As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow 116:
Mas olc am fitheach, chan fhearr a chomann.
If the raven is bad, his company is no better.

16-

Zelos hadn't been expecting a fancy luncheon, but he always dressed his best while going out, and didn't look at all out of place. Nancy had reserved a private room for them in one of Meltokio's more popular restaurants, and while they could still hear the sound of the music being played somewhere in the background, it cut down on the noise of chatter from the other patrons. Having noticed Zelos' earlier reaction, Nancy and Trevor made a point of sitting on either side of him so as not to give Stella a chance to butt in. She made a show of pouting, but didn't put up a verbal protest.

The conversation started out very mundane. There was the examination of menus, with questions to the waiter as to which wines would pair well with the daily specials. Zelos implored the others to eat as extravagantly as they wished, since it was his treat, and so appetizers and entrees of all kinds were ordered. With that done, the waiter left the group alone.

Now the real conversation could begin.

"Were you at the fireworks display last night, Nancy?" Taylor asked as she poured herself a glass of wine from the carafe. "Stella and I didn't make it, but we heard it was splendid."

"We were there!" Trevor nodded enthusiastically. "The show was fantastic! Though Seles got sick beforehand, so we were worried about her during th-"

"I believe," Stella began, interrupting his statement, "she was speaking to Nancy."

Trevor blushed and looked down at the tablecloth. "O-oops. Sorry."

"It shouldn't matter, should it?" Nancy tried to laugh off the accusation. "I mean, we were together the whole time. Speaking of which, Zelos, how is your sister? Was she feeling better this morning?"

"Much better," Zelos nodded. "She was even able to practice the piano with me this morning. Sunday night she'll be performing Sonata No. 14 in C# minor, so you should be sure to come to the dinner to hear it."

"All of it?" Nancy gasped. "I practiced that when I studied piano, but I just couldn't manage the third movement."

Zelos laughed. "Oh, that's her favorite part. She likes to play with the suggestion of unbridled rage. I have to remind her not to ignore the piano markings, or there's no point in the sforzando-"

Emmett cleared his throat. "I didn't recall you ever having a sister," he spoke up. "Or is this, er-" He paused and looked away with an air of discomfort. "-Uncle Dion's… half-elf lovechild?"

Zelos bit his tongue to hold back a sharp remark. "Yes," he finally replied, "this is my sister, Seles, the child that Father had with the woman he actually loved. She lives with me in the family mansion."

"Whaaat? You let her come live with you?" Stella whined, reaching across the table. "That's not fair! If a half-elf gets to live with you, I want to come live with you too!"

Nancy cleared her throat. "I-It's not very nice to refer to half-elves with such a tone of voice. We're all supposed to be equals now, aren't we?"

Taylor kept her eyes locked on her wine glass as she swirled it, but she spoke with no hesitation. "There's no need to worry about political correctness when we're alone."

"I-I'm not trying to be politically correct, I'm just saying we shouldn't continue to perpetuate the harmful stereotypes that have-"

Zelos saw the glint in Emmett's eyes first, that look he got when he was annoyed and about to give someone a piece of his mind. Not wanting Nancy to fall into that trap so early, he looped his arm around her shoulder and broke in before Emmett had the chance.

"That's cool, Nan! But the fireworks- I didn't get to see them, remember? How were they?"

She gave him a surprised look, but he nodded in Emmett's direction and she seemed to understand. "Oh, they were… nice. Greene Park always has the best fireworks displays. The finale was a little loud, though."

"Stel and I missed it," Taylor gave a nod, "but I heard about it. Supposedly they had to ramp up security with the fear of another political riot still in the air. You know there's two fugitives still on the loose somewhere in Meltokio, right?"

"Yeah! Security was way tight just trying to get into the city gates!" Emmett grinned with his statement as though he'd forgotten his earlier ire. "I was honestly kinda disappointed something exciting didn't happen. Those religious kooks trying to prevent scientific progress are so funny, I wanted to see them just once."

Zelos cracked a half-smirk. "Seems a little sadistic to wish violence on such a happy occasion, don't you think?"

"I wasn't wishing for anything dangerous- just a little something to stir up trouble and get some idiots arrested. Work at the Treasury Council is so boring, sometimes I think it'd be more exciting to go back to Dad's estate and work the hotel- and that's saying something."

Zelos kept his lips pressed together to keep himself from saying what he wanted to. It was too early in the conversation to go down that road just yet. Trevor, instead, was the one to speak up next.

"So you're a supporter of the Alpha-Beta project?"

"Oh yeah, totally. That researcher they've got working on it- what's her name, Low or something?- I heard she's the best in Tethe'alla."

"Professor Low was an instructor at the Imperial Research Academy when I was a student there," Taylor offered. "She wasn't particularly good at teaching, but her research accolades were unparalleled."

"Plus," Stella gave a wink, "she's got a half-elf assistant helping her out on the project. They know how to get things done right-"

Zelos found himself interrupting before he could stop himself. "-Raine isn't an assistant. She and Professor Low are both senior authors on the project. Her surname just comes second alphabetically, that's all."

"That's true!" Nancy nodded. "Didn't you say she received a special recognition for archeological work in Sylvarant? She's unofficially recognized as the foremost archaeological researcher in Sylvarant, you told us."

"Right-"

"But of course," Taylor interrupted, "this is Sylvarant. They do things a little differently there."

There was a moment of silence. Several members of the group glanced around uncomfortably.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Trevor finally spoke. "I'm from Sylvarant, y'know."

Taylor had been about to take a sip from her wine glass, but she stopped with it pressed to her lips. "Oh, really? Nancy, you never told us you married a Sylvaranti. A commoner is one thing, but…"

"Does that really matter?" Nancy replied.

"It totally matters! That means he grew up in the declining world!" Stella stood up and leaned over the table toward Trevor. "I'm curious, what was it like? How did you manage growing up in the slums? Is it really just like in Oliver Twist? Do you know how to do magic tricks and pick pockets?"

Trevor frowned in discomfort. "Uh, the declining world was bad, but it wasn't like that. My parents are merchants, so we aren't exorbitantly wealthy, but we're definitely middle-class."

"Middle-class, hmm?" Taylor's voice had an air of disdain to it. "That's funny. Middle-class."

"Hey, the middle-class is an extremely important part of any capitalist economic model," Zelos piped up. "We all learned that in school, right?"

Taylor glanced away, but Emmett offered a laugh. "Yeah, Zelos, we know you're smart and all. You don't have to rub it in. I don't really care about the whole middle-class thing, I was just surprised because he doesn't seem like your type. He seems awfully… tame."

Trevor opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't make anything out before Stella chimed in. "Yeah! I can't imagine anybody being with Zelos and then settling for anyone else~!"

Zelos stiffened and Nancy blushed. "Z-Zelos and I… that was a long time ago. We were just teenagers." she stammered.

"I might not be a real ladies' man like Zelos," Trevor defended, "but I don't care as long as I can make Nan happy! Isn't that the most important thing?"

Emmett laughed again, this time pounding his hand on the table. "That's adorable! Of course that's what's important, you big romantic, you!" He caught his breath and continued with a wink toward Zelos. "And it's not like you have to worry about competition. I'd be surprised if there's a lady in Meltokio who hasn't been nailed by Zelos."

Taylor was taking a drink from her second glass of wine, and nearly spit it out at the statement. Stella, sitting beside her, let out a whine and began to kick her legs.

"Meeeee! I haven't!"

Taylor averted her gaze from Stella. "I think there's a good reason for that, sis…"

Zelos could feel that his face was pale. He knew that, if he let himself open his mouth, there'd be no turning back. But the way Emmett was talking… he just couldn't take it. He stood up, leaning over the table toward his cousin.

"Um, I've never nailed anyone. I've always given my partners an enjoyable experience based on their own tastes and requests because they're people and they deserve that kind of respect. Or are you unfamiliar with that concept because you're more interested in girls who're half your age?"

Nancy gasped and tugged on Zelos' shirt. "Z-Zelos!" she gasped. "What are you-"

"Oh, don't give me that look." Zelos ignored her, keeping his gaze locked on Emmett. "You think it's a secret why your parents sent you off to the Military Academy? I heard it all from Aunt Charis, how you couldn't keep your hands off the servant girls. You think I'm going to take criticism on my love life from a damned pedophile?"

The side of Emmett's mouth twitched, but he managed to keep a smile. "Oh, c'mon. It's not like I had a ton of options. All our servants were either kids or super old-"

"That's not an excuse!" Zelos shot back. "You knocked up a thirteen-year-old child! I heard Aunt Charis crying about it to Sebastian!"

Taylor drew in a sharp breath and even Stella was still for a moment. Nancy began to stammer "that can't be-" but Emmett stood up and cut her off.

"Act all high and mighty if you want, but there's no need to lecture me in front of everybody. Nobody really got hurt. She was an early bloomer- you'd never have known how young she was. And all the servants were gonna help raise the kid anyway. It all worked out."

"How can you say it all worked out?" Zelos narrowed his eyes. "You ruined a child's life, Emmett."

"Being born to a teen mom isn't the worst thing that can happen to a baby."

"I was talking about the girl!"

Taylor finally turned to Emmett, her face pale and her mouth turned up into a scowl. "You bastard… I've never heard any of this. How can you speak about it so casually? These are children's lives you're talking about-"

"Oh, Taylor," Zelos interrupted, his expression having returned to a deadpan scowl. "Funny you seem to care about children's lives all of a sudden, when you clearly didn't while you and your father were embezzling money from the charity your company was supposed to be supporting."

Nancy covered her mouth to suppress a gasp. Trevor shrunk back in his chair, wanting to move away from Zelos but not wanted to get any closer to Emmett.

"Sis…" Stella began, shrinking away from Taylor in surprise. "...when did this happen? You and Dad were working so hard to help the Children's Hospital-"

"We were losing profits in other sectors because of the sudden influx of Sylvaranti competition, and we didn't want to have to lay off workers," Taylor defended coldly. "We needed to get the money from somewhere."

"Did it ever occur to you that you could take the money out of your own obscenely large paychecks rather than stealing it from sick children?" Zelos spat.

"The hospital never knew that the funds would've come to them to begin with. We weren't targeting anyone personally, so it isn't like anyone got hurt." She tossed a glare at Emmett in an attempt to shift the blame back, but Zelos wasn't having it.

"So you wouldn't steal a kid's lunch money in front of their face, but you'd systematically strip millions of gald from an organization preventing kids from dying? Wow, you really are a saint."

"I never said it was the right thing to do," Taylor closed her eyes and turned her head away, "but some things must be done for the good of the business. I have no regrets."

"N-no regrets? Sis!" Stella slid her chair back. "How could you-?"

"Stella. My favorite cousin." Zelos' voice turned sickly-sweet, and a smile passed over his face. "Don't think I don't have dirt on you too."

She stiffened, suddenly shifting her gaze around. "Zelos, darling, what are you talking about? I haven't done anything wrong. Unless-" She paused and used her napkin to dab at her cheek as though there were tears to wipe away. "-loving you is a crime. In that case, I must admit my guilt."

"Oh, can it. I wish incestuous fantasies were the worst you've done. I'm talking more along the lines of last spring, at Ayers Festival-"

Stella was on her feet suddenly, cutting him off. "How do you know about that?!"

Taylor answered instead. "Sis, just because you managed to avoid lawsuits doesn't mean that word didn't get around."

"And by avoid, you mean some money exchanged hands, right?" Zelos asked. "Just like with the Children's Hospital?"

Taylor said nothing, and Stella sat back down with a sheepish expression. Emmett leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "So what's the takeaway here? You're a good person and we're all scum? Do you feel better about yourself now, mister Chosen?"

Zelos sneered. "Me, a good person? Not a chance. I've done way worse than any of you have. For gods' sakes, at one point I would've been content to let the world burn if it meant I didn't have to go out of my way. Have fun and don't try too hard- that was the kind of life we all lived. And I enjoyed it. I felt good about screwing over other people's lives for my own personal benefit. It was sick and twisted and I knew it, and I was okay with it."

"Z-Zelos…" Trevor reached out and tugged on his arm. "You…"

"Nothing will ever be enough to fix some of the things I did," Zelos continued. He looked at each of his cousins in turn, though Stella and Taylor were avoiding eye contact and Emmett really didn't seem to care. "But that doesn't mean I'm not trying, and it doesn't mean there aren't people willing to forgive me. The woman I love… five years ago I kidnapped her and turned her over to an organization that was planning to kill her. The only reason I have any right to even be near her right now is because she's capable of forgiving the unforgivable. She and my sister and the rest of my friends…"

Zelos let his sentence trail off with a sigh. He reached into his coat pocket for his coin purse and began rifling through it, pulling out enough gald to cover the entire party's meal and then some, stacking it on the table.

"I need to remember that I'm still earning that forgiveness- 'cause if I forget, then I'll end up back in my old, awful ways, justifying my old behavior. I'm at least trying to recognize my faults and better myself as a person. I thought maybe you guys were too, but I guess that was just wishful thinking." He finished stacking the coins and stepped away from the table, buttoning his coat and heading for the door before anyone could stop him. "I apologize for yelling at you, and I'm sorry for ruining your lunch. If it makes you feel any better, nothing I said will leave this room- not from me, anyway. But I hope you'll at least think about what I said. If you'll excuse me, I'm late for lunch with my number one hunny."

A couple of people called his name as he left, but he didn't pay attention. He didn't want to say anything that would make things worse, not after he'd apologized. The whole thing had him so worked up, all he wanted was to get to the Grammar School and see the smiling faces of Colette and all the kids. But as he made it out of the restaurant entrance, he heard someone trailing him, calling his name.

If it had been anyone else, he would've ignored them and walked faster. But for Trevor… he'd stop.

"Zelos! Hey, wait!" Trevor approached Zelos, pausing to catch his breath. "Nan wanted to say that she's so, so sorry about all that. She had no idea-"

"It's not her fault," Zelos replied. "And anyway, that shouldn't keep her from giving them a chance. If Lloyd and Colette and the others hadn't given me a chance, even after knowing what a horrible person I was, I wouldn't have made any progress at all. And I probably wouldn't be your friend either."

Trevor looked down at his feet. "They did say some pretty awful stuff to Nan and me. But… when you were talking about what happened years ago, that Emmett guy seemed really uncomfortable remembering, and Taylor was so quick to make excuses that I don't know if she really believed she was right or not. I think they really do regret what they did, they're just not humble enough to admit it yet."

For the first time since the argument had started, Zelos found himself with a genuine smile. He placed a hand on Trevor's shoulder.

"For me, those guys would be a bad influence. They'd drag me back down where I came from. But you, you're a good person. If you're willing- and only if you're willing- to give them a chance, maybe you and Nancy could do them some good."

Trevor blushed and offered a smile in reply. "I… would like to show them how nice Sylvarant is. Palmacosta is especially great this time of year with all the migratory birds from the north."

"There you go! You've already got something to talk about!" Zelos offered him a thumbs-up. "You go in there and make them regret every bad thing they've ever said about Sylvarant and its people, okay?"

"I will! B-but, in a good way, obviously. Thanks." Trevor nodded. "You go have fun with Colette, alright?"

"You bet I will."

Zelos knew a shortcut, and was able to make it to the Grammar School just before the lunch period ended. He figured he'd drop by just long enough to apologize, give Colette one of the parfaits, and take Adora off her hands. Once he made it there, he ducked into the classroom to find her setting up for afternoon activities and rather than interrupt her, he stayed and watched for a short while. Finally, she finished setting art supplies out on each desk and turned around to see him in the doorway. The bright smile that lit her face could've melted his heart.

Of course she isn't mad about yesterday. She's forgiven way worse from me.

"Zelos!" Colette ran back to the door to greet him with a hug. "It's so good to see you! How is Seles? Is everything alright?"

"Seles is fine," Zelos replied, having to choke back a laugh of relief. "She got a good night's sleep and is feeling a lot better today."

"Really? I'm so relieved to hear that!"

"You and me both, hunny." Zelos leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I'm so sorry about what happened last night. Did Adora sleep okay? I was worried the fireworks would spook her and keep her up."

Colette took a step back. "I don't know, did she? I haven't spoken to Miss Veronica today, so I wouldn't know. She seemed to be fine with the fireworks, but-"

"Wait," Zelos broke in, cutting her off, "what do you mean? Adora was with you last night, wasn't she? Veronica and I haven't seen her."

An uneasy feeling started to creep up his back as he watched Colette's expression completely change. Her eyes lost their cheerful sparkle and her mouth turned up into a frown. She opened her mouth to speak, and while Zelos knew what she was about to say, he hoped and prayed that he was wrong- that somehow she wasn't going to say what he thought she was.

No such luck.

"I… thought she was with you."