After Squall's testimony planted the seed of doubt that I wished it to and I had disarmed Xu's riposte by getting Squall to confirm the accuracy of the testimony thus far in the trial, Martine called for a recess until the next day.

I looked over at the jurors. The White SeeD's expression was thoughtful, considering the testimony already given. The Sergeant in the Galbadian Army looked like his mind had already been made up, and he seemed glad for the break. Firm resolve was on the faces of both Sandra Martel and Marcus Derlini, and I was sure that they would still vote guilty, if the issue was laid to rest now.

The woman from Winhill (I seem to remember that she was a flower vendor), looked slightly confused, as if she needed some time to digest what had just been related. Arturo met my gaze and smiled at me. That was a vote for Seifer from an unexpected support.

The Big Bad Rascal's mother looked worn-out by the length of testimony, and what she knew was still to come. So did the night clerk from Galbadia Hotel – and he looked as if he was barely holding onto the look of alertness on his face.

I had no idea what to do about the technician from the former Lunar Base. I had no idea as to his views regarding the trial, and he maintained a carefully impassive expression on his face.

I knew that Ferrin would be my hardest sell out of all of them. The leader of the Forest Foxes was very firm in her belief that Seifer was guilty and deserved to be executed.

One of the two Estharians in the jury, Cloud something-or-another, who ran one of the city's extravagant item shops, scowled at the rest of the jurors. It seemed he wanted this to hurry up and end. The other Estharian was an aide to Doctor Odine, and he wore a curious expression on his face. Momentarily, I worried about what the amoral Doctor would do with the knowledge I planned on revealing in the rest of this trial.

As the jurors filed out of the jury box, headed for the special dormitory Cid had prepared for them, I shrugged. There was no help for it. We would just have to deal with Odine when the time came.

I sat in the slowly-emptying courtroom, lost in my thoughts. Tomorrow, my defense began in earnest – following right behind the opening that Squall had given me…

"What are you trying to do, girlie?"

I was jarred out of my reverie by Xu's voice. Her voice carried more than a tinge of curiosity, along with concern.

Shocked, I noticed that the shadows cast by the setting sun had darkened the courtroom. Evidently, I had dozed off after the court was recessed. I became very worried – my body doesn't shut down on its own normally.

I looked at my friend, who had become my adversary. I realized, with a twinge of sadness, that I was right to be defending Seifer. And that meant that Xu was wrong, to be asking for his death.

I was saddened, because I saw myself just a few weeks before in her manner, her expression. If Seifer had not let down his guard that one time, I wouldn't have the belief in him that I now have.

"Xu, please leave." My words were soft, but cold.

She gave me a shocked and injured look. "But, Quisty –"

"Xu, you claim that you are just doing your job to prosecute Seifer. Can't you see, right now, that doing that job is incompatible with our friendship?" I stood and fled from the courtroom.

Can't you see that being your friend is making me doubt everything I know about justice? Seifer doesn't deserve to die, and you know it. Not standing up for what you know to be true is killing our friendship, Xu.

And if our friendship is the cost I will have to pay to save this last of Ultimecia's victims – I begrudge the price, but I will pay it.

* * * * *

"I call Rinoa Heartily to the stand." My voice, the next morning, was calm and professional. It showed nothing of the hoarseness I had incurred the previous night as I had wept over what seemed to be the inevitable death of my closest friendship.

Rinoa moved forward in that same elegant glide that she had borne ever since the end of the War against Ultimecia. No longer did she move with the impulsive, almost tomboy-ish gait of the girl who had hired us to help liberate Timber. In the time that had passed, she had matured into the stunning young woman she now was.

She stepped into the witness box, and held her hand upright. "I swear by Hyne and her birthright that all I say will be truth." As she made her oath, there was a flash of Holy light, and I knew that Hyne herself had confirmed the young Sorceress' oath.

"Rinoa, I have called you today to ask you some questions regarding the nature of the bond between a Sorceress and her chosen protector, her Knight. First, I would like to confirm a couple of things." She nodded.

"Good. First of all, are you a Sorceress?" I had to keep the questions moving fairly quickly, so most of them would have to be yes or no questions. Xu would try to cut this line of reasoning off as quickly as possible.

Rinoa spoke softly in the beautiful voice she inherited from her talented mother, Julia. "Yes. I am a Sorceress."

I nodded and looked to Martine. "If it please the tribunal, I would like to question Rinoa as an expert witness, for she is currently the only known Sorceress who retains her powers."

Martine pondered the request for a moment. "Very well, Advocate." He looked on the verge of adding something, but he halted and said nothing more.

"Rinoa, Squall Leonhart testified yesterday that he shared a bond to you as your Knight. Is that accurate?"

Rinoa smiled at the mention of her beloved's name. "Yes."

I nodded and turned towards the jury. "During the events of the Second Sorceress War, where was Ultimecia?"

"That is a difficult question. For lack of a better way of explaining it, she was using a device to project her spirit back in time from her native time frame."

I turned back to Rinoa. "So how was she able to influence events, then?"

Rinoa replied, "Ultimecia was able to take over the host she had transferred her consciousness to. That host was always a Sorceress."

"So who were the hosts that Ultimecia seized control of?" I prompted.

Rinoa gulped. "I was Ultimecia's host for a short while. Adel Van Thaylo was another host. Primarily, however, Ultimecia's host body was Edea Kramer."

That was the first piece of information I would need for later. Now, to move on to the next point I needed to make.

"Seifer is considered Ultimecia's Knight, is that right?" I hated having to ask her these questions, but it was necessary. I just hoped she would forgive me for the hurt I was inflicting on her by dredging up memories of Ultimecia's possession. I knew she felt violated by the grasp of the future Sorceress.

"Yes. Seifer was her Knight."

I pounced. "How could that be possible? She wasn't physically present to create such a bond."

Rinoa looked helpless. "When she took possession of a host, she forced her consciousness to come to the fore. At that time, the link between Sorceress and Knight, which is spiritual in nature, was subsumed. For the link's purposes, the host was a different Sorceress than she was before Ultimecia's possession."

"Indeed." I paused. I could tell that Rinoa was on the verge of tears from looking back at what must have been a nightmare for her. "Can I ask you some other questions, Rinoa? Ones that are not about Ultimecia, but are about the link you share with Squall?"

She blinked back tears and shyly nodded.

"Can you describe the link between you and Squall? What does he get from being your Knight, and what you gain from it?"

Rinoa paused as she looked at me. She smiled wanly and began, "I'm not sure I understand all of the specifics of how the Link works, but I'll give my best try to explain what I do know."

I nodded to reassure her, and she continued. "The link between Squall and I allows us to gain strength from each other. When he is hurt, I know and can act to help him. Similarly, he gained a limited sense of when I was in danger. We don't exactly share thoughts, but it is very easy for one of us to tell what the other is thinking – when Squall forgets to put up the defenses that shut everyone out most of the time."

"Squall gains a sustaining presence, one that can carry him beyond the limits of his mortal body. It was due to the link that we share as Sorceress and Knight that he was able to survive being time-lost, after we defeated Ultimecia."

"I gain a stabilizing factor. Squall is a calming influence for me – keeping me from always following my impulses, which would be very dangerous, as a Sorceress."

"The bond between us is linked to, and strengthened by, our feelings for each other. Such a bond has carried us through a year of separation, even though we both know that we cannot be together right now. There are too many things that still must be done."

I interjected, "Do you have any influence on Squall due to the bond?" The moment I asked the question, I winced. That was not how I wanted to ask this question!

Rinoa seemed oblivious to the point I was making. "Other than by its mere existence?" I nodded affirmatively. "I would say, yes."

"Could you please explain to the tribunal what you mean." Rinoa saved me with her answer, thank Hyne!

"There are times when Squall is able to sense my desires through the link between us, and there have been times when these have been contrary to his own personality and beliefs. Sometimes, he does not follow his natural inclinations but instead acts as I would have him act."

"Can you give an example?" This is what I wanted her to say to the court.

"Well," she blushed. She held up her left hand to the courtroom. A golden version of the steel ring that Squall always wore glittered on her ring finger. The eyes were two small diamonds. "If Squall had done the way he does normally, he would have never given me this, or asked me to marry him."

I was stunned. Squall proposed, and then told none of us about it? And she was right, he wouldn't have, unless the man who commanded the SeeDs was completely different from the student I used to teach.

"He normally would have been buried under his responsibilities, and been so focused on them that he wouldn't take a single thought for us. Through the link, I kept the thought of proposing marriage to me fresh in his mind, until he went forward and did so."

I nodded. "So the link between Sorceress and Knight can be one which the Sorceress can use to manipulate her Knight with, on a less-than-conscious level?"

She nodded. "Yes."

I looked at Martine. "I have no further questions."