(A/N: Sorry that this chapter is so short, but I took a plot detour after listening to "Sweet Surrender" by Sarah McLachlan (good song, go listen) so the story might be different than what I expected. And the chapter title means "They have disappeared tonight" in french. If it's a wrong translation, sue me. It's only my second year of french :P)
~**Zidane's POV**~
"The HELL is going on here?" I snapped as soon as Dagger and I got to our own bedroom. She took her time answering. Maybe she wanted me to calm down first, but I was in no mood to be calm. I wanted answers and I wanted them fast. She quietly sat down in a chair near her dresser as I folded my arms over my chest. Right now the only thing that was keeping me calm was the fact that I kept breathing deeply.
She looked up at me with her eyes now dry and her face completely voided of emotion. I was surprised that she was very calm. I have never really flipped out on her and she took it with a grain of salt. For about a minute I waited for an answer. "Well?" I finally asked after another two minutes went by.
She looked at me straight in the eyes. "I didn't expect her to do it again." Great answer. Not the one I wanted to hear though. I waved my hand in a gesture to get her to keep explaining. She didn't quite get what I was asking, so I had to vocalize it.
"And how long as this been happening?"
"… About three or four years…"
"I see… And why haven't you told me?"
She paused and looked at the ground. Why did I have a feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy her answer much. "I didn't think it was important." Lovely. I gritted my teeth and bit my tongue to hold back my smart-ass remark. Only for her, though. I would only control myself for her. She could probably see how much I was trying to restrain myself, so she continued to talk. "It hasn't happened for over two years, so I thought as long as she didn't do it again, I didn't have to mention it. I thought she had stopped because you came back! I didn't think that-"
"For your sake, and your sake alone, I'm not going to yell at you. Now, has there been anything else that you've been hiding from me?" She shook her head. "… Good… Now I'm going to speak with my daughter, then I'll be gone for a while. I promise I'll get back before midnight, ok?"
"Zidane," she tried pleading, but I waved her off with a wave of my hand.
"You stay here and don't get over stressed," I commanded with a stern sounding voice. My tone and face softened up a bit. "I promise I'll come back. You're tired, ne? Go to sleep." I walked over to her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead before turning around to head for the double door.
She stood up from her chair and took a step toward me. "I love you, Zidane," she softly said. I stopped for a moment at the door and sadly smiled to myself. Without turning around, I started to walk out again. Before I closed the door, I responded with a simple two-word sentence.
"I know."
~*-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-*~
~**Later That Night**~
Garnet idly stared at the night sky. Her right hand was lightly stroking the bulge on her stomach while her mind was elsewhere. The day had been long and hard, and even though it was approaching ten at night, Zidane had still not returned from when he left about five hours ago. He had talked with Jade, and she soon fell asleep in her room with the door locked and the melody of her music box drifting underneath and through the cracks of the door.
The whole castle had been quiet for some time. It was as if everyone knew that it would be better if no one talked. Normally it was filled with conversation and laughter all throughout the night, but now there was only silence. Even the town was unusually quiet for this time of night. It seemed as if everyone was already sleeping, but Garnet could never sleep like this. Her busy mind kept her awake with several thoughts and questions.
It was times like this that she reflected on when she first got a taste of real freedom with Zidane and the rest of the crew. She especially remembered the time that she was standing on her Uncle's watchtower and Zidane had broken through security just to find out where she was. Even life was dangerous then, she was actually allowed to be carefree for a moment.
A cool breeze gently swept over her and blew a few strands of hair into her eyes, but her focus was set on the town beyond the lake and all the lights that lit up the streets. Without a sound, she picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake. The sound of it hitting the water was barely heard, but the ripples could easily been seen in the light. With a heavy sigh, she placed her chin in her hand and stared at the rippling water below.
"What troubles you now, Your Highness?" asked a calm and concerned voice from behind her. Garnet didn't even turn around, but she turned her head slightly to the side to get a look at who was speaking to her. When she saw, she turned her head back to the water, and flicked another small pebble into its dark waters.
"Everything and nothing is troubling me because it always does. Everything and nothing," she slowly replied. Without turning, she continued to speak. "What brings you to this side of the castle, Beatrix? Steiner looking for me again?"
Beatrix shook her head. "You know that he's stopped watching you like a hawk for a while. I just came to see how you were, and no one knew where you were, so I assumed that you would come here." Garnet slowly nodded. After clearing her throat, she began to speak again. "I also came to update you on some things. Lady Eiko has returned home to Lindblum, and your daughter is still asleep."
"Any word of Zidane?" Garnet asked cautiously. Beatrix just shook her head again.
"None, yet. He managed to slip out of the castle unnoticed. No one knows where he went or when he's coming back. In fact, very few know that he even left. In some ways, he hasn't changed."
"And I would never want him to," Garnet whispered. Beatrix frowned at the tome of voice she was using. It reminded her of the seven-year period when he wasn't around. Garnet had been very distant and quiet, and Beatrix never wanted to see her act like that ever again. She walked up beside Garnet and placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew that she didn't really have to say anything, but she also knew that it needed to be said.
"You know that he won't do that again, and you know that he loves you. Stop acting like you did back then. You have neither the time nor the energy to be worrying, especially when you're carrying a baby in as dangerous of a situation that you are in. I truly wish for your happiness, but sometimes I wish that you had listened to Dr. Tot. Jade has been worrying about you for sometime, but she's never said anything about it to anyone else but Eiko. You should talk to her more often, even though I know that you talk to he a lot." Garnet nodded and twisted a lock of hair around her finger.
"I'm just worried… Worried that one day I might wake up and he'll be gone forever… I never could get rid of that fear, but I guess I'll just have to. The changes come too frequently." Beatrix nodded and just quietly stood by her, staring at the water.
"You know, I'll always be here to assist you, Garnet."
"I know, Beatrix… I know." They stood in silence and watched the water gently lap against the side of the bay. It was a cloudless night and there was a perfect reflection of the moon on the water's surface. They stood like that for a few minutes before one of the castle guards came rushing towards them.
"Your Highness! The Princess is missing from her room and no one has a clue where she could have gone. No one knows how long she's been gone, I'm afraid. We just got word-" Garnet didn't stick around to hear the rest; she had already gathered a portion of her skirt and made a mad dash to Jade's room. The fear in her heart pushed her forward, even though subconsciencly she knew that she shouldn't be straining her body the way that she was. At the moment, that didn't matter.
She burst into Jade's room and saw that her music box was smashed on the ground; the part of the box that play music broken in several places. Jade's bed was unmade, and there was no sign of her in the room or the time that she left at all.
Garnet's eyes darted around the room, and she walked over to Jade's dresser where a glass goblet with a broken chip inside it stood. Slowly with trembling hands, she picked up the goblet and glanced at the shining red object in the glass. The chip was covered in blood.
Gasping in surprise, she took a step back and dropped the glass, watching the fragile shape plummet to the ground and separate into thousands of tiny shards. Looking down at her hands, she noticed that her hands were stained with some of the blood that must have been on the outside of the goblet. Quickly, she turned and ran out of the room in alarm.
"S-Steiner!" she cried with tears in her eyes as she ran off to find her head general.
(A/N: I'm leaving you all with a cliff hanger and a slight plot change because I'm evil and I want to take this story a slightly different route than I orginally planned. I'd say the story is about 2/3 of the way done... maybe only one half if this plot change takes me deeper than I orgianlly planned to go. I do know the ending, and I do have a general idea of what I want to happen next, but it might take a while for me to sort all my thoughts out. Don't kill me quite yet. And for the [1] in last chapter, the thing about Dr. Tot telling them not to have a kid, that isn't really explained, and I won't go into detail since that'll spoil part of the story, BUT what I can say it that it was unadvised since (I'm going by Midieval BS here) having a baby at an older age (and 24 was concidered old back then since people were lucky if they lived till 30, think of it, 50 was ANCIENT lol) was generally an unhealthy thing and no one knew the outcome of what might happen if they did have a child, aka the survival of the child/mother post labor wasn't assured. R/R plz, sank you =) )
~**Zidane's POV**~
"The HELL is going on here?" I snapped as soon as Dagger and I got to our own bedroom. She took her time answering. Maybe she wanted me to calm down first, but I was in no mood to be calm. I wanted answers and I wanted them fast. She quietly sat down in a chair near her dresser as I folded my arms over my chest. Right now the only thing that was keeping me calm was the fact that I kept breathing deeply.
She looked up at me with her eyes now dry and her face completely voided of emotion. I was surprised that she was very calm. I have never really flipped out on her and she took it with a grain of salt. For about a minute I waited for an answer. "Well?" I finally asked after another two minutes went by.
She looked at me straight in the eyes. "I didn't expect her to do it again." Great answer. Not the one I wanted to hear though. I waved my hand in a gesture to get her to keep explaining. She didn't quite get what I was asking, so I had to vocalize it.
"And how long as this been happening?"
"… About three or four years…"
"I see… And why haven't you told me?"
She paused and looked at the ground. Why did I have a feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy her answer much. "I didn't think it was important." Lovely. I gritted my teeth and bit my tongue to hold back my smart-ass remark. Only for her, though. I would only control myself for her. She could probably see how much I was trying to restrain myself, so she continued to talk. "It hasn't happened for over two years, so I thought as long as she didn't do it again, I didn't have to mention it. I thought she had stopped because you came back! I didn't think that-"
"For your sake, and your sake alone, I'm not going to yell at you. Now, has there been anything else that you've been hiding from me?" She shook her head. "… Good… Now I'm going to speak with my daughter, then I'll be gone for a while. I promise I'll get back before midnight, ok?"
"Zidane," she tried pleading, but I waved her off with a wave of my hand.
"You stay here and don't get over stressed," I commanded with a stern sounding voice. My tone and face softened up a bit. "I promise I'll come back. You're tired, ne? Go to sleep." I walked over to her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead before turning around to head for the double door.
She stood up from her chair and took a step toward me. "I love you, Zidane," she softly said. I stopped for a moment at the door and sadly smiled to myself. Without turning around, I started to walk out again. Before I closed the door, I responded with a simple two-word sentence.
"I know."
~*-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-*~
~**Later That Night**~
Garnet idly stared at the night sky. Her right hand was lightly stroking the bulge on her stomach while her mind was elsewhere. The day had been long and hard, and even though it was approaching ten at night, Zidane had still not returned from when he left about five hours ago. He had talked with Jade, and she soon fell asleep in her room with the door locked and the melody of her music box drifting underneath and through the cracks of the door.
The whole castle had been quiet for some time. It was as if everyone knew that it would be better if no one talked. Normally it was filled with conversation and laughter all throughout the night, but now there was only silence. Even the town was unusually quiet for this time of night. It seemed as if everyone was already sleeping, but Garnet could never sleep like this. Her busy mind kept her awake with several thoughts and questions.
It was times like this that she reflected on when she first got a taste of real freedom with Zidane and the rest of the crew. She especially remembered the time that she was standing on her Uncle's watchtower and Zidane had broken through security just to find out where she was. Even life was dangerous then, she was actually allowed to be carefree for a moment.
A cool breeze gently swept over her and blew a few strands of hair into her eyes, but her focus was set on the town beyond the lake and all the lights that lit up the streets. Without a sound, she picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake. The sound of it hitting the water was barely heard, but the ripples could easily been seen in the light. With a heavy sigh, she placed her chin in her hand and stared at the rippling water below.
"What troubles you now, Your Highness?" asked a calm and concerned voice from behind her. Garnet didn't even turn around, but she turned her head slightly to the side to get a look at who was speaking to her. When she saw, she turned her head back to the water, and flicked another small pebble into its dark waters.
"Everything and nothing is troubling me because it always does. Everything and nothing," she slowly replied. Without turning, she continued to speak. "What brings you to this side of the castle, Beatrix? Steiner looking for me again?"
Beatrix shook her head. "You know that he's stopped watching you like a hawk for a while. I just came to see how you were, and no one knew where you were, so I assumed that you would come here." Garnet slowly nodded. After clearing her throat, she began to speak again. "I also came to update you on some things. Lady Eiko has returned home to Lindblum, and your daughter is still asleep."
"Any word of Zidane?" Garnet asked cautiously. Beatrix just shook her head again.
"None, yet. He managed to slip out of the castle unnoticed. No one knows where he went or when he's coming back. In fact, very few know that he even left. In some ways, he hasn't changed."
"And I would never want him to," Garnet whispered. Beatrix frowned at the tome of voice she was using. It reminded her of the seven-year period when he wasn't around. Garnet had been very distant and quiet, and Beatrix never wanted to see her act like that ever again. She walked up beside Garnet and placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew that she didn't really have to say anything, but she also knew that it needed to be said.
"You know that he won't do that again, and you know that he loves you. Stop acting like you did back then. You have neither the time nor the energy to be worrying, especially when you're carrying a baby in as dangerous of a situation that you are in. I truly wish for your happiness, but sometimes I wish that you had listened to Dr. Tot. Jade has been worrying about you for sometime, but she's never said anything about it to anyone else but Eiko. You should talk to her more often, even though I know that you talk to he a lot." Garnet nodded and twisted a lock of hair around her finger.
"I'm just worried… Worried that one day I might wake up and he'll be gone forever… I never could get rid of that fear, but I guess I'll just have to. The changes come too frequently." Beatrix nodded and just quietly stood by her, staring at the water.
"You know, I'll always be here to assist you, Garnet."
"I know, Beatrix… I know." They stood in silence and watched the water gently lap against the side of the bay. It was a cloudless night and there was a perfect reflection of the moon on the water's surface. They stood like that for a few minutes before one of the castle guards came rushing towards them.
"Your Highness! The Princess is missing from her room and no one has a clue where she could have gone. No one knows how long she's been gone, I'm afraid. We just got word-" Garnet didn't stick around to hear the rest; she had already gathered a portion of her skirt and made a mad dash to Jade's room. The fear in her heart pushed her forward, even though subconsciencly she knew that she shouldn't be straining her body the way that she was. At the moment, that didn't matter.
She burst into Jade's room and saw that her music box was smashed on the ground; the part of the box that play music broken in several places. Jade's bed was unmade, and there was no sign of her in the room or the time that she left at all.
Garnet's eyes darted around the room, and she walked over to Jade's dresser where a glass goblet with a broken chip inside it stood. Slowly with trembling hands, she picked up the goblet and glanced at the shining red object in the glass. The chip was covered in blood.
Gasping in surprise, she took a step back and dropped the glass, watching the fragile shape plummet to the ground and separate into thousands of tiny shards. Looking down at her hands, she noticed that her hands were stained with some of the blood that must have been on the outside of the goblet. Quickly, she turned and ran out of the room in alarm.
"S-Steiner!" she cried with tears in her eyes as she ran off to find her head general.
(A/N: I'm leaving you all with a cliff hanger and a slight plot change because I'm evil and I want to take this story a slightly different route than I orginally planned. I'd say the story is about 2/3 of the way done... maybe only one half if this plot change takes me deeper than I orgianlly planned to go. I do know the ending, and I do have a general idea of what I want to happen next, but it might take a while for me to sort all my thoughts out. Don't kill me quite yet. And for the [1] in last chapter, the thing about Dr. Tot telling them not to have a kid, that isn't really explained, and I won't go into detail since that'll spoil part of the story, BUT what I can say it that it was unadvised since (I'm going by Midieval BS here) having a baby at an older age (and 24 was concidered old back then since people were lucky if they lived till 30, think of it, 50 was ANCIENT lol) was generally an unhealthy thing and no one knew the outcome of what might happen if they did have a child, aka the survival of the child/mother post labor wasn't assured. R/R plz, sank you =) )