"Hey, Ophelia!" Ananias cried, waving his hands, signaling for her to come over to him as he stood by the castle gates.
It had worked, as Ophelia quickly dropped what she had been doing before briskly jogging towards him. "Yes?" she asked, looking curiously over his shoulder in order to get a glimpse at what or who was on the other side of the gate.
Ananias gently pushed the door open to reveal an Anna on a horse-drawn wagon chock-full of materials and supplies and nonchalantly indicated towards it with his thumb. "Your stuff's here."
Ophelia gasped as her face instantly lit up upon hearing this. "Oh, praise the stars! That's splendid!" She then gently touched Ananias' arm and whispered, "I'll start making the necessary preparations right away! Could you please carry all of my stuff back to my room for me while I prepare the ceremony?"
Ananias raised an eyebrow in surprise. "W-Wait, what?"
Ophelia then clasped her hands together, bowed her head, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Pretty please?" Ophelia quietly begged.
"B-But," Ananias glanced back at his aunt, who could only frown and give him an apathetic shrug, before looking back at her and whispering, "this is all YOUR stuff for YOUR ceremony!"
"I know, I know!" Ophelia said. "But the ceremony can only be performed at a certain time of the day and we're already SO close to it as it is! If the two of us both make haste, then we should be able to meet the necessary requirements today rather than tomorrow!"
Ananias ran his hand through his hair in exasperated disbelief before looking up, placing his hands onto his sides, letting out a heavy and weary sigh, and muttering, "Fine, fine." He waved her off. "You go do whatever you've got to do and I'll see if I can get all of your stuff into your room in time, alright?"
Ophelia smiled and began hopping in place in excitement. "Thank you, Uncle Ananias!" She then quickly hugged him before running back to her room to make the proper arrangements.
Ananias watched her run back into the castle before looking back at his aunt, receiving a small, pitying smile from her, shaking his head at his own misfortune, and murmuring, "I am so whipped. And we're not even dating."
"Ophelia?" Ananias cried from outside her door, struggling a bit not to accidentally drop any of Ophelia's thing, in fear that dropping any of them (especially the bottle of incense) would result in her ceremony immediately being ruined. "Ophelia! Open up! It's me! I've got your stuff!"
He could hear Ophelia quickly scurrying towards the door before opening it, poking her head through the door before eyeing her stuff with childlike anticipation before saying, "Perfect! I just finished making the necessary arrangements!" She then let Ananias into her room, closed the door behind him, and immediately began instructing him on what to do with the stuff that he was carrying. "Okay," she carefully took the bottle of incense off of Ananias' hands and uncorked the bottle, "now place the scales in the middle of the room and then gently place the priestess statue on the left hand pan and the star stone on the right hand pan while I spread the aroma of this incense around the room."
Ananias raised an eyebrow in skeptical curiosity. "And then you'll be able to perform the ceremony?"
Ophelia nodded. "Definitely. Now do it quickly! We're running out of time!"
"Okay, alright, geez," Ananias muttered before doing exactly as Ophelia had instructed as Ophelia murmured an incantation as she spread the powerful smell and aroma of the incense around her room. "Alright, I'm done."
Having finished her task, Ophelia took a moment to look over Ananias' work before smiling and nodding her head approvingly and saying, "Good! Now, if you may be so kind as to step back, the ceremony can finally begin!"
Ananias did as he was told and crossed his arms, his gaze shifting somewhat uncomfortably around the room as Ophelia knelt down and began her ritual. "Oh, celestial bodies that twinkle and light up the night sky, who grant us humans the privilege of witnessing your great and awe-inspiring beauty despite being surrounded by the darkness, the stage has finally been set for you to transfer a taste of your power into your humble and lowly servant!" She indicated towards the scales with her open hands. "As the statue represents your chosen one, the stone represents you, and the scales represent the harmonic balance the two of us must achieve in order to be properly attuned with one another, at the time when the day and the sun are about to leave and allow the night and the moon to take their place, when your power is at its faintest, as to not overwhelm your humble servant, please use this moment to channel more of your power, knowledge, and spirits within me, so that our affinity for each other shall grow tenfold and that I may know and perform your will even better than I do now!" She then leaned back, spreading her arms out, leaning her chest forward and leaning her head back, as if to allow the stars' power to flow into her. "Hah!" She then relaxed her body, straightened her back, rested her hands against her thighs, bowed her head, and whispered, "And with that, it is done." She then placed her hand over her heart and smiled. "Thank you. I am forever grateful."
Everything was silent for a moment before Ananias cleared his throat awkwardly before saying, "Well, that was a bit… anticlimactic."
Ophelia pouted at him angrily before hoisting herself back up. "Well, of course it would feel that way to you! You weren't the one gaining a higher understanding of the stars!"
"So, what?" Ananias asked. "Did all of this really increase your affinity with the stars, or…?"
Ophelia rolled her eyes at her honorary uncle's apparent skepticism for a moment before answering, "Of course it did!" She then gave him a dreamy twirl as she added, "All of this knowledge, all of this newfound power and understanding coursing through me, it's almost a bit too overwhelming if I were to be completely honest!"
Ananias nodded understandingly. "Well, don't be too overwhelmed in front of your father, alright? If he found out I had a hand in overwhelming his daughter, then he'd probably have my head."
Ophelia giggled. "Worry not, my dear uncle, for the new and improved Ophelia Dusk is, well, new and improved! It will take some time to adjust to all of this new knowledge and power, but I shall prevail, as I always do!"
Ananias nodded absentmindedly at this. "That's good to hear." He then indicated towards Ophelia's door. "So, um, if we're all done here, can I leave now? Cause I've got other stuff to do and it didn't really seem to me that I was really needed for most of this…."
Ophelia nodded. "You may." She then gasped before quickly adding, "Oh! But before you go!" She ran towards her bed, took a bag of something from under her pillow, and quickly ran to give it to him. "Here."
Ananias raised an eyebrow at her for a moment before looking back down at the bag in his hands and asking, "Um, what is this?"
Ophelia sheepishly placed her hands behind her back and began to fidget anxiously. "It's… some gold."
Ananias' eyes widened as he looked back up at her. "Hmm?"
"It's not all of it," Ophelia quickly clarified, "but… it's a start." She bowed her head. "Uncle Ananias, I'm… I'm sorry for always asking things of you. You never have to, and yet you always go out of your way to get me exactly what I want. I may be the one chosen by the stars, but you… you're the best uncle anyone could ask for. And I know that this doesn't even begin to pay you back for all of the times you came through for me when I needed you, but I promise, that from now on, I'll stop! From now on, Ophelia Dusk will perform her many ceremonies and predict her many fortunes without the help of her reliable benefactor! That's a promise!"
Ananias let out a sigh before shaking his head, giving her a small smile, and saying, "Come on, Ophelia, you don't have to promise something like that."
Ophelia blinked in confusion. "No, I'm being serious here! The stars even ordained it!"
Ananias shrugged. "Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but on the off chance that this is all you, I'm just going to say that you don't have to promise something like that, okay? I'm your honorary uncle. Selling an arm and a leg for your niece... that's what uncles do sometimes."
"B-But, surely you don't like it when I' m always asking stuff from you, right?"
Ananias nodded. "Well, yeah, I mean, I guess it can get kind of annoying from time to time, but I'm still going to do it, you know? I'm not just going to stop because I don't feel like doing it that day."
"W-Well, I mean, I guess I sort of understand, but I can't exactly just keep asking you for things in good conscious after hearing that!" Ophelia thought for a moment before suggesting, "Alright! Let's compromise! I help you pay back all of the money I owe and I'll only ask you for things every once in a while from here on out, okay?"
Ananias nodded. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good to me."
Ophelia smiled and chuckled before pumping her fist up triumphantly and crying, "Ha! And once again, Ophelia Dusk, the hero chosen by the stars, has officially saved the day! Truly the ceremony has done wonders for our hero!"
Ananias awkwardly scratched the back of his head and smirked before dully saying, "Huzzah, huzzah."
Author's Note: And there ends Ophelia's supports. I hope it was worth the wait. The next supports will be Camilla, followed by Gunther, Setsuna, Kanna, Selena, Beruka, Xander, Azura, Flora, Odin, Laslow, Rinkah, Arthur, Silas, and Leo. Got someone else you want to support with Ananias that isn't on this list yet? Request it. Remember, all Nohr first generation characters, Soliel, Ophelia, Anna, Kanna, Rinkah, Subaki, and Setsuna are allowed to support with him as well and it is a first come, first serve system.
