Zidane leaned over the side of the Prima Vista, straining to see the first glace of the kingdom. He had never been to Alexandria before, and he couldn't wait to see the huge blade that he had heard stuck straight out of the castle, pointing to the sky.
"Yer gonna fall if you keep leanin' out like that, Zidane." A gruff voice came from next to him. He smirked a bit at his adoptive father.
"Are we going to get to see the inside of the castle?" Zidane asked, excitement in his young voice.
"Some of it. Guys!" Baku called, and the Tantalus members came scampering over from the other parts of the deck and the cabin. "We'll be gettin' in soon. Let's make sure we all know what to do. We'll be meeting with the king and queen, trying to secure a spot to perform at the castle in the future, possibly for the princess' sixteenth birthday. Marcus and Cinna, yer both comin' with me. Blank, you stay with the ship-"
"-where am I going?" Zidane interrupted. Blank exhaled loudly.
"Yer gonna stay with Zenero and Benero. And none of ya get caught stealin'!"
"Boss!" They all responded, doing the Tantalus salute before scurrying off to prepare for landing. Zidane grudgingly saluted Baku. Benero and Zenero usually did recon while Baku made arrangements, getting an idea of the layout of buildings in the event that they had to make a hasty escape later. Usually, Zidane didn't mind tagging along, but he wanted to see all the expensive things that the King and Queen had in the upper rooms. Another thought struck him, and he went over to Marcus.
"Hey, Marcus," He started. "I heard that Princess Garnet is a real looker. If you see her, let me know, wouldja?"
Marcus smirked toothily. "Sure. Too bad you and Blank are gonna miss out!" He said pointedly in Blank's direction, and a grumble was heard.
Just then, Zidane saw a glint in the sky in the corner of his vision. He ran to the front of the ship, where the blade of the biggest sword he had ever seen was coming into view, sitting on top of a waterfall. It was the kingdom of Alexandria.
When they had landed outside of the city, the guys piled up behind Baku, standing straight and looking unusually presentable. They had already begun acting, and they hadn't even gotten the job yet. Several guards looked at them warily as they approached the gates.
"We're the Tantalus theatre group, here to discuss business with the King and Queen." Baku said with authority. "They're expecting us."
The guards looked at each other, and one nodded. "Let them through!" She called, and the others pushed open the gates. "I will accompany you." The guard said, and led them into the bustling city streets.
Zidane found the city itself to be no more impressive than Lindblum, but was still mesmerized by the gargantuan sword seemingly in the castle. He glanced around the streets, with children playing and people selling flowers. It seemed like a calm and safe place. They arrived at a courtyard with a boat waiting for them to cross to the castle, watched by two more female guards. Zidane tried not to make a face, but he couldn't help turning to Baku and commenting, "They're pretty fancy here, huh?"
Baku guffawed. "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
They piled into the boat, and Zidane's tail twitched as he gazed up at the huge, ornate castle. Everything looked so different here than Lindblum. The image of the castle reflected on the water, and the gleam from the sword was so bright that Zidane had to look away and towards land. He saw two more female guards waiting on the other side of the water.
"Are all the guards here women?" Zidane asked, surprised.
"Except the Knights of Pluto, yeah, and they just patrol the castle." Baku replied.
Marcus smirked as Zidane said, "Oh, wait til Blank hears about what he's missing." The guard on their boat rolled her eyes, then called, "Everybody off!" as she docked the boat. The group disembarked and started towards the castle, with Baku leading and Zidane heading up the back. They were met by even more guards at every step of the way, until finally they were ushered into the main hall of the castle's first floor. A beautiful, intimidating woman and a scowling man in dirty armor stood waiting for them at the top of the staircase.
"Welcome to Alexandria Castle, Baku and the Tantalus. Follow us. We will take you to King and Queen Alexandros." Baku turned and saluted his men, who saluted in return, and Zidane, Zenero, and Benero hung back as the others went forward. Zidane heard Baku telling the two knights, "They'll just wait for us here." As he followed them upstairs and down the hall.
The Knights of Pluto and other Alexandrian guards were milling around, none looking too focused, Zidane noticed. The Knights of Pluto looked especially blank. "I smell food." Zenero commented.
"Can we see the kitchen? I bet it's really nice." Benero joined in. Zidane recognized this all too well.
One of the Knights of Pluto nodded. "Sure, I see no harm in that. Come with me! The chefs are cooking up some good stuff today!" The Nero brothers followed, and Zidane started to as well, until he saw his chance and slipped off down another hallway. Finally free of the others, he snuck down the hall, peeking into different rooms. He passed several kitchens, ignoring his growling stomach. It was too exciting to be in such a ritzy place. Who knew what he could steal before he left?
Zidane knew his time was limited while Baku was talking with the royals, so he had to be sure not to spend too much time sightseeing. He passed several libraries, littered with books and boring, scholarly men. He came across another library and was about to retreat back into the hall to look for something more interesting when long, dark hair caught his eye. There was a beautiful teenage girl, more beautiful than any he had ever seen, flipping through a book. Like everyone else he had seen since entering the castle, she was dressed impeccably, obviously from a wealthy family. She shook her head and stuffed the book back onto a shelf, pulled off another, only to stuff that one back as well. She looked bored, and Zidane longed to go to her. He wanted to entertain her, to charm her, to make her laugh and see light in her dark eyes. He didn't realize that he had been standing in the doorway, dumbstruck, until she suddenly looked to her left and straight at him.
He jumped and quickly dove to the side, out of the doorway and out of her sight. Why had he reacted that way? She didn't look alarmed at all when she looked at him, and he ran like a coward. He thanked his stars that Blank hadn't been there to see him run from a pretty girl. He'd never let Zidane live it down. Blank wouldn't have ran. Blank would've marched right in there and charmed the heck out of her.
Just as Zidane was regaining his nerve and resolving to go back in there, he heard a familiar voice echo down the hall. "ZIDANE!" Benero called, waving his arms up in the air. "We've been looking for you!"
"Yeah, the Knight says no stew until we found you!"
Zidane rolled his eyes, but Benero, Zenero, and the Knight were nearly at him, and he knew his chance to meet the beauty in the library had gone. He followed them down the hall, his tail drooping just the slightest, and casting a backwards glance at the open library door.
On the ride back to Lindblum, Zidane was no longer mesmerized by the beauty of Alexandria castle and its sword. Instead, he stared at it blankly, imagining the girl in the library and wondering if he would ever see her again.