a/n: *gasp* has it been more than a month since OF's last update?! (O__o) My apologies, guys! Just got my holiday break the other day and I feel so relieved from college stress! How's everybody doing? Hope you guys are still in the mood to read this fic. Please enjoy and please don't forget to give me a review! Its Christmastime anyway! *wink* :D it'll really make my vacation worth the wait! ^__^ Happy Holidays everyone!!!
"Oblivious Fate"
By: rorudesu-chan
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Chapter 33: To Do What Must Be Done
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A black Ferrari F430 sped along the highway. It swerved to one side and to the other as it evaded the slow traffic. The pedestrians on the sidewalk took notice of the car's crimson tail light slithering past them swiftly. They hurriedly covered their faces with their palms, not wanting to inhale the petroleum smell of the dusty combustion. As the honking car rushed its way along the road, the people on the streets were left with mere speculation. An emergency, they thought.
"Hey Celer!" His friend furiously called from his right. "Slow down, will you? Are you trying to crash my baby?!"
A foot suddenly stepped on the gas pedal as the Ferrari increased its speed. "No time to think about your car, Lacertus!" Celer replied to the person beside him. "We've gotta get Sal into a hospital A-S-A-P!"
"Ho-hospital?!" Lacertus jerked himself forward, his seatbelt strapping him tightly backward. "What're you talking about? Noct said to bring Sal to a place where someone can cure his injuries!"
"And what is a hospital for, Lacertus?" Celer reminded. Glancing at Lacertus and flashing a 'know-it-all' grin, the blonde boy had forgotten for one moment that he had to return his eyes on the road.
"Celer!" his friend shouted, pointing ahead. "Truck!"
"Wha?!" Celer's eyes immediately looked forward. It quickly registered back in his mind that he was driving.
"Oh shi—" With a shift in the gear, Celer quickly twisted the wheel to his right. The car veered onto the sidewalk just before it could crash onto the ten-wheeler. The Ferrari slightly inclined to one side before tilting back down and screeching to a full stop.
Lacertus grimaced as he took his face off the car door's window. He snapped the seatbelt off himself, turning at once at the driver.
"That's it! I'm driving!" he declared.
"No! I got it, Lacertus!" Celer argued, shoving Lacertus' hands which were trying to get hold of the steering wheel.
The scar faced boy grunted. "You nearly killed us! I knew I should've not allowed you to drive my car!"
"I'm sorry, man! Don't worry! I'll be careful next time!"
"No! No more next time! Now let go of the wheel, Celer!"
"No!" exclaimed the blonde boy.
"Let go!" Lacertus frigidly stated.
"No!"
"Damn it, Celer! We don't have time for this!"
"I can still drive, Lacertus! I still can!"
As the two boys continued to argue in such childlike manner, they were both oblivious that their sleeping friend from the backseat was awakened by their bickering. The young Faust staggered on his arms to sit up. It wasn't long before one of the squabbling boys noticed someone grimacing from the backseat.
"Sal!" Lacertus exclaimed, surprised to find his friend awake. He immediately ceased his argument with Celer, knowing that directing his attention on Salsus was much more important.
"What are you doing?" Lacertus asked. "Don't push yourself too hard!"
Celer looked over his seat. "Hey Sal, buddy! Just sleep okay? We're almost there at the hospital."
Salsus couldn't help but put a smile on his lips. This was the first time he ever heard Celer say his name with the word, 'buddy' in it. He realized that he must've truly meant something to this boy who has always pestered him on purpose.
"I'm fine, Celer." Salsus replied, leaning himself comfortably upon the backseat. "You guys don't have to worry so much about me."
"Too late. Our worries began ever since you disappeared for days." The blonde boy contradicted.
"Yeah. I mean a vanishing act? And then coming back, challenging Noct to a death match?" Lacertus added. "What were you thinking?"
"And on top of that, no one even knew that you were beaten up beforehand! You suddenly collapsed after Noct punched you on the face." Celer reminded, holding his index finger in the air. "One punch, Sal! That was only one punch! And you had a sword in hand!"
Lacertus sighed. "You could've told us you were in trouble. We could've helped. But why didn't you say anything?"
"Really, Sal! Noct is on your side too! Don't forget that he's a p-r-i-n-c-e!"
"Thank you, spelling bee. I think Sal knows that already."
"Shut up, Lacertus! I'm just saying that—"
"Guys," Salsus said, cutting Celer off. After a minute of silence, Salsus was going to say what he had on his mind for quite a long time.
"I really, really want to apologize about what happened." Salsus hung his head low. "I had the chance to say it when I came back to class this morning but I decided not to. I didn't want you to worry so much but I guess even without me telling anything, I have made you all worried."
Pausing for awhile to collect his remaining thoughts, he continued. "But I want to thank you, Celer and Lacertus." He looked at each of them with a faint smile. "Thank you for trying to save me."
"Hey! Don't go drama queen on us, Sal!" Celer chuckled.
Lacertus agreed, laughing. He poised himself back on the front seat, snapping the seatbelt in place.
"We're heading to my house, alright?" the blonde boy declared, thrusting the key onto the ignition.
"Your house? This isn't the time to party, Celer." Lacertus reminded.
"Of course it isn't. I just thought that getting Sal to recover at my place would save us the trouble of explaining things with the hospital ward."
"Heh. Alright then."
With a step on the gas pedal, the Ferrari's engine roared back to life. Carefully this time, Celer drove the car from the sidewalk and into the main road.
Lacertus rolled down the window on his side and reached out to fix the side mirror's position. Looking at his own reflection, he noticed Sal from the backseat, staring pensively on the road ahead. The scar faced boy smirked and tried to lift up his spirit, knowing exactly what occupied his friend's thoughts at the moment.
"He said that he's going to do what he must." Lacertus reminded. "He'll be fine so you shouldn't worry about him too much, Sal."
"I'm not really worried about Noct." Salsus replied, his voice quivering. "Besides, I wouldn't be able to stop him even if I tried."
Lacertus silently concurred. Celer did too, listening quietly while driving.
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A girl stood before the military officer's desk. Her thin eyebrows were knitted together. Her pink pastel lips were curved downwards. The man leafed through the pages of a huge record book before realizing the presence of a person before him.
He cleared his throat and lifted his head, seeing a disappointed face greeting him. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Princess Natalia?" he asked politely.
Folding her arms, she glared at him. "We're not done yet, Arkenis. There's still something we have to talk about."
"Ah yes, yes." Arkenis pushed the book to one side. "Your return to the Caelum Palace is it?" he presumed.
"Exactly," Natalia replied, turning her back on him. She walked towards the hearth where ashes laid in a grayish black grave. Her voice grew louder as she wanted to make sure that the officer could still hear her from his seat.
"I've been," she began. "keeping an eye on her just as told you me to. I've also been informing you secretly about her every move, her every decision and her every thought that I can grasp on. I have been doing all of these things because—"
"You want Prince Noctis for yourself." He finished.
Natalia quickly faced Arkenis who stood from his desk. She eyed him steadily as if replying a silent but definite 'yes'. The officer grinned slyly as he reached for a bottle of liquor near him.
"Princess Natalia," Arkenis said, grabbing a wine glass. "I know how much you want to go back here and stay but you have to understand what has become of the situation. You know about it as well don't you?"
Nodding her head slightly, she looked away, folding her arms. "I didn't think that her memories would return sooner than expected. I wished it never did."
Arkenis agreed silently as he poured himself a glass of Tequilla. Placing the bottle down on his desk, the officer sipped his drink vigorously before continuing. "Thanks to His Majesty, your stepsister now knows her past although she's still oblivious to the truth."
"But she doesn't have to know about it, right?"
"Not for now, that's for certain." Arkenis firmly forbade. "She doesn't have to know… until the time is right."
"'Until the time is right'? So you're really going to allow her to know the truth?" Natalia raised her voice anxiously. "The Crystal is reaching its final stage! Everyone else who knows about its depreciation can feel it through the mild earthquakes that this kingdom has been having for the past few days, just like what you've said. Stella knowing the truth doesn't have anything to do with the Crystal or with Noctis so let's just pretend as if that truth never existed!"
"That would seem like a much easier route to take, Princess." Arkenis calmly replied. "But you must understand that she will eventually find out even if we bring the truth to our graves. The heir to Tenebrae's throne will soon look for evidences proving if King Neleus did really kill her father. And if what she knows is proven false then she'll seek for the truth until she finds it."
"Hmph. You talk as if you know Stella that well."
"I do have good spies, don't I?" Arkenis chuckled darkly. "Don't worry; everything is going according to plan."
Natalia's mouth opened widely to contrast with the officer's doubtful statement. But just before she was about to do so, the doors suddenly banged wide open. Screaming, the Princess quickly fled behind Arkenis, fearing of what was going to happen next.
"Sir Arkenis," a soldier wearing a military uniform similar to Arkenis', stepped forward. "On a decree issued by the Caelum Kingdom and ordered by Prince Noctis Lucius Caelum, you are hereby alleged for the murder of King Eneas of the Tenebrae Kingdom. Your immediate arrest is therefore permitted."
Natalia fell silent as she stared upon the warrant of arrest held by a Caelum soldier who was a rank lower than Arkenis. At the back of the Sergeant stood ten men, holding their M16A2 rifles flat upon their chests. Leading them from behind was none other than the Caelum Prince himself. His stoic features sent shivers down Natalia's spine. Her heart pounded madly both from being ecstatic to see her beloved fiancé again and from the assumption that he might have already known what he was not supposed to know.
"What is happening, my dear Prince?" Losing the grasp on the wine glass, Arkenis did not pay attention on how it shattered on the floor into jagged fragments. His arms were roughly secured to his back by two soldiers who rushed immediately after the Sergeant declared his arrest.
"What is the meaning of this?! Unhand me, you miscreants!" Arkenis ordered angrily at the soldiers. "Unhand me!"
"This was something that I should've done a long time ago, Arkenis." Noctis stated firmly, walking towards the apprehended man. "But apparently, you decided to keep everything else hidden from me."
"Hidden from you? You do not understand Prince Noctis!" he replied with a pleading look. "I kept so many things from you so that you would be able to follow in your Father's footsteps! Isn't that what you've always longed for?" Arkenis narrowed his eyes.
Noctis kept his silence and thought for a moment. It was indeed what he wanted: to follow the path to Kingship, just as what the late Neleus willed to his son. But after much thinking, he realized that the path he was following was what Arkenis wanted him to take. A puppet, he felt himself like. Stringed by the duty to rule a kingdom but moved by the evil intentions of a man who wanted not only the kingdom for himself, but the whole world as well.
However, things would definitely change from now on. Noctis had cut the ropes which bounded him to the man whom he and his Father once trusted. He will follow Neleus' wish. And he will follow it by his own means.
Noctis looked down on the ex-military officer who was seized and guarded by four soldiers. "Why did you let my Father and Mother sacrifice their lives for the Crystal?" he asked, glowering. "How could you let them suffer that kind of fate? Answer me, Arkenis!"
"That is what they wanted, Prince Noctis!" he spat. "Even if I wanted to save them from their own deaths, I couldn't because you know where I was on that night. He told you about it too, didn't he?"
Noctis felt Arkenis' stare on his right cheek. At that moment, the Prince realized the 'He' whom Arkenis was referring to—Salsus. Salsus had revealed to Noctis that on the night Neleus and Elianna decided to sacrifice themselves to the Crystal, Arkenis was nowhere within the Caelum land to be found. He was on exile in the kingdom of Vahalis where he decided to forge a secret alliance with its king.
Touching his right cheek with his fingertips, Noctis glared at Arkenis. "Your actions have done nothing but cause suffering not only for my kingdom but for Tenebrae as well."
Noctis pulled the sword of the soldier closest to him. He raised it into the air, surprising his men who couldn't do anything against the Prince's actions.
"Noctis!" Natalia exclaimed from behind. "No! Don't!"
"Prince Noctis!" Arkenis cried. He didn't want his life to end like this. There was so much to be done. "Have mercy!" he begged.
Ignoring their pleas, Noctis swiftly drove the sword straight to the floor—the blade barely touching Arkenis' face. Sweat rushed from the man's forehead to his temples. He thought that it was the end for him. Meanwhile, Natalia was relieved that her fiancé did not choose to execute Arkenis right before her eyes. She brought a hand upon her chest, feeling her heart thump wildly.
"If I had my way, I'd take your life right at this very moment." Noctis said, releasing his grip from the sword's hilt. "But I choose to let justice reign in this land because I'm no longer your puppet and nor is anyone else in this country."
Spoken like a true king, the Caelum soldiers thought. Arkenis grunted, hanging his head low.
"The court will decide what to do with you as soon as my officials and I finish gathering all the evidences regarding the murder of King Eneas. In the meantime, you shall return to the Vahalis Kingdom where you will remain in exile until we can find the proofs that you really did kill Stella's Father."
Nodding at the sergeant, Noctis signaled him to take Arkenis out of his sight. "Tenebrae will know of your crime before your trial begins," he assured, trailing the convicted man as he was forcefully being taken away. "And she will be relieved of her suffering," Noctis said softly.
Natalia couldn't believe what she had just seen. She couldn't believe how ungrateful her fiancé had become.
"Noctis! Please!" she called as she watched two soldiers taking Arkenis out of the office. Her pleading voice forced Noctis to turn around.
Running towards him, Natalia was suddenly blocked by the Sergeant who doubted the Princess' true allegiance.
"Out of my way!" ordered Natalia, who ducked under the Sergeant's arms which hung horizontally in midair. She fled past the officer, completely dismissing his authority.
"Noctis! What are you doing?!" Natalia clung onto Noctis' shirt as soon as she got herself close to him. Gazing straight into his cobalt eyes, the Vahalis sovereign tried to appeal for Arkenis' release. "This man helped your kingdom! How could you be so ungrateful to arrest him like this?"
"Am I to take this as a sign that you are taking his side?" The Prince asked, brushing her off. "Clearly, you don't understand things. This man murdered the King of Tenebrae that's why he must be punished."
"Punished?!" Natalia raised her voice.
From outside the office, while the ex-military officer was being taken farther away, he heard the Vahalis Princess attempt to change Noctis' mind about arresting him. Listening to her dwindling speech in the distance, Arkenis grinned. Love was truly an invisible force of nature that moved things and people. Natalia was deeply in love with the crown Prince and she was determined to get Noctis one way or another, even if it meant getting him through an exchange settled previously by her and Arkenis.
"Noctis, I don't think you remember why your kingdom continues to progress even after its king and queen... passed away." Natalia reluctantly said. "It was all because of Arkenis! He took all the responsibility that you should've taken. But you were young, and you still are. So why would you punish the man who has devoted his entire life into helping this land and its future king? You are making a huge mistake, Noctis."
"I'm not making a mistake because I know what I'm doing." He replied, looking straight into her eyes, affirming her of his answer. "How about you? Do you have any idea what you were doing helping a man like him?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play around with me, Natalia. I already know that you've painstakingly kept everything from my knowledge along with Arkenis."
Natalia scowled. "Who told you these lies?"
"They're not lies. They're truths. And they're something that you should've told to your stepsister a long time ago."
Natalia froze at the word, 'stepsister'. She didn't know what to say next. She was quite sure that somehow he knew that Stella was her half sister. But how did he? If she continued to ask, then she might leak something that Noctis shouldn't know at this time. But then again, what if he does know about everything else already? It was a huge risk and Natalia did not like risks. So she thought of some other way to get Noctis to tell her how he knew the things that were carefully kept from him.
"Where is Sal?"
"He's around." Noctis replied, turning his back on her. "I had also been wondering where he was for the past few days. But thankfully, he came back so there's no need to worry anymore."
"Where are you going, Noctis?" Natalia asked as she watched him leaving the office with the Sergeant and a soldier. She wasn't through with him yet.
Looking over his right shoulder, he replied, "To make amends."
Natalia's eyes widened. But she did not react to his answer. Rather, she reacted to what she saw upon Noctis' right cheek: a wound. It was still bleeding lightly, implying that it was still a fresh cut.
There was her answer. Earlier, while she was giving Arkenis her daily report on Stella, she noticed that her 'fellow' spy wasn't in the office to give his report on Noctis. Natalia asked Arkenis where Salsus was, unaware that the boy was held captive by the officer himself. Arkenis replied to the Princess' question by simply saying that 'Salsus went off to kill the Caelum Prince'. Surprised and on the verge of fainting at his statement, Natalia angrily demanded an explanation. Arkenis calmly said his reason, stating that Noctis must be annihilated because he was a major obstruction to his plans of world domination. If Salsus, the 'perfect' tool to kill the Prince, were to fail in his mission then he himself would suffer the consequences.
Natalia was confused by these 'consequences' that Arkenis said Salsus would suffer. But caring less for him and more for Noctis, Natalia strongly disagreed with Arkenis' plan of killing her beloved one. Pleading for his life, Arkenis couldn't help but feel sorry for the Princess. So out of pity, the military officer assured Natalia that it was quite impossible for Salsus to kill Noctis. The young Vahalis monarch felt the chains of fear loosen around her heart upon hearing Arkenis' assertion. But wanting to make sure that Noctis wouldn't get killed, Natalia questioned Arkenis about the possibility of it not happening. The man simply reminded about the depth of Noctis and Salsus' friendship rooting back to the first time they met. A friendship, Arkenis had said to Natalia, like theirs is something that can't be broken by mere tasks alone. One can't kill the other because of the bond that they have forged since then.
Remembering what Arkenis told her before, Natalia realized that Salsus' friendship with Noctis had won over his mission. Her speculation was strengthened even more after seeing the wound upon her fiancé's handsome face. They must've fought, she thought. Because Noctis was adept in various fighting skills, he won against Salsus. Natalia was very happy that that was the outcome of their battle though she was completely unaware about the fact that Salsus was already weakened even before their fight began.
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'To make amends.'
—That was what Noctis told Natalia when she asked him where he was going.
Arriving at his room, Noctis found himself approaching a rectangular picture frame which sat next to a lamp on a table beside his bed.
It was a class picture taken a month after the new school year began. Everyone was smiling in it, including him. Noctis took the frame in his hands, smirking faintly while reminiscing that day when the picture was taken.
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The arrangement for the shot was in alphabetical order. Celer, whose surname began with 'H', was standing between the two people whose surnames began with 'C' and 'F' respectively. He knew what he had to do but he had to do it without getting caught by Mrs. Mulier's prying eyes.
"Psst!" Celer tried to call the attention of the boy on his left. "Psst! Noct!"
Noctis quietly looked to his right and raised a brow. The photographer was almost finished changing the camera's film which meant that the class picture was about to be taken very soon.
"Hey Noct,"
"What is it, Celer?" Noctis whispered back.
"Change positions with me,"
"What?"
"I said, change positions with me,"
"Change positions, where?"
Celer rolled his eyes. He couldn't understand why Noctis couldn't get what he was trying to say. It was either he knew what his true intentions were or he was just being a simple-minded idiot at that time.
"Alright! Camera's set to go!" the photographer announced, hanging the device around his neck.
There was no more time to argue anymore. Celer knew it was a now or never chance. The fates that entwined the Prince and his love (or so what he strongly assumed to be) must once again be tightened by the 'great' Celer Hadrian, the bringer of destinies!
"Sorry Stella," the blonde boy whispered to girl on his right. "Nothing personal."
With a puzzled look on her face, Stella was about to ask what Celer meant by his words when she suddenly felt two hands strongly pulling her out of balance. He couldn't think of anything more perfect than this.
"Okay! One… two… three… smile!" The photographer pushed the red button of his camera, capturing the images of the students before him.
As soon as he heard the beeping sound of the image done processing, the photographer brought it before him. Examining the image, a frown curled upon his lips. The smiling students were poised properly, except for the second row where almost everyone who was on the right of the Hadrian boy was disarranged from their positions.
"Hey!" shouted the frustrated photographer. "What are you doing back there?"
The students, who were curious about what went wrong with their shot, turned their heads around to check what was wrong. Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream was heard from one of the girls. It was then followed by another until there was enough commotion to catch the attention of their short-tempered teacher.
Pushing herself up, Stella felt something beating underneath her left hand. She wondered why her landing was softer than she had expected.
"Stella," a familiar voice murmured.
Brushing her blonde tresses off her eyes, she looked down upon the face of the enigmatic yet handsome Prince himself.
"Noct!" she gasped, realizing that she was laying on top of him and that the throbbing beat she felt under her hand was his chest. It was him who had caught her fall when Celer abruptly pulled her unexpectedly.
"Are you okay?" Noctis asked as he strangely found himself gazing deeply into her crystal blue irises. There was something about them that he had never seen before. A kind of sadness, perhaps, concealed by a broken smile.
Stella felt her cheeks warm up. She had never been this close to her enemy before. It was awkward but somehow, she liked how his cobalt eyes had that kind of depth. A depth which could only be seen up close. A depth which revealed traces of loneliness hidden by his willingness to smile despite it all.
"Ahem!" a husky voice curtly said, pulling Noctis and Stella from their moment.
The two looked up, a furious face greeting them. "I knew there was something was going on between the two of you. But would you please spare your classmates from your burning pangs of affection? This is still high school, Mr. Caelum and Miss Fleuret! Not college. Remember that!"
By the time Mrs. Mulier finished reprimanding them, they were both on their feet already. Stella hung her head low, feeling the green eyes of her female classmates on her. Noctis kept a poker face instead while looking ahead. There was really nothing going on between them as what their previous 'position' implied. But it looked as if everyone in the class, including Mrs. Mulier speculated falsely about the relationship they had. And it was all thanks to the 'great' Celer Hadrian, the 'bringer of destinies'--a self proclaimed title.
Someone was going to be minced meat later on, a certain Prince thought.
"Okay, position yourselves everyone! Ready? Smile!" the photographer ordered. Seeing that the students had once again properly arranged themselves, he pressed the button, finally taking the appropriate class picture.
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That second shot was what Noctis placed in the picture frame. Stella never got the chance to go back to her original position which was why she stood there, smiling beside the Caelum Prince. Noctis later on asked Stella if she wanted to get back at Celer for rudely pulling her on purpose. But the Tenebrae Ambassador put on her usual smile, saying that the detention he got for getting caught by their teacher was revenge enough. And besides, Stella said, she found that experience quite funny on the other hand.
Placing the picture frame back on the table, a sullen expression plastered on Noctis' face. He thought about how falsely he assumed things. Now that he knew what was beneath the underneath, he understood Stella better than before. True, she used him so she could get close to the Crystal. But that intention of hers alone was not enough to justify what kind of person Stella really was.
"She's just going through the same hell as I am." He said to himself that night. "After all, it's painful living in a reality where you've lost everything that mattered so much. And then not knowing where to go after everything had disappeared."
Noctis felt that Stella was close to living a life which he had. It was unfair. Stella was a kind person who wished nothing except peace for her land and peace within herself. If he just got the chance, he would gladly take away anything that what was causing her so much pain. He would take it for himself because it was the only thing he could do for that one girl whom he truly and deeply cared for.
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a/n: Whew! Anyone noticed how there was so much drama in this chapter? I decided to add some scenes which I hope would lighten the mood of this chapter. So, how was this chap? Any good? Please tell me! Oh and advance Merry Xmas to all! ^__^ Review/Comment/Criticize! THANK YOU!! :D
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~*REVIEW REPLIES*~
(32. Comeback)
Bmonti: Thanks again for loving this story, Bmonti! But I don't think that this fic will be able to have that kind of trailer scene as part of the battle. Its an AU story and I intend to have a different approach to the fight scenes. But perhaps, I might be able to squeeze some stuff in or at least revise some of the trailer parts. :)
SilverIceDragon: Hey Silver! How are you now? *wink* I find your speculations regarding the moments before the cotillion, quite creative. :D Hopefully, I would be able to write those parts well. Hmm... Regarding the rifles of the Caelum soldiers, did I get it right? I just kinda browsed over the encyclopedia and I found the article about those military rifles. Hehehe. How's your story going by the way? Let me know how it is now, okay? :)