AN: I wanted this to be the last part to the birthday party, but it was getting really long so I'll simply put the last part in the next chapter. That one will likely be shorter. (And at least for this story, Korean Language = Elven language)
Chapter 7: Extravaganza-Part 4
Leona had barely calmed down from her previous excitement before a waiter rolled in the very generous birthday cake. The icing was white and blue and her name was scrolled across it in large elegant letters—it was quite beautiful. She knew the routine now as she saw the stack of plates and cutting knife nearby.
Although she wanted to give everyone the same size piece some would request for smaller or bigger and she obliged without question. There was no way she could finish the cake on her own anyway. She nearly dropped the plate when it came to Eros who smiled courteously at her—she couldn't stop herself from becoming nervous in his presence. If she looked at him, she would find herself staring and she did not want to give him anymore ammunition. Lucas, in his usual teasing manner asked for a bigger, but oh, not that big piece. Ludovic was fine with any size piece she gave him. Cecil demanded a larger piece than Lucas' and Cathe politely asked for a smaller one as she barely had room for much more food. The adults were fine with the medium piece she usually cut much to her relief.
The cake eating didn't last long. By then, everyone was probably spent from all the eating from before and the room broke into quiet conversation. Leona could breathe a sigh of relief; she'd come to the end of her birthday. Even then, however, something seemed a bit off about the mood. Though everyone seemed calmed down, it was the kind of calm before the storm. Her father approached her when she finished off her piece of cake. The look on his face confirmed her sneaking suspicion. Something else must have been planned. He could scarcely hold in his excitement. The conversation seemed to cease as well.
"We have another surprise for you and it requires that you be on stage," he said to her.
"Okay…" Leona said not sure if she should be excited or preparing herself for embarrassment. Her parents wouldn't set her up for failure, would they?
She looked to Lucas who was openly smiling.
"You're going to love this," he said to her as she passed him. That didn't exactly ease her mind. He'd shown himself to be quite a devious person.
She walked with her father further back into the building until she thought she had entered some secret passage way. She realized she was behind the main stage of the main ballroom. Already she could hear quite the crowd out there. It was fascinating to her the sheer number of people that must have been there. Then she was behind dark curtains as a man spoke to the crowd and she realized that he was speaking about her and about the occasion. She listened intently now.
"…And it would be my honor to sing her favorite song to her."
My favorite song…? But how do you know?
Her mind flashed back to the time her father had casually asked her what her favorite song was. Music wasn't a subject they broached often, but at the time, it hadn't seemed odd at all. There were few songs that she liked in the first place. At least ones that had words, but there was one song that had struck a chord with her when she'd first heard it at a free concert her parents had randomly decided to attend. The man who had sang it had sounded so sweet and passionate that she was very nearly brought to tears when he was finished with it—and he was also easy on the eyes. It was in a different language—elven—but she was sure it had something to do with love.
"Come on out, birthday girl," the man said.
That was her cue. Her father gave her courage when she looked back at him and he gave her a reassuring smile. The song had a long intro sequence of soft piano and strings and she could hear it playing now as she stepped out on stage. It immediately placed her into a gentler mood. Then everyone was cheering. She bowed politely to the crowd.
"I hate to put you on the spot," the man said looking at her now, "but everyone thought you'd really enjoy this. Now, take a seat, I have a nice cushion-y chair all set for you."
She hadn't seen it before, but then the spotlight shown right on it and revealed it. She was pleasantly surprised. There was not much stage to go across before she was at the chair and sitting down. The man's shoulder length hair was a deep dark black and shined in the light. When he looked at her, his eyes were a startling blue and his smile seemed to come easy to him. His skin was like pearls and the lights made it even more so. Leona had no idea who this man was but he was going to sing to her and she sat in practiced patience for the ballad to begin.
He'd taken the mike off of the stand he'd been using before so that he could turn to look at her as he sang. She tried to keep her face as neutral as possible and prayed that this man didn't slaughter the only song she'd listened to more than once.
The song started quietly and sensually; the man's sugar sweet voice caught her by surprise. Though he didn't sound exactly like the original artist, it was close enough and it held the same emotion.
Nae-ga giyeo-khae neomu sarang-haet-deon naye yeojaraneun geol giyeo-khae neomankeumeun
Shi-gani chinado neoye sumkyeo-ri nama neol kanjikha-go machi naye pume ankyeoi-nneun geotcheoreom
It was his habit to smile even as he sang and she found herself beginning to smile herself. There were certain nuances in the tone that the man included as well just like he was telling an especially engaging story. Then there it was; the beautiful hook that she did not understand and which he pronounced perfectly.
Kkumil-jido molla neo-ye-ge jwot-deon yateun sang-cheo-ga
Nae-ge juneun gipeun beo-ril-jido molla mianhaeseo han-chameul u-reoyo
Al su eom-neun gose machi tto dareun sesange isseo nal chu-eo-ge beoryeo-nnayo
Yeope isseodo neon nae-ge eom-neun geotcheoreom
The strings began to play as a brief interlude between the verses. She was simply mesmerized when he moved towards her slowly and took up her hand indicating that he wanted her to stand. They were standing now one hand in the other and she could peer directly into his face. He was clearly caught up in the emotions invoked by the song—it was reflected in his expression: A slight crease of his eyebrows, his glassy eyes, and a more somber smile. The first part was soft and sweet and then gradually, the intensity of the poignant emotions increased. There was something oddly bittersweet about it and the man seemed well aware of all of these factors. His voice coaxed her into taking the journey through the song with him. The tone was so perfect and crisp that the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand and she stared at the man wide-eyed. She didn't want the song to end now.
Ni-ga eom-neun gose deoneun meomu-lleo isseul su eop-seo
Dareun sarammajeo sarang-haneun ni-ga miwojil-kka han-chameul u-reoyo
Al su eom-neun gose machi tto dareun sesange isseo dareun sarangeul hanayo
Nae-ga eop-seodo neon haengbo-khaejil keotcheoreom
In a word, it was breathtaking and he was singing to her. The live music helped strengthen his performance as well. She could feel the sound reverberating off of her skin and his lovely voice weaving expertly through the instruments that were sometimes mellow and sometimes overpowering. At some points, he would look away from her and then to the crowd especially on parts where he really had to modulate his voice. He became so loud that his voice was all she could hear even with the live music. She didn't want to start tearing up in front of a complete stranger, but she could not help it. She watched as he revealed to her his heart and he was brave enough to do so. She thought she knew this stranger so well now. She thought she knew more about him than he did about her. The last few lines got her every time, they were done much slower and in a despondent yet hopeful tone.
Al su eop-seo neowah…
Then the soft piano finished it off in a few moments and ended with a satisfying chord. When he was finished, the crowd burst into a loud applause. Leona wondered vaguely if Clarion would have any clue the meaning of the song had she been here.
"Did you enjoy it, Lady Leona?" the man asked.
She didn't trust her own voice at this point and hoped that he wouldn't hand her the mike so that she could speak. She simply nodded to him. The man seemed to have a knowing look on his face.
"It has been an honor having you here tonight," he said bowing to her then. "Let's make this night a memorable one."
He placed the mike back on the stand and then guided her to the back of the stage where her father as well as her mother was waiting for her.
"See? You had nothing to worry about," her mother said to the man. "You might have mixed up a few lines, but anyone who knew Elven would still understand it."
He mixed up a few lines? She hadn't even noticed. It was an excellent performance either way…and did her mother actually know this man? Looking at him now, he clearly was not elven. Would it be much of a stretch to assume that her mother had helped in learning the pronunciation?
"And Leona seemed to be having the time of her life," her father added.
"Maybe you should start covering more elven songs," her mother said with a grin.
"Ah, well, one is enough—that took me ages to figure out. But I suppose I wouldn't be completely opposed to it if you keep being my teacher."
Her mother seemed delighted by this.
"I'm just glad I could finally come to one of your birthday parties," he said looking at Leona now. "Sorry for missing all of them."
"Wait…you're Linus?" she asked surprised.
"In the flesh. We should talk later, but for now…"
Leona noticed that the rowdy crowd had taken to chanting his name and it was becoming louder.
"the crowd is getting restless," he finished.
"Don't let us keep you," her father said.
Linus bowed to them once again and then Leona watched as he waltzed back on stage. He seemed to be a different person on stage energized, she realized, by the crowd itself. He spoke to them, asked them if they were having a good night, asked them if they were having fun—and don't worry "I know just the thing to get you started!"
By then, Leona was already walking back to the room she'd been in before. She was beginning to feel quite energetic—a rare mood of hers. No one had told her that an obvious famous singer (who she hadn't known about until now) would be performing at her birthday party. That would explain the real reason so many people had wanted to be invited. And she realized that she wanted to see his performance as well. So as soon as she got back, she wanted to go to the main ballroom. Even now, she could hear the guitars blaring and the echoes of his voice.
When she stepped out into the ballroom, the lights were dimmed and the room was alive with music and people dancing. She was sure Lucas and the others were already out there. For a moment, she was a little befuddled as to what to do next but then she started copying the dancing of those around her so that she could move through the crowd. There was still space enough for her to move about comfortably. She was sure there was a set number of people that had been invited and that only those would be able to enter. Leona imagined it could be far worse than this.
She found Cathe and Cecil first and she danced with them doing whatever her body felt compelled to do. She had no idea what song he was singing, but whatever it was everyone loved it and she had no qualms with it either. She could tell just from his voice alone that he too was having fun entertaining them. It was not a chore; it was something he clearly derived pleasure from. She danced with them for two songs before the twins found them and joined in. For some reason, they seemed to be settling into two separate groups—one that consisted of Zeph and the two sisters and then Eros and Leona. She wondered if they had set it up like this, but eventually she was dancing with Eros right when the high energy songs from before turned to something slower.
For once, she wondered where Lucas was, but he was nowhere to be found. She was not accustomed to this kind of slow dancing, but this was not a problem for Eros who directed her to the right position. She was far closer to him than she had anticipated and his arms were wrapped around her waist. Her hands were on his shoulders and she could witness his beauty up close. She wasn't sure how long she could handle this. Then there was Linus' voice which was so laden with emotion that it forced everyone into a certain mood. Her heart was beating a mile a minute—would anyone save her from his seduction?
He smiled gently at her almost teasingly as if he knew exactly what he was doing to her.
"Are you having a good time?" he asked her.
For a moment, she hadn't even realized that he'd spoken to her. "Y-Yes, I am." Please let this song be over…
"I think this is my favorite song from Linus. Rarely does he touch on such topics of love. I suppose he doesn't want to alienate his audience too much."
For some reason, her mind had simply stopped working. She could not figure out anything to say to him. All she could do was continue to gaze—she doubted she had any expression at all.
"My, but you are so quiet all of a sudden."
The song seemed endless now. She could have sworn Linus was singing the same chorus several times in a row. What was she doing? Where was this going? She felt his hands slide down a bit further and she froze.
"I have to use the bathroom," Leona said at once backing away from him.
He seemed puzzled by this and before he could say anything more she turned and started making her way rapidly through the crowd. She wanted to be anywhere but there. There were too many people, it was far too crowded. Why was it suddenly so difficult to breathe? She looked behind herself as she moved and thankfully she did not see his pursuit. She hadn't the slightest clue where she was headed, but when she saw a set of stairs off to the side, she decided she would take it. There was a balcony that surrounded the dancefloor with more people loitering. Though there were fewer people, she still felt uncomfortable. Her eyes searched and then found another set of stairs leading upward. Quickly she took these and she found herself going up two sets of stairs before she entered the night air. Here there was no one; here she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Her eyes looked to the sky. The stars had just started to twinkle in the distance. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular. She simply enjoyed her respite however brief it might be, but no one ever came running up the stairs. Perhaps a few minutes had passed, perhaps a few hours, but after a while she was looking down at the view of the city she had been raised, Altamira, and all its bright lights. There was always something happening in the city from sunup to sundown.
"So this is where you are."
Leona was shaken from her reverie when she heard the voice. She was a little troubled by it as well and turned slowly to find Linus there now approaching her. Unconsciously, she breathed a sigh of relief—it wasn't Eros. He was just as bright eyed as she'd seen him on stage and his hair just as dark, but now that he wasn't surrounded by the bright lights, his ghostly skin seemed more natural and she could see a bit of moisture on his brow.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. It was incredibly rude of me to simply leave like that. I—
But Linus was already waving a dismissive hand as he came to stand beside her. "I had no idea you left in the first place—it's alright you're not on trial."
"Sorry, but I did really enjoy your performance, sir. Is it over?"
"Ah, not quite—a brief intermission and then a few more songs. Then we can all call it a day."
"I see."
"You know, I'm only four years older than Lucas."
Leona wondered why he had brought up such a thing, but she was a little interested in people's ages. "And how old is Lucas?"
"16, last I checked."
"Oh," Leona said almost to herself. That would make Lucas older than her by three years. Now she was wondering about everyone else's age as well.
"I think this is the first time anyone's called me 'sir'. I must really be getting old—or maybe I look that way to a girl such as yourself."
"Well," Leona said as she looked at him closer. "You're not as old as my dad."
Linus burst out laughing from this and Leona looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"No one's as old as your dad—no offense. But he does look awfully good for his age."
"People say that a lot."
"Well, it's true."
"Thank you. I'm sure my dad would appreciate such a compliment. I only used 'sir' as a show of respect, but I've noticed a lot people don't like being called that."
"It has a bad rep, I guess. Zelos always gets all bent out of shape when I do it to him."
Leona had to agree with the other there. She thought it was odd, but who was she to question her elders.
"A few moments ago when you first looked at me, you seemed afraid. Is there anyone bothering you?"
"Oh, no," she said quickly. There was no need to bring up something that was probably a misunderstanding. "You just startled me is all."
She had stopped looking at the man as she said this. She doubted she could to lie to anyone while looking them in the eyes. After a moment, he moved forward to the metal railings probably to get a better view of the scenery. He was a tall man, Leona noted. Perhaps even as tall as her father and he was lanky as well, but he appeared to have better posture than Lucas. In fact as she looked at him, he seemed to have nothing in common with anyone else in the family.
"Um…" she began breaking the comfortable silence, "Are you really Lucas' brother?" she asked despite herself.
"The way you said that just now—you have me wondering as well."
"What? You mean you don't know for sure?" she asked intrigued.
"I mean, think about it. We all just have to take our parents' word for it as far as origins go. It's not like any of us can know if that's true or not. We don't remember our own births."
Leona's eyes widened at this as her mind took in the implications. "You're right…Now you have me doubting too…"
Then Linus laughed good naturedly, "You clearly look like both of your parents. There's no need to worry. Besides I've been raised as if we were brothers and that's all that matters."
"Really?" she asked as he so easily blew off such a serious topic. "But what if someone told you otherwise? What if you had hard proof to the contrary?"
Linus shrugged. "I wouldn't care," he said simply. "How about you? What if someone told you that your parents weren't really your parents?"
"Well," she said thoughtfully, "I wouldn't know what to think really. But I can't imagine my parents being anyone besides them…"
"Then your answer is the same as mine."
"I suppose it is."
"Such a wild tangent we're on. If you want to know, I dyed my hair this color. I lost a bet with Lucas, but it kinda grew on me. I think I'll keep it this way for a while yet."
"It looks…natural," Leona said encouragingly.
"Thanks, but enough about me. There was something really important that I wanted to tell you."
"Oh," she said a bit surprised. She hoped it wasn't anything bad.
He stood up and turned to her with a wide smile. "Happy Birthday."
That's the important message? "Thank you."
"And I got something for you as well. I thought it would be better if I gave it to you myself."
He fumbled with something in his jacket pocket and as soon as he was able to fish the small wrapped box out, it slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground unceremoniously. She hoped there wasn't anything fragile inside.
"Sorry, I'm a bit clumsy," he said with a laugh as he picked it back up.
She wondered if it was nervousness on his part, but he didn't seem nervous at all. She held out her hand and he placed the box there—it fit in her hand perfectly.
"One last present to open," she said as she untied the ribbon on the box and promptly opened the lid.
Inside was a silver ring with delicate looking wings set on top of it. She wondered why it hadn't broken in the fall so she touched the wings gently with her finger and to her surprise it felt surprisingly durable and smooth. She couldn't imagine what it was made out of.
"It's beautiful," she said.
But what did it mean, she wondered. It was quite a beautiful ring from someone who was practically a stranger to her. She wondered wearily if she would have to deal with strange behavior from him as well…just like Eros. Her eyes saddened a little.
"Ah, but your face tells me something different. It's okay if you don't like it. It's pretty hard to hurt my feelings. I heard you can use magic just like your mom so I thought this would come in handy for you. It's called a Faerie Ring and it eases the strain from using such magic."
"I've never really had trouble when using magic only when Mom forces me to do a bit more than usual, but thank you. I think I'll put it on."
When she placed it on her finger, she immediately felt the effects of it. The ring itself somehow made her feel lighter, almost weightless. In some ways she felt more powerful as if she could pull off a plethora of light elemental spells and not feel the least bit fatigued. It was quite a rush. She wondered how he could have gotten his hands on such an object.
"Actually, this is amazing," Leona said.
"Is that a smile I see? I think I've succeeded then."
Her smile lessoned a little. She wondered if there was some ulterior motive. "Succeeded at what?"
The man laughed. "You sound so suspicious! You're supposed to be happy today. That's why everyone tells you happy birthday. I know it must be tough for you having to meet so many people at once, but I hope you were able to make some new friends today."
"Friends? I don't know about that," she said uncertainly.
"Well," he said, his smile broad now, "Why don't you start with me?"
"What?" she asked taken aback.
"I would love to be your friend."
"Oh, but…"
"How about it?" he asked.
"No," she said shaking her head. "It doesn't work like that."
"I get it—there's something I have to do, right? Like hop on one leg two times—
"N-no, nothing like that. It's just…" How was she going to explain herself to this man? If it was really this easy to make a friend, then she would have tons of them by now.
Now it was Linus' turn to look confused, but it was only for a moment. "Ah, that's alright. You won't mind if I call you my friend, would you."
"I suppose I can't stop you," she said wearily.
"Great," he said with excitement.
Before she knew it, he had one arm wrapped around her neck and he had pulled her quite close almost as close as…She looked up at him in wonder, partially afraid, partially interested in what he would do next.
"See, that wasn't so bad, right? Now you can say that you made a new friend today." Then he released her and stood in front of her confidently. "Anytime you're feeling lonely just call on me. I guess I am kind of busy a lot, but I'll try my best."
"Okay," she found herself saying before she could stop herself. Could it really be this easy? A smile played on her lips.
"I think it's time I headed back down. I'll come back when I'm finished, but you could be waiting for a while."
"Oh, I'll come with you," Leona said quickly. She did not want to be left alone.
"Are you sure? I kind of intruded on you and you really looked like you wanted time to yourself."
"I'm fine now, really," she said encouragingly to the other.
There was something about him that she could not describe, but she did not feel overly anxious around him and she didn't have to deal with constant teasing.
"Let's take the stairs, it's faster," Leona said before the other could go for the elevator.
She was already heading there even as she said this. It wasn't that she disliked elevators, but she was not altogether used to using them. The stairs seemed safer anyways. It wasn't until she reached the bottom of the first set that she realized the other was no longer nearby. She looked back up the stairs and saw the other at the very top looking down as if he was about to endeavor climbing down a particularly difficult cliff.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked in a raised voice so that he could hear her.
"I did say I was a bit clumsy…"
Leona was a little confused with this. "These are just stairs though. They're harmless. And there's railing."
"Ah, well…" he said slowly.
She watched as he gripped the railing with both of his hands and took two tentative steps until both his feet were on the first step. She wondered why he was moving so slowly. His entire demeanor had changed. He was more than just nervous.
"I suppose I'm acting kinda silly—these are just stairs just like you said."
"Just put one foot after the other and you'll be down here before you know it."
"You really think so? Do you believe I can make it down these stairs without—
"Don't say it. If you say it, then you'll be thinking about it. You have the rails. All you have to do is focus. I believe you can do this."
He hadn't moved a muscle even after a moment. Then he took a deep breath. "This is ridiculous; I've seen people climb down stairs a million times before…"
He glanced down at her and she made sure to give him an encouraging smile. Then he put one foot on the next step and then the next foot onto the same step. He didn't want to risk stretching one foot over the other to reach the next step; he simply did it the easiest way possible. Three steps took roughly three minutes. Even Leona was beginning to lose patience. Perhaps he should have taken the elevator. Didn't he have a performance he had to get to? At this rate, it might take him nearly thirty minutes to make it down to her and then he still had a few more set of stairs to go…
On the other hand, this seemed like something that needed to be done, like therapy of some sort. She'd never seen someone react such a way for a set of stairs. It was as if it was some sort of phobia. She didn't want to ask to confirm her suspicions while he was making such good progress. He took a deep breath every other step as if to calm a racing heart. Why was this such an ordeal? She wanted to shout more words of encouragement, but he might think that she was trying to rush him and besides she might break his concentration. She was so focused on watching Linus' descent that she did not hear another person come up the stairs until that person was standing beside her.
"Lucas?" she said a little surprised. She hadn't seen him for a while. Where had he been this whole time?
"What the hell are you doing?!" Lucas yelled angrily making her jump. Luckily, he had not been talking to her.
Linus had instantly froze there on the fifth step.
"Stop it, Lucas, he's trying to concentrate," Leona said.
He was shaking his head. "No, Linus isn't stupid enough to try this on his own." Then he was looking at her and she backed away a little from his angered expression. "Someone must have put him up to it. Were you trying to get him killed or something?"
"Geez, Lucas, she doesn't know," Linus said from afar. He'd gained his voice once again. "I will not have you speaking to her like that. I decided I would do this on my own. Leona believes I would have no problem climbing down a measly set of stairs and I believe her."
"Oh, you do?" Lucas said darkly as he took one step towards the other. "Did you forget what happened before?"
"No, of course not, I can never forget that. But that's in the past."
"And what can happen in the past can happen again," Lucas said back.
"I don't believe that," Leona said interjected. "He's right, I don't know what happened, but Linus seems to be doing fine right now."
"Brother, I can do this…just wait down there, alright?"
"I can't do that," Lucas said forcefully. "I simply cannot. Don't you dare take another step."
To Leona's dismay, Linus did just this. He was looking down at his feet clearly frightened now and he seemed paler than usual.
"How can you say that?!" Leona said now angry at Lucas' back. "He was doing fine before!"
"You don't understand, Leona," Lucas said in a surprisingly calmer tone though there was still force behind it, "I am responsible for his wellbeing. Dad made me in charge of making sure everyone is safe." He was climbing the steps now slowly, "There was a time when Linus decided to go down a harmless set of stairs and before I could ever hope to catch him, he fell down those stairs and broke his bones in several places, one of which left him paralyzed. He nearly died that day and there had been nothing I could do. He'd been scraped in so many places that as far as bandages went, I had no idea where to start. I watched him suffer even while I was supposed to take care of him." His voice had begun to waver then.
"That's enough," Linus interrupted the other, "You've said enough."
Lucas had made it to the other's position and without further ado lifted the other effortlessly over his shoulder and put him back on the very top. Leona decided she would climb up as well.
"I'm sorry," she said sadly when she met them at the top, "I had no idea."
"There's no need to apologize," Linus said to her and he smiled at her as if the mood was still bright and sunny.
"Your mother came and healed him up a few days later. Without her, I'm not sure where my brother would be right now. You were much younger then…maybe she never told you about it," Lucas said.
Or maybe I'd elected to forget what I thought was trivial she thought despondently. Could she really be that cold of a person?
"My brother…he's accident prone," Lucas continued, "It's one of the reasons why he could never make it to your birthdays, but he always wanted to come and meet you."
"Oh, I see now," Leona said with a nod. Then she thought about him on stage, he seemed perfectly normal there. In fact, she'd not seen any sign of this trait until now. "But what about when you perform? You seemed normal up there and there's all those wires…"
"The stage is different," Linus explained, "I feel different there…I feel in control. I just never do anything stupid like that when I'm performing."
"It's not stupid," Leona reminded the other. "It's an issue you have and I think with practice, you can overcome it."
"Thank you," Linus said with a wary smile.
Lucas frowned at this and then looked to Leona. "If I find my brother hurt or incapacitated by your meddle, you will have to deal with me personally."
"Alright, papa," Leona said rolling her eyes.
"Hey! What did you call me?"
"I think she called you an old fuddy duddy," Linus said with a grin. "I don't blame her either. C'mon let's take this elevator before I never make it down there on time."
Linus was walking ahead of them. Leona was not about to take back what she said as she looked at him challengingly. Finally, he shrugged and then followed the other into the elevator. Leona arrived last. She hadn't realized how far up they were until the door closed and the small room started moving downward for a long while. She noticed as Linus leaned against the metal wall with crossed arms; his eyes were closed as if in deep thought.
"Will you be alright for your performance?" Leona asked.
"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine," he said lazily without even bothering to open his eyes.
But Leona was unconvinced by this response. He seemed a bit out of it. If she had known better, she might have saved the "therapy session" for later.
"Don't worry about him," Lucas said, "He likes to meditate beforehand."
"That sounds sensible," Leona said with a nod.
"You sound pretty concerned for a complete stranger," Lucas noted out loud.
"Oh," she said after a moment, "Well, we're friends."
"Of course," Lucas said with obvious sarcasm, but he did not expound.
The elevator ride seemed to take forever. When they finally stepped off, they were greeted by two burly men in suits. Linus knew them much to Leona's relief.
"Everything's fine," Linus said to the concerned looking men, "I'm all in one piece."
Leona wondered if they should still follow him as he went with the man, but Linus gestured for them to keep up so they did. There was a room very near the elevator that they entered. The guards were told to stand outside—something that Leona suspected that he did often.
"So, I was thinking, we should totally do something tonight with everyone else. I mean it's been forever since we could all meet up in one place like this," Linus said, his voice full of excitement.
"When you say everyone, you mean…" Leona began wearily.
"That would be the ones you saw at your dinner. Those crazy people," Lucas confirmed.
"What exactly were you thinking of doing?" Leona asked despite herself.
"Nothing too crazy. I'm sure we're all tired out from today especially you. I was just thinking of hanging out relaxing when it's just us and not a million other people. There's this really nice hotel that just opened up around here—I bet you already know about it, right?"
Leona shook her head no.
"Even better. There's all sorts of stuff to do there and then we could all spend the night—it'll be like a sleepover."
"A sleepover?" Leona said thoughtfully, "I've never done anything like that before."
"Well, this could just be your first time. Maybe you'll like it. Never know unless you try."
"Alright," she said after a moment. She didn't want to be responsible for dashing the other's enthusiasm even if she thought the entire ordeal unnecessary. Besides, she could tell that he really wanted her to come. "Let's do it."
He smiled broadly again. "Great. We'll all meet up on that balcony when the day here is done. See you in a bit!"
Before she could even think to say anything else, he was already off. She'd almost forgotten that he still had a performance to do. Her mind had become wrapped up in the thought of what awaited her at this get-together. Just when she thought the day was almost over. Leona followed Lucas out of the room that ultimately led to the stage and was out on the second floor that sat a little ways above the first floor. They could look down at the main stage with no problem and there were fewer people here. Also, Leona noted, there was no Eros.
Leona looked down to see if she could spot any of their friends. She thought she saw two maroon haired ladies who looked a lot like Cecil and Cathe sitting down and chatting with a dark haired youth she assumed was Zeph. Ludovic was nowhere to be found. For some reason she knew when she spotted Eros and he was surrounded by women. Embarrassed, she looked away from this.
"Like what you see?" Lucas asked returning to his usual teasing tones.
It was as if he knew what she'd been looking for. "What does it matter to you?" she replied haughtily.
"I saw you go running upstairs like someone was coming to get you."
"You saw everything?" she asked, "And you did nothing?"
"Did you want me to follow you?" he asked a little confused. "Seemed like you wanted to be alone. I guess crowds just aren't for you."
Then maybe he didn't see everything… "No, nevermind. You were right, I wanted to be left alone. Where were you anyway?"
"You know how I like to be really close to the stage—that's where I was. I think I lost everyone in the shuffle, though, so I went back eventually. I'll stay here this time. My poor ears can barely stand anymore loudness today—they're still ringing."
Leona giggled at this. "That's what you get. One day you're going to go deaf standing that close all the time."
"I've already resigned myself to that fate. Not to worry."
The performance started out with a song that everyone clearly knew because as soon as Linus stepped out on stage and the music started everyone was shouting once again and Lucas had a knowing look on his face.
"I think that's a great way to end the night," Lucas said nodding his head.
Leona simply listened and found herself enjoying every bit of the song and then the next one. Finally, Linus ended his performance with a moderately fast song—one that wasn't too slow or too fast. It wouldn't surprise Leona if Lucas knew all the words to all the songs, but he made no attempt at singing them much to her relief. She wanted to hear Linus and his wondrous voice so full of life and excitement.
AN: If you want to hear the song Linus sang to Leona check it out on Youtube. The artist name is Kim Jaejoong and the song is called "Living Like A Dream". The translation can also be found on the web as well. It actually is a bittersweet song. I heard it a long time ago and thought so as well, but I didn't read the translation until recently. Emotions sometimes speak louder than words I guess.
Christa1989: First of all, I have no idea what your favorite pairing is. I'm dying to know. Also, I've never seen them as related to one another. They come from two different worlds and really their personalities are pretty much opposite of one another except for a few commonalities. Raine is a very strict woman who is older than her years due to the circumstances of her life. She puts a lot of value in logic; she's pretty much a scientist. Yet, on the other hand, she's a very caring individual, but only when it comes to certain people (her brother/friends). Regal is not at all ruled by logic, but by emotions. One might even call him a bit rash. Sometimes he even throws logic out the window. Yet, on the other hand, he isn't rash at all. He always thinks before he does something. Just from living, in general, he seems to have a great deal of wisdom. And, of course, he's a gentleman above all. And if he wasn't so stuck on Alicia…a lady's man as well. Raine sucks at cooking. Regal is superb at cooking. Raine had to struggle in her youth and did not come from money—Regal did not struggle and he comes from money. The list can go on and on.
They are so separate that the only reason they would have met is through the circumstances created by the videogame. One lived in Sylvarant and the other in Tethe'alla…Do I need to tell you how opposite attracts?
They are both multifaceted people and they often contradict themselves, they complete each other.
Sorry for this long response, but I see this complaint ALL the time about Regal/Raine…and I don't get it. For Lloyd/Colette and Zelos/Sheena go watch the anime. Genis/Presea is obvious enough. (I don't mind other couples as well, but if these pairs were different, I'd probably have to bring in an OC or two.) I like Regal/Raine the most, however. Lloyd/Sheena isn't something that's exactly common and I'd have to dive more into convincing the audience about that one. Colette/Zelos could also work (maybe), but I run into the same problem there. Some people even put Regal with Presea (which I hate, but I can see how this works). This story isn't about convincing people of odd couples or trying to convince people of "normal" couples either. These pairings are simply fact in this story and I don't go into much detail about how it ended up that way.