Author's Note: Chapters 1-4 will go through a slight revision. I always attempt to make an effort to have each one carefully proofread before being published. However, my previous method was not as successful. The facts and content will stay the same. Think of these as stylistic changes to the whole piece and nothing more! (This is especially important considering that my computer HATES uploading things properly.)
If you are new to the series, welcome and review if you wish! Your comments as always are motivational and improve my writing! What more could I ask for?
Fabrics colored pearl, beige, white, and crème, were being pulled to and fro in front of him. He watched silently as the various textures accidentally rubbed against his forearm. His vision was continually assaulted with these indistinct shades of silver and pearl.
There was no room to complain though, as the high-pitched squeals of the women in this fabric store were certainly causing pain to the viera standing next to him. She was like Basch in many respects, calm, assertive, not one to show unnecessary emotion. However, her elongated ears twitched as each young girl squealed the same meaningless noise at 30-second intervals.
Wondering when he would be alleviated from this eternity of endless screams, a young woman comes running around the corner with wild flowers tucked awkwardly into her blond hair. She was out of breath and lunged into Fran's arms. The other patrons of the shop scoffed and looked at this young woman, while she turned around and held up her right hand, indicating the wild screaming and running would have to end.
"Girls, we picked the fabric and now we take it to the designer. Remember, now we must be royal- Archadian-like even." Clapping her hands again, she pointed towards an exit, which the wild herd of five to ten year old girls pranced towards. The shop was now silent; moogles were popping from beneath fabric accidentally abandoned on the floor. Sighing, she walked up to Fran and Basch, and gave them a sympathetic smile.
The patrons in the shop were now whispering maliciously about their future Empress. They had painted her as being a wild obnoxious creature from Lowtown, with no room for intelligence. Her only saving grace was her average looks and that annoyingly naive personality trait of hers that allowed her to mistakenly believe everyone wished to be part of a fairy tale. Penelo's critics felt that such a trashy and vapid woman should not inherit the throne. There were throngs of other women suited for the role, but Lord Larsa had been bewitched.
Even after the events of Vayne's death and the restoration of Dalmasca, Penelo was well aware of the ingrained habits of the people of Archadia. Her wedding was scandalous to the people of Archades, but this was her opportunity to strike.
Being of a sharp political mind, Penelo's strengths were her compassion and discreet ways of maneuvering change. To those that were unfamiliar with her, they felt that at best, she was a child in woman's clothing, but Basch knew that was nothing more than a calculated image. No, she was not a conniving vixen, but Penelo was not simply a sweet child to be manipulated. She was strong, firm, and steadfast; her lighthearted ways, commonly mistaken for naiveté was just part of her charm.
Penelo and Basch had spoken of her ideas weeks before the wedding. Noticing that the chop system had yet to end, thus leaving the people of Old Archades impoverished, she spoke to Larsa about her desire to see the two distinct areas reunited. A quick mandate would cause an uproar, so this needed to be planned well.
Her solution?
The implementation of chops used to give those in Old Archades a leg up. With the help of that man, Jules, she was told which families needed desperately to be taken out of poverty. She came up with the wild plan of giving chops to young girls who would participate in her wedding. The young girls from Old Archades were given chops, which would be given to their families so they could sell or use in order to escape poverty and find jobs within the many districts of Archades.
All her critics mistakenly surmised that she was choosing disgusting children to play vital roles in her wedding. Penelo was giving others a chance to escape their stressful lives for a mere day. A foolish gesture from a foolish Empress, but Penelo would not have the public think any other way, lest she be discovered.
"I think if Larsa and I manipulate the chop system we can bridge the gap between old and new Archades. Also, I just heard information from Jules, that Otto along with his wife, are willing to work with us in finding like-minded people to open businesses in Old Archades. So far, only the moogle six have volunteered to open any business ventures. It's a start, but we need more Archadians to-"
Larsa had entered the room halting her conversation that day. He had won Penelo over from the beginning, much like Al-Cid and Ashelia. Basch on the other hand, was merely a knight who had sworn an oath to protect Lord Larsa, as a deathbed favor to his brother. The young man, who had witnessed the event, gave Basch the opportunity to withdraw his services gracefully.
Such a request was unacceptable as this was a binding contract with no end. As a result, he saw that his chance to act upon any romantic intentions had long since disappeared. He had such a small window to act, but many emotions held him back, and that hesitation cost him the hand of Ashelia. Once again relegated back to the role of friend, Basch did what he was most comfortable with and that was immersing himself in his responsibilities towards the royal heir.
His loyalty to Lord Larsa was infinite and it would easily replace such absurd thoughts and feelings he may have harbored. With time, he was correct, these feelings did wash away, he was nothing more but a stoic figure, meant to console, advise, and protect.
Today, however, he was quietly enjoying the festivities and preparation for Penelo and Larsa's wedding.
"Oh, thank you so much."
"For ruining our hearing, I assume," Fran said blandly.
Before Penelo could respond in a joking manner, the whole shop became eerily quiet. Larsa had entered the room, his beautiful eyes widened with adrenaline. Fran gave him a quick glance, her gaze cast off towards the exit waiting for the wind to inform her of Larsa's unexpected entrance. She too seemed perplexed, her nose slightly twitched at the information.
"We must head to the senate. It is of utmost urgency and I require the presence of Balthier. Lady Ashe and Vaan have been summoned and are arriving shortly."
"What's wrong?" Penelo asked, a bit of fear creeping up her throat. Fran had already escaped without notice somehow leaving Basch, Penelo, and Larsa alone in the shop.
"We must make haste then," Basch answered quietly.
It was Basch, who always knew how to move things along, when Penelo and Larsa were stagnant and overcome with worry.
Larsa and Penelo followed Basch's orders and soon they would all be in a meeting, discussing this matter of urgency. Arriving in that familiar space, with its large circular oak table and ornate chairs, the room appeared empty even with the several guests occupying the room. Vaan was speaking casually to Ashe, while Fran and Balthier whispered violently to one another. They seemed to be arguing about this very meeting, but soon quieted and put on an air of nonchalance once the trio entered the meeting room.
"Good afternoon to all. We have received word of a potentially dangerous situation. There is a special guest here to inform us more about the situation." Everyone was now sitting and watched as the door opened once again to reveal Mjrn, something that caused Fran to lose her composure for a few seconds.
"Last night the mist experienced a violent reaction at Ultima's escape. In her haste to return to power, she visited the wood searching for one of you. Many viera have lost their lives to these menaces. Jote-"
Fran's claws ran against the desk, the scratching against the fine grain meant to verbalize her frustration at the matter.
"Is not one of them, though she is injured. Viera have only humes to blame. Your weapons that were left in our care have been returned."
"Why have you left the village? You could have sent a message?" Ashe asked with urgency. At the end of their journey it was decided that certain weapons be left in the care of Mjrn.
The group broke out in angry confrontation, voices roaring over one another. The most distinctive voices were that of Vaan, Ashe, Balthier (which was out of character for him), Larsa, and Penelo.
Fran was still quiet, perhaps allowing Balthier to take on her battle as someone amongst the crowd insinuated that perhaps she was responsible for this.
During one failed excursion to the Great Crystal past Giruvegan, it was Fran who first encountered Ultima and it was she that came close to conquering the Esper. Her ultimate failure laid simply in the team not having proper equipment. Perhaps it was her white masked helm or her strategy to use weapons with the dark element imbued, but the results were the same.
"FRAN," Basch's voice yelled out as they were hit with another burst of holyja. Ultima was quickly readying herself to cast the spell heavy. There were no more phoenix downs, their magic was running low, and the only ones left were Basch, Balthier, and Fran. She had led them to this beast and she needed to conquer the beautiful goddess, before it drank anymore of the mist.
"Who comes to disturb my rest, I repeat," voiced the feminine creature. However, only Fran was able to hear her voice the two remaining men only heard wretched moans and screaming from the zombies and creatures below. To them it was as if this Esper lacked the ability to scream.
The Green Goddess snapped her head towards Balthier's direction and a ray of light shot down killing him instantly. The viera's rage was now boiling at an all time high, once he was taken out of battle. Before succumbing to her, he chuckled, "Is that your best?" His light was gone and the viera was left no choice, but to conquer the Esper on her own. Picking up her sword, she charged towards her and was ready to strike, until Basch grabbed her arm.
"We must flee. If we stay any longer we will all die."
Somehow, he gathered the strength to drag the viera out against her will, his arms heavy with various weapons and a vindictive Fran ready to kill.
"You will pay." They were the last whispered menacing words that Fran heard. Basch felt an uneasy sensation going down his spine, but they fled towards safety, forcing him to ignore such small details. Once they reached the way stone that would take them back to Giruvegan the pair fell to the floor. Carefully earned weapons spilt everywhere and nothing but the heavy breathing of Fran and Basch could be heard for ten minutes before they were able to resurrect their fallen allies, starting with Balthier.
"...an Esper. So who was this treasure?" Balthier contemplated.
"Ultima. She said she would find her betrayer once again."
"And do you believe her?" Balthier asked, as Basch tended to the wounds of Ashe.
"Perhaps." Nothing more was ever said of the matter.
Now that Fran was being challenged, Basch intervened.
"How do we know that Mateus and Shemhazai are gone? Can Fran and Lady Ashe not call upon them? And what of Zalera?"
Ashe called forth Mateus and the Esper did not heed her command. Fran knew to expect the same of Shemhazai.
"What are we to do? Ultima and Zalera were the only Espers we were unable to capture and with their apparent escape, who knows how long before the others rebel." Ashe had considered this to be a tragic observation, even more so now as they would have to relive the humiliation of not just Ultima's defeat, but that of Zalera whose magic always shut out enemies after a mere four to five minutes. The two of them combined could indeed spell mayhem for all of Ivalice.
"Well then, let's speak with some form of intelligence. Any ceremonial affairs can be put on hold until we recapture our Espers. It means two of our lovely ladies will be quite busy. The rest of us will devise a plan to conquer Zalera and Ultima. That's the sensible thing to do or we could just sit here and argue about vieras and their fondness for sensing danger. I myself have always thought that trait to be highly useful."
"Balthier, you are the most-"
"Charming person here. I know, though Penelo's betrothed does a fine job, as well, Lady Ashe."
"How dare you-"
"Interrupt me, really. Why, I would have thought manners were part of the Dalmascan restoration."
"Enough," Larsa announced. "Penelo and I shall postpone our wedding at once. This deserves our immediate attention and cooperation from everyone. I believe that our first challenge shall be to recapture the two escapees. It may be necessary for the Esper's original owners to deal the final bow in order to reassert dominance."
"Lord Larsa," Basch interjected. "There is no need to cease with the planned festivities. Vaan, Fran, Balthier, and I will go in search of the Espers who have strayed. If we believe, recapture is possible we will request the presence of Lady Ashe. Dalmascan and Archadian rulers should stay where they are for the sake of the peace treaties."
"I believe this to be a wise plan." With Larsa's dismissal, the newly recruited mercenaries were ready to exit the war room. Penelo and Ashe only whispered to one another in angry hushed tones that were much too soft and indistinct for Basch to listen in on. Ashe seemed to have expected this outcome, but Penelo's weakness was always her various facial expressions that were easily decoded by the Judge Magister.
Basch could only assume that the young woman pondered if this was what Larsa meant by the feeling of being trapped in a birdcage. He could almost affirm that Penelo wondered if she was much too delicate to be let loose into the wild. They had only fought as a team no less then six years ago. Had time changed everyone so much? Could the two remaining females be truly weak now?
Penelo's fears were that of Basch's, and no matter how cynical and absurd, a part of him was grateful that she would not have to incur the wrath of these demons. He had already lost one love to Dalmascan politics; he certainly would forbid the young woman he considered an extension of his family to suffer the same fate.
Strolling out of the war room Vaan had casually sneaked next to Basch.
"Basch, I didn't think Espers could escape our control. It doesn't make sense. Something else must have triggered this. Maybe Ultima is searching for Fran?"
"I should hope not. For now we have a job to do."