Schk!
"… I'll be back in a bit."
Zidane stood abruptly, stabbing his double-bladed sword into the ground of the campsite. Gentle breezes swayed through surrounding trees, forcing haunting leans and unsettling branches to reach to and from the otherwise seated group. The campfire illuminated his tanned form as he clacked his boots on the large, partly-hollow log he'd been using as a perch. After reaching through a stretch, Zidane turned to his right and began his leave.
"Where do you think you're going?" Freya called motheringly, hastily crossing her arms in protest.
"Just for a walk, mum. I'll be back in a bit," he repeated, not even turning to offer her a side-glance.
Timid brown eyes darted from the dancing flames to the swinging tail of the thief. Queen Garnet Til Alexandros scrambled to her feet, ready to venture after the youth before a protestant (albeit apathetic) hand was raised, quickly halting her motion.
"Relax, I'll be fine, Dagger," he remarked with her nickname, not even turning to her - to his Dagger.
No sign on earth could have shone a brighter beacon towards the boy than that one discarded notion. If he was so deep in thought that he wouldn't even spare a glance toward his beloved Dagger - something was terribly amiss with the blonde. Not a day had gone passed since they'd met that he wouldn't have an arrogant smile about him, a mischievous glint in his eye or at least be spouting some happy-go-lucky, can-do saying… but since their return from Terra, his positivity had seemed absent, his cheeky attitude dormant and – although she'd never admit to missing that trait – his charming and devious advances were all but lost. Days filled with training and preparation had dragged on, painstakingly stealing away the cheer that he constantly emitted…
… and she'd grown weary of having her heart broken by his pained visage. Refusing his half-hearted attempt at assurance, the queen began walking towards the boy.
"Zidane, you…" she paused for a moment, attempting to gather even a facade of confidence, "… you should stay… we should stay together. This world no longer remains the lands that we remember. We don't know what may be out there-"
"I said 'I'll be fine', ok?" he replied, stopping his motion abruptly and turning to her as the others kept their gaze affixed to the genome. He darted around the group shortly, soon coming to rest his eyes within Garnet's. He sighed and allowed a small smile, approaching the now-stationary beauty as she nervously fiddled with her hands.
"I promise I'll be back soon, alright?" he assured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll stay close."
"Not close enough…" Garnet practically breathed, hinting at barely a whisper and bowing her head. Zidane raised his brows, following her sunken eyes.
"You say somethin'?"
Garnet quickly sprang up, concern burning in her hazel eyes. Even after Zidane's endearing azure's met her own, they still couldn't quell the want that remained stayed and unsettled within the adolescent queen's heart – she didn't want him to leave. She wanted to help him!
'Just say it then, you coward!' she screamed at herself, trying not to shake in frustration at her continuously hindered voice. 'Just say that you don't want him to go!'
Her gentle, pleading eyes struck the thief, orchestrating an opus of empathy with an ethereal beauty that even the most acclaimed conductor could not hope to match. She wanted to scream out to him, to hold him, to go with him instead of being left so far behind…
She wanted to be with him. To protect him, always… but never found the courage necessary to voice her symphony.
"… P-please, don't be long..."
'Why, Garnet… WHY?'
Almost melting beneath his confident grin, she was graced with a cunning wink as Zidane turned away from her.
"Like I said, I'll be back in a bit."
*Clank!*
"You impossible, irresponsible fool!" bellowed Steiner, angrily rousing from his seat and pointing accusingly towards the departing thief, who once again stopped and turned, thoroughly unamused. "Can't you see that the princess is worried about you? As a fellow guardian of her-"
"Forget it, tin man."
Steiner turned furiously to the man that dare interrupt a scowling, especially a scowling from himself. Darting back to Zidane for a moment, he turned from the thief to the red headed figure that was rude enough to intrude upon the conversation.
"Forget it? Forget it? You… YOU-!"
"I, I! I'm right, and you know it," Amarant shot, sarcastically mimicking Steiner and adding to his not-so-dormant frustration. "He won't die, not until we have our fight."
Amarant's tone was listless and apathetic, as usual. Zidane flicked his hair self-assuredly, continuing away from the group and laughing.
"Not even then, green-back!"
"Eat me, pin-tail."
"Asshole."
"Pansy."
"Dime dealer!"
"Rat-face!"
"I take offense to that, Amarant," said Freya, adding her two cents as Zidane suddenly halted (again), turning towards the large, cynical man.
"So do I, jack-off!"
"Half-ass!"
Garnet quickly raced over to Vivi and Eiko, covering Eiko's ears as Vivi practically pulled his giant straw hat over his head.
"Ass tard!"
"Monkey swine!"
"Let's not listen for a while, hmm?" Garnet whispered to the young black mage as he quickly looked up, blocking his ears as his bright yellow eyes darted sadly between Amarant and the still departing Zidane.
"Smelly troll!"
"Jock-stain!"
"Dick-wad!"
"Dumb shit!"
"Ginger-nut!"
"YOU WANT ME TO BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA YOU, YA LI'L-!"
"ZIDANE! AMARANT!" Steiner bellowed, shouting rather loudly and clearly not being partial to having himself ignored. "HOW CAN YOU SPILL THIS FILTH IN FRONT OF THE PRINCESS?"
"Newsflash Rusty!" called Zidane, pointing to Garnet who was kneeling by Eiko and Vivi. "She's been Queen for about half a freakin' year now and you're still calling her princess!"
Finding himself incredibly embarrassed at being corrected by Zidane, especially when the circumstance reads that Steiner is the Queen's Personal Guard, he did what any other man would do when he was being righteously accused: fail in attempting to defend himself.
"I-I-I know that! I-I was… just… er, I was implying that… with the current situation at hand, the pri-*cough*-QUEEN should be treated as if she were a princess a-and spared of this invasive and obnoxiously loud-"
"Steiner, please," came Garnet's soft voice as she removed her hands from Eiko's ears, prompting the young girl to stand up and execute a questioning glance toward the young queen. "Just… let him go."
Steiner, bewildered by the correction AND at being silenced by his queen, released a loud huff and turned once more to Zidane, but was cut off by a small blue and yellow blur.
"Wait, WAIT!"
A small voice quickly halted Zidane's movement, forcing a twitch of the eye and a slight cringe - his escape, mere moments away, had been, once again, halted. Releasing a slightly irate sigh, he slowly turned to a young girl with sapphire eyes and hair to match with hands placed sternly on her hips. Fortunately, for Zidane, young Eiko wasn't in a lecturing mood and merely pointed at him authoritatively.
"You be careful, alright mister? I know you're hopeless without me around!"
Zidane turned to the young girl, rather surprised. Expecting a rather long speech about how irresponsible it is to leave a young lady all alone in the middle of nowhere, he was quite relieved to find that a simple warning was all he was faced with. Content with the fortunate turn of events, he nodded.
"You keep these guys safe for me, ok?"
He waited for a nod, a thumbs-up, a 'sure thing, Zidane!', a smile… but nothing came. Zidane and Eiko stared each other down for a short moment before Eiko suddenly raised her brows, clearing her throat expectantly. Narrowing his eyes, Zidane quickly caught on to what she was doing and why she wasn't leaving. Releasing a withheld sigh, he knelt down before her and opened his arms.
"Come on, then."
Eiko squeaked happily as she leapt into his arms, happily embracing Zidane and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Quickly darting to Garnet, Zidane noticed a growing smile cross her lips as Eiko gently swayed in his arms. Quicker than it started and before Zidane could even realise, Eiko released him, smiling wide before rapidly dashing back to the campsite. Dusting his pants off quickly and standing once more, he called out for what he prayed would be the last time.
"I'll be back in a bit!"
"NEED I REMIND YOU THAT YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A BLASTED WEAPON?" replied Steiner, eyeing the weapon that the theif had left firmly rooted next to his seat.
"I'VE GOT MY DAGGERS, RUSTY! NOW, WOULD YOU FREAKIN' RELAX?"
*Clank!*
The group sat quietly as Zidane's footsteps were slowly swallowed by silence. Steiner begrudgingly took his seat and grumbled, shifting himself over and over again in a vain attempt to make himself comfortable, ending every attempt with an inevitable and loud clunking of his armour.
"Zzz… but why you no eat frog? Is… Gourmand delicacy… zzz…"
Every eye suddenly turned to the pale lump of pasty skin that was Quina the Qu, sleeping soundly on the ground as his/her giant tongue still happily lavished across his/her face. Vivi suddenly and perfectly voiced what everyone was thinking.
"… how the heck did Quina sleep through the whole thing?"
*Clank!*
Steiner's large brow was the last to hit the pillow as everybody settled into their respective tents. After ensuring everyone was asleep, Garnet found herself alone by the fireplace, prodding the dying embers while her thoughts were quickly taken into a frivolous tango of cerulean eyes and blonde hair. Her worry had escalated to something beyond even her comprehension, and she was steadily making herself sick. It shouldn't be this way, he shouldn't be this way! SHE definitely shouldn't be this way! It's far from common place to have such an unhealthy obsession with someone, but what's worse (and a fact that Steiner repeatedly points out) is that the object of the queen's obsession is a thief – a thief! A common, vulgar, deceitful thief that constantly advances on her, constantly behaves poorly in her presence, constantly demonstrates how commoners and ruffians act! Constantly refuses to walk away from those in need, constantly makes her smile, constantly makes her… laugh, constantly makes her feel… safe when he is around, always places her opinion higher than anyone else's… repeatedly places his life in danger to save hers…
'Why will you not admit this to yourself, Garnet?' she asked herself again, childishly stoking the charcoaled remains with a dried branch that stretched provocatively within range of her hands. 'You can't stop thinking about him and every miniscule action he takes. He infuriates you, he intrigues you, he amazes you and, Heaven be damned, he… he…'
Garnet smiled, unable to maintain any atmosphere of 'prim and proper' as she stood and dedicatedly nodded toward the forest.
"... he loves me."
Jittery with butterflies and quickly ducking into her tent to grab her trusted magic rod, 'Whale Whisker', Garnet set out determinedly after the young thief, satisfied that he had been gone long enough, she'd even care to argue for too long. She was going to find him and, not only that, she was going to help him for once!
Before she knew it, she had found herself at the edge of the dark forest, having thankfully not needed to battle any monsters of the mist. She allowed her eyes to settle upon the beautiful, gleaming moon, almost becoming hypnotised by its splendour - but only for a moment. Walking only a few short metres after reclaiming her gaze from the evening's diamond, she found what she'd been after – a definite and guaranteed way to find Zidane! Reaching within her blouse, she swiftly produced a Gysahl Green, stood between two large bird-shaped footprints and crushed the plant in her hands, releasing the sickeningly sweet aroma. Sure enough, practical clockwork:
"Kweeeh!"
Choco, Zidane's faithful Chocobo partner, called loudly as Garnet observed him from a distance, dashing madly towards her and looking a little more than excited. Stopping just before the young girl, Choco happily called again, jumping up and flapping enthusiastically before nibbling away at the Green in Garnet's hand. Stepping closer to pet the incredibly soft and golden plumage of the bird, Garnet ran her hands across Choco's neck, causing the bird to twitter softly, almost as if he appeared to be purring. Inspiring a giggle from the young queen, she spoke happily as she made her way up to gently scratch his cheek.
"It's good to see you too, Choco."
"Kweh!"
Content that he remembered her, Garnet rounded to the bird's side as Choco leaned forward, allowing her to climb onto his back and gracefully position herself. The familiar rush of adrenaline surfaced as she remembered her very first ride on Choco… an adventure she was fortunate enough to share with Zidane.
Speaking of which…
"Choco, I have a task for you," said Garnet, stroking a hand down the back of Choco's neck.
"Kweh!" he happily replied, turning his head to watch her inquisitively.
"Do you know where I can find Zidane?"
Choco bobbed happily, clucking a few times before beginning to flap his large, golden wings. Garnet braced herself against the excited animal.
"Very well. Choco, please take me to him!"
"Kweeeh!"
One final call and Garnet's heart almost pounded through her chest as Choco took to the skies, calling happily as he deftly glided with ease through the mist. While a mixture of emotions cascaded the young queen, her most prominent one still brought the largest and most innocent of smiles:
Choco would lead her to Zidane.
Rightio. First chapter, cute and simple. Gonna be a series of one-shots with Zidane and Garnet, because I love Garnet.
Yeah. I do. Anyways, lemme know what you think! :D
R 'n' R, good writing to all!
LS.