"It's been five years since the Lion War; I should think that the church is done with hunting heretics, sire."
Delita gave a weak smile and replied, "You have no idea, advisor, but then again, the truth is always hard to find." King Hyral paced about in the newly built castle his servants had constructed for him. "Are they really trying to accuse me of both heresy and blasphemy?"
"Sadly sire, yes, but as far as I can ascertain the accusation is purely political...The church is merely vying for political power."
"So..." Delita sighed, "if I do not recant this so-called statement I am accused of saying, I will officially be excommunicated and dethroned by the papacy of Glabados..."
"That is correct, sire, this will not look good in the public eye...the people need you now my Lord, more than ever. They need a ruler, but they also need the guidance of the church, especially for recovering after the 100 Year War. Both sides would lose power, and the people would lose respect for the church and the throne."
"Power-hungry bastards...they put me in a fix alright, but recanting any statements I have made would make me seem weak to the people..."
Delita began to pace as he searched for a solution,"Damn, I hate to lie, but I've done it for years, why is it so difficult now? Something...something from the past is keeping me from lying...Ramza? Ramza--where are you when I need you?"
"Sire...Master Hyral...you're brooding again..."
"Oh....!! Um...sorry Advisor, my mind was drifting..."
"Sir, this is no time to be thinking of other things, what should I tell the ambassador to the church, what is your statemen—,”
The advisor was cut off by a loud clang of the main door of the hall.
"--Open up!! Delita Hyral, you are accused of high treason, blasphemy, and heresy, you are under arrest by the orders of the Holy order of the Knights Templar---Should you resist arrest we are ordered to execute you on-site!"
"What the bloody hell!? The Templar is after my head! How can the church possibly explain this..." Delita roared.
"Sire, I do believe now is not the time to ask questions... we must leave, immediately!!!"
The Advisor rounded up a squad of the king's very best knights and ushered the king to an underground cavern beneath the castle complete with a Gold Chocobo stable just for such an emergency.
"Sire, quickly, mount your chocobo and hurry; we must escape to a secret location in Goland, I will disclose more information later."
Being shoved into an unknown destination wasn't something Delita liked to do, but what choice did he have, death at the hands of the church? Clicking to his steed to follow the knights, Delita wondered if the series of events and bloodshed that led him to the throne were for nothing.
As they rode through the woods, he felt the memory of his hands, sticky with the blood of Queen Ovelia, his former lover, creep into his mind. He cringed at the thoughts that invaded it and became utterly crushed by the rushing despair and guilt that followed.
“And now, I finally stand accused…”
Coming to a large-mouthed cave, the party decided to release the chocobos so they wouldn't be tracked. It was also decided to set up camp inside the cave, as the Advisor had a map of the coal-cavern at the ready. They then entered the spacious depths of the once-filled coal mine, and set a shelter for the king.
The stress could be heard in the king’s voice as he addressed the knights, “So, Advisor, now that I'm no longer considered a king by either the church or the people, I would prefer to know the names of those who would care to save my life. I only know you advisor, merely by title...what is your true name? Oh, and because we are under cover here, simply call me Delita from now on, no formalities, please.” They could almost sense a release of sadness as he said his own name.
"Very well, sire-um-Delita, my name is Gildenstern, and I would gladly give my life in exchange for yours, your nobleness..."
"Please Gildenstern, no formalities, we are undercover here, and who are the knights I am graced to have in my company?" This of course, he had said half-heartedly, as he trusted no one.
"Well sir, there are several here: Master Beowulf, Dragoon Lady Reis, Holy Knight Lady Agrias, and Master Azmar, ex-temple knight..."
Delita almost smiled at the irony, living as his old friend Ramza once did, on the run, "So...I'm not the only heretic around here am I? A Holy Knight and an ex-templar how very intriguing."
"Sire...,"Agrias explained, "Azmar and myself, we abandoned the holy order because it was corrupt and we could no longer partake in such dark dealings."
"So those lucavi are at it again, eh? Well, I am grateful to you protecting my life....Albeit, something tells me we have met before.....Well, speak up, Azmar, you seem to be the quiet one here..."
"As Agrias had mentioned we both abandoned the order when we realized they were once again searching for the lost stones of the Zodiac, we told them they were foolish to do so since the last bearer of the stones was a heretic named Ramza Beolve who died five years ago. They refused to listen and claimed to try to resurrect the Zodiac Braves, babbling about destroying the monarchy, apparently they have succeeded..."
"You have spoken a lot in a very short amount of time Azmar, being a templar knight must have been very educating for you.... Especially in the ways of the so-called Zodiac Braves." Delita tried to pierce the sneaking suspicion that he’d met this man before.
"To my knowledge Master Delita, I do not think they possess any of the stones, as far as I am concerned, the stones are buried with the knave Ramza's bones."
It hurt to think others thought of Ramza that way, but when Azmar spoke, Delita thought he could discern a faint wry smile on the hooded Azmar's face, but due to the dark cave, he saw very little of what he suspected. Still suspicious of the somewhat familiar faces of the two he prodded on...
"Azmar, why do you wear a hood in a dank dark cave, even at night? It puzzles me..."
"We are bound to our order to wear hoods as monks in a monastery to hide ourselves and remain humble even in darkness...besides, I retain scars upon my visage that are hideous to the eye, you would dislike them." Azmar seemed to counter his every word.
"I have seen many things grueling in my life, Sir Knight, but I do respect your need to be hidden, heretic or otherwise.... As for Lady Agrias, you retain something of a familiar face as well.... Do I know you?" Delita decided to attempt a cut at a less durable link in this chain of secrets.
"It is a mystery to me, my Lord, albeit I have known about your exploits for quite sometime." Nothing suspicious in her tone either.
"As have Reis and I as well." Beowulf added. Thwarting Delita’s conspiracy theory completely.
"It seems to me, sire, that with all the time you spent in the public eye, there may have been dozens of familiar faces that you may remember..." Gildenstern interjected, adding insult to injury in Delita’s suspicion.
"As you say," Delita looked at him apprehensively, as if the man was dispelling the strongest spell Delita could throw at them. The oddest feeling of familiar faces surrounding him kept creeping into his mind. These thoughts however, were finally driven away due to the fact that there were several things and events that needed to be planned out accordingly. And Delita had to plan them.
