Authors Note: I have no excuse for how long this took, I need a jolly hard kick in the backside. SBT.
Response to reviewers - Because I'm lazy
KatSumeragi1313 - Of course she can't keep him locked up, he's too pretty!
melesse.spirit - GOMEN NASSSSAAAIIII, I'm such a bad person, it took me forever to update, I apologise to the world. (I also apologise for this bad Fruits Basket impression ...)
Eika - This Vivi is ... 21 I think! Lol. I can't remember.
NeoNaoNeo - I have one somewhere about One ... no idea what I've done with it though.
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Undoubtedly a little daunted, Vivi walked towards the castles throne room, flanked on either side by a Knight of Pluto; admittedly, he was not quite as worried as he could have been since one of the knights was Laudo. Part of his mind could not help but observe that criminals always returned to the scene of the crime, just like he was doing right now.
It was hard to ignore the looks, hard appraisals from those who had been present during his first attack and Vivi was incredibly conscious of them. Part of him had known that this would be difficult, that whilst his sons and Zidane could look past it the regular castle goers and employees had no reason at all to trust him.
The herald outside the throne room looked as if he had been throttled when the three approached; his flushed face paled as he darted into the throne room. "Master Vivi Orunitia," He announced in a wavering voice as Vivi entered.
Just like he had hundreds of times before, Vivi dropped onto one knee before the throne, waiting to be told to stand. He could feel Steiner's hard gaze on the back of his neck and knew instinctively that the knight certainly did not respect him as much any more; it was sad that something that had happened through no fault of his own was pushing Vivi away from his friends. "You may stand," Garnet said in a regal tone of voice.
Vivi stood, keeping his head bowed; there was a long silence as Garnet tried to gather her words together, she knew she had to do this but honestly had no idea how to start. "Master Orunitia, you should be perfectly aware of why you are here," She decided upon at last, "Ordinarily, the sentence for the attempted assassination of any member of the royal family is death but I have it on good authority that you were not of your right mind at the time."
'No,' Vivi thought, 'I knew what I was doing, I knew that I was going to kill Sarah.' Nausea rose up his throat again but he clutched one hand into a fist and swallowed.
"The king has argued your case quite relentlessly," Garnet was saying when Vivi felt capable of hearing again. "And as such, I am turning all responsibility for your future actions into his hands." Startled into looking up, Vivi's eyes went to Garnet and he blinked a few times; was she really saying what he thought she was, that he needed some kind of mentor? That from this point his actions were considered the responsibility of another? "That is not to say that there will not be severe implications if you attack any member of the royal court, I have used all my talents to defend you thus far."
Nodding, Vivi looked at the ground again, "I appreciate that, your majesty," He replied in a small voice. "I shall try my best not to destroy the trust you all choose to place in me." With a wince, Vivi could hear his own voice failing; his throat was still recovering and what he had had to say had not been easy.
Sad brown eyes were watching him and Vivi realised there was something more to what Garnet had to say. "It was the courts decision that … until your recovery is more concrete, the boys should be moved to a more protected environment."
Yellow eyes shot wide as Vivi looked at her, he shook his head desperately, not believing what was being said in the least. Everything else he had, everything else he was he was willing to lose but the boys were certainly off limits. "I'm sorry, Vivi. I tried my best to explain what they meant to you but the court would not be swayed."
Utterly broken by the idea, Vivi dropped to his knees, head in his hands ; hiding his eyes as best he could. "No," He said in a small voice. "Anything but that, anything!" There was a beg to the broken comment that prompted Garnet to close her eyes and turn her head away.
Metal rang out on the marble floor, a gauntleted hand closing on Vivi's narrow forearm. "Get a hold of yourself," The knight instructed, "You are receiving judgement for a heinous crime," Vivi clenched his fists as tight as he could, talons digging into his palms as he did so.
"My crime didn't rob Garnet and Zidane of Sarah," Came the small comment back, "I know what I did, I live with that every day but I know it could have been worse." There was no anger to his voice and Steiner's hand went to the hilt of his sword; if the Waltz did not sound angry then it could well mean he had already gone berserk.
There was a tense silence as Vivi gathered himself together; he eventually picked himself up, eyes hidden as he shook himself free of Steiner's grip. "Are you even going to tell me where they're going?" He asked, his tones those of forced calm and Garnet knew the former mage was trying his level best to keep control of his temper.
Opening her eyes, Garnet stood from the throne and moved towards the Waltz; her arms soon wrapped around him as Steiner stood opened mouthed. "Officially no," She whispered so only Vivi would hear, "But as a friend I will tell you later, I'll send Ruby to meet you, alright?" She felt a grip on her hand, a yes on Vivi's behalf.
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The night was cold, a full pure moon hung in the air and ice was starting to glisten on leaves and blades of grass. Vivi crouched on a small wall by the river, looking out over the dark water; his wings were fluffed up to keep him warm and he hugged his knees into his chest for the same reason. Steiner had told him not to leave the castle but the waltz had been left in a room with a window; Steiner was a brilliant knight but Vivi sometimes wondered about his intelligence.
A figure approached him, her form wrapped in a cloak, "Hello Dahlin'," Ruby greeted, gracing him with a smile; her theatre was doing well, she now employed several actors and actresses, Lowell was still the star but now people came from all over the continent to see the shows he performed. "Lil' ol' Dagger told me I'd find ya here,"
Despite having lived with Tantalus for two years, Vivi had not become any better at decoding what Ruby was saying; he supposed there was a certain skill to it that he did not possess. "She said you could tell me where they'll be hiding the boys."
"Ya make it sound so dirty," Ruby replied, her eyes slightly surprised. "They're only doing what they think they should." She lent on the wall he crouched on, "Everyone up at the castle is paranoid ya'll go crazy again,"
He sighed, looking over the river again, "No more then I am," He replied. "I'm more aware then any of them,"
A sad smile crept up Ruby's features, "I didn't say I agreed with them, now did I?" She asked, drawing his eyes to a smile she graced him with. "I wouldn't be here if I thought ya'd go crazy." She reached into the front of her bustier and Vivi looked to one side. "What? It was the best place ta hide it!" Ruby defended, holding out the folded parchment to him. "If ya get caught with that, ya didn't get it from me, last thing I want is ta have them take the theatre."
He took the sheet, "Thank you Ruby," He said softly, "I certainly won't tell them I got it from you." She reached up to gently brush his hidden cheek.
"Ya listen ta me dahlin', these people are the kinda people who don't live in the sorta world we do." She said, looking up into his eyes. "They're the sorta people who think hardship is not having a second helping at dinner; ya got more heart and soul in ya foot then they have between them." Ruby encouraged, "And ya ain't a kid any more, if ya want to scream at the bastards, no ones going to stop ya."
"Are you sure about that?" Vivi asked her, a small trace of humour to his words, "Screaming is the start of anger after all,"
"Yes it is Dahlin', it certainly is,"
She moved her hand from his cheek and turned to leave, "You be careful with that list now, ya hear?" She called over her shoulder, "I don't wanna hear ya've been locked in a cell again." Vivi nodded, watching the teal of her cloak fade into the dark of the Alexandrian night; he sighed, cradling the precious sheet of paper against himself.
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AN: So what will Vivi do with this very very important plain sheet of paper? Find out next time in FD.