There's a man who sees all there is to see.
What the future holds for all.
As the days grow dark as his sole and final warning--
"The Shining"—Black Sabbath

A Time of Peace. A Time of War

Chapter V

Word spread throughout the Castle of Zidane's proposal, and Garnet's acceptance. And a few hours later, Zidane and Steiner were in discussion. Steiner congratulated Zidane on his future marriage and recounted the events from the meeting.

"So that was it, huh?" asked Zidane.

"That was it. Freya seemed to be happy with the 900,000 gil."

"But how long'll that last?"

"…I don't know."

"You know, I obviously wasn't going to tell this to Dagger, but that ring I bought her was very expensive."

"Well, aren't most engagement rings?"

"I don't know. I'm not in the marriage business. Speaking of which, what're the chances that you'll propose to Beatrix?"

Steiner was caught off guard. "Uh…"

Zidane laughed. "That's all right. You don't have to answer that question. The only reason why I brought up the ring was what the shop owner told me."

"What was that?"

"She apologized."

"About what?"

"The cost of the ring. She told me that she had to increase the price on merchandise due to the taxes." Zidane chuckled. "I don't think that she saw me yesterday during the play, which's probably a good thing, because she was very honest with me."

"What did she say?"

"She said that she and her husband had nothing to do with the attacks on Burmecia, Clerya, and Lindblum; so why're they having to pay for it?"

Steiner sighed. "It's not an easy question to answer."

"Obviously! And I told her that I agreed with her…You guys've got to come up with a better solution, because what you've got right now sucks."

Steiner smiled. "That 'you' is going to turn into 'we' whenever you and the queen get married."

Zidane was thrown off guard. "Damn, I guess you're right."

Steiner chuckled. "So…are you going to be king or prince consort?"

"I've never been one for royal titles, but I think declaring myself 'the king' over exceeds an office I've no hereditary right to; so I'll stick with 'prince consort…' But I want to return to this tax problem. I'm thinking of all the area that's part of Alexandria. Surely the nobles in Treno have enough money in their pockets to cover Alexandria's reparations?"

"…They probably do, but…"

"But what?"

"That's not what's happening."

"…What do you mean, 'that's not what's happening?'"

"The tax on the nobles is less than the tax on the peasants."

"Oh, fuck!" Zidane said with a sigh. "Whose bright idea was that?"

The words 'bright idea' struck a raw nerve with Steiner. "It was the idea of the council, and Her Majesty approved of it."

"Well, she needs to overturn it. I'm going to have a discussion with Dagger over this."

"Zidane…I understand that our position isn't a popular one, but you need to understand the alternative."

"And what's that?"

"If we were to raise the nobility's tax, they could turn against the crown."

"And you don't think the commoners'll turn against the crown?"

"I don't want anybody to turn against the crown…"

"But you're letting it happen."

"Look, Zidane, commoners don't have the resources to raise money against the crown, but the nobles do."

"…I understand your position, Steiner…But…I don't think you're seeing another alternative."

"And what's that?"

"Commoners may not have enough money to raise any army, but they can form their own."

"They don't have the weapons to do so…"

"They may not, but they have strength in numbers. Furthermore, we didn't have an army and we defeated Kuja, did we not?"

Steiner did not respond.

But Zidane smiled. "You're a good man, Steiner…And I'm sure you're beliefs're sincere. But if you put too much pressure on the common people, they'll fire back!"

That evening, before dinner, Zidane joined Garnet on her balcony for a glass of wine. Zidane held Garnet close, until a gust of wind forced him to say, "It's getting cold. I think we should go inside. I'll build us a fire. Plus," Zidane added, while he finished his glass, "I think I'd like a beer."

"A beer?"

"Yeah," Zidane began, while he started the fire, "I'm a commoner, remember?"

Garnet giggled. "That's soon to change." And she kissed him. "Prince Consort Zidane Tribal."

Zidane chuckled. "I think I'll still ask most people to call me, 'Zidane…' But on the subject of commoners, I've to talk to you about something."

"What's that?"

"I was talking to Steiner today. He told me about the meeting with Freya, and I asked him about the reparations. I asked him why you couldn't tax the Treno nobles. Surely they've enough money to pay all of Alexandria's reparations. But I was told—by Steiner—that the nobles aren't being taxed as much as the commoners…That's not very smart, Dagger."

Garnet sighed. "I don't like it either, Zidane…But you have to understand Treno's nobles. They're greedy—very greedy. And they love money more than anything in the world. And they feel threatened if somebody tries to take it away."

"Well, Dagger, most peasants only have so much…And when you take away more of their money, they've nothing. The nobles've more money than god! They can afford to pay more and still've food to eat; but the peasants don't!"

"…But they can't raise an army."

Zidane sighed. "Oh, fuck."

Garnet gasped. Zidane had never been this explicit before with her.

"Look, Dagger," continued Zidane, "the nobles won't be able to raise an army against you."

"How do you know?"

"For starters, where're they going to get the people? They sure as hell won't be able to get them from Treno's lower-class citizens, because the lower-class hates the upper-class."

"What about from Burmecia and Lindblum?"

"That'll fail as well."

"How do you know?"

"What're the Burmecians going to do once Freya tells them that the reason why the Treno nobles're pissed off at the crown's because the crown wants to tax them so they can pay their reparations? …The same holds true for Lindblum. Once Regent Cid states why the nobles're pissed they won't follow."

Garnet said nothing and looked at the ground.

Zidane placed his hands into hers. "Look, I told you last night that I wanted to help you. But I can't help you with what you're doing, because I don't support it. And what's interesting is, neither do you."

Garnet nodded. "You're right. I don't."

Zidane returned the nod. "Look, if you don't stand up for what you believe's right, people'll walk all over you…And to be honest, Dagger, that's happening to you right now. I'm pretty sure that the nobles regard you as a weak queen."

Garnet sighed and looked back to the ground. "I don't know what to do…"

"But I do."

Garnet raised her eyes.

And Zidane kissed her. "I'm going to talk to the nobles, and I'm going to convince them to help pay off the reparations."