Chapter Twenty-Nine
Breakfast, early morning garden walk, private time with the piano, a light lunch, tea in the chamber... it had all become so monotonous for young Princess Alex. Even at the Alexandrian Castle they didn't have such a strict regime. Arowyn and the help of the castle didn't like when Alex just went wandering around. They seemed to always want eyes on her. She was sure her father had bestowed the utmost importance of Alex's safety during the grim trip, but Alex was certain he wouldn't want them to hover over her like this. Alex really only had a quiet and lonesome space during her tea time after lunch. During that alone time, the young girl found her mind buzzing with all kinds of thoughts. It had been nearly a week since her father, sister, and cared for companions had left the castle and yet there was no reported word of them or even a sighting after the very first evening they departed. Though Alex craved the alone time, she didn't like the ideas that spoke to her in the quietness. So during that time of the very sweet tea and rather bland lemon cakes, Alex shuffled her Tetra Master cards around. She recited the animals off to herself and memorized their arrows and took the time to put together different decks for different brackets of gaming. She found investing herself in something menial proved to be the most helpful. Arowyn often commented on the lack of noise from the music room during her alloted practice time, but it was hard for Alex to admit that the resonance of a piano key reminded her fleetingly of a warm maternal touch that she did not recognize. And Alex didn't like the feeling it gave her. It was different when she played in the familiar space of her home castle. At the Burmecian Castle, however, with its highly arched ceilings and moody paintings, it only struck the girl with a bitter loneliness.
The seventh day, Alex found herself slumped in her chair at the table. The clock at the far end of the guest chamber ticked ever so faithfully. The crumbly lemon cakes gleamed in the afternoon rainy light and her warm tea kettle waited patiently to be tilted. But the princess was in no mood for tea and cakes. She thought about how Sarah and Bella were away on a real adventure, somewhere out there in the world. It smarted Alex right in her ego to know she was only cooped up in a castle all day, pampered and cared for and never left alone! Alex wanted to go on her own adventure. Her tailed wavered behind her as she gazed around her chamber. Her eyes fell on the shiny leather pouch of cards on her nightstand. The princess paused for a moment, thinking hard and long. She was on her feet by the next thought, wandering towards the windows of the chamber. It wasn't very busy down below in the wet garden. She glanced towards the clock. If she waited until a quarter to one, just before tea time was over, she could catch all the guards at post-change. Alex grinned deviously. Then she could walk right out of the castle and find some real children who wanted to play Tetra Master.
Excited by the idea, Alex dashed towards the wardrobe, choosing a custom white dress with celestial gold embroideries that had been placed there by Arowyn. Alex figured all the girl's wore it. She grabbed a black cloak and hurriedly worked on braiding her blond hair into a pleat to fall across the nape of her neck. She changed her stockings to white woolen ones to fight off the puddles and selected black shoes to top it all off. Arowyn had left a canvas bag beneath the vanity mirror so that's where Alex gingerly tucked her cards away, pulling it over her shoulder. If she kept her hood low and her small pudgy hands tucked away, perhaps she could pass as the baker's daughter who brought bread after lunch every day for a grand supper in the Burmecian Castle that evening.
Cautiously, she poked her head out the door like a rabbit emerging in spring. No signs of any help. The guards of the castle didn't seem to pay her much mind. She tucked the canvas bag beneath her cloak to not be suspicious. It beat against her hip as she fast walked away from her bedroom. Alex kept her eyes trained down as she followed the dark red rugs that ran the length of the hallways. She had always been tasked with memorizing castle halls. Luckily, the Burmecian Castle was not too difficult. There were only long curving stairs that slowed the small girl down. She picked her skirt up, clinging to the rigid railing as she descended beneath the chambers and onto the floor full of ballrooms, dining halls, and grand libraries. Alex froze, however. Across the foyer of winding staircases she spied Arowyn speaking to a maid with a basket of towels. Alex's eyes darted all around and quickly, she dove through the nearest door that was just a narrow hallway with many doors. It was rather bland compared to the rest of the castle. After a moment, one of the doors opened and a maid stepped out. Oh no, Alex could only think. She had found the castle's help corridor. The maid recognized Alex immediately, gasping sharply. Alex felt she had no other option; she had to make a run for it. Alex raced forward, brushing past the woman who began making a ruckus. Rapid fire, doors began opening on all sides of Alex and her heart beat furiously in her chest. Still, she kept pumping her arms, not even daring to look back at the wake of help laying eyes on her. Straight ahead was another door at the end and she wasted no time leaping through it and hurriedly closing the door behind her, bolting to the right, towards a foyer that lead into the garden.
Alex staggered down the wet stairs, her breathing shallow as she took a sharp left, racing through the rain in the garden. If she wound this way, she knew she'd find a side guard gate that would release her into the lower canal section of Burmecia. Just a few blocks up, she would find a staircase towards the main quarter. Luckily, the gate was not guarded and Alex slowed her pace. She panted wildly, taking the time now to draw her hood back and looked around. She only heard the patter of rain to the cobblestone. Her bangs were wet, plastered against her forehead as the rain dribbled over her. Alex smiled through her heavy breaths and triumphantly she pushed the gate open. She could have her own adventures, too.
As she kicked the gate closed behind her and began down the narrow path beside the canal, she couldn't help but relish in the idea of being all on her own. Someone always was with her, whether she was here or at the Alexandrian Castle. At nine years old, there was always one large protective bubble around her. But as people walked by her without even a glance, men steering boats down the canal waving, Alex just thought how amazing it was. Her father had grown up doing this. Alex wanted to desperately as well be a normal person. Why couldn't she be normal? She pulled her leather pouch out, watching the rain run down its slick surface. She smiled and hurried ahead, running up the stairs towards the main plaza. Several children were playing marbles. Because it always rained, everyone carried on with normal life like it was a beautiful day outside. Some girls skipped rope beside a shop with a meager awning. A few other children hooted and hollered as they spun tops across the gleaming wet stone. But sitting beneath a large steel cover was a group of boys, each furiously sifting through cards. Alex grinned. Jackpot!
Quickly, Alex made a bee-line towards the Burmecian boys. She stood directly at the end of the uneven picnic table, smiling widely. "Hi! I see you're playin' Tetra Master. Can I join? I have my own deck," Alex held her pouch up. The boys looked at her as if she had grown two heads.
"Who are you?" One asked with his congested voice.
"My name's Alex, I'm just visiting!"
"You don't look anything like the people who visit us," Another commented.
"Not true!" Alex furrowed her brow. She shifted her cloak, exposing her tail. "We have some things in common!"
"Girls don't play Tetra Master," The third one said, matter of fact.
"That's not true, either," Alex shook her head. "I just want to play. My father has many business meetings, I'm horribly bored. And I brought my deck all the way from Alexandria!"
"Alexandria?" The boys said in unison, glancing at each other. "You must have one of the newest sets! It's only in Alexandria!"
"Oh, yeah, the Kilzorg Set?" Alex arched her eyebrows. "I'll let you guys play with some if you let me play a few rounds. No swapping cards at the end, let's just play for fun, so the stakes aren't high."
"You'd let us touch your new cards?" One of the boys raised his ashen brows.
"Yeah, if we can just play!" Alex agreed. Eagerly, one of the boys scooted over to make room for her on the bench and she smiled, slapping her pouch down on the table. "Thanks!" She said as she unbuttoned her case, withdrawing her shiny deck. The boys all craned their necks to get a good look as she shuffled them about.
"So, you're from Alexandria?" A boy asked her. Alex nodded. "What brings you to Burmecia?"
"My dad has business here," Alex said, divvying her cards up.
"You look familiar..."
"You guys said yourself that people like me don't typically visit," Alex looked between them. How dearly she just wanted to have a card game. "Let's play. Whose first?"
...
Dusk had descended upon the Outer Continent. The wind howled, the sky a mix between moody purples and awe-striking oranges. The wind whizzed by Zidane's ears, his blond hair just brushing his skin. Across the jagged rocks, twisted up roots lead towards the massive Iifa Tree with it's complex and winding trunk that lead towards the thick foliage of the top. Though the appearance didn't seem much different from all those years ago, something about it seemed so... different. It was almost as if it was a mistake seeing it, like it wasn't supposed to be there. It had been gone for so long. It was a monumental feat that Kuja, who had fallen beneath those tangled vines all those years ago, had been able to lift it back to its former glory. Zidane shuddered at the thought of those rigid vines coming down on him, scraping against his skin, trying to drag him away to his own personal hell. It wasn't the same, he told himself, as he found himself in a trance gazing towards it. Bella walked towards the curt edge of the cliff they stood on, looking down into the intricate system of earth colliding with earth. The wind lifted her inky black hair and she pursed her lips at the darkness descending below.
Eiko came to stand beside Zidane. Freya, Beatrix, and Steiner looked all around them on high alert. Dante lowered Sarah down against a mound of rocks, placing his backpack behind her head. Her face occasionally pinched in pain and she nodded off a little, clinching her temples. After a moment of watching Sarah in pain, Dante took his own turn to look around. He became very still when he saw the Iifa Tree. He had never seen anything quite like it. A tree of this magnitude could only be an urban legend in Dante's mind. But here it was in front of him, very real. The wind whistled past everyone's ears. It was very quiet and unmoving around the group. Several of them were confronted with abrasive memories. Steiner only trembled, knowing it was Queen Brahne's last stand and a place with memories of Dagger, echoing off the branches and floating like dust towards the ocean. For Eiko, it was a sacred ground with a holy mar. Zidane looked around at his sore crew. Exhaustion was rearing an ugly head. Everyone was so tense. Zidane didn't look to a single person who seemed to be clear headed. Even Beatrix herself was foggy and somewhat aloof.
Eiko stepped forward, extending her arm out. Zidane's boots crunched through the dirt. "Hey, what are you doing?" He reached for her, grabbing her by the wrist. "This isn't the same kind of seal, Eiko. It might be dangerous."
Her wet blue eyes came to look at Zidane. "This used to belong to my people... a civilization that understood it. Now look what it has become: a throne for the sanctity of evil. Zidane, it's sickening."
"I know..." Zidane was numb, his grip loosening on Eiko.
Sarah sat up, her face pale and grimy with sweat. "What are we waiting for!? Bella, break the seal!"
Bella looked towards her sister, clutching her heavy coat close to her wiry body. "I'll try, Sarah..."
Zidane released Eiko, turning to his daughter. "We have to be cautious."
"I know, Daddy." Bella stood next to Eiko now.
"The seal is here," Eiko nodded. "I feel the energy. Don't you?"
"A tingling sensation," Bella looked to Eiko.
"Kuja said you could break it..." Zidane came to stand beside Bella. It was like looking at a mirror of Dagger. Those round brown eyes and olive complexion, the short raven hair clawing at the frame of her face. She was the epitome of her mother. And while Zidane was thankful one of their children bore a resemblance to her, in that moment of time, it was almost painful to look at her. Bella, herself, was at her edge. Sarah's unusual behavior perturbed her. Sarah had always been the level-headed and graceful sister; something Bella had always been envious of. But now, with Sarah seemingly unhinged, Bella found herself at the forefront and she was downright nervous. Bella reached for her father's hand, giving it a squeeze, which he returned. Zidane licked his lips. "Did he tell you how?"
Bella shook her head. "No. Nothing specific, anyway. He just said that I could." Slowly, she also began to reach out but Zidane wrapped his arms around her. "Daddy, we won't know unless we try," Bella cocked her head back to look at him. Zidane held her tightly by the shoulders, trying to convince himself he could still protect her. But one look at her eyes showed she so desperately wanted things to be normal again. She wanted this over. Zidane pursed his lips, holding onto her tightly. He wanted it over, too. Slowly, Zidane nodded to Bella and the teenager was still a moment before she brought her hand forward. The entire group all held their breaths in great anticipation, the Iifa Tree looming over them.
The moment Bella's hand touched the seal, it rippled. It was a disorienting sight. Both Zidane and Eiko's stomachs twisted at the thought of those wavers. It was almost like they were supposed to fall through into their past lives at any moment. Eiko expected to become a stout six year old and Zidane could feel the presence of Dagger seeping through his skin as Bella pressed both palms flat against the invisible force. What an odd feeling it was. Bella couldn't even begin to explain the weird ache growing through her body. Dante watched with a knitted brow and intense dark eyes. He never thought he'd bear witness to events such as these or see the world from this perspective. While he was always aware there was a mystical nature to the way of life on Gaia, he would never imagine he'd bear witness to it. In front of Bella, a dark purple shimmer was beginning to vibrate from her hands.
"What's happening?" Freya asked, looking all around. The barrier was flat and tall and the purple streaks shot upwards.
"Arabella is communicating with the wall..." Eiko took a few steps back to inspect the pulsations. "I can hear it, too."
"It's an Eiodolon?" Zidane furrowed his brow. "But Kuja..."
"It's Ramuh!" Bella exclaimed before a bright light came between her palms. Everyone cringed against the flash, tilting their heads away. After it subsided, Zidane found himself blinking rapidly. In the cupped palms of Bella's hand now sat the periodot shard that contained Ramuh. As it glinted faithfully at her and for a moment, Bella's eyes scanned over the dark scar that now reached across her wrist. That fateful night on Sarah's sixteenth birthday had her shivering. It seemed so long ago, but in reality, it had only been a few mere weeks. "He's come back to me," Bella looked to her father and he saw the first glimmer of excitement within her for the first time in a long time. "I thought he was gone forever but it's him, Daddy... the Eiodolon who served Mother."
Sarah's boots crunched through the gravel as she stood. Dante reached for her, but effortlessly, she came forward, staring intently at the Iifa Tree. She then reached for Zidane and he felt a tug as she loosened her sword from his backpack, replacing it on her back. Her face seemed relatively relaxed and Sarah's eyes conveyed a sense of clear headiness. Still, though, Zidane was on pins and needles thinking about their journey heading into the Iifa Tree. What awaited them in those twisted roots and dark barks? Nothing good, he worried. The silence surrounding the party was eerie. Where was the chaos? The turbulence? Kuja couldn't really be holed up in this tree all by himself. Zidane turned, looking between everyone's weary faces.
"We should rest," Zidane said, looking upwards the waning sky of pinks and oranges. "A good night's sleep will do us all some good. We should eat what we can, too."
Beatrix nodded. "Steiner and I shall find some wood."
"I have some herbs for everyone and some naan bread to roast over the fire," Freya said, setting her rucksack to the ground.
"I'll keep a look out," Dante perched himself on the slope of a mound of rocks.
"I'll help," Sarah said, sinking into the rocks beside him.
"I think I'd just like to sit down," Bella said, somewhat wearily. Zidane worked on creating a ring of rocks as Eiko and Bella propped their backpacks up behind them. Bella's knotted black hair fell away from the frame of her face as she looked to the beginning inklings of stars breaking out across the sky. Fauna watched the crew busy themselves before she walked a few paces, seating herself at the edge of the cliff and allowing her legs to dangle over the abyss. She glanced to the twisted rooms of the Iifa Tree. Zidane noted she still observed the barrier of the seal. Bella unfolded her hand, holding the shard of the periodot above her. She felt a surge of energy for a fleeting moment.
"Ramuh is happy to be back with you, Arabella," Eiko tilted her head against the rugged felt of her backpack. She and Bella's face were only inches apart. Zidane glanced to them as he continued to arrange the rocks for the fire. "I can hear him. Can't you?"
"Faintly," Bella told her. "I guess if I had a horn, it would be louder?"
"Maybe..." Eiko's blue eyes looked to the sky. "Your mother wondered the same thing."
There was silence as Beatrix and Steiner returned with wood and Zidane efficiently had a fire cackling. Hot embers spurred upwards to the rapidly darkening night. In the orange glow, Dante watched the rather solemn Sarah before he gave her a nudge with his elbow. She arched her eyebrows, looking to him. He could see she was rather drained. Her eyes lacked any spark or spunk, her blond hair was grimy and her face was faint with bruises and chapped lips.
"This is going to be a stupid question but... are you alright?" Dante asked, hugging his knees. Just below the incline of rocks they sat on, the group hovered near to the fire as darkness descended around them. Beatrix and Steiner unfurled blankets. Zidane glanced to Fauna, who kept her back to the group, silently watching the looming figure of the Iifa Tree.
Sarah sighed. "Something is wrong with me, Dante..."
"We're going to fix it, though," Dante raked his oily brown hair from his face, looking to Sarah. "Tomorrow, I promise. This can all be over."
"What if I'm like this forever?"
"Like what?"
Sarah's gloved hands tightened around the pleated pants hugging her thighs. "I feel weird, Dante. Like at any moment I could have an emotional outbreak I can't control. I've never felt like this before. The worst part is... I can't even explain it."
"Well, I can," Dante said, watching as Freya flattened her naan bread against rocks to place near the fire. "It's Kuja. He wants you to feel this way. Like your father said, he's trying to turn us against each other. But we won't let that happen."
Sarah watched the side of Dante's face that glowed in the nearby campfire. His tanned skin was like almond butter, his shaggy brown hair falling heavily over his pointed ears and round face. She pursed her lips, looking towards the dark figment of a tree. She had heard much lore about the Iifa Tree and she knew it resounded heavily in the memories of her family. But in that moment, she only felt frustrated. And she was only more frustrated by that frustrating feeling. She figured she should feel relieved that they would be confronting the nightmare that loomed over them, but instead, Sarah only felt frightened by the thought. What would life be for her once they moved past this? Would Sarah ever be able to truly move on from these chaotic events of her life?
"I think I'll just go to sleep," Sarah said, dipping her boot down to descend to a flat surface.
"You should eat," Dante told her.
"I'm not hungry."
"Sarah, tomorrow's an important-"
"Stop acting like my father," Sarah looked to him now with intense blue eyes. "I don't need another father, Dante."
The young man was quiet, reliving the fleeting memories of Sarah drawing a sword on Fauna... and then turning it on her own father. He knew she was sick by Kuja's doing. Dante knew deep down inside this was not who Sarah was. This was not the girl he had held and kissed on the thatched roofs of Alexandria. It was not the girl he saw blushing from across the dining table, reciting sweetly the words of Lord Avon. This was not Sarah he knew. Finally, he nodded.
"You're right. Rest is important... I won't be too far behind."
Sarah didn't say a word more as she clambered down to her backpack, situating it behind her head. Silently, Dante looked over the group hunkering down but only felt the king's eyes on him. Dante met Zidane's blue eyes, feeling his own distress, which Dante shared. Tomorrow would be a long day. And no one who sat in that still whistling valley looked forward to dawn breaking.
...
The sky seemed to be darkening behind the forever present dreary clouds of Burmecia. Very few children straggled in the courtyard and the boys Alex had been dueling all afternoon showed signs of fatigue and hunger. One even had a very scratched-up and limy pocket watch that read a quarter to six. "We better go. My mum will have dinner ready within the hour." The other boys agreed and began scraping their cards together to stuff into the mis-sized felt bags they had found at a second hand sale.
"Aw, we're done?" Alex drooped her shoulders. She had been able to escape reality for a few hours. How the young girl wished for several more.
"It's been fun," The boy beside her said. "You're really good. Perhaps we can meet tomorrow?"
Alex's eyes brightened at the idea but were extinguished in one breath. She hadn't been very clever about sneaking out that afternoon. She was quite surprised that no guards had come to round her up as they did in the Alexandria Castle, even when she was only in the garden. She didn't know what to expect upon returning. She knew, however, she had exceeded the privileges granted to her in forms of private tea times and music. While she wanted to promise the boys she would return tomorrow, she wasn't sure she could keep to it.
"Maybe. Same place, same time?" Alex arched her eyebrows, nearly longingly. Princess Alexandra had never had quite a true group of friends. She had been amongst royal and noble crowds of children her age through the years of balls, galas, and parties, but she never had had a lasting group of people who knew her truly and could relate to her. It was all the more delightful to be seen as a regular person to these boys. Just another civilian not at all related to a royal line of blood. The boys all nodded in response. "I hope I can come back... I never know where my father's business might take me."
"Well, if ya go to Alexandria and have some extra girl, get us a Kilzorg pack to split, will you?" A boy leaned eagerly in towards her.
Alex smiled almost painstakingly at the thought of the afternoon being over. After a moment, she unsnapped the button of her pouch, pulling the newest deck out from it. "Let's all split the cards," Alex said, placing them on the table. "Everyone take two. That way, if we never see each other again, we have something to remember each other by."
"Wow, really?!"
"Thanks, Alex!"
"You're so cool!"
Alex grinned, watching each boy claim a pick. Their faces were so bright at the idea of even holding the cards. Alex could only hope they brought the boys great joy. Slowly, she pulled her hood over head, glancing around the nearly empty courtyard now. She climbed down from the bench, sheltering her card pouch beneath her cloak. She cocked her head to see out from beneath the pavilion, gazing towards the darkening sky that continuously rained, with no chance of it letting up. She saw the dark looming structure of the castle with it's large warm windows. She had no desire to return but she knew she had to. Slowly, Alex inched closer to the rain, but one of the boys called after her.
They all still seemed to be gawking at their cards, but one looked to her intently through his bangs of ashen hair. "Where do you really live? How can we look you up?"
Alex smiled, pushing her cloak above her clear blue eyes. "I can't really tell you... but I'll be able to look you up, don't worry. I'll find you."
And with that, the youngest heir to the throne of Alexandria turned and made her ascent into the rain that dribbled down her cloak and against the hem of her ceremonial white dress. She disappeared into the darkness, anxious to know what the end of her journey would bring. But she wouldn't regret it one bit as she knew she'd be cozy in bed that night, thinking of the boy's who gave her a chance at being normal... at being free, from the dreary life that now plagued her, away from the constant worry that nagged her... She would always cherish that rainy afternoon in Burmecia. Even though she'd never have anyone to tell about it.