Final Fantasy IX characters and locations from said game are owned by SquareSoft.
Original Plot and characters Copyright Robertdogwood
Chapter Four
Cid turned to his most trusted adviser, Artania, and inquired, "Does anybody have any knowledge of where Princess Garnet has disappeared to?"
"Not that I've heard," the minister quickly answered.
"Hmm, so nobody has any suspicions?" further questioned Cid.
"Not that I've been made aware of, your Majesty."
After Cid had remained in a thoughtful silence, Artania asked, "Do you want me to have Baku summoned?" Baku, of course, was the leader of the bandit gang, that was also an acting troupe known as Tantalus. This was the group that Zadane had formerly belonged to.
"Yes, why don't you?" Cid agreed.
The minister bowed and turned to leave the King's throne room. As Artania left, Cid mused, Who could possibly want Garnet out of the way and where is Zidane when all of this is happening?"
Zidane was currently in an airship that was hovering over Lindblum in preparation of landing, as Cid stood below wondering about him. Zidane stood up, stretched and yawned. "Man," he complained, "It took us long enought to get here."
"What's our first move?" his redheaded comrade asked.
"Go ask about this room key, and see if they remember anything about the last occupant. Maybe we'll be able to get in and see the room. Then I thought we'd go over to the hideout and see if the gang knows anything. If all else fails, we'll go see Cid. He may have heard something."
"That's fine, Zidane," Amarant agreed. "But just keep me away from that damn Eiko. You know kids just drive me right up the wall."
Zidane just smiled silently to himself.
Minister Artania stepped lively into the corridor and walked directly into Lady Hildagarde and he tumbled to the floor. From his prone position on the floor, he attempted to foolishly bow, while declaring, "A thousand pardons, m'lady. Are you injured?"
Lady Hildagarde stared down at him with disdain. "Where is Cid?" she demanded.
"He's in the throne man, m'lady," the minister quickly answered, while pulling himself up from the floor.
"What is going on here?" Lady Hildegarde asked in an angry tone. "I know something's wrong."
Artania flushed heavily. "I suggest you ask Cid. I really-."
"Bah!" the woman interrupted, and then she swept by him into the throne room.
The minister wiped his brow at his close escape and then he quickly continued on his way.
Steiner was standing in a long line in the office of the Royal Financial Exchequer's office. It was very warm indoors and he was sweating profusely in his armor. He was waiting to see someone of enough importance in order to gain the funds needed to follow the Royal Prince to Lindblum. He had been there already for over an hour and he was beginning to feel highly impatient to be on his way.
Finally the clerk at the counter called to him, "Next, please."
Steiner hurried toward the counter as quickly as his heavy armor would allow, clanking all the way.
"I need to obtain the funds to travel to Lindblum on the Queen's business," explained the loyal Alexandrian soldier.
"Do you have a requisition form signed by the Queen?" the clerk asked in a rather snotty fashion.
Steiner flushed in frustration, but held his tongue. He had already learned previously that not keeping his temper with these minor flunkies was a losing proposition.
"Why no, I don't," he attempted to explain. "The Queen is missing. That's why I have to go to Lindblum."
"Well," the clerk said, already looking beyond Steiner to the next person in line, "if you don't have the form signed by the Queen, I am unable to give you any money. Next," the officious little man called out to the person standing in line behind Steiner.
As the person attempted to brush by Steiner, he blocked their path and asked, "But how can I get the Queen to sign the form when she's missing, which is the very reason I need to go to Lindblum - to locate the missing Queen."
"That's not my problem," the clerk replied. "I don't make the rules, I just enforce them. I said next!"
At long last losing control of his temper, Steiner reached out and grasped the clerk up by his shirt. "You listen to me! You give me that money right now!"
"If you don't release me immediately, I will have you imprisoned," the clerk sputtered.
"By whose orders?" the angry soldier questioned.
"By the orders of the Queen," the little man angrily explained.
"Where is the Queen?" Steiner demanded.
"Why I heard she was missing," the clerk intoned.
"Then you can't have me imprisoned until I find her," the soldier declared.
"What?" the clerk asked, becoming very confused at the recent turn in the conversation.
"You can not have me imprisoned without the Queen being here to give the order. If you want me imprisoned, you have to give me the money to go to Lindblum to follow the Royal Prince in order to locate the now missing Queen," Steiner intoned slowly for the benefit of the now totally befuddled clerk.
The smallish, now totally confused, man just shook his head, as if to clear out the cobwebs. "Ok, ok," he surrendered. "I give up, I don't even know what you just said. Fill out this form and go downstairs to the clerk to get the money."
Steiner loosened his hold on the clerk, took the form from him, turned and walked away smiling to himself, realizing that at least now he didn't have to return to Beatrix with his task undone. Steiner would rather be imprisoned for a thousand days and nights than disappoint his beautiful wife.
The representative from the Alexandria Parliament strode angrily into the ante room of the outer office past the many penitents, who were waiting to speak with the politician considering their personal requests and private woes. As several of them stood up to approach the representative, the politician's receptionist silently shook her head at them indicating to them they should wait. She could already spot all the signs of a major blowup coming.
The representative continued through the room and literally crashed into the next office and slammed the door behind. The representative's personal assistant awaited by the large desk befitting the politician's importance.
"What the hell is going on?" the representative angrily demanded of the man standing there. The obviously frustrated politician went and sat in the chair behind the desk.
The representative's personal assistant was a political battle weary, middle-aged man, a long survivor of many political disasters, and he asked, "What do you mean?" The man obviously hoped to avoid the entire uncomfortable situation by claiming ignorance.
The politician glanced shrewdly at his assistant. "Come on, knock it off. You know damn well I'm speaking of Queen Garnet's disappearance."
The middle-aged man flushed, but spoke in an even tone when he admitted, "I don't know. I haven't heard a thing about it."
The parliamentarian stood up quickly. "Then go find out!" The middle-aged man bowed slightly and fled the office, relieved to have gotten off that easily.
Beatrix felt extremely grateful when Freya and Sir Fratley entered the Royal Throne Room. After welcoming them and bidding them sit, the beautiful warrior learned they had been preparing to leave Alexandria and return to their beloved Burmecia, when Vivi located them and apprised them of the crisis situation. They naturally agreed to come straight to the palace.
After welcoming them warmly, Beatrix wondered, "How goes the rebuilding of your home?"
Freya had a gentle smile while glancing at Sir Fratley, who answered in his usual florid manner. "It goes quite well, Lady Breatrix. We are almost surely completed. But what's this about the Queen?" In actuality Fratley hated small talk and preferred to go straight to the crux of the matter.
Beatrix understood this and in fact agreed with him; particularly in this situation. "She is missing and we have every reason to believe she was kidnapped."
"Where's Zidane?" Freya naturally asked.
"The Royal Prince," Beatrix carefully intoned, "has run off somewhere, God knows where. Adelbert is attempting to follow him."
Freya smiled to herself. She realized she had just been put in her place by Beatrix for calling him Zidane, but to her he would always just be her friend Zidane. After all, she had known him a heck of a lot longer than Beatrix had.
"Do we have any ideas at all where they might have taken her?" asked Freya.
Beatrix shook her head sadly. "No, but the troops have done a fairly thorough search in Alexandria.
Freya glanced at Sir Fratley, who nodded at her. Looking back at the beautiful soldier, Freya explained, "Fratley and I will go to Treno and then Lindblum if we learn nothing in Treno.
"Thank you so much," expressed Beatrix.
Sir Fratley stood up and then gallantly helped Freya to regain her feet. "We will be in touch," he spoke, "when there is something to report. Come, Freya," Fratley directed, leaving the throne room by her side. As soon as the doors closed behind them, Beatrix say back in the ornate chair and breathed a sigh of relief. At long last, she thought, things might be looking up a little."
By the time the bedroom door had been pushed open enough to allow the young man and woman entrance, the young Queen was no longer visible in the room. The man was rather short, although he appeared to own a promising physique beneath his common work clothes. He had pleasant enough features, with dark hair and green eyes. The woman was far taller than he and had a perfect hourglass figure. She was dressed in much better finery and was quite beautiful with curly blonde hair that hung past her shoulders, blue flashing eyes and gorgeous facial features.
Quickly noticing the room appeared empty, she exclaimed, "Crikey! The Queen's escaped. They'll have our heads for this."
"Calm down," the man suggested simply. "How could she escape? The windows are nailed shut, we're too high above the ground anyway. She would surely fracture a leg or worse. And she surely hasn't gotten through the heavy door."
"That's true!" the beautiful woman agreed. "Then where is she?" the young blonde asked thoughtfully.
They both gazed at the walk-in closet door simultaneously and moved to it very silently. Just before pulling the door open, the man cautioned the woman to remain silent by placing his forefinger against his lips in the almost universal signal of shhh! The blonde woman nodded and the man ripped the door open.
Inside the closet, the Queen stood ready for such an eventuality and as she had undeniably heard both a man and a woman, she had very wisely decided to seek out the woman if and when the door opened. As soon as the door opened, Garnet glanced wildly between the young man and woman, and lowering her left shoulder she charged into the woman with every bit of strength she possessed. Garnet may have appeared short and slight of stature, but she had a sinewy strength that was well hidden until she had need of it and this was one of those times. In other words, she knocked that woman 'ass over tea kettle,' and even stepped right on her without tripping on her way through the room and then out the door that the two keepers had thoughtlessly left open in their surprise at not initially observing the Queen upon entering the room.
The man automatically reached down to help his woman companion to her feet, when she exclaimed in a harsh tone, "Crikey! Not me! Go get her before she wanders too far away. They'll have our heads for this," she repeated for the second time since entering the room.
The young man followed the blonde woman's intelligent advice, but upon reaching the hallway he observed the young Queen had vanished.