Chapter Twenty One
Turbo - "To throw into disorder"
Garnet arrived at the regular spy meeting later that night. Her encounter with Zidane earlier that day had left her feeling confused and cold. He had never been so distant. He had looked at her as though she was a stranger, and it had broken her heart.
She opened the door and the spies along with Steiner jumped to attention. She ignored them as she walked to the head of the table and took her seat. They all remained at attention as she began scanning over the documents in front of her, and she didn't notice them or the silence of the room until a moment later. She looked up at them, and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Good lord, sit down already," she grumbled at them. They all looked at each other for a few seconds and then slowly took their seats.
"I'm not about to explode," she told them, not looking up from her papers. "And before you ask, Steiner, I'm fine."
They breathed a small sigh of relief as they released the breath they had been holding since she entered the room, and began to quietly talk amongst themselves. Garnet poured over the papers, her face becoming more grave with each page that she read.
"Your majesty?" one of the spies cautiously asked.
"Yes?" she said, not looking up.
"We received a message only half an hour ago. It said that the entire city is going to be put under military command within the next day. They're getting paranoid about security. All foreigners in the city walls at the time of the take over will be considered threats to security and will become prisoners of war," the spy told her quietly, and a tense silence fell over the room. She still refused to look up, although her gaze was no longer on the words in front of her, but on a spot on the table that she found herself unable to look away from.
Why is this happening? Why me? Why now?
"Your majesty?" Steiner asked timidly.
"Yes, Steiner?" she asked flatly.
"We should pull our spies out of Treno, don't you think?" he asked, looking at her with a worried expression on his face. There was a pause before Garnet slowly nodded her head.
"Yes, pull the spies out."
At her words, a spy immediately stood and left the room, neglecting to salute as he rushed down the hall. Garnet's eyes lifted from the table for the first time that evening as the spies had begun whispering to each other again. Only then did she notice.
"Where's Beatrix?" she asked. Everyone stopped talking immediately and looked from Garnet's face to Beatrix's empty chair. Garnet's jaw clenched as she asked them again.
"Where is she?"
"I saw her earlier, your Majesty," Steiner suddenly piped up sheepishly. Garnet's cold stare moved to him, and he found himself almost unable to speak.
"And?" she demanded.
"She was heading toward the airship dock," he finished.
Steiner watched as the corner of Garnet's mouth twitched slightly as she stared at him, her eyes wide. Years of being her body guard had taught him a lot, including that a twitch at the corner of her mouth meant only one thing.
"WHAT?!?!" she screeched at him. The spies jumped in their chairs and moved away from her end of the table as she got to her feet. Steiner stared in horror at her as she picked up the thing closest to her, a water goblet, and launched it at the window behind her. The window shattered, and the glass tinkled onto the marble floor. She let out another scream of aggravation before wheeling around and pointing at one of the spies.
"YOU!!"
"Yes?" he replied timidly.
"Name?"
"Five."
"THE REAL ONE!!"
"Mason."
"Go find her. She'll be hanging around an inn in Lindblum," Garnet barked at him. "Arrest her and bring her back!!"
~*~*~
Meanwhile in Lindblum, Beatrix was in a room across from room 15 and its mysterious, unknown occupant. She had shed her Alexandrian armor, which now lay stashed in her room's closet, and now wore a simple skirt and loose blouse. She had moved a chair next to the door and had not left it for 4 hours, listening intently for any movement from the room across the way. She munched nervously on peanuts as she bounced her feet on the floor.
She froze suddenly as she heard the soft click! of a door opening. She got to her feet as quietly as she could and pressed herself against the door, jamming her eye onto the peephole in the door.
A person quickly emerged from the room across the hall, and Beatrix caught sight of a familiar red underlining on their cloak.
"I see you," she whispered quietly to herself, a small smile creeping over her face. She watched the person turn and lock the door behind them, and turn down the hall. Beatrix hesitated less than a second before pulling her cloak over her head, and began her pursuit.
She followed them to the docks and onto a ship to Treno. The ride there was silent as the sun set below the horizon, casting an eerie shadow in the airship. As darkness slowly swallowed the ship and its passengers, Beatrix chanced lifting her eyes from beneath her hood as she tried to vain to see the face that was hiding beneath the red lined cloak.
An hour later, Beatrix found herself flat on her stomach, shivering against the cold ground outside the city of Treno. She had pursued her target off of the ship, around the outskirts of the entire city to a stone lined water well in the middle of a field. Beatrix watched as they opened the metal lid of the well, looking into it for a moment before crawling over the edge and disappearing from sight.
"This is ridiculous," Beatrix muttered to herself miserably. "What the hell are they doing down a well?" She thought out loud, looking around to the surrounding trees.
"Stop being stupid, Beatrix. Just get up and look," she scolded herself, her voice dying off just in time to hear a tree branch snap from somewhere in the dark forest behind her. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder, trying to peer into the trees with only the dim moonlight to help her.
"Get up," she whispered to herself. "Go. Now."
She was on her feet in less than a second, and bounded out of the trees toward the well. She reached it only seconds later and crouched in its shadow, straining to hear over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She heard nothing.
Moments later she finally found the strength to stand and moved quietly toward the metal lid of the well that now lay propped against the rock wall. She kneeled next to it and leaned over it, peering at its surface. In what little light she had, she could see a design etched into the center of the lid.
"The DeBarbarac family crest," she thought out loud, her eyes widening. "But, why out here?" She lifted her head, looking back toward the entrance to the well. She moved to it and leaned over slowly, peering down. She could easily see that there was no water in the well, only a ladder and a single, lit torch mounted on the wall at the bottom. A visible path led away from the bottom and to the left.
"Where could that go?" she asked, lifting her eyes to follow the direction of the underground path. She found herself staring toward Treno. The very center of it.
Beatrix's jaw dropped open as a sudden realization overcame her. "The basement . . . "
Her shock was interrupted by another surprise as she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps beneath her. She looked back down into the well and suddenly saw someone appear from the tunnel, run to the ladder, and quickly begin climbing.
"Shit," Beatrix gasped as she jumped away from the tunnel and quickly ran towards the tree, stumbling over her own feet as she tried to get away from the well as fast as possible. She dashed into the forest, dodging trees and ducking under stray branches, no longer caring how much noise she was making. Suddenly, over the sound of her own feet, she could hear rustling to her left. She glanced over and saw a red lined cape fluttering madly in the wind as they were now running side by side. Another glance over her shoulder showed Beatrix that they were indeed being chased by Treno guards with torches.
They reached the edge of the woods, appearing a few hundred feet from the small houses that lined the outside of the city. Beatrix hesitated only a second before starting to run towards the houses, hoping she could loose the guards once in the city. She only made it a few feet before she felt a hard tug at the back of her cloak.
"No! This way!" was harshly whispered in her ear as she was tugged by the cloaked figure back into the trees. They began running along the tree line, the red-lined cloak fluttering madly in front of Beatrix, seeming almost like a tease. They suddenly reached a fallen log and quickly hopped it, and before Beatrix could take another step she felt herself being pulled to the ground.
"Shh!" the person hissed into her ear, and they both froze as they heard voices from behind them. They pressed closer to the log, pulling their feet towards them as they listened intently.
"Where the hell is he?" they heard a man yell angrily.
"I don't know, sir! I think he made it to the buildings!"
"You four come with me, we're heading into the city. You two stay here and search the woods!" Beatrix heard a scuffling of feet followed by silence, and then light footsteps heading towards them.
"Are you armed?" she heard whispered quietly in her ear.
"Yes," Beatrix replied quietly.
"On three. One, two, three!"
They both sprung up from behind the log, each drawing their swords and rushing towards the two guards. In the darkness of the woods, the guards never saw them coming. The first was slain quickly by the hooded figure, while Beatrix fought against the other. Their swords met again and again when suddenly he dropped his and fell to the floor, a dagger sticking out of his back. Beatrix looked to the dead man at her feet and then looked up to the figure, who was standing as if frozen in place with only their chest lightly rising and falling. In the dim moonlight, Beatrix could see the outline of their chin from beneath the shadow of their hood.
Beatrix began walking towards them, her steps determined and quick. She reached them in seconds, the person unmoving from their spot. Beatrix didn't hesitate before reaching up and yanking their hood off forcefully, finally revealing their face.
Beatrix's breath caught in her throat as she took an involuntary step backwards. She blinked her eyes a few times, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Ellie?"
Turbo - "To throw into disorder"
Garnet arrived at the regular spy meeting later that night. Her encounter with Zidane earlier that day had left her feeling confused and cold. He had never been so distant. He had looked at her as though she was a stranger, and it had broken her heart.
She opened the door and the spies along with Steiner jumped to attention. She ignored them as she walked to the head of the table and took her seat. They all remained at attention as she began scanning over the documents in front of her, and she didn't notice them or the silence of the room until a moment later. She looked up at them, and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Good lord, sit down already," she grumbled at them. They all looked at each other for a few seconds and then slowly took their seats.
"I'm not about to explode," she told them, not looking up from her papers. "And before you ask, Steiner, I'm fine."
They breathed a small sigh of relief as they released the breath they had been holding since she entered the room, and began to quietly talk amongst themselves. Garnet poured over the papers, her face becoming more grave with each page that she read.
"Your majesty?" one of the spies cautiously asked.
"Yes?" she said, not looking up.
"We received a message only half an hour ago. It said that the entire city is going to be put under military command within the next day. They're getting paranoid about security. All foreigners in the city walls at the time of the take over will be considered threats to security and will become prisoners of war," the spy told her quietly, and a tense silence fell over the room. She still refused to look up, although her gaze was no longer on the words in front of her, but on a spot on the table that she found herself unable to look away from.
Why is this happening? Why me? Why now?
"Your majesty?" Steiner asked timidly.
"Yes, Steiner?" she asked flatly.
"We should pull our spies out of Treno, don't you think?" he asked, looking at her with a worried expression on his face. There was a pause before Garnet slowly nodded her head.
"Yes, pull the spies out."
At her words, a spy immediately stood and left the room, neglecting to salute as he rushed down the hall. Garnet's eyes lifted from the table for the first time that evening as the spies had begun whispering to each other again. Only then did she notice.
"Where's Beatrix?" she asked. Everyone stopped talking immediately and looked from Garnet's face to Beatrix's empty chair. Garnet's jaw clenched as she asked them again.
"Where is she?"
"I saw her earlier, your Majesty," Steiner suddenly piped up sheepishly. Garnet's cold stare moved to him, and he found himself almost unable to speak.
"And?" she demanded.
"She was heading toward the airship dock," he finished.
Steiner watched as the corner of Garnet's mouth twitched slightly as she stared at him, her eyes wide. Years of being her body guard had taught him a lot, including that a twitch at the corner of her mouth meant only one thing.
"WHAT?!?!" she screeched at him. The spies jumped in their chairs and moved away from her end of the table as she got to her feet. Steiner stared in horror at her as she picked up the thing closest to her, a water goblet, and launched it at the window behind her. The window shattered, and the glass tinkled onto the marble floor. She let out another scream of aggravation before wheeling around and pointing at one of the spies.
"YOU!!"
"Yes?" he replied timidly.
"Name?"
"Five."
"THE REAL ONE!!"
"Mason."
"Go find her. She'll be hanging around an inn in Lindblum," Garnet barked at him. "Arrest her and bring her back!!"
~*~*~
Meanwhile in Lindblum, Beatrix was in a room across from room 15 and its mysterious, unknown occupant. She had shed her Alexandrian armor, which now lay stashed in her room's closet, and now wore a simple skirt and loose blouse. She had moved a chair next to the door and had not left it for 4 hours, listening intently for any movement from the room across the way. She munched nervously on peanuts as she bounced her feet on the floor.
She froze suddenly as she heard the soft click! of a door opening. She got to her feet as quietly as she could and pressed herself against the door, jamming her eye onto the peephole in the door.
A person quickly emerged from the room across the hall, and Beatrix caught sight of a familiar red underlining on their cloak.
"I see you," she whispered quietly to herself, a small smile creeping over her face. She watched the person turn and lock the door behind them, and turn down the hall. Beatrix hesitated less than a second before pulling her cloak over her head, and began her pursuit.
She followed them to the docks and onto a ship to Treno. The ride there was silent as the sun set below the horizon, casting an eerie shadow in the airship. As darkness slowly swallowed the ship and its passengers, Beatrix chanced lifting her eyes from beneath her hood as she tried to vain to see the face that was hiding beneath the red lined cloak.
An hour later, Beatrix found herself flat on her stomach, shivering against the cold ground outside the city of Treno. She had pursued her target off of the ship, around the outskirts of the entire city to a stone lined water well in the middle of a field. Beatrix watched as they opened the metal lid of the well, looking into it for a moment before crawling over the edge and disappearing from sight.
"This is ridiculous," Beatrix muttered to herself miserably. "What the hell are they doing down a well?" She thought out loud, looking around to the surrounding trees.
"Stop being stupid, Beatrix. Just get up and look," she scolded herself, her voice dying off just in time to hear a tree branch snap from somewhere in the dark forest behind her. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder, trying to peer into the trees with only the dim moonlight to help her.
"Get up," she whispered to herself. "Go. Now."
She was on her feet in less than a second, and bounded out of the trees toward the well. She reached it only seconds later and crouched in its shadow, straining to hear over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She heard nothing.
Moments later she finally found the strength to stand and moved quietly toward the metal lid of the well that now lay propped against the rock wall. She kneeled next to it and leaned over it, peering at its surface. In what little light she had, she could see a design etched into the center of the lid.
"The DeBarbarac family crest," she thought out loud, her eyes widening. "But, why out here?" She lifted her head, looking back toward the entrance to the well. She moved to it and leaned over slowly, peering down. She could easily see that there was no water in the well, only a ladder and a single, lit torch mounted on the wall at the bottom. A visible path led away from the bottom and to the left.
"Where could that go?" she asked, lifting her eyes to follow the direction of the underground path. She found herself staring toward Treno. The very center of it.
Beatrix's jaw dropped open as a sudden realization overcame her. "The basement . . . "
Her shock was interrupted by another surprise as she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps beneath her. She looked back down into the well and suddenly saw someone appear from the tunnel, run to the ladder, and quickly begin climbing.
"Shit," Beatrix gasped as she jumped away from the tunnel and quickly ran towards the tree, stumbling over her own feet as she tried to get away from the well as fast as possible. She dashed into the forest, dodging trees and ducking under stray branches, no longer caring how much noise she was making. Suddenly, over the sound of her own feet, she could hear rustling to her left. She glanced over and saw a red lined cape fluttering madly in the wind as they were now running side by side. Another glance over her shoulder showed Beatrix that they were indeed being chased by Treno guards with torches.
They reached the edge of the woods, appearing a few hundred feet from the small houses that lined the outside of the city. Beatrix hesitated only a second before starting to run towards the houses, hoping she could loose the guards once in the city. She only made it a few feet before she felt a hard tug at the back of her cloak.
"No! This way!" was harshly whispered in her ear as she was tugged by the cloaked figure back into the trees. They began running along the tree line, the red-lined cloak fluttering madly in front of Beatrix, seeming almost like a tease. They suddenly reached a fallen log and quickly hopped it, and before Beatrix could take another step she felt herself being pulled to the ground.
"Shh!" the person hissed into her ear, and they both froze as they heard voices from behind them. They pressed closer to the log, pulling their feet towards them as they listened intently.
"Where the hell is he?" they heard a man yell angrily.
"I don't know, sir! I think he made it to the buildings!"
"You four come with me, we're heading into the city. You two stay here and search the woods!" Beatrix heard a scuffling of feet followed by silence, and then light footsteps heading towards them.
"Are you armed?" she heard whispered quietly in her ear.
"Yes," Beatrix replied quietly.
"On three. One, two, three!"
They both sprung up from behind the log, each drawing their swords and rushing towards the two guards. In the darkness of the woods, the guards never saw them coming. The first was slain quickly by the hooded figure, while Beatrix fought against the other. Their swords met again and again when suddenly he dropped his and fell to the floor, a dagger sticking out of his back. Beatrix looked to the dead man at her feet and then looked up to the figure, who was standing as if frozen in place with only their chest lightly rising and falling. In the dim moonlight, Beatrix could see the outline of their chin from beneath the shadow of their hood.
Beatrix began walking towards them, her steps determined and quick. She reached them in seconds, the person unmoving from their spot. Beatrix didn't hesitate before reaching up and yanking their hood off forcefully, finally revealing their face.
Beatrix's breath caught in her throat as she took an involuntary step backwards. She blinked her eyes a few times, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Ellie?"