Updating again! This is a fun little story to come back to every now and then... I plan for one more chapter after this, and then I don't think I can do another...
Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own Tales of Phantasia. It's owned by Namco.
--The Wait--
"You may be an idiot, but you better remember me after a hundred years."
Arche played with her spoon, a bowl of half-eaten soup in front of her. One hundred and two years... I can't see him at all until then... he hasn't even been born yet... She sighed and sat back in her chair. Chester... It was only two months since their adventure, but it had been by far the longest two months Arche remembered.
There was a knock on the door. She put her spoon back in the bowl and hurried to answer it. Who is it? she wondered. Someone to visit Dad? Or Klarth and Milard?
She opened the door to find a pink haired elf standing there. Arche stared, holding her breath.
"Arche..."
"M...Mom...?"
The woman nodded. "I've been allowed to leave, for a short time... Is your father home?"
"No, he's out right now, but come in...!" Arche could hardly believe it. "I'm sure he'll be back soon!"
Her mother, Ruche, stepped in. "Thank you."
"Things have probably changed since you were last here!" Arche said, excited. "Have a seat at the table! Want anything to drink?"
"I can get it." Ruche walked over to the kitchen and got herself some water. She noticed the bowl of soup on the table. That gave her an idea. "Arche... Do you mind if I cook dinner tonight?"
"Eh?! But you're visiting...!"
"I know, but I haven't gotten to cook dinner for my whole family yet..."
Arche blinked. "Oh... All right..."
"I'll make a special meal for you."
"Then I can't wait!"
As Ruche started cooking, Arche made herself a seat on the counter. What should I say to her...? I don't know much about her at all...
"So, Arche... Have you been making a lot of friends...?"
"Yep! I have six really good friends!"
"Humans, or half-elves...?"
"Those six are humans, though I'm friends with Lungdrom, who's a half-elf!"
"Humans... Do they know...?"
"Yep! And they accepted me..." And Chester...
"That's nice. Tell me about them."
"Well, Klarth's a researcher in Euclid! And he's a summoner! He knows a lot of stuff, but he's a perv... and his ego's way too big. He's twenty-nine years old, and sometimes he really sounds like an old man! Then there's his assistant, Milard. She's kind to everyone except Klarth... She really knows how to deal with him! It's kinda funny to watch. And then..." The rest haven't been born yet... I want to see them, but...
"Then...?"
"Well, there's Suzu-chan! She's a ninja. She tries not to show her emotions and stuff, but you can read them after a little while of knowing her. And then Mint-chan is really sweet! She's a cleric, and she's good at just about everything. She likes Cless, who's a swordsman! He's also kind, and likes helping people... He's good at protecting people. And you can't forget that he's sexy!" And finally...
"Who's the last one?"
"Eh?"
"You said there were six, right?"
"...His name's Chester..."
Ruche paused in cooking to watch her daughter. Something in Arche's tone of voice troubled the woman.
"Why are you always such a brat?!"
"He's... a complete jerk! All he does is argue with me and tell me I'm a brat, and he's the worst person at complimenting in the whole history of Aselia! He teases me and messes with me just for the fun of it! Honestly, I don't think he can say anything nice!"
A smile curved up Ruche's lips as she watched the half-elf. She turned back to making the food. "He's a lucky boy..."
"Lucky how...?"
"You love him, don't you?"
"E-eh? Where'd you get that...?"
"I could tell by the way you were talking about him. And the look in your eyes." As she sliced up peppers, she continued, "I'd like to meet him sometime."
The girl blinked, and her eyes fell to the floor. "Yeah... I'll arrange that..."
The elf stared at her daughters again. "What's wrong...?"
"Nothing! I'm perfectly fine~!" Arche tried her best to smile and sound cheerful for her mother. But the facade couldn't trick Ruche.
"Does he not love you back...?"
"That's not it... He does..."
"Then what is it? And I'm not taking 'nothing' for an answer... I don't know when I'll get to see you again, so I want to know everything."
Arche bit her lip. When her mother put it like that, how could she refuse? "I... can't see him. Not for a long time."
"Why not? Where does he live?"
"That's the thing—he's not alive."
"Oh... I-I'm sorry...."
The half-elf quickly realized her mistake. "N-no, he hasn't died...! What I mean is... he hasn't been born yet."
"Hasn't been born yet...?" Arche could hear the confusion in her mother's voice, and she couldn't blame her.
"Well... I have a lot to tell you. You remember those people I was traveling with last time? Those were Klarth, Cless, and Mint-chan. Klarth, as I said, is from Euclid... but Cless and Mint-chan came from the future."
"From the future...?"
"Yep! Year 4304! That's the year Chester's from, too—I went there on our journey. And I went to the year 4354!"
"You... time traveled...?"
"Yep! I'll tell you all about it while you cook!" Arche then explained her journey with Chester, Cless, Mint, Klarth, and Suzu. She explained everything, how they met, how they fought Dhaos, and even some jokes among them. By the time she was done, Ruche was finished cooking and setting the table.
"You went on quite the adventure," the woman said to her daughter.
"Yep! And it was a lot of fun! And while I'm glad we finished it... I... miss everyone..."
"I'm sure they do, too..." After a moment of thought, she continued, "Being separated from someone you care about is hard... I know I'm going to live much longer than Bart, and I fear the day when I'll never be able to see him again... You're going to have to deal with that sometime, too, I'm afraid..."
"I know..."
"...One hundred and two years... I'll wait with you. Even if I'm not there, I'll wait to meet this boy named Chester."
"You have to meet Cless, Mint, and Suzu, too!"
"All right."
"Yay~!"
"But Arche..."
"What?"
"Don't try to pass the time by. You still have friends here... I'm sure your friend Klarth is lonely as well."
"I know, I know! I was thinking about going to hang out with him tomorrow!"
The women heard the door open, and a human man entered the room. He dropped his bags when he saw who was serving food.
"R-Ruche..."
"Bart... I've been allowed to visit for a short bit..."
"That's..." He was at a loss of words.
"Won't you come sit down?"
The three sat down, and for the first time in Arche's memory, the Klaine family ate dinner together. Arche talked the whole time, about big things, about little things, whatever came to mind. Well, not quite whatever came to mind—she didn't talk any more about Chester.
After dinner, Ruche took her leave, and her family sadly said goodbye to her. She walked away, with no sign of when—or if—she'd return again.
Mom... Arche ran inside and straight to her room. She closed the door behind her—accidentally slamming it—and leaned on it. Chester... She slowly sunk down to the ground, trying to keep the tears from coming out—but she couldn't stop them. Why... why can't I see the people I want to see most...?!
"I'll wait with you. Even if I'm not there, I'll wait to meet this boy named Chester."
"So I guess... these flowers celebrate your birthday every year..."
"I don't know when I'll get to see you again, so I want to know everything."
"...No one could give me what I want the most..."
"You love him, don't you?"
I...
A knock sounded on her door. "Arche?"
"I'm fine...!" Arche tried her best to sound all right. "I'm just tired...!"
"Can I come in?"
"N-no...!" She bit her lip; she messed up.
"...I'm coming in." He tried opening the door, but the girl held it shut. After a while of struggling, Bart realized that he couldn't get in; he was forced to give up. Arche listened to his retreating footsteps as he said he was going out for a short while.
The half-elf sat on the floor and held her knees tightly. I messed up... No one was supposed to know that something was wrong... No one...
"It's hard being a woman sometimes, isn't it...? Men are so dense..." Milard... "Meanwhile, we're left to wait... Maybe it would be best if we took control..."
But... I can't take control... Chester's not alive yet...
"After you meet Chester again... You will no doubt live longer than him. So make the most of the time you have together..."
Why... why does time have to be like this...? Everyone's lives are so short compared to mine...
Mom and Dad... have the same problem... Mom will live longer than Dad... but she can't spend this time with him...
A knock sounded on the door; Arche glanced up, surprised. She hadn't even heard her father return.
Maybe I should just pretend to be asleep... With that thought, she silently stood and tiptoed over to her bed. She started getting in bed when a familiar voice spoke up: "Arche? Are you in there?"
The half-elf stopped dead in her tracks. Klarth-sensei...?
"I'm coming in." And, with that, he opened the door and stepped in without an invitation. He looked just like he had on their journey, with his obnoxiously huge hat and everything.
Arche grabbed a small book from the stand next to her bed and threw it at him. "Idiot! What if I had been changing?!"
The book missed. "I've seen it before. Well, not you specifically—"
"Dirty old man!"
Klarth chuckled and picked up the book. He walked over to the half-elf and handed it to her. "Here."
Arche took it and, to his surprise, hit him with it. Satisfied, she set it down on the bed; she then sat down next to it. "So what are you doing here?"
"Your father asked me to come. He said you weren't feeling well."
"Well, as you can see, I'm feeling just fine!"
"He also told me that your mother just visited."
"Ah..."
"Arche... You have one hundred years until you see Chester again. Are you going to waste them by pretending to be happy, or are you going to go find your happiness?"
"Find my happiness...?"
"You want the elves to accept half-elves, right? You want to see your mother. Why not set a goal; by the time you see Chester again, elves will accept half-elves? Your adventure's not done yet, is it?"
Klarth-sensei... Trust him to know exactly what I needed to hear...
"...Yeah! That's a good idea! But..."
"I should still have connections with the king. I can get the initial foot in. Shall we work on this together?"
"Okay!"
One hundred years... is a long time... Especially when all you can do is wait... But, that's not all I can do. I can still be happy while waiting for him, right...? Time will pass by, and I'll see you then, Chester...!
----
One hundred years... Being separated by distance is nothing compared to time... It's hard to believe that that time's already gone... He looked up at the sky; his friends had just left. And... I could do nothing during that time... What if she's moved on...? What if she doesn't remember...? What if she's changed...?
"Hey, Chester...! Come on, let's get some of Toltus rebuilt quickly so we can show Arche...!"
The archer turned to his best friend, who stood across the bridge in the ruined village. Yeah... I'm kinda scared to see her now... But I'll definitely see her again soon...
"I'm sure everyone in there wants you to be happy. So... make sure you do something that'll truly make you happy, okay?"
My happiness...
...You better not have forgotten me, Arche...
----
Yay, chapter three up! This one was hard... so I hope it came out okay...
Thank you, David-san, for looking over this chapter!
Expect one more chapter when I get around to writing it! And thank you again for reading this!
-Ayame