AN: This is the only chapter planned so far that will focus on characters that are not immediately around Ashe. This is simply because I feel the two conversations shared (one between Larsa and Penelo, the other Gabranth and Vaessa) need to be included in this chapter. The next chapter will return to Ashe, and the rest that follow will be the same.
The paper in front of Ashe had her rubbing her temples. The merchant guild was requesting an increase in their security personnel yet again, and she was unsure when she would finally have to cut the men off. The security of the guilds daily profits was in the crown's interest, that much was for sure, but she had heard no reports of anyone attempting to steal from them since her last increase of guard.
Sighing, she wrote a reply, letting the guild know she would have to consider the amount of personnel she would send but also letting them know that it would be at least a few.
Looking at the next piece, she grinned. The announcement of her courtship with Lord Balthier. The wording was delicate, dancing around any sort of informality and also making it appear as if she barely knew Balthier, if only to help keep her and her uncle's story believable. All in all, it was far too formal for an announcement made by two people in love, and that in itself made her know it would be received well. She knew many would consider it having been made a match due to her uncle's persistent pushing of the man, which she would not mind at all. Things would go smoothly this way, and she would get to marry the man she had fallen for years ago.
"Ashe!" A happy voice drew Ashe out of her duties of signing paperwork. Quickly signing the courtship announcement, she stood and pulled her friend into a tight hug.
"You're here early, Penelo!"
Her friend had grown slightly, which surprised Ashe as it had not been all that long since they last saw each other, perhaps nine months at most, and Penelo was not too much younger than her and past the years most women grew. She looked tanned, hair steaked an even lighter blonde from the sun and in loose waves that removing her hair from her braids would cause. She had dressed up, a deep blue outfit set that she had bought shopping with Ashe the last time they had seen each other.
"Vaan decided you could use some extra time with friends." Penelo smiled widely. "So we figured we'd set out sooner. Also, we brought a surprise guest. Fran has joined us in our travels, though she and Vaan are still at the ship making sure everything's good."
"There is so much I have to catch you up on, Pen-" Ashe started, though her words were ended when she heard footsteps approach.
"Your majesty," Erryn's voice rang out form the doorway. "Pardon my interruption, especially since I had not realized Miss Penelo was already here. In fact, I suppose I should just go…"
Ashe shook her head. "It's alright, Erryn. What do you need?"
"Lord Balthier wishes a word, but I suppose I can tell him you are currently busy." Erryn started out the door, but Ashe called after her. She had noticed how Penelo's eyes grew wide as Balthier's title was announced, and knew she would have to fill her friend in quickly.
"It is alright, you can send him in." Ashe's lips twitched then. "The man that I am courting should meet my closest friend, should he not?"
Ashe had told Mira and Erryn of her courtship shortly after she had made her official announcement before her lunch companions and before she had bid Al-Cid and her uncle farewell. She knew the girls would appreciate the words coming from her and not one of the many palace gossips.
Erryn nodded, and set off to fetch Balthier, while Ashe watched Penelo's face go through an array of emotions.
"Courting?" Penelo breathed as soon as Ashe's handmaiden had left, trying so hard to hide the grin growing on her face.
"I wished to tell you when you got here before Erryn entered. So much has happened, I myself am still trying to wrap my mind around everything." Ashe motioned for Penelo to sit, and she sat across from her.
Penelo's eyes were still wide. "How did Balthier get a title? Is that why Fran decided to travel with Vaan and I? How did the offer of courtship go? Where was he these past five years?"
"I'll explain all I know," Ashe laughed lightly at her friend's constant string of questions. "Balthier was with my uncle in Bhujerba these past five years. He became an adviser to my uncle, because he wished to be 'worthy' of my affections, and the title would allow for my uncle to support him in his goal to court me. Balthier and I have not truly talked since he told me of his affections in the garden, though that was when I brought up the idea of courtship. And yes, I would assume that is why Fran has been traveling with you and Vaan."
Penelo was grinning as Ashe explained. "I knew it! I knew he loved you! Oh, this is so exciting, Ashe! I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you, Penelo. Though I don't remember you singing his praises so easily while he was gone…"
"I had to be supportive of you, Ashe. If you were mad at him, then I was too." Penelo laughed. "And it was still wrong of him to hide his intentions for five years."
"That is true." Ashe laughed lightly, though she soon just smiled. His being gone for five years would perhaps be a sensitive topic for a while.
The two women sat in a calm silence as they awaited Erryn's return with Balthier. They did not have to wait long, however, as footsteps soon echoed down the hallway.
"You must be Penelo," Balthier hid his smirk as he dipped his head at her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Erryn tells me you are close with Ashe?" Ashe was also trying to hide a grin as he hid the fact from Erryn that he knew Penelo.
"The pleasure is all mine, Lord Balthier." Penelo curtsied, and Ashe was glad the girl remembered the formalities of court, at least while Erryn was present. "Ashe is one of my dearest companions. Also, I hear congratulations are in order?"
Ashe noted Erryn had started to leave the room, and once she knew the girl was far enough away, she laughed and was soon joined by the others.
"Penelo, it really is nice to see you again." Balthier smiled at the girl he had viewed as a younger sister, which made Ashe grin. She knew the two had become close, and that Balthier had even taken to calling her little sister towards the end of their travels.
Penelo grinned. "It has been too long." The she grew serious, and placed her hands on her hips. "You couldn't tell anyone what you were planning, could you? You just had to be dramatic…"
"I am sorry for all the secrecy and I hope we can catch up soon, Penelo, but I believe there is someone else who wished to speak with you, someone who remained here an extra day just to do so, in fact."
"Larsa's here?" Ashe noticed the twinge of a blush dance on her friend's cheeks, and she wondered if the one-sided crush she had believed Larsa to hold may just be returned by her friend. She would need to ask Penelo later.
Balthier nodded. "He's in the library right now, should you wish to see him."
Penelo shot a look to Ashe, who nodded at her friend. "Go on, you haven't seen him in an even longer time than you've last seen me."
"I'll see you both later, and you had best fill me in fully on everything that's been happening!" Penelo called as she exited the room.
"Perhaps the little lord is not alone in his affections." Balthier took the seat that Penelo had occupied earlier.
Ashe stood to close the door, then sat back down. "Perhaps he is not."
Then, her shoulders relaxed and let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding. "Gods, I do not know how long we will be able to keep up this act. I was so worried something would go wrong while Erryn was watching."
"Little sister is a smart girl. She's always been able to catch on quickly." Balthier replied to reassure her, though it just cased Ashe to ponder how quickly Penelo would be able to catch on to the game of politics.
Ashe sighed. "I suppose you are right…"
Balthier placed a hand on her own. "Ashe, we haven't gotten to speak alone since last night. I'm sure you have many questions, and I promise I will answer them all." His eyes shined mischievously. "So long as my dear princess bestow a kiss upon my cheek."
That was the Balthier she knew, the playful man who teased and flirted as he had on their travels, whose sarcasm and wit she knew well. Though was that the real him, or was this political side she now saw him? After all, he had been raised to make an impression in court, and had also been a judge before becoming Balthier. Deciding she could always ask him, she pushed the thought from her mind.
"Shall I call in Vaessa then? She is the only princess here…" She teased back, though she leant over the small table between them to kiss him.
"So, where would you like to begin in your questioning of me, which I am sure will be unrelenting?"
"Well," Ashe had not thought of what to ask, only knowing she had many questions. Yet, she could not seem to find a way to word them. Finally, one came to mind. "When we were in the gardens, you apologized for not contacting me and seemed as if you would give a reason for not, yet soon switched over to speaking with my uncle. What were you going to say?"
Balthier sighed. "I was going to say that I felt if I had contacted you when you uncle and I had first decided on this idea, that you might have not believed my affections true… and then it grew so long I feared your reaction of the news. Your uncle and I decided that it would be best to then wait."
"You, self-proclaimed leading man, feared I wouldn't accept your affections as true?" She would have laughed had she not known he was being sincere. "Balthier, I told you that I loved you then. I would have believed you."
"Well, that would have been nice to know then." He broke a grin, and Ashe knew he would feel better about that. "What else did you wish to know of me?"
"Are you close with my cousins after spending so much time in Bhujerba, and do they know who you are?"
Balthier laughed. "Your cousins are quite the characters, aren't they? I get along well with both, though Indigo is much easier to speak with than Idzela. And yes, they know everything. Idzela thinks it romantic I'm pursuing you after making myself a suitable match, yet Indigo says I should have just swept you off your feet."
Ashe smiled. "That sounds like them. I haven't seen them in so long…"
"They miss you, and wish us well." Balthier gave her hand a squeeze.
Ashe smiled at his gesture. "I think there is only one last question I wish to ask."
"And that would be?"
"Balthier, are you happy being back in politics? I am sure you must miss the freedom of the skies, and I had not pictured you ever settling back into politics after your past." Ashe locked his gaze, her eyes trying to offer comfort as he thought about his answer.
"I miss the freedom of my ship," Balthier answered honestly "and the freedom to be myself, not having to hide behind the mask of propriety every second. But I do know that by being here in the political world, I can be with you. I get to be around you, even if we must act our parts while speaking, and that means more to me than anything else. I told you, I love you Ashe, and I will do whatever I need, play whatever role I must, to ensure we can be together."
Ashe did not think, and let her emotions catch the best of her just this once as she stood and moved towards him, pulling his lips to hers for a long kiss.
Penelo was both eager and nervous to see Larsa. It had been over a year since they last conversed face-to-face, the letters they wrote each other being their only means of communication. How would he look now? She had been taller than him when she last saw him, though she was sure he had surpassed her now.
Knowing her way to the library, the woman hurried as fast as propriety allowed. She would not embarrass Ashe by not observing all the rule of court, rules she had tried to study up on while she was being flown around by Vaan and Fran.
Fran's sudden appearance at their ship made much more sense now that she knew Balthier had been preparing himself as a suitor for Ashe. A smile crept onto her face as she thought of her 'older brother' and Ashe finally getting to be together. She had known that they had cared for each other on their travels, though she had not felt it her place to tell either that the other returned their affections. She was just glad they had figured that out.
As for her own emotions, however, they were muddled. Larsa's letter were so personal, so honest, that she felt her heart grow closer to him through his words. Not to mention how he signed his letters, always with an only yours at the end. But how could she fall in love through a man's letters to her? It confused her, as much as the small kiss Larsa had left on her cheek when they were last together had.
She was not some highborn noble woman. She was a merchant's daughter, orphaned and penniless. And she knew, deep deep down, she would never be a suitable match for Larsa, no matter how learned she became in court etiquette or how much he cared or her. Love was not enough in these situations, and she did not have anyone vying for her to wed Larsa and thus offering her a place on court as Balthier had in his pursuit of Ashe.
Was it foolish of her to dream that being with him was possible? Was it a child's thoughts, a dream of being carried off by a handsome prince mixed with her affections for Larsa? And she herself did not know what those emotions she even felt truly were. However, she soon would.
The library was seemingly empty save for Larsa and Gabranth. She spotted the men at a far corner, Larsa signing papers much like how Ashe had been. And oh did he look different.
His face had lost the last of the chubbiness of youth, showing a stronger line around his jaw. His hair, longer than she remembered, had partially been pulled back into a small bun that rested in the mid back of his head, the rest flowing freely past his shoulders. She couldn't yet tell if he was taller than she, but he did appear less the gangly boy and more the poised man.
However, she was soon pulled from her study of him as he looked up, face breaking into a large grin, one that she found contagious.
"Penelo!" Larsa and she soon bridged the gap between them, the Emperor throwing his arms around her in a way that would not be suitable if they were not alone, given the differences in their societal positions. He was taller than her now, which nearly caused her to chuckle. She wasn't sure why she found it comical, perhaps remembering him as boy down on one knee promising to see to her being kept from harm.
"You've grown," She finally did laugh as they broke apart, though it was a polite giggle.
Larsa laughed as well. "And your hair has grown longer and lighter."
Penelo and Larsa's eyes were locked, and she could tell he was trying to read her just as she was trying to read him.
A polite cough reminded them that Gabranth was still present, and Penelo quickly broke her gaze, smiling at the other man.
"Basch, it's wonderful to see you as well." Penelo hugged him lightly too.
"You look well, Penelo." He dipped his head at her. "Lord Larsa, I believe I shall take my leave and let you and the lady speak."
Larsa smiled at him, and Penelo was also glad they would have a few moments to themselves.
Larsa continued to grin at her, and she felt her face heat. Gods, was it getting hot in here? At least, she would blame the heat for her flushed cheeks.
"You look absolutely lovely, Penelo."
She knew now she could not blame the heat for her flushed cheeks. "Thank you. You look quite handsome as well."
Larsa beamed, and motioned for her to sit. He sat next to her, and she could tell he was debating taking one of her hands in his.
"So, Larsa, how have you been since we last wrote?" Penelo hoped her question would keep him from taking so bold an action as to take her hand. She knew she heard the door open, that someone was in here, and while it was more than likely they would not be noticed in the spot they sat, she was still cautious.
"I have been well. I believe I told you of the trade issue I had with a Rozarrian merchant?" Larsa quickly went to his jovial chatting self, which relieved Penelo.
She nodded. "The one for silks, right? He was trying to claim the price you agreed on was higher than what you were giving him."
"Exactly that one. Well, I told him I wished to commission dresses from the silk, and we managed to reach an agreement then, so long as I hired his wife as seamstress."
Penelo's heart fluttered at the mention of dresses. What, or should she say who, were they for? Oh Gods… they weren't for her, were they?
Hiding the small fear that Larsa had the dresses made for her, she grinned. "I'm glad you got that settled."
"And what of you Penelo," Larsa seemed to believe that was an appropriate time to take one of her hands in his, and Penelo would have pulled her hand away had she not heard the door close again. They were once again alone, an Emperor and a merchant's orphaned daughter. "Ashe tells me you were at the coast. How was it?"
"The coast was wonderful, and the hunts we took on rather easy. I also got a chance to dance a bit." She gazed off, smile on her face as she thought of her quick dance before the bonfire on the coast.
Larsa squeezed her hand. "I still have yet to see you dance." She knew she saw his eyes dart to her lips then, and her muddled feels rose to the surface.
"Larsa, I-" She began, but he cut her off.
"Penelo, there is something I need to tell you. Marquis Ondore has asked me to consider joining with his daughter in marriage." Her eyes widened, and her heartbeat raced. She tried to pull her hand from his, but he held it tighter. "But the thing is, I don't want to marry Idzela Ondore. I am already in love with another, and I wish to know if she loves me as well."
Penelo knew, in her heart of hearts, that she wanted to tell him she loved him too, that she would gladly marry him in a heartbeat. It was funny, how her emotions became so very clear right before she would have to destroy them, as she loved Larsa enough to know that she had to let him marry Idzela. What could she bring to the role of Empress? Nothing, but herself. Idzela could bring political ties, a title, wealth… all the things that an Emperor's match should bring.
"Larsa," Penelo's heart tightened, and she had to hold back tears to keep her voice from wavering. "I cannot accept your love, and for that I am sorry. But know," Her voice cracked, "know that I am only yours."
With those words, she fled the room, the tears flowing down her face. She could hear Larsa call out after her, but she just made her way towards Ashe's study, needing to be with her friend.
Vaessa Margrace knew exactly what she wanted. The letter in her hands brought a grin to her face, though the grin seemed off. Her hands ran along the edge of the paper, and then she tucked it into the bodice of her top.
Everything was coming together exactly how she wanted it to. She would be wed, the agreement on the paper she had just held would be carried out, and she would not have to turn to means she did not wish to use to get what she wanted.
A knock on her door was expected. Quickly running her fingers through her hair, she pulled the door opened and smiled.
"Come in, Gabranth."
The man entered the room quickly, and she shut her door.
"I was glad you so eagerly accepted the offer of marriage. Though, perhaps too eagerly. Your friends seemed shocked at how quickly you agreed."
He made to speak but she cut him off. "It's alright, they don't seem to suspect a thing and the plan is still working."
She did find him attractive, for a man fourteen years her elder, and she was looking forward to marrying him. And her brother would no doubt be pleased with her choice, so long as he did not see through her scheme. Just a wedding, and then she would be back in her rightful spot in the succession of Rozarria's crown.
The man sighed in relief, and she did feel some pity that her plan could end with her hurting one of her closest friend's happiness, but it had to be done.
"And, Basch…" she giggled, that same giggle she used to make herself seem clueless as to what was happening. "Your secret, and those of all your friends, are safe with me. For now, at least."
She would have to thank her informants for a job well done, and information most valuable...
