12/7/06

Disclaimer: The characters in this fic, such as Vaan, Penelo, etc. don't belong to me; they are property of Square, so don't sue! ;.;

Dedications: God, my parents, my friends, my readers, my beloved fans, and Square for making this fantastic and extremely addictive game.

Special dedication to: SilverLocke980, for being a longtime supporter of my works and for being such a devoted friend.

Final Fantasy XII: Unveiled Revelations

By Tiger5913

Part One

She knew what was going on.

The girl wasn't blind to her friend's rather obvious crush on the princess, and the way he fawned over her was kind of cute – and it certainly was funny when he screwed up from trying to show off. But when the humor wore off, she had to wonder silently, how much would he change if got into an actual relationship with the young woman that he so admired? The two friends had been close for quite a few years, almost like they were blood-related siblings, and so she was rather used to having a big brother looking out for her. He had protected her for most of their childhood and even as teenagers, but these days, she wasn't sure if he would be doing that anymore. Or maybe he would, but for a different person now…

The group of traveling companions was usually a party of six, an even number that caused certain members to pair off together, either by reason of partners, friends, or guardianship. From habit, the notorious sky pirate and his sleek viera companion usually kept to themselves, while the Dalmascan princess discussed political issues and her country's reformation with the former army captain. The two childhood friends were the youngest and most excitable, constantly showing their inexperience when they exclaimed their wonder at new towns, and especially by the way that they would eagerly run around exploring foreign locations. During the beginning of their journey, when they had been a little reckless at times, the duo had often come across numerous fiends and monsters, but her friend had always jumped into the battle first, therefore shielding her from being attacked.

However, recently, the girl noticed that he had started to stray away from her whenever they were fighting enemies, and instead he would draw near the princess, effectively becoming her supporter. Thanks to her dearly departed brother's instruction, Penelo was well-trained in martial arts and could stand her own in battle, but she felt better and more secure knowing that she had back-up, someone watching out for her. Since she had been orphaned by the war, Penelo was suddenly stricken with unfamiliar loneliness by the loss of her family, and she was afraid that one day, she would lose her good friend as well. But she was truly happy for her dear adopted brother and didn't want to intrude on his budding relationship with the princess, so she gave them their private space whenever they happened to wander off together.

She looked at them now with genuine interest and noticed that they had once again distanced themselves from the rest of the group, and a small smile of encouragement graced her dainty lips. Maybe they were finally starting to get somewhere with each other, despite her friend's initial worries and insecurities. After a period of confusion and startling revelations, it was revealed that the feisty young woman was not just another ordinary member of the Marquis Ondore's resistance group. She was Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca, the long lost princess of their country, and suddenly she had seemed far beyond the reaches of a mere common boy's dream. Or so he thought, but he could be proven wrong yet…

Penelo certainly hoped so, for her friend's sake.

She watched the two interacting for a little while, and then surveyed the rest of her allies to see what they were doing. The girl wasn't surprised to find Balthier and Fran lingering in the back as always; they were practically always together, and no one dared to suggest that they be apart for any situation, especially in battle. The gallant and brave former knight of the Dalmascan army, Basch Fon Ronsenburg, was usually content with being by himself, but at the present time he was walking alongside and talking to the current guest in their party. Their guest was certainly a special visitor, the youngest son of the emperor of Arcadia, Larsa Ferrinas Solidor, who had traveled alone to Jahara just so he could meet with the princess and propose a plan of peace for the turbulent condition of their countries.

Even though he was a person of great importance and position, he had never treated Penelo as if she was beneath him or unworthy of his attention, and she in turn considered him a caring and trustworthy friend. He had seemed very eager to befriend her when they had first met in the crowded city of Bhujerba, which led the blonde girl to wonder if he felt as lonely as she had at times. She found that a little strange, for surely the young prince had to be constantly surrounded by people, given his title and role in Arcadia, but perhaps he didn't feel very close to any of them. Maybe he sought real companionship. Penelo was sympathetic to this desire of his and talked with him whenever she had the chance, and not too surprisingly, he turned out to be very good company.

Since his recent assimilation into the party, the girl noted with mild interest that he seemed to always be close by her in the absence of her friend's former protection. Of course, the irony was not lost on her; he, the young prince of a powerful empire, was putting so much effort in defending the life of an ordinary commoner instead of the other way around, though she kept that concept hidden deep within her mind. Penelo could easily recall numerous instances in which he had immediately joined her battle and avidly stayed by her side to help her finish off their targeted monster. Not to mention his seemingly endless supply of Potions had coolly slid down her throat on more than one occasion. She bet that if Vaan had been around her often enough lately to witness it, he would have poked fun at her for Larsa's sudden, unspoken attentiveness toward her.

She thought about going over to him right now to ease her steadily growing loneliness, but then she suddenly spotted a familiar object a little off in the distance. Throughout their travels, the group had occasionally come across various items and dropped forgotten gil amongst broken pots and urns, and she was just lucky enough to have caught one in her sight. After a quick glance at her allies, Penelo motioned to her friend where she was going, and with his distracted nod of assent, she eagerly headed toward her discovery. The companions were currently venturing through the Ozmone Plain, where she was perfectly content being and felt safe wandering around the sunny and lively green fields by herself. She certainly didn't think it was necessary to always be escorted everywhere she went.

Penelo reached the broken urn and leaned down, bringing her face close to it as she peered inside through the holes and wide cracks. A brief glint of light flashed, instantly catching her attention, and the blonde girl carefully slipped her hand into the glass pot, slowly weaving her way to the object. She grabbed it and held on tightly as she retrieved her treasure and then eagerly checked to see what it was; hopefully something she had great use for. The item turned out to be a bottle of Ether, and she delighted in her find, quickly tucking it into a small pouch that she had attached to her side. Out of all the things that Penelo had used before in battle, a mage like her benefited the most from a magic-restorative item.

Satisfied with her treasure, the girl straightened up and turned around to return to her allies, when all of a sudden she heard a sharp hiss emitting from somewhere off to the side. Her head jerked in the direction of the sound and she gasped at the sight of a large viper coiled just a few feet away from her, twin beady eyes fixated on her petite form while its fangs were bared in a threatening manner. Penelo threw a quick look at her other companions but to her dismay, they had wandered a bit further ahead and wouldn't be able to reach her before the vicious snake had the chance to attack. She would have to get past it to go toward them anyway, and so her hands immediately went to grab a hold of her sturdy battle rod as the young mage prepared to fight.

The scaly serpent uncoiled itself in response to the unspoken challenge and rose up into the air, its lengthy body slithering rapidly about the ground. Penelo gripped her weapon tightly as she tried to remember if the viper had a weakness to any of the spells that she currently had in her arsenal. She wasn't afraid of fighting it, since she had encountered the same type of creature before while venturing with the rest of the party, but going against it alone for the first time made her feel just a little nervous. Without warning, the long, slim snake lunged forward and Penelo reflexively scampered off to the side, while she mentally concentrated on casting the magic spell that came to her mind.

Fire! She summoned frantically and a small line of flames shot out to burn the enemy. The snake recoiled from her attack and seemed to have been injured, but apparently not too severely as it hissed and quickly retaliated, once again going after the petite girl.

"Huh!" Penelo gasped sharply and thrust her rod straight at its face, striking the viper in the head and successfully deflecting the bite of its wicked twin fangs. The serpent was fast and seemed to match her own rapid speed, so the young mage quickly conjured up another spell, throwing a second burst of fire into the midsection of the snake's long body. It reared back and released a shrill shriek of pain, and she knew then that the viper was enraged and would begin to come at her with more furious intent. Penelo braced herself for its strikes and carefully kept her gaze on her opponent as she continued to concentrate on her spell-casting.

The vicious serpent swiped at her and the mage would return fire, but after a couple of rounds of this, the viper managed to slip past her defenses and sank its fangs into her exposed arm. She cried out at the harsh bite and staggered back after it released her, and after she took a quick look at the two spots of blood marring her delicate skin, the mage gritted her teeth in determination. A wave of dizziness struck her consciousness and she moaned at the nausea steadily rising in her stomach, but she stubbornly stood her ground and propped up her rod for support. Unbeknownst to Penelo, its vile venom was slowly running through her veins, infecting her body even more with each passing second, and it was only a matter of time before she would be overcome by the poisonous strength.

The blonde girl was able to continue her barrage of blistering magic spells, but eventually she realized that her mind was growing tired and she found herself unable to concentrate. Alarm crept into her mind when the snake suddenly started to appear hazy in her eyes, and she tried to gather enough energy to cast another spell, but Penelo could only whimper weakly in pain. She felt her rod unwillingly slip out of her hands, and her line of vision began to blur and darken as her knees buckled with fluid frailty, and then they gave away. The snake was smart enough to recognize the advantage and despite almost being dead itself, it began to furiously lash at the weakened mage and inflicted even more damage upon her.

Just before Penelo descended into unconsciousness, she caught a brief glimpse of a lean figure standing over her fallen form, shielding her vulnerable body from the danger of the viper.

To Be Continued…