A/N: Hey everyone!:) Thanks again for all of you who have taken the time to read my story. It really means alot to me3
and I'm so excited! I have 4 reviews! I know...I know... some people have over 1000 reviews but this is my first story so every review I get is special:) I'd like some more of them though;D
anon: I'm glad you noticed that I improved! It's hard sometimes not to write exactly what was said in the game but I'm working on it:)
Well here is the Dali chapter and before you read, I want to say a few things. First of all, sorry about the size...usualy if a chapter is really long I'll make it into 2 seperate chapters but I didn't want do it with this one because I felt that it should all be in one. Second of all, I've gotten a few messages from readers asking when I plan to write some interaction between Amarant and Daphne, to answer that question...soon. I really don't want to give to much info about my story because I still want it to have the 'suprise factor' but when Amarant and Daphne do meet there will be alot and I mean a lot of interaction between them...this is their love story after all...even though it may not seem like it right now lol and thirdly this is the longest, hardest and funnest chapter that I've written so far. I really enjoyed writing it so I hope you guys enjoy reading it.
Oh! and so you guys won't be confused while reading...
'Italicized words are thoughts'
bold words are to emphasize a word or expression.
"I'm not your average princess."- Daphne
~Twists of Fate~
Chapter 9
The Pleasant Village of Dali
"Gee Whiz, look a windmill! It's huge!" Vivi was staring in excitement at a large windmill that was attached to the top of one of the homes of Dali, which was the name of the village that they had just walked into.
"Pretty awesome isn't it," said Daphne as she put her hands on her hips and began staring at the windmill as well.
"Uh-huh," said Vivi as he slowly began to move deeper into town before Zidane's voice held him back.
"Vivi, lets get some rest first and then we'll do some exploring for sure," said Zidane with a light smile.
Vivi reluctantly walked over to Zidane and the others as they all walked tiredly into the Inn that was located near the entrance of the village.
As the five companions walked in, a few steps away were two young boys staring at them with their mouths ajar.
"Hey Billy, did you see that thing?" The young boy asked his friend in astonishment.
"Sure did!" Replied Billy, as he and his friend ran in the opposite direction of the Inn.
The Inn that the five comrades walked into looked homey and cozy to say the least. All of their footsteps could be heard walking on the stone floor towards a desk with a sleeping man's upper body sprawled across it.
Zidane tapped a small bell at the corner of the desk hoping that the high pitched ring of the bell would wake the man up.
"Uhh-whaa," slurred the man as he rubbed the 'sleep' out of his eyes.
"Sleeping on the job eh?" Said Zidane to the Inn keeper as he put a hand on his hip.
"Oh I'm sorry…" The Inn keeper looked right passed Zidane and at something or someone that was behind the furry tailed teenager.
Zidane raised an eyebrow in confusion as he looked at the Inn keeper and then to the princesses and Vivi that were right behind him.
"Hey, I know they're gorgeous but it's rude to stare you know," said Zidane in an annoyed voice.
"Oh…n-no I wasn't looking at the young ladies, I was looking at the room right over there! It's the best room we have, it just finished being remolded!" The frazzled Inn Keeper immediately pointed to a room to his right as he wished the five guests an 'enjoyable stay'.
"Finally, we can all get some rest! Come on you guys," Zidane lead his four friends into their new room for the evening.
As they all walked inside their room, they noticed that only four beds were available. Instinctively, Steiner tried to solve the situation.
"I will surrender my bed so that each princess may have their own for the night," stated Steiner aloud.
"Oh Steiner don't be ridiculous," said Daphne as she plopped herself down on a bed in the corner of the room, "me and Dagger will share a bed. Problem solved," finished Daphne nonchalantly.
Dagger walked a few steps to the same bed Daphne was laying on and took a seat at the edge as Steiner spoke.
"But prin-," Steiner was cut off be Dagger's voice.
"Steiner, please just rest and be done with it. It's really no trouble at all."
"Wow," said Zidane as he began to scratch the back of his golden locks of hair, "two sisters sleeping together? Kinda kinky but fine by me," finished Zidane with a mischievous smirk.
The two girls had no choice but to laugh at Zidane's poor attempt at comedy. They really didn't take anything Zidane said too personally. They were already starting to get used to him and his big personality.
Steiner of course wasn't amused by Zidane's words but restrained himself from lunging across the room and strangling the blonde haired teen knowing that most likely if he did, Daphne would punish him for it.
"Alright, alright," started Zidane, "before we all catch some Z's I have one question for you girls."
Daphne pushed her body up and leaned her body weight on her elbows to get a better view of Zidane as Dagger continued sitting at the edge of the bed awaiting Zidane's question.
Once Zidane knew he got both of the girl's attention, he began to speak, "why did you two wanna leave Alexandria so badly?"
Daphne and Dagger looked at each other before Daphne started to speak for the both of them, "Well…if the theater ship never crashed…"
"Then we would've arrived at Linblum by now," finished Zidane. Dagger and Daphne both nodded their heads at Zidane's words.
"So you two have been planning to leave Alexandria?" Zidane said in a questioning yet confusing manner.
"Yes," replied Dagger as she started to play with a strand of her black hair, "we've been planning to for a while actually."
Steiner looked at his princesses in shock as he took a seat on his bead for the night and continued to listen to the conversation.
"Wow," said Zidane as he began to rub his chin in thought, "well since the option of an airship is out of the question, the only other way is border crossing," Zidane took a seat on his bed before continuing, "we're gonna have to cross South Gate on foot now."
The girls stared at Zidane for a while before Daphne spoke out, "Zidane, there's a bigger reason as to why we needed to leave Alexandria but…we can't really tell you…at least not right now…I hope you understand," finished Daphne as she got up from the bed and walked over to a small desk, running her fingers across the wooden surface.
"I'm sorry we can't say more Zidane," said Dagger as she locked her gaze with his. As Zidane stared into Dagger's eyes he began to speak, "It's fine; I completely respect that. I promise I'll get you two to Lindblum…somehow," Zidane looked from Dagger to Daphne and gave them both a confident smile that they so willingly returned.
Steiner was holding his breath during the entire conversation and couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to say something. "Princesses," began Steiner as get stoop up from his sitting position on the bed "you can't trust his words! He might expose you two to even more danger just like in Evil Forest." Steiner walked closer to Daphne and Dagger's bed as he continued talking, "please come back to the Castle with me."
Dagger and Daphne eyed Steiner in disbelief before Zidane began speaking in an angry tone.
"Look," started Zidane as he eyed Steiner in annoyance, "I know I screwed up in Evil Forest alright, but my mind is set now. I'll protect Daphne and Dagger even if it costs me my life!"
Steiner looked somewhat amused, "oh no, no, no, no! I am the one who will be protecting the princesses!"
"Oh really," said Zidane as he crossed his arms, "and exactly how do you plan to take them back to the castle?"
"I will compose a well thought out plan! It's none of your-"
"You guys shut up," said Daphne in a hushed tone, "look at Vivi." Daphne pointed a finger at the young mage who was sleeping soundly on one of the beds.
"Poor guy, he was tired," said Zidane softly.
"I think we all should follow Vivi's example and get some sleep," said Dagger as she laid herself back on the bed her and Daphne would be sharing.
"Alright then, Rusty, I'll deal with ya later," said Zidane as he carelessly plopped down on his bed.
"Grrrrr..." Steiner made his way over to his bed for the night as well and fell asleep without another word.
La la la la
La la la la la la
La la la …
"Who's singing? It doesn't sound like Daphne…is it Dagger?" It was the middle of the night when Zidane heard someone's beautiful, angelic voice singing a song that he'd never heard before. Zidane lifted his head slightly to examine to room and see if anyone was up but he couldn't really see anything due to the intense darkness. It was really late, so Zidane softly laid his head back on his pillow and decided to solve the mystery of who was singing in the morning.
It was now morning; the sun was shining brightly down on the small village of Dali and all who lived with in it. Zidane was currently sleeping peacefully on his bed until the sun rays from outside came in through the window above him and fell across his face. Feeling the warmness and brightness of the sun, Zidane got out of bed and rubbed his eyes with the balls of his fists. Zidane scanned the room and noticed that he was the only one in there.
"I guess everyone's already awake, I wonder where everyone went?" Zidane walked out of the room and into the lobby of the Inn where he saw the Inn keeper, sprawled out on his desk in a deep slumber once again.
Zidane shook his head and let out a light laugh at the sight of the irresponsible Inn keeper before he made his way out side in search of his friends.
"So Lindblum is bigger than Alexandria?"
"Oh yeah, way bigger."
"Have you been there before? What's it like?"
"Dagger and I would go there every summer when were little, it was a blast! Well, the kingdom has different districts and you use air cabs to travel back and fourth. There's always something fun going on in Lindblum, that's for sure."
"Wow, can't wait to see it!"
"Haha yeah I really miss it there. I'm just excited as you are!"
Vivi and Daphne were sitting on an old wooden bench right outside of a weapon shop while having a conversation. The duo had been there for about an hour after waking up and decided to have a chat to get to know each other better. Vivi really liked having Daphne around. Of course that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy the company of Zidane and the others but Daphne up to this point always made an effort to reach out to him, and because of that, Vivi started to grow somewhat of an attachment to the spunky princess. He really felt like he could open up to her.
"Daphne?"
"Yeah Vivi?"
"Has someone you cared for ever…disappeared?"
"By disappear, do you mean die?"
"Well…yeah."
"…My dad died a few years back. It was really hard for Dagger and I to deal with it but it hit our mom the worst. Actually, a while after his death is when she started acting weird…"
"Weird? What do you mean weird?"
"Oh…Oh! Nothing Vivi, anyway why are you asking me these questions? Did someone you know die?"
"Yeah…my grandpa."
Daphne stared at Vivi as he was staring at the weapon shop's door in front of him. Daphne felt horrible for the young mage and didn't know what to say.
"Vivi, I'm sor-"
"I-It's ok, he was great. He taught me a lot of things. I miss him sometimes but I know he wants me to be happy…so I try to be happy for him."
Daphne smiled while Vivi spoke. No kid should have to experience the loss of a loved one. Although Daphne was sad after hearing what Vivi said; she was glad that he felt comfortable enough with her to share some of his past.
"Vivi I-"
"HEY! IT'S HIM!"
Daphne stopped mid sentence and turned her attention to three small children who all yelled at the same time and were pointing fingers at Vivi with frightful faces.
"RUN!"
After acknowledging Vivi's presence, the three kids from before quickly scurried away from the area.
Daphne was thunderstruck and was completely confused as to what just happened. She looked over at Vivi, waiting for him to speak.
"Daphne...why…why were they avoiding me?"
The soft snore of the Inn keeper was the only noise that could be heard within the small Inn. The man was in a deep sleep until he felt a small, rough tongue lick his bare cheek.
The man immediately woke up and saw his gray cat on his desk looking at him with beady eyes.
"Oh it's only you…what should I do?" The Inn keeper was talking aloud as he began petting his feline companion.
"I really don't wanna give in to my brother, but everyone else is makin' money cept' me."
"….."
"Weren't those people traveling with a…" The Inn keeper had an idea run across his mind.
"I won't have to give in if I tell him about them!"
Dagger was a mess. She would never let it show…but on the inside, her mind and emotions were a hot mess. Dagger was inside a clothing shop that was right in the heart of the village. She tried to distract herself by looking at all the store had to offer, but it didn't work. She kept on thinking of the recent events over and over in her head.
'I wonder if the castle's ok, I wonder how mothers doing right now. She really went too far this time. She didn't have to fire at the ship like that, even if it was to save me and Daphina. I wonder how many people were injured; I hope the damage is fixable. So many people could've died that night. Oh come on Garnet! Stop thinking of this and focus on your current situation. I should practice my speech…like Zidane said.'
At that moment, Dagger decided to end the mental conversation with herself and start a real conversation with the shop owner. Dagger walked over to the front of the shop and made eye contact with a pretty young girl with brown eyes that was standing behind the counter.
"Welcome!"
"Um...hello," replied Dagger.
"Can I help you with something Miss?"
"Well…actually I was wondering if we could…chat for a while."
"Chat?" The young shop keeper seemed somewhat confused by Dagger's proposition but agreed to have a conversation with her anyway.
"Yes," replied Dagger as she moved closer to the desk separating her from the shopkeeper. 'Oh what should I say? This would be the perfect opportunity for me to practice my speaking…ummm...ohhh...oh!' "How is your business here coming along?"
"It's going good," said the innkeeper as she sat down in a wooden chair behind the desk, "business is usually slow around here but I don't mind."
"Oh that's-"
"Oh my gosh! Guess what!" A small boy wearing blue pants and white shirt ran to the front of the clothing shop and cut off Dagger mid sentence.
"Yacha, can't you see I'm busy with a customer?" The shop keeper seemed annoyed with the boy's rude interference with her conversation with Dagger.
"I know," said the sweaty little boy who looked as if he had been running for a while, "but I heard something really awesome!"
'Awesome? Sounds like the word Daphina's always using'. Dagger looked intently on the boy and shopkeeper and decided to make the situation easier to handle. 'Maybe I'll just excuse myself and allow them to talk. That way, I can listen in on a real conversation by country folk. Maybe I'll learn something'.
"Um…please don't mind me, you may proceed-, I mean you can talk with her if you'd like." Dagger gave the boy a soft smile that he returned.
"Thanks lady!" Yacha quickly turned his attention back to the shop keeper. "So like I was saying…."
Back at the Inn, nothing to interesting was going on except for the Inn keeper who was still having a conversation with his cat.
"Oh the look on his face!" Apparently the Inn keeper was excited about something.
"He sent someone to pick it up right away, now all I needa do is sit tight until the guests leave. Gotta pretend I'm asleep."
The Inn keeper put his head down on the table once again after letting out a soft mischievous laugh.
Clearly, the Innkeeper had something up his sleeve.
Dagger had been listening to the conversation between the Yacha and the shopkeeper for a few minutes until she decided to explore more thoroughly throughout the small shop. Dagger walked over to look at some women's clothing before hearing someone walk into the store; it was Zidane.
"Hey Dagger," said Zidane as he walked to Dagger's side to see what she was looking at, "Oh wow, I didn't know you were into these things," Zidane picked up a tub top from the rack of clothing to examine it further as he raised an eyebrow in Dagger's direction.
"Oh please," started Dagger as she forcefully took the tub top out of Zidane's hands and put it back on the rack, "you're impossible Zidane."
Zidane and Dagger both let out a small laugh before Zidane broke the laughter.
"So," said Zidane as he ran a gloved hand through his hair, "how do you like the town? I know it must be way different than Alexandria, but still."
Dagger looked at Zidane and placed a hand on her curved hip. "I actually enjoy it here very much, it's nice to get away from the Castle and be out in the world, you know?"
"I hear ya," replied Zidane. "Hey…your way of talking is changing! I swear, for a minute I thought I was talking to a random villager!"
Dagger looked at Zidane with a face full of pride. "Thanks! I may not be perfect yet but I'm trying hard."
"I can tell," said Zidane with a huge smile, "well, I'm gonna be heading back to the Inn soon, we still needa decide what our next move is gonna be so, whenever you're done will you head back too?"
"Alrighty, catch ya later Zidane!" Dagger winked at Zidane before exiting the shop.
Zidane stared at Dagger in amazement as she left. 'Wow, maybe the border crossing won't be so hard after all'.
After Zidane walked out of the clothing shop, he immediately thought of Daphne, Steiner and Vivi.
"I wonder where those three are," Zidane looked to his left and saw the figure of Vivi standing near the windmill, Zidane began walking to the windmill as well so that he could meet up with the young mage.
"Hey Vivi, what's up?"
Vivi jumped at the sound of Zidane's voice and turned around so that he could see his furry tailed friend better.
"Hi Zidane, d-do you need something?"
"Nah, just wanted to come by and see what you're up to," replied Zidane with a smile.
"Oh," said Vivi, "I'm not doing much. Just staring at the windmill and thinking."
"Thinking?" Zidane looked at the mage in a concerned manner and continued speaking, "Is everything ok Vivi? Do you wanna talk about something?"
Vivi was pleased to hear how concerned his friend was but reassured him that it was nothing. "No it's ok Zidane. Thank you."
"Ok Vivi," said Zidane as he began looking at the windmill as well, "but you know if you ever needa talk to someone, I'll be here."
"I know Zidane…th-thanks."
Zidane looked down at Vivi and placed a hand on his shoulder. Zidane really cared for the young mage and wanted to make sure he knew that.
"Alright then Vivi, whenever you're done here can you head back to the Inn? I want us all to talk about what our next move is."
"Oh ok, sure Zidane."
"Alright Vivi," before Zidane made a move to leave, he gave a quick wave to the black mage, "see ya!"
"Bye Zidane," said Vivi as he returned the wave.
Vivi stared up at the windmill for a few minutes longer until he decided to head back to the Inn, but before Vivi could make a move to leave, a man grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder as he quickly ran away from the scene with the black mage held tightly within his grasp.
"Hmm," said Zidane aloud as he was walking back to the Inn after having talked to Vivi, "forget Rusty, I wonder where Daphne is."
"Here I am!" Daphne just walked out of one of the item shops with a small bag in her hand as she came face to face with Zidane.
"Oh hey Daphne, whatcha up to?"
"Oh nothing," said Daphne as she tucked a piece brown hair behind her ear, "I was just buying us some supplies for our trip; potions, antidotes, eyes drops, the usual."
"Great," said Zidane as he watched her pull items out of the bag to show him what she had bought, "are you about ready to head back to the Inn then? I told Vivi and Dagger to meet me there already."
"Oh sure lets go, but…what about Steiner?" Daphne raised an eyebrow in Zidane's direction as she awaited his response.
"Eh, he'll come back eventually," replied Zidane.
Daphne laughed aloud at Zidanes comment as they both began walking back to the Inn to meet up with Vivi and Dagger.
"Hey sis!" As soon as Zidane and Daphne walked into their room, Daphne ran to the bed her and Dagger shared for the night and lied down on the opposite side that Dagger was sitting on.
"Hi Daphne," said Dagger with a smile before she turned her attention to Zidane, "hi Zidane."
"Hey Dagger," replied Zidane with a heart warming smile, "did you wait long?"
"No, it's fine," said Dagger.
"Hey sis," began Daphne as she sat cross-legged on the bed facing her sister, "isn't this place great? It feels so good to walk around like a normal person and not have people address you as 'princess' every five seconds…I wish every town was like this," finished Daphne with a slight frown.
"I agree," replied Dagger as she place her gloved hand on Daphne's knee in an affectionate manner, "it's very relaxing here. There are so many things to do and see and the people are so welcoming. Although, all I've seen so far are children," Dagger ran a hand through her black hair before facing Zidane. "Zidane, where are all the adults?"
Zidane rubbed his chin in thought, "you know, I don't know."
"Well," cut in Daphne, "I saw a few of them in the crop field, but that's it."
"Yeah," replied Zidane, "but I can't help but feel like something weird is going on…well, we'll leave as soon as Vivi comes back."
"But," started Dagger as she got up off the bed, "what about Steiner? You're not suggesting we leave him are you?"
"Look," said Zidane as he jumped on one of the beds in excitement before going on, "I already have a master plan for crossing South Gate! No one's looking for the rest of us so all we have to do is hide you two! Forget Rusty, leave it to me!"
Steiner was currently sitting on a stool in pub staring at a cup of coffee had had ordered. Steiner stirred his coffee repeatedly with his silver spoon as he was lost in his thoughts.
'Ohh... how am I going to get the princesses back to the castle? The poor girls having to be exposed to this common folk life is barbaric! Grrr…if it weren't for that monkey Zidane we wouldn't be in this predicament. Maybe…Maybe I can trick the princesses into going back to the Castle. They both made it clear that they aren't going to go back willingly so…maybe…'
"Excuse me Sir," said a young girl with large green eyes, "may I get you some more coffee?"
Steiner's train of thought was immediately lost as he looked to the young girl and answered quite quickly.
"Oh no, no. I am fine but I do have question."
The girl put down a large coffee pot that was in her hand and turned her attention back at Steiner, "Ye-Yes sir, what is your question?"
Steiner pushed aside his coffee as he began to speak. "Is there an adult present that I may speak to; your father perhaps?"
The girl got a dish rag and began cleaning a few cups that had just been washed. "My father, along with the other men of the town are working, they don't come back home till around nightfall."
Steiner looked defeated but then came up with another idea. "Well than I shall ask you a question. I need to know what means of transportation this village uses. I'm afraid I can't give to many details as to why, but I need to escort two people back to the Castle."
"Alexandria Castle? Are you from there?" The girl asked in amazement.
"Indeed!" Steiner said proudly.
The young girl was quite in thought for a while before she decided to speak. "Well…ok…if you go to the observatory on the top of the mountain on the outskirts of this village, you'll find an old named Morris who lives there. He takes care of the cargo ships. I hope that helped."
"Steiner immediately shot up form the bar stool as he replied. "Splendid! You have my gratitude."
Before the young girl could say anything else, Steiner was already outside of the pub and making his way to the observatory that he had just heard about.
"Daphne…that is so obscene, I really do hope you haven't shown your 'talent' to anyone else besides us," said Dagger in disgust.
"Hahaha," laughed Zidane. "I think it's great, I wish I could do that!"
Zidane and Dagger were sitting on the edge of opposite beds as they were staring at Daphne who was sitting cross-legged on the floor in between them.
Apparently, Daphne thought it would be a good idea to pass some time by showing them her 'talent'. Daphne was proudly showing off her flexibility by bending her fingers back all were almost touching the lower portion of her wrist.
Dagger was horrified and was laughing out of nervousness that her sister might break something, while Zidane was trying to do the same thing with his own fingers.
"I used to do this in front of Beatrix when I was little; it would give her the creeps," said Daphne as she began doing the same thing with the opposite hand, "actually, I've done it to her a few times recently and she still gets freaked out," finished Daphne with a huge smile as she stopped showing off her 'talent'.
"Daphne, sometimes I can't believe I'm actually related to you," said Dagger with a light laugh as Daphne rolled her eyes, "…hey Zidane, shouldn't Vivi have been back by now? He's very late."
Zidane's smile lowered into a worried frown as he thought of the young mage, "yeah, you're right. Steiner can take care of himself but Vivi I'm not too sure about. He's been goon too long, let's go look for him."
Without hesitation the threesome got up and walked out of the Inn and into town hoping their young friend was ok.
"Where would he be?" Spoke Daphne in a scared manner.
"Well, the last time I saw him he was near the windmill," said Zidane as he pointed in the direction of the windmill, "let's check over there.
Zidane, Daphne and Dagger quickly made their way over to area where Vivi was last seen until they heard a 'wark' sound and a 'kweh' sound coming from a small hole that was in the ground next to them
"A chocobo?" Zidane said in confusion.
"Yeah," replied Daphne as she crouched down on the floor to listen to the sounds coming from the hole, "I think I hear someone crying too."
Sniff…sniff
Sniff…sniff…sniff
"Vivi, is that you?" Daphne asked in a worried tone.
"Daphne!" Vivi said in excitement. It was him who was crying.
After hearing the mage's voice Dagger and Zidane lowered their bodies near the hole as well to hear Vivi better.
"Vivi," began Zidane, "are you underground? Are you hurt?"
"N-No, I'm ok but they told me to stay here," replied Vivi timidly.
"Don't worry Vivi," said Daphne in a calm voice, "we'll get you out, just sit tight ok?"
"…O-Ok."
"What do we do now?" Dagger asked.
Zidane ran both hands through his hair as he tired to calm his nerves. "We gotta find away underground."
The girls nodded their heads in agreement and followed Zidane out of the area.
"Do you guys have any idea what so ever on how to get underground?" Zidane said aloud while looking at the two princesses.
"Nope," began Daphne, "but, I've been in every shop here and the only place I haven't been inside of is there." Daphne was pointing a large building that was right next to the windmill.
"Then maybe we should look in there," suggested Dagger as they all followed her inside the building.
As they walked inside, machinery was sprawled out on the floor, and there was a ladder to the side that led to an area above.
"It's just a pile of machinery junk," said Daphne aloud until her boot hit a large hatch that was lying on the floor, "you guys look!"
Zidane walked over to the hatch Daphne was looking at and opened it up with no problem. As the hatch opened, a ladder could be seen going down to underneath the floor.
"I guess this is the only way," said Zidane as he began to climb down. Daphne and Dagger climbed down after him as well.
The threesome was now underground in facility that was unknown. There were rocks and dirt everywhere and a small trial that lead to another portion of the underground complex. They all walked down the trail into the other room where voices could be heard from within a small shed.
Zidane was at the front of the pack and held his arm out to stop the girls from walking any further. He put up his index finger to his mouth showing them that he wanted them to be quiet and listen.
Daphne and Dagger got the hint and didn't make a sound.
"Why is it moving? Is it true the Mayors brother found it?" Asked a man from inside the shed.
"I guess they reconciled, his brother is one of us now," replied a younger man.
"But wasn't he on the old lady's side before?"
"Oh, about abandoning the farm? He probably only said that because he was fighting with the mayor. Who cares? We need more workers anyway. Hey lets put this in a box."
"I guess the guys at the castle will take care of it."
"Yup, we're only in charge of production."
After having heard the conversation, Daphne and Dagger were astounded. The Castle? What did the castle have to do with anything? Was their mother planning something that she didn't inform them about?
Daphne took a step back in thought and came back to back with a large barrel; she immediately turned around noticed something strangely familiar. 'These barrels…these barrels have the same patter on them like at the Castle… Oh my-'
"Dagger," said Daphne in a low voice so no one would hear, "look at these barrels, they're just like the ones back home!"
Dagger looked at what her sister was pointing too and instantly knew their mother must have been hiding something for sure.
Alexandria was involved in some sort of organization, but what that organization was; was still unknown.
Dagger and Daphne were torn from their thoughts when a man pushed Vivi through the opened door of the shed.
Zidane, Daphne and Dagger quickly took a few steps back so that they wouldn't be seen and had to restrain Zidane from taking any action yet. Zidane was ready to kill the two men that walked Vivi into the room beyond, but since Dagger and Daphne were holding him back, he couldn't do anything.
"What are you guys doing!" Zidane said in an angered voice, "who knows what those bastards are gonna do to him!"
"Zidane calm down," said Dagger in a calm voice, "we'll make this fast but did you see the barrel that was next to us?"
Zidane thought for a minute before answering back. "No I didn't, why?"
"Well," started Daphne, "that barrel had the same exact pattern like the ones back at the Castle. Alexandria has to have some sort of connection to this place and Dagger and I really wanna find out what it is, so please, don't make any trouble…at least not yet."
Zidane was quiet for a while before replying to Daphne, "alright fine, but if those guys try to hurt Vivi I'm gonna get involved. Agreed?"
"I completely agree," said Daphne, "alright let's keep going."
All three of them walked passed the shed where Vivi was and continued on into the next room. The room they just walked into was a mess of different sized barrels and chests, and there was even a coffin thrown in one side of the room. The threesome made their way out of there and into another room where there was an even bigger mess of wooden boxes. They all made their way through the maze boxes and barrels and into a final room where crying could be heard.
"Zidane!" Daphne yelled as she was staring at a large wooden coffin, "someone's crying, I think it's Vivi! Vivi are you in there?"
Sniff…sniff… "Daphne!"
Everyone let out a sigh of relief that Vivi was now with them as Zidane moved in front of the coffin and with all his strength pulled the top right off.
Vivi then came stumbling out and was helped up to his feet by Dagger.
"Th-Thanks you guys," stuttered Vivi.
"Why would they stuff you in a box?" Daphne said in a confused manner.
"How could they do such a thing," said Dagger right after.
"Yeah Vivi, what happened?" Zidane asked out of concern.
"Well," began Vivi as he looked at his feet, "after you left, some man kidnapped me and brought me here. I was so scared I didn't know what to do. They kept asking me questions but I didn't answer. I heard one man say 'but the cargo ship isn't even here yet' and then another man said 'well let's just put it in the shipment for today'. I don't know what they were talking about but that's all I know."
"Wow," said Zidane as he walked over to Vivi and put a hand on his shoulder, "seems like you've been through a lot of tough stuff but I'm glad you're ok," Zidane gave Vivi and encouraging smile before continuing on, "Vivi…we wanna find out what's ahead…I know you might not be thrilled with the idea but-"
Vivi interrupted Zidane's sentence before he could finish. "I know Zidane…I'm still scared but I wanna learn more about what's going on."
Daphne, Dagger and Zidane all gave Vivi approving smiles as Daphne started to speak.
"Look at that thing," said Daphne as she pointed to a Machine that was pumping out large pinkish white eggs every three seconds.
Zidane walked closer to the machine that Daphne was pointing to as he began talking aloud, "this isn't a Mist engine, yet there's Mist coming out of it."
"Come on guys! Let's keep moving," yelled Zidane to his friends.
They walked into an adjacent room that showed the eggs being carried along a conveyor belt that was being powered by a chocobo.
"A chocobo?" Daphne said aloud in confusion, "why don't they just use a machine?"
Everyone looked just as confused with the sight and carried on into the next room. The next room was what really baffled everyone.
"Wh-What is th-this?" Vivi seemed to be the most freaked out about the sight before them.
There were black mages everywhere. They were all larger than Vivi and they wore purple long sleeved collared shirts with white bottoms. The mages were attached to an upper conveyor belt and were being carried around like shirts on a rack.
"A-Are they do-dolls?"
"Is mother behind this? Why would she do such a thing?"
Dagger and Vivi were both hypnotized by the sight in front of them. The only ones that seemed to be paying any attention to their surroundings were Zidane and Daphne.
"…Zidane," began Daphne, "I think I hear someone coming."
"You know Daphne, I was just thinking the same thing," replied Zidane as he looked to his three friends "you guys, we needa hide!"
Vivi and Dagger totally tuned Zidane out and weren't moving at all.
"Daphne…I think we're gonna have to-"
"Way ahead of you Zidane."
At the same time, Zidane grabbed Dagger and threw her over his shoulders as Daphne lifted Vivi off the ground and held his against her chest. Dagger and Vivi were caught off guard about what was happening but kept held their screams in.
"Daphne!" Yelled Zidane, "this way!"
Daphne followed Zidane up some steps through a stone tunnel that the mages were passing through. It looked as if it were some sort of packaging area. It was completely dark within the tunnel and Dagger and Vivi were about to yell in protest to what was happening to them but we're quickly stopped by Zidane and Daphne who put a hand over each of their mouths.
The four companions were quiet as they heard a conversation going on from the outside. As they were trying to concentrate on the people who were talking, their concentration was broken by a large cylindrical item that fell on top of them all.
"Ahhh!"
"Wh-What is that!"
"Geez that's gonna leave a bruise!"
Another similar shaped object fell on top of them again.
"Shit that hurt!"
"Vivi are you ok!"
"W-What's go-going on!"
"Whoever's grabbing me, that is not my arm."
"A-ha! The cargo ship!" Steiner was pointing to a cargo ship that could be seen in the distance across the grassy plains. Steiner was quiet proud of himself for getting this far.
After having to go through pointless (in Steiner's opinion) conversations with Morrid from the observatory, Steiner finally got the information he sought from the eccentric old man.
"Now," said Steiner as readjusted his armor, "I must think of a plan of how to get the princesses to board the airship without hesitation…is…is that something coming from under the ground?"
Steiner began running hastily towards the airship to get a better look of what was going on.
Sure enough he was right; something was coming from the ground. There was a doorway leading to the underground was open and out came a chocobo carrying a carriage that was supporting a large barrel. Two men that were untying the barrel from the carriage caught a glimpse of Steiner's body in the distance and quickly ran away after witnessing the sight of the tin man.
When the two men were completely gone from the area, Steiner had just made it to the barrel they released.
"This…this barrel, what could be inside?"
Suddenly, the barrel moved.
"Wha-What!" Steiner was starting to become a little confused, "It moves?"
The barrel moved again even harder than the first time.
"I-I've seen this barrel before…maybe I should," before Steiner could pull out his sword to poke the barrel a voice stopped him from doing so.
"Ok you guys! One more push!" Clearly the voice belonged to a man.
"A-ha! The barrel speaks!" Before Steiner could examine the barrel anymore, Daphne popped up through the top and landed right on top of Steiner causing him to fall to the ground.
"PRI-PRINCESS!"
"Sorry Steiner," Daphne rolled off of Steiner's body and stood up quickly. At that moment Zidane Dagger and Vivi all jumped from the top of the barrel onto the ground to be face to face with a very thunderstruck Steiner.
"Wha-What?"
"Come on Steiner, get up!" Daphne lowered her hand to help Steiner to his feet. Steiner accepted her help and immediately pointed a finger at Zidane.
"You scoundrel," began Steiner, "this is all your doing isn't it!"
"Oh Rusty chill out," said Zidane as he fixed his attire.
"Zidane," Daphne walked over to him and grabbed his arm gently; "I have no idea what to say to Vivi, I didn't know anything weird was going on at the Castle."
Zidane gave Daphne an apologetic smile before speaking, "I know Daphne, we all just needa be by his side and help him get through this."
Daphne nodded her head at Zidane's answer as Dagger started to speak.
"Steiner do you know where this air ship is headed?"
Steiner really didn't want to lie to his princess but he knew it was the only way, "…..Li-Lindblum. Yes, to Lindblum princess."
"Well that's convenient," said Zidane excitedly, "did you ask someone or what?"
"Ye-Yes," stuttered Steiner, "the old man at the observatory told me…so it must be true!"
Daphne walked closer to Steiner with her hands on her hips as she began speaking, "Steiner, your acting weirder than usual."
Before Steiner could reply to Daphne's comment a Black Waltz zipped by at an alarming quick speed. The 5 comrades looked around erratically for the figure that was too hard to see until finally a Black Waltz clad in light blue and huge wings hovered in the air right in front of them.
"Princess Garnet and Princess Daphina, the Queen awaits you at the Castle. She has sent me to retrieve you both," spoke the Black Waltz in a sinister tone.
Daphne and Dagger both eyed the Black Waltz confusingly.
"Not you guys again," said Zidane as he slightly touch the top of his mage masher (the new weapon he bought himself while in Dali)
"Again?" Steiner said in confusion, "what do you mean again?"
"When you guys were passed out from the blizzard in ice cavern I hadda fight one of these things," replied Zidane.
"Oooohhh," said the Black Waltz, "so you're the one that defeated No.1, well I am Black Waltz No.2 and my skills are much more superior. Prepare to die you fools!" With these words having been said, the battle began.
The Black Waltz put both hands in front of his body as he casted fira spell on the person closest to him, which was Zidane. Zidane saw the spell coming towards him so he jumped out of the way and pulled out his mage mashers and he charged angrily towards the evil mage.
The Black Waltz was so focused on casting another spell, that he didn't see Zidane coming at him. Zidane stabbed him a good deep gash in the arm. The Black Waltz yelled in pain as Steiner ran towards the mage with his broadsword at hand and gave the Waltz another bloody gash on the opposite arm.
Daphne and Dagger thought it would be best if they stayed to the side and use their white magic whenever it was needed.
Vivi on the other hand was frozen and hadn't moved from his position since he jumped out of the barrel. Steiner and Zidane were moving so swiftly as they fought the Black Waltz with all they had, and here was Vivi who wasn't moving at all.
Dagger casted cure on Steiner as she saw him receive a nasty burn from a fira spell as Daphne ran over to Vivi and immediately fell to her knees in front of him.
"Vivi," began Daphne as she grabbed Vivi's shoulders tightly, "look at me, don't think about what we saw earlier. Forget all about that! Those mages were nothing like you! Right now your friends need you Vivi!"
Vivi raised his gaze from the ground and stared at Daphne for a few seconds before she continued, "I know that you're scared but right now we all need you, I need you to be strong." Daphne gave him an encouraging smile as she waited for him to reply.
Without a word, Vivi nodded to Daphne and quickly ran from her grasp to Zidane and Steiner who were starting to get a little tired.
"Hahaha! You fools will be killed in no time," yelled the Black Waltz while looking down at Steiner and Zidane who were picking themselves up after being thrown to the ground. "You- AHHHH!"
The Black Waltz cried out in pain as a blizzard spell caught him completely off guard. Zidane and Steiner looked at the small mage that was running towards them and gave him a huge smile.
Zidane shot back up and lunged at the Black Waltz with all his strength, Zidane spun in the air and sliced the Waltz twice in the chest.
Steiner used this opportunity to attack the enemy as well. Steiner rose from his position on the floor and stabbed his sword straight through the Waltz stomach. Blood started to leave the wound as the Waltz began to cast another spell of fira.
Fire suddenly surrounded not only one, but all three of its opponents. Zidane, Steiner and Vivi were covered in a large flame and had suffered major damage from it. All three fell to the ground like dominos.
Dagger and Daphne gasped at the sight and immediately started casting cures on their fallen friends. Unfortunately, the cure spells didn't seem to be working so well.
"Hahaha, princesses…are you ready…to return to the castle?" The Black Waltz was trying to catch his breath as he eyed to two girls.
Even though the Black Waltz had suffered major damage as well, he looked a thousand times better then the other three.
The girls noticed that the Black Waltz was making his way over to the rock where they had been hiding behind for a majority of the battle.
Daphne and Dagger were beginning to assume the worst until Vivi began to slowly sit up and cast a fire spell on the Black Waltz. Although the spell wasn't too powerful, it distracted the enemy enough for the girls to react.
"Dagger!" Daphne yelled to her sister as she took her Darktonian blade from its holster at her hip, "keep casting cures on the guys, I'm gonna have to finish this battle."
Dagger stared at her sister wide eyed. "Daphne! But –"
"I'll be fine! Heal the guys!" Daphne jumped onto the rock she was previously hiding behind and saw that the Black Waltz was still preoccupied with Vivi's spell.
The Black Waltz was facing the opposite direction of Daphne which was perfect for what she was about to do. She took a deep breath and then jumped as high as she could into the air with her sword held above her head, Daphne then landed right on the mage's back as he was hunched forward and shoved her sword through his back and out through his stomach on the other side. Blood from the Black Waltz gushed all over his body and as well as Daphne's favored sword. It was clear that he was dead.
The Black Waltz immediately fell to the ground without a sound, while Daphne was still on his back. Daphne then slowly pulled her bloody sword back out from the mage's limp body as she heard Zidane's voice.
"Whoa…that…was epic," said Zidane as he was trying to catch his breath, "are you sure…you're a princess?" Zidane asked with a light laugh as he held his stomach in pain.
"I'm not your average princess," stated Daphne with a dark smile as her put her Darktonian back in its rightful place.
Daphne quickly ran to her friends side and offered both Steiner and Vivi a hand to get up, they both stood up with her help and took a few deep breathes before either of them decided to speak.
"Princess…I…I'm so sorry you had to go through that battle," said Steiner in an apologetic voice.
"No, don't even worry about it," said Daphne as she was stretching out her tense back, "it was either that or have you guys die and me and Dagger go home…now that's no fun is it?" Daphne said as she placed her hands on her curved hips with humor clearly written on her face.
Everyone laughed lightly at Daphne's comment before Dagger casted another cure spell on Vivi.
"Ok," began Dagger as she eyed her three friends, "you guys feel ok? Does anyone need another potion or a cure spell?"
The guys nodded their heads as if saying 'no' and thanked the black haired beauty for her services.
"How about you Daphne," said Dagger as she walked over to her sister, "are you ok?"
"I'm completely fine. I really wanna get this show on the road though. We're so close to getting to Lindblum! Are all you people ready?"
"Yeah," said Zidane as he walked over to the girls slowly; he was still feeling sore from the battle. "So are you guys cool with hitching a ride on this thing?"
"Yeah!" Dagger and Daphne both replied in unison.
"Great," replied Zidane with a smile, "I'm gonna go ask the people inside if they'll let us come for the ride!"
As Zidane made a move to leave he was stopped by a very persistent Steiner. "Stop! I shall go ask…you all wait here!"
Before Zidane could comment back, Steiner was already gone.
"Hmm," said Dagger aloud, "you guys," Vivi, Daphne and Zidane were now facing her, "Is this airship really headed to Lindblum?"
"I bet my life that this ship headed back to Alexandria," blurted Daphne.
"Wha-! Zidane!" Dagger looked to Zidane with confused eyes.
"I know, I know," began Zidane as he walked in front of Dagger and ran his hand through her hair to try and calm her down, "I'll get you to Lindblum…I promise."
Dagger looked into Zidane's eyes and gave him a smile.
As Daphne eyed her sister and Zidane, she knew something was beginning to blossom there. Before Daphne could think any longer on the star-crossed lovers, Daphne felt Vivi grab her hand.
"Daphne," said Vivi in a shy manner.
"Yes Vivi," replied Daphne as she knelt down in front of him so she could be at his level.
"Those dolls we saw underground…do you really think that they're not like me…at all?"
Daphne gave Vivi an assuring smile before speaking, "of course Vivi, you're your own person. Unlike them you have feelings, thoughts and emotions. You're real Vivi, you're not like them at all."
"O-Ok Daphne, thank you."
As soon as Vivi was done speaking, the sound of the airship's engine could be heard starting up.
"What the hell is Steiner up to now," said Zidane from his current position in front of Dagger, "come on you guys lets go!"
Zidane began running to the airship until Dagger's voice stopped him. "You want us to get on an airship that isn't going to Lindblum?"
"Princess, trust me." After turning around to speak to Dagger he continued running towards the airship as his companions followed behind him.
The group of four found themselves in front of a ladder that led to the inside of the ship. Vivi was the first one to climb up and then Daphne quickly climbed to the top not wanting to give her sister and Zidane a 'show' since she was wearing a mini skirt.
Once Zidane saw Daphne and Vivi at the top Zidane was waiting for Dagger to start climbing.
"Come on Dagger, I swore to you that I'd get you to Lindblum. Just get on before this ship leaves without us!"
"….Fine, I'll get on." Dagger reached for the ladder and started climbing until she felt a hand touch her in a…certain area.
"Ohh…soft."
"ZIDANE!" Dagger looked down at Zidane who was blushing dramatically after having groped her assets.
Daphne and Vivi witnessed the whole scene and couldn't help but giggle at the mortified Dagger.
After all four friends had climbed to the top; the airship took off and began flying away from Dali to its new destination that was…
Lindblum…well, supposedly.
A/N: So...what did you guys think? Leave a review with your thoughts!:D You know what I've been meaning to ask you fellow readers...what do you think of Daphne? Do you like her:)? Hate her:(? I'm curious to know since she's a character of my imagination and all hehe
I'll post up some artwork of Daphne when I can. Unfortunatly I have no scanner/printer at the moment...so yeah :/
hope you enjoyed:D
next chapter should be up in about 1 or 2 days for sure^-^