Return of the Angels
She could only watch as the emotions danced on those red eyes. The need to tough the golden blonde female before her nagged and made her hands itch. The same things flooded through her when they had become undeniably close without having realized it. Whereas Fiona could not handle it at all, Celine could, as she stood there with a hand on her hip and a slight smirk registered on her face. Of course she knew that the others behind Fiona felt like she was planning on doing something to their friend, but she felt like explaining to them that she wasn't planning anything dirty like that. But of course, she was lazy this time. Really lazy!
So she was still panicking on the inside, still wondering if she could get through this. But there really wasn't any kind of feeling that was putting her off it. But Fiona already seemed to know everything. Her changing emotions that danced in her eyes told enough.
Her eyes were evaluating and in the end, there was still some doubt within.
"There's just…" Suddenly her hands covered her mouth in shock, the gasp just audible, but nevertheless Celine grasped exactly the reason behind her actions. She knew. "It can't be… I felt in my heart that you…" Tears moistened those eyes and brought forth the shine in them. "You're alive…" She breathed and suddenly the ache became a need and soon an obsession that she quickly enveloped Celine into a deep embracing hug. Her tears no longer wanted to be denied and they were falling down her cheeks, possibly drip dropping onto Celine's back.
"You're actually alive…" She kept repeating, almost as if she couldn't believe it.
Celine broke the hug and put her at arm's length. She gazed into those eyes with her darkened depth ones. Her eyes truly brightened with the memory of those dark eyes. Celine smiled gently and she wiped away those tears that remained in her eyes. Fiona couldn't help gazing at her gratefully and as she turned around to look at her friends, there was such a belief in her eyes that everyone straightened from their offensive/defensive stance. They glanced to each other questioningly and when they spared Fiona a glance, they still remained confused. Fiona turned back to Celine, fully composed.
"Fiona, what on earth is going on?" Tomas called out to her.
She turned to face him. "It's okay Tomas, she and her friends aren't a threat." She turned back to Celine.
Celine shrugged her shoulders. "It's obvious they haven't found out yet." She tells her.
She nods. "I would have been most certain you'd call us to know you're alive… but maybe you had something more concerning than us to deal with."
"Ah, don't worry about that anymore. Let's focus on the future instead of the past, okay?" She nodded in reply, able to believe her words. But the only thing that would now be nagging at Fiona was the fact that what happens if she leaves again? Fiona turned back to the others, Celine didn't know if she appeared to be looking happy, but she could see that Irvine, Van, Karl and Tomas were glancing at Celine in surprise.
She could nothing but watch as Fiona talked to them, until May turned her around to face her.
"Are they going to be trouble for us?" She asked.
"Of course not…!" Celine replied with a smile, and looked over to Storm who was smiling brightly. She turned back to the May. "These are mine and Storm's old friends, well minus the Tomas guy, but they're all good."
The rest of the group nodded in understanding. She would not tolerate anyone would speak badly of her friends or speak badly to, well she probably wouldn't mind the later one but she would most definitely not be pleased. She turned back to the ones that were still conversing with Fiona. She was trying to be oh so convincing, but was she doing a good job, or was it really not sinking into them at all? The disbelief upon some of their faces told Celine that they were having difficult buying it, but a few of them were just becoming confused. So confused that they looked to her a few times, trying to see if they could buy what she was telling them.
Nope… they weren't.
Troublesome people!
"If you've finished trying to convince Fiona that she isn't thinking straight, I'd like to get down to business here." So much for being patient, Celine, she told herself.
"Sorry, Celine, they don't believe me when I tell them that you're Sapphire." Fiona said apologetically.
Who could blame the poor girl?
"Well it's their fault if they don't see who I am and if they lock me away or send me away, then it's their own fault for skipping out on meeting their old companion then isn't it?" She wasn't sure if something like that would work on any of them, but for some reason, Karl looked as if he wanted to be proved that she was who she and Fiona say she is.
He walked forward and stood a certain distance away for good measure. Celine smirked.
So he actually had some belief in thinking she was her. Okay, she'd play. Although she loved playing with Karl like this, this time it was actually serious the way things were going. He wasn't doing this like some sort of joke like they used to, this time it was all serious business, to test to see if she could match up to an old friend's reputation. Understanding without words, Karl brought out a weapon, but she was instantly stepping forward and kicked it out of his hands, not watching as it landed on the floor some distance away. Karl, although surprised but refused to show, decided to change to hand to hand combat. But each attack she blocked with her palm, or dodging, but she swiped his feet out from underneath him, sending him sprawled onto the ground.
He looked up at her with astonishment. But he didn't stop, he wanted to see if she could handle it attack after attack. He got up and continued his assault, and all she kept doing was dodging, stopping him mid-strike and getting him flat on his back. A few times she had made him have to step back many paces so he could obtain a better stance to keep balance. He begun to run out of stamina as his breaths became heavy. He couldn't keep up with her, just like he couldn't keep up with Sapphire. Was she actually the one and the same?
His eyes looked into hers and suddenly the memories, unreasonably, flashed through his mind. His moments with Sapphire as a…child! He shouldn't be seeing this again, but he acted like a father to the girl, loved her like one, but treated her just like a solider when he was training her. He had loved her so dearly so when she grew up, he was pleased and afraid of the day she would leave him. But the time when he thought she was dead… his heart… broke. Shattered more like it, but now as he looks at this girl, Celine, it became so clear to him. The love in her eyes as she looked at him… She was her after all. Sapphire had returned to them.
"Sapphire…" He whispered and a small smile crossed over her face, so gently, so familiar that it definitely made him see that it was indeed her. He wanted to hug her so badly, to be reminded of the time when they used to do that when she was so much younger. But she did the unthinkable; she was the one to run up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a deep hug. He wrapped his arms around her in turn, burying her into his arms, whispering her name and how much he had missed her. He thought he could hear her silently crying, but he didn't ponder on it.
They broke but their hands stayed on the other at arm length. Gazing deeply into the other's eyes, they could only see each other as father and daughter that was where most of their relationship lies. He tucked a stray strand behind her ear and she smiled up at him. They released each other and moment later, but now as they turned to face the others, their mouths were really gaping open. Celine silently laughed, Karl smirked and nobody could even explain what the hell had just happened.
"Should see the looks on your faces…!" Celine pointed out, trying so hard not to laugh aloud.
"Karl, what the hell was that?" Van asked, nearly shouting more like it. His finger was pointed towards Celine.
"I'm not allowed to greet Sapphire after many years, Van?" He frowned a little.
"Sapp…" He struggled on saying the name. "Are you even sure it's her?"
"Of course, just look at her… you can't see the resemblance?"
Celine smiled at Van who was trying to see the resemblance. "Erm… no, not really…"
"Blind, Van…?" He looked at her. "Or maybe you're only sharp and alert when Raven is around." She smirked seeing as he was ready to blow the casket. "Speaking of which… Raven's back!" She smiled as their mouths once again opened.
"You met Raven? He didn't do anything to you? Does he know who you're acting as?" Were Van's actual words!
"First, yeah I met him. Second, he did nothing. Third, he didn't recognize me. Lastly, I am not acting as Sapphire. I AM HER!" She sighed with a hand at her forehead. "People are stupid nowadays…" She continued to mutter as she seemed to have zoned out on them.
"Sapphire…" Karl called out to her, trying to earn her attention.
She turns to him. "Oh, no, no, no… My name is Celine."
"What's with the new name?" Karl asked.
"It's my birth name." She surprises him by saying with a smile.
He smiled back. "Alright, Celine it is!"
"So wait, Celine is Sapphire?" Van questions and Karl nods. "Why didn't you tell us?" He nearly cried.
Her eyes widened. "Calm down, Van, don't be such a cry baby."
"It really is her… how could she have hidden herself from us for so long… that's so evil, Celine…"
So they've gotten used to her name now. That's good news. She knew that it was hard on them; she just couldn't help but to notice that. Their emotions were amazingly strong as they looked at her. Relief battled against their sadness, she could see clearly within their eyes that they only thing that they could do was to feel the emotions they felt. When it came to physical interaction, she noticed that they didn't have the confidence to hug her like Fiona and Karl gladly were able to. But she surprised them, utterly surprised them by taking each of them, one by one, into her own arms and hugged them tightly. She had missed them just as much as they had missed her.