Final Fantasy XII: Basch and Ashe
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The Princess is a real handful, and Basch tries passing off guard duty to Vossler or anyone else who will take it. One would think guarding the King is the hardest job, but guarding his daughter is far more difficult. The nine year old is all arms and legs, and her latest adventures usually leave Basch's heart in his throat. Princess Ashelia fancies herself a Viera now, and she likes to climb the tall trees in the palace gardens.
It is very difficult to maintain a stoic front when a little girl is scrambling over tree limbs and sticking branches in her hair to stand in for Viera ears. Right now, she is perched on a branch just overhead and is raining down blossoms and leaves on his head.
"Basch?"
"Yes, Princess?" he replies as a handful of leaves tangle in his hair.
"Do the Viera mate for life?"
The question isn't so very strange. Ashelia likes to ask challenging questions, seeing how many of her guards' buttons she can push before they bring her back inside to the stern nanny she loathes.
"They live very long lives, so I would think not."
"If I was a Viera, I would."
He pulls some of the leaves out of his hair and tosses them to the ground. "That is a very noble thing, Princess." Another solid ton of leaves cascades around him. "Are you making me into a tree, little Viera?"
She giggles, but it is short lived. Apparently, the Viera Ashelia has the same lack of balance as the Princess Ashelia, and she slips on the branch. "Basch!" He has to hold in a laugh at the sight of the girl clinging desperately to the tree limb, her skinny legs kicking in the air.
"Yes, Princess?"
Her grip is slipping, and he pulls her into his arms and sets her down on the ground before him. Ashelia pouts, sticking out her bottom lip at him. "I don't want to be a Viera any longer."
"Perhaps that is for the best," he agrees.
She scratches her head then, pondering her next adventure. "Bend forward!"
He does as ordered and is shocked into silence when she kisses him full on the mouth. She scampers away laughing.
"I think I'll be a sky pirate!" she shouts across the courtyard. "And I've just stolen my first treasure!"
He shakes his head. He prays that Vossler will have the strength to endure the Sky Pirate Ashelia tomorrow afternoon.
