Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I do not own the places. I don't own anything related to FFVIII, all I own is the plot.
- Chapter thirteen: Restless Fire -
"So what's the plan?" Selphie asked when everyone was seated again. "When are we going to do this?"
Squall hesitated. "The wedding is in four days. She will not act before she has bound Seifer to her forever. So we could say that she's docile now. But I think we need to act before she has the chance to attack. We need to take initiative."
"We will draw her power away from her. Quistis, you'll be the new host. The power will be pulled towards you. But we'll have to help it a bit. Doctor Odine made this trinket."
Edea handed Quistis a bandana-like chain with a tear shaped moonstone at the end.
"You'll need to wear it around your head. It will attract the power to you. It will work most effectively if you are at the other end of the room, forcing a stronger rupture between Fujin and the magic."
Quistis pocketed it.
"But what do we do now? We can't just barge in there and attack her. She hasn't done anything openly offensive yet."
"She did say she wanted to bring all cities together under her reign of supposed serenity and calm." Selphie said. "So that could be considered as a threat against us."
"By exposing herself as a sorceress and by exposing her want to govern this world as a sorceress she showed herself as a threat. Adding that we have been hired to stop her, our attack is justified." Squall said calmly.
"But that still leaves the question of 'when'." Zell interrupted.
Everyone looked at Squall and Edea. A certain tension could be felt hanging in the room. The same kind of tension they had felt so many times before, knowing what kind of enemy lurked around the corner.
Fujin sat in her room, curled up on the sofa. A book leaned on her lap and she softly read it out loud. She found it surprising to notice reading soothed her.
She could feel the fire inside slow down, as if it stopped to listen to her voice. She looked out the window and saw the ocean. It was calm and she suddenly felt the urge to jump in so she could finally cool down.
Before her power had been unleashed, she hadn't known what it would feel like. She had thought it would be exciting, thrilling. She had even thought it a little bit romantic. The words 'sorceress' and 'magic' had always had a certain appeal to her.
When the power had finally been allowed to roam free through her body, she had felt excited just like she had expected. But now the novelty had worn off, she began to understand why Edea had done what she had done so hastily, not looking ahead far enough to see the danger that would await her.
It gnawed at her soul, begging her to use it. But she had to wait. If she didn't wait until after her wedding, she could lose Seifer forever and she couldn't afford losing him.
Marrying would bind them together and then he would protect her against foes. After her marriage, Seifer would be unable to leave her side again. Only death would be able to tear them apart. Her sorcery would make sure of that.
She returned to her book and read a few lines when the now already familiar gnawing feeling started again. Had she known the fire would burn both ways, she might have pondered if she wanted to become a sorceress for a bit longer.
'No!' she corrected herself hastily as the fire had immediately leaped out towards her heart, its flames licking at her insides on the way up.
She didn't think like that at all. She loved her power and she was anxious to use it. She deserved to use it. She lusted to.
If she did not give in to this soon, she knew the power would take over and then she would no longer control her own body.
She threw her book down and ran to the garden. She looked around wildly, looking for anything she could use.
A small tree at the back of the garden caught her eye. Perfect.
She raised her hand, her palm pointing towards it. The fire shot through her fingers, leaving a slight tingle as she felt it leave her body. It made her feel ecstatic with relief. The pressure left and her mind became clearer again.
She watched fascinated as the tree was reduced to mere splinters. It seemed as if the wind had changed into countless little daggers, leaving the tree to fall to pieces.
This was power.
Suddenly she realised the true nature of power like this. If she could do this with such little effort, then what would she be able to do if she tried harder?
A pleasant shiver seared through her body. This power cried out to be used. But she had to wait.
"No…I can't wait…"
Waiting four more days would be unbearable. She looked at the wood splinters at her feet. She could not afford to wait.
She ran back inside, marvelling at the restlessness she now wanted to indulge.
"Father…" she whispered when she noticed him in the doorway. "Father, we have to move the wedding forwards. I can feel the magic, the power. I need to give it what it wants in order to get what I want. I need to-"
He smiled and rested his hands on her shoulders. "I expected this to happen, yes. The magic orders you to use it, doesn't it. It's hard to control, I know. But you must try and keep it inside a little while longer."
"But father I can't!" she said, nearly breaking in to tears.
He grabbed her shoulders more firmly. "Listen to me, you can't let it order you. There's a thin line between both sides of losing control, but this line is the path you must walk."
She looked at the floor, turning her good eye away from him.
"…It hurts…I feel…"
"I will call the guests and warn them that you'll marry tomorrow. Today would be too hasty, but tomorrow will do."
She looked up, relief washing over her.
"Thank you, father."
Her grateful smile made him wonder if he should have put his daughter through this. But he knew that she had wanted it too.
"Go, inform your love. He must prepare himself for this."
She nodded, bowed her head and turned around. She felt that her life would finally turn out perfectly. A husband, power and magic.
She knocked on his door.
"Seifer? Are you there?"
The door opened, revealing Seifer with his Gunblade loosely in his hand. She glanced at it curiously.
"What are you doing?"
He shrugged. "Just giving it a polish. It needs to look perfect on the day, doesn't it?"
His smile warmed her.
"I…guess so…what will you wear? Not your Garden uniform?"
"Well, actually…yes. I'm not a SeeD, but I feel I should wear what uniform I have."
She giggled. "As long as you don't wear your worn trench coat, my love, your Garden uniform is fine with me."
She sat down on his bed and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"The plans have changed." she said softly. "The wedding is moved up to tomorrow…"
He looked up from his polishing. "It is?"
She nodded. "I hope you don't mind…It's just that-"
"No, no. I don't mind." he said hastily. "I just wondered, that's all. Only a bit surprised."
She watched him polish in silence for a minute.
"…You seem different." she said suddenly.
"I do?"
"…a little. You seem…less hateful towards me."
"I just finally realised where my place is." he answered. "Now I know where I belong."
Fujin smiled happily. "Really? Wonderful! I had always hoped you would. And this marriage will bind us together forever. I will never have to be afraid of losing you. It will be a bond of promises and magic. Unbreakable."
Seifer kissed her forehead. "Love is an unbreakable bond by itself. Nothing will be able to tear two lovers apart."
"Nothing…" she stood up. "I hope you'll invite your friends. I wouldn't want them to miss it."
Seifer forced a smile to his face. "Of course you wouldn't. And neither would I. This is something I wouldn't want them to miss."
Fujin looked at the blue uniform that hung from a peg on the wall. Only one more day and they would never apart again. Her magic would ensure that. A promise, made on an altar in front of a magical deity, made to a magical human being, would be a promise to keep.
The magic of both creatures, earthly and divine would enter both their human bodies, sealing their hearts together forever.
A smile formed on her face as she left.
"Wait! Fu, I have something for you." Seifer said before she could close the door behind her.
She looked surprised. "Really?"
"It's not from me…it's from Edea."
"Edea? Is she here?"
She had hoped to talk to Edea, to talk to someone who knew and understood how she felt.
"Yes, she arrived today. She wanted you to have this."
He gave her a small package.
"She said that she wanted you to wear it on your wedding day, to remind you that there is someone who understands the fire inside you. She also said it might soothe the pain a little."
Fujin gratefully unwrapped the gift. A circular pendant the size of an eye was uncovered in her hand. It had a hole in the middle and curious markings on the side.
"Thank her for me." Fujin said as she slipped it around her neck.
Immediately the fire retreated from her heart and mind. It rose in her chest, attracted by the pendant, but the burning stopped.
"She said that wearing it would be thanks enough." Seifer said as he watched Fujin's expression soften. "Wearing it would be thanks enough."
Kitty Malone: I agree. I find it hard to picture a convincing Quall myself. Though, when written properly it can be a very good plot! Anyway, part of it just started leading towards becoming a Quall when I was writing this, so I had to fight back to make sure it would stay a Seiftis :D
DarkAngels: well, it doesn't say in the guidelines that songfics aren't allowed. But you know the 'daily' page with notifications of all sorts when you type in Well, that's where they posted a little message saying that their policy had always been 'if you didn't write it, don't post it'. So that's where that came from… Oh well, I'm just glad I saved all my reviews anyway in my inbox because this way I can always read again what people thought :D
Matron Raenee: gheghe, where did the dog come from? Anyway, glad you like my writing. But what you should also try to read (if you've played ffx-2 and are a fan of that game) is to read Rikku's Story by Joeystar. It really is a amazingly good story and I find that writer's writing really, really good.
Firess Ifrit Devil: Cool, that was almost a mission impossible just so you could read my chapter! Wow. But where did your teachers get the idea that it was some sort of occult thing? That made me kinda curious :D
JadeAlmasy: You like the plan? Good. I wasn't too sure about that last chapter myself. I just kept thinking: If they like what's in that chapter, then I'll be okay with the rest of the story. Especially the Fujin's voice thing had me worried because someone told me right at the beginning of the story that Fujin could talk normally, as happens on disc 3 right before you fight Seifer again at Galbadia Garden. I never really finished playing the game because I get stuck every time, to tell you the truth, so I didn't know that of forgot about it and went right ahead with this little element of the story. Oh well, since you guys all like the story then I guess it doesn't really matter. And after all, that's what fanfiction is about, isn't it. Making things up.
So, thank you all for your lovely reviews. I won't make this much longer because my fingers hurt. I scrubbed the floor of my new room in Leiden all day and now I've got blisters all over my hands…okay, only on my thumb, but it's not something you'd do for fun, is it. So, see you guys all soon!
Love, Raven55