Disclaimer: I own nothing of FFVIII's just my OCs.
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"Text" - Speech
'Text' - Quotations
Text - Emphasized words
Italics - Jamie's thoughts
'Italics' - Seifer's thoughts
Text - Other forms of communicating (letters, calls, etc.)
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"How 'bout if we continue like nothing ever happened?" Cait Sith, FFVII
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For the Love of Gaia ... !
Chapter IV: Like nothing ever happened ...
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Estharian Castle - Great Hall
The evening began to draw to an end, as the red hues painted in the sky were replaced by black, with most of the stars twinkling magically. However, in a certain palace, all the inhabitants were preparing for the Inauguration Dinner; various dishes and champagne flutes and glasses placed in various positions in the long table adorning most of the Hall. However, the table had an additional asset; that of a round, transparent attachment which spun around of its own accord, so that nobles could take the dishes that they wanted as it spun around slowly, revolving on the spot.
As many of the people seated at the table began to converse, Jamaila smoothed her green skirt, making sure that it was devoid of creases and wrinkles, and seated herself on one of the exquisite large blue and white chairs. Laguna, the host of the Dinner, rose up from his chair, causing most of the guests to fall into silence.
He cleared his throat. "Ahem ... Royal ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce the beginning of the Inauguration Dinner; where we celebrate the coming of age for all the royal princes and princesses of the various continents throughout Gaia.." He then extended his arms out wide, as if to embrace all the beings present. "Let me, therefore, signal for you all to tuck in," he said and bowed before seating himself back on his chair. A spatter of applause greeted the end of his short and simple speech and many waiters began to wander around, placing the many a dish here and there.
Jamaila, grateful that Laguna's speech wasn't as long as she had thought it to be, instantly began to reach for a dish resting on the circular contraption. However, before she could reach the dish, another figure (whom she distinctively recognized as the Mayor of Fisherman's Horizon) took the dish and began eating, the contents of it, wildly. Feeling disappointed at her catch getting away, she began to pursuit for another dish.
x.x.x
A couple of seats away, Irvine was trying to 'talk to' one of the Galbadian Knights, although he seemed to be grinning far too much and the female was already sick of him.
"Well, I've actually been asked to marry the Princess of Centra, you know ..."
The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Really ...?"
As he impressively nodded, she put her fork down. "Well ... if you've been asked to marry the Princess, then why are you wasting your time trying to woo me?"
Irvine looked slightly shocked. No female had ever said something like that to him before. "Well ... you know, I think you're ... very pretty ..."
The female, however, paid him no mind and continued to eat her main course. Irvine, looking slightly dejected, was about to tuck in when a masculine voice interrupted.
"You get rejected by Ling, too?"
As the blond moved next to him, Irvine looked slightly confused. "Ling?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, that's her name. Well, second name, I never really use her first."
Irvine smiled slightly, then extended his hand out. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Irvine Kinneas, one of the Knights assigned to protect over the Centran royal family."
Seifer shook Irvine's hand and smirked. "Seifer. Seifer Almasy, Prince of Galbadia and under the protection of Ling."
Xu's spoon was mid-way to her mouth when she decided to glare at Seifer. The blond simply smirked back at her, unfazed by her pitiful attempts to tell him to 'be quiet.'
Or rather, 'shut up', in a nicer way, he thought to himself and had then glimpsed a champagne flute, which was placed on the rotating apparatus, and began to dive for it; his fingers merely inches from it. However, when he thought that he wasn't going to get it, his hand successfully enclosed on the glass and he sat down on a vacant chair; drinking up his prize.
x.x.x
Jamaila had finally procured a dish and was about to grab a champagne flute when someone had already taken it from beyond her grasp. Not paying too much attention to who it was, Jamaila glimpsed a passing waiter and instantly called him.
"Um, excuse me?"
He turned around. She sighed inaudibly when she realized that it wasn't the contemptuous waiter from before; this man's hair was slightly darker and tamed back. As he made his way to her, Jamie spared a glance at his nametag - which read 'Nida' - and looked back up at him. "I, um, want a glass, please."
"Certainly, madam," he bowed and presented her the glass he had, balanced on the tray. She thanked him, as he extended it out to her, and began to sip from it, whilst he went to tend to some other guests.
A couple of seconds later, she heard that oh-so-familiar-but-not-so-much-liked voice snidely sneer, "You know, you should eat more. Otherwise, you'd find that most of the good food would be taken."
Jamaila looked to her right really slowly. Seifer smirked back at her.
Yep, he's really here ... Joy ...
She put down her glass. "Well, gee, thanks for caring."
Seifer continued to smirk at her. Jamaila sighed.
"What?!"
"You've got something on your skirt."
"What?" She instantly looked down at her skirt, which seemed unfazed. She proceeded to look back up at Seifer and attempted to reprimand him of his error. "I don't see -"
Seifer looked back at her, a champagne glass tilted slightly so that the contents of it poured onto the other glass - his glass, to be precise. So that must mean -
"Hey! Is that my glass?!" She pointed at it and hissed at him accusingly.
"No," he said instantly.
She glared at him. "Give it back."
Seifer withdrew the half-full glass. "No."
"Give. It. Back."
"Say the magic word ..."
Jamaila sighed again. "... Give me back my flute, please."
"No, the other magic word ..."
Her eyebrows creased together. "What other magic -"
Seifer used the distraction to pour the remaining fluid from her glass to his.
Jamaila looked back at him. "Oh, you - you did not just do that!"
Seifer frowned ironically. "Didn't you see me do that?"
"Ugh, you -"
Her words were lost as he sauntered back to his previous seat and she was reduced to uttering as many curses as possible under her breath, something that caused the FH Mayor to look at her strangely. She offered him a smile which seemed to alarm him even more, as he tucked into his food, leaving her to look for another dish ... yet again.
x.x.x
Fujin hated these sort of dinners, especially when people began to try and make simple conversation; something she thought was an utter waste of time and usually always stayed away from. However, that was nothing compared to Raijin's useless blumbering.
"So, are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"
Fujin scowled and glared at him. "NO."
"Not even a spoonful of ice-cream? It's really tasty, ya know?"
Fujin sighed. "NO."
"Well, what about a -"
"RAIJIN, I SAID NO!"
Her and Raijin turned around when they heard a clang. Apparently, one of the waiters must have been startled by Fujin's sudden outburst and, as a result; accidentally dropped the tray, he was holding on the floor, causing all of its contents to spill on the floor. However, the havoc didn't end there.
Nida was just passing by with a plateful of cake when he tripped over the liquid sprawled across the marble floor, which caused the cake to go flying ...
"Well, as a matter of fact -" General Caraway's sentence was cut short when - SPLAT! - the cake left its mark upon his face, cream splattered on his jacket. Rinoa looked up at her father, as if afraid of the explosion that would undoubtedly come. However, he sat in silence and, after a couple of seconds, placed a hand on his face and wiped the cake off, tasting a bit of it in the process.
Another waiter, carrying two jugfuls of water, tripped over the still-motionless figure on the floor and sent the water flying everywhere. However, the person who got the most water was ...
"So, I mean, what next - I'd get hit by water, or something?" Irvine laughed - but shut up as he felt the cold dregs of water hit him with full force. Xu smirked slightly.
"... I guess that's a 'yes,' then."
Laguna was just about to reach for a napkin, possibly for the waiters to clean up all the mess, when he knocked his champagne flute over. Attempting to hide his slight mishap, he looked quickly from side to side and reached for the napkin swiftly. Taking a moment to decide just which situation was worse, he threw the napkin behind him. "Clean up the mess, guys," he ordered the still-paralysed-with-shock waiters.
Looking back at the table, he felt many eyes on him. Putting on his best grin, he hoped that they would stop looking at him and resume doing ... whatever it was they were doing.
They still stared at him. An imaginary lightbulb went off on top of his head. Oh, they want a finishing speech - okay ...
He looked from the cake-sodden General to the dripping-wet Centran Knight and placed a hand at the back of his head, rubbing it sheepishly.
"Hehe, let's continue like nothing ever happened, okay?"
The only replies he got were the outrageously shocked stares from all of his guests and a slap from a towel held by his 'lovely' assistant Kiros.
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Author's Note: 'Tis quite sad - I wanted to make this chapter as funny as possible, but ended up with this!
... Anyway, would you read and review ... for my sake?
Ash XX