One evening, when they were sitting around their small campfire, Terra asked, �Why are there so many monsters around?�
Locke hesitated. Anything he said might offend her, especially since he saw that she herself did not fully comprehend her own powers. He didn�t want to give her the wrong impression, but he could not lie to her, either. �These monsters were created by magic,� he finally said.
Terra frowned, an ambivalent feeling rising within her. �You mean... magic is bad?� she questioned, trying to get a feel of where exactly she came into the picture. If her abilities had created these monsters, she could understand why everyone was after her.
Locke became uncomfortable. �No...not necessarily,� he said carefully, seeing her reaction to his previous answer. �It�s just that...well, if magic is uncontrolled, if it falls into the wrong hands...there�s no telling what might happen.�
�Oh...� Terra said faintly. She turned it over in her head, and decided that she would not use her magic. If it got out of control, it might end up hurting instead of helping, and she wanted to avoid that.
She yawned. �I guess I�ll go to sleep,� Terra said tiredly. Locke nodded and watched as she curled up and relaxed. Soon she was in a deep sleep.
He gazed at Terra, feeling a mixture of pity and responsibility.
He often saw her tossing and turning in her sleep, and he wondered
if she were dreaming and if she were, what her dreams were about.
For all the pity he felt, though, he held admiration for her being
able to carry on despite losing her entire identity...He thought
his loss had been great, but it was nothing compared to the loss
Terra had suffered. Locke realized she must have been young once,
must have had a childhood...What had happened to her? How had she
come under the Empire�s control? With her memory erased, though,
he knew she could not answer, even if he had the gumption to ask
the questions...
As they continued their journey and battled monsters, Terra was
thrilled to be able to put into practice some of the techniques she�d
learned in Narshe�s classroom. As she gained experience, she
sometimes felt a strange feeling come over her. Terra realized she
was learning new magic spells. She could feel her power increasing,
and it frightened her, for she did not want to lose control of it.
Ashamed of her abilities, and not wanting to isolate herself from
those trying to help her, she kept the extent of her powers a
secret.
She had yet to discover who she was, had yet to recover the past 20 years that had been stolen from her...She often slept fitfully, trying to will the memories to resurface, but they were stubborn, locked deep in some part of her mind. Terra often wondered about her very existence. Where had she come from? How had she gotten these strange powers? How had she even come into being?...These were questions any other person could answer in a minute, yet she could not, and that fact frightened her. What if she were the product of a truly evil creature? Locke had said magic could be evil. Perhaps it would be better to do away with herself...but each time the thought came to mind, she just as quickly shook it away.
And this man who stayed by her side, who helped her up when she stumbled, who was always kind and patient. Who was he? Terra had noticed that at certain times during an attack, the man would creep up behind an enemy, then would run back into place without attacking. It had annoyed her when she was the only one fighting, but she�d never asked him what he had been doing.
Terra knew that he always stayed up late into the night, watching over her as she slept, on the lookout for Imperial soldiers or monsters. She sometimes shot furtive glances at him while they traveled and saw a look of angry determination on his face. She sensed a tightly reigned anger and inherent sadness within him, and she wondered what tragedy had befallen him. Terra, a sensitive person, tried not to be so much of a burden on him, seeing as his emotions already weighed him down, and tried reciprocate for all he had done for her.
So many questions filled her mind about him. Why had he bound
himself by his promise? Why was he so concerned for her welfare?
As of yet, she did not even know his name, and that was the one
question she had never thought of asking.
After a few days� travel through the forest, they came to the
desert. Terra was dismayed. �Figaro is in the desert?!� she
exclaimed incredulously, looking at the wide expanse before her.
Locke smiled. �It sure is,� he said. �We should reach there in a few hours. Figaro isn�t very far from the east edge of the desert.�
True to Locke�s word, a large castle soon came into view. A guard stopped them on the front steps, frowning. �Wait!� Then recognition cleared his features. �Hey! Oh, it�s you. Proceed.� He stood aside, and they walked in. �This is Figaro, the desert castle,� the guard said for Terra�s benefit as she passed.
Guards blocked every doorway, and barked out, �Go see the king!� in response to anything Locke tried to say to them, making Terra nervous. Seeing her unease, Locke took her up the main tower of the castle to let her get some fresh air and calm down.
As she looked out over the turret, her view on all sides was of an unending desert. She stared at the barenness. �Why is Figaro out here?� she asked. �There are more hospitable regions in which to build a castle.�
Locke glanced at her, and remained silent for a few minutes, staring out at the waves of heat rising from the sand dunes. Terra wondered if she had somehow offended him. Finally he said, �There�s a reason it�s out here, but I shouldn�t be the one to tell you.� He abruptly turned and went to the head of the stairs. �Come on, we should get going.� She followed him, rather numb.
As they entered the throne room, Terra was hushed at the grandeur of the castle, while Locke seemed unaffected by it. A plush red carpet led the way up to the throne, where the king was in council.
She was worried about them barging in unannounced, for the king appeared to be so austere, someone who commanded a great deal of respect. But Locke strode confidently up to the regally caped figure without hesitation. Terra was afraid the guards posted at the sides of the room would rush in and pull them away, but they remained where they were.
Terra stayed a respectful distance away while Locke and the king exchanged a few whispered words. Then the king stood and, looking at Terra, exclaimed, �You mean, THIS young woman...?� He came up to her and scrutinized her from head to toe, then walked back up the steps to his throne.
Terra, stunned at the way he�d approached her, blinked a few times. Pulling herself together, she abandoned all etiquette as she demanded, �Who do you think you are?� She noticed his long blond braid as he stood with his back to her.
The man bowed his head. �Oh...sorry!� he apologized. He faced her again, and had a rather comic look on his face as he put a hand on his hip and berated himself, �How rude of me to turn my back to a lady!�
As the young king of Figaro Castle, ally to the Empire, and a master designer of machinery, Edgar felt he could suitably impress the lady. He stepped up and introduced himself. �I am Edgar, king of Figaro,� he proudly announced.
Locke came forward to stand beside Edgar. �Surprised someone like me knows a king?� he asked Terra. The two men nodded at each other like the old friends that they were, as Terra looked on, rather envious of the friendship they shared.
Locke came up to her and said, �There are some things I need to take care of, so I�ll be gone for awhile. But you�ll be reasonably safe with Edgar.�
She wasn�t all that happy at the thought of being left in the custody of the king, and was no less thrilled at Locke's use of the word "reasonably." �But...� she began to protest.
He put his hands on her shoulders. �Look,� he said, �I gave you my word you�d be safe. You have nothing to worry about. Trust me.� Terra, though still a bit doubtful, nodded her head slowly.
�Good. I�ll be back soon, okay?� Locke turned to leave. �Talk to you later!� he said to Edgar, and hurried off with a wave to Terra.
Terra knew a moment�s panic as she watched Locke�s retreating figure, leaving her alone with the king. But Edgar made no other advances. He walked slowly around her and stood some distance away, his back to her. Terra studied this strange man, her original impression of him disappearing.
Edgar turned his head to her, and she could see his profile. Terra realized that he was rather a handsome man, but she felt no deeper emotion, and somehow that bothered her. �So...you�re an Imperial soldier!� he said. �No problem. Figaro and the Empire are allies!�
She became rather uneasy at his mention of the Empire. Some kind of memory was returning...but before she could fully grasp it, he spoke again.
�Please, relax while you�re here,� Edgar said kindly, sensing her discomfort. He flung his head so that his braid whipped around, then added with a touch of sarcasm, �It�s not in my blood to harm a lady.�
Terra took a few steps toward him, wanting some answers. �Look, why are you helping me?� she asked, finally voicing the question that had dominated her mind since she had found herself in Narshe. �Is it because of my...abilities?�
Edgar waggled his finger with a smile, and Terra suspected she wouldn�t get a serious answer. �I�ll give you three reasons,� he said. �First of all, your beauty has captivated me!� Terra raised a brow at this, rather skeptical.
He continued. �Second, I�m dying to know if I�m your type...� He started to walk away, then paused. �I guess your... abilities... would be a distant third.�
She approached him again, this time a bit bemused by his manner. No man had ever acted like this toward her. �What�s with you, anyway?� she asked, amusement in her voice.
He inclined his head toward her slightly, then turned away again, head bowed. �Guess my technique�s getting a bit rusty...� Without waiting for a response, he walked quickly out of the room, his blue cape billowing behind him.
Reflecting on this recent encounter, Terra lowered her head. �Hmm...I suppose a normal girl would have found him dashing,� she thought amusedly. Then she sobered. �But I�m hardly...normal...�
Unsure of what to do, and bereft of the only friend she�d had, she timidly spoke to the guards in the throne room. �Feel free to wander about,� they told her, knowing that she was in the king�s favor.
Terra was rather glad to have some time to herself. As she explored the palace, she was awed by its magnificent furnishings and decor. She noted the high pillars, thick red velvet curtains, elaborately carved doors, and golden statues. She examined the pair of crossed heirloom swords that hung on the wall behind Edgar�s throne. She even dared to sit on a throne, imagining she were a queen.
She walked out into the main hall of the castle, which was a completely unroofed area. Losing her fear, she talked to the first person she came upon, who turned out to be one of the engineers of the castle.
�Good morning, ma�am,� he greeted Terra.
She gave him a small smile. �Good morning.�
�You look a little lost,� he said. �Is there anything I can help you with?�
�Well...� Terra hesitated. She had noticed all the strange wind-powered engines built into many of the castle towers, seemingly without purpose, so she decided to ask about them. �What are all these big fans in the towers?�
He laughed heartily, and she felt abashed. Realizing what he had done, the man quickly cut off his laughter. �I�m sorry, ma�am,� he apologized, and her embarrassment subsided. �Those aren�t fans. They were built by design, part of the technology of the castle.�
Her curiosity grew. �Oh?� she asked.
The guard nodded. �It doesn�t look like it, but this castle incorporates some of the most high-tech devices in existence. For example...� He paused. �Oops...they�re all top-secret! I can�t tell you.�
She smiled, this time a genuine one. �That�s okay,� she said.
Terra explored the castle some more. The guards who had originally blocked their way when she and Locke first passed through now allowed her free passage. �Figaro and the Empire are allies!� one proclaimed as she entered a pair of doors. Again she frowned, feeling something rise in her consciousness. But whatever the memory had been, it was too fleeting.
Through the doors, she saw a staircase leading down and a single door in front of her. She entered the door and found herself in a small inn. A rather buxom maid came up to her and asked, �Would you like to rest?�
Terra realized that she was tired from her travels and explorations, and she had not yet rested. The notion of sleeping on a real bed, after days of sleeping on the hard ground, was extremely appealing. �Yes, thank you,� she accepted gratefully.
The maid led her to a bed in a corner of the room, near the fireplace. Terra immediately burrowed under the covers. In almost no time at all, she was peacefully asleep.
She slept only a few hours, but when she woke up, she felt much refreshed. Terra sat up, yawned, and stretched. What a wonderful rest it had been!
Terra turned her head toward the warmth coming from the fireplace. Doing so, she saw that Edgar was talking closely with one of the maids. The woman giggled, gently brushed against Edgar�s chin with her fingers, and tripped away out the inn door on delicate feet. The king followed her, sweeping up his cape as he pursued the maid.
Terra sat in bed for some moments, rather amazed but not too surprised at what she had just witnessed. She shook her head amusedly and gave a small laugh, feeling better.
The remaining maid came up to her bed. �Come and eat something,� she urged. Terra swung herself out of bed, stood up and stretched again, and the maid led her to a table in another corner of the inn, where a place had been set for her.
As the maid brought Terra her meal and placed it before her, Terra looked carefully at the woman�s features, noting her skimpy dress and shapely figure. Taking a gamble, Terra asked, �I assume Edgar likes to be surrounded by beautiful women?�
The maid blushed and smiled, shaking her head in slight embarrassment. �Though Edgar showers his attentions on women, most are too smart to pay any attention to him,� she said. She bustled around, setting down silverware for Terra to use. �Although he does come to the Inn sometimes to pester me and Alicia.� The maid walked away, and Terra began to eat.
Halfway through her meal, the first maid, Alicia, whom she had seen Edgar following, came rushing in. Terra half expected Edgar to come running through the door as well, but no one else entered. The two maids began talking with their heads close together, whispering and giggling.
When Terra was done, Alicia came to clear the table. She nodded at Terra. �You�ve talked to Christine about Edgar?� she asked.
Terra was taken aback. �I didn�t mean to offend her...� she began, but Alicia shook her head.
�He recently tried to hit on the high preistess...� Alicia said. She looked at Terra knowingly. �Surely he�s...talked to you?�
Terra knew there was a hidden meaning behind her �talk,� and she was pretty sure what it was. But she just sat and blinked a few times, and Alicia only smiled.
Terra sighed, thanked both maids for their service, and left
the inn.
Just outside the inn, Terra noticed a staircase leading down.
She hesitated, wondering if she should explore downstairs or return
to the throne room. Curiosity got the better of her, and she walked
slowly down the stairs.
She found herself in a room with a metal door on the far side. Opening it, Terra saw that it led into the desert. She stepped out onto the soft sand and saw guards riding chocobos, huge birds with yellow feathers. Terra walked gingerly around the birds and saw another metal door to her right, which she entered.
A short flight of stairs took her to a richly furnished room, which she soon realized was the king's bedroom. A large brick fireplace against the far wall held a blazing fire, next to which was a staricase leading up. A small table stood in one corner of the room, and the floor was carpeted in green velvet with gold trimmings. Oil lamps burned brightly on every wall.
The king�s bed was on a dais with steps leading up to it. Thick red velvet curtains hung in front of the bed that could be closed for privacy. Swords decorated the pillars on either side of the dais.
Terra noticed a little girl in a pink dress and pigtails running around the room. �Why are you in here, and not playing outside?� Terra asked.
�I�m waiting to grow up!� the girl replied.
�Well, you have quite a while to wait,� Terra said with a smile. �Why are you in such a hurry to grow up, anyway?"
�His Highness said he�d marry me when I get older!� she answered, prompting another smile from Terra. Was no female in this castle safe from that man? she wondered.
A matron stood in front of Edgar�s bed, who noticed Terra. The older woman looked at her carefully, gave a small snort and exclaimed, �Edgar�s at it again? He hits on anything that moves!�
Terra asked, �Has he always been like that?�
The matron nodded. �Pretty much...of course, when he was younger...� She paused.
�Yes?� Terra encouraged the matron.
She shook her head. �Edgar has a twin brother. He was such a
nice boy...� She closed her eyes as she remembered that fateful
day...
Edgar had just received the news and was sitting in the library,
alone. The matron had been about to enter, but stopped when she
saw the young prince�s expression. As she left, Edgar�s muscular
twin brother brushed past her and barged in on him. Fearing a
confrontation, she had stayed just outside the library door,
and had overheard their conversation...
�Brother, what�s wrong with father?� his twin had demanded. �What�s all this talk of his successor?�
�Are you blind?� came Edgar�s voice, fiercer than the matron had ever heard it. �Look at how thin his face has become!� He turned away from his brother, unable to meet his look.
The man was confused. �What is it?� he asked, worried.
Edgar, feeling his vision blurring, began to quickly walk out. �Brother, wait!� his twin shouted, starting after Edgar. After a few steps, though, he stopped and let Edgar be, realizing something was seriously wrong.
The man looked forlornly at the table at which Edgar had been
sitting. He frowned worriedly as something glinted in the dawning
light. �Tears...?�
The matron turned her attention back to Terra. �Edgar�s twin
brother, who traded the throne for his own freedom...� She shook
her head sadly. �Yes...His name is Sabin. Oh, he looked so like
his father! When he ran away he was a sweet little child. I wonder
what he�s like now?� The matron fell silent once more.
Terra felt a wave of pity sweep over her. More and more she was discovering people whose lives were as sorrowful as her own. Although she knew Edgar was a womanizer, she now understood that he did have a lot of responsibilities, and that he wasn�t such a ruthless man. She sighed and, needing some air, went up the back stairs, which she correctly guessed led up to a tower.
One guard was posted on the tower, who nodded as Terra passed by him. She looked out upon the desert for a few minutes, and the guard, noticing her sad expression, thought she was troubled by the same thing as he was. �The Empire has smashed the three cities on the southern continent,� he said softly. �Just a matter of time �til they come up here...�
For the third time that day, Terra felt something within her at the mention of the Empire. What was it? But the more she tried to pinpoint it, the further away it was. Feeling frustrated, she ran quickly down the stairs and back the way she had come, back into the castle proper.
She returned to the main hall of castle and decided to explore the pair of double doors on the right. The guard who stood beside those doors exclaimed, �Figaro Castle is the most modern structure in the world!�
Walking through the doors, Terra found herself in a library, which held two reading tables and four tall bookcases. She saw two scholars standing in front of the bookcases, and when she asked one what he was doing, he replied, �Scholars the world over are doing research on magic.� Then with a chuckle, he added, �Silly people, scholars.�
The second scholar added a bit of history to his reply. �Long ago, a force called �magic� existed,� he told Terra. �People who used magic were called �Mage Knights.��
Terra left the library and, slipping past the guard, went straight out of the castle altogether. She was rather dissatisfied after her exploration of Figaro. Rather than answering any of her questions, it had brought up new ones. Not only were they questions about herself, but of the others as well. What had happened to Edgar�s family? Where was his brother, Sabin, now?
She wandered aimlessly a short way away from the castle, occassionally encountering Areinids and Sand Rays. Huge, blue lobsters on land, Areinids were only slightly more difficult than Sand Rays, which were flat, bony creatures with a long, spiked tail.
The woman was glad to be able to distract herself and instead focus on monsters at hand. Terra was more experienced now, and she knew the proper stance to take during a battle. Although she still had only the knife the old man had given her, she held it more firmly and could deal more damage than she�d previously been able to. With her new training, she defeated creatures faster, and each fight taught her a little more. Sometimes her efforts were rewarded when she dispatched monsters carrying bottles of healing potion.
After a few battles, she felt slightly better. Sweat begain to stream down her forehead as she finished off the last of the Areinids.
Terra stood there for a while, staring down at the carcass of the monster, once alive, now dead by her own hand...but had it been created by her own hand as well? Faint words and phrases came back to her...
�My sweet little magic user...�
�We�ll witness a total revival of magic...�
�These creatures were created by magic... �
Suddenly her emotions overwhelmed her. She felt an unfamiliar stinging in her eyes. Terra sank to her knees beside the dead creature and began to cry...soul-wrenching sobs that shook her entire body...A sandstorm blew the gritty desert substance sharply against her skin, but she was numb, feeling only the pain within her heart.
�I�m sorry,� she cried out tearfully, her words echoing against a high desert mountain range. �I didn�t mean to cause all this... I just don�t know how to control my power...I�m sorry...�
When the tears stopped, Terra instantly realized how foolish it
was for her to be out in the desert alone. She wiped her eyes and
stumbled back to Figaro.
As she stopped just inside the entrance to regain her breath,
Terra noticed two stariways she hadn�t seen before. Going down the
left stairs, she saw an old man, who told her, �Beyond is the
Figaro Castle Engine Room. We�re ready to leave at a moment�s
notice!�
Why do they have an engine room? Terra wondered. Wanting to explore, she started to walk downstairs. The old man intercepted her with the warning, �That�s dangerous!� Deterred, Tera went back up.
Going down the right staircase, she entered a rather dark, dismal room. A guard told her, �These thieves have been terrorizing the vicinity. Stay away from �em!� Terra glanced into each of the four cells, then turned to leave.
Checking the clock on the table near the foot of the stairs, she was surprised to see how much time she had spent exploring the castle. Terra hurridly climbed the stairs to return to the throne
She entered the anteroom and saw the elderly Chancellor, dressed in green velvet, with a kind of crown on his head made of the same material. He smiled kindly at Terra. �And how have you been amusing yourself, my dear?� he asked.
�I�ve been giving myself a tour of the castle,� she answered. �It�s very interesting. I even went up to the king�s bedroom.�
The chancellor raised a brow. �Oh? Then you�ve...spoken with the matron, perhaps?�
�Yes, I have,� Terra replied. She hesitated, then decided she had nothing to lose. �What...what exactly happened with...with Edgar�s family?�
He sighed. �The whole business of succession was so repugnant to Sabin, the king�s brother, that he fled the castle forever. But both men were honorable, and they knew someone had to stay and be king of Figaro.� The man shook his head sadly. �In the end, the succession was settled with a coin toss...�
Terra�s heart went out to both Edgar and Sabin. Very much curious now about the Figaro royal family, she spoke to the guards posted outside the throne room doors, hoping to perhaps gain more information about Edgar.
But the guards� minds were preoccupied with other matters. �I heard the Empire is using something called �magic�...� one said to her in a conspiratorial whisper.
The other guard was just as troubled. �Gestahl has harnessed the power of magic,� he informed her in a worried tone. �Who can stop him now?�
Terra felt the same old ambivalent feeling grow. �Is magic so very dangerous then?� she asked with a slight frown.
�Magic hasn�t been around for 1000 years!� the guard exclaimed, shocked at Terra�s seeming naivity. �We don�t have any weapons or armor to combat it. Gestahl could destroy us all with one spell!�
She was troubled. �But...I�ve never used my magic to harm anyone...� she said in a barely audible whisper.
The guard leaned forward. �Eh? Did you say something?� he asked.
She shook her head. �No...no, nothing at all,� Terra said.
She walked quickly out of the anteroom into the open hall of the
castle and saw a private area to her left. Again she felt the
stinging in her eyes. With her hands gripping the stone parapet,
she stood there, letting the cool breeze dry the tears running down
her cheeks.