My Hero, My Knight
By Little Quistis
A teenager stood at a terrace just inside the Balamb Garden Training Center. Her blond hair was pinned up neatly, and with a toss of her head, she flipped her long bangs away from her face. A whip was held carelessly in one hand, its razor-sharp blade glinting dangerously in the moonlight, challenging any who dared disturb its mistress. Her brownish-orange clothes were in perfect order, as they always were. Leather gloves and boots accompanied the set, and a chain hung from her slim waist.
Quistis Trepe leaned her head on her hands, placing her elbows on the edge of the balcony. From up here there was a beautiful view, and she looked out with a faint smile on her lips. Balamb Garden was in the middle of the sea, drifting about aimlessly. The sound of the ocean’s waves could clearly be heard.
The former instructor’s blue eyes fell upon two figures outside the Ballroom, where the SeeD ball had been held. She started and leaned forwards to get a closer look.
One of the figures was clearly a female, quite short and dressed in blue. The other was a young man, clothed in a leather jacket and a white T-shirt. They looked at each other, then kissed.
“Squall and Rinoa…” Quistis said under her breath. It was truly the two lovers, and she looked away.
‘Squall…’ she thought.
Long ago she’d loved him, but of course Squall didn’t pay any attention to her. She wasn’t suited for him. Besides, she’d been his instructor at the time. It wasn’t right to have feelings toward your teacher. Before that, when they’d been at the orphanage… the loner, Squall. Bossy little Quistis had always had a soft spot for him. A misunderstood love… She’d always broken up Seifer and Squall when they fought. That Seifer… he always got himself into trouble. It seemed to be his second nature.
She sighed and buried her head in her gloved hands. No tears flowed though, she’s accepted the fact that Rinoa and Squall were a couple long ago, at Trabia Garden when they’d rediscovered the fact that they’d all grown up together, thanks to Irvine.
Irvine… he and Selphie were helping to rebuild Trabia Garden. Balamb Garden was on its way there to help with the work, with about a dozen technicians from Fisherman’s Horizon onboard the Garden. The Ragnarok was parked safely beside the town of Balamb, in the hands of Zell. He was now going steady with his girlfriend, a teenager by the name of Caitlin. She was as fiery and hot-tempered as he was, and suited him perfectly. Even so, she had a more refined composure and was the one who held him back and kept him from going overboard.
And finally, there was Seifer. Seifer Almasy, the ex-sorceress’ knight they’d fought in their quest to save the world. Fujin and Raijin never followed him around nowadays. They were still his closest friends, however, and were often seen speaking together in the Cafeteria. Seifer had matured a lot. He’d made it into SeeD at last, and was now at rank A. He was much more down-to-earth, and never snobbish or cocky, but now he seemed almost dignified. People who did speak to him got the impression that he was a fiery, strong-willed person. And he was. When given a mission, he would accomplish it at all costs. He cared about his team members as well. Once, on a mission with Quistis, he’d saved her from falling off a cliff. He’d almost killed himself doing so, but both of them escaped unscathed. She hadn’t thanked him yet, though.
She understood what Rinoa meant when she’d said that she felt so strong and energetic when she was around Seifer. Quistis felt it as well, that rush of power. She wondered where Seifer was right now… probably in his dorm. She shook her head quickly, clearing her thoughts. Why were they always leading to Seifer?
She sighed again and glanced at the romantic couple outside the Ballroom.
“Looking at Squall?” a voice said. It came from her left.
Quistis turned and saw, in the shadows, a tall figure wearing a large white coat with a red sword on it. A real Gunblade was held in the person’s hands.
“Seifer?”
He nodded, sharp eyes looking at her. He walked towards her, dug his Gunblade into the ground and leaned on it.
“Won’t you blunt your Gunblade?” Quistis asked.
Seifer waved a finger at her. “Not Gunblade. Cross Sword’s the word for it. And no, my Cross Sword won’t blunt. It’s special,”
“I see,” Quistis turned back towards the balcony and gazed at Squall and Rinoa kissing.
“Squall and Rinoa again,” Seifer said, exasperated. “Can’t you ever take your mind off them?”
“Yes, actually, I can. But this is just bringing back memories, that’s all,” Quistis replied with a sigh. “Don’t you ever sit down and think about the past?”
“No, I don’t,” he said. “What’s done is done. You can’t take it back,”
She turned towards him. “You saved my life on a mission a few months back, and I have yet to thank you… so… thank you, Seifer, for saving my neck,”
“You’re most welcome, me lady,”
Quistis laughed. “Playing that old English game of Rinoa’s?”
His face fell. “I taught her that…”
Suddenly it dawned upon Quistis. “You were looking at them as well?”
He nodded with such a pathetically rueful expression on his face that it almost made her laugh. “Sad to say, I was. I can’t help it, I don’t know why,”
“I understand,” Quistis said with a sigh. “I know what you mean,”
‘To have the love of your life taken away from you… I know how you feel, Seifer. And your heart just won’t give them up, even though you know that it’s not right...’
“God, now we’re depressed,” he complained, banging his fist on the balcony.
“Could we help it? It was you who started the old English thing,”
He grinned. “True… sometimes I feel like I could kill myself when I stand here and look out. Just one jump and everything would be over. My hopes, my dreams, my nightmares, my longing…”
“Would you ever jump? Please don’t, Seifer. There are a lot more girls in this world,”
He gave her a look, as if she was mad. “Of course I wouldn’t jump. Are you nuts?! That would be so… undignified. I’d lose my self-respect, and the respect of others,”
“Hmm… so you’ve finally discovered the meaning of respect and dignity…”
“Well, my dear sophisticated instructor, you guys taught me that when you fought Edea and Ultimecia,” he looked up. “After that, I realized what it meant,”
“I’m glad you have,” Quistis said. “It’s a great thing to have dignity and self-respect, but…”
“But…?”
“You need to have respect for others as well, though,”
“Respect for others? I do have respect for others,”
“And who, exactly, do you respect?” she asked, smiling.
“My dearest instructor, that’s one,”
“Huh?”
He grinned mischievously. “She’s 5’6, about your height. Blond hair, always pinned up, golden bangs just past her shoulder. Uses the whip… what was it called again? Save the King or something like that. Beautiful face, great legs, perfect figure…”
It took her awhile to understand what he was saying.
“Seifer…”
“You know, this girl used to be an instructor. She got fired, though. Now she’s an ordinary SeeD. She used to love Squall Leonheart, who’s my ex-girlfriend’s lover… but I think she should move on. I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time now, and I’ve decided to ask her if I could be her knight,”
“Seifer…”
“Quistis Trepe, I’ve thought about this long and hard. Will you please by my princess?”
She stared at him for awhile, blur.
“Quisty, please don’t say no,” he pleaded.
Everything seemed to become clear at that moment.
She fell into his arms, crying, “Of course I won’t say no, Seifer!”
They stood there in each other’s arms for what seemed to be an eternity. Quistis sobbed continuously, although she didn’t know if it was from sheer joy or sadness, or if it was just for the heck of it.
“It’s okay Quistis, don’t cry,” Seifer comforted, stroking her hair. “You’ll always be my princess,”
“And you’ll always be my favorite knight,” she replied. “I love you, Seifer,”
Down below, Squall and Rinoa looked out into the sea, in each other’s arms. Rinoa’s sharp eyes caught the two figures above.
“Look, Squall,” she said quietly, gesturing towards them.
“Is that Seifer I see?” Squall said, surprised. “Who’s that with him?”
“Omigosh!” Rinoa exclaimed, grinning.
“What is it?”
“Is it just me… or is that Quistis…?”
“Quistis? Are you sure? That’s impossible…”
“She’s the only one with the Save the Queen, Squall,”
“I must say that you’re right… I never expected Seifer and Quistis, of all people, to match up,”
“The others must have never expected you and I to match up,” Rinoa teased. “C’mon, they do suit each other. Seifer’s changed, you know,”
“Well…” Squall said reluctantly. “If you say so,”
“Let’s go to the library. I heard they’ve got new books,”
Squall nodded and they walked slowly away.