Author's Note: Hey there, everyone! Sorry that I didn't have a note on the first chapters. I was just so anxious to put them online that I forgot to send everyone a greeting. Anyway, I hope everyone has enjoyed what I have written so far. Personally, I like this story better than I did, A Time of Peace. A Time of War. Other than that, my only message is that I hope to receive some very critical reviews. Take care!
We'll know for the first
time,
if we're evil or divine,
we're the last in line—
"The Last in Line"—Ronnie James Dio
Mother Terra
Chapter V
One week later, Zidane and Garnet smiled and held hands, as they watched their son play in the slush of the courtyard. That is, until, Hunter thought it would be funny to throw some of the slush at his parents. Zidane and Garnet laughed at the innocent look on their son's face, and playfully threw some slush back at him.
The scene was one of a happy family—one, which Captain Steiner hated to stop. "Your Majesty?" Steiner said, with a salute.
"Yes?" Garnet replied, while she lifted Hunter from the ground, and kissed his cheek.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are two guests that would like to see Zidane."
"Two guests?" responded Zidane.
"Yes."
"Who're they?"
"There're two genomes from the Black Mage Village. Unfortunately, I can't remember their names, but they told me that you spoke to them when you were in the village about a week ago."
"I didn't really talk too much with the genomes, except for Nuri, and I have no desire to speak with him! I really don't know who these guys are…What do they want?"
"They want to talk to you. They told me they're genomes who defected from that one genome you told me about last week."
The word 'defected' sparked Zidane's interest. "Then I want to meet them. Can you ask Vivi and Mikoto to come too?"
Steiner nodded. "Yes, I shall look for them."
Zidane returned the nod. "Thank you."
Zidane entered the throne room with Garnet, who carried Hunter. In the throne room were Goldwin and other genome, with blonde hair and green eyes. Once the two noticed Zidane and the queen, they bowed.
"If you wish," Zidane began, while he gestured to his wife; "you may bow to my wife and son, but it's not necessary to bow to me."
The blonde haired genome was confused. "I thought it was necessary for Gaians to bow to their rulers?"
Zidane chuckled. "Well, normally it is, but I'm kind of the black sheep of the royals."
"The black sheep?"
"Yeah, it means that I'm different from the traditional royalty. Probably because I was born a commoner—from Terra, no less."
Garnet stepped before her husband and smiled. "You two can stand up now. I appreciate your respect."
"Mommy?" Hunter began, while he pointed to the genomes.
"Yes, Hunter?"
"How come they wook so much like Daddy?"
Garnet chuckled, so did Zidane.
"That's because they're Daddy's brothers."
"Bwothers?"
"That's right, Hunter, brothers," replied Zidane. "Just like Aunt Mikoto's Daddy's sister, they are Daddy's brothers. You could call them your uncles if you wished."
Goldwin and the other genome looked at each other in confusion.
Zidane chuckled. "I can tell by the looks on your faces that you have no idea what I meant."
"Oh, no," replied Goldwin, "we're familiar with the terms 'aunt' and 'uncle,' but they've never been used on us before."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you, but your reaction wasn't much different than how it was when I first referred to Mikoto as an 'aunt' before Hunter was born."
"It's alright—we weren't offended."
Zidane nodded. "Good—so, who are you?"
"Goldwin!" exclaimed Mikoto, as she emerged from the hallway with Vivi.
"And Aldous's with him!" added Vivi.
Goldwin and Aldous were stunned. They did not expect to hear from Mikoto and Vivi so soon. Nevertheless, both turned to them.
"It's good to see you again," Goldwin said.
"Yes, it truly is," added Aldous.
"Well, obviously you two know each other," replied Zidane, "but I don't know which one's Goldwin and which one's Aldous."
"I'm Goldwin, and this is Aldous," Goldwin responded, with a gesture to Aldous.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Zidane," Aldous said.
"Whoa! Whoa! It's not necessary to refer to me as 'Prince Zidane,' just Zidane'll do."
"Okay, it's a pleasure to meet you then, Zidane."
Zidane smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Aldous…and the same with you, Goldwin. But now, I have to know, how was it that you defected from Nuri?"
"I'd like to know the answer to that as well—especially in Goldwin's case," interjected Mikoto. "Of all the genomes, you must've been Nuri's best friend."
"Yeah, that's what I thought as well," added Vivi.
Goldwin sighed. "Well, it all started that day Zidane visited the village. I began to think to myself that maybe Terra is a dead planet, and my future would be better here on Gaia. I told some of my thoughts to Nuri, but he wanted none of it…"
"He's persistent about the restoration of Terra, isn't he?" asked Zidane.
"Very much so," replied Aldous.
"So then what happened?"
"Because I couldn't talk about my ideas to Nuri, I tried to find someone else I knew who would listen; and Aldous, just happened to be that person."
"I take it that you had similar thoughts like Goldwin?"
"Oh, absolutely! Your speech with Nuri really made me think about my future."
Zidane chuckled. "It's funny, because I really don't remember seeing you two that day—although, my attention was focused straight on Nuri. By the way, are there others that feel the same way that you do?"
"I don't think so. They're pretty loyal to Nuri."
Zidane chuckled again. "I knew it! I knew he was really the leader!"
"Actually, Zidane," replied Goldwin, "he's not the leader."
"Then why's everyone following him?"
"Because they believe in what he stands for. Again, Nuri's not the leader, but he's very influential."
Zidane nodded. "Obviously."
"Wait!" interjected Mikoto. "I have a question."
"What's that?" asked Aldous.
"Is it safe for Vivi and I to return to the village?"
"Yeah," added Vivi, "the reason we left was because Zidane was worried about our safety. He thought you and the other genomes would attack us, because of our friendship with Zidane."
"And I think he judged wisely," responded Goldwin. "The other genomes're very supportive of Nuri. And because Nuri's furious that Zidane wouldn't help him, I can't say that he wouldn't express anger at those close to him; and that another genome wouldn't attack either you or Mikoto."
"Would they come after us here?" asked Mikoto.
"I doubt it," replied Aldous. "He doesn't have to see you, and that's enough for him."
"But when will we be able to go home?" asked Vivi. "I don't know about Mikoto, but I don't want to live in Alexandria Castle for the rest of my life."
"Neither do I," added Mikoto. "The Black Mage Village is my home."
"Perhaps either Dagger or I can speak with some of the village elders?" interjected Zidane.
"Dagger? Who's Dagger?" asked Goldwin.
Zidane chuckled. "Oh, that's what I call my wife."
"Oh, I see…Anyway, I don't think they can do very much in this case."
"Why not?" asked Garnet, while she shifted Hunter from one arm to the other—as the toddler continued to pull on her hair.
"Because none of them've said anything threatening about either Vivi or Mikoto…Besides, I'm sure all of this'll blow over soon."
"And how long is soon?" asked Zidane.
"…In a couple of weeks, hopefully."
Zidane nodded. "Very well, then…so what will you do now?"
"…We're not sure just yet. We're going to stay in Alexandria for a while. Hopefully, we'll find a job soon."
"Sounds great! Perhaps I can make your first day here a little easier."
"What do you mean?" asked Aldous.
"You can spend your first night here in the Castle."
Goldwin and Aldous were stunned.
"Zidane sure is hospitable," Aldous said.
"He's only just met us, and he's letting us stay in the Castle. He's certainly generous…I appreciate the offer, Zidane, but I'm afraid we have to decline."
"How come?"
"Because we've already made arrangements at the inn, and when you've registered for a particular night, you can't receive a refund."
Zidane nodded. "I understand…Tell you what, how about I pay the innkeeper the amount for tonight, he returns your money, and you spend the night here?"
Again Goldwin and Aldous were stunned.
"You'd do that for us, Zidane!" replied Goldwin. "But you don't even know us!"
"That doesn't matter. You're someone starting a new life, and I'm willing to help anyone on their first day."
Goldwin smiled. "Thank you, Zidane and Queen Garnet…We truly appreciate it."
"Yes, we do!" added Aldous.
Late that night, Goldwin and Aldous sat in a closet—with the door closed—in their guest room. The two wanted to be as quiet as possible—especially since they were in enemy territory.
"Nuri?" Goldwin whispered over a portable radio. "It's Goldwin and Aldous. Please come in, but be as quiet as possible."
There was some static, but then…"Damn, I can barely hear you two! Why're you so quiet?"
"Please lower your voice more, Nuri. We're in Alexandria Castle."
"What!" exclaimed Nuri, even though it was in a whisper.
Aldous chuckled. "We move quick, don't we?"
"I guess so, but how're you two in the Castle?"
"Zidane let us spend the night here."
"What!"
"He's quiet hospitable," replied Goldwin. "Especially when he learned we defected from you."
"What's he like?"
"He's actually quiet caring. I think if you were a person in need, he'd come and help you."
"Hmph, fascinating."
"Is there something wrong with being that kind of person, Nuri?" asked Aldous.
"No…there's not…His hospitality's something we should return to the villagers here one day. Zidane's probably not a bad person, he's just badly misled…What else is he like?"
"He's very much someone who loves his family, just as I thought that day in the village," answered Goldwin. "He and his wife were playing with their son when we arrived. After he invited us to stay, he gave us a tour of the Castle—while his wife took off with their son. And after he was done with the tour, he said that he had to leave so he could play with his son some more."
"Hmm, that's good. It means he'll be more than willing to assist me after we pull this whole thing off. Can you tell me anything else about him?"
"Well, he described himself as the black sheep of royalty, which means that he's still a commoner at heart," replied Aldous.
"Sounds nice…now then, tell me about the Castle? Goldwin, you said you were worried about what to do if the Warp Stone failed. Have you found an answer to that question yet?"
"No, I haven't. But as for the Castle itself, it's quite beautiful. There're magnificent paintings, excellent food…it's certainly quite different from the Black Mage Village."
"All of that sounds fine and good—not that it really matters much to me…What can you tell me about the queen?"
"She's very beautiful," answered Aldous. "She has dark eyes and hair, and during our entire meeting with Zidane she was holding their son. Zidane refers to her as 'Dagger,' but I'm not sure what he means by that. Perhaps it refers to their battles together when the two and their companions were battling Kuja?"
"The queen's also very kind and respectful," added Goldwin. "Like Zidane, she loves her son."
"Good, then it won't take much persuasion to get her to put that collar on…Finally, what can you tell me about the prince?"
There was a pause on that question, before Goldwin finally answered. "I'm not really sure how to answer that question. I don't know much about small children. I know that his name's Hunter, and he's two-years-old…Perhaps Aldous can answer that question?"
"Not really, all I really know is how babies are formed."
"Well, yes, I know that too—maybe I can start from there. The prince, I think, takes after his mother. He has brown eyes and hair, which I think is a mixture of his mother's dark hair and eyes, along with his father's light hair and eyes. He also has a tiny horn on his head, which I thing is a trait from his mother—because I remember hearing that Queen Garnet was born with a summoner horn, but her adoptive father—the King of Alexandria—had it removed when she was a child."
"That's correct," replied Nuri. "What else can you tell me about the prince?"
"Well, he pulled on his mother's hair the entire time we saw him…All in all, he seemed like a happy child."
"Good, then I'm sure he can live being away from his mother for some time."
"Wait! Is that really wise?" asked Aldous. "I've seen young children in the village cry when their mothers leave for a significant period of time."
"It'll be fine. It's only temporary. I just need him to be away from her long enough to negotiate…But it's late now. Contact me tomorrow from the inn."
