Disclaimer: I don't own FFXII nor FFX.

Author's Notes: EDITED

Chapter 10: Another Summoner

Balthier had managed to get himself completely clean; there wasn't even just a spec of liquid goo anywhere. Feels great to be clean again. One of the monks of this temple had already cleaned his clothes and they were neatly set on one of the chairs in the room.

After he dried himself off he walked over to the chair and picked up his shirt. It looked and smelled very clean. As he started to put on his shirt the door to the room opened and Ashe stepped through.

"I was just – Oh my!"

Time seemed to come to a stop, as Balthier and Ashe just started at each other with looks of pure shock on their faces. It seemed as though they were glued to their spots on the floor, and Ashe was getting redder and redder in the face.

"U-um…. Sorry! I should've knocked first."

Ashe turned around and faced the door; she held her hands up to her face. I can't believe I just did that! Ashe thought to herself. Her face felt hot to touch, she wasn't sure if she had ever felt more embarrassed in her life.

Balthier, despite the fact, found he was chuckling slightly as he got dressed. He never thought he'd every see Ashe blush, and even though it wasn't the Ashe he had met in Ivalice, it was still Ashe.

"Don't worry about it. It could've happened to anyone." Balthier said as he was putting on his last article of clothing. "Besides, I'm glad it wasn't Vaan or Basch."

Ashe started to laugh.

"You can turn around now." Balthier said calmly, he was smiling.

Ashe turned around slowly, she wasn't directly looking at him, she couldn't bring herself to lift her gaze. Balthier stood waiting patiently, he was curious to know why the young summoner had entered the room. When she continued to stay silent, he decided to try to encourage her.

"You had been saying something?" He said calmly.

"O-oh… Yes! Umm… I-it can wait… I-I'll just wait outside for you."

And with that, she turned around and opened the door and left. I can't believe I just…. Oh!! She thought, though, she did start smiling. She walked over to where Vaan, Fran and a now clean Basch were standing.

"Did you ask him?" Fran asked.

"Uhh… N-no… I decided it would be best to wait." She was blushing.

"Did you walk in on him?" Vaan asked.

"W-what?! N-no… O-of course not!" She went bright red again.

Vaan, Fran and Basch just smiled. The door at the top of the stairs that lead to the Cloister of Trials opened, a woman and a very strong looking man appeared. They walked down the stairs and noticed Ashe standing with her guardians.

"A summoner?" She said.

Ashe turned to face her.

"My name is Ashe, I come from the Isle of Besaid."

"Elza." She said it was an afterthought. "The daughter of High Summoner Raminas, that's quite the name to live up to." She looked around at her guardians. "My, my, my… All these people are your guardians? As I recall Lord Raminas had only two summoners. I have only need of one." She motioned to the man beside her. "Right, Rikken?" The man nodded.

"I only have as many guardians as there are people I can trust. And I trust them all with my life." Ashe said as she took a step forward. "To have this many guardians, is a joy and an honour, even more so that being my father's daughter." She took a pause. "Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways either. So, Lady Elza, I ask of you. Please leave us in peace."

"You do what you want, Rikken, we're leaving."

And with that, Lady Elza and Rikken left the temple. Balthier was now standing behind the others, he had walked out just as Dona had arrived. His arms were crossed.

"Strong and polite. Very nicely handled."

Ashe turned around quickly, and felt herself blush, she hadn't noticed him there, and she was still feeling embarrassed about what happened earlier.

"Thank you." She said quietly, not looking directly at him.

"We should get going." Fran said as she started to walk towards the stairs.

"Right!"

Ashe started to climb the stairs, followed by Fran, Vaan, Basch and then Balthier. They were now in a narrow corridor that was lit by torches, a lift was at the end of the corridor. Ashe, Fran, Vaan and Basch got on. Balthier went to step on, but Basch blocked his way.

"You're not a guardian, yet." Fran said when Balthier looked confused.

"We'll be back as soon as we can, stay out of trouble." Ashe said as the lift took them down.

Balthier sighed and looked around. He hoped they weren't going to take too long, there wasn't much to do in the temple. He went and leaned against the railing that surrounded the hole, the lift started to ascend back up to its original location. I wonder what treasure could be down there… I didn't find anything in Besaid… But that doesn't mean there couldn't be anything down here. Though, Ashe's words of 'stay out of trouble' came back into his mind and he sighed.

The door at the other end of the corridor opened and Rikken and Elza stepped through, Balthier sighed.

"Did you two forget something?" He asked when he neared.

"Why aren't you down there with your Summoner and her other guardians?" Dona asked.

"Simple, I'm not a guardian." He answered; he put both his hands beside him on the railing.

"Oh? And you're just going to sit there and wait like a good boy, are you?"

Elza asked smirking. Balthier just shrugged, he wasn't going to let her win that easily. Rikken walked towards him and went to grab Balthier, though he just smacked his hand away. Rikken grunted and looked at Elza who put her hand on her head and shook it. Rikken turned back to Balthier and tried to grab him again, he just sighed and moved out of the way, crossing his arms. He was now in between Rikken and Elza.

"And the point of this is?" Balthier asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Oh, just a game, though its not going as I planned. Rikken, we're leaving."

Elza said as she turned around and left through the corridor, Rikken sighed and followed his summoner. Balthier just sighed and shook his head; he walked over to the lift and looked at it. The thought of what treasure he could possibly find down there. Well… These things do seem to take time… Perhaps I could find the treasure and be out of there before they notice. Smirking he walked onto to the platform

Author's Notes: It's edited! Rikken and Elza are now Barthello and Dona!

I love writing embarrassing moments, they're so much fun!