Author's Note: I wrote this a few months ago (on an inspired whim) after I re-played through Rodolfo's Mansion and it's kind of been sitting around my computer since then, waiting to be edited. It's pretty short; it just sort of touches on Kalas's thoughts and feelings while he's working through the mansion. I feel kind of bad posting something so short, but...ah, BK needs more love! (And don't get me wrong with how I wrote Kalas's attitude in this oneshot--I really do adore the Kalas/Xelha pairing!)
Thanks to Ruingaraf for taking time to beta part of the oneshot for me!
Disclaimer: I do not own Baten Kaitos.
Imaginings
Taking a path through a musty well and ending up in the middle of a fountain pool was the last way Kalas ever expected to end up in Rodolfo's mansion. Still, he thought as he shook the water from his clothing, it was much safer and easier than trying to break through the line of Imperial soldiers at the front door.
"Last time I'm ever taking that kid's advice. Ugh," he muttered to his Guardian Spirit, smoothing his hair back in place before he moved stealthily into the main corridor.
The hallway he crept through was dark, illuminated only by a few rows of fluttering lamplight. He could just barely make out the shadows of passing soldiers as they danced fluidly along the walls.
Kalas's search of the surrounding rooms was quick after he located Rodolfo's office and eavesdropped on what seemed to be an important conversation between the lord and one of his accomplices. In a matter of minutes, he managed to find a decidedly useless guestroom key and a valuable bit of information about Giacomo's whereabouts. The older man—Kalas's enemy, as well as one of the most powerful soldiers in Alfard—was supposedly on one of the upper floors of the mansion with the empire's prized battleship, the Goldoba.
Okay, Kalas decided confidently. Giacomo was much closer than he originally thought, and he hadn't left for Alfard just yet. This was good. Too good to be true, maybe, but Kalas was taking advantage of this rare opportunity while he still had the chance.
Kalas made his way to the upper floors as quickly as he could once he knew where Giacomo was. His luck started to run out as he drew closer to the final flight of stairs, and he had to flatten himself against the wall as a patrolling guard approached his hiding place. Kalas couldn't let himself be caught—not when he was this close. Giacomo and the revenge he had waited so very long for were only a few strides away.
The Guardian Spirit in the back of Kalas's head gave him a soft mental prod. "What about Xelha?"
"I'm here for Giacomo," he hissed. The Spirit sighed quietly, but she didn't protest. Kalas pressed on, moving furtively past an Imperial soldier before they could catch him.
But he still couldn't get Xelha out of his head.
Kalas saw nothing terribly significant about her. She was just another little girl with big dreams and impossible plans, someone who thought they could make an impact on the cruel workings of the world.
He, of course, would have none of it.
Something clicked nearby, effectively jostling Kalas back to reality. He spun around and saw several Imperial soldiers with the barrels of their rifles pointed at his forehead. He knew he could probably stop and fight them, but he didn't have the time.
Damn it!
A guestroom door loomed beside him. Kalas took the key in his hand—the same one he nabbed from Rodolfo's office on a whim—and threw it in the lock. Several rounds of gunfire pounded against the wall as he threw himself inside and slammed the door shut.
And there was Xelha, hunched over in the middle of the room. Her slender hands were tired firmly behind her back, and her head was slumped forward so he couldn't see her face. That confident, self-assured air she had possessed back in Moonguile Forest was gone now, replaced by the image of a defeated and tired girl.
Kalas was concerned when he saw how beaten she was; hadn't Rodolfo mentioned earlier that she was hurt by the Imperial soldiers when they brought her in? But still, beneath that concern, he couldn't help but feel the smallest twinge of arrogance.
Xelha looked up when he closed the door. Relief quickly replaced her initial spark of fear when she saw Kalas standing there instead of a uniform-clad soldier.
"Kalas! You came for me!"
No, he wanted to tell her. No, I came for Giacomo and found you by mistake.
But some part of him refused to say that. He felt bad for her, all locked up in this unfamiliar place with no one else to come save her.
His eyes met hers once more. There was something else there beneath her weary guise, and at first Kalas almost had to squint to see it.
Determination. Solid, definite, no-nonsense determination.
She hadn't been defeated yet. Kalas had a feeling she would see this through to the end; she wasn't about to let something like the empire stop her, no matter how intimidating they were.
Kalas's quiet arrogance was slowly replaced by...admiration? Or was it surprise? He wasn't quite sure anymore, but he didn't have the time to figure it out. Still, he knew he couldn't just leave her there—he was in a rush to get to Giacomo, but he wasn't heartless enough to simply abandon her.
Maybe he could still help Xelha in his own way, without putting his neck on the chopping block. All he had to do was untie those ropes binding her hands.