"Tears Held Back"

by jolt527

Queen Garnet sat on her throne as her favorite play, "I Want to Be Your Canary" was being performed by the Tantalus Company. Tantalus…the band of thieves to which Zidane belonged to. Where was he? No one had heard anything from him since they defeated Kuja about two months ago. Many thought he was dead, but Garnet couldn't accept that. He helped her to see what the world was really like - not just dressing up and playing "Princess" as she once did. Zidane taught her to really live life, to have an opinion, and even to trust others. She missed him so much. She would do just about anything to see him once more, to tell him how she truly felt about him…

Queen Garnet's attention shifted back to the play onstage. Zidane had also taught her to move on, to not dwell on things that one couldn't change. The actor onstage who played the role of Marcus was coming to a very emotional part of the play. The actor's clothing was a little strange though - he was wearing a hooded robe that completely concealed his identity. This was Garnet's favorite play and she had even studied it to the very words, but this costume was a very uncommon occurrence.

"I beseech thee, wondrous moonlight, grant me my only wish!" the actor cried out as he turned away from the audience with him arms outstretched.

Zidane did teach her to move on, but thoughts of him kept filling her mind. She felt like Marcus did right now, only wanting to be with his lover. Garnet did her best to hold back tears - these plays always brought out her emotional side, especially when it pertained to her own thoughts or situations. She could only hope for Zidane's return.

The actor then leaned over, his back still to the audience. What was he doing? It almost looked like he was undoing his robe. Garnet wondered who the mystery actor was, as did everyone else in the audience. With one swift motion, the actor pulled off his robe and turned to the audience…

"Bring my beloved Dagger to me!" shouted the actor, with the robe still in hand. Dagger? The last person who had called her that was…Zidane?!? Was it really him? She jumped from her throne and leaned over the balcony edge to get a closer look. It had to be him! She couldn't wait any longer as she sprang towards the door back to the castle.

She ran around the throne, up the stairs to the door…guarded by Steiner and Beatrix. Their hands were outstretched, blocking the way through the door. This was not the time for them to be doing their job! Queen Garnet was about to yell, scream, do whatever to get through that door, but the two great soldiers opened the doors with their outstretched hands for her instead. Garnet gave Steiner a surprised look, and Steiner only gave her a reassuring smile. She then looked to Beatrix, who motioned her through the doors with a smile and a slight bow. She ran through the doorway and down the stairs, holding the front of her dress so she wouldn't trip. She stumbled upon reaching the bottom, but quickly regained her balance to continue her journey. There were two soldiers guarding the doors leading to the outside, but Garnet hurried through so fast that the two could only gasp and jump out of her way.

As Garnet pushed the doors open, she found a large crowd blocking her way to the stage. Nothing was going to stop her, though. She pushed her way though the crowd as politely as she could. People would give her smug looks at first, but then realizing she was their Queen, change to faces of surprise. Garnet was almost to the walkway to the stage, where the path would be clear for her, but she bumped into a passing person that accidentally tore the crystal pendant from her neck.

Garnet watched as the pendant flew behind her and slid on the ground. She held her neck, where the pendant was now absent from. That pendant was very important to her, but she had to decide if the pendant or Zidane was more important at that moment. Not even a second later she ran towards the stage again, the pendant still lying on the ground. As she ran down the walkway, she could feel tears welling in her eyes. She wasn't going to hold them back this time - she wanted to be herself for once. She took the crown off her head as she was running down the walkway and threw it to the ground. For once she didn't want to be a Queen to Zidane, she wanted to be Dagger, a real person. She jumped towards Zidane with such energy, that when he caught her he spun around and almost lost his balance.

They looked into each other's eyes and Zidane gave a small smile while tears fell from her face. Garnet instantly hugged him and then started to pound her fist on his chest. She was so angry that he had just shown up out of nowhere - everyone was wondering where he was! After hitting him two or three times, she looked back into Zidane's eyes. He was a little more affectionate this time, gently stroking her long hair. She then fell back into his arms with a sigh, and the crowd erupted with cheers and clapping. As the crowd applauded the two, they looked into each other's eyes again, then slowly leaned towards each other for a kiss. Garnet never thought she would be able to kiss Zidane, and she thought about it every day he was gone. Zidane then held her close and she whispered to him…

"How did you survive?"

"I didn't have a choice. I had to come home to you."