Hey, look, an actual Author's Note! Forgot about that last chapter. It's been ages since I actually wrote any fanfiction, but Tales of Symphonia just kept eating my brain and it wouldn't go away. Anyway, standard disclaimer, the setting and most of the characters belong to Namco, not mine, blah blah blah. Arin and Lianna Couglier were made up by me though, so if for some reason you want to kidnap them for your own nefarious purposes please credit appropriately. They're not in this chapter but they'll show up again.
Oh, InuKratosStan, MoonCannon, thanks for your reviews. Since you asked about pairings, InuKratosStan, at this time, I have no plans for reciprocal romantic relationships. Well, unless you count Zelos/Colette. Also, there's unreciprocated crushes left and right, and there's Zelos... being Zelos. And some possible relationship attempts that end in disaster (well, they might not. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would I!). But no "pairings" per se.
At Sebastian's suggestion, Lloyd spent most of the afternoon practicing swordsmanship in the back courtyard. He was careful not to draw on the power of his Exsphere; he'd have to destroy it sooner or later, so he wanted to get used to working without it. Still, even without the Exsphere's power, his skills had improved quite a lot since that day that seemed so long ago, when Colette had received the Oracle.
Slash, thrust, swing, guard. He fell into a rhythm fighting an imaginary enemy. Swing, turn, slash, WHAP!
Sheena grinned as Lloyd stared at his blocked sword. "How did you DO that?" he demanded.
She smirked.
"Coming out of nowhere, blocking my sword like that..."
"You've just got to be more alert," Sheena replied. "Can't expect to be some great fighter if you can't keep track of what's going on around you."
"Yeah... you're right... I just wasn't expecting anyone..." Lloyd blinked at her.
"Oh, like that's an excuse. You'd make a pretty lousy ninja, Lloyd."
"Hey!"
Lloyd put his swords away and they made their way over to a little stone bench sheltered by apple trees.
"So, uh, how have you been?" Lloyd asked awkwardly.
"Heh. How do you think? Mizuho's been going crazy keeping up with everything that's going on, and I'm now the official emissary from Mizuho to Meltokio and to Sylvarant. Somehow the king got it into his head to make me the Tethe'allian emissary to Sylvarant, but..."
"But?"
"Well, it's a pretty silly idea, isn't it? Mizuho's a different culture from the rest of Tethe'alla. We were planning on moving to Sylvarant, before the worlds got united I mean. "
"Hey, isn't Mizuho on Sylvarant now anyway?"
"Well, yeah, exactly. We haven't got all that much in common with the rest of Tethe'alla, so it's silly to make us represent them, especially with everything all mixed up like it is. I wonder where the king came up with that idea, anyway."
"Uh... I think Zelos suggested it actually," Lloyd said hesitantly.
"He... Ugh! What an idiot!"
"Is he, really? I mean he seems a lot better at this politics stuff than me."
"Yeah, well, you haven't grown up with it. He's got no excuse, it must be inborn ineptitude."
"Yeah, and the way he's always going on about his hunnies and stuff, I just don't get it."
"Ugh, so on the way out of that big meeting this morning he made another comment about my... you know... chest."
"Yeah, why does he do stupid stuff like that? What's so fascinating about your chest anyw-OW!"
Sheena glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sheena! Why did you hit me? You're supposed to hit Zelos!"
"You said my chest isn't interesting, you moron!"
"Well you're always objecting when Zelos pays attention to it!"
"That's because he's Zelos!"
"What difference does that make?"
Sheena rolled her eyes. "Idiot."
"Hey!"
Sheena sighed. "Uh, yeah, so anyway... What do you thinks' going to happen about Meltokio ruling everything?"
"How should I know? I told you, I don't know anything about politics. Hey, you're the one that just said I'm an idiot!"
"Just trying to make conversation here."
"I'm so tired of all this sitting around having meetings..."
"What, already? Lloyd, it's not even been one full day yet! You always get bored so easily."
"It's just that I'm no good at this stuff. I know it's pretty stupid, but I almost wish this was just a problem that I could solve by fighting. You know, something I know how to do. Right now I just feel so useless."
"So learn."
"What?"
"So learn how to do this stuff. You know, dealing with people instead of just sticking your sword in things. You're not an idiot, Lloyd, I know you can do it if you actually try."
"Uh, Sheena, didn't you specifically call me an idiot a couple minutes ago?"
"...Shut up."
"So why am I not an idiot and Zelos is?"
"Well... because... he just is! He never takes anything seriously, he's always flirting with girls and making lewd comments... He's disgusting!"
"So... I'm not an idiot because I don't flirt with girls?"
"What?"
"You said Zelos is an idiot because he always flirts with girls."
"What? No, I mean, you're not an idiot because you take things seriously and care about things and stuff!"
"Oh."
Sheena sighed. "I hope Colette doesn't have to marry Zelos. She deserves better than that."
"Yeah, it seems so unfair to both of them to make them get married to each other. It should be their own decision, you know?"
"Well, Zelos should have gotten used to the idea. I don't feel sorry for him. Practically nobody among the Tethe'allian elite gets to marry someone they choose themselves anyway. It's all about alliances and politics."
"Yeah, but that doesn't make it fair to him."
"You may be right, but I still don't feel sorry for that philanderer. I bet being married to Colette wouldn't even stop him from sleeping with other women."
Lloyd blinked. "What, like sleep-overs? What's wrong with sleep-overs, I used to have sleep-overs with Colette and with Genis all the time!"
Sheena stared at Lloyd. "You what?"
"Yeah, ever since we were little kids!"
"Uh, Lloyd, I wasn't talking about that kind of sleep-over. How old are you again?"
"Uh, seventeen, why?"
"Lloyd, I was talking about.. you know..."
"About what?"
"About sex, you moron! What kind of seventeen year old doesn't know about sex? I knew you were a little naive, but this is ridiculous!"
"Hey, I know about sex! I'm not an idiot, you know!"
"You sure act like one. What did you think Zelos was doing all those times he snuck off with some girl at an inn when we were all traveling?"
"When he what?"
"Lloyd, don't you notice anything?"
"Uh... Hey, wait, isn't sex something that married people do? I mean, that's what Dad told me. Dirk, I mean."
"...What, and people actually stuck to that rule in your village?"
"Well, uh, I mean, I never saw anything that..."
"None of your friends talk about that sort of stuff?"
"Uh, well, mostly I was just friends with Colette and Genis. I mean, most of the other kids thought all three of us were kind of weird."
"Yeah, well you are kind of weird." She paused a moment, then said, "Oh no!"
"What?"
"I bet Colette's just as ignorant about this stuff as you are, huh."
"What?"
"Oh god. That poor girl, she has no idea what she's getting into, does she. Right, that's it, I'm giving that girl an emergency education A.S.A.P."
"Hey, what about..."
"Shhhhh!"
"What?"
They waited a moment. Sebastian came around the corner. "Master Zelos and Miss Colette have returned," he announced.
"Thanks. Could you tell them we'll be right in, please?" said Sheena.
"Certainly, Miss," Sebastian said, and departed.
"Wow!" exclaimed Lloyd. "Did you hear him before he showed up or something?"
"Uh, yeah. It's not a big deal. Anyway, I don't think the butler really has to hear that little conversation."
"Uh. Yeah," said Lloyd, blushing a bit.
"Right. I really should go in and talk to them. You coming?"
"Uh. Yeah."
They went inside. Colette and Zelos were sitting on opposite sides of the room, looking rather unsettled. Genis and Raine had also returned.
"Lloyd!" Colette said with great relief the moment he entered. She ran up to hug him. Lloyd stood awkwardly as she squeezed him tightly. "I'm so glad you're back!"
"Uh, Colette, I was here the whole time."
"Oh, right," she giggled. "Well, I'm glad to see you again."
"Uh, Colette, it's only been a few hours since you last saw him," Genis put in.
"Well, I'm still glad to see him again!"
"Oh yeah," Lloyd said. "So how did those meetings go?"
"There was good and bad," said Raine. "Mostly bad, I'm afraid. Our fears were correct. The turmoil of recent days is taking it's toll. Thanks to the Desians, the humans of Sylvarant are just as prejudiced against the half-elves as the humans of Tethe'alla are, or sometimes even more prejudiced. Even when the humans of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant are friendly and helpful towards each other, almost nobody is helpful to the half-elves. There's been reports of half-elves' houses being vandalized or even burned down. And there was even... near Luin..."
"A mob from Luin killed an encampment of Tethe'allian half-elves!" Genis burst out.
"That's awful!" said Lloyd.
"Oh no!" said Colette at the same time.
"Did they think they were Desians or something?" asked Sheena.
"They didn't look anything like Desians" Genis said. "Those stupid humans, they just think all half-elves are the same!"
"There's not much unity among half-elves about how to deal with this sort of incident," said Raine. "Not all the Desians are gone. There were some at the meeting, trying to gain support from the Tethe'allian half-elves. Some of the Tethe'allian half-elves want to join them, others blame the Desians for the increased prejudice and want to work peacefully for equal rights."
"Huh. How powerful could the Desians become, do you think?" Zelos asked.
"Not very," said Raine. "They could probably become a significant problem, but without Cruxis to back them up, they will not manage anything permanent. A Desian rebellion would only make things worse for half-elves, in the long run."
"What about the remnants of the Renegades?" asked Sheena. "Were any of them present?"
"A few. As an organization, they've held up a little better. Yuan talked to them before he left. Officially, they want to work peacefully for equality."
"Officially, huh?" said Zelos.
"Not all of them are happy about this. I think some will defect and join the Desians." Raine sighed. "The concept that humans are 'inferior beings' has wide appeal among the Tethe'allian half-elves, after being oppressed so long."
"That's not gonna make them any more popular with us humans," said Zelos.
"So is there anything that we can do?" asked Lloyd.
"Well, repealing some anti-half-elf laws would be a start," said Raine. "Zelos, you're already working on that, correct?"
"Of course, oh ravishing Professor."
"Though, the main problem is not the laws, but the people. The law did not support the actions of Luin, and yet they still killed over a dozen half-elves. We must find a way to reach the hearts of the human population."
"Oh..." said Colette. "Um. The Church of Martel could do that, right?"
"Yes, I think the Church could be a large help. I'll leave that to you. You are the Chosen, after all."
"Hey, hey, why doesn't anyone ever remember that I'm a Chosen too? I'm hurt, I tell ya!"
"I'm sorry, Zelos. I wasn't thinking. Of course we can use your help as well in this matter."
"Oh yeah," said Lloyd. "So how did things go at the Cathedral?"
Zelos and Colette looked apprehensively at each other.
"Uh... Fine! Things went great!" Colette said with a bubbly cheerfulness.
"Yeah, I'm telling ya, everybody over there just loves me!" said Zelos.
"Yeah!"
"So..." Sheena said. "They want you two to get married, huh."
Colette looked worried for a moment. "Uh, well, yeah." Her face brightened again. "Isn't this exciting? We're going to spiritually unite the two worlds!"
"Haha, yeah! Imagine me, the great Zelos Wilder, favorite of women everywhere, finally a married man! Sorry, ladies," Zelos said, winking at Raine and Sheena. Sheena gave him a disgusted look.
"Anyway," Colette said. "There's a lot of work to do at the Church. I mean, with Cruxis gone, everything is changing so much!"
"Yeah, there's been a lot of arguments about how much to tell people," said Zelos. "About Cruxis and stuff. I'm all for telling everybody anything. I mean, I figure everyone deserves to know how they've been manipulated, right?"
"Mmm, I can see your point," said Raine. "Though I suspect that would also be very unnerving and de-stabilizing. It would also," she noted, "probably undermine your positions as Chosens."
"Yeah, it's hard to tell exactly what did happen, anyway," said Colette. "But the Giant Tree has been planted again! It's such good news to tell everybody!"
"Sir," said Sebastian, "His Grace the Duke of Altamira and his companion have arrived. Shall I show them in?"
"Hey, cool," said Zelos. "Yeah, show them in."
"Who?" asked Lloyd after Sebastian returned to the foyer. He actually hadn't even notice Sebastian come into the room; it unnerved him a little.
"Um, Regal," Sheena said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that he was a duke!" said Lloyd.
"So his 'companion' must be Presea!" said Genis.
"Wow!" said Colette. "It'll be just like when we were all traveling together! I'm so happy!"
Soon after Regal and Presea were shown in, dinner was announced. Raine, Zelos, and Colette repeated what had happened at their respective meetings. Regal was planning improvement projects in the cities and towns of Sylvarant, as well as expansion projects in Tethe'alla to accommodate the influx of Sylvarant refugees, mostly from Palmacosta. The Palmacosta House of Guidance had somehow wound up three miles south of Sybak, taking with it much of the surviving population of Palmacosta. There was now a ragged tent town surrounding Sybak, and Regal considered housing for these people to be a high priority. Some were considering moving to other cities, but almost all of the scholars and students from the Palmacosta Academy wanted to stay in Sybak and join the research center. Neil had considered trying to rally the people to re-build Palmacosta, like Luin had been rebuilt, but there was not much popular support for this idea. The ruins of Palmacosta had disappeared (some theorized they lay under the ocean now), and in strange surroundings, most people were more inclined to join other cites than to start from scratch on strange ground.
Colette and Zelos both pointedly did not mention the possible marriage between them, instead discussing the future teachings of the church. Colette was very earnest about this; she believed strongly that the Church should encourage unity and teach about the Giant Tree, and that there was potential for great good to come of this. Zelos was more cynical, predicting various power struggles within the church, particularly after the revelation about Cruxis' true nature had shaken the faith of so many priests.
After dinner, those who were staying elsewhere left: Regal and Sheena were both staying at the castle, and Presea joined Regal of course, and Colette was staying with Phaidra in accommodations at the cathedral. This left only Raine, Genis, and Lloyd staying with Zelos.
Head full of ideas he barely knew how to think about, Lloyd went to bed, exhausted, ready to arise the next morning in time for another boring meeting.