Notes: Garnet, Zidane, Alexandria, and all other characters and locations originally mentioned
in Final Fantasy IX belong to Squaresoft. All other characters and locations belong to myself.
Questions, comments, and constructive critisicm are more than welcome.
A Fine Mess - Chapter 3
by Makou
"Mother, will we get to Alexandria soon?" asked young Cadrin of his mother. He grasped the
railing of the airship Ananova and looked down to the landscape below, which sported many a
tree, river, and mountain. Cadrin could even see a small village in the distance. "I want to see
father again."
"Be patient, Cadrin. We have an hour to go," said his mother Finnevere, looking rather
stern under her fancy broad-rimmed hat. Her red-brown hair was held tightly in a bun and she had
stern dark red eyes. She wore a light green dress with white ruffles and a humongus skirt and a
small umbrella was clutched in her slender, white gloved hands.
"I'll go take another look around, then," Cadrin said, turning away from the railing. "Is
that alright with you, mother?"
"Go ahead. Mind you don't bother any of the other passengers, though."
"Yes, mother," he said before walking away.
Cadrin was eleven years old, although he was turning twelve next month. In stark contrast
to his father, he was short for his age and rather on the skinny side. He had his mother's
reddish-brown hair and his father's brown eyes which, suprisingly enough, did not look as if he
were dreading the worst. He was dressed in a very expensive looking gold-trimmed, navy blue
overcoat and matching pants, plus a pair of fine black dress shoes. He also had the traditional
family tail, which waved in the air constantly and had inadvertantly caused many an accident
concerning breakable objects in high places.
As Cadrin walked towards the bow of the ship, he could hear an elderly woman lecturing
someone. When he could finally see the woman, he saw that it was an equally elderly man she was
giving an earful to. *They're probably a married couple,* Cadrin thought. *I'd best not disturb
them.* He turned away back towards his mother, but before he could take another step, he heard a
very interesting snippet of their conversation.
"Stop blubbering, Adelbert! The boy's not going to hate you forever for accidently
elbowing you!" the woman said, sounding awfully like Cadrin's mother.
"But... But... How will I be able to face her Majesty having been so rude to her
grandson?" Cadrin saw that the man looked very distraught and was waving his arms about in a
very dramatic and exaggerated fashion. He also realized, after a moment's reflection, that the
man was refering to him. But how did this man know who he was?
"The boy in all likelyhood has already forgotten about it, so forget about it already,
will you?"
"But, but, but!"
"Adelbert!" The woman glared at the distressed old man. Slowly but surely, the man stopped
the waving of the arms and merely looked like a kicked puppy. "Look, if it makes you feel better
why don't you go apologize to him?"
"But how could I face him...?"
"Oh, don't start that again!" snapped the old woman. "Now go find that boy, apologize to
him, and stay calm for the rest of the trip!"
"Yes, Beatrix," the man said in a hen-pecked tone of voice.
The woman turned her head in Cadrin's direction and Cadrin could see a smirk cross her
face. "Thankfully, the 'young prince' has already found you. What good manners to seek you out
just when you needed to speak with him!"
"P-P-Prince Cadrin!" the man known as Adelbert stuttered, mustering up the best bow that
he could with his back. "I-I-I-I..." Beatrix rolled her eye; now that she was faced towards him,
Cadrin could see that one of her eyes was covered with an eyepatch. He wondered idly what had
happened to it.
"Excuse me, but how do you know me?" Cadrin queried politely.
"The prince doesn't remember me!" Adelbert bawled.
"Adelbert," said Beatrix wearily. "The last time he saw you was when he was three years
old. I doubt he would remember you."
"You wouldn't know my grandmother, would you?" asked Cadrin.
"Know her!" Adelbert looked positively stricken. "Beatrix and I were only the commanders
of the Alexandrian Army and the Pluto Knights respectively! I should hope that we would know
her!"
Cadrin tried to think. Adelbert and Beatrix? Where had he heard these names? Could
Adelbert possibly mean...
"Would your family name happen to be Steiner?" he asked. It was as good a guess as any.
"He remembers!" cheered Adelbert. "Did you hear that, Beatrix? He actually remembers!"
"Adelbert, what did I tell you about jumping to conclusions?" said Beatrix in the same
weary voice.
"That I shouldn't," said Adelbert dejectedly.
Beatrix mumbled something, which Cadrin strained to hear. It sounded suspiciously like,
"Over fifty years I've known him and he's still doing it..." Out loud, she said, "Ahem.
Adelbert, wasn't there something you were planning on doing?"
A look of horror passed Adelbert's face as he remembered why he was so worried in the
first place. Running up to Cadrin, he gave another impressive bow. "Please forgive me for my
incredible rudeness earlier! I did not mean to elbow you and I wanted to apologize to you as
soon as it happened, but you had already gone before I had opened my mouth! Please, please
forgive me!"
"Oh, it's quite alright," said Cadrin. "I don't even remember what happened." Truth was,
he did and it had hurt, but he didn't want Adelbert getting ever more hysterical.
"Thank you, Prince Cadrin! You are truly as virtuous and kind as your esteemed
grandmother!" He was still bowing.
"There, you see?" said Beatrix matter-of-factly. "You didn't have anything to worry about
at all. Now will you calm down?"
Then they all heard a crash from inside the airship. Adelbert stood bolt upright, Cadrin
jumped, and Beatrix merely looked in the general direction of the crash.
"What was that?" said Cadrin.
"Terrorists!" cried Adelbert. Beatrix said nothing.
Then they all heard a voice from within...
"Toby, Jacky, Aki, everyone, calm down!" cried the voice. The trio outside could also hear
several younger sounding voices screaming and making a ruckus. Then the door burst open.
"That voice!" said Adelbert in amazement. "It couldn't possibly be..."
A green-robed Black Mage was knocked outside, followed by several tiny Black Mages in
a multitude of coloured robes.
"Calm down, everyone! Get back indoors! Please?" said the Black Mage. "I'll get you all
plush chocobos in Alexandia if you settle down!" The children continued rough-housing. "Please?"
"Excuse me, sir!" said Adelbert to the Black Mage.
"Yes? Could you hold on for a moment? I'm kind of busy..." the Black Mage said just before
his leather steepled hat was knocked off of his head. "Apologize for that, Benny!"
"May I just ask you for your name? Full name, that is."
"Kory Ornitier. Demi! Hoshi! Stop fighting this instant!" He pulled apart two of the
little Black Mages to prevent them from ripping each other apart.
Adelbert merely stood there dumbfounded. Cadrin wondered why.
in Final Fantasy IX belong to Squaresoft. All other characters and locations belong to myself.
Questions, comments, and constructive critisicm are more than welcome.
A Fine Mess - Chapter 3
by Makou
"Mother, will we get to Alexandria soon?" asked young Cadrin of his mother. He grasped the
railing of the airship Ananova and looked down to the landscape below, which sported many a
tree, river, and mountain. Cadrin could even see a small village in the distance. "I want to see
father again."
"Be patient, Cadrin. We have an hour to go," said his mother Finnevere, looking rather
stern under her fancy broad-rimmed hat. Her red-brown hair was held tightly in a bun and she had
stern dark red eyes. She wore a light green dress with white ruffles and a humongus skirt and a
small umbrella was clutched in her slender, white gloved hands.
"I'll go take another look around, then," Cadrin said, turning away from the railing. "Is
that alright with you, mother?"
"Go ahead. Mind you don't bother any of the other passengers, though."
"Yes, mother," he said before walking away.
Cadrin was eleven years old, although he was turning twelve next month. In stark contrast
to his father, he was short for his age and rather on the skinny side. He had his mother's
reddish-brown hair and his father's brown eyes which, suprisingly enough, did not look as if he
were dreading the worst. He was dressed in a very expensive looking gold-trimmed, navy blue
overcoat and matching pants, plus a pair of fine black dress shoes. He also had the traditional
family tail, which waved in the air constantly and had inadvertantly caused many an accident
concerning breakable objects in high places.
As Cadrin walked towards the bow of the ship, he could hear an elderly woman lecturing
someone. When he could finally see the woman, he saw that it was an equally elderly man she was
giving an earful to. *They're probably a married couple,* Cadrin thought. *I'd best not disturb
them.* He turned away back towards his mother, but before he could take another step, he heard a
very interesting snippet of their conversation.
"Stop blubbering, Adelbert! The boy's not going to hate you forever for accidently
elbowing you!" the woman said, sounding awfully like Cadrin's mother.
"But... But... How will I be able to face her Majesty having been so rude to her
grandson?" Cadrin saw that the man looked very distraught and was waving his arms about in a
very dramatic and exaggerated fashion. He also realized, after a moment's reflection, that the
man was refering to him. But how did this man know who he was?
"The boy in all likelyhood has already forgotten about it, so forget about it already,
will you?"
"But, but, but!"
"Adelbert!" The woman glared at the distressed old man. Slowly but surely, the man stopped
the waving of the arms and merely looked like a kicked puppy. "Look, if it makes you feel better
why don't you go apologize to him?"
"But how could I face him...?"
"Oh, don't start that again!" snapped the old woman. "Now go find that boy, apologize to
him, and stay calm for the rest of the trip!"
"Yes, Beatrix," the man said in a hen-pecked tone of voice.
The woman turned her head in Cadrin's direction and Cadrin could see a smirk cross her
face. "Thankfully, the 'young prince' has already found you. What good manners to seek you out
just when you needed to speak with him!"
"P-P-Prince Cadrin!" the man known as Adelbert stuttered, mustering up the best bow that
he could with his back. "I-I-I-I..." Beatrix rolled her eye; now that she was faced towards him,
Cadrin could see that one of her eyes was covered with an eyepatch. He wondered idly what had
happened to it.
"Excuse me, but how do you know me?" Cadrin queried politely.
"The prince doesn't remember me!" Adelbert bawled.
"Adelbert," said Beatrix wearily. "The last time he saw you was when he was three years
old. I doubt he would remember you."
"You wouldn't know my grandmother, would you?" asked Cadrin.
"Know her!" Adelbert looked positively stricken. "Beatrix and I were only the commanders
of the Alexandrian Army and the Pluto Knights respectively! I should hope that we would know
her!"
Cadrin tried to think. Adelbert and Beatrix? Where had he heard these names? Could
Adelbert possibly mean...
"Would your family name happen to be Steiner?" he asked. It was as good a guess as any.
"He remembers!" cheered Adelbert. "Did you hear that, Beatrix? He actually remembers!"
"Adelbert, what did I tell you about jumping to conclusions?" said Beatrix in the same
weary voice.
"That I shouldn't," said Adelbert dejectedly.
Beatrix mumbled something, which Cadrin strained to hear. It sounded suspiciously like,
"Over fifty years I've known him and he's still doing it..." Out loud, she said, "Ahem.
Adelbert, wasn't there something you were planning on doing?"
A look of horror passed Adelbert's face as he remembered why he was so worried in the
first place. Running up to Cadrin, he gave another impressive bow. "Please forgive me for my
incredible rudeness earlier! I did not mean to elbow you and I wanted to apologize to you as
soon as it happened, but you had already gone before I had opened my mouth! Please, please
forgive me!"
"Oh, it's quite alright," said Cadrin. "I don't even remember what happened." Truth was,
he did and it had hurt, but he didn't want Adelbert getting ever more hysterical.
"Thank you, Prince Cadrin! You are truly as virtuous and kind as your esteemed
grandmother!" He was still bowing.
"There, you see?" said Beatrix matter-of-factly. "You didn't have anything to worry about
at all. Now will you calm down?"
Then they all heard a crash from inside the airship. Adelbert stood bolt upright, Cadrin
jumped, and Beatrix merely looked in the general direction of the crash.
"What was that?" said Cadrin.
"Terrorists!" cried Adelbert. Beatrix said nothing.
Then they all heard a voice from within...
"Toby, Jacky, Aki, everyone, calm down!" cried the voice. The trio outside could also hear
several younger sounding voices screaming and making a ruckus. Then the door burst open.
"That voice!" said Adelbert in amazement. "It couldn't possibly be..."
A green-robed Black Mage was knocked outside, followed by several tiny Black Mages in
a multitude of coloured robes.
"Calm down, everyone! Get back indoors! Please?" said the Black Mage. "I'll get you all
plush chocobos in Alexandia if you settle down!" The children continued rough-housing. "Please?"
"Excuse me, sir!" said Adelbert to the Black Mage.
"Yes? Could you hold on for a moment? I'm kind of busy..." the Black Mage said just before
his leather steepled hat was knocked off of his head. "Apologize for that, Benny!"
"May I just ask you for your name? Full name, that is."
"Kory Ornitier. Demi! Hoshi! Stop fighting this instant!" He pulled apart two of the
little Black Mages to prevent them from ripping each other apart.
Adelbert merely stood there dumbfounded. Cadrin wondered why.