Garnet pulled off the warm overcoat and instantly regretted it. But she didn't have a choice; she couldn't catch cold. After a moment she was able to pull off the sopping petticoats and put on the warm dry shirt. It was long, but not long enough for her to feel comfortable in front of a complete stranger. Especially a male…a very attractive male.
She shook her head. This was not any way for a princess to act. She had been raised to look down upon peasants. But how could she look down upon her savior? He had helped her without question, he didn't even know who she was. And he was so…handsome…
She glanced into the mirror above the dresser. Her hair had come out of the bun and was matted around her face; to her surprise the circlet hadn't come off when she was swimming across the river. It would give her away if anyone saw it. She lifted her hands and tried to pull it off, but it stuck fast.
What the hell? She thought, giving it another tug, but it remained where it was. Maybe it's just stuck because my hair is wet.
There was a knock on the door, and Zidane asked if she was decent. She told him she was and turned to the door. The doorknob turned and the door opened. Then he was back in the room with her, holding a bowl of warm stew. Her stomach growled and she remembered that she hadn't eaten since that afternoon, and even that hadn't been that much. She had been too nervous about the ball.
Looking back she wasn't sure what she was so nervous about. She had gotten what she wanted, she was supposed to marry Kuja, but for some reason she had decided to run. She had to run, she had had no choice in the matter, her body had reacted, and she couldn't undo what had already been done. She couldn't return to the castle.
"I heard something pretty interesting while I was down getting your stew," He said, giving a strange look. He handed her the bowl of stew and sat down beside her before going on, "Turns out that the princess ran from her wedding and swam across the river in her petticoats. The Alexandrian soldiers are out scouring the village for her."
Garnet set the bowl of stew on the table next to the bed and looked at the ground, she had been found out and they both knew it, "You aren't going to turn me in are you?"
She looked so pathetic; she must have had a reason to run, and he wasn't about to stop her. He shook his head. He was a free spirit, and he admired that quality in others. That she had felt strongly enough to run from her own wedding was good enough from him.
"You won't? You mean it?" she cried, her face lighting up into the most dazzling smile he had ever seen. His heart clenched at the sight.
"No," he said.
Shocking them both she launched herself from the bed and tossed her arms around him. He wasn't sure how to react so he just stared at her.
What am I doing? She asked, pushing away from him and blushing. She was barely wearing anything, to start out with, and she was hugging a guy she had just met about an hour ago.
She cleared her throat, "Please excuse my behavior. Things have been difficult these past few days."
"Don't worry about it," he said, still in shock.
"No, it was rude of me," she said, shaking her head. She studied him carefully for a moment, picking up her stew, and wondered what it was that attracted her to him so much. He didn't look all that different from Kuja, except for the hair and eyes. While Kuja had silver hair and pale blue eyes, Zidane had blond hair, about the same length as Kuja only Zidane pulled his into a ponytail in the back, and his eyes were deep blue, like the river outside Alexandria in the bright sunlight. Zidane was also more muscularly built than Kuja.
"So why did you run from your wedding anyway?" he asked, changing the subject.
She shrugged, not really sure why herself, "I just got the instinct to run. I didn't want to get married without seeing the world first. Getting married would mean spending the rest of my life trapped in the palace."
He nodded, "I know what you mean. I would have done the same thing. The world's a big place, and not being able to see it before you're caged in a castle for the rest of your life would be hard."
"At least there is someone who understands me," she said with a sigh. She had told her mother about her dream to see the world once, but her mother wouldn't allow it. She said that the world outside the palace was no place for a princess. Maybe that was why she had wanted to see Garnet married off so quickly.
"So where are you planning on going first?" he asked.
"I was thinking Lindblum. The regent there is my 'uncle'. I haven't been there since before my father died," she said.
"Well, you're in luck, it just so happens that after your wedding I was heading to Lindblum, so if you'd like, you can come with me and the rest of the Tantalus gang," he said and smiled as her eyes lit up.
"Really?" she asked excitedly. She hadn't been sure how she was going to get there, since if she wandered around outside she was sure to be caught.
He nodded, "The rest of the gang won't mind."
"That's wonderful! Thank you!" she cried. She knew that even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to stop smiling. Someone was actually trying to help her achieve her dream of seeing the world before she gave the rest of her life to help her country.
"Don't mention it," he said, her smile was infectious.
"No one has ever helped me the way you have, Zidane. First you helped me out of the river and didn't make me return to the palace, then you don't turn me back into the hands of the guards, now you're going to take me to Lindblum," she said, in disbelief. It felt so strange not to be denied what she wanted. Everyone thought that a princess's life was perfect, and that she was never denied what she wanted, but that wasn't true. Just because she wore a tiara doesn't mean that everything went her way. In fact, she hardly got anything she wanted.
She wasn't allowed to speak to commoners. She wasn't allowed to leave the palace. She had to wear long puffy gowns that got rather irritating after a while. She wasn't allowed to sit until her mother told her to, which sometimes she never did just to see how Garnet would react. She wasn't allowed to choose who she wanted to marry, it was up to her mother to choose. She wasn't allowed to speak to her mother unless spoken too. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere in the palace unless followed by either Steiner or Beatrix, in case some assassin decided to do her in. The list went on and on.
But here she was, in the Alexandrian Inn, with a man she had met only about an hour ago, and he was going to help her see the world.
He shrugged, "It's no big deal."
"Yes it is," she said, shaking her head, "All my life everything I've ever truly wanted has been denied me. You have no idea how many things I am not allowed to do just because I'm a princess. And yet, you're giving me the chance to see what it's like to live a normal life."
He smiled, seeing how to her it would be a big deal to actually have someone believe in her and understand the way she felt, "Glad I can help."
"So where are you from?" she asked, changing to the subject. She was interested in finding out the sort of things he did with his life; since all she knew was the life she had lived in the palace.
"Lindblum," He said simply, his tone saying she wasn't going to get any more out of him.
She yawned, finally beginning to feel how late it was. She wasn't used to being up so late, since 'as a princess she needed her sleep'.
"I'd better let you get some sleep, we have a long trip tomorrow," he said, "You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"I wouldn't want to impose on you, since this is your room. I can sleep on the floor," she said quickly, feeling guilty.
"No, it's okay, I'm used to it," he assured her.
"It's cold though, why don't we share the bed?" Shocked at her own daring, but she couldn't take it back.
"That's probably not a good idea," he said, his eyes going wide.
"I insist," she said, giving him a look that showed that even if he protested, she wouldn't take no for an answer.
He stared at her for a long moment, in shock. She was a princess, and she was asking him to share the bed with her. Didn't she see anything wrong with that? Why are you so surprised? You are renowned in Lindblum for being a lady's man. She just can't resist your charm.
"Alright, my fair princess, you win." He said.
A/N~ Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It might be a couple days before I can update again, I have a lot going on at the moment. But I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. ^^