Chapter 49: The Calm
“I hate this… I hate this so much,” Krista remarked. “Not only am I forced to wear this stupid gown, but I put it on early. Why did the meeting get delayed for another hour?”
Krista stood with Amelia, all dressed up, and glaring at the occasional person who would gawk at her in her dress. Amelia, in contrast, was glowing from the attention. Apparently, she liked being stared at, just not talked to.”
“Well don’t you two look nice?” called a voice from behind them.
“Damien?” Krista asked in some surprised. “Yeah, well laugh it up while you ca-”
A couple of guards dressed not in Soaring Sun’s white, but Shining Twilight’s black walked it with a tall man. Krista couldn’t tell who he was for a moment, but then she took a good, hard look at him. First thing she noticed was his hair, dreads tied back into a ponytail. Next was his outfit, nearly as flamboyant as her own. A deep shade of red that complemented his purple eyes quite nicely, along with the handcuffs that tied his hands together. He looked absolutely ridiculous; Krista couldn’t help but start laughing.
“Well that hardly seems fair,” Amelia whined. “Why am I the only one without frills?”
Amelia felt left out, somehow blissfully oblivious to the fact that Damien and Krista were both jealous of what she got to wear.
“This is a way to be greeted back,” Damien remarked sadly. “It’s not like I was taken away as prisoner or anything.”
“No, are you okay Damien or it’s so good to see you!” said Amelia, not really sure which to go for.
“Stop being such a baby!” Krista said smugly. “It’s only been like two hours, but yeah. I’m glad to see you’re okay you idiot.”
Dante barged into the room, breathing heavily, wearing his own black suit, “Sorry for the delay announcement, it was actually a false alarm, and the meeting can continue on time.” H then saw the three. “Good to see you’re all ready, but I have to say I’m a little surprised. I thought Krista would wear the more low-key dress I set for her. I recalled you saying that you hated royal dresswear, and Amelia loved anything with frills. Whatever no time for that, we have got to go!”
Krista nearly lost her mind, “You have got to be kidding me!”
Dante lead us into a large room filled with even more people. There were several political activist that Krista had heard about or seen in passing. Famous celebrities and actors. She even thought she saw a few members of the royal family of Falling Starlight. As Dante found them a table to stay at, he pulled Krista aside to speak with her.
“Something you need to tell me?” she asked Dante. “Something to due with the reason why you need all these super important people. Like a member of New Dawn’s royal family?”
“You caught me.” He responded. “This is a very important meeting, one that’s sure to change the course of Stellar forever. You may have noticed, but everyone here is a person of considerable power, even leaders from all three great kingdoms are here.”
Dante pointed to a young man in his twenties, “If you don’t know that’s the third prince of Falling Starlight, Nishi Dragon.”
Nishi had an entourage filled with beautiful women, and looked to be fooling around with them, Krista observed, “Doesn’t look like much.”
Dante laughed a bit, “That so? Well, he just happens to be one of the most talented people in our generation. He would have been named a Magi a years ago, if he didn’t refuse it. Younger, even, than Cassandra Knightley. Even so, he’s a favorite to become the next archmagi when the time comes.”
“This guy? All I can say is that I hope that doesn’t happen,” Dante then gestured to Viola. “I’ve been meaning to ask about her, she’s the new Pharoah of Soaring Sun, correct? Not a lot of information about what happened in Soaring Sun appears in New Dawn. What happened to Aveline Cold?”
Dante’s cheery expression disappeared and turned grim momentarily, but quickly changed back, “Let’s just say that was one of the main causes of the insurrection in Soaring Sun a couple years ago. Let’s also just say that Viola and her supporters were the ones who emerged victorious out of that confrontation.”
“So, that’s how it is. She’s from a branch family and gained power through war. Heard of it before, probably won’t be the last time something like this occurs. Dante then turned and pointed towards Krista.
“Then I’m that last piece of the puzzle, princess to the throne of New Dawn.” He simply nodded.
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“Do you trust me?” Damien was conversing happily with Amelia, over what, Krista couldn’t properly hear. Though, she knew that they probably wouldn’t like her answer, but Krista couldn’t ignore what she thought was right. “Yes Dante, I trust you.”
“She actually already confessed to you?!” shrieked Amelia as loudly as a whisper would allow.
Damien pondered how he had got into this conversation with Amelia? If he remembered correctly, Damien wanted to know what she and Dmitri spoke about on a daily basis. While they were traveling, Amelia and Dmitri spent a lot of time together, so Damien thought she may have learned something useful. Unfortunately, those words opened the preverbal flood gates, and Amelia just went off, talking about everything she and Dmitri conversed about. Physics, chemistry, biology, wattiez, hair, styling, make-up. Apparently, a lot of their interest interlocked and one topic always lead to another.
Eventually, he couldn’t handle anymore of Amelia’s rambling, so Damien tried to get her quiet by inquiring on their relationship again. It had the worked last time, but Amelia threw that on its head, and instead started asking questions about Krista and himself. It was better than Amelia just droning on and on, so Damien started to answer her questions. At some point, Damien forgot what he was even saying and accidently dropped that bombshell out of nowhere.
“Did I say that? Well-”
Amelia quickly put a finger on his mouth “Answer…the…question.”
“Why are you so assertive, now?” Damien asked before relenting. “Fine, yes. Yes, she did! Around the time we met Melody, the night after, I think. I hate thinking about it. I start to feel all weird.”
“Don’t just cut yourself off there! Tell me more! What did she say?! What did you say?!”
Damien began to notice some people around them stop talking to look at them, getting nosy in business that wasn’t theirs. “As long as you stop yelling, I’ll tell you!”
Hearing this Amelia sat forward eagerly waiting to hear.
“Look nothing actually happened, it was late at night and she-” Amelia squealed, so Damien glared at her. “Do that again and I won’t talk.”
Amelia pretended to zip her lips and tossed away the zipper.
“She had just discovered that she was the Anomalous Wattiez user and was having a bit of a crisis. A part of her identity revolved around not being able to use wattiez. Actually, a big part considering how few of them there are and how she’s been treated, being unable to use wattiez, in some part, made her who she was.”
Amelia nodded eagerly.
“She believed being untethered wasn’t necessarily a bad trait, it made her stronger, made her more empathetic. It brought upon an emotional change that left her better off in the end. Only problem was that she could use wattiez, so what if that strength came from her there and not her determination. Her drive, came not from inside, but a talent she was born with.”
Amelia looked like she was fuming and couldn’t hold herself back. “That’s asinine, all of Krista’s strength is her own. Born of her will and need to help others… like me.”
Damien nodded, “I felt the same way. However, I chose to convey that thought with a hug. Whenever I was upset when I was younger, my parents would hold me tight, and I’d feel just fine after. That’s when she said I love you out of nowhere.”
Amelia raised an eyebrow, “Nowhere?”
“Okay, I’m not going to act like I didn’t notice anything. I’m just saying that it was unexpected, I barely knew how to react. Krista’s a good girl, no, a fabulous woman. It’s just something goes off in my head anytime I think about being together with Krista. Ah!”
A strong beating, like someone is actively punching the back of my head, “Was that it?” asked Amelia.
“I’m guessing it has something to do with our past. She told me that we had some sort of falling out that separated us. Remember when I told you that I had amnesia, well, that was mostly not a lie. For some reason, the time that I met Krista is just a huge blank for me, I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
“Right…” frowned Amelia.
“No, seriously! It was also around then that my mother passed away, I don’t think I would have forgotten that time, especially for that reason. Until then, I don’t think anything could happen between us.”
Amelia scowled at him, and had her arms crossed, “No, I think you’re just being a coward. If you don’t like the girl, you have got to tell her. If somehow, you are right, and something in you is holding you back, beat that inside part of you and go get the girl. She seriously likes you, but you better hurry before competition rolls in.” She emphasized the point by pointing upwards towards Dante and Krista.
“I’m getting love advice from a girl three years my junior, who I know for a fact has had no real experience in love herself.”
Amelia scanned the area until she found something. Following her eyes… “Love and experience is all about going out and trying, even if you fail.” She stood up and skipped away to where Dmitri sat.
Snidely, Damien retorted, “Well, I’m rooting for you.” Damien promised himself to sort all this out eventually, but for now, just what is Dante planning?