I'm Coming Back to You
Chapter 2-Believe
Disclaimer: If you're really really smart, you'd know that FF9, or any of its related content, does not belong to me.
AN: Second chapter up, people! Guess who's POV it is this time? Garnet's. Yeah. The Queen of Alexandria. This girl has three names (Sara, Garnet, Dagger) and two of them don't even have a known surname. (Wait…didn't Sara have one? I forget…) The other one is so long it can only be given to royalty: Queen Garnet Til Alexandros XVII. If I had a name like that, I'd tell people to just call me Dagger, too. ^.^
Key: _…_ emphasize (italicize)
/…/ thoughts
"…" words
*…* action
A hero. That's what he was to Gaia, wasn't he? A hero. He had saved them from total destruction. He had helped the Terran inhabitants. He had even forgiven his worst enemy.
A hero. For the citizens of Alexandria, of Lindblum, of Burmecia, he would be a hero. But…for me? He's more than a hero. He's a…
"Your Majesty?" _Clank, clank, clank._
I turned in my seat. "Yes, Steiner?"
"Are you still worrying about…him…?"
I turned back to the window and closed my eyes, letting the morning breeze rustle my hair and flow over my face and features. I did not answer.
"Your Highness…"
"Please, Steiner. I'm fine. You're more concerned of me than I am of Zidane." It was difficult to say his name. It was like the very word stuck in my throat, and it came out as a croak. I coughed and wiped a tear from my eye. Zidane…
There was another clank behind me as Steiner took a step forward. "Queen Garnet, Beatrix has scanned the whole area of the Iifa Tree. There is no way to get in, therefore there is no way to get out. I don't think he could have—"
My reply was a whisper. "No, Steiner, do not say that. Is he not the very Zidane that can do the impossible? Who can make the best out of every situation? I will not believe that he is dead. Not until I see his body. If I do not, I will think him alive until my very last days." It surprised myself as much as it startled my Captain. Could I really do that? "Please return to your duties."
Steiner looked blank for a moment. The corners of his mouth curved down in sorrow. "Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed and left, his rusty armor announcing his arrival into the next room.
"Zidane…it's almost been a week." I subconciously reverted back to common tongue. "Why don't you come back to me? What's taking you? I miss you, Zidane. I wanna see you again. Do you love me? I love you. I love you more than you can imagine." Tears sprang to my eyes. I quickly wiped them away. "Zidane…" I murmured. A dove flew towards me and landed on my windowsill. It was a dazzling white, white as the clouds that hovered above. It made a quiet "cooing" sound, and I smiled.
"Little bird, I will sing for you," I declared.
In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me
Though you're gone, I still believe that you can call out my name
A voice from the past joining yours and mine
Adding up the layers of harmony
And so it goes, on and on
Melodies of life-to the sky beyond the flying birds
Forever and beyond.
Satisfied with the mini-concert, the dove let out another soft, "coo" and flew away. I watched it go, then folded my arms on the sill and lay my head on it. It was a very un-royal position, but I couldn't think correctly if I was constantly trying to be lady-like.
Closing my eyes, I let the sunlight rest on my face, bathing me in its warmth. And then I heard it.
/I'm coming back to you, Dagger. Will you wait for me?/
I sat up, my eyes wide. "Zidane? Is that you?" I said aloud. There was no reply. "Zidane?" I tried again. "Zidane…" Nothing. And then…
/I'm coming, Dagger, I'm coming./
/So, Zidane is alive!/ I rejoiced inwardly. /And he's coming back to me!/ Peace wove itself into my heart. I sighed contentedly. /I'll wait, Zidane. I'll wait./
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal General Beatrix, her Save the Queen slung over her back as usual. "Your Majesty. We have news of the search for Sir Zidane."
Sir Zidane. No, that didn't fit him. I smiled. "Have you found him?"
She skillfully avoided answering the question directly. "We've found a large hole in the side of the Iifa Tree. It appears to have been…moving. We looked inside."
"Did you find Zidane?" I asked hopefully.
"We found Kuja's body," she replied evasively.
I nodded. "We can have a burial for him…I suppose…I haven't really forgiven him completely, but Zidane would be pleased to hear we had a funeral."
"We did not take the body out," Beatrix informed. "It seemed buried, enough. It was in a shallow pit with dirt covering it. It was a sort of messy funeral. Perhaps Zidane did it himself?"
"Where is Zidane?" I demanded. "You're not answering me!"
She pursed her lips. "We did not find him."
"What? Then…where could he be?"
Beatrix shrugged. "We guessed that he would be in the ruins of Madain Sari, or Conde Petie. But when we looked they said they hadn't seen him. We even looked in the Black Mage Village, but he wasn't there either."
Anxiety was thick in my tone as I queried, "Did you check _everywhere_?"
She nodded solemnly. "I sent Alexandrian troops as scouts throughout the surrounding area, but they all came back without any news. No one who lived nearby had seen anything, either." She frowned. "I don't know where he could be, if he is alive or dead."
But I knew that he was alive. Just yesterday he talked to me. Told me that he was coming back to me. "He's alive. Thank you, Beatrix. Will you still not let me go look myself?"
A faint smile played on her lips. "No, Your Highness."
"Thank you, again. Finding him…it means a lot to me."
"I understand."
"You're the best, Beatrix. Go ahead and go back to whatever you were doing."
"Your Majesty?" she coughed.
I pouted, but I smiled. "Fine. General, you are dismissed."
She bowed low, then walked off, flinging her bouncing curls over her shoulder as she strode out of the room.
AN: Whoa, this one's long. Dagger's obsessed with Zidane, too. ^.^ I don't blame her for worrying. Still wondering where Zid is? Find out in the next chapter. *ooh* Gosh, I keep using the song. I mean, it's a nice song and everything, but I know that you're getting bored of it, 'cuz I've used it too much. Well, too bad. I'm gonna use it a lot from now on, so get used to the damn song. ^.^ I wonder what Zidane sounds like when he sings. I hope his voice isn't squeaky like Tidus's in FF10. No offense to whoever does his voice… @.@ Hehe. Must be going through those changes, huh? (I LOVE FF10! You get to switch people in battle! When I finally get around to finishing the game, I might write a fanfic about that, too.) Anyway…before you go, I need you to do two things…
1. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!
2. REMIND YOURSELF TO COME BACK TO READ THE NEXT CHAPTERS!!!