The Secret Garden

Based on: Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. The OCs featured in this fic belong to various friends. Note that while the characters belong to friends, I am the one writing the fic itself. Thank you to my friends for allowing me to borrow your characters. If you wish to appear, please send me a message and we can work something out.

Notes: This is the sequel to Records of Keeper Canti. It's wibby-wobbly, timey-whimy in its execution. I care not. If you care, shut the fuck up and go away. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Warnings: Cursing, potential OOC, OC x Canon, stupid fluffy romance, sex, angst, self-insert author avatar

FIC START!

Chapter Eleven

Reconsider

After lunch, Canti had Chorus. All they did was practice hitting notes as a group, Canti being a soprano. She exchanged glances with Mateus a few times who was on the other side of the room with the boys, but he did not approach her. It seems what Kain had done scared him away. Which is what Kain fully intended to do, from what both of them could see. Canti felt bad for Mateus. She wanted to be his friend, but how could she if her Papa Cid and the rest of the family forbade it? She couldn't go behind Papa Cid's back. That would be the same as lying, and the house rules were always simple.

No lying, no cheating, and no stealing, Cid said to her the day he adopted her. Honesty is all I ask of you. If you can go through life being honest about everything, then the rest will all fall into place.

When the Chorus had a break, Mateus sat by himself, just staring off blankly at nothing. Canti decided to bring him a cup of water. She approached him and offered him the paper cone cup, smiling at him.

"You do not wish to be around me," Mateus said. "Please, don't bother."

"Mateus," Canti said. "…I want to be your friend. I believe you were absolutely right during lunch when you told me that a person should only be judged on their own merit. And…" even though she wasn't sure of much of anything regarding who he was out of school, she did want to follow her heart. "…even if your father isn't someone I'd want to be around, I think you at least deserve a chance."

He turned his head to look at her. Even though her cousin had pulled that stunt and said all those things, she still seemed to have some faith in him. He didn't understand why. Canti seemed to have some sort of purity about her, which wouldn't mix with his family. Mateus knew that. His father was not a nice man by any stretch of the imagination, and he knew that his father would encourage him to take advantage of such an opening. He sensed her power, he saw it during Initiation, and Mateus wanted it. He couldn't help himself in hungering for it. If he could groom her to being his bride later on in life, then that power would be at his disposal, which meant he could do more for the Palamecian family. But that innocence which shined through her smile, through her gentle blue eyes… to betray that… it weighed heavily on his mind.

"A… a chance?" Mateus asked.

"Everyone deserves an honest chance," Canti said. "Papa Cid told me that the day he adopted me."

"You… you're adopted?" Mateus asked, finally taking the water she offered him.

"Mhm," she replied. "The day I turned nine, a man that looks very much like Headmaster Leviathan introduced me to Papa Cid while I was at the Westside Orphanage. I was a difficult child, the caretakers said, they wanted to get rid of me. But Papa Cid, he bent down on one knee and said 'everyone deserves an honest chance'. He signed the papers, and I went home with him. Small place, squished between bigger houses, but… perfect anyway." Canti sat beside him on the stand where the boys usually stood during Chorus.

No wonder she seethes with magical power… she isn't a born Highwind. Mateus thought, drinking all of the water in one gulp. "But… what about what your family has to say about… mine?"

"Kain will tell Uncle Richard if he sees, but… at least while we're in Chorus, we can at least talk, right? You and I are classmates, and if anyone asks, I can say we have the same assignment or something," she suggested.

"...how adorably clever of you."

Canti looked down at the floor, hesitant. "It… it isn't lying, is it?" she asked.

"Would that be a bad thing?" Mateus wondered. He lied to his family all the time without even giving a care what they thought about anything, because it made things easier on him to do so, and his father never took the time to see if what his son said was true or not.

"Papa Cid detests liars… I've never lied to him before!"

"Mm, I could see why that would scare you," he said gently, which seemed a bit odd. Canti expected that tone from someone like Minwu. Upon hearing that, the blonde boy's heart seemed to change right in front of her. "I do not wish to make your home life more difficult for you, Canti. It is best you do as your father tells you. Please. Put my heart at ease and leave me be."

Canti frowned. "Y-you… really feel that way?"

"Yes. It is best if I am alone. I… do not wish to hurt you."

Canti turned around and went back to her place within the girls' stand, unable to let that thought go. She stared at him from there, unable to get that out of her head. What did Mateus mean, he didn't want to hurt her? And what did Kain mean before, when he mentioned that Mateus had hurt him in the past? How frightful! Everyone went back to following Starlet's lead in singing, and it all sounded great, but… she still felt terrible for him.

…

Canti found Minwu standing outside Bismark's classroom again, just like the day before. She almost turned around to leave, but she crashed into a chubby man with skin as pale as a whale's. He smelled like saltwater, similar to Leviathan, but still different. The moles on his bare arms and neck looked like tiny little fishes and bubbles, as if he himself was a being of the ocean. He had whispy blue hair and a nose as wide as a moogles, with creases all along it.

"Forgive me, sweet girl," he said suddenly, turning to unlock the door. "Headmaster told me that you two waited here for me yesterday. Well, wait no longer. I have come."

"Does that mean you're Bismark?" Canti asked, even though Minwu all ready knew the answer.

"I am indeed," the man said, smiling. "Come in, come in!" He pushed the door open and there was only one semi-circle desk filled with all sorts of books. "Now, you two are learning Mysidian. Which is a complicated, mystical, ancient language. Your tests said you both have the potential for it, and-"

"Sir. My parents speak exclusively Mysidian at home," Minwu said quietly. "I had to take extensive common language lessons my first year." He sat at the table and made a gesture for Canti to take a seat next to him.

"Ah, yes, yes, the Headmaster has informed me of this," Bismark said, pointing up to the chalkboard. "The first, and only rule I have, is that you two may talk about absolutely anything among yourselves while we have our study sessions - but you must speak in Mysidian. For example, if the two of you were both following Blitzball, and you wanted to talk about the most recent game, then I would have no problems with that. You just have to do it in Mysidian. The best way to learn a language is to speak it, after all."

"As long as we use the language," Canti repeated. She remembered as she sat there next to Minwu about how she wanted to discuss her nightmare with him. But it was such a complicated thing to talk about, how could she even try to speak in a language she didn't know? "I guess you'll just listen in and help as you need?"

"I am more just a facilitator than an actual instructor," Bismark noted with a nod. His voice sounded like crashing waves on a beach, and as he spoke, he fingered the charm on his necklace which was in the shape of a whale. He looked down at his mostly empty desk, speaking more absentmindedly than anything. "To be honest, I'm not even that fluent… none of us are anymore, since Mysidian is such an ancient language and the land isn't even in our barrier… I don't even know why Leviathan even wants to teach it to just you two. And one of you even knows it all ready! What gives?!"

"Um." Canti said sheepishly. "Instructor Bismark…?"

"Yes, sweet girl? What can I help you with?"

"Sir, we heard everything you just said," she answered, motioning to mean both her and Minwu. "I… I don't think you meant to say all that."

Bismark blinked in confusion. "Was I just speaking? I thought I was just thinking to myself."

Minwu just put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head at her, pointing at one of the many textbooks lying on the table. She opened it, and he whispered in her ear, "la tus'al." Then, he directed her to another page, helping her find the translation for it. Canti read it and nodded, indicating she understood what he meant. Then, Minwu smiled and asked, "madha turid alttahadduth ean?"

Canti let her eyes go over all of the book, even turning pages to search for what that meant. When he noticed she was anxiously searching for what that meant, he asked her a few more times so she could not be so upset about it. Canti finally found that exact question in a section about casual conversation after about twenty minutes of looking for it. She marked that page and went turning through more pages to look for her answer. Eventually, Canti found it, but she wasn't sure if she was pronouncing it right.

"ahlam."

Bismark clapped at their attempt at a conversation. He sounded absolutely giddy about this, as it seemed he wasn't going to have to do much for them aside from have his classroom unlocked for them to use the materials. "Excellent!" he said. "Headmaster Leviathan will be thrilled to know how far you've come!"

"...I've only said one word!" Canti grunted. "Instructor Bismark, did I even say it right?"

Bismark shrugged.

Minwu sighed. "I'd be a better teacher at this than you," he said in frustration. "Dear Cosmos, what is the point of you even being here?!"

The instructor said flatly, "Leviathan wanted the two of you to have a class alone and I'm charged with babysitting you and testing you every grading period. And I have to listen, because he's my older brother."

"I don't think you were supposed to say that, either," Canti said. "You really are absentminded."

"I am reporting this," Minwu said sternly. "Having a class with just two students is a little jarring, but having an instructor who does literally no instructing… not even knowing if a word is said directly… in a language he is supposed to know?" He was livid as he stood up in defiance.

Bismark flopped on his desk. "Please don't tell… I can't get fired… I don't have any other jobs…"

"I don't care! You provide nothing useful at all! If you're supposed to be teaching this language, how about you actually learn it, you lazy good for nothing gadabout!" Minwu shouted at him. When he noticed that his anger was scaring Canti, he sat back down immediately. "Oh. I… I'm so very sorry, Cantirena, I did not mean to frighten you!"

"I don't like… loud voices…" she said, putting her hands over her ears. "Please don't get mad…" Canti put her head to the desk, trying just to block out the loudness. "Please stop…"

Minwu hugged her and pulled her close. He channeled relaxing energy though his hands and placed them onto her back, while chanting, "takun ealaa alssalam" over and over again.

Canti wasn't sure where she heard those words before, but she knew she had heard them in the past. In a dream, perhaps, or maybe in another life entirely. They were comforting, causing her anxiety and fear to melt away. His voice repeated those words and it made her just latch onto him for security. Why did she know those words? Mysidian… what a curious language. She knew nothing of it, but for some reason when she heard Minwu say those words, telling her to be at peace in the most gentle tone she'd ever heard a voice speak in, she seemed to understand. It was as if a key had unlocked a treasure chest deep within. Feelings, thoughts… words formed inside her… words she did not remember hearing, but she simply knew she heard them somehow.

"Minwu…" she said, pulling away from him. "…I know those words. I've heard them before. How do I… know them?"

"I could not answer your question, Canti. I have no idea. I just wanted to calm you," Minwu said. "So… I used a technique I use on patients who have severe anxiety over at the hospital. Chanting Mysidian has magical power that normal magic does not."

"That's because it is a language developed by a society of mages," Bismark said. "The country of Mysidia is a holy place, where people with magical powers from all around would come to study. As they spoke the language, they could invoke the powers of the land itself."

"...that much, at least, is useful," Minwu grunted.

"So Mysidian is the language of the land of Mysidia, and by speaking it, people have the powers of the land?" Canti asked. "But if that's the case, why not have more people learn it? Especially people that can't handle typical magic!"

"To do this, you have to have the ability," Bismark said. "If it doesn't show on the test, then you just don't have it." He got up from his desk. "It's not a common ability here. Like I said, Mysidia is a land that exists far from our country, far beyond the barrier."

Minwu thought about it for a bit. He had all sorts of things running through his head at that moment, all sorts of things to wonder about. Mysidia is a real place? he noted mentally. Even though his parents told him that it was only a place of legends. Mysidia… every time I hear that name, I just… I want to go there. I feel like there is something important in this far away place.

Canti noticed how late it was in the day. She was just ready to go all ready. It seemed like she just would not get the opportunity to discuss her dream with Minwu, and she was very disappointed. Everything was exhausting from the thoughts of her nightmare, the perfection of her weapon uses, to the mental power used to transcribe spells, to dealing with her confusion with Mateus, and now her Instructor, Bismark, seemed to not even want to be an instructor in the first place. What a day.

She was about ready to just go home and sleep…