LA VITA NUOVA
CHAPTER 2:
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Rinoa's sixteenth birthday didn't start auspiciously. In fact, she woke up screaming. She had tried to avoid doing that whenever she had the nightmares, of being a Sorceress named Ultimecia, pursued by SeeD just for existing. But sometimes, despite her attempts to stop doing so for the neighbours' sake, as well as that of Zone and Watts (they grew up in a town with frequent raids by the G-Army, after all, and being the children of known insurgents didn't help matters), she couldn't help it. She had gotten around this by using a special ward to muffle noises from her room.
Magic came to her instinctively, and not just the Para-Magic used by the military of the world. Para-Magic was powerful, but a pale shade of what Sorceress power could do. And she could use it for far more than just battle.
The teenager shook the last remnants of the nightmare from her mind. It felt too real to be merely a nightmare, but even so, that's what it remained. No belligerent SeeDs stood around her bed, ready to skewer her, burn her to ashes and salt her remains.
She left her bedroom, and made for the bathroom, taking her clothes for the day with her. Once inside, she stripped, and stood, for a time, looking at her naked form in the mirror. While much of her body was desirable, she was sure, the oddities of her appearance, partly due to her Sorceress abilities, often deterred suitors. Not that Rinoa really wanted any. But there was the nagging feeling that she needed to find a Knight, soon.
All Sorceresses were supposed to have a Knight, a partner, frequently a romantic one, who was to act both as bodyguard, and anchor. The Knight was to protect the Sorceress from all dangers…including herself.
Ultimecia, the Sorceress in her dreams, had never had a Knight for long. She had two. The first had been murdered by SeeD. The second had turned out to be a SeeD assassin. Ultimecia had vowed never to have a Knight again, intending to protect herself with a variety of magical beasts.
Those dreams…they felt so real. The world wasn't like the one she saw in her dreams, and yet, she had had them, long before SeeD and Garden were established. Perhaps she was seeing into the future. Perhaps she was a Sorceress with the ability to see what the future may be, and perhaps it was her duty to ensure it never came about.
But how? Even at her young age, Rinoa knew destroying SeeD and Garden was out of the question, for that may make them martyrs. Her father had been a good teacher about how to deal with rebels and revolutionaries: he despaired at Vinzer Deling's autocratic rule, particularly over Timber. Zone and Watts' parents were martyrs to the revolutionaries there. They had been intending to follow in their parents' footsteps, and rebel against Galbadia. But after hearing some of those harebrained schemes they cooked up, she decided that they weren't going to be succeeding any time soon. Most of Galbadia's ambitions were fuelled by Deling. Once he was dead (preferably from an internal plot), Galbadia would, if not withdraw from Timber, then at least lessen the oppression.
Rinoa decided a better way to counter SeeD and Garden's mission was to create an organisation in opposition to it. Not a military academy, but rather, an organisation dedicated to soothing the fears of the populace, as well as giving young Sorceresses and those with other strange powers somewhere to go. One remote place that proved friendly to Sorceresses was Shumi Village, and Rinoa was seriously considering moving most of Hyne's Shield to there. She was currently in negotiations with the Elder Shumi. Of course, these were pipe dreams. Like that dog she saw at Timber at a petshop while visiting to give an interview to Timber Maniacs, the one she nearly bought, until she realised she might not be able to afford it. She went back later, only to find that the dog was sold. That was only a few days ago. What a shame, too. Many dogs fled or attacked her when she got close. This dog didn't.
Rinoa looked at her face in the mirror. Briefly, it seemed to change into a face she recognised as that of Ultimecia from her dreams: a cruel, proud face, with silver hair, styled into horns at the side, and strange, tattoo-like markings on her face, with golden irises.
Ultimecia looked into her eyes, and said, quietly, "Change the future. Stop SeeD." Then, she was gone.
After she finished her shower and dressed, she realised that Zone and Watts, unusually, were already up. They had left a note on her desk. At Winhill Pub. Meet us there. Z & W.
She smiled, figuring that they had cooked something up. And she wasn't disappointed when she walked in, and heard them yell, "SURPRISE!"
She laughed when she saw the banner (HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY, RINOA!), and the breakfast laid out for her. "Thanks, guys!" she said as she walked over to the table and sat down.
"You're 16, a special year for a princess!" Zone said with a smirk. "You'll get your present after breakfast."
Rinoa tucked into her food eagerly, more out of a desire to get to the present. But the food was lovely, all the same, and she enjoyed it immensely. It was rare that she indulged like this.
Not as fine as the food my servants would cook, Ultimecia seemed to whisper sadly in her mind. Sometimes, her thoughts were in Ultimecia's voice.
Soon, Rinoa had finished her meal. Watts, by this time, had headed outside. Zone, meanwhile, looked at Rinoa. "Now, when we were in Timber last, catching up with old friends, we saw something that we knew you'd like. We noticed you wanting it. So…we thought we'd get it."
A bark sounded from outside, and Watts came in, escorting a very beautiful dark-haired dog, the very one she had been admiring in the petstore. "Princess, ma'am, I'd like to introduce you to Sant' Angelo di Roman(1). Angelo for short. Despite the name, Angelo here is a girl."
The dog dashed forward, and began licking at Rinoa's now outstretched hands. She laughed. "Hello, Angelo. I'm Rinoa."
Angelo barked a couple of times, albeit in a somewhat friendly manner. "She's already taken with you, Princess," Zone remarked with a laugh.
"She's perfect," Rinoa said with a smile. "Oh, thank you! You didn't have to buy her!"
Getting Angelo was the highlight of the day. In retrospect, Rinoa was glad, given that the rest of the day would be somewhat fraught, not with danger, but with something that angered her…
As she worked on a pamphlet for Hyne's Shield, gently patting Angelo as she did so, Rinoa didn't notice anything was up until Angelo barked softly. Rinoa then turned to find a pair of young men in a very familiar uniform, if only because she had seen it in her dreams.
SeeDs. Specifically, the White SeeDs.
Then, a pair of other people walked in, two women. One was a girl about five or so years her senior, with brown hair, wearing a white dress with a blue sleeveless top. The other was a woman of indeterminate age, rather attractive, with long dark hair, green eyes, and a long black dress. She had a surprisingly kindly air, almost matronly, despite her age being hard to determine.
Rinoa stood, keeping her temper in check with some difficulty, and walked over to the reception desk. "Can I help you?" she asked in a somewhat clipped tone.
"Actually, it is more of the other way around, Miss Heartilly," the woman said. "I am Edea Kramer, co-founder of SeeD and Garden, along with my husband Cid. And like you, I am a Descendant of Hyne. This is Ellone, whom I believe you have been sending out feelers for."
Rinoa struggled to keep a scowl off her face. "Send your attack dogs out, Kramer. SeeDs aren't welcome here."
To her surprise, Edea nodded, and waved at them. "Please leave. You're making her uncomfortable."
They bowed, before leaving. "Your hounds are very well-trained, Kramer," Rinoa observed coldly.
"SeeD was my conception, Miss Heartilly," Edea said. "Your antagonism towards them is known."
"Because I know that SeeD was created to persecute Sorceresses," Rinoa retorted. As shock bloomed over Edea's face, Rinoa went in for the kill. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"No. Not Sorceresses, plural. A Sorceress. One who is said to be a threat to the world, to all creation. Though it's something of a secret that SeeD was created to stop the Sorceress. How do you know?"
"I…see it in my dreams. Vicious attack dogs like those you sent outside," Rinoa snarled. "Exactly like them, persecuting Sorceresses because they were born. Just for being born Hyne's Descendent!"
Edea frowned. "Precognition?"
"You tell me."
"I can assure you, none of the SeeDs under my command, or that of Garden, is currently engaged in such activity," Edea said.
"Assure what you like. I know what I saw, long before I even saw your SeeDs. Spare me your lies. I am here to safeguard Sorceresses, make sure they grow up in a world without fear, while you are working against that."
"That's hardly fair!" Ellone spoke up.
"Life rarely is," Rinoa retorted. She subsided, her attention going over to Ellone. "You were the girl who used to live here, aren't you?"
Ellone nodded. "I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot."
Rinoa's eyes flickered over to Edea's. "The fault is not yours, Ellone," Rinoa said with a sigh. "I was merely curious after hearing tales from the people here."
"Who sent me away to Matron's orphanage, I might add," Ellone said. "Along with Squall. They didn't care at the time."
"Squall?"
"Squall Leonhart, son of Raine Loire," Edea explained. "He's a cadet at Balamb Garden, currently. Ellone knew his parents. Miss Heartilly, as Ellone said, I am sorry we got off on the wrong foot. And I do understand your concerns that these dreams may be premonitions of what is to come. Sorceress powers manifest in odd ways, after all. Ellone is capable of sending the consciousness of those she chooses into the past, and she isn't even a Sorceress, properly speaking. I will not dismiss your visions as delusion. All that I ask is that you consider the possibility that SeeD is not like that today."
"You are a military academy turning orphans into child soldiers," Rinoa remarked acidly. "And you give them Guardian Forces, for crying out loud! You do know what GFs do to your memories, right?"
"Blame the Garden Faculty, particularly of Balamb," Edea said. "I do not let my SeeDs use them lightly. But you are right in some regards. There are still other military academies across the world. Miss Heartilly, what you do here is admirable. I came here partly to say that I wanted to support Hyne's Shield however I can."
"If you intend to give money, forget it. Garden money is blood money, even without the Sorceress-hunting."
"Aside from money, I have contacts," Edea said, placing a piece of paper on the desk, a list of names and contact details. "These are children who either have Sorceress powers or else unusual abilities. Some reside within a Garden. I'm sure the children and their parents would appreciate the services you can give them. I also brought Ellone. When she heard of your organisation, she decided to join. It also gave her a chance to come back home. Normally, I wouldn't allow it, not without some sort of escort. That is why I contacted my husband: he is sending a SeeD cadet out on assignment as a favour to me, to guard Ellone, and safeguard Hyne's Shield."
"And act as your spy?"
"A real spy would be inconspicuous," Edea said. "It is rare that SeeD do pro bono work. I am doing this because…I wish there was an organisation like this when I was growing up."
The sincerity in her voice startled Rinoa. "Were you persecuted?"
"It's a rare Sorceress who isn't," Edea said. "I was lucky that my parents were relatively rich and loving, but there were occasions when people tried to attack me. Your fears are my own, Miss Heartilly. I will not dismiss what you see in your dreams, for fear it may be premonition, but SeeD of the present does not do so. Only the White SeeDs and my husband are aware of its true goal, and the White SeeDs are more my bodyguards than full soldiers." Edea turned to leave. "I will stay in Winhill for a couple of days, until the SeeD cadet arrives. By the way, Miss Heartilly, do you have a Knight yet?"
The question was so unexpected, Rinoa only shook her head. "I…haven't, yet."
"Then let me advise you, not as Edea Kramer, founder of Garden and SeeD, but as one Sorceress to another: find one soon. Knights protect you from others, and from yourself," Edea said. She nodded to Rinoa. "Good day to you."
Rinoa scowled as Edea left, Ellone in tow. It wasn't a good day at all, now that SeeD and Garden had taken an interest. Angelo, next to her, whined, and she gently knelt down and patted her dog. But even as she did so, she reflected that Edea wasn't what she thought she'd be like. And for all Rinoa's suspicions, she had given good advice. Yes…she had to find a Knight. Soon…
CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:
Rinoa has met Edea and Ellone. And in case you're wondering who the SeeD cadet is, well, you'd be right if you guessed that it was Squall.
The chapter title basically sets the scene for the rest of the fic. Being someone who has actually read Pride and Prejudice (though I don't intend to read another Jane Austen novel), I know how the plot goes, and it will have a similar clash of personalities. Rinoa is more cynical and guarded than in the game, though she's still more cheerful than Squall. Most of the fic will be about Squall and Rinoa's relationship developing, and in different circumstances to the game. Ultimecia's influence on this timeline has stopped with her powers going to Rinoa rather than Edea. This means most of the conflict will be due to Vinzer Deling's greed, as well as an opposition to Hyne's Shield and Esthar preparing to break its silence.
1. According to the Final Fantasy Wiki, this is Angelo's full name, presumably taken from the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania. In the game, Rinoa bought Angelo on an impulse. Here, she is a birthday present.