Uh, yeah. Sorry if the continuance of the opera sucks, I'm not very good at poetry/lyrics :P Well anyway…
Chapter 3
Lady Kanai leaned back in her chair, smiling to herself. The music and darkness was softly embracing her. Like Edgar did. And he was right there, to her left. She could feel the warmth of him, his arm just a few inches from her. If she only made a slight movement, she could touch him. And he could touch her. But none of them would, of course, even though they knew they both wanted to. This was their little game; driving each other crazy waiting for the wedding. Only short embraces and kisses as light as breaths. Only allowing themselves a small taste of their power for the time being. It was harder every time she moved away with a teasing smile or he winked at her with one eye and kissed her hand. And she loved it. She felt him love it.
She smiled to herself again. This was indeed a very pleasant situation.
Lady Kanai was twenty-eight years old, a very high age for an un-married noble woman. To tell the truth, she had been married. To a man named Sir Derek, a count of Jidoor. She had married him eighteen years old; he had been almost thirty. Reminded a lot about Edgar…
Derek had taught her about her sensuality and passion, powers she had kept within all her life. Kanai had loved him, indeed. He had been a wonderful husband. But…
She pressed her lips together at the painful memory.
Derek had died as the world crumbled, getting trapped and crushed inside their falling house. Kanai had happened to be in the garden in that moment, and she had survived by that luck.
She could still hear his scream, cutting like a knife through the other sounds of crumbling and screeching earth. Many had lost their beloved ones that day.
Kanai fought back a bitter sigh.
It had been hard for her to pick up the pieces and live on. She had been determined to survive, and also to help others to keep up. Therefore she had helped the auction in Jidoor to reopen. It was bizarre, of course. Bidding for stuff in a dying world… but people had gladly embraced the idea of getting something else to think about, even for a short while each day. And it had given Kanai a chance to move her mind from Derek.
Edgar had come to the auction one day, with some friends. Kanai hadn't noted any of the people in his company. She had recognized him, and him only. There was something about the way that he moved, and the look in his eyes.
She smiled again, the better memories pushing the dark aside.
One thing that she and Derek never had agreed on was the beauty of opera. He hadn't liked it. Kanai did.
"Leave the past behind!" the Chancellor of the West told Maria on the stage, "our kingdom is picking up the spirit of the East…!"
"Aren't you going to get ready for fighting a purple octopus, dear?" Kanai hissed to Edgar, smiling.
He grinned at her in the weak light.
"I'd love it," he said, "but I'm afraid that the Impresario would drag me out of this building and feed me to the chocobos in your lovely hometown if I tried to."
"How violent!" Kanai gasped, and they both laughed silently.
"Sabin should be here," Edgar smiled, "maybe he'll someday understand why everyone is singing."
She felt his hand on her arm, wandering to her cheek.
"On the other hand," the king of Figaro softly said, "being alone with you here in the dark isn't exactly unpleasant."
Kanai knew that she should draw back with a small smile, teasing him. It was a part of their game. But for the moment being, she didn't care at all about it.
"Did you think it would?" she said, bending towards him.
"No."
She was amazed that lightning bolts didn't fly from their lips as they touched. Edgar's hand sneaked over to the back of her neck. She had never dreamt that there'd be a man even more passionate than Derek, and so loving. That he was a king didn't matter the slightest to her. No, the way he moved her and what he had accomplished was the only interesting things, not his title. Kanai had been a lady almost her whole life, and been happy with that. Even the time as manager for the auction was kept with warmth in her heart. She had done what she could do in the World of Ruin, feeling glad about that she helped people a little. Of course she had been hoping, like everyone else, that somebody with greater strength than her would put things right and restore the beautiful world. And Edgar had done it, with his friends.
It had cost her almost all the money she had saved from the auction to shape up a little again and then go to visit him in Figaro after Kefka had fallen. It had been no secret who the heroes where, the story had went from mouth to mouth and reached all the world's papers as it had become clear that the madman and his power was gone.
Edgar hadn't recognized her, naturally. She had been in the audience, unseen, while he, Locke Cole and Cyan Garamonde battled Ultros. And the day when he'd been in the action house, she had been watching from the window of her office, on the second floor.
However, Edgar had sensed what kind of person she was; almost his mirror. People like them simply knew each other.
Not since Derek died had she ever been so happy to be alive. Edgar was breathing new life into her.
The king of Figaro hadn't been less thrilled when they met than she had been. He was still surprised that the woman even existed. Such a wonderful being, the embodiment of everything he'd ever sought for. Many women had the beauty, and the brain. Some had the passion and sensuality. But none had all of it, none could ever keep his attention. Except Kanai. She kept teasing him, always catching his interest in new ways.
Her name made her sound innocent. Yet another thing about her that thrilled him. He knew she wasn't, by no means. She didn't pretend she was, either. Not to him. It was fascinating to get seduced, for once. A completely new, and certainly not unpleasant experience.
"The survivors of the West attacks!" a soldier on the stage screamed.
"Impossible!" prince Ralse growled, grabbing Maria's arm.
Edgar drew back. A shiver of disappointment ran through Kanai's body. This time, he was teasing her. God, it was thrilling her to insanity! Edgar knew exactly what he was doing.
"I'm sorry, my lady," he whispered, carefully running his fingers through her thick, dark hair as he removed his hand, "I'd like to enjoy the ending of this opera this time."
"It went rather chaotic when I saw it last," Kanai mumbled, pulling herself together, "they removed the abducting scene from act I and placed it in act II, after getting the real Maria just in time during the pause."
On the stage, Ralse and Draco had begun their fight. After a "hard" battle, Draco sent the prince's sword flying out of sight, to the left end of the scene.
"The West will once again be free!" Draco triumphantly sang.
"I wish you good night for now," Ralse furiously replied, "but remember, you have not seen the last of me! Practice, petty hero, before me you shall bow!"
With a shriek Ralse disappeared into a black cloud. The soldiers of the East fell to the floor, as if dead.
"Draco!" Maria sang, rushing into his arms.
"Cry no more, my love," the hero tenderly sang, holding her close, "the East will never harm us again, sweet dove."
The scenes were hurriedly changed, everyone except the couple went off stage. Draco and Maria didn't move at all while the great hall of the castle was transformed into a garden. The background with its distant windows was replaced with an enormous picture of a pond encircled by trees, bushes made of wood were pushed onto the stage.
"Peace returned to the West," the storyteller announced, "Draco and Maria planned their wedding, forgetting about Ralse's vow. But forgetfulness would rob them of their happiness."
Kanai closed her eyes, leaning back. This was her favorite part of this opera; the sweet yet passionate love aria of Draco and Maria.
But as Maria began to sing to the slowly growing crescendo of the orchestra, the lady felt a cold hand over her mouth, pressing her head backwards into the back of her seat. It was definitely not Edgar's gentle touch. Panicking, Kanai tried to scratch at the attacker with her long nails, while fumbling for Edgar's arm. Where was he? Wasn't he there?!
There was a surprised "Ouff!" coming from her left. The next second the grip of her head was removed in panic, followed by a thump! and another groan of pain. She rushed from her seat, at first only staring in shocked paralyzation as Edgar sent his fist into the chest of a figure in a dark robe. A growl came from beneath the hood. Without looking, the king of Figaro kicked backwards and sent another stranger into the wall of the small terrace while lifting his facing foe by the shoulders.
"I'm not amused with these kind of games," Edgar growled, "and when somebody attacks my lady, I get really irritated. So you better tell me what the hell you are doing here, who you are and how you got past the guards, or I'll personally cut you into very small pieces with a chainsaw."
The other man got to his feet and leaped towards Edgar's back, but Kanai got in his way, holding her fist and knee in tactical places. It was obviously a man under the dark cloth, considering the fact that he didn't care much for the hit in his face. His groan was almost drowned in Draco's singing and the loud orchestra.
"I'll never make you irritated, love," Edgar grinned without turning around, understanding the situation by the sounds.
"Better not, dear," Kanai said, to her surprise finding an excited smile upon her lips.
On the stage Draco's song turned to a scream of pain. He fell to the floor with a black arrow in his back, disappearing before Maria's feet in the same kind of black cloud that Ralse had left through.
Maria's heartbreaking scream startled Edgar, making him turn his head at the stage.
Like an attacking snake, the man he held reached into his robes and brought out a thin dagger. Before Kanai had time to screech a warning, the attacker had surpassed Edgar a light cut in the right shoulder. The king of Figaro growled in surprise and dropped his enemy, staggering.
"Edgar!"
Kanai tried to scream, but all that left her lips was a croaking whisper as her beloved fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Sinner!" the hooded man snarled and attacked her.
Her arm turned into a flame of pain, even though the wound wasn't very deep. At once her mind began to fade away.
"Edgar…" she whispered, helpless, before the poison began to hastily bring her away from the wake world.
She fell to the floor just when Maria saw the demon that had been hidden behind a bush; the monster that had abducted Draco. Lady Kanai slipped into unconsciousness as the young queen swore to all the good powers that she would go to the underworld to retrieve her love from Ralse's clutches. Her holy vow drove the demon to flee with a snarl.
The dramatic scene on the stage had veiled the attack on the terrace completely to the other guests.