Precious
Chapter One
"Come on! Come on! We are going to be late!"
"No need to worry my new Hilda guard ship is the fastest ship ever!"
"Do I have to remind you? That is what you said about the theater ship! Ahem…that is what you said, Father!"
"What did you just call me?"
"Dear, she just called you father!"
"Father! Mother! Hurry!"
"Lady Eiko... Lady Eiko, wake up!"
A small groan escaped the summoner. She had her face half buried in her pillow and her arms constricting it tightly. The covers enwrapped around her tiny frame and her eyes, even though already closed, squeezed tightly against each other as the Lindblum guard threw open the curtains to let the light in. She buried the rest of her face into the pillow, desperately attempting to get back to sleep in record timing.
"Lady Eiko, Regent Cid and Lady Hilda are expecting you! Please get up and get dressed!" the guard snapped, half annoyed and half humble, an odd reaction she'd grown accustom to after witnessing a screaming beatdown from the little summoner.
"Alright, alright... just... shut those blinds..." Eiko whimpered. With a sigh, the guard moved over and closed one of the curtains slightly, just to sheild the sun's rays from Eiko's eyes.
"You're breakfast will be given to you in the throne room, they wish to speak with you at once..." the guard said before leaving the room.
Eiko, fighting the temptation to just roll over and fall back asleep, sat up in her bed. She rubbed her eyes and gave a long yawn. She lived in the Lindblum Castle for some time now, but still, she would sometimes forget where she was, thinking she would wake up in Madain Sari surrounded by moogles. Today she didn't feel that way, probably thanks to the guard. Stretching out her arms and cracking her back slightly, Eiko swung her legs off of the bed and stood up. She walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out her clothes. Living with Cid and Hilda for this long, she had no problem fitting right in with the nobles and royal folk. She pulled out a gown that she had grown proud of. It was much like that of Hilda's: long, white and shimmering, but not as large or poofy. The gown took the form of her body: lowcut at the front in a curved V shape that showed her chest and shoulders with class. The torso of the dress was shimmered with colors of silver and very pale gold. THe front of her dress parted, so the shimmering design had a triangular frabic of a light colored ivory with many ruffles come between it. The rest of the shimmering design continued from the back of the dress and formed a small train about a foot long.
Ten years had passed for her too... she was no longer the silly little eight year old she was when Cid and Hilda took her to the play in Alexandria. Here she was, looking at herself in the mirror. The child in her was still there... but the rest of her had grown, along with her body. She stood infront of her mirror at age eighteen, brushing out her blue hair and applying pale shades of pink make up onto her face. She brushed a few blue strands behind her ear, looking at the stone of Madain Sari she still kept as an earring. Many things had changed about her: she was taller, she had lost the babyfat in her cheeks, giving her face more of a fairer heart-shaped look, and her hair had grown out into long blue locks that dropped to the center of her back. She had also grown a habit of flipping away some of the bangs that had fallen over her eyes. But nonetheless... her feelings about her home, about Madain Sari, and her grandfather all stayed the same to her.
Espcieally her feelings for Mog...
She would look at her horn, or the pink ribbon in her hand, and smile at the memories of her and her best friend. Her little partner in crime... her guardian angel. Although she kept her as her Eidolon, Eiko would sometimes sit on her bed and wish that mog was there beside her, wearing her pink ribbon and hugging Eiko sweetly. Sometimes the thoughts would even bring her to tears.Eiko have a sigh and closed her hand, holding the ribbon close to her heart, then using both hands to tie it around her blue hair. So brought out a few strands in the front, just so they could fall over her shoulders while the rest of the hair tied back by the ribbon fell to her waist. She slipped on a pair of white slippers and long, sparkling white gloves, and ended her dressing routine by placing a small, silver crown onto her hair. Eiko eyed herself one final time, straightened out the non-existing wrinkles on her dress, then managed a slow jog out of her room and down the hall. Holding her gown up slightly, hoping not to trip over the fabric and tear it, she trotted across the red carpeting and manage a speedwalk down the stairs, leading to the elevator.
"I hope I'm not running late..." she whispered to herself as she stepped into the elevator. The guard shut the door behind her, flipped the switch, and the lift moved upwards.
For some reason... Eiko felt very nervous. She didn't know why, all her parents wanted to do was talk to her. She placed her hands behind her and twisted her torso from side to side in her nervousness, like she used to do when she was a little girl. Deep inside, she felt that something big was going to happen. Maybe she did something wrong, maybe she was too mean to the guards... she really didn't know. She sighed and shook her head. Her father would never do anything cruel to her. She lived with him for ten years and he had never severly punished her for anything. With that knowledge in mind, she grew a little lighthearted... trying to turn something into optimism. Maybe it was a surprise for her, maybe they were going to take her back to Madain Sari to visit the moogles... sure the possibilities of that seemed a little over the top, but better happy thoughts then sad ones, right? That's what she thought, anyway.
"Lady Eiko..."
Her mind snapped back into place and she looked up at the guard. The elevator stopped. It had stopped for some time. She blushed slightly, nodded at the guard, then stepped out of the elevator. Eiko made her way down the hall, watching as the two guards stepped out of the way and bowed at her, then entered the throne room. Waiting there for her, along with her breakfast, was Regent Cid and Hilda.
"Slept in again, hmm Sleepyhead?" Hilda said playfully. Eiko blushed again.
"Mother, you know I go to sleep early. I do every night..." she protested.
"Every night... except for the nights during the past week, correct?" Cid joined in.
Eiko stiffened. She didn't know how they found that out. Of all things, she figured that would have been the last thing they would have found out. Inwardly she growled. It must have been that damn guard. She always watched Eiko like a vulture. And all Eiko wanted to do was just leave her room at night and go out to the Observatory, just to spend some time with herself. Knowing how much that guard was such a bother she probably twisted the truth many of times as well.
"...I guess I've been staying up a little later then I usually do." She said timidly.
Although she wasn't exactly looking at them, she could feel their eyes on her. It was uncomfortable... but for some reason she could sense a hint of sorrow. Maybe even some guilt. Wheither it came from her or her parents, not even Eiko knew. Not until Cid spoke again.
"Are you... happy here?" he asked, his voice growing more concerned with each word.
Eiko's head shot up. "Father... you know I love it here. You and Mother have treated me better then any person in the world." She tensed up, then looked down. "But... as of late..."
The sound of Hilda's heels clicking against the marble floor filled Eiko's ears, and she soon felt her mother's arms wrapped around her in a gentle, comforting embrace.
"You miss your home, don't you? You're home... and your friends..." she said. Eiko smiled softly. Cid was always very kind and loving to her, but Hilda seemed to understand her more than anyone else. She nodded.
"I do. I miss the moogles... and Mog... and even..." she bit her lip slightly, choosing her words wisely. "Dagger."
Hilda blinked for a moment in confusion, processing the name, before remembering the person with the unique nickname. "Oh yes... Princess Garnet. I had a feeling you missed her... and the others, no doubt." She responded, stroking Eiko's hair.
"Well, that's what we called you down here for, Eiko. The Alexandria reunion is today."
At Cid's words, Eiko's eyes snapped open.No wonder she was so uneasy for the past week, no wonder the thoughts of her old friends came back to her. But how come the reunion slipped her mind? She shook her head very slightly to rid the question from her head and moved away from Hilda, looking up at her with a surprised expression.
"Today? We're going to Alexandria today?" she cried, eyes widening with every word. Hilda and Cid both smiled at her surprise, and nodded together.
"Eat up your breakfast, we'll leave in an hour." Cid responded.
Eiko released a squeal of excitement and threw her arms around Hilda again. Cid smiled and moved over toward them, wrapping his arms around both of his girls as one of Eiko's arms wrapped around him.
I'll finally see them all again! It's been way too long... I hope none of them had changed. I hope they're all the same crazy bunch they were back then...