A/N: Ok, so this is where Alma and Izlude get just a little bit closer than they've been previously ;) I know it's a bit faster than I personally would take a relationship in real life but in Alma's case, there's a war going on that her brother is caught up in and he may need her help so she has to give things a little push ;) Once again, I own nothing of FFT except Sir Justin Timbel, my OC ;)
Chapter 3: The Plan
Over the next few days, Alma thought and pondered over how to gain her host's trust while attempting to obtain information on the Glabados Church and Knights Templar. It was certainly no easy task, not only did she need to come up with a plan but the timing also had to be just right. Even if an escape opportunity were to present itself, Alma still couldn't bring herself to leave without finding out something that would help her brother; she was sure Ramza would have done the same if their roles were reversed. While under the careful watch of her guard, Alma kept her senses sharp to see if she can hear anything that may be of use to her brother as well as herself among the inhabitants, guests, and travelers at Riovanes. It was all she could do until her host visited her once she was returned to her room.
In the evenings, it was routine for Izlude to see Alma and for them to have dinner together. Their conversations always started off casual with the usual drinks and friendly banter. It was after a few glasses of wine that their chats became more personal and intimate. Alma knew that wine was always a good way to loosen a man's tongue, having learned from Ramza, but the problem with that was that she also tended to get pretty drunk herself and any useful information she might have gotten out of Izlude was forgotten by the next morning. On the other hand, she knew she was making progress at slowly getting the young knight blade to trust her enough to drop his guard little by little. What she didn't know was just as she was slowly winning his trust, he was winning hers as well. As much as he liked her, Izlude still hadn't forgotten that he had a duty to get the Germonik Scriptures and Holy Stones from Ramza and that Alma was going to be his trump card in achieving that whether she realized it herself or not.
The first three days and nights went by without Alma finding anything terribly useful. It was not until the fourth day that she had any semblance of a plan. Around noon, Alma and her guardsman got hungry and sat down at a bench in the castle garden for a snack. Though it wasn't much, Justin was nice enough to offer her some bread and cheese he saved from his breakfast that morning. The bread had gone cold but she really didn't mind; she was happy he was being considerate of her despite the fact that she was supposedly a prisoner. Taking her mind off Izlude and Ramza for a moment, Alma started making small talk with Justin to pass the time. It was then she discovered the reason behind his shyness: he had a speech impediment and stuttered when he talked. Knowing how embarrassing it must be for him, Alma pretended not to notice and smiled as she engaged him in conversation about little things such as the food and weather.
"Thank you so much for saving some food for me; your generosity makes a beautiful day even lovelier."
"Y-you're w-welcome!" he stuttered "I-it is be-beautiful t-today be-because yo-you make it s-so."
Alma blushed. "Why thank you, I'm glad you think so."
"I-it's tr-true!" he insisted. "L-look around. D-do you s-see anyone he-here w-who really n-notices? P-people t-tend not t-to notice a-a lovely d-day when th-there's a-a war go-going on."
Justin was right about that. With everything that's been happening over the past few months, everyone in Ivalice, herself included, paid not the slightest head to the weather. Whether the days were bright and sunny, bleak and rainy, hot or cold, no one seemed to notice or care let alone enjoy.
As she looked up from taking a bite of her plain cheese sandwich, Alma noticed a young maid flirting with a young knight, the girl pulling him into a corner for a kiss. Justin did not see them as his back was turned to the couple and Alma tried not to let him notice her looking over his shoulder. Though it was nothing out of the ordinary and other people took no notice of it, Alma found herself intrigued. Growing up in a monastery, she never saw young couples flirting; such a thing was not allowed or tolerated. Whenever she returned to her family at Igros Castle on her winter, spring, and summer vacations, Alma would sometimes indulge in romance novels late at night in her room while her brothers and the rest of the castle inhabitants slept. So of course, she knew what went on between men and women but this was the first time she had seen a couple display affection up close.
She didn't know why, but as she silently observed the flirting couple, her thoughts went back to Izlude and she found herself wishing for evening to come faster so she could see him even though it meant being locked up in her room again. Alma spent the rest of the day passing time by engaging in light conversation with Justin and when the evening finally came, he led her back to her room and bid her good night before leaving and locking the door as usual. As she changed into her new dress, it slowly dawned on Alma that Justin and Izlude were probably the only ones at Riovanes who had the key to her room besides the servants who held the master keys. Since she didn't know which servants had them, that left Justin or Izlude. Alma knew she had a greater chance at getting a key from the latter; the only question was how.
As she sat at the dinner table waiting for Izlude to arrive as usual, Alma's thoughts once again drifted back to the couple she saw flirting and making out earlier that day. While intriguing, she did not think it useful at first. It was not until she really took a moment to think about it when a plan slowly and unexpectedly formed in her mind, something she never would have thought of under normal circumstances.
She could seduce him.
As soon as the thought came to her, Alma found herself blushing furiously even though there was no one in the room to witness her embarrassment. Seduce Izlude? The idea was ludicrous to say the least. How could she even think of seducing a man when she had never even kissed a boy? She had kissed Ramza many times but of course, that was different with him being her brother. It wasn't anything like what she was considering now. What did she know of seduction? Sure she read stories and imagined but never had any actual experience. Would she be able to pull it off in real life? What if she got pregnant? How would she ever be able to face her brothers? Dycedarg and Zalbag would no doubt be furious; even Ramza would demand to know whose child she was carrying.
Alma wished there was another way but try as she might, she couldn't really think of any. Not that she found the thought unappealing as she actually did like Izlude and found him attractive. Still, she didn't feel right about it because she always believed in saving herself for marriage but what other choice was there? At this very moment, her brother was surely worrying himself sick about her and she couldn't just stay here and let it go on as that would make Ramza unfocused and more vulnerable; she had to escape and if her chastity was the price she had to pay, so be it. Now was not the time to be worrying about her maidenhood when the fate of Ivalice and the world was at stake; as for getting pregnant, it was a chance she was just going to have to take.
Alma was lost in her thoughts until she heard a knock at her door. After giving him her permission to enter, she heard a click on the other side as Izlude entered the room, dressed nicely as usual. Quickly standing up, she curtsied before him with her head down, hoping that her blush had gone away so that he wouldn't notice. There was no way she could let him know what she was thinking; if she was going to do this, she had to time everything just right.
"Good evening Izlude, I'm very happy to see you." Alma said cheerfully as she finally stood up to face him, managing her sweetest smile.
"Why thank you, Alma, I'm happy to see you too. I hope Justin didn't bore you too much with his rambling." Upon looking at him, Alma can see that the knight blade hadn't suspected anything, much to her relief.
"Oh, he was no bore; I actually enjoy his company as he has been very good to me. And thank you again for providing such a wonderful dinner; please join me, I am famished and I'm sure you are too."
"Of course."
As they sat down to eat, Alma began the usual light conversation that they always started their dinners with. "So how was your day, Izlude? Mine was the same, just wandering the castle grounds with Justin, not that I'm complaining, it's been very nice outside today."
"Yes, very. It's a shame I couldn't take time to enjoy it as my duties keep me very busy. I don't want to bore you with the details of my work knowing you had to put up with Justin all day." He teased.
Alma could not help but smile at his playful banter. Over the last few days, she had gotten to know Izlude better and did not sense him to be a bad person even though he had brought her here against her will. He seemed different from other Knights Templar in that Alma suspected that he might not know what the church was really about. He was probably just as much in the dark as the majority of the Ivalice population. If that was true, it would be pointless to question him about the church's intentions.
If Izlude only knew what Alma was thinking, he would have laughed at the irony for he believed Ramza to be a dangerous and insane heretic bent on wreaking havoc in Ivalice by bringing down the church and that his little sister was innocent but ignorant of her brother's evil and wrongdoings.
"Not at all, I am very pleased you chose Justin to be my guard; he's very sweet even though he's shy and rambles a lot. He can't help it that he has a speech impediment."
"No, I suppose not. But like I said before, he's a good man and I would trust him with my life."
"I see; he must be like a brother to you…" As Alma said the word 'brother', she looked down and fell silent for a moment, not wanting Izlude to see the sad expression on her face. But the knight blade was very perceptive and noticed immediately.
"You're thinking of Ramza, aren't you?" he asked gently. He didn't know why but he felt a little jealous when he thought about the young Beoulve. They had certainly met, having had a nasty confrontation at the Orbonne Monastery library. As much as he hated to admit it, Ramza's claims about the Glabados Church unnerved him even though he had no reason to believe the words of a heretic. It was pure luck that he ran into Alma and was able to bring her to Riovanes for he hoped she would be able to provide him with answers as well as her usefulness as a hostage.
At least that was how it started out. As he got to know Alma better, Izlude just couldn't bring himself to see her as a prisoner anymore. She was lovely, yes, but there was more to her then just that; Alma's honesty, innocence, and naiveté intrigued and fascinated him like no other had before.
"If you want me to be honest, yes; he is my brother after all. I know he must be worried sick about me right now. Wouldn't you be if your sister was taken away by a stranger and confined someplace you don't know?"
Now it was Izlude's turn to look down, a guilty expression on his face. "I'm sorry" he said quietly "I didn't think; forgive me."
"Oh no, I didn't mean it that way!" Alma cried as she looked up, blushing furiously "I know you were only doing your duty even though we're on opposing sides. I'm not blaming you for anything; you've been so good to me, I can't thank you enough for your hospitality."
Izlude smiled "It's all right, I am not offended. Would you like another glass of wine?"
Alma giggled and shook her head. "We should go easy on the wine tonight as we've had quite a lot these past few days." The truth was as much as she liked wine, Alma knew she had to remain sober if her plan was to work. She also needed to somehow convince Izlude to stay with her for the night instead of going back to his room. Thinking quickly, she took his hand and looked into his dark green eyes which complimented her blue ones very nicely and said "Thank you for everything, Izlude. You've been such a wonderful host and I really want to do something for you in return. I know you must have had a long day; would you like a back rub?"
Now it was Izlude's turn to blush. "Why thank you, Alma, that's very nice of you to offer but you don't need to trouble yourself, really."
"Oh no, it's no trouble at all" she insisted "I really want to. Please come this way." Before Izlude could protest, Alma stood up, her hand still holding his and proceeded to lead him to the bed on the other side of the room not far from the fireplace.
"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable" she instructed. Unsure as what to do but not wanting to offend his guest, Izlude obeyed and sat down next to Alma on the bed. Now that the sun had set completely, the only light in the room came from the fireplace. Izlude wasn't sure if it was him or if the room was getting hotter because of the flames.
"Now stay right there, please" Alma said softly as she moved behind him on the bed. As soon as she was in a sitting position on her knees behind him, Alma reached up and gently began squeezing Izlude's shoulders and worked her way down his arms. Even through his shirt, she could feel how well-toned they were from years of sword practice. She was grateful to be sitting behind Izlude so he wouldn't notice how much she was blushing. This was the first time she had touched a man remotely intimately who wasn't related to her.
Though he hesitated to let Alma get so close to him at first, Izlude was finally be able to relax and give himself up to her care after a few moments; she had a wonderfully gentle touch and he found himself enjoying her attention.
"You're pretty good at this, Alma" he praised "Was massage therapy also included in your clerical studies?"
Alma stifled a short laugh as she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, making the hair on the back of his neck rise. "As a matter of fact, it was. I used to do this for my brothers when they returned home from a long day's work whenever I was on my seasonal breaks. I lived at the monastery for most of the year but returned home to visit my family for parts of every winter, spring, and summer."
"I see… I feel honored that you would do such a thing for me, Alma." Izlude turned around to face her. As he did so, he saw her reach out and gently traced the scar on his right cheek with her finger, a reminiscent of their first encounter.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked gently.
"No, not really" he admitted. "I had to treat it myself because I didn't have time to see a cleric so I have this scar as you can see. But I really don't mind, it's not the first and I doubt it will be the last I'll ever have."
"I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot" Alma apologized. "I was just scared out of my wits as I had no idea what you planned to do with me. But if you will let me…"
Before he could say anything, Izlude saw Alma's hand glow with a soft white light as she softly chanted a healing incantation. The scar on his cheek startled to tingle and when the feeling subsided, the light was gone.
"There" she said, lowering her hand. "It's gone now. Healing potions are good for a quick fix but they won't heal deep scars."
Izlude reached up and touched his cheek; even though he couldn't see it, he knew there was no longer a trace of the gash Alma had given him.
"Thank you, Alma..." Izlude found his gaze lingering on his captive's lovely face, her sky blue eyes looking back at him made him feel exposed, as if she can see right into his soul through his eyes. He wanted to say something else to her but wasn't sure what. As he sat there, thinking of what to say, Alma decided to make her move:
She quickly leaned forward and kissed him.
A/N: Phew, the plot finally thickens! When I started writing this, I thought it was going to be no longer than three chapters but it looks like it will be a bit longer than that. Since I see so few of them, I decided to write a story for Alma and Izlude that is almost canon enough to have taken place in the actual FFT story and this is an idea I've been wanting to try for some time but haven't gotten around to it until now. If you like my story so far, keep on reading for it gets even better and please review! ;)