Peaceful times... though it's not QUITE as bad as the previous chapter. oo; Anyhow, here are some events that occur after quite some time passes...
---
Time was cruel to all Black Waltzes, showing no mercy towards their youth. Three was no exception, and though he had not lived for a long time... perhaps only a few months... he did not appear much younger than Kuja himself. His wings had grown large and beautiful, held gracefully arched and proud, and his eyes were narrower, and a darker red. Perhaps it had come of glaring at the guards so often when they fetched him for less frequent, less significant battles. He had managed to make most of the female soldiers perfectly petrified of him, at least.
He hardly cared, personally. Humans were of very little interest to them, the stupid creatures they were. They were good only for supplying him with more books, those blessed tomes of wisdom. He had discovered the beauty of literature quite some time ago, when he learned to associate sound with script, and script with concept. The gates of knowledge then opened to him, and he set out on a quest to feed his insatiable desire to learn.
Three had been given a short period of time each day to raid Alexandria's libraries and return with as many books as he could read in his hours of free time. Kuja insisted he stay in his room when he was not on those short, permitted trips or in the dungeons, so that he could be kept track of.
He must believe I would attempt to escape if I was left to roam freely. I would indeed like to seek adventure, but it would be sheer lunacy to run off with no notion of where I was headed to.
That was how humans were, always doubtful of the mental capacity of others. But was Kuja even a human? His pressing soul felt different than those of the foolish guards and the nervous people robed in white that still occasionally came to watch him fight... but he, too, doubted the Waltz's intelligence. Their foolery disgusted him.
He directed his attention back to the book. After ravenously reading through most of the texts dealing with history in the library, he had moved on to the thickest novels and manuscripts.
Sadly, they all end the same... Sue leaps into Bob's arms, they declare their love and they live together, until the end of their time... Sickening.
The presence of a human disturbed his peace, and he looked up, irritated. He became less so when he recognized the guard by the waves of golden hair cascading down her back and the amiable nature of her step. Still, he was uncomfortable with another creature in the small room, and would have preferred her to come when he was not there. She did not seem to notice his aversion, however, and began to sweep vigorously with a long-handled broom. He stared at her, hoping that would convince her to leave, but she kept her head down.
The guard happened across a pile of works on the floor that Three had not managed to fit into the crowded bookshelf. She stooped to pick these up, and glanced over the covers, then placed them neatly on the bed. She kept her eyes averted, but spoke. "I didn't know you read these things."
He did not respond, keeping his look steady and cold.
She glanced up briefly, smiling slightly, then resumed cleaning, a subdued brightness in her actions. She continued. "I would never have expected that the small, adorable little lump of feathers and robes they brought in one day would someday be into classical tragedy and such." That little smile grew even more kind and soft. "No offense."
"None taken," he responded, emotionless, studying her. He had never seen anyone behave so contentedly since an encounter with a potted fern. Had there been a bit more room in the chamber, her presence might have helped to spread that content. He absentmindedly noted that her face was rather easy on the eyes, as well.
"That's good." She straightened, adjusting her helmet. "Do you need me to get anything?"
"No."
"All right." She picked up her broom and headed for the door, pausing before she left to glance back and smile yet again. "Good luck."
He shook his head as she closed the door quietly behind her. She was too giving with those smiles, too eager to hand out little pieces of her soul to those who would greedily take them. Despite her favorable brand of respect for him, and her warmth, she was truly not that different from the other soldiers.
"Human fools," he muttered bitterly, before returning to the solemn pages.
Kuja smiled with satisfaction as the beast reared back in pain, collapsing into a heap of scorched and scarred flesh. Black Waltz no. 3 dropped to his knees, panting, leaning on his staff, but largely unscathed from the battle. Three was controlled and logical, and the brute strength the monsters relied on could not combat the power of the Waltz's focused strength... With each fight Kuja witnessed the weapon grow more and more powerful, more and more ready for a battle with a different kind of enemy.
Arrangements for the next battle were all well taken care of. He had consulted the queen about the training of this deadly creation, and she had agreed to help supply opponents for the tool of destruction to sharpen his abilities on. Kuja had full confidence everything would go well; the Waltz was skilled with black magic, and handy with that bladed staff... he doubted there would be a problem, even if the target was extremely well-trained.
Ah, yes, Three was his greatest creation by far. So powerful, fast-growing, intellectual. Stable. Everything he had wanted to instill in one of his black mage soldiers had come together within this magnificent weapon. He would have to do his best to keep from leaping into things too quickly, and to plod along with training until Three was ready to carry out his dark purpose.
"It truly is regrettable that he belongs to that elephant lady," Kuja whispered, watching the guards move forward to open the gates. The corpse of the monster began to stink terribly, and the silver warrior grimaced, turning to leave.
The Waltz had lost all trappings of innocence, retaining only a subdued curiosity that was satisfied with knowledge, and gained a bitterness towards humanity that Kuja could immediately utilize. Hopefully, his timing had been correct, and Three was indeed at the proper stage for this, psychologically ready to move closer to becoming the weapon existing purely for destruction...
---
No, no, none of THAT happens. oO;;
Please review! It'll make me happy and will probably motivate me to write Chapter 5 sooner, which has considerably more action. ' '; Arigato.