Shadows Crimes
Chapter 7-
Messenger At The Ball
Disclaimer: I Do not own FFIX or Square Soft (I wish!)….Blahh blahh it's the same ole rules as usual…DON'T SUE ME! .
(A.N… DARN WRITERS BLOCK…GRRR. Sorry about that I am kinda having trouble with the next chapter, but that's ok I will have it up who knows when. Just gotta be patient. *DUCKS as I see flying pencils head toward me* Oh yeah Thank You Marsbar for your review and suggestion I hope this Chapter is a little more readable this time. So I dedicate this Chapter to you. ^_^!! . Now Enough of my rambling and on with the fic!)
*Dream*
Mikoto opened her eyes and found herself, floating just above the water in the middle of a serene pond. A gentle breeze swept through her short blond hair and her tail swaying in the wind and sweeping just above the water, enjoying this she closed her eyes and let the breeze take over her senses. She kept her eyes closed lightly until every thing had turned white, she flashed open her eyes and saw the Shadow standing in front of her.
"You managed to survive our last encounter, how did you manage that? …No matter I will have to take care of you here." The Shadow hissed harshly, making his red glowing eyes go dim evilly.
"No you wont! I will not let you, and I refuse to run from you anymore." Mikoto felt her blood boil as she spilt her words to him angrily. Mikoto looked into the Shadows red eyes and seen them go a bright angry red.
"I will commend you on your bravery, but you shall regret your words." The Shadow said angrily and disappeared in a flash of white light. Mikoto was briefly blinded by the light and was back at the pond but this time she was sitting on a rock with bare feet in the water, it was also then that she looked at her reflection in the water. She had noticed that she wearing a sky blue evening gown with crystal stones trailing down the center of the dress then making little leaf like patterns trailing at the hems from the center, her hair was done up braided in with the sky blue ribbon.
"I am glad that you are here." A distant masculine voice called out to her, Mikoto heard the voice but continued to stare into the water and only nodded to confirm that she was listening. "Who are you? And what do you have to do with the Shadow?" She knew exactly what to say to the cloaked stranger. "Like I said in our last meeting, you will know who I am soon. As for the Shadow he too is after me." He placed a hand gently on her shoulder making her shiver on the inside but still continued to stare blankly into the water unmoving, as if she had been under a spell. "Mikoto keep strong and don't let the shadow win. The Shadow is more elusive in the real realm than in the dream realm, there for you must remain strong in both realms. Unfortunately I will be unable to see you anymore in the dream realm until we meet in the real realm, so for now fare well Mikoto." The cloaked figure spoke softly to her and took his hand off her shoulder and disappeared, this prompted to allow her body to move and snap her head up and look around the forested area from where she was sitting.
Mikoto was convinced that he had left and wrapped her arms around herself and forced her eyed closed till everything had turned white.
*Dream End *
Mikoto woke up with the sun shining in to her room brightly. Mikoto sat up in her bed taking in the warmth of the suns rays, until she looked at an old ticking clock in the corner of her room '12:00'. Mikoto looked at it wide eyed and realized she overslept and jumped out of bed and quickly donned on some clothes and ran out of the room. Mikoto got less than 5 feet from her door did she then hear the elderly but perky voice of Aiyana call her name. "There you are dear, I have been looking for you all over this morning. Where have you been?"
"I am sorry I had slept in," Mikoto muttered.
"You slept in this late? Hmm I tried to knock at your door for quite some time and you… never mind, here I have your dress for you to try on just wait here and I will go fetch it." Aiyana clasped her hands together and left the room.
Mikoto waited in her room for about 15 minutes sitting by her window and took in the scenery the day gave off and seeing the people go in and out of the castle. ("I wonder if all of those people are just coming to the Ball? There are so many!") She thought to herself wonderingly until a knock came at the door and Aiyana walked in with a bundle in her arms. "Here you are, go try them it on it should fit you." Aiyana handed her the bundle that was in her arms and Mikoto went to go put them on.
After some frustration and other hurdles of putting on a dress she had an odd sense that she had seen it somewhere before. ('This color, the crystals and the leaf designs on this I have seen them before in my vision.') Mikoto had finished and walked out and Aiyana clapped her hands together in delight "Oh…That looks Marvelous on you!" the seamstress exclaimed and Mikoto suddenly felt warmth rise to her cheeks. "…I haven't really asked anyone this but what do you do at a Ball?" Mikoto queried and Aiyana gave her a funny look then grinned. "I forgot that you were not of this world I will tell you as much as I can while I fix up your gown." Aiyana patted Mikoto on the back and kneeled down slowly letting a few joints crack in the process, she got some items out of her sewing apron and got to work as well as talked Mikoto's ears off for the next few hours.
Back at the Black Mage Village, it had been since Mikoto left that there were monsters stalking around the village at night and on one occasion during the day, but surprisingly they had not attacked anyone they would just run away. Mr. 288 and Sharla thought it was best that Mikoto come back to the village as soon as possible, They both wrote a letter to her and sent it on it's way to Alexandria.
The Ball had just about started and people from all over the Mist Continent was there, while she was still in her room getting the finishing touches of her dress done. Mikoto looked exactly the way she had in her vision. "There Finished! …Sorry I kind of talked your poor ears off dear, I just can't help myself *chuckle *" Mikoto forced herself to smile at her comment before she left to go down stairs, but before she got to far out the door Aiyana called out to her "Don't forget to find a good boyfriend tonight!" Aiyana winked at her and Mikoto couldn't help but blush a bright red hue.
As Mikoto walked down the stair she had caught sight of Zidane and Garnet talking to an unusual group of loud men that seemed out of place from the rest of the visitors. Garnet looked up from the group and saw Mikoto and waved at her to come over. "Good evening Zidane, Garnet." She greeted them both. "Oh Mikoto you look wonderful" Garnet complimented, then turning the bizarre group's that Zidane and Garnet was talking to, attention to her.
"Hey Zidane aren't you going to introduce us to your look alike here?!" The red headed one piped up as he winked at Mikoto. Zidane scratched his head in awkwardness "…Guys this is my sister Mikoto, Mikoto these guys here are my Tantalus Brothers Blank, Cinna, Markus and the boss Baku." After Zidane was finished introductions he excused himself and left fallowed by Garnet after she had whispered something in her ears and left. Mikoto was left to walk around freely and listen to the band fill the place with a soft melody and stopped to listen to it. As she stood there people had walked out on to the dance floor and dance to the music, just then she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind making herself twirl around to see the source of the tap
"Hey we meet again!" The red head she met a few short minutes ago greeted, "I was wondering if you would care to dance?" he asked, she actually would have said yes but… "I… d…don't know how to dance." Stammering her words and looking away from Blank she again looked out at the dance floor.
"Well then I'll just have to teach you." Blank took her by the hand and led her out onto the dance floor, then faced each other. Blank put her hand on his shoulder and his right hand on her hips and almost caused her to fluster back nervously. Blank gave her a reassuring smile and took his free hand into hers. "This dance is a type of waltz, so we move in steps of three and pause a second for a beat." Blank explained but all she did was blink in response. Blank sighed and looked up at Mikoto "We will be doing what they are doing just copy what they are doing, okay?" Blank said to her as they looked at the dancers, and then looked at each other and she nodded.
Mikoto did exactly what the other dancers were doing (even though she messed up the first couple of steps and stepped on his foot a couple of times when they started, she was doing good.) time seemed to have stopped the entire time they were dancing. The music was starting to slow and come to an end Mikoto and Blank were almost hesitant to stop. There was a moment of silence between the two until Blank coughed. "erm… I …uhhh…Hey I'm getting kinda thirsty. You wanna go get something to drink with me?" Blank stammered his words just to break out of that odd silence held between the two. "I would be glad to!" Mikoto exclaimed and headed over to the refreshment table with Blank. After Mikoto and Blank finished off a few drinks, Mikoto got up rather fast and suddenly felt a little dizzy and light headed and sat back down. Blank came over to her and held his hand to her "Care to dance again?"
"I am not in the mood, I am feeling a little dizzy. I am going to go outside for some fresh air." Mikoto stated. "Okay then, maybe I will see ya around then latter." Blank said and walked away.
Mikoto watched Blank walk away and then attempted to stand up from her chair again, hoping that she won't trigger that strange dizziness. Mikoto was a little wobbly but was she glad to get outside and sit down on the nearest bench she saw and plopped down on it. After the dizziness had subsided after a while, she saw someone head into the castle wearing a cloak. Mikoto stared at the person and got up from where she was sitting and went in after him. The cloaked stranger walked up to Zidane and handed him an envelope and left, prompting Mikoto to see her brother. Mikoto walked up to Zidane, and he turned around to just see her. "Mikoto you seem to have a letter here." Zidane said as he handed her the letter. Before Mikoto left Zidane she had asked him if he knew who the messenger was and he shook his head 'no', and she had left leaving everyone slightly confused. Mikoto ran out of the castle in hopes that the messenger was still around, but only to be nowhere to be found, she remembered the letter in her hands and read it.
*LETTER *
Mikoto
Sorry to bare this news while visiting every one in Alexandria, but we are requesting that you please return back the village as soon a possible. Please this is urgent.
Yours truly,
Sharla and Mr. 288
*LETTER END *
"They wouldn't have sent me this if it weren't important, I shall head back tonight." She whispered to herself and ran back inside the castle to her room to change and prepare to leave.
(Well I think this may have been one of my best chapters, what do you readers think? Anyway this unfortunately isn't a Mikoto and Blank fic. (EEEK Please don't kill me Mikoto and Blank fans) and as for Mikoto's dizzy thing it's quite obvious that someone spiked the punch EG. As for the next chapter it's the same thing as I stated above and will be set into two different parts. That is all I will say about that. Last but not least REVIEWS are always welcome and I will enjoy using Flames for roasting marshmallows.
