Chapter Thirteen: Mysteries and Revelations
I don't want to be wasted…
I don't want to live inside this daydream anymore…
I just want to be happy again…
~Everclear
"Jezabel!" Together the trio leapt up dripping wet from the pool, and ran haphazardly to the door a hundred yards away. Their armor had been discarded before entering the pool as had Jez's, but they were also minus the lavender shirt, leaving them with their uniform pants, and bare feet. Together they all burst through the door, and saw her collapsed on the floor. There was no traces that anyone had attempted a battle with Jezabel, she was just there, like she had fainted…but what kind of soldier faints for no reason at all?
"Let's take her down to the infirmary." Miguel suggested, "At least after she wakes up we can find out what happened to her. With Dallet taking her legs, Chesta grabbing her by the wrists, and Miguel supporting her middle, they made their way to the hospital wing in a type of waddling fashion.
After placing Jez on a bed, Chesta went off in search of a medic while Miguel kept silent vigil over Jez.
Dallet made to leave, but stopped just before the door, "Miguel are you going to stay here?"
"Yeah, at least until I know that she's okay." He glanced down at the calm form on the bed, she seemed so peaceful in her sleep, but during her waking hours she was anything but. It crushed him to see her seemingly so lifeless, or maybe he was just letting his heart rule his head.
"I'll go report this to Lord Dilandau, and Lord Folken, and tell them where you are."
Nodding his consent Miguel sat down on the edge of the bed, not caring if he got the sheets wet or not. A nurse cam a few moments later, and placed a cloth under Jezabel's nose, causing her eyes to snap open.
"W-where am I?"
The nurse was a sweet, plump old lady, who in her youth must have been very beautiful, and she still was, in her own way. You could see her soul was very bright and it came out through every pore of her skin. "In the infirmary dear, you had a bit of a spill. How are you feeling?"
Jezabel still hadn't registered anything, 'A spill? What is she talking about? Why am I in here?'
"Dearie? Are you feeling well?"
Jezabel shook her head waking up herself mentally, "I'm fine." The dazed look was still in her eyes, but fading.
"I'll check on you in a moment," with that the old lady waddled away, and it could be heard her rummaging through cabinets in the next room over.
"Miguel, what happened?" Jez asked pulling herself up to a sitting position. She was no longer in a state of bewilderment, but she was still confused about what happened.
"I was just going to ask you the same thing. You left, and then we heard you scream, ran out the door like wildfire, and you were crumpled on the ground, like some common street rat." Silently he tried to answer his own questions, but to no avail. "Why did you scream like that, did you see something?"
"Yes," she said after a moments pause, "And no. It was like I saw a vision."
'Just like that seer from the mystic moon…last time around…'
"I don't know what it was, it didn't prophesize anything about the future, it was like a memory."
"Well, if it was a memory you would recognize it wouldn't you?"
Jezabel looked down at the bed getting steadily damper, "No, because I don't remember anything about my childhood, that's why I'm an orphan."
Miguel didn't say anything, just invited her to continue on.
"When the social workers found me, I was lying in the street without any knowledge of who I was or where I came from. I couldn't even remember my own parents. They sent out fliers to see if anyone could identify me, but no one came. Eventually, a couple adopted me, and I had a family. But, I wish that I could know who my real family is.
"The doctors said that I was suffering from a severe type of amnesia, brought on by some horrible shock in my life. I guess, I must lived through some trauma that was too much for my mind to bear, and so it naturally reacted by shutting off those memories. If I was presented by some sort of stimuli, the doctors said that the memories might return, but I've never had any reaction since today…It's weird, because here I feel like I'm at home."
Miguel looked into her cool gray eyes, rimmed with the blue of old ice glaciers, now he knew why they seemed so sad. If you looked into them briefly you would never see it, but if you looked carefully you could see that something was amiss. Gently he took her into his arms, "It doesn't matter where you were from, you're home now." He didn't hear a response, just felt Jezabel return the embrace, snaking her arms around his bare torso, and burying her head in his shoulder. He hugged her with all his strength, and Jez returned it just as fiercely.
From the doorframe Folken bent down to whisper in the ear of the short nurse, "What was wrong with her?"
"Oh, it was nothing." Seeing Folken wasn't taking that for an answer she elaborated, "The lady had a spill, probably brought on from some horrible memory form her past. I was listening in on them from here." she confessed, "Apparently our little miss can't remember her past, so she isn't truly even sure of her identity."
"I see, and I expected this to happen. When you're finished with her in here will you send her to my chambers? I have a few questions to go over with her."
"Very well m'lord, but let the young ones have their moment for a bit."
Folken nodded his consent and walked out the side door that he had come in.
Jezabel didn't know how long she was like that, she just knew that she felt secure wrapped in all of Miguel's strength. "I never told anyone any of that before…" she murmured. "But, there's something about this world, something that makes it so wonderful, and I feel right at home here, almost like I belong, but how can that be if I was born on earth?"
"Maybe you weren't, or maybe it was destiny that you would come to live in this world, maybe that's why you like it here."
She pulled back looking into his eyes, her own full of wonder, "Do you think that's possible? That all this time I was living in a world that I didn't belong?"
"It's plausible."
"I hope it's true…"
"Why do you say that?" Miguel asked, cocky his head at an angle that never failed to make Jez smile, he looked so adorable when he was confused, which seemed to happening more and more around her.
"Because, that means that we were meant to be together."
"Then, for our sake, I hope so too."
Suddenly, Jezabel became aware that his face was only inches from hers, but it was unlike the time she had spent with Dilandau, this one she felt like it meant something. Closer, his breath was warm on hers, she could practically feel his lips on hers, and somehow she'd know that they'd feel like silk. After what seemed like an eternity, she felt his touch, like a paintbrush, going over her lips. So light…so…sensuous, but barely touching, it was only a teaser.
"Oh, excuse me." the nurse said, interrupting, and completely breaking the moment. Both broke apart smirking in defeat and exasperation. "I'm sorry my dearies. But, I do need to look over Miss Gylynn here." Miguel winked to her and left the room, while the nurse checked Jezabel over. Other than a mild shock, she was fine. "Well, all seems to be in order here. Lord Folken asked me to send you directly to his chambers once you were released. He'll be waiting for you there."
"Thank you," Jezabel bowed a little stiffly before strutting out of the room.
The nurse watched her leave, her smart stride, and click of boots, all signs of a thoroughbred Dragonslayer. Even her attitude indicated as much. "Ah, to be young again." she muttered, striping the wet sheets off of the bed.
Not bothering to change out of her wet clothing Jezabel waltzed down to Lord Folken's chambers. After a moments pause, to at least make her look somewhat presentable Jez knocked confidently on his door. And it swung open at her touch.
"Come in Jezabel, I've been wanting to speak with you."
"Likewise, Lord Folken."
"Really? To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I want answers Folken."
"He eyed her thoughtfully, "Yes, I suppose you would, after your little speech today, everyone wants answers. May I complement you on doing something that no one has successfully done before?"
"And what is that?"
"Throwing the Vionne into an uproar. It is proving to be rather fascinating."
Unsure of herself, Jezabel responded as best she could, "Thank you?"
Folken merely flashed one of his amused smirks, "Now what is it you want to know?" He eyed her up and down, somehow he knew that this girl was a combination of many people. She at time could show his own social grace and composed demeanor, when she chose to. Her temper was as fiery as Dilandau's, and just as intense, but in her own way. But to top it off, she had Van's stubborn pride, she'd only met him in captivity, but none the less it was there. She is definitely quite the character was his final conclusion, there was no way around it.
"I want to know why you aren't the King of Fanelia, and your younger brother is. Why you betrayed Zaibach before, why you and the rest of the Dragonslayers that died aren't dead, why Dilandau didn't die."
"I see you've been doing some research."
"And getting very vague answers." She interrupted.
"The only place to start is the beginning…" Folken explained how the right of succession in Fanelia had been jumbled because of his failure to slay the dragon, resulting in the loss of his arm.
"But what about the deaths of everyone here?"
"Well, my lady."
"Jezabel." she corrected, she hadn't liked Allen calling her 'my lady' and she wasn't about to let Folken start.
"Jezabel, that is a bit of a difficult subject." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I betrayed Zaibach once, because I didn't agree with its values. They placed too little on the human life. It treated its people like lab rats. In the end I killed the former ruler, and founder, Emperor Dornkirk at the cost of my own life. The Dragonslayers died to protect Dilandau, and died at the hands of my brother. Miguel died because he would have blown Zongi's cover, while he attempted to escape from a prison in Freid."
"Who was escaping?"
"Miguel had been taken captive, and Zongi was acting as a spy employed by me. Miguel died at the hands of Zongi, and Zongi at the hands of Dilandau. But Miguel is alive now, and Zongi is not."
Jezabel didn't wait before firing off her next question, "But why are you alive now, how can that be?"
"Now, here I'm not too certain how the process works, but the concept is fairly simple. Someone had salvaged our bodies and stimulated the healing process until we were perfect, like the state of a newborn child, only older." He glanced down at his right arm, which was no longer cold metal and steal. "When the shells, our bodies, were perfect they returned our souls to us. Zaibach gave me my life back, that is why I serve it today."
"Nothing is said about Dilandau dying though."
"You ask the hardest questions my dear."
Jezabel merely smiled.
"Dilandau is a product of a Zaibach experiment, the body cannot exist without a soul, Celena has two souls in hers that are complete opposites. But like in yin and yang, there is a little bit of darkness in all good, and in all good there is a little bit of good. Remember that."
"I will, I just wanted to make sure I had the right story there, that's still freaky what Zaibach did to them. But, what is ironic, Dilandau hates Allen Schezar very much, when in fact he is technically his own brother."
"Yes, I suppose that is a little ironic. But that one I cannot answer for you. Is there anything else?" he hoped there wasn't, he had some questions of his own, and hers had already sent his mind running dry with the need to answer some of his own questions.
"Yes I do. Why were you all resurrected? Why is Kana her? Why am I here? How come you can see earth from here? And what are the rumors about Kana to become Empress?"
"I'm sorry Jezabel, but I cannot answer any of these for you…Some I do not know myself, and others are classified Zaibach information that cannot be released. I, however have some questions for you."
"Shoot." He had been most cooperative with all of hers, she felt that she should at least return the favor.
"First of all, why can't you remember your past?"
"I-I don't know." she explained what she had earlier said to Miguel.
"I see, one more question. What did you see today?"
"It wasn't so much what I saw, it was what I felt. There was this horrendous heat, like being inside a stove, and I could hear screams, screams of a little girl. The next thing I knew I was being torn away, like a part of me was ripped out. That's when I screamed."
"That's all Jezabel, it's getting late and you've had a long day. Maybe you should get some rest."
Meekly she nodded, and stumbled up to her room. A cold blast hit her in the face, for some reason the newly replaced balcony door was open.
"That's odd." But what was stranger was the cat that was on her bed.
"Gem!" she said, partly out of shock, and happiness. There was no mistaking it, as the eyes turned from violets to emeralds.
Jezabel dashed to the bed to stroke her re-found friend. The cat purred contently for a little bit enjoying the steady movement of Jez's hand and then looked directly up at Jez.
It was impossible to resist Gem's gaze and Jezabel found herself entranced by the pools of color. A flash of light came from the mother-of- pearl eyes, and Jezabel fell back onto the soft bed in a deep sleep.
Her mission completed Gem dashed out the window, and Jezabel began to dream.
A/N: Hmmm….what to happen next? Next chappie might be a little short, but that means it should be out soon. Maybe before Thursday…which is my B-day *dances* I can't get my license! (finally)…Anyway this chaps a little boring, but I'll make up for it next time…not much more to say, Thanks to all who reviewed, and keep them coming!
Ciao!
Ice Eyes
I don't want to be wasted…
I don't want to live inside this daydream anymore…
I just want to be happy again…
~Everclear
"Jezabel!" Together the trio leapt up dripping wet from the pool, and ran haphazardly to the door a hundred yards away. Their armor had been discarded before entering the pool as had Jez's, but they were also minus the lavender shirt, leaving them with their uniform pants, and bare feet. Together they all burst through the door, and saw her collapsed on the floor. There was no traces that anyone had attempted a battle with Jezabel, she was just there, like she had fainted…but what kind of soldier faints for no reason at all?
"Let's take her down to the infirmary." Miguel suggested, "At least after she wakes up we can find out what happened to her. With Dallet taking her legs, Chesta grabbing her by the wrists, and Miguel supporting her middle, they made their way to the hospital wing in a type of waddling fashion.
After placing Jez on a bed, Chesta went off in search of a medic while Miguel kept silent vigil over Jez.
Dallet made to leave, but stopped just before the door, "Miguel are you going to stay here?"
"Yeah, at least until I know that she's okay." He glanced down at the calm form on the bed, she seemed so peaceful in her sleep, but during her waking hours she was anything but. It crushed him to see her seemingly so lifeless, or maybe he was just letting his heart rule his head.
"I'll go report this to Lord Dilandau, and Lord Folken, and tell them where you are."
Nodding his consent Miguel sat down on the edge of the bed, not caring if he got the sheets wet or not. A nurse cam a few moments later, and placed a cloth under Jezabel's nose, causing her eyes to snap open.
"W-where am I?"
The nurse was a sweet, plump old lady, who in her youth must have been very beautiful, and she still was, in her own way. You could see her soul was very bright and it came out through every pore of her skin. "In the infirmary dear, you had a bit of a spill. How are you feeling?"
Jezabel still hadn't registered anything, 'A spill? What is she talking about? Why am I in here?'
"Dearie? Are you feeling well?"
Jezabel shook her head waking up herself mentally, "I'm fine." The dazed look was still in her eyes, but fading.
"I'll check on you in a moment," with that the old lady waddled away, and it could be heard her rummaging through cabinets in the next room over.
"Miguel, what happened?" Jez asked pulling herself up to a sitting position. She was no longer in a state of bewilderment, but she was still confused about what happened.
"I was just going to ask you the same thing. You left, and then we heard you scream, ran out the door like wildfire, and you were crumpled on the ground, like some common street rat." Silently he tried to answer his own questions, but to no avail. "Why did you scream like that, did you see something?"
"Yes," she said after a moments pause, "And no. It was like I saw a vision."
'Just like that seer from the mystic moon…last time around…'
"I don't know what it was, it didn't prophesize anything about the future, it was like a memory."
"Well, if it was a memory you would recognize it wouldn't you?"
Jezabel looked down at the bed getting steadily damper, "No, because I don't remember anything about my childhood, that's why I'm an orphan."
Miguel didn't say anything, just invited her to continue on.
"When the social workers found me, I was lying in the street without any knowledge of who I was or where I came from. I couldn't even remember my own parents. They sent out fliers to see if anyone could identify me, but no one came. Eventually, a couple adopted me, and I had a family. But, I wish that I could know who my real family is.
"The doctors said that I was suffering from a severe type of amnesia, brought on by some horrible shock in my life. I guess, I must lived through some trauma that was too much for my mind to bear, and so it naturally reacted by shutting off those memories. If I was presented by some sort of stimuli, the doctors said that the memories might return, but I've never had any reaction since today…It's weird, because here I feel like I'm at home."
Miguel looked into her cool gray eyes, rimmed with the blue of old ice glaciers, now he knew why they seemed so sad. If you looked into them briefly you would never see it, but if you looked carefully you could see that something was amiss. Gently he took her into his arms, "It doesn't matter where you were from, you're home now." He didn't hear a response, just felt Jezabel return the embrace, snaking her arms around his bare torso, and burying her head in his shoulder. He hugged her with all his strength, and Jez returned it just as fiercely.
From the doorframe Folken bent down to whisper in the ear of the short nurse, "What was wrong with her?"
"Oh, it was nothing." Seeing Folken wasn't taking that for an answer she elaborated, "The lady had a spill, probably brought on from some horrible memory form her past. I was listening in on them from here." she confessed, "Apparently our little miss can't remember her past, so she isn't truly even sure of her identity."
"I see, and I expected this to happen. When you're finished with her in here will you send her to my chambers? I have a few questions to go over with her."
"Very well m'lord, but let the young ones have their moment for a bit."
Folken nodded his consent and walked out the side door that he had come in.
Jezabel didn't know how long she was like that, she just knew that she felt secure wrapped in all of Miguel's strength. "I never told anyone any of that before…" she murmured. "But, there's something about this world, something that makes it so wonderful, and I feel right at home here, almost like I belong, but how can that be if I was born on earth?"
"Maybe you weren't, or maybe it was destiny that you would come to live in this world, maybe that's why you like it here."
She pulled back looking into his eyes, her own full of wonder, "Do you think that's possible? That all this time I was living in a world that I didn't belong?"
"It's plausible."
"I hope it's true…"
"Why do you say that?" Miguel asked, cocky his head at an angle that never failed to make Jez smile, he looked so adorable when he was confused, which seemed to happening more and more around her.
"Because, that means that we were meant to be together."
"Then, for our sake, I hope so too."
Suddenly, Jezabel became aware that his face was only inches from hers, but it was unlike the time she had spent with Dilandau, this one she felt like it meant something. Closer, his breath was warm on hers, she could practically feel his lips on hers, and somehow she'd know that they'd feel like silk. After what seemed like an eternity, she felt his touch, like a paintbrush, going over her lips. So light…so…sensuous, but barely touching, it was only a teaser.
"Oh, excuse me." the nurse said, interrupting, and completely breaking the moment. Both broke apart smirking in defeat and exasperation. "I'm sorry my dearies. But, I do need to look over Miss Gylynn here." Miguel winked to her and left the room, while the nurse checked Jezabel over. Other than a mild shock, she was fine. "Well, all seems to be in order here. Lord Folken asked me to send you directly to his chambers once you were released. He'll be waiting for you there."
"Thank you," Jezabel bowed a little stiffly before strutting out of the room.
The nurse watched her leave, her smart stride, and click of boots, all signs of a thoroughbred Dragonslayer. Even her attitude indicated as much. "Ah, to be young again." she muttered, striping the wet sheets off of the bed.
Not bothering to change out of her wet clothing Jezabel waltzed down to Lord Folken's chambers. After a moments pause, to at least make her look somewhat presentable Jez knocked confidently on his door. And it swung open at her touch.
"Come in Jezabel, I've been wanting to speak with you."
"Likewise, Lord Folken."
"Really? To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I want answers Folken."
"He eyed her thoughtfully, "Yes, I suppose you would, after your little speech today, everyone wants answers. May I complement you on doing something that no one has successfully done before?"
"And what is that?"
"Throwing the Vionne into an uproar. It is proving to be rather fascinating."
Unsure of herself, Jezabel responded as best she could, "Thank you?"
Folken merely flashed one of his amused smirks, "Now what is it you want to know?" He eyed her up and down, somehow he knew that this girl was a combination of many people. She at time could show his own social grace and composed demeanor, when she chose to. Her temper was as fiery as Dilandau's, and just as intense, but in her own way. But to top it off, she had Van's stubborn pride, she'd only met him in captivity, but none the less it was there. She is definitely quite the character was his final conclusion, there was no way around it.
"I want to know why you aren't the King of Fanelia, and your younger brother is. Why you betrayed Zaibach before, why you and the rest of the Dragonslayers that died aren't dead, why Dilandau didn't die."
"I see you've been doing some research."
"And getting very vague answers." She interrupted.
"The only place to start is the beginning…" Folken explained how the right of succession in Fanelia had been jumbled because of his failure to slay the dragon, resulting in the loss of his arm.
"But what about the deaths of everyone here?"
"Well, my lady."
"Jezabel." she corrected, she hadn't liked Allen calling her 'my lady' and she wasn't about to let Folken start.
"Jezabel, that is a bit of a difficult subject." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I betrayed Zaibach once, because I didn't agree with its values. They placed too little on the human life. It treated its people like lab rats. In the end I killed the former ruler, and founder, Emperor Dornkirk at the cost of my own life. The Dragonslayers died to protect Dilandau, and died at the hands of my brother. Miguel died because he would have blown Zongi's cover, while he attempted to escape from a prison in Freid."
"Who was escaping?"
"Miguel had been taken captive, and Zongi was acting as a spy employed by me. Miguel died at the hands of Zongi, and Zongi at the hands of Dilandau. But Miguel is alive now, and Zongi is not."
Jezabel didn't wait before firing off her next question, "But why are you alive now, how can that be?"
"Now, here I'm not too certain how the process works, but the concept is fairly simple. Someone had salvaged our bodies and stimulated the healing process until we were perfect, like the state of a newborn child, only older." He glanced down at his right arm, which was no longer cold metal and steal. "When the shells, our bodies, were perfect they returned our souls to us. Zaibach gave me my life back, that is why I serve it today."
"Nothing is said about Dilandau dying though."
"You ask the hardest questions my dear."
Jezabel merely smiled.
"Dilandau is a product of a Zaibach experiment, the body cannot exist without a soul, Celena has two souls in hers that are complete opposites. But like in yin and yang, there is a little bit of darkness in all good, and in all good there is a little bit of good. Remember that."
"I will, I just wanted to make sure I had the right story there, that's still freaky what Zaibach did to them. But, what is ironic, Dilandau hates Allen Schezar very much, when in fact he is technically his own brother."
"Yes, I suppose that is a little ironic. But that one I cannot answer for you. Is there anything else?" he hoped there wasn't, he had some questions of his own, and hers had already sent his mind running dry with the need to answer some of his own questions.
"Yes I do. Why were you all resurrected? Why is Kana her? Why am I here? How come you can see earth from here? And what are the rumors about Kana to become Empress?"
"I'm sorry Jezabel, but I cannot answer any of these for you…Some I do not know myself, and others are classified Zaibach information that cannot be released. I, however have some questions for you."
"Shoot." He had been most cooperative with all of hers, she felt that she should at least return the favor.
"First of all, why can't you remember your past?"
"I-I don't know." she explained what she had earlier said to Miguel.
"I see, one more question. What did you see today?"
"It wasn't so much what I saw, it was what I felt. There was this horrendous heat, like being inside a stove, and I could hear screams, screams of a little girl. The next thing I knew I was being torn away, like a part of me was ripped out. That's when I screamed."
"That's all Jezabel, it's getting late and you've had a long day. Maybe you should get some rest."
Meekly she nodded, and stumbled up to her room. A cold blast hit her in the face, for some reason the newly replaced balcony door was open.
"That's odd." But what was stranger was the cat that was on her bed.
"Gem!" she said, partly out of shock, and happiness. There was no mistaking it, as the eyes turned from violets to emeralds.
Jezabel dashed to the bed to stroke her re-found friend. The cat purred contently for a little bit enjoying the steady movement of Jez's hand and then looked directly up at Jez.
It was impossible to resist Gem's gaze and Jezabel found herself entranced by the pools of color. A flash of light came from the mother-of- pearl eyes, and Jezabel fell back onto the soft bed in a deep sleep.
Her mission completed Gem dashed out the window, and Jezabel began to dream.
A/N: Hmmm….what to happen next? Next chappie might be a little short, but that means it should be out soon. Maybe before Thursday…which is my B-day *dances* I can't get my license! (finally)…Anyway this chaps a little boring, but I'll make up for it next time…not much more to say, Thanks to all who reviewed, and keep them coming!
Ciao!
Ice Eyes