Day 48: Courtyard
"I could tell you some stories," Yuffie suggested brightly, "of unquestionable legality." Illegality, that was. Petty little things like the law didn't usually mean very much to her, except for the times when she had to uphold it. Always fun for the breaking, though, the law, and messy for the clean-up. Just the way she liked it
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With a soft, pitying sigh, Celes hid the sword that she'd slept on and braided her hair away from her face. If there was nothing she could do, and no way to protect anyone that she became close to, what was the point in fighting? Still, as she was led along to the courtyard (her nurse yammering on about how missing meals was just no good for her), she couldn't hope but look for Edgar.
Thankfully, she was rewarded. Parting from her nurse, Celes joined Edgar. "Is this seat taken, or are you expecting to court some woman?" The usual bite in her words seemed subdued.
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He clasped his hands before him, resting his elbows on his knees, allowing a moment to pass before speaking again. It'd been so long since he'd seen Celes- despite looking each day, each shift, she'd somehow managed to stay out of sight, though not out of mind. She was his closest friend here, and his only acquaintance from home. Even if she didn't know of the end of the world, she was still the Celes he'd known, and that was better than no one at all.
"I was certain you'd kept yourself away from me on purpose," he said, casting a sideways glance to her. "Where have you been hiding?"
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"And I'd never keep away without good reason." Like, for instance, pique. Or, as the case seemed to currently warrant, self-pity. If there were a chance for Celes to skulk off and hide while she licked her wounds, then she would take it without a doubt. "I'm glad that you're still here."
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He leaned into the bench, bringing himself closer to her. "I saw my first monster here just last night. It was some abomination floating above the Sun Room- it appeared to be a mass of swords with a person at its center. For a moment, I thought it might be an Esper, though I question if they exist at all in this place."
He wondered briefly if those who had been fighting the monster had defeated it, or at least made it away safely. He hoped Yuna wasn't too mad they'd not returned to help. "Until that point, I'd been wondering if you'd maybe been imagining things- I've been here for days with little incident, aside from your disappearing act."
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-- wait. That sounded familiar, but, her experience with sword-bearing monsters had been brief at best, at least here. At home, they called them Emperors. "It wasn't a man, was it? A cocky one with white hair?" So long as he wasn't asking her what she had been doing, Celes was satisfied.
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He crossed his arms as Celes moved away, a faint smirk on his face. He'd not intended to make her uncomfortable, though he could see her demeanor was as icy as ever. Perhaps one day, she'd learn to sit next to a gentleman without being disturbed. Then again, perhaps it was just him. He sighed: the thought that his skills might be rusty was slightly distressing.
"Soon enough, I'll be better prepared to face the dangers this place can produce," he said, his smile returning. "I've been working on a project during these past few nights. Something to keep myself entertained."
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She reminded herself to tread carefully, and straightened her posture slightly. "So long as you've something to do, I can figure out how to regroup the alchemical club I'm in, or abolish it entirely. The head of the group has vanished, and so have many of the alchemists." She really was a useless woman if she couldn't even keep her forces together.
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"I've not given much attention to the 'clubs' they advertise on the board," he noted. "It seems like a reasonable system, but I prefer to make my alliances on a face-to-face value." He liked to have a person before him when in conversation: it was infinitely easier to decide how to act accordingly when dealing with anyone, friend or foe, in-person, as he could watch their mannerisms and behaviors. True, he didn't always have the luxury of speaking to a potential ally himself- usually, a delegate was sent- but it was his preference.
Speaking of reading a person's behavior, Celes was still acting odd, and it frustrated the king that he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Maybe she was disappointed at the aforementioned loss of club members, or maybe the loss of someone more important to her. He wanted to ask, but the initial fear she'd think him prying quelled his ( ... )
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"While I've not seen you in quite a while, you have been fairly... distracted, and seem to be growing more so with every conversation I have with you." He kept his eyes on the area before them, staring down the far wall as if it'd fall under his gaze.
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There, she'd said it. She was ready to lie down and give up. Betray the others if it meant a chance at peace. Go into that deep darkness and become a tool of Landel's or wake up forevermore as Nancy Kensington. O, what mutiny was this? Celes sighed through her nose and sat back against the bench. She raised an eyebrow, "So forgive me, if I am not my warmest."
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And oh, how she hated when someone other than she was right. Though, he probably knew that (apparently the talent to annoy someone into action went both ways, didn't it?).
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It was only after he was out of sight that Celes stood and stalked out of the courtyard, into the Sun Room. There were other cats to skin today, and she needed to steel herself for it.
[ to here]
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