OBLIVIA REVISED EDITION
Casty dela Alto Mago
CHAPTER THREE
Roxas enters his room and sits on his bed. He took his coat off and stood in front of the dresser. There, he saw the waiter's handkerchief. He picks it up and looks at the mirror.
" 'First-class passengers...are aristocrats and self-minded' – these words perplexed my mind. I threw the handkerchief away and punched the mirror. Of course, it shattered into a million pieces and my fist was covered with blood. I felt the world crushing into me. 'Are we self minded? Unconscious of the world around?' I thought
"I ran out of the door and to the stern of the gigantic ship. I bumped lots of people – all were surprised to see such unruly manner.
"As I was running, I tripped over the bench and fell to the wooden floor. I did not stand up. Instead, I juts cried all I can when suddenly, something over shadowed me"
"Roxas?" the voice spoke.
Roxas looks up. "Oh, Seifer, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing, just looking at the brightly lit moon and the magnificent twinkling stars", Seifer replies, "Isn't it perfect for a budding romantic relationship?"
"What are you talking about?" Roxas asks in suspicion.
"Oh, Roxas, just tell the truth", Seifer said, "Tell me that you love me!"
"What!" Roxas exclaimed, "No, I love Namine. She's my fiancé"
"You're too shy"
Seifer removes his coat and his shoes. "What are you doing?" Roxas queried.
Seifer did not respond but lied down over Roxas. He kisses him on the lips. "Seifer, no! Stop it!" Roxas yells.
It turns out that Seifer is the uke and Roxas is the seme. "No, Seifer, no!" Roxas screams, "Help please, Help!!"
He overheard another man's footsteps who was walking towards them. The man punches Seifer away from Seifer. The man helped Roxas get up. "Are you okay?" the man asks.
But before Roxas could answer, Seifer had already punched the man to the railing. The man looks down and all he can see is the rushing frigid water from the blow of the mighty propellers. "Seifer, no!" Roxas shouts.
But Seifer did not hear Roxas. Roxas needed to do something or else, the man will freeze upon touching the icy waters. So, he pulled Seifer away from the man. Unfortunately, the man tumbles and falls. Luckily, he had a grip of the railing – but he was slipping fast.
Roxas holds the man's arms. "C'mon", he says, "Pull yourself up!"
The man managed to step his foot on the lowest bar of the railing. Roxas pulls the man with all his force until he was saved.
Passengers who heard Roxas' screams called for the Master-at-Arms. The master, equipped with a handful of crew officers, arrived at the scene.
"What happened here?" the master said in shock, "You third class man, what did you do to Mr. Roxas and Mr. Seifer?"
"I'll explain everything", Roxas said, "this man you are pointing saved me before this Seifer did something bad to me. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"Yes, I do", the master replied flashing scenes in his mind what could have happened if the rape scene happened.
"Meanwhile, this man tumbled over the railing and if I didn't pull him up, he'll drown", Roxas added.
"Oh, I see", the master realized what really happened, "So Mr. Seifer here is to arrest. Arrest him!"
Seifer tried to escape by running away but the crew caught up and put handcuffs on his hands. He was now under ship arrest.
"Come on, Mr. Roxas, it's getting colder by the minute", the master politely said.
"Right", Roxas said joining the master to walk.
The next day, early in the morning, Roxas headed to the Valor Court for breakfast. In the counter, he spoke, "Excuse me? Could I ask something?"
A waiter comes. "What is it?" he asked.
"Where is the waiter who bumped me yesterday?"
"Oh, he was fired by our mad chef"
"I see. Where is his room?"
"It's in steerage decks, deck 260"
"Thank you"
Roxas walked to the elevator which was few paces away. "Steerage decks, deck 260 please", Roxas told the officer managing the lift.
The Valor Court is in the third floor so the elevator needed to go down for five floors before reaching steerage decks, 200-300. When they reached the decks, he sought to find Deck 260.
He searched for the mentioned deck until he saw it. Of course, as a gent would do, he knocked at the door. "Who is it?" a voice from inside spoke.
"Roxas", Roxas replied, "the man who you bumped and saved yesterday"
"Come in", the voice said.
"Okay"
Roxas turns the knob and opens the wooden door. He saw the waiter shining a pair of leather shoes – his only pair of black leather shoes. "Come and sit down", the waiter said.
Roxas searches for something to sit upon in the room until he finds a small chair near the dresser. He sits on it and speaks, "I just wanted to thank you for saving me from Seifer last night", he started.
"No problem", the waiter said in response, "Thank you too for pulling me back over the railing. If you didn't do it, this conversation might have not taken place"
"You're welcome", Roxas said, "By the way, I think this is yours"
Roxas gets something from his pocket. It was the mint sauce stained handkerchief. "Oh, my hanky!" the waiter exclaimed, "This was given to me by my grandmother before she died. Thanks for giving this back to me. I really treasure it"
"So your name is Axel?"
"Yep, you saw my name on the hanky, right?"
"Yes"
"Hehe... you know, I miss my job since I was fired. This is my only pair of black leather shoes. I bought it for the job here in Oblivia. But now that I am not a waiter here anymore, I don't know when or where I will use it again. Sigh..."
"I'm sorry for what I've done yesterday"
"It's okay. It's me to blame"
"Hey, I know where you will use that again. Dress up quickly with your finest clothes and I'll just wait here for you"
"Huh?"
"Just go on! We're wasting time"
"Right"
Axel dressed behind the closet doors while Roxas looked at his belongings. Searching, he finds a sketch pad with sheets of paper which were attached loosely. Axel comes out of the closet wearing one of his two coats and ties, and of course, his prized leather shoes.
"What's this?" Roxas asks holding the sketchpad.
"Oh, those are my sketches", Axel replies while fixing his tie.
"So you're an artist?"
"Maybe, I don't know"
"Oh! Come on, we'll be late for breakfast"
"Breakfast? What do you mean?"
"I'm treating you for breakfast in the Valor Court. C'mon, hurry up!"
"Okay"
Roxas and Axel left the room and went to the elevator. The elevator ascended to the third floor where Valor Court was located. "Are you ready, Axel?" Roxas said as they left the lift.
"M-Maybe", Axel replied nervously.
"I know he was nervous – greeting true gents and they greeting back. But despite it, he carried it out well"
Roxas saw Namine and Sora. "Who's that man with you, Roxas?" Namine asked her darling.
"He is my savior from the deceptive hands of Seifer", Roxas answered.
"The third-class waiter who bumped you yesterday?"
"Umm... yes"
"Well", Sora spoke, "Welcome to Valor Court! Mind if I get to know your name?"
"Er... it's Axel", Axel replied.
"Oh, come and sit with us"
Roxas, Sora, Axel and Namine sat with Zack – the ship's captain, Vincent – the master shipbuilder, Mr. Cid and his wife – the richest person on the ship (except Seifer of course), and Kairi – the Countess of Destiny Island.
"People", Roxas started speaking, "May I introduce to you my savior, Mr. Axel"
"Oh, a new fellow!" Cid exclaimed, "Well, enjoy your meal, Mr. Axel"
"I think he doesn't deserve to be addressed or welcomed like that", Namine said.
"Why?" Cid asks.
"He's one of the rats of the below decks", Namine answered.
"What!"
"Eew..." Countess Kairi said to herself, "I think I need a hand sanitizer or a disinfectant"
"Quiet", Vincent spoke, "Let us accommodate Mr. Axel here in our class. This meal serves to be his reward"
"Fair enough", Namine said, "So how did you get here in Oblivia, Axel?"
"Oh.. umm..." Axel started nervously, "I was working as a waiter in a small restaurant when our Master Chef saw me and heard my courtesy. Well, he asked me to work here in the grandest ship in the world and I accepted the offer. That's why I'm here"
"But your act yesterday to Roxas isn't an act of courtesy"
"Yes... but –"
"It was an accident", Roxas interrupted, "Besides, he saved me last night"
"And working here in Oblivia", Axel continued, "is one step towards my dream. It was my ambition since childhood to be a top chef and serve the richest men in Hollow Bastion. But now that I am fired, I'm afraid that I'll not be hired by any more restaurants because... er... ah... being clumsy. Maybe I'll be a lonesome wanderer in Bastion but I'll keep optimistic to show God that I can face this test. You know, life is a test and we shall live to our life's purposes to make each day count"
"Great", Roxas said in praise.
"Oh my God!" Namine exclaimed, "So I see you're a preacher? Well, I don't believe in your sermons, Father. Excuse me"
Namine stood up and walked away.
"Axel enjoyed the time with our company. He shared many fascinating stories of his life which expressed all of us. I hoped that that breakfast would be forever"
The first edition of Oblivia was deleted by the author in because of certain factors that will lead it to plagiarism. In this Revised Edition, Oblivia is shown as an ADAPTATION from TITANIC of 1997 and did not base on true scripts. The present edition is pure product of the author's mind together with what he witnessed in the aforementioned film.
Casty dela Alto Mago