Three months went by since Hojo's and Lucrecia's visit. The castle have shifted into an even more uncomfortable state, something Tifa never thought could happen. Katherine would often sneer at the young princess, and would often be corrected by Grimoire. Tifa could've sworn that Katherine's face was turning purple from all the slaps she had endured over the months. Makeup can only cover so much. She didn't understand why the queen would willingly take a beating, especially knowing Grimoire's evil ways. Grimoire and Vincent didn't bump heads as much since the dinner. They still disagreed on Vincent's treatment to Tifa, but they did agree on one thing: keeping Hojo away from Edge.
Since the dinner, Hojo have written several letters to Grimoire, asking him to reconsider his proposal. Grimoire may be a maniac, but he wasn't stupid. Edge wasn't going to fall under territory of another nation, even if Edge were to have control over Rocket Town. Ruling other nations weren't Grimoire concern. All he cared about was Edge in his on sick, twisted way.
Today is another ordinary day inside the castle. Grimoire went over business over breakfast with Katherine, Vincent, and Tifa. Yuffie and Tifa spends more time training in secrecy under Ramuh's watchful eyes. Sephiroth continues to train his men as hard as he could in case of an emergency. Tifa tends to Ferrah, and now Chaos, all while trying to avoid Grimoire and Katherine as much as she could. She could feel Grimoire staring at her in pure lust at times during meetings or in passing. The act truly disgusts her. She never tells Vincent; the young prince have enough to worry about as is. It seems like Katherine and Grimoire takes turns in grilling Vincent about every little thing.
Tifa finishes playing with Chaos and Ferrah and walks to the entrance of the castle, greeting the guards and knights as she walks by. Everyone greets her with warm smiles. It is something she's starting to get use to. As the weeks went by, she noticed that everyone around the castle and the townspeople never greeted Grimoire or Katherine with such warmth. There was at a point in time that no one responded to Vincent well, but as time went on, everyone warmed up to the red-eyed prince. It isn't the prince's fault that his father is the way he is.
Tifa enters her shared chambers and immediately goes into the bathroom. She keeps Chaos and Ferrah cleaned and well groomed but chocobos have their own odor. It isn't a bad odor, but the idea of smelling like chocobos for the remainder of the day doesn't sit too well with her. After a few minutes in the shower, she emerges from the bathroom and goes to her dresser. Vincent is still away, and she's hoping to see him soon. As soon as she puts on her boots, Vincent enters the chambers. She turns and smiles at him.
"My L….Vincent." Vincent encouraged Tifa to call him by his first name when no one was around. There's no point in being so formal if it was just them two; Sephiroth, Ramuh, and Yuffie are also exceptions. "Are you busy?"
Vincent sits a stack of letters on the bed as he takes his suit jacket off. He dons a silk, red shirt and black dress slacks. He looks more handsome without having a cape on. A slight hue of red flashes on Tifa's face at the thought.
"I need to go through these letters then I'll be free for the remainder of the day." Vincent notices the blush on her face but doesn't say anything about it.
He walks over to his small drinking bar and grabs a bunch of grapes from the dish. Grapes and wine would be Vincent's break, lunch, and dinner if his body would allow it. He isn't a big vegetable eater but the prince would devour fruit all day if he could.
"Well, I was wondering if we could leave the castle?" Tifa gnaws at her inner cheek when Vincent studies her slowly. "I just want some fresh air." She quickly adds. "We could use our anniversary as an excuse if it makes Grimoire suspicious."
Vincent groans as he shoves another grape into his mouth. "Five years, huh?"
"Six." Tifa corrects. "I was ten when we wedded. I turned sixteen three weeks ago." She further clarifies when Vincent gives her a confused look.
Vincent turns his back towards Tifa, unable to look her in the eyes. His wife is now sixteen, and he wasn't even aware of it. To his knowledge, she didn't mention it, nor celebrate it. Birthdays are a special occasion that everyone yearns for. It's a person special day. No one deserves to have that taken away from them. She had six birthdays since arriving in Edge and they've never celebrated one.
"What day?"
Vincent's question takes the young princess by surprise. She stops biting her inner cheek. "May 3rd."
Vincent grabs a few more grapes and slowly turns to Tifa. "Then let's celebrate it."
Before she could react, Vincent grabs her by the arm and pulls her out of the chambers. When Vincent felt Tifa matched his walking speed, he releases her arm and let her walk freely on his right side. Tifa couldn't stop the smile forming on her face.
"You really mean it, Vincent? What about the letters?"
"They can wait. We can take Ferrah and Chaos with us."
Tifa happily darts ahead of Vincent, leaving the slightly smiling prince in her dust. She waves at Sephiroth as she runs out of the castle. Sephiroth chuckles at the happy princess, and sees his future king walking not too far from behind her.
"She sure is happy."
Vincent chuckles. "Yeah. We're leaving the castle for a few hours. She turned sixteen three weeks ago."
Sephiroth doesn't bother to hide his shocked face. "Is she really sixteen? My, she is growing to be quite the young lady."
Vincent nods. He sees Tifa saddle up Ferrah. The giant white bird flaps its wings happily with Chaos right behind her.
"Are you also aware that today's your anniversary?" Sephiroth speaks, cutting into the prince's thoughts.
"I'm aware." Silence falls between the two men. He hates his anniversary for all the wrongs reasons. "It's the same time, I assume?"
Sephiroth silently nods. Vincent leaves without another word being spoken between the two men. He catches up to Tifa as she hops onto Ferrah. Vincent gives Chaos a quick pat before hopping onto him as well. He taps Chaos's sides and motions for Tifa and Ferrah to follow them. The royal pair exits the castle without any questions being asked or being hassled by the guards.
It doesn't take long to reach the city. Chaos and Ferrah are experienced chocobos so a small trip to the city doesn't bother the over-sized birds in the slightest. There's a small stable at the entrance of the city where royal diplomats place their chocobos whenever they entered the city. For the safety of the chocobos, they aren't allowed in the city. There have been a few chocobo accidents years ago that involved children being injured. Grimoire immediately placed the law into effect when the last accident happened. It's one of the few good things Grimoire has done during his ascension as king.
Vincent and Tifa secures Ferrah and Chaos in the stable and walks side by side into the city. They are immediately recognized by several citizens. Some awe and others points their fingers. Tifa smiles and waves as she confidently walks along side her husband. It feels good to put the stuffy castle behind her, even if it's just a few hours.
Tifa runs to the cotton candy stand at the end of the entrance. The man is so surprised by Tifa's presence that he almost drops another customer's cotton candy. Tifa apologizes and asks the man for a serving. She's so animated at times. Vincent thinks himself as he studies Tifa. He catches up to her as the man hands her the fluffy treat.
"No charge, Princess Tifa." The man waves his hand.
Vincent reaches into his pocket and hands the man a handful of gil. The man looks at the money and back at Vincent with widened eyes. "You have a family to feed. We don't expect free passes because we live in a castle."
"Yes sir, Prince Vincent." The man happily takes the gil. "I appreciate your kindness! You have a blessed day."
Vincent nods and absentmindedly follows behind Tifa. Being away from the castle is definitely paying off already. He watches carefully from a slight distance as his wife takes in Edge's beauty. She shoves a huge piece of cotton candy into her mouth, the twinkle never leaves her face. There's a woman dressed like a chocobo that catches Tifa's attention.
"Is there a special event going on in the city today?" Tifa asks.
The woman's voice is suddenly stuck inside her throat. "Princess….Princess….Ti….Tifa?!"
Tifa nods. "Yes. Is there an event going on today?"
The woman snaps out of her daze. "Yes! Yes there is! Where are my manners? There's a fireworks show that depicts the old war from long ago later on tonight."
The woman hands Tifa a brochure that details the information. Tifa takes a quick scan and quickly turns to Vincent with hopeful eyes. Vincent gives her a small smile and nods. Tifa squeals in delight as she turns back to the woman. "Where exactly will it be at?"
The woman points to a pier that isn't too far from their current location. "Over there. 8 pm sharp."
Tifa smiles and thanks the woman. For the next few hours, Tifa enjoys herself, interacting with the citizens and playing with the local children. Vincent silently stands back and watches Tifa play tag with some children that are walking by. She would occasionally run up to Vincent and take a bite of her cotton candy that he's holding until it was completely consumed. Eventually, the parents pulls their children away from Tifa, which the children aren't too happy about. Tifa happily waves at the children and continue to make her way through the city, with Vincent still close behind her.
The royal pair are stopped several times to have their pictures taken. Vincent was never a photo person. Perhaps he should've asked at least one guard to escort him and Tifa through the city. He hates bugging the guards for something so trivial, but the constant picture-taking is beginning to grate him, but he pushes through, for Tifa. She seems to really not mind taking picture and interaction with the people, especially the children. She's so motherly around them. Vincent frowns at the thought. How dare he think about Tifa in that manner? She's only sixteen and he barely knows his wife. During these past few months, he have gotten to know her better, but there are still some things he doesn't know about her. What's her favorite food? What's her favorite color? Not to mention that she's underage.
"Vincent, are you okay?"
Vincent snaps out of his daze and looks at Tifa. "I'm fine. Are you enjoying yourself?"
Tifa happily nods. "You don't seem like you're enjoying the crowd much. How about we enter that antique music shop?"
Vincent sees the shop in question. It seems to have no occupants, which Vincent is thankful for. He nods and Tifa leads the way into the shop. As Vincent suspects, the shop is empty and is owned by an elder couple. Their backs are turned against Vincent and Tifa and they were bending over tending to something over the counter.
"Please make sure your children are-" The older woman turns and cuts off her sentence. "Aye! Jim! Jim! Jim, look what we have here!"
The older man straightens up and turns to see what his wife is making such a ruckus about. The man nearly chokes on his saliva when he sees the royal betrothed in his shop.
"Prince Vincent and Princess Tifa, welcome to our store!" The man comes from the counter and shakes Vincent's hand happily. He gently grabs Tifa's hand and kisses it softly, causing Tifa to blush.
"Jim, she's royalty! Don't do that!"
"It's fine." Tifa giggles in between her words. "This is an antique music shop, correct?" When the elder man nods, Tifa continues. "What's the oldest music sheet you have in your possession?"
Jim smiles happily as he guides Tifa to the back of the store, leaving Vincent and the elder woman up front. The woman comes from behind the counter and moves a stack of books from a chair that's next to the counter.
"Please Your Highness, have a seat."
"There's no need to do that for me."
The woman shakes her head. "I insist. Please, have a seat."
Vincent chuckles and sits in the chair. "It's not everyday we get young people in here that's actually interested in our products."
Vincent takes a moment to observe the shop. There are several music sheets displayed on a shelf from the window. Dishes are in between the music sheets on display as well. A part of Vincent wishes he could buy the entire store and take everything with him, but unfortunately, he doesn't have a way to bring the haul back to the castle. His eyes are fixated on a white chocobo necklace that's locked away in a case.
He gets up from the chair and takes a closer look. The chain itself is gold with gold trimmings but the chocobo itself is white. There's another chain beside it, only the chocobo is black. Ferrah and Chaos instantly comes to Vincent's mind when he sees the jewelry.
"Ma'am, my I have these two necklaces?"
The older woman walks over to the glass as she's fishing for the key from a chain around her neck. She inserts the key into the lock when she finds it and grabs the necklaces in question.
"Interesting choice, prince. There were here for a very long time. I'm sure it was the price that deterred people away from it."
Vincent didn't even pay attention to the price. The novelty of the jewelry drew his attention. The woman places the necklaces into a box and gently places them inside a paper bag. Vincent reaches into his pocket and gives the woman the gil.
"Thank you so much, Prince Vincent."
"May I ask for your name?"
"Ruby, prince."
Vincent grabs the bag from the counter. "Well Ms. Ruby, when I have more time, I will come back. You have some great things here. Also, please address me as Vincent. No need to be so formal."
Ruby smiles at Vincent's kindness. "I've never seen someone with such kindness and respect from the castle. You will be a great king, and Princess Tifa will be an amazing queen. The two of you come from riches, yet you're among us commoners."
"You are a part of this city. You are a part of my people. Don't think so lowly of yourself."
Ruby chuckles at the young prince. "You're so fierce. I eagerly await your ascension. Continue to stay true to yourself and Princess Tifa."
Ruby's words moves the young prince. This woman only knows of his status, yet she's speaking to him like she could see everything that is happening in the castle. He nods and makes a mental note to keep her words close to him. Jim and Tifa returns from the back with Jim carrying a music sheet in his hands.
"Vincent, I'm super excited!" Tifa claps excitedly. "This store is amazing! That music sheet is from my childhood. My mom used to hum it to me a lot to help me sleep when I was very little."
"What's the preferred instrument to use?" Vincent asks as the Jim securely places the music sheet in a plastic cover.
"A piano. Is there one in the castle?"
"Yes but it's in the main hall. I can arrange to bring one in our chambers if you like so you can practice more comfortably."
Tifa smiles and looks at Jim. "Mr. Jim, do you sell pianos here?"
"Yes but by custom order." Jim states as he hands the music sheet to Tifa. Vincent pulls out some gil and pay for the sheet.
"What's the best make and model?" Vincent asks.
Jim smiles at the royal pair and grabs a book from a drawer and places it in front of the pair. Tifa quickly flips through the book until she reaches the piano section. Her eyes are fixated on a Royal Regal Tempo 566 model that has an option to have it come in whatever color the buyer wants, along a cherry wood finish and the highest quality of keys. Tifa points to the sample piano and Jim jots down the specifics Tifa wanted.
Tifa and Vincent waves goodbye to Ruby and Jim and heads outside. Night has approached and Tifa notices that everyone is heading for the pier.
"Oh the fireworks! Do we have enough time to see them?"
Vincent sees the hopeful look in her eyes. They honestly don't have enough time but he doesn't want to ruin the day for her by cutting it so short. He could only hope Sephiroth could stall Grimoire for a little while. He simply nods and Tifa charges towards the pier.
Thankfully Tifa ran to the pier because she is able to get Vincent and herself a clear view. Several boats are spread throughout the lake where Tifa guesses the fireworks would come from. The usual stares greets the royal pair, but thankfully there's a security guard demanding that everyone gives them some proper space. Vincent is very thankful. He is actually looking forward to the fireworks. He used to watch them from the balcony of his chambers when he was younger.
When the first firework went into the air, all conversations ceased and everyone watches the show in amazement. Red and yellow fireworks rips throughout the sky as Neo Bahamut forms, and everyone claps in approval and some even cheers. As the show goes on, it displays Neo Bahamut fighting off knights from another kingdom to defend Edge. There's a man atop a mountain, which Tifa could only assume one of Vincent's ancestor. From what she could gather, the unnamed king commands Neo Bahamut to aide Edge in its victory. There are white fireworks scattered about to represent speech bubbles, with orange and yellow fireworks following behind it to represent the fire coming from Neo Bahamut. The show is truly amazing. Tifa only heard details about the war. Though this is a firework show, it illustrates the war well. The show ends with Neo Bahamut burning everything in its path. Once the smoke cleared, everyone claps in triumph.
"Let's head back to the castle."
Tifa nods and walks alongside Vincent. There are a lot of people hanging around the pier so it's easy for them to navigate throughout the city without any hassle. They finally make it to the royal stable and prepares Chaos and Ferrah. Tifa feels a little bad for her bird companion. Her and Vincent interrupted their cuddle session.
"I'm sorry, girl." Tifa soothes her friend. "You can continue to cuddle when we get back to the castle."
"The less you gripe, the faster we can get to the castle." Vincent scolds Chaos.
Once Ferrah and Chaos ware under control, Tifa and Vincent make their way back to the castle.
Ferrah and Chaos are secured in the stable once Vincent and Tifa returned to the castle. As they approached the castle's entrance, Vincent feels his heart sink. He knows he's beyond late for his appointment with Grimoire. If there's one thing Grimoire couldn't stand, aside from Vincent not following the path of a king, is tardiness. He wants to be sure Tifa got to their chambers safely before retreating.
They make it to their chambers and Tifa walks inside first. She immediately went to the balcony area and stretches her arms freely at the night sky. The breeze goes through her dress and hair very elegantly. Vincent takes notice that Tifa was walking in heels the entire time. He never understood how women did that without complaining not one time.
"I had a wonderful time, Vincent." Tifa turns to Vincent. She notices the small paper bag that's sticking out of his pocket. "When did you buy something?"
"Oh this?" Vincent shoves the bag further into his pocket. "It's nothing."
Tifa smiles as she reaches into her pocket. Vincent didn't realize that pockets came with dresses. Tifa walks from the balcony area and into the bedroom and places her hands onto Vincent's chest. Vincent stand still as she works her fingers on his shirt and pulls away when she was finished.
"It reminded me of Chaos. Isn't it cute?"
Vincent uses his free hand to pull his shirt closer to him. Tifa had pinned a black chocobo pin onto his shirt. The chocobo is made to look cartoonish, and Vincent allows a smile to tug away at the corners of his lips. Chocobos….it's like she's reading his mind.
"It's very nice. Thank you. I don't remember you purchasing this."
"Jim gave it to me as a complementary gift. I tried to pay for it, but he wouldn't let me. He's a very sweet man. I want to go back there in the near future."
"Well, I did order you a custom piano." Vincent reminds. "Perhaps you can get a few more music sheets from there in the meantime."
Tifa smiles brightly as she stares into Vincent's red eyes. Spending the last few hours with him have been refreshing. No royal advisors or knights; just the two of them enjoying each others company. Wait? Did Vincent enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed his? She is pretty sure he did. Everything she wanted to do, he obliged with no hesitation, and aside from people wanting to take a picture of them every now and then, he didn't seem irritated. The prince seemed to enjoy himself just as much as she did, especially during the fireworks show. Or maybe she'd reading too much into this. Vincent may be her husband and future king, but that doesn't mean their marriage is still a strain, most notably the age difference and the mere thought of actually being his wife have never crossed her mind….until now….possibly. What the hell id she thinking? Could she honestly believe she can have a normal marriage, even with the royal status?
"Happy belated birthday, Tifa."
His monotone voice breaks her train of thought. She smiled weakly and goes out to the balcony. Vincent places the bag under his side of the bed before leaving the chambers.
"….Happy anniversary, Vincent." She whispers sadly as she hears the door closes behind her.