Chapter Thirty-Two
"Your Majesty…" Came a whisper amongst the chirping cicadas that now echoed down the tall hallways. "Zidane…" There was silence for a moment before Zidane's eyes fluttered. The hallway was dark now and a full moon bled through the inky sky beyond the window. It was much colder as a few candles had withered away, anxiously waiting to be re-lit the next morning by the first shift of maids. The smell of lilac and potpourri wafted past Zidane and he realized Garnet's head rested on his shoulder. They must have fallen asleep. In front of him knelt Steiner, who seemed tired but in good spirits. Groggily, Zidane rubbed at his eyes as Garnet came to, yawning and stretching her legs out. Immediately, though, the Queen perked up.
"The baby-"
"Come in. Meet our child," Steiner stood and extended a hand out to Garnet. "Beatrix was in labor for nine hours, but she did wonderfully. Both mother and baby are healthy."
"Oh, thank goodness," Garnet sighed as Steiner opened the door.
The infirmary was calm and quiet. Beatrix was at the far end, beneath the wall-length windows with the full icy moon visible above her. Candles surrounded her bed as she cradled a small child wrapped in white linens. Beatrix's thick chestnut hair was coiled into a bun on the nape of her neck. Even with the sound of approaching feet, she didn't tear her eyes away from the baby. The baby's complexion was rosy and pale, like Beatrix's. There were wispy locks of dark hair on its head, closely matching Steiner's color. The child slept soundly, cradled closely to her chest. She still couldn't quite believe it. A new life was in her hands, tangible and real. All the months of anticipation, utter anxiety, led to a moment of surrealism for the General. She had done it, despite the countless hours of believing she couldn't. She still didn't know what she was feeling, but she could not stop staring at the child. A mixture of her and Steiner. The creation of life was such a mystery. Who would this child be? Where would they find their place on this planet? Steiner's hand gently grazed her arm and she looked up now to see the beaming faces of Zidane and Garnet. Beatrix couldn't stop her eyes from growing misty. In front of her stood the support team she never thought she needed. Never in her life had she considered leaning on anybody for support. She prided herself on being the only thing to keep her feet glued to the ground. But she realized now, those three were her anchors.
"Thank you," Beatrix whispered, looking to Zidane.
"Looks like Valora made it out alright," Zidane said.
Beatrix looked to Steiner, grinning slightly. "Actually… it's a boy."
Garnet gingerly seated herself on the bed, leaning forward to peer into the bundle of rumpled linens. "He's beautiful, Beatrix."
The baby wiggled in the blankets, their hands breaking free to grab at Beatrix. But still, he remained asleep. "Look at those hands," Steiner was so full of pride. "He'll be holding a sword before he's even walking!"
"Looks like there's a lot of child-proofing to be done," Zidane deadpanned from the end of the bed. He could only imagine the tormented screams of Steiner as he tried to wrangle a sword from a toddlers hands.
"Who knows what he will be," Beatrix replied, tenderly running her fingers along his locks that were as soft as downy on a duckling. "Perhaps he won't ever be interested in picking up a sword. Maybe instead it will be a lute… or a paint brush. He can be anybody in this world."
"And I'll love him no matter what," Steiner's grin was from ear to ear. "I'll be able to say 'that's my boy!' in any instance."
"What will you call him?" Garnet asked, placing her hands in her lap.
Beatrix was quiet, her brow furrowed as she looked over the baby. His little button nose matched that of Steiner's. His round cheeks belonged to her. Together, the couple had made themselves known through all of his features. Would his hair be straight like Steiner's or have a friendly curl to it like Beatrix's? Would he prefer historical literature or high fantasy novels? Would he be a picky, defined eater or gobble everything up that didn't eat him first? There were so many questions to who he would be. Beatrix was almost overwhelmed in the moment to select a name that would be suiting for him. But she looked to Steiner, who also seemed anxious to choose something. She was sure his mind was doing loops like her own.
"I think I'd like to call him Addam," Beatrix finally declared out loud. "To bear a resemblance to his father's name, who I have no doubt has inherited his large, kind soul."
"Addam Steiner," Zidane said, smiling now. "It's got a good ring to it. A refreshing version of Adelbert."
Steiner's lips were trembling now as he looked at Beatrix. Though he knew she was exhausted, maybe even highly anxious, it did nothing to detract from the utter beauty she was bathed in the winter moons light. He was looking at all his pride formed before him. After all that they'd been through for the past decade, Steiner never envisioned it ending up here. He remembered all her short remarks and hair flips. As she remembered him clumsily trying to keep up with her. They seemed like the biggest mismatch in the world to coincide in the castles protection. But now, their unity started a new chapter in Alexandrian history. In war history and world history. That winter night, the fearsome Rose General and Uncoordinated Captain brought a new life into the world. Addam Steiner. Would he be a scholar? A local leader? An engineer? The pages that had yet to be written would be highly anticipated for years to come.
"It would be an honor…" Steiner's voice faltered as tears now streaked his cheeks. He rubbed furiously at his face, shaking his head. He cleared his throat. "I promised myself I wasn't going to cry."
"It's alright," Zidane crossed his arms over his chest. "Soon enough Addam will be doing all the crying for you."
Steiner looked to Zidane, smiling with his wet eyes, before he embraced Beatrix, tenderly kissing his son's forehead.
…
Three Months Later
The vibrancy of the Alexandrian Castle garden was unmatched that beautiful spring night. The gardeners had worked tirelessly throughout winter and traveled great lengths for trimmings, soil, and seeds to create newly refreshed beds. The people of Alexandria flocked through its windy aisles and mingled on the large plazas, standing where just months before, it had been a ground of destruction, mayhem, and death. Jaunty violin strings filled the air, along with laughter and the clinking of champagne flutes. It was the Queen's eighteen birthday. Tantalus had just completed another beloved rendition of I Want to Be Your Canary and this time, Garnet had watched comfortably from her balcony as Blank and Zidane fluidly ran through the sword fight, bringing a new energy to the stage that the people had missed the year before. To her Aunt Hilda's delight, Garnet dressed in a satin emerald dress sporting long fitting sleeves and embellished with gold embroideries along the hems and torso. Her fishtail braid laid dainty on her slender shoulders as she appeared before the crowd that had amassed for her. As she stood at the top of the stairs and looked over the joyous crowd, she couldn't help but fold her hands together and take a deep breath. What a year it had been. In three-hundred sixty-five days, things had changed so much. Some for the better. Some for the worst.
The Knights of Pluto and Squad Beatrix had been slowly recuperating as patriotic young people flooded applications in to renew the Alexandrian Castle in the wake of undeserved catastrophes. Beyond the hedges, in the darkness where no guest would linger, were scaffolds, piles of brick, and logs of timber. The soldier barracks were being restored with plaques to be placed on the porch commemorating the soldiers who had given their life to save the throne. Beatrix and Steiner were also adding an additional room to their quarters for the growing young Addam, who at three months old, was quite the ladies man with large dashing brown eyes and curly chestnut hair. But the greens, reds, oranges, and yellows of the garden are what stuck out the most to the young Queen that night. Months before, it had only been soiled and charred sticks with ashy clumps of rose petals. It seemed things were righting themselves despite it feeling like the world had been turned upside down.
Zidane still had it set in his heart to go to Black Mage Village. He spent the winter months exchanging letters with Mikoto and grew emotional when a letter arrived, calling him her big brother, whom she desperately loved and looked up to. Garnet knew it was important for him to go. To honor Vivi and also to find the parts of himself that were still missing. She was certain seeing the Genomes growing into natural people would be good for him. To remind him Garland hadn't succeeded in his visions of puppets. To drive home the fact that his entire purpose in life was not to be a connoisseur of misery and sorrow. Zidane was his own person and neither Garland or Kuja could ever change that or take it away from him. She'd miss him sorely. As Garnet watched him on stage, she thought of how she missed him already.
She pushed it all from her mind in that moment, however, and garnered up her smile. Garnet descended the stairs as the crowd returned to jubilations of the party. Decadent platters of fish, pastries, and fine meats were calling the names of many patrons. Others danced their hearts out. The champagne, whiskey, and pale ales flowed endlessly. Garnet was offered her own champagne flute as she reached the end of the stairs and she walked soundlessly amongst the crowds of people who wished her a happy birthday and thanked her for her work. As she watched her citizens have a well deserved night of fun, it felt as if it wasn't even her own party. It was a celebration of Alexandria. One that had been long-coming, emerging through the gloom that had clouded her mind for months before. Garnet took a sip of her champagne. Even if Zidane left again, all felt right in her soul knowing he was on the same planet as her, looking to the same sky. And maybe one day, her heart wished, he would return to her and recognize everything he was capable of.
"Darling, you look smashing!" Hilda appeared from no where, dressed in a lavish blue dress, and whirling a glass of red wine around rather carelessly. "Oh, I love this dress so much!"
"Thank you," Garnet grinned as Hilda felt her hand along the textured satin on the sleeve. "A local seamstress made it for me."
"It's much better than the white ivy dress," Hilda nodded. "You pull it off wonderfully, darling, but there's nothing wrong with shaking it up! It's only suiting you appear before your people so stunningly transformed and beautiful. After everything that's happened, this dress has really made a statement for you." Hilda took a healthy drink of her wine and glanced around. "Eighteen years old! Darling, your mother was married at sixteen, what will you do now that the dust has settled?"
"I don't know," Garnet shook her head, glancing around at the shuffling people. "Wait for a moment that feels right to me, I suppose."
Hilda grabbed Garnet's hand tenderly. "Maybe this isn't the right thing to say at this moment, but it's better to say and not regret keeping silent later on. Liam is here, darling. And I think after so many months, it would be good to reconnect again. You're both older and wiser now, he's freshly twenty, and continuing to do marvelous work on the airships. He won't say it himself, but I'm certain he'd love to see you. What do you say, darling?"
The Queen wasn't sure what to say at all. When she heard his name, she didn't even know what she felt. Garnet knew Liam's intentions were true, but his execution was brutally dishonest to her. Maybe things could have naturally grown, but all she could recall were the blinding headaches and blurs of hours as her mind grappled with what she had ingested. Love made people do stupid things, she reminded herself. Zidane had leapt from a balcony for her. But still, that was a far cry from slipping a potion into someones tea. Garnet knew Liam cared for her, though. He had made things so complicated for her, however. While her mind tried to talk logic, her heart pumped the brakes incessantly. Even after all was said and done, Garnet still loved Zidane. And that wouldn't be fair for Liam. In her world, Liam couldn't even compete with Zidane.
"I'm glad to hear he's been well," Garnet said, emerging from her thoughts. "If I see him, our exchange will be cordial and friendly, as usual."
"You know, darling, I've been thinking about what you said Liam had done to win your affection," Hilda gave her hand a good squeeze. "While, ultimately, that is a wrong way to go about it, think of it from Liam's perspective. He must only see himself as a lowly engineer who was so lucky to catch the eye of a beautiful queen such as yourself. He was only trying to be there for you."
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask the queen for a dance."
Garnet almost sighed in relief when she saw Zidane, still in costume from the play, appear beside them. It was almost as if he always knew when Garnet was in turmoil. Lady Hilda was surprised by his sudden presence and her ruby lips were open for just a moment before she composed herself. "Yes, of course. It is her birthday, after all. I am not one to stand in the way of fun." Garnet set her glass on the table beside her and gingerly took Zidane's hand, where he led her to the outskirts of the dance floor. The frilly bib of his costume grazed her neck, giving her goosebumps. He pressed his hands to her waist and she ran her hands along his broad shoulders before they started bobbing about with the poised violin strings.
"How did you know?" Garnet asked as she looked to his clear and vibrant face. His blue eyes nearly glowed in the torchlight.
"I had a feeling," He grinned, making her heart leap.
"So," Garnet said as he swung her around. "When do you leave?"
"This Friday," Zidane told her as they grazed the edge of a couple who had obviously had too much to drink. "I have a boat ordered in Burmecia."
"I'm happy for you, Zidane," Garnet replied, genuinely and tenderly. "You always strive to do so much good for this world when it doesn't even deserve it."
"It's the people in this world that deserve it."
Together, they spun around and Garnet found herself only staring at him. His clear complexion, his positively bright blue eyes, the smile that was always on his face. Garnet really didn't know how he managed. He had hit his rock bottom before. So had she, multiple times. But still, he rose above his own ashes and stood tall, an example to all, though he felt invisible to everyone. But he wasn't to Garnet. He was the monument in her life she would stare at, no matter how many times she passed by it. She pressed her fingers a bit tighter to him to make sure he was really there, that she wasn't dreaming any of this. It would be a while before she felt his touch again. Her eyes grew wet in that moment as she locked her fingers behind his neck. So many miles would be placed between them, but she knew her feelings for him wouldn't grow cold. They hadn't even when she thought realms divided them. The Queen was certain in that moment that he was the love of her life.
"I'm no good at goodbyes," Garnet told him as the background around them fell away and only each other were to be seen and heard. "But I think this is a perfect moment to let you know how much you mean to me. To all of us. Everything you've done for me, I could never give back to you. But I wish everyday I could do half as much for you as you've done for me. Even in your silent and disguised ways, you were there for me. And maybe I don't understand everything that has happened this past year, but I'm content with that in a way… because it was you behind everything. My guardian angel, whose never left me alone or let me suffer a lurch by myself." The tears were gathered in her eyes now and Zidane could only focus on holding her closely as they swayed about the dance floor that they now ignored beneath the blossoming garden. "I can't love anyone but you, Zidane. From the moment I met you, maybe I doubted myself or wouldn't allow myself to give in, but it was always you. You protected me, you always tried to lighten the scene and make things easy for me even when I did not… I don't deserve you and I know that now. But that will not stop me from loving you endlessly."
She pressed her face to his frilly stage costume and Zidane wrapped his arms tightly around her. His heart panged in his chest, his mind binging back and forth asking himself if what he was doing was right. But deep inside, he knew it was the good choice. He had been so lost for a year. It was twelve months he'd never get back. And still, a light fog clouded his mind that he desperately wanted to clear. He couldn't be King. At least, not at that time. Zidane loved Garnet with his entire being. More so than any tangible thing he'd had in his life. But he couldn't shake the feeling that, at that moment, he was no good for her. She couldn't be responsible for helping him pick up the pieces of himself he had left scattered. Zidane's only desire was to return to her wholly, true to himself, with no regrets or questions. Feeling her slender body beneath his grasp only embedded that into his mind. He inhaled deeply the familiar scent of her hair as they now only swayed in each others arms.
"You know that's not true," Zidane said, fiercely, but quietly. "What does a back alley thief like myself do to deserve words like that from a Queen? I don't deserve you, Dagger. Not an ounce of you. Not a moment of your time. Everything I do, though, is for you. It will always be for you. I'm not leaving you to hurt you. I'm leaving you to find myself, so I can be the best person I can be for you. It's not forever. I promise you that. I'll come back. I swear on my own grave."
Garnet's fingers dug against his vest. "I hope you find the parts of you that you miss, Zidane."
He grinned against her onyx hair. "With your support, I couldn't miss them even if I were blind. I just hope you truly understand, Dagger. I have to do this for myself. You're not responsible for me. Not when you have an entire kingdom to look after."
"We could make it work," She squeaked from beneath his theatric bib.
Zidane shook his head, though, pressing his cheek against her forehead. "It wouldn't be fair to you. You just have to let me do this and trust in me."
"I trust you, Zidane," Garnet exhaled unevenly as the tears streaked her cheeks. The violins filled her ears for a moment and she clutched him tightly. "Just promise me once more… you'll come back."
"I will," He whispered, sending goosebumps down her spine. "That's a promise I can truly keep this time."
The string quartet finished their piece and, around them, the crowd was in thunderous applause, hoots, and hollers. But the two young adults only drew back to look at each other in the flickering orange flames of the night. He was a man of his word. And she was the keeper of all oaths. Tenderly, she brought her hand up to cup his cheek, grazing her thumb along his soft cheekbone. In a way, she still couldn't believe it, even though it'd been months. He was here. He never gave up on her, even when she wanted to. She had nothing to offer but her support. But that was all he seemed to want.
"I love you," She whispered amongst the chaos around them.
"I love you, too," He said. It made her blood run faster through her veins.
With a thundering heart, she came forward and pressed her lips to his. He pushed back with a passionate intensity she had never known. Garnet had never kissed anyone before. But feeling his lips against hers seemed to seal something in her soul. In a way, it was forging his seat to the eventual throne. He didn't want it now, but one day he would be ready. Garnet knew it. And she would prepare her kingdom for the shock of his ascendance. The Alexandros Bloodline had been ceased by Astrid's actions. But together, they would carve something new and the kingdom would steadily rise from the dark past that had followed it. They would raise themselves above the clouds that cast their shadows. Just as Zidane had done for his friends, whether he wanted to take credit for it or not. Garnet was convinced he had saved her life. As their lips parted and she looked into those adoring cerulean blue eyes, she only knew he had another journey in front of himself. He would find his balance, though. And he would return to her one day. Their dearest memories would eventually forge into one unification and their voices would echo through history.
Together, they would become a melody of life itself.
The End
