Forever Means Always
(Part 2)
By Alria
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or settings in this story.
Author's Note: Okay, it's me again. Uhonly one review on the first part since I last checkedbut at least I know someone's reading it. Like I said before, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. I know the first part had nothing to do w/ the summary, but it was like the prologue. This part will probably make a bit more sense. Enjoy!!!
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The ferrymen gently rowed his small boat down the canal, causing small ripples in the clear water. He hardly seemed to notice his passenger crouching in the back, blue eyes gazing painfully behind him at Alexandria castle. The young man's eyes were red from crying, and dried tears were plastered on his cheeks. Whatever this traveler had left behind, it was certainly something important.
The two silent travelers moved slowly through Alexandria. Finally, when they reached the bank of the town, Zidane stepped quietly out of the boat, and without looking back at the castle, continued to walk towards the town's gate. People stopped and bowed when they saw him walk past, but he never turned to look and walked past them. Being viewed as the future king wasn't normally so hardbut the bows and the courtesies made him think of Dagger, and that was too hard to bare. Leaving her was bad enough; being reminded of it was unbearable.
At the quick pace he was going at, Zidane reached the town's gate within ten minutes. Looking at across the planes east of the capitol city, he saw exactly what he was looking for. There, engine running and propellers spinning, was the Hilda Garde 4. It was Cid's newest airship; his pride and joy. It had taken hours of deep persuasion before Cid had finally relented and allowed Zidane to use his precious baby. The ship was beautiful, perfect in every way. With this baby, Zidane was sure he would be back in Dagger's loving arms within the week.
Suddenly, one of the crewmen ran out of the ship. Seeing Zidane, he smiled and hurried over. The man bowed so low his nose seemed in danger of scratching the ground, and he didn't move until Zidane insisted he stand up. Now that he was standing, Zidane could see the man's wide grin. What an odd fellow
"Hello! You most be his majesty, am I right?" the man asked happily. Zidane sighed. Titles and royalty could get so annoying.
"I prefer Zidane. But yeah, that's me," he answered. The crewman nodded.
"She's ready to go when you are, my lord. To Burmecia, correct?" he asked. Zidane nodded.
"Yup. Burmecia," he said. The crewman nodded.
"Are you ready, then?" he asked. Zidane smiled.
"Of course. The sooner we get going, the sooner we'll be home again," he said. The crewman chuckled.
"Exactly, my lord. Well, let's get going, shall we?" he said cheerfully, and then began walking back to the ship, Zidane following close behind.
Once inside the Hilda Garde 4, Zidane marveled at just how stunning the ship really was. Everything was polished and shining; even the floor panels were spotless. Every seat had a velvet cushion, and the steering wheel was made of the most beautiful oak wood Zidane had ever set eyes on. At seeing all this, Zidane couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. He was used to sleeping on streets and being in the company of cut-throats and kidnappersnot standing here in such a magnanimous atmosphere. Zidane shook his head. Royalty definitely took some getting used to.
Suddenly, Zidane felt the ship rumble beneath him. He smiled. Well, the captain certainly didn't waste any time getting things going. Zidane quickly rushed up to the nearest window and peered out. The castle Alexandria was slowly shrinking beneath him, becoming less visible by the second.
"Oh, Dagger," he whispered. "I'll only be gone for a little while, and then I'll hold you so tight it will seem like no more then an hour since we were last together."
The great airship soared high above the trees as it made it's way towards the castle city of Burmercia. As they flew, Zidane began to think about the letter he had received from Freya about two weeks before. It said that a strange beast had been spotted near where Cleyra used to be. The monster was huge, and Freya had insisted that he come immediately. Freya was a sensible person, and could easily take care of herself. If she had sent such an urgent letterthings must be bad. It was his duty to get rid of this monster. If it came to AlexandriaZidane didn't want to think about it. He couldn't let that happen.
Suddenly, from out of no where, the ship lurched dramatically. It felt as if something had just rammed into it. Zidane leapt to his feet. What was going on!?
With out warning, the ship was hit again, but this time the ship began to spin out of control. Zidane was knocked to his feet form the blow. He could here the crewmen shouting at one another and screaming. Zidane, trying to catch his balance in the spinning ship, wobbled over to the window. And there, sneering malevolently back at him, was the vilest creature he had ever seen. Its red, beady eyes stared at him; its green, gnarly hair blew in the wind. It looked somewhat like a womanthough much more hideous. The creature was beating its large black wings to keep in flight. And then, with one final, heinous cackle, it raced towards the ship.
Its head knocked the ship with such impact that one of the wings snapped off. Zidane tumbled to the floor, helpless. Suddenly, a wooden table flew off its perch and landed heavily on Zidane's arm. He cried out in pain as the table twisted his arm until he was sure it was broken.
Zidane closed his eyes, trying to block the pain and the terror. And, miraculously, his thoughts turned to Dagger. He saw the teary-eyes smile she had given him when he had proposed to her nearly two months before. Oh, he could never forget how happy he was when she has said yes.' Dagger, he thought, I don't care what happens. I will come back to you no matter what. I'll search foreverand always. I love you.
These were Zidane's final thoughts before he blacked out completely as the ship crashed into the dusty ground below.
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Good? Bad? Please review. It would mean the world to me. Did Zidane survive the crash? What was that hideous monster? Find out in chapter three!!!