So...
*Continues running
"You will never catch me!"
~
~
15 minutes earlier.
Sigewinne's POV
It was difficult to keep Claud from getting dragged away by everyone.
Tsk!
Who asked this kid to be so cute and innocent?
But...
Today's atmosphere was weird.
Something just wasn't alright.
"So the wedding..."
"Right, the location..."
"The opera?"
"Meropide?"
"The village is also an option..."
Everyone was clearly trying to keep the conversation going but it was evident that something was off.
"Something is wrong." I eventually spoke out what everyone thought.
Silence fell in the room.
Only Claude looked at me somewhat confused.
I wanted to reach up and pet his head to reassure him, but since we were all sitting on the floor that would have been difficult with our height difference.
"Right. Something is definitely off."
"I've been feeling uneasy for a while now."
"Me too."
"Me as well."
Now that someone voiced out their thoughts everyone joined.
It's weird.
I can't really place it but something is wrong.
"Maybe Dad is in a bad mood again?" Nary suddenly asked.
"Dad?"
"Why would he be in a bad mood?
"Yeah, he just got married."
"Hey, Sigewinne, Sedene, did they fight?"
"Not as far as I know." Sedene shook her head.
"They were all cuddly the last time I saw them." I added.
Too cuddly, actually.
"On that note, how are we gonna address Uncle Wriothesley now? We've been putting this discussion off for a while now even though he was clearly Dad's mate far before the marriage."
I'm not sure who said that, but it sure caused an awkward silence to fall.
"I vote we should just keep calling him Uncle Wriothesley for a while."
"I second that."
"Me too."
"I do as well."
"How about Papa?" Trow asked suddenly.
You could hear a pin drop in here.
Pa-
Papa?
You can't possibly be serious!
You want to call him of all people Papa?!
He is possibly the least suited for such a cute way of address in all of Fontaine!
"Hmm..."
"Papa, you say..."
"It's not such a bad idea."
Yes, it is!
It's a horrible idea!
At the very least, you're gonna give him a heart attack!
"All those in favor of calling Uncle Wriothesley, Papa?"
Slowly, everyone's hands raised, everyone's but-
"Sigewinne?"
Oh, archons!
"He's a pervert." I spat out.
This was a perfectly valid reason not to call him Papa!
I am not calling that guy-
"Pfft!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Sigewinne is being stubborn again."
"She's lying to herself."
"I am not-"
"You are glowing with quite the embarrassing color, Sigewinne." Sedene chuckled.
Ugh!
Come on!
I am not!
"I've known him for over a decade! I can't just start calling him Papa!" I reasoned.
"We've known him for quite a while as well."
"Especially since Dad has been sending him tea every month."
"But I work with him-"
"And I work with Dad. Doesn't stop me from changing the way of address in private." Sedene interrupted.
Tsk!
This is unfair!
I am being ganged up against!
"He's a perverted-"
"Excuse me, Miss Sigewinne, but His Grace is not a pervert. He is one of the most upright and respectable men I know." It was Cluade who interrupted this time.
Yeah.
Upright and respectable.
Sure.
Said Duke Wriothesley's biggest fan.
"I can settle for Uncle Wriothesley." I finally relented.
But...
"Nope."
"Too late for that now."
"We've all agreed to call him Papa already."
"You can't be the only one not to."
"Or what?" I challenged.
"Or you're not allowed to come to the wedding."
My jaw dropped in shock.
They can't possibly be serious!
But...
"They don't want a wedding though." I blurted out before I realized.
And this...
This of course caused an uprising. A riot even.
"What?!"
"No wedding?!"
"Which of the two came up with that genius idea?!"
"That is impossible!"
"There has to be a wedding!"
"They can't get away without one!"
"We can't allow this!"
"I won't allow this!"
"Let's go talk to Dad! Who's with me?"
"I'm coming!"
"Wait for me as well!"
"Dad is in court though. We shouldn't interrupt."
"Tsk!"
"Not fair!"
"How about we make a plan first?" Veleda offered.
This finally caused the group about to make a run for the door to sit back down.
Phew!
Catastrophe avoided!
Sorry, Dad!
I used a bit of a mess!
Well, to be perfectly honest it's completely their fault!
How can they even think of not holding a wedding?!
"So. Here is the plan. We'll convince Dad to convince Papa."
Papa...
Come on!
There is no way you cannot see that that just feels wrong!
"Dad we can convince, but can he really convince Papa?"
"I heard human couples use something called pillow talk to convince their partners-"
"Pfft! Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Veleda's words were interrupted by Claude choking on his tea and breaking out in a violent fit of coughs.
"Claude?"
"Claude dear, are you alright?"
Amidst everyone's concerns, I got up and gently stroked his back till his breathing evened out.
Even then, he looked mortified.
"Pillow- Pillow talk is... Please don't ever mention that in public or the Iudex may die of embarrassment." He finally said.
Huh?
Why?
What is pillow talk?
If we don't know then Dad probably doesn't know either.
"Don't ever mention the pillow talk." Claude repeated seriously.
Whatever this pillow talk is, I will have to look into it later.
Maybe I'll ask Uncle Wriothesley.
...
Okay, I can settle for Uncle Wriotheysle, nothing more.
...
Not Papa!
It's embarrassing!
I'm not calling him Papa!
No way!
I feel like I would drop dead the second I tried to.
"Okay, so we should-"
Click.
A small sound rang through the room. Claude couldn't hear it, but the rest of us all could.
What was that?
It sounded so unnatural.
It sounded so ominous.
I don't like this.
Obviously, every other melusine had the same opinion. Everyone was looking around warily.
Click.
There was another.
I really don't like this.
The whole room suddenly started feeling so eery.
"We should- We should call Dad." Aeval muttered.
Right.
This felt like a situation where we should call Dad.
It felt unsafe.
So incredibly dangerous.
Since she came up with the idea, Aeval was the first to stand up and walk towards the door. She grabbed the handle and-
"Huh? It's locked?" She murmured.
She tried once more, only to fail to one the door again.
"Hey, Sedene. Dad did tell the workers not to shut us in here by accident right?" She asked jokingly, but dread was clearly hidden under that joking tone.
It was then that it happened.
A third click sounded, this time far louder, loud enough for even Claude to hear.
This time, I could finally trace its origin.
Up.
It came from above.
I looked up just in time to see the ceiling open in tens of places like windows.
A vibrant-colored water burst in through those openings, falling down.
Everything slowed.
I could see it come down from above.
Water from the Primordial Sea.
I had seen it before. In bottles. Safely sealed away.
But this time it was not.
It was falling down, uncontained.
No...
Not like this...
A scene from last night suddenly flashed in my mind.
"I am not calling you Dad or anything similar even if the sky comes falling down one day, you perverted Duke!"
"Sigewinne-"
"Dad, this is between me and him, so stay out of it!"
"It's alright, Neuv. I know better than most how stubborn Sigewinne can be." He had chuckled.
"I am not stubborn!"
"Oh, really? Then why do I remember you calling me Uncle Wriothesley when I went to pick Neuvillette up from his sulking session?" He smirked.
"I was not sulking-"
"Hush, Neuv. Let me tease her a bit, will you?"
I couldn't get that playful teasing smile to disappear from my mind.
I probably hurt him, didn't I?
And now the sky, the waters, they came falling down.
How ironic.
I-
I-
Can I-
Can I still take it back?
Can I still...
Can I call you Papa just once?
~
~
Guys...
I have to get ready for work now...
I can't write another chapter till much later...
Oops?
Please don't kill me!