Stage Name
-written by Dragonkiri-
It was night time. The crown prince of Damcyan sat in a rather awkwardly bent position in the cramped bunk of his rather small quarters. Seadream, the ship the King of Fabul had commissioned to him and to his companions, could not be considered luxurious despite its rather whimsical name, but Gilbert did not mind. His eyes were closed in concentration as his fingers slowly strummed his harp, and the achingly sad melody emanated somewhat mutely below deck.
"Edward?"
Startled, Gilbert opened his eyes, and the notes of the song faded into the air. His sky-blue eyes met the deeper blue of the little girl with green hair who peeked from behind the small crack of the door. He smiled and beckoned, his fingers still partially on the strings of his harp. "Come in, Rydia."
The door opened a bit more, and the small summoner slipped inside, closing it again behind her. "I couldn't sleep," she said quietly as she climbed to sit next to him upon his bunk. "I've never been on a boat before. I think it rocks too much. I don't like being alone in my room either, but everyone was asleep and then I heard you playing. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
"Not at all," Gilbert replied. "In fact, I was feeling a little lonely, which is why I was playing." Though I always feel lonely now, came the thought, but he ignored it. "I take it you're not finding your first ship journey enjoyable?"
"It's boring," Rydia replied with a shrug. "Everyone's waiting to get to Baron. Cecil's always spending time above deck and he doesn't talk and just stares at things. Yang just practices his kata and that gets boring to watch after awhile. Everyone's just... boring."
"I see." The musician strummed idly as he listened to the young girl's complaints. "You didn't come by during the day, though - am I quite so boring that you'll only come see me when everyone else is asleep?" His reassuring smile belied the self-deprecating jest.
Rydia stuck her tongue out at him in response. "You were sort of sick earlier. I thought you wanted to be alone," she said.
"Ah, yes." Gilbert grimaced slightly. "I'm fine now. Sea travel tends to disagree with me at first. It always passes after a few hours."
She abruptly changed the subject. "What are we going to do when we get to Baron?"
"We'll find Cecil's friend Cid, like we planned," the blond prince replied serenely. "Then we'll use his airship to find Golbez and rescue Rosa." His words faltered a bit there, betraying his doubt of the apparent ease of this plan.
"I hope she's okay." The little girl's voice was small. Her eyes were downcast, and her hands clenched into fists upon her knees.
"So do I." Strum.
"Edward, how come the King called you Gilbert?"
The prince smiled slightly at this. Rydia was such an inquisitive child. After weeks of travel with the little girl, he had realized that frequent changes of subject were a result of such ravening curiosity. He was honestly surprised that it had taken her this long to ask him this question.
"You know, I had forgotten that I didn't formally introduce myself when we first met," he murmured. "Although I was... distraught, at the time. Gilbert is the name I was born with. Gilbert Chris Von Muir. You should know that, though," the prince chided. "You are from Mist, after all, which is on the outskirts of Damcyan."
"But Mist isn't part of Damcyan. It's not part of Baron, either. Mama always says that we belong only to ourselves. I mean... she used to say." She looked away. After a moment, she asked, "But why did you tell us your name was Edward, then? Anna called you Edward."
Gilbert gave a small, wistful sigh at the mention of his lost love. "The first time I left to travel as a Bard, I took the name Edward to avoid attention. I only wanted to be known for my music, after all, not my name and my title. Gilbert is a name reserved only for those of Von Muir blood. I first met Anna as Edward the Bard, and even when I told her who I really was, she never stopped calling me that."
"Why did you pick that name?"
"Well..." Strum. "I took the name from another prince I am acquainted with. His name is Edward Geraldine, from Eblana, on the other side of the world. We met once, when the Eblanese royal family made a formal visit to maintain trade relations with us. He's a few years older than I am, and in the short time he was in Damcyan, I became very impressed with him. I have always been rather reserved... perhaps even shy. It's very unbecoming for a prince, especially a crown prince, who is expected become King eventually. Edge, though – that's what he calls himself – is anything but shy." Gilbert shook his head in admiration. "He was very bold, and spoke his mind freely. He was very funny, too – he said the most outrageous things. I wanted to be more like him, to be braver, so I borrowed his name."
"I think you're very brave," the small summoner said solemnly. "You didn't run away from Tellah when he wanted to hurt you, and you fought with Cecil and Yang and the soldiers at Fabul. You could have stayed with me and Rosa during the invasion if you didn't want to fight."
Gilbert blinked. "Those are very kind words, Rydia," he said, touched. "I thank you."
"You're welcome." After this, Rydia was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, the prince was amused to detect a hint of reproach. "I think it's silly of you, though, to keep using that name even after people know who you are. You don't need someone else's name to be brave when you've already proved that you are. You don't need to be anything but yourself."
"Anna told me much the same thing," Gilbert replied, grinning slightly. "That didn't stop her from calling me Edward, though. I couldn't tell if it was from habit or if she meant anything by it," he added absentmindedly.
"Can I call you Gilbert, Edward?"
The question caught him by surprise, and then he laughed. "Of course, Rydia. You may call me whatever you want. Provided it's not insulting," he added.
Rydia smiled then, the expression lighting up her elfin features. It was perhaps the happiest the prince had seen her look since before the attack on Fabul. She moved closer to give him a hug. Surprised, Gilbert put his harp down and hugged her back.
"I'm going back to my room now," the small summoner said. "I'm going to try to sleep again. Thanks for talking, Gilbert."
"You're very welcome," the musician replied. He reached for his cap, which sat on what passed for a bedside table and swept it over his heart, inclining his head in an abbreviated bow. "I enjoyed our conversation. Please come by any time."
Rydia nodded shyly, and left.
For quite a while after the girl's departure, a smile graced the prince of Damcyan's handsome face, and instead of the sad lament, the next melody he strummed was that of a sweet lullaby.
Author's notes: Another scene that practically came full-formed. Sadly I think that's the only way I can write now, but I'll keep my fingers crossed!
I've never found a reasonable explanation as to why Square had originally changed Gilbert's name to Edward in the first translation. I was honestly somewhat surprised that it remained "Edward" in the GBA release, though I suppose they were catering to the fanbase. ("Spoony bard" remained, after all!) I always thought it was interesting that there were two "Edwards" in the same game (the "Edge" nickname aside) and that both were princes.
After reading this, a friend told me she enjoyed serious conversations between adults and children, especially when the adult as well as the child comes away with something. After thinking about it, I agree. (Or else I'd have written this very differently!)
Special thanks to CapsuleKei, Reddo Meijisu and Asirsephora for beta-reading! Y'all rock.
-Dragonkiri