| Life is never fair. You must always accept the hand you are dealt and play the game accordingly. -Rules of Life, pg. 12 Part 27 Soulcage stared straight at me. Your time is near, Dragon Queen. Use what time you have left wisely. I laughed. I wasn�t scared. Death has never frightened me. It has always been at my side as a friend. � You may speak the truth, Mist Monster, but I don�t fear it! Death is my ally!� It struck a killing blow, but I came out of it alive by a stroke of luck and quick reflexes. I immediately went into Trance. Zidane leapt onto my back and stood watchfully, prepared to defend or attack. I took off toward Soulcage, dodging wild attacks. I pulled out the bow Tiovex had given me and strung a normal arrow onto it. Letting it fly, I hurriedly flamed at it, setting it on fire. It struck true and Soulcage was damaged badly. Zidane waited until I had almost run into it before leaping off my back and striking. Soulcage was defeated, but countered the blow as it died. Zidane, unconscious, dropped like a stone. I pulled my wings in and dove, but I knew I would never make it. Then, to my great surprise and elation, Tiovex leapt lightly into the air and caught Zidane on his back, then landed just as delicately. He snagged Zidane�s collar to keep him from hitting his head and looked at me as I landed and Trance faded, leaving me human again. [That wasn�t smart.] � I can�t help it!� I snapped, checking to make sure Zidane was still alive. � I can�t control Trance! If I could, these big fights wouldn�t be so bad!� [Calm down! My goodness, you�re grouchy today!] We went back to Madain Sari on the news that someone had stolen Eiko�s heirloom. She lamented its loss for a while, but then it appeared that the thief was still around. Eiko ran off by herself. The rest of us followed, of course, and found her being held captive by her wings. It was that woman from Fossil Roo! Zidane evidently recognized her too, because he snarled. � You!� She stared at him. � Hey, aren�t you the one with that dragon? Well you must be, since the princess is with you. Is that old empress dead?� � Luckily for you, that �old empress� isn�t! If she were, you would�ve been dead already as well!� Then a red-haired man jumped down from the top of the Eidolon Wall, stole the heirloom from the woman, and chased her off without fighting her. Eiko, of course, ran right to Zidane. I watched the duel calmly; Zidane was being very careful and wouldn�t fool easily (not that he did any other time, but I mean not as easily). He knew what he was doing and planned his actions before carrying them out. �Uh, what should I do now?� �Burn him!� Vanel cried excitedly. �Burn him to cinders!� I gave her head a gentle pat. �He�s not a dragon, sweet.� � . . . Oh yeah.� �Mother?� I watched the man closely. �I believe he�s going to try a charge next. Go left and swing in to the right. You should have a clear shot.� �Won�t he be able to counter easier?� �It�s an acceptable risk, in my opinion. I�d do it, but I�m not forcing you to. Do what you think is best.� He did what I suggested, getting a tiny cut on his shoulder despite his duck when the man struck back. That sent him into Trance and he quickly used Solution 9 to finish the man off. After returning the heirloom, the strange human left. Everyone then split up to do their own thing. I wandered around Madain Sari alone, my mind a calm blank. As I reached the overlook near Eiko�s house I heard two familiar voices and looked down over the edge of the cliff. It was Zidane and Garnet. I didn�t pay much attention to their conversation because Garnet�s mind was unusually active. My mind was bombarded with pictures of a boat in the raging sea on a dark, stormy night. A young girl and her mother held tightly to the vessel to keep from being thrown. The girl looked back at her home, Madain Sari, to watch it burn to the ground. Somewhere along the trip the mother died, but the girl stubbornly clung to life and reached Alexandria . . . Garnet fainted. Zidane caught her and called to her, but she didn�t wake up. I staggered momentarily, then blacked out. *~~* She seemed okay, but it would probably be best to get her somewhere more comfortable. The boat was not the best place to sleep, in his opinion. He directed the boat back into the enclosed dock and stepped out onto the wood carefully. As he headed upstairs, there was a splash. But upon pausing and looking out, he saw nothing. Shrugging, he continued up the stairs. After about an hour or so, Dagger woke. She shook her head slowly as she sat up and looked around at the others nearby. Just about everyone was there. But she knew Kiti could take care of herself and didn�t give the matter much more thought. He watched Dagger closely, making sure she wasn�t experiencing even the slightest pain. She appeared okay, so he relaxed and closed his eyes, hoping for a few hours of rest. Unfortunately, his mind would not honor the request and constantly pestered him about things. Like Kitiane. Vaguely, he wondered where she was. Usually she didn�t just walk off by herself without informing someone of where she was going. He�d expected Vanel to know, but Kitiane hadn�t spoken to her since they�d gone into the Iifa Tree. Maybe that guy he�d fought had attacked her. As all these different scenarios entered his mind, he grew increasingly uneasy. The others noticed his restless fidgetting and became curious. He was normally very quiet; so much, in fact, that you often forgot he was near. Something must be wrong if he was squirming to that degree. � Zidane?� He ignored them for a moment, then finally answered. � Am I the only one who thinks Kiti�s been gone a long time?� <--Part 26 Part 28--> |