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Furina stormed off to her bedroom. She bumped against a wall, fiercely fighting the tears that clouded her vision. As she turned around the corner towards the stairs leading to her bedroom, she jumped. A crowd of Steambird reporters were waiting for her with smiles on their faces, with cameras and notepads at the ready.
“Lady Furina, Lady Furina!” the reporter called out to her. “Any comment on the serial disappearances trial?”
Humiliation. Utter humiliation. First, she had accused an innocent person of murder. Then, the Oratrice malfunctioned. Both times, everyone looked to her for answers, when she had none. She deserved the horrendous loss, she really did. Still, the press didn’t need to know that. She smiled passively, hoping that the tears wouldn’t ruin her mascara. “Oh! Well, yes, it was a wonderful day in court.” she insisted. “I truly do hope that the next court case will be as thrilling as this one!”
“Lady Furina! Will you be attending the opening of the new gift shop downtown tomorrow?”
“Certainly! You will be most amazed by my dazzling introduction!” she chirped. Thankfully, the reporter nodded fervently, falling for her facade of self-confidence. Another reporter stepped within her personal space. Her dear residents of Fontaine were extraordinarily enthusiastic about her at times, for better or worse. “Ah, one at a time, please! I am an archon, ever available for her people after all! You will most certainly get your questions answered, all of you.”
Finally, Neuvillette, the Chief Justice of Fontaine, emerged from his office on the same floor. He strode towards the reporters with a stern glare and ushered them away. “Tabloids are forbidden in these halls!” his voice boomed. “Out! All of you!”
“Ah, but one more question–”
“Out. Unless you wish for an encounter with the Gardes?”
That finally scared the reporters towards the exit.
Freedom at last. Still, she had to finish this off gracefully. She gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. “I’m afraid I will have to leave you all in suspense for now, in accordance with the chief’s wishes. Toodle-oo!” she announced boldly.
Time to make her daring escape.
She slammed the door closed and dove into her bed. Her pillow absorbed her incessant tears and muffled her wails. She took a moment to feel thankful for the pillow.
An unwelcome knock on the door echoed throughout her room. It was Neuvillette, no doubt.
“What do you want?” she barked. “I have a meeting with a citizen in two hours. Just let me watch.”
“Open the door,” he demanded.
Furina tightly hugged her pillow and stubbornly trudged in the opposite direction. No matter how many times she cried, it would always be there for her. The light seeping through the curtains dimmed. She pulled them aside.
The clouds had grown dark and blue. It was raining.
A pang of guilt erupted in her heart. Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, don’t cry.
Neuvillette, Neuvillette, don’t cry.
It was decided. The Chief Justice needed her sunshine at this moment. She tossed her pillow at her bed’s headboard and opened the door. Neuvillette still stood there, stiff but with an attentive gaze.
She stood as straight as a ballerina in a performance, smiling at her audience with an electric smile. “Well? Did you miss my radiant presence already?” she cooed.
“I am worried for you.” the stiff chief justice admitted.
What a ridiculous notion. As his archon, it was her job to protect him and everyone else. Come what may, she needed to protect them from the prophecy. The Oratrice and the disappearances were a symptom of the problem, merely a setback.
The fear could not eat her alive.
But it already has… a part of her mind annoyingly chimed in. Why does she bother listening to this part of herself?
A laugh rippled from her lips. “Worried? How could you possibly be worried for me?” she said. “Fear not, my dear Chief Justice! I, Focalors, have everything under control. There is no need to cry, so please let sunshine in your heart!”
Neuvillette said nothing. The rain pattered on the windows.
“Very well! So today is one of those days then. No matter!” she decided. “So? What is it that you need?”
He gestured to a hat and coat hanging in her closet. “Let us take a stroll in the secret gardens.”
The secret gardens: a place that Neuvillette did not often go to, yet still cherished when he desired privacy from leering eyes and wagging tongues. She herself had only been there a handful of times over the centuries. His motives puzzled her. Still, if her dear Chief Justice needed her radiance, how could she possibly refuse?
They hid their hair under hats and long overcoats, wary of any journalists skulking about. It was almost like a thrilling tale of two spies, waltzing into unfamiliar territory.
He opened an umbrella and wrapped her in his arms. Her fingers interlocked with his, venturing the cold, wet slabs of stone underneath them. His expression did not change.
No matter. After all, it was Furina’s job to make her beloved chief justice smile. “Isn’t it romantic to dance in the rain?”
“... Pardon?” Neuvillette asked. Furina skipped ahead and spun gracefully. She energetically tapped the puddles and the wet tiles. Others began to glance their way with smiles on their faces. “My ar–companion, people are watching.”
They stared at the couple with intrigue. Although she was in disguise, their gazes didn’t fail to pierce her self-confidence at once. They all saw right through her, judging her flaws, her insecurities, and her fears. Did she need to put on a show, even when she wasn’t acting as the Hydro Archon?
This was a mistake. She was sure of it. Why did she even agree to go out in the rain? She should’ve just waited for this to pass.
“... Not to worry. We are merely a couple of citizens with a bold sense of style. “Won’t you join me?” Neuvillette said. With his umbrella in one hand, he grabbed her with his other and gave her room for a twirl. For a moment, she could swear that she saw a glimpse of a smile as he humored her. They spun around each other, traded the umbrella, and landed in an embrace.
Hardly anything mattered just then. For a moment, and just a moment, they were no longer an archon and chief justice. Instead, they were two old friends, basking in the rain on a summer day. The god’s foot slipped. Her body dipped towards the ground. She hung inches from the ground, but her friend managed to pull her back to her feet.
A sheepish laugh erupted from her mouth. “Very good, my companion,” she whispered while scrambling back on her feet. “That was a test of your loyalty. You passed!”
The chief justice cautiously guided her towards the gardens, hidden craftily away by hanging vines and overgrown branches. They sat together in the wet grass by the sparkling lake, gazing at the blooming marcottes. Furina rested her head comfortably on his lap, basking in the peace she felt. It was quiet, the scene undisturbed by the usual applause of a crowd. Perhaps this was not a bad thing.
“It is… a treat to see you smile again,” Neuvillette finally said.
She tapped his nose. “My dear Chief Justice, I’ve always smiled for my people!”
“Not like this,” he said.
Perhaps that much was true. Ever since Furina had realized that the cursed prophecy of Fontaine was true, she spent time researching for answers on how to reverse it, day and night. To think that everyone but her would turn into water instantly… what a gruesome thought. She could not let it happen.
But with so many mysteries as to how, when, or why, Furina felt that she was infinitely far from the answers she sought. What kind of Hydro Archon was she, failing her people like this?
“The prophecy… is it really going to take everyone away? I don’t want it to take Fontaine, or Clorinde, or Lyney…” she said, squeezing onto the judge’s pants. “What if it takes you away?”
Neuvillette paused before speaking. “It is difficult to say what will happen. I believe I would be doing you a disservice if I were to tell you statements I was uncertain about.”
“I’m sorry.” she apologized. He stroked her hair without comment.
As a god, she usually should not need sleep. But whether it was because of the stress of the trials or the prophecy, or just something she ate, her eyelids grew heavier by the minute.
It was hard to find the right words to express herself, but one thing was clear: she didn’t want her dear Chief Justice to leave her, no matter what. No, their story would not end like two doomed lovers on a sinking ship. Their story was meant to have a happily ever after, and she would not accept any other outcome.
But perhaps she could humor this scenario for just a moment. Perhaps she could pretend that Neuvillette was about to turn into water tomorrow, or in the next hour. A terrifying thought, really, but the thought would do. Just what would she tell him?
“I love you,” she slurred drowsily. Her eyes fought to stay open, just so she could stare at the beautiful man who had stood beside her for hundreds of years.
How unromantic. To think that for all of the ways she dreamt of telling him those words, she settled on telling him when she was half asleep, in a dewy field of grass and under a faint rainbow.
Rainbow. The sun was shining again.
Neuvillette squeezed her hand as she drifted off at last.
“I know you do. And frankly, I must admit…”
This is primarily a gift to my friend, who really loves Focallette. I hope I did alright. :)
Special thanks to wishfulstargazer, my beta reader! And of course, thank YOU for reading!