~Chapter 3~
We arrived at the Palace of Archades and docked at the aerodrome. I got off the ship and looked at the city. I was amazing. The city was extremely busy with many airships flying around in the sky, and people and creatures shopping and doing other activities below. Archades was busier than my hometown Asriel. I have never seen so many people in one area. Gabranth directed my attention to the door in front of us. I sighed with relief and also nervousness for I didn't know what Lord Gramis would think of me. Gabranth opened the door and led me inside. The palace was as stunning as the city. I could not help but look at everything around me. "We do not have time to delay, Elaine." Gabranth said that in the nicest way possible but it still meant hurry up we need to keep moving. We went down the hall to the lift. The lift took us up to Lord Gramis's study. Gabranth walked up to the colossal brown wood doors and knocked on the door. "My Lord, I have brought someone here for you. If this is a bad time, we can come back." The doors opened and Lord Gramis stood in the doorway. "My Lord." Gabranth bowed to Lord Gramis and I followed his example. "Gabranth, there is no need to be so polite, come in. And your name my dear?" Lord Gramis had to be in his sixties and he was very ill even though he didn't act like he was. "Elaine, my Lord." He smiled like we've known each other for a long time, which we have. "Well come in both of you. There's no point in standing out here." He led us in. Gabranth and I stood in front of Lord Gramis's desk as he went around and sat down in the chair. "Now, what matter of business have you brought me today?" "I have brought you a candidate for the Judge position." Gabranth was so polite when speaking. But I directed my attention to Lord Gramis. "Ah, so you want to be my replacement Judge? Splendid! I want you both in the Grand Hall in one hour. The Senate and myself will be there waiting, so don't be late!" The Senate? They are the closest thing to the final word around here. If I were to mess up it would be the end of my chances. I have to get this position! Gabranth and I bowed and went out the door. We went back to the lift and went down a couple of floors to the Judge's bed chambers. He then led me to his chamber and we went inside. He took off his helmet so I could see his face as he talked to me. "The Senate, why didn't you tell me?" I was afraid of being noticed, that I would never come back to Asriel. "Calm down, you'll do just fine." He walked up to me and hugged me close to his body. He loosened his hold and looked down at me. I looked up and he was leaning down to kiss me but he froze. He thought for a moment, let go of me, and turned around to walk away. As he started to walk away, I grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face me. I then placed my hand on the back of his neck and kissed him. It lasted about a minute or so but it was different from the time Alexander kissed me. When Gabranth and I kissed it was more intense, like it was meant to be, or like there was a spark that burst into a roaring flame. I knew this was true love, but I wondered how this could be possible for someone I have known for only a few days and not the person I had known my entire life. We let up our embrace and looked at each other. It was different to both of us. I could see it in his eyes. "I…" He couldn't even say anything. I looked at the time and we had only ten minutes left to get to the Grand Hall. "We have to go. We have ten minutes!" He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the room into the hallway. He led me to the lift and we took it to the fourteenth floor. We get off and there it was, the Grand Hall.
I was nervous to be interviewed and perform in front of at least sixty people. I didn't know any of them and I didn't know what they would think of me, let alone if they would like me. Gabranth opened the door to see if they were ready. He turned back to me, they were. I walked up to the door and we walked in the Grand Hall. I looked around and the Senate, Lord Gramis, his two sons, and the other four Judges were all there. Gabranth and I bowed to the audience. Lord Gramis then motioned at us to come forward. "Hello Elaine. How are you today?" I smiled warmly. "Just fine, my Lord. And you?" He smiled back. "I'm fine as well, thank you." A member of the Senate broke through our conversation. "We are not here to listen to small talk. Let's get on with business, shall we?" I nodded at Lord Gramis. He then started asking questions. "Yuna, where are you from?" I took in a deep breath. "I am from Dalmasca, my Lord." "What city?" He went on. "I am from the royal city of Rabanastre." "How old are you?" "I am twenty-one." "Your full name is?" "Elaine Maria Loire." "Last question, what weapon do you use?" "I have four weapons that I use. The main weapon is a gun blade, and the other three are two daggers, and a whip with sharp blades at the end." Another member of the Senate spoke. "Those are very weak weapons, do they do you justice?" I looked at him. "Yes sir they do. I have a very different fighting style than most soldiers do." He seemed intrigued. "Would you mind demonstrating for us?" My heart started pounding in my chest. I had to do this, for my country. "Yes sir I can. Who do you wish me to spar with?" The Senate spoke with one another. They looked up with their final decision. "We want you to spar with Judge Bergen." Gabranth was worried. He didn't like that idea. Bergen was very strong, but I am stronger. Lord Gramis seemed pleased at the idea. "Well let's get on with it. Good luck Elaine, you're going to need it." There was a little sarcasm in that last part. "Thank you my Lord." I went to the other side of the room. Bergen stepped up with his weapon in hand. "Lord Gramis. If you don't mind I have one condition." He seemed puzzled. "What's that Elaine?" I pulled out a bandana from my belt. "That I fight blind folded." As I was putting the blind fold on the Senate was worried of the outcome. They thought I was insane to fight like that. Gabranth was worried even more now that I couldn't see what I was up against. I was ready. Lord Gramis signaled that the fight has started. It was all up to my keen senses now. I pulled out my gun blade from my back and waited to hear Bergen moving. He started to come at me and I jumped straight up avoiding his attack. Time went by and all I did was dodge his attacks. He was getting tired. I could hear it in his breath. I finally decided to end this pointless fight. I stopped moving for a moment. Bergen stopped as well wondering if I was going to give up. I took off my blind fold and my eyes started to turn a light blue color. My gun blade turned into twelve different types of swords flying around me. Bergen became afraid but knew he had to end this. He ran up and attempted to stab me with his sword. It didn't work because with the swords around me I also had a shield that could protect me from anything. He feared for his life then. As I was getting ready to attack a member of the Senate stood up. "Stop, that's enough!" The swords were inches from Bergen's body. I looked at him with confusion. Didn't they want me to end this? My eyes changed back to green and the swords disappeared. "You have excellent skills Elaine. We could definitely use them here." I was pleased with their decision. Gabranth and the other Judges stood there with disbelief. I turned around to face Lord Gramis. "So, what did you think my Lord?" He was amazed. "That was incredible Elaine. I would definitely put my life in your hands." Gabranth walked up to my side. "Gabranth, I want you to take her to the Bed Chambers." "Yes my Lord." The bed chambers he was referring to were the ones the Judges stayed in on the twelfth floor. Gabranth and I walked out of the Grand Hall. He looked down at me. "That was incredible. Where did you learn that kind of magic?" I laughed at his question. "It's a Rozarrian family secret. Only a few of the Margrace family members know it." "Not even the whole family knows?" I stopped walking. "No. Only a spare few get chosen. The ones that get chosen end up being the ruler of the country. My brother doesn't know the technique." We started walking again to the lift. "Wow, that's impressive." We got down to the twelfth floor and he led me to a room near the lift. "This is where you will be staying." He opened the door. It was a pretty large room for being a Judge. It was nicely decorated and it seemed like this would be a place for a royal family member to stay. I sat down on the bed across the room. Gabranth followed but turned to the closet on my right. He started to open the doors. "Here is your suit of armor that you will be wearing almost all the time." It was very stunning. I couldn't believe I did it. No one has suspected a thing. I was pleased with everything Gabranth has done for me. "Thank you Gabranth." I smiled. "What for helping you? It wasn't hard getting you this far if that is what you are thanking me for." I stood up and hugged him. "No it was just the thought of it. If I didn't have you helping me I wouldn't have gotten this far." I started to cry. "Princess you don't need to get worked up over this." He pulled me away from him and placed his hands on my shoulders to get my attention. "As flattering as it is there is no need to thank me when we've only just begun." He wiped a tear falling down my cheek with his hand. I smiled and I understood what he meant. He leaned down and kissed me. Once again there was that spark. I felt like I was going to faint every time he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him and he stopped kissing me. "Feel better now?" We both laughed. "Of course I do." He turned to leave the room. "Get into your uniform and I'll be waiting down on the first floor for you." "Ok I'll be there." He left the room and I turned to the closet and opened the doors. There it was, one of the most annoying and hard things to put on. It took me a while to put on the suit but I got it on. There were so many layers to it. I grabbed my helmet and put it on and then left my room to get on the lift. I took the lift down to the first floor and there he was waiting for me like he said.
