Just Like You Protected Us...

By mihoyonagi

Chapter 2: The First Week Without

The storytellers had lived up to their namesakes, and soon all of Alexandria, not to mention half of Lindblum, were talking of the Mage Queen who had saved them all. Gifts flocked to the castle, both large and small, and citizens of my city waited outside of the castle gates in hopes of seeing their heroine.

I obliged after the first few days, meeting with peasants and nobles alike, hearing their troubles and listening to their praise. I was polite to all, but the smiles I gave them never truly reached my eyes.

By the end of our first week back, Seiner, Beatrix and I had started pushing our efforts toward rebuilding our beloved city. I ached to traverse the streets on my own, to better understand the state of the city and the repairs needed, but my guardians declined to escort me, warning me that I would most likely be recognized and mobbed. I understood, but that didn't make it sting any less.

I wrote Regent Cid, letting him know that I was settling back into my role, and that if he needed help, fiscally or otherwise, I was more than willing to help. I knew he would politely decline, what with how proud he was of his city and their own efforts of rebuilding, but I knew it was expected of me to offer, and partially because I wanted to. I was indirectly responsible for what happened to the city of airships and theaters, and guilt still hung heavy upon my soldiers. No one blamed me, not completely, but I knew if I had only been stronger...

But what's past has past, and I must not dwell on it.

That's why I forced my tears to stop falling. I could cry over him forever, or I could take what strength he gave me and attempt to be a better person.

I missed him. Oh, how I missed him. But I must no longer shed tears over him.

I'm sure he'd be flustered over the fact that I cried over him at all. I could just imagine his cheeks flushing, his tail bristling at the end as he scratched the back of his head...

I must not cry. I must -not- cry.

My treasury was full of wealth, horded by my mother; spoils of war. It did not feel right to keep it, and so I had Steiner and his knight take whatever had been gathered after my departure and sell and trade it, all of the funding went to my people.

Small details are overlooked when stories are told; you cannot remember, it is not truly important to the overall tone of the story, it does not fit with the ending. One of the overlooked aspects of my story is the occasional night my friends and I went to bed with no supper, the noise of our grumbling bellies adding to the orchestra of night creatures that prowled the darkness.

With the funds gathered from the war spoils, I decreed a homeless shelter to be constructed, as well as a kitchen for the poor. I'd witnessed, first hand, what war can do to a family; children left alone, wives left widowed. The shelter would ease the suffering of those whose lives had taken a turn for the worst, and the kitchen would feed any of those who wished for a full stomach.

Construction of both would take time, we all knew, but the fact that I cared so about my citizens instilled them with hope and enthusiasm; a queen who had once moved among her people in disguise; who better to know their needs than a ruler who had experienced them herself?

The faith my people carried served to cheer me up. Not completely, but one can only look at smiling faces so long before they start to smile themselves.

Much to everyone's surprise, workers came from Lindblum, the out-lying village of Dali, and even Treno, looking for work. We hired all we could, paying them with a roof over their heads, as much as they could eat, and a stable salary. Steiner almost threw a tantrum when I decreed that the entire west wing of the castle would go to housing the workers who couldn't find lodging in the city, but I calmed him with a shake of my head and soft words.

"If they are willing to help us, I am willing to help them."

Though, to ease his nervousness I mostly stayed away from that part of the castle and allowed him to promote a few more soldiers to knights to better protect the grounds.

It would have been nice to trust all of the hired help, but I wasn't the naive girl I once was. I knew that amidst the sheep hid wolves. None of them were brave enough to steal from the castle, but it would be stupid to think -all- of them just.

Just because Zidane had been a noble thief...

Ah, I must not lie. I will, indeed, cry.

But only for him.

And I will not cry where they can see me, or where they can hear me.