Mistaken
Eiko promised that there would be no repeat of what had happened. It was agonizing, though—distracted after her whereabouts had been discovered, she had neglected to give Jonah any means of contacting her. He was going to slip through her fingers like water. But she had promised not to run off again…
Frustrated, she began pacing. What was she to do? She faltered when she heard a rattling in her wardrobe. What in the world was that? It shuddered again. Eiko took a deep breath and inched toward the wardrobe. To be safe, she began muttering a summons to Fenrir, telling him to be ready just in case. Her fingers grasped the handle. It shook again. Maybe she should call Zidane or Steiner, just in case… No. She could handle it herself. After a mental count to three, she flung the door open.
"KUPO!"
"AHHH!"
With the force of a cork from a champagne bottle out flew a moogle. Eiko jumped so much that she fell on her bottom. The moogle hopped beside her.
"Phew. Thanks for letting me out, kupo. I thought I was never going to get out." He noticed Eiko sitting on the floor. "Kupo! Sorry for startling you. Are you alright, kupo?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."
The moogle gave a bow. "My name's Mosh, by the way, kupo."
"What were you doing in my wardrobe, anyway?"
"Ummm…" Mosh looked uncomfortable. "I… saw something sparkly, and I wondered what it was, kupo. So I went to investigate. Yeah! Kupo! And while I wasn't looking, somebody went and shut the door on me!"
"Sparkly? You mean my dresses?"
"K-Kupo. Er… yeah."
"Um…"
"C-could we pretend this conversation never happened, kupo?"
"Uh… okay."
He looked immensely relieved. "Thanks, kupo. And I owe you one for letting me out."
It clicked. Before Mosh left the room she asked, "Hey, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, kupo. What is it?"
"If I wrote a letter and gave it to you, could you make sure it got to a person named Jonah Hesstriek?"
****
Flap. Flap. Flap.
He should have just given the letter to Artemicion. Artemicion was the mailmoogle, after all. Then that could have been the end of it. But Mosh felt so obligated to repay the princess that he wanted to do it himself. And he had given his word—something a moogle never goes back on. And there was also the incident of how he had gotten trapped in the first place. If that ever got out—no, better not to think about that. The princess would keep to her word. In fact, Mosh wasn't sure that Eiko herself had put two and two together.
Wait, what was that name again? Mona? Lona? Joana? Yes, that was it. Joana Jestreek. But where did she live? He thought a moment. Wasn't it Tonberry Lane? Yes, that sounded right. Wasn't Joana Jestreek that nice lady who made that delicious hazelnut cake? Ah, of course! How could he ever forget? Joana Jestreek, 14 Tonberry Lane.
The moogle reached his destination. The door was locked. She must have gone out. Mosh laid the letter on the welcome mat. A pity. He had been hoping she might have some cake to share. Oh well, such is the life of a moogle. He took off again.
****
The resident of 14 Tonberry Lane walked up the street. They paused at the piece of paper lying in front of the door.
"What in the world?"
"Hey, Blank," a woman with graying hair called from across the street. It was his neighbor, Ms. Jestreek, who lived in 12. "Some moogle put that letter on your doorstep. Didn't look like that moogle mailman, though."
"Thanks for the info, Joana."
Blank stepped inside before he opened it up. It was very fine-quality paper, and he thought he could smell some sort of perfume on it. He unfolded the letter and began to read:
I very much wish to see you. Every day I face without you is sunless in my eyes. Tomorrow night I shall await thee, knight, at the dock. No fate shall ever endeavor to part us. I yearn so strongly for that moon-bathed hour, but until then, I shall remain your beloved.
A love letter? He scanned it again. He had received a similar letter like this once. There wasn't an address on the envelope—it could have been a mistake. At the dock… That was the exact same place the last letter had directed him, and the authoress had failed to show up. But maybe she had been deterred by the knights of Pluto. Maybe she had been too nervous to show up. It certainly was quite a coincidence. But would they really send another letter after four years?
"Hmm…"
****
Pleased as Eiko was about the direction her potentially romantic endeavors were going, she was still very happy to spend quality time with her friends. Some bonds are too strong for anything to sever.
It had been Zidane's idea to suggest get out of the castle. Eiko imagined that he probably felt the same way as she did when it came spending so much time in closed spaces. Eiko smiled to herself. Had she known this similarity at an earlier date, she would have pointed it out and insist that she and Zidane were destined for each other. But she had wised up when she realized that Zidane truly loved Dagger with all his heart.
Even Dagger seemed to welcome the excursion. Not that Eiko blamed her at all—the tutelage she had already undergone told her just how hard work being a queen can be. Like Eiko, she had swapped her regal attire for more casual clothing so she could walk about more freely. Dagger had told Fabius that he wasn't needed; Eiko would be under enough protection under her watch. Eiko nearly hugged her for that.
They mostly just meandered through the streets, stopping at the occasional quaint shop or vendor.
"How would you lovely ladies like an ice cream?" asked Zidane, spotting a particularly colorful vendor.
"You, know, that would be wonderful," replied Dagger, smiling. "Eiko?"
" Sure. Thanks, Zidane."
He gave a bow that made Eiko want to laugh. "It would be my pleasure."
"We'll just wait for you on one of those benches by the square," Dagger told him.
Eiko looked sidelong at the young Queen and said mischievously, "I'll bet I could beat you in a race to that bench, Dagger."
Dagger replied in kind with an expression on her face that made it hard to believe that she was a respected queen. "You think so, do you?"
There was an explosion of laughter and a flurry of motion as the two hurdled away. Passersby paused as they watched two shrieking figures, one resembling the Queen Garnet, the other resembling the Princess Eiko of Lindblum, sprint through the square. The pair landed in a breathless heap on the aforementioned bench, laughing still. Dagger was on the bottom.
"There you go, Eiko—I've proved you wrong."
"You did not win!"
"It looks that way to me."
"Well, then you cheated."
"How did I cheat?"
"Give me minute, and I'll come up with something."
"Just admit it. I won, fair and square." The purple-haired girl disentangled herself and stuck her tongue out.
"Fine then. Cheater."
"Sore loser."
But Eiko didn't retort, because she caught sight of a familiar face. She opened her mouth to call out to Jonah, but the sight of his companion stopped her. A tall girl with chestnut hair had her hand entwined with his. Luckily, they were across the square, with a big garden separating them. Jonah halted for a moment and kissed her.
Shame boiled in the pit of her stomach. She had been turned down again. She mentally slapped herself. He didn't turn her down. She was just stupid enough to think he liked her like that. It hadn't even occurred to her that he might already have a girlfriend. And she had to go off and write that stupid letter…
Would he come? Probably not. There could be a chance. But then she'd be trying to steal someone else's man again. Why did this always happen to her?
"You okay, Eiko?" asked Dagger.
"Oh, yeah," she lied cheerfully. "I was just thinking about stuff. Oh," she added with relief, "there's Zidane."
