Chapter 23

Reborn A Princess

As soon as Makita's body had hit the ground, the other Amazons ran forward. They rolled her over onto her back, her arms by her sides. Tears were falling furiously down their cheeks. Squall closed his eyes.

"Where am I?" Rinoa thought in her mind. "Is that…Squall?" She looked up at the blurry figure above her. When her vision cleared, she managed to raise her voice to where it could be heard. "Squall?"

At hearing his name spoken, Squall looked down at Rinoa. His eyes began to tear up. "Rinoa! You're alive! It worked!" He wrapped his strong arms tightly around her. Rinoa embraced him back, not wanting him to let go of her. "I thought I had lost you forever…" He whispered in her ear.

Rinoa looked up into his face and smiled weakly. "I thought I was, too." She was silent for a minute and then looked behind her. Her eyes opened in horror. "Makita! What happened to her?" She asked in shock.

The Amazons bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Shaltwan looked at Rinoa and spoke. "She sacrificed herself…to save you." Rinoa froze.

"Why would she do that?" Rinoa screamed at the girls.

"She said that…you have a life to live and a future. You helped us defeat the Queen that destroyed our people for generations. She said it was the least she could do. She was doing her part to save you and the world from devastation…"

Rinoa fell to the ground, her hands balled into fists. "Why did you sacrifice yourself Makita? You deserved to live!" She pounded the ground till her knuckles were scraped and bloody.

Squall ran towards her and knelt down. Just as she brought her fist down to hit the ground again, he grabbed her arm, causing her to stop. "Rinoa…" He said gently. Rinoa's eyes were full of anger when she looked at him, but then they softened.

"I'm sorry Squall…I didn't mean…"

"It's okay. I'm right here with you. Everything will be alright…"

"No it won't be! Makita's dead and it's all my fault! If only I hadn't…"

Squall cut her off. "You mean if only you hadn't defeated the Queen she would still be here, alive? You're wrong Rinoa. We would all be dead. You did what was right. You followed your heart!"

Rinoa stared into his eyes and then stood up from the floor with his help. "You're right Squall. I did follow my heart. It was destiny." She brought her hand up to her face and wiped her tears away. "Besides…Makita wouldn't want me to cry over her. She did it willingly. She was a true friend that I will never forget."

Squall and Rinoa embraced once more before turning around to face the other Amazons still in tears. Rinoa walked forward. "It's alright. Makita hasn't left us. She's always in our hearts!" The girls smiled at her words and then bent down, picking up Makita in their arms.

"We should go now…" Tennetra said quietly. Everyone silently shook their heads in agreement. They turned around to face a dark portal. "Let's go…" The Amazons stepped through first, followed up by Rinoa and Squall. They were immediately transferred outside the temple, back into the dense rain forest.

"Let us head back to the village…" Shaltwan said. The group made their way through the trees till they came to the lever hidden behind some leaves. Shaltwan lifted the cover and pulled it down. The door to the village opened with a loud groan of old, rotting wood. Then they walked forward, into the home of the strong and beautiful, Amazon Warriors.

As they walked through, many villagers ran outside their straw houses. When they came out, they made two lines that reached a tent at the end. As Tennetra and Shaltwan walked by with Makita, they knelt down to the soft, brown dirt. Tennetra opened the door of the tent and they carried Makita over to a bed of feathers. Rinoa and Squall were speechless. Nothing that they could say seemed like it would make them feel any better.

"She will rest here until we can make proper burial arrangements…" Tennetra said with no emotion in her voice. Rinoa could tell that they were both trying to fight off their tears that wanted so badly, to come out.

"Why don't we all get some rest…?" Shaltwan said quietly. "We've been through a lot…" Everyone agreed. Rinoa followed the other two girls to another hut while Squall followed a man towards a different one.

A few hours later…

Rinoa woke up and looked around the room. Tennetra and Shaltwan were also stirring. They rose up from their beds and walked towards the door. Rinoa jumped up to follow them. "Where are you going?"

"It's time to make the arrangements for…" Just then, Squall came running towards them.

"Girls! You have to come quickly! Makita's body is gone!" He told them while trying to catch his breath.

"What!" They yelled together. They ran with Squall toward the tent they had left Makita in. Their eyes all opened with dread.

"I can't believe this! Why would anyone do something as horrible as this? I don't understand!" Tennetra cried out. Rinoa ran over to her side a placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry! We'll find out what happened! I promise you!" Rinoa said in a serious tone. The room grew silent. Just as Rinoa was about to say something, there was a large wail. "What was that?" She asked.

"That sounded just like…" Shaltwan began to say.

"A BABY!" Tennetra yelled jumping up and out of the tent. Everyone followed right behind her. Once outside, Tennetra motioned for them to be silent. They listened closely. Within a few seconds there was a second wail. "It seems to be coming from over there!" She whispered to the group. Her finger pointed at a clump of bushes on the far left side of the tent.

They quietly snuck forward till the crying sound was right in front of them. Tennetra slowly pulled the branches apart from the bush a peered behind it. "Oh my gosh!" She cried out, startling everyone and making them jump.

"What is it?" Shaltwan asked.

"Look!" Tennetra bent down and struggled for a minute, but came back up with a small baby girl wrapped in her arms. Everyone gasped.

"I don't believe it!" The Amazon said quietly to herself. "How is this possible?"

"How is what possible?" Rinoa asked curiously.

"This is no ordinary baby! This is…" She stopped, her voice trembling.

"Who is it?" Rinoa pressed on.

"This is Makita!" Tennetra said.

"What? Are you sure? How is that even possible? She died!" Rinoa was so confused now. This just didn't make any since at all!

"I'm not sure!" The Amazon yelled back. Rinoa was a little startled by her attitude, but recovered quickly. Shaltwan bent forward and picked the baby up in her arms. The baby's blanket fell off and hit the ground, spread out. Everyone stopped breathing. On the blanket was writing.

"What does that say?" Rinoa asked.

"It is the language of our people!" Shaltwan said in amazement. "Read it Tennetra…"

Tennetra nodded her head and then looked intently down at the writings. It looked like strange symbols to Rinoa. "It is a story…"

"A story?" Squall asked listening closely.

"Yes. A young, strong warrior was helping her people survive the dangers of life. Then another girl came along in need of help. With kindness, the warrior agreed. She set off with her friends and the girl to the Temple of legend, 'The Temple of Light.' There they fought a heroic battle till an evil Queen was destroyed for eternity. Although the Queen was killed, one was not safe. The mysterious girl could not handle the power given to her and passed away. The warrior did not want this girl's life to be ended so young, so she sacrificed herself, to save her."

Tennetra stopped to catch her breath and then continued.

"In doing so, the power was transferred to her. But, because of her noble sacrifice, the Gods wish for her to live on; for she has shown strength, wisdom, and loyalty to friends. Theses are traits that are not to be ignored. Therefore, she was reborn, but along with her rebirth, was given the power of what she sacrificed herself with. The Amulet's power now lies forever within her body for eternity. With this power she could bring great destruction, or maintained peace. She chose to stay with her people, to protect them for future generations. This is the day to be celebrated; for it is the day of rebirth for Princess Makita!"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Tennetra stood up and turned to face the others. Her face was streaked with tears again, but happy ones this time. "She's still here…She's a baby, but she'll grow up to be the same Makita!"

"She remembered us! She chose to stay here to protect the village!" Shaltwan said with a trembling voice.

"Makita…thank you for everything you did for me…for all of us!" Rinoa said as she brushed her hand against the baby's small face. "You're a great friend." Rinoa could feel her own tears of joy beginning to fall. She smiled as she wiped them away.

Squall placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke to the girls. "I guess that means we'll need to make new arrangements, the celebrating kind!" He said, a grin spreading across his face.

That night, a huge fire was blazing in the middle of the village. People were wearing their best clothes, and dancing around, beads jangling along. A long table had been set up with mounds of food. There were fruits of all kind and freshly caught meat, courtesy of the Amazons.

Tennetra and Shaltwan were dancing around the fire with baby Makita. They had on skirts that went to their knees that were a tan-see-through color, shorts underneath. The top was green and showed their stomachs. It had one shoulder strap and then went under the arm. A rope was tied around their waists. On their heads they wore crowns made from straw that just went in a circle. Makita was laughing happily, the firelight sparkling in her eyes.

Squall sat off to the side. Even he was forced to wear Amazon clothes. His pants were a dark tan, with a rope around his waist. He wore no shirt but had two leather straps around the top of each arm. The Amazon men had to paint their chest for such an occasion, so Squall had two strange symbols painted on with red paint.

Rinoa looked at herself in the mirror before heading out for the celebration. "I tried, but no excuse could get me out of wearing this…" She sighed. Some pieces of her hair had been braided and brought to the back. Her skirt was the same length as the other girls, but light blue-see-through. Her top tied around the back of her neck, showing her stomach. It was also blue. A leather strap was tied around her right arm while fancy jewelry was around her neck, ankles, and wrists. "I feel so exposed in this…At least there are shorts under this skirt; I mean it is see-through after all." She glanced one more time and then walked out of the tent.

"This is kind of boring…" Squall said silently to himself. He sighed and continued to watch the villagers dancing around the burning flames. As he looked around at all the people, his mouth dropped. Rinoa had walked out in her celebration outfit. She appeared to be looking for someone.

"I see Shaltwan, Tennetra, and baby Makita, but where is Squall?" She thought. Her eyes scanned through all the people. "Like this helps any! All the guys are wearing the same thing!" At long last when she almost gave up hope she saw a figure sitting a little farther away from the fire. "Aha! There he is!" She walked over towards him.

Squall could see Rinoa approaching him. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "Nice outfit!" He heard a female voice say. He looked up to see Rinoa standing in before him. He glared at her.

"It's not like I had a choice. They put it on me before I could stop them! They even made me get symbols painted on!" He said while pointing at his red paint.

Rinoa was giggling. "I know! I didn't have a choice either. They said it's too big of an occasion to wear just normal clothes!" Rinoa paused for a minute. "Hey, at least you don't have to wear a practically see-through skirt!"

"You have a point. I might look kind of scary in that." Squall said with a serious voice. Rinoa closed her eyes and created a mental picture of Squall wearing her skirt and top. Then she burst out laughing. Squall couldn't hold it in either. They were both holding their stomachs.

"Ah, that was a good one Squall!" Rinoa said, finally able to talk. "But in my opinion…" She walked a little closer to him. "I think you look really good." Squall smirked.

"My thoughts exactly…" Squall said, making Rinoa blush furiously. They had edged closer. Their faces were almost touching when baby Makita suddenly crawled over and grabbed Squall's legs. She grabbed his pants and began pulling on them. "Hey, stop that! You're going to pull my pants down!" Squall said, raising his voice a little. Baby Makita just smiled and laughed.

Squall couldn't stay mad at the little girl. He gently scooped her up in his arms and cradled her. "That's a good little girl! Now you make sure you listen to Shaltwan and Tennetra! They'll teach you everything you need to know to become a strong warrior!" He brought his hand up towards her small face, which could have easily covered it. Then he tickled her stomach making her laugh, her little hands flying through the air.

Rinoa stood next to him and watched. "That's so cute. He's so gentle with her. It's like a whole other side of him I've never seen before. He will be a great father one day. Wait…what am I thinking?" She thought quietly, blushing. "I think she likes you Squall!" Rinoa said to him laughing.

Squall looked over at Rinoa and laughed as well. "Yeah maybe, but I think she likes you better!"

"Me?" Rinoa asked him, raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Rinoa looked at Makita. Sure enough, she had her little arms stretched out, trying to reach her. "Here, she wants you to hold her." He said. Carefully, he placed her in Rinoa's arms.

Rinoa stared down at the baby Makita in her arms. "You're such a cute little girl did you know that?" She asked her smiling. Makita giggled and made some cries of joy. "I think she wants to dance!" Rinoa exclaimed. Shaltwan and Tennetra ran over to them.

"It's time for a second dance with our favorite baby girl!" Shaltwan said loudly. She gently picked Makita up out of Rinoa's arms and ran back to the fire.

"Come on you two! You have to dance, too!" Tennetra grabbed Rinoa and Squall's hands and dragged them towards the blazing fire, where a group of villagers were playing instruments. The music began.

Rinoa turned toward Squall and smiled. "Come on Squall! You've danced with me before! Don't let me down now!" Squall smiled and grabbed her hand.

"I wouldn't want to do that now would I?" Rinoa smiled at his comment. They weaved in and out of other villagers, till they found some room. Then they started dancing.

About an hour later, everyone sat down at the table for the feast. Once they were settled, Tennetra stood up to make a toast. "We are here on this glorious night, to celebrate the rebirth of one warrior who was dear to us all! She was there in our times of need, and will now continue to be there. Now, we must protect her more than ever though. Now, she is Princess Makita, the keeper of the Amulet's power! To Princess Makita!"

"To Makita!" Everyone said together, clinking their glasses of juice. After they emptied their cups, they were refilled. Shaltwan brought out the large ham and sliced it right down the middle. Hot steam billowed out from the inside, a savoring smell streaming through the air.

Another hour later, the fire's light was less intense and people were heading back to their houses. Tennetra and Shaltwan had left to put baby Makita to bed. A few villagers were staying behind to help clean up after the feast.

Off to the side of the fire sat Rinoa and Squall. "The stars look beautiful tonight…" Rinoa said through the still night air. Squall looked at her face, the firelight dancing across it. "Don't they?" Rinoa asked him.

"Huh…oh yeah, they do…" He said quickly snapping out of his day dream. "They're not as beautiful as you though…" Rinoa quickly turned around and punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"Stop it Squall! You're making me blush!" She began laughing. Squall smiled and laughed along too. He leaned back against a log and sighed, stretching his arms across the back of it. Without warning, Rinoa fell back and placed her self right in his arms. He looked at her for a second, and smiled.

"So, I guess we'll be heading back to Garden tomorrow, right?" She asked him.

"Yeah, probably…" To tell the truth, he hadn't even really thought about it. It seemed like ages ago that they were at school. So much had happened since then. "Rinoa I…" His voice trailed off. Rinoa's eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and steady. He smiled to himself and then gently picked her up in his arms and carried her to the tent she shared with the other Amazons.

"Goodnight Rinoa…" He placed her on her bed, pulling the bed sheets over her. Then he bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek. Without another word, he walked off towards his own tent silently, for the night.

Note: The story still isn't over yet!