10)---------- In Which, Cid finds out he's royalty

10)---------- In Which, Cid finds out he's royalty.

"He said they're going to attack at midnight," Kain reminded Cecil and Rosa, who were both slumped in their thrones with unhappy looks on their faces. "Until then, all we can do is wait."

Cid pushed open the doors to come in and join them.

"Hey, guys," he greeted. "What's up?"

"Eblan's attacking," Cecil told him.

That sobered him up.

"Oh," he replied.

Cami and Lori peeked in the room.

"Um," Cami began.

"Get in here if you're coming," Rosa lightly told him. For the three days when Cecil and Kain had been out, Cami had been her right hand man. She was getting to like the kid.

"Hey," Kain greeted them.

"Sir, hey, Sir!" they greeted back with a degree of relief to see him back.

"Eblan's attacking," Kain told them, noting that their relief quickly vanished, replaced by a semblance of panic. Monsters were one thing. Invaders were another.

"What should we do?" Lori asked, being the first of the two to recover.

"Go rouse our people," he replied. "Let them know to be on their toes. We're looking at a midnight arrival, so make sure everyone's ready."

"Yes, Sir!" they chimed, turned and heading out.

"Just like old times," Cid sighed, looking at the other three. "If they don't get here till midnight, what do we do in the meantime?"

Cecil shrugged. Rosa stared at him blankly. Kain blinked and turned to gawk at a rather lovely wall hanging.

"Okay, we can do that," Cid replied, getting the hint. He shuddered. "So . . . how'd everyone like their little jot down memory lane?"

Kain cringed, and Cecil threw up.

They'd never actually gotten around to resolving the incident that had claimed Sir Rorunar . . . it was still an open wound, and it had just been poked. And Cid could tell.

"All right, listen you two!" he snapped. "You're both adults now, I think you can manage to get over whatever it is that had you at each other's throats!"

"Then why don't you tell Cecil about the mission his father left for him that you got a kick out of chatting with my mother about in the middle of the night?!" Kain snapped back.

Cecil blinked.

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Rosa repeated. "Okay, I guess the three of you have a lot to think about now, which just makes me glad I stayed conscious through the whole thing. However, I don't think it's a good idea to be shouting about it in the Throne Room! What about the Royal Eavesdroppers?!"

"What time is it?" Kain asked curtly.

Rosa blinked.

"About seven. Why?"

Kain jabbed a finger at Cecil.

"We need to talk," he flatly stated.

"Rosa, run the Kingdom," Cecil told her, getting up and following Kain out the door. "And Cid, I'll grill you next!"

Cid didn't reply, which was okay, because Cecil didn't wait around for an answer.

"Yee-hee-hee," Rosa giggled. "The power . . . "

Cid shook his head. Somehow, he was glad Rosa didn't often run the Kingdom. The pressure seemed to do strange things to her . . .

"Cecil," Kain said as they both burst out onto the top of the main tower, "I'm sorry."

"No," Cecil adamantly contradicted, "I'm sorry!"

"No," Kain snapped, "I'm sorry, and here's why." He paused to take a deep breath. "I never gave you a friggin' chance! We both know I had problems after we fought Zeromus, and you never let up on me about it. You actually hounded me to my grave twice on the matter before I finally came to terms about it. Now, while it was aggravating to me at the time, it was a good thing you did, and if I'd had any heart at all, I would've done the same thing to you when you needed it, but instead I was so caught up with blaming the whole thing on you in my own grief over the matter, I never gave you a chance, and treated you like dirt. To put it mildly. Okay, so I almost killed you a couple of times. Sorry about that too."

"Who's to say I didn't deserve it?!" Cecil objected. "Who's to say I don't still deserve it? They're still all dead, and it's still my fault. I have not once claimed it wasn't my fault, because I know it was."

"Rorunar himself told you to do the King's orders. I remember it. He said to let him handle it."

"You know Rorunar! You know he just said that so I wouldn't go spastic!"

"So?"

"So?! I killed the guy!!"

"Did you, Cecil?! Because I could never find out for sure. Did you really kill him?! And tell me the truth!"

Cecil swallowed, suddenly finding it difficult to remember exactly what had happened.

"I didn't drop the bombs," he admitted slowly. "But I didn't effectively stop them, either. Baigan did it all. And he was under Golbez' control. Who was under Zemus' control. Who was, in a sense, under Zeromus' control."

"Could you have stopped him?"

"Of course I could've."

"No, really, from the position you were in, could you have stopped him?"

"Yes. But I just sat there too startled - "

"You know, I don't feel it was your fault, Cecil. No more than it was mine. I could've stopped it too, you know. I could've socked out that idiot Aromuth before he did any damage, or better yet, I could've beat Baigan up a little harder when we were in grade school. To the point where he was, say, crippled for life. But neither of us were able to stop him, and what's done is done. Rorunar and all the others are dead, I pinned it all on you, now I realize I was an idiot, and I really wish we could put it all behind us."

"How could we put it all behind us?!"

"You know, Cecil, now you can see what it's like being on the other side of this conversation."

That one stumped Cecil, who remembered trying to give a similar lecture to Kain during the whole Borthus and Valdiar incident.

"Can we just call it even? Because my mother once made me promise to protect you, and that's a little hard to do when we're at odds."

Cecil nodded.

"Fine. Gladly. We're even." He frowned. "We both suck, you know that?"

"Cecil, you are weird."

"So are you."

"That established, let's go save the Kingdom."

"Fine by me." Cecil frowned. "Your mother made you promise to protect me?"

"Yeah. I think she knew your father. Your Lunarian father. And so did Cid, I think."

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me that before?!" Cecil cried, and Kain suddenly felt a pang of guilt for not mentioning it. "Like that day after Cid called me up about that Airship, when you told me to be careful because of something your mother said that you promised not to tell me about?"

"Yeah . . . kinda like that. She did make me promise, and I can tell you I wasn't very happy about it, either."

"Well. I wonder what else she knew."

"A lot, probably. She was Empathic."

"Empathic?!?! Momma was Empathic?!?!?!?!"

Kain grinned at his astonishment.

"Yep. Don't ask me. Go grill Cid."

"I think I will."

"All right, all right!!"

They both turned as Cid stomped up to them.

"I admit it! Kain, I knew your mother. Cecil, I knew your father. Okay? Okay."

They tapped their feet.

"Not okay, Cid."

"Fine. Cecil, your dad came to Baron when I was a teenager and helped us build the Airships. Try to, at least. That one blew up, as you know. Before that and after, he went to Mysidia to get the Serpent Road moving. Shortly after he had you and Golbez, he headed out to try and track down the evil he'd come to Earth to stop, but as we all know, he didn't make it. So me and Julia, your mother, Kain, took it upon ourselves that if we ever ran into either of you, we'd try and keep you in line. Julia had you under her wing for a while, then Rorunar, and then they left it up to me until you found out the truth. End of story?"

"I doubt it!" Kain brightly replied.

"You're right. One other thing, Cecil, that I think you may want to know. Your mother was my wife's sister, so you may want to go catch up with her sometime - "

"You married my mother's sister?!" Cecil croaked. Then a malicious grin spread across his face. "Then . . . doesn't that make you my uncle?"

"Ha!" Kain jibed. "Cid, you're Royalty!" He fell to his knees, bowing. "All hail, the great Cid! We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We're scum! We - "

"Shut up," Cid snapped.

"So what was my father like?" Cecil asked, somewhat nervously. "I mean, was he a good guy, or was he a creep, or what?"

"Cecil," Cid replied, "KluYa was probably the second strangest man I ever met. Second only to your old pal Rorunar. They were both pretty weird. But they were both good people. You'd've liked him, Cecil. And I think he'd've liked you, too."

"Did he have purple hair?" Cecil asked in a tiny voice.

Kain burst out laughing.

Cid gave Cecil a serious look.

"Yes," he replied.

Then he and Cecil joined Kain laughing.

"That explains everything!!!" Cecil exclaimed. "C'mon, we've got an attack to prepare for!"

A sound caught Kain's attention, and he glanced over the side of the tower.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, caught totally off guard. "Yeah, but an attack from who?"

Falcon was landed at a distance that kept them just out of sight from Baron. Inside, Kormag was chatting business over with a couple of his co-conspirators.

The catapults which had once been a part of Eblan's main fighting force had been reconstructed (in a sense) under Kormag's supervision, without Edge's knowledge, for the past months, waiting for an occasion such as this. A time when Edge was out of the way, and the Airship was at his command.

Ten of them had been installed along the sides of Falcon, so that they, along with the typical attacks built in, would ensure their victory over Baron that midnight.

"Everything's loaded and ready," the Minister of Defense reported, entering the small Warroom just below the deck. "We can take off at a moment's notice, and attack instantly."

Kormag nodded.

"Good. I don't intend to be caught on the ground, but this way we'll be ready in case we do." He frowned. "And where is Agent Five?!?!"

"He hasn't returned from his mission yet," the Captain of the Guard replied. "But he is expected at any time - "

"He was expected an hour ago," Kormag snapped.

A knock came at the door.

"You'd better be Agent Five!" Kormag yelled.

"I am!"

"Fine! Get in here!"

The door swung open, and a man who looked like an ordinary townsperson entered.

"Mission accomplished!" he told Kormag. "I've planted the news, and got out as soon as I felt it had circulated. As I left, a revolt was already being considered."

Kormag raised his eyebrows. He'd intended for his bug rumor to cause some unrest, but never a rebellion!

Maybe he should stoop to this sort of tactic more often.

The Minister of Defense glared at the others in the room.

"What's all this? Is this some part of the plan that I hadn't been told about?" he demanded.

Kormag shrugged off his anger.

"Just a little added effect," he explained. "It never hurts to have a Kingdom in a little disorder before conquering. So we spread some disorder."

Ten o'clock.

Cecil and Rosa were pacing the Throne Room anxiously. Kain was still held rapt by that rather lovely wall hanging . . . or so he led them to believe! Isn't that spooky?!?!

Cid gingerly lifted the window covering with the tips of his finger and peeked out, before snatching his hand back and jumping away from the window.

"I take it they're still there?" Cecil wryly speculated, raising an eyebrow.

Cid only nodded, his teeth chattering. This was spooky.

"I'd say it's over nine tenths of the Kingdom out there now - all with torches and pitchforks."

"Cecil!!" Rosa exclaimed. "Don't just stand there!! We're being dethroned!!! Everyone's rebelling!!!!"

"I see that," Cecil reminded her in a blank tone. He turned to Kain. "Why the heck is this happening?"

"My people are trying to figure that out," Kain told him for the seventh time since he'd dispatched his seven Dragoon students to ascertain the cause of this unrest.

Cecil pulled at his hair frantically.

"Well heck, we have Eblan attacking at midnight, and at the rate we're going, we may not last that long!!"

The door swung open.

Everyone screamed.

Then they got a grip, though, because it was just Lori.

"Sir!" he exclaimed, running to Cecil, a letter in his hand. "The dude at the Inn told me to give you this! Said it was important if you want to keep your Kingdom!"

Cecil snatched the letter from his hand and read it over silently.

Rosa and Cid stared at him steadily as he did so.

Lori backed off and went over to Kain, who pointed out some highlights of the rather lovely wall hanging.

"I don't believe it . . . " Cecil murmured shaking his head. "Really. This is too pathetic to be real."

"What is it?" Rosa asked.

Cecil stared blankly at the paper a moment longer, then scrunched it up in one hand in a sudden fit of anger. He stalked out of the room, grabbing Kain by the helmet on his way out.

Kain, startled, really couldn't do anything but go along.

Rosa, Cid, and Lori watched them go.

"Hm," Cid then said. "I think we should see this." They exchanged a look, nodded, and followed.

Cecil burst out on the balcony, still dragging Kain along behind him.

"Okay, people!!" he shouted, turning a little pink from fury. "I want to know who's behind this!!!!"

For a moment, the mob was silent, with their torches and pitchforks.

Then someone in the middle spoke up.

"Well, King Cecil, you're behind it!"

Cecil finally let go of Kain's head and crossed his arms.

"Am not!" he denied. "Because it's not true! I don't know where you all heard this, but it's an all out lie!"

The mob was silent for another moment.

"It's not . . . true?" someone repeated in a weak voice.

"No!" Cecil snapped.

A low murmuring spread through them.

"I don't believe you!" someone yelled. "I heard it from a very reliable source!"

"YEAH!!" shouted nearly everyone.

Cecil grabbed onto Kain's head again.

"Well, here's an even more reliable one - me! Because I think I'd know better than your source, agreed?" Only a faint rustle answered. Cecil seethed, then finally lost it. "Look, I'm telling you right out to stop this, because it's all a lie!!!! Kain and I are NOT GAY!!!!!"

"What?!?!" Kain yelped, startled into squeaking. "They're saying that?!?!?"

"Calm down," Cecil told him. "I've spazzed out enough for both of us."

"Oh, yeah . . . " For a moment, Kain relaxed. Then he spazzed out again, snatching the letter from Cecil and reading it for himself.

"Prove it!" jeered a Yokel.

Cecil glared at him.

"Just how do you expect me to do that?"

The Yokel frowned, then muttered something and retreated into the crowd of Yokels.

Kain seemed to be in shock.

"Well, I still say you are! And I'm not following a gay king!" declared someone from the back of the mob.

"You there!!!" Kain shouted, pointing at him. "Don't make me come down there!!!!!!"

They shut up for a moment. No one wanted to cross Kain.

Just then, to save the day, Rosa burst in on the scene.

"Okay, Yokels!" she called with a grin. "You think Cecil's gay? Well check this out!!"

And before Cecil knew what was happening, she'd grabbed his shoulders and utterly liplocked him.

Kain whistled.

"You call that gay?" he inquired, pointing at the couple.

"Oh," exclaimed a Yokel. "I get it! It was just a rumor!"

Sighing and shaking his head, Kain turned to Cecil, but left him alone when he noticed that Cecil and Rosa were still kissing.

"Just a rumor," he repeated. "So . . . let's backtrack. I heard it from Cecil, he heard it from Lori, Lori heard it from the guy at the Inn. Is the guy at the Inn here?"

"Here!" called the guy from the Inn.

"Fine, who did you hear it from?" Kain called back to him.

"Well, I heard it from a customer named Frank!"

"Frank? What an odd name. Is Frank here?"

And so they traced it down the line until they got to the last person in the Kingdom who was in the mob.

"I, well, I heard it from a man who looked like your normal everyday townsperson!" he explained.

Kain smacked a hand to his forehead.

"Of course! It must've been an Eblanian Ninja, disguised and under cover for the purpose of causing public unrest before they attack tonight! Cecil - Oh."

Cecil and Rosa were still kissing.

Kain tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello? Earth to Cecil, remember, we have a crisis on our hands?"

Jumping at his interruption, Cecil and Rosa backed off, looking slightly guilty.

"Oh! Yes! You're right!" Cecil exclaimed. "Euh . . . what are we talking about again?"

Rosa giggled and went back inside the Castle.

Kain shook his head and followed.

Cecil, looking a little confused, followed him.

Their return found Cid rolling on the floor with laughter at the incident.

"Don't laugh!" Cecil warned. "After all, if it went out that I was gay, it'd then come out that you're a gay guy's uncle, and that wouldn't go over very well with your wife, would it?"

Cid stopped laughing.

"So how much time did we squander going through every member of that mob?" Kain asked Lori, who had since been joined by Cami.

"Almost two hours, Sir," Lori answered.

Kain blinked.

"Um . . . are you telling me that it's almost midnight?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Oh, crud."

"Cecil!" Rosa yelled, glancing back out the door to the balcony. "Look!"

Turning, Cecil and Kain could both see the approach of the lighted Airship from Eblan coming at them through the winter snow.

"Now that's just peachy," Kain mumbled under his breath. "This has been one very obnoxious day."

Cecil glared at him.

"A moment like this, and that's all you can think of to say?!"

Kain checked himself.

"I mean - oh no! Whatever are we going to do that will ensure us the safety of our own Kingdom without causing another war to break out between us? Wail, wail!"

Cecil continued glaring at him.

Rosa raised an eyebrow.

Cid turned and gawked at a rather lovely wall hanging.

Lori and Cami just looked at him.

Kain shrugged.

"What? Don't look at me! We're under attack!!!!"