Content

Author's Note

Disclaimer

Chapter 11


Author's note

Huhu^.^ welcome to the second arc of As an Ending!

The basics are pretty much set, but don't you worry, I still have a thick notebook full of ideas^^

Thanks to my loyal reviewers Clement Rage and Kyubi-Emz-Chan (what would I do without you?)


Disclaimer

Final Fantasy IX (and all related content) belongs to Square Soft/Square Enix.


Chapter 11

"Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work."

H. L. Hunt


"Inconceivable...outrageous... madness... impudence!"

Lord de Lairén watched calmly from his armchair as his heir strode across the room like a caged tiger, hissing and fussing as he made his rounds. After a while the noble became inpatient.

"Nathan, refrain from pacing this instant, you're giving me a headache!"

The young man stopped, visibly frustrated and slumped into another heavily padded settle.

"I was close, this close..." he held his thumb and forefinger mere milometers apart,"The maid confirmed it!"

"It doesn't matter what the servant said. This is the queen we speak about, and she may do as she pleases." the man said in a deep, rhythmical voice, ignoring the wintery glare he received for his words.

"But didn't you see...?" the younger man argued vehemently, pointing out of the guest room's window towards the court yard.

"What was there to see?"

Nathan looked at him in disbelieve. His mouth opened and closed without producing a sound.

"I don't know what you saw, but I observed how our beloved queen – churned by today's events – neglected her duties and openly displayed a scandalous inclination to an unknown man, who is obviously of a low birth. I am sure the other nobles will love it just as much as you do." he added with dry sarcasm as he leisurely rose to his feet.

"As for now, I'll sent my best men to find information that will bring some light to the mystery that is 'Zidane Tribal'." He scribbled a quick note on a piece of paper.

"'Zidane Tribal', hm?"

Nathan's tone let the white haired man look up and a shudder of anticipation run down his spine. As spoiled and narcissistic the boy could be at times, his quick and clever thinking earned his keep.

The old man saw a familiar fire blazing in the youngster's amethyst eyes as a calm, almost teasing smile played on his lips.

"Send them to Lindblum, the Prima Vista's hailing port. There will be no need for any information older then six years."

Lord de Lairén frowned slightly, but added the statement to the note, rolled it tightly, and handed it to the young man who'd stepped closer to a small, covered cage, which stood on a low table in the room's corner.

"Tempest, come here ma boy," Nathan beckoned the small bird inside to come out.

It was about six inches total, with a white belly, and exceptional red feathers under his silver beak, chest and legs. He raised his black wings in elation for his master's attention. Intelligent eyes, pronounced by a pitch black streak on each side of the bird's head, viewed the little package of parchment being tied to his leg.

Silently the falcon took off into the mild spring night

"Make haste, my loyal companion."


"Ehm... s-sweet Marcus... I fear to... oh... I love you... thee more than I should!" the boy gripped the script harder as his frustration grew, trying to brand the words into his memory. The small snickering noises coming from behind didn't help one bit.

But he was an actor and when Boss said 'yer'r a lovelorn princess' – you are a lovelorn princess.

If you dare to argue, well, than you're gonna be a lovelorn princess with a spanked bottom.

End of story.

Of course, the boss also knew a couple of other methods to 'motivate' his boys. One of them was to order an individual dress-rehearsal and take away your clothes, which you aren't allowed to change back into, until you know the lines by heart. This was the exact situation Blank found himself in. The ruffling noises of the baby blue skirts were an unwelcome reminder of that.

He sighed.

They had left Lindblum a while ago and were now in a busy, yet small harbor town, somewhere between the regency and nowhere.

At least the small inn provided passable meals and private rooms. They were all relatively spacious with two straw filled beds, all except for this one. It was tiny with a single cot. Since Zidane wasn't a proper member of Tantalus – due to his ongoing illiteracy – and therefore still considered Blank's liability, he continuously shared his bed, cloths and everything.

The only improvement was that Boss had taken a liking to the blond's talents whenever it came to pick-pocketing. The boy was – to give the devil his due – quicker, silenter and more persistent than anyone else in Tantalus, which was a great achievement to say the least. Therefore he got his own food now, much to both boys delight, since a single one was more than unsuited to sustain two growing kids.

" Where was I...?" he muttered,"here... Pretty... call me 'princess' no more!"

Another fit of giggles interrupted him again.

The redhead turned – noticeably miffed – towards the small boy who lay prone on the wood flooring, feed waggling in the air. Next to him lay his sand colored tail, twitching lazily as the blond child entertained himself with a wooden spinning top as well s the older one's performance.

"What's so darn funny?" With his hands on his hips, the twelve year old looked more feminine than ever, which earned him another round of laughter.

"So, you think you can do better, hm?"

The young boy – who had rolled on the floor with laughter – stopped all movement for a moment, utterly taken by surprise. He jumped on his feed in a fluid motion and displayed a nonchalant grin. Only the way his tail swung jumpily up 'n' down and right to left told Blank – who had gotten very good at reading the youngster's otherwise hidden emotions in the three years since he'd fished him out of the harbor. This particular swing-pattern marked a great deal of excitement.

"No, I don't think so. I know it." he chirped before accepting the senior's mock invitation to take the non existing stage.

"Prithee," he looked pointedly at Blank as he picked up a broom to address his lines to," call me 'princess' no more! Marcus, wilt thou truly cherish me, the king's only daughter?"

"Or is such a desire too dear to wish for!" the young boy's voice pitched up a little, sounding more and more girlish, as round turquoise pools begged broom-Marcus for the right answer,"After our nuptials, shall I become no more than a puppet? A mindless puppet, never to laugh, never to cry?"

"Dang! Kid nailed the scene head on!" he thought in amazement, silently wondering if he had really practiced this particular scene often enough for the nestling to memorize all of it.


"Oy, Blank, damn it!" Baku interrupted the rehearsal testily,"This," he pointed to the ebony haired teen in front of the boy,"is yer lover, boy. The one person ya can't live without!"

"Right, Boss." the one-eyed boy replied through gritted teeth, as Nath – who stood with his back to their leader - made sick little kissing noises. The preteen balled his fists in an attempt to calm his temper. It wouldn't do him any good to lash out at this malicious smirking son of a -

"Again, from 'Sweet Marcus', action!"

Here he was, croakingly declaring his undying love to his sworn enemy.

This couldn't get any worse, right?


Wrong.

The morning of the premiere day started with bad news. Very bad news.

It was one of these rare times when Baku regretted to have an all-male acting group. But it couldn't be helped for it was oafish to believe – even for a second – that having one or two women with them would be beneficial to the crew's chime. Oh no, he'd seen it all before.

At the time being, he had no more than a single actor, who's voice hadn't broken yet, to play the female lead. Playing without a backup was always risky, but he knew the kid could pull it off.

Too bad, that said boy wouldn't be able to play.

Baku looked down at the sick boy. The fever wasn't the problem. It wasn't that high and he knew from experience that the lad was tougher that that, but the voice...

"S'ry, Boss." mumbled the boy, fidgeting with the thick wool-scarf around his neck.

Baku sighed. Not even two feet separated him from the red head, but his voice barely made it to his ears.

"Nah, don't fret about it. I'll think of... somethin'."

Although he had no idea how to fix the problem. He couldn't hire someone to play the role for no one was able to learn a lead's lines in half a day.

Refunding a sold-out premiere was peanuts compared to the job they covered up with the play.

An outsider could cost them their heads.


As Blank closed the door, he found Nath pursuing his favorite activity: picking on someone weaker and/or smaller than him.

"Pick on someone your own size!" he wanted to shout, but it still didn't reach past a quiet whisper.

"Like who, shorty?" his violet eyes promised violence.

Sadly, he was right. Nath was little over a year older than him, but his growth spurts in the last couple of months had been mighty.

Not feeling in the mood for yet another fight, Blank grabbed Zidane – Nath's favorite victim next to him, who also looked more than relieved at the friendly kidnapping – and dragged him towards a small bed room.

This might be the solution for all their troubles.

"Stay put."

Puzzled, he did as he was told and sat on the nearest bed.


Marcus watched calmly as his boss started pacing again.

This was hopeless! All their careful preparations were useless because of something as unthinkable as a worst-case sore throat.

The door opened jonly far enough for the boy to put his head into the room.

"What is it now?" Baku snarled at Blank.

They weren't able to discern what he wanted to tell them, for his voice had done anything but improving. Irritated the child pointed at Marcus and then behind himself.

"Whatever." the man uttered gruffly,"Make it short, Marcus." he nodded his right-hand-man to go with the boy.

Marcus nodded and left.

"Wow kiddo, you're dead on yer feet!"

Blank answered with a 'tell me about it' expression and stumbling lead the way back to the small room.


It was hard to tell who looked more doubtfully, Marcus or Zidane, as they finally figured out Blank's plan.

"So, you seriously believe Zidane would be able to play Cornelia? Tonight!" as the skepticism dripped from his words, Marcus looked at the blond apologetic. It wasn't so much that he thought Zidane was stupid – in fact he was quite smart for a nine year old – but he had never played a speaking role in his life, much less the lead!

A hand gesture, that clearly meant 'Come on!' swayed him to at least listen to the little boy. What was there to loose?

Satisfied, Blank turned to his protégé, only to find him staring at him in disbelieve.

This kid had a long way to go when it came to ad-libbing.

Quickly, he grabbed a broom from the corner and turned him to face the wall opposite their audience and smiled at him reassuringly.

While Marcus raised an eyebrow at the little nonverbal pep-talk, Blank sat down on the bed with a sigh of contentedness. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't fight the weights that pulled his eyes shut.


"So, what happened next?" Mikoto asked.

Was that excitement in her tone? Zidane grinned from the memory as well as the fact that hanging around 'normal' people seemed to have had a positive influence on his little sister.

"Marcus had been astonished and talked Boss into the idea, until he believed it had been his own from the very start!" he laughed wholeheartedly. This had been great times.

"Blank missed all of it, but at least he could talk when he woke up. I think I gave him quite a start when I started to tell him eeeeeevery detail of the show, people's reactions and the way Nath's eyes tried – and failed – to bite me!"

"Is that why he left?"

"Left? Nath?"

"Yes, he was neither on board of the Prima Vista II with us, nor – according to your memories – had he been there three years ago. Therefore," concluded Mikoto,"he must have left some time before that."

"You're right," Zidane thought hard now,"... something … happened... but I don't remember what it was..."

Before he could think about it some more, he felt his sister stiffen beside him. By the time he opened his eyes, she had already risen to her feet and bowed gracefully to the queen.

He smiled at Dagger. Without any kind of formalities, he went to her and hugged her lovingly.

She looked tired, but the soft pink color that touched her cheeks as she felt him so close to her, seemed to sweep all her worries away.

At least for the time being.


Nathan's Tempest is a 'Microhierax caerulescens' (picture: see profile)

Jep, I have lots and lots of fun writing this little Tantalus moments^_^

BTW: I just finished "Suddenly Shakespeare" which – as the author put it – is 'remarkable historical-unfunded' but the most hilarious piece of literature I've ever laid my eyes on ^_^ I read it on the train and the stares people give you for laughing out loud in public... pretty terrifying I can tell ya!*drop*


Reviews please!^.^