Author's notes: Still getting the hang of how fanfiction.net converts from Word, so pleez bear with me… Thanks to Sad Mudokon for beta reading the last two chapters and some of this one and encouraging me to post ^v^ !

Disclaimer: I, of course, don't own Final Fantasy IX. Sueing me would be fruitless as I actually have negative $$ from college loans ^^;; and I will take my gorgeous Duo Maxwell cel with me to the grave before I sell it ^o^!

How Fair This Place

By Bmv no Miko

Chapter Three: No One Like You

That night she slept peacefully, and for once he didn't mind so much his place on the floor. But the next day, he resolved to get some answers. After she'd risen, sluggishly had more soup, and slept again, he headed for 163's item shop. Carefully, trying not to leave out details, he explained the situation.

"…and so then she acts like there's a baby ~in her stomach~. And I ask if that's okay, and she acts as though it's normal."

163's eyes glowed with curiosity, and if he were human he'd have been raising an eyebrow.

"I read about something like that…" 56 shifted from foot to foot as 163 started going through his ever-growing collection of books. 163 had originally been very unhappy about the prospect of a human in the village, but after a couple of days his fascination with the outside world had gotten the better of him. 56 was surprised at how precise he was in measuring out the girl's medication, how gentle he was when demonstrating how to apply the bandages. "I think it's this one," he said, and removed his spectacles from their resting spot on his hat. Settling them on his nose, he began to leaf through the bright red tome.

"History of Human Sexuality. I was lucky to get this one. The goblin that sold it to me said that it had been banned among humans as improper, scandalous. This is one of only two ever made," he said with a touch of pride. "I hear the regent of Lindblum has the other."

            "Um…what's sexuality?" 163 gave an exasperated sigh.

            "I have no idea, but whatever it is, humans don't like it. See, lots of pictures of naked humans." He turned the book around so that 56 could see.

            "Yep, they're naked. I don't guess I'd like it either if I had to be naked in pictures." They both shrugged, and 163 resumed flipping pages.

"Look, here it is. See, here's this naked girl, and this little thing in her tummy is like a very small baby. I don't exactly understand it. But if you keep following the pictures, the baby grows and gets bigger. When it's big enough, it's born." 56 angled his head and studied the pictures dubiously.

"How big's big enough?"

"This says nine months. But something's kind of wrong. See, the girl you brought is…small. She doesn't look like this girl. I think she's supposed to be older. I think maybe the one you brought is too small to have a baby inside her."

"Well, I think she has one anyway." 56 said, still frowning at the pictures. "So…how's it going to get out of her and be born?" 163 flipped a couple pages and winced.

"I guess like this?" He turned the book around again.

"No way!" 56 gasped.

"Well that's what the book says…"

"Geez, that…will she be okay through that?! That looks like it'd hurt!"

"Yeah, it says here that 'if a woman is not properly attended to by a midwife and has not had prenatal care, risk of death is exponentially raised'," he read.

"So what's all that mean?" 56 asked hopelessly. 163 frowned and closed the book.

"I don't know. There's not a lot about baby stuff in here. Mostly weird pictures and art. 'The Evolution of Romantic Poetry'. It's not exactly a scientific book."

By the time he returned to his hut, the sun was setting.  He and Mr. 163 had spent a lot of time poring through books trying to find what things meant, but one definition always contained more words that they didn't understand the meaning of. Mr. 163 had finally suggested that he ask her what this was all about.

~But…I'm not sure if it's okay to ask…~

He shrugged his outer coat off and hung it on the back of his door.

"Hi there," a voice behind him said wearily. He spun around, shocked, and stared at her for a moment. "Excitable little critters, aren't you?" she mused, a faint smile on her lips. He twisted his hands and swallowed, his stomach fluttering with the nervousness that always came when she woke, with the fear of humans.

"Are you hungry?"  She gave a little chuckle.

"Yes, thank you."

He rushed to his tiny pantry and quickly pulled out a few of Mr. 44's biscuits, his hands shaking, eager to do something right—and food was the only way he knew to help. Anything beyond that and he was fast on sinking ground.

"Here you go," he said breathlessly, almost throwing them at her in his desperation to get her to eat. She blinked at him as he stood staring at her, and the silence hung. "Oh, you don't like those? I'll just…" he moved to take them back. ~Maybe that's not good for someone with a baby maybe something else-~ His thoughts flew with embarassment.

"Will you just wait a minute?" She asked him, the laughter in her voice undertoned with pain. He stopped, abashed.

"Sorry…" he whispered and lowered his eyes, suddenly feeling defeated. He twisted his hands. The whole day hadn't really gone well, what with the research turning out almost completely useless…

~If only I understood more, I'd be more useful…~

"No…no sweetie, don't be sorry. Are you Mr. 56?"

He nodded quietly, his eyes still on the dirt floor.

"Then thank you for helping me. It would have been bad for me if no one had. Mr. 288 said you carried me all the way here. I'm grateful for that," she said, trying hard to sound thankful and soothing at the same time. He swallowed again, trying to be rid of the sudden lump that had formed in his throat.

"You're welcome," he managed after a moment. The silence hung again.

"So…where am I?" She asked awkwardly.

"In…in the Black Mage Village." He winced as he spoke, suddenly wondering how she'd react—after all, she'd stabbed Mr. 288 on sight. But there was no outburst, and he dared to look up at her. She appeared pensive.

"Only black mages here?" He shifted his feet.

"Sometimes there's goblins too. From Conde Petie. We trade with them."  His stomach fluttered uncomfortably. ~I'm talking with a human…~ He wasn't sure what to say, or how much, and feared that he was coming off as dull-witted. She ate a whole biscuit before answering, studying him shrewdly. He fidgeted under her gaze.

~Why is she looking at me like that?~

"Will you tell me a little about yourself, and the village here? There's a lot I don't understand."

"Um…okay…but…c-can I ask some questions too?"

"Sure." The affirmative answer came so quickly that he was surprised.

"Okay…"

She was quiet as he pulled a small, hand-carved stool away from the wall and sat down, his eyes still on the floor, his hands twisting. The demeanor confused her—she couldn't read it.  The other mage 288 was also confusing. In Citta, when they had come, they were imprecise, violent creatures of destruction. They had been merciless and…and empty. She shuddered, remembering the blankness of the stare of that one mage…

But the two that she'd seen so far were different. There was something behind the eyes, something warm, confused, childlike, intelligent. In a way she felt cheated, angered, because as much as she wished to, she could not hate these new ones, could not do justice for her family. She frowned at the trembling figure sitting beside the bed and recalled the same action in the wounded 288. Suddenly, she had an epiphany. All of the strangeness, the mage 163 that had burst in when she'd attacked 288—it was more than nervousness. It wasn't just the pain that had upset 288 so much…

"Mr. 56? Are you…and the other mages…are you ~afraid~ of me?" Without hesitating for a second, he nodded. She blinked, taken aback, and the impression of ~children~ lodged itself more firmly in her mind. "Why? I don't get it, since I'm in really bad shape here and unable to use magic." He thought for a moment, shifting in his seat, before he answered.

"Well…I guess it's just that…you're the first human we've ever really seen and known up-close…We don't get a lot of visitors here on purpose. And most of us became…aware…in the middle of fighting humans."

"Mr. 288 mentioned something like that. What exactly is this, becoming aware?" He shrugged uncomfortably.

"It's like…geez, how to explain…I didn't know what I was doing, and then I did. Maybe like I realized I could control what I was doing…I'm really not sure how to explain. But when I realized…I…we…at least I think everyone…was really scared. We all ran away and came here." She closed her eyes, unable to look at the meek form that shied away from facing her. The depth of what she had done to the other mage 288 ground into her conscience.

"I think I understand why you're afraid of me. And I'm sorry. Later I'll say I'm sorry to Mr. 288 myself, okay…? I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Hey…" She reached out a hand, and he stared at it dubiously. "Shake on it, alright? That means I promise and I won't lie to you." She had a sudden feeling of great fragility as his large hand engulfed hers, though his touch was soft and hesitant. "Right. So now we can look at each other and have an honest conversation, okay?" He tilted his head and gave her a curious look.

"Okay…"

"So, do you have a question for me?" She prompted.

"What?" For a moment she thought he was staring at her chest (such as it was) through her torn dress, but then remembered her necklace. ~None of them took interest before anyway.~ The thought made her feel strangely safe.

"Is it this you like?" With nimble fingers she lifted the silver chain and pendant from around her neck and  held it up for him.

"I…I was just looking at it…I-it's pretty," he stuttered, embarassed for being caught staring.

"Thank you." She ran her fingertips over the familiar and somewhat worn design of feathers locked in a tight circle around an intricately carved tower. She couldn't help but smile at its weight in her palm, her last bit of hope. "It's called the Torre Degli Angeli. At least, that's what it says on the back. See, this piece in the middle of the tower is broken. It's too bad, because there was supposed to be a strong white magic spell in it. I'd sure like to learn white magic someday," she said offhand, hoping not to reveal just how important the pendant was to her.

"Oh…" And the silence hung again.

"You don't talk much, do you, honey?" She finally asked in exasperation, and was almost instantly sorry due to his hurt expression. The pain in the luminous eyes that finally met her own was easy to read. "Oh, I didn't mean…"

"It's just that I've never talked to a human! You were hurt for so long and I thought you'd stop! You cried and cried and I couldn't do anything!" he finally burst out, and she was shocked to see silver slide down his black cheeks. He sniffled and rubbed the tears away in embarrassment.  Her chest clinched with compassion and sorrow, and with that awful feeling the heavy fatigue returned. Ashamed, weak, and sick of both feelings, she tried to think of some way to make things right. She reached out and grasped one of his large hands and settled it on her rounded stomach.

"Look…look…I'm not sure if you understand, but there's a life inside me…that wouldn't be there if it weren't for you…if it weren't for your kindness and patience, that life would have… just stopped. So you did a lot for me. You did a lot of good things," she whispered, trembling as she pressed his hand to her belly.

"Really?" He asked timidly, his smooth voice hushed. She nodded, and sudden happiness glowed in his eyes, faintly tinged with doubt. "You're not going to stop, are you?" He asked softly, the words catching in his throat. She decided that she liked hearing him speak—the depth of his voice combined with the innocence was comforting.

"No, not anytime soon, I hope. I'm really sorry. I know I'm being a burden and that I haven't been a grateful guest…but maybe we can be friends." He smiled timidly.

"Yeah, maybe…so… I guess…what's your name?"

"Shorah."

Peace.

He blinked, the name's meaning oddly familiar,ingrained in him from birth, just as was the ability to walk and speak. He was almost certain that he'd heard it spoken in a mocking tone somewhere before.

Author's notes: Woohoo—she finally has a name! Quick promise—No matter what this looks like, this is ~not~ going to turn into a 'mage village and a baby' fic ^^;;.

I love the black mages so much it hurts, so I'll probably continue this one for a while… but reviews would make me much more happy about posting! Call me a post-a-phobic O_o—this is the first fanfic that I've ever put up for others to read…so constructive criticism or other thoughts are welcome. Next chapter: Waltz One and Bobby Corwen's egg!