Chan: Hello anyone who is reading this story.
Audrey: Hello...
Zelos: Yo, my lovely hunnies!~
Chan: Audrey, do the disclaimer.
Audrey: Chan does not own Tales of Symphonia. She does however, own me and the plot.
Chan: Enjoy~
"What are we doing here?" Zelos groaned. He was standing in front of the castle with the princess Meltokio, and was bored out of his mind.
"My cousin is coming today, and I want you to meet her," Princess Hilda said. "Besides, I am sure the two of you would get along really well."
"The way you described her makes her sound boring."
A carriage soon rolled up to the castle and Princess Hilda ran toward the carriage with excitement. Hilda's butler was about to open the door when someone already did it for him. A young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair stepped out of the carriage. She didn't wear clothes that made her seem like she was related to the princess at all.
She wore black pants, a white long-sleeve shirt, a black vest, black fingerless gloves, and black knee-high boots.
"Audrey, welcome back," Hilda chirped.
"It's good to see you again. You said in your letters that you wanted me to meet someone," Audrey said in a monotonous voice.
"Yes, I want you to meet Zelos Wilder."
Zelos flashed smiled at Audrey, while the blonde just crossed her arms.
"So you're the flirt my cousin told me about. Aren't red-heads supposed to have bad tempers?" Audrey inquired in a slightly rude manner.
"Aren't blondes supposed to be more charming?" Zelos said in a sweet tone.
"Touché…"
"So Audrey, you will be staying in my room; and you might want to go see father. He is very anxious to see you again," Princess Hilda said quickly.
"Alright, let's go." Hilda led the way with Audrey at her heels. Zelos followed close behind the two girls. After meeting up with the king, Hilda pulled her cousin down to her room for a "new look".
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Audrey asked in a slightly frustrated tone.
"Nothing is wrong with them, but you are my cousin. You need to act and dress like you are part of the royal family," Hilda said in a cheerful tone.
"But I don't want to act and dress like I am a noble. It feels weird and unnatural."
"Don't worry. Besides, I saw the way you looked at Zelos."
"If you are trying to imply that I like Zelos I can assure you that I do not. I am not into people like him, and besides I told you that I would never ever marry. I like living alone."
"Oh hush, now put this on."
Audrey was shoved a teal dress and white heels. She sighed as she changed into it. The dress reached her knees and had straps instead of sleeves. Hilda also made her but on a white jacket to pull the whole thing together.
"You look great!"
"I don't feel great. I can't walk in these heels. I am going to break my ankle."
"You'll be fine. We are having a ball tomorrow night in honor of your visit and you are going to wear that."
"What?! Hilda, I told you that I didn't want to draw any attention to myself, and that I-" Hilda wasn't listening, she was busy picking out a dress.
"Which one should I wear, the red dress or the white one?"
"I don't know they all look the same to me," Audrey groaned.
"Don't be like that, and stand up straight."
"But if I do that, I am going to fall. These heels aren't working for me."
Hilda sighed and pulled out white flats. "Here try these."
Audrey pulled off the heels and put on the white flats. They were much better. After going through thirty of the princess' dresses, they finally had to go down for dinner. Audrey was going to be eating with her cousin's family as well as Zelos and his sister. Hilda forced Audrey into a red long-sleeve dress and black flats before they headed down to the dining hall.
Hilda sat down next to her father and across from her was her mother. Audrey sat next to her aunt and was sitting across from Zelos. Finally, right next to Zelos was his little sister, Seles. Audrey quietly ate her dinner while Hilda kept going on and on about tomorrow night's event. The blonde was so close to putting duct tape on her cousin's mouth.
Thankfully, her aunt interrupted Hilda and asked her a question, "So Audrey, how are you liking your visit so far?"
"I am enjoying it very much. I can't wait to see how much this city has changed when I go sightseeing tomorrow morning."
"If you are up for it, I won't mind showing you the town tomorrow," Zelos piped up.
"That would be a great idea. After all, it would give you two some time to get to know one another," Audrey's aunt said happily.
"I don't think I need-"Audrey tried to say.
"Then it's settled. I will see you here tomorrow at eight sharp," Zelos chirped.
"But, oh forget it…." Dinner went by quietly; but when Audrey got back to Hilda's room, she started yelling.
"I can't believe it! I have to go sightseeing with that skirt chaser!" Audrey fumed
"It might not be so bad. You two need to get to know each other better anyway," Hilda said calmly as she was taking off her makeup
"Might not be so bad….Might not be so bad! This goes against everything I stand for. It's almost like I am going on a….on a date!"
"I don't understand why you are against dates and marriage."
"You know why. You know I have a fear of men."
"You didn't seem so scared of Zelos when you met."
"That's because he was approximately twenty feet away from me."
Hilda changed into pink pajamas before saying, "Look, you can't turn him down. This might help you get over your fear of men."
"Alright, fine…But if he pulls anything, I swear to Martel I will kill him."
Audrey put her hair into a bun and changed into one of the nightgowns she brought, a sea green one that reached down below her knees. She slept Hilda's extra bed she had in the room and fell asleep.
Chan: Short chapter to test the waters. Please, tell me what you think so far. Next chapter will be up soon.