Chapter 2

Quistis slowly walked through the marble cloister leading towards the palace gardens. As she continued to walk, she couldn't help but think about the mysterious Seifer who puzzled her thoughts ever since she laid eyes on him. Surprisingly, as the lovely princess arrived at the garden, she discovered that Seifer was standing in the very middle, holding his Gunblade.

Seifer swung the weapon with ease. His feet moved in a graceful rhythm with his swinging Gunblade, as if in battle. As he moved, beams of sunlight bounced off his head and body, making his golden hair shine brightly.

The princess watched with interest, as she stood next to a marble pillar. She studied his moves carefully, noting every detail of his swift movement. When Seifer finally stopped, Quistis clapped softly and slightly smiled.

The prince quickly glanced at Quistis and raised an eyebrow.

"Bravo," Quistis began. "Impressive. I've never seen anyone master such a difficult weapon here in Balamb." She walked towards Seifer and curtsied. "You must be quite a fighter."

Seifer shrugged off her compliment. "Yeah, so?"

Quistis scowled faintly. "Not much for compliments, are you?"

"I don't accept charity from anybody. Especially those who don't know anything about it," Seifer sneered.

At this the princess approached Seifer. "Excuse me?" she asked, her voice becoming a bit commanding. "Was that a threat?"

Seifer smirked at Quistis. "No. That was a challenge," he answered, carrying the Gunblade over his shoulder.

Quistis remained expressionless. "Well as queen to be, I accept your challenge, Almasy. But you should never underestimate your opponents before you get to know a bit more," she replied, whirling out a whip.

"Sure you want to fight in that pretty dress of yours?" Seifer asked, glancing at Quistis' peach dress. "You might ruin it."

"Sure you want to fight in that suite? You might destroy," she retorted, using her left hand to lift her skirt from the ground. Her other hand was raised up high in the air with her whip in hand.

Seifer stopped smirking and got in his battle stance. He suddenly swung his Gunblade towards Quistis with no sign at all.

Quistis jumped back with ease, cracking her whip. She cracked her whip again at Seifer, causing him to jump back to evade the blow.

Seifer grinned slyly and swung Hyperion at Quistis again. This time, he quickly sidestepped before the princess could evade his move.

Quickly, Quistis moved to the side, causing the blade to tear the hem of her dress. With inhuman speed, she jumped far away from Seifer. She panted slightly as she glanced at her slightly damaged dress.

"Not bad for a princess. You fight as well as any man," Seifer teased, trying to read her next move.

Tucking a golden strand of her hair behind her ear she grinned. "Funny, I was about to say the same to you," she retorted.

"Heh." The prince charged at Quistis, ready to stab her.

With inhuman speed, the princess cracked her whip at the Gunblade, causing it fly out of Seifer's tight grasp. Quickly, before Seifer could react, Quistis launched her whip at the weapon, and brought it back to her clutch.

Seifer stopped in front of Quistis as she pointed Hyperion at him.

"Touche," Quistis whispered softly to herself. "Had enough?"

"What? It's only the beginning," he answered. Without warning, Seifer ducked and swung his foot, causing Quistis to jump back again. Taking advantage of this distraction, Seifer grabbed the Hyperion from Quistis' grasp and grabbed hold of her other hand.

Quistis gasped in shock as his tight grasp pulled her towards him, causing her to drop her whip. She looked up into Seifer's emerald green eyes and swallowed hard. Since she was only inches away from his face, she could feel his hot breath on her.

Seifer gazed into her crystal, blue eyes carefully. "You've nowhere to go now, princess."

Clenching her fists expressionlessly, she whispered, "I'm not easily defeated, you know." Suddenly, a small glow surrounded her body as she began to cast Fira.

Seifer yelped and suddenly let go of her as a hot eruption exploded towards him. "…So, you know magic too," he whispered to himself as he stared at Quistis in shock.

Quistis looked slightly shocked. "I…I…I…didn't mean to – " she stuttered.

"You shouldn't have come here," Seifer said sternly.

"For once I agree with you," Zell answered, leaning against the marble column. He walked towards Quistis and Seifer.

"Zell, what are doing here?" Quistis asked.

Zell glared at Quistis then at Seifer. "What's going on, Quisty? What happened to your dress?" he asked, looking at her now torn and ruined outfit.

"Well, um…I was," Quistis began, trying to hide her whip.

"Look, chicken-wuss, why don't you just back off and mind your own business," Seifer snapped cruelly.

Zell glared at Seifer angrily. "What did you call me?!" he demanded, lifting up his fists.

Quistis shook her head and sighed. "Zell! Look, it was my fault, okay? Just forget this happened," she growled, walking out of the garden.

"I'll get you next time," Zell snarled before catching up with Quistis. "Quisty, what the hell was that?" Zell demanded, grabbing hold of her arm.

Quistis sighed. "Look, I don't want to talk about, okay?"

"I thought I told you to stay away from him," Zell snapped. He sighed and changed the subject. "Dad sent me to look for you. You should get ready for the party tonight."

Quistis walked away coldly.

At that moment, Selphie ran towards Quistis with a shocked expression on her face. "Quisty! Your dress!"

"Long story, tell you later," she answered simply, walking towards her quarters.

Well, what do you think so far? Suggestions? Comments? Reviews please! I promise you that chapter 3 is going to have all the good parts! I promise! So, please keep reviewing! You're reviews are much appreciated! ^-^