Chapter 8 Guidance

Author's note: Thank you, thank you for all your supportive ideas. I'm sorry for taking so long to update on this one! The thing is, I had some trouble with my pc lately, and most of the files were lost. But I'll try my best! Anyway, enjoy!

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Quistis was only dimly aware of the growing noise outside her door. After a few days living here, she had gotten accustomed to the family's morning tantrums. As usual, The day would begin with Rikku breaking or knocking over something, Squall would storm in and out of his rooms, generally angry about something; Ellone would fly in and out of her rooms misplacing a pair of earrings or a memorandum, and Selphie would normally just poke her head out long enough to yell for silence before continuing her sleep.

But it is getting rather noisy, Quistis thought as she turned on her side, ignoring the rising sun. Ellone had told her that the show would not begin until eight at night, and she could have the whole day to rest. That was much needed, she thought blithely. Her feet were truly sore after the torture Ellone made her go through. Imagine trooping up and down a long runway on three-inch high stilettos?! It was inhuman!!! How could those models stand it?

"Honestly Ellone, she's tall enough without the heels," Tidus had pointed out, but the designer had vehemently insisted; so that's that.

Suddenly things happened at once. Her door flung open and she sat bolt upright in bed, startled. So startled that no words came out when a silver- haired man entered and regarded her curiously. At least she thought he was a man. But that silver-purple shade was so strange; not to mention matching nail polish on his fingernails. "What beauty!" He suddenly announced, but Quistis wasn't in that state of mind to accept flattery at the beginning of the day - and she wasn't decently dressed!

"Kuja!" Ellone appeared, breathless. It was apparent she had chased him up the flight of stairs. She promptly hooked his elbow and tried to drag him out of the room, but Kuja refused to move. "Ellone, I need to see what she looks like so I can do her makeup properly, is it not? And a woman's true beauty is right when she wakes up - "

"Not when she's still asleep!" Ellone grit her teeth but Kuja merely dug his heels in the thick carpet and continued to admire Quistis with a puzzled frown on his face. "Hmm... I can't think of what to make of you dear..."

"You can think until afternoon!" Ellone hissed and with an almighty yank, managed to pull him out while throwing an apologetic smile at Quistis. The latter was too appalled to speak.

"Kuja, that was too bad of you," Selphie said with an amused grin as Kuja sat himself at the table with a flourish. "Of course, you were much worse," Kuja said pointedly. Selphie giggled. "Yeah... that vase gave you quite a lump, huh?"

"What is the other one? The dark haired girl?" Kuja questioned Ellone as he delicately spread butter on his toast. He totally ignored Squall, which suited the man just fine. He had nothing to say to Kuja. Despite Ellone's best efforts, those two just cannot get along.

"Rinoa. What about her?"

"She's a classic beauty," Kuja said thoughtfully. "She won't be hard, but the other... I wonder..."

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Xu deftly threw the morning paper onto the couch. She had read what she wanted to read, and that was enough. She had prepared for this day. "You'll see," She said aloud. Rinoa will soon be out of the picture, and Ellone will be begging on her knees to have her back. Xu gloated silently. I'll teach you to mess with me!

"Miss Xu, there's someone on the line. A Mr. Almasy." Her secretary poked her head in and Xu smiled. She picked up the line. "Xu here."

"Miss Xu? I..."

"Yes, Mr. Almasy. I have tickets for you, don't worry. Just be there, and I'll make sure you get to meet Rinoa."

The man at the other end sounded relieved. "Thank you, I can't thank you enough."

"Not a problem," Xu smiled secretly. "Rinoa is an old friend, and I can't bear to see her like this. You two deserve each other, Mr. Almasy."

"Seifer."

"Of course." She hung up and laughed. "This is going to be so much fun!!"

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"Oh-ow!!! Don't pull!" Cloud hissed when Zidane tried to free his hair from a black chain he wore around his neck. "I told you this accessory is a bad idea."

"Tell that to Ellone," Zidane muttered as he tried to untangle Cloud's hair. "What happened to your usually spiky hair anyway?"

"Aerith forced me to change it," Cloud muttered darkly. "This is the last time she'll ever persuade me to change my hairstyle."

"Atta go, guy." Zidane finally managed to free Cloud's hair. There was only three hours to go and everything was in chaos. Zell was sitting in a corner, sorting his lineup, Tidues was outside, attending to his female admirers (Didn't he notice Yuna was carrying a heavy-looking club?), and he was here, untangling Cloud's hair. The day couldn't start out much worse.

"First that dress, and then you change into that number," Ellone instructed an exasperated Garnet. "But Ellone, we've gone through this and it's simply impossible to change from this to that in five minutes!"

"So tell Tidus to parade longer."

Garnet rolled her eyes but there was simply no use arguing. She noticed a crowd out the back door and she narrowed her eyes. "Keep those reporters out of the room, Tidus!!"

Tidus shot her a dirty look.

Rinoa meanwhile had her won share of difficulties. The dress wasn't meant for sitting for long periods, and she was already feeling like an insect under a microscope. "Kuja..."

"Just a minute," Kuja lazily brushed a magenta shade on her eyelids, frowned and wiped them off. Rinoa was feeling extremely fidgety. Not to mention nervous. This was her debut run in Esthar, and she was anxious to make a good impression.

"Done!" Kuja announced and let her face the mirror. Rinoa's eyes went wide. Was this her?! It was as if someone had come with an eraser and wiped her face off, and drew a totally different person over it. Not that she was complaining... the new her was stunning. Very Esthar.

"Beautiful!" Ellone agreed, made Rinoa stand up and plunked a bewildered Quistis into the chair. "Hurry! We don't have much time."

"Perfection cannot be hurried," Kuja countered grouchily and proceeded to play with his brushes. Whatever he's doing, Quistis was actually alarmed to see the strangest colors - deep blue and orange and lime green - peach?! Touching her face. Is this what models have to go through ever day?!

"I think so... yes!" Kuja smiled triumphantly and twirled her around for Ellone to see. For a moment, there was silence. It didn't take a genius to tell Quistis that she looked horrible, but Ellone wasn't about to say that. The woman was too cultured. She smiled sweetly at Kuja. "Darling, this is wonderful...but don't you think the orange eye shadow is a little too bright? The audience might not see her eyes,"

Kuja considered this. "True," He deftly wiped it off. "Oh dear... without the eye shadow the lipstick looks to gaudy." He quickly wiped it off and applied a simple lip shine. "And this, and that," He dabbled some more, wiped, dabbled, and it was all she could do to keep from wincing.

"What about this?" Kuja cried happily and Quistis looked anxiously at Ellone. At first Ellone looked blank, but soon spread into a wide smile. "Perfect," She said quietly. Her eyes shining with quiet pride.

Quistis dared to look at her face in the mirror and she blinked.

There seems to be nothing on her face, other than what God gave her.

"It is no use to improve on perfection," She heard Kuja say softly. "That is what I couldn't figure out at first when I saw you."

He then swept her hair up in a sleek chignon and secured it with a diamond clip. "I suppose you are one less work to me," He said wistfully. "Good luck, cherie."

Luck is needed in big dosages right now, Quistis thought as she watched the other models line up, chatting happily.

"Nervous?"

She turned around and saw Yuna smiling at her. The girl was beautiful... how can Kuja call her perfect? Quistis wondered helplessly. Yuna was wearing a low cut beige dress, slit up to her thigh. And underneath were leggings of the same shade, only embroidered. "I was like you on my first run too," Yuna whispered, smiling. "I was so terrified that I might trip and embarrass myself."

Quistis nodded dumbly. Her voice; and courage seemed to have deserted her for the moment. But Yuna merely smiled. "Just pretend all the people out there are only fit to kiss your feet," She giggled. "That's what Tidus taught me anyway."

If she could thank her, Quistis would, but at that moment there was a muffled announcement, and the music began.

Squall quietly observed the proceedings as he leaned against the pillar near the entrance. This is the first show by Garden ever since it had chose to become and independent house, and he was anxious to see it went well. But most of all, he wanted to see...

His breath caught in his throat as Rinoa stepped on the catwalk. Tidus certainly had an eye, he thought. The girl moved with fluid grace, drawing a round of applause from the spectators. He couldn't figure out what made Rinoa so enchanting... was it her secret smile, or the laughing eyes that seemed to make everyone smile too? She was like an angel, drawing breathless admiration from the critics.

"That's a real pretty one," A reported standing next to him whispered. "New girl?"

Squall pretended not to hear. It wasn't his business to give comments about Ellone's girls. But the reporter was still chuckling. "Seems to me like you're gonna have a bout of rumors again, Mr. Leonhart."

Squall shot him an icy glare, but the net moment he was distracted again. And this time he couldn't tear his eyes away.

Quistis stood uncertainly at the threshold, unable to keep the fear from her face. I can't do this, she thought, panicking. Why are they all staring at me?!

"Go on, cherie," She heard Kuja hissing from somewhere behind her, but she couldn't move. And to add to that, the whole room had become still, until only the music remained. Her eyes darted from one face to another, unsure of what to do. Everyone was looking curiously at her.

"Come on, Quistis..." Squall heard himself whispered, staring at her. Don't do this...

And in a second, their gaze met. And held.

Help me, she begged silently. I can't-I can't do this...

He nodded, a discreet signal that nobody saw, except her. Trust in yourself.

Over the heads of a hundred people, his gaze reached out to her, encouraging her. And the thumping in her chest slowed, and she slowly took a step forward. Forward, her gaze never wavering. One step after another, and one applause was slowly joined by another until a thunderous applause followed her solitary walk down the aisle. For all the world cared, he could have been holding her hand, guiding her.

"She looks like a queen," The reported said in awe, and for once, Squall could have agreed with him.

"That was wonderful!" Garnet shrieked, hugging Quistis. The blonde could only manage a shaky smile. Everyone applauded her, and she couldn't have felt happier.

"Once again, my makeup genius has given birth to a star," Kuja declared, laughing when Aerith threw a gossamer ball at him. "But cherie," he whispered, leaning close to Quistis. "How is it that your eyes never left another...?"

She felt her cheeks burn. 'You - You noticed?"

Kuja chuckled. "I tried to convince myself that you were staring at the pillar, but surely, the person leaning against it was so much more interesting, no? Especially when he too, could not take his eyes off you?"

"Quistis, that was great!" Rinoa laughed, hugging her and saving her the embarrassment of answering Kuja's question. "You said you've never modeled before? But that was so, so, so professional!!!"

She smiled sheepishly and for a moment, her eyes met Squall's. And she swore he gave her a small smile.

"Miss Heartily," A worker tapped her shoulder. "There's someone outside, waiting for you."

Rinoa frowned. "I don't remember inviting anyone backstage,"

"He has a pass, and we couldn't stop him, Miss."

Rinoa nodded. She excused herself, hitched up her skirts and stepped out of the room.

"Rinoa."

She spun around, not quite believing her ears. Her face drained of all color when she beheld the man standing in front of her.

"Seifer?!"

Author's note: Trust Xu to come up with schemes. Anyway, please review? I'm getting rather lazy to go on.