Midnight C: Well, yes and no. He's not going to "crash" the party, per se, but he does end up being there, so yeah... as you'll find out here... in this chapter.
Alex: AAHH!! Don't hurt me!!!! *runs away* Yes, and I apologize for being such a bad procrastinator. I'm truly sorry, everyone. But on the bright side (I've mentioned this before) I have finished writing the 3rd Chapter of my newest GS fic, which I'll intro to you guys in a couple chapters when this fic ends. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to run out of ideas (but I still have a semi-good ending, I think) and besides, I'm very excited about the new one. The initials (including small words such as "the" "of" "and" etc) are BTLR. Good luck guessing if you like guessing games!!! *cackles evilly*
Miss Black Dragon: Thanks! And quite unfortunate about The Lost Age...
Snoopy6458: Thanks a lot!
Anonymous: Next time, if you don't want to sign in to review (I'm assuming you do have a penname) you can just send me e-mail or something. And no, Mia's not cheating on Alex. That part was a flashback.
Triad Orion: That's okay. If I need a muse, I'll be sure to make one of my own. *smiles wryly*
Everyone, I'll try to post up at least one chapter every week after this, but lately I've been lazy and the Internet has been acting up at my house. X____x Makes for a bad combination, dontcha think?
8 - One Wish
After an entire morning and afternoon dodging Jenna and her friends, Mia was finally caught in her own room in the inn, carving a piece of stone into a smaller shape that resembled a star. She had thought running away would be the best idea, but then after escaping with Isaac, and knowing that the others had seen her run out the door, the Mercury healer used that to her advantage and climbed back to her own room via the window. The sun was quite low in the sky by the time anyone thought to look for her there.
"Mia! What are you doing here? Now we have no time to make you a dress!" Soraya cried in distress, slamming open the door. The one in question paid no attention to her or the others crowding the doorway, only finishing the last touches of smoothing on her stone before turning to them calmly.
"I told you. I already have a dress. I've never worn it before, it's new, and I've been working on it for the past week at night and in the mornings." Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and walked to the small closet in the room. Opening the door, she carefully removed a long blue dress for their inspection.
"Fork it over!" Jenna murmured. Mia made a small hook of ice in the ceiling, freezing the area around it so it would last longer, and hung the hanger onto it.
Holy Sol. She made this all by herself in a week? Jenna thought, surprised beyond belief. It was a beautiful work of art, and entirely suited Mia's personality – calm, relaxing, and dedicated. The dress was actually quite basic, consisting of only three parts, not counting gloves, footwear, hair ornaments, and other accessories. Her shift was made of white silk, with two thin straps to hold it to her shoulders, and when worn would fit to her body quite snugly from her chest to mid-thigh.
The second part was the dress itself, and was an almost perfect replica of the robes she had worn when Isaac and the rest had first come upon her in Imil – a turtled-neck for warmth, long sleeves that flared out gently past the elbows, and a flowing ankle-length dress. All of it was in a very pale blue, with a lavender border and triangles that passed at mountains above that at the bottom.
Lastly came an Imilian-styled lady's tunic. It clung to the upper body comfortably, and then stayed along the form of the dress. Instead of having straight cuts at one level or other, the tunic was actually longer at one side than at the other, where it curved in circles inside circles with alternating colors of white and lavender. A fitted sash with the Mercury Clan Ancients' symbol on it – two crescents to the sides of a hollow circle with water drops coming out of the top and bottom, in lavender on a white background – would further fit the tunic and dress to the person who wore it. Everything fit together to flow gently around her, much like water cascading off a cliff in the motion of a waterfall.
Overall, Jenna had to grudgingly admit that it was much better than anything she or the others could have made in a day.
While the others gushed over it, Jenna asked how could Mia have had time to make something so well done in less than a week.
"I'd actually wanted to make a new one before, but never really got the chance to, what with Lemuria and all. I had the design all planned out in my head, but never had a chance to start working on it until we came back here to Vale. I'll have go back to Imil eventually, to finish training my apprentices, but for now staying in Vale is a wonderful vacation."
Jenna snorted. "You call this a vacation? With Garet bothering you everyday?" Mia smothered a giggle and shrugged.
"He doesn't bother me too much." They didn't have another chance to talk again until after the night's holiday, for the other girls began babbling about hair and ornaments and jewelry to adorn.
Night had fallen. The stars were beginning to come out, and quite charmingly snow was falling lightly enough that it only made one have a shallow sprinkling of snow on their shoulders and clothes. With all the candles and lanterns in the town blown out except for those in and around the inn, which were blazing, the stars could be seen in a stark contrast from the dark, midnight blue sky. There wasn't enough starlight to see very well, but Luna, a full moon that night, made up for that, providing a dim but romantic lighting to those dancing outside, away from the candle- and fire-light.
Isaac and Garet were waiting at the bottom most floor of the inn for many of Vale and Vault's young women to come down dressed in their Stars finery, along with many other young men from both Vale and Vault. On the one hand, Isaac was standing calmly in the back (or the front, depending on where one stood) of the inn, next to the main door, where he could see over everyone else's heads. He wore a trim, regal tunic of blue and gold borders made of a fine but warm cloth, new boots and gloves, and one of his long bolts of yellowy-gold cloth serving as a side-cape. They completed his new outfit, and he would have looked as a pompous and rich lord were it not for the serious expression of faint anxiety and anticipation on his face and the spiky, unruly-on-purpose look that his hair had taken on, even after a frustrating hour of trying to tame it.
On the other hand, Garet was striding back and forth in front of his best friend, in his best tunic, a rich crimson velvet one with a darker, earthier shirt beneath to highlight his hair and eyes. His trousers were of the unusual black color, tucked neatly into his polished dark brown boots. Unlike Isaac's golden hair, Garet had all of his red strands slicked up and he looked quite striking, even with the goofy smile on his face and the occasional long glance at the stair.
Ivan was the only one of the three sitting down at a table, sipping tea calmly with Sheba in forest greens, dark violets, and a soft maroon. None of them had expected her, but she had come, saying that Garet had left his newly bought broadsword at Lalivero and she didn't want even someone like him worrying about a lost possession whilst she had it. ("Hey! What do you mean, someone like me?") On her journey, she had had visions of a large gathering and formal dance, so along the way she had purchased long bolts of lavender and blue hued cloth to sew something on her own. The end result was magnificent – in the more eccentric but exotically beautiful robes wrapped about her, Ivan could hardly tear his eyes away for a minute. Sheba pretended she didn't notice, but they could be seen smiling at each other and then looking away every once in a while, with a pink tint at their cheeks.
Felix, all the meanwhile, just stood on the other side of the door as Isaac, staring off into space and deep in thought. He looked... well, like he didn't care much, but obviously prodded enough by Jenna to put on metallic blue trousers, new boots, worn but comfortable gloves, and a green tunic with elaborate patterns on it. His cape was a shade lighter than his brown hair, so different from Jenna's bright rusty brown strands.
"Garet! Where in Gondowan are you! Gods, when someone doesn't want you around you're cracking jokes and being funny, and then when they need you around, all you do is disappear on us!"
There was only a murmur of approvable to warn the guard before she hit him (not too hard) on the shoulder, dressed out in a violet, red, and golden brown dress. Garet's mouth dropped until and his muscles couldn't seem to function together until she tapped it back up and glared.
"Garet! Don't go dumb on me now!" The entire crowd watched as she held out a small purple, rectangle-shaped cloth, the same material, most likely, as the one twisted into her gathered curls at the back of her head. He snapped out of his trance and took the cloth, still staring at her. She sighed exasperatingly and made a gesture to Felix, Ivan, Sheba, and Isaac that clearly said See what I have to deal with everyday? But smiled softly to Garet (still staring openly at her).
"Garet?"
"Yes?"
She swatted him on the head. "Tuck it into my hair, would you, and knot it? All the others were busy, and besides, if you do it wrong I get an excuse to hit you." Garet grinned widely and winked to Isaac, who merely laughed as Felix watched on to make sure they didn't make any public show of affection. The cloth went into her hair, and the two sat with Ivan and Sheba, laughing about something or other.
Isaac waited eagerly in anticipation. Jenna had always had a wild streak in her, tomboyish in manner, but despite her sometimes unladylike actions, she was still considered one of the prettiest young unmarried ladies in Vale. He could hardly wait to see whether Mia had gotten something new for the annual event. And then a slight worry in the back of his mind tinged his thoughts – what if he had underdressed? Even he had to admit that his attire was very new and still with its crisp, unworn look, despite his best tries to 'fluff' it out. Ordinarily he wouldn't particularly care, but this was Mia…
Several others from Vale and Vault walked down the stairs with everyone's eyes watching their every move. Most already had chosen partners, but two young women from Vault had no partners, and agreeably chose to spend the Holiday with one Felix and the other Talervan, a young apprentice blacksmith at Vale. And then she came down.
Jenna smiled secretly as she saw Isaac and Garet glance up at the rustle of noise, and then both of them gasp with everyone else in the room as she descended slowly. Every fold of her dress fell neatly down to her ankles, swishing gently over the tops of her boots. The sash seemed almost to blend in with the rest of the outfit, leaving only the magically and sewed-on design of the Mercury Clan's symbol glowing the pale blue of its threads at her waist. Even her hair, loosened to caress her back, seemed a part of her glowing self. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she ignored the dozen hands that reached out hesitantly for her, wishing to have her to themselves for the night and yet knowing that she would most likely already have someone in mind.
Isaac couldn't believe his eyes. Even at her worst – grouchy mood, covered in dust, with twigs and leaves in her hair – she seemed to have an unexplainable charm and quiet beauty… dressed as she was, everything about her was only enhanced. She stepped up to him and looked up into his eyes. Forgetting his thoughts, and focusing only on her, he smiled. Bowed deeply in deference, and kissed her gloved hand. The unspoken words in her eyes were conveyed to his instantly, fingers intertwining.
I love you.
Unfortunately for Isaac, having the most radiant girl at the dance dictated that others would ask for dances. He tried to keep her with him, but that was impossible, what with the many strangers from Vault and the many friends from Vale also, smiling charmingly at her and extending their invitation, none of which she could refuse. After five straight dances with people, none of who were Isaac, Mia was prepared to stop and just sit with him, basking in the auras of each other.
She could see him across the floor, mouthing words to her. One dance, Mia? His eyes were pleading, hoping that she would agree, but just as she opened her mouth to respond, another's thoughts raced over and overlapped onto hers. Mia, I need to speak with you. It's important. Alex.
Where did her loyalty lie?
It's not a question of that. A conversation with her two most recently acquired Djinn, Tonic and Dew, popped into her mind, taking place as the words sparked an instant recognition and drawing up of memory.
::Don't cry, Mia,:: the tiny voice squeaked. Looking down from red-rimmed eyes, Mia couldn't help but break into silent tears again, despairing at her conflict of feelings between Isaac, whom she loved, and Alex, who'd sought her forgiveness and wanted her love, which she still felt in a most dark corner of her heart. She knew it, and he knew it. But how could she tell him that without causing undue fury or anger? Or suicidal depression? Too much too risk, and it all depended on her. This is why I had vowed never to get into relationships! And then first Alex broke through my barriers, and Isaac chipped away at it.
Tonic was staring back at her with blue eyes, unreadable and yet sympathetic in the same moment. Dew, also, nuzzled her neck from its position on Mia's shaking shoulders.
"I don't want anyone hurt because of me!" She wailed desperately. Despite her hardiest attempts, Mia had never been able to forgive her parents for leaving her orphaned in Imil, even though the people of the then small village cared for and loved her greatly. Their sudden and untimely departure had hurt her beyond the extent of which she thought possible. Love shouldn't hurt this much.
"Who am I to be loyal to? Isaac or Alex?"
::It's not a question of that,:: The two Djinn answered simultaneously.
::Perhaps it seems well-used and much-written, but what need you is to your heart to search.:: Dew was uncommonly intelligent. Fortunate and unfortunate when she debated on a decision of morals. ::Both only wish you to be happy. Isaac would be broken in heart, but he would first see to your happiness and comfort before his own. Alex, as though he hides it, would do the same. His past taints your interpretation of his actions. Release the past. Follow your heart.::
"And if I choose wrong?"
::You won't!:: Tonic chirped readily. Always the optimist, trusting, and a believer in her and the other companions and Djinn they had been with for the past months. ::You'll make the right decision!::
"Who am I to turn away from such logic?" Mia tearfully murmured gathering all of her Djinn – Fizz, Sleet, Mist, Spritz, Hail, Tonic, Dew – to her. "You are the very best friends any person could have."
::See! I told you she loves me most.::
::N-n-no! She's hugging me the tightest. She loves me the most!!::
Mia laughed for the first time in hours.
I'll be right there, Alex.
Mia smiled apologetically to Isaac. I'll be back soon. Save me a dance, she mouthed. He returned her wave and sat next to Garet and Ivan, laughing over something or other.
She walked down the silent path, listening intently as sounds of celebration behind her dimmed to a low hum as her distance from the inn increased. Very soon, she stood at the stairs to Sol Sanctum, where Alex waited. Mia opened her mouth to speak, to tell him that she didn't love him, but he silenced her with a small wave.
"It's alright. As much as our love still exists, I know you love him more. The knight. He loves you, and makes you happy. I don't want you to stay with me. You would only think of someone else all the while, unhappy with a pretense of joy upon your face. My one wish is for you to be happy, Mia." Alex swallowed deeply, wanting to keep his next words from exiting his mouth. As right as they were. He still loved Mia. But she didn't belong with him. It was not their fate.
"You belong with Isaac, the Venus Adept. Be happy. That's all I want. Grant me that one wish, and I will be happy as well, wherever I am. Perhaps we may never see each other again, but…" His voice trailed off as he looked full at the moon. The light from Luna cast a white, sparkling glow around him. And he knew he'd made the right choice.
Mia's heart stopped. She wanted to protest. He looked so sad, standing there, staring at the goddess whom represented Mercury. Wanted to, but couldn't, because she loved Isaac so much. Tears began falling from her eyes unheeded, silent.
"What brought this on? I thought you would want me to see how much your feelings are for me. Or how much I really did love you." Still he stood, knowing that his decision was right. Both of them stood in the path of the moonlight, saddened, tears dampening their cheeks.
"I saw my hurting you from my words. Someone else helped me to see clearly. Goodbye, Mia. Remember to be happy. I don't want to regret my decision of letting you go. Fare thee well." A soft touch to her forehead with his lips while she stared in shock. Then he was gone, his shadow with him. She was left alone at the stair, only soft, remorseful sobs breaking through the silence of the night. Her silhouette, collapsed on the ground, was forlorn in its position in the path of Luna's dim white light.
I'm sorry.
As the short statement raced across the two Mercury Adepts' minds, neither could discern whether it was their thought or the other's.