Happy Halloween everyone!
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Ashe scowled as she stomped back and forth in the Strahl's cockpit. Penelo fiddled with her hair ties, and Vaan was pacing in the corridor behind her. Basch gave her a sympathetic glance. "At least the malfunction occurred in dock, my lady. It would have been unfortunate if we hadn't been so close to Archades."
The Princess snorted in reply. She was anxious to quit this place. They were stranded at the Archadian capital's aerodrome. They stopped in to replenish their supplies, and as they were readying for departure they'd heard a grinding noise in the ship's engines. Balthier had immediately cut the power and raced back towards the engine room, a stream of curses peppering the air. Fran had trudged after him, and there'd been no word from pirate or Viera in almost an hour.
She'd been tempted to go down and check herself, but the Captain had advised her not to in the event that it would hamper repair efforts. But as the seconds ticked away, Ashe had the urge to march down and chuck a wrench at the sky pirate's head to encourage him to diagnose the problem. She did not need to do so as Balthier and Fran reemerged, their faces dire.
Fran launched into a detailed description of the malfunction, but her partner held up a hand to silence her. The sky pirate turned the Princess and sighed. "Long story short. We need a new part. It's expensive. We don't have the gil for it unless we start selling things."
She felt her stomach drop. "But we just bought these new supplies. I do not wish to…"
He nodded. "I know, I know. So thanks to a quick glance at my calendar, we've come up with a plan."
"We've?" Fran interrupted, a wry grin crossing her features. Ashe knew Balthier's plan was not going to sound good to anyone but Balthier. The sky pirate smiled back at his partner, and Ashe felt like the joke was on her.
Penelo spoke up from her seat. "What does your plan have to do with the calendar?"
Balthier gave the young girl a devious wink and turned his attentions back to Ashe. "Of course, you're not from Archadia, I didn't think you'd know. Tonight is the Feast of Saint Halleen."
"Is that some Archadian holiday then?" Basch asked, and Balthier's grin widened. Ashe knew they were treading a dangerous path. Why did this Feast sound familiar to her ears? Surely she'd heard of it in her youth when she was taught about the courtly rituals of her neighboring countries.
"It is, Captain. And a very entertaining one. Not so much for the nobility around here, but it's a tradition. Halleen is the protector of newlyweds if you believe in such things as saints. So couples that have been married within the past few months go around on the night of the feast knocking on doors with buckets or baskets and the homeowner is expected to give them a few gil as a treat. Archadians don't part with their gil lightly, but heaven forbid you doom someone's marriage on the Feast of Saint Halleen. Not proper. Everyone coughs up the money or faces the scorn of his neighbor. So there's your answer."
Everyone was quiet for a few moments. Ashe reacted first. "So we are to trick people into giving us money?"
Balthier smiled. "That's the idea, yes."
Vaan scratched his head. "But none of us are married."
Ashe's eyes widened as the sky pirate reached into some inner pocket of his vest and produced Rasler's ring. Her mouth dropped open as he slid it onto his ring finger and held it up proudly. "I beg to differ, Vaan."
Before the Princess could scream at him, her protector beat her to it. "Out of the question. How can you be so disrespectful?" Basch complained with a murderous glint in his eye.
Balthier cut him off and began digging through a metal supply bin in the rear of the cockpit. "Yes, I know. I'm a cad…I'm a bastard…I should be strung up a pole, keep talking, Captain, but unless you have another plan, then this is what we're doing."
"Is it?" Ashe grumbled. She moved over to the bin and slammed the lid down on Balthier's hands. He yelped and jumped back, glaring at her as he shook out his now sore hands. "What if I choose not to participate in your wretched thievery?"
He got dangerously close to her and stuck a self-righteous, self-important finger in her face. It was as if there weren't four other people in close proximity. "Listen, Princess. You either sell your new fancy sword back or you grow a spine and help me find a collection basket."
Their eyes were locked for several moments, and nobody else dared to speak, although Ashe could tell by Basch's clenched fists that he wished to do more than speak to Balthier. She thought it through and it grieved her to realize that she had no other ideas. They'd saved for their new weapons and supplies, and it would be foolish to sell them right back. But she had her doubts.
She stood on her tiptoes to gain some height, but she was already shaky, and the sky pirate smirked at her attempt to look him straight in the eye. "Very well. But we stop this farce as soon as we have sufficient finances."
Basch was by her side in an instant. "Your Majesty, you cannot be seriously considering his little game? I could sell my shield and…"
"And be defenseless, Captain?" Balthier interrupted with a grin. "That would be foolish."
Ashe moved to the bin and unearthed a bucket of tools. She emptied the thing haphazardly, and she could almost sense Balthier's irritation as screwdrivers and other metallic items spilled out into the bin. He was rather meticulous about order on his ship, but she cared very little about that at present. Rising to her feet once more, she held the bucket out and scowled.
"Let's get going," she demanded. It may have been his idea, but she would be damned if she wasn't going to be in charge of this stupid mission. Balthier took the bucket with an ostentatious bow and headed out of the cockpit. She turned to follow him when a throat was cleared.
"My lady?" Basch muttered.
She halted her footsteps and sighed. "If this is a big holiday, we should blend in just fine. You needn't worry about my safety."
Fran gave a reassuring nod as well. "Balthier doesn't enjoy walking the streets of Archades much. This will take a toll on his nerves too."
"Could have fooled me," Basch replied sharply, and he sank into a chair and began to look over some maps as he always did when he wanted to clear his mind. The children had followed the conversation in relative silence, but they gave her smiles as she left.
Penelo winked. "I'd be happy to go in your place," the girl admitted with a tinge of pink in her cheeks, and Ashe rolled her eyes.
"We'll return as soon as we can, you have my word." She turned her back on her companions and marched off after Balthier.
He was waiting for her in the hangar, and she could already catch the glint of her husband's ring on his hand. For every kind and decent thing Balthier did, he could turn on a gil and act like a selfish prat the very next moment. He dared to drape an arm around her shoulders, tucking the bucket under his other arm as he walked with her out of the aerodrome.
The night was alive in the streets, and Ashe watched dozens of happy couples, all armed with woven baskets and enormous buckets wandering from business to business. Although it was dark and she'd expected most shops to be closed, lights were blazing in nearly every window. Street performers crowded the streets as well in hopes of earning some spare gil themselves. If Ashe wasn't furious with the thought that she'd be committing theft that night, she would enjoy the buzzing atmosphere.
Balthier moved his hand from her shoulder to clutch her hand, and her first instinct was to tug away. He seemed to instinctually realize this, and he only held her fingers tighter. "Remember Ashe. We're newlyweds. We're still supposed to actually love each other."
She sighed and put on her happiest face. "How's this?" she mumbled through a forced smile, and he laughed at her.
"Come on, how often do you get to witness something like this?" he replied, gesturing around him with the bucket. She had to admit the truth in his statement. Couples were kissing under street lamps, and children were running in between them and telling them what houses were giving out the most gil. She felt some minor ache in her stomach that she could not be so carefree. For all that Archadians behaved properly, there was an enthusiasm and joy in the streets that night that made her feel incredibly foreign.
"Where do we start?" she inquired, doing her best to seem genuinely interested.
He shook his head and tugged her onward. "Not here. I know exactly where the best houses are."
She sighed. "How? From experience? Do you play at this kind of thievery every year?"
He gave no answer other than a casual shrugging of his shoulders, and Ashe wasn't remotely surprised. They entered another neighborhood, and although it was quieter and more residential, there were still large groups of newlyweds running about. Some of them even wore their wedding gowns and suits. They did their best to bring up the rear of some rambunctious group, and Balthier seemed to tense slightly.
"What's wrong?" she asked as quietly as she could.
Balthier shook his head as the couple ahead of them knocked on the door of a large house. He gave her hand a squeeze. "Ashe, there is something about the Feast of Saint Halleen that I neglected to mention…"
Her blood ran cold, and she could not break her gaze from the events unfolding in front of her. The house door was opened, and a decently attired couple smiled at the newlywed couple. The husband held a small bell, one that Ashe assumed was used to summon servants. The wife held a handful of coins.
The newlyweds in front bowed slightly and began to recite a line Ashe had been overhearing in the streets on their path here but was just now hearing clearly. "Bless our marriage in the name of Saint Halleen!" the couple cried enthusiastically, and the Princess could only wait there dumbly, her hand feeling sweaty in Balthier's tight grip.
The homeowners exchanged a glance. "We bless you!" And that was when the husband held the small bell aloft and let it ring, its sound echoing throughout the front gardens, and she could feel Balthier's eyes on her.
The newlyweds began to kiss while the husband rang the bell, and Ashe realized just what Balthier had chosen not to discuss in front of Basch. Finally, the ringing ceased, and the couple broke apart, the noise of their lip smacking making Ashe angrier than she'd been in some time. The wife deposited the coins in the couple's basket, and the Princess wanted to run as fast as her legs could carry her. How many houses would they be visiting to earn money for the part? And that also meant…how many times would she be kissing Balthier that evening?
Her lips began to tremble, and she was angry and nervous at the same time. It was just a farce, she told herself. A silly game so they could get the Strahl flying. Nothing more. She needed only allow him to kiss her. She could just close her eyes and let him do it. She did not have to kiss back. Not even if she might actually want to. Wait, she thought. Since when did she actually want to kiss Balthier back?
The sound of the other newlyweds descending the stairs in front of them startled her, and a rather quiet Balthier tugged her forward. S he raised her eyes to the homeowners. The wife already had a new handful of coins, and the husband gave her a joking wink as he held the bell in his hand. She stared at the little bell until Balthier gave her hand a squeeze. He set the bucket down on the ground in front of them.
Ashe bowed quickly and at another squeeze of her hand, she raised her voice along with Balthier's. "Bless our marriage in the name of Saint Halleen!"
The husband and wife in front of them gave them an encouraging smile. "We bless you!" Ashe watched the husband raise the bell over his head, and she knew her knees were knocking against each other. The man flicked his wrist, and the bell sounded.
She squeezed her eyes shut unconsciously, and she felt Balthier's hands on her cheeks. The Princess could stare down Archadian judges without blinking, but the thought of what was to happen was driving her mad. His breath was warm then against her face, and all she heard was the high-pitched ringing. She inhaled sharply as his lips met hers. Ashe mentally counted the seconds as the bell rang. One. Two. Three. Stop the ringing, she screamed in her mind. Four. Five. Six…Seven!
Ashe heard the coins plinking into the metal bucket but the bell was still going. Balthier's kiss was unexpectedly chaste and gentle, and his thumbs stroked her cheeks. She'd already lost count of the seconds when she felt his breath again, and he'd broken away. The bell had ceased, and she thought she would collapse in a puddle on the kind couple's porch. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw the residents' grinning as Balthier picked up the bucket.
"Many thanks! Have a lovely evening!" the sky pirate remarked calmly, and he reached for her hand again. The couple bid them farewell, and Ashe concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as he tugged her back to the street.
When they were relatively in the clear, she stopped walking, and Balthier turned back to look at her. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. Her father had always called that her "Angry Ashelia" pose, and it seemed utterly appropriate at present. "A bit convenient that you forgot to tell me about the kissing!"
He shrugged as if he was as innocent as a newborn babe. "I didn't forget, Princess. I omitted key information. They are different things entirely."
His response only infuriated her further. She snatched the bucket from him and counted the coins. "300 gil? That's all?" Ashe looked up with a scowl. "How much will that part cost?"
Balthier smiled. "Oh, I should think about ten thousand." He paused and wrenched the bucket back from her. "At least."
She began to smack him, her hands meeting the carefully pressed linen sleeves of his shirt and the rougher leather of his vest. He rolled his eyes and tried shoving her away. "Ten thousand?!" she cried, her voice surely echoing into the Archadian night. "Ten THOUSAND!"
"Would you keep your voice down?" he snarled. "And stop hitting me. I'm starting to enjoy it."
The Princess clapped her hand over her own mouth and screamed as loudly as she could, the sound almost entirely muffled. Ten thousand gil? One kiss had earned three HUNDRED…just how long was he planning to drag her around the capital? She attempted to do the arithmetic in her head. If their first house visit was any indication of an average…
The sky pirate placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Ashe. Surely it's not so bad to kiss me. I could have sent you out with Vaan," he offered jovially. She shoved his hand away and began to march in the direction of the next house in the neighborhood. "Although I'm not sure if Vaan would know what to do with a woman, quite frankly."
Balthier was just rambling to hear his own voice at this point, and she did her best to ignore him. She also did her best to ignore the fluttery feeling in her belly. Ashe was the first to knock on the next door, and Balthier stood diligently by her side.
As soon as the door opened, he put his arm around her and gave her a tight squeeze. "Bless our marriage in the name of Saint Halleen!"
An old woman grinned and began to ring her tiny bell. "I bless you!"
Balthier reached for her again, and he was as well-behaved as he had been at the first house. He kept his mouth shut and only varied his technique by placing his hand on her neck instead of her face this time.
At the next house, he tipped her back slightly, and she had to hold on to his forearms. She made sure to hold on tighter than necessary. Hopefully he'd have a bruise or two in the morning. At the fourth house, she accidentally found herself kissing back when the bell continued on for almost a full minute. He gave her the most ridiculous smile when he broke away on that one, the sound of the coins ringing in the bucket echoing in her ears.
They'd been gone for almost two hours when she began to lose count of houses. The bucket already had a decent amount of coins, but they were still far from their target. Her earlier anger towards him was still a niggling concern in her mind, but as they moved from house to house, his hand in hers was beginning to become familiar…almost welcome, she admitted.
Balthier dragged her to a different neighborhood, and the houses were larger. There were plenty of couples milling about eagerly, but as they walked, Ashe found herself paying more attention to the sky pirate. The way he swung the bucket of gil back and forth as he strutted the pavement, the ever-present smirk, and the warmth of his hand in hers. He pushed open a wrought iron gate, and she was confused. Nobody else was walking around the grounds of this house.
"Balthier," she interrupted, her voice calmer than she'd known it most of the evening. "Nobody's home. The lights are out."
He laughed. "No, they're home. Definitely home." He leaned in close, his cheek nearly touching hers. "Do you see the sitting room? You can see they've got some candles lit. Just takes a bit more work at this estate."
She didn't like the sound of this. "A bit more work?"
Balthier smiled. "It's not what you're thinking. And if that is in fact what you're thinking, then I believe a bit of my tawdry side is wearing off on you, Princess. It's more work to get them to come to the door, but you don't have to make love in their doorway or anything."
Ashe's face grew incredibly hot, and she wondered if he could see how red it was getting in the pale moonlit night. Balthier set the bucket down on the porch and knocked loudly. She saw a devious glint in his eye, but it might have just been a reflection or her mind seeing things.
There was a shout from inside the house. "Get out of here! I don't care if you married Lord Vayne himself!"
Balthier chuckled, and Ashe felt her confusion growing. He knocked once more, the force enough to rattle the wooden door in its frame. She looked up at him and gave his sleeve a tug. "They're clearly not going to give us any gil. We're wasting time."
He turned to her and winked. "Have a little faith, Princess." The look he gave her then was enough to make her weak in the knees. At every other house he'd been playful and unserious. But there was something more in his gaze this time around. She couldn't think of it as anything else but hunger. She couldn't break her eyes away as he stared, his fingers reaching out to stroke the skin of her arm.
The door opened suddenly, and he finally looked away. She felt as if her heart would burst from her chest it was beating so wildly. This little caper had been a bad idea from the start. There was a rather grumpy old fellow in his night clothes scowling at them now, one hand poised to slam the door back in their faces.
He scratched his whiskers and gave her the once over. The old man turned his eyes up to Balthier and was about to say something when his mouth fell open. "Bunansa? Ffamran Bunansa from my alchemy lectures?"
Ashe held in the dozens of questions she now had. Balthier had dragged her to his teacher's house? Well, she thought, former teacher. The old man had clearly retired, and she could see piles and piles of books stacked in various places in the house behind him.
"The very same, yes," Balthier remarked with a bow, but the old man was quicker than he looked, and he cuffed Balthier over the head. "Hey!"
The old man turned back to the Princess and sighed. "He fell asleep on four separate occasions! I still have all the paperwork. A horrible student!"
Balthier frowned. "That's not how I remember it, Professor."
The Professor sighed and shook his head. "Head in the clouds, this boy." Ashe smiled at the thought of the restless sky pirate confined to a classroom for several hours.
"Head's still there, sir," Ashe remarked cheekily, and Balthier glared at her.
The old man cracked a smile finally. "But he's managed to snag a lovely young thing like you. I trust you're keeping a close eye on him?"
Balthier raised an eyebrow and awaited the lie she'd tell. The Princess smiled. "I've got him wrapped around my little finger, Professor." The sky pirate looked up in annoyance, and the old man actually laughed.
"Just what he needed. Didn't need much alchemy, but he did need someone to ground those flighty tendencies. You do have your work cut out for you, young lady," the man explained, and Ashe did her best to return his affectionate smile.
Balthier had had enough bad mouthing of his character, and he nudged the bucket at their feet. "Come on now, sir, what do you say? For Saint Halleen and for the student you always loved to hate?"
The old man snorted and held up a finger. He wandered off into the house, leaving them waiting on the porch. Ashe smirked. "Your schoolteacher?"
The sky pirate sighed. "I really thought he was the one that liked me. Now I remember that was my history instructor. Oh well, old man Franz will cough up the gil just to get me off his porch, I guarantee it." The Princess smiled. She genuinely smiled. Despite the irritation of Balthier's omissions and the roundabout way of getting money, she was having a good time. And somehow, she didn't want the night to end yet. Seeing a new side of Balthier's life was almost thrilling since he kept so much of his true self concealed.
The crotchety professor returned a few minutes later with a large pouch and to Ashe's surprise, a tiny bell. "I don't believe in Halleen or any of those stupid saints or gods, but you two young things seem to be so in love that I can't stand to see you any longer." The Princess felt a shudder course through her. In love? They truly gave off that impression? "Let's get this damn thing over with then."
Balthier turned her to face him and grabbed hold of her shoulders. The old man began to ring the bell, and as the sky pirate leaned forward to claim her mouth, she found herself moving towards him just as eagerly. She actually heard the old man chuckle, and Ashe threw her arms around Balthier's neck. He let his hands move to her hair, his tongue teasing her lips. She allowed it and returned his ardor fiercely, not wanting to end things just yet. But the bell stopped ringing before she knew it, and she slowly pulled away.
She raised her fingers to her lips in shock, seeing how they had begun to swell with all the activity they'd been experiencing for the past few hours. Ashe saw that Balthier had not wanted to stop either. His eyes were darker, and his breathing was rather labored.
The old man tossed the entire pouch of gil into the bucket. "There's an inn down the road for that, Bunansa. Get off my property!" The sky pirate picked up the bucket and tugged on her hand. Ashe barely heard the door slam behind them as Balthier dragged her across the lawns to some gardening shed.
She gasped as he pushed her rather roughly against the wall, but he stole her breath once again. The propriety shown in front of the Archadians was gone and replaced with his hands roaming over every bit of her he could touch. Ashe hated how easily she'd given in to the weakness, but his touch was like live sparks against her skin and his lips left their mark on her face and her neck and then her shoulders.
Ashe could see things getting very out of hand, and she had to finally push him back, although it took a few attempts. "Balthier, stop. Stop, please," she exhaled heavily. He let his hands rest on her hips, and he pressed a kiss to her temple before leaning back to stare at her.
"I suppose we…" He struggled to breathe. "I suppose we don't get any gil this way." She let out a shuddering breath and picked up the bucket of gil from the ground.
"Enough yet?" she inquired slowly. He smiled and licked his lips, and she laughed. "Enough gil yet, I meant!"
He opened the pouch of gil from Professor Franz, and she saw his eyes widen. He dumped it out, and she saw that each piece was not a 1 gil or even a 10 gil piece. Each was a solid gold 500 gil piece. "I don't believe it! I told you to have faith, Princess!" the sky pirate exclaimed. "That old bastard did love me!"
"Let's get going then." He moved a hand to her face and gave her another kiss, and she heard bells ringing in her own mind. Perhaps she had truly been driven mad by the Feast of Saint Halleen. She shoved him away from her once again and sighed. "I'm serious, Balthier. We need to leave."
He held her hand in his, and they walked back in the direction of the aerodrome. The part was purchased for the Strahl, and they even had a few hundred gil to spare. She tried and failed to conceal the silly smile that had taken up permanent residence on her face.
There'd been something in the air that night. She was sure of it. Whether it was Saint Halleen or an airborne aphrodisiac she couldn't say.