Second Reflection
They smiled at each other
before kissing once more.
Celes kept the white sheet
pulled over her body as Locke slid out of the bed.
"I love you," she said.
Locke smiled back at her. He
yawned and walked over to the window that looked out onto Lake Obel, the
manmade lake where they had erected their dream home. It had only been complete
for a week now. Their first night in it was amazing. Locke and Celes ate a
large and exquisite dinner with the Figaro brothers and Setzer. After they
party had left the couple got drunk on wine and made love in their new home.
And now the first night had
ended. So began the first day.
"This place, it's beautiful."
Locke said.
Celes smiled again. "I don't
think we could've chosen any place better." She followed suit and unraveled
herself from the sheets. She stood up, wearing her long green nightgown studded
with diamonds on the shoulders. Edgar had presented it to her as a gift last
night. "Isn't this beautiful as well?" she asked, looking at her new garment.
"A nightgown with diamonds. It could only be from Edgar."
As Locke looked at the garment
he drifted into a reverie.
And Celes recalled the previous
night as well.
"He's quite foolish for asking
such a thing," Edgar said. "The 'Chancellor' knows I am much happier on the
high seas. I don't want to be bottled up in that castle, leading a life or
uneventful leadership."
"He's even begged me to take the
throne." Sabin said.
Celes shot Sabin a quizzical
look while cutting into her lobster. The thick meat was scattered across the
pale blue plate, intermingling with her side dishes. Edgar had gave Locke his
adequate share of the shellfish caught by the fishermen aboard the Floating
Figaro.
"If I was the Chancellor I
wouldn't even bother to ask you Sabin, I'd know your answer." Locke said,
dipping a piece of the lobster into the hot bowl of butter.
"Yes, you're quite busy training
Gau. How is that coming along Sabin?" Celes asked.
"He's progressing well," Sabin
said, pausing to scoop some rice into his mouth. "But I'm not only training him
in the ways of combat. I have to help make him civilized."
"Still own that tux?" Setzer
asked, laughing through a smirk.
Sabin laughed along with the
rest of the party.
"I'm afraid Gau and I are
minimalists when it comes to clothing. We spend a majority of the day training.
We can't restrict our movement."
Locke looked over the navy blue
suit Sabin had worn to the dinner. A gold trim ran down the shoulders and
forearm. It circled and ran the length of each pant leg as well.
"Your choice of clothing tonight
doesn't seem so minimal." Locke said.
You'll have to thank my brother
for this outfit," Sabin said. "I own nothing to compare with the likes of
this."
Locke looked over the older
Figaro brother. Edgar always seemed to be partial to green, though Locke
couldn't complain. He was quite stunning in the color. On this night he wore a
white ruffled shirt covered with a large green cloak. The cloak was embroidered
with an intricate blue pattern on the shoulders, causing the outfit to mesh
with the bright-eyes royal perfectly.
"Locke?" Edgar asked.
Locke snapped back to attention,
straightening his back in the chair. "Yes?"
"You seemed to . . ."
"Flash out? Yes, I'm sorry."
Locke returned to his lobster. He stared down at the fragments of exoskeleton
scattered across his plate.
Celes cleared her throat.
"Setzer, how's your business doing?" She glanced at her lover next to her. He
was content on his plate, not wanting to look up to face her.
Maybe what I thought is true.
She let out a small sigh. How
many years ago was it when she had made one certain trip to Figaro Castle?
Edgar, you never told me why.
Why did she give in to his
pleading?
"Celes, you are my love! I need
you!"
Of course you did Edgar.
"Well, offering the service was a great idea. In fact, I've had to build three more airships to serve all the customers." Setzer replied.
"I would presume that air travel would be popular." Celes said smiling, trying to push back her thoughts of Edgar.
She caught the handsome man gazing in her direction, his sharp blue eyes peering at her from the opposite end of the table.
And she welt them whisper to her.
"I still remember," they said.
Locke took a few steps towards
her. He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"Diamonds or no diamonds, you're the radiance here." He kissed her gently. She
smiled and looked towards her feet. Locke ran a hand through her golden hair
before kissing her forehead and breaking the embrace.
"When do you leave today?" Celes
asked.
"I can't go today. I'll have to
send a message to Edgar that I won't be going along this time." Locke answered.
"Will we be able to manage until
he sets out again?"
"I think so. The last expedition
yielded a lot. We should be covered for the next two months."
"You always have everything
worked out don't you?" Celes asked, striding towards him for a kiss.
He gave her the kiss she desired
and sat down on the bed. She sat next to him, forcing him to turn towards her.
He cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her again. "Well, if you aren't
leaving, then how are you going to spend this day?"
"With you."
She used her hand to push off
the shoulders of the nightgown. Locke wrapped his arm around her back. She fell
back towards the bed. He followed her.
As they lay naked wrapped in the
sheets of the bed, Locke entangled with the woman that loved him. She was
pondering about how to start a conversation with Locke that she had wanted to
initiate for quite some time.
"Locke?"
"Yes?"
"Have you ever thought about . .
. Have you ever thought about children?" Celes asked, biting her lip.
He rolled over to face her. "Who
hasn't?"
"But what do you think about
having children?"
"Well my dear," he grabbed a
strand of her hair and twirled it around his fingers, "I think we should wait
for now."
"Well, what is there to wait
for?"
He looked her in the eyes.
"We'll find out."
Locke sat in a small wooden
chair on his dock. He turned his head to the left to let his eyes linger on the
abused paddle boat that was tied to the dock.
"Do you remember the day when we
took that to the center of the lake?" He stopped to laugh. "I miss you." A
smiled played across his face. He stood up and walked towards the house.
The house we built.
