A/N: Fixing those gaping plot holes shown in the first chapter -that's just the way it started and I was too lazy to change it-. I meant to have this up last week, but I was dragged off to an event I just couldn't turn down last Sunday and didn't finish writing the chapter. A trend that has sadly continued because of surprise!family visit.
Updated: 7-19-2015
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Just in case he had missed something, Steiner looked over the entirety of the Prince's apartment, peeking into every nook and cranny he could find. So far his hopes that the prince had accidentally turned himself into something or shrunk himself were being dashed against every rock from here to Treno. He even dared to stick his head into the Prince's personal bathing area, hiding his flush with the visor of his helmet.
While he had discovered enough about his highness to keep even the worst gossiper satisfied for months, he hadn't seen even a hint of where he might have gone. Everyone knew that the Prince didn't want to be here, it was obvious in the way he held himself and the distance he kept between him and the Princess when he had a choice in the matter. Beatrix frowned whenever her highness-her majesty touched him. The gossip mill was firmly in the belief that she was half in love with the Prince herself, but Steiner couldn't bring himself to believe that.
Even if her heart wasn't the block of ice Steiner envisioned it to be, her heart beat only for Alexandria and her queen. Only in the wildest imagination would she ever show mercy to an enemy, which was what the Prince was in her eyes and would be until he married their Queen. Not even Her Majesty's death had swayed her, which Steiner personally found admirable.
He wouldn't allow himself to be swayed either. Squaring his shoulders, he marched out of the room, inwardly praying to himself that the commotion before had nothing to do with the Prince's disappearance. Beatrix was the one who had escorted him there, and had left before his soon to be personal guard could make sure he stayed there. Or at least, that's what he quietly told himself, knowing that the blame would rest entirely on the Knights of Pluto, never the flawless Beatrix.
He clanked through the halls, noting the lack of patrolling guards with a sinking heart. There was trouble and he had spoken up too late to protect the Prince from whatever had happened to him. From the moment he had spotted Beatrix speaking with those-those actors, he had had a terrible feeling. He had just knew that something was going to go wrong.
Over the clatter of his armor, he heard someone talking. "... was a red mage. The General said it was a right of passage, steal a boat, go over the waterfall. If she lived she'll show up in Dali." As he turned the corner, he saw two soldiers huddled in the corner, whispering among themselves. They glanced at him as he passed, wrinkling their noses up and looking away.
They continued to whisper as he walked out of sight."I heard the Prince was with her," she said, glancing at his back as his pace slowed to a crawl. If the information the rumor mill was spilling was correct, he could skip the lecture, walk to Dali and retrieve the Prince before anyone even knew he was gone.
He spun about on his heel, the clank echoing on the stone floor and headed to commandeer a boat of his own.
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The boat splinted into a million pieces beneath them, dropping them into the ice cold water. Zidane fell, dragged down by the weight of his garments. Heart beating wildly, he struggled to remove his heavy coat, feeling the burn from holding his breath while panicking. Bubbles escaped from his nose and he gulped down a mouthful of water before finally freeing himself. He swam up, kicking furiously towards the surface.
The edges of his vision turned black and just when he thought all was lost, a red-nailed hand broke through the surface of the water, grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up. He sputtered, coughing up a mixture of mucus and water into the air, pain shooting from his sinuses. For a moment, all he could do was cough, anchored by the hand on his head. Finally he came to his senses and glanced up to thank his savoir.
Skyvra stood on top of the water, having had enough of a warning to cast a spell on herself but not on the other three. She was half-bent over, her hand tangled in his wet hair. She was staring at him when he looked up, one white-blue eyebrow raised in question.
"I'm alright," he reassured her, treading water as best as he was able now that he wasn't burdened with the heavy greatcoat Garnet had insisted on making him wear. He raised one hand to detach her hand from his head -her grip on his hair was starting to hurt-, but was unable to summon the strength to do more than grasp at her wrist.
Beside him, the silver haired man that had accompanied them mimicked his actions of a minute ago, head popping above the water far more gracefully than he had. As soon as he noticed that Zidane was not drowning anymore, he shot a displeased glare at him.
"Could you not," he began, tone haughtily superior, ignoring the look both Skyvra and Zidane were giving him, "...Drown before I return you to Lindblum. We were getting paid for this." Zidane was barely able to hear the last part over the roar of the water. He probably wasn't meant to hear it, so he ignored it, instead glancing back up at his teacher.
She hadn't moved, hand still gripping his hair tightly as she focused on a point on the river bank, far out of Zidane's line of sight. He squeezed her wrist lightly, trying to get her attention. With her other hand, she waved him off, releasing him to stand up and stare, fisted hands on her hips.
"What?" The little black mage who Zidane had just noticed was clinging to Skyvra's ankle began to say, kept afloat by the same magic that was keeping Skyvra above water. As he said the first word, a wave of water splashed over his head, he spluttered, spitting out water. "Do," he coughed as Skyvra tilted her head to watch him. Zidane swam over, the tips of his toes finally brushing against the bottom of the river, bracing the little boy as much as he was able. "You see?" The words came out in a rush as he gasped, switching from clinging to Skyvra's boot to Zidane, arms wrapping around his neck.
Zidane watched Skyvra regarded them for a moment, hands still on her hips, then redirected her gaze to the forest again. Her brow wrinkled together as she scanned the brush. Hearing splashing, Zidane turned his head to watch the silver haired man swim over to them.
"It's nothing," Skyvra insisted when he reached them, face smoothing out as she reached down and pulled the trio above the water. Zidane blinked as his skin tingled, and suddenly they were standing on top of the river instead of in it. She released him, leaving him standing there in the middle of the river as she stalked to the opposite bank.
Zidane blinked again, awkwardly setting the kid down on top of the water, patting his head once before following after his teacher. He assumed that she didn't know where she was going, it was safer that way, but she had a better idea than they did. The other two exchanged a look behind him, both adjusting their gloves before following.
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