"The only reason I entered was to impress the Princess!" Zidane smirked, glancing over at his wife, then taking her hand in his. They were enjoying a lovely dinner with Freya and Vivi, prepared by Quina and the other chefs he headed. Anyone who staffed at the palace knew Quina took his/her work very seriously, even peering over the shoulder of the lower chefs to make sure everything was perfect.
"I have to admit, I subtly fell for his charm, Queen Garnet laughed, smiling at her husband.
"Zidane told me—" Vivi began, but was interrupted when everyone turned to the open door.
"You're still talking, why?" came a gruff, annoyed voice.
"I haven't seen you in three months!" cried a higher voice.
"A reunion!" Zidane called out as the people belonging to the voices entered the dining room. Amarant Coral sauntered in with a flailing Eiko Carol trailing not too far behind.
Steiner clanked down the hall, noticing a pattern of patrons around town. Entering the dining hall, he saw he was the last of the party to join the sudden get together. A sudden feeling came over him, as though they were joined together for another battle he was uninformed of. He took a cautious seat to be informed of the matter.
"Welcome!" Dagger greeted as the last of their past party settled into the dining room. "This is so unexpected, but a pleasant unexpectation none-the-less." Everyone relaxed to see this matter was mere casual acquaintance and could enjoy themselves. Quina and his/her staff served and then Quina joined the table for the reunion. Amarant sat down next to Freya and she gave him a smile.
"Hey," he greeted her, as Garnet gave an on the spot speech, properly improvised.
"Did you receive my letter?" she questioned, digging in.
"I did," Amarant replied simply, digging in also. Freya thought it would end there, until Amaran reached into his pocket with one hand and took out the letter, folded many times. It looked tiny in his large hand. She just looked at it. Why was he handing it back to her? She didn't want it. "You don't simply give in. Something is up."
"You're just being negative," she quipped and turned to listen to Queen Garnet.
"I really do hope you all will stick around for the tournament," the Queen pleaded to the group.
"Big feast after fight. All welcome," Quina quipped proudly. Fleeting footsteps outside the room after a groan and a sigh, Quina's cooks knew they were going to have their work cut out for them, but would rise to the challenge.
"Matter of fact, I shall be entering," Freya announced with a calm confidence. Garnet beamed.
"I will also," Amarant added, glancing at Freya to requip their silent challenge.
The night's air was crisp and the town was quiet, give a few people returning to their homes from a night out. It was a little after one and a moderate breeze blew the whispy hairs of Freya Cresesnt as she sat at the dock's edge. Feet dangling in the water, her boots sat beside her, along with her helmet and spear. She splashed the water a few times lightly, staring out into the distance. Heavy footprints slowly made their way over the dock.
"You should be sleeping," Freya greeted, a small smile bordering her words.
"Are you plowed?" Amarant questioned.
"What?" Freya wondered, turning around just as Amarant came up to her.
"Wasted. Hitting the bottle a little too much?" he replied simply.
"No. I had a few drinks with Zidane and…" she hesistated for a moment and thought not to give Lani's name away, "…a friend, but I am not 'plowed.'"
"There is something wrong with you."
"Being here with everyone…" Freya looked out at the waves in the distance, with the half moon bouncing off the water, creating a small illumination for the surrounding scene. Amarant continued to stare down at her with scrutiny. She rushed on before he could label her some more. "…reminds me that I am not alone!" Freya growled. "Damn it Amarant! You take anyone's good mood away."
Freya kicked at the water beneath her, wishing she could slam Amarant into it.
"Why are you yelling?"
"Because I want to yell for a while, is that alright!"
Amarant did not say anything, but went to the edge of the dock and sat down beside Freya. She could see him in her peripheral, but refused to look at him.
"You're not alone."
Freya sighed. "I used to think, being with Fratley was all I needed, nothing else. But when I started traveling out there and getting to know the people we were joined by, it came to me that I was only isolating myself; trying to capture the moment and keep it that way."
"Too much of a good thing."
Freya turned to Amarant. "Yes. Only I was holding onto an illusion. It was good in the beginning. I just wanted to know there was somebody out there I can hang up my formalities along with my helmet and just be," Freya told, keeping her gaze on the man beside her.
"You must be referring to me because I haven't seen your formalities," Amarant said, a slight edge of humor to it.
"So you want me to come to you, all vulgur and what not!" Freya spat, bringing her feet away from the waters, as if she was going to jump up.
"You can."
Freya snorted. "You're humoring me. Something wrong with me? I think there is something wrong with you."
"I guess we both are not being ourselves tonight," Amarant replied, raising one knee and started to take off his boot. Freya did not say anything, but only watched as he did the same with his other boot and dunked his feet into the wavy waters, creating a bigger splash than she had when she placed her feet into the water.
"I did enjoy the time our group had. Seeing the world is more enjoyable when you have a group of people from the many parts of it." Amarant looked at Freya and when she caught the contentment on his face, he quickly concealed it, looking out at the waters again. "You enjoyed it too," she accused. He just continued to stare out, a mask to any emotions taking over.
Freya replaced her feet into the waters with a small plop and glaced up at the moon. A small cloud floated by, concealing a small fragment of its light.
"What are you going to do?" Amarant questioned, breaking the small silence.
"What do you mean?" she questioned, wondering if he was telling her to head to bed.
"Where are you going to go once the tournament is over?" he specified himself.
Catching on, Freya frowned and looked down to the path of light the moon still made on the water, like one cloud wasn't going to keep it from shining. "You're wondering if I'm going to go back to Fratley," she stated as a statement and not an accusation. Amarant grunted.
Freya sighed and placed her elbow on her knee and placed her chin in her hand. "I do not want to go back to him. That part of my life is over. I am not going to go looking for him like I have before in the past…"
"Your ribbon is gone," Amarant stated, looking at her tail. She looked too.
"A way to seal the deal I might say," she answered, her tail giving a small twitch.
Amarant turned to her. "Travel with me. See all the things we may have missed on our first journey." Freya continued to stare, not sure he was sending a serious invitation or messing with her. A strong breeze blew a thick lock of crimson into Amarant's face and without thinking, Freya lifted her hand to move it away, afraid she would miss more to his message. As she moved it away, he grabbed her hand and set it down, but did not let it go.
"You are serious," Freya announced, staring into his eyes, reading their seriousness.
"I am. After the tournament we will go."
"I'm holding your word to it," Freya confirmed. She shook the hand he was holding and he then let it go. The cloud concealing a fragment of the moon moved away and the full of the moon's light returned. The stars glistened in the sky as a weight was lifted and carried off into the breeze.
"Would it be awkward to remind you of my victory on every continent?" Freya mused aloud, a smile to her voice.
"If you announce your nagging defeat again and again, I'm going to stuff you in a cave and leave you there!"