Chapter 63: She's a Princess

Under the slightly overcast skies of Costa Del Sol, a small feminine form paced back and forth. Sandal clad feet moved across the smooth stone, over the finely manicured green grass, passing by the hot tub only to repeat the chaotic path once more. A cell phone was flipped open and two numbers were dialed before it was flipped closed once more. A chime was heard as the phone was opened again and this time, four numbers were dialed before the phone shut with a snap.

"GAH!" Yuffie let out a growl of frustration, stomping her foot.

Vincent looked up from the gun parts laid before him and smiled at the frustrated woman. "You do realize that Tifa is in your speed dial, right?" He said casually, picking up a bore brush and running it through the barrel.

"I know, I know!" She walked over and flopped into the vacant chair beside him. A gust of cool air tousled her hair as she brought her head to rest on his shoulder. She smiled when she felt him place a soft kiss on the top of her head, chasing away her nervousness…at least for the moment.

"There is nothing for you to fear. Tifa will not be upset when you tell her of your life in Wutai." She nodded her understanding against his arm and the gunman shifted subjects slightly.

"Do you know when you wish to reveal our intent to marry?"

This brought a smile to her pretty face. Pulling away from him, she glanced down at the ring on her finger. "You know…at first, I wanted to hold off on the announcement until we talked to everyone about the whole 'Yuffie's status in Wutai' stuff, but I really want to tell them now. I love you, I want them to know and don't want to hide this from them. If they're against it or won't accept it," She paused, her chest aching a bit at the thought. "Then that's too bad for them. I'm not changing my mind."

The ninja watched her gunman's smile grow. "If you call Tifa and tell her to come to the bungalow, you can have your conversation. You're aware that she would love to help you plan something before we depart from Costa."

She nodded eagerly. It was a great idea because if anyone like to plan parties, it was definitely Tifa. She would just have to make sure things stayed small and intimate…preferably something here at their little vacation home. She also wondered if she should tell cloud about her secret too, but after a moment of thought, decided to let Tifa decide. She was going to give her permission to tell the blond anyway.

Firm in her resolve, thanks to her gunman, she flipped her phone open for a final time, exhaling deeply as the phone rang. It took only a moment for Tifa's chipper voice to come on the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tifa, its me."

"Hey Yuffie, What's up?"

"Remember that talk we had on the Highwind?" She heard the older girl's soft affirmation before continuing. "Well, do you have time for us to finish that conversation?"

"Of course, Yuffie. I always have time for you."

Yuffie felt the smile that instantly formed at her hearts-sister's instant reply. "Thanks, Tifa. Oh, also I'm giving you permission to tell Cloud what I'm going to tell you, so if it would be easier, Cloud is welcome to sit in, that way, you won't have to relay the story."

"Let me ask him." She said. Yuffie heard the muffled conversation before Tifa came back to the line with a chuckle. "He said that if it's okay with you, he'd like to hear it directly from you."

"That's fine. When can you guys come by?"

"I was just out shopping with Shera, Elena and Elmyra. All I bought is here at the Villa so we could be there in about thirty minutes."

"Sounds good. See you soon." With the end of the conversation, she closed the phone and let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, that part is over." Vincent said while he quickly reassembled the now cleaned weapon.

"Yeah, they'll be by in a bit." Yuffie pushed herself from her seat and moved to his lap. His calloused fingers brushed across her cheek then his soft lips brushed against hers, sharing a loving kiss.

"Let's go inside and wait." He gave her a squeeze and she nodded, hopping from his lap. Gathering up his supplies and weapons, he followed her through the French doors.

.:-o-:.

"I don't understand why pictures of us are news worthy." She commented as more pictures of their group, some from last night, some from other times they were out and about the resort town were displayed.

Vincent nodded his agreement. "Slow news day."

The ninja giggled as they continued to watch the broadcast. "I guess that tends to happen when you stop a fiery ball from crashing into the planet. But still, I'd rather see actual news and not just our pictures."

"Agreed." It was unsettling to him to see their pictures on the screen, showing them enjoying their private moments. He had occasionally been in the media while playing guard for Shinra and some of the other 'higher ups' or local celebrities wanting to flaunt the fact that they could afford to hire the outrageously expensive services of the Turks, and the clout to persuade the deceased President Shinra to 'loan' his elite out. The gunman shook his head, maybe once they return to Nibelheim, things would quiet down once more.

The doorbell rang and the petite brunette hopped from the couch, twisting her ring so that the gemstones were turned towards her palm. Vincent nodded his approval and the door was opened, allowing the fighter and the swordsman to enter. Greeting them both as Yuffie zipped into the kitchen to pull a pitcher of iced tea from the fridge, placing it on a tray of glasses she had prepared earlier.

The tray was placed on the table as Yuffie plopped on the loveseat beside Vincent while Tifa and Cloud occupied the couch. The blond poured himself and Tifa a glass before becoming distracted by the chatter on the television.

"They're still going on about the pictures?" The blond shook his head. "They were showing pictures this morning too."

"You're late to the party, Cloudy." Yuffie gave a huff while Vincent poured a glass for her and himself. "They started showing pictures from your party…well, when we were on the beach last night." She grabbed the remote and turned the tv off.

"Hopefully, they get bored quickly." Tifa shook her head, taking a sip of her tea and leaning back against the plush cushions of the couch. She smiled when Cloud's arm draped across her shoulders.

"Thanks for coming, guys." Yuffie said when Vincent's arm wrapped around her waist. "Did Tifa tell you about why she was coming to see me?"

"I know it has to do with your trip back to Wutai with Vincent, but that's it." He admitted.

"That's true, but there's something I wanna tell you guys before we get started." She said as she stood, discreetly turning the ring with her thumb and pacing in front of them.

Cloud and Tifa nodded, waiting for the obviously nervous ninja to continue. She didn't need to be pushed, but though they couple didn't know, their heartbeats kicked up a notch.

She stopped beside her gunman and turned to her friends. "Yesterday Vincent and I went for a ride…and well, he asked me to marry him."

The gunman nodded, his face stoic. "Yuffie accepted my proposal and has agreed to become my wife." He said simply before allowing a small smirk to trace his lips as he brought her hand up, exposing the beautiful ring that graced her finger.

Suddenly he heard Chaos' voice in his head.

"3…2…1"

A loud squeal escaped Tifa as she hopped to her feet and rushed Yuffie, nearly knocking the smaller girl back to the couch she had vacated. Swiftly regained footing prevented them from toppling back onto the loveseat. Deceptively strong arms wrapped around the ninja, hugging her for all she was worth, but she couldn't find it in herself to complain.

"Congratulations." Cloud said with a smile as Tifa freed the ninja and surprised the gunman by hugging him as well. The swordsman draped an arm over Yuffie's shoulder, giving her a squeeze as she giggled when Vincent froze before returning the embrace, albeit a bit awkwardly.

After a few moments, Cloud reached out, pulling Tifa back to allow Vincent to breathe. The ninja hopped back to Vincent's side, taking her hand as she reclaimed her seat.

"When are you going to tell everyone?" The blond asked.

"Well, originally we were going to wait to announce it, but I think we should do it before we leave Costa Del Sol." Yuffie answered, smiling when he nodded and gave her hand a squeeze.

"I have a suggestion," Tifa started, "What about doing it here? We can barbeque and it'll be one last get together before we all go home. It won't be hard, and you know I'm happy to help cook. Burgers, hot dogs…maybe some barbeque chicken or ribs…"

That got another nod from Vincent and the four decided to continue the conversation after Yuffie told them what she wanted to talk to them about. The little brunette took a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay. So, there are some things that you don't know about me. Actually…only a few people know, so I guess it's not that that secret, but I'm not the one that actually told them...ye-"

She was surprised when Vincent's arm draped over her shoulder and his hand covered her mouth. Gray eyes met amused crimson. "Yuffie, you are rambling." He told her and smiled when her eyes widened then narrowed at him, however, his amusement quickly vanished, replaced by a look of surprise when he felt her lick his palm.

An evil chuckle escaped her when Vincent gazed at her, his mouth slightly agape. Reaching over, she used a finger to close his mouth. She turned her attention back to Cloud and Tifa, who were both staring at him with a mixture of amusement and confusion.

"Anyway, she started once more, feeling a bit more confident in what she was about to tell them. As he moved his arm once more, she reclaimed his hand, giving it a squeeze of thanks.

"While we were on the Highwind, I made a promise to Tifa. I told her that she would be the first person I'd tell what I held back from her then. But I think I need to catch you up a bit, Cloud.

"In Wutai, the ninja title is not given, it's earned. It's not just years of training that gives you the title. In order to gain an official title, there are two things that need to be done." One finger rose. "First, you have to defeat the guardians in the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods." A second finger joined the first. "Second, you have to achieve a big victory in battle against an enemy."

Cloud nodded his understanding, prompting her to continue. "When we were still traveling, remember when Vincent and I went to Wutai after we left Cosmo Canyon?"

"Yeah, I remember. It was just before we left to track down the weapon." He answered.

"Bingo!"

"You came back all bruised and exhausted." His brow furrowed at the memory. "Now I know why you said you were expecting to be wounded. What exactly did those battles entail?"

"There are five levels to the Pagoda. Each has a guardian that you must face in order to advance to the next level. After you defeat one guardian, you have two minutes to advance and begin the next battle."

"Testing your endurance and power. There has to be a certain level of strategy as well." Cloud stated and watched her nod. "Yuffie, I'm proud of you." He gave her a small smile.

"Aw, thanks Cloud." She said, feeling her eyes burn with tears. "That really does mean a lot to me."

Taking a moment to compose herself, she took a deep breath. " The second part; gaining a great victory-"

"Sephiroth and Jenova." Cloud answered.

"Yup." Yuffie shifted positions nervously. "Normally, you can do this at any age as long as you have done your training. There are men and women of all age that have taken the challenge. Some decide never to take it, but still serve our country. For me…I had a deadline and I had to gain my title before time ran out.

"Ya see…well, my family has requirements that are different than the other houses in Wutai." She began to fiddle with the fabric of her shorts. "Our laws require that a successor must have accomplished this by their seventeenth birthday. Only rarely is there an exception allowed to our most stringent traditions."

Tifa and Cloud wanted to question her over her wording but remained calm. To interrupt her now would probably amplify her uneasiness. Instead they both nodded and Yuffie continued.

"Wutai...how do I explain? Um, not a lot of people know how things are run there. It's a monarchy; a hereditary one, which means that one family rules and the leadership is passed through that family's descendants. There are five houses, or families, that act as advisors to the ruling family.

"I had to gain my title because my dad, Godo, is the current ruler in Wutai."

Vincent ran his thumb over her the back of her hand as he spoke. "As the daughter of Lord Kisaragi Godo, Yuffie is next in line to rule Wutai. It has now become part of the official ledger in Wutai that Lady Kisaragi Yuffie has obtained her ninja title."

"So…"Tifa said slowly, her eyes a bit wide. "Yuffie is a princess…"

"And," Cloud picked up where she trailed off, "Will become Wutai's leader?"

"That is correct." Vincent said, his voice even though a touch of amusement danced in his carmine eyes.

"Someday…not immediately." She added hastily. When my old man steps down or joins my mother," She gave a sad smile at the thought. "I'll be the one who takes over…which brings us to the next part."

"There's more?!" The Zangan fighter squeaked, wondering what else her little sister hadn't told her.

"Yeah." She decided just to get the next part over with, though she had to admit it was amusing to see the reactions of the couple before them. "Another provision that comes with being the heir is that a mate must be found and announced before their eighteenth birthday. On the night of the eighteenth birthday, the engagement is announced. Two weeks after the date of birth, the wedding ceremony is performed.

There was silence in the room with exception to the mechanical hiss of the air conditioner circulating the almost suddenly stagnant air.

"The dates you were going on back in Nibelheim were to try and start the process of finding a fiancé?" At the ninja and former Turk's nod, the same question popped into the heads of Cloud and Tifa. Deep in their hearts, they hoped the answer to their question was a resounding no.

Vincent saw the wheels turning in their head and knew what they were thinking. Though not offended, he would clear the air before that particular question was uttered.

"If you are wondering, I did not ask Yuffie to marry me because of her upcoming deadline. I asked her to be my wife because that is what I desire. I love her." He said simply.

Both women looked at him with tears in their eyes and his eyes widened at the sudden emotion. Looking to the blond was no help. He simply sat there with a smile (really a smirk) on his lips.

"Women and their emotions." The demon said with amusement as the ninja stood and moved to his lap.

"I love you too Vincent." She placed a light kiss on his lips.

Tifa leaned her head on her partner's shoulder and smiled at the pair. Cloud clasped his larger hand around Tifa's and shook his head. "Out of all of the things that I expected to hear today, nothing in this conversation has come close. Little Yu is a princess…who will one day be ruler…a queen basically…and is getting married in a little over three months."

"It's a lot to take in." Tifa grinned. "I wish you would have told us sooner, but only so we could have been there to support you. This doesn't change you. You're still the Yuffie we know and love. We're proud of you."

"Thanks Cloudy…Tifa." Yuffie let out a sigh of relief. "This is a big weight off my chest. Now it's just a matter of telling the others…that'll happen later though."

"Now that everything is out in the open, let's talk about that barbeque." Tifa chuckled as Yuffie nodded eagerly.

.:-o-:.

Though he listened to the plans that were being laid. His mind wandered to what Cloud had said. Three months. That time span was going to go very quickly and though he found his time in Costa with Yuffie highly enjoyable, he was looking forward to returning to the quite that was Nibelheim. Maybe that would slow things a bit so he could spend more time with her without cameras and pictures popping up at random.

He heard the demon voice, tsking him. "Vinnie…I told you."

"You told me?"

"Ive nvil, Vincent…do you remember?"

Immediately he remembered Chaos's words. "Ive nvil…not long." He paused. "You knew that I'd find that place."

"Yup. Once, beings that were not human walked Gaia soil. We had families, enemies, friends and mates. Even with demons, there are certain elements that are common amongst us all, one of the most sacred was the cuim syda."

"The soul mate." Vincent said, pulling the words translations from the demon who lived within him easily.

"Yes. It was said that once you found your soul mate, the gods set certain moments in place to occur that would strengthen the bond between the couple. I knew the moment you had your shared dream that it would be the place that she became your intended mate. That feeling that you felt that was pulling you towards that cliff's point, was fate.

.:-Authors Notes-:.

Hello! I'm back! It feels so good to write again!

Boy, these last few years have been insane. I went back to school and got my associates of applied sciences and my associates of general studies. I've had various health problems, been taking care of family, sold my grandma's house, had to get her into an apartment (because my cousin ruined her house). It's been crazy and stressful.

Through this, I've still been writing. I had planned out chapters 63-71 and I just finished typing chapter 71. I'm trying to build up some buffer chapters and we're getting closer to the end of this story. I think there might be maybe 3-8 more chapters after chapter 71. I think by the end of chapter 72, I'll have a full Mead Five-star, five subject notebook with the chapters handwritten, so I'll be starting a new notebook soon. I plan out all my chapters by hand in a separate notebook, then write them out in another, and from there, they go into MS word. I just realized that I haven't backed up this story in my google drive. I would be devastated if I lost the chapters I have typed out.

Oh, and when it comes to Chaos' demon language, it's one that I created by using a shift cipher. Bad thing is that I lost the file where I had the language decoded. I think it's on my desktop (which is running Windows XP…luckily it still works), but I don't feel like looking for it. This will probably be the only time that you see it.

I hope you all enjoyed the story up to this point and I'm looking forward to bringing this story to a close after so many years. I have a few ides for my next stories, but I'll probably be working on my Fruits Basket story next to bring that one to a close as well.

I have a few Naruto, Ouran High School Host Club, Final Fantasy (7, 8, and 15 possibly), Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for spirits (one of my new favorite anime), Kingdom hearts 1 or 2 (I have 3, but haven't played it yet. I've started from the beginning so I'm in Deep Jungle of KH1 final mix) and a few others that I've been writing down. I hope that I'll be able to write the story out completely, then post the chapters on a weekly basis.

Well, at this point I'm rambling. I'd like to say hi to all my old readers if you're still out there, and say hi and welcome to all of my new ones.