Disclaimer- I do not own Final Fantasy XII, if I did, I would have added a more obvious relationship built between at least SOME characters.
Price for Rewards
Life at times can be unpredictable. For a certain Queen, she's finding that everything in her life is unpredictable. To lose her husband only a day after marriage was the first unexpected blow. He had left with such confidence, that she had believed that they would surely win the war. His death, soon followed with her own, although that is only false knowledge passed for her safety. She lost her kingdom to Archadia, and she soon found herself part of the resistance against them. A petty attempt to take back Dalmasca, it was only when she ran into thieves did things start to unwind.
The unexpected part of it all has to be when she found out that her true enemy is not Archadia but the Gods themselves, the Occarians; Venat. Countless Espers she gained, while at the same time gained new companions that she came to love as friends. A knight who betrayed her and his kingdom, only to have been framed by the twin brother that happened to be a judge. Two sky pirates with the largest bounties on their heads ever to be known at the present time. A simple common girl who's soul desire was to help people and dance; and a foolish young boy who dreamed of being a sky-pirate.
She had never expected that she would be in such a mismatched group, and that they would be the sole key of defeating Vayne. Defeating Vayne had been only one step of rebuilding Dalmasca, the next was to announce to her people that she had not killed herself. A fact that had taking a year for her people to fully adjust to. Then it was another year before she became Queen of Dalmasca. It's been a year since then and she's been doing nothing but running through laws and such for the better of her kingdom; dodging suitors that come from every corner of the country who are only interested in gain rather then well being of a civilization.
Yes, life is truly unpredictable for Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca; and it seemed to be only the beginning. There has been reports of a fiend ransacking the villages outside of Rabanastre's borders and on the outskirts of Dalmasca. Although many think Rabanastre is what makes up Dalmasca, it truly is much larger than that, and Ashe will protect every citizen, whether they be in the royal city or not. She had ordered a small unit out to take care of the fiend but regretfully, it seemed that she had underestimated the fiend.
Being Queen, she cannot take care of the fiend herself, as she's stuck in the palace, so she resorted to setting up a bounty. She recalled having done quite a number of them herself three years ago, and thought it wise to do it for this matter as well. The strongest hunters of fiends aren't normally military personal, but common people who know how to handle fiends. It's something she learned in her travels with her mismatched group.
The unexpected wasn't that people would accept the bill, she knew someone would when they took note of the fact that it was a bill placed directly from the Highness. In fact, several people from across the country had taken to the hunt, yet she had not heard word of success until just recently. It had taken only a week from when she placed the bill for the fiend to be taken down. Only one week compared to the six months that the fiend had been causing trouble.
"Your Highness! The hunter has arrived in the palace." One of her generals said as he bowed at her throne. "We will hand the reward by your word."
"Nonsense." Ashe stated before she stood up from her throne, "In such a victory, it shall be an honor to hand it to the hunter myself. Twas I who had placed the bill in the first place."
Kinta, her general, looked at her rather nervously, his body began to fidget uncontrollably as he tried to think of a means to dissuade the highness's wishes. "Your Majesty, I regret to inform, that the hunter had come here upon slaying the fiend."
"What matter does that cause to me seeing the hunter?"
"He is not proper to be in your presence."
Ashe closed her eyes for a moment before crossing her arms over her chest. "What is the meaning of this?"
"He's a bit…" He trailed off
"Do continue."
"The fiend, when it was slain, released a rather horrible.. Toxin."
"You speak nonsense. If the fiend released toxin we should be treating the hunter back to health."
"The toxin isn't necessarily… deadly. It's harmless."
"Then it is not a toxin."
Kinta rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, his short blonde hair a bit damp from sweating. The combination of heavy armor during the hot day, and his nerves frying making him sweat more than normally. "I feel it would be in your best interest not to see the hunter."
"Be it as it may, I will decide what's in my best intention. Bring me the hunter."
Kinta let out a sigh before bowing once more, "As you wish my Queen."
Her general walked out of the main hall, leaving her alone once more. The nerve of him trying to decide what was best for her, she would have to put him on notice for a week. She had giving him a direct order to bring her the hunter, and he tries to say otherwise. Disobedience like that is what will make her army weak if a war arises once more. Three years of peace are short lived, and she has no intention of losing her kingdom again.
She remained standing while she waited; her white gown lying freely on the floor, trailing a foot or so behind her. It had gold lining and it left her collar bare to allow the large necklace she wore, which happened to be a royal emblem. Her hair she hadn't changed in the years, but now she is wearing the crown fit for the Queen of Dalmasca. Sterling silver, with a series of different pendants designs in it. It took her a week or so to adjust to the extra weight on her head. It had at first, irritated her neck, even through her adventures she hadn't worn a helmet for protection; not wanting to hinder her sight in a battle.
She continued to wait, growing impatient as it took longer than she thought needed for her guard to fetch. Her let out an annoyed breath and her brows itched together as she grew impatient. She placed her hands on her waist, a habit she had picked up once she had become Queen. Her guards and servants knew when she grew unhappy about something when she did this, and she often had to resort to shout to get things done. Most logical reason she could think of for the disobedience had to be the fact that Dalmasca had never once had a woman rule the kingdom on her own. The Queen had always just been by the kings side, who's only duty to the kingdom was to produce a heir to the throne.
The clanking of armor echoed outside of the main hall; several guards were escorting the hunter it seemed. But they were bringing the hunter no less, whether or not they were being courteous isn't exactly important at the moment. She just wished to acknowledge the hunters bravery and honorable commitment to her kingdom personally.
"My Queen, we have brought the hunter." Kinta her general announced before stepping to the side. There, being lead by four other guards of her own, two behind him, and two in front of him, was a rather familiar face. One she hadn't seen in three years.
He still looked the same, for the most part. His hair he had kept at the same length, but his facial features had hardened a bit to a more masculine look, as opposed to the boyish features he sported. The vest he had worn back during their adventures had been replaced by a chromed leather shirt, that had been dyed black. He still wore black slacks and armored boots, but the gauntlets were gone and he not wore simply black gloves.
Taller, he was definitely taller than the last time she had seen him. He had been shorter than she, but now, even from the distance between them, she could tell that he probably had a good half a head over her own. He still seemed to carry that energetic go happy energy, apparent from the grin he was sporting.
She noticed two things that were off however, he was covered in what appeared to be some sort of slime. She couldn't decide whether it was grey purple or blue, and with it, an extremely foul odor was filling the entire hall.
She didn't really mind though, she didn't even notice it all that much. This is Vaan, one of the few true friends she had made in the past, and regrettably, one of the few whom she had not kept in touch with. She had been far too busy with negotiations with Archadia and ruling a kingdom for such simple pleasantries as friends. Still it didn't mean she didn't care about them anymore.
"Vaan!" She announced, pleasantly surprised to find that he is the hunter. She headed towards him, intending on at least coming closer to him. Then she noticed something else that she hadn't before. His ankles and wrists were shackled. Her temper suddenly flared at this. She knew her guards were simply trying to protect her, but to treat a guest in such a manner is inconceivable. "What is the meaning of this?"
Kinta cleared his throat before giving another bow, similar to the ones before, "Your majesty, we have captured the sky-pirate Vaan Galbana"
Vaan grinned at this before letting out a short embarrassed laugh, "I think I forgot about the bounty on my head."
And that's the end of chapter one. I had several ideas for a chaptered fic, some of which I shared with another author. But then I decided this would work. What will happen? Review and find out. This chapter is mainly introductory, things will run more smoothly in the next. )
P.S. - Just so you all know, I never beat the game, and don't ever plan on to because I just love it to death and never want it to end. But that doesn't mean I don't know how it ends. That's what Youtube is for hee hee!