Author's Note: Yes, I don't believe it either. . . Nearly a whole month with no update. . . You can all pelt me with rocks now. . .
Anyway, I don't think that my last couple of chapters have been up to par. For some reason, they're not as good (in my opinion) as the rest of my chapters. I'd like to apologize for that, but I think it's because of all the stories that have been running rampant in my mind. The list so far includes a Final Fantasy VII Alternate Universe fic, another Slayers fic, another Final Fantasy Tactics fic (once again centering around Agrias), the sequel for this fic "I'm Myself First" (yes Justin-san, I'm working on it ^_^), and last but not least, a Final Fantasy IX fanfic that has been in my head since I beat the game last month. I already have the prologue and most of chapter one for that one written, but it still needs some work. So be on the lookout for my FFIX fic, which will be entitled "Deeper Than Friendship". Cheesy title, neh? =)
*Disclaimer*: Xenogears belongs to Squaresoft. Who else would own such a great RPG?
Chapter Fourteen
Margie had never known that dawn in a land blanketed by snow could be so beautiful. The sudden warmth from the sun barely peeking over the horizon felt so completely wonderful on you after a few minutes of standing in the freezing cold that came with the dark. And Margie hadn't felt the warmth of the sun in nearly two weeks. So she completely enjoyed it.
She ran around in the small space of the oversized balcony (which she had now figured out was a part of the roof) as the snow fell in gentle flakes around her and Bart aimed snowballs at her. She couldn't stop laughing as she dodged around them and tried to hit him with some of her own.
Now, this is what she had been waiting for; this complete abandon of royalty and duties, even if it was just for a few hours.
Margie giggled as one of her snowballs hit Bart directly on the chest. He looked up at her and grinned ferally as he saw her giggling and her flushed face, but before he could retaliate, she ran up to him and tackled him, once again forcing him to the ground like she had this morning.
He was trapped underneath her and she knew it; he could tell by the mischievous grin on her face. She reached down and effectively disarmed him by twining her gloved fingers with his, making him drop his snowballs. She was a cunnning one, he admitted. Then she leaned down and kissed him fully, her lips warm against their otherwise cold surroundings.
Very cunning, indeed. . .
When she pulled away, she gave him such a soft look. It was happy, but at the same time vulnerable.
"Tell me again, Bart? Please? Tell me what you told me earlier," she murmured, laying her head down on his chest.
Smiling, Bart began playing with her silky stands of hair and told her what she wanted to hear. "I love you, Margie. I always have and I always will."
He could feel her breathe in shakily, and her fingers slipped out of his so she could wrap her arms around his neck. When she glanced up at him, her face was serenely happy; slightly flushed from the running and the cold and the sudden surge of emotion. Her eyes were a soft sapphire and he could see the snowflakes that had caught on her hair and eyelashes glimmer slightly as the sun began shining their way.
"I love you, too, Bart," she said with a more assured smile. "With all my heart."
And even though they were lying on the fresh snow, they didn't feel the cold as the day dawned brilliantly.
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Margie was surprised to find that Bart had not only planned on them watching the sunrise; he also had a breakfast packed for them. So, after playing around for a little while, they sat down and enjoyed a warm breakfast as they watched the sun slowly rise higher in the sky. Even the gentle flakes of snow had stopped falling. It was perfect.
Margie kept peeking at Bart out of the corner of her eyes as she sipped at her mug of cocoa. He had a slice of bacon in his hand and was chewing at it while he stared up at the sky. She once again marveled at what he had told her.
'I love you, Margie.'
That one small, little sentence; a grouping of four words that had left her breathless and had her heart jumping into her throat, threatening to choke her. He had finally told her. And she had finally been able to tell him what had been aching to get out of her heart for a while now.
Life could be so good, sometimes.
But when things were this good, something was bound to go wrong. Like, say, someone finally figuring out that she was gone. . .
The trap door burst open behind them and they both turned around to see a breathless looking Maison standing halfway out of the trap door.
Margie's "I-can-explain" defense immediately kicked in once she saw the stern look he gave them.
"So, this is where you've been," the retired Knight began in a deceptively mild tone.
Margie's memories of escaping lessons and then having to explain her disappearances to this man (who could be very SCARY when he was angry) all came back in a rush, making her stand up immediately. She also said the first thing that came to her mind.
"It was Bart's fault!" she sputtered, the way she had all throughout her early childhood. And of course, Bart immediately became defensive.
"Hey! That's not true! She wanted to escape long before I decided to give her a hand!"
Margie turned and glared at him, but Maison interrupted before they actually began exchaging insults the way they used to when they were kids.
"Miss Marguerite, do you know how long I've been searching for you, worried that you could've been hurt again?" Maison asked with a calm Margie didn't trust one bit.
She squirmed under his direct stare, and it felt like she was eight all over again, standing in front of him with an ashamed look on her face while she dripped lake water on his clean floor. It had been that time that Bart had double-dared her to jump into the Nisan lake from one of the taller hills and Maison had found them just in time to witness her leap and her dangerous landing in the freezing water below. She was sure that his poor heart had stopped beating for the long time she had stayed underwater to give Bart a scare. How was she supposed to know he had also been watching, frozen to his spot until she resurfaced?
And now that she stood in front of him once again, not dripping water, but still shivering a little in the cold, she felt like she had done the same stupid thing all over again. Sighing, she looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry I scared you, Maison," she apologized, just like she had on that day so long ago. But she looked up and gave him a direct stare. "But I'm not sorry about sneaking out. You guys were driving me nuts keeping me locked up in that room! Bart at least understood me enough to know that I needed to get out for a while."
Behind her, Bart grinned as he saw Maison hang his head a little in shame. She was _really_ cunning. . . To make even the rock-solid Maison break a little. He had never been able to do that, and he had lived with the old man for most of his eighteen years of life.
Margie reached out and gave Maison a hug once she saw how her words had affected him. "It's okay, Maison. I'll never scare you like that again, okay?"
The old Knight sighed and patted her back in affection. "Good, Miss Marguerite. It's just that when Miss Elhaym told me that you weren't in your room or in any of the other girls' rooms, I panicked."
Margie nodded against his shoulder. "Yes, Maison, I understand."
"Besides," Bart began as he stood up behind them. They both turned to him and he smiled, his gaze focusing on Margie. "You know I'll always be there for her, Maison. I wont let anything happen to her."
Margie smiled, bu her eyebrows raised a bit. "And who said I needed your protection, your Majesty? I can do just fine on my own, thank you very much."
Bart rolled his eyes heavenward and shook his head. "You've sure proved that. Let's see, you got kidnapped by that bastard Shakhan, then you got shot on the leg, and now you're still healing from your run in with that-"
"All right!" Margie interrupted, her sapphire eyes flashing in annoyance as Bart smirked. "You've proved your point! Now, shall you _escort_ me to my room to make sure that I don't suddenly slip and twist my pretty little ankle, or do I have to hire more bodyguards to keep my accident-proned self safe?"
The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to make Maison wince. But Bart merely gave her a mocking bow before Margie "hmph'ed" and began making her way down the trap door. The young King quickly went after her, and as Maison peeked through the trap door, he saw him catch up to her to continue their arguing. But he also saw the way their hands unconciously reached for each other. They didn't seem to notice, and so, they continued walking, holding hands while they bickered.
Shaking his head ruefully, Maison smiled in relief. Well, it was about time. . . For a while now, he had been thinking that he'd probably have to shove their arranged marriage in their faces before either of them finally told the other how they felt. It was good to know they had done it on their own.
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Margie was rudely woken up some time later by three different hands.
Opening her eyes sleepily, the Great Mother lifted her head from her pillow and tried to focus on the ones that had woken her up. She had fallen asleep on her stomach (out of habit now, not because of her back), so she had a hard time seeing who it was.
"What do you want?" she yawned as she lied back down and closed her eyes again. She had been having a nice dream; one where she and a golden-haired prince had been promising their undying love to the other under the roof of the Cathedral. . .
~Moving a little too fast, aren't we, my girl?~
"Margie! Wake up, would you!"
Margie opened her eyes once again, and this time she forced them to stay open. Eventually, her vision got clear enough that she was able to make out the pink of a very familiar dress about a foot in front of her.
"Maria?" she murmured sleepily.
"Yes, Maria. And Elly and Emeralda, too." The girl's voice sounded grumpy.
"Oh, isn't that nice," Margie yawned again, without much interest. Her brain was begging for sleep.
"Bart's here, too."
She immediately sat up and glanced around, only to see Elly grin mischievously from where she was sitting on the desk chair. "Kidding. Just needed to use that to wake you up."
Maria and Emeralda giggled while Margie scowled at them all in general. "Real funny," she muttered, but at the same time she began stretching. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and sighed when she saw the time. 7:46 a.m. They hadn't even let her sleep a whole hour. . .
"So, Margie," Maria began as she plopped down on the bed next to her. Emeralda lifted herself up on the desk, close to Elly and they all gave her curious looks. "Elly came looking for you earlier this morning so we could all have breakfast together, but we found the room empty. Care to share with us where you were so early?"
"I, um, well. . ." Margie trailed off as she all their knowing smiles. Damn it, had Maison been babbling it around? Not that she cared, but that _was_ supposed to have been private. It was. . . too special. . .
"So, what happened?" Elly urged, leaning forward. "We heard that you sneaked out with him last night, and that Maison found you guys on the roof. Doing what, we haven't cleared up yet, though."
Blushing all shades of red at what was implied, Margie managed to shake her head repeatedly as the others began giggling again.
"I, we, uh, didn't. . . no way. . . all a lie. . ." Margie took a deep breath and tried again. "We weren't doing anything. . ."
Emeralda gave her a smile as she fumbled. "We are just curious as to what happened. We know you didn't do anything like that."
"Oh, do we?" Maria asked, turning and grinning mischievously at Margie. "As far as I heard, Maison was pretty angry at you guys. Why exactly _was_ he so angry, hmm?"
With a growl, Margie picked up her pillow and swatted Maria with it on the face, causing the other girl to giggle some more. At the opposite side of her room, Elly stiffled her chuckle and shook her head.
"Hey, Margie, you know we're just teasing. Like Em said, we know you didn't do anything. But we _do_ want to find out what exactly happened between you two. If you're willing to share, that is."
Em and Maria nodded in agreement, the latter still straightening up her hair as she smiled.
Margie looked at each of them in turn, at their curious faces, and finally sighed. "Alright. But you guys are going to have to wait until I get dressed and we get down to the cafeteria. I'm still kinda hungry."
Okay, so Bart was right in that loving description he had made. She _did_ eat like a starved horse. . .
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Bart was tired. Very tired. Not only had he been forced to wake up at a time that no normal person would even consider "morning", but he hadn't been able to get much sleep after that. By the time he had gotten to his room after escorting Margie, it had already been seven a.m. and Maison was already there, waiting for him.
Maison had immediately gotten him busy with all kinds of things that needed doing for the meeting that would be held later that morning. Zephyr had finally decided that when Ramsus revealed his news, she wanted representatives from Kislev, Aveh, and Nisan there with her as well as her own Councilmen. They would all be allowed to listen to whatever it was that Kahr had to say.
So now, nearly an hour later, Bart was finally able to take a break from taking care of business. The Yggdrassil and her crew had to be looked out for after all, didn't they?
He went to the cafeteria to get himself a cup of coffee (or two, or three), when he saw Fei, Citan, and Billy sitting at one of the tables, enjoying a late breakfast. Shrugging, the ex-pirate decided to go over and try to relax.
"Morning, fellas," he muttered as he sank down in an empty chair.
The others looked up and greeted him back before returning to their breakfast. Not Fei, though. Fei gave him a knowing grin and clapped him on the back.
"So, how'd it go, my friend?" he asked before taking a sip of his mug. The other two looked up, Citan with a small smile and Billy with a questioning glance directed at him.
Bart's answer was to give an unintelligible grunt as his coffee was served by a waitress. The others waited expectantly while he swallowed some of the hot stuff down. Billy gave a low whistle as he saw Bart swallow the whole mug down in one gulp.
"Ahhhh." Putting the mug down, Bart signalled for another before finally turning to the others. Ctan was busy cutting his hotcakes, but Fei and Billy waited for him to begin talking, their breakfasts momentarily forgotten.
When Bart just grinned at them, Billy sighed and turned back to his food. "You know what, you don't have to tell us. It's none of our business anyway, and it's not like we'll _die_ by not knowing."
"Oh yeah? Tell that to them," Fei said, pointing over his shoulder to a table at the other end of the cafeteria where the girls were all crowded around one person. Bart didn't even have to guess who.
"Yeah, well we don't have to do that," Billy murmured.
"Yes, it's clear women share a lot more information than men do," Citan agreed with a dejected shrug.
"No need to go down to _their_ level," Fei sighed. "Besides, men don't gossip. . ."
They all looked at each other and nodded their heads slowly in agreement. Whatever had happened, Bart wasn't forced to say. It was a man thing.
But they couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to go over and sit at that other table and listen. . .
***************************************************
An hour later, everyone gathered at the large room Queen Zephyr had turned into a Council Hall. The room had all the essentials; a large table, maps on every free surface, and a large Headseat for Zephyr.
The ones present consisted of the Great Mother Marguerite Fatima of the Nisan Sect, King Bartholomew Fatima of the Aveh Kingdom, Ricardo Banderas as the representative of the Kislev Empire, the Hero Fei Fong Wong and the Lady Elhaym VanHouten, Shevat Councilmen Citan Uzuki and Jessiah Black, and finally Queen Zephyr herself.
They all sat down at their assigned seats around the table and waited expectantly for Kahran Ramsus, who came in last and sat down also. Once he did, Queen Zephyr stood up.
"My guests, let me thank you all for coming as representatives for your respective countries. We have all gathered here on the summons of Kahran Ramsus and after much consideration, I decided that in order for him to relay his message, you would all have to be present, too. Sir Kahran Ramsus, you have all of our attention. Please proceed with your message."
Kahr stood up and cleared his throat softly. Then he looked them all one by one in the eye before he began speaking. "I was sent as an envoy from the Solaris Empire. Once Deus was obliterated, I went back to my home country to see how things were being handled up there. I found out that with the destruction of the Ministry and the death of Emperor Kain, Solaris was in a state of confusion. But they were willing to learn. Once I cleared it up for them that the only way they would be able to move on was with the cooperation of the nations below, they held meeting after countless meeting. The question on everybodies lips was if they would finally be able to make peace with the people they had been feuding with for so long."
"It's possible," Rico suddenly spoke up. "If Kislev and Aveh were able to do it, why shouldn't Solaris?"
Kahr nodded in agreement. "Yes, well everything was weighed and considered. In the end, it was finally decided that yes, it was possible and so, they sent me here as an envoy to offer a Peace Treaty with Shevat. Since I've been involved with the whole incident that led up to the destruction of Deus, they thought I would be a good representative." The man's scowl and tone said otherwise. Margie guessed that he didn't believe that because he didn't consider himself worthy enough.
"Wait a minute, Ramsus," Fei said. "You said a Peace Treaty with Shevat. What about the rest of the nations?"
Kahr sighed and shook his head. "I am sorry to say that Solaris still doesn't consider the other nations, or 'land dwellers,' anything above animals as of yet. They are not perceived as equals. . ."
"Well, isn't that just dandy," Bart began heatedly. "They want to make peace, but they don't give a damn that more than one-third of the population _are_ 'land-dwellers!' How do they expect to move forward if they're still too mule-headed to see as as anything more than animals!?"
There were murmurs of agreement from the rest, until Zephyr spoke up. "I agree with what the King of Aveh has said. Do they even realize that without the support of their nations, life could become a living hell for them? Without the threat of the Ministry and their hold on humanity, Solaris is just another small obstacle that we need to overcome in order to bring real peace back to the world."
"That is what I tried to clarify for them, but they would not listen," Kahr sighed. "In any case, the Peace Treaty is for Shevat and I am to return to Solaris with whatever answer you give them."
"I will have to discuss this with my Councilmen and the representatives for the rest of the nations," Zephyr said, but it seemed her internal wheels were already turning. Margie could tell by the thoughtful look on her face. "In the meantime, you are all dismissed. Unless Sir Ramsus has anything else to share with us?"
"Just some advice. The Solaris Empire is still very much in turmoil. My suggestion to you all would be to push the Peace Treaty to cover _all_ of the nations, or otherwise you don't agree with it at all. Believe me, Solaris needs your cooperation and is afraid of what could happen if you do not agree and wage all out war with them. They know they'll be annihalated if you all allied yourselves against them, but they're still pompous enough that they sent this treat to Shevat only because they think you will be submissive and agree to it."
With that, he left them all to talk it over.
To be continued. . .
*Yes, people, I'm almost done with this. I think there is only one chapter left, two at the most. So, don't forget to review. ^_^*
Anyway, I don't think that my last couple of chapters have been up to par. For some reason, they're not as good (in my opinion) as the rest of my chapters. I'd like to apologize for that, but I think it's because of all the stories that have been running rampant in my mind. The list so far includes a Final Fantasy VII Alternate Universe fic, another Slayers fic, another Final Fantasy Tactics fic (once again centering around Agrias), the sequel for this fic "I'm Myself First" (yes Justin-san, I'm working on it ^_^), and last but not least, a Final Fantasy IX fanfic that has been in my head since I beat the game last month. I already have the prologue and most of chapter one for that one written, but it still needs some work. So be on the lookout for my FFIX fic, which will be entitled "Deeper Than Friendship". Cheesy title, neh? =)
*Disclaimer*: Xenogears belongs to Squaresoft. Who else would own such a great RPG?
Chapter Fourteen
Margie had never known that dawn in a land blanketed by snow could be so beautiful. The sudden warmth from the sun barely peeking over the horizon felt so completely wonderful on you after a few minutes of standing in the freezing cold that came with the dark. And Margie hadn't felt the warmth of the sun in nearly two weeks. So she completely enjoyed it.
She ran around in the small space of the oversized balcony (which she had now figured out was a part of the roof) as the snow fell in gentle flakes around her and Bart aimed snowballs at her. She couldn't stop laughing as she dodged around them and tried to hit him with some of her own.
Now, this is what she had been waiting for; this complete abandon of royalty and duties, even if it was just for a few hours.
Margie giggled as one of her snowballs hit Bart directly on the chest. He looked up at her and grinned ferally as he saw her giggling and her flushed face, but before he could retaliate, she ran up to him and tackled him, once again forcing him to the ground like she had this morning.
He was trapped underneath her and she knew it; he could tell by the mischievous grin on her face. She reached down and effectively disarmed him by twining her gloved fingers with his, making him drop his snowballs. She was a cunnning one, he admitted. Then she leaned down and kissed him fully, her lips warm against their otherwise cold surroundings.
Very cunning, indeed. . .
When she pulled away, she gave him such a soft look. It was happy, but at the same time vulnerable.
"Tell me again, Bart? Please? Tell me what you told me earlier," she murmured, laying her head down on his chest.
Smiling, Bart began playing with her silky stands of hair and told her what she wanted to hear. "I love you, Margie. I always have and I always will."
He could feel her breathe in shakily, and her fingers slipped out of his so she could wrap her arms around his neck. When she glanced up at him, her face was serenely happy; slightly flushed from the running and the cold and the sudden surge of emotion. Her eyes were a soft sapphire and he could see the snowflakes that had caught on her hair and eyelashes glimmer slightly as the sun began shining their way.
"I love you, too, Bart," she said with a more assured smile. "With all my heart."
And even though they were lying on the fresh snow, they didn't feel the cold as the day dawned brilliantly.
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Margie was surprised to find that Bart had not only planned on them watching the sunrise; he also had a breakfast packed for them. So, after playing around for a little while, they sat down and enjoyed a warm breakfast as they watched the sun slowly rise higher in the sky. Even the gentle flakes of snow had stopped falling. It was perfect.
Margie kept peeking at Bart out of the corner of her eyes as she sipped at her mug of cocoa. He had a slice of bacon in his hand and was chewing at it while he stared up at the sky. She once again marveled at what he had told her.
'I love you, Margie.'
That one small, little sentence; a grouping of four words that had left her breathless and had her heart jumping into her throat, threatening to choke her. He had finally told her. And she had finally been able to tell him what had been aching to get out of her heart for a while now.
Life could be so good, sometimes.
But when things were this good, something was bound to go wrong. Like, say, someone finally figuring out that she was gone. . .
The trap door burst open behind them and they both turned around to see a breathless looking Maison standing halfway out of the trap door.
Margie's "I-can-explain" defense immediately kicked in once she saw the stern look he gave them.
"So, this is where you've been," the retired Knight began in a deceptively mild tone.
Margie's memories of escaping lessons and then having to explain her disappearances to this man (who could be very SCARY when he was angry) all came back in a rush, making her stand up immediately. She also said the first thing that came to her mind.
"It was Bart's fault!" she sputtered, the way she had all throughout her early childhood. And of course, Bart immediately became defensive.
"Hey! That's not true! She wanted to escape long before I decided to give her a hand!"
Margie turned and glared at him, but Maison interrupted before they actually began exchaging insults the way they used to when they were kids.
"Miss Marguerite, do you know how long I've been searching for you, worried that you could've been hurt again?" Maison asked with a calm Margie didn't trust one bit.
She squirmed under his direct stare, and it felt like she was eight all over again, standing in front of him with an ashamed look on her face while she dripped lake water on his clean floor. It had been that time that Bart had double-dared her to jump into the Nisan lake from one of the taller hills and Maison had found them just in time to witness her leap and her dangerous landing in the freezing water below. She was sure that his poor heart had stopped beating for the long time she had stayed underwater to give Bart a scare. How was she supposed to know he had also been watching, frozen to his spot until she resurfaced?
And now that she stood in front of him once again, not dripping water, but still shivering a little in the cold, she felt like she had done the same stupid thing all over again. Sighing, she looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry I scared you, Maison," she apologized, just like she had on that day so long ago. But she looked up and gave him a direct stare. "But I'm not sorry about sneaking out. You guys were driving me nuts keeping me locked up in that room! Bart at least understood me enough to know that I needed to get out for a while."
Behind her, Bart grinned as he saw Maison hang his head a little in shame. She was _really_ cunning. . . To make even the rock-solid Maison break a little. He had never been able to do that, and he had lived with the old man for most of his eighteen years of life.
Margie reached out and gave Maison a hug once she saw how her words had affected him. "It's okay, Maison. I'll never scare you like that again, okay?"
The old Knight sighed and patted her back in affection. "Good, Miss Marguerite. It's just that when Miss Elhaym told me that you weren't in your room or in any of the other girls' rooms, I panicked."
Margie nodded against his shoulder. "Yes, Maison, I understand."
"Besides," Bart began as he stood up behind them. They both turned to him and he smiled, his gaze focusing on Margie. "You know I'll always be there for her, Maison. I wont let anything happen to her."
Margie smiled, bu her eyebrows raised a bit. "And who said I needed your protection, your Majesty? I can do just fine on my own, thank you very much."
Bart rolled his eyes heavenward and shook his head. "You've sure proved that. Let's see, you got kidnapped by that bastard Shakhan, then you got shot on the leg, and now you're still healing from your run in with that-"
"All right!" Margie interrupted, her sapphire eyes flashing in annoyance as Bart smirked. "You've proved your point! Now, shall you _escort_ me to my room to make sure that I don't suddenly slip and twist my pretty little ankle, or do I have to hire more bodyguards to keep my accident-proned self safe?"
The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to make Maison wince. But Bart merely gave her a mocking bow before Margie "hmph'ed" and began making her way down the trap door. The young King quickly went after her, and as Maison peeked through the trap door, he saw him catch up to her to continue their arguing. But he also saw the way their hands unconciously reached for each other. They didn't seem to notice, and so, they continued walking, holding hands while they bickered.
Shaking his head ruefully, Maison smiled in relief. Well, it was about time. . . For a while now, he had been thinking that he'd probably have to shove their arranged marriage in their faces before either of them finally told the other how they felt. It was good to know they had done it on their own.
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Margie was rudely woken up some time later by three different hands.
Opening her eyes sleepily, the Great Mother lifted her head from her pillow and tried to focus on the ones that had woken her up. She had fallen asleep on her stomach (out of habit now, not because of her back), so she had a hard time seeing who it was.
"What do you want?" she yawned as she lied back down and closed her eyes again. She had been having a nice dream; one where she and a golden-haired prince had been promising their undying love to the other under the roof of the Cathedral. . .
~Moving a little too fast, aren't we, my girl?~
"Margie! Wake up, would you!"
Margie opened her eyes once again, and this time she forced them to stay open. Eventually, her vision got clear enough that she was able to make out the pink of a very familiar dress about a foot in front of her.
"Maria?" she murmured sleepily.
"Yes, Maria. And Elly and Emeralda, too." The girl's voice sounded grumpy.
"Oh, isn't that nice," Margie yawned again, without much interest. Her brain was begging for sleep.
"Bart's here, too."
She immediately sat up and glanced around, only to see Elly grin mischievously from where she was sitting on the desk chair. "Kidding. Just needed to use that to wake you up."
Maria and Emeralda giggled while Margie scowled at them all in general. "Real funny," she muttered, but at the same time she began stretching. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and sighed when she saw the time. 7:46 a.m. They hadn't even let her sleep a whole hour. . .
"So, Margie," Maria began as she plopped down on the bed next to her. Emeralda lifted herself up on the desk, close to Elly and they all gave her curious looks. "Elly came looking for you earlier this morning so we could all have breakfast together, but we found the room empty. Care to share with us where you were so early?"
"I, um, well. . ." Margie trailed off as she all their knowing smiles. Damn it, had Maison been babbling it around? Not that she cared, but that _was_ supposed to have been private. It was. . . too special. . .
"So, what happened?" Elly urged, leaning forward. "We heard that you sneaked out with him last night, and that Maison found you guys on the roof. Doing what, we haven't cleared up yet, though."
Blushing all shades of red at what was implied, Margie managed to shake her head repeatedly as the others began giggling again.
"I, we, uh, didn't. . . no way. . . all a lie. . ." Margie took a deep breath and tried again. "We weren't doing anything. . ."
Emeralda gave her a smile as she fumbled. "We are just curious as to what happened. We know you didn't do anything like that."
"Oh, do we?" Maria asked, turning and grinning mischievously at Margie. "As far as I heard, Maison was pretty angry at you guys. Why exactly _was_ he so angry, hmm?"
With a growl, Margie picked up her pillow and swatted Maria with it on the face, causing the other girl to giggle some more. At the opposite side of her room, Elly stiffled her chuckle and shook her head.
"Hey, Margie, you know we're just teasing. Like Em said, we know you didn't do anything. But we _do_ want to find out what exactly happened between you two. If you're willing to share, that is."
Em and Maria nodded in agreement, the latter still straightening up her hair as she smiled.
Margie looked at each of them in turn, at their curious faces, and finally sighed. "Alright. But you guys are going to have to wait until I get dressed and we get down to the cafeteria. I'm still kinda hungry."
Okay, so Bart was right in that loving description he had made. She _did_ eat like a starved horse. . .
***********************************************
Bart was tired. Very tired. Not only had he been forced to wake up at a time that no normal person would even consider "morning", but he hadn't been able to get much sleep after that. By the time he had gotten to his room after escorting Margie, it had already been seven a.m. and Maison was already there, waiting for him.
Maison had immediately gotten him busy with all kinds of things that needed doing for the meeting that would be held later that morning. Zephyr had finally decided that when Ramsus revealed his news, she wanted representatives from Kislev, Aveh, and Nisan there with her as well as her own Councilmen. They would all be allowed to listen to whatever it was that Kahr had to say.
So now, nearly an hour later, Bart was finally able to take a break from taking care of business. The Yggdrassil and her crew had to be looked out for after all, didn't they?
He went to the cafeteria to get himself a cup of coffee (or two, or three), when he saw Fei, Citan, and Billy sitting at one of the tables, enjoying a late breakfast. Shrugging, the ex-pirate decided to go over and try to relax.
"Morning, fellas," he muttered as he sank down in an empty chair.
The others looked up and greeted him back before returning to their breakfast. Not Fei, though. Fei gave him a knowing grin and clapped him on the back.
"So, how'd it go, my friend?" he asked before taking a sip of his mug. The other two looked up, Citan with a small smile and Billy with a questioning glance directed at him.
Bart's answer was to give an unintelligible grunt as his coffee was served by a waitress. The others waited expectantly while he swallowed some of the hot stuff down. Billy gave a low whistle as he saw Bart swallow the whole mug down in one gulp.
"Ahhhh." Putting the mug down, Bart signalled for another before finally turning to the others. Ctan was busy cutting his hotcakes, but Fei and Billy waited for him to begin talking, their breakfasts momentarily forgotten.
When Bart just grinned at them, Billy sighed and turned back to his food. "You know what, you don't have to tell us. It's none of our business anyway, and it's not like we'll _die_ by not knowing."
"Oh yeah? Tell that to them," Fei said, pointing over his shoulder to a table at the other end of the cafeteria where the girls were all crowded around one person. Bart didn't even have to guess who.
"Yeah, well we don't have to do that," Billy murmured.
"Yes, it's clear women share a lot more information than men do," Citan agreed with a dejected shrug.
"No need to go down to _their_ level," Fei sighed. "Besides, men don't gossip. . ."
They all looked at each other and nodded their heads slowly in agreement. Whatever had happened, Bart wasn't forced to say. It was a man thing.
But they couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to go over and sit at that other table and listen. . .
***************************************************
An hour later, everyone gathered at the large room Queen Zephyr had turned into a Council Hall. The room had all the essentials; a large table, maps on every free surface, and a large Headseat for Zephyr.
The ones present consisted of the Great Mother Marguerite Fatima of the Nisan Sect, King Bartholomew Fatima of the Aveh Kingdom, Ricardo Banderas as the representative of the Kislev Empire, the Hero Fei Fong Wong and the Lady Elhaym VanHouten, Shevat Councilmen Citan Uzuki and Jessiah Black, and finally Queen Zephyr herself.
They all sat down at their assigned seats around the table and waited expectantly for Kahran Ramsus, who came in last and sat down also. Once he did, Queen Zephyr stood up.
"My guests, let me thank you all for coming as representatives for your respective countries. We have all gathered here on the summons of Kahran Ramsus and after much consideration, I decided that in order for him to relay his message, you would all have to be present, too. Sir Kahran Ramsus, you have all of our attention. Please proceed with your message."
Kahr stood up and cleared his throat softly. Then he looked them all one by one in the eye before he began speaking. "I was sent as an envoy from the Solaris Empire. Once Deus was obliterated, I went back to my home country to see how things were being handled up there. I found out that with the destruction of the Ministry and the death of Emperor Kain, Solaris was in a state of confusion. But they were willing to learn. Once I cleared it up for them that the only way they would be able to move on was with the cooperation of the nations below, they held meeting after countless meeting. The question on everybodies lips was if they would finally be able to make peace with the people they had been feuding with for so long."
"It's possible," Rico suddenly spoke up. "If Kislev and Aveh were able to do it, why shouldn't Solaris?"
Kahr nodded in agreement. "Yes, well everything was weighed and considered. In the end, it was finally decided that yes, it was possible and so, they sent me here as an envoy to offer a Peace Treaty with Shevat. Since I've been involved with the whole incident that led up to the destruction of Deus, they thought I would be a good representative." The man's scowl and tone said otherwise. Margie guessed that he didn't believe that because he didn't consider himself worthy enough.
"Wait a minute, Ramsus," Fei said. "You said a Peace Treaty with Shevat. What about the rest of the nations?"
Kahr sighed and shook his head. "I am sorry to say that Solaris still doesn't consider the other nations, or 'land dwellers,' anything above animals as of yet. They are not perceived as equals. . ."
"Well, isn't that just dandy," Bart began heatedly. "They want to make peace, but they don't give a damn that more than one-third of the population _are_ 'land-dwellers!' How do they expect to move forward if they're still too mule-headed to see as as anything more than animals!?"
There were murmurs of agreement from the rest, until Zephyr spoke up. "I agree with what the King of Aveh has said. Do they even realize that without the support of their nations, life could become a living hell for them? Without the threat of the Ministry and their hold on humanity, Solaris is just another small obstacle that we need to overcome in order to bring real peace back to the world."
"That is what I tried to clarify for them, but they would not listen," Kahr sighed. "In any case, the Peace Treaty is for Shevat and I am to return to Solaris with whatever answer you give them."
"I will have to discuss this with my Councilmen and the representatives for the rest of the nations," Zephyr said, but it seemed her internal wheels were already turning. Margie could tell by the thoughtful look on her face. "In the meantime, you are all dismissed. Unless Sir Ramsus has anything else to share with us?"
"Just some advice. The Solaris Empire is still very much in turmoil. My suggestion to you all would be to push the Peace Treaty to cover _all_ of the nations, or otherwise you don't agree with it at all. Believe me, Solaris needs your cooperation and is afraid of what could happen if you do not agree and wage all out war with them. They know they'll be annihalated if you all allied yourselves against them, but they're still pompous enough that they sent this treat to Shevat only because they think you will be submissive and agree to it."
With that, he left them all to talk it over.
To be continued. . .
*Yes, people, I'm almost done with this. I think there is only one chapter left, two at the most. So, don't forget to review. ^_^*