Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 9 belongs to Squaresoft. However, any original characters mentioned in this story are mine, as is the plot. This particular chapter was originally written as the prologue, so it doesn't do much else than introduce the key event. It has been edited multiple times. I may reqrite it entirely.
Knightwatch
By Saffire Raynius
Chapter One
It was Midsummer's Eve, but the perpetual grayness masked the fact. A chill wind whispered around the two rat-like figures, nipping playfully at their attire, but the conversation was not one of jest.
The female, coated in a crimson jacket, stepped forward. Her expression was that of pure disbelief. "Sir Fratley! You escaped from Cleyra," she breathed.
The man called Fratley nodded solemnly, the edges of his tan shirt threatening to run away with the zephyr. "I am afraid I still cannot recall you in my past memory," he stated gravely. The woman's face fell.
"Fratley, I—"
"I called you here for this reason: I wish for you, Lady Freya, to help me regain what knowledge I can."
Silence languished between them.
Freya's pale fur and hair gained a soft reddish hue as the sky longed for dusk. She edged closer, paws hanging uncertainly at her side. Then she moved to kneel before the man, but he held her shoulders and lifted her gaze. Such hope and sadness lingered in her eyes that Fratley felt his control slipping.
"It will be a long, terrible journey, filled with hardship and pain," Freya began, her voice nearly faltering, "but I shan't give in."
They shared a brief smile. "Let us begin," said Fratley, and she took his hand and led him to the center of the courtyard.
"Let us begin," she repeated.
Freya gestured to the mountains, speaking of their names and their namesakes. She quietly led him within the city walls, occasionally reciting the legends that surrounded Fratley and his adventures. The knight did her best to direct the questions away from her own travels, for now; she deemed such information unnecessary. And all through the night, the rain pattered on.