Beginning Notes:
First chapter of a fic I'm working on with Potter29Vo. She came up with the plot and stuff, I'm just filling in the Colloyd bits for her :)
Spoiler warning: set after the game so there's spoilers about events which happen during the game.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Tales of Symphonia. I am obsessed with it, but Namco own it.
Many thanks to Minnie for suggesting we work on a fic together, it's going to be great fun I think
Lil-Samuu
Guardian Angel
Chapter I: A Certain Swordsman
Colette sighed as she slowly stretched and sat up in her bed. Not that there seemed to be much point in getting up, she had nowhere in particular to go, no one she needed to see.
Well, there was one person, but she didn't know where he was.
Since Lloyd had left she'd never felt quite right. A big part of her life was missing.
From when she'd been little Lloyd had always been around, and now he was off on his journey to collect all the exspheres with Regal she felt a little lost, as though a vital part of her had been ripped out and was missing.
Many times she'd turned, without thinking, to share a thought with him or to point out a rainbow or some other thing she'd always taken for granted she could do, but she felt her heart sink when she realised, of course, that he wasn't there.
A bark brought her out of her musing. Someone did need her, Zelda needed feeding.
She threw on some clothes, splashed her face with water from the basin in the corner of the room then grabbed the golden Labrador in a hug before leading her downstairs.
"What do you fancy for breakfast?" she asked the dog as she stuck her head into the refrigerator and investigated its contents. "Bacon?"
Zelda barked and wagged her tail. That meant yes then Colette thought as she smiled at her furry companion and began to heat some oil in the frying pan.
Her grandmother and father had left already, gone to their jobs for the day, leaving her alone with Zelda. She wasn't sure why she'd named the dog with a 'proper' name instead of giving it a more childish nickname-like name like the ones she'd given the strays they'd encountered on their journey. But then lots of things had changed in the past few years. Perhaps she'd begun to change as well.
Colette suspected she'd been given the puppy so she had something to do, something to get up for in the morning. Like some housewife with a child.
Not that she'd mind being a housewife, as long as she was married to the right person. She blushed as she pictured herself happily settled with a family, a certain swordsman included in the picture.
Then she shook her head to clear it, wondering where that thought and image had come from.
Zelda nudged her leg playfully and she bent down to make a fuss of her as she left the bacon to cook.
She loved Zelda. Such a lovely, friendly, clever dog. She was sure, however, she'd been given the animal not because she'd always wanted one but because her family thought it might bring her out of her depression.
Ironic, she thought as she stopped making a fuss of Zelda so she could flip the bacon over. She hadn't been allowed a dog when she was younger because everyone thought she'd die on the quest for world regeneration and no one wanted to be stuck with it when she left. Now she'd been given one to make her hold on to life.
Not that she'd considered suicide. She'd just been a bit depressed without Lloyd around but people seemed to fear the worst would happen.
What did they know? Had they not thought that she'd hang on, clinging to the hope that Lloyd would come back like he always did?
No. They did not. Because no one, except the people she'd been on the quest with who were now scattered across various towns and cities, had bothered to get to know her.
Before the quest she'd been the Chosen, just someone born to die so others could live. What was the point in becoming friends with someone who would die before she was fully adult?
And now she was a failed Chosen. People didn't seem to appreciate the hell she and the others had been through to get the worlds into the state they were in now. They just looked at the negative, Colette failed her job, her duty, and ignored the fact that, along the way, her job description had changed.
She didn't have a job now though, apart from looking after Zelda. She just drifted, day after day, hoping that Lloyd would come back and that she'd be given a purpose again.
She felt angry, which surprised her. But then she had done a lot of growing up. Finding out the world regeneration was a scam, she'd been lied to all her life, and travelling outside her small village which made her see such things as the Meltokio slums and the discrimination against half-elves had been something of a culture shock to her.
The world wasn't all happy and bright. Not everyone was nice. Well, she'd known that before she'd left really, the other children in the village could be very cruel to her sometimes. But the extent of the cruelty that people were capable of had shocked her.
She flipped the cooked bacon onto some kitchen paper to allow some of the oil to drain off then put it all onto a plate.
She sat at the table and passed Zelda a rasher before tucking into one herself.
If felt wrong. Where was Lloyd to steal some of her breakfast after he'd quickly shovelled down all of his? Where was Lloyd to ask if she'd cooked everything to his liking? Where was Lloyd to fill up her glass of orange juice without being asked, just because he cared?
Where WAS Lloyd?!?
Colette lost her appetite and put the plate on the floor so Zelda could finish off what was left. Then she went to stand in the garden to get some fresh air.
No one who passed on their way to some no doubt important thing to do or person to see paid her the slightest bit of attention. Why should they? She was just a young woman, alone, standing in her garden. Not even interesting or pretty to look at.
She sighed and was about to go indoors again when she caught something familiar out of the corner of her eye.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Could it be?
Her heart skipped a beat.
It WAS! It was Lloyd!
"LLOYD!" she yelled as she literally flew down the path to greet him with a hug.
"Hi Colette," he smiled softly at her as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I've missed you so much," she sobbed, tears of joy, as she held him tightly and nuzzled him.
Before he had a chance to reply his stomach gave a loud growl.
"Oh Lloyd, you must be starving! I bet you've not been eating properly! Here, come inside and I'll cook you up a nice big breakfast," Colette beamed, grabbing hold of his hand tightly and pulling him along happily into her house.
Lloyd simply smiled. It was good to be back.
Ending Notes:
That's the first chapter done. Throughout this fic most of the chapters will alternate between Colloyd and Sheelos. Colloyd will, of course, be written by Lil-Samuu and the Sheelos will be written by me, Potter29vo.
What's in store for the next chapter? Zelos and how he's doing in Meltokio, you might be a little surprised. Thanks for the wonderful chapter from Lil-Samuu. Now, please R & R! I love you all.
-Minnie, Potter29vo