Penelo's escape
Penelo restlessly looked out the window; far below her was a cobbled rotunda, a fountain burbling the middle. The dusky sunlight in the sky above, made the rippling water in the fountain sparkle like diamonds. It had only been a few hours since she had come to the Marquise's estate; when she got here, she was immediately escorted to the rooms where now she waited. When she had gotten here, she was anxious to see what would happen next. However, as the afternoon wore on, nothing did.
As Penelo wandered around her room, she had discovered the window over looking the main entrance to the Marquis's estate. She had been sitting around for a while but something soon caught her attention. The later it had gotten the stranger the Imperials around the estate began to act. The more they ran around the more nervous she was. Why were the imperials so agitated?
Back at the mines, she could have sworn that she had seen Vaan. "He must have escaped Nalbina, and come to save me." She said to herself quietly, how could he have escaped? No one ever had. But she was sure that she had seen him. He must be in some sort of trouble, and knowing Vaan, if he saw her being taken away by the Marquis he would try to save her. Looking back out the window, she could see several men in armor running around. It was so dark already, she couldn't stand waiting, Vaan needed her, and without her he would get into even more trouble than he already was.
She clutched the handkerchief even harder. He had given it to her, that Balthier. He was with Vaan when he was arrested 'till I get Vaan back', he had said. She couldn't help but wonder that he really if he really had. She needed to get back home, to Vaan, to everyone else that needed her. But how could she escape from here; surrounded by imperials, waiting to throw her in prison. She needed to find Vaan, and get back home. Penelo sat lightly on the bed beside the window; it was so neat, she was afraid to mess it up. It was almost dusk; she needed to get away soon, but how?
A knock on the door made her jump off the bed; "Y-yes?" she called out nervously. The door opened and a woman in livery stepped in, "you are kindly invited to dine with his Excellency the Marquis this evening." Penelo just stared at the servant, an invitation to dine with the Marquis. This was strange; she had never imagined something like this happening, being invited to eat dinner? She looked at the handkerchief in her hand, she needed to escape, and making conversation with the marquis?
That seemed unimaginable, she an unsophisticated street rat; dining with royalty? When the servant said invitation, it sounded more like an order. She nodded her head, and walked over to the servant. The servant bowed and began walking briskly down the hall she stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do, and then began walking to catch back up. The servant looked over her shoulder, and seeing Penelo, lagging stopped for her. Penelo looked all around the extravagant hall. She could see that this was only a small portion of the palace; she could hear clanking armor as Imperials were running around nearby. The servant coughed and she began walking again.
It was awkward, sitting across from the marquis, the ruler of Bhujerba. Even though the table was small, it was filled with more food than she had ever seen. She was so nervous that she couldn't eat anything, just occasionally trying to drink some water. Her hands were shaking, slightly as she toyed with the fork in her hand. She hadn't said a word since she had come in and the Marquis seemed preoccupied. She looked around there were a few servants standing by the wall, waiting for anything that might be needed.
It was very quiet; the Marquis was looking at a piece of paper studiously, deep in thought over something. Just as the Marquis looked up from the paper with a troubled look on his face, there was a knock on the door. His head jerked towards it, "Yes?" he said calmly. The thick door through which the man spoke muffled the reply.
"M-lord, an urgent message from Judge Magister Ghis."
The Marquis nodded his head; "Come", the doors swung open, and in walked one of the Bhujerban Sainikah. The Marquis narrowed his eyes as the captain whispered something into his ear; he nodded to the Captain and stood.
He looked to Penelo and bowed his head to her, "Forgive me, but I have important matters to attend to. I'm sorry we could not properly talk, but my position demands otherwise of me." Penelo watched the Marquis's back as he limped out the door with the Sainikah. What was she going to do now? The food on the table just stood there forlornly, it would have been nice to eat some of it; but there was so much, and she didn't have much of an apatite at the moment.
The servants had seemed to disappear, and she was all alone now. Penelo sat there for a little wondering if one of the servants was about to come fetch her back to her rooms. When none came she looked about restlessly, maybe now that no one was around she could escape this place. She looked at the handkerchief again. It was a pretty crème color with a small frill of lace on its border. She had to get away from here, now would be the best time. How was she going to find her way through this Labyrinth though? She'd just have to think about that later, avoiding the guards would be hard enough, she needed to remember how she got here, and then maybe she could find something like a servant's hall and another way out.
Penelo stood up quietly, the chair she had been sitting in not making a sound, on the softly carpeted floor. Cautiously she tiptoed over to the door and peered through a small crack. There was no one there; ever so slightly, she pushed it farther open, so there was just enough room for her to squeeze through. Now out in the hall she spied a window not far off, it was night now, the last traces of sunlight gone from the world. She looked down the hall she was sure she had gone down this one before; she recognized one of the tapestries that she had admired earlier. As she had been looking about, she recalled seeing a smaller passage with servants going down it off this one. Maybe it would lead to a smaller entrance.
As she walked down the hall, she was relieved when she found the hall she had earlier. It was on the edge of this part of the building, because there were windows along it. As she walked farther and farther down the narrow hall, she began going downwards, steps would take her closer to the ground. The farther and lower she went the more doors spaced equally apart she saw. She took a turn that lead her away from the outer wall and into an intersection of what must have been the servants quarters.
In the corner of this hall was a basket of newly laundered palace livery. Penelo walked over to it; maybe she could put some on and fit in more. Quickly, she looked over her shoulder no one was there. So, she slipped her hand into the basket and pulled out a tunic that would be about her size. It was soft, and imprinted with the Marquis's seal, it was a bit long on her but it would do, the sleeves were long enough to cover her own and it covered most of her cloths. Gathering it up she pulled it over her head, and let it drape over her. Digging around more revealed a belt, and a cloak. Tying the belt around her waist, and folding the cloak under her arm she preceded down the corridor.
When she saw a servant, she quickly cowered away and ignored them, pretending she wasn't there. Strangely, the servant continued to walk by, not even giving her a second glance. Penelo didn't waste time to contemplate it; she rushed on by, when she took another turn, now for sure on ground level, she came across several servants chatting. They looked at her briefly, and ignored her.
Penelo, ever afraid that they might figure out she was trying to run away; scraped up the courage to ask them bluntly, "Uuu… excuse me, but, where, uum..., is the nearest exit? I was supposed to get something outside in the city, but since I'm new here, I lost my way. If one of you could please tell me where to go I would be very grateful." The servants stared at her for a minute as if they were deciding if her story was plausible or not. One of the servants stepped forward, a woman in her middle ages, she smiled kindly at Penelo.
"Ahh…, I remember when I had to do trips like that when I was your age. Ever on call, doing this and that." The woman told Penelo how to get to a door that led to a path that would take her out into the city. The woman, whose hair was a nice brown color stopped Penelo just as she was about to walk away. "Dear, if I were you, I would wear that cloak over your livery. Some times, it's a risky place to be in at night. Especially for someone who wears the Marquis's colors. With those Imperials running about as they are, I wouldn't be surprised if they would be suspicious of someone wearing palace livery."
Penelo smiled and nodded her head to the woman, she almost jumped when the woman mentioned her cloak, and she thought they had figured her out. "Thank you, Miss. I will take care in the city." Penelo bowed kindly to her a scurried off down the hall the woman had told her to go down.
It really was a lovely night, the air was perfect not muggy, nor too chilly. She almost didn't need a cloak, but then again it would help her sneak about. The estate of the Marquis for all its grandeur didn't have much grass in it. Therefore, finding a bush was rather hard, when she did; Penelo quickly stripped off the belt and tunic, taking great care she folded them and neatly laid it beneath the prickly green boughs of the bush.
Looking upwards again, she caught her breath; the great glowing wings of sculpted Magicite soared high into the air. She had seen nothing like them before, they seemed to reach into the starry sky high above. She always liked looking at the sky, it was brilliant tonight, hundreds of stars twinkling and sparkling. She walk further down the cobbled path, green creepers hanging down from the walls on the sides of the path, occasionally grabbed at her face. She ignored them. As she walked more and more following the paths the maid had told her to. She finally came to an iron grate gate. Walking up to it slowly, she could see it was rusty; cautiously she peered through the grate. On the other side were the guards that always watched over this entrance, they stood vigilantly, staring down the night, and challenging any who dared come before them.
How was she going to get past them? They looked like nothing escaped their eyes. Just as Penelo was about to make a run for it through the gate, when there was a clatter. Penelo looked around to see two imperial guards walking up to the Bhujerban ones. She stepped into the shadows warily, trying to avoid the gazes of those cold metal visors. As they passed her hiding place she sighed, maybe these imperials would distract them. As the Imperial soldiers walked up to the Sainikah, they began talking. This was her chance while the guards were distracted. As quietly and quickly as possible, she opened the gate, just enough so she could get through.
Right as she got through, the edge of her cloak caught, and made a loud ripping noise as she pulled away. She froze dead, and pressed herself against the wall into the shadows. The guards and imperials stopped their bickering, and turned around. Penelo pressed herself even more into the shadows, the guards turned back around. Penelo sagged in relief, they didn't see her. Quickly she walked down the edge of the street pressing against the shadows of the wall.
As Penelo disappeared down the shadows of the street into the city of Bhujerba, a figured moved out from the shadows. He quickly looked back over his shoulder, hesitating for only a moment before he set off after the cloaked figure.
