Author: DragoonKain07
Chapter Ten: All's Fair in Love and War...and Potions?
June 15th, 6:00 pm, Baron Inn - Room 203
Edge stood on the balcony of his room as he talked, gazing blankly out over the town walls at the wide meadows surrounding Baron. Courtney was sitting crosslegged on the bed, listening intently to his stories of Rydia & his travels with Cecil, but it was more comfortable for him to pretend she wasn't there. He had been way too brazen around her with women when she was younger, and he imagined she didn't respect him much for it. Not that he respected her much after what she had done herself, but she was still his sister, and it was impossible for him to completely dismiss her opinion. He sighed as he concluded his story, and a few minutes of silence passed.
"What did you hope to achieve here, Edge?" Edge turned around to see Courtney looking at him with an all-too-familiar look. The condescending eyes, the contorted look on her face she made when she was annoyed. Edge rolled his eyes and snorted.
"Look, don't worry about it if you don't care Courtney; I thought you wanted to know. I guess I'll see you later." Edge turned towards the balcony to hop down.
"Edge, hold it; I'm serious!" He paused.
"Yes?"
"I don't get you. When I hear you talk about her or see you look at her, it's easy to see the love you have for her. Heck, I don't even know if I've had as much as a five minute conversation with you about any girl in the past, even when I've tried, and yet you talked for an hour straight about her after a "what's wrong?" from me. But you act insane around her! When you're around her, you avoid her like the plague! You stand or turn away from her, you avoid talking to her, you only look at her when you know she won't notice you sneaking glances. It's like you enjoy sabotaging yourself."
"Well, it's not exactly easy seeing her after knowing she didn't even care that I was gone, Courtney."
"Because of WHAT, Edge? WHAT? No letters to you? Are you serious? You're so caught up in this abstract idea of what you think is going on in her head that you won't even pay attention to her now? Do you think you're doing her a favor? Because you're sure as hell not. Believe me, she told me about last year." She shook her head and Edge finally looked over at her.
"What do you mean, 'she told you about last year?'"
"Oh gee Edge, I don't know." She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Have you ever thought once, just once in that head of yours that she might have been just a bit excited to see the people she got close to while traveling? That while you had only waited a short three months until the wedding, busy with preparations, she had been living five years in the Feymarch? How about the fact that she came up to you to say hi after all that time and you brushed her off? Ever think about that?"
The pit in Edge's stomach grew exponentially at her comments. He wanted to be mad at her for it, but he knew deep down she was right. He spoke uncharacteristically quietly. "What do you want me to do?"
She sighed. She wanted to tell him all sorts of things, but he was not in the state to hear them. "I want you to talk to her. That's all. Just talk to her, Edge. I don't know what will end up happening, but it's better than the situation you're guaranteeing right now."
He locked eyes with her for a few seconds, then nodded. "But what do I say?"
"You could start by apologizing to her." She walked over to the door, opened it, and motioned. "Now go!"
June 15th, 6:30 pm, Baron Village
As Edge made the short hike back to the castle from the village inn, he pondered his next course of action. He had told Courtney he'd speak with Rydia, but his mind was rationalizing that concession more and more as an appeasement of his sister. Surely, he knew more about the situation between himself and Rydia than someone who had literally met her only a few hours before. Courtney had made sense at the time, but obviously she had just been manipulating his weak spots. Despite what had been revealed earlier about the Archfiends, he still didn't trust her any deeper. He knew her strengths in reconnaissance, and, indeed, she had been able to play his emotions like a fiddle exactly how she'd wanted to. The only question was her motives. He was taking no chances with his sister after finding out the true identities of Seneschal and Kotaro. Especially not a short year after witnessing the horrors unleashed by those under the mind control of Zemus. Speaking of... His train of thought was broken just outside the village as he sensed familiar footsteps approaching him from his left side, away from the castle. He turned away from them, hoping to avoid a conversation at all costs.
"Well if it isn't crazy loverboy over here! Mind if I walk with you to the castle?" Edge sighed. Kain was the most irritating man he had ever met in his life, which was definitely saying something.
"I'd be careful who you call a 'crazy loverboy,' Kain; talk about projection." He turned to Kain to see his eyes divert downward. "And no, I was particularly enjoying my Kain-free evening, thank you. Go bother someone else." He turned back and strolled quickly towards the castle. Kain followed him.
"Then you're not interested in enemy information about a pair of girls with odd-colored hair?"
Edge scoffed and picked up his pace. "If there was any such information on one of them, you would've already told me while on the moon."
"Not if I just found it out early this morning, idiot."
Edge stopped and spun around, holding Sasuke inches from the opening in Kain's armor around his throat. "Enemy information this morning? Didn't you give me license to kill you the next time that happened?"
Kain startled, then rolled his eyes. "You can put your swords away; who would be stupid enough to walk into someone's base and announce their alliance against them?" Edge held his sword closer to Kain's throat. "Ah, I see you're in one of your 'don't-provoke-me' days. Well, Cecil and Rosa are expecting me back with information. Surely you don't want to make your day worse by killing me?"
Edge thinned his eyes and sheathed his katanas. "I guess I will take you up on that castle escort. Be careful with your hands though; if they so much as glance your armor, I'll find a clever way to explain how you managed to fall on a sword from three different directions at once."
"A complete asshole, as per usual. Well done Edge; I didn't expect you to start at full throttle, but once again, you have exceeded my expectancy of your rash foolishness and irritating behavior."
"At least my 'rash foolishness' doesn't end in the near-death of the woman I love."
Kain twisted his face and began to retort, but bit his tongue and bowed his head in shame. Edge could tell he had gone a little far taking out the day's frustration on him, but considering the target of his anger was a former two-time traitor, Edge's sympathies didn't exactly come flying out for the man. And it had shut Kain up, which was always a plus. Edge physically twisted Kain around and pushed him forward. "Let's go." Kain was silent the rest of the trip to the castle.
Meanwhile, spying from her far-off perch on the inn's rooftop, Courtney wondered what had set off her brother to the point of near-murder. His rage could get bad, but she couldn't imagine a situation where he'd ever misuse his fighting skills like that. She could tell his victim was one of Baron's dragoons, but she could not picture who it was, especially since she had thought all of Baron's dragoons had perished in the war. She was frustrated that yet another distraction interrupted her push to help out Rydia, but that thought was unimportant at the moment in light of the gravity of what she had seen. She didn't dare to try to get close to the two of them, as she knew Edge would detect her, but she decided to tail the duo from a distance to try to do some information-gathering and to keep her brother out of trouble.
June 15th, 6:30 pm, Baron Castle - Rydia's Room
*thump*
"Ugh..."
Rydia woke up to a loud banging noise at her door. She had returned to her room, intending to rest for only a few minutes, but it appeared the day's events had worn her out. She decided to ignore the door.
*thump* *thump* "Rydia?" Rydia snapped her head upwards and got out of bed quickly, changing her mind from hearing the voice.
"One second Rosa; I'll be right there!" She strolled over to her door and opened it to see the white mage smiling at her and holding a large bowl of stew in each hand.
"Hey, I didn't see you at dinner, so I thought I'd bring some by for you, if you're up for talking. With everything going on, we haven't had a real chance to talk since you've been back in Baron!"
"Oh, sure Rosa! But...how did you knock on my door?"
Rosa smiled and nudged her head downward as she entered Rydia's room. "These boots aren't just for show, you know."
"Mind using them on Edge for me, then?" Rydia rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind Rosa.
Rosa's demeanor turned sullen at the comment, and she carefully weighed her reply. "Did something happen between you two?"
"Not that I know of..." Rydia glanced out her patio window, avoiding Rosa's gaze. "But there had to be something. He won't return my letters, and he completely ignored me last year at your wedding. And all we've done since we arrived yesterday is fight. Do you think he hates me now, Rosa?"
Rosa piqued her eyebrow. "Rydia, I highly doubt Edge could ever hate you. Do you remember how concerned he was when we heard you screaming in your room yesterday?" Rydia's eyes cast downward. "And Cecil told me that it was you who got him to stop attacking his sister; isn't that true as well?
"Well...I guess so. But even that conversation ended with a fight."
"Oh, Rydia..." Rosa softened her eyes. "To tell you the truth, I got plenty mad at Cecil myself for how stubborn he was being about his brother. But sometimes, you have to know when to let situations sort themselves out on their own. Like Cecil with Golbez, Edge has thought his sister betrayed their country for a long time. It's going to take awhile for him to work through that, okay? Just be there for him in the meantime."
"Yeah, I guess. But there's just something about Edge that makes it hard for me to ignore his behavior. He's just so, so...stubborn! He doesn't listen to me at all!"
"But you still talk to him and give him advice; why is that?"
"To be honest, I don't know myself. I can barely even handle his attitude sometimes. It's just..."
"Just...?" Rosa prodded.
Rydia put her bowl aside and spoke quietly, looking downward again. "He makes me feel weird, and I want to know why."
Rosa smiled, analyzing the girl. She was finally getting somewhere with her. "You didn't really have experience with men in the Feymarch, did you Rydia?"
Rydia looked up sharply. "Of course I did! There was Leviathan, and Ifrit, and Ramuh, and-"
"I meant human men, Rydia."
"Well...not really; humans normally aren't allowed there. I barely was able to get you four in to visit, as it was. But I doubt it's that; Cecil and Yang and Edward don't make me feel the way Edge does."
"And how is that?"
Rydia diverted her eyes again. "Like..."
*thump thump* "Queen Rosa!" A voice called from the other side of the door.
Rosa looked up, annoyed. "I'm busy at the moment; can you come back later?"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but we can't! King Cecil has asked us to tell you that you are needed in the throne room; Kain Highwind has returned with information!"
Rosa's eyes shot wide open. "Alright, I'll be right there!" She heard footsteps disappear from outside the room and turned to Rydia. "We'll continue this later, okay? In the meantime, you're welcome to join us in the Throne Room for the briefing."
"Sure, let's go. He hopefully has information on the reemergence of the Fiends!" Rydia got up and hurried towards the door.
Rosa muttered under her breath as she followed Rydia. "Nice timing, Kain..."
June 15th, 6:45 pm, Baron Castle - Main Hallway
"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."
Courtney glared at the Troian soldiers guarding the double doors heading towards Baron's throne room. "Look, I literally just saw my brother go into the throne room with someone else. I don't understand why you're insulting my intelligence."
"No one's been through here; I don't know what to tell you. And you're not allowed to just enter the throne room for no reason." One of the two soldiers suppressed a quick smile that didn't escape the attention of the now very irritated girl.
"LISTEN, b-"
"Courtney, there you are." Courtney had been cut off by the Mysidian Elder, who had suddenly appeared beside her. She cursed under her breath. She could lose her cool quickly, but to be blinded by anger so easily as to be snuck upon by an old sage was disgraceful for a ninja. She had no idea how her brother managed to deal with it, as she knew he'd always had the same issue. She turned towards the Elder.
"Yes, Elder? I'm somewhat busy, as I'm sure you can see. Can this wait?"
"No, actually. I have a favor I need you to do immediately, so please follow me." The Elder began to walk a bit down the hallway.
"I'll get bac-"
"NOW." The Elder stopped in place and looked back at her with fire in his eyes.
Courtney grimaced. During her year in Mysidia, she had learned from observing Palom that ignoring the Elder when he was this serious led to significant problems later on. She reluctantly strode off after him, making sure to get one last dirty look off in the direction of the soldiers, who were now openly exchanging mocking glances.
As she caught up to him, she began to speak, but he waved her off, speaking quickly in a hushed tone. "Are you trying to cause disruption, child? Every issue you start only makes more trouble for Edge to deal with. You must learn that diplomacy requires a sacrifice of your individual pride. But enough about that. I can help you get into the throne room if you need, but you must help me out first." He gave a curt glance at Courtney, who nodded. "Good. Porom has advanced in her training significantly, and I was hoping you could administer a Class III Divination Exam for her? I want to see how she performs in an unfamiliar environment."
Courtney's eyes widened. In Mysidia, exams began at the age of 10, advancing a class level every four years. Class III exams were thus designed for those aged 18-21. "But she's like...six, Elder; it's ridiculous to ask her to undergo that level of examination."
The Elder narrowed his eyes at her and stopped walking. "Just like it's ridiculous for a child to learn Holy?" Courtney averted her gaze in recognition of his point. "I'm glad to see you understand now. I'm sure you will find her more than capable of performing any task you throw at her. Do you have a test in mind that you could administer here in Baron?"
She thought for a few seconds. "I suppose...I could teach her biographical divinations utilizing biological residue. I'm fairly certain I saw books on it in Baron's library with which she could do research on the issue."
"Fantastic! She's in the Black Mage's Lab at the moment, awaiting you. Please meet her there." The Elder then proceeded to Warp himself, and Courtney was left wondering what on Earth she got herself into.
June 15th, 7:15 pm, Baron Castle - Black Mages' Lab
"Alright, Porom, you ready?" Courtney and Porom stood alone in the Black Mage's Lab, which Courtney found out had been specifically reserved and surrounded with a Silence spell by the Elder for their usage, to the great consternation of the castle mages who now had both of their labs usurped. The duo stood before a table with a high stack of what looked to be plain white paper, with four potion bottles sitting next to it. A tube rack containing various numerically marked blood samples rested at the other end of the table. Porom gave a quick nod in response, and she continued.
"Good. Now, you're going to take one of the sheets-" Courtney grabbed a white sheet from a pile next to the both of them. "-and you'll want to channel energy into it until it ideally glows a color close to burnt orange. Red or yellow are non-ideal but okay, but if it fades into any other color, you'll have to toss it and start again. Be careful, as you won't need much energy to accomplish your goal." Courtney demonstrated, channeling white magic into her gloves and turning the sheet a perfect dark orange.
"Now, you'll want to absorb a sample into the sheet. You can use any residue, whether hair or skin or scales or whatever else you have, but blood works best, which is why I obtained samples from the infirmary for you." Courtney used the word 'obtain' in the vaguest way possible, of course. "Finally, you'll load the potions I arranged for you in four demarcated columns in any order and heat the whole sheet for an hour. It's a fairly easy process, but of course the real test is to see how well you can research the analysis of these sheets. I will not give you any help in reading the sheets, and you must explain to me as much information as you can about each individual tested based solely on your research. You'll have 2.5 hours total to complete the exam, which includes the time required to prepare and heat the sheet itself. Each sample requires its own sheet, and you can only use books in the East Tower's library for research. Do you have any questions before I start you?"
Porom looked a bit nervously at her and spoke quietly. "Can you show me how to run the sheet really quickly first?"
"Oh, uhh..." She hadn't expected to have to run a sample herself, and she hadn't wanted to...'borrow' more than what was necessary from the infirmary's samples. But she also didn't want Porom to fail on such a simple part of the exam. "Sure, of course. I'll provide a control which you can use to help see if your sheet came out correctly." She pulled a clean knife from the sash around her armor's waist, and, cutting herself lightly, managed to fill up two tubes with her own blood. After magically healing herself, she gave one tube to Porom, and the other sample she poured liberally over the sheet she had already prepared, watching carefully as it absorbed and caused a faint glow to emanate from the sheet. She then propped the sheet diagonally against the tube rack and ran each of the four potions down a distinct line on the sheet, with each fully disappearing into the sheet before it hit the table. Finally, she put it on wicker over a potion burner, started a magical fire underneath it, and turned back to Porom.
"Ready now?" Porom nodded. "Good. You may begin!"
June 15th, 7:00 pm, Baron Castle - Throne Room
"You can put that away; clearly I'm not here to attack anyone."
Kain leaned against the side wall of the throne room, staring at the katana Edge held uncomfortably close to him. Edge didn't acknowledge his comment, sharpening the blade instead. Kain didn't dare making eye contact with Cecil, as the two of them had never fully reconciled, so he allowed the moment to drift into an uncomfortable silence. After a few minutes, the door opened, and Rosa and Rydia walked in. Kain intentionally picked a spot on the floor to look at, preferring that to seeing Rosa in front of Cecil.
"Well, Kain?"
Kain looked up to see Rosa looking at him intently. She didn't look pleased, but she continued.
"You obviously came back for a reason. What is it?"
"...right." Kain took a pause, as another little part of him had just died inside at her tone. It was hard enough for him to see her in general, but the way she had spoken to him since he had kidnapped her had been very monotone, almost irritable, even before he had betrayed them again in the Sealed Cavern. Most people thought he had left due to his feud with Cecil, but the truth was that he was unable to be around her. His life's love, stolen by his best friend. He could barely handle seeing her at all, let alone seeing her around Cecil, and part of him wished he hadn't returned at all. But after he had learned about the danger surrounding the two women, he knew he had to return, if only for a brief time.
"I obviously made a lot of...poor...acquaintances a year and a half ago." Edge scoffed at this comment; Kain noticed he had managed to silently position himself between Kain and the women. "Many of them believe me to have been directly controlled by Zemus, not controlled by an intermediate player. Thus, they do not know that the seal over me was broken by Lunarian magic in the central processing room of the Giant, and they trust me as a result. While I was training on Mount Mysidia, Barbariccia approached me, asking me to have a meeting with the Four Fiends. Needless to say, I was initially hesitant to join, but I figured that I was in a unique position to help Baron undercover, and I felt it could help atone for what I did, even if only a small degree." He paused for a moment to analyze the room, but they only returned his gaze with stony faces of their own. He began to speak again.
"She led me back to the Tower of Babil, where the other three Fiends were already gathered, and they asked me to be part of their new mission for Zemus." At the mention of Zemus, he noticed sharp looks from everyone but Edge. "Apparently, Rubicante had a rather nasty encounter with your sister, Edge, whom I was quite surprised to find out even existed. The four Fiends had already been planning on kidnapping Rydia, but it appears your sister has kindled their interest as well. There is a plan afoot to kidnap the both of them, but I was not given details of it, as Rubicante did not feel comfortable telling me. I am supposed to be the backup option, taking the two of them dead or alive if the initial plan fails."
"And will you?" Edge had a somewhat twisted frown on his face.
"Are you serious, Edge?" Kain spoke harshly, having finally had enough of the ninja. "Why would I even tell you about the plan if I was going to do it?"
"Both of you, stop it." Rosa interjected, concern on her face. "You said something about a 'mission for Zemus.' What did you mean about that? He's dead, so why would the Fiends still care?"
"I'm not sure, but-"
*thump thump thump*
They all turned towards the door as a loud knock was struck from the outside, followed by a sharp, female voice. "Cecil, the Elder wishes to speak with you, and he's going to incessant lengths to do so. Please deal with him so I can stop."
Kain saw Cecil's face grow in irritation as the Paladin walked towards the throne room entrance, wiping his face clear of emotion for diplomatic reasons as he opened the twin doors.
"Marianne, I told you we were in a mee-hey!" The Elder shoved his way past Cecil and stood to the side, so he could address the whole room. Marianne followed in suit, flashing an "I-told-you-so" look at Cecil and shutting the doors on the walk past him.
Rydia's initial reaction in response to the disruption was to reach for her whip, not knowing what to expect. However, her motion halted when she realized Edge hadn't even tried to go for a weapon; she wondered what he had noticed. His face was, as always, mostly obscured by his mask, though she noticed his gaze intently scan the Troian Epopt as she walked towards the Elder, before relaxing. Rydia reflexively glared at him in response, as an unfamiliar pit began to grow in her stomach. She didn't know why he had upset her, but the ill feeling lingered against her best efforts, to her dismay. She saw his gaze slide to the side towards her, and she turned away to avoid meeting it. She focused on the Elder as he began to speak in a very rapid tone.
"Cecil and Rosa, I am in a very big rush; I'm sorry I interrupted your meeting, but I wanted to let you know I will be heading back to Mysidia immediately. I apologize for missing your anniversary party, but Palom and Porom will represent Mysidia in my absence. Please send for me if you need anything at all."
Cecil attempted to speak, but the Elder Teleported before he even had a chance to get a word out. He stood there stunned for a second, then shook his head. Marianne walked slowly towards the doors, eyeing Kain.
"Who's he?"
Cecil paused for a moment. "It's a long story." He stared at her for a few seconds, then reluctantly gave in. "Maybe you should stay for a bit to hear it, for security purposes."
"Maybe we should invite one of the Chocobos to listen to it, too; I'm sure that would have an equal effect on castle security." Rydia returned to glaring harshly at Edge, who had decided to chime in on the Epopt again. He pretended not to notice.
"I thought they already did, considering you're here," Marianne replied acidly.
"While I absolutely love the bickering between you two, can we focus on the matter at hand please?" Rosa gave stern looks to both parties, then turned to Cecil. "Please give Marianne as brief a summary of the last two years as you can."
While Cecil was talking, Rydia noticed he left out Kain's kidnapping of Rosa, even though he mentioned Kain's betrayal. Why would Cecil leave that detail out? From what she'd heard, Rosa's kidnapping was crucial to Cecil borrowing the Earth Crystal from Troia in the first place! Speaking of which...her mind began to wander towards Kain's actions in general. She had never understood him at all; Rosa had tried to explain to her previously how Kain had been controlled through his love for her, but it just didn't make sense to Rydia, and eventually Rosa just gave up trying. Rosa was with Cecil. Why would Kain want her if Cecil and she were going to get married? It was more logical for Kain to go after a single woman, so why didn't he? Every time Rydia felt she got accustomed to life around other humans, a new situation came up where she felt out of the loop. Eidolons were never this complicated...
"...and so now we have to figure out how what measures we are going to enact in order to protect Rydia and Courtney, if any." Cecil finished his recap of their quest and Kain's new information. A few moments of silence passed, before Rosa broke in.
"Before we do," Rosa turned to Kain, "you were saying about Zemus?"
Kain shrugged. "They didn't give me much information. All I know is that they are on a mission for him, that they are going to attempt to kidnap or kill both Courtney and Rydia, and that I'm supposed to finish the job if they screw up. He could be dead, he could be alive; I really honestly have no clue. I just figured you'd want to know the details I did know, especially since it gave me the opportunity to delude the Fiends into believing I was doing my mission as well."
"Well." Cecil spoke, commanding attention from the room. "I think we should have a watch put on both women, if that's okay with you Rydia." Rydia nodded in response. "It would minimize our risk of losing them to any of the Fiends."
Marianne scoffed. "With what army? Troia only agreed to a minimal troop deployment for castle security; we don't have women to spare to tail the two of them, unless you want to lose castle watchguards."
"I'll cover my sister." Edge gave a side look at Marianne, who rolled her eyes. "And I'm sure Izayoi would gladly provide watch for Rydia."
"Alright, fine. I'll go tell the guards to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. Let me know if anything else comes up." Marianne gave a quick nod to Rosa and Cecil, then headed towards the doors, only to be intercepted by Edge, who pulled the door open in front of her.
"I actually need to talk to you about issues I've found with your 'security.' Mind if I tag along?"
Marianne rolled her eyes and walked out of the throne room, calling behind her. "Whatever; you're obviously going to follow me either way. Just make it quick."
As Rydia watched the two of them leave the throne room together, the pit in her stomach deepened. She hadn't ever felt like this before, and it was really bothering her. She felt a tug on her arm and looked up to see Rosa looking at her concerned.
"Are you okay, Rydia?"
"I'm just not feeling very well. I'm going to go to my room and rest for the night."
"If you're sure..." Rosa scanned her over. "But let me accompany you to your room; I'll stay with you until Edge gets Izayoi to start her watch." Rydia nodded, and they walked out together.
Kain suddenly realized he had been awkwardly left alone in the room with Cecil, and he quickly made for the exit as well, though not quite quickly enough.
"Kain." Kain dropped his shoulders and turned around to face Baron's king.
"Yes?"
Cecil gave him a deep look that made him highly uncomfortable. "You can stay in the dragoons' barracks." Cecil walked past the dragoon, pausing at the door. "And by the way, a lot of people don't want you here. Don't prove them right." He continued down the hallway, leaving Kain standing in the throne room, alone yet again.
June 15th, 8:00 pm, Baron Castle - Hallways
"So? What did you need to talk to me about?" Marianne glanced sideways at Edge as they proceeded through the castle walkways together, much to the raised eyebrows of Troian posts they passed along the way. He continued staring straight ahead as he answered.
"I'd rather wait until we're somewhere more confidential. Prying ears, and all that."
She rolled her eyes again. "Whatev-" She was cut off as they rounded a corner when Edge grabbed her, spun into an empty, open bedroom, and closed the door. The look on Edge's face was terrifying.
"What the hell are you doing, Courtney?"
A few moments passed before 'Marianne' sighed and released the enchantment spells on herself, slowly morphing back into the familiar blue-haired girl. Courtney shifted her eyes away from Edge's still-furious gaze. "Look, I hadn't seen you attack someone before; I wanted to find out why."
"And you couldn't just wait to ASK me? Do you have any idea how serious your situation is right now?"
"Whatever, Edge. If you want to yell at me, just get it over with."
Edge covered his face in his hand in frustration. "You think I'm mad at you because of me? You impersonated an Epopt, Courtney. A head of state. Do you realize that you aren't covered under diplomatic immunity right now? You aren't technically an Eblanian citizen; Senes...Cagnazzo removed your citizenship. Impersonating a head of state is an executable offense in Troia!"
Courtney stood, stunned. "But...there's no way they would execute me. Cecil wouldn't allow it, considering it would advance the Fiends' plan for me to be dead."
"I wouldn't allow it. But that doesn't mean that the Epopts wouldn't rejoice in the possibility of throwing you in jail for a very long time. Troians hate Eblan, Courtney. There's no way the Epopts won't use this to set an example if it becomes public."
"So what do I do then?" Courtney's face had become almost completely drained of color, and Edge's voice went softer. He had made his point.
"We need to talk to Marianne, before Cecil or Rosa speak with her and find out something is amiss. Maybe I can reason something out with her in exchange for her silence. Can you put up your disguise again?" Courtney nodded, still visibly shaken. "Good. Follow me to her room."
After the enchantment spells were in place, Edge and 'Marianne' walked the remaining distance to Marianne's room, entering as quickly as possible past the confused guards posted outside. Marianne was at her desk, doing paperwork.
"I told you guys; I'm busy right-" She looked up and a fire entered into her eyes when she saw Courtney, who had quickly disenchanted herself, in Troian armor. She stood up. "What is-"
"Just listen to me for a second Marianne; I promise it will be worth your while." Edge interrupted her in a very hushed tone, and proceeded to explain what had happened in the last hour.
Marianne glanced back and forth between the two of them, then smiled and sat down. "So you've come here to grovel at my feet and hope I won't throw her to the whole Council, have you? Excellent! But it won't help you; I'd love to see a Geraldine in the Troian prisons. You guys could learn some etiquette for once."
Edge looked at her determinedly. "Be that as it may, surely you can see a problem with not just a prime political target but one of our best remaining magical soldiers toiling away in jail in the middle of what could potentially be a new war?"
Marianne narrowed her eyes at Courtney, but put her hands together and looked back at Edge. "Alright, I'm listening."
"The Geraldine family's amulet." Courtney's eyes widened, and she turned to Edge in protest.
"You can't! That's-" She was silenced by a deafening glare from her brother.
Marianne raised her eyebrow. "That heirloom's been in Eblan's royal family for centuries, ever since your ancestor ripped off the Troian crafter who made it. Troia's been trying to buy it back ever since, to no avail. You're really just going to give it to us?"
"No. No one in their right mind would believe that I just gave you that amulet for no reason. It's too valuable. But I'd be willing to sell Troia it, in exchange for you working with me and being silent on this."
Marianne wore a studied expression towards Edge, which quickly turned into a smug look. "Alright, we'll work out terms tomorrow." She turned to Courtney. "You're very lucky. But maybe it works out better this way; I might be able to obtain the entirety of Eblan's treasure the way you're going. Now get out of my sight, but leave the armor here."
"But-" Marianne looked up sharply at Courtney. "...alright. Great." She quickly stripped down to her undershirt and leggings-Edge offered her his sash for modesty purposes-and walked towards the door. Before she got to it, she felt her collar grabbed from behind and watched as Edge opened the door and thrust her through the doorway.
"I can't believe you; are you insane? What were you looking to accomplish by sneaking into her room, Courtney?" She quickly caught on, and tried to respond, but Edge cut her off. "No. Just go to your room and get changed. I'll deal with you after." As Courtney scampered off, he caught the two guards outside smiling at him. He gave them a dirty look, but he wore a smirk underneath his mask as he walked down the hallway towards the main castle entrance.
June 15th, 8:45 pm, Baron Inn - Room 203
Edge laid on his bed, meditating, when he finally heard the soft footsteps on his balcony. "You're late."
Courtney walked in, and shut the balcony doors behind her. She was dressed in her royal wardrobe, consisting of a sapphire, flowing formal dress that extended almost to the floor, a transparent powder blue cape, and sapphire-hued elbow-length gloves and heeled boots, each adorned with silver Eblanian decorations. Edge gave her a bemused look, barely containing laughter. She shot him back a dirty look. "Look, I left my armor in the Mages' Lab, okay? I couldn't exactly go all the way back there, dressed as I was. So I had to go to Izayoi's room, and the only outfit I had there was this one, which she brought in case I attended the party. So knock it off; you know I hate this outfit."
Edge rolled his eyes and looked away, still smiling. "Sure, whatever. Just don't trip and fall on your face when the Fiends show themselves, okay?"
Courtney scoffed at him and crossed her arms. "You're sure in a good mood for someone who just gave up a family heirloom to Troia, of all people."
Edge turned and eyed her. "And whose fault was that? But ehh; I was planning on selling to them anyway. You just gave me the opportunity to make them feel like they were getting some huge benefit from it. So thanks for that." He paused to look at her seriously. "But don't do something that stupid again, okay? I don't know if I'll be able to get you out of it next time."
Courtney looked at him shocked. "You were going to sell the heirloom?"
"Sure, why not? It's just a bunch of jewels in a crest. And besides, the money is better used right now in rebuilding efforts."
Her expression turned puzzled. "But...I thought Baron was paying for Eblan's rebuilding process."
He looked back at her and gave a secretive smile. "I never said what it was I was rebuilding." He ignored her still-questioning gaze. "I know it's early, but you should probably go to bed. Besides the already-long day you've had, I've also already informed Izayoi about your little 'incident,' and you probably don't want to encounter her tonight as a result."
"Well...I actually have to go back into the castle in an hour." At Edge's resulting side glance, she explained to him the favor she was doing for Porom and the Elder.
"Alright fine, but I'll obviously accompany you, and hopefully you don't see Izayoi...or anyone for that matter the way you're dressed." She threw his sash at him in response, which he deftly caught.
"Ugh, this is going to be a lonnnnng night. Wake me up in an hour." She slumped against the wall and rested her head against the desk, trying to catch a little sleep after the day she had just had.
June 15th, 9:50 pm, Baron Castle - Ballroom
Courtney and Edge entered the castle quietly, staying close to the walls in the now-darkened ballroom in an attempt to escape attention. They had almost made it to the other end of the ballroom when Edge tensed and held her back.
"What do you want, Kain?"
Kain stepped into the moonlight draping from the castle windows. "I thought you were going to keep her away from danger. Sneaking around the castle when most of the soldiers are asleep seems quite a stupid thing to do." Kain turned his head to look at Courtney; she found the look unnerving, and shifted further into the shadows.
"We'll be in and out. And for your safety, I suggest you stay away from her too while we're in here."
Kain opened his mouth to retort, then thought better of it and walked off, throwing his hands up in the air. As Edge and Courtney continued on, they heard Kain mutter quietly under his breath.
"She's Edge's sister?" Edge looked at Courtney and she made a gagging sign in response. He grinned back at her.
"That's my little sis."
June 15th, 9:58 pm, Baron Castle - Black Mages' Lab
Courtney walked down the stairs to the lab, making sure to shut the door firmly behind her to keep the Elder's Silence spell intact, as she knew her brother loved to eavesdrop. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she gasped. Literally every table other than the testing table was covered in open books and multiple pages of notes. Porom looked up sharply, concerned.
"Am I out of time?"
"Almost, you have a little over a minute left."
"Okay!" Porom went back into her book, frantically continuing her notes. Courtney stood there, stunned. She'd done this in 2.5 hours? She had lived in Mysidia with Porom for a full year, and she knew she was hard-working, but...this was ridiculous.
"Uhh...time."
"Alright!" Porom quickly went around, grabbing all of her notes and closing all of the open books, quickly bringing the notes over to the testing table, where she had laid out six completed sheets, placing her control across from Courtney's. She looked up and stared blankly at Courtney.
"Was there a rehearsal dinner tonight for the party?"
Courtney covered her face in her hand. "No...ignore the clothes, please."
"Err, okay." She eyed Courtney one last time, then turned back to her notes. "Anyway, after you left, I set up my tests, then I surrounded mine and yours with protective shielding so I could head over to the library while it was heating. I made a few trips to get as many books as I felt could be helpful, and I worked on them here so I could stop it exactly at an hour. I made sure to quash your fire a few minutes before mine to account for you starting earlier than me, because I wanted to make sure my control was perfect. After I turned off my fires, I've been studying until you returned."
"...wow. Are you, uh, ready to read the sheets then?" No wonder the Elder treated Porom like a protégé...
"Yep! So I originally thought that the potions individually were going to each represent a different type of magical energy, but when the tests finished, I realized that couldn't be possible, since each sheet is showing curves and lines that cross over between the columns. So I went to some of the books detailing the histories of various magic, and I came across a section mentioning that the black and white forms of magic got their names from the color of lines represented on biographical tests like these, which gave me a quick start to list whether each person did or did not have white and/or black magical capabilities. Since I was already working on these specific lines, I decided to focus entirely on them to start. I spent about 20 minutes doing research on how to figure out the differential in strength, and couldn't find anything, so I figured I'd try an experiment. As a white mage myself, I figured I'd able to understand the strength of the white lines by sense, and I was able to successfully by brushing my hand over them. The black lines took more work, because I couldn't sense any difference in them, but I remembered Palom once telling me that he hated white magic because it was too "ordered," and that black magic always made him feel like he was improvising on every spell. Looking at the sheets, I noticed that the white curves I had sensed were most powerful were also the most linear in nature, so I tried applying the opposite test to the black curves, taking the most jagged and randomized lines to mean most powerful. This gave me a good start, to where I felt I could get a good base biography of each person. Since then, I've spent the last hour working on the final colors, as in the blue swirls, red slashes, and gold spots. In one of the books they have here on Damcyan, they had the magic represented by a gold tone, so I assume that is bardic magic. However, I couldn't find the swirls or slashes in any book in the entire library, so I'm going to assume they involve more secretive magics."
"I'll go sheet-by-sheet. Sheet 1 only manifested itself in parallel white lines, so I figured that either had to be me or Rosa, though I'll guess Rosa, as I feel my ability to Twincast with Palom should show on a sheet like this. Sheet 5 has the gold spots on it, so I'd imagine that has to be Edward. Sheet 4 had jagged white lines; that indicates to me that it's someone with limited white magic potential and no other magical abilities. The only person I know who fits that description is Cecil, so I figured that was him. As for Sheets 2 and 3, they both had very jagged black lines, though 2 seemed more randomized and also had blue swirls, while 3 had red slashes. At first, I didn't know how to work this out, but when I compared it to your control, I noticed you also had the jagged black lines and blue swirls, along with fairly jagged white lines. Thus, I'm going to assume that the blue swirls represent ninjutsu and that it utilizes black magic as a magical base in some manner or another, meaning Sheet 2 would be Edge. Since Rydia is the only other person I know with exotic magic whose blood would possibly be on hand at the castle, I'm going to assume that the red slashes represent Summoning capability." She turned to Courtney expectantly. "How'd I do?"
Courtney walked over to the sheets and studied them, a bit stunned at the girl's work over the last few hours. She picked up her own sheet to compare it to Porom's results. "Uhh...congrats. You got a perfect score; I'll make sure to tell the Elder when he returns." She paused in thought, then headed for the stairs quickly. "Can you clear up the lab for me though? I have to actually go finish up some preparations tonight."
Porom looked a bit disappointed. "Sure, Courtney...but aren't you going to give me any advice on what I did?"
"When you did everything right? Your instincts are fantastic, Porom." Courtney called back as she walked up the steps, leaving Porom there still feeling confused.
Edge stood outside the panel covering the stairs to the Black Mages' Lab when it suddenly popped open, his sister half-jogging out towards the castle entrance. He followed after her, catching up fairly quickly. "Woah, where are you headed so quickly?"
She spun around to face him. "Look, Edge, you just have to trust me here; I need a little alone time for tonight and tomorrow, okay?"
"...no. You're not going anywhere by yourself. We already covered this."
"Edge!" She gave him a hard look. "Please."
He stared at her for a minute. "Alright, listen. I won't pay attention to what you're doing, but at least let me provide security wherever you need to go, okay?" He noticed she got antsier the longer he talked, piquing his curiosity and making him wonder if he'd have to break his word.
"Alright, whatever." She took off into the shadows, leaving him to tail her once again.
Author's Note: Well, 8,400 words came out of nowhere for me. But hopefully you enjoy them! Also, fun fact: the longest amount of time spent by me on this chapter was figuring out how to describe Courtney's regal outfit. I finally decided, after several hours of searching up outfits (both real and from the FFIV universe, such as Edge's mom's outfit in the DS remake), that FF clothes were so impractical anyway I would go as vague as possible so as to make sure I didn't clash with the universe/Eblan's fashion capabilities or provide her with an absurd-sounding outfit.
And as always, feel free to R&R!
P.S. does my biochemistry background show? D:. I was trying to find the balance between providing enough detail for you guys vs. writing a lab report's M&M section.