Chapter 20- Departure
The next morning, Celes woke up in Locke's arms, covered with dew from the grass. She and Locke had fallen asleep together after a lot of deep conversation and a few more kisses. No one had come for them, and personally, neither one minded too much at all.
Celes gazed down at the sleeping Locke, and smiled to herself.
This is what I wanted...my world, to be nothing but Locke's embrace. Is this real? Or will I wake up any minute now, alone, back at my house?
Locke suddenly moaned and opened his eyes, looking at Celes. He smiled, and she smiled back as he kissed her on the forehead.
"Morning." He said, and sat up a little, stretching and yawning.
"Good morning." Celes said, and ran her fingers through her hair. Locke suddenly laughed, and Celes looked at him. "Hey, what's so funny?"
"Heh, this probably doesn't look good." Locke joked, and rubbed his forehead. "I mean, look at us...we're all damp, tired, our clothes and hair are messed up..."
"Oh, Locke!" Celes cried, and blushed as he laughed more. She stood up, and brushed herself off. But suddenly, as her hands ran around her chest and neck to remove any dew, she noticed the bandana was gone! Celes let out a worried gasp.
"What's wrong?" Locke cried, and jumped up.
"Your bandana, is gone...!" Celes cried, and frantically looked around for it.
"Calm down, here it is." Locke said, and picked it up from the ground. Celes sighed, and took it from him.
"Thanks." She replied. "But you know, also, last night, I noticed I had lost Edgar's fan..."
"Oh, I have that too." Locke added, and pulled it from his pocket. "You dropped it on the airship."
"Oh, thanks again!" Celes smiled, and took that too. "So, don't you think we should be getting back to the others now?"
"Hmmm, yeah." Locke said, and nodded. "I bet they're all sleeping on the airship."
The two walked over to Setzer's airship, and Celes knocked on the ship's exit door. There were footsteps, and a few seconds later, Maria appeared.
"Aha, Miss Chere, and Mr. Cole." She said, and smiled.
"Maria!" Celes said, and smiled, trying to ignore the looks Maria was giving her, as if she had done something dirty last night.
"Come in, come in." Maria said, and let out a soft sigh as she looked past them at the now totally destroyed Opera House. Celes and Locke walked in, and were met by Setzer.
"Hey you two." Setzer said, and smiled. "You fell asleep last night, and we didn't want to bother you. I hope you don't mind."
"No, don't worry about it." Locke said, and slid an arm around Celes' waist. Celes looked up at him and beamed a bright smile that had not been seen on her face for quite a while.
**********
"So, you want a ride to Jidoor?" Setzer asked over a small breakfast on the ship along with Maria and Impressario.
"Yeah, it's a good place to search for treasure." Locke grinned, and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Jidoor is a pretty sophisticated city." Celes said slyly. "A heaven for pickpockets and thieves..."
"Ahhh, give me a break." Locke moaned, and pretended to pout.
"Just kidding." Celes smiled, and leaned in over the table, looking at Setzer. "So, will you take us?"
"Of course." Setzer nodded. "Do you mind coming along, Maria, Impressario?"
"No, in fact, I wouldn't mind if you just dropped me off." Maria said. "I have friends that I can stay with."
"Me too." Impressario said. "I'm pretty sure that Owzer wouldn't mind me staying with him either."
"Awww, everyone is leaving me." Setzer complained. "Oh well! That just leaves me more time to hunt down some new casinos!"
"Don't think that you're off of work." Impressario said. "As soon as the Opera House is rebuilt, you're coming back."
"Awww, ok." Setzer said, and shrugged. "I guess that a good thing like waundering free and gambling is too much of a good thing."
"Oui, considering you owe the Opera House money." Maria smirked, and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Ha!" Locke exclaimed. "That's why you're working here! You owe these guys money!"
"Er..." Setzer said, and stood up. "I'm going to start on our way to Jidoor now!" With that, he took off running from the table. Everyone laughed, and Celes pushed away her plate of sausage and eggs.
"I'm not very hungry right now." She said, and Locke laughed again.
"How can you turn down a meal that hasn't been burnt or destroyed like yours are??" He laughed, and Celes practically dove on top of him.
"Watch it!!!" she screamed, and Maria laughed, standing up.
"I shall see you all in a bit." She said, and retreated to an unoccupied room. Impressario also nodded to them, and left, following Maria. Celes sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Something up?" Locke asked, and looked at her.
"No." Celes said, and leaned back in her chair. "But really Locke, why do you want to go Jidoor?"
"Ohhhh....my secret." Locke said, and smiled.
A few minutes later, the familiar rumbling of the airship taking off occurred, and soon the team was soaring through the sky to Jidoor, which was really a short ways away. Before Celes knew it, they had landed, and everyone had exited the ship...to say goodbye.
Maria smoothed out her dress and looked about the front gate entrance to the town. She then turned to Locke and Celes.
"It was an honor meeting you, oui?" She said, and smiled.
"Yes, I hope we meet again someday." Celes said, and she and Maria kissed each other on their cheeks. Maria bowed to Locke, and to Setzer as well.
"Take care of yourselves." Impressario said, and waved, as the two walked away into the more upper-class part of town. Celes, Locke, and Setzer turned to each other.
"It was nice seeing you two again." Setzer said, and smiled at Celes. "Especially....together like this." Celes blushed a little.
"Setzer..." Locke said, and Setzer only nodded back to him. The two exchanged warm smiles, and Locke slipped his hand in Celes'.
"Well, lets meet again, shall we?" Setzer said, and waved. "Take care!"
"Goodbye, thanks for everything!" Celes called as he entered his ship again. She and Locke entered Jidoor just as it raised from the ground and soon disappeared into the sunny sky. The wind from the airship made Celes' hair fly up a bit as they walked away.
"I think we should find a place to change clothes." Celes remarked, looking down at her designer dress. "Our old clothes are in our bag, right?"
"Uh-huh." Locke said, and squinted his eyes as he looked around the busy city. Townsfolk were scrambling everywhere to get their morning chores done, while the richer women strolled around, gazing in shop windows with lovely lace umbrellas over their heads to shade them. Celes sighed, and suddenly felt very poor, and very lower class-like.
"I think I see a clothes shop over there." Locke said, and pointed down the road. "I bet they'll let us change there. Also, you think we could get a good price on these clothes?"
"That's not even your tux!" Celes lectured. "That's Edgar's!"
"Yep!" Locke grinned. "Which means it had to be expensive! We're really gonna be tight on money from here out, so I'm going to do everyting we can to make sure we're as comfortable as possible."
"I'll help also." Celes said, and nodded. "I'll sell this too. Lets hurry up before that store gets too crowded with shoppers."
Celes and Locke practically ran to the store, and met up with the salesclerk. They explained what they wanted to do, and he happily agreed to buy their clothes. He directed them to the changing room in the back of the store, and moved on to another customer. Celes entered the room first, and tightly shut the curtain. She gazed at herself in the mirror of the dim room for a moment, and began to slowly pull off her dress. When it was off, and she was just in her panties, Celes crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her back in the mirror. The wounds were almost completely gone now, but there would definately be scars.
"Damn..." Celes murmured, and sighed. Now she felt even lower, and sort of ugly. The scars wouldn't be deep....probably hardly noticable, but she couldn't convince herself of that. To her, they looked like gaping abnormalities, a massive flaw. "This had to happen right when Locke and I...." She murmured again and dug through the bag, retrieving her green outfit, boots, bra, and cape. After putting everything back on, she took a brush and tugged through her hair with it, making it the straight honey- blonde style it was normally in, and tied Locke's bandana around her forehead. She was finished.
She left the dressing room and caught Locke looking at her,
"Hey, what took you so long?" He asked, and she shrugged.
"I thought I was missing something, and had to go through the bag twice to find it." Celes said, looked down at the floor.
"Oh....ok." Locke said, and smiled a little. "Guess it's my turn then, eh?" He nodded at that, and walked into the room, drawing the curtains. Celes sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for Locke to come out.
The next morning, Celes woke up in Locke's arms, covered with dew from the grass. She and Locke had fallen asleep together after a lot of deep conversation and a few more kisses. No one had come for them, and personally, neither one minded too much at all.
Celes gazed down at the sleeping Locke, and smiled to herself.
This is what I wanted...my world, to be nothing but Locke's embrace. Is this real? Or will I wake up any minute now, alone, back at my house?
Locke suddenly moaned and opened his eyes, looking at Celes. He smiled, and she smiled back as he kissed her on the forehead.
"Morning." He said, and sat up a little, stretching and yawning.
"Good morning." Celes said, and ran her fingers through her hair. Locke suddenly laughed, and Celes looked at him. "Hey, what's so funny?"
"Heh, this probably doesn't look good." Locke joked, and rubbed his forehead. "I mean, look at us...we're all damp, tired, our clothes and hair are messed up..."
"Oh, Locke!" Celes cried, and blushed as he laughed more. She stood up, and brushed herself off. But suddenly, as her hands ran around her chest and neck to remove any dew, she noticed the bandana was gone! Celes let out a worried gasp.
"What's wrong?" Locke cried, and jumped up.
"Your bandana, is gone...!" Celes cried, and frantically looked around for it.
"Calm down, here it is." Locke said, and picked it up from the ground. Celes sighed, and took it from him.
"Thanks." She replied. "But you know, also, last night, I noticed I had lost Edgar's fan..."
"Oh, I have that too." Locke added, and pulled it from his pocket. "You dropped it on the airship."
"Oh, thanks again!" Celes smiled, and took that too. "So, don't you think we should be getting back to the others now?"
"Hmmm, yeah." Locke said, and nodded. "I bet they're all sleeping on the airship."
The two walked over to Setzer's airship, and Celes knocked on the ship's exit door. There were footsteps, and a few seconds later, Maria appeared.
"Aha, Miss Chere, and Mr. Cole." She said, and smiled.
"Maria!" Celes said, and smiled, trying to ignore the looks Maria was giving her, as if she had done something dirty last night.
"Come in, come in." Maria said, and let out a soft sigh as she looked past them at the now totally destroyed Opera House. Celes and Locke walked in, and were met by Setzer.
"Hey you two." Setzer said, and smiled. "You fell asleep last night, and we didn't want to bother you. I hope you don't mind."
"No, don't worry about it." Locke said, and slid an arm around Celes' waist. Celes looked up at him and beamed a bright smile that had not been seen on her face for quite a while.
**********
"So, you want a ride to Jidoor?" Setzer asked over a small breakfast on the ship along with Maria and Impressario.
"Yeah, it's a good place to search for treasure." Locke grinned, and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Jidoor is a pretty sophisticated city." Celes said slyly. "A heaven for pickpockets and thieves..."
"Ahhh, give me a break." Locke moaned, and pretended to pout.
"Just kidding." Celes smiled, and leaned in over the table, looking at Setzer. "So, will you take us?"
"Of course." Setzer nodded. "Do you mind coming along, Maria, Impressario?"
"No, in fact, I wouldn't mind if you just dropped me off." Maria said. "I have friends that I can stay with."
"Me too." Impressario said. "I'm pretty sure that Owzer wouldn't mind me staying with him either."
"Awww, everyone is leaving me." Setzer complained. "Oh well! That just leaves me more time to hunt down some new casinos!"
"Don't think that you're off of work." Impressario said. "As soon as the Opera House is rebuilt, you're coming back."
"Awww, ok." Setzer said, and shrugged. "I guess that a good thing like waundering free and gambling is too much of a good thing."
"Oui, considering you owe the Opera House money." Maria smirked, and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Ha!" Locke exclaimed. "That's why you're working here! You owe these guys money!"
"Er..." Setzer said, and stood up. "I'm going to start on our way to Jidoor now!" With that, he took off running from the table. Everyone laughed, and Celes pushed away her plate of sausage and eggs.
"I'm not very hungry right now." She said, and Locke laughed again.
"How can you turn down a meal that hasn't been burnt or destroyed like yours are??" He laughed, and Celes practically dove on top of him.
"Watch it!!!" she screamed, and Maria laughed, standing up.
"I shall see you all in a bit." She said, and retreated to an unoccupied room. Impressario also nodded to them, and left, following Maria. Celes sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Something up?" Locke asked, and looked at her.
"No." Celes said, and leaned back in her chair. "But really Locke, why do you want to go Jidoor?"
"Ohhhh....my secret." Locke said, and smiled.
A few minutes later, the familiar rumbling of the airship taking off occurred, and soon the team was soaring through the sky to Jidoor, which was really a short ways away. Before Celes knew it, they had landed, and everyone had exited the ship...to say goodbye.
Maria smoothed out her dress and looked about the front gate entrance to the town. She then turned to Locke and Celes.
"It was an honor meeting you, oui?" She said, and smiled.
"Yes, I hope we meet again someday." Celes said, and she and Maria kissed each other on their cheeks. Maria bowed to Locke, and to Setzer as well.
"Take care of yourselves." Impressario said, and waved, as the two walked away into the more upper-class part of town. Celes, Locke, and Setzer turned to each other.
"It was nice seeing you two again." Setzer said, and smiled at Celes. "Especially....together like this." Celes blushed a little.
"Setzer..." Locke said, and Setzer only nodded back to him. The two exchanged warm smiles, and Locke slipped his hand in Celes'.
"Well, lets meet again, shall we?" Setzer said, and waved. "Take care!"
"Goodbye, thanks for everything!" Celes called as he entered his ship again. She and Locke entered Jidoor just as it raised from the ground and soon disappeared into the sunny sky. The wind from the airship made Celes' hair fly up a bit as they walked away.
"I think we should find a place to change clothes." Celes remarked, looking down at her designer dress. "Our old clothes are in our bag, right?"
"Uh-huh." Locke said, and squinted his eyes as he looked around the busy city. Townsfolk were scrambling everywhere to get their morning chores done, while the richer women strolled around, gazing in shop windows with lovely lace umbrellas over their heads to shade them. Celes sighed, and suddenly felt very poor, and very lower class-like.
"I think I see a clothes shop over there." Locke said, and pointed down the road. "I bet they'll let us change there. Also, you think we could get a good price on these clothes?"
"That's not even your tux!" Celes lectured. "That's Edgar's!"
"Yep!" Locke grinned. "Which means it had to be expensive! We're really gonna be tight on money from here out, so I'm going to do everyting we can to make sure we're as comfortable as possible."
"I'll help also." Celes said, and nodded. "I'll sell this too. Lets hurry up before that store gets too crowded with shoppers."
Celes and Locke practically ran to the store, and met up with the salesclerk. They explained what they wanted to do, and he happily agreed to buy their clothes. He directed them to the changing room in the back of the store, and moved on to another customer. Celes entered the room first, and tightly shut the curtain. She gazed at herself in the mirror of the dim room for a moment, and began to slowly pull off her dress. When it was off, and she was just in her panties, Celes crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her back in the mirror. The wounds were almost completely gone now, but there would definately be scars.
"Damn..." Celes murmured, and sighed. Now she felt even lower, and sort of ugly. The scars wouldn't be deep....probably hardly noticable, but she couldn't convince herself of that. To her, they looked like gaping abnormalities, a massive flaw. "This had to happen right when Locke and I...." She murmured again and dug through the bag, retrieving her green outfit, boots, bra, and cape. After putting everything back on, she took a brush and tugged through her hair with it, making it the straight honey- blonde style it was normally in, and tied Locke's bandana around her forehead. She was finished.
She left the dressing room and caught Locke looking at her,
"Hey, what took you so long?" He asked, and she shrugged.
"I thought I was missing something, and had to go through the bag twice to find it." Celes said, looked down at the floor.
"Oh....ok." Locke said, and smiled a little. "Guess it's my turn then, eh?" He nodded at that, and walked into the room, drawing the curtains. Celes sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for Locke to come out.