A/N: Just wanted to say that this is yet another 'borrowed' chapter title. You've probably noticed that I like to do that… ^_^ It's because I like giving references to things I like. This time, the title comes from KoRn's (a nu-metal band and btw my fav band ever) sixth LP which will be out on November 25th. All of you rock fans out there better check it out! And of course I don't own the title of the LP, or the songs, or the band… Although I wish I owned Jonathan… *Adopts creepy Gollum-like voice* He's my precious…
Chapter 15: Take a look in the mirror
The three girls were all gathered in Quistis' room in the afternoon, discussing details of their mission. The discussion quickly turned to small talk and gossip.
- "That Wallace sure is one hell of a charming man…" said Svetlana "So what are you gonna do with him Quistis?"
- "'Do' with him?" asked Quistis raising an eyebrow.
- "Well, he's obviously smitten by you…" said Svetlana grinning.
- "Oh come on…" said Quistis blushing.
- "Honestly Quisty!" said Xu exasperated "Don't tell me you haven't noticed!"
- "I've noticed… I'm just not interested…" Quistis replied.
- "'Not interested'?! Quistis you're kicking away a really great opportunity here…" said Svetlana "He's rich, he's handsome, he's powerful… What more could a woman ask for?"
- "And if I'm not mistaken, you're single…" said Xu raising an eyebrow.
- "I am, but that's not the point…" lied Quistis "I can't just go for any man that flirts with me…"
- "*Sigh* It's your call to make, but I really think you'll regret it…" said Svetlana "Speaking about guys…" she added "What about that Seifer Almasy?" she said with a mischievous grin on her face "He's hotter than ever!"
- "I've known Seifer for ages and he's still the most arrogant bastard I've ever met, but I've got to give it to him… he's damn sexy!" said Xu. Quistis tried hard not to blush, but felt great that the man half the woman population in the Garden pined for was hers.
- "Seriously, he could really give Squall a run for his money…" said Svetlana "I mean, Squall's really handsome too, but Seifer is more… manly. What do you think Quistis?"
- "Oh I don't know…" she said while her cheeks slightly reddened "I've known them both so long, it's hard to see them that way…"
- "Hyne, if I were so lucky to have friends as hunky as yours, I'd surely take advantage of it…" said Svetlana "Besides Squall and Seifer, Zell and Irvine are just as well real good to look at… But all of them are paired up huh?" she asked kinda disappointed.
- "Yeah, all of them except for Seifer." replied Quistis.
- "How does that guy stay single?!" asked Svetlana.
- "Believe me, he's not an easy person to deal with…" said Xu.
- "Like I'd mind… I only want to look at him and touch him…" Svetlana said dreamily "Which reminds me… what was it like when he saved you?!" she asked Quistis "I mean, if you hadn't told me you're friends I'd swear he was madly in love with you! I mean, what guy would do what he did?"
- "He's just a really good friend…" said Quistis getting really red now.
- "I bet… Hey Quistis, do you think you could arrange something?"
- "'Arrange'?" asked Quistis looking at her puzzled. She wasn't actually trying to get her to arrange a date, was she?
- "Y'know… Like a date or something. Get to know each other actually…" replied Svetlana.
- "I'll see what I can do…" said Quistis forcing a smile, but what she really wanted to say was 'Hands OFF my man bitch!'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The girls didn't leave until early at night. Quistis felt a bit tired and given the fact that she was up for a difficult following day, she decided to go to bed. She undressed and put on a long, white, satin nightgown with white lace on the cleavage, she had brought with her. She had just tucked herself under the silky sheets -which btw she thought were quite strange to be found in a guestroom- when she heard the lock on her door being picked. Immediately she grabbed her whip, which lay hidden under her pillow and got up from bead, ready to attack the intruder. The door finally opened and the shadow of a tall man appeared. Quistis swung her whip in the air, when the man flicked the lights next to him open. He barely saw the tail of the whip coming right at him, but his reflexes were more than just quick; he put his arm in front of his face, where the whip stroke and got twirled around his arm.
- "Easy there! Are you trying to get me killed?!" said Seifer releasing Quistis' whip.
- "Seifer, what are you doing here?!" asked Quistis surprised, pulling back her weapon.
- "I just came to see you. Is that a crime?"
- "First of all, it was way too dangerous; someone might have seen you. Second… Why didn't you just knock? How did you get in?" she asked exasperated.
- "With this…" he said holding up a small bar of metal, much resembling a file, grinning mischievously "I didn't want to wake you up in case you were asleep…" he said innocently "By the way… How come I've never seen that?" he asked pointing at her nightgown.
- "Were you 'hoping' of seeing someone else in here?" she asked crossing her arms.
- "You're the only resident of the room… And I repeat: How come I've never seen that?" he asked walking over to her, holding his chin.
- "Did you think you'd find Wallace in here?" asked Quistis seriously.
- "Why would he possibly be in here?" said Seifer shrugging "Unless you've invited him…" he said grinning; it was obvious he was lying.
- "I can't believe you don't trust me!" said Quistis stepping away from him.
- "I trust you! It's him I don't trust!"
- "So you did come in here thinking you'd find him?"
- "So what if I did?" he confessed.
- "You were worried…" she said grinning "You were worried about me…"
- "I wasn't worried…" he lied, rubbing the back of his head.
- "Yeah you were…" she said moving close to him "Seifer Almasy, do you actually care about me?" she asked smiling.
- "I'm leaving…" he said angrily turning around. Quistis grabbed his hand in time and pulled him into a fiery kiss.
She held his cheeks with both hands, while he shyly held her waist. When they broke apart, she looked into his emerald green eyes and spoke.
- "Thank you…" she said giving him a peck on the forehead.
- "Just… Just be careful with him alright?" said Seifer. Quistis would swear she'd never seen him blush until now "Goodnight." he said "And don't think you'll get away without wearing that nightgown again… Roar!" he growled, giving her a light bite on the neck and then leaving her room.
He closed the door behind him after giving her one last look. Quistis smiled and bit her index finger lightly. She then fell on the bed with her back, covering herself with the sheets. She sighed deeply and drifted to sleep, the smile never leaving her pretty face…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The following day was a busy one for the young mercenaries. They spent almost the entire day being showed around the mansion, so that they'd know all the whereabouts. Afternoon came much quicker than anyone anticipated, and it was time for them to get dressed and ready to play their roles. Quistis had just walked inside her bedroom, when she heard a polite knock on the door. She went to open it and found Lucius Wallace standing in front of her, holding a big box, with a smaller one on top of it.
- "Can I come in?" he asked smiling.
- "Sure…" said Quistis making way for him to pass and then closing the door.
- "I brought these for you…" he said laying the boxes onto the bed.
- "What's inside?" asked Quistis. Wallace opened the big box first and took out the most beautiful dress Quistis had ever seen.
It was ruby red, long, with a big slit on the right side and oh-so-elegant. The neck wasn't bare, but formed some sort of turtleneck with a small button behind it. In front, there was a large piece of cloth missing in the cleavage, which went all the way down to the belly-button. That space was covered by lace, the same color as the dress. The back was completely exposed and the fabric began again very low on her waist. Quistis was left in awe.
- "Wait, there's more…" said Wallace, pleased with the expression on Quistis' face.
He then opened the smaller box and took out a pair of sandals that matched the color of the dress perfectly. The straps of the sandals went all the way up the ankles and stopped somewhere under the knee.
- "I want you to wear these tonight…" said Wallace.
- "Lucius, I really appreciate what you're doing, but I can't accept those." said Quistis.
- "Why not?" he said disappointed "I just wanted to present you with a gift…"
- "I'm really sorry… They're beautiful, but no." she said firmly.
- "*Sigh* Very well… Can I at least persuade you to wear them just for the party? Please?" he asked. Quistis hesitated to answer.
- "Alright… But just for tonight…"
- "Thank you…" he said beaming at her "I've just got one last request…" he added, putting his hand in his pocket "You'll also wear this."
He held up a bracelet and a pair of earrings so beautiful that could enchant one by a mere glance upon them. They were decorated with what seemed like sparkly white diamond and rubies.
- "The stones are real you know…" he said, as if reading her thoughts.
- "Lucius, I agreed to wear the dress and the shoes, but I can't wear these."
- "Quistis…" he said approaching her "If you truly are determined not to accept my gifts, which by the way makes me really sad, at least do me the honor of accompanying the most beautiful woman in the most beautiful clothes and jewelry…" he added, holding her arms and looking into her eyes.
- "Lucius… I…" she began.
- "Just try them on…" he said.
Without waiting for an answer, he took her hand and put the bracelet on. The cold stones gave her shivers as they touched her skin. Wallace pulled her hair behind her ears and proceeded to put the earrings on. He looked at her in awe.
- "Hyne… It's as if they were made to be worn by you… Come see for yourself…" he said pulling her towards the mirror that was hanged in her room.
She couldn't deny it; they looked amazing. Reluctantly, she agreed yet again to wear them. Before he left, he informed her that within half an hour he'd be sending a hairstylist and a make-up artist up in her room to get her ready. He said he wanted her to look perfect. Quistis sighed and went to have a shower in the bathroom. No sooner had she come out of the bathroom, than the door knocked and the women Lucius talked about walked inside.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was fixing his bow-tie while looking into the mirror. He made a turn around himself and glared angrily at his reflection. 'Really… A waiter?' he thought. He was wearing a pair of black pants, a white shirt and a black cardigan on top 'Might as well get over with it, or I'll have to hang myself from this stupid cardigan…' He walked to the bathroom, where he put some gel on his palm and ran it through his now black hair. He had to use some sort of disguise, since he'd be working undercover as well as all the others. He'd also worn black contact lenses, as his green eyes were quite recognizable. He'd also covered up his scar with the aid of a make-up artist. He looked like a totally different man now 'What time is it?' he thought glancing at his watch 'Ten to nine… The party begins at nine fifteen; I have to be down by nine. Hmmm… I wonder what Quistis is doing…' he thought and decided to head to her room.
He left his bedroom and headed towards hers. When he got there, he saw two women leaving her room. He raised an eyebrow puzzled and walked to the door. He knocked lightly and when he heard a muffled 'Come in' he opened the door. He walked inside and closed the door. He turned around and what he saw took his breath away.
Quistis looked like a princess. The dress fitted perfectly on her slender body and elegantly revealed her curves. The slit uncovered one of her long, thin legs. The lace at the front of the dress revealed part of her amazingly-shaped cleavage making her look incredibly sexy in a decent sort of way. A very impressive bracelet hung loosely on her right arm. Her nails were dyed ruby red, just like the dress. Seifer's eye rested upon her face. The hair stylist had twirled Quistis' hair into a complicated bun; the front locks were twisted and caught up with hairpins while the back was up. A single thin lock fell graciously onto her right cheek*. On her exposed ears rested a couple of stunning earrings that matched the bracelet. Seifer then looked at her full lips; they were ruby red, just like the rest of the ensemble and were glowing by the use of lip-gloss. The rest of her make-up was very plain, but made her face look -if that was possible- even more beautiful. As she smiled and made a turn around herself, Seifer saw her bare back. His eyes cascaded all the way down her flawless, porcelain-like skin and stopped at her waist, where the fabric of the dress reappeared.
*(A/N: Have you ever seen 'Great Expectations'? If yes, remember the hairstyle Estelle had, when Fin went and found her in the restaurant with her fiancé and then took her away? That's what I'm trying -and probably failing- to describe! Anyway, if you guys can't remember -I wouldn't either in your place, I just recently saw the movie again ^_^ - it's OK. It's just a frickin' hairstyle…)
- "What do you think?" she asked smiling, as soon as she turned back to look at him.
- "You're…" he began, lost for words "You look like… a goddess…" he said. It was the only thing that came in mind at that moment that even did her justice "I could just… stand here and look at you all night…"
Quistis bowed down her head smiling, felling her cheeks burn; it was the best compliment she'd ever received.
- "Thank you." she said looking at him "You look… different… I almost didn't recognize you…"
- "It's awful, isn't it?" he said "The hair I mean…"
- "Not awful… Just not… you. Either way, you look good."
- "Yeah, I suppose it's not that bad… On the contrary you look amazing… I don't need to ask were you got all these, of course…" he said walking close to her. Quistis felt incredibly guilty and Seifer could tell "It's OK, I know he insisted… I trust you, you wouldn't provoke him…" he said honestly.
- "You don't' know how much this means to me…" she said hugging him from the waist, resting her head on his chest.
Seifer held her tightly in his arms for a while, then held her chin and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was tender, yet passionate and tasted a lot different than any other kiss they'd shared.
- "I've got to go…" said Seifer at some point, breaking the kiss.
- "Wait…" said Quistis giggling, grabbing a piece of Kleenex from the table next to her "This really isn't your color… Try something else…" she said as she wiped his now ruby red lips.
When his lips were back to their normal color, Quistis put the piece of Kleenex aside. She then placed her index finger on her lips, kissed it and then pressed it on Seifer's own.
- "I'll see you down there… Be careful." she said tenderly.
- "You too…" he said leaving her room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Aww… Wasn't Seifer really sweet in that last scene? *Stops to think* I hope I'm not making him too mushy, or he'll lose his sexiness… *Deletes last scene and starts writing new one*
- "Enough talk bitch…" said Seifer throwing Quistis on the bed and ripping…
Meh, forget it… ^_^
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL':
A certain character that lay forgotten from the first chapter is now back 'in action' to mess thing up! Can you guess who it is?
And no, it's not Candy the stripper…