Meeting Love, Finding Despair
Title: Meeting Love, Finding Despair
Chapter: 01.
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Characters: Seifer, Quistis, Laguna makes several appearances.
Pairings: Seifer Almasy / Quistis Trepe
Summary: It's been ten years since the end of the Third Sorceress War. Quistis, during this time, has packed her bags and moved to Esthar. Seifer was imprisoned, and has recently been released.
Feedback: Would be absolutely adored ♥ So would reviews and critique!
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII does not belong to me. I only borrow the characters copyright of Square-Enix for entertainment purposes, and I am making entirely no profit from this little bit of fiction.
«------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------»
Meeting Love, Finding Despair
Chapter One
By Dragonbait
This story is dedicated to my darling friend and an amazing author, Connie Yue. She has supported me through both the first writing of this, and now through its rewrite, and for that purpose, this has been written especially for her.
If there was one thing in the world that Quistis liked more than anything, it was a decent book and a good cup of coffee. Stirring her café latte idly, she turned the page, eagerly absorbing the words. Bibliomania; there was a name for her addiction to books, and there was nothing better, in her opinion, than a good book and a beautiful sunny Esthar day. That was today, and Quistis was sitting outside the small café that had become her second home after her quarters in the Residences. Esthar had been her home for ten years, though now, it felt like she had lived there all her life. Ten years ago, the world had been on the verge of a war perpetrated by Galbadia. Now things were peaceful, the war had been averted, and Quistis had been honoured with medals she had not felt that she deserved. The Seven: Quistis, Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Selphie, Zell, and to an extent, Xu had been hailed with the garlands of victory, being asked to attend functions, be the public face for SeeD. Nine years ago, Quistis had farewelled Balamb Garden and gone to live in various parts of the world under the guidance of Laguna, Kiros and Ward.
Then there’d been the reasons she left Garden. After the huge thing that saving the world from Sorceress Ultimecia had been, she’d hungered for a quiet life, a life away from where she could and would be ordered into battle at a moment’s notice. So one morning, Quistis Trepe had packed all her worldly possessions into a bag, given back the Guardian Force stones she’d acquired as a SeeD, and handed in all her clearance passes and walked out. The only thing she’d kept was a uniform and her whip, Save the Queen, for she didn’t know just when she might need it. Her blue magic, however, was a part of her that she couldn’t give away-so she kept it, saving it for a rainy day. It was a gift that couldn’t be taken, and she knew that.
Another reason had been that she’d had to preside on the council that sentenced Seifer to jail for ten years following the war. The moment had come where she’d been asked to give a testimony in relation to his character, and unable to lie, she had told them what she’d long held as a belief: Seifer was a good fighter and student, but lacked the discipline that was required in order to be a SeeD. That had been what had made his fate a lesser one than what it would’ve been otherwise. They’d wanted to give him either death or a life in prison, but after hearing the words of his former instructors, the judges had decided on a less harsh fate for him. That had been mere weeks before she’d quit SeeD, and it had had a negative impact on her. That and a culmination of events that had led to her decision. Her Instructors licence had not been reinstated, in spite of Squall’s intervention on her behalf-the Garden Masters had made it clear that they still believed she was unfit to teach. Well, if there was no life for her outside of the dull rigmarole of a SeeD stationed in Balamb, then she decided to leave Garden, cast away her life of a harsh military environment, and travel.
She had moved to Timber. After the Second Sorceress War ended, Quistis had helped the resistance factions drive out the Galbadian Soldiers. In the same way that Laguna Loire, Squall’s father, had been named President of Esthar, Quistis had been appointed the President of the New Timber Republic. It was a job she had done well, with the drafting of the New Timber Constitution, ensuring that each and every person in Timber knew of the referendum, and later, the passing of the bill. She’d been president for five years by the time she became restless, longing for different challenges, different people. As a SeeD, Quistis had been used to dealing with so many diverse groups, so many people came to her on a regular basis, and she’d hated turning them away. So she’d been a SeeD, then an Instructor, then a campaigner and lastly, a President. It was such a turn from the child that had arrived on the Cape of Good Hope in Centra so many years ago--- still wearing the blood-soaked garments from when her parents had been killed.
That had been five years ago. The first election after the Timber Reformation, Quistis resigned as President. Even though she had won the majority again, she still resigned. She travelled to the cold north of Trabia and then to the secluded, warm and sunny Shumi Village, where she was welcomed with open arms. It’d been an interesting experience, living so many miles under the earth with the Shumi. They’d taught her more than anything about how precious life was, how sacred each moment alive was. And then she’d given birth. To say that giving birth changed Quistis would be an understatement. It’d been the most beneficial thing to have happened to her-it softened her, mellowed her. Each day that she spent with her daughter was a blessing. Síla was a true joy for her.
Yet, when Síla was barely seven months old, Quistis felt the urge to move. So, they moved. Quistis relocated herself and her daughter to the city of Esthar. It was with some trepidation that she applied for a job within the elite factions of the Esthar Department of Defence, but she knew, ultimately, that the job was hers. Nobody could possibly have such a good chance, or such a strong case for the job. After all, she had been a SeeD, and a Rank-A SeeD and Instructor at that. She’d gotten the job, and now, four years after leaving Timber, six years after leaving Balamb, Quistis was at peace. She pushed away all the niggling doubts that Síla needed to know her father-- that she needed to have a companion to share her days with. Aside from those small doubts, Quistis was happy.
….but back to the present day. On a particularly sunny Monday afternoon, at roughly thirteen hundred hours, Quistis was sipping her café latte and reading a biography. It was her lunch hour, and the little café where she lunched was known as one of the best in Esthar-called Stellar. The café had been established shortly before the Lunar Cry, the menu was good, the prices reasonable, and the food-well, Quistis would be lying if she said she’d never tasted anything as good as their Gyashi Pesto and Garlic Bread. It was a veritable cornucopia of taste. Then, she frowned. A shadow had fallen across her table. Looking up, she saw President Loire, who looked like he was relieved to find her.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Laguna?” she asked, as the older man sat down. Rapidly marking her page in her book, Quistis turned her attention to Laguna. He looked worn. Careworn, to be exact. There were flecks of grey now showing in his dark hair, and his eyes-the corners held the unmistakeable signs of aging, namely, laugh lines, where ten years ago, there wouldn’t have been that many. “And please, take a seat.”
Laguna sat. With a contented sigh, he rolled his neck, trying to relieve the pain from the stiffness that came with age. He smiled, and a waitress came by, clearing the table and taking an order from Laguna for a cup of green tea. The stuff was good, Laguna thought. He mulled over the various events of the day, his mind sifting through them, trying to remember what it was that he wanted to tell Quistis. She might just be interested in hearing this titbit of news, after all. “Seifer Almasy was released a week ago. He’s been offered asylum here in Esthar-Galbadia doesn’t want him, the Gardens refuse anything to do with him, and so Esthar naturally fell to the task of giving him a chance at normality-- or as normal as it can be after incarceration.” He scratched the back of his head, shrugging. The waitress came back with the tea, and Laguna took a sip. Great stuff, tea.
Laguna lit a cigarette as Quistis pondered on his words. There’d been much negotiation that’d gone on to even allow Seifer to reside in Esthar. After all, the younger man had been single-handedly ready to destroy the world on the whim of a sorceress far into the future. But Laguna believed that no matter how badly someone fucked up, they ought to be allowed a second chance. And Hyne knew he’d been given many of those. Even someone like Seifer Almasy deserved a chance to prove that he’d changed. Laguna believed that. Hell, he’d even offered Seifer a chance to work for him-just to prove that he could and had changed. Scratching his head with the hand not holding the cigarette, Laguna studied Quistis’ face for any signs of subtle or not so subtle change.
It was an interesting face to study, Laguna had to admit. The years outside of a military institution had softened Quistis, as had having a daughter. She was still beautiful, though. Laguna adored Síla, and with good reason, too. Quistis’ daughter was a sunny little child, full of life and joy-and he loved her, for he loved her mother, too, as a parent would love a child. But watching Quistis’s face-that was another thing entirely. As a keen observer of people, President Loire could tell a lot of things from the subtle lines in a face. Currently, Quistis’ face was a mask of indifference, before it changed to the subtleness of surprise.
She was surprised. “It’s been a long time since I saw him,” she said simply. Ten years ago, to be exact. “What’s his job going to be now that he’s here?”
“True, that,” Laguna smiled, “As for his job? He’ll be assigned cleaning tasks at first, under the supervision of Ward-then, after that, he’ll be put into the army as a faceless cadet reporting to either you or me.” He had expected that to be the twenty-eight year old woman’s response. Glancing at his watch, Laguna winced, “I’ve got to fly. Parliament,” he shook his head, a sigh escaping his lips; “Parliament is currently going crazy. I stepped outside to have a cigarette and a breath of fresh air-admittedly, I’m polluting said fresh air with the acrid fumes of my cigarette, but the same principle applies.”
Quistis nodded politely as Laguna held up his half-smoked cigarette. A wave of emotion was flooding her. It had been so long since she had seen Seifer, so long since she was in his arms. So long ago, the two of them had promised to get married and start a family of their own. She could still remember the day he turned against her, joining with the albino, Fujin and her brother, Raijin. He had scorned her, saying that he couldn’t be her knight if she was his instructor. That’d hurt her to hear it. Yet they’d both known the truth: it was against the strict codes of Garden to be seen dating a student-and neither of them had wanted to jeopardise their respective positions as Instructor and Head of the Disciplinary Committee. He was a gallant man, admittedly, yet he was also reckless-which had cost him the one thing he’d dreamed about: being a SeeD. It might’ve been not-so-romantic as his real dream of being the Sorceress’s Knight, but it’d been a dream of Seifer’s nonetheless.
Knighthood; something he had talked about for a long time. When he broke out of the disciplinary committee room, he had taken nothing but his gunblade and his pride along with him. Quistis had been forced to chase him all the way to Timber. She remembered watching, frozen and powerless, as he joined forces with the Sorceress. Later, she’d had the misfortune of being taunted by him in their showdown at Galbadia Garden, the taunt ringing in her ears:
"Instructor Trepe, I'm still one of your dearest students, aren't I?" to which she’d tartly replied: “Not anymore.” Brandishing her whip, she’d then cracked it at him, waiting for Squall’s orders to fight Seifer. They’d beaten him soundly, and then faced Sorceress Edea and Seifer once more. For all his taunts, Quistis remembered how terrible his face had looked after the successive defeats. He’d not shown a lick of remorse, and it was that which had scared her-realising that she was facing a man who had nothing, absolutely nothing, to lose.
Laguna sighed, watching the emotions that flickered across Quistis’ face, watching the way she played with the strands of hair in front of her eyes. He watched as she bit her lip unconsciously, toying and worrying at her bottom lip. He saw her face flush briefly for a moment, as though she was remembering some little memory. All Laguna wanted for the incredibly talented woman sitting across from him was someone she could love. He knew too well the pain of losing someone he loved. Raine’s death still hurt him when he thought about it, the guilt and the remorse of not being by her side as she gave birth to Squall, their lasting legacy upon the world. For Squall had been their legacy, and now, ten years after their first meeting, Squall regularly visited his father. But that was for another story, that. It was mainly on Quistis that Laguna was focussing currently, on Quistis and Seifer. He stubbed out his cigarette. Smiling at the faraway look in Quistis’s eyes, he was glad that she was at least considering the idea. He stood up and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him before he left her, sitting outside the café. “I’ll be in my office if you need me, Quistis,” he said gently, as he waved goodbye.
“Thank you, Laguna,” Quistis said absently, her mind on the past. She looked at him as he left, hurrying along the blue-toned streets of Esthar that even now sparkled with the electrical currents that ran underneath. Smiling, she finished what remained of her lunch. Hurrying to the counter to pay, she almost spilt her latte on her crisp blouse. The way back to her office took her through several side streets of Esthar, past the Esthar fresh food markets, where the pungent aromas of fried fish and rotting vegetables, herbs and spices wafted through. She honestly didn’t mind the scent now, but it’d caused several bouts of nausea the first few weeks that she’d passed through the marketplace. Her hand reached into her pocket for her security pass as she walked up to the main gate of the building where she worked. Swiping the pass against the magnetic strip that verified the person’s identity and permissions to enter, she watched as the gate swung open, before walking through and pressing a fingerprint identifier to close it. Reaching the door of her office, Quistis fumbled through her handbag for the door keys, and, finally locating the lanyard, she grabbed it and opened the door.
She flipped on the lights, blinking as the dark room became flooded with artificial sunlight. The terminal on her desk beeped, and Quistis knew she had a few unread messages and several pieces of important information come through while she’d been at lunch. Yet there was something else as she cast her eyes around her office, a small vase with flowers sitting smack-dab in the middle of her desk, a white piece of folded card next to it with her name on it in a messy scrawl. Picking up the card, she noted the handwriting-- familiar in the way that she knew it, but she couldn’t quite place it. It was a poem, written in what appeared to be free-verse format.
Her eyes started to tear up, before she realised the words were blurry. Quistis’s mind flooded with memories of them as younger people, younger and happier, with less cares in the world. It reminded her of days spent at Garden, before the bullshit with Seifer’s ambitions had started, before anything like another Sorceress War was on the horizon. Her hands shook as she sniffled and reached for a tissue and they shook as she blew her nose. Her entire body seemed to have gone into a state of disbelief and shock. Having calmed down sufficiently enough, Quistis searched the office briefly, before noticing that the door to her cloak cupboard wasn’t closed properly. Pulling it open, she noticed an emaciated figure staring out at her from familiar eyes and a familiar scar wound down the bridge of his nose. Then the emaciated man spoke, and it was confirmed. Seifer Almasy. In the flesh. In her office. Hiding in her cupboard like some child playing hide-and-seek.
“Hello, Quistis,” he said.
A/N: I changed several things during the rewrite: namely, names etc. Síla is pronounced much the same way as Sheila is. Shee-lah. I must admit that I used the dialogue from the game, which came from Icy Brian and was transcribed by LightSoul.
Chapter: 01.
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Characters: Seifer, Quistis, Laguna makes several appearances.
Pairings: Seifer Almasy / Quistis Trepe
Summary: It's been ten years since the end of the Third Sorceress War. Quistis, during this time, has packed her bags and moved to Esthar. Seifer was imprisoned, and has recently been released.
Feedback: Would be absolutely adored ♥ So would reviews and critique!
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII does not belong to me. I only borrow the characters copyright of Square-Enix for entertainment purposes, and I am making entirely no profit from this little bit of fiction.
«------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------»
Meeting Love, Finding Despair
Chapter One
By Dragonbait
This story is dedicated to my darling friend and an amazing author, Connie Yue. She has supported me through both the first writing of this, and now through its rewrite, and for that purpose, this has been written especially for her.
If there was one thing in the world that Quistis liked more than anything, it was a decent book and a good cup of coffee. Stirring her café latte idly, she turned the page, eagerly absorbing the words. Bibliomania; there was a name for her addiction to books, and there was nothing better, in her opinion, than a good book and a beautiful sunny Esthar day. That was today, and Quistis was sitting outside the small café that had become her second home after her quarters in the Residences. Esthar had been her home for ten years, though now, it felt like she had lived there all her life. Ten years ago, the world had been on the verge of a war perpetrated by Galbadia. Now things were peaceful, the war had been averted, and Quistis had been honoured with medals she had not felt that she deserved. The Seven: Quistis, Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Selphie, Zell, and to an extent, Xu had been hailed with the garlands of victory, being asked to attend functions, be the public face for SeeD. Nine years ago, Quistis had farewelled Balamb Garden and gone to live in various parts of the world under the guidance of Laguna, Kiros and Ward.
Then there’d been the reasons she left Garden. After the huge thing that saving the world from Sorceress Ultimecia had been, she’d hungered for a quiet life, a life away from where she could and would be ordered into battle at a moment’s notice. So one morning, Quistis Trepe had packed all her worldly possessions into a bag, given back the Guardian Force stones she’d acquired as a SeeD, and handed in all her clearance passes and walked out. The only thing she’d kept was a uniform and her whip, Save the Queen, for she didn’t know just when she might need it. Her blue magic, however, was a part of her that she couldn’t give away-so she kept it, saving it for a rainy day. It was a gift that couldn’t be taken, and she knew that.
Another reason had been that she’d had to preside on the council that sentenced Seifer to jail for ten years following the war. The moment had come where she’d been asked to give a testimony in relation to his character, and unable to lie, she had told them what she’d long held as a belief: Seifer was a good fighter and student, but lacked the discipline that was required in order to be a SeeD. That had been what had made his fate a lesser one than what it would’ve been otherwise. They’d wanted to give him either death or a life in prison, but after hearing the words of his former instructors, the judges had decided on a less harsh fate for him. That had been mere weeks before she’d quit SeeD, and it had had a negative impact on her. That and a culmination of events that had led to her decision. Her Instructors licence had not been reinstated, in spite of Squall’s intervention on her behalf-the Garden Masters had made it clear that they still believed she was unfit to teach. Well, if there was no life for her outside of the dull rigmarole of a SeeD stationed in Balamb, then she decided to leave Garden, cast away her life of a harsh military environment, and travel.
She had moved to Timber. After the Second Sorceress War ended, Quistis had helped the resistance factions drive out the Galbadian Soldiers. In the same way that Laguna Loire, Squall’s father, had been named President of Esthar, Quistis had been appointed the President of the New Timber Republic. It was a job she had done well, with the drafting of the New Timber Constitution, ensuring that each and every person in Timber knew of the referendum, and later, the passing of the bill. She’d been president for five years by the time she became restless, longing for different challenges, different people. As a SeeD, Quistis had been used to dealing with so many diverse groups, so many people came to her on a regular basis, and she’d hated turning them away. So she’d been a SeeD, then an Instructor, then a campaigner and lastly, a President. It was such a turn from the child that had arrived on the Cape of Good Hope in Centra so many years ago--- still wearing the blood-soaked garments from when her parents had been killed.
That had been five years ago. The first election after the Timber Reformation, Quistis resigned as President. Even though she had won the majority again, she still resigned. She travelled to the cold north of Trabia and then to the secluded, warm and sunny Shumi Village, where she was welcomed with open arms. It’d been an interesting experience, living so many miles under the earth with the Shumi. They’d taught her more than anything about how precious life was, how sacred each moment alive was. And then she’d given birth. To say that giving birth changed Quistis would be an understatement. It’d been the most beneficial thing to have happened to her-it softened her, mellowed her. Each day that she spent with her daughter was a blessing. Síla was a true joy for her.
Yet, when Síla was barely seven months old, Quistis felt the urge to move. So, they moved. Quistis relocated herself and her daughter to the city of Esthar. It was with some trepidation that she applied for a job within the elite factions of the Esthar Department of Defence, but she knew, ultimately, that the job was hers. Nobody could possibly have such a good chance, or such a strong case for the job. After all, she had been a SeeD, and a Rank-A SeeD and Instructor at that. She’d gotten the job, and now, four years after leaving Timber, six years after leaving Balamb, Quistis was at peace. She pushed away all the niggling doubts that Síla needed to know her father-- that she needed to have a companion to share her days with. Aside from those small doubts, Quistis was happy.
….but back to the present day. On a particularly sunny Monday afternoon, at roughly thirteen hundred hours, Quistis was sipping her café latte and reading a biography. It was her lunch hour, and the little café where she lunched was known as one of the best in Esthar-called Stellar. The café had been established shortly before the Lunar Cry, the menu was good, the prices reasonable, and the food-well, Quistis would be lying if she said she’d never tasted anything as good as their Gyashi Pesto and Garlic Bread. It was a veritable cornucopia of taste. Then, she frowned. A shadow had fallen across her table. Looking up, she saw President Loire, who looked like he was relieved to find her.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Laguna?” she asked, as the older man sat down. Rapidly marking her page in her book, Quistis turned her attention to Laguna. He looked worn. Careworn, to be exact. There were flecks of grey now showing in his dark hair, and his eyes-the corners held the unmistakeable signs of aging, namely, laugh lines, where ten years ago, there wouldn’t have been that many. “And please, take a seat.”
Laguna sat. With a contented sigh, he rolled his neck, trying to relieve the pain from the stiffness that came with age. He smiled, and a waitress came by, clearing the table and taking an order from Laguna for a cup of green tea. The stuff was good, Laguna thought. He mulled over the various events of the day, his mind sifting through them, trying to remember what it was that he wanted to tell Quistis. She might just be interested in hearing this titbit of news, after all. “Seifer Almasy was released a week ago. He’s been offered asylum here in Esthar-Galbadia doesn’t want him, the Gardens refuse anything to do with him, and so Esthar naturally fell to the task of giving him a chance at normality-- or as normal as it can be after incarceration.” He scratched the back of his head, shrugging. The waitress came back with the tea, and Laguna took a sip. Great stuff, tea.
Laguna lit a cigarette as Quistis pondered on his words. There’d been much negotiation that’d gone on to even allow Seifer to reside in Esthar. After all, the younger man had been single-handedly ready to destroy the world on the whim of a sorceress far into the future. But Laguna believed that no matter how badly someone fucked up, they ought to be allowed a second chance. And Hyne knew he’d been given many of those. Even someone like Seifer Almasy deserved a chance to prove that he’d changed. Laguna believed that. Hell, he’d even offered Seifer a chance to work for him-just to prove that he could and had changed. Scratching his head with the hand not holding the cigarette, Laguna studied Quistis’ face for any signs of subtle or not so subtle change.
It was an interesting face to study, Laguna had to admit. The years outside of a military institution had softened Quistis, as had having a daughter. She was still beautiful, though. Laguna adored Síla, and with good reason, too. Quistis’ daughter was a sunny little child, full of life and joy-and he loved her, for he loved her mother, too, as a parent would love a child. But watching Quistis’s face-that was another thing entirely. As a keen observer of people, President Loire could tell a lot of things from the subtle lines in a face. Currently, Quistis’ face was a mask of indifference, before it changed to the subtleness of surprise.
She was surprised. “It’s been a long time since I saw him,” she said simply. Ten years ago, to be exact. “What’s his job going to be now that he’s here?”
“True, that,” Laguna smiled, “As for his job? He’ll be assigned cleaning tasks at first, under the supervision of Ward-then, after that, he’ll be put into the army as a faceless cadet reporting to either you or me.” He had expected that to be the twenty-eight year old woman’s response. Glancing at his watch, Laguna winced, “I’ve got to fly. Parliament,” he shook his head, a sigh escaping his lips; “Parliament is currently going crazy. I stepped outside to have a cigarette and a breath of fresh air-admittedly, I’m polluting said fresh air with the acrid fumes of my cigarette, but the same principle applies.”
Quistis nodded politely as Laguna held up his half-smoked cigarette. A wave of emotion was flooding her. It had been so long since she had seen Seifer, so long since she was in his arms. So long ago, the two of them had promised to get married and start a family of their own. She could still remember the day he turned against her, joining with the albino, Fujin and her brother, Raijin. He had scorned her, saying that he couldn’t be her knight if she was his instructor. That’d hurt her to hear it. Yet they’d both known the truth: it was against the strict codes of Garden to be seen dating a student-and neither of them had wanted to jeopardise their respective positions as Instructor and Head of the Disciplinary Committee. He was a gallant man, admittedly, yet he was also reckless-which had cost him the one thing he’d dreamed about: being a SeeD. It might’ve been not-so-romantic as his real dream of being the Sorceress’s Knight, but it’d been a dream of Seifer’s nonetheless.
Knighthood; something he had talked about for a long time. When he broke out of the disciplinary committee room, he had taken nothing but his gunblade and his pride along with him. Quistis had been forced to chase him all the way to Timber. She remembered watching, frozen and powerless, as he joined forces with the Sorceress. Later, she’d had the misfortune of being taunted by him in their showdown at Galbadia Garden, the taunt ringing in her ears:
"Instructor Trepe, I'm still one of your dearest students, aren't I?" to which she’d tartly replied: “Not anymore.” Brandishing her whip, she’d then cracked it at him, waiting for Squall’s orders to fight Seifer. They’d beaten him soundly, and then faced Sorceress Edea and Seifer once more. For all his taunts, Quistis remembered how terrible his face had looked after the successive defeats. He’d not shown a lick of remorse, and it was that which had scared her-realising that she was facing a man who had nothing, absolutely nothing, to lose.
Laguna sighed, watching the emotions that flickered across Quistis’ face, watching the way she played with the strands of hair in front of her eyes. He watched as she bit her lip unconsciously, toying and worrying at her bottom lip. He saw her face flush briefly for a moment, as though she was remembering some little memory. All Laguna wanted for the incredibly talented woman sitting across from him was someone she could love. He knew too well the pain of losing someone he loved. Raine’s death still hurt him when he thought about it, the guilt and the remorse of not being by her side as she gave birth to Squall, their lasting legacy upon the world. For Squall had been their legacy, and now, ten years after their first meeting, Squall regularly visited his father. But that was for another story, that. It was mainly on Quistis that Laguna was focussing currently, on Quistis and Seifer. He stubbed out his cigarette. Smiling at the faraway look in Quistis’s eyes, he was glad that she was at least considering the idea. He stood up and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him before he left her, sitting outside the café. “I’ll be in my office if you need me, Quistis,” he said gently, as he waved goodbye.
“Thank you, Laguna,” Quistis said absently, her mind on the past. She looked at him as he left, hurrying along the blue-toned streets of Esthar that even now sparkled with the electrical currents that ran underneath. Smiling, she finished what remained of her lunch. Hurrying to the counter to pay, she almost spilt her latte on her crisp blouse. The way back to her office took her through several side streets of Esthar, past the Esthar fresh food markets, where the pungent aromas of fried fish and rotting vegetables, herbs and spices wafted through. She honestly didn’t mind the scent now, but it’d caused several bouts of nausea the first few weeks that she’d passed through the marketplace. Her hand reached into her pocket for her security pass as she walked up to the main gate of the building where she worked. Swiping the pass against the magnetic strip that verified the person’s identity and permissions to enter, she watched as the gate swung open, before walking through and pressing a fingerprint identifier to close it. Reaching the door of her office, Quistis fumbled through her handbag for the door keys, and, finally locating the lanyard, she grabbed it and opened the door.
She flipped on the lights, blinking as the dark room became flooded with artificial sunlight. The terminal on her desk beeped, and Quistis knew she had a few unread messages and several pieces of important information come through while she’d been at lunch. Yet there was something else as she cast her eyes around her office, a small vase with flowers sitting smack-dab in the middle of her desk, a white piece of folded card next to it with her name on it in a messy scrawl. Picking up the card, she noted the handwriting-- familiar in the way that she knew it, but she couldn’t quite place it. It was a poem, written in what appeared to be free-verse format.
Her eyes started to tear up, before she realised the words were blurry. Quistis’s mind flooded with memories of them as younger people, younger and happier, with less cares in the world. It reminded her of days spent at Garden, before the bullshit with Seifer’s ambitions had started, before anything like another Sorceress War was on the horizon. Her hands shook as she sniffled and reached for a tissue and they shook as she blew her nose. Her entire body seemed to have gone into a state of disbelief and shock. Having calmed down sufficiently enough, Quistis searched the office briefly, before noticing that the door to her cloak cupboard wasn’t closed properly. Pulling it open, she noticed an emaciated figure staring out at her from familiar eyes and a familiar scar wound down the bridge of his nose. Then the emaciated man spoke, and it was confirmed. Seifer Almasy. In the flesh. In her office. Hiding in her cupboard like some child playing hide-and-seek.
“Hello, Quistis,” he said.
A/N: I changed several things during the rewrite: namely, names etc. Síla is pronounced much the same way as Sheila is. Shee-lah. I must admit that I used the dialogue from the game, which came from Icy Brian and was transcribed by LightSoul.