Chapter 6

Eternity's Call

For some time Quistis Trepe thought she had passed out. Her entire body went numb and lost all senses. After all, how could someone ever feel something when strange gusts, small but seemingly extremely powerful, kept blowing in and out of her brain? Quistis was feeling quite the same. The only difference was, if anything, what entered her head was not wind, but rather psychotic waves probably emitted by the spell under way- mana waves, as what written in some of the older scripts in the School Library. But strangely enough, the waves, as Quistis could sense, was much more vivid than the slight drained-up feeling they used to experience when they used their own magic in battles past. The energy channeled by the magic scroll Ivor Goldenbow had enchanted was so powerful… indeed, much stronger than most other magic the Instructor had ever seen or manipulated before, maybe save for Ultima and Meteor.

For that brief moment, the young instructor seemed to come to how actually the excessive use of Guardian Forces had cost parts of their memories. If all spell casting would result in a mana gust within the skull, it would result in massive disruption to the brain's function. They were normal people at first, not born to use magic, not at all used to the mana waves. It was fortunate that they had just lost a part of their memories… Fortunately, the spells the SeeD used, together with their GF, was not extremely powerful so as to create such a pounding effect like what she was experiencing now… Still, the disoriented young lady could not figure out what was happening, while the offending psychotic waves kept gushing in and out of her cerebellum. Quistis passed out with so many unanswered questions clinging to her mind…

"Wake up, young lady, we are home"

Ivor Goldenbow's semi-sarcastic voice sounded somewhere over Quistis' head. She moved her fingers, then twitched her shoulders and finally opened her eyes. Slowly she was coming back to her senses. Below her she could feel a soft mattress of grass… not actually grass, for it was much more cozy and comfortable than the average kind of garden weed that Headmaster Cid had planted all over the quad. Slowly, the bewildered blonde curiously turned her wrist and picked up a small blade of grass from the 'mattress'

What a surprise! In Quistis' hand lay not any kind of ordinary grass, but a very strange kind of vegetation adorned with three leaves dispensing from a standard axle. The blade was small, yet the moment Quistis touched it, she immediately felt relieved, as if a lucky day of hers was coming right under way… Quistis lifted her lips and smiled, not because of any obvious reason, but rather on impulse.

However, her joy was nearly extinguished when she turned her eyes up, lazily looking for the person calling out for her and saw something not very pleasant to her eyes. There in front of her stood Ivor Goldenbow, his weapon strapped to his shoulder, standing in a rather inquisitive pose, as if asking her "Hey, when are you going to get up?", looking at the blonde arrogantly, as he had always been during their short meeting.

"Alright then, Lady Nearly-Eaten-Up-By-A-Dragon-Of-Sort, would you kindly stand up? We have a journey to be made" Ivor said with a grin "and his Highness King Elwin would not be very pleased seeing you coming late"

"You…" Quistis' face turned red, this time not out of embarrassment, but rather in extreme resentment "Argh! For one last time, my name is Quistis Trepe, an instructor of the Balamb Garden, and not Lady Nearly-Eaten-Up-By-A-Dragon-Of-Sort! Got it?"

Saying so, Quistis literally leaped upright, in a rather battle-ready position, facing the forest ranger with clear annoyance flaring in her expression.

"Okay, okay, you're so fearsome" Ivor shook his hand amusedly "Can't you take a joke?"

"You call THAT a joke?" Quistis roared. Never had she been so angry before, not even when she was demoted for not being able to get Seifer Almasy under direct order during the Dollet Operation

Quistis was about to resort to brute force, like perhaps giving the arrogant elf one taste of her rarely-used slaps, or worse, her chain whip, when suddenly the elf bent down, picked up a bunch of flowers and promptly presented to the surprised Quistis.

"Alright, alright, I said I was just kidding!" the elf quickly said with a rather polite smile in contrary to all his previous seemingly hostile expressions "Here, is this enough compensation?"

Quistis took the bunch of flowers. It was another great surprise to the young blonde. The grass was one amazement, and the flowers was yet another. It was greenish-red, a color very rarely seen in flowers anywhere, save for elaborately painted ones. In contrary, the flowers she was holding were naturally bright, and their scent was unmistakable. Quickly estimating in a girl's sense, Quistis came round to the conclusion that maybe none of the rather expensive perfumes she got at home as a hobby could match the refreshing and comforting scent of what she was housing in her hands right now.

"Wh…What is this? It's…It's so… like enchanted" Quistis stammered out of the utmost speculation a young lady could have considering 'their business'

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Ms. Trepe" the elf smiled "This flower is indeed enchanted"

"En…enchanted?" Quistis asked him back in an even greater amazement

"This is the Enchanted Faerie Clover Field not far from Wise Oak Castle. Known to cultivate clovers for both military and domestic use, this place is also famous for its sweet Clover Flowers, like what you are holding in your hand now" Ivor introduced heartily

"You mean… they are the plants known to bring fortune to people? And…" Quistis looked down at her feet, where she had inadvertently crushed under her heels numerous clovers "Oh my god!"

"Don't mind it" Ivor replied "only four leaved ones would bring about good fortune, and they do not grow in such a humble garden"

"Oh…" Quistis said, her voice filled with curiosity and interest "So how do your… err… people use these leaves?"

"Ah, you seem to want to know everything, don't you?" Ivor blinked "It is used mainly as food for our war Pegasi. Because of that, one of my friends, the Pegasi trainer Aeris Silverwing often hangs out around here in his free time"

"P… Pegasi? You mean those horses that could fly?" Quistis went wild again "You have those creatures?"

"Well, there is a lot about us that you don't know. But you can't probably too" the elf said proudly "for the thousands of years of elven history and culture could not be summarized in a couple of words"

"Err…" Quistis looked down on the ground in embarrassment, suddenly changing the topic "Where are my friends?"

"Your friends?" Ivor replied, pointing to the left "The rifleman is out there playing with the swallow with his wife, and that hyperactive boxer should be up playing around those huge Faerie Mushrooms over there"

"Those two are not married" Quistis corrected him with a girlish grin "what made you think that they were?"

"Huh?" Ivor said "They are not? They are as close as if they were!"

"Got you checkmated, Mr. Ranger!" Quistis continued grinning "By the way, you said we have to go see the King, right? Why not go now?"

"Okay, if you want to go at night, please go on, but keep in mind that the white tigers here don't take too kindly to strangers, especially humans, and again especially those coming from another plane of existence!" Ivor lifted his lips, pointing at the sky. Quistis looked up, and in great embarrassment, realized that it was pitch black. It was obviously midnight. The enchantment of the flowers following the obviously dazzling effect of the spell had made it impossible for Quistis to tell that the hour was that late.

"Oops…" Quistis hid her face "Guess I failed to notice the sky…"

"No problem" Ivor replied "That would happen to us foresters as well, if we are too busy hunting or foraging to realize the change of day. But as for now, you should have a rest. We'll see the King the next day"

Saying so, the ranger dashed out to the place he said Zell, Irvine and Selphie was, coaxed them back, and then, when they had finally caught up with Quistis, told all four of them to sleep, after which he walked away to 'his own corner' apparently for a nap as well. It had been a very tiring day, so Zell and Irvine dropped down and snored very shortly after the order was given. Selphie spent some time trying to wake Irvine up to chat with her, but then gave up when she finally realized that it was hopeless, as the clover field was too good a bed for any tired adventurer to resist. She then fell under the charm of the natural bed as well, and dozed off as soon as she found out she could never ever wake up Irvine in such a time.

Quistis, however, was unable to rest like her friends did. Instead, she inadvertently drove her eyes at the direction the elf had wandered to, then turned back with a silent sigh. She was feeling absolutely disoriented to take any rest that day. Quistis gazed at the sky, one hand across her forehead, thinking…

Male companionship…

Had she ever been able to enjoy meeting a person of the opposite sex since birth? Everyone could say, Squall Leonhart, who should have been true as a matter of common sense was someone she could enjoy spending her time with, especially since she had officially declared that she considered him a younger brother. But it had not turned out that way, as saying so, she had been lying to both her friends and herself. She had really hoped for something better with their relationship…

"Go talk to a wall"

She still remembered what Squall had told her. She had obviously expected much more going out to the 'secret area' with him that late on that graduation night. A little comforting, some encouragement, or something as extreme as, like how the 'evil' part in her would fancy, a few curses for Headmaster Cid's unreasonable decision, would have done her good. He did none of those. Instead, he dismissed her most sincere emotional plea as something childish and should be dashed out. He had obviously hurt her deeply, but she was not angry, nor cross with him. She really had harbored something, some sort of sacred feelings for him.

Her hope of building something more stable with Squall went on for some time later, until the day they bumped into Rinoa Heartilly. Since then, Leonhart was found spending more and more and more time with Rinoa, until the day Quistis found he was willing to give up his life for Rinoa's. That was it. Her hope had been deprived wholly. What else was left of a choice to her then, if not declare an official unconditional surrender?

Yet, the actions she had taken were playing its retribution on her. Slowly, since the end of the Sorceress War, which meant since the day the rest of the gang got sorted out- Irvine hooks up with Selphie, Zell playing the knight errant to his princess the library girl, and of course, Squall took Rinoa's hands for a better future, Quistis had been turning herself into an imperfect copy of Squall's nihilistic behavior. She had even hidden a little note in her diary stating that she would never-need-a-male-companion-ever-again. If it was the way things were supposed to be, it was better for her to accept it rather than trying hopelessly to defy it, she thought.

She was wrong. Deadly wrong indeed. One could only forsake an important aspect of his or her emotional life under two circumstances, being that he or she had something of great importance to which most of his or her time has to be devoted to in order to succeed, or that he or she had had such a great trauma that dashed out completely that aspect. For some time now, she had mistakenly believed that she had fallen into the second category. That had been another lie to herself, as she was still clenching her fist in great fury and jealousy secretly whenever she saw Squall and Rinoa going together. Unfortunately, before all this happened, they had always been going together. That has driven her to the verge of going insane, should she not be a calm and contented person she was. She was not prepared, and would never be prepared to inherit the emotional nihilism Squall once named himself…

And today she met Ivor Goldenbow.

For a brief while, she had believed that that man was a really arrogant fellow, an even more extreme copy of Squall, just amongst the reason she had to stay away from him. But then, she was able to see underneath that arrogance a more considerate personality. For instance, never before had anyone give her some flowers on impulse. She did got some, but those were from those pesky admirers at school hoping to hook up with their instructor…

Thinking so, Quistis turned a few times on her soft 'bed', and then bit her fingers. She inhaled the fresh scent of the flowers the ranger had just given her. It was so sweet that she had the feeling that the entire petal field at Edea's house could be outshined by a couple of those flowers. A wild thought emerged in her, what if she could stay there forever? Forget about Squall and Rinoa? Forget about all the bad memories and start all over again, for she was still young and had plenty of chances to mend things up? And if it could, have a companion… like that elven ranger?

Or was it that that elf was interested in her?

Not really, as it seemed. Certainly, he looked extremely natural talking to her. Even when she was in his arms after being knocked down by the rampaging Grendel, he looked absolutely normal. He could never have been that normal had he been interested in her in the least bit. Meaning that, he could NOT be interested in her, whatever.

So was it that she was interested in him?

How could it ever be? Secretly, for some time, the 'evil' side within Quistis had been hoping that something really bad would happen to Rinoa, so that Squall could be hers. That meant that, the majority of Quistis Trepe was still reserved for Squall Leonhart, should he one day regret and come back to her. She herself could not fancy dreaming about another man. Let alone, Ivor was an elf, with oversized, nothing human-like ears and about ten inches taller than her. Not to mention, as told in Edea's tales, elves often lived for thousands of years, meaning that the charming elven ranger talking to her just now could be far older than her own grandparents…

It didn't take too long for Quistis to be engulfed in her own thoughts though, for she had also been tired out, and needed a serious rest…

The next morning came to Quistis with even more surprise. Never before has she gotten up so early as she did that morning, ever since the battle against Ultimecia. She could not tell what it was, but it was clear that something had been working on her, thusly making it impossible for her to keep slumbering. Strangely enough, her tiredness and fatigue she had experienced the past night, together with most of the sleepiness vanished as soon as she lifted her head to the fresh scent of morning. Though Quistis' wrist watch probably broke down during the trip to Aranorn, by the looks of things she could tell that it couldn't be past six yet, the time at which Balamb Garden itself would be shrouded in a deep slumber yet to end, as no one would probably bother to get up early. Anyway, there had been no point to, for a world without a sorceress to mess things up, or a world superpower hell-bent on global domination would mean not much business for SeeDs as well. Even the mayhem caused by the absence of both Squall and Headmaster Cid could not actually mess up with everyone's sleep.

And today Instructor Trepe had gotten out of bed before dawn, and without the help of an alarm clock. It was quite an achievement, to some extent. The young blonde wriggled for a short while before lifting her head off the ground, and then tied up her beautiful mass of flowing golden hair, straightened up her garments and subconsciously went about searching for some water to wash her face. Shortly after that she was able to find a small stream running down the middle of the clover field, overflowing with the purest, sweetest water that she has ever seen. A short while later, the instructor had gotten much done up, ready for a new day, as the rest of her fatigue had been effectively purged by the essence of the fresh forest stream water, as if the entire place had been enchanted in such a way that any type of fatigue would be exterminated upon contact with the sacred environment.

Wiping up the remaining droplets of water off her chin, Quistis rose up and looked at the sky. It was then dawn break, signified by lots of little songbirds chirping in the horizon. Even the birds in the forest seemed holy- hundreds, or even thousands, of those little winged angelic beings gathered on treetops, over the branches, amongst the clouds, or even over the oversized mushrooms, singing their anthems in unison. No known concerts could ever match this natural orchestra in terms of both quality and quantity, ever.

"Beautiful…" Quistis exclaimed softly in amazement, not knowing that the elven ranger had already been behind her

"Say, we'd take that as a compliment" he returned the words, startling Quistis, who was at that time so absorbed in the natural beauty to pay attention to the surrounding

"Huh? Oh… it's you…" a nearly frightened Quistis turned back, facing the ranger in the process "You were up so early…"

"I did not sleep to be up, lady" Ivor sneered "I just entered semi-hibernation"

"Semi what?" Quistis opened her eyes wide in bewilderment "What is that?"

"We rangers have an innate ability to sleep with one eye, keeping the other awake to keep watch" Ivor smiled "so that if some uncivilized animals come and attack us, we could be prepared to defend ourselves"

"Eh?" Quistis pushed the question "I thought you guys are friends of nature, and those animals should be like… your friends?"

"One thing, Ms. Trepe, and remember it for it's very important" Ivor shook his hands, speaking softly "Not all animals are good, beautiful, kind-hearted, good natured or whatever you call it. Many of them are greedy, selfish, aggressive and dumb… all the vices humans may have, they have"

"B…But why?"

"Nature is the greatest melting pot that the universe has ever forged" Ivor replied philosophically "The chaotic characteristic of nature means that you can expect as much from nature as you can in a human society, or maybe even more"

Then, seeing that his speech had actually silenced the blonde out of astonishment, Ivor continued, more slowly and emphatically

"You see, it takes much to live well in this place… the ability to merge into the chaos, to accept it as part of you, and to use it the way you think fit and still preserving it as it is. That is the basic knowledge any of us need to have"

"Err…" Quistis asked shyly, as if feeling that her knowledge was by no means as diverse and rich as of the man talking to her "But at least this place is safe, right? Why keep your guard up in such a peaceful place?"

"Well, I forgot to warn you that a week ago a band of white tiger deserters had escaped from Wise Oak Castle, and they are still now on the loose. Many other denizens of the surrounding areas have reported of this band of renegade 'knights'. It's better to keep an eye out for them than get our throats jabbed by midnight"

"'Knights' you said? Why?" Quistis asked curiously

"Did I tell you that the greatest and firmest supporters of King Elwin and his Elven Court are the stalwart White Tigers ever since the Civil War of Aranorn twenty years ago?" Ivor spoke scholastically "In the eyes of the other forest dwellers, they are his knights, paladins, retainers or whatever fancy words humans may use to address them"

"And some of them are deserters? Is there any reasons for that?"

"Hmm…" Ivor sighed "Did I tell you that not all animals are good?"

"Oh…I see…" Quistis replied, and then changed the topic "Would you mind if I…err…go wake the others up?"

Saying so, Quistis slowly turned away, and took a few more steps towards where the others were sleeping. But hardly had she started covering ground when she heard a deafening shout from behind.

"Ms. Trepe! DOWN! NOW!"

Subconsciously, Quistis fell on her knees and lunged at the soft clover ground, as swiftly as a squirrel. And before she knew it, the whizzing sound of an arrow being shot at full velocity could be heard approaching, followed by the sound of a metallic pointed object thrusting into flesh, concluded by a horrifying roar of pain…

(Extra Disclaimer: The Aeris mentioned in this chapter is a male Hero of Might and Magic belonging to the Rampart town (Heroes III) and Preserve town (Heroes IV) and should not be confused with Aerith Gainsborough, the Maiden who Travels the Planet in any case)