Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ Revenge of the Descent ❯ One - Florian ( Chapter 1 )

It was half past midnight back in the Magic World, and Kai had recently returned to her seaside home. After Guren, Ilias, and Captain Skyler returned to the Ministry to finish their reports and other business regarding Rika and the Elementalists, she stayed at Florian's for a while longer before returning to her house.

 

She sighed as she walked out onto the beach, the sand feeling soft and cool beneath her feet. She sat down a foot or two away from the small waves rolling in. I can't believe we actually beat her. I thought we would have had a snowball's chance in hell against that Rika. But it was pretty stupid of her to give the majority of her powers to an underling, she thought. “Unless they had something else going on,” she murmured quietly, cringing at the thought.

 

“You never know,” said another voice. Kai flinched, turning her head to see Florian walking up to her with a small smile. “Is this a bad time?” he asked, hesitant to walk closer to her.

 

Kai shook her head, patting a patch of sand next to her as she replied, “No. Come sit down.” Florian nodded, obliging to Kai's offer and taking a seat next to her. He stared thoughtfully into the deep sea, the waves sparkling as they slowly inched their way up towards his and Kai's feet.

 

“It won't work, will it?” he asked quietly, looking away. Kai sighed, hugging her knees to her chest and shaking her head ever so faintly. Florian smiled sadly, twirling his finger in the sand. “I had a feeling it wouldn't.”

 

Kai frowned, turning to look at Florian. “I did have feelings for you, too,” she replied. “Once. But…” She sniffled, bringing her hand up to wipe away her coming tears. “You're so much like my brother… You comfort me when I'm down and encourage me to go on with life and focus on the good things, not the bad. You protect me when I need it… If anything…” She paused, smiling a little. “You even look like him, only with black hair. I don't want to lose that, Florian.”

 

Florian frowned, instinctively wrapping his arms around Kai to comfort her. The two stayed that way, cuddled together, for quite a while. Finally, Florian smiled at her and said, “That's okay. You won't ever lose that, Kai. I'll always be here for you, just like your brother.”

 

Kai smiled as she wrapped her own arms around Florian. “Thanks, Florian,” she said. “It means a lot to me.”

 

 

It had been one full year since the defeat of Gilead and Lady Rika, and the four girls each had their fair share of fame for it. Word spread `round the Magic World like a wildfire, and soon the girls found themselves being bombarded by village people. “Thank you! We owe you our lives! You saved us all! Please, let us know if there's anything we can do for you!” they said, offering them food, drink, treasure, and the freedom to stay in any suite in any hotel whenever they needed or wanted to.

 

The girls had always kindly refused, though their fans had kept insisting. In the end, they had to accept even if they felt guilty in doing so. Not that Eryk was complaining, though; he was quite happy at all the fame coming at him.

 

By chance, this particular day was Florian's twentieth birthday. The girls, Ilias, Captain Skyler, and Guren had come over for the party, though Florian's uncle had done the liberty of inviting the entire village as well.

 

Florian, of course, was flabbergasted, and not in a very good way. His uncle simply told him, “Find yourself a nice girl, Florian.” Florian rolled his eyes as he made his way through the large crowd to his few close friends: the Elementalists, Eryk, Ilias, Guren, and even Captain Skyler.

 

“My uncle's a mad man,” he complained, ignoring the many girls following him. “I wanted a simple party with only you eight, but my uncle seems to think I need a girlfriend.”

 

“Well, you sorta do,” said Eryk teasingly, putting his arm around Candis's shoulders. “I, on the other hand, have a perfect—”

 

Candis elbowed Eryk in the ribs, causing him to slightly bend over. “Shut up,” she hissed. “Florian's real sensitive to that since he stopped liking Kai.”

 

Eryk made an “oh” sound, looking to Florian apologetically. Florian shook his head and brushed it off with a wave of his hand. “It's fine,” he said, glancing around the large ballroom. “I think I'm going to go out for a walk. If uncle asks where I am, tell him I found a woman and took her out.” He smirked as the others laughed and nodded, rushing over to the downstairs bathroom to quickly cast an invisibility spell.

 

Cautiously, he snuck out of the bathroom and was relieved when none of the girls from before noticed him leaving. Good, it worked, he thought, making his way out of the ballroom and into the hallway.

 

 

Florian sighed, undoing the invisibility spell once he was back into the village. He stared at the children who were left behind because they were too small, amused. The children were playing kickball, it seemed, as they were kicking the ball to each other and back. Florian smiled cheerfully, bending down to pick up the ball which had bounced out of range. “This yours?” he asked kindly.

 

The children nodded, asking, “May we have our ball back, mister?” Florian smiled again, nodding as he handed the ball to the boy closest to him. “Thanks, mister!!” He nodded again, standing back up to see that an older girl was standing on the other side.

 

“You're pretty good with children,” she commented, pushing a strand of her messy blond hair out of her face. “For a rich boy.” Florian snorted, shaking his head.

 

“You think I enjoy being rich as much as you do being poor?” he asked, leaning against a wall. “If anything, I hate it.”

 

“That so?” the girl inquired, placing her hands on her hips. “Well then why don't you throw some of that money of yours down to us poor people, so we can feed our little siblings more than scraps for dinner.”

 

Florian gaped at the girl, who appeared to be at least his age. “How old are you?” he asked. “And how come you didn't go to the ball? According to my uncle, everyone was invited.”

 

The girl huffed, crossing her arms as she replied, “I'm eighteen, and I didn't go because I'm not like those groupies of yours. Always ogling over your pretty face.”

Florian stared for a moment, then laughed heartily. “You know, I do agree with you on that,” he said, his stomach aching from his excessive laughing. “I can't stand them either. You're quite different from them, aren't you?” he wondered, smiling sincerely.

 

The girl blushed, looking away. “What do you think?” she retorted, her hands reaching up to mess with her hair.

 

Florian laughed quietly to himself, running a hand through his hair. “Would you mind accompanying me back to the ball, then? It would be quite a funny sight to see their faces when they see me with such a beautiful, fiesty girl like you,” he said, grinning at her.

 

The girl blushed, rolling her eyes and pointing to her shredded skirt and dirty tank-top. “What do you expect me to wear, this?”

 

Florian shook his head and took the girls arm, leading her to a fancy dress shop. “I don't think the shopkeepers will mind if I just put the cash in the register,” he mumbled, rummaging through the dresses.

 

“Hey! I didn't say I'd go with you, I was just asking what I would wear if I did decide to go with you!” she exclaimed, turning to walk out of the shop.

 

Florian grabbed her wrist lightly, pulling her back. She groaned, turning to look at him as he pouted. “Please?” he begged. “You're quite an interesting person… Just like Kai,” he mumbled, staring at the dresses before him. “I'd like to get to know you better.”

 

The girl blushed harder, thankful for the very dim light of the shop. She sighed, holding her head. “…I guess it wouldn't hurt,” she muttered. “Just this once.” She smiled slightly when Florian's face lit up with joy as he continued to look through the hundreds of dresses.

 

“Ah, here!” he said, looking delighted. “This looks perfect.” He held out a deep, sapphire colored dress with no sleeves and a poofy bottom. The girl gasped, running her hand over the silky soft fabric.

 

“Wow…” she murmured, amazed. “It's so beautiful… But I can't pay for this and I'll feel so bad if you do,” she protested. “Even if you are a stupid rich boy.”

 

Florian chuckled. “I don't mind paying for it. Oh, how rude of me!” He smacked himself lightly on the head, then bowed respectfully. “Florian, at your service,” he said. “And you are…?”

 

The girl blushed, barely curtsying as she replied, “I'm Kiri.” Florian smiled, leaving a thousand dollar bill on the counter for the dress. She gaped, and began to protest again. “Please, don't. That's much too expensive… I couldn't pay you back until many years from now!”

 

Florian grinned. “The only payment I want is your company at the ball tonight,” he replied. “I have no real need for money payment.”

 

The girl sighed, giving up as she followed Florian to the back of the store. “Don't even think about peeking, or I'll change my mind,” she warned, giving him a wary look. Florian blushed and shook his head, saying he would never even dream of doing such a rude thing.

 

The girl blushed deep crimson, as she stepped out of the dressing room in the sapphire dress. Her shoulders were rather bony, but other than that, it fit her nearly perfectly. Her middle was a little too small, as she probably didn't eat much, but the color of the dress made her pale skin glow dazzlingly. Florian stared, mesmerized. “You look gorgeous,” he said truthfully, his eyes staring right through hers.

 

Kiri blushed, smiling a little as she quietly replied, “Thank you.”

 

“Shall we go?” Florian held out his arm like a gentleman as Kiri took it hesitantly.