| Once a human, always a human. Once a moogle, always a moogle. Once a dragon . . . always a dragon. -Dragon�s Words; vol. 2, pg. 15 Part 50 As soon as we landed, Vanel drug Zidane away to visit her family. Garnet, of course, followed. Tiovex and I headed straight for the castle, the crowd parting to let us through. In the castle library, I gazed around at the bookshelves that stood all the way to the ceiling. The more recent, more popular books were at the bottom and the family lines and �less interesting� books were at the top. I watched Tiovex fly up to a very top shelf and pull out a worn book. He sneezed as dust rose off it and then settled to the floor. Placing the book on a table, he opened it and searched briefly through the pages. [There.] I looked at the picture. It was an exquisite golden emperor. His scales had a shine like that of one who�d just finished molting. His horns and pinion aegises were only partially formed, proving that he was young. Maybe four or five d-age. [Who is this?] [That is Sovereign Ziaden Rexiav IX. Out of thirty-six hatchlings, he was the only emperor heir to the Rexiav Dynasty. The day after he turned four d-age he disappeared from the castle. One of his older sisters was convicted of murder and banished to the surface. A year later his family found his body on the beach and though he was physically alive, he was mentally dead. They finally put him to death with the highest honors, but no one could ever figure out what was wrong with him.] A recap of our conversation on the way to Esto Gaza. [But didn�t you say a physician said he didn�t appear to have a soul?] [Yes.] [Then---] I closed my mouth and thought. [Are you saying that this Ziaden and my Ziaden are one and the same?] [Exactly.] [And you say this because . . .?] [Look at this Ziaden and then look at your own.] The similarity was unmistakable. [All right . . . Fine . . .] I said shakily. [Let�s say they are the same. But what makes you so sure?] [Kitiane, all dragons know that if a human has dragon�s milk, it�s only going to give them green eyes. That�s all. But your Ziaden has grown a tail and wings. I agree that they aren�t like a dragon�s, but no human has ever grown such things before, whether they were dragon-encouraged or natural.] [Okay. But why did he give up his soul to be a human?] Tiovex leaned closer to me. [Who said he did?] [You mean somebody stole it?] [It�s a possibility. There are books in here about soul transference and extraction. But I don�t think it was his sister or anyone from the surface.] [Someone not from Gaia?] [Yes. Lady Hilda said that Kuja told her about another world called �Terra�. She said he said that that was his home world.] [Are you saying that someone from Terra--but not Kuja--stole Ziaden�s soul and put it in a human�s body?!] [That is exactly what I�m saying.] � What are you all talking about?� Zidane asked, entering the room. [Heredity,] I said quickly. He came over to the table with Garnet and Vanel and peered at the picture of the dragon who might just be him. � Hey, this guy stole my name!� Vanel gazed at the picture for a long while. [He�s cute,] she said in a slow, daydreamy voice. Zidane jerked back from the picture and turned to make a disgusted face at her. � What�s wrong witchu, girl?!� he demanded in a rather feminine voice, like one of a human empress warning her best friend not to date the town bully. � That boy�s old and dead! I hardly find that cute!� [You don�t get it, Zidane. He�s just . . . he�s a babe!] Zidane made an �ouch� face and lifted Vanel off the table, setting her on the floor. � You need to stop smokin� that . . . stuff, girlfriend. It�s addlin� your brain.� Vanel struggled when she realized she was being moved to the floor. [No! I wanna look at him!] � Look, kid. You can�t always have your way.� With a humph, Vanel sat down and pouted. � So whose ancestor is this?� Tiovex pointed at me. He switched to the human language so Garnet could put in any little tidbits she might have. � Hers. In a way.� � How so?� Was he jealous? � Well, he was the youngest of the last clutch in the Rexiav Family. He---� � Was the runt.� � How did you guess?� � He looks kinda small.� � Yes, he was the runt. But he was the only emperor heir. He had thirty-five sisters.� � . . . Woah . . .� Tiovex snorted. � Gutter-brain.� � What?� � Actually, they had so many children because at the time law dictated that there had to be a male heir.� � So what happened?� � He disappeared when he was four d-age. His body was found on the surface a year later by his own mother.� � . . . Ouch. Would hate to be her.� I let the comment go because it was genuine and not said in his usual flippant manner. � The youngest empress was my great grandmother.� � So he�d be some great great uncle or something?� � Or something.� � Hm.� He looked at the picture again. � Maybe he�s not so bad after all.� I chuckled. � It�s all right if you don�t like him. He might�ve been a complete jerk for all I know.� � Oh, okay. Then I still don�t like him.� � Why?� <--Part 49 Part 51--> |