Note: I usually like AUs that include scenes (even if revisited) from the game. So I'll try to include them too, as I did with Squall's duel with Seifer, and the dance scene. Hope this won't ruin the story. Also, I inserted a piano, even though I know it couldn't be there. Still, I liked the idea of Julia playing and Rinoa playing too, so I thought I'd go with an artistic license.
The park in this chapter and the next is based on Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy. I just changed the names of fountains and statues to suit the story - so, for example, Neptune has become Leviathan. The Italian wikipedia has lots of pictures of this garden (there's also the one about Neptune Fountain); just search for Giardino di Boboli. There's also an official site and you can take a virtual tour. I assure you it's worth it. I'll post the links on my account, though :)
Plus I'm really really sorry about the delay. I suck at updating my Italian stories too, but at least I write them more frequently... English is my second language and these last months have been a little hard, plus I'm still kinda recovering from NaNoWriMo. Writing was difficult in Italian, in English it was even worse. And I'm also sorry about not replying to reviews - that's just because I think my motto is "yeah, ok, I'll do it tomorrow." I promise I'll do it (and hopefully not tomorrow).
Please feel free to mention grammar mistakes - I like to improve :) This chapter has been betaread by Ashbear (and she has all my love: she had to put up with me mixing Italian and English, sometimes XD), and I can finally have a cover for the story, too! The image is a gift by Ronin-ai. So thanks to both these awesome ladies and on with the story (finally XD!).
THE WINTER ROSE
II. Duel
When he opened his eyes, the following morning, he found himself in a four poster bed that reminded him what happened the day before.
He had won.
He had become a hero.
He had a nice, cool pendant on his chest reminding him also how much Cid Kramer had fooled him: he had examined it closely before falling asleep, and realized there was no way a jeweler could create it on such a short notice. He had joined the tournament only a day before it actually started; still, he couldn't deny that it was something he really liked. He didn't know who would choose a gift like that, but whoever did, knew him well.
He didn't particularly like the idea of being fooled, though. The evening before he had demanded to know every single rule of the tournament... and somewhere along the line wished he hadn't. They were basically looking for a perfect fairy tale prince that would sweep the princess off her feet, and he surely wasn't the right person to do it... unless they were looking for a warrior.
Still, he had to abide to every rule... breakfast and 'socializing' included.
So he got up, drew the curtains of his bed and found, on a nearby table, a neatly written note. He immediately recognized Cid's handwriting, and he groaned - he really didn't want to know what he had to say, and he also really didn't like servants entering his room when he was still asleep. The note, though, just informed him that he would receive, sometime during the day, the entire list of rules of the tournament. Could he please just join the Royal Family for breakfast and meet him after that on the training grounds?
Squall grunted - not that he had much choice in the matter - and started to get dressed. He thought about taking the gunblade with him - he was not really sure about breakfast etiquette, but even he could understand that weapons were not allowed. So he simply cleaned it, checked if he had enough bullets and prepared it for later. And then he realized he was simply stalling. With a sigh, he exited the room and asked the first servant he passed by where he should go.
The Royal Family was already seated when he entered the dining room. The King rose to greet him, and the two women simply bowed. He saluted and then took the seat the King was offering him.
"I'm very pleased to see you up so early, Sir Leonhart," said the King. "Usually, winners take their time on the first morning after the duel."
"I feel rested enough, thank you," answered Squall.
"You seem very serious," observed the Queen, eyeing him above her cup of tea. "It's not something we see very often. We really appreciate it."
Squall nodded. "Thanks."
Only the Princess didn't say anything. Her parents kept talking to him, trying to know more about him; they asked about his family, about his accomplishments in SeeD. They wanted to keep him occupied, apparently, and Squall noticed, now and then, the Queen would compliment him on something. That left him a little stunned - he didn't think he had good manners enough to mingle with Kings and Queens, but according to Queen Julia, past winners weren't as 'elegant' and 'serious' as he was. Elegant wasn't a word he would use to refer to himself... serious, maybe. The King however seemed to think the same, and what started as a casual conversation became a list of compliments he awkwardly accepted, not knowing what to do with it.
The Princess was silent for the entire time. He watched her, when her parents talked about her, about the time they had to spend together according to the tournament's rules... but she simply smiled and watched him, listened to him, and that unnerved him even more than the compliments and the small talk. Her eyes had the same beautiful and melancholic expression they had the night before, when they danced together... and there was also something he didn't have the time to understand, because he was 'serious' and had 'good manners' and shifted his gaze every time the Queen or the King talked to him.
The Princess' gaze seemed almost calculating, and he didn't know why.
Did she know about the rules? Did she know what he was expected to do?
Then, finally, breakfast was over and the Queen and the King rose to excuse themselves. Squall rose to excuse himself too, but the King stopped him, simply raising his hand. "Please enjoy your meal, Sir Leonhart," he said. "We have urgent affairs to tend to, but we don't want to cut short your breakfast. My daughter will be delighted to keep you company."
And with that, they left, leaving him alone with the Princess, who was drinking her tea.
"You were... pretty silent," said Squall carefully, not knowing how to talk to her. He was a supposed suitor, eager to marry her... what did the other winners do when this happened to them? Did they jump at the possibility to be alone with the Princess? Surely they didn't look as scared as he had to look now...
But when he looked at the Princess, she seemed as nervous as he was. Maybe the other winners didn't have the possibility to be alone with her...?
"My parents are... a little overwhelming to the tournament winners," she said, giggling a little behind her hand. "I guess it's because the winners have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with me... and they're overprotective." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "you were the only one to show up for breakfast the day after the tournament. Everyone else basically arrived when it was over. My parents tend to judge a lot... I think they really appreciate you. They never left me with a winner, before."
Or maybe they just hope they can speed up everything by leaving us alone. Maybe they simply think that if we're alone we'll fall in love and marry faster. That thought, however, left a bad taste in his mouth. It reminded him that this girl had only a few months left.
"We should talk about the time we'll spend together," she said, and Squall turned his head to look at her. "Usually, winners used mornings to train with SeeD, and the afternoon to stay with me... you're free to do what you want in the evenings, after dinner."
"It's fine," answered Squall nodding. "I'd like to train more." He was silent for a while, as if waiting for her to continue, but when she didn't say anything he added, "I just... don't really know what I'm expected to do."
The Princess giggled. "I expect you to simply call me Rinoa," she said. "As for everything else... you'll figure it out soon. There's nothing difficult, really. You just need to... get used to it."
There was silence after this, and they both finished their meals.
Rinoa was the first to rise from her seat. "I have to see Edea for my lessons," she said to excuse herself. "I guess we'll see each other later, Sir Leonhart."
"Squall," he said, and then thought he did sound a little harsh. "I mean, you can simply call me Squall. Please."
"Squall," she said nodding. "Have a good day."
With that she left, and Squall couldn't help but watch the little sway of her hips as she walked away from him.
The sky was clear, that day, and it stopped snowing the night before.
The training grounds were still snowy, though, and Rinoa watched her new awkward suitor training from her privileged position in the library, near a warm fire, with Edea playing a piano sonata behind her, so she could listen and understand how she should play it. She was distracted, though; there was something in Sir Leonhart - Squall, she kept reminding herself - that was completely different from what she saw in every other winner, the years before. There had been winners that were direct, asking for her hand during the first breakfast together; winners that couldn't stop bragging about themselves; winners that simply saw her as a political pawn. Winners like Seifer, who just figured they could have the girl as simply as they had won the tournament, and had turned really bitter when she flat out refused them.
But Squall... he was nothing like that. The evening before, when they were dancing together, he had been particularly careful not to touch her in inappropriate places - not all the winners had the same courtesy - and she didn't expect him at breakfast. He was respectful, he was serious, he didn't brag - she thought he didn't like talking about himself - and was really focused. He lacked everything that she had despised in the other winners, and had everything she may desire in a person she was forced to spend many hours a day with.
Or at least, that was what she figured.
Now he was on the training grounds, fighting with monsters let loose on SeeDs. She even admired the way he fought: clean, clever, following a precise pattern mysterious to everyone else. He was good, even if the ground was slippery for the snow. It seemed he could devise a new strategy every time the one he'd chosen failed.
It would be an interesting-
"Rinoa?"
Edea had stopped playing the piano and was behind her. She had tried calling the Princess a few times, getting no response from the girl, she decided to simply touch her shoulder. There was a secretive smile on her lips, though - it seemed everything was going according to plan. The Princess seemed very attracted to the young man she had chosen. Everything would be fine, she simply knew it.
"Will you send him the message?" asked Rinoa, turning away from the window to look at her governess.
"Are you sure you want to do it?"
Rinoa sighed, turning again to look at Squall, who was now engaged in a heated battle against a T-Rex.
"I need to know if he's skilled enough."
"I can assure you he is."
"I want to see it myself, Edea."
"Rinoa-"
"You were the one who said it was necessary. You were the one who encouraged me to do it, you even covered me every time, so my parents wouldn't know. I don't understand-"
"Trust me as you've always done. I can assure you he is skilled enough. That will not be a problem with Squall."
"I want to do it nonetheless. I need to. I trust you," said Rinoa, moving to take her governess' hands in her own. "I trust you with my life. I love you like I love my mother, because we share something special my mother doesn't know anything about. I know that if you say he's skilled enough, then he surely is. I just want to do it. I want to... feel it. Look at him." She moved, so Edea could see Squall too. "Look at him and tell me you wouldn't do it, if you were me."
Edea watched Squall for a few minutes, and then sighed.
"You were the one who told me it must be done like this, Edea. I don't want to do it in any other way."
"I'll give him the message personally," conceded Edea. "And I'll be nearby, if you need my help."
"I'm Sorceress Rinoa, the Mistress of Pure Magic. I'll manage," said Rinoa. But then, as an afterthought, she added, "but I would greatly appreciate your help, Sorceress Edea, Mistress of Nature and Healing. Just let me handle him... alone."
When he stumbled into his apartment just before lunch was served, Squall found Edea sitting quietly in a chair next to the fireplace.
He immediately straightened his shoulders and bowed to the woman, trying to control his annoyance; he really didn't like people entering his rooms when he wasn't there or when he was sleeping. He really had to start locking his doors.
"Squall," said Edea, rising to greet him. "Or should I call you Sir Leonhart?" she continued, with a small proud smile.
"Squall is fine, please," answered the boy, with his gunblade on his shoulder. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"Actually, I have something for you." Edea fidgeted and Squall noticed only then that she had something in her hands. A note, with a delicate handwriting on it, and the Royal Seal. "The Princess asked me to give you this." She handed him the paper and Squall took it, opening it to read it. It smelled like flowers, he noticed - like the blue rose that was still on his nightstand.
It smelled like sadness.
He shook his head and started reading the message.
Sir Leonhart,
please meet me in the Garden tonight, after the clock tower strikes twelve. I will be at the end of the amphitheatre, near Leviathan Fountain.
I'll be waiting.
R
It was really strange. The Princess asking him to meet her in the Gardens after midnight?
"If you don't know where the amphitheatre is," said Edea, "I will gladly help you."
"It's fine, I know where it is," answered Squall, still thinking about what that all meant. "I just... I mean, can she..."
Edea smiled a little, covering her mouth with her hand. "If you're asking if it's proper, you don't have to worry. I'll be nearby. Just... remember to bring your weapon. I'm sure Cid has assigned you Guardian Forces when you won the tournament... bring them too."
Squall looked even more dumbfounded. "I don't think I understand..."
"You will. Trust me. Just bring your weapon and your Guardian Forces." With that, she bowed and exited the room.
Squall thought about that note for the entire time he spent freshening up before lunch, and then for the entire journey from his apartment to the dining room. There, he saw that Princess Rinoa was standing near the window, alone; the King and Queen hadn't arrived yet, and he thought he could try to talk about her strange request. He went near her, bowing respectfully and addressing her. "Princ- I mean, Rinoa... I received your note."
The Princess turned, her mouth open, but then she widened her eyes, and before he could ask her why, she went past him to bow to her father and mother. Then she turned, while her parents acknowledged him too, and looked at him in a way that clearly meant that her note should not be discussed in front of Queen Julia and King Caraway. He thought he could address that issue in the afternoon, and he kept watching her during lunch, and noticed she was a little less at ease than before. He wondered what all that meant - why meet him at night, when they literally had to spend several hours together? What could she want to tell him that her parents shouldn't hear? Why Edea was her accomplice in that matter?
He soon had the answer to the first question. The Princess led him to the library, an enormous room full of basically every book ever written in the world. He noticed the cheerful expression she got entering the room, and guessed that she didn't have many other choices, living a very sheltered life: she had very few visitors, once in a while, and probably no past winner was interesting enough. Books were really her only means to escape from the cruel fate that kept alone, living in eternal winter.
But they weren't alone that afternoon. Queen Julia was in a corner of the room, with her embroidery work, and keeping a watchful eye on them both. He couldn't risk talking about the note, then: he had the distinct impression it was not something her mother knew about, and probably something she shouldn't even know. So he struggled through a conversation with the Princess, something awkward they both felt they had to do so they could say they 'knew each other a little better' and move on, and waited for his night encounter.
He just hoped that his other two questions would get answered too.
The night was silent, illuminated only by the full moon. There were no stars in the sky, and Squall sighed upon reaching the amphitheatre; no stars usually meant bad weather in the morning. He really didn't feel like training in the rain... he would do it anyway, of course, but that didn't mean he had to like it. At the moment, however, he was only worried about the impending encounter; he really didn't understand what was happening, and he didn't like things he didn't understand.
Life was much simpler when you understood things, and having an extremely logical mind really helped in that department.
He decided to lean against a pillar, while waiting for the Princess to come; he noticed a distant light near the trees, and he imagined it was Edea. He had to wonder about that - why did the governess of the Princess help her in a night encounter with a man? It wasn't proper at all - at least where he came from - and Edea hadn't struck him as someone who would break rules.
A fluttering noise suddenly filled the air, and Squall turned to watch in awe a figure approaching him... flying. It was like a light in the sky, with those white, extended wings, and in that moment even the dress seemed bright. He knew there was something wrong, he knew he saw something that really wasn't there... but still, he couldn't think of another way of describing the girl coming towards him. Light.
The wings gently guided the Princess towards him, and he noticed he had his mouth wide open only when she landed, with beautiful grace, and she smirked a little at his reaction.
"Princess," he said, curtly, quite forgetting the rules of etiquette - and also the rule she'd established when she asked him to call her simply Rinoa. Then he noticed what she was wearing: a light blue dress that reached her ankles behind, but was very short in the front, a pair of black shorts and a black vest, and boots that reached her knees. Interesting choice, he thought, but then he realized that, having to fly like that, it was probably the most comfortable.
Wait a moment - why fly? Couldn't she simply walk there?
"I couldn't," replied Rinoa, and only then he realized he had asked the question out loud. "I wouldn't be able to reach this place, if I used normal means... I resorted to flying years ago. That way, I can reach this part of the Garden without the guards realizing it, since they are usually on the other side. It's faster and simpler for me."
"I... see." There was a long silence. Rinoa didn't retract her wings, and he watched her curiously, wearily. Then he cleared his throat and asked her, "So, you wanted to see me?"
She nodded, and suddenly he saw on her face the same melancholy expression he had noticed at the ball, the evening before. She walked past him, staring at the amphitheatre opening in front of her. She didn't remember ever really using it - not for the reasons it was built, anyway. There were no shows under the snow.
"Do you know who I really am, Sir Leonhart?"
"Please, call me Squall-"
"I can't." She shook her head, her hair falling against her white, bright wings - night against light. "Not in this circumstance, anyway."
"Fine," he said curtly. "I know you are the Princess of Centra and Galbadia, and that you've been cursed as a child."
He heard a soft noise coming from her, a sort of vocalized, bitter smile that made him a little sad.
"The day I was cursed," she started, turning to look into his eyes, "the magic that Sorceress Ultimecia, the Mistress of Time and Space, used on me seeped into my skin and made me a Sorceress too. Sorceress Edea, the Mistress of Nature and Healing, infused me with some magic after that. Those powers grew with me. If I live to see my nineteenth birthday, I must find a Knight to balance my powers and use them as a gift to help people, not as a curse to destroy them."
"I didn't know, Princess."
"No one does," she answered, absently rubbing her right hand on her left elbow, watching for a moment the trees where Edea was hidden, waiting. Then she turned to him once more, and said, "I am Sorceress Rinoa, the Mistress of Pure Magic."
Squall did a stiff bow.
"I asked you to meet me here because I think you are aware, now, of what my parents expect from you."
Squall felt himself blushing slightly - so she had realized, the evening before, that he was completely clueless. He crossed his arms on his chest, tearing his eyes away from her. "Cid Kramer talked me into joining the tournament... but he informed me only of the rules he thought I needed to know."
Rinoa giggled a little, but that small laugh sounded empty to his ears. He watched her again. "You wouldn't have joined if you knew them all, would you?"
He thought for a moment. "I... don't really know. Maybe I would, since I got the chance to become Commander... no use thinking about the past, though. What's done is done."
She nodded, and after a heavy sigh, she continued. "As I said, I need to find my Knight. Edea helped me master my powers, all these years... and she told me also how I should find him."
If she wanted an answer, she didn't get one, so she simply shrugged a little and said, "I'm sure Cid gave you some Guardians, since you won the tournament, didn't he?"
Squall nodded. "He gave me Quetzalcoatl and Shiva."
She looked thoughtful. "The Guardian of Storms... and the Guardian of Winter?" Silence. She tilted her head. "How very... becoming."
"How so?" he asked, more than a little puzzled.
"Because you look... calm. Collected. A little cold. Definitely conflicted."
He fell silent, and crossed his arms on his chest again, avoiding her gaze. "Whatever." How could she read him so well?
"Did you bring your weapon and your Guardians, Sir Leonhart?"
"I did."
"I need to know... I need to know if you really are the one that can break my curse, Sir Leonhart. But it doesn't mean anything if you can't handle me as a Sorceress. I need to know if you can be my husband and my Knight. If you can't, I might as well die on my eighteenth birthday."
Squall looked at her, eyes suspiciously narrowed. "How?"
"A duel."
He looked taken aback. "With whom?"
She laughed, then, and clasped her hands in front of herself, in a gesture that almost made him think she was grasping that strange ring she wore on her necklace. But when she extended her arm back, a silver light grew and grew around it, in a slow spiral, until it became a weapon. A sword.
A gunblade.
"With me, Sir Leonhart. Junction with your Guardians."
He slowly, wearily drew his own weapon, while she moved her legs into a ready stance. "To know if you really can handle me as a Sorceress, I need to challenge you... and I must lose." Squall felt in his mind the presence of Quetzalcoatl and Shiva, moving them around to adjust their power, feeling the icy bite of winter and the stormy clouds settle in his thoughts, drawing strength from the secret power of memory. "Defeat me, and I'll know you're a worthy Knight."
She raised her weapon, and Squall did the same, touching lightly the blades together, to signal he had accepted the challenge.
And then, with a smile, she moved forward and started the fight.
She was a worthy opponent. He now understood why she told him to Junction; there was no way he could win without their help. The sheer force behind her blows was precise, definite, very different from the magic he had felt in Seifer's blade the day before. Her power was raw, strong and full, almost intense, and she also had a fine technique in fighting with the gunblade. He thought, for a brief second, that dueling with her more often would be interesting, before she launched forward in a series of lunges that made him move back quickly. He tried to study her routine, the way she moved, tried to understand the way she planned her attacks, but failed to do so. It wasn't Princess Rinoa dueling with him, it was Sorceress Rinoa and the glittering magic that fluttered in her veins made her wings tremble a little. And he sure could see why she was deemed the Mistress of Pure Magic.
He blocked a blow, raising his weapon above his head, and they stayed like that for a few second, watching each other, panting heavily, until she smirked and lowered her weapon. A little fascinated, Squall watched her as she tilted her head, being careful not to lower his defenses for a moment.
"You know," she said, "you're the only winner that survived that string of blows."
He simply narrowed his eyes, without giving her a verbal answer at first, but then he said, "I have the strength of the Guardians."
"They had it too."
She then drew back, extending her right arm. The silver light that made the gunblade appear in her hand engulfed the weapon again, making it disappear into thin air.
Squall watched her, raising his weapon again. Rinoa giggled a little, and said, "Let's see if you're so strong against magic too."
In that moment, Squall realized the difference between the magic granted by the Guardians and the raw magic running in a Sorceress' veins. There was nothing that could warn him about the spell that hit him; it simply hit. He hadn't even noticed if there were telltale signs of magic - Rinoa hadn't even gathered energy. She had simply cast.
The Fire spell was still weak, but strong enough to take his breath away when it crashed on him. He felt the intensity of its burning energy, his skin became red from the contact, and not even a second later, a Blizzard engulfed him - it shattered all around him and painful shards pierced his flesh.
"See what I mean?" she asked, gently, almost innocently twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
He sure as hell saw what she meant. He needed to be fast, accurate, and act almost without thinking.
Pure battle instinct drew him closer to her. He wearily watched her, while they moved around each other carefully. She looked almost amused, and he finally noticed, in her eyes, a glint of gold. Her magic. The Power of a Sorceress, something he had grown up fearing.
He launched to his right to avoid the Thunder that cracked the amphitheatre's pavement. Rinoa spun around, secretly impressed by his speed. She knew it, she simply knew it. She had foreseen this while watching him fight during the tournament, against Seifer, and in his morning training routine... she had known then. Edea was right; she didn't need to fight him.
...But she had wanted to, because it meant a sweeter surrender.
He reflected a Firaga with his weapon, making the gunblade spin in the air to cool down, and he was ready to use it again against her when she cast Thundaga. He moved quickly out of the spell's range when she tried a Slow, and that magic clock shattered almost in her fingers before she could stop the casting of the spell, and she waved her hand as if burnt by a flame, immediately casting Water and managing only to make the ground a little slippery. She tried almost every spell she knew, tiring herself out, dipping into the secret abyss of her magic to use the most powerful spells. There was no way she could win. He had found something - something only a real Knight could notice - and he had used that something to keep moving, keep avoiding, keep wearing her out to the surrender she craved, to the surrender her magic craved.
Finally, she found a powerful spell she didn't even know she had, and cast it almost faintly, whispering Meteor in a way that resonated through the entire amphitheatre. Squall stopped, fascinated, and watched as the sky changed from cold, serene and completely black to a deep blue blanket of shining stars. He knew what this was, he knew he had to move, but he felt like his feet were glued to the ground; he turned his head upward, to watch the meteor shower that would hit him, without noticing that Rinoa had fallen on her knees, utterly spent. The universe seemed to wrap around them, until they were the only creatures alive in that world... and the meteors stopped, disintegrating before hitting him, before hitting her, falling to the ground in a shower of glistening, clinking magic. It felt like watching the sea hit by the sun in summer; it felt like hearing a myriad of glasses shattering in a cascade of broken crystal.
He was still engrossed by the sheer beauty of the entire spell when he heard Rinoa's ragged breath.
"Princess, are... are you fine?"
"Yes," she said, while he moved to cautiously help her to her feet again. "It seems like you defeated me, Sir Leonhart."
He said nothing; he didn't know how he should answer to that.
"What was that?" he answered, still enchanted by the deadly meteor shower he had avoided without even realizing it.
"It's the magic that will tie us together, Sir Leonhart. Meteor is our universe."
Squall blinked. He didn't really understand what this meant. Well, that wasn't right - he guessed, vaguely, that he hadn't been hit because of this.
"You are a Knight, Sir Leonhart. It is your nature to be a Knight. You may not be my Knight, but still... you're destined to be one." She let the silence stretch between them, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't speak, she continued, "If you become my Knight, Meteor will be our universe. The stars, the sky... the ancient and forbidden books describe it as a... mental background. Like a scenery to the show of your thoughts, Sir. In that scenery, your thoughts would become ours. My thoughts would become ours."
She laughed a little when he let go of her hand, a little taken aback by this unexpected news. "How very... becoming."
He wanted to do a lot of things in that moment - he wanted to ask questions, he wanted to yell at her, he wanted to know her, he wanted to fight her again, to feel again the sheer power of her magic against his blade, running from her fingers into his veins, he wanted to wipe that melancholy expression from her face, and most of all he wanted to know why she thought it was very becoming for him to have the Guardian of Storms and the Guardian of Winter, and how she had described him so perfectly without even knowing him, and why she thought Meteor was a nice universe for them.
He had already opened his mouth to speak, but the voice of Edea softly whispering Regen blocked him. He did a stiff bow to the Princess, and left without a word, walking rigidly towards the castle.
Rinoa watched him leave, and she felt Edea's hand on her shoulder. "So, is he worthy enough?"
"Our universe is Meteor," she whispered, and she didn't hear Edea saying that she told her.
It didn't matter that Edea told her. She had wanted to surrender; her magic had craved that surrender and she had found it in the most beautiful and intense spell in the world. Her mind longed for the scenery she had just tasted, for the connection she had just saw a glimpse of.
Meteor, she thought, watching her cold, calm, a little less collected, but definitely more conflicted Knight.
Very becoming indeed.
Author's notes: I named Rinoa the Sorceress of Pure Magic thanks to the Final Fantasy Wikia. The page on Sorceress Powers gave me a few ideas, and that's why I chose an 'official' name for every Sorceress, with the only exception of Edea (the Wikia says she has power in Ice, but it didn't really make sense in my story). As for the Guardian Forces, I wanted to use an 'official' name as I did for Sorceresses... I simply used their element or abilities to name them.
Also, for Rinoa's duel with Squall... it wasn't planned, as everything that derives from it (like Meteor being their universe... I don't really know, seriously). It was a kinda spur of the moment scene, just because I wanted Squall to admire her ability but don't like her personality at the beginning, since Rinoa was already admiring him, and also because I didn't really want her to be simply a sweet Princess in need of her Prince Charming. That does not really explain why she would try to kick her Prince Charming's ass, but oh well, writing that scene was kinda fun. Her entrance and the duel are inspired by her appearance in Dead Fantasy II, in which she's really strong (and I like the idea of her using a gunblade). That video also has an interesting way to show magic. Watch it if you haven't already.
Thanks again :)