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Who Are You? And Who Am I?
Chapter 10
"I'll kill you for this you son of a bitch!"
Basch didn't attempt to push Balthier off of him, but he kept a tight grip on the other man's arms in an effort to keep him from choking him, "Balthier I said I was sorry."
"Sorry?" the pirate bellowed, "You're sorry? Vaan is gone, probably dead…and you're sorry!"
Basch didn't know what to say, so he opted to stay silent.
Balthier ignored Fran's gentle hands attempting to pry him off the knight. He glared at him, his chocolate eyes so afire with rage that Basch wasn't sure whether he should be in fear for his life or not.
"If he's dead," the pirate whispered, "I WILL kill you." His voice quivered the tiniest bit when he said this, and Basch knew he meant every word of it.
"We have no time for quarrels, Balthier," warned Fran, "If Cidolfus does in fact have Vaan we have little time."
"He won't kill him until I get there. He's too cruel to spare me the spectacle."
No one said anything as Balthier released Basch and stomped away to the cockpit. Fran was right, they were running out of time, and everyone aboard the Strahl knew it.
Balthier's brain was wracked with guilt. How could I have not heard anything? He thought. How could I have let someone come onto my ship and steal Vaan from my very bed? He knew the answers to these questions. All of them had found the tiny pinprick of a sleeping dart in their necks that morning. Someone had entered the ship quietly, rendered them unconscious one by one…and kidnapped Vaan. Balthier's mind automatically went back to Basch's betrayal, if only he had listened to him, if only he hadn't landed the ship! His grip tightened on the Strahl's controls as he attempted to fight down his own rage, but he could not quiet it.
"Losing your temper does not help this matter," said Fran.
Balthier did not acknowledge her presence, but kept his eyes on the sky.
"Your emotional outbursts put all our lives in danger. We need to think this through, have a plan, and not just go storming into Draklor."
"When I need your advice, dear Fran, I'll ask for it."
"I am your partner Balthier," she said coolly, "I will not be spoken to in such a way."
Balthier said nothing, and she knew she had gotten her point across. He hoped that the conversation was over, but she continued to speak, "We do need a plan Balthier. Cid knows you're coming, he'll be prepared. If you want to get Vaan out of there alive you need to forget your anger towards Basch and focus. We need his help to do this."
Balthier sighed, "I don't need his help."
"So you plan to just waltz into Draklor empty handed and demand Vaan back?" she asked, "And you expect to get out of there alive?"
"I'll have a plan by the time we get there."
"We are already vastly outnumbered Balthier," she argued, "We need every fighter we have."
His jaw clenched, and she knew he was struggling to make a decision, "Fine, but if Vaan has as much as one scratch on him when I find him, I cannot promise Basch will live through the night."
Fran nodded, but said nothing.
There was no point in attempting to use the element of surprise. No point in sneaking around through windows and over garden walls. Cid knew they were coming. He was waiting. Balthier spent a few minutes alone in his room aboard the Strahl when they landed; he needed the time to compose himself. The others were not aware of the extent of the danger Vaan was in, they didn't understand. He tried to pull himself together, tried to stop his hands from shaking. He needed to appear calm, collected, unbreakable, when he faced his father. If Cid knew how much he loved Vaan, it would seal the boy's fate. He had to pretend to be what he had been right up until the moment he met Vaan…a sky pirate with no strings, no cares, and most of all no love for anyone but himself. Vaan's life depended on it. He took a deep breath, grabbed two of his favorite guns, and joined the others outside.
They had no trouble entering Draklor. The guards fell back as they entered, no one tried to stop them, and no one rang an alarm. It sickened Balthier to realize that he still knew the way to his father's office by heart, that he could still find his way through the maze of corridors that plagued his dreams and turned them to nightmares. He knew where Cid would be waiting, he knew exactly where. He would be in the same place he'd been the day they'd dragged Seraph's body from the river. He'd have that same cruel, twisted smile on his face. His stomach churned as he approached the door. How many times had he walked down this hall, gone through this door? Nothing good had ever happened to him behind that door, but he did not hesitate to push it open.
"I expected you sooner." As Balthier had guessed, Cid had not lost his cruel smile.
He shrugged, attempting to give the impression that Vaan's life was not at the top of his list of priorities, "I'm a busy man."
Cid's smile widened, he was no fool, and he knew Balthier too well, "No matter. I am sorry you missed so much of the fun though."
Balthier tried not to let his panic show, "Fun?"
"Oh yes," said Cid, "You see this was all really about getting the princess here. You were just an added bonus."
"This is about Ashe?"
Cid laughed, "You didn't think this was all about you did you? Dear boy, you do have an ego don't you!"
"Then you have no reason to keep Vaan, just let him go you're not gaining anything by keeping him," Balthier argued, and he hoped he didn't sound as desperate as he felt.
"You don't think I'd give up my bargaining chip that easily do you?"
"You're a coward Cid," Balthier spat, "Probably hired some dirty thief to sneak aboard my ship and kidnap an innocent boy."
"Not a dirty thief Ffamran…me."
Balthier froze at the hauntingly familiar voice. He turned around slowly, unable to believe his ears. His knees felt weak and it took every bit of control he had not to scream.
"You…you're dead…I saw your body…he killed you," he stammered.
Seraph laughed, "You always were naïve Ffamran."
To Be Continued…
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