Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy IX characters but my characters are my own creations and I do own the rights to them.



Chapter Eight: Daily Life

"Concentrate. You've got it!" The ecstatic reply came from a seven-year-old girl with purple hair. She wore what looked like a baggy pair of yellow overalls and a pink long sleeved shirt. She had boots that almost came up to her knees and a pair of wings that attached to the back of her outfit. There was also a small horn that peeked up through her purple bangs. She was watching Phina perform a simple white magic spell that would blind her opponents.

"You really think so, Eiko?" Phina asked the child prodigy. "Of course. It's like you were made to do white magic. I must say you're almost as good as me or Garnet now. And that's quite an accomplishment since you've only been here for a couple of weeks. Not to mention the fact that you've also mastered some black magic," Eiko Carol said. With a wave of her flute she turned Phina's misfortunate target back to his original form.

"Why do we have to this?" a little boy with yellow eyes asked. He wore a blue coat that was pulled up so high that all you could see of his face was his gleaming eyes. On his head he wore a brown leather mage's hat that stuck up and then drooped back down. His gloved hands were rubbing his eyes as the last effects of the Blind spell wore off. Vivi Ornitier was a ten- year-old black mage with amazing powers for one so young.

"Because Phina needs something to do while Zidane is busy," Eiko replied in a huffy tone. As the adopted princess of Lindblum it suited her, though, Phina suspected it was in her nature as well. Phina had taken an instant liking to both Eiko and Vivi. They were just children but they both had seen what the cruel world could do. Eiko had lost her entire family when the summoner's village had been destroyed. Vivi had been built but that didn't stop the child from enjoying life.

Whenever she wasn't hanging around with Zidane, she was with these two acting as their babysitter as well as learning some magic from both of them. When she had been invited to stay at the castle by Garnet she was ecstatic. She had a home now as well as friends. Zidane had introduced her to his friends around the castle as well as some others that lived farther away but came to visit.

Phina reminisced on the past two weeks. For the first couple of days she had stuck to Zidane like glue. She was scared by the enormousness of the palace and hadn't left his side. Once she had gotten settled though she found she enjoyed the castle life so long as she didn't have to work. During the days she might train with Beatrix, Steiner, and Zidane. She would also "baby-sit" Eiko and Vivi or take a walk in the gardens with Garnet. At night after dinner she preferred to be by herself so that she could think. There were so many things to think about.

She pondered on the other characters that Zidane had introduced to her. The first was the Burmecian that had been arguing at the breakfast table the first morning she had spent in the castle. Her name was Freya. As a dragon knight warrior and a diplomat for her country she often visited Alexandria Castle to ask for aid or offer assistance to the queen. Phina had liked her at first sight, too. She was a wise woman and seemed to like Phina.

The next person she had met had been one of the weirdest meetings yet. Quina Quen was a Qu. Qu's were its. In other words they had no genders. When Phina had met Quina s/he was running around the kitchen screaming about frogs. When Zidane had introduced her, s/he had promptly asked if Phina was edible. Phina found the apron and chef's hat that Quina wore cute but changed her mind when s/he pulled out a giant fork and started poking at her.

Then there was Amarant. He was just creepy. His red dreadlocks took over his head. It was impossible to see his face. He wore thick boots and a black outfit. His weapons were claws that he placed over his hands. He had made sure to show Phina that he was an expert with them. His attitude matched his weapon of choice. He was hot headed and mean. She wasn't quite sure where Zidane came off saying that Amarant was his friend when it seemed clear to her that he wanted to kill Zidane.

Phina was also introduced to Zidane's old gang, Tantalus. She had been very surprised to learn that Zidane was an ex-thief. When the crew of the Prima Vista arrived she had pleasantly surprised by their appearances. Blank had tall spiky red hair and an eye patch. Marcus wore a red bandana on his head. Cinna was the cook with an odd hat and a spoon for a weapon. The leader of the crew was Baku, a tall chubby man with a good heart.

She had taken a liking to the crew and they were soon talking merrily about past days. Zidane joined them after he finished with his reports and tried to get Phina to talk about what she had done before she came to the castle. He had been questioning her for some time about her past. She didn't like to talk about it. It was too painful. She avoided the questions both Zidane and Tantalus asked her.

"Okay Phina, let's try a different spell," Eiko suggested. Vivi started to edge backwards.

"You're not using me as the target again," he protested, still edging away.

"Don't worry Vivi. We're starting on healing magic now," Eiko said pulling Vivi back towards Phina. "Alright, we'll start with a simple Cure spell."

Phina decided to have a little fun. Turning to Eiko she used her newly acquiered Silence spell. Eiko opened her mouth to yell at Phina, as only a seven-year-old could, but nothing came out. Phina giggled while Vivi laughed long and loud.

"Alright, that's enough. Dispel!" The word echoed around the chamber soon followed by an indignant squawk from Eiko. In an attempt to silence her Phina scooped the purple haired princess up onto her shoulders.

"Let's go see what Zidane's doing," Phina suggested, taking Vivi's hand and leading them away. "Besides I'm exhausted from all the magic I've been doing."

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The boring chapter, but this was more for those people that either haven't finished the game or don't know all the characters. But it was also there to let you see a little more about Phina.

Oh and thanks for the review Sparks! I just got it!