Chapter 3

The Old City

Penelo took in the old and crumbling doorway with its clearly heavy wooden door warily.

Her little thief, as she'd come to call Henri no matter how often he'd attempted to apologize for his actions, had rapidly knocked on the door as he'd skidded to a dusty halt at it and now hovered anxiously with eyes darting to take in their surroundings.

He was on edge while they were still exposed and yet refused to explain to Penelo just who those men were that chased them.

The sky had turned from the wispy blue of that morning to an overcast and tumultuous grey. A storm was rolling in and Penelo didn't like the look of it at all.

To her relief, the door finally creaked open and she found herself face to face with a little girl. Big wide blue eyes peered up at her from a heart shaped face framed with long blonde curls.

"Hello," Penelo greeted eagerly, slipping easily from standing to a kneel so she could be less intimidating, "What is your name?"

"Adela," was the meek reply before the girl spotted Henri anxiously trying to get Penelo to move inside. "HENRI!" she chirped as she nearly tripped over Penelo to reach him.

Henri to his great credit managed to sweep her up in one arm while simultaneously gently pushing Penelo forward with his other.

Soon they were firmly within the small dwelling with the solid door slammed shut.

As Henri finally relaxed and gently pried himself free of Adela's surprisingly strong grip, Penelo took a look around with a gently spin on her left heel.

It was small but neatly kept with a few of what Penelo had come to know as Archadian home comforts.

"You guys alone here?" she asked before jumping out of her skin as an older man with a thick head of slightly greying brown hair emerged from a cellar door just next to the rickety staircase.

"That would be no," the newcomer growled.

"Gods. What a downpour!" Vaan cursed to himself as he finally stumbled into the palace proper.

He was gonna kill Penelo when he saw her. She knew he struggled to make sense of the capital's transport system, with the volumes of traffic going here and there, yet she abandoned him all the same. Now a couple of hours later, he was frustrated, angry and looking like a drowned Chocobo during the Giza rains as he made his grand entrance.

"Vaan. The Emperor has been expecting you."

The pirate grinned. "Bas- Gabranth. It's good to see you!"

Basch returned the smile. "And you. Penelo?"

"She left ahead of me," Vaan retorted with a now furrowed brow. "Isn't she here?"

"One moment," Basch replied before he stepped to a nearby guard. After a few hurried and quietly spoken words, he returned with a more concerned look etched on his usual impassive face. "We best go to the Emperor. He'd specifically requested that you both be brought to him as soon as you arrived."

"But Penelo-"

"I've no doubt that will be the central topic of conversation. Quickly. With me."

"So you just need to find your folks right? I mean that can't be too difficult."

Henri gave a rueful smile. "That it were so simple. We are not exactly from around here as such."

"The boy speaks truthfully. Nothing you need to concern yourself with however," Thomas replied. "But if we could borrow that bracelet of yours, I would see it returned to you unharmed."

Penelo peered at the pair across from her at the table. "I get the feeling you both want me gone. I mean not involved in this."

"I would be remiss if I allowed any harm to come to you on my part," Henri replied eagerly. "It would be better for you to not be part of this."

"Hmmm. Maybe. But you want my bracelet and I'm not parting from it. So... if you need it then you need me."

Penelo sipped her lukewarm tea and shuffled on the hard surface of the wooden chair she sat in while Henri blanched white.

Poor kid she thought. He's trying so hard to be an adult, to be strong for his sister when he is only a child himself.

Outside the small house, the storm she's spied earlier was now engulfing the city. The winds and rain battered the wooden shutters and doors, causing ominous and ghostly creaking all over the house. Little Adela had taken to hiding in her room to await the storm's passing.

Penelo herself suddenly started in her chair as she realized she would likely not be going to the palace today at all.

"Listen... is there any way I could get a message out? I'm meant to be going to a party tonight and I just don't want anyone worried. This storm at least means I'm going nowhere today."

Thomas directed her to a small desk with a number of loose sheets of paper with a quill. "My neighbor is a good solid man. He knows Arcadia better than anyone. I'm sure he could deliver your note if persuaded with some coin."

Vaan watched grimly as more food than he'd seen in his entire life was being ferried through the hallways before disappearing.

He sighed. This party would have been nice but now... well, it wasn't happening.

Another crack of thunder interrupted his thoughts enough to appreciate how bad it really was outside. "Where the hell are you, Penelo..." he mumbled to himself.

"Apparently in the old quarter of the city. We will be departing immediately to retrieve her."

Vaan snapped his attention to his newly arrived companion.

Emperor Larsa now stood as tall as Vayne once had with the same broad frame but with some softer and more beguiling features on his handsome face.

Vaan hated to admit it but the child he'd once known was now a more intimidating man than any he'd previously known. And authoritative.

The moment Larsa had noted Vaan's arrival to his office and Penelo's distinct absence he'd immediately cancelled everything. The whole damn celebration that had clearly taken months of preparation. Gone.

The Councillors had argued; Basch had argued; and Larsa had decided. If they wished to have a party with the Emperor absent then they could. He would be out in the city searching for Penelo.

"How do-" Vaan started to ask when Larsa suddenly held up a sheet of paper with what looked like writing in Penelo's careful and practiced hand.

"It arrived a moment ago. She has taken great liberties to inform me that she is currently in safe refuge in old Archades but no details of how it came to pass that she found herself there. The description given of where the dwelling lies matches one that Gabranth recognizes hence I've dispatched the Judge along with a team to secure it. We must be off."

"It says here..." Vaan quickly replied with eyes squinting at the damp sheet,"... that she will be here tomorrow and not to send for her. That she is safe. I mean Penelo will be pretty upset at us turning up. I know how this goes."

"And that anger will be mine to brave alone. Do you wish to remain here then?"

Vaan scratched the back of his head. "Naaaah. I'm used to Penelo being mad at me. Not letting you take this one on your own. Let's go."

"I fear I am quite the insufficient host to only be able to offer you such poor lodgings," Thomas said quietly after handing Penelo a number of cushions and blankets to make her stay on his tiny lounger somewhat more enjoyable.

They were the last stragglers for sleep, Henri having disappeared to rest with Adela about a hour before.

"Don't worry about it. I've slept in worse places. Believe me. This..." Penelo glanced around with a wry grin, "... is a palace in comparison."

Thomas, ever the Archadian gentlemen, bowed to her before he made to take his leave. One foot had barely touched the stairs when his front door nearly rattled from its hinges from the intensity of the knock.

Both Penelo and Thomas glanced at each other before both as though one moved to open it. Before either could reach it, the door was ruptured from its lock, tearing the mechanism itself from the wall.

Penelo braced her staff while Thomas dived to grab his sword hanging on a hook nearby. Her grip eased off as Penelo huffed out a sigh of resignation when Larsa stepped in from the wild stormy darkness.

"Penelo!"