The thief and his princess
Summary:
When Zidane, the youngest thief in the infamous Tantalus group, meets the mysterious Dagger on the Alexandrian streets, he thinks of her as nothing but one of his many flirts. But with time, he will realize that the girl does not only hold the power to bind his heart forever, but that she is an unwilling part of a conspiracy that can easily destroy the world. - A FFIX AU Fan Fic
Chapter four ~ A Rough Escape - I -
"...and before King knew what happened, we managed to leave with a bunch of treasures. Still, the house of the Kings is very mysterious", Zidane ended his little report. After a look at Dagger's face being deep in thoughts, he rubbed his head. "But the ordinary hunts of an ordinary thief shouldn't be that interesting to you, right?", he added.
Dagger shook her head. "Na-huh, that's not it... I – I was just thinking about tonight."
Zidane leaned towards her. "Ah, I see." Suddenly, he kneed in front of the young woman and took her hand. "Don't worry Dagger, no matter where I'll go, I'll never forget about your beautiful face."
Dagger turned red and shook his hand off. "What do you mean?", she asked confused and shook her head. "I – I didn't mean anything like that. I was just... I was just thinking about what is going to happen after you and Tantalus leave. Yes, that's it", she nodded.
"Ah-huh, I see, I guess", Zidane sighed, got up and walked away, his hands crossed behind his head. "Well, I guess you'll go back to your own business, am I right? Not that I wouldn't care of you doing-"
"My businesses are of much more meaning than yours!", Dagger suddenly sizzled. Zidane turned around, with a surprised look on his face. "Is that so?"
The young woman looked away quickly. "I... Never mind. How about you, Zidane?", she asked after a while.
"Huh?"
"What are you going to do once you left Alexandria? I mean – this place is nothing but a new place full of prey and money for you, isn't it? … Isn't it?", she added after realizing the change on Zidane's expression.
The young thief shrugged his shoulders. "Yup, guess you're right. We've been here only for two years or so, so I can't really tell, but I guess Alexandria would've never become my home. Not to say I got a real home anywhere...", he added mumbling.
Dagger looked up: "Why is that so?"
And Zidane looked away. "It's a long story."
A light smile appeared on Dagger's face. "A story too long until tonight?"
Looking at her peaceful expression, Zidane had to smile himself a little. "Well, I guess it's enough time, then. … Alright, I'm gonna tell you my secret – but promise to tell no one, 'kay?", he winked. "I-"
"Zidane!", Blank rushed in, his eyes weirdly fixed on Dagger. He slowly moved his head towards Zidane, then shook his head a little as if he had to catch up with his thoughts. "The boss wants you to come into his office. We have a meeting."
Zidane nodded, though he was slightly surprised. "Okay." While leaving the room, he turned halfway to Dagger and formed with his lips Wait here.
When the door closed, Dagger looked after him. She frowned slightly and her eyes narrowed. Somehow, she felt something bad coming up.
When Zidane entered the office, he could sense the heavy weight that lay on Baku's shoulders. His face was concerned again and when the young thief entered, Baku looked up with narrowed eyes.
"Ah, Zidane, it's ye... Sit down, I wanna start", he said while gently massaging his forehead with his fingertips. Zidane nodded and took his usual seat, the upper body leaning against the backrest, his arms laying crossed upon it.
"So, what's up?", he asked and leaned his head to his left shoulder.
"I thought we gonna leave tonight?", Cinna asked from behind, laying on his side on a chest.
Baku shook his head lightly as if he got rid of some weird thoughts. "I've changed the plan."
Marcus, who sat on the left side, leaned his head to one side as well. "Why? What's wrong with the first plan in the first place anyway?"
Baku shot a glance at him. "Did I ever need to explain myself to ye guys? Was there any time I let ye down? Answer me!", he demanded and looked right at Marcus, but the thief simply shrugged his shoulders. "Never. Just a question. What's this new plan?"
Baku took a few breaths before answering: "It is a little complicated, but simply put: To put out this plan, we need to keep the girl here."
For a moment, there was silence. It was a silence full of nervously, tiny movements, a silence full of thoughts chasing each other. Deep in their thoughts, the thieves did not realized the quiet tapping sound in front of their door.
"We can't do that", Zidane said.
Baku looked at him. "Ye disobey my order, Zidane?"
The young thief shook his head. "No, boss, I would never - ... But keeping Dagger here is something we can not do. Besides", he added, "I hardly doubt she will accept it. Not to mention Amarant."
Blank, who'd kept quietly leaning against the wall, now nodded. "He's got a point. I don't want to have another meeting with Amarant if I can avoid it. And I'm sure Marcus and Cinna think the same way."
The other thieves nodded in agreement.
"What's wrong with ye guys?", Baku called out angrily and hit the desk with his hands. "Do I really have to remind ye how often I stood up for ye, all the things I've done? Was there any time ye would've doubt my instructions?"
Again, there was silence. Then, Marcus slowly shook his head. "Nope, boss."
Cinna mumbled something in agreement, Blank nodded. Only Zidane kept quiet. Baku gave the youngest thief a long look. "Zidane", he then said, "since ye met the girl and brought her here, it will be yer duty to reveal our new plan to her. I do not think she will give in without resistance – even more so, I expect ye to make her stay. I don't care how – knock her out, put sleeping herbs into her drink, tie her up – but ye've got to make her stay! Understood?"
Zidane didn't look up. "I-", he said, but Baku just waved with his hand and turned away. "Ye guys may leave now. I still got some preparations to do before heading off to Lindblum."
Blank, Marcus and Cinna nodded, put their fist together and then left the room. Just Zidane didn't move.
"What are ye still here for, Zidane?", Baku asked without turning to the young thief.
Zidane clenched his fists and hit the ground with his feet. "Boss, I... I don't get it. Tell me the truth!"
"The truth about what?", Baku asked while looking closely at a small ring on his finger.
Zidane cursed quietly. "Why do you want to keep Dagger here? When you say we can tie her up, make her unconscious and all that, it means you do not need her by her skills but as a person. What do you expect? She's a young prostitute, only Amarant is close to her and I doubt he will give any money to get her free – he'd rather beat us up! What's so special about her we need?"
Slowly, Baku turned around, a light, pitiful smile on his face. "Listen, Zidane. I understand too well what yer feeling. And I feel sorry for the young girl, but for me, Tantalus has priority. If ye don't like it, leave this group. Otherwise, do as I say."
Zidane stared at him shocked. "Boss", he said and moved his hands, then shook his head a little, turned around and left the room.
Baku looked after him, a weird expression on his face.
The whole way back to his room, Zidane was trying to put the right words together to calm Dagger down in case she would get angry.
It's just that we came to like you so much. ... It won't be for long, surely. ... Don't see it as being imprisoned but as a chance to discover the continent! … I don't want you to leave, so why don't you make our company. The young thief sighed. No! None of these words will make her realize or accept the boss' instructions. How could she when even I do not like it? … All I can do is to tell her and hope she will understand.
He shyly knocked on the door. "Dagger? It's me, Zidane. May I come in?" Even after moments of waiting, there was no sound to hear. Zidane, who got a distrusting clue, leaned towards the door. "I'm coming in now", he said loudly and opened the door. It was opened just a bit when Zidane could already realize that Dagger was no longer in this room.
"Dammit!", he cursed and rushed away.
Hastily, the young thief rushed through the main room.
"Hey, what's wrong Zidane?", Blank asked when he entered.
Without stopping to put potions, phoenix downs and other items into a little bag, he answered. "Dagger is gone! I can't sense her in here anymore. She must've escaped!"
Blank's eyes narrowed for a moment, then he nodded, turned around and started to pack his own bag.
"What are you doing?", Zidane asked confused while putting on his leather vest.
"Isn't it obvious?", Blank responded and strapped his backpack on. He winked. "I'mma follow you."
Zidane shook his head. "Listen, Blank, this got nothin' to do with you. It's my business and mine alone! I... I don't want you to get into more trouble because of me...", he added and shook his head once more, more slightly this time.
Blank laughed and pat the younger thief on his shoulder. "Come on, it's too late already – that's something you should've worried about ten years ago! I'm as much concerned as you – the boss would ask us to go and find her anyway. Besides", he added smirking, "you're my brother."
Zidane smiled, then he nodded. "You're sure someone to count on! Thanks!"
Blank laughed. "Alright then, let's head off and find your precious princess!"
"Where are you guys going?", a voice from behind asked.
The two friends turned around. Marcus stood in one of the doors, his head slightly slanted.
"Yo, Marcus!", Zidane said smirking widely. "Blank and I gonna take a look for Dagger. Apparently she escaped." His voice was so unconcerned and happy that Marcus' eyes narrowed even more. "Can I trust you two on this or do you need help?"
Blank nodded. "Sure we can handle it. Just keep the boss away from the news if you can, 'kay?"
Marcus kept silent for a few seconds, then he slowly turned around and leaned against a wall. "I don't want any bad surprises", he said whilst looking away.
Blank and Zidane looked at each other and nodded. "Let's move!"
The thieves rushed through the streets of Alexandria, trying to keep their movement as slow as necessary to not catch attention. It was still late midday and the streets were full of busy people.
Zidane cursed. With this speed, we'll never catch up to her!
"By the way", Blank said while running aside Zidane, "you got any idea where to search for her?"
Zidane nodded. "I... got an idea", he said slowly while observing the narrow ways they passed. But in reality he had no clue. Not to mention Dagger could've ran anywhere by now, his memories of the night when he met Dagger for the first time somehow were all blurry and mixed up. All he could remember clearly was her position, her smile and her voice. He cursed himself once more for not paying attention when he suddenly noticed a narrow street that somehow tickled his mind.
"That way!", he called out and headed towards the street. By following its route, he really found the place he was searching for: The bench nearby the lake. But as he sniffed, he couldn't sense her smell.
Still, he and Blank went through several houses and dark shadows nearby the place.
Finally, Blank came out of a house. "Haven't found a clue. You?"
Zidane shook his head. "Maybe she ran somewhere one wouldn't expect her. She could've left the town already."
"Don't think so", Blank answered and leaned against a wall. "This Amarant, her fellow, is surely somewhere in town waiting for her. I doubt she would leave this city, being so safe for her, without him."
Zidane nodded. "You got a point. So then... how about we split up? It would increase our chances to found her – and if she's with Amarant already, it doesn't matter whether we're together or not, since we're no match for him."
Blank lifted himself up. "Alright. Let's meet at the headquarters in the evening, no matter if we found her or not."
Again, Zidane nodded. "Got it."
But as soon as Blank was out of sight, Zidane let hang down his head. "But where to start searching?"
He sat down on the bench and looked over the water.
I have no clue where to search for her – neither what to do to make her come with me. How come she ran away in the first place anyway? Could it be... she overheard our conversation earlier? It would make sense... But even if so, she must've heard then that I'm against the plan! Didn't she trust me? Zidane shook his head and stood up.
"That's not the time to think about such things", he said, angry at himself and turned around as if he could turn away from his thoughts. His eyes looked onto the water again. With the sun being in the right position, the water seemed orange and glowed beautifully. Suddenly, Zidane remembered something. His eyes opened wide and he hastily ran off.
"Dagger?" Zidane slowly moved closer to a figure standing in the shadows.
She turned around and looked at him, her eyes slightly red.
Zidane smiled. "So it is you. What were you thinking, Dagger, running off without saying anything! I worried about you!" He made a step towards the young woman, but she hastily shook her head and made a step back, just the same as he did forward. Zidane stopped. "What is it, Dagger? Did you... overhear our conversation?"
Slowly, Dagger nodded, then she looked away and whispered: "I had to go."
Zidane looked at her surprised. "But why?", he said, moving his arms and shaking his head. "You must've heard that I have no intention to give in to Baku's plan! I never could..."
Dagger looked at him quickly. "You're... not on his side?", she asked and Zidane nodded. Still, the young woman shook her head instead. "Even if so... He's your boss, is he not? When it comes between an argument of the two of you, you would obey – even if you would not, the other members definitely would!" Her voice grew louder as she pushed her arms back in anger. Then, she looked away. "It is too dangerous for me to stay with you any longer, Zidane. I am... truly sorry." She turned around and slowly walked away, as Zidane reached out to her and called: "Wait up!"
Surprisingly, she stopped and turned halfway round to look at him.
Zidane moved towards her. "Don't you trust me, Dagger?", he asked and somewhat, he sounded hurt.
Dagger shook her head. "It's not... You're a thief, how am I supposed to trust you anyway?", she suddenly shouted angrily, but Zidane just smiled. "So are you. Still, I trusted you to stay in my room and wait for me. I was wrong, but yet... I trust you."
For a moment, it looked as if Dagger was about to run towards Zidane, but then, she turned around and ran away.
"Hey, don't you run away again!", Zidane called and got after her, but Dagger was surprisingly quick and merged into the crowd on the streets. Chasing her through as well big as narrow streets, Zidane lost sight of her from time to time. More than once, he would've lost her completely, if her black hair or white cloak wouldn't have popped up between the mass of people on the streets. Zidane trembled against some of them and had to force himself through their bodies to hold up with the young woman.
Suddenly, he found himself on an outer corner of the city. Dagger just jumped into a boat as he reached out to her – the tips of her hair slipped through his fingers.
The young woman turned her head around as she quickly drove off.
"Wait, Dagger", Zidane called. For a moment, it looked as if Dagger was going to get up, she opened her lips just a bit as if she wanted to call out to him, but then, she turned around and concentrated on paddling.
Zidane hit the ground with his feet and cursed. "Damn!" He looked into the water. It seemed cold and rough, but with the silhouette of Dagger disappearing more and more in the distance, Zidane shook his head and pulled his arms first to the right, then to the left site. "Fine, if you want to have it like this", he said, then he jumped into the water.
For a moment, Zidane's sight got completely white of the shock of the ice cold water and his legs and arms felt numb. Slowly, the young thief managed to move them and swim under water. He burst with his head through the surface and gasped for air. He blinked and moved his head around to orientate himself. In the distance, he saw Dagger her boat, not looking back. Taking a deep breath, Zidane started to swim towards her.
Luckily, Dagger felt safe out on the water, so she didn't use as much force as one normally would to escape, thus Zidane managed, by using all his strength, to catch up with her. He kept swimming behind her boat, his head down so she wouldn't see him if she turned around, but Dagger just focused on her goal.
With the houses going by, Zidane could tell that the young woman was nearly driving around the whole city, heading right to the castle of Alexandria that rose above the city as a guardian. Zidane's eyes narrowed as Dagger suddenly got slower, nearly stopping in front of a gate in the water, directly leading to the western side of the castle.
Abruptly, the gate opened and Dagger moved forward, not knowing Zidane swimming right behind her.
From the edges of the gate, water flowed down heavily. Behind the gate, there was a big, round and dark room. The light that fell in from outside exposed contours of a little platform in front of the two, having a pier in which Daggers boat seemed to fit perfectly. The gate started to shut and with the last few droplets of water running down, the rays of light disappeared. For a few moments, it was completely dark and Zidane had to get a hold on the boat to not loose it. He felt a little resistance as the boat docked on the pier and he could hear how Dagger slowly and carefully got out of the boat. He followed her steps with his head, ready to duck behind the boat if necessary, but Dagger moved away without looking back.
Suddenly, torches lit up, giving the big room a golden, soft light, nearly looking as if it was burning. Zidane caught a glimpse of Dagger's face and he could see how she seemed to be far away and sad, but then, she shook her head and looked in his direction. The young thief quickly ducked behind the boat and waited anxiously. After a few seconds, he could hear Dagger walking away.
What are you hiding from me, Dagger?, Zidane thought warily. When he was sure Dagger had left the room completely, he swam towards the stones and pushed himself up on them. His arms were shaking heavily and felt really numb and Zidane had to resist the need to drop himself. But when his upper body leaned over the stones, the water of his fully soaked clothes dripped down and caused an excited sound. Zidane froze and waited terrified. His arms started to shiver heavily because of his weight and being numb, but nonetheless, he counted up to twenty. When he still heard no footsteps or breathing, he pushed the rest of his body on the stones and sighed when he could ease the weight on his arms.
"Stand up and raise your arms!", a female voice ordered out of the shadows. Zidane looked up and faced one of the Alexandrian soldiers who directed her sword to him. "Do as I say!"
Slowly, Zidane got up and moved his hands behind his back.
"I-", he said and then swiftly, ran towards the woman and kneed her in the stomach before she could react. He caught her falling, unconscious body and quietly laid her down in a corner. Zidane turned his head halfway to the entry of the room, waiting for more soldiers, but when he heard nothing, he sneaked forward.
Leaving the pier behind him, he entered a long room which connected the outside with the pier and a stairwell. For a moment, the young thief turned his head in all directions to gain a good overview of its constellation.
Where did you head, Dagger?, he wondered, then he decided to check the stairwell for possible enemies. When he looked up the spiral shaped stair, he suddenly heard a slight breath behind him. Zidane quickly turned around and faced Dagger. Her eyes were opened wide in shock, but before he could move, she pushed him away and ran up the stairs. It took Zidane a second to catch himself and run after her, shouting: "Wait up, Dagger!"
Though he was more than motivated to catch the mysterious girl, his arms and legs still hurt and hindered him from running as fast as he possibly could and he had to gasp terribly whilst hurrying up even more. He could see how Dagger, just a few meters in front of him, hurried through an open door and suddenly screamed.
Just a few seconds later, he realized what her scream was about. Their hunt has led them to the highest part of a tower of the castle, having no other exit than the one he just went through. Ground seemed terribly far down and thus, Zidane figured that Dagger still was on the roof of the tower.
Listening closely, he could hear her breathing quickly, so he started running around the circled roof of the tower. But when he reached the place where Dagger should've been seconds ago, she was gone. Zidane realized that in the time he started running, Dagger ran too. Again, he tried to chase her around the roof, but she was always a few steps too far away. He had to laugh lightly about their silly game, when all of a sudden, Dagger was no longer running away. She stood on the parapet of the tower, her back towards the abyss, but still, she smiled lightly at him.
Zidane gasped and looked at her. "So you give up?", he asked. Dagger shook her head just a bit and smiled even more. Then, she closed her eyes and fell.
Zidane screamed: "DAGGER!" and looked down the tower. Terrified, he could see how Dagger caught hold on a small rope from a garland and literally flew towards an airship Zidane knew too well.'
The Prima Vista? But why? Did Baku...?
Without any second thought, Zidane grabbed a garland as well and jumped. His hands started to hurt just a few seconds after, even though he was wearing his gloves, but he did not let loose of the garland and rushed towards Dagger. He could hear her laughing as she jumped on a tarpaulin from a merchandising tent and crawled towards the Prima Vista. Though he was scared to do so, Zidane jumped as well and shouted for the few seconds he flew through the air without any hold. When he fell on the tarpaulin as well, he had no time to relax but to crawl after Dagger. With a lot of strength and balance, he finally reached the door leading into the airship. He rushed into the next room and called out for Dagger, who was just about to run into another one. She turned halfway and looked at Zidane, her expression was saddened. "Zidane... Why are you running after me?"
Zidane approached her, and even though Dagger looked as if she wanted to run away, she stood still. Standing in front of her, his clothes soaked, his lungs hurting and his arms and legs being numb, he smiled: "Because I want to protect you."
Dagger stared at him. "What? B- but why?"
Suddenly, Zidane took her hand and smiled even more. "I want to protect you, because... Because I think you're something special. I want to get to know you more."
Dagger stared at him, her eyes wide opened and sparkling. "Z- Zidane..."
"PRINCESS!", a loud, strong voice suddenly shouted. Zidane could hear a rattling armor approaching him and the young thief turned around quickly.
In front of him, a soldier raised his giant sword. He wore a helmet that didn't cover his face entirely, thus Zidane could recognize a pair of big, round eyes and a mouth with very thin lips. By raising his sword a bit more, he shouted: "Let go off the princess, immediately! Or I will..."
Zidane just stared blankly at the soldier. He recognized him from a parade a few months ago, where the Pluto-Knights had represented themselves. It was their leader who now threatened him – Steiner. As far as Zidane knew, he was a direct servant of the queen. In his mind, thoughts were chasing each other.
The soldier narrowed his eyes. "If you do not want to step aside and run, I have to end your life right here and now! Prepare to die!" He swung his sword and ran towards Zidane, but the young thief couldn't move.
"Steiner, don't!", Dagger screamed and threw herself in front of Zidane. Steiner stopped and looked at the young woman with a confused expression on his face. "Princess?"
"Dagger?", Zidane asked quietly and the young woman turned around with a worried looked on her face.
Zidane gulped and slowly shook his head. "You're...?"
Author's note
I know, it's been ages since my last update - I am sorry! I actually had this chapter ready more than a month ago, but then, I accidentally DELETED it . gosh - it's soo exhausting to write a chapter completely anew - especially if you were so happy with the chapter in the first place.
This chapter is a very essential one and trust me: I am trying really hard to make it more authentic.
Anyway, in this chapter, I especially tried to point out a bit more of Zidane's personality and also to include more realistic actions from the characters.
We finally reached a stage in which I can transform my "Dark Princess" into the Dagger from the game - some of you told me she was creepy in the first chapters and yes, I know that! Hopefully she's a little less creepy now.
I also tried to give some hints concerning the further chapters, so try and keep your eyes open!
Ruska