Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Forever... ❯ A Promise ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Forever…

by Karumi


Disclaimer: FFIX belongs to Squaresoft. Besides the only thing I own is my cat…and he likes to bite.




Garnet stepped out of the Hilda Garde. She had told Captain Taylor and the rest of the crew to stay on board; that she'd be back in around two hours or so and that if she wasn't they had her permission to search for her. Besides; she wanted to go alone, the nightmare was still fresh in her mind; especially how real it felt.

Garnet looked around at the sight before her…rocks, dirt, leaves…the explosion that she had heard from the Hilda Garde…the tree had exploded.

"This can't be real" the sight looked just like it did in the dream. It was overwhelming "but in the dream it was Alexandria, not this place…it doesn't make any sense." Garnet grabbed her necklace with her right hand, took a deep breath and headed forward.

~*~*~

Garnet stared down at the center of the tree; she had been searching around for the past forty minutes and had found nothing. It looked as if half the tree had been sucked down into the earth. It was the only place she hadn't searched. She took off her necklace, her rings and anything else that might bother her; she took hold of a nearby branch and started descending slowly. It was very much easier than it looked there were branches everywhere that helped her in her descend. It only took her five minutes to reach the bottom. It wasn't as dark as she'd thought it'll be. The mist residue had left some sort of natural light that illuminated the place. It wasn't dark; but it sure was eerie.

Garnet tried to make her way trough the rubble, but it was very hard; she had almost tripped twice already. All she could hear was her steps and her breath; everything else was silence…and the something else…

"Hello; is someone there?" Garnet asked out loud. Only the strange sound was the one that replied. "Who is there?" Garnet turned her head in every direction possible. She started walking backwards; she had no idea where the noise was coming from…until she tripped.

Garnet lay on her back; she turned to one side supporting her weight with both her hands. She looked towards her feet to see what made her fall. Her eyes went wide open…the white shirt, the blue vest, the golden hair…NO!

"Oh my god! Zidane!" Garnet removed all the bits of rock that were covering Zidane. She then put his head on her lap "Zidane? ZIDANE!" He didn't even flinch. "Oh God! This can't be happening…it was only a dream…"

"Dagger?…is that you?"

"Wha…" Garnet looked down to see Zidane with a small grin on his face. "Oh Zidane! Your okay, for a second I thought…I thought…" Garnet tried to finish the sentence but couldn't; she was so happy and Zidane could see it in her face.

"What are you doing here…I thought I told you…"

"I couldn't leave you" Garnet interrupted "so I came back for you."

Zidane smiled at her as he stared into her brown eyes.

"C'mon;" Garnet said "let's get you out here."

"That sounds like a good idea" said Zidane. Garnet grabbed Zidane's left arm and pushed him up so he could stand.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!"

Garnet quickly put Zidane back on the ground as he screamed. "What is it, what's wrong?" She asked never letting go of his arm. "I don't know; it's my back…it…it hurts when I move" Zidane said between grunts. "Let me see…" Garnet said; helping him to turn over so she could take a good look at his back.

Garnet bit her lower lip when she saw Zidane's back. Almost his entire back was covered in blood. "Take off your vest Zidane" Garnet said holding back tears. She tossed the blood-covered vest aside and lifted Zidane's shirt so she could see the wound. Garnet closed her eyes at the sight of the wound; Zidane had a hole in his back, bigger than Garnet's thumb and apparently it had reopened when Zidane tried to stand up. She didn't know what to say to him, she didn't know what to do.

"Dagger?" Zidane's voice was calm.

"It's okay Dagger, you don't have to tell me. I can feel it…I'm dying Dagger"

Garnet softly helped Zidane to lie on his back again and once more put his head on her lap. "Don't say that…please". Garnet felt the warm tears on her cheeks as Zidane closed his eyes. She did too and when she opened them she saw a solution. Zidane's dagger lay before her. It was inviting her. Garnet stretched out her hand and grabbed the dagger by its handle. She stared at it for a few seconds.

"What are you doing Dagger?" Garnet almost dropped the dagger at the sound of Zidane's voice. She looked down at his eyes; she knew what to say…"I had a dream Zidane, a nightmare…you died in that dream Zidane. It was the most horrible pain I've ever felt…a pain I don't want to feel again." Zidane put his hand over Garnet's and squeezed it.

"So instead your giving up…I had a dream too Dagger; that you and I were together in a beautiful place where no one bothered us. I know now where that place was…it was heaven; the place where I'll wait for you…forever…"

Garnet held Zidane's hand with both of hers. She had drooped the dagger.

"I need you to be strong Dagger, for me, for you, for the both of us. And in the meanwhile I'll wait for you; this is my new promise Dagger; I can't keep the old one." Zidane raised his free hand and softly touched Garnet under her chin. "So promise me please…promise you'll be strong for me?" Garnet didn't even mind the tears anymore. "I promise…I promise I'll be strong for you. I know why it hurts so much now…I've fallen in love with you…I love you Zidane." Zidane extended his touch from her chin to her cheek. "I love you too…"

~*~*~

Everyone was silent at the funeral, especially Beatrix. Everyone had been told that Zidane had died when the tree exploded and that his body was found by a rescue crew under her majesty's orders. Only Beatriz knew that it was because of a dream that the queen had returned to the tree; and that Zidane had died in her arms.

Garnet stayed behind after the ceremony ended and everyone except Beatrix had left. She stood before the gravestone with a white rose in her hands.

"Are you all right your highness?" Beatrix asked softly, putting a comforting hand on Garnet's shoulder.

"I'm fine Beatrix, could you please wait for me at the castle?" Garnet replied never letting her sight off the gravestone.

"As you wish your highness." Said Beatrix removing her hand from Garnet's shoulder and retreating to the castle.

Garnet stood there silently for a few minutes until she was sure she was alone.

"Hey…I brought you something." She said twirling the white rose between her fingers.

"Everyone's being so supportive, they've been a real help. But I didn't stay to tell you that. I came to tell you that I'm being strong and that I'll keep being strong; I'll keep my promise Zidane…because I know you'll keep yours." Garnet smiled at herself as she softly put the rose in front of the gravestone and read it.

"Goodbye"

~*~*~
Zidane Tribal

Hero
Friend Loved one

In our hearts
Forever…


~*~*~

FIN

Author's note: That's it. I reread it and almost cried…I had this fic in my mind for a while and I'm glad its out.