Author's Note: I'm sorry that this is late, I really did plan on having this on Sunday…honestly…but I was distracted. I blame my short attention span…and the addiction that is online gaming. I promise chapter seven will be up on Saturday…maybe…probably…at some point during the weekend at least. I also blame all of the homework I've been getting. I did all of it…well, most of it, but I can do the rest of my math in the morning. At least I missed my last two classes today. Hooray for Orthodontists (not).

Disclaimer on first chapter; Ideas about Vivi's and the Black Mage's appearances belong to Guardian1, who was wonderful enough to give me permission to use her ideas. Also, the 'bird' reference is inspired by Yuja (a.k.a. Chowder, a.k.a. Catz).

Meetings & Discoveries

"Why the hell are you here?" -Greeting from Amarant Coral to Freya Crescent overheard by a waiter in a bar in Alexandria.

All he wanted was a nice quiet drink before going up to the castle. But was fate ever kind enough to let him sit back and relax? Sometimes. But now was not one of those times, for the moment began to drink, his head turned to the left and he nearly spat out his drink. Nearly-but years of training had taught him to never ever spit out a drink, as it was highly unlikely that he would get a free replacement. Forcing himself to swallow, he stared at the person sitting next to him. Minus four awareness points. Quickly chugging the rest of his drink, he turned back to his old companion "How's it going rat?" Turning her chair to face him, Freya had a look on her face that matched his earlier thought of spraying a drink. Taking another slow sip of his drink, he turned so he was looking her in the face "So…why the hell are you here?"

"Of all the things to leave out in a letter, it had to be this." -Mutterings of Freya Crescent overheard by a waiter in a bar in Alexandria.

She stared into the face; or rather what little of the face that wasn't covered by his red hair; of the third-to-last person she had been expecting to see…if you could expect o not expect something of course, no matter how against logic this was. The only two people who would have surprised her more by being there were Zidane and Sir Frately. She muttered darkly into her cup, while thinking up a few good things to point out to Garnet when she met up with her again. "You here 'cause of Garnet's letter?" She nodded, and asked her own question "You here to escort the kids?" Amarant groaned and downed the rest of whatever was in his cup, as she assumed he must have just figured out why they were both here. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. An idea that would make the rest of the trip, or at least the rest of the night more bearable. "Hey red…" Amarant grunted, though he would never give a real response to that nickname "What do you say we make tonight interesting, since we don't have to see she who must not be named until tomorrow night?" Amarant looked up at her "What did you have in mind?" Grinning slightly, she raised her tankard

"Lets see which one of us can really hold down their liquor better."

"Your on."

Several hours later, Freya Crescent and her red-haired friend supported each other as they drunkenly tried to stumble up the stairs to their rooms. Smiling to herself as she managed to get herself onto her bed, she passed out with a single thought in her mind

I won…

"Oh-…I…er…that is to say…" -mutterings produced by Adelbert Steiner during his interrogation.

To say that he was embarrassed was the least of his problems. Though he had expected that someone might have overheard him and Beatrix had crossed his mind more then once, he had not expected his queen to find out so soon. And yet, here she was, staring at him, the commander of the male half of the knights dedicated to her, as well as Beatrix, the commander of the female half of the knights. Both he and Beatrix kneeled in front of their queen, who was seated on her throne. Garnet cleared her throat before going on "I'll ask again, is there anything that you two have been keeping from me?" Beatrix immediately turned a fine shade of red that he found himself comparing to the wine they had selected. he mentally shook himself Now is not the time!

"Oh-…I…er…that is to say…"

Not for the first time, and most likely not for the last time either, Beatrix saved him from the current predicament. She raised her head and made direct eye contact with Garnet with her one good eye. Though she remained kneeled, she gave off the impression that she was at looking at her queen at an equal height, not from below. Such was the proper air for the commander of half an army that was one of, if not the, most renowned in the world.

"Your highness, I apologize for not informing you sooner, but myself and Captain Steiner…" She paused briefly, looking over to the man she was referring to and gave him the ghost of a smile, before returning her gaze to the queen, the air she possessed before returned "-…that is to say, your highness…Captain Steiner proposed to me two weeks ago, and I have accepted. The Captain and myself are engaged." Garnet jumped up, both hands over her mouth. The next second, she had Beatrix in a sisterly embrace. Smiling widely, she held the surprised commander at and arms length, her hands on her shoulder. "About damn time too!" A whirlwind of emotions and confusion later, he found himself in the quarters that he and Beatrix now shared. Not completely understanding what had happened, she sat down on the edge of his bed, removing the new armor he had gotten after returning. Unfortunately, he had found himself agreeing with Zidane at some point. His old armor had been rusty. As he lay down in his bed, a single thought crossed Adelbert Steiner's mind. Behavior like that is most unbecoming of a queen…and highly unexpected. Although, it could not be said that he was ungrateful that she approved, something seemed off…

Several floors above, the queen of Alexandria, Garnet, cried fresh tears. After few moments, she lost track of which ones were of joy for her commander and captain, which were jealousy that they had something which she now knew she never could, and the tears caused almost every night by the disappearance of him.

"I've had enough. It is not just a simple curiosity any longer. Vivi is hiding something, and he is going to tell me what's wrong whither he wants to or not! Tonight I'm going down there to find out what exactly is wrong with him." -Entry from Diary of Eiko Carol.

Tomorrow we start on our journey…if it can even be called that. No, journey is the wrong word. Adventure doesn't fit either. Vacation? No, that's wrong too…Trip? I suppose that'll work…gah, no that is NOT the point…geez, stupid mind, keep focused! Tonight, I find out what's wrong with Vivi… She stood outside his door again. Unlike her most recent visit, this time it was night again when she came to see her friend. Ever since she had found out that there was a body under that coat, and a face under that mist, she had wanted to see what he looked like. Simply for the sake of curiosity, of course. She knocked on his door. After five minutes of no answer, she walked in. Unlike last time, Vivi hadn't been lost in thought. Also, she was being less stealthy then last time, when she hadn't wanted to wake him up. Vivi was sitting on the great stone slab that housed a large window that took up almost the entire wall. The window was open again. He was sitting on the still again. However, the coat and hat were on this time. Ignoring the look, or rather, lack of look since the familiar mist was covering the features she supposed his face had, she sat down on the still next to him. What happened next she never remembered. She knew that they had been talking, and supposed she had had some sort of an outburst. The next thing she knew, he was sighing, and removing his hat. the mist was slowly dispersing, revealing a face she had defiantly not been expecting. Her mind screamed, but her face remained blank. He has…Kuja's face… He kept his eyes closed, tilting his head in an angle that said he was ashamed. But no…that isn't right…its different somehow. It's…innocent. Gentle. He doesn't have any evil inside of him. "Vivi, what's wrong?" Immediately his head snapped up, his eyes opening. Yellow…of course they're yellow…his hair isn't exactly like Kuja's either, he doesn't look like a bird! "I…I look like him, don't I?" Understanding spawned inside of the young girl's mind. Does he think we would hate him because he looks like the one who almost destroyed our world? The person who destroyed Terra? The person who took Zidane after our victory…? Smiling slightly at him, she tilted her head to the side and grinned as only a child can. "Don't worry, I won't tell the others. You can tell them when your ready, but you don't have to worry. Your secret is safe with me." Though she didn't know it at the time, the young black mage's thoughts were all gratitude. Gratitude that someone knew, and didn't hate him…and relief as well. "Thank you." Bouncing back from the window, she turned around to leave. "Don't forget to pack, were leaving tomorrow…oh, and Vivi?" "Hm?"

"Don't forget to smile."

back in her room, Eiko Carol furiously scribbled in her diary. Pausing in the middle of a sentence, she rested the tip of the pen against her lips, allowing the cool metal to sooth her thoughts. He has the coolest golden eyes…they glow!

I'm sorry for the delay in updating. I seriously was going to finish this yester day, on Friday, but things…took a turn for the worst. Put simply, I got a two hour lecture about how I'm a 'Spiteful child who needs to grow up' 'Need to be a part of this family' and 'Need to let go of all the hatred and spit inside of me, for it will destroy me'. All this after seven hours of walking, from the mistress of the person who the law says is my 'father'. Apparently, staying in my room, trying not to disrupt them, and only speaking when spoken to is part of the above statements…I really can't wait to get emancipated, but I have to wait for now. (Also, at the end of that, he 'accidently' let it slip that my uncle, who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cance about a year ago, will most likely be dead within two to three weeks. low blow Paul...low blow...) Sorry for the rambling, but I wanted to justify the lateness of this chapter. I wanted the chapter after this one up today, but since it's already 11:18 where I am, I doubt it'll be up in time. Thank you to all who are still reading this, Guardian1 for letting me use her ideas, and Yuja/Chowder/Catz for being my support and beta reader!

I want to have the next chapter up tomorrow, but I can't promise anything…homework over the weekend should be illegal --, not to mention the ace about my 'domestic situation' I'll do my best though, so try to bare with me if you can.

(wow, 3 alerts, 3 favorites, 390 hits, and 13 reviews! I feel loved!) Further thanks to you, the reviewers. Cookies to you all! readers, you can have cookies as well…but the best cookies go to the reviewers. (after reading more stories, I have decided to include responses to reviewers…)

Solark: Of course you can have a cookie!

sup3rl0z3r: Glad to see your enjoying it.

fft4ever: Glad to see you like it too. I'll try to update it more often.

J.L. Dexter: Thanks for the compliment, and the support!