Chapter 38- Departures
As the sky darkened, the party of people had begun to wind down, and soon it was evident that all the energy that had once breathed life into the wedding was dwindeling. Relm was the first to fall asleep in her chair after cake was served. If it wasn't for Strago's shouting at her, her face would have smashed right into her cake. Mog was getting exhausted from fluttering everywhere on his tiny wings, and eventually fell asleep on Umaro's shoulder.
Terra made her way over to Celes after fawning over Alex for 10 minutes straight. Celes looked up from the table she was sitting at, her eyelids half-way shut. Terra smiled and yanked on a lock of hair that had found its escape from one of Celes' hair buns.
"Huh...?" Celes asked, and widened her eyes, sitting up in her chair a bit.
"I just wanted to tell you that I got all my stuff together." Terra said. "If you don't mind, I am going to stay in Figaro tonight when I go back with Edgar and Sabin."
"You're leaving?" Celes asked. "I didn't know that."
"I talked to Locke about it, and he said it was ok." Terra added. "But it's up to you."
"Oh, no, go ahead!" Celes smiled. "You've done so much for us, I just wish there was a way to pay you back!"
"Nahhh!" Terra giggled, and shook her head. "You don't need to! I just know you would help me out if I needed it."
"True, true." Celes nodded, and stood up, looking around her. "Everyone looks tired."
"Yeah..." Terra said, and let out a loud yawn. "It was a busy day."
Right then, Shadow came up to Celes. "I had better be going, Celes. I have a long way back to where I have to be tonight."
"Oh, really? Darn." Celes said, and took Shadow's hand. "Where do you have to be?"
"I gotta be where I gotta be." Shadow replied. Celes wasn't surprised by this answer. Shadow liked to speak in riddles, anything to keep his agenda a secret from others.
"Well, thanks for coming." Celes said. "Oh, and thank you for your gift of fruit." She laughed a little. "I still have to open all the other presents too!"
"Enjoy it." Shadow said gruffly, and gave a nod to Locke as he came up behind Celes. With that, he turned, and disappeared through the backdoor of the house. Although she couldn't see him, Celes could mentally picture Shadow leaving the house and traveling down the worn dirt road that led down and out of Kohlingen. However, her vision stopped there, because who knew where Shadow was heading to next?
One by one, following Shadow's lead, the others began to depart as well. Edgar, Sabin, and Terra were the last ones to go though. They spent a long time saying their good-byes to Locke and Celes, practically as if they would never be seeing them again. However, Edgar did extend an invitation for them to join him for tea the following Sunday, and Locke and Celes gladly accepted.
"I'll be there too!" Terra grinned.
"You'd better be there." Edgar argued, and kissed her on the cheek. "It would be disrespectful to turn down a king."
"Oh, please, that was cheesy." Sabin said, and shook his head. "I don't understand it. Terra, you're a smart girl. Why him?!" But then, to show he was joking, Sabin playfully punched his brother in the arm. "Nevermind, I KNOW why..."
"Oh, Sabin!" Terra said, and turned red. "Cut it out!"
After saying their final good-byes, the Figaro-bound party finally left. By this time, the sky was quite dark, and Celes could barely see 5 feet infront of her. She spotted the table of presents though, and poked Locke in the arm.
"Yes?" He asked, looking to where she was.
"Help me take these in." Celes ordered. "I can't carry all of them by myself!"
"Yes ma'am." Locke smiled, and walked over to the table with her, scooping up an arm load of gifts. Celes did so as well, and the two managed to squeaze through the doorway of the house and drop all the gifts on the kitchen table. Letting out a sigh of relief, Celes turned back around to shut and lock the backdoor. Locke disappeared for a moment, and Celes could hear him locking the front door as well. All of a sudden, everything seemed very quiet. Not even the summer crickets were making a peep outside. The brilliant full moon, however, was shining through the kitchen windows, bathing it in a silvery light. Celes turned and pressed her face and hands to the window, gazing up to the perfect moon. Her warm breath made a little cloud of fog against the cool glass.
"You look like such a kid when you're like that." Locke said from the doorway of the kitchen. "It's cute!" Celes smiled and drew back from the window.
"It's pretty out tonight." Was all she said in reply.
"I had to negotiate, but I finally managed to convince the Goddesses above to give you a perfect full moon for our wedding night." Locke joked. "I told them they totally owed you a wedding gift." With that, he leaned against the doorframe and extended his hand out to her. Celes stepped over to him and took his warm hand. He pulled her closer and kissed her on the nose.
"Why don't I start a fire in the living room while you change out of that dress?" Locke suggested in a low whisper.
"Alright." Celes replied, and kissed him back. "Bring out champagne too if we have any left."
"Read my mind." Locke said, and dropped her hand. Celes looked back at him before going into their bedroom and shutting the door tightly behind her. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and color had finally rushed up to her cheeks.
Although she was desperate to meet Locke out in the living room, Celes found it to be as much of a struggle getting out of her dress as it was getting in. And with only her to do it, the job would take even longer. Finally, though, after 10 minutes of excruciating effort, she managed to climb out of the dress. She quickly hung it up in the back of the closet, and glanced about the room in her underwear, trying to find her pajamas. However, she spotted a familiar package on the bed, and went over to look it over. It was Terra's present for Celes! She must have slipped it in the room before while she was getting her stuff together. Celes tore open the present, and cried out in joy.
Lying there, neatly folded, was a new pair of sapphire blue silk pajamas. They were in a summer style, as there were no sleeves on the top, and short bottoms instead of pants. The thread that was used down the front for design was a soft silver, and the fasteners were glass, sculped in the design of small flowers. The glass fasteners were hidden under the silver bows that traditionally were used to actually tie the top together. Celes excitedly slipped the top on, and then investigated the bottoms. They were simple, only having slits cut up an inch or two on the sides of the legs. Celes put those on too, and looked in the mirror.
"Beautiful!" She exclaimed, and reached up to unfasten her circlet. "Thank you Terra!" Her circlet came off, and she set it gently down on the dresser. She then untied each ribbon in her hair that was holding up the buns, and watched her long hair tumble back onto its rightful place on her shoulders. Running a brush through it a few times, Celes became satisfied, and double checked to make sure no expensive jewelry was still on. Leaving only her two rings from Locke, Celes flashed a smile at the mirror and hopped out of the room on light feet.
She saw Locke sitting on a blanket on the floor, with a bottle of champange and two glasses that were full set infront of him. The whole rest of the room was dark, with the exception of the small area around the blazing fireplace. The red glow of the fire was causing funny shadows of the room to jump about in an almost tribal manner. Locke didn't hear Celes until she accidently let out a small sneeze. He looked up at her as she was rubbing her tiny nose and laughing.
"Hey, where did you get those?" Locke asked, and Celes grinned proudly.
"A gift from Terra. What do you think? Is it me?"
"I think Terra has good taste." Locke said, smiling, and held up a glass. "Care to join me?"
As the sky darkened, the party of people had begun to wind down, and soon it was evident that all the energy that had once breathed life into the wedding was dwindeling. Relm was the first to fall asleep in her chair after cake was served. If it wasn't for Strago's shouting at her, her face would have smashed right into her cake. Mog was getting exhausted from fluttering everywhere on his tiny wings, and eventually fell asleep on Umaro's shoulder.
Terra made her way over to Celes after fawning over Alex for 10 minutes straight. Celes looked up from the table she was sitting at, her eyelids half-way shut. Terra smiled and yanked on a lock of hair that had found its escape from one of Celes' hair buns.
"Huh...?" Celes asked, and widened her eyes, sitting up in her chair a bit.
"I just wanted to tell you that I got all my stuff together." Terra said. "If you don't mind, I am going to stay in Figaro tonight when I go back with Edgar and Sabin."
"You're leaving?" Celes asked. "I didn't know that."
"I talked to Locke about it, and he said it was ok." Terra added. "But it's up to you."
"Oh, no, go ahead!" Celes smiled. "You've done so much for us, I just wish there was a way to pay you back!"
"Nahhh!" Terra giggled, and shook her head. "You don't need to! I just know you would help me out if I needed it."
"True, true." Celes nodded, and stood up, looking around her. "Everyone looks tired."
"Yeah..." Terra said, and let out a loud yawn. "It was a busy day."
Right then, Shadow came up to Celes. "I had better be going, Celes. I have a long way back to where I have to be tonight."
"Oh, really? Darn." Celes said, and took Shadow's hand. "Where do you have to be?"
"I gotta be where I gotta be." Shadow replied. Celes wasn't surprised by this answer. Shadow liked to speak in riddles, anything to keep his agenda a secret from others.
"Well, thanks for coming." Celes said. "Oh, and thank you for your gift of fruit." She laughed a little. "I still have to open all the other presents too!"
"Enjoy it." Shadow said gruffly, and gave a nod to Locke as he came up behind Celes. With that, he turned, and disappeared through the backdoor of the house. Although she couldn't see him, Celes could mentally picture Shadow leaving the house and traveling down the worn dirt road that led down and out of Kohlingen. However, her vision stopped there, because who knew where Shadow was heading to next?
One by one, following Shadow's lead, the others began to depart as well. Edgar, Sabin, and Terra were the last ones to go though. They spent a long time saying their good-byes to Locke and Celes, practically as if they would never be seeing them again. However, Edgar did extend an invitation for them to join him for tea the following Sunday, and Locke and Celes gladly accepted.
"I'll be there too!" Terra grinned.
"You'd better be there." Edgar argued, and kissed her on the cheek. "It would be disrespectful to turn down a king."
"Oh, please, that was cheesy." Sabin said, and shook his head. "I don't understand it. Terra, you're a smart girl. Why him?!" But then, to show he was joking, Sabin playfully punched his brother in the arm. "Nevermind, I KNOW why..."
"Oh, Sabin!" Terra said, and turned red. "Cut it out!"
After saying their final good-byes, the Figaro-bound party finally left. By this time, the sky was quite dark, and Celes could barely see 5 feet infront of her. She spotted the table of presents though, and poked Locke in the arm.
"Yes?" He asked, looking to where she was.
"Help me take these in." Celes ordered. "I can't carry all of them by myself!"
"Yes ma'am." Locke smiled, and walked over to the table with her, scooping up an arm load of gifts. Celes did so as well, and the two managed to squeaze through the doorway of the house and drop all the gifts on the kitchen table. Letting out a sigh of relief, Celes turned back around to shut and lock the backdoor. Locke disappeared for a moment, and Celes could hear him locking the front door as well. All of a sudden, everything seemed very quiet. Not even the summer crickets were making a peep outside. The brilliant full moon, however, was shining through the kitchen windows, bathing it in a silvery light. Celes turned and pressed her face and hands to the window, gazing up to the perfect moon. Her warm breath made a little cloud of fog against the cool glass.
"You look like such a kid when you're like that." Locke said from the doorway of the kitchen. "It's cute!" Celes smiled and drew back from the window.
"It's pretty out tonight." Was all she said in reply.
"I had to negotiate, but I finally managed to convince the Goddesses above to give you a perfect full moon for our wedding night." Locke joked. "I told them they totally owed you a wedding gift." With that, he leaned against the doorframe and extended his hand out to her. Celes stepped over to him and took his warm hand. He pulled her closer and kissed her on the nose.
"Why don't I start a fire in the living room while you change out of that dress?" Locke suggested in a low whisper.
"Alright." Celes replied, and kissed him back. "Bring out champagne too if we have any left."
"Read my mind." Locke said, and dropped her hand. Celes looked back at him before going into their bedroom and shutting the door tightly behind her. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and color had finally rushed up to her cheeks.
Although she was desperate to meet Locke out in the living room, Celes found it to be as much of a struggle getting out of her dress as it was getting in. And with only her to do it, the job would take even longer. Finally, though, after 10 minutes of excruciating effort, she managed to climb out of the dress. She quickly hung it up in the back of the closet, and glanced about the room in her underwear, trying to find her pajamas. However, she spotted a familiar package on the bed, and went over to look it over. It was Terra's present for Celes! She must have slipped it in the room before while she was getting her stuff together. Celes tore open the present, and cried out in joy.
Lying there, neatly folded, was a new pair of sapphire blue silk pajamas. They were in a summer style, as there were no sleeves on the top, and short bottoms instead of pants. The thread that was used down the front for design was a soft silver, and the fasteners were glass, sculped in the design of small flowers. The glass fasteners were hidden under the silver bows that traditionally were used to actually tie the top together. Celes excitedly slipped the top on, and then investigated the bottoms. They were simple, only having slits cut up an inch or two on the sides of the legs. Celes put those on too, and looked in the mirror.
"Beautiful!" She exclaimed, and reached up to unfasten her circlet. "Thank you Terra!" Her circlet came off, and she set it gently down on the dresser. She then untied each ribbon in her hair that was holding up the buns, and watched her long hair tumble back onto its rightful place on her shoulders. Running a brush through it a few times, Celes became satisfied, and double checked to make sure no expensive jewelry was still on. Leaving only her two rings from Locke, Celes flashed a smile at the mirror and hopped out of the room on light feet.
She saw Locke sitting on a blanket on the floor, with a bottle of champange and two glasses that were full set infront of him. The whole rest of the room was dark, with the exception of the small area around the blazing fireplace. The red glow of the fire was causing funny shadows of the room to jump about in an almost tribal manner. Locke didn't hear Celes until she accidently let out a small sneeze. He looked up at her as she was rubbing her tiny nose and laughing.
"Hey, where did you get those?" Locke asked, and Celes grinned proudly.
"A gift from Terra. What do you think? Is it me?"
"I think Terra has good taste." Locke said, smiling, and held up a glass. "Care to join me?"