Chosen Companion
As I watch the sky slowly lighten from nighttime's deep blue to purples and pinks and then reds, oranges, and pale gold as the sun peeks over the horizon I know that it will be a perfect day for Lloyd and Sheena's wedding. After three years of traveling throughout Silvarant and Tethe'alla collecting expheres, they deserve the break, and everyone's looking forward to the celebration. They could not have picked a better spot either. The wedding will take place at the foot of the Giant Kharlan Tree, where I am currently perched, right on the border between Silvarant and Tethe'alla. I am glad it will be here; I feel calmed by the echoes of Martel's presence here. That's why I've often come here when I needed time to myself over the past years. Time to remember what we gained; time to remember the cost. The rustling of the wind blowing the leaves of the tree around me seems to whisper that in the end things really can work out all right. The gentle wind blows down throughout the camp, rustling the tents and causing some of the decorations to sway gently in the breeze. It is like Martel is watching over it and giving her blessing. I know she'd be happy to see us celebrating.
My reverie is broken by a certain pink-haired Chosen shouting my name at the top of his lungs as he flits around the lower branches on translucent orange wings.
"Colette! Colette, I know you're around here somewhere!"
The problem with coming to the same place all the time is that the people who get to know you well enough know exactly where to find you. I smile at his antics and steel myself to face the day.
"Yes, Zelos?" I float down in front of him on my own pink translucent wings, and his shouting breaks off abruptly.
"Ah-ha! There's my cute little angel!" He pulls on his best debonair smile. "You missed a real treat this morning! Genis and I pulled Lloyd out of bed early and managed to drive him into a panic and convince him that we'd lost the ring in a HUGE bowl of pudding! He had already gotten it all over him looking for it by the time he woke up enough to remember that he'd given Regal the ring for safekeeping on exactly the assumption that we'd do 'something stupid' in his own words. And of course, I never want to disappoint him so after that I had to come up with something."
"Genis went along with you?" I ask curiously.
"Genis and I may not have much in common, but making Lloyd look stupid is something we both enjoy. You should've seen the look on his face! Genis did promptly blame the whole thing on me when he was chasing us around trying to kill us. After that I decided to come look for you!"
"Ah…so, I'm your convenient getaway."
Zelos looks at me sternly. "Since when did you become so observant? A year or two ago you would have just been delighted to see me and not thought twice about my reason for showing up."
I tilt my head to gaze up at him. "People do change as they grow up, Zelos."
"Maybe, but not you, Miss Innocent," he taps my nose with his forefinger, "When did you start catching on to things like that?"
"Maybe it's been spending the past few years with you more than with an optimist like Lloyd. I'm not stupid you know, and who couldn't spend time around you and not realize that things aren't always what they seem at face value?" I respond a little too heatedly.
"Ouch," his tone is deliberately light. "Be careful there, my little angel, that sounds almost bitter." I try to turn away from him but he takes my chin in his hand and directs my gaze to meet his. "And that doesn't suit you," he says gently, seriously.
I sigh and turn away again, and this time he lets me go. Zelos can always see right through me. Perhaps it's because we both have a tendency to hide our true feelings behind a smile. I settle myself in the Kharlan Tree's branches, taking comfort in its life as I look down on where the wedding will take place.
"Colette," I don't know what's more startling, that Zelos is speaking seriously or that I'm glad he sits beside me and places a hand on my shoulder. "If you love him so much, why did you never tell him?"
That's the question isn't it? He asks the exact same question I'd been asking myself for years, and I give him the same answer I've been giving myself. "I didn't want to be in the way." I look down at the bride's tent; it is fairly glows in the dawn light. I'm sure Sheena is glowing too. I know how happy she is to be marrying Lloyd. I love him, but I am also close to her. It would be far too selfish to cause them problems my making my feelings known. It's just better this way. "They're so happy, Zelos. I wouldn't want to interfere with that. Besides, Lloyd just never felt the same way for me. We were best friends, with Genis. That was all."
A silence stretches between us for several moments before he clears his throat and says, "Well, we should get down there. They're probably looking for us."
"Right. Let's go." I stand and use my wings to float down towards the girls' side of our little camp while Zelos does the same in the opposite direction. "See you at the ceremony."
Looking at Colette standing across from me in a beautiful lilac dress and holding Sheena's bouquet with her light gold hair waving slightly in the gentle breeze, even I find it hard to believe how sad she seemed this morning. Her smile is genuine, and the only thing that gives her away is a hint of sadness resting deep in her blue eyes. But then again, she's had that sadness there ever since I've known her. The great thing about Colette is that she really is happy for them. She's one of the few people I know who can find the happy part of any situation and concentrate on that so intensely that she can place her sadness over it aside. She hides her sorrow far too well sometimes. But I guess that's what comes of growing up knowing you were going to die as a sacrifice to save your world. I'm honestly surprised she managed to hide it from Lloyd for as long as she did. I guess that kid always was dense.
My mind isn't really on the ceremony, but I manage to fake attention for the most part. At least it's Genis and not I who has to know when to hand over the ring. Everyone does look particularly snazzy, even Lloyd isn't half bad looking today. Of course he has a huge stupid grin plastered all over his face, and he was driving us all crazy with how nervous he was before hand, but that's to be expected. And Sheena looks like a princess in her dress; they really are good for each other. I'd probably really enjoy this if I weren't worried about Colette.
It seems like she's been lost ever since we revived the Giant Kharlan Tree and reunited the worlds. Three years since we Chosens became virtually obsolete. I was a lot more relieved than she was; I had never wanted to be the Chosen in the first place! But to Colette…saving Sylvarant was her life, and when the task was complete and she was still alive, she didn't know what to do with herself. And to top it off, everyone went their separate ways after that. Lloyd and Sheena went off together to collect expheres, Regal went back to being president of the Lezareno company, Presea returned to Ozette to aid in rebuilding her home, Genis split his time between Presea and helping Raine strive to make the combined world a better place for half-elves.
Me, I generally stay around Meltokio and try to help with relations between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant. The two peoples tend to have trouble dealing with each other, and tensions easily run high. But for some reason (probably because I was a former Chosen and learned to be a great diplomat) people from both sides tend to listen to me.
Colette was, well… lost. After Lloyd left with Sheena and everyone dispersed, she disappeared for a while. When I realized that no one knew where she had gone, I went searching for her and eventually found her at the Great Kharlan Tree. She looked…so alone. I took her back to Meltokio with me, but it was like her heart had left with all her friends. I spent a lot of my time trying to engage her in life again. She's been doing better lately, and she hides it really well around the rest of our old group, (probably because she's always so happy to see them) but I still worry about her.
My thoughts are interrupted by the minister pronouncing Lloyd and Sheena man and wife and them fairly skipping down the aisle to a trumpet fanfare. Genis walks by me escorting Colette, (you know I think that twerp has gotten a little taller) and I take Raine's arm, slipping in a comment about how lovely she looks that brings a little color to her cheeks. Whether it's annoyance or she just finds it hard to take a compliment I've never been able to tell.
Less then a half-hour later we're enjoying the reception party in full swing. The Wonder Chef catered everything, so the food is better than a king's feast. The bride and groom look like they're floating on a cloud, and even the fact that neither of them knows how to dance does nothing to lessen the moment when they take the floor for their first waltz as a married couple. Everyone who is anyone in Tethe'alla and Sylvarant are here, laughing and talking and eating together among the decorative flowers and ribbons. If only things were always like this, with the two peoples getting along so well. I guess no one can be upset at a wedding, especially when it's two darlings of both 'worlds'. I enjoy dancing and circulating, chatting with women and making sure everyone's having a good time.
It's maybe an hour and a half later when I look up from a dance and realize that Colette isn't happily chatting with Presea and Genis like she was when I saw her last. In fact, she's not anywhere that I can see. That girl…I graciously excuse myself to go look for her.
After a short time of weaving through wedding guests, I find her on the other side of the Great Kharlan Tree. She's just standing there, staring into space, alone. It reminds me of when I first met her and the Cruxis Crystal had hidden away her soul. Then she was simply a self-defending doll. The comparison frightens me.
"Colette…" I gently place a hand on her shoulder.
As she turns to face me I'm shocked to see tears in her eyes. This girl went through the Chosen's trials, fighting Cruxis, saving the world, almost losing her humanity…and through all that she didn't cry. Not once. It's unnerving to see her tearing up now.
"Oh, Colette." I gently wipe a streak of moisture from her cheek.
"Zelos." She refuses to look me in the eyes. "I...I'm sorry… it's just, everything has changed so much I…"
"Shhh." I put a finger over her lips to stop her. "It's okay, Colette. It's okay to cry. But no matter how much things change, some things always stay the same." I wink at her. "And one of those things is that I, Zelos, will never leave a lady in distress. So you can count on me to stay by you. We Chosens have to stick together right?" She nods and I pull her into a hug and gently stroke her hair while she leans against me.
If someone had told me a few years ago that dense little Colette would be the girl I would end up spending my time looking after, I would have laughed and called them crazy. But, I do cherish the sweetness of this little angel, and I wouldn't leave her on her own for the world. Maybe in the end, even if things don't go as planned, they really can work out all right.