Chapter Forty Nine

Bhujerba remained a most beautiful place, but Messallina found herself unable to enjoy it. This was not surprising since she almost died here. The dazzling height of the place was a reminder of the pain she might have received. Despite everything, she still found herself taking in a few sharp breathing upon getting off the airship.

The good thing was that this incident allowed her and Vayne to tone down their usual bickering and hostility due to a common enemy. This was very much like their real life- where they united due to their dislike for those who sought to use them.

"You seem to dislike this place due to what happened the last time we were here, but there really isn't any other place for this meeting to be held." Vayne suddenly commented.

The two of them just got off the airship and Gabranth was a few paces behind them. Vayne had instructed him to not remove his helmet or say anything, and Messallina was sure that this unusual request was linked to Vayne's plan. He actually told her that he would let her enjoy the surprise, as she could obviously control herself.

Gabranth was at a distance from them, as if he was out of range, but they knew better then that. He was most likely hearing everything.

Therefore, they were playing their game again. She was a bit surprised at him feeling a need of doing this, because they now had plenty of opportunities to talk privately. Nowadays, their insults were what they were, since it did not need to have double meanings.

Perhaps it was concern. Yes, she would believe that.

"Are you looking for a way to be a widower?" she asked cynically, using her dislike of this place to be more irrational. "I thought that we finally had something in common."

"Do we? I thought that was merely the result of you being careless by walking in the middle of the night with strangers." He retorted before he smiled. "But do not worry, I will naturally protect my wife, although you don't seem to be fully like a wife due to what you are suggesting."

"Oh, so you are a heroic husband after all." she said in a similar tone.

"Of course. But you would be surprised, since this is what my brother failed in."

Their conversation stopped upon the appearance of their host and the other greeted them as if they were long gone children of his that were finally returning.

Vayne actually harboured a certain level of respect for the ruler of this place due to the fact that he still possessed that title. Bhujerba was by no means undesirable, yet it remained independent and it would continue to exist like that for a long time.

Some mocked Ondore for his seemingly acts of submissiveness to the two empires, but Vayne long learnt that this was merely a part of the other's strategy. It was even fair to say that Ondore provided Archadia and Rozarria the excuse of not fighting in a most risky battle by pretending to be so harmless and obedient.

Should they desire to fight, Bhujerba would be a very difficult enemy. Victory would not be fully certain, because war was the choice of the people too.

"I am pleased to welcome you to my city again, Lord Vayne and Lady Messallina." Ondore was saying. "And I congratulate you two on your marriage."

"Well, I certainly had a most spectacular view of the city." Messallina said sweetly while Vayne added: "Yes, and she almost made history."

"But that is the past. Today, this meeting is for the future. Surely," the words of optimism were accompanied by a rather dark tone. "Mentioning the past would only hinder the development of the future."

"Then I hope that your words will be followed by everyone." Vayne said easily. "I do not mean to doubt you, but I seem to have a habit of being paranoid and skeptical."


The negotiation was to take place indoors, although their host certainly tried to make the area less formal. Upon this, Vayne found himself wondering whether the Marquis was being practical or idealistic once again.

Luckily, the others were probably more predictable.

Rasler was already in there with his wife. The young man's smile made what type of men he was too clear. He believed that things would get better and to face the ugly part of reality in regard to ruling would probably be too much for him, and some bit might even be a fate that was worse then death.

The blond prince immediately made Messallina think of her first husband, but that was only for a short time. Despite the effect that Tudor's smile had, it could never be akin to this young man's smile.

A smile that has yet to be soured by sorrow and betrayal. If this prince was to face what Vayne had to do, then she was sure that he would have a breakdown, or he would probably refuse and choose death instead.

Honourable? Heroic? Foolish? Regardless of what the circumstance was, death was death and it put an end to any heroic deed.

The Crown Princess was smiling at her husband. A clear indication of how their marriage was a happy one, because Messallina was sure that the other's acting was not so good. This was confirmed due to how the young girl's smile immediately disappeared upon seeing Vayne. The words of greeting were clearly a recitation that she was forced to do, as her expression was saying something completely different.

Reports said that the princess was one who could fight very well, and the young girl's clothes certainly reflected that. Perhaps it was due to Archadian dressing style involving a skirt that flowed to the ground with sleeveless dress being reserved for the most inner dress or a nightgown, but Messallina felt that the crown princess' dress was a bit immodest. Maybe it was alright for a peasant girl and perhaps even a rebellious noble woman, but on a princess in a state negotiation?

To give the girl some credit, she had a dress robe on, so that extreme outfit was probably battle apparel for emergency. However, since the dress robe separated at the legs, it failed to fulfill the initial purpose.

Not that she needed to fight, since they were well guarded.

The first guard was actually a young woman. Her dress was rather similar to the princess, but what was unsuitable for the princess could be the opposite for a bodyguard.

Somehow, Archadia gained a reputation of having submissive woman. It was true that there were stereotype and expectations that were borderlining on being prejudice, but there were no extreme discrimination.

It was rather unusual for a woman in Archadia to fight, but this was not an alien thing. After all, Drace's promotion did not cause any unrest or arguments. The skill was not denied to the women in Archadia, it was just usually at the very bottom of the list.

"A little knightly girl and a petite warrior princess." She later laughed with Vayne. "Those who are young and can fight would often think they can do whatever they wish. It is worse with females, because they would accuse any hindrance as bias against their gender, when the real reason is their ill judgment and inexperience. As for the accusations against our home…those people should go and tally the gender distribution of the armies in Dalmasca and Nabradia."

Any curiosity she might have in regard to the young knight was gone due to the other. It was a man whom she has seen many times, even though she was meeting him for the very first time.

A twin brother. Gabranth's twin brother. Either that or it was some divine comedy.

At first, she thought that Vayne's plan was rather risky- what if Gabranth revealed everything this very moment? However, she then realised that this would not matter. So what if the other had a twin?

However, nothing happened. That itself made things rather interesting.


The Crown Prince of Rozarria was a man in his mid thirties, the age that the two eldest sons of House Solidor would be if they survived. There was an air of charm around him, yet they could see the ruthless glint in his eyes.

"Unfortunately, I am alone, as my wife suddenly gave birth on the eve of our departure. You must understand how hard it is to leave one's child behind, Lady Messallina and Lord Vayne."

"Perhaps you should reexamine the efficiency of your intelligence network, Prince Fernando." Messallina clenched out with a very forced smile. "I do not have a child. What you speak of…it is news from a decade ago."

"My consolations then, Lord Vayne, as I am a father myself, I can only imagine the grief that you would feel."

"A consolation that I am unable to accept, as I do not have any child. I never had a child." Vayne said briskly with a slight irritation. After all, the logical assumption was that everyone would wish for an heir.

Even though he was insulting the two of them, the Rozarrian prince was not being a foolish man who was letting his emotions affect him. After all, the insults he gave could be justified as being good wishes, as he could plead ignorance. It would not be believed, but what harm could this do?

This was a skilled politician who was in control of his emotions. His words at Vayne were probably the only indulgence he gave himself, and he had reason enough to dislike Vayne and Messallina. Yet at the same time, he was not doing anything to effect the negotiation.

"Should I be blunt?" Fernando said when the negotiating began, any forced pleasantry set aside. "The position of Dalmasca and Nabradia is simply too dangerous. It is all but impossible for them to continue existing."

"How dare you!" Ashe began, but the other was completely undaunted.

"It is the truth. Our good rival," this was said with a sarcastic smile at Vayne. "Will tell you that they are exactly the same. Dalmasca and Nabradia are simply sitting at a place that is too dangerous. One day, one of us is going to attack and the other empires would suffer a great disadvantage. Even if we don't want it, we'll need to prevent the other from getting it."

"Neither Dalmasca and Nabradia has any intention of siding with anyone. We only seek to govern our lands in peace." Rasler said firmly.

"Reason does not make the world turn." Vayne said simply. "Whether one likes it or not, it is power."

"Because promises are only kept due to power." Fernando said "It seems that we are on common ground here."

"And so you think that you can just decide our fate?" Rasler said angrily.

"We have this meeting to decide how you will live. Is this not better then determining how you will die?" the other Crown Prince said as he tapped the map that was spread over the table, which also included the forces of each empire. "Look at this carefully. You cannot just sit back and live in denial. Choose a side, and you would have managed to buy peace for a while."

There was merit in this. After all, the chosen country would be generous and let the smaller country keep their name and a majority of their freedom. The common people would continue to be well, it was just that the royalties needed to make a few sacrifices in regard to their pride.

The empire that was not chosen could accept this, although they would most likely increase their army in preparation of a possible attack. However, they would be defensive due to the other's new power, and hopefully the other would then feel safe enough without attacking to make a point.

"I will discuss this with them." Ondore offered. "Sometimes, an elder's words would help."

"And it is the elder's duty to guide the children." Vayne said in what seemed to be sincere admiration, triggering a glare from the prince and princess as they followed the Marquis outside.

"Something you no doubt know." The Rozarrian said, and his eyes were actually on Messallina instead of the one that he was addressed to.

"I am a bit regretful that it was not you that I met all these years ago at this very place." Vayne replied. "Perhaps things would be different."

"Well, I cannot be the only one who has foolish brothers."

"You have met my elder brothers?"

"We live in a difficult time, so I judge base on result. Since neither your brothers are my brother survived, they were not successful. Therefore, they were foolish."

"I should have guessed that a crown prince would have such a high criteria."

"One that you seem to agree too. Lady Messallina, you are rather quiet, are we neglecting you?" the other suddenly said.

"I was merely concentrating, since my grasp on the language of this place is not that fluent." She said sweetly.

At this, both men chuckled. The two young royalties were obviously not keeping their voice down. In fact, one could probably guess what they were saying due to the tone that they were using.

"A negotiation with heirs instead of rulers. The result is too predictable." The Rozarrian commented. "Yet for this to exist, it shows that both our fathers are growing impatient. Perhaps we will meet in battle next time."

"Yet it also show that they are idealistic enough to have the meeting." Vayne said. "But even if it worked, the time that is brought would only be a few generations."

"Eternal prosperity is an illusion. After all," the man who would inherit one of the two most powerful empire in Ivalice said cynically, "Not even the gods could achieve this. Just look at Raithwall's descendant- soon to be overpower by the ones that were not chosen."


Author's Note: Vann said this at one stage: "How can he (Reks) protect anything when he's dead?" And I think this policy is very much what Messallina is trying to convey here. As she herself said, she is always focusing on survival, because what can you do if you are dead? As Messallina is more cynical, this story is working with the idea that even though honour and fighting for a cause is good, what is the point if you are dead? As I said, this is a rather cynical take due to what happened to the people I am working with.

In regard to Ashe's clothes, surely I am not the only one who feels that it is rather extreme for a princess? Perhaps one could argue that she was doing that as she was fighting and she was in hiding, but for me, I felt that this was not a very acceptable excuse. She was in hiding, but she was regarding herself as a princess, yet she is not behaving in the way that a princess would. It is probably all the more important for her to continue behaving like a princess. But I admit, I dislike Ashe and I feel that she is arrogant- the treatment that she felt she is entitled to receive is something that she has yet to earn.

The other bodyguard is actually a guest OC that I am borrowing from Frankannestein, because I thought that it would be interesting to do so. To show another point of view. However, you can see that I couldn't really manage to mention her. Therefore, she just had a brief appearance, but hopefully, I can do more later on.

I think I've read a few fan fiction and a few reviews on the game that felt that Archadia is sexist, which I really don't agree with. Therefore, this is my view. I do feel that there is a few prejudiced, but I don't see them as being overtly sexist. So far, I think the only place with gender equality is the Viera, but that is it.

Finally, the prince of Rozarria. I guess he is an OC, and I have to say, I really enjoy writing him. I want him to be a contrast to Ashe and Rasler by being a much elder prince who is more experienced with the world. I also see him as being different from Vayne by being someone who is in a more stable environment, because I feel that Vayne simply has too many enemies. In addition, what happened in the past would have a severe effect. So I wanted Fernando to be someone who, though is experienced and ruthless, is not as extreme as Vayne.