Garnet sat proudly on the throne as her two loyal soldiers, Steiner and Beatrix, stood on either side ever watchful.
He's dead, she thought, determined to forget the past. He's not coming back; move on with your life. She sat confidently on the balcony, but her heart still wept for her love.
"Your Highness, Ladies, Gentleman, and rooftop-watchers," Baku begin with his usual opening statement. "Welcome to our theatre performance of 'I Want To Be Your Canary'."
Garnet's favourite play. The play that was performed while Zidane 'kidnapped' her. She let her mind wander as she couldn't think straight now; all her thoughts lingered on that blonde boy. All day she had been trying her best to remember him only as a memory in an effort to move on with her life; she had failed, but it was only apparent now – she was ignoring her favourite play.
She then became frustrated at how young she was; sixteen. Too young to be a queen, she thought, and she had such a long life ahead of her – every moment of it would be speant yearning for who she has lost. But, in another way, she must not be sad; Garnet learned so much from travelling with new-found friends. Now, even though she is a wiser Queen, she will always be true to herself and who she was while on those past adventures with Zidane, Steiner, Vivi, Eiko, Freya, Amarant and Quina.
Oh, Zidane, she thought, sighing. I love you so much, but I'm sorry; I don't want to feel anymore for you.
Suddenly, Garnet snapped out of her daydream to try and enjoy the rest of the play. She loved 'I Want To Be Your Canary' because of its forbidden love theme and the tragic story of the two lovers – Marcus and Cornelia. She had first read the play when she was about six years old – after her real mother died in the storm on the crossing from Madain Sari. Garnet remembered how she had ventured around Alexandria Castle and found Doctor Tot in the library, immersed in a historical book. She was a much more confident child and had asked him which book she should read to pass boredom. After Tot had presented much reading material in his pile of books, mainly about history, he showed her a play by Lord Avon and gushed that it was one of his favourites: 'I Want To Be Your Canary'. The young Princess Garnet had spent all day reading that book in the magical silence, not wanting to be taken back to the reality of the castle.
"Bring my beloved Dagger to me!" the actor playing Marcus exclaimed loudly, throwing away the robe he had been wearing.
Garnet gasped, her eyes not believing what they saw but her heart became whole again and jumped for joy; it was Zidane. He had come back, like he promised all those heartaches ago. He was standing on the stage, his arms outstretched for her to be embraced.
Leaning on the balcony to get a better view, Garnet turned quickly to run to the boy she had waited in vain for so long to return. Her joy turned to frustration as Steiner and Beatrix stood infront of the closed doors leading to the stairs. However, before she could say anything to them, they each opened a door and gave a small gracious bow to their queen, urging her to see Zidane. Not knowing the words to say, she gave a slight thankful smile to each of them and ran on.
Holding her satin white dress so as to not drag it on the floor, she jogged as quickly as she could down the stairs before bursting through the doors to the outside. Noticing the sea of people crowding everywhere, she became more determined and tried to navigate her way to the stage. Her efforts went unrewarded as she bumped into someone and her jewel necklace flew away from her reach to land on the floor. For a few moments, Garnet clutched her neck unable to make the decision of going back for the heir-loom or to continue through the throng of citizens to reach her lost love. Seconds ticked away as she watched the jewel necklace, lying delicately on the floor most likely to be trod on.
No, she determinedly thought. That is my past; that is who I was. My future stands on the stage…waiting for his Dagger.
As someone walked threateningly towards the necklace, unaware it was there, Garnet closed her eyes tight and turned away to continue forward to her new future.
Zidane walked slowly closer to the edge of the stage, watching his Dagger move desperately through the crowd to him. She looked as beautiful as ever, her luxurious, long onyx hair shining magnificently within the golden sun. He noticed that she moved with a confidence that was hiding when they had first met; a fine ruler of Alexandria.
As she finally reached the stairs down to the stage, Garnet threw away her crown to the side and cried out as she ran to Zidane, her arms outstretched to hold him. She was so pleased to see him that Garnet jumped into his arms, as he held her tightly and twirled her around before setting her down. She placed her hands on his chest while his held securely to her waist; they both looked at each other, their eyes hungry to take in their love who was absent for so long. Garnet let the crystal tears fall from her soft smooth cheeks onto the floor as Zidane gave a slight cheeky smile and half a shrug. She pushed him back slightly, her head resting against his chest as she began jokingly and lightly pounding at the spot where his heart was; she partially wanted him to feel the pain she had endured while he was gone, all that torment of not seeing him and the idea of her finally accepting his death. But, after only hitting him softly three times, she smiled widely and gave up; she didn't really want to hurt him - all that mattered was that he was there and they would stay together for the rest of their lives.
Zidane put his arms around his Dagger and stroked her hair, finally realising that this is what he continued to live for; he didn't care where he had come from because this is where he was now. A piece of him had been torn away the moment he watched Dagger fly from his grasp on the Hilda Garde 3; his heart had yearned for the sight of her since they were apart. Everything that he had discovered about his past was forced to the back of his mind; none of it mattered now. Zidane was where he wanted to be with the people who mattered most to him.
Everyone had erupted into applause as the two lovers stood embracing each other on the stage; they seemed so whole now.
Up on the balcony, Steiner walked behind a clapping Beatrix and presented her with the 'Save the Queen' and she grinned with surprise; now Beatrix was complete. Steiner smiled at seeing his love full of joy, especially after she had been lamenting the last two weeks; it was as if dawn had broken the seemingly eternal darkness. Together, they both held the impressive large sword high above their heads so that it shone from the gentle ray of the sun onto Queen Garnet and Zidane.