Chapter 25: Our Great Leader Pays a Visit. Oh, Joy

The research team told the workers that they wanted to build a facility around the fallen Dragon to study it and help it recover. I should have listened to my instincts and put a stop to whatever they were doing then and there. But I was just a lowly construction worker in those days. I doubt anyone would have listened to my protests.

“Hurry up and get dressed, you charlatan! We’ve been summoned,” urged Éclair outside of a dressing room in the market tailor shop.

“I still don’t see why I have to wear this thing,” replied Ryan rather curtly.

At first, Éclair had been furious at Ryan for tricking her the way he did, but then when she realized why he did it ... well ... she was still mad, but more of an annoyed mad and less of an angry mad, if that made any sense. It was actually kind of sweet what the boy did, in an inane and psychotic sort of way. In other words, typical Ryan Uruks style.

And now she found out that the Emperor approached, and even worse, Squad 99 had been summoned. Éclair had no idea why. They were distinguished in some areas, but by Elemental standards, most considered them rookies ... amateurs still in training. But at the moment, that didn’t matter. The important thing was for Éclair to look as dazzling as possible for the boy she liked.

This gave Éclair the opportunity to get dressed up and show off to Leon. It had been ages since she wore a dress and felt like a proper lady. The last time she donned formal attire was when she lived in the palace, but that was before... Éclair decided not to think of that right now.

Besides the fact that this is all entirely unexpected, it’s also highly suspicious. Why would the Emperor come here, and why now? Could it be that he knows my secret? No! That’s not possible. My godfather told me that they had erased all traces of my existence ... that I would be safe so long as I stayed with the Ministry.

Besides, Chissler has never shown much interest in searching for me in recent years. He may not be a big fan of the Ministries, but that doesn’t automatically make him an enemy. Could it have anything to do with Leon? He did say that there might be people who would come looking for him one day. If Chissler threatens Leon, Emperor or no Emperor, I’ll have his hide.

But not even the worry that Éclair felt for Leon even compared to her annoyance at Ryan. As soon as she heard the announcement that would be meeting with the Emperor personally, Éclair rushed off to her bedroom to try out some dress clothes. But before she could decide, Ryan showed up at her door and started panicking about what he would wear.

Éclair felt a little bad about freezing him and then punching him, so she offered to help, but now she began to regret her generosity. Of course, being the nincompoop that he was, Ryan never thought of going out and buying something fashionable to wear for special occasions, despite having been given explicit instructions to do so at the orientation at least a dozen times. Honestly, being around Ryan Uruks felt like having a little brother and an infant all in one package.

“Hey, Éclair! I can’t figure out where this rope thingy goes! Is it for hanging myself?” whined Ryan while in the dressing room.

Éclair smacked herself in the forehead and took a deep breath. “It’s called a tie. You put it around your neck, you twit. You watch a lot of holodramas, right? Haven’t you seen one of those before?”

“Oh, a tie! So that’s what these things are called! Fascinating!” Ryan paused for a few seconds, and Éclair wondered if he tried out his theory of using it as a noose. “Hey, Éclair. I still can’t figure how to get it on. You wanna come in and show me how it’s done?”

Éclair held the top of her nose and shook her head back and forth in defeat. “Why me? Why me?”

“Excusa, mademoiselle,” said the shop owner, Gaston.

Gaston was a strange, pudgy little fellow with white powder and makeup on his face and a girlish voice with a French accent. Adding to his hilarious visage, he wore a white dress suit with black polka dots and bright red shoes. Perhaps it was just the job of people in his business to look eccentric, so Éclair tried not to say anything rude.

“You require assistance? Oui o no?”

“Oh, no need to worry. My friend is just mentally deficient. I believe he ate paint as a child,” said Éclair.

“And loved it,” chipped in Ryan in a high-pitched singing voice, not missing a beat.

Éclair pretended to laugh at his joke. “Heh, heh! Isn’t he just soooo funny?!”

I should have frozen his face shut, that way I wouldn’t have to look at him or hear his ridiculous jokes.

The shop owner seemed to nod knowingly. “First date. Oui.”

Éclair was flabbergasted as she waved her hands negatively. “OH, NO! EWW, NO! We’re just...”

The strange man held up a hand. “There is no need to explain yourselves. I, of all people, can understand the awkwardness of first love. Especially for someone so young and innocent like yourself.”

The man squeezed Éclair’s cheeks, and she resisted the urge to go for the sweet spot.

“By the way, could you tell me your names again, S’il vous plait?”

Before Éclair could answer, Ryan interjected from the dressing room. “I’m Ryan, and that’s Éclair.”

Éclair groaned. Suffice it to say, Éclair tended to avoid revealing her name out of habit, especially when giving her first name to French people.

“Éclair?” replied the eccentric Frenchman in surprise.

“Yeah,” said Ryan unwittingly. “It’s French, so I thought you could relate and all.”

“Ryan!” muttered an embarrassed Éclair through gritted teeth.

Gaston started laughing so hard that he had to wipe a tear from his makeup-ridden face, smudging his mascara slightly. “You do realize dat ‘Éclair’ is not a real French name, but a pastry. No?”

The man actually put his hand on Éclair’s own hand and started patting her, as if she wasn’t freaked out enough at this point.

“A pastry?” repeated Ryan in disbelief.

“I know. My parents had a thing for French desserts. Can we just drop it?” replied Éclair, desperate to change the subject to literally any other topic.

“It matters not. Is all the same when you are in love,” said Gaston, suddenly taking his hand away to wipe more tears away. “As hard as it may be for you to imagine, I, Gaston, was once in love. Oui, oui.”

Ryan’s voice came from inside the dressing room. “With a girl, right?”

Gaston ignored Ryan’s quip and continued his soap opera/monologue. “We were like ‘peas in de pot’ as de commoners would say. But den, fate dealt a cruel blow to Gaston’s heart. Dey dell me dat I wear too much makeup, dat I should allow my beauty to be more natural.”

Éclair stayed quiet during this conversational lapse into madness. Though she did try to pull her hands away from Gaston, the tailor held her tight.

“‘They’, as in plural ... as in multiple relationships? Not at the same time, right?” asked a confused Ryan.

As uncomfortable as this conversation has become, it’s preferable to discussing the fact that I’m named after a French pastry.

“And den I say back to dem,” continued Gaston. “I say ... you know what Gaston says back to dem? Oui, oui.”

By some miracle, or a practical joke from a divine being that had something against Éclair, Ryan Uruks came to the rescue as he stepped out of the dressing room (and thankfully, fully clothed). Though his tie lay in tatters around his collar, truth be told, he didn’t look that bad in the traditional dress uniform of the Ministry of Fire.

His red hair had been combed back tastefully, and his suit was a charming mix of dark maroon and gold buttons with the Ministry’s symbols weaved into the threads. In fact, he wore it well, even with the haphazard tie, but Éclair would never tell him that

“How ‘bout, whoa whoa! As in, no no, Gaston.”

Another tear went down Gaston’s pasty face. “De little one does not wish to hear Gaston’s tale of love and dragedy. Oui, oui.”

“No, no! It’s not like that Gaston, my man.” Ryan had that glint in his eye that meant he was up to something. “It’s just that I don’t think the story should end there, because you still have a chance for love. The tale must go on. Oui, oui!”

Éclair had to stifle a giggle at the last part.

Gaston’s face immediately lit up. “Sacre Bleu! Oui, oui! De little one is right. Dis is not de end of beauty and romance! Gaston will now seek greater heights in fashion and love, and one day Gaston will pierce the veil of the mysteries dat love still holds!”

Ryan gave Gaston a friendly pat on the back. “That a boy, Gaston.”

Then Gaston did something equally disturbing as his entire speech. He took Ryan by the face and kissed him full on the mouth. If Éclair hadn’t already been in a state of shock, she might have started laughing.

“You are as beautiful as you are wise, little one,” said Gaston as he extracted his lips from Ryan’s.

Ryan looked even more surprised than Éclair, and infinitely more disgusted as he wiped a sleeve across his mouth. “Gee, Gaston ... I don’t know what to say.” The words stuck in his throat.

That was the last straw. Éclair busted out laughing.

Gaston then turned his frighteningly girlish face to Éclair. “Now it is the lady’s turn.”

“Oh, but I have to go to my room! I don’t have anything to wear here!” exclaimed Éclair in desperation.

Despite Éclair’s protest, Gaston insistently led her to the girl’s changing room. “No need for tears, miss. De little one has already bought the clothes for you. What a remarkable boy you have.”

“Ryan!” said Éclair hoarsely. “You did what? You don’t know anything about fashion!”

Ryan nonchalantly gave her a thumbs-up. “No need to thank me. It’s just what any sensible guy would’ve done.”

That clenched it, Éclair was angry at Ryan again. She brandished a fist at him, and said, “Ryan Uruks, I swear you’ll be the death of me!”

Gaston then pushed Éclair into the dressing room and locked the door behind her. “Oh, young love is so sweet, mon non?”

An hour later, they made their way back to the Ministry. Surprisingly, Ryan’s choice of dress were elegant, and also fit the wardrobe criteria for females of the Ministry of Fire. Éclair grew suspicious of Ryan’s supposed ignorance on fashion. She wore a sparkling silver dress, embroidered with Ministry symbols as well as a few nonhuman designs that gave it a little bit of an exotic appeal. The dress had no sleeves and was by no means modest with the cleavage, but neither did it overly reveal Éclair’s bosom. However, Éclair’s back was exposed in a way that didn’t go unnoticed, but not too far down so as to be inappropriate. The dress had lovely white runes threaded into the silver silk from the ancient language, the same as the gates at the base of the volcano. The long skirt went down past Éclair’s calves with white designs simile to snowflakes at the bottom. The gown also came with a pair of white silk gloves that went up to Éclair’s elbows. Not the most intricate dress she’d ever worn, but resplendent nonetheless. And the white crystal slippers weren’t half bad either; in fact, they reminded Éclair of some of her old shoes when she lived as a royal.

“I really am surprised that your choice wasn’t completely terrible. How are you so knowledgeable about woman’s wear? You have unexpectedly exquisite taste. It is rather suspicious if you ask me.”

“I used to go shopping with my mom,” answered Ryan in a slightly sad voice. “She’d ask for my opinion as she tried out all kinds of ballroom stuff, like gowns and dresses. Those Elves really knew how to sew, you know.”

Éclair studied Ryan closely before saying, “You must miss her a lot?”

“Yeah,” replied Ryan, his scarlet eyes drooping slightly. “I get the feeling that you two would have gotten along well.”

“I have no doubt,” agreed Éclair softly, giving Ryan a small smile. “I wasn’t that close with my mother, but I still miss her terribly. I can only imagine what it’s like for you.”

“Don’t worry about me. It’s you that needs cheering up, remember?” he said, sounding a bit more cheerful.

“Was this all part of the plan too, Ryan Uruks?”

Ryan gave a mischievous grin. “What are you talking about?”

Éclair could hardly believe it. He really planned it all out. Ryan always came off as fickle and frivolous, prompting Éclair to underestimate his more cunning nature. “Why would you do all this for me? You didn’t even know what was bothering me ... and how could you be so sure that something was bothering me in the first place?”

As they walked through the metal corridors of the Fire Ministry’s main headquarters, Ryan shrugged. “We’re friends, right? Do I need a reason to help out a friend when she’s feeling bad?”

Éclair observed the strange half-alien even more intently as he spoke.

“I could tell that you’ve been kind of down lately. It wouldn’t have helped if I knew what it was, so I didn’t ask. I just decided to be your punching bag, and when I heard about the announcement, I saw it as an opportunity to try out something nice, that’s all. Thanks for helping me with the tie. I swear I would have hanged myself if you hadn’t showed up.”

Éclair was taken aback. Even if his tactics were idiotic and immature, she still felt better than she did before. As they approached the hallway to the Minister’s office, Éclair leaned to his ear and whispered, “Thanks.”

Ryan turned a slight shade of purple as he swiveled his head away, and said, “Anytime.” Although Ryan might’ve gotten away with his stunt on relatively good terms with Éclair, that all ended with his last comment. “So, you’re really named after a French pastry?”

Éclair elbowed Ryan in the gut. “You just lost all your points with me, Uruks,” she said tersely.

“You’re keeping score?” grunted Ryan as he rubbed his ribs.

They soon reached Éclair’s room to find the rest of Squad 99 standing at attention in their formal wear. Rachel wore a strapless gold dress with a short skirt that showed off her mature figure, and she placed herself annoyingly close to Leon. Eramar attended as well in a maroon dress uniform similar to Ryan’s. Even Grafael and Tork wore black suits and ties that somehow covered their bulky frames, though Tork’s suit was a custom item with holes in the back for his wings. Both seemed extremely uncomfortable in their tight, dress pants as they adjusted their belts regularly, their scaly tails drumming the floor behind them. She could only imagine the hassle that the tailors went through making pants with holes in the bottoms to fit the Saurian and the Dragon. Tork and Grafael’s humorous affliction aside, Éclair noticed a tension in the room that seemed to drain the jubilee she’d been feeling only moments ago.

Éclair moved to Leon’s side, who was positively stunning in his dark dress uniform and polished glasses that rendered him an intellectual air. Then he glanced at her tentatively, his face paler than usual. Leon almost seemed frightened.