On the plus side: my Magic's been improving rapidly ever since I've had that resolve to her stronger after I learned I'm a Le Fay, we managed to escape Lindblum without Willow coming after us and tearing us to shreds (she was even more scary now that I learned she was War) and we were merrily making our way to the Outer Continent with Quina, who turned out to have survived the attack of Cleyra.
Or rather, we were merrily making our way there but…
"Run run run run RUN!"
On the down side: we now have a large death machine after our hides. I was starting to get the hang of time manipulation and now I could speed myself up a little. Never was a strong runner. I grasped onto my clock and leapt over the gaps in the bridges, barely catching up with the others, getting into the middle of the group, Zidane of course running the fastest.
"Well we can't say we didn't try can we?" Lucifer quipped, leaping over a gap. Dagger and I both gave shrieks as we followed suit Vivi and Quina were running properly fast, probably adrenaline kicking in them. Zidane grabbed his daggers and threw them at the machine, darting back and grabbing them.
"Just run I'll hold it off!" He yelled. Lucifer did a bizzare one-eighty turn, like a dance, and drew his sword from his cane.
"Well let's not get arrogant now, shall we?" He grinned, leaping into the battle. I didn't turn back I just kept running. The four of us ran until we reached a large gap in the bridge. Well this could be going better. Not to mention we could hear the thing getting closer.
"What do we do?" Vivi asked. I tried to rack through my faded knowledge of these games and spells… Time Magic… Stop, Slow, Haste, Gravity, Vanish, Mute, Time Compression…
"Hold on…" I backed away from the gap and focused. Still wasn't sure how to generate spells, so I was still using Lucifer's method of willing what I wanted to happen. Hopefully this time I could defy gravity.
Taking a deep breath in I closed my eyes. Well as Lucifer said, can't say I didn't try.
So I began to run and just kept running. I didn't even judge it, I was doing a leap of faith here. Hopefully it will have worked out the same way it did in movies.
I decided to open my eyes and stop running, my body shaking with a sort of fear that I could drop any moment like in a cartoon. Rather than that, however, I was… floating. Floating above the ground, I made it across the gap. Without controlling myself I began to laugh in shock and amazement. It was an excitement that had to be laughed at.
Before I ended up in hysterics I looked at the others, gasping when I saw the machine get closer, Zidane and Lucifer holding it back as much as they could.
"Hurry! Just run it's fine!" I yelled. "Do it!" I kept ordering, thinking about how much I wanted them to float across the gap. Thankfully that worked as well and we continued to follow Zidane's task: run. That and not question my Magic skills.
Sadly we found ourselves out of the frying pan and into the fire. A very malicious looking woman was expecting us when we were out of trouble. Faintly we could hear the battle going on behind us.
"Well looks like I got almost everything I wanted," She smirked, hands on her hips. "Princess Garnet and Le Fay? I'm Lani, the Queen sent to me to retrieve something from you both," I instinctively sensed danger and grasped at my earrings. She seemed to take notice. "Want to hold on to your jewellery girl? They now belong to Queen Brahne."
"You're not getting anything," I said, trying to be intimidating. So much for that. Little blonde girl, scary stuff.
"I'm not going back to Alexandria!" Dags shouted defensively. The woman only smirked and drew her large axe, I backed away a tiny bit, wanting to run back the way.
"Well the Queen and her General didn't want any of you alive anyway," She smirked more as she approached us. I opened a rift to block her then slowed her down as she ran and tried to attack us. Sadly since we were in such a panic I couldn't concentrate long enough to hold a spell up for any length of time so we were running around like headless chickens.
Since I was the only one really making any sort of attempt to stop her she was focusing on me. I screamed as Lani tried to attack me, throwing a purple light that hit her side. To be honest this was scary, this lady was trying to kill me. She was like a vicious animal wanting to tear me apart. I tried to not look scared but I think it was showing. Hell I was close to whimpering!
Jumping to the side I received a gash in my right thigh but at least it wasn't as bad as it would have been if I didn't move. What I needed was the upper hand but I couldn't make a potion on the spot, I didn't have anything to start off with.
Getting serious I crouched down and tossed dirt in Lani's eyes, I kicked her legs and went behind her, knocking her down with a small star-like blast.
When I drew blood from her I froze still, realising what I was intending. I… was trying to kill her. To protect my friends, yes but… could I kill? Did I have the capacity to kill?
"I admit it, I killed Lady King. She had nothing to do with it. She was my thrall but guilt refuses to take her to the grave with me. She isn't a Mage, I am," Gasps of the Alexandrian Court turned into fits of outrage. Both Steiner and Beatrix, both younger in age, stood either side of Queen Brahne. The silver haired man they held in court was young, possibly my own age or younger, wearing regal-esque robes that were tattered with incarceration. The girl, her own beautiful clothes as ruined, looked at the boy beside her with horror. She was older than he was, brown hair tangled over her pain.
"Please, please don't lie," She whispered so only he could hear. He acted oblivious to her pleas. "Please I'm begging."
"You speak the truth?" Queen Brahne asked, looking down on the two who were accused of this murder.
"I do, Shade King is as innocent as I am guilty," The boy confirmed over the noise of the nobles. Brahne looked at the man who I assumed to be her husband, who stared at the two children.
"Captain Steiner, release Shade King from her shackles and escort her to Treno," He ordered. The younger Steiner obeyed silently, heading down to free the woman as she stared on at the young boy. "I hereby return the King Estate, Auction House and title to Shade King. As for this Mage…"
"Please tell the truth…" Shade whispered. The boy continued to ignore her, but was visibly shaking, knowing his fate.
"The Kings took you into their home and you repaid that debt with their own blood," The King of Alexandria shouted, the courts still throwing insults to the boy, who was holding back fear. "For the murder or his Lord and Lady King, father and mother to Lady Shade King, I hereby sentence you to death, in three days at dawn."
"No! Don't kill him!" Shade's pleas were always ignored. She cried and begged for the boy to be free and for the truth to be told. She was wrecked with guilt… guilt of what?
"Do you have any repentance?" The Queen asked, clearly a different woman from the one we were fighting. The silver haired boy didn't even blink as he stared up at the rulers of Alexandria.
"… Le Fay lives!" Was the sudden, confident, bellow from his mouth. The nobles yelled louder as Beatrix grabbed his shackles and directed him to the direction of the prisons, all the while Shade was screaming as Steiner tried to take her out of the room.
"No! Kuja don't do this!" Was the last thing she screamed before they were both separated.
"Lilith!" I shrieked as Dagger yelled, thrown across the room. Lani loomed over me, axe in hand and ready to go off with my head.
"The General wanted your head specially, Le Fay," She smirked. I bit my lip and found myself unable to conjure spells. Why did I have to get a premonition now?
A dagger flew in from the side, plunging deep into her arm. Zidane grabbed his dagger then both her nad Lucifer pincered her, threatenting to attack of she dared to assault us. I managed to get up but was needing support.
"Hmph, I know when to step down," Lani scoffed, putting her axe away. "I'll let you go for now." The woman took off the direction we came.
Dagger crouched down to my leg and cast a White Magic spell. I remembered her admitting her abilities to me, and seeing that no one else was surprised by her actions they must have learned about her abilities in the Pinnacle Rocks. We did already know about her Summoning skills after all.
"What was she all about?" Zidane asked. After Dagger had healed me I had a scar on my thigh, not visible though but I guess it was a little bit of proof that I was getting more experience.
"She wanted us dead, the Queen ordered it… so did the General…" I knew it couldn't have been Beatrix, she turned on the Queen.
"Willow must have been promoted," Lucifer confirmed in deep thought. "Her old General has turned on her and she needs someone to command her armies. They'll be prepared to do anything to kill us, we're obstacles in their way."
"She said my mother wanted my pendant…" Dagger held the stone around her neck, worried it may be suddenly taken from her.
"She did want Lindblum stone as well… She has that as well as the stone from Cleyra…" And I knew why, but I didn't say. Would they believe that Queen Brahne wants the power to Summon the strongest Summon in this world. She wants to combine the broken Summoning Gem to be the strongest person in the world. Now… would Willow want this power too? Kuja wants it. They want to use the Alexandrite, the name I gave the Summoning Gem when I first played this game. They want to use the Alexandrite to control Alexander…
