Author's Notes: And yet another chapter! And counting ;) In this chapter, I made a reference belonging to Revenant Wings, but nothing that spoils the story. After all, it is also written in FFXII Ultimania, I believe… and if I don't tell you what is it, you won't probably notice :P
I want to thank to all the reviewers, you are the best! ;) A special thanks to Akeri-Aerkix, Melodia.Da.Noite, Feeny, fighter-chick, laguna's twin sister and each and every one else who drop me a word of encouragement. A big hug to Landis Icelilly (you know why), and a huge thanks to my fellow BaschxAshe wonderful-story-writers, especially Aorin, Baschashe and Sita 900 for all the wonderful reviews and useful advices that greatly helped me improve.
Sounds for this chapter (all in YouTube - type the exact words listed in italic in the search field and then click the first link - the purpose is just listening to the songs while reading):
First Act: "Dead Already", from American Beauty OST (American Beauty Soundtrack Dead Already). Second Act: "Dr Dee Part I", from Elizabeth – The Golden Age OST (Dee Golden Age Soundtrack). Third Act: "Cantina Band", from Star Wars - Ep. IV A New Hope (Star Wars Cantina Band Westule).
.: MAGICAL CARNIVAL :.
Chapter 3
- Bohemian Bervenia –
At the earlier hours of the morning, Archades was already full of life and the Solidor estate was no exception. The renowned Gardens of Sochen, inside the imperial lands, were bursting with gardeners engaged into a full safeguarding and care of the beautiful and rich collection of exquisite flowers, exotic bushes and ancient trees scattered among the lands. Inside the main building, amid expensive oil paintings and delicate tapestries, the hustle and bustle of servants and maids, the shift of the imperial watch and the occasional coming and going of a Judge Magister were all signs that this was another ordinary day at the House Solidor.
At least, this was what Jill, one of the maids, thought before she reached the firmly closed door leading to the Emperor's drawing room, where apparently some sort of argument was taking place. She was uncertain about whether she should knock at the door and interrupt the argument, when she inadvertently caught the muffled voice of the Emperor from inside the room, rising upon perfectly audible levels.
"I couldn't care less, Gabranth. We have exhaustively discussed this matter. Neither you, nor Zargabaath, will work at the ball - this is my final word and shall be taken, like I told you before, as an order."
Oh Gods, that Judge, Gabranth, was there. Jill's heart started to jump at an erratic pace, even despite her attempts to remain her composure – after all, being 16 years old, fiancée of an honest merchant, Jill knew that such silly crushes on a Judge, of all of the good Archadian people, was naturally an absurd thing to indulge into.
The argument inside the room seemed to have reached an end, for Jill didn't hear further words. Still not being sure if it was safe to make an appearance, she took a good intake of air and knocked lightly at the door. Then, as soon as the consent to enter came from inside, she opened the door and entered, standing below one of the elegant arches that contoured the wide drawing room.
"Your Excellency, I bring you a letter from Dalmasca," she announced, bowing slightly at Larsa who, sited in his chair at his desk, diverted his brown eyes from his paperwork and glanced at her.
Who was now staring at Judge Gabranth, standing opposite the Emperor, without his dreadful helm covering his handsome features, blonde long locks and icy blue eyes glancing at the letter she was holding. Jill stood frozen, rendered unable to divert her gawp from that man, who promptly marched to her, apparently oblivious at her quite indiscreet stare and inability to walk.
As soon as the judge reached her, she tried as hard as she could to control the quivering of her hand as she delivered the letter to him, diverting her gawp and looking at the floor afterwards, as sheepishly as a schoolgirl discovering her first love.
"Stupid, silly Jill," she silently rebuked herself, "won't you ever grow?"
The Judge's deep, strong voice stirred the poor embarrassed maid from her musings. "Thank you. You are dismissed," he told her nicely but firmly.
"You're more than welcome," Jill thought, bowing slightly and hiding her rather flushed cheeks from his view, swiftly withdrawing from the room thereafter and closing the door behind her.
Astonished by Jill's rather odd attitude, Basch fon Rosenburg turned back to Larsa who, according to his cunning nature, easily grasped the reason behind the maid's agitation. He tried hard to muffle a chortle, amused by Jill's uneasiness and Basch's unawareness of her evident interest.
"I wonder if you would be so oblivious if it was Lady Ashe the one to enter through that door, Basch," Larsa thought amusedly, before regaining his composure and taking the letter from the Judge. He then glanced at the name scribbled in the front, and a delighted smile crossed his face.
"It is from Penelo!" the Emperor told Basch, barely managing to hide his curiosity, as he seized a small knife to open the envelope and hurriedly took out a folded parchment. "Most certainly it encloses her and Vaan's answer to my invitation."
Basch nodded knowingly. "Of course," he said, and consciously he gave time to Larsa to read the contents of the letter. He stepped away from the Emperor to give him some privacy, making his way to the edge of the small pond decorating the room.
It was always like this. Each time a letter from Penelo arrived, Larsa would forget everything else, dismissing paperwork or whichever task currently in his hands, eager to give heed to his friend's words. Basch couldn't help but grin dissemblingly every time this happened.
With his back facing Larsa, Basch was able to hear perfectly the Emperor's casual ramblings as his eyes travelled down the contents of the letter. "Hmm. Perfect. She and Vaan will come, but not before delivering my invitation to Balthier and Fran… I wonder where such fascinating couple is hidden... hmm."
The Judge smiled slightly, tilting down his head and staring distantly at the crystalline waters. Naturally Penelo would not give away the sky pirate's current location in a letter, yet he knew far too well; at the day of Ashe's coronation, she and Vaan had told him about Balthier and Fran's wondrous adventures while searching for the legendary Cache of Glabados.
Bervenia. It was a small district under Rozarrian domain, yet apparently House Margrace seemed to consider that such territory was not worthy of their attention, thus lacking a firm jurisdiction. Therefore that district has turned out to be a nest for outlaws, a cosy homeland for pirates, deserters and renegades.
As his protective nature have always taken the best of him, Basch became a bit apprehensive by the thought of his two young friends lost in a land of outcasts, while searching for a couple of sky pirates. But then, he thought better as he recalled that Vaan and Penelo were already full-fledged sky pirates themselves, hence they surely knew their way and what they were doing. And as soon as they reached Balthier and Fran, they would be in good hands.
Then, without too much of a warning, Vaan and Penelo's bright smiles vanished from his mind, being replaced by a vivid vision of a beautiful young woman, standing in a wide balcony, overlooking a sunlit city.
In a serene pose, her back was facing him, curvy body clad in her elegant grey dress. Her short platinum hair gently fluttered by the breeze, stray locks caressing her slender ivory neck, bathed by the golden sunlight.
Then, she slowly turned around and her beautiful grey eyes met his.
She was not smiling.
Ashe.
Basch recalled that the Emperor received Ashe's answer at the previous day, and the Judge became utterly restless as her letter didn't mention anything but a formal acceptance to the invitation - he couldn't help but question the absence of details regarding her journey to Archades, yet he was sure that Ashe would be completely protected, travelling with her personal escort aboard her private airship Jenova.
However, regardless the security that would surely surround the Queen of Dalmasca, regardless how safe it was to travel in Ivalice these days, an uneasiness stirred within him. Basch still wished to escort her during the long journey to Archades, even if he had to undergo her… displeasure, for all the obvious and rightful reasons.
His mind kept playing with him, and he blamed his heavy dark armour and the unusual sultry heat inside the room, as the illusion of her wilfully remained within him, as vivid as if she was actually facing him in the flesh.
She was still looking at him.
Now, she was frowning.
Suddenly, Larsa's voice interrupted Basch's daydream.
"Hmm, bizarre," he heard Larsa's voice, "Lady Ashe will accompany Vaan and Penelo to Bervenia, instead of travelling with her personal escort directly to Archades."
Basch jolted his head up and quickly whirled around to face Larsa, his dark cape cutting the air. "What?!"
Larsa raised his eyebrows to Basch's sudden distress and shrugged, while stating nonchalantly, "Truly, it is an unforeseen decision, but it doesn't present any quandary. I reckon she will be absolutely safe, Vaan and Penelo are very proficient -"
Basch didn't answer or gave any clear indication that he even heard Larsa's words. He covered the distance between them in five swift steps and, completely forgetting his place, the Judge snatched the letter from the Emperor's gloved hands right under his puzzled look. He then gazed onto the parchment, the paleness upon his face becoming even more evident as his eyes travelled down the contents of the letter.
Clearly perplexed by the odd behaviour of his guardian, Larsa straightened himself indignantly and claimed, "Judge Magister Gabranth, I demand -"
"They are on their way to Bervenia," Basch crossed.
Larsa widened his eyes in alarm. "To Bervenia??"
It was another dark, ominous night at Bervenia, when three slim hooded figures stepped out the local Aerodrome and into the village, being greeted by a chill, fine rain and a light mist that slowly began to settle. They stood there, taking their bearings for a few moments, looking across the deserted ominous street in front of them. It was sided by rows of decrepit brick houses, faintly illuminated by the few unbroken streetlamps scattered at each side of the cobblestone road.
A strong, regal womanly voice came from under the hood of the white cloaked figure. "I noticed that the Strahl wasn't inside the Aerodrome. Are you certain that they're here?"
One of the two grey hooded figures accompanying the white one nodded, as the voice of a young man replied, "I'm sure. But they don't land the Strahl at the Aerodrome anymore, where she catches everyone's eye so, Balthier have been landing her somewhere else."
"I take that decision is related with the bounty on their heads," the white figure stated plainly, the merest hint of disdain tracing her voice.
"Hey, how do you know that?" the young man asked, bewildered.
"Vaan, how come she wouldn't know?" another feminine voice, more gentle, was heard from under the hood of the second grey cloaked figure. "Everyone knows about it, the news already reached Rabanastre."
"Indeed," Ashe agreed, "House Margrace offers a good reward for Balthier and Fran's capture, though no one knows the reason behind it."
"The problem is that bounty-hunters don't care 'bout reasons," Vaan said, "but I'm not worried. They've always managed to get out of all sort of sticky situations."
"Yet this is a most unusual one," Ashe remarked, "their bounty is offered by the Prince of Rozarria himself, no less, which means a serious offence had taken place, either against him or his Kingdom," she stated gravely.
A short pause followed, before Ashe took the word again. "Well, shall we? We'll not find them standing here."
Penelo nodded, but warned, from under her grey hood, "Now we must be really careful." She glanced at Ashe. "Here, you are like a hare walking among a pack of starving wolves. If anyone recognises you, we're in big trouble."
Vaan snorted. "Yeah, you'll probably fetch a bigger prize as a ransom than all of the bounties together, Ashe."
Ashe glared at the young man, who was also instantly elbowed by Penelo. "It is Amalia!" she snapped quietly. "We've already told you that!"
"Ok, ok! Sorry!", Vaan said. "Let's find Balthier then, at this time he is probably in The Glossair."
Then, they set off, crossing several cobbled streets, shrouded by the dark night and the mist. They passed by more rows of brick houses with blind or broken windows, which gave the environment a quite sinister feature. Along the way they met all sort of individuals passing by, or just standing here and there chatting, some of them glancing indifferently at the trio of newcomers. They were mostly Humes and Bangaas, but they also spotted some Seeqs and a small group of Vieras.
Ashe looked discreetly to this last group standing near a side alley, noticing that despite the wide variety of the colour of their hair - red, blonde or dark - all those Vieras had fair skin and surprisingly short ears, unlike Fran and the others she met in Eruyt, Rabanastre or even in all Ivalice. One of them noticed the trio, caught Ashe's eyes and glared at her, who instantly felt an unexplainable enmity coming from inside her dark red pupils. The Queen diverted her eyes, quite troubled.
"Feol Vieras," Penelo said grimly, noticing Ashe's discomfort. "They give that look at everyone, don't worry. I asked Fran about them once, and she only said that we should keep our distance."
"I see," Ashe nodded thoughtfully, "I shall keep that in mind."
The trio moved deeper into the shadowy village, crossing lanes and alleys, and Ashe realised that those streets would probably have the same miserable aspect under the daylight. The village itself was covered by a wretched aura, surpassing by far the miserable atmosphere she found in Old Archades four years ago.
"What sort of place is this… Glossair?" she asked.
"It is a tavern," Vaan replied, "but unlike The Sandsea or the other taverns we know, The Glossair is usually packed with weird people, especially at night: mostly sky pirates, bounty hunters looking for sky pirates, criminals and people of the sort."
"And you both frequent such ill place?", Ashe admonished as the trio turned a corner and slipped through a narrow, dark alley between two dilapidated houses, being forced to walk in a single row.
"Well, we kind of made a name for ourselves, you see," Vaan answered, barely hiding the proud tracing his voice as he led the way. "After all that happened four years ago, being Balthier's friends, the places we have been, and all that, people here now respect us. They know that we can put off a fight to defend ourselves," he grinned. "You should have seen Penelo the other day, when she brutally kicked a man in the groin when he tried to grope her b -"
"She doesn't want details, Vaan," Penelo crossed, while Ashe barely suppressed a chuckle. The younger woman then added cheerfully, "Look, we're arriving!"
They stepped out the dark alley into a wider street, and the sounds of music and roaring laughers got to their senses, intensifying as they reached an old, dark-stoned house placed right in the middle of the street. The words "The Glossair" were sketchily carved in an old wood slab dangling from above the firmly closed door.
The clamour inside was perfectly audible, contrasting to the gloomy quietness on the outside. Vaan approached the door and sturdily knocked his fist three times against it.
"Keep the hoods over your heads," he warned, "we'll pretend we're outlaws, like everyone else here. If you ignore them, they'll ignore you back."
The nights at The Glossair have always been rowdier than any other place in the entire village, and even in all the district of Bervenia. This night, the tavern was overcrowded with a mix of the most bizarre people ever found in Ivalice, sky pirates, criminals and rogues of the sort. They were gathered in small groups either settled around dirty wooden tables gambling, drinking, arguing and laughing, or standing at the rounded counter in the middle of the crowded room. Behind the counter, a big fat Seeq waiter with the annoying habit of scratching his butt every now and then, and two gorgeous female Humes, attended the constant requests for madhus, whiskeys, ale, and other spirited drinks which were mostly identified by their colours rather than their complicated names.
A huge candle-filled lamp hung from the dirty ceiling, casting a dim pool of light over the place. A band of Bangaas was playing a lively tune on the cramped wooden stage, the sound of trumpets and saxophones mixed with the rhythmic beat of a drum, lively sounds adamantly refusing to die under the commotion. In a corner, a group of Moogles and Vieras were engaged into a drinking contest: the Vieras seemed to be drinking the ale like if it was spring water, while the Moogles had evidently drunken too much already, for they occasionally released loud, shrieking laughs, their ponpoms stooping down languidly to one side.
In another table, a group of four Bangaas started to argue violently, gesticulating madly to one another and to a pile of coins disorderly scattered across their table, until two of them jolted up from their seats and started to fight. The remaining people around just conceded them a sideway glance over their shoulders, watching the fight in boredom, for that was not an atypical scene - in The Glossair, at least.
After a good long trade of punches and blows, one of the enraged Bangaas side-kicked the other so hard in his chest that the injured one flew across the room, hitting one of the drunken moogles in the process and landing badly in front of another table neatly placed in a corner, where a quite notorious sky pirate was chatting idly with his beautiful Viera partner.
Balthier Bunansa interrupted his conversation to glance amusedly at the offended Bangaa stretched on the ground. "Quite the landing, Ganon, you've improved since your last one. I'm impressed."
Ganon swiftly rose up from the ground, spitting off a good amount of blood from his mouth. "Mind your own business, Balthier," he snapped, before dashing off to his rival to retaliate.
Balthier heard the sound of a new set of punches from afar, soon followed by the unmistakable noise of a gunshot. The sky pirate yawned in annoyance, while inspecting the cuffs of his pristine white shirt. "Charming, wouldn't you say so, Fran?"
"You are avoiding our previous discussion, are you not?" his Viera partner asked, tilting her head sideways.
Balthier raised an eyebrow. "Not at all, my dear - in fact, as I was saying, there's no need to concern ourselves further regarding this matter."
Fran frowned. "This not worries you?"
"Actually, I am quite flattered. Al-Cid is such a generous man to offer that insanely large bounty for our heads, as it will only improve our notoriety and reputation among our fellow sky-pirate partners - a desirable achievement in every sky-pirate's curriculum," Balthier replied. He seized his drink from the table, and added, "Moreover, the extravagant Prince wants us alive, which spares us the nuisance of feeling an unforeseen bullet or dagger into our backs."
Balthier took a long draught from his drink, while Fran insisted. "Achievement? Our bounties were not made known because of our deeds as sky-pirates, or even for stealing the key to the Margrace treasure chambers," she remarked. "You understand why we face this predicament, do you not?"
"I assure you it was worth it. After all, it was the only way to obtain the key you mentioned," he stated, while slipping his hand inside his pocket and taking out a small key from inside.
Fran added, in an unusual sarcastic tone, "I do not think the legendary Cache of Glabados is inside Margrace's treasure vault."
"My dear Fran, your resolve to find the Cache is only matched with my own, but unfortunately, we're out of funds," Balthier answered, "and in our line of work it is quite unlikely to find sponsors, thus we need to find another source of funding to our quest," he added, while gazing upon the key. "Actually, this key might very well allow us to take higher flights."
"… It took you long enough to find and steal it," she observed, while taking a sip from her red-coloured drink.
"Naturally, it was not an easy task," he stated casually.
"If you had just taken the key and left, it could be so," Fran persisted.
He diverted his gaze from the key and to her. "What kind of gentleman would I be, if I had done that?" he asked, his lips curling into a slightly mocking smile. "And what kind of sky-pirate would I be, if hadn't taken that other treasure, so worthy of my attention?"
Fran narrowed her eyes, as she glared dangerously at him, and Balthier realised that he crossed one of those invisible lines standing between him and Fran, lingering even after all those years of partnership. His smirk vanished, being replaced by one of his most serious looks.
"Truly, I hold the blame for it," he said solemnly. "However, you were caught as well. My dear Fran, I owe you the most sincere apology: believe me, it never crossed my mind to entail you in this predicament."
Then Balthier placed his hand on hers, squeezing it lightly as he cast her his most charismatic look, even knowing fully and by his own experience that his partner was not one to be taken by his charm. Yet instead of being either wrenched away or awarded by another remark, as he expected and deserved, Fran was not even looking at him - he then wondered if she ever listened to his apologies.
Under his now inquisitive look, Fran's eyes narrowed, while engaging into a keen surveillance of the tavern. He watched her as her eyes travelled from one side of the room to the other, her long, elegant ears twitching slightly as if she was trying to pick up a distant sound from all the rowdy commotion inside the tavern. The band was still playing, but that didn't prevent the Viera to take her bearings.
Feeling slightly apprehensive, Balthier squeezed her hand again, this time harder, beckoning for attention. "What is it, Fran?"
Suddenly, her tensed and focused expression turned into a relaxed one, and her lips curled into the merest trace of a smile. "We have visitors."
Now eased by her assuring smile, Balthier looked at the same direction as hers and he grinned amusedly, as he saw Vaan and Penelo waving at him and Fran from afar, while making their way to the table, ducking, elbowing, and trying to squeeze between the people standing in their way. As Vaan tripped over the feet of a Bangaa corpse – the one who punched Ganon - and almost fell to the floor, Balthier noticed that a third hooded person accompanied them, walking right behind the young boy. His curiosity escalated as he noticed her body – for it was indeed a woman, as her long white cloak couldn't conceal completely her alluring curves – clearly stiffening as she carefully walked over the Bangaa corpse, unsuccessfully ignoring the puddle of dark blood oozing from a fresh bullet-hole in his forehead.
That fascinating woman surely landed on the wrong place.
Balthier leaned his body, searching for a better angle to gaze upon the unknown hooded woman. Meanwhile, Fran diverted her eyes from the newcomers and was now watching her partner instead, first with a puzzled expression, then replaced by an amused one. Balthier didn't notice Fran's scathingly expression, nor even he would understand it if he had actually seen it, as he was quite busy watching the lovely woman as she approached, along with Vaan and Penelo.
"Oi!" Vaan shouted, before reaching the table and throwing back his hood. "Finally we caught up to you!"
Balthier didn't answer. He was still rather busy.
Penelo pulled down her hood as well, showing a joyful smile. "Hello Fran!"
"Hello, Penelo," the Viera serenely greeted back and, with a slight nod, she gestured Penelo to look at Balthier. Penelo did so, and found Balthier utterly ignoring everyone but the mesmerizing new guest, who hadn't taken off the hood yet. He could barely see her eyes, partially hidden under her hood, but her beautiful smile peered from under it, tantalizing him to the core.
"And who might you be?" he thought, tilting his head sideways, clearly sensing he had already met her before.
Penelo laughed heartily at Balthier's mystification while Fran added in a casual tone, "The leading man looks quite confused."
As Balthier collected himself from his fantasy, and promptly sprung up from his seat to greet properly the lovely guest, she slowly lowered her hood. He then realised, first perplexed then delighted, that he was not only in the presence of a beautiful woman, but also that she was no other than Ashe.
Author's Notes: Oh no… I am messing with Ashe, Basch and Balthier's minds and I'm absolutely loving it XD Rest assured, VaanxPeneloxLarsa fans, I haven't forgotten them :) ... and I find Fran difficult to write, although I'm loving the challenge. I'm not too pleased with her dialogues, but I hope this will improve - after all, she has an important role in this story ;)
Cookies to anyone who guesses the reason for Balthier and Fran's bounties! Ah... I know, I know, I know… the letter. I haven't forgotten about it either but… (you'll all hate me now) no, it will not be revealed in the next chapter yet...
I'm taking this opportunity to pay small tributes to other games I fancy - not much as Final Fantasy, though. In case you haven't noticed the origin of the names Jill and Ganon... they're from Resident Evil 1 and Legend of Zelda, respectively ;)
And, of course, reviews are very much appreciated. As always, I ask… if you find one of those huge, noticeable grammar kicks in my writing, please tell me :)
On the next chapter: Balthier pursues Ashe's attention, Vaan confronts Penelo, Basch and Larsa take drastic measures and Fran senses trouble.