Chapter 3 – Shame of Discovery

Locke couldn't help but stare in the direction of the front door to The Happy Octopus. His latest theft victim intrigued him for reasons he could not quite ascertain. Something about her was alluring, but what? Was it that she saved the entire restaurant from the cultist attack, or…

"Locke," said Celes, "that's enough. I'm not really comfortable with you staring at naked women, okay?"

His fiancee's chastisement snapped him back to reality. "What? She was naked?"

"She was naked because you stole her clothes. We've been over this."

Locke turned his gaze to a golden medium between Celes and the door, in hopes of avoiding further wrath. He partially succeeded, though he found himself staring at the enraged owner of establishment ranting and raving at what serving staff remained. Most of the women working for him seemed more than a little rattled by the cultist commotion, though most of the men seemed to have forgotten the danger entirely as soon as that one waitress's clothes vanished without a trace.

"Go apologize," Celes told Locke.

"How?" said Locke.

"Go find her."

"I thought you didn't want me chasing naked women."

Locke's comment did not amuse Celes. "I don't. But I want you to apologize to that girl and give her back her clothes."

"By the way, I got you some nice jewelry," said Locke. "Some accessories, too. What shoe size are you?"

"Locke!" Celes looked ready to hit him again.

"Seriously," said Locke, "shouldn't you be the one to chase her down? You know, since she's naked?"

"You need to apologize," said Celes.

"How do I do that, though?"

"By chasing her down and telling her."

"But you just said you didn't want me chasing naked women."

Celes snapped and decked Locke in the ear. "Do it, or this marriage is off. You need to learn to respect women a little better."

"Okay, okay," said Locke. "Oww, by the way. You've got a good left hook. You ever consider boxing?"

"I felt my talents were better served by the military," said Celes.

"Yes, sir," said Locke. "I'll be on my way to track down the recruit then, sir."

Celes smacked him again.

"I mean, ma'am."

XXX

If nothing else could redeem the evening, there was always the fact that Jidoor was pretty and lively even late at night. Had a band of crazy Kefka cultists not just attacked a high class restaurant, neither Locke nor Celes would have felt any jitters about wandering around sans sunlight. Even in the current situation, the noise of happy yuppies babbling on over their meals in outdoor cafes, the smells of the finest bakeries on the continent, and the soft lights of the strategically placed street lamps all worked to soothe those unaccustomed to nightlife. The lights, especially, made looking for a wayward reluctant nudist a bit easier than it could have been in, say, Zozo.

Locke figured that a girl with enough modesty not to want to be seen running about in the nude (i.e. not Terra) would stick to the areas with the least light, and fortunately, those were few and far between. Here and there, there were alleys unreached by the lamps, but even those were rare in comparison to what one would expect in a more normal city. Most alleys had street lamps positioned just outside them, presumably to make for fewer hiding spots for potential muggers. This meant, in practical terms, that Locke's search for the unclothed waitress could probably safely be limited to those alleys whose street lamps had burnt out.

As it turned out, Locke had only to search the nearest dark alley to find a young woman huddled up next to a wall, wearing essentially nothing.

"Hey, Celes!" he said. "I see a naked girl over there in the alleyway."

"Don't gawk," said Celes. "Just give her back her clothes."

"I thought we were looking for that waitress," said Locke.

"We are," said Celes. "And that's probably her."

"Oh," said Locke. "I didn't really think of that. I was distracted by…"

"You were distracted because she's naked," said Celes. "I get it. That's worn thin."

"No, no," said Locke. "I was just, uh…"

"Look, you're about to marry me, right?" Celes put her hands on her hips. "You need to stop looking at other women, then. Am I not enough for you? Are you not satisfied with me?"

"I'm plenty satisfied with you," said Locke. "I'm just a, well, I'm still me. And I only did this to get you a present."

"You stole a woman's clothes in the middle of a restaurant!"

"Would you rather I steal women's clothes someplace else?"

"No! I don't want you looking at other women at all, capische?"

"Fine," said Locke. "I can't believe you didn't want your present, though."

"You stole it, and in the process you turned into Sir Lust-a-lot after some random girl. How is that supposed to make me feel?"

Locke shrugged. "Hey, remember, I'm no humanitarian. I'm a thief!"

Celes gave Locke a look that was somewhere between "You did not just say that!" and "That's a kick in the teeth."

Locke noticed his mistake. "I mean, I'm a treasure hunter. A treasure hunter, not a thief."

Celes said nothing; instead of replying, she pulled a small notebook from her purse and scribbled something in it.

"Just what are you writing?" Locke demanded.

"Nothing," said Celes.

"It's not 'nothing,'" Locke said. "If it were 'nothing,' then you would have written it."

"Look," said Celes, "it's just for posterity."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Locke.

"Nothing," said Celes. "Now get over there and give that woman back what's hers."

XXX

Arion the waitress sat hunched over, desperately trying to shield herself from onlookers with the tablecloth she took from The Happy Octopus as she fled. While it managed to (barely) preserve her modesty, it did nothing to keep the cold away from her, and so she shivered. Actually, she could not tell for certain if the shivers came from the cold, from fear, or from sheer humiliation, but she knew they were there. They were there, and she was powerless to dispel them. Until a strange man and a dangerous-looking woman appeared at the entrance to her alley, she figured things couldn't get any worse.

The man looked like he had seen his share of adventures. He had that kind of worm look on him, like he'd tried the world on for size at a cosmic department store and then decided it didn't quite suit him. Those types were always the worst for casual conversation. Always downers. And they were horrible tippers, too. The woman looked even worse for wear, even in her fancy eveningwear. Though she had a sort of powerful beauty about her, she managed not to give off even a small whiff of innocence.

Arion shivered even more violently than ever, and she pulled her tablecloth as tightly as she could to keep the newcomers' eyes off of her.

The woman spoke. "You're the waitress from The Happy Octopus, aren't you?"

Arion sat still for a moment, sizing up the possible motives of the speaker. Had she come to finish her off? Was she the sorceress who had robbed her of everything else plus her dignity? Was she a diner peeved over having her meal disrupted and destroyed by a flock of birds? Was she with the Cult of Kefka? Worse, could she be an emissary of her ex-boss, come to extract payment for the damaged restaurant? No matter who she was, she spoke as one with a purpose for being there. Naked and defenseless, Arion judged it unwise to try any further to hide.

"I am," she said. "Or I was."

The woman's face softened at her answer, and Arion felt the tension break ever so slightly.

"Good," the woman said. "My fiance here would like to say something to you."

Those words vaulted "peeved customer" to the head of the list of possible identities for the woman, but Arion remained silent until the man said his piece.

"Hi," he said, clearly nervous. He made an honest attempt to avoid looking directly at her as he spoke, but he looked as though he were avoiding her out of fear, possibly fear of the woman, rather than out of politeness. "My name is Locke, and I have some things of yours."

Arion perked up. "Some things?"

"Please," Locke said, "put these clothes back on. I didn't mean to take them. I just get carried away sometimes. I'm a treasure hunter, you see."

No sooner did Arion see the bundle in Locke's outstretched hand than she snatched up her waitress uniform and pressed it in front of her. She backed away from the couple.

"Turn around while I put this on!" she said. They both looked away, and she quickly slipped into the clothes. Satisfied that she could move about in public again, she glared at the man. He took her clothes, did he? What kind of treasure hunter does that?

"You dressed yet?" said Locke.

"Not yet," Arion lied. She ruffled the fabric of her skirt a bit in an effort to sound like she still had a couple more articles to put on, and she inched up to where Locke stood. When she judged herself close enough, she stopped.

Arion thought the night over. She thought of how she no longer had a job. She thought of how no one seemed grateful to her for stopping a horde of rampaging loonies. She thought of how half of Jidoor saw her running naked through the streets. She thought of how she had been hiding in the dark, in the cold, with essentially nothing left to live for. She thought of her dead parents and how sad she had been the last time she saw her world crumble in front of her. She thought of how she still hadn't gotten her flute or her jewelry back. Arion packaged all of her emotions into a single thought, a single feeling, and she let that feeling flow through her. She let it give her strength. She let it drive her and her body as she lunged at Locke's unprotected back.

"RISING DRAGON REVENGE KICK!"

Locke went flying through the air for about thirty feet. He skidded to a halt on the hard stone, sprawled on his face, and he clutched what looked to be a very sore back.

"Jerk!" said Arion. "You took my clothes?"

"He did," said the woman, "and let me assure you that he will be punished, severely, for many a night. At my hand."

"You seem a bit more fair than he is," said Arion. "What is your name?"

"I am Celes Chere, soon to be Celes Cole," said the woman. "At your service. Please, let me do anything I can to make up for what my rotten slimeball of a fiance did to you tonight. Also, let me thank you for saving us from the Cult of Kefka."

"You noticed that I did that?" said Arion.

"Indeed," said Celes. "I think lots of people think the same, too."

"You know," said Arion, "not much has gone right today, but that's really nice to hear. Really nice."

"You sound like you could use a break," said Celes. "Locke, do you still have the waitress's possessions?"

Locke groaned.

"Please forgive him," said Celes. "He doesn't mean any harm, but he has a bit of a shady past. Lots of personal demons and all that. I'm still trying to reform him."

Arion actually smiled. "At least you aren't like that at all. No past to overcome."

Celes looked away and said nothing. Arion decided she had said something wrong, so she changed the subject. "Yeah, I'd like my things back. Must have been a pretty bad life for him to turn to crime like that."

"Honestly," said Celes, "he was probably just going for that magical flute you had. I doubt if he really meant to take your clothes with it, but it's hard to shake off years of trained actions. Believe me, training seeps deeper into your mind than any of us would like. It becomes a part of you."

Arion frowned. "So how are you going to punish him?"

"Let's just say he won't be enjoying much marital bliss in the near future," said Celes. "He's still got some of those typical male feelings in him, going after pretty women like that. I just need to beat those feelings out of him."

"Good luck with that," said Arion. "And as long as I get everything back, I think I'll be okay. The cultist attack was what cost me my job, anyway. I'll just have to make a fresh start somewhere else. That was a dead end job."

"Follow your dreams, miss," said Celes. "Do you have any?"

"I do," said Arion.

"Then use tonight as motivation. As opportunity. And, as soon as Locke gets your things back to you, count it as the beginning of something fresh for you. We caused you a lot of trouble, so I think it's only fair that we compensate you. What is your dream?"

"To be a musician," said Arion.

"Then take this 5000 GP," said Celes. "Take it to Owzer. Tell him I sent you, and tell him I said he needs to consider you. You played beautifully back at the restaurant."
"Thank you," Arion said, but she had no intention of ever showing her face in Jidoor again.