Chapter 15 Party Plans
He tried to stay calm, but Umi felt him tense and pulled away from his touch, "I know I must sound so stupid," she laughed and stood, "And you should be sleeping anyway."
She stood and walked to the door, and he just watched her look back at him, smile, and leave shutting the door softly.
§§§~~~
They sighed when she emerged. Her face was tearstained, and her eyes were bloodshot with dark rings around them. Other than that she seemed fine.
"How is the Guru?" Ascot asked.
"He's fine," Umi smiled, and they all sighed again, "How are Hikaru and Fuu?"
"Still sleeping, but they're being watched over," Persea responded, and a grin spread across Umi's face.
"Uh U-Umi," Ascot wouldn't look at her.
She looked up, "Hai?"
"Well could I talk to you, alone?" She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was blushing fiercely.
"Of course," she met his eyes for a split second and saw that they twinkled. They turned and walked out to the gardens where she could speak to him in private.
§§§~~~
He just sat there, staring blankly at the door when Persea walked in with a tray of food. He looked up expecting to see the Water Knight, but when he saw that it wasn't he grew worried, "Where's Umi? Is she okay?"
She raised her eyebrows to him but answered, "She's fine; she and Ascot just went to the gardens."
"She and Ascot?" he tried to sound uninterested, but his mind screamed at him.
'You didn't speak to her! She felt rejected!'
Persea giggled slightly, "Didn't you know?"
He stared blankly.
'Didn't know what? Was she playing with him? Was she laughing with Ascot about it right now?'
"Ascot is in love with her!" Persea burst out, grinning viciously.
"What?" his face went as white as the sheets he was resting on, "What does she think about him?"
Persea laughed, "Oh you know Umi; she doesn't tell anyone about anything. She's secretive; no one can tell with her, not even the other two."
"It didn't used to be that way," he muttered.
'She used to tell me everything, her deepest fears and fantasies,' he thought sadly, 'But those times are gone. Now she seeks shelter in Ascot's arms.'
'It doesn't have to be that way! Go after her!' This was his heart.
He closed his eyes and felt her silky hair in his hands, breathing in the light scent of bluebells that seemed to trail her. Her slender body was in his grasps as he felt her whisper in his ear, "Ashiteru."
His eyes snapped open as he stood.
"Guru you're not strong enough to stand!" Persea gasped.
"I'm fine," he smiled through the wince.
"Where are you going?" she demanded when he opened the door.
"Out," he said simply and disappeared down the hall.
§§§~~~
"Umi you have to know that I-that I care for you… a lot," Ascot was looking down as he spoke, "And when you battled, and we thought you would be killed I swore to myself that I would tell you if…no, as soon as you got out."
"Oh Ascot," she reached up and brushed his bangs out of the way, "You are such a great person, and I love you very much, but it can't be like that."
His eyes sank, but suddenly he smiled, "I hate him because he's not me, but I love him if he makes you smile. I hope he makes you happy, Umi-chan."
She blushed at what he said but even more at the added affection, "Actually," she stammered knowing he deserved the truth, "He…he…doesn't know."
He raised his eyes at that, "He should, and he should know how lucky he is."
"Arigato Ascot."
'But he doesn't feel the same about me, a mere child; he proved that.'
He smiled at her, and then in an impulse, Umi reached up and kissed him.
He kissed her back softly, moving his hands around her waist and then letting go, "Tell him Umi," he turned and left without another word.
A silent tear fell down her cheek as she clenched her fists ad stifled a scream. No one deserved this, no one deserved the pain she brought. She stood and ran from the gardens, her head in her hands, her tears blinding her.
§§§~~~
He watched the whole thing not hearing a word only seeing what happened. Seeing her touch someone else killed him, but seeing her rejected by someone else, seeing her cry, hurt him even more.
He touched his lips that still tingled with her kiss and wondered if Ascot had any idea what he had just turned down, what had just slipped through his fingers. He hated the young boy just then, but knew that it would get him nowhere to confront him, or Umi for that matter. So he hid in the shadows and went back to his chambers to sleep though rest would never find him.
§§§~~~
When the two Knights awoke they insisted to hold a grand party in Umi's honor and with the help of Persea and Caldina most of Cephiro was coming. Umi sighed and smiled keeping everything hidden as she always had. She kept it all inside and watched the colors and arrangements of the ball being put up all around her.
She was standing in the grand ballroom watching the decorators go about their business occasionally bowing to the Magic Knight. They would stare at her baffled when she bowed back. This had been going on for the last two days.
It had been a little over a week since the battle, and the Magic Knights had decided to enjoy the time they had left though everyone saw less and less of the Water Knight. She hid by the shore reading or writing or sometimes just staring into the distance. They watched her from afar, worried, concerned, but not daring to pry. The only ones she opened up to seemed to have no idea what was wrong with her and knew that they would never get anything out of her. So they watched from afar amazed by her grace and strength and worrying about her when her appetite failed, and she disappeared more and more often for longer periods of time.
She avoided meeting anyone's eyes but with Clef it went further, she not only avoided his eyes but tried to avoid him in all forms. Anytime she saw him walk into a room she would quickly make up an excuse and dart away.
He would watch her go, wanting to go after her but not sure that he would know just what to say.
"Umi-chan!" Hikaru began to drag her out of the room, "Umi-chan the ball starts in an hour, and you're not even ready!"
Umi looked at the girl, studying her; she was wearing a long slim red and white dress that hugged close to her skinny frame. It went just above her knees and had a flaring white skirt with a red waistband that had ribbons that flew down past her knees. The top was low cut with a oval shape in the back, exposing some flesh. There were long dangling beautiful golden chains covered in red beads falling from her shoulders, and her hair hung loose, crimped from wearing it in a braid so often. She wore large golden and ruby earrings, and her eyes no longer showed innocence. She looked taller than she was, and Umi noted that it was the shoes she wore. They were high heeled, but Hikaru walked in them perfectly. She looked like a fire faerie. Umi smiled.
When they reached Persea's room Umi was met with a stunning blond with bright green eyes. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. Was this who she thought it was?
A long loose fitting white and green dress hung close to her slender figure, white at the bottom and then a green piece on the top, the color of trees in the winter. The white sleeves at the bottom of the dress hung slack over her shoulders, and the green and white pieces were connected with a triangular golden and emerald encrusted broach that had chains that fell down her sides amazingly. Her slightly curled hair was gleaming and looked as soft as silk, and her shoes were a bit lower than Hikaru's but still she too walked perfectly in them. Her arms moved like a dancers, and she looked like a wood spirit, a dryad.
"F-F-Fuu?!"
She blushed a deep shade of red and nodded, "Hello Umi-san, come now you must be dressed."
"Uh…okay," Umi retreated when she had recovered from her friend's stunning transformations. She had known that they were beautiful but not that they could look like goddesses.
Persea drug her into a closet and before she knew it a dress was in her hands, and Persea was walking out.
Umi looked around her and took in her surroundings. She was in a large walk-in closet the size of a room with walls full of clothes and large mirrors. Umi looked at herself in a mirror and saw her beauty but saw how much of it was lost.
Her eyes were sunken, and she had lost too much weight. She looked frail, and her body was no longer nimble, only scrawny and awkward.
She touched the mirror then touched her own sunken features, "Clef I wish you would understand, could feel…" she sunk to her knees and sobbed.
§§§~~~
"Umi," he whispered touching the mirror in front of him where he watched the girl cry, "It's me? I'm the one who hurt you?"
His mind brought him back to his conversation with Persea. She had said that Ascot was in love with Umi, so he would never turn her down. She must have turned him away, for…
He thought about every time Umi had fled from a room since that day when he awoke. How many times she had went to the safety of the water, away from him. As if she couldn't…couldn't face him.
"I'm so sorry, never…I thought…"
'It doesn't matter what you thought; she's suffering because of you,' his mind lashed at him.
"I'll make it up to you, I swear my life on it."
§§§~~~
"Umi are you done?" Persea knocked on the door.
Umi dried her tears as she stood, "Almost," she called. She held the dress close t her body and spun, looking at herself in the mirror. She sighed and dropped the dress, her hands shaking, "Clef…"
§§§~~~
"Umi…" he sighed and let go of the image thinking it would be improper to watch her change.
"Guru!" Ferio stormed in, "We had your new robes tailored for… What is wrong with you lately?"
"Ne?" Clef looked up, startled, as if just noticing Ferio's presence.
Ferio sighed, "You've been acting all spaced out and more pulled into yourself than usual. It's been going on like this for the past week. What's up?"
"More like who's up," Lantis jeered walking in.
"What?" Ferio snapped.
"This is exactly the way you act when you're thinking about Fuu. So who is it?" Lantis turned from Ferio to Clef.
"And you don't get love struck when you're thinking about Hikaru? When she walks into a room?" Ferio questioned.
Lantis blushed, but they both turned back to Clef after he muttered, "I never said anything like that…"
"So?" Ferio inquired, and Clef turned his ocean colored eyes toward the window, looking out at Cephiro.
"No one, it's just the stress of the battle, that's all," he said absently, but they didn't believe him one bit.
"Well is it someone in the palace? Hm…Persea?!" Ferio started laughing.
"Ferio maybe we should leave him be," Lantis suggested seeing the distress on Clef's face.
Ferio muttered as they walked from the room, and Clef heard snatches of the conversation.
"The only other girl in the palace is Umi," Lantis whispered, and Feiro laughed harder.
"I can't imagine anyone loving her, so it must be someone outside."
Ferio had no idea how close to death he was when he said that. Clef controlled his emotions and shut the door after them with only a raised hand. He looked back to the sea and noticed the new robes lying on his bad that Ferio must have set out for him. He sighed and began to change into them thinking about the girl that he had so badly wounded.
§§§~~~
"I don't know…" Umi was muttering when she walked out of the closet, "Uh…guys?" She looked at them confused; they looked stupefied.
"U-U-Umi-chan," Hikaru couldn't speak.
"What? What's wrong? It doesn't look that bad does it?" Umi questioned looking down, it didn't matter what she looked like. No one would be looking at her.
"You look…beautiful Umi-san," Fuu responded, and Umi smiled and blushed.
"Arigato, but you two will be the belles of the ball. You look like something out of a Fairy Tale," she complimented, and they both laughed.
"Maybe those mirrors in Persea's closet weren't big enough," Hikaru laughed as Persea and Caldina emerged, both beautifully dressed and carrying three flower headdresses.
Persea walked to Hikaru and placed one of large bright red flowers with black centers and framed by little beaded flowers that looked almost like small cherries of some sort and a few deep green leaves and brown vines. It looked like a crown of fire flowers.
Then she walked to Fuu, and the medium sized white flowers with yellow centers and patterns of three leaves settled beautifully in her golden hair.
Caldina held the last and set it upon Umi's head, "Whoever he is he's gonna be knocked dead by you Umi," she winked and turned to Persea who was grinning wickedly.
Umi sighed heavily and vaguely listened to their instructions.
"First Hikaru and Fuu are going to come in, then Umi you'll be right after them. It'll be a huge entrance. Everyone is dying to meet the Magic Knights."
Half an hour later Persea and Caldina walked back into the room.
"The party is just beginning, and they're waiting," Persea told them, and Fuu and Hikaru looked at each other nervously then looked at Umi who smiled weakly back trying to be encouraging.
'Just like before,' she thought sadly, 'Trying to share their joy at being loved but being alone. Let's just hope I don't make the same mistake twice.'
§§§~~~
The doors to the ballroom were open when the two walked in.
Ferio turned from speaking to a man, and his breath caught when he saw her. Her eyes were searching, searching for him. When their eyes met he walked to her and held out a hand to her pulling her close, making her blush. They were both completely oblivious to the Noble girls who turned their noses up at the girl who had so obviously stolen the Prince's heart.
"Who is she to prance in here like that?" One scoffed.
"She isn't anyone I know. A nobody."
"She is the Magic Knight of Wind and the Prince's lover," another responded smugly.
They all gasped at this and backed away from the couple that danced across the floor, lost in each other's eyes.
"You look like a Spirit, please assure me you're real," Ferio played with her hair as he spoke, "Because if this is a dream I don't want to wake up."
Fuu looked down, blushing, then looked back up into his eyes as she spoke, "I'm real," she took his hand and put it to her cheek.
"That's not enough proof," he stopped dancing and bent in, kissing her. He put a hand behind her neck as he let the kiss linger.
When they broke away they saw everyone in the ballroom in a circle around them, clapping and cheering.
Fuu blushed and buried herself in Ferio's chest, breathing in his scent.
He held her tight and tried to stifle a laugh at some of the faces he saw and some of the looks he got.
§§§~~~
She clapped with everyone else and didn't even realize the arm around her waist until the person whispered in her ear, "My little Fire Faerie will you dance with me?"
She spun and smiled, "Lantis," she shook her head and waved a finger at him, "You shouldn't scare me like that. Of course I'll dance with you, you didn't have to ask."
As they spun, her dress flew beautifully beneath her, the ribbons flowing with the movements of her body. He hugged her close and asked her softly, "Have I told you how beautiful you are yet tonight?"
She laughed and blushed, "You have, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again."
"You are, you're the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes upon," he said it so gravely, so seriously Hikaru blushed awfully.
"Arigato."
"I should be thanking you, for gracing me with your presence, and this dance."
She blushed deeper, and looked down, but he pulled her head up.
"And this kiss," he touched her lips gently then the kiss became more fiery.
When they pulled away there were more cheers and clapping, then the dancing began again.
§§§~~~
"Where is the Water Knight?"
"It is her party."
"The least she could do would be make an appearance."
The world around him spun as he listened to bits and pieces of conversations.
It had been half an hour since the other two had made their entrance, and he was getting extremely worried.
"Where's Umi?" he pulled Persea aside.
She looked around, and her mind flashed back, "She was supposed to come in after the other two, but she never did."
"What?"
"She never came in," Persea answered.
"Why not?"
"I'm not sure, she's been so sick lately, maybe she wasn't feeling good."
"Arigato," he turned and walked from the room.
He searched the palace for her, finally reached her room and opened the door. He looked around and saw the door to the terrace was open, a light breeze blowing the curtains. He stopped in the doorway, frozen.
She was so beautiful. He couldn't see her face, but she wore a long flowing blue and white dress that went to her ankles and was held tight to her waist with a deep blue wrap that had ribbons that went down in the back. The white of the dress was tinted blue and matched her hair that flew just as marvelously as the ribbons.
There was a crown of large blue flowers with brown centers and green vines that climbed down her shoulders.
The ocean breeze played with her hair blowing it to one side causing her to raise her hands and push it out of the way occasionally.
After a moment of shock he opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by her voice.
"I just couldn't go in there like that okay?! Couldn't deal with that, not when y… That's it go away," her voice pained his heart.
'She always could do that,' he thought, 'Sense when I was near.'
"Leave me in peace. Please tell them I'm fine and terribly sorry, but I wasn't feeling well enough to attend," her voice never lost that quiver, the sound of tears being held in.
"Turn around and tell me that. Look me in the eyes and tell me you're fine," he marveled at how he found his voice let alone his words; he guessed it was necessity.
She didn't turn but muttered, "I'm fine. Now leave."
But instead of leaving he walked closer and put his hands on her shoulders, "You're not fine Umi, and I think I know why."
She spun and looked up at him. Now he saw her full beauty, and his body began to quiver just feeling her near him. She was wearing that blue tinted white dress but in the front there was a half circle golden and sapphire piece on the top of her dress near her collarbone with small sapphires that hung down. She wore sapphire earrings and bracelets on her upper arms and down toward her wrist. Small rings lined her fingers.
Her cheeks glistened with fresh tears, and his heart began to ache. He reached up and brushed her cheeks with his hands sending goose bumps up and down her arms.
"Stop it!" she pulled away from him leaving him broken. What was wrong?
"Umi…what?" he choked on his words.
"Stop playing with me, hurting me," she turned her back on him, "I hear what they say I'm not completely oblivious. I know what they think, that no one could ever love me, especially not who I want to."
Anger filled his veins with what cruel things they could say about her, what they could do to her, "Umi that's not true."
"But it is! Even in my past life I was alone. The only one I found to comfort me didn't even love me," her tears were unstoppable now as she tried to push them away.
"That's not true either. Umi, you don't know so much about your past. Please, come back to the ball with me, and I'll explain everything later," he begged.
She hesitated for a long moment then nodded.
He offered an arm, and she took it gently. He could feel how tense she was when he was near her, when they were together. It wasn't natural, not like it had been.
§§§~~~
Everyone gawked at the beautiful girl on the Master Mage's arm. Who was she? Where had she come from?
The minute they had entered the doorway there was a man stealing Umi from Clef. She took his hand graciously and tried to get away from the Mage as soon as she could. Her mind was racing. Why was her heart pounding? Did she want someone to hurt her emotionally like Kio had physically?
"What's your name?" the man asked, and she smiled up at him.
"Umi."
"The Magic Knight of Water?" he whispered, and she nodded, "Wow. I never expected you to be this beautiful."
She giggled and blushed looking down, "Arigato."
He grinned, and they danced several dances. When she finally decided it was time to get something to drink she found Clef's eyes on her. She walked over to the punch bowl, and he found her there.
"Please dance with me," his voice was pleading, and before she could think she had agreed, and he had one hand around her waist.
The dance was beautiful enough, but silent, and tense. They never spoke, and Umi avoided his eyes at all times. His eyes never left her. If only he could tell her now, and she would understand, but he knew this was neither the time nor the place to get into those kinds of matters. When the dance was over she went back to her original partner.
"What's your name by the way?" she asked him, and he grinned.
"Kio," he responded, and her face paled as she stopped, dropped his hands and ran from the room.
Clef's eyes narrowed as he watched the man who looked dumbstruck then took off after Umi.
*Sorry about not posting for a while but I was stuck. Now I have to worry about my other fic, hm… anyway there is more of this chapter but it was 8 pages in word so I couldn't post it all at once or my computer would die. I'll post the next part after I'm completely finished. This is probably my longest fic sorry about that! ^.^ oh and by the way the thing Ascot says about hating him because he's not him that's not mine that is Robert Jordan's from the Eye of the World book. I wish I could think of something like that. It just seemed like a perfect thing to put in there. So Ja ne!*