Trouble
Beatrix just knew this was all going to end in tears. She was a loyal knight sworn to protect the Queen; the General of the Alexandrian army for Valhalla's sake! There was no time in her life for frivolity. She firmly shook her head as if to dislodge the disturbing thoughts and stomped down the hall leading to the royal gallery. Assorted Alexandrian guards and servants scattered before her fearing the wave of wrath headed in their direction.
She took her place beside the Queen, snapping a quick salute in her direction before staring determinedly at the wall opposite. Garnet glanced up in interest; Beatrix was usually less formal when they were not in company, but disgruntlement was evident the soldier's brow. The Queen merely shrugged at Zidane and went back to watching the display in the courtyard.
The squawk of armour broke Beatrix's fierce concentration and she swung her death glare toward the offending knight. Steiner merely watched her mildly with an infuriating smile on his face. He nodded at the crumpled note; the reason for her ire, still clenched forgotten in her fist. She crunched it further beyond recognition and surreptitiously dropped it to the floor. It ripped into shreds as she ground it beneath her boot. Another defiant stare was cast in his direction, her chin tilted up, determined not to give him the satisfaction of rattling her further.
Time seemed to drag but finally the bell tolled ending the session below. The Queen and Zidane moved to leave the box and Beatrix trailed along behind the two of them, ever vigilant. Her counterpart mirrored her moves, walking beside her easily. Garnet was discussing the upcoming ball - breathless and excited as she explained to Steiner about the décor she had picked, the simply exquisite band and a million other details. Even Zidane seemed excited about the evening's merriments; Tantalus was to perform a short play and he was eager to see his family. Beatrix ground her teeth and concentrated on breathing.
The light, musical question was directed toward her by Garnet and it caught her completely off guard. Blinking and stammering in confusion she attempted to pull together some coherent thought.
She was saved by Steiner's deep baritone.
"Of course the General and I will be attending."
She realised far too late that she had been standing with her jaw hanging open for a good few seconds. He was smiling at her indulgently - damn it they were all grinning. Had they completely lost their minds? She opened her mouth to retort, to defend herself, but found the words had tangled up somewhere in her chest.
It was only when she found she was smiling back at Steiner, in spite of herself, that she realised quite how much trouble she might be in.
As usual - none of the characters are mine.
The masterplan is to write a series of drabbles; each taking prompt from the various status abnormalities in FFIX. Of course this would entail me actually writing more...
Thanks for taking the time to read - please let me know what you think. illyna x
