The next hour felt like hell, if Shiva had frozen it solid that is. Garnet tried to control her shaking as she dropped the pile of sticks she had desperately collected onto the patch of bare soil under the stone outcropping. How far did the current carry us before I was finally able to drag us to shore? She tried to take her mind off the numbing cold that prodded its icy fingers deep into her core. Gods I was reckless… But it was worth it. She mused as she turned toward Zidane, who was unconscious again but thankfully still breathing. I'm so tired She thought hazily as she looked at her trembling arms. Almost every fiber of her being wanted nothing more than to lie down as well and drift off into a deep, comforting, relaxing-.

"No!" Garnet protested aloud, jerking herself upright and scrambling to try to start a fire the way Vivi had taught her. She had never been able to effectively use black magic, but after struggling and stubbornly refusing to admit defeat at making a fire when they were traveling using sticks as Zidane had always done, despite accomplishing nothing more than a few painful blisters, the young mage had suggested she tried using a fire spell. Even that had been a failure at first, but she had been determined to show Zidane and the others that she could do it. So, she had taken to spending her turns watching the camp at night practicing.

The small wood pile slowly began to smolder, then with careful breaths, finely burst into a small fire. She couldn't hold back the small smile of accomplishment that filled her features. She knew she would never be able to wield fire as Vivi had done, the most she could conjure was barely more than a candle flame, but just being able to hold her icy hands up to the warmth of her small campfire now made all those nights of practice worth it.

As soon as a little bit of color returned to her hands, she hurriedly began to maneuver Zidane closer to the fire. Without him being awake it was hard to judge how close was a comfortable distance to the heat but decided she could move him back further if he started to sweat; for now, he needed heat. Heaving from the exertion and the cold that still gripped most of her, she collapsed onto the ground beside him. Subconsciously moving closer to the man she had just risked everything for, she looked into the fire and tried to ease her racing thoughts. It didn't take too long, because with the warmth of the flames came fresh pain up her left leg. For the first time since she had dived off that balcony, she mentally took in her condition and let out a surprised and worried gasp. Maybe it had been the darkness of the water masking it, but now it was painfully obvious that the bottom half of her dress was covered in a dark layer of blood. "Gods, I'm bleeding bad!"

She pulled up the bottom of her dress after checking that no one was watching, mostly out of habit, and found that she had grazed her leg badly against the rock. As the cold air hit the open skin of he knee, fresh stabs of pain burned up her leg. She winced as she touched it gingerly. It was raw and still bleeding, but she didn't think it could have caused that much blood especially that high up. Pulling her dress up higher, she was surprised that she was find she wasn't injured. She had blood on her skin, but it was-

"Zidane!" She gasped again, feeling stupid. It's not just the cold! Oh, gods he must be hurt bad!..

Rolling him over and ripping away his vest, she tried her best not to let the panic she had felt earlier set in. Even in the dim light of the fire, It only took moments to find where the blood had come from; without the vest to cover the hole in his side, it began to pour again. Garnet didn't take the time to wonder if she had the strength to heal his would. There wasn't a choice, she had to be able to. She pushed and pushed, but with her exhaustion, the healing magic wouldn't flow. "No! I WILL heal you!" She forced herself to concentrate even harder and saw the healing aura begin to glow before teetering out again. Looking at him in desperation, she waited to see if the was any change. "Zidane?" He coughed weakly, spitting up blood. For a second, she thought it might have helped, but instead his breathing began to grow more ragged and shallower.

She placed her hands on his wound, refusing to give up. "No! Damn you! You're not going to do this to me! I won't let you leave me alone again! I haven't even been able to tell you that I love you!" Everything she had felt since awakening to him standing on her balcony, looking different and almost elegant is his royal attire but also unmistakably the man she had been unable to let go of and all the emotions she had bottled up since his departure poured out as she tranced.

…

"What is going on!?" Steiner roared at a nearby guard in the main hall as the noble guests pushed their way out of the castle.

The smaller man visibly gulped beside his iron Helmet. "Um.. Uh.. Don't you know?"

"Don't I know WHAT?" He growled menacingly.

"Steiner!" Beatrix exclaimed with relief as she pushed her way through the large doors past the crowd or exiting nobles. It had begun to snow but the time she made it back inside of the castle and tendrils of it still rested on her armored shoulders. Just as quickly as her relief had shown, it was replaced by confusion. "Where is Her Majesty?"

"Was she not with you!?" He yelled over the crowd, much louder than he had planned.

"No. Braxton assured me that you would be standing guard beside her while I escorted the regent!"

This time it was Steiner who was confounded. "No, I was told that you would be protecting her, that it was my job to make sure no brigands interrupted the feast!"

"Damn it!" Beatrix exclaimed, pounding her fist against the door and pushing her way toward the courtroom. "How could I have been such a fool!"

Through the shouts of the leaving crowd, she only managed to catch a few words: "Assassin" "Murderer" and even worse "Dead". Her heart pounded as she desperately tried to make her way inside. Please still be alive! She pleaded silently. I will never forgive myself for this! Finally pushing past the door, her heart sank. Garnet's throne was empty.

She had always prided herself with her ability to stay cool in heated situations, but as she caught sight of Braxton straightening his collar, she charged at him. "Braxton! What have you done!? If anything has happened to her majesty I will-"

"You will do what?" Braxton replied coolly. "Disobey another order?" Another councilman added.

"What?" She replied, dumbfounded.

"You were specifically ordered to guard your queen with your life!" Braxton sneered.

"But I! No, I was-!" She tried to defended herself, but stopped. "Tell me where she is!" She screamed.

"While you were off skirting your duties, an assassin stabbed her, carried her up to her royal chambers, and threw both of them off the balcony and into the river!" He hissed.

"No…" Beatrix gasped, all rational thought crashing onto the floor like a porcelain mug. She shoved Braxton roughly out of the way and ran as fast as she could toward the royal chambers. The sight that greeted her caused her to take a step back. "It cannot be…"A pool of blood dripped from the bed to the floor, a clear trail of crimson footprints leading to and onto the balcony. A torn piece of dress lodged in a crack on the railing telling the final tale. She was too late. "Gods, How could I let this happen!?" She had failed her!... I have constantly scorned Adelbert for not being vigilant enough, but it is I that have failed her!...

Stay calm! She desperately willed herself, trying to think of any other possible scenario that could have happened. The river! Maybe she is still alive! Peering over the balcony, she felt slightly relieved that there were no rocks down below but cursed herself at have powerfully the river had picked up current in the spa of a couple hours. "I will not rest until I find you, your Highness!" she yelled out over the balcony.

"I'm afraid you will have to come with us, Beatrix." A soldier said gravely. She whipped around and saw with exasperation that a large group of soldiers stood near the doorway. "What is the meaning of this!? And you are supposed to address me as General, I have already-"

"You are no longer a general." Braxton interrupted he from behind the crowd of soldiers, sounding pained though she was sure it was an act. "You are under arrest for treason, for aiding in the Queen's murder, and have been sentenced to a public execution. Please come quietly, I don't want this to be any more unpleasant than it has to be. Have you not caused enough bloodshed as it is?"

She stood unmoving for a moment, struggling to process what was happening. "You can't be serious!" she exclaimed. "I had nothing to do with this- with what you've done!"

Braxton sighed, this time she wasn't sure if it was genuine or not. "I've ever only done what was best for the kingdom. That is all. If you do not come quietly, we will have no choice but to take you to the dungeon by force.

She laughed. How much worse could things get? "I've killed hundreds in combat, and I fight you all if you try to stop me from finding the Queen!" She reached for her sword and realized with dismay that she had dropped it in her flight to get here. "Can you truly hope to do so without your sword? Please, come quietly, the law might even grant you a measure of mercy if you admit to failing your duties for some personal reason perhaps?

She clenched her fists tightly and wondered how many she would be able to fight off empty handed. With a sigh and clenched teeth, she finally conceded. "You will pay for this, for what you have done this day." As she was led by the soldiers toward the dungeon, she saw Braxton from the corner of her eye, grinning in satisfaction. Yes, you will pay for this.

…

Garnet groaned as the shined brightly into her eyes as she struggled to open them. Groggily, she rolled off the pillow her head had rested on and felt something cold an unyielding beneath her. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly as she remembered where she was. The sun had broken over the trees and it was morning now.

"It's morning already? But I was-" The events that had happened right before she had tranced and passed out, flooded back to her and she quickly turned back around towards Zidane. The "pillow" she had been laying on had been his bare chest. Despite the situation, she felt herself blushing furiously. Thankfully, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. A part of her had expected/hoped for him to be awake but she guessed it was good he wasn't able to see how badly she was blushing, or how she was looking at him for that matter.

Guiltily, she ran her fingers along the scars on his chest. There were a lot more of them than she remembered; the large one near his heart pained he the most. What has he been through since he left? How close had she been to losing him? She gently trailed her hand up to his cheek and held it there. His facial hair had surprised her, even made him almost unrecognizable from a distance, but oddly she found that it suited him. But more than that, unlike so many nobles those last few months, she thought he looked very attractive and found herself fighting not to blush again. It wasn't that he looked that much better than the nobles that had tried to court her, many of the women would probably say that she had horrible tastes, but to her he was just more.. raw. She thought maybe that was the right word; everything about him just seems more genuine. And that was saying nothing for his character. Yes, according Beatrix and she supposed she had no choice but to admit it to herself too, she was more than a little smitten.

"Is this heaven?" Zidane asked hoarsely, almost making her jump. "Cause you have to be an angel." He tried to chuckle but ended up coughing painfully.

"Shut up." She replied, breaking into a small smile. It didn't last though as she noticed his pained expression. "Are you ok?"

He looked at the ground solemnly. "Dagger.." He didn't continue for a moment, as if searching for the words. She didn't interrupt him, instead choosing to let him continue when he was ready. "I'm sorry.."

She shook her head in dismissal. "You would have done the same thing for me, and you have, more than once."

"Not just for this… I shouldn't have left you."

"It's ok." She replied, not looking at him. Zidane reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. "No, it isn't, and I know I can't change it, but I hope one day you'll be able to forgive me." When she didn't move or make any reply, he gently moved his hand to her cheek and turned her towards him. It was then that he realized she was crying. "Dag, i-" He winced as she punched him in the shoulder, not once but again and again. Not knowing how to comfort her, he wrapped his arms around her and ran his hand gently through her hair as she cried. He smiled to himself as he felt her return his embrace. "I love you too."

She didn't reply for a while, not that he needed her to. It was obvious now how she felt about him, he just wondered how he could have been so blind for so long. "How did you survive?.."

"I didn't have a choice."

"I had to live."

"I wanted to come home to you."

"So..."

"I sang your song."

"Our song." Garnet corrected, wiping away the last of her tears.

"We've really made a mess of things, haven't we?" Zidane chuckled lightly.

"Yea.. We have." She replied, looking up at the warming sun.

"I think.. Maybe together, we can handle it." He replied, taking her hand in his as he struggled to his feet. For the first time since his departure, he saw the warm smile light her features he had so often dreamed about. "We can."

….

A/n: Well, this is officially the first romance chapter I've written since "A more simple life." Hopefully practicing on that short story has made this chapter feel a bit more genuine. If you have the time, please review and let me know what you think! Even negative criticism might further me to becoming a better writer.

Also, if you haven't done so, check out "Off Duty" and "The Last Cherry Blossom." Both are amazing stories with very talented writers. I say that not because they've commented on this story, but because they, and writers like them that take the time to bring the characters to life are what's keeping this game alive!