The two warriors charged towards each other, and the clashing of metal could be heard throughout the courtyard as Fratley and Beatrix blocked each others strikes. Fratley found he was struggling to keep up with Beatrix's flurry of slashes, but he was still keeping his ground and trying for a decent counter. Eventually, Fratley realised he wasn't going to get an advantage this way and broke apart from Beatrix by taking a quick leap back across the courtyard.
Fratley tried to gather some energy for a Dragon Knight ability, but found he didn't have the time; Beatrix was already tearing across the courtyard towards him. Beatrix took a swing, only to hit air as Fratley leapt just above her head and out of her range. As he hovered above her, he took a swing at her with his lance, Beatrix ducked to evade the blow, but the lance just caught her back and caused a minor scratch.
Fratley landed and had to jump back immediately to avoid another swing from Beatrix. He decided to try and prepare another Dragon Knight skill.
"Interesting..." Beatrix thought. "He actually managed to catch me out. This looks like this is going to be first real challenge I've had for a long while."
Beatrix saw Fratley gathering energy for his attack and ran forward to prevent him from unleashing it. Fratley scouted her and leapt into the air to avoid her whilst still gathering the energy. Beatrix then decided to try a special technique of her own and began focusing on a spell whilst keeping her eye on Fratley.
Fratley finished charging up his attack and pointed his lance at Beatrix.
"Cherry Blossom!" Fratley chanted, and a stream of rose petals shot down on Beatrix, before being engulfed in a massive flame. Fratley watched to see what damage he had done, but when the dust settled he was startled at what he saw.
A blue bubble had surrounded Beatrix and blocked the attack from doing much damage. Evidently Beatrix had used her attack too. The white magic of shell had left Beatrix virtually untouched.
Fratley cursed as he landed back on the ground, she was as tough as he had been told. Beatrix charged towards him once again and Fratley took up a defensive stance. Another round of slashing and blocking began and once again Fratley struggled to keep up with Beatrix's strikes.
Once again, Fratley leapt back to break up the little tussle and the two warriors stared at each other for a brief moment whilst thinking of their next tactic. Fratley began gathering energy, and he lance began to glow an eerie white colour. Beatrix responded by preparing another white magic spell.
Fratley finished powering up his attack and charged towards Beatrix with his lance pointing out ready to skewer. As he approached Beatrix he saw her cast her magic attack.
All of a sudden, a black shroud covered Fratley's eyes and he could no longer see. He unleashed his lancer attack but it missed completely as Beatrix easily dodged the blind man's attack.
Fratley's ears pricked for a second, as he tried to deduce Beatrix's location. He heard Beatrix advance towards his left, and he jumped back to the right in time to avoid an attack. Beatrix tried another attack, approaching Fratley from the front, but Fratley stepped back and swung his lance in an arc in front of him to try and hit her. Beatrix blocked the strike and a deadlock ensued. Fratley decided a physical confrontation would not give him any advantage with the ailment Beatrix had inflicted on him and broke the deadlock with another leap backwards.
"Impressive." Beatrix thought. "Most people never manage to last longer than one or two strikes after I blind them with that spell. He's accustomed to using his other senses. However, I think it's time to decide this match."
Fratley was about to prepare another Dragon Knight ability to try and finish his formidable opponent and end the fight. That was until he heard Beatrix focusing up some form of attack. He didn't think it was a magic spell, but before he could get any ideas on what it was he heard the attack being unleashed. He instinctively lowered his head and took up a defensive stance. A flash of blue light filled his eyes and tremendous amount of pain filled his head and upper body as quickly as the flash came and went. Fratley collapsed to the ground, defeated.
A look of concern filled Beatrix's face as she saw the attack take affect. She had aimed the attack for Fratley's chest, but Fratley's movement had caused the attack to hit parts of his head as well as some areas of his chest. Luckily she had held back on the attack, as she didn't want to kill the Burmecian, but she still feared for his safety.
Beatrix rushed up to check the wounded warrior and was relieved to see his chest still rising and falling. He was still alive. He was clearly much tougher than she had realised, most normal men would have died after taking that attack like that.
However, that was not the end of her concerns. Fratley needed some medical care and rest, and she knew that the Queen would not think kindly of his presence in the castle. Thinking quickly, she lifted his body and walked towards the moat, where the Alexandrian guard still had the boat, after watching the fight with great interest. Beatrix placed Fratley into the boat and turned to the guard.
"Take us across." Beatrix ordered.
"Yes ma'am." The guard replied with a quick salute and began rowing the boat across the moat.
Beatrix looked at the fallen warrior as the boat travelled across towards the castle gate. Her mind was filled with one resolution - she was going to ensure that Fratley survived, that he recovered and was able to fight her again. She did not want to take his life, not now. He had not committed any crimes against Alexandria and he only wanted to test his strength. Besides, he had been the first real challenge she had had for a long time. If she let him live, she would have all the more reason to train.
Fratley woke up to a cold feeling around his chest and his head. He found that a cold, damp cloth had been placed onto his chest and a smaller one had been placed on his head. He rose up to a sitting position, which caught the attention of someone else in the room.
"Oh! You're awake!" Fratley heard someone exclaim. "Please, try not to move too much, you need to rest."
Fratley looked around and saw a particularly small man with an extremely long nose and big, thick rimmed glasses. He was wearing a large top-hat and a jacket. The man rushed over to Fratley's bedside and tried to force him to lie down. Fratley let himself fall back into the bed and turned to look at the man.
"What happened?" Fratley asked. "Where am I?"
"You are in the inn of Alexandria in a room you rented yourself." The doctor answered. "From what I was told you were hit with a very powerful attack in your upper-body."
Fratley thought for a moment, shortly before asking the doctor another question.
"Who are you?"
"I am Dr. Tot. I am a tutor to the young Princess Garnet and one of Alexandria's finest doctors." Dr. Tot replied. "I believe I wasn't told your name. Who are you?"
Fratley thought for a brief moment, and ended up racking his brain to search for his name. He couldn't find it, his mind was blank. The long pause caused Dr. Tot's face to fill with concern; clearly his patient was more badly injured than he first thought. Although it wouldn't be too surprising, a devastating blow such as that could have easily damaged his brain.
"Never mind." Dr. Tot said to break the tense silence. "Well, you need some rest, so I will take my leave. Do you need anything?"
Fratley shook his head and Dr. Tot nodded and left Fratley alone in the room. Fratley's mind was so full of questions, but no answers. Who was he? Why was he here? What had happened to put him in this condition? The more Fratley thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He was racking his brain for something which wasn't there. Fratley kept thinking, and eventually his eyes closed and he was soon asleep.
The morning came and Fratley woke up, his mind still the same as it had been the day before. Nothing had come back to him. He groaned slightly as he sat up in his bed. A knock was then heard at the door. Fratley prompted the guest to come in, and Dr. Tot made his way into the room.
"Good morning!" Dr. Tot chirped. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Yeah, my chest and head feel much better, although I still don't remember anything." Fratley answered.
"I'm afraid there isn't much I can do about your memory loss. Not much is known about the mind and there are no real treatments I could give you." Dr. Tot said apologetically. "Your memories may gradually return over time, although it could be years before your memory fully returns, you might not even get your full memory back."
"But what should I do?" Fratley asked, pleading.
"Well, the first thing you should do is leave here." Tot began. "If Queen Brahne finds out there is a Burmecian running around Alexandria she'll hang you. It might be better for your condition if you were to meet someone who knows you. They might help jog your memory."
"Where would I find someone who knows me?" Fratley questioned.
"The obvious place to look would be Burmecia, seeing as you are a Burmecian." Tot replied. "Although it would be difficult to travel between nations, blood-thirsty monsters roam the lands outside and the mist can have strange effects on people. You probably won't be able to survive long, seeing as you've probably forgotten how to wield your weapon effectively. I think the best place to go would be Dali. It's not far south from Alexandria. It's a quiet area, where the locals may not be too bothered about your presence. You could stay there until you remember more about yourself."
"How will I get there?" Fratley pondered.
"You can rent a chocobo near the city gates; they'll get you to Dali. I'll see you out of the city." Dr. Tot answered affirmatively.
"Thank-you." Fratley blessed.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its respective characters. Do you think I'd be writing this if I did?
Author's Rants: Well, it doesn't seem I'm going to get much more reviewers. Is it because of the length? There are longer stories out there.
Valdris: If I do split the story, it is going to be a part I, part II thing, although the second part will stand on its own as a separate story. However, this will also mean I will change the title of this story, as I hardly think "The Sentinel" is fitting, as it was referring to the content of Part II. What do you think I should rename this? I'm still a bit unsure as where I will split it; I don't know whether to make it before or after the attack on Burmecia. I'll think about it anyway. I'm glad you're enjoying it though.
Red Mage Hikaru: Don't worry, Frato and Redwind will make another appearance, I thinking of doing a chapter back in Burmecia soon anyway. They'll definitely have a part in the second story of this, which isn't really a side story, more of a continuation. I'm glad you've returned and that you are enjoying it.