PART III

Vivli felt a gentle rocking. She curled up tighter, and continued to sleep. The rocking was soothing, like she was a baby being rocked in her mother's arms. She felt herself being lifted up.

"Come on, wake up." A voice said gently. She opened her eyes. Crap, it's morning already, she thought, before realising she was being held in Zinkata's arms. She went very red and jumped out of them, which she then decided was a very stupid thing to do, considering she actually liked it there. She laughed nervously. Zinkata eyed her curiously, a little confused.

"Urm, it's morning already, then?" She said, repeating her thoughts from earlier just to move on.

"Yeah, we've got to get over to the chocobo stables." Zinkata told her, getting up. Vivli climbed out of bed. She was still dressed mostly, in the basic mithran separates she wore under her robe and simple trousers. She slipped into her robe and rubbed her eyes. She was feeling better. More confident. She went to leave, and froze when she got to the door. She felt cold, feeling a rush of horror run over her. She still couldn't do it. She still couldn't go outside alone. She shook with fear.

"It's alright Li." Zinkata said to her. "I'll go with you."

"Thanks." She gave in response, a little embarrassed at the whole situation.

"Can I pick up some stuff?" She asked gently.

"Of course. Voldos and Bootus are probably already at the stables though, so be quick. You don't need more reasons for Bootus to moan at you." Vivli nodded with a slight laugh, and the two wondered to her moghouse. Zinkata had been planning to wait outside, but Vivli seemed overly anxious about even entering her own house on her own, so he followed her in. She quickly grabbed a few items, throwing them in her satchel. She dropped one, an old note book with a faded pink cover and doodles on the front. "What's that?" Zinkata asked.

"Urm, nothing." She quickly said, putting it in her satchel with her. "Just a sketchbook."

"I didn't know you drew." Zinkata commented.
"I don't." She laughed. "That's why all the pictures look so bad."

"Can I see?" Zinkata asked, smirking.
"No!" She quickly snapped. "Urm, I mean, their old. You don't want to. Honestly."

"I'm sure they aren't that bad." Zinkata said to her. Vivli was worried. This 'sketchbook', was obviously actually her diary.

"What are you two doing?" Bootus asked, thundering into Vivli's room. For the first time in her life, Vivli blessed the appearance of the gigantic galka. "Wow. How do you sleep in that!" He cried, pointing to Vivli's bed. "It's tiny!" Vivli folded her arms, walking up to the galka. He peered down on her. "Oh right, short." He said. "Come on you two, we haven't got all day. We have to get to San d'Oria."

"How's Voldos?" Vivli asked, desperate to keep the conversation away from her diary.

"Not too great, I don't think." Bootus answered.

"He said anything?" Zinkata inquired.

"No, but this attractive blonde hume passed us and he didn't hit on her." Bootus explained.

"Sweet Altana, it's worse than we thought!" Exclaimed Zinkata sarcastically, and Vivli giggled.

"Come on!" Bootus cried. "Let's get moving."

Voldos saw the three others enter the stable where he had been waiting.

"About time." He grumbled.

"Sorry." Vivli said quietly.

"Well, you're here now. Let's grab the chocobos and be on our way." He decided.

"Urm, Zin." Vivli asked nervously. "I don't want to ride on my own. I always end up separated. Can I ride with you?" Zinkata laughed.
"Sleeping in my room is one thing, Viv, but this is getting excessive." He told her. She looked disappointed.

"She slept in your room?" Voldos asked in disbelief.

"It's nothing like that!" Zinkata sighed. It's not? Vivli thought sadly. "She's just a bit afraid of being on her own at the moment."

"Wuss." Bootus grumbled.

"How can you be so insensitive!" Vivli snapped.

"Years of hardened training." Bootus replied sarcastically.

"Look, Viv, if you really want to, you can." Zinkata said to her. "But we can't be with you all the time you know? You're going to have to be alone sometimes."

"I just need some time." She was trying to convince herself as much as the others. "I can get over this! I will!"

"Alright." Zinkata sounded like a parent talking to a child that wanted sweets. Vivli felt a little humiliated.

"She can fly for all I care." Grumbled Bootus. "Let's just get to San d'Oria."

The chocobos soon tore across the Valkrum Dunes. Vivli was clinging onto the back of Zinkata. The hume found something oddly sweet about the way the little figure was hanging off him, almost helping reassure his attitude that Vivli was like a little sister to them in need of protection. This, of course, didn't help Vivli's status with in anyway, since she was being viewed as a little sibling. In all honesty, Zinkata tried to treat her equally and as a normal friend, but the fact that she always needed protecting from something just instead made him think of her differently. The fact she was so much smaller than everybody else didn't do much for her either. Sometimes he hated to think what he'd be like around a tarutaru.

"Enjoying your ride?" Bootus called out mockingly.

"At least our chocobo has it easy." She called back. "The two of us are nowhere near as heavy as you." Bootus looked down at the chocobo that was almost crushed under his bulk.

"You need to work on your wit, Viv." Zinkata whispered to her.
"It was good enough." She muttered.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd start calling you two lovebirds." Voldos joked. Vivli's stomach leapt into her throat.

"Hehehe, urm, why would you do that?" She nervously laughed.

"I dunno." Bootus interfered, taking over the reigns to mock Vivli. "Something to do with the whole 'sleeping in the same room' thing, perhaps?"

"That was nothing." Zinkata laughed casually.

"Be quiet Zin." Bootus said angrily. "I'm winding Vivli up."

"Not any more." She said, almost crossing her arms in the way she did when she was angry, but then she realised she would fall off the chocobo.

The four soon arrived in San d'Oria, and they jumped off their chocobos. Zinkata found it a little strange to suddenly not have Vivli hanging off of him, but she was stood so close it didn't bother him too much.

"Where we going, o' mighty Lord Voldos?" Bootus asked with a heavy smirk.

"I guess to my old home." Voldos said with a shrug. "The letter said somebody would be there waiting for us."

"Lead the way, o' Lord!" Bootus cried.

Soon enough they arrived at a gigantic looking manor near the outer walls of San d'Oria. The three non-elvaan adventurers whistled, impressed.
"You lived here?" Gasped Vivli.

"Yeah, for my childhood. Then I got dumped with the Temple Knights." Voldos explained.

"So why did you get kicked out of San d'Oria?" Bootus asked.

"Who said I got kicked out?" Voldos gave in response. "Besides, I can't reveal my dark mysterious pass. Chicks dig that kind of thing."

"Voldos. It's us." Zinkata answered.

"Yeah, Vivli's the only girl here, and I think she's preoccupied." Bootus joked. She took a shy step away from Zinkata.

"It really doesn't impress us, Voldos." She said to change the subject. Luckily, she knew Bootus was just winding her up, and didn't actually suspect she felt anything for Zinkata.

"Either way, I'm not telling you." Voldos said to her.
"Embarrassed?" Bootus taunted. Voldos went to reply before a man walked up to him in formal looking clothes.

"Do you four fools have a purpose outside this manor?" He asked quite rudely, with a bitter accent. He was a fairly tall elvaan, a bit shorter than Voldos.

"Urm. Yes. I'm Voldos." Voldos explained. The man was clearly taken back.

"V-Voldos?" He exclaimed. "Welcome. Please enter. I will explain everything." The man turned to the others. "Did you have to bring this rag tag bunch of adventurers with you?" He asked in disbelief, clearly used to the upper hands of society.

"Yes." Voldos answered. "That's Bootus and Zinkata." He said, pointing to them. He turned to Vivli with a smile at the man. "And this is Princess Vivli." The man was clearly surprised.

"Your highness." He said with a bow. Vivli giggled.

"Hi." She smirked.

"My distaste for adventurers is great at times." The man explained. "But I am, as are we all, in debt to the four of you."

"You realise who we are then?" Zinkata asked.

"The Light Warriors, of course. My name is Alfred." He bowed again. "Please, come on in and I shall explain the proceedings to you." The four followed Alfred into the large manor.

They were completely shocked. Even Voldos had forgotten what the inside was like. They had walked from a gigantic hallway into a huge study. Paintings hung off the wall that were so massive in size it was difficult to take the whole of them in. Fancy chairs were scattered all around by a gigantic fire place.

"This doesn't seem very…" Zinkata trailed off, looking for the right word. "…you." He finally finished.
"I used to hang out in a tree house I built out back." Voldos joked.

"Ah, I'm afraid that fell down some time ago, sir." Alfred explained.

"Don't call me sir." Voldos laughed. "Unless it's in front of girls, and you're helping me look good to them." He added thoughtfully. Alfred allowed himself a laugh.

"So who are you?" Bootus asked.

"I was the servant of the Loneheart household. So now I am the servant of Lord Voldos." Alfred answered.
"What?" Vivli was surprised at this. "They made you wait on them?"

"Surely, Princess, you have servants?" Inquired Alfred.

"I'm Princess of Kazham, and never stay there." Vivli answered. Alfred looked puzzled. "That was a no."

"She's right." Voldos said. "Urm, you can go." He was trying to find the right words. "You are released from my service, or whatever they say."

"Thank you, sir." Alfred responded. "But first, maybe I should explain some things to you." He smiled. "As a favour, not as a servant."

"That would be nice, thanks." Voldos said as he slumped in one of the absurdly expensive chairs.

"This entire manor is now yours." Alfred told the elvaan, refraining to add 'sir'. "Along with the rather excessive cash flows." Voldos beamed a smile at this. "However, in rather sadder news, your family's bodies were not recovered, and thus there will be no funeral."

"No funeral?" Zinkata asked, surprised. "Even without bodies they could hold one."

"The King himself has dictated it shall not be so." Alfred explained. Even Voldos was a little surprised at this. "I am afraid I don't know why."

"That's a little odd." Zinkata said to himself.

"I am a mere servant. I do not comment on such things." Alfred told the hume. "At least, I was a mere servant."

Vivli in the meantime had wondered over, and was looking at a picture of an exotic jungle. At first she had thought it might be the jungles of Kazham, but could see this wasn't the case. All kinds of strange creatures roamed around in it, including colourful butterflies and bright insects. The moon shone in the night sky above the scene depicted.

"Wow. This is a beautiful painting." Vivli smiled. "So peaceful." Alfred chuckled, walking up behind her. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"That painting." Alfred remarked. "Is entitled The Fall of Gaia." Vivli gave him a curious look. "Only the uneducated in the world of art see it as beautiful. It is one of the most horrific paintings ever created."

"How?" Vivli asked. "I don't see anything horrific."

"Look in the sky. See anything?" Alfred seemed smug.

"Urm, there's that shooting star." Vivli answered. "The red one."

"Yes. The red star." Alfred answered. "That is the same red star they say fell to Gaia and wiped it out. Hence the title of the painting. The irony in the picture is that the scene appears beautiful, but the destruction of everything is mere moments away. Everything you see in this picture was destroyed moments later. Or so is the idea." Vivli shivered at the thought.

"Red star?" Zinkata asked.

"You've never heard of that?" Vivli said, trying to show she wasn't as uneducated as Alfred had implied. "A lot of people theorise it's what finally wiped out Gaia. By the time civilisation was rebuilt, along with the continent shifts, Gaia had become Vana'diel."

"Oh." Zinkata nodded. "Nice."

"So what now?" Bootus asked. He had been trying to decide whether or not to sit down. He had eventually decided against it, unwilling to risk breaking one of the expensive looking chairs.

"There is a formal party tonight." Alfred told them. "If Lord Voldos here puts in an appearance, perhaps you may discover more about his parents and their lack of a funeral."

"Sounds interesting." Zinkata said. "We've got nothing better to do. Let's do it."

"Awww, formal." Groaned Bootus. "That doesn't sound fun."

"Just insult everybody like you usually do." Zinkata suggested.

"Not to mention they'll be plenty of people there calling Vivli 'Princess'." Voldos input.

"Hm. On second thoughts, this could be fun." Bootus said pondering.

"What did I tell you about encouraging him?" Vivli snapped.

"Sirs and the lady realise that this is strictly formal dress?" Alfred inquired, cutting off their bickering.

"Aw damn." Vivli sighed.

"What are you complaining about?" Voldos asked. "You wear dresses all the time." Vivli nodded. This was true, to an extent. She had discovered after their fame had become well known, she couldn't go to a tavern in the land without being approached by some drunken guy trying to chat her up. At first she found this very flattering, but after a while it began to irritate her, so she took to the habit of wearing long dresses. Nobody in a dress could ever be a warrior, in the minds of the drunken tavern goers, and so they never registered her as a Light Warrior. It had been a fairly clever tactic, she had thought.

"Yes. But none of them are formal enough." Vivli stated. "Besides, they're back in Bastok."

"If only we knew someone with a ton of money to buy a bunch of formal clothes for us." Zinkata pondered, before shooting a look at Voldos.

"I've just become rich and I'm already spending it." Voldos sighed. "Does this mean no formal armour?"

"Heavens no, sir." Alfred told him. "Armour is strictly for the formal guards. You must attend in a formal shirt and trousers."

"Great." Grumbled Voldos.

"Chaos he can handle, but dressing smartly is a nightmare." Vivli joked. Zinkata laughed, which much relieved her. Bootus always made an effort not to laugh at Vivli's jokes, and now was no exception. He felt that it made sure he remained the master of humour, and didn't give her any ideas. Although, in truth, he spent most of his time laughing at Vivli, just not when she was trying to be funny.

"Right then." Zinkata decided. "To a clothes shop!"

"Viv, you're the girl. We're relying on your expert knowledge here." Bootus told her.
"Hey! I resent that stereotype!" Vivli protested.

"Ha. You can resent it all you like. We're still following you." He paused. "I get to stay in my gi. Tradition you see."
"Actually, they don't seem to like adventurers." Zinkata reminded him. "We'll need you to change."
"Hope you know some shops that sell giant clothes, Viv." Voldos joked.
"Dammit! Why does everybody think I know where clothes shops are?" Vivli cried.

"You're a typical girly girl. Everybody expects it of you." Bootus laughed.

"I AM NOT!" Vivli screamed. "And I don't know! Not in this stupid place!"

"Ah ha! So you do know in Bastok!" Bootus taunted.

"Yes. For I wear clothes." Vivli growled sarcastically.

"Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Princess." Eight months and Bootus hadn't dropped his annoying catchphrase. Vivli sighed, and cast silence on the galka.

"Come on. We have until this evening." She said. The four wondered out and Alfred shook his head in disbelief at the team. He had seen some strange things, but they were certainly the worse.