A/N-Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews! I've been having a horrible day today! ( 9/3/03) I got a mega bad grade on my band hearing TWICE ( MAJOR GRADES!), I feel so distant from all of my friends, I have a horrible cough that won't go away, and on the bus ride home, my bus driver got mad at me because I didn't tell her to go a little farther up the street to get to my house when I did tell her. Then she followed me with the whole bus, yelling at me as I walked down the street toward my cul-de-sac. *sniffle* If you guys could, cheer this authoress up by telling me something worse than this! I would appreciate it so that I know I'm not alone in the world. Thanks!
THE FIRST FINAL FANTASY VIII KINGDOM STORY EVER!
Chapter Three
Today was the day. Quistis was going to the Almasy Kingdom. Nervously, Quistis smoothed imaginary wrinkles on her silk dress and checked her worried reflection in the mirror. She then turned to her right and faced Zell who was jumping up and down on the plush red sofa, having a good time.
"What time is it, Zell?" Quistis asked for the third time.
"How many times are you going to ask me before you're satisfied, Quis? It's 3 pm!" Zell hollered back, looking out the window. The two of them were in one of the Trepe Kingdom trains, and going on a long ride to Dollet on the underwater transportation. Grumbling, Quistis turned away and looked out her side of the mirror. The scenery whooshed by quickly, but she could make out different creatures swimming in the endless sea. Sighing, she rested her chin in her hands, which were gloved in a matching white silk with pink flowers decorating the sides.
"Why me?" she complained.
"Don't sweat it, Quis. Maybe Seifer won't be that bad, though I doubt it," Zell muttered.
"Thanks for the support, Zell."
"Anytime!" Quistis sighed again. She leaned back into the comforting seat and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Deciding to take a nap, she dozed off.
*****DREAM*****
Everything was pitch black. She couldn't see her own two hands in front of her. She ran to her left, then to her right. After what seemed like countless hours, she collapsed on the invisible floor and hugged her knees to her chest, sobbing.
"I'm so lost," she cried, the tears slipping through her fingers.
"I'll be your knight…" a whisper that was clearly male came. Quistis looked up, startled. That voice, it was so near, yet so far, so familiar, yet not. Like she had known it a long time ago, another world ago. It came from everywhere.
"Who are you?" she whispered, standing up.
"I'll be your knight. Wait for me," came the voice again, fading away
.
"Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone!" Quistis cried, running forward. Her voice echoed in the hollow place, then silence resumed. Then everything faded to white.
*******
"Quistis! Yo, wake up!" Zell hollered, shaking his friend vigorously. Quistis opened her eyes and immediately felt dizzy as Zell continued to frantically shake her.
"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Quistis yelled, her head rolling back and forth.
"Geez! You sleep like a bear! Tch! There was all this drool coming out from your mouth and you were snoring so loud, I'm surprised it didn't part the hair on my head!" Zell exclaimed. He imitated her, lazily resting his head on his shoulder and hanging his tongue out, rolling his eyes up into his head. Quistis laughed and playfully smacked him on the arm.
"I'm sure," she said. Grinning, Zell twisted himself back into a sitting position before standing up, grabbing his bags from the compartment above him.
"They said that we'd be arriving in Dollet in about a minute so I suggest that you refresh yourself while you can," Zell said, walking out the door.
"Where are you going?" Quistis called out, taking out her compact mirror.
"Hotdogs no d!" came his short reply. Chuckling, Quistis fixed her long blonde tresses and smoothed her dress again. Remembering her dream, she leaned back again and contemplated it. That was one freaky and frightening dream! I wonder what it was all about? Oh well, no use pondering about my dreams. They never make sense anyway. Heh, that reminds of the time I had the odd dream with the chocobo and the Blue Dragon…
"Dollet is 45 seconds away, Ms. Trepe. Would you like anything?" a maid came in, curtsying and interrupting the pretty blonde. Quistis politely shook her head. When the maid had left, she walked towards the big window on the other side of the room and placed her arms on the sill, curiously looking at the scenery.
The plains were alive with flowers and fresh green grass, and in the distance she could see two friends fighting a monster and doing a victory dance as it was defeated. Smiling, Quistis looked ahead and saw the lights of Dollet shining in warm greeting at her.
Zell came back in at that moment, holding a plateful of steaming hotdogs and gobbling them greedily.
"How do you do that?" Quistis asked, amazed and disgusted at the same time.
"Do what?" Zell asked through a mouthful, stuffing three hotdogs in his mouth.
"Ugh. Never mind," Quistis replied, feeling faint.
"5,4,3,2,1. We have arrived at Dollet Station, Ms. Trepe and Mr. Dincht. You will now be escorted to a limousine and taken to the Almasy Kingdom. Your bags have already been taken to the kingdom, Ms. Trepe. We hope you enjoyed the ride," came the announcer's voice.
A guard entered the room a few seconds later and bowed respectfully at the princess and her friend. Quistis walked up to him and nodded. Turning, the guard started to walk with Quistis and Zell in tow. When they were out of the long train, Quistis breathed in the fresh air and sighed, stretching her tired muscles.
"Ah, fresh air," she mumbled.
"The limousine waits over here," the guard spoke, leading them towards a black stretch limo. Nodding, Quistis and Zell climbed into the spacious vehicle. The guard closed the door and left. Quistis observed the inside. The couches were made from the finest leather; there was a mini-bar off to one side, and a 52" plasma screen TV popped up from the center of the floor.
"Cool! Channel 22," Zell said. The TV changed channels and soon a show came on. "Booya! My favorite show is on!" Zell said excitedly as he slumped into a comfortable position and watched Rurouni Kenshin. Quistis chuckled.
"The Almasy Kingdom is twenty minutes away. Please make yourselves comfortable," came the computer's mechanical voice. Sighing, Quistis tucked a strand of stray blonde hair behind her ear and looked out her tinted window. Dollet seemed like a nice place. It sort of reminded her of Winhill, with just a little more city. Stores crowded the streets as well as shoppers. A harbor sat off in the distance, with a few yachts docked. A man was reading the newspaper peacefully under a sakura tree.
"This seems like a nice place, huh, Zell?" Quistis asked, her back facing her friend.
"Shh! Wait till commercial!" came Zell's reply as he put a finger to his lips. Rolling her eyes, Quistis quietly watched the city and its people. After a while, the kingdom came into view.
"Wow," Quistis breathed.
"We are now entering the Almasy Kingdom. It will take approximately seven minutes to reach the front, so please stay seated. Thank you," the computer spoke. The TV on which Zell was excitedly watching his show changed to a map of the Almasy Kingdom.
"NOOOO!!! It was just getting to the good part! What the hell happened to Yahiko?!" Zell screamed frantically, clutching his head.
"Calm down, Zell. I'm sure that there'll be a rerun of it," Quistis said, smiling slightly. Zell frowned and crossed his arms, muttering, " Tch."
"This is the Almasy Kingdom map. You will be staying here," the computer said, indicating their rooms with a red arrow.
"Cool! Hey Quis, I think they gave me a bigger room," Zell whispered, recovering quickly. Quistis smacked him on the head playfully and turned back to the screen.
"If you have any questions with where everything else is, place your finger on the room."
"Ok then," Quistis said. She lightly placed her right index finger on a large room near their rooms.
"Prince Seifer Almasy's room."
"Duh, Quis!" Zell said, rolling his eyes.
"Hmph," Quistis replied. Zell lightly shoved her aside and pressed his index finger on a room in the west wing.
"King and Queen's Chambers." Growling, Quistis pushed her friend roughly to the side and regained her composure, lightly pressing a room.
"Inside Practicing Arena. This room contains weapons of all sorts where you can train. The Monster Area is on the right. To access the outside grounds, press the room again."
"Oh cool! I wanna see!" Zell said excitedly.
"Hold on, let's finish the inside first," Quistis said wisely. By then Zell had already pressed the room again.
"Zell!" Quistis said, frowning.
" Outside Area of Kingdom. This includes a two acre garden, ten acre Training Area, a pool, tennis court, spa, and much more. If you have any questions on where everything is, press the area." Zell squealed oddly with excitement and pressed blindly.
"Training Area. This area contains monsters of all levels so be careful upon entering."
"Zell, move. We're going back to the inside of the kingdom," Quistis said, pushing a button on the bottom right that said " Inside Kingdom".
"No way! I want to check out the outside!" Zell whined, pushing " Outside Kingdom".
"Stop it," Quistis replied, pushing her button.
"You!" Zell retorted, pushing his button. Push, push, push, push. The screen flashed back and forth rapidly. Suddenly, the computer spoke, " System Malfunction. Reboot." The screen went black.
With wide blue eyes, Zell spoke in a childish manner, "Oooo, yoo in big twouble, Quis!"
"Why's it my fault?!"
"You pressed the button last." Tiny sparks of electricity came from the screen, followed by a thick spray of smoke. Coughing, Quistis waved her hands in front of her. She could hear Zell screaming and running into things. Glass smashed the floor as he ran into the bar. She could hear him trip over the couch and land with a huge THUD on the floor.
"Where are you, Quis?" came his frantic voice as he stood up once more.
"Stay still, Zell! You're breaking everything!" Quistis sighed in annoyance.
"W-we ha-ave arrived in front o-of the A-alm-asy King-gdom," the computer spoke slowly in a cut-up voice.
"Well, what a grand entrance we're going to make," Quistis said sarcastically as the smoke cleared. She could make out Zell clutching his throat in an exaggerative fashion, his eyes bugging out.
"I think you'll be okay, Zell," Quistis walked up to him and patted his back. Zell breathed in deeply and sat up from his position on the floor, grinning.
"Do you really think so?" Quistis decided to ignore his question and started to pick up the fallen shards of glass from the floor.
"Help me clean up, Zell."
**************
"THEY'RE HERE," Fuujin said, looking out the window. Seifer looked up from his Hyperion, frowning.
"Good luck, ya know?!" Raijin said, patting his friend hard on the back. Seifer didn't reply. He stood up and walked out of his room, slamming the door. Fuujin shook her head sadly.
"POOR SEIFER," she said.
"He'll be ok, Fuuj, ya know? Seifer always makes it out ok, ya know?" Raijin said, grinning. Fuujin nodded and turned away from the window.
"LET'S GO." Raijin nodded in agreement and followed his silver-haired friend out the door. They met up with Seifer in the grand hall where he was waiting in between his parents, arms behind his back. He was wearing a formal uniform, consisting of a royal blue coat and pants. Red crosses were on each side of his coat and gold buttons streamed down the uniform. He looked like a military general.
"I look like a freak," he muttered, making sure his parents heard him. Bickering could be heard down the hallway. It sounded like a woman and man's voice. He could faintly make out something that sounded like 'obnoxious' and 'stupid'. Confused, he strained his ears to listen harder. The voices became louder and then suddenly died down.
"May I introduce to you, Prince Almasy of Dollet, Princess Quistis Trepe of Balamb," the announcer said, bowing with flourish. Nervousness overtook Seifer and he narrowed his eyes as the silence continued. Then, he could hear footsteps approaching. A woman with honey-blonde hair that reached a little past her shoulders and dark blue eyes entered the grand hall. She was wearing a white silk sleeveless dress that had pretty pink flowers adorning the sides with matching gloves. She was also wearing a sash. It was obvious that she was nervous. As Seifer looked closer, he could swear to Hyne he saw dust in her hair, but it disappeared as quickly as he saw it. He had to admit that she was pretty for a princess, but that didn't mean anything. Her eyes darted left and right and finally landed on him, freezing.
He smirked arrogantly at her and her eyes widened before narrowing. She stopped in front of him, her misty blue eyes cold and daring.
"Hello," she spoke. He didn't say anything. Suddenly, his mother pinched him on the arm hard and he nearly yelled, but held it down and said a greeting back stiffly.
*********
After Quistis and Zell were finished cleaning up the mess, they had to explain to the guard and driver what exactly happened. As they were walking down the hall, they had a little argument as to whose fault it was that the computer malfunctioned.
"Well you see, sir, I was trying to find where all the rooms were and then this obnoxious friend of mine decided to check out the outside. So I pressed Inside Kingdom and he pressed Outside Kingdom. I told him to stop and he wouldn't so it's his fault that the computer got messed up," Quistis said, glaring at her friend who frowned back.
"Yeah right! It's your fault and you know it, Quis! If you had just let me explore the outside, then the stupid computer wouldn't have blown up in my face!"
"You exaggerate too much. It didn't explode. Smoke just came out of it!"
"That's what you think!"
"That's what I know!"
"You don't know squat!"
"Are you calling me stupid?!"
"Maybe!"
"Ok, we'll finish this later, Ms. Trepe and Mr. Dincht," the guard said, rubbing his temples.
"May I introduce to you, Prince Almasy of Dollet, Princess Quistis Trepe of Balamb," came the announcer's voice. Quistis stopped talking and froze. She had completely forgotten why she was here. Just around this hall was her fiancé, her future husband. Zell forgot about the fight and patted her consolingly on the back.
"You can do it, Quis." Nodding, Quistis dusted herself off and walked shakily towards the grand hall. As she entered the grand hall, she looked around, anywhere but the prince. She saw the king, who was observing her quietly and the queen who was smiling warmly. She then forced herself to look at the prince. Her eyes landed on him and she found she couldn't take them off. He was a handsome man with his emerald, blazing eyes and slick blonde hair with stray hairs sticking out. She noticed his rugged scar and remembered what Zell had said about his duel with Squall Leonhart.
She noticed he was smirking in a conceited manner and frowned, narrowing her eyes. He's so full of himself! she thought nastily. She stopped in front of him and never broke eye contact.
"Hello," she spoke quietly, waiting patiently for his reply. The prince just continued to stare at her, smirking. Suddenly, a pained expression came over him and Quistis became concerned before he glared at her and replied stiffly.
"What the-shit, I mean hello," Seifer said. Quistis glared back at him. She could tell already that she wouldn't like him one bit.
Seifer frowned at her. She was quite a puzzle. Usually girls would be swooning at his feet as he kicked them aside, but this one didn't seem the least bit interested in him. It didn't matter anyway. He didn't like her and she didn't like him. They were already agreeable.
"We'll leave you two alone so you'll be better acquainted," the king said, smiling. He left with his queen and Fuujin and Raijin followed the latter grinning broadly at the newcomer. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Seifer turned back to his fiancé and glared at her.
"Look, princess, I don't like you and I don't want you here, so I suggest you stay out of my way," he spat harshly. Quistis didn't look fazed at all. She just continued to stare at him with her cold blue eyes. Suddenly, a blonde man came up to him, his blue eyes blazing.
"What's your problem, Seifer?!" Zell said. Seifer's eyes widened marginally before he threw back his head and laughed.
"Chicken-wuss?! Is that really you?!" Seifer asked, tears in his eyes.
" WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!!?!" Zell hollered, taking a fighting stance.
"Chicken-wuss?" Quistis asked, clueless.
"QUISTIS! DON'T CALL ME THAT?!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND!!" Zell screamed.
"What, he never told you? Me and him go way back. Balamb Garden. Oh, those were the days," Seifer said, chuckling.
"You make it sound like we're all buddy-buddy, you turd!" Zell spat.
"Don't call me that," Seifer said, his behavior suddenly changing. His eyes hardened and he shoved Zell harshly to the ground, a menacing sneer on his face.
"You stay outta my way, too, you got that?" he glared at Quistis, storming away. Zell glared after Seifer, standing up.
"Man! I hate him!" Zell said.
"Can you please tell me what's going on?!" Quistis said exasperatedly, lost.
"I went to Balamb Garden when he was there. I knew Squall pretty well, also. Seifer used to pick on Squall all the time just because Squall made SeeD and he kept on screwing up. Since I hung around Squall, Seifer didn't like me and he picked out a nice name for me," Zell said, making a face.
"Oh," Quistis said, smiling slightly.
"Why are you smiling, Quis? It isn't funny."
"Sorry."
A/N-And that's it. I hope you guys liked it! Please tell me what you think! Bye!
Moshi Moshi Mai