Meeting Love, Finding Despair
By Quis
Chapter Nine
A Dance in The Rain
Disclaimer: Seifer, Quistis, Laguna, Ellone and any other characters from Final Fantasy VIII do not belong to me.
Ellone Loire stood watching her friend with the anxiety of a mother hen. A heavy sadness lingered in her dark eyes, tears that she refused to shed. Her friend was slowly dying; she had known it for some time. Quistis refused to acknowledge she was dying -- she only acknowledged that she was sick, not that she was dying.
Ellone turned away from the glass door that separated her from Quistis, focusing her attention on Shira.
"Aunty Elle!" Shira's voice cut into Ellone's brooding, and she smiled, bending down to Shira's level to speak with her.
"How are you, Darling?" Ellone asked with a gentle smile. It was obvious that Ellone doted upon Shira, always bringing the child gifts.
Seifer Almasy was, to put it mildly, annoyed. After an almost fruitless search for an engagement ring, he remembered the old Trabian merchant in the shade of the large businesses. The unrelenting heat of the sun made it nearly impossible for Seifer to concentrate.
Giani smiled widely, seeing the man he knew well.
"Almasy! Long time, no see!" He said with his broad Trabian accent.
Seifer smiled. "Not that long, surely, Giani?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm that was quickly masked by a laugh.
"What can I do for you, Seifer?" Giani asked with interest. "I'd say you want the favour of old Giani Allibrandi, no?"
Seifer smirked. "Actually, yes. I want an engagement ring."
Giani let out a deep chuckle. "I knew you wanted something, Seifer. It doesn't take a fool to realise when an Almasy's in love. Is she the one you bought flowers for?" Giani's interest was genuine.
"Quistis, and yes, she's the one I bought flowers for," Seifer said proudly, the grin never leaving his face.
"Quistis?" Giani murmured with interest, "Your lady is Quistis?" He was curious to know how the two knew one another.
Seifer laughed. "We go back two decades, back to our childhood. We were at the same Garden, only she was my Instructor for my last year."
Giani let out a throaty laugh. "The first love, no? Well, the first love is the best love."
Seifer chuckled at Giani's language transition from the standard tongue to his native tongue. It was the first genuine laugh from Seifer in days. Between visits to and from the hospital, looking after Shira, and just generally being the biggest help that anyone could imagine, he was tired. But he never once complained. In a way, he was doing penance for all the times he had been horrible to her in the past.
"Giani, do you have the ring?" he asked, referring a ring that Edea had placed in Giani's safekeeping.
"The ring?" Giani's face clouded for a moment, before brightening into a toothless grin. "Oh--oh! The ring." He chuckled, "I have it safe."
Seifer smiled. The eighteen carat gold ring with the solitaire diamond was a possession Edea had told him Giani had in safekeeping for him.
Seifer's parents were the rightful heirs to the ancient Dollet Dukedom. His grandfather, like his father before him. The illustrious Almasy family stretched back to the days before the first Lunar Cry.
According to Edea, Seifer's parents had known their lives were endangered. Fearing for the safety of their son, they put him into the orphanage, safe from harm. It was later discovered that the Duke had been assassinated by a member of his staff. The Duchess was found on the floor, the lifeblood pouring out of her body onto the white granite floor.
Giani waddled back to behind the stall before reaching for a large black velvet drawstring bag. He checked to see what was inside, before handing it to Seifer.
Seifer took the bag, peeking inside. It held three boxes of varying sizes. The first was slightly bigger than a ring box, the second was large enough to contain a necklace and the third was huge. He took the largest box first, opening it to reveal a heavy tiara, encrusted with rubies, amethysts, diamonds and emeralds. He exhaled in awe. Never once did it occur to Seifer that he was the Duke. The small box contained a single ring, set in platinum with a solitaire diamond ball. The necklace was an elegant thing, with a deep blue diamond, worth over 150 million gil. Seifer was awestruck by the sheer magnificence and majesty that was set before him.
"How did this come to be mine?" Seifer asked as he ran his hands over the necklace gently.
Giani sighed. It was going to take a while for him to tell the story; and even then he wasn't sure Seifer would believe him. "It is a long story, Seifer." Giani said as he waddled back to where he had been before he gave Seifer what was rightfully his. "Do you want to hear it now, or later?"
Seifer smiled, glancing at the watch on his wrist. It was only eleven in the morning. He'd already stopped by the hospital that morning before taking Shira to school. Ellone had come by and taken Shira out of school an hour later, hoping to distract the little girl by taking her to the ponds where the ducks paddled. Seifer had enough time to listen to Giani's tale.
"I'll hear it now," said Seifer finally.
Giani smiled widely, and began to weave the enchanting tale.
"It was in the days of Sorceress Alexandra that a man named Giovanni Allibrandi took a wife from the prosperous family of the Rosetti clan. She bore him seven children, one of whom was your mother, Alyeena. When Alexandra passed her powers onto Adel, the Sorceress soon took Esthar and Trabia by force. Giovanni feared for the lives of his family, so they moved to the neutral city and Dukedom of Dollet. Gabriel Almasy was the father of six sons, the eldest being the dashing young heir to the Dukedom. His name was Lukyan. When the Duke heard that the illustrious Allibrandi merchant family had moved to Dollet, he immediately summoned the old man to the palace, commissioning him to craft these magnificent jewels that are now yours. Lukyan sought to marry one of the Allibrandi clan's children. Alyeena caught his eye at a ball held to honour Gabriel's Silver Jubilee.
" They danced almost all night, until the hour of midnight. Lukyan became enamoured of Alyeena, and spent the better half of the night after the dance thinking of her, wanting to hold her in his arms and never let go. The next day, Lukyan sought her out, after seeing his father for approval of the marriage. He found her asleep underneath the ferns in her father's courtyard. He thought he beheld an angel; the sheer radiance she emitted was more powerful than anything else he had seen. He woke her gently, speaking soothing words to allay any fears she might have had. I was watching in the shrubs, spying, if you like. They married weeks later, in a lavish ceremony that all of Dollet turned out to see. His gifts to her included the necklace and the ring.
"When Lukyan and Alyeena had been married for not nearly four years, Lukyan's jealous rival plotted to kill him and his wife." Giani stopped there, "To make a long story short, Seifer, you are their son and the rightful heir to the Dukedom."
Seifer was stunned. There was now no doubt in what Giani had said, and it made sense to him, too. How many times had he heard the name "Almasy" in hushed voices in the Dollet pub, how many times had men bowed to him, making him feel bewildered. It all fell into place for the boy now.
He sat down, almost falling onto his bottom as he did so. It was a revelation he was not quite accustomed to, and never would be until the end of his days.
"I thank you for telling me this, Giani," Seifer said formally, as he inclined his head forwards in a slight bow. "You'll be invited to the wedding."
He spun on his heel, taking the black velvet bag with him. Thoughts whirled like a tornado inside his head as he walked. He was the Duke Almasy. The man on the throne was but an impostor, and he would be dead soon, if Seifer had his way.
He reached for a black device inside his trenchcoat pocket. It was a mobile phone. He punched a few numbers in, and held it to his ear.
"Irvine, it's Seifer," he said, "Can you do me a favour?"
From the other end of the phone, Irvine Kinneas was stunned. He hadn't heard from Seifer since he'd been released from jail seven months ago.
"S-Seifer?" Irvine finally said, "What do ya want?"
"I need you to assassinate someone…all will be revealed in due time."
A/N. All will be revealed in good time, trust me. Nine chapters down, eleven more tae go! Thanks go to Starlight for her excellent comments and betaing skills!J