"Thank-you for your patience. Her majesty will see you now." One of the guards called out whilst opening the large wooden door to the castles meeting room.
Blaine and Kildea turned to look from their position stood by the window. As Blaine started to make his way towards the door, he was stopped by Kildea who took hold of his arm and pulled him to face her.
"I can't do this..." Kildea stuttered. Panic was beginning to get the better of her; her hands were starting to shake because of nervousness. "I can't face her, not after what Alexandria has done."
"I know how you must feel, but you cannot blame Queen Garnet for her mother's actions." Blaine replied reassuringly. "I'm sure she'll want to apologise for the damage her people have done. Besides, Garnet is a kind and gentle person, you'll probably like her."
Kildea's worried expression faded a little, but she still felt a little uneasy. She walked closely behind Blaine as they made their way to the open wooden door. They were then stopped by the Alexandrian guard just before they could enter the room.
"I trust you will conduct yourselves in an orderly manner in front of her highness?" The guard inquired in a low tone.
"Of course." Blaine said with disdain. His job required him to meet and discuss with royalty. He'd have lost a lot of money if he didn't behave appropriately. To be asked the question the guard had inquired was an insult to him. He had even stated it in his letter, surely the guard knew?
The guard gave a nod and the two Burmecians entered the meeting room. Inside there was a large, square wooden table with several chairs set orderly around it. Stood behind the table was none other than Queen Garnet, dressed in a beautiful white, silk dress with her lovely black hair tied in a ponytail over the back of her dress. Her hand was held by a rather scruffy young male, wearing blue jeans with a monkey tail poking through back and which were held on a belt which was far too big, along with a matching blue top and gloves. A cheeking grin peered at them from under his short blonde hair and sky-blue eyes.
Accompanying them were Garnet's personal guards: Sir Adelbert Steiner, in a complete set of dull, rusty armour and General Beatrix, with her white blouse and brown leggings and deadly beauty. Blaine gave a low bow as he acknowledged the queen's presence, as Kildea gave a little curtsey.
"I am the Burmecian known as Blaine, and this is my associate: Oracle Kildea, one of the precious few survivors of Cleyra's destruction." Blaine introduced them with a formal voice.
"I am Queen Garnet, and this is my boyfriend and husband to be: Zidane Tribal. These are our personal guards: Sir Steiner and Lady Beatrix." Garnet introduced her group, and motioned to each one as she spoke their names.
Kildea recognised Zidane straight away. "I knew it!" She exclaimed. "You're the man I gave the guided tour to in Cleyra shortly before its destruction!"
Zidane gave a little smile as he remembered the Cleyran. "Oh yeah! I remember you! So you were one of the survivors? Did any of your friends make it?"
Kildea's ears flattened against her head and she cast a solemn look to the floor. She was reminded of all of her friend's deaths. Blaine placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort her. Zidane realised his mistake.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Zidane apologised. "I didn't mean to upset you."
Blaine looked up at Zidane rather angrily. "Yes, well. If we could change the subject to something less sensitive and get down to business..."
"Yes, let us discuss about the possession of the jewel." Garnet answered, eager to move the subject to help cheer her guest up. "You mentioned something about the jewel aiding the restoration of your kingdom. Would you care to elaborate on that?"
"Gladly, your majesty." Blaine replied. He took a step away from Kildea, who was beginning to feel slightly better. "We found a book in Duagerreo that told us of a being that resides inside that jewel. This creature is the creator of our race, and is a truly mighty eidolon."
"An eidolon?" Both Garnet and Zidane blurted out. Beatrix and Steiner's eyes both flashed with surprise too.
"Let me finish." Blaine stated in an irritated tone. There was silence once again, and he continued. "I was about to say that we were hoping to use the powers of this eidolon to regenerate Cleyra."
There was a short silence as the Alexandrians in the room took this in. It was Garnet who managed to break the silence by replying. "If you are planning on summoning an eidolon, I could be of some great assistance to you."
Captain Steiner then decided to butt in; he tapped Garnet gently on the shoulder to get her attention. "Your highness, don't you have enough duties to attend to? There is the reconstruction of Alexandria, meetings with..."
Steiner was then interrupted by Garnet, who answered with an irritated tone. "Steiner, I know perfectly well what my duties are at the moment, and my biggest priority is maintaining the peace between Alexandria and the other nations at this time. If I help restore Cleyra it will hopefully make the Burmecians think better of me and Alexandria."
Steiner lowered his head in shame and backed off. Garnet turned towards Blaine and Kildea and gave a warm smile. Blaine decided to state his opinion of her offer.
"I am flattered by your proposal but I am afraid I must decline." Blaine answered kindly. "All we require is the jewel, the book has a few passages on how to summon the Holy Spirit. It also states that it is easiest for a Burmecian to call him forth. Besides, like you Captain says, you have other duties to attend to. Giving us the jewel will make the Burmecians think better of you, and I will not forget to mention your politeness and your obvious intentions to aid the regeneration and reconstruction of the Burmecian realm."
"As you wish." Garnet responded plainly, the smile from her face faded a little, but didn't vanish completely from her face. She wondered how it could be possible for an eidolon to be harder to summon by a summoner than a Burmecian, but then she remembered how easy it had been for her mother Brahne to call forth the powerful eidolons with the aid of Kuja; with neither of them being a pure blooded summoner. She decided to make another offer, one of which she was sure that Blaine would not decline. "Well, if you don't want me to come with you; you could at least let us give you some transport and supplies for your journey."
"We already have some rented chocobos..." Kildea pointed out. "Although it would be very kind of you to provide us with some supplies, my clothes and possessions were destroyed along with Cleyra. You could help me find some garments and items to replace them."
"Why yes, I have many tailors that make up garments for me to wear, and garments that Zidane is supposed to wear." Garnet answered merrily; until she talked about Zidane, when her voice changing to a bitter tone. "I could ask them to measure you and make you some sets of spare clothes."
Zidane gave a little grin and shrugged this off. Just because he was Garnet's boyfriend didn't mean he had to dress and act like a stuck-up noble. He hated nobles, in his time with Baku and Tantalus he would often relieve them of any money or highly valued items they carried or owned. Despite Garnet's constant lectures of how he would be joining their class whether he liked it or not when he eventually married her, he still kept his dislike for people and life in the "upper-class". He hoped Kildea would not take up the offer and start wearing the rich fabrics of nobles, but his hoped died when Kildea smiled at the offer. Well, beggars could not be choosers after all, something which he knew all too well.
"That would be very generous of you, your majesty." Kildea responded with a nod.
"We do not plan on staying here for very long." Blaine stated firmly. "I would be glad if we could set off tomorrow, provided you have given us the jewel. I do not want to be doing nothing except waiting for Kildea's new clothes to be made."
"Oh, that will not be a problem." Garnet assured him. "If I ask my tailors to work overnight, they should have at least one set of clothes ready to wear by morning. I could even make some more and have them sent straight to Burmecia when they are finished."
"That will be fine." Blaine answered. "Now seeing as that matter is settled shouldn't we move on to what we originally came here for?"
"Yes, it is about time we returned the jewel of Cleyra." Garnet answered, looking more serious. "Beatrix, I believe I left you in charge of the jewel for the duration of this meeting. Would you care to return the jewel to its rightful owners?"
"Yes your majesty." Beatrix replied. She took a few steps forward and took out the sacred stone from one of the pockets in her white blouse.
"Which one of you will receive the magic stone from Beatrix?" Garnet asked the two Burmecians formally.
The response was made my Blaine, quickly enough so Kildea couldn't say anything. "Oracle Kildea shall retrieve the jewel, your majesty."
Kildea turned to look at Blaine with an expression of shock on her face. She had assumed that Blaine was going to walk up and take the jewel. Why did he want her to take the jewel from Beatrix? The only response she got was an assuring smile and a small hand gesture motioning her forward from Blaine.
A cold shiver ran down Kildea' spine and nerves were taking an effect as she looked back across to the Alexandrians. She walked very slowly forwards towards Beatrix, terrified that she might take her sword and slice her head off at any moment without any warning. The Cleyran's eyes were focused on Beatrix, looking for any spiteful actions. All she saw was a gentle hazel eye trying to encourage her forward, and two gloved hands holding out the beautiful red jewel which had spent hundreds of years keeping Kildea and her friends, relatives and ancestors safe in their home. Kildea's shaking hands reached slowly forward and gripped the jewel in Beatrix's hands, before slowly lifting it out without any resistance whatsoever.
Eager to get back to Blaine and away from this cold-blooded warrior, Kildea stepped back at a faster pace, not taking her eye off Beatrix. As soon as Kildea had taken the jewel out of her grasp; Beatrix reached out and placed her left hand gently on the Burmecian's shoulder. As Beatrix placed her hand on Kildea's shoulder, Kildea nearly dropped the jewel out of sheer fright and wanted to cry out in terror. She remained silent, her body tensing and she was frozen to the spot.
Trying to speak in the most warm and kind voice she could muster, Beatrix addressed the Cleyran. "I just wanted to say how deeply sorry I am for the damage me and my troops have done to Cleyra and the rest of the Burmecian kingdom. I was only acting under orders from my Queen. I hope that this will show my feelings for your people and that we may put the past behind us."
The moment Beatrix lifted her hand from Kildea's shoulder, Kildea darted back to Blaine before thrusting the jewel into his hands and hugging him tightly, clinging onto him for dear life. Kildea's fear of General Beatrix could never be truly vanquished. She had been the one who had lead the attack on the Burmecian Kingdom, Beatrix was the one who took the Cleyran jewel in the first place; which ultimately resulted in Cleyra's destruction. Beatrix held her own responsibility and had been fully aware of her actions at the time. How could Kildea just forgive her?
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Disclaimer: No, I don't own Final Fantasy 9 and I have never claimed to. Blaine is the only original character I could fully change and use as he is my original character. He has been created by my imagination.
Author's Notes: Can I just point out though that all constructive comments and criticism is welcome; but if I think you are trying to incite flames by abusing the review system you can expect an e-mail from me.
Ultima's Angel: I'm flattered by your positive comment. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the previous one.
Dazz Combo: I'm glad you're enjoying it too. Keep reading.
Aaron: Eiko and Dagger actually used two jewels to summon Alexander in the game; but, Eiko also talks about sealing Eidolons in their jewels with the power of another eidolon. Now, who's to say that Alexander wasn't the only eidolon to have been sealed with the power of another? This is where Burmece, Lindbler and Madain get involved. They are all equal in power when actually summoned. I also believe that Alexander didn't use all of his power when he fought Bahamut, and thathe actually has other abilities which weren't used in the game. Don't feel bad for asking though, I can take it.