a/n: i'm kind of disappointed since Nomura said that SE won't be showing any images of VersusXIII in the upcoming TGS. :( it breaks my heart... but they always say that life must go on so here's ch20! :)
Disclaimer: SE owns FFVXIII!
"Oblivious Fate"
By: rorudesu-chan
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Chapter 20: Conversation
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The chalkboard of Miss Sylvia's classroom barely had any room to write onto. It was English class. And right now, the creamy haired teacher was enthusiastically teaching dangling modifiers to her unenthusiastic students.
It wouldn't be a surprise if the heir to the Caelum throne wasn't paying much attention at all to Miss Sylvia's lecture. After all, this lesson was just like a refresher of what he has learned way back in grade school. No need to take things too seriously, he thought. Noctis allowed his mind to wander off. And what would be the best place to let his mind stroll freely? The track and field of course.
English class was the third period of the day for Noctis. The classroom was then located in the third floor of the west building which was a recommended viewing place if ever the track and field team was competing in a tournament. It would seem as though that Team Regius were the swiftest runners around and missing one of their games was like missing a splendid opportunity in a blink of an eye.
But sadly, it just so happened that there wasn't any tournament as of that day. However, that didn't mean that there were no people using the 100-meter running track. It was PE class. And it was also the third period of the day for Stella.
A long whistle blow rang. The five female students that stood in a line propelled themselves from the starting line and they aimed to reach the finish at the end of the oval-shaped track. Meanwhile, the rest of the class cheered wildly at the sides and each placed their bets on who wins the fitness race.
Stella breathed in and out, inhaling and exhaling air as well as she could. Beads of sweat trickled down her back which created a blotted pattern on her blue shirt. Wisps of her blonde bangs bounced up and down her forehead as she thrust herself with all the leg power she had. She felt the need not to necessary win. Yet, for the Tenebraean Ambassador, it felt good if you still won with effort.
Although she had her long, layered hair tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, Noctis still recognized that it was Stella. It was quite humorous. He never really thought of the Ambassador as the 'sporty' type. For him, Stella was more of the 'graceful' or 'the-lady-who-walks-fast-not-runs' type. But there she was, ahead of the other four running students. She was definitely giving it her all. Noctis watched her from the window of his third floor classroom, engrossed by this side that he was now witnessing from Stella.
The Prince suddenly felt a hand brush against the sleeve of his school blouse. His eyes continued to trail the blonde Tenebraean who was now running the last lap of the race.
"Noct," a boy said.
Noctis continued to watch. Stella was only a foot away from the white painted horizontal line.
"Noct," the deep voice repeated.
Noctis felt a surge of adrenaline rush. His right hand was already gripping the edge of the armchair. She was almost there—only a few centimeters away.
"NOCTIS CAELUM!" The Prince's shoulder was briskly pulled to one side and he was unable to see the race's finish.
"What the hell were you looking at??"
He stood up from his seat, ignoring his friend. By the time he looked again on the track field, the PE students were already rejoicing. The race ended and its winner had disappeared from sight.
Noctis heard footsteps approaching. "Hey Noct, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Lacertus." The Prince replied. "I'm fine."
"So would you like to tell me what made you temporarily deaf? Or will I have to find it out on my own?" The slick haired student beside him said, looking out to the window as well.
The Prince made no response. He turned on his heels and asked, "Your next class is also PE right, Lacertus?"
His friend nodded, still a curious expression on his scarred face.
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Sir Arkenis,
I regret to inform you that the whole council of Tenebrae, along with its constituents, denies your request for land domination. This is for the reason that we, its inhabitants, not only hold the right of ownership to its boundaries, but we also claim this land as our place of birth and origin. It is therefore, ours to till and flourish with the hard work that this nation lives with.
Please do bear in mind that no amount of fortune can outweigh Tenebrae. As King, I then assert that your proposed plan of shared investments with the Caelum Company is rejected. Your exchange for our land is deemed as something highly disrespectful and imbalanced and the latter will remain as such, so long as Tenebrae is what it is.
For whatever purposes that you may or may not have mentioned in your previous letter, I do wish that you find another alternative for it. Because as I have stated, though Tenebrae would be of colossal aid to your kingdom and it's Crystal, we cannot simply turn it over to your hands since our land conveys no existing price.
I am hoping for your complete understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
King Eneas Spei Fleuret
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Before Salsus folded the letter, his eyes locked on the lower portion of the paper.
'King Eneas Spei Fleuret of Tenebrae'
Fleuret. Tenebrae.
'Stella Nox Fleuret of Tenebrae'
Fleuret. Tenebrae.
Coincidence?
Salsus pushed the bridge of his glasses closer to the middle of his nose. He looked across the green field of Regius as he sat upon the ledge of an arched column. The hazel haired boy pondered carefully. He was willing to know the answer to his questions, not caring much about his fourth period English class. Suddenly, Salsus heard footsteps walking down the hallway. Judging from the way the person lightly sauntered, he immediately knew that it was a girl. He tilted his head sideways.
Stella.
Salsus had questions that needed answers. Not obvious ones. But those that needed meticulous researching. He stood up.
"Stella," he called.
The blonde Ambassador stopped abruptly on her light blue sneakers. Her sling bag that almost slipped off her shoulder was caught by one hand.
She turned around, recognizing the one who asked for her attention, and said, "Oh! Sal!"
"May I borrow a couple of seconds from you?" Salsus asked, shoving the mysterious letter into the right pocket of his slacks.
"Uhm, well," Stella said, her eyes quickly darting towards the wall clock that hung in one corner of the hallway. 10:05 AM- Five minutes after the start of fourth period class. "I'm kind of in a hurry, Sal. Let's talk during lunch time, alright?"
Salsus kept still. The Tenebraean Ambassador spun on her Chucks, ready to walk briskly towards her Botany class.
"Did you know a 'King Eneas'?"
Stella halted again, surprised with what Salsus had blurted out. She turned around to face him. He wanted some answers, and now he was most likely going to get some.
"Pardon?" she politely asked.
Salsus touched the rim of his thin-framed spectacles. "He was a King of your kingdom, right? Who was he? Why did he refuse to help the Caelum kingdom and its Crystal?"
"I'm not very familiar with him. All I know is that he died sometime before Queen Seraphine married the King of Vahalis for alliance purposes."
Vahalis? Salsus had to dig deeper.
"Vahalis, huh? Do you happen to know if they had any children?"
"Just one daughter, Princess—wait," Stella paused in midsentence. "Why are you asking me questions like those?"
Salsus froze. What should he answer?
"Sal? Tell me," she asked, investigating. "Was there any connection at all between the Caelum kingdom and Tenebrae before?"
Salsus felt the letter in his pocket crush beneath his fingers. Stella patiently waited for an answer, her stare penetrating through his eyewear.
He gulped. "Why do you ask that?"
"Because I don't think anyone in Tenebrae would know how to answer your third question."
The witty ally of the Caelum Prince stayed motionless on the spot. He felt a small drop of sweat flow down from his temple to his jaw. He carefully thought of a reply, knowing that the following words which will come out of his mouth will affect everything.
"Sal," she said. "Is there anything you know that I don't?"
"No Stella, there isn't." he finally replied. "I was just curious, that's all."
Stella pursed her lips, completely unsatisfied with his answer. There was definitely more to what he has said and she was clever enough to see through his hesitation.
She faked a smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't respond to your questions well."
"It's fine. I understand." He said, releasing a heavy breath. He felt like his chest was finally relieved of a thousand pounds of lies and perhaps even remorse.
Salsus' thumb rubbed the crumpled letter inside his pocket. He watched as the blonde Tenebraean turned her back on him. But before toddling off, she added, "I'll see you around then, Sal."
Whatever message her words carried, Salsus felt all the more guilty for igniting that conversation with the Ambassador. If anything bad were to cook up from the final question which utterly stroke Stella's interest, he knew without a doubt that he was to be blamed.
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a/n: did you guys enjoy this chapter? :) please Review, Comment, Criticize! doomo arigatou gozaimasu~! :)
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i've decided to add a new section to every chapter i upload so that i will be able to reply to both my awesome & anonymous reviewers who have given me their comments/suggestions regarding the previous update/chapter. the names that will appear is according to the order of who gives their reviews first. ooh~ and the more content your reviews have, the more i can fully respond. again, thanks so much for the support! your words mean alot to me and to this fic! :)
-rorudesu-chan
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*~REVIEW REPLIES~*
(Ch19)
Iris: I'm glad you got to learn more about the Crystal! hope you'll stick around as the next chapters unfold more about the mystery!
Star: ch19 had a speedy update since I got a little time off from the busy school life. its nice to know that you're intrigued with this story. thanks!
Rosa: hehe! I'm happy that the stella part was in your liking. hmm. she should've told Somna the truth about her health... tsk...
Warangel88: yey! I'm glad you were able to read the past two chapters! I created Natalia that way so that she be of a polar person with Stella's character.. hope that she was good enough to be another protagonist/antagonist in this story's plot.
Stella Nox Fleuret: really? did you think Noctis was a little strange in the previous chap? hmm. i think so too. its probably the Crystal or the Crystallite. Oh yeah, and about their 'game'... well... maybe they would, you know... *wink* just stick around to find out! hehe!
Stella & Noctis fan.: I'm happy you're enjoying this story! I am too.. hope you liked this new update!
drifter17: its nice to know that you got to discover more about Noctis' history and the Crystal. have you always wanted to know more about the the Prince's history in this story? hehe!
Stella Caelum: I'm glad about the fact that you liked that speedy update and also the ch19's content. Hope I would be able to put up the next chapters faster...
Cesia: thanks for reading and enjoying ch19! hope you liked this new update!
Nightsky88: glad you liked the past 2 chaps! hope Natalia's character construction was to your liking!