The first week that Zidane was there, very little had happened. He barely left his room, and ate just enough for him to get by on. Freya stayed by him most of the time, clouding his mind with other thoughts and information about what had been happening recently with her, Fratley, and the rest of her kind. Still there would be moments where Zidane would seem to zone out and just talk about anything and everything that seemed to come to his mind at the moment. Freya sat by him during this time and just listened to him in complete silence.
The silence that she had offered him spoke louder than any words that she could ever put forth. It showed understanding and compassion because she was one of the few people that actually knew what it was like to lose a loved one for long periods of time. Time that would eventually seem like forever, even though he would never be able to get his love back.
He walked and talked more during the end of the week, but still most of the time was spent just simply walking in the rain, letting his thoughts leak out of him as fast as the rain fell. He needed that time to get all his thoughts sorted out because even though he didn't mention this to Freya, he had reoccurring nightmares that would often leave him awake and restless throughout the night.
He dreamt of Garnet's death over and over again. Even though he wasn't actually there when she had died, he still remembered the look on her face. It was hallow, empty, and all the glitter and shine in her eyes had faded. Her skin was pale, yet her cheeks were still flush even though their rosy color was slowly fading to match the rest of the whiteness on her skin. She looked unearthly, and it had frightened him to no end. He never had one of those dreams where she came back as the undead and scolded him for leaving her to die, but instead it would replay over and over again. Maybe as many as ten times in one dream. It was that dream that made him wish that he never knew what the meaning of sleep was.
He was much happier in his days where he would have dreamless sleeps, and his mind would almost be at complete rest, but nightmares were the only things that were able to disturb his almost listless slumber.
Since the nightmares started, he looked thinner and paler himself, as if he was already dead. And in a way, he was. Freya was the only one that had seen him during this time because he wanted to be alone, and most were told to try to avoid him, even though he was already avoiding them. They had known him to be such a strong and willful fighter, but to see him like this, with his almost shattered will, too much commotion would have started, and that was something that wasn't needed. So they just went about their business not paying attention to him at all. Still, there were times that if they did see him, they could do nothing but stare for a mere moment.
Truthfully, that was all they had.
Freya had received letters at the beginning of the week from Jade that told her that Jade knew where he was, and was willing to let him have his time to relax and collect himself. She also stated that she did need him to be prepared to come back since he did have duties and obligations that he still needed to do even after his wife's death. The letter almost literally quoted, 'It was hard on us all, probably Zidane and myself the hardest, but we can't just ignore the rest of the people for this happening. My mother would have liked it better that way.'
Freya knew all about the confrontations that Zidane had with Jade, and she read the letter with a surprised look on her face. Jade's tone was almost completely indifferent and dispassionate, yet she showed understanding for Zidane's suffering and yearning. She figured that no one could really understand that girl, with the exception of Garnet and Zidane if he ever got the chance to know her well enough, but by the way that things were looking, she had highly doubted that.
She told him the contents of the letter at the end of the first week, and he simply nodded understanding everything that Jade was saying, knowing that like her mother, she had put the people first and her personal emotions aside and already started moving ahead. It was impressive for a nine-year-old to be able to do that, but he needed to focus on himself getting his things back together.
But how can one get back on their feet when the ground keeps slipping from underneath them?
~*-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-*~
~**Jade's POV, At the End of the Sixteen Days**~
It's been a little over two weeks, but it feels like it's been over two years. The days went by so slowly for me, and yet there was much to be done in that time. We had the funeral for my mother the day after she had died, but I wasn't present at it. I don't know why even though it was my duty. In my eyes, crying in front of a crowd was a sign of weakness. I couldn't afford to have that shown even though it was expected at my age. I needed to be strong for my people and let them know that I was ready to become my mother successor. It wasn't going to be easy, but I knew that it was just something that I had to do.
I knew that whenever Zidane came back, he would still need help running the kingdom even though he is the King. My mother had always taken care of that, and now it was time for the rest of the castle and myself to help him out with this, and all at the same time, not get corrupted by any crazy ideas. It was going to be difficult, and I know that things will probably be rough at first, but I couldn't give up then.
By the end of the sixteenth day was when Zidane came home on his own. I was going to send guards out to get him in a few more days, but I was surprised to see him here early. He looked tired, distressed, yet understanding, and well informed. He knew what was going to happen, and he knew what he was going to have to do about it. The moment that he saw me again, I was sitting in his room that he used to share with my mother, my arms wrapped around my baby brother softly rocking him.
I stared at him the moment that he opened the door, and almost nothing was said. Truthfully, there was nothing really to say. We both had our own things to do and one child and kingdom to take care of. It was enough to put us on an understanding level. It was that way between us for a long time, a very silent understanding where nothing ever had to be said.
He named my brother Kuja that day. Normally I would have argued knowing how much my mother hated the man that he was naming her son after, but I could also tell by the look in his eyes that he had though a lot about this and had a distinct reason on why he chose that name. Therefore, I never really questioned it.
Things moved along slowly after he had come back. I helped him out with all the politics of ruling along with the help of Beatrix that knew more about it than I had realized. I was the one that mostly took care of little Kuja, but Zidane helped out plenty. He spent a lot of time with his son and tried getting to know me better. I still was in my mood of silence, so he never really had the chance to have a long decent conversation with me. I was always busy with other things anyway.
Kuja acted a lot like my mother in many ways, all of which were surprising. He was calm like her, and he seemed to space out like she did, yet he had the quickness and interest in everything around him like Zidane. Zidane loved the child more than he was willing to admit, and I thought at times he loved Kuja more than he loved me. It was something that I could never really see bothering me before, but now it felt as if I was left to fend for myself.
I was really on my own this time.
(A/N: Yes, I know it's been a while since I've updated. Yes, I realized that I got few reviews on the last chapter. And yes, I realize this is a really short chapter, but there is a reason for that. I decided that I was going to break this into two different stories since making it all one long story wouldn't have made sense. I'm not sure what I'm going to name the next one, but know that this chapter is OFFICALLY the last chapter of DCtHoB. The next story will probably contain the after math of Garnet's death, which means it will be purely about the whole Zidane/Jade relationship. Probably more angsty than this one, and no romance [sorry for all those who liked that] but hopefully those who have stuck with me this far will read the next one. I truly want to thank all of you that reviewed and I'm glad that most of you liked it *^^* - Ni9h7Ki773N)
The silence that she had offered him spoke louder than any words that she could ever put forth. It showed understanding and compassion because she was one of the few people that actually knew what it was like to lose a loved one for long periods of time. Time that would eventually seem like forever, even though he would never be able to get his love back.
He walked and talked more during the end of the week, but still most of the time was spent just simply walking in the rain, letting his thoughts leak out of him as fast as the rain fell. He needed that time to get all his thoughts sorted out because even though he didn't mention this to Freya, he had reoccurring nightmares that would often leave him awake and restless throughout the night.
He dreamt of Garnet's death over and over again. Even though he wasn't actually there when she had died, he still remembered the look on her face. It was hallow, empty, and all the glitter and shine in her eyes had faded. Her skin was pale, yet her cheeks were still flush even though their rosy color was slowly fading to match the rest of the whiteness on her skin. She looked unearthly, and it had frightened him to no end. He never had one of those dreams where she came back as the undead and scolded him for leaving her to die, but instead it would replay over and over again. Maybe as many as ten times in one dream. It was that dream that made him wish that he never knew what the meaning of sleep was.
He was much happier in his days where he would have dreamless sleeps, and his mind would almost be at complete rest, but nightmares were the only things that were able to disturb his almost listless slumber.
Since the nightmares started, he looked thinner and paler himself, as if he was already dead. And in a way, he was. Freya was the only one that had seen him during this time because he wanted to be alone, and most were told to try to avoid him, even though he was already avoiding them. They had known him to be such a strong and willful fighter, but to see him like this, with his almost shattered will, too much commotion would have started, and that was something that wasn't needed. So they just went about their business not paying attention to him at all. Still, there were times that if they did see him, they could do nothing but stare for a mere moment.
Truthfully, that was all they had.
Freya had received letters at the beginning of the week from Jade that told her that Jade knew where he was, and was willing to let him have his time to relax and collect himself. She also stated that she did need him to be prepared to come back since he did have duties and obligations that he still needed to do even after his wife's death. The letter almost literally quoted, 'It was hard on us all, probably Zidane and myself the hardest, but we can't just ignore the rest of the people for this happening. My mother would have liked it better that way.'
Freya knew all about the confrontations that Zidane had with Jade, and she read the letter with a surprised look on her face. Jade's tone was almost completely indifferent and dispassionate, yet she showed understanding for Zidane's suffering and yearning. She figured that no one could really understand that girl, with the exception of Garnet and Zidane if he ever got the chance to know her well enough, but by the way that things were looking, she had highly doubted that.
She told him the contents of the letter at the end of the first week, and he simply nodded understanding everything that Jade was saying, knowing that like her mother, she had put the people first and her personal emotions aside and already started moving ahead. It was impressive for a nine-year-old to be able to do that, but he needed to focus on himself getting his things back together.
But how can one get back on their feet when the ground keeps slipping from underneath them?
~*-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-*~
~**Jade's POV, At the End of the Sixteen Days**~
It's been a little over two weeks, but it feels like it's been over two years. The days went by so slowly for me, and yet there was much to be done in that time. We had the funeral for my mother the day after she had died, but I wasn't present at it. I don't know why even though it was my duty. In my eyes, crying in front of a crowd was a sign of weakness. I couldn't afford to have that shown even though it was expected at my age. I needed to be strong for my people and let them know that I was ready to become my mother successor. It wasn't going to be easy, but I knew that it was just something that I had to do.
I knew that whenever Zidane came back, he would still need help running the kingdom even though he is the King. My mother had always taken care of that, and now it was time for the rest of the castle and myself to help him out with this, and all at the same time, not get corrupted by any crazy ideas. It was going to be difficult, and I know that things will probably be rough at first, but I couldn't give up then.
By the end of the sixteenth day was when Zidane came home on his own. I was going to send guards out to get him in a few more days, but I was surprised to see him here early. He looked tired, distressed, yet understanding, and well informed. He knew what was going to happen, and he knew what he was going to have to do about it. The moment that he saw me again, I was sitting in his room that he used to share with my mother, my arms wrapped around my baby brother softly rocking him.
I stared at him the moment that he opened the door, and almost nothing was said. Truthfully, there was nothing really to say. We both had our own things to do and one child and kingdom to take care of. It was enough to put us on an understanding level. It was that way between us for a long time, a very silent understanding where nothing ever had to be said.
He named my brother Kuja that day. Normally I would have argued knowing how much my mother hated the man that he was naming her son after, but I could also tell by the look in his eyes that he had though a lot about this and had a distinct reason on why he chose that name. Therefore, I never really questioned it.
Things moved along slowly after he had come back. I helped him out with all the politics of ruling along with the help of Beatrix that knew more about it than I had realized. I was the one that mostly took care of little Kuja, but Zidane helped out plenty. He spent a lot of time with his son and tried getting to know me better. I still was in my mood of silence, so he never really had the chance to have a long decent conversation with me. I was always busy with other things anyway.
Kuja acted a lot like my mother in many ways, all of which were surprising. He was calm like her, and he seemed to space out like she did, yet he had the quickness and interest in everything around him like Zidane. Zidane loved the child more than he was willing to admit, and I thought at times he loved Kuja more than he loved me. It was something that I could never really see bothering me before, but now it felt as if I was left to fend for myself.
I was really on my own this time.
(A/N: Yes, I know it's been a while since I've updated. Yes, I realized that I got few reviews on the last chapter. And yes, I realize this is a really short chapter, but there is a reason for that. I decided that I was going to break this into two different stories since making it all one long story wouldn't have made sense. I'm not sure what I'm going to name the next one, but know that this chapter is OFFICALLY the last chapter of DCtHoB. The next story will probably contain the after math of Garnet's death, which means it will be purely about the whole Zidane/Jade relationship. Probably more angsty than this one, and no romance [sorry for all those who liked that] but hopefully those who have stuck with me this far will read the next one. I truly want to thank all of you that reviewed and I'm glad that most of you liked it *^^* - Ni9h7Ki773N)