House Bunansa was a manor somewhere in the very center of the Imperial Capital of the Arcadian Empire. It sat atop a very high skyscraper, like all the other places of importance within Archades, where whenever they looked out of the window, all sorts of flying vehicles were visible. Not every Skyway Taxi would arrive at this place as it was home to one of the most influential families with political power, and only a crest wearing family member could even get close. The same was with every place of importance within Archades.
Within that manor, the head of the family, Cidolfus Demen Bunansa walked side by side with the youngest of his four children through a large hall. The boy was ten years old, looking up directly at his father with admiration.
"You have had much time to study this week, haven't you?" the father asked curiously.
"Yes, Lord Father," the son replied, pushing up his glasses that were fashioned in the exact same way as his father's lenses.
"Tell me what you were reading about. I am curious as to what you learned."
He took a deep breath and thought about it for a good few minutes. He was afraid of saying something wrong and being scolded, as he hardly ever got any time to speak directly with his father. The boy concentrated on what he wanted to say before finally giving the details of what he remembered from his allotted study time."Archades, Capital of the grand Arcadian Empire, is ruled by both the Senate and the Emperor. All sorts of things are managed by the Senate, though they have to go through the approval of the Emperor before they could do much of anything substantial. The Emperor and his family are protected by an elite guard known to the outside world as only the Judges. The Judges are in charge of looking after the Arcadian military and all of its many missions and exploits, which only brings everything back full circle to the Emperor and the Senate."
"Very good, Ffamran. You seem to have learned very much during this week's study period. I daresay you have the mental fortitude to one day take over the Draklor Laboratory. Hard to believe you are only ten. Your eldest brother did not take to reading until he was older."
"Thank you for your praise, Lord Father. I borrowed the book from your library. Should I return it to you?" Ffamran was dancing with pride on the inside, but he had remembered from his lessons in behavior that it was impolite to react to praise so rashly. He kept his composure.
"Do you wish to study it further? You are more than welcome to it."
Ffamran looked down at the beautifully ornate carpet below his feet as he sheepishly said,"I was hoping I could read more of your science books, not your political ones..." He really wanted to tell his father how much he wanted to grow up to be just like him, but it just wasn't coming out right. Adoration did not come easily, and it wasn't like Ffamran expected his always-working father to understand it anyway. Ffamran's second brother told him once that adoration was something of a childish emotion... And that was the last thing he wanted his father to see him as. Childish.
"Very well." Cidolfus said kindly. He looked at his son. Discussing books seemed to be one thing the two of them enjoyed doing, and he hadn't spent much time with Ffamran in a while. "Would you like to come with me the next time I go see the book vendor? You can pick out one for yourself, to start your own collection."
"Could I do that, Lord Father?" The young boy beamed with excitement as he asked. He had always borrowed books from his older brothers or his father. Ffamran never had books of his own. He was excited as he imagined what kind of books would be available the day he could take a trip to visit the book vendor. Would they be books of history, or books of science? Books of geography, maybe?
His father had never seen that look of excitement in the eyes of his third son before. "Of course! Every man who bears the family name Bunansa must be well educated, Ffamran. To not feed your ever absorbing mind with more knowledge is a crime against all of Ivalice!"
"Lord Father," a voice called from the end of the hall. "You have a guest waiting in the drawing room."
"Ah, my dearest Adamaris," Cidolfus said as he started walking faster. "Thank you so very much for telling me. I must begin the next project as soon as possible." As he passed his lovely only daughter, he kissed her cheek gently. Ffamran rolled his eyes at seeing the affection, and their father never bestowed upon him anything of that nature. The most he ever got were book discussions between every other thing Cidolfus was to do. At least, he had that day coming in the future where he could spend more time with his father. Ffamran held that in his heart.
"Ffamran," Adamaris said, extending her arms to him. She was three times his age, a young woman in the eyes of the law of Arcadia. Ffamran noticed her beautiful blonde hair was pulled up in the front, but fell along her shoulders in the back. She never wore it that way before. Ffamran didn't want to bother asking about it. He begrudgingly hugged around her, as he knew it was what she wanted. It was hardly worth the effort to refuse her. "Lord Father has so many things coming along. You must forgive him in that he cannot spend much time with you. Our Lord Brother has moved to work as a part of the Senate now, so perhaps he will."
"Mother says he cannot break away because of how much power we have as a family, and that it is his responsibility to work all the time," Ffamran muttered.
"Even Mother wishes she could have more time with him," Adamaris said quietly. "Now that she is abed, it is much harder than it used to be." She patted her little brother on his head. "If you wish, you may have a slice of the cake in the drawing room. I made it myself."
"Cake?" Ffamran asked. "I'd like that..." and even though he would have very much enjoyed the cake, he had more troubling things on his mind. The boy felt lonely, even though he had been highly praised by his siblings, his sick mother, and his workaholic father.
"Then come. You may learn something if you listen to how Lord Father speaks with our guest today," Adamaris said, ruffling his short brown hair. Her delicate voice, perfectly trained by other ladies of high stature to never sound angry or sad about anything, rang like a hollow song through the hallway. "The best way to learn is to observe."
His elder sister looked to him much like a doll, and even at his young age, Ffamran felt as if she was only meant for her father to one day give away as some sort of prize to another family. He was not perfectly clever as his age and lack of experience would not give him the insight to be, though he was not entirely without his wits, either. He was, in fact, the son of a scientist and the daughter of a mining company's proprietor. Some of that was sure to show in how he was, correct?
Adamaris took Ffamran by his hand and led him through the expansive manor to the exact drawing room where his father was addressing the guest mentioned only before.
Ffamran sat at a table a bit away from where Cidolfus and his guest were speaking to listen to their conversation. His sister cut him a slice of the cake, and even though he held a tiny fork in his hand, he did not take a bite at all. He concentrated only on the meeting, hoping to learn something, anything to increase his understanding of his father's mindset.
"You ask for too much," Cid's guest said. Ffamran could not tell if this person sitting across from his father male or female, as whoever it was wore armor from head to toe that covered every feature that could signify such. Every time this person even twitched, there was the sound of scraping metal, and it was hard to believe that this guest was actually made of flesh and bone. "You give naught in return for your costs."
"Come now, Your Honor, surely even a woman of your stature would understand why I would need the funding that I do," Cidolfus retorted. "I am a family man, with four children to support. Even though my eldest son now sits on a seat of the Senate, he does not hold the power to influence them at this point." He was concentrated on what Ffamran assumed to be his guest's face through the fully armored mask. "Drace, my lady, I appeal to your generous nature as a woman to have it in your heart-"
"Do not patronize me, sir!" Drace said defensively. "How could you speak to a guard of House Solidor as you presume to now."
"Emperor Ghramis would understand if he knew I was on the breakthrough of a lifetime," Cid said. "But not even I have been granted entrance to the palace since his newest son was born."
"The Emperor weeps for Her Highness the Empress, as her life was taken in exchange for our young lord Larsa Ferrinas. He has no time to speak with men of your like who would drain the royal funds for mad science," the armored Drace said quietly.
Soon the door opened again, catching everyone's attention.
"Doctor, Your Honor," came the voice of one of the maids within the manor's employ. "A girl has arrived with the company of five state soldiers."
"Yes, I am expecting her," Drace said plainly. "Please, bring her to me posthaste."
Cidolfus rubbed the stubble upon his chin, as was his practice when he was deep in thought. "This would be your daughter, yes?" he asked. "I admit I could never imagine a judge siring offspring, since I highly doubt you ever remove your iron suits. No one would want to consort with something so cold and painful."
"Your wife spent so much time in the far reaches of mines, I am surprised you did not find her heart made of stone," Drace snapped as she turned her head away from Cid and to that of the girl that the state-owned soldiers had brought to her.
Ffamran saw the girl, too, from where he sat. She wore a bright colored dress and a matching hat with her hair mostly pulled up into it. She made a curtsy to Cid after she bowed her head to Drace, trying to be a model of grace, but seeming more awkward than formal. He knew she had nowhere near amount the training in the arts of being a formal woman as Adamaris just by how she nearly tripped when she lost her footing during the curtsy. Poor girl. She'd never be as sought after as Adamaris, even if her family had political power by being tied to House Solidor.
"Well met, young lady," Cid said to the girl gently. "May I have the honor of knowing your name?" Ffamran asked himself how his father always knew how to speak to women in a way that made them smile and even blush. How was a man so steeped in books and work so charming?
The girl's voice was not devoid of personality. "My name is Skyla," she said it very directly, somewhat angrily. She seemed as if she didn't want to speak to Cid, which was unlike every other female Ffamran had seen before. She wasn't perfectly properly mannered.
"That name is simply breathtaking," Cid answered her. "Your mother has a feminine side to her after all in choosing such a delicate name. Here I thought she was more a man than me."
"Get to your point, Cidolfus." Drace was so very unamused.
"Your daughter, little Skyla, has very high test scores for magic for her age, yes?"
Skyla nodded before Drace answered. "I'm all ready able to use Firaga with no problem," she said, pulling back away from Cid until she was leaning against her mother's armor.
"How would you know about my daughter's test scores?" Drace demanded, almost enraged by the amount of knowledge Cid had on her.
"Who do you think is on the staff of the Archadia Prepatory Academy?" Cid asked with a laugh. "I started not as a scientist in the name of a science, but as a scholar wishing to teach the love of learning and higher education to that of students who wish it." He smiled at having caused Drace so much distress without even trying. "And I love children who show so much promise in scholarly pursuits. Take my youngest son, Ffamran. Only ten, but reading books harder than most adults Archadians can processes."
Ffamran loved the fact that he heard his father praise him in front of a stranger. He stood up, not wanting to be rude, hoping he could earn just a little more praise. He said, "Lord Father, if I may invite Lady Skyla to come share in some cake?"
Cid smiled widely. "If her only mother does not mind..."
Skyla looked to Drace, and Drace only nodded. The girl walked over to Ffamran, and he pulled out a seat for her at the table where he had been seated. Adamaris, amazed at her little brother's sudden display of manners, helped him serve Skyla a piece of the cake.
"Your son has the same silver tongue as his father," Drace said, turning her attention back to the discussion at hand. "Still. Why do you make mention of my daughter's test scores now? Do you plot at something?"
"I wish for you to assist me, and I will give you two things in return for it, Your Honor. As we are both parents, we have to keep our children in mind when we do absolutely anything," Cidolfus said. His voice was coaxing, somewhat bewildering. It was no surprise to anyone that he seduced a woman from a high family with his tone and accent to accompany his absurd level of intellect. "You will speak to Emperor Ghramis and his sons on my behalf, and I will give you the greatest security your daughter could hope for."
"As if I could not protect her."
"Forgive me. As she becomes an adult, it is most unbecoming for a woman to remain unmarried and without children in Archades nobility, is it not? Even you, a woman of our mighty military, has had to keep up the rules of being a woman of noble blood," Cid continued. "How about a promised entry into the Archadian University upon graduation from the prepatory academy... And the hand of my son Ffamran in marriage?"
Ffamran instantly dropped his fork onto his plate, causing a loud clatter. He had never known a girl aside from Adamaris or his mother, and his father was proposing he be married?
Drace held her breath for a second. She was unsure of how to respond. Of course it sounded too good to be true, for someone to help her reach the highest of her daughter's potential and for them to agree to betroth their son to her upon their first meeting. "You are being serious?" she asked.
"When am I not?" Cidolfus chuckled.
"With you it is hard to tell..." Drace grunted.
Skyla was enjoying the cake, as if the matter of the question wasn't so heavy. It was the first time she had a cake like this one. She loved how the fluffy icing rolled onto her tongue sweetly, and Ffamran seemed like a nice boy. He was nice enough to offer her some. "Mother," she said, interrupting every train of thought in the room.
"Yes, dear?" Drace asked.
"If all you have to do is talk to the Emperor... I'll marry Ffamran..." Skyla said quietly. "I know that if I want to get in the Archadian University, I'll have to study harder than anyone else and pass rigorous testing. And even then I might be rejected." She looked at the cake instead of at anyone else.
"The Emperor himself spoke recently in a speech... about how the dreams of the people of Archadia are Archadian Dreams, and all Archadian Dreams are worth blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice," Cidolfus continued. "I believe your daughter understands that. What say you, Your Honor?"
Drace looked back at her daughter. "...if you will keep at your word."
"I never break a promise," Cidolfus said, leaning forward. "Ffamran, what say you, my son? Would you be willing to marry little miss Skyla?"
All Ffamran wanted was acceptance from his father. All he could think about was how much he wanted that praise and understanding. Sure, his hand in marriage was being sold for money from the crown, but he didn't hesitate a single second. "I would be honored, Lord Father, to do my part for the Bunansa family as my brothers have done before me," he answered proudly.
"It's settled," Cidolfus said, getting up to walk over to the table where the children were seated. "The two of you are betrothed. Become good friends so that you may bring about a happy addition to both of your families as you become older." He took their free hands and placed them together, with Skyla's beneath Ffamran's. "All right, then, we will have to have some time set aside for you two to get to know each other. I know the Academy will be out all of next week... Perhaps then."