Squall's heart raced as he danced closely to his love Rinoa, her steps matching his as they gracefully moved together along the balcony outside of Balamb Garden. Rinoa's black hair twirled as Squall spun her around him and ended the motion with her close by him. She held him closely as their dance came to an end, her head feeling his lion's heart beat in his chest. She didn't want to let go as the warmth of his body filled hers. They both knew what waited for them outside of their embrace, but they would face it together.
"We should go give them what they want." Squall whispered. Rinoa shrugged slightly. Not really caring if they played the part of leader any more than they already did tonight.
"Make them wait a little longer." She replied. Squeezing a little harder and then let him go. Looking up at him with a troublemaker grin. "If they get impatient, the Sorceress in me will get them." Rinoa's eyes flashed a brief hint of gold before going back to their normal dark brown. She winked at Squall as his demeanor turned more serious at her playful display of power.
"You're getting more control of it." Squall stated. His brow furrowed a bit as he looked at her with his blue eyes. Concern flooded them, Squall knew she would face the roughest of opposition to her newfound powers now that the world no longer worried over the threat of Ultimecia. But for her sake tonight, he didn't mention it and changed his expression for sake of levity. Not an easy task for him.
"I've been doing small practices in my mind, seems to be working. I have to make my knight proud of me and be fierce like a lion. Remember?" Rinoa broke off and growled playfully.
Before Squall could respond he was interrupted by intruders entering the edge of their sanctuary. Ex-Headmaster Cid and Edea, now bereft of her powers as a sorceress. The couple politely walked up and stood waiting to be invited onto the balcony. Squall was slightly annoyed by the intrusion, but was glad it was them instead of Zell or Irvine. Those two would have been too excited and were likely to have ruined Squall's happy mood. Rinoa turned to greet them both, a smile on her face that hid the true feeling she felt with their secret world coming down. Squall and Rinoa linked arms and approached the two people who in all honesty, mirrored and understood their future the most. Cid and Edea smiled at the young couple and broke the ice of silence.
"Commander Leonhart, that was a dance to rival your first with Sorceress Rinoa." Cid smiled and held his hand out to Squall, who took it and shook firmly. "Sorry to interrupt, but we wanted a moment alone with both of you."
Squall broke the handshake, "We were heading inside." He half-lied.
Squall didn't really want to get too tangled up in a conversation with the old Headmaster. Not that he wanted to be rude, but Squall wasn't eager to get caught in a longwinded conversation about the Garden or politics. Rinoa however, sensed the reason they were here before Squall could grasp it.
"Of course, I'd really been wanting to ask Mrs. Kramer a few things." Rinoa looked up at Squall with her smile, knowing that he knew this was unavoidable. Then she winked and walked up to Edea and took her hand, giggling a little embarrassingly. "No Odine Bangle this time, I swear."
Edea laughed at her terrible joke, both remembering that night in Galbadia and moving on into their new friendship. Even though they barely knew each other they each began speaking in a friendly manner as Edea insisted that Rinoa only refer to her by first name. Both women walked off inside and Squall found himself alone with Cid at the balcony entrance before he realized what had happened. The mood became more serious as Squall realized why Cid was there without him needing to say it. Squall now thought he knew what was coming.
"Commander Leonhart, a moment." Cid continued to use Squall's rank as a reminder to both of them the responsibility he now bore. Squall sighed and followed him to the edge of the balcony, now overlooking the ocean but with a lot less enthusiasism.
"You've come to talk about the future of Balamb Garden with me in command, and the dangers I'm about to face." Squall spoke for him. Cid nodded.
"Not just that, I believe you are now owed an explanation and much more." Cid took a final drink of his wine and then place his glass on the edge of the solid concrete railing of the balcony. "When Edea told me of meeting you, the day she was given Ultimecia's powers. I knew that you would need more than just your terrific strength and your few friends to make that event a reality."
Cid adjusted his glasses. Then continued as Squall hoped he would get to his point quickly.
"You would need an army behind you to battle the Sorceress, a force you called SeeD on that day. I didn't know about all the other dangers and aggressors you had faced. But I knew I would have to make that force a reality for you, unfortunately it has not gone completely as I had planned. For SeeD to exist it needed strong leadership and experience, leadership that was earned before you became Commander of Balamb Garden. Now those leaders who left before the Galbadian missiles hit have returned, and like Norg." Cid paused again, adjusting his glasses again. "They aren't the type to be told what to do by someone… so new to this position."
Squall absorbed Cid's words for a moment and pondered it.
Of course, it had been nearly a year. But when Squally returned from D-District Prison a large number of senior ranking SeeD had been out putting down small resistance and a rumored new faction. A faction that Squall knew very little about, but was strong enough to warrant the full force of SeeD and senior ranking officers that had risen in ranks far before Squall had even attained the rank of SeeD. With missiles heading to Balamb Garden and the much larger threat of Ultimecia and Galbadia's Army to deal with, Squall had not had time to ponder their whereabouts.
Squall had in fact been given a quick briefing of their current location on Balamb's shores. Squall was about to retrieve a large fighting force of SeeD who had been left adrift while the world was consumed in a war against Ultimecia and her puppets. A force who may not appreciate finding their Garden now in the command of someone who was a Cadet when they left in force. Squall knew enough of history and traditional military command to see what his first issue was going to be once they were picked up.
Squall rubbed his hand against his forehead.
What a pain. He thought to himself. I guess I didn't know the full reason why Cid wanted to talk.
"So I get to face possible mutiny by other SeeD." Squall stated. "Did you come here to ask me to resign?"
Cid shook his head, "No, actually the opposite. I put you in this mess; I am actually here to request that you grant me the title of Headmaster again. So that I may advise you, Commander Leonhart, in your political, logistical and financial duties."
Squall removed his head from his hand. "Why would you bother? I remember there were three SeeD Colonels in line to succeed you. They were competing for SeeD Commander. Colonel Cerbs was especially adamant about getting it." Squall looked at Cid and leaned against the rail, his arms crossed in front of him. "I didn't want to become the Commander, and I'm not about to fight a civil war to keep that rank. One of the Colonels can have it."
Squall took his duty seriously, but no longer saw the point in keeping the rank of SeeD Commander if there wasn't any more dangerous Sorceresses to be fought. And being the Commander didn't sit well with him when Rinoa was in fact a Sorceress. Fighting against her was not an fantasy he cared to entertain, and commanding his SeeD forces to stand down from doing their duty seemed illogical at best and would likely lead to mutiny anyways. Cid seemed to disagree.
"That would be disastrous. I don't deny that they will challenge you Squall. But with me by your side as Headmaster, they would be forced to respect your acension and your wisdom in choosing an experienced advisor that would know how to keep Garden funded and running better than any of their own can. I'm very well connected And once they begin to realize your power, they will not attempt a coup." Cid took off his glasses, rubbing them on a piece of cloth he took from his vest. "Besides. SeeD is still needed to fight Sorceresses. And you can protect Rinoa better as SeeD Commander of Balamb then you can without it."
Squall pushed off the balcony and swiped his hand in front of him, fully agitated as to where the conversation had just turned.
"To hell they are! Rinoa isn't a threat! SeeD isn't needed because Rinoa is not going to become an Adel or an Ultimecia." Squall composed himself. "She is the only Sorceress now…." Squall stopped and then realization struck.
Cid put his glasses on and then spoke to Squall in a voice he had never heard before.
"Rinoa isn't the only Sorceress!" Cid let those words sink in, unease flooding his words. "Edea passed on her powers to Rinoa once she was defeated. But we don't know who inherited Adel's."
Squall stopped him short, "Rinoa absorbed both of their powers." But then paused as he remembered the battles following that one.
"No." Cid answered. "Had Rinoa really absorbed all of it, like Adel tried to absorb hers. Then she would have crushed Ultimecia easily with such strength."
Cid leaned against the railing of the balcony looking out into the vast ocean. "Squall, the SeeD who are returning tomorrow weren't just fighting some resistance faction like the rumors we spread around Garden." Cid paused and caught his breath. "They were fighting mine and Norg's secret Garden. Atlanteam Garden. A Garden full of demi-sorceresses."
The floor underneath Squall seemed to spin a little, his body was shaken as his mind. Cid's words rang in his ear.
But we don't know who inherited Adel's.
A Garden full of demi-sorceresses. Squall froze, so many sudden issues throwing themselves at the young Commander tonight that he now had to rely on Cid. And a returning force who are more loyal amongst themselves than with us here.
Squall needed to get away from Cid, the man had blown him up with more force than an Ultima spell. His mind wandered on what to do.
Squall looked past Cid, deep into the ballroom of Balamb Garden and through the celebrating SeeD. There as if waiting for him, his eyes met Rinoa's. Those eyes reflected his own, their troubles had just begun. Yet they would face those troubles together. Edea was next to Rinoa, looking more like a friend then a stranger and Squall knew that they had shared a similar conversation.
Squall spoke so that only Cid could hear him. "The SeeD detachment were rendezvousing with tomorrow. The ones sent against Atlanteam Garden, did they succeed in their mission?"
"No. Atlanteam disappeared and Colonel Cerb's SeeD pulled out once they discovered the location of the enemy's underwater city." Cid replied. "We only just received word that they are awaiting us on Balamb Beach yesterday."
Squall made his final selfish decision of his life.
"Then Headmaster, gather and organize all information you can on them. And don't bother me again until tomorrow. I expect a brief at 0700." Squall then walked off, barely acknowledging anyone else who cheered or saluted him. Quistis, Zell, Irvine and Selphie could read him, and kept their distance. He walked up to Rinoa and together they left to his private chambers on top of Balamb Garden.
Hello! Thanks for reading! I'm trying to keep my chapters short so that I can write one out every week. Or at least within 7 days of the last one being written. Please review and give me your thoughts!