A/N~ hurray! I finally got to this chapter. I've been trying to get here for I don't know how long. Lol. Well, here goes. I'm gonna warn you now so you won't start in on me again like some of you did about Evil Forest. This fic is how I would have had the game go; it's not supposed to go exactly the way the actual game went. That would be completely pointless. I wouldn't waste my time on something like that and more than likely you guys would waste your time reading it. Everything happens for a reason in this fic and if you'd give it some time, you'll understand. Also, there is a fairly graphic sexual scene in this chapter, so don't say I didn't warn you.
Festival of the Hunt
Just as night was falling Dagger sat on a bed in the room the regent had given her, Zidane, and Vivi to use. So far she was the only one in there. Zidane and Vivi were still wandering around Lindblum. She sighed, a feeling of loneliness consuming her. Sure, she had Steiner to keep her company, but whenever she spoke to him he attempted to talk her into returning to Alexandria. She wasn't going back there. Not yet anyway. If only there was a way she could give up her right to someday rule Alexandria. Now that she lived a life of relative simplicity she didn't want to go back to the rules and stiffness of Alexandria court.
"Princess Garnet?" Steiner said, entering the room. Eventually Dagger had gotten had so sick of listening to him she had sent him to guard the door. She stifled a sigh and looked up.
"Yes Steiner?" She managed to ask without showing her annoyance.
"There's some blonde man outside claiming that he's with you and—" he started, but the door burst open behind him and Zidane entered.
"Hey, Dagger. What's up with Sir Rust-a-lot?" Zidane asked, glancing over at Steiner before gazing deeply into her eyes, his smile lit up his face and for a moment her heart stopped. It was a good feeling. She certainly never thought that she would fall in love, but she had.
"What??" Steiner shouted before Dagger could answer.
"Your armor. It's covered in rust. Don't you ever clean it? I bet it smells really bad too," Zidane started. Dagger brought a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter. "I mean that's pretty nasty. You work for Alexandria's royal family. I think they deserve a little better than you've been giving them. Here's an idea, how about you go into Lindblum and get some new armor."
Underneath his helmet Steiner's face had colored to a beet red and Dagger recognized this as a prelude to one of his many temper tantrums, "Why you insolent fool! Do you even know who you are talking to? I am the commander of the Knights of Pluto! How dare you insult me like that! I should have you hanged!"
Behind him Dagger rolled her eyes, which Zidane didn't fail to notice. He gave her a lopsided grin, which suited his nature so well. She blushed and turned her head to hide it. Zidane's grin widened and seeing this Steiner instantly began to jump up and down, his armor clanking loudly, thinking that the grin was directed toward him. Immediately his ranting became louder and more annoying. Zidane sighed loudly and held out a hand.
"Just chill Rusty. Geez. Do you mind if I call you Rusty?" Zidane asked, sending a wink toward Dagger.
"Yes!" Steiner said, stomping his foot loudly.
"Good. So anyway Rusty, maybe if you just cleaned your armor once in a while people would respect you more and wouldn't have to resort to pointing it out in ways such as calling you Sir Rust-a-lot or Rusty to get you to notice. I would certainly both appreciate it and respect you more if you would just take an hour and clean off that rust. You know what I'm saying?" Zidane said, his grin enormous. He clearly enjoyed teasing Steiner. Dagger couldn't hold back her laughter any longer and it filled the chamber, Zidane's laughter adding to it until it echoed off the walls. Steiner turned to her, a look of astonishment on his face.
"Princess, are you going to allow this flagrant disrespect toward Alexandria?" he asked.
"Steiner, I don't believe he meant any of that towards Alexandria. I believe it was all directed towards you," she replied.
It was the only thing that kept him from throwing another temper tantrum. His stance lost all of it's anger and he paled slightly, "I'll go guard the door," he said, completely forgetting the whole reason he had come into the room in the first place was to protest the fact that she had every intention of sharing the chambers with Zidane.
"Finally!" Dagger said, laying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "He's been driving me insane. 'We need to return to Alexandria immediately! Your mother waits anxiously for your return to both her and your fiancée!' I don't want to go back."
Zidane came over and lay down on the bed beside her, "You know, you don't have to go back. You can stay here with me. We can be happy together."
Dagger felt tears form in her eyes, she rolled away from him and said softly, "I have to go back eventually." Briefly she wondered how her mother would react if she married Zidane anyway and then returned to the palace. More than likely she wouldn't tolerate it and would annul the vows and force her to marry Kuja.
Behind her Zidane sighed, "I know. I wish you didn't have to though. I—"
Dagger rolled over and gazed into his eyes. She could see what he wanted to say written in his face so clearly. She smiled, "I love you too."
"Then let's enjoy what time we do have together and forget that one day you're going to leave and go back to the palace," he said, silencing her reply with a deep and passionate kiss.
Eventually she pulled back, feeling the tears in her eyes again, "It's not fair." This time she couldn't keep them from falling.
He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and just holding her, "I know."
"It's not fair to you. Basically all I'm ever going to be to you is a big tease. Something that you truly care about but you can't have!" she said, trying to pull away from him, but he held her tight.
"No. As long as you're out of the palace, I'm not ever going to let you go," he said, wiping her tears away with his fingertips.
Dagger sighed softly, he was right. Who knew how much time that they would have before she had to leave him to return to the palace and her duty as heir to the throne? They might as well enjoy it, reveling in the love they had found while they could. She kissed him then, putting every bit of emotion into it as she could and he kissed her back, every bit as passionately. Desire flooded through her then, and she knew that if she couldn't have it all at that moment, she would never have the chance to get it again. She tore at the stays on her gown, almost ripping it in her eagerness to get it off. As soon as it lay crumpled on the floor she tore at his clothes until he was every bit as naked as she.
"Dagger…" he moaned, reaching for her, but she pushed his hands down on the bed. This was her night. She was going to have him and she was going to take control. She got on top of him, sliding onto his long, thick erection, a low moan escaping her throat. She rode him then, slowly at first, and then faster as her desire mounted, never to be fully sated. She didn't know exactly why she needed to feel his seed inside her, but it was what she wanted at that moment more than anything else in the world.
"Zidane…" she cried softly, leaning down to kiss him. At that moment they climaxed, his hot seed spilled inside her and she cried out in triumph. She lay down alongside him, holding him tightly to her, shaking slightly.
He glanced over at her, "You don't think I'm done with you yet now do you? I still have a long way to go until I'm satisfied."
"Oh really?" she asked with a smile.
"Really," he replied, leaning over her to begin his work.
***
Kuja paced her chamber once more, then stopped by the window, a feeling so strong and so…terrible…suddenly consuming him. No! It couldn't be possible. He turned and thrust the window open, staring out into the cool night. He could hear the crickets chirping nearby, but he ignored them, driven by the feeling he had. She wouldn't…
He stretched out a tendril of his power, reaching…searching for her life force. He could feel her, feel the depth of her passion, feel what she had done.
"Bitch!" he screamed into the darkness, slamming a fist through the glass pane of the window. It shattered onto the floor and fell to the pavement below. Blood fell from the newly opened wounds on his hand, but he didn't notice. He was consumed by the rage he felt.
"Oh my daring canary. You think that you may have won this time. But I shall have you, and just wait until I do…"
***
Dagger dug her fingers into his back. The way he was nibbling on her ear, oh so gently, was building the desire in her. Slowly he made his way down to her shoulders, and then to her breasts. He swirled the tip of his tongue around her nipple, before moving over to give the other the same treatment.
The way he was making her feel was amazing. In Dali he had only caused a tenth of what she was feeling now. "Zidane…" she moaned.
"I'm just getting started," he said, pausing to look up at her before continuing the trail of kisses and nibbles down to her belly. He swirled the tip of her tongue into her bellybutton before lifting his head to blow cool air gently down. She arched her back as her desire increased. "Zidane…" she moaned again. This time he trailed gentle nibbles around her bellybutton in reply, then moved back up to her neck.
As he began to nibble on her ear, his fingers trailed down her body, before disappearing in-between her legs. She moaned, pressing her body tightly against his to show him that she wanted him to enter her with his manhood. She could feel it pressed against her belly.
"Not yet, love. You're not ready," he said.
"Yes I am…" she protested.
The only answer she got was the pleasure he was causing from both his mouth and his fingers. It was coming at her in waves, building slowly. If she thought that she wanted him earlier, that was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. She wanted to feel him inside her, thrusting until finally, they climaxed. She moaned again at the thought.
As if that was what he was waiting for he stopped his attack on her ear and withdrew his fingers. But instead of giving her what she wanted he instead went down and began to use his tongue instead of his fingers.
"Gods this isn't fair…" she said softly, digging her fingers into his hair. She arched her back again with a cry. She was so close to her climax.
He must have realized that for at last he stopped and looked up at her. He had a wide grin on his face, and she looked down at him, frustration written in her eyes. "Now, you're ready."
And then he was inside her; finally giving her what she wanted with a fierceness she hadn't felt before. She returned it with a fierceness of her own, digging her fingernails in-between his shoulder blades and sinking her teeth into his shoulders to keep herself from screaming. It wouldn't do to have Steiner come bursting in here thinking someone was trying to assassinate her or something. He didn't mind, in fact, it only served to turn him on more. That had been his intent in the first place.
He continued to thrust into her until finally they climaxed. Once again his seed spilled into her. This time she could feel it burning inside her as it never had before. A feeling of tranquility fell over her, and she sighed softly, falling asleep in Zidane's arms.
***
The next morning Vivi made his way back to the palace. He had decided to stay in the inn last night, remembering the way the palace guards had treated him in Alexandria. He didn't feel like being accused of kidnapping the princess again, even though in the end he had played a small part in it.
He found Zidane, Dagger, and that rusty knight that had stopped the palace guards from arresting them the day before standing near the lift.
"There you are!" Zidane said, a smile coming across his face, "We were wondering where you got to. Dagger wanted to send the palace guard out looking for you."
"I felt more comfortable staying in the inn. Besides, I figured you two would like some time alone," he said with a laugh as a blush stained the cheeks of his two companions.
Dagger quickly changed the subject, "Perhaps we should go up to the regent. The festival is about to begin."
As they all crowded onto the lift Zidane turned back to Vivi, "Are you going to compete?"
"I-I dunno…" he replied shyly.
"You should. Your fire magic is amazing! I'm sure you have a good chance at winning," Dagger added.
"Really?"
"Yeah! You'd do great!" Zidane told him.
Vivi smiled to himself. He often wasn't very sure of his powers because he still had trouble controlling the more powerful spells. He knew that with practice he would eventually get the hang of it, but after his grandpa had died he had stopped training so much.
The lift stopped at the upper levels and they scrambled out, making their way for the throne room. A few competitors had already entered while they had waited for Vivi downstairs. Zidane glanced over at the rat woman dressed in pink. She seemed familiar somehow.
"Don't I know you?" he asked as he stepped forward, Vivi at his side. Dagger and Steiner waited in the back of the room since they were only going to watch the festival.
"Why if it isn't Zidane. How long has it been since the last time I saw you around? Five years?" she replied.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes," he said, "Your name's Freya, isn't it?"
"And he even remembers my name," she replied sarcastically. Her face broke out in a smile, "It's nice to see you again."
"Hey, same to you. What are you doing in Lindblum?" he asked.
"Obviously the same thing you are. I'm participating in the Festival of the Hunt," she replied.
"Well good luck. I'm going to win, but you can try to beat me."
"You've sure gotten cocky," she said with a laugh. "I've done a lot of training in the five years since you've seen me."
"Even better."
Once of the palace guards began to walk down the line of competitors asking what they wanted if they won, cutting off the rest of their conversation. After he had completed his list another guard went down the line assigning people their starting points. Zidane would start in the theater district. That he was glad of because it was the place he knew the district well. The regent came and wished them luck and the festival began.
***
Dagger and Steiner stood on the bridge over the business district watching the competitors begin to fight the beasts that had been released into the city. Steiner made sure that civilians didn't start to crowd the Princess, and she watched for Zidane to make his way from the theater district to the business district, where the biggest beast of all was. Many of the competitors tried to beat it, but in the end they hadn't been powerful enough and they were sadly defeated.
As she stood on the bridge her mind wandered to the events of last night. She had gotten to spend the entire night alone with Zidane. She wasn't sure what had happened to Steiner. She thought for sure he would have eventually realized that he had left her alone with Zidane. She glanced over at him and saw with a start that his armor seemed a lot cleaner this morning than it had the night before. Zidane's comments must have stung his pride a bit if he had actually spent the night cleaning his armor. She turned away before he noticed the smile that had spread across her face.
At that moment she caught a glimpse of Zidane battling his way toward the bridge and the monster that stood below.
***
As he approached the enormous tusked beast, Freya jumped from one of the nearby roofs.
"There's no way you're going to be able to defeat that thing on your own," she said.
"I've battled worse," he said, continuing forward.
"I've watched that thing savagely beat all the rest of the competitors. I'm serious Zidane, if you're really that intent on winning than let me help you."
"Alright, under one condition," he replied.
"What's that?" she asked.
"I get the last hit so I can win."
"Fine, I'm only here for the battles and the experience," she said.
They shook hands and continued forward.
***
Now was his chance. He saw that the blond man was preoccupied with the festival and that only the idiot Steiner guarded the canary. What luck! He would have his prize and the cow Queen would have her army. None on the roof noticed his sudden appearance.
***
Zidane stuck one of his twin daggers into the beast's chest, piercing its heart. It fell to the ground defeated. He turned to Freya, "You really have improved haven't you?"
She nodded, opening her mouth to speak when his eyes focused on something over her head. She turned and looked too.
Dagger stood on the bridge, clapping happily at their performance at defeating the monster. Steiner stood beside her, keeping the cheering crowd at a certain distance, not paying attention to the man who stood behind her.
Zidane didn't know who the man was, but he seemed familiar. There was an aura of power and danger around him. Without warning he grabbed Dagger from behind and pulled her backwards.
"Dagger!" he cried, springing up the bridge, hoping that he wasn't too late.