A/N: YEA! The site is back up! Now it's business as
usual… A new chapter… oh yes, this was one of those ones that takes
forever to write and then leaves you with nothing to show for it. But hopefully
you will get something out of it that I haven't. I bet you're
wondering where the slash is… it's coming, don't worry (or
worry, if you're like that…). I'm just taking a bit longer
than I usually do to get to the "good stuff" *wink wink* I really
like this couple, although they're kinda really odd together… Have
you noticed how I do that a lot? What can I say; I'm not really a fan of
normalcy. Well, whatever. Enjoy! - Nymphean
Chapter 2: Taking Arms
Dryden
stormed through the front doors or Schezar Manor, Celena and Gaddes trailing
behind him. Celena reached out and touched the angry merchant's shoulder.
"Can
I help you, Mr. Fassa?" Dryden spun around and shook his head.
"No,
dear, this is between your brother and I. Now, where is that chivalrous pile
of…"
"Hey
now, Dryden," Gaddes said uneasily, "You might want to watch it,
eh?" His tone was friendly, but he shot the other man a look that clearly
said "Back off".
"All
right, all right… I'll chill." Dryden ran his hands through
the mass of curly hair on his head. "I DO need to talk to the boss
though, 'f ya don't mind, Sarge." Gaddes nodded.
"All
right. I'll go find him." He looked at Celena. "Maybe you
should come with me," he said, giving her a meaningful look. Celena
rolled her eyes.
"I
think SOMEONE ought to stay with our guest, Gaddes. Go find my brother."
Gaddes shook his head and started off down one of the halls. Celena smiled at
Dryden. "Can I get you anything to drink?"
He
chuckled. "Don't you have servants for that?" she shrugged.
"I
guess. I just like being hospitable, that's all." She ushered him
into the sitting room. "Please, have a seat." Dryden flopped into a
large armchair across from Celena. "So," She said, running her fingers
along the edge of the her chair, "What is it, exactly, that's made
you so angry with my brother?"
Dryden
laughed sardonically. "Nothing. That rat-bastard just cost me over one
million dollars worth of cargo because he couldn't deliver a damned letter
on time."
Celena
raised her eyebrows. "Well. That certainly is reason enough to be upset,
I suppose. But HOW did you lose the cargo?"
A slightly sheepish smile crossed Dryden's
face. "Well, see, that's where it gets sort of tricky. I got this
deal from this guy… he lives in Zaibach, and he was going to sell me some
old machines and stuff for a song. I could have made millions."
"Wait,"
said Celena, holding up a finger, "Isn't it strictly forbidden to
trade with Zaibach?"
"That's
the thing. You're absolutely right. But this guy was a totally reformed
man, a good, honest guy just tryin' to keep his family alive, and he came
to me with this killer deal. I needed to get special permission from the
Princess to trade with him…"
"…So
you sent a letter with my brother," Celena finished. "I see. But
why not just send one of your own messengers?"
"Don't
trust 'em."
"Then
why Allen?"
Dryden
grinned. "He owed me big time. I've saved his ass a couple times in
recent years."
Celena
furrowed her brow. "Oh. He never told me. I just got the impression that
you two weren't the best of friends."
"No,
we're not."
Celena
looked at him in confusion. "Then why send such an important message with
him? Why not take it yourself?"
Dryden
was silent for a moment. "Royalty makes me uncomfortable," he said
finally. Celena was certain that he wasn't being quite honest with her,
but she didn't say anything. After a few moments of silence, Allen came
storming into the room.
"YOU
again? What is it now?" Dryden leapt to his feet.
"I'll
tell you what! You cost me over a million dollars, Schezar!"
Allen
raised an eyebrow. "Oh REALLY? And how, pray tell, did I manage to do
that?"
"The
message, you idiot! To the princess! She didn't get it! This is not
exactly what I meant by 'returning the favor'"
Allen
snorted with disgust. "Don't be ridiculous, Fassa! Of course she
GOT it, I delivered it directly to her. I was there when she opened the damned
thing, for pity's sake!"
Dryden
shook his head in exasperation. "Well, I know she GOT it, but she
didn't get it in time!"
"You
never said WHEN I had to deliver it, Fassa, just that I had to deliver
it."
"I
said it was urgent!" Dryden stomped his foot a little. "This was a
once in a lifetime deal, and now thanks to you it done down the drain!
You're really not gaining any brownie points here, Schezar!"
"As
if I wanted to!" Allen retorted, flipping his hair defiantly. "If
you think you have any influence on me…"
A
smile flickered across Dryden's face. "That's where
you've got it wrong, Allen. I have money. Which means I have power. And
people who have power ALWAYS have an influence over those who
don't." He said the words coolly, and Celena had the urge to stand
up and correct him. Fortunately, she was spared the difficulty. Allen had gotten
there first.
"I
am a knight Caeli!" He cried, advancing towards Dryden with a menacing
look on his face. "How DARE you suggest that you, a simple MERCHANT, are
of a higher order than me!" He put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Get out of my house, out of my sight, and out of my life! And be
forewarned, if you ever, EVER, dishonor my sister or I again, I will kill
you."
Dryden
shoved his hands in his pockets and chuckled a little. "All right,
I'm gone." He began to walk towards the door, his stride slow and
lazy and his manner very different from what you would expect of a man whose
life had just been threatened. When he had reached the door, he turned back
towards them. "And just so you know," he said, "I
didn't dishonor your sister. Celena," He nodded at her.
"Lovely to see you again."
"'Bye,"
Celena said timidly, watching as Allen turned a peculiar shade of red.
"How
DARE he?" Allen snarled through clenched teeth. Celena rolled her eyes.
"With
all due respect, Allen, I think he's just upset about losing the
deal…"
Allen
shook his head, golden hair flying everywhere. "No, Celena, you
don't KNOW Dryden as well as I do! He doesn't CARE about that! All
he cares about is that I screwed up and
he didn't! A million
dollars is pocket cash to Dryden Fassa."
Celena
fretted her brow. "Oh. I see." She sat silently with her hands in
her lap, well aware that Allen was less than pleased with her. After a while,
she gathered up the courage to ask him her question. "Allen? Why do you
hate Dryden so much?"
Allen
shook his head angrily. "I don't want to talk about him,
Celena."
"You
can't hide behind your anger, Allen. That never works."
He
turned to her with a patronizing look of disbelief. "What could you
POSSIBLY know about that?"
"Plenty,
Allen. Or have you forgotten so quickly where I was for those ten years?"
"That
wasn't YOU," he said irritably.
"Not
fully," Celena glanced at her hands in her lap, "But I was always
there. I was a PART of him, Allen, and He…" She lowered her voice,
"He is a part of me."
"Don't
talk like that, Celena! What's wrong with you?"
She shook her head. He doesn't understand.
He'll never understand. "I… I'm not sure…" she brought her hand up to her
forehead. "I feel a little faint… perhaps I should go lay
down."
That
afternoon I went to my room and vowed not to speak to Allen about Dilandau ever
again. To Allen, Dilandau was gone, and I was determined to keep it that way,
if only to make things easier for him. It was a vow I would fail to keep, but at that time there was no way I
could have possibly known that.
I
also thought about Dryden. Why did he and my brother despise each other so?
What could possibly have happened to create such a huge rift between two
otherwise very charming men? I couldn't say for sure, but I was almost
certain that it was a woman. That's one good thing that happens when
you're a member of the opposite sex for a whole generation: you get to
know how they think pretty well.
Dryden
is handsome in his own way. This is something I had determined when we first
met. But there's something more to him, a sort of strange
magnetism… even now I can't fully explain it. Dryden is a
very… enthralling person. When he speaks, you listen. I could understand
how he might seem extremely attractive to a great number of women (not me,
though… as charming as Dryden is, he's not and never will be my
type). But I had to wonder if any woman out there could possibly find him MORE
attractive than my brother. Now before you start thinking things about that last
statement, keep in mind that I'm examining this situation from a neutral
perspective. And even if I weren't, I would have to be blind, deaf, mute
and incredibly stupid not to know that my brother is an extremely attractive
man. Not only is he almost perfect as far as looks go, but he also has a
certain sort of grace about him. I've heard it said that grace and
attitude are Schezar family traits. Guess which one I ended up with?
At
any rate, I finally came to the conclusion that no matter how much guess work I
did, I would never be able to figure out the whole story on my own. So I
decided to talk to my most reliable source of information besides my brother:
Gaddes. He, at least, would be sure to tell me the whole gory tale, uncensored.
So
I made a mental note to speak with Gaddes about it later that night.
Unfortunately, I would not get the chance to do so until many days later.
Little did I know of what was to come within the next hour, and little did I
know of the events that would follow…