FFVI, Celes/Setzer 15-minute ficlet
Aug. 30th, 2010 05:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lirillithTitle: Swept Off Her Feet
Fandom: Final Fantasy VI
Character: Celes (implied Celes/Setzer)
Length: 422 words
This was, apparently, my first of many entries for 15minuteficlets.
Setzer always offers her the best of everything; fine wines, gourmet chocolates, delicacies from all over the world. When he abducted her, expecting Maria, he had a wardrobe full of silken gowns cut to the opera singer's size. Now her cabin's furnished with satin sheets, the candles are fragrant beeswax, the lamps carefully trimmed and full of oil. Everything's clean, gleaming, perfect, a luxurious change from soldiers' quarters in Narshe; the officers gain certain perks, and more space, but the conditions aren't substantially different from those of the enlisted men.
The airship's still not a mansion, of course. The bath's small, and the water's heated and the tub filled by servants, not by pipes. But the water's hot, the room's private once the attendants withdraw, and when she's done she dries herself with huge, soft towels, wraps herself in a silken dressing gown, and returns to her shining cabin. Luxury feels almost unnatural to her now. They're on their way to the opera - not one of Maria's - and he's making it clear that he'll be a gentleman, that they're traveling in company but not together, that she deserves the best. This is the grandest and most public of gestures in their courtship.
And of course he wants her looking her best as he shows her off so publicly, and this will create something of a buzz in certain circles, won't it? He'll appear with the beautiful, controversial general on his arm, the one-time mage, the woman who prompted special sessions of the Figaro parliament, who conquered Maranda and then fought on the side of the Returners at the siege of Narshe, who stood in for Maria and sings like an angel.
Rumors. Her singing was not the slightest bit celestial, and the rest, while certainly dramatic, had been anything but theatrical. But maybe she ought to pay heed to her own thoughts on the subject - who's to say Setzer's doing this for effect? Or at least, not solely for effect. He's never tried to drag her into the glittering circles he frequents before, and he offered her an abundance of chances to beg off. He may not be the most emotionally open of suitors, but if he didn't have a sincere regard for her he wouldn't have persisted in the face of her own reserve.
And really, the whole excursion's a dream come true. Why complain of clean bed linen and a trip to the opera, or quibble if he gets to impress some business associates in the process?
Fandom: Final Fantasy VI
Character: Celes (implied Celes/Setzer)
Length: 422 words
This was, apparently, my first of many entries for 15minuteficlets.
Setzer always offers her the best of everything; fine wines, gourmet chocolates, delicacies from all over the world. When he abducted her, expecting Maria, he had a wardrobe full of silken gowns cut to the opera singer's size. Now her cabin's furnished with satin sheets, the candles are fragrant beeswax, the lamps carefully trimmed and full of oil. Everything's clean, gleaming, perfect, a luxurious change from soldiers' quarters in Narshe; the officers gain certain perks, and more space, but the conditions aren't substantially different from those of the enlisted men.
The airship's still not a mansion, of course. The bath's small, and the water's heated and the tub filled by servants, not by pipes. But the water's hot, the room's private once the attendants withdraw, and when she's done she dries herself with huge, soft towels, wraps herself in a silken dressing gown, and returns to her shining cabin. Luxury feels almost unnatural to her now. They're on their way to the opera - not one of Maria's - and he's making it clear that he'll be a gentleman, that they're traveling in company but not together, that she deserves the best. This is the grandest and most public of gestures in their courtship.
And of course he wants her looking her best as he shows her off so publicly, and this will create something of a buzz in certain circles, won't it? He'll appear with the beautiful, controversial general on his arm, the one-time mage, the woman who prompted special sessions of the Figaro parliament, who conquered Maranda and then fought on the side of the Returners at the siege of Narshe, who stood in for Maria and sings like an angel.
Rumors. Her singing was not the slightest bit celestial, and the rest, while certainly dramatic, had been anything but theatrical. But maybe she ought to pay heed to her own thoughts on the subject - who's to say Setzer's doing this for effect? Or at least, not solely for effect. He's never tried to drag her into the glittering circles he frequents before, and he offered her an abundance of chances to beg off. He may not be the most emotionally open of suitors, but if he didn't have a sincere regard for her he wouldn't have persisted in the face of her own reserve.
And really, the whole excursion's a dream come true. Why complain of clean bed linen and a trip to the opera, or quibble if he gets to impress some business associates in the process?
