Hi everyone! I'm here with another fic, this time centering on Ion and Anise. Not actual romance, but you can think of it that way if you want. My gift for gargantsurprise for the Abyss Secet Santa community on livejounral. Enjoy!

Daisy Chains

"Fon Master? Are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh, right…"

Chocolate brown eyes drifted away from the Maestro's eyes as they lazily glazed over their ever-familiar surroundings, as the female Fon Master rested her chin in her palm with no excitement whatsoever. The life of a Fon Master wasn't exactly filled with action and adventure. It was mostly filled with…

"Fon Master, you really need to be taking your duties seriously!"

"I know, I know…"

That.

One eye tried to keep itself of Trithiem, but failed as it trailed off once more. Anise let out a sigh. How did Ion manage to keep that smile on his face while going through all these lectures?

'Ion…' She thought, straying farther and farther away from the task at hand. A small grin crept upon the brunette's face as she remembered the previous Fon Master. He was always so naïve, and kind. He always managed to pull through with peace talks and such. After all, he had been the point of gravity within the tensions between the feuding empires of Malkuth and Kimlasca when they had been on their journey. Was she doing an adequate job as his replacement?

The ever-growing amount of wrinkles on Maestro Trithiem's face told her otherwise.

"Did you get all of that, Fon Master?" Her adviser asked, doubt clearly strewn across his features.

"Of course." She lied, keeping an eye on the hands of the clock. It seemed like an eternity and a half had passed since the meeting had began.

"Very well, I'll leave you to your activities then." The older man said, heading towards the exit of her office. Anise let out a sigh as he indicated the painfully high stack of paperwork that towered over her desk. The sight of the very thing made her wince, as here gloved fingers tentatively reached over for the top of the pile.

"Fon Master," Trithiem interrupted, one hand on the doorknob.

"Yes?" Anise asked, all-to-eager to get the geezer out of the room once and for all. She'd had enough of his ominous voice for one day.

"Do not forget your duty." He reminded her simply before stepping through the door and out of her sight. The words hit her with an unexpected pang.

"I know…" She repeated to no one in particular. She had been in her position for how many years now? Just about two. Even so, in response to her job, stressful would be an understatement. The young girl continued to struggle with the many expectations of the title Fon Master. It amazed her that Ion, her Ion, that is, managed to keep up with it all, considering the fact that he had been a replica.

But Ion was nothing more than a fleeting memory now, and she desperately needed to focus on the present. Which was currently the documents she needed to look over, finish, and approve before sending them to her out box and to the respective empire officials.

"Another long day." Anise sighed, as she pulled out a bottle of ink from the desk drawer, trying not to think about how badly her hand would hurt afterwards.

'Fon Master Anise Tatlin, Fon Master Anise Tatlin, Fon Master Anise Tatlin…' She repeated to herself as her hands flew across the paper, brushing her now rather long hair away with her free hand if it blocked her view. Her physical appearance had changed over the years. She now proudly stood half-a-foot taller than she had when Ion was still around. Also, she had discarded her Fon Master Guardian uniform for a rather elegant pink robe, similar to the one Ion had worn. The pigtails were gone, replaced with a white headpiece, dark brown hair flowing free. But even though there was a new figure in the office, the overall space hadn't changed. Anise had wanted to keep it the way it was. It reminded her of the pleasant times she had spent as a Guardian, which were probably the years she missed the most.

Yes, pleasant. Not like this paperwork.

A line indicating she needed to do some actual research caught her eye, as she read the document before her.

'Fon Master, we would humbly,' she said to herself, choosing to skip the flattery, 'would like to humbly request that you make a copy of the population records of the last five years.' Well that didn't sound too hard. Anise pulled open another drawer, plucking a thick, leather-bound book out a moment later. She had seen Ion with it many times before. The edges of the pages were yellow with age, and she wondered just how far back it actually went. So, she skimmed through the pages, having nothing better to do, not actually paying attention to the text in front of her.

Until, that is, she noticed something strange. There seemed to be a lump in the middle of the pages. Hunting for wherever the abnormality lied, she came to the year 2016, the year she had been assigned Fon Master Guardian.

What she found a few pages later shocked her. There, in the middle of the book, was a chain of dried daisies, whithered and discolored due to the time that had passed. 'What are these doing in here?' Anise thought, as she gingerly touched the dried petals. They seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite identify the exact memory.

Setting them aside for a moment, she read the events recorded on the page. As expected, there were numerous records of who knows what went on at the time, but at the bottom of the page was an entry, a diary entry to be exact. She began to read, the scene replaying itself in her mind…

-x-

"Ion, aren't you done yet?" The impatient guardian asked, watching the green-haired boy as he scribbled on document after document on his desk.

"Not quite yet," he responded, making brief eye contact. "I'm almost halfway done, and these need to be submitted by-"

Anise shook her head at the overworked boy. "Submitted? You're the Fon Master! I don't think the Maestro's are in any position to tell you what to do."

Ion frowned, "I suppose, but they're my advisers, I can't let them down."

The puppeteer rolled her eyes, "Whatever. You know what I think, Ion?"

"What?"

"I think," began the pigtailed girl with a mischievous gleam in her eye. "You need a break."

He looked at her questioningly. "A break? Anise, I don't have breaks, especially at a time like this-"

"That's the whole point!" She interrupted, popping up at the Fon Master's side and grabbing him by the sleeve of his robe. "You're stressing over all this stuff, you don't have any time for yourself. You need to relax, loosen up a little!"

A smile appeared on her face as she dragged the boy to the door before he had time to protest, "Come on, I know just the place."

The duo meandered through the maze of corridors that was the Daath Cathedral, taking the numerous secret passages in order to avoid roaming Oracle Knights. As a Fon Master Guardian, Anise was well used to the different routes. It had been part of her training after all.

"Anise," Ion said sternly, although continuing to follow the pink-clad girl. "Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see!" She chimed, not giving any other information "Were almost there!"

He ceased his protests at that, and reluctantly continued on as they went through a series of twists, turns, and doors in-between. It was then, in front of a rather ordinary looking doorway when Anise stopped him.

"Ready?" She asked with a gleam in her eye. Without letting him answer, she tugged on the doorknob, letting the glow of what was inside radiate through.

A gleam of light hit Ion's eyes, causing him to briefly squint before taking in the full glory of his new surroundings. They were in a field of some sort, apparently somewhere behind the cathedral. Grasses and other shrubs stood prevalent and rolled down a small hill, but were not tall enough to be considered unruly. In fact, this new place was actually quite serene. What caught his attention immediately, however, were the daisies scattered about amidst the green sea.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Anise asked him, curious about his reaction.

"What is this place?" He breathed in amazement.

"It's my secret place." She declared triumphantly. "I found it during training one day, I got lost and ended up here. I liked it, so I came back once in a while."

"When I'm feeling sad or lonely, I come here to think." She continued. Her companion's expression caught her eye. "But you can share it with me, Ion. That's why I brought you here in the first place."

He nodded, flashing her a smile. "I would love to, Anise."

The girl clasped her hands with glee, "Well then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

And with that, the two pairs of feet raced down the hill in fits of laughter, collapsing at the bottom, arms spread out as if they were in Keterburg making a pair of snow angels.

The green-haired boy breathed out a sigh, but not in disappointment. The blue sky hung above in a shade of perfect blue, clouds here and there looking very much like the stuffing popping out of Tokunaga's seams. But when he looked over at the brunette, h noticed she was fiddling with something.

"What's that, Anise?" He asked, still sprawled on the ground.

"It's a daisy chain!" She exclaimed, showing him her project. Indeed, a string of daisies were intricately attached by the weaving of their stems. "Here, Ion, sit up for me."

H did as he was told, and watched as the Fon Master Guardian's gloves placed the chain of flowers up over his head. "Here, it's for you!"

"Wow, thank you!" He responded in genuine appreciation. "It's really lovely, Anise."

"Yup!" She exclaimed, immediately gathering up more flowers. "I'll make one for myself too, so we can match."

The Fon Master nodded and watched her nimble fingers work. Loop, loop, twist, pull, all in a fluid cycle. A minute later, a second string of flowers had appeared, but this time, it hung on puppeteer's neck.

They talked for what seemed like an eternity, all about the most insignificant things, such as the wrinkles on Maestro Trithiem's forehead, the God Generals, how Anise could have made a better meal than the chef that day, and ridiculous subjects in general. In the midst of all the laughter, they almost didn't notice the angry presence looming above them. A slight cough caught their attention.

"Fon Master!" Boomed the voice on an incredibly angry Trithiem. "What in the name of Lorelei are you doing here? The Oracle Knights are in a frenzy searching for you! Could you even imagine the shock that hit me when I heard you were missing from your office!?"

The two of them shrunk in shame. "Maestro Trithiem," Ion began, trying to reason with the older man. "We were merely trying to-"

"Trying to what? You are the head of the Order of Lorelei, you do not leave your responsibilities!" He interrupted, causing the green-haired boy's mouth to snap shut. Anise panicked, trying to think of something, anything to say.

"It's not his fault, Maestro Trithiem!" She exclaimed, trying to take the burden off of Ion's shoulders. "I just figured Ion would, you know, take a little break before returning to the cathedral."

The look the ghastly man gave her was frightening, a mad fusion of disappointment, distrust, and possibly even hate.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Anise. Do you not take your duty as Fon Master Guardian seriously?"

"Of course I do! It's just that-"

"Enough!" His voice echoed. The brunette looked away in shame.

"Come, Fon Master," He indicated to Ion, urging him to follow. "Your work for today is not yet finished."

Ion nodded solemnly, stealing a glance at Anise. She looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

"As for you, Anise," Trithiem added coldly. "You are relieved of your duties as Fon Master guardian for the day. Go back to your room."

The puppeteer knew better than to object, but refused to do as she was told. As soon as the others were out of sight, she fell, back landing in the flowers, and continued to gaze at the seemingly endless sky.

-x-

"I can't believe he kept it…" Anise murmured to herself, having finished the entry. The memory was vivid now, having remembered that it was the day she had truly decided to take her former position seriously. Trithiem's frigidness towards her that had lasted throughout the years probably came from that exact day as well. But despite this, she grinned. Getting under the man's skin was fun, after all.

'Innocence.' She told herself, placing the chain of flowers gently back to their longtime home. 'Daisies, they stand for innocence, don't they?' Indeed, they probably would have been the perfect flower to describe Ion. Of course, the blinding white purity of the petals was gone, but even in the whithered state, they still retained their beauty, as well as their meaning. Just like Ion would forever stay in her mind. Even if he was gone, their bond would remain throughout all eternity, bonded together by these daisy chains of memory.

"I'm going to do my best," She said, mood lightening by a ton. "For my friends, my family, for Auldrant,"

She closed the book, having recoded what she needed already. "And for you, Ion."

Fin.

Not my longest piece, and I think I rushed it a bit. Well, please review. I love hearing feedback from my readers :D