FFV: Toki no Hourousha (The Wanderer of Time)
Chapter 7: Au Palais de Verre

     The bedroom was dark, for Ishtar had set and the sun Shamash was soon to rise. Benjiro cradled the beautiful woman who slept peacefully in his arms, treasuring her presence as he always did. Later that day he would have to go back to his crew and set off for another raid, and she would face the Assembly alone, with no one to support her. He wanted to be there for her, protect her in case there were any problem, but duty called him elsewhere.
     He felt her stir, and bent his head to kiss her brow lightly. "Good morning, sweetheart," he whispered softly, nothing but adoration in his voice. Faris yawned and curled up closer against her lover to bask in their shared warmth.
     "Today is it, all that research, doublechecking with so many legal experts, making sure this will work out, and now Yllesia and I follow through with it. I really hope Iskan and Amit won't give me any trouble..."
     "What's the deal between you and Yllesia anyway, dearest? Not to assume anything, but..."
     Faris sighed and rolled him onto his back, then lay on him with her chin cushioned by crossed arms and a slightly amused look on her face. "Not feeling threatened, are you?"
     The pirate sighed as he stroked her long silky hair, then replied. "Somewhat, but then I still feel threatened when you and Butz go for a drinking contest, so it's more my problem than anything you do."
     "To me, there are many forms of love. I love Red because he's my son, he's the only child I'll ever have. I love Butz because he and I are kindred spirits, yet we're too similar for any sort of romantic relationship to last. I love my sister and Krile because that's what they are to me, sisters, the only family I know. I loved Syldra because he was my soul-mate and protector, when I was in trouble he was the one who smashed everything in his path to rescue me. My love for Yllesia has no name, for what does a knight call the love he has for his queen? That is what I am, her knight and protector, we will never cross the delicate love we have for each other for sexual gratification, and if we did I'd feel like I was desecrating something holy. And you, Benjiro Inomoto, I love you because you are my lover and my partner, the ever-loyal shadow without whom I would feel empty and the only one I truly trust with all my heart. I need you as much as you need me, so I hope those doubts you have will be washed away ..."
     They remained silently in embrace, the only sounds in the room the music of two breaths in unision. The sky lightened with the dawn, and, at last, the silence was broken.
     "Thank you, I needed that ... "
     Silence fell once again as the two lovers lay together in the purest form of peace that exists. Dawn came, flooding the room with vibrant reddish hues. Faris loved her partner, she really did, though she would never let evidence of affection go beyond the bedroom despite the fact that everyone in the world knew of their relationship. They had gone from being best friends to lovers, she still couldn't believe how fast the transition had been.
     She sat up and looked down into her lover's eyes, honey-gold like the rising sun, and his hair's reddish-brown hue aflame with the colors of the morning light. He was indeed more handsome than she thought when she was in love with Geilin. Funny how things work, for the closer one gets to another, the blinder they are to the other, and she had been completely blind to him for so long ...
     "I wish I could convince you to come with me to the ship and abandon this cage, but I know better than that."
     Faris leaned down to kiss him lightly before responding. "I wish I were able to go back to piracy ... a pirate captain's life is so much simpler, his crew only a hundred men at most, and he rarely has to deal with other pirate captains. I have paperwork to do on a daily basis, so much more to oversee than just a simple ship, a crew of thirteen million, and so many other captains to treat with false courtesy. I hate it so, yet I owe it to my father, my people, to remain in my position."
     The pirate gently pushed her off him and onto her back so he could lean over her. "I know, that's why I'm not pressing on the matter. You'd sooner sacrifice yourself for a noble cause than run away for your own happiness ..."
     "You know me too well, Benji," she whispered, smiling up at him. He returned her smile with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
     "And we have at least another couple of hours before you have to take the Borak to Solitary Island, so let's make the most of it ..."
     "Did I ever tell you that you're completely insatiable?"
     This was met with a chuckle. "Not like you ever complained..." His voice then dropped to a low, throaty whisper. "Anata wo aishiteiru."

      Solitary Island, the current home of the Wind Crystal, was neutral territory and therefore home of the small building in which the Assembly of Nations met. The forum rose above its surrounding mountains, smooth white marble against jagged granite. Its position embedded in the rock left little purchase for the airships and other transport, but the Borak managed to lower its load before the forum's entrance nonetheless.
      Faris waved at the pilot, who then pulled the lowered rope ladder back up and steered the airship into the sea, where it would rest until she gave the signal for him to pick her up. Several black chocobos were tied to a drilled granite outcrop and stank up the place with their heady odor, and at least one she recognized as belonging to Amit Senwe.
      She straightened out the white, gold-trimmed military-like uniform that her grandfather was best known to wear, garnished with his medals and topped with a long dark purple velvet cloak trimmed with white fur. If they were going to accuse her of becoming another Leon, then she would at least look the part. And she strode up the ancient marble steps and into the long corridor that lead into the meetingroom.
     After the worlds had merged into one, the countries pitched in to remodel part of the Shrine so it could hold more people. When once the Shrine was a maze, now a long corridor down the middle led to a huge chamber at its heart. She walked down this dark corridor, only the occasional torch kept if from being pitch black, until at last she came to the doors that opened into the meeting room.
     The meeting room was built like a small amphitheatre, two rows of black marble tables circling the speaker's podium. She strode before the podium with the air of arrogance they expected. As she thought, everyone was here: Amit of Crescent and Iskan of Walse sat together, with the dour mayor Ludvic of Lix and silent President Hideaki of Istory flanking them, making up the majority of the conservative corner of the Assembly. Representative Mahina of Nazalea, Krile of Bal, Faris of Tycoon, and the absent Yllesia of Karnac made up the liberal corner to keep the conservatives in check, and the rest ... well, they agreed to anything that was basically good for themselves, and maybe their countries. Only Yllesia was absent, waiting on the airship with Ridha until it was time for her to come.
     The queen of Tycoon took a deep breath and prevented any nervousness from penetrating her mask of self-assurance and pride. If she showed any weakness now, they'd take her down. Politics at its best, she thought wryly.
     "I'm sure you all want to know the reason why I called this emergency meeting of the Assembly of Nations. First of all, Lady Yllesia, Queen of Karnac, felt threatened when she first appealed to us at the last Assembly meeting about the rising revolution. We did nothing to aid her, and now her place stands empty, and Karnac on the brink of death. What did you all plan to do now, who did you plan to put in her place? With Yllesia and her sons gone, did you plan to merely let the revolutionaries put who they think is their best man in her chair here, or give them a regent whom some of you would have controlled like a puppet?"
     "Stop making wild accusations, Highwind, and get on with it," Ludvic snapped from his seat. She glared up at the mayor of Lix and resumed her speech, keeping a careful eye on the conservatives' corner. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the petite queen of Karnac gliding gracefully to her side, and bent her arm so Yllesia could lay her wrist upon it. And Faris noticed, without staring too closely at the conservatives, that Amit and Iskan both fought to contain their surprise that the Karnac Queen had survived, as did Hideaki, Ludvic, and Lazlos of Moore. She swore internally when she realised this, and went on.
     "Thankfully, I was able to save Yllesia and her children from execution in time, and the revolutionaries have been arrested and charged with treason. As Karnac is in economic ruin, Yllesia and I have come to a decision on the future of her country ..."
     Faris kept a watchful eye on those who had been surprised earlier without being too obvious. It was better they thought she didn't suspect, at least right now ... "From hereon Karnac will be known as a protectorate country under Tycoon rule until such a time that Karnac is able to freely stand on its own-"
     "You can't do that," Iskan shouted as he shot to his feet, and the others followed, almost drowning out her thoughts with their voices. Prime Minister Rani of Mirage, Mahina, Krile, Taliesin of Regole, and Ashwin of Surgate remained calm, thankfully, and she knew she had at least Krile's and Mahina's support.
     "I can and I did, Lord Iskan. Check the Assembly's constitution: the pact was made for the benefit of both countries, and there was no coercion on the part of either party. It's all legal."
     "Just like your grandfather, Highwind! What's coming after Karnac, eh? Walse? Crescent? Tule," Mayor Shedrick of Tule asked as he slammed his fist on the cold stone tabletop.
     "We know you have the military force to overtake us, Tycoon," Hideaki added quietly.
      Faris stiffened slightly in anger, and felt her friend give her arm a quick squeeze of reassurance. "Lords Hideaki, Shedrick, heed my words. I am more than capable of taking over your countries with my vast airship fleet, but I choose not to. Tycoon is self-sufficient: if trade routes are blocked we can still trade with Karnac by airship and the Dwarven Kingdom by submarine, and we can produce whatever we need. Unlike my grandfather, I do not wish to take over the world, I merely wish to be left to my own devices and my own country and its protectorates. Compare me to him if you wish, I honestly don't care, but I will do what is best for my country and Yllesia's."
     Lady Rani rose and coughed into a fist to get attention. "If you all will excuse me, I think some of us are jumping to conclusions here. So far Lady Sarisa has done nothing to instigate these accusations. I am from Mirage, my town was sealed away in time and space when the worlds were apart, and maybe because of that I am completely unbiased in my decision, but I say let her take on the burden of a broken country. After all, I doubt anyone else here would do something so noble and undeniably stupid."
     "I'm going to have to agree with Lady Rani," Krile said as she rose to her feet. "None of us is in any position to do the same, nor do we have the funds or the strength to rebuild someone else's country. And I don't think anyone has asked Lady Yllesia of her opinion on all this yet."
     The queen of Karnac let out a sigh of relief as someone finally acknowledged her involvement, and gave the younger woman a slight nod of thanks. "This whole affair was my idea initially, and as such I am willing to take full responsibility for whatever happens. Faris is the only one I trust with my country, and she was the only one who came to my aid when I needed her. Since the decision was mutual, there need not be any more discussion on it. I will still be Queen of Karnac, if in name only, and any orders Faris makes for Karnac will have to be checked by me first.
     "And while we're all here, I would very much like to know why the weapons the revolutionaries carried were of Walse origin. I not only had the weapons examined by an expert, but have an invoice especially made out to a certain revolutionary Saint Juste des Fleurs by a certain Marcos Rodriguez, who is, last I looked, secretary of defense for Walse. You have some explaining to do, Iskan."
     The king of Walse stared in absolute horror, brown eyes wide and normally tanned face pale, and it took him a moment to stammer out a reply.
     "I had no idea! That bastard must have been working alone! I assure you, Lady Yllesia, he'll be brought to justice."
     "Coward," Faris thought to herself, but did not voice her thoughts. Rodriguez didn't have enough spine to work alone on something like that, he had to have been commanded by Iskan. Iskan did, after all, have a motive, as did Amit. They both wanted to break her resolve so that she'd relent the throne to Lenna, and thus give them greater control in the Assembly. And if the revolution had been carried out successfully, then they'd have a representative obligated to do what they wished.
     She could feel a headache spread across her temples, as was normal when the Assembly members started shouting at each other, and waited for it all to just end so she could nurse her headache on the way home. Ridha hovered at the entrance, invisible to all but herself, and merely watching the proceedings. He didn't have to come, but he did, if just for moral support. She did feel bad about leaving all this in his hands when she would pass on, but she trusted him, and he had the strength of will necessary for her position.
     The arguments lasted for hours, until at last most everything was resolved, and anything that wasn't was to wait for the next scheduled meeting. As the Assembly disbanded, Faris strode out as quickly as possible, with Yllesia close behind. She would have left completely had Ridha not lingered to talk with Krile. He tended to talk to Krile a lot more lately than was once usual for him, and she suspected something was going on. What it was though, she did not care to guess, at least not for the moment.
     Leaving her friend to go to the airship before her, she backtracked to the Shrine. Her son must have been inside with Krile, for the only people congregating on the steps before the forum were Rani, Maeleachlainn of Carwen, Kabil of Jacole, Helaku of Quelb, Hideaki, Lazlos, and Shedrick, all trying unsuccessfully to keep from raising their voices. Some old instinct instructed Faris to take shelter behind one of the massive columns and listen in, and she had no moral qualms against such a thing. Survival mattered first, and paranoia was merely a survival reflex.
     "-I don't see what the problem is," a soft contralto carrying an ever-present note of silent amusement that was Rani's voice queried of another. The gutteral bass voice of a wolfman sounded an agreement.
     "We have a saying on this world you two may not be aware of. 'Never trust a Highwind'. The family has had a very long history of betrayal, megalomania, any number of domineering instincts. I'm sure we all remember that Enuo was a Highwind, as well as Leon the Invader, Elizabet the Blood Queen ...I can go on and on if I wish," Hideaki's icily quiet voice answered, and Shedrick followed up.
     "We already know what Fa- er, Sarisa is capable of as a pirate captain, and we know she has airships ...how many is still in question. We also know her son, if you can call that thing something so human, has powers that surpass those of any human ever born. What if she decides to follow the footsteps of her predecessors?"
     "...And I hardly find her coming into the Assembly in the garb of her grandfather in any way amusing," Maeleachlainn muttered dourly. He was the oldest member of the Assembly with the exception of Rani, having been born before the Dragon War, and had the sour disposition and perpetual bad mood to prove it.
     "Wait, thing? That's hardly a decent thing to say about a boy who has yet to prove himself," Lazlos suggested. "True his power is said to be of astronomical porportions, but..."
     "What else do you call a hermaphrodite, then," Kabil snapped, and at this Faris's blood froze. No one was supposed to know, and indeed no one did know but herself, Benjiro, Yllesia, Lenna, and Krile. Maybe someone had overheard when Yllesia would jest about Ridha being unsure whether or not he was male or female, or one of the maids got too curious. It was one of the deformities he was born with, and over time, as he developed, he grew out of his hermaphroditism and became a fully developed boy. But she went so far to make sure that one aspect of his early childhood was never discovered, and now...
     "Well, think of it this way. Hermaphrodites can't breed, right? At least, animals born that way can't. The deformity is so rare in humans that those born with it usually die as babies anyway. If Ridha is unable to breed, and since Sarisa cannot bear another heir without both dying in childbed, then Lenna and what children she may bear would ascend the throne eventually regardless of what happens. So I do suggest that Iskan, Amit, and the rest of that faction would stop trying to replace a perfectly functional monarch," Rani said in a voice that only faintly hinted at her disgust with the whole affair.
     "But what if-" Shedrick started, and was instantly cut off by the prime minister of Mirage.
     "'What if's won't matter. I may be a thousand years out of date, but I was there when King Zurvan Highwind brought his kingdom into the Golden Age, when Ormazd Highwind defeated his brother Enuo, when Zurvan's sister fought to rebuild a world torn in two. So the family has a history of producing the most prominent bad seeds known to man. But neither Sarisa or her son show any sign of becoming such. And maybe, if you people would see that for yourselves, maybe there wouldn't be this much trouble over politics."
     At this the group fell silent, and Faris uttered a quiet thanks to the tall councilwoman for putting the others' somewhat baseless distaste to question. In time they dispersed, and the former pirate slipped into a better hiding spot before any of them would run into her. In time the only transport left was Krile's dragon and her own airship, and it was only then that she allowed herself to relax.
      "I hate my life," she muttered to the sky, though that wasn't exactly true. Alright, she could do without some aspects of her life, but other than that, she rather liked it.
     "Were I in your dilemma, I would think such as well," a gutteral bass rumbled in Faris' ear. The former pirate reflexively spun to face the direction of the voice and fell into a crouched defensive position with a small dagger brandished. As a wolfman's face came into focus, she let out a sigh of relief, put the dagger away in its sheath hidden inside her sleeve, and settled into a more comfortable position.
     "Don't sneak up on me like that, Helaku. It can be fatal."
     "So I see," Kelgar's successor muttered as he brushed away at a bead of nervous sweat that dampened his grey-streaked yellow brown fur. "You impressed me, for I did not hear you approach during the discussion."
     Faris remained silent. She never expected anyone to catch her eavesdropping. At least it was the wolfman, however, who more or less kept to himself as far as politics were concerned, and usually never voiced his opinions unless they were absolutely necessary. And because of that she rarely knew what positions he took policy-wise. Failing to find any other manner of greeting, she asked why he lingered when all others had gone.
     "I merely wait for Lady Baldesion to finish her business in the atrium, for she brought me here dragonback, and she has promised to take me home."
     She merely nodded and turned her gaze to the entrance of the Solitary Island Shrine. "I'm waiting to say goodbye to Krile myself, among other things. I've no idea what's keeping her so long..."
     Helaku gave a silent growl of agreement and turned his attention back to her. "I sensed the presence of another in the atrium ...it smelled much like yourself, but without the subtle evidence of ...ah ...a mate's attentions."
     The woman stared hard at Helaku, unsure of whether she should feel insulted, disconcerted, or otherwise in response to the wolfman's statement. "You can smell things like that even hours after the actual event?"
     "Just a hint of it, but apparently only my kind and the wolves we were descended from are able to pick up so faint a trace. But of that other presence ...that was your son, was it not?"
     Faris eyed the wolf sternly, unsure of what he was getting at yet certain it was a threat to Ridha. And any threat to her only child was to be either eliminated or neutralized. "And what of it, Helaku?"
     "You know his presence is forbidden here, I'm sure. I will say nothing to the others about this particular incident, but you must realize that if I see any instance that he uses his powers to influence any of the others, I will report it."
     "Is that all," she muttered as she brushed a lock of hair from her face in nervousness. Helaku's ear twitched as he gave the appearance of trying to find the best way to say something strange.
     "No, there is something else. Something more unusual about Sir Senwe than when I saw him at the last meeting. It's hard to explain, really ...he has the scent of something unnatural about him. I know he has a personal vendetta against you, though I am unsure exactly why. Be careful, for some people will sell their souls to get what they want, and I believe Senwe will stoop to that level, if he hasn't already."
     "Wonderful, just what I need, even more trouble," the queen stated bitterly. Amit Senwe had always been a thorn in her side, ever since the day she proclaimed herself captain. The man seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Faris turned her attention back to the entrance of the Shrine as she fought to withhold any expression that would reveal her sinking sense of dismay. "Thank you for the warning though, Helaku."
     At that moment Krile stepped from behind the Shrine's doors and proceeded to lock them, with a semi-invisible Ridha in attendance. She appeared brighter and cheerier than usual, if that was possible, and her companion seemed to share her mood.
     "You can drop the disguise, Red. He knows," Faris called out as she straightened her shoulders and put on a false smile. The magelord fully materialised and looked at Helaku quizzically, and a frown replaced his previous demeanor.
     "May I ask how?"
     "You weren't careful," the Quelb elder answered as he gazed upon Ridha with an equally questioning eye. He had heard that the magelord aged so quickly once he reached the age of five that overnight he became a young man. He was not one to put stock in rumors, but now, as the evidence stood before him...
     "I will most certainly be sure to mask everything should I come again, Lord Helaku. Though hopefully circumstance would not require such a thing."
     "Indeed-"
     "We'll have to depart now," Faris interrupted as she strode over to her son and pulled him in the direction of the airship. "Lenna will be worried sick if we don't show up on time."
     Krile gazed after the departing figures and called out a farewell. She had no idea what had gone on between her old comrade-in-arms and the wolfman, but she did notice the warning glance Faris gave Helaku the one time she looked back. It worried her, though she wouldn't let it show. No one told her anything anyway, and at times she preferred it that way. And as she had so many times before, she donned the mask of carefree cheeriness that hid her true feelings and thoughts, and called for her dragon to come pick the two up for the long ride to Quelb.

      A small, nebulous figure crept into the room of its target. It was merely a black cloud that absorbed all light that fell upon it, but at its center was a single, baleful red ball the size of a man's eye. What that ball was composed of, whether it was a natural creation or unnatural, none will ever know. Yet it watched and waited as its soon-to-be victim curled under thick blankets and cradled a stuffed figure of a sea-dragon that was only as long as the target's torso. It had failed to eliminate this one once before in the field of the dead, but now, without interference...
     It gloated to itself. This time it would be too easy. This one would be the first to go, and then there would be the three others. And with them out of the way ...
     These people had been an annoyance to the Master for far too long. It was high time it got rid of them all.

~end chapter seven~

 

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