Alexandria
9:15 P.M. Gaian Standard
Raamalooke's Point of View:
I got out of the Airship and stole away into the shadows. Kuja would be taking his normal walk through Alexandria tonight and I'd be ready to take his life. One way or another.
Kuja's Point of View:
I could tell that something was wrong. The night felt ominous and the entire city was still, as if something dark was in town. That was not likely unless the city-folk counted me as evil. I had been around enough that almost everyone trusted the fact that I wouldn't 'snap' anytime soon. I sighed and continued my leisurely scroll down the street to the entrance. The moon was full, and it bathed the city in a blue glow that I found rather comforting. Just as I reached the entrance, I heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed. I whipped around and frantically scanned the street.
Nothing there. Maybe I'm just hearing things. Shaking my head somewhat, I started back to the castle.
"Hmm…why are you hiding, Kuja?" A feminine voice asked. That was enough to stop me in my tracks.
"Perhaps, you should ask yourself that question," I hissed. Just then, a woman stepped out of the shadows. A cloak half hid her body, but no the scabbards. There was a hint of a tail poking out from under the cloak as well. The woman had raven colored hair and silver eyes. She was nothing that I've ever seen before.
"I have been ordered to dispose of you, permanently," The woman said. Permanently? That sounded nice, but I did have my children to attend to. Plus, I had the rest of my life to live.
"That does sound nice, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that," I muttered. As I said those words, power flowed to my fingertips. The woman sighed and unsheathed two very long swords. This worried me a little bit, but that fear began to fade after a while. I grinned and released a Flare spell on her without remorse. She stepped through the flames with a smile that said, 'Your death will be sweet.' I began to feel weaker as usual when I used my magic. It was an age thing, I guess. There was a sharp dragon cry, and all of a sudden, another woman dropped out of the sky. The woman unsheathed her two swords and swung them downward.
"How dare you, Raamalooke!" The woman shouted. Raamalooke? The master assassin? Why do I always attract people who want to kill me? The woman called Raamalooke stepped back with her swords held high. The other woman looked familiar to me…
"You are forever getting into things, Kuja. When are you going to settle down?" The other woman asked as she landed and forced Raamalooke to back up some more. That had to be Mitheithel. She is the only person that would tease me when I'm in danger. Plus, I'd hate to have her as an enemy. As gentle as Mitheithel seemed, she was extremely dangerous when her temper flared.
"Mitheithel, you are seriously behind. I have already settled down. Since when do you ever stray away from your village?" I asked sarcastically. Mitheithel snorted as Raamalooke fled from the scene.
"Since a few months ago," She answered. It was good to see her again, but the fact that she was entirely unpredictable right now bothered me. I preferred to be in control of the situation. Mitheithel sheathed her swords and rubbed her side.
"Raamalooke gave me a nasty nick with her sword and I'm still a bit winded from the fall off of my dragon earlier," She muttered.
"Perhaps, you should come back to the castle with me," I suggested.
"I'd rather not," Mitheithel said.
"You need to rest, do you not?" Stop being stubborn," I said. Mitheithel burst out laughing.
"Stubborn? None is as stubborn as you, monkey boy," She joked. I glared at her darkly. I hate being called that.
"Alright, alright, I'll go with you back to the castle," She finally agreed.
Alexandria Castle:
As soon as we stepped foot in the castle, guards swarmed us. Steiner walked won the stairs with a frown.
"Master Zidane, and Mistress Garnet were worried about you," He muttered. Zidane was always worried about me these days.
"I was delayed," I said calmly as Mitheithel shifted her weight to her right leg. Steiner eyed her with contempt.
"Is there something wrong?" She asked.
"I don't remember seeing you," Steiner said.
"Of course not," Mitheithel snapped. Steiner waved his hand and the guards closest to her drew their swords. She just laughed.
"Attack me then, Steiner. Come on, I dare you," She taunted. I bit my lip in order to keep from laughing. Steiner's face turned red from her statement. But before Steiner could try it, Zidane appeared on the stairs.
"Glad to see that no one killed you," He commented. I chuckled.
"Not that they would anyway," I muttered. Zidane looked at Mitheithel and grinned. I could read 'flirt' all over his face. This was going to be interesting.
"I haven't seen you around. You have such pretty eyes," He said.
"Nice try, but unless you want a taste of my claws and my swords, go right ahead," Mitheithel replied. Zidane blinked and grinned again.
"Ah, maybe Kuja's got another girl?" Now it was my time to scowl.
"No one can replace my wife. No one," I snapped. That was a very sensitive issue for me. It was hard raising my twin daughters alone. Kalya and Kulusindi hardly knew their mother before she died. Mitheithel cleared her throat softly.
"Why don't we have a cup of Chocobo Green Tea by the fire? It would give me sometime to rest," She suggested.
"That would be splendid," Garnet said from the head of the stairs.
Down by the fireplace:
As usual, I sat in the corner closest to the fireplace, watching and waiting. Mitheithel had her cloak about her boy as she calmly sipped the tea.
"So where do you come from, Mitheithel?" Garnet softly asked.
"I come from a remote village in Gaia. It's uncharted, so only the inhabitants know where it's located," Mitheithel replied.
"Why did you come here? I mean, I thought you never wanted to leave your village," I asked. She sat her cup on her lap and sighed.
"After Kuja left, there wasn't much of anything to do. He told me of the places in Gaia, and I just wanted to see the world," She explained. I remembered that.
"I remember those days, Mitheithel. And I remember the whipping I got from you as well," I muttered. She chuckled lightly.
"You made me do it, Kuja. You attacked me first, and what I did was purely self-defense." Sure, it was self-defense. It took a series of seriously painful spells to put me down. Plus, I was bedridden for three weeks after that.
"But I did apologize for it," Mitheithel said thoughtfully.
"One thing that bothers me is the fact that you came to save me. Why?" I asked.
"I have been following Raamalooke for a long time and when I heard that she was going to kill you, I just came," I replied. There was another reason why she came. But she wasn't going to admit it. She was way too stubborn to admit that kind of thing. Mitheithel sipped from her glass and closed her eyes.
"I am going to retire now, I'll see you in the morning," Garnet said. She got up and headed upstairs. Zidane followed her reluctantly. I guess he was still curious about Mitheithel. I started to say something to her, but her head was tilted to the side, and not a sound could be heard from her. I shook my head and went upstairs as well.
Morning; Gaian Standard
Mitheithel's Point of View:
The morning dawned bright and warm as I stood on a nearby balcony. It was rather soothing and it helped refresh my mind before my morning exercises. The castle was silent as it's inhabits continued on sleeping. I jumped down from the balcony to the lower courtyard. That way I could be in peace for a while. I dropped my cloak and removed my scimitar scabbards from my belt. I was clothed in a sleeveless silver shirt and black pants. I took a deep breath, sat on the ground, and relaxed. I forced all thoughts from my mind.
Kuja's Point of View:
I took one look out of my window and smiled. Yet another beautiful day. I sighed, and slipped on another fancy outfit (I still had my codpiece, somewhere) and walked across the hall to wake up my twin daughters, Kalya and Kulusindi. But when I opened the door, they were already awake. They were both 7 years old, and they inherited my stubbornness and their mother's calmness. Kalya had stunning green eyes just like her mother, and Kulusindi had blue eyes like me. That was the only way you could tell them apart.
"Good morning, Father," They said in unison. I smiled warmly. Once again, I had something to live for. I walked up to the window to look out at the city again when I saw Mitheithel swinging her swords in the air. Her movements were perfectly timed and very fast. It was absolutely beautiful to watch. Kalya walked up to the window and smiled.
"Mitheithel is here," She said. I nodded slowly, transfixed by Mitheithel's complicated movements. She performed two flips and brought her scimitars in front of her again. And then she stood there for a while, sweating lightly. I turned away from the window and went downstairs.
A/N: Not bad, eh? Please Review! And Chapter 3 will be up in a matter of days.