IMPORTANT A/N PLEASE READ!!!~ Before we get to the chapter I want everyone to know that from this point on the story's gonna take a little break from the course of the game. I'm warning you now so you don't get pissed off and decide to flame me. I said in the beginning that things were going to be edited Basically I got pissed of at the world and decided that some very bad things should happen to the characters now. Okay, some people may not like the turn of events this takes because there is going to be some highly mature material in here. So you've been warned of that too. And lastly, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed me thus far. When I first started it I had no idea everyone would like it so much. So thank you for being so great. And here's the moment you've all been waiting for so patiently lol.

'Ware The Silver Haired Man

Dagger gave a muffled gasp as strong arms grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth and pulling her backwards. She kicked back instinctively, but missed and only caused the arms to squeeze tighter. She cried out Steiner, but it was muffled by the hand covering her mouth and quickly lost in the wild cheering of the surrounding crowd. Even Steiner, who had made it very clear that morning that he did not like Zidane, had given way to the excitement of the festival.
"Be still, my canary. I come only to bring you home to your love," a familiar voice sounded from behind her. Instantly she relaxed in his arms and turned her head to catch a glimpse of her captor. The sunlight glinted on his silver hair and Dagger realized that it was Kuja who held her against him.
As if he sensed her loss of resistance, Kuja dropped his arms and allowed her to turn and face him.
"Kuja..." she said breathlessly, her heart thundering in her ears. She realized that it was not from fear, but from a confusing rush of emotions such as those she had felt in the hedge maze and on the parapets. The emotions she felt toward Kuja were similar to what she felt for Zidane.
"Will you come home with me? Will you stay and be my wife?" Kuja asked, gazing deeply into his eyes. He held out his hand in a silent offer.
For a long moment Dagger just stood there looking into his icy blue eyes before placing her hand in his. He smiled triumphantly as his hand closed over hers then turned and began to lead her away.
They didn't get far however when a sudden commotion broke out from where they had been standing only a moment before.
"Dagger!" She heard Zidane call after her. She turned, her hand slipping from Kuja's grasp. Zidane was pushing through the crowd towards them, concern written in his eyes. His twin daggers tightly gripped in his hands.
"Zidane," she sighed, "it's okay. Kuja's just come to bring me home."
Zidane's eyes flew to Kuja and narrowed in suspicion. "I thought you didn't want to go home," he said, his eye not leaving Kuja.
Kuja was standing behind Dagger, his face mirroring his cocky attitude. The man had an aura of arrogance around him that made it impossible for Zidane to like him.
"The princess belongs with me in Alexandria. She doesn't need to go wandering all over the Mist Continent with the likes of you. Now come, Garnet," Kuja said coldly, dismissing Zidane with a piercing glare before turning his gaze back to Dagger and holding out his hand.
Zidane knew then that he would never let Dagger fall into Kuja's clutches. The man emanated more evil than he did arrogance, "Don't do it, Dagger. Don't let him take away your dream."
"My...dream...?" Dagger asked softly, looking from Kuja to Zidane indecisively. It was as if her feet had sank into the cobblestones making it impossible for her to move and there were two voices screaming different things to her. She didn't know which to follow.
"Come, Garnet. It's time to go home," Kuja said again, more firmly this time.
"Home..." she whispered to herself.
"Dagger..." Zidane said, the sound of his voice breaking her trance. She ran to Zidane and fell into his arms.
"I don't want to go home!" she cried, holding him as tightly against her as she could and he pulled her protectively to him, "I want to stay with Zidane."
Kuja's demeanor turned from cocky to barely contained rage, "Fine! Go with him, you'll be returning to Alexandria soon enough. But remember this, Garnet. You are mine, mine to do with as I please. Anger me like you just did and I will have retribution."
With that said he was enveloped in a burst of blinding light that exploded outwards and burned all it touched. Screams echoed through the marketplace and the joy of the festivities vanished as quickly as Kuja. Zidane fared the worst of all as he had turned only just in time to shield Dagger with his body. Dagger felt him tense within the circle of her arms and then go limp, saw his mouth open in a silent scream. She was the only thing holding him up and she had to lower him to the ground, lest she drop him.
As she lowered him to the ground and knelt beside him she got a good look at his back. His clothes were almost completely burned off, taking most of his skin with it. He had blacked out and for that she was thankful. She could feel the tears burning in her eyes as the guilt built inside her. This had happened because of her. Yet another thing to add to the list of events that had been caused by her. She was too panicked and upset to even think of using her white magic to help him right now.
"Princess!" Steiner's familiar braying voice cried over the screams from the crowd. As he approached she could hear the loud clanking of his armor, but she didn't look up from Zidane.
Steiner looked down at her and saw the mess of Zidane she held in her arms, "Oh, gods..."
"Steiner.." she said, finally looking up at him. Tears streamed from her chestnut eyes and ran down her pale face, "we have to help him. Please... He saved me. This happened because of me."
"Hush now, Princess. We have to get him to the palace. We can discuss this there," Steiner said, leaning down and lifting Zidane from her lap, "This not your fault."
Dagger stood and followed Steiner, who managed to keep a fast pace despite the fact that he carried Zidane's dead weight in his arms. He bellowed for people to move out of their way, and the people of Lindblum and those who had traveled there for the festival despite their own injuries, hastily moved out of their way upon seeing the extent of Zidane's injuries.
Oh, gods, please... please let him be okay! Dagger's mind screamed as they made their way to the palace. If she lost him...

***

Kuja angrily paced the Princess' room. Damn him! he thought. Who was that blonde haired man who had the princess so enamored? Why did he look so familiar?
Kuja sent out a thin tendril of power and just barely touched the Princess' mind. The distress and pain that he felt there caused him to jerk back momentarily before he gained enough control of his surprise to strengthen it, intrigued at what he felt.
Please gods! Don't let him die! Her mind voice screamed at the heavens and Kuja, surprised at the depth of her fear let go. Something must have happened when he vanished. He must have been in such a rage that he had let his power fly out of control. But if it caused this blonde haired man to die it was no problem.
As for the Princess... Kuja let his laughter echo around the chamber. She had gotten off much to easy. Yes... he was going to have to teach her a lesson... But first, let's see how she'd like not being able to help her lover.

***

Steiner gently laid Zidane down on the bed so that his back was exposed. Dagger went over to the side of the bed and sat down next to him, the tears burning in her eyes once more as she reached out to him, remembering the time they had spent on this very bed the night before.
"Princess! Your hands!" Steiner exclaimed, noticing for the first time the burns on the back of her hands and forearms.
She glanced down absently at them before turning her attention back to Zidane. "It doesn't matter, where's the doctor?"
"He's coming, highness," one of the guard's who had followed them into the room said worriedly, glancing at the door.
"Zidane can't wait that long! He needs help now!" she said, placing her hands on Zidane's back and summoning the power she had called upon at the scene of the airship crash. It seemed like that had happened so long ago. Her hands glowed white momentarily before the light faded.
"What...?" she trailed off, lifting her hands in front of her face and looking at them as if she would find the answer there. She placed her hands on his back again and tried once more to summon the white magic she had been given at birth. Again her hands glowed momentarily white before the light faded.
'You poor, poor dear. Can't even help your lover? What will he think of you now?' A familiar voice whispered across her mind.
"Kuja... You bastard!! How could you? How could you hurt all those innocent people??" she cried into thin air, receiving no response. He was blocking her power somehow. She knew it.
Just then the door opened and a small, stout man entered, holding a large black bag in one hand and pushing his glasses distractedly back up his nose with the other, "Where is the patient?"
"Doctor Tot!" Dagger cried, momentarily forgetting her anger at the sight of her childhood tutor.
"Princess Garnet! No one told me you were in Lindblum. How are you?" he asked, walking over to her, a smile bright on his face.
"We can talk later. You have to help Zidane. He suffered some really bad burns. Please..." Dagger said, tears filling her eyes again. Would she ever have the chance to stop crying and just be happy with the events life threw her way?
The burns on Zidane's back didn't look nearly as bad in the dim light of the room as they did out in the harsh sunlight. Doctor Tot took several long moments examining them before shaking his head, "He has some pretty severe burns, Princess. I can try and ease the pain caused by them, but other than that he's going to have to heal on his own."
Dagger nodded and watched as Doctor Tot opened his bag and pulled out several different herbs and a flask of water. He took several moments to measure out large amounts of the herbs and then mix them with some water to make a thick mixture, to which he added several different liquids from brightly colored bottles that he pulled from his bag. He then spread the salve gently over Zidane's back and covered it with white cloth bandages from his bag.
"Princess, I'm going to make up more of this salve later today. His wounds are going to have to be washed, more salve placed on his back, and his bandages changed several times a day..." Doctor Tot said.
"I'll do it." she said, feeling as though she had to help Zidane in some way atone for this.
Doctor Tot smiled and nodded, "I figured as much. Now, may I tend to your hands?"
Dagger held out her hands and shuddered as he spread the cold, thick salve over the burns on her hands and arms, then bandaged them. Once he was done she hugged him, thanking him politely for all that he had done in the past several minutes.
"I must go and tend to the wounds of the people in town. When I come back though, why don't we have a chat?" he asked, looking her deep in the eye.
"Yes, that would be wonderful," she replied honestly, having not seen the Doctor in several years. She had grown quite fond of him while he was her tutor. He was skilled in many areas of science, culture, and history. She had greatly enjoyed his tutoring sessions as she had been growing up.
"Wonderful! I shall see you then," he said, packing up his bag and leaving, everyone else in the room following him out the door.
Garnet remained on the edge of the bed, her gaze turned back to Zidane. Very slowly and with infinate care she laid out on the bed beside him, careful not to touch his burns. She entwined her fingers with his and after many hours of laying awake thinking, fell asleep beside him.

A/N~ I want to apologize to everyone for how long it took me to get this chapter up. It was a pain in the butt to write, but it's here now and the next one is soon to follow, so keep checking. I hope I didn't lose anyone with the length of time between this chapter and the last one. But thanks for everyone's patience! I know it wasn't easy! ^^