By RobertDogwood@aol.com
Final Fantasy IX characters and locations from said game are owned by SquareSoft
Original Plot Copyright RobertDogwood 2001
Chapter Two
It was just past midnight when Garnet silently opened the bedroom door and crept across the room on her tiptoes, holding her ornate shoes in her hand. She quickly divested herself of all her apparel, slipped on her nightgown and climbed into bed with Zidane. Pressing her barely clothed body against his, she snuggled down deeper into the extremely comfortable mattress and felt asleep immediately.
Laying beside his beautiful wife, Zidane felt nothing but despair. Something as incredible as making love to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen was now just an anathema to him, because he believed she no longer cared for him. He was just the palace house pet to be trotted out for special occasions that no one else wanted to do. How else could one explain her slipping into bed and not even checking to see if he were awake.
Listening to Garnet's rhythmic breathing, he realized she had already fallen asleep and he skillfully extradicted himself from the bed without awakening her. Kneeling on one leg, he reached under the bed and pulled out an old outfit and carried it from the bedroom in his arms until he reached the safety of the corridor. Zidane, knowing the times the palace guards went on their rounds exactly, quickly donned his outfit and crossing to a window began to let himself down from the second floor. After he disappeared from sight, a solitary figure stepped from around the corner and watched where Zidane had been a second earlier.
Landing softly on the cobblestone street, Zidane glanced up quickly to ascertain if anyone had observed him. Discovering that it appeared he had escaped the palace undetected, he turned and began walking down the street to the boat-taxi pier.
Quickly reaching his destination, Zidane requested transportation to the main part of Alexandria. This being the third time that Zidane had slipped out of the palace late at night, Lady Beatrix's soldiers were used to him doing so, but he realized they still looked at him with askance. Zidane recognized they could never refuse him, because he was the Royal Prince, but he was also certain that there was presently rumors beginning to spread about his nocturnal activities.
Obtaining the other shore, Zidane stepped out of the boat gracefully, thanked the soldier for the ride and set off for the more humble side of the city. It was only there that he began to feel some of his old self return, when he rubbed shoulders with the more mundane citizens of Alexandria. Even in the middle of the night, the environment buzzed with some activity and excitement. Some of the taverns remained open all night long and he could seek company that made him feel more alive than any other place that he knew - certainly more alive than he felt at any time spent in the palace.
As Zidane strolled down the street towards his favorite tavern, he realized the time had arrived he had been most dreading - the time when he was going to have to leave Garnet. He loved her more than anybody could love a person, but it wasn't enough anymore. He needed something in return. In fact, he needed anything in return and Zidane realized he was receiving nothing. As Zidane prepared to enter the tavern, the sudden realization that Garnet no longer truly loved him caused him to veer away from the doors and down the street, because he began to sob uncontrollably.
Garnet awoke suddenly in terror from a nightmare. She had dreamt of the time Bahamut destroyed her beloved city of Alexandria. It had all seemed so terrifying real. Garnet still felt horribly guilty for her part in the disaster by combining with Eiko to call Alexander and no one could tell her any different, although many people had attempted to absolve her of blame. She supposed that was the reason for the recurring nightmare.
She sat up in bed, drenched in perspiration and swung her feet to the floor. She reached over to the nightstand and, using a wooden match, lit a small candle she left there for emergencies such as this. She swung her head around to make certain the small light didn't disturb Zidane's slumber when she observed in great shock that Zidane wasn't there!
Panicked because of the close proximity of this strange event following the heels of her nightmare, Garnet jumped from the bed and padded to the door and flung it open. Observing one of Lady Beatrix's beauteous soldiers standing watch at her door, Garnet demanded, "Have you seen my husband, the Royal Prince?"
The female soldier was amazed to see the ordinarily chaste Queen questioning her while standing with her body completely visible beneath her extremely diaphanous gown, but managed to maintain her composure and replied, "No, your Majesty."
"Are you certain you're not covering for him?" Garnet accused, knowing full well that Zidane spent time in the evenings conversing with the soldiers that stood watch over their door.
"No, your Majesty," the flustered guard responded, attempting to avert her eyes from the underdressed Queen.
"You're not certain?" Garnet asked, vaguely confused now.
"Of what?" the soldier asked, now also confused with the direction the conversation was taking.
Garnet stamped her bare foot in frustration. "You said you weren't certain that you weren't covering for him."
Noticing the guard was staring at the floor, Garnet commanded, "And look at me when I'm talking to you."
The female soldier looked up in slight embarrassment at the winsome figure of the Queen that was readily seen beneath her gown.
Suddenly Garnet realized she had forgotten to throw on a robe over her basically transparent nightgown and turning crimson with embarrassment, she began to back into her bedroom. "Well, if you see the Royal Prince, tell him I need to see him right away!" Garnet directed, while closing the bedroom door.
I know that's right," the soldier thought to herself.
On the other side of the door, Garnet cringed in embarrassment knowing full well this would be reported all around the palace by tomorrow morning.
The door suddenly rattled with thunderous knocks. "Your Majesty, is anything the matter?" questioned Steiner.
Oh, good grief! thought Garnet. What now?
As the Queen was too slow in responding in his opinion, Steiner burst into the bedroom and, espying some of the Queen's nude form beneath her nightgown, immediately halted, his mouth agape. There was a question of who was blushing the deeper - Garnet or Steiner - when Lady Beatrix stepped into the room closing the door behind her to close off the view of the guard in the hall.
"Adelbert!" she spoke sternly. "Leave the Queen's quarters at once!"
Steiner quickly scurried from the room.
Beatix kneeled on one knee. "Please forgive me your Majesty for coming into your room uninvited. Is there some way I can be of service to you?"
"Yes," Garnet said in a voice as haughtily as she could manage, considering what she was wearing.
"You can turn your head, while I cover myself."
"Yes, your Majesty," Beatrix replied, while complying as ordered. Garnet quickly crossed the room, pulled a robe from her closet and wrapped it around herself.
Garnet commanded, "You may rise, Lady Breatrix."
Beatrix realized from Garnet using the designation Lady that she had been forgiven for her indiscretion. Beatrix stood up and looked at the Queen.
"What is troubling you, your Majesty?" inquired Beatrix.
"Look," Garnet directed, sweeping her left arm toward the empty bed. "Zidane is missing. What does it mean, Beatrix?"
Beatrix responded, "I'm sure it only means that the Royal Prince has stepped out for a breath of fresh air, m'lady."
"Oh, if it were only so," Garnet sighed. "Zidane has been so distant lately and I have been so busy. I'm afraid he has found a more supple woman to dally with!"
"Your Majesty!" Beatrix protested. "The Royal Prince would never betray you! I am certain of it."
"If only I could be so sure," murmured Garnet.
"If your Majesty permits it," Beatrix suggested, "I could question him myself on the morrow."
"General Beatrix!" Garnet responded sternly. "You forget your place! I am fully capable of talking to my husband myself. You may be excused."
Beatrix kneeled once more and turned and left the room, leaving Garnet behind and immediately feeling guilty that she had spoken in such a manner to Beatrix.
She didn't deserve that, Garnet thought. She was only trying to help.
Garnet reached the decision to wait up for Zidane and, as a diversion from sleep, she chose one of her favorite books to read while she waited. But when the morning sun reached its zenith and flooded the bedroom awaking Garnet, she observed with a sinking in her heart that Zidane had returned while she slumbered and now had already left for the day.
Garnet's day as the head of Alexandria's parliament seemed to drag even slower than usual, as she only half listened to the mindless arguing between the representatives of the middle class burghers and the representatives of the less fortunate members of Alexandria. She was only concerned about Zidane.
Where had he gone? Garnet wondered. What was he doing away from my bed in the middle of the night? What did it mean? Garnet couldn't begin to fathom any other reason for his absence other than another woman. Anytime she even began to consider that she had lost Zidane through her continued absence from their marriage bed, fear would clutch her heart and threaten to tear it in twain. It was all she could to do to keep tears from her eyes, as she presided over hour after hour of mindless arguments over the tiniest esoteric points of the bureaucracy.
Finally the session was called for the day and Garnet hurriedly rushed through the back door of the chamber, without waiting for all the politicians to exit as was her usual custom. Constantly berating her carriage driver to go ever faster, the royal coach careened dangerously through the streets of Alexandria until at last it arrived in front of the palace.
Jumping out of the carriage, rather than waiting for the footman present to open the carriage door, Garnet, lifting up her long gown rather indecorously high off the ground in order to run faster, practically sprinted into the palace and up to the second floor and into her bedroom.
Garnet quickly glimpsed that Zidane was not present and groaned aloud. Then her glance fell upon a note on her pillow. Snatching it up, she read the following:
My dearest love, I loath to pen this missive to thou, but circumstances leave no other options. It is quite obvious to me that I am only a burden to you in your position as Queen. So I will be taking my leave of you; not because I have stopped holding you as the dearest thing to my heart, but quite the opposite. I no longer seem to have a similiar position in yours. Not wishing to cause you any further concern, I will now say fare thee well. Please feel free to divorce me. I will not contest it. You deserve to find a man whom you truly love, Love you forever, Zidane.
"Oh no!" Garnet screamed as tears began to flow copiously down her anguished features and she fell to her knees, clutching the note in her clenched fists.
Miles away, Zidane stood at the bar in a tavern in Treno drinking ale and talking with Amarant.
Amarant asked, "So you actually left her?"
As Zidane nodded, Amarant replied harshly, "Then you're a bigger fool than even I thought!"
Zidane complained, "You don't know-."
"No You don't know!" exclaimed Amarant. Continuing in a softer tone, Amarant said, "You don't know just what you have thrown away...the peerless love of a woman that sweet and gentle. Whatever are you thinking?"
When Zidane didn't respond, Amarant glanced at his former comrade-in-arms and was greatly startled to note huge tears running down Zidane's face.
"Okay, that tears it!" Amarant said loudly, while grasping Zidane by the shoulders with his huge hands and beginning to push him out of the tavern. "I'm taking you back to Alexandria right now!"
As Amarant stepped down from the horse drawn taxi, Zidane had already raced through the palace's front door almost knocking down the footman, who had stepped forward to open the carriage door.
It was long past dawn and the sun beat down on the back of Amarant's neck as he paid the carriage driver with a huge sheath of bills Zidane had stuffed into his hands just before leaping from the still rolling carriage.
I can see money's not a problem, at least, for the little fella, Amarant thought, while paying the cab driver.
Despite Zidane hiring a private airship with an amount of money that boggled Amarant's mind, it still took them hours to finally arrive at the palace. Zidane traveled up the staircase two and three steps at a time by leaping and burst into his bedroom, hoping to find Garnet hadn't already left for the day.
Once inside the room, Zidane stood too stunned to move. Glancing around the room, he was completely shocked to discover it in shambles. It was as if everything in the room had been turned topsy-turvy!
"What the hell does this mean? Did Garnet do this?" Zidane muttered to himself.
Once the initial shock had worn off, Zidane naturally immediately thought of informing Steiner and Beatrix. He also realized that there should have been a guard posted at their bedroom door.
As Zidane was preparing to leave the room and search for Steiner and Beatrix, he heard a sudden slight noise that sounded as it were some sort of organized tapping. Following the sound around the room, Zidane stepped carefully through the trash that had, at one time, been his and Garnet's possessions, his tail twitching every time he heard the sound.
Realizing that the sound was emanating from Garnet's large walk-in closet, Zidane prepared himself for the worst and then quickly yanked the door open. And was completely startled when one of Lady Beatrix's comely female warriors came tumbling toward him.
Automatically reaching out with his hands to catch the falling guard, Zidane felt something largely circular and rather fleshy, as the beauteous soldier moaned in complaint. It was then Zidane was shocked to notice the young woman's uniform had been completely removed and she had fallen into his hands sans apparel!
Quickly helping the female guard to stand upright and removing his hands, Zidane noted the guard's hands were tied behind her back and there was a gag across her mouth, and she was blushing furiously at her extremely underdressed condition.
Whew, I can certainly see why, Zidane thought to himself. Beatrix certainly knows how to pick 'em!
Zidane was uncertain as to the best way to go about releasing the young attractive woman, and finally reached behind and untied her hands. When she immediately drew back her right hand into a fist and sent it thundering into Zidane's chin, knocking him to the floor, he thought, Whoops! Wrong choice.
The nude female guard quickly removed the gag from her mouth and demanded, "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Before Zidane, still laying on the floor, could frame an adequate response, he heard the voice of Adelbert Steiner repeat the same phrase, but this time it was being asked of the guard. "Just what do you think you're doing, Bernadette? Striking the Royal Prince?!"
The unfortunate soldier called Bernadette then made the entire situation even worse by snapping to attention with her right hand held high by the side of her head. When Steiner finally got a full look at the female guard, he felt as though he was going to pass out and he just stood with his mouth agape until Beatrix entered the room and once again took charge of the situation.
"Private Bernadette, cover yourself immediately! And Steiner! - leave this room at once!" Beatrix commanded.
As Steiner quickly left the room, Private Bernadette discovered a half of torn robe laying on the floor and held it up in front of her denuded comeliness, as Zidane arose from the floor.
"Now Bernadette," Beatrix began, "I demand an immediate explanation."
"Well, when the Royal Prince opened the closet door, I fell foward and he grabbed my-."
"Not that explanation!" Beatrix responded heatedly. "I'm talking about where the Queen is and how you came to be in that closet!"
"Oh." Private Bernadette said weakly.
Bernadette went on to explain in a short concise fashion that apparently several large men had managed to infiltrate the palace and had successfully crept up on her unnoticed, until they threw themselves on her. Completely stripping her in less than an minute, leaving her completely defenseless, they pushed her in front of them as they invaded the sleeping Queen's room. After that, they pushed her in the closet and locked it, after gagging her and binding her hands behind her back. Bernadette said it was obvious they then abducted the Queen.
"It's all my fault!" Zidane cried out. "I should have been here!"
General Beatrix nodded at the young female soldier and commanded, "That will be all, Private Bernadette. As Private Bernadette saluted Beztrix with her right hand, holding the scrap of material in front of her haphazardly with her left hand, Beatrix realized it would be rather mean spirited of her to say the least, to send the young woman back through the city to the barracks with her entire backside hanging out.
As Bernadette turned to leave the room, exposing more then she realized, Beatrix winced and ordered, "Wait!"
As luck would have it, Steiner blundered back into the room right at that instant.
Looking upon the nude figure of Bernadette and what appeared to him as Beatrix standing gazing at her longingly, Steiner roared like a bull in heat, "Beatrix! What is going on here?!"
Beatrix turned her head and offered Steiner her most fearsome face and ordered, "Adelbert, go get her a robe!...now!"
"Yes, dear," Steiner simpered and again exited the room, quickly returning with the robe in question and holding it to Bernadette, while averting his eyes. Steiner bounced off a wall on the way out of the room.
Bernadette slipped the robe quickly on over her lissome figure and left thanking the General for her generosity. Zidane was crawling on his hands and knees through the littered floor. Gazing upon him crawling around in the trash and muttering to himself, Beatrix began to fear for his sanity when suddenly Zidane leapt to his feet holding something clutched in his right hand.
"Yes!" he exclaimed and began to leave the room.
"Zidane! Wait!" Beatrix exclaimed.
Zidane ran through the doorway just as Steiner returned.
"Where's Zidane off to in such a hurry?" asked Steiner.
Beatrix directed, "Follow him, Adelbert. I'm worried for his sanity."
"Yes, my love," Steiner responded and turned and ran through the doorway and down the hall, clanking after Zidane, who was already on the first floor.
Watching as Steiner left, Beatrix spoke aloud, "Just what is going on here?"