AN: My first FF XII fic! Hopefully it meets the high standards that most FF XII fics have. Seriously, the quality is amazing. As for this fic, it's a bit of a character sketch of Queen Ashe. I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. Don't forget to review if you can : D
Queen Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, was a queen both loved and feared. The fear came from her ambitious and stubborn demeanour with which she ruled the desert lands. This was rather intimidating, especially when considering the fact that she somehow managed to get Dalmasca back from the hands of the mighty Empire. The love came from her people, who loved her and respected her as she would do anything for them as exemplified from the previous fact. She ruled Dalmasca with a sense of righteousness and a reserved yet undeniable warmth. This is true even in ten years into her reign.
Despite what many young children are told in their fairy tales, royal blood does not guarantee a life of leisure and security, far from it in fact. Her schedule was often filled with different diplomatic missions, paperwork, speech giving, attending official events and ceremonies and more. It was a demanding position to be queen, especially when she was "The Great Hope of Dalmasca". Even more pressure was added when you were the only remaining descent of the Great Dynast King. The shoes were pretty big to fill, but she managed some how; she had to after all.
The other expectation about being a monarch was that one had to keep appearances. Not that she had too much of a problem with this, but there were certain things she had a hard time keeping appearances for.
The greatest challenge in this was that she was a woman and in a position of great power. Not that Dalmascans were particular on the sex of their ruling monarch, it was rather unusual and subtly, some perceptions stuck. In the beginning, many of her enemies and maybe even her followers themselves, did misinterpret her iron will for the colloquial word "bitchiness" , the kinder ones called her "Her Royal Bitchiness". But eventually, many people came to the realization that were she a woman or not, her demanding trait was a due to personality and necessity and every one's perception of any other reason was just a double standard. Nevertheless, keeping the image of queen was no easy task as Ashe was not only Dalmasca's hope but also a woman. Luckily, with ten years into her reign, her success as a monarch removed any uncertainties on whether she was good as her father.
On a much more personal level, Ashe had to admit that she felt rather lonely at times. Her loyal companions and dearest friends who aided her in her cause against the Empire, would always be missed. Due to most of their professional differences...she couldn't always see them (or be caught seeing them), but epistolaries seemed to fill that communication gap as well as some clandestine visits if their schedules would permit. The little mission against the Judge of Wings was quite nice after a year after a previous adventure.
However, some times, she would lay awake in her grand bed and walk out into her balcony to stare at the night sky while breathing in the cool desert air. The city is the quietest then and the lack of life at these unholy hours, the lack of the present, often lead her mind to wander about the past. It was in these times, when no one is watching, when she can be free, fanciful, vulnerable and be honest with herself. She missed her old life as a princess before the Empire' hostilities. She sometimes missed being a carefree princess. She missed her dear father deeply and often wondered what would he think of her rule. Would he have been proud? Done things differently? Been disappointed? But her heart sank and almost shattered when she looked at the rings on her hands and thought of what they meant who they belonged to . In the short time of her marriage to Prince Raseler, she thought that those were one of the happiest days of her life. They would spend many nights here on this very balcony, talking of trivial things, hinting at the future, with mutual thoughts of how they would rule this nation together by each other's side. When she felt that she had lamented enough, she would straighten herself up and regain her composure. Such is innocence, she would say to herself while she mourned at the loss of the people she grew up with in her childhood and the Prince she loved deeply.
Ashe made it a point to move on, or at least appear to. She took up the illustrious Al-Cid's offer to visit Rozzaria many years ago and has since gotten invitations of repeat visits which she accepted as well. The pleasantry and ease at which she soon came to be in his company has sparked many rumours of their having un grand amour . She and the Rozzarian royal mutually agreed to not comment on any such thing, as Ashe has come to learn ( after she denied any relationships with the infamous sky pirate Balthier ) that despite what one says on these sorts of things, it will still manage to spark the match of imagination in some one's romantic heart. All Dalmascans who ardently believed that the two royals were in love, also ardently wished that Ashelia would get married again.
That was the other thing about being a Queen, you had to produce an heir to the kingdom. Which also meant that one had to get married. She was nine-and-twenty now, and the counsel agreed that she needed a living significant other and children.
Each of the counsel members at some point in the past ten years had hinted to her about this duty but never really saying it to her. They saw that she wore the rings from time to time and some had known her Majesty's deep feelings for the late Nabradian Prince and hence, wanted to be gentle. Nevertheless on her thirtieth birthday, the counsel said that enough was enough and it was time to get the problem out on to the centre stage. The question was posed, The Queen agreed without hesitation in all her royal regalia and thus, the word got out that Her Highness was looking for a suitable husband.
The same day, the Arcadian Emperor and his bodyguard came on their monthly visit to the Dalmascan Queen. Ashe received the two guests personally at the main courtyard of the palace with warmth. The Emperor and the Queen forged a strong alliance with their respective nations which was to mostly to prevent any wars. However, the two, especially with their past acquaintance, and especially because of Basch, have come to become close friends, despite the age difference (Larsa was rather precocious after all). The young Emperor (who really wasn't that young now as he was 23 ) also gave the two space, so they could catch up with each other. It would usually be during the little tea party they had in one of the gardens, when Larsa would excuse himself and say he wanted to walk around alone a bit. The quiet that followed immediately was altered by a simple question as "how are you doing?"
Ashe had asked Basch this and listened to his polite and reserved response while she drank cactoid flower tea out of her cup. She liked moments like this, any moment with Basch was fine, especially after she became Queen. The thing was, her life has changed so much especially when compared to when her father ruled. Amongst all of this change, Basch was her constant, he was in her childhood memories and almost every age after that. Even now, as he works under a different monarch, he still visits her every month or so. The Empire's aggressions a decade ago had made her lose all the people she loved dearly. These people were close in her heart and she to theirs as they knew her as a person and not just a royal. But now they were gone. If it hadn't been for Basch's existence, she would have even went far to doubt whether these people ever had been in her life. Maybe she would even begin to doubt her own childhood memories. Fortunately, Basch-when coaxed- would tell her about his memories of her childhood and she always felt that she wasn't alone in the world. Living in nostalgia often does this.
It came to the Queen's mind, in the midst of their conversation that she wouldn't mind marrying him. Sure she didn't love him and he was far older than her ( of course then there was the issue of he's supposed to be dead). He didn't entice the deepest passions in her heart or make her weak in the knees. These things would be rather inconvenient to a ruling monarch such as herself. What she needed for a husband was a understanding, patient man who wasn't threatened by the fact that she was a powerful woman and a reserved personality or at least be so in the public eye. Finally, he should be faithful and trustworthy. Basch was all of those things and it would make her happy if she could easily solve the marriage issue by just marrying him.
This leads to another point about being a Queen: personal happiness is often sacrificed for the good of the people. For one thing, if she could marry Basch, the counsel and the Dalmascan public (along with the rest of Ivalice) would be rather shocked at her wanting to marry an Arcadian Judge. Even more of a complication is the fact that Basch was supposed to be dead. So instead of taking the opportunity of this intimate conversation to bring up a proposal, she simply replied that she was still looking when asked about her search. Though she was very much tempted to add "I did have someone in mind, but I'm not so sure what their feelings are", but that would be to obvious and rather improper.
During the long, gruesome selection process with the counsel, many choices were placed before her. In the end, Al-Cid seemed to win in the end. It was now all just a matter of asking him and hoping that he would say yes. No less than two days, Dalmascan officials heard the answer (with a reply letter that the counsel knew it was from him long before they actually read the envelope as the envelope itself yelled Al-Cid. The envelope had his signature sun glasses attached.) with a yes.
It is not to say that Queen Ashe learned about everything there is to learn to be a queen after her second marriage. She had yet to produce a heir after it. Eventually, after some hinting and nudging, an heir was born, or heirs rather (What can I say, Al-Cid was a very convincing man). Ruling as a mother was a new experience to Ashe. It's not that she become softer, but she felt blessed to be able to experience a feeling that men don't quite get as strongly. Her very body created new life for once, rather than mourning for other's. It was, a gratifying feeling. She named her first son Rasler.
The later decades of her rule was even more successful. She grew more experienced each year and forged many alliances with many official and non-official nations. Though Dalmasca was small, the Queen made good use of the fact of it's reputation for being the centre of trade across Ivalice. Her surviving children were married of to various nobles across Ivalice to forge alliances and promote peace just as she had been for the same purpose. Needless to say, Queen Ashelia B'nargin Dalmascan ruled her little desert nation in an era of peace.
In her last few days, the Queen reflected upon her life. She had changed many times over the years (even to her surprise, she found that she developed a sense of humour). She spent these days sitting on a chair and looking out towards the balcony over Dalmasca's largest city. Ashe did this alone now as she lived to a ripe old age that allowed her to live a little past her second husband. Eventually, it was her turn. As she looked out on to Rabanastre one particular dawn, as she saw the sun slowly rising from the distant sands, Ashe closed her eyes for the last time.
Her death marked the end of an era, but also the beginning for a new one. The masses of people mourned for her passing, but with it they also celebrated her life. The Queen lived in the hearts of many of her people and went on to be written as the Queen Ashe the Strong in history. A statue of her elderly self, in her royal ruling grab was placed in the city. This is the last thing about being Queen. If your people love you as much as you loved them, you will never turly die. In fact, you become immortal.
And thus ends the story of Queen Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca.