I apologize if some of you think that this fanfic has reduced to nothing but a bumbling chunk of words type together in a single document. I'm really sorry, truly. If you unfollowed/unfavorited me because of how much of a stammering imbecile I've become, I don't blame you. though if you stayed with the thought that I can still write great stories, thank you so much.


In the earlier days of Celestine's pregnancy, Arno has been going out with his brothers yet he never forgets to bring home some fruit and other food for Celestine—even though she does not ask for it. But of all the thing, he never forgets one thing. One that would symbolize that he's kept his promise all this time.

While roaming around the Luxembourg district with his brothers, Arno comes across a jeweller—since looting a ring isn't proper in any manner—and browses for his crafts. He forgets that he's accompanied by his three brothers.

"Oi, where you headin' at?" Siegfried.

Felix follows Arno's trail and his line of sight, he looks up and the finds the sign of the shop Arno's entering, the wooden headboard hanging on the metal pole reads "bijoutier" in fading paint.

"What's he going to do in a jeweller's shop?" Felix.

"Might as well follow him and see." Octavien, the second rational Assassin among the four of them suggests, he takes the lead without waiting for the two to comment.

"Pretty sure he's not going to ransack that." Siegfried.

"I guess not." Felix says as he follows after Octavien.

They enter the shop and find Arno searching the display case of the crafter, looking at different handcrafted rings and their various designs. Seeing that the maker has put extra care and effort on the details of each design, Arno looks for one that would greatly suit Celestine—one that's befittingly unique and beautiful for Celestine.

Siegfried encircles Arno's neck with his arm and then bends him over straight to the case's glass display.

"So, whatcha lookin' at, brother?"

"What does it look like?" Arno chuckles as he becomes patient with his childish comrade.

He spots a ring with laurel leaves wreathed on both sides of the diamond, as it narrows down farther from the center stone it twists until it melts into the main band of the ring. He couldn't take his eyes off of it, Arno taps on the glass of the drawer as he speaks to the jeweller.

"How much for this?"

"Well, I see someone has taken an eye on one of my most exquisite designs. I can offer that to you for 50,000 livres."

"That's quite a sum you have there, monsieur." Felix comments.

"Well, designs such as these are not to be taken lightly—or cheaply, for that matter." The jeweller replies without so much as a stammer, perhaps he's been told that a number of times whenever he names his price.

"I have to say, monsieur, you have quite the hand and eye for design."

"Merci. I can attest that I have high respect on my craft—if I say so myself."

"So what, Arno? Are you going to take it or not?" Octavien asks.

"It's for Celestine, right? You're going to propose today?" Siegfried excitedly asks.

Octavien nudges Siegfried on the head, "You don't say, Siegfried. Maybe Arno just wants to buy it to waste away 50,000 livres," he quickly turns to the crafter, "No offense. Just teaching my brother a lesson on common sense."

The crafter shrugs and then turns his attenion to Arno, who quickly says, "I'll take it, please."

The crafter nods, turns his back on Arno to face another cabinet—revealing a row of ringboxes of different colors and material used for its covering. He runs his fingers on the wooden rack and makes a slight side-glance on Arno.

"What color would you like for the ringbox, sir?"

"Uh," Arno peeks over the crafter's shoulder, "Blue."

"The dark one or the royal shade?"

"The dark one."

"Excellent choice."

The crafter—with his delicate hands—takes the dark blue velvet ringbox and then takes the ring from Arno's hand, he places the ring on the mould and flips the lid down. They exchange and Arno safely tucks the ringbox in the pocket of his breeches.

"Merci, monsieur." Arno makes a short, courtly bow at the crafter, he gestures his brother to follow and they leave the shop.

As they scale the next building and disappear into the rooftop—with speeding grace they leap across gaps, crawl up the walls, vaulting or sliding under obstacles in their way, until they've regrouped at a bigger building's rooftop.

"So, how are you going to stage it then?" Felix.

"The what?"

"Did you forget just now?" Felix chuckles and points at Arno's pocket, "Your engagement ring for Celestine."

"Ah, I see… Well, I'll just naturally come in like I always do—I think she wouldn't see it coming."

They did not stay any longer, they headed back to the mansion and entered the house on the yard's entrance—then his brothers quietly spread the word to the maids and everyone else in the house, making sure they don't make a commotion to distract Celestine if ever.

"An engagement?!"

"How exciting!"

"No, it's romantic!"

"It's everything a woman could dream of!"

A group of maids tittered as they went with their work, spreading quicker than a plague, with Madame Helena calming them down. The maids who are doing the housekeeping have spread the word much quicker as they were going back and forth in the entire house.

Arno makes for Celestine's bedroom, expecting her to be there, but only finding it completely empty. He stands in the silence of the bedroom, a pool of light shining on the heels of his boots, and in that silence he hears her.

Arno can hear the female vocalizing of a familiar tune, a short string of music passed on by generations and played by ear. He follows it until the singing got louder and clearer. He paces through the varnished halls and finds himself ending up in the empty practice room—no Andre. He listens some more until he catches Celestine standing in the garden and humming, she was facing the small fountain with her back turned to Arno.

He steps out to the garden, he plucks a stem of baby's breath from one of the shrubs and slowly walks up to Celestine—who's still humming to that song—from behind.

"That song sounds soothing coming from you. Is it a lullaby?"

Celestine did not jump, she's already sensed Arno's presence, she turns to him and lovingly smiles at him.

"My parents used to sing that to me every night before I go to sleep—all this time, I've memorized it. Played it by ear as Mother would tell me."

"Mm-hmm."

Arno brushes away the hair to the back of Celestine's ear to pin the stem of baby's breath.

"How beautiful." He mutters as he pulls her in his arms while gently swaying back and forth.

"How's your venture with your brothers? I assume it was quite… exciting—like the good old days?"

"I'm back to taking care of the same old rascals. Feels like nothing changed."

"There were some, yes." She nods, "I think I did too."

"Yeah, like what?"

"My face. A growing womb. I felt like I've aged but I think my arts as an Assassin didn't."

Arno takes a moment to gaze at Celestine, tenderly he fixes his eyes on every feature of her face: the shape of her eyes, the upward curl of her eyelashes, the bridge of her nose, and her sweet and tender lips. Then his eyes trail down, he recognizes it—the necklace he gave to her not too long ago, although for him it did feel as if they've been together for a very long time.

"Celestine,"

"Yeah?"

"Remember that I kept you a promise not too long ago?"

Celestine nods as she looks at Arno's fingers gently fidgeting with the pendant of her necklace.

"The promise that soon the next one will be a ring after I gave you this?"

"I'm sure you'll keep your promise soon."

Arno smirks, "Why wait?"

Celestine's smile melts as she becomes confused. Then Arno pulls away from his hold on her, prepares himself to kneel on one knee and take out the ringbox. Celestine draws breath as he flips open the lid and reveals the ring to her.

"You've shown me that you were a unique, extraordinary woman—a walking flame of passion and at the same time a hearth of love and tenderness. Though we may not have started everything in good terms—you were a bit snarky towards me," his speech is cut off by both of them chuckling, even so he continues, "But nonetheless, all those moments you've shared with me, the memories that were never too fleeting, and the times when I felt time has stopped whenever I'm in your presence, I knew… I really knew that you're the woman I want to stay with for the rest of my life. And I promise I'll take care of you, our family, until the day we leave this world."

A tear escapes Celestine's eye, she draws breath with so many emotions mixing and coming in.

"Celestine Sauveterre, will you marry me?"

She huffs out a laugh of immense joy while crystal-clear tears make their way on her cheek, while nodding she replies, "Yes… Yes, Arno Victor Dorian, I will marry you!"

Arno slipped the ring on her finger, he took her by the waist and held her up in the air, kissing her anywhere on her face—her chin, her jaw, her cheek, her mouth, just everywhere—with immeasurable happiness and uplifiting joy that made his entire soul soar.

"I love you so much, Celestine, so much." He says, despite his voice being muffled as he buries his face on her neck.

"I love you too, Arno. I can't help this massive happiness I feel right now."

Arno raises his arm in mid-air, as if escorting Celestine to a royal ball, and he leads her to the foyer of the second floor wherein Arno's three brothers and other Assassins were waiting on them.

"She said yes!"

The group of men roared in congratulatory cheer, alerting everyone in the mansion—despite being it filled with customers in the bar—of the joyous day. Octavien, Siegfried, and Felix piled up on Arno; congratulating him with heavy pats on his shoulder and Octavien even tousled his hood causing it to slightly fall off.

Word has reached to the Mentors themselves, they emerged from the underground chambers to personally congratulate the newly-engaged couple. Madame Gouze simply did not allow the excitement to die down so easily, she willingly took the responsibility of finding a wedding dress for Celestine whenever she's ready to fit it—knowing Madame Gouze, of course she would not let an occasion end so simply.


Celestine's POV

A few weeks after Arno proposed to me, Madame Gouze just told me that she's bringing me to a dress shop whose owner is a friend of hers. Some of the maids have been unnecessarily treating me like royalty—which was nice but I was not entirely accustomed to it. Today, we're going to that shop. She insists me to ride the carriage with her and how could I ever refuse?

As we boarded into the coach, I have this habit of looking through the window even though I'm seeing the same thing everyday—I guess I'm not very keen on looking away from reality sometimes.

"You're a lucky woman, Celestine." Madame Gouze starts.

I follow her eyes and they were fixed on my ring which I noticed I have been gently fidgeting with my free hand.

"It's not everyday a woman can get married in France. But you—you've caught yourself quite a trophy. Or should I say, he got the trophy."

I chuckle sheepishly, "I'm glad he kept his promise—although I was a bit surprised he made it come true just now."

"Why? Were you expecting it that quickly before?"

I shake my head, "No, it's because I thought he had the same idea—that he might propose once peace have spread across the city."

She sighs, as if I haven't learned a thing in this revolution, "Oh dearest, in this time it's only just if one seizes the opportunity before it gets stolen by anybody else. Not everyone can have a chance at peace or do anything they want at peace. Arno just took the chance on you before more disasters within the Brotherhood happened!"

Madame Gouze notices that I've gone silent, she leans forward a bit and taps my forearm lightly, "You are his opportunity and he got you before you could even be swept away by some other man."

"I'm not that easy of a prey, Madame Gouze, although I think you're right."

"Hmm?"

"In this time, I guess you just take every chance you have."

As we arrive to the dress shop, I realized that we were somewhere in Luxembourg—since this is where most of the luxurious shops are, second would be Tuileries—Gouze requests the coach to wait for us and that we wouldn't take long. The way she acts today is like an aunt spoiling her favorite niece, although she has been very generous and kind to us all the time.

She pushes the door open, causing a bell hanging just above the rim to ring and alert the shopkeeper who is a flamboyant man clad in a powdered wig, a satin jacket, and a gold waistcoat—it's like a cleaner and Luxembourg version of De Sade.

He gasps exaggeratedly as if acting in an opera, "Charlotte! You managed time to come see me!"

"You know I'll always have time to see you and your masterpieces, Francois!" Gouze suddenly changes character—in a way.

They exchange cheek kisses and as Francois took Gouze by the shoulder, she marvelled at his latest work worn on a wooden mannequin. Gouze expressively makes faces showing that she's mentally criticizing the work standing before her.

Am I the only one who's seen her act this way? I wonder. I guess not, she's probably had one or two of the maids come with her.

While the two long-lost friends catch up with each other, I got distracted by his designs and I have to admit they are very impressively elaborate and detailed too if looked at very closely. They were all so pretty that I was supposing that all of his works are undoubtedly expensive. Then he took notice of me.

"Well, well, who—in the King's name—is this blooming lotus?"

He walks up to me and takes my chin, tilting me up in an angle so we meet eye to eye.

Gouze clears her throat, "This is Celestine, Francois. Francois, Celestine."

"Francois-Antoine Beaumont, mademoiselle." He introduces his full name as he bends to kiss my left hand.

"Enchanté, monsieur."

He notices my engagement ring and pulls away, he makes an astonished expression at me and then shoots it to Gouze.

"My, my, Charlotte. You have brought me a young bride-to-be."

"Exactly, Francois, that's why I need you—the best tailor in all of Paris—to dress this young bride for her special day."

"Ah, no truer word! Come now, darling, let us have a look-see at my gowns and see which one resonates with you!"

And so I have to go through a closet full of carefully-kept gowns that he made. I opted for the simpler ones that requires no frame underneath the skirt. In this case, I have to talk in his language.

"Do you have anything that doesn't require me a frame underneath, no petticoat, and something that follows my silhouette?"

"I might have that—anything else?"

"I like one with long sleeves but made with thin material—like thin silk."

I made the dressmaker think and he continues to rummage through his dresses—which were majority the preferences of an aristocrat woman.

"You have quite a challenging taste—I like it! It causes to squeeze out the art in me some more."

He emerges from the fluff of dresses he's thrown himself into and holds onto the hanger of a dress that seems slimmer than the others so I decided to give it a try—and God forbid that it was a mistake.

"It's too tight!" I gasp and take a deep breath to use up just to speak, "I can't move my torso in this."

"A tight fit's not good, Francois. Makes an itch worse."

"Hmm, I might have something in here that would be loose around your torso."

That's when I saw it—the perfect dress. It was standing at the corner of my eye and I had to take Francois's attention to it.

"What about that one? It seems to fit my preferences."

"Ah, that?" he chuckles, "My child, I have been saving this one creation for someone who can flawlessly slip into this fabric. I did not make particularly for anybody but I thought it would be a great waste if I let it dissolve in my mind and not make it real."

"It looks like a great fit on her, Francois."

"Very well, let us try!"

He takes it out and brings it closer to me, so I got a look of the details—fine silk, embroidery that just blends into the dress, a soft sheer neckline that softly hugs the neck and collarbones of the wearer—it was elegant and beautiful.

"Oh, Francois, this is beautiful. May I try it on, please?"

"Of course, you can, darling. Go on now, we'll wait for you here."

He lets me take the dress and I slip into it. I was quite surprised that it smoothly falls right into place and it doesn't give me that constricting feeling. Just what I wanted a dress would be. The sleeves covered my arms down to my wrists, I can feel the soft chiffon fabric tickling my neck down to my chest, then the silk fits just right around the inch below my shoulders partially exposing my chest, and the body of the dress hugging me gave me that comforting feeling. I come out of the dressing room and showed myself to Francois and Gouze.

As I come out, they gasp in awe and I could've sworn I almost saw Francois shed a tear.

"You look glamorous!" Francois exclaimed, almost teary-eyed.

"Didn't I tell you, it's a perfect fit!"

"I implore you, Celestine, this is the closest to perfection you can get!"

"Oh Francois, the design is everything I dreamed my dress would be!" I tell him and much to his delight, he claps and he joins Gouze.

"Well, are we taking it, Celestine?" Gouze.

"Yes, please!"

"Then it's settled! I want this dress delivered by the theater before sunset, Francois!"

She tosses a bag of money onto his counter and he prompted me to change back into my regular clothes. We returned to the carriage and then headed back home.

"Thank you, Madame Gouze." I tell her as sincerely as I can.

"It's not a problem, darling. You look extraordinary in that dress! I have a feeling that he really made it for you."

"But it's the first time we met."

"Francois told me that he envision a young woman wearing his dress. When you were changing, he told me that you match the young woman in his vision as he was making it. He was quite surprised, and he never expected the perfect wearer would come. He thought that it was just going to be another stock kept in his closet."

As we arrived back home, Arno asked me about my day in the dress shop with Madame Gouze and I told him that it was alright, I told him everything and tried to paint a mental picture on his mind as I try my best to describe the gown that I just chose.

"You're not allowed to look at it at any time—not until our wedding day."

"You really have a knack in building up the thrill, mademoiselle Dorian."

I chuckled, lightly pushing his shoulder as he gives back a mischievous chuckle; I let my hand slide down to his hand, take hold of it, and lead him upstairs to the Legacy Room. As we got there, we look at the caged robes of the Master Assassins before us.

"Hey, Arno,"

"Hm?"

"Do you think... our robes will be displayed here, too? Not that I'm demanding it to happen, but would it be?"

"I'm not sure either, but time will give us the answer."

He embraces me from behind. The same warm embrace that he secures me with that makes me feel ever so safe.


With much preparation done, the day has come for Celestine and Arno to get married—with the Brotherhood as their witness—they will exchange vows in the Notre Dame without so much as attracting a crowd, because they'd like to keep it intimate.

Arno and his best men—his Brothers—went to the church first, along with some of their friends tagging along with them. Whilst Celestine, her cousin, and Madame Gouze—along with a few of the maids—were left in the mansion to help her get ready. Knowing Juliette's skill, Celestine trusted her to fix her makeup and hair while Madame Gouze asks for the maids to start preparing the dress, the veil, and her shoes. Each maid held a piece of the outfit and they all skittered their way towards Celestine.

Juliette's finishing touch on Celestine is adorning a steam of white baby's breath on her loose yet elegant braid. As soon as Juliette becomes satisfied with her work on her cousin, she claps her hands and asks for the maids to start dressing her.

"Now remember, bow your head when putting on the dress headfirst, we don't want a smudge on that pretty face."

"Yes, Juliette."

Carefully, the maids slip the dress into Celestine. The fabric falls in place with the curves of her body, the chiffon temptingly reveals a translucent view of her skin, and the sleeves perfectly hug the slenderness of her arms. Then Juliette and Madame Gouze threw the veil up in the air and let it billow down to the crown of Celestine's head. One of the maids bent down to the floor to fit Celestine's shoes. With the bride all dolled up, all the women marveled at the sight of Arno's wife.

To them, at first, Celestine was another Assassin brought in by the Mentors, kept under Arno's tutelage and now his wife.

"How time flies!" a middle-aged maid exclaims while holding back tears.

"Oh, Arno is going to go head over heels for you over and over again, darling!" another exclaims.

"Come now, we mustn't let the coach wait too long."

Celestine is dressed in that perfect dress that Francois implored her to take and wear on her wedding, she is delivered to the church with their coach kept outside the theater café while Arno waits anxiously—in a good way—at the altar with his Brothers by his side.

Upon seeing that Arno has been fidgeting ever since they got to the church, Octavien gives Arno a brotherly tap on the shoulder, reassuring him.

"Hey, quit your fidgeting. You're not getting cold feet now, are you?" he jokingly prompts.

Arno shakes his head, "No, I'm actually quite excited that I can't seem to control it."

Octavien gives him a small shake on the shoulder, "You'll get through it. Let's wait for your amazing bride now."

Meanwhile, the horse draws the coach through the cobblestone roads of Paris. Along with Celestine is her maid of honor, her cousin Juliette who is dressed in a simple yet elegant gown that she bought from Francois as well. The young cousin can't seem to stop basking in the radiance of her cousin-bride.

"You really are beautiful, cousin."

"Thank you, Juliette."

"I must say, Arno is a lucky man. The way he proposed to you is very romantic!" she sighs in fascination.

"I wasn't really expecting him proposing that soon, it was all too quick—I felt like my mind stopped working for a moment there, it almost feels like time has passed so much, and all I could see and hear was him."

"Would it feel the same way for me?"

"That depends, Juliette. You might experience it differently than I did."

"Nevertheless, I think it would be magical. Was it magical for you?"

Celestine nods meekly, "Yes, it was. Very much."

The carriage comes to a steady halt, Juliette dismounts the carriage first and then Celestine follows while being guided by some of the Assassins who came with her using another carriage.

"Are you ready, my dear?" Madame Gouze asks the bride before asking the doors to be open.

Celestine takes a deep breath and Juliette hands her the bouquet.

"I'm ready."

As the door opens, all heads turn to Celestine—they gasp at the sight of her radiant beauty which shines across the stone walls and marble pillars of the cathedral, sunlight pooling in through the stained glass windows, stone saints benevolently keeping watch of every movement she makes as if guarding her while reveling at the immaculate sight of this young woman. She makes her way to the aisle, a bouquet of flowers handpicked by the mansion's gardener in her hand, a veil that came along with her dress when they received it partially shrouds her face but through Arno's eyes he can see his future coming to him.

As she joins Arno by his side in front of the altar, the priest acknowledges them together as he gestures a Sign of the Cross while reciting it verbally, he begins with the ceremonial rites. In between sermons, Arno and Celestine would catch each other glancing at one another and exchanging shy smiles. Both hearts pounding loudly and Arno manages to sneak in a whispering conversation with his bride.

"You look amazing."

"So are you." she replies with a playful smug, and then she adds, "I could get used to you seeing you like this."

A chuckle escapes Arno's throat and once more he glimpses at Celestine who in a few moments will be his wife.

They are ordained, sanctified, and blessed by the priest and came to the moment where they exchange vows.

"Celestine, when I asked you to marry me, I promised that I would take care of you, our children, our family, until the day we leave the earth—I can vouch to you that I will stay true to my word, to my vow to love you forever and care for you as I repay you from all the times you've given your time to me to make memories that I cherish ever since. Now I can celebrate my life with you, my beloved wife. 'Til death do us part."

"Arno, my adventures would have never been perfect without you. I thank you for all those memories, our close encounters, and all our stolen moments together. This is quite the best surprise of my life and the best because you were the reason behind it. As we grow together from now on, my love for you will never change—not even a single inch—and I promise to continue loving you and caring for you with the same tenderness I showed you the time we first got closer. I love you, my dear husband, and we will be together 'til death do us part."

The priest gives them his final graces and he pronounces them as husband and wife. Arno carefully flips over the veil that partially conceals his wife's glowing face. As they clearly see each other eye to eye, Arno and Celestine sealed their matrimony with a long, passionate kiss while their witnesses—the Brotherhood, their family—cheer them on with loud clapping, whooping, and whistling. Teary-eyed maids happily toss rose petals into the air as Celestine and Arno make way to the aisle with their friends.

For a moment, the couple felt time tick slower, they see two figures standing at the door of the church—they were familiar to both Celestine and Arno. Those two figures were the spirits of Elise and Alessio, they smile back to the newlywed couple who smile at them and bow, they bow back to say farewell before they move on and vanish into the light. The newlyweds look at each other and just smile, knowing that the ones they have loved had already passed on to a newer light.

And now, they continue their story as husband and wife.


Typing this was tiring but worth it. Also, the part where Elise and Alessio moved on to the afterlife was inspired in the end part of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children where Cloud saw the ghosts of Aerith and Zack and then vanish into the light. Meheheheh.

My hands hurt now.

Veron.