…I sang your song
----
Accompanied by the deafening thunder was the lightning of the skies—and the small child sitting on the carpeted wooden floors, tugged at her luxurious gown, bringing her senses back to the world. She looked down, and into her child's eyes.
They resembled his eyes.
The fire flickered and she saw the child's eyes welling with tears. She smiled gently as a mother did to calm their children, and picked her child up.
"Hush now, Terra, don't worry, there is nothing to fear as long as I am here." She assured as she placed her small child on her lap. Terra. The girl was named after his world.
Their child was born with her silky ebony black hair, and his piercing blue eyes filled with optimism. As one of their friends said once, Terra had his smile.
And because of that, she found it hard stopping the tears from falling.
"Mother, why didn't father wake up?"
It was enough to send her eyes welling with precious tears. Tears that she was sure he would never want to fall on her cheeks.
"Dear, he was tired, gravely tired. He had to sleep." She explained.
Yes, Zidane was gravely tired. Gravely indeed. But he died content. He died, or rather, 'stopped' happy. He knew he was to die soon, but all he did was smile at her and tell her to wake her up for the Hunter's Tournament the next day.
She knew too, but she denied the fact. It needed her to go and wake her the next day, to be convinced.
He was gone.
"Mother, when will father wake up?" their daughter asked. And she only smiled at her child. Never, was not the answer.
"When he finally is not tired." She gently replied to her daughter.
Young Terra only leaned on her mother as another thunder shook the skies. "When will he stop being tired?"
She chuckled and playfully messed up Terra's hair. "When will you stop asking questions, Princess Terra?"
An impish smile formed on her daughter's lips. "When I know the answers finally mother."
"When you are of age, I shall—" she lifted her gaze to the small wooden clock hanging over the fireplace, "—And I don't see how you shall be able to know the answers today."
The clock read ten.
"Aww, but mother, just tell me quickly? Please?" her daughter pleaded.
She grinned and stood up, placing her daughter on the chair. "When you are old enough to stay much later than now—Beatrix?"
Her daughter jumped of the seat and a tall young woman entered the room. Beatrix she was, and she was dressed in almost the same way as she did years ago—except now, her clothes covered much of her body, especially her cleavage. She was, afterall, married already to what has to be said, a rather possessive and protective man.
"Yes your highnesses, Queen Garnet and Princess Terra?" Beatrix questioned as she kneeled down in front of the two highnesses. Garnet gave frowned slightly at the formality her most trusted soldier was giving her.
"Beatrix, it is the usual. And there is no need to kneel!" she chided good-heartedly. Beatrix rose to her two feet and smiled at her.
"But it has to be done, your highness, for our discipline." She stated.
Garnet laughed and held her daughter by her shoulders. "I understand—" she directed her daughter to Beatrix. "—Now, off you go, Terra, to your room you go."
Terra walked over to Beatrix's side, and frowned slightly—exactly the way Zidane would frown. "You highness, good night—" Beatrix turned to Terra, "Let us go now"
And the general went on their way to the young princess' room.
"Good night to you too, Beatrix, and Terra." Garnet uttered before they completely left the room.
The room seemed to have become colder when she was left alone. Yes, colder indeed, and she walked over to her wardrobe to fetch a scarf.
Tears began to fall by the time she had wrapped a scarf over her shoulders. And she struggled with futility to stop herself from crying.
Her tears were bitingly cold on her bare flesh. He was gone. His Zidane was gone.
She absentmindedly walked over to their bed, and sat burying her face in her hands. The memory was there. And it was vivid. So vivid that in those dark hours, she could only cry longing for the past to return, for the clock to be turn back.
And for their days relived.
She breathed in deeply. Zidane died young at the age his brother died. And she had a feeling that in four years time there would be another funeral. The third angel of death's funeral.
When she lifted her head from her hands, she glared at the fire and thought of Garland. Was Zidane not perfect?
She shook her head. He was perfect. But, perhaps, after Terra's destruction and Garland and Necron's defeat….. He was made imperfect.
What was Zidane, a man created in another world, in Gaia anyway?
Maybe, just maybe Terra, Terra fueled his life…..
As she lost herself in thoughts while her eyes were fixed on the fire—memories after memories played in her mind. Not as a distant memory, but as a memory made a day ago.
-----
She threw herself into her arms. Around her, she could hear the cheering of the crowd, the hooting of Eiko, Vivi's remarks, everyone.
That was seven years ago.
She lifted her face to meet his eyes, to see the life in those piercing blue eyes and to feel his warm breathing on her cheeks. To prove that he was indeed alive.
She parted her lips to question him. But she was swept speechless as her eyes laid upon his smile. Alive. He was alive, as he promised. He came out of the Iifa Tree.
"How did you survive?" She finally questioned. His smile didn't waver, but neither did a word escape his lips.
It was a strange feeling—doubts flew across her mind. He seemed like a ghost, a ghost in one of those sad books she started reading after his long disappearance.
Finally, his lips broke the silent smile, "I didn't have a choice. I had to live."
She was satisfied, partly, but her face gave an unsatisfied look. He replied this with a slight chuckle. "I had to come home to you."
To her. She blushed slightly and opened her mouth to speak. It was such an indirect answer afterall.
Zidane was quicker than her though. "So…I sang your song."
"You… sang my song?" she muttered and he gave her and honest nod. She knew he was honest, she just knew.
"Besides, it wasn't my time yet. I still have… to live a life, with you." he whispered as he pulled her into a tight hug. "I still need to live a… real life."
She didn't understand why he was saying those, but neither did she care.
She pulled away from him to gaze into his eyes again. "Zidane, promise me that you'll never leave my side."
He grinned impishly, "Yep. But we'll have to have a ring to make it official."
Her eyes widened, "You……We need to have a ceremony first!"
"We had one already, Dagger."
"No, that wasn't official…"
"It is to me. We only need a ring now."
She frowned. "Silly, we need to have a formal ceremony……"
It was strange how he didn't insist and instead agreed quite easily. "Okay, Dagger."
------
She hummed her song, and eventually sang absentmindedly as she continued to remember older memories.
-----
She was distracted by the gentle knocks on her door, and the constant calling of her name. Reluctantly, she wiped her tears with her scarf, stood up and walked over to the door.
"Who is it?" she questioned. It was strange, she didn't know who it was. And neither did she really remember what name her visitor was calling her.
"Dagger." Her visitor called.
Her blood froze. Nobody really called her 'Dagger' nowadays, except Eiko, who at the moment was in Lindblum, unless she decided to pay a surprise visit.
"Dagger?" the visitor called out again.
Her heart started beating fast, and she felt her body become hot. Her slender fingers reached out to turn the knob. There was a creaking sound as she did so, and the door opened.
She stepped back as her visitor stepped forward. Standing in the door-frame was a man with auburn hair, fairly tanned skin, piercing blue eyes, and a tail.
Zidane.
He was wearing his usual clothes. And wearing that impish smile.
She asked herself if it were a dream. There he was, as the day he died, healthy, perfect, when he was supposed to be dead, lying cold in his bed as if he were asleep.
Maybe he was truly asleep then….
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Dagger…. What's with the surprised look?"
Garnet shook her head. "Zidane?"
"Wanna go for a nice long evening stroll?" he offered. And she was afraid. If that were a dream, then thinking of the reality would end it. And she simply did not want that.
He extended his hand and she placed hers into it.
He escorted her, and together they walked over to the Royal Garden.
-----
The moon hung on the sky like a pendant, shining proudly. The stars twinkled like diamonds, and the sky itself was clear.
Together they sat on the grass, with Garnet leaning onto Zidane.
She gathered her courage.
"Zidane, how did you, survive again?" she questioned.
Zidane turned to her and gave her a bewildered look, but nevertheless answered her; "I sang your song."
She lowered her head. "Zidane, please, be honest with me, how did you survive?"
He smiled at her, and chuckled slightly, "I sang, but not really just that. Your song, it, it helped me not to give up. And eventually I got myself out, with the help of Kuja, of course."
She was slightly satisfied, and before she knew it, tears started to fall. He was dead.
"Zidane—"
He smiled at her and hushed her; then he took something out of his pocket. It was a small velvety box. "Nope, don't worry, now I can be by your side for as long as we live."
She raised an eyebrow, confused. "Zidane?….."
He opened the box and a set of two rings was revealed. "Well, I did promise I'll be the one to get ourselves our wedding rings… Well here it is."
Garnet sat up, and her eyes widened. That was odd. Wedding rings? And they were unlike the one she…. had.
She was speechless, and Zidane chuckled.
"Are you still worrying about those, 'what if's'? I guess it really got to you this time……" He remarked.
Garnet flustered for some time, then turned to Zidane, and realized.
She blushed deep red and turned away.
Zidane laughed.
"I… I… I was just… too worried…. " she stuttered, terribly ashamed that she had allowed and entertained her worries to the extent that it actually seemed real.
"Well, whatever. You really shouldn't worry, you see, I promised to be by your side for the rest of your life."
She looked into his eyes finally. A smile formed on her lips. A peaceful smile. She wasn't really confused then.
"Why don't you ask the question now?" she asked.
An impish smile formed on his lips. "Well I do know the answer now."
She chuckled, "Confident. But ask, please."
"Will you marry me, Dagger?"
"Yes, yes I do. I guess you are a little bit too right."
-----
"How did you survive?"
"I didn't have a choice. I had to live. I had to come home to you."
"So….. I sang your song."
------
Disclaimer: Phooey, I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters, we all know Square does.
Author's notes: …Oooh, my second FF9 fic!.. Oh well, this fic is RANDOM.. random I tell you! RANDOM! Well, I did this after listening to some midi ^^ Seriously, I didn't want to write a sad ending…. Evil me, it just makes me wonder up to now, whether that would happen…… I mean, even if I'm the writer I still don't know…….. ^^;; Anyway, it's confusing, isn't it? Well consider this, this was done in two hours, bear with me. I was bored; I couldn't get to Livejournal.com and check on the charjournals… Anyway, I'm busier! I got me Beatrix too! Now I have four journals to handle! Anyway, forgive me if its OOC…… _ I'm booored…. My dad scared me that the blacksmith in Diablo 2 as well as some other special enemy guy was hard.. _ Ooooh, my poor amazon… Can I beat them? Me with my poor weapons? Without a nice spear to use? Me? Me? ;_; Dad, you scared me to death! Now I won't be able to play for days! Celes, post, post, post! Rhye, post, post, post! Drive my Shadow crazy, Edgar ^^ I order you to! MWAHAHAHAHA!--- Oop…. I guess I got off track… Oh well, this is me signing off…. And still is high in hyperness… _ I may be hyper but I lack a sense of humor………
~*~*~White Crescent
