Chapter 29- Surprise Visitor
As Celes was sitting down and reading a book she had found laying about in Locke's house about rare jewels, there came a knock at the door. Celes blinked and set the book down, slowly standing up. She was now dressed in a light yellow sundress that reached to her knees, and in barefeet. She walked over to the door and asked cautiously "Who is it?" Locke was not due back so soon, surely. Besides, why would he knock?
"Celes? Is that you?" The voice asked. "It's me, Terra..."
"Terra!" Celes exclaimed, and immediately threw open the door. Her emerald haired friend was standing there on the steps, smiling brightly. She had a sack thrown over her shoulder, and two wrapped packages under her arm. Celes took them from her and laid them down on the floor of the house, and then embraced her. Terra laughed and hugged back the best she could.
"I hope you didn't mind me visiting." She said, and smiled. "I wanted it to be a surprise. I'm staying at the Inn here. Where is Locke?"
"Oh, he had some errands to run." Celes said, and looked at Terra's sack and the packages on the floor. "What are these, anyway?"
"Well, this is my dress, I wanted to show it to you." Terra said, pointing to the sack. "And those are you and Locke's wedding presents. You can't open them now though!"
"Thank you so much!" Celes smiled. "I promise to keep Locke's hands off of them until the big day." Terra stepped in the house more as Celes shut the door behind her. "This really is a great surprise, Terra. Would you like something to drink? I can make tea without distorting it in any way."
Terra laughed and shook her head. "Celes, you are so funny. Yes, tea sounds nice, thank you."
"You can lay your dress out on the couch." Celes said, and pointed. Terra did so, and followed Celes into the kitchen. Celes took out Locke's bandana and tied around her forehead. The day was heating up already. As she got out the tea supplies, Terra sat down and chatted.
"Celes, you have to tell me everything. How he proposed, where he did it, did you cry at all? Where is the ring? Oh, I want to see your dress too..."
Celes answered as many of Terra's questions as possible and carefully poured the tea into two small cups. She brought it over to the table and sat down, passing Terra's tea to her. Terra nodded a thank you, and blew on the surface of the tea.
"Was your trip hard?" Celes asked, and left her tea to cool on it's own.
"No, it was actually refreshing." Terra said, and sighed happily. "It brought back nice memories from travelling before. The kids are being watched by Katarin and Duane, so I can trust that they are ok. Everything went great."
"What a relief." Celes smiled, and leaned forward. "I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too!" Terra replied, and sipped the tea. "I still cannot believe you are getting married. To think that two of us are settling down...well, it's different!"
"Yeah." Celes agreed, and pushed some hair behind her shoulders. "But I'm a little worried."
"What?" Terra asked, and widened her eyes.
"There are a lot of things to still take care of." Celes said, and bit her lower lip. "Locke and I were in too much of a hurry. We don't know where we'll go after the wedding, where we'll live, even the money situation is bad. We haven't even found a priest yet, or anybody who can perform the ceremony."
"That's not good." Terra said. "But what do the people in this villiage do when they get married?"
"They usually get married in Jidoor." Celes said. "At least, that's what the woman who made my dress told me once."
"So....get married in Jidoor." Terra said, and blinked.
"No, we can't." Celes said quickly. "Well, I shouldn't say that we can't. It's just that, we want to be here, at the house. It feels right that way."
"Oh..." Terra trailed off. "Well, I can certainly respect that. This is a very pretty place, after all."
"Kohlingen is a fine place to live." Celes agreed, and lifted her tea cup. "It's just very quiet and a bit boring. But it's a wonderful place to raise a family...there are always children everywhere..." Celes sighed and took a sip of her tea.
"Where do the kids go to school, anyway?" Terra questioned.
"There is a private academy up north, by the Colosseam, and a public school near Jidoor." Celes said. "A lot of the kids go to the public school though. You can tell, because only a few kids around here have the private school's uniforms."
"Hee hee, where would you put your children?" Terra asked slyly, and Celes turned red.
"I, um, well, I don't know!" Celes cried. "I've never thought about it! But then again, I don't have to yet, I assure you."
"Do you ever want to have kids?" Terra asked.
"......I don't really know." Celes said, and looked down at the table.
"Well, on first instinct, would that be a yes or no?" Terra pressured.
"Probably a no." Celes replied, and felt her face flush. "It's too...."
"Different." Terra finished for her. "Don't worry, that's how I feel about it. Even though I take care of the other children, really, I think it would feel different to have my own baby...to have to start from the very beginning of everything...to be fully responsible for someone's life forever...I just don't know."
"Well." Celes said, and stood up, abandoning the tea she had barely touched. "Wanna see my dress?"
"Sure!" Terra said, relieved at the subject change almost as much as Celes was. She followed Celes to her and Locke's bedroom, and let out a small gasp as Celes slowly pulled the dress out of the light brown cover bag and held it up to her body.
It was actually a simple design, Celes didn't want anything too fancy. The dress would hang off of her shoulders, leaving them bare, and the sleeves were long and ended right at the middle of her hands. The neckline was cut just deep enough to reveal a hint of her chest, and the top of the dress looked as if it would fit her snuggly until the waistline, where it flared out into a beautiful, long, gown of flowing white satin. Around the waist of the dress was a delicate glass beaded belt with a sapphire that sat dangling in the middle of it. The sapphire was the color of Celes' eyes, Terra noted. And the dress.....pure white....like snow....
"Do you have a veil or anything?" Terra asked, smiling widely.
"Yeah, actually, I have this circlet." Celes said, and draped the dress over the bed. She went back into the closet, and pulled out a silver circlet with white ribbons dangling off the sides.
"I'm going to weave two pink roses in it the night before the wedding." Celes added, and smiled a little. "I hope I look ok when I'm dressed up and ready."
"Of course you will." Terra lectured, and nodded. "I'll help you out too."
"Oh...like a bridesmaid?"
"Yeah, hee hee!"
"Show me your dress now!" Celes exclaimed, and Terra gently tugged hers out of the sack. It was a long, emerald green gown that complimented her eyes and hair perfectly. It had small spagetti straps, and a creamy silk scarf was wrapped around the hanger, which Celes assumed was going to go around Terra's neck. There were also a pair of silk green gloves attatched to the hanger. Terra flipped the dress so that Celes could see the back of it was open and dipped all the way to Terra's lower back in a sexy fashion.
"That's so elegant..." Celes trailed off, and felt slightly embarassed. Terra would probably end up looking much prettier then her at the wedding. Terra had a better body, a more lady-like frame, and most importantly, she didn't have to worry about ugly little scars. She had been attacked just like Celes, but obviously nothing remained on her, or else she would shy Terra would never dare to wear a dress like that. She was like a china doll, perfected in every way, right down to her flowing movements and posture. Celes began to feel ugly and low class again. The feeling had been creeping up on her more and more lately...
As Celes was sitting down and reading a book she had found laying about in Locke's house about rare jewels, there came a knock at the door. Celes blinked and set the book down, slowly standing up. She was now dressed in a light yellow sundress that reached to her knees, and in barefeet. She walked over to the door and asked cautiously "Who is it?" Locke was not due back so soon, surely. Besides, why would he knock?
"Celes? Is that you?" The voice asked. "It's me, Terra..."
"Terra!" Celes exclaimed, and immediately threw open the door. Her emerald haired friend was standing there on the steps, smiling brightly. She had a sack thrown over her shoulder, and two wrapped packages under her arm. Celes took them from her and laid them down on the floor of the house, and then embraced her. Terra laughed and hugged back the best she could.
"I hope you didn't mind me visiting." She said, and smiled. "I wanted it to be a surprise. I'm staying at the Inn here. Where is Locke?"
"Oh, he had some errands to run." Celes said, and looked at Terra's sack and the packages on the floor. "What are these, anyway?"
"Well, this is my dress, I wanted to show it to you." Terra said, pointing to the sack. "And those are you and Locke's wedding presents. You can't open them now though!"
"Thank you so much!" Celes smiled. "I promise to keep Locke's hands off of them until the big day." Terra stepped in the house more as Celes shut the door behind her. "This really is a great surprise, Terra. Would you like something to drink? I can make tea without distorting it in any way."
Terra laughed and shook her head. "Celes, you are so funny. Yes, tea sounds nice, thank you."
"You can lay your dress out on the couch." Celes said, and pointed. Terra did so, and followed Celes into the kitchen. Celes took out Locke's bandana and tied around her forehead. The day was heating up already. As she got out the tea supplies, Terra sat down and chatted.
"Celes, you have to tell me everything. How he proposed, where he did it, did you cry at all? Where is the ring? Oh, I want to see your dress too..."
Celes answered as many of Terra's questions as possible and carefully poured the tea into two small cups. She brought it over to the table and sat down, passing Terra's tea to her. Terra nodded a thank you, and blew on the surface of the tea.
"Was your trip hard?" Celes asked, and left her tea to cool on it's own.
"No, it was actually refreshing." Terra said, and sighed happily. "It brought back nice memories from travelling before. The kids are being watched by Katarin and Duane, so I can trust that they are ok. Everything went great."
"What a relief." Celes smiled, and leaned forward. "I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too!" Terra replied, and sipped the tea. "I still cannot believe you are getting married. To think that two of us are settling down...well, it's different!"
"Yeah." Celes agreed, and pushed some hair behind her shoulders. "But I'm a little worried."
"What?" Terra asked, and widened her eyes.
"There are a lot of things to still take care of." Celes said, and bit her lower lip. "Locke and I were in too much of a hurry. We don't know where we'll go after the wedding, where we'll live, even the money situation is bad. We haven't even found a priest yet, or anybody who can perform the ceremony."
"That's not good." Terra said. "But what do the people in this villiage do when they get married?"
"They usually get married in Jidoor." Celes said. "At least, that's what the woman who made my dress told me once."
"So....get married in Jidoor." Terra said, and blinked.
"No, we can't." Celes said quickly. "Well, I shouldn't say that we can't. It's just that, we want to be here, at the house. It feels right that way."
"Oh..." Terra trailed off. "Well, I can certainly respect that. This is a very pretty place, after all."
"Kohlingen is a fine place to live." Celes agreed, and lifted her tea cup. "It's just very quiet and a bit boring. But it's a wonderful place to raise a family...there are always children everywhere..." Celes sighed and took a sip of her tea.
"Where do the kids go to school, anyway?" Terra questioned.
"There is a private academy up north, by the Colosseam, and a public school near Jidoor." Celes said. "A lot of the kids go to the public school though. You can tell, because only a few kids around here have the private school's uniforms."
"Hee hee, where would you put your children?" Terra asked slyly, and Celes turned red.
"I, um, well, I don't know!" Celes cried. "I've never thought about it! But then again, I don't have to yet, I assure you."
"Do you ever want to have kids?" Terra asked.
"......I don't really know." Celes said, and looked down at the table.
"Well, on first instinct, would that be a yes or no?" Terra pressured.
"Probably a no." Celes replied, and felt her face flush. "It's too...."
"Different." Terra finished for her. "Don't worry, that's how I feel about it. Even though I take care of the other children, really, I think it would feel different to have my own baby...to have to start from the very beginning of everything...to be fully responsible for someone's life forever...I just don't know."
"Well." Celes said, and stood up, abandoning the tea she had barely touched. "Wanna see my dress?"
"Sure!" Terra said, relieved at the subject change almost as much as Celes was. She followed Celes to her and Locke's bedroom, and let out a small gasp as Celes slowly pulled the dress out of the light brown cover bag and held it up to her body.
It was actually a simple design, Celes didn't want anything too fancy. The dress would hang off of her shoulders, leaving them bare, and the sleeves were long and ended right at the middle of her hands. The neckline was cut just deep enough to reveal a hint of her chest, and the top of the dress looked as if it would fit her snuggly until the waistline, where it flared out into a beautiful, long, gown of flowing white satin. Around the waist of the dress was a delicate glass beaded belt with a sapphire that sat dangling in the middle of it. The sapphire was the color of Celes' eyes, Terra noted. And the dress.....pure white....like snow....
"Do you have a veil or anything?" Terra asked, smiling widely.
"Yeah, actually, I have this circlet." Celes said, and draped the dress over the bed. She went back into the closet, and pulled out a silver circlet with white ribbons dangling off the sides.
"I'm going to weave two pink roses in it the night before the wedding." Celes added, and smiled a little. "I hope I look ok when I'm dressed up and ready."
"Of course you will." Terra lectured, and nodded. "I'll help you out too."
"Oh...like a bridesmaid?"
"Yeah, hee hee!"
"Show me your dress now!" Celes exclaimed, and Terra gently tugged hers out of the sack. It was a long, emerald green gown that complimented her eyes and hair perfectly. It had small spagetti straps, and a creamy silk scarf was wrapped around the hanger, which Celes assumed was going to go around Terra's neck. There were also a pair of silk green gloves attatched to the hanger. Terra flipped the dress so that Celes could see the back of it was open and dipped all the way to Terra's lower back in a sexy fashion.
"That's so elegant..." Celes trailed off, and felt slightly embarassed. Terra would probably end up looking much prettier then her at the wedding. Terra had a better body, a more lady-like frame, and most importantly, she didn't have to worry about ugly little scars. She had been attacked just like Celes, but obviously nothing remained on her, or else she would shy Terra would never dare to wear a dress like that. She was like a china doll, perfected in every way, right down to her flowing movements and posture. Celes began to feel ugly and low class again. The feeling had been creeping up on her more and more lately...