Hey again! I haven't updated for a while, all because of school and because of the strenuous spelling bee I had to take today. However, now I'm back in action! Thanks for the comment, too, Mai Valentine1, it really means a lot to me. Anyways, on with the story! Oh yeah, I don't own Square Enix, I don't own Final Fantasy, and I don't own Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Thanks, and enjoy the story!

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Darcie turned to look at Carrot, but instead found herself staring at a pile of weeds. "Huh?" she said aloud, not hearing Carrot's usually bustling movements. And, to top it all off, there was no trail of slime to follow. She growled, eyes narrowing. Where had Carrot gone so silently? That was unlike her; in fact most Malboros were just as silent as an orchestra tuning their instruments.

"Darcie, where's Carrot?" asked Madeline, turning around rather unconcerned. Darcie gave her a frightened look, then an even more frightened shrug. She pointed to the pile of weeds, which were now not even blowing in the breeze.

"Lini! Carrot's gone!" Madeline said urgently, tapping the daydreaming Moogle on the shoulder. He turned around; a drowsy smile on his fuzzy face, before noticing what everyone was talking about and jumping up like a frightened rabbit.

"Oh no, kupokupo! Where did she go? When did she go? Why did she go? Oh no, this is not good at all, kupo!" he said, head darting back and forth as he jumped wildly. At one such jump, Madeline rolled her eyes and slapped him on the head. With a squeal he stopped.

"We aren't getting anywhere panicking, Lini," Madeline said, and then turned to Darcie who was frantically scanning the bushes while sniffing the ground for a whiff of the Malboro. She found none. With a curse, she slapped her knee.

"She tricked us! It was all a trap!" she yelled, glaring in the direction she believed Carrot had gone. "Her good behavior was just an act so we could turn away from her! And now she's gone, and Lady Nanabu is going to fire us all!"

"She wouldn't do that, kupo," Lini said reassuringly, but then a tinge of fright took over. "She wouldn't do that, right, kupo?"

"I don't know," Madeline said coldly, looking back to the mountains. "Wherever she's gone, it's not good. I can sense it in my bones." With that, she shivered a bit. Lini started twittering in fright.

"We aren't going to get anywhere just contemplating where she's gone," Madeline said, her voice just as cold but more rushed. "We need to formulate a plan."

"Formulate a plan? No, no, no! We won't formulate a plan, because Carrot is coming back! She just went away to go get something, kupo!" Lini said, and by the high-pitched, frightened tone in his voice Darcie could tell he was becoming hysterical.

"She's gone, Lini," Madeline said again. Lini shook his head, a dizzy grin swept across his face. He began to jump, nodding furiously and giggling like a drunken Viera.

"No, no, no, kupo!" he cheered, and began to laugh like a madman. Madeline was not concerned, she was just annoyed.

"Shut up, Moogle, or I'll tape your mouth closed!" she threatened. Lini stuck out his tongue.

"She's not gone, kupo!" he said merrily, then did another hysterical jump. "She's here to stay! Lady Nanabu loves her!"

"I said shut up!" Madeline warned again, a tinge of a fiery rage rising in her voice. Lini stuck out his tongue again, and then let out a loud laugh. That was the last fuse.

Before Lini could giggle, Madeline was brawling with him on the ground. Lini let out a wheezy cough, and then kept giggling. "SHUT UP!" Madeline said, making Lini just giggle even more.

"Calm down!" Darcie shouted as she ran up, trying to break the two apart. But Madeline just thrashed her in the arm and she flew back onto the ground, staining her apron with mud. She grasped her arm, which was now flaring in pain.

"Quiet, both of you!" commanded a loud, deep voice. Madeline stopped growling, got up, and brushed off her apron. Lini stopped giggling, stood straight, and brushed a drop of blood off a cut on his cheek. Darcie gazed in the direction of the voice. It's about time, Darcie thought. I thought he'd never come.

A figure walked out from behind a tree, offering a strong, leathery hand for Darcie to grasp. She did, and the figure pulled her up. Walking out of the shadow the tree had cast upon him, Darcie smiled at the Bangaa clad in light blue robes who had broken up the fight so easily.

Donovan had once been a Bishop in a holy clan that had settled a church near Bervenia Palace, where he worked as warden of the garden. However, the church was burned down around the time of the fourth crystal's destruction, and he was hired to be the Royal Gardener of Bervenia Palace's many lavish courtyards. However, following the death of Queen Remedi, he was fired. He sold flowers on the streets of Cyril until Lady Nanabu hired him after he had offered her a free, fragrant bouquet of Blue Roses he had hand-picked in the desert. Now he worked as the gentle gardener of the Nanabu household.

"Thank you, Donovan," Darcie said with a smile. Donovan grinned.

"No problem, Darcie," he said, lowering his head a bit in respect. Darcie was flattered, and blushed a little bit. Donovan grinned again. "What is the problem?" he inquired, turning to Lini and Madeline, who were both shocked.

"Carrot escaped!" Madeline said quite frankly. Donovan's eyes widened and Lini let out an overwhelmed sigh.

"She did what?" he asked, astonished. "She deliberately ran away, again? Lady Nanabu is not going to like thisss, not at all."

"We know, Donovan, kupo," Lini said with a sigh. "She was acting so obedient. But now we know it was just a big act. Carrot tricked us so she could escape, kupo!"

"We should address this matter with the Lady," Donovan said, and Madeline let out a sighing groan.

"We can't do that! Not yet, at least. We haven't even fully checked the gardens for her! Only after we do that should we tell Lady Nanabu." Lini nodded in agreement.

"I agree, kupo. She could be just hiding like she usually does," he said. But he knew that she wasn't. It was only a matter of time before Lady Nanabu's fuse burst, a rare occasion indeed.

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Carrot gurgled happily to herself as she strolled through the Koringwood, well on her way to Jagd Helje. She still couldn't believe that the servants had so blankly believed in her new obedience. How naïve they were. It hadn't even been a challenge to get past them; all it had cost her was a couple minutes with some with a bundle of severed weeds, which hadn't even made a rash on her tentacles. It was never good when that happened.

It wasn't hard to navigate the Koringwood, either. Her instinct guided her whenever she got stuck, which was quite rarely indeed. She had gone on this path so many times before she almost knew the full route by heart. With another delighted gurgle, she hopped off the bridge into the dry riverbed, and then climbed into the abandoned Red Panther's den to traverse the small tunnel. This was always her least favorite part of the trip, as she had learned long ago that darkness was no one's ally. She could easily be ambushed in the dark, especially out in a desolate region of the woods. Malboros had no symbiosis with any other species. They had once long ago been allies of the Tonberries, and even farther back the Undead, but that was history. The Tonberries were a rare sight now in Ivalice, and with their life-draining knives they knew no friends. The Undead now only lusted for life, caring nothing about alliances. Even the wise Vampires cared little about Malboros.

The tunnel was muddy from a rainstorm only a couple days before, however Carrot had long since loved the mud. It was fun to play in, and even more fun to throw and slam servants into. She sometimes even found delicious food in the mud, treats her mistress never fed her. Well, she would see Lady Nanabu soon enough. Her instinct told her that Lady Nanabu was waiting for her in Jagd Helje, exactly where she was headed.

====*====

"She's not in the east courtyard," Darcie said with a sigh, brushing off a clod of wet earth that had collected in one pocket.

"She's not in the north courtyard, either," Madeline said as she entered the grand ballroom centered between the four courtyards.

"She's not in the south courtyard, kupo," Lini said desperately, gazing at the ground and brushing off his muddy paws. This was getting them nowhere.

"She wasssn't in the wessst courtyard," Donovan said, an annoyed and depressed tone in his voice.

"She's gone," Madeline said with a deep sigh as the sliver of the orange sun began to descend in the darkening sky. "And by the way time flows, we aren't going to be able to find her today. We better prepare ourselves for a thrashing from Lady Nanabu."

Lady Nanabu's wrath was a strange and rare event to witness. The only time Darcie could recall Lady Nanabu becoming enraged was when she had gone for a midnight snack was mistaken for a burglar. She had heard about her getting enraged by the burglar from Clan Borzoi, but the Lady was well over that, in fact she was now extremely apologetic. She had never gotten mad over Carrot's escapades to "her home" mainly because it was always Carrot who had either snuck out in the night or in the morning when no one was watching. For some reason, the pesky pet decided that it was a good day to try it while she was being watched over.

As they spoke, Arthur burst into the room, urgent. "Lady Nanabu requests that we all get bathed," he said, just as Darcie burst forth, speaking the entire story. Arthur's eyes widened, and the looks he got from the others told him that it was the truth. "That's not good," he said, his voice grave.

"You think we don't know that, Arthur?" Madeline said, rolling her eyes. Arthur sighed.

"No, it's just that, well, I can't help stating the obvious, Madeline," Arthur said after much thought and a couple stuttering remarks. "Lady Nanabu is going to be really mad, especially because the visitor is due to arrive. That's why she wants you to all get bathed."

Darcie's eyes widened. "Let's meet back here after we get washed off," she said, and everyone nodded, heading for the baths. After the baths, they received special instructions to get dressed in their formal wear, which they usually only wore for ceremonies that were rarely held at the manor. They consisted of lavender silk robes for the girls with pearl hairpins, and for the boys it was a light blue tunic and a light blue robe, depending on rank. Donovan and Lini were the only two to put on the robes. Arthur just put on the loose-fitting tunic, which was more like a robe anyways.

Darcie rushed into the east parlor, where she found Lini sitting on a chair, fiddling with his thumbs. "I can't help it, kupo," he said. "I just think that this might be the end of my career here."

"Quiet, Lini," Darcie muttered to get him off the negative subject. "Where's everyone else?"

Just as she asked the question, Madeline and Donovan walked into the room, closely followed by Arthur. "We came as fassst as we could," Donovan explained. Arthur gave a frantic nod.

"Come on, guys," Darcie said glumly. "It's time to tell Lady Nanabu the whole thing."

Just as the five servants entered the hallway, they found themselves being assigned into small circles. Music was in the air, and Lady Nanabu was standing on the beautiful blue velvet carpet, drinking a glass of Malboro Wine.

Two stern looking Templars opened the doors as moonlight flooded into the hall. A small hovercraft was floating in the front entrance, and out of it came a small figure. The figure, which Darcie recognized as "the visitor", walked into the room as the light of the crystal chandeliers danced down onto the floor of the room, showing his identity. Why, it was the same chocolate-brown Moogle from yesterday!

"Hello, Lady Nanabu, kupo," the Moogle said with a smile, taking off his cap and holding it to his heart. Lady Nanabu gave a polite smile.

"Thank you for staying, Mr. Nono. We hope you enjoy our hospitality," Lady Nanabu said with another gleeful smile as the doors shut and the two Templars picked up two large white bags which clinked with the sounds of metal. Only one made no sound at all. The two Templars headed for the guestrooms, which were pointed out to them by a silent Lady Nanabu.

"We hope our accommodations will suit your needs, Mr. Nono," Lady Nanabu said. Mr. Nono just nodded and smiled.

"Don't worry. This place is all ready better then my room in my merchant ship, kupo," he said with a small, mousy giggle. Lady Nanabu smiled. The servants began to file out at that point, as Lady Nanabu was now preoccupied with talking to Mr. Nono.

It was only a couple minutes later when the guests began to arrive. Lady Nanabu had obviously arranged a ball of some sort. Darcie presumed it was to welcome the odd-colored visitor. She couldn't recognize many of the nobles, who took to dancing. She recognized one as the owner of Sprohm Prison, who was dancing with a beautiful Viera she could not recognize who covered her face in a cerulean veil and wore an elegant sapphire dress. She was obviously very rich. She recognized another as Ezel Berbier, the famed maker of Law Cards. She wondered what a once-notorious man like him would be doing at such a public place.

Darcie and the others took their chance when Lady Nanabu stopped dancing with Mr. Nono, who was now examining the instruments the Cyril Symphony was playing. Lady Nanabu smiled upon the sight of the Viera; however she sensed something troubling aloof in the air.

"What's wrong, Darcie?" she asked, concerned. Darcie braced herself to speak, but Donovan beat her to it.

"Milady, Carrot has escaped," Donovan said quite frankly. However frank it might've been, Lady Nanabu still drew a hand to her mouth in a heartfelt gasp, dropping her glass of crimson Malboro Wine which shattered upon the floor, breaking just as quickly as all of Darcie's hope.