I do not own Squaresoft (I refuse to call it Square Enix) or Final Fantasy IX. (But I do think Vivi is the cutest character ever.)
"And this year's winner of the Festival of the Hunt is…Mr. Vivi Ornitier!"
"WHAT?!" Vivi was clearly stunned. "B-but I thought I lost!"
"Well," said Freya, "someone thought it was a good idea to charge head-first into a Zaghnol instead of defending."
"Oh come on!" said Zidane, exasperated. "I was trying to impress you!"
"And you got both of us knocked out in the process."
"Well…whatever."
"Congratulations, Vivi!" exclaimed the oglop-ified Regent Cid. "Here is your (gwok) card!"
"Oh…thanks…" The young black mage stepped forward to receive his prize.
"I am so proud of you, Vivi!" cried Princess Garnet. "You did so well!"
"I am particularly impressed by your usage of black magic, Master Vivi," commented Steiner. "You are exceptional!"
"Oh…t-thanks…I'm not that great, but-"
"Aw come on, Vivi!" Zidane said, waving his arms. "You scored the highest and earned the title! And you earned a sweet date with the princess!"
There was a stunned silence as the words began to sink in.
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"Whoops…sorry Dagger, I forgot to tell you…"
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" yelled Steiner, marching right up to the thief's face, his own red with fury. "WHAT KIND OF CONSPIRACY ARE YOU PLOTTING NOW?!"
"Geez, chill out, Rusty!" cried Zidane, slowly backing away as Steiner continued to advance on him. "I promised Vivi that if he won, he'd go out with Dagger!"
"WHAT?!"
Steiner made a move to grab Zidane, but Zidane jumped out of the way just in time.
"YOU!" The knight began jumping up and down in frustration, his rusty armor clanking with every jump.
"Well now, isn't this a gwok surprise!" said Regent Cid, clearly bemused. "I didn't know those two were dati-"
"N-no, we're not!" said Vivi, anxiously adjusting his worn-out hat. "It was Zidane's idea…"
"That was rather inconsiderate of you Zidane, not once, but TWICE now," said Freya, crossing her arms and leaning against a pillar. "First entering Vivi into the hunt (which is illegal I believe), and now playing matchmaker?"
"Aw, why is everyone against me?" Zidane pouted, jumping out of the way a second time as Steiner attacked him again. "I just wanted to have some fun! Besides, they're both mages; I'm sure they'll have a lot to talk about!"
"And just what made you think that?"
"Um, well…I thought – ACK!" This time, Steiner was successful, and was holding Zidane in a chokehold. "Let – go – of – me!"
"AHA! I've got you now! Apologize this instant!"
"Dammit Rusty, I can't breathe!" Zidane's face was steadily turning blue.
"Let him go, Steiner."
"But Princess – "
"ADELBERT STEINER!"
"…Very well." Steiner released Zidane, who collapsed to the floor and was now gasping for air.
"I do not mind going on a date with Vivi," said Garnet calmly. "I don't get to talk to him very often and I would like to ask him some questions. Is that alright with you, Vivi?"
"U-um…" Vivi was still nervously adjusting his hat. "Y-yeah, I guess…"
"Then that is settled. I will, however," Garnet continued, rounding on Zidane, who was still on the floor, "ask you to refrain from forcing others into doing things they do not want to do!"
"Oh come on," said Zidane, getting up. "Who could resist a pretty girl like – " He stopped, noticing the absolutely murderous look on Steiner's face. "…Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Vivi, I shall meet you at the Doom Pub in an hour." The princess walked back to her chambers (with Steiner following her), but not before giving Zidane a "one more step out of line and you will regret it" look. Zidane winced.
Great…now Rusty AND the princess hate me. Who's next?
Freya started to exit the room as well, brushing past Zidane. "Jerk."
There we go.
"Well, if we're all done here, I shall be off to inspect Hilda Garde 2!"
"How's it coming along, Regent?" asked Zidane.
"Oh, the usual (gwok). Still can't get it working right due to my addled brain. It'll (gwok) work out someday!"
"Yeah, I hope so too."
"Farewell, Zidane! Do try to stay out of trouble (gwok)!" Regent Cid made his way back to the throne and the chair descended down.
"Looks like everyone's gone…guess I'll take a nap – huh?" Zidane had forgotten that Vivi was still in the room, still fidgeting with his hat. "You alright?"
"N-not really…"
"You know, if you keep playing with your hat like that, it'll fall apart."
"Oh…sorry…"
"You're not mad at me, are you?"
"Huh? Oh…well, I was surprised when you set me up and all that…I'm not mad…not really…"
"Hey, look, I'm sorry that I did that to you. I just thought it would be a good idea for you to get to know her more. I spend a lot of time with you and Dagger does with Rusty, so I thought it'd be nice for you two to get to know each other more."
"What about you and Steiner?"
"Uh…well, maybe someday." I hope never. "But anyway, don't sweat it! Remember, she's a princess. She's really nice, you know her. Besides, she doesn't expect that much."
"…Thanks?"
"Aw, not in that way! I mean like it's just a casual thing! You know…bonding time! Who knows when we'll go our separate ways, right?"
"I guess…"
Zidane knelt down and put a hand on Vivi's shoulder. "Don't sweat it. If anything, just be true to yourself. Got that?"
"Um…yeah…"
"Good!" And with that, Zidane bounded out of the room.
"True to…myself?" Vivi began nervously adjusting his hat again. "But what does that mean?"
An hour later, Vivi found himself walking up a street in Lindblum's Industrial District to the Doom Pub.
Doom Pub…sounds scary. And kinda fitting. He stopped in front of the pub's entrance. Well…here goes nothing. He opened the door.
The pub was rather empty after the Festival of the Hunt, as many people were now resting in their homes. Bobo the barkeep was present, as was Lillian the waitress, and a few other people milling around. I wonder where she is…
"Vivi!" He turned slightly and saw Garnet in her usual attire at the back of the pub. He was relieved to see her smiling and walked towards her.
"How are you?" she asked as he took a seat across from her.
"Um…fine I guess…"
"You must be so tired after the Festival. Why don't you get something to drink?"
"Oh…t-that's okay, don't worry about it…"
"It is alright. I shall pay for the tab. I did not leave Alexandria without some gil, you know."
"Um…"
Garnet smiled again. "I'm serious. Please get something to drink. I would rather spend it on you than Zidane."
"…You don't like him?"
She shook her head. "It's not that. I'm not mad at him for doing this. I suspect Steiner thinks otherwise, though. He's outside milling the streets making sure Zidane doesn't get in."
Vivi had a sudden mental image of an angry Steiner with a broadsword chasing down a terrified Zidane and couldn't help but laugh a little. "I could see him doing that, yeah…huh? What's wrong?"
Garnet looked astonished. "I have never heard you laugh before…it's cute."
"Oh? Um, well…I guess I don't find a lot of things funny," said Vivi, looking down at the table. "I guess I don't come off as humorous…"
"You don't have to. But finding the humor in life is a nice way to live, is it not?"
"I guess…"
"At least, that is what Zidane has taught me…" Garnet blushed a little. "Before that, I just had my nose in books all the time." She leaned back slightly and looked at the light fixture above Vivi's head. "I was a serious student, always reading and learning and never really enjoying life. But out here…it is different. Seeing the world for myself and trying to enjoy a life outside the castle walls…it is a change for me."
Vivi nodded. "…Did you like the castle?"
The princess looked directly at the young mage. "I did…it is just that I was never allowed to leave the castle. Even going into town was difficult because Steiner was worried about me being abducted. I was so used to castle life that I never really thought about what the outside world had. I suppose I could thank Zidane for seeing to that, though."
"…Has Steiner always been that protective of you?"
"Always. And not just of me, but of Mother and the castle walls. He's always protected me for as long as I could remember. Beatrix – she's the general of the Alexandrian army – has protected me too, but she is not nearly as defensive as Steiner. I guess you could say Steiner is paranoid of me getting hurt or kidnapped."
"Oh…"
"Please do not get me wrong, I love Steiner and all that he has done for me. I suppose you could say he is obsessive at times…oh! Dear me, I have been talking all this time and I haven't even ordered our drinks yet. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay…" Garnet raised her hand and Lillian walked over. "Two waters and two soup specials, please."
"Y-you don't have to – "
"Thank you." The waitress took down the order as Garnet turned back to Vivi. "Please, do not worry about it. I make sure I have enough pocket money on me at all times."
"…Um...thank you..."
Lillian came back with their waters and set them down. Garnet took hers and drank some, while Vivi hesitated before taking his.
"What's wrong?"
She's so open with me…I guess it's okay to talk to her…there's a question I've been meaning to ask her…way back in Evil Forest during that campfire…I wonder if it's appropriate to ask her…
"Is there something on your mind, Vivi?"
"Huh? Oh…it's nothi-" He looked at Garnet and saw her brown eyes full of concern. "Um…"
"Please tell me. You look terrified."
"Well…" Vivi looked down and twirled his hands nervously before looking back up.
"Why did you want to leave the castle?"
Garnet sighed. "It is a long story…"
"I'm sorry for asking, I didn't mean to ask a silly question, I – "
"Vivi." She reached across the table and took his twirling hands in hers. He immediately stopped and looked up. "It is not a silly question. I'm glad you asked me, it means you care."
"Oh…" She let go of his hands and retracted hers.
"I shall try to make this story short. When my father, the king, died a year ago, my mother's behavior changed. It was almost like she went from a caring and sweet mother to a power-hungry stranger overnight. A strange man arrived at around the same time and her desire for power increased. She was no longer my mother; I did not know her anymore. I told Steiner and Beatrix about this, but they simply brushed it off as stress over my father's death. I did not know who to tell or who would listen to me."
Garnet looked down at her hands, which were now folded in her lap. "When I heard that Tantalus was coming to perform on my 16th birthday, I vowed to get to Lindblum. I knew Uncle Cid would listen to me. Had everything gone as I had anticipated, she would have never known I was here…"
Vivi felt a pang of guilt at this. He'd inadvertently revealed Garnet's identity to the entire Alexandrian crowd. "I'm sorry I set you on fire."
Garnet giggled and looked up. "It's alright; I do not blame you for what happened." She hesitated before continuing. "I do not want to upset you, but do you remember the factory in Dali with the eggs and…other black mages?"
Vivi nodded. "You mean the…dolls, right?"
"Well, yes…some of them were sealed in a barrel labeled with a crest. An Alexandrian crest."
Vivi was stunned. He hadn't known that; not that it was his fault, as he had been trapped in a barrel as well. "You mean those black mages are…"
"They must be working for my mother. And for that strange man. Which means my mother is planning something."
"…Did you tell Regent Cid?"
"I did. He's actually the one who sent Tantalus to kidnap me."
Vivi was stunned again. "You mean Regent Cid knew that something was wrong?"
"He made a promise to my father, that if I was in danger, he would get me out of Alexandria. And so here I am. Or, here we are."
"So you made it to Lindblum."
"I did indeed."
"What do you plan to do here?"
"In Lindblum? I am not quite sure yet. I believe that for the time being, I will discuss these matters with Uncle Cid and plan our next move. I may not be queen just yet, but I feel that I need to protect Alexandria – and Mother – from falling, even if it means leaving my home for the time being."
Vivi nodded. How little he had known of Princess Garnet's life and her reasoning for leaving Alexandria. He was almost grateful to Zidane for setting him up on this date. He hadn't really talked to Garnet and now she was revealing a lot of information to him – information that she willingly shared with him, and possibly no one else.
She must trust me to tell me all this…but why? Why did she even agree to this?
"Vivi? The soup is here."
"What? Oh…it looks delicious!" He was hungry, and immediately dove into the soup.
"Vivi! Wait!" But it was too late; he was immediately Silenced.
"?!"
Garnet laughed. "You have to put an Echo Screen in the soup before you drink it. I have one here somewhere…" She dug around in her purse and found the medicine. "Here." Vivi took some of it, his Silence cured.
"I didn't know that," said an embarrassed Vivi as he gave the medicine back to Garnet.
"Sometimes Bobo's Specials are status-inducing meals," said Garnet, putting some drops of the Echo Screen into her soup. "Uncle Cid warned me of the Specials; he told me one time Uncle Artania drank a Soup du Petrify. They didn't have any Softs on them, so Uncle Cid had to drag him out of the restaurant. Imagine how heavy that must be!"
Vivi had a second mental image of the oglop Regent Cid furiously yelling "gwok!" while carrying a Petrified Artania and laughed again.
"That must have been awful!"
"Oh, it must have been!" said Garnet, now joining in on the laughter. "Imagine poor Uncle Cid now, dragging a…let's see, Confused Artania, and yelling 'gwok gwok! How infuriating!'" They both laughed harder, tears coming out of Garnet's eyes, as several patrons turned to look at the laughing pair.
" That sounds like a nightmare!"
"Oh it does!"
They continued to laugh, making up various status effects about Minister Artania and the oglop Cid, until they finally couldn't come up with any more scenarios.
"Ahaha," breathed Garnet, finishing the last of her water. "I have not laughed that hard in a long time…"
"M-me neither…"
"…My father used to tell me funny stories before I went to bed," said Garnet. "Sometimes he would tell me stories about Tom's kitten Mittens running away, or of the Ticketmaster dealing with unruly patrons…mostly he would tell me stories of Steiner being an idiot. Those ones I loved."
"…You sound like you were very close to him."
"I was…I was very close to him. I loved him very much and still do. I miss him every day."
"…I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Vivi," said Garnet softly. "Which reminds me…you haven't told me about you."
"Huh?"
"I've been talking all this time, and I haven't gotten the chance to know you that well."
"Oh…well…I'm not that interesting…"
"I am sure you are very interesting. Every person has a story to tell." Garnet hesitated before continuing. "You told us you had a grandfather?"
"I did…his name was Quan…"
"What was he like?"
"Oh…well, he was a nice man…he took care of me, gave me a place to stay…I was really comfortable there. I lived a simple life."
"Did you like it there?"
"Um...I guess…I never really thought about it before…I guess it just didn't matter to me too much."
Garnet nodded. "What about you?"
"Huh?"
"What do you like to do?"
Vivi was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what are your hobbies? Any favorite activities or anything?"
"I think a lot…does that count?"
The princess smiled. "Of course it does. Is there anything else you like doing?"
"Well…" Vivi began twirling his hands again. "Sometimes…when my grandpa was asleep, I'd go outside the cave and stargaze. I'd sit near the edge of the mountain – not too close, or I'd fall off – and just look up at the sky, and see all the stars…and just sit there for a while. Since we lived above Mist, I could always see the night sky clearly. It's really pretty."
"It sounds wonderful. We'll have to go sometime."
"Yeah…"
They sat in silence for a while, until Garnet spoke again. "Vivi?"
"Hmm?"
"…Why did you decide to come to Alexandria?"
"Oh…well someone from Treno had a spare ticket and gave it to me. I'd never seen a play before and I was excited to visit Alexandria. It sounded like fun, anyway. I met my first friend ever."
"Your first friend?"
"His name was Puck. I'd never had a friend before. We…um…decided to get…nice seats for the show…"
"…You mean you snuck into the theatre…"
"Well…" Vivi looked down at the table, an instant giveaway. "Y-yeah…that's how I ended up stage, the guards chased us and everything...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that…"
"No, don't be sorry. I'm glad you snuck in, otherwise we wouldn't be talking."
"Yeah…um, well, anyway, Puck was the first friend I'd ever had. Besides my grandpa, I never had anyone to talk to. And after he died, I felt truly alone. I don't really have a lot of friends…" He looked down again and began nervously twirling his hands again. What if she's judging me for seeing the show illegally? And I ruined her birthday…and set her on fire…she must hate me a lot…I made it hard for her to get to Lindblum…I almost got her killed…and Steiner got dragged into this…Zidane must hate me a lot, too…why did I agree to all this? I should never have left home…
"…Vivi?"
"…"
"Are you alright?"
"…Why aren't you mad at me?!"
"Huh?" Garnet was clearly confused by Vivi's sudden outburst. "What do you mean?"
"I ruined the entire day for you! If I hadn't been there, you would've been in Lindblum safely. I couldn't even save you from the plant in Evil Forest. I couldn't even save myself from being kidnapped in Dali and you and Zidane had to rescue me! I'm helpless! I can't do anything right!"
"Vivi…"
"…I know you must hate me. I'm sure Steiner and Zidane do too…I'm sorry for everything I've done, it was stupid of me. I'm sorry for being a waste of space. I'll go now."
"Vivi, wait!" Before Garnet could protest, Vivi had already hopped off his seat and was running towards the door. He was almost at it when he felt a hand on his shoulder; he turned around and saw the princess, her brown eyes shining with sadness.
"…Dagger? I – ?" Suddenly Garnet kneeled down and hugged him tightly.
"Why would you ever say anything like that? I don't blame you at all for what has happened! You are a very valuable friend to me and please don't ever feel otherwise! Please, Vivi, don't blame yourself for what has happened! Steiner and Zidane respect you and don't hate you! And I certainly don't hate you at all. You are not helpless; you have helped us all in tight spots! Remember the Ice Cavern? Without you who knows where we'd be!"
"But – but I – "
"No. No doubting yourself. You need to trust yourself more and believe in yourself, because I believe in you. Please do not hate yourself, Vivi. Please."
"…"
"Promise?"
"…"
"Vivi?"
"…A-alright…"
"Good."
"…Dagger?"
"Yes?"
Vivi was finding it hard to breathe. "C-could you let go of me now?"
"Oh! I'm sorry." Garnet let go of the black mage, who once again straightened his hat.
"What was that?"
"What? You mean a…a hug?"
"Um, yeah…that."
"You don't know what a hug is?"
"I've never really been…hugged before."
"Oh!" Garnet was surprised. "It's just a sign of friendship. I'll try to do it more gently." Vivi found himself in a warm embrace. "A hug shows someone you care. It means we're friends."
"…Friends?"
"Yes, Vivi…friends." She let go and smiled. "Come on, let's go back to the castle. It'll be nighttime when we get back; maybe you can tell me more about stargazing and we can do it together."
Vivi nodded. "Sure." They left the Doom Pub together, walking back to the aircab station.
He was lost in thought at the conversation that had just transpired. I have…friends?…Maybe I don't have to figure this out all by myself…maybe I don't have to figure out who I am all alone…because I have friends to help me…He felt much warmer inside.
"Done already?"
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Vivi fell forward and landed on his face. He got up and turned around; Zidane was standing right where he had been seconds before, a mischievous smile on his face. Garnet put her hands on her hips.
"That wasn't very nice of you, Zidane."
"Aw, come on! I wanted to see how your little date went."
"It's none of your business, but it went perfectly fine, thank you," said Garnet haughtily. "Isn't that right, Vivi?"
"Y-yeah..."
"SEE?!" said Zidane accusingly. "And here everyone's getting all mad at me."
"Zidane, you are not supposed to be here."
"Says who?"
"Says the very angry Captain of the Knights of Pluto, who is standing right behind you," stated Garnet.
"Yeah right! Because I'm definitely not afraid of Rus – " Zidane whirled around to see a downright furious Steiner, holding his broadsword in both hands and towering over the thief.
A beat passed before Zidane registered the scenario in his mind.
"…AHHHH!" Zidane took off running down the steps, with an angry Steiner hot on his trail yelling "BRIGAND! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"
Vivi turned to Garnet. "What's that status effect?"
Garnet grinned, watching the two run in circles around the statue of Cid Fabool VIII. "Complete and Utter Panic."
The two friends laughed as they made their way back to Lindblum Castle.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this! It's based on the deal Zidane made with Vivi (or rather, one that Zidane forced Vivi into) about going on a date with Garnet if he won the Festival of the Hunt. Plus Vivi and Garnet are my favorite two characters and there's not a lot of dialogue between them in-game exploring their friendship. Rate and review (no flames please). Thanks! ^_^