
Quistis was about to protest, when she felt Selphie grab her arm. Slightly annoyed by Zell's stubbornness to fight him alone, she almost decided to shake her friend's arm away from her, but decided against it, when she noticed Zell's devastating look when he noticed her hesitating.
"Please, your highness. The least I could do for saving me from death is to repay you by protecting you and your child."
Quistis looked into his eyes. "All right," she spoke, finally. Without another word, she followed Selphie out the back door towards the back entrance of the castle.
*****************
The darkness now consumed the lands that were once peaceful. Creatures of the night now conquered the swamps and the rivers that flowed through the desolate forest. He rode his Chocobo quietly as it trotted pass the trees that were new to him. For months, he has been trying to find himself and he did it by living in a cave for so long that he was unfamiliar with the other surroundings of the forest. Calik looked around, ready to unsheathe his sword from the side of his trousers if any would dare attack him. However, as the Chocobo continued on, there was nothing or no one who risked the wrath of his sword. He passed a few more trees, ones that seemed so old that they were about to collapse on top of him. A gust of wind blew the blond bangs near his eyes, along with the branches, swaying back and forth in the darkness. The branches were like hands trying to reach out to him. Calik paused. A voice was speaking in his head- no... there were two voices speaking- a man and a woman.
"You have all the wealth and the power to control the Kingdom of Balamb and soon, you will have the wealth and power of Galbadia as well. The townspeople struggle in life. They have to work hard to provide for their family. Some die of famine and some die of thirst. Some live a life as peasants, working day and night to protect their crops for food. They only wish nothing but to be in the castle and become of Royal birth."
"I was lucky, Princess. I was lucky enough to be pulled away from that struggle in life. I worked hard, day and night to become a Knight like my father. My father and I were pulled from that famine and the thirst. When my mother died, we did not know what to do. My father was too young then. He was only eighteen when I was born and he had no skills in sword fighting. He worked hard, no sleep and no play. The only way to get away from the struggle was for him to become a Knight, where he could get paid a reasonable price so he could provide food for both of us. His determination turned him into a Knight and he became the most trusted Knight ever since. Now, I want to follow in his footsteps."
A Knight... he thought.
"Yes, you struggled in life. Common folks struggle in life, yet there is one thing that they have that I do not have... happiness..."
He looked up into the weeping willows and stared at his curiously. The willows seemed to be talking to him with two voices, reaching out to him. Who were these people? He recognized them. Calik blinked, shaking his head irritably. He was hallucinating. That's it!
"Must move on," he whispered to himself. Calik's eyes widened. He realized now that they had gotten out of the forest. He looked down at his Chocobo and stroked its chin. "Good boy," he said.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps nearby. Calik quickly unsheathed his sword and, by the time the footsteps got closer, the sharp side of his sword met the neck of a fourteen-year-old boy dressed in a silver armor. This boy had dirty blond hair, yet there was a familiarity about him that he could not quite see. Somehow, he has met this boy before.
"Who are you? Why do you run?" he asked through the darkness. The boy could not see the man's face, nor could he see whether he was speaking at all.
The fourteen-year-old boy gulped, feeling the sword to his throat. "I uh..." Drops of sweat fell at the side of his forehead as he felt the sword move closer to his left cheek.
"Speak, I say!" the man commanded. The boy felt a sharp pang of memory in his mind. The voice sounded familiar to him. Though he wanted to find out, he could not risk himself being slashed with the sword while trying to run away from the disaster from the castle.
"I had fled from the massacre of the castle, sir!" he finally spoke, taking another gulp. The sword moved down again to his throat, then towards his left hand, as it was reaching for his weapon.
"Remove your hands from your weapon!" He yelled, the sword almost cutting through his fingers. The boy nodded and slowly removed his hands from his small sword given to him by his Captain those months ago.
The man waited until the boy's hands were no longer blocking the sword he was trying to reach and stared at the weapon at his side. There was something familiar as well with the sword, the way it gleamed in the moonlight and reflected back in his memories. For a moment, all was silence between the two men. Calik placed his sword back in its sheath and looked at him carefully.
"This sword... where did you get it?" He glanced at the sword, the handle decorated in sheen of gold as if it has never been used all these years. There was a hawk with its wings spread from left to right of the handle, its eyes full of valor and pride, as if it was staring right into the eyes of its prey. The sword was only half as long as his, but it still held the power to cut through things as easily as a normal sword. He realized it was a dagger. "The dagger..."
The boy nodded. "It is indeed a dagger, sir. A brave man who led the army of Balbadia gave it to me months ago. Now... I am no longer certain if Balbadia will survive Esthar's raid."
Calik frowned. "Esthar? Balbadia? Are these places?"
The boy stared at him curiously. Does this man have any knowledge of the kingdoms? "Yes, sir," he replied.
"Hm..." The man looked up over the boy's head and in the distance, he noticed a cloud of smoke just over top a large castle. "Why do they fight?"
The boy continued to stare at him. Who was this man? "They have fought for years now to fight over the land they wish."
Calik nodded, his eyes still lingering towards the nearly destroyed castle. Without another word, he gripped his hands tightly around the reigns of his chocobo and patted the bird in the neck to signal for it to go. Surprised, the boy stood where he was and watched the stranger on the chocobo trot towards Balbadia. There was something familiar about him, the boy thought.
***************
They ran for nearly an hour now, she noticed. Ahead of her, ran Selphie with Russell in her arms, while she, feeling tired from the escape, held a small child's hand. She looked down and noticed the little girl whom Selphie and Zell came with gasping for breath. With one hand, Quistis placed it on top of her head. The girl looked up and frowned, fear already decided in her eyes, but Quistis just smiled down on her.
"It's all right now, little one," she whispered in an assuring, soft voice. "I will protect you from that bad man."
The little girl nodded and her frown quickly changed into a rare smile. She nodded and held her hand tightly against the larger hands of the Queen. Quistis smiled for the first time since Seifer left her arms forever. No... Seifer has not left her. He was alive... somewhere, she thought. Quistis looked up towards the back of Selphie, just a few seconds away from her. She heard her son's cry and Quistis felt a pang of guilt. She wanted to hold her son in her arms.
The Queen paused.
"Selphie..." she whispered. Selphie stopped and turned her whole body around to face her friend. She noticed Quistis holding out her arms towards her. "May I hold my child?"
Selphie stared at her curiously; beads of sweat falling from the sides of her face. "But... your highness... we must be out of sight from this forest. It would be easy for that man to find us." She noticed Quistis' worried look and she couldn't help but give up. Selphie sighed and nodded, stepping forward towards her, while the child lay still in her arms.
Quistis gently took Russell in her arms, letting go of Nadia's little hand and smiled down on her child. "I will protect you," she whispered in his small ear. She kissed his cheek, tears flowing from her eyes. Quistis felt someone tugging at her skirt and she looked down to find Nadia staring up at her. The blond Queen placed a hand on her head and smiled. "I will protect you too," she replied.
A sound of distant chocobo footsteps could be heard in the distance. The two women, suddenly alarmed with the surroundings, closed their months as their eyes began to search around for the noise. Selphie stepped closely towards Quistis so Nadia was in between her and the Queen, while Quistis held her baby close to her heart. With one hand, she reached for her dagger and moved it to her side so she was ready to ward off any villains trying to kill her and her baby.
"Stay close together," Quistis whispered. With her trained eyes, she shifted her head from left to right, ready and alert for any danger that was nearby. The darkness already consumed the light from the moon, so there was only trees surrounding them and the wind whispering to them. The branches of the trees swayed back and forth, as if calling to them, warning them that danger was coming.
They heard it again.
Patter! Patter! Patter!
It was getting closer and louder. Selphie closed her fists together, ready to fight with her fists if she needed to, even though she had no knowledge to fight and aimed for the closest thing that was a danger to them.
Patter! Patter! Patter!
Quistis gritted her teeth in annoyance. She was about to yell out for the figure to show himself, when a shadow loomed somewhere in front of them. A silhouette of a man on his chocobo revealed him from the trees and slowly made his way to the two women and the children.
"Get away!" Quistis yelled, handing Russell to the unsuspecting Selphie. She gripped her hand tightly around the hilt of her dagger and took a step forward towards the chocobo. "Get away or I will kill your chocobo!" she threatened, trying to look menacing.
No word came from the man's lips.
"Your highness!" Selphie yelped, taking a step forward, but paused, when the man suddenly jumped off his chocobo. He walked towards them, his face covered with the darkness. Quistis suddenly felt her hair stand on end as the man approached them.
"So, you are a Queen," the man finally spoke, making Quistis even nervous.
Boldly, she took another step forward. "If I am, I know you will kill you. You Estharians are animals!"
The man stopped and stared at her curiously. "You think I am an Estharian?"
"You say you are not?" Selphie spoke from behind.
The man finally laid his eyes on the woman behind the blond. "If I am, why is it that I have not attempted to kill you yet? Do Estharians kill women and children as well?"
Quistis frowned. "Why do you ask questions? You are an Estharian!"
"Are you certain of that? Do you know who I am? Do tell me, for I do not know who I really am," the man retorted, taking two steps forward.
"Dare to come near us and I will kill you, Estharian!" Quistis hissed, pointing the sharp end towards him. "You will have to go through me to get through my son!"
The man paused once more, this time, standing still, as if something hit him. Quistis looked at him strangely, suddenly realizing that this man was not out to kill him, so she prepared to put her arm down.
Without alarm, the man abruptly charged towards her. Quistis had no time to defend herself, as the man pushed her out of the way, grabbing Selphie, Russell and the little girl along with him on the ground. Quistis looked up, wide-eyed, glancing behind the man towards three arrows that dug deep into a tree nearby. Aghast, she stared at the man's face, finally being able to see who saved her life and was shocked to find whom it was.
"Seifer...?" she whispered.
A wave of recognition overwhelmed her and when she could no longer take it, she wrapped her arms around the man who seemed like a stranger to her a moment ago and cried close to his heart. The same blond hair that was now tied into a ponytail and the same, hopeful green eyes that bore through her soul the eyes that saw through her heart were staring right at her. Tears streaked down her beautiful face as she recognized the same man she loved those months ago.
The man pried her gently away from him and stared at her curiously, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"It is I... Quistis..."
"You must have mistaken me with someone else," he spoke, interrupting her. "My name is Calik..." Standing up, he helped Quistis on her feet and jerked his head towards the person responsible for trying to kill the woman. Walking towards them was a man around their age, with wavy, brown hair and piercing blue eyes that were as cold as ice. "Who are you?"
The man stopped and stared at him. "I should be asking you. Then again, I can probably guess who you are. You must be a Knight saving the damsel in distress from the danger, am I right?"
The man, calling himself Calik, unsheathed a familiar sword from the side of his pants and glared at the man. How dare he attempted to harm women and children? "Who are you to dare kill innocent women and children?"
"My name is the Duke of Esthar, at your service," he replied, mockingly bowing towards the blond man. "You might recognize me as the conqueror of all the nations."
Calik gritted his teeth. "No... I must have missed that part," he spoke. He felt slender arms around his waist and Calik turned his head gently towards the same woman who claimed that he was this man named, 'Seifer.'
"Seifer..." she whispered. Quistis rested her head on his back and whimpered. "I knew you'd be alive. I knew in my heart that you were alive."
"Please, madam," he said. "This is your chance to flee with your friend and your children." He removed her arms from him and stared back at the man, without another glance towards Quistis.
Quistis felt her heart torn in two.
"What have you done with Zell?!" Selphie yelled, startling Quistis from her thoughts. She wrapped an arm around the small girl, while the other wrapped tightly around Russell, tears now visible in her eyes and frowned. Quistis could tell Selphie was trying to be bold.
"Well, my dear..." the Duke began. "I disposed of him, just as you asked!"
"NO!" Selphie screamed.
"You must flee now!" the stranger hissed, turning his head towards Selphie and Quistis.
Quistis stared at the man. He noticed a strange bump in his forehead and that is when she knew something had erased him memories. He claimed to be Calik, but she knows in her heart that this man was Seifer, even though Selphie could not see it. Without a second thought, she wrapped her arms quickly once again around the man and whispered something in his ear, then took Russell from Selphie's arms and fled from the scene, followed by her friend and the child.
Calik's eyes followed the blond woman as they left. Her words hung like an arrow through his heart and the blood soaking through his tunic- the words he has not heard from the woman who claimed to know him and the words that brought an image in his mind... an image of her crying for him to come home. This woman... he now recognized her.
"I love you," she said. "Even though you do not remember yourself, I know that once day you will remember the love we shared and the child that came because of it. Russell needs his father and I need my love back..." The words hung deep in his soul like water overflowing a boat. He was ready to sink in the water from those few words spoken. She knew him! She was the one who could bring the memory he had longed for, yet, he pushed her away. Why? Before he had a chance to answer the question himself, a raspy voice cut through the thin air.
"This is certainly going to be interesting," Squall spoke. "I get to fight a mere stranger who does not seem to belong to any of the Kingdoms. I would say you are a man trying to look for who he is... am I correct?"
Calik said nothing.
"Oh well, I will rid of that torture you have endured all your life if you wish..."
Once more, the blond said nothing.
"Okay, I guess you want me to take the first shot, am I correct?"
The blond shrugged cockily. "Be my guest..."
GoodGurl: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH a showdown between 'Calik' and Squall! The end is near and who will win? Now that Quistis finally knows that Seifer is alive, why did Calik deny that he was Seifer? Why did he turn Quistis away from him? And Zell! gasp! What happened to him? Poor Selphie! Don't worry; all questions will be answered on the next exciting chapter of Medieval Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned!!!!!!!