Chapter 2: Escape from Figaro

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VI.

A/N: Thanks for the review! Sorry about making Terra slightly OOC, but it's definitely better than my first draft (she sounded extremely unreal and so it was hard getting her back to 'normal').

P.S.: There's also an omake at the end (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's sort of like an outtake on my chapter. I hope you'll find it enjoyable!


Terra woke up, her head pounding. Breathing hard, she closed her eyes and listened to the still night air, welcoming the wind as it gently caressed her face. Then realization set in.

Now was the perfect opportunity for escape.

Not bothering to light a candle the girl fumbled about quietly for her hairtie. I have to go now, she thought desperately. Before anyone wakes up. Finding her hairtie Terra tied her hair, slipped into her shoes and cautiously opened the door, peering around. The coast was clear.

Darting out of her room the girl stole down the corridor in the shadows, her feet unusually loud on the cold stone floors. Not daring to breathe Terra put her hands on her cheeks. They were stone cold, but she didn't care. Finding the exit shouldn't be hard, she thought. As the guards from yesterday showed me the way from the throne room to the guest room, and Locke showed me the way from the throne room to the door. The girl's slow, steady walk turned into a brisk but quiet pace and her brain chatted to her to lessen her fear of being seen. Look, you're already approaching the doors to the throne room… Terra was so busy narrating to herself that she didn't see the dim light around the corner.

Until it was too late.

"My lady, where could you possibly be going on this fine night?" a guard growled, and Terra gasped. Her brain searched desperately for excuses.

"I-I need the, um, the to-toilet!" she squeaked, and flinched. Even a six-year old wouldn't have believed that.

"You know what, princess? I don't believe you," the guard sneered, exposing his yellow teeth. "Everybody knew that King Edgar was being too nice when he allowed you to stay as a guest-and now here is proof!" the guard whistled and four other guards joined him. The group advanced on their frightened prey who stood, petrified, rooted to the ground. And then the gravity of the situation made itself known to her, and she snapped.

"Fire!"

Glowing orange streaks spurted from Terra's fingertips, scorching the beard of the first guard. Yelping, he began to dance on the spot, patting his smoking beard while the others yelled and scrambled for safety. Recognising escape, Terra stumbled past her attackers to the exit, flinging the doors open. Not looking back the girl sprinted out into the cool air, gasping as the wind attacked her exposed flesh. She had forgotten that deserts could be extremely chilly at night. She ignored the pounding of her head as she stumbled across the dunes. Her only thought was to get away from Figaro.

"Wait!"

Terra looked over her shoulder and recognised the proud, tall figure of the king on a chocobo. "Go away! Leave me be!" she called back desperately, but her voice was lost in the wind. She tripped on a pebble and scrambled to get up, but her brain was screaming certain doom. There was no way she could outrun a chocobo, and the king was gaining on her. She had only one option left.

"Fire!" she screamed, turning her upper torso around so that it faced her pursuer. Once again orange-red streaks burst from her fingertips and flew straight at the king, who yelled and ducked on his mount, who squawked. Neither king nor chocobo were deterred, however, and both continued to approach Terra. The girl closed her eyes, defeated. If only she had been more discreet…

"Terra, are you alright? I saw you fall down," King Edgar said, bending down to scoop the girl up onto the chocobo. The girl wavered, unable to speak. What was the point of this charade? Sooner or later he would be sentencing her to a life-time in prison with the special gag over her mouth. Tears involuntarily trickled down her cheeks, and in the far distance she heard Kefka sneer in disgust. So weak…

"As you have probably found out, the nights are extremely cold…" King Edgar said, draping his cloak over Terra's shivering body, but she ignored him. Such a weak, cold, pathetic little girl…

"…you'd better not catch a cold, or you'll really get a flogging from me!"

Just a flogging? She deserved more than that for being so weak, so useless…

"Hello? Earth to Terra!" King Edgar waved a hand in front of the girl's face, and Terra was momentarily shaken out of her misery. She looked at the king wearily.

"I may as well be talking to a brick wall," the king said crossly. "Don't you know it's impolite to ignore your host?" His expression softened at the sight of Terra's tears. "You had better be crying for a good reason…" he mumbled before turning around and riding his chocobo back to Figaro.


"Give me a good reason why you shouldn't be killed off," Kefka sneered, cackling evilly as he looked at his prisoner who stood in front of him.

Terra quivered. She wanted to run, but her legs were stuck to the ground. She was too frightened to speak. Her torturer raised an eyebrow.

"What's the matter, dearie? Cat got your tongue? No matter. It's not going to be moving after I kill you, anyways."Kefka advanced on his victim slowly, his pale, white, painted face glowing eerily in the dimly-lit surroundings. Terra could only watch helplessly as the minister gradually made his way to her side. Pulling a dagger out of his sleeve, Kefka whispered in her ear, and her eyes widened in horror.

"Goodnight, Terra." Kefka raised the dagger and all became dark. Then a familiar voice spoke gently.

"Come home, Terra. Come home with me…"

Terra darted up from her sleeping position, breathing heavily. Where was she? What had happened? Oh right, the failed escape…the girl groaned and put a hand to her head as all her troubles came rushing back to her. Sighing, Terra fell back onto her bed, and her dream came back to her. She frowned, puzzled.

Ever since she was a little child Terra had had nightmares about being tortured and killed like all the other prisoners she had spied on behind statues of the Emperor. But that dream had stopped ages ago. So why was she having it now? Not only that. There was an addition to her nightmare. What was King Edgar's voice doing in her nightmare? And what did the words 'Come home' mean to her? Terra was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice a presence approaching her.

"Miss, wake up." For the second time Terra bolted up in her bed. She looked at her maid who regarded her coldly. "The king wants to see you."

Terra moved to stand, but her headache forced her back down. "I-I've got a headache," was all she could muster. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her maid suppress a snort of disgust.

"Please, miss, we've all fallen for that once. Using that excuse you tried to take advantage of the king's kindness and escape, but you failed. Who's going to trust you now?"

Terra looked at the servant in surprise. She hadn't thought that her maid could be so sharp-tongued, but she didn't blame her. With difficulty she stood up, her legs shaking. Who will trust me now? She thought bitterly as she put a thin blue robe on and followed the maid out of the room.

Terra was led into a small room. In the centre was a bear-skin rug and several red armchairs. There was a fireplace that looked as if it had not been used for a long time and on the mantelpiece there were many photographs. Curious, Terra examined them. The photos were of two young identical boys, both mini-versions of Edgar. Maybe one of them is his brother, Terra thought, placing the photo back in its respective place on the mantelpiece. She turned around in time to see the king enter, and her fear came rushing back in like a huge tidal wave. Closing the door after him the king motioned for Terra to sit. The girl obeyed, her fingers twitching nervously. She watched as the king scanned her body. But his words were not what she expected at all.

"Blue really does suit you. Why do you wear red?" the king asked, grinning lecherously. Terra felt the similar pangs of annoyance begin to affect her.

"I will wear whatever I want," she replied coldly. "And what I wear is not for you to dictate."

The king raised his hands up in mock defence. "I was merely stating my opinion," he teased. "Not trying to rule your mind."

"You better not be," Terra warned. If she managed to get the king off topic, perhaps she would live to see another day, she decided. "Because that red dress is my favourite."

The king looked thoughtful. "Yes, it's actually very revealing," he mused. "Maybe you should wear it more often. It is more…exciting, I suppose."

Terra was speechless.

"But your dress isn't what I wanted to talk about today." Terra drew her breath in sharply. She had just failed to divert the conversation. The girl looked at her feet, resigned.

"Why did you run away?"

"Why should I be loyal to Figaro when I am imprisoned within its walls?" Terra asked back, her tone firm.

"You're not a prisoner! You're a guest of honour!" Edgar exclaimed in surprise. "You are free to go about the castle as you like, but attacking my guards is a bit…much. And if you have to go out, you must have my permission."

"Why? If I am a guest of honour, surely I should be allowed to go outside the castle whenever I want?" Terra returned, confident that she had caught the king out.

"The world is a dangerous place," King Edgar said vaguely. "A lady shouldn't be out without her guardian's consent."

"And since when have you become my guardian?" Terra felt extremely annoyed. This man had some nerve, talking to her as if she was his pet chocobo! "What I do is none of your business! You've got nothing to do with my life!"

There was a slight pause in which Terra held her breath. She shouldn't have been so impertinent; now the king was going to blow his top and tell her that she was going to be executed. "Well?" she inquired her heart pounding. "What are you going to say?"

"Actually, I've got a lot to do with your life," the king said coolly. "Let me count the ways." He lifted his fingers like a young child trying to figure out two plus two.

"Oh, let me see what ludicrous reasons he comes up with…" Terra mumbled irritably under her breath. What came next, however, took her completely by surprise.

"Locke brought you here and told me to take care of you. You tried to attack my guards. You also tried to attack me and my chocobo-" (Terra snorted with laughter, it sounded so silly) "-and dined with me. Oh, and did I mention that you slept in my guest room?" Edgar looked at his guest, an eyebrow raised, and Terra ignored his disapproving look. She stared at her feet.

"Fine, so you have just about everything to do with me. So are you going to execute me now?" she muttered glumly. What else could she say?

"No, of course not!" King Edgar exclaimed, his eyebrows twitching irritably. "My lady, it's not healthy for you to worry so much about, about…" he looked at her quizzically, a mocking smile playing across his lips. "What were you worried about again?"

"Forget it," Terra replied, extremely vexed. "You're annoying to talk to, you know that?"

"Okay, okay, you're worried about being executed," the king cut in quickly. "But you shouldn't be. I'm not going to hurt a hair on your head. You see-" he paused. "-executing people doesn't really fit me. Especially not a pretty lady such as yourself."

"Y-You're not going kill me?" Terra stammered.

King Edgar opened his mouth to release a flirtatious quote, and then changed his mind. The girl was potentially dangerous; if she sent a fire spell his way he would not be able to dodge it again. "No, you're way too…ugh…valuable for that," the young king rubbed his temples. "Look, I didn't want to say that, but it's the only way you'll understand for now. The Empire may treat people as if they're merely pawns in a game, but that's not the way things should be. I-no, we-don't practice utilitarianism. We don't use people and then throw them away when they're of no more use to us. We like treating them as humans…friends."

"Who else do you refer to by 'we'?" Terra asked. Perhaps she could extract more information about the king from the Empire. There was an awkward silence in which the king paused to think and Terra held her breath. King Edgar opened his mouth to speak, and Terra's heart leaped.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Come in," the king said, and Terra detected a hint of relief in his voice. She bit back her disappointment and focussed her attention on the well-dressed man at the door.

"My king, Kefka is waiting outside. I have no idea what he wants to talk to you about-"

"Thank you, Chadron, you may go. I'll deal with Kefka." Terra's heart skipped a beat. Could Kefka be visiting because he knew she was here?

"Let me go with you-" she began, but the king held up his hand, smiling at his guest.

"Absolutely not. You'll be safer here than with Kefka, believe me. I can take care of this alone. Why don't you stew on our little conversation for now?" without another word the king turned and with an extravagant whirl of his cloak he disappeared, leaving Terra alone in the room. Taking the king's advice the girl began to replay their private conversation over in her head.

"We like to treat people as…friends." Terra was puzzled. "Friends?" she knew the word but to her it felt like she didn't. "Friends…" the word had acquired a new meaning to it. She licked her dry lips and shook her head furiously, berating herself. Who cared about the sentimental ways of the enemy? She had to get out of the castle and join Kefka. But what if she got caught again? Surely the king would not be able to forgive her for a second time. Forgive me, Emperor Gestahl. Terra closed her eyes and leant back in her armchair. But I won't be able to escape…for now.


King Edgar observed the two soldiers of the Empire before scanning his visitor with distaste. Although Figaro was allies with the Empire he still loathed the minister's pretentious, painted, over-confident face. He smiled gallantly, but deep inside he feared. Visits from the Empire usually meant bad news.

"Kefka, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you to my humble abode on such a fine day?" he asked animatedly and watched as the minister's already-ugly features distorted. Kefka spat on the ground and Edgar suppressed a shudder. He had to get his servants to scrub that particular spot before Kefka's enzymes began to dissolve the hard stone floor.

"Don't play goody-goody with me, Edgar," Kefka jeered, pressing his face close to the king's. "We've heard that you've been housing a certain girl, and we want her. Now."

"Why, I have no idea what you're talking about," King Edgar laughed nervously. "Girls come in and out all day. How could I possibly keep track of them all unless I stood at the door twenty-four seven?" There was a ring of truth to his words, but Kefka was sceptic nonetheless.

"Don't lie to me, Edgar. Who knows what'll happen to Figaro if you refuse to obey our orders?" Kefka cackled. "Now give me the girl or you'll sorely regret it! Or do you need time to think it over? Okay, I'll give you a day. If you haven't made up your mind by then…Figaro it is…" with an evil laugh Kefka beckoned to the soldiers flanking him and the trio left as suddenly as they had come. King Edgar watched them leave, seemingly proud, but when they were out of sight he turned and walked slowly towards his throne, his brow creased with worry. "Oh, what life would be like if I were Sabin," he muttered somewhat enviously. "I shouldn't have been so nice…"

"Edgar!" a familiar voice called, and the king whipped around to see a man with a bandana run in. His smile was fleeting as he saw his friend's expression. "What's wrong?"

"Get Terra, now; it's urgent," Locke panted. "I overheard your conversation with Kefka, and if my calculations are right, we've no time to lose."


"Hi Terra. Missed me?" Locke grinned deviously at the girl. The three were in a room where everything was red-red walls, red carpeting, red sofas, red everything. King Edgar and Locke lounged on the comfortable sofas but Terra chose to sit on the soft carpet.

"Nice meeting you again," Terra returned drily. "And I suppose I have missed you. The king has been most…coy." Edgar shot the girl a dirty look while Locke laughed.

"Well, anyhow…first of all, as you just found out, there've been rumours of you keeping Terra here. And you also know the consequences if you don't hand her over," the treasure hunter wiped a few tears of laughter out of his eyes. Ignoring Locke the king nodded in response, all his worries showing on his face. He rubbed his temples in annoyance.

"What's the other news?"

"Word has also been going around that the esper Terr-the Empire was after in the coal mines in Narshe reacted when your guest of honour was there. It's been glowing restlessly ever since. I saw it myself, and I think-I think that maybe Terra has something to do with the esper," Locke paused dramatically and looked at Terra, who was suddenly sitting up straight with interest. "But we won't know for sure if Terra's the one the esper is reacting to unless…unless we take her there."

"I don't think that's a good idea," the king said slowly. "There's a high risk of the Empire getting Terra if she leaves this castle."

"Come on, Edgar, you've got to consider this!" Locke pleaded. "All you have to do is ensure Figaro's safety and then follow me to Narshe! If you can't protect her, I will!" the treasure hunter flexed his muscles.

"Who said I couldn't protect Terra? I'm just worried that Kefka will come tomorrow-Figaro's alliance-"

"Just come out into the open! Here's your chance to tell the truth!" Locke imitated Edgar's voice, and Terra's ears perked up. She could tell that interesting information was going to be exposed. "Kefka, Figaro is actually siding with the-"

At that point Terra's head began to roar and the girl clutched her head as agony washed over her. Her vision began to blur and she swayed dangerously, deaf to Locke's and Edgar's shouts of alarm.

Suddenly a strange creature she had never seen before appeared before Terra. It had a dragon's head and a lion's lower torso. Its body was bright red. The creature stared at her with bright yellow eyes, and to her surprise, began to talk. "You belong to us, and yet you do not. I sense a great confusion in you. Perhaps I could help you find out more about your past…" The image of the creature began to fade away. Terra tried to call out but her lips would not move.

Terra's world turned black and she collapsed to the ground.


"Girl…headache…unfit…Figaro…certain doom…" Terra moaned softly as she gradually came to. The pain in her head had receded to a dull throb and she rolled over on her side, suddenly quite awake. She strained her ears; she could hear Edgar and Locke talking but could only hear snippets of their conversation. The words, however, were enough for her to get the gist of their talk.

"Figaro…safe…mode…Chadron…Terra…Narshe…immediately…" Locke was pleading with the king. A new voice entered the conversation, and Terra frowned. She identified the voice to be the servant who had rudely interrupted Edgar about Kefka's visit.

"My king…Narshe…immediately…Figaro…fine…" the voice said, and King Edgar spoke. He had, however, lowered his voice, and Terra lay in her bed, annoyed. Why did something important have to happen when something new was about to be revealed? But I'll soon find out what their decision is, Terra decided. She did not have to wait long for she soon heard her bedroom door open and three pairs of feet enter. One of them bent over her; she could hear the man breathing.

"Terra-" a surprisingly loud voice whispered into her ear. Squeaking with surprise Terra accidentally released her magic. A huge fire bolt shot out of the blankets and nearly decapitated the king who fell back, stunned, into the arms of a hysterical Locke. The servant, who stood a considerable distance away in the shadows, tutted.

"Most disgraceful, my king."

King Edgar leapt up from Locke's arms and brushed himself. "Terra, if you want to have a long-lasting relationship, you must never scare men away!" he exclaimed exasperatedly. Terra couldn't help but smile. Caught unawares by a fire bolt obviously wasn't the king's way of impressing his servants. Her happiness, however, was short-lived as her headache came back. Terra swayed in her bed and Edgar, quickly brushing imaginary dust off his cloak, hurried to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "Locke, I don't think Terra can handle the journey in her condition-"

"No, honestly, I'll be fine. Really," Terra cut in quickly, ignoring the warnings her body sent her. "So, when do we leave?" she asked sweetly, suppressing a grimace of pain.

"My dear minister, fill her in on the details," Edgar waved at his minister, and Terra looked at him. The man cleared his throat.

"I am Chadron Rusiko, minister of King Edgar Roni Figaro, fourteenth descendant of King Ungarn Rokestar Figaro, son of-"

"Just get on with it!" Edgar snapped, blushing slightly. "I asked you to give her details about the journey, not my whole family tree! How many times do we have to go through this?"

Chadron gave his superior a somewhat annoyed look before speaking. "The king and the thief-"

"Treasure hunter!" Locke roared, but Chadron continued as if he had not been interrupted.

"- plan to bring my lady to Narshe, the coal mines city to see the esper. They believe that you are the only one who can make it react, and they also believe that your powers have something to do with the esper."

"So…when do we leave?" Terra asked again, her heart pounding with excitement.

"As soon as possible, preferably now," Edgar replied. "The Empire could come at any moment, but if Kefka keeps his word, tomorrow afternoon. We have to leave before then, and Figaro castle will-um-go into hiding."

"You can hide a whole castle?" Terra stared. "And if the Empire are here now, what will you do?"

"I've got things sorted out. Trust me," Edgar knelt by the bedside and looked into Terra's eyes, but Terra quickly broke the eye contact. She didn't want the tingly feeling in her stomach to come back again.

"Let's go now, then," she murmured. "I'll be alright."

Edgar stood up and turned to Chadron, his face serious. "Chadron, prepare three chocobos for us and get Terra a cloak. In case there's a sandstorm," he winked at Terra who blinked.

"…"

Edgar sighed, resigned. "Forget what I said."

"Hey, what about me?" Locke suddenly exclaimed indignantly. "I don't have a cloak!"

"Ugh, Chadron, get Locke a cloak, too, if you please!" Edgar called after the chancellor. "And get me my auto crossbow, while you're at it!"

"Everything will be ready in no time, my king," Chadron promised.

True to his word, all supplies were ready and waiting for the king and his travellers by the time they had reached the front door. Donning the red cloak that Chadron had given her Terra mounted her chocobo. She stroked its surprisingly smooth yellow feathers and looked, pleased, at Locke who was pulling his hand protectors on. "These chocobos are really a nice change from the Magitek armour-they're not metal-cold when you mount them!"

"You have no idea how wrong that last bit sounded…" Edgar mumbled, but Terra ignored him. She was all eyes and ears for Locke, who was mounting his chocobo.

"Is it really bad being in one of those things? I'm glad I'm not you; I'd hate to have to be in Magitek armour…" the treasure hunter shuddered.

"It's not that bad, actually," Terra mused. "After the engines are warmed up you can do just about anything. And there are some pretty handy fight techniques available, too, like fire beam, thunder beam-"

"And how many people have you decimated with those scraps of metal?" Locke snapped, and then quickly put his hand to his head, closing his eyes. "Sorry, I just…never mind. Forget what I said," he finished quickly before turning towards the door. The king immediately spurred his chocobo to join Terra, who stared, confused, at Locke.

"Don't worry about Locke; he hates the Empire for several reasons," King Edgar said loudly before lowering his voice. "Are you flirting with him?"

Terra was about to object strongly but temptation got the better of her. Years of living with a crazed maniac who looked like a clown, she thought. "Of course, even you should be able to tell when a girl is…what was it? Flirting," she smiled sweetly at the king whose face seemed to turn the slightest hue of green.

"Why? I'm rich, cheerful and good-looking!" the king demanded. Terra couldn't help but laughed. The response was obvious.

"But Locke's polite," Terra giggled. She made a move to leave the king, but he stopped her.

"So you do know how to flirt, after all," Edgar grinned mischievously, and Terra was extremely annoyed.

"Only when I feel the man's worth it," she snapped.

"Hey, your majesty! Can we leave now?" Locke called up ahead, and the king nodded furiously.

"Of course! Go ahead and give the order to open the gates!"

Turning to face forward on her steed Terra watched as the heavy oak gates were opened. Bright sunlight flooded in, almost blinding her. But wait; what were the dark figures standing in the desert? Terra squinted and almost gasped in shock.

"Hello, Edgar! Are you on your way to Vector with our precious Terra? We certainly hope you are," Kefka cackled. On either side of him were two large Magitek machines. Locke eyed them, a strange large smile spreading on his face. Edgar stepped in front of his companions, the wind blowing his cloak and hair. Terra gazed in wonder at the proud figure of the man in front of her and her stomach began to tingle again. The girl was sorely tempted to punch herself in the stomach. What was wrong with her? How could the king cast his spells on her when he had his back to her?

"Kefka, we were actually on our way to Narshe," the king shouted. "I'm not going to keep this pretence up anymore. We, Figaro, are siding with the Returners and will continue to do so until the Empire collapses, and I will shout it to the world." The king lifted his voice. "We, Figaro, are siding with the Returners and will continue to do so until the Empire's defeat!" From the castle came loud cheers and shouts, and Terra felt her blood run cold. Traitors!

"Terra, what's wrong? Kill these little twerps! Use your magic!" Kefka laughed evilly. "Why are you hesitating now? Have the traitors' ways made you soft as a marshmallow? Well then-" the minister gestured towards the Magitek machines, "-kill these useless rats and ruin their precious little castle! Uwee-hee-hee!"

At that moment Terra felt like a statue. How could Kefka treat her like a traitor? Years of pent-up fury began to unleash itself and she screamed as images of her life as a Magitek soldier flashed before her eyes.

"Fire!" bright orange flames burst from her fingertips and engulfed the two Magitek machines, licking greedily at the metal. Not waiting for the enemy to recover Edgar produced a strong, sturdy-looking redwood bow and shot several steel arrows into the mass.

"Sink the castle!" he shouted, and almost immediately the castle began to sink. From the top of a turret Terra saw Chadron standing proudly. "Long live Figaro and its king!" the minister proclaimed before retreating into the cool depths of the castle. Kefka watched in shock and disbelief. He was so distracted that he did not notice a certain thief snatch two potions from his pocket. When even the turrets had disappeared under the sand Kefka turned to Terra, his pale face even whiter with rage.

"We, the Empire, have raised you all your life, and this is how you repay us?" Kefka shrieked, his high-pitched voice filling the air as he watched his Magitek machines slowly melt. "And after all these years, you've shown us what you've become-a traitor!" the minister swished his green-red cloak. "Stupid artillery, totally useless," he hissed angrily. "I'll be back-and then you'll wish you'd never joined the Returners!" with a cackle Kefka disappeared as suddenly as he'd come.

Silence filled the air as the wind cooled the burning flames. Black, tarred metal was all that remained of the machines, and Terra shivered. "I'm cold," she whispered, and her head seared with pain. Locke put a comforting arm around her.

"I know how you're feeling, but we have to leave. You're not a traitor; Kefka hurt your feelings and made you feel like a low-life. But you're not. You're one of us now," he murmured into her ear. "The Empire could come anytime-and now you know that they'll be looking to kill you, too."

Terra bit her lip, fighting back her tears. "So we're going to Narshe now?" she whispered.

Edgar looked out into the distance, and for once he felt like turning around, running to his bedroom and diving under the warm, comfortable covers. But it was too late for that now. He sighed. "We're going to Narshe."


Omake

Edgar stood up and turned to Chadron, his face serious. "Chadron, prepare three chocobos for us and get Terra a cloak. In case there's a sandstorm," he winked at Terra who blinked.

"…"

"Darn it, I've had enough of trying to use subtle methods to seduce clueless girls!" Edgar cursed. "Forget what that stupid flirting book says! I'm hot, I'm rich, and I'm bringing sexy back! So, how about a ride on my chocobo?" the king patted his chocobo. "There's always room for two!"

Terra stared. "Um, Edgar, why are you looking at Locke?"

There was an awkward pause. The king sank from his chocobo onto the floor in despair, his head in his hands. "Oh gods," he moaned. "My secret has been revealed!"


A/N: Another long, long chapter. I hope Terra's more 'in-character' now. I also hope that there'll be more reviews. I'm really grateful if you've been an avid reader of my story, but it wouldn't hurt to leave a review or two! Constructive criticism is also welcome.