[ChicletPrime]

Definitely Chapter 4:

• "Xavier never told me what happened." apparently i piece things together out of bits of things. "If I'm right, this incident occurred around the Gladius Ceremony."
  
• okay, another time skip forward for some reason? "Only those who wielded the lightblade could prove themselves worthy to ascend the throne."  so there's an actual thing that Xavier has to pass in order not just be the Prince of Philos, but the Crowned Prince of Philos.
  
• n the south, in Starfall Forest, a Wanderer has made a nest there. 
  
• Wanderers make nests? 
  
• okay, so Xavier has to go do this quest... and earn a lightblade? 
  
• lore: Starfall Forest has an unstable Protofield. 
  
• wow, Xavier was in the forest for "days". Everybody else thought he'd been eaten and left over time until only I remained.  go, me! hold vigil for your Prince.
  
• "Xavier would always leave me like this. At times he joined the expedition team. Other times he was returning to the palace with the Royal Messenger. I'd always ask when he could return. He always came back when he told me he would." 
  
• so before stepping into the forest, Xavier told me "seven days". so i guess i'm camping out for a week. where's Jeremiah? 
  
• and yes, there he is. a white figure surrounded by light until the lightblade dissapates, the protocore in his hand.
  
• no joy or relief to be seen. his head lowered, he hugs me.
  
• what the heck? what did you see or find in the Forest, beloved? 
  
• what he encountered or saw in those seven days remained a mystery. a Wanderer's death should be celebrated. but Xavier changed after, as if a part of him was left behind. 
  
• okay, we're back at the statue and Xavier .. is talking about the King? "I can't become the man he wants. I will never sit on the throne he leaves behind either." 
  
• that sound was my current favorite theory about what's going on shattering on the ground. 
  
• i am guessing that the nature of Starfall was revealed to Xavier in the Forest and whatever it is, he can't support it because it killed previous me and he's not playing along with what it wants, like the King does? 
  
• i promise I will be with him when he is the next King and he asks if i truly wish to be the King's sword. of course I will be. "Even if I don't wear the crown?"
  
• uh. wow. are you really willing to abdicate? o.0
  
• "Then I'll be somebody else's knight."
  
• wut
  
• "I won't let you become another's knight. I won't let you be at another's side."  woooo! "I can choose not to become King. You can choose not to join the Lightseekers who answer only to royalty."
  
• wow, you want me to give up my dream because you say so? when apparently you've stated all of this in a very aloof manner as if it means nothing. just another option, among many.
  
• "Our teacher said this is how I should live. What else is there for me?" 
  
• SAY SOMETHING XAVIER
  
• "I'll take you to Uluru."  what's Uluru? okay, a newborn planet he found on his last expedition. a planet of only flowers.
  
• awwwwwwwwwwwww
  
• "Didn't they (who is they?) say Philos is slowly dying? How can their be new planets?"
  
• what, Philos is the creative source of.. the universe? that can't be right, but that last sentence definitely implied it.
  
• oh. oh, boy. once he settles his personal affairs, and if i give up my dream of being a Grandis Knight... we can elope. to Uluru. and spend the rest of our days there.
  
• the boy flat out proposed. take me not as your prince and future King, but as a boy named Xavier (who is in love with you). 
  
• /shades of Notting Hill, ahoy
  
• /swoons. lets park it here for about five more seconds and enjoy that, before it all goes wrong.
  
• nice. i fall asleep on the guy and the next day i wake up at noon in my own bedroom. 
  
• the night before has to be five dozen different fanfics, all of them tagged Explicit.
  
• oh boy, he looks GREAT. that is a wonderful uniform, Xavier. be a shame if it got all messed up.
  
• /approaches with messy uppy fingers.
  
• yeah. if he goes to the palace to meet with his Majesty, is he even going to be able to come back?  is this where it ends tragically? 
  
• oh boy. and before he leaves, we ask our burning question: "Who gave you that tassel with the star-shaped charm? Your lover?" 
  
• ... may i take a moment and say that, for all its faults, at least Love and Deepspace acknowledges that people are getting into bed with each other. 
  
• Xavier, smiling: "Yes. Its from the person I like." 
  
• /queue sad misunderstanding in 3... 2.... 
  
• "Are you... very fond of her?"  "Unlike any other, her brilliance holds a special place in my heart."
  
• you're really not convincing me to run away with you to a planet of flowers, you know. although here's the question as we pause at this moment. do i know i'm in love with him? if i do, am i willing to admit to myself that i'm in love with him enough to confront the fact that i am always going to be standing in the shadow of a brighter light? because he still hasn't given up the star charm and likely never will. can i go with him, knowing and accepting this? 
  
• "I clench the hem of my coat." sooo much regret for asking. because now i know. 
  
• "You fancy her."  (odd english dub)  "She deserted me years ago."  hey!  "I've sought after her ever since." 
  
• "For such a reason you accompany the expedition team? To seek her out?"  "Ah, no. Not at all." 
  
• "Do you keep the tassel to remember her?"
  
• /clutches pillow. confess, Xavier, CONFESS
  
• "Ive never forgotten her. She was the one who forgot me."
  
• and there it is. ahhhhh.  /swivels to the girlfriend.
  
• "How could she?"  Xavier does not appear to be upset for some reason (even though this is a sad moment)
  
• "We've crossed paths, but she has no memory of me. She can't even recall the time she gifted me this tassel."
  
• c'moooon girlfriend, put it ToGeThEr.
  
• "She has a certain expression she uses whenever we meet. It is one of blissful ignorance.. and wonder."
  
•  "How dare she!?"   i will point to the audience that the ?! is, in fact, her exclamation. i am not exaggerating for effect - she is, in fact, a little incensed at this forgetful person who left behind her prince and beloved.
  
• "Seeing Xavier like this, I pitied him." ooooooh boy. "I no longer regretted asking. I could only feel indignation for what he's suffered through."  you go, girfriend. offer to beat up this person who left him high and dry and who is maybe doing the pretend amnesia thing for attention or maybe trying to angle for support money(s) since everybody knows the prince is a soft touch.
  
• "Xavier, I need to tell you something." I grit my teeth and decide to be honest. "You... should give up on her!" 
  
• /facepalm
  
• this is fantastic. i need another tub of popcorn, i think i've aged a year in the last two minutes.
  
• "She doesn't even remember you... leave her and find your own happiness!"  (with me! oh, pick me! if you can just leave her shadow behind, I will burn as bright as I can for you, you only have to *look* and *see me*!)
  
• oh i am such a fool, no matter what time i'm in. I start listing off the other girls who like him in the Academy.
  
• "I see. Do you want me to pursue someone else? Chasing another skirt..."
  
• Xavier takes a step towards me.
  
• eeeeee
  
• "Is there anyone else you'd recommend?" 
  
• don't say Jeremiah, that is an entirely different otome game.
  
• lets see.. the dining hall staff... the young miss at the bakery...
  
• Xavier takes another step.
  
• "Is that it?" 
  
• oh god. the air is starting to sparkle with light.  /is entranced
  
• "Are they not enough?"
  
• I have no choice but to sit on the bed. Xavier leans down, his hand resting near me.
  
• "I don't like them." 
  
• "..It's no use then," I say sheepishly. "I heard Jeremiah say your betrothed had been selected... have you met her?"
  
• "I don't know." 
  
• "But Jeremiah also said... "  Xavier closes the distance between us. A breath away, our noses almost touching. 
  
• this close, she has GOT to pick up the wavelength, right? right?!
  
• "Do you fancy Jeremiah?"   GOOD QUESTION. he's all we seem to talk about, other than listing off every other girl for Xavier. "You always speak highly of him. If he's your suitor, I'll pay him a visit before I leave." 
  
• "For what reason?"  bless my heart I am so dumb.
  
• "He and I should have a discussion."   does it involve threats and possibly a busted hand? muahahh! it doesn't seem like he wants afternoon tea, but a duel. i try to hold Xavier back. 
  
• "Don't you dare! I asked him to inform me of the rumors."  "You are concerned about him."  yeah, Xavier! i don't want my buddy Jeremiah to have a broken leg and possibly a chick-magnet scar on his face just because he kept me abreast of the gossip, since you weren't filling me in yourself.
  
• "He's not a bad person. He's foolish and always needs my help. Of course I'd  be concerned if..."
  
• "So you fancy fools who request your aid."  wow. that was some.. that was some inflection, Mr Xavier VA. wow.
  
• Xavier sits on the bed next to me and takes off his brooch. (that is a really fancy brooch by the way, i've been admiring it the whole time. it looks like its carved out of a single amethyst or something.)
  
• "Put this on for me?"
  
• "You were wearing it seconds ago...?"  i guess madness can run in royal families. don't question girlfriend, just accept and pin it back onto him.  ah, he wants it to be straight and he doesn't think he's capable of ensuring it.
  
• "I need your assistance." a fool in need of aid, it appears.
  
• so. so clueless. i can just imagine us sticking the very tiniest tip of our tongue out as we concentrate on achieving maximum horizontalness.
  
• "What if your betrothed dislikes your inability to wear your own brooch?"
  
• "She could be as much a fool as I am, and just as incapable."  i manage to prick myself on the clasp as I wrestle with the thing. "She could even prick her finger in the attempt." he holds my hand in his white glove. "Why are injuries and you always a pair?"
  
• hey, this is a honed skill, thank you very much. 
  
• the bleeding stops and i take my hand back. i stand up and pretend nothing happened. "The palace halls are too troublesome. I'm better off as a knight. In a few days, you'll officially be the crown prince. And eventually, King. I have to work hard. If I join the Lightseekers next month, I'll be a true knight. I will protect you."
  
• didn't... didn't you hear him say he won't be king? that he's going to tell his father so? that he wants to take you away, if you'll go with him?
  
•  "Is that so? Are you sending me a gift if I take the throne?"
  
• I think and then ask... "Can I also give you a little star?"
  
• oh my GOD.
  
• no, i can't buy him one to replace the one that got dinged up during our duel yesterday, he wants it handmade.
  
• and now he stands, and has to go. i help him get into his cape.
  
• Xavier stands at the door and looks back, his silhouette basking in the soft afternoon light. I meet his gaze and it dawns on me that his person, the Prince of Philos and future crown prince.. he would be the one I would swear to protect. Forever.
  
• ... do i have elastic memory? do i just wipe out the things i don't want to hear or something? 
  
• He always smiles when he leaves.
  
• "When will you return?"
  
• "When you wish to see me."