Just a oneshot (really short) written to go along with a picture I submitted for a club contest.
FYI:
Setting: Dalmascan Palace and the sky i guess
Characters: Ashe, Balthier, and Fran
Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Square/SquareEnix/Squaresoft (whichever they are at the moment) and the wonderful people who created this game
Afternoon Kidnapping
It had been over a year since Ashe regained her kingdom, and her reign as Queen had been fairly peaceful. In fact--too peaceful for her taste. It was down right boring. She often found herself reminiscing of her days in the resistance--bloody battles, adventures through untamed terrain, encounters with less than respectable but all the more interesting people. The latter hit her hardest. She missed her friends dearly. Something Basch had said once was eating at the back of her mind. He had commented that if she ever tired of the palace life, she could always call upon her pirate friends to "kidnap" her. She smiled as she thought of the day she had recruited the pirates to her cause, begging Balthier to "steal" her after attempting to make off with his airship. Of course, he had dismissed Basch's suggestion by claiming she was too strong to ever need Fran's and his assistance. She supposed she could always call upon Vaan and Penelo for a little adventure. But they too seemed preoccupied these days...a new airship of their own and a budding new romance. Besides, Ashe laughed, how she loved to prove Balthier wrong.
So she sent for the dashing sky pirate and his viera partner, intent on fullfilling the void left by the boredom of soveriegnty. Of course, it took some persuading. Balthier and Fran were trying to keep a low profile and kidnapping the Queen of Dalmasca would not have been considered a low-key crime. Nevertheless, after much negotiation, Balthier decided that if it were only for a single afternoon it could go fairly unnoticed and would be manageable. Ashe decided an afternoon adventure would suffice. And the ever-loyal Fran agreed as well, she was keen on testing out the hover bike being as she had just completed the repairs on it.
So that afternoon Fran flew the bike up to the Queen's balcony, and Ashe climbed aboard onto Balthier's lap. (Which was purely acceptable, Balthier noted, being as if anyone were to have a beautiful queen grace his lap it would be the leading man). They rode the bike around Dalmasca, through the city of Rabanastre, across the Westersand, and over the Sandsea. Ashe found the ride to be truly exhilirating. She stood upright, balancing on the wing, Balthier's arm around her waist to steady her. The wind blew through her hair and her heart was racing. For the first time in the past year she felt truly alive again.
Fran guided the hover bike easily around oncoming airships and flying monsters as she made her way back to the palace in Rabanastre. Chaffeuring the Queen around wasn't exactly her idea of fun, but she got to make sure the bike was working to full capacity and seeing Ashe again truly was worthwhile. Besides, it wasn't like the normal type of girl she was used to flying around on the bike...Balthier had an annoying habit of offering rides to the most..."interesting" girls he met in pubs. Her thought seemed a bit premature. Her ear twitched as she heard the all-to-familiar grunt from her partner. And out of the corner of her eye she saw what she feared--Ashe was no longer standing on the wing, she was back in Balthier's lap. And she seemed to be enjoying the ride a bit too much. Annoyance got the better of Fran and she heaved her body to the right, making a sharp turn with the bike in hopes that she would disassemble the two passengers. But much to her dismay it only caused them to cling tighter to one another to avoid being thrown from the seat.
They arrived back at the palace at dusk. A harried Fran glared at the two as they dismounted the bike (and each other). Ashe was red with embarassment and apologetically explained to Fran that she simply got caught up in all the excitement and allowed that high altitude to get the better of her. Balthier made no excuses, he claimed he was only acting as any proper leading man should. Fran told him the next time he wanted to "rescue" damsels in distress, he could crouch ass-in-the-air and drive the bike himself.