I don't own this.
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Many considered the relative tranquility that followed Brahne's death to be a good sign. Perhaps it was my suspicious nature, but I did not share that feeling. Yes, Dagger had recovered her eidolons (except for Bahamut), and yes, we'd all gotten through more or less intact, but I was still nervous. I kept thinking about Kuja. I didn't know as yet just what he was up to, but I knew it couldn't be good.
For the moment, however, that was an academic concern. Dagger had insisted that my friends and I stay at Alexandria Castle, so we at least had decent accommodations. When I started to say that we didn't want to impose, Steiner, of all people, had insisted that it was only right, since we had been of great help to the princess. Not to mention the fact that there was a prince in our own ranks.
A group of six stood in Dagger's room, the same group who had stood at the grave, minus Zack, who was buried in the castle library (no surprise there).
"Steiner," Dagger said. "I want to see Zidane, and talk to him."
Predictably, the knight had no intention of allowing that. "Princess, you will soon become Queen of Alexandria. There is no room in such a role for a thief."
Why am I not surprised? "Steiner, it is not your place to decide whom she may associate with," I said, unable to hide my irritation.
"It is my duty as a knight---" Steiner began.
"If Garnet is to be more than a mere figurehead, then she must be allowed to make her own decisions," I cut him off, barely keeping from drawing my sword. "That includes deciding who her friends are, you overprotective Virage-spawned idiot." That last came out in Wingly, so I had to translate. Steiner turned bright red.
"That monkey is just a thief---" he tried again, but got no further. Dari slapped him in the face, hard.
"Listen, scarecrow, and listen close," she hissed. "Don't you ever insult my friends. So Zidane's a thief. So what? You know that Jason was raised by a princess, right?" Steiner nodded. "Well, you know what Dart was, up until about six months before he got married? A mercenary, a sword-for-hire."
By then we'd moved out into the hallway, so that Dagger could get changed. Dr. Tot watched us with a sort of horrified fascination. "Surely you're overreacting, Miss Dari," he said.
"Especially since that monkey made a pass at her!" Steiner exploded.
Wrong move; the knight found himself looking at the tip of Raging Demon from a distance of three inches. "You bastard," Dari snarled, almost shaking with fury. "Who cares about that!? He paid for it, and promised never to do it again. If you ever bring that up again, I'll kill you."
Steiner, apparently deciding that saying anything else would only make his situation worse, spun on his heel and left, probably to harass his knights.
"That was interesting," I commented as we left the castle. "I don't believe I've ever seen you quite that vicious outside of combat."
"I don't think I ever have been, but he made me so mad…" Dari trailed off, clutching her rapier. "What does Beatrix see in him, anyway?"
I shrugged. "Who knows. Steiner's a decent guy, he's just got a blind spot the size of the Divine Dragon where Zidane is concerned. It's annoying, but I don't see that it will cause any real catastrophe." I kissed her quickly. "Why don't we go for a flight, take your mind off things."
She grinned. "You got it."
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Unless you're in the middle of an aerial fight with some lunatic, things actually look quite peaceful from the sky. Nothing but you and the occasional bird for miles around, alone with your thoughts (or, as in this instance, with another flyer), hardly a cloud in the sky, it's almost like a dream.
This is much better. It was our first chance to really relax since our arrival on Gaia, and we all needed the break. Indora's usual calm had started acquiring an edge, Seria was losing some of her enthusiasm, Laura was on the verge of collapse, Chris and Zack had gotten into a fistfight the day before, and Dari, well, that bit with Steiner was out of character for her. As for me, though I was used to stress, I was certainly grateful for a chance to just let go ( to the extent that I ever do, anyway).
"What a view," Dari sighed. "I never really got a good look at the city on our first visit."
"Business before pleasure, I guess," I replied, shrugging. "Hard to appreciate the view when you're on a life-or-death mission."
She smiled. "And how many girls get to go on a date a thousand feet up?"
I actually blushed a little at that; thankfully, Dari was the only person who could see it. My life is getting weirder every day.
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We landed at the castle a couple of hours later, feeling much more relaxed, and the first thing we saw was Adelbert Steiner holding Eiko by the winged ornaments on her back. They weren't alone, either; Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and Amarant had arrived at the same time we did.
"Stop screaming or I'll throw you in the dungeon," Steiner was saying as I approached.
Here we go again. I sighed. "What is your problem this time, Rusty?"
He looked at me as though I'd just asked him if the sky was blue. "Isn't it obvious? This girl," he tossed Eiko to the ground, "does not belong here."
"Wrong," I said. "For once, however, I don't blame this on your hardheaded personality. You know, I presume, that Dagger was adopted?" Steiner nodded. "I found, quite by accident, information regarding her origins. She is from a now ruined village called Madain Sari, on the Outer Continent. Eiko," I finished, nodded to the young summoner, "is her cousin, almost certainly her only surviving blood relative."
Give Steiner credit, when he knew he was wrong, he did his best to straighten things out. "I see. My apologies, Miss Eiko," he said, bowing politely. "Far be it from me to stop the Princess's cousin from visiting."
"What are you guys doing here, anyway?" Dari asked. "Not that I have any problem, unlike this idiot," she added, glaring at Steiner.
It was Vivi who answered. "We came to see Dagger," he said.
"Good, because she wants to see you, too," I said. "Zidane especially," I added, throwing an icy look at Steiner. "Now, if you'll excuse me." I turned and strolled off, heading for the library. I heard Dari's rapid footsteps as she struggled to catch up, but I didn't slow.
What is Zack so uptight about? He was up all night. Yeah, he's done that before, but never with this sense of urgency. Having known Zack for most of my life, I knew all too well that anything that could put him in this kind of mood was either very good or very bad. I hoped it was the former, but I wasn't stupid enough to bet on it.
"Jason, wait!" I slowed just enough for Dari for match my step. "What is it?" she asked.
"I'm going to find out what Zack's so worried about," I said. "The last time I saw him this tense was when Dart took us to visit Mayfil. I want to know what's going on."
Zack was waiting for us in the library, along with the rest of the Dragoons (aside from Zidane and Beatrix, of course). Judging by the look on his face, he'd found some very disturbing information. (Then again, sometimes his definition of disturbing parted company with the definition used by the rest of the human race, so it wasn't necessarily bad news.)
The prince spoke without preamble. "Jason, we've got a problem."
"I figured that out already," I responded dryly, easing myself into a chair. "What's up?"
Zack indicated a huge book on the table in front of him. "I spent most of last night digging through that, trying to find the castle secret that Dagger mentioned. Needless to say, I found it, and it isn't good." He opened the book to a marked page. "The secret of Alexandria Castle is an eidolon, Alexander. He's a Holy elemental, extremely powerful, and the only way to summon him is to combine the Four Jewels. He's even stronger than Bahamut."
Dari sat back, looking skeptical. "How's that a bad thing, Zack? Dagger and Eiko have the Four Jewels, so they could summon Alexander and give Kuja a pasting. Combine that with our Dragoon powers, and we can't lose."
"I'd agree with you, except for one thing," Zack replied. "Remember that Kuja used some weird energy to take control of Bahamut. If he does the same thing to Alexander…"
Chris swore savagely. "Then Gaia is finished."
"I don't accept that." I stood, drawing and flourishing my sword. "We are the Dragoons. I do not for an instant believe that any eidolon, be it Odin, Alexander, or Bahamut, can defeat us."
"And, if I may say it, you have the assistance of a highly skilled Wingly." Lloyd had teleported in while we conferred. "I may not be a Dragoon, but I am still a force to be reckoned with."
"Don't I know it." I sheathed my blade. "If there's nothing else, then I have somewhere to be. Beatrix promised she'd teach me some of her nastier sword techniques, since I taught her to fight as a Dragoon. I'll probably be busy till nightfall."
"Right," Zack said. "We'll be fine."
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Some people might think that my idea of relaxation is less than relaxing, but for me it's the best. Generally, there are only four activities that involve staying in one spot that I honestly enjoy: sleeping, reading, eating, and chess. Anything else is almost certain to give me a serious case of cabin fever.
Sparring with the renowned General Beatrix certainly wasn't going to have that effect. My only advantage over her on the ground was my longer reach; she was stronger, more experienced, and significantly faster. Add to that a vast repertoire of truly devastating moves, and you have a recipe for extreme soreness.
I loved every minute.
"Shock!" If the good general hadn't reduced the power on that one, I'd probably have died.
I grinned and struck back, using one of my favorite combos. "Moon Strike!"
"Thunder Slash!"
Laughing, I raised my left hand. "You want thunder!? I'll give you thunder! Spark Net!"
Beatrix staggered, then lowered her weapon. "You're good," she said with a smile. "Better than most of those I've fought."
Chuckling, I leaned on my sword. "Beatrix, most of your opponents haven't had the advantage of studying under some of the greatest swordsmen who ever lived. Dart Feld is a very dangerous man, and Lloyd, well, those who cross him tend not to survive the experience."
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."
"It shouldn't." I stared out over the city. "What happened to those clowns, anyway?"
"Zorn and Thorn fled just after the Queen's death," she said. "Their current whereabouts are unknown."
I didn't particularly care; I'd asked primarily out of curiosity. Zorn and Thorn were no real threat, not compared to Kuja, who I strongly suspected had been pulling their strings the whole time. Kuja, who had obtained the power of at least one eidolon, and a nasty one, at that: the Dragon King, Bahamut. If he got Alexander, too, he would be almost unstoppable.
And he seems to have a connection to Zidane. "I wouldn't worry about it," I said at last, shrugging. "Zorn and Thorn don't really concern me. Kuja, of course, is a far different matter."
"Indeed." Beatrix sheathed her blade. "Do you think he will attack Alexandria directly?"
"I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me." I shook my head. "Much about him remains a mystery, but I do know that he's no more a native of Gaia than I am." I sighed. "When he makes his move, he'll do it with a vengeance. You'd better watch yourself."
She nodded. "I agree. You be careful, too."
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I managed to avoid thinking about imminent threats for almost the rest of the day. Dari and I dropped by a mini-theater started by Zidane's friend Ruby. (The main attraction at said theater happened to be an enormously narcissistic Lindblum native named Lowell. Ugh.) Laura joined Zack in the castle library; she was starting to pick up his bookworm habits. Indora, having somehow acquired a taste for a local card game, spent most of his time near the docks. Chris and Seria just wandered around, running into Dari and me a couple of times.
Zidane and company left for Treno that evening, ostensibly to attend a card tournament there. I was inclined to believe him; he was still moping over Dagger, so he probably needed a distraction. Freya and Vivi went along out of curiosity, Eiko wanted a chance to talk with Dr. Tot, and Amarant…you could never really tell with Amarant, he wasn't exactly a talkative person.
We gathered in the castle just after Zidane left. Dagger had already gone to bed, Steiner was patrolling the castle grounds, and the Tantalus people were scouring the city, why I don't know, so we were left alone for the most part. I was grateful for that; not that I had anything against the Alexandrians, but we needed to discuss our mission in private.
"So here's where we stand," I said. "Dagger will be crowned Queen in three days. Beatrix is a Dragoon now, giving Alexandria a very potent defender. We also have the services of Lloyd," here I nodded at the Wingly, "who has only lost two fights in his entire life. Zidane and his friends have left, so they're out of the picture for now. And then there's the eidolon Zack discovered." I looked at the prince. "Anything more on that, Zack?"
Zack shrugged. "All I can say for sure is that Alexander has been here for approximately five hundred years."
"And the Four Jewels are the secret to summoning him?" Chris pressed.
"Without a doubt," Zack confirmed. "Dagger has two of them, Eiko the other two, so he's not likely to be a factor."
The Rouge Master frowned. "What about that attack on Madain Sari, ten years ago? Was Kuja behind that?"
"Most likely," I said. "I inspected the ruins again just before we returned to Alexandria. I found scarring that I'm certain came from the same sort of energy that Kuja used to enslave Bahamut. He was after eidolons, I'm sure of it."
"But why?" Seria asked. "What use does he have for them?"
Dari spoke up. "When Kuja faced Bahamut at the Iifa Tree, I heard him mention the name 'Garland'. He sounded almost spooked."
"If he's enough to spook Kuja, then we're in real trouble," Indora said sourly. "We have enough problems as it is."
"Too true, my friend," I said. "Too true. However," I gazed sightlessly out a window, "we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves. Kuja is our current problem; when we've finished with him, we can deal with this Garland."
The others left at that point, everyone but Dari. "Do you think we'll make it?"
I slipped an arm around her. "We will. We have no choice; the alternative doesn't bear thinking about." I managed a smile. "Remember, we are the Dragoons. Defying fate comes with the territory."
She rested her head on my shoulder. "You're right."
For a long moment we stood together, gazing out at the stars.
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Author's note: Once again, I apologize for the delay. I was just staring the chapter when my mind just went blank. Very annoying. Anyway, this one might be a little substandard, at least for me, but the next one should be better. I can guarantee it will have more action, since the next major event is the battle in Alexandria.
That's about it. Let me know how I did.
