Replica: Would most of you agree with me when I say the phrase, You're your own worst critic? I believe that to be true..HENCE, the re-writes. In any case, the intro shall be SUPER long as a sort of..apology.
Disclaimer: Believe me, if I could, I'd SO own Asch. Alternatively, I do own Celeste and Ceana while Kazegami-Inkpot owns Sin'kara.
Notice: SPOILERS! That is all.
Reflection
Chapter Two
The trio of lost travelers, stumbled around in the dark forest for quite awhile. It was when they had heard the soothing, streaming sounds of a waterfall and river, did they find their way out.
Luke bent over, placing his hands onto his knees in exhaustion. "Whew! We finally made it out!"
Tear took a quick glance at the surrounding and with her combat training, quickly realized they were not alone. She pushed Celeste behind her, readying her weapon.
"Wait, someone's there." Celeste blinked, looking over Tear's shoulder.
The ebony haired woman briefly found herself wondering how Tear could stay so calm in these situations. Before she came up with an answer however, a man screamed and dropped a full pale of water.
He began to shout frantically. "Who are you?! Don't tell me you're the Black Wings?!" He really looked afraid..
Celeste sensed no danger and stepped before Tear and Luke, she extended her hand to the man. "My name is Celeste!" The man gave Celeste a strange look.
He crossed his arms in thought. "Celeste?" A look of realization cross over his face. He pointed at her. "Wait..Celeste? Aren't you-"
Before he could finish, Tear interjected. "Excuse me, we got lost on the way to the city."
"Oh, I see.." The man didn't seem particularly interested. Still, he was nice enough to offer the three a ride to the city. He briefly explained who he was and such other things.
Luke's face filled with joy and relief. "A coach! We're saved!"
"Are you headed for the capital?" Tear asked, while pulling Celeste back to her side.
The coachman nodded, refilling the now empty pale. "Yeah. The capital is our last stop." He sighed to the three, telling them of the fair for passage. "It's 20,000 gald a person. Is that..okay?"
Tear looked torn. "That's..expensive." Luke murmured, that he thought the price being cheap. After all, when you're a Duke's son..everything must be cheap.
Celeste stroked at her chin. That does sound like a lot..
Luke looked over to the man. "Once we get there, my parents will pay for it." The man shook his head stating the he needed the money up-front.
Celeste looked over at Tear whom had began to remove something from her neck. " Tear..?" The hymnist said nothing and headed over to the man, handing him the beautiful necklace.
He examined it. "This is a fabulous gem!" He pocketed the jewelry and agreed to their passage. "Alright! You can ride."
Luke smiled, completely oblivious to Tear's sorrowful mood. "So you had something nice after all! Now I won't have to get my shoes dirty." Shortly following that, Celeste hit the noble hard on the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"For being an idiot!" Celeste retorted, not explaining her reasoning behind the hit. She gave Tear a sympathetic smile then headed for the coach.
- - -
It had been hours.
Celeste nestled herself between Luke and Tear. She had hoped for a window seat, but thought it best to keep Tear from Luke for the time being. No doubt she wanted to hit Luke herself for his insensitivity.
Currently, Luke was asleep..snoring. Celeste was thankful when he awoke.
"So you're finally awake, huh?" Tear asked, her voice cold and deadly.
Luke wiped his eyes, looking over to Celeste then at Tear. He gave a yawn and a stretch, then answered. "I was worried about what would happen for a bit. So, if we ride this we could get back to the mansion?"
"It looks that way." Celeste stated sliding down in her seat a bit. She felt awkward sitting between the two like this.
There was a sudden shaking of the coach and the sound of explosions coming from outside. Both Luke and Tear peered outside the window to see a large battle ship.
A loud voice on projector spoke out. "Coach, please move out of our path or you will be caught in the crossfire."
The coachman did as told and fiercely pulled back on the reins as to avert the coach away from the battle. As a result, the coach shook horribly. The coach came to a stop and the trio left the carriage, to see what was happening.
"What's going on?!" Luke asked watching the scene with wide eyes.
"The army is chasing those bandits." One of the other coach passenger's said.
Celeste couldn't quell her shaking body. Her knees gave out under her and she fell to the floor, her contrasting irises wide with fear. Although she felt as if she had seen this before, and the whole event seemed familiar; Celeste couldn't control her rapid heart and teary eyes.
"Celeste!" Tear instantly went to her side, placing a comforting grasp on the younger girl's shoulders. "Please, you must calm down!"
Celeste didn't reply.
Tear took the initiative and placed her gloved hands over Celeste's eyes, shielding her from the traumatic scene.
With her eyes covered, Celeste felt a bit more at ease, minus the sounds of battle. The seventeen year old her the distinct sound of several explosions and the sound of a large structure breaking.
Celeste gently pulled Tear's hands way, her eyes scanning the scene. "The bridge..exploded?"
Tear looked over to the land ship. "That's-"
An armored land war ship from the Malkuth army. "It's called the Tartarus." The coachman explained and took a look over at the large, metal machine.
Luke's emerald hues widened. "The Malkuth army?!"
Tear blinked. "So that means..the capital we're heading to is..?"
The coachman gave them questioning looks. "It's obviously Grand Chokmah, home of the great Emperor Peony the ninth."
Celeste stood, wiping off the sand from her clothes. "So..what does that mean?" She looked over at Tear who muttered "I was mistaken" under her breath.
Luke couldn't take it anymore. "What did you say?!" He shouted at Tear, running his hands furiously through his head.
- - -
The coach stopped in a small, farming town. "Are you sure about getting off here?" The coachman asked as Tear, Luke, and Celeste left the coach.
Tear nodded. "Yes. There's a stop we have to make."
The coachman wished them careful travels and rode off.
Luke angrily placed his hands on his hips, shouting at Tear yet again. "What's the meaning of this? Why are we in the Malkuth empire?!"
"It looks like we went flying a lot father.." Celeste commented. "Eh? What's that?" Celeste asked, seeing Tear pull out a piece of folded paper.
"A map." She pointed to a red dot on the right side of it. "This is Engeve. Since the Rotelro bridge we were at was destroyed, our only choice is to cross the border by vessel."
The noble commented the annoyance of having to walk again. He looked behind him, at the village. "This sure is a small village."
"Compared to Baticul, I suppose it is." Tear replied with. She gently patted Celeste on the back as Luke headed into the farming hamlet. "Are you feeling better?"
Celeste nodded, locking her hands together behind her back. "Yeah. Sorry about before.."
As they walked along, Luke came into contact with a pink, pig looking creature of the hamlet. He bent over eyeing it strangely. "What's this thing?"
It snorted into the red head's face which caused Luke to reel back. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
Tear suppressed a chuckle. "Engeve is famous for it's agriculture and livestock."
The three headed further into the town, coming upon a bazaar of sorts. Everyone was selling all kinds of foods.
"Amazing!" Both Luke and Celeste said, both each taking in the unfamiliar scene.
Luke ran over to a stand with fresh, red, juicy looking apples displayed. "These look good." The stand's owner agreed, adding that the apples were fresh.
Luke simply took the apple and walked away, having already taken a bite out of it.
"Err..?" Celeste blinked, looking over at Tear. "Can he..do that?"
"Sir! You have to pay!" The owner yelled angrily at Luke.
The noble seemed confused and asked, "Why do I have to pay?"
"What'd you say?!" The owner yelled, slamming his fists into the stand. He really looked angry; things didn't look good for Luke.
Still, Luke remained oblivious. "I'll just pay you back when I get back home." Before Luke knew it, he had been surrounded by a mob of people. Each had been claiming Luke to be the thief behind the storehouse robberies.
He was then dragged away by several men.
- - -
"I am a member of the Malkuth army, third infantry division, Colonel Jade Curtiss." The brown haired man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "And you are?"
"I'm Luke! Luke Fon-" Before he could finish, Luke's mouth was covered by Tear's hands.
She whispered in his ear. "Have you forgotten? This is enemy territory. If they learn of your pedigree, you won't get off easily." She then released him only to find Celeste standing before the Colonel.
"Have we met before?" She innocently asked him.
A look of confusion glazed over the Colonel's eyes, but was quickly replaced with an amused glint. He gave the teenage girl a "genuine" smile. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting such a beautiful young lady, such as yourself."
Celeste's cheeks burned with his compliment, and hearts replaced her eyes. "Colonel Jade! You flatter me!" She giggled flirtatiously then extended her hand to him. "Celeste."
He took her hand and introduced himself simple as "Jade".
Tear took this moment to explain the situation as Luke pulled Celeste to his side and scolded her in a haughty whisper.
"We were on route to Chesedonia, but we got on the wrong coach and ended up here." Both Luke and Celeste turned their hues to Tear, who held no emotion on her face or in her tone of voice. "Furthermore, the Malkuth army already drove the Black Wings across the Rotelro Bridge."
Jade smiled to himself. "Ah, I see." He pushed his glassed up the bridge of his nose. "So you were on the coach I ran into earlier."
The portly woman, Rose, turned to the Colonel. "What does this mean?"
"Just as this woman says, the Black Wings have escaped into the Kingdom of Kimlasca."
Light footsteps were heard, followed by a gentle, boyish voice. "Also, it seems the food thieves are not human."
Everyone turned to face the door. Standing there, dressed in official white clothing of the Order of Lorelei, stood none other than Fon Master Ion.
"Fon Master." Jade blinked, most likely not expecting to see the Fon Master.
Celeste tilted her head to the left, examining the Fon Master closely. Like with Jade, she now felt a pang of her memory coming back to her. Telling her, that she knew this boy. Or at least had met him somewhere before.
Ion spoke of his discoveries. "I went to investigate the food storehouse." He walked through the crowd of people, handing the Colonel a piece of white fur. "This was sitting in the corner of the room."
Rose looked at the fur with astonishment. "Fur of the sacred beast! The Cheagle."
Celeste tapped at her chin and entered the conversation. "So..cheagles are raiding the storehouses?"
Ion turned back to look at Celeste and nodded. "I'm afraid so."
And yet again, Luke had managed to input his own rude opinion. "See! I told you it wasn't me!" Before an uproar could occur at Luke's snide remark, Rose calmed everyone down and sent them back to work.
"Wait!" Tear called out to the owner of the apple stand. She handed him bits of gald and apologized for Luke's earlier behavior. She then, forced Luke to apologize as well. Which he reluctantly did.
"Sorry about that kids." Rose caught their attention. "You see, the storehouse is our last bit of wealth, so everyone was high strung."
- - -
The three left the house after that.
On their way down, Luke began to complain which was starting to get on Celeste's nerves, not too mention Tear's but she would never say anything against it, in light of the situation.
"Why do these things happen to me?"
"Why is Fon Master Ion here?" Tear commented, placing a gloved hand to her chin.
"Wait!" Celeste suddenly spoke out. "Didn't..I think I heard somewhere that he was missing..?"
A look of realization hit Luke. "That's right! Master Van is supposed to be looking for him."
"I wonder what that's about." Tear muttered. "It didn't seem like he was being kidnapped."
Celeste shrugged, clasping her hands together behind her. "Who knows?" Celeste opened her mouth to say something more, but was cut off by the abrupt shouting of a small, dark haired girl.
"Master Ion!" The three turned, seeing a girl around the age of thirteen wearing a pink, soldier uniform with a doll strapped to her back. She was looking around frantically. "Geez, Master Ion where did you run off to?"
Celeste poked the girl, catching her attention. "Did you say you were looking for the Fon Master?"
She nodded with a hopeful smile. "Do you know where Master Ion is?"
Celeste nodded and pointed back at Rose's house. "He's back at Ms. Rose's house."
"Is he really?!" She jumped excitedly. "Thank you very much!" She then rushed off with a trail of dust following behind her, while yelling out "Ion".
Celeste chuckled. "Who was that?"
"A Fon Master Guardian." Tear stated, and further explained. "A member of a special unit of the Oracle Knights, one that serves as the private guard for the Fon Master."
"So..if she's here then that means..?" Luke blinked, raising an eyebrow.
Tear looked passed him at the running guardian. "It must be an official journey for the church, I guess."
Luke ran a hand through his sun-kissed locks. "Then..what's this talk about him being missing?"
- - -
"Tear?" Celeste meekly peeked out from behind her pillow, watching the woman soldier.
It was night now, and the three had chosen to stay at the inn then head out early tomorrow. Luke had his own room while the two women shared one.
Tear turned her eyes to Celeste. "Yes?"
Celeste made no eye contact and fumbled with the pillow instead. "Er..do you think it'll be okay if I take a walk?"
The other thought for a moment. "I suppose so." She attempted a gentle smile, which came out strangely in contrast to her usual, expressionless face. "Don't stay out long."
Celeste nodded and hopped off the bed, leaving the inn within seconds.
She was quite sure why she wanted to take a walk; she felt as if she had to, in order to process the day's events through her broken mind.
The teenage girl walked along the path and found herself at the empty market place where Luke had stolen the apple. A gasp escaped her lips, as a memory of her past flooded her mind.
- - -
"This is..?"
"Engeve. The Farmer's Hamlet."
Celeste turned to her traveling partner, as he took a quick look at the surroundings. She watched him closely as he walked ahead of her and took a brief glance at each of the food stands placed around the market place.
He abruptly stopped and she crashed into his back. "Is something wrong?" She innocently asked him, rounding over to his front side seeing an expression of contemplation on his features.
"A-"
"Do you..want something..to eat?" He said in a broken sentence sounding almost as if he was being forced by some unknown entity to ask her this.
She blinked and was physically taken back by his request. "Me?"
He nodded and turned his face away from her, using his deep crimson hair to shield his burning cheeks from her, so as not to cause any further embarrassment.
Celeste gave a small chuckle at his childish reaction and agreed to his offer. "Actually, I would like an apple."
Hearing this, he went to a nearby stand, searched for the best looking apple, and simply bought it for her. "Here."
He handed her the red fruit. She took it with a small "thanks" which she followed with a light hug. He responded with a light pat of her back, before he wormed himself away from her contact. He never was one for any human contact.
"Don't mention it."
- - -
Celeste hugged herself as a cold breeze flew, seemingly right through her. Her long dark hair tousled inthe wind; and for the first while in a long while, Celeste felt as if she wanted to cry.
"Why can't I remember who you are?" She spoke to herself, an image of the crimson haired man flashing in her mind.
There was no doubt that he resembled Luke, or Luke resembled him. She felt as if they were connected, and she was caught somewhere in the middle. Entwined in their stories, through no fault of her own. It was simply meant to be.
Be it the Score's doing or her own.
Celeste fiercely wiped away at the coming tears, not wanting to return to Tear and Luke looking as if she had bawled her eyes out.
With a deep intake of the air, Celeste shoved away her true memories to deep recess of her mind and returned to the inn.
- - -
Replica: I hope you all are enjoying these! My fingers are breaking from the last five pages I just wrote. Still, I enjoy writing and getting more of Celeste out there to the world. Also, I feel like I've done a good job when I've seen my total amount of pages written.