********* (I Love You) Chapter XLV: KoenigFollow

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Expect a lot from me in the coming weeks...

I found my muse again.

Also got another story idea brewing in the back of my mind, but we'll see how the ending of this one pans out first^^

As always, I don't own anything related to FFXI, so I better not get sued >.>

Previous chapters, aki, and Interludes

Part I - Connection (Enishi)

Kasho II - Kodoku (Solitude)

Part III - Reunion (Saikai)

Kasho IV- Suriyoru (Closer)

Part V- Secrets (Hiou)

Kasho VI- Hanarebanare (Apart)
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Bonus Story: Rainfall Memories

For Fudgefactor...

I haven't forgotten my promise.
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Chapter XLV: Koenig
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The ride through the better part of the Quon continent was fairly uneventful, and I was just thankful that I didn’t have to travel all the way from over on Mindartia also. Moreover, I was even more thankful that I didn’t have to choco over all my things from Bastok, having instead a moogle delivery service that promised to take everything over to Tavnazia as quickly as possible.

As always, I was quite stricken with the beauty of coastline that traced along the boarders of the Zajmlug Sea and I couldn’t help but marvel at the gushing waters near the Edellaine waterfall. I could quickly see that the Misareaux coast, as dubbed by the locals, had not changed at all since my last visit here.

It had taken the better part of three days, but I was finally back there...back to the Marquisate of Tavnazia.

As I pulled up to the twin iron gates that blocked the way into the city, I couldn’t help but notice that much like the Republic of Bastok, the guards were on high alert. I could barely squint out archers hidden in the shadows of the city’s walls, and I could plainly see the platoons of foot soldiers practicing military maneuvers just a quarter-milm away from where I was currently standing.

"Please dismount and then present your identification."

The request came from an elvaan who was about my height, equipped with a musket gun that was slung loosely around his shoulder. He was obviously thoroughly bored with his post, no doubt counting down the seconds until he could take some downtime. Wordlessly I pulled out my well-worn (real) ID out of my side pouch, and handed it to the elvaan as I then dismounted my bird and let a chocobo handler lead it away. The elvaan compared the image on the picture to my face a couple of times, before nodding and handing it back to me.

"Welcome Commander. The Marquisate has been expecting you, and if you will please follow me, we will gear you up in the appropriate armor for you to be marching around the town with." He spoke in a bored voice that only matched his appearance, and I made a mental note to be sure to meet with this solder’s supervisor about this elvaan’s lax performance as soon as I got a chance to.

Wait...gear up?

I stepped in front of the troop, holding my hand up in a stop motion before he had even taken three steps away from his station.

"What do you mean...gear up? Explain." I asked, with more than a slight demanding tone in my voice.

He only nodded a couple of times before fidgeting a bit. "Orders from above, sir. The head of the Tavnazian state himself requested that until an official announcement is made that the Marquisate has decided to accept a military presence from Jeuno, you please wear a suit of full body armor while traveling around town. You will only need to do so for a couple of days, while the press wing of the military prepares a press release."

He hesitated for a moment as if he was deciding whether to hold something back or not, before finally relenting. "Sir...if I may speak freely...", he started with a slight hesitation and only proceeded once I gave him a tiny nod. "Sir...let me just say that you are not quite welcome here. A lot of the people of Tavnazia does not take kindly to Jeuno after your Ducal Guard established temporary military control over the city after attack upon your Archduke a few months ago here. You would be well advised to keep your mouth shut, and not say anything that could possibly inflame people’s passions here."

I nodded, remembering dimly the order that I had barked into the linkpearl once I had been un-paralyzed by that recruit.

Yeah...I guess that they would be kind of mad about that...

Without another word, I stepped aside and allowed the elvaan troop to lead me to a small room a few steps away. He opened the door and held it open, allowing me to enter it first. The room was rather empty, with only a bench and a suit of heavily detailed silver armor hung on pegs against a wall. At first I only gave it a slight glance, then when it suddenly dawned on me what it was, I couldn’t help but get up close to it and stare.

It was a highly detailed, complete Koenig set. There simply was no mistaking it for something else. The body had the overlapping chest plates, along with the brown webbing that held the arm pieces against the body. The head has the characteristic metal grill face, and the legs and feet were gorgeously engraved with small swirl patterns...

It was a beautiful set of armor, and I knew from first hand experience that it was incredibly hard to locate and obtain just a single piece of this armor, let alone a full set.

"A gift from the state, I hope you enjoy it." The troop said with a slight tone of envy in his voice, before he stepped out of the room to allow me to change.

Which I quickly did.

Once I was re-dressed in my new armor suit, I quickly stepped back outside and felt a cool breeze float through the brown webbing between my joints, keeping my body cool. I flexed my hands a couple of times, feeling the metal covering them remain tough and yet flexible at the same time.

Damn, this armor really does live up to its reputation.

With a wave of my hand, I indicated to the soldier to please lead me to wherever-the-Goddess the Tavnazians had planned for me to go.

We wondered down a few streets, twisting and turning as we did so. Along the way, a few people stopped to gawk at my full metal personage, but as they realized that they were unable to guess the identity of the person that laid behind the suit, they eventually turned away back to their own business. After about ten minutes of walking, we came to the door of a rather nondescript building.

The military soldier snapped to attention and gave me a salute. "Here is where we must part sir. I have to get back to my post, but if you go inside you will find General Laurent of the Tavnazian military waiting for you. I wish you luck, and may Her light forever protect you sir." With that, he turned slightly sloppily away and then walked back to his post (at least, I assumed).

As I reached my hand down to grasp the door handle to turn it, I saw it turn on its own downwards, as if someone was about to leave. In a rather smooth and quick motion, I grabbed the handle and then pulled the door back while stepping backwards. I couldn’t see who came out, but I heard a mumbled thanks from what sounded like another Tavnazian soldier as two sets of footsteps emerged and started walking away. By the time that I finally let myself in, both of those people had disappeared around the corner, the trail part of one of their outfits trailing a bit behind in the wind.

There was no waiting area much to my surprise, but instead I found myself directly face to face with the General Laurent who was just filing away paperwork of some sort or another into a tall cabinet in the corner. He had rather cold, disinterested eyes, and a strong military posture that seemed to give him heavy combat experience under the state of Tavnazia. He had rows upon rows of glittering metals upon his chest and I could easily pick out two of the more recognizable ones, the Tavnazian Star for bravery and a slim gold one that represented heroism under fire from the enemy. When he saw me, he took a couple minutes to finish putting the papers away and then extended his right hand out to me. I grasped it, feeling a strong grip clasp against my armored hand before letting go.

"Commander Demitri, I presume?," he said as I took off my helmet and held it underneath one arm. I only nodded my agreement, allowing no trace of emotion cross my face. After all, this was business, and I had to show that I still had the military training that I got when I first joined the Ducal Guard.

"Sorry about the delay Commander, I was just interviewing a new recruit for our armed forces. She seems rather weak, but we will find out if that is true soon enough." His tone of voice cut the conversation off there, indicating that there was no room for discussion on my part before he switched topics entirely. "So...former Commander of the Ducal Guard...I understand that the head of Tavnazian Marquisate has requested that you be here by loan from the Archduke of the Grand Duchy of Jeuno for purposes of training our troops to Jeuno levels. Is that correct?"

Wait...former?...

I was fully reinstated into my position...at least I thought I was...

And is that why the Archduke wanted me here, to train a foreign country’s military?

This is starting to not make sense at all.

"Why, yes..." I said, trying to not sound at all surprised by these revelations.

The General only crisply nodded his head a couple of times before turning away from me.

"While of course, I cannot force you to stay confined to your quarters...I would heavily recommend against going out without this armor set on. Less, of course, you prefer to have to deal with a mob fight wherever you are recognized. A lieutenant will be here shortly to escort you to your living quarters, just above the alchemy guild."

He paused.

"Welcome to the Marquisate of Tavnazia, I hope you have a pleasant stay here."

Somehow...I doubted that I would.

- fin Chapter XLV: Koenig

I checked forums as soon as I logged after talkin to you in game, what can I say...I'm hooked. Keep'em commin!! :D

Yeah, been waiting for an update for awhile. ^^ keep em coming.