Garnet was enraptured. Anybody who knew the young Queen knew that she had a great love of theatre, but the truth was that while, yes, Garnet loved plays, she was also something of a bookworm when it came to them. She had ready every popular play on Gaia, and even if a play was new, she would usually be able to read it before watching it. She liked to study it, get to know the words, read the past performances, learn about the playwrights, read critical analysis and reviews. It had been long, so long, since she had sat and watched a play with no idea as to how it would end, or where the story would go. She had forgotten the thrill of the unknown, the mystery, and she was along for every second of the ride. Of course, part of it was watching street theatre in a crowd was very different from watching it from a distance in your private box. Garnet had, even despite her experiences in the world, previously been an advocate for being seated quietly at the theatre. It allowed you to appreciate the craftsmanship of the stage, the work of the costume designers, and experience the show exactly as the director intended. But being lost in a crowd of emotional audience members, it was like every feeling was magnified around you. It was a thrilling experience, even if it was also a little alarming to the young queen...

When the identity of the Black Knight was revealed, she gasped. When she defeated General Haido, she cheered. And when she delivered her heartfelt speech about the death of her family, she wept. Garnet was there for every emotion felt, and after the play finished, she almost considered being lost in this new realm was worth it for such an experience.

Almost.

She wished she could have shared it with Zidane. She was sure he'd have criticised the fight choreography. She had heard that he and Blank had put on quite the show, all that time ago in Alexandria, but the truth had been she hadn't been watching back then. She had other things on her mind. Of course, she'd seen Zidane's performance on her 17th Birthday, but... well, she wasn't likely to forget that any time soon, was she?

Either way, she was thrilled, and this was usually when she'd ask Steiner or Beatrix to arrange a meeting so that she could congratulate the principle players. Of course, neither were here, and even if they were, 'Dagger' did not have the authority to arrange such a meeting. Fortunately, however, the players seemed to stick around. Some even approached them. Garnet watched, hesitating for a moment, but then realising that if others were doing it, she could too. She almost smiled to herself. For a moment, she felt like that naive little princess, freshly escaped from the castle, walking around Dali, trying to listen to conversations and see how the common people acted. She thought she had come so far from those days, but maybe, deep inside, she was still the same lost little girl. Again, she wished Zidane was there, but no, she was alone.

But that didn't mean she couldn't do this...

She approached the woman in the blonde wig, who had played Lady Tousson. Up close, you could see it was a wig of course, but during the magic of the play, it had been impossible to tell.

"Gree-" she began, before pausing. No, she wasn't a queen here. She was Dagger again. "I, uh, I mean, hello," she smiled. "I... just wanted to say... that performance was magnificent! I had never seen this work before, and thoroughly enjoyed it! I must read the text!" she declared, smiling brightly. "You made a wonderful Lady Tousson. It's a superb role, you must have had so much fun!" In truth, maybe Garnet was a little jealous. Not of the player, who had done such a good job, but of the fictional Lady Tousson herself. Because in the real world, when the noblewoman went on the run and needed to defy a villain, she didn't return a heroic swordswoman. And her losses became oh, so much worse, as the year went on. Garnet had never found the strength to wield a sword or fight physically. But she had found a different kind of strength; a strength in her friends, and she had supported them to the end. Garnet wondered if anybody would ever write a story like that... "I-I mean, I have some questions, about the plot, and I'd love to speak with you about the show!" She paused, realising she hadn't introduced herself. "My name... I mean, I'm Dagger," she introduced. And then, with her best attempt at a smile, she said a word that still seemed alien in her mouth. But Vivi would have said it. Zidane would say it. Eiko would say it. That word was, simply, "Hiya!"


@jessie

Garnet had, in her opinion, shown that she was a capable adventurer. A year ago, she may have been a naive and coddled princess who knew very little about life outside the walls of a castle, but since then, she'd travelled the world. She had stayed in inns all over and slept in tents, battled monsters and seen the sort of things most people never experienced. And she had known love and heartbreak and love again. She was not a naive little girl anymore, who didn't know how to speak to commoners, didn't know the names of basic weapons, and had never even seen a common oglop. She had experienced it all, she had camped under the stars and slept in rickety inns, she had travelled to far off lands, battled snow and desert and even ended up on a far off world. She was, by most people's standards, a seasoned adventurer.

So why did she feel like such a useless, lost little girl all over again?

Well, she imagined it had to do with the nature of her most recent abduction. Garnet was a Queen now, and used to threats to her security. She had been kidnapped in the past, of course, as a princess, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not, but never had something like this happened. One moment, she had been the happiest she could remember. Zidane was alive, and he was back. She was holding him in her arms as he recounted where he had been for the last year (or so it felt), and she wanted to thump him on the back of the head as well as hug him and never let go of him for the way he had returned to her. Really, he had put on that whole act with the play... It was....

Who was Garnet kidding? It was incredibly sweet. She had never felt emotions that strong, that kind of joy mingled with sadness, desperation, disbelief... When she threw herself into his arms she thought her life could end right at that moment and she would never experience an emotional high any higher. But that thought hadn't meant to be a challenge to the gods. It hadn't been a request to teleport her away to a whole other world. But here she was.

She did, at least, feel experienced enough that where ever she had ended up was nowhere she recognised on Gaia. The ground was swampy, which was immediately inconvenient. She still remembered her first time stepping into Qu Marsh, the modest heels on her travelling boots sinking and nearly being sucked clean off her feet. She wasn't wearing modest travelling boots now. She was still in her gown, and beneath the huge dress were beautiful, artistically decorated, white stiletto heels. They gave her height, and a dainty presence befitting a young Queen. What they did not give her was practical footwear for the swamp in which she had landed.

She didn't recognise the swamp. Of course, it would be naive to claim she had seen every part of Gaia, but she had visited pretty much every major area, and those she hadn't she had seen from the Hilda Garde III or the Invincible. She knew the map of Gaia as well as any explorer, but this particular area didn't fit any description she could imagine.

She stopped, and let out a huff. She could barely walk, both her heels were stuck fast in the swampy mud, and she had to stop to wriggle herself free. Once she had done so, she only managed a few steps before her long gown snagged on something and she was caught again. She struggled to free herself from that, but her heels became stuck once more. She wrestled them free, but then her dress was caught again...

This went on for some time, and she stopped, a little short of breath. She looked back. She had made it perhaps five meters. Her attire was just completely inappropriate for the location she had landed in. She could barely make it a few feet in her dress, and every step presented challenges. Even back when she had been a naive little princess running away from home, she had at least chosen some appropriate travelling clothes. Yes, okay, in retrospect perhaps a bright orange jumpsuit wasn't the smartest outfit if you were trying to lay low and not be noticed, but she hadn't really known any better, and after that, well, it meant a lot to her that outfit. It was still one of her favourites. She experienced a lot of tragedy wearing it, but also good times. Good memories and good friends.

Also, it didn't get caught on every little darned twig.

She yanked her dress free yet again, and tried to gather up the rather mighty train and carry it in her hands, but there was too much of it, it was much too big, and the hoopskirts she wore underneath made it no less practical to carry than to wear. She tried not to think of poor Beatrix and how much effort she'd put into making sure Garnet looked presentable, now that the bottom of the dress was brown with filth. She waved a hand at annoying midges that swarmed her. They always seemed to swarm her when they had travelled, even back on Gaia. Zidane had speculated it was her perfume attracting them. She should have probably stopped wearing it, but truth be told, she kind of liked that Zidane had noticed. It made her smile.

It made her smile considerably less now, but not as little as the howling roar from behind her. She turned, swivelling on her feet, which was a mistake, because it drove both heels deep into the mud. Tree branches snapped and bushes shook. Something was coming. She tried to run; she was in no condition to fight, she had no staff, no support, she was a white mage, a powerful one yes, but she supported others in combat, not fought herself. She had the odd spell that might help, but not much to defend against anything that big, not without calling forth an Eidolon, and she didn't want to have to do that unless absolutely necessary. But her efforts to run were in vain, her stubborn heels refused to budge. Turning had made them sink deep, and she was stuck in the mud. She tried furiously to free herself, but she didn't have time, and the beast was nearly upon her.

Zidane, where are you?

No. She couldn't rely on him. Friendship was a powerful thing, a great thing, but right now, she was alone. She closed her eyes and her hands began to glow. She might be mostly defenceless, but she wasn't entirely helpless, even if in a ridiculous dress and unarmed. She would go down fighting.

She wasn't a helpless damsel anymore...

Caius Dragelion