Where My Foreboding Thoughts Lead - Chapter 4
Yosuke
Romance/Drama

AN: This chapter would probably most appropriately be called a "segue chapter". Chock full of information and happenings readying themselves.

FF9 not mine.


The predictability was almost shameful when Garnet found herself stuck in a dream after she passed out. Of course she would have a nightmare, after having been struck with a berserking spell, cast by herself, nonetheless. And equally unsurprising was the subject of her dream, a lone subject sitting heavily in her heart.

Through the drowsy veil of her unconsciousness stood Zidane, smiling at her as he had when he'd separated himself from his comrades before returning to the Iifa Tree to find Kuja. It was there that Garnet had smiled back, but within that dream, she couldn't because she knew it would be her way of acknowledging, as she had back then, that he was leaving, and it was for the best. It was his decision. She couldn't accept that, so she couldn't smile, and was forced instead to remain stoic and wordless as her love turned from her and walked away. As he moved on, he gradually vanished, and Garnet relived the horrible moment she'd had to let him go, as she was carried away into the sky.

But this time was different.

Normally, as she had replayed this scene in her head before, intentional or not, she'd watched as Zidane became nothing more than a speck in the distance before the Iifa Tree's roots lifted to swallow him whole. But here there was no tree, only a dismal abyss, and there was no airship to take her away to the safety of Lindblum. This time, Zidane merely shifted into the darkness as if a spell had been cast upon him.

Further back, as he had vanished, a new form came into sight, sitting motionless on the ground. Its skin was pale, and a long tail lay behind it. All but these details were obscured, but when a long, slim feather breezed across the ground and to her feet, Garnet realized quickly that the form was that of Kuja, and Zidane had disappeared in his search for his brother.

It was a peculiar dream, but nothing that startled Garnet too much as she roused herself into wakefulness, wary of the glaring light of the morning and the much-too-warm sheets she was wrapped in. Groaning in discomfort, she pushed the lush comforter away and tried to sit up, but was quickly overcome with severe vertigo, and she was forced back down to her pillow. Nausea rolled through her stomach as she closed her eyes and kept her breathing deep. The berserking spell had certainly left its after-effects. She could still feel the heavily lingering throbbing from the headache she'd suffered. But honestly, the pain was all she remembered. Memories of Beatrix's surprised face as the queen's own spell reflected back at her all but washed away like a footprint on a sandy shore. All that was left was the loud buzzing noise and the heat in her skin. It was all she remembered.

She made a mental note to ask her general for details later as she once again attempted to sit up straight, this time much slower. Her body fought with her for a long moment before she finally won over and sat hunched over on the bed, her forehead nearly touching her knees. The sick feeling worked its way up to her throat, and she had to mentally will herself not to vomit.

That dream, she suddenly thought, had been at least a little strange. Why, of all times, was she thinking of Zidane going back for Kuja? Why would Kuja be in her dream? Was it a foreboding message? Did Kuja have something to do with Zidane's sudden disappearance?

The white mage tried to shake her head in disagreement, but found the movement disagreed with her as well, and she groaned again in nausea. Kuja was very likely not a part of that whole mess. It wasn't even guaranteed the creature was still alive, let alone influencing Zidane's relationship decisions.

But the feather at her feet bugged her. That frail, silver feather was so prominent in her thoughts that it was bothering her. Feathers had grown from Kuja, she remembered that much. It had been strange, but they'd adorned his silver hair naturally. So that feather at her feet had to have been his. So what did it mean that it had found her and not Zidane?

Her eyes found her window and tried to mentally gauge what time it was. It looked to be almost dusk, and she felt a sudden embarrassment for having slept so long. She supposed something from the battle had caused her to faint, but what exactly, she wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was time to find Beatrix and get some kind of recap.

Groaning as vertebrae in her back popped with her movements, she slid out of bed and walked sluggishly to her chiffonier, eyeing herself in the mirror to check her own condition. She looked alright, though her hair was a mess. Pulling her silk robe from the chair, she walked quietly to the door of her room, stepping out into the keep and looking around for any signs of life. Aside from the two guards just outside of her door, there was no one.

Garnet slipped her arms into the robe and tied it about her waist before closing the door to her room. "Excuse me," she spoke quietly to one of the guards. The soldier, a young woman with nary a differential trait to the other, saluted quickly and sharply.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Have either Beatrix or Steiner come by recently?"

"Your Majesty, Captain Steiner has left Alexandria. He did not disclose why."

Momentarily, fear's hands found Garnet's neck again, and she choked silently at the thought of another companion running off without so much as a word. "Did he... Did he say when he'd be back?"

If the guard had noticed the queen's trembling in her voice, she didn't acknowledge it. "He estimated about a week's time. He leaves his apologies and humbly accepts any reprimanding for having left without direct orders to."

The long-winded explanation left Garnet wary, yet heavily relieved. She relaxed her shoulders and exhaled loudly. "I see... And Beatrix?"

"General Beatrix is greeting visitors from Lindblum, Ma'am."

"I see... Thank you." She nodded her head in appreciation, barely noticing the returning salute as she returned to her bed chambers to dress.


Much to Garnet's surprise, and delight, the visitors aforementioned by the guard in the keep just happened to be two people the queen very much wanted to see. It was both a reassurance and a new hope for her as she stumbled down the staircase, nearly tripping over her gown, towards Beatrix's back. The general turned quickly to peer down at the smaller woman.

"Your Majesty, you're awake! Thank goodness!"

With her manners temporarily forgotten, Garnet whipped around Beatrix's side to view her guests.

"Hey, princess. What's crackin'?"

"Long time no see, darling."

A rather huge, genuine smile broke out on Garnet's face as she rushed straight up to Marcus and Blank, clasping her hands in front of her, almost in praise. "It's so good to see you both! It's been such a long time!"

Marcus shuffled a foot, almost in embarrassment. "You're too kind, lady. Honestly, though, business is booming in Lindblum. Boss don't give us breaks like he used to."

"That's good to hear. How is everyone?"

"Same old, same old," Marcus continued. "Could use Zidane's help every now and then, though. Bastard visits from time to time, but doesn't so much as lift a finger."

At the mention of the name, Garnet's smile immediately faded, her shoulders drooping as a cloud of forlorn settled over the room. Blank visibly shuddered.

"Did the temperature just drop in here?"

"Gentlemen," came Beatrix's soft voice from a few feet away. The two men glimpsed over at her. "Her Majesty has not been well recently. Perhaps we could continue this discussion at another time."

"Hey, sorry to hear that. You been sick?"

Garnet was unable to come up with a suitable response. Beatrix, instead, answered for her. "Gentlemen, I must insist we do this at a later date."

Blank eyed the queen passively. "Or you been lovesick?"

At this, Garnet's head shot up, surprise written on her face, as Blank crossed his arms and Marcus nodded his head in agreement.

"Yup. Just as we figured."

"Wh... What do you mean?" the young woman asked timidly.

Blank sighed, heaving his shoulders. "Captain Rust Bucket came barreling through Lindblum, straight into the Theatre District, interrupting our play right when Ruby was about to finish her soliloquy she spent weeks trying to perfect-"

Marcus rolled his eyes at the mention.

"... And starts demanding to talk to the Boss, right there in front of the audience. Not a shred of civility, just yellin' and ramblin' on about Zidane gone missing."

Garnet's heart dropped, her face turning pale as her fingers knotted into the skirt of her gown, wrinkling the expensive fabric. "So... that means you haven't seen him either?"

"Holy crap, it's worse than I thought," Marcus noted in slight surprise. "He's been gone a while, huh? Must have, for you to look so-"

"Marcus, don't be rude," Blank cut in, tilting his head slightly towards the glowering general behind her queen, arms crossed and ready to physically remove the two bandits if they pushed too far. Marcus scratched his head and averted his eyes.

"Sorry, didn't mean nothin' by it. But Rusty started gettin' physical with the troupe. He looked livid, and we figured Zidane must've either killed someone-"

"Which isn't humanly possible," Blank took his turn cutting in.

"... Or he went and made the royals upset. Took a shot, came back here, and I guess we were right," Marcus finished, crossing his arms again. Blank nodded solemnly.

Garnet, having listened with a heavy heart and a lump building in her throat, tried her damnedest to keep the tears from welling up in front of her guests and took a small step back. "So then... I suppose it's safe to assume you don't know where he might be."

"You haven't heard a thing from him?"

"No," the young monarch responded quietly, her gaze falling to the floor. "He just... disappeared one day. He told Steiner we left because..." Her words faltered, unsure if publicizing her personal life was such a good idea. "He... He was just a little uncomfortable with his place here."

If the situation had deemed it appropriate, Blank would've laughed. "Lady, the moment Zidane starts feeling out-of-place, he loves to go hide-and-seek. It's just his habit. When he joined Tantalus, he up and disappeared for a whole year before he came crawling back with his head hanging."

"Well, we would rather be in higher spirits that Her Majesty's personal bodyguard would return home sooner than a full year," Beatrix chided from her spot behind the group, slowly growing more and more irritated with the men's less-than-flattering mannerisms.

Marcus let his eyes fall back on the pale young woman in front of him, evaluating her condition and taking a breath to ready himself for the reprimanding he'd get for his next question.

"Ya ain't pregnant, are ya?"

"Alright!" Beatrix finally lost her cool, storming up to the group and putting herself between the queen and her guests. "That's enough from you two! I've advised this be continued later and so it shall! I ask that you both remove yourself from this castle immediately-"

"He's in Treno."

All the movement in the room came to a very sudden stop at the sound of Blank's voice, including Garnet's breathing. Wide-eyed and scared for reasons she wasn't quite sure of to herself, the queen peered from around her general and stared in shock at the two men, who's gazes had drifted off to the walls.

"I said, he's in Treno. Most likely."

"What?" Garnet's mouth just wouldn't close, her heart lurching from a dead stop to a thundering pulse within seconds. "What do you mean? Treno? Why? How could you know that?"

"It's his hiding spot," Blank answered with a shrug. "Whenever he runs off for whatever reason, he somehow always ends up in Treno. I guess 'cause he likes to gamble, so it probably relaxes him to go and play the city games for a while. He's got a lot of friends there, too, in the underground and the slums. He'll sleep on the rooftops if he can't find a friend to crash with." Blank's gaze slowly drifted back to Garnet, a sheepish look to his eyes. "Woulda said something sooner, but we weren't sure how long he'd been gone, or how bad it was here. We thought, maybe, if you'd gotten pregnant or something, he'd ran off to clear his head. Zidane was never the commitment sort. He does stuff for money, just like the rest of us, but real responsibility always kind of scared him off."

"Did you tell Steiner any of this?" Beatrix asked quickly, unsure of this sudden lump of information and the possibilities of false hope it would hold for her queen. The last thing anyone needed was Queen Garnet to dig herself further into her depression if she found out that Treno was just another wild goose chase. The thought made her grimace visibly, but the two men didn't seem to notice.

"Honestly, the good captain looked like he wanted to murder Zidane, so we weren't ready to make them face-off quite yet. Figured it wouldn't hurt to give you guys a head start."

"Did you not think to look for him yourselves?"

"Marital problems aren't exactly our area of expertise." Blank waved one hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. "He's the lady's man. If he's having problems, we're not gonna be much help. Besides, I think whatever his problem is, Her Majesty over there would probably be the best medicine for him." Blank looked Garnet up and down once. "And vice versa."

A strange silence fell over the room, making the two bandits twist in their spots uncomfortably, trying to determine the best method of parting ways. Beatrix resisted the urge to turn and stare at the white mage behind her, concerned she'd read on her face just what she hoped she wouldn't find: Determination. She didn't want Garnet running off to Treno just to chase a rumor. If Zidane wasn't there and Garnet had gotten her hopes so high... the crash back down would be almost as devastating as when he'd first disappeared.

But she certainly couldn't stop her, either. Besides, who was she to block the woman she'd sworn her servitude to from having a hope? And if Zidane really was in Treno, then all of this misery would be put to an end, or at least Beatrix hoped it would. Sighing audibly, the general about-faced and peered down at the young woman before her, whose head angled towards the floor in uncertainty, fingers twisting together in front of her stomach and eyes unblinking.

"... Beatrix?"

Garnet's timid voice was all the general needed to hear before her resolve finally withered and she sighed once more, dropping to a knee and hailing the Alexandrian salute. "Your Majesty, I will follow you wherever you wish to go. I shall arrange an airship at once."

"But... are you sure?" The mage's eyes were wide and unshielded, so ready to hope but too afraid to be let down again. The vulnerability was there, and Beatrix swore up and down that she would do whatever she could to keep Garnet's heart from shattering completely.

"Your Majesty, if there is even the slightest hope that your heartbreak can be cured, I will gladly take it. Treno is our destination now. If you would rather wait here..."

"No!" Garnet shot up, shaking her head sharply. "I have to go! If Zidane is there... I need to know! But..." Again, she faltered. "I know... I know you don't want me to go... I know you think it'll take us to another dead end."

"We don't know for sure."

"But still..."

"Your Majesty," Beatrix cut in, raising herself back up to both feet and placing her padded hands on the younger woman's small shoulders. Garnet gazed up at the general's one visible eye, worry etched across her face. Beatrix smiled in response. "We cannot let this opportunity slip by, or else you would spend your time wondering about the possibility. If Zidane might be in Treno, you must see for yourself. I will go with you, and we will search discreetly."

"What about Steiner?"

"We'll leave a message for him here. We'll say we went to see a doctor in Dali, for your poor health of late. If he came to Treno, he would cause a commotion and probably scare Zidane away further."

"You're right..." Garnet nodded, though she didn't like the idea of hiding things from her captain, especially since she'd had to do it so many times in the past, and it had caused some minor trust issues (though those had been resolved since). The young queen drew a shuddering breath and nodded again, mentally trying to reaffirm her decision. "Okay... Let's go to Treno."

"Well, that was touching." Blank broke the soft atmosphere, tapping Marcus on the shoulder, who seemed lost in thought but straightened himself when he was brought to attention. "You ladies have fun. Let us know if you hear anything."

"Marcus, Blank, won't you come with us?" Garnet pleaded. "Surely you two know the streets of Treno better than us. You could find his hiding spots."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Marcus disregarded smugly. "Zidane's our buddy and everything, but this is your problem. I think he'd just be embarrassed if we came rushing at him. Besides, Blank can never resist the slum shop's cage battle-"

"I like the challenge," chimed Blank.

"... And he always ends up losing our money on it, not to mention he almost always gets busted up."

"Didn't say I was good at it," again came Blank's voice. Marcus grumbled and waved a hand in farewell.

"Anyway, good luck, princess. Hope you find the little bastard. Give him a good butt-whoopin' for us, would ya?" And with that, the two left the castle, leaving Garnet and Beatrix behind with their decision. Garnet once again turned wide, timid eyes up at her general. Her gaze was imploring, though in truth, Garnet knew she never had to ask Beatrix for permission to do anything. Just a simple "let's go" would have sufficed and the two would flee to Treno as quickly as the airships would allow. But the young mage didn't want to upset her general anymore than she already had. She knew Beatrix had been under heavy stress just from her sympathy (as had Steiner; Garnet couldn't even imagine the heavy feelings he'd been having lately). If Treno ended up being another dead end, it would just mean misery for everyone.

But if Garnet had learned anything from her time traveling the world and aiding in the rescue of her kingdom, of other cities, or her friends, and of herself, she knew that the strongest ally she would ever have was hope. If she could hold onto that one little piece in her heart that hoped to find Zidane, then they would make it through this journey just the same as any other they had traveled. And even if it ended in misery, she knew they'd be alright regardless.

So it was with great strength and determination that the queen asked,

"Beatrix... Will you accompany me to Treno?"

And it was without a thought of hesitation that Beatrix replied,

"Yes, Your Majesty."


Chapter 4 - end
To Be Continued


AN: And thusly, a segue to the next turn-of-events. I apologize if it came off as a little boring, but I just needed to get the information in there somehow. What fortunes will Treno hold for our young queen? Brace yourselves, Chapter 5 is coming.

Review, Your Majesty.