~All righty then! My name is Ffamran, as you likely already knew, and this is my first fanfic! Based 8 years before the events in FFXII, this is a story about Ffamran Mied Bunansa, who later renames himself Balthier, and some of the things that happen to him. Basically, he's a Judge inthis story(has only just become one) and has some rather... fun times. Might seem slow, not action-packed-yet-. Enjoy, please R&R, and Godspeed~
Running was always fun. Loud clanks accompanied the rhythm of a boy running, down dark halls and corridors. Of course, he had to admit that the armour was rather annoying. Tin clanks echoed with every step, spurring the boy to run even faster. He dashed past an Imperial on guard, not even saluting as the man barked an annoyed "Watch it!" after him, merely shooting back a wild smirk. "Ffamran Mied bunansa, calm down!" Another man yelled at him, but he simply ignored them, knowing they'd likely(not) forgive his excitement. It had been hard, and long, but eventually the pesterings of his father had earned the teen his new place-Judge in the Archadian Empire. He could barely wait to see what his new friend thought of this.
A dark-haired head snapped up when clanks, followed by yelling, erupted through the halls. He couldn't help but smile, barest tips of his teeth showing whilst he listened to the romping of his friend, Ffamran. "Ahh, that boy... They gave me the most dificult to teach, as per usual. One would think the Archadians dislike me!" he managed to say before the short, blond, and unusually happy boy dashed in and pinned him to the bed he was sitting on. "Hi there! Oops, that was out of character for a Judge, huh? Sorry, Drace." Ffamran managed in one breath, making the older male's cocky smile expand. "Well, you're a bundle of joy today." he commented dryly, and Ffamran laughed. "T'is my honour, my liege." he said pompously, laughing, and Drace followed suit.
If one was working here, they might see this to be unusual, seeing a Judge tackle another with such happiness in his movements. Especially Ffamran, as well. That was not the norm in Archadia, to be so happy on such an occasion. One such worker had to think this when he saw the chaos, then the mess the pair left in their wake-smashed vases, crooked pictures, and all-together miniscule destruction. Not to a cleaner, however. To a cleaner, it was horrendous. Overly done and utterly wasteful might also apply to this carnage. One such man was cleaning after them, hating his job. He listened in, however, curious as to who the new Judge was.
"Well, then, Drace, what're we going to do now?" Ffamran asked, amber eyes suddenly focused. He'd managed to calm down, thank the Gods, but the damage was rather... extensive. His boots clanked, the sound of a trapped bird, but he ignored the tin can he was wearing, simply focused on his new friend. The Ceremonies were a nightmare, one he was glad was over. Being a Judge was also appearance, oddly enough, so he had played the part-stoic, brisk, and uncaring. "First, we need to fix that armour, sounds about 3 sizes too large. What, did they strip it off of the old man you replaced?" he asked teasingly, smiling faintly when Ffamran shuddered. "Course not, supposedly tailor-made, though I'd doubt that father would go for such a thing... unless he was the tailor." Ffamran responded, ducking a large sword that was attached to a rather stern-looking statue. He glanced down, frowning, then gulped when they walked into the meeting room. "What... are we doing here? They all look so... stern." Ffamran asked quietly, face pale. Around them were the senators, the other Judges, and even the Judge Magister, leader of the Judges. "We need to speak to them, durh." Drace said with a grin, and Ffamran simply followed, utterly lost by this point.
The pair sat, mentor and student. Ffamran tried to listen, but the talk turned to something he had no clue of-who were the Rozzarians, anyhow? He tried to focus, but found himself drifting, uncertain of where he was any longer. Ffamran finally jolted out of his sleep when metal hit metal, and a heavy weight settled on his arm. "C'mon, kid. We need to go." Drace muttered, watching as Ffamran got up and looked around. The Council had dispersed, leaving them alone. "That was foolish, falling asleep. Do you even know what just happened?" Drace asked Ffamran, frowning when his apprentice shrugged. "That was your first Council meeting, as a member. That was important. Say awake next time, all right?" the teen nodded nervously, face paling slightly, then sighed faintly in relief when they started walking again, this time towards Ffamran's room. "Get some sleep, we start our first duties tommorow." Drace said quietly, watching as Ffamran nodded and went to his bed, then got up again to close the door. "Tell me honestly-how badly did that go?" Ffamran asked quietly, which made his mentor pause a moment. "Terrible, they put me to sleep too." Drace answered, smirking when Ffamran laughed. "Night, crazy dude." he muttered, and they split ways for the night.
Drace couldn't believe his ears or eyes. The day had started normal enough-food, a quick chat with the Judge Magister, then training. That's when it went wrong. There he was, that insane teen of the short bronze hair, smacking the trainer around like he was the child. Drace watched silently, amazed at the easy strength that seemed to fill Ffamran from within. Ffamran pulled a sword on the older man, easily pinning him. "And that's game." Ffamran said with a smirk, tilting the blade so the point was against the jugular. Completely untrained." Drace said in astonishment, then walked over towards Ffamran. "Did I do something wrong?" the teen asked, suddenly nervous. He paused when Drace laughed, then smiled faintly in relief. "T'was the most amazing thing I've seen yet from someone so young, Ffammy." Drace said teasingly, earning a smack from his pupil. "Never call me that! Jeez, why do you torment me so?" Ffamran asked, smirking. Drace laughed, and the pair walked off, leaving the beaten and humiliated trainers to a fate they would not learn of until the deed was done.
"So? What now?" Ffamran asked impatiently, smirking. "I need to use the bathroom. You likely do as well." Drace responded, disappearing into a small room. Ffamran blinked, then paused, hearing shouts. "Hmm?" he muttered, frowning, then spotted something odd-a young girl, with red hair, running towards him. Ffamran froze in stunned silence, watching as she ran closer. "Help me..." a tiny voice wheezed, and Ffamran couldn't help but pity her. "In, fast!" he said, opening a small hatch on his armour. The girl paused, stunned, then nodded and slipped in. It was tight, but not impossible-his unusually loose armour helped the situation. Ffamran pointed wordlessly down a hall when the pursuit came, and watched as the kept running. Watching warily, he sighed before dashing off, leaving Drace to his own problems. Ffamran dashed into his room and bolted the door, pulling a chair in front of it as well. "T'was not a good thing to have happen." he muttered, sounding like Drace. The teen paused, then pulled off his helmet. The girl climbed back out, albiet dificultly, and paused, staring at him silently. Ffamran sat on his bed, the weight of what he had done settling on him suddenly. He'd just tricked his own, all for a girl that he didn't know. "Who are you?" he asked quietly, trying to keep his composure. The girl paused, then flicked her red hair. "I think... m'name's Llyria." she finally said nervously, frowning. Her accent hid traces of every accent Ffamran had ever heard, yet also none of them as well. He blinked, tilting his head in confusion. "Who are you, mister? Why did you help me?" she shot back, and Ffamran smiled faintly at the sudden sharpness. "Ffamran Mied Bunansa, at your service." he responded, earning the faintest of gasps. Most all Archedia knew of the 14 year old Judge by this point, but he didn't realize she hadn't gasped about that. "At my service? Why?" Llyria asked, greatly confused and stunned. Ffamran paused, then shook his head and smirked at her. "Uhh... because you're on the run? Why else?" Llyria snorted, then ducked under his bed when Drace dashed in. "Few! Some sort of fight going on outside, and... why do you look like you want to hit me?" Drace asked, crossing his arms. Ffamran gulped, irritation replaced by fear. "Uhh..." he managed. Drace laughed and shook his head.
"I have things that need doing." Drace finally managed to stop laughing. At this point Ffamran merely wanted to sink into the floor and hide, hide far below the ground. He looked up when Drace left and sighed with relief, frowning to himself. He didn't even blink when Llyria pulled erself back out from under his bed and looked around, her blue eye slightly frightened still. "What now?" she managed in a tiy voice. Ffamran thought for a few moments, then smirked. "We hide you." he said calmly. She paused, looking at him in astonishment.
And so a routine started. Every morning, Llyria would pop out from under his bed and hide in his armour, that being the safest place for her. He would go off and do his work, usually training or other fun, slightly erratic tasks. He'd sneak her some of his food when Drace wasn't looking, and she'd try to be overly courteous as usual. The two spoke often about their lives, and some of the things Llyria said amazed and confused Ffamran.
"No idea who you are? All right then." Ffamran said one evening, frowning at the other. She was leaning back, on his bed, treating it like it was hers. Normally that would annoy him, but what she had just said took all of the words out of his mouth. "Still, how can a girl just show up in the most heavily guarded castle in Archadia?" he wondered, shaking his head. Llyria scowled at him, making him laugh like only she could. "Soo... What now, Llyr?" Ffamran asked suddenly. His question we met with silence, however, seeing as she had scampered under the bed again. Right after, two armoured men walked in, one without his helmet on, the other with. "Judge Bunansa, Judge Magister Gabranth wants you." the helmeted one said, voice tinny through his armour. Ffamran paused, frowning, then got up and pulled his own helmet on. The one without his helmet waved the other off. He was a blond, with the most fascinating scar down his left cheek. The man ignored Ffamran, not even offering a name as they left the room and headed towards the conference room. "Obviously this is important. Did I do something wrong?" Ffamran wondered. His frown deepened when the other still ignored him, instead tossing him into the war room without speaking.
Ffamran glanced up, still frowning, then froze at the sight that greeted his frazzled mind. The emperor himself was standing there, along with Judge Magister Noah Gabranth, the most deadly man in all of Archadia. Ffamran gulped and got up swiftly, glad that he could be silent while they stared him down. Finally Gabranth spoke, a smirk evident in his one even though his helmet was on, preventing Ffamran from seeing said smirk. "Well. Peckish little git, hmm? He'll do for this mission, yes?" he asked the emperor, who sighed heavily but nodded. "We're sending someone to Rozarria to spy." he said simply. Still, the mere fact that the emperor was adressing Ffamran directly made him jerk a bit. "W-Why Rozarira?" he managed to ask, eyes bright with fear. Gabranth laughed, obviously feeding off of that discomfort. "We need a spy, as said, and you fit the bill. One child, alone, with no look of a warrior, yet also our best fighter other then myself? Who else to send?" he snorted, shaking his head. "Dismissed, unless we find someone better to do the job, which will NOT happen." he added curtly. Ffamran walked back out, mind whirling.
So now he knew. Ffamran walked back to his room, knowing he would need to pack. He glanced down the hall, metal boots clanking slightly. He sighed faintly as he reached a familiar door-Drace's. "I wonder how to explain..." he muttered before continuing. Drace, however, seemed to have other ideas. "Ffamran?" said teen froze and turned when he heard his name. "Yes, sir?" he replied stiffly, then chuckled. "Never mind." he added quietly. Drace laughed, then walked out of his room. "Where, might I ask, do you think YOU'RE going?" he wondered, crossing his armour-covered arms with a chink. Ffamran backed away slightly, not entirely sure how to explain, then dahsed off to his room. Drace's mouth dropped openly comically for a moment, then it snapped shut as he took off down the hall after Ffamran. "OI! Wait!"
Once more, things were smashed-priceless pieces of art, amazing sculptures, even the nose of one of the servants that they passed. Ffamran was doing his best to dodge his friend, even leaping over a pair of Gentry walking the halls. Drace frowned to himself, wondering what had spooked ffamran so that he would run, but kept running himself. The pair eventually dashed right into Ffamran's room, splintering the door on their entry. Drace froze at the sight that greeted his mind-a girl with red hair was on the windowsill. at the sight of the strange man Llyria froze as well, then attempted to dash under the bed. Drace, however, wasn't having that-he would get his explanation whether they liked it or not. He grabbed Llyria's arm and yanked her from under the bed, mind going at a million miles per hour.