Chapter 13

Laguna's Flight

"S…s…sir! Please! Step back! Balamb no longer welcomes visitors due to the present situation, and it is most disturbing to have visitors at this hour!" a guard stammered in exasperation.

"I'm not a guest, you blockhead! Now move before I have you removed!" The visitor threw his head back and chuckled, as if he were laughing at a personal joke of his. "Y…you get it? Removed? Removed…because…" he stopped himself from explaining his amusement, seeing the pallid expression on the guard's face. "Oh never mind."

The visitor's companion, cleared his throat loudly, as if disapproving the inside joke. "Um, sire, I don't think this gentleman was here for joking," he prompted fretfully.

"Nonsense! What's he got to be afraid of?" the visitor clamored loudly, forgetting the fact that it was the middle of the night. "What could possibly be wrong with joking? It's better than standing around here all the time keeping on your toes day and night. Besides, we're not enemies! Now move aside!"

His companion cleared his throat once again. "Well, sire, maybe showing up in the middle of the night is a conspicuous thing to do. It's only natural for this gentleman to be defensive. Now perhaps if we agree to return at a better time–"

"Oh, be quiet. We are not going to 'agree to return at a better time.' I told you, we're not visitors. We're here to retrieve someone!" the visitor hollered loudly at the top of his lungs.

Hearing this, the guard suddenly grew paler, his skin almost stark white from the horror. Quickly, he drew out his weapon and pointed it the strangers, shaking slightly. "Stay where you are! I know what you've come for!"

The visitor looked puzzled. "You do? Well that's good. But there's no need for hostility. I'm not going anywhere."

Behind the visitor, his companion muttered, "Idiot," under his breath and gave a loud sigh.

"Guards! Guards!"

"Now there's no need to shout. I'm sure we can find our way through just fine. Don't bother with all the trouble of giving us a tour," the visitor said pleasantly, oblivious to the guard's discomfort.

"Um, your majesty…"

"Quiet, Kiros. Don't be rude to these people."

The companion gave another loud sigh. "Suit yourself."

*

"What's all the fuss about?" Quistis inquired, covered in a night robe. She entered the throne room groggily, wondering why she was summoned away from her sleep. Was there another attack?

Quistis looked about her and found almost everyone present in the throne room. Selphie was seated on a small chair at the side of the room, dozing off. Zell was leaning against a pillar, fighting to keep his eyes opened. Raijin apparently had fallen asleep while leaning against another pillar, and was snoring loudly. Seifer tried to look alert, but every once in awhile he fought to stifle a large yawn. Even Fujin was growing hazy as she sat beside Seifer, her back leaning against the pillar as she fought to stay awake.

Edea looked paler than usual and glanced around the room. There were bags under her eyes, and she looked slightly irked. "Where are Sir Leonhart and Sir Kinneas?"

"And Rinoa," Zell fought to say, a large yawn protruding from his mouth.

The doors to the throne room opened once again, and Rinoa and Squall entered, heaving Irvine with them. Apparently, Irvine was out cold and had to be dragged inside the room.

Seifer yawned and pointed at Irvine. "What happened to him?" he asked, although he sounded unconcerned.

"Squall knocked him out," Rinoa answered, dumping Irvine against a pillar. She rubbed her tired eyes and yawned. "He went through a panic attack, and we had to shut him up."

"Oh," Seifer replied in disinterest, turning to glance at the snoring Raijin. He twitched slightly as Raijin continued to snore peacefully, ignoring his whereabouts. "Hey, cut that out," Seifer grumbled, kicking Raijin awake.

Raijin shook awake from his slumber and looked around furiously. "Who did that!?" he yelped in reflex, his eyes widening with shock.

"SILENCE!" Fujin growled, although her face was resting on her knees.

Selphie stirred slowly from her nap and stared sleepily at Cid. "W…what's going on? Why are we here? Has something happened?" she inquired through a rasping tone.

The king looked flushed and weary. His expression was firm and strict, but there were signs her had grown exhausted. "The guards have informed me that strange characters have been cited to enter the palace. They have been stopped of course, but these characters could be GF's in disguise. The guards have brought them into the dungeons," Cid explained grimly.

Zell yawned once again. "What a stupid thing to do," he grumbled irritably. "Those guards would've only brought in a enemy, and without the barrier to work anymore, that would be more trouble…"

Cid nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what troubled me…but the damage is done, and the prisoners are still being held in the dungeons…"

Squall's eyes glimmered, a strange look rising to his eyes. "Take me to the dungeons," he demanded, all trace of weariness disappearing from his face.

Rinoa tugged on his arm. "But, Squally, it could be dangerous? What are you trying to prove?"

Squall shook away from Rinoa and demanded once again, "I don't think we are in any immediate danger. Perhaps a misunderstanding has caused all this panic."

Cid looked slightly reluctant at first, but gave a small nod. "Very well. You may go, but I must caution you, it's not safe to dwell there…"

*

Squall made his way down the dungeons quickly, followed by Rinoa and Zell hauling up Irvine's body. Quistis followed, curious to see Squall's eagerness, and Selphie refused to leave Quistis's side. Seifer and his posse reluctantly followed, due to Seifer's paranoia of Quistis's safety.

Selphie coughed as she inhaled the stale air. The dungeons were 20 feet underground. It was an amazing thought that air could still circulate the area.

"There are small air holes located here," Quistis explained tiresomely. "At least I think there are. I've never been down here before, so I've only heard stories about this place." Curiously, she peered through the darkness, trying to make out the details before her.

Zell nodded, and picked up from where Quistis left off. He had been in the dungeons once or twice when he was still a child. "There are, but it's still difficult to breathe. In a few weeks or so, the prisoner either suffocates or starves to death. This place is so foul, I've told dad to tear this place up. There hasn't been a prisoner in here for years."

Selphie made a face and stepped over what appeared to be the bones of a very large rat. "Ugh, how pleasant," she murmured in disgust.

As the group ventured farther into the dungeons, loud wailings could be heard echoing throughout the dark walls.

Seifer stopped abruptly, his head looking up. "Did you hear that?"

"Must be the prisoners," Squall replied, pressing on farther.

The raised voices grew louder, and soon became clear sentences.

"…YOU CAN'T LOCK US UP! WE'RE INNOCENT! INNOCENT, I TELL YOU!!! WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Sire, please! Calm you– "

"CALM?! CALM?!?! HOW CAN YOU STAY CALM AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!?! WE'VE BEEN FALSLEY ACCUSED OF A CRIME WE OBVIOUSYL DIDN'T COMMIT!" the wailing voice demanded, growing louder every second.

"Well if you hadn't been so forward, maybe we WOULDN'T be in this mess! What kind of person would suddenly BARGE in a palace in the middle of the night?!" another voice snapped back.

Irvine, who had stirred back into consciousness looked up and groaned. "Huh? W…w…what's happening?" he groaned, finding himself being hauled up by Rinoa and Zell. He turned to look at this surroundings and found himself being dragged into what appeared to be a dungeon. "Erm, did I miss something?"

"ARE YOU ACCUSING ME FOR GETTING US INTO THIS MESS?!"

No one answered the sharpshooter, nor paid any attention to him at the moment.

Quistis scowled as she saw the cell the captives were held in. "These are no GF's," she noted, studying the arguing prisoners carefully.

Two of the prisoners were apparently in a heated argument to notice the stares thrown their way. The last prisoner appeared to meditating on the soiled floor, ignoring his bickering companions. Quistis noted that the quieter one of the three was rather large and had a few scars over his face. He wore a bandana over his head, and had another scar located around his throat.

Quistis moved her gaze to the two bickering. One, she noted had dark skin like Raijin, and was tall and lanky. He had dark hair tied into a braid behind him, and his eyes were as dark as his skin.

The last prisoner Quistis studied carefully caused her to scowl once again. Before her, the wailing man, had a handsome look about him. He had long, raven hair, and gentle eyes. He was a medium built fellow, and looked good-natured, although his screeching voice threw off his appearance.

Oddly enough, Quistis found herself staring at the third gentleman in a puzzled expression. The gentleman looked devilishly familiar, as if she had seen him before. ~But that's impossible. I've never seen this man in my entire life,~ she thought to herself. Still, there was something about the raven-haired gentleman that made him stand out from the rest. Strangely, he soft features resembles those much like…

"Laguna!" Squall exclaimed, slightly surprised. He almost dropped the torch he was carrying due to his astonishment.

"Your majesty!" Rinoa and Irvine chimed in together, immediately bowing before their king. Rinoa had a sincere look on her face as she greeted the king. Irvine, on the other hand, paled once again and looked as if his doom was about him.

Immediately, the two bickering prisoners ceased their shouting and turned to glance at the group before them. Laguna immediately broke into a merry smile and ran to the bars. "Squall! Thank goodness you're safe! And I see you're in good health as well, Lady Rinoa!" he greeted, forgetting the fact that he was still locked inside a prison. "Still as lovely as a flower, I see. That's good."

Rinoa curtsied and gave a nod, acknowledging Laguna. "It's a surprise to see you, your majesty. What are you doing here?"

Zell looked slightly puzzled, and exchanged looks with Selphie. "Do you know these men?" he asked, looking at the three faces behind the bars.

"Why yes, of course they know me," Laguna replied before Squall could answer. "Ah, forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Laguna, King of Esthar. I'm Squall's father."

*

Cid had agreed to free Laguna and his companions, Kiros and Ward, from the prison, discovering the truth about Laguna. Kiros, regaining his composure, had thoroughly explained the situation and the misunderstanding between the guard and Laguna. To make up for his ill judgment, Cid invited the three guests for breakfast and gave them a warm welcome to Balamb.

~His father…well that makes sense. The two look exactly alike,~ Quistis thought, looking at Squall and Laguna from across the table. She ignored the food before her and continued to stare, puzzled why Squall looked rather uncomfortable to be in the presence of his father.

"What brings you here, King Laguna?"

Laguna looked up from his plate of bacon and cleared his throat loudly. "Oh, well I was concerned for my son's health. We didn't receive word of his well being, and we heard news that something terrible had happened here in Balamb," he explained, shifting his utensils aside for the moment. "I tried to send word to Squall to see if he were alright. But due to the circumstances, no word could be reached to him. You do understand. I'm just concerned for my son's health. I meant no trouble."

Squall gave neither response nor comfort to his father. Instead, he looked down at his plate and picked at his food, meeting no one in the eye.

Cid gave a perceptive nod. "Ah, yes. That's right. All transportations have been cut off from Balamb. I fear for the people's safety, and I do not wish for Balamb's problems to affect the entire world for the moment. My apologies for all the trouble," he said, bowing down his head slightly. "I'm just surprised to find that you and your ship were able to get through Balamb's defenses. Normally, your ship would have been shot down."

Laguna turned a slight shade of pink. "Oh, well…erm…about that…"

"His majesty acts so irrationally when it comes to his son," Kiros interrupted. "He sneaks out of bed one night and thinks he can get away with flying the Ragnarok to Balamb without anyone noticing. Luckily, Ward and I had been suspicious of the king's motives and had hidden in the ship, just in case his majesty were to do anything stupid."

Laguna turned to glare at his companion. "Kiros!"

Kiros shook his head, ignoring Laguna's protests to silence him. "Unfortunately, we were already too late, since his majesty is a reckless driver and it was rather troublesome getting into the cockpit without stumbling. If it hadn't been for Ward, we would've never even landed safely into your kingdom. His majesty is a reckless driver and nearly got us killed."

Laguna looked on the verge of tears. "Oh Kiros! How awful of you to think of me in such a way! Am I not your king?"

"It is fortunate that you ARE my king and not just a companion. Otherwise, Ward and I would've thrown you out of Ragnarok BEFORE we flew out of Esthar territory," Kiros muttered under his breath, watching Laguna consume his breakfast.

The king of Esthar ate quietly for a long moment, as if pondering something very important. Finally, he looked up and glanced at Squall, who was still picking at his food. "You're quiet as usual…" he said cheerfully, smiling at Squall.

Squall did not return the smile.

"Have you…" Laguna's voice trailed off as Squall rose from his chair. He watched as his son excused himself from the table and left the room in a hurry.

Quistis bit down on her lip as hard as she could, trying her best not to snarl at Squall. It was none of her business what went on between Squall and Laguna. Still, she couldn't help but ponder Squall's strange behavior.

The princess sneaked a look upon Laguna's handsome face. Laguna still wore the smile he had given Squall as he turned back to his plate. But Quistis knew that there was pain in his tranquil eyes.