Final Fantasy VIII The Birth of a Dream

The Birth of a Dream.

By Arian

Author's note: This is just something that tries to show what might be behind Seifer's grand dream of being the Sorceress' Knight. Maybe it's completely wrong, but it's just a guess. I think that Seifer has a little more to his character than what we see in the game. The same goes for his rivalry with Squall; it always seems to verge on a peculiar respect rather than actual hatred. Well, let me know what you think, as always! 

The blond haired boy looked sullenly around the library. He was small, no more than 11 years old, at the most. He prowled the room restlessly, like a caged animal, before sinking into one of the chairs in the quiet study area.

Everyone else stayed well clear of him, even the older students. They had all learned early on that interfering with Seifer Almasy was bad for your health. 

He held his head high, looking around at them as they worked on assignments they had been given with a condescending sneer on his features. He didn't care for work. He was above that. He was a better fighter than anyone else in the room, even at 11 years old, and he knew it.

Seifer liked to think about that. He may not yet be a SeeD, but he was already better than most people who _were_ SeeDs. It didn't really give him as much satisfaction as it used to, though. There was no one left for him to defeat, no one to triumph over that he hadn't already triumphed over. Except… _him_. The boy with the grey eyes. The one who challenged Seifer merely by existing. Squall Leonhart, with that cold, almost frozen expression that blocked Seifer out. That was what Seifer hated. The way that Squall was totally indifferent to every insult and outrage the blond boy could muster. 

Then, of course, there was the small fact that he had never yet beaten Squall in combat. That rankled, but at the same time, it gave him a hobby. There was someone who he had not defeated and he could now devote his time to changing that. 

He had drawn Squall into a fight many times. Unfortunately, they had always been interrupted or something would happen and the fight would never reach its conclusion. From his experience of Squall's ability, Seifer already knew it would be a tough fight to win. He was completely confident that he _would_ win, but it never hurt to try to make things a bit easier.

Seifer sighed and looked around the library again. This room was his temporary prison until Cid saw fit to drag him up to his office and talk to him again. He had been fighting with Squall and yet again the stupid officials had interrupted them. It was as if everyone was conspiring to keep them away from each other. _I'm not going to murder the dolt; I just want to make sure that I can win against him, too._ Seifer wrinkled his nose in disgust and twisted towards the desk, leaning heavily on his elbows.

Squall Leonhart… It was almost as if Cid was afraid of the boy. No, that wasn't right. As if Cid were afraid _for_ the boy. He seemed to be heavily protective of Squall, but at the same time, it seemed like he believe the child was something special. _I'm special too._ Seifer thought defensively, almost hurt by that realisation.

He opened the book that someone had left on the small table and began to flick idly through the pages, not bothering to read the words. Reading wasn't Seifer's scene. Reading was for dumb people who couldn't fight and had to use words instead. He looked at the pictures, the bright colours drawing his blue eyes towards them. _I need an edge… Something that Squall doesn't have…_

Seifer's mind wandered as he gazed at the pictures. It was a book of old stories, full of legends and fairytales. The first picture he hadn't liked much. It depicted a lady, probably a princess he thought, knowing how these stories usually went. She was sleeping next to a fountain and there were faeries flying around her head, up to their usual mischief, Seifer supposed. He didn't have any patience with such watery stories. Where was the reality? Now, if he, Seifer Almasy, was ever sucked away into fairyland, he wouldn't waste his time wandering around asking dumb, dreamy questions. He chuckled to himself, imagining that scenario.

He flipped the page and nodded approvingly. This was more to his taste. A vicious dragon could be seen, poisoning the water of some lake. Its long neck was arched and it seemed to be laughing at the corpses of dead animals who had drunk from the water. _That might actually be worth reading, someday._

He turned another page and what he saw made him laugh out loud. Yes, this was the edge that Squall didn't have! The picture on this page showed the old story of a sorceress. She stood, tall and fair, while her knight defended her against some random monster. Seifer looked closely at the monster for a while and came to the conclusion that whoever drew the picture had never seen a real monster and was probably high on something when they saw this one.

He smiled again to himself, tracing the outlines of the people with the tip of one finger. This was something Squall couldn't understand. Fighting for an ideal, like that knight in the picture, wasn't something that cold, expressionless Squall would be able to comprehend. Squall didn't have the same passion of the soul that he possessed. The unbridled romance of the idea was immense. _Let Squall fight for SeeD. Let him fight whomever Cid tells him to, for whatever reason Cid chooses to give him. I will follow a higher path. I have a purpose. Chivalry, knightly values, whatever you want to call it, that will be _my_ dream. I will not fight for some petty mercenary force. I'll have a greater role than that! _

His thoughts were interrupted when Xu stuck her head around the door to the library and called for him. It was time to go and talk to Cid again. _Another stupid lecture to sit through. Oh joy. _Seifer rolled his eyes and walked out to face the music, his head still full of wild dreams and notions.


End file.

Final Fantasy VIII