Chapter 42- Narshe
Over the next couple of weeks, Locke and Celes prepared for their journey to Narshe. A day before they were scheduled to leave, Locke and Celes travelled south to Jidoor to get some warm winter clothes. Narshe, even in the middle of summer, was freezing cold!
"Locke, what do you think of this one?" Celes asked, stepping out from behind a rack of clothes. The coat she was wearing was a light blue color, almost like periwinkle, with big buttons that went down the front and a cute hoodie on the back. The coat came down to her mid-thighs, and even came with a pair of matching mittens made from the same soft material as the coat.
"Well..." Locke trailed off and peered at her teasingly. "Put on that hoodie." Celes did as she was told, laughing because she knew she looked ridiculous, being dressed like this in August.
"I like it!" Locke exclaimed, and hugged her. "But, I think you look good in anything!" It was then that Celes noticed the blue jacket that he was wearing.
"Locke..." She trailed off. "That looks...familiar."
"Yeah, my old one was getting sort of shabby, so I just decided to get a new one, since I liked it so much!" Locke exclaimed, and Celes nearly fell over as Locke beamed proudly.
"You still look handsome." She offered, and clapped her hands together with a smile.
From behind the counter of the store, a board teenager stood there, watching the couple compliment and woo over each other. She rolled her eyes, being young, and stuck out her tongue at them.
"Gawd, get a room!" She hissed in a jealous tone, but suddenly put on a big smile as they walked over and put their purchases on the counter.
Man, this is great! Dad promised me all the money from today's sales, so these two just bought me a new dress for that party next week! She thought, and began to add up the cost.
"Will that be all?" She added sweetly. Locke and Celes looked at each other and both said "yes" in unison. After the transaction was completed, they both left the store, hand in hand, while Locke carried all their bags in his free hand.
"What a weird kid." He said, and laughed.
"Oh, stop it." Celes said, and squeezed his hand. "She was perfectly nice to us."
"Yeah, but did ya see the way she was staring at us earlier?"
"Hmmph. Well, Locke, maybe you're such a stud, that you've got little girls eyeing you now." Locke leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
"Jealous?" He teased, but suddenly, a young business man strolled by them, and pulled down his glasses, giving Celes a wink. She stared back at him with an icy glare that Locke could not see until the yonug man disappeared in the distance, and Celes turned back to him. She started to giggle when she saw how red Locke's face had become.
"Something wrong?" She asked, and smirked a little. "Are we...jealous?" Locke looked at her in all seriousness for one moment before suddenly reaching down, and in one swift movement, scooped Celes up in his arm and over his shoulder, laughing as he began to run down the street.
"Looooooocke!" Celes cried, turning bright red as everyone in Jidoor turned to look at them. "This cannot look good!!!"
"Who cares?" Locke laughed. "We don't live here!"
"So you'll put me down when we get home, right?!"
"I don't remember saying that, dear!"
"Oh, Locke!!!!!"
**********
The next morning was hectic being that neither Locke or Celes had gotten much sleep the night before, and combining that with an early wake-up call for the journey ahead did not make things any better. Celes could hear Locke muttering curses from the living room as she was doing her hair in the bathroom. She peeked her head out as she was tying in a hair ribbon.
"Something wrong?" She asked.
"I can't find Alex's food anywhere." Locke moaned.
"Oh, sorry dear, I put it in along with ours already!" Celes smiled a little and walked out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a combat outfit of hers...her long leather tan pants, matching vest, purple tank top, and leather sleeves to keep her arms warm gave her the regal air she always used to carry with her while she was General of the Empire's Army. Locke blinked and tried to hide his blushing face. He had looked past the regal part and skipped to noticing how very sexy she looked. Celes caught him staring and causally reached up to tighten the ribbon in her hair.
"Ahem...well...if Alex's stuff is with ours...than I think we had better get a move on." Locke struggled to say. "Do...you have your sword in case we run into trouble?"
"Yes, Locke." Celes smiled. "I'll meet you outside. Make sure that all the doors are locked!" With that, she turned and ran out of the room. Locke sighed and gazed after her for a few moments before snapping back to reality and checking to see if the front door was locked. After confirming that it was, he ran through the living room and kitchen to the back, where Celes was waiting with Alex. All of their equipment had been strapped on to Alex's saddle, which did not weigh down the strong chocobo at all. Locke climbed on first,and made Alex kneel so that Celes could climb on behind him. After Locke grasped Alex's reins and Celes had wrapped her arms around his waist, he turned to look at her.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yep!" Celes exclaimed.
With a gentle kick to Alex's side, the two were off. Alex easily splashed through the small stream in the backyard and began to run faster once he made it to the flat plains outside of Kholingen. Locke and Celes did not really speak much on the way to Narshe, because the winds that whipped by them as they travelled made talking turn into yelling just so they could hear each other.
By the afternoon, after going through more plains and a rocky mountain path, Locke and Celes finally made it to Narshe. Although the cole-mining city had once been totally occupied by monsters, that was now the Narshe of the past. People filled the cold streets, attending to the steam pumps and heaters outside of each home and business, while many just waundered the streets to shop or play. Locke rode right up to the inn and parked Alex. He and Celes then took all of their luggage that was not needed for Locke's work and brought them inside.
"Uhhhh...reservation for Cole?" Locke asked, breathing hard as he tried to speak. Narshe's cold air was already getting to the both of them, and this made the pale innkeeper chuckle.
"It's right here, Mr. Cole." She said, and handed him a key. "This is yours until you choose to leave, right sir?"
"Right." Locke said, and took the key. "Also, just put everything that this young lady here might order or need on the bill too, ok?" Locke nodded towards Celes, and the innkeeper nodded, making a scrawled note on a piece of paper by their room reservation.
"Alright sir, everything is in order." She said. "I hope you enjoy your stay here, and remember, chocobo stables are out in the back."
"Thank you." Celes said, and she and Locke retreated to their room, which was at the very end of a long hallway. As soon as Locke unlocked the door, Celes dropped her bags and ran in, jumping on the soft double bed against the wall on the other side of the room.
"Whew, my butt hurts." She said, and laughed.
"Mine too, unfortunately, Alex isn't that comfortable." Locke said, and set down his bags as well. "And, also unfortunately..."
"...You have to go already." Celes finished for him, and sat up on the bed. "But are you sure you don't want me to make you lunch before you do?"
"No, dear, don't worry." Locke said. "I'll be back before you know it, I promise." He walked over to Celes and kissed her very softly, running a hand down her cheek to her lap.
"Becareful..." Celes trailed off, and he nodded, taking a step back. "And remember, if you get too cold, come back here right away."
"Yes, I promise all that too." Locke said, and winked. "I just know that you'll warm me up."
"Get out!" Celes smiled, and threw a pillow at him. He caught it and quickly threw it back, hitting her in the face.
"Ahhh!" Celes cried, and pushed the pillow aside. Locke flashed her a smile, and then waved.
"See you tonight, love you." He said, and left the room. Celes looked at the closed door for a moment before sighing and flopping back on the bed. All of a sudden, she felt very tired. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but realized that the room was too cold to sleep in. So, she reluctantly got out of bed, found some matches on the small nightstand, and lit the fireplace. The food that was in a bag by the door looked tempting, but Celes was too tired to eat. No sooner had she hit the bed again, her eyes had closed, and she was fast asleep.
The first night that Celes stayed in Narshe, she slept until 9 that evening. When she finally did wake up, she felt groggy and sort of sick.
"Maybe...I need to eat." She said to herself, and walked over to the bag of food. She pulled out an apple, because it was the only thing that looked appetizing, and got her pajamas out while she was at it to change. After getting in her pajamas, Celes sat on the bed and chewed thoughtfully on her apple.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door.
Over the next couple of weeks, Locke and Celes prepared for their journey to Narshe. A day before they were scheduled to leave, Locke and Celes travelled south to Jidoor to get some warm winter clothes. Narshe, even in the middle of summer, was freezing cold!
"Locke, what do you think of this one?" Celes asked, stepping out from behind a rack of clothes. The coat she was wearing was a light blue color, almost like periwinkle, with big buttons that went down the front and a cute hoodie on the back. The coat came down to her mid-thighs, and even came with a pair of matching mittens made from the same soft material as the coat.
"Well..." Locke trailed off and peered at her teasingly. "Put on that hoodie." Celes did as she was told, laughing because she knew she looked ridiculous, being dressed like this in August.
"I like it!" Locke exclaimed, and hugged her. "But, I think you look good in anything!" It was then that Celes noticed the blue jacket that he was wearing.
"Locke..." She trailed off. "That looks...familiar."
"Yeah, my old one was getting sort of shabby, so I just decided to get a new one, since I liked it so much!" Locke exclaimed, and Celes nearly fell over as Locke beamed proudly.
"You still look handsome." She offered, and clapped her hands together with a smile.
From behind the counter of the store, a board teenager stood there, watching the couple compliment and woo over each other. She rolled her eyes, being young, and stuck out her tongue at them.
"Gawd, get a room!" She hissed in a jealous tone, but suddenly put on a big smile as they walked over and put their purchases on the counter.
Man, this is great! Dad promised me all the money from today's sales, so these two just bought me a new dress for that party next week! She thought, and began to add up the cost.
"Will that be all?" She added sweetly. Locke and Celes looked at each other and both said "yes" in unison. After the transaction was completed, they both left the store, hand in hand, while Locke carried all their bags in his free hand.
"What a weird kid." He said, and laughed.
"Oh, stop it." Celes said, and squeezed his hand. "She was perfectly nice to us."
"Yeah, but did ya see the way she was staring at us earlier?"
"Hmmph. Well, Locke, maybe you're such a stud, that you've got little girls eyeing you now." Locke leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
"Jealous?" He teased, but suddenly, a young business man strolled by them, and pulled down his glasses, giving Celes a wink. She stared back at him with an icy glare that Locke could not see until the yonug man disappeared in the distance, and Celes turned back to him. She started to giggle when she saw how red Locke's face had become.
"Something wrong?" She asked, and smirked a little. "Are we...jealous?" Locke looked at her in all seriousness for one moment before suddenly reaching down, and in one swift movement, scooped Celes up in his arm and over his shoulder, laughing as he began to run down the street.
"Looooooocke!" Celes cried, turning bright red as everyone in Jidoor turned to look at them. "This cannot look good!!!"
"Who cares?" Locke laughed. "We don't live here!"
"So you'll put me down when we get home, right?!"
"I don't remember saying that, dear!"
"Oh, Locke!!!!!"
**********
The next morning was hectic being that neither Locke or Celes had gotten much sleep the night before, and combining that with an early wake-up call for the journey ahead did not make things any better. Celes could hear Locke muttering curses from the living room as she was doing her hair in the bathroom. She peeked her head out as she was tying in a hair ribbon.
"Something wrong?" She asked.
"I can't find Alex's food anywhere." Locke moaned.
"Oh, sorry dear, I put it in along with ours already!" Celes smiled a little and walked out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a combat outfit of hers...her long leather tan pants, matching vest, purple tank top, and leather sleeves to keep her arms warm gave her the regal air she always used to carry with her while she was General of the Empire's Army. Locke blinked and tried to hide his blushing face. He had looked past the regal part and skipped to noticing how very sexy she looked. Celes caught him staring and causally reached up to tighten the ribbon in her hair.
"Ahem...well...if Alex's stuff is with ours...than I think we had better get a move on." Locke struggled to say. "Do...you have your sword in case we run into trouble?"
"Yes, Locke." Celes smiled. "I'll meet you outside. Make sure that all the doors are locked!" With that, she turned and ran out of the room. Locke sighed and gazed after her for a few moments before snapping back to reality and checking to see if the front door was locked. After confirming that it was, he ran through the living room and kitchen to the back, where Celes was waiting with Alex. All of their equipment had been strapped on to Alex's saddle, which did not weigh down the strong chocobo at all. Locke climbed on first,and made Alex kneel so that Celes could climb on behind him. After Locke grasped Alex's reins and Celes had wrapped her arms around his waist, he turned to look at her.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yep!" Celes exclaimed.
With a gentle kick to Alex's side, the two were off. Alex easily splashed through the small stream in the backyard and began to run faster once he made it to the flat plains outside of Kholingen. Locke and Celes did not really speak much on the way to Narshe, because the winds that whipped by them as they travelled made talking turn into yelling just so they could hear each other.
By the afternoon, after going through more plains and a rocky mountain path, Locke and Celes finally made it to Narshe. Although the cole-mining city had once been totally occupied by monsters, that was now the Narshe of the past. People filled the cold streets, attending to the steam pumps and heaters outside of each home and business, while many just waundered the streets to shop or play. Locke rode right up to the inn and parked Alex. He and Celes then took all of their luggage that was not needed for Locke's work and brought them inside.
"Uhhhh...reservation for Cole?" Locke asked, breathing hard as he tried to speak. Narshe's cold air was already getting to the both of them, and this made the pale innkeeper chuckle.
"It's right here, Mr. Cole." She said, and handed him a key. "This is yours until you choose to leave, right sir?"
"Right." Locke said, and took the key. "Also, just put everything that this young lady here might order or need on the bill too, ok?" Locke nodded towards Celes, and the innkeeper nodded, making a scrawled note on a piece of paper by their room reservation.
"Alright sir, everything is in order." She said. "I hope you enjoy your stay here, and remember, chocobo stables are out in the back."
"Thank you." Celes said, and she and Locke retreated to their room, which was at the very end of a long hallway. As soon as Locke unlocked the door, Celes dropped her bags and ran in, jumping on the soft double bed against the wall on the other side of the room.
"Whew, my butt hurts." She said, and laughed.
"Mine too, unfortunately, Alex isn't that comfortable." Locke said, and set down his bags as well. "And, also unfortunately..."
"...You have to go already." Celes finished for him, and sat up on the bed. "But are you sure you don't want me to make you lunch before you do?"
"No, dear, don't worry." Locke said. "I'll be back before you know it, I promise." He walked over to Celes and kissed her very softly, running a hand down her cheek to her lap.
"Becareful..." Celes trailed off, and he nodded, taking a step back. "And remember, if you get too cold, come back here right away."
"Yes, I promise all that too." Locke said, and winked. "I just know that you'll warm me up."
"Get out!" Celes smiled, and threw a pillow at him. He caught it and quickly threw it back, hitting her in the face.
"Ahhh!" Celes cried, and pushed the pillow aside. Locke flashed her a smile, and then waved.
"See you tonight, love you." He said, and left the room. Celes looked at the closed door for a moment before sighing and flopping back on the bed. All of a sudden, she felt very tired. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but realized that the room was too cold to sleep in. So, she reluctantly got out of bed, found some matches on the small nightstand, and lit the fireplace. The food that was in a bag by the door looked tempting, but Celes was too tired to eat. No sooner had she hit the bed again, her eyes had closed, and she was fast asleep.
The first night that Celes stayed in Narshe, she slept until 9 that evening. When she finally did wake up, she felt groggy and sort of sick.
"Maybe...I need to eat." She said to herself, and walked over to the bag of food. She pulled out an apple, because it was the only thing that looked appetizing, and got her pajamas out while she was at it to change. After getting in her pajamas, Celes sat on the bed and chewed thoughtfully on her apple.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door.