Long Live the King

A/N: Yay! One review! :D As long as I got one... Anyhow. Yes, the first chapter didn't have much of a point to it, but it was there to start this all off. I intended to make it longer, but didn't have the ideas for it. I believe that's all for a beginning note. On with the show!

Chapter 2: Dance of Remembrance

The ride back was silent. It was an awkward silence on Rinoa's part. She glanced over to Squall cautiously, and then quickly looked out the window. She felt as if just looking at him would earn her a slap on the hand.

While trying to keep focused on the road, Squall couldn't help but notice just how nervous she was. He himself wasn't feeling too calm at the moment, either. It took him a few more minutes to finally think of something, at least something intelligent, to say to her.

"Did you have a nice ride?"

Did you have a nice ride? What the hell? Squall was annoyed with his own question. This was why he never tried starting a conversation. It never began smoothly. Rinoa seemed to notice his inner turmoil at just asking a question and smiled.

"Yes. There was this older lady in the same car with me, and she was very nice. It seems there's a man here that she was coming to visit. They hadn't seen each other for..." She paused to think back on what the woman said. "Ah, I think it was three years. Oh, but it was so cute, the way she talked abo—"

"We're here," Squall cut her off, pulling the buggy into the Garden's parking lot.

The two left the car and entered the Garden. Headmaster Cid was at the end of the corridor, waiting for them.

"Ah! Rinoa! Welcome back to Balamb Garden. How was your trip?" He pulled the younger girl into a great bear hug then released her, a sheepish smile on his round face as he took her hand and shook it.

Rinoa laughed while Squall glared on. "It was fine, thank you." She responded. Cid grinned and spread his arms out wide.

"Well, you are welcome here any time. Now, I have some business to attend to, but Squall here will take you to your welcoming committee."

The sorceress seemed rather startled and shook her hands in front of herself. "No, no. I don't need a welcoming committee..." But Cid insisted and was already on his way to the elevators, leaving Squall and Rinoa standing there alone, again.

Squall looked down at Rinoa then shrugged and began walking towards the Quad with Rinoa by his side. "You didn't have to," she started.

"I didn't."

----------

In the Quad; Selphie, Irvine, Zell, and Quistis stood with several other students who had talked with Rinoa when she had visited the Garden. Even Seifer was there, along with his posse, Fujin and Raijin. The two stood as guards at his sides, looking ahead and around as if expecting danger.

Selphie started the make-shift orchestra and quickly grabbed for Irvine and pulled him onto the dance floor. "Do you think Rinoa will be happy?" She asked the cowboy. He smiled down at her and pulled her close as they twirled.

"Not as happy as I am."

Selphie felt her cheeks go hot and she quickly looked away. Off to the side, she spotted Zell talking to another girl. Ooh, who's that? She wondered to herself. She chanced a look back up at Irvine and nodded her head in the direction of their feisty friend and the new girl.

"Oh, nice choice, Dincht." Irvine spoke as he and Selphie closed in on the two. The girl looked rather surprised to see two strange looking people coming towards them with rather large grins on their faces. She turned to Zell and smiled nervously.

"Um... friends of yours?" she asked him hesitantly. Zell shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the two dangerously.

"Sort of," he replied, glaring at the two. Selphie giggled and Irvine put a hand on the top of Zell's head.

Selphie hopped in front of the girl and shoved her hand out. "I'm Selphie! Who are you?"

"Paige," the girl responded. "I work in the Library. Um... It's nice to meet you...?" She still looked a bit scared. Zell threw his hands into the air and started shooing his two comrades away.

Irvine laughed and put his hands up. "Alright, alright. We're leaving. C'mon, Selph." He took hold of Selphie's arm and pulled her away to keep the lonely Quistis some company.

It was around this time that Squall and Rinoa entered the Quad. They made their way down the stairs and stopped in front of the main area. Rinoa let out a gasp and clapped her hands together in front of her.

"This is all for me?" she seemed more excited than she wanted to look. Squall shrugged and started down to Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie. The cowboy looked over and grinned, waving to them. Rinoa smiled as she skipped over.

Selphie met her halfway there, jumping into a hug with the raven haired girl. The two laughed as they pulled apart. "Rinoa! Welcome back!" Selphie shouted out as Quistis made her way over. The girls began to talk excitedly about Rinoa's conflict with General Caraway and how she 'miraculously' gained independence for Timber.

None of this was to Squall's interest. Irvine stood beside him, arms folding over his chest. "You don't seem so happy. Your girlfriend's back, why are you being so depressed?" Squall grunted and glared down at the ground.

"I don't know what to say to her." He admitted. After two months, he didn't have anything interesting to tell her. She must have had so many stories, but he was afraid he'd bore her to death. He glanced back up to see her laughing with the other two girls. Something must have been funny. She smiled and looked over to him. He felt his breath catch in his chest and immediately turned away.

"Y'know, you should try talking to her. Even Zell's doing better than you." Irvine motioned over to Zell and Paige and chuckled. Then, Selphie's voice became loud as she began to laugh even harder. Rinoa must have done something funny during her fight against Deling to make Selphie laugh that hard.

"Geez, Rinoa. Somebody must've died and made you Queen." Quistis commented as she patted Selphie's shoulder, trying to calm her down.

Rinoa shrugged and put on an innocent face. "It's not like I killed him or anything... Besides, if I became Queen, Squall would have to become King," She looked over to Squall and Irvine again and shouted out, "Isn't that right, your highness?" Squall frowned slightly and shook his head.

Suddenly, the song changed and a rather familiar tune began to play. Rinoa looked over to the 'orchestra' first, then to Squall. He seemed to recognize it as well. The 'Waltz for the Moon' had sort of become their song after everything that had happened.

Irvine grinned and gave Squall a nudge before leaving him to take Selphie's hand and pull her out onto the dance floor, accompanied by Zell and Paige, their resident Library Girl. Quistis looked back and forth between Rinoa and Squall before smiling. "I'll go... dance, I think." And she left, making her way to Seifer and pulling him out onto the dance floor before he could reject her and Fujin could grab him.

It took a few seconds before Rinoa smiled and made her way over to him. She reached out and took his hand, fingers lacing together with his. He seemed surprised, just as he had the first time they danced to this song, and Rinoa couldn't help but laugh. "You're the only good looking guy here," she said. "I don't want to stand alone on the dance floor."

Soon, the dance floor was filled with couples, all dancing in synchronization to the song. Squall knew how to do it without making a fool of himself this time, as well. The music slowed down greatly and the two pulled in close, just as every other couple did. Swaying back and forth with the music, twirling out, twirling back in... It was a wonderful replay of a memory to Rinoa. She smiled as she was pulled back into his arms, his grip on her hand tightening.

A crash sounded from somewhere outside the Garden and suddenly red lights were flashing, a siren blaring over the sound of the waltz. The music and dancers came to a halt as Cid's voice came over the intercom.

"Students of Balamb Garden! We are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack! Report to your stations immediately!"

The dance floor was abandoned as the people rushed to the center of the Garden and to their own assigned stations. Quistis ran to the infirmary to take orders from the Doctor as Selphie, Zell, and Irvine ran for the front gate to be the second line of defense. Squall started on his way to the elevator, but remembered Rinoa and turned back around. She stood calmly by a bench in the second layer of the Quad.

"Rinoa, come with me!" he ordered and she gave a nod, quickly running up the stairs. The two ran for the elevator and made their way up to the third floor, Cid's office. The doors flung open and Squall stopped in front of Cid's desk. The rounded man looked to Squall with surprise written all over his face. "What's attacking us, sir?"

----------

Irvine and Selphie ran to the west side of the entrance while Zell made a dash for the east. Other SeeD's began to run for their stations, one knocking Selphie over. Irvine cursed at the young man before pulling Selphie back to her feet. "Are you alright?"

Selphie was about to respond, but something caught her attention. She pointed over Irvine's shoulder and whimpered softly. Slowly, cautiously, the man turned around. Irvine's eyes grew in shock as he took a step back, arm stretching out in front of Selphie as if to protect her. "No way..." he murmured as he stared at the creature coming down in front of them.

----------

Squall was getting impatient with Cid's silence. He slammed his palms down on the desk and tried to ask again. "What's attacking us?" he shouted out. Rinoa ran to his side, putting her hands on his arms and trying to pull him back from the Headmaster.

Cid seemed confused at first, then glanced out the window, as if something were there. All Squall could see was green. The forest, the grass. Then he noticed something move. It was coming from the sky. The one to recognize it first was Rinoa.

She let out a cry and stumbled back as it sent a shock from the darkening clouds above into the Garden. "It's Quezecotl!"

A/N: I'm a horrible person for doing this... oo; Trust me, I believe there's going to be a lot of "cliffhangers" like this. See, it's not really a cliffhanger 'cause you know what it is, but... then... you don't know what's going to happen. Well obviously, I think you know what's going to happen. X.x Okay. Next chapter should go more into the plot. It'll give it a little bit of a shove, at least. I wanted this chapter to set up the relationships a bit more.

Alright, don't forget! Review! Review!!