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year 5, quarter 3
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Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Jan 27, 2022 11:28:33 GMT -6
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Garnet had been quite enthusiastic about the Harvest Festival. The last time she had seen a Festival, it had been the Festival of the Hunt in Lindblum, and while it had been an experience for sure, all the trappings of being a princess had meant that she couldn't actually get to explore the town. Not to mention that the actual Festival activity itself was, well, not something that she found exceptionally appealing. But the idea of a regular festival, where nobody knew who she was, and there was plenty to see and do? Well, that was quite different, and she had happily travelled to Provo to check it out.
She had been even more delighted when she had bumped into Caius. They hadn't seen each other for quite some time, but Garnet now knew that this was her chance to really show him her true self. He had met her when she was floundering in her gown, shortly after arriving in Provo, and she had been every part the lost noble. She hadn't had a weapon, and hadn't been dressed practically for the swamp in which she found herself. Now, she was in her more familiar orange jumpsuit and blouse, and carried on her back her staff. She was also more at ease. She probably shouldn't be. Very little had changed since they had last met really. She was still separated from her kingdom and from Zidane, but she was forging a new life here. And besides, she couldn't change anything, so why fret about it?
Maybe she HAD changed a bit. The old Garnet would never have thought like that, she smiled to herself.
However, as joyous as meeting Caius had been, she was regretting their choice of activity, as they walked through the thick corn maze. She had thought it sounded fun, but after some time of walking, and apparently getting nowhere, she was beginning to feel a little restless. "It's not that I don't appreciate the effort that must have gone into growing a maze out of corn," Garnet admitted in a conversational tone as they walked. "But I must admit, I am beginning to wonder what the point of this is. I feel like I haven't seen anything but corn since we entered..." she said. The man hosting the maze had made it sound like a lot of fun. At least, she presumed that was why he was laughing so much. But now, she really wasn't so sure...
"Shall we just go back and find something else?" she suggested, not wanting to miss out on too much of the festival.
@caius
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Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Dec 30, 2021 14:22:51 GMT -6
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So, he wasn't nobility? It shouldn't have surprised Garnet. Steiner, nor Beatrix, were nobility either. Most loyal knights weren't. But she had misjudged Garland's manner. Steiner might like to imagine that he spoke like Garland, but he certainly didn't. Beatrix, perhaps a little closer, but still without his stiff formality. Still, the assumption of nobility had just been a way of sidestepping into discussing Garland's origins. To try and find out more about him. And it appeared to have worked. "I apologise for my misunderstanding," Garnet said, with a slight incline of her head. Perhaps too formal for 'Dagger', but speaking with Garland naturally drew that formality out of her, since he spoke in such a similar manner to how she did when being the Queen. She let him talk further.
She could relax slightly, as his description of his homeland didn't sound much like Terra. There had been monsters on Terra, yes, but not in a never-ending battle as Garland here made it sound. And certainly no castles. At least, not what Garnet would have termed a castle. It occurred to her that some people had come to Zephron from different times. Perhaps this was Garland when he had been a young man? Had Terra been as he described then? Had that been how the world had died and driven the Genomes to seek Gaia as their new homeland? She didn't think so. Terra had been an alien world frozen in time. She couldn't imagine it had changed. Not for millennia. Not until Kuja destroyed it.
Still, she had to be sure.
"The home that you speak of..." Garnet asked, hesitating for a moment. ".....does the name 'Terra' mean anything to you?" She had to ask. She had to know. If this was the Garland that she knew, then perhaps Zephron was in even more danger than just with Kuja being there. But she was beginning to doubt it.
His talk of the Royal Family of his home only cemented this doubt. Terra had no royal family. Of that, Garnet was certain. Mikoto had absolutely no understanding of Garnet's royal heritage, and there was no way the Garland that Garnet had known would speak of royalty in this manner. He sounded as if he cared deeply for this Princess Sarah. Perhaps even loved her. Which she knew would be a scandalous thing and something he could never admit. It was something she would never have picked up on, had she not known a thief to fall in love with another princess named Sarah...
"It is... strange..." she admitted after a pause. "I do not yet understand the nature of what drew us to this place, nor why. I have seen some odd parallels between people drawn here from other worlds..." This was true. For example, how almost everybody still knew what a chocobo was. That didn't make sense to her. If worlds were so entirely different, why were some things constant? And yet, they certainly weren't the same world. It was very strange. "In my world... I once knew a man named Garland," she decided that this Garland deserved an explanation. "I..." she hesitated, although she wasn't sure why. "...knew a princess who's real name was Sarah too. It wasn't the name she used. It wasn't even a name that she knew was her's, until... many, many years after her birth. But she was a princess, and her real name was Sarah..." Garnet wasn't sure why she didn't confirm that it was her. Maybe it was because she still didn't feel like 'Sarah' was really her. That was an identity and life that she had lost so long ago she could barely remember it. Dagger, Garnet, those identities felt natural. Sarah? Not so much.
"But I did not know of a Kingdom named Cornelia," she added after a moment. "The... Sarah that I knew... she ruled over the Kingdom of Alexandria. She..." Garnet hesitated again. She turned away for a moment, turning her pendant over in her hands. The lie felt unnecessary now. If she was being honest with this Garland, she might as well tell him the whole truth. She turned back. "...I... was known as Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, of Alexandria. Now, I am Queen. Or, I was, until I was brought here. I lived my life plagued by dreams of a childhood I could not understand or recall. Eventually, I discovered that I was adopted and that my birth name... had been Sarah. I do not know what that means. Or how it relates to your story. Perhaps it is nothing but a coincidence, but..." she sighed. "The Garland that I knew was not a knight. Nor was he a friend. He was an enemy, not only of my Kingdom, but my entire world. He threatened my planet. My friends and I... we fought him to save our world. I... don't understand..." she shook her head. "The pattern. The names. They... do not make sense to me. How can things be so similar, and yet so different?" Could Garland be from another reality much like her own? If there were other worlds, were there worlds where things had played out differently, like other realities? Had Garland perhaps hailed from a world that had been like her own? Perhaps one where Terra had merged with Gaia in the distant past and changed the future? Where Garland had grown to be a knight and Garnet, well, she had remained Sarah?
That didn't seem like it made sense. How could she still be a princess if she had remained Sarah? And what of Cornelia? Nothing made any sense to her...
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Nov 15, 2021 15:43:47 GMT -6
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Garnet paused and flushed a little when Hilda apologised. Not just because she had prompted an apology from her Aunt, although she had done that and felt bad about it, but because of the rigid formality of it. Yes, Garnet was a Queen, and she was used to formality, but she also knew about friendship. She had travelled far and wide and seen how people treated each other when you forgot your title, how true friendship blossomed and what it meant. Forcing her Aunt back into a role where she treated her as a Queen and not a friend made Garnet feel guilty. "No, Auntie, I should say I'm sorry. I got... defensive. I'm sorry. It's just.... I feel like... I'm the last adult survivor of the summoners and the last heir of Alexandria. I carry two legacies, and I'm worried, if I make a mistake, if I forget that burden, they will slip away. They'll die forever. A-and I want people to know I respect that burden. I know it, I carry it, and I will do everything I can to never fail it," she explained, with a slightly ashamed nod.
Hilda spoke her intuition with the Eidolons, and Garnet had to privately wonder if she was right. After all, her mother and Kuja had used the extracted Eidolons, but when they had used them, they were barely controllable chaotic beings. With Garnet, they were part of her. They obeyed her and followed her commands and were much more controlled. Perhaps it was similar to how Garnet had her own Eidolons that obeyed her, and Eiko had her own, and they didn't cross over. Perhaps that natural intuition for some meant that Garnet had better control over them. It helped her feel a little more confident that she could do what was right for them.
"Absolutely. I am sorry. After Zidane... went missing... I disappeared into myself a little. I focused on the Kingdom and my duties but it was at the extent of my personal connections. I was... depressed, and feeling sorry for myself, and just kept making myself lonelier and making things worse. But when I return, things will be different. I will still be Queen, but I will also make sure that I live for myself also. That'll include seeing my friends. I once vowed that although one day I would be Queen, I would always be myself. I think it's something I'd forgotten, before coming here," she explained. And then she smiled slightly. "Although there is no need to be jealous of my bond with Eiko. She loves you as a parent. I think she still just sees me as a rival for Zidane's affections," she laughed a little.
She thanked Hilda and the store clerk for their help, and collected the bags. Garnet was, perhaps, not the strongest girl, being a Queen and raised royalty, but she had faced enough adventures to be able to carry the bags easily and gladly happy to help her Aunt. She smiled over at Hilda. "I think we should be ready. There's a space in the Church we could use. What do you need?" she wondered what implements Hilda would require. There was a basic kitchen in the church. Would that do? This part was definitely outside of Garnet's area of expertise.
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Oct 14, 2021 13:43:28 GMT -6
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Garnet felt uneasy as Hilda lamented on the loss of the summoners. If only because she lamented the loss of their stories and understanding of the Eidolons. Garnet knew that was a heavy loss, but she felt like she had lost so much more. She had lost people/ She had lost her family. Her true family, who had risked everything to save her. Garnet knew that if she still had them, she would have been an entirely different person. Not even Garnet, but Sarah, the summoner girl from a village far away. But it was still hard not to feel a sense of true loss. "They are not all lost," Garnet affirmed with a small nod. "As long as Eiko and myself survive, the summoner race shall live on. We may not know all of their secrets, but Eiko was still raised by them, and grew up there, and I have more memories now than I did. We can rediscover what they knew. I... feel their loss all the time, but I will not allow them to be lost completely. Not as long as there are some of us who remain." Garnet knew that Hilda would understand, and that she hadn't meant it in that sense, but Garnet also felt the need to state her intention to preserve her race. She wouldn't let Garland, or Kuja or any of the others win. Her people had survived in her and in Eiko, and she had to make that count for something.
"I do not know. The Eidolons... I spent my entire childhood living in fear of that power that lurked inside of me. And even now, I can feel it. The feelings of power and hate some of the Eidolons have. And yet... Perhaps they do change. There is no question that under my control, they are less destructive. Bahamut nearly destroyed Alexandria from one summoning, Atmos consumed an entire district of Lindblum, Odin blew up Cleyra, under the control of greedier, more dangerous people than myself, but in my hands... They... are powerful, yes, but considerably less so. So perhaps... Perhaps my personality does have some input on their actions. Perhaps, over time, they shall change..." Her thoughts returned to Bahamut, and the hatred she felt emanate from him. "...Although there are some I shall never call... friend."
She smiled when Hilda was relieved that Eiko would have help. Garnet was still slightly sheepish about that. More because Eiko seemed to know far more than she did about the summons, and also because even if she didn't, Garnet couldn't imagine Eiko taking instruction from anyone. "I think it shall be Eiko teaching me," she laughed slightly. "But we shall work together. Eiko is my family too, and we are bonded with each other as well. We summoned Alexander together, our two minds and souls joining to bring him forth. I... think we shall be connected for ever more." It was true, but also perhaps a quick deflection from discussing children. After all, there was only one person Garnet wanted to father her children, and talking about him and her future felt inappropriate. Somehow, as if it was a thought she should keep private.
"It does not have to be something you carry. Merely, something that inspires you. After all, I do not carry daggers," she pointed out, wondering if her advice might help. Hilda didn't seem taken by any of the names Garnet had suggested, but perhaps she would think of one by the time they met next. Still, it was difficult. In retrospect, she probably could have picked a better name than 'Dagger', but it was her's now, and she couldn't think about giving it up.
"Five would help the Church greatly," Garnet nodded happily, glad that she had secured such resources. But then her puzzlement turned back to the herbs. "Thank you. It is just... there are so many, I do not even know what I am looking for..." Garnet admitted. Herbology was not her strong suite, and she had no idea what the herbs she had to find would even resemble in among all the others. In her time as an adventurer, Garnet had learned many strengths she never knew she had, but a skill for ingredients or cooking had never been one of them, and she was fairly certain that would extend to potion making...
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Sept 17, 2021 14:13:27 GMT -6
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Garnet wondered if she interpreted that comment regarding his helmet correctly. He said it would be unfortunate if it was stolen. Did he mean that the helmet was cursed? If that was true, why wear it? Or, and perhaps more likely, was this a type of threat? A comment that it would be unfortunate to steal it because he would see an unpleasant fate fall upon the thief? That sounded like something Amarant might have said. But this knight wasn't like Amarant. He was so odd. So formal, so polite, but garbed like a warrior from a nightmare, and he delivered vague portents such as the one he had just said.
"I am sure that there is a secure place you can store it," Garnet smiled back politely, unsure if he was expecting her to solve his problem or whether he was just voicing concerns. She didn't know the soup kitchen any better than the knight, so she had no easy way to help him.
"Likely I you, also," she admitted when he said that he would remember her. A man garbed as such would have drawn attention, but perhaps he hadn't been in his armour when he came in. Garnet supposed if that was true, it would be a compliment he had largely forgotten her. It meant that her 'Dagger' personae did its job, and blended in just as it should.
Garnet's attitude changed a little when he said who she reminded him of. Sarah. She looked startled, and then uncertain. For the briefest moment, she wondered if he had somehow come from Madain Sari. Did he know her as a child? But no, he said a 'young' Sarah. The Sarah he knew was older than her. The Sarah he knew couldn't be her. Was it a coincidence? It must be. Sarah was not an altogether uncommon name, was it? Okay, Garnet had never met anybody else named it, but it was certainly a more common name than 'Garnet Til Alexandros XVII'. Or Dagger for that matter.
She would not have commented upon the coincidence further, if he had not next introduced himself. Garland. She flinched at the name. No. He couldn't be... He wasn't. She looked at his face, but he was still wearing the helmet. The voice didn't sound as aged, and she was unaware of Terra having any form of nobility, but still, could it be?
"...Where I'm from, it is common for nobility to introduce themselves with their place of birth," Garnet said, trying to think quickly. "From where do you hail, Sir Garland? I would love to hear of your home." She had to probe, she had to find out. Could it just be a coincidence? The name Sarah and the name Garland? It didn't seem possible. But if he was...
...then this world might be in even more danger than it was by Kuja being there...
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Aug 31, 2021 12:35:09 GMT -6
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"He is so much more than that," Garnet replied when Hilda moved to Steiner's defence. "He is my oldest and truest friend, who has stuck by me throughout all of my follies and mistakes, and put his trust in me when I needed him the most. I will never forget what he has done for me. He is so much more to me than a knight and a soldier," she smiled gently. "But, if one cannot make jokes about one's friends, who can one joke about?" she pointed out teasingly. Something else she had learned even before her travels. How teasing and jokes could be affection. It was perhaps a side of her Uncle Cid and Auntie Hilda had never truly seen much, as she was younger when they knew her well, but still a side of her she knew existed. She laughed gently when Hilda suggested she get a tutor to learn to fight. "Oh, Auntie, I think if it was a skill I was at all good at, I would have picked it up while travelling the world. Besides, there are so many more important things for me to focus upon. I would like Alexandria to become a place where we never have to fight again. That's my dream," she admitted.
Hilda was, of course, learned on the existence of Eidolons. She guessed she had learned most of this from Eiko, who herself had learned from the Eidolon Wall. But Garnet believed that they were so much more than that. No, she knew that they were so much more than that.
"We... I-I mean, the summoners, thought that they were more than that," Garnet admitted. "From the translations of the Eidolon Wall, even they didn't fully understand the Eidolons. They would change form to match different cultures, they seemed to have their own personalities... Some believed that the Eidolons took the forms of creatures that existed in legend, rather than being legendary creatures themselves. We.... just do not know. Even the summoners understood very little about them. But I know that they think and that they can feel. Ramuh can help guide me, he is talkative and kind. Some of the others, less so," she explained. "I can control them, and command them, but I still feel their feelings. Bahamut in particular is... difficult," she admitted. "You are right, of course. We have much to learn about them still, and I should work with Eiko. We are the last living summoners, and we must do our best to understand them. Perhaps we can change the more aggressive ones from their ways. It's just... difficult. After what I've seen them do."
"I will do my best to help Eiko once I return to Gaia. It would be good to see her again, and we can work together to understand Eidolons. Perhaps it is time peaceful study of them began again. Much like the summoners did," Garnet suggested. "Besides, when we have children, there's a possibility they will inherit our powers, and we will want them to be guided," she added. Truthfully, kids wasn't something she had thought about much of discussed, but she WAS a Queen. It was expected of her. And when children came, she would want them to understand both their genome and summoner lineage.
Garnet felt a pang of regret at her natural assumption Zidane would be the father. If she ever found him again...
"Well, you would need a different name from myself anyway," Garnet smiled as she tried to think of an appropriate alias for Hilda. "Hm. I chose dagger from Zidane's weapon, but naming yourself after Cid's weapon would be strange. I do not think that 'Airship' would be an appropriate name," Garnet admitted thoughtfully. "You should name yourself after an item you are fond of. Perhaps... Parasol? Fan? Potion? You said you were fond of them, so perhaps Sobriquet?" she suggested, each suggestion not sounding quite right to her. "I think it is important that it is a name that you choose for yourself," she added, hoping to escape the pressure of naming Hilda.
"It is hard to know. Any amount would be better than what we have. The usual antidotes and eye drops are useful. Of course, a full remedy is far more useful but far harder to acquire," Garnet explained. She looked curiously at Hilda. "How did you know what to pick, when it was not correct labelled?" All the herbs looked the same to Garnet...
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Aug 23, 2021 12:00:36 GMT -6
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The response was polite, albeit rather unhelpful. The knight, it seemed, had no desire to remove his armour. His belief was that it would be stolen? Garnet found that unlikely, especially in a soup kitchen of all places, but she understood the idea of clinging to something for comfort. It had been, after all, rather foolish for her to wear her pendant so openly when on the run and trying to hide her identity, but she hadn't wanted to leave it behind. Perhaps this was similar for the knight? "I am sorry for your poor experiences, Sir Knight," Garnet said gently. "But I am sure you are quite safe to at least remove your helm here. I feel confident that there are no blackguards in our presence." She tried to keep her teasing smile to a minimum. The knight seemed stiff. Not entirely unlike Steiner, she thought, albeit less likely to shriek and panic. His speech was slightly archaic too, even to her, which was unusual. She knew the terms, but even Garnet, with her formal manner of speech, did not quite speak in such a stilted manner as her did. It was interesting.
She decided against pointing out that if his armour was stolen frequently, he did at least always manage to reclaim it, since he wore it now.
She was a little startled when he spoke to her next. Of course, she was right, her first words had been of armour, and a little rude, by the standards of royalty and nobility anyway. Garnet was almost proud of how easily she had slipped into commoner behaviour. Clearly she was becoming better at her new personae. However, she also felt a familiar twinge of panic. She was familiar to him? That caused that sense of panic she felt back on Gaia, when exploring and trying to hide her true identity. The worry that someone might have identified her.
But here in Zephron? That was impossible, wasn't it?
"I apologise, how rude of me not to introduce myself first," she said with her politest smile. "My name is Dagger," she bowed somewhat formally. "I am a White Mage working for the local church. I do not believe we have met, although perhaps if you were wounded on some adventure, you have attended and required my services?" she suggested. She hoped that was all it was.
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Aug 23, 2021 10:51:59 GMT -6
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Garnet had to repress a small giggle when Hilda asked if she had 'fisticuffed swashbucklers'. Not because of her use of language; despite Garnet's claims, she had no idea if that was the correct term or not, but more because of the horror on her Auntie's face. Her Auntie was fully aware that Garnet had travelled the world with adventurers, and even journeyed to other realms and the centre of creation to fight a maniacal madman, but still seemed to want to cling to the belief that she had never actually been in a fight before. It was actually rather sweetly naïve. Garnet wondered if this was how other people felt when they spoke to her...
She smiled and looked over at her Auntie. "Well, the majority of the, uh, swashbuckling was left to the others. I was mainly healed the others, and summoned, of course. Not to mention, when Steiner was in the party, it was nearly impossible for me to actually attack anything without him literally holding me back, shrieking 'princess!!!'," she did her little impression of him, which she knew Hilda would find instantly familiar. "But, well, I have had to hit plenty of monsters with my staff. Rackets made it a little easier. I could attack while staying back, and they were more effective too, because they relied on my magical abilities," she smiled. She wondered what Hilda would be like in a fight. Would she use a weapon, or rely entirely upon her magic? Having a weapon certainly helped when a monster attacked you, after all. It allowed you to at least deflect some of the damage.
The conversation turned a little more serious, however, when Hilda asked about Garnet's summoning abilities. She paused for a moment, hesitating as she thought about it. "I... don't know. It's strange. It was always a part of me. Like you said, a natural part. I could feel them within me. But... I was scared of them. They felt so powerful, and I didn't understand them. We talked about them, of course. My mother, my father and I, but, I never really fully understood what they were. I was quite happy to pretend that part of me never existed, to hide it away deep down and never use it. I was far too afraid to ever summon anything," she admitted. And then she sighed. "And then they were stolen from me. And my every fear came true. I saw what the power inside me was capable of doing. When I saw... Atmos tearing into Lindblum, it felt like... it felt like I was doing it. It was my power. It had been my responsibility. And I had let it be stolen. I kept telling myself it wasn't that. I wasn't evil because I owned this power. It was being used for evil purposes, but it wasn't evil. But.... I'm not sure I ever truly believed it," she sighed.
"Ramuh helped. He guided me through my first summonings, and was gentle and kind, and I saw that eidolons could be used for good. But still, their power is not to be taken lightly. Much like ourselves, eidolons have their personalities. They will obey you, but they have darker impulses. Bahamut is... destructive. He was a necessary power when commanding him helped us stop Kuja, but I am now glad to be free of his presence," Garnet explained. "They are not like casting spells. You are summoning a living being that obeys your commands, but has its own personality and desires. And most of them wish to destroy and cause harm. There is a reason so many Eidolons are destructive," Garnet finished.
"The strain is.... emotional," she went back to answer her Auntie's question. "The creatures that you summon... you... I feel responsible for them. I don't mean that you feel their emotions, just that... when they kill, you feel as though you have killed. The blood they shed is on your hands," she explained. "But... Eiko is far stronger than I. She is a warrior in spirit. And she knows far more about the Eidolons than I do. Have faith in her. She is... far better equipped to handle them than I am," Garnet went on.
Luckily, such a heavy subject didn't quite remain, although Garnet felt a little guilty about her jokes regarding Uncle Cid. She smiled slightly when Hilda said that they were lucky she could turn him back. "We were lucky that you chose to do so. We still all owe you a great debt," she replied. Without the Hilda Garde III who knew how far they would have come? They may have never stopped Kuja. And Cid, restored, had saved them at the Battle of the Iifa Tree. She had never forgotten either.
"Well, perhaps I shall have to write it down for both of us then," Garnet smiled, her mood lightening. "I... sometimes regret not writing more on my last adventure. There are so many memories, and so much that I learned... and... sometimes I think I would like to reflect upon it."
"Oh, common speak is often plain and direct. And then, rather surprisingly, often anything but. There are so many colourful idioms and metaphors that I spent much of my time learning from... what did I term them? 'Context clues'. Otherwise, an awful lot of the time, you have no idea what anybody is saying!"
She actually laughed slightly when Hilda asked if she needed a pseudonym as well, and smiled. "I do not think that I need one here either. It is just... When travelling, 'Dagger' became as much a part of me as 'Garnet'. She was my identity as an adventurer. I... sometimes feel that it is easier to be... who I need to be here, by being Dagger, and not Garnet. I... know that it is silly. But, I am a Queen. I am allowed my follies," she teased lightly, knowing that Hilda couldn't argue with her rank. "Of course, if you do wish for one, perhaps I could help you find one?" she smiled.
They stopped outside of a herb shop, and Hilda seemed to believe it was a good place to look. "It seems appropriate. I shall follow your lead," Garnet nodded eagerly.
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Aug 6, 2021 14:17:46 GMT -6
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There were, if you asked her, a lot of reasons Garnet had chosen to volunteer at the soup kitchen. They needed assistance, and it was something she could, for starters. Secondly, she had never learned how to cook, or been on the serving end of giving food, and she thought it would do her growing personae of Dagger good to experience that side of life. And thirdly, well, she would be lying if she didn't say a big reason wasn't hearing the imaginary Steiner in her head jump up and down with clanking armour and wail 'but your majeeeeesty!' at the idea of her serving food to the poor and needy.
But maybe the ultimate 'reason' was simple. And it wasn't a reason at all. These people needed help. And, well, there was something Zidane always said.
You don't need a reason to help people.
Garnet was wearing the simple robe of the White Mages, from her church, but like the others had had to bundle her thick, long hair into a net, which had been much easier said than done. She missed her shorter hair from her days adventuring. Maybe she should cut it off again, but it seemed like such a gesture to make while Zidane was still missing. Maybe when he returned?
However, as awkward and out of place as the Queen was trying to serve soup with no idea about being on this side of things, she seemed far more at home than her companion in the task. She looked over at him. The dread armour seemed familiar, and was enough to send a chill down her spine. She noticed that several more of the visitors were coming to her for soup than for him, despite her apparent uncertainty over how something as simple as a ladle worked.
"Uh, excuse me, sir, I do mean to impose but..." she looked over at the huge, armoured knight, who looked, frankly, absurd in his little apron. "Have you considered, perhaps, uh, removing some level of your armour? It may... serve to be less intimidating to those we are here to help?" she inquired, her tone as polite (and royal) as possible. It seemed a logical suggestion to her, and she hoped that he would see it through.
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Jul 24, 2021 14:16:54 GMT -6
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Garnet had never been particularly fond of deserts. Well, truth be told, she hadn't much thought about deserts, until her journeys with Zidane and her friends to save her world. But once she had visited a few, she had quickly decided that they were not, simply put, for her. It wasn't so much the heat. Garnet wasn't particularly phased by high temperatures. Alexandria was often warm, bathed in glorious sunshine, and while even her guards might have worn bare legs to keep themselves cool, she had spent the majority of her life in heavy gowns and corsets. Compared to that, a hot desert, but in comfortable clothing, was of no concern.
No, it was the sand. Sand was not, Garnet had decided, something she was fond of. Much like mud, it was difficult to walk in. It was sometimes so hot she could swear she felt it through the soles of her shoes, and it got literally everywhere. Camping in the desert was ridiculous. Your tent ended up with more sand inside it than outside of it, and she had no idea how. And just like mud, it wasn't something she had ever really dealt with in her life before. Oh, Garnet thought she had an adventurous spirit, especially for a princess, but when you'd been raised almost entirely in a castle all of your life, the fact that the terrain beneath your feet didn't stay in the place you expected it to when you took a step was, well, still rather surprising to her.
Zidane had teased her in that infuriating way about it and Steiner had fretted and she had thought only Freya really understood that she had just wanted to get on with it. Which was fine. They had a duty to do and she wasn't about to complain. Yes, she might have been unprepared for deserts and swamps and ice but she soon learned. She just still wasn't overly fond of it, if she could help it.
Still, she was currently volunteering her services as a White Mage to any adventurers who needed it, using the chance to travel as an excuse to search for Zidane, and her journey had taken her to the strange desert town of Aljana. And while she wasn't overly fond of the sandy streets, its bustling marketplace was rather fun to see. It caused Garnet a small pang of regret as she thought about how visiting new places like this had been so much fun with Zidane by her side. He would have, of course, have already been there, and ready to tell her all about it. Ready to see her meekly standing by his side, as if she would just be waiting for him to wonderfully tell her all the details. Of course, when he went to look for her, she would already be gone, out there, experiencing it. Learning it first hand. Because she may have been a princess when she journeyed by his side, but she had never been meek, and she always enjoyed proving him wrong. She thought he enjoyed it too. Because he always seemed surprised when she took a practical, straight forward approach to a new situation.
But now there was nobody to impress. The other adventurers had business in town, and until then, Garnet was at a lose end. She had a little extra gil from her extra work as well, and she fancied a night away from the airship's cramped quarters. An inn in town would be nice. And so she walked the streets, looking for any such sign.
She spotted the bard, for he obviously was so by the instrument, talking to another woman. She hadn't meant to eaves drop, but she overheard the mention of an inn. Really? More interesting was the man's manner of speak. Garnet had become so accustomed to people not speaking like, well, her, his somewhat formal lilt was something of a relief. For a moment, she felt more at home. She wondered if he was a nobleman. Clearly, he had never learned to speak as she had to blend in. Or perhaps it was simply the world he was from. She was still discovering people had come from so many unusual walks of life in this strange place.
She approached the pair, a little cautious about the rudeness of interrupting. But then again, Zidane would never be cautious about interrupting somebody for advice. And while Queen Garnet Til Alexandros XVII might be somewhat reserved, aware of etiquette, Dagger, the White Mage adventurer, wouldn't be either. So, with a deep breath, she approached confidently. She had her hood up, a very light linen white mage robe that helped keep the sun off in the heat. Just because she was well adapted to the heat didn't mean she was stupid. Besides, she might have been used to warmth, but she had also spent, what, ten years of her life growing up entirely within a castle? That did nothing for your resistance to sunburn... "Excuse me, so sorry to interrupt, but did I hear you mention an inn?" she asked delicately. "Only, I happen to be looking for a place to stay as well. Perhaps we could look for it together?" she suggested hopefully. "I'm Dagger. I'm a travelling white mage. I just got into town," she said with the confidence that came from being more and more used to adapting that identity. A confidence boosted by imagining how proud Zidane would be of her.
