The Darkest Day

[Leckseeuh]

Lexia whines and looked down at Vivi. This means I have to get dressed doesn't it. Fff. She mumbled, storming off to her room and closing the door. There wasn't anyone in the place, and Vivi wasn't a menace at all, but just to make sure.

She looked in the mirror and pouted, looking so...Lexia-ish. She wasn't fond of dresses in general, but she kept one in a bag just in case.

After a few minutes of fumbling with the dress [if you call it a dress] she finished, her hair messed up from being stobborn and not wanting to take it down. It followed her cute yet revealing look, a light green strapless shirt over a short matching skirt, and some black stockings she found. Since she wasn't one for shoes she kept on her sneakers that ruined everything. She looked in the mirror once again and pouted. It would do. She could at least run. She picked up her little backpack, her bunny smiling out of one of the little pockets, and ran down the hallways.

Let's get it buddy. I don't wanna be alone in this place all day. She grabed onto Vivi's arm and nearly skipping along the halls, humming a little song.

[serpentoflore]

Sarah smiled, looking at everyone as the audience. Acteur would have made a show out of it. She bowed, twirling her hand a little. "It is an honor to entertain such a glorious audience with my musical talent." She didn't make not of anyone yet.

[Agrias Oaks]

Agrias looked toward the entertainer, having not expected to have one in such festivities. She smiled, wondering if this was also Beatrix's way to pitch in, and it was rather thoughtful. That musician must of arrived recently, because she never once saw her with the soldiers, and not with the villagers... and she never forgets a face.

She noticed her purple attire, and from where she sat, could tell they were fine robes of the finest quality of fabric. She smiled a little, tilting her head slightly to the side- Sarah looked somewhat like a witch in her outfit, but sensed no evil coming from /her/ exactly. It was rather cloudy, this feeling, and it came from around her... she tried paying it no mind for now.

Some of the soldiers starred at the woman, and cheered her on, wanting to see what she could play and do. They would clap along and Agrias would join in.

"Hm..." she whispered, looking about, " I wonder.. where Lady Abigail hath gone? She would enjoy this.." she stood and moved along a narrow path between the tables, looking about the village doorways, and shops for the woman. She would ask about, until someone pointed her to the direction of where they last saw Abigail.

[General Beatrix]

[glow=red,2,300]"Good," she said under her breath and turned to walk back to the row of buildings nearest the bakery. "Now...I'm sure I heard Lady Abigail's voice around here somewhere..."

She trekked through the quiet alleys--if you'd call such small paths alleys--and looked around.

"Miss Abigail?" she called, sidling up along the backside of the bakery, seeing the White Mage losing herself in a sort of sadness. "Oh, there you are. I was worried about you. Is everything all right?"[/glow]

[serpentoflore]

Sarah bowed once again, pulling out the black piccolo from her pocket. She raised it to her lips, focusing on an emotion. Since this wasn't an attack, she could easily play something lighter. She knew just the song for someone to dance to. Taking a breath, she began to play the Tarantella Napoletena. Almost immediately little spiders began to weave pasta decorations, some of the soldiers being influenced to dance along with the villagers. She noted that Agrias was following Beatrix currently as she played.

[Agrias Oaks]

Agrias walked over, making her way through some barrels to the back of the bakery where she found not only Abigail, but Beatrix. Agrias smiled a little, a light blush upon her cheeks, though she seemed a little worried. Why would they be back here?

"Is everything alright, you two?" she would ask, scooting a bit closer to them. She would see Abigail with a sad face and worry further, "Is something wrong?"

Dancing. Who would be the first to dance, but Boco who was near Sarah, wiggling his feathers and hopping from foot to foot. Warking happily to the music as it continued, and inspiring a few shy soldiers to join in the festivities.

"Wark-a-wark-a-wark-kwhee!" he would cry, his head bobbing with every jump.

[Secondary Characters]

Vivi nodded and looked Lexia over. "You look really nice," he said, bowing his head in approval. "Let's get down there."

-------------CATCHING UP WITH THE PARTY------------------

Once with the others Vivi glanced over to where Lexia was and brought her over a large cookie. "The baker made these special for the event; try one, it's delicious. And look, someone's playing music!"

[serpentoflore]

As Boco began to dance, she began to do so while playing the Piccolo. Her heels twirled, as if she were dancing with a human rather than what sounded and looked like a big bird. The square began to disappear, and now they were on a dance floor made of smooth white stone. People that seemed to be real began to dance, the entire village now covered in smooth white stone to dance on.

[The Alexandrian Army]

When Sarah took her place on the platform surrounding the water fountain in the center square of the quiet village, the Alexandrian Soldiers all cheered, noting how this was the start of the dance segment of their celebration.

They all began to mingle between the villagers and one another, grabbing dance partners, watching Boco with his solitary steps, and even crafting their own strange, unique moves.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves by this time save for one man, Gaston, who looked on the crowd with utter disgust. The only one remotely worried was Linda, who approached him.

"Is...something wrong?" she said; the man simply scoffed at her and she gave it to him. "You know you've been really rude throughout this entire day! I think that maybe if you let loose, or something, you'd enjoy yourself a bit more!"

For a while the two argued, Linda having set the man off, and they wandered off to somewhere private to bicker.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daphne saw the area where Abby'd run off and thought she could see Sai in the distance, and yet to her he seemed to be nothing more than a hallucination; she sat down on the bench where her two assistants had abandoned her to dance with some men and cupped her chin between her hands.

"Oh, bullocks," she sighed.

[Sai]

"Such language..." a soft voice would sound near Daphne. If she looked up, she would see Sai standing there, having followed the little hint Abigail had given him. He had the same look as always, one eye seeming dull and uncaring even if his posture betrayed otherwise. He looked off to see Sarah beginning her music, and twitched lightly. "They're starting..." he muttered, referring to the plan Beatrix accidentally let spill, though he may have sounded like he meant that the dance was starting.

No time to stand here and talk. It'd make them stand out, and that was the last thing Sai needed. Instead, he lowered a hand, offering it to Daphne with a light jerk of the head to indicate that he was offering her to dance, though his words seemed contradictory when he said, "I have something of extreme importance to tell you..."

[The Alexandrian Army]

"Such language..."

Daphne's head perked up the moment she heard that cold, mood-emulating voice, her face glowing with a sudden excitement as she turned to face Sai. She gasped, blushing when he extended forward a hand and pulled slightly for her to meet him in an embrace.

"Hm? What's starting? And something of extreme importance?" Her eyes widened. "A breakthrough in the quest for the Keyblade Notes? How wonderful. This should serve you well, yes?" she stood up, and put her hands on his shoulders, hoping he'd take her by the waist and move them onto the dancing grounds.

"So tell me, what news?"

[Sai]

Sai would indeed sweep Daphne out onto the dance floor, holding her by the waist and one hand. Surprisingly, he was about to prove an amazing ballroom dancer. However, if one were to look him in the face, they'd be hard pressed to say that he was doing anything at all.

"Do not react to what I'm about to tell you..." he said calmly as he twirled with her expertly. "I went to the Opera House, and yes I have a strong hunch as to where the keyblade notes are hidden... or at least a means of finding them. However, while I was there..." He had to pause, in order to make their dance moves look correct, he would have to swirl in another direction to avoid hitting another couple who were... well, let's just say less coordinated.

"...the General made contact with the musician there by use of a dark screen, a technique used by denizens of the darkness to communicate over great distances. She proclaimed herself general of the heartless under queen MeadowSong, whomever that is..." Sai looked right into Daphne's eyes, trying to express how extremely vital it was for her to understand what he was to say next.

"When this dance concludes... I want you to go back to the ship and stay there. Something is going to happen. I don't know what, but I do know that Beatrix does not have the best interests of all in mind. I need you to stay safe..." he glanced over, watching several soldiers and the chocobo getting swept up into the song.

Then, when he looked back to Daphne, he would ask something rather off-topic seeming. "Might I borrow a hairpin?"

[The Alexandrian Army]

Don't react? thought Daphne, staring into the Nobody's eyes as they waltzed, and listened to him continue on with his speech. It didn't take much to keep her from wincing at his statment, as other things distracted her. For instance, one of the villagers they passed stepped on her foot as they passed by, and she yelped quietly at that and moved in close to Sai's neck, so close he'd feel her breath on his skin while she spoke quietly.

"General of the...Heartless? Again?" she whispered. "That was ages ago, way before even Lady Agrias arrived and put a stop to it. Maleficent's control over the general was silenced. Perhaps something happened at the Castle of Naught before we arrived?"

She listened to him speak of her finding safety in the confines of the Red Rose and whimpered. "But Sai, what about you? And...what if General Beatrix' gone looney again? What'll happen?"

And then he asked her for a hairpin; she stopped in place and stared at him blankly. "A...hairpin." She fumbled in her hair for a moment and plucked one of the tiny instruments holding up her support and handed it to the Nobody. "That's a little...off-topic, but here you are."

[Sai]

Sai reached up to take the hairpin and slip it into a pocket of his jacket. "Many thanks..." he said calmly, then placed his hand back on her hip. He had noticed the very inconsiderate move the other couple made, and though it was hard to tell, he was actually... less than pleased with it. Moving away from them, he continued to waltz with the scientist.

"I don't profess to understand all that is happening..." Sai whispered, now in a very large group of soldiers dancing. "What I do know is that she contacted that young woman, and now she's here, introduced by the general herself. That alone is evidence enough to me of the timeframe being correct."

He looked to her once more, and that eye of his had a strange... sadness in it. "What happens to me is irrelevant. It's imperitive that you stay safe... I doubt she would attack her own ship, let alone her soldiers, so you should be safe..." He sighed softly, and said something very... unlike himself. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you..."

He paused, then looked off a bit. "I'm going back to the Opera House after this. I think I can convince one of the actors there to divulge where the notes are... In the meantime, try to keep your eye on the musician... I think she knows where other notes are as well..."

[The Alexandrian Army]

"Hm...well the general did give us some strange orders the day of our arrival here. She left the ship and returned secretly, handed an order over to one of the captains to be ready for a full-frontal assault should we need to be, and not to trust our comrades too...passionately should they show signs of treason. And, well...do you think something will happen to this place? Is she responsible for the suddenly heavy dar--"

Her heart began pulsing very quickly. "You don't know what...you would do...if you lost...me?" she said between breaths, shocked by his words. "I, um...Sai..." she sighed, smiling and pressing her head into his chest as they danced. "I will hide...and do as you ask...be safe for me too, all right?"