Intermission II

Even three days after the attacks of those spider-like creatures, Dagger's nerves hummed on alert. They hadn't upset her; she'd grown more than a little used to the unpredictability of feral creatures while traveling with Zidane and Vivi from the Macalania Woods (regrettably now, she thought, the Evil Forest) through to Dali, but it was still a rush that sent her blood running hotter and made her more cognizant of her environment. Her magic came more readily than ever before, and she could feel the low thrum of it always just beneath her skin. It'd been there her whole life, of course, but having more occasions to use it seemed to give it more vigor, and so it was a constant subtle vibration beneath the surface, anticipating any need she might have of it.

Her eyes lingered along the waving grassland to the north, watching for signs of movement that might signal another creature, but none disrupted their undulations. There were no sounds at all save for the rustle and breath of the wind along the plateau, and of the noises she and her two heavier companions generated as they made their way through the waist-high grasses. Just by listening to their movements, Dagger could easily tell who was who even in front of them both—Steiner carried his armor and their supplies in a large pack, and his footfalls were heavier (and a limp on his left side that made a marginally louder, off-beat step than the right), but they were even, a soldier's marching walk. Marcus was lighter of foot despite his size, but walked with an odd balance between leisurely meander and that of a watchful prowler, his footfalls steady but in a different, quieter rhythm than Steiner's.

Though it was probably only the wind rustling through, some part of Dagger felt that she could tell he was closer by the way he parted the grass as he walked.

Traveling with Marcus was very different than with Zidane, who constantly filled the air with chatter of some sort. It'd been interesting to listen to him—he was full of stories (some of which she wasn't sure she could quite believe)—she would not deny that, but a lot of it seemed put on to her. Like he was trying to impress those around him—trying to impress her. Marcus, on the other hand, kept much more to himself. She cast an oblique glance at the man in question, watching him observe the clouds and every so often look out toward the sea that lay south of the plateau. No, he didn't volunteer much information at all on his own, though he seemed willing to talk a little when she asked. Remembering him mentioning traveling along sea ports, Dagger wondered if he were reminiscing on those times, if he missed them, or perhaps if something had happened that made him not want to talk about that part of his life. She'd gotten the distinct impression when she'd asked that he didn't want the subject broached.

Of course, she'd never been able to resist the allure of a good story, and so part of her wanted to keep asking him until he relented and told her all of his, but the greater portion of her sense prevailed. Were she to do that, she knew it'd only make him clam up more. So, she held on to her questions, but did not discard them, tucking them into a safe corner of her memory. She wagered there might come a time when she could ask at least some of them and get the answers she wondered about.

A gust swept along the plateau grasses with a sudden rippling speed, tugging back at her hair and clothes and sending an involuntary shiver through her. It was the cusp of spring, but only in the lowlands, and not for the first time did she wish for a warm coat. Dagger angled the path she walked to draw closer to Marcus.

"Should we stop for lunch soon?" she asked. Before they'd left the little market two days prior, she'd made sure to pick up some dried strips of meat flecked with the same spices her kebob had. She harbored some small hope that the heat of the spices might help her warm up from the inside out. Perhaps she could even roast them over a small fire at some point.

Marcus didn't turn his gaze from the sky when he answered her. "Taking time for lunch every day as we've done so far will slow our progress to Treno," he told her, if a little clipped.

Pursing her lips in thought, she let out a soft sigh. "I suppose you're right."

Now casting a look to her, his eyes seemed to observe much in the span of the breath she drew in. "Besides," he added, is tone not quite as curt, "you'll stay warmer if we keep moving."

Fingers of heat crept across her cheekbones. "It's not terribly cold," she argued mildly, not exactly denying his observation. "Just, the wind makes it a little chilly."

One corner of his mouth tugged upward. "Yeah, it does."

They ate as they walked, Dagger pulling out the spiced strips and finding they did warm her a little as she ate them. She dropped back to walk beside Steiner to give him some of the strips, and in turn he shared some sweetened nuts he'd picked up with her. Trotting back up to Marcus, she offered him a small handful.

"Marsh nuts?" he asked, peering at the nuts nestled in her palm. He shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm allergic to them."

Withdrawing her hand and the nuts, Dagger's brow knit. "But don't many Lindblum dishes have nuts in them?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, though much of the motion was lost beneath his red bandana. Idly, she wondered why he wore it. "I'm not allergic to every nut," he said, a thread of amusement in his voice. "Just marsh nuts. In Lindblum, we usually use almonds or pistachios or southfield nuts."

"Sorry," she apologized, her forehead creasing as she looked at the nuts in her hand. Such small things seemed so harmless and tasted so sweet—it had never occurred to her they could be the culprits of potentially dangerous situations. "I didn't know. I wouldn't want you to have an allergic reaction because of me!"

A breath of laughter escaped him. "It's okay. I wouldn't expect you to know. I won't die because there are a few in my presence, I promise."

Suddenly, he dipped his shoulders and head closer to her, almost putting his mouth right next to her ear, and she clasped her hand shut around the nuts and drew it to her chest reflexively, a breath hitching in a tiny gasp. This close to her, he smelled of leather and spices she had no names for, and she could feel his heat through the sleeves of her tunic. It took her mind a moment to catch up to the words he murmured to her.

"Don't tell your knight, though," he said in a low voice that she could feel reverberate through her ribcage and throat. "He might use my weakness against me one day."

"Oh!" she exclaimed in return, swiftly pulling back to look up at him and protest, the words that Steiner wasn't the sort of man to do such a thing on her lips. But as soon as she met his eyes, she saw the mischief in them. "Don't tease me like that!" she said instead, lightly punching him in the arm. "You're awful." He rewarded her with a half-cocked grin.

"Is everything all right?" Steiner's voice came from behind them, growing louder as he jogged to catch up to them before Marcus had a chance to reply to her. Once he had, he shouldered himself between them. "What did you say?" he demanded, glaring at Marcus, whose face shifted in surprise before it darkened.

"I didn't—"

"I knew you would turn out to be a threat, to make the Princess lash out at you in defense like that," Steiner went on, ignoring the Marcus's attempt to speak. The Tantalus man's mouth turned down in the ghost of a scowl and he folded his arms across his chest, ready to wait out Steiner's tirade. Dagger found she could not exert that kind of patience in the face of such misunderstanding.

"Steiner." Dagger could not keep the exasperation from sharpening her words, could not let him go on with the wrong idea. His shoulders tensed and his posture became rigid as he twisted enough to look at her. The astonishment was etched clearly across his face, she thought, that she would stand up for the man Steiner was convinced had wronged her somehow. The vicious thought of how long had he been waiting for an excuse to lash out at Marcus? crossed her mind, but she pressed it aside. She was angry and frustrated, but would not allow herself to think so ill of the knight, of someone who'd protected her since childhood. She had to believe he was just overreacting. "Steiner, stop. We were only joking around. There is no danger. He is no danger," she stressed. He turned more fully to look at her directly, stunned by her words.

Fixing him with an unwavering glare she summoned from her best royal etiquette training, Dagger watched as red crept up the knight's neck. Beyond him, Marcus's eyes flicked over to her and lingered, his mien inscrutable.

"I must consider your safety before all else," Steiner started to explain, but the conviction in his voice wavered. It was all she needed.

An ember of anger lodged in her throat, and she was all at once tired of his unwavering opinion that everyone was out to get her. That all the members of Tantalus were no better than thieving scum, and only he was able to protect her from them. The desire to prove him wrong, to shout out just how wrong that opinion was gripped her—how could he believe a man they'd just traveled five days with who'd risked his life to help her when he didn't have to meant her any kind of harm? "I am in no danger here—not unless more of those creatures come upon us before we reach Treno."

"I am a danger," Marcus cut in before she could say any more, catching her off guard and garnering looks of bewilderment from her and a suddenly smug one from Steiner. He shrugged away their expressions, the picture of casual. "But I'm a danger you need, a danger on your side. We're all of us dangers," he continued, and she felt a small knot unwind from her stomach. For an instant, she thought her trust in him had been misplaced after all. "Swords and magic and fury. But trust me or not, we're all working toward the same goal. And you need me at least until we get to Treno."

Steiner stood stony-faced and Dagger held her breath, waiting to see what he would say or do, as no sound but the wind held the tenuous moments between them.

Relent, Dagger willed at Steiner. He is a good person; you are just too stubborn to admit it.

As if he'd heard her silent urging, Steiner relaxed his shoulders and hesitantly nodded.

"Perhaps," he began, "I was too hasty in my judgment just now." He shifted his stance so that he was blocking more space between her and Marcus than before. "You have proven useful, but that does not mean I fully trust you."

Frustration welled in her throat and escaped in a hot breath. "Steiner," she said softly, and the hushed anger held in those two syllables was not one she consciously intended. A quiet pain ached behind her heart. Why wouldn't he believe Marcus meant no harm? It was plain as day to her. It made her want to shake him.

Marcus maintained a neutral expression, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "Trust or trust not, we still have to travel together. I have no reason to betray you—let me be clear that my only motive is to find the cure for Blank."

Dagger watched Steiner's spine stiffen slightly, then flicked her gaze over to Marcus, who did not look away from Steiner, though she somehow felt he knew when she looked his way. She noted he hadn't shifted his weight at all, did not tense as if he feared attack. A small voice in the back of her mind whispered that Marcus could read a situation better than Steiner ever could.

"You… do not care that I do not trust you?" Steiner asked finally, cautious with his words.

Now Marcus did move, shifting his weight to rest more on one leg rather than both, and it immediately altered the entire mood of the situation. She felt her heart beat in her throat and wondered how he had done that. It did not escape her notice that Steiner (probably unaware he was doing it) reflected the change and relaxed his stance, not mirroring Marcus, but his shoulders were not taut as if held in an iron vice, and he leaned back just slightly from the offense.

"Knight," Marcus drawled, "you won't be the last to not trust me. And if everything works out the way it should, we won't ever see each other this close again."

The ache behind her heart twisted itself into a knot, then dropped a few inches toward her stomach. Catching herself before she sucked a breath in sharply, Dagger was only mildly aware that she lightly pressed a hand to her ribcage. It hurt not to see them get along, she reasoned with herself. They were both good men, but stubborn. And she immediately and desperately did not want to hear talk of them never seeing one another again (and told herself she meant as a group). At the thought, the knot dropped even lower.

Distantly conscious that Steiner was nodding in front of her, she heard him say, "I can agree to that sentiment." He finally turned and stepped away from between her and Marcus, casting her a swift glance before looking out toward the east. "Let us be off, then, to hasten our task."

Dagger watched Marcus track Steiner's movements and he seemed about to make a sharp remark when his gaze came back and found her again. It was almost imperceptible, but she was sure his brow knit and his eyes narrowed briefly in what might have been mistaken for concern.

"Still chilly?" he asked, softening his voice so Steiner wouldn't hear.

"I—yes," she answered, startled by the sudden urge to reach out and grasp his arm. She wasn't cold anymore, but didn't know what else to tell him. Some quiet part of her mind recalled the heat she felt come from his proximity earlier and wondered if it would be as comforting as it was warm.

"We should follow," he said, not taking his eyes from hers. "Your knight will have a fit again, if we dally."

Nodding (and something sending a small shiver through her at his use of the word dally), she turned and followed in Steiner's wake, not daring cast a look back to see if Marcus trailed after her. Not long after she set off, she could hear him walking behind her, and they soon caught up with Steiner's pace.

Marcus's long strides swiftly overtook both of them until he was the point of their trio—she abruptly realized he wasn't trying to contain them and that he must have consciously matched them to her speed all the times she'd walked in tandem with him. Dagger could not get a sense of his mood or thoughts as she watched his shoulders shift with each step, but she could feel the remnants of tension from Steiner, who now walked beside her. Her magic vibrated beneath her skin, and though she knew it would do no good, a large part of her wanted to cast something to try and ease this rift between Steiner and Marcus.

"Princess?" Steiner's voice cut through her thoughts, and she sheepishly realized that he'd had to repeat himself for her to hear.

"Sorry, Steiner," she apologized, voice quiet against the rush of wind. "What were you saying?"

His mouth stretched into a taut line, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes seemed deeper to her all at once.

"Are you unwell?"

"I—no. I'm fine, Steiner. Thank you." But she couldn't stop her head from lowering in a brief show of humble acquiescence, nor prevent the impulsive glance forward to Marcus. Steiner followed her gaze. A mien cousin to disapproval and worry settled over his face.

"You still trust him." It wasn't exactly a statement, but Dagger struggled to find the question in his tone.

"I have no reason not to," Dagger replied, keeping her voice even, studying the lines of displeasure framing his mouth.

"He and that group of thieves he is part of tried to kidnap you!" the knight exclaimed, and she understood now that he had been working not to explode in anger over the thought. "How can you say such a thing when they were ill news from the beginning?"

Anger still darkened in her eyes, despite understanding, and she retorted hotly, "And they risked their lives for me—one of those thieves—" she pressed an extra emphasis on the word— "is still petrified because he risked his life to help me. He," here she jerked her head to one side, indicating Marcus (either not aware they lagged or choosing to give them a growing buffer of space) ahead of them, "got badly hurt fighting, helping us. And besides, I wanted to go with them," she continued, knowing full well Steiner hadn't been privy to her—or her uncle's, for that matter—plan. "I wanted to get to Lindblum to talk to Uncle Cid about… about Mother. And Uncle Cid had hired Tantalus to do the same thing!" she finished swiftly, the words pouring out of her like steam.

Steiner stared at her, frozen in place. She halted with him, a sudden bloom of hope pushing out the quickened anger in her as she searched his face. Maybe that was what she needed to say, what he needed to hear, she thought with a hint of desperation. Maybe now he could stop accusing Marcus of a crime he never committed.

"But… why?" Steiner finally blurted.

He still didn't understand. But there was still a chance she could try to get him to. Dagger shook her head sadly. "There are… some really strange things going on with Mother. I… I needed to talk to someone about them. Someone who'd understand, who might be able to help make things normal again. Uncle Cid had the same idea."

"So the Regent of Lindblum hired… a group of thieves—?!"

She frowned at him, the line of her mouth stern. "They're professionals, Steiner. And we both realized it couldn't look like my leaving was intentional, or have it tied to either of us." Dagger paused to take a few breaths, to steady herself and her thoughts. She lifted her eyes to meet his. "Now can you—would you be able to trust him?" It came out more a plea than she anticipated or intended, and it struck her how important it was to hear him say he wouldn't at least distrust Marcus. She did not linger on why she needed to hear it.

"I—" Steiner sighed, his shoulders bowed a little, and he relented. "I am not sure I could fully trust someone like him." She winced at those words. "But I will try."

Dagger smiled then, a tight cord in her chest loosening. (Though the knot behind her heart remained; she was unsure what caused it and unsure if she wanted to find out, at least at the moment. One battle at a time.)

"Hey!"

Their heads whipped forward, Marcus's deep voice carried to them by the wind. Dagger gave Steiner a sheepish look.

"We'd better catch up," she said.

Marcus waited for them, arms folded across his chest when they jogged up. "At this rate, we might make it to Treno in another week," he groused. "Any more lengthy sojourns like that and I'm not waiting for you two next time, got it?"

"We will not tarry again," Steiner announced, all formality with his chin raised and eyes straight ahead. He did not look at either of them before setting off in what was almost a march.

Marcus sent Dagger a mildly curious look, but she merely shook her head lightly at him and followed after Steiner. He was not long after. The breath in her lungs felt lighter than before, and she could not keep the small, hidden smile from her face as she listened to his steady strides behind her.