Chapter 11: Hazy Memories

Alphinaud wanted nothing more than to die right now.

He woke up that morning with a mind-splitting headache and an uneasy stomach like he was about to be sick at any second. He moaned, hiding his head under his pillow as bright sunlight shone into the room. Whimpering in pain, he wanted just to go back to sleep and nurse this terrible migraine headache but the light was making that increasingly difficult to do.

After a while of tossing and turning, he realized that he just couldn't sleep anymore and slowly sat up, thinking about a hot bath. He pulled the blankets off him and blinked around the room through sore and exhausted eyes. He was in the tower's bedroom but it looked like he had overslept for he was alone and the door was left ajar, with a long nightgown laying haphazardly over the end of the bed, signaling that Claire was up and left him to sleep in.

He yawned, still feeling sick before his eyes fell upon his bedside table where a glass of water and a potion bottle was set up next to a hand-written note. Confused, he reached over to grab it and tried to force himself to recognize the words as he nursed his pounding head.

Alphinaud,

Take this potion to help with your hangover. This will help you to feel better faster.

Claire.

Hangover…? Wait, how long had he been asleep…? And… how did he get here?

He was very dazed and confused to what happened as he moved out of bed and touched the cold floor with his bare feet. That was when he saw that he was in one of his favorite pajama's but had no memory of how that happened?

Hangover the note said…? Did he get drunk? Did he drink too much last night…?

He groaned before grabbing the bottle and downing it in a few gulps. At once he could feel the pain slowly subsiding and he felt instant relief before he finally got up and went to the bathroom to take a bath. His memories were still hazy and so he was doing his best to try and recall the night before. So he decided to retrace the memories as best as he could.

He could remember how they were expecting a guess from the Crystarium…? That seemed as good a place as any to start.

*Yesterday Morning*

The day that their guest was to arrive finally came and that was how he found himself outside Eulmore's gates. Before that eventful morning, Alphinaud had been hard at work with his studies, pushing himself harder than he had even with his studies at the Studium and he was proud to have improved by leaps and bounds.

He was quickly mastering the spells of the Arcanist and was successful in summoning not just the Emerald Carbuncle, but also the Topaz Carbuncle, which he was immensely proud to show off to the others when he had a chance. Y'shtola just smiled in amusement as Thancred looked unimpressed even as Ryne all but threw herself of the ground to hug the creature.

"You're coming along well," Claire told him sincerely. "You're mastering this art a lot faster than I did."

"Truly? I'm flattered to hear that, but I must ask… how many weapons have you come to master?" he asked curiously.

"Enough to know when to switch out with different sets," Thancred said as he enjoyed some drink from his flask. "As much of a terrifying phantom of shadows that you look like when swinging around that greatsword, I think that it's best that you switch out with something a bit smaller and more manageable."

"Oh, are you going to be heading out again soon?" Alphinaud said in surprise, having been under the impression that Claire was still recovering.

"Not just yet, but soon enough," Claire answered tiredly. "And I have decided to retire the greatsword… for now at least. I believe I shall be going with a pair of knives this time… that should make sneaking around a lot easier."

"Hmm," Y'shtola hummed as if in disapproval and Claire arched her eyebrows in her direction.

"I will have to start venturing out again soon. Vauthry's hold over the land isn't going to go away because I'm taking a break," she reminded the others, whom looked torn at the idea. They knew she was right but were unhappy that any excuses they could use to keep her at home were quickly drying up.

Alphinaud understood the feelings well. He couldn't help but be concerned, especially since he knew that he wasn't going to be going with her. Now, he knew that trying to head out while he was still a novice wasn't a smart move and he was more likely to be a burden than an actual aid at this time, but he couldn't help but be concerned for her wellbeing all the same.

He could only hope that her own training would be enough to keep her safe.

Though, after that talk, he made sure to focus more upon healing and had recently learned the Esuna spell to help remove any ailments she may be suffering from upon her return.

But now, this morning, he had come to learn that this friend of theirs, who may be the key to their freedom, was set to arrive. Upon waking early that morning, she dressed in a hurry as she eagerly awaited for them to open the door.

He hadn't seen her this excited in a long time, and he was quite curiously about who this G'raha Tia was. Claire was all but pulling him towards the hall and when they came to the entrance, he saw that Ryne was already up and waiting for them and waved merrily when they arrived.

"Good! You're just in time!" she smiled and pointed. "Look! I can just see the carriage!"

He looked up to see that she was right, a carriage could just be spotted in the distance under the morning light. He drew up to stand with the girls as he watched it grow steadily larger and larger and the sounds of the chirping chocobos could be heard.

Before they knew it, the carriage had pulled up to the gates and a figure was already climbing out. Alphinaud wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the one who emerged from inside the carriage turned out to be a Miqo'te with flaming red hair and eyes. Upon seeing them, the man he expected to be their guest, gave a grin that threatened to break his face in two as he ran forward, almost tripping over his own two feet in excitement, as he came to greet them at the door.

Alphinaud couldn't help but laugh politely as not even the near fall could wipe the grin on the newcomer's face.

"My friends! It has been too long!" he cried out happily as he came forward and eagerly shook Claire's hand.

"Exarch! How wonderful it is to see you again! How are you faring? How's the Crystarium?" Ryne asked with her large doe-like eyes wide with happiness.

"My dear Ryne," he told her lightly. "How many times do I have to remind you? It's just G'raha. You don't have to address me as Exarch."

"Either way, it's good to see you," Claire reassured him as she stepped back to bring Alphinaud forward and make introductions. "This is Alphinaud," she said. "I told you about him in my letters?"

She wrote letters to him? How was she able to…?

"Ah, yes, I remember," G'raha said with a polite bow to Alphinaud. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Alphinaud. I am G'raha Tia. The Exarch of the Crystarium, and humble friend of the Scions."

He made sure to whisper that last part so that the guards couldn't hear them but Alphinaud took it all in stride as he took the offered hand and shook it.

"The pleasure is all mine," he reassured him.

G'raha Tia was a cheerful one. It was very difficult to not be in a good mood when he was all but bouncing on the walls in the castle. Even the foul mood of Ran'jit, watching them suspiciously from the shadows of the dining hall could do much to dampen the mood. Claire had insisted that G'raha be there at the table for breakfast before Ran'jit took their guest to see Vauthry—and to his surprise, Ran'jit relented.

"I suppose it helps when one is royalty and rules over their own city," G'raha reasoned as he helped himself to a plate full of bacon. "So, tell me… how are things here in Kholusia?"

They had a good long conversation about Eulmore and the state of these lands as a shole, with G'raha loudly praising the Warrior of Darkness for the good that they were doing. It took everything that Alphinaud had in him not to look smugly over at Ran'jit in the corner as he did so. But soon enough, either his words were getting to Ran'jit, or he felt that they were taking enough time for he finally strode over and demanded that they not keep Lord Vauthry waiting any longer.

After that, G'raha had no choice but to make his presence known to Vauthry but promised to meet up with them later since he did have some business with the so-called ruler of these lands anyway and he would explain more later. Alphinaud was worried for him at first before remembering that the man didn't have a collar to control him, and the others didn't seem to be that concerned either when they parted ways.

"You've been sending letters to him?" Alphinaud asked Claire curiously as they waited with Ryne in the servant quarters. It had already been about an hour since G'raha left them, and so Thancred and Y'shtola decided to see if they could track him down if the meeting was over. The two of them were sitting at the table as Ryne was happily playing with Alphinaud's Topaz Carbuncle on the floor, cuddling the creature as she rolled little balls of yarn about for it to chase.

"Yes," Claire confessed as she watched the cute scene with her cousin. "I can leave these lands at night and then just drop letters off with post moogles when I can. Receiving letters is often difficult, but there are several places that post moogles can drop them off so as not to draw too much attention. When I can, I stop by those places just to see what they have to say before returning home.

That made sense and he was once again impressed by this network that the Scions seemed to have.

"How many connections do you all have?" he asked wonderingly.

"A little bit all over," Ryne grinned. "It started off as really small, with it mostly being people that Claire has helped. But that number grew over time… so we have friends all over the place."

"How do you think that we're able to receive word so quickly when something is happening?" Claire asked with a teasing grin. "Thankfully, aside from a stray sin eater here and there, nothing major seems to be happening these last few days. Which is a relief. But G'raha has always been one of our biggest allies. Practically all of the Crystarium is at our disposal should we need the help."

"Truly?" he asked in amazement. "I must see it then if I ever get the chance."

"I think that you would like it," Claire reassured him. "If I could, I wouldn't mind spending my time there. But unfortunately, I can't make it there nearly as often as I could."

He didn't need to ask to know what she meant by that and he gripped her hand in a comforting way. But now that they had brought up the topic, there was something that he had been dreadfully curious about and so he asked slowly, "I know that the collars were designed to control prisoners. But you told me that the effects do weaken with distance. Just by how much?"

Ryne looked uncomfortable about that as Claire's eyes grew sad at the reminder.

"The effects grow weaker the farther away that I am from him, that is true," she sighed, some of her happiness faded as she reached up to brush her thumb over the cruel metal at her throat. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not affected by it. If I'm on the other side of the continent for example and he were to activate them… while I wouldn't be strangled… I would still feel pain. Though, more of a slight burning if anything. It's small, but a constant affect. Left as it is, it will do damage over time… possibly burn away flesh… though that would take a few days."

So, she couldn't run away for long. Without deactivating the collars, she would be left to suffer for days before being forced to return back in agony. All at once, his hatred for Vauthry grew larger and he felt sick to his stomach for learning this.

"Vauthry hasn't used the choker on the Warrior of Darkness since he is still unaware of who I really am," she sighed. "If he were to become aware of it, then I know that he would not hesitate. Right now the secret of the Warrior's identity is the only thing that is keeping me from feeling his wrath. Vauthry doesn't believe that I am a threat to his rule myself… but…?"

"But nothing. We must never give him the chance to find out!"

They jumped at the sudden noise and the door opened at once to reveal G'raha, Y'shtola, and Thancred all returning at last. G'raha beamed at them all as Y'shtola closed the door behind them, warning the entrance so that nosy servants wouldn't be able to eavesdrop on them as they joined the group.

"How did it all go?" Claire asked him at once as G'raha drew up a chair to sit at the table with them.

"Well enough," he reassured her. "Vauthry is quite eager to try and build up some kind of relationship with the Crystarium. And by relationship, I mean he wishes to have all of the Crystarium under his thumb as well. Naturally, I politely refused… though he didn't seem to try hard to hide his disappointment from me."

"He threw another temper tantrum," Thancred grunted as he flopped into a chair himself and Y'shtola was at the stove in the corner, boiling up some water for tea.

"Of course he did," Claire sighed, not sounding surprised in the least at this.

"Well, it's only a matter of time before he finally loses his patience and declares war against us," G'raha said, and some of his cheer faded at the thought. "But, for now, we managed to avoid bloodshed. So I guess that's something."

"Whatever else Vauthry is, I doubt that he is eager to wage war against another city, especially one as large as the Crystarium," Y'shtola reassured them as she used a little magic to help the pot reach boiling point.

"That's comforting, I suppose… at least for now," G'raha said before looking over at them and his eyes went to their necks. "But before we talk about all that, let me have a closer look at these. I've been quite eager to examine them ever since Thancred informed me they were Allagan."

G'raha then got closer to properly examine the choker around Claire's neck and Alphinaud felt a twinge of annoyance at how close he was all of a sudden, but he waved it away as he waited.

After a few minutes of careful examination, he said, "Yes. Yes, I remember reading about some of the ways that the Allagan researchers were able to keep those that they captured under control." He then leaned back and asked them, "Are you familiar of their march across the world? It was under the final emperor that the Allagans were able to expand to other nations and those that they captured were hostages from the lands they conquered. Many, I'm afraid, were subjected to experimentation. To the more… troublesome hostages—they found a way to keep imprisoned with the use of these collars."

"We were told that there was a way to get them off, apparently with some kind of key," Y'shtola explained as G'raha finally leaned away from Claire once he was done examining it.

"Indeed, they would have to have a way to get them off quickly should they have need of it," he said. "Had I known that these chokers were Allag then I would have been able to tell you right away. But these look very different than the ones that were described to me from my research. I suppose that they were of a different model. But now that I can examine them more carefully, I can say that I can see slight traces of Allagan technology melded into them."

"So can you get them off?" Ryne asked hopefully, her innocent face shining with excitement at the thought.

"Well, that's the tricky part," G'raha said with a slight frown. "Without the keys, it could be dangerous to try and force them off. But I do have a few ideas that we can look into. You are certain that Vauthry doesn't have the physical key himself?"

"No, he knows how to unlock it with another command, that's all we know for sure," Claire told him.

"Yes, that sounds about right," he nodded thoughtfully. "See, the captors were all given a kind of… handler. And their handlers were the only ones who knew the password to unlock their shackles. But if they weren't around, the researchers had a way to get them off without the need of it with the keys. So without a physical key, only by knowing the password could get them off. But there are rumored to have been other ways."

"How?" Alphinaud asked in surprise.

"I remember reading once about how there were many who were opposed to the empire and their barbaric ways," he answered back. "In fact, many even inside the Empire's highest elite were also of similar minds and helped others to escape their shackles by the use of some type of machine designed to short-circuit the devices. Apparently a lightning shock was enough to be able to deactivate the collars long enough to cut them off. I don't see why we can't attempt to do the same. We may not be able to deactivate them forever…?"

"But there a way that we can make them deactivate for just a short amount of time?" Alphinaud asked. "Even for just a few minutes?"

"You mean like with a lightning shard?" Ryne asked at once but G'raha shook his head with a frown.

"I'm afraid that those little shards may not be strong enough… but problem is that we don't know how strong it has to be to be able to short-circuit them enough to make them unable to work," he said dejectedly. "If we did then we can go ahead and make them powerless just long enough to cut right through them without fear of strangulation. Fortunately, I know a few friends who may be able to help us."

"Really? Who?" Alphinaud asked excitedly as G'raha looked over at Claire and asked, "Do you remember our old friend Cid Garlond?"

"Cid? That's a name I haven't heard of in a while," she smiled before looking over at Alphinaud and explaining, "A few years back, I helped G'raha explore the Crystal Tower in Lakeland. Cid is an engineer who was kind enough to help us in our work there."

"The Crystal Tower?" Alphinaud repeated questionably as G'raha stood up.

"It was once seen as a symbol of hope by the Empire of Allag!" he said eagerly. "It has been at the center of the Crystarium for years but no one has ever been able to explore the deepest levels of that place! Which is where the three of us ended up meeting!" G'raha then threw Claire a glowing look as he added, "Of course, I had no idea who she was at the time. I had come to her while she was still under the guise of the Warrior of Darkness."

"How the two of us met wasn't dissimilar to how you discovered my identity," Claire informed him with a chuckle. "I joined him and Cid in delving into the lower levels of the Crystal Tower… where it was infested with all manner of security measures that were left behind by Allagan researchers. Including a cloned copy of an Allagan scientist by the name of Amon."

"Amon…?" Alphinaud repeated slowly as he thought back, knowing that he had certainly heard of that name in his studies. That was when what she said fully sunk in as he gasped, "Wait, did you say clone?!"

"Yep," G'raha laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "In my haste… I almost got killed but she stepped in to save me. And well, to have a look at her injuries, we had to remove her mask. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I realized that it was the princess of Eulmore! Didn't see that coming."

"I know the feeling," Alphinaud said dumbly, not sure what to think of all this.

"Anyway, Cid was with us the entire way and he's gotten quite good at figuring out Allagan technology," G'raha said with a grin. "All I need to do is run a few tests on the collars during my stay and that should give us all that he needs to come up with a device that should be strong enough to interfere with them! It might take a little while depending on how strong the collars are, but if there is anyone out there who can help us, it's Cid!"

"Really?!" Ryne gasped out in joy and jumped up and down with happiness. "You mean we can finally remove these collars?!"

"Not just remove them! But destroy them so that we won't have any more need to worry of them," Y'shtola smiled. "I'm glad that we have finally started to make progress. I wasn't sure how much longer that we can handle all that Eulmore has to throw at us with such a handicap."

"But what are we to do once we get the chokers off?" Ryne asked as some of her own excitement faded as she really began to realize that escape was really no different than treason at this point. "Uncle is going to lose it when he discovers that they're gone! We won't be able to remain here in Eulmore anymore… not without being locked up. Should we head to the Crystarium?"

"That would have normally been my first choice," Y'shtola said, her own smile fading. "But the last thing that we would want is to bring unnecessary trouble to those lands. I have spoken to Alphinaud about it, and Sharlayan does seem to be the safest place for us. At least until we can come up with another solution."

Alphinaud nodded at that, reminding them that in the eyes of the law, he and Claire were married and if they made it seem like he was just taking her back with him to his homeland to introduce her to his family, it wouldn't look suspicious. And since Ryne was family, then she could easily pass by as a visitor.

"Meanwhile, if we have Y'shtola and others accompany us, no one will bat an eye if a handful of servants are with us when we arrive," he finished up. "I'm sure that my parents will be able to help us once we explain the whole mess to them. And then, we can figure out where we are to go after that."

"Alphinaud has also mentioned that he has a sister who is planning on heading to Eorzea," Claire added and Alphinaud was a little surprised that she remembered that as she added, "If we have to leave Sharlayan for any reason, we can take a ship directly to Eorzea afterwards, could we not?"

"Hmmm, that may be the wisest choice," G'raha nodded sagely as he thought that over. "I can't say how long it will be before we have the device ready… but I'll send word to you all once it is and successfully tested. Then, we can plan the day and time for escape. Giving how much that Ran'jit tends to stalk around, I believe it best that we do this when he's away from the castle."

"That's what Thancred and I were thinking as well," Y'shtola nodded. "Vauthry feels secure whenever his guard dog is around and that's when he throws his weight—as heavy as he is—around. But when Ran'jit's away, he stays locked up in his room. So if we plan to escape when both Ran'jit is away and Vauthry is locked away out of paranoia…?"

"That will further increase our chances of getting away!" Ryne stated in understanding.

"Not just that, but it will buy us a little more time before they realize that you lot are gone," G'raha smiled. "Right! So, I say that we go ahead and run the tests on all three collars as soon as we can and I'll take them with me back to Lakeland after the Ball. I'll contact Cid once I'm back and we'll get to work on the device. Meanwhile, the rest of you better think long and hard about the plan, maybe come up with several of them should anything happen, but this way you all will be ready to go when we send the word."

"Ball?" Alphinaud repeated, not sure what he was talking about and the women all groaned at the thought.

"You know how uncle throws these ridiculous parties every night?" Claire reminded him dully. "But strangely, he doesn't allow us to participate in them? Well, there are a few exceptions to the rule. Such as during special events where it is expected for us to make an appearance as the princesses. At the end of the week we have a Starlight Ball, and we are expected to attend."

"I hate going to those," Ryne muttered unhappily. "The normal parties are bad enough but during these celebrations it's so much more wasteful."

"Hopefully, this will be the last one we will have to attend," Y'shtola countered. "Just bear with it for now. Otherwise, I quite agree with G'raha. Let us start these tests as soon as we can."

Unfortunately they couldn't get everything done right away as there were still guards that were on Ran'jit's side—as well as the grumpy general himself—still stalking about the castle. So when they were all missing at once, it tended to look suspicious. Still, they were able to get at least what the basic rundown would be like and it was for the best to test all three collars just to make sure that they were similar enough that no adjustments needed to be made.

But before they could really get to work on that, a couple servants came looking for Alphinaud and all but dragged him away. It seemed that the royal tailor had made an appointment with Alphinaud without his knowledge and dragged him off so that he would have a new suit to wear for the Starlight Ball. Which, again, was news to him!

He was a bit put out that no one thought to warn him about this, but when learning that he would be allowed to stay up and not have to return to the tower like they did every night, did cheer him up greatly. As much as he had started to enjoy the quiet down time he spent with Claire in their room every night, the idea of being escorted back to the tower and then locked in his room like a misbehaving child was really aggravating at the best of times.

He spent most of the afternoon being fitted and asked to try on a few things before he was allowed to go. He sighed in relief when he was finally allowed out as he stretched out his arms—feeling like he had been captured, studied, and tagged, before being released back into the wilds by the time that they were finished with him.

Deciding on heading back to the library, he took the normal route through a long corridor with bright windows that showed a beautiful view of the courtyard below him. But as he walked, he was surprised to see that it had started snowing while he was being fitted. The sky was thick with clouds and large flakes were drifting upon a light wind and he stopped to admire it. Just looking at it all was enough to remind him of the snow back home in Sharlayan and he couldn't help but pray that his family was doing well right now.

The faint hope of being able to return to them, after all this time, was growing in him once more upon knowing that they had a plan in the works. In fact, he couldn't bring himself to stop smiling as he walked along the corridor, staring out the windows as the snow fell… only to spy something.

He paused for a moment when he spotted that familiar head of pink hair and pressed his nose against the glass to get a better look. G'raha and Claire were walking through the courtyard, both of them seemed to be talking excitedly about something as they did so, even a laugh seemed to be shared between bright smiles.

It was such a nice sight… so then…?

Alphinaud felt his own happiness fade slightly as he marched down the hallway back to the library to study, not sure why he was suddenly in a bad mood.

…

His gloomy feeling didn't fade even when evening came and they were at the dining table to enjoy their meal. Since they were in the presence of such an 'esteemed guest' as Ran'jit called him, they were required to change out into more formal clothes this evening. Alphinaud had picked out one of the blue suits that had been made for him after arriving here, not really paying much attention as he changed. Whereas G'raha Tia was in a black robe with red and white sashes draped over him with thin, golden accents.

Alphinaud had to admit that he found the royal atmosphere strangely suited G'raha as he sat next to Claire and the two of them talked. The two were sitting side by side like two peas in a pod as wine was being poured into their cups by one of the servants. Alphinaud, who was sitting across the wide table from Claire, suddenly felt a strange irritation at the seating arrangements.

Things did not help that she was in a red dress this evening, which fit her like a glove. He felt his pulse quicken when he saw how pretty she looked in it. Though it seemed to be rather plain upon first glance, he thought that she couldn't have looked more regal even if she were wearing a crown or the finest jewelry that money could buy. The same held true for G'raha, who only had very fine golden ascents to his clothes… making them look strangely good together.

Alphinaud did his best to distract himself from that as food was being served and that worked for the first ten to fifteen minutes…? But then…?

"But really, you do look exquisite," G'raha told Claire politely. "I could barely pay attention to anything else."

She laughed at that and said, "Glad you think so. I hate getting dressed up like this."

Annoyance was bubbling inside Alphinaud like a pot of boiling water and it was steadily rising. He wasn't even sure why it was bothering him… he had to admit that she was beautiful as well, and that dress really accented her natural beauty as well…? Perhaps it was just the way the two seemed to speak to each other… as if there were no secrets between them and they felt comfortable being open with each other.

He just stabbed at the steak he was eating with his fork and chewed angrily. All the while, Ryne seemed to sense the negative feelings that were practically radiating off him like heat. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that were raging like a storm cloud, he didn't notice how she was arching an eyebrow at him in confusion.

Meanwhile, the two old friends were continuing to talk about their dislike of such formal events in the form of the upcoming Ball.

"Yes, I know the feeling," G'raha said, gesturing to his own robes. "But we have to keep up appearances, don't we?"

"You seem to be handling it rather well?" she asked, leaning her elbows on the table so that she could rest her chin in her hands.

"Years of practice, I'm afraid. But you know, if you like, I would be more than happy to give you some pointers on…?" G'raha began before he was interrupted when Alphinaud found himself unable to take it anymore by slamming his goblet onto the table in irritation.

They all looked at him before he blinked, realizing that he was drawing attention to himself for no reason and cleared his throat, trying to cover up this sudden awkwardness.

"My apologies, I was just about to wonder if we had anymore wine and in my haste I slammed it a little harder than necessary," he smiled. "Exarch? Would you like some as well?"

G'raha looked surprised by this but smiled and nodded as more wine was brought over. G'raha was very interested in talking to Alphinaud after that about Sharlayan, but enviably, his attention was drawn back to Claire. It was like she were a lodestone and he couldn't help but be drawn to her like she were the brightest star in the night sky.

At least, G'raha certainly wasted no time in speaking with her in a way that seemed much more flirtatious than necessary, at least to Alphinaud it seemed that way. He downed his next goblet of wine and then offered more to G'raha every time that he finished, and the Exarch was too polite to refuse a refill even when he barely drunk anything at all.

Soon enough, Alphinaud's speech became more slurred and his vision was going on him. Though the others entertained him for a while, they soon realized how tipsy he was becoming. When he accidently knocked his goblet over, spilling about half of the wine from it, Claire reached out and grabbed hold of it to stop it from continuing to stain the tablecloth.

"Perhaps you've had enough," she said worriedly as his face became bright red.

"Yes, Master Alphinaud, I mean no disrespect but perhaps you have drunk more than enough for one night?" G'raha said worriedly.

"I have drunk more than this," Alphinaud said with a wave of his hand.

"Mayhaps, but I supposed I forgot to mention that this wine is some that I brought with me from the Crystarium. Meaning that it has a little bit more alcohol in it than normal wines," G'raha tried to point out but Alphinaud was adamant that he could handle it. But when he tipped his goblet over again, Claire got up.

"Sorry, I believe my husband may have overestimated his alcohol tolerance this time," she sighed with a shake of her head that could be both fond and annoyed at once. "I'd best help him up to bed before he makes a fool of himself."

Strangely enough, when any of the servants offered to help him, Alphinaud always refused, but the moment that he felt Claire's gentle hands helping him up, he obeyed without another word of protest. He could vaguely recall her offering an apology to G'raha and Ryne, promising to speak with them in the morning as she guided the plastered Alphinaud from the dining hall.

And that was when his memories became nothing more than a fog.

*Present*

"By Thaliak! What was I thinking?!" Alphinaud cried out, hiding his face in his hands as he sat in the bath, the memories coming back in bits and pieces. He had been so lost to how he got here and so focused on going back through his memories that he remembered how much of a fool that he had been the night before!

He quickly jumped out of the tub and ran to get some clothes on so that he could find the others. Though it had been lessoned considerably thanks to the potion, he was still nursing a pounding headache when he entered the courtyard, feeling as if someone had shoved a pulsing spike right through his brain at the moment. But he had to ignore all that as he knew that he would have to find G'raha and apologize for his behavior last night.

The question to why he drank so much more than usual was still a mystery to him. He remembered feeling irritated when he took his first glass… though everything after that is a hazy blur. He didn't even recall how he got back to bed later on…? He could only assume that Claire was responsible for that.

Oh, gods! He really needed to find her and apologize for anything he may have said or did last night, though he was now terrified at what she was going to tell him?

He closed his eyes, pressing the palms of his hands hard into his face until he saw stars, all the while trying to force himself to remember what happened after they left the table. He could just barely recall hazy memories of being supported while walking across the courtyard… remember the warm touch of hands as he was sick behind some bushes before being half carried upstairs…?

Oh gods… how humiliating!

He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to look his wife in the eyes ever again after something like this!

Still, he could now vaguely remember how comforting her touch was as she tended to him, brushing his hair back and rubbing his back while he was sick. But the images just blended together in one giant haze that he could not truly recall the next part—like missing pages in a storybook. He reached for the memories, but there was honestly nothing there… he just knew that he needed to talk to her, badly.

So he hurried across the courtyard, already trying to think of what he would say when he saw her. But it seems that the universe was eager to find out as well for he found her almost immediately. As he was turning to the door that led to the entrance hall, he spotted her at the fountain in the garden. He froze at the sight as she was sitting upon the perfect marble, the water having long since frozen over and she was bundled up in a lavender-colored cloak with white fur at the collar. Her hair had been done up into a ponytail while a single long, braid dropping down and falling over her shoulder as the rays of the early afternoon light caught hold of it. He felt oddly choked up at the sight as he gulped down and knew that he had to face the music.

"Ah… C-Claire?" he called, wincing at the awkward stutter in his voice and she looked up at the sound of her name.

Her expression was… unreadable. He honestly could not figure out at all what it was that she was feeling when she looked at him… with that stoic expression that made it impossible to guess if he was in trouble or not.

"Alphinaud," she said simply as she turned away, going back to looking at the water that had been frozen over, turning her head away.

"Ah, yes… ah… well, I just…?" he stuttered, finding it impossible to really find a way to justify his drunken behavior last night as he slowly approached her, his mind trying to fight of the haziness that seemed to linger on.

They were both silent for only a minute before he knew he had to say something and cleared his throat again.

"So… ah… about last night," he said slowly and she seemed to freeze up as he finished, "Did… did anything happen?"

She took unusually long to answer. She didn't look at him as she continued to scratch absent-mindedly at the ice in the fountain before answering, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, did I say… or do anything… rude? Just… anything?" he asked and again she wasn't looking at him and he really started to get worried now.

"Look, whatever happened, I'm sorry! If I said anything inappropriate then know that I didn't mean it," he said but she shook her head.

"No, nothing like that," she said slowly.

"Look, please, I just want to know what I said and how embarrassing it was," he said and she finally looked at him, scrutinizing his face.

"You really don't remember, do you?" she asked. "You aren't just playing with me?"

"No! I'd never do that!" he pleaded. "I honestly don't remember what I said or did last night! The last thing I remember is being led away from the dining table and… well, everything gets hazy after that."

She chuckled a little and he was glad to see the faint smile appearing on her face again as she informed him, "I guess I'm not surprised. To be frank… what you were saying made very little sense to me. Just that you kept muttering that you no longer liked G'raha… and how…" she blushed there and muttered almost as if just saying it as an afterthought, "…how pretty you thought I was."

Well, he wasn't sure if that was better or worse than what he had been expecting. In fact, he wasn't sure what he was expecting only that he felt his ears turning red at the confession.

"Oh, gods… I made a fool of myself, didn't I?" he groaned out as he dropped onto the fountain next to her, running his hands over his face in embarrassment.

"To be fair, I had a feeling that you weren't entirely in your mind about it," she reassured him, patting him gently on the shoulder.

"I'm afraid to know… but what else did I talk about?" he moaned, still keeping his hands over his face.

"Not much… just things like you hated Vauthry… you want to become a better healer… how much you dreaded the Ball coming up…?" she recited off lightly.

It sounded innocent enough, but there was still something in the way that she was talking that made him really question if it was the truth. He slowly glanced up at her and he saw it for just a minute when she let her guard down. He saw the uncertainty in her eyes and he knew that there had to be more that she wasn't saying. But if it was so bad that she didn't want to come out and speak it, he wasn't sure that he really wanted to know. Instead, he just raised his head and drew the attention more to safer waters, hoping that they could both forget anything like that for right now.

"Ah, yes… the Ball… right… you know, I was really surprised to have heard of it," he told her, holding onto the lifeline she offered to him. "Why didn't you mention it before?"

"Because I was hoping that we could skip it this year," she sighed gloomily. "I guess I thought that if Uncle didn't have to hear about it, then he wouldn't have any time to think about another party… but I guess that was hopeful thinking."

"Is it going to be that bad?" Alphinaud asked and she shrugged.

"Remember how excessive our wedding was?" she reminded him and he nodded as she rolled her eyes.

"Just imagine something on that level," she muttered. He thought back to how extravagant that everything was from the food, to the decorations, to even the clothes that everyone was wearing and he wondered just what was going to be different here.

"At least we don't need to spend time locked up in the tower for once," he reminded her. "Or pretend to be in your case…?"

She grinned slightly at the slight tease and nodded before adding gloomily, "Yes, at least it will be before the dancing. As a married woman of the royal family I will be expected to open the dancing. That's going to be a nightmare."

"Truly? It won't be that bad though, will it?" he asked, wondering if he was missing something here and he saw her actually blushing pink at the question.

"Maybe not for some but… truth is that I never really learned," she declared to him. "It was never something I really had to do in the past… but now that I'm of age and with a husband, it will be expected of me to dance. Though I'm not sure how to…?"

"You don't know how to dance?" he asked in surprise and she grinned rather shamefully.

"Not very well," she confessed. "I figured that I would warn you before you found out the hard way."

"No! I mean, this is great!" he said in excitement and her head jerked up in surprise and confusion as he realized how strange that it sounded and cleared his throat. "What I mean is… I know how to dance. And so, I feel that I finally have a chance to teach you something for a change."

"Wait…? You know how…?" she asked him and he smiled and stood up.

"My father often dragged me off to many parties while I was growing up so learning to dance was very important in my upbringing," he reassured her. "And so, I feel that it's only fair that I assist you for once! If you will allow me."

He then bowed low before offering his hand to her.

"Now?" she asked in surprise as she took his hand and he guided her to her feet.

"Why not?" he asked, feeling that they should have enough privacy if they move a little deeper into the hedges. "It's better that we practice now and not have to risk making fools of ourselves later on, is it not?"

She looked a little nervous, which he found both strange and… strangely adorable. He just smiled until she was unable to fight her own and she let him guide her a little deeper into the hedges just to make sure that no guards could be watching them. Despite the cold, he felt wonderfully warm as he turned to face her; taking one of her hands with his own and put the other on her thin waist.

"Now, you put your hand on my shoulder," he instructed as she did what he commanded. It was strange that she was doing whatever he said, following his moves like a mannequin. But the moment that they started moving, he felt all that awkwardness fade as he guided her around the enclosure. She hadn't been lying when she said that she couldn't dance, having stepped on his toes several times in just a few steps, but he was smiling the whole time as they danced across the newly fallen snow.

Their breaths created little clouds in front of their faces as their cheeks were turning pink from the frost, giving them a rosy look, while snowflakes were nestling in their hair. The whole time he was diligently instructing her on each step and every movement until she was able to stop stepping on his feet. She was certainly a fast learner, mastering the moves that he had to teach her until they were spinning about in the snow with ease.

She was even laughing, something that he was startled to realize that he rarely heard before but the sound was enough to make him barely able to feel the cold. It was like time had strangely froze around them and it was just the two of them here, at this time… in this place… as if he was in a dream. He wondered what it would be like to visit these gardens with her in the spring?

As he thought that, he unconsciously began to pull her a little closer to him, finding himself lost in daydreams of spring.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, softly bringing him back to reality and he blinked in surprise, their dancing slowing down considerably until it was just the two of them swaying from side to side.

"Just thinking about how beautiful this place will be when the snow melts," he told her honestly and she smiled at that thought.

"It is beautiful," she informed him. "I can't wait to show it to you. Especially once the Heartblooms start blooming again."

"Heartblooms?" he repeated in confusion and her face lit up.

"They're my favorite flowers because they're not like any other out there," she informed him.

"Really? Why is that?" he asked her curiously.

"Because they change color depending on the mood of those around them," she confessed and he blinked, almost stopping dead upon such words.

"Truly? I never heard of a flower that can do that?" he declared.

"Well, they're very rare and only grow in certain places," she explained. "But mayhaps you are familiar with their real name? Elpis flowers?"

"Elpis? Yes, I believe I heard of it once," he said as he cast his mind back to when he was a child and his grandfather would take him and Alisaie to Labyrinthos to show them some of the wildlife and flora that they were studying there. He could nebulously recall the image of flowers that were so clear it was like looking at blown glass growing out of the ground. He couldn't recall for the life of him what color they changed into but he did remember how surprised he was when they did change when they drew close to it.

"There's a small patch that grows here," she whispered to him. "They are very hearty but they usually do fade in the winter like the rest of my flowers. But I truly wish to show them to you… if you want…?"

"I would be honored," he answered truthfully, finding himself truly looking forward to that moment.

"Good, because I did want you to promise me something. I don't know what happened between you two already but… I want you to promise me that you'll be nice to G'raha from here on out," she scolded lightly. "He's a dear friend to me and so no more like what happened last night?"

"Yes ma'am," he promised but perhaps she detected the slightest trace of annoyance in his voice for she narrowed her eyes.

"I mean it," she told him seriously. "And if you can promise me that you will be nice to him… I'll… I'll gift you a flower. When spring comes around… I'll gift you one of my Elpis flowers to show you how much it means to me."

He smiled, though the more pessimistic part of his mind was sure she wouldn't remember come spring.

"I promise," he said, and this time he did sound genuine, which seemed to earn her approval.

"You feeling better?" she asked, reaching up to tap his forehead with a single finger. "I was surprised since you normally don't drink that much wine. If any at all."

"Yes," he answered, though he still felt a bit of a throbbing pain in his temple, he didn't want to worry her. "I don't… know what came over me last night."

He truly couldn't figure it out. Only that whatever it was that annoyed him seemed to have been because of G'raha. Though he couldn't understand why he felt that way? G'raha had been nothing but a courteous guest after all, so why did Alphinaud have such a strong urge to shut him up last night?

What was happening to him these days?

But when he looked into Claire's face, he suddenly realized that it was because G'raha had been talking to Claire that created such emotions. Was he… was he actually… jealous? Why? He had no reason to be! Why would he be jealous over one of her friends?

"Alphinaud?" she asked, realizing that he was just standing still, still with his hands upon her. But upon hearing his name he woke up and let go at once.

"Sorry, I guess I'm not fully back to myself yet," he said, trying to cover up the unease he felt. He squared his shoulders and looked her straight in the face as he asked, "Claire… I want to know. Just what…?"

But before he could ask his question he heard the sounds of yelling in the distance. Both of them jumped and looked up, but the hedge was so high they could not see anything behind the little garden wall of bush in front of them.

"What is going on?" Alphinaud asked, trying to pick up what the angry voices were saying, but it was muffled from here.

"Let us go find out," Claire said as she took his hand and pulled him along after her as they ran out of the hedges, passed the fountain, and back into the courtyard to find that the commotion seemed to be happening near the front gates where a small group of guards were gathering. In fact, as he watched, he spotted two more guards had just run out of the entrance hall and were making their way to the gates as if expecting trouble.

"What in the world…?" Alphinaud asked as he took the lead this time, pulling Claire by the hand this time as they made their way to see what was going on. As they approached, he was able to hear snippets of conversation and from what he could tell, the guards were trying to sway some very persistent trespassers to leave.

No sooner as he approached, he heard one of the guards speaking, "Again, I tell you that despite your claims, we cannot allow you to just wander in here. If you would accompany us to the entrance hall then we can…?"

He then heard the sounds of aggravated growling and what sounded suspiciously like cursing as an answer to that. One of the guards was shaking his head and looking around as if hoping to find someone else to speak when he spotted the two of them approaching.

"My lady!" the guard said to Claire when they were close enough, "Please, go inside. We have this under control."

"But what is happening?" she pressed him before she moved in closer without waiting for an answer, actually moving the guards aside as she made her way to the front to get a better look. Alphinaud didn't bother to try and stop her, partly because he knew that it wouldn't matter even if he did say something, but mostly because he was also curious to know what this was about.

Concerned, he hurried forward as well, wondering what this was about when a very familiar voice called out, "I am not waiting anymore! Unless my brother is there, then I will not be told what to do by you lot!"

His jaw dropped as he sucked in a breath of shock, trying to force his hungover mind to focus at how this could be possible.

Upon hearing that voice, he then forced his way through, actually elbowing his way past the guards until he broke through to the front line… and there she was.

He found himself face-to-face with his mirror reflection though she had a muscle going in her forehead in anger as she was wearing a red battle-dress he had never seen her wear before. Her hair was tied back in the familiar braid and was now slung over her shoulder like a long, white rope tied with a red ribbon as the twin to the earring he always wore hung from her own identical long ears.

It took him only a few seconds to find his voice as he croaked out, "A-Alisaie…?!"

(Yep Alisaie is finally here! And don't worry, others aren't far away. Yeah, decided that it was finally time to really be getting more into the romance that I promised for this story as we head straight off to the Ball. So things will become a bit more heated up… and not just because Alisaie was all but breathing fire at this point to see her brother. This is going to be fun to write about very soon.)