A.N. I apologise for the length of time that it took for this post to make it onto the site however my educational workload has been substantial and duties to my faith and friends have also taken up much of my time. I pray that you will forgive this and read and enjoy this update. As always, your reviews will be most welcome.

Goodbye and good fortune

Fallen Saga Creator

You are not the one…

'The- the Summoner Battle, you mean when the great evil…' She left the question unsaid, her mind spinning with possibilities as she stared in disbelief at the genome who looked back with a similar expression on his face. Yet he answered her with bewilderment rather than wonder in his voice.

'Yes. The tapestries in the palace depict scenes from that great battle when the ancient human and burmecian peoples of Gaia rose up and fought against Kuja and finally defeated him with the aid of the Summoner. The carpet in your room shows the moment when my people were freed from Kuja's control over us. On the way here we must have passed at least a dozen others.'

'But what does it mean? Why could I possibly be having nightmares of that battle?' He seemed to be about to answer but suddenly the doors to the room burst wide open, torchlight streaming in upon the couple. Zidane looked up and a dozen genomes starred back. They were all members of the royal guard, their hands grasping an assortment of daggers, scimitars and two-bladed swords.

But rather than seeming ready for battle they were instead all grinning, even the one who hung from the high arch of the doorframe, his dagger gripped between his teeth. Martin was among them, his smile showing every one of his teeth as his eyes sparkled with mischief.

*Now, now Zidane. What did I tell you earlier about that kind of think. Still, you must have been having a great time for her to yell as loud as she did.*

Zidane glared back, *Frell off Martin. She's just had a nightmare. That shout was her waking up. But I think the Queen might want to be woken up about now.*

Martin frowned, *Why?*

Zidane stood, his voice serious as he declared the news, *Her nightmare was of the battle of the Summoner.*

Immediately the genomes' faces lost their grins, their expressions becoming those of astonishment as they gazed at Dagger with new-found respect and even awe. The one hanging from the doorframe lost his grip from the shock and landed in a heap as Martin turned to him, *Jolan, take word to her majesty of Princess Garnet's dream. Tell her that Zidane thinks it may be urgent* the genome bounced to his feet as though the ten foot fall had been nothing and obeyed instantly, haring off down the corridor as fast as he could.

As he disappeared from view Dagger placed her hand upon Zidane's shoulder, turning him to face her, 'Zidane, what's going on?'

He reassured her gently, holding he hand between his, 'It's alright. They just thought that you were in trouble.' He hesitated, how was he supposed to tell her something like this? 'And they look like they've just seen the summoner re-born because… well, they very well may have.'

Her eyes widened in amazement, her voice echoing her expression. 'You… you cannot mean that they think that I…'

He nodded, 'I… You're the first to have shown any real connection. All the false summoners, they, they couldn't do anything. But you, you've just had a vision of the Summoner Battle. I… you could be her.' His eyes shone at her with reverence, his hands slipping from hers as though he felt himself unworthy to touch her.

She immediately felt very alone once more in that strange kingdom as all of the genomes, even the one who had become her friend gazed at her with a mixture of fear and hope. Hope that their long wait may finally be over, and fear that the great evil prophesied was about to come upon them. Yet she was not completely alone for Zidane, though he let her hand from his he did not move from her side, his gaze still tinged with concern for her.

But all thoughts were wiped from her mind as the genome queen swept in, her furs trailing regally in her wake as the genomes at the door parted for her. As she approached Zidane left her side and moved swiftly to the genome queen. He whispered something in her ear in his own language that none but her could hear. She looked up at him and nodded, her hand producing a gem from the depths of her furs.

Zidane turned to her. 'I… the queen's been told of what happened. That gem in her hand… it's one of the summoning stones. Within there lies the dormant spirit of one of the Good Spirits. If it reacts to you then… then you will be the chosen one. You will be the one who will finally relieve our burden.'

She leaned closer to him, not wanting the other genomes to hear her question, 'But… but what if it doesn't.'

She had forgotten that a genome's hearing was far more acute than any human's and the queen's voice broke into their conversation, 'Then your nightmare was just a nightmare, spawned from the knowledge that you have gleaned in my kingdom and you will go home as was planned. But first, before we decide anything, we must give you the test.' She approached Dagger and held her hand open with a firm grip hat bellied her slim arms. Gently she lowered the gem into her palm, seemingly calm outward but inwardly as tense as every other genome among the watchers, their tails standing straight and rigid as none dared to breath.

The stone nestled snugly in her palm and nothing happened, or at least almost nothing. A faint glow emitted from the stone, a white light that barely illuminated the faces of her and the Queen in the torchlight. There was a general exhale, some sighs of disappointment, others of relief that they would not face the times of troubles yet.

The queen snatched the stone from her palm and it disappeared back among her furs. Dagger looked up at her, 'What… what does it mean?'

The queen sighed, 'It means that you are not she. The stone glowed and showed you to be one with power but you do not have the power to unlock these stones. You are not the summoner of whom legend foretold.' She turned to her guards, *Leave. The Princess has a long journey ahead of her in the morning and has missed enough sleep already.* Turning back to Dagger she bowed once, 'Goodnight your majesty. I hope that such a nightmare does not visit you again.' And with that they were alone again, the drama was over, Dagger was just an ordinary woman, or at least an ordinary Princess. She looked up at Zidane and he smiled back reassuringly.

'Sorry for all the ruckus, but… well there was no tally kept in the early years of the Duty. That means that no one knows exactly how long we've got left. It could be anything from one year to twenty.' He lifted a hand to touch her again, his palm warm as he rested against her shoulder, 'But don't worry tomorrow you'll be off home, back to your family.'

Dagger nodded, pushing her hair from her face as she looked up at him, 'I… I'm sorry I caused such a fuss over a simple nightmare. I must seem very foolish.'

He grinned and shook his head, 'Naw, I'm the one who got the queen woken up. She'll be in a sore mood about that tomorrow.' He grinned ruefully and she smiled back at him, the familiar grin returning to his face. 'Still, you feeling okay? I mean, a dream like that… it's gotta be pretty intense. You okay now?'

Dagger nodded, 'Yes, thank you. I… I don't know why it affected me so much. It just seemed so real.'

Zidane's arm curled around her shoulders again, the corded muscles like soft steel against her back, the warmth of his body gradually seeping into hers. She looked at him and smiled as a thought passed through her mind. He noticed her smile and seemed embarrassed by the attention, 'What? What'd I do?'

She shook her head as she continued smiling, 'Nothing, it's just that… I've only actually known you for less than a day but with everything I've learnt, everything I've done… it… just seems like so much longer than that. I feel like I've known you for years.'

He shrugged, 'I know what you mean, I don't know that much about you but I just know that I like you.'

She nodded, 'I know. I know almost nothing about you, who you are, or who you are to your people but I just feel like… I don't know, like I can trust you.'

He smiled, 'Well I have that a lot. After all,' He put on his best innocence face, 'is this the face of a liar?' She smiled and leaned against him, the memories of her terrible dream fleeing her mind in his company.

They spent a minute in comfortable silence, their eyes taking in the dappled silhouette of the leaves outside as the moonlight shone though gaps in the canopy. 'Zidane.'

'Hmm?'

'Earlier today, when you told me that you'd be leading your men… does that mean that you're like a commander here? In Bramble I mean.'

He shrugged, 'I don't really know. The genome army doesn't really work like that. We don't bother with rank and all of that. It's kind of hard to explain in Alexandrian, I don't think you've got a word for it. There's the queen and a few generals in charge but apart from that it's mostly played by ear. Whoever rises to the occasion becomes the commander really. I just said it that way cause like I said, you don't have a word for it, or at least not one that I know.'

'And so you've done that a lot. Risen to the occasion?'

He shrugged again, 'I guess. In a fight I get to be a bit of a nut but I've kinda got an instinct for, what's the word in Alexandrian… tactics, I guess. My plans just have a way of working themselves out and I get a lot of respect for that. But still, I'm no big thing here, there's plenty better than me around.'

'I find that hard to believe. From what I've seen so far, you're quiet well respected around here. I know for a fact that your friend Martin looks up to you and a lot of the younger genomes practically worship you.'

He gave her a lopsided grin, 'You sure you're not thinking of someone else?'

She shook her head, 'No, not at all, when you were showing me around they were all looking at you like you were their hero.'

'I think they were probably looking at you. I mean, who wouldn't?' He cast a glance in her direction with the last remark to gauge her reaction but she seemed not to have noticed.

'No, they were looking at you, I'm sure of it. And Martin, he always does exactly what you say. A lot of the men around here do.'

'Really?'

She scowled playfully as she looked at him, 'Am I really going to have to convince you about an aspect of your own life?'

He held up his hands in defence, 'Okay, okay, I believe you.' He sighed, 'Anyway, it's late. You should probably try to get back to sleep. You reckon you'll be alright?'

Dagger nodded as he stood, 'Yes, thank you again for hearing me.' She smiled, 'You were right, it does help.' He grinned back and gently closed the door behind him, the glow-worm gradually dimming as it again slept, Dagger joining it soon after. She was not troubled by the dream again that night, but from then on Zidane did not sleep as he guarded her but remained awake always, constantly alert for any sign that might indicate trouble to the woman behind him.

~

When Dagger awoke she panicked for a moment as she found herself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. She looked around as she sat up and breathed a sigh of relief as her memories of the previous day returned. She stretched and stood watching the patterns of green and gold that the sun span on the floor. She moved to the dresser and began humming a tune. The bed had been extremely comfortable and after the dream had visited her she had slept better than she had in a long time.

As she ran a small comb through her hair she thought of all that she had learned in her single day in the genome kingdom. Their culture was fascinating, each genome seeming to work for the greater good despite any petty squabbles they may have between themselves. Their military also, she knew their warriors to be ferocious and to train fanatically, Zidane himself spinning his daggers whenever he had a spare moment. Yet for the apparent discipline and skill that the warriors possessed they simply followed their hearts in battle, following whoever they felt they should.

She thought of the wonders Zidane had shown her, so unlike anything in the cities that she had visited. In the cities of other cultures the wonders were magnificent structures, crystal, stone and any other material that the architect had chosen used in intricate detail. Yet the wonders of this city, they seemed almost magical, not arcane but rather the magic that one has at childhood where they view the world with new eyes. The wonders of Terra where the kind of wonders that a young child would have in their fantasy kingdom. To see them made Dagger feel quiet liberated, as though she were once again free to roam in a wide and new world.

She smiled at the thought, she was going to miss Bramble. Even though she had spent less than a day in it she had grown fond of the city and come to admire the devotion of those who lived within it. Her thoughts slipped to one genome in particular, Zidane. He was an enigma. So intelligent and yet as care free as the children whom he played with in every spare moment. He was unlike anyone or anything Dagger had ever met.

She remembered all he ha done for her, from protecting her as she lay unconscious to comforting her after the dream had visited her. She shivered slightly as she remembered the dream. The sickly pale hand, the skin stretched over bones that held an unearthly strength. She pushed the dream from her mind and turned to where she had put her travel garments the night before. Lacking any proper attire she had decided to sleep in her blouse and trousers but her waistcoat, travel-belt and cloak had all been removed with her boots.

She turned as a knock sounded, continuing to run the comb through her hair as she called out, 'Come in.'

A familiar face poked between the doors, framed by shoulder-length blond hair. 'Morning. Sleep well?'

She nodded. 'Yes thank you… and… thank you again, for last night I mean. You were right, it did help.'

He gave her his lopsided grin, 'Glad to be of assistance ma'am.'

She smiled back, So, I suppose we'll be leaving today for the Alexandrian border?'

He nodded, 'Yeah, the queen says that you should leave as soon as possible. The boys are ready so just tell me when you're ready and we can leave. I had them save your horse, they've got it down on the ground now, just waiting for you.'

'Okay, I'll hurry up a bit.' Dagger nodded her thanks and turned to finish preparing hurriedly. And thus it was that she left Bramble, not knowing that she would be returning there soon. She rode along the jungle floor upon her white mare, her genome guard guiding her to trails that the horse would travel. Zidane walked by her side with his curiously swaying stride as the rest of them swung through the trees, some disappearing seemingly of their own accord into the trees to return and shrug or shake their heads at Zidane. Every time he found her watching the scouts swing off into the trees he would reassure her, keeping up a friendly stream of talk as they moved.

Yet Dagger could not help but feel that something was wrong, that though she was probably in the safest place she could be besides Alexandria castle she was in a great danger. She shivered despite the heat and glanced up at the sky to make sure that the shadow approaching from the west was just a bank of cloud. Then suddenly her thoughts were called back to the column as a genome dropped down beside Zidane, the look on his face making it plain that the news he carried was not that he had found nothing.

A.N. What has the scout found and what import does it bear for the young princess and those who guard her? All will be revealed in the next chapter that unfortunately will likely take at least two weeks to be posted. But worry not, if you give me your e-mail in a review or personal message then I shall happily inform you of the next posting that I perform. However, I have a special request for this chapter. The response to my last request was phenomenal and the target was smashed, therefore I would like to request that you all do your utmost to get the reviews to sixty with this update. I pray that you will aid me in this accomplishment and eagerly await your response.

Goodbye and good fortune

Fallen Saga Creator