Truths: Dancing

"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."

Penelo

Thoughts and heart raced at an almost equal pace as Penelo let Larsa drag her along by the hand, wondering at the lack of soldiers on the airship. An alarm was blaring, surely the sign that there should be some form of guard out and about, but she felt the young lord squeeze her hand tightly and her fears seemed to melt away. Despite the fact that he was several years younger than she, Larsa had a strange sort of maturity far beyond the limit of his age, the sort that made you feel… safe. Safe and secure, she thought with a nod, or as much as one could be while attempting a rescue mission on what was supposed to be the most heavily guarded ship in the Empire's eighth fleet.

Just how Larsa planned to get Vaan out, Penelo had yet to discover. She couldn't imagine him waltzing up to the guards and asking them to free the very scoundrels blamed for all the commotion at the Lord Consul's fete. Neither would it be logical to actually attempt a break-in, for as he had told her, the Leviathan was considered nigh impregnable. Although that hardly accounted for the fact that they had been able to just waltz in, Penelo hardly wished to test her luck.

Vaan… she could still remember when Larsa had explained that he was a prisoner. Her heart had sunk into her boots, making them heavy as lead, and she had despaired of ever seeing him again. It was hard enough to get through a day without him, without his smile, without his getting them into trouble every time she turned her back. Oh, she'd told him that crashing the fete was a bad idea, but if only she had been wrong! At that moment, she would have traded anything to get him back… and now, all she could think of was the lecture she'd give when they met face-to-face again. Teach him to get himself landed in jail and scare them all to death! She could have grown grey hairs overnight, with the way she'd worried, and her circumstances before Larsa had not made things any better. Being held hostage to attract a pirate she'd never even heard of helped to mount stress rather than relieve it.

"Penelo," Larsa said solemnly, stopping and letting go of her hand. He had a stern look on his face, one that would have looked better on his brother. It almost made her shiver to think. "Stay close to me, and don't make a sound. We proceed with caution." Curious, Penelo blinked a moment before it hit her: the flashing red lights had gone off, and the alarm had been silenced. Someone had turned it off.

They still ran, but with light footsteps rather than full-out sprinting. Larsa kept his hand at his waist, ready to draw his sword at a moment's notice. Penelo wondered whether or not he truly intended to fight anyone who barred his way. All she had was a flimsy dagger for protection, and a girl and a boy could never hope to bring down trained and fully-fledged soldiers on their own.

She could not breathe, not for running, but from the anticipation gnawing at her. Just a few moments longer, just a few more steps, and she'd be able to see that goofy smile again… could she wait those few moments? It felt as though she might burst, might explode into dozens of little pieces that her heart couldn't contain. They were almost there… almost there.

Larsa made a last-minute turn, grabbing her and pulling her along when she stumbled. Instead of the cramped hallways they'd been in so far, they had come into a wide-open room, and in confusion Penelo stopped. The sound of footsteps turned her head, and she gaped as a group of men (and two women) loped into the room. One of them was dressed as an Imperial, though he did not wear the helmet; another was the man who had given her a handkerchief when Vaan was arrested and his Viera partner. That must have meant…

"Vaan!" There he was, looking bewilderedly ecstatic to see her, and her plans of a lecture seemed to dissolve right out of her head. Penelo had forgotten just the way his nose turned up, and the sparkle in his eyes. She had forgotten how it felt to stand that close to him, and again she couldn't breathe, even though he was a good few feet away. Abandoning thought entirely, emotion seemed to swell up into her throat, and she threw herself at him.

Since they had been young, and especially after Vaan's parents and Reks had died, Penelo's parents had very seriously dropped obvious hints about the two of them, most of which set a fire to her cheeks and flew completely over Vaan's head. They had entirely believed that the pair had been made for each other, something that her brothers had set upon with equal (though perhaps for different reasons) enthusiasm. In spite of their constant pokes and prods, Vaan remained blissfully oblivious, and they were able to keep afloat as friends who acted more like an old married couple than anything else. Now, hugging him close for the first time in a long while, she couldn't help feeling something wriggling in the pit of her stomach… something she figured had been cultivating for a long time.

"It's okay. We're okay." His hand was on the back of her head, and she would have thankfully stopped time then and there, thriving in the protection she felt in being shielded from the world. Larsa had his own aura of calm, but this was different… if only it would never end.

Larsa watched them a moment, an odd expression on his face before he turned to look at the woman glaring defiantly at another person Penelo didn't recognize. "Ghis knows you've escaped. You must hurry." So that was why he had never brought up a method of escape. If only people found it necessary to explain things to her before the plan was carried out… it would be much easier that way, especially for Penelo. She hated finding things out last-minute.

With a sigh, Vaan let go and looked down at her curiously. He seemed to be inspecting for damage, as he walked around her in a little circle. Putting her hands on her hips, Penelo frowned at him when he stood in front of her again, barely able to stifle the smile fighting its way onto her face. Noticing it, he smiled back. It was so good to have him back again… she'd missed him. She'd really missed him.

"Lady Ashe."

Now, that caught her attention. In surprise, she turned to look at Larsa, seeing him looking at the woman again. She towered over him effectively, but despite that, he still had that same imposing power that made such a young boy so intimidating. He was ever Vayne's brother.

"By all rights, you ought not even to exist. That you and Captain Ronsenburg were made to appear dead… is like a hidden thread laid bare." Could he really be talking to the one and only Princess Ashe, considered dead by all of Dalmasca – by all the world for two years? Was that strange man who refused to take his eyes off the supposed princess actually the kingslayer, Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg? When Penelo looked back at Vaan in utter confusion, he shrugged as though to say 'what?' Obviously, he had grown accustomed to the strange group of people he'd decided to roam with.

Sky pirates, headhunter Bangaa, sons of emperors, and now dead princesses and knights come back to life. By now, almost nothing would surprise Penelo. She almost wished for the boring, unconventional life of a sometimes dancer, sometimes errand-runner again.

"Your actions hereafter will pull at that thread, and we will see what it unravels. This is our chance. We must see this through, and get to the bottom of it. I believe… 'tis for the good of Dalmasca, and the good of the Empire." Penelo watched him with an almost fondness, having grown attached to the boy after spending so much time with him. It was almost like having her brothers back, though admittedly Larsa had never attempted to tackle her to the floor or picked on her. She would be sorry to see him go… but just as glad to have Vaan back again. Larsa would be missed, but Penelo would not have been able to last much longer without Vaan. She saw that now. "Penelo, for you."

Penelo blinked in surprise, looking down and seeing the young lord holding out his hand. Inside it, she saw what looked to be a little blue glass glowing, and before she could say a word he put it into her hand. In the corner of her eye, Vaan made a face in recognition, and the handkerchief man's eyebrows knitted together. Still, all she could do was take it, and she held it close like it would break if she dropped it. "May it bring you good fortune."

"Thanks." The two groups parted ways, the false Imperial now accompanying Larsa for (typically) unknown reasons. Introductions were made, names were given, and Vaan pestered her with unending questions about her welfare. Things seemed back to normal, normal as things could be what with tagging behind a warrior princess, her knight, and sky pirates. Still, the strange feeling in her stomach from the Leviathan never did see fit to leave. It stayed, it festered, it ate at her, and it wasn't until she finally permitted it to stay that it gave her rest.

Suddenly, her parents' suggestions didn't seem so far-fetched after all.