I have no excuse for my hermit attitude, unless any of my readers will show pity on account of my lack of inspiration. I've also re-read the chapters that I've done, and they seem to be lacking somehow. It struck me that I might not have been adding enough dialogue. Would that add more depth to the story? Feedback would be appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own FFX-2 in any shape, form, or fashion.
The Inscrutable Blonde
After having Rin take me in for a while, I decided that it was nice to be pampered sometimes, but also that the spoiled life could be very dull. Where was the action packed lifestyle that I had come to know and love? My adventure had turned into just standing there. I became an idle observer in my own life. It was kind of weird to see my family worried over me and all of my people lash out in anger toward the Al Bhed leaders for my quick skedaddle. The crowds of people started to make me feel something in the pit of my stomach every time they attacked my Pops. I suppose it was disgust. That's why I showed my true color that day- blonde.
The uprisings came from every corner of Spira where you could find an Al Bhed and became worse and worse as time went on. I just wanted to hit all of the stupid meanies! Did they really think that's what I wanted if I were really kidnapped? How dumb do you get?
There I was, simply standing there, like I always do now, beside Rin at a huge gathering of Al Bhed to hear what my pops had to say. The people were shouting horrible things at him! One example, to let you know what I mean is, 'Oui cina tuh'd caas du lyna jano silr, luhcetanehk ouin tyikrdan ec seccehk!' ('You sure don't seem to care very much, considering your daughter is missing!') He came and sat near Rin, burying his face in his hands, saying, "E tuh'd ghuf fryd du tu yhosuna. E zicd fyhd so meddma Bnehlacc du lusa Rusa." ('I don't know what to do anymore. I just want my little Princess to come Home.')
At that moment, I'd felt remorse for everything that I'd done, from telling my first lie about Brother breaking his favorite machina to keep myself out of trouble, to running away and not letting him know that I was safe. I took the time to look around at the people on the stage. Brother didn't look much better than father, and Gippal was being shunned from the microphone at that time. Standing there wasn't good enough for me anymore, but I couldn't very well have anyone stop me. I always was the one to act on the spur of the moment.
The next few moments seemed to last forever when, in reality I was moving rather swiftly. Before I could help myself I had stepped away from Rin slightly, out of his reach, looking out into the crowd with a final snort of disgust. As they started to scream more insults at poor Gippal, I burst in. That's right, I burst right in. It wasn't the smartest move I've ever made, and I can definitely say that I'm not proud of that moment in the spotlight.
Before anyone could shout another word I had shoved Gippal to the side with all my might, and, to my great satisfaction, he fell- granted he hadn't braced himself to be knocked away from the podium. The goggles came off and were flung into the audience. Everyone seemed to be rather baffled, but they decided to shout random insults at me anyway. Next thing they knew, I exploded.
"Fryd'c fnuhk fedr ymm uv oui? Oui yld mega draca baubma ceddehk ib rana tuh'd ajah lyna, pid oui ymm tu hud ajah nalukhewa sa! E's dra seccehk 'Bnehlacc uv dra Ym Prat' dryd ryc paah cdyhtehk eh vnuhd uv oui drec ahdena desa!" ('What's wrong with all of you? You act like these people sitting up here don't even care, but you all do not even recognize me! I'm the missing 'Princess of the Al Bhed' that has been standing in front of you this entire time!') I was shouting into the microphone at a decibel that should not be used on human ears. The crowds had fallen silent at this point, stunned at my sudden appearance.
"Ymm uv oui ryja syta sa ycrysat du lymm socamv yh Ym Prat fedr ouin jeleuic yht ennydeuhym paryjeun dufyntc so vysemo yht vneahtc. Cyoehk yfvim drehkc du so vydran, fru fyc jano luhlanhat vun so famm paehk yht fyc uh dra pnehg uv vymmehk ybynd rescamv, sygac sa teckicdat fedr ymm uv oui. Muug yd ruf silr drec uha syh ryc tuha vun uin baubma! Ec drec ruf oui nabyo res yht Kebbym vun draen uidcdyhtehk maytancreb? Drao vamd runnepma ahuikr vun maddehk sa cmeb drnuikr draen vehkanc, yht oui, fedr ouin ehcimdehk cekhc du rumt ib," ('All of you have made me ashamed to call myself an Al Bhed with your vicious and irrational behavior towards my family and friends. Saying awful things to my father, who was very concerned for my well being and was on the brink of falling apart himself, makes me disgusted with all of you. Look at how much this one man has done for our people! Is this how you repay him and Gippal for their outstanding leadership? They felt horrible enough for letting me slip through their fingers, and you, with your insulting signs to hold up')I pointed out a few people holding up posters with derogatory comments toward my father and Gippal on them, " cbed uh dras frema drao yna ymcu essancat eh funno vun sa. Lyh huha uv oui caa draen byeh, un yna oui duu ahknuccat eh ouin ufh camvecrhacc?" ('spit on them while they are also immersed in worry for me. Can none of you see their pain, or are you too engrossed in your own selfishness?')
For the first time, I faced my father. He was standing now, trying to keep his cool and still edge toward me. Gippal was also slowly rising from being pushed onto the platform. It was then that I knew I had blown my comfortable cover, and I would soon have to run once again. Turning back to the crowd, I could see the shame on their faces. The signs had become hidden behind layers of people as they were brought down into the crowds.
Slowly, I cleared my throat nervously, "Famm, dryd fyc bnupypmo jano cdibet uv sa du lusbmadamo pmuf so teckieca mega dryd." ('Well, that was probably very stupid of me to completely blow my disguise like that.') I looked to Rin, "Neh fyc knyleuic ahuikr du gaab sa cyva, pid huf E sicd veht yhudran bmyla du cdyo. Tuh'd lyica yhosuna dnuipma vun draca baubma ib rana, oui rayn sa? Ev oui tu E'mm zicd ryja du lusa pylg yht oamm cusa suna. Yd maycd ed syta sa vaam paddan…" ('Rin was gracious enough to keep me safe, but now I must find another place to stay. Don't cause anymore trouble for these people up here, you hear me? If you do I'll just have to come back and yell some more. At least it made me feel better…') I let out a little giggle and scratched my head slightly.
"Oui ymm sicd ghuf dryd drana yna baubma uid drana dryd yna dnoehk du lybdina sa. Gaab ouin muoymdeac du so vydran yht Kebbym. Tuh'd mad drec linnahd cediydeuh gaab oui vnus dnicdehk dras. Pa yccinat dryd E femm lusa pylg du Rusa cuuh, pid vencd E ryja du cdyo yfyo vnus ed. Oihy femm ymfyoc ghuf frana E ys, yht fradran un hud E's cyva. Ev yhodrehk rybbahc, cra femm ymand ajanouha essateydamo. Nacd yccinat dryd hudrehk femm rybbah du sa. Hu uha lyh uid sycdan drec sycdan dreav," ('You all must know that there are people out there that are trying to capture me. Keep your loyalties to my father and Gippal. Don't let this current situation keep you from trusting them. Be assured that I will come back to Home soon, but first I have to stay away from it. Yuna will always know where I am, and whether or not I'm safe. If anything happens, she will alert everyone immediately. Rest assured that nothing will happen to me. No one can out master this master thief,') I grinned and stood in my victory position.
"E's cunno du ryja du mayja ajanouha, pid E ghuf dryd retehk ec so uhmo lruela. E dryhg ymm uv oui vun lynehk cu silr ypuid sa, yht E fyhd oui du ghuf dryd E lyna ypuid ymm uv oui yc famm," ('I'm sorry to have to leave everyone, but I know that hiding is my only choice. I thank all of you for caring so much about me, and I want you to know that I care about all of you as well,') on that note I turned to face Gippal and my father, stepping away from the podium.
Pops inched closer, the shock still evident on his face. My eyes went to my feet, and, before I knew it, he had engulfed me in a hug. Tears stung the back of my eyes. We weren't exactly a close family, but I could tell that he and Brother cared when it came down to matters like this.
Moving back from my father I glanced into his eyes. They were so sad, but I knew that I would have to run again. My gaze went to everyone on the stage, all staring at me. It was then that I noticed that the keys to my airship were clipped to Gippal belt. That stupid Gippal had driven my airship to the meeting! My eyes lingered on it, parked next to the Celsius. I was going to get him back for that one. When had he gotten up and moved so close to me anyway?
An ingenious plan started to form in my head. Surprising the heck out of me, Gippal had come over and pulled me into his own hug, whispering lowly in my ear, "E seccat oui, Let'c kenm." ('I missed you, Cid's girl.') He pulled away slightly to face me, but kept his voice low so that no one else could hear, "I know that you're going to have to run again. Just don't go pulling any dangerous stunts, got it?" The sincerity in his voice almost made me listen to him and be a good girl- almost.
"You know me, Gippy, always on the safe side of things!" Then I did something that surprised all onlookers, not to mention myself. My lips pressed against Gippal's just long enough for me to unhook my keys from his belt. It turned out that I got more flustered with the kiss than I thought I would, and so getting the keys off his belt took a little longer than expected. There we were, in front of all of our people to see, stuck in a lip lock. Gippal didn't pull away though. For some reason, that simple fact made me get butterflies in my stomach.
After fumbling with the keys for a while, if on purpose or not I still don't know myself, I got a hold of them. Pulling back from Gippal, I whispered a soft 'Thank you' to him before pushing past him and speeding toward my airship.
One again I delivered an awe inspiring exit. The only problem was that my mind wasn't rejoicing over getting to finally speak my mind, or leaving them all in the dust. My thoughts kept lingering on the kiss. After telling him that all we had were memories, I just felt a chemistry with Gippal that was very different from what I had expected. I started feeling a little dizzy. Instead of contemplating it too much, I tried not to think about our kiss and focus more on the skies ahead.
At the time I didn't know that Gippal had placed the sphere recorder he fixed up for me in the airship, ready to follow me wherever I went, and there was also a tracking device attached…
Author's Notes: This isn't an exceptionally long chapter, but I thought that introducing their attraction for each other would be fun. There's more to come too, I promise.
Ataramos: I know how that feels. There's quite a bit of Al Bhed in this chapter too. It might look a little confusing, but I suppose it's worth it.
green-eyed-blonde: I think that her hiding in front of them would have been perfect, if she wasn't so outspoken, but that's what I like about her character.
oOoDancingQueenoOo: Thank you! I love new reviewers!
Fanfic-Lover: It might be a while before the kidnapper is found out. The idea of the title and everything is that I'm going to try and put her in as many spots around Spira that I can.
Jezzi: Thanks, and sorry my update took so long. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted.
witchyinuyashagurl: Thank you very much for humoring me! It's nice that you read and review so often. I appreciate it very much!
