Mallory woke from a slight stabbing pain in her stomach. She rolled over and it became stronger. She sat up and looked around. She was still in Lindblum castle, she was sure, but she didn't know where. She looked across the room to see another bed, Zidane sleeping peacefully under the covers. He had been cured, as she had. He made a soft purring noise as he slept. Mallory held her stomach and got up. The slight squeaking of the mattress woke Zidane. "Hello," he said softly.
Mallory laid back to ease the pain and looked over at him. "Hello."
"I'm sorry about what I did," they both said to each other in unison. Zidane laughed softly. "It's all right. I'm fine now."
Garnet made her way up the stairs. "Hello Dagger," Zidane said, sitting up straight. She didn't say anything, just offered him a plate with some food on it. "Thanks…" She went back down the stairs.
"'Dagger?'"
"Yeah. That's her alias," Zidane said, taking a drink from his cup.
"I see…"
He looked up at her, questioningly.
"What are you gonna do to me?" she asked, scared a bit.
"Hm…Fix you up and send you back to Kuja, I suppose."
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Well… I tried to kill all of you."
"Ah, think nothing of it. I could tell you didn't really want to. I knew it was Kuja's influence, probably."
"Yeah…"
"So, how'd you come to work for him?"
"Well, we met just before Alexandria was destroyed by him…He told me to escape…Then, since I had no where else to go, I followed him to the Desert Palace and everything went from there."
"I see," Zidane said thoughtfully.
The little Summoner came up the stairs. "Zidane!" she threw herself at him. Zidane smiled and hugged her back. "Did I scare you, Eiko?"
"Nah, I was just a little bit worried. Just a little." She looked over at Mallory. "What's that bimbo doing here?" she said angrily. Mallory glared a bit. "Now, now…" Zidane scolded lightly.
"Eiko, was it?" The little girl nodded. "I wanted to apologize for how I treated you. I'm sorry." Eiko thought for a moment. "Well, apology excepted, I guess," she said uneasily. She grabbed Zidane's collar and drew him close so they could talk quietly, though Mallory heard the entire conversation.
"Can we trust her? She works for Kuja, remember?"
"I trust her, I don't think she's all that bad, it's like Kuja's controlling her or something. She could make a good double-agent."
"Oh, really?" Mallory butted it.
"Well, yeah. You know, you act like you're still loyal to him and tell us his plans…"
"I am still loyal to him. You have my thanks, but I can't abandon him."
"What, you…like him or something?"
"Well of course I do."
"I get it…But, could you help us, just a little bit?" Zidane pleaded with his big blue eyes. Mallory thought. "I don't know…I mean, I owe you my life, and I know what Kuja's doing is wrong…But I sense that there's something behind it, a good reason. Well, not a good reason, but a reason nonetheless."
"Oh, don't worry. I see where you're coming from."
"Zidane, that reminds me," Eiko said. "Steiner, Freya, and Vivi went to Black Mage Village to see if they could get any information on Kuja's hidden palace. They got back just minutes before I came up. I'll go get them." She scampered down the stairs and disappeared. Seconds later she returned with everyone else.
"Good to see you awake and about, Zidane," the Burmecian said. "We don't know it's exact location, but we know it's on the eastern side of the Outer Continent. It's supposedly under quicksand, but I'm not sure I understand what the Black Mage said entirely."
"You want to know where the Desert Palace is?" Mallory asked. "I'll show you."