Chapter Nine: Locked in the Dungeon

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XII or any FFXII characters. I do, however, own my OC (Celeste von Valen).


"Tell me about yourself," Balthier said nonchalantly in his smooth tone.

I glanced over at him as he sat down on a large piece of broken rock next to me. His sudden request shocked me. This was unlike him, since he has pretty much ignored my existence since he chased Vaan and I onto the roof of the palace.

"Where do I begin?" I asked nervously. I honestly had no clue what he wanted to know. My heart began to pound in my chest at an increasing rate.

He chuckled, "The beginning is always a good start."

I gulped. He was beginning to make me nervous. We hadn't talked much since we escaped from the palace, and I still couldn't get over my initial reaction from when I first saw him. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest at any moment, but I managed to take a deep breath and relax a little bit. I thought of ocean waves and sandy shores.

"Well, my full name is Celeste von Valen. I was born in the winter time, almost twenty-one years ago..."

Balthier motioned for me to go on.

"My mother is very kind, as is my father. They're friends with all, and loved by everyone. My sister was always getting into some kind of situation with her health when I was growing up, so I was never the center of attention after I was five years of age."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Balthier gazing at me. He was probably wondering where I was from. I slowly exhaled and continued, "I'm from a small island that's located between the mainland and Bhujerba."

He didn't say a word. Could he tell that I was bluffing?

"I'm not too familiar with there being any islands between here and Bhujerba. Of course, being a sky pirate, I know the map of Ivalice quite well…"

My body tensed up. Was he going to start interrogating me?

"You're hiding something, though I cannot tell what. I do not like the thought of that."

My mind went blank. Had I just killed my only shot of being in Balthier's favor? My only redemption was to counter his words with exact precision.

"You think I'm hiding something? What about you? I think you are definitely keeping your own secrets in the dark."

Balthier displayed a smirk of approval.

"Cunning little minx, aren't you? I like that. You've got spunk."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I think I just won his favor back.

.

.

After another ten or twenty minutes of Balthier and me exchanging cleverly hidden insults, Vaan stirred from his unconscious state.

"You're awake," Balthier bluntly stated.

Vaan sat up, shaking off the foggy feeling that comes with being disoriented.

"Where are we?"

"Prison, where else? More a dungeon, but it's really all the same."

Vaan looked around, trying to get a bearing of what was going on. He moved his hand, involuntarily making it touch a Bangaa corpse. He let out a short scream, stumbling away from it.

"Relax. It's just a corpse. Jump at every little thing down here and you'll wear yourself out," Balthier yawned, "It's not even a proper dungeon. They just sealed off the bottom level of the fortress. Take a look around. We're not the first they've thrown down here."

Vaan's eyes frantically darted back and forth.

"Where's Fran?"

I sat up straighter at the mention of her name. She was my only competition for Balthier, as far as anyone knew. Whether Ashe had any interest in him was uncertain from behind the controller.

"She's off trying to find us a way out."

I turned my head away from Balthier. I wondered what kind of relationship Fran and Balthier really had. The relationship that wasn't exposed in the game? Were they just partners? Or were they romantically involved? We heard another scream and we all stood up.

"Remember what curiosity killed. Just a friendly word of advice. This is all the water we've got. I'd save your strength if I were you," Balthier said as he sat back down.

I decided to stretch my legs so I walked out of the small room with Vaan by my side. No telling who might try to do something to me. I wish Balthier would have gone with us, but he seemed to think that Vaan could protect me. Hopefully nothing bad would happen...

.

.

As Vaan and I walked around, I saw every guy in there staring at me and watching me. It was like I was a gazelle and each one of them was a starving lion. Not good. I prayed Balthier would appear beside me, but he didn't. I sighed and walked through the door to the coliseum. The sunlight blinded me, causing me to gasp and recoil like a classic vampire. Just as I stepped back, a dead Bangaa fell from one of the floors above me, followed by a red Bangaa who wasn't quite gone yet. His raspy voice pleaded out for me to help him. There wasn't much I could do for a fall like that, but I could try my best. Right as I was about to step towards him, two large Seeqs jumped down and beat him to death. I let out a cry.

"He was defenseless!"

The hostile Seeqs approached us, muttering in some weird language.

"Vaan, we have to run."

I turned to grab his arm, but it was too late. A third Seeq jumped down and hit him with a club, not killing him, but rendering him unconscious. I screamed as the Seeq started towards me.

.

.

When I woke up, Vaan and I were in an enclosed arena with the three Seeqs surrounding us. I didn't like the odds of this. We were outmatched and unarmed. A voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Something stinks in here alright. I've changed my mind. It's not a dungeon. It's a sty."

I silently cheered. Balthier had come to our rescue! The Seeqs were saying something but I couldn't understand them at all.

"I said you're the one who stinks, Hamshanks. Hear me now?" Balthier looked down at them, cracking his knuckles while giving them a glare so intimidating that it gave a whole new meaning to the saying "if looks could kill" before he jumped down into the arena. He gracefully jumped, landing perfectly and elegantly. I blushed as I looked upon him. Now was not the time to think like that…

"You all right, Vaan?"

Vaan didn't say a word, he just looked around.

"What about you, Celeste? Are you alright? If they touched you, let me know. I'll take care of them."

I nodded, clutching my head as I did so. "I'm fine; I just have a huge headache from when they knocked me out."

Balthier looked even scarier than he did before he jumped down.

The fight was easy, even without melee weapons. Most of the prisoners had gathered around, watching the entertainment. Once we had taken care of the Seeqs, the enormous gate that led to this room from the upper levels opened loudly. The prisoners scattered back into the Stockade. Imperial soldiers marched through, one officer taking the lead. He took his helmet off and surveyed the arena. He didn't see us, thank the gods, for we were already hidden, but he was suspicious. A green Bangaa walked up, pushing the officer out of the way.

"Great. They just don't give up, do they," Balthier whispered to us, "Now is looking like a good time to leave."

Fran appeared at the gate, "Through the oubliette, there's a way out. Only-"

"Only you sense the mist." Balthier finished her sentence. Fran somewhat nodded, and I saw the look she was giving Balthier.

I was getting jealous pretty fast, and I could feel my blood beginning to boil. The three of us crawled quietly under the bottom of the gate, just as the officer burst into an argument with the green Bangaa.

"What did you call me?! Say that again!" He yelled at Ba'Gamnan, the annoying green Bangaa.

"What, you couldn't hear? I merely said that the lot of you are fools. If you've got the Sky Pirate in your hands, where is he?" Ba'Gamnan yelled back with just as much anger.

"You'd have done better, Ba'Gamnan? By your own words, it was the Imperial Army who caught this Sky Pirate of yours. We've done your job for you! We don't require the assistance of filthy headhunters. The Empire will restore order here."

The officer seemed to think the Imperial Empire was the most powerful thing in Ivalice. Oh, he was quite wrong indeed.

"Eh? What's that you say now? Maybe I'll whet my blade on you… before I kill Balthier!" Ba'Gamnan approached the officer.

I clenched my fist, attempting to calm the raging lunatic inside me that threatened to break forth. If Ba'Gamnan so much as tried to hurt a single hair on that beautiful head of Balthier's, the whole world would pay for it.

"That's enough, Ba'Gamnan," An anonymous voice called out to the idiot bounty hunter.

"A judge," Fran stated calmly.

"Judge?"

"Hmph. The self-proclaimed guardians of law and order in Archadia. They're the Elite Guard of House Solidor. Which effectively makes them the commanders of the Imperial Army," Balthier informed Vaan, "If you ask me, they're more executioners than judges. Not a friendly lot, at any rate. What are they doing here?"

I gave Balthier a side-eye, silenting judging him for the fact that he used to be a "self-proclaimed guardian of the law and order."

The judge approached Ba'Gamnan and the officer, "The Emperor is willing to overlook race for his more talented servants. However, those that do not show respect will receive none in kind."

Ba'Gamnan looked over at him, "Your Honor…"

The judge ignored him.

"You travel freely through our lands because the Emperor wills it. Am I correct?"

Ba'Gamnan made some kind of noise in his throat, and walked away as the judge and officer walked down the stairs.

"Where is the Captain?"

"We have him in solitary, Your Honor. We're ready to begin our interrogation," The officer replied.

Ba'Gamnan's ears perked at this.

"This does not concern you, bounty hunter."

Ba'Gamnan seemed rather annoyed at the fact that he could not find Balthier.

"Bah! He's in here somewhere! Find him!"

The other Bangaas scrambled around, yelling to each other.

"Time for the hare to follow the fox."

Vaan looked confused, as always. He hardly knew anything.

"The Magicks binding the door to the oubliette are quite strong. Too strong even for my talents," Fran said.

Balthier placed his hand on Vaan's shoulder, "That's why we'll get them to open it for us."

"How is going deeper into this place-"

Balthier cut Vaan off, "What's wrong? You don't trust her? Viera's noses are sharp. If she says there's a way out, there's a way out."

Someone was awfully defensive.

There was a brief pause before we all started making our way up the incline to the next room.

"My sword!" I cried out. I pointed over to a small opening with piles of items inside.

"Ah! The prison repository of wrested relics and raiments."

Vaan, puzzled and confused as always, looked at me.

"So our things are in here?"

"That's what I just said," Balthier retorted.

We picked up all of our items, plus a map and tourmaline ring. Both very useful. We didn't stay too long; we didn't want to get caught again.

In the next large area, called The Black Watch, soldiers were patrolling the whole room. Our group rushed through the large double doors just as they were about to close. Balthier charged forward but then scooted backwards quickly, putting up his arm to stop the rest of us from advancing.

"There are more turnkeys than cutpurses down here. I've had my fill of chains. Let's tread lightly, shall we?" Balthier somewhat whispered.

We all moved stealthily through the Black Watch, making sure to avoid an unwanted collision with the enemy. Once we ran down the ramp and through some pathways, we found a way out. Except the judge and his soldiers were already there, opening the gateway with Magick. We all stayed put, hiding around the corner until they went through.

After waiting a few minutes, Fran said it was okay for us to follow them through the door.