Filling In The Blanks

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.

Chapter 109: Pieces

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks exactly since Zidane had woken up screaming in the Healing Cove.

He was taking in white magic better now, and against Steiner and Beatrix's command, Freya, Dagger and Vivi had steadily hoisted the blonde up and let him hobble around in a circle around his sleeping mat; the grin on his face spoke volumes for hours. The two ex-knights were instantaneously suspicious.

Though his limbs still felt like they were on fire, usually he was just overwhelmed with an extreme exhaustion. His body was tired of fighting, and had pushed itself to the limit in healing him – with help or without. But Freya's herbal concoctions were gone, and the ever-energetic Quina was allowed back into the cave to see the genome. He slimed him the moment he got close enough. Zidane had never been so thankful for normalcy.

But with the clearing of his mind and the use of mobility once again, he was finally able to grasp the thoughts his mind had been dancing around since he woke up.

Blank still had not come. Nor had the rest of Tantalus.

Except for Ruby and Cinna.

They came the last day he was drugged up on herbs; Cinna had snuck him some jerky the moogles had made and Ruby brought in a basin of water and homemade soap to finally scrub the grime, sweat, and any leftover blood out of his hair.

But they hadn't made it to him since then, and that made him question what had happened. Hardly anyone would discuss the events of Alexandria with him thus far, and he hadn't even been able to weasel it out of Dagger! Unfortunately, that left a lot of room for the imagination, and the possibility of what had happened.

Could they be avoiding him?

Would they not want to rejoice that he was alive and making progress?

Or…

The thought took over him as he stared down at his leg, still just as tightly bound as he found it when he first woke up. His arm had healed, except for a harsh tenderness that flared with too much movement, and he could breathe without pain for the most part.

These injuries, however, made him wonder if someone had died – if Blank had died – in an attempt to save him, and the thought made his stomach churn.

Surely someone would have told him, right?

His eyes narrowed with determination. He would have to wait until he was strong enough to move on his own, for Dagger would never let him seek out anyone he could wrangle the truth out of, but he knew there was something going on, and they couldn't hide it from him forever.

No matter how frustrated these thoughts made him, the moment the girl came into view, a content feeling washed over him. He could be patient; he could wait to find answers.

Right now, however, Dagger was here, bright eyed and healthy, and that was more than he thought possible on this journey. They still had this time together.

He lifted himself into a sitting position, biting on the side of his cheek as he did so. She was beaming at him.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile.

"Hi," she giggled back at him, feeling like the first time they spent time alone all over again. "How are you?"

He sighed, "Bored, actually."

A full laugh escaped Dagger's lips. "Zidane Tribal, you are the only person I know who could dodge death within an inch and still use words like 'bored'."

He reached up to her, feeling childish and totally okay with it. "Entertain me then."

Her smile turned to a grin as she stepped up to his feet, slipping her gloved hands into his bare ones. "How would you like me to do that?"

Maybe in a past life the genome would have taken this opportunity to slather on the flattery. He could make her blush and giggle a little more, adding a sultry comment here or there, but he was grateful she was here at all. He wasn't about to waste her time flirting.

"Let's go out in the sun."

Immediately, he felt her tense, and he was worried she would say no. "Are you sure?" she nearly whispered to him.

He nodded, the strength coming back to him all at once. Would she agree? "I wanted to sit somewhere we can see the water, and feel the breeze and the sun. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen the sun?" he laughed, even though the serious undertone of expression on her face said that she indeed did know how long it had been, and that she was entirely not okay with it.

"Well… I did just find a new spot underneath a cavern. It's a little dock, and there are a few boats. We could take one of those out on the water?"

He was shocked about her adventurous suggestion, but Dagger knew how much he needed to be out in the air. Maybe taking him on one of the small boats would get it out of his system quicker.

But he laughed and nodded to her, gripping her hands tighter as she hoisted him up.

With one hand on his abdomen and one on his back to steady him, he slipped an arm around her neck, never needing an excuse to get closer to her. He severely favored his right leg, but he could put enough pressure on his left to walk.

"Thank you for doing this," he told her quietly; all jest had vanished from his voice.

"Only for you," she answered with a small smile. She glanced up at him, wondering if he'd grown taller or if it had been forever since they'd walked side by side. His azure eyes were navy in the dim light but the soft glow on his face made him look more vibrant than she remembered.

As if by some miracle, it wasn't as difficult as she would have thought to sneak Zidane across Madain Sari. The trek was long, and she could hear his breathing become labored not even halfway through; he clearly wasn't ready for the trip, but she knew immediately after she'd made the suggestion that the blonde wouldn't back down for anything.

"What the hell are you two doing?"

The voice, rough and impatient, nearly spat at them, and it took all of Dagger's willpower not to drop Zidane and run because she was so startled. Slowly (and maybe moderately dramatically), they turned, and she did her best to put on a face of authority.

"We're going down to the water. Plain and simple."

Amarant pointed accusingly at the genome. "Did you put her up to this? Please say you did, because otherwise I don't know where she seems to have lost her head to!"

Zidane puckered his lips, but offered no reply. Everyone tried to ignore the worried look Dagger shot him, knowing just by being near him that he was exhausted.

"Put him back right now!" the redhead demanded with a snarl. "You stupid, little girl. Do you even realize what you're doing? You're making a bad situation for you, and for him and especially for anyone that sees you and doesn't stop you, with ultimately means me too!"

"Didn't think you cared so much, Amarant," Zidane finally said, his voice coming out stronger than anyone expected it to. The grin he wore was cheeky, and it stopped the older man in his tracks.

Then his jade eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Excuse me?" Come to think of it, neither had heard him quite so chatty before, even if he was just being rude.

Zidane gestured with lackluster, throwing his head to the side as much as he sore muscles would let him. He raised a challenging eyebrow. "If you help us get there faster, you won't get in trouble because no one will see us. Help a poor kid out?"

If it was anyone else, their jaw would have dropped and a none-too-happy expression would have burst over their face. But since Amarant never wore an expression of glee anyways, all he did was snort. "You have to be joking."

"Try me," he said, that sneaky grin never leaving his face.

"Ugn."

And then Dagger couldn't bite the smile off her face, even as Amarant helped gently settle Zidane into one of the canoes, having gone all the way across the Summoner's Bridge, down the slope that dipped into the cavern, and out onto the rickety dock, just to sit the genome inside.

"I can't believe you two."

"I can't believe you!" Zidane snorted, once he was safely away from the man. "You? Helping people? Maybe I did really die!"

Dagger stopped herself short (barely) from punching Zidane in the arm, but that did nothing to quell the extremely offended expression on her face.

"Psh. Whatever, kid. Don't come crying to me when you want to come back! I hope she drags your sorry ass," he grumbled before stalking away. Though the genome didn't miss the faint glint of a smirk overtaking his features as he sharply turned on his heel.

"Well," Zidane said, turning to the girl, who still sat in mild awe. How did people like him so much? He was such a smart ass. But then she smiled, remembering that she was indeed one of those people anyways. "Should we get rowing?"

The girl gave a heavy nod, shaking her hair as she handed him an ore and took one herself.

The sound of the water passing around the wood was a sound Zidane was unlikely to forget. The sun's sharp rays warmed his skin, and the fiery headache melted off of him with the heat. Though, being so close to the water, the salty spray was cool and refreshing in his nostrils. It felt so free and open in the cavern, the walls smoothed from the constant drum of water on them, while the ceiling of the cove was still spikey and textured.

They didn't make it very far out, that was for sure. The edge of their canoe teetered between the open air and the arched opening of the cavern, rotating slightly with the mild current. It was so quiet and peaceful down there – even Dagger hadn't imagined it would be so nice.

"You sure picked one hell of a place," he mumbled to her. Both of them glanced around as even the quietest of uttered words bounced around the red walls. "It's beautiful!" he yelled, causing the girl next to him to yelp.

The sound of his voice, loud and confident, continued to ring through the air in an echo as she stared at him, a smile smeared over her face. Maybe this was the first time since getting Zidane back that she really believed that that's what they did.

Zidane chuckled and leaned his limbs backwards, head resting uncomfortably on the bow of the canoe. His arm slung over the side of the wooden boat, and his fingers grazed the top of the cool water.

"I could get used to a place like this."

Dagger sat, her back arched straight and her posture still poised as always. "It is nice."

"Let's move here when the war is over."

The comment threw her off. She slouched and reeled herself backwards all at once, and the boat shifted angrily to each side for a few moments. Her gloved hand found its way to the water in all of her clumsiness, but before she could answer the blonde, she sighed and shucked the armored material, before dipping her fingers back in.

"I couldn't do that; I'll have to stay in Alexandria."

Zidane made a face, but didn't lift his head. "Not forever. Maybe we'll vacation here." Her heart skipped a beat; she didn't say anything about it, but it was noted that he envisioned himself staying wherever she had to be.

"Zidane, there would be so much to do –"

"You've been fighting this war for your entire life. I don't think anyone would blame you if you just wanted some Dagger time."

"Dagger time," she giggled. "What a silly combination of words."

"Maybe you could make a holiday out of it," he chattered, "Since you would be Princess Garnet again, wouldn't you? A day every year could be called Dagger Time, and generations from now, everyone who didn't own a big, overstocked library would forget why it was called that in the first place but still know that it was a rather important day and no one was allowed to work or do anything strenuous, but they loved it anyways."

"You're being preposterous, Zidane!" she cried, laughing.

"Think of how many adventures you could go on, having that day every year."

"I could go see snow," she blurted. The girl was reminded of that morning over a month ago when she was stressed over Cid's inattentiveness to make a plan to rescue Zidane, and she had thought vaguely about it – having never seen snow.

But he went along with it. Cupping his chin, he still hadn't raised his head, and his eyes traced over the lazy lines of the clouds rolling above them. "Hmm… Probably nowhere around here then, right? Oeilvert – or Daguerro maybe?"

She laughed, clapping her hands together in delight. The water droplets from her left hand flicked her in the face, but she hardly flinched. "And then the next year could be somewhere warm! We could come here with the moogles!"

"And maybe one year we could get really adventurous and go to Mognet Central!"

"Or Chocobo Island!"

They were all but yelling at each other now, both sitting up and leaning closer to each other. Neither could remember the last time they'd been surrounded with so much energy.

Dagger was the first to compose herself, coughing lightly and leaning back, folding her hands back in her lap. Zidane let out his own little chuckle and nestled back into his prior position, dipping his hand back in the water.

She watched him for a moment, so serene that he could be sleeping. She tried to look past the scars and wounds that were still so evident – just to see the boy who was laying in the boat, untouched by the world of corruption, war and tragedy. She wished she could have known Zidane before all of this too.

"You should sing," he suggested quietly, not lifting his head. "I bet it would sound awesome in this cavern."

Normally, Dagger would feel embarrassed, or carry the urge to ask him questions about why. But this time, she didn't say anything; she just brought the tune up on her tongue and let it float out of her throat, like a soft lullaby.

The sound was amplified, but not in an overbearing way, and it seemed that the song wafted back and forth, morphing one piece with the next, and creating an almost symphony with her single voice.

Zidane's eyes fluttered shut then, letting his skin soak in the sun's insistent rays, and his body floated along in the canoe, drifting back and forth on the calm waters. It was like a certain background music to Dagger's singing, and the entire mood could have kept him calm through an attack by Kuja; that's how powerfully he felt about this song, now so familiar to him.

Dagger lost herself in the moment for a while. She spent a long time looking at Zidane, lost in the sense of wonder that surrounded him, so unlike the sick and death that had plagued his atmosphere for the last couple of weeks. But then her attention, her voice still vibrating around the cavern, turned to other things.

She admired the clear blue of the water, gorgeously azure-turquoise in the sparkling sun, and then she admired the smoothed down stone, a vibrant red above the waterline, where it sunk into a dull orange as it plunged under the water.

And then she spotted the tiny figure on the dock, and just like that, her mouth snapped shut, and the whole surreal illusion shattered.

When her voice finally went silent, the girl stood up and waved. "Hey!" she yelped, "I know that song!"

Dagger's head turned towards Eiko quizzically. "You do?"

She nodded largely, her entire body moving with the gesture as her hair fell over her shoulders. Her giant eyes gazed at Dagger with an amused glint. "Yeah! Remember? Or didn't I tell you? That's a song only I know! You and I now, I guess! But everyone I used to live with knew it too!"

"So it must be a summoner's village sort of thing," she stated, before turning her head to the side. She twisted in her seat, half leaning towards Eiko, and the other half completely unaware that anyone was still with her at all.

Zidane sat up slowly, with much more pain this time, but it was easy to ignore. He rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together in front of his lap. The girl moved restlessly next to him, her ore dipped in the water, but not doing a thing to move them. It seemed like she was torn in some decision.

He put on a caring and goofy smile. "I see those wheels turnin'," Zidane told Dagger before taking her hand and sweeping it up to his lips to kiss it. Chills ran down her spine in an exhilarating kind of way. "What is it?"

"It's just…" she started, and then stopped again, seeing Eiko on the docks sway to some beat that they couldn't hear. "Eiko's good friend Mog… I think she knew my mother," she said bravely, wondering how he would react.

"What? Dagger that's great! Why haven't you talked –" she shot him a look, "- oh… Because you're stuck here with me? No way! Go get her now and make her spill the beans!" An encouraging smile overtook his lips. "I'll be okay."

"A-are you sure?"

He nodded and jerked his thumb at Eiko. "I have someone to keep me company while you go. Believe me, it'll be great!" he let on a goofy grin, "You deserve to know this."

She followed his lead in picking up the ores again, and gently, they pushed themselves back to shore where Eiko helped the girl out of the canoe, not even registering why she was leaving in such a hurry in the first place, but happy to take her spot inside.

Dagger stumbled up the rocks, her hands gripping them hastily, one hand naked, glove forgotten in the canoe, and the other still heated underneath the thick layer of worn leather.

As she made her escape, she heard the blonde in the canoe laugh, "So Eiko, let's talk about how much time I've heard you've been spending with Vivi, huh?!" And though she didn't hear what the younger girl said in return, the shrill sound of it told her she probably would have laughed.

It didn't take Dagger a long time to find Mog. She seemed to be sun bathing by a broken fountain not far into the village again from where Dagger scampered up over the rocks. It had been decided that it was too hot for training that day, as they didn't want anyone getting sun stroke or overly burnt under the concentrated rays.

So the place was relatively quiet; most people had finally been brave enough (after following a moogle or two) to venture inside the cooler coves and seek refuge there, and more than one group of adventurers had admitted they hadn't felt that safe in a long time – too long. Dagger was happy that they were making peace with the hasty retreat into Madain Sari and still felt that way even after the magic of the place dulled down with the heat.

However, getting Mog to talk to her was an entirely different story. When she first greeted the moogle, she scared the poor thing off of her rock, and her wings flapped and her pom pom fluttered as she tried to collect her bearings.

When Dagger had finally lulled her out of her hectic stupor, Mog's eyes searched the girl's face very carefully before she even let her speak.

"You look like you've got important business, kupo," she said slowly. "You know I'm Mog, right kupo?"

Dagger nodded, "Yes, I was hoping to speak with you about something."

"Not Morrison, kupo? Or Chimomo?"

"Nope," the girl smiled politely, "just you."

"Whatever for, kupo?" she squeaked as her red pom flopped in her face. If she didn't have fur, Dagger imagined her blushing as she wrapped her small wings around the front of her body like she was trying to hide.

"I wanted to learn more about Serena, the high summoner? And her daughter, Victoria."

"Kupopo?!"

Dagger was suddenly nervous, wringing her hands together and only then realizing that one was missing a glove. Her eyes were wide and she tried to act normal, but the balls of her feet bounced her with energy.

"There is not much to know about Serena, kupo. I was very young when she was rising as a summoner. But she gave everyone advice in the village, and was the gentlest person I had ever met, except maybe for her daughter. Serena became our leader, in a sort. She was one of the last to make the pilgrimage to the four temples, and had the calmest ideas about what to do with the upcoming war. She kept everyone at peace until the very end."

Dagger leaned forward, hoping to hear more about the woman, and wishing that Mog would move onto Victoria all at the same time. Her heart was beating into her ears, making it hard to hear the squeak of the shy moogle.

"Serena was very powerful," Mog added with a little sigh. "But I think part of that is why this place became such a target. Madain Sari had always been known for its power, but Serena was known worldwide as a High Summoner for a long time; Kuja was threatened, kupo."

There was a long stretch of silence where Dagger wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to continue pestering the moogle with questions, but she seemed to slip into a deep thought, and despite how antsy the girl was, she was patient still.

"You would have liked her, kupo," Mog mused. "She could have taught you a lot, kupo."

"Do you think so?" the girl squeaked, her voice tightening. If Serena's daughter really was Dagger's mother, that would mean Serena was her grandmother…

Her heart ached.

Mog nodded, "She was the only High Summoner to one-hundred percent support a summoner's freedom of choice in leaving the village to spread their gifts, kupo. She would have liked to hear where you came from too, kupopo!"

The raven smiled, pushing her hair behind her ear. The other tapped against her side, fingers curled into a loose fist. "I would like to hear that too."

"Kupo?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "It's nothing… Is there anything you can tell me about Victoria?"

"Ahh, kupo. She was gentler than her mother, but in a different way. She shied away from the powers of the summoner, and quaked at the thought of summoning, even if it was just to protect. Her and Serena were close, but when it came to the traditions of the village, kupo… they didn't see eye-to-eye." Mog pointed to her squinted, beady eyes, as if to make the point clearer.

"So what happened?"

"Once Victoria was old enough, she left. The summoners tried hard to let the people go, and to not interfere with their new lives, so we lost track of a lot of them who left. Though, if they kept up with their summoning powers, their spirit would always live on, in a sense, here, kupo. I bet you've felt it; the power and the happiness here, but also the sorrow too, kupo."

She nodded, remembering the way that every resistance member who knew a wink of white magic had been delighted to find refuge here. "But if they didn't keep up with their summonings…"

Mog nodded, answering her question without her even having to ask it. "Victoria spent a lot of her time painting."

"Painting?" the statement took her aback.

"Lots of the paintings in the houses of the eidelons and families were done by her. If she liked nothing else about the village, Victoria was one of the most passionate people I've ever met about atmosphere. She loved everything visual about this place – the contrast of the land and water, and the way that you could see the smells and sounds as they were happening. It was very powerful for her, kupo."

"A painter…" Dagger murmured.

"She was very well received," Mog decided, "But she was frightened of her powers, and wanted to know what was out in the world. It was a perfect mixture to leave the village and find her own path."

"It's too bad she never made it back here. I wonder if Serena missed her."

Mog nodded, "Yes. That is what I remember most, kupo. But in the end – I mean the very end, kupo - I think she was happy her daughter left. Maybe Victoria was still out there, or maybe she had made the difference in the world she'd wanted to make when she fled from her heritage."

Dagger smiled as all of the pieces fell into place.

That's where she'd seen the inside of the Summoner's Cove before. Her mother was a painter – she remembered so vaguely watching her mother with such an intense curiosity, always wondering what world she was painting but always too afraid to ask. Three-year-old Dagger had actually been staring down her own culture; Vitoria was painting a world she could have been homesick for.

She liked to think that maybe her mother would have explained to her what that place was one day, so that Dagger would have the option of going there and learning about her white magic.

She didn't need any more confirmation than that: something clicked in her heart then, and a satisfying feeling washed over her. For the first time in eighteen years she was really finding out who her mother was. She actually had an idea…

"Princess Dagger, kupo? Are you okay?"

The girl went from smiling to full-on beaming as she let out a laugh. "Yes, I'm wonderful. Thank you, Mog, for telling me these stories."

"Something tells me there's more to this than I know, kupo…" she said suspiciously.

Dagger nodded, "You've just answered a very old question for me. And if I had more time, I would explain –"

Mog shook her head, "Go, kupo! Figure out the rest!"

And as soon as she finished giving the teenager permission, Dagger was off, hurrying down the path towards the balcony over the river where she knew Beatrix and Steiner loved to rest. Now that she had the first inkling of an answer, she would be getting the rest of the story out of them.

She was determined.


"Really?"

She shifted her head, cracking open her eyes against the sun to stare at the man sitting to the side of her. "What?"

Steiner almost rolled his eyes as he gestured to her boots, planted firmly on his lap. "You cannot act like you didn't realize you put your feet up on me."

She drooped lower in her chair, her fingers laced across her abdomen as she opened her eyes completely. Steiner seemed younger – his jet black hair wavering slightly in the wind, growing out a tinge longer than he liked it. The white shirt he was wearing hung a little looser – definitely from all of the stress that they'd been through in the last few weeks – and she was reminded of the lanky younger brother of Nathaniel she had met in what seemed like a different life.

His eyes were more relaxed being freed from his usually heavy armor, their charcoal color tinging hazel on such a bright day. And she knew that she looked the same way to him. Her hair was tangled around her shoulders and, in the act of trying to seem innocent, her walnut eyes were wide and blinking while her body succumbed to a relaxing lounge on the chair. Her own armor had been shucked, leaving her with her grey corset top, the sleeveless jacket having been abandoned on the table a few feet away from them. The river rushed below them, spraying up on the side of the balcony and every so often, splashing Steiner lightly on the arm.

He chuckled lightly at her lack of an answer before settling his hand down on her ankle, leaning back in his chair and staring out over the water. Her eyes searched his face for a moment, wondering what he was thinking about, but not wanting to ruin the moment by asking.

"Beatrix! Steiner!"

And then, it was ruined anyways, because immediately they were ready, leaping to their feet and whirling around because that was most definitely Dagger's voice.

"Dagger!" Beatrix exclaimed, rushing forward. "Are you alright? Is everything alright?"

The raven panted as she stared up at her, "You have no idea what I've just heard!" She was tired, but positively beaming.

"Did Amarant finally say something nice to someone? Is he done scaring away our recruits?" Steiner remarked dryly.

But Dagger ignored his sarcastic comment and grabbed Beatrix's hands. He couldn't help but notice just how much like family they looked. Confusion swept over the brunette's face as she stared down at the younger girl. "What's going on?"

"She was a painter, right? She did all of this work here! Everyone loved her work –"

"Who?"

"Victoria! My mother!"

Beatrix tore her hands away from Dagger, backing up into Steiner who was still on his feet. The duo stared at the girl like she'd gone crazy – or that she'd discovered a very big secret.

"Maybe you should tell us from the beginning…" Steiner suggested quietly.

Dagger excitedly launched into the story of the cove and the scripts she had read bits and pieces of. She told them about how it had seemed so familiar to her, and that Eiko had explained the story of Serena and how powerful of a High Summoner she was. The Dagger recited the events of the day – her and Zidane in the boat, and the lullaby and Eiko interrupted with the notion that she knew it and that only people from the village knew it. She repeated her conversation with Mog in a rush, and ended with the same exhilarated expression she had when she first ran up to the dining area.

"I'm not leaving," she said quickly, "until you tell me about my parents. I deserve to know! It's not fair that I don't!"

Beatrix rubbed her cheek with that stressed, worn expression back on her face. "Dagger," she started gently.

This time Dagger stepped back, her shoes crunching on the gravelly walkway as she turned away from Beatrix's touch. The heat bore down on the three of them, and Steiner felt himself starting to sweat, despite how close they were to the rush of the water. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Do not tell me what you always tell me!" she cried.

"Dagger, we don't tell you because we don't want you to dwell on the past –" Steiner started.

"That's not fair! I know you think that will affect me as a leader because I'm going to be worried about ruling a kingdom we haven't even won back! But that is unfair! You haven't even given me the chance to prove I wouldn't act differently!" Her eyes narrowed accusingly, locking in on Steiner as her chest rose and fell with panic of losing the fight, "We stepped past the first archway of Ipsen's Castle to find out what happened to your father. Do I not have the same right? It isn't putting anyone in danger!"

"That's not the point –"

"Steiner," Beatrix spoke again. "We have to stop this…"

"I cannot believe you're still keeping – what?" the teenager blinked.

The brunette let on a small smile. While maybe her and Dagger held themselves similarly and they had been told many times that they really looked like family, it was Dagger and Steiner who truly acted alike. Like they had learned from each other and followed the other's lead with controlling their temper, and also letting it get the best of them.

"You already know so much," she nodded. "I think it's time we tell you the rest."

"But –"

"Dagger is eighteen," Beatrix sighed. "All she has to do is start asking around – prompting others with what she already knows and eventually she will get the story…" the brunette got quiet. "I would rather we tell her."

Steiner let out a long sigh, running a rough hand down his face. He collapsed back in his chair, "Just another thing to add to the list." He gestured to the table, "Take a seat, Dagger."

She pressed her lips into a hard line to stop from smiling, but once she was sitting she was nearly bouncing in her seat. Beatrix laughed vaguely at her and shook her head. Dagger curled her fingers around the sides of her chair, gripping them until she was sure her knuckles were white.

Her parents…

She was going to finally hear the story.


A/N: I swear I was not going to end there. I know this chapter is a tinge short, and not too much happens, but I feel like this upcoming part is going to be pretty long and I did not want to give you guys a 10,000 word chapter!

But I hope you liked the little bits of fluff with Dagger and Zidane, and let's not forget Amarant's kindness! :P Hopefully you're excited for the next chapter! Thanks to everyone still reading this story!

3/21 update: guys! Stop letting me go a month between updates! I have these next like 4 chapters written, so I can update when I remember! Feel free to pop in and remind me! I'm so sorry! It's been a month! Ahhhh!

-zesty-