A/N: And it's strike for three days at my university! Yay! Now I can sleep more in the morning! Until Friday that is… Anyway, I just thought I'd sit back in front of my PC and roll my ciggies while write the next chapter to this story…
I can't tell you guys how relieved I felt when I read your reviews! I was incredibly nervous about the previous chapter; I wanted it to be really good. And I guess it was since you liked it. ^_^ The new chapter will present you with a new character. Not a very important one, but still important to the plot of the next four or five chapters.
BTW, I got the first review on an older story I posted here. I hadn't gotten any reviews so I didn't update it. Now that I got one, I thought I'd post the next chapter. It's practically finished as I'd been posting in it a certain forum, so it won't interfere with my updates on this story. If you want, go check it out. It's called 'Fate of a Sorceress'. It's a Squinoa, Selvine, Zell x Library girl and Seiftis. I won't bug you with the summary here; it's on the first chapter of the story itself.
Chapter 11: Enchanté mademoiselle…
- "Hwaaah!" yawned Zell stretching his arms.
- "I know what you mean…" said Rinoa sipping some black coffee from her mug. "I didn't get much sleep last night either…"
- "Quite the party last night, huh?" said Irvine rubbing the back of his neck. Selphie had her head on Irvine's shoulder and was about to drift back to sleep.
- "Need… coffee…" she mumbled.
Squall had buried his face in his arms and had dozed off.
- "Squally…" said Rinoa caressing his hair. "Wake up honey; you've got to go up to your office…"
- "Hmmm?" he said, lifting his head up.
- "You'll be late for work…" said Rinoa.
- "Yeah…" said Squall getting up. "Hyne, I'll be snoring above all the paperwork…" he said, giving Rinoa a peck and stumbling out of the cafeteria.
- "Mmm…" said Zell resting his head on Irvine's other shoulder.
- "Hey!" said Irvine "Get off!" he added, shaking Zell's head off his shoulder.
- "Y'know…" said Zell grinning "Me and Shizuka got our own room now… I got the keycard from Cid yesterday…"
- "Ahh…" said Irvine elbowing him playfully "Hence the lack of sleep…"
- "Hyne, is that all you guys think of?" said Rinoa. Irvine and Zell looked at each other.
- "Yeah." they said in unison, nodding.
- "*Sigh* Men…" said Rinoa shaking her head. "What do you think Selphie?" she asked. Selphie's head drooped from Irvine's shoulder onto the table, where she started snoring. "Right…" said Rinoa.
Quistis came into the cafeteria just then, wearing her SeeD uniform. She walked over to the counter, picked up a coffee and a muffin and walked over to the table with the others.
- "Morning everyone!" she said cheerfully sitting on a chair.
- "At least one of us got some sleep last night…" said Rinoa rubbing her eyes.
- "You seem awfully happy today…" said Irvine raising an eyebrow.
- "I am!" she said without thinking much.
- "Why…?" asked Irvine.
- "Uhh… Because…" she said blushing a bit "Because I got my license back!"
- "Riiight…" said Irvine, not really convinced.
- "Hey, it's Seifer…" said Zell "Yo!" he said raising a hand, so that Seifer would notice him.
Seifer grabbed his breakfast from the counter and went to sit with the others.
- "You're going to eat all that?!" said Rinoa looking at the tray Seifer had brought in.
- "Two mixed toasts, three bagels, a bun and coffee…" said Irvine "You sure are hungry…"
- "Nah, I always eat that much…" said Seifer taking a huge bite from his bun. When no-one was looking he caught Quistis' eyes and gave her a wink. Quistis just smiled and blushed.
- "How come you're not wearing that trench coat you always are?" asked Zell "Y'know… The gray one, with the cross…"
- "It got totally ripped…" said Seifer with his mouth full "All the clothes I was wearing that day got destroyed…"
- "Mine too… I need a new battle gear now…" said Quistis gloomily.
Rinoa looked around the cafeteria for a bit. Then her eyes rested on Seifer. She looked at him in a really weird way.
- "Is that a… hickey on you neck?" she asked.
- "Huh?" said Seifer choking on his toast.
- "Easy there…" said Irvine patting Seifer on the back a little harder than usual.
- "*Cough* I'm fine… *Cough*" said Seifer grabbing his coffee, taking a big gulp.
- "That's a hickey alright…" said Zell. "'Tired' my ass! Is that why you went to 'bed' early last night?" he asked smirking.
- "Yeah…*Ahem* That's why…" said Seifer awkwardly.
- "Well who is it?" asked Rinoa eagerly.
- "Hi Seifer…" said the girl that had played Juliet in the play, as she passed by the table.
- "Uh, hi…" Seifer said.
- "Angelina Shaffer?!" said Zell impressed. "Is that her?!"
- "Yeah…" lied Seifer.
- "Dude! She's hot!" said Zell. "Way to go!"
- "Hey, don't tell anyone, OK?" said Seifer looking a bit worried "'Cause we're not really dating…"
- "A one night stand?" asked Irvine.
- "Yeah… Kinda…" replied Seifer. Rinoa mumbled something that sounded a whole lot like 'Pigs'.
- "Oink." said Zell mockingly.
- "I've got to go guys. I'm going up to Cid's to talk about when I begin the lessons." said Quistis getting up from the table.
- "Seifer, you should go too…" said Zell.
- "Uhh… Why?" asked Seifer, casting Quistis a sideways look, which she returned.
- "Well, don't you need to discuss what you're going to do from now on?" asked Zell.
- "What do you mean 'do'?" asked Seifer puzzled.
- "Duh! As a SeeD. Will you be going off to missions or are you interested in teaching?" said Zell.
- "Me? Teaching?" said Seifer with a look of disbelief.
- "Yeah, probably not a good idea…" said Rinoa.
- "Either way, you've got to inform Cid." said Zell.
- "OK…" said Seifer getting up as well "Let's go Quistis."
- "You might want to do something about that hickey…" said Irvine with a smirk. "I don't know if Cid will be happy to see something like that…"
- "Right…" said Seifer, moving a hand on his neck.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
On their way out of the cafeteria, Seifer and Quistis kept a safe distance; there were too many pairs of eyes watching.
- "Hey…" he whispered. "What am I going to do about this?" he said pointing at the hickey on his neck.
- "I suppose a turtleneck would look suspicious in July…" said Quistis jokingly.
- "Oh, ha ha… Now seriously!" said Seifer.
- "Maybe some make-up will do the trick…"
- "Are you carrying any?"
- "No… Come on…" she said turning around, heading towards the dorms. "I have some in my room…"
Ten minutes later…
- "I don't think… *Fast and heavy breath* It is *Ungh* wise… *Fast and heavy breath* to keep Cid waiting…" said Quistis, lying sweaty underneath Seifer on her bed.
- "Neither do I…" said Seifer, rolling over so that she got on top. "But I'm sure… *Ungh* he won't mind that much…"
Fifteen minutes later…
- "No-one saw us get in here together, right?" asked Quistis, buttoning her SeeD uniform shirt.
- "Yeah, I didn't see anyone out in the corridor." said Seifer putting his T-shirt on.
- "It's clear." said Quistis looking out in the hallway. They both walked outside and headed towards the Main Hall.
- "Oh, shit!" said Seifer.
- "What?"
- "I've got to wear my uniform too, huh?" he asked.
- "*Sigh* Let's make it quick…" she said and they both ran towards Seifer's room.
- "Keycard…" said Seifer looking into his pockets, once they were there "Here it is…" he added taking it out. He slid it through the receptor and walked inside his room. After a few seconds he walked back out. "Y'know…" he said with a mischievous grin. "No-one's out in this corridor either…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Twenty minutes later, the couple was inside the elevator heading towards the 3rd floor.
- "If Cid doesn't fire me today, he never will…" mumbled Quistis nervously, as she fixed Seifer's hair.
- "Relax… I'm sure he'll be so busy, he won't even remember you had an appointment…" said Seifer.
- "Done…" said Quistis, when she had finished adjusting his hair.
- "No sign of a hickey, right?" he asked worriedly.
- "None."
- "Good…" he said straightening his uniform.
The elevator doors opened and the pair walked over to the door which read 'Headmaster'.
- "Quisty?" called Xu, before they had knocked.
- "Oh, hello Xu." said Quistis.
- "Congratulations Seifer…" she said shaking Seifer's hand at first, and then turned to Quistis. "Why are you here?"
- "I've got an appointment with Cid to talk about my upcoming lessons." she replied.
- "Oh, I see… Well, you'll have to wait. He's been talking to this Galbadian representative for hours! He came totally unexpectedly and we've been forced to cancel almost all of his meetings! Actually all the others canceled it, because they got tired of waiting!" said Xu.
- "I'll wait for a while." said Quistis.
- "What about you Seifer?" asked Xu.
- "I just came for a briefing on any upcoming missions." said Seifer "I'll wait too."
- "Alright then… If you'll excuse me, I've got to go back to my office. Tons of paperwork to do!" said Xu leaving.
Seifer and Quistis sat on two armchairs, out in the lounge.
- "Told ya…" said Seifer smirking.
- "Oh, I bet you feel great you were right…"
- "Perfect…" said Seifer stretching his arms. "I'm telling you, someone up there likes us very much…"
- "That was just pure luck…"
- "Call it what you will, it saved both our asses!"
- "Why both?" asked Quistis.
- "Well… If you left, what would I do without you?" said Seifer, giving her a melodramatic look.
- "That was…" said Quistis trying to find the right word "… corny." she added smiling.
- "You're right, that was totally not me…" said Seifer. They both burst out laughing.
- "What are we doing Seifer?" asked Quistis getting serious.
- "Whatever our impulses tell us to." he replied, hardly thinking at all.
- "And who tells us that will work?" she asked.
- "Who tells us it won't?" he replied. Quistis smiled.
- "I really liked it last night…" she whispered "And just a few minutes ago…" she added blushing a bit.
- "Me too." he said sincerely "So… let's not think too much, shall we?" Quistis simply smiled and nodded.
Just then, the door of Cid's office opened and out came Cid, Squall and a man neither Quistis nor Seifer knew. It must have been the man Xu was talking about. He was a tall, quite charming man in his late thirties, with jet black hair that had a little bit of grey on the temples.
- "Nothing to worry about Lucius…" said Cid to the man. "I'll assign my best men and women for the job. Commander Leonheart will personally pick them!"
- "I can't thank you enough Cid." said that Lucius guy, shaking Cid's hand "Commander…" he said shaking Squall's as well.
- "Ah, and here are a couple of our best SeeDs." said Cid "Lucius, I'd like you to meet a new, but important asset to our forces, Seifer Almasy…"
- "Pleased to meet you." said Seifer and the man in unison, while exchanging a lukewarm handshake.
- "And one of our Instructors, Quistis Trepe…" continued Cid. Quistis extended her arm, expecting a handshake, but the man surprised her.
- "Enchanted…" he said, taking Quistis' hand and kissing it. "Miss, let me introduce myself. I'm Lucius Wallace. Minister of National Defense of Galbadia."
- "Of course…" said Quistis forcing back a smile "I've heard about you Mr. Wallace."
- "Dear me…" said Lucius Wallace "An Instructor? At such a young age? My dear, you can't be more than twenty…" he added. Seifer noticed that he was still holding her hand and was looking at her as if he was about to drool.
- "She's eighteen Lucius. And I must say that she's been teaching for nearly two years now." said Cid, bursting with pride.
- "Really?!" said Wallace impressed "But, when did you pass your SeeD exam then?"
- "At fifteen." Quistis replied.
- "Fifteen?! Dear me, then you must be one of the SeeDs participating in this mission! With such skills…" said Wallace. Seifer felt the blood boiling up in his veins.
- "Oh I'm afraid I won't be able to. You see I'm about to begin teaching in a few days for the summer semester. You understand of course…" said Quistis politely 'Heh, heh… Way to go baby…' thought Seifer.
- "Nonsense! Someone can replace you for sure! It'll just be one mission Quistis… You have my permission to go." said Cid.
- "What if she doesn't want to?!" said Seifer, in a little higher than appropriate a voice. Everyone turned around to look at him.
- "No-one's obliging her sonny…" said Wallace, patting Seifer on the shoulder, finally letting go of Quistis' hand "What was your name again?" he asked with an oh-so-fake smile.
- "Seifer. Seifer Almasy." replied Seifer through gritted teeth.
- "Right then Kiefer…" said Wallace.
- "Seifer!" said Seifer firmly.
- "Right… I like your spirit… Add him to the list Leonheart." he said turning to Squall.
- "I'm afraid it's up to the Headmaster and the Commander to decide…" said Seifer with a smirk on his face.
- "Well Seifer…" said Cid, grasping Seifer a little bit hard on the shoulder, faking a smile "I'm sure we can reach an agreement with the Minister. If he wishes to have you two on the team and we see that you qualify, you're as good as sent there…" he added, with a tone of threat in his voice.
- "So, it's settled then!" said Wallace "I'll be back tomorrow to discuss the assignments. I supposed you will have decided on the SeeDs participating by tomorrow?" he asked.
- "Of course Lucius! We'll be happy to see you again! Have a safe journey!" said Cid, shaking his hand.
- "Cid, Commander, Almasy…" Lucius Wallace said nodding to everyone "My dear…" he said kissing Quistis' hand yet again "We'll meet again tomorrow…" he said giving her a promising look.
- "Looking forward to it Mr. Wallace…" mumbled Quistis awkwardly.
- "Please! Call me Lucius…" he said.
- "Right… Looking forward to it Lucius…" she said, even more awkwardly.
- "Au revoir!" he said releasing her hand and walking towards the elevator.
Quistis was left puzzled, Seifer furious, Cid delighted and Squall… Well, Squall felt neutral!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Yet another victim of Quistis' deadly charms :-) And I just loved the 'hickey scene'. Looks like Quistis will have to control her urges a bit better in the future :-p
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
Jealousy makes the fledgling couple have their first fight…
Quistis finds out that Seifer has a rather disturbing sleeping time… I wonder why…