In which Clive tries to the best of his ability to dissuade Cecile from making a terrible mistake.
It's hard not to form an emotional attachment to someone when they start likening you to their deceased parent.
The contents of this chapter are loosely based on a post made March 19th, 2005.
The dog sprawled across his lap with reckless abandon and wriggled, as if wordlessly encouraging a belly rub. Clive sighed and obliged. He leaned back against the grassy hill and looked across the lake, drinking in the first sunny spring afternoon of the season.
The respite was a welcome change of pace—after all, most members of the Howling Voice Guild were beholden to their missions and had little time to spare for leisure. How easy it was to forget that life when sitting in the warm sun on the banks of a lake far, far away from Harmonia. At least Viki was gracious enough to sneeze him at the tail end of his mission at the closure of the Dunan Unification War, so the only remaining task was probably attending some sort of celebratory banquet anyways… and those sorts of events never suited him. He chuckled to himself and gave the dog another pat.
"Sir Clive? What are you doing all the way down here?"
He tilted his head back and raised an eyebrow. A young woman stood at the top of the grassy lakeshore carrying a small cloth bundle. Her fair hair fluttered in the breeze, tied back with an orange ribbon. Something about her petite build and checkered skirt were familiar...
"Sir Clive?"
Wait, is that…
"Ah!" she hastily bowed, and his suspicions were confirmed. Only one woman at the castle was prone to excessive displays of polite reverence, and he definitely didn't consider himself important enough to be bowed at. "I'm sorry!" she flustered, "I left my armor with Peggi and Dominic! After returning from Caleria, my spear needed sharpening, and my armor needed a good polishing...they were so kind to offer!" Cecile swung her arm out in a frantic gesture, as if attempting to showcase her aforementioned gear before realizing they were no longer on her person. "I didn't mean to catch you off-guard! I was just on my way to reclaim them."
Clive quirked an eyebrow. He wasn't about to admit he didn't recognize her at first without her armor. "I'm fine."
She quickly recovered and tilted her head, her gaze drifting down to the dog lounging in his lap. "Koichi looks so relaxed! You're really great with the dogs, Sir Clive."
"I try."
"How have you been? I'm sorry I didn't come by to say hello sooner! It's been so busy since I returned! What have you been up to?" Cecile sat next to him on the grass uninvited and smoothed out her skirt with a cheery smile.
"Just doing what I do best," the marksman shrugged and looked back out at the lake. It wasn't necessary for her to know what he was really up to—namely monitoring and observing the comings and goings of residents when it suited him… and sniping small woodland creatures beyond the castle perimeter. It would do Storm no good to fall out of use, after all. But it was possible the small-animal-sniping might be upsetting to her. Best to let her fill in the blanks with her own imagination.
"What you do best?" she paused and looked back at Koichi. "Like right now?"
"Heh."
What I do best…
The months since Cecile left to train in Caleria were mostly spent gathering intel and piecing together as much as he could about the present and his surroundings. Surprisingly, twenty years into the future weren't as strange as he feared. Some of his sources were still around, but he wasn't ready to establish direct contact. Trying to explain why he hadn't aged in twenty years was an uncomfortable conversation Clive wasn't quite prepared to have yet.
Then there was his own agenda. Was she still alive? Clive didn't like to entertain fanciful notions of destiny, but as he found himself with ample amounts of free time to sit by the lake and reflect, suddenly the idea of fate didn't seem so far-fetched. All those years spent searching for her were unsuccessful, and now he found himself in the future. Was it for a reason? Was she here in this future as well? Or was he just the hapless victim of Viki's sneezing?
"Oh! I have something for you!" Cecile set aside the bundle and scavenged in her skirt pockets before procuring a small orange kerchief. "It's a cleaning cloth! They had all kinds of fun patterns in Caleria. I thought maybe you could use it when cleaning your gun!"
"Thanks," he accepted her gift. A bold, geometric pattern of interlocking diamonds adorned the edge. The stitching was nice. Too nice for cleaning the barrel of Storm. He gently folded it back up and tucked it in his cloak.
"They have all sorts of interesting items at the Calerian market! I left behind a new writing quill for Master Thomas, but I'm not sure if he noticed it," she sighed, her cheeks growing pink.
Clive's ears pricked at Thomas's name. Judging by the rosy hue spreading across the Cecile's face, she still carried a torch for him. During her absence, Clive couldn't help but observe that the castle master was noticeably distracted. Actually, that wasn't entirely true—the gunner intentionally went out of his way to keep an eye on Thomas, and he was less than impressed by the recent developments with his former comrade. He and Kinnison served together during the Dunan Unification War, and Clive regarded the archer as a reliable warrior and good-hearted individual, but...
There was something about Thomas that undeniably reminded Clive of Riou, the leader of their own army twenty years ago. Although the young castle master was considerably more timid and soft-spoken compared to Riou, there was just something about his quiet magnetism that made it easy to want to follow him. Perhaps Kinnison felt himself drawn to that, and he sought out that familiarity as a comfort after being whisked away to the future courtesy of Viki's sneeze. Even Clive himself couldn't deny there was something about Thomas that felt nostalgic.
But regardless of how similar Thomas was to Riou, the castle master's downright obliviousness to Cecile's feelings was infuriating. Was he honestly that ignorant? It didn't seem intentional, but...
Depending on how Cecile still feels about Thomas, I'm preparing a bullet with his name on it.
Clive worried about Cecile's happiness. Of course he wasn't actually going to threaten Thomas with Storm. Obviously she'd be very upset, and he didn't want that. But… the entire affair left him feeling disgruntled for some reason, and he felt compelled to keep a close watch.
"I hope…" She fiddled with the cloth bundle in her lap. "Well, he's been awfully busy lately..."
He raised an eyebrow. "Busy? He's got plenty of time. Why? Has he been avoiding you?"
"Oh no! Of course not!" Cecile sat upright, her face still pink. "I just...I hoped to hear a little more from him while I was gone. He only wrote twice," she murmured and played with the lace fringe of her skirt before quickly bouncing back, any trace of shyness long gone. "But there's lots going on, so of course he is busy! The spring festival is coming! Miss Yun says she's on the planning committee this year. Will you be attending?"
"Depends," he shrugged again. "Are you?"
"I'm planning on hosting the dog races this year!" Cecile lowered her voice as if telling a juicy secret, "I promise not to tell Koichi if you choose to bet on someone else. My potch is on Kogoro."
"I appreciate your discretion," he chuckled. "I'll think about it."
A quiet breeze drifted across the lake. He enjoyed her company. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to develop ties to one place, but he felt oddly responsible for Cecile's well-being after hearing her observation about his appearance when they traveled to Vinay del Zexay. It was an unintentional emotional investment on his part.
I look like her father, huh…
Was the late garrison commander from Harmonia? The emblem across her shield—a proud pair of stags, their antlers on full display— was decidedly Zexen. But Vinay del Zexay was a relatively young city. And with no surviving family, it was unsurprising she was drawn to anything that might hold a clue. It was hard not to empathize, especially when reflecting on his own past and lack of family ties. The Guild was his family, and for the brief time he served in the Dunan Unification War, his allies were family as well. It was more than enough for him.
Clive's gaze drifted over to the cloth bundle resting in her lap. "Is that for Thomas too?"
Cecile shook her head. There was a fire burning in her eyes. "Absolutely not! This, Sir Clive, is my olive branch!"
"Meaning…?"
"I made a sandwich," she nodded, as if that answer alone explained everything.
"Well, don't let me stop you. Feel free to eat," he stretched out as Koichi rolled over in his sleep.
"No no, it's not meant for me! Although, I suppose I could make myself one too. In fact, that's a lovely idea, we could even eat them together… it can be a whole picnic! But this sandwich is for Luca. Once I get my armor back, I'm visiting him in jail with Miss Yun—"
"Luca? As in, Luca Blight?!"
"Ah, was that his full name? I couldn't remember."
"C-Cecile," he sputtered, "What the hell are you doing taking a freaking sandwich to Luca Blight?"
Many of Clive's "observations" from the shadows over the past few months solely consisted of keeping tabs on the Highland prince. To his surprise, the man had yet to commit any known atrocities on the castle grounds, save for the incident with Thomas in the halls. Yet after actively participating in the Dunan Unification War and serving as part of the very ambush that ensured Luca's death, Clive knew firsthand that the prince was a force to be reckoned with. He wasn't about to take any chances. Directly confronting Luca would be reckless, but turning a blind eye would be even more foolish.
I thought my own circumstances were puzzling, but seeing that bastard return from the dead is worse.
"I was thinking," Cecile said slowly, as if forming her plan mid-conversation, "and maybe it was my fault Master Thomas was injured. If I had been more vigilant, if I hadn't been away traveling… well, I guess what I'm saying is… if I can befriend Luca, then I won't ever have to worry about Master Thomas getting hurt again! So what better way to get off on the right foot than with a sandwich? He can apologize for hurting Master Thomas, I'll apologize for yelling, and then we'll make up!"
The absurdity of the situation made his head spin. Admittedly Clive felt a guilty twinge of satisfaction when he heard Thomas was knocked down a peg by Luca Blight in the hallway—served the kid right for running around without taking Cecile's feelings into consideration, after all—but the simple news of Luca's return from the dead in general was deeply disturbing. The knowledge that Thomas foolishly permitted the Highland prince to waltz right through the castle gates and settle in left Clive questioning if he actually was in the future, or some bizarre alternate reality instead. Even if the young castle master was oblivious to Cecile's affections, it still didn't mean he deserved the disaster that would follow if Luca continued to live amongst them.
"You can't go giving him a sandwich and expect everything's going to be fine. He's a madman, Cecile!"
Her mouth pulled into a taut frown. "Miss Yun said he did terrible things, but she's dating him! And...and if Miss Yun sees something good in him, I want to believe her!"
Clive wasn't sure which was more absurd, an apology sandwich, or the thought of Luca Blight in a committed relationship. "Whatever the Alma Kinan shaman told you, I swear it's not going to change the fact that he's bad news and only belongs in that jail cell, or dead—like he was before."
"Miss Yun was dead too! But now she's back! So anything could happen!"
"Ugh," he groaned and pulled his hood up over his head. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation…"
"I'm sorry if I've upset you, Sir Clive… but as Budehuc's garrison commander, I'm responsible for everyone's safety! And sometimes that means I need to take extreme actions!"
"Then who's responsible for your safety? Thomas? Lot of good he did, like he's going to be able to keep you safe after getting himself cut up."
"I don't need anyone keeping me safe!" she sprang to her feet and puffed out her chest, the sight somehow more comical without her armor. "Just you watch, Sir Clive! I will make new friends!"
"Stubborn…" he muttered under his breath. This alternate reality was full of unexpected things. If befriending Luca Blight was as simple as making a sandwich, a lot of bloodshed and tragedy could have been avoided during the Dunan Unification War. Then again, here he was in the future, and people were coming back from the dead. Maybe sandwiches were stronger than firearms after all. Clive cast her a wary look from underneath his hood. "Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?"
"You have my word as captain of the guard!"
"I'd like to have your word as Cecile, since the captain of the guard is the one rushing in without thinking things through first."
"Fine," she sighed and gave him a smile. "I give you my word, Sir Clive. You can count on me!"
"Good."