Chapter Sixteen: An Eye for an Eye
Seifer quietly, and quite calmly left the palace. His mind was brewing with unanswered questions. First there was the fact that Fujin was missing. Second, Raijin apparently had been caught out in the desert and Rinoa had killed him. Third, Seifer had suddenly become immune to magical attacks. Fourth, number three had to do something with Squall's pendant. Fifth, where was Squall?
Oddly, the blonde wasn't concerned too much with items one and two. At the moment he was currently obsessed with finding the brunet slave. Ha, slave. That word tasted so bitter on his tongue. Squall was anything but a slave. Seifer had proof of that right in the palm of his hand—Wait.
Seifer paused and fumbled around until he had retrieved the silver necklace from his pocket. Jade eyes traced the engraved lines like he had done so many times before and the prince soon found himself phasing out of reality. He wasn't thinking about anything; simply staring at the reflective metal that held some mysterious, heavy secret.
// What do you need? //
"Huh?" Seifer's eyes snapped back into focus. He nearly dropped the pendant in his moment of surprise. The low, powerful voice had jerked him from his daze. It almost sounded like his father, but more powerful, if that was even possible. Who could be more powerful than the pharaoh?
Jade eyes scanned the vacant street. There wasn't a soul in sight, which meant no one had spoken to him. Seifer sighed and placed the cross back into his tunic pocket. "Now I'm the one losing my mind."
Things were so chaotic the past few days. Seifer had been a fool to try and run from the problems. It seemed by exiling himself into the desert had only caused the problems to multiply. There was so much to sort out yet the blonde couldn't bring himself to focus on one thing; at least, nothing important. All he wanted to do was find Squall and needle some answers out of the brunet.
Sure there was more important things to worry about. Seifer just didn't care about them. They were just little things that were meant to fit together in one big problem.
Seifer shook his head to try and shake the puzzle pieces into place. He just did not have the patience to sit down and put in the effort to try and connect the incidents. He already knew that Rinoa was plotting something behind his back. That was why Fujin was dismissed from the palace; why Raijin was no longer breathing; why his father had not asked to see him—it was all meant to affect Seifer, he knew. It was working too. Seifer had nearly been overwhelmed. That was until Rinoa's ploy slipped. Something had gone wrong. Her plans had suddenly fallen apart when Seifer had shown immunity to her magic.
It was all because of the silver pendant; the necklace that belonged to Squall. That was where Seifer's answers would be found. Whatever the connection between the brunet and the pendant would make everything become here. It would chase away the fog that lingered in front of Seifer jade orbs. He would be able to see what was going on, instead of fumbling around in the dark. Honestly, the prince had no idea what was going on around him anymore.
Again shaking his head, Seifer tried to silence his brooding thoughts. He surveyed his surroundings. The buildings were tinted with gold of the setting sun. Strange, it had only been noon when he had left the palace. It wasn't as if he had spaced out. Or, maybe he had.
Thoughtfully Seifer pressed his hand over the small lump that was his tunic pocket. He could feel the cross pushing into his side. It was such a strange little trinket. Staring at the finely engraved lines seemed to pull him out of reality into a word of haze. It was another thing that Seifer couldn't understand. He hated it.
"Losing your touch, Seifer, get a grip," The prince growled lowly to himself.
Willing his limbs to move, the blonde walked down the street while green eyes scanned his surroundings, looking for anyone familiar. Slaves from the quarry were returning home. They never even lifted their heads to look at him. They were just mindless bodies that drifted past him into their small homes; too tired from labor to be alert. Not that the prince minded. He didn't want to draw attention to himself.
"How about I roast some chicken up tonight?" A voice rang out clearly over the muffled sounds of a busy street. It sounded out of place; so full of cheer and happiness. An eroding section of town where slaves were stuffed did not strike Seifer as the place to hear optimism.
"We don't have chicken.." A fainter voice responded. This one held the gloom and pessimism to counter the first voice.
"Whaaat? You don't know that! I could have picked up one this morning!" The first voice, obviously female, argued.
Seifer was moving closer to the voices, it seemed to be drifting from two individuals that were walking ahead of him on the street. He was now close enough to make out the indignant snort made by the second speaker, some man. "And just where would you have hid it?"
"That would be a seeecreet," The girl chimed in a sing-song voice. "Say, where's Squall?"
Seifer came to a dead stop. His heart skipped a beat at the name. He strained eagerly to hear the forthcoming respond to the girl who asked the question that Seifer had been asking himself.
"Huh?" There was shuffling just up ahead as the two stopped. Seifer tried to focus his attention anywhere but the couple to avoid being spotted. The man was looking around the street. "He was right behind us, I swear.."
"Oh, he's always running off." The girl pouted while turning around to scan the street as well. Seifer caught a glimpse of her face, then the man next to her. It was the two slaves that Seifer assumed to be Squall's friends. The man's name was Zell, the female's.. that information slipped his mind at the moment.
"As long as they didn't drag him off to the palace again. For the love of Leviathan, you'd think those people would leave him alone after the first time they sent him back," Zell all but growled the words.
Seifer grimaced. He then noticed that he had stopped walking when the other two had come to a stand still. Instantly he began to move again, shifting to the other side of the street as he passed the couple. Silently he thanked the gods that he was still dressed in some-what common clothes, and that he had not bothered to put on any jewelry that morning. It made him less conspicuous. That is if he ignored the fact that he was cleanly washed, not covered in dust and dirt like the others.
"I don't think they would. He said something about how his scar makes him clash with their rooms of silk and marble.." The girl stated thoughtfully.
Slipping around a corner. Seifer pressed himself into the sun warmed stone and continued to listen. The mentioned of Squall's scar made a frown twitch at the corner of his lips. That little mark did nothing to hinder the brunet's beauty. In fact, it only seemed to draw Seifer attention more strongly. The scar made him look at Squall's face only to find his eerie, yet very attractive eyes that reflected different shades of gray and blue.
"Yeah! What is the deal with him being so damn paranoid about that—I'd like to hurt that pampered prince for doing that to him. I bet I could kick his ass easy." Zell responded with a sudden spurt of anger and energy.
Seifer couldn't help but to smirk as he watched the shadow of the man throw a few punches into the air. It seemed the short blonde was easily worked up. The prince felt the need to turn the corner and stroll up to him, just to see if Zell would back up his words. It would be funny to see the look on the man's face..
"It is his first time being hit. I'm sure he takes it personally.." the girl's concern filled voice seemed to quell Zell's urge to fight.
Wincing, Seifer turned his eyes away from the shadows on the sand. It hurt to know that he had been the one to drag Squall out into the open to be subjected to unwanted attention. Then he had gone further to scar something that had been so perfect, just because of some stupid paranoia. Of course Squall probably took it personally—there was no reason for him to be bloodied.
Gods, I'm so stupid sometimes..
"I guess your right. I just wish they would leave him alone.." Zell sighed, his shadow slumping into itself.
Should Seifer just leave Squall alone? The brunet would probably be better off without the prince of Zamir bugging him. But Squall didn't belong in this place, which is what Seifer felt. He knew the other man deserved something better in life. Not a life of a slave..
What made him so special?
The pendant speaks enough for Squall's sake. He doesn't belong here.
Seifer switched his gaze back to the shadows that were beginning to fade. The sun had nearly disappeared under the sand. The street was silent. All the residents had moved inside except for Zell, the petite girl, and the eavesdropping prince.
"So, this chicken you spoke of, were you serious?" Zell's voice was suddenly filled with hope. It struck at Seifer's heart. He was beginning to realize that for so long he had not seen slaves as real people. But they were, with real hopes and concerns. They had friends and families. They were not animals..
Guilt washed over him. Just another problem he would have to face sooner or later.
"Of course I was, silly!" The shorter of the two shadows disappeared, followed soon by the second.
Seifer waited a few seconds before peeking around the corner to confirm that the two had retreated inside of the house. Mentally he tried to note where the home was so he could come back later to see if Squall had returned because it sounded as if the brunet lived with the other two. He doubted he would find it again, everything here looked the same to him.
So, if he's not here now, that means he's still got to be out somewhere.
Nodding with his assumption, Seifer pushed off the wall and wandered down the street. As he passed by a darkened alley he glanced into the narrow space between the two buildings. A shadow at the other end froze, and then slipped out of view. The prince stiffened and continued walking as an unpleasant chill ran up his spine. A ruffian, which was what it had to be. But no one would dare to attack him, the prince… right?
Seifer quicken his pace. The buildings around him suddenly disappeared and he found himself standing in the area he had been at the previous night. The well sat a few feet in front of him. The water bucket was missing this time. The blonde strode forward and leaned over with his hands resting on the stone edge. He gazed down into the darkness. There was no sign of water at the bottom. Seifer flicked a stone into the black hole and awaited the sound of splashing water. Yet nothing echoed up the rocky shaft.
Frowning, Seifer stood up. He'd bring up that issue with his father that the well in the east had gone dry. The people wouldn't have anything to drink—that would mean that the death count would rise as the week passed. Seifer didn't want to that to happen. Not now that he knew the faces on the bodies would once have been the cheery brunette girl, or the easily riled blonde man.
Great, I'm going all sentimental. It must be getting late..
Seifer stood from the wall and turned, only to nearly bump into someone that had been standing behind him. First instinct told him that it was a scoundrel looking for a few golden coins to steal. Muscles tensed in anticipation of a fight. Jade eyes sized up his enemy, only to recognize the lithe frame of a man with uneven chocolate brown hair and cold cobalt eyes. Seifer relaxed, though his heart was still hammering in his chest. "Gods, where did you come from?"
Silence was the given response. Squall simply stared back with a blank expression, but Seifer could pick up on the slight annoyance that lingered only in the man's eyes. He didn't really take note of it. Seifer was far too captured by the way the starlight made Squall's pale skin glow with ethereal light. His dark brown hair looked almost black, with streaks of gray where the light shone on it—which only served to heighten Squall's mesmerizing appearance. Seifer felt his mouth go dry at the sight. His prepared words flew right out his memory.
Squall shifted his weight under the stare. He glanced off to the side, "I followed you.."
The response knocked a small bit of sense back into Seifer's head, "Why?"
The annoyance flared in Squall's eyes, but he otherwise maintained an expression of indifference. Seifer smirked and shook his head at the rising tension between them. "It doesn't matter, I was looking for you anyway."
"Why?" The brunet narrowed his eyes on the prince in suspicion.
Seifer raised his hands in a mock gesture of surrender, the smirk still firmly placed on his lips. "That question sounds vaguely familiar."
A scowl accompanied the seething glare Squall was shooting at Seifer. He shifted his weight, uneasy. That's when Seifer noticed that Squall was keeping one of his arms positioned so it was hidden behind his back. It brought up the memory of the previous night when they had met in that exact spot, and Squall had been hiding something then. Something that was now in the prince's possession.
"I've only come to talk with you," Seifer said as he recalled the silver cross. Even though Squall said nothing, the thick silence urged the prince to continue. "Do you have any ties with Sorcerers, or Sorceresses?"
Okay. Stupid question. Seifer adverted his gaze to the ground—missing the way Squall's eyes slightly bugged in surprise.
The prince dug into his pocket and pulled out the necklace. His fingers curled around the chain as he thrust it into the space between them, sending the cross to swing back and forth through the air. Seifer shifted his jade eyes back onto the brunet's face, "This belongs to you, correct?"
Squall frowned, it was only a faint slant at the corner of his lips but Seifer didn't miss the change. Cobalt eyes stared at the pendant while eyebrows knitted together in thought. ".. Yes. How did yo—"
"—you dropped it," Seifer quickly supplied the answer. He didn't mean to cut the other off. Mentally wincing, Seifer silently cursed at himself for doing such a thing. He really wanted Squall to talk, not make him revert back to silent mode. Hell, he needed the brunet to talk if he was going to get any answers. "What is it?"
Squall paled, if that was possible. The icy glare was once again shot at the prince. "It's a necklace."
Smirking, though annoyed at the response, Seifer cocked his head at the other. "Do you really think I am that dense? I can see that it is a necklace, but I know it's more than just a necklace."
"It's my necklace," Squall retorted while reaching with his free hand to grab at the chain.
Seifer pulled his arm back out of the man's reach, "You know, the creature on this looks familiar, like some kind a feline. Perhaps a tiger or something.."
"A lion," Squall's sharp tone corrected. He still had his hand extended, as if expecting Seifer to hand back the jagged cross any second.
Seifer grinned as he won over one small answer, "A lion, of course, the cat associated with that one god.."
Jade eyes flicked over to Squall, but he saw the other draw his lips tightly into a thin line. It seems the brunet was not going to fall for the same trick twice. Seifer lightly shrugged it off. He knew it was going to be a challenge to bring forth the answers he needed. "Anyway, Rinoa has really taken a fancy to this peculiar necklace. I was going to let her have it, but I thought you might want it back.."
Squall's sucked in a breath. It was faint, but Seifer swore what he heard was a gasp. He didn't quite know the meaning behind the reaction—but he was determined to find out. "I don't hear you protesting, so I guess this old thing doesn't mean much to you."
"No," Squall flexed the fingers of his extended hand. "I do want it. Give it to me."
It wasn't a question, more like a command. Seifer lazily looked from the pendant then to Squall with an inquisitive gaze. It was amusing to hear someone try and order him around. "Excuse me?"
"Please," Squall growled with a noticeable narrowing of his eyes. His plea didn't hold a trace of sincerity.
"Hmm," Seifer drawled and looked back to the silver talisman with a smile. "She really would like this, you know. She said something silly like how it would protect her.."
Like it seemed to do for me. Seifer thought, hoping that Squall wasn't able to tell that everything he was saying was a lie.
"Seifer," Squall firmly spoke the name.
Raising his gaze, Seifer felt his arrogance slip for a moment at the sound of his own name. Squall didn't even call him 'prince'. It felt nice to be called just by his first name. It somehow made him feel more comfortable in the other's presence. "Yes, that is my name."
Squall let a quiet, frustrated sigh escape his lungs. He looked angry—the swirling storms in his eyes told Seifer all he needed to know about Squall's tiring patience. The brunet shifted his hand to aim at the cross, "Give it to me."
Seifer glanced at the hand, then at the other arm that remained hidden. He should have been suspicious, but he was too focused on needling the answers out of Squall. "I will not. Until you tell me what makes this pendant so important."
And completely mind capturing.
"You don't need to know that," Squall's even voice was beginning to slip.
Seifer picked up on the traces of dangerous venom in the words. The blonde responded to this by standing up to his full height to look down on Squall. If there was going to be threats made, he was going to be the one issuing them. "It has something to do with magic, doesn't it."
Squall bit down on his lower lip. He let his arm slowly drop down to his side. His eyes darted up to meet with Seifer's questioning jade eyes. Yet he said nothing.
"How does it work?" Seifer's tone had grown serious. He remembered that Rinoa had said that he didn't know how to use it. By all means the blonde wanted to learn. Anything that made Rinoa question her powers was worth his time.
"If you answer my next question, I will answer yours.." Squall presented a deal with the prince.
Seifer found his gaze drifting from Squall's eyes to look at his bottom lip that he had released in order to talk. It was slightly swollen from being bitten. Seifer lost his train of thought as he instead had the sudden image of himself kissing Squall and taking that pouting lip between his own to lightly suckle the soft flesh.
"That night, when we were in your room, did you mean to kill me?" Squall tilted his head at the strange luster in Seifer's jade eyes.
The question snapped the prince back to his senses as he recalled the night. Images of blood instantly drove away his previous thoughts. He adverted his gaze in hidden shame. He didn't want to answer that particular question, but the truth was not very pleasant. Although, Squall was offering to respond to the other question..
"Yes," Seifer forced his expression into impassiveness. "Yes, I did mean to kill you."
"Why?" Squall quickly questioned. He didn't sound at all curious. He could have been talking about something as boring as dung beetles by the crisp, sharp tone he was using.
Seifer managed to stifle a sigh. He forced himself to smirk, though his expression was more threatening than amused. These questions were not to his liking. "Because she thought you were perfect."
As I did.. do..
Squall's expression hardened. Seifer curled his fingers around the lion cross in a mix of nervousness and annoyance. "I hate Rinoa with an undying passion. She is a sorceress, as you probably know. I was convinced she used some magic spell to wrap some alluring illusion around you, to keep me from fumbling with her plans—that somehow were tied with you. I wanted to break that spell, and spoil her scheme."
"So the reason you tormented me, hurt me was because you wanted to get back at Rinoa?" Squall's voice barely managed to remain cool. He arched an eyebrow at the prince in question.
"Yes," Seifer spoke without thinking. At once he realized his mistake and the trap he had fallen into. Damnit. He could never keep his mind straight when dealing with Squall. Now the brunet was looking murderous; his eyes had shifted to an opaque gray with a cold fury deep inside. "Now wait a moment, it was like that in the beg—"
"You go about ruining my life just to piss off that snake of a cousin of yours," Squall spit out the words, not caring if he was speaking too boldly for his own good.
"Hold on, let me try and explain—I said I was sorry about all that!" Seifer argued while trying to suppress the boiling anger of his rising temper. The brunet was clever; able to detour the conversation away from the questioning of the necklace and it's importance. And damn Seifer for letting Squall do it so easily.
"You weren't sorry in the least," Squall growled.
Suddenly a smirk appeared on the brunet's lips. That scared Seifer slightly. He expected glares, blank looks, or apathetic expressions—but a smirk on those pale lips made Seifer nervous. The murderous luster was still circling in the gray eyes, and the quirk at the corner of his lips only seemed to promise pain.
"There is the saying, however, that would erase what you have done," The words came out lightly as Squall kept showing the sinful smirk. "An eye for an eye.."
Seifer narrowed his eyes in thought as he worked out what Squall's words meant. His jade eyes grazed over the scar running between the brunet's eyes and it clicked in his mind. "You can't be serious.."
Squall moved his arm away from behind his back. The glimmer of moonlight off of metal caught Seifer's attention. It was a sickly curved blade that made the blonde nearly choke before coughing to clear his throat. His heart trembled inside of his chest as the thought of the sharp edge slicing through his skin with little to no resistance. Seifer never realized how intimidating a dagger could be until now when he was weaponless with the blade pointed at him by a man with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"You can't. I'm the prince.." Seifer was trying to convince himself that Squall would not—could not harm him.
"Give me the necklace," Squall stated while twirling the dagger between his fingers.
Seifer narrowed his eyes at the blade. In a moment he fisted his own heart to stop the frantic beats. The momentary fear was stomped into oblivion. Seifer smirked at the danger—it was nothing but bartering. Squall wanted the necklace, not to attack him. The blonde took a step forward, using only his height for intimidation. He smiled mischievously when Squall took a faltering step backwards. "You'll need to make more convincing threats then that."
Squall saw the challenge and strengthened his stance. He brought the dagger up so the tip pointed between the blonde's eyes. Seifer stopped centimeters away from the sharp edge and stared down into Squall's cold gray glare. "What are you so angry about, Squally-boy? Are you upset that I know your secret?"
Seifer watched the dagger quiver with a small shake of Squall's hand. The prince was lying through his teeth. He didn't' know what secret the other was keeping. Years of fake apologies and false promises to the people had made lying as easy as breathing. Seifer learned that if you acted like you knew something, it made the other person question themselves, only then would the real answers would slip out.
Squall's gray eyes dulled, becoming distant as if he was lost in internal thought; out of reality. Seifer tilted his head to the side to get out of the path of the dagger. He leaned forward, bringing his lips dangerously close to the side of Squall's face in order to whisper into his ear. Seifer could feel the warmth radiating from the other's body but calmly kept himself from touching the brunet. "You have the power to control magic. I'm right, aren't I."
Seifer tilted his head towards Squall. He was tempted to let his lips press against the other's skin in order to satisfying his need to know how the other tasted. Squall's exposed neck barely a breath's distance away looked very enticing. It was by sheer self-control that Seifer managed to keep his desires at bay. "I know I'm right. That means you are some kind of sorc—"
"No!" Squall's eyes suddenly snapped back to reality. He jerked his head to the side to meet Seifer's lusting gaze. In the next instant, Squall had stepped back and swept his arm at the blonde. The dagger met its earlier target—carving diagonally between Seifer's eyes that were tightly closed in instinctive reaction.
The prince stumbled backwards and pressed a hand to his face. He could feel the warm, thick liquid coating over his fingers and running down the side of his face. White searing pain shot through his senses. Seifer cracked his eyes open, but all he saw was a world of red, and when he shut his eyes the pain blinded him into seeing stars behind his eyelids. The pain didn't make Seifer cry. Pain made him angry. So very angry. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, and each throb of pain only made Seifer more enraged.
"GUARDS!" Seifer yelled out as loud as he could. Squall was going to pay for this. How dare he, how dare..
Blood clung to his eyelashes, making it hard to open his eyes without staring out into a red, so Seifer kept his eyes closed. He heard the heavy footfalls of the night guards. There was noise of a scuffle in front of him in what Seifer assumed to be the men seizing Squall. A hand encircled his forearm and the blonde immediately jerked out of the other's grasp. "Don't touch me!"
"Prince Almasy!" The guard chirped upon recognizing the angry baritone voice. "Prince, please, come with me back to the palace to be treated."
"That was a stupid mistake, to attack the prince," Seifer heard one guard jeering at their captive.
The blonde snorted. Yeah, a very careless mistake indeed. The last man who had attacked him had ended up lying in a pool of his own blood. It was like signing one's own death warrant to attack a person of the royal family. Squall had nicely placed his signature with the gash between Seifer's eyes. Another throb of pain teased at the prince's anger. "Take him away, now! Show him the courtesies of our dungeon!"
Seifer pulled his hand away and scrapped his fingers across his eyes to clear away the blood hindering his sight. He glared at the guards that were dragging a prisoner towards the edge of the city.
Oh Squall, that was a mistake that you will pay dearly for.
His heart twisted in pain, but not from the wound burning between his eyes. Perhaps Seifer was the one who had made the mistake—surely he deserved what had happened. It hurt to know Squall had just signed his own death warrant. Yet Seifer's seething anger blinded any logic from the situation. Absolutely no one would get away with humiliating him.
End Chapter.