By: Cheerful Spirit

Scripting

()'s are thoughts.
""'s are speeches.

On the Edge of Hell

Chapter One

The thunder roared fiercely above Garnet, resulting in her jerking up and out of her reverie. She was back on Gaia; the abundant and stinging rain had soaked her to the bones. Her hair fell flat over her eyes, hindering her from seeing well, but she could not care less. Little did it matter to her to be physically blinded, for she was already in her heart and soul. She kept walking unsteadily, her head bowed, her shoulders slightly vaulted.

(I should be going back to the castle...) She thought to herself. (...Or else Steiner will send both the Alexandrian soldiers and the Pluto Knights after me. Hades knows how worried he is.)

Zidane had been gone for two years, to that day, and she still hadn't heard from him. Rumours kept coming and going, taunting her. She didn't want to believe that he was dead, married to another woman or any other stories that her people would come up with. She kept on telling herself that he was alive, somewhere, on his way back to Alexandria. Whenever she heard a knock on the door, a rustle of leaves by her window, or the sound of light footsteps behind her, she'd expect him to be back home with her.

(But it's never happening, is it?) She thought bitterly. (He should be back by now. It's been so long since that day.)

She saw a glimpse of Alexandria Castle and headed in that direction. Then she let an Alexandrian soldier lead her home on a boat.

"If I may, Your Majesty... What were you doing out in this horrible weather?" The woman inquired. Garnet looked away for a moment. "Simply... Getting some fresh air." She lied, while adding the following, inwardly: (It's not entirely false.) She tried to smile, failing miserably, but the woman chose to leave her alone. Garnet's gaze fell to the water that surrounded her and she let the tears run freely down her cheeks, unnoticed.

They all acted as if nothing was wrong, for their queen's sake. For their sanity, too.

Upon reaching her destination, she thanked the woman and made her way to the castle's gate. She paused for a minute, taking a deep breath and clearing her thoughts. When she felt she was capable of facing everyone, she made her entrance.

"Your Majesty! Thank goodness you are back at last." Beatrix said, obviously relieved. Garnet smiled genuinely, this time. The female commander had always been so devoted to her, even after the former queen, Garnet's adoptive mother, had fallen in battle.

"I'm sorry I left so suddenly." She said, feeling slightly guilty.

"It's quite alright, Your Majesty." Beatrix reassured her, waving off the matter with her hand. "I had trust in your return. Steiner, on the other hand..."

"PRIN-...! I mean, MY QUEEN! YOU ARE SAFE!" Clank clank. Garnet could not help but laugh at the familiarity of the sound. It was Steiner, alright.

"I just went for a walk, Steiner." She justified, before he even had the time to ask about her foolish side trip. "I'm fine." She added with a smile for effect. It worked.

"I'm just glad you weren't harmed. You do know what kind of scum lurks around the castle...!" He shook his fist at the thought.

Garnet's heart stopped for a split second at the choice of words, and then she composed herself. (That's what he used to be to you, isn't it? A filthy peasant. But he was nothing like that.)

"Yes. I shall be going up to my room for a while. I will see you all later."

Picking up her skirts, she ascended the stairs that led to the Royal Chamber, tears streaming down her cheeks again. Finally, after a short moment, her room was in sight. She reached for the doorknob, stared over her shoulder for a moment... Nothing.

No Zidane.

She shook her head, opened the door and locked it behind her, once she was inside.

She dragged her body to a chair, behind a beautiful table made out of the wood of an oak tree. There she sat next to the window, wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hand.

(Why aren't you here with me, Zidane? Where on Gaia could you possibly be?) Garnet blinked away a few tears from her eyes, only to have them fill up again. (We'll meet again, someday. I'll see to it.) She frowned slightly, trying to force those thoughts into her mind. (You know... I haven't given up on you; I never will.) She put her arms down on the table's surface and nestled her head between them, wearily. (But what am I supposed to do, now?) This, she had no answer to. (Will we ever see each other again?) Only the future could tell. (I miss you so...)

She felt light-headed, for a moment, and then she drifted off to sleep.

Zidane...

Garnet opened her eyes again hours later, only to find herself in her warm, comfortable bed sheets. She didn't recall going to bed herself; she figured someone must have done it for her. Feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time, she slid off the mattress and walked to her window. She thought it must have been right in the dead of the night; the whole of Alexandria seemed to have called it a day. It was darkness as far as her eyes could see.

Still, there was this familiar feeling in her stomach that reminded her she had missed dinner. They had done well, letting her have her sleep at last, but she felt very hungry at the time and decided she would help herself. It was nonsense to even think of disturbing the rest of one of the cooks.

As she tried her best not to make too much noise, she thought of how she hadn't felt such hunger in ages. She had not malnutritionned herself, far from it; she had to stay a strong and healthy queen to her people. But somehow, she never did feel like eating at all.

She was about to step in the kitchen when she heard it.

Shuffling.

It came from outside, she was sure of it.

(There are no guards in these parts... Maybe I should go and see for myself, just in case.)

She hadn't completely lost her sense of adventure and she knew she couldn't sleep unless she made sure it was either a figment of her imagination, or nothing that could do much harm. That is how Queen Garnet herself went back to her room, ever so carefully, to pick up her Whale Whisker. She felt much safer, knowing if something went wrong, she could smack some sense out of the intruder. Because at that point, she was sure it was indeed someone trying to break into the castle.

Although, it was mostly because she felt drawn to it, as if only she could take care of this.

She returned to the kitchen, now fully-armed and ready, and hoisted herself out through the window.

Garnet waited a few seconds, for her eyes to get used to the darkness, until she set out to find the villain. The queen knew she was being reckless, but she felt she had to do this, for some unknown reason.

(This feeling... I can't shake it off.) She took a step forward, scanning her surroundings. (...!) She blinked. Had she heard right? She took another step. A figure was now revealed by the moonlight, staggering in her direction. They seemed to be fighting just to stay awake. (W-who...? Who is that?)

She swallowed hard, tightening her hold on the rod. No, it had to be her imagination playing tricks on her again. Surely that wasn't what she had heard.

Dagger.

Or was it?

She had heard pain in the voice. Exhaustion.

Closing her eyes a moment to regain her composure, she took another hesitant glance.

She saw...

She saw a tail.

(How... is that possible?)

She felt her knees about to give in, but she tried to remain conscious. She had to make sure...

"Dagger?"

Dagger. Her mind was at it again. There was no way it was him. She didn't want to believe. She didn't want to be disappointed. She didn't want to be there anymore.

Because she knew it couldn't be true. She knew she wouldn't survive when she realised it wasn't him. It would be one blow too many... It would kill her.

"Dagger, please..." Longing. Love.

The stranger closed the distance between them, not without terrible pain which twisted his features for a brief moment. He took a sharp breath of air in and looked up to her.

Garnet was met with the most beautiful pair of eyes. They were of a gorgeous shade of blue, and they were his.

This time, her doubts were cleared. The voice was real and it belonged to none other than...

"...Zidane."

Thud.

Author's Note: Please do read and review! Don't flame me, though. If you don't like, it's not my fault, but I worked really hard on this. Constructive criticism is fine, of course. But I don't want you spoiling my fun with free, mean comments. Thank you.