Fratley spent his time on the airship focusing his mind for the challenge he was about to face whilst watching the misty sky in front of him. Occasionally he was snapped out of his thought train by jolts in the airship from air turbulence. He paid no attention to the awful looks of the nobles around him; he sealed his mind almost completely from anything around him.

Eventually, something did catch his attention; he noticed that the airship had begun to descend in the sky. The misty floor laid out in his view began to rise. After about fifty minutes of sailing through the skies they were closing in on their destination. It wasn't long before an announcement was made by one of the crew members to inform everyone that were about to reach their destination and to ready themselves for landing.

The airship descended, and in the mist began to reveal the surrounding mountains and villages of the land. If anyone was able to look out of the front of the airship, they would be able to pick out the castle of Alexandria and the rest of the city.

Fratley ear's heard the engines begin to slow down to a stop, and the airship ceased to move. Looking outside he could see a notably small docking area compared to the vast airship dock at Lindblum.

The door of the airship was opened, and the crew ensured a safe exit for their passengers who left by the safe ladder, all of course except for Fratley, who stuck with his habit of jumping.

The group of nobles were greeting by a small handful of Alexandrian soldiers who were quick to escort them outside of the small dock. As the group was lead to the way out of the dock, Fratley was eager to get the attention of one of the guards. It was not until he was actually at the exit when he was able to talk to one of the guards.

"I must ask you to leave the docks, Sir." One of the guards stated, eyeing Fratley suspiciously.

"I wish to ask a request of you." Fratley answered, trying to be polite.

The guard merely continued looking at him with the same expression, not wanting to trust the Burmecian for a moment.

"I would appreciate it if you were to inform General Beatrix that Sir Fratley has arrived." Fratley continued, maintaining his formal tone.

"Very well." The guard answered, before motioning him to the door.

"Thank-you." Fratley said kindly before leaving the dock.

Fratley found himself in a sparse street, not far away from Alexandria castle, which was looming over in the near-distance and was the first thing to catch Fratley's attention. He decided to look around, knowing he would need to find an inn and somewhere to eat. Fratley was fascinated with the streets of Alexandria, although they weren't as busy as those of Lindblum, they were filled with unusual looking locals, including a family that resembled hippos.

However, Fratley did feel uncomfortable at the fact there was a pair of Alexandrian guards never far from sight, and he found he almost always had their undivided attention. It was as if they were waiting for him to try something. This made Fratley all the more eager to find the inn he was looking for.

He was able to find a nearby inn fairly quickly and managed to get a bed for the night. Conveniently there was a bar only a stones throw away from the inn Fratley was to stay at. Fratley got something to eat there and quickly turned in for the night.

Fratley woke up fairly early the following morning and began to dress himself when he heard something at the door of his small room.

"You awake, kupo?" A voice called at the door.

Fratley opened the door and was greeted by a moogle, who flew into the room and stood proud on Fratley's bed. It presented not one, but two letters to Fratley.

"I've got some mail for you kupo" The moogle chirped.

Fratley picked up the two letters from the moogle and unrolled the first one. As he expected, it was a reply from Beatrix.

To Sir Iron-Tail Fratley of Burmecia

I am glad to see that you are able to finish your journey to our city. I am afraid my duties as a General take up practically all of my day, even though I have less to do during this time of peace between the nations of the Mist Continent. I would be able to accept your challenge early in the morning, before I have to report to her majesty for duty. You can meet me in the courtyard of Alexandria castle at half past seven in the morning. This will give us enough time and plenty of room to fight. I will order my guards to permit you to enter the castle at that time.

Yours truly,

General Beatrix

Fratley smiled to himself as he rolled the letter back up and placed it back on a small wooden table next to his bed. Although it was too late to go and face her now as it was already eight o'clock, he would certainly be able to meet her the following morning. He turned his attention onto his second letter, which he had not been expecting.

He unrolled the second letter and immediately recognised the handwriting. This letter had been written by Freya, who he had not thought to write to during his journey, despite the fact he still thought about her and missed her dearly.

To my dearest Fratley,

Word has reached Burmecia that you have won the Festival of the Hunt in Lindblum. When I heard the news I was relieved to hear you were still alive and doing well. Ever since you left I have been worrying about you so and I have not stopped thinking about you. Where have you been? Why haven't you written to me?

I have been eagerly awaiting your return to Burmecia over the past months; only as the time passed I have heard more rumours about your death out on the plains. I have never believed them; I have always had faith in you.

I love you Fratley, and I will never forget you, no matter what happens.

Please come home soon.

Love,

Freya

An overwhelming sense of guilt filled Fratley as he finished reading the letter. Freya had been worrying about him so much, and he hadn't even bothered to send a little letter telling her he was okay; a little note telling her he loved her. He had missed her too, but he thought he have been back home by now, he hadn't meant to be away this long.

"Are you going to write a reply kupo?" The moogle inquired.

Fratley shook his head. He figured that after he had duelled with Beatrix tomorrow he would begin the journey home; it would only take a few days to reach Burmecia. Freya would receive the letter just to see him come through the gates of Burmecia immediately afterwards. He didn't need to waste time writing a letter.

"Okay then. Bye kupo!" The moogle chirped shortly before flying out of the room.

Fratley stored the two letters somewhere safe in his travel bag and left the inn to get something to eat from one of the local cafes. He spent the day exploring the town and buying some supplies for his journey home.

The following morning came, and although the sun had not yet fully risen Fratley had risen from his bed. He quickly dressed himself and a small portion of the food he had the previous day so he was not hungry during his fight. He left the inn quietly before making his way to the castle, only of the only things he knew how to get to thanks to its gigantic structure.

Just as Beatrix promised, the guards permitted Fratley to enter the front gate leading to the castle. However, this did not stop them from giving him icy stares. They were not keen on the idea of having a Burmecian wander into the castle.

Fratley walked through the gate quickly, wanting to avoid the looks he was getting from the guards. As he passed through the gate he was greeted by a massive moat blocking his path into the castle. Another guard was waiting for him on a small row boat to take him to the courtyard.

Fratley climbed into the boat and the Alexandrian shoved off and began rowing the boat towards the castle. Thankfully the guard was too busy with the boat to give Fratley much notice; although whenever the guard did give Fratley a glance there was not a friendly expression on her face. Fratley was curious as to why all of the Alexandrians were so suspicious and hateful of him. Did they hold this grudge just because he was Burmecian?

Fratley turned his attention to the castle, and watched as the courtyard and other dock came closer into view. The ship was pulled up to the dock and Fratley quickly leapt off the boat. He stepped further into the courtyard and heard a voice call out to him from his right.

"So you've finally arrived."

Fratley turned and saw the General, the one whom he had heard so much about. Wearing her usual brown leather leggings and white blouse, she looked at him with interest with her one eye.

"I've been looking forward to meeting you; I have been craving a challenge for quite some time." Beatrix continued, shortly before drawing her famous Save the Queen sword. "Let's see how good you are."

"Now I'll see just why you are so well-known and feared." Fratley said with a little smile, whilst readying his lance. "Let's fight!"

Disclaimer: Oh yes, I really do own Final Fantasy 9, I was with the group that created and abused Freya, Fratley and the Burmecian race. That's why I'm writing this story to sort things out...as if. The only thing I own in this story is Frato and Redwind.

Author's Rants: I'm getting curious as to why there is only one person reviewing my story at the moment. All reviews and constructive comments are greatly appreciated.

Valdris: The reason I want to split this story up is because of its vast size, I think it may be putting a few people off reading it. I've estimated there will be approximately 50 chapters to the story the way I am going. That's a lot of writing. I haven't even written the story that I wanted to write when I started this story, I've just been writing a back-story for the characters and got so caught up in it. I'm glad you're enjoying it though.