Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and probably never will.
A/N: Hi, I'm back! Thank you DarksAngel88 for reviewing! Oh yeah, and thank you to those who reviewed my prologue as well. (I forgot to mention that in my previous chapter…) Well, here's chapter two!
DarksAngel88: I don't mean to disappoint you, but AlbelxNel isn't going to happen until much later into the story. Is that okay with you? I'm sorry, but I have plans for him and my OOC first…
Chapter 2: Great Seal
"It's her! It's her!"
"She's back! The princess is back!"
"What? She's back? Really?"
"Princess Luaria!"
Crowds of people surrounded her and cheered. Children ran up to her and pulled on her dress.
"Aria! Please don't leave ever again!" a little boy pleaded.
"Yeah! Please?" a petite girl squeaked. The princess touched the little boy's cheek and smiled.
"I'm sorry, but I can't make promises I can't keep," she replied. Her voice was soft and warm like a mother's.
"Make way for the princess!" a soldier beside her commanded. At once, all the people cleared a pathway for her. The princess slowly walked past her spectators.
"Princess Luaria," the other soldier called. Luaria spun around and her blazing white hair whipped around her.
"Yes?" she replied.
"The king wishes to see you…"
"Oh, I see."
"But… I'd like to have you know that the king you will be talking to is King Airyglyph XIV, not King Airyglyph XIII," he explained.
"What? What has happened to Arzei?" Luaria questioned with a surprised look on her face.
"The king will tell you. Now, please come," the soldier said and stood in front of her, ready to lead her.
"What has become of Arzei…?" she whispered as she followed her soldier into the castle of Airyglyph.
"Fayt, are you even listening?" Nel asked, obviously annoyed.
"Huh, what?" Fayt said, shaking his head. The crimson haired lass let out a sigh.
"Did you even hear the prophecy I was reading?" she questioned.
"Um… it was about these angels and this… er… Great Seal, right?" he replied, somewhat hesitant. Well, at least he heard some…, Nel thought to herself as she put the large textbook back in the bookshelf.
"You know why I called you here?" Nel asked, not actually expecting an answer.
"Does someone want to break the Great Seal or something?" Fayt replied simply, surprising Nel quite a bit.
"H- How did you know?" she said, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side.
"Well, why else would you have read that prophecy to me?" Fayt answered. Nel squinted a bit, but then stood up straight.
"Anyways, yes, some of our spies near Airyglyph have told us that the new king, King Airyglyph XIV, seeks… let's say… power," she explained. "He wants the power of the Great Seal, so he can destroy Aquaria and all its people…"
"What? But wasn't peace established between Airyglyph and Aquios? Why does he want to destroy- ?"
"Yes, but this is a new king," Nel interrupted the young man. "He's not, let's say, the wisest king. He wants power, nothing else."
"How did he become king then?" Fayt asked.
"He was one of King Airyglyph XIII's most trusted nobles and was greatest in power compared to all the rest," the woman explained. "Plus, Rozaria's baby son is too young." There was a brief moment of silence. "Anyways, our spies will keep an eye on him and we'll just hope no one catches them." Then, she muttered, "Especially Albel…"
"What did you say?" the swordsman asked.
"It's nothing," she simply replied and looked up.
"What? Arzei is d- dead?" Luaria stammered in shock. She covered her mouth with her hand.
"Yeah, he died from this illness. Anyway, I'm the new king now," the man in the throne spoke. He wore robes of bright colors and a long furry cape. "So, from now on, you shall call me Your Majesty."
"Yes, Y- Your Majesty," she replied in a spiteful tone and hesitantly curtsied.
"Good," the king said in almost a mockingly voice. "You may be excused…"
With a heavy sigh, the princess nearly stomped out of the castle if it wasn't for a certain someone standing in the doorway.
"Move, Nox," she spat, much unlike her usual self. The man at the door was silent and only stared at the beautiful princess.
"And what do we have here?" he asked teasingly. "Another maggot?"
"Stop wasting my time, I have duties to attend to," she protested. "Move aside."
"As you wish, princess," Albel sneered and slowly cleared the doorway. The princess rushed outside as her white cape flew gallantly behind her. Stupid fool…, the Wicked thought. 'I have duties to attend to.' What a stupid excuse… He watched her leave. Why is she here anyways?
"Hmm… Great Seal… it sounds very interesting…" Maria stated, flipping through the pages of the book. "It also sounds very dangerous as well… No wonder it's in a restricted section."
"In all my years, I've never heard of the Great Seal. Are you sure it's real?" Adray asked. "Are you sure it's not a hoax?"
"I'm not sure. But I'll think about it!" Sophia replied.
"Well, we can't be sure, but I think this story's fake," Cliff commented. "I mean, angels? Come on!"
"We've seen angels before, haven't we? So what makes other ones so strange?" Fayt asked.
"Those were evil angels. Not goody-two-shoes angels that are supposed to guard some sacred power," Cliff remarked. "I-"
"There's more than just that one prophecy though," Nel interrupted. She took out a dark blue book out of the bookcase and flipped through its pages. "Here's another one. It has something to do with the angels."
"In a planet named Uriel, there lived the race of angels. Each one with a different power, each one with a different goal. One day, Uriel was attacked. And all was vanquished except for three angels. They were the survivors of this great disaster and were granted the permission to guard the seal as for their power was truly great. Thus, the Guardians of the Great Seal were formed," she read and then looked up at the others. "That's all I found."
"I still don't really believe it though," Cliff said. "I mean, I've never of Uriel…"
"But that's because Uriel was devastated, right? That way, we wouldn't know anything about it," Sophia explained.
"True, but I still wouldn't be sure that this is all true," Adray clarified. "But I'll take it into consideration."
"Actually, I wasn't quite sure about this at first. I didn't believe the Great Seal actually existed until I heard constant reports from my subordinates," Nel said. "They kept on telling me that the king of Airyglyph desired its power and has even hired soldiers to look for these Guardians of the Great Seal. Talk about insanity. I'll see what Clair thinks about all this."
"Luaria! Princess!" a small boy shouted as he ran up to a hooded figure. Some of his teeth were missing and on his body, he wore tattered rags. "Aria!" He smiled at the concealed character while it gave him a basket covered with a blanket.
"Please, just call me Aria. Here. Some food for your family," came a smooth, gentle voice. "There's also some medicine for your mother. I heard she's ill. Please tell her that I hope she gets well."
"Of course! Thank you so much!" the little child cried and ran back into his house. The figure took off the hood and it was no other than Luaria. She watched the child close the door behind him, smiling in glee.
"Just the first day you've come back and you're doing your so-called 'duties' once again?" a voice spat from behind her. Of course, to Aria, this ignorant voice was easily recognizable. "Feeding a child of the poor? What do you think you're doing? It's their own fault that the father doesn't work hard enou- "
"Be quiet!" she interrupted. "How can you mock the poor like that? You weren't so high and mighty yourself in one point of your life! You cruel person…"
"Cruel? You call me cruel?" Albel said bitterly. "If you feed all the poor people in this city, who will work? No one will work! They'll just be fed by you! You have to work to get something back!"
"And what is that something?" Aria cried. "What have you worked for to deserve such power you have now? Nothing! Nothing but bloodshed! What type of man have you become?" The Wicked was speechless. For once, he did not know what to say. And so, he walked off without another word. "You're so weak… Albel, and yet you think you're the strongest creature alive…"
"Great Seal?" Clair said. "I'll have to research that a bit more. Just give me a few days and I'll reply, alright?" She spun around in her chair.
"Please, take all the time you need if it means that your research will be accurate," Nel replied. "All we need to know is if this Great Seal actually exists. We want to know if what the king of Airyglyph seeks is actually real."
"I will try my best, Nel," Clair assured. "No doubt." Nel nodded to her friend and left. What does King Airyglyph XIV want to do with this power he seeks to obtain? I believe it's much more than just defeating Aquaria…
A/N: Oooh… :winces: This wasn't such a good chapter… Oh well, I'll try to do better on my next one! Please review and please tell me if Aria is a bit too Mary-Sueish. I believe she is and I'll try and change that fact in the future.