Chapter 1

Beatrix saluted as the Queen entered the hallway, Count Bushaw following behind her.

"We'll iron out all the finer details and send the final copy to you for your approval sometime next week," the count was saying.

"Everything seems to be in order," the Queen replied, turning to face him. "I trust you can take care of any other problems that arise?"

"Yes, of course. I shall attend to the matters personally," he replied, bowing. "However, I couldn't help but notice the King's absence," he continued. "He's not taken ill, I hope?"

"The King?" Dagger repeated, slightly taken aback. Zidane's presence wasn't needed, so she didn't think an excuse for him would be needed. She hesitated a moment, not able to come up with a plausible explanation on the spot. "Beatrix?" she said at last, turning to the lady general. "Where is the King?"

"His Majesty is...currently overseeing the training of the knights," the General supplied smoothly.

"Ah, yes, that was today, wasn't it?" the Queen replied, silently thanking Beatrix for her quick thinking. She laughed lightly. "With so many other things going on, I had forgotten."

"I see," said the Count. "Please give him my regards. Well, as Your Majesty is rather busy, I'll see myself out. Thank you for your time," he continued, bowing low.

Once he was gone, Beatrix turned to her queen. "That could have been handled better, Your Majesty," she stated.

Dagger put a hand to her eyes. "I know. I need to be more careful. I should have known that someone might ask after Zidane and I should have prepared an excuse beforehand. I'm sorry to have pushed it off on you. My mind simply went blank when he asked and..." She shrugged helplessly. "He was here to discuss the terms of a trade agreement, I didn't think Zidane would even enter the conversation."

The General shook her head. "You are the Queen. You need not explain yourself to anyone."

"But, too many evasions will make people suspicious. Zidane and I have not been married for that long, after all. Queen or not, the entire court would be up in arms if they knew who he really was." She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Thank you for covering for me."

"Not at all, Your Majesty."

" 'Over-seeing the training of the knights...' " she repeated, smiling. "I wonder what the count's reaction would have been if he knew exactly how much of a 'hands-on' approach the King likes to take..."

. . .

Zidane sneezed, almost losing his grip on the stone wall he had been climbing. Zackary Allen raised an eyebrow, extending a hand to help the blonde onto more level ground. "All right, sir?" he asked.

"Yeah, someone must be talking about me," Zidane replied, tail twitching as he rubbed his nose. His expression fell as he sighed dramatically. "But, what can you do? It's not my fault I was cursed with a wonderful personality and good looks to go with it."

Zack rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "If you say so, sir."

"Hey!"

"So, that's the 'back door' to Gizamaluke's Grotto?" he asked, changing the subject. "Any reason why you didn't want to use the front one?"

Zidane shrugged and began walking through the trees. "No reason in particular. They're good people, don't get me wrong, but they tend to get hung up on details like passes and permissions and all that other border stuff. I don't want to actually cross into Burmecia-"

"Despite the fact that we are currently standing on Burmecian soil," Zack interjected.

"Hey, I didn't put the entrance on this side of the mountain range. Besides, I just wanted to give that moogle a kupo nut. He seems to like them so much..."

"The item he gives you in return doesn't hurt, I suppose."

The blonde grinned, holding up the brightly colored shirt that had Aloha! printed across the front. "You can't get these anywhere else in the world! Trust me on that."

"And, you would actually want something like that because...?" Zack trailed off, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Zidane turned his nose up, making a show of folding the shirt and putting it back in his pack. "You're just jealous because he gave it to me and not you."

"Whatever you say, sir."

The blonde's response was cut off by a loud screech. "You put on that Rosetta Ring and Survival Vest that I gave you, right?" he asked scanning the trees around them.

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Zidane's eyes landed on a brightly colored bird heading their way. "Alright, rookie," he said, grinning as he patted Zack on the back. "You're up."

Zack stumbled a bit as the blonde pushed him forward. Quickly regaining his footing, he drew his sword and looked at the bird fluttering in front of him. It doesn't look that tough,he thought.

The garuda got in the first move, flapping its wings out of sync before bringing them together as it cast a spell. Flames sprang forth at Zack's feet and exploded upward, startling the soldier as he was encased in a blazing inferno. The Rosetta Ring on his finger shone brightly, turning the deadly heat of the fire into soothing warmth that invigorated him.

Feeling even more confident than before, Zack ran forward with his sword raised, intent on ending the battle quickly. He leapt, slashing at the bird only to have it deftly evade. He turned, surprised to see the garuda already some distance away and casting another spell. A large clock face appeared around him, turning gray as it came to a stop. His movement was restricted only for an instant before the Survival Vest seemed to glow, negating the spell's effect.

"Remember what I told you- garudas attack almost exclusively from a distance and rely heavily on magic. You have to get in close to do any real damage!" Zidane called from the sidelines.

Zack nodded before closing the distance between himself and his foe once more. He attacked again, no longer assuming this could be a one-hit kill. Again and again, the bird nimbly evaded each and every strike. He finally saw his chance when the avian brought both wings in front of itself, as if to hide from the world. It hovered impossibly in midair for a moment and Zack brought his sword down again. However, before his hit could land, the bird suddenly reared back and brought its wings forward in a slicing motion. Two shock waves slammed into the knight-in-training, throwing him back against a tree. He groaned softly as he slid down the trunk.

This isn't going how I had envisioned it at all, he grumbled, gingerly picking himself up off the ground. The garuda was casting a spell again. He raised his sword as the winds seemed to pick up, swirling around like a mini tornado with him at the eye of the storm. Although nothing actually touched him, he could feel the energy being drained out of him and he gasped at losing so much so quickly. When it finally stopped, he was kneeling on the ground, barely able to move at all. It took a tremendous effort to lift his gaze, noting that the blasted bird was casting yet another spell.

It brought its wings forward once more and Zack was helpless to do anything but watch as the shock waves raced towards him. Suddenly, the bird was blocked from view as Zidane used his own body to shield him from the attack.

"You alright there, Zack?" he asked.

"I've...been better," the knight-in-training panted.

The blonde nodded, turning back to the garuda. He fell into a ready stance before sprinting towards the monster. The bird cast another spell, squawking in surprise as the fire magic missed while Zidane's dagger found its mark.

Cleaning the blade on the feathers, Zidane almost casually retrieved his discarded pack, fishing out several potions. He helped Zack drink the first few until the soldier was strong enough to do it by himself. The blonde made himself comfortable on the grass, waiting for his companion to recover enough to move on.

Zack stared morosely into the vial as he swished the blue liquid around. "That was embarrassing," he said, refusing to meet his superior's eye. "I thought I had improved a lot more than that."

"You've come a long way," Zidane stated, pillowing his head with his arms as he stared up at the leafy canopy. "You can't judge your progress by one fight. Let me do that."

"You always make it look so easy. And I..." The soldier shook his head. "I haven't landed a single hit in the two days we've been out here."

"Look, it wasn't a fair fight to begin with. None of them have been. I told you they wouldn't be when we started. These monsters are a challenge for skilled warriors."

"Not for you," was the sullen reply.

The blonde shrugged. "I'm a bit of an exception."

"But, still..."

Zidane propped himself up on one elbow, looking at his trainee. "I know it's not easy. And, this is probably the most humiliating way to go about improving your skills. But, it's also the fastest way. Everyone had to start somewhere and I can honestly say that it took me months to make the progress on my own that you have made in the last two days. But, if this is too hard, we can always go back now," he stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"No! No, I- I can do it," Zack said quickly, rising to his feet.

The blonde gazed at him appraisingly for a moment before smiling. "That's the spirit. Let's go," he said, standing.

They continued walking, coming to the outskirts of the forest. "Alright," Zidane began, "Rusty wanted us to scout around the Zamo and Gunitas Basins, so we'll head back there first."

"Um, sir?" Zack began, looking around. "The chocobo's gone."

The blonde whipped his head around, noting the golden bird was nowhere in sight. "That's odd," he murmured, folding his arms. "Choco always stays where I leave him... Unless..." He let the sentence trail off, looking at Zack. "Choco wouldn't have left unless there was a monster harassing him. It's likely still in the area. Hopefully, it's just another garuda."

"And...if it's not?" Zack asked, not quite sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"If it's not, then we may have a problem." A loud roar punctuated Zidane's statement and he quickly glanced around. "Do you still have that Coral Ring I gave you?" he asked.

Zack started digging in his pockets, desperately trying to find the item in question. "It's here somewhere!"

"Never mind, go hide in the trees and don't come out, no matter what happens."

"But, sir-!"

Zidane grabbed Zack's shoulder, forcing the soldier to meet his unusually serious gaze. "I mean it. Do not come out until I say." Zack hesitated and the blonde gripped his shoulder tighter. "This is not open for discussion!"

"Yes, sir," he said, obviously not liking the order.

"Good. Now, go," the blonde commanded. He heard the heavy body land behind him just as Zack made it to the relatively safe confines of the trees. Raising his daggers, Zidane turned and lunged at the grand dragon as it roared again.

. . .

To Be Continued

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