A/N: Sorry for the wait! My friend 4thespada-ulquiorra is working on this with me and this was her chapter, so we both hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: We do not own Tales of the Abyss or its characters, just Lissa, Armina, and Jason.
Lissa whistled under her breath, watching the Kimlascan soldiers backs, both amused and a little taken aback. "Wow these guys are really territorial, aren't they? Do they not trust us that much?"
"Well we haven't really given them reason to trust us in the past now have we?" Jade pointed out with an ever-present half smile.
"No, I guess not." The younger girl grinned. She was very proud of her country, even when it did something Kimlasca was against. Scratch that, especially then. Those two randomly appearing twins glanced at each other anxiously, apparently aware of these thoughts, and took a step back in surprise as Lissa suddenly ran forward to stand beside their leader.
"Hey-" The boy began, moving to push her away but freezing when Armina shot him a warning look.
The mocking smile returned, and Jade turned to the other soldier. "Relax. I assure you she's perfectly harmless. Well, at the moment at least."
Lissa, perpetually oblivious to such uninteresting things, merely turned to Armina and grinned. "Hiya! So how old are you anyway? You look pretty young to be a ranking officer!"
Her subordinates glared, but Armina smiled down at the other girl. "Older than you, I would say. I'm nearly 21- my birthday is in two months."
Behind her she could hear the twins complaining, Katrine was leaning over and whispering very obviously to Blaine. "That kid's too close to Commander."
Unsurprisingly, her "sneaky" behavior was noticed. "I thought she was a captain today?" Jade wondered with false surprise, smirking at the girl's blush as she corrected herself.
"R-right." She mumbled, glancing at her brother pleadingly. Blaine merely shook his head- he knew better than to get on the Necromancer's bad side.
"Don't worry about Vasilisa, she's perfectly harmless when she wants to be. Unless you're afraid your "Captain" can't handle "that kid"?" Jade assured.
"Of course I'm not! It's just a matter of protocol-" Katrine snapped, looking ever more flustered.
"Save it, Katrine. He's baiting you." Her brother hissed, grabbing her by the shoulder sternly.
"Successfully I might add." The twins jumped at their "captain's" voice, and Armina couldn't resist a slight smile as she glanced over her shoulder at the pair. "Learn to control your temper or you'll never be given any assignments." She warned before returning her gaze to Lissa, conscious of her chance to learn more about her potential enemy. "So how do you know Jade? I'm assuming he's not just a comrade in arms, considering you're obviously acquainted with the emperor."
Jade frowned at the question, recognizing Armina's intentions, but Lissa merely smiled and replied in an excessively hyper tone. "Well I guess you could say Jade's kinda like my uncle. See him, the emperor and my dad were pretty good friends growing up and when my dad died Jade took me in. So I grew up around him and Emperor P."
"Yes and that's something I sometimes regret." The older Malkuthian soldier cut in with a theatrical sigh.
Lissa turned and stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. "Oh you know your life would be a lot more boring without me around!"
There it was again, that smile. Thought it wasn't directed at her Armina felt her blood flare at the sight of it. She'd always hate that smile. "Yes I suppose without you the only one annoying the Emperor would be me."
Lissa grinned, amused, and turned back to her companion, oblivious of her contained rage. "But anyway, my father's will said I'm stuck with the Colonel there until I turn 18, which should be in about 5 months."
No time for getting bothered. Armina adapted an amused expression and cast Jade a slightly scornful look. "You? Raising her?"
"She does a fairly good job of taking care of herself."
She would have to, with him as a "father". The blond girl couldn't resist smiling at this image before halting in front of the guard protecting the elevator they had just reached. "Malkuth emissaries. They checked out and have with them a letter from the emperor. Let us pass."
The poor guard looked petrified. His gaze swiveled from Armina to Jade and back again-skimming over Lissa, much to the girl's annoyance- before saluting awkwardly and stepping aside.
"Come on." Armina beckoned for the others to board, waiting until they all had done so before stepping onto the elevator and signaling for the knight to send it up. "I can't imagine living with someone as annoying as him. I grew up with my uncle, Jason, but I'm on my own now."
She may as well share some of her own personal information, but Blaine didn't seem to see the intelligence behind this. "Is it really smart to be telling her this?"
Armina shot him a look that made the poor boy lower his head, admonished. "Sorry, Lissa. I've taught the members of my squad to let the enemy know as little about them as possible. They seem to be forgetting we're not currently at war. Sometimes trust in a potential foe is necessary to make them your ally." The speech was ruined by a chuckle from Jade, who seemed to find the term "squad" unbefitting of an assassination corp.
Lissa stared at the others in surprise, unused to such cold behavior, but grinned all the same. "Well you don't gotta worry! I'm your friend!"
The girl beside her, Katrine?, scoffed. "Don't you think you should get to know someone better first? Especially when they're from a rivaling country?"
Before she could respond Jade cut in, sighing at the twin's behavior. "Vasilisa is very friendly, which you'll find out if you stay with her long enough."
The girl in question crossed her arms and glared, snapping a retort immediately. "Why do you keep calling me that? I told you a thousand times its "Lissa"!"
Her stand-in uncle merely smiled. "Because I find joy in annoying you."
She continued to glare, accustomed to his rude behavior. "Of course you do." A cough drew her attention away, and she turned to see a white knight-the cougher she supposed- guarding a lavish Victorian mansion. "Oooh who lives there?"
Armina narrowed her eyes, her tone no longer welcoming. "The Duke Fabre and his family."
Jade, well aware of this particular eccentricity, smirked. "And his family would be?"
"The Duke's family is under my protection-I'll say no more about them than I have already, something you know very well." She snapped, fixing him with such a cold expression that the others flinched, though the target of such malicious behavior was perfectly calm himself.
The colonel smiled again, perfectly aware of how much she hated it. "Yes, I do, but you're almost as fun to annoy as Vasilisa is."
Judging from their expressions the twins expected fireworks, but Armina merely smiled and pointed to the castle. " I bet you can guess who lives in that one."
Vasilissa only nodded vaguely, still watching the manor curiously. Blaine shot her a nervous glance, remaining on the elevator with his sister as the others exited. "We'll head back now if you don't mind, ma'am."
"Carry on."
The two saluted, then vanished with the same technique their father had performed earlier. The guards jumped involuntarily, perhaps having expected them to use the elevator. Jade raised a curious eyebrow, but Armina met his gaze coldly.
"Shall we?" She said, waiting for the Malkuthian pair to continue on before following in the rear.
Lissa eye's were still fixed on the manor as they walked. "The Duke huh? Cool! I wonder what he's like…"
Jade shook his head slightly at his niece's behavior, no doubt sensing Armina's annoyance. She did tend to be overprotective of the Fabre household. As they approached the castle, the guards at the gate, seeing the false captain, immediately sprang to attention. "Captain Armina!"
Jade paid the suspicious looks they held for him no attention. "Well? Are you going to get them to let us in or not?"
Lissa was even less interested, her mind on the décor, of all places. "I wonder if its anything like the emperor's palace..."
"At ease." Armina waited for the command to be executed before continuing, "This man is an emissary from Malkuth with a letter from the emperor. You're to let him pass as long as he's with me."
The guards shared an anxious glance, silently daring the other to speak, until one brave soul poke up. "Well, ma'am...we're not supposed to let anybody in without permission. You can come of course, but.."
"I've given them permission. Or is that not enough for you?" She stared down the men, all of whom was thicker and taller than she, until they looked away nervously and made room for them to pass. "Come." She ordered, leading the way into the castle and drawing her sword.
The colonel seemed unimpressed by this show of political power, merely turning to reply to his niece's inquiry. "I think you'll be surprised by the difference in architecture. The emperor has a much more welcoming taste in decoration." He glanced up as he followed the blond woman inside, smirking at the sight of her sword. "Ready for battle, Captain?"
"If I need to be."
Lissa missed the tension, so thick the servants were shooting them anxious looks, passing between the two, glancing at Armina's sword curiously. "Do we need to be ready to battle someone?"
"I think the captain was talking about us." Jade explained, smiling slightly.
For a moment she seemed confused, looking first at her uncle then at Armina. "Oh! Well we're not gonna fight anyone! At least I don't think so..."
He sighed, shaking his head and turning to the older woman. "Just ignore her, and show us to the king."
"Hey! That's not very nice Jade!" Lissa protested, glaring.
"I don't have to be nice to you. I'm your guardian."
She stuck out her tongue at him, missing the looks this earned her from the business-minded castle guards. "Maybe I will fight someone. You!"
Armina smiled slightly, the first one with actual humor behind it. "Oh, trust me, you don't want to do that. You there." She turned as a servant ran past, beckoning her over.
"Yes, Lady Owell?"
"Tell the king I'm requesting an audience for myself, Colonel Jade Curtiss, and Major Vasilisa Darrigan regarding the Malkuth soldiers who've just docked."
The servant bowed hastily then bustled away to open the enormous double-doors leading to the throne room, struggling for a moment to close them herself. Once she was gone Armina turned back to the two Malkuth soldiers.
"Now we'll have to wait for awhile. The king won't be eager to meet with you."
"Oh the joys of politics" Jade said with a characteristic sigh, turning to his niece. "He'll want to remind us he's the one in control, and will make us wait here for him as long as he sees fit."
"Which may be quite awhile." Armina warned, glancing up as another servant passed. "You there, bring us something to drink, would you?"
The man bowed almost frantically and hurried off to the kitchen, taking a single door off to the far right of the throne room.
"So why you two? Emperor Peony must know you've got quite the reputation. The king would have felt much better about this if it were someone else. Sending you is almost like a threat." The blond woman pointed out.
Jade narrowed his eyes slightly, looking more frustrated than angry. "Not everyone is as opposed to war as the emperor would like."
Lissa nodded her agreement. "Mhm. Some of the soldiers and other officers think we should start a war, and take control of Kimlasca. But I think that's stupid!"
"Yes the emperor thinks a war is pointless. And seeing as how he trusts us more than anyone else in the Malkuth military, he sent us to be the emissaries."
"Well you could have come by yourself. I don't see why I needed to be drug along with you." The younger added, sighing with annoyance.
Jade smiled slightly, which both girls knew was never a good sign. "I told you Emperor Peony wanted you out of his hair. He said you were becoming a pain already that early in the morning, and that I was to take you with me."
"Well he needs to lighten up sometimes. I just try to get him to have fun. And you annoy him a lot more than I do." Lissa countered, making a fairly good point that Jade merely shrugged off.
"I've heard how you tease the emperor like a little brother. He must be very patient." Armina put in after watching this brief exchange, clearly amused.
"Oh not at all. He's just numb to it by now." He assured with a pleasant smile.
Ignoring this minor show of sadism, the acting captain continued, "Well I've heard he's extremely relaxed, parts of the castle that he visits frequently are an utter mess, and he lets his pets have the run of the place."
Of course Jade knew the truth behind this. No doubt Armina had been to the castle a number of times, whether disguised or hidden was anyone's guess. He seemed to find this amusing, however. "Oh? And who told you this?"
"Oh, just rumors floating around. So then, how long will you be in Kimlasca? If this peace treaty requires formal discussion, you'll need lodgings, and the king would never allow you to stay in the ambassador's room of the castle."
"There's always the Tartarus if it becomes necessary. But we shouldn't be here long."
"Let's hope not."
Now even Lissa could spot the uneasy peace between the two, and her eyes flitted between the pair suspiciously. "You guys seem to know each other more than you should."
"Well…you could say that. We met a few years ago." Jade admitted, still watching Armina with an uninterpretable smile.
The young girl watched him for a moment, pouting when she realized the importance of this. "It's not fair. You get to go all over the place and meet people but I'm only allowed in Malkuth."
"That's because you're still technically a minor. No matter what your rank is, until you're 18 you're to stay in Malkuth territory." He replied in a tone that implied this conversation had been replayed many times over.
"I'm not in Malkuth right now." She countered.
"Well this is a special circumstance that allows you to leave with a higher ranking officer than yourself. You've done this before, going to Daath." Jade retorted with a pointed look.
Lissa crossed her arms and glared, then suddenly perked up as an idea seemed to dawn on her. "Oooh if we stay could we stay in that awesome looking manor outside? That'd be so much better than the lame Tartarus!"
Jade cast Armina a wary glance, and seeing her eyes narrowed in his niece's direction shook his head. "No, I would say not."
Once again the assassin was looking far less than friendly, and when she spoke it was in a bitter tone. "We'll let you into the castle with a guard because it's necessary. No Malkuth soldier will be allowed to enter the Duke's home-especially not overnight. If needed we'll pay for you to stay at the inn."
"The captain here is very over-protective of the Fabre family. You'll find she can become quite annoying about it, like a mother hen." He stage-whispered, bending down to speak in Lissa's ear.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Armina snapped with more dignity than most could retain after keeping the colonel's company for long.
He straightened up and smirked, aware that her temper was on the verge of boiling. "Good."
Before she could retort the servant returned, knees shaking under the weight of a heavily laden tea tray. "H-here, ma'am."
Armina quickly relieved him of the burden, sighing to herself. "You didn't need to bring so much."
"When I mentioned Lady Owell and the colonel everyone in the kitchen staff became frightened and went overboard..." He said apologetically, looking down as if he expected to be scolded.
Even for her it took an effort not to smile in what would no doubt be taken in a mocking way. "Well, thank you. You may go."
No sooner had the servant bowed and rushed away than Jade laughed in what most certainly was a mocking manner, though at the soldier and not the servant. "Quite the reputation I see."
"I'm sure they were more worried about offending the Necromancer than myself." Armina replied sarcastically, offering a cup of tea and a cookie to Lissa. "Hungry?"
She took the cup, glaring at the drink as though it were poison. "Why is everyone afraid of you but not me? It's not fair."
Armina couldn't help raising an eyebrow at the complaint, but Jade merely sipped his drink and smiled slightly. "You're only 17. Give it time and you'll eventually make a name for yourself. Especially if you keep acting like you do on the battlefield."
That brought a grin to the formerly sullen ace. "I can't help it if I get really into the fighting."
"Yes, but when you fight you pretend its a game, counting how many soldiers or monsters you take out with your hammer."
"Well it makes it more fun that way!" Lissa protested, drinking some of her own tea before turning to Armina. "So why are you so protective of the Duke's family?"
For a moment it seemed the blond woman would refuse to answer, a disapproving scowl implying she had no liking for the younger woman's war tactics. "Hm? Because part of my job is to guard them, or rather, the members of the royal family directly linked to the throne. Luke is the crown prince, the first thing I ever did as a soldier was learn his habits, routines, allergens, and anything else that might be necessary for keeping him safe or detecting an unusual change in his lifestyle, which could mean many types of physical and mental danger."
Jade nodded and took another swallow of his drink. "You've met Emperor Peony's personal guards, haven't you? The captain here is something akin to that."
"I do go out to battles and war though, so I have regular soldier training and duties on top of my other orders." Armina explained before drinking a bit of tea, swishing it around in her mouth, and smelling it before taking any more.
"Ah, she's also rather suspicious." The colonel explained with a slight chuckle.
"It's not like I'm paranoid. Chances are someone would be willing to poison a cup of tea that might reach the famed Colonel Curtiss."
"As I'm not dead yet, I'm assuming you're incorrect about the kitchen staff seeking to kill me." Came the retort, accompanied by an almost defiant sip that finished off the potentially suspicious drink.
Lissa was looking down at her cup suspiciously after all the poison talk, but was evidently as disinterested as her adoptive uncle and merely shrugged and drunk more. "So Luke is the crown prince? Is he the king's son then?"
"No. As I recall the king only has one child, a daughter. Her name is Natalia I believe, am I right?" Jade turned to the other adult, who nodded stiffly.
"Really? Then who's Luke? And how old is he? Is he cute?" In the typical matter befitting a teenage girl whose only recent male company had been a father figure, she smiled dreamily, imaging various appearances for the boy.
"Luke is the princess' fiancé, one of the many people I protect." Armina said pointedly, her warning lost on the young girl.
"I really doubt you'll hear any more about that." Said Jade, amused, as Lissa continued to peer eagerly at the other woman.
Armina merely shrugged, she couldn't exactly argue the point, and glanced curiously at the double doors. "The king doesn't seem eager to greet us. Relationships with Malkuth have been very poor lately, he must suspect this is a trick. Though those papers seemed genuine, it is true I can't tell from a piece of paper how sincere the words are."
"Well, the king has nothing to worry about." He assured, pointing almost sarcastically to his uncovered eyes which, the acting captain admitted, were unfortunately attractive. "Without my glasses I can't risk any magic or summoning my spear-at least not if I hoped to catch him by surprise. It would take quite a bit of concentration to avoid destroying myself and possibly everything around me."
She shrugged as if to say 'Well, what can you do?'. "That was the point, yes. Though I dare say it wouldn't take long for you to figure out a loophole for that."
Another smirk. "You know me too well."
Lissa, of course, was still hung up on the touchy subject of one Luke fon Fabre. "Aww man..." She whined upon hearing of his engagement to the princess.
"Relax. I'm sure we can find you another rich man." Jade said, smiling at her disappointment.
"How rude! You honestly think all I care about is money?" The girl's indignant glare was met by a very pointed look, and she huffed indignantly. "I'll have you know I don't care about that! I mean, sure it's nice but I'm not a gold digger!"
"Of course not."
Lissa stuck out her tongue then paused and turned sharply, almost accusingly, to Armina. "Hey how come you're worried about him still attacking but not me?"
Jade spoke up quickly, well aware of the assassin's tendency towards behavior so blunt it was borderline offensive. "Because she probably knows that no matter how annoying you are, you won't do anything unless commanded. The captain here is pretty good at reading and understanding how people work."
The story, while true in context despite lying through omission, seemed to satisfy Lissa. "Well that's true. So can we meet this king or not? I really would like to explore Baticul a little!"
'That and the fact that Jade's spells could wipe out half the soldiers in that room before they even had their swords out.' "The king will summon us eventually." Armina replied dryly, hiding her own annoyance at being kept so long. She usually had Ingobert's ear whenever she wanted it.
"If we left now he would take it as a personal offense. No matter how bored you are we have to put off leisure time until later." Jade warned, smirking slightly. "Though maybe we would stand a better chance of making a good impression without you. What do you think, Captain?"
"I think the king will be amused by the difference between Lissa and us all-business surly soldier types." Came the retort, earning an almost smug grin from the girl in question who, while a bit overbearing, was certainly more welcome in Armina's company than the Necromancer.
"Hopefully he's amused in a positive way."
"Well, that's entirely up to what mood he's in at the moment." She turned to the doors as if expecting to judge the King's mood this way, frowning slightly. "He usually doesn't keep me waiting this long."
"Not for publicly acceptable visits, anyway." Jade teased. Lissa glanced between the two adults, surprised, but quickly recovered. Whatever he'd meant it hadn't been the innuendo her mind immediately assumed, it didn't seem as if Armina was capable of any form of romantic involvement anyway, let alone a scandal.
Armina was unaware whether the hint to her true profession or the double-meaning implied by a lack of context was more annoying. "Hmph. Either he really dislikes you two, or he has something important going on."
"Well he needs to hurry up. I hate just standing here doing nothing." Lissa complained, shooting the door a dirty look.
Jade sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Just be patient. I'm sure the king will see us soon."
The girl huffed in response, her arms folded across her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently, immediately perking up at the sound of a door opening. "Yay! Finally someone else to talk to!"
A soldier was hurrying out of the throne room, stopping to salute in front of his superiors. "Captain Armina Owell, Colonel Jade Curtiss, and Major Vasilisa Darrigan. His Majesty, King Ingobert, will see you now."
"Yes! Someone finally used my title!" Lissa cheered with a grin.
"Well, it seems he'll see us after all." Jade mused, smirking slightly at Armina.
This behavior was ignored by the blond woman, who had immediately adapted a business-like manner even more formal than her usual attitude, dismissing the soldier and beginning a brisk walk up the stairs. "Follow me."
"Come, Vasilisa." Jade urged, following at a similar pace with the excited teen at his side.
Armina stopped in front of the doors and swung them open slowly, closing half the distance between herself and the King before getting to one knee. "Your Majesty, may I introduce Colonel Jade Curtiss and Major Vasilisa Darrigan of the Malkuth Imperial Forces."
Ingobert nodded, beckoning for his confidant to relax. "You may rise, Captain."
The woman did so, looking almost reluctant, and glanced over her shoulder to see the two Malkuthian soldiers entering the room. Once they did so she made a quick sign behind her back, unnoticed even by Jade, who was stepping forward to bow to the King. A moment later the door slammed shut with a sound that made most of the room jump, and before Lissa could turn to see what had happened a man appeared, literally appeared at her side.
"Heya Major, how's it going?" He asked, grinning affably. Other than the hair, his was brown and much shorter, he was close in looks to Armina- most likely the uncle she'd mentioned earlier.
She gave him a startled look, but grinned the moment she recovered. "Great! That was so cool! How'd you do that? Can you teach me?"
Jason mirrored her grin, laughing slightly. "Sorry, Kimlascan secret." He teased with a playful wink.
Armina shot him a dirty look. "Uncle, please.
The older man shrugged and whispered like a scolded child, "Sorry."
Lissa pouted upon hearing this refusal, sighing grumpily. "Aw man... This place sucks." She paused for a moment then grinned once more, ready to bargain. "How about a trade? I teach you something if you teach me how to do that awesome appearing thing!"
"Nope, sorry, can't give it away. You might teach it to someone, then she-" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to where his niece was watching him with a disapproving glare, "would be on me like a lion."
"Boo. Kimlasca sucks."
Jade sighed and turned quickly to Ingobert, hoping to salvage the situation. "Just ignore her, Your Majesty. I try to keep her in a cage but it's proving rather difficult lately."
"Hey!"
The King smiled slightly, amused. "She's fine. Very different than normal soldiers, but…"
"Thanks King!" Lissa beamed while her guardian rubbed his temples, no doubt fighting off the headache Armina was beginning to feel.
"Speak more respectfully to His Majesty, Major." She warned, but the comment was quickly waved off by the King.
"She's a child, she has time to learn these things." He pointed out before turning to Jade. "Continue."
"Your Majesty, I bear a letter of truce on behalf of His Majesty, Emperor Peony." The colonel explained with a bow, pulling the letter in question from his pocket.
"Read it." The King demanded, all business as Jade began to dictate their only hope for avoiding war.
A/N: Well hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review and let us know what you think! I'll try to get the next one out soon!