"Is this the right line?"
"I-I-I think so. Maybe? Y-yeah, probably," said Mika, his eyes darting between the map in his hands and the stone pillars that rose around him and Noelle, the station's massive aquamarine clock ticking away above their heads. It was a bit laughable; for all his cartography skills he became completely illiterate when looking at a map of a cityscape.
Noelle placed the magazine she had been reading back into the box by the bench, took out a second one and flipped straight to the serialised novels. Mika caught glimpses of titles like 'Croix Noire' and 'Corne de Paradis'.
"It's taking quite long," Noelle mused as she began reading a chapter of a crime thriller. "I hope we're not making Master Jean wait for us."
"Well, it's not like we can do anything about it. B-but then again…" Mika winced and scratched his head awkwardly. "…we technically shouldn't have left her side in the first place, since we're her bodyguards."
Noelle sighed. "It's my fault; when she said she was going to set off for the Opera Epiclese early, I should've stopped her. I suppose I'm too used to going along with whatever she wants…Master Diluc is going to give us an earful when she gets there and he realises we left her alone."
"Well, if the trade talks are going to go well, they'll have to maintain their etiquette in front of the Fontainian merchants. He'll probably lay into us when we get back to the hotel…"
Noelle shuddered at his words. "Let's just hope the aquabus comes quickly."
Almost on cue, they heard the waters begin to crash around, and looked sideways as a massive, gleaming boat sailed into the station. A bell tolled as the boat turned around, and a squeaky voice came from somewhere in front of the deck, announcing that the next departure would be happening soon.
"Oh! It's here!" Noelle said as she jumped out of her seat. "Come on, quick…"
Mika hastily stuffed his map inside his bag and followed Noelle onto the boat. They both climbed the stairs to the top of the deck, where a little creature was standing in a cute turquoise uniform, blinking at them with large pink eyes.
Mika heard a sudden squeal that made him jump. He whirled sideways to see Noelle staring wide-eyed at the creature, her hands pressed tightly over her mouth.
"Oh my goodness, is that a Melusine?! It's adorable! Look at its feelers! Oh, I wish I brought a Kamera - Mika, you don't have one, do you?"
The little Melusine stood frozen in place, staring at Noelle with a stunned expression, evidently taking affront to being treated like a museum art piece. Nevertheless, she maintained her professionalism by clearing her throat (sounding much like a squeaky toy) and turned to Mika with a friendly smile.
"H-hello there, dear passenger. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Um…when does the aquabus head out?"
"O-oh, right. It's time to go already, isn't it?"
The Melusine then performed a little hop on the button beneath her feet. At once, the turquoise lights on the floor lit up as the aquabus set off. Mika felt the cool air begin to blow lightly against his face as the water rushed beneath him, and he heard Noelle let out a quiet whistle. They went to sit on the right side of the aquabus, as the Melusine began talking in an upbeat tone:
"Welcome to the Clementine Line aquabus! This boat tour will take you to the Court of Fontaine, the most important city in our nation! I'm Aeval, and I'll be your tour guide for this trip!"
The first thing they saw were the sparkling blue waters stretching out into the horizon ahead of them. Mika was thankful for the good weather that day; the waters couldn't be more clear. He saw a rocky isle jutting into the sky as the aquabus passed it by, and Mika thought for a moment about how it would look on one of his maps…
"Look!"
Mika looked at Noelle as she shouted, and he saw her leaning around in her seat, pointing at something behind them. He turned around, and saw multiple verdant green isles dotting the surface of the sky blue water, and he held his breath in wonder; for all his expeditions into wild lands, he never thought such bright colours could appear in such massive amounts in nature. The waters shimmered like crystal wherever the shores of the isles met them, splitting their flow into two, before they coalesced again over a colossal drop that he couldn't even see over. Beyond that were countless peaks shrouded by grey fog, and…
"No way, is that the Jade Chamber in Liyue?"
"What? You can see it from here?" Noelle asked excitedly.
"Um - please keep your head, hands, canes, and swords inside the vehicle at all times!" the Melusine suddenly squeaked.
"Oh, sorry!"
They quickly sat back in their seat and looked back in front, feeling a little embarrassed as they glanced briefly at the Melusine.
"Ahem - look, everyone! Approaching us up ahead is Mont Automnequi, which lies between the port and the Court! While not particularly steep…"
Jagged grey peaks now littered the meadows before them, stretching into the distance and even covering the horizon beyond. Numerous, sharp, and curved, like the fangs of some massive dragon they rose up and pierced the sky alongside the towering beam of a Statue of the Seven somewhere in the meadows. Yet the sight was more enthralling than intimidating. Nestled between the closer peaks and those in the distance was the very city the pair was headed to, a smooth grey arch and handsome stone walls standing out against the sharp peaks…
Mika suddenly found the lights dimming, and looked to his right to see that they were entering a tunnel.
As the aquabus passed into the stone tunnel, they were plunged into darkness as the turquoise lights on the floor grew more prominent. Noelle quickly shifted her feet away from the lines to see them better. The Melusine at the front was now saying something about the unique lighting system used in Fontaine, but Mika hardly heard her. He was staring at Noelle, her face bathed in a turquoise hue under the special lighting. He was so glad she was enjoying their little ride this much; he had heard about Fontaine's aquabus tour from Jean before they set off for the nation, of course, but since they were there strictly on business matters he had wondered if he would have a chance to really enjoy it. To not only have that opportunity, but to be able to enjoy it with Noelle…he could only describe it as blessed.
When they left the tunnel, evening was starting to set; the sky was dyed an orange, slightly pink hue as the golden sun glowed low over the peaks beyond. The waters below now reflected the same early evening light like a sea of lava, and even the golden railings of the boat shone strong, hot and radiant. A mysterious grey spire rose from the waters in front of them, an electric blue orb glowing at its peak, and Mika wondered what sort of technological marvel it might be.
"That's the city up there," said Noelle, pointing towards the walls surrounding the Court as they neared it. "I wonder if Master Jean is seeing all this?"
"We can ask her later," said Mika, absent-mindedly looking behind him. "Oh! The view's better over there now, let's sit on the other side…"
At his urging, the pair quickly moved to the other side of the aquabus. Mika caught sight of the Melusine eyeing them as they changed seats, the corner of her lips (snout?) twitching. Perhaps because the two of them were the only passengers present, she didn't seem to mind it too much.
Mika directed Noelle's gaze to the sight in front of them - a massive stone tower that resembled a lighthouse sitting on a rocky shore, lined with gigantic golden gears that turned like literal clockwork as an ethereal grey-blue mist swirled around the tower's base. And beside it…
"Noelle, is that-?"
"That's right!" said the Melusine operator. "The pride of Fontaine's people, just behind that towering building - the Opera Epiclese! The opera house is the highest court where…"
They were starting to sail into the Court's station now. Mika could see several golden lights enshrined within the city's walls - night was falling now, and more people were turning on their lights. Everything was quiet except for the waters rolling softly beneath the aquabus, the Melusine's squeaky little hums, and Noelle breathing softly next to him.
"I wish the ride was a little longer," she said. "I feel like I haven't seen enough."
"Then we'd be in even more trouble with Master Diluc," said Mika, to which Noelle laughed slightly. "But I get what you mean. I feel like I could never get bored looking around this place."
"Indeed. With your love for cartography, I had a notion you might like the landscapes here."
"W-well…it's not just that. The architecture, the tech, the fashion…it's like everything that comes from this nation is so beautiful."
Noelle gazed at him for a moment after he said that. Then, casting her eyes down at the floor of the aquabus, she said softly:
"You know…my name comes from Fontaine's language."
Mika blinked. "Really?"
"Yes. It's derived from the name of a local holiday."
Mika sat in stunned silence for a moment at this information. Then he leaned back in his seat, watching the grand stone pillars pass them by as they entered the station.
"Everything that comes from this nation is so beautiful."
The aquabus docked at the platform with a slight bump. The Melusine turned to face north-west and doffed her hat smartly. She then stood back up and smoothed down her little uniform, then bade farewell to the pair.
"Please mind the gap between the deck and platform as you disembark. I hope to see you next time!"
Noelle and Mika slowly got off the aquabus, with Noelle clearly hesitating, turning around on the last step to look at the Melusine one last time. Once she finally set foot on the platform, Mika took out his map and began to inspect it.
"We'll meet Master Jean at the opera house. It's not far from here, just follow me…"
As they headed down to the ground floor of the station together, emerging into the city square after about a minute, Mika felt an odd warmth emanating from his core. He stole a glance at Noelle, who was gazing around the buildings with a sparkle in her eyes. He smiled quietly to himself, and even though he knew Diluc was going to have a few choice words to say about the Knights of Favonius later, he doubted that anything could happen to ruin this night.
I'm so sorry I know I should be working on the other Noelle/Mika fic about the play, but I just got time to play the Fontaine update and when I rode the aquabus for the first time I found it so romantic that I absolutely had to write this. It reminded me so much of the Sagano Sightseeing Train I rode in Kyoto, I loved it so much. I swear it only took me like half a day to write, going back to the other fic now-
Also in case you couldn't tell I am totally in love with the Melusine tour guides they're so cute OMG I want to collect one in every colour like they're the f***ing Club Penguin puffles-
