Time's Scars
Chapter Nine: Prisoner
Rinoa struggled against the ropes that bound her to the chair, but again had no luck. Nearby, Squall also struggled against his ropes. They were inside of her father's mansion. Apparently, he was cooperating with the entire plan.
A nearby door opened, and two men entered.
The shorter man turned to them and spoke. "This is Nekura, Galbadia's new king. Soon, he will be the world's new king."
Nekura motioned for the man to leave, and he did. But Squall and Rinoa knew they weren't alone. Guards were posted nearby, in case anything broke out.
Nekura smiled at the two. "Ahh, young love. So sweet, yet so damaging."
"Cut to the chase, you stupid bastard." Squall growled, "What do you want with us?"
"Ooh, so feisty you are. You want to know why you are here? Why your beloved sorceress is here?"
Rinoa looked at Squall, whose anger was growing every second. He didn't say a word.
"You are going to help me achieve my plan." Nekura smiled. "You, young Elf. You are the one I've been looking so hard for. No other Elf will do. I need your power, the power of your bloodline. You know, the Leonharts were legendary warriors. Your ancestors were revered because of their powers, stronger than those of sorceresses. You have that power living inside of you. You are well aware of it, but you aren't so sure how to use it, because you've always held back. Now, I will use your power to get the ring."
"What makes you think I'll actually help you?"
He laughed, "You'll have to. Why do you think she's here?"
Nekura walked over to Rinoa and put a hand on her chin. She struggled, but couldn't get free of his grasp. "You will obey me. You will because you want to keep her safe."
Squall's eyes narrowed, "If you hurt her, I swear I'll…"
"You'll what?" Nekura interrupted. "You can't do a thing. You may have power, but I have more."
Squall shook his head. "No. This can't be…"
Rinoa looked back at him once Nekura had moved away, "Don't help them, Squall. Please."
"What will you do?" Squall asked.
"If you don't obey? I'll do her, mister Leonhart."
Squall's brows furrowed. "Excuse me?"
Nekura turned to Squall, smiling. "You heard me. My men and I will have fun with your little angel. Again, and again, and again. And you will watch the whole time. We will be the ones to take away her innocence. I'll be her first, not you. She's a pretty little thing, too. I think we'd all enjoy it. Nice little curvy body…"
"Shut the fuck up, you sick son of a bitch!" Squall roared.
He only laughed. "You will obey me."
Rinoa's eyes were still wide, and she was starting to shake in fear. They would do that to her? But Squall couldn't obey, he couldn't. If he did, the whole world would be at risk.
"Squall, don't!" Rinoa cried, "Don't obey, you can't. Please, don't worry about me. If you obey, everyone will die! Including us! Squall."
I can't let them do that to her. She's still pure. I can't let them defile her like that. I won't let them, especially not him. I know the world is at stake, but she is more important to me.
"So, will you obey me? Or do I have to convince you to a bit?" He asked, walking to Rinoa and placing a hand on her thigh.
Squall looked at her, pain in his eyes.
I'm sorry.
"Don't touch her! I'll do it, okay? I'll do whatever you want, just leave her alone."
He smiled, "That's what I thought."
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Irvine and Selphie had returned to Garden, and Quistis was in a holding cell with Zell.
But Cid had suddenly fallen ill. He was suffering from terrible head pains, mostly. He'd been taken to the infirmary, unable to walk well.
"What are we gonna do if Cid dies? We have nobody to lead us. Squall was always the best at commanding. Now, we have nobody to do it." Irvine wondered aloud, standing in the infirmary next to her.
Selphie sighed, "I can't believe what's happened. I can't believe Cid would go against everyone like that. He isn't like that, Irvy!"
Irvine sighed, feeling a pang of guilt. "I know. This is my fault. I helped Quistis set it up. I found out about Squall. I'm so ashamed. I went against my friends. Squall will never forgive me."
Selphie looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. "You're right. It is your fault. You were so mean to him. And if anything happens to him or the others, I'll never forgive you either."
He was stunned by the words that she'd spoken. Never had he heard Selphie talk like that, even when she was really angry. He was at a loss for words. What could he say?
Dr. Kadowaki walked to them. "Cid's doing better. He wants to see you two."
They entered his room. He was hooked up to multiple IV's, but looked much better than he had.
"Hello." He wheezed.
"Sir." Irvine saluted. Selphie simply folded her arms.
Cid pushed himself into a sitting position. "I'm sorry, guys. But you don't understand why I did it."
"Why did you do it, Cid? What's the matter with you?!" Selphie cried.
Cid sighed. "Selphie, he was going to send out an attack."
"We could have handled it."
"No, we could not have. Selphie, the only people that can really fight Orcs are Elves. He was preparing to launch more troops of Orcs than I've ever seen."
She sighed, "So you gave him Squall, huh?"
"I had to! For the lives of everyone!"
"What did he want with him?" Irvine asked.
Cid shrugged, "I'm not certain."
Selphie shook her head. "You said he needed an Elf to get the ring, didn't you? Well, Squall's an Elf, a pure-blooded one. What do you think he wanted with him? He's gonna use Squall to get the ring! He'll kill us all anyway!"
Cid shook his head, "Squall won't obey."
Irvine looked up, "He will if they threaten Rinoa's safety."
Cid sighed, "What have I done?"
"What will we do?" Irvine asked.
"Get Quistis and Zell out of lockup. I want you and a few other experienced SeeDs down at Lothlorien right away."