Garnet sighed softly, she was getting tired. They had been sitting outside Evil Forest for almost an hour, hoping that maybe the airship had just gotten caught up in Alexandria and that they wouldn't have to make the trip through Evil Forest. But as time passed that hope got dimmer and dimmer.
"What's that noise?" Zidane said, instantly alert.
"What noise?" Vivi asked.
Garnet looked around, she could hear it now too. Then something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Looking back towards Alexandria she saw a large black dot heading towards them.
"The airship!" She cried, recognizing the noise immediately.
In a matter of seconds they were all on their feet grinning happily. But the grins faded as the airship drew closer and they could see the stream of black smoke coming from behind it.
"Fuck!" Zidane yelled loudly.
"Zidane!" Garnet exclaimed, shocked to hear such language. No one in the royal court would dare say that word. Before she could say anything Zidane had grabbed both her and Vivi and was dragging them away from the forest.
"What are you doing?" Vivi cried.
"Don't you get it? It's going to crash!" Zidane shouted, pulling them along as fast as he could run. Unfortunately neither Garnet nor Vivi were as fast as Zidane and they kept tripping over their own feet.
The giant flaming airship drew closer and closer at an alarming rate. Right before it hit the forest Zidane pushed them to the ground. With a loud bang and a burst of flames the airship hit the trees and exploded. Bit of flaming debris hit the ground around them.
Zidane was the first to stand. He was absolutely still, staring at the now quietly burning ruins of the airship in shock. Garnet stood and placed a hand on his shoulder, not really sure what to say. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes, knowing that somehow her mother was tied into this. She had probably killed all of the members of Tantalus, Zidane's friends. He shook her hand off and started slowly toward the ship, then broke into a sprint. He had to know if anyone had survived the wreck. Garnet and Vivi stared after him for a moment in shock before following.
Zidane pushed among the debris scattered around the burning airship, not worried about his own welfare. He didn't care if he was injured, he had to find someone, anyone, and had to find them alive. Please let them be alive…
It wasn't long before he came across Cinna, lying in an awkward heap under a large board, which Zidane promptly lifted off him and threw to the side. Cinna was unconscious, for which Zidane was glad because he looked to have gotten some very serious, painful injuries. His left leg was broken, the bone poking through the skin. He was lying at an awkward angle and he had suffered some very serious burns on his right side. In some places it didn't even look as if there had ever been skin there it was so charred. But he was breathing, Zidane was glad to see that.
"Oh Gods!" Garnet said from behind him bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. She knelt down beside Zidane and placed her hands on Cinna.
"Don't touch him!" Zidane cried, moving to push her off, until he saw the telltale white glow surrounding her hands. Then he knew that she was trying to heal him. In a matter of moments nearly all the signs of his burns were gone, the skin was left a slightly pink color that would fade over time. His leg was as good as new, but would be painful for a while.
"Move him away from the ship," Garnet said, looking a little tired.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded, then watched as he picked up Cinna and moved him to an area well away from the wreck of the airship. He paused for a moment to talk to Vivi before coming back. He held out his hand and helped her up, then placed a supportive arm around her. They walked together through the debris looking for more people.
"Thank you," he said softly.
"Don't mention it. I couldn't just leave him like that." Garnet replied.
"I didn't know you knew white magic," he said, giving her a look that said he had underestimated her.
"I don't know all that much, just how to heal," she admitted.
He didn't say anything, his eyes scanning the debris.
"Blank!" he cried, dropping his arm and stumbling through the debris toward the twisted body of his friend. Garnet followed a little slower, praying that he was alive so that she could heal him.
He looked worse than Cinna had, as he had been on the deck when the cannonball had hit. He was very badly burned; in many places his skin had melted right off his body, showing burned muscle and bone. His face was covered in blood from many small cuts. His worst wound was in his chest, where a large piece of wood had impaled him when the ship exploded. Miraculously he was still breathing, though it sounded as if the wood had ripped into one of his lungs. Worse yet, he was awake.
"Zidane…" he whispered softly, the pain evident on both his face and in his voice.
"Shhhh…" Zidane said soothingly, "Garnet's going to help you."
Garnet knelt down next to him and placed her hand gently on his chest, careful not to touch him near his wound for it was bound to be painful.
"Take the wood out of his chest," she said, before she prepared to heal him.
White light engulfed her hands and slowly his wounds were healed. Unfortunately Blank would have a scar on his chest for the rest of his life, but other than that he would have no long lasting effects from his injuries.
"In…my…pocket…" Blank whispered before passing out.
Zidane reached into Blanks pocket and pulled out a scroll-like piece of parchment. Unfolding it he saw it was a map of the world. He rolled it up and stuck it in his pocket, then picked up Blank and carried him over to where Cinna lie.
Garnet was exhausted, but she knew that there were more people to be found. Marcus and Baku were still missing.
A soft groan to her left caught her attention. She stood unsteadily, feeling exhausted from the amount of magic she had used. She wasn't used to using so much magic. Stumbling around the bigger pieces of debris she soon came across Marcus. He wasn't as badly injured as Blank had been, which upon seeing, made her sigh with relief. She knelt down beside him and placed her hands on his chest. In a matter of moments he was healed.
"Thank you…" he whispered.
"You're welcome," she said with a gentle smile.
"How's Blank?" he asked softly.
"He's going to be fine," she told him and he smiled in relief.
"What about Cinna and the boss?" he asked.
"Cinna's fine, but we haven't found Baku yet."
Zidane came up and knelt beside Marcus.
"How are you?" he asked.
"I'm okay, thanks to your new girlfriend," Marcus said, managing a sly grin.
Both Garnet and Zidane blushed, "She's not my girlfriend."
"Sure…" Marcus said.
"Shut up," Zidane said, helping Marcus to his feet. Together they walked slowly away from the still smoldering airship. Then he was back and holding out his hand to help her to her feet.
"We have to find Baku," she said.
"Marcus said to try over there," Zidane said, pointing toward the burnt out shell of the ship. They walked slowly through the debris, only to be met with a horrid sight. Baku lay inside the burnt out hull of the ship, his skin burnt completely off his body. He was dead. Garnet stifled a sob and turned quickly away. Zidane stared in horror, frozen in his spot.
"Oh gods!" Garnet said softly. Poor Zidane!
Zidane still hadn't moved. He couldn't take his eyes off the charred body of his friend. Baku had been more than a friend to him; he was the father that Zidane never had. Zidane didn't know his real family; all he remembered was that Baku had found him as a child and had taken care of him. And now he was gone… Tears welled up in his eyes but he refused to let them fall. He had to be strong. He hung his head and clenched his fists, fingernails digging into his palms, but he didn't care.
Garnet noticed this but said nothing. Instead she gently grabbed his arm and pulled him away. He followed reluctantly, knowing there was nothing he could do. Baku was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do to bring him back.
She led him away from the ship and the charred debris to a spot under a tree. They sat down without a word. He couldn't speak; he was too afraid that the emotions would show in his voice. Somehow she knew that and said nothing. Instead she wrapped her arms around him, placed her head on his shoulder, and began to hum.
As Zidane listened to her humming he became lost in the moment. There was something about the song…no, about her that intrigued him like nothing else. She was beautiful, yeah, no one could deny that, but that wasn't it. It was something else…
"What's that song called?" he asked when she was finished.
"I don't really know. I heard it somewhere before, I'm sure of that, but I can't remember where and I can't remember the words," she said softly.
"It's really pretty…" he said, "Kind of haunting in a way."
"It always make me feel better when I hum it," she said, her eyes downcast.
It made her wonder, so much had happened to her so far and she hadn't been away from the castle for that long. Two days and she had seen enough death and destruction to last her for a lifetime. Maybe she didn't deserve to leave the castle. Maybe she was meant to be trapped within those stonewalls for the rest of her life. She sighed, was that what she really wanted?
"What are you thinking about?" Zidane asked.
Garnet shrugged, "Is it really okay to leave my people behind me for my own selfish wish to leave the palace? Maybe there's a reason I wasn't allowed leave Zidane. Maybe that's where I'm supposed to be."
"Is that what you want? To be trapped inside that palace for the rest of your life, never to see the true beauty of the world. I can show you things that you never knew existed, and you can meet people who will treat you for the person you really are, not differently because you're a princess. Isn't that what you want?" Zidane said.
"Yes," she replied, "That's why I left in the first place."
"Then what are you worrying about?" he asked. "Enjoy your vacation, Princess, it's not all going to be like this."
They both fell silent as they looked around at the ruined airship. Now they had no choice but to go through Evil Forest. She looked over at Zidane, he was looking at his feet. She didn't need to read his mind to know that he was thinking about Baku. Without thinking twice she reached and gently raised his head so he was looking into her eyes. Then she kissed him.
***
"Have you found the Princess yet?" Kuja asked, glaring at the cowering man in armor before him.
"No, sire!" The man said in a shaky voice. Kuja scared him beyond belief. His eyes were so cold; he could almost see the promise of death hidden inside them.
"Why not?"
"We have already told you, she's not in Alexandria, she—," the man started, but Kuja cut him off.
"The only thing I want you to tell me is that you found her!" he roared.
"Y-yes sire," the man said.
Kuja turned from him to the other two soldiers standing by the door, "Kill him."
The two guards looked startled, but they knew better than to argue. Kuja would just order their deaths too. They walked over to the cowering soldier and grabbed his arms; he struggled as they dragged him out of the room.
"The Queen will not approve of this!" the doomed soldier cried.
Kuja held up a hand to stop them and replied coolly, "The Queen has no choice in the matter, she gave control over to me," then he turned his attention over to the two soldiers holding onto the one who had defied him, "For this outburst I want you to kill his family while you're at it. Make him watch you kill them before you kill him."
The man cried out in protest and struggled harder, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
"I highly doubt that," Kuja said, turning away.
A/N~ So what'd you think? I dunno, I don't think Zidane seems sad enough about Baku's death… But anyway, keep a lookout for the next chapter. And thanks for all the reviews, it means a lot to me that you guys like my fanfic.