Disclaimer: Again, Final Fantasy IX belongs to Squaresoft, not me.
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Zidane's Treasure, Garnet's Love
by Krile
(part two)
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Queen Garnet sat in her room, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked so beautiful in her silver gown, with her crown blending nicely with her dark brown hair. Garnet just stared at herself, not moving a bit. Slowly, a tear escaped her right eye and trickled down her face. Garnet sniffed, and sat down in her seat by the window, her arms folded in her lap.
Suddenly, a knock came at her door, startling Garnet out of her daydream. She sighed and said, "Come in."
The door opened slowly, and Captain Adelbert Steiner walked in, bowing before the queen.
"Pri-, I mean, Your Highness, it is getting late. You should get a good night's rest before tomorrow, when you'll be making your speech."
Garnet turned and glared at the knight. "Steiner, I'm not a child anymore. Don't treat me like one, please."
Steiner, still kneeling, looked up at Garnet. "But Princess, it is my duty to protect you. If anything should happen, and you didn't get enough rest..."
Garnet sighed and looked away. "Fine, I will prepare for bed. You may go now."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Steiner stood up, bowed towards Garnet one last time, and left the room.
The queen continued to look down at her hands, while more tears formed at the corners of her eyes. To stop the tears from coming, Garnet closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to open them again.
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Remember Zidane, you're not alone.
I'll always be by your side. Always. No matter what.
After all we've been through...
You've always protected us. And we've protected you as well.
I never want to leave you.
Zidane... I love you...
Zidane...
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Garnet woke up with a start, realizing she just had a dream.
A strange dream, in fact. What did it mean?
Garnet stood up from her chair and headed towards the other side of the room. She sat on her bed, still thinking about Zidane. The queen rested her head on her soft pillow, while a few tears escaped her eyes.
Garnet sighed. "Why am I so sad all of a sudden? What is it about - AHHHH!"
Garnet couldn't help but scream a little, as she heard a thumping sound outside her bedroom window.
Garnet began to breathe rapidly, grabbing hold of her silver rod next to her bed. Slowly, she crept towards the window, raising the rod above her head.
A silhouette of a person made it's way in front of the window, being careful not to slip off. Garnet was about to let the person have it when she noticed something twitching behind the figure.
A tail...
Garnet lowered her arms, squinting at the figure basked in the moonlight. "Zidane...? Is that you?"
The window opened and the figure stumbled inside. The small light in the room revealed her intruder to be none other than Zidane Tribal, thief and former member of Tantalus.
Zidane glanced at Garnet and gave her a lopsided grin, blushing a little. "Uh, hi..."
Garnet just stared at him incredulously. "Zidane... what are you doing here? How did you get here?"
"C'mon, you know as well as I do that I do this kind of thing for a living. Remember?"
Garnet just continued to stare at him, somehow both angry and thrilled at his sudden appearance. Zidane just gazed at the floor, feeling ashamed for coming.
What am I doing?
Zidane suddenly realized his mistake. He shouldn't have come. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, and moved his gaze back to the window. "I'm sorry... Your Highness...I just wanted to see if you were doing okay..." he trailed off.
Garnet sighed and sat down on her bed. "That's okay, Zidane. You may call me Dagger, like you usually do." She looked at Zidane and gave him a tiny smile.
Zidane smiled back, then frowned slightly. "Maybe I should go... Dagger. I should be heading back..."
Garnet was silent for a moment. "Alright then, if you really have to..." she replied, her voice cracking.
Zidane nodded. "Yeah... good luck, Dagger."
Zidane headed back towards the window, a pain of guilt washing over his body. Why did he have to come? It would only make everyone mad, including his friends, who were probably waiting for him back at Treno. Zidane just didn't know what to think anymore. Everything seemed way too complicated.
Suddenly, Zidane heard something from behind him. A sniffle. He turned around quickly and noticed that Garnet... was sobbing in her pillow. Shocked, Zidane rushed to Garnet's side. Why was she crying? He needed to find out.
"Dagger? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
Hearing his voice, Garnet raised her head from her pillow, her face streaked with tears. She lifted her hand and brushed Zidane's cheek. "Zidane...please stay..."
Zidane stared into Garnet's deep brown eyes, fixated on her depressed face. "Dagger... but what about...?"
"Please, Zidane... please..."
Seeing his Dagger upset made Zidane's heart ache, moreso than when he was in the Alexandrian bar earlier. He couldn't just leave her there like that, no matter what the consequences. Zidane sat down on her bed, touching Garnet's shoulder lightly. When Garnet realized that he was staying, she threw herself into his embrace, wrapping her arms around Zidane's neck. Zidane, not knowing what to do, just held her while she cried on his shoulder.
---
"Where is he?"
Eiko Carol, still in a bad mood from earlier in the evening, stomped up to Amarant, who looked less than pleased to see the little girl.
"Sheesh!" Eiko continued. "I thought Zidane was coming! Where is he? Do you know, Amarant?"
Amarant, not wanting to deal with Eiko, remained silent.
"Aren't you going to say anything, you big bully?" Eiko demanded.
Amarant glanced at the girl with disgust. "Leave me alone..."
Eiko put her hands on her hips, just as Vivi was walking towards them. "Fine then. I'll bet I know where he is anyway. Not that I care..." She turned towards Vivi. "C'mon, show me around this place!"
Vivi looked startled for a moment. "M-me?"
"Yeah, you! A pretty young lady such as myself shouldn't be walking around this town all by herself. Let's go!" Eiko replied, dragging Vivi along with her.
Freya, who had been listening to Eiko's ranting from a distance, chuckled to herself. "Zidane...I just hope you know what you're doing," she said to herself, walking away.
to be continued...