This is a story, but Angelica told me to put it here. This is only the opening of chapter one, will put the rest up over the weekend. Please tell me what you think!
Jewels
A Final Fantasy IX Novel
Chapter One: Plans
The storm tossed the small boat around as it sailed away from the coast, the two passengers clinging on for dear life. They had to leave their home. Leave behind their way of life, for if they remained they would be doomed to die. Either way, they would lose, but life is always preferable to death.
As the boat rocked wildly in the fierce waves, the two passengers looked out at their home, needing one, final, look. Dark clouds had gathered above the villiage and, from the midst of them, a large, red, eye glared down…
Waking up suddenly, Princess Garnet was jerked back into reality. Torn away from dreams of another life, in another place. A dream? It was just a dream. This time. Rubbing her eyes to banish the last grains of tiredness away, she crossed her room to the window and pushed it open. The city of Alexandria leapt into view, the great theatre ship Prima Vista sailing through the clouds. Ending the anticipation the city had been feeding on for weeks.
Aboard the ship, a young boy with blond hair, blue eyes and a tail, dressed in blue trousers, a white shirt and a green waistcoat, with a dagger sheathed at his belt, opened a door and stepped into the room beyond.
“Sure is dark,” he said, fumbling in his pockets for matches. Finding them, he lit one and shielded the flame with his hand. “Guess nobody’s here yet…”
Crossing to the centre of the room, he used the match to light a lantern; it’s stronger light revealing a small room with a staircase at one end and a door facing it from the opposite side of the room.
“Whose there?” a voice called from behind the door; somebody had noticed the light.
“It’s me. Zidane!” the boy called back, and three more boys entered the room.
One, Marcus, was dressed mainly in green, but with a red headband, whilst another, Cinna, wore grey shorts and a short brown jacket that left his considerable stomach bare. The third, Blank, was dressed all in brown, his violently red hair protruding above a brown headband, lowered until it almost fully obscured hi eyes. Marcus and Blank both wore swords strapped to their backs; Cinna carried a hammer. On sight of each other, all four boys saluted with their Tantalus sign, by fisting up both hands and thumping them together.
“Hey, Zidane! You sure are late!” Blank said, leaning up against the wall.
“Sorry.” Zidane apologised. “So, where’s the boss?”
“Ain’t here yet.” Cinna said.
Just then, the door at the top of the staircase opened, and a creature with the body of a large man and the head of a silver dragon entered the room. Drawing it’s sword from a sheath at it’s waist, the creature jumped down the stairs. The four boys drew their weapons and rounded on it.
Without pause, it leaped forwards and struck Marcus, but, as it began to move away, Blank struck back, sword ripping a sleeve of the creature’s white shirt.
As it backed away from Blank, Marcus took the opportunity to dark forwards and steal an ability enhancing bracelet known as a Wrist from it, slipping it into his pocket as Zidane ran past him to tear the back of the creature’s shirt with his dagger.
The creature moved to stab at Zidane, but Cinna jumped up behind it and brought his hammer down on it’s head, the dragon emitting a metallic clang.
In time with each other, Marcus and Blank both struck at it’s flanks, while Cinna fended off an attack with the curved end of his hammer.
Noticing what the other boys had missed, Zidane ran at the creature from behind and brought his blade down onto it’s head, the sharp edge splitting the dragon in half. The two halves fell away to reveal a bearded and bespectacled man. Baku, the boss of Tantalus.
“UGHUUA!” He moaned, clutching his head. “Go easy, you guys! Oh, my head!”
All four of the boys backed off, panting slightly, and lowered their weapons. “Whew…” they all muttered as one.
“Hey, fools!” Baku said, inspecting them one by one. “You’re looking a lot better!” he complimented Marcus. “Gwahahahaha!” he laughed at Cinna’s hammer. “Alright!” he sheathed his sword and entered the room Cinna, Marcus and Blank had vacated earlier. “Let’s start this meeting already!” he shouted back at them.
All four boys followed him into a small room used mainly for storage with another table at the centre. They all sat around the table, where two dolls made the centrepiece, and turned their attentions to Baku.
“Here’s the plan!” Baku announced. “Tantalus, the infamous band of daring thieves, is headin’ to the kingdom of Alexandria…” he held up a doll wearing a white dress. “Our mission: to kidnap the heir to the throne, Princess Garnet.”
“I’ll take it from here.” Cinna stood up on a chest to make himself seen. “Listen up! Our ship’s about to dock at Alexandria…and when it does, we’re gonna put on our costumes…and perform ‘I Want to Be Your Canary,’ the most popular play in Alexandria! Break a leg, Marcus! ‘Cause you’re playing the lead!”
Marcus smiled. “Leave the actin’ to me!” he said. “Of course, the real kidnappers’ll be Blank and Zidane.”
“I’ll distract the audience from backstage with these little buggers.” Blank informed them, holding out his hand, where a winged, orange, bug sat calmly. “I hate oglops…” he returned the oglop to his pocket. “But I’ll manage, so don’t worry about me. And that’ll be your cue, Zidane.”
“That’s when I kidnap Queen Brahne, right?” Zidane teased them.
Baku picked up the second doll, this one purple. “You bet!” he said. “That’s when you kidnap the fat-ass, but-ugly Queen Bra—What? What am I saying?” he angrily threw the doll back onto the table. “Alright, quit jokin’ around!”
“Sorry.” Zidane said. “So that’s when I kidnap Princess Garnet, right?”
“You bet!” Baku said, picking up the doll in the white dress again. “You’re gonna kidnap the most babe-ilicious beauty in all of Alexandria. Princess Garnet!”
