Mystic: Oh, why the heck not? Just er, ignore the previous chapters. I was a strange writer back then. BUT I'VE MISSED THIS PAIRING SO MUCH!
"Wizard, I refuse to believe anything you tell me ever again!" Lady Hilda pushed herself away from the table and attempted to storm out of the dining hall. Her chalice of wine stood half-empty and neglected, her plate nothing more than pushed-around food. The meal became less appetizing the more Kuja opened his mouth.
He shrugged, sipped at his drink. "If you leave now, lady, you'll miss the best part."
"There is no best part! It's sick!"
Kuja grinned. "Don't you trust me?" At her scowl, he grinned even wider. Her scowl was almost cute. "Sit back down and I'll pour you some more wine."
This really wasn't the way Hilda planned on celebrating the Feast of All Souls. Here she was, prisoner to a madman in a codpiece and silk sleeves, with hair prettier than her own. She asked to brush it once, out of boredom, but then vowed never again to put that much brandy in her apple cider. Especially when he answered, "Yes, you may, but be gentle with it."
"I don't think I should drink anymore around you." Hilda paused at the doorway, grimaced at his smirk.
"If you'd eat more, it wouldn't affect you."
May Ifrit condemn him to the lowest and hottest pits of the earth. Red wine or otherwise; it no longer mattered.
"Lady Hilda, sit down."
She huffed, crossed her arms, but did as he requested. "Fine," she said. "Talk." Because bossing Kuja around always ended well for her. Always.
The wizard raised his chalice in a toast. "It really is a torrid romance, lady. Don't women like torrid romances?"
"Yes, when it's happening to us and not the Alexandrian queen."
"The queen deserves romance."
"She's a widow."
"Widows deserve romance."
Hilda wanted to run down to his cellar where he kept all of his poisons and ingest the first vial she found. All of her problems would go away forever. "What you are describing, Kuja, is not romance." Truthfully, it was heinous and highly disturbing. She briefly wondered if she already hadn't ingested something in his cellar and was now being tormented by the fiery eidolon for her stupidity. "Queen Brahne does not hire servants for ... that. She doesn't."
"She does."
"No."
He tilted his head and smiled sweetly, which made his prisoner's skin start to crawl. "Dear lady, would I lie to you?"
"You stole my airship, so yes. You would."
"I don't lie about sex, Hilda."
The lady of Lindblum chose a very bad time to sip her wine. "Kuja!"
"Screaming my name, are we?" He offered her a tissue. "A man could get the wrong idea."
"You are not a normal man!"
And normality was something Kuja found utterly boring. "When I passed by the queen's chambers -"
Hilda groaned, "Oh, no. Please. Just don't."
" - I heard the rhymes of the two idiots inside."
She covered her ears and dropped her head onto the table. "I don't like you right now, Kuja."
"Does that imply you liked me previously?" At her silence, he continued the torrid tale. "It's suffice to say the three were not playing chess. As for myself, I refused to eat the next morning due to the perversion of it all."
Hemlock. She must have ingested his most potent vial of hemlock. That explained everything. "Kuja, may I please be excused to my chambers?"
"Lady, it's All Souls. You should be out dancing in a cemetary."
"Prayer comes first, wizard."
"So go pray and then I'll take you dancing."
"... you dance?"
Kuja leaned forward and patted her hand. "You learn things when you live in Alexandria and Treno. Now go make yourself pretty."
"Pardon?" She didn't move her hand.
"Make yourself pretty and we'll dance together." He finished the last of the wine in his chalice. "Let your hair down. It's not often I'm seen with a beautiful blonde."
Hilda still kept her hand under his. "How many women are you often seen with?" He better not plan on kidnapping anyone else. Her jealousy was not limited to just her husband.
"You're quite fiery, Lady Hilda. I like that." He gave her hand a squeeze before standing to leave. "One condition though."
"Alright." It wasn't as if the evening could get any more uncomfortable or awkward.
Kuja leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Sing for me."
Eventually, Hilda would learn to never set her uncomfortable expectations quite so low.
xxx
I can see the lights in the distance, trembling in the dark cloak of night. Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing a waltz on All Souls Night.
The pair of mages didn't have to travel far outside the desert palace to reach a cemetary. Kuja's land was surrounded by dusty remains of the unfortunate individuals who came across the many antlions. He had watched, rather bored, as the lady knelt and whispered her prayers for the departed souls. Her choice of religion piqued his curiosity, but he still decided against any participation. Her people didn't believe that death was actually a terrible thing, only that the dead required purification before entering eternity.
Interesting, though he wished she hadn't taken quite so long. Right as he started to nod off, he heard her voice cut through the dark night, crisp and clear as the stars overheard. She offered him her hand, a promise twinkling in her eye, hair cascading in waves down her back. The wizard grinned and took her hand, leading her out into the open of the desert. And while the moon luminated the ground, they danced.
All across Gaia, celebrations of the holy night commenced until dawn. Drums and guitars echoed far in the distance, while candles lit the way for wandering spirits. Kuja consented to leaving a window open in his palace, just in case one such soul wanted to visit. Bonfires dot the rolling hills, figures dance around and around.
He did so enjoy her voice. They twirled in the open air, more free than the court dances in Alexandria or Lindblum with their rules and boundaries. Lady Hilda laughed and smiled, didn't mind his hands on her waist. With Kuja, she didn't have to hide her power. He encouraged it.
I can see the lights in the distance, trembling in the dark cloak of night. Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing a waltz on All Souls Night.
They waltzed with the flames, because the world didn't end (not yet anyway) if the wizard decided to dance.
Mystic: I love Loreena Mckennit. I can't promise regular updates on this because I'm knee-deep into Illicit Vows, but we'll see what happens. Please leave a little review and I'll see you next time.