PART IV

I've got the shakes so bad I can barely write. I'm sat in a changing room in a clothes shop in San d'Oria. Zin's waiting just outside, but he wouldn't come in with me (big surprise!). So I'm on my own. I mean, it's only a little cubicle and I still can barely write. I don't understand why I feel like this! Why I'm so scared? I know it's safe! I know he's out there! But I can't stop shaking the instant I'm alone. I can't stop being scared even though I don't know what I'm scared of. And Zin is being so sweet to me through it all as well. I don't know if it's just because I'm his friend, or something else. I can hope, huh?

I can't write for much longer. He's outside. I supposed to be trying on a dress for this party that we've ended up going to. I think I can handle it, but I can't imagine what Bootus is going to be like at one of those things.

I can barely still write. I can't stop shaking! What is wrong with me!

Vivli dropped the diary, and it landed with a soft thud. Despite her efforts to go on a different track when writing, the same fear kept gripping her. She picked up the diary and put it back in her satchel, giving up. Tears were forming in her eyes. She couldn't understand why she was feeling as she was, but knew how to get out of it. She quickly slipped on the white dress as she said she would and opened the door.

Zinkata was slumped outside, and smiled as she walked out. She instantly felt relieved. There were people again.

"You alright?" Zinkata asked. "You look a little pale."

"I was, urm, scared." She admitted.

"Scared?" Zinkata repeated curiously.

"I- It doesn't make sense. I was scared because I was on my own." She whimpered. She shook her head. "Forget it." She didn't want to embarrass herself any further, and she had calmed down so much just in the presence of Zinkata that she felt silly talking about it. "What do you think?" She asked, doing a mock twirl. Zinkata looked her over. He was almost surprised that his primary concern was how much the dress covered up. Now he wasn't just like an older brother, but a father. It just kept her arms bare, which he didn't see as that bad.

"Very pretty." He said sarcastically. He himself was in a neat blue shirt and dark blue trousers, which he wasn't nearly as comfortable in as Vivli was in her dress.

"Where are the others?" Vivli asked.

"I'm not coming out!" Thundered a voice.

"Oh." Vivli sighed, looking across. Voldos, dressed in a green shirt and darker green trousers in a similar matter to Zinkata was stood outside one of the changing rooms.

"Come on!" Voldos cried. "We all did."

"Yeah, but you're idiots." Bootus told him from inside. "I'm not coming out."

"You big baby." Voldos sighed. "Vivli's laughing at you out here." Vivli shot him a look, and Voldos motioned to her. She realised what he meant, and laughed.

"That's it!" Bootus thundered out. "Nobody in a dress gets to laugh at me!" He barked as he stood before them. The three paused, and burst into genuine laughter. Bootus had opted for a red shirt and dark red trousers, but they were far too small for somebody his size, and so looked ridiculously stretched, and to top off the comical look, his tail stuck awkwardly out over the top of his trousers, almost ripping them. Vivli's own tail swished claustrophobically, trapped in the dress. She hadn't thought about it before, but the sight of Bootus had reminded her.

"It'll do." Sighed Zinkata, finally stopping himself from laughing. Voldos now turned, actually paying attention to the other two. He looked over them, and suddenly burst into strange laughter.

"What's so funny?" Vivli quickly asked.

"Viv, that's a child's dress." Voldos answered.

"Bloody elvaans!" She cried. "It's not my fault you're all freakishly tall!"

"What I find more curious is that Voldos is an expert on little girl's dresses." Bootus pointed out. Vivli snickered at this.

"Hey!" Voldos cried defensively. "Can I help it if I was wooing the ladies even when I was six?"

"Well," Vivli asked, changing the subject, "Where am I supposed to find a dress that fits?"

"Did you ask if they had any mithran ones?" Voldos offered.

"Urm. Not exactly." She admitted.

"And maybe you should ask if they have any galka clothing." He suggested to Bootus. "Just because we elvaans are superior to everybody else doesn't mean we don't stock their clothes."

Some time later and the four had gathered again, having acquired real clothes and paid for them. Vivli was in a similar white dress, except it was considerably more revealing as mithra clothes had a tendency of being, and it had a nice hole for her tail. Bootus was in a strange formal vest, leaving his huge arms exposed, allowing his strength to be displayed.

"Well, while the noble and heroic act of clothes shopping was fun," Zinkata sarcastically said, "I suppose we might as well get to this party."

"Any idea who you're going to ask about your parents, Voldos?" Vivli asked the elvaan.

"Any girl who's attractive." Voldos answered with a smug grin. Vivli rolled her eyes. It was beginning to get late, and so the four knew it was a sign they had to go and get to the party.

Which unfortunately ground to a halt when they arrived at the entrance in front of an elvaan guard.

"Invitation please." He stated.

"Ah." Zinkata said tactfully. "We don't have one."
"Then you can't come in." The elvaan stated. "Leave."

"We arethe Light Warriors." Zinakta casually threw in. "Technically this building is only still standing because of us."

"I'm sure the builders are appreciative." The guard smirked. "But you are not invited." Vivli paused, before stepping forwards.

"Yes. I know." She suddenly stated. "And quite frankly, I'm offended!"

"Adventurers can stick to getting drunk in taverns." The guard casually threw at her.

"And what about princesses?" She asked. She sounded unusually sure of herself. Bootus got the sneaky suspicion she actually enjoyed being a princess.

"What?" The guard asked.
"I'm Princess Vivli of Kazham." She stated. The guard suddenly remembered the stories of the Light Warriors and realised this was true.

"I-I-I apologise, your highness." He stammered. "Please. Enter." Vivli let out a bitterly polite courtesy, and walked in, followed by the other heroes.

They found themselves in a gigantic ballroom with classical music playing, coming from a group of bards performing in the corner. Many people were dancing or talking. Everybody seemed rigid and polite. They drew a few looks, but were mostly ignored. Suddenly, the four warriors felt incredibly uneasy.

"Where shall we start?" Voldos asked.
"I don't know! You're the elvaan!" Snapped Bootus.

"Bar!" Announced Zinkata.

"You're just thirsty, aren't you?" Vivli said lightly.

"Or I want to get drunk." Zinkata shot back in an equally mocking tone.

"These kind of parties aren't where you get horribly drunk." Vivli pointed out, making sure she was humorous enough to not sound too harsh. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him.

"There's always room for getting drunk at parties." Zinkata joked, wondering towards the bar. Vivli tagged along behind him, not wanting to get separated.

"Well, what do we do?" Voldos asked Bootus.
"Want to dance?" Bootus joked.

"This is why talking to you should be illegal." Voldos grumbled. "Well, she looks pretty. Let's start with her." The two walked towards an unsuspecting elvaan girl.

Zinkata hopped up onto one of the bar stools. Vivli considered the same, but they were designed for taller elvaan, and she didn't trust herself. She instead climbed up, and sat down next to Zinkata. He ordered a drink, and Vivli turned to watch the people dancing. She looked wishfully at Zinkata. She pondered asking him if he wanted to dance. After all, even if they were here for serious reasons, they could have a little fun. She considered it, but was too nervous to ask. She knew she wanted to, but was afraid he'd say no. She played out this inner conflict for a while before Zinkata brought to her back to reality.

"You listening to me?" She caught. Apparently she hadn't.

"Urm, not exactly." She admitted.

"What were you staring at?" He asked. Vivli decided the answer 'you' wouldn't sit well.

"That painting behind you." She claimed. Zinkata took a quick look, and turned back.

"Well, pay attention." He told her.

"Sorry." She said, upset. Zinkata laughed.

"It's nothing to be sorry for." He joked. "It's a nice painting." Vivli laughed nervously, hoping her face hadn't turned too red. "So, do you want a drink or not?" Presumably this was what Zinkata had asked her and she had missed.

"Probably not a good idea." She decided. "I get far too drunk far too easily." Zinkata laughed again. Vivli smiled at this.

Voldos had quite skilfully decided to back away, avoiding the slap.

"See that?" He taunted Bootus. "No slap."

"Yeah, but you didn't exactly impress her." Bootus pointed out.

"Quiet." Voldos commanded him.

"Excuse me?" Came a voice. "Did you say you were Voldos?" Voldos turned to face an elvaan man, fairly tall, with greying hair.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure I said it, but I am." Voldos replied, thinking he was witty. The man rolled his eyes.

"My name's Sigmund." He told him. "And I have some news, Lord Voldos." He paused. "If you expect to keep that title, I suggest you listen."

"Oh, this is getting interesting." Bootus said as if he was an audience.

"Your parents weren't killed by orcs." Sigmund said quickly. "They were murdered by the crown." Voldos's jaw dropped.

Zinkata smirked.

"Hey, I think Voldos is on to something." He said to Vivli.

"How can you tell?" Vivli asked.

"He's talking to someone who's not female." Zinkata explained. Vivli giggled.

Voldos had spent as much time as he could processing this information.
"What? Why?" He finally asked.

"I believe your parents were planning to usurp the crown." Sigmund explained.

"WHAT?" Voldos yelled.

"Keep it down." Sigmund told him. "After the Battle of San d'Oria, many people were displeased with the royalty and how they handled Chaos. A secret organisation was formed began for the plotting and removal of the King."

"If it's a secret, how do you know that?" Bootus asked, butting in.

"I was approached to join." He smirked. "They tried to kill me when I turned away."

"This can't be true!" Voldos cried. "My parents would never have done that. They were arrogant, sure, but this is ridiculous."

"Believe what you will." Sigmund told him. "But keep your eyes peeled. More is at stake here than you are aware." He disappeared into the crowd.

Vivli kept finding herself staring at Zinkata, then looking away, pretending she wasn't whenever he looked at her. She'd now pretty much completely forgotten the reason they were at the party, and was just trying to work up the courage to ask Zinkata to dance. Suddenly there was an announcement.

"Would everybody please join the dance floor for the traditional group dance." Vivli's eyes widened and her heart rate quickened. This was her chance. She desperately tried to form words.
"Come on then, Viv." Zinkata said cheerfully, taking her by the hand.

"What?" She cried in surprise.

"Oh, if you don't want to I'll-" Zinkata began to say.

"No! No! I mean, yes. Yes, I'll do it." She cried, getting confused. Zinkata chuckled. Vivli had turned bright red. He just assumed it was embarrassment. The two held each other, and moved onto the dance floor.

Voldos wondered out of the party in a daze, followed closely by Bootus.

"I can't believe it." He muttered. "It can't be true. It just can't!"

"Who was that guy?" Bootus asked. "He just came up. It seemed awfully convenient."

"I'm going to find out what's going on here." Voldos vowed. "I have to. For my parents."

"Whatever you say, my lord." Bootus said sarcastically to lighten the mood.

Vivli found herself memorised by Zinkata's eyes. She was dancing smoothly, with her arms around him and his around her. She felt so safe in his arms, shielded from everything that could be outside. Zinkata began to stare back at her with an intense look. She blinked and looked away with a smile. Zinkata smiled too.

"Where did you learn to dance?" He asked, genuinely surprised.

"One of my favourite past times." She shot back. "At least, back in the monastery. What about you?"

"Me? I'm improvising." Zinkata joked. Vivli felt the crush she had on Zinkata almost double with the roguish smile he possessed as he spoke.

Zinkata was slightly caught off guard. As he looked down into Vivli's eyes, he began to notice things he really hadn't noticed. Like the fact she really was quite pretty, despite her ridiculously short hair and child-like pigtails. He pondered if 'pretty' was the right word, or whether 'cute' fitted it better. Something about how small she was and how vulnerable she looked really made him feel he shouldn't let her out of his arms. She was at least safe there. The music came to a stop, and the two awkwardly stood there for a second. Zinkata eventually broke away. Vivli stood there, and followed after him.

"That was nice." She commented softly.

"I'm a fighter, not a dancer." He said. "But I'm glad to hear you enjoyed yourself." He paused. "Where'd Voldos and Bootus go?" Vivli was staring at Zinkata, so hadn't noticed they had gone.

"Urm. I don't know. I can't see them anywhere." Vivli quickly said, trying to shake the incredibly strong urge she had to jump back into Zinkata's arms.

"Probably outside." Zinkata grumbled. "Well, nothing fun's happening at this party. Let's go join them."

"I wouldn't say nothing." She grumbled to herself, before being hit by a wave of anxiety as she realised she was separated from Zinkata. She ran to catch him up quickly.

There was a sudden explosion from one of the back rooms.
"What?" Vivli screamed, failing to get any more words out. The rest of the room erupted into screams and panic. Zinkata's heroic instinct kicked in.

"Find Voldos and Bootus." He commanded Vivli. "I'll check this out!" Vivli looked dazed as the crowd rushed by all around her. Zinkata disappeared into a room where the explosion had come from. Vivli suddenly went very cold. She was alone. She started to shake uncontrollably. She ran for the exit, hoping to find Bootus or Voldos. She didn't know anybody else, and was petrified. She was fighting back the tears, but the shaking was bad enough. She rushed out the door and into the darkness. Voldos and Bootus were nowhere to be seen. She was panicking, being alone. She rushed towards the rent-a-rooms, praying they would be there. She had to find somebody ,and quick. The tears were beginning to emerge. She couldn't stand the thought of being on her own.

Zinkata ran into the room completely unarmed and unprepared. He didn't realise he was running into the middle of a battle.