Twisted Fate
Chapter 2
Early the following day, Quistis and Edea left for Dollet, riding the train from Balamb to Timber and from Timber to Dollet. It was a bit of a long ride that by the time they reached Dollet they were all out of conversational topics. They arrived at Dollet close to twilight and went straight to check in at Hotel Dollet. When they were settled, Edea suggested that they ate dinner at the Seaside Restaurant near the dock for a good view of the sea.
Silently, they proceeded as planned.
"I recommend you order the baked scallops, it's one of their best sellers." Edea warmly suggested as they walked in the restaurant's door.
"You really seem to like eating here." Quistis noted as she flashed a sweet beam at her.
"This is where my husband and I dated a few years back." Edea openly admitted blushing.
"Oh..." was all she could mutter, though it seemed to her she could have said more, she simply held her emotions back for she still felt embarrassed to open such topics with her matron.
"Where would you like to sit?" Edea asked as they stepped in the restaurant. She no longer mentioned about the topic, she felt Quistis' uneasiness in her reaction.
"If you don't mind..." she hesitated, "How about your usual spot?" she suggested, a bit embarrassed.
Edea giggled at the suggestion, but led Quistis to her request anyway. It was a table for two set at the very corner of the room close to the glass window, allowing a full view of the dock and the bay. The restaurant didn't seem too fancy with warm-tinted walls and a cosy interior, it felt more homey than romantic.
As Edea looked out the window for a momentary reminisce, a petite silver-haired lady in uniform hesitantly approached them, holding up two menu cards.
"Orders?"
The waitress sounded more familiar than should.
Quistis looked up to see it was Fujin; one eye patched, silver-haired, petite, pale, and beautiful in her own way. It was a startling reunion to see her in a black apron and holding two menus like a waitress should.
"Fujin! You work here?" Quistis asked with startled expression.
"Obviously. Your order?" She sternly answered her question, not bothering on the details. She held back a certain edge of composure, unable to deliberately say her one-word sentences out loud—apparently she has had several warnings about her speaking issues.
"Fujin, it's nice to see you again." Edea warmly greeted without a hint of shock in her tone.
"Pleasure." She courtly bowed without a smile.
"I will be having your recommendation for the day." Edea said, pointing at the restaurant's menu board at the counter.
"That's Lobster Stew." She replied, not looking back. Then tuned to Quistis without expression, asked, "You?"
"Baked Scallops and Iced Tea." She recalled, giving Edea a quick glance who smiled at her in approval.
"I'll have your orders in ten." Fujin stated, scribbling their orders on her small hand-held notepad. Without saying anything more, she turned towards the kitchen.
It took a few seconds of silence before Quistis decided to speak.
"You didn't seem so surprised to see her work here." She opened the topic, curious at Edea's lack of reaction earlier.
"Seifer has been informing me about their life here whenever we get the chance to speak."
"I never knew you two had been meeting these past few weeks." Quistis commented, a bit surprised.
"He's a sweet boy. He comes to Balamb every now and then to check up on me...especially when he heard about what Cid did. It's nice to see his concern, though at times I think it's really unnecessary." She looked down at the table, smiling. "He has his ways of showing his concern, but not everyone understands it...poor child."
"He's a little bit...overprotective." Quistis muttered, unsure of her own words.
They had the chance to have a little giggle before Fujin arrived carrying a small basket of breadsticks and Quistis' iced tea.
"Fujin, is Seifer here today?" Edea earnestly asked as soon as she placed the basket on the table.
"Kitchen. Should I go get him?"
"Please do, I need to speak with him, it will only be for a moment."
"Affirmative."
With that, she hurried to the kitchen. A few moments later, Seifer came out of the kitchen wearing a black apron, but a little bit different from Fujin. He wiped his face with a kerchief, and straightened the ruffles on his shirt before he approached to greet them.
"Matron, how nice of you to come and visit." his tone filled with delight but his eyes were serious, when it met with Quistis' eyes, he his lips twitched "And you brought Instructor along."
"This is certainly a surprise, you look good in an apron." Quistis' voice seemed ticked at his reaction when he saw her.
"I'll take that as a compliment—I look good in anything." He blurted with sarcasm, but then quickly turned to Edea regaining his composure. "What brings you here?"
"Take a seat, I have some news you might want to hear." She playfully said with beaming eyes.
"Great!" He quickly pulled the chair from the other table and had himself seated comfortably between them, his expression eager to hear the news.
She took a brief moment of silence before finally breaking him the news.
"What would you say if I asked you to take this year's SeeD exam one last time?"
It took a few seconds to sink in.
"You mean, you're readmitting me back to the Garden?" His voice sounded less excited than it should.
"Wouldn't that be wonderful if you make it as SeeD this year?" Edea's expression became concerned.
"What about Raijin and Fujin?"
"They're welcome to come along if you like."
His eyes suddenly became unsettled. Slowly, he stood up and turned to the kitchen.
"What's wrong? This is what you wanted, right?" Quistis couldn't help but interrupt, puzzled by his unfamiliar behavior.
"I'll think about it." He muttered, not looking back and completely ignoring what Quistis had said.
"Please do, I would love it if you'd consider. We will be leaving tomorrow morning with your decision."
With her words spoken, the topic was left hanging with a startling outcome; Seifer had left them without resolve. Edea saw Quistis' perplexed expression and suddenly remembered her issue with him. She tapped her hand which lay rested on the table, then nudged her head to his direction when she got Quistis' attention.
"Ergh...I don't think now's a great time." She sighed in disappointment, then shook her head, changing her expression back to bafflement. "What's with him?"
"He loves it here. He loves the freedom and the sea..." but her tone suddenly became sympathetic, "And he knows not everyone will welcome him back in Balamb Garden with open arms."
"I know, but he'll have Fujin and Raijin along...there must be something else."
"I wonder...?" She gave Quistis a tentative smile.
They were left to ponder on dead air. They became silent until Fujin came to serve them their dinner. They quietly ate as Seifer left them with an uncomfortable air of question.
When they finished their meal, they left the restaurant and leisurely started walking back to their hotel, pausing to stop by some of the shops along the way that when they reached the hotel it was already late. As soon as Quistis had Edea settled in their room, she asked for the permission to go find Seifer and have things settled with him.
Retracing their steps back to the dock as Edea had suggested where they would be hanging out for the night, she thought of things to say to him. It was a little embarrassing on her part to reopen a topic which was due three weeks ago, but if she wanted to ever sleep in peace again, she has to close the issue.
o O o
Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin, the three huddled over a fire at Lapin beach with four fairly large sea bass skewered on wooden sticks cooking at the open fire. It made the air smell succulent with its wonderful aroma of fresh herbs and spices. Glowing embers mingled with the thrashing sea breeze, and the powder white sand made up the atmosphere for a nice camp out. The joyous laughter of the trio resonated with the water clashing against the rocks. It has been several nights since they ate their dinner at Lapin beach, eating their catch and laughing the night away with senseless conversations. Tonight though seemed different, what they had to talk about was no laughing matter; it needed serious answers and firm decisions.
"Life's okay here, but it's kinda not what I had planned to do forever, ya know?" Raijin said scratching his head.
"AGREE" Fujin motioned, relaxing her stiffened back against a large rock which stood right behind her.
"Hufffaahhh!" Seifer yawned stretching his arms as far as it could reach. "I just love it here...'cept that there's no excitement here, no thrill, nothing. I kinda find an empty-happiness here..." Seifer spoke, beneath his breath his voice had a sense of calm, yet melancholic.
"Ya know? I think ya should take Edea's offer. Give it another shot, it's not too late ya know." Raijin hesitantly suggested when he remembered the conversation he overheard from the kitchen a few hours back.
The comment silenced Seifer; he had been thinking about it the whole night. He already had the pros and the cons sorted, but both sides bugged him; he couldn't make up his mind. He thought of how long it has been since the whole commotion ended. Everyone seemed to have been back to his and her normal life…except one; him, Seifer Almasy, the arrogant knight who left all things to fulfil his one and only romantic dream. While everyone else was enjoying the peace which now ruled the continent, he was still at war with his inner demons. In his mind was an image of a fool. A man who knew nothing of his past and a man lost in his present, while still looking at his empty future. He couldn't help but ridicule himself as a pathetic being who started living life on the wrong track and was left to remain astray until now.
He shook his head and turned to Fujin who was looking at him with a jaded eye.
"Fuu, what do you think?"
"I think you should go." She mumbled, her voice relaxed but very serious.
"Why am I the only one being pushed here! You guys are coming too, right!" He complained, irate, but Fujin simply looked away and hit Raijin as if in order.
"OWWW!" Raijin jerked, and rubbed his leg where Fujin hit him, then, turned to Seifer and spoke with caution, "Ummm...err...boss? We kinda decided to finish our training in Galbadia. We like it there, more advanced and experienced students to challenge and bother, ya know."
"So you finally decided to do things without me, huh." Seifer sputtered, rather ticked off.
"That's not what we meant. It's just that we figured...you should go pursue your other dreams. Be a SeeD, travel the world, and protect those who need to be protected...do things right this time." Fujin explained.
He saw the fire reflect in her eye, yet it didn't look fierce, rather, gentle, sincere. He thought hard about what she said; words coming from her, especially ones spoken in real sentences meant a lot to him, and what she just said made so much sense. If there was anyone he would most likely listen to, it's her. Ever since they met five years ago, they had created a mutual bond of true friendship that it's undeniable how much they cared for each other.
"Seifer, may I speak with you?" a voice from behind suddenly broke the silence.
Seifer turned to see who it was. It was Quistis, standing behind him and staring at him with intent eyes.
"Go ahead, I'm listening." He uttered.
"I meant, in private."
"Well, whatever you can say to me, you can say to them." He asserted, pointing at Raijin and Fujin.
"Never mind then." She frowned, and then quickly walked away.
Seifer smirked at her reaction, but caught Fujin's eye staring at him with disappointment.
"GO!" she insisted, pointing to Quistis at a distance.
He sighed, then stood up to follow her footsteps. By the time he got to her, she stood by the beach's stairs, about to step up when she heard him spoke.
"Hey, wait up." Seifer called out from behind taking a deep breath.
"What!" she asked with an irritated look.
"You said you wanted to talk to me, well, what is it?" he demanded in a low firm voice.
There was a brief pause, she gave Fujin and Raijin a quick glance at a distance, turned back to Seifer, then she finally spoke. "Three weeks ago, when you came to the orphanage with Matron to rescue me after getting lost in the time compression...I started having dreams of the incident every night and it has been bothering me a lot." She shifted her gaze to the ground, unable to look at him straight in the eye. "Maybe it's because I haven't really settled things with you that my conscience keeps bothering me..."
He gave her a crooked expression. "So you're sayin'...?"
"Thank you..." She sweetly whispered with beaming eyes, this time her eyes set on his.
"That's it?" he scoffed, apparently discontented by her too simple words.
"Yes...what else do you want me to say?"
"I don't know, a token maybe, some praises of compliment about MY heroic feat perhaps?" he sarcastically suggested grinning.
She raised an eyebrow then retorted, "The trouble you went through to save my life can never compare to trouble I went through and will be going through to clean up your mess."
He was caught off-guard by her sudden remark. Mocked and quickly enraged, he snatched her wrists and clutched it hard to make sure she felt her blood run dry. He stared at her with cold but flaming eyes that she might acquaint the word fear with him.
She clenched her jaw at the unnerving feeling of her palm turning numb by the lack of circulation. Her eyes glistened with the slightest hint of terror as she stared back into his wild jade eyes.
He breathed through his tight lips, huffing to control his failing pity for her. When she tried to flinch her hand free, his clutch became twice as fierce and twice as painful. Right then and there, he saw her soul ripped out of any traces of life. He wanted her to scream, wanted her to cry and beg for mercy, only then would he decide to consider the word pity.
"You're hurting me…." She finally said, almost whimpering if not for the resentment in her eyes.
At her word, he loosened his grip which she immediately took the opportunity to withdraw her hand. He could see the whiteness of her palm quickly turning red the moment she drew it back. She didn't say anything save for the quiet curses he could see appear in her expression the moment she glowered at him.
"Trepe, I'm hurt. After going out there and risking MY very life to get your lost butt back into the right dimension, this is how you treat me?" He retorted back at her scorching stare with an irritatingly childish tone.
"After all that has happened, I was hoping you've changed." She shook her head in apparent frustration, then took a step up, turned to look at his dumbfounded expression to see him try to figure out why she didn't react with violence, then said, "And about your readmission...I think you should come back to the Garden. It's getting boring without you."
To his benefit, Quistis' face became composed and even managed to give him a smile. His anger ceased at sight of her slightly curved lips.
"I thought as much." He coincided with a crooked smile.
As quickly as the tension between them raised, it fell just as quick.
With resolves on the issue, they parted without saying another word.
o O o
The following day, Quistis and Edea left with hesitation for Seifer was nowhere near sight; he never came. They rode the train half-hearted for it seemed that they have failed their mission. Halfway to Timber, the two remained silent for the duration, they felt an uneasy heaviness about what had happened last night, it seemed surreal.
"Sir, can I have your ticket?" they heard the trainman spoke to the man behind their seat.
"I threw in out the window." The man replied in poor excuse.
"Sir, we received a complaint from Dollet station about a passenger being harassed out of a seat somewhere here. I need to see your ticket for confirmation."
"Is that so? Too bad, but like I said, my ticket's out the window probably flying its way back to Dollet."
"Sir, I'm afraid we're gonna have to detain you when we get to Timber."
"Are you accusing me of a crime I didn't do!" Seifer stood up, defensive—at the back of his head, he was speaking the truth, it was Raijin who dealt with the passenger.
Disturbed by the squabble, Edea turned around and caught Seifer's distressed eyes. Knowing the trouble he just got himself into, she decided to intrude.
"Sir, is there a problem?" Edea asked in an irresistibly concerned tone.
"Oh—um err...yes, but don't worry, it's being taken care of." The trainman was caught off guard that he stammered to explain.
"Hey, answer the sweet lady's question!" Seifer demanded, ceasing the man's authority.
"You just cost yourself a warrant!" the man reprimanded, mocked by Seifer's tone.
"Sir, please...can't we get into a compromise? This man is with me. I'm afraid we had a little mix-up with our seats." Edea explained, sweet and mellow.
"Excuse me?" the man clarified with puzzled stare.
"I'm supposed to be seated there." Edea stood up and showed the trainman her ticket. "This is his ticket, see?"
"You mean to say—you?" the man was unable to grasp what she meant when she winked and simply stared at them back and forth. Seeing no trace of lie in her face, just that gentle, sweet, meek image of an innocent lady; he couldn't react and couldn't possibly reproach her. He sighed and gave Seifer a last mocking stare, saying, "You got lucky this time pal." then left without another word, just a tangled expression.
"This is why I find you so cool." Seifer grinned in gratification. He looked at the trainman's back and struck a dirty finger at him. Some dumbass he was, the trainman, not him, it's never him.
She giggled, "I have my ways." Then her tone became more serious, "I'm glad you came along. Perhaps we should change seats, just in case." She gestured since they were still standing for the duration.
Seifer obeyed at her words and helped her seated before sitting beside Quistis who remained quiet the whole time.
"You could have saved us the trouble by getting a ticket." She finally spoke, casually joking as soon as he was seated.
"I just saved us 100 gil, so don't fuss about it." He replied, a bit annoyed, he added, "Ya' should be more like Matron—less off a pain."
"Consider telling yourself that." She retorted, folding her arms and turning away from him to face the window.
The conversation closed at her word and they sat quiet all the way to Balamb Garden.
o O o
After an hour of their arrival at the Garden, Cid called Quistis to his office for a report on the mission.
"...So I guess that's mission accomplished, sir." Quistis concluded her report with a salute.
"Job well done—as usual," Cid smiled in congratulation. Then stood up, his expression seemed hesitant about approaching Quistis with the issue, but after taking a deep breath, he finally spoke. "...and about Seifer...we have a bit of a problem."
"What about Seifer?" She raised her brow, sceptical.
Cid confided with a guilty chuckle. "Well...yes. You see, when I met the faculty for this year's curriculum and opened up the issue about Seifer, everyone immediately refused to accept him in their class." He gave a brief pause, his lips forming a taunting smile. "Care to do the honor?" He challenged.
"You mean, be HIS instructor!" She jerked in surprise, her eyes boarded somewhere near disbelief.
"Yes—and fifteen others."
"Does that mean I'll be getting my license back?"
"Temporarily."
"Oh—why?" her tone became less exited, but remained curious.
"As you may well know by now, the Garden has certain protocols that we need to abide with." He continued when he didn't hear her speak. "We have had a few complaints with the lack of faculty and a couple of dozen recommendations on your behalf...and as much as I want to simply hand you back your license, I have to stop myself and think of a better way—which brought me to come up with this idea." He paused to straighten his tie along with his expression. "You will be assigned to teach Advance GF Juctioning 102 for the next two months, as well as Seifer's private tutor for the other four subjects that the other instructors had dropped. Your challenge for the Initiation Test for your licensure will be to pass Seifer on this year's SeeD Test and he must at least get a Rank 7 by the end to the examination. Now, knowing Seifer, your problem won't be the written test—it'll be a walk in the park for him—the problem, like all his four previous attempts will be the field test. I need you to discipline him, strap him on a leash if you must—he needs to learn how to follow orders, CORRECTLY this time."
"...You have no intention of giving me back my license, do you." It came out implied, not a question of doubt.
"No of course not—what I mean is, of course I want you to get your license back...you just have to earn it from the very man who took it from you—"
"—Seifer!"
Cid saw a sudden rage fumed her visage. It was indignation.
Cid immediately raised his palm to stop Quistis from bursting in his office. "—Quistis! I did not tell you that so you can get back at him, I told you that because I know you know what to do. I trust you can teach him as much as I trust him to pass the SeeD test. You will just have to learn from each other. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're as bossy as he is and as smart as he is, so it's basically just becoming the tougher nut to crack that will give either one of you the upper hand at the situation."
"Why are you doing this again?"
"Because I'm Headmaster. Hahahaha!" it took a while before he regained his composure, "I guess that's it for the briefing. You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir." She saluted with a sigh on her face.
Sneak Preview:
A Twist of Fate
Chapter 3
"Of course, what can I expect from my most outstanding student?" she grunted, monotonous and sarcastic.
"Outstanding? Why Instructor, I'm flattered."
"Oh, you shouldn't be. What I meant by outstanding is that you're my student who stands outside of this classroom the most."
"I didn't know you were this funny."
"I wasn't being funny. You. Tomorrow. Stand out the hallway. Arms outstretched. On my period."
"The fuck! The hell did I do? Some sore loser you are!"