FFX RPG: Orchards of Sin
Started On: 12.09.02
Started By: Alicia (Tidus, Aaron)
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Dusty shafts of sunlight poked through the dozens of cherry trees that extended over the center of Besaid's royal gardens like a natural roof, creating a sense that all was right in the world. And to a certain extent it was. The constant war that had nearly destroyed Spira had ended a year and a half ago when the mistress of the castle, Lady Yunaleska had married Seymour Guado. True, many freedoms had been lost when it had happened, but a small sliver peace had followed, leaving the people of Spira able to spend lazy days like this asleep or close to it. And in the palace it was no different. So, when the unconcious forms of both two men were spotted leaning placidly against one of the tree trunks, no one thought twice.
Especially considering one - the blonde one - wore the royal crest of Spira.
Groaning, the youth in question rolled over, crystal blue eyes fluttering open at the faint warmth of sunlight on him. Another groan, and the blonde managed to pull himself out of the mental haze he had found himself in. For a moment, he wondered if he was dead, if Sin - if his old man - had killed him, but he quickly dismissed it. This didn't look too much like the Farplane he remembered visiting, but he certainlly wasn't inside Sin anymore. Hell, from the look of things, there was a good chancehe wasn't in Spira anymore either.
"Huh?" he wondered aloud, realizing that everyone - save Auron - was nowhere to be found. No Yuna. No Lulu. No Wakka. No anyone. And that raised an even better question, one that pushed the thoughts of where he was far from mind.
Where was everyone else?
A moment later, Tidus was to his feet, and a moment after that,standing
over Auron. "Uh... hey? Auron?"
His single eye snapping open, Auron looked around. The dead man knew something was wrong. Very wrong. The very air tasted different. "This isn't Spira." He stood up, and hefted the Masamune up onto his shoulder.
"But this isn't the dream of the Fayth either... where am I?" After a moment he seemed to register Tidus' pressence. "Where are the others?"
*
The gardens were huge, more the better to go running in, to excersize Boko beyond the general running he got in his pen or in the woods when Yunaleska went hunting. She was running him now, through the 'maze' of flowers -- this was one of the few places fiends managed to never appear very often, and if they did, Yunaleska took them out herself. Her
guards were left for other things.
She had one with her, though -- her constant companion, the mercenary known as Aaron, who was probably riding his own chocobo a ways back behind her, so he wasn't there when she came across the pair of men lazing around her garden. The blonde had his back to her, and the other...
Well, his looks more than surprised her. She stood up on Boko's back drawing her guns from their holstered posistion at the small of her back, and fired a couple of warning shots at the blonde's feet.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"
*
It was a beautiful day, there was no denying it. As beautiful as smog filled air and sky could get, anyway. And, as the sun shone down through the haze, it calmed the mind of one Seymour Guado. Seymour Guado. King of Spira. Husband of Lady Yunaleska. For the half human half guado, things just didn't get better. Walking along in the gardens, and pausing to
pick cherries from the branches of the trees, the lavender haired male took his mind back over the factory visits he had just completed. The Al Bhed were working, but still grumbling about Lady Yunaleska. And that just wouldn't do. Rations were halfed.
Shots rang through the air, not far away from Seymour. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if it was what he thought it was until -
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"
Leaving the cherries alone, Seymour broke off in a run towards the
voice of his wife. Something was wrong.
*
Auron looked the girl over. It was Yuna, and it wasn't Yuna. This was a very... strange world. Had all there friends been changed into something else except him, who was dead, and Tidus, who was a dream?
"My name is Auron."
There was no point to lying, and even he wasn't sure if he could get to her without getting hit. Then it occured to him... those were Al Bhed weapons. And not the kind of weapon he'd ever seen Yuna use.
"We don't know how we got here. At one point we were fighting Sin, and now we are here."
Confusion dominated Tidus' features at the sight of Yunaleska, as two halves of him argued over whether or not this was his Yuna. After all, the half Al Bhed did look like her physically - save for the haircut - but the way she was dressed... it was wrong. Not because it wasn't what Yuna usually wore - he had seen her in clothing other than her summoner's garb before - but because it simply wasn't something he could see Yuna wearing. The daughter of Braska was, in his mind, more conservative than that.
And wouldn't she know who Auron was?
But still... it looked too much like Yuna for him to just overlook. Maybe Sin's toxin had affected her somehow, and she didn't remember who she was? Or maybe she had hit her head? Both answers made sense. But even as he opened his mouth to speak, something inside to him it was just wishful thinking.
"Yuna?"
"That's Lady Yunaleska," a voice responded from the maze of hedges behind the Queen of Spira. And as Tidus turned his eyes to glance at the source of the answer, he was once again shocked.
There, standing just a few feet away, was a man who looked too much like his former monk companion to be just a coincidence. Though like Yunaleska, he was obviously not Auron - and it was more than just the unsent's presence at his side that told him that. Like the fact that this newcomer was brandishing a bo, where Auron's sword rested at his side.
Frowning, Tidus bit back the urge to call Auron's name at the
newcomer, instead content to look back and forth between the two men.
"Uh... guys? What's going on?"
She smiled, and jumped off her Chocobo, twisting in the air to land in a crouch, holstering her guns as she did so. She stood, placing her hands on her hips. "Get lost again, Aaron?" She returned her gaze to the two tresspassers, and crossed her arms, tapping her foot slightly. "Please answer my question. I'm very lenient on tresspassers; however, my
husband and Aaron are not. It's your choice."
Yeah. That definately -wasn't- Yuna.
"I'm, uh, Tidus. And like Auron said, we're kinda lost."
"Lost," Aaron echoed, pushing his oval-framed glasses up on his nose in a vaguely irritated gesture. "How does one get lost in the Queen's gardens?"
"I dunno, ok? One minute we were fighting Sin, and the next we were here."
A disbelieving snort. "I see."
"There's that word again. Sin." Seymour stepped out from behind a tree and strode over to stand beside Yunslaeska. Lavender eyebrows drew together
in a frown.
"You keep mentioning it, and yet we do not know what you mean. If
you're going to think of some excuse, at least try to make it valid."
Seymour smiled a slow lazy smile. He knew they would be thrown in prison. They should know they would. So the irony was they were trying to defend themselves when all was against them. And that made Seymour laugh inwardly.
Another familiar voice, one Tidus didn't want to hear. Keeping his eyes firmly locked on Yunaleska for a moment, so he couldn't tell who had spoken, he chanted inwardly, * Not him. Not him. Not him. Anyone but him,* before slowly turning his gaze towards the sound of the voice. And, much to his dismay, it was exactly who he had hoped it wouldn't be.
Seymour.
"You!" he barked, suddenly furious. First he was trapped in a hopless situation and now Seymour showed up? Spira or not, some things never changed.
*
Meanwhile a figure carrying a large pile of scrolls was walking on the seventh floor corridor. the figure was dressed in robes of grey, and all that could be of his face was a mass of chestnut hair. He could barely see where he was going, and what possesed him to look out the window was beyond him.
Jecht dropped all the scrolls, an exclamation on his lips.
Adjusting hisglasses slightly he peered down at the courtyard, and at the figures in it.
"Trespassers?"
*
"You have no... Sin here?" If Auron was suprised at the dead Maester's
sudden appearence, he gave no clues to it. He also laid a gloved hand on Tidus shoulder, in case the boy tried to do anything hasty. They were out numbered and surrounded... hasty was not a good move.
Auron was ignored, and a sharp look given Tidus' way. "Excuse you. I would ask that you have -respect- for your king." Yunaleska was getting impatient, and she pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What are you doing here? Answer me quickly. I'm losing my patience with you." And she didn't lose it easily.
"Don't you listen?" Tidus shot back, annoyance in his tone, as he
struggled half-heartedly against the restraining hand Auron had placed on his shoulder. "We were fighting Sin, and then boom - " the youth slammed his fist into his open palm as if to demonstrate - "we were here. We're lost."
Despite the fact that Tidus was struggling, Auron kept a hand on Tidus' shoulder. The younger male was saying everything that could be said in such a situation like this- even though he didn't quite know what the situation was- but there was still a chance Tidus would charge at someone. Auron could almost see steam spewing out of Tidus' ears.
This all had to do with Sin, yet these... these people had no clue as to what Sin was. Yes one could think that maybe Sin had affected Yuna, it would explain things. Yet how would it explain Maester Seymour's return? And it wasn't just the people who were different, the surroundings were. Even the air felt different - heavier and somehow uncleaner than Spira's air.
However, using Sin as their reasoning was obviously not working. Even if Seymour was bluffing, he was bluffing well. On each of their faces - with the exception of Aaron's - Auron could almost see the puzzlement. The confusion. Even he would be slightly puzzled if strangers turned up and started talking about things he had no idea of. The only thing he could do here, was to keep Tidus from being too bull-headed. Auron dug his fingers into Tidus' shoulder slightly, as if to prove his point.
Seymour's frown remained, even though he stuck his chest out a little at Yunaleska's words. Yes he was King, and they should respect him and call him by his title. His Lady was Queen, and she should be respected too! Seymour took a step forwards, robes rustling slightly as he peered at the younger trespasser. For some reason this stranger thought he knew him. It was strange the way he had shouted "You" at him. It was full of so much loathing that Seymour almost believed the poor wretched creature. Almost. Seymour took another step forward. He was now only a foot away from Tidus and Auron.
"We don't know what your 'Sin' is. We have never heard of it, nor h ave I ever seen you before in my life. I'm sure you may have seen me- for I am the King of Spira - but apart from that I am sure you don't know - and don't have the right to know - myself, and my wife. Now if you would be so kind as to - " Seymour paused for a few seconds before looking over his shoulder at an approaching figure. Jecht.
"About time," he muttered to Jecht as the man reached the scene. "Now if you would be so kind as to be arrested and thrown in Prison without a fuss..." Seymour wvaved a hand in the air, almost as if to dismiss them from his sight and mind. The blonde one in particular. He disturbed Seymour for no reason in particular - a feeling the lavender haired King did not like.
Jecht on the otherhand was just regaining his breath, whilst listening to Seymour. He had no clue as to what was going on - except there was a couple of trespassers in the Palace Orchards. However, Seymour seemed to comming down on them- Yunaleska too for that matter- like a ton of bricks. Quickly brushing some dust from his robes, and tucking a strand of chestnut hair behind one ear, Jecht stepped forwards so he was standing next to his King.
"So... these are the trespassers?"
Jecht peered at the two strangers, and let out an exclamation as he saw Tidus.
"This one is but a child. He can't be more than seventeen years old I'd say." Jecht shook his head sadly. "Children these days are turning into such deliquents..."
Ignoring both Jecht and Seymour, the blue clad mercenary turned to the only person in all of Spira he took orders from. Yunaleska. Pushing his glasses up on his nose out of reflex, he asked simply, "Shall I arrest them?"
Lips tanned from years living on a boat parted to make some sort of protest, either to the fact that Auron had dug his fingers into his shoulder or that they were being arrested, but the words never came. Not when he saw Jecht. Instead, stunned silence dropped from his mouth, his expresion turing from one of exasperation to a look of sheer confusion. His old man? Here? It was an impossibility. Jecht was Sin! Jecht couldn't be -
* That right, * he reminded himself as suddenly realization cut through his frantic train of thought. * He wouldn't be here back home - he'd be Sin. So this really isn't Spira. *
Again his expression changed, melting into what seemed to be disappointment. This wasn't Spira. Yuna and the others were missing. He was being thrown in jail. And worse yet, there were people running around who looked like people he had strong feelings for. Like this Yunaleska woman, and the one that looked like his father.
Great, just great.
* Next thing I know, they'll be some guy running around pretending to be me. *
Hands were placed on her hips, which were canted to the side, blue and green eyes taking all this in. The black chocobo behind her leaned down, and she abssent mindedly reached up with a hand and patted it gently on the beak, glancing over to Aaron, and then to Jecht, a wry smile on her face.
"You forget I'm only seventeen myself, Sir Jecht. Let them go. For now. However, I do not wish to see either of you on castle grounds again. If you so much breath over the boundery line, you will be arrested post haste. I do not tolerate insubordination in my subjects; it leads to rebellion, and rebellion leads to war. Aaron, please escort these men to the gates, and
make sure they remain outside of them." And with that, Yunaleska, swung herself back up onto the Chocobo's back, and kneed it around, giving one last glance to Tidus and Auron, before trotting off in the direction she had been going.
Looking at his copy one more time, Auron turned and headed for the gates. "Let's go, Tidus. We need to get out of here before they change there mind."
"Yeah," Tidus answered as he turned around slowly, letting his eyes linger on the man who looked so much like his father. It was strange - hell, the girl who looked like Yuna had even called him Jecht. And it made him more than a little homesick, not for Spira though, for Zanarkand. For his Zanarkand. Even if it was a dream, a lie. With a mental sigh, the blonde haired youth let his gase fall to the path before them - moping wasn't going to get them home or find Yuna.
"Let's go," he echoed, and with that, he followed Auron.
And a mere footfall or two behind him, Aaron followed. Yunaleska had asked him to escort them to the gates and make sure they stayed out, and even though they seemed to be intent on leaving anyway, he wasn't paid to hope they would leave. He needed to make sure, as per his lady's request. Besides, the two who had just 'appeared' in the orchards genuinely interested him, which was a rare thing since his untimely demise. And it was all because of one word.
Sin.
An entity that the mercenary in all his years had never heard mentioned, and yet the two intruders seemed to genuinely believe what they were saying. As if it were the God's honest truth. Perhaps it was, he had no way of knowing. Nor did Seymour, who was so convinced that they were lying.
Seymour. Now there was another point of interest. The younger of the two - the blonde - seemed to recognize him and yet not Yunaleska. It was odd, seeing as though the Queen was the more recognizable of the royal couple. And Aaron found it even odder still that the boy had reacted so violently when he had seen the King. It was as though the man who had murdered him had caused the boy some kind of injury. Something so horrible that Tidus' desire for revenge was almost as great as his.
His reaction to Seymour's little lacky, Jecht was also questionable. As was the fact that the blonde wore the royal symbol around his neck and on the leg of his pants.
Yet Yunaleska had noticed none of this? Or perhaps she had, and had just chosen to ignore it for the time being. To put it asside for further consideration during her fiend hunting outings or later in her office. Regardless, however, the mercenary made a mental note to mention it to his employer later and continued after Auron and Tidus mutely.
*
Tap. Tap. Yunaleska tapped the end of the pen she was scribbling notes with on the side of the reports she'd recieved from the Al Bhed factories... but it was hard to concentrate. She was too busy thinking about that boy, and his words... Sin? She didn't understand...
Neither did Aaron, for that matter, and as he approached the door to Yunaleska's office after escorting Tidus and his double out, he was still trying to get a handle on it all. That grip, that understanding he searched for, however, did not come. And it stirred an emotion he felt all too often now-a-days: annoyance.
Stopping just outside the Queen's office he knocked once and then pulled the door open. Most other people would have waited for permission to enter, but the mercenary knew no reprimand would follow. He had been doing this since the day he had started, and while perhaps Yunaleska had said something the first time, it had become routine. It was just something he did, something he knew Yunaleska had come to expect. And so, without fear, he stepped into the office, letting the door close behind him.
A simple nod of acknowledgement and the customary adjustment of his glasses followed.
"They are... interesting."
"That's putting it lightly." She didn't even look up from her desk, instead turning her gaze to the window with a small frown. "They could be trouble..." A pause, and she smirked, glancing over at him. "Now I'm sounding like Seymour." She set the pen down, and leaned forward on her elbow, resting her chin in her palm. "What's your take on it?"
A wry smile. "They could be trouble," he responded, leaning backwards against the door. To think, he was agreeing with Seymour. It had to be a first. Yet, then again he was also agreeing with his employer. And his gut instinct.
"The boy wore the royal crest. He also seemed to know Seymour. And," a pause, "the one in red looked similar enough to me be mistaken for me."
"So, you noticed, too." To which she was referring to, she didn't say, but that meant probably both. She frowned again, and leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers in front of her lips. "....do you have any suggestions?"
"We should keep an eye on them. Perhaps go as far as to follow them."
"Alright."
His eyebrows drew upwards in question. "Shall I?"
"I don't suppose it would hurt anything. Report back to me if you find anything."
Aaron nodded mutely, and then he was gone, the sound of the door shutting the only indication that he had been the in the first place.
Yunaleska drummed her fingers on the desk, and then returned to her paperwork, setting the incident aside in her mind. For now.