And the Clock Struck Twelve

By seraphimstarlight

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Tales of the Abyss or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Again, thank you so much for all the reviews! Oh, and there were some questions left in the reviews, (one that won't give away anything from the upcoming chapters) so I thought I'd answer them here.

Silver Nightingale- Actually, yes. All the chapters I have posted thus far have been pre-written. The only thing was that it actually took me about three days to write all that. The only delay was between the time I finished writing them and the time I posted them. I tend to write very quickly, and my schedule now allows me to do so. So, updates will probably still come quickly, just not as quickly as they have been. Mostly likely two or three days will pass between updates unless I get swamped with work or something. ;

The King of Flames- I LOVE Kare Kano. It was one of the first anime series I watched. I was thinking about that show when I named the chapter. It fit so perfectly, and I just couldn't resist a shout out to one of my favorite series.

Also, I'd like to give a big thank you to every one who reviewed Chapters 3 and 4. I'm sorry I didn't list you all, but I just don't want the intro to get too long. But hugs thanks so much!

And now, to the story.

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Natalia was displeased to find that, despite her delay, breakfast had not yet started. When she walked into the dining room, she found her father, Alpine, Goldberg, and guy all present. Four empty chairs remained, two for the Fabres, one for Luke, and one for her. Her father and Goldberg acknowledged her when she walked in; Alpine seemed distressed, for some reason, and did not appear to have seen her come in. Guy looked up quickly then glanced back down, seemingly fascinated by the blue charger plate in front of him.

She should have known that he would not have reacted. He did not even acknowledge that something had happened the previous evening. Well, actually, nothing had happened.; nothing had changed. She should have known; he was just playing along.

She slipped into her seat at the far end of the table. Her eyes rested momentarily on the blond swordsman, but never left her plate after that.

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Breakfast passed quickly, but with much conversation. Guy had announced that he planned to head out for Chesedonia by ship tomorrow morning. After overnighting in Chesedonia, he planned to head back to Grand Chokmah by ship the following morning.

Alpine had intially objected to an overnight stay in Chesedonia,—the Princess was certain that he suspected Guy of something, but of what she was not wholly certain—but he had withdrawn his objection after Guy had said that he had only suggested it out of concern for the Princess' health. Alpine dared not object to that.

The King had approved the plan and had suggested that they send a small detachment of soldiers to accompany them. The words were barely out of his mouth before she had said that she would travel with just her escort.

She had not been surprised when Alpine had roared in opposition. In his corner, Guy had nearly choked on whatever he had been drinking. Her father, however, simply asked her reasoning.

She had said that she did not wish to appear as though she did not trust Malkuth by appearing with Kimlascan soldiers in her party. As for other attendants, the maids were, for the most part, not accustomed to such travel.

Goldberg had suggested that General Cecille accompany her.

Natalia had immediately rejected that suggestion. It had been only a few years since the death of Cecille's fiancée General Frings of Malkuth. Natalia had added in a quiet voice that she knew, as keenly as any, that the pain of losing one so dear did not subside after just four years.

That had effectively ended the discussion about Cecille. Her father, Alpine and Goldberg began discussing her suggestion of travelling virutally unaccompanied quietly at the other end of the table. Guy, meanwhile, looked over and her, and started to say something. Her father, however, interrupted him to say that he would grant them permission to travel alone.

She thanked her father and glanced back over at Guy to remind him to do the same. He had already begun to discuss the route they were to take between Baticul and Grand Chokmah in further detail. Afterwards, the three men talked briefly about what had inspired the Emperor's idea, Alpine listening in somewhat grudgingly.

Soon enough Alpine and Goldberg both excused themselves, Goldberg saying that he had a meeting with General Cecille and Alpine saying that he had some "state business" to attend to. Natalia had a vague idea what he meant, and hoped fervently that she would be able to avoid his son at the party.

She was glad to see, however, that Guy and her father were enjoying some conversation about the Emperor's unique idea. But she knew that their getting along would mean little in the end.

Realizing that she had much to prepare before her long journey tomorrow, she quickly excused herself from the table and headed for her chambers, summoning Laura along the way.

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"How about this one, your Highness?"

Laura held up a gown that was a strange shade of turquoise and was covered in giant sequins. The maid made a face and laughed. "I'm certain it would look positively ravishing!"

They both laughed, and Natalia added, "Though I'm certain it would, I think that's a no."

Laura returned the rejected gown to the armoire and pulled out another one. She held it up for the Princess to see.

"What about this one? It's a beautiful shade of blue. I really think it would look good on you. It would suit your complexion well."

There was no response. Laura turnred her attention away from the gown and looked over towards the Princess. "Your Highness?"

Natalia snapped back to attention. "Uh…yes," she stammered, "I think that's a nice gown. I think I'll take that one with me."

Laura placed the gown in a large travelling trunk before turning back to the Princess.

"Your Highness, may I speak freely?"

Natalia was genuinely startled by the question. "Y..yes, of course."

The maid frowned and hesitated briefly before saying, "Well…it's just," she sighed, " Your Highness seems…unsettled of late—ever since the announcement of the Emperor's 'proposal'. I was wondering if…"

"I was in love with someone else?" she added offhandedly.

The poor maid flushed bright red but nodded. "Yes, ma'am. From the way you've been sighing lately, we've just been wondering if you've been having guy problems."

The princess practically colored from head to foot. "G…g…guy problems?!" she sputtered.

The maid nodded again. "We all figured that you've had your heart set on someone else, ever since what happened four years ago. We're not really sure, but you've been anxious ever since that message arrived."

Natalia laughed to herself. More likely the messenger than the message. But it was best not to let the conversation stray down that path. "Did you ever think that maybe I'm just not interested in marrying the Emperor?" She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

The maid seemed surprised that her Princess was being so candid. "Um, yes, Your Highness, but…well, we know how much you care about Kimlasca, and well…we figured that you would do what was best for the country." Laura hesitated for a moment before quickly adding, "But, it's not like that's all we care about. I mean, yes, we are grateful for everything you have done for us, but, we want you to be happy as well, Your Highness."

This startled the brooding Princess. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to speak, but no words would come. Instead, she waited for the maid to continue.

"If," the maid said, "Your Highness does not wish to marry the Emperor then, forgive my bluntness, but I…no, all of the servants in the castle…we do not think you should have to marry him. Your Highness has spent her entire life wishing for the happiness of the people of Kimlasca, now it is time for us to wish for your happiness."

Natalia tried to smile, but found it choked back by tears. She barely managed to stammer out a thank you to the girl before emotion overwhelmed her voice entirely. She made a motion as to send the maid away, but Laura had already left, likely having sensed that the Princess needed some time alone.

She allowed a low, rasping sound to escape her. It had been meant as a laugh but came out as a sob.

What kind of princess was she? Even the servants were worrying about her. If it wasn't so undignified she would have slapped herself. Worry about her own happiness? How could she? The people of Kimlasca were so good to her. She could not rightly return their kindess with selfishness. Now, more than ever, she felt that she could not abandon her people and her country.

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The morning came far too quickly for the Princess of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. She had spent most the evening packing for the trip. She would have missed dinner again had not Laura come to remind her.

Dinner had passed without much conversation on any side—only a brief mention of tomorrow's impending departure passing among them. She had then returned to her room to pick her accessories and jewelry.

At first she had only wanted to take the necklace made from the Maestro stone, but she knew that, as a Princess, she was expected to wear different pieces of lavish jewelry on each of the three nights. She had sworn to herself, however, that she would continue to wear her necklace regardless.

Anticipation of the party turned painfully in her stomach. Truly, she did not wish to go. But the morning was here, and it was time to leave.

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Author's Note

sigh I had some problems writing this part. I wish I could have added some fluff, but I promise! The fluff will begin once they reach Chesedonia (in other words, next chapter ) and will continue for a good time afterwards. It's almost done, so it should be up either later today or tomorrow morning. Until then, please read and review. I really appreciate it!