6 Years Later
The sun peaked out from the horizon, in fear of clouds before rising; its light exploding through the sky in various shades of red, yellow, and orange then finally bathed the world in gold. The rays traveled like reaching arms, their heat swathing those below in a comforting blanket of warmth to star them on a new day.
The sunlight finally reached a window of a large Palace that rested in the middle of a fairly large city. Through the window lay a sleeping figure; obviously a woman for it lay on its side, reveling through the thin sheets an hourglass figure with waist length strawberry-blond hair and porcelain like skin.
The rays rested over the figure, tickling her face, causing her to open and reveal a pair of blue-grey eyes, and raise a delicate slender hand to shield them, relieving them from the brightness of the light.
Blinking groggily, the woman rose and pulled her thick mass of hair to one side as she left the bed and threw on more appropriate attire before heading to a pair of large doors.
Pulling them back they swung open to reveal a balcony and the beautifully restored city that had been worn down by war six years ago. The only reminder was a large vine covered object that stood on the outskirts of the city.
The woman walked out onto the balcony slowly. Placing a hand on the ledge she looked out over her domain. It was hard for her to believe that she was entering her fifth year as Queen.
Closing her eyes she turned her face upward, letting the rays of the sun gently spread over her face. The cold emptiness she felt inside melted. It was if she was being wrapped tightly in the arms of an unseen protector, being embraced in the wings if an angel.
She felt the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. At first the feeling was awkward since the expression she usually wore was stone, but she felt her mouth turn upwards more and more before smiling fully, her eyes remained closed, relishing what it felt like to truly smile.
Why she always wore a serious expression no one really knew, but no one dared inquire either so they made up stories as people usually do when there is nothing better in their own lives to converse about, thus resulting in slews of rumors. But she ignored all this; she did not have time to indulge in childish and immature nonsense.
She allowed herself one more second of sunlight before retuning to her room to prepare herself for the day ahead of her.
That Afternoon
The Queen sat in her office, glaring at the masses of paper before her as she did everyday before reluctantly reaching for a stack and commence reading.
Today was different from any regular day. In the midst of her reading her page came. He stood patently until she finished writing a letter and looked up to him, an eyebrow raised in question.
"There is a message from Archadies your majesty."
"Yes?"
"The message is…" before he could finish a tall metal clad figure walked up to the entrance of the doorway which, the page had been carelessly left open. The quill the queen was using fell from her hand, splattering ink all over her recently completed letter.
"Him", the page mumbled, embarrassed the door had been left open and offended the message barer had just waltzed up, informally unannounced.
"Thank you," the queen said swallowing.
"You may take your leave"
The page bowed and obliged, casting a glare at the man in metal before exiting the room, remembering to close the door in his way out.
Once the doors closed with a resounding thud, the queen rose. Her long hair was pulled back into a long whip-like braid that caught the light streaming in from the windows, making it look like she was wearing a crown of light. She walked gracefully up to the man, stopping a few feet from him.
The silence that filled the room was an awkward one, but not uncomfortable.
She took more steps forward until she was inches away from him. Though the mask she could see the eyes that had haunted her dreams for the last six years. Reaching her hands up she placed one on either side of his head and lifted.
Meanwhile the man did not move, but stood stone still.
The mask slipped off quickly despite the tough appearance. She held in a gasp when her eyes rested on his face.
His hair, once long was now cut ridiculously short, strands of grey could be seen but overall his hair still held the golden luster it had six years ago. His crystalline blue eyes were still sharp, but held a wiser, more mysterious shine. The scar above his left brow was faded but still prominent.
For some reason she felt a laugh well up inside. A giggle escaped her before she laughed out loud once. The man was obviously taken aback, not expecting her reaction to be so amused.
"Oh, my, my, my" she said looking at him, her eyes filled with that same gleam that she held only for him.
"Where have six years gone?" she whispered, a hand reaching out to feel his hair, while the other clutched his mask in the crook of her arm. Backing away, still holding his mask she nodded her head to signal that he may follow her back to her desk.
"What news do you bring me?" she inquired
"I am to remain in Dalmasca until the Emperor finds use for me again. It seems he had outgrown supervision". He replied, a smile creeping across his rugged features.
"I see" the same grin pulling at her lips.
"The Emperor has sent me here not on political terms but on personal. He believes I should spend time here in Dalmasca to refresh myself since I have not been present for quite some time."
"I was not aware of your arrival. If I had known I would have your quarters ready and fit for you to stay in. I shall attended to that this instant, excuse me…"
She rushed away to call upon her servants. After addressing them with their duties she retuned.
"You were not informed?" he asked once she had arrived.
"No. I was not"
"Panelo and Vaan were informed, I'm surprised the letter Panelo sent did not reach you."
She swore silently. She knew who the culprit would be in the cause of the missing letter.
"Balthier" she hissed under her breath.
"Pardon?"
"Balthier. He's got to be the one who intercepted it. How else would a letter addressed to a queen disappear!"
"Ah yes…" he chuckled.
"I would say our two friends our still up to their tricks."
There was silence once again. Both avoided one another's gazes, almost in shame. Clearing her throat the queen spoke,
"I don't believe a small tour would take too much time from your extremely consuming schedule." She jibed in a serious tone. She felt the inside of her glow brightly, when she saw his hollowed face break into a smile, allowing a warm chuckle to escape his lips.
"Shall we?" she held out her hand, which he took gently, placing a soft tender kiss upon it before resting it on the crook of his arm.
"As my Queen wishes," he whispered in a husky voice that sent shocks through her body, momentarily halting her breathing.
Gulping quietly she nodded to show she had acknowledged his words. They began to walk.
Right before the doors swung open, allowing them to depart she looked up to him. Feeling her gaze he looked down.
"I have missed you terribly. Basch" she admitted allowing her voice to drop to an embarrassed whisper and her eyes to turn away.
"I too have felt a great pain by not being present at your side," He replied, obviously equally embarrassed.
"Ashe."
Taking his free hand he brought it up to cover hers.
This small action brought both eyes back to their original position of studying each other's features. But before their faces could come into closer contact, the doors in front of them swung open, putting a rather abrupt end to the close moment intimacy they were about to share…
I hope this chapter was ok!
Please read and review!
