Big Emblem
Session 2: Coming to know the others
All the contestants walked into the Castle, and left their things in the living room. As they sat down in the comfortable sofas, some started recognizing each other.
"Eeeeerrrrrrrrrkkkkkk!!!!!! What are you doing here!?!?!?!", Serra asked the purple haired mage, almost making him collapse with those shouts.
"Serra. It's you", he just mumbled, trying to escape from her sight.
"Ah, is that you?", Priscilla asked Raven, looking at him carefully.
"Shh! Don't say it. Yes!", the harsh teenager told her, almost like a whisper.
"Alright, Brother", she said shyly. "We can talk later, can't we?"
"Dorcas!", Bartre called, excited. "Come here, we'll fight!"
"I don't want. Bye"
"Hey, Come here!!!!"
"This sure looks like Hell, doesn't it, Florina?", Farina asked her little sister. "Goodness, I like it!"
"I… ehmm… Lyn!"
"Hey, everybody", Eliwood called, trying to organize that mass of people greeting each other. "Why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Eliwood…"
"The son of Marquess Pherae", the rest of the crowd replied at unison, making Eliwood puzzled. "What? Am I that known?"
"Oh, little chicks that Heaven put in front of my sight!", Sain flattered all the girls at once. "I'm Sain, a humble servant of cuttie girls, and a cavalier at the outside world"
"Well, then, take my luggage to my room!", Serra told her with authority, freezing him. "I'm Serra, a fine lady at the service of the Government of Ostia, or 'House Ostia' for the friends! That one over there is Erk, my previous escort. Greet everybody, Erky"
"You don't have to treat me like a child. And don't call me 'Erky'", he mumbled highly annoyed. "Hi"
"You smell of… not blood", Karel noticed, getting near Erk. "Magic books"
"That's because I'm a mage", Erk replied annoyed.
"Oh, I'm a scholar!", Canas introduced himself to the tired youth. "I'm a shaman. I study the so called dark arts. Maybe we'll get along well, kid"
"I'm not a kid"
"I'm a monk", Lucius said, as if he still needed to explain it, with those blue and white robes characteristic of St. Elimine's folks.
"Aren't you a cleric?", Bartre asked, dropping his axe and giving up in his fight against Dorcas. The latter one had already left the room.
"I'm a male, not a female", Lucius explained, really pissed off.
More than one shivered, and Sain blushed. Could it have been that he was planning to strike at Lucius?
"Well, I'm Hector", the blue haired youth introduced himself. "Not much to say 'bout me. I'm Eliwood's long time friend"
"Just that, Lord Hector!?!?! You are Marquess Ostia's younger brother!!", Serra exclaimed without caring about anything.
"Really? You are the Marquess' younger brother?!?!?", many exclaimed surprised, while Hector was glaring at Serra.
"Hi, I'm Lyn! You may have seen me in the news some time ago, when Marquess Caelin found his long lost granddaughter. Well, I'm her", the green haired Sacaen girl explained, cheerfully. "And this one behind me is Florina. She's a bit shy, especially with men around"
"Hummm…. Hi"
Many started yawning, and that was a signal that they should leave to their dorms. There would be some fights to get the best beds and more space at the closets. They all agreed to go on with their chat later, on the following day.
~~~
"Awww… bed time!", Rebecca said, coming into the girls dorm: a big room with many beds and walls painted in… pink, as if there were any doubt that the girls slept there.
"The bed by the window is mineeeeeeeee!!!!!", Serra yelled, running and pushing almost everyone in her race to get that bed.
"Serra, stop shouting!!!!!!!!", Hector's voice could be heard from downstairs.
"Seems it'll be a tough time living together", Rebecca whispered to Priscilla, while unpacking her things.
~~~
"Hey, you!", Karel called an already settled down Erk. "That's my bed!"
Erk rose an eyebrow, annoyed.
"Since when?"
"Since I said it, little worm", the other replied, coldly. "Get out"
"Sure, as you say", the young mage said, casting Thunder on Karel. "Now go and pick the bed next to Lucius, which is the only one left"
"Grr…. You'll pay for this"
"Lord Raven, are you ok in that bed against the window?", Lucius asked his friend, worried. "If not, we can switch places or look for another place to sleep"
"It's alright, Lucius. Don't make a fuss about that"
Guy got into the room, just to bump into Karel.
"Ohmygosh!", he exclaimed, surprised. "If it isn't…"
"Say it and I'll open you in half"
"Oh, please, train me!!", he begged the harsh man, almost falling in his knees.
"Just get out of here", Karel replied, walking away from him.
"Goodness! What an attitude!", Wil commented, coming into the room as Karel walked out from it.
"Yeah, I can't wait to fight him!", Bartre exclaimed, looking at his axe, which he had just picked out of his bag.
"You are an axe-fighter?", Will inquired, curiously.
"No, I'm a ballet dancer", Bartre replied ironically. "Of course I'm one, you smiley lad! Hadn't you heard about me, Bartre!?!"
"Hmm…. Not really"
"Oh, where's that young mage… ah, there he is!", Canas said, looking for Erk. "Hey, you, what's your favorite magic tome?"
Erk looked sleepily at the purple haired scholar and just mumbled, "I'm trying to sleep"
"Excuse me", Merlinus said, coming into the room carrying his wares. "Is there any place for the wares of this humble merchant?"
Everyone at the room looked oddly at him, like without understanding why he was there on the first place.
"Hi!!!", Nils exclaimed, jumping from bed to bed until he reached his.
"This sure is noisy, isn't it, Eliwood?", Hector asked his friend, grinning.
"It sure is… Hey, where's Sain?"
"Mh…. Peeping at the girls room?"
"Ahhh!!! Leave me, leave me!!!", Sain's voice came from the corridor, and soon the young man got into the room, closing the door tightly.
"What happened?"
"Nothing. Lyn found me spying her at the girls dorm"
"Oh, great"
"Hey, could you all stop with all those noises, and switch off that light, that I'm trying to sleep!!!!!", Dorcas yelled, angrily at his room mates.
Everyone stood of a piece, and got into their beds quickly before Dorcas could even think in getting up from his bed.
~~~
"Look!", Nils shouted lively when he walked into the garden. "Swimming pool!"
In just a couple of minutes, almost everyone was at the mentioned pool, with the exception of Serra and Merlinus, who had to make breakfast for everyone (that had already been fixed the day before).
"Hey, it's no fun!", Serra complained, with a frying pan in her hand (she was trying to cook pancakes). "I want to swim!"
"Oh, my God!", Sain exclaimed, lost in his own thoughts. " Many, many cute chicks in their swimsuits… I can't be more lucky…"
"Sain, aren't you being a little too pervert?", Lyn asked him from behind. She was walking along the pool with Florina when she heard that.
"Um… Lyn… it's not what you think!"
"Yeah, Sain, you are right", she told him, talking to him as if he were a madman. "Let's go, Florina! Let's get into the pool!"
"Lyn… I would rather not…", the orchid haired girl mumbled, shyly. While everyone was in their swimsuits, Florina was still wearing a light blue sweater, covering it.
"Oh, come on, fair Florina, fairy of my eyes!", Sain started flattering her, just making her run to the other direction.
"She's quite shy, isn't she?", Guy asked Farina, while staring at that scene.
"Yeah, that's my little sis"
"Hey, make room that I'm going in!!", Hector yelled loudly, running from afar and getting into the pool with a 'bomb' style. Almost half of the water went out of the pool…
"I'm gonna die!!", Lucius yelled, trying not to drown. "I'm a cast away!!"
"Erk!!", Serra called the distant mage, who was watching the scene from a chair near the pool. "Let's switch places! Come here and cook!!"
Erk went on with his things as if nothing had happened.
"Come on, Florina, don't be that shy!", Lyn called her friend from the water, cheerfully.
"I… I like it here…"
"Hey, everything's ok", Eliwood encouraged her, next to Lyn. "Come on, the water's warm"
"But…"
Just then, Wil came running from the other side of the pool, and slipped accidentally, knocking Florina in the process and making her fall in the water.
"Eliwood, what is it?", Hector asked his red haired friend, but before he could even finish his sentence, he noticed a big shadow coming over him…
"Ahhh!!", Florina screamed, with her eyes closed, thinking she was still falling. "Uh?"
"Hahaha! You are alright
Florina!", Lyn burst into laughter. "You sure found a soft landing"
"Ah, quite funny", Hector
complained, glaring at her while he left Florina in the water. Thankfully, she
could swim. "And who do you think you are?"
"Lyn of the Lorca. Also known as Lady Lyndis of Caelin, although I hate it"
"You are that Lyndis? Uh, I expected for more"
"Same with you"
"You!!", he moaned, angrily, but then turned to Florina, who was trying to get out of the pool. "Hey, you! You could try to find another place to land next time! I may not be around!"
"Uh… I'm… sorry", she apologized, shyly. "Than…ks", she added, running into the kitchen.
"She sure is strange"
"She's too shy", Lyn said, looking at her. "So you'll have to watch yourself so you won't hurt her accidentally!!!!"
"Finally! I'm here!", Serra announced, getting into the water.
"Serra, weren't you supposed to be cooking?", Canas asked her.
"Merlinus' at charge"
"Hey, breakfast's ready!!", Nils announced, lively.
The gang went fairly quickly to the kitchen, just to find some ugly looking, already roasted pancakes waiting for them.
"What's… this?", Rebecca asked, shocked by the ugly surprise.
"I'm no cook, I'm a merchant!", Merlinus cried, blaming Serra that way.
"Hey, I never said I knew how to cook those!", she replied, angrily. "It was your idea!"
"Oh, my…", Lowen moaned, ashamed. "And we'll have to eat this? No way!"
"I think I lost my appetite", Dorcas sentenced.
"Not that I was going to eat anything with her at charge of the kitchen", Erk joined the others in their complaints, sarcastically as ever.
"Bwwaaaaahhhh!", Serra cried, faking a good part of it. "Why are you so mean, Erky?!?!?"
"Erky?", Bartre asked, eating a roasted pancake. "Hahahaha!!!! What a stupid pet name!!"
"Pfftttt!!", Raven spitted his coffee, annoyed. "Who the hell made this sucking coffee!?!?!?!?!? It's the worst thing I've ever drunk in my life!!!!"
"It can't be that bad…", Priscilla said, grabbing her cup and moving it towards her lips.
"No!!! Don't!!!!!!", Raven cried, jumping over the table to get the cup out of her hands.
"Blagh! He's right!", Rebecca approved, coming from the kitchen.
"Who did it?!?!?", Karel asked, wielding his Wo Dao sword. "I smell melted blood soon…"
"Mercy, please!!", Merlinus asked, kneeling down. "I'm no cook, but a humble merchant!!"
"Yeah, we already know that", Hector complained, dropping his cup of tea. "We still don't know what you are doing here"
Soon, the breakfast was over…
***
"Lord Raven, may I come to know what are you doing there?", the blonde haired monk asked his friend curiously, looking oddly at him.
Raven came from under Hector's bed, and said,
"Nobody around?"
"No, we are alone, my young lord"
"Stop with that nonsense, Lucius!! I'm supposed to be a street boy and you keep on calling me 'Lord'!", he complained, almost glaring at him. "About what you asked, I'm analyzing the area, it may come in hand…"
"You aren't saying that you… you plan to go on with your revenge?"
"Why not? He may not be the one that caused my father's suicide and my mother's illness, but it his brother, so… almost the perfect blank"
"But you don't know if he did it!"
"And who would have done it then? The gardener, to blame someone?"
"But… revenge is bad…"
"The hell with it! I'm already spoiled"
***
The day passed quite quickly, and they managed to survive without trying anything made by either Merlinus or Serra… Somewhere in the city, it's time for the first producers meeting…
"Hi, people", Wallace got into the room, greeting Renault, his fellow producer, and Pent, the channel's programming executive (you know, the guy that analyzes which show should go in a certain hour and those things)
"Hi", Renault greeted back, sipping his coffee.
"Where are the others?", Pent asked, in a hurry. "I have other things to do, you know…"
"Who's coming?"
"Hi!", Isadora came in, and Alina came after her. "Here we are, stop worrying about us!"
"Hi", Alina greeted, shyly. She still needed some time to be herself around new people.
"Finally!", Pent exclaimed, fast. "Now, where's Athos?!?!?"
"What about Louise?", Isadora asked, leaving her coat in her seat. "Isn't she coming?"
"She wasn't feeling well…", Pent answered. "That's why I have to leave soon!!"
"I'm here, I'm here", the Archsage replied, coming in with Rath and Heath.
"Alright! Let's get down in the business. How did you see the show? Was it lively enough?", Pent asked all of a sudden.
"It was entertaining", Alina replied, dropping her bag and walking to the coffee machine. "At least I had some fun… Those guys inside are really hilarious when they are together… Coffee?", she offered, facing the others.
"No, thanks", Heath replied, courteously. "I think it was alright, at least our part. Specially with all that people around, they were really annoying. I had like two or three desperate gals shouting for Eliwood right next to my ear…"
"I think it was ok", Isadora suggested, polishing her nails. "The challenge will come from now on, with the eliminations. We shouldn't do the same every Saturday"
"She's right", Renault nodded. "But while Louise doesn't over act her enthusiasm, I think we are in a good path"
"Yes! She sometimes seemed too forced… she has to be more natural"
"I see…", Pent said, taking note of everything. "What about our contestants? How do you see them?"
"A bunch of weirdos trapped in a Castle, without any maids", Wallace stated, laughing.
"I just love Erk!!", Alina exclaimed, giggling. "He's so resigned to everything… and so sarcastic…"
"I would like to know who admitted Merlinus…", Isadora asked suspiciously, looking at both Renault and Wallace, who were whistling 'innocently'. "He won't last much there…"
"In that case, we should start looking for a replacement", Pent stated. "It would be a good move"
"You want more rating?", Alina asked, trying to make a paper plane with an old ad. "We did pretty well for a Saturday night"
"Anyway", he replied, looking at his watch. "We finished now. Think in good ideas for the following programs, we'll meet again on… Tuesday?"
"That's right", Wallace approved.
"Alright", he said, picking his coat. "See you"
"Pent!", Alina called, dropping in the dustbin her failed attempt of plane.
"What is it, Alina?!? I'm in a hurry!"
"Sorry for that. But shouldn't I deliver them some mission for this week?"
"Er… no. Just let them be as they are for this week, so the audience can have a better idea of them. Now, BYE!", he said, slamming the door.
***
"Shouldn't we have had a longer meeting?", Alina asked Isadora, while she was waiting for the female producer to finish her 'make up section' at the bathroom.
"Maybe… but it hasn't happened much, and we don't have the rating papers, so we couldn't discuss much", the blue haired girl replied, while looking for her lipstick in her purse.
"Anyway… it was quite funny there. You should have been there"
"I know, but I had to stay at the stage. You know, last minute issues…"
"Hey, there were a lot of people who I didn't know! Who's that Priscilla, for example? She seemed some high class lady…"
"She's the foster daughter of some politician… can't remember his name. Yes, they are quite well-to-do…"
"And who's Hector?"
"Hector?", Isadora asked, while washing her hands at the sink. "He's the brother of Marquess Ostia. Not that that has much relevance, you know that here those roles are just a 'nifty touch' for a wealthy person…"
"Just as Juggdral", Alina added, in remembrance.
"Yes. His brother is a lawyer. Many say that he has a bright future towards him, if it weren't for his somewhat unconventional behavior for someone of his class… even though he behaves correctly. But Hector's like the black sheep. He usually frequents places that the snobs would call 'out' or 'not proper for someone of his class'. They think he's worst than his brother. Their parents died some years ago. They were some well-known people, so that's why many people still follows their lives, as if they were some celebrities, although they aren't much older than you or me…", Isadora finished her speech, putting all her make-up in her purse.
"So that's why Lady Louise asked him about his brother?", Alina deduced, triumphal. "Because he's at his charge, because he's not even 22 yet? (note of the author: let's say that majority of age comes at the age of 22 in Elibe =P)
"Exactly!", Isadora giggled, picking her bag. "Well, young lady, it's my time to leave. How do I look?", she asked her cheerfully, moving from left to right, to show her friend how she looked, so Alina could judge.
"Woah! What a lady!", Alina joked, laughing. "Going out with some boy?"
"Yes… Going out with my Harken!", Isadora explained, smiling and picking her things. "See you later!", she said, and then she left.
"Some are quite lucky…", Alina mumbled in melancholy, thinking in some boy left in her homeland, and lost for her sometime ago…
****
I have just realized that I can't write script-like... I wonder if that's good or bad (bad because I can't attract more readers, better for me because I can try to improve my writing skill, I guess?) I think that the first nomination will come in the following chapter (this one was too long to put it in here...)