Chapter 34- Arrivals
There was a knocking at Celes' bedroom door as she was tying on her bathrobe. She opened the door and saw Terra, holding up Celes' circlet for her hair. Celes had been so busy, she didn't have time to get the flowers she needed to weave in it, but Terra had taken care of it for her. Entwined around the silver circlet were two perfect pink roses, the blossoms set right above the white ribbons that trailed from the circlet. Celes smiled brightly and took the circlet from Terra.
"Thank you so much!" Celes exclaimed, and set it down on her dresser. "This is gorgeous..."
"No problem!" Terra smiled, and gave a victory sign. "Now, we need to get you ready, huh?"
"Well...what do I do?" Celes asked dumbly, and Terra burst out laughing.
"You have to get a bath first...wash all that hair, wash your body, shave your legs, and then, you have to rub yourself down with lotion, get dressed, do your hair, make sure you have your bouquet and garter..."
"Yow, slow down!" Celes cried, and pracitcally broke out into a sweat thinking about it all. "Ok, first, I'll take a bath. And then, we'll talk about the rest, ok?"
"Hee-hee, alright." Terra replied, and suddenly gave Celes a hug. Celes blinked and hugged back, an overwhelming sense of sisterhood washing over her. Suddenly, there was a very loud knock on the door, and Terra pulled away.
"Let me get it!" Celes screamed like a kid, and ran out of the bedroom.
"Wait!" Terra cried. "You're not even dressed...."
Celes yanked open the door and screamed when she saw who was there. Hugging a large wrapped package to her chest was Relm, and behind her, Strago, her grandfather. However, Celes barely recognized the younger girl. Relm must have experienced a growth spurt that summer, for she was now at least 3 inches taller, and had began to develop into a young lady. She was still dressed in her black tube top which had noticeably filled out more, but exchanged her puffy pants for a long, orange and yellow skirt which was tied in a knot around her waist. Her outfit was completed with a pair of stylish japanese-style wooden sandles and a black beret set on her shoulder- length curly golden hair.
Strago, on the other hand, still looked the same, only now, he was decked out in a snazzy tux that Celes was pretty sure Relm had picked out. His white hair was also brushed down and styled neatly, although he still fashioned that goatee that seemed too young for his face. He turned slightly red when Celes had thrown open the door merely in her robe, and Relm smiled brightly, her blue eyes sparkling.
"Celes!" Relm said, shoving her package into Strago's arms and hugging her tightly. Celes hugged back and smiled, pulling away to look over Relm more.
"You sure grew up." Celes said, and Relm nodded.
"Yeah! You would not believe how many guys come over to ask me out for dates everyday...when they heard I was leaving town for a few days, they went ballistic!" Celes giggled and Strago shook his head.
"Well, at least she doesn't court every single one of them." He added in his tired tone.
"Court? It's DATE, Grandpa. DATE. Get with it!"
"Get with what!?" Strago cried, making Relm go into a fit of hysterical laughter again. He shook his head and handed Celes the package.
"For you and Locke, from Relm and I." He said, and Celes took it.
"Thank you." She said.
"Where is Locke, anyway?" Strago asked, hoping that there was a fellow male around somewhere.
"Locke is down at the Inn." Terra said from behind Celes, Strago, and Relm. Celes whirled around.
"Oh, so that's where he went?" Celes questioned.
"Uh-huh!" Terra said. "If you want Strago, you can join him. Relm can stay too, Celes is getting ready."
"Apparently so!" Strago said, and Celes laughed embarassedly as she tugged her robe around her body more.
"Let me stay!" Relm exclaimed.
"Sure, do whatever you want." Strago said. "I'm not gonna argue with you. Your loud mouth will wake up this entire villiage."
"Hee-hee, that's right." Relm said.
"I'll go and see Locke." Strago said, and bowed like a gentleman to Celes. "I will return soon to get this pest out of your hair."
"Oh, I don't mind her staying." Celes said, and put her hands on Relm's shoulders. "In fact, we could use her help."
"Very well." Strago said, and smiled. "Behave Relm."
"Yes, Grandpa."
With that, Strago retreated down the steps of the house and soon disappeared down the lone dirt road that lead to the rest of the villiage. Relm pushed her way inside and looked around.
"Quite a lil' love nest you have here." She commented, and Terra laughed.
"Quite an energetic girl you've become." Celes replied. Relm gave Terra a quick hug too, although they had already seen each other several times before.
"Are you still going out with Edgar?" Relm questioned.
"Hmm-hmmm." Terra said, and smiled proudly.
"Then you should hurry up and get married yerselves." Relm said. "I love weddings. Grandpa said that when I get married, I can wear my mom's dress and everything! So now, I can't wait."
"Oh, you will soon enough." Terra replied in her wise voice. "Just like I will when the time is right."
"Oh, fuddy-duddy!" Relm said, and straightened her beret. "I wanna hurry and grow up so I can be a professional painter and have lots of romantic affairs in my studio!"
"Relm!" Terra exclaimed, and tried not to laugh.
"Growing up a bit too fast!" Celes added, and shook her head. "Anyway, I'm going to take my bath now. Relm, you can answer the door when more guests come, ok?"
"Sweet." Relm said.
Celes turned from the girls and locked herself in the bathroom. She took her hair our of its low ponytail and shook her head to let it all fan out as she slipped out of her robe. She walked over to the tub and turned it on, letting the hot water run through for a moment before closing the drain and letting the tub fill up. As she stood there with her arms wrapped around herself, waiting for it to fill, her thoughts turned to Relm.
She sure grew up nicely under Strago's raising. She thought. I immagine they are very close, even if they don't act it.
Celes sighed and turned off the water, seeing that the tub was filled enough. She stepped in slowly, and finally totally relaxed, letting the water soak her body. After a few minutes, she reached over for a shampoo bottle, and began to wash her hair.
**********
"Hey, it's Edgar and Sabin!" Relm exclaimed from the doorway.
"Hey kiddo." Sabin said as Terra and Relm let them inside.
"Terra baby!" Edgar smiled, and kissed Terra on the nose when he came in. "Why arn't you dressed yet for the wedding?"
"Because I have to make sure our blonde of a bride can dress herself first." Terra joked, and Sabin roared out with laughter.
"I'll have your ass for that remark, Terra Branford." Celes said from the bathroom entrance, her arms crossed over her chest in a mock-threatening stance. Terra turned red and whirled around, laughing nervously with her hand behind her head.
"Aha-ha-ha, Relm, why did you say something so mean about Celes like that?" Terra questioned.
"WHAT?!" Relm growled.
"Celes, you have never looked better, really." Edgar smiled, and winked. "Getting married in a robe...good idea. Makes things go quicker for the honeymoon, eh?"
"Oh, I think someone like you would only know about that, Edgar." Celes replied cooly, and now, it was everyone else's turn to laugh. Edgar swallowed and smiled stupidly.
"No one can lash them out like Celes." He declared. "I wonder if Locke is a glutton for punishment..."
"Ha-ha, very funny." Celes said, and finally put on a smile.
"My present should be arriving soon." Edgar mused, and pushed his bangs out of his hair. "But then again, the delievery system these days is never reliable."
"I'll be glad to inform you that my gift is not nearly as extravagant or annoying." Sabin noted.
"Shsssssh, you'll give it away!" Edgar cried.
"Happy...um...Wedding Day?" Sabin struggled as he handed Celes another wrapped package. She handed it to Relm, who took off with it.
"Where is she going?" Edgar questioned.
"We have a present station set up in the yard!" Relm yelled as she thumped out the back door of the house.
"Perfect, the yard is perfect!" Edgar exclaimed, clapping his jeweled hands together. He had on more festive jewerly then Terra and Celes would have on combined.
"Ahem..." Celes cleared her throat. "Thank you for the gift Sabin. You guys can either hang out here, or go with Locke at the Inn. Strago is already there."
"I'll be busy Edgar." Terra noted, and his face fell.
"Awww, we can't have a quick..." He suddenly coughed in the middle of his sentence, and continued, ".....before the wedding?"
"Oh my!" Relm bellowed as she joined them again.
"Edgar, stop that, hee hee." Terra said, and blushed deeply. Celes raised her eyebrows questioningly. "It's not what you think!" Terra protested.
"I'm just kidding, just kidding." Edgar said and Sabin rolled his eyes.
"Baka..." Sabin muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing Edgar."
"Well, we'll be seeing you soon enough!" Edgar smiled and waved, and Sabin nodded as they both exited the house. Terra was still red as she shut the door behind them.
There was a knocking at Celes' bedroom door as she was tying on her bathrobe. She opened the door and saw Terra, holding up Celes' circlet for her hair. Celes had been so busy, she didn't have time to get the flowers she needed to weave in it, but Terra had taken care of it for her. Entwined around the silver circlet were two perfect pink roses, the blossoms set right above the white ribbons that trailed from the circlet. Celes smiled brightly and took the circlet from Terra.
"Thank you so much!" Celes exclaimed, and set it down on her dresser. "This is gorgeous..."
"No problem!" Terra smiled, and gave a victory sign. "Now, we need to get you ready, huh?"
"Well...what do I do?" Celes asked dumbly, and Terra burst out laughing.
"You have to get a bath first...wash all that hair, wash your body, shave your legs, and then, you have to rub yourself down with lotion, get dressed, do your hair, make sure you have your bouquet and garter..."
"Yow, slow down!" Celes cried, and pracitcally broke out into a sweat thinking about it all. "Ok, first, I'll take a bath. And then, we'll talk about the rest, ok?"
"Hee-hee, alright." Terra replied, and suddenly gave Celes a hug. Celes blinked and hugged back, an overwhelming sense of sisterhood washing over her. Suddenly, there was a very loud knock on the door, and Terra pulled away.
"Let me get it!" Celes screamed like a kid, and ran out of the bedroom.
"Wait!" Terra cried. "You're not even dressed...."
Celes yanked open the door and screamed when she saw who was there. Hugging a large wrapped package to her chest was Relm, and behind her, Strago, her grandfather. However, Celes barely recognized the younger girl. Relm must have experienced a growth spurt that summer, for she was now at least 3 inches taller, and had began to develop into a young lady. She was still dressed in her black tube top which had noticeably filled out more, but exchanged her puffy pants for a long, orange and yellow skirt which was tied in a knot around her waist. Her outfit was completed with a pair of stylish japanese-style wooden sandles and a black beret set on her shoulder- length curly golden hair.
Strago, on the other hand, still looked the same, only now, he was decked out in a snazzy tux that Celes was pretty sure Relm had picked out. His white hair was also brushed down and styled neatly, although he still fashioned that goatee that seemed too young for his face. He turned slightly red when Celes had thrown open the door merely in her robe, and Relm smiled brightly, her blue eyes sparkling.
"Celes!" Relm said, shoving her package into Strago's arms and hugging her tightly. Celes hugged back and smiled, pulling away to look over Relm more.
"You sure grew up." Celes said, and Relm nodded.
"Yeah! You would not believe how many guys come over to ask me out for dates everyday...when they heard I was leaving town for a few days, they went ballistic!" Celes giggled and Strago shook his head.
"Well, at least she doesn't court every single one of them." He added in his tired tone.
"Court? It's DATE, Grandpa. DATE. Get with it!"
"Get with what!?" Strago cried, making Relm go into a fit of hysterical laughter again. He shook his head and handed Celes the package.
"For you and Locke, from Relm and I." He said, and Celes took it.
"Thank you." She said.
"Where is Locke, anyway?" Strago asked, hoping that there was a fellow male around somewhere.
"Locke is down at the Inn." Terra said from behind Celes, Strago, and Relm. Celes whirled around.
"Oh, so that's where he went?" Celes questioned.
"Uh-huh!" Terra said. "If you want Strago, you can join him. Relm can stay too, Celes is getting ready."
"Apparently so!" Strago said, and Celes laughed embarassedly as she tugged her robe around her body more.
"Let me stay!" Relm exclaimed.
"Sure, do whatever you want." Strago said. "I'm not gonna argue with you. Your loud mouth will wake up this entire villiage."
"Hee-hee, that's right." Relm said.
"I'll go and see Locke." Strago said, and bowed like a gentleman to Celes. "I will return soon to get this pest out of your hair."
"Oh, I don't mind her staying." Celes said, and put her hands on Relm's shoulders. "In fact, we could use her help."
"Very well." Strago said, and smiled. "Behave Relm."
"Yes, Grandpa."
With that, Strago retreated down the steps of the house and soon disappeared down the lone dirt road that lead to the rest of the villiage. Relm pushed her way inside and looked around.
"Quite a lil' love nest you have here." She commented, and Terra laughed.
"Quite an energetic girl you've become." Celes replied. Relm gave Terra a quick hug too, although they had already seen each other several times before.
"Are you still going out with Edgar?" Relm questioned.
"Hmm-hmmm." Terra said, and smiled proudly.
"Then you should hurry up and get married yerselves." Relm said. "I love weddings. Grandpa said that when I get married, I can wear my mom's dress and everything! So now, I can't wait."
"Oh, you will soon enough." Terra replied in her wise voice. "Just like I will when the time is right."
"Oh, fuddy-duddy!" Relm said, and straightened her beret. "I wanna hurry and grow up so I can be a professional painter and have lots of romantic affairs in my studio!"
"Relm!" Terra exclaimed, and tried not to laugh.
"Growing up a bit too fast!" Celes added, and shook her head. "Anyway, I'm going to take my bath now. Relm, you can answer the door when more guests come, ok?"
"Sweet." Relm said.
Celes turned from the girls and locked herself in the bathroom. She took her hair our of its low ponytail and shook her head to let it all fan out as she slipped out of her robe. She walked over to the tub and turned it on, letting the hot water run through for a moment before closing the drain and letting the tub fill up. As she stood there with her arms wrapped around herself, waiting for it to fill, her thoughts turned to Relm.
She sure grew up nicely under Strago's raising. She thought. I immagine they are very close, even if they don't act it.
Celes sighed and turned off the water, seeing that the tub was filled enough. She stepped in slowly, and finally totally relaxed, letting the water soak her body. After a few minutes, she reached over for a shampoo bottle, and began to wash her hair.
**********
"Hey, it's Edgar and Sabin!" Relm exclaimed from the doorway.
"Hey kiddo." Sabin said as Terra and Relm let them inside.
"Terra baby!" Edgar smiled, and kissed Terra on the nose when he came in. "Why arn't you dressed yet for the wedding?"
"Because I have to make sure our blonde of a bride can dress herself first." Terra joked, and Sabin roared out with laughter.
"I'll have your ass for that remark, Terra Branford." Celes said from the bathroom entrance, her arms crossed over her chest in a mock-threatening stance. Terra turned red and whirled around, laughing nervously with her hand behind her head.
"Aha-ha-ha, Relm, why did you say something so mean about Celes like that?" Terra questioned.
"WHAT?!" Relm growled.
"Celes, you have never looked better, really." Edgar smiled, and winked. "Getting married in a robe...good idea. Makes things go quicker for the honeymoon, eh?"
"Oh, I think someone like you would only know about that, Edgar." Celes replied cooly, and now, it was everyone else's turn to laugh. Edgar swallowed and smiled stupidly.
"No one can lash them out like Celes." He declared. "I wonder if Locke is a glutton for punishment..."
"Ha-ha, very funny." Celes said, and finally put on a smile.
"My present should be arriving soon." Edgar mused, and pushed his bangs out of his hair. "But then again, the delievery system these days is never reliable."
"I'll be glad to inform you that my gift is not nearly as extravagant or annoying." Sabin noted.
"Shsssssh, you'll give it away!" Edgar cried.
"Happy...um...Wedding Day?" Sabin struggled as he handed Celes another wrapped package. She handed it to Relm, who took off with it.
"Where is she going?" Edgar questioned.
"We have a present station set up in the yard!" Relm yelled as she thumped out the back door of the house.
"Perfect, the yard is perfect!" Edgar exclaimed, clapping his jeweled hands together. He had on more festive jewerly then Terra and Celes would have on combined.
"Ahem..." Celes cleared her throat. "Thank you for the gift Sabin. You guys can either hang out here, or go with Locke at the Inn. Strago is already there."
"I'll be busy Edgar." Terra noted, and his face fell.
"Awww, we can't have a quick..." He suddenly coughed in the middle of his sentence, and continued, ".....before the wedding?"
"Oh my!" Relm bellowed as she joined them again.
"Edgar, stop that, hee hee." Terra said, and blushed deeply. Celes raised her eyebrows questioningly. "It's not what you think!" Terra protested.
"I'm just kidding, just kidding." Edgar said and Sabin rolled his eyes.
"Baka..." Sabin muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing Edgar."
"Well, we'll be seeing you soon enough!" Edgar smiled and waved, and Sabin nodded as they both exited the house. Terra was still red as she shut the door behind them.