Title: Spiritual Elements
Author: mangazgal
Rating: PG-13 (for occasional swearing and subjects such as suicide)
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Summary: AU Four stars, four kingdoms-very simple. So why does everyone want to change that? Future Isaac/Mia, Garet/Jenna, Felix/Sheba
Disclaimer: To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written solely for entertainment.
A/N: Yeah, I'm done with all my exams! However, my teachers believe that this is now the opportune moment to load us with projects. T.T I also seem to be having problems formatting this particular chapter. My symbols don't show up in the story, and I can't leave spaces in between scene changes. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Chapters will be coming up slowly until all the projects are done. In the meantime, please enjoy the chapter 3 of Spiritual Elements.
Chapter 3
Trailing people is quite fun, especially if one of them is a close friend. It is even more fun if a girl is accompanying that close friend. For Ramses, watching Isaac and a girl chatting and laughing was a rare sight. It wasn't because Isaac never went out with a girl, nor was it because he didn't chat or laugh. Rather, he never looked happy when he was out with one of the many foolish girls that tried to win him over. Yet, there he was, enjoying himself with a rather unusual companion. By some odd coincidences and by Isaac's own big mouth, he had wound up being the guide to a Mercurian princess by the name of Mia.
He had never met any pure Mercury Adepts before, nor, needless to say, any Mercury royalties. As a result, this gave him quite a few difficulties. He was not well versed with Mercurian customs, laws, or anything of the sort. Surely if the Mercury Kingdom was similar to Mars and Venus Kingdoms, she would have her own Elemental Star and the people would have their own Psynergy. Yet, the strength of this Psynergy remained a question.
Unknown to him also were the enemies to the Mercurian royal family. As a result, he didn't know whom he had to be wary of. Whoever was an enemy to the Mercurian royal family could be following the two royals without him knowing it, being a threat to not only Mia but to his prince. The only trump card he held was that the enemy most likely didn't know who he was either. Still, he had to keep his eyes opened, and he must never lose sight of the two.
"I hate crowds," Ramses muttered as he tried to keep track of Isaac and Mia when they walked through a particularly large crowd. Weaving in and out, he was so focused on his task that that he failed to notice he was about to crash into someone.
"Ow!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ramses immediately apologized.
"Watch were ya going, why don'cha?" a grumpy man grumbled as he gathered his fallen goods. "Young folks these days, always rushing around and bumping into their elders."
Ramses ignored the comment and helped pick up several apples. However, when he tried to return them, the man snatched them as if the apples were growing moldy by staying in Ramses's hands.
"Give me that, ya little thief," the man snapped as he hurried away.
Ramses made a face at the man's back. A thief? All he wanted to do was return the apples. Oh well. With a shrug, Ramses turned around as he took a bite from his new apple.
"Oh no… I hate crowds," Ramses moaned.
When he had crashed to the old man, he had lost track of his prince and his companion. He cursed himself for being so careless as he tried to hurry through the crowd, with as much success as a fish swimming against the current. After pushing aside quite a few people and getting a few unfavorable name calls, he came to a conclusion. He lost Prince Isaac. What was he going to tell King Kyle? Your Highness, I regret to tell you that I lost your only son, Prince Isaac, in one of the Mars Kingdom's marketplace when an old man confronted me. Tch, only if he didn't mind spending the rest of eternity with his head mounted on the palace walls.
Just then, he heard a familiar scream.
"Isaac!" Ramses called. Isaac sounded close, about several yards ahead of him. He tried to push forward, but the crowd, like an annoying mosquito, refused to move. He desperately squeezed towards the sides of the street, reaching a wall. Focusing his Psynergy, he created a vine that shot up from the ground beside the wall. Before the vine had even reached the top of the roof, Ramses started to clamor up towards the roof.
Seeing blue sky and no crowd up on the rooftop, he hastily forced the vine to return back into the ground. No point in inviting the crowd to join him on the roofs. With a quick glance to make sure that the vine indeed was shrinking, he started running, jumping occasionally over the gaps between roofs. When he reached the area where he had heard the scream, he started scanning for the familiar blonde haired prince. Of course, blonde was not an unusual hair color, but Ramses had never appreciated the sheer number of blondes in the Mars Kingdom. Never again would he laugh at the prince for considering dyeing his hair green.
Since the last time he saw Isaac, 1.36 minutes had passed. In 1.36 minutes, a lot could happen. The prince could have his throat slit. He could be abducted. He could be drugged. He could lose body parts. Or he could be losing at a carnival game. Ramses nearly fell off the roof at that thought. Where did that idea come from?
"Argh!" Isaac shouted in frustration. "I can't believe I lost the shell game again. I was so sure the ball was under that shell."
Ramses was speechless.
"I like the consolation prize much better," Mia said with a smile, clutching a small stuffed turtle with wings. "It's much better than an oversized teddy bear. Besides, I'll love anything that you give me."
"Well, if you're sure," Isaac said sheepishly, a slight red tinge on his nose.
"Of course. Let's get something to eat," Mia said eagerly, pulling on Isaac's hand.
"Hey, slow down for a minute," Isaac laughed.
Ramses was absolutely speechless. Judgment, the guardian of the Venus Kingdom, must have failed in his duties because the end of the world was coming. Was that a red tinge on his nose? A blush? His lord was a strange person whose emotions could be read from his nose, instead of his eyes. Too many girls try to "read" his eyes lead to Isaac keeping his eyes rather cold. His closer friends and family all knew that he instead used his nose to demonstrate his feelings. A wrinkling of the nose suggested disgust, flaring nostrils anger, twitching discomfort, and blushing embarrassment. Or love.
Did Isaac actually like the girl? Judging by Isaac's nature, he was pretty sure that when Isaac volunteered to be Mia's guide, Isaac was doing it for a purely political reason. However, Venus Kingdom did not need an alliance with Mercury Kingdom, so Isaac would not try to court the princess for marriage because of politics. Consequently, any emotions shown must be his true feelings.
'Well, well, well,' Ramses thought amusingly, praising the Mercurian princess silently. Someone has finally brought the smooth talker down. He began to relax again as he trailed the pair around without, fortunately, any further problems.
Garet was well aware that plants could break and wear down stones after a rather interesting scientific experiment from when they were younger that involved Isaac's powers and the palace, but he was learning that fine leather boots could do the job just as well after pacing the floor for the last thirty some minutes.
"Prince Garet, please give the floor a rest," Kirin said.
"Why are they so late?" Garet asked for the umpteenth time, although he stopped pacing. "I managed to persuade all the prominent lords of the Mars Kingdom to attend as an early start to reconcile the relation between the Mars and Mercury Kingdoms. They aren't going to be happy if the princess is late!"
"Ramses is following them. I'm sure they are fine and will be back soon."
"What if something happened to Ramses as well?" Garet panicked as he resumed pacing.
"Garet, the day someone catches Ramses is the day turtles fly."
Ironically, a turtle with wings appeared before Garet's face.
"Oh Mars, Kirin, it happened! Look, the turtle has wings!" Garet nearly screamed.
"Prince Garet, what are you talking about?" a familiar voice asked.
"Isaac! You returned!" Garet almost wanted to cry as he whirled around to see his flushed friend.
"Yes, the ball starts in twenty minutes. Of course I would be back by now."
"And the princess?"
"Right here, Prince Garet," Mia replied, waving the stuff turtle in front of Garet's face. "Isn't this a charming doll that Isaac had won for me?"
"No, you must go change! We're going to be late!"
Mia looked slightly crossed. "There was no need to yell."
"Garet, calm down," Isaac said softly as he gently shook Garet's arm. "Send Jenna to help her and she should be down here in no time."
"Yes, yes of course," Garet said as he took several deep breaths. "I apologize, Princess Mia. I wish that I was known for my patience, but I'm afraid that I'm as hot-tempered as my father is."
"Apology accepted," Mia said sullenly. "I will return to my room, and maybe this Lady Jenna will be able to help me dress in time." With a smooth curtsy, she left the room.
"Honestly, Garet," Isaac said, annoyed, once the door to the private chamber was closed behind the leaving princess. "What is wrong with you?"
"Me? I'm trying to preserve peace," Garet exclaimed. "You're the one that is acting infatuated all of the sudden. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you have actually fallen for the ice princess."
Isaac's nose was full blown red now. "Whatever are you talking about? I'm doing this all as a favor for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must change as well."
He was turning to leave when he nearly crashed into Lady Jenna.
"There you are, Isaac," Jenna greeted the prince. "After our earlier encounter, I haven't seen you all day."
"Yes, that would be because I was escorting the foreign princess from the Mercury Kingdom."
"Ah, yes, brother mentioned something about her. He said that she was completely rude," Jenna said, scrunching her nose.
"Don't judge someone until you meet them," Isaac chided the girl gently.
"Of course," Jenna replied, "but first impressions are important, too."
"See if your impressions will change. Prince Garet was about to ask you to help Princess Mia dress so that she would be suitable for the party."
"Yes, yes, yes," Jenna said impatiently as she shooed Isaac out. "Now you go change, too." Once Isaac left the room, Jenna whirled around, scowling. "What is with all the foreign girls lately? I just helped some other foreign girl with her clothes, too."
"Another one?" Garet asked, confused. "When did we have another foreign guest?"
Jenna shrugged. "I don't know. She said that she was from another continent across the Karagol Sea, from Gondowan. Queen Felicia asked me to assist her."
"Why would someone from so far away be here?" Garet asked.
"She said it was part of some goodwill and awareness meeting. You'll be meeting with her tomorrow after talking to the Mercurian princess."
Garet moaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Why is everything so complicated? Well, this will all have to wait. Right now, the most important issue is-has Isaac fallen in love with the Mercurian princess?"
Kirin had to restrain a furious Jenna who was about to pummel Garet, although she had to keep herself from punching him as well.
"I definitely think that she holds a certain charm over him," Ramses said as he suddenly popped into the room.
"Ramses! Please knock next time," Jenna muttered. "I came by to tell you Garet that my brother is going to be staying overnight because your father invited him to stay, and he needs a room."
"All right."
"That's all that I came by for, so I'll be leaving now to help the Mercurian princess dress."
"Jenna, w-wait," Garet called as he grabbed her arm. "Do you have an escort for tonight's dance?"
Jenna paused and frowned. "You're right. Normally, when Isaac's here, he's my escort, but he's busy tonight. Maybe I'll ask my brother to escort me."
"Well," Garet said shyly, "I can always be your escort."
Jenna stared at Garet for a minute before laughing. "Don't be ridiculous, Garet. You wouldn't be able to settle down and escort just one girl for an entire night."
"Yes I can," Garet insisted. "The thing is, you… I… I li-"
Jenna smiled as she turned to leave. "Don't worry, Garet. I know what you're trying to say."
"You do?" Garet said in amazement.
"You'll like it better if I didn't have to spend the whole night with my brother. You're a sweet friend, Garet, but you don't need to force yourself to spend the night with me either. Don't worry about it. I'll see you later."
"No, that's not wh-" Garet sighed. It was too late; Jenna had already left. Looking like a forsaken puppy, he stared at the ceiling.
"Prince Garet, the ball is about to start," a servant said softly as he rapped the door.
"Yes, I'm coming," Garet said with a sigh, leaving with Kirin close behind him and Ramses running to pick up his prince. Kirin could only offer the prince a comforting pat on the shoulder as Garet dragged himself down the large empty halls, but he shrugged her hand off. Instead, he could only ask his bodyguard, "Why is everything so complicated?"
Fortunately, not everything in life had to be complicated. The ball went smoothly in an almost unnatural manner. Everything went along just as they should. The grand ballroom was rather plain but warm, with many candles lighting up the place, giving a comforting and welcoming feeling to all visitors. The nobles were civil, the royalty, even the Mercurian princess, were charming. No punch was spilled on some vain lady's dress and no fight was started. Sure, the cooks accidentally misheard 'fruits' as 'roots,' but most of the guests were pleasantly surprised when they were offered carrots instead of grapes. Overall, the ball was a success. Garet was pleased because the chances of peace looked excellent from the way the ball was going.
The success of such balls could always be partially measured by the number of gossips spreading. From the conversations of the guests, the ball must have been the event of the decade with comments such as:
"Did you see her dress? Her husband must have spent five thousand gold pieces! My husband would never let me spend so much on a dress."
"Have you heard about that princess? She is with the pr-"
"Aren't those two lads growing up to be really fine young men? I would die if I could snag one of them."
"Princess, have you forgotten what you're here for?"
"Shush, it's supposed to be a secret. King Galian would have your head if he knew you blew Isaac's cover."
"Too bad that it looks like they are already interested in someone else…"
"There are other guests here as well."
"Our goal still hasn't changed."
"I heard that carrots are the latest fashion from the east."
"Do you suppose all princes are lookers?"
"I'm only using him to get close to our target."
"I think these balls are so boring. Everyone just gossips."
"There is another prince, but no one sees him. He's so mysterious."
A blonde haired girl wandered around the great room, green eyes wide from taking in the size of the room and the colorful people filling it. Perhaps the guests were a little too colorful as their gossips reverberated in her head, causing her to feel a headache coming up and a little jumpy. When she accidentally bumped into someone, she immediately jumped back and started apologizing.
"Calm down," a deep low voice said soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Standing before her was a tall, broad armed gentleman with long dark hair. Although he was dressed in a plain, dull red garb, she could immediately sense that he was someone important from the confidant aura that he gave off to the way he carried himself proudly.
"Excuse me," she said, her voice suddenly thick and choking up. For the first time, she hated the sound of her voice. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
The man chuckled. "I wasn't, either, if I crashed into you. Tell me, I haven't seen you around here before. What is your name?"
The girl immediately reached for her long pale pink skirt to curtsy. "I am Sheba from Gondowan, my lord."
"Ah, you're the foreign girl that suddenly appeared," the man said amusingly. "My name is Felix. You probably have already met my sister, Jenna. She said that she helped pick your outfit."
"So you are the kind Lady Jenna's brother. It is a pleasure to meet you," Sheba said as she started to curtsy again. She felt her knee cracking and she berated herself for not practicing her curtsies before coming.
"Please, you do not need to keep curtsying to me," Felix said with a small smile as he grabbed her hands to stop her. "Save your curtsies for the royal family. I'm sure that curtsies are a nuisance to do all the time anyway, or at least according to my sister they are."
"Talking about me behind my back, are you, Felix?" Jenna's voice said evilly from behind Sheba.
Sheba and Felix looked up in surprise to see a rather frightening Jenna surrounded by cackling flames.
"Dear sister, you are frightening away the prince's guests," Felix said with an uneasy grin. "And where is Prince Garet, anyway? I am sure that he was looking for you."
Jenna was about to respond when cheers and yells filled the room. The three turned around to see a circle surround an extraordinarily red nosed Isaac and a blushing Mia. Isaac had just hesitantly asked Mia to dance when the whole room found out through the highly efficient palace grapevine. The two approached each other as Isaac awkwardly placed his hands on her shoulder and waist. Only when the two started moving to the music did the rest of the crowd break up and return to what they had been doing.
Felix seized the opportunity to escape from his still fuming sister by grabbing Sheba's hands. "Come, Lady Sheba, let us dance to a couple of songs."
Jenna glared at her brother, recognizing a diversionary tactic when she saw one. She was debating whether to keep bothering him when someone tapped her on the shoulders. "Garet?"
"Umh…" he started slowly. "Would you like… to dance?"
Jenna was going to refuse but realized that she had nothing else to do anyway. "Sure."
Garet beamed happily as he grabbed her hands and pulled her to the dance floor.
It would have been like a fairy tale story come true with the three pairs dancing together so sweetly. It would have been, Mia thought, smirking, as she wrapped her arms around Isaac's neck, bringing him closer towards her.
To be continued