Bleached Sky

[Eiko Carol Fabool]

The earth was scorched red raw, a mirror held up to that white sun that seemed to bleach the sky. Little wind stirred the few stalks of grass pocking out of every available nook and crany. Nor did it whisper to the leaves on the ivy winding round the sandstone pillars and dashed rocks. It seemed though, it had word down the shattered buildings even further, as if grinding down a tooth. Yet there was no never here, no pulse no more, there would be no pain when the final yellowed structure fell and crushed the sands.

This was home, then?

Well, a home to her 10 years ago. A home that had provided her nothing and taught her to be strong on her own. A home that had taught her but never nurtered her. A home that deserved to be forgotten, its strange traditions vanquished with her final dying breath.

Yet still she came here, every single year upon year. Came for what? To brush dust off of Odin's statue? To lay flowers for those who had died? To usher quite prayers at the desolate shrines to deceased gods?

No, she didn't come for the gods, didn' t come for the flowers, didn't come for her ancestors. She came for Mog, no, sorry, Madeen. She hoped to hear her voice again.

Yet there was only silence.

Her shoes clip clopped out from the shrine, her hand covering her brow so as to block out the sun. The sky still seemed white, yet her blue eyes still searched.

Dagger, no, sorry, Garnet, oh no, sorry, QUEEN Alexandros, didn't take the same ride as her. No, it would be far too unsightly, a Princess of Lindblum many years her younger traveling with the Queen of Alexandria, puh, like she cared what those stuffy old nobels thought. It didn't matter though, her cabby would always refuse, saying it would be too dangerous, if the ship got hit, both of them could die. Bah, they had survived worse.

And no amount of foot-stomping to Father would change that.

[Garnet Til Alexandros]

Every footstep Garnet took upon the old dusty ground was precise and carefully placed; as if a single false move would cause these long forgotten ruins to crumble down. The wind, the sun, her breath. It was as if everything in the word was threatening to demolish this place at any instant. The pain she felt in her heart was indeed saddening, but there was nothing she could do to stop or slow down the process. Time eventually eroded all things, and Madain Sari was no exception to that rule.

At this moment, the only thing she could do was silently watch and let nature take its course. It was something she felt almost obligated to do, and the only reason why she bothered to stray so far from the luxuries of Alexandria. With a gentle sigh on her lips, the queen forced the troubling thoughts out of her head and continued tread softly through the ruins.

“You may wait here,” were the only words she offered to the single guard who accompanied her as she turned a corner. There was no need for any fancy guard or escort, Garnet had fought worse enemies than the ones in this area. But that was just came with being the queen of Alexandria she assumed. Dark brown eyes scanned the area carefully for bright green ones to no avail. Where was the purple haired princess? Her answer came in moments.

“Princess.” Garnet said with a smile and a bow.

[Eiko Carol Fabool]

Eiko jumped practically out of her skin when Garnet addressed her, spinning around and forcing back embarassed laughter. She skirted her fingers through her purple bob, curtseying in the most toe-curling, blood-boiling way, feigning a cutsey blush of red, ""My Queen"

It was satirical of course, of course it was. Garnet was the only one she'd curtsey for, unless Mother was there ready to lash her fiftey times for being rude to the Regent Lord Poshy-pants of Treno/Alexandria/Burmecia/Fairycake and cupfly land.

No, the ruins where still in her, a refined, eloquent Princess, she was not.

She skipped a little, hoping into Garnet's arms, still leaping on her as if she was a child. The embrace was sweet, it was warm, it made her smile. Sisters. Soulssissters. She thought of days on the battlefield, her little smile as they summoned, together, connected by a burning pulse. That white hot seed the flushed and connected, new life resonating every time and ancient beast was reborn by their hands.

Alexander.

Yet now their hands where not used for life making. Hers where for machine building, Garnet's for paper-signing. Adventure had died to the stilled maw of bureaucracy. Eiko sighed against Garnet's neck, releasing her from her bear hug.

"How's the Princey-Lover-boy?"[/b] she danced around her, laughing a little. she waved a hand to her belly, "And I want a neice, a cute little monkey tailed neice."[/b]

Her! Wishing for babies!

Time makes fools of us all.

[Garnet Til Alexandros]

She couldn’t help but laugh out loud when the purple haired teen gave her a curtsy. The gesture didn’t fit the foot stomping, bread stealing personality of the girl she had met ten years ago. Maybe Eiko had finally fallen into the role of the little princess during her time with the Regent? No, of course not. That role was much too tame for her character. That much was apparent by the way she leaped into Garnet’s arms.

Garnet welcomed Eiko into her arms warmly, returning her embrace with the same passion as she would her own family. She held her tightly, knowing that she probably wouldn’t see her for a while after this meeting. “I missed you little one!” She said poking a bit of fun at the girl’s small stature. Before she released the girl, Garnet gave her one final squeeze and a small peck atop her fore head.

“Zidane is fi—what!?” The queen’s sentence was cut short by Eiko’s comment. It wasn’t long before she could feel her cheeks and ears growing warm with embarrassment. “ I-I, w-we haven’t…Don’t be silly!” Garnet couldn’t even gather up the voice to fully dismiss the girl’s statement. Instead she stumbled over her words with a face that was beet red.

[Eiko Carol Fabool]

"I missed you too"[/b] was all she managed before she began to regret the words as quickly as they where spoken.

Little one?

Eiko was sixteen years young, and she most certainly was not little. Short, maybe, below average, yes, but little? She swung her hands out as fists, but allowed the statement to be vanquished by the friendliest of kisses, her hands unclasped.

Her eyes turned wicked and a patter of laughter rushed through her. Zidane and Garnet still hadn't... What the hell? Mother was already reminding her that she should wed soon, and no doubt twenty-five-hundred little horned white-blonde children would be born and her secret would be out. She clutched her hair before throwing off her thoughts, shaking her head, "Garnet you prude, we all know Zidane, if you don't do something soon well..."[/b] She clasped her hands behind her back, rising on her toes, "An old flame of his might resurface."[/b]

She laughed, laughed away the childish nature of her girl-hood crush. Zidane had saved her, a prince upon a white horse who was in fact a stupidly-courageous theif with a heart of melted gold. Yet he had saved them all. No, they had saved themselves, but without him... Who knows. Who knows. Regardless, she had fallen for him in times of dust and blood and groaning of the damned, but she was quick to realize that Garnet and Zidane where superhot for one another. Trying to step in between them just wasn't going to work, and in time, she relented.

She shrugged, skipping ahead, "Come on, I'll get Phoenix to bless you, you'll have twins, octuplets, centuplets!"[/b]