A grin as large as Alexandria Palace spread across Zidane's face. He stood up and literally leapt over the table in one great pounce. As soon as his feet touched the ground he was running over to the person in the doorway. He swept her up and spun her around, hugging her tightly. She returned his hug, but not as enthusiastically.
"Mikoto! It's wonderful to see you again!" Zidane said, finally putting her back down on the ground.
Garnet had risen when Zidane did and now just stood watching the pair of Genomes.
"I am pleased to see you too Zidane." Mikoto said, smiling
"How d'you get here?" Zidane asked, slightly puzzled
"The mages had a ship which they reluctantly let me borrow. I managed to sail it here, but it was difficult. The water here moves much more than the water on Terra. And the force called wind is… unsettling."
"Why are you here though? Not that I'm not glad to see you; I am! It's just a…"
"Surprise?" Mikoto said, finishing his sentence
"Yeah." Zidane laughed
"I have missed you, you have not visited the other Genomes and I in so long. We were all concerned. Do you not feel attached to us or like us anymore?" Mikoto asked
"I do like you guys, I was just… busy I guess. It's been a little… hectic. Wait, they can feel concern?" Zidane asked
"Well… not really. But they did begin wonder where you were. As did I. I was concerned. I thought you may have forgotten us."
Zidane smiled,
"Hey, Mikoto. You're my little sister, and the Genomes are my family. I could never forget you guys. No matter how hard I tried." Zidane said, comfortingly
"That is the second time you have called us 'guys'. We are all not male Zidane. I for one, am clearly a female." Mikoto said
Zidane looked at her confused for a moment, then laughed loudly.
"I do not see what is funny Zidane. I made no joke, or pun or amusing phrase." Mikoto said confused
"It's not that. 'Guys' is just a general term for a group people. Male and female people. It's a term a lot of people use these days."
"Hmm…" Mikoto said, taking in this new piece of information.
"So… how long are you here for?" Garnet asked, stepping into the conversation
"Not long. A few days at most I think."
"Oh, geez. Sorry. Umm, Dagger you remember Mikoto right? And Mikoto you remember Dagger?" Zidane introduced
"Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you once again." Mikoto answered
"Likewise."
"C'mon Mikoto. I'll show you around Alexandria." Zidane said
He gently took hold of Mikoto's arm and pulled her towards the doorway. He stopped once he reached it and turned back to Garnet.
"You coming Dagger?" Zidane asked
"Hmm? Oh, no. No, it's alright. You should be alone with your… sister. I doubt Steiner would allow it and besides, I probably have something scheduled or that needs taking care of anyway. You go on. I'll be fine." Garnet said, smiling reassuringly
"Okay Dagger. See ya later. C'mon Mikoto." Zidane said.
And with that, the two genomes hurried out of the Castle and took the boat trip into town – leaving Queen Garnet til Alexandros 17th standing alone in the dining room. Garnet sighed and looked around her. She didn't hear the footsteps approaching the dining room, nor did she hear as the person approached. She only realised when they wee right beside her.
"Your Majesty?" Said the voice
Garnet jumped in fright.
"Oh. It's you Beatrix." Garnet said
"I'm sorry to have scared you."
"No. It's okay. My thoughts were elsewhere. What can I do for you?" Garnet asked
"Are you sure you're okay?" Beatrix asked
"Yes." Garnet said forcefully, "Now what is it?"
"There are some Royal matters that need attending to upstairs, Highness." Beatrix said
Garnet sighed again, she felt as if she never got to go out and have fun anymore. She yearned to just forget everything and run off like Zidane.
"Okay. Let's go." Garnet said
"I got a lot of stuff to show you Mikoto!" Zidane said, pulling Mikoto off of the boat and through the large gates that separated Alexandria City from Alexandria Castle.
He gently lead her into the little square near the Castle Gates. Many people stared at them. They knew who Zidane was, of course they did, but they had no idea who Mikoto was. Or why she was Zidane. Mikoto paid them no attention however, she just gazed around her. She had never been in a proper town or city before. She'd only ever seen Bran Bal and the Black Mage Village. And they weren't exactly populated.
Mikoto went over to the statues of the three soldiers on one side of the square and examined them closely, Zidane stood close by. Close enough to help her or so she could ask questions, but not too close that he felt he was getting in the way or intruding.
"Zidane, why do these three stand so still and make no noise? They are an odd colour… There were people like this in the castle also. What is their purpose?" She asked
Zidane blinked. He had never met anyone who didn't know what a statue was and he almost started laughing again but managed to stifle it.
"Umm, Mikoto, these are statues. They aren't real people. Statues can be made out of metal or stone, which is why they are an odd colour. Their only real purpose is for decoration really…" Zidane answered
"Statues… interesting…" She said quietly, before moving on.
Mikoto marvelled at everything around her. Zidane showed her inside all of the little shops and the sort of things they sold – but Mikoto found little interest in these because she had seen all of these sorts of things before. He showed her inside the houses of some of the people he knew. He took her inside the pub; but refused to let her try alcohol.
"Why do people come in here and drink all day?" She asked
"Some just like it and for some it makes bad things seem less… bad." He replied
"How does alcohol do this? Is it magical?" She asked
"Alcohol? Nah. It just… does. It's the stuff it's made out of." He replied
"What is it made out of?"
He stood there quietly for a few moments, staring at her.
"Okay, let's move on." He said, hurriedly leaving the pub.
He took a different route to the Church and showed her inside. Mikoto found it quite interesting as Zidane tried to explain about religion, which she knew very little about. She was very startled when the church bell rang out the hour, and was then quite eager to leave.
He bought her lunch, which was a task in itself because she hadn't heard of half of things on the menu in the pub. In the end he managed to get a simple salad for her. After lunch he took her to the only other place he could think of going.
He lead her down the staircase and into Ruby's Mini-Theatre.
"Heya darlin'!" Ruby said, going over to Zidane as he entered and giving him a big hug.
"Hey Rube. This is Mikoto… my little sister." Zidane said proudly
"Lil' sista? Well it's nice ta meet ya hun. My name's Ruby." Ruby said
"She may talk differently but she's a good person and a dear friend." Zidane said after noting Mikoto's slightly puzzled expression.
"It's nice to meet you too." Mikoto said
"Oh! And two are jus' in time fur da play!" Ruby said with excitement
(AN: At this point I apologize for my terrible version of a texas accent.)
"That's why we're here. It's Mikoto's first time in Alexandria City and I thought I'd treat her to one of your absolutely astounding plays." Zidane said
"Oh, well dat's nice… Wait, was dat sarcasm? Nevuhmind. Since it's her firs' play you cun sit right up 'ere at the front." Ruby said, grabbing Mikoto's arm and pulling her to the front of the theatre and sitting her down.
Zidane sat next to Mikoto as Ruby disappeared backstage.
"Why does she talk so strangely?" Mikoto asked
"It's just because of where she's from. That's how people talk there."
"I could barely understand what she was saying."
"Haha. You'll get used to it." Zidane said
"It seems I have a lot of things to get used to here. Everything is so different on Gaia. Not like home…" Mikoto said thoughtfully
Zidane stared at Mikoto as the lights dimmed and the play began.
Mikoto thoroughly enjoyed the play and didn't speak throughout. Zidane was glad that for the first time that day he didn't have to explain anything. It was late afternoon when Mikoto finally consented to go back to the Castle. She and Ruby had gotten to talking and Zidane found it difficult to part the two.
"I'll see ya sum other time hun'! We gotta go shoppin'!" Ruby said, waving the pair off as they made their way down the street.
"Thank you for today Zidane. It was very interesting and strange."
"Things very different from what you're used to?"
"Yes. I don't know how you managed."
Zidane stopped walking, Mikoto carried on for a few steps then turned to face him. He was deep in thought.
"I… don't know. I didn't remember anything about Terra when I came here. I guess the shock of being dumped here kinda blocked it out. So I probably just… adapted. I didn't have to live with the way things were on Terra for as long as you did. I guess that made it easier for me." Zidane said slowly, then when he finished they continued walking
"Yes. That is probably right..." Mikoto said
"Your Majesty?" Beatrix said
Garnet looked up at Beatrix.
"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. My mind keeps wandering off." Garnet said
"It's alright. We have been doing this all day. We can finish this matter up in the morning." Beatrix said.
Garnet nodded absentmindedly, staring out of the window over Alexandria. Beatrix had been waffling on about something or other. Something to do with her soldiers, Garnet thought, but she hadn't really been paying attention. Life wasn't a thrill anymore. She had gotten too used to running off all over Gaia with Zidane and Steiner and Vivi and the others. But things were different now. She was Queen, and she was going to have to get used to the fact that she couldn't do that anymore. A knock on the door brought Garnet out of her thoughts.
"Your Majesty?"
"What is it Steiner?"
"Dinner is almost ready." He said, saluting stiffly
"Thank you." Garnet said, and having one last quick glance out of the window she followed him downstairs, Beatrix in tow.
Had Garnet taken a closer look out of the window she would've seen an interesting sight involving two Genomes...
"You move your arms like this, Mikoto." Zidane said, demonstrating with one arm.
They were both in the water that surrounded Alexandria Castle. Seeing how much time they had until dinner, Zidane had taken it upon himself to teach Mikoto how to swim. He held onto her to stop her from sinking while showing her the technique with his other arm.
"You have a go." He said
Mikoto looked at him doubtfully. She had been greatly unnerved at how different the water moved and didn't trust that she would be able to move through it freely. She tried moving her arms like he just demonstrated and kicking her legs in small movements like he had shown her minutes earlier.
After one or two strokes she felt Zidane's grip around her stomach disappear and she moved slightly through the water. She was unprepared for him letting her go that she opened her mouth and stopped her leg and arm movements. Water rushed into her mouth and down her throat. She more shocked by this and began coughing frightfully while also trying to stay about water since Zidane hadn't taught her how to tread water yet.
"Calm down Mikoto. Don't worry, I'm here. " Zidane said, grabbing hold of her once again.
"You let go!" She exclaimed once the coughing subsided.
"You were doing great. And you'd have to learn to swim with me holding onto you anyway." Zidane explained, "Here, copy me. It's called treading water."
Mikoto copied his legs movements and, once he let go of her, his arm movements. She managed to keep her head above the water's surface all by herself. She beamed at Zidane who beamed back.
"Well done, wanna have another go at swimming?" He asked
Mikoto frowned slightly then nodded. After another 10 minutes of practise she was swimming wonderfully. A bell in the town tolled out the hour.
Dong... ... Dong... ... Dong... ... Dong... ... Dong... ... Dong... ... ...
"Oh, god. It's six o'clock! C'mon Mikoto. We gotta get out and go for dinner." Zidane said, swimming over to the side and climbing out.
He helped Mikoto off then they hurriedly tried to dry their clothes, with little success. Water dripped off their hair, clothes and tails.
"Oh well, it's gonna have to do." Zidane said and the pair of genomes rushed inside.
The rest of the evening passed by with little interest. It was chicken for dinner with a wide variety of vegetables. Mikoto tried a little of everything, seeing what she did and didn't like. Zidane found her reactions quite amusing because she would pull faces after each one. Vivi and Eiko also found it amusing and Mikoto got on well with them throughout dinner.
After dinner everyone went into a little parlour. Vivi and Eiko tried playing games with Mikoto, like Tag and Stuck in the Mud, but she didn't really understand them so it wasn't very successful. After Vivi and Eiko went to bed the Garnet, Zidane, Mikoto, Beatrix, Steiner, Amarant, Freya and Fratley tried to have a conversation but everyone was quite tired so they all decided to call it an early night.
"C'mon Mikoto. I'll show you your room." Zidane said as everyone disbanded, "Night everyone!" Zidane called to the others.
Some called similar phrases back while others didn't bother.
Mikoto and Zidane wandered the long and dark corridors of the castle to Mikoto's room, which had been placed quite near to Zidane's room for convenience. Zidane decided to take the long scenic route instead of going the way Garnet had, since their rooms were close to one another's as well.
"The Castle is very..." Mikoto began
"Big?" Zidane suggested
"Yes." Mikoto said, smiling
"Yeah, I know. Takes some getting used to. I'm not even sure I'm used to it." Zidane joked, "Here we are." He added when they arrived outside her room.
He opened the door and stood to one side so she go in first.
"Wow, it's so large. Larger than any room I've had before." Mikoto said, taking a look around
"You've only had two rooms before." Zidane smirked
Mikoto turned and smiled back.
"Thank you Zidane."
"For what?"
"Everything."
"No problem. Your my little sister, I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you. I promise." Zidane said, "Good night Mikoto. If you need me my rooms just up the hallway and to the right of the freakishly large vase of flowers."
"Good night Zidane." Mikoto smiled.
Sorry it took so long for an update. A lot's been going on. Plus it was the festive season and I had coursework I had to write, some of which I didn't but anywhoo. It's here now. And that's the important thing. Reviewers review!