Chapter 14 - Princess Eiko Fabool Carol of Lindblum

Saffire Raynius - Are these pins and needles painful? Rather like the ones I have in my foot (Shakes out foot.) Perfection, now that I wish I had; as I do not, I can give you only the update. I will admit, leaving it at the babes birth would have been an awful idea.

LottiRebel - Hehe, updating, with Eiko!

Gelendra - He is indeed, you think I can leave my precious boys dead? Highly recommended? I've never been that before, thank you very much.

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Entry 33

Vivi, you're being so strong; I just wanted to let you know how proud everyone is of you. Keep going, don't give up now; according to Zidane you're almost how you were before - from which I can gather you were a little morbid! Teasing aside, don't push yourself to hard, don't force yourself to speak to people too soon and take each day as it come.

Ellisa

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Entry 34

Note: Do not leave journal lying around, as Ellisa is clearly more nosy then I thought.

The announcement is tomorrow and I think it's best I talk to Eiko today - I know I'm worried because it's really really early and I'm writing this instead of sleeping … Need sleep. But, I really do think I should speak to Cid today so that I won't be carrying so much tension tomorrow. Of course, that means I've got to see Eiko too, who really reminds me of the boys; they loved her a lot and she loved them too. She spoilt them rotten, despite the fact Calan was the same age (is not was) and Sola kept flirting with her! I'm getting them back so, I don't need to feel worried about seeing Eiko.

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The castle was bustling with activity as the mage made his way to the guest quarters, Zidane had told him that Regent Cid was staying in the Royal Suite and he had had to ask directions three times in order to find it. He stood outside the door for a short time, taking steps towards it before losing his nerve and moving back again. Getting annoyed with himself for doing this for a fifth time, Vivi clenched his hand into a fist and tapped on the door. Someone moved inside the room, and the long flowing gown of Lady Hilda came into view.

She did a double take, eyes going hastily to Vivi's now bright yellow ones; she graced him with a kindly smile. "My Vivi, I certainly never expected to see you today, Zidane informed us that you wished for some time alone." Hilda offered, with one hand to her lips. She did not hug or touch him and Vivi found that he was very glad; he had grown a lot less keen on physical contact recently.

"I - I change my mind,"

Someone let out a squeal and a person just shorter then the mage knocked him off his feet; Eiko wrapped him in a tight hug. "Eiko, get up now!" Hilda ordered, the ten year old did as her adopted mother told her to; Vivi picked himself up, adjusting his clothes and hat. "You must learn to show decorum at all times, you are the princess of Lindblum and you shall eventually become her Queen." Eiko rolled her eyes; she had heard the same thing almost every day for four years. "I am sure the last thing Vivi wants if you pouncing on him like that." In a sweeping gesture, Hilda motioned into the room. "Please come in Vivi, I'm sure that is what Eiko meant to say,"

Politely, he allowed Eiko to enter first and thanked Hilda, Regent Cid was seated by a desk and rose his head as they entered; Vivi and he locked eyes and a brief moment of understanding passed between the two before Vivi ducked his eyes. "I - I just ... wanted to … say thanks for … umm …" He managed to mess up the very short thank you he had spent most of the morning preparing.

"Think nothing of it, dear boy; how goes your recovery?"

It was a question that Vivi had dreaded in the past, but he had learnt people would not be angry with him for being honest; Ellisa had sat him down about two weeks before and lectured him about being honest with himself, it was a lesson that he had learnt once before. "According to Ellisa, slowly but steadily, I'm getting there," He knew that Cid knew of his injury, it had been the medic on the Hilda Garde IV that had treated him initially after all.

Eiko tugged him onto a nearby couch with her, "Dagger let me see the seating arrangements for the feast, I'm sitting next to you and you're next to Zidane. Freya, Sir. Fratley and Amarant are opposite us." She told the slightly bemused mage, "I can't wait to be announced as an auntie again, I haven't even seen her yet!"

"Queen Garnet wishes for you to wait Eiko," Hilda's tones held a mild scold but Vivi knew the tones from having used them himself and knew there was no real venom to hit. "You should respect her wishes,"

"But Vivi's seen her,"

The mage nodded in reply, "Yes I have," He told her; he really wanted to go on to explain what the babe looked like but appreciated Garnet and Zidane's decision to keep her a secret. "I was there when she was born," With a hint of his old humour, he looked towards Eiko with a small smile. "And I live here, and the babe has a strong set of lungs, it's very hard to avoid her."

"Come my dear," Cid offered up his arm to his wife and she took it. "We shall take our walk now; Eiko, please remember what I told you." With this, he and Hilda left.

Eiko spoke and Vivi listened and as he considered it, he realised that nothing had really changed; she told him how excited she was about becoming an aunt again, and about the Moogle Cid and Hilda had given her for her tenth birthday. She suddenly stopped and just looked at him; he looked back at her uncertainly. "I was expecting you to be all sleepy; father warned me that you might be,"

"Not any more, I was for a very long time,"

There was a long pause in which everything Vivi tried to say died on his tongue and he eventually just gave up trying. "Father refused to tell me what you did to yourself," She said shyly after a long time, her head was bowed and Vivi realised that Eiko was nervous and worried about asking him whatever she was going to ask him. "He told me you tried to … you know, but he didn't tell me how and I wondered …" Seeing no reason to hide what he had done, Vivi removed his glove pulling the coat sleeve back enough from his right wrist so that she could only see that single scar. When she heard the movement of fabric against his skin, she raised her head.

Tenderly, Eiko took his hand and turned it over so that she could see the scar fully; Vivi had expected her to be angry with him or for her to misunderstand the situation somehow but she just sat in silence looking at it, as if she realised how serious things had been. Cautiously with due care, Eiko ran a finger along the scar tissue and Vivi jerked his arm back with a slight stifled chuckle, "It's still really sensitive," He told her, covering it up again.

All at once to Eiko, he was Vivi again; he was not the teenager who had lost everything he felt he had but one of her dearest friends. "It was … so hard at first," She murmured and Vivi knew instantly what she was talking about. "I didn't want to face it at first, you know? I didn't want to face that they were gone." She did not look towards her and Vivi realised that this was part of her own healing. "I loved your sons Vivi, they were like brothers or something, even when Sola was flirting with me." She giggled slightly, remembering the flirty young mage. "And now I'll never get to see them again,"

Her bright emerald green eyes locked with Vivi's now brightly glowing yellow ones, "Eiko, Mikoto's found a way to bring them back." He told her, trying to ignore the shocked look Eiko was giving him. "It'll take a while for them to be back to their old selves and I still don't know if that's what I want to do but it's an option I can choose if I want." A teary-eyed Summoner wrapped the startled Black Mage in a hug and they stayed that way for some time.

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AN: Can see myself coming under attack for the Ellisa thing, she's teasing him, trying to show him that things can return to somewhere near normal. That and she can be pretty nosy. Lol.

A name to be announced, a meeting to be had, find out what Garnet and Zidane will name their daughter in Chapter 15 'And I name her ...'