Err… The same excuse as last time… (sweat) Sorry. I've also been drawing smexy pictures of Zelos! (dies because I said that) …Well, it's part of my doujinshi of this story! It's turning out pretty. But I'm only in the prologue. XP And I'm probably a better artist than I am a writer… Oh, and I recently realized that I kept putting that Seles' eyes were pink. They're actually blue… Yeah… Did anyone even notice that but didn't tell me? Well, I'll fix that in the previous chapters sometime if I'm not being lazy about it.

Um, this chap is in 3rd person. Hmmm… I don't like the title of this one.

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Regretting the Recollections

Her heart skipped a beat. "Zelos…" she whispered. The name left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.

Tokunaga bowed sincerely and cleared his throat. "Also, the Chosen has asked that I deliver this to you." He dug his gloved hand into his right pocket and pulled out a book-sized wooden box. The lid had a design of a tree etched in it so skillfully; one would suppose it was crafted by a master. It was outlined with a golden color which was further brought out by the redwood finish. It was sealed with a simple, yet intricate looking silver latch and hinged on the opposite end with the same material.

As the container was set in Seles' hands, she found it was much lighter that what she expected. The girl glanced at the man before hesitantly lifting the cover open. She peered at the contents inside, her eyes widening. The base of the box was matted with a single velvet cushion. On the crimson cloth rested a darker hued crystal. It glinted in the light, tempting her to touch its smooth surface. The gold, teardrop shaped metal molded around it was as sleek as the crystal. "This is… his Cruxis Crystal…" she breathed somewhat baffled. Everyone drew closer to her in shock.

"That is correct. He asks that you "hang on to it for a while.""

Seles' hands shake involuntarily. The crystal belonged to someone. –Someone who she could not stand to think about. The red jewel that was in that case brought her flashes of things she wished long ago to go away. It would pose a constant reminder to her exactly why she is here. Her hands began to shake more violently and she stuttered, "…N-no. I can't keep this. I won't keep it!" She lets the open case fall free from her hands. Tokunaga, not wanting the Chosen's possessions to be dirtied, panics and scrambles to catch it before the crystal could hit the dirt ground.

With the box and crystal safely in his hands, the brunette man tried to convince the girl otherwise. "M-Miss Seles! You must reconsider!" he pleaded. "If the Chosen wishes it-!"

The pink-haired girl balled her fist, squeezing her eyelids together. "The Chosen this! The Chosen that! I want nothing to do with my br- the Chosen! Just leave and tell him that!" She was about to shout out more when a firm hand slapped her across the cheek. Seles touched her tingling face.

Marissa glared at the girl, her hand ready to give another smack if needed. She frowned. "Seles! You cannot act this way! You do not explode on people like this, do you understand!? This is a house of Martel, for Goddess sake!" Seles wholeheartedly stared at the ground, not willing to respond. The priestess faced Tokunaga with her stern face still present. "I apologize for her actions. Now, is this all you have come for?"

"…Actually, I suppose I am to stay here and ensure Seles' health remains well."

Seles lifted her head. "What? No!" she rejected.

"Seles!" The girl sharply exhaled through her nose and looked back down. Marissa glanced at the child once more and sighed. "Mr. Tokunaga, you are well aware that no men are allowed at this abbey besides the guards, yes?"

"I understand that, but I am not expected to go back often. Seles' condition is what's important."

The older woman pushed her jet black hair out of one of her eyes and considered a thought. "Hm. I assume we may bend the rules a little, yes?" No one else, besides Seles, minded and the guards only cared that no problems would occur. Marissa took the box from Tokunaga and handed it to Seles. "…You will only need to keep it safe. That is all."

"Fine," she agreed bitterly. The ten year old quickly stomped off into the abbey, digging her nails into the wood of the case.

Seles threw the box on to her table, not caring what would happen to the crystal inside. The sun was finally diminishing before the horizon. Seles laid still on her bed, eyes closed, trying to force herself to go to sleep. But the little voices in her mind prevented herself from doing so until an hour later.

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The blinding yellow sun was high above the clouds, illuminating the kingdom with plentiful light. Butterflies rested on the blooming flowers, fluttering their patterned wings to prepare them for a new day's flight. The eye-catching colors and elegant form of the flowers emphasized the grand beauty of the mansion behind them. The wind blew past the carefully trimmed trees and bushes next to the building; the hush of the healthy leaves not adding any disturbance to the calm of the day. Two identical stone statues stood proudly on the front lawn, overseeing the surroundings; their strong extended arms served as the perfect perch for the birds. Nobles strolled about with their noses high in the air, not wasting their precious time fraternizing with the servants.

Arousing the silent day, a young, scarlet haired boy flew passed the people to reach his home. His hair was tightly tied up, whipping behind him. He was evidently the child of nobility; his white shirt frilled at the ends and neatly tucked in. He reached the foot of his mansion and pushed his way through the doors with a bit of haste.

"I'm home!" he called out, a cheerful but somewhat bothered grin on his face. In the lavish living room, a small girl with a frilly purple dress hopped off of the black leather sofa and eagerly tottered her way to the boy with her teddy bear in hand.

"Big Brother!" Her strawberry hair flapped up and down in her pigtails, laser blue ribbons keeping her bangs out of her eyes as she ran.

Stopping an inch in front of the older boy, she thrust the brown bear to his face. "Mr. Snuggles and I missed you." Her babyish voice innocently slurred together some words. The boy chuckled at the bear's scrunched up face. He patted the girl's pink head.

"Aw, Seles. I was only gone for an hour."

Retracting the bear into the safety of her arms, the child looked up and caught the sight of something red shining below the boy's collar bone. "Zewos… What's that?" She pointed her stubby index finger at it.

Zelos stepped back. "It's nothing."

The little girl stared into the older child's sky blue eyes with her own cobalt ones; a puzzled expression befell her face. Her gaze soon landed back on the thing she saw. It was a round, blood red crystal mounted on a golden surface.

The shape and appearance seemed familiar to her, which caused her eyes to become larger. The outline of a man came to her mind… A man with similar red hair as the boy's but shorter and clean cut around the ears and neck. There was no sign of a smile on his face, but at the base of his neck was a crystal. The pink haired child opened her mouth in complete recollection. "That was Daddy's!" Her eyebrows pushed together.

The redheaded boy sighed as if he did not want to say this. "Seles… I was next in line. So it was given to me…"

"But it was Daddy's!" she screeched. Blobs of tears began to drip from her face.

"I- I know! But-!" Seles continued wailing. Was the boy really supposed to have it? Why? It was someone else's once!

Seles' screams echoed throughout the room. Zelos could not stand it but he didn't it to come to this. He clenched his right hand and shouted, "BUT HE'S DEAD, SELES!" Everything became deathly silent and darkness shrouded the room.

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Seles snapped her eyes open and looked around. Her surroundings were that of her room in the abbey. '…A dream…' It was already early morning. The sun peeked through the curtains, but it was enough to silhouette the objects in the room. Not at all groggy, she went to wipe her eyes to find they were wet. The whole surface of her cheeks, her chin and neck, it was all covered in the salty liquid.

The girl bent forward, dreading that memory for coming back to her. She wiped her face with her seaweed colored sleeve and was left transfixed to the covers of her bed, other things flooding her mind. 'Why did he leave his Cruxis Crystal to me? …Maybe he's trying to taunt me. Maybe things are going out of hand over there. I wonder how he's…' Seles shook her head from side to side. 'Why should I think about it? It's none of my concern.' She glanced at the box that sat on her table across the room. 'I don't even remember my father's face, and my mother's… I…' She flipped herself over and breathed into her pillow. The heat of her breath warmed her face as she quietly moaned.

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"Miss Seles? You're already up?" Seles had a chair pulled by the window and she stared out mutely. "Uh, Miss Seles?"

"What?"

"Breakfast will be ready shortly. As always, I'll put your dress right here…" Seles didn't bother to look and heard the sound of her clothes being laid out on her bed.

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Tokunaga was already sitting at the breakfast table, sipping a cup of tea. Everyone gathered around and the plates were spread out in front of them. "…So it looks like we have another mouth to feed…" one of the maids joked.

The new man was apparently a chatterbox. Starting a conversation, he left no time for himself to eat. Seles quietly sipped on her morning tea and stared at the talking man's double chin. His chin seemed to protrude far enough that it could catch water. The pink-haired girl was less than interested in what he had to say, but she listened.

"So… How is the Chosen?" The priestess asked.

"Ah, well he is at the top of his class in the Imperial Research Academy."

Seles snorted softly. 'That idiot brother of mine must be cheating in some way. He was never good at history, or anything for that matter.'

"His skills and understanding of math far exceeds most I know of." Tokunaga took a breath at last to drink from porcelain cup. He glanced at Seles with question. "Oh, Seles. You have certainly been quiet." The ten year old gulped down the rest of her food and gave the man a look. Tokunaga brought his cup to his mouth and muttered, "Mm… Seles, I have consulted with your caretakers. After breakfast, I will be giving you martial arts lessons outside."

Seles' skin paled. "What?"

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Mmm… I hated how flat the end turned out… And writing in first person is hard for me. That's why this ended up in third. But this did not really seem especially wonderful either. I also notice that I only spend a span of one to three days typing… I guess that's my fault. Oh, well.

Uh… Does anyone believe that, like Colette, Zelos was born with the Cruxis Crystal and was presented with it by the Oracle? Hm? Please care to interject. But so far as I'm concerned, he got it from his late father because where do you find some "Martel Temple" around Meltokio or wherever? Oh, could you tell that the dream Seles had was a flashback of some sort without me having to write "flashback"? …Well, yay to short-ish chapters. Now remember to review, and I'll shower you with pocky! Yum!