DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tales of the Abyss or its characters. This is completely non-profit. But please feel free to send me money for any other reason. :)

A/N: I know this is a little late for this fandom, but I wrote this a few years ago, and I have decided to post it now instead of deleting it altogether. There's not enough with this pairing, anyway.

~F.P.

It's almost here! Just one more day! Anise thought merrily to herself. She was finally going to become the first female Fon Master. It had been so long since her last adventure with her friends. She hadn't seen them, in fact, since Luke and Tear's wedding ceremony in Baticul four years ago, and even then, Natalia had been away with King Ingobert in Grand Chokmah and the Colonel hadn't been able to stay long; they had talked together for the majority of the time he spent there. Even though they hadn't spoken with each other for years, it was like they had never stopped talking at all. Of course, she had stayed in contact with all of her friends via letter, but that was HARDLY comparable to being able to force them into awkward hugs or linking arms with them while singing extremely loudly and off-key and skipping across Auldrant like before. No matter how many i's she dotted with little hearts, Anise knew they couldn't appreciate her cuteness from afar. Ultimately, she hadn't kept regular contact, letter or otherwise, except with the Colonel, because everyone (including herself) had been so busy. He was perhaps busier than anyone, but he always responded punctually and with a pinch of teasing, so she didn't worry about bothering him. HE could appreciate her cuteness!

Her heart sank when it dawned on her that she wasn't really cute like before.

Anise has turned twenty-one a few months ago and was by all accounts a grown woman. She could no longer pull off two large pigtails, so instead she opted to leave her messy dark curls down, with various braids. She had hit a growth spurt shortly after the party disbanded and had grown a good six inches in height, lost all of her baby fat, and grown to be as voluptuous as Tear. However, Anise feared she put too much time and effort in her career, making her become an old maid.

If only I'd snagged Luke or some other rich and cute nobleman when I'd had the chance, she thought, silently cursing herself. But her demeanor softened when she remembered her old friends would be visiting to attend the feast in Daath to commemorate her inauguration as Fon Master tomorrow.

She had sent them all invitations a week ago, so she knew they had received them by now. They'd sent no respnse - even though the invitations said RSVP pretty clearly - but she assumed the mail boat just hadn't gotten back to Daath yet. Letter exchanges had always taken a few days.

A knock on her chamber door startled her. A gruff voice announced, "Mail for Fon Master Anise,"

Giddily, she hopped to her feet from her lounging position and hurried to her door, flung it open, snatching the letters and chirping, "Thank youuu~!" with a giggle.

Only two, she noted with a scowl. One from Grand Chokmah and one from Baticul, dated two to three days ago. Well, at least she could see the Colonel was coming - as she believed he would be the only one in Grand Chokmah. Guy had briefly lived there to help Peony with his rappigs, but he moved back to Baticul to be with Natalia since their engagement. Another opportunity lost, Anise thought bitterly.

She decided to save the best for last, so she started with the letter from Baticul, written in fancy, looping script:

Dear Anise,

I am very sorry to inform you we will not be able to attend. Tear is having complications with her pregnancy, so Luke refuses to leave her side, and I think it's only appropriate for her to have a woman by her side that she trusts in times like this. Guy simply wants to ensure I don't overwork myself.

We were all very pleased to hear from you. You will have to write to tell us how it went, and we will all visit as soon as we can. I'm sorry to get your hopes up that we could attend, but it seemed better to tell you why would be absent rather than say nothing at all.

Kimlasca will be sending an emissary on my behalf.

Regards,

Natalia

Anise frowned and tossed the letter aside. No one had even told her Tear was pregnant. She couldn't help but worry, but she was sure in Baticul Tear had the best treatment available. Anise pouted at the prospect of her big day being ruined with worry, but decided to tear open the letter from the Colonel.

After they had been exchanging letters for a while, he has taken up studying graphology (because she made an offhand remark about handwriting not saying anything about character) and had made a game out of mimicking her penmanship - his own beautiful, formal handwriting replaced with her giant, girly letters. He even used pink ink.

Fon Master Tatlin:

My, my, Anise, color me surprised. I hadn't believed you would have the attention span to work so hard for something that initially seemed so out of reach. Either way, I am pleased for the invitation, even though the emperor and I would definitely be coming sooner or later to see you with or without it. You see, it only makes sense for Malkuth to have a head start in getting on the good side of the new Fon Master, no?

It would also be nice to see you again, I suppose... There's a certain wrongness in never turning to see you've been following me or a "Yeah!" echoing what I say.

Col. Jade Curtiss

Anise grinned, despite herself. That was almost sweet, coming from the Colonel. She momentarily hugged the letter to her chest without losing her stupid grin, then tossed both aside to see how preparations for the feast were going.

A/N: Will update soon. Please inform me of any errors.