CHAPTER 4
Ariana went out of her room. She couldn't sleep that night so she decided to go to the palace gardens for a while. She just remembered what had happened to her when she entered the crown-room. As soon as her mother wrapped her arms around her, her mind was flooded by visions of the past…
~(@)~
Hikaru just woke up from a very bad dream. "Hikaru, are you alright?" Lantis asked his wife.
"Lantis…she's coming back…"
"Who's coming back?"
"Debonair."
* * *
"I had foreseen the battle, Lantis. It will be much dreadful as the last time."
"It can't be…she's supposed to be dead."
"You had heard her…as long as there is evil she lives…I suspect she was able to gather energy somewhere else than Sefiro…I-I might even die…"
"When will this be?"
"A few months from now…My love, listen to me…I am going to bring our daughter to Earth."
"WHAT?"
"In that way, we can be sure of her safety…even if we're not sure about ours…Lantis, trust me…We have to make sure that our daughter is going to live."
Lantis couldn't do anything but nod.
* * *
Satoru Shidou was surprised to see his sister when he opened the door. It had been a long time since he last saw her. He knew about her other life—the life of the princess of another world. Holding his sister's hand is a little girl. He invited her inside and his wife offered her some tea, which she refused.
Hikaru knew that his wife cannot bear children, and they are planning to adopt a child. She also knew that they would love and take care of her daughter. 'This is for the best…'
"Later…" Hikaru told him, when he gave her a questioning look. "Ariana is tired, do you have a spare room for her to sleep in?" Her brother nodded and led them to, at that time, a guest room. She laid her daughter on the bed and uttered a sleeping spell followed by a spell of forgetfulness. Fighting the tears on her eyes, she leaned close to her daughter and whispered, "You will come back to us…I love you very much…"
Satoru was waiting for her outside the room. "I am going to leave my daughter with you. It is not safe for her to stay with us."
"What do you mean?"
"There is going to be a battle…a battle we are not sure that we might win…I…we…we might die…I don't want my daughter to be in danger…" It was then that Hikaru cried. She's going to leave her baby. "Please take care of her. I had cast a spell of forgetfulness on her. When she wakes up, she will not remember anything…It would be better that way…"
* * *
"YOU KNOW THAT I CANNOT BE DESTROYED!" Debonair said as a beam of white light hit her. "You…might…have won…this time…but I…I still can come back…and destroy you…""What are you saying?" Hikaru asked as she watched Debonair's body being swallowed by a black void.
"I…have found…Sefiro's dark twin…"
* * *
"You don't have to do this Hikaru," Lantis told her.
"No Lantis…you heard her…she will come back…"
"But a force field around Sefiro? You're still weak from the last battle…"
"I can handle it Lantis…"
"But…"
"It is my duty…as a Pillar…I will not let Sefiro be destroyed."
"What about our daughter?"
"She'll be back…when the time is right…And she will understand."
~(@)~
"Can't sleep?" Ariana quickly turned around and saw Umiro walking towards her. "Beautiful isn't it? That is why I usually go here at night, where I can be alone…and watch the stars." Ariana looked around her. She could see the evening sky filled with stars from the glass dome up above them. The room itself seemed to have been lighted by magic. "You enhanced the attractiveness of this place…" Ariana blushed at Umiro's flattery. "Does my presence bother you, Princess?"
"No…no…I…You can stay if you want to. And please, just call me Ariana. I would be very pleased if you just call me by my name. I'm still not used to the title-thing you see?"
"Very well, Ariana it is…"
"Thank you."
"You know, you got your looks from your father."
"Yes…many do say so. And you got your looks from your mother."
"Many do say so too…"
Ariana giggled. "Oh sorry, you're just too formal…"
"My father is very strict with etiquette and such," Umiro explained.
They both sat on the side of the fountain. "I notice that you're friendlier than your twin…"
"Ah, he's the serious one. I doubt if he knows how to have fun…"
"Come on! He's not that dull…"
"Well…maybe not. Yukino is a very silent person…but enough about him…Do you know that the first time I laid my eyes on you, I told myself, 'She's the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.'" Umiro then saw Ariana's cheeks turn red. "Ah! Look at you, you are blushing! But it is true…you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." Ariana's blush deepened. "You act as if nobody had ever told you that before…"
"I…well…uh….no…except you of course…"
"You mean, not even Febin?" Ariana slowly shook her head. "What has gotten into his head that he never noticed you?"
'Felicia…and a dozen or more girls he had been infatuated with…' Ariana thought.
"Crazy."
"What?"
"Febin is crazy…But I guess I must thank him for that. At least I don't have to compete with him for your heart."
"I have to go now. It's already late."
"Did I offend you, Ariana?"
"Well…not really…I'm not just used to flattery. And well, it is really late and I don't want to wake up late tomorrow morning. Thanks a lot for the company…I have to go."
* * *
Febin carefully closed the door of his room and walked to the hallway leading to the palace gardens. "Maybe I'll be able to get sleep later…but in the meantime, I'll just go and admire the scenery."
As he came near to the garden doorway, he heard voices coming out of the room, which he recognized as Umiro's and some woman's. He opened the door a little bit to see who he was talking to… 'Ariana…?'
He slowly closed the door. "Maybe I should get back to my room after all."
* * *
Ariana opened her eyes. She looked around her and then got out of bed. She then shifted the curtains and smiled as sunlight filled the room. She opened the window and looked outside. A bird caught her attention. It was holding a piece of folded paper between its beaks… "For me?" Ariana reached out and the bird put the paper on her open palm. "Thank you," she said.
She smiled as she read what was written…To Princess Ariana, a very good morning. It was nice talking with you…Umiro.
She heard someone knocking on her door… "Uh…just a minute…" When she opened it, she saw her father outside. "Why Father! Come in…"
"I hope I didn't disturb your sleep."
"No…no…not at all…Actually, I was already awake before you knocked."
"I had to come here…to make sure that you are really back…and that I wasn't dreaming."
"Oh Father…"
"Would you like your breakfast be served here in your room or would you like to dine with us?"
"I'd rather dine with you Father…I'll be right there after a few minutes…"
"I'll wait for you at the dining room?"
"Yes, thank you Father…"
* * *
Umiro was bleeding, quite heavily, on his left shoulder. He winced as he felt the sting of the deep cut he acquired. "A brilliant move my friend…but you nearly killed me with that blow. Is something wrong?" It was only then that Febin suddenly realized what he just done. "You had not been yourself since early this morning…"
"Oh my God! I am terribly sorry Umiro…"
"It would make me a hypocrite if I told you 'It is nothing', but I'm alright…my arm is still intact, and I am very glad it wasn't my face that was damaged." Umiro then tore a part of his shirt and wrapped it on his wound. He's having a hard time tying the knot though.
"Here…let me help." Febin offered. He then tightened the knot of Umiro's bandage.
"Thank you my friend. Now we must go back to the palace…"
Febin agreed. "How's the wound?"
"Don't worry Febin, I've had cuts deeper than this." There was silence between them for a while. "Your stay in Earth hasn't rusted your skills."
"I still train every morning before I go to school. I seldom get a chance to train my magic though…"
"But I heard you can't use magic on Earth."
"Actually you can…it's just a bit difficult to control."
"I see… Mother said that you were assigned to be the Princess' sworn protector."
"Yes…Lord Lantis asked me yesterday…"
"I envy you…"
"What?"
"Well…you will have to accompany the princess all the time…"
"Look Umiro, I know you very well…You and your love of women. You charm them…shower them with praises and flattery…make them fall in love with you…and then break their hearts."
"I'm hurt of what you think of me, my friend…"
"But we both know that it's the truth…I don't want Ariana to be like those women."
"I think I'm…no…I am in love with the Princess."
"WHAT?"
"I said…"
"I know what you said…but you just met her!"
"Ever heard of 'love at first sight'?"
"I don't believe you…"
"Then don't…but it's true. The princess has captured my heart. I will have no other!"
If not for the deep cut on Umiro's shoulder, Febin would have strangled his friend. 'How dare he talk about love? And love for Ariana at that! No he cannot be serious!' But he knew Umiro had never spoken about love for a girl before. He had spoken of beauty many times…but never of love. The thought of his friend being serious is giving him a headache.
"Good morning," they heard a familiar voice greet them. They found Ariana walking down the stairs.
"Good morning…" Febin said.
"Good morning Ariana…" Umiro greeted back, flashing her his best smile.
"Oh! What happened to you?" Ariana said when she saw Umiro's bleeding shoulder.
"An accident…" Umiro answered.
"What kind of accident?"
"I…I cut him with my sword while we were sparring…" Febin answered. He watched as Ariana put her hand on the wound and cast a healing spell on his friend.
"Next time, be careful…There…" Umiro then looked at his completely healed shoulder. Ariana then faced Febin and scolded him, "You should be ashamed of yourself! Wounding your friend that bad!" Febin lowered his head in response.
"When did you learn your magic Ariana?"
"Oh! Well…I don't know…I just figured I had to do it…I'm going to have breakfast with the others…are you joining us?"
"No…I mean…yes…of course we are…" Umiro said. "Right Febin?"
"Yes…I'm famished…I'm glad you can work your magic now Ariana…"
"Me too…"
* * *
Despite of how 'famished' he was supposed to be, Febin ended up toying at the food on his plate. Not that anybody got to notice, all, except him of course, were busy listening to Umiro's exaggerated tale of Ariana's discovery of her newfound ability. Febin almost choked on his friend's description of how he felt "the beautiful princess' soothing yet strengthening power" traveled all over his body…healing his wound and taking the fatigue he was feeling away---'Ch…As if he haven't been healed using magic before!'
He noticed how red Ariana's cheeks had become---'Leave it to Umiro and his flattery to make a girl blush!' he told himself. He had often teased Ariana that someday an anonymous male would finally succeed in making her blush out of flattery. He used to find it very amusing at those days---And yet watching this scene unfold before him, with Umiro playing the role of the 'anonymous male', Febin found himself far from amused. In fact, he found himself very, very irritated, his hands itching to shove the whole loaf of bread in front of him straight to Umiro's mouth to stop the boy from blabbering. Actually, the idea of giving the flirtatious boy another bodily harm sounded very appealing---
"Febin…is there something wrong?" he heard his mother asked him, interrupting his thoughts. Suddenly, he felt that everybody was staring at him.
'Wrong? Of course there's something wrong! That flirt had been using his smooth tactics on Ariana and she, of all people, is falling for it!' said the voice in the back of his head. Febin was very relieved that those words never came out of his mouth though. After mentally kicking himself, he finally managed to utter a curt "Nan demo nai" followed by a quick sip on his very cold tea, a result of perhaps his unconscious over-stirring.
* * *
"Shouldn't I be training with Ginnie and Liz today?" Ariana asked her best friend who had been walking beside her.
"The three of you have different levels and also different skills in weapon-handling, Ariana. It is not really practical to put you in the same 'class' so to speak. I heard Liz was to be trained by Aunt Umi and Ginnie by my mother. It had been clear to them which one will inherit their title I suppose. On the other hand, you will have to train with me under your father's tutelage."
"My father?"
"Yes…just think of it as an advanced class in swordsmanship, with real swords as weapons of course."
"I'm glad that we get to train together, Febin."
"I know, me too. To tell you the truth, I'm really nervous in training under Lord Lantis. He's the best swordsman here in Sefiro…I'm afraid I might not be good enough…"
"Don't say that…I heard you are the best in your batch…Too bad I haven't really seen you fight…"
"We spar sometimes then, you like?"
"That would be nice…"
"And oh! Since Guru Clef was going to be busy in discovering Sefiro's dark twin, I will be the one to teach you Magical Arts."
"Wow! You must be really good at it, huh?"
"Not as good as the Master Mage is…I'll be teaching you more of the stuff that is used usually in combat. We'll have to see what your ruling element is first though…We have lots of things to do and so little time. You and the rest of the Magic Knights have 2 weeks at most to train before you go and find the mineral escudo for your swords. Sierra will then make your weapons for you, which would be the exact replicas of what the former knights own. And then after that, you will have to pass the test…"
"The test?"
"You have to take the test to prove that you are worthy to own the Mashin Gods of Sefiro. The former Magic Knights have talked to their Mashin Gods and they have agreed to recognize you girls as their new owners if ever you do pass. I will tell you more about it later…"
* * *
Yukino took his eyes away from the book he was reading to glare at his brother who whistled noisily while entering the room. "What?" Umiro asked his twin as soon as he noticed the look Yukino gave him.
"I am reading a book here…"
"Yes, I noticed, so…?"
"So shut the hell up! You are ruining my concentration!"
Umiro raised his eyebrow and then let out a loud laugh. "Grumpy as usual brother? Oh! By the way, Mother wants to see you."
"What for?" Yukino asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh I don't know…Maybe she just misses you?" Umiro answered, grinning. "Just go and see her now will you?"
"Alright! I will! And if this is some kind of trick just to annoy me I'm going to summon Ifrit and fry you!"
"Go ahead! I still couldn't understand why Father taught you an art as dangerous as elemental summoning with that temper of yours…"
"Maybe you got to learn it too if you weren't too busy flirting…And besides, I can control myself…Otherwise you'd be one big block of ice right now or a huge ash-pile or maybe something more…"
"Are you going to see Mother or are you going to bicker with me all day? I wouldn't mind if you choose the latter, I'm such in a good mood today that I think I will win today's oral bout."
"Tch! I'm going!" Yukino then left the room with a loud bang on the door. Umiro couldn't help but laugh though. He always had found his brother's grumpy personality quite amusing. He shook his head, lay down on his bed and then stared at the ceiling, thinking of the dark-haired Princess.
Umiro grinned as he remembered how red the princess' cheeks were that morning. "Such a beautiful face…" he said out loud. When he realized how love-sick he was acting he laughed at himself. He never expected this to happen. True, he had always had an eye for gorgeous females, but never had any woman captivated him as much as Princess Ariana had. And the thing was that, all it took was one look… 'How unexpected of you…' he told himself. 'No wonder Febin did not believe you…' Of course he couldn't blame his friend. After all, Umiro always had this reputation of a flirt and a heartbreaker. "But then, maybe he's just jealous…"
Umiro frowned. The direction where his thoughts are going is definitely not pleasant. Being friends with Febin for long had taught Umiro that Febin would never be an easy rival. But despite of that he had made up his mind…he would do all he can to be able to capture the princess' heart.
* * *
Yukino swore as he heard his twin's chuckle behind the bedroom door. The scowl he was wearing made the palace guards stay clear of his way---everybody knew better than walk around with a young, temperamental, spirit-summoning wizard nearby. Despite of the knowledge that the sorcerer has full control of his power, they still wanted to be sure not to be a victim of the wizard's wrath.
Still grumbling under his breath about "…some annoying idiot of a brother…" he found himself suddenly bumping into someone.
"Stupid bloody idiot! Can't you see that I am in a hurry here?" he heard the girl, who is now on top of him, said in English. "Oh…it's you…"
"Yes, it is me…Are you alright?" he asked…too surprised that someone dared swear at him to get angry…Of course the girl didn't know he could understand what she just said but nevertheless…
"Yes," Felicia answered, grateful that the youth in front of her didn't have any idea of what she had said from her sudden burst of temper.
"Well then, if you are, you can get off of me now."
Felicia, who just realized how awkward their position was, blushed and then stood up. "Sorry about that…I am such in a hurry and well…"
"I figured that---Especially since you actually swore at me in your native tongue, calling me stupid and an idiot at the same time…" he said as he rose up from his position.
Liz' face turned into a deeper shade of red upon hearing this. "You…you actually…"
"My mother is quite fond of that language…One of the characteristics that I did get from her…I do read the classics in my spare time."
"Oh…well…sorry about what I said…I didn't really mean it…Anyway…could you please tell me where the fencing room is? Your mother told me to meet her there but I…"
"Follow me…"
"It's alright…I don't mean to trouble you. Just give me the directions and…"
He didn't answer but instead, started walking. Liz hurriedly walked beside him, stealing glaces at her very quiet companion. "Err…This castle is quite huge, isn't it?" Liz said, tring to start a conversation. Getting no reply, she said, "I mean I've seen castles in my world but they are not as big as this…" Again, no reply. "…You are not angry with me because of what I said earlier are you?"
"No."
"Then why are you so quiet?"
"It's waste of effort…"
"What do you mean? It's a waste of effort talking to me?" Liz asked, her tone of voice suddenly higher than usual.
"No, but saying something just for the sake of conversation, even if you have nothing to say really or even if you are stating the obvious, is a waste of effort."
"But everybody does that!" Liz said. Yukino just shrugged in reply. For a while there was silence between them. Until Liz came up with a topic that would get Yukino talking. "Oh I know! Tell me about magic!"
"Why?"
"Why not? I don't know much about it…And I'm really curious of what magic is for you people that live in the land where the strength of will determines everything."
"You'll find that out yourself soon enough. You will be learning your magic soon."
"I wonder what kind of magic I'll have…"
"Maybe the same as my mother's…"
"Huh?"
"My mother is a water mage. And since she'd be training you, you might become one too…"
"Me??? A water mage???"
"Why? You don't want to be one?"
"No…I mean…Yes…I mean…No…I mean…I don't know…"
"Well as far as I know, you don't have any choice either…Here we are…"
"What?"
"The fencing room."
* * *
"Excuse me sir, I am quite lost…Will you please tell me where I could find the archery field?" Ginnie asked the soldier in front of her.
The soldier turned around and then said nothing, instead he stared at her. With a huge body-build and expressionless face, he looked quite scary.
"Father! Mother asked me to…" both of them heard someone say behind them. "Oh… Good day, Virginia…"
"Why, Falcon-san! How are you?" Ginnie said.
"Happy that I saw you…" Falcon answered. "I see you met my father already…"
"Your…father?" Ginnie asked as she looked at the huge man beside her.
"Yes, he is my father, Lafarga…head of the royal guards…This is Virginia father, one of the new Magic Knights…and my future-wife…"
"Uh…nice to meet you, sir?" she said--- a big sweatdrop started materializing on her forehead. 'I wish he just wouldn't say that…'
"Something wrong Virginia?"
"No…not really…hehe…uhm…it's just that I am not used to such jokes you know…"
"I doubt that my son is…" the man finally spoke to her and then turned to Falcon. "What does your mother want?"
"She said you should go see her…"
"Very well…The Magic Knight is lost…take her to the archery field…Miss Fuu is waiting for her there."
"Yes, Father…"
"And son…"
"Yes, Father?"
"I'd say you made an excellent choice son…excellent choice…"
'Don't I even have a say on this?' Ginnie said to herself.
"I know Father…" Finally Lafarga left, leaving his son smiling broadly and Ginnie almost fainting. "So…we're going to the archery field, right?"