Summary: Rhea races to the aid of Lord Francel before the Inquisitor, Guillaime, concludes the trial. That evening, Rhea and Haurchefant discuss the events of the day and share a private moment before bidding farewell.
Author's Note: WoL x Haurchefant | OC Work w/ MSQ References | Mild depictions of violence and combat.
"Come, Tchu! We're almost there!" Rhea called to her chocobo through the raging blizzard rushing around her. They had to make it in time. Lord Francel's life depended on it! With one of Lord Haurchefant's knights in tow, they raced to Witch Drop where Inquisitor Guillaime was in the process of sentencing Lord Francel de Haillenarte.
By the grace of Halone, they arrived in time and Rhea jumped off her mount while he was still in motion, the great bird slowing down at her side. The knight beside her followed in suit and implored the Inquisitor to stay his judgment until Lord Haurchefant arrived. Yet, the single-minded man would not yield and branded the two of them to be the same as he sought to brand Lord Francel - heretics for defying the will of an inquisitor.
His cronies wasted no time in charging Rhea and Haurchefant's knight, Ser Hourlinet.
Immediately, her father's old tome was opened and aetherical energies surged around Rhea as she began to cast powerful arcane magics to hold off the storm. They had to hold out until Haurchefant could get there and make sure, in the process of the battle, no harm came to the Inquisitor.
So it was, as the blizzard raged, Rhea fought the knights who protected the Inquisitor. One, in particular, was intent on having the female elezen's head it seemed, and so she focused her attacks on him. In a moment's breath, she summoned her carbuncle and immediately set to channel the energies into her egi of Titan to erect a barrier of protection around her. The stones that slammed into her opponent's face were simply a bonus. She wanted to debilitate them, not kill them, after all. These were Knights of Ishgard, sworn protectors of the Faith. As an Ishgardian, she couldn't bring herself to kill those devoted to Halone and Her Will, even if they were bent on killing her.
A hard blow with the bulk of the shield slammed into her as the knight facing her enraged and charged her. Stumbling back at the impact, she bared her teeth. As she looked at him, she noticed the knight bore no sigil of any House or even the Holy See and a seed of confusion, and suspicion, settled into her breast about who he was. Yet, there was no time to ponder such musings for he advanced once again. Pulling energy into herself, she let her aether lash out in a burst of energy that made the knight stumble back.
"Look, look! Lord Haurchefant is come!" Ser Hourlinet cried out as he fought by her side. Though she did not take the chance to look behind her to confirm, it didn't take long until Haurchefant's chocobo rushed past her. Like herself, the Lord jumped off his steed and flew straight into the oncoming rush of her opponent, slamming into him with his own shield.
"In the name of House Fortemps, I demand that you lay down your arms!" Haurchefant yelled but it was to no avail. His opponent had rolled from him and was back on his feet. Gripping something he'd pulled from beneath his armor, the sigil-less knight bared his teeth to Rhea and Haurchefant. A moment later, a deafening screech they knew all too well - as did many Ishgardians - rang through the air.
A wyvern, large and imposing, came flying through the blizzard straight for Haurchefant. Rhea wasted no time calling upon her Ifrit egi as a burst of flame erupted around the wyvern mid-air and brought it to the ground. It didn't stay downed long but it was enough for Haurchefant to re-engage the heretical knight. Rhea set about rushing past him to take on the dragon herself.
The woman who laid both Ifrit and Titan low, who was Hydaelyn's Chosen, struggled to reign in the abject fear she felt coursing through her body as she advanced on the wyvern. She'd be raised on the horror stories and nightmares of dragons, and had even seen first hand the destruction they wrought. She was an Ishgardian and for a millennia, they had not been able to defeat their foe.
Yet she could not falter. She could not let her fear distract her.
There was too much at stake - not just the men fighting at her side but the people of Coerthas and the other Scions as well. Drawing strength from all those who relied on her, hearing the sounds of Haurchefant gaining ground on the heretic, Rhea clamped down her fear and dove straight into the fight with the wyvern. She had felled Ifrit and Titan. What was one little dragon, after all that?
Finally, after a long fought battle, the heretical knight and the dragon had both fallen. Working to catch her breath, Rhea approached Haurchefant's side. She did not sheathe her tome, however. While she had the utmost respect for Inquisitors in general, despite disagreeing with their methods, something about Inquisitor Guillaime set her uneasy and she was not about to make herself, or her comrades, defenseless. He'd had one heretic in his company. That, mixed with her unease, led to a severe distrust of the man.
The Inquisitor and Lord Haurchefant spoke and, by Halone's mercy, the trial was postponed pending a formal investigation. It was only when the Inquisitor departed, along with Lord Francel and the others, that Haurchefant turned to Rhea.
"Let us quit this place, Rhea. Pray visit me at Camp Dragonhead once you have recuperated," he said to her with a smile, then followed after Lord Francel.
Rhea took a moment before she whistled for Tchu, and began the walk back to Camp Dragonhead. The blizzard had calmed to a degree and she knew the walk would be good for her. She needed to come down from combat and take time to think and process.
~.~..~.~...~.~..~.~
By the time she arrived back at Camp Dragonhead, night had fallen in earnest and much of the fort was beginning to wind down. Stabling her dear chocobo, she made for Haurchefant's office and found him, surprisingly, alone. Sitting at his desk, he worked on a letter. Looking up at the sound of the door, Haurchefant lit up at the sight of her. Setting his quill away, he stood swiftly and gracefully.
"You look well, Rhea! May I say what a pleasure it was to fight alongside such a fearless and skillful warrior. Were it not for you, Lord Francel would surely have died defending the honor of his house ─ and I might well have perished at the hands of that heretic and his wyvern. House Fortemps and House Haillenarte shall never forget your service. Now, let us return to the matter of your missing Enterprise!" he said jovially, seeming to be in good spirits. It was infectious and despite her exhaustion, Rhea found herself smiling as well.
With a gesture to the nearest chair, Rhea approached it while Haurchefant came around his desk to lean against the outside of it. Not desiring to sit, Rhea chose instead to lean against the table's edge across from his desk as she folded her arms and looked to him as he began to speak. Her mother would have screeched at her leaning like that, but by Halone's mercy, her mother was not there.
Lord Haurchefant then told of where she could find the witness to the Enterprise's descent. With a grateful nod, she inclined her head to him, "Thank you, my lord. I pray he will speak to me now that this whole mess has been, hopefully, cleaned up."
"He is sure to! Why would he not wish to speak to a woman of your caliber and beauty?" the silver-haired man across from her asked with a flattering smile and chuckle. Rhea could feel the blush warming her cheeks.
"You do much to flatter me, Lord Haurchefant, as well as have done much to aid me and my companions. Thank you, again. Truly, you have gone above and beyond for us. I feel what I have offered in return does not compare," Rhea commented, her eyes meeting his once more.
"Nonsense! You have aided us more than I could have imagined and far more than a simple 'outsider' should," he said, pushing off from his desk and coming to stand in front of her. "Truly, we are more than even in this, my Lady!" He bowed slightly at the waist and reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips as he pressed a warm kiss to the back of it, those dark watery orbs never leaving hers.
The warmth in her cheeks only grew more pronounced as she felt a shiver pulse through her - a shiver not caused by the cold. How many lords had kissed her hand yet none had elicited even a fraction of the response that the brief gesture by the lord in front of her caused. Her lips parted slightly as she drew in a breath and Haurchefant stood up, righting himself. His hand, however, lingered on holding hers for a few moments more before he smiled and released it. She had not been the only one to feel what had passed between them, it would seem.
"Now that your business is Camp Dragonhead is concluded, I suspect we may not meet again for some time. I wish you well in your journeys, Lady Rhea," he said softly, standing just on the edge of being too close for propriety's sake, "May Halone guide and keep you."
Rhea swallowed at his words and the weight of them. How he spoke them was no mere generic parting farewell. They held true depth and meaning behind them, a genuine inflection that showed Rhea he truly meant the full extent of his words. A soft tightness tugged in her chest at the thought of not getting to work with him any longer, or seeing him again for a time. He was right though. Their paths were vastly divergent. Perhaps if they had met as adults earlier, at another time and another place, before she had set out, things could have been different. She doubted it but it was a nice dream.
Alas, they had not met prior to her leaving and Hydaelyn seemed to have a path for Rhea laid out which would take her away from Ishgard once more. "May Halone guide you as well, Lord Haurchefant, and Her Fury guide your sword true," Rhea replied after a moment, pushing herself off from leaning on the table. This brought her surprisingly close to him as she took in a breath. She knew she needed to move, to put an appropriate distance between them as was proper for their society, but she could not bring herself to part from him.
This close she could take in his scent, an experience as warm and inviting as he was. This close, his eyes seemed to shine brighter than any jewels she had ever seen. Neither spoke as they just looked at each other, both knowing what they should do but not able to find the strength to do it. There were so many reasons, after all, they needed to.
"I should go..." Rhea finally said after many long moments, though her voice was a soft whisper between them meant only for his ears.
Haurchefant looked at her for a lingering moment before nodding, though he made no move yet to distance himself. More moments passed with neither of them saying, or doing, anything. It was as if the world faded from periphery and was holding its breath in anticipation for the result of the unmistakable pull the two elezen felt between them. For the briefest of moments, her silver gaze dropped to his lips then back up to his eyes, that connection growing ever stronger. The two began to drift towards one another, the pull , making them both realize in that moment how foolish giving into the pull would have been.
"Of course. I would not dare to keep you. As you wish, my Lady," Haurchefant said, clearing his throat and giving her a smile, "The hour grows late and I saw that blow you took from the heretic. Please visit the infirmary before you retire to ensure you are hale of body. I will sleep much better tonight knowing you are truly well."
Rhea nodded to him with a matching smile, though both were much tighter and reserved than before. "I shall, Lord Haurchefant. Thank you. And, if I might beg a favor? Could you send word, discreetly, to my father and let him know I am well and what has transpired. Should any have made recognition of me, as you did, but not informed me, I would have him know I was in the area and what I aided in. In the event whoever is behind the framing of Lord Francel comes after me for my meddling, I dare not send word directly."
Haurchefant bowed to her respectfully, "Of course, my Lady. I will relay it."
"Thank you," Rhea said, her smile warming. The moment it did though, that pull between them reignited like nothing she had felt before. She knew she had to leave, before she well and truly could not any longer. "May the Fury watch over and keep you safe, Lord Haurchefant. I pray it is not too long before we make one another's acquaintance again. Farewell." With a graceful curtsy, Rhea then turned and made for the door, not daring to look back.
As she approached the door, she heard him reply, "Farewell, Lady Rhea," in a tone that told her he was smiling as she departed and made for the infirmary.
The cold air as she emerged was bracing and, mercifully, helped clear her mind. Yet, as she made her way across the courtyard, she could not shake the feeling that something profound had happened in that office. Reaching into her pocket, she felt the soft cloth of the embroidered handkerchief there and smiled. Hydaelyn might have claimed her and set a path for her, but she knew in that moment destiny would not lay down quietly in deference without a few meddling moments of its own on the side.
Inspirational Soundtrack Song: Liara's Theme - Sam Hulick (from Mass Effect 3)