Unlikely Attraction

At the end of a long day full of political business, Richard the King of Windor, slowly lowered himself into a large leather chair in his study. He had been running back and forth all day long overseeing the final preparations for a large festival in Barona and only wished to rest for just a moment. The study was dim, only lit by the fading light coming in from the window to his right. Outside the window was a picturesque view that he had long since gotten use to but still enjoyed the calming beauty. The sun was sinking behind the dark green tree line almost out of sight and the sky was filled with layers of dark purple, orange, and red.

Richard took in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh, letting his head loll back onto the back of the chair. Although the day was over he still had much to do in the way of paperwork before he could retire. Resigning himself to the task for the remainder of the day he sat up and went to his desk where a neat stack of papers along with a few envelopes sat.

Seating himself he began with the mail for the day. All of the envelopes looked similar except for one. One was significantly smaller and didn't look like the others. On the front was scribbled a name that looked like Pascal and along with it a last name that he couldn't quite make out. He frowned opening the envelope wondering why Pascal might send him mail. They weren't in the habit of communicating with each other through mail. He pulled out the piece of stationary inside and unfolded it. A scent that he became well acquainted with on their journey wafted from the paper. It was the distinctive smell of bananas which was no surprise at all considering the individual who sent the letter.

Richard began reading the short letter sent by Pascal.

Richard how have you been? It's me Pascal. I bet you didn't expect a letter from me. Of course you didn't. I don't usually write letters cause there's so much trouble with the ink and stuff and it gets all messy. But anyway I'm writing you because I'll be coming to Barona for some research and I was wondering if you might help me with some info I need. Don't bother writing me back cause I'll be there in a jiffy so you can tell me your answer then.

Sitting back in the chair Richard placed the letter on his desk. The letter was definitely from his friend. It had all the signs of someone who didn't follow social norms. It was something that he had begun to find he actually liked about her. She didn't let anything change who she was.

Richard found that he was happy she was visiting even though it was for research. Her sunny disposition and eccentric personality would help brighten his mood. He didn't know when for sure but sometime toward the end of their second journey together his thoughts about her begin to change. At first he thought that she was an odd woman who didn't take things serious enough but as he spent more time with her he began to understand her better and accept the peculiar character that she was. She was light-hearted which was something lost to him a long time ago.

He placed the paper back inside the envelope it was sent in. As he moved on to the next letter his mind absently wandered to Hubert and Pascal's relationship. He wondered how it was progressing or if it was progressing at all considering Pascal's potential to be oblivious to these delicate matters.

With that he turned his attention away from that subject because he had always been a Hubert and Pascal supporter. He refused to address the slight hope he felt when he thought that their relationship might not be going as well as he should be hoping it would. It was a betrayal to his friend so he wanted nothing else to do with those thoughts. He knew very well he didn't deserve to be happy that way when he had ruined so many lives. Hubert deserved someone like Pascal so he would continue to support him in his efforts to create a relationship with her even as his heart wasn't fully into it anymore.

The next evening the door to Richard's office is thrown open and he is graced with the beaming face of Pascal. Her cheeks appear rosy from exertion and her eyes are lit up as if she is on the way to another invention. Overall it was a very pleasing view for Richard because seeing her happy lifted his spirits.

"Pascal, it is a pleasure to see you this morning." Richard smiles in welcome. Behind Pascal he can see the maids peering around the threshold of the door. He gives them a light nod to let them know that his guest is welcome.

"Hiya, did you get my letter? If not it's okay I'll explain everything." She said dropping a bag that she had slung over her shoulder onto the floor. The bag hit the floor with a loud thump causing Richard to wonder what could be so heavy and why she was carrying it around. Using her foot to push the bag out of her way she flopped down in the chair across from the desk. "So here's the deal. I was wondering if you would tell me about this place here on the map." She pulled out the map she spoke of and opened it up. Looking around on the map she spotted the place that she was talking about and circled it. The area she circled was a large forest that many people refused to travel through.

"You want to know about Felania forest? What about it?" he asked. He had an idea where this was going very quickly.

"Well, I was going through some of the elder's paperwork when I came across a letter. I kinda took it without Poisson knowing so you definitely can't tell her. In the letter I saw something that might be really, really, really important to my research. It's about a certain type of water eleth. I'm not sure where it's at though so I wanted to know if I could look around." She said sitting forward in her seat. She looked anxious.

"I know what you're looking for. It's there in the village at the center of the forest. But there's a problem. Felanian people don't just allow people to come into their village."

Pascal looked pensive for a few seconds. "So you're saying I have to find a way for them to welcome me?"

"It's not an easy thing to do; the Felanians are very secretive people." Richard said knowing that wouldn't stop Pascal from trying. Once she was set on something her mind was made up and she would do whatever she needed to get results.

"Hmmm, they allow you in right? Of course they do you're the King of Barona! You could take me with you and then I could just take a looksie around. No harm done, right?. Whaddya say?" she looked at Richard pleadingly.

"I could take you with me but I won't be able to go until the end of the week. We could visit for three days. Would that be sufficient time for you to conduct your research?"

"Absolutely! Thank you so much. I really think that this will help with my research a lot." She smiled leaning back into her chair. The smile on her face warmed Richard's heart.

"You're welcome to stay in one of the castle guest rooms and if you need anything the maids will see to it." He said fixing a couple of papers on the desk. "You seem to have had a long journey so feel free to use the baths to refresh yourself."

Pascal nodded in understanding. Grabbing her sack off the floor she marched toward the door with a noticeable pep in her step and humming the beginning of a light tune. Just before she reached the door Richard called out to her.

"There's a festival going on this evening, if you'd like you can come and enjoy the festivities." He spoke looking back down to the paperwork on his desk again. It was uncharacteristic of him not to meet someone's eyes when speaking to them but he found himself having feelings he was better off not having yet again. Looking into her amber colored eyes caused the feelings to surface.

"Really? I'd love to." she smiled brightly. "I'll look for you after you take care of all that kingly duty stuff then maybe we can hang out together, yeah?"

"That sounds like a good idea. We can do some catching up." Richard looked up from the work and smiled kindly. With that Pascal left his office and shut the door quietly behind her.

Richard returned to his paper work. He knew that taking her to Felania was to help her with her research but he couldn't stop his heart from being excited to spend more time with her. She had that effect on him now.

Later that evening the festival went off as planned. Despite the protests of many, Richard made sure personally that everything was going off without a hitch. When his servants felt that he had done enough they ran him off, sternly telling him to go enjoy himself. Richard began walking through the colorfully lit town admiring the happy sight. There was laughter coming from many of the different booths alongside the walkway. The smell of delicious foods mingled together and drifted around him. The festival was a success and so he was infinitely relieved.

"Richard, there you are. I was looking all over for you." Pascal ran up beside him with a fried banana covered in some sauce on a stick in one hand and a large white teddy bear in the other. She wore a yellow short-sleeve shirt and khaki shorts. The usual black tights she wore were missing and Richard noticed immediately. The skin that was usually covered was bare. He assumed that the change was because it was uncharacteristically warm in Barona. Turning his attention away he smiled at her.

"I was finishing up with some matters. Have you been enjoying the festival?"

"Yeah, I found a lot of different stands. One was selling bananas." She motioned to the one in her hand. "And some man gave me this while I was looking around." She held the stuffed animal up. "What about you?"

"I'm enjoying myself as well." They continued to walk side-by-side stopping by many different stalls. On the way through they picked up many different things and Pascal tried different foods. When they came to an opening with many seats they decided to sit down for a break. There was soft music being played by a band. The sky was slowly starting to darken and as time progressed more stars began twinkling in the sky.

"So when was the last time you saw everyone." Pascal asked. She was looking up at the stars.

"I just saw Asbel, Cheria, and Sophie last week. The three of them are going on vacation soon. The Captain and Hubert I saw last month. They were both here on official business so we didn't have time to catch up. What about you?"

"Well, I saw the Captain when I went to see my sister. He's supposed to be helping her with something she's working on. I saw Asbel, Cheria, and Sophie on the way here and I saw Hu about two weeks ago. He was crazy busy so I probably won't see him for another long time." Pascal looked unusually serious but when she noticed Richard looking at her she smiled her normal smile. "Too bad they missed such a good festival. I'm gonna tell them all about it when I see them again. They'll be sad they missed it."

Richard nodded in agreement. "I think we should both tell them about it. Maybe next year we can all meet together and enjoy it." Just as Richard was about to ask if Pascal was alright, a loud noise sounded accompanied by a bright green light above them. The fireworks had begun which signaled that the festival was almost over. The sky was repeatedly lit with many vibrant colors. Richard eventually decided that he would ask her about it later. Tonight was just for relaxing. Silently they sat watching the show in the sky with Pascal making noises of awe. The smile on her face was captivating as the different colors splashed over them both. The area seemed to go quiet indicating she wasn't the only one feeling that way. Richard might have been the same but he wasn't watching the fireworks. He was watching something far more interesting.

A/N: I decided to try something that probably doesn't exist for a request. My first time doing Tales of Graces, how was it? This story is also posted on my tumblr which gets updated faster than her so check my profile if you're interested.

R&R please!

(=^_^=)