Day's child series; Saturday
by Lady Aliena

Afterall, I always pictured her as an overachiever, but then I began to ask

myself why? Why do people turn out like that? So as my imagination kept turning,

I came up with this...

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Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

And the child that is born on the Sabbath day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

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SATURDAY'S CHILD - QUISTIS TREPE

Colin Clay scanned the rec room at the Balamb Care Facility, finally spotting

the lovely young woman with the shining, golden hair. She was putting some sort

of garland over a young man's head. Obviously, she had made the string of beads

and she was giggling wildly as the young man looked up at her with adoration.

'Ah, Quinn...' he thought. Colin loved his sister very much. He had always been

protective of her. He was four years old when she was born and he played the

role of big brother very well, always coddling her. At first, everything was

picture perfect, but as she grew older, it became evident that something was

wrong. When their father ended up taking her to specialists and discovered that

she would never have the mental capacity of any of them, he ashamedly had her

committed to the Balamb Care Facility and refused to acknowledge her existence.

Her name was never to be mentioned in his presence.

But, Colin loved his sister very much and made a point of visiting her once a

month, even if it WAS behind their father's back. He looked over at her, her

blue eyes shining as she laughed at the young man. She was so innocent, so pure.

She was 23 years old, but only had the mind of a four year old.

"Colin!" she spotted him and ran over to him excitedly, pulling him towards the

young man. "Come're! This is Joey!" Colin looked down at the young man, named

Joey, who simply grinned lop-sidedly. Colin smiled uneasily. "Joey's my BEST

friend!" Quinn continued.

"Umm...that's nice," Colin said, "Hey, Quinny, I have a surprise for you!"

The girl jumped up and down, clapping her hands together. Colin led her away

from Joey, who simply stared after them blankly. He handed her a small bouquet

of yellow daisies. She squealed in delight. Colin would do anything to make sure

his sister was happy.

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As the months went by, he continued to make his way to the Balamb Care Facility.

The more he visited Quinn, the more he noticed she looked different. He finally

realized what the problem was. Quinn was getting fat! He found one of the nurses

and pulled her aside.

"Excuse me, I'm Colin Clay - Quinn's brother, and well, this may sound rude, but

do you think you could encourage her to exercise a bit more?"

Nurse Taryn looked at him with a perplexed expression. "I don't understand..."

Colin shifted uncomfortably, "Well, it's just that, Quinn's always been very

slender and she's getting, well...fat!"

Suddenly Nurse Taryn began to laugh.

"I don't understand. What's so funny?" Colin asked.

"Honey, she's not getting fat! She's with child," Nurse Taryn laughed again.

"What do you mean 'with child'?"

Nurse Taryn smiled at him, "She's going to have a baby!"

"WHAT??!!??" he exploded.

"We think the father is her friend, Joey, whom I'm sure you've probably met. I

know this is a shock and we're terribly sorry that something like this happened.

We pride ourselves in the freedom that we give these people, but unfortunately,

there are some downfalls."

Colin began to pace, "Since Quinn and Joey are both...you know...does that mean

the baby will be..."

Nurse Taryn shook her head, "There's always a chance that the baby will be like

them, but it's hard to tell. There's a good chance it'll be normal."

Colin wrote his phone number on a piece of paper and said, "Call me when it

happens. Please don't notify her parents. They'll never understand. Just call

me." Nurse Taryn nodded and Colin turned and walked out the door with the

beginnings of a headache.

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"Quistis," Quinn said proudly.

"What's she saying?" Colin asked Nurse Taryn.

"I think 'Quistis' is what she wants to name the baby."

"But that's nonsense! What kind of name is that?"

"It obviously means something to her."

Colin picked up the baby an stared intently into her tiny face. She looked just

like her mother, beautiful sapphire eyes, a shock of golden hair. So young - she

had only been born a day ago. She was a Saturday baby. A beautiful Saturday

baby, just like her mother. He searched her eyes for any sign that she'd have

the mind of her mother as well, but he couldn't tell. At that moment, he decided

he couldn't take a chance. He said, "I'm taking the baby."

"What? You can't do that! She needs her mother!" Nurse Taryn argued.

"I'll pick Quinn up in the morning when she's had time to recover." His eyes

shifted towards his feet. "In the meantime, I'm taking the baby to our parents'

house. She'll receive proper care there."

Nurse Taryn frowned, intuitively knowing that he was lying. "Why not just leave

her here and take her home when you pick Quinn up tomorrow?"

This time, Colin frowned. "Stay out of this, nurse!" he hissed, grabbing the

squalling baby and briskly walking out of the room. Quinn remained in her bed,

smiling.

"Quistis?" she asked.

"It's ok, honey. She's just going on a little trip..." Nurse Taryn tried to

assure her and raced out of ther room, towards the front desk. Grabbing a coat,

she told one of the other nurses, "I've got to step out briefly." She ran out

the door, and hurried after Colin.

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He leaned down after glancing about to make sure no one had followed him and he

placed the baby against a building.

"I'm sorry..." he began, "I'm not a bad person. I'm just trying to do what's

best for everyone. My father refused to have anything to do with Quinn when he

found out how she was and if he found out about you...I don't know what he'd do!

Plus, I know nothing about taking care of a baby and Quinn certainly won't be

able to. She can't even take care of herself! It's just better this way..."

Suddenly he looked down at her, cynically, "What am I doing, talking to you like

you even understand?" He hastily scrawled a note on an old piece of paper, laid

it down by her side and said, "It'll just be better if no one ever finds out

about you. I know someone's bound to hear you out here. Someone will take you

in." He stood up, looked around once more, and ran off into the night.

Nurse Taryn emerged from her hiding place. She had never spied on anyone before,

but it was easy keeping up with Colin. Not many people in Balamb had the 6'2"

frame and bright red hair that he did. She ran over to the baby, now wailing.

She picked up the piece of paper.

"Her name is Quistis," she read aloud.

Cradling the baby, she whispered, "I want to take you back to your mommy, but

with Colin picking her up tomorrow, I know it's not possible. So, I'll take you

to the next best place..."

She returned to the care facility and told her supervisor she'd need a few days

leave. She had business in Centra to attend to...

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15 years later...

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I'm getting ready to take my SeeD exam in about 2 hours. I'm one of the youngest

people to ever take it, Xu tells me. But, it's not a big deal to me. I've always

been an over-achiever. I think it's how I was raised.

I never knew who my real parents were. The woman who adopted me was named Olivia

Trepe. I remember how intimidating she was when she first took me in. I was six

years old and she brought me into her big, beautiful mansion in Deling City. I

was in awe, taking in my surroundings, wanting to pinch myself to see if this

was all a dream, but afraid to, lest I wake up. Suddenly, her sharp voice

addressed me.

"Quistis!"

"Yes Ma'am?" I answered, meekly.

"I want you to know I expect a lot from you."

"Thank you," I answered.

She frowned, "I didn't mean that as a complement. What I mean is, I expect you

to work hard and to excel at what you do. You will not be a lazy child and you

will not bring shame to me. I took you in and I expect you to do what I say."

I have to admit, I was kind of scared when she told me all that.

"Do you have any recollection of your parents, child?" she demanded.

"No," I whispered.

"No, MA'AM," she corrected.

"No, Ma'am," I repeated.

"Very well. You can start anew here, then. You will take our last name since you

probably don't have one," she said. I nodded in agreement as she continued,

"Take your things upstairs. You can look around a bit, but you better be washed

up and in dinner attire and meet in the dining room by 6:30 sharp, do you

understand?"

I nodded and she frowned, so I quickly said, "Yes, Ma'am," at which her face

softened a bit and she nodded her approval. I ran upstairs to explore my

surroundings. I was amazed at the size of the house, yet felt it was dark and

drab. However, I was grateful that I had been adopted, grateful that I had a

home.

As time went by, she enrolled me into a local, private school where she expected

me to have the top marks in the class. Everyone there was extremely bright, so I

was required to put in 4 hours of studying per day as well as keeping up with my

chores. I found out that some of the other kids that lived in houses like mine

had servants, so I asked Olivia why we didn't.

"Because, servants are for the lazy. I think it's an abomination to waste money

just because you are too lazy to work for a living. Don't get any ideas,

Quistis. I expect you to continue earning your keep around here." By that time,

she had harped on lazy people so much, that I began to think like she did. I

also listened as she'd criticize some of the prominant families in town. She

didn't like to associate with them. In fact, she didn't like to associate with

many people.

"...and that General Caraway lets his little daughter, Rinoa, just run around

and play with common servants. She's never going to be a lady!" she said with

such derision that even though I had never met Rinoa Caraway, I didn't like her!

Now let me just say, Olivia Trepe is not an awful person. She's simply stern and

I desired her approval more than anything. Unfortunately, I realize now, she

turned me into a bit of a snob. One moment really sticks out in my mind.

I was nine years old and we were stopped in Timber one morning, waiting for our

train to arrive, so we decided to walk around a bit. Olivia remarked about the

people who lived there, about how they were so common and when she saw a man

surrounded by laughing children, she sneered at him. I was curious, though, so I

tried to watch him without actually watching him, if that makes any sense. I was

afraid what Olivia would say if she knew I was interested. I saw one little boy

who looked so familiar to me, though I couldn't place where I had seen him

before. He had light brown hair that was actually the color of fire when the sun

hit it. He was saying, "You guys have GOT to see this one! Uncle Dan, do the

trick with the coin in your hand!"

The man touseled up the boy's hair and said, "You got it, Irvy," and proceeded

to do a trick in which he made a coin disappear. I gasped in delight until

Olivia said, "Quistis!"

I looked up at her and tried to act nonchalant, but she said, "I saw you

watching that man. Honestly, to think I haven't raised you better than that! I'd

almost say you wanted to be with those filthy brats!"

I shook my head vehemently and said, "No way!" I looked at them with disdain and

said loudly, "We don't associate with people like THAT! Common trash!" Olivia

nodded in approval, but though I should have been happy that I had pleased her,

I felt awful. Why? That boy that the man had called "Irvy" had heard me and he

looked at me with such confusion and such hurt in his eyes. I'll never forget

that look. It's been many years and I can't even remember what his face looks

like now, but still I remember that that was the moment I realized that I didn't

like who I was. I mean, what kind of person calls another "trash?" Luckily, we

heard the train whistle, so we hurried off to catch it and I escaped from the

boy.

I enrolled in Balamb Garden when I was around 10 or 11. Immediately, I was

befriended by a girl a few years older than I was. Her name was Xu. I think she

really was the one that broke me of my attitude. We got along great, but she'd

see me look at some of the other students with derision or I'd make comments and

finally, she sat me down one day and asked me what was up.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, why are you acting like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're better than everyone else!" she exclaimed, "Quistis, you're my best

friend, and you know I'd never try to hurt you, but face it! You're a snob!"

I was so angry that I stormed away without answering. I ran to my room and flung

myself on the bed, and thought...and thought...and realized...she was right! All

these years that I thought I was just being a lady, and was working hard, both

physically and in winning Olivia's approval, I was actually degrading myself! I

remembered the little boy in Timber and how I had insulted him. And I realized

that I had never had a childhood. As soon as she had taken me in, Olivia Trepe

had treated me as a little adult. She frowned upon imagination and playing...you

know...things that are important to children. I was forced to participate in

adult things and I never got to be a kid! And one thing I had missed out on was

the acceptance skills that young children can show. So I ran to Xu's room and

blurted out, "You were right! I AM a snob!" I began to cry so we began to talk.

I told her all about Olivia and the boy in Timber and how I didn't want to look

down on people and she assured me that she'd help me. Xu was friends with just

about everyone, so I knew I was in good hands. We chatted a bit more before she

asked me, "Did you ever know your REAL mom?"

"No," I answered, brightening up a little," but I can picture her. She was

probably tall and skinny and had blond hair and blue eyes, just like me..."

"She was probably brilliant!" Xu added.

"Yeah," Quistis agreed, "She would have had to have been. She was probably good

and kind, funny, bright...at least that's how I always picture her. Maybe we'll

meet one day and we'll just know who the other is! You know...we'll be walking

down the street and just see eachother..." Again, Xu agreed.

Anyway, Xu helped me be kinder to people. I stopped going home during the breaks

and began to dread the time I'd have to spend with Olivia. Of course, that made

her angry. Finally, Xu said, "I know one way you won't have to go home...become

an instructor!"

"An instructor? Yeah, right!" I scoffed.

"Seriously, you're 14 years old and I predict you'll be a SeeD by next year. You

know, after that, it'll be so easy for you to just move up to become an

instructor. Quistis, you're the smartest one here!"

"No, I just work hard!"

"So, just think about it..."

I simply shrugged.

That was a year ago and she was right. I am going to be a SeeD. I'm not worried

about the exam. In my mind, I got my smarts from my mother and my drive from

Olivia, so I should be fine. That reminds me, I better go down there. I wouldn't

want my hard work to be for nothing, now, wouldn't I? As for becoming

instructor...the more I think about it, the more I am drawn to the idea of it. I

know it would kill Olivia for her adopted daughter to become a common teacher,

but the desire is there. Hmmm...maybe my mother was a teacher. I wonder if I'll

ever know...

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Author's Note: Squaresoft owns the characters, though I made up Irvine's parents

and Uncle Dan. Mother Goose owns the rhyme. I tried to be ironic that Quistis

(probably the most brainy person in the game) was the child of two people who

weren't fortunate to have high mental faculties. I hope I didn't offend anyone

by suggesting this, but I wanted to show how sweet, wonderful, and innocent this

population is (I've worked with them before). And I thought it'd be interesting

with Quistis wondering about her mom and stuff. Also, I had fun with the cameos

of Uncle Dan and Irvine (from my story, Friday's Child)...Hope you liked!

Maintained by:

d Galloway (Insert Image Here)