A/N: It's been a while since I submitted anything. I had a marvellously busy spring. Now it's time for a 3 week vacation before going abroads to work.
As for this little story, it's been in progress since January. I got an idea (sometime late at night) that wouldn't leave me in peace so I started writing to see where it would go. By mid-February I had already written the whole story and half-given up on it. Didn't think about it much before sending it to my beta in late April. She, in turn, had a nasty flu and technical problems, among other things...which is why it is a wonder this piece of my imagination makes it published in the first place. It's up to you to decide whether it should've been tucked somewhere deep inside my computer after all. Enjoy to your best ability :)
"To see an opera?" Terra asked a bit incredulously, lifting a basket full of freshly washed laundry. The King of Figaro, who was standing not much more than three feet away from her, did not flinch at her reaction. He had expected something like this, after all.
"Exactly. The opera, you see, is about us! Our efforts to defeat Kefka two years ago, to be precise. The impresario recently sent me a pigeon and asked to forward the invitation 'to whom it may concern,' as he put it. So here I am," the charming King made a show of bowing to the woman before him. She ignored his gesture as usual and gave him an odd look.
"And you came all the way from Figaro just to tell me that? The kingdom must be good at running itself," Terra said, shaking her head as she made her way to the clothes line in a sunny spot. It was a beautiful morning in Mobliz.
"You wound me with your harsh words, my lady," the King joked with a hand on his chest, "but I must admit that while being able to invite you personally is one factor, I am here for practical reasons as well. Everybody else is already aboard the airship, save for Locke and Celes – they have some business in Jidoor right now so they'll make it to the Opera House on their own. The premiere is tonight."
"Tonight? Edgar, I...I really don't know about this. I can't just leave the kids alone, you know that," Terra sighed and threw white linen over the stretched rope, where it threatened to drop to the ground.
"That is not a problem at all – oh, let me help you with that! – as I was saying, it's all arranged. Sabin isn't too thrilled about that sort of events and Gau probably wants to stick with him. They can take care of things here!"
"Sabin and Gau?" It was not that Terra didn't trust the martial artist and the wilderness-raised boy. Only the thought of those two looking after the children...
"Well, Duane and Katarin are adults already, aren't they?" Edgar's smile was so convincing Terra was running out of arguments.
"I guess...but it's such a formal event! I don't even have anything to wear," she tried once more. Edgar beamed: if that was the best she could do, she was fighting a losing battle.
"Why, Terra! Did you think I'd even consider making a proposition like this without thinking it through first? I have a perfect dress for the occasion waiting in the airship – just for you, my dear." Edgar winked and Terra sighed. He would pester her for the whole day if she didn't say yes. That was just the way he was, always had been. Besides, Terra was a little curious about the Opera House. Celes had told her all about it and it sounded like a place worth seeing.
"Alright, you win. I'm coming. But you need to help me out with the laundry first, okay?"
Edgar smiled smugly. "As you wish."
"She's coming," Edgar announced as he and Terra entered the Falcon. There was an orchestra of delighted voices and greetings to Terra, who was happy to see so many of her friends at the same time. Sabin, Gau and Cyan looked like they had just been talking and Relm was sketching a still life while Strago sat in a chair opposite to her. Setzer shook his head, pretending to be disappointed.
"Terra, I believed in you! Now I owe Locke 5000 gil. Good old Lady Luck sure isn't the same anymore..." He looked Terra in the eye, now smiling. "But of course that's not what I really think. Good to see you, Terra."
"You too, Setzer, and everyone else. It's been far too long."
"That's right. We rarely see each other these days," said Strago, nodding. He was still lively as ever for someone his age, but the signs of tiredness were there. He and Relm hardly ever left Thamasa, much to the latter's chagrin.
"And that's exactly why you should make the most of this little outing!" Sabin stepped up to Terra, grinning from ear to ear. "Don't worry about your kids – Gau and me, we'll handle everything out here!"
"Great that you reminded me, Sabin, there's a few things I need to tell you..." Terra started advising him on the children's bedtimes, eating habits, favourite hiding places and anything else she could remember. The taller of the Figaro brothers nodded obediently every other second while Gau stared quizzically and the rest of the people in the room tried to hide their growing glee. Terra was acting motherly as ever.
"...and, was there something I might have forgotten..." Terra wondered aloud as Edgar put a hand on her shoulder, breaking her chain of thought.
"I believe that is about all," he chuckled at the confused look she gave him, "We need to get going or the Opera will start without the guests of honour!"
"R-right. Um, if there's anything you don't understand, ask Duane or Katarin, okay?"
"Right," said Sabin. "As I said, don't you worry! Everything's under control."
"You haven't even seen the kids and you already go promising things like that? Quite confident, aren't we," Setzer commented with a lopsided grin. Sabin blushed.
"He underestimates you just as badly as my ability to persuade Terra to come with us," Edgar sighed. "Shall we add another 5000 gil to your bet with Locke?" Setzer scoffed at that.
"I'll pass this time, it seems today's not my day."
Finally the ship took off, passengers waving their hands at the village below. As clouds quickly obscured Mobliz from her view, Terra suddenly felt her heart grow lighter. Leaving home had been the hardest thing to do. Now she felt herself looking forward to what was to come.
"And this place feels like a second home in itself", she mused, delighted that the atmosphere inside Falcon hadn't changed a bit. "So many memories..."
"Are you okay, Terra?" Terra looked to the direction of the bright voice to find Relm looking at her curiously.
"Yeah, just reminiscing. It's been ages since I was here in the airship," she explained to the younger girl. How old was she again? Terra quickly did the math: it had been two years since the fall of Kefka, so...
"Relm...you're thirteen already? You've really grown!"
"Everyone tells me that! Just seems that Gramps doesn't believe it no matter what I do," the young artist huffed before starting on a lighter note: "Aren't you really excited about going to that opera?"
"Actually, I am. I guess we both need a change of scenery every now and then, hm?"
"Thaat's right! And you know, I saw that dress Edgar picked for you. It's really gorgeous! I'm sure it suits you."
"You are?" Terra felt a little nervous. If the dress had been chosen by the legendary skirt-chasing King of Figaro himself, she could expect anything.
"Well, I guess he has enough sense in him not to make it too flashy..."
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Next stop: the one and only Opera House!"
Terra giggled at Setzer's proud reclamation as she peeked out of the window. The Opera House was bigger than she had imagined. It was a large, solemn building with a line of thick columns supporting it and a lot of carefully crafted stone ornaments.
"It's about time to change, Terra," Edgar reminded and motioned to a small bedroom with his hand. "You should find everything you need in that chest next to the bed."
Terra thanked Edgar before going to the room and closing the door carefully. She went to the chest and opened it, curiosity tingling her fingers.
The dress was sleeveless, the colour of deep vermillion. It was simplicity itself, with nothing extra to draw too much attention. After trying it on Terra wondered if she should be worried that Edgar new her measurements so well. The dress fit perfectly and the silky fabric felt smooth against her skin. Now much more encouraged, Terra dug into the accessories the chest held inside. A pair of red shoes with delicate heels. A semi-transparent shawl to wear loosely around her arms. A pair of earrings equipped with small rubies and a necklace and a bracelet to match. A new ribbon and a jewelled gold accessory for her hair.
Looking at herself in the mirror on the wall (they broke all the time due to turbulence but Setzer's vanity kept him buying more of them) and for a moment, she felt just like a real lady.
The first person she came across was Cyan, who was wearing a dashing attire of black and white. The Doman warrior smiled at Terra.
"Thou art breathtaking tonight, lady Terra."
"Why, thank you, "Terra laughed. "You're not half bad yourself."
"I told you it'd suit you!" a voice came from behind her.
"You did, and you were right," Terra admitted to Relm, who hurried towards her in the corridor – a little clumsily, thanks to the heeled shoes that had been the origin of a lengthy argument with Strago. The girl was as charming as usual in her orange dress with a matching headpiece and long black gloves. The gloves were a little too big for her but the teenager didn't let it show. Strago was right behind his grandchild, wearing crimson-coloured garments that suited his wild hairstyle.
Setzer and Edgar joined the group soon and Terra decided she needed to distract the latter before he would have the time to start complimenting her appearance.
"Is that a new suit? You're wasting Figaro's money!"
"Please, people have their expectations of me!" The King exclaimed dramatically. "Though I must say I'm cheating now: I used this suit two months ago when I had dinner with the ambassador of Maranda..."
"Ready to go?" Setzer was standing next to the door. As expected, his garb was gaudier than anybody else's. Terra wondered vaguely if it was hard for him to walk without collapsing, considering the sheer number of accessories and pieces of clothing attached to him.
Entering the Opera House caused a wave of panic wash over the half-Esper. There was a huge crowd of people, a mess of different sounds and scents. Everybody was talking at the same time and pushing against each other in the small space. Terra was glad when she got something else to think about as she caught a glimpse of Locke and Celes approaching them. The two were wearing blue, Locke only a darker shade than his companion and both looked strikingly good. Celes jumped straight at Terra when she got near enough.
"It's been too long! You look absolutely gorgeous," she shouted over the noise and hugged her friend tightly. It took a moment for Terra to adjust herself to the touch but when she did, she smiled warmly.
"I could say the same about you. Great to see you." As Celes moved on to greet the others, Terra's eyes met with Locke's. Seeing him always brought a lot of memories to her mind. Not too long ago all her memories had involved Locke in a way or another but that was slowly changing. She was getting on her feet – in more than one way.
"Setzer said he owes you," Terra told him. Locke blinked and then laughed.
"Oh yeah, that bet. I knew you were going to come. So how's Mobliz?"
"Same as ever. The kids are growing up and I'm getting old," Terra jested. Locke guffawed at that.
"Hey, watch it! When we met, I was older than you are now! It didn't stop me from helping to save the world."
"It didn't stop Strago, you know."
Locke couldn't come up with anything to say at that so he just shook his head, chuckling.
"...Sorry we haven't visited for some time," he finally changed the topic, now a bit more serious.
"It's okay. We all have our new lives now...it's a good thing."
"Sure, but...it kind of makes me feel bad, not seeing you for so long-"
He was cut off by the impresario who had emerged through a door that said "STAFF ONLY" and now welcomed all the guests to the stage hall.
Terra was relieved to see that their seats were in a private box, not in the middle of the grand hall. She seated herself with Edgar on her left side and Locke, together with Celes, on her right. Relm and Strago sat next to each other, naturally, and the two remaining seats were taken by Cyan and Setzer.
"Has anybody heard anything about Shadow?" Terra asked no one in particular. Everybody shook their heads and gave questioning looks to each other.
"I couldn't reach him, either," Edgar said. "I would've asked him to come, too...though I think he would've refused."
"...You're probably right." It was hard to imagine Shadow sitting there, in his mask and ninja garments – but then again, it was much harder to imagine him without his trademark look.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I bid you welcome to my humble Opera House. As the impresario, I am proud to present you this epic piece inspired by events that we all remember. You see, the author of this opera has been travelling our world since it fell into ruin, asking people about their memories and experiences. Soon he realised that the truth would make a greater legend than any fiction he could come up with. Thus, he continued travelling, collected the stories of various people and refined them to make the story the masterpiece it is now. I sincerely hope you all will enjoy yourselves tonight."
Terra felt her heartbeat quicken as the first sounds of the overture started to play.
A/N: I wonder who the mysterious author is? Feel free to take guesses, I don't know either!
...Maybe I should've made Terra's dress violet after all. I couldn't decide.
