********* (I Love You) Aki LXII:Hinamageru-A FFXI Love StoryFollow

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Yay for being sick -.-; New chapter, and I’ve outlined the next couple...I want to make sure everything fits perfectly in the realm of Vana’diel and it’s history as best as I can make it.

Read and review and the like. And as always, I don’t own anything FFXI related...so no suing please!

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)

Part VII- Longing (Akogare)

Kasho VIII- Takatobi (Escape)

---

(Chapter LVII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1158658394285452028;num=8;page=1

(Aki LVIII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1160487418129598544

(Chapter LIX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=116215072938586841#116232451255312339


(Aki LX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=11683340869501875

(Chapter LXI)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1170686480312991438
---

Bonus Story: Rainfall Memories

Bonus Story: Morning After

******
The Archduke sat down in a plushed chair that had the crest of Jueno stitched into it's backing. He was still wearing his formal robes of his office that he had worn during his speech of just a few minutes ago, and I could tell that he was quite enjoying wearing them. As soon as the applause had died down, the Archduke and myself had retreated back to where the Archduke’s own private office was in the palace in Ru=lude Gardens. This office was where the Archduke saw his advisors, undoubtedly talked to his little brother about the goings on of both Jueno and Vana'diel...

And is now talking to me.

Before we entered, the Archduke had indicated for his little brother to stand outside the door and not to allow anyone to disturb him until he was finished with talking to me.
***
Aki LXII: Hinmageru
***
Gesturing to another chair opposite of himself, the Archduke motioned for me to sit down before he formally addressed me.

"So Commander...what is this meeting about?" he said coolly, his perfect features not betraying any particular emotion as he said so.

Not really comfortable with being on the same level as my leader, I fidgeted a bit in place as I fumbled for the exact words to say. "My lord...I have what could possibly be the salvation of Jueno and of Vana'diel itself against the beastman forces...it's called 'The Eruntalon Code'."

The Archduke leant forward in his chair slightly, his index fingertips pursing his lips as he simply nodded, causing his blonde hair to frame the red tattooed markings upon his face.

"I was aware that you were looking for it, and that you had finally recovered it, yes."

I was a little surprised at this, until I remembered what Gilgamesh had told me before the speech. Unable to quench down my desire to know who had exactly spilt this information, I found words slipping out of my lips before I could quite stop them.

"My lord...how did you know?..."

With that, the Archduke pulled back the tips of his index fingers away from his mouth before tapping them lightly back against their previous resting spots once.

"You're speaking out of place, Commander."

"I apolo-"

He cut me off by leaning back in his seat and gave me a sharp wave of his hand, much the same motion as he gave earlier that day to silence the masses when he was about to speak.

"But I DO believe that you deserve to know that much."

He paused for a moment, obviously trying to pull some faint name out of his memory before speaking again.

"Your mule...Satmanda, I think?...has been keeping a eye upon you ever since you first joined the Ducal Guard a few years ago. It wasn=t my personal decision, but instead is standard procedure as setup by the predecessor to my position to ensure that the officers of the Ducal Guard, the local Jeuno Guard, or the government won’t be able to commit treason against the Grand Duchy."

My mouth went slightly dry at this realization.

"Honestly, if I am recalling correctly, he had made a report stating that you were speculating about a war between the Children of the Twilight and the Children of the Dawn to him shortly before the current conflict actually began. He made at the time the suggestion that you were a possible traitor to the Grand Duchy, and that you be removed from your position as soon as possible. With how you had disobeyed a direct order to not interfere in the gil-counterfeiting operation in the Necropolis, I felt like I had no choice but to accept that recommendation."

The Archduke then gave a slight helpless shrug that only instead came off as somewhat awkward in his current clothing.

"To be specific about the Code...Well, to be honest, Gilgamesh has quite good personal security and even his personal bodyguard Aoi proved impossible to turn to work for me. The only reason I knew that you were looking for the Eruntalon Code was because apparently that girl you were involved with was listening in on your conversation with Gilgamesh in your mog house, and Satmanda happened to be within earshot."

This realization suddenly made everything come into focus. It explained how the Archduke was aware of several odd things previously during my first tenure in service to Jeuno and more recently, why during my flight from Jueno there weren=t troops from the Grand Duchy waiting for me in Mhuara when I had gone there to meet with Isacio.

While I had entrusted Satmanda with my plans to go to Selbina, I didn't tell him that I was going to ultimately end up in Mhuara or going to the Federation of Windurst afterwards.

Wait...

"How did you know that I had found it though?", I asked with my curiosity nearly completely satisfied.

"That mithra artist who drew the code is yet another one of my own, and it was because of your rather odd request to her that she draw the tattoo on that dead priest=s body that told me the truth. What many people don’t know is that the Code is as much of a magical seal of sorts as it is a set of instructions, and it would therefore make perfect sense for it to be 'hidden' as a drawing. Unfortunately, she was only able to complete a single copy of the phoenix drawing before the Church's follower was burned into ashes."

"Then...was this Code the reason you brought me back within the folds of the Ducal Guard?!" My voice started to grow angry, feeling that maybe the Archduke had not really believed that I was totally loyal to both him and the state and that everything I had been doing for the past few months was nothing more than the expert motions of a puppeteer.

The Archduke only shook his head at this and I could tell that he was reaching his personal limit at tolerating my outbursts and questions.

"Hardly. I was planning on asking you to return to service as soon as possible, if only because the Hume we had found to replace you was hardly...adequate. However, because a combination of the fact that the Moogle mail service was being compromised by beastman forces, the fact that travel overland or by sea was nearly impossible from Bastok to Jueno due to the beastman having occupied the Defland region, and the fact that your own personal value had just jumped significantly upwards, I was forced to order you to move to where I knew you would be in safe hands within the former Marquisate of Tavnazia."

I felt the surge in rage within me calm down slightly, and I simply nodded abit meekly, feeling slightly ashamed at having thought that the Archduke was doing anything but looking out for both my own and of Jeuno’s own well being.

"There is one fact that you need to be aware of it, for it is important. The beastmen have been keeping an eye on you as well, and there is some evidence to suggest that they had also somehow figured out that you had the Eruntalon Code, and had thus planned the attack upon Tavnazia with the faint chance of acquiring the Code in the process from you as one of many objectives."

At that, the Archduke held out his right hand towards me, his palm stretched flat and upwards. There were no real creases or folds upon it, and there were no signs of aging upon it.

"And so, I must ask you to give me the Code now, before anything else happens and things become bleaker than they already are for the Children of the Dawn. With it...we can finally put an end to this damn goddessforsaken war and crush those beastmen once and for all."

I reached into the pocket of my koenig armor where I had placed the picture of the phoenix, and then pulled it out gingerly between two fingers. The Code had not truly seen the light of day since I had last crammed it into place back while I was fleeing away from the invasion and destruction of Tavnazia, and I was slightly surprised to realize that it hadn’t been damaged any.

Just as I was about to put the salvation of our world into the Archduke’s hand...

The sole door to the room opened.

And in stepped the woman who had spent many days and nights leaning against the stone gray guide stone outside of where I lived.

She was wearing her distinctive red robe, with a beautiful designed etched out on it’s front and her hood pulled up over her head, causing part of her face to be obscured.


Her pinkish lips parted, and she spoke for the first time that I could ever remember.

"Excuse me Archduke and Commander...but there is something happening that requires his Highness' immediate attention. I was instructed to request that both you and your brother go to the main audience chamber as soon as I got here."

The Archduke was clearly irritated by the interruption, and he sharply spoke to the woman.

"My little brother should have instructed you that I gave strict orders to not be disturbed."

"I know that my lord, and your brother told me the same. However, when I told him that the request came from Nag'molada, he told me to come in anyways and get you."

At the mention of that name, the Archduke gave pause for a moment, before rising to his feet.

"Commander, my brother and I will be back in a few moments once I deal with this matter, and we will then finish our conversation. Understood?" he said, addressing me in a suddenly somewhat dark tone of voice.

I simply nodded in response, slipping the Code down between my index and ring fingers to dangle loosely for the moment. Then with a slight flourish of his robes, the Archduke then strode out of the room and let the door click shut quietly behind him.

As soon as the Archduke was gone, the mysterious woman then turned towards me and pulled back the hood of her cloak and I watched as suddenly her long black hair turned into a fine shade of blonde.

"Commander...", the woman said quietly, "It is time that you and I talk. There are some things that we must discuss before your Archduke comes back here. And before you ask...yes, it does concern the Eruntalon Code, one of the secrets of the Gods."

-fin Aki LXII: Hinamageru