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@}-- Eternal Legends
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@}-- Act I
@}-- Act II
@}-- Act III
@}-- Act IV
@}-- Act V
@}-- Act VI
@}-- Act VII
@}-- Act VIII
@}-- Act IX
@}-- Act X
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Letters from the Heart, Act VII

Lucien was gone for a few months on behalf of the king. Typical things, really. All he had to do was protect the king’s son Dorgon. When he returned he stopped first at Serenade. Just as he had hoped, Celesta was there.

They greeted each other as they always did and sat at their usual table. She asked about his tasking from the prince and he told her that he had gone out on business per request of his Majesty. It wasn't a complete lie, but still... He hated keeping secrets from her. They talked for a while longer and then Edgar entered the main common room.

Celesta looked over at the door and her whole appearance brightened up. She stood up form her seat and greeted Edgar with a brilliant smile. She blushed when Edgar brought her hand to his lips to kiss it.

Lucien felt as though the whole floor had given out beneath him. His mouth felt suddenly dry and his chest ached. Where his heart should have been he felt nothingness. He stood up from his seat and retreated quietly to the kitchen.

Orichi, the owner of Serenade Tavern, looked up form the stove and looked as though he was going to say something then stopped. He sighed and shook his head. He set the dish he was preparing to the side, grabbed a glass and a pitcher full of water, and set them down in front of Lucien gently. He clapped a hand on Lucien’s shoulder and returned to his cooking. There was no need for him to say anything. He already knew what this was about.

Lucien stared down at the empty glass numbly. He had decided on his trip that he was going to ask Celesta if he could court her. He had thought that she reciprocated how he felt after all those hints that had been dropped. He had been so very wrong.

He had to tell her, though. It would east away at him if he didn’t. He’d regret every moment of his life if he didn’t at least tell her how he felt, what she meant to him.

He stood up from his seat neared the entrance to the main common. He watched Edgar and Celesta with a mixture of jealousy and a heavy heart. It felt as though his whole heart had been ripped out and cast aside, still beating pitifully on the floor and pumping out his life blood.

“That is not healthy, my friend,” Orichi said from the stove.

“I know,” Lucien whispered, “but I have to tell her.”

“Aye. Aye. At least you can say that you have no regrets over the matter.”

Lucien looked over at the Ryujin, his words making him pause and think.

“With love,” Orichi continued, “the worst thing you can do is nothing. By doing something, sending letters, poems, et cetera, you can at least say that you tried. That you did not give up and do nothing. Then, you would have no regrets. That, Lucien, is the key to all things. No regrets.” Orichi stopped and looked up at Lucien. “At least, that has been my experience.” He inclined his head and pointed behind Lucien. “Your friend is leaving now.”

Lucien Turned to see Edgar stand up and say his goodbyes to Celesta. He waited until he was gone. It was now or never. He had to do this now or he’d regret it. He approached Celesta quietly, not quite sure what to say or do. He cleared his throat to prepare himself and caught her attention. “Ah, Celesta, could I speak to you privately?”

Celesta smiled and stood up. “Of course, Lucien. Is anything wrong?”

Lucien shook his head. He didn’t answer immediately as he led her to the upstairs common room. Making sure that it was empty, eh shut the door. He turned to face Celesta and finally said, “Would you care for one last dance?” His heart was pounding so hard that he was sure that Celesta could hear it. He held his hand out to her. “Think of this as…a thank you and farewell gift.” He forced a smile on his face.

Celesta blushed and looked at him. “I will be attending the Winter Fest Ball alone, as Edgar will be out of town.” She assumed that he meant the Winter Fest Ball that was fast approaching, but as the gravity of Lucien’s words began to sink in she grew alarmed. “No farewells are happening! We are still going to be friends and closer friends if you will allow it.” She slid a small hand into his.

“But…you are with Sir Edgar, Lady Celesta. I would not even dream of coming between you two. And I feel as though my presence may be a bit of a strain…” Lucien placed his right hand gently upon her waist and held her right hand out with his left. He said after a moment, “Lady Celesta, may I hold you closer?”

“Well, yes, of course. We are going to dance so we must,” Celesta replied matter-of-factly. “And you would not strain me in the least. Having you for a friend would only enlighten and make me happier.”

Lucien stepped in closer and slipped his arm about her waist. “I am honored that you would think of me as your friend…”

Celesta looked him in the eye and smiled again. “Yes, of course, but why are you acting as if we never were friends before? What is with this sudden change in you, Lucien?”

Lucien gently rest his cheek against Celesta’s hair and closed his eyes, singing low under his breath, “Some enchanted evening/You may see a stranger/Across a crowded room/And somehow you know/You know even then/That somewhere you’ll see her/Again and again.”

Celesta smiled as they danced to the lilt of his voice, and she wondered and awed at its rich sounding tones. They moved gracefully and fluidly about the common room as he sang.

Lucien paused and said, “I was not sure where I stood with you, Lady Celesta. I could never really seem to get close to you. It was not until I saw you light up like the dawn when you saw Edgar did I understand the nature of my feelings for you, Lady Celesta.”

Celesta pulled back a little as they moved effortlessly in the waltz as he spoke. She felt a lump in her throat as she looked at him. She had been under the serious and strict impression that he fawned over Neria, with the way he would always ask her if she was alright. She retracted her hand from his shoulder and moved it to dash a stray lock of hair from this side of his temple. “Forgive me for being so dense.”

Lucien shook his head. Instead of replying, he sang softly, “Some enchanted evening/Someone may be laughing/You may hear her laughing/Across a crowded room/And night after night/As strange as it seems/The sound of her laughter/Will sing in your dreams.”

Celesta began to choke up and fall into a state of confusion. She had never seen him so out of sorts and she grew curious. Yet, something deep inside of her knew already the answers to her unspoken questions.

“Some enchanted evening/You may see a stranger/Across a crowded room/And run to her arms/And make her your own/Or all through your life/You may be alone.” Lucien’s voice wavered on the last two lines, but he continued on. “Once you have found her/Never let her go/Once you have found her/Never let her go/Never let her go.”

He slowed down until he stopped and cupped Celesta’s face in his gloved hands. “I…I am so sorry I never told you. I let you slip through my fingers and into the arms of another man. A man that I call ‘my friend.’”

Celesta felt a sting of tears as she looked at him, wondering if she was so incredibly an ogre that he had felt afraid to approach her about this. “Lucien, I wish I had known…”

Lucien reached up with a trembling hand and touched her brow, running his fingertips down to her cheek. “No. It is no ones fault but my own.” He paused for a moment, almost afraid to ask. This was his last chance. He had to. “May I touch you?”

“Yes, you may. I am not made of fine china…” Celesta looked over his face earnestly as she felt another lump choke up her words like dried rose vines over a tumbled, old, forgotten grave.

Lucien pulled off the glove on his right and ran his thumb over her lips to her cheek. “I have but one last request, Lady Celesta, and I pray that you can grant this poor man’s wish…” He swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat and asked quietly, “May I kiss you?”

Celesta looked at him and felt a stain of blush creep over her cheeks. She wished grandly at the ball he had stopped and kissed her, or danced with her again, or… “Yes, just one,” she replied. She felt a stab of guilt, but wouldn’t deny Lucien anything he request so earnestly.

Lucien leaned down and gently kissed her. He slid his right hand into her hair and kept the other to himself, placing it behind his back.

Celesta rose up onto her tip toes and retuned the kiss, so sweet and delicate. She had dreamt of this moment for a long time, but had hoped that it would have happened under different, more joyful circumstances. She wondered, somewhere in the confines of her innermost thoughts, “What am I doing?” But she had to know. She had to know what I felt like to be touched by him, to be kissed by him, to touch him, just once. She reached up and gently touched the side of his face.

Lucien pulled away reluctantly. “I should have told you. I should have told you at the Winter Solstice Ball. I should have told you the day after. I should have told you that I wanted to court you, m’lady.”

Celesta nodded fervently. “But tell me:: what now do I do?”

Lucien shook his head. “I cannot tell you what to do. It is not a man’s place to tell a lady where her heart lies.”

“In rapt and blissful confusion, I fear.” Celesta chuckled and hugged him. “I thought I was alone in my feelings and it turns out that I was not.”

Lucien sighed and retuned the hug. “But…Sir Edgar…I-I do not…I wish him no ill. I do not want your heart confused over him and me.”

“Then why come to me?”

“Because if I did not tell you, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.”

Celesta pulled back and looked at him with an expression of sheer regret and sadness. “I feel…so scattered as it were…”

Lucien let her go and dropped his arms down to his sides. “Do not let what I have told you, dear lady, get in the way of your happiness with Sir Edgar. He is a good man. A fine man, as it were. I could think of none better.”

“I could. Lucien, regret and reluctance are the bastard sons of fear. Never again hold back lest you miss something…” She squeezed his hand and departed the small common room and disappeared out the door.

Lucien watched Celesta leave. He stepped blindly over to a chair and sagged down into it. He stared down at his hands without even seeing them.

No regrets.

No regrets.

No regrets...

 

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Site © G. A. Mehan-Molina-:- All characters and related material belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved.-:-Poem © Wende Hignite -:- Lyrics to "Some Enchanted Evening" by Jay and the Americans

Letters from the Heart © 2004 -

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