The grand chamber remained silent after the Sorceress vanished. Most of the guests dispersed, hastily running out of the Deling Palace. The ones who remained chattered among themselves while occasionally giving the new born child a pitiful look. The baby was tightly clutched within Julia's embrace. Her face was paler than death and her body was numb ever since the ordeal. She gazed down at her child and couldn't help but feel her eyes welling up with tears. Her child was innocent in all of this. She did not deserve the cursed fate of being killed by a knight when she turned sixteen years old.

Caraway placed a hand on his wife's shoulder in an effort to soothe her but it was no use. He waved one hand, motioning for a guard to fetch three officials. The guard nodded and obeyed the King's command.

"There's only one thing we can do now..." Caraway sighed heavily. He ran a hand through his messy hair before clenching his fingers into a tight fist. He should have done something, anything to protect his daughter. He was NOT suppose to let her life fall at the mercy of Evil, especially Sorceress Ultimecia.

"What's that?" Julia whispered. She craned her neck and looked at her husband with wide worrisome eyes. He didn't need to say it. Somehow she already knew what he was planning. She gripped her daughter even tighter and shook her head. "No, we can't do that!"

"We have no choice!"

"She is our baby for Hyne's sake!" Julia cried.

"But this may be the only way to prevent her death!" Caraway argued loudly. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I'm so sorry..." he said softly. He gave her a genuine apologetic look before reaching down to stroke the baby's soft cheeks. Rinoa briefly squirmed from the touch before dozing off once more.

Laguna cursed under his breath. Inside, he was torn about what to do. He had such high hopes that Squall would one day marry Rinoa so the two kingdoms could be reunited but that was never going to happen now. Who knew one evening could change an entire future? He never expected to see Sorceress Ultimecia. Everything he knew about her came from his studies and readings back at Centra and Esthar. He wasn't even sure she existed, but witnessing the Sorceress tonight made everything all too lucid. He had always feared that Time Compression would one day take place and now it looks as if it was really going to happen.

His train of thought was interrupted when three young officials scurried into the chamber.

"Selphie, Quistis, Xu! You're here!" Caraway exclaimed. He rushed down from his throne to greet the three young ladies.

Each of them bowed before the King's presence.

"We heard what happened your Majesty!" Quistis stated. She had a look of dismay that was similar to her two companions beside her.

"There is only one thing we can do now...and I know I will regret it every night for making this decision. However, it is the only way to save my daughter's life," said Caraway. He turned to Julia who made her way down the steps. He nodded. It looked like she also realized that this was their only chance to save Rinoa.

Julia hugged her daughter one last time before she tenderly handed her over to Selphie. The Queen could see pure love flaring within the woman's eyes. In her heart, she knew the three officials would be able to take good care of her child.

"In order to protect her from her fate, she must be sent away to a secluded area. A place far away from palaces, royalty...and especially knights. I...hate doing this to my own child but...I wish for her to never have any friends or a love. It's just too dangerous!" Julia cried. She couldn't believe she was condemning her own daughter to a life of loneliness and misery but what other choice did they have? Until they could find a way to destroy Ultimecia and break the curse, Rinoa will never be safe. "We'll try our best to find a way to stop the spell...but until then, Rinoa must be hidden from the public. Do you understand me?"

Quistis saluted. "Please do not worry about a thing your Majesty. We will ensure Princess Rinoa's safety."

"Then you should be on your way. I've set up a carriage outside to take you far from the province of Deling. Never come back here or you will put Rinoa's life in great risk!" Caraway warned.

Squall silently watched the King and Queen usher the three ladies to the entrance of the palace. He faintly heard them discussing about forests and directions. That was all he could take in from the distance. He looked up at his father who was furiously pacing back and forth. It was a habit that he got accustomed to doing under stress.

"Father? Can you explain to me what happened?" Squall asked timidly. He was afraid yet curious at the same time. "Who was that woman and what did she do with the baby?"

Laguna stopped in his tracks. He almost forgot he had a son sitting on the steps of the throne. He walked over and picked up him gently. "Squall. I want you to forget about everything you saw tonight. Never bring it up and never talk about it. Don't worry. Everything is all right. Rinoa is just going on a long journey and that woman was just some mean old lady who wanted to ruin the party. Okay?" He hated lying to his son but this was the only way to protect him.

"But..." Squall stopped. He knew that wasn't the full story but he didn't want to ask further. His father ordered him to forget about everything that happened tonight and he was taught to never disobey an order. "Okay. I understand. Thank you father."

"Good boy." Laguna hugged his son tightly while stroking his hair. He let out a sigh of relief. No words could describe how sorry he felt for Caraway and Julia. He couldn't imagine never seeing Squall again or worse, if he was under a curse that could never be dispelled.

Laguna loved his family and country. He reminded himself that the first thing he would do once they got back to Esthar would be to research as much as he could about Time Compression. He briefly came across that subject once and from what he read, the world would be completely thrown into oblivion if Time Compression was ever to occur.

"Sir Laguna!"

Two men next to the entrance of the grand chamber called him. Laguna smiled. He was always glad to see his two commanders Kiros and Ward. The two of them had been his biggest support and friend ever since he could remember. He would easily die for them both if it ever came down to it and he knew they would do the same for him.

"Did you hear?" Laguna asked.

"We did...and we are terribly sorry," said Kiros. He walked over and easily picked up Squall. "Hey there little one. How are you today?"

Squall shrugged. He was never fond of Kiros because he held a foreign scent that was sometimes nauseating whenever he got too close."I'm fine. Thank you Sir Kiros."

"You're such a good boy! Well, it's getting late and we must head back to Esthar now. I'm sorry the party was ruined."

Laguna signaled his friend from the corner, urging him to discontinue the conversation. Kiros immediately got the message and changed the subject. "We got you some new toys back at home! Let's go see them okay?"

Laguna and Ward lagged behind as the party prepared to leave the Deling Palace.

"So what are you going to do now? We know how dangerous Time Compression is," stated Ward.

"I know I know! But damn..."

"Laguna? Remember what you told me a few weeks ago? You said you wanted to train Squall to become a squire."

"Yes I know. I'm not changing my mind. Squall will grow up to be an honorable young man and defend his country."

"What? But if he becomes a squire, certainly one day he will become a knight right? If that is so..."

"Let's not think about that now okay? Who knows what can happen in sixteen years? Besides, there are other Sorceresses in the world that are constantly creating chaos for us." Laguna hated to admit it but there was a good chance that Squall would have no choice but to kill the princess of Deling. Ultimecia's curse started ringing in his ears once more. It sent a shiver down his spine. "Just remember that the world cannot fall into Time Compression. THAT is most important, not Rinoa."

"But Rinoa is innocent in all of this!" Ward defended. He slammed a bulky fist into his vast palm. He could feel his anger boiling even though he was not even present to witness the actual foreboding.

"I know she is innocent but so is the world! Look, I just want Squall to grow up as a fine knight and marry a woman from the upper class, and hopefully not a bourgeoisie. I just want a peaceful life for my son! I love him with all of my heart and I just want what is best for him. I'm sorry if I sound selfish but my paternal instincts are just taking over me right now..."

Hyne...just please protect my son from Sorceresses...

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading everyone! I'm sorry this was such a short chapter but I just wanted to release something for Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a lovely holiday and I just want to say that I am thankful for all my reviewers. Really, you guys do inspire me to write more! Oh, jayliyah85, I never saw Swan Lake or even heard about it so if it's going in that direction, I'm sure you can tell. ) However, I think I will be sticking to the original Sleeping Beauty tale with of course, many twists and turns.