Lord Siticus had taken the matter of his ascendancy to court, just as he'd said he would, and I received the official letter of summons only two days after that dreadful meeting. Meanwhile, I'd had my hands full, researching alongside my scholars for anything that could help my case.

It seemed almost absurd that I, Queen of Alexandria, was being taken to court. Under normal circumstances, I was the very embodiment of law and order in my country. Now it would be me on the stand, defending my right to maintain my privileges.

The good news was that my first hearing was still a week away. Immediately upon receiving this news, I was back aboard the Red Rose and on my way to the Black Mage Village and Zidane. I hated to leave my scholars to deal with this task alone, but I had full confidence in their ability, as well as their desire to keep me on the throne.

Mikoto had moved Zidane to his own hut for the time being, and Vivi had volunteered to monitor him. When I knocked on the door of the hut, it was Vivi who welcomed me inside. Zidane, now dressed in his normal clothing, sat on the edge of a small bed eyeing me curiously. I sat down in a chair across from him and Vivi joined me.

"You're back," Zidane said, smiling a little.

My heart fluttered a little. "Zidane… do you remember me?"

"Of course. You came to see me before. Then you left."

Vivi turned to me and spoke softly. "He hasn't regained any of his old memories. Neither have any of the others."

"Oh…" I bowed my head. "I'm sorry."

Zidane cocked his head. "Don't be sorry. Mikoto told me you and I were good friends. I'm the one who should be sorry. It… must be hard for you to know I don't remember our past."

Good friends, eh? I thought. So she hasn't told him everything. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.

I turned to Vivi then. "Can I talk to him alone for a minute, Vivi?"

Vivi nodded and slid out of his chair. "Sure. I'll wait outside."

Once he was gone, I scooted my chair closer to Zidane's bed. "So, Mikoto told you we were friends. What else did she tell you?"

Zidane shrugged. "She told me a long story about you, me and some other people who…" he stopped then and chuckled a little. "…apparently we saved the world? It sounds a little silly, really."

I nodded. "It's true," I said. "There was a great war here on Gaia. A lot of people were killed. Then we found out another world was responsible."

"Terra," he said, a faraway look in his eyes. I waited with great anticipation while he seemed to be replaying something important in his mind. Then his eyes focused back on me and he shook his head. "Mikoto told me about Terra. The name stirs something deep within me, but… I don't know what it means."

I rose from my seat and made my way to the bed where he sat. Sitting down close beside him, I smiled warmly. This was Zidane in front of me. He was as devilishly handsome as ever with sparkling eyes the color of a tropical sea. He stared back at me through those magnificent orbs, tilting his head slightly away from mine.

"Zidane… this is killing me." My voice was barely a whisper, but he reacted to it as though I had been shouting at him, shifting away from me. His tail swished across the bedspread with a trembling motion.

"Please," he said. "I'm sorry, but… I can't remember. Please leave me alone now."

I bit my lip to subdue the urge to cry, and nodded. Rising from the bed, I made my way toward the door. Before turning the knob, I glimpsed over my shoulder and took a long look at Zidane. "Before you had this procedure, I promised I would never give up on you," I said. "And I never will."

With that, I left him alone. Vivi sat on the bottom step of the porch, and I joined him there with a heavy sigh. His inquisitive yellow eyes scanned my face eagerly.

"No luck?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I may have overdone it," I admitted. "It's just… so hard to see him like this. I refuse to believe he's forgotten everything. It's just not fair."

Vivi shrugged, setting a tiny hand over mine. "Life isn't fair, Dagger. You understand that better than most."

"I know," I replied, pressing my palms against my face. "But surely we deserve some happiness after all that we've been through. I won't rest until I've got him back the way he was."

At this Vivi leaned against my shoulder. "I'm glad," he said quietly. "I miss him."

I put my arm around the little fellow to comfort him and, oddly enough, felt comforted myself. "We won't give up, will we, Vivi?"

"Never," Vivi agreed.

I stayed in the village four days total, and each day I spent the majority if my time working with Zidane. Vivi was my rock throughout the ordeal and, I'm sure, he felt the same way about me. Even among his fellow villagers, I was the only other person in this village who understood what he was going through.

By the end of that week, we'd made very little progress. So far, Zidane's greatest accomplishment had been to have emotional reactions to names he heard. The name of his home world, Terra, in particular moved him – but he did report an unusually bittersweet reaction to Baku's name. It may not have been much, but the fact that his mind was, somehow, processing these things gave me hope. Hope which I clung to throughout my trip back to Alexandria where my future would soon be determined.

Regent Cid, Aunt Hilda and Eiko were waiting for me there when I returned. It was such an overwhelming relief to see their supportive, loving faces that tears streamed freely from my eyes as we exchanged embraces.

Eiko in particular was most disturbed by the news about Zidane.

"That's why I insisted we come to Alexandria," she stated boldly.

"That's not the only reason we came," Cid assured me. He put his arm around me then. "We intend to be present at court. I will make it clear that the kingdom of Lindblum recognizes you as queen of Alexandria."

"Oh, Uncle Cid…"

"Now, now," he cooed, rubbing my back. "We didn't come to upset you. Come, let's have a bite to eat. Your kitchen staff have been busy for hours preparing a 'welcome home' meal for you."

I nodded, taking control of my emotions with a deep breath, and allowed him to escort me to the dining room.

Eiko did most of the talking at the table. Now nine years old, my fellow summoner was becoming quite a young woman. She did well to lighten the mood with rapid, seemingly random, blurbs regarding her studies, summoning, white magic and various other news – most of which centered around her.

"My spells are stronger than ever," she said through a mouth full of roasted meat. "Father says it's a good thing I wasn't practicing black magic, or I would've brought the entire castle down by now."

That drew a heartfelt chuckle from me, and I nearly choked on the bite of food I'd just taken. This, in turn, brought the rest of my party to laughter and very suddenly a wonderful feeling came over me. As I looked around the table, I began to realize these people were my family. They loved me, worried about me, cared about me deeply. The loneliness began to fade away and, in order to hold onto this feeling, I invited them all to stay up and play board games with me for several hours.

When, at last, it was time to retire, I went reluctantly. I should have guessed Eiko would not be put to bed so easily…