Chapter 1

She chewed on her pencil, gazing down at the blank paper in front of her. Her final project as a cadet was a written essay, and then she could take SeeD field exam. Finally.

"SeeD exam, schmeed exam," she muttered in a half-singsong voice. (Why did I even decide to do this anyway? I'm not the soldiery type.) She was answered with an image of Squall's dour, sarcasm-filled face. No, strike that. His intensely dour, and very sexy, sarcasm-filled face.

Rinoa sighed and studied the title on her paper. The only thing on her paper.

"The Effects of Meltdown Magic on an Opponent's Vitality."

"It works really well!" she yelled at the mocking, blue-lined piece of paper. "They get all sick looking and stuff."

"Why can't I get, like, an honorary SeeD appointment or something, like Irvine did?"

"Protocol can't be entirely thrown out the window here, Rinoa." Squall scratched the back of his neck absent-mindedly. "You've never even attended a Garden. Besides, it would reflect badly on us if we appointed a sorceress whose skills haven't even been adequately tested..."

"Damn protocol." The eraser from the pencil detached into her mouth, a result of her furious chewing. She coughed, spitting out several pink pieces of rubber. "Damn Ultimecia and damn sorceress powers and–"

"Rinny!" A sunny voice called out to her from the entrance of the observation deck. "Rin-Rin-Rin-Rin..." Selphie chattered as she made her way over to her sulking friend. "I have a message for you." She wrinkled her nose a bit and stuck out her tongue. "Why all the pout and frown and brows?"

"I'm doing homework." Rinoa looked thoughtful. Suddenly, she viciously stabbed through the sheet of paper with the remains of her yellow pencil. (Take that, Vitality!)

"Hmm...should I have word with Quistis about the demandingness of her course load?"

She cracked a small smile. "Nah. She's actually been quite accommodating. She's letting me write a brief essay about spell effects, instead of taking the actual SeeD written exam." A pause. "Cid and Squall are still in deliberation about my field requirements."

"Deliberations?" the petite girl squeaked. "But you can kick my butt!"

"I think they wonder about the powers I might have at my command..."

"They should just ask!"

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "They're men, Selph."

She giggled, then paused a second. "Why did I come here again? Oh yeah, I have a message for you." She grinned.

Brushing a bit of brown-streaked ebony hair from her eyes, Rinoa looked at her expectantly.

"Squall wants to see you in his office, A.S.A.P."

Sighing, she gathered up her things. "Figures. He only wants to talk to me when I can't."

"Maybe they've decided to make you a SeeD without the exams," Selphie countered cheerfully.

* * * * * *

Rinoa made her way through the corridors of Balamb Garden. There had been few changes made since the third Sorceress War, and those that had been made were subtle. Squall had assumed Cid's role in running Garden, and Mr. Kramer himself rose up to Garden Master, also coordinating interactions with the other Gardens.

The SeeDs she'd fought with had all become instructors. She suddenly realized something startling. (Even if I become a SeeD, I'll be deployed away from Balamb–my friends–all the time!) It was a fairly accurate assessment. After all, if Cid and Squall were less than confident in her abilities to even be a SeeD, they weren't going to have her teaching cadets any time soon!

Glancing down at her clothes, she realized that a tight blue tank top and black shorts weren't exactly proper cadet attire. At least, not proper to show to one's headmaster. (Aw, screw it. Besides, Squall will understand. It's Squall, he probably won't even notice.) A little pang went through her.

(Oh, I hope he notices.) His office door opened with a soft whoosh, and she stepped inside.

Intense blue eyes glanced up from a mountain of paperwork. "Oh, hello," Squall said absent-mindedly.

She hugged her books to her chest. "You wanted to see me?"

He nodded, then noticed her nervousness. "Geez, Rin, why don't you sit and calm down a bit. Did I disturb you from something important?"

Sighing lightly with relief, Rinoa perched on a cushy chair in front of him. "I was attempting to write a paper. For Quistis. In place of a formal written exam."

"Oh yes. That. Hmm..." He fiddled with a pencil, deep in thought. "Well, I suppose that can wait, anyway."

"Not really, Squall. It's due tomorrow. And I can't take a field exam if I don't do it well."

"I'll ask Trepe to give you an extension." He seemed to be talking half to himself. "No biggie."

"Dammit Squall, you couldn't bend the rules to let me in before, but all of a sudden they go out the window?" Her voice had become very screechy in her frustration.

"Huh?" A look of surprise. "You think–" Shaking his head, he patted her hand. "No hon, I'm sorry. I have something to tell you, and then you'll understand what I'm rambling about."

Rinoa nodded. "Go on."

"The election results for Galbadia finally have been announced. Recount and all."

"Oh." She leaned back, feigning disinterest. "And..."

"The new president is Caraway."

A blink. "Oh..."

"There has been...a request...for my presence at the inauguration. To show that there aren't any hard feelings, I suppose."

Rinoa turned her head away.

"On SeeD's part." He gazed at her softly. "Look, I don't want to go, but–"

"I know what you're asking me, and the answer is no."

"No...I don't think you do know what I'm going to ask." Squall stood up and walked toward a window in his office, gazing down on the main corridor of the Garden. "Your presence was also requested. The wording of the message led me to believe that if you were not present, Galbadia's propaganda mills would begin to skew the fact."

"I'm a free person!" she protested.

"I have a feeling that any suspicion Garden was holding a sorceress against her will would be enough to incite the Galbadian people into supporting any effort to destroy us."

"We've just finally reached peace. Why would that man want to stop it?"

"Do you want my honest answer, Rin?"

She nodded.

Walking over, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think his advisors are pushing him towards this move, but deep down, he's worried about you. I mean, outwardly, you don't seem like the SeeD type."

(That's because I'm not.) Lowering her head slightly and blinking back a bit of moisture, she thought to herself.

"I know how you feel about your father, but...I'm afraid that this situation is bigger than your own feelings." He lifted her chin so she was looking straight at him. "Or mine."

"I understand," she lied. She didn't, not really. (Can't we squash Galbadia anyway? We've done it before, and they don't have a sorceress on their side this time.)

"I might be able to mess with the paperwork and count this as a field exam. That would be a load of your shoulders, eh?"

Faking a smile, she stood. "So I should go get packed?"

"Yeah. We leave tomorrow."

Rinoa allowed him to wrap his arms around her for a brief moment, before she grabbed her things and made a quick exit.

"Why didn't you tell her the whole truth?" Xu emerged from her adjoining office.

"I told her as much as she needed to know."

"So you're comfortable that your girl has no idea that her father made a bald-faced threat on your life and on the entire Garden? Just to get her butt over there for his inauguration?"

Squall looked down. "Our intelligence cannot find any evidence that those threats had any substance to them. In some ways, I do think Caraway thinks that we're holding his daughter hostage."

"At least take some back up with you on this stupid trip."

"Oh yes. That's very peace inducing. Trekking over there with a bunch of soldiers is really going to improve our relations with an old enemy." He shook his head. "No, Xu."

"So you will use your blind trust and get yourself killed? Maybe the sorceress, too?"

"Someone has to take the first step." Squall sat back down at his desk. "Dismissed," he said, not giving her another look.

"I think you're making a big–"

"Dismissed or demoted. Your choice." His eyes followed her as she went to the elevator, making sure she was long gone before he buried his face in his hands.