| Take whatever your elders may say as truth. They would never lie about serious matters. -On Eidolon Wall in Madain Sari Part 85 [Wait here, boy. Protect yourself. You will see how fun it is out here.] I flew to the nearby island where Chocobo�s Lagoon was and crouched there on the edge, waiting. He would fight for his life and understand how killing monsters was not a sport. The grand dragon did not disappoint me. It climbed up onto the beach and attacked him right away, surprising him. At first he didn�t take it too seriously--as I expected--but once he realized that the grand dragon was in earnest and its power was deadly, he began to fight for real, desperate to stay alive. It was only two minutes after I�d left him there that I had to go get him. I snatched his beaten form away from the grand and flew in the direction of Alexandria. [Do you understand now, boy? Why this is not a game?] When he didn�t answer, I stopped and repositioned myself so I was perpendicular to the sea, then held him at arm�s length and shook him roughly. [Do you understand why this is no game?] � Yes,� he whispered, turning his head away from the sea breeze that ruffled his hair. � I understand.� I hefted him to my back and continued, landing in the castle garden. He stumbled inside on his own and was immediately found by Garnet, who ushered him off to the clinic as she questioned him. � Are you sure you should�ve done that?� Kuja asked from where he was perched in a nearby tree. I shook my head. [I don�t know.] I went inside to find Garnet being stopped by a soldier. � Highness, there is a visitor here to see you. Another noble from Treno.� To my enjoyment, she sneered the last sentence. Everybody could see the relationship between Garnet and Zidane and nobody liked it when someone else tried to intrude on that. � All right, thank you. Let him into the foyer. I�ll take care of him.� The soldier saluted and ran off. Garnet noticed me and said, � I�ll need you and the other dragons.� I nodded. � I�ll be right back.� I ran up the stairs and to the room we shared and looked in. [Garnet needs our help to shoo out a Treno noble.] They got up and followed me downstairs to the throne room. � Tiovex, you sit on my left. Gelgameth, sit on my right. Kiti, I want you to lay on the top of the back of my throne. Vanel, you sit in my lap. All of you have to look very scary. That shouldn�t take much, since Treno nobles are known for their spinelessness. If I get up, which I might do, I want you all to follow me and Kiti, walk upright, okay?� We agreed and the noble was let in. He didn�t see us at first, but once he did he balked momentarily before coming forward and kneeling. � Queen.� [He doesn�t even know her name!] Vanel announced and we all snickered cruelly. � What is it you want, Noble?� Garnet asked in fake sweetness. Before he could say anything, the doors burst open and Baku walked in, followed by Marcus, Blank, Cinna, and about a third of the castle�s soldier population. Both sides looked rather irate at each other. � Your Highness, I need to see Zidane right now,� Baku said. The noble stood and huffed angrily, � How dare you speak to the queen like that!� [A Steiner-in-training,] Vanel commented and we all laughed again. [Actually,] Tiovex put in, [I think it�s an offense to Steiner. He�s not doing that so much anymore.] [But he�s still doing it,] I replied. � Zidane is in the clinic.� � What for?� � He won�t tell me. But he�s hurt pretty badly. As long as you don�t want him to get into a fight somewhere, I do believe he�ll be able to help.� The noble turned to Garnet. � Queen---� There was the snap of quickly opened wings and then a form dropped from the ceiling and landed in a crouch on the floor right at the base of the stairs that led up to the throne. It was a shimmering gold emperor and he glared at the noble, every fang totally bared as he stood majestically on his rear feet, a good seven feet high. He slowly walked forward as he spoke, causing the noble to back up as well. � I do not recall you being invited here,� he hissed in a deadly voice. � And in such cases I take care of all trespassers.� The noble fainted and the emperor heaved a sigh. � What a baby,� he gloated in a familiar voice. � A lot of sissies run Treno.� � Zidane!� Garnet cried. � What are you doing up?!� He waved a hand at her. � I�m okay. Really. It was just a few scratches and bruises.� � But the doctor should never have let you leave until I said so!� Kuja, who had entered after Tantalus and the Alexandrian soldiers, turned around and began to walk out of the room, his hands behind his back as he whistled innocently. �Wasn�t me . . .� I hopped down from my perch and trotted out after him, though I did not go right to him. Instead, I kept going, taking off at the dock and heading down to the silence of the Evil Forest. Once I reached my old home, I paused to grab a few things to help me and then took off again. For unknown reasons, I stopped at Lindblum. It was really far out of my way--I was going to Iifa--but I guess I just decided to stop by and see Eiko, who had been sending complaints about not being visited. So I went up to the window of her room and landed on the edge. As I had expected, she was sitting there reading something. � Hello, Eiko.� She looked up and squealed, dumping the book on the floor and rushing over to hug my head. � Kiti! You came to see me!� I stepped inside and sat down where she indicated. She talked for three full hours, telling me about everything that had happened recently. I just sat and listened to her, nodding to show that I was paying attention. Then there was the hiss of an approaching airship. We peered out the window, staring in surprise as a modified Red Rose prepared to dock. I had a feeling they were coming to get me, so when Eiko rushed downstairs, I popped out the window and continued my journey. <--Part 84 Part 86--> |