Chapter Text
You really could use some pointers on understanding human emotions, Monsieur Neuvillette…
Then if it is all the same to you… would you care to show me a few, Miss Navia?
~~
For once in her life, Navia finally felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her heart. That dull ache that had long persisted after her father’s demise, the pressure of having to bear such a wretched legacy, even when she knew deep down that her father was never the kind of person to have ever been able to commit such atrocities.
Just like the clearing skies over Fontaine, she felt the clouds of her heart began to dissipate.
She can finally stand proudly in front of her father’s tombstone.
“I did it, Father…” Her voice barely above a faint whisper, her breathing momentarily stunted to compose herself before she let her lips curve with a degree of freedom that she had not felt for the past couple of years, “I’ve proved them all wrong. I proved to them just what kind of a man you truly are.”
She patted the ground around her newly placed bouquet.
“Callas the Faithful.”
Though the soil had been cold due to the previous rain, she felt it grew in warmth when the evening sun began to peek through the confines of the sky’s grey blanket.
Childish as it may be, she would gladly take that as a sign of him smiling form the heavens.
“Navia, sorry to interrupt you. But we were looking to go back to the city.” Paimon’s voice permeated her thoughts, Navia turning to look at the two outlanders who both held a gentle smile, “Do you wanna come with us?”
Sparing a brief look towards her surroundings, Navia took in the fresh air. “I think I will stay for a while longer.” Her eyes caught sight of the peaceful nature around them and just couldn’t will herself to leave just yet, “You two go on ahead. If by chance that you still find yourself roaming around the city come nightfall, then maybe we can continue our excursion afterwards?”
The two of them nodded almost instantaneously, “Sounds like a plan!” The flying fairy nodded enthusiastically, “We’ll see you around then!”
“Will do, and one more thing, Traveler and Paimon.”
They stopped in their tracks once more. Navia bowing ever so slightly.
“Thank you for making the time to come and visit my father’s grave.” She smiled knowingly, “I’m sure he would have been happy to have known the two of you.”
This time, the Traveler had been the one to answer after they nodded.
“We think so too.” He remarked, a light grin ladened upon his features, “He would’ve been happy to see how you saved our butts.”
Navia had no reply but just to chuckle. One that was replied in kind from the two outlanders before they finally took their leave from her father’s resting place. Leaving her to reminisce about him, and the happenings of the day to herself.
It truly has been a remarkable change.
For some, three years might have been time that amounted to nothingness. A fleeting period of their lives that can truly be filled with the mundane happenings of life. But with how her three years had been filled with the shadow of her father’s legacy, she knew that she would need to take the time to understand the changes that both he and she had imposed to the lives of Fontaine’s populace.
Yet she knew that just like the brightening evening sky, all this change will lead to the betterment of all. Where truth comes to light and the world will be filled with a little bit more hope for the people within.
Her heart still held that bit of regret. The faint wish of having had the chance to show her father what she had achieved, and what she can achieve.
But she knew that it was wasteful to hold on to such a baggage. It was merely the byproduct of her stubborn nature. Letting go had always been the one aspect of life that she can never quite hold on to. Especially when it meant forever.
Callas would have wanted for her to move on.
It will take time, she knew that. But she will get there one day.
For now, she will relish at the fact that she can fondly cling on to all the memories between them, without sorrow to accompany its waking steps.
Speaking of steps…
She kept her eyes closed while the presence beside her grew languidly.
“The Traveler and Paimon are already on their way back to the Court of Fontaine.” Her breath even, she spared a glance towards the man who stood at attention, “Or have you not had your fill of standing around with such an apologetic look on your face, Monsieur Neuvillette?”
His chuckle was brief, yet audible, “As I have said before, self-expression is not one of my strong suits, Miss Navia.” Their eyes met, and his solemn gaze stood unwavering, “If I do appear apologetic, then I’m afraid that it is due to the fact that I am still unable to fully move pass the remnants of my previous thoughts.”
Well, she couldn’t exactly blame the man. In Fontaine, his position practically held the power to change and judge the life of another person in a blink of an eye. Though the Oratrice helps with alleviating the burden of decision, it is merely a machine. People do not hold grudges against unfeeling mechanisms, which naturally delegated those condemnations towards the man who held the chair above it all.
To have wrongfully sentenced an individual and thus changing the lives of those around said person, is a responsibility that even Navia couldn’t fathom.
In more ways than one, she was thankful that the man had decided to show up at her father’s grave. She had always viewed him as a man built out of the principality of the laws that Fontaine held so dear. Today had been a chance for her to see that beneath all the stout and uncompromising frame, lay a heart that knew how to grieve, and a heart that knew regret.
A heart that could feel.
For that, she can only be thankful.
“Although I’m probably not in a position to be saying this – given the fact that I can’t even begin to fathom the burdens of your responsibilities.” Navia cleared her the bile rising up her throat, “Spare no more regret for the path that my father had chosen. You’ve taken it as a lesson – a lesson to better understand the people that you rule over. I think Callas would take comfort over that.”
Neuvillette still harboured his uncertainty, “I may be fooling myself, but I am not quite at the point where I can allow my conscience to accept that without the reminder of the error that I have made.”
“At the end of it all, we are but mere humans, O’ Chief Justice. Mistakes are what drives growth, and what he did was merely what he thought to have been right.” She waved her hand towards her father’s tombstone, “That man would rather die with the honour of the duel, than to have been sentenced to a silent death. Even I couldn’t help but to think of him as a madman in some parts of his life.”
“As mere humans, may be an applicable excuse for many other’s misgivings.” He countered, his eyes now stuck onto the ground, “But I’m afraid that it is not an entirely apt compensatory grace for my category of faults.”
Navia raised her eyebrow at his statement, “Are you implying that you are incapable of making human error?”
He sighed, a mysterious sense of longing evident in his breath.
“Incapable… might not be the correct line of thought.” He deduced with conviction, “With the experience that I possess, it would be more fitting to say that I would supposedly be incapable of said imperfection.”
Silence befell them, and he was sure that he had finally managed to inconvenience the young woman once more.
It was a matter of time anyways.
“My apolo-,”
“Then I can honestly say that you place too much of a burden upon yourself, Chief Justice.”
“…Pardon me?”
He tore his eyes off the ground. His gaze now stuck upon her contemplative ones.
“Of course, with our stature within society, it is evident that we are to strive for as little mistakes as possible.” Navia’s voice had been strong and confident, “But we can’t always be right. Take for example, I have yet to sincerely apologize for all the hurtful words I’ve said to you in your office.”
In all honestly, he had almost forgotten about that part of the conversation. What with has been happening in the past couple of days, but it was also because he thought that he had deserved to have heard those words.
“I assure you, Miss Navia, that it was-,”
“No, it doesn’t matter how much you think any of that had been justified – I still berated you with words that were definitely unbecoming of what you are.” This time, she fully turned towards him, hand on her chest, “You are by no means emotionless, and the apathy I had accused you of possessing had been nothing but words that were said out of anger and frustration.”
He didn’t know what to say, and simply waited for her to continue.
“Today has shown me that. You were egoless in the respect that you’ve shown me and my father, and I can only be thankful for it.” She inched that little bit closer towards him, “If he was here to say it himself, then I’m sure my father would have shared my sentiment.”
The backdrop of the setting sun brought about a shine to her that Neuvillette had just begun to notice.
“Thank you, and please; don’t be too hard on yourself. You have a beautiful heart, and though you might still struggle to fully understand the hearts of the people...”
Her grin shown even brighter under the evening sun.
"I believe that you are just and good."
Neuvillette can only stare in silence and astoundment.
It was a wonder just how much he could learn from dealing with her and her father.
Though for a long time, he knew that to be firm and uncompromising in the face of adversity is where true strength lies. That fortitude could only be achieved in the direst of circumstances.
Little did he know, just how much strength and power that comes from someone who had been so forgiving.
Really, he can only be impressed. His eyes found its ways to Callas’ name.
“Truly, Callas has raised such an exceptional individual.”
Lo and behold, Navia is still that of a young woman. A praise in any level from a man as genuine as Neuvillette was bound to at least throw her off her footing.
“Y-You give me too much credit, Monsieur Neuvillette. Or better yet, you give him too much credit.” She crossed her arms while she averted her face, “Believe me, as revered as her was, my father held some incredibly eccentric tendencies that would have no doubt derailed my present constitution.”
Neuvillette simply tilted his head, “I would not be surprised, considering your particular proclivity with interrupting court proceedings and your lack of regard for the legal process.” Wistfully thinking to himself, Neuvillette concluded with his own sense of conviction, “As the old adage goes, the apple does not fall too far from the tree…”
Navia couldn’t help but to groan, “And here I thought you were finally capable of actually lifting people’s spirits back up.”
“Ah, but none of that should take away from what you have been able to achieve, Miss Navia.” He assured her, noticing that her features had began to pout, “Callas would be proud at the woman that you have grown to become.”
Placing both of his hands behind his back, his voice in respect to the man who is no doubt grinning upon them from the skies above.
“He will rest easy, knowing that he will be remembered as he deserved to be.”
Navia watched on as he kept his gaze on her father’s tombstone. Her question more to reassure herself than it was to find out what he had been thinking about.
“Which is?”
His smile was thin, but sincere.
“A man who remained faithful to his loved ones to the very end of his breath.”
Callas the Faithful.
Funny how a small change in a title is all it took to alleviate the haunting pressure in her heart.
And to hear Neuvillette say it had been nothing short of reassuring.
“He would be delighted to hear that.”
It would be amiss to say that she ever saw this sort of scenario ever cropping up. Standing by the view overlooking Poisson, with the man who once charged her father to what essentially was his death. A misunderstanding that she for some reason felt massive relief in having been able to clear up.
Unbeknownst to her, the silence that had encapsulated them followed suit until the sun is slowly hiding behind the horizon. A fact that Neuvillette only noticed after realizing that the light behind Navia’s golden locks began to dim away.
“It’s getting late.” He said lowly, a tinge of something that he couldn’t exactly place laid itself within his words, “Are you planning to return back to the city?”
Navia gasped at the sight of the setting sun, “Oh my, I didn’t even realize the sun had set so low…”
A brief look of contemplation flew past Neuvillette’s features, before he gestured towards himself, “Would you perhaps prefer it if I were to escort you back?”
His words caught Navia by surprise. The sight of the man cordially presenting himself as her escort was also an image that she could never have imagined to even be within the realms of possibility.
Yet, she doesn’t find it within her to mind.
“If it’s quite alright with you…” Was all she said before she entertained the notion that he might have had his own matters to attend to, “But, are you not preoccupied? I wouldn’t want to take into your business hours.”
Neuvillette simply waved his hand to the side, “There will be no issue. I’m quite ahead of work if I may say so myself.” Shifting his body, he urged her to fall in line with him, “We are heading in the same direction regardless, so why not make for a companiable trip?”
Looking at his outstretched hands, Navia can only scoff with smile.
“A stroll it is then.”
Their journey back towards the Court of Fontaine was filled with relatively small talks and calming silences. Both of them understanding that there was no need to say more than what needs to be said, and simply basked within the other’s presence.
By the time they have made their way towards Hotel Debord, the night sky had begun to blanket the city. Navia’s steps slow with a small weight in her heart, a foreign wish that she never would have thought to have.
She somewhat wished that their walk hadn’t ended.
But alas, they both had business to attend to.
“Well, it’s been a pleasant evening, Miss Navia.” He halted his steps to allow her a closer hold in front of the hotel entrance, “But this is as far as I will go for now.”
“A pleasant evening indeed, Monsieur Neuvillette.” Navia flashed him a brief grin, “Thank you for escorting me back. Hopefully it wouldn’t have placed too much of a dent in your busy schedule.”
Again, Neuvillette simply waved her concerns away, “Nonsense. I would have never heard the end of it if Sir Callas found that that I allowed her daughter to embark on a nightly walk by her lonesome.”
Navia chuckled. A fact that she had almost always forgotten, this man knew her father.
When no words nor action came from the two, it grew into a moment of merely staring at one another, unsure of what they should do now.
It was only until Navia took a deep breath and promptly offered out her hand.
Unsure, he only stared at her hand for a few seconds, before hesitantly grabbing hold of her proposition. His hands uncharacteristically stiff when he shook it, eliciting an amused giggle from the blonde in front of him.
“Quite a stiff hold there, Chief Justice.” Her amused chuckles still interspersing her sentences, “You really could use some pointers on understanding human emotions, Monsieur Neuvillette…”
With his hand still holding hers, Neuvillette could only shift between gazing at the warm hand clasping his own and the laughter that came out of the lips of the woman ahead of him.
His understanding of humans had never been shaken to the point that she and her father had managed to rock them towards. It brough upon a sense of curiosity that urged him to delve in and find out about what more there is to see beneath all the smile and outward appearances that humans so tightly keep under the guise of emotions.
And for one, he would really prefer it if she was the one to guide him.
His words came out before he could even process his thoughts, her hand still within his.
“Then if it is all the same to you…”
Her hold tightened ever so slightly.
“Would you care to show me a few, Miss Navia?”
Again, her response was to be muted, and again, he thought he might have taken things too far. As far as he was concerned, human emotions are fragile. Prone to shatter like glass, and the variables that could set it off were unprecedented.
Yet, Navia’s smile simply grew gentler.
“For starters, maybe you can drop the Miss?” She offered, gesturing between the two of them, “We’ve come this far and we've been through quite a lot, why don’t we refer to others as friends would?”
Friends.
He can only marvel at the possibility.
“If it is what you want, then I shall honor your request, Navia.”
Her grin grew wider, before he offered his own terms of the agreement.
“Although, it would only be a fair proposition if I were to gain such a privilege from yourself. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Navia giggled freely; she knew this request was coming anyways.
“It would be my pleasure, Neuvillette.”