Finally! More than a year and a half after I posted it, here is the second chapter! I'm so sorry to keep everyone and I really really hope it was worth the wait. I promise not to take so long this time.
For those Tales of the Abyss fans, I'm working on Fonbelt too. It's a much longer story than this one, so it'll take awhile. But I'm getting there.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tales copyright or the characters; I am merely a fan who enjoys writing about them. All rights belong to Namco; character designs (c) Kosuke Fujishima.
Serendipity
-Chapter 2: Yeager -
Orphans were all too common these days.
That's what he thought as he walked through the streets of Capua Torim; in just the few hundred feet from the city entrance to the merchants' stalls, he'd seen more than two dozen lonely-looking boys and girls; some smiling, some not, but nearly all with that same sort of pained look in their eyes. He knew that look. He'd worn that look, too. The pained eyes of losing someone dear.
Of course, what was he to be walking or talking at all? A dead man who somehow managed to escape its clutches. It was not without advantage, not without grief. Perhaps the greatest sorrow being that the he could not join the one he loved.
However, as long as he was alive - if indeed it could be called that - he figured he ought to make what he could of it. Yeager had never really been one to give up, after all. Casey wouldn't want that, either.
He had entered the marketplace and business district now, which had been his true destination. He had a lunch meeting there with the head of a marketing guild - Fields of Gold - that specialized in produce and various bread and grain. Dahngrest was a lively city, but it didn't have as much variety in the food department as Torim did; purchasing the items directly from there meant more variety and more freshness, since there would be no heaven-knew-how-long wait in the Den of Guilds. Most of the time, Yeager simply placed orders and had some of his men attend to it, but every now and then, he would travel to meet personally with the merchants. It let them know someone was on top of things.
This was the first time he had seen so many orphans, though. Yet another sad result of the war.
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He took a glance at his pocketwatch. First five, and then ten minutes past. The merchant with whom he was supposed to meet was late; this wasn't the best of signs. At last, twenty minutes later, a messenger arrived with apologies from the absent party.
"Mr. Mills has unfortunately been delayed," the younger man said, "there's been an emergency that he must see to, and hopes that you will be able to reschedule for tomorrow. Any expenses in the meantime, of course, will be covered by Fields of Gold."
Twenty minutes late - and only just getting the message - had Yeager sufficiently annoyed, but Mills was normally very reliable; if it truly was an emergency, then perhaps this was the best he could do. And he was intending to cover the expenses.
"Pleaze inform Millz zat I would like to reschedule for early tomorrow morning...zay, nine 'o clock? Shall I be meeting wis him at ze guild's headquarters?"
"That will be fine, sir; I know Mr. Mills will be appreciative. When you decide to turn in, simply give the Innkeeper our name; I shall see to it everything is ready for you there, and inform Mills of tomorrow's appointment. Thank you again, sir, and please have a pleasant day."
The young man left, and Yeager suddenly found himself with an afternoon of freedom. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd enjoyed such a thing; with not one, but two, guilds to run - and each under a different persona - he had more than enough work to do...his days (and often nights) were filled with constant activity. But it had paid off well: Leviathan's Claw was becoming more well-known within the guilds as weapons-dealers, and Ruin's Gate was known throughout both the guild-lands and the Empire as excavators of blastia.
Yeager was next setting his sights on the city of scholars, Aspio. A veritable fountain of information, not only for blastia, but also for certain, more classified happenings in the Empire (if one knew where to look and what for) it was not easy to get permission to enter, but he was certain that within the next year or so, Regaey and Ruin's Gate would have done just that. And then the real fun would begin...smuggling blastia from under that fink Alexei's nose was hardly payback for the awful experiments done to him and the others - some of whom had not survived - but it was nevertheless some measure of vengance against the loony Commandant, and would benefit the guilds as well. It was only a matter of time.
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An afternoon of absolute freedom and he was spending it on work.
He snorted as he thought about what Casey might have had to say about it. She either would have laughed at him or told him he was working too hard, probably both. He certainly could not disagree with the sentiment; however, what else was he supposed to do? At the very least, he could stop by some of the other vendors and get some ordering done, and it would be silly not to do it when he was already in town.
He was heading now to a guild that dealt mostly in cheese and dairy products; it was actually a fairly new one, but so far was proving to be just as reliable as its older competitors, plus it had a wider selection.
"Care to buy a flower, sir?"
"Hmm?" Yeager turned around; there behind him stood a woman: slightly heavyset with dark brown hair, perhaps in her early thirties. At her side was a pushcart, filled to the brim with flowers of purple and red and gold. Nothing spectacular, but they were pretty.
"...How much?"
"Five gald a flower; forty a dozen."
Despite his growing reputation as a fearsome guildleader - and his combat skills would certainly not dispel that reputation - Yeager did have a kind heart. The woman couldn't possibly be making that much money off this; flowers weren't all that uncommon in a sunny place like Torim.
"Alright, I zhall take a dozen of your red ones, yes?"
"Yes, thank you for your business, sir." The woman smiled gently and proceeded to pick out a dozen of the best red flowers.
"Have a lovely day, sir."
"Thank you."
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It may have been fate stepping in later that day as Yeager walked toward the Inn. He'd been busy all afternoon, and now he was ready for some supper and a good bottle of wine. The sun would be setting soon, painting the harbor sky with colors of the evening.
"Hey, give that back!"
"Screw you!"
"Hmm?" Not fifteen feet away, along the street toward the markets, a boy not more than ten years old was staring helplessly at three older teens.
"Nanny sent me to get some things for dinner - please, give that back!" He jumped at a small bag that the older boy held just out of reach. "How am I supposed to-"
"You still call her 'Nanny'? Get lost, it's our money now!"
"May I help you, zjentlemen?" Yeager approached the lads, a menacing glare on his face. "What iz going on here?"
"They stole my money!"
"Who're you?" an older teen sneered.
"Who I am iz not important. Why are zou tormenting zis child?"
"Get lost, gramps, it's nothing to do with you."
"It dos now. If zou wanted zis private, zyou should have done zis in a private setting. Now anzer my question. Why are zou tormenting zis boy? Surely zuch...energetic young men zuch as yourzelfs are capable uf finding work in zis town? Zere should be no need for petty zievery and on zomeone haf zor size. Vhy don't zou give ze boy back his money now?"
"You talk weird. You wanna make something of it, gramps?" Yeager looked completely unimpressed as the three teens turned menacingly toward him, and inwardly, he laughed. They probably thought they could take him: he was not what you could call a large man (no more than five-eight), and outnumbered. But a guildsleader and former Knight of the Imperial Army had very little to fear from three errant teenagers.
Especially when his weapon was drawn. The three young men stopped short as the scythe, deadly blade all too prominent, was pointed in their direction. Yeager didn't actually need the weapon to beat them, but his intent was to scare them before he had to. They weren't worth that much effort.
"What was zis again about "making somesing uf it"?" he replied, eyes widening. Then he narrowed them, grinning dangerously. "I belief zyou were saying somesing about returning zis boy's money to him, ja? Zat's right." The older teen quickly shoved the boy's bag back into his hands, and Yeager swept a malicious gaze over the three.
"Good," he nodded, "Count yourselfs lucky. I don't sink you want to be causing zis boy anymore trouble, ja? Now get out uf here before I get mad!" The three were off like a shot, and Yeager put his scythe away. He bent down to where the smaller boy had been watching in awe.
"Are you alright?" Yeager asked kindly. "Did zey hurt you in any way?
"N-no...they only pushed me..."
"Well, zat iss still unacceptable. Preying on a boy haf zheir size is hardly sporting." Yeager stood up, offering a hand. "Did zey give zou back all ze money zey took?"
"I...I think so...they didn't take any out before you got here." The boy inclined his head gratefully. "Thank you for helping me. Nanny doesn't have much money; it would have been really hard if they had gotten away..."
"'Nanny'?"
"She's the one who took us in. She takes care of us."
""Took us in"?" Yeager tilted his head and raised his nonexistant eyebrows. Then his expression softened. "You are an orphan, ja?"
The boy looked down. "Yeah. Everyone at Nor House is. There've been a lot more since the war started."
A sallow smile appeared on Yeager's face, for only a moment. Yes, since the war started and ended.
"My parents died in it, too," he added, sadly. "They were Altosk."
Guildmembers. So his Knights had done it.
"Where were you going?" he asked the boy next.
"To the market. Nanny sent me to pick up some things...but then they surprised me." He ducked his head a little. "I hope they don't come after me again..."
"Zis has happened before?"
"Yeah. I can run pretty fast, though."
"I would imagine." The more shrewd part of the guildsman's personality - one of the things that Alexei had so recognized and even praised - screamed survival of the fittest, but even so, Yeager had never been wholly heartless (however literally he was now), and the idea that someone would steal money from an orphan was not one he could (with whatever conscience he had left) really justify, either.
Of course, from what he had just been told, this boy might not even be an orphan if not for his Knights.
"What do you zay," Yeager smiled at the youngster, "if I zhould accompany zou to ze market? I doubt zey would be attacking zou wis myzelf around."
The boy's face lit up, "Really? That'd be great!"
"Gut. Yet us be on our way, zen."
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Yeager ended up going with the boy both to the market, and back. Nor House was down an alley on the eastern side of town, away from the docks. The building itself was rather run-down and sad-looking (as well it should be "sad"; what orphanage wasn't?), and the boy - whose name Yeager had yet to learn, he realized - skipped up to the door.
"Nanny, I'm back!" he cried, simultaneously knocking on the door and entering. "Come in, sir," he gestured back to Yeager. "I know Nanny would like to meet you." Yeager sighed, but decided to humor the boy.
The inside of the orphanage was even sadder than the outside. There were holes in the floorboards and plaster coming off the walls, and he could hear a dripping in the kitchen sink. The furniture in the sitting room looked as though it had once been quite beautiful, but now it was worn, faded. He hadn't even seen the rest of the property.
(To their credit, though, the house was clean.)
"Nanny!" the boy called again, walking down the hall, "Nanny, I got the stuff you needed!"
"Antoine, where have you been?" A slightly heavyset woman came out of a room down the hall, and Yeager instantly recognized her as the flower-seller from before. "I was just getting ready to come look for you. Oh, who's this- oh, it's you!" (Evidently, she recognized him, too.)
"He helped me!" Antoine cheerfully said, launching into an explanation of what had happened. Yeager was suddenly embarrassed as the woman turned to him with a gentle smile.
"How kind of you," she remarked. "Please, you must stay for supper."
"Oh, no-no," Yeager quickly said, "I would not want to impoze..."
"Why, it's not an imposition at all," the lady replied cheerfully. "It's the least we can do, really. Oh, but forgive my manners - I haven't introduced myself. I am Margret Ferris, Headmistress of Nor House."
"Yeager," the guildleader replied simply, putting his hand forward. Ms. Ferris shook it warmly. "A pleazure to meet zou."
"Indeed, as am I. Antoine, if you would, please take those into the kitchen and start cutting them up."
"Yes ma'am." Antoine hurried off.
"He's a good boy," Ms. Ferris smiled. Then she sobered. "Even after all he's been through, and he still finds a way to smile."
"Ja, he told me about hiz parents," Yeager told her, "Are zey all war orphans?"
"War orphans? Not all of them," she replied, "but a lot of them. Mostly from the guilds; we don't get too many from the Empire all the way over here."
"I vould imagine not." The Empire had two orphanages in Zaphias, both of them funded by the charity of nobles. Dahngrest had one, too - with specialized donations from several guilds (Fields of Gold, for instance, often donated groceries) - but in Dahngrest, it was different: after eight or nine, children without parents or relatives were expected to find a guild to join, and that guild would become their family.
"There's so many more now because of that awful war," Ms. Ferris commented then. "I know they did what they had to, but..."
"I understand," Yeager responded. "And it iz not eazy to watch children suffer," he added. He glanced into the room the headmistress had come out of; on either side, makeshift bunk beds were packed very closely together; there wasn't a lot of room to move or play.
"Well, I had best get supper started," the governess said then, leading them toward the kitchen. "Would you like a cup of tea while you wait? Supper shan't take me long to make..."
"I apologize," Yeager nodded at her, "I am afrayd zat I really cannot stay, for I have bizzniss in za city." That was a lie, but they were clearly in strained circumstances, and anyway, he didn't like the idea of taking food that should be going to a child. "But sank zou for your kind offer. Perhaps...anozer night, ja?"
"Do you have to go, sir?" Antoine had overheard that bit, and stood there with a small frown. Yeager nodded again.
"I am afrayd so," he replied. "But a pyeasure it was to meet zou." Yeager reached out and shook the boy's hand as well.
"Thank you for all of your help," Antoine said. "Thank you so much."
"Not at all," Yeager replied. "Goodnight." With that, he left.
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"I apologize for the inconvenience yesterday," Mills said, as he and Yeager met the next day. "There was an accident at one of the mills yesterday which required my attention."
"Zat is alright," Yeager nodded, "Sings happen."
"Thank you for your understanding," Mills inclined his head gratefully. "Now, I presume you are here to review your recent purchases?"
"Zhere is zat, ja," Yeager nodded once more. "Zhere is alzo somesing elze I would yike to dizcuss wis zou."
"Certainly. What is it?"
"I want to talk to zou about ze plyace called Nor House...suppozing I had deyliveries catered zhere az well? What would ze cost of zat be?"
Mills looked at him for a moment, surprised. Then he shook his head. "Well..."
Well, I apologize for such a long wait, and I hope it doesn't suck too badly ^^; I realize it's probably a little cliched, and/or cheesy ^^;; It was a lot harder to get some of the details right than I thought it was going to be.
The fourth chapter should see the girls get into Leviathan's Claw. I'm really looking forward to writing that one ;) Yeager won't like me, though - the girls drive him nuts before he even makes it back to Dahngrest XD
I hope I didn't paint him as too much of a good guy, here; he's a tough one to pin down because there's so little backstory to go on (of course, half the fun is I get to make it all up!). My version of him is probably more noble than the actual one, but that's because to me that's the only way some things make sense.
NOTES:
- "Fields of Gold" is actually the name of a song: it was first recorded by Sting in 1993 (with the album Ten Summoner's Tales), but Lisa Kelly of Celtic Woman sang a very beautiful rendition of it (Songs From the Heart, 2010).
- The "flower girl" occupation itself is not a rip-off from Aerith of FFVII fame - the nanny actually is seen trying to sell flowers in a sidequest - however, the pushcart idea did come from Crisis Core. Thanks for the suggestion, Commander Fair ;P
- Yeager's an excellent fighter, and if you lost to him as many times as I did, you'd think so too.
- The smirk he gives to the teenagers is similar to the one he gives Yuri-tachi right before attacking them in Heliord (the first time you fight him).