Sorry for the long update. I lost all of the latest of the Dragon Quest IX story including this one. Good thing I published all the other chapters before it happened but that means I have to re-do chapter 14. Oh well.

Disclaimer: I do not and I repeat, NOT own the characters of the game 'Dragon Quest IX' or the main plot. I only own my OCs; Saffron, Miu, Renia, Sulina, Fate and his father. I also own the extra plot of Saffron regaining her memories.

Enjoy.

Chapter Fourteen- Glorious Gleeba

Renia groaned and looked up at the blue sky where she found the sun sitting there, mocking her with its unbearable heat. The warrior could feel her skin sweating underneath the heavy metal armour and the strong disgusting stench of her body odour was invading her sense of smell. "Miu!" she whined, catching the attention of her sister as well as their two friends.

"What's up?" Saffron asked.

"Please tell me we are near Fygg," the turquoise girl replied, "Because the last thing I want right now is dying in the middle of the desert!"

Saffron sighed. First of all, they were in a desert and it is scorching hot…which is why Saffron instructed her team to fill the bottle up with water before they hit land. "I did!" Renia whined when Saffron said this, "I just…finished it more quickly than planned. Furthermore, how do you know that a Fygg is laying around her-"

"I don't."

The warrior was stunned into silence by her leader's answer. 'Did she just say…she doesn't know?!' Renia thought before yelling, "Are you saying that we might be on a wild goose chase!?"

At this, the leader giggled and answered, "Maaaybe."

"WHAT!?"

Before an argument can break out, Miu asked Saffron, "Saffron, dear. As a Celestrian have you been anywhere else apart from Angel Falls?"

The brown girl shook her head. She said that as a Celestrian and Guardian of Angel Falls, she was not allowed to leave her assigned post and when she was an apprentice, she was mostly working indoors not allowed to fly far from the Observatory. "To put it simply, most of my life was spent indoors."

Renia calmed down as she knew what Miu was trying to say: Saffron just wants to explore the world, Fygg or no Fygg. "Okay, then!" the warrior cheered, "Let's explore."

Soon after, the four girls reached a town called Gleeba and they split up to cover more ground: Miu went to the cabaret, Sulina went to the inn and Saffron and Renia asked the shop-keeper if they knew anything. Unfortunately no-one knew anything about a golden fruit so the group went to rest in the inn.

Later that night, while Sulina, Miu and Renia were fast asleep on their bed, Saffron was wide awake and was talking to Stella. "This is bad," Stella said with a serious manner, "What if there isn't a Fygg here at all?"

Saffron replied, "That could be the case but it seems to me that everyone is too worried about something else to think about anything else."

"What makes you say that?" the fairy asked. As if on cue, the two girls heard some male voices from downstairs.

"This is bad," said one voice, "If this keeps up, the whole country will be in drought in a matter of days."

"Not to mention that the oasis is on another island and, like this one, it's full of monsters," said another, "What do we do, boss?"

The final voice which Saffron assumed was the leader said, "We sneak into the palace and steal some food and water. Then our people will able to live longer."

Other two voices agreed with that plan. Stella was commenting how young these people sound when Saffron got up. She slowly walked out of her room and descends down the steps as she said, "The next time you plan to rob a palace, I suggest using a much more secluded area where people are less likely to hear you."

The voices were three young boys about Saffron's age. They all wore traditional Arabian outfits and had a turban on their head, covering everything but their eyes. It was clear that they were surprised of her appearance and put up their guard. The Celestrian put her hands up in defense. "Easy! I'm not going to report you to the guards nor am I gonna start a fight. However I do require some info that you might have."

One of the boys spat, "We ain't telling you nothing, wench!"

"Yeah!" his companion said, "If you want information from either of us, you have to beat the crap outta us."

"That…can easily be arranged." Saffron replied cracking her knuckles. She was not looking for a fight and hoped that her actions intimidated them of having second thoughts.

The two boys took out their knives and were going to attack but the boy in front of them blocked them with his arm. He said to his two minions, "This girl does not want to fight us. Go back to the hideout in Dourbridge and wait for me there. I will negotiate with her."

"But boss-"

"Go now!"

The two were uneasy but they obeyed eventually. The boss led Saffron to the well in the middle of the town. Once they were inside, the leader removed his turban, showing his silver hair in a loose ponytail and gold eyes, and asked, "What do you want from me?"

"As I said before," Saffron replied, "I just require some information; nothing more, nothing less."

"What is it about?"

"Two things: a golden fruit and the problem with this town."

The boy thought it over and said he wanted a large sum of money in exchange. Unfortunately, Saffron left most of her money in the bank and has little money after buying the weapons and armour she needs. "However," the girl added, "I do have a knack of changing people's hearts so if you tell me what I need to know, I promise I will get rid of the source all your problems. So please, tell me."

The leader narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He looked as if he was going to regret whatever he was going to do. "You promise?" he near growled.

"Yes." Saffron replied, "What's you're name?"

"…Kai."

"Okay, Kai. What's the story?"

The boy sighed heavily and explained: the town's monarch, Queen Voluptua has been neglecting her duties and has been draining the town's water for her baths, leading the town into drought. As for a golden fruit, there are rumours that a peddler gave the Queen a gold fruit not long ago. Saffron thought about the situation and replied, "I will talk to the Queen in the morning and will address this matter. It will be done."

That is what she did when the sun reached its peak. The Celestrian marched to the palace with her group and requested an audience with the Queen but unfortunately, she was having a bath and does not want to be disturbed. One of the Queen servants said he will granted her permission to see the Queen if she find the golden pet lizard, Drak. The group agreed to the conditions and set out. They talked to Misslei the maid and learned that she misplaced the lizard while tending him and he wondered off while she was looking away. The maid also told them that the lizard likes cool places and hate loud noises, which lead them to the only place that is near the palace and has the most shade. Renia began clapping as loud as she can. "Drak!" she called, "Where are you?"

Sulina said to the warrior, "I don't think clapping will help,"

"I had a pet dog who responds to my claps," Renia replied, "This is definitely going to work."

So she clapped as loud as she can. The girls then listened out for a sound. The mage then noticed a small head poking out off a hole by a palm tree, "Hey. There it is!"

The warrior wasted no time on catching the golden lizard and brought it back to the man. As promised, the girls were granted an audience with Queen Voluptua. She was a beautiful and young woman but her posture made them think she was more of a spoilt brat than a queen.

They were right.

"Your Grace," the man bowed and gestured to Saffron and her team, "May present to you these travellers who found-"

Queen Voluptua yawned as if she was hearing some sort of long speech and replied, "Blah blah blah. I don't have any interest in your boring travellers. We got more important things to discuss, right Misslei?"

Hearing her name so suddenly, the lilac-haired servant took a step forward and squeaked, "Y-Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Drak never ran away before, didn't he?"

"No, Your Gra-"

"Meaning you did something terrible to him!" Voluptua yelled and pointed her finger at Misslei, "What did you do to him, you horrible little girl?"

Before the accusation got any further, The Celestrian spoke up. She asked for the golden fruit that the Queen received from a merchant. The Queen said that she had it but then it got missing when she was going have a bath with it. She then accused poor Misslei again for stealing it. As much and the servant defended her innocence, Queen Voluptua bluntly replied, "Puh-leese! I am too pretty and important to listen to your petty excuses. You're fired."

The last two words maid the helpless maid faint.

Then, another maid came with a Fygg. "Your Highness!" she panted, "This…was found…in the same place…where Drak was found."

The queen was quite surprise and wondered why her pet lizard would have. "No matter, at least I have it back now." the woman then said and walked to Saffron, "I guess I should hand this over to you, right?"

Miu answered, "That would be nice,"

Cruel Voluptua just laughed at the group and said, "Oh, you are nothing but a bunch of fools! I will use this fruit for my bath to make my skin more beautiful. I'm sure you can sacrifice the thing you were searching so hard for for a noble cause. Come, Draky-woo. Those dirty commoners but their hands all over you, didn't they?"

The queen walked away, carrying her pet lizard with her. Everything was quiet until Sulina asked her group, "W-W-What should we do now?"

"I dunno," Renia replied before turning to her leader. But before she could even ask, Saffron simply turned around and made her way out of the palace. It did not take long for the others to know what that meant.

Saffron was utterly pissed.

They were right. Saffron avoided them as long as she could and when they made eye contact, she will look the other way and ignore their calls. The three girls were worried about their leader but Stella was extremely worried. She often wondered if she was part of the reason why Saffron is so angry or if she was being as useful as she thought she was. That night when the team was asleep, Stella woke up to see Saffron's bed empty again. "Saffron…?" the fairy called tiredly. There was no response and Stella became more alert. "Saffron!" she called again as she flew out of window. Her big brown eyes scanned the dark town for something that resembles the missing celestrian. Nothing.

"No…No…you can't leave me," Stella whimpered before shouting, "SAFFRON!"

"What?"

The fairy gasped in surprise and spun around. She saw Saffron sitting on the inn's roof with puffy eyes and reddened cheeks. "Man, you look like misery!" Stella commented

Saffron narrowed her eyes and replied sarcastically, "Gee thanks!"

Stella flinched as she realized that the girl was in no mood for jokes so she sat on the celestrian's lap and asked, "Can't sleep?"

Saffron nodded.

"Why? Is it because of that selfish queen?"

This time, Saffron shook her head and she remembered something from a long time ago. She explained that when she was little, she was ridiculed and shunned because of her heritage and she was often called a 'monster' because of her red eyes. Stella asked who insulted her and Saffron replied, "Angels."

"What!?" the fairy exclaimed in shock. She found it hard to believe that the heavenly beings who are well known for their status were such bullies. "No way!" she gasped, "There's no way that's true."

"I had a hard time believing it too but…when I met Voluptua, the memories… they…"

The fairy hugged the weeping Celestrian and tried not to cry herself.

"Saffron…" Stella found herself asking in a weak voice, "When you remembered everything and complete your quest, what will you do?"

"I don't know." Saffron replied and looked up at the stars, "I guess we'll wait and see."

On the next day, Renia, Sulina and Miu were standing in front of the palace with their weapons. Sulina looked nervous and asked meekly, "Renia, are you sure this is necessary? Saffron's our leader and we can't just charge in while she's sleeping."

"Of course I'm sure!" Renia snapped back, "That 'Queen' has not only ticked off Saffron but the whole town as well! It's only natural to take action and force some sense into her pretty thick head!"

Miu was next to spoke up, "I'm sure there is a much peaceful way of doing it."

"You say 'peaceful' but Saffron would call it 'sensible'." Sulina corrected.

Renia glared at the mage before marching in and demanding to see Queen Voluptua. Unluckily, the monarch and her servants were bathing at the moment and was about to cut the gold fruit! "I thought she'd cut it up yesterday!" Renia shouted at the female guard standing in front of the bathing quarters.

"She was but then she decided to save it for another day and did not want her skin to prune."

The turquoise haired warrior gritted her teeth. After seeing the tears coming out her leader's closed eyes this morning, Renia knew that Saffron did not want to face Voluptua again and as her second-in-command, it was Renia's job to lead the team. 'Damn that bitch!' Renia thought, 'If she did not exist, we wouldn't be in this mess. Argh! There's no choice…I'll force my way in!'

Then, at that moment, a familiar voice was heard in her head. "Not your best option." It said.

'Saffron!?' Renia thought in surprise, 'I never knew you can mind-talk in your sleep.'

"Go to the palace roof. Now."

Confused at the request, Renia lead Miu and Sulina to the appointed place where Saffron was waiting for them by the fountain. They were shocked to see the small girl, especially when they saw her sleeping a few minutes ago. Saffron explained how a friend of hers discovered a pipe hidden in the fountain that leads to the bathroom and the only way through it is to jump.

"What?" Sulina questioned and peered into the fountain, "Uh…no offence but I think you have a screw loose."

Then, a light blue blur rushed passed the trio and yelled "Revenge!" as it jumped in the fountain. The minstrel and the mage just stood there with an astonished expression on their faces.

They also heard clanging of metal which made the cringe. Saffron made no reaction and questioned Sulina, "As you were saying?"

Renia had to admit, the ride down the pipe was not a smooth one and she was certain that her back was going to be sore for a few days. Luckily, the huge pool made her have a somewhat soft landing. "Ow ow ow…" she mumbled and looked around. Surrounding her were maids who were shocked at her sudden appearance and striding towards her was the Queen herself with an angry look on her face. "And what are YOU doing here?"

Renia got up from the water and demanded, "I'm here to get the fru- oh snap."

There was shock and horror in warrior's purple eyes when they saw the gold slices of fruit floating around in the bath. Voluptua noticed this and smiled unpleasantly.

"Oh you poor thing," she cooed sarcastically, "If you came ten minutes earlier, the fruit would still be in one piece."

The cruel queen cackled as Renia gritted her teeth in disgust. She really despised the woman at this point and if it was not for the small amount of common sense the girl had left, she would have a fist fight with the queen and maybe the whole palace!

While the two females stared at each other, Drak the lizard swam to the nearest fruit slice and nibbled on it. Suddenly, he froze. Next he rose into the air and got himself enveloped in a bright light…

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the team were running to the bathroom where they saw a few maids scurrying out the front door. "C'mon!" Sulina urged her team as she ran ahead, "We have to get there before…"

The princess trailed off as she stared into the now empty and (surprisingly) tidy bathroom. She was confused. Wasn't there supposed to be sliced fruit and fallen rubble? The mage tilted her head slightly to the side, "Eh?"

"S…Sulina."

Sulina heard her name being called by a weak voice and she found Renia leaning her back against the wall and her body was full of bruises. She rushed to her friends aid and cried, "Renia, what happened!?"

"Drak…monster." Renia grunted through the pain.

"What?"

When Saffron and Miu arrived Renia was almost fully recovered so she explained the full story. "When I got there, the Fygg was already sliced and it was all over the bath. When Drak ate one of the slices, he became some huge dragon-like monster. I tried to stop him but he was too strong. He then grabbed Voluptua and went down that well."

The celestrian walked to the well that Renia mentioned and inspected it. She sensed the faint but over-whelming aura of the Fygg. She could also sense something else.

"Well she's a goner," Renia stated coldly, "Not that I care; the world could do without her. Let's go."

The turquoise girl got up and walked towards the exit when she noticed that Saffron was still at the well. "Come on!" Renia called.

Saffron stayed where she was and said nothing.

"Hey!"

"…please…save her…"

Saffron's team stared at her as she softly said those words and they gasped when the Celestrian turned to them with sad empty eyes that held many years of pain. The team was scared of their leader, they feared that she passed away without any reason but Saffron said quietly, "I apologise for doing this to your friend and I also apologise for the queen. Please listen to a father full with regret."

Renia raised an eyebrow, "'Father'? 'Regret'? Are you listening to yourself?"

Miu stared at Saffron with her closed eyes and informed the two girls that the brown girl was in fact possessed by a spirit and she was right.

The spirit was once the King Aques, the previous monarch of Gleeba and father of Voluptua. When he was alive, Aques was a wise and just ruler. However, while he was dedicated to the duties of a king, he neglected his duties as a father. Voluptua's mother died shortly after child birth and Voluptua grew up without the attention of her father or anyone else.

"Which lead her to the mean, selfish attention-seeking prima-donna we know today," Renia finished the story and shook her head in disbelief, "You're a pretty sucky father, y'know that?"

"Renia!" Sulina hissed at her friend, knowing full well the consequences of disrespecting royalty and the dead.

However, the possessed Saffron just chuckled and said, "It's just alright young one. She has a point but please…save my daughter."

With that said, Saffron slowly closed her eyes and collapsed. "Saffron!" Miu cried and ran to catch the falling girl before her knees touched the ground, "She passed out."

Renia cursed under her breath. As much as she wanted to leave the Queen to the monster but knowing Saffron, she would to help Voluptua no matter the situation. The warrior placed Saffron on her back and told the remaining team members that they need to after Drak before something bad happens.

The trio of girls ventured through the sewers within the well and fought the monsters while protecting Saffron. They reached an area without any monsters and decided to rest there.

"Ngh…" Saffron grunted as she sat up on the hard ground.

Sulina rushed to the Celestrian's side and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Apart from having another nightmare for a memory, I'm good," Saffron answered while rubbing her throbbing head, "Where are we?"

Sulina explained Renia's plan and it surprised Saffron that Renia decided to save Voluptua without a fuss. The princess agreed and she hesitated before asking her next question, "W…What memory did you have this time?"

Ruby red eyes stared into the pair of sky blue as the two girls stared at each other. The brown girl then sighed and explained…

FLASHBACK

"Where…did you get this?" Aquila growled at Saffron, his trembling fist containing a silver cross with a red gem.

The seething anger on her teacher's face was enough to make Saffron's tiny body shiver in absolute fear. She now regretted bringing her pendant as a good luck charm. It was hidden in her clothes until she slipped on a piece of paper laying on the ground and the pendant was seen by the mentor's eyes. The small girl had no idea what was making the elder man so anger. She stuttered, "I-I-I got it from my dad's friend."

"Saffron!" Aquila suddenly shouted, "I thought I told you many times not to see him!"

Apus Major was standing next to Aquila and he was trying to calm him down. "Please control yourself, Aquila!" the old man cried, "You're scaring Saffron!"

He was right as Saffron was wailing but the bald man did not show sympathy. "How can I calm down knowing that one of our kind is curse by this...this…cursed bauble!"

What he did next cause the girl's big eyes grew; he raised the said object above his head and threw to the ground with full force! The beloved pendant was still fully intact but Aquila was not finished and began to stomp on it. "Stop it, please!" the small Celestrian begged, "It's precious me. Give it back."

"Shut up, you little brat!" Aquila snapped, "If you were not born, this may have never happened!"

The girl felt a stabbing pain in her chest and with the energy she had left, she fled from her angry mentor.

END FLASHBACK

"After that," Saffron finished, "I never got the pendant again and I hated Aquila for what he did…yet I don't feel it anymore."

"What a horrible man." Miu mumbled. She and Renia started to listen to Saffron's story a few minutes ago. The other agreed with Miu and Saffron was starting to wonder why Aquila was always seen or mention in her bad memories. She then dismissed it as a coincidence and lead the girls further into the sewers.

As they reached the bottom, a familiar voice shrilled, "Heeeeeelp! I demanded to be rescued this instant!"

The girls casually walked to the source and saw Queen Voluptua being held captive by a fat, golden dragon with a pink bow. Saffron mentally smacked her face with the palm of her hand. 'Great, a golden Godzilla.' She thought with sarcasm.

The 'dragon' asked with a hoarse voice, "Oh it's you, the travellllers who took me away from my resting place. As you can see, that strange fruit has made me a dashing mortal so I can wed the llllove of my llllife, Voluptua."

The queen shrieked in terror, saying how she did not want to marry a giant ugly lizard and live in the dirty sewers. Secretly, Saffron and her team were amused by all of this. They wanted this to last a little bit longer but a life was at stake so they had no choice but to fight Drak.

Drak may be an oversized lizard but his fire breathe was making it hard for the girls to get close to him without obtaining a few minor burns. "Sulina!" Saffron called to her mage and her team, "I need you focus on healing us for now. Can you do that?"

"Right!" Sulina replied.

"Renia, I want you to keep using Dragon Slash; and Miu, we'll attack him with all we got, you hear?"

"Roger." Miu replied.

"Loud and clear," the younger sister added.

Despite the chilling air, the ear-vibrating clanging of metal and the nauseating stench of the sewer waters and ashes, Saffron's tactics went pretty well and Renia final Dragon Slash, the beast was defeated.

The queen rushed behind the girls' back and ordered them to kill the 'beast'. However, another voice echoed in the sewers: it was no other that Misslei. "Please, Milady," she panted, "Do not…kill Drak. If he dies…who will consult the queen when she is sad?"

Queen Voluptua's face suddenly changed from a spoilt child to a shocked toddler, "Misslei?"

The maid explained how she saw the queen in her chambers with Drak and how she was crying because all the unpleasant attention she was getting and Misslei wish that Voluptua will consult the maids as she did with Drak. The lizard realised that he did not really change human and that even though there was people who hated the queen, there were still others who love the queen. "Travellller," he addressed to Saffron, "I see that you're no normal human and you know more the fruit than I do."

Saffron chuckled nervously, "Believe me, I don't know as much as you."

The big lizard bid farewell to the 'Celestial traveller' before turning back into the small, cute lizard he once was. A Fygg appeared above Drak and floated to Saffron's bag. "Five down, two to go." she mumbled.

"Aww, Draky-woo!" Voluptua cooed as she picked up her golden pet, "You were looking out for me, weren't you? Thank you so much!"

In the end, Voluptua saw the errors of her ways, apologised to the town's people and promised that she will be a better person. She also opened her huge bath to all the women of Gleeba and invited everyone to an outdoor party that was held tonight.

During the celebration, Kai was munching on the food on the table along with his minions. "Hey Kai," one his minions asked before drinking from his cup, "Why did you trust that girl in the first place?"

"Yeah," the other agreed and grabbed a bun, "For all we know, she could have been a spy for the Queen."

"Good thing she wasn't or we'll be in big trouble." Kai replied to them. To be honest, he was not sure himself. As soon as his eyes met hers, he felt some kind of strange feeling that made her trustworthy. 'Either way, it was risky,' he thought, 'Better not make that mist-'

"Hey!" a man over the booming music, "Look at her go!"

It was soon followed by noises of awe. Kai turned to see what was causing the commotion.

His eyes widened.

In front of the bonfire was Saffron in a fiery orange dress with a bell sleeve. A golden anklet was dangling on her leg as she twirled and danced in time with the music. The gaping thief watched in admiration. The way she was dancing, it looked like she was some kind of fire goddess or spirit.

BA-THUMP! BA-THUMP!

Kai instantly clutched his chest where his pounding heart was and muttered, "Damn…"

"You don't have to hide it," a purple haired woman informed him as she walked past, "It might be important."

The boy instantly turned around to see the woman gone in the crowd, "What the…?"

Aquila panted and he sat down under a phantom tree. His tired brown eyes stared at the pouring rain that fell from the endless grey sky. It was been a while since he and Saffron got separated from the earthquake and he has been flying non-stop to find her. After that certain 'incident' in Stornway and having impure thoughts, the man could not bring himself to face his student. When he was ready, it became really hard to pinpoint her location. It was as if someone was jamming his signal.

'Where are you?' Aquila thought in desperation, 'Please…come to me so we can go home and forget all of this.'

He knew there was going to be no reply and his wings were too weary to fly so Aquila closed his eyes. He was going to slip into the comfortable darkness when a voice called his name…

"Aquila."

Brown eyes suddenly shot open and the Celestrian looked at the dark figure in front of him. At first, he thought it was an enemy and drawn his sword but when the figure walked out of the shadows, Aquila's face instantly switched from serious to surprise.

It was Saffron.

His apprentice was standing in the rain, clad in a red off-shoulder dress instead of the celestial clothing she's assigned to wear. "Saffron," Aquila gasped and then smiled, "Oh, Saffron! You don't know how much I mis-"

"Don't lie." Saffron said to him in an emotionless tone that matched her current expression.

His words were abruptly halted by a powerful aura and the personality of his apprentice. His shocked eyes looked into her sad ones, trying to finds the answer he seeks. "What's wrong?" Aquila questioned in a shaky voice, "Whatever it is, you can tell me?"

His apprentice said nothing for a couple of minutes and then she said, "Remember when I was little, you said you wanted something from me?"

Aquila nodded. It was around the time when he found Saffron dancing with some boys in a village festival. He dragged her back to the Observatory and locked her in her room for a few days as punishment. Out of the blue, tears then started to roll down Saffron cheeks as she asked, "Is THIS what you wanted?"

A sense of panic spread Aquila's body and burned like wildfire as he fell to his knees kept on saying, "No…No…"

"To chase me down and bring me back to your little 'White Palace'," Saffron continued with a hint of anger in her voice, "Just so you can order me around again? Not this time."

"No…No…!"

"Let's face it, you and I both know that you're the cause of all this."

"NOOOO!" Aquila screamed as he shot up from his grassy bed. His head quickly went left and right and realized that he was still in Bloomingdale after hearing how a traveller saved Marion Bloome and took the ship. The Celestrian cursed himself for being so forgetful and that was when something hit him. 'It was Fate's doing, wasn't it?' he thought, 'He's the one interfering with the plan so he's the one who's most likely to conjure something like that. Then again, I haven't heard from him for quite a while. Not that…I…'

The train of thought slowly grinded to a halt when he felt that his pocket was empty! "This is bad!" Aquila muttered, looking all over Bloomingdale, "If I don't find it soon, then Saffron will…"

Stopping here guys because I am beat. See you next chapter.