Introductions
Title: Introductions
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Spoilers/Warnings: AU Pairing: Seiftis
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters.
Summery: A lost princess, a knight without a lady, intrigue, and a quest to return home.
Previous
Introductions
Quistis was exhausted, and the day wasn't even half over. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her entire morning had been spent following Calista and Aurelia from shop to shop as they expanded their wardrobe. While many of the things they ordered had to be made to their specific order and would be delivered later, Quistis had still ended up carrying plenty of packages. It did not help at all that the harbor city of Inshes (just a few miles away from the palace) was the largest place she'd been in years, and Quistis didn't have the smallest amount of money to spend. It would be absolutely lovely to have something that wasn't a hand-me-down. Even if it was just underwear.
But that wasn't very likely. So after the torturous shopping trip, Quistis had spent the rest of the morning putting away their purchases and cleaning their rooms. She had been hoping to steal a few minutes of time for herself as well as grab some lunch, but she had just been ordered to go and check the carriage her mistresses had used in order to find a missing hair ribbon. Needless to say, Quistis wasn't that pleased about the assignment. Thankfully though, the order had been to look for the hair ribbon, not find it. She could just peek in the carriage, and when she didn't see the silly thing she could go on with her day.
After briefly checking the carriage for the ribbon and finding no sign of it, Quistis let out a sigh. Now was the time to make her escape if she could scrounge up the energy to walk back to the servant's dining hall.
"Hey, girl, grab that bag hanging on the stall next to you and bring it over here." A male voice startled her.
Quistis whirled to face the speaker. It was a young man about her age standing at the entrance of the stables. He was clearly a noble given the quality of his clothes, though he was dressed sensibly. His blond hair was short, and his eyes were startling dark sea green. He was holding onto the reins of a dappled grey mare.
"I'm not your servant." The words slipped out of her mouth without any thought at all.
To her utter surprise, he just smirked at her. "Maybe not, but Siren here deserves a treat for all her hard work, and I can't reach the bag of apples from here."
She dug into the bag he mentioned, found and apple, and tossed it to him. He caught it one handed.
"Good toss, girl. Put a little more force behind it, and you could really hurt someone."
It sounded like a compliment, though she bristled a little at being called 'girl'. Quistis found herself rather confused. This was the first time she had dealt with any of the nobility who wasn't a Carrente in years. Technically, as a servant, she was far below his station. But he wasn't treating her that way. He was actually treating her like an equal, and that was confusing to say the least.
He was still smirking at her. "You'd better tell me your name before I piss you off by calling you girl again."
"Quisty Trepe."
He wrinkled his nose at her. Quistis just shrugged.
"I didn't choose it."
"Well then, Quis, I'm Seifer Almasy."
The nickname didn't faze her. It was actually closer to her real name than Quisty. Besides, it wasn't really that likely she'd run into this man again. She didn't recognize his name, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.
"A pleasure to meet you." The words rolled off her tongue. It was habit engrained after years of training; she only stopped herself from calling him 'my lord' at the last minute.
The truth of the matter was she didn't know how she felt about him. In less than five minutes he'd left her off balance. He both irked her and intrigued her. She hadn't had such a strong reaction to another person in ages, and it threw her more than a little. Quistis had little control of her life except for her emotions, and now even those were out of her control at the moment. She smoothed the grey folds of her skirt.
"Do you need something else or can I go back to work now?"
"By all means, don't let me stop you."
She could feel his eyes on her as she left though, and Quistis didn't know what to make of it. She kept her steps unhurried despite the fact that she suddenly wanted to be some place else. She wasn't going to let him know that he had gotten to her. Quistis bit her lip as she headed for the servant's dining hall. She was not at all acting like herself today.
That had been interesting. Seifer kept an eye on Quisty until she disappeared from sight. He had not expected her to spar back when he'd asked for the bag of apples. Most of the servants here were either meek and obedient or just efficient. Only a few would have acted as she did, and they were all old family retainers. Given her uniform, she was with one of the noble families that had just arrived. He couldn't remember what the name of either family was, but there hadn't been any other new arrivals since, so it shouldn't be too hard to find out.
He had to admit that he'd been struck by her the moment he'd spotted her. It was mostly her eyes. Expressive blue eyes set in a delicate face that he almost swore was familiar somehow. Her thick braid of pale blond hair fell just past her waist, and his first thought had been that he knew her. His second had been that she wasn't a servant. Or at least, she hadn't started out as one. Seifer had been in the Royal Court long enough to know how noble ladies moved and acted. As a knight it was important that he paid attention to body language. Quis wasn't just a servant.
She was a puzzle he pushed to the back of his mind as he stabled Siren. The horse had been a gift to Rinoa, but no one was letting the Crown Princess ride her until she was properly trained. Seifer was still trying to figure out who he had got stuck with that job. He and his foster brothers had come to Galbadia when Seifer was fifteen and the rest were fourteen. Their foster mother, the Lady Edea, had been asked to train one of the princesses in magic. Matron had brought her four foster sons with her as well as husband. However, when they had finally gotten here, they had discovered that the princess she as supposed to train was dead.
However, they had stayed awhile anyway. Seifer and Squall had gone into training to become knights, and Seifer had befriended the Crown Princess. For awhile people had thought that the two of them might marry, but really, Seifer saw Rinoa as a little sister more than anything else. Then there had been that whole mess with the Sorceress Ultimecia and learning Rinoa was a sorceress herself. The up side to that had been that it had become clear to everyone that Squall was Rinoa's knight and would probably marry her once they were both old enough. The only thing about the ordeal that had really annoyed Seifer was that Squall had gotten a quest before he did. Well, Seifer had participated in that quest, but it had been Squall's. Seifer wanted one of his own.
He was getting restless. Of his three foster brothers, he had been closeted to Squall, though that was more of a rivalry thing than anything else. But all three of them were beginning to settle down now. Squall and Rinoa would probably announce their engagement as soon as Rinoa came of age, and Irvine was quite happy perpetually courting Lady Selphie Tilmitt. Even Zell had recently managed to start courting the woman he'd been mooning over for nearly two years. Meanwhile, Seifer didn't have much to do save for hang around the court and fight in tournaments which he mostly won.
What Seifer wanted was a challenge of some sort, and he had the feeling that Quisty might be one. She was a mystery certainly. As was the nagging feeling that he had met her before. It certainly hadn't been anytime recently. He would remember that. Seifer was not in the habit of forgetting beautiful women, and Quisty was prettier than most. She also was not as artificial as many court ladies. He supposed she could be a foreigner. He had lived in Centra most of his life after all. She did look rather foreign compared to many of the Galbadian nobles.
Seifer would just have to make sure he ran into her again. He was going to solve the mystery of just who Quisty Trepe was. It wouldn't be too hard to find out which family she served. She was certainly more interesting than most of the people at court. Quis was feisty, she appeared to have impeccable manners, and she was currently a servant, plus he thought he might know her from someplace. Something in there didn't quite add up, and he wanted to figure it out. He fed Siren another apple before heading back to the palace. Time to find out just who the lastest arrivals were and see what he could do about. Maybe this whole Summer Court idea wouldn't be as boring as he expected.
It was stupid to go without sleep. Quistis knew that, especially since she was being worked harder here than back at the Carrente estate. And it was a silly reason to go without sleep as well. However, she couldn't help this. She was tired, heartsick, and need a break in more ways than one. The reality of being here and still being trapped by the spell was hitting her. It hadn't really until she'd had to identify herself to Seifer Almasy as Quisty Trepe instead of Quistis Serian. It hadn't hit her until she'd gotten back the servant's quarters, and then it had beenlike someone had reached deep into her chest and squeezed hard. It had hurt more than she had expected. She was home, and yet she couldn't be herself here.
But the sea was calling her, and she hadn't managed to get out to the beach now. Standing at the shoreline now was worth any inconvenience later on she had decided. Closing her eyes, Quistis took a deep breath. The waves lapped at her bare feet, and Quistis dug her toes into the soft, wet sand. The smell of the ocean was all around her. A light breeze made her shiver, and she wrapped her arms around herself. She had kilted her muslin shift up to her knees so as not to get it wet. There was only half a moon in the sky, but it was enough for her to see by. For a moment she just stood there.
Then she carefully unbraided her hair. Closing her eyes, she dredged up the memory of another moonlit night years ago. Her father sound asleep while she and her mother had snuck out to this very beach. Her mother, tall and pale in the silvery light, long hair spilling down her back. Their hands clasped together as they danced together in the surf. Her feet seemed to remember the steps of the dance from that night, and she was singing the lilting tune before she realized it. There was comfort in the song and dance, and Quistis gave herself up to it.
When the song ended, her feet stilled. Quistis stood a moment in the surf, gazing out across the moonlit water. She felt calmer, at peace for the moment. With a little sigh, she turned and made her way back up the beach towards the palace, never noticing the figure standing on one of the balconies, watching her.
Seifer was still holding his breath. Logically, he knew that the woman on the beach probably wouldn't hear him, but he didn't want to risk it. She had been the last thing he'd expected to see when he came out for some air. Insomnia had struck the young knight, and he'd come out on his balcony to listen to the ocean. He had immediately claimed one of the rooms that overlooked the sea when they had arrived. So he'd wandered out her and immediately caught sight of her.
The woman was painted silver and grey by the moonlight and shadows. Her hair had to be blond given the way that it practically glowed. She had been dancing in and out of the surf, and occasionally the wind brought her voice in his direction. She was too far away for him to really understand the words, but there was a familiar lift to the sound. He thought she might be singing in Centran,but he didn't know for sure. Her voice was a gentle soprano that somehow blended with the soft shush of the waves. It had taken him several moments to realize that song reminded him of some of things Matron would sing.
He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her. Seifer had no idea what the woman was doing out on the beach in the middle of the night singing and dancing, but he was enthralled by her. The thing that should really bother him (but didn't for some strange reason) was the fact that he knew exactly who it was down there. He knew without a doubt that it was Quisty Trepe down there. Seifer couldn't pin point how he knew that. He couldn't really see the woman's features, and he had only met Quisty once before, but he just knew that it was her.
That still begged the question of what she was doing down there on the beach. For one thing, the woman he had met earlier had struck him as practical and efficient. Practical servants did not dance on the beach in the middle of the night for the most part. She should be sleeping, getting some rest to prepare her for her duties in the morning. But she wasn't. It was yet another layer to the woman's mystery. He watched her until she finally stopped dancing. Then she just stood there a moment, making for a striking image in the moonlight, before turning and heading back towards the palace. Seifer released his breath and sought his own bed. Tomorrow he would start finding out everything he could about her.
Next
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Spoilers/Warnings: AU Pairing: Seiftis
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters.
Summery: A lost princess, a knight without a lady, intrigue, and a quest to return home.
Previous
Introductions
Quistis was exhausted, and the day wasn't even half over. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her entire morning had been spent following Calista and Aurelia from shop to shop as they expanded their wardrobe. While many of the things they ordered had to be made to their specific order and would be delivered later, Quistis had still ended up carrying plenty of packages. It did not help at all that the harbor city of Inshes (just a few miles away from the palace) was the largest place she'd been in years, and Quistis didn't have the smallest amount of money to spend. It would be absolutely lovely to have something that wasn't a hand-me-down. Even if it was just underwear.
But that wasn't very likely. So after the torturous shopping trip, Quistis had spent the rest of the morning putting away their purchases and cleaning their rooms. She had been hoping to steal a few minutes of time for herself as well as grab some lunch, but she had just been ordered to go and check the carriage her mistresses had used in order to find a missing hair ribbon. Needless to say, Quistis wasn't that pleased about the assignment. Thankfully though, the order had been to look for the hair ribbon, not find it. She could just peek in the carriage, and when she didn't see the silly thing she could go on with her day.
After briefly checking the carriage for the ribbon and finding no sign of it, Quistis let out a sigh. Now was the time to make her escape if she could scrounge up the energy to walk back to the servant's dining hall.
"Hey, girl, grab that bag hanging on the stall next to you and bring it over here." A male voice startled her.
Quistis whirled to face the speaker. It was a young man about her age standing at the entrance of the stables. He was clearly a noble given the quality of his clothes, though he was dressed sensibly. His blond hair was short, and his eyes were startling dark sea green. He was holding onto the reins of a dappled grey mare.
"I'm not your servant." The words slipped out of her mouth without any thought at all.
To her utter surprise, he just smirked at her. "Maybe not, but Siren here deserves a treat for all her hard work, and I can't reach the bag of apples from here."
She dug into the bag he mentioned, found and apple, and tossed it to him. He caught it one handed.
"Good toss, girl. Put a little more force behind it, and you could really hurt someone."
It sounded like a compliment, though she bristled a little at being called 'girl'. Quistis found herself rather confused. This was the first time she had dealt with any of the nobility who wasn't a Carrente in years. Technically, as a servant, she was far below his station. But he wasn't treating her that way. He was actually treating her like an equal, and that was confusing to say the least.
He was still smirking at her. "You'd better tell me your name before I piss you off by calling you girl again."
"Quisty Trepe."
He wrinkled his nose at her. Quistis just shrugged.
"I didn't choose it."
"Well then, Quis, I'm Seifer Almasy."
The nickname didn't faze her. It was actually closer to her real name than Quisty. Besides, it wasn't really that likely she'd run into this man again. She didn't recognize his name, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.
"A pleasure to meet you." The words rolled off her tongue. It was habit engrained after years of training; she only stopped herself from calling him 'my lord' at the last minute.
The truth of the matter was she didn't know how she felt about him. In less than five minutes he'd left her off balance. He both irked her and intrigued her. She hadn't had such a strong reaction to another person in ages, and it threw her more than a little. Quistis had little control of her life except for her emotions, and now even those were out of her control at the moment. She smoothed the grey folds of her skirt.
"Do you need something else or can I go back to work now?"
"By all means, don't let me stop you."
She could feel his eyes on her as she left though, and Quistis didn't know what to make of it. She kept her steps unhurried despite the fact that she suddenly wanted to be some place else. She wasn't going to let him know that he had gotten to her. Quistis bit her lip as she headed for the servant's dining hall. She was not at all acting like herself today.
That had been interesting. Seifer kept an eye on Quisty until she disappeared from sight. He had not expected her to spar back when he'd asked for the bag of apples. Most of the servants here were either meek and obedient or just efficient. Only a few would have acted as she did, and they were all old family retainers. Given her uniform, she was with one of the noble families that had just arrived. He couldn't remember what the name of either family was, but there hadn't been any other new arrivals since, so it shouldn't be too hard to find out.
He had to admit that he'd been struck by her the moment he'd spotted her. It was mostly her eyes. Expressive blue eyes set in a delicate face that he almost swore was familiar somehow. Her thick braid of pale blond hair fell just past her waist, and his first thought had been that he knew her. His second had been that she wasn't a servant. Or at least, she hadn't started out as one. Seifer had been in the Royal Court long enough to know how noble ladies moved and acted. As a knight it was important that he paid attention to body language. Quis wasn't just a servant.
She was a puzzle he pushed to the back of his mind as he stabled Siren. The horse had been a gift to Rinoa, but no one was letting the Crown Princess ride her until she was properly trained. Seifer was still trying to figure out who he had got stuck with that job. He and his foster brothers had come to Galbadia when Seifer was fifteen and the rest were fourteen. Their foster mother, the Lady Edea, had been asked to train one of the princesses in magic. Matron had brought her four foster sons with her as well as husband. However, when they had finally gotten here, they had discovered that the princess she as supposed to train was dead.
However, they had stayed awhile anyway. Seifer and Squall had gone into training to become knights, and Seifer had befriended the Crown Princess. For awhile people had thought that the two of them might marry, but really, Seifer saw Rinoa as a little sister more than anything else. Then there had been that whole mess with the Sorceress Ultimecia and learning Rinoa was a sorceress herself. The up side to that had been that it had become clear to everyone that Squall was Rinoa's knight and would probably marry her once they were both old enough. The only thing about the ordeal that had really annoyed Seifer was that Squall had gotten a quest before he did. Well, Seifer had participated in that quest, but it had been Squall's. Seifer wanted one of his own.
He was getting restless. Of his three foster brothers, he had been closeted to Squall, though that was more of a rivalry thing than anything else. But all three of them were beginning to settle down now. Squall and Rinoa would probably announce their engagement as soon as Rinoa came of age, and Irvine was quite happy perpetually courting Lady Selphie Tilmitt. Even Zell had recently managed to start courting the woman he'd been mooning over for nearly two years. Meanwhile, Seifer didn't have much to do save for hang around the court and fight in tournaments which he mostly won.
What Seifer wanted was a challenge of some sort, and he had the feeling that Quisty might be one. She was a mystery certainly. As was the nagging feeling that he had met her before. It certainly hadn't been anytime recently. He would remember that. Seifer was not in the habit of forgetting beautiful women, and Quisty was prettier than most. She also was not as artificial as many court ladies. He supposed she could be a foreigner. He had lived in Centra most of his life after all. She did look rather foreign compared to many of the Galbadian nobles.
Seifer would just have to make sure he ran into her again. He was going to solve the mystery of just who Quisty Trepe was. It wouldn't be too hard to find out which family she served. She was certainly more interesting than most of the people at court. Quis was feisty, she appeared to have impeccable manners, and she was currently a servant, plus he thought he might know her from someplace. Something in there didn't quite add up, and he wanted to figure it out. He fed Siren another apple before heading back to the palace. Time to find out just who the lastest arrivals were and see what he could do about. Maybe this whole Summer Court idea wouldn't be as boring as he expected.
It was stupid to go without sleep. Quistis knew that, especially since she was being worked harder here than back at the Carrente estate. And it was a silly reason to go without sleep as well. However, she couldn't help this. She was tired, heartsick, and need a break in more ways than one. The reality of being here and still being trapped by the spell was hitting her. It hadn't really until she'd had to identify herself to Seifer Almasy as Quisty Trepe instead of Quistis Serian. It hadn't hit her until she'd gotten back the servant's quarters, and then it had beenlike someone had reached deep into her chest and squeezed hard. It had hurt more than she had expected. She was home, and yet she couldn't be herself here.
But the sea was calling her, and she hadn't managed to get out to the beach now. Standing at the shoreline now was worth any inconvenience later on she had decided. Closing her eyes, Quistis took a deep breath. The waves lapped at her bare feet, and Quistis dug her toes into the soft, wet sand. The smell of the ocean was all around her. A light breeze made her shiver, and she wrapped her arms around herself. She had kilted her muslin shift up to her knees so as not to get it wet. There was only half a moon in the sky, but it was enough for her to see by. For a moment she just stood there.
Then she carefully unbraided her hair. Closing her eyes, she dredged up the memory of another moonlit night years ago. Her father sound asleep while she and her mother had snuck out to this very beach. Her mother, tall and pale in the silvery light, long hair spilling down her back. Their hands clasped together as they danced together in the surf. Her feet seemed to remember the steps of the dance from that night, and she was singing the lilting tune before she realized it. There was comfort in the song and dance, and Quistis gave herself up to it.
When the song ended, her feet stilled. Quistis stood a moment in the surf, gazing out across the moonlit water. She felt calmer, at peace for the moment. With a little sigh, she turned and made her way back up the beach towards the palace, never noticing the figure standing on one of the balconies, watching her.
Seifer was still holding his breath. Logically, he knew that the woman on the beach probably wouldn't hear him, but he didn't want to risk it. She had been the last thing he'd expected to see when he came out for some air. Insomnia had struck the young knight, and he'd come out on his balcony to listen to the ocean. He had immediately claimed one of the rooms that overlooked the sea when they had arrived. So he'd wandered out her and immediately caught sight of her.
The woman was painted silver and grey by the moonlight and shadows. Her hair had to be blond given the way that it practically glowed. She had been dancing in and out of the surf, and occasionally the wind brought her voice in his direction. She was too far away for him to really understand the words, but there was a familiar lift to the sound. He thought she might be singing in Centran,but he didn't know for sure. Her voice was a gentle soprano that somehow blended with the soft shush of the waves. It had taken him several moments to realize that song reminded him of some of things Matron would sing.
He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her. Seifer had no idea what the woman was doing out on the beach in the middle of the night singing and dancing, but he was enthralled by her. The thing that should really bother him (but didn't for some strange reason) was the fact that he knew exactly who it was down there. He knew without a doubt that it was Quisty Trepe down there. Seifer couldn't pin point how he knew that. He couldn't really see the woman's features, and he had only met Quisty once before, but he just knew that it was her.
That still begged the question of what she was doing down there on the beach. For one thing, the woman he had met earlier had struck him as practical and efficient. Practical servants did not dance on the beach in the middle of the night for the most part. She should be sleeping, getting some rest to prepare her for her duties in the morning. But she wasn't. It was yet another layer to the woman's mystery. He watched her until she finally stopped dancing. Then she just stood there a moment, making for a striking image in the moonlight, before turning and heading back towards the palace. Seifer released his breath and sought his own bed. Tomorrow he would start finding out everything he could about her.
Next