'What a weird move... I wonder if she's finally lost it... maybe I should talk to her or something...'
Eiko fumed. They were on their sixth game and all Zidane had thought about was Dagger, Tantalus, and the two combined. Of course, there were those times when she was thrown into his thoughts, but they never seemed to be all that pleasant or positive.
'She's just a kid... I should let her win....'
"You idiot!" She growled, jumping from the chair and slamming her fist in the middle of the cards. Zidane stood, tail swishing in confusion, and gave her a puzzled look.
'Jeez... what crawled into her pickles this morning...'
"Grrrr... Can't you think of anything exciting!"
"Well, I already told you I'm not that good at cards..."
"That's not what I meant!"
'Of course I can think of exciting stuff... nothing about cards... cards aren't exciting... well... when there's a lot at stake... but other than that... no.. they're not...'
"Then what is to you?!"
"What is what?"
'Dagger is exciting... no one can debate that fact... heh heh... I'm so bad I surprise myself...'
'You sure don't surprise me...' Eiko thought, grabbing her cards.
"Is something wrong, Eiko?"
"Everything!"
'Oh... is that all? Jeez... don't need to bite my head off... it's not like I have anything to do with it... what is that thing people get... oh yeah... puberty... that must be it...'
"Stupid pervert!"
"What? What did I say?" He watched as she stormed down the streets.
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" She called over her shoulder.
This was useless. Mog had warned her. With all that was on Zidane's mind... or better put, all that wasn't, she'd rather not have the ability. Of course, now she was stuck with it. Mog had told her anywhere from a few hours to a few days, and she desperately hoped the former.
Alexandria was relatively quiet. In fact, it was much like a ghost town. A few kids ran by and Eiko closed off her mind. It was easy around them, since they were traveling so fast. Every now and then, she would come upon the thoughts of small animals hunting for food. The thoughts seemed as if they were her own, but they had a different personality to them. A different tinge in her mind. Something that told her they were foreign.
"It's a curse..." She said finally, having walked to the palace gates. Two guards stood outside and nodded courteously at her.
"Miss Eiko, the queen is out right now."
"Out? Out where?"
'How the hell should I know... I'm always the last to know everything... I guess you'll ask me why she left, too, huh? Go ahead! Try it! See what I do!'
"Lindblum." The other soldier answered.
'I wonder if she knows... can she see it? God... this guilt... it's tearing me apart...'
Eiko was curious as well as a risk-taker. "Why did she leave?" She asked, a smile on her face.
'See! I knew it was coming! And how should I know? I'm not important enough to receive word of anything! Hell, if the city was getting attacked, I'd be standing in the rubble and still not know about it!'
Eiko giggled at the first soldier's thoughts.
"Troubles, I believe. It seems the entire city has gone on strike." The second answered.
'I bet she can see it... she wouldn't be giving me that weird look if she couldn't... I'm busted now... jeez... and all it was was a few flowers! Is that so bad? A few flowers from the garden? Maybe I should go plant more... if the queen finds out...'
Eiko's gaze narrowed. "Don't you guys have anything better to do?" She asked, shaking her head.
'What's that supposed to mean?' They both thought in unison as she walked away.
"Garnet, it's so good of you to come..."
"What kind of person would I be if I didn't, Uncle Cid? You look exhausted... have you rested yet?" Dagger asked, placing a calming hand on the regent's shoulder.
"He's been on his feet the entire day, arguing with everyone who's on strike." Hilda answered.
"You should rest!" Dagger scorned.
They were standing in the regent's conference room, Dagger, Cid, Hilda, Steiner, and a few Lindblum guards. A blanket of weariness fell upon the Lindblum residents. The strike was as tiresome as it was invigorating for some.
"How can I? If I rest, the city will turn to shambles! I swear, everyone's gone mad!"
"Steiner and I will take care of it. I've got a perfect plan for this whole situation."
"It's really not necessary, Garnet... I've got things under control..."
"Do you?" Hilda challenged. "Funny you should say that," she peered out the window. "because it looks like about a dozen more people just showed up at the palace entrance."
"Rest, Uncle Cid. And you as well, Hilda. Steiner and I will take care of everything, won't we?"
"I know I will certainly give one-hundred percent for Lindblum, My Queen."
"As will I." Dagger said with a nod.
"Well... I suppose I could use some rest..."
"You've worked hard, Uncle Cid. Let Alexandria handle this matter now..." She placed a hand on his back and led him to the royal quarters. Before he could
protest, she sat him on his bed and started to leave. Within moments, he was asleep.
"Thank you for doing this, Garnet. My husband just doesn't know when to quit."
"I know. Uncle Cid's always been like this. Sometimes it takes a whole army just to make him say 'no' to something..." She shook her head. "but don't worry about Lindblum. Things should be cleared up by the time he awakens."
"What do you plan on doing?"
"Sometimes people feel more at ease when they are far away from the source of their troubles."
"How do you hope to accomplish that? We've tried keeping them separated. It never works."
"Yes, but what if they were separated in a different land? It's the engineers, innkeepers, and merchants who've gone on strike, am I correct?"
"Yes, but..."
"And the innkeepers and merchants side with one another?"
"Yes..."
"Then it's simple. I'll take all of the engineers back to Alexandria."
"But what..."
"That way, the others can clearly see that it takes a full team to operate a city. It shouldn't take them too long, either. Especially with all of the people that need the engineers for airships."
"I suppose that might work... we haven't tried it yet, and we've tried just about everything else. You have my blessing, Garnet, and I hope everything works out."
"Thank you. Lindblum should be back to normal in a few days at most. Where have you kept the engineers?"
"They were all sent down to the theatre district."
"Yeah, but she ain't got nuthin on the queen of Alexandria! That woman is h-o-t, hot!"
"You're married!"
"So?"
Beatrix awoke to the sound of men's laughter. She groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position. Light shone in through a few of the cracks and she regretted choosing the top bunk.
'How long did I sleep?' She wondered. 'Those men weren't there before...'
Leaning to see out the entrance, she noticed that the clock they had placed in the theatre district only a few weeks prior to her arrival read 2:45.
'It's already afternoon? The Queen must have come and gone...'
With that assured, she climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed, straightening her hair with a gloved hand. Her eyes tried to adjust as she stepped outside.
"Well, what have we here..." A man began.
"A pretty broad, from the looks of it..." Another man, covered in oil, answered. "Say, sweety, I'm not married. How about you and me hitch an airship right outta' here?"
Beatrix rolled her eyes before turning to the man. "Well, I'd certainly love to, but I've been told they aren't letting any airships through, save those belonging to royals. I suppose you're out of luck." She smiled, letting the last line sink in. The other man fell over with laughter.
"Shut up!" He said. In an instant, the two men began brawling. She scanned the area, noticing that most of the men who now littered it were covered in dirt and oil. All engineers.
'They must have sent them over here to separate the groups...' She turned the corner and her breath caught in her throat. Standing atop the platform, thanking the man who had directed the air cab, stood Queen Garnet, and not a few feet away from her, Captain Steiner.
'What are they doing here?!' She wondered frantically, disappearing around the corner and trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. She pulled her hood closer about her face, and turned to one of the men.
"Do you know who I am?" She asked.
"Of course! You're a beautiful woman just waiting for me to sweep her off her feet."
She should've expected a dumb answer. None of those engineers would know who she was, even if she were back in her old clothes. It was useless. She had to endure it. She resolved not to talk, nor to do anything that might rouse suspicion.
"No... wait... that's not it..." The man continued. "You're an angel, sent from heaven to grace me with your loving presence, and you..."
With his abrupt stop, Beatrix could openly guess what had happened. Though she had her back turned to her, she knew Garnet had made her appearance.
"Qu....qu...." The oil-covered man began.
"Queen Garnet!" Another finished before sinking to his knees in what Beatrix assumed was false respect, just a cover for textbook charm.
"Oh, please. Get up! Not even the citizens of Alexandria go so far!" Dagger said, blushing.
"Of course, ma'am! I mean... My Queen... I mean... Beautiful Woman..."
"You will address the queen of Alexandria with more respect!" Steiner said, drawing his sword.
"There's no need for that, Captain. Flattery isn't cause for a crime."
The man grinned widely and Steiner gave Dagger a protective 'but I'm here to do a job, so let me do it' look. All the while, Beatrix's gaze darted from Dagger to Steiner and back again. So far, neither had said a word about her, but she doubted they had even noticed her yet.
"Now, down to the reason I am here. Regent Cid has mentioned something about a strike?"
"Yes, ma'am! All of us engineers, the merchants, and the innkeepers, though neither of them have any reason to
for it!"
"Well, we can discuss that later. How would you all like a free vacation for your hard work?"
An uproar of "Yeah!" filled the large crowd.
"How does Alexandria sound?"
Another loud cheer.
"Good. Regent Cid has allowed my airship to come and go as it pleases, so if you all wouldn't mind joining me..."
There was no need to ask, Dagger knew, as the men lined up by the air cab. It would probably take two or more to get them all over to the air docks. A few people remained, two older men, who had been asleep through the entire ordeal, and a young woman. Steiner approached them, and at the sound of his booming voice, the men instantly awoke and followed their peers to air cab. The woman, however, pretended not to notice.
"I didn't think there were any woman engineers..." Steiner began.
Beatrix fumed. It was just like him. She wanted to argue that woman could damn well be whatever they chose, but instead, she pretended not to hear him and stared off into space.
"Ma'am?"
"She's with me!" Beatrix cringed at the sound of the oil-covered engineer's voice. In an instant, he was by her side, an arm draped around her. She would have pulled away, but if she could surpass a much more awkward situation, she was willing to play along. "Wherever I go, she goes, isn't that right honey?"
Beatrix smiled and nodded, keeping her eyes downcast and her head down slightly so that her hood covered as much of her face as possible. Steiner didn't seem content in just letting them be, but he did so, nonetheless, and as soon as he had disappeared, Beatrix pushed the man away from her.
"A tough woman, huh?" He chuckled. "Just the way I like 'em!"
Beatrix cringed as she waited for the second air cab. Many of the men had offered to give up their seats for her on the first, but she had refused. She couldn't risk blowing her cover by sitting in a small car with both Garnet and Steiner.
The second air cab arrived shortly after the first had departed, and she hurried onto it, putting as much space and as many men as she could between herself and the oil-covered engineer.
AN: More to come! Keep those comments coming, too! They make my day! ^____^