Haha, wow, I never thought I'd post this story up! This is a story I wrote quite a while ago… I don't think it's all that, but it was the first story I wrote and finished, so I thought I'd post it up and see what everyone else thinks. Well, I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final fantasy IX. I also do not own "A little princess", or the song kindle my heart.

Kindle My Heart

As the moon kindles the night,

As the wind kindles the fire,

As the rain fills every ocean,

And the sun, the earth…

Your heart will kindle my heart…

Take my heart…

Take my heart…

Kindle it with your heart…

And my heart…

Cannot be…

Kindled without you…

With your heart,

Kindle my heart…

Chapter One: Diagnosis

It hadn't been very long since Zidane returned from his escape at the Lifa Tree. Since he reunited with the ones he held dear, and the one person he loved.

Early morning, deep inside the castle of Alexandria, slept Zidane peacefully. Usually, Dagger would be sleeping too, right by his side.

Dagger was up already, and wasn't looking too healthy. She only just got up, and just left the bathroom, heading back towards her bedroom.

She entered the room where Zidane was still sleeping. She lay back down deep under the blankets, but she couldn't get to sleep, and was moving around a lot.

Because of this, Zidane began to open his eyes.

"D-Dagger?" Zidane said sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

Dagger sat up in bed and faced him. "Zidane…"

When Zidane could see clearly, he could see that something wasn't right. "What's wrong, Dagger?"

"Zidane… I don't feel very well…"

She sat there, looking at him in pain. And he couldn't stand to see her like this. Especially not when he just woke up!

"I… I don't know what's wrong with me, but… I just don't feel well this morning…"

"Is it a tummy ache? Maybe you ate something that didn't agree with you…"

"No, it's not any ache or pain… it's just… it's like a fever but… a lot worse."

Zidane sat up and wrapped his arms around her.

"It'll be okay… just hang in there, and we'll go see Doctor Tot about this. Okay?"

"Okay…" Dagger said. She whimpered a little and hugged Zidane back.

"Hmm…" Doctor Tot said as he examined his Queen.

Zidane, Steiner and Beatrix were all gathered in the infirmary while the Doctor looked at Dagger. He was looking quite unsure at times, looking down at his medical books and "hmm"ing a lot.

"Well? What's wrong with her?" Zidane asked, getting rather impatient.

"I believe Garnet has a rare disease."

"Disease!? What kind of disease?" Zidane asked worriedly.

"It's a rare condition where the symptoms include fever, like you mentioned Garnet. But that is only stage one."

"Stage one?" Beatrix thought out loud.

"This is the type of disease that gets worse as the weeks go by. Stage two is when Garnet will find it hard to move her body at all…"

"No! Your majesty! I'm so sorry!" Steiner sobbed, feeling it was his fault for his Queen's illness.

"Dagger…" Zidane said. Dagger reached out for his hand and grabbed it.

"Stage three is where she will begin to find it hard to breathe and move…" Doctor Tot continued.

"Oh no…" Beatrix said.

"(Sob) your majesty! (Sob) How could this have happened!?" Steiner cried even further.

"And stage four is… well, the end of the battle."

Everyone in the room went silent and shocked.

"It's… its fatal?" Dagger shivered.

"There's gotta be a cure!!" Zidane yelled, now getting a bit scared.

"Now Zidane, calm down… there is a cure." Doctor Tot reassured. "But… it will not be easy to get…"

"Whatever it takes, we'll find the cure! Just tell us where is it!!" Zidane said, getting panicky.

"The cure is an herbal medicine made from 3 plant ingredients. Unfortunately, these plants are very rare and found in hard to reach places…"

"I don't care! I'll find them and bring them back here! We won't let this disease get that far!!" Zidane shouted.

"I sware my life that I will aid in finding these plants, and spare the Queen's life!!" Steiner vowed.

"Your highness, we all promise to find that plants and cure you of this terrible disease…" Beatrix swore.

"Thank you… all of you…" Dagger managed to say.

"Where are these plants?" Zidane asked eagerly.

"Each one is in a different location." Doctor Tot said, picking up a book and flipping the pages. "There's a passage here about each plant…"

"To whom who may need the aid of this herb,

The Chikalo leaf which sits on its branch,

Lies off near the north-west in a small and dark place,

Where a forest would lie, and a cave would hence."

"The Chikalo leaf, huh?" Zidane said.

"Yes… this is the first ingredient needed for the herb."

"North-west… That would be near the lost continent, would it not?" Beatrix asked. "The one covered in snow."

"Yes, but not many forests are on the lost continent…" Steiner added.

"Maybe it isn't in a forest… maybe it's near a forest…" Zidane thought.

"Even so… there's no cave on the lost continent." Beatrix added.

"Could it mean the Volcano?" Steiner questioned.

"I don't know…" Zidane said.

"Nonetheless, you all should leave immediately… the disease won't wait for you." Doctor Tot said.

"We should get the others to help too. The more people there are the more chance we'll have of finding the plant." Zidane suggested.

Eiko, Vivi, Amarant, Freya and Frately had joined the party. They all met in Alexandria, so they could see Dagger. They were all in the Queen's chamber.

"What tragedy… a fatal disease…" Freya was saying.

"How did this happen!? Did someone pass it on to you??" Eiko asked frantically.

"It is something that just happens, Eiko. We can't change a thing about it." Doctor Tot said.

"Well it's a stupid disease!!" Eiko carried on.

"I cook frog for everyone. Cheer you up!" Quina suggested.

Zidane sighed. "No thanks, Quina. Not now…"

"I hope we can find the plant…" Vivi said.

"So… we're going to look for a little plant just for a medicine…?" Amarant asked.

"It's not JUST a medicine, Amarant! It's the medicine that will keep Dagger alive!!" Eiko yelled.

"When will we be leaving on our quest?" Frately asked.

"First thing tomorrow morning. Thanks for coming, everyone." Zidane added. "It means a lot for all of you to help…"

Dagger sat next to Zidane, not saying a thing. She could hardly come to terms with the current situation.

"I think it's time to rest now…" Doctor Tot suggested to break the silence. "I'll see you all in the morning."

"I'll go to bed too. We wanna wake up nice and early so we can go plant hunting!" Eiko said and ran off.

"I-I'm gonna go too…" Vivi said and walked after her.

"I think it's time we all went to bed." Freya said.

So Freya, Frately, Quina, Amarant, Steiner and Beatrix went to their rooms. Zidane was left alone with Dagger.

"We'd better go to bed too, Dagger…" Zidane said.

"Zidane…" Dagger said, in a very low voice.

"… I'm really scared…"

"Dagger… it'll be okay… we'll get you the medicine before you could say stage two!"

"… I'm scared that… if you don't find the plant… on time… or even not at all…"

"Dagger, don't talk like that!" Zidane wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "You'll be fine…"

"How do you know? The plant may not even exist anymore if it's so rare! And then there's no hope… and… and…."

Dagger began to cry into Zidane's chest. Zidane didn't know what to say. He just held her close, comforting her, in hope that it would help.

When the crying began to stop, Dagger rubbed her eyes and sniffed.

"Come on… we'll sleep on it…" Zidane said. He picked Dagger up and carried her off to bed.

That's all for Chappie one! I hope you liked it! Chappie 2 is coming soon! Please R&R )