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 sixteen ~ The Lord of All Waters
Dagger had a strange feeling, leaving Madain Sari behind. Even though she had only been there for a couple of days, it was as if a piece of her soul clung to it and refused to let go, even though the former summoners' village was already out of sight. Together with Zidane, Amarant and Freya, she had started her way to the Iifa Tree by dawn, but every so often, she stopped in following their lead and instead turned back, her eyes searching for a trace of the ruins.
"Spacing out again, Dag'?", Zidane approached her grinning, still being able to hide his worry. Amarant and Freya though wore concerned faces as they watched the princess moving as if in a deep slumber.
"Zidane? Oh, it's nothing, I just...", Dagger started to explain but her gaze got lost in the distance and the unfinished sentence hung in the air. For a moment, even Zidane's eyes showed concern, but he brushed it away as he nudged Dagger, playfully putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Well well, I know you're the sightseeing type and all, but the Iifa Tree's in that direction!" With that, he turned the princess' head towards the enormous tree they were heading to. As Dagger was confronted with its overwhelming sight, her mind cleared up again and she raised a smile towards her companions.
"I'm sorry. It feels as if the Eidolons are drawn to Madain Sari", she explained as she moved on with the others.
"Well, Ifrit and Ramuh did rest there for many years", Freya admitted as she thought about it and her anxiety went away. "And it's a place closely related to your origin."
"If you keep chattering like that, fiends will find us", Amarant interrupted them with his dark voice.
"Come on, Amarant!", Zidane laughed as he walked up to the redhead and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Stop putting everything in such a dim light. The weather's nice, we've got clear sight – can't you brighten up for a sec'?"
Just a day before, Amarant would have smashed away the young boy's hand and probably even hit him, but now, he only let out a sigh as he brushed away Zidane's hand.
"Seriously", he started as Dagger called: "Hey, I think we can go down here!"
Indeed, after hours of walking under the beating sun and searching for a path towards the Iifa Tree, she had finally sighted roots that went downwards. After a fairly steep climb that brought them some bruises on their hands (and for Zidane a slap in the face from Dagger as he grabbed her butt when he stumbled upon a crack), the party reached a wide plain. It was barren and the air was dry, but with their goal closer to them, Zidane and the others mustered up the strength to continue their way despite their hurting bones.
After a monotonous march through the arid area, they finally reached the feet of the tree. Standing right beneath it, the Iifa Tree seemed even bigger than before and its crown blocked out almost all sunlight. Up close, they could also see that the trees trunk wasn't firm, but rather the product of entwined roots, leaving gaps of different sizes between them. Even the crown seemed to be made up of roots and what they had mistaken as leaves from far away resembled more moss or other greens than actual leaves.
But that wasn't what stroke the attention of the travelers.
"Is that... mist?", Freya stared at the roots directly underneath them. And indeed, they emitted a fog that resembled the mist on the Mist Continent.
"What the?", Zidane mumbled as he stared into the depths. Roots were overlapping and the deeper they went, the more mist came out of them and many of the roots disappeared in the ground.
"Do you think they reach all over to the Mist Continent?", Dagger asked astonished and Amarant briefly nodded. "Probably. It seems like this tree is the source of all mist."
"But why?", Freya frowned. "This is an ordinary tree, isn't it? Sure, it is big", she admitted when Zidane gave her a raised eyebrow, "but aside from that, there's no sign as to why it would create mist."
"We'll find out eventually", Amarant said as he equipped his claws. "But while we're searching for Leviathan's seal, we should keep our guard up – who knows what kind of fiends are born in this mist."
The others nodded and each drew their weapon before they, carefully, made their way to the tree.
They used its roots as roads and the widest of it seemed to lead deeply into the tree itself. Zidane and the others kept their eyes wide open but the party encountered no enemies at all on their way inside.
Darkness surrounded them the moment they entered the tree and at first, Zidane thought they'd have to stumble through Iifa blind, but then, a glimmer appeared. It was only subtle, but every root seemed to pulse in a bright green light. The thief risked a glance deep down, bending over the edges of the root he was standing on. The deeper his gaze, the brighter the light seemed to be. Deep down, he thought he recognized a giant statue but he wasn't sure of it.
Freya bend over and took a look as well. "I can see it too, my dear", she nodded after a while. "I'd bet that this is a statue of Leviathan."
"I can sense it", Dagger suddenly remarked. She had her eyes closed as her mind went through the tree. She could feel the Eidolons inside of her somehow resonating with whatever laid at the bottom of Iifa. "I think it's the seal."
Zidane straightened up with a quiet sigh. "Well then, no choice but goin' down and checking", he said, stretching his muscles, and lead the group through the overlapping roots. Their descend was surprisingly easy and quickly, Zidane realized that some of the roots had to have been guided during their growth – it would be just too much of a convenient coincidence for them to lead directly to the tree's core while being accessible.
But soon, the group reached a dead end. Countless roots had gathered together and formed a structure resembling a small, round room, with no other exit than the one they came from. Beneath them, they could faintly see the statue of Leviathan, but they could see no path leading to it.
"Great, what now?", Amarant grunted and crossed his arms.
"Er, well", Zidane tried to think something up as he wandered through the room aimlessly. When he reached the middle, the roots beneath him started to glow and suddenly a part of them descended with Zidane on top.
"Whoah!", the thief called out and jumped back before he was drawn too deep. Just when Zidane left the platform, it rose again.
"An elevator?", the thief thought aloud as he stepped on the roots once more. Again, they descended but this time, the thief stayed. Anxiously, his friends stared into the depths but the elevator reached deeper than their eyes could follow.
"Zidane?", Dagger called out carefully after a few moments of silence.
"I'm fine!", the thief's voice reached them and only a few seconds afterward, he stood in front of them again. "Where this thing stops, there's a root leading to the core. I could see the statue a lot clearer – does Leviathan look like a snake?"
"He does resemble a snake, yes", Dagger nodded, though the term was not as majestic enough. "But he has some wings as well."
Zidane grinned as he invitingly pointed to the elevator. "Well then, let's go, shall we?"
Carefully, the four stepped on the platform and they were transported closer to Iifa's core. The party stood close to each other as the elevator increased its speed with each feet. That way, they traveled incredibly deep in a matter of seconds.
Finally, the platform came to a hold and just as Zidane had said, they could see the bottom of the tree from where they landed.
It had an odd shape: The roots formed a structure similar to the shape of a harp with strands between them like strings, and the green light was so bright they could not see the ground, but only swirling pools of light. The whole place held an eerie atmosphere and without realizing it, Dagger grabbed Zidane's hand as her eyes examined the area. When she could finally let lose of the unnatural tree, she spotted the statue of Leviathan, standing at the head of the harp.
The statue depicted Leviathan as a giant serpent with great wings; the Eidolon, also known as the 'Sea King' or 'Lord of All Waters', was entwined with itself, the wings spread out wide and its mouth was opened as if letting out a scream.
"Being sealed away must be... painful", Freya said as she observed Leviathan's posture.
Against her will, Dagger began to shiver. The thought of releasing such a terrifying Eidolon and taking it in her soul frightened her, but before Zidane could notice her fear, the princess drew a deep breath and straightened up. "Let's go."
With cautious steps, the four followed the root leading to the harp. Amarant had a wary look in his eyes, the lack of fiends made him uneasy. Freya was just the same and she kept looking over her shoulder. Dagger, however, was using her full concentration to walk towards the statue. As she reached it, she had to tilt her head back to see Leviathan's head. Its expression was frightening.
The princess gulped and looked back to her friends before she lay her hands to the stone. Closing her eyes, Dagger begged the Eidolons inside of her for help and their ancient souls guided her through the process of unsealing Leviathan. Dagger realized that the Eidolon was sealed away using its own power against it, making it unable for Leviathan to ever free himself.
The princess felt fear as she used her soul to loosen the strands keeping Leviathan in check, but Shiva, Ifrit and Ramuh filled her head with security. Slowly, Dagger could feel Leviathan moving again, after hundreds of years. The more the seal broke, the more she could feel his soul and the storm swirling inside it. And alongside, Dagger could feel a part of herself being close to bursting. Sweat built on Dagger's face as she forced the seal to vanish and then, the stone around Leviathan burst and a sharp pain rushed through Dagger's head. The Sea King rose up in the air, flew through it to stretch the body that had been immobilized for too long and finally planted himself in front of the summoner.
'You!'
Dagger stumbled back. Had she just heard Leviathan speaking? She looked towards Zidane and the others but none of them seemed to have heard it. They had concerned faces, their weapons at hand, but their expressions had nothing of the dread in them Dagger felt as Leviathan spoke with a voice sounding like waves clashing against each other.
'Who are you?'
The voice sounded again and it filled Dagger's mind. Scared, she searched for Ramuh's help, as he was the counterpart to Leviathan – and was surprised to feel the Eidolon being piqued. Ramuh was indignant, but Dagger failed to comprehend why as she stared up to Leviathan.
'Mortal!', his voice demanded as she stood in silence. 'I asked for your name.'
"I- I am -", the princess hastily answered, stumbling upon her own words. She gulped and tried once more: "I am Garnet Till Alexandros XVII and -" But before she could finish her sentence, the Eidolon let out a cry that made her ears ring and pressed her to the ground.
'You dare to use your mouth, Mortal?', Dagger could hear him shout. 'How many years have passed since my banishment that summoners dare to talk to us with their tongues as if we were minor deities?'
Before Dagger could even fathom what the Sea King meant by that, she felt Shiva, Ifrit and Ramuh pressing against her. They wanted to come out and Dagger, too confused to question them, set them free. The three Eidolons manifested in front of the summoner and faced Leviathan, each of them surrounded by their element.
'You?', Leviathan spoke and he sounded confused as Ramuh stepped for.
'Leviathan', Ramuh's voice occurred - even though his lips didn't move - and it was like rumbling thunder. 'How long has it been – four hundred years? You are still just as vivacious as a stormy sea, my friend. Has your unjust imprisonment clouded your mind so much that you can not see this girl not having a horn?'
'She can not hear you, Leviathan', Shiva spoke and her voice sounded faint, as if dulled by ice.
'Are you fools?', the serpent asked as he shook his head. 'I have been sealed up for ages, indeed, but my sight is just as good as before and I clearly see a summoner's horn on that mortal's front.'
Shiva, Ifrit and Ramuh turned at stared at Dagger. 'Since when?!', the Ice Queen gasped, her voice changing its sound to shattering ice. 'I have been with this girl since her birth, but she never had a horn, nor did she ever react to my calling!'
'The seal', Ramuh mused as he looked at Dagger. 'Breaking it must have liberated locked up powers inside of her.'
Scared, the princess stared back at the Eidolons.
A horn?, she thought fearful as she made a step back. Her trembling hands reached to her forehead and she brushed over it. And suddenly, she felt it: A tiny, sharp tip in the midst of her front. Panicking, the princess panted as she felt the horn and she was about to faint when Ifrit's voice startled her: 'Now look what you've done.' His accusing gaze applied to Shiva and Leviathan while his voice, cracking like burning wood, shook Dagger's mind.
'Garnet, you need to incorporate Leviathan's essence', the Firelord spoke to her and reluctantly, the princess turned her head to the serpent. She felt fear as she stared at its fierce eyes, but she also realized that Leviathan has not attempted to attack her so far - and didn't Ramuh say something like unjust imprisonment?
The summoner took a deep breath before she reached out with her mind.
'Leviathan', she spoke conceptually. 'I am Garnet Till Alexandros XVII, heir to the throne of Alexandria and a summoner from the tribe of Madain Sari. I set you free and request your aid in defeating Kuja, a sorcerer who attempts to retrieve the Crystal and to use its power for evil deeds.'
For a moment, there was silence and Dagger feared that, while finally having gained the power to hear the Eidolons, she was unable to speak to them herself. But then, the Lord of All Waters lowered his wings and just like a stormy sea could suddenly turn quiet and clear again, the serpent let go off its anger.
'The Crystal? I remember the legend. So you wish to fight the sorcerer to protect the Crystal?'
'Not only the Crystal', Dagger replied with sincere eyes, 'but everyone who is suffering because of his doing! He took control over my mother, the Queen of Alexandria, and he uses her influence to start war. He brings pain to so many innocent and neither as a princess nor as a summoner can I allow that!'
The Lord of All Waters took a moment to think over Dagger's plead. His eyes, deep blue, measured her face and soul until he closed his eyes and nodded.
'That is a just wish', Leviathan acknowledged as his appearance fainted. 'I will grant your request, Garnet, summoner of the tribe of Madain Sari and princess of Alexandria; I will lend you my power in fighting that sorcerer.' And when his last words vanished, the creature itself was gone and Dagger felt how its soul took place inside her. For a second, images of centuries-old wars and treason danced in front of her eyes and the princess understood how Leviathan was wrongly sealed away. Then, darkness surrounded her.
"Dagger!", Zidane shouted as the princess fell. He barely caught her and stared at her motionless face. "What?!", he gasped as she saw the horn on her forehead and the blood that was dripping down from it. His hands carefully reached out to it and upon the touch, the thief twitched.
How did that get there?, Zidane wondered and shot a glance to the Eidolons. Shiva, Ifrit and Ramuh were still surrounding them and even though Zidane found it hard to see emotions in their faces, he felt as if they were confused. Finally, the Eidolons retreated and when they entered Dagger's body, the princess moaned.
"We need to get out of here!", Freya suddenly said and just a second later, the tree started to shake violently as if struck by an earth quake.
"What's going on?!", Zidane cursed as he lifted Dagger up.
"Maybe it's that serpent's fault", Amarant grunted as he raised his claws; fiends approached them from afar. "Maybe -"
"Guys!", Freya shouted back with an angry look on her face, "We've got time for that later!" Her spear swirled through the air and pierced through a fiend's heart, an undead mist creature. But even though blood was dripping down from the weapon, the fiend didn't stop moving and only let out a cry before attacking Freya once more.
The group made its retreat slowly, as Zidane was unable to fight with Dagger in his arms and parts of the Iifa Tree crashed down on them.
Soon, Amarant and Freya had to realize that their weapons were near useless against their undead opponents unless they shred them to pieces, so all they could do while Iifa was falling down was holding them back before they could reach Zidane or Dagger. The thief cursed as he saw how both of them got bitten and scratched without being able to fight back properly.
We could really use your holy powers here, Dag'!, the thief thought as he looked at Dagger's face, but the princess remained motionless. When they reached the elevator, Zidane was relieved to see it was working; he had feared it might have collapsed already, forcing them to find another route. Freya struggled with a fiend that had her spear between its teeth and only in the last moment, she managed to yank it back and jump on the already rising elevator.
While they rose, Amarant and Freya hastily talked to each other; the way to the exit was long and they feared they might not be able to hold off the enemies well enough, but before they could come up with a strategy, the elevator reached the round room and they were greeted by the cry of fiends staring at them. The three had no choice but to run for their lives and Amarant, who sacrificed himself as the rearguard, was the target of many bites while Freya, at the head of the group, was scratched by the claws of the undead. The few fiends that managed to get to Zidane were kicked back by him and it was a miracle that Dagger didn't receive a single hit.
Only once did it look like they were not going to make it: The exit was already in sight when the roots above them gave in. Wood and rocks fell down and one of the bigger stones fell on Zidane's head. The thief fell unto his knees and he felt the urge to puke, but a look at Dagger helped him to pull himself together and he jumped back onto his feet and followed Freya out of the tree.
When they finally reached the exit, Amarant and Freya were bleeding heavily and Zidane felt dizzy and nauseous from the rock that hit his head.
"Only a few more steps!", the thief gasped before he fell unto his knees, his shoulders burning from Dagger's weight. And then, they heard a sound like a cry. Behind them, the Iifa Tree fell apart, creating a dust cloud that rolled over the entire Outer Continent. Zidane, Freya and Amarant were rendered blind and pressed themselves onto the ground, covering their heads with their hands while dust and sand brushed over them.
Time passed and Zidane felt a numb pain in his limbs before they could finally dare to raise their heads again, though their eyes were itchy and every breath hurt. The plain was still covered in dust but they could at least see a few feet ahead.
"Damn", Zidane coughed as he took a look to his friends. "Are you okay, Freya, Amarant?"
"Yes, my dear", the Dragon Hunter answered, though her voice was quiet. Amarant nodded, but when he opened his mouth, a cough escaped his lips instead of an answer.
Zidane sighed and turned to Dagger. The summoner was still unconscious and her breathing was flat. Carefully, Zidane poured some water into her mouth to wash away the dust she must have breathed in. Then, the group could do nothing else but searching for a sheltered place to tend to their wounds and to wait for the dust to disappear.
It took almost an entire day for the dust to lay down. Dagger was still unconscious, but Amarant and Freya had recovered from most of their wounds.
Zidane was bent over the summoner, his eyes glued to the horn on her front. Amarant, who hadn't checked on Dagger yet – which was a true sign of how he trust Zidane by then – slowly got up and walked over.
"What are you -?", he started his question and was startled when he saw it for himself. "When did that...?"
"What's wrong, my dear?", Freya asked as she came over. "Did Dagger get a bruise or something like - ?!"
For a while, the three were bent over Dagger and stared at her horn until Zidane sighed. "Well, I dunno, but I guess it came when she unsealed that Leviathan. She was bleeding, back then", he added mumbling and Amarant turned to him.
"You know since then and didn't care to mention it?", the warrior grumbled, but his anger vanished when the thief sighed: "So what? She's got a horn now, yeah. Tell me about body abnormalities." His tail waved through the air.
"You're right", the redhead replied and sat down again. "It changes nothing."
Silence rose for minutes while each of them was following their own thoughts.
"We should go back to Lindblum", Freya raised her voice as she ate a fruit. "We found a map, Ifrit, Ramuh and Leviathan – there's nothing left on this continent for us to stay for."
Amarant nodded. "We should make our way back before the dwarfs realize that their sanctuary is gone – they won't be too pleased to know that it was us who destroyed it."
Zidane shot a glance to Dagger. Her breathing had returned to normal, but her face was pale. The thief nodded. "Yeah. We should put her in a nice bed in Lindblum."
Freya sighed. "It won't be easy, carrying her with us the entire way. The journey back will take at least a week. We'll have to feed her something, or else she'll starve to death."
Amarant got up. "I will carry her."
But Zidane shook his head. "No, I will. You are the better fighter, Amarant. Don't worry, I won't drop her", the thief grinned as the redhead frowned.
With that being decided, the group made their way back to the Mist Continent – it was a tough and exhausting journey, filled with enemy encounters and hungry nights and afterward, Zidane couldn't tell how he managed to carry Dagger all the way back to Lindblum. His arms felt like pudding but not once did he ask Amarant for help. When he finally sighted the castle of Lindblum, the thief let out a relieved sigh.
Author's note
Okay, this is not a strong chapter, I know. I just don't like the Iifa Tree. Still, I hope I managed to capture at least some of its atmosphere. I know I made the ending for this quite easy, but hey, I still have so much more interesting content left for the story and it wouldn't be that capturing to describe the entire way back to Lindblum with a knocked-out Dagger and a Zidane whose arms are about to fall off.
And what, Leviathan and the others speaking? Well, it just happened – no intention, really. But I was writing away and when I looked up, Leviathan had raised his voice. I don't know about you, but I'm not the type of person who'd oppose an Eidolon's wish ;)
Same goes for Dagger's horn. I had to make a plausible explanation for Leviathan speaking and since I didn't feel like silencing him, I had to give Dagger a horn – those of you who played FFIX know why. And those who don't – well, this is not the last chapter of this story, so I'll get around to explain it.
And speaking of unexpected events: The Iifa Tree's down? My, the only thing in this chapter that went according to plan is that Dagger unsealed Leviathan!
On a side note, I just realized the others didn't react to Dagger's horn in the first draft of this chapter – that's what checking on a chapter is for, luckily.
I hope the next chapter will be longer and more interesting than this one – maybe Dagger can offer a nice explanation as to why the Iifa Tree broke down? She can talk to Eidolons now, after all.
Until the next chapter!
- Ruska