They all have lips profoundly tired
and lucid souls without a seam,
and yearning (like a sin desired)
moves sometimes slowly through their dream.
They nigh resemble one another
and walk His gardens silently:
so many intervals that gather
in God's majestic melody.
But only with their wings extending
do they call forth the heaven's gales:
like sculptor God Himself were bending
the pages, and His hands were mending
the book of dark creation tales.
-Rainer Maria Rilke, "The Angels"
And with the start of each new day, the blood coursed through her veins, thickly, intently. This was a body with a purpose spelled on flesh from the moment of conception.
She felt the hot light of day shining on her face through her covers. Lilia was one who thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in pitch black, in complete silence. It was as if someone had flipped a switch inside her head when the sun decided to peak over the Eastern horizon and infiltrate her room with lustrous brightness, speaking the words, 'Lilia, Lilia, awake, my sweet!'
There was simply no time for sleeping while the sun shined—there was far too much to be done in one nineteen hour period, and she felt that she may sleep when she was dead.
The young woman jerked her head upwards from her pillow and sat upright, sloppily throwing her covers to the side and crudely approached her vanity, placing herself down hard on the cushioned stool. She picked up her hairbrush and began combing through her long, medium-brown hair, still quite groggy, but growing into lucidity. The smell of a Qu's breakfast from the castle's kitchen was already wafting through the castle halls. Lilia thought about what her fellows in arms would be eating in barracks for a moment, but quickly dismissed the thought in favor of more pleasant contemplations.
She placed her brush gently on the table of her vanity and stood up to inspect her face in the mirror. Her eyes were slim and half-opened with the last vestiges of sleep. Her nose was a touch too long for her face with lips that naturally curved into a frown set against a squared jaw. Accompanying it was strong cheekbones jutting outwards, high into her hairline, complimenting the nearly garish presence of her long bottom lashes. No doubt she was lovely, but she took strongly after her father in both face and body, causing people to always question her mood.
Lilia was usually at least half-agreeable, however she had a fiery spirit and a very loud mouth that often got her involved in brawls with some of the other soldiers. It was occasionally troublesome for her with friends and family too.
She inspected the mirror closer, jade green eyes widening and adjusting to the room as it gradually brightened. Immediately she noticed a lonely pimple peaking through a hair follicle on her cheek.
"Splendid," she mumbled to herself as she roughly grabbed her major's uniform, which differed from the standard uniform of Alexandrian soldiers. It was a lavender suit with many different vinyl components. There was long cuts in the train, making it look a bit like her mother's duster, but much more colorful. It was flanked with a long cape that was attached by sturdy buttons to the top of the uniform. She had recently been promoted after proving herself worthy of the title, "Major Lilia Steiner." It warmed her heart to think of the prospects that presented themselves with this honorable title. Her fingers and toes tingled with anticipation at another day of fierce training, and best of all, leading the other soldiers.
Except of course, she had the performance today instead. She had forgotten. She grudgingly put her major's uniform back and picked out her dance uniform.
Alexandrian dance was a rather new tradition, created by the king and queen in a yearly celebration of peace in Alexandria and all of Gaia. Every year the dance occurs on the day Kuja gave his life to liberate Gaia from destruction, and it incorporates both royal Burmecian styles and Lindblumese street dance. As a result, Alexandrian dance was an extremely difficult act, possessing both finesse and flair.
Lilia had suspected this yearly parade was just an excuse for King Zidane to get together with friends and family and have the time of his life, all the while poor Queen Garnet dreading the whole affair entirely. His behavior was never wicked. It was simply that every single year, more than anything Zidane enjoyed performing stunts in front of his wife that made her gasp in horror. His people loved him and egged him on to do tricks on the flag lines and banners of business. He always came out of these street stunts alive and well, but the queen never found it quite so amusing. Lilia always wondered which year he was going to get himself badly injured or killed.
As she was slipping into the last of her periwinkle dance uniform, there was a light, annoyingly polite rap on her door.
"Why do you even bother knocking? Come in," Lilia spoke without much concern. Her sister, Leopoldine entered through the doorway. Lilia continued to gaze at herself in her mirror, making sure all was right with her uniform before turning to her sister, whom she was expecting.
"Do I appear properly attired, my lady?" the younger sister asked, motioning down her brawny, long body, mocking Leopoldine's perfectly-mannered speech.
Leopoldine considered her sister's face with slight exasperation and amusement at her apparent irritation with the Alexandrian dance ordeal.
"You are quite thin, and without any curves to speak of, that I do not believe anything would look amiss on your frame," Leopoldine noted with a flash of a smirk, crossing her arms and walking further into the room towards Lilia's singular window. The light of dawn was shining through onto the wooden floors. "I do not understand why you choose to participate in the event if it makes you so despondent."
Lilia blinked a few times and crossed her own arms, letting her natural scowl set deeper into her expression. "I'm not despondent. I just want to get this over with so that I can get back to training with my squad."
"You used to love Alexandrian dance! What happened? Oh…I know you do not wish to disappoint father, you are his most prized possession after all…" Leopoldine continued on. Her eyes followed Lilia as she went back to her mirror to make sure her naturally spiraled curls were in order. "Mother is going to come and fix your hair for the performance—God knows I am not to touch it!"
Lilia grinned as she ran her quick fingers through her luscious, glossy hair.
"You would be correct in that you will not touch my hair," Lilia snorted. "And yes, of course I don't want to disappoint father. This has been tradition since we were young, and he enjoys watching me dance so much, I just grin and bear it. It's my last year, anyway."
Lilia turned around from her reflection and placed a hand on her hip, the other soaring upward, flipping her long locks.
"And besides, it taught me much about finesse and grace. Two concepts you have not a clue about."
Leopoldine cocked an eyebrow at her sister's juvenile insults. Usually, she just let them slide right off, knowing that she would play the adult in nearly every situation.
"Lilia, I do not have time for your petty games today. I came here to inform you of protocol…nothing more, nothing less," Leopoldine told her, exasperated. "To begin, mother will be here in five minutes, as she has been busy organizing the patrol in town. You will wait in the west part of town in front of Blizzard Breakers for the parade to start. As the lead dancer and captain of the Alexandrian Dancers, you will clue the dance into the parade just as the flutists and their moogles pass. Everything shall run smoothly today if you heed my instructions, baby sister."
"Indeed, Lea, I am well aware of what my duties are as lead dancer, thank you."
Leopoldine's nostrils flared, attempting to keep her atypical temper at bay, and she sighed audibly. Nobody could push her buttons quite like Lilia.
"Be that it may, I am doing my duties as Hand of the Queen. I oversee all operations of this kingdom, and I see to it that they run smoothly. Excuse me if I do not trust you entirely, as you have the propensity to be quite reckless."
There were times when Lilia admired her older sister. Of course as they got older, the instances in which this occurred were few and far between. When Lilia was very young, Leopoldine was not very kind to her, and was in fact quite venomous in her jealousy towards the young knight. Their father had always called it 'healthy sibling rivalry.' Lilia had suspected it was because her elder sister's frame didn't allow her to become a knight, as she was far too short and shapely to do so in a manner that would allow her to stay nimble enough to live.
It was true that Leopoldine took after Beatrix in most ways; her face was exceedingly bright, highly girlish, and so incredibly flawless that some often mistook her for the kingdom's princess. She had heavy coal-black hair that reached mid-back until recently when she decided to shave half of her head to prevent being mistaken for the princess. Her eyes were reddish-brown, and like Beatrix's remaining eye, they sparkled with both gentility and conviction. Often enough, her full lips were intentionally expressionless, although now they curved upwards into an inviting expression. Unlike most others, she enjoyed painting her lids in winged eyeliner and heavy, chunky mascara, with a perfectly aligned silver hoop in her left nostril. Her father greatly disapproved of that detail.
The oldest daughter of the two legendary knights was also known for having an extremely "feminine" figure—one that was only slightly cumbersome, but it was the type of robustness that suited her to perfection. Her breasts and rump were, to say the least, developed, but this much she attempted to hide in her uniform. She wore a cape and shoulder pads of pitch black. Underneath was a brown lace-up vest and deep, blood-red stockings with a pair of fine steel plated shoes that always clanked heavily every time she stepped near. And when standing next to her towering sister, it became more apparent just how small she actually was.
Lilia was aware that their differences couldn't be more pronounced—and she was glad of the genetic share she had received, save the amount of attention that Leopoldine's beauty garnered from the people of Alexandria. The young teenager thought she'd much rather be a talented, famed knight than be conventionally beautiful and musically inclined anyway.
"Excellent. Don't you have a breakfast hall to get in order or something? You are dismissed from my room." Lilia said, attempting to shoo her away. Leopoldine gave her one last glare and glided over to the doorway. Before exiting, she turned around sharply in the frame and smiled facetiously.
"By the way, mother has informed me that you will not be training at all today. The royal family has decided to hold Princess Crystal's confirmation in addition to today's activities. A celebration for all, indeed! Tonight we shall have a feast in her honor, and you would do well to be on your very best behavior."
Without further ado, Leopoldine curtailed out of Lilia's chamber, hefty steps echoing through the corridor. Lilia grimaced after her, throwing herself down onto her stool, chin in hand awaiting her mother, who didn't take long to appear.
The general, who hadn't changed much physically in her near three decades of service, strode into the room and flipped her rapidly silvering, ashy brown hair. She smiled brightly at the sight of her daughter in her dance uniform, and strode over to start running her practiced, calloused hands through her hair.
"Lilia, you look magnificent! I do believe you may give Princess Crystal a run for her money today," Beatrix prattled, the crow's feet on her visible eye creasing as she looked at both herself and Lilia in the mirror. She saw so much of Steiner in Lilia's facial structure and overall physique, even when she was dolled up to near faultlessness, that it set ablaze the ever-burning furnace of her heart. "I do hope you've remembered that her summoner's confirmation is right after the festival."
"Oh, don't worry. Lea made sure to remind me," Lilia snorted, her face sinking even deeper into its unbecoming pout. Beatrix began pulling her hair into braids, nimble fingers racing against the clock. "Do you have to always pull so hard, mother?"
Beatrix's smiled quickly faded and glanced at her daughter with distaste, causing Lilia to shrink into herself. "Do be serious now, Lilia. There is no need to fret. Your training will commence tomorrow—I know it pains you to leave it at the door for one day. There are more important things in life than becoming the most powerful warrior in Alexandria, though that may be a hard thing to understand right now."
"I'm sure that was exactly what you told yourself when you were training to become Gaia's most feared warrior," Lilia drawled sarcastically.
"I did not accomplish such a feat in one day of training. It took many," Beatrix explained, snappishly pulling her daughter's braids into a masterwork on top of her head, causing the teenager to groan. "Your skills will not suffer for it, but your attitude needs to come into check when you're around your superiors. I will hear no more of this balderdash from you today."
Lilia had no choice but to obey. She stayed quiet for the rest of the duration of her mother's presence. Nobody in their immediate family ever challenged her—and for good reason. Not only was she a force to be reckoned with, she was the voice of reason more often than not. Within a few more minutes and the quick strokes of a mother's expert fingers, Lilia was ready for show.
"You may turn around now."
Lilia turned around to face her mother, who wasted no time in grabbing Lilia's youthful face and placing a gentle, yet firm kiss on her forehead.
"Your father and I love you so very much, Lilia. You will do wonderfully today. Try to keep yourself in check," Beatrix whispered, stroking her daughter's hair. "And listen to Lea when she tells you something, because she is probably right."
The streets near the west end of Alexandria were packed with people at every corner. There were so many people that Lilia and her troupe had to stick very close together in order to communicate with each other for the signal. The young major of the Alexandrian Army had been scanning the crowd relentlessly, searching for Bentley and Sapphira, Ruby and Blank's children. The two of them had grown up in town, had always thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations, as did the rest of the Alexandrian people. But this year seemed different to Lilia. The streets were packed to maximum capacity, and there were many, many more people than in years past.
The girl closed her eyes and breathed in through her diaphragm—there was much anxiety and tension in the air, and she could easily sense this much. She opened her eyes again as she felt a sharp whip of strange energy coming from her right. She felt a sultry gaze upon her. Slowly, she looked over to her right and spotted an older, dirty-looking man. He was quite obviously homeless.
"Strange…" Lilia softly said to herself, cocking her head to get a better view of the man. People were rarely homeless in Alexandria anymore, as they had a prospering economy and a low poverty rate compared to Lindblum.
He caught Lilia discovering his visual advances, and before darting away from the scene, he bore into her gaze as she did his. Lilia eyed his direction as long as she could before the horns sounded for the parade to begin. Instantly brought into herself, she coiled all the physical energy she had inside and did her best to focus on the matter at hand: she had to perform exceptionally well in her dance to impress the royal family, as well as her own.
"Lilia!"
The girl's concentration was once again snapped out of place when she heard someone calling her name, and pushing their way through the crowd was none other than Bentley. Holding his hand was a young, pre-teen Sapphira.
"Where have you two been?" Lilia asked, a large smile growing on her, wrapping her arms around Bentley's strong, yet lean body as he entered her space. The Alexandrian dancers looked on, quite annoyed at this interruption of their concentration. Lilia gave a hug to Sapphira and ran her fingers through her voluminous red hair as Bentley made a point to answer her question.
"Ah, sorry Lils! We got caught up in a little something-something before making our way over. Hope you're not too pissed at us!"
Lilia eyed him over in mock-suspicion, knowing well that Bentley liked to get himself into trouble and drag his sister with him.
"You should know better than to get into street brawls with your sister watching. The older ones lead by example, you know!" Lilia answered him, inspecting him for bruises and scuffs, but she saw none. Bentley waved her off.
"No, no, it was nothing like that. Just had to take care of some business, you know what about already," he answered, the pointy top of his bluish-grey hair shifting ever so slightly. Bentley always had a way about him where he would attempt to look consistently nonchalant, even after getting himself into trouble. Sapphira placed her hands together and her eyes twinkled at the sight of the inspirational, fierce young warrior.
"How has your training been going, Lilia? I heard you just got promoted to Major! That's amazing!" the young girl gushed in awe.
"Yes, it has been a very exciting time for my squad and I! Everyone is progressing nicely, and we are all excellent fighters. I believe many of them shall also be promoted soon enough."
"Marked competition between the squads, huh? Lilia's squad always has to beat the others out," Bentley remarked, rudely cutting into the line of dancers and leaning against the brick wall of Blizzard Breakers. The action caused stifled whispers of scathing remarks about the young knight and her friends. Lilia was about to answer his claim when she saw her cue to enter the parade, passing a few minutes in.
Lilia proceeded to cut off Sapphira, who was adding in her own piece, "Ah, dammit, I have to go. I will see you two later!"
Lilia leaped into the back line of the parade, followed swiftly by her troupe. She began the dance with a large, loud move that her troupe attempted to assist in flourish. The dance had never been anything of spectacular effort for Lilia, not compared to the fierce training her mother ordered on all of the Alexandrian soldiers. No—it was, in fact, quite a joy for Lilia when it came down to the matter, simply because it got her blood pumping and her spirits high. She almost thought of it as a warm up, with the blurring faces, the speed of the move, the strength of the legs, arms, and back that it took to do the jump, flips, tosses and turns while moving forward on the cobblestones. Lilia felt her face break out in a sweat, the cool breeze born of the Ceebell River assuring her body was receiving its daily portion of a workout. She could see the girls behind her in the dance, miraculous swans swimming though a sea of stray confetti, and all appeared to be absolutely impeccable in their technique. Her tall frame met with slight resistance at the ever-growing crowd, and she struggled to see anyone she knew, but all washed away in her acute, sharp concentration. Two girls then threw her ribbons, and she decorated her dance with the flowing purple flags of color.
It was harder for her to sense danger when she was absolved to complete her job in sheer movement, and she somehow failed to immediately sense the apprehension lurking on many faces in the crowd.
At one point she spotted the king and queen in their usual spot, elevated from the street on top of a movable contraption. It was designed with their safety in mind, and was surrounded by various Knights of Pluto. Lilia performed her usual flag-wave at the two, who waved back in response, flanked by their three children. Lilia caught a glimpse of Crystal, looking absolutely smitten, a blush firing over her porcelain cheeks, fanning herself in the heat of the spring day. Zerrick, their oldest son, was clutching onto the rails in great interest. Jagger, their youngest son, made a show of jumping all around the structure, allowing his tail to do the work of swinging from bar to bar. Garnet was made busy trying to get the boy to come down from the heights, and Zidane was hooting at the scene all the while.
Lilia returned her attentions back to the dance, but a slight jostle of the crowd and hushed voices told her something wasn't quite right. At once, the parade stopped and Lilia clambered into a flutist in front of her, falling to the cobblestones below. Mortified, she raised her gaze to meet the many she was expecting in scrutiny, but instead found the crowd's attention focused directly ahead. The young knight quickly got to her feet, dropped her ribbons, and dashed over to what she thought must have caused the scene. Before she could get there, screams started erupting and the people of Alexandria began running away from the area where Lilia skidded to a halt. Right before her eyes was a street brawl, one consuming both Alexandrian soldiers and other unknown forces. With her knight's instinct and duty kicking in, she searched for a sword she could steal. She spotted a girl from another squad cowering in a corner on the opposite street, so she made up her mind to dash over and take the sword from the girl's quivering hands. The girl looked at once offended and relieved by Lilia's behavior.
"You will not serve in this army one minute longer if you cannot fight for your queen!" Lilia spat at her, eyes boring into the other, the chill mortification of certain ejection from the army an imminent threat. Lilia growled at the younger girl while she sweat furiously, and proceeded to bolt in the direction of the riot. Without her armor, she found that she was faster than ever, the adrenaline pumping through her body enough to grant her a taste of invincibility. She reached the scene with immense grace, as if she were still dancing, and all the brawlers and soldiers noticed her presence immediately. Most knew exactly who she was and decided to call it quits on the fight. A few men of the street simply grinned at her in second hand embarrassment, still willing to pick a fight with the greatest sword fighter that the country had seen since Beatrix.
"Do you have any idea who you are proposing to fight, gentlemen?" Lilia inquired, reaching out her free hand for an answer. The men scoffed at her profession, and readied themselves for a fight.
"You're just a stupid little girl in a leotard!" One of the men retorted, eliciting ostentatious sniggers from the others. Lilia singled out his speech and claimed her own smile.
"Ah, so you would be the ring leader of this little circus. Allow me to invite you to a showing of real leadership."
Before the men could supply any more smart remarks, Lilia had done a flip in midair, landing in the center of criminals, her sword projected outwards in fighting stance. One of the overly confident men attempted to stab Lilia's exposed back, but she quickly redressed the balance and swung the sword over his throat before he had a chance to reach her. The Alexandrian soldiers on the outlier scuttled away. Another man saw his opportunity and tried to catch her midriff, but her learned stance permitted her just a touch more agility. She caught him over his face, the man screaming with pain as her hot steel ruined the aesthetics of his appearance. The next two men backed away for just a moment as Lilia began to recognize the fear in their faces, at once only just realizing that she actually was the daughter of the two strongest warriors in Alexandrian history.
"Y-You! You really are—
"The daughter of the famed General Beatrix Steiner and Captain Adelbert Steiner? Yes, I do believe I informed you of that before this little tiff. Did you not consider that one of the three of us would come and stop you?" Lilia replied smartly, raising her sword in her signature-fighting stance. "Do not fool yourself in that the recognition of my status will grant you your life back. You have disrupted a royal ceremony and challenged my knights. You will die on these streets, traitors!"
Lilia stepped quickly over to the man on her right with what seemed like an impossible amount of agility. And though they clashed swords in his attempt to block, Lilia flipped around and back-handedly cleaved her blade right through the top of his skull, leaving his brain bared and guts flying to the stones. At this moment, Lilia had inwardly hoped that all parents had removed their children from the scene of the fight.
The leader of the group was seen running in the other direction with his men, looking back to snarl at her in contempt. He lifted up his arm to bare the inside of his right wrist marked with an insignia of a dripping black rose. Lilia shouted after them, simply puzzled at the revelation of the tattoo. They eventually got away, despite Lilia trying to dash after them.
She felt a hand on her shoulder holding her back.
"W-What is the meaning of this? They are escaping!" she screamed, inconsolable. She made note of who was holding her shoulder. It was her father. Her looked down upon her proudly, but shook his head in insistence and Lilia tried to wriggle free from him.
"Let them go, Lilia. You are in no position to be fighting them in your current state."
Lilia was incredulous.
"I had them, father, you saw! I had them! Those scoundrels were no match for me!"
Steiner simply shook his head. He understood perfectly how she felt about letting them get away, but fatherhood and being spouse to Beatrix had cooled his hot-head down in recent years.
"Today is not that day. You dissolved the brawl—that was duty enough for you. Look at yourself," Steiner commented, pointing at the blood and gore strewn all over Lilia's gangly limbs. "You need to go and get yourself clean and cured before the ceremony. We will speak later about what you saw here today. Are we understood?"
The girl began to calm down, her breath coming back into its usual evenness. She looked at herself as her father instructed, and it was true—she was covered in an obscene amount of blood and gore, which she could feel soak through her outfit into her skin. She decided that her father was probably wise enough to know when to quit a fight.
"Hey!"
Zidane and Garnet made way through the crowds, flanked by the Knights of Pluto.
"Is everyone okay over here?" Zidane asked, finding his answer by the bodies that lay strewn on the cobblestone. Steiner was quick to answer for his daughter.
"Yes, your majesty, all of importance are accounted for," Steiner exclaimed, saluting the two. Garnet kneeled down to check one of the bodies and found that there was no pulse.
"We are going to have to get the medical team over here to transport the bodies to the crypt to be cremated. They won't do any good lying in the streets," Garnet ordered, looking up at her longtime personal guard. The man nodded and clanked off towards the castle. The queen peered over to Lilia's soiled face and attire, causing a shadow of doubt to cast in the back her mind. Garnet betrayed her puzzlement, eyes reflecting both shock and pity for the young solider.
"This is not your first human kill, I presume?"
Lilia shook her head in response, seeming to find a strange solace in a particular smear on the stones. The queen adopted a stance of soft, quiet contemplation.
"Ah, yes. As I recall…it was not," Garnet finally answered, hand raised to feel the lump in her throat. "It is a hard thing to come to terms with, surely. I don't know that it ever does get easier…"
Zidane moved over to help her up from her kneeling position, and Garnet remedied her balance once at her feet, raven strands of hair fluttering around lightly. She had more to add on the matter of death in her streets, but when she turned to speak to the young knight, she had already begun trotting up the way to the dock.
In the passing years, Queen Garnet had decided that she would much like to decorate the dungeon chamber where she nearly met her demise as a young girl. The entire platform was erected for the extraction of eidolons from summoners who had just come of age, as Princess Crystal Jane Til Alexandros I had, but the chamber sat purposeless once the practice was banned in the Mist Continent. It always nagged Garnet that she would somehow need the chamber for something very important.
She created the wide, hollowed out room into a mystical shrine for summoners, mainly to be used by her cousin, Eiko, and herself. Both women took the time out in recent years to read both Madain Sari's ancient wall inscriptions and texts in order to better understand the summoner tribe's traditions. Eiko could somehow understand the language being used, as it spoke to her through her horn. Garnet had no such luxury, and was forced to learn the language simply by reading it over and over again. Both eventually understood an immense amount about their heritage and culture.
It was tradition to honor any summoner to come of age with a ceremony to celebrate coming into full control of their summoning ability. This feat hadn't come easy for Crystal, but she was a trained summoner very young and the ceremony was her right. And while her siblings could summon as well, they had little interest in the craft.
Garnet didn't want her daughter to miss out on their cultural heritage, and thus Eiko and she aptly decided to put her through the ceremony. It wasn't unlike the one Eiko undergone of her own volition not long ago. Hers took place in Madain Sari with crows and crows of people gathered in the tiny space. A very young Crystal remembered being so enamored by the entire ceremony, the sights, the laughter, the tears, the song, the dance, the feast, the ritual. She could remember the sunset reflecting off the bay waters, remembered people swimming, splashing, and kissing in the nostalgic light. She remembered her introduction to the Eidolon Wall, how her mother collapsed to her knees and cried for an hour in front of Bahamut's mural, how she knelt next to her as she sobbed and held on so tightly to her arm she thought her mother might lose the extremity. But she adored her mother more than anyone in the world, and knew she wanted to be just like her. Powerful. Lovely. Spiritual.
Eiko was always an idol to her. Crystal remembered Eiko as a teenager, whispering in her ear that she would amount to as much as she ever did, if not more. She took the young, raven-haired girl by the hand and gently brought her into the world of summoning magic. Eiko was her mentor and taught her the vast majority of everything she knew in summoning skills and white magic. She became masterful at performing both. The two used to train in Madain Sari, in Lindblum, and in Alexandria. The training in abilities and the summoners' language was vigorous and never easy to Crystal, but those times were her fondest memories and the best of her life.
Crystal's clear, true blue eyes shined when those memories resurfaced as she walked down the long aisle of the former dungeon, now a church or shrine of sorts. Her glass slippers echoed through the walkway, people flanking her in pews on either side. Most of the people she didn't know—most of them were Lindblumese royals, Trenian nobles, or Burmecian dragoon knights. The front of the room was decorated in sparkling draperies of silk with dazzling diamonds strewn throughout the fabrics, much like the veil covering her face. The walls were recently decorated with murals of each summon similar to the ones in Madain Sari. Each summon was enchanted with a spell as protectorate of any summoner present in the castle. The staff in her hands was found in Madain Sari, likely the staff the tribe leader used to summon Alexander in the olden days. Her garb was a tight-fitting white dress but made complex with glittering, cerulean stitching of summoner's prayers, and feathers to top off around her was designed in a way to hide her tail, something she often liked to do as she was quite insecure about how it looked behind her. On her head just above her horn, rest a crown, encrusted with the crushed rainbow of jewels representing each one of her summons.
Crystal's eyes travelled over each mural on her slow march, eyes resting on Alexander, her most favored summon. The holy angel's wings gave her instant relief from her nerves, and it almost seemed to nod at her as she marched on. She looked away into the pews, spotting her father in the front right. He was beaming at her intently, very clearly delighted by her accomplishments. She smiled back at him, and while not able to wave, she nodded her head just as she felt Alexander had done to her.
She began to reach the front of the long aisle when she noticed there was incense burning behind Eiko, officiator of the ceremony. On Eiko's right, Steiner knelt before his princess, and Beatrix held the same position on her left. She looked eagerly behind Eiko, and there she stood, her beautiful, ever-youthful mother. Her mother glowed in the light of a bible that rest in her hands, a book imbued with a spell to lock-in each and every summon so that they wouldn't overwhelm the people in their influence.
As she reached the point where Eiko stood, she noticed the organ music blaring, Alexandrian choir singing ancient songs from Madain Sari. On the organ was none other than the Queen's Hand, Leopoldine. The woman had been something of a wonder—not very talented at many things as was Lilia, but excellent at the position she held while also being somewhat of a virtuoso in her musical craft. The oldest of the next generation eyed Eiko, searching for a signal of when to stop playing. Eiko looked behind her at Leopoldine and nodded her head, her face not lending itself to seriousness. Leopoldine cracked a smile herself just before ceasing to play, and Crystal felt funny about that particular exchange between the two of them.
Still, her attention was brought away from that when Eiko reached out to lift the veil from her face. And there she stood, skin bright and pale, sapphire eyes shimmering like the port island itself. Eiko gasped at her exquisiteness and ran her fingers down the young girl's cheek. A solemn tear fell from the girl's mother as she also noted the girl's splendor in all that she was. The girl held undisputable powers, no doubt, making her a sure force to be reckoned with in any kingdom.
Crystal truly understood what it meant to belong to the world.
"We are gathered here today to witness the confirmation of Summoner Crystal Jane Til Alexandros I," Eiko began, addressing the gathering. "Kneel down before me, summoner."
Crystal obeyed and knelt before Eiko. Above her, Garnet passed the glowing book over and the congregation spurted out their first saying, mostly unsure, in the ancient language at Eiko's command. The ruler of Lindblum continued on with an ancient speech and prayer for about five minutes.
Eventually, her crown began to glow as the sacred words were spoken, echoing through the hall as if spoken from the Heavens above. Then, all was silent.
"Peridot."
Crystal heard the voice ringing very clearly in her head and stood as she was instructed, turning to the audience and looking into each and every one of their faces. She spotted Lilia and her brother in the front right row and grinned inwardly.
Suddenly, the girl began twirling in dance upon the platform. Eiko and Garnet moved back as the girl performed, her skirt flying in a frenzy, her staff wielded with great power and precision. Every move had been practiced to perfection, and the congregation mooned over her grace and beauty as she pirouetted, swayed, and frolicked back and forth.
Bolts of lightning hammered to the ground with the sudden swift movement of her staff, sending vibrations throughout the chamber. Ramuh made his appearance in her midst, floating down from the roof, striking reverence and fear into everyone who laid eyes upon the god of lightning. After Ramuh had disappeared, Leviathan made his appearance, mildly soaking everyone present.
Crystal did not cease her dance. She moved with as much refinement as she had started with.
Summon after summon appeared before her, proof of her powers from the glow of the crown on top of her head. Finally, it came down to the last summon: Alexander.
Crystal was miraculously jerked from her dance as her limp body catapulted into the air, majestically floating before her people, the wings of Alexander enveloping her in a final show of veneration, before gingerly dropping her onto the extraction stand.
Eiko and Garnet immediately rushed over and performed Curaga on her at once, her eyes fluttering open as Garnet held her head in her arms.
This was all part of the ceremony. It was expected that Crystal would collapse in exhaustion by the end, as Eiko had done, and many before her. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause. Garnet struggled to wipe away her tears as she held her daughter in earnest, incredibly aware of the immeasurable supremacy and poise that she possessed.
"She's finally here. She is finally one of The Ancients," Garnet whispered. Eiko nodded as she once again ran a hand down the teenager's face, brushing sweaty strands from her forehead.
"You passed the trial, Crystal," Eiko whispered to her, and the girl beamed with the ferocity of the sunshine that beat down upon Madain Sari.
It had been just about the longest table that she had ever seen.
Of course, she was used to the royal dining hall due to living in the castle her whole life, but Lilia had never seen the amount of food present, nor had she ever seen the table so long with so many people in attendance.
She sat somewhere in the middle of the right side of the table next to her mother and Eiko. Across from her were Leopoldine and Zerrick while Garnet and Crystal were on each end of the table. Others in attendance were scattered about, but Lilia knew most of the faces intimately. It was as if they were all one large family, even incorporating non-royals such as herself in the celebration.
The feelings present were usually always good. Lilia, however, was very receptive to changes in energy from those around her, as was necessary for battle in knighthood should the army ever go to war. This allowed her to be quite adept at reading people.
Eiko was always the first one to chime in during dinner. "We simply cannot express how proud we are of you, Crystal, darling."
Garnet was always the second one to speak, if concerning her children. "Everything went exactly as planned. We knew, of course, that you would pass the trial into becoming a full-fledged summoner."
"We never doubted your abilities for a moment, Princess!" Steiner said.
The table consented to this sentiment in nods of agreement, as everyone was attempting to eat politely without expressing their delight verbally, spewing bits of chewed up food all over the table. Lilia smirked at her very best companion, who cocked an eyebrow in return. Crystal and she had been so close in age; it was almost as if they were really sisters, though Leopoldine and Crystal looked much more alike.
Crystal scrunched up her face for a second, her eyes darting towards Leopoldine, whom Lilia herself glanced at. Lilia didn't understand what Crystal was referring to, so she turned back to the princess.
"What?" Lilia mouthed.
Crystal then nodded her head in the direction of Eiko, and then Lilia grasped what Crystal was indicating. Eiko and Leopoldine had been staring intently into each other's eyes for quite a while. Lilia recoiled at the sight and quickly went back to working on her dinner plate. Neither of the two older women noticed the young ones observing them.
Eiko smiled in an uncharacteristically shy way while looking at Leopoldine, whose face was usually unreadable. "And Lea! What a magnificent job you did you with the masterful musical composition at the ceremony. It really set the mood…"
Leopoldine bowed her head, yet not returning the smile. "Thank you, Your Highness. Your accolades are greatly esteemed."
Eiko acted satisfied with the outcome of the interaction and placed a tongue indiscreetly inside her cheek before picking at her food. Her shoulder length, purple hair fell down as she leaned in, covering her subsequent expression. Crystal redirected her attention to the boy sitting right beside her. The boy immediately raised his head from his meal to meet her gaze.
"Oh! And we forgot to mention, Fredryk is going to be staying with us for a while to train with Beatrix and Steiner, authorized of course by Freya and Sir Fratley!" Zidane suddenly chimed in. All eyes were on the boy as he slowly scanned the faces. A flush emerged beneath his rather bluish fur tone. His parents nodded in agreement while the table proceeded to clap for him.
"We wanted him to be trained in every type of combat so that he can be Burmecia's best dragoon knight," Freya commented, patting her son on the shoulder. Fredryk continued to blush furiously. He was not the type to take compliments very well and was extremely humble in all his interactions.
"And since all has been forgiven between the kingdoms, I don't believe this should pose any problems to either party," Fratley added understanding the hesitation some may feel at the very idea.
"And we shall train him well—to ensure that he will become the best knight that he can be. Beatrix and I have a different set of skills, of course, so he will get much variety in his training," Steiner interjected, placing a hand on his wife's thigh, she resting her hand on his in turn.
Lilia stared very hard at Fredryk, recognizing that the boy stopped his blushing and suddenly looked very solemn. It troubled her greatly that he wouldn't make eye contact with her or her parents. While examining Fredryk's reaction, Lilia caught Zerrick's eye. He was grinning warmly at her from down her side of the table. Lilia made a motion to return the favor until she saw him turn to his girlfriend, Claudia King. Zerrick kissed her, and Lilia shrank back into her seat attempting to look as if his show of affection didn't affect her.
Lilia always had strong feelings for the older boy, who was Zidane's man in charge when he wasn't around. It had been for good reason, however, as one would be hard-pressed to find a kinder, gentler, passionate, yet ambitious man.
Much like his parents, he enjoyed adventure, travel, and treasure hunting. He was also quite good at thieving, though his mother generally disapproved of his yearning to practice.
'You don't need to learn that skill, Zerrick. You have everything you could ever need in life, and are fortunate for it,' his mother would say to him.
He didn't heed her concerns, and his father secretly taught him the complex trade of banditry. Rather it had been a secret up until Garnet discovered it.
For Lilia, the problem with him was that he was dating one of her relatives. Claudia was a noble in Treno, and she recently moved to the castle in what was thought to be a future marriage proposal. Lilia didn't know much about her heritage as her mother refused to talk about it much, except that her grandmother's maiden name was King and that she owned financial interest in the King Family Auction House. This made Claudia a cousin on her mother's side.
Lilia didn't know how Claudia and Zerrick's match came to be, but they seemed physically suited. Claudia's pale golden hair lay long against her ivory skin, framing her icy, deep set eyes and button nose. Her strong chin rounded out her features in a way that emphasized her strong character. Zerrick's appearance was similar with minor differences. He sported light brown hair instead of the stark blonde, and there were the horn and tail, signs of his parentage.
Lilia found herself envious of Claudia's obvious beauty. She surmised that astonishing genes must lie on her mother's side, possibly from the Beatrix's father's (Griffin) side, but most likely from her mother's (King) side.
Lilia snapped out of her mid-dinner daydream and her attention coasted back to Eiko and her sister, who were still staring at each other in a plentiful fashion. Lilia couldn't figure for the life of her why they were doing so. As far as she knew, there was no real history between the two.
Abruptly, Leopoldine put down her silverware, threw her napkin upon the table after a dab of the mouth, and excused herself. She was an extremely hard woman to read, and most always had a stone-faced expression while in front of company. Her parents drew back in astonishment at the young woman's rare breach of conduct.
"Leopoldine!" Steiner screeched as she attempted to walk away from the table. "Just where do you think you're going?! The banquet has not yet finished and you have not been properly dismissed!"
Leopoldine's gaze rolled slowly over her shoulder to look at the long rows of people at the table, a vast darkness consuming the plane of her face. Someone at the table began to choke ever so slightly on their food. It came from Eiko's general direction.
"I am sorry, everyone. It is simply that I do not feel quite well this evening and do wish to retire."
"It's quite alright, Lea. You have had an exhausting day. You may be excused," Garnet interjected before Steiner could argue with her. Steiner, being quite practiced in his experience with Garnet, knew not to speak over her.
Leopoldine nodded gratefully at the queen and left the banquet hall, silence in her wake.
Beatrix irately whipped her head in Steiner's direction, her hefty curls flying.
"Adelbert, I do not understand why you always have to make a show of it when she has even a toe out of line. She is consistently gracious, ever-loyal, and performs perfectly in all her duties benefitting Alexandria. Please, keep your distastes to yourself while in the presence of friends and family," Beatrix whisper-yelled at her husband, still loudly enough for everyone to hear. Steiner never argued with or belittled his wife in front of others, so he kept bitterly quiet for the rest of the night.
"Huh…. strange…" Lilia thought to herself as she attempted to block herself from listening to the tense conversations of the present moment.
It wasn't unusual for Beatrix to take a lofty midnight walk when she couldn't sleep, especially as she climbed the hill of middle age. She was careful not to stir her husband in his restful slumber while taking her sword out of its encasing. Many times she was in her nightgown while walking; the off white, flowing fabrics covered only the most intimate parts of her body, garnering whispers from the night watch and the Alexandrian people alike. Beatrix simply didn't care anymore. She was still the esteemed knight that she'd always been, and still as skillful, though slowing down considerably, both in body and mind. As a result, she did not care who observed her aging body on these walks, so long as she took care not to be completely in the nude. Steiner had known about these walks for the most part and didn't much care for them as he knew of both their decelerating conditions of age.
Still, Beatrix felt confident she could protect herself from anything. No one ever dared to challenge the most famed general on Gaia, especially not in this town. Even after two decades, people still fled from her view whenever she approached.
"In cold blood."
These words had seeped into the very darkest corners of her psyche. In cold blood. Cold blooded killer. It is enough to make one wish they'd never entered into such a life, such a contract as this. To protect the queen, to protect the people, is it worth the undeviating blemishes? The red and brown pigments that infiltrate her nightmares and have made every waking moment teeter on the brink of insanity?
It was only in recent years that Beatrix felt she'd come to terms with her acts. Being able to talk it over with Steiner, who also had a great understanding of the terms of death, had always been able to keep her from crossing that terminal line.
There were many reasons why choosing to be his wife was the best decision she'd ever made, though she never did think it would be him. She never thought it would be anyone. She'd always assumed that she would die alone or in the fervor of fight. But blood is the rose of mysterious union, after all…
And she pondered this many a night, a promenade along, the cobblestones sounding out in soft pats underneath her calloused feet. She proudly mused upon her oldest daughter, being the beautiful, kind, polite, and overall glorious being that she was. She reminded her of herself, but more wise and good. Lilia worried her a bit more. The young paladin reminded her far too much of a frightening cross between her two parents as young adults. In pairing with this recognition, there was also the horrendous, insufferable, constant fear of losing the girl to war if it were ever to happen.
It would be very soon that Beatrix and Steiner choose to step down, but they discussed that they would do so together. Their marriage truly had no bounds—everything they did, they did as a team. But they knew the result of this would likely be Lilia stepping in as General of the Alexandrian Army.
And that prospect had frightened them to unspeakable proportions. It was late April, and Lilia had just turned 17 as of few weeks ago. Leopoldine would be 21 in early September, Beatrix was turning 50 next month, and Steiner already turned 55 back in March.
The general attempted to throw this thought out of her mind and just enjoy the fresh air and cool breeze that made its way to her shapely, yet muscular frame. She observed the happenings in the town and could see the only activity in her vicinity was of criminals and thieves, all who dashed away into alleys upon seeing her approach. Beatrix stopped in her tracks and shook her head before reenacting her signature hair flip.
"I still cannot get the people to trust me, I see," she whispered to herself, knowing that she hadn't done an honest thing to connect with the people since she helped with the reconstruction of Alexandria and Burmecia. This brought her to a different thought—Fredryk did not trust her, or anyone in her bloodline.
Beatrix sauntered a little further towards the entrance of the city. She'd only made it past where the riotous brawl had been when she spotted an older man covered in rags and filth, slumped over, out in the open, over a couple bottles of beer. The general found herself a strange feeling about this particular man, though he was no different from the rest. She walked over to the man to get a closer inspection. He had commenced upon burping and laughing manically as she approached, then she was close enough to get a good look at his face. It was only a split second later that she realized that she knew that face. The man grinned up at her.
Beatrix recoiled.
"Still stunning as ever, I see. Three decades has not changed you one bit, save a few laugh lines," he spluttered at the general. A clear look of horror washed over her face.
She knew that accent. It was Trenian, much like her own had been in her youth.
"But how could you possibly…?" Beatrix whispered in disbelief, her singular eye wide with fear, her mouth quivering with anticipation of his answer.
The man could do nothing but keep on his wild laughing, and Beatrix shook her head fiercely. She began backing away slowly, the sword in her hand shaking. The sword was raised with rash decision with the intent to run him through, but Beatrix remained frozen in place.
The man picked up upon her hesitation, "What is it Trixie…where is that cold-blooded general that we all know and love?"
Her jaw clenched and she raised her sword higher, ready to strike, just before realizing that she simply couldn't. Arms dropped to back to her sides, the sword slipped from her grip.
The man continued to rage with senseless mirth, rolling onto his stomach as if to vomit. His eyes glazed over, silvery in their blissful incoherence.
Beatrix didn't wait to see what would happen next. She sprinted as fast as she could towards the dock.
Author's notes:
I really hope you all are enjoyed my revamped story thus far. A couple of things to note:
The ceremony was indeed inspired by Yuna of FFX. I'm not so very original, but I hope you all enjoyed this scene anyway because it was the most fun to write thus far.
I am sorry about all the character descriptions, but I believe they are necessary so that you may visualize each character and get a sense of who they are as people.
If you read "Bones of an Idol", my old fanfiction, some of the characters are markedly different in personality. I think the vignettes I have created for them will suit them much better this time around.
Yes, I did steal a line from "Peace Frog" by The Doors. Love me some Jimmy.