Skies of Arcadia TM is copyright of Sega TM and Overworks TM. I neglected to mention this in Freedom. Sorry about that, please don't sue. In a pathetic attempt to mollify you, I've been extra careful to put in the trademarks after your names!

Acknowledgements to Sparky the Seventh Chaos and Son of Santa, whose encouraging reviews made me consider the possibility that maybe I'm not such a bad writer after all.

REMEMBRANCE

by

Aeneas Feggans

"Enrique, you've done wonderfully here!" marvelled Aika as she, Vyse and Fina were shown by the young emperor through the rebuilt city. She was right. Everywhere around them there were signs of productivity. It was hard to believe that so much had been accomplished in barely a year. The most heartening thing about it all was that, admittedly out of necessity to begin with, Upper and Lower citizens were working together. In fact, there was no such thing as 'Upper' or 'Lower' anymore, everyone was equal.

"I had the best support possible," responded Enrique, modest as ever, "A loving wife, two brilliant engineers, a resourceful builder, a learned scientist and the combined efforts of all the Valuan people. Not forgetting of course," here, he turned to regard Vyse, "the help I had with keeping the Black Pirates away from our newly replenished stock of moonstones."

Vyse grinned. "Hey, you were vulnerable. That's what Blue Rogues do, we give aid to the people who need it. Besides, the look on Baltor's face when he saw us waiting for him was just too good to miss!"

"Well, without those moonstones we couldn't have got the funds we needed to stand up on our feet again, and we've managed to avoid the segregation that dominated before the rains. Look, we're nearly at the gallery, let me show you inside."

After the Rains, it had been of paramount importance for Valua to become functional as quickly as possible. But Enrique had seen that it would be foolish to make functionality his only goal. A little culture and relaxation was needed along the way to keep up morale.

To begin with, the workers had made do by singing while they laboured, and sometimes Merida, the dancing girl, would be passing through and she was always happy to give a free performance to keep the men's spirits up.

Later on, once trade had picked up, some theatres were built. The plays and concerts shown in these, along with Merida's continued appearances (paid this time, and less often; she had her career to consider now!), gave the people a little more to be happy about.

Somewhere in the midst of this, a few people had taken up painting. Some chose to show the horror that came down upon them from their own treacherous moon, others gave examples of what the survivors had to be hopeful for, and still others pointed out the resilience of humanity against catastrophe. The works produced had grown so numerous that Enrique had recently given approval for a gallery to be constructed to show them for all to see…and now it was nearly ready to open.

When Enrique and his friends entered, there was still activity everywhere. Paintings were being put into place on the walls around them, 'aesthetic experts' (Enrique had to provide employment somehow) were discussing the best location for each painting and the floor was being tidied and swept for tomorrow's opening exhibition.

"It's going to be flooded tomorrow," said Enrique, "and it's not likely to abate for hours."

"I'll bet!" answered Vyse, "I hope you're going to let us be there when it opens."

"What?" Aika looked at him, "Vyse, we're getting a private showing right now, what do you want to come back tomorrow for?"

He laughed. "Some of the painters are going to be there tomorrow, I've always wanted to pose for a portrait!"

Fina giggled. "Vyse, you and your ego!"

They came to a large portrait of a happy couple. It was one of the few that had survived the Rains and that made it virtually an antique. The father, a tall man with bushy ginger hair, stood by his wife, who was almost as tall as he was and had a radiant smile. Enrique gazed at them for a long while.

Fina was the first to realise, "Enrique, these are your parents, aren't they?"

Enrique shifted his glance to her for an instant, then back. "Yes. This isn't long after they were married, and before I was born."

Aika squinted for a moment, "Your mother looks a lot kinder here than she was in real life," she observed, then almost jumped out of her skin as she realised what she'd just said. "Oh God! EnriqueI'msosorryIdidn'tmean-"

"It's alright, Aika," said Enrique, "You're right anyway, she was kinder back then, but that woman died when my father left."

"He left? What happened?" Vyse asked.

"My father had had views which were unusual for someone of his class. He cared a great deal for the well-being of the people in Lower Valua, in fact, he had a lot in common with Ilchymis. As a result, he was not very respected by his peers, and was widely ridiculed wherever he went. He and my mother often had long discussions about how it reflected on the Royal Family, which eventually grew into full-blown arguments. After that…" Enrique trailed off, then said, "I don't know where he went, but a few years later Gregorio told us that he had died. I think my mother was past caring at that point, she didn't even ask to see the body."

Enrique had become quite melancholy. This was obviously a painful subject for him. Vyse felt a little guilty about probing the matter.

He said, "Enrique, are you all r-"

Suddenly, Enrique turned and started weeping loudly into Vyse's shoulder. Vyse was caught off guard, and rather embarrassed; a lot of people were staring, including Aika and Fina, who were also smirking slightly.

Awkwardly, he patted Enrique on the back in what he hoped was a gentle manner and did his best to comfort him. "There, there, let it all out, take all the time you need," he paused, "but bear in mind that this jacket wasn't cheap."

Enrique relaxed slightly, and came away with tear stained eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just … been so long since I talked about him last. He's been an absent figure for most of my life and I've often wondered what he would have thought of his son."

"Enrique," Aika placed her hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure that he'd be very proud of you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Look at everyone here, isn't this exactly what he would have wanted his country to become?"

Enrique looked. "Yes, I think it is. Come on, I think we've spent enough time here today."

And so, with a last glance at his father, he led his friends back out into the city.

*End*

Well, I've certainly surprised myself! I think this is a significant improvement on Freedom. Send me your reviews and tell me what you think.

On another note, can anyone tell me why fanfiction.net doesn't seem to like italics very much?