Hi! This is my first fanfic. I hope you enjoy it! I just started this so the content doesn't really seem to match with the title, but I focused the first chapter on bringing familiar humorous idle chatting among the characters to Tales of Xillia fans would feel comfortable reading. Please feel free to say anything about it! I'll be writing more soon! Have fun!

Chapter 1

"Gaius… He who pulls the world behind him. A lone king, who puts the need of the people before himself or anyone else. A powerful man, justifying that the essence of his country is his people. A man so dutiful, so charismatic, so conscientious, the people trust him more than they trust themselves. A man…"

"Stop right there Leia…" Alvin interrupted. "I like where this is headed, but the introduction is waaay too long."

Gaius scoffed, "I concur… I feel drowsy listening to it."

Leia pouted, "It's not like it's untrue Alvin! And Gaius, this IS about you, you know?"

Jude laughed softly, "Well, it is her first article she's writing to impress her editor… Cut her some slack."

"But Leia is right!" Elle chipped in. "Our majesty is powerful, dutiful, charismatic, uhh… What was the last one?"

"Lonely?" Alvin joked. He closed his eyes and put a hand on his forehead to dramatize his next line, "Our lone king! Standing amongst the people with nobody to accompany him. Ah… the heart ache inside me!" Gaius twitched his eye in annoyance.

Ludger smiled and patted her head, "Conscientious. Gaius is a conscientious man."

"Alvin, what does conscientious mean?" Elle asked.

"It would be a mistake to ask Alvin that question, Elle," Gaius curtly spoke.

"That hurts Gaius!" Alvin winced. "You should watch your noble mouth in front of a reporter! They are real scary in Elympios… Say one misunderstood sentence and the whole nation will know about it! Yes… Fear the power of journalism and media!"

"I'm sure Gaius wouldn't really care what others would say…" Jude pointed out. "After all, he has a high sense of ego for himself. Although he has become quite flexible around us nowadays… Remember last year when we tried to convince him to join us?"

"It was like teaching a rock how to fly," Alvin muttered. "Damn, was he stubborn."

Leia laughed, "Should I put that on the article as well?"

Gaius sighed, "How did this turn out this way?"

It was a lovely cloudless afternoon with Gaius, Jude, Alvin, Leia, Ludger, Elle, and Rollo all having lunch in a Sharilton open cafe. Beautiful flowers were put as decorations hanging from the roof. The weather was warm and the gentle breeze made it the optimal day to spend time with friends. Originally, Leia only invited Gaius to interview him for her big project in surprising her strict editor with an exclusive interview with the king of Rieze Maxia, but Gaius ran into Ludger and Elle who were shopping while Leia ran into Jude and Alvin who were discussing about requests from the locals. In the end, they all gathered and talked like old friends. Gaius never hated company, he just wasn't used to them. He had no childhood friends, never experienced a first crush, or went to social environments like school where most people learn how to be social. He was awkward when he talked casually and his presence alone made him stick out like a sore thumb.

Nevertheless, Gaius didn't hate the feeling of laughing over stupid things and lightly teasing his ex-archenemies and comrades. No… they weren't just simple comrades… He felt different about them compared to what he felt about the Chimeras. Too different. Perhaps him being a king with the liability to connect both distinct countries of Rieze Maxia and Elympios forced him to be more social on normal people's standards. It was difficult adjusting his senses to understand and communicate along with his comrades but the dark isolated past took a heavy price on his character and personality. Born in a difficult clan where it was in a weak position, Gaius had to fight to stand on his own feet with his sister on his back. Indeed, it was harsh. It was difficult. It was a life no one could ever imagine; defeating the coliseums' most daunting challenges at the age of 12, only to have his victory stripped from lies casted from nobles. His fame, power, rights, and beliefs were toyed with until he stood up and began to act. As a result, he relinquished his identity, his freedom, and his life in devotion to his kingdom and people. He was no longer the boy who loved climbing trees, no longer the boy who enjoyed walking in town during winter wearing shorts and eating sugared icicles. He changed. He changed to King Gaius.

But now… Now, everything was more different. True, the responsibilities stacked higher and higher. Alongside the unification of the two distant countries, he had fractured dimensions to regard about. However, his field of companions increased and so did his way of perceiving other people, his comrades, his friends.

"Now now, Gaius," Jude smiled. "We are just merely stating the facts. Aren't we Ludger?"

He shrugged, "I don't know what on earth you guys did with Gaius before I met you, but I consider him to be a very altruistic man."

Elle put her hand up as if voting. "I do too!"

Alvin smiled softly, "Elle, do you know what altruistic means?"

"Yup!" Elle stated proudly. "It means that our majesty is kind and caring for others!"

"Wow," Leia muttered. "You have rich vocabulary Elle! Who taught you that?"

Elle beamed as she ate her chocolate cake for dessert, "Ludger did!"

"My my," Alvin chuckled. "Feeling a bit shameful that Elle has a better sense of vocabulary than a would-be-journalist?"

Ludger spoke with disappointment, "Says the 27-year-old adult who teaches the word 'masochist' to little children." (In one of the battle-end quotes, Elle asks Gaius if he is a masochist which she heard from Alvin.)

Jude's eyes widened, "What? Alvin!" he glared at him.

"That hurts Ludger!" Alvin winked. "I mean, it was a good opportunity to use a unique word, you know? Ah ha ha ha… Teach by example they say!"

"Be careful who you choose for your examples Alvin," Gaius growled. "You wouldn't want a demon fang bigger than yours to send you flying back to Elympios, would you?" (In one of the battle-end quotes, Alvin gets owned by comparing demon fangs with Gaius)

"Ohhh, get burned Alvin!" booed Leia laughing.

"Hey watch it Gaius," Alvin spoke back. "One day, my demon fang will surpass yours. You just wait…"

"Ha!" Gauis laughed. "You'll never create a demon fang as big as mine with that petite sword you wield Alvin."

"Now now Gaius," Jude soothed the meaningless debate. "It's not a fair competition in the first place… Alvin learned his skills from fighting as a mercenary. And you… well… you are you Gaius…"

Alvin put his hands on the back of his head and relaxed. "Ahh… but you know, after catching up in Elympious for a year, I sure missed relaxing in here. So quiet, clam, and chill…"

"Now you mention it, I haven't been back at home for a while," Leia muttered. "I wonder how dad's doing."

"You're not worried about your mother?" Ludger asked.

"You've never met her have you, Ludger?" Jude replied. "Well, if you do, I'm sure she'll be the last person you will ever worry about. Leia's mother is really dependable and caring."

"Is that so?.." Ludger muttered. "Sounds like Julius," he admitted.

There was a short silence in the table. "He still hasn't come back?" Alvin asked.

Ludger sipped on his Rieze Maxia tea, "No. Much less contacted me… But I trust him. I know he is fine. I know he'll call for me when he needs me or wants me to know his secretes."

"Meow~" Rollo trotted from Elle to Ludger and nuzzled his head to his ankle. Ludger smiled sadly. "What can I do?" he sighed as he lifted Rollo and put him on his legs with difficulty. "I have to feed his fat cat as I wait."

"I don't understand why Julius would just leave you…" Leia mumbled. "It is quite selfish for him to decide what Ludger has to know by himself. I mean, he IS your brother for crying out loud! Even if a little information is dangerous, surely he can trust you that you can handle it!"

"Trust…" Gaius began and everybody looked at him with their full attention. Baffled for a minute, he continued. "Trust isn't the only thing important in a relationship. Respect is far more essential for communication and connection. It runs deeper than time, heritage, or memories."

"Respect…" Ludger muttered.

Ludger thought about the Spirius exam he failed because of his brother's ploy. Ludger questioned his brother since then, but when his brother gave him back the first Waymarker when they fought against the Seafall Phantom, Ludger knew that Julius had a reason behind his actions. But was the reason Julius wasn't telling him because he didn't respect him? Was Ludger unworthy to know what his brother knew?

"I…I don't understand…" he mumbled. "Does this mean that Julius doesn't respect me?"

"I wouldn't know," Gaius replied. "I am not your brother. But I do know one thing Ludger. Do not doubt your brother. No matter what happens, understand his judgment and his motivation. Only then you could choose for yourself, for the world inside you. Perhaps then, Julius might respect you for carving your own path."

"You're beginning to sound like Rowen, Gaius." Jude told him. "It seems like he influenced you a lot. After all, you guys almost spend every day together right?"

"Do not even get me started on Rowen, Jude." Gaius was obviously annoyed. "That feeble old man, using his age and wrinkles as a façade while his mind and mouth runs as fast as a wyvern… I swear, that silver fox just simply enjoys toying with the young."

"But you did some pretty bad things to Rowen yourself didn't you?" Leia pointed out.

Gaius took a long sip of his soft red wine, "I merely published the sweet poetry he hid in his feminine journal he carries around like a woman and her bags in Elympios. According to Elize, there is more poetry hidden back at his home here in Sherilton."

"Oh," Jude remembered. "This is where Rowen worked after he quit being a tactician. I wonder how Driselle's doing…"

"I wanna visit Driselle!" Elle shouted.

"I visited her for her brother's funeral…" Alvin spoke. "She was doing fine. She's a strong girl. Keeping up with politics full of insolent greedy men. I have to give her credit."

"For an immature adult, you sure do mature things, Alvin!" Elle teased.

Alvin reached out and patted her on the head, "That's right lil' Elle. As immature as I can be, I still pay my respects."

Gaius seemed to be shaken with an idea. He asked, "Ludger, is today the 6th of October?"

Ludger flipped his GHS and checked. "Yes, it is… Is something wrong?"

"No... It's nothing important…" he muttered.

"Anyways, we digressed too far from the topic!" Leia announced. "So Gaius, how does it feel to return back to your country after visiting Elympios? Does the lack of technology bother you?" she began questioning with her pen and notepad ready at her hand.

"Our majesty is pretty bad with technology," Elle reported. "He seemed quite confused with his GHS."

Gaius flinched and began explaining, "N-No… I'm… I'm just not well experienced pushing buttons… You see, my hand is too big to push these delicate flyspeck buttons…"

The five of them stared at him, not believing him for a single second. Gaius stammered as he created excuses. "It's… It's true! Look!" he brought up his GHS and tried to open it.

"Gaius," Ludger pointed out as he tried his hardest not to laugh. "You are holding the GHS the other way."

Leia giggled and Alvin chuckled as Gaius bashfully put it back in his pocket. He cleared his throat. "To answer your trivial question, absolutely not! Why bother with intricate technology when the people of Rieze Maxia can prosper just as well?"

Leia politely finished giggling and asked him another question. "However, many Elympions are starting to wonder whether the alliance of Rieze Maxia and Elympios is in fact a mutual beneficiary. They doubt that they will equally advance alongside each other. How would you convince Elympions that the alliance is beneficiary for the both of Rieze Maxia and Elympios?"

Gaius seemed more at ease as he talked about a topic he was more confident in, "Of course, Rieze Maxia and Elympios differ in their own distinctive ways, however we must accept what shines in their own country at the same time….."