Day's child series; Thursday
by Lady Aliena

look at Seifer, the more I think, he must have had a good reason to turn out the

way he did. I know I took MANY liberties for his story, but to me, it makes

sense. I also touched on his past a little bit in another story, "The Return." I

tried to change it up a little so I'm not breaking FFnet rules, but for the most

part, I kept the scenario the same, so sorry if it seems familiar. So, to

continue...

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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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Kristine Almasy couldn't afford a hospital or a midwife, so she slipped into the

Dollet free clinic on a Thursday morning. The receptionist eyed her bulging

belly and directed her to a chair in the waiting room.

As a contraction hit her, Kristine closed her eyes and began to think about the

past.

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When she first saw Gunner Almasy, she knew it was love at first sight. He was

working at the docks in Balamb and she was visiting her aunt for the summer. She

decided to take a walk down to the docks simply to explore the area. She loved

being outside, feeling the salty breeze in her hair. The first thing she noticed

was a young man with skin that had been bronzed by the sun. He had a shock of

thick, blond hair and his muscles heaved as he lifted a crate of fish. Feeling

someone staring at him, he looked up and noticed her standing there. He thought

she was kind of pale and scrawny, but pretty. His face fell into a grin and he

called out, "Hey, you over there...what's your name?"

"Me?" she pointed at herself.

"No, the seagull sitting right next to you," he replied sarcastically. "Of

course, YOU!" He walked over towards her.

"Um...Kristine."

"Do you have a last name, um...Kristine?"

She smiled shyly, "Autry."

"Well, Kristine Autry, my name is Gunner Almasy. You seem like a nice girl. How

about I take you out tonight and show you this little town."

She nodded. "OK. That'd be nice," she said meekly. "I uh...better get back. I'm

staying with my aunt and she'll wonder where I am."

"Where do I come for you?"

"Huh? Oh! My Aunt's house - it's the last house on the right on the main street.

I'll sit outside so you can see me."

"Alright, 7:00?"

"Yeah," she looked up at him and smiled prettily. "7:00's perfect!"

When she got back to her Aunt's house she shreiked, "Aunt Pat! I've got a date!"

Aunt Pat walked out of the kitchen holding a dishtowel, "Really? Who with?"

"His name's Gunner Almasy and I met him at the docks and...you look unhappy

about this."

Pat put her hand on Kristine's shoulder, "Kristine, you're not a child and I

can't tell you that you can't go out with him, but please be careful. Gunner

Almasy doesn't have the best reputation. He's been known to be violent."

"He seemed nice, like a perfect gentleman!" Kristine argued.

"Just be careful. I don't feel very comfortable with you going out with him."

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But she did go out with him and had a wonderful time. Sitting in her chair in

the waiting room of the free clinic, she felt another contraction. 'What's

taking that doctor so long?'

She continued to remember. Against the advice of her Aunt and later her parents,

she fell in love with Gunner. He was reckless, but exciting. When she returned

home to Dollet after the summer ended, he followed her and they continued their

romance there. Things became serious and they discussed marriage. Her parents

objected.

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"He's NOT a good person Kristine and you're only 17! That's way too young to get

married! Besides, he won't be able to provide you with the kind of life you

need," her father roared.

"You don't know him like I do!" Kristine cried.

"He's got a horrible temper. I've seen him yelling at you!" her mother added.

"I made him mad. It wasn't his fault. I love him and I'm marrying him!" she

stood up.

Her father's eyes grew cold, "Marry him and you're no longer welcome here. Don't

expect to ever come back here begging for us to take you back. You go off with

Gunner and you're not my daughter anymore!"

She heard her mother gasp, but she simply narrowed her eyes at her father and

said, "Good-bye then." With that being said, she turned and walked out the door.

*********************************************************************

Tears came to Kristine's eyes as she considered this moment. It was the worst

mistake she had ever made. She had run straight to Gunner and they immediately

wed. For the first few months, she was in Heaven, but Soon reality hit her. They

had nothing. Gunner was barely able to hold onto jobs and the ones he got paid

next to nothing. They lived in a little, run-down shack. He'd come home at the

end of the day smelling like alcohol and in a terrible mood. That's when the

hitting began. She was shocked at first, but soon started to blame herself and

make excuses for him. She wanted to get away, but where could she go?

"Kristine Almasy?"

She stood at the sound of her name and walked towards the walkway and into the

examining room, pausing as another contraction came. The doctor came in and

examined her. "It's time," he told her.

The next five hours were the worst in her life. Never had she felt such intense

pain. She couldn't afford any medication, so she had to summon all her strength

and bear the pain. Finally, her reward came when she heard the doctor say,

"Congratulations. It's a boy."

He placed the baby in her arms and she looked at her tiny son, "Seifer," she

named him. "You're going to be the nicest, most considerate person," she

promised him, "I'll make sure of it. You'll be nothing like your dad!"

So, that Thursday afternoon, Seifer Almasy entered the world and it would be a

long journey for him to ever find peace...

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18 years later...

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I haven't had the best experience with life. My memories of my childhood are a

little fuzzy. Supposedly, it's because of the GF's that we learned to use at

Balamb. You see, I can remember stuff from very early in my life, but after

that, it's pretty much a blur until I arrived at Balamb. Maybe it's because my

early childhood was so traumatic that I can't forget it. Now, I'm not wanting

pity. I learned to be tough and I think that's a very important quality in the

life I'm living. You have to be tough when facing the enemy, of course, but also

when facing ridicule and when you're tempted to miss out on your goal. So let me

start from the beginning. From what I CAN remember.

I grew up in a little shack in Dollet. It was all my parents could afford. I

remember that my Mom and Dad always fought. Let me rephrase that...Mom always

tried to make Dad happy, but he was never satisfied. He'd always shout at her

and hit her and make her cry. I was safe, at first. He would take out all his

anger and frustration on Mom, not me. I guess he thought I was too little.

Unfortunately, I grew as all children do. By the time I was 4 years old, he

began to hit me too. I don't know what I did wrong. I tried to stay out of his

way and I tried to make him happy, but for some reason he hated me. I think

maybe he resented being tied down with the responsibility of a wife and kid.

Daytime was fine when it was just me and Mom. She'd take me on walks through

Dollet. People always stared at us. Either they were noticing our old, worn-out

clothing, or they knew what family we belonged to. Mom was proud, though. She'd

hold her head up high and ignore all the stares. I began to hate the people

staring. She'd play with me and tell me stories mostly about kings, queens,

knights, and sorceresses. She'd make everything sound so mysterious that I'd

always try to picture everthing in my mind. I dreamed of being one of those

knights - of going far away and leading such a romantic lifestyle. But I knew

that'd never happen. I'd always live in the dirty shack and I'd end up doing odd

jobs just like my father.

One fateful night, he came home drunk and lashed out at me. Mom tried to stop

him, but he pushed her away. I was terrified of him and began to cry. That made

him hit me even more. He shouted at me and beat me until I was knocked out.

That night, Mom came to my room and began to pack my clothes into a little

knapsack. She had had enough and declared that she would make sure I was safe

from now on.

She picked me up and we tried to sneak past Dad who had passed out from

drinking, but he was starting to come to and he noticed her. He ran after her

and she ended up dropping me and yelled at me to run away, so I ran as fast as I

could. Throughout this whole ordeal, to calm myself, I chanted, "Be tough, be

tough, be tough..." I kept running until my legs collapsed under me and I just

sat down and began to cry. I was all alone and I was scared. But I remembered

what my father said about crying and I forced myself to stop. Exhausted and

bruised, I leaned against a brick wall and pulled my arms inside my shirt to

keep them warm and welcomed the blackness that sleep brought. The last time I

would ever see my Mom was when she was cowering under my Father's fists.

I really wish I could remember where I went after that. All I can see was a

beach and lots of kids. Though I stretch my mind as much as I can, I can't see

this place clearly. Yet everytime I think of it, I feel a little calmer. I know

that whatever happened in this place, whoever I stayed with, made me feel safe.

I HATE THESE GF'S! Why'd they take my memories of peace and security at this

place by the beach and leave me with the memories of the terrors of living with

Gunner Almasy? I guess that's just my lot in life.

Apparently I wasn't in that happy place very long before I was enrolled in

Balamb Garden. I was very young - one of the younger students to be there. I was

determined to become what my Mother always wished for me. Unfortunately, I began

to act like that man I so hated. When I got mad, it was just easier resorting to

violence. Afterall, fists are much more powerful than words, if you ask me.

Thinking I needed an outlet for my anger, Headmaster Cid, assigned me to be on

the Balamb Garden Disciplinary Committee with two other kids, Fujin and Raijin.

Surprisingly enough, the three of us became friends. We were all so different,

but what I liked was I didn't question them about their pasts and they didn't

question me about mine.

School was school and I was your typical kid. Sure, I got into my share of

trouble, but that was because others provoked me. One thing I couldn't stand was

the staring, just like they used to stare at Mom and me. I hated when they

looked at Fujin because of her eyepatch and I hated when they laughed at Raijin

just because he was bigger than everyone else. I stuck up for my friends and

then decided that no longer would we be the ones who were laughed at, but the

ones who did the laughing.

There was one kid in particular, Zell. He was such a little wuss, always crying

and tattling about everything. He was an easy target and it was easy to draw

people's attentions away from us and onto him. Maybe I was a little too harsh,

but once I got the taste of this power, I longed for more. I guess I had more of

my Father in me than I ever thought. There was one person who always seemed

immune to anything I ever said, Squall Leonhart. I could not crack his shell, no

matter how I tried. And he bested me. Always. In every class, every training

session, everyone loved Squall. With him, my father's words rang true - I'd

never be good at anything, I'd never be worth anything.

All I want is peace. I've been searching for it my whole life, but everytime I

find it, it's snatched away. That happy place from my childhood was snatched

from my memories by the cursed GF's. I even met a girl one summer, but the next

time I saw her, she was snatched away by my annoying classmate, Squall. Even the

prestigious title of "SeeD" was snatched away from me. I really deserved to be a

SeeD. I showed initiative and leadership, but they refused to see it. I hate the

Balamb Garden politics. That's all it is. Politics. They couldn't see a good

SeeD candidate if it punched them in the nose. Hey, now THAT'S an idea...

Anyway, here I am today in Deling City. I'm protecting the one person who

rescued me. Sorceress Edea came along and rescued me from everything - from a

jam I had gotten myself into involving President Deling by just being reckless.

She rescued me from a life of being worthless just like my Father always told me

I was. With her, I have purpose. I am her knight just like the ones in the

stories my Mom used to tell me.

AND I WON'T HAVE THAT SNATCHED AWAY FROM ME!!!!

Standing here on this float with all these people dancing around us, pretty much

worshiping Sorceress Edea, I feel like this may be my one shot at peace. I know

I'm on the winning side.

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***************** Author's note: Well, Seifer's still got a long way to go to

achieve the peace he desires. Anyway, I hope you liked. Square owns most of the

characters, though I made up Gunner & Kristine Almasy. Mother Goose owns the

rhyme. Friday's Child...who will it be?

Maintained by:

d Galloway (Insert Image Here)