Chapter 43- Snow Surprise
"Who is it?" Celes asked, becoming slightly more alert.
"Hi...my name is Asuka...I'm the innkeeper here." A soft voice said. Celes then remembered the pale young woman who had checked them in before.
"Yes?" Celes asked, still not moving to open the door.
"Well, I wanted to know if you needed anything...like pillows or blankets..." Asuka trailed off and Celes realized that she was probably very shy.
"Actually, another blanket would be nice." Celes said, figuring that an extra couldn't hurt.
"Can I come in then?" Asuka asked.
"Sure." Celes said, and got up from her bed, un-locking the door. Asuka was indeed standing there, holding a small pile of pillows and blankets. She pushed her light, frosty blue hair behind her ears, and handed a blanket to Celes.
"Thank you." Celes said, and Asuka smiled.
"You look young." Asuka commented.
"Thank you, I'm eighteen." Celes smiled back and pushed the door open farther.
"Me too!" Asuka exclaimed. "Usually, people my age never come here. Narshe is not a hot spot for tourists, you know."
"Well, do you want to talk a little while?" Celes asked in a hopeful tone. She was sort of lonely and she never talked to anyone her age except Terra.
"Sure." Asuka said, and Celes welcomed her inside. Asuka set down the rest of the pillows and blankets she had, and sat down on the bed with Celes. "So why did you come here, anyway?"
"My husband has work up here." Celes said, and Asuka grinned.
"You're married already?" She asked, and let out a low whistle. "Although, I guess I shouldn't act surprised. Even though times are changing, I know that people still follow tradition and get married young, right? Narshe is a hick town, so I can't catch up to what society has set for everyone these days."
"Well, believe me, I didn't think I would be married." Celes offered. "It just all sort of happened over the summer. I'm still trying to catch my breath from it all happening so fast. I guess I did a lot of growing up this summer."
"I'm so jealous of you." Asuka said, her blue eyes sparkling. "I can't get my boyfriend to commit to anything! He's a spoiled brat. Right now though, he's very sick, and my father is making me work here to stay away from him."
"Sick?" Celes asked.
"There is this awful virus going around." Asuka said, and sighed. "We all thought it was the flu at first, but the doctors are telling us it is a virus."
"What kind of virus?" Celes asked.
"My dad, who is a doctor, by the way, said that it travels through your system and tires everything out." Asuka tried to explain. "Basically, it makes you really tired, but it also dehydrates your systems without you knowing it until it's too late. It's more like a dangerous version of the flu, I suppose. Only, a lot of people have not recovered from it...some just get worse and worse, and some get better. Dad can't figure out why it some get healed and others don't."
"Oh my God!" Celes cried. "Will your boyfriend be ok?"
"Oh, yes, he's recovering nicely." Asuka said. "But I will probably be working until at least the end of September." Celes looked Asuka's face over and it seemed that she wasn't too worried.
"Well...that's scary." Celes finally said.
"I know, but I take care of myself so that I have nothing to worry about." Asuka said proudly. "And you becareful too, ok?"
"I will." Celes said, and Asuka suddenly jumped up.
"I have to check on the other guests now." Asuka said quickly, scooping up her blankets and pillows. "But I can see you again tomorrow, if you want."
"Sounds fun." Celes smiled. "Bye Asuka."
"Bye!" Asuka exclaimed, and ran out of the room. Celes chomped down on her apple and thought about what Asuka had told her about her boyfriend.
"Poor guy." Celes mumured, and laid back on the bed, letting out a loud yawn. She began to wonder when Locke would be coming home. It was starting to get really dark out now.
Celes was just dozing off again when the door to their room opened and Locke appeared, pink in the face from being outside all day. Celes sat up and smiled brightly when she saw who it was.
"Locke!" She exclaimed, and ran up to him, hugging him tightly. He was freezing cold against her warm pajamas, but she didn't care. Locke hugged back and kissed her forehead.
"I missed you." He said, and pulled away. "But look at this.." He held out a bag, and Celes peeked inside it. Inside were quite a few pieces of GP, along with several relics, jewels, and other small things. Celes smiled and looked back up at Locke.
"Not bad, huh?" He asked. "A lot of this stuff might just be from when Espers lived here! If that's true, then it's worth will be more than double what I think it is now! It was too late tonight, but tomorrow, I'm going to go down to a few shops here to get money for this before I go back to the mines."
"Sounds good to me." Celes said, and accidently let a loud yawn slip out. Locke set the treasure down and hugged her tightly.
"Tired?" He asked.
"A little...but I have been sleeping all day." Celes protested. "Lets spend some time together."
"Alright, are you hungry? Cause I know I am!" Locke smiled.
"....I'm not, but I'll talk with you while you eat." Celes said.
"Ok." Locke agreed, and went over to their bag of food while Celes climbed back in the bed. Locke began to talk as he rummaged through. "What did you eat today, dear?"
"An apple." Celes answered tiredly, lying her head on a pillow.
"That's it, and you're full?" Locke asked, and came over with two sandwiches, handing one to her. Celes shook her head while snuggling against the pillow, and Locke sighed, taking it back and starting on his own.
"Sorry." Celes said quietly. "So, how was your day?"
Locke began to tell her all about how the first time he had tried to get to the mines, he and Alex got lost...and another time, while digging, Alex saw a moogle and started chasing after it, and ended up falling in a hole. Locke was laughing at this, but he noticed Celes had not said a thing. He looked down at her and smiled a little.
Celes was curled up under the extra blanket Asuka had brought, and fast asleep. Locke stroked her hair and got up carefully to get changed for bed. When he came back and climbed into bed next to her, he gently kissed her forehead, but pulled back in surprise.
Celes' forehead was red hot with a fever!
The next morning, Celes woke up early and stretched, letting out a loud yawn. All those naps yesterday were totally worth it now, because she felt great today! Locke stirred next to her and opened his eyes as Celes hopped out of bed and made her way over to the food bag. She grabbed a whole bunch of different foods, and sat down at the small table in the room to eat.
"Hey." Locke said worriedly, sitting up. "Celes, how do you feel?"
"Fine, and good morning to you too!" Celes exclaimed, and popped a cherry in her mouth. Locke furrowed his eyebrows in concern. Last night, when he had tried to wake her up to take her temperature, she wouldn't stir. But now, all of a sudden, she was back to normal. He got out of bed and went straight over to her, bringing his hand to her forehead. Celes looked up at him oddly and swallowed what was in her mouth.
"Something wrong?" She asked.
Locke dropped his hand and bit his lip. She was perfectly normal. A total change from last night.
"No." He said. "Um...I thought you had something on your forehead."
"Ohhhhh.....k...." Celes looked at him funny and went back to eating. Locke got dressed for the day, and picked up his bag of treasures.
"I'll see you later dear." He said. "I love you."
"Love you too!" Celes exclaimed, and waved until he had left the room and shut the door behind him. Celes finished her breakfast and got dressed herself, and then ran out of the room to find Asuka. She was sitting boredly behind the counter, reading a book. She looked up when she saw Celes and smiled.
"Hi!" She exclaimed, and set down her book. "How goes it?"
Celes finished out the rest of August in Narshe with Locke, but she wasn't lonely. She would visit with Locke every night, and help Asuka while he was gone. Asuka became a fast friend, and had lots of stories about some of the people she had met that came to stay at her family's inn.
Although Celes and Asuka would never leave the inn or go out, Celes always found herself getting tired by the time Locke would get home, as if she had been running around all day. Sometimes, her appetite would go from not eating for a couple days at a time to eating very drastically. Asuka wouldn't comment just because she thought it would be rude, but Locke noticed and pulled Celes aside one day to talk about it. She demanded that he leave her alone and went to bed without saying another word.
One morning, in the middle of September, Celes woke up feeling like she had been run over by a chocobo herd. Locke had long since left, and the room was deadly quiet. Celes suddenly felt like she was going to be sick and doubled over in bed right as there was a knock on her door.
"Celes?" Asuka asked from the hall. "Are you up yet?" She had been worried because Celes usually came to visit her by now, but she had not heard from her all morning. She had figured that maybe Celes and her husband had had a 'late morning', but when she saw Locke leave at his usual time, she became suspicious.
"Asuka...?" Celes moaned, after lifting her head. Asuka pushed open the door and gasped.
"Oh, Celes, what happened to you?" Asuka asked, and went over to her side, rubbing her back gently. "You don't look good."
"Asuka!" Celes said, on the verge of tears. "Asuka, I think I might have caught what your boyfriend has! It's just been getting worse...ever since I got here in Narshe!" Celes covered her face in her hands and began to cry. She had suspected that the virus had been her problem for a while now, but she had been to proud to get help for it. And now, it was getting bad...almost painful. But the worst part was, she had exposed Locke to it too! Celes immagined him falling down in the snow and not being able to call out for help, and started to cry harder.
"Celes, stop!" Asuka cried, and ran her fingers through Celes' hair. "I'm going to get my dad, so I'll be right back, ok? Calm down, because crying will just make you feel worse!"
"A-A-Alright." Celes moaned, and rubbed her eyes. Asuka got up and ran out of the room, pounding down the hallway. In less than 10 minutes later, Asuka had returned, with an elderly man.
"Celes, this is my father, Dr. Owens." Asuka said. "Daddy, this is Celes Cole. She...thinks she might have the virus." Dr. Owens sighed and went over to Celes' bed side.
"Hi." He said, and put a hand on her forehead. "Celes, do you mind if I run a few tests?"
"No." Celes muttered. Like she had any choice! She just hoped that Dr. Owens would be gone by the time Locke got back.
**********
Dr. Owens left shortly after, but Asuka stayed with Celes until she had to go back to the inn counter to help a family. Celes slept for the rest of the afternoon...just answering questions for the doctor had been draining. She only woke up when Asuka came in the room, her father with her. Celes opened her eyes and looked them over groggily.
"So..." She trailed off, and struggled to sit up. "I have it, right...? Are you going to have to test Locke too....?" Asuka looked a little nervous, and Celes lowered her head. This sort of thing would happen to her...with her crappy luck. She immagined having to stay in Narshe forever while Locke went home safely with Alex. Suddenly, thinking became painful, and Celes started to massage her temples.
"Well, we don't have to test Locke." Asuka said, her voice cutting through Celes' thoughts. She suddenly started to giggle, and Celes glared at her heavily. Asuka was supposed to be her friend! Dr. Owens smiled a little.
"Don't worry Celes, you don't have the virus at all." He said, and Celes widened her eyes.
"I don't!?" She exclaimed, and nearly fell out of bed. But, reality quickly sunk in. "But...is it the flu...? Or something like that?"
"No, not at all." Dr. Owens explained. "You're perfectly well, Celes." But before he could say anymore, Asuka clapped her hands together and squealed.
"Oh, Celes, you're going to have a baby!!!!"
"Who is it?" Celes asked, becoming slightly more alert.
"Hi...my name is Asuka...I'm the innkeeper here." A soft voice said. Celes then remembered the pale young woman who had checked them in before.
"Yes?" Celes asked, still not moving to open the door.
"Well, I wanted to know if you needed anything...like pillows or blankets..." Asuka trailed off and Celes realized that she was probably very shy.
"Actually, another blanket would be nice." Celes said, figuring that an extra couldn't hurt.
"Can I come in then?" Asuka asked.
"Sure." Celes said, and got up from her bed, un-locking the door. Asuka was indeed standing there, holding a small pile of pillows and blankets. She pushed her light, frosty blue hair behind her ears, and handed a blanket to Celes.
"Thank you." Celes said, and Asuka smiled.
"You look young." Asuka commented.
"Thank you, I'm eighteen." Celes smiled back and pushed the door open farther.
"Me too!" Asuka exclaimed. "Usually, people my age never come here. Narshe is not a hot spot for tourists, you know."
"Well, do you want to talk a little while?" Celes asked in a hopeful tone. She was sort of lonely and she never talked to anyone her age except Terra.
"Sure." Asuka said, and Celes welcomed her inside. Asuka set down the rest of the pillows and blankets she had, and sat down on the bed with Celes. "So why did you come here, anyway?"
"My husband has work up here." Celes said, and Asuka grinned.
"You're married already?" She asked, and let out a low whistle. "Although, I guess I shouldn't act surprised. Even though times are changing, I know that people still follow tradition and get married young, right? Narshe is a hick town, so I can't catch up to what society has set for everyone these days."
"Well, believe me, I didn't think I would be married." Celes offered. "It just all sort of happened over the summer. I'm still trying to catch my breath from it all happening so fast. I guess I did a lot of growing up this summer."
"I'm so jealous of you." Asuka said, her blue eyes sparkling. "I can't get my boyfriend to commit to anything! He's a spoiled brat. Right now though, he's very sick, and my father is making me work here to stay away from him."
"Sick?" Celes asked.
"There is this awful virus going around." Asuka said, and sighed. "We all thought it was the flu at first, but the doctors are telling us it is a virus."
"What kind of virus?" Celes asked.
"My dad, who is a doctor, by the way, said that it travels through your system and tires everything out." Asuka tried to explain. "Basically, it makes you really tired, but it also dehydrates your systems without you knowing it until it's too late. It's more like a dangerous version of the flu, I suppose. Only, a lot of people have not recovered from it...some just get worse and worse, and some get better. Dad can't figure out why it some get healed and others don't."
"Oh my God!" Celes cried. "Will your boyfriend be ok?"
"Oh, yes, he's recovering nicely." Asuka said. "But I will probably be working until at least the end of September." Celes looked Asuka's face over and it seemed that she wasn't too worried.
"Well...that's scary." Celes finally said.
"I know, but I take care of myself so that I have nothing to worry about." Asuka said proudly. "And you becareful too, ok?"
"I will." Celes said, and Asuka suddenly jumped up.
"I have to check on the other guests now." Asuka said quickly, scooping up her blankets and pillows. "But I can see you again tomorrow, if you want."
"Sounds fun." Celes smiled. "Bye Asuka."
"Bye!" Asuka exclaimed, and ran out of the room. Celes chomped down on her apple and thought about what Asuka had told her about her boyfriend.
"Poor guy." Celes mumured, and laid back on the bed, letting out a loud yawn. She began to wonder when Locke would be coming home. It was starting to get really dark out now.
Celes was just dozing off again when the door to their room opened and Locke appeared, pink in the face from being outside all day. Celes sat up and smiled brightly when she saw who it was.
"Locke!" She exclaimed, and ran up to him, hugging him tightly. He was freezing cold against her warm pajamas, but she didn't care. Locke hugged back and kissed her forehead.
"I missed you." He said, and pulled away. "But look at this.." He held out a bag, and Celes peeked inside it. Inside were quite a few pieces of GP, along with several relics, jewels, and other small things. Celes smiled and looked back up at Locke.
"Not bad, huh?" He asked. "A lot of this stuff might just be from when Espers lived here! If that's true, then it's worth will be more than double what I think it is now! It was too late tonight, but tomorrow, I'm going to go down to a few shops here to get money for this before I go back to the mines."
"Sounds good to me." Celes said, and accidently let a loud yawn slip out. Locke set the treasure down and hugged her tightly.
"Tired?" He asked.
"A little...but I have been sleeping all day." Celes protested. "Lets spend some time together."
"Alright, are you hungry? Cause I know I am!" Locke smiled.
"....I'm not, but I'll talk with you while you eat." Celes said.
"Ok." Locke agreed, and went over to their bag of food while Celes climbed back in the bed. Locke began to talk as he rummaged through. "What did you eat today, dear?"
"An apple." Celes answered tiredly, lying her head on a pillow.
"That's it, and you're full?" Locke asked, and came over with two sandwiches, handing one to her. Celes shook her head while snuggling against the pillow, and Locke sighed, taking it back and starting on his own.
"Sorry." Celes said quietly. "So, how was your day?"
Locke began to tell her all about how the first time he had tried to get to the mines, he and Alex got lost...and another time, while digging, Alex saw a moogle and started chasing after it, and ended up falling in a hole. Locke was laughing at this, but he noticed Celes had not said a thing. He looked down at her and smiled a little.
Celes was curled up under the extra blanket Asuka had brought, and fast asleep. Locke stroked her hair and got up carefully to get changed for bed. When he came back and climbed into bed next to her, he gently kissed her forehead, but pulled back in surprise.
Celes' forehead was red hot with a fever!
The next morning, Celes woke up early and stretched, letting out a loud yawn. All those naps yesterday were totally worth it now, because she felt great today! Locke stirred next to her and opened his eyes as Celes hopped out of bed and made her way over to the food bag. She grabbed a whole bunch of different foods, and sat down at the small table in the room to eat.
"Hey." Locke said worriedly, sitting up. "Celes, how do you feel?"
"Fine, and good morning to you too!" Celes exclaimed, and popped a cherry in her mouth. Locke furrowed his eyebrows in concern. Last night, when he had tried to wake her up to take her temperature, she wouldn't stir. But now, all of a sudden, she was back to normal. He got out of bed and went straight over to her, bringing his hand to her forehead. Celes looked up at him oddly and swallowed what was in her mouth.
"Something wrong?" She asked.
Locke dropped his hand and bit his lip. She was perfectly normal. A total change from last night.
"No." He said. "Um...I thought you had something on your forehead."
"Ohhhhh.....k...." Celes looked at him funny and went back to eating. Locke got dressed for the day, and picked up his bag of treasures.
"I'll see you later dear." He said. "I love you."
"Love you too!" Celes exclaimed, and waved until he had left the room and shut the door behind him. Celes finished her breakfast and got dressed herself, and then ran out of the room to find Asuka. She was sitting boredly behind the counter, reading a book. She looked up when she saw Celes and smiled.
"Hi!" She exclaimed, and set down her book. "How goes it?"
Celes finished out the rest of August in Narshe with Locke, but she wasn't lonely. She would visit with Locke every night, and help Asuka while he was gone. Asuka became a fast friend, and had lots of stories about some of the people she had met that came to stay at her family's inn.
Although Celes and Asuka would never leave the inn or go out, Celes always found herself getting tired by the time Locke would get home, as if she had been running around all day. Sometimes, her appetite would go from not eating for a couple days at a time to eating very drastically. Asuka wouldn't comment just because she thought it would be rude, but Locke noticed and pulled Celes aside one day to talk about it. She demanded that he leave her alone and went to bed without saying another word.
One morning, in the middle of September, Celes woke up feeling like she had been run over by a chocobo herd. Locke had long since left, and the room was deadly quiet. Celes suddenly felt like she was going to be sick and doubled over in bed right as there was a knock on her door.
"Celes?" Asuka asked from the hall. "Are you up yet?" She had been worried because Celes usually came to visit her by now, but she had not heard from her all morning. She had figured that maybe Celes and her husband had had a 'late morning', but when she saw Locke leave at his usual time, she became suspicious.
"Asuka...?" Celes moaned, after lifting her head. Asuka pushed open the door and gasped.
"Oh, Celes, what happened to you?" Asuka asked, and went over to her side, rubbing her back gently. "You don't look good."
"Asuka!" Celes said, on the verge of tears. "Asuka, I think I might have caught what your boyfriend has! It's just been getting worse...ever since I got here in Narshe!" Celes covered her face in her hands and began to cry. She had suspected that the virus had been her problem for a while now, but she had been to proud to get help for it. And now, it was getting bad...almost painful. But the worst part was, she had exposed Locke to it too! Celes immagined him falling down in the snow and not being able to call out for help, and started to cry harder.
"Celes, stop!" Asuka cried, and ran her fingers through Celes' hair. "I'm going to get my dad, so I'll be right back, ok? Calm down, because crying will just make you feel worse!"
"A-A-Alright." Celes moaned, and rubbed her eyes. Asuka got up and ran out of the room, pounding down the hallway. In less than 10 minutes later, Asuka had returned, with an elderly man.
"Celes, this is my father, Dr. Owens." Asuka said. "Daddy, this is Celes Cole. She...thinks she might have the virus." Dr. Owens sighed and went over to Celes' bed side.
"Hi." He said, and put a hand on her forehead. "Celes, do you mind if I run a few tests?"
"No." Celes muttered. Like she had any choice! She just hoped that Dr. Owens would be gone by the time Locke got back.
**********
Dr. Owens left shortly after, but Asuka stayed with Celes until she had to go back to the inn counter to help a family. Celes slept for the rest of the afternoon...just answering questions for the doctor had been draining. She only woke up when Asuka came in the room, her father with her. Celes opened her eyes and looked them over groggily.
"So..." She trailed off, and struggled to sit up. "I have it, right...? Are you going to have to test Locke too....?" Asuka looked a little nervous, and Celes lowered her head. This sort of thing would happen to her...with her crappy luck. She immagined having to stay in Narshe forever while Locke went home safely with Alex. Suddenly, thinking became painful, and Celes started to massage her temples.
"Well, we don't have to test Locke." Asuka said, her voice cutting through Celes' thoughts. She suddenly started to giggle, and Celes glared at her heavily. Asuka was supposed to be her friend! Dr. Owens smiled a little.
"Don't worry Celes, you don't have the virus at all." He said, and Celes widened her eyes.
"I don't!?" She exclaimed, and nearly fell out of bed. But, reality quickly sunk in. "But...is it the flu...? Or something like that?"
"No, not at all." Dr. Owens explained. "You're perfectly well, Celes." But before he could say anymore, Asuka clapped her hands together and squealed.
"Oh, Celes, you're going to have a baby!!!!"