Disclaimer: I'm just here to see how this all plays out. Any self-respecting author would do the same.
A/N: Two chapters today, for three reasons. First of all, I'm feeling generous. Secondly, this is the shortest chapter (length-wise) thus far in the story, though ironically it covers the longest period of time. Thirdly, it's been ages since I updated, and I take full responsibility. I've been writing up a storm, but just haven't seemed to be able to get around to typing it. Well, without further ado, please enjoy chapters 7 and 8, and don't forget to review!
Thus began a period of frantic information gathering. We frequented Balfonheim's numerous taverns, buying drinks and socializing, all in the hopes of squeezing information about possible treasure locations. It wasn't very long before Blayne realised that my inbred charms (relics from my past) that were only natural to me after so long were extremely successful in retrieving information, so he often sent me to question me, while females could not refuse him anything. I rather enjoyed myself in manipulation, though I drew the line at actually sleeping with anyone, as Blayne once had the gall to imply.
Blayne had given me the day off and he had finished drinking for the night. I wondered if the treasure would be enough to justify spending a fortune on ale, but no matter. If this was what Blayne (who was a fairly successful sky pirate, as things went) said we should do, I did it. It was late, and I retreated to my bunk, Blayne saying he wanted to stay up and look over our records of the information we'd gleaned.
But when I tried to get to sleep, I found that I could not. I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours until I realised the problem. The other nights I had slept, I had either been on watch beforehand, or I had stayed at the tavern gambling with a target until much later. Either way, every time I had climbed into my bed previously, my eyes had been shut already. I had not had the chance to feel discomfort in the fact that there was no one in my bed.
For all that it had been several months since my night with Balthier; I had grown accustomed to falling into bed completely exhausted. Now that I was rested and had had a chance to relax, my bed felt noticeably empty, and I found that I could not sleep without the warmth of another being beside me. Giving up the attempt at last, I rose and went back to the cockpit. Blayne was there, reading our journals by candlelight, using a quill to cross off doubled information, or to draw lines between connecting statements. He looked up as I entered.
"What's the matter, Siyana? Sleeping problem?"
"Must not be tired enough." I shrugged.
"How tired must you be to sleep?" Blayne asked, sounding slightly surprised.
"I don't know. I've never tried."
"Would you like some… companionship?" Blayne asked, smirking at me. "That Ysan is a tough nut to crack…"
I'd had it. Ever since we met he'd been forcing his off-colour innuendos on me, and now this? Turning so my back was towards him, I lifted my shirt so he could see my mark.
"See this?" I asked. "This is the mark of House Flamenca. I chose Galbana lilies, because they had a legacy behind them… the one who had used the sign before me was very gifted. They said I had her gift, too, the gift of the Galbana. Do you know what the scent of the Galbana lily does?"
Blayne answered slowly, trying to gather his wits.
"If smelled too often, the scent of the Galbana can often cause spikes in the pleasure receptors of the brain and induce hallucinations."
"That's why I wear the Galbana. That's what I can do. And that's why your little comments won't have any affect on me – I've seen them all before, used them before, even played them out before. It's no use. Just quit it."
Blayne stared at me, startled.
"Are you really that good?" he asked. I sighed, covering my mark again. "Obviously enough people thought so. But that's not the point. The point is that I am no longer a girl of gil. I am a sky pirate, free to make my own choices. And that does not include Ysan."
He raised his hands in surrender. "All right, all right, I won't mention it again. But that's the reason you can't sleep, right? Because of what you were?" I didn't deny it, merely dropped into the seat next to him. Blayne looked contemplative, tapping the end of the quill on the table.
"So my partner's a night girl, and I can't even take advantage."
I glared at him, still sour from lack of sleep. "Damn straight. You even try, and I'll reconsider putting that Thundara on hold."
"Understood," he said quickly, but he smiled at me. "I can respect that. Truth to tell, I think it's admirable. I can relate to not wanting to fall back into old habits." I nodded gratefully, deciding instead to help Blayne with his connections. When I went to bed the second time, I had no trouble, and every night after that became easier, though I am still unable to truly sleep well unless I have someone by my side.
Eventually our hard work paid off in a lead to a secret treasure belonging to the line of priests in Rozzaria. Though I originally balked at stealing religious artefacts, Blayne told me of the corruption of the Rozzarian priesthood and I became gradually convinced that it would be a good deed to relieve them of their burden. We set off immediately, and I began my first heist.
During the trip (made longer because of the jagd we had to avoid), Blayne continued his lessons on flying an airship. I got to see the engine room in action and learned how to perform maintenance checks while in flight.
The heist turned out to be a success in the end, though it was complicated by the involvement of the Rozzarian War Pavilion and the fact that priests trapped their temples, necessitating several emergency curing sessions that lasted several days. We got to the treasure at last, but it turned out that the cache itself was a clue leading to another like it in Archadia, suggesting a link between the lines of the priesthoods of the two countries stretching back thousands of years. Not about to pass up something that valuable, Blayne got a plan in his head to get us into Archadia and steal our treasure's mate.
In the air once more, Blayne (who had become much warmer towards me since I had saved him from being impaled in a pit of spikes in the final stages of our heist) told me that I would probably now have a bounty on my head (or Sephira's head). I finally gathered enough courage to ask him why he had been so set against taking a partner.
He sighed, leaning back in his chair as his eyes wandered the realms of memory.
"I had a partner when I first started pirating," he said. "He was my captain, and he was one of the best. He taught me everything I know. He retired soon after I finished my training, and left me the ship. I've never forgiven him for abandoning me – he never told me he was retiring until he handed over the signed deeds. I wasn't ready for such a responsibility, but I never saw him again.
"Now I was captain. I took a partner after a short time. She was smart, funny… She had such a cheerful smile it could light up a room. She was an orphan of Nabudis – I was a Nabudis veteran." I looked sharply at him, shocked by the revelation that he had been one of the few to survive that terrible day, but he seemed not to notice.
"I took it as my responsibility to protect her, and for a while I was successful. She died in the Zertinian Caverns – heedless of the warnings of danger, I led her right to an Esper's den. I barely escaped with my life. As far as I know, it's still there, lying in wait for others as foolish as me. Phoenix Down doesn't help those killed by Espers – I'm such a fool. I left her there to become a Shambling Corpse, one of the legions to be summoned in Adrammelech's need. After that, I swore, never again. Until you came along and convinced me very firmly otherwise." He smiled faintly.
I sat in silence at the horror of his tale, but inevitably he wanted to hear about my past, so I told him how I had been abandoned to Flamenca by my parents and all that had happened there, leaving out the gruesome details and (for whatever reason) any mention of Balthier. Blayne seemed more interested in my parting from Psellia, and wouldn't speak to me for a week when he learned I had left her.
We were captured in Archadia, partly due to my carelessness and partly because of Blayne's sullenness, though he did save my life when he leaped in front of me to stab an imperial mastiff that was in the process of mauling my unprotected back.
We were taken to Nalbina, and the Shera was confiscated. Blayne despaired, until I recalled Balthier's detailed and regaling stories of his escape from the fortress and rose greatly in Blayne's esteem when I led him (on the tail of some imperial guards) into Barheim Passage. From there, we fought our way back to the outside world, and Blayne got to see my Quickening at last when I used it to blow away the rocks blocking the exit. My Quickening was not, in fact, very powerful, and the manoeuvre worked only marginally before the tunnel once again collapsed behind us. But that didn't matter. We set our sights to Rabanastre and retrieving the Shera.
Coming back to my home after so long filled me with a sense both of excitement and sadness. My life had changed so much since I had last walked the city streets, and I had a feeling it was about to change again.
And it was at this time that Balthier came back into my world.
A/N: You see? I could've been really mean and left you with a short chapter ending in a cliffie, after such a long wait, but I didn't, because that's just the type of kind-hearted author I am. Feel free to show your appreciation by leaving reviews!
