Chapter Text
Furina’s life has changed a lot, ever since the day she got exposed as a fraud, as someone merely pretending to be the hydro archon. While she does not miss most of her old life, the absence of the tea parties she used to have with monsieur Neuvillette does sadden her.
Ever since that day, it has become a lot more difficult to get hold of him.
But luckily for her, Neuvilette finally had a gap in his agenda and therefore was able to make space to enjoy a tea party together with her later today.
She was on her way to the aforementioned meeting. While walking to the Palais Mermonia, she unexpectedly got stopped by a small postboy handing out flyers.
“Want a flyer, miss?"
The poor soul looked at her with pleading eyes, pleading eyes of the kind one could never decline.
“...Please? ᴵ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵍᵉᵗ ᶠᶦʳᵉᵈ.”
“Oh yeah sure!” Furina replies with an awkward chuckle; she is not as confident as she used to be, but she was starting to pick herself up again, bit by bit.
She took the flyer from his shaky hands.
'Are those tears in his eyes?'
She wondered why he looked so scared. Furina was not quite sure what to do though. Perhaps he was nervous? After all, social interaction is quite a difficult thing.
So she smiled at him in hope that it might help.
While proceeding her walk, she decided to take a look at the flyer the boy gave her; it displayed some sort of event happening in Natlan soon. Apparently said event will include a lot of music-related festivities too.
She immediately thought of her dear friend.
She knew one of the things Neuvillette loved doing in his free time was listening to music. 'and considering how long it took to plan a meeting with him must mean he is very busy...'
Perhaps the festival would do him good. It really could...! Such a joyful coincidence!
Furina jumps in excitement at her amazing idea to help her old friend.
Neuvillette doesn't ask for help, he never does, but Furina was confident about him needing a break. She has noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes.
At the Palais Mermonia
As Furina walked through the door, she was greeted by the Chief Justice of Fontaine.
“Lady Furina, it certainly has been a while since we were able to meet like this” Neuvillette gestured to the couch. The one Furina would always sit in back when they were still working together.
“Indeed, it has!” Furina smiled as she sat down. “I believe our previous encounter was well... during that incident.”
Neuvillette looked at Furina as she said that, unsure of what to respond. When he figured what was appropriate to reply, Furina already decided to speak once more: “So ehhh.. How have things been in the Palais Mermonia since I took my leave?”
“It certainly has been busy.” Neuvillette replied. “Although, that has always been the case so I guess you could say nothing much changed when it’s about the workload.”
“I suppose that’s both a positive and a negative..” She stayed silent for a few seconds, unsure what to say. ‘Oh, wait the flyer…!’ “So why don’t you take a break? Knowing you, you haven’t had one in a while, aaand it is important to rest from time to time!”
Says you Furina, says you.
“I don’t think that will be necessary, but I thank you for the offer.” He reached for the cup of tea that was on the table, gently blowing the heath away before taking a sip.
“Oh, but I do think it is necessary. Look at your eyebags, for example! You need a pause and relax for a while, ᴵ’ᵐ ˢᵘʳᵉ ᵒᵗʰᵉʳˢ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵃᵍʳᵉᵉ. Besides, I can arrange for someone to take over your task while you are gone!” Furina said with pride in her voice. “I would take them over myself, though I fear I’m nothing more than a normal Fontanian citizen now.”
“I’ll take it into consideration.” The hydro dragon took another sip of his tea.
‘He’s considering... Oh well, usually that means he’ll end up doing it anyway but just doesn’t want to commit at the moment.’
“Well then, that is fine by me! I am truly happy that you are considering taking a break.” She crossed her arms before continuing. “Back when we were still working together my vacations would usually be the only reason you would finally go on one as well.”
“Although on the contrary, you would go on a lot more vacations than needed if I didn’t stop you.”
‘Touché.’
Furina just stared at the man in front of her. She had nothing to say to counter that argument. He was right, but she would not admit that.
Neuvillette decided to break the silence.
“So how have you been doing lately? I heard someone mention you are expanding your acting career?”
“I have! Right now I’m mostly taking smaller roles, though. I am not sure if I want to do any big acting roles any time soon.”
‘That is quite unlike the Furina from a few months back, she really has changed ever since her secret got exposed. After my initial shock, I was worried what would happen to her now that her entire life was turned upside down. I am glad that those worries seem unneeded.’
As he returned from his thoughts, he noticed the slightly panicked look on the others face.
What he considered to be a comfortable silence seemed to be an awkward one for her. It was not surprising, Furina was never the biggest fan of silent moments during casual conversations.
“My apologies, I got lost in thought for a moment. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! It is not against the law to be lost in thought after all...!”
Neuvillette looked out the window as she talked and saw how the Fontanian sky was turning into a beautiful dark blue and the streets looked a lot emptier than before. “It’s getting rather late, perhaps we should call it a day and return to our homes.”
“I suppose that might be the smartest decision to take. Do make sure to tell me if you take my offer though.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice, likely because of how brief their interaction felt. Although she was happy that she was able to convince her friend to consider a vacation.
The two depart as Furina heads home while Neuvillette thinks some more about Furina’s offer.
It had been a week since Furina suggested a vacation to Neuvillette and now here he was, waiting for the aquabus to take him on the first part of his journey.
‘I really did not think I would go to Natlan, especially on such short notice; but somehow everyone I talked to about this agreed with Furina. Perhaps she was counting on just that, it would explain how she agreed to drop the topic relatively soon after I said I would think about it.’ Neuvillette sighed. ‘Alas, I suppose there is no use thinking about that now, when the arrangements have already been made.’
It did not take long for the aquabus to arrive, which marked the start of the long way he had to go to arrive in Natlan.
‘Whilst I wait for the aquabus to bring me to Romaritime Harbor, I might aswell take a closer look at the flyer Furina gave me.’
As Neuvillette was looking through the various events happening in the Children of Echoes, the place he would be staying at, a certain event piqued his interest.
‘A ...Mozart fan concert…? I didn’t even know something like that existed! I do quite enjoy his works as a composer, so it is nice to see other people pay tribute to the art he has created.’
Neuvillette circled the name of the fan concert with a pen, as old people would.
After a long day of travelling the sun begun to set, painting the sky in different shades of red. That beautiful sight marked the end of Neuvillette’s long journey to the Children of Echoes.
‘It is truly surprising how tired one can get from travelling the whole day, especially because of how I spent most of the trip observing the scenery and reading the book I brought with me. Oh well, perhaps it’s a good idea to immediately stop by at the hotel and leave the exploration for tomorrow.’
And he did just that. After checking in, he immediately got on the bed, preparing for a good night’s sleep.
The following days Neuvillette spent relaxing during his stay in Natlan, he didn’t engage in a lot of activities as he personally preferred spending his vacation while enjoying the view that the area had to offer.
One thing Neuvillette was looking forward to, however, was the Mozart fan concert that would be happening this evening.
He was enjoying Natlanic air some more, as there was still some time to spend, before he had to leave for the fan concert.
The landscape was beautiful; the grass itself was a lively shade of green and there were signs of art everywhere. There were animals playing in the distance, Neuvillette believed they were called Saurians? He was unsure. Nonetheless, they looked like curious little creatures, something Neuvillette was fond of.
It was also rather warm in the nation, despite it already being in the latter half of September. He was sweating slightly, it was an odd change from the colder Fontanian air.
The venue was located a bit further away from where Neuvillette had been staying, so he made sure he had enough time to walk there while admiring the view alongside the road.
When he finally arrived at the building where the fan concert would be taking place in, he didn’t need to wait long until the event began and the music started playing.
‘This might be Der Hölle Rache..! Such a beautiful aria indeed. It is one of Mozart’s most well-known pieces, for good reason too.
…
It sounds a little off though...’
‘Wait a second, ...are those drums and guitars I hear...? Isn’t this what the children these days refer to as… disco music? But in this case they seem to have used Mozart’s composition as a base…?’
Neuvillette looked bewildered as the music continued, but honestly, he was kind of into it. He felt his body move along the rhythm, and he started dancing the same way the people around him did.
He had never felt this free, he had never felt this energetic. It was as if all the stress that had been building up inside him had been seized within this instant. Absolute euphoria was streaming through his blood, with the strength of a river or the rain.
And most importantly,
he was happy.
‘The songs…, the sounds…, the echoes. From the drums to the bass to the guitar, is this what it sounds like to experience true freedom?’ Neuvillette could feel the tears forming in his eyes, from hearing the beautiful melody streaming through the room.
In the days that followed, Neuvillette couldn’t stop listening to disco music, it was not limited to remixes of classical music too. From ‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor to ‘Bad Girls’ by Donna Summer, he just couldn’t get enough of it. He had even bought some earbuds with a little radio to keep with him in his pocket.
During his journey back to Fontaine, he felt himself enjoying the trip more than when he did on his way to Natlan. All because back then he wasn’t listening to disco music.
Live truly felt better with disco music...
Even back in Fontaine, Neuvillette could not stop listening to EDM. He felt himself getting distracted while he was working. Suddenly the tower made from important documents which he had to go through, seemed much taller than it did before his vacation to Natlan.
Not only that, but Neuvillette also had trouble keeping up with the trials at the Opera Epiclese. Regrettably, he just couldn’t keep his mind where he needed it.
‘I cannot seem to be able to concentrate... why am I craving it to such extend, to listen to Electric Dance Music? At least… there is nothing to worry; in the end it is the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale who makes the verdict. I will not have to worry that the punishments the defendants will receive will be a wrong one.’
Unbeknownst to him, he did have to worry.
For Neuvillette was about to declare the verdict the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinal bestowed upon the defendant; Michel Dupont, whom had robbed an elderly woman and, in an attempt to distract the guards, thew her belongings from the bridge near the Court of Fontaine, he was found guilty.
His punishment? The death sentence.
The people from Fontaine went ballistic, when they heard someone got the death sentence for a mere robbery. Robbery was bad and all, and they did agree one must respect your elders, but the death sentence simply went too far. How could Neuvillette agree to this?
The days that followed were not any better, the punishments people got for petty crimes were absurd: A man who released a flying object on the 2nd of October got fifty years in prison, a woman who was in possession of drugs sixty-four, and all that, while murderers had to do community service for a month or two.
The Fortress of Meropide was overflowing with people who simply made a mistake, while the Fontanian streets were getting more dangerous by the second.
The people of Fontaine were mortified, this was just grotesque: Murderers were walking free, and they could go to jail for a lifetime because of a simple misunderstanding.