By: Kelly (Grand Lethal)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or settings from Final Fantasy IX
Zidane focused his gaze on his fingers as he rapped them across the table in front
of him. The concentrated motion was all he could do to take his mind off of the
forthcoming events. Upon realizing that he could hear his own heart pounding within his
chest, he began tapping his fingers harder in an attempt to drown out the sound. His
feelings were not brought about by nerves, as much as immense anticipation....and as
he waited patiently from within the confines of the costume closet, he began to have
second thoughts.
Perhaps it was cruel to reveal himself to his beloved in such a way...to force her to
express whatever emotions she may have in the plain view of the public. It, of course,
was not his idea. If he had it his way, he would have quietly revealed himself to Dagger
the very moment he had entered Alexandria. But this.....this little blown-out-of-proportion
event came purely from the mind of the Regent Cid and his wife. Zidane had originally scoffed at the idea; making his return into a public event would show a great deal of conceit; But after relentless prodding by the hopelessly romantic leaders, along with a few...others... he gave in, and consented to reveal himself to his beloved for the first time in months, from the stage.
But now, once again, he was reconsidering the whole ordeal. How ridiculous it felt to be hidden in the costume closet, under a long, identity concealing cloak, awaiting his Tantalus brother Marcus to come and give him his cue. This was bound to be a disaster, he thought. He had to go see Dagger now.. he could not wait a second longer. Sure...it would spoil his "grand entrance", but at the moment, such an entrance seemed trivial. He was not here for the amusement of the play's patrons, or even that of his friends. He was here for one thing...Dagger. ...If she would still have him. That particular thought worried Zidane. He had been gone for quite a while.....eight months, to be exact. In this time he may have been wiped clear from her memory. This, he wanted with all of his might, to make up to her. His absence, of course, was an unpreventable situation; each an every day of those eight months was simply another in which he had to find the means to survive. But, nevertheless, he felt guilty for not being at her side, regardless of the circumstances.
With his new resolve to simply visit his love now, Zidane pushed himself up from his chair and headed for the door. His cape, trailing behind him, slid across the table in which he was passing, knocking a makeup kit to the floor. The kit came unlatched, and various articles of stage makeup were strewn about, causing an unpleasantly loud noise. Zidane winced, hoping the sound of his clumsiness went unnoticed by the backstage guards. His fears were confirmed when he heard a female voice from outside say "General! There's a commotion in the costume closet. Request permission to inspect!".
"Dammit!" he huffed as he tried to hide his figure behind a stack of boxes.
"Very well. But return to your post immediately thereafter." He heard the oh-so-familiar voice respond.
"Beatrix!" he smiled, followed by a sigh of relief, as he began to emerge from his hiding place.
At that moment, a fiery headed Alexandrian soldier burst through the door, weapon in hand. "Reveal yourself!" She commanded to the mysterious stranger. Zidane sighed, and slowly pulled back the hood of his cape, awaiting the young girl's response. Would she even recognize him?
"Your.....majesty!" The girl stated atop a breath of disbelief, before falling to her knee, and lowering her head as one would do in the presence of royalty.
Zidane was struck dumbfounded by the young soldier's obvious blunder. Stupidly, he looked around himself to see whom else she might have been talking too. "Umm...excuse me...." He blurted, utterly confused. The girl looked up, making eye contact with him for a spit second, before bolting from the room, yelling over a flood of tears, "He lives! General! come quick! His majesty.....is alive!"
Beatrix groaned, obviously put out by her soldier's ridiculous claim. "Silence yourself!" The great general snapped. Nevertheless, she walked toward the costume closet to see for herself what had this young soldier so sure she had seen the...King.
Zidane's eyes fell upon the General Beatrix walking toward him, and he felt a surge of relief. "Beatrix!" he exclaimed. "It's me...Zidane...I suppose I have a lot to explain to...." ...but before he could finish, he was interrupted by an unsightly loud gasp.
Beatrix felt her heart stop for a split second as she fell to her knees, her hands cupped over her mouth. Her visible eye was awash with tears, and yet she did not blink once. The confused thief, and the flabbergasted general remained motionless, eyes never straying from one-another for what seemed like ages. Beatrix eventually found the words she was searching for. "Your......your majesty", she stated, before letting her head fall downward in veneration. "Your alive."
"Beatrix!.....W-What's going on here! It's me! Zidane! Answer me!"
By this time Zidane had slid back into his chair in a state of utter confusion and disbelief. He was suddenly unable to carry his body upon his two feet. His mind was running in circles, as he could not help but wonder what strange alternate universe he had been cast into. He was no king! Why didn't his friend recognize him?
"Your majesty....eh....Zidane" Beatrix began to speak. "I assume I would be correct in saying that... I suppose you have no knowledge of your current position over Alexandria" She rose slowly to her feet, and allowed her heavily shaking hands to pull another chair up to where Zidane was sitting.
"Y-You would be right...." Zidane answered somewhat absently.
"It's okay.." she spoke gently, "We know of you marriage to the queen"
Zidane flinched in surprise. "Marriage?!"
"Yes.." the general responded. "Her royal Highness.... Queen Garnet, was subject to an arranged marriage.... a contract signed years ago by Brahne. The only way the contract could be broken is if her highness took the vow of marriage with another, before the said date."
".....Conde Petie.." Zidane said, suddenly starting to understand the situation. "So that little ceremony was binding after all.." he smirked.
Beatrix smiled at her king. "Steiner and I realize that it was a marriage of convenience... everyone else in the Kingdom is under the impression that it was a marriage of rebellion between two lovers.......and that's exactly how we want it to stay."
Zidane eyed her quizzically.
Beatrix realized the need to explain further. "A marriage of convenience would be viewed as invalid within the contract."
Zidane shook his head in understanding, and felt a wry smile creep across his face. This had to mean his beloved Dagger was officially his...now and forever. He wondered if she would see it this way....
At that very moment, Marcus shuffled through the door. "You're up man" he said with a wink.
It was to late to back out now...he had to go through with it. Beatrix looked confused for a moment. Zidane's nerves must have been beaming through his eyes.
"Hurry up bro, they're waiting!" Marcus prodded.
With that, Beatrix suddenly understood the plan. She nodded approvingly at Zidane, and broke into a wide smile. With that, Zidane took in a deep breath, pulled the hood over his head, and tucked in the last few unruly strands of his blonde main as he made his way toward the stage.
******
Authors note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my story. There will be MANY more chapters to come, and hopefully it will be picking up pace soon. I just thought that this was an ideal prologue. This is my first fic, so Please Please Please review! I really want to know what everyone thinks. Kuja fans: be prepared to enjoy the next few chapters. :-)