Alright everybody, and so my story continues:

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I'm sorry I had left you on such a cliffhanger as of our last visit. You must be wondering what the former judge was doing with Queen Ashe, but I guarantee you, his importance to my recollection of history is vital. And so I shall continue.

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"Zargabaath?" Vaan questioned, his eyebrows furrowing in disappointment at the name. "What are you doing here?"

Zargabaath smiled at Vaan, his eyes expressionless, then replied, "I'm here to negotiate with Queen Ashelia. King Larsa and Judge Gabranth should be here momentarily as well. They were conversing upstairs when I left them."

"Larsa and Basch are here?!" Vaan exclaimed, turning to Ashe to see if it was true.

Ashe nodded in reply, "I think I can hear them coming now."

Vaan looked at the door that Zargabaath had come through, and indeed, Larsa was walking with Basch by his side. Larsa came close to the door and opened it even wider, striding through into the gigantic hall.

"Vaan!" Larsa greeted, quickening his pace toward his adolescent friend.

"Great to see you, Larsa," Vaan replied, awkwardly shaking hands with Larsa, feeling way too formal as he did it.

"Judge Gabranth, it's great to see you as well," Vaan added. "I hope all is well."

"All is well," Basch replied, his voice muffled through the iron helmet he wore.

"Come, let us all move to a more comfortable area," Ashe suggested, leading everyone else to the other side of the hall to another enormous set of oak doors.

She yanked hard on the handle of one of the doors, and it slowly moved open. Ashe pushed the door open wider and led the others into the adjacent room. A dark red carpet covered the entire floor of the room. There was a long, luxurious white couch on one half of the room with two single padded recliner-looking chairs across from it. The walls were a pastel white covered in pictures with gold painted frames. On the far side of the room was a slate fireplace, and the room was dimly lit by some intricately made torches that sat on the walls, yet it was still bright enough to see because light was shining through the windows and the red curtains. It was a very relaxing setting.

Ashe walked over and took a seat on one of the single chairs, Larsa took a seat on the other. Basch, Vaan, and Zargabaath all took a seat on the sofa. Vaan let himself fall into the soft cushion of the sofa. He felt like he'd never felt such a comfortable seat in all his life. He thought about how nice it must be to be royalty.

"Vaan, I wanted to offer my condolences," Larsa spoke. "I'm sorry for all your losses in the past week."

As Vaan smirked and nodded in acknowledgment to Larsa, Basch spoke, "I too offer my condolences, Vaan. If there's anything we can do, please let us know."

"Thank you, both of you," Vaan replied in gratitude. "I'm okay though."

"Well, not to change the mood at all, although I certainly sympathize, we have other matters to discuss," Zargabaath interjected.

"Yes, we do," Basch added. "Rozarria has become restless once again. Their nobles and politicians have been sending death threats and spreading rumors of war. We cannot afford to have Archadia battle Rozarria anymore. It has something that has gone on for far long enough."

"We've been in contact with Al-Cid though, and he's doing all he can to appease those beneath him," Ashe added. "How much more can we honestly do? Al-Cid may have the position of king, but there are those in the government that still have power to oppose him, and if there's enough popular opinion, overthrow him. What do you suggest we do?"

"Wait, why did you want to talk with me, Zargabaath?" Vaan blurted out. "Why am I here for this?"

"Hold your chocobos, kiddo," Zargabaath replied jokingly. "We're getting there. Go ahead Judge Gabranth, continue."

"Well, as some of you may know, my brother and I were born and raised in the Republic of Landis, one of the nations between Rozarria and Dalmasca. As you also know, Dalmasca and Nabradia are also nations between Archadia and Rozarria. Among the other nations that live here, Bhujerba is up in the skies, and Balfonheim is controlled by Archadia. All these city states suffer whenever Archadia and Rozarria happen to go to war. So, our plan, is to make Landis a more powerful republic and give the other small city-states enough power and unity to become a third superpower in the region, along with Archadia and Rozarria. Zargabaath is the one who thought the plan up after he retired, and he came to me with the suggestion. I believe it is the best way to avoid war, or at least sway Rozarria from its attacks, and so I presented the case to Larsa, who also agrees."

"And so, we need everybody's help to do this," Zargabaath added. "Queen Ashelia, we ask that you help Landis monetarily and militarily during this time. When Landis rises up and becomes a more powerful and influential nation, then perhaps it can either unify or become friendly with Dalmasca. And Vaan, we wanted your help so that you could do odd jobs for us, things that an adventurous boy like yourself might want to do. We can explain the details of it later, but are you at least interested."

Vaan thought for a moment. He thought about the plan itself, whether or not he could trust Zargabaath, how it would work out, and what he had to lose, among many other things. He thought about what he had left. He had nothing in Rabanastre. He had no more family, no close friends, no job, no place to stay, nothing.

After a moment, he looked at Basch and said, "Yeah, I'm interested. Continue on, and later you can fill me in."

Basch nodded.

"Well, based on the outline of your plan, Dalmasca is more than willing to lend her resources," Ashe added. "It depends on what exactly you need and who's overseeing it."

"And you shall most certainly have Archadia's help as well," Larsa spoke.

"Well, this was all my idea in the first place, and Judge Gabranth wanted to help me with it directly, but he has his own duties to attend to. I will be overseeing the entire project myself. I have already had preliminary talks with the Landis Republic and they are in agreement that they want this to happen and that I can oversee it. They also want reassurance that Lord Larsa and Queen Ashelia, as well as their hometown hero, Judge Gabranth, will oversee it as well," Zargabaath mentioned.

"Then it shall be done," Ashe consented.

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"Prime Minister," Al-Cid Margrace said in his thick accent, cocking his head to one side, twirling his sunglasses in his right hand, "The requests of your party as well as the nobles below me are absurd."

"Absurd? How?" The Prime Minister asked, seated across Al-Cid.

The two men were in Al-Cid's office, they were not alone though, Al-Cid's personal assistant stood behind his chair. Al-Cid tilted his chair back behind his wooden desk. The Prime Minister sat before the desk, his hands folded in his lap. The Prime Minister wore long robes of green and a tall bishop's hat that was white with green outlining. Al-Cid felt that he was much too casual to stay in the throne room all day. His own office was more personal and relaxing. He also refused to wear a crown or robes of any sort. He wore the same purple shirt, buttoned up low on his chest, and the same white pants that hugged his hips and kept his shirt tucked in.

"Because you are asking me to instigate a war with Archadia over nothing," Al-Cid replied.

"Over nothing? Lord Margrace, I can assure you there is every reason to consider waging war against Archadia. And I know you're already aware of the reasons to do so," The Prime Minister replied. "And although you may be King, there are enough people who want this war. All it takes is once act of violence. One act of terrorism. One act of aggression. On either country's part. There is enough tension throughout the nations to support a war against though, although their leaders may not want it. Your power is only as strong as the people's word, sir."

"Prime Minister," Al-Cid spoke up, "It sounds like you are threatening my word and challenging my power. This is something I am no stranger to, I can assure you. But, it is also something I must not let go unnoticed. I understand you concern, but your arguments have been faulty in my opinion. And although others may not think so, it is my opinion that counts. Because I do have the power."

"You may do as you wish. But I can also assure you, that this pressure will not leave your shoulders," The Prime Minister glared.

"And is that all that you have come here to say?" Al-Cid asked, putting emphasis on the word "all", trying to downplay the Prime Minister's visit.

"Yes, Lord Margrace, that is all," The Prime Minister spat back.

"Then you are dismissed."

"Do not forget what I say," The Prime Minister hissed as he stood up from his chair.

"Believe me," Al-Cid started, rocking back further in his chair, "I've had enough politicians and nobles to come to my office saying the very same thing you have. I've heard it enough that I memorized their words after the eighth or ninth visit."

The Prime Minister bowed his head slightly, keeping his eyes fixated on Al-Cid. He turned and left the room, opening and shutting the door as he walked through the doorframe.

Al-Cid let out a long sigh and spun around in his chair. His assistant stood there like a statue. He finished the spin and stood up from his chair. He brushed some of his long hair out of his face and crossed his arms roughly.

"Sir, you should lie down. It's been a stressful few weeks," The assistant finally spoke.

"Do you think they're all right?" Al-Cid asked, staring out through the open doors of his balcony out toward the horizon.

"Sir, the feud between Rozarria and Archadia as always been present."

"Alas, that's what everybody keeps saying, but they miss the fact that the current leaders of the countries have not been present."

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"So has Larsa been behaving?" Ashe asked, leaning against the rail of the second floor balcony.

"He behaves more than I do," Basch smiled. "Such a mature young man, I don't know where it came from."

"I do," Ashe said, crossing her arms loosely. "He's still so young. He's never seen war with his own eyes. He's never lost a true loved one. His father was killed, and his brother as well, but they didn't hold a special place in his heart like we would consider. He's never been exposed to love or romance, he's never been out as a common person. Even as he wandered around the nations, he was always there for diplomatic reasons. It's because he's still basically a child, and still so young. He is not tainted in any way, and as long as he does not witness anything to make him think otherwise, he will always have that simple way of thinking. That's why he's so pure."

Basch nodded in agreement. He was slowly walking across the open balcony in a slow pace. He had his hands placed on the armor of his hips, his head bowed down slightly, looking at the ground.

"And have you been behaving?" Basch asked, pivoting on one foot, his face looking up at Ashe.

She chuckled and raised one of her crossed arms to rest under her chin. Her eyes sparkled as she replied smugly, "When have I ever not behaved?"

Basch raised an eyebrow and replied, "Well, when you decided to stick to the story that you had committed suicide and you ran around as part of a group of Insurgents to overthrow one nation to regain a conquered one."

"That's not misbehaving, that's have fun," Ashe smiled.

There was a light breeze blowing over the balcony. It blew strands of brown hair over Ashe's face, and made the bottom of her long white skirt flutter. She had to adopt a new style of clothing once she was coronated a month ago. She wore a long white skirt and a white shit that was cut to rest on her shoulders and fall to the middle of her abdomen, exposing her thin waist.

"Yes, it was a lot of fun," Basch said thoughtfully. "I can only imagine how bored you must be getting sitting around in the castle."

"Sitting around? Please," Ashe tilting her head back a little, "I go off into the deep dungeons and thick woods every day on wondrous adventures collecting new treasures for my castle."

"Ah, so the life of a sky pirate?" Basch said sarcastically.

Ashe paused for a moment. The word 'sky pirate' instantly brought Balthier to her mind, and the sudden thought made her mind stop ticking for a moment. She missed Balthier. He was a breath of fresh air, a witty person in her life when it was usually full of diplomatic and and formal facades.

"No, I live the life of a Queen. There's no deep dungeons or thick woods in my life," Ashe said slowly.

"Who would have ever thought? A wild stallion being cooped up in a stall," Basch winked.

"Excuse me! Are you calling me a wild horse! How dare you!" Ashe said jokingly, lightly pushing Basch's shoulder.

Basch squared his shoulders to Ashe, taking a step forward. Basch, in his massive armor, loomed over the young woman, his eyes narrowing under his furrowed eyebrows.

"Don't touch me," He said in a dangerous, monotone voice.

Ashe was taken back, quickly reeling back from the large man in front of her.

Basch's face relaxed and a wide grin grew from ear to ear.

Ashe let out a quick breath of surprise and then laughed, "How dare you scare me like that Basch! Who do you think you are!"

He reached out and pushed his shoulder again as Basch retaliated with a light push back of his own.

"Keep your hands off me! You're going to get a beating for that, Basch!" Ashe laughed, punching his chest softly.

"Shh, shh, shh, hush Ashe," Basch whispered forcefully, "I can't be called by the name Basch, I'm Judge Gabranth now, people are going to hear you."

"Ah, I'm sorry," Ashe replied softly.

"But more importantly," Basch continued with a wink, "They're going to think I'm ravishing you up here."

Ashe bit her bottom lip as she lightly pushed Basch one more time, "In your dreams, Judge Gabranth," she said jokingly.

The two stopped for a moment and looked at each other out there on the peaceful, breezy, balcony. Ashe took a step forward, and put her arms around Basch's neck and gave him a hug. He returned the embrace, trying to wrap his arms around her in his bulky armor.

"Wait," Basch interjected, letting go of Ashe.

He reached down to the right and left sides of his chest plate and unbuckled the sides. He unclipped the tall shoulder plates as well and pulled them down his arm. He unhinged the chest plate and pulled it over his head, setting all his upper armor on the ground. Then, he looked at Ashe, and spread his arms out wide.

She rushed into his arms into a tight embrace, nuzzling her face into the soft cloth of his undershirt.

"I've missed you, Basch. It's been over a year since I've seen you. I mean, sure I've written letters, but it's not the same at all," Ashe said softly.

"I've missed you too. I read one of Penelo's letters about two months back, she said that she could tell you missed me. And I knew I couldn't wait to get back and give you a hug like just like this," Basch replied.

"It's awful what happened to Penelo, isn't it?"

"It is. Vaan is taking it extraordinarily well though. I can only wonder what must be going through his head."

"Where is he right now?"

"He's in the castle with Larsa probably exploring or thinking of some wild stories or something."

"And Zargabaath?"

"After our meeting he went to lie down for a bit. He briefly talked to Vaan about what we want him to do, but I'm not sure where he is now."

"What do you have in mind for Vaan?"

"Nothing special. Just little odd jobs and some foreign relation stuff. Like messages and deliveries and whatnot."

Ashe let go of Basch and said, "You should get your armor back on now and we can head back in."

"Absolutely," Basch nodded.

Basch reached down and put all his armor back on. He had left his helmet inside, it was hot enough in Rabanastre, he didn't need the helmet to make it any worse. He offered the crook of his arm to Ashe. She smiled and put her arm through his, and let him escort her back inside.

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Welllllll that's Chapter 3. This chapter gives a ROUGH outline of the BEGINNING of my plotline hehe. It gets much more twisted and complicated ;), but I figured it was about time you had some idea where this story is going.