Hi Everybody! This is my first little ficlet, and I'm really curious to
what you think of it so far. I've had this idea in my head ever since I
beat FF9, so we'll see how it turns out I suppose. Hope you enjoy it, and
please review okies?
************************************************************************
Forgotten Promises By Giggleplex
*********************************************************************** Despite its size and population, Lindblum was always a quiet city at night. This one was not particularly different in that perspective, even though the sun was already climbing into the sky in a spectacular show of warm sunset colors. All of the shops opened at 9 o'clock sharp every morning, so no one really had a reason to abandon their warm beds and freeze in November dawn. It was one of the glorious things about the mechanically-obsessed settlement; a kind of truce existed between merchants, factory employees and even thieves and guards. One of the main reasons people (and creatures) loved their life there.
Most of the castle was much the same, except for the room on the tallest turret and the narrowest staircase, a little girl had already streamed her consciousness out of the world of dreaming. Just one short little girl with peculiar purple hair and an even more peculiar horn parting it.
At first glance, one would dismiss any strength in that petite body. However this one little girl was a force to be reckoned with. Whispers followed her when she left her secluded room. Rumors, that this odd little child was one of the great warriors who saved the world from an almost unspeakable evil only a year prior.
Well, those rumors as odd as they may seem at first were entirely true. She was also the newly adopted child of the most respected Regent Cid and Lady Hilda of the most technologically advanced nation in Gaia. Her name was Eiko.
That morning, started as every other seemed to; boring. Eiko had taken to staring out the tiny open window nowadays. The cook was most likely asleep like everybody else, her parents as well. /Geez/, she thought with distaste /the so-called guard at my door has even fallen asleep./ She turned her head to the mucsley lump stationed at her door, who was snoring at that moment. Quite loudly in fact.
She tore her gaze off of the fool, and propped her drooping head up with a tiny arm; elbow placed firmly on the ledge. And waited.
* * *
"Eiko, darling, are you not hungry"
The purple-haired six-year-old turned to face her anxious mother, holding a plate of potatoes. Eiko silently cursed herself for spacing out in front of her mother. And at breakfast too! But, those thoughts drove out of her mind when hunger took over.
"Yup! I mean, no. I'm hungry. Would you please pass the potatoes?"
Lady Hilda's eyes lit up at the reply and she smiled while handing the plate to the little girl. "Oh Eiko! You're going to be a fine woman someday. Polite, pretty, and intelligent. Everything that a parent wants in a child. Isn't that right Cid?"
The regent of Lindblum looked up from his cup of tea, and a document one of his aides placed in front of him. "Hm? Oh yes. That's nice."
Eiko resisted the urge to giggle at the death glare Hilda shot at her husband, who obviously hadn't listened to a word she said. But right after that, a familiar dizziness overcame her, and she almost fell straight into her pile of potatoes. The same dizzy feeling when summoning an eidolon. It didn't take a genius to figure out the cause of the feeling, so she quickly excused herself, with her breakfast untouched.
* * *
When Eiko moved into the castle, her only request was a new summoning wall so that she could still pray to her eidolons without actually going to Madain Sari. So, naturally, this is where she went, and where she knew she would never be disturbed when contacting her inner monsters. When Eiko first saw the room, she had figured it was just an old guest room that had been abandoned as a result of its ridiculously long trip to anything else in the castle. However, now, she guessed it was more likely of being a closet. She had been living inside the castle for over a month now, and this was still the smallest room she had ever seen inside it. But Eiko didn't really mind, she just knew that even the servants would never find her there.
It was located in the middle of one of the numerous courtyards around the castle; its own independent building. Covered completely in ivy and moss, it looked like something in a fairy tale and also quite out of place in the magnificent castle. /Just like me/ thought Eiko sadly.
The interior was rather plain, and easy to paint. When Eiko had decorated the walls, she thought she felt the eidolons themselves guiding her little paintbrush. When she finally finished every single eidolon she could think of, she backed up and admired her handiwork, noticing quite plainly that she was diffidently not *that* talented. But either way, Eiko had spent a whole day without eating or sleeping, but just looking around in her own secluded paradise.
When Eiko entered the "chapel" as she had been accustomed to calling it, she quickly lit some incense and settled down on the ground, cross-legged. For some reason unbeknownsed to her, she was facing her intricate painting of the phoenix at the time. But, not even noticing where her body was taking her, she allowed herself to fall into a trance-like state. The very same thing that her beloved grandfather taught her right before he lay his head down in eternal slumber.
Once she was in a state of complete relaxation, Eiko started her prayer.
But, the gods had something else in mind.
Before she could understand what was happening, a bright flash illuminated the room, and Eiko's head felt light for a second. The brightness startled the young girl, so she closed her eyes tight and opened them, dreading the worst.
The phoenix stood there ::Summoner, we must have speech::
Groaning inwardly, she stared at the firebird in disbelief. /This is going to be a long day.
* * *
Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th, sighed for the umpteenth time this morning. The mayor of Dali had come to her morning court to complain of a matter regarding the usual land disputes of Dali's farms. This was the fourth time he had visited this month, and to put it plainly, she was rather tired of his overly exaturated voice. This should have been something that he himself had settled in the first place, and she had told him that, numerous times. However, no matter how many times she told him, he would never actually listen. So, somehow, she put up with his agitated (and agitating) speech yet again, and not really paying attention to what he had to say.
The queen of Alexandria, used all her strength just to sit up straight in mock interest, and to keep from falling asleep. Her gaze flowed to the man next to her, who by the looks of it, was having about the same amount of trouble, for about the same reasons.
Her comrade and husband, Zidane Tribal, was currently gazing at the crystal chandelier that hung over the hallway. Not being the true blood heir of Alexandria, he wasn't exactly expected to be one. He didn't even need to be there at court, yet he firmly made it clear, that he WAS going to stand by her always.
Garnet nudged a spark of magic in his direction to get his attention. It was so weak that it was invisible to the human eye, but he jumped slightly in his throne nonetheless. Trying not to appear too conspicuous to the mayor, he slowly turned his head toward his beautiful wife, and smiled. Her eyes darted towards the mayor (who was completely oblivious to their nonverbal conversation), and then she rolled them.
Zidane looked back to him, as he was currently droning on about how the rulers of Alexandria should do their part to the people. His emerald eyes went crossed as he tilted his head. To add to the complexion, he stuck his tongue out so it hung limply at the corner of his mouth. Garnet stifled a giggle as the General of the Alexandrian army, Beatrix, slapped the king's foot to gain his attention.
He gave a sort of strangled yelp that caused the mayor to glare daggers, and settled in yet again. Garnet sighed. Sometimes Beatrix just seemed a bit too stiff. She closed her eyes to hide exasperation, and sat up straight, just like her mother always told her.
"DAGGER! Zidane! I have to talk to you guys!"
She jolted up in time to see the lace-covered figure that ran towards them. Eiko ran as fast as she could in those cursed shoes, and was looking somewhat comical in a way. Beside Garnet, Zidane actually stood up, a huge grin spread across his face.
"Eiko! What a surprise!" He called. However, the mayor of Dali wasn't about to let him get away that easily.
"What is the meaning of this!?" He asked, his balding head, contorted in anger. Garnet rose to his challenge regally.
"Our apologies sir, but there is business we must attend to at the moment" she stated, glad of an excuse to leave him.
"Well excuse me queen, but I have business you must attend to as well" he puffed out his chest, and Garnet nearly sighed again. Now, the bore was an immature pest, pointing out one of the most annoying rules of childhood. I got here first.
The queen only ignored him, and jumped down from her velvet throne to meet one of her dearest friends. However, she was quite startled by the change of Eiko. Her normally cheery face, was deathly pale and her eyes held fear instead of happiness.
"Dagger." she stated breathlessly. "The eidolons talked to me."
Whatever the queen was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. Garnet was a full-fledged summoner by the normal age of sixteen, and the eidolons rarely spoke to her. Eiko was just a confused girl they found at the ruins of the summoner village. Certainly not important enough to be talking with the gods. Yes, just a little girl.
"Are you sure Eiko?" Garnet cooed, remembering how other children her age were like. It hadn't been the first time a six-year-old pulled a prank like this.
The purpled hair child, nodded violently. She took a sharp intake of breath before speaking again "The Pheonix came to me. She said that they had decided to bring someone back so that they could have another chance and that we had to make sure nothing bad would happen to him and that they could not revive his old memory and-"
"Hold on Eiko. Whatever it is, I'm sure the eidolons can take care of it theirselves you know." Zidane replied, not really believing her either, because he was still smiling.
"Yeah," Garnet agreed "it was probably just a dream, Eiko"
If the couple thought that was going to calm the poor girl down, they were sadly mistaken. "N-no! It wasn't a dream, she told me-"
"Eiko darling, would you like some tea?" Garnet offered, smiling. Eiko shook her head and then started to speak again "But I think this might have something to do with Ku-"
"Eiko," Zidane interrupted quietly "He's dead Eiko." Garnet sadly glanced at her husband. He still never got over the fact of his brother dying. His tail drooped, and he stared at the marble floor sadly. The queen felt a twinge of anger at the silver-haired mage who almost destroyed her beloved kingdom as well as others.
The six-year-old noticed the uncomfortable tone in the king's voice, and decided to keep her mouth shut on that subject. She already knew what the answer would be if she asked for help.
"So.you aren't going to help me, are you?" Eiko said in a very subdued voice. The rulers of Alexandria stayed silent. "Fine. I won't need your help anyways"
With that, she turned on her heel, chin posed defiantly, and walked out of the hall, and not looking back.
Garnet sighed. She and her husband shared a knowing look. "Oh, our little Eiko is growing up so fast. She's already acting like she's thirteen!"
That brought a chuckle from her partner. "Yeah, I remember those days."
And so, the rulers of Alexandria reflected on their teen years, and just how foolish they were at that time. Not knowing, that Eiko's warning could have saved so much grief, pain, and sorrow in the future. For this, is the story of the famous rulers' mistake.
Forgotten Promises By Giggleplex
*********************************************************************** Despite its size and population, Lindblum was always a quiet city at night. This one was not particularly different in that perspective, even though the sun was already climbing into the sky in a spectacular show of warm sunset colors. All of the shops opened at 9 o'clock sharp every morning, so no one really had a reason to abandon their warm beds and freeze in November dawn. It was one of the glorious things about the mechanically-obsessed settlement; a kind of truce existed between merchants, factory employees and even thieves and guards. One of the main reasons people (and creatures) loved their life there.
Most of the castle was much the same, except for the room on the tallest turret and the narrowest staircase, a little girl had already streamed her consciousness out of the world of dreaming. Just one short little girl with peculiar purple hair and an even more peculiar horn parting it.
At first glance, one would dismiss any strength in that petite body. However this one little girl was a force to be reckoned with. Whispers followed her when she left her secluded room. Rumors, that this odd little child was one of the great warriors who saved the world from an almost unspeakable evil only a year prior.
Well, those rumors as odd as they may seem at first were entirely true. She was also the newly adopted child of the most respected Regent Cid and Lady Hilda of the most technologically advanced nation in Gaia. Her name was Eiko.
That morning, started as every other seemed to; boring. Eiko had taken to staring out the tiny open window nowadays. The cook was most likely asleep like everybody else, her parents as well. /Geez/, she thought with distaste /the so-called guard at my door has even fallen asleep./ She turned her head to the mucsley lump stationed at her door, who was snoring at that moment. Quite loudly in fact.
She tore her gaze off of the fool, and propped her drooping head up with a tiny arm; elbow placed firmly on the ledge. And waited.
* * *
"Eiko, darling, are you not hungry"
The purple-haired six-year-old turned to face her anxious mother, holding a plate of potatoes. Eiko silently cursed herself for spacing out in front of her mother. And at breakfast too! But, those thoughts drove out of her mind when hunger took over.
"Yup! I mean, no. I'm hungry. Would you please pass the potatoes?"
Lady Hilda's eyes lit up at the reply and she smiled while handing the plate to the little girl. "Oh Eiko! You're going to be a fine woman someday. Polite, pretty, and intelligent. Everything that a parent wants in a child. Isn't that right Cid?"
The regent of Lindblum looked up from his cup of tea, and a document one of his aides placed in front of him. "Hm? Oh yes. That's nice."
Eiko resisted the urge to giggle at the death glare Hilda shot at her husband, who obviously hadn't listened to a word she said. But right after that, a familiar dizziness overcame her, and she almost fell straight into her pile of potatoes. The same dizzy feeling when summoning an eidolon. It didn't take a genius to figure out the cause of the feeling, so she quickly excused herself, with her breakfast untouched.
* * *
When Eiko moved into the castle, her only request was a new summoning wall so that she could still pray to her eidolons without actually going to Madain Sari. So, naturally, this is where she went, and where she knew she would never be disturbed when contacting her inner monsters. When Eiko first saw the room, she had figured it was just an old guest room that had been abandoned as a result of its ridiculously long trip to anything else in the castle. However, now, she guessed it was more likely of being a closet. She had been living inside the castle for over a month now, and this was still the smallest room she had ever seen inside it. But Eiko didn't really mind, she just knew that even the servants would never find her there.
It was located in the middle of one of the numerous courtyards around the castle; its own independent building. Covered completely in ivy and moss, it looked like something in a fairy tale and also quite out of place in the magnificent castle. /Just like me/ thought Eiko sadly.
The interior was rather plain, and easy to paint. When Eiko had decorated the walls, she thought she felt the eidolons themselves guiding her little paintbrush. When she finally finished every single eidolon she could think of, she backed up and admired her handiwork, noticing quite plainly that she was diffidently not *that* talented. But either way, Eiko had spent a whole day without eating or sleeping, but just looking around in her own secluded paradise.
When Eiko entered the "chapel" as she had been accustomed to calling it, she quickly lit some incense and settled down on the ground, cross-legged. For some reason unbeknownsed to her, she was facing her intricate painting of the phoenix at the time. But, not even noticing where her body was taking her, she allowed herself to fall into a trance-like state. The very same thing that her beloved grandfather taught her right before he lay his head down in eternal slumber.
Once she was in a state of complete relaxation, Eiko started her prayer.
But, the gods had something else in mind.
Before she could understand what was happening, a bright flash illuminated the room, and Eiko's head felt light for a second. The brightness startled the young girl, so she closed her eyes tight and opened them, dreading the worst.
The phoenix stood there ::Summoner, we must have speech::
Groaning inwardly, she stared at the firebird in disbelief. /This is going to be a long day.
* * *
Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th, sighed for the umpteenth time this morning. The mayor of Dali had come to her morning court to complain of a matter regarding the usual land disputes of Dali's farms. This was the fourth time he had visited this month, and to put it plainly, she was rather tired of his overly exaturated voice. This should have been something that he himself had settled in the first place, and she had told him that, numerous times. However, no matter how many times she told him, he would never actually listen. So, somehow, she put up with his agitated (and agitating) speech yet again, and not really paying attention to what he had to say.
The queen of Alexandria, used all her strength just to sit up straight in mock interest, and to keep from falling asleep. Her gaze flowed to the man next to her, who by the looks of it, was having about the same amount of trouble, for about the same reasons.
Her comrade and husband, Zidane Tribal, was currently gazing at the crystal chandelier that hung over the hallway. Not being the true blood heir of Alexandria, he wasn't exactly expected to be one. He didn't even need to be there at court, yet he firmly made it clear, that he WAS going to stand by her always.
Garnet nudged a spark of magic in his direction to get his attention. It was so weak that it was invisible to the human eye, but he jumped slightly in his throne nonetheless. Trying not to appear too conspicuous to the mayor, he slowly turned his head toward his beautiful wife, and smiled. Her eyes darted towards the mayor (who was completely oblivious to their nonverbal conversation), and then she rolled them.
Zidane looked back to him, as he was currently droning on about how the rulers of Alexandria should do their part to the people. His emerald eyes went crossed as he tilted his head. To add to the complexion, he stuck his tongue out so it hung limply at the corner of his mouth. Garnet stifled a giggle as the General of the Alexandrian army, Beatrix, slapped the king's foot to gain his attention.
He gave a sort of strangled yelp that caused the mayor to glare daggers, and settled in yet again. Garnet sighed. Sometimes Beatrix just seemed a bit too stiff. She closed her eyes to hide exasperation, and sat up straight, just like her mother always told her.
"DAGGER! Zidane! I have to talk to you guys!"
She jolted up in time to see the lace-covered figure that ran towards them. Eiko ran as fast as she could in those cursed shoes, and was looking somewhat comical in a way. Beside Garnet, Zidane actually stood up, a huge grin spread across his face.
"Eiko! What a surprise!" He called. However, the mayor of Dali wasn't about to let him get away that easily.
"What is the meaning of this!?" He asked, his balding head, contorted in anger. Garnet rose to his challenge regally.
"Our apologies sir, but there is business we must attend to at the moment" she stated, glad of an excuse to leave him.
"Well excuse me queen, but I have business you must attend to as well" he puffed out his chest, and Garnet nearly sighed again. Now, the bore was an immature pest, pointing out one of the most annoying rules of childhood. I got here first.
The queen only ignored him, and jumped down from her velvet throne to meet one of her dearest friends. However, she was quite startled by the change of Eiko. Her normally cheery face, was deathly pale and her eyes held fear instead of happiness.
"Dagger." she stated breathlessly. "The eidolons talked to me."
Whatever the queen was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. Garnet was a full-fledged summoner by the normal age of sixteen, and the eidolons rarely spoke to her. Eiko was just a confused girl they found at the ruins of the summoner village. Certainly not important enough to be talking with the gods. Yes, just a little girl.
"Are you sure Eiko?" Garnet cooed, remembering how other children her age were like. It hadn't been the first time a six-year-old pulled a prank like this.
The purpled hair child, nodded violently. She took a sharp intake of breath before speaking again "The Pheonix came to me. She said that they had decided to bring someone back so that they could have another chance and that we had to make sure nothing bad would happen to him and that they could not revive his old memory and-"
"Hold on Eiko. Whatever it is, I'm sure the eidolons can take care of it theirselves you know." Zidane replied, not really believing her either, because he was still smiling.
"Yeah," Garnet agreed "it was probably just a dream, Eiko"
If the couple thought that was going to calm the poor girl down, they were sadly mistaken. "N-no! It wasn't a dream, she told me-"
"Eiko darling, would you like some tea?" Garnet offered, smiling. Eiko shook her head and then started to speak again "But I think this might have something to do with Ku-"
"Eiko," Zidane interrupted quietly "He's dead Eiko." Garnet sadly glanced at her husband. He still never got over the fact of his brother dying. His tail drooped, and he stared at the marble floor sadly. The queen felt a twinge of anger at the silver-haired mage who almost destroyed her beloved kingdom as well as others.
The six-year-old noticed the uncomfortable tone in the king's voice, and decided to keep her mouth shut on that subject. She already knew what the answer would be if she asked for help.
"So.you aren't going to help me, are you?" Eiko said in a very subdued voice. The rulers of Alexandria stayed silent. "Fine. I won't need your help anyways"
With that, she turned on her heel, chin posed defiantly, and walked out of the hall, and not looking back.
Garnet sighed. She and her husband shared a knowing look. "Oh, our little Eiko is growing up so fast. She's already acting like she's thirteen!"
That brought a chuckle from her partner. "Yeah, I remember those days."
And so, the rulers of Alexandria reflected on their teen years, and just how foolish they were at that time. Not knowing, that Eiko's warning could have saved so much grief, pain, and sorrow in the future. For this, is the story of the famous rulers' mistake.