Rebirth of a Holy Dragoon
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. OCs belong to various friends. I think you know the drill by now.
Notes: *throws the files up in the air and lets the papers float down on their own*
Warnings: You don't remember the list of warnings I gave before? Fine. Here. Cursing, potential OOC, OC x Canon, stupid fluffy romance, sex, angst, self-insert author avatar, shitty storytelling.
FIC START!
Chapter Forty-seven
After Canti and Kain were both properly dressed as well as they could be considering they were currently staying in a military training facility, Richard and Cid, clad head to toe in their Warriors of the Water uniforms, escorted them through the building, up some elevators, and through what felt like a million different hallways. The architect of this place was not a sane man, at least, that's what Canti believed she heard her papa mutter somewhere around the halfway point of the trek between the underground barracks and the main foyer of the Administrative building.
Since she was the one that had been given the summons, she had to approach the front desk and let the secretary know that she was there. Canti was nervous, but with Kain and both of their fathers there with her, she felt a lot stronger. She wasn't facing this alone. She had her whole family with her.
"Ex… excuse me?" she said, approaching the secretary's desk. "I… was given th-this letter?" She held up the letter, and the secretary nodded at her.
"I'll let them know you're here and call for an escort," the secretary replied, typing a few things on the Sphere terminal at her desk. She pressed a button, which made a buzzing sort of sound.
"I…" Canti took in a deep breath and tried not to stutter anymore. "I don't need an escort. I have one. The Grand Dragoon stands at my side."
"That's not what I mean," the secretary's very nasal voice spoke again in that condescending tone every government worker has ever had. The glasses on the very tip of her nose made her look much older than she actually was. "You cannot go in the Senate without either being directly related to a Senator or a guardian. You'll need an escort. Besides, you won't even know where it is, now will you?"
Kain rolled his eyes. "Must you always talk down to others?"
"I wasn't talking down to anyone."
"Yes, you were. You saw that a little girl has come into your high end office, scared out of her wits, and decided to exploit that fear for a tiny little power trip," Kain snapped at her. He was taking his appointing to the position of being Canti's guard more seriously than either Richard or Cid had given him credit for, and while no one could see it as his face was covered by his helmet, Richard was grinning at that. He couldn't publicly condone such behavior, but he'd always wanted to tell off those secretary types in the past.
Canti glared at him, as if to tell him silently that he was going too far, but Kain was very insistent on pointing out the woman's obvious arrogance. She waited. Who was going to come to escort her to the room where all the Senators were having their meeting?
"Hello, Barbara," the familiar voice of Mateus came from the hall. He stepped out into the light, present himself to the Highwind family. "I see the whole family is here. However, the Senate only needs you, Canti."
She shook her head. "I'm not going alone."
"Of course not. I'll be escorting you," Mateus replied kindly, offering his hand to her. "Come along. This need not be so overly complicated."
While Canti was tempted to just take his hand to make it that much easier, she was determined to stand up for herself more. "No. You may deny both the Grand Dragoon and the captain with him, but you cannot deny Kain," she said in a tone that reminded Kain of a dream he'd had. She had stood up to him, using that exact same voice. Canti had been that way before, or perhaps, he dreamed that one day, she will be much more in control of herself in the face of anyone that would try to assert their authority over her.
"He is not-"
"Because I say he is, he is!" Canti declared. "By the executive order of Leviathan himself, Kain has been made into my personal guardian!"
So that was the final order I'd heard so much muttering about, Mateus thought, staring at her. He looked at that face, those eyes, determined to one day take that authoritative tone right out of her. How dare she raise her voice at him like that? He was perfect, and while she was powerful, she was less than he was! "…how assertive of you," he mumbled. "Where is the paper that gives such an order? If you cannot prove it, he cannot come with you."
Richard reached into a pocket on the inside of his armor and brought out a paper with Leviathan's royal seal on it. "Here, young master," he said, though he wished he could be mocking in his tone, it would not have befitted the Grand Dragoon's image if he had.
Mateus read over the paper. That would make his plans much more difficult to pull off using this particular scheme. He'd thought it over and planned it all out, and now he had to play even this by ear. Which was something he hated having to do. Improvising was so unprofessional, and certainly not befitting the Emperor he knew he would one day be. "Very well. But you other two must wait here. Canti, bring your guardian. We'll need this so you can go in there, too…" he handed the paper back to Kain and turned around. "Please, follow me."
"Do what you believe is right," Cid said behind her. "Don't worry about what anyone else thinks, baby girl."
"Papa," Canti looked back at him.
"Whatever you decide is what the rest of the world will just have to deal with. One way or another," he continued. "No choice is good or bad unless you believe it is."
"Papa Cid… thank you…"
The hall Mateus led them through was darker than Canti thought it should have been. She didn't really want to go in there. The only reason she did was because Kain was holding her hand. They followed him until they were at a very large, ornately decorated door with a water dragon carved into the wood. Canti recognized it. That same dragon was a statue in the backyard of the Highwind Manor. Kain mentioned something about it being the symbol of the Warriors of the Water, so what was it doing on the door of the Senate?
Mateus turned around to address Canti and didn't give Kain any looks at all. "Before we go in," he said. "Do you perhaps need to use the ladies room?"
"Thank you for being considerate, but that's such an odd question. Why wait until we're this far in?" Canti asked. "Let me do what I came here to do. I wanna get back to what I was doing before I had to come here."
"And what was that?"
"Is what I was doing really of your concern?"
Mateus started to lean in towards her. "Everything you do is of my concern. I want to get to know you better, after all."
Canti stepped back. She couldn't handle just how creepy he was being. "Open the door all ready," she said angrily. "I've had enough of being here."
There she was again, raising her voice at him. In his dreams, she was always so obedient, so submissive. He would break her of such attitude, given the opportunity. "Very well," he said curtly, turning around again so he could open the door.
Inside was the huge room of Senators from all around the country. Mateus knew them all, but Canti didn't know any of them. Kain had seen some of them attend events at the Highwind Manor some time ago, but none of them really spoke to him. They were always there to converse with the Grand Dragoon, not with his promising son. Mateus walked in first and announced who had come, and was almost immediately interrupted with inquiry as to why she had company for this. Kain handed the order from Leviathan to a Senator, who explained to them everything that had been discussed with Mateus before.
Mateus directed her to go stand in a little box thing down towards the bottom of the room. The incline going down was steep. Canti climbed into the stand that she was directed to, and when she reached for Kain's hand to bring him with her, it magically closed on its own.
"Forgive us," a Senator said from some direction that she couldn't quite detect. "This is for your own safety, child."
"Excuse me!" Kain exclaimed. "I am her personal guard, you will allow me to pass along with her! I demand passage!"
"You may be here with her to help her confront this, but for her safety, we cannot allow anyone to be in the stand with her," another Senator said behind him. "We have the criminal and will bring him in so he may face your judgment, little one. Just in case he breaks free somehow, we need to protect you."
"But you aren't concerned for my safety," Kain muttered.
"You're her guardian, aren't you? Act like it," Mateus retorted sharply, walking past the stand and over to his father's place within the Senate body.
"Kain, please, do not be so rude." Canti said as she turned to him. "I understand the motivation behind this. I do not wish to face him, either. He scares me. Just… allow it for the moment. We'll do what we must and it will all be over."
"This whole process has been nothing but rude," Kain grunted. "But if you insist, then I'll abstain the complaints. I just wanted to be with you."
"You are here with me…" she smiled before beginning to address the Senate body. "…exactly what do you wish from me, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate? What am I supposed to do for you?"
Senator Palamecia answered with, "We wish you to pass your judgment upon the man who tried to accost you. Whatever you decide is what we will go with. Leviathan is not here to decide his fate, and we've never had a case like this within the history of our dear country." That was probably the only figure in the room she recognized, other than Auron, Hikari's father, who was standing near another senator in a similar way that Kain was to her.
"Decide his fate?" Canti asked, shaking her head. "Like, put him to death, or something?"
"If that is what you believe he deserves, then yes," he said, trying to be as coaxing as possible. The Palamecian family wanted Borghen put to death, Mateus especially. "If you believe he could re-enter society, we'll begin to rehabilitate him. There are many punishments possible, and the only limit to them is your imagination, little one."
"Oh…" There was a lot of responsibility thrust into her hands, having to decide the fate of a man. Regardless if he tried to kidnap her, he was still a person. Sure, he needed to be scared from trying to touch another child, but at the same time… she was lost in thought. Canti had no idea what was right in this case. Was death justifiable? Was it something the man really deserved? How could they force a child to decide something like this?! "…a-all right. B…bring him out so we can… do this…"
Within a few moments, the criminal was dragged out by men wearing knight's armor that belonged to the military police. He wore chains around his neck and every limb, and they didn't let him walk at his own pace, as he was a smallish man with short legs. But it was unmistakable, this was the man who grabbed her on the way home from Garden. Canti stared at him, and the longer she did, the more scared she became. Borghen stood between the two biggest men who held onto his chains.
"Before I pass judgment," Canti said. "I wish to hear what he has to say."
"Do not waste your time," Senator Palamecia said quickly.
"It is her decision," Kain insisted, growing that much more impatient with this entire scenario. "That's why you brought her all the way here. Am I wrong?!"
Canti crossed her arms. "Let me hear what he has to say…" she said to one of the MP guards. "…please. I can't decide what to do with him without hearing him out."
"As you wish," one said, pulling a cloth out of Borghen's mouth. "He is free to speak."
She stared at him. This man who had given her so much fear since the incident. He did not seem intimidating in his current state. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Borghen appeared resolved not to say anything.
"Answer the lady!" one of the guards said, smacking him on the back of the head with the gauntlet on his wrist. Everyone close by could hear the metallic sound that came of hitting him in the skull at such force, and it made Canti cringe.
"I… I did not want to do it," Borghen said quietly. "Please, my lady, do not kill me! I do not have the taste for children!"
"You grabbed my cousin!" Kain yelled at him, ready kill the man himself. "You tried to take her with you to do Cosmos knows what!"
"Yes. I did," Borghen said, nodding. "I did indeed grab the precious little girl… and I know I've terrified her. She'll be afraid of me for a long time, perhaps the rest of her life. I apologize for that."
Canti didn't understand it very well. "If you do not have the taste for children, then why would you have tried to take me?"
"...I am a humble servant… my master-"
One of the guards hit Borghen's head again, causing the disheveled man to hit the floor in a bloody mess.
"Why did you do that?!" Canti asked. "We could have had our answers if only we listened to him! Perhaps he is not at fault!"
"You've heard enough. Sentence him all ready," Senator Palamecia commanded.
"I want to know what he had to say," Canti said, her anger finally showing through. "Because of that, I cannot have him put to death!" She shook, letting her rage course through her, tears falling from her eyes. She'd never know exactly what was going on if she couldn't hear that final bit. "Fine… I've decided the punishment I find fitting! I want him in the maximum security prison facility possible to recover from his injuries, and the moment he can speak again, I will go there and talk to him myself!"
The entire senate was in an uproar over the decision. Some people agreed that it was a smart idea, but Senator Palamecia was the head of a very outspoken group against the decision, calling for his immediate execution. When Kain reached to take her down from the stand, the door swung open and she hopped right down with his help.
Kain wiped her tears away. "Let's get the hell out of this place," he whispered.
"Yes, let's," she whispered back.
They didn't wait for Mateus to come to lead them back to where their fathers were waiting. They didn't want to bother with any more of this politician nonsense.
"Wait!" Mateus called out to them, chasing after the duo as they left the kiva.
"Oh shut up," Kain grunted. "We've nothing more we need to do here."
His biggest chance was slipping away from him. He had to act fast! Mateus was tired of waiting. He wanted his ticket to greatness at his side all ready. He pulled out his staff and cast a spell. Kain suddenly went numb, causing Canti to stop moving forward to take care of his sudden status ailment.
"P... paralysis!" Kain said, flopping onto the floor. "Where did this… come from…"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you," Canti said, placing her hands on his side. She used her magic to cast Basuna, and the prickling feeling that held his muscles in place began to fade away, but she wasn't trained enough with her magical power to cast such a spell and remain mostly functional, and it caused her to become dizzy. She flopped down next to him, and Kain, not having anything to help her with the lack of magic power, didn't know what else to do from here. He began to gather her up in his arms.
Mateus, still standing in the shadows, noticed he wasn't going to be able to take her without taking him, too. So he cast the paralysis spell once more. Kain did all he could to resist it, but he fell right alongside his cousin. He then cast a blind spell on them both so they wouldn't see what was coming their way.
"Canti!" Kain shouted. "Canti?!"
"...Kain?" her reply came very tiredly. "I'm so… sleepy…"
"Someone must have set a trap!" Kain said. "Father! Uncle Cid! It's like we were hit with a Malboro's Bad Breath or-"
Mateus soon was joined by two of the military police. "Cast status ailments on them," he said quiet enough to keep his voice from being identified. "But do not harm them. Take them to…"
Kain didn't hear where he said. One of the Senators must have something against the Warriors of the Water, he reasoned. He tried so hard to make out what was going on around him. He felt his body being carried, and he could hear some voice telling Canti to just fall asleep. Why hadn't his father or uncle come to see them when he called for them?! Where were they?!
