DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. But this is dedicated to my sweet, sweet, beautiful, talented, amazing, sexy Shelby.
Diana-- Wow! Thanks a lot! Hehe, I'm blushing.
SlayerIsaac-- Really? No flaws? That's great to hear! Well, technically, it's great to read, but whatever.
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid blind."-- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I
Five Voices, Part Three of Midsummer's Festival.
--King of Tethe'alla--
THEY say that she lost her soul a very long time ago, and lived--forgive me for the pun-- as if she had no life within her. But oh, how Presea has recovered! She and the half-elf boy (Genis, I believe is his name) are the only two left from their original party of eight. They play cards, they dance; they would be perfect courtiers if they were not children. It honors me that two children are polite enough to stay longer than most adults. But then again, they are not exactly normal children, are they? He seems so patient with her lack of emotion, and yet becomes flustered whenever she shows interest-- or lack of interest-- in him. Presea's rosy cheeks, her rare smile... what young boy can resist? And yet her eyes hold such sadness, and his eyes shine with everlasting hope.
I cannot help but smile as Presea's full, lavender dress lightly brushes Genis' knees; he almost drops his cup of punch but quickly recovers. He's wearing his Easter Sunday costume, but looks charming anyway as he smiled tentatively at her. There is a commotion at the balcony doors; Genis looks towards the doors and gently places his hand on Presea's elbow.
"Let's go see what's going on!" Genis suggests, an eager expression stretching upon his face. Presea nods, looking amused as Genis leads her to the doors.
I would get up to follow them, but then again, a pretty concubine is heading towards me...
--Maiden on Balcony--
I'm at the very edge of the balcony, with my hands on the cold granite railing. By my side are two children and a handful of other nobles. I hate nobles; they take everything for granted. Including shooting stars! The nobles slowly filter back into the ballroom, and yet the two children remain. The girl's face is illuminated by the moonlight, and she looks rather fascinated as she -- almost fearfully, it seems -- holds onto the boy's hand.
"Genis, I've never seen shooting stars before. At least, I don't remember seeing them..." the girl sighs a bit, her eyes searching the sky. She shakes her head delicately and the pigtails move along with her, pearls artfully scattered in random places in the soft pink locks.
"They're beautiful." the boy says simply. "Beautiful a-and rare, like you." The girl's grip on Genis' hand seems to tighten as she transfers her gaze to his face. For a moment there's an embarrassed look on his face, and then it disappears. He gazes right back at her steadily, almost as if he is challenging her to tell him that she doesn't care for him. But Genis seems to know that, somewhere very deep down, she feels something special for him.
"Genis," she says very slowly, as if she were rolling sugared fruit in her mouth, savoring the taste. "I want you to mean every word you say to me. I know I may seem emotionless most of the time, but that doesn't mean I am immune to hurt, both physical and emotional." At this Genis opens his mouth to speak, but Presea continues on. "I want to regain the time I lost. But I do not plan on feeling hurt again anytime soon."
"Presea..." Genis' voice seems to be teeming with emotion. "I wouldn't hurt you, no matter how hard I tried... I don't want you to feel pain when it comes to me. I want us to keep in touch, I don't want to label you as someone from my past."
Presea closes her eyes for a moment, because Genis' gaze is very vivid indeed. She opens them again, this time with a small smile on her face. "It feels so good to hear you say that. So good... I don't want to be left behind."
There is the sound of rustling cloth as Genis pulls Presea to him and I slowly back away. I hear Genis sigh and mutter something as her arms encircle his neck. And then I turn away; this is a night for lovers, both young and old.
--Gypsy on palace steps--
To be honest, I only like Festival because it's the best time to make money. There aren't much gypsies left in Meltokio. They've all gone to Altamira, where our services are truly appreciated.
There's a crowd around me now, watching me dance, so I need t'concentrate. Some nobles are dropping cheap bronze coins in my box. Stupid nobles. As soon as I stop whirling about and the tapping on my tambourine ceases, the nobles go away. I'm ready t'collect my things now, and all of a sudden I see a boy and a girl step closer to me. The boy holds out a sack full of... of gald! There must be at least nine hundred!
"For your dancing." The boy says nervously, his hair as silver as the spoon my son stole from the market. I wearily take the sack and pull out a coin. I bite it just to make sure it's real-- and it is. But now I'm confused.
"Why are you giving me so much?" I ask in barely a whisper.
The girl speaks. "Because you need it. Because it's Festival and you deserve it."
I patted my cheek nervously. "I have five kids... they will appreciate this very much." I smiled. "Let me tell you something. There is a Festival going on, for kids just like you, near the sewer exit. You two should go."
The girl looks at the boy, and then speaks. "Okay. We'll go if you sing us one more song, for your voice is quite sweet."
I smiles at this rare compliment and raise my tambourine again. I know what song I should sing: "Oh maybe we were made, we were made for each other..."
--Peasant Child--
"Mama, can I have the toy octopus?" I ask, looking up at Mama. She lets out a sigh and is quiet. Even the dark pouches under her eyes look sad. I look at the ground in shame. I never should have asked, Mama barely had enough gald to buy us three tickets to use at this carnival. The 'Test your Strength' game requires that much. But that's the only game that has the stuffed octopus prize... it's so cute... but I shouldn't waste our tickets.
A girl turns around and looks at me. She's got pigtails like mine, but hers are pink and she seems twice my age. She turns back around and murmurs something into a boy's ear. He smiles at her, his silver hair illuminated by all the lights and the moon, and presses three tickets into her palm. She kisses his cheek in thanks and goes to the man who runs the 'Test Your Strength' machine. She holds out her tickets.
"I would like to play this game, please." she says. The man smiles a bit cockily, but accepts her tickets nonetheless and gives her the hammer. The girl stands in front of the machine, raises the hammer above her head and brings it down onto the button on the machine quickly and forcefully. She looks as if she put all her strength in to it. The round metal ball inside the tube of the machine goes up, up, up to the top and hits the bell, causing it to ring, and yet it is barely heard over all the chatter around us.
"We... have a winner." the man in charge says in a surprised tone. "Which prizes will you take?" The girl immediately chooses the octopus, with a hat perched jauntily on its pink head, and a 'magic' moneybox. Supposedly the moneybox fills with gald each time you open it, and refills itself whenever you take some out. The man in charge looks a bit annoyed-- he probably wanted to keep it for himself. The boy smiles proudly at the girl as she slowly turns to Mama and me. The girl walks over and, very gently, presses the octopus into my hands.
The girl smiles and hands the moneybox to Mama. "For you." she says simply.
Mama stares at the girl, and then finds her voice. "I can't take this..."
"You must." the girl says firmly. "Don't you remember me, Sandi? It's me, Presea."
Mama gapes at the girl. "Presea... I remember you used to play with me when we were children... I heard a few weeks ago that you had lost your soul, and yet you reunited the two worlds..." Mama's eyes fill with tears. "Presea, your kindness is endless. I thank you with all my heart."
Presea looks surprised when Mama hugs her, but pats Mama's back anyway. Presea pulls away and says, "Let us escort you and your child home. We will tell you what steps you should take tomorrow to help you begin your new life." When Mama nods, Presea walks to the boy with the silver hair and grabs his hand. She leads him over to us.
"Sandi, this is Genis," says Presea. "He's my boyfriend."
--Lloyd--
As soon as I plopped onto my bed at the hotel, planning to think about all the things that had happened tonight, Genis came in. He was smiling as he carefully pulled off his translucent blue wings. We had to share the hotel room, but I didn't really mind. He's my best friend, after all.
"What took you so long?" I asked, propping up an elbow and resting my head on my hand. I had already changed and showered, and was beginning to worry about Genis.
"Presea and I went to a lot of places." Genis said shortly as he stripped off his shirt and went to the bathroom that was connected to our bedroom.
"I'm guessing she's finally admitted that she's got feelings for you, too?" I teased, staring at the closed door.
"Is it that obvious?" Genis asked loudly through the door. When I laughed and said yes, Genis scoffed. "I suppose you didn't have too much fun, because I noticed a cut on your cheek."
"I was in a tournament at the Coliseum. I beat Sheena, but it was a close fight. She might have been able to beat me." Just thinking of her made my lips twitch; I pressed them tightly together, trying not to think of her kiss.
"Bet she loved that." Genis said sarcastically, emerging from the bathroom in his Katz pajamas. We both knew that Sheena hated losing. I couldn't help but laugh though, both at the sarcasm and how ridiculous he looked in his pajamas.
"Well, I think she forgave me later on." I said with a sly smile. "So tell me about your night with Presea. Did you see the shooting stars? And the fireworks?"
"Yes and yes." Genis launched into a summary about what he and Presea did. I couldn't help but smile when he mentioned the box of money.
"I always knew Presea had a sweet side to her." I told Genis as I looked at the dark ceiling. I heard Genis toss around in the bed across the room and give a sleepy grunt. I then began to think about our futures. What would happen when we all broke apart at noon?
Now Genis is sleeping. I better sleep, too.
AN: Raine chapter next! I'm a bit concerned about it, and I know it might take a while. I'm open to ideas and things you'd like to see.