So few reviews.... .o I guess I'm being punished for being
so late. Well, this chapter I've been looking forward to for a while, 'cause
it's my favorite special number: 12! (no, of course that's not really
why) It's and extra long chapter! And it starts the change of pace in this
story. Faster? Slower? You decide! (BTW: I saw Star Wars II, and all I can
say is those critics must have watched it with their eyes closed, 'cause
it was beautiful!)
~Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiiki me ni mite sae samushi kagebôshi
{Even to these biased eyes of mine, it is a cold shadow.}
(a haiku by Issa, translated by myself)
Zidane opened his eyes and wondered what time it was. Then he realized there was no way to tell the time because he had taken apart the timepieces long ago. Those, that is, along with every other mechanical instrument on the Impossible. And he still had yet to determine what was wrong with the airship. He sat up, stretched, and whimpered as he had rested his rear end on one of the many pieces of the dismantled bridge.
"Maybe if I put everything back, it will work," he suggested to the electronic board as he pulled it out from under himself. He sincerely doubted it, for he had combed every inch of the ship and still had no idea as to why it wouldn't respond to anything he asked of it. The Impossible was forever picking up speed as it was steadily flying its way out of the galaxy, and Zidane could neither redirect its path nor slow it down. He had almost even tried shutting down the airship's power, which would have stopped its acceleration, but not its movement, and then if he cut the power, he was in very real danger of running out of oxygen. Not that it matters much when I'm already starving to death, he thought as his stomach grumbled again. He had not expected this to be a long trip, so there was only enough food for a few days. He had tried to ration it once he'd found that he wasn't getting to Terra as planned, but he had finally run out. At least he knew that since the ship had systems to recycle the water he used, he could last for a while, and at least those were working. As far as he could tell, nothing was wrong with the Impossible, but only the forward thrusters were working.
Carefully picking his way through the pieces of the bridge, Zidane came to the pilot's stand, were he rested his hands on the control. They finally had a good reason not to respond, since he had dismantled them. Drumming his fingers against the bars, he looked out over the vast sea of stars. They were beautiful. Dagger's probably worried sick about me, thought he. With good reason too, I'm afraid. Hm, maybe I should put the ship back together and see if either I missed something, or it suddenly decides to work.
And so, Zidane carefully picked over every piece of the controls and rechecked every wire, but it was the same as before. There was no reason why it should not be working. It may have easily taken a full day for him to reassemble the whole airship, for all he knew. In the least, he was extraordinarily tired when he was finished, but at the same time, rather anxious to see if his efforts had paid off. Wearily, he touched the controls. Nothing. No response, no signal, no control. It's like being stranded on a desert island, he thought to himself, only the island is constantly lowering the odds of ever coming into contact with a rescuer.
"What's the matter with you, anyway?" he annoyedly asked the airship. "It's like you're possessed or something." Suddenly, Zidane stopped to consider what he had just said. He was not one who believed in "evil spirits" or the like, but on the other hand had he not earlier been complaining that it was "as if the airship was flying itself?" The more he thought about it, the less he liked it. However, what did he have to lose? Sighing, Zidane sat down, resting his back against the railing, and closed his eyes.
One of the finer powers of the Terran race was their acute sense of touch. They were able to recognize movement just from trembles in the air. It was almost like having an extra set of ears, only they could gather specific information from waves of heat as well as waves of motion. For example, one Terran could tell how another felt from the amount of heat their body gave off. The hoshina took this sense to the next level, as they were able to sense waves of energy as well.
The stars sang, as Zidane had found. The waves of energy they gave off harmonized with each other and created a melody that was pleasant to feel. He had a hard time keeping his mind on the task at hand as it kept wandering to Garnet, the archives of his memories testing the sweetness of her voice against that of the stars. There really was no comparison. After pulling his mind away from his beloved Dagger, and focusing it on the issue of getting back to her, he managed to pull his concentrations into the airship. He had already checked through the ship once before, but that was to look for problems with the Impossible's energy. This time, he was looking for a life form.
Minutes ticked off as he began to think that he was going crazy. It was quite possible, he noted, as he realized all the awful, lonely deaths he was possibly facing. Starvation and suffocation were the most likely, although maybe he'd last long enough to run out of water or even fly straight into a star… breathing? Zidane snapped back into reality as he felt deeper into the bowels of the airship. No. It's like… like a heartbeat.
He jolted to his feet as he opened his eyes and glanced warily about the bridge. He was not alone.
~~~~~
Garnet rubbed her eyes as she sat up. The six-limbed, bull-like creature was there, as always, ignoring her. It was almost like a peaceful herbivore, that is, unless she tried to leave the area. Then it would get mad and hunt her down, bringing her back here by carrying her in a most undignified manner. Not that it mattered. She had tried several times to get past it when it appeared to be asleep, only to get lost in the maze-like tunnels around were she was being kept. Eventually, the creature would come and get her. It wasn't likely that she'd ever find her way out of there, considering the place was mana-sealed, so she could neither summon nor cast magic. She wasn't even sure where she was. All she remembered was waking up here with a headache, and having some brown-haired man tell her that she would be alright so long as she did not try anything stupid.
The Queen of Alexandria regarded the creature as she brushed loose hair from her eyes. It was a dull reddish-gray thing, with a bull's body, but also with dragon-taloned arms sticking out from between its fore and hind legs. It's long snake-like neck bore an ugly box-like head with a mouth that had saber-toothed canines between bovine molars. Over all, not the sort of thing one would want looking after them. And it didn't look like he was going to be going to sleep anytime soon. The beast had learned to sleep when she did, so she wouldn't be scampering off while it dozed. The monster wouldn't even let her leave the area to go the bathroom, which really bothered her.
Garnet sighed and went to look over the mushrooms, which was basically all she would eat, although sometimes other random foods would show up. The cavern also had fresh water. The queen munched softly on the mushrooms as she thought of the map she was constructing in her head. She didn't know where she was nor who was holding her, but she did know that she was not staying here if she could help it.
After considering all the possible methods of escape, she lay back down on the flat rock she used as a bed and pretended to doze, waiting for the monster to take a nap. While she was waiting, she was worrying about her children. Most specifically, she was worrying about Tabito. Had he been captured too? It seemed unlikely to Garnet; it was more likely that he was now trying to run her country in her absence. This worried her more, because she doubted he was quite ready for the strain of that responsibility. She remembered how she, even at his age when she had been queen for over a year already, had been unable to cope with the strain. She had had Dr. Tot to help her, but he was now deceased and she doubted Stephen would offer the same kind of support that her old mentor had.
My poor Tabi, she thought sadly. She had always been very proud of her firstborn for taking his responsibilities so seriously and always striving to do what was required of him. And yet… Garnet shook her head, forgetting that she was supposed to be "asleep." She had once expressed her concerns to Zidane, saying that Tabito's responsibilities were slowly killing him. Her husband's reply had haunted her ever since: "Maybe." She bit back a sob. Two bad memories in one, and now she was once again worrying about her Zidane. She wanted to believe in him, to believe that he could come back yet again, but somehow she couldn't. Somehow, she couldn't even believe that she'd get to see her family again.
"Can he really be thirteen now, Zidane?"
"Well, it's been thirteen years."
"It feels like he grew up so fast…"
"He did."
Why didn't I cherish those days? Garnet could feel tears burning the corners of her eyes. She had missed those precious times, lost those wonderful days with a loving husband and children. She opened her eyes to wipe away her own tears and saw that the monster was sleeping on the other side of the cavern. Silently, she rose from her rock and crept across the cavern floor towards the tunnel to make another attempt at escape. She may have lost her faith, but she had yet to lose her hope.
~~~~~
"There," Raven pointed towards the mountains, "you see the crack in the cliff?"
"Not through my closed eyelids," Faun remarked as he tried to continue flying the airship, despite the tiredness he felt.
"Well, open them," Raven replied without humor, "we need to land there."
"Finally," he muttered as he slowly dropped the Hilda Garde VII through the scant cloud cover. "Wait… how am I supposed to get the ship through that thing?"
"You fly it in," she answered.
"Oh, so simple," Faun muttered. "Just fly into a cave and land there…"
"There should be a dock inside," she responded without turning around.
"Uh-okay then," he shrugged as he slowly approached the hole in the mountain. "Where are we going anyway?" Either she didn't here the question, or she did not feel like answering. Sighing heavily, Faun maneuvered the ship through the opening only to find, as promised, a full-sized airship dock.
"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle…" he breathed, then noticed that the princess had already disembarked. "Hey!" he called as he clambered off of the ship. "Where are we anyway?"
"The Desert Palace," she answered as she continued to look around her.
"Never heard of it," he said almost conversationally as he strode up behind her. "Is it like a hiding place for the Royal family or something?"
"Kuja used it as a hideout."
"Th-the Kuja?" Faun was completely taken aback. "He lived here?! How do you know that?!"
"My father told me about this place," Raven shrugged and started to walk. "He said that his brother kept a vast library here, although I suppose the Terrans cleaned it out and took the books for themselves…" She slipped back into contemplative thought. However, Faun was not quite done.
"Your father had a brother?" he asked, seriously surprised. "I knew Mikoto was his sister, but I never heard anything about—"
"Kuja was his brother," Raven rolled her eyes. "Is that not common knowledge?" She watched as Faun's eyes bulged out as he stuttered at her for a moment. "I suppose they have suppressed that then. Well, books or no books, they won't find us here." It makes sense, I suppose, thought Raven. Eiko's parents probably placed all the blame for the destruction of Lindblum upon Kuja in order to preserve relations with Alexandria. That purpose would have been easily defeated had the Lindblum people known that the Alexandrian queen had married Kuja's brother.
"They won't find us here? Who are we hiding from? And why are we here anyway?" Faun continued to ask questions.
"Must you know the reasons for everything?" Raven snapped, annoyed.
"Well, excuse me, I just haven't been filled in on anything anyway!" Faun griped. "And since I don't even know why I'm here, maybe I'll just go home!" Placing one hand on her hip, Raven turned to raise one eyebrow at him.
"Are you threatening me?" she asked icily.
"No," Faun whimpered. "I was only wondering…"
"Hmph," Raven snorted and started walking again. "I came here to train until I become strong enough to take back the castle."
"You're gonna what?!"
"It should not take me long," she assured him. "You can probably find a place to rest here, unless you intend to leave."
"I wouldn't leave you here alone," he answered meekly.
"Then hurry up," she snipped and stepped onto the portal that transformed her into streams of data and took her into the palace.
~~~~~
Light streamed over Tabito's face as the sun crept up to the level of the windows. Inhaling deeply, he opened his eyes to assess his surroundings. He found himself on the couch in Mikoto's office. He glanced down to see the Mythril bo lying on the ground beside the couch. Reaching down, he slid his fingers around its cold metal surface and held it for comfort. "You're safe here." Mikoto's words echoed through his mind. Safe from what? he wondered. He lay there awhile, his face pressed against the pillow he had been put on and his hand around his weapon. He hardly felt secure.
By and by, his thoughts wandered back to his family. Chizitsu was gone. Things did not get any simpler than that. He bit his lip and wondered if it was his fault. I supposed they would have killed him after they killed me, but if Chizi and I had teamed up against him? It wouldn't have been enough. I suppose he was right, sending me off like this. He didn't want anything to happen to me. Still…I suppose he was very afraid to be alone in that castle when the barrier came down. Chizi, you promised me that you would escape if anything went wrong! I guess… I should not have left you. Tabito could feel his chest contract as he wondered how his baby brother had felt in those last moments. Perhaps he had stood with his decision to the very end, but Tabito could not help but hear the child's voice calling for help, calling his name. He sobbed softly as his eyes began to burn.
"Are you awake then?" asked Mikoto's voice. Hastily, Tabito wiped his face in his sleeve and sat up. Mikoto was sitting at her desk, staring at her computer monitor.
"Yes, I am awake," he answered, getting up and walking over to her, bo staff in hand. She eyed it as he came toward her.
"You are really attached to that thing," she observed.
"I suppose," he said, forcing a smile as he hugged the weapon. "But considering just how much power I have left?"
"None," she answered flatly, either missing his attempted joke or something else, but Tabito was too caught on her response to consider other possibilities.
"How can there be more bad news?" he nearly whined.
"Raven escaped yesterday," Mikoto answered.
"…and?" Tabito bit his lip, already expecting the worst.
"That is all. She and the Hilda Garde VII have disappeared."
"Oh," Tabito replied, not quite certain what to make of the news. Well, sure, they could say that this proves us guilty, but my question is this: How did Raven steal an airship? Could she have been kidnapped? Unlikely but if she has that might… Then something clicked. "Wait. Was Lance Steiner involved?"
"It's odd that you should mention that name," Mikoto's eyes were instantly fixed on his. Oh no…Tabito felt his fingers curl into fists.
"Not all that odd," Tabito could feel the faintest hints of a growl in the back of his throat as he spoke. "I found out shortly after the attack commenced that he had left town in order to rescue Raven, which was directly against my orders… Oh, out with it, Oba-san, what did he do?"
"He claims that you sent him to Lindblum to 'check' on the princess, and reportedly was quite quick to accuse Roy Coral of releasing Raven," Mikoto paused for a moment to let Tabito register this before she continued. "However, Roy was evicted from the city around the same time that the Hilda Garde VII was stolen, so he could not possibly be involved. Eiko is of the opinion that Lance is not completely trustworthy, but the general consensus is that she is being much too soft in this whole ordeal."
"Eiko and 'soft' do not belong together in the same sentence," Tabito muttered.
"This does not look like it may be mended easily."
"You can say that again," agreed the Crown Prince, "but please don't. All I can say to this matter is that Raven is incapable of flying an airship. Oh, and that Lance lies like a dog. Ask any of the Knights of Pluto, if any of them are still alive."
"Those are good points, but it seems no one in the castle was left alive," Mikoto said. The two of them were then silent for a while, each contemplating the situation.
"How are the Alexandrians taking this?" he asked softly.
"They have complained some, saying that that it was tyranny for Hoosick to use force on a defenseless country, but it does not seem that any have suffered from the turn of events."
"That's relieving," Tabito sighed. "They still want my mother back, then?"
"They love their Queen," Mikoto answered, "as they should after she led them out of those hard times and rebuilt the city. They also find it hard to believe that her son would turn on her."
"Then my reputation in Alexandria might still be salvaged," Tabito said a little more brightly than he felt.
"This reminds me, Lindblum will probably contact us soon, asking if you have turned up," Mikoto said, staring him straight in the eye. "I am trying to decide what exactly to tell them."
"Has this something to do with my reputation?" Tabito asked sharply.
"Yes," Mikoto nodded. "That you gave up on Lindblum and came here for help might beat back the idea that you are a deserter in Alexandria, but I highly doubt this would make you popular with Lindblum."
"Well, what would you tell them to stay on Lindblum's good side?" he asked.
"I'd have to think of something, but anything other than what I said would not go over well in Alexandria."
"Are you asking me what you should tell them?"
"Precisely."
"Well, Oba-san," he stammered as he thought a moment. "You really should try to stay with Lindblum, because you do not want to—"
"Tabito," she interrupted. "I am not asking you what I should do. I am asking what you would do. That is all I want to know."
"Well…" Tabito looked at the blotchy, distorted reflection of himself on the surface of the bo.
"Out with it," she prodded.
"Well," he turned his violet eyes onto hers. "In situations regarding my reputation, I would always strive to tell the truth." A hint of a smile touched the corners of Mikoto's mouth.
"Good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A whole new section has been added to the "Death of the Fairy Tale" website! Go to the "Galleries" section in http://www.quadnine.faithweb.com/doaft/doafthome.html to check out some great fanart by Angel Jem! Oh, but don't forget to review first, if you'd be so kind.
~Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiiki me ni mite sae samushi kagebôshi
{Even to these biased eyes of mine, it is a cold shadow.}
(a haiku by Issa, translated by myself)
Zidane opened his eyes and wondered what time it was. Then he realized there was no way to tell the time because he had taken apart the timepieces long ago. Those, that is, along with every other mechanical instrument on the Impossible. And he still had yet to determine what was wrong with the airship. He sat up, stretched, and whimpered as he had rested his rear end on one of the many pieces of the dismantled bridge.
"Maybe if I put everything back, it will work," he suggested to the electronic board as he pulled it out from under himself. He sincerely doubted it, for he had combed every inch of the ship and still had no idea as to why it wouldn't respond to anything he asked of it. The Impossible was forever picking up speed as it was steadily flying its way out of the galaxy, and Zidane could neither redirect its path nor slow it down. He had almost even tried shutting down the airship's power, which would have stopped its acceleration, but not its movement, and then if he cut the power, he was in very real danger of running out of oxygen. Not that it matters much when I'm already starving to death, he thought as his stomach grumbled again. He had not expected this to be a long trip, so there was only enough food for a few days. He had tried to ration it once he'd found that he wasn't getting to Terra as planned, but he had finally run out. At least he knew that since the ship had systems to recycle the water he used, he could last for a while, and at least those were working. As far as he could tell, nothing was wrong with the Impossible, but only the forward thrusters were working.
Carefully picking his way through the pieces of the bridge, Zidane came to the pilot's stand, were he rested his hands on the control. They finally had a good reason not to respond, since he had dismantled them. Drumming his fingers against the bars, he looked out over the vast sea of stars. They were beautiful. Dagger's probably worried sick about me, thought he. With good reason too, I'm afraid. Hm, maybe I should put the ship back together and see if either I missed something, or it suddenly decides to work.
And so, Zidane carefully picked over every piece of the controls and rechecked every wire, but it was the same as before. There was no reason why it should not be working. It may have easily taken a full day for him to reassemble the whole airship, for all he knew. In the least, he was extraordinarily tired when he was finished, but at the same time, rather anxious to see if his efforts had paid off. Wearily, he touched the controls. Nothing. No response, no signal, no control. It's like being stranded on a desert island, he thought to himself, only the island is constantly lowering the odds of ever coming into contact with a rescuer.
"What's the matter with you, anyway?" he annoyedly asked the airship. "It's like you're possessed or something." Suddenly, Zidane stopped to consider what he had just said. He was not one who believed in "evil spirits" or the like, but on the other hand had he not earlier been complaining that it was "as if the airship was flying itself?" The more he thought about it, the less he liked it. However, what did he have to lose? Sighing, Zidane sat down, resting his back against the railing, and closed his eyes.
One of the finer powers of the Terran race was their acute sense of touch. They were able to recognize movement just from trembles in the air. It was almost like having an extra set of ears, only they could gather specific information from waves of heat as well as waves of motion. For example, one Terran could tell how another felt from the amount of heat their body gave off. The hoshina took this sense to the next level, as they were able to sense waves of energy as well.
The stars sang, as Zidane had found. The waves of energy they gave off harmonized with each other and created a melody that was pleasant to feel. He had a hard time keeping his mind on the task at hand as it kept wandering to Garnet, the archives of his memories testing the sweetness of her voice against that of the stars. There really was no comparison. After pulling his mind away from his beloved Dagger, and focusing it on the issue of getting back to her, he managed to pull his concentrations into the airship. He had already checked through the ship once before, but that was to look for problems with the Impossible's energy. This time, he was looking for a life form.
Minutes ticked off as he began to think that he was going crazy. It was quite possible, he noted, as he realized all the awful, lonely deaths he was possibly facing. Starvation and suffocation were the most likely, although maybe he'd last long enough to run out of water or even fly straight into a star… breathing? Zidane snapped back into reality as he felt deeper into the bowels of the airship. No. It's like… like a heartbeat.
He jolted to his feet as he opened his eyes and glanced warily about the bridge. He was not alone.
Garnet rubbed her eyes as she sat up. The six-limbed, bull-like creature was there, as always, ignoring her. It was almost like a peaceful herbivore, that is, unless she tried to leave the area. Then it would get mad and hunt her down, bringing her back here by carrying her in a most undignified manner. Not that it mattered. She had tried several times to get past it when it appeared to be asleep, only to get lost in the maze-like tunnels around were she was being kept. Eventually, the creature would come and get her. It wasn't likely that she'd ever find her way out of there, considering the place was mana-sealed, so she could neither summon nor cast magic. She wasn't even sure where she was. All she remembered was waking up here with a headache, and having some brown-haired man tell her that she would be alright so long as she did not try anything stupid.
The Queen of Alexandria regarded the creature as she brushed loose hair from her eyes. It was a dull reddish-gray thing, with a bull's body, but also with dragon-taloned arms sticking out from between its fore and hind legs. It's long snake-like neck bore an ugly box-like head with a mouth that had saber-toothed canines between bovine molars. Over all, not the sort of thing one would want looking after them. And it didn't look like he was going to be going to sleep anytime soon. The beast had learned to sleep when she did, so she wouldn't be scampering off while it dozed. The monster wouldn't even let her leave the area to go the bathroom, which really bothered her.
Garnet sighed and went to look over the mushrooms, which was basically all she would eat, although sometimes other random foods would show up. The cavern also had fresh water. The queen munched softly on the mushrooms as she thought of the map she was constructing in her head. She didn't know where she was nor who was holding her, but she did know that she was not staying here if she could help it.
After considering all the possible methods of escape, she lay back down on the flat rock she used as a bed and pretended to doze, waiting for the monster to take a nap. While she was waiting, she was worrying about her children. Most specifically, she was worrying about Tabito. Had he been captured too? It seemed unlikely to Garnet; it was more likely that he was now trying to run her country in her absence. This worried her more, because she doubted he was quite ready for the strain of that responsibility. She remembered how she, even at his age when she had been queen for over a year already, had been unable to cope with the strain. She had had Dr. Tot to help her, but he was now deceased and she doubted Stephen would offer the same kind of support that her old mentor had.
My poor Tabi, she thought sadly. She had always been very proud of her firstborn for taking his responsibilities so seriously and always striving to do what was required of him. And yet… Garnet shook her head, forgetting that she was supposed to be "asleep." She had once expressed her concerns to Zidane, saying that Tabito's responsibilities were slowly killing him. Her husband's reply had haunted her ever since: "Maybe." She bit back a sob. Two bad memories in one, and now she was once again worrying about her Zidane. She wanted to believe in him, to believe that he could come back yet again, but somehow she couldn't. Somehow, she couldn't even believe that she'd get to see her family again.
"Well, it's been thirteen years."
"It feels like he grew up so fast…"
"He did."
Why didn't I cherish those days? Garnet could feel tears burning the corners of her eyes. She had missed those precious times, lost those wonderful days with a loving husband and children. She opened her eyes to wipe away her own tears and saw that the monster was sleeping on the other side of the cavern. Silently, she rose from her rock and crept across the cavern floor towards the tunnel to make another attempt at escape. She may have lost her faith, but she had yet to lose her hope.
"There," Raven pointed towards the mountains, "you see the crack in the cliff?"
"Not through my closed eyelids," Faun remarked as he tried to continue flying the airship, despite the tiredness he felt.
"Well, open them," Raven replied without humor, "we need to land there."
"Finally," he muttered as he slowly dropped the Hilda Garde VII through the scant cloud cover. "Wait… how am I supposed to get the ship through that thing?"
"You fly it in," she answered.
"Oh, so simple," Faun muttered. "Just fly into a cave and land there…"
"There should be a dock inside," she responded without turning around.
"Uh-okay then," he shrugged as he slowly approached the hole in the mountain. "Where are we going anyway?" Either she didn't here the question, or she did not feel like answering. Sighing heavily, Faun maneuvered the ship through the opening only to find, as promised, a full-sized airship dock.
"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle…" he breathed, then noticed that the princess had already disembarked. "Hey!" he called as he clambered off of the ship. "Where are we anyway?"
"The Desert Palace," she answered as she continued to look around her.
"Never heard of it," he said almost conversationally as he strode up behind her. "Is it like a hiding place for the Royal family or something?"
"Kuja used it as a hideout."
"Th-the Kuja?" Faun was completely taken aback. "He lived here?! How do you know that?!"
"My father told me about this place," Raven shrugged and started to walk. "He said that his brother kept a vast library here, although I suppose the Terrans cleaned it out and took the books for themselves…" She slipped back into contemplative thought. However, Faun was not quite done.
"Your father had a brother?" he asked, seriously surprised. "I knew Mikoto was his sister, but I never heard anything about—"
"Kuja was his brother," Raven rolled her eyes. "Is that not common knowledge?" She watched as Faun's eyes bulged out as he stuttered at her for a moment. "I suppose they have suppressed that then. Well, books or no books, they won't find us here." It makes sense, I suppose, thought Raven. Eiko's parents probably placed all the blame for the destruction of Lindblum upon Kuja in order to preserve relations with Alexandria. That purpose would have been easily defeated had the Lindblum people known that the Alexandrian queen had married Kuja's brother.
"They won't find us here? Who are we hiding from? And why are we here anyway?" Faun continued to ask questions.
"Must you know the reasons for everything?" Raven snapped, annoyed.
"Well, excuse me, I just haven't been filled in on anything anyway!" Faun griped. "And since I don't even know why I'm here, maybe I'll just go home!" Placing one hand on her hip, Raven turned to raise one eyebrow at him.
"Are you threatening me?" she asked icily.
"No," Faun whimpered. "I was only wondering…"
"Hmph," Raven snorted and started walking again. "I came here to train until I become strong enough to take back the castle."
"You're gonna what?!"
"It should not take me long," she assured him. "You can probably find a place to rest here, unless you intend to leave."
"I wouldn't leave you here alone," he answered meekly.
"Then hurry up," she snipped and stepped onto the portal that transformed her into streams of data and took her into the palace.
Light streamed over Tabito's face as the sun crept up to the level of the windows. Inhaling deeply, he opened his eyes to assess his surroundings. He found himself on the couch in Mikoto's office. He glanced down to see the Mythril bo lying on the ground beside the couch. Reaching down, he slid his fingers around its cold metal surface and held it for comfort. "You're safe here." Mikoto's words echoed through his mind. Safe from what? he wondered. He lay there awhile, his face pressed against the pillow he had been put on and his hand around his weapon. He hardly felt secure.
By and by, his thoughts wandered back to his family. Chizitsu was gone. Things did not get any simpler than that. He bit his lip and wondered if it was his fault. I supposed they would have killed him after they killed me, but if Chizi and I had teamed up against him? It wouldn't have been enough. I suppose he was right, sending me off like this. He didn't want anything to happen to me. Still…I suppose he was very afraid to be alone in that castle when the barrier came down. Chizi, you promised me that you would escape if anything went wrong! I guess… I should not have left you. Tabito could feel his chest contract as he wondered how his baby brother had felt in those last moments. Perhaps he had stood with his decision to the very end, but Tabito could not help but hear the child's voice calling for help, calling his name. He sobbed softly as his eyes began to burn.
"Are you awake then?" asked Mikoto's voice. Hastily, Tabito wiped his face in his sleeve and sat up. Mikoto was sitting at her desk, staring at her computer monitor.
"Yes, I am awake," he answered, getting up and walking over to her, bo staff in hand. She eyed it as he came toward her.
"You are really attached to that thing," she observed.
"I suppose," he said, forcing a smile as he hugged the weapon. "But considering just how much power I have left?"
"None," she answered flatly, either missing his attempted joke or something else, but Tabito was too caught on her response to consider other possibilities.
"How can there be more bad news?" he nearly whined.
"Raven escaped yesterday," Mikoto answered.
"…and?" Tabito bit his lip, already expecting the worst.
"That is all. She and the Hilda Garde VII have disappeared."
"Oh," Tabito replied, not quite certain what to make of the news. Well, sure, they could say that this proves us guilty, but my question is this: How did Raven steal an airship? Could she have been kidnapped? Unlikely but if she has that might… Then something clicked. "Wait. Was Lance Steiner involved?"
"It's odd that you should mention that name," Mikoto's eyes were instantly fixed on his. Oh no…Tabito felt his fingers curl into fists.
"Not all that odd," Tabito could feel the faintest hints of a growl in the back of his throat as he spoke. "I found out shortly after the attack commenced that he had left town in order to rescue Raven, which was directly against my orders… Oh, out with it, Oba-san, what did he do?"
"He claims that you sent him to Lindblum to 'check' on the princess, and reportedly was quite quick to accuse Roy Coral of releasing Raven," Mikoto paused for a moment to let Tabito register this before she continued. "However, Roy was evicted from the city around the same time that the Hilda Garde VII was stolen, so he could not possibly be involved. Eiko is of the opinion that Lance is not completely trustworthy, but the general consensus is that she is being much too soft in this whole ordeal."
"Eiko and 'soft' do not belong together in the same sentence," Tabito muttered.
"This does not look like it may be mended easily."
"You can say that again," agreed the Crown Prince, "but please don't. All I can say to this matter is that Raven is incapable of flying an airship. Oh, and that Lance lies like a dog. Ask any of the Knights of Pluto, if any of them are still alive."
"Those are good points, but it seems no one in the castle was left alive," Mikoto said. The two of them were then silent for a while, each contemplating the situation.
"How are the Alexandrians taking this?" he asked softly.
"They have complained some, saying that that it was tyranny for Hoosick to use force on a defenseless country, but it does not seem that any have suffered from the turn of events."
"That's relieving," Tabito sighed. "They still want my mother back, then?"
"They love their Queen," Mikoto answered, "as they should after she led them out of those hard times and rebuilt the city. They also find it hard to believe that her son would turn on her."
"Then my reputation in Alexandria might still be salvaged," Tabito said a little more brightly than he felt.
"This reminds me, Lindblum will probably contact us soon, asking if you have turned up," Mikoto said, staring him straight in the eye. "I am trying to decide what exactly to tell them."
"Has this something to do with my reputation?" Tabito asked sharply.
"Yes," Mikoto nodded. "That you gave up on Lindblum and came here for help might beat back the idea that you are a deserter in Alexandria, but I highly doubt this would make you popular with Lindblum."
"Well, what would you tell them to stay on Lindblum's good side?" he asked.
"I'd have to think of something, but anything other than what I said would not go over well in Alexandria."
"Are you asking me what you should tell them?"
"Precisely."
"Well, Oba-san," he stammered as he thought a moment. "You really should try to stay with Lindblum, because you do not want to—"
"Tabito," she interrupted. "I am not asking you what I should do. I am asking what you would do. That is all I want to know."
"Well…" Tabito looked at the blotchy, distorted reflection of himself on the surface of the bo.
"Out with it," she prodded.
"Well," he turned his violet eyes onto hers. "In situations regarding my reputation, I would always strive to tell the truth." A hint of a smile touched the corners of Mikoto's mouth.
"Good."
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A whole new section has been added to the "Death of the Fairy Tale" website! Go to the "Galleries" section in http://www.quadnine.faithweb.com/doaft/doafthome.html to check out some great fanart by Angel Jem! Oh, but don't forget to review first, if you'd be so kind.