Eiko forgot about the dry heat in Conde Petie, how it made a person want to sleep by an open window during the middle of the day. She rested her elbows on the dinner table, let the breeze from the open back door cool her skin. Caela gave her a glass of water before going about her duties in the kitchen. They came to the cabin close to an hour ago, after purchasing some groceries at the market. The summoner sipped at her drink, wondered if it'd be a good idea to call forth the will o'wisp again. The dwarves might be hiding some interesting stuff somewhere.

She watched when Kuja exited the main bedchamber, rubbing his eyes like a child fresh from a nap. He had a sleepy, yet satisfied grin on his face. Caela waved from the kitchen. "Good afternoon, dominus! I hope you don't mind, but I harvested some vegetables from the greenhouse for the afternoon meal. It's so hot and I really don't want to light the hearth. Do you think a blizzard spell would cool things off?" Her red hair flopped to the side when she tilted her head in very deep thought.

Kuja blinked. The handmaid spoke much too quickly. "The breeze is sufficient, Caela, but thank you."

"How is the domina?"

His grin grew a mile wide. "She's resting, so keep your voice down." Eiko almost choked on her water. The sorcerer glanced over, then sauntered over to the bookshelf. He plucked a thick tome and rested it in front of the girl. "Read it," he ordered. "I won't have your tutor thinking you're an imbecile."

Materia Medica and Mages read the title. Eiko stared at him, wondering if he knew anything beyond just sorcery and hijacking. (And maybe what made his hair glisten like that in the sun. It simply didn't look right for a man.) "I know about herbals, Kuja. My mom taught me."

"Do you know how to combine self-heal with your curaga?"

She scratched her head. "You can do that?"

"Read the book."

"I'm a summoner though!"

"Pair nightshade with Madeen."

"You can do that?"

Kuja slowly counted to ten. "Read. The. Book."

"Pfft, fine. I'll show you."

Caela snickered behind her hand, the vegetables sad and alone on the countertop. This household was much more entertaining.

Eiko flipped through the book. "Ooh! There's drawings! What's boneset? Oooooooh, it's for fevers too." She gulped some more water, musing out loud to herself and anyone else who cared to listen. "Hey, why would anyone call a laxative sacred bark? That's kinda gross."

Caela thought of one good reason. She placed the depressed vegetables in a bowl of cold water to rinse off any dirt.

"Cool! You really can pair nightshade with the eidolons!" Eiko shot a glare at the sorcerer who sat down across from her at the table. "You can't have them, you know."

"Have what?"

"My eidolons. They're mine."

"I don't want them."

She slammed the tome shut, muttered beneath her breath, "How do you even sleep at night?"

Kuja chuckled, rested his chin in his hand. "Right beside your mother."

A knife clattered to the floor. "Sorry!" exclaimed the handmaiden, all while Eiko stuck her hands over her ears and went, "Lalalalalalalala!"

He rolled his eyes. "Do you even know how I met your mother?"

"You stole her airship. Duh." Not at all romantic like the servants in Lindblum would like to believe. The youngest of the court had a borderline obsession with the pirates rumored to terrorize the skies overhead.

The sorcerer requested a glass of water, giving Caela his thanks. "When I first saw the Lady Hilda," he began, "three of my puppets lay dead at her feet."

Eiko dropped her attitude. "... what?"

"Ask her," he said, kicking his feet up on the table. "She'll say it was self-defense, her life or theirs, but the black mages were nothing but ash once she was through with them." He grinned at the memory. "She looked beautiful, eyes and hands aglow with fire. Don't tell me you didn't think your mother was capable of such acts, hm? Lady Hilda made things rather complicated for me; I wasn't expecting a fae onboard."

"Caaaaaeeeelaaaaa," Eiko whined. "Is he telling a lie?"

She shrugged, knife chopping away. "I was back in Lindblum actually."

"Doing what, may I ask?" Kuja called over his shoulder. Caela blushed, but didn't respond. "Then the Lady Hilda saw me. It was our opening act."

Eiko facepalmed. "Here he goes again."

"I admit I rather lost my temper at first. Beautiful, deadly, but I wasn't going to let the murder of my puppets go unpunished." Kuja sighed, saying, "So I silenced and bound her spells."

"Dominus, that's not romantic at all!" chirped Caela from the kitchen.

Unlike her younger counterpart, Caela's obsession was sappy and torrid romances with plenty of tears and kisses to chase away those tears. The sorcerer waved her off. "Do you know how much the lady struggled when I attempted to lock her in her study? I had no choice, of course; that airship was meant to be mine."

"Caela, he's still talking!" Eiko wanted to bang her head repeatedly against the wall.

The handmaiden hummed a cheerful tune while attempting to mix vinegar with water.

"Once the takeover was complete, I decided to see how my new prisoner fared. Much to my pleasant surprise, she was singing."

"The domina has such a lovely voice."

Eiko grimaced; this was painful to hear. "Oh, brother," she muttered.

"It would be pitiful to dispose of such a lovely canary, so our play continued." He lost himself in thought, pure nostalgia written in his eyes. "After some time, the lady and I started making gorgeous music together."

"Awwwwww..."

"Lalalalalalalalala!"

He shared a house with an immature, bratty summoner, and sappy, loose-lipped slave. The next few weeks were going to test his patience, and he despised written exams. "I told you both to keep your voices down," he said.

"My dearest friend if you don't mind, I'd like to join you by your side." A pleasant soprano voice came from inside the bedchamber. Lady Hilda strolled outside, smiling and smoothing out her hair. "Where we can gaze into the stars, and sit together now and forever. For it is plain as anyone can see. We're simply meant to be."

Caela clapped her hands in approval. "Take a bow, domina!"

Hilda leaned against the doorframe, gazed at the sorcerer who sat nonchalant at the table. "Hello, sweetie."

"Cariad," he responded.

"AWWWWWWWWW!"

A will o'wisp materialized in the air, because Eiko realized that now was as good a time as ever to go on a treasure hunt. Her hop, skip, and jump halted in its tracks, however, when the will o'wisp decided to stop right in front of Kuja. He smirked, winked at the sprite inside.

"Dammit!" Eiko yelled. "Really?!"

xxx

The household ate a quiet lunch in the shade of the greenhouse, where the scent of pine and rosemary seeped out into the open air. Kuja and Hilda sat with their backs together, quiet and contemplative. Eiko lay on her stomach, nose buried in the book, studying the words and pictures of the many greenery. "Hey," she exclaimed. "Are you growing ivy anywhere?" Her will o'wisp kept trying to float away toward the sorcerer, but found itself trapped underneath the summoner's small hand. "You stay here, sprite."

Kuja said with a nod, "It's all over the side of the cabin."

Silence crept through all again, until Lady Hilda started humming a simple song. She reached around to grab Kuja's hand, simply held it. He leaned his head back, smiled. "Pretty little fae," he whispered.

xxx

Regent Cid stood outside on the balcony and faced his city. His face was still pale from the poison, accompanied by dark circles under his eyes. He was tired and alone, having sent his mistress back to her family. There was a missing airship in the docks, but he called off the search party hours ago. Minister Artania attempted to persuade him otherwise, but Cid stood firm in the order. His bed had been made for him, now it was time to lie with the consequences.

Queen Garnet sent a letter expressing her deepest sympathies over the situation. She pitied her poor uncle, his inevitable divorce that left the citizens with shaking heads and 'I told you so' faces. Even the youngest child saw what was coming when the lady left again. The council lost its most important member, along with the girl who helped saved the world.

Cid scowled. His former wife took with her the only chance he'd ever have to be a father. The doctors shrugged as the years went by without a pregnancy; from Hilda, from a mistress, from a courtesan. It was him, they concluded; something was amiss with him, and that broke Hilda's heart almost as much as the affairs. Fae folk valued motherhood to the point of veneration. Legends spoke of increased ability and power; creating life creates strength. The longer Lady Hilda stayed with an infertile human, the darker her life would turn.

Not that she didn't seem darker upon her rescue. Too often did the regent catch her singing some sad song when she thought she was alone. I sense there's something in the wind, that feels like tragedy's at hand. And though I'd like to stand by him, can't shake this feeling that I have.

He missed her voice; oh Gaia, her voice. Cid brought his hands up to his eyes, but the tears were already there and flowing freely. He was a fool. A pathetic fool who didn't learn and now Hilda was gone. Her people would welcome her back with open arms and a well-to-do suitor would court her for his own. And that fleeting thought stabbed his heart more than it should. Her, his Hilda, with another.

The divorce had begun in her absentia, would be granted even without her testimony. (Not that he'd win any sides...) It was almost a shame Hilda didn't give him the mandrake to warp his mind and make him forget about other women. She could have, instead of poisoning him to near death.

Forget ...

All those empty vials in her room. What did she once try to forget?

Mystic: May I say, thank you so much for the feedback lately. It's absolutely wonderful and I appreciate every single review. You guys are awesome. Now, ten points to anyone who can identify where I swiped the music from. I'm a horrific fangirl. As for combining plants with eidolons ... I mean, you combine Vivi's spells with Steiner's sword. Creative license, yeah. Drop a line, mmkay readers?