Forever…
by
Karumi
Author's notes: This
is an A/U fic and my first for FFIX. It's also angsty;
so you've been
warned.
Disclaimer: All
FFIX characters belong to Squaresoft.
Garnet looked
down toward Zidane as the Hilda Garde flew far away from the Iifa Tree. She
wanted to jump out; to be with him; but deep in her heart she knew
she'd just get in
the way. So instead she just stood there, staring at the tree for a while,
twirling the chain of her necklace between her fingers. As the Iifa Tree became
a dot far in the distance Garnet suddenly heard the explosions booming from it.
Her heart skipped a beat as she cover her mouth with her right hand and a single
thought escaped her mind "Zidane…"
"Are you alright
Dagger?" Eiko asked
softly closing the door behind her.
Garnet wiped
the few tears that had escaped her eyes with the back of her hand "I'm fine Eiko;
it's just
that…did you hear
something just now?"
"Err, no;
why?" Eiko asked
slightly confused by the question.
"It's nothing,
don't worry, I was
just…
wondering." Garnet lied
"Did you need
something?" Garnet said,
quickly changing the subject.
"Oh…" Eiko exclaimed
caught by surprise "no; its just
that the others prepared some coffee downstairs and they were wondering if you
wanted some?"
"Coffee?!" the offer of
the stimulant made Garnet ten times more tired than she already was.
"You know what
Eiko? I rather take a nap; can you please tell the others?" asked
Garnet.
"Sure, no
problem." answered
Eiko.
"Thanks for the
offer anyway" said Garnet as
she went to her chambers leaving a mildly confused Eiko on the deck of the Hilda
Garde.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Garnet walked
slowly with uneasy steps. She didn't know were she
was; it appeared to be a city or at least it had been at one point in time. But
all that was left now were piles of rubble and the feeling of sadness all
around. Yet the place felt oddly familiar; a feeling Garnet didn't like very
much. She kept walking until she reached the shore of a body of water, maybe a
lake once, unrecognizable now with all the mud and dirt. "Is this a
dream? …Am I dreaming?
…But it feels so
real."
Garnet looked
around the lake for any signs of life as the wind blew in her face and caressed
her hair. She was about to return to the deserted town when far up ahead she saw
what looked like a small hilltop and what appeared to be a person standing on
its top. Her hopes raised, she quickly looked around the around the lake; she
saw what was left of a small rowboat that still appeared to be floatable and
without thinking it twice got on and started rowing towards the small island.
She was determined to ask whoever was there all the questions that were burning
in her chest. Where was she? What happened to this place? And probably
the most important of all, where was everyone? Garnet paddle as fast as
she could and after what seem like half an hour she finally reached the other
side and was off the boat and into the water in a matter of seconds.
Garnet froze at the bottom of
the hill looking up towards it; the person was still there. She could see
him/her better now; it was taller than her but she could still not see him/her
well since it had a black hood on. And now that she was closer, there was
something disturbing about the scene in front of her; there was a big lump on
the floor in front of the mysterious person. It had an awfully abnormal shape;
in a way it almost looked like… a body. Garnet started up the
hill with steady steps but as she got closer and closer to the figure on the top
and the strange lump on the ground, a sense of foreboding filled her spirit. But
why? This person could be the answer to all her questions; so why was she
so…afraid.
"Excuse me…?" murmured Garnet, yet she was
positive the person had heard her.
"Umm…could you please tell me where
I am? my name is… "
"I know who you are" interrupted the person; with
such smoothness that Garnet gave a step back.
"That
voice…"
"You are Garnet Till Alexandros
the 17th…"
"…it
can't be,
it's
impossible"
"…Queen of Alexandria;
Queen…of all this you
see."
"NO!…no no no no no no no.
Garnet
raised both her hands to her mouth as she stared at the barren land that was
once her home.
"This has to be a dream it just
has to be"
"Dreams are mysterious things
your highness…they might try to tell you
something." Said the figure in front of
her as it reached for her.
"Don't touch me!" screamed Garnet as she
slapped Kuja's hand away. "Stay away from me!"
"As you wish, but
what's done its done…" said Kuja returning to the
top of the hill to stare at nothing.
Garnet took a few moments to
regain control of her emotions and to clear her head enough, so she could think
straight again. She loathed the man in front of her; because of him her kingdom
was in ruins, because of him her mother was dead; and because of him Zidane had
stayed behind at the Iifa tree. But Garnet would not cry; she refused
to…she would never show him
weakness. "What do you mean…what's done its done?"
"Are you sure this is a
dream?" retorted Kuja, changing his
view from the barren landscape to the lump on the ground.
"Stop! With the mind
games" cried Garnet. "You're not making any
sense"
"Am I supposed to?" he said with an obvious
mischief in his voice as he kept starring at the lump.
Garnet have had it, she was
getting nowhere; the only thing she had gained from the conversation was a
headache. He wasn't even paying attention to
her. "Fine, then" she said after a few moments
and turned to leave. She had her back at him when he finally
spoke.
"Loss is a painful thing; yet
one must learn to live with it. Death you see…is a part of life. Death is
all I know; I was created for it; it is my birthright; yet I have never known
what loss feels like…until now. I didn't care for anyone and nobody
cared for me. But it's not like that anymore and
because of it I now know what loss feels like."
Garnet took a deep breath and
closed her eyes after he finished. He still made no sense. She turned around to
look at him and saw that he was still starring at the lump. She closed her eyes
again as she tried to find something rational to say. Once she reopened them
again, she couldn't believe her eyes…Kuja was gone; only the lump
on the ground remained. Garnet took a step closer to it, curiosity beating
rational thinking. And then it hit her; Kuja had been staring at the lump the
entire; his words were directed at it "…I know now what loss feels
like." Each step got her closer to
it and the sense of foreboding was back. Her heart beat faster with each step
and it almost stopped when she was three steps away from it and saw a human hand
sticking out of the mass of black. It took only a second for Garnet to come out
of shock and rushed to the side of the person lying there. She fell to her knees
beside it, took its head in her arms and removed the hood to check if the person
was still alive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's note: Who is the mystery
person? What happened to everyone in the Hilda Garde? And most important of all,
shall I continue this story? Little reviews make a sad Karumi and sadness is not
good for my creativity and/or imagination. So please review and tell me what you
think of my story. Thanks for reading ^_^
