Chapter 6

AU: Okay, yeah. I'm actually writing this like an hour after I wrote the last chapter, because like I said, I'm bored. I just decided to divide them into chapters because all my chapters are short and I wanted to keep a running theme. Also I don't want people to expect much if I put up a big chapter and then the next chapter would be short, so there you have it. Also, I don't remember what color Adam's eyes were, and me disk can't upload me previous chapters. damn I hope they're green. If they're not, then pretend I wrote brown, instead ^^

Dagger stretched out on the cold stone dock just outside Alexandria castle and began to make up shapes in the clouds. A pretty little guard sat next to her, feet dangling over the side. The two of them were waiting for their escorts.

"Who're you waiting for?" Dagger politely asked.

"My boyfriend." She said simply. Dagger snorted and rolled over. Boys are something that never really interested her.

"What's his name?" She didn't really care, but she didn't want to seem rude to the guard. She was very nice, and had seemed interested in everything she had to say.

"Weimar. He's a Knight of Pluto." Dagger nodded, giggling to herself. The Knights of Pluto where the stupidest bunch of Knights she'd ever seen. Captain Steiner was the worst babysitter, even though he was the only one who cared about watching her and her brother. The other ones were all lazy, uncaring, no-talent slobs. But a lot of girls liked Weimar. He was the only one with some degree of charm in him.

"Good evening, Miss Garnet." The guard and the princess looked up at the newcomer. The guard smiled softly and looked back down at her feet. Dagger jumped to her feet and dusted off the seat of her overalls.

"Don't call me that, or I'll fire you." She muttered under her breath. Charim smiled and took her tiny hand in his. "Where we goin'?" She asked. He told her they were going to go shopping for some more overalls, even though she could just have them tailored. But Dagger, being a ten-year old, didn't think anything of it.

"We're going to visit someone, before we go shopping. Is that okay?" He stepped down into the newly arrived boat, and helped her in. The pilot looked curiously over at the guard, but she waved him away. Her date hadn't arrived yet. The pilot shrugged and pushed away from the docks, heading back into Alexandria square.

Adam sat up in bed for the only second time that week. He quickly looked over toward the window, but his father wasn't there. The sky was getting dark. Adam realized he didn't know what day it was. He looked around for a nurse, or a maid, or anyone, but nobody was there. He noticed a little silver bell sitting on an ornate nightstand next to his bed. He picked it up and rang it as hard as he could. He waited a few minutes, but nobody came. He rang it again, but still no one came. Annoyed, Adam hopped out of bed and poked his head through the doorway. The halls were completely empty. He stepped outside and wandered down the corridor. The floors were colder than ever. He wondered why they didn't have any carpet. Suddenly, the light above him went out. Adam looked up at it. There wasn't any breeze, or draft in the hallway. It was a perfectly warm summer's evening. Adam turned around to see who might have done it, but there was no one there. All the other candles behind him had been blown out too. Frightened, Adam started walking again. One by one, the candles behind him went out. There was still nobody there. Adam quickened his pace. The candles kept up with him. By the time he reached the corner of the hall he was running. He turned the corner and skidded to a halt. There, in the middle of the hall, lay a shabby-looking blanket. It looked like the one the silver-haired man was wearing. Adam hesitantly drew closer to it. His footsteps sounded louder than they ever had. His breathing and heartbeat seemed loud enough to wake the whole castle. The young prince swallowed any protests made by his brain to leave the blanket, and he picked it up. It was soft, despite its rough, tattered appearance. Suddenly, the buzzing started again. It pounded in his head as hard as it had left him before, and once again, he fell to his knees, face pressed into the blanket. It smelled like musk and lavender. The smell was so strong; it began to make him sick. Adam rolled on his side, still clutching his head. The sound of heels against granite filled his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to see the man again. He seemed so old and fragile, yet so wanting and deadly. Adam let out a tiny whimper of pain as the buzzing in his head grew louder. His tail flipped violently at his side. The clicking of heels stopped over him, and someone laughed. It was a bitter laugh, and left a hint of something that could only be described as grace. Adam had to open his eyes. Knowing the man was there and not seeing him was even worse than him being there at all. Adam opened his eyes, still clutching his head. But now he didn't need to be. The buzzing had stopped, the blanket was gone, and there was no one in the hall with him. The floor wasn't cold anymore, either. He sat up and nervously looked around. There was a door open next to him. Why hadn't he seen that before? The light was brighter than that in the hall, too. He couldn't have missed it. It wasn't open before, it couldn't have been. Curious, Adam got up and pushed the door open further. Across from him were an open window and a chair, with the pretty white birds he often saw around the castle resting on its edge. He looked down to the end of the room. A little round table decorated with fresh cut roses, a beautiful hand-carved dresser, and a white, lacy bed. He could see someone under the covers, the top of their head barely sticking out. Adam grabbed hold of his tail, which had been flicking back and forth annoyingly, and tip-toed to the side of the bed. The dark brown hair poking out from the top was dull and tangled, but he knew it had once been beautiful. He remembered it so well, falling over his shoulders while he was bathed, spread out against his covers as stories were read to him. Adam drew back the covers. He knew the hair well, he realized, because it was his mothers. Queen Garnet lay sleeping on one side. But she wasn't the beautiful lady he always saw her as. Her eyes were sunken in, like the silver-haired man, her lips were cracked, and her skin was a deathly shade of gray. His father was right- the queen was sick.

"Your sister was right, you know." Adam whirled around to face the intruder. He knew he'd heard that dead raspy voice somewhere before. The silver-haired man smiled cruelly at him, the musk and lavender blanket covering his shoulders. He was surprised he hadn't heard the heels in the hallway. "This lovely canary will be dead soon." Adam backed up against the wall, mouth open. Why hadn't he heard the man? Maybe he was in the room the whole time. Adam tried to speak, or scream at the man for being the wrong. His mother wasn't dying. She was just sick. But his voice wouldn't work. It refused. The burning feeling on his skin came back, and he put a small chubby hand to his throat. "Oh, what. Can't speak, can you? Well I wonder how that happened. It's all your father's fault, for letting that filthy man inside your house." The man snorted, "Wait, what am I saying? He's no man. He belongs to my offensive sister, though I hate to admit it... All of them. filthy." His eyes stared blankly at Adam, mouth left slightly open in a disgusted frown. "But you see, there's nothing you can do." His eyes focused back on Adam's. He was smiling again. "You're not what they're looking for at all. But if you were, it would be too easy." Adam shook his head, confused. The man was rambling on about things he didn't understand. He wanted to tell him to stop. He didn't like it when the man came. He always told him bad things, and things he didn't get. But he couldn't, so he just shook his head. The man turned to a pretty little vanity sitting on a desk and frantically began opening drawers. Without even looking at them, he selected two different things- bright red lipstick and black eye liner. Adam watched in a frightened daze as he began to apply the make-up while he talked. "I remember a play. 'If all were so easy, why none would suffer in this world!' Hehe. And it's true. Too bad it hadn't been you. I would've looked forward to it." The man turned on his heel once again and stepped into the hallway, still holding the makeup and turning his head one last time to the cowering blonde-haired boy. "You look so much like the others. it's a shame."

"I'm still not sure what it is, Zidane." Dr. Tot wiped his glasses with a little white rag and shook his head. "All I know is, it seems to be getting worse. At this rate, Queen Garnet will. be dead in a few more months." Heads around the room bowed in silent grief. Eventually, though, their eyes would all end up on the same person. Zidane didn't say anything. He just stared at the floor. If he tried to speak, he knew, he would just burst out in tears- crumbling before everyone's eyes. He couldn't let that happen. No matter what, he was still king of Alexandria. He could feel three pairs of eyes on him. They pitied him. This wasn't supposed to happen. The general and some stupid captain weren't supposed to pity the king. It just didn't make sense. He lifted his head and looked back at them, trying to think of something he could say that wouldn't make him look foolish. Anything, really. Anything that wouldn't make them pity him. He couldn't argue with the doctor, although he knew it wasn't true. Garnet couldn't die. It was impossible. The two of them weren't done with their lives yet. If hers ended, so did his. It was alright, though, he'd thought of something perfect to say. It would make him seem concerned, but still able to control everything. He would make sure no one would question his ability to rule. Zidane opened his mouth to deliver his new speech when a little blonde boy with watery eyes wandered into the room. Adam pushed his way through Beatrix and Steiner and stood in front of his father, tears streaming down his cheeks. They were frightened tears. The boy tried so hard to make it seem like he wasn't crying. He kept wiping his face and making little squeaking noises. Zidane held out his arms to his son, but he didn't come.

"Daddy." Adam's voice cracked, and he began to sob. "Daddy. something's happened to Dagger."