***Okay, people… Here it is, at last. There will be at least one more chapter after this one – maybe two, if I think of something big to add. Sorry you all had to wait so long for it. I hope you enjoy it!***

It was all I could do to keep my composure while the magistrates dueled relentlessly before the judge. At the moment, it seemed utterly ridiculous for me to even be here. Queen or not, I should have been aiding in the search for Zidane. I refused to accept the fate everyone else had already decided for him. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He was meant for me, and I needed him more than ever. Fate could not possibly be so cruel.

I must have completely lost myself in thought because, when the judge called for a recess, I jumped at the sound of his booming gavel. The courtroom emptied quickly and I, still a little dazed, began to glance around frantically for my familiars. Cid and Tot were beside me in an instant, followed by Hilda and Eiko.

"It's going very well, don't you think?" Tot asked to no one in particular.

"Is it?" I muttered, heaving a heavy sigh.

"Why, Garnet. Aren't you the least bit please? It's fair to say we've won. All that's left if for the judge to make his ruling. Siticus' magistrate is sweating under his collar – I can smell it." Tot was so animatedly excited that I couldn't help smile.

"Thank you, Doctor Tot. You've done…" My voice hitched and I felt tears stinging to be released.

"There, there," he said soothingly, stroking my back. "Let's get somewhere more private."

"I'm fine," I said, standing and forcing my emotions back down. "But, yes. Let's step outside."

We emerged through the tall, heavy doors of the courtroom and were met by an almost afternoon sun. began to wonder just how long we'd been in court – and scolded myself for not paying more attention. This was my life, and I was not taking it seriously. Yet even that thought was a mere afterthought.

Oh, Zidane. Please… Please don't be dead.

"Queen Garnet?" came a familiar voice – though it was missing some of its usual smugness. In fact, Siticus almost looked human as he pushed through the crowd to approach me. My companions formed a barrier between him and I, but I waved them away with an appreciative nod.

"Lord Siticus," I murmured.

"I want to ask you once more to reconsider my offer."

I might've laughed under other circumstances. "Oh?"

"I know I've come across as rather a brute, but I'm afraid I'm a business man to the core."

"And you're not accustomed to losing, are you, Sir?"

"Let me just say, I never fold my hand. Nothing is ever over until it's over." There was something so ominous in that statement that I felt myself again growing anxious.

"I'm afraid," I said, swallowing a lump in my throat, "that my answer stands firm. I will not marry you."

He nodded slowly and I noticed for the first time that he was quite handsome – in the right setting. "Very well. I appreciate your willingness to at least consider my offer."

I nodded.

"Then," he added, "I will see you back in the courtroom." He bowed low and strode away with sunken shoulders. As I watched him go, I felt a tiny sting at remorse. He might have made a fine king. Perhaps even a fine husband. If Zidane truly were dead… I silenced my thoughts abruptly and rushed off toward the gardens to be alone.

When we returned to the courtroom, it seemed to take an unbearably long time for the judge to appear. When he did, at last, return to his podium, the room was deathly silent. I glanced over my shoulder and, through the large windows, could see across the channel where it appeared the entire kingdom of Alexandria was gathered to await to news they knew was coming. My heart swelled with something like pride to see them.

Finally the judge cleared his throat and straightened a small stack of papers on the podium in front of him. Then, folding his hands on top of these, he leaned forward and scanned the faces in the room. "Queen Garnet and Jerome Siticus, step forward if you will please."

We rose and rounded our separate tables in what almost looked like a dance, stopping in front of the judge as we stood shoulder to shoulder.

"I'm afraid, Lord Siticus, that I do not find substantial reasoning to replace Queen Garnet. These accusatory claims about her disappearance from Alexandria two years ago being of her own making cannot be proven and are, therefore, dismissed entirely. Furthermore, any such defamation of the Queen's honor from this moment forward shall be punishable by imprisonment.

"That is to say, of course, I find Queen Garnet to be the legal heiress to the throne of Alexandria and thus she shall remain." He smacked the gavel down with such prudent speed that my heart skipped at the sound of it. Siticus and I turned toward each other and shook hands. He seemed about to say something when the doors to the courtroom burst open.

A Burmecian messenger rushed into the room, looking exhausted. The guards blocked his path immediately but I waved them away as I rushed forward.

"Queen Garnet," he said earnestly. "There is a matter of much importance I must discuss with you in private."

"Let's go," I said, honoring his request, leading him away from the celebratory crowd.

We reached the castle in minutes and I had a meal prepared for the weary wanderer.

"You mustn't marry this young man," the messenger said after a long drink of water.

"What?" I was shocked he'd even heard of this, much less cared.

"Master Zidane asked me to deliver this message to you."

My heart sped. "Did you say… Zidane?"

"He's had an accident and was badly wounded, or he would have come in person. I was sent instead to get word to you that he survived. He asks…" Here the Burmecian shifted uneasily in his chair before continuing. "He asks that you do not marry a certain aristocrat. Zidane was adamant that someone be sent immediately and with great haste to implore you thus."

"Zidane," I repeated. I was trembling head to toe by this point.

"Are you alright?" the messenger asked at length, his black eyes full of deep concern that seemed to lessen his exhaustion.

I snapped alert and rose from my chair. "I must go to him. Immediately!"

At that moment, the doors swung open and Beatrix stepped through them, then off to one side, a knowing grin on her face.

"You don't have to," said a weak voice behind her. "I'm right here."

"Zidane!" I spun at the sound of his voice and rushed forward. He hunched painfully, supported on one side by Steiner who wore a dutiful face. Zidane looked up at him, nodded, and was reluctantly released. I saw him wince as the weight shifted back onto his own body and take a rolling step toward me.

I gathered him in my arms gently, so as not to hurt him further, though it was all I could do not to squeeze the very breath from him in my excitement. "I knew you were alive," I whimpered near his ear, hardly aware of the others' presence in the room. "I knew you wouldn't leave me."

"You didn't marry that pompous fool, did you?" he all but whispered. I laughed at the very idea, though not mockingly.

"Of course not! No, Zidane, I'll never marry anyone but you."

I caught Beatrix's raised eyebrow at that statement, and looked away. Two near-deaths for Zidane was enough to make me see what was truly important in this life. I would never again risk losing this precious gift.

Our reunion was relatively brief. A doctor was called and made haste to put Zidane in bed. I believe he drugged him with sleeping weed for, as I was at last allowed entrance to his chamber, his lids hung heavily over unfocused eyes. Even so, he found my hand when I rested it on the bed beside him.

"Try to get some rest," I implored him. "I'll still be here when you wake up. I promise."

It was hard to tell in the dark, but I think he smiled then. "My Dagger always keeps her promises," he muttered weakly.

I smiled at this.

"I remember now," he continued softly. "I remember everything. The fall must have done it."

"You mean..?"

He nodded, then winced at some unknown pain. "I thought I loved you before," he laughed quietly. "I didn't have a clue how deeply until it all came back. You're part of me. In my blood, my soul. There's no way around it. Even if you'd married that stupid-"

"I wouldn't have," I assured him firmly.

"Even if you had," he insisted, "I doubt I'd have been able to leave you in peace. Remember back when you were first coroneted? I almost let you go, then. I was afraid to even open my mouth around you, because I didn't think I could hold back my feelings. But now… There's just no way I could move on. I'd pester you, publicly if necessary, until you came back to me."

"Zidane…"

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," I assured him in return. "And… I've got something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Not now," I said. "You have to rest. I'll tell you in the morning."

"Not… fair…" his voice faded and he fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.