(AN: SO GUYS. This is a special chapter that was editted by a very good friend of mine. Who happens to be a grammer nazi. Naturally, the editting as not only improved this chapter by a lot, but also... shown me a few better ways to write. I hope that you can see my fanfiction quality go up because of my friend's assistance.)

Amor Patriae Nostra Lex

"Thank you for taking the time to fill this out, sir. But, it was unnecessary…" the man said uncomfortably, as if he were uncertain and new to his job. He tugged on the collar of his business suit and took the form.

"Nonsense," Ansem said. "I do want to take the child under my care; however, one in my position will understandably have trouble giving him the attention he deserves. Fortunately, my other apprentices have agreed to assist me.

"Yes, I see what you mean." The man said a bit awkwardly. "But you see, sir, another party has, in fact, offered to take custody of this boy."

"Party? You speak of this as if he is to be adopted into the government, not a loving home." Ansem said. There were a few seconds of silence before he added, "The boy's name is Ienzo, correct?"

"Ienzo, but…" The caseworker paused awkwardly before he spoke again. "It is the city of Midgar who offered."

"What?" Ansem slammed his fists down onto the desk in frustration, causing the man to wince.

"Exactly, sir. It seems that the boy's mother lived there before moving here."

"And the father?"

"Born and raised here in Radiant Garden, sir."

Radiant Garden and Midgar were on very heavy what does that even meanterms. They had been for many years, and both sides were now simply waiting for war to break out.

Although Ansem was a peaceful ruler, he would not allow his city or any of its allies to be bullied into setting up one of those horrid reactors. During one of his previous visits he had briefly studied the effects those reactors had on the surrounding land.

It was devastating. The land was barren and dead; it was turned an unnatural shade of blue around the reactors. With nothing to eat, the animals starved and left the area to search for more nutrition. Ansem had little doubt that the reactors had caused this strange change to the land as Midgar had to import its food from the smaller towns without reactors to feed it.

The city of Midgar was not a place for a child to grow up. It was certainly not a place that an orphan would want to find him or herself. There were a great number of orphanages and an alarming amount of them were unable to receive any more children. There were too many lost children.

During his visit to Midgar, Ansem had only been taken to the wealthy upper districts. However, he had visited the poor and downtrodden citizens alone. Ansem always made a point of seeing how the unlucky were treated and the state of their homes. He had been shocked and appalled at the state of Midgar's districts.

For a long time Ansem had wondered why so many people lived in a place of such poverty. Why did they not leave? The answer had come to him as he traveled back to his own home.

Money.

The problem was not that the civilians did not wish to leave; it was that they did not have the resources to do so. And the wealthy citizens were often content with their easy lives and would rather go on holiday than make a permanent transition.

"What were the names of young Ienzo's parents? Their names where oddly absent from the files." Ansem asked, sitting back down. Getting worked up would not help the situation at all.

The caseworker shuffled some papers and checked the names on one of them. "His mother was Alcmene Cyra," he said, "and his father was Leto Illusio. Did you know them?"

"Ah, yes, Leto. He was a colleague of mine in school. I was not aware that he had a child, I will be sure to raise Ienzo as someone Leto would be proud of. Tell me; what is to become of young Ienzo?" Ansem asked, folding both of his arms over the desk.

"Well, sir…" the man said uncomfortably. "As you already know, the Council of Midgar is very, err, meticulous about its denizens. The Council decreed that Ienzo's mother did not have enough munny to exit the city."

Ansem scowled at that. "'Council of Midgar,' is that what they have taken to calling themselves? 'Meticulous' is not the word I would use to describe them; perhaps 'avaricious' or 'monopolizing.' Now, tell me what Ienzo's fate will be."

"Well, sir, we have already been offered a decent sum of munny for the return of the child," the caseworker said meekly.

"That is unacceptable. I will not allow him to be purchased like a common animal," Ansem said coldly. It was then that he noticed a small child peeking in at them from the doorway.

The child's face a completely blank slate and his eyes were emotionless. He had one hand on the door and the other was placed against the doorframe.

Ansem shook his own head and his forced his face to soften. He did not want to scare the boy and seeing the lack of emotion in the child created a small feeling of pity that lessened his anger.

Confused, the caretaker glanced behind him to see what had so drastically altered Ansem's expression. He noticed Ienzo and raised his eyebrows.

"Ienzo, what are you doing here? I thought I'd instructed you to stay at the orphanage." The caseworker spoke the last four words with a vengeance, as if attempting to nail the phrase into the child's head.

"There is no need to lecture him. This is actually convenient; I was going to call him in a few moments," Ansem said, glancing at the caretaker. "Come in, child."

Ienzo looked hesitant and gripped the frame of the door slightly. Ansem gave him a small smile. At this, Ienzo walked slowly into the room, his head down. He still did not say anything.

"You should thank Master Ansem for allowing you entrance, Ienzo. It isn't polite," The caseworker chided him. Ienzo did not reply to this, either.

"It is fine. If he does not wish to speak then I will not force him to." Ansem stood up and pulled out three sea salt ice creams from the mini refrigerator on the cabinet behind his desk.

"Ah," the caseworker started as he saw the sea salt ice cream. "I don't want any, but thank you for your offer."

"Very well." Ansem replaced the third ice cream and offered the second to the child. "Would you like some ice cream, Ienzo? It's sea salt, a personal favorite of mine."

Ienzo considered for several seconds before reaching out and taking the ice cream.

Ansem continued to watch Ienzo, paying little attention to the caseworker, as the two of them ate the frozen blue treats. After looking over the child for another minute or so, Ansem reached the conclusion that the boy resembled his father. Or at least what Ansem remembered of Leto. The eyes, however, must belong to his late mother.

"Now, Ienzo, do you wish to stay in Radiant Garden?" Ansem asked. Ienzo looked up at him, as if confused by the question. Ansem glanced at the caseworker with a frown. "You have not told him of his… circumstances?"

"You currently have two choices, Ienzo. You can remain here and be adopted by me, or be relocated to another city, where you will wait for adoption in a different orphanage. I believe this decision should be yours to make." The caseworker explained.

Ienzo looked down and closed his eyes, the frown disappearing as he thought. He opened his eyes and looked at Ansem, then around the room and at his caseworker. Finally, he looked back at Ansem. Both men were watching the child to see what he would do.

Ienzo took a step toward Ansem. His decision was resoundingly clear.

Love of the Fatherland is our Law