Fae's Duty: Fiyero is Caught
Fiyero stood outside the barrier, hoping that he was far enough for the guards to not see his presence on the road. The noise died down, and he could hear artificially amplified voices from within. The children's choir reached its grand finale, and the audience applauded, then quieted again.
He knew he should be safely in the apartment waiting for Elphie's return, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. Instead, he drew closer to the barrier, hoping to hear more of the ceremony. The guards there seemed to be distracted, so he felt confident that he would not be caught.
Fiyero began hearing a jumble of sounds over the sound system, as if the microphone was being passed around a group of people, being dropped along the way. After a minute or so, the sounds ceased abruptly. He waited in suspense, as the crowd seemed agitated; a whistle rang out over everything.
People came rushing out of every building and alley that he could see, and he quickly lost himself among them as chaos reigned. The guards were trying to contain everyone in a quickly-expanding region, but Fiyero could see that people were sneaking out in a couple directions. Watching a man leave, he made his way in that direction and attempted to follow suit.
He was prodded in the back as he rushed forward, and he fell to the ground. "Where d'ya think you're going?" a gruff voice asked him when he rolled over to face the guard.
His heart pounded a rapid beat in his chest as he tried to come up with an answer. "I, uh, I was not involved in this mission, sir, they didn't give me a ticket. You can check me if you'd like."
"This mission, eh? I ain't checkin' you for a ticket, but you'll come with me to the ones who will have some questions about what yer callin' a mission." Fiyero gulped as he realized his new mistake, and the sensation caught in his throat as he was hoisted to his feet and dragged firmly by the arm and neck to one side of the throng.
No wonder Elphie didn't trust me with the organization and with her secrets… I can't blame her for that now. Oh, Elphie!
A/N: If anyone who used to read this story happens to see this—I'm sorry. I went through some of my old files today and found this chapter already mostly-written and facepalmed. Once I saw I had that much already, I knew I had to finish it off and offer it up to you.
Way back when I was writing this story in the first place, I got stuck because it felt terribly anti-climactic; we already know approximately how things have to turn out in the end, and I wasn't taking it anywhere new or AU. I didn't have a strong pull to round it out. Plus, it was only ever meant to be a one-shot, and to be honest, I think it was better that way (or maybe a two-shot, just to clear some things up).
So I'll tell you what. I think there's one more chapter to go, just to tie it back in to the book's tale. I'm starting to write it in my head already, and I might try to do it tonight just to make sure it gets done. I'm not going to be fully happy with this story, but I feel like if I got this far, I should at least round it out. (It's why I always use "complete" as a search category—it drives me nuts when someone starts a story and abandons it when I'm reading along with it.)
So to anyone who sees this—thanks for coming on the ride of my first story.