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: Thank you so much for all the kind reviews! They make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside.

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The arrival at Grand Chokmah was not at all what she had expected. She had hoped to slip in unnoticed and, if possible, slip out just as silently and head to some place peaceful. She had heard that Engeve was quite nice this time of year. And, if necessary, she could even hike back to Baticul via the Rotelro Bridge. It was a long, arduous trip through miles of monster-infested territory and the inhospitable Zao Desert without the use Fonic Artes; it would be difficult, to say the least, but anywhere was preferable to Grand Chokmah right now. Anywhere.

As she stepped onto the dock she noticed, to her utter dismay that several rows of men clad in the distinctive uniforms of the Malkuth military awaited her and, to her even greater dismay, a man clad in a distinctive teal uniform waited rather patiently alongside them, the sun reflecting off his glasses and his caramel hair as annoyingly perfect as ever, despite the light summer breeze.

"Colonel Curtiss," she said icily.

He tilted his head and smiled his trademark smile. "Oh my, is that any way to greet an old friend?"

She eyed him warily. "Since when are we 'friends', Colonel?"

He shrugged. "Since, oh, about twenty minutes ago when His Majesty ordered me to go down to the harbor to greet my—'friends'." He seemed to balk at the words. "But," he continued, "if you wish me to tell His Majesty that no friend of mine arrived in Grand Chokmah today."

"Be my guest," she huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

He considered her for a moment before turning serious. "Unfortunately, I cannot. I am under orders from His Majesty to escort you to the castle."

She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"Oh, Gailardia," he said, the smile reappearing on his face, "what on earth have you done to the Princess? She seems to be in a most foul mood."

She turned, surprised since she had not heard him walk up beside her in time to see him flinch and nearly drop her traveling trunk on his foot. He looked up and, for the briefest moment, their eyes met. They turned away quickly, their faces burning.

Out of the corner of her eye, Natalia noticed that Jade was watching them, a bemused smirk playing across his face.

Beside her, Guy set the trunk down and adjusted his collar. She noticed that it was something he did when nervous. "I didn't do anything!" he protested.

Natalia fixed him with a stare. He flinched. Jade smirked.

"Well then," Jade said, adjusting his glasses, "let us head for the palace." He paused. "If, of course, that is all right with you, Princess."

She frowned at him. "Of course it is. Let us go."

"I guess I'll just carry the luggage," Guy said quietly.

She turned, surprised by the note of abandonment in his voice. "Guy…"

He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

Sadness clawed at her heart. Even though she still felt awkward around him, she absolutely did not wish to be separated from him. She had known that he had brought her food several times during the trip, removing the trays every half hour or so when the food got cold. She had also known that he had spent a substantial amount of time sitting outside her door. She also knew he had heard her cry.

She had not meant him to hear; she had tried to hold it in. But despite her best efforts, the sound had still escaped her. It was a sound of despair and utter loneliness that she had thought herself incapable of making since Asch's death.

She had not wanted Guy to leave, but she could find to reason to stop him. As she saw it, the choice was ultimately his. She had no right to ask anything of him at all, yet, she had asked him to stay. In her memory, this was the one request he had ever refused to grant her, yet, in retrospect, the request had been unreasonable. He had every right to refuse.

"Are you coming, Your Highness?" Jade called from further along the dock.

It took her a moment to respond. "I—in a second, Colonel."

He sighed. "Oh very well," he said, turning away to address his underlings.

"Princess…"

She turned back to find Guy frowning at her. "Yes?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

He shook his head slowly. "You don't have to wait for me. I can find my way to the castle."

It was her turn to frown. "So can I, but that's not the point."

"What is the point then?"

She hesitated, trying to find the right words. "The point is," she said at last, "that I don't want you carrying the luggage."

The instant she said it, she knew that it had come out wrong, that he would only misunderstand her intent.

Wrinkles creased his brow. "You don't…trust me?" he asked, voice wavering slightly.

"N-no! Of course not! It's just—," she fumbled for a word, "you're not a servant! You shouldn't have to do such—menial tasks as this!"

Unbidden, memories from the years before their journey returned to her. She had called him her servant then, had expected him to do such "menial" tasks. She had been thoughtless and cruel simply because she could, and he had never once blamed her for it, called her for what she was.

As he turned towards her, his eyes locking with hers, she wanted to turn away in shame. She saw in his eyes that he too was remembering the past. Exactly what he was remembering, however, she did not know. She could only hope that he was not thinking of the same thing she had been thinking about. She studied his brilliant, blue eyes trying to read their depths for some clue as to his thoughts when, suddenly, he smiled at her.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm not doing this as a servant."

He paused momentarily, the unasked question hanging in the air between them.

Why?

He tilted his head closer, turning towards her, presumably so that Jade, who was watching them, could not read his lips and said in a soft voice, "I'm doing this for you."

She took a step back, startled. "What?"

A frown crossed his face momentarily but soon disappeared. "Do you remember what I told you at the Tower of Rem?"

"That, if I needed something, all I had to do was ask you?"

He nodded, then smiled again. "Just give the order."

"But, when I—"

The frown returned, and he looked away. He took a step backwards. "I'm…sorry, but, that was one order I could not follow."

Again, the unasked question overwhelmed the silence that stretched between them.

He turned back to her. She drew a sharp breath when she saw the sadness that swam in the depths of his eyes, and suddenly, it all made sense. Why he was awkward around her, why he had been hurt when she had refused to consider him as a possible lover, why he pulled away every time she reached out to him—it was all so clear now, so terribly clear.

Oh Lorelei, what had she done?

She took another step away, suddenly uncomfortable with his proximity. How could she not have known? Looking back, it should have been so obvious, especially after what had happened in her cabin.

He had wanted that. He had wanted more. But she had never thought that giving him what he wanted would hurt him more than refusing. She clenched her teeth involuntarily. Again, she had failed to think things through only to end up hurting him. He knew, just as well as she did that, in a few days, they would be separated for good. In all likelihood, he had pulled away for that reason. And, she had selfishly asked him to stay without even considering what his motivation for leaving might be.

She took another step back, giving him the room that he most likely wanted. She wanted to apologize, to say that she understood now why he had pulled back, but decided against it. At this point, he probably did not want to be reminded of such things. Not only that, but she couldn't even be certain of her reasoning.

How could she know if she was right? How could she know that he truly felt something for her and that he was not simply regretting what he had done for some different reason?

But nothing else she could think of made sense. It had to be that he felt something for her. It had to be. Or, was that simply wishful thinking on her part? Maybe, maybe not. She was not certain, and there was no way she could ask him.

At least she knew now what he wanted. It would be best for him if she distanced herself, but, some part of her could not bear the thought. It was cruel and selfish, but she did not want to be separated from him. Even if—even if this would all come to nought, she still wanted to spend time with him while she could.

But still, at this moment, it was probably best to give him some space. She did not wish to force the issue.

She turned back to him, studying him for a moment before saying, "If you promise to catch up…"

He smiled. "Of course."

"Just promise me one thing," she said, as she turned away.

He seemed wary, but nodded. "Just name it."

"Promise me that we can…spend just a little time together this afternoon."

He paled momentarily. "P-pardon?"

" I just…." She looked down towards her feet. "I thought that maybe you could—you know—show me around the city or something." She couldn't keep a blush from spreading over her face. "I mean, once the dance begins, there won't be much time for sightseeing, and it would be a shame to leave without seeing the city."

She wanted to kick herself. Was that really the best she could come up with? Skepticism danced in the shadows of his face. Who was she kidding, anyone would be skeptical after that. She had spent a great deal of time in Grand Chokmah when she was travelling with Luke and the others, and, of course, the redhead had insisted on seeing practically every millimeter of the city for himself back then. Her excuse had been pathetic.

She glanced back up at him, waiting for an answer—steeling herself for the inevitable "no".

To her surprise—and relief—he laughed and said, "Well, this city hasn't changed all that much since you were last here, but, if you want, there is one place you haven't seen yet."

She was curious now. "What haven't I seen?"

He laughed again. "I can't tell you that, now can I? It would spoil the surprise."

She tried to pout but ended up smiling instead. "Very well then. I shall see it for myself later."

"That's a promise."

She turned and headed back down the dock to where Jade was waiting rather impatiently. An uneasy feeling turned in the pit of her stomach. What if he didn't show up?

No.

She would not think like that. She would see him later. That was all there was to it.

Still, she could not help worrying. But, at least if he didn't show up today, she would see him at the dance. Maybe, she would even get to dance with him.

At least, she thought with a sigh, that would make the dances more bearable.

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Jade had never been one for small talk. She had known this, but for some reason, she had believed he had changed in the years since their journey. She tried asking him politely simple questions: "How are you?" "How have things been?" "What have you been doing the past several years?"—those sort of things, but he deftly sidestepped each attempt at conversation as though it were an enemy.

She was more than gratefully when they approached the palace. The Emperor was nothing if not talkative. At least it would make a pleasant change from his taciturn friend.

The thought of seeing the Emperor, the man who would, in all likelihood soon become her husband, triggered a wave of discomfort that settled heavily in her limbs. She found herself wishing that she could indeed run away but quickly silenced that impulse. It would do no good. She had already promised herself that she would fulfill her duty as a Princess of Kimlasca and put the good of her people before her own happiness.

Thoughts of Guy surfaced in her mind. She tried to push them away, bury them beneath the thoughts of her kingdom and its people, but he refused to be forgotten. She sighed. He had been right to push her away; he had seen that if they were to form an…attachment to each other, it would only make her choice more difficult in the end. He had seen it, and tried to spare her from it.

She wondered what he had thought when she had asked him to spend time with her. Had he wanted to refuse? Had she even given him a chance to?

She was being selfish again, but, she could not go to her marriage (though her mind kept substituting "death" for "marriage") without seeing him again. And though she looked forward to dancing with him at the party, she could not be certain if she would even see him there, or…if he would even dance with her, knowing what she had to face.

The thought was…unbearable.

Jade's voice broke into her thoughts. "Your Highness, where are you going?"

She turned back to face him, only to see that he had stopped at the doorway that led to the castle's guestrooms. She, meanwhile, had stopped at the base of one of the twin staircases that led to the throne room.

"I thought we were going to see His Majesty," she said after a moment. "Don't we have an audience?"

Jade sighed and adjusted his glasses. "I suppose you haven't heard."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Heard what?"

He sighed again. "His Majesty is recovering from an illness."

"Nothing too serious, I hope," she said, not letting sarcasm edge into her voice.

"Just a cold." Jade shrugged. "I don't know where he could have picked that up."

"So then, he will not be attending the party?"

For a moment, she felt terrible for being so excited at the prospect of the Emperor's being too sick to attend. She should not be rejoicing at someone else's misfortune, but it was far too tempting. His misfortune was most fortunate for her.

"Oh he will attend the party. He's just conserving his strength for the big event tomorrow."

Her face fell, and, from Jade's reaction, she knew he had seen it. Mercifully, however, the bespectacled man said nothing. He only held open a nearby door, indicating that she should proceed through there. She could not think of anything appropriate to say, so she nodded mutely and walked through the door.

Jade led her up a staircase and down several long hallways before stopping in front of an ornately decorated door. He bent slightly at the waist in a gesture she could only assume was a bow and indicated to the door.

"Your room, Your Highness."

She thanked him and pushed the door open. The room was lavishly decorated with large vases full of white lilies, ancient tapestries on every wall, plush carpet in a lovely shade of blue, and even, in one corner, a small fountain. The water for the fountain emerged from a pipe in the wall and flowed down several pipes detailed with mermaids and shells to a large marble basin embedded in the floor. Sheer curtains hung in front a set of glass doors that led to a large balcony. In the corner of the room opposite the fountain there was another door that she assumed led to a bathroom.

Behind her, Jade asked her if the room was satisfactory.

She stepped further into the room, mumbling some type of affirmative response as she did so. She stopped in front of one particularily beautiful tapestry bearing a representation of the palace and its many waterfalls. The weaving was extraordinary. In the shifting sunlight, it seemed as though the water in the picture was actually moving. She resisted the urge to touch the tapestry to see if the waterfalls were actually made of water.

"Well then," Jade said after a long moment, "I shall take my leave. I have business to attend to."

She mumbled some words of thanks and waited for him to close the door. When he did not, she looked back up at him, only to find him smiling somewhat eeriely.

"Y-yes, Colonel?"

His grin widened, revealing blindingly white teeth. "Oh, nothing really. I was just thinking that, if you saw Guy, tell him I need to speak with him. Would you?"

The request startled her, and, for a moment, she could form a coherent response. In the end, she simply nodded.

Jade returned the gesture, and shut the door. As his footsteps vanished down the hallway, she moved around the room. She took a quick look inside the bathroom, pleased to find that it included both a shower as well as a large marble tub. She rubbed her shoulders which had begun to ache. A long soak was starting to sound nice. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything to change into, so she lay down on the bed instead. She stretched, letting the aching slowly seep out of her bones.

It seemed ages since she had last sleep, and the peaceful darkness of sleep would have overwhelmed her completely, had not someone knocked on the door. At first, she thought it was Jade, but when she got up to open the door, Guy stepped in, carrying her travel trunk.

He set down the trunk, sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry that took me so long, but Jade caught me on the way up here."

"Oh," she said, "so he talked to you?"

The swordsman nodded, a frown momentarily crossing his face.

She wanted to ask what they had discussed but thought better of it. It was rude to pry.

"Well," he said, nudging the trunk with his foot, "where do you want this?"

"Anywhere's fine, thank you."

He pushed it into a corner and turned back to her. "Well then, shall we be going?"

She turned to look at him, a confused expression crossing her face. "What are you talking about."

He laughed. "You wanted to go sightseeing, didn't you?"

Oh, that's right!. "Yes, of course," she said. "I'd forgotten for a moment."

"Planning on taking a nap?" he asked, eyeing her rumpled hair and clothes.

"A bath, actually."

He shrugged. "Well, don't let me be one to stop you. If you want, we can go some other time."

"No," she said as she smoothed her clothes and ran a hand through her hair, "let's go now."

"You sure?"

She nodded.

He smiled. "Well then," he said, "let us go."

"Where?" she asked, somehow feeling the need to do so.

His smile widened.

"To my manor, Carmina Gaedelica."

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Author's Note:

Sooo, does anyone recognize the name of the manor? Lol. I just liked the name so much that I had to use it. Anyway, this part turned out really long as well. I had thought that it would be really short. So, now that they're finally at Grand Chokmah, things'll only get more interesting. The next chapter will cover the trip to Carmina Gaedelica. Until next time!