Twelve years later
Yunalesca threw herself down on her neatly made bed with an aggrieved sigh. There was nothing to do. She'd long since finished the exercises her tutor had set for her, and there were no other children her age living in the palace complex to play with.
She had her dolls, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't get them to dance the way Aunt Tisha could.
Dolls were stupid, anyway. She wanted to go down to the beach and look for crustaceans, but Mother said they didn't have time to organize an outing.
Yuna snagged her blitzball from it's nook and began tossing it rhythmically up and down. She didn't want to go on an outing, she wanted to play at the beach! Mother would insist on guards and chaperones, and probably a tutor to make it educational. She blew her bangs away from her eyes with an irritated snort.
It's not like she didn't know the way to the beach or something.
She caught the blitzball and held it as the thought struck her.
It was true. She did know the way to the beach, all by herself. She worried her lower lip as she mulled it over in her head. If she wore her old worn out play clothes, she wouldn't have to worry about someone seeing unusual stains or rips, and no one outside the palace would recognize her. And she had some Gil stashed in her room from other outings that she could use to buy a sandwich from a stand, which would be fun.
She smiled and lifted her chin up. She'd show them she was old enough to do things on her own!
Two hours later found her on the gravel path leading to the small stretch of beach that she'd been to with Uncle Legolas a few months ago. She found herself grinning at the idea that she'd managed to get to the beach without all of the fuss that generally preceded such a venture. Here she was, just wandering all by herself, barefoot and free at the waters edge.
She scrambled over some lichen-covered rocks and grabbed a slime coated stick that she used to drag a line in the damp sand. She hummed to herself as she walked along, enjoying the sun and the sounds of the gulls.
Behind her, the cliffs rose up into the sky, and beyond that, the towering buildings that marked the beginning of Zanarkand's business district. If she leaned all the way back, and shielded her eyes, she could just make out the tops of the towers, hazy and indistinct.
She kept walking, deciding to explore a bit. Maybe she could make it down to the docks, where all the ships came in, bringing back goods from all over Spira.
She'd heard Uncle Legolas say that trade had never been better, with all the goodwill her father had been spreading.
It made her proud, thinking that it was her father that was helping Zanarkand be the best city in all of Spira. When she grew up, she wanted to do what he did, and help people work together and do their best.
She could hear the warning buoys in the distance, and she knew she couldn't be far. She climbed up a small pile of stones that had crumbled off the rock face and squinted into the distance. She could see the docks from here, and a few ships slowly making their way into the north harbor. She clambered back down and kept working her way down to the docks. The cliff face nearly joined up with the sea, here, and she had to hop from rock to rock in a couple of spots to make it through the otherwise waist-deep water.
Finally she was close enough to hear the dock workers shouting back and forth in various languages and accents. She found a comfortable spot on one of the huge rocks and settled in to watch the chaos of the docks.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out a knot of sailors disembarking from one of the fishing trawlers, shouting loudly to others on the dock. They seemed to be carrying something heavy, from what she could make out. They laid it down, and to her horror, she realized it was a body! She leaned forward, intent on seeing what happened.
The sailors jabbered to each other and gestured to the row of buildings on the dock. Finally a cluster of them entered the building closest to them.
Presently, a regal man in formal robes emerged from the dock offices, followed by the sailors that had called for him. Slowly, he made his way to where the fallen man lay. She put her hand to her mouth. A Summoner! The man was dead! She'd never seen anyone dead, before, and it gave her a queer feeling in her stomach.
The Summoner spoke to the dead man's comrades briefly before making his way to the body. He seemed to study it for a moment, before he raised his ornate staff in front of him and began an intricate dance around the man. Yunalesca was fascinated. Her father was a Summoner, but she'd never been allowed to see him Send anyone. Mother said she was too young.
Yunalesca thought privately that Mother worried too much. She was almost thirteen, for goodness' sake!
Suddenly a burst of brightly colored lights swirled around the Summoner and the dead man. It was like the lights danced with the Summoner, Yunalesca thought, dreamily. It was very pretty...
Gravel crunching behind her snapped her back to the here and now, and Yunalesca nearly fell off her rocky perch trying to turn around.
"Your mother is going to ground you for the rest of your life if she finds out about this, young lady." said Legolas, putting out a hand to steady her.
She gaped at him. "How'd you find out?" she demanded.
Legolas grinned. "I watched you from the upper observation deck. You're not very subtle."
He shook his head in amazement. "You just marched out of there as if no one would see you!" He raised an eyebrow. "You're lucky I was watching. The guards wanted to send out an entire squad after you. I told them I'd handle it."
She frowned, embarrassed. "I don't need to be watched all the time, you know."
He laughed. "Apparently you do! Otherwise no one would know where you were!" He settled down on the rock next to her, hair rippling in the salty breeze.
"That's what Daddy does, isn't it?" she said, gesturing to the Summoner, who was slowly completing the Sending.
Legolas slanted a glance at her. "Yes. Just not as much as the other Summoners. He rules Zanarkand. And as the High Summoner, he protects Zanarkand from her enemies." He looked pensive.
"Why?" she said. "I mean, why doesn't he Send as much as the others? He's the High Summoner...wouldn't that mean he Sends more than the others?"
Legolas was silent for a moment. "He spends most of his time trying to keep the city running. He doesn't always have time to Send the unfortunate people who need it. That's why we have lots of Summoners."
She knitted her brow. "And, Daddy's not a mage...how does he 'protect' Zanarkand?" She turned to him, waiting for the answer.
A strange look flitted over Legolas' face briefly, and was gone. He shrugged. "I guess it's tradition, Moog." he said, using his pet name for her.
"Come on. We need to get back before the tide comes in." He smiled and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket, chilled in the cool air.
Yuna looked out to sea, horrified. She'd forgotten all about the tide! Now she could see that the water had risen in the short time they'd been there. If Uncle Legolas hadn't come, she'd have been stranded there, and maybe drowned!
She hurried to catch up to him, and took his hand. "I'm sorry, Uncle Legolas. I didn't mean to cause trouble." She hung her head.
He reached out and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about it, Moog. Just, next time you feel the urge to explore, ask me, will you? I don't need any more grey hairs, just yet!"