4: Mysteries, Stories, and the Power of a Deck of Cards
Setzer stood just outside his ship and stared at the little town of Thamasa. He crossed his arms with a slight narrowing of his eyes, and he closed them when a gust of wind from the coast lifted his hair to dance around his face. ‘I love it when your hair blows.’ Setzer released a deep breath and opened his eyes to move with purposeful steps toward the town’s entry.
Relm had set up her easel in the cobbled square to paint a family of squirrels in the tree nearest her. She looked up from her painting to send him a smile and a wave, which resulted in a splatter of green falling from brush to forehead. She didn’t seem to notice, and her 12-year-old brightness glowed because of it. As he approached, she wiped off her brush and set it carefully aside, next covering her picture to protect it from the sun and the wind. Then she hurried toward him with paint-decorated arms extended as her lips danced with a smile and her eyes twinkled with welcome.
Setzer smirked as he enfolded her in an embrace.
“Hiya, Setzer,” she told him in her clear and vivid tone of youth and excitement. When he pulled back, she held his gaze. “Please tell me you brought me something.”
Setzer laughed. “Yes, I’ve brought you something. From Terra and the children, in fact. Some pictures and stories they’ve done for you. They’re on the Falcon.”
“Rad!” And Relm gave an accompanying squeal of gladness. Then her face and eyes were pure business. “You’ve come for the supplies to the party and the wedding, right?”
Setzer’s eyes twinkled, but he feigned seriousness to suit her fancy. “Yes. Edgar also sent along some things for you and Strago, as well as some knickknacks to sell.”
She gave a curt nod and headed toward the ship. Setzer dutifully followed behind. “When’re you leaving again?”
“Not for a few days. There are quite a few things to unload.”
“Days? Really? Rad!” Relm’s mind and eyes filled with the possible adventures she could have onboard his ship, escaping the over-protective hand of her grandfather to do what she pleased and when she pleased to do it.
Setzer chuckled. “Before you’ve ensconced me and my ship in adventures that no sane person would do, we can’t do anything aboard the Falcon until she’s unloaded.”
“Aw,” Relm protested with a sullen glance toward him. “You’re no fun.”
“I’m all the fun you could possibly need, Relm, only not until the Falcon’s unloaded.”
She stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose at him.
Setzer laughed. “None of that.”
“I’ll do what I please,” she retorted.
Setzer chuckled again and reached out to grab the beret from her tousle of blonde curls. “Fine. So will I.”
“Hey! Give me back my beret!” Relm swiped at it, but Setzer switched it to his other hand. “Setz-zer! Give it back!”
“Not until you promise to behave a little better than you did when you were ten. You’re 12 now, Relm, and should act like it. Don’t you think so?”
“I won’t promise anything until you give me back my beret,” she snapped hotly. Relm made another swipe behind Setzer’s back for the hat, but he lifted it above his head. “Setzer, no fair! You’re bigger than me,” she whined.
“Now that’s not very attractive,” he told her, laughing.
“I don’t care. I want my beret!”
“Oh all right,” Setzer said with a mock frown as he tossed it at her.
Relm caught it, pulling it firmly onto her head with another tongue sent his direction. Setzer made a movement to grab her it and she jerked back, tightly pressing her lips together with a wrinkle of her nose at the gambler. Setzer laughed.
“It’s a good thing my pictures don’t come to life anymore,” she told him with a menacing gleam.
“I’m quaking in my very boots.”
Relm slapped at his arm with a tell-tale twinkle in her eyes and put her fists on her hips. “You’ll get yours, you big meanie.”
“I’ll be sure to tell you when I do. I wouldn’t want you to miss the chance to relish your victory.”
Relm tried to hold it back, but the giggle broke through and danced across her face and into the air. She wrapped her arms around his. “I missed you, Setzer.”
Setzer tugged at the top of her beret, loosening it against her hair so that it wouldn’t look so ridiculous. “Thank you, Relm. I’ve missed you, too. We should all make a point to visit each other more often, don’t you think?”
“We’ll be able to see everyone at Celes and Locke’s wedding. Right?”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Are you plotting something?”
Relm shook her head. “No. I’m just looking forward to it, is all. Geez. Don’t be such a fuddy-duddy.”
Setzer smirked. He’d been accused of much worse. “I’m sorry, Relm. I’ll do better next time.”
She sniggered. “Yeah right. Marée says that too, but she never does. She always treats me-- What’s your problem?”
Setzer had halted and turned toward Relm with a shocked expression. “What did you say?”
“I said that you’ll just treat--“
”No. What name did you say.”
“Name?” Relm screwed up her face in a frown of confusion as she shrugged. “What? You mean Marée? She’s just a sea ship captain that comes by every once and awhile. What’s the big deal?”
“Has she been here recently? Yesterday? Today? Last week?”
Relm crossed her arms as her frown became annoyance and aggravation. “Geez. She stopped by a few weeks ago to load up some things. It’s not like it’s against the law, Setzer. You do it all the time.”
Setzer waved her comment aside as he crossed his left arm across his chest. He rested the elbow of his right into his left hand and stroked his chin with his right. “What would she buy in Thamasa that is worth anything?” he mumbled.
“Well that isn’t a very nice thing to say. We’ve got plenty of stuff that’s worth money,” she protested.
Setzer focused his eyes back on her. “What did she buy? Books?”
Relm made a face as if to say “duh” and then replaced the frown. “They were just books from the Empire. It’s not like they were--“
”From the Empire?” Intrigue and curiosity soared to the clouds and didn’t return.
“Stop interrupting,” Relm protested. “That’s not very polite.”
Setzer reluctantly smiled down at her. He touched her on the nose. “I’m sorry, Relm.” He set the questions and queries aside for a later time and motioned to the ship. “Why don’t we get you those pictures and stories and then say ‘hello’ to your grandfather?”
“Ugh,” Relm said as she fell into step beside. “Alright, but I’m getting lost from here to the house. Just so you know.”
Setzer laughed.
Ace of Diamonds, The Page 6