Chapter 2: The Tale of Celica

Kliff wasn't sure what to expect as he and Faye traveled with Celica's group. The air wasn't any hotter or colder than he was used to- quite temperate, really. The woods and the grass were the same verdant hues Kliff always knew. So the outside world hadn't yet impressed Kliff. It was a little louder, sure, but that was because two of Celica's companions kept bickering with each other under their breaths. Otherwise, the only source of volume was Faye's enthusiastic ramblings.

"-and it was so funny seeing Gray get all nervous with the sheep, especially since nobody told him-"

They'd made a respectable distance from the village by the time they stopped to set up camp. There were two tents and an inviting fire. Supper had long been devoured, leaving the three reunited friends to chat afterward. Most of Celica's traveling companions realized how important this was to Celica, thus allowed her to spend the evening catching up with Kliff and Faye.

The bickerers were keeping watch- competitively keeping watch. Because everyone's safety was something to make into a sport, obviously. Meanwhile, the guy with the eyepatch was getting some shuteye, and the other trio of older men were also asleep, but in one of the tents. The only one of Celica's companions to stick around was a young cleric with fluffy hair. She was way too invested in Faye's stories of village life.

Celica giggled. "Those sheep were always so fickle. I remember they liked the two of us, at least."

Faye followed with a giggle of her own.

All evening, Faye had been telling Celica about the village, of all the antics in which their little group engaged. Some of these brought a smile to Kliff (privately, of course), while others were moments that he would've rather forgotten. Celica seemed to enjoy each story, though it probably helped that most of them glorified Alm. Faye was the storyteller, after all. Kliff was certain that Celica had a soft spot for Alm, just as the reverse was true. Alm's a little slow to notice these kinds of things. I wonder what'll happen if they both meet up with him again.

"Oh, Kliff, is there something you'd like to say?" Celica must've noticed the thoughtful look in his eyes. "I hope we haven't kept you from chiming in." She shut her eyes and gave a bashful smile. "The way... certain people spoke at the priory, you learn to be assertive in controlling a conversation, heehee…" The fluffy-haired girl laughed alongside Celica.

Oh. She's talking about the two loudmouths. Kliff shook his head. "No, not really. I'm not one for small talk."

"That reminds me, you really spent seven years at the priory?" Faye asked. "What was that like?"

Yeah, how about you let her talk, instead of just rambling like you always- Ugh. Enough with the bad thoughts for one night. Sheesh… Kliff quit arguing with himself long enough to hear Celica's answer.

"Well… where should I start?" She let out a wistful sigh. "It was very lonely at first. The priory was nothing like Ram Village. I had to stay indoors, for my own safety. Apart from Nomah, Genny, Boey, Mae and the rest of the clergy, I wasn't allowed to be seen by most of the visitors. I spent much time learning the scripture of Mila." Celica took a moment to consider her next memory of Novis. "I was also unable to send any letters to Grand- to Sir Mycen. There was also- Huh?"

Faye and Kliff respectively wore saddened and shocked faces. Celica was confused. "Is something the matter?"

"Yeah, that priory sounded like a prison! Sheesh, glad you're out of that place…" Kliff muttered, while Faye couldn't seem to find her words.

Celica's confusion lingered, until the cleric leaned closer to her. "Um… You… You kind of just listed a bunch of sad and lonely things…"

"Oh!" Celica's eyes went wide, as she brought a hand to her mouth. "I didn't mean to suggest I was miserable for seven years!"

"Well you're not doing a great job selling us on this priory," Kliff snarked. He was met with Faye's elbow. "Ow!"

"Stop being rude, Kliff! We haven't seen Celica in years!"

The villager-turned-priestess awkwardly laughed at her earlier summarizing. "There were several positive aspects of life at the priory, too, I promise! The people I've stayed there with have all been wonderfully kind and understanding."

While this brought a smile to both Faye and the girl beside Celica, Kliff wasn't so sure. "Even those two loud mages?" Kliff's eyes drifted back to where he had last seen them. They were still keeping watch, though the male seemed to be attempting to conjure something without success. Our guardsman, ladies and gentlemen.

"Yes, even Mae and Boey," Celica answered, letting a bit of sternness into her tone. She didn't seem interested in ignoring Kliff's rudeness much longer. "They've been like the brother and sister I never had. Um, well, maybe not never- uh," she shook her head, cutting herself off. "Um, what I mean to say is, they're really friendly, and proud to serve Lady Mila." She warmly smiled at the fluffy-haired girl. "And of course, Genny was there too, brightening our days with her epic drafts."

Genny blushed, ostensibly not wholly comfortable with getting such praise in front of strangers, yet not opposed to it. Celica kept going. "There was another cleric named Silque, she was a lovely person, and very eager to teach me. And I can't forget about Nomah," Celica and Genny both laughed. "Oh, he always liked to play little jokes on everyone."

"Nomah? The one who looked after you?" Faye asked.

"The very same. Of course, he's still a wise man, and not overbearing." Solemnly, the priestess's eyes shifted downward. "He understood that I have to visit Mila's temple. I just hope he's not too lonely without us."

So he's basically Sir Mycen, but without the stick up his- Grr, cut that out. If nothing else, Celica seemed to take her annoying comrades in stride. Like most everyone Kliff knew. But more importantly, hearing Celica describe her sheltered existence brought memories flooding back into Kliff's mind. He decided to take a chance.

"Now that you're back, what was the reason you left, anyway?" Celica and Genny both looked thrown off by that question. Was it too soon after all? Was Celica's departure from the priory only a temporary situation, and she'd have to return?

"Oh yeah, I was wondering about that too," Faye threw in. "If you thought we missed you, then you really should've seen Alm."

The village girl grew sad at the memory of a depressed Alm. Celica herself did not seem any happier. "I… It wouldn't be good to talk about it. But at least we have this time now, don't we? Oh, that reminds me, there was this one time in Novis, we had-"

She tried changing the subject, but the boy was not sold. So even after all this time, Celica's got her secrets. Guess I can't press the issue. Kliff put a finger to his chin. But I wonder if that means I was right all along…

The sleazy knight slouched upon his horse, bested by Sir Mycen before a crowd of headstones and cowering children. "I must return to the castle… General Desaix will be eager to learn we have found her. The princess who refuses to die. Heheheheh…"

Behind a nearby headstone, Kliff took a break from silently whimpering to raise his eyebrow. A princess? What was that supposed to mean? Young Kliff didn't have to wait long for the clues to fall into place. Within hours, Mycen and Celica were scrambling to get her out of Ram. Though, he had to make sure…

"Mother?"

That evening within Kliff's home, amidst used books and other clutter, the boy of eight years stood small beside his mother. She stared into a tall mirror, white hair up in a bun. "Kliff, are you back from playing with your friends already? Why, it's not even sundown!" She did not even bother to speak to her real son, favoring his reflection in the mirror. "What do you think of my hair, Kliff? Can I make this work?"

She had no clue that her son was threatened by a villainous knight. "Um… I guess so. Mother, is it true what you were telling the neighbors about Celica? That she's not Sir Mycen's grandchild? I… I kind of told Gray and the others…"

Kliff's mother gasped. "Klifford! Were you eavesdropping on my conversation? How rude!" Though she herself was an infamous eavesdropper, she still scolded Kliff for indulging. "Well, the harm's already done. But yes, she's not related to Sir Mycen. Now don't go telling any more people, young man! Do you hear me?"

"Y-yes ma'am…"

Luckily for Kliff, his mother did not accuse him of being the reason for Celica's sudden departure from Ram Village. She was too busy trying to think of the most flattering hairstyle. But she did give the young boy plenty to think about.

On the first day after Celica left, the kids were all grounded for putting themselves in danger. Though in Kliff's case, it was more that his mother had upped her overprotective ante, rather than put her foot down with authority. He was stuck in his small, cluttered bedroom for quite some time, but it did allow him to ponder as he sat in bed.

"So if Celica wasn't related to Sir Mycen… was she a princess like that knight said?" Kliff brought his knees closer to himself. "Celica and Sir Mycen both acted like he blew some big secret… And why else would she have to leave the village right after that?"

It vexed Kliff that he had no one who could corroborate for him. Of all the children, he was the only one close enough to hear that knight call Celica a princess. Kliff feared that if he said anything to Mycen, the knight would pull strings and have Kliff removed from the village as well. Sir Mycen was scary like that. And even if he could get his mom to listen to him, she wouldn't want to talk about the day her precious baby boy was endangered. Besides, it was bad enough that he blabbed to everyone about Celica not being Mycen's granddaughter. Was it karma that the knight came to attack them?

That day, Kliff suspected Celica might've been a secret princess. The eight-year-old also suspected that there was a curse to punish all who talked about it (though he would grow out of that last part).

"Kliff?"

The boy snapped out of his memories. He glanced around, until he saw that Faye had talked to him. "Huh? What do you want?"

"Celica was telling us about the time they let her ring the big bell! Didn't you always want to ring a big bell?"

Kliff sighed. "No, Faye. That was Alm, not me." Go figure.

Whether Celica was secretly some missing royalty or not, apparently her trip to Mila's temple was much more pressing, seeing as she was allowed to travel about Zofia.

"How much magic have either of you learned, by the way?" Celica asked.

Once again, Faye took the initiative. "Well I learned how to heal light wounds, and I started reading about Nosferatu." Her face soured. "I bet if I didn't slack on learning them, I could've left with Alm…" And then just as quickly, Faye tried to shift the subject away from angst. "And Kliff knows how to throw fireballs!"

Celica nodded. "Well I'm certain you'll be able to do many great things with your gifts," she told them. A bit of pride seeped into her next sentence. "All four of us from Novis are capable of magic too, as a matter of fact."

Kliff raised his eyebrow, while Faye gasped. "Really?!"

"Yep. You were probably distracted, but Boey was actually the one who lit the campfire," she told her friends, gesturing toward the fire. Genny nodded in confirmation.

"So that's how it got lit so quickly…" Kliff muttered. His eyes drifted back up to the two mages. This time they both stood competently, keeping watch as they should.

"Celica…" Faye seemed hesitant. "Once you're finished at Zofia Castle, you're going to the Temple of Mila like you said, aren't you?" She frowned. "What will you do after that? Are you going back to Novis?"

Huh. That's not actually a bad question. I'd wager she will have to go back.

Melancholic, Celica nodded. "I have missed all of you terribly. But… I couldn't just abandon everyone on the island, after all they'd done."

Kliff rolled his eyes. So you'll just leave us behind twice, got it. It's not like she has much choice, but still…

"It's already dangerous for me to have made this journey in the first place. Let alone making a stop to Zofia Castle." She winced. "Not to mention the pirates…"

"Pirates?!" Kliff and Faye asked at once, the former standing up.

This time, it was Genny who responded. "Oh, yes! After we left Novis, we got into fights with all kinds of pirates! Celica even drove out their king like a true heroine! And that's also how we met Valbar and friends!" A wistful sigh. "It was the most exciting day of my life, it'll be great inspiration for my book!" A finger reached to her chin. "Maybe I can take the part where we fought a Necrodragon, and say it belonged to the fictitious pirate king…"

Faye's jaw dropped. "You fought-"

"-a Necrodragon?!" Kliff grasped at his locks. Gallivanting about, slaying pirate kings and Necrodragons, and Celica's too afraid to live outside the priory?! She could probably do the Deliverance's job for them, at this rate!

Celica's face flushed red. "It… It's not like I was trying to show off… Barth was hurting innocent people… and that Necrodragon could've attacked travelers as well, so… we had to eliminate the danger. That's all."

"Downplaying her own acts of heroism!" Genny stage-whispered. "I'll have to give my protagonist a line like that!"

The reddening of Celica's face went even deeper. Faye seemed impressed. Meanwhile, Kliff quietly tugged at his collar.

We're traveling to Zofia Castle with a pirate-beating, dragon-slaying ambiguous princess… Well I did want more excitement in my life…

To be continued.

Post-Script A/N:

Chapter 2, give it up for Chapter 2.

Admittedly, writing for Celica is a bit trickier than I imagined. Kliff and Faye have blatant personality quirks, but they're minor characters. Celica is one of the game's co-stars, so it's easier to notice if I mess her up. Even if she is my favorite of the two (sorry Alm, nothing personal). Kliff, as before, would like to socialize normally, but his irritation gets the better of him, and he tends to see the worst in others- especially the mage duo. Faye, also like before, is a kind person, even ignoring her obsession with Alm. She didn't really get too much to do in this chapter, mostly reining Kliff in and keeping the conversation alive. If Chapter 3 goes the way I want, we'll see a bit more of her struggle. And of course, we have Celica. I kind of like the idea that living with Mae and Boey's arguing has forced her to develop into a dominating speaker to some degree. We also see her more important (as well as canonical) issue with her extreme devotion to Mila. Downplaying aside, she is very capable now. She doesn't need to stay and preach about Mila anymore, Celica can take care of herself.

I did think about depicting one of Faye's village anecdotes, or one thing Celica got to do at the priory. But the stories themselves weren't important. This chapter was about showing the three of them reconnect and find their dynamic. Though, backwards enough, Kliff's flashback started off as a memory quote, before I realized I had to turn it into an entire flashback sequence.

Kliff's a smart cookie. So I figure between his mom's gossiping, Slayde's interest in Celica even before the battle, and the oddly specific remedy of having Celica removed from the village- Kliff would put two and two together. Not helped by the string of royal assassinations in the past... So yes, Kliff strongly suspects that Celica is royalty, but that's about all he can do with it. I figured it'd be an interesting angle to work with. And it's kind of a secret way for me to poke fun at the fact that a game in 2017 expects me to fall for the "villagers who most definitely aren't royalty no sir no way" card. (Though maybe it was on purpose with Celica. Alm has no excuse though.)

Next time, they'll probably make it to Zofia Castle.