Hey!!!!!!!!! I actually updated!!!! I promise that I'm not dead... I'm well on my way to it though :) I know, its been over a freakin month! I had only a third of this chapter actually written and it took me the whole month to do that little bit too! I just had no time! (Yeah, I know I suck:P) The rest of this chapter I spent the last 24 hours writing it! SO... I am not in the mood for any flames... please XD I hope the lengthy update will make up for any errors within this chapter and for the forever in a day long update. Nothing really important in this one... kind of a bridge chapter and OH OH!! I almost forgot the most important part of this chapter... the long waited arrival of my (oops XD)... our knight in shinning armor, Basch! I honestly hope you read and enjoy it! Also, please review... I need the encouragment:D Also, I can't believe this story has had 1000+ hits!!! Awesome!!
landis icelilly
Note: The sections within the story that are italicized are thoughts or flashbacks/dreams.
Discl: Wow I can actually say that I own something of this story! I own the self created person Zoran. Everything else... the game FFXII and its storyline, the characters of FFXII and Square Enix are not mine! So don't sue!!!
Present time…
Still seated on her slimy stone perch in the waterway, Ashe stared off into the blank space in front of her replaying the night's entities in its entirety.
'How could I have been so stupid?! Why didn't I see it coming?' she rattled through her tired thoughts, berating herself for her ignorance as she smashed her face into the palms of her hands once more and winced when she felt the soreness of her injury from the contact.
Meanwhile, she had been so wrapped up within her thoughts that she hadn't heard the pack of Malboro Overkings lurking towards their primary target… her. It wasn't until she caught a whiff of the distinctive bad breath that these creatures where know for, that she propelled herself off of the step just in time to miss a powerful tentacle from smashing into her skull. After diving into a roll to avoid the attack, she stood tall and swiftly removed her Tournesol from its sheath, holding the large menacing blade in her grip. She assessed the situation, as always; finding her competition to be only three of the slimy beasts and instantly began to charge, blade pulled back and ready to swing.
The first Malboro didn't stand much of a chance. Before its foul foggy breath had cleared its sight, Ashe had already brought the sword down, sinking into its wet scaly flesh as the monster let out a gurgled scream. One heavier blow to its head region caused it to slump onto the damp floor, its blood pooling out and filling the cracks and crevasses around the cobblestones. The last two somehow became more aggressive after they witnessed one of their allies perish to this intruder and began to advance on her. Ashe stood watching as the two slithered into a position so that they were surrounding her and waited, but not long, for they both swung a meaty, slime-dripping tentacle in her direction seconds later. Instantaneously, Ashe dropped to the ground barely missing the ambush and pivoted the sword around her body, slashing all of the oozing arms from the rest of their mutated torsos. She remained crouched to the stone floor as she was bathed in a shower of arterial blood and stench as they both cried their lasts breaths before surrendering to their deaths.
When the echoing screams diminished she rose to inspect the motionless corpses that surrounded her feet and promptly examined the brand in her hand watching the dark red liquid collect at the tip and then, somehow satisfactorily, drip off. She felt her heart pound within her chest from the adrenaline, blood rushing through her arteries and veins, giving her the feeling that she loved to feel… Alive. For reasons that couldn't be explained, her lust to see the sticky red substance shed by her blade brought her back to life. The exhilarating intensity would consume her whole, as she would continue to exploit her skill. This was always the way of it during these nightly training escapades in hopes that one day it will be Vayne in place of these sewer animals she toyed with now.
Lowering the heavy blade to her side, she began to stealthily waltz over to the gated entrance of the Central Waterway Control where she faintly heard a series of screeches within. Surely the dying calls of the felled Malboros would have alerted the many other creatures that infested these parts to the oncoming danger that threatened them. Quietly she creaked open the rusty iron gate finding the source of the chatter as she slipped into the enormous waterway. There in front of her hovered two very intrigued Garchimacera. Caught off guard, they turned and looked at their hume predator with bewilderment.
A fierce grin was plastered on her features as Ashe hastily advanced on the ugly winged beasts, twirling the massive sword within her right hand. Almost as soon as the thing opened its mouth to let out a warning cry, it was greeted with the bite of her bloodied brand, silencing the horrific melody. The same fate was soon rewarded to the other, for when it tried to offer cover to its fallen friend; Ashe merely yanked the brand out of its sternum and propelled it into the heart of its protector, rendering it dead.
She leisurely withdrew her bloodstained sword out of the pile of flesh and bones decorating the ground and froze when she heard the clanking footsteps from a pair of thick armored plated boots contacting the stone from behind her.
'Damn! Who could that be?' she rapidly pondered as she darted down the small path, hastily concealing her body behind the pillars of the northeast floodgate. With her head pressed back against the damp column, Ashe patiently listened to the droning of the heavy footfalls that were quickly advancing closer to her.
Her adrenaline was still burning within her veins but this time it was different and all too familiar at the same time. The feeling wasn't a rush of boiling heat but that of a frostbitten cold that seared throughout her limbs. Ashe squeezed her lids tightly shut and willed herself to calm her breathing pattern. Not feeling to keen on this new sensation of hers, she mentally tried to shake herself of it. Suddenly she heard the clanking steps come to a stop directly opposite of her on the other side of the stone support and her sleep deprived eyes shot open, scanning the area around her for the imposter that interrupted her.
"What is this?" questioned a confused sixteen-year-old short haired blonde as his equally short blonde headed twin brother handed him a makeshift wooden sword… er…well more like a paddle, but it would make do.
"Your sword, dummy!" his twin insisted as he shoved the handle into the brother's open hand.
"Noah, why do I have—"
"Basch, Basch," his brother tisked, "You know well that I had the handicapped blade last match so it is only fair that you wield it this round."
He let out a low growl and thought of how he could wipe that sneering smirk off his brother's face without getting into that much trouble with their mother.
"What? Are you jealous that I have the better sword? Or are you just envious of my more advanced skills?"
Basch let out a harsh snort, retorting back, "Hardly. I have no reason to ever desire any of your cocky incompetent traits, brother. Perhaps you're just trying to compensate for something else with that big ego of yours!"
He struck a chord on that one and Basch, grinning eagerly, watched as Noah visibly tensed in anger, his knuckles turning white when he increased his grip on the wooden hilt.
Through gritted teeth Noah scathed, "Perhaps I should receive compensation for having to put you six feet under!"
Chuckling at his empty words, Basch calmly stated back, "Your threats always put me at ease, dear brother!"
At that, the two, very hard headed boys, engaged in their rage infused sparing, with Noah making all the usual predicted swings and Basch patiently waiting out his barrage as he parried most of his attacks. Sometimes these heated confrontations could last for hours on end as they each would try to push their limits farther than the other could. They mostly ended with the two becoming so exhausted that they would collapse to the ground panting to catch their breaths and ultimately declaring it as a tie subject to a rematch.
A sudden chill crept up his spine from the abrupt breeze that had made its way through the cavernous corridors of the solitary confinement ward that lay hidden inside the Nalbina Dungeons. The abrupt jolt from the air whipping past his bruised skin brought him out of his usual reverie. Basch felt, as his body made an effort to generate as much heat as it could to intersect the cold, the burning sensation of his deteriorated muscles, which screamed for any mercy he could bring them.
But none had ever came for those two whole years, so why should any come now?
He had been imprisoned in a damn birdcage, shackled and fettered to hang about on display for no one but the bleak, mist infused darkness that surrounded him. His iron cuffs bit harshly into the clammy white skin of his wrists and ankles, sending droplets of blood dripping down his arms and feet whenever he would move. Just as uncomfortable, his neck and shoulders had been craned to fit within the iron guillotine-like contraption that had propped his arms upward like a caught fugitive, which was also tethered to the dome of his cage. He had been sentenced to play the role of a chained up chocobo in this sick little game of theirs and at times like this, he desperately wished he had been executed instead.
Upon admittance to this hellhole, Basch had been stripped of everything that clothed his body save for a pair of thickly lined pants and the pendant that he wore around his neck, symbolizing the old Dalmascan Order that he had once grew strong in. He had been agonizingly beaten and lashed several times by the lesser Imperial guards who had specific orders from his one and only twin brother, Noah or now known as the greatly feared Judge Magister Gabranth. How he had ever received such a high position, in Archadia of all places, was beyond Basch's knowing, but never once had he developed the searing hatred toward his brother as Noah had for him. He was a man filled with vengeance now caused by Basch's own selfish mistake.
Basch shivered violently as the weakness residing within his muscular tissue wrecked havoc on his body causing it to twitch and spasm uncontrollably, surging pain through out his limbs. A hoarse groan escaped his pale, dry, chapped lips as he wrenched the eyelids of his icy blue orbs shut, fighting hard against his anguish. He reopened them when he was momentarily granted a break in the cold breeze, giving his body a much-needed rest until the next gust howled through. His breaths were somewhat labored as everything throbbed with each gasp of air he took in, feeling his body begin to shut down from the stress. As his eyes became heavy, he stared through the thick iron bars into the dark abyss looking for something; anything… but found only the swirling mist that would eventually twist his mind into insanity. Basch finally gave up letting the weighted lids droop close, surrendering to his body's plea for sleep as his mind, once again, forced images of the past to reel through his dreams.
Smoke was barreling throughout the once clear night sky, consuming every twinkling star within its ashy depths. Blood curdling screams of men, women and children alike, could be heard from as far away as Nabradia, if they only listened, as they ran around trying to put the flames out that were burning their beloved homeland. The stench of hume flesh, wood and the fatty tissue of their livestock, as it burned was a smell that no one should ever have to endure. The foul odor was so intense that it seared itself into everyone's senses, letting no one forget that horrid night… the night Landis fell.
Franticly, Basch and Noah, now twenty, both ran their fastest towards the farm home on the outskirts of town that they had grown up in. It had been set ablaze by orders of the Empire, much like the rest of the town, to enforce the Archadian occupation and bring fear to those who would even think of rebelling against them.
Kicking down the half charred door, Noah tried to find an accessible path through all the rubble that was blazing within to find their parents but was unsuccessful when one of the main supports gave out. Basch stood a few feet back when he heard the crackling sound of the beam breaking loose causing what was left of the wooden structure to visibly weaken and start to collapse.
"Noah! Look out!" Basch yelled as he bolted toward his brother, knocking him out of the way onto the ground, just in time as the rest of the supports crumpled to the ground, leveling the house.
He angrily shoved Basch's arm off of him and sat there in a daze as he watched his childhood, his family and his home, smolder into nothing.
"No! Those bastards are going to pay for what they have done!" he roared as he stood, turned and stormed past his brother still sitting on the grass, drawing his Mithril Sword for combat.
Basch remained seated as he numbly stared into the hell fires that had just consumed his world. He was supposed to have been home finishing his chores of the day but he had had other plans on his mind that were of far greater importance to him than some childish tasks, so he had ignored them and his mother's threats of punishments. But he never expected that this would be his consequence for abandoning his responsibilities.
"I'm sorry," was all that he could whimper.
Suddenly, the clanking of metal meeting metal came into earshot and he jumped when he remembered Noah running toward the center of town with his brand drawn.
"You stupid, arrogant fool!" he muttered to himself as he glanced behind him to find Noah engaged in battle with five Imperial swordsmen. He was clearly out numbered but that didn't matter to him as his anger swelled.
Basch sprung up from his place on the ground, unsheathing his own Mithril Sword, but before he could reach the havoc, a massive blow to the back of the head struck down Noah. The sights brought Basch to a screeching halt as he witnessed his only brother, his only family felt, fall to the enemy.
Noah looked up in a daze at Basch and saw the fear envelop his normally strong and fearless façade, as he was roughly taken captive.
"Basch… don't leave me, damn it," he whispered into the smoky air as he witnessed his brother's mental struggle.
"Let me go, bastards! I will never bow down to the Emp--!" he fought back but was cut short when a steel plated boot came into contact with his abdomen several times and he closed his eyes in anguish. In the next second Noah had reopened them; he was rewarded with Basch's retreating figure as he fled from his family, from Landis and worst of all… from him.
"You will pay for leaving me Basch! You hear me?! You coward!" Noah blared angrily before something cold and hard collided with the back of his neck causing him to black out. His body slumped, face first, into the dew covered ground unconscious before the surrounding Imperial soldiers dragged his heavy muscled body off.
Aware that he was leaving everything he had ever known and ever stood for behind, Basch continued to run, never hearing his brother's harsh words that had filled the air. Running as far away from the destruction, the stench and the horrid aftermath that the Empire wrought on the poor town, but mostly from his own mistakes.
Letting out a startled gasp, Basch quickly snapped his eyes open when he felt the sudden convulsing jerks of his hanging tomb coming to life. He still saw noting but the cold darkness for some time but he could distinctly hear the clanking and chattering of the iron links working through the steel pulleys as it hoisted the prison cell upward. The cell jerked violently whenever one of the links would enter the pulley track incorrectly causing Basch's restrained gauntlets to dig even deeper into the already marred and bloody flesh underneath, eliciting another stifled groan from his lips.
After what seemed like an hour, he began to see the faint surroundings of his dark cell. It was mostly constructed with endless large sand colored cement blocks that had been crumbling away from years of damage and erosion, leaving huge pits and holes within the structure's walls. When he looked upward, nothing was distinguishable to his weary eyes as he blinked a few times to try and clear his vision, but it still remained a blurry bright white fog. His head pounded from the ascent as the air pressure around him greatly decreased and the lighting of the dungeon above became more vivid to his senses.
Curiosity plagued Basch's mind as he pondered about what visitors or the treatment that awaited him this time, but he would have to suffer the sarcastic suspense until he reached his destination. There, he knew that only his brother or some low life scum of a soldier's face would appear in his eyesight to carelessly drag him off to that blasted 'pit' in the center of the fortress basement where he would be tightly chained to the stone wall for entertainment. He would be left defenseless and utterly helpless against the foul burly Seeqs, clubs and maces in hand, ready to pummel him into oblivion with shear enjoyment.
Their horrid odor and the thick sludgy drool pouring out from between the rotted yellow canines when they talked, was gross enough to even make the strongest of stomachs retch up every last drop of acid within the vital organ. He had done it on several accounts upon his first year. But as this ritual became a constant event, he had grown accustomed to the stench and had learned to control the bodily reaction brought on by the nauseating slime that would splatter on his face as they verbally threatened him before the thrashing.
Afterwards, he would awake in tremendous amounts of pain and would come to find that his battered body had been returned to its previous predicament inside his cell. He would never have any recollections of the exchange since they would knock him unconscious to begin with and frankly, he never really wanted to be able to remember it anyways. It would only accumulate more to the many memories of his lifetime of failures that, on a daily bases, haunted his thoughts and dreams.
He had lived a life destined to failure. He had failed so many people and had wondered why those who were now lost, had ever put that much trust within him and within his abilities. They surely had been crazy or just had no fear of meeting their early demise.
Sighing heavily, Basch mentally listed everyone that he had let down and everything he had forsaken.
'For not being able to save my friends.'
'For not being strong enough to save my family.'
'For being too disobedient and not listening to my parents to protect them.'
'For being too weak to save Noah.'
'For being a coward and running away from Landis.'
'For not being physically capable to prevent the fall of Nalbina Fortress.'
'For my inability to swiftly destroy the enemy and prevent any harm to Lord Rasler.'
'For my ignorance of the grave danger and hostile situation of the Treaty signing, leading to my failure to protect the life of not only His Royal Majesty, King Raminas but also that of my squadron.'
'For letting down Vossler and his high expectations of my abilities.'
'And then that leaves the greatest failure of all…'
Slowly Basch raised his head and closed his eyes tightly when he felt the harsh pang emanating from within his chest. The suddenness of his heartache knocked the air right out of his lungs and left him gasping. He reacted in the same manner every time it replayed within his mind and every time the guilt would strike him harder than the last.
"Lady Ashelia," he whispered into the air for no one.
He had failed her so many times that he would have to grow more fingers and toes to count them on. But the one thing he never could understand was why, after countless falters, she could still have faith in him and give him her full trust, never once second guessing his decision in anything.
'But why?'
He knew naught and never would gain the chance to find out, for she had taken her own life shortly after he had been sentenced to his death. Word of her suicide had reached him by means of a less than reliable Imperial Soldier, which the news had caused him great sorrow but also distrust in the genuineness of his information. The way he felt about the incident after it had finally sunk in, was making him believe that she really wasn't dead but very much still alive and maybe that this stunt was just a smoke screen to keep her guarded from falling into the hands of Vayne. That, if it should ever happen, would be the ultimate demise of Dalmasca. Hopefully she had been hidden somewhere so that the last of her royal bloodline could be protected and kept safe from harm until Dalmasca could be restored to its former glory, but that was all he could do was hope. Hope that none of rumors he had heard floating around this pig sty weren't anymore true than the last.
Really, the only thing he had desired and wished for these two years past, was to see that innocent, but at the very same time, devious smile that she only reserved just for him. It made him feel warm inside knowing that she shared a special bond with only him. It was something totally different from the bond she had grown up with and shared between her parents, something completely foreign to anything he had ever experienced and though he cherished every single moment of it, he was also terrified of the strange chill that ran up his spine every time, in its wake.
Subconsciously, his body had started trembling when he recalled the unfamiliar sensations he would experience in her presence when she would flash him his smile and mentally shook himself to stop the repetitive images from flooding into his forethoughts.
"Kwek" cooed the happy white-feathered chocobo as it was fitted with its saddle and bridle at that moment.
A childish giggle was heard escaping the small lips of an energetic platinum blonde youth as she held her hand full of greens up to the beautiful beast. Its beak tickled her palm as it ate the delicious treat bringing about more giggles from her.
"What's so funny, your Highness?" questioned a very strong and well built, twenty-three year old Basch, as he finished tightening the chest and belly straps of the saddle. He was clad in the usual bland Dalmascan armor that was issued to all entry-level soldiers but it would soon be replaced by the new black and silver etched Grand Armor that was awarded only to those who had proven themselves worthy of being promoted to the title of 'Captain'. It was to be presented to him later that eve, at the fete, which Dalmasca was hosting for the arrival of the Nabradian royal family, to make his title official. But until then he would perform his new duties as Princess Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca's personal bodyguard, as if the armor he wore now meant nothing to define his stature.
"Nothing Basch," she giggled again.
"Must be something… did you put chocobo feathers in my hair again?" he teased quirking an eyebrow and grinning at the confident and brash seven year old Dalmascan princess standing beside him. She wore a white, knee length sundress that was accented with an intricate blue floral design, which had been flawlessly embroidered into the cotton fabric. Also, to complete the outfit, there was a pair of flat white dress sandals covering her bare feet that, at the moment, had collected quite a bit of straw and dirt within them from the chocobo stalls. Her shoulder length platinum blonde hair had been neatly combed and was held back out of her tanned porcelain face by a blue headband that adorned a small crystal butterfly on it.
Giggling once more, she flashed him a genuine, innocent toothy smile that she only showed just for him and replied, "No silly, Snowy was tickling my hand when he ate his treat. But can I put Snowy's feathers in you hair again? Please Basch?"
She was grinning from ear to ear with excitement at the thought.
"Not tonight your Highness," he answered, not knowing why he felt a strange chill climbing his spine from that smile of hers, but she gave him a frowning look as she crossed her arms over her chest pouting.
"I don't like it when you call me that! Remember?!"
"I'm sorry…Ashelia," he tried.
"No…" she countered still with her arms crossed and turned opposite from him.
"Then what does m'lady wish to be called by?"
"Ashe," she stated proudly, letting some of that spoiled royalness come out as she defiantly turned back around to face the soldier.
"Ok, Ashe it is," Basch chuckled as he watched her display, slightly amused.
"That's better, thank you," Ashe replied politely but with that special devious smile of hers.
"Your welcome. Now are you ready to ride Snowy out to the Giza Plains?"
There was that damn chill again and somehow it felt… different, to him.
"Yes!" she almost shouted as she jumped up and down in excitement.
"Up you go," Basch grinned as he easily lifted her up and gently placed her upon the saddled chocobo. He handed her the reins and instructed her to wait until he mounted his own armored pedigree steed before she could continue. While she patiently waited for the young knight to unhitch the large bird, she intently watched him and pondered about a certain question that she had once heard in a fairytale book that she had been read to at bedtime. This particular tale involved a young and gorgeous princess who fell in love with a strong and handsome Knight in shinning armor after she had been taken prisoner by some evil monster and he had come to save her from harm. But there was one part at the end of the story that she really liked but didn't fully understand the true meaning behind the words that the two, lovingly, exchanged. Her comprehension levels at that age where only elementary.
A deep gruff voice filled her ears and snapped her out of her daydreaming.
"Ready, your Highn-- … uh…Ashe?" Basch questioned, catching his blunder a bit too late but it seemed that the Lady Ashe hadn't noticed since her eyes had a far off look about them.
"Huh? Oh!" she fumbled.
He raised an eyebrow in concern, "Is everything alright?"
She looked at him shyly and then looked down to her clasped hands debating to ask her silly question.
"Basch, can I request something of you?"
The words out of her mouth were so pure and innocent, which suited her, but it was the fact that she looked and sounded so… vulnerable, that unnerved him. This did not suit her well at all.
"Yes, you may. What does the Lady Ashe request?" he encouraged with a small gentle smile.
She visibly relaxed but her young voice still remained timid.
"Promise me that you will never leave me," she asked holding his shocked gaze steady with her own.
"What do you mean?" he blurted out in astonishment and confusion. He didn't really know how to answer her inquiry and he wasn't sure if she really knew the depth, the full definition, of what she had just voiced to him.
"Listen to me Basch!" she demanded, "I want you to promise me that you will never leave me! That you promise to save and protect me from anything! And if we ever get separated, you will come and find me! Promise?!"
He still didn't know how to answer and remained dumfounded to this conversation's origin. He looked at her with the same expressions as before, trying hard to read her own facial expressions to determine the seriousness of her suit.
"Please," she faintly whispered.
That was all she had to say to him to make his heart ache and melt all at the same time. He didn't know how she did it, but she had successfully snuck beneath his hard shell, breaking his strong and valiant will, reducing him to nothing more than something resembling a soft and plushy teddy bear.
Basch was helpless to escape her pleading gaze. He quickly plastered an awkward smile on his face and nodded in acceptance of her requisition but it wasn't enough.
"No, I want to hear you say it, Basch," she begged.
He let out a shaky breath and steeled himself to at least appear like the valiant soldier he should be right now and regain some of his pride. He only thanked the Gods that no one else had witnessed his minor glitch.
She stared at him patiently and finally he had gain enough of his nerve back to tell her what she wanted to hear.
"I promise you, Princess Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca, that I, Captain or not, Basch fon Ronsenburg, will never leave you without my protection and safety under any circumstance, until the very day I die. And if we are ever separated by any matter, I promise that I will risk my own life to insure the safety of your own. You have my oath sworn word, your Highness."
"Thank you… Basch," she uttered as he watched a single tear escape her eyes and trickle down her soft cheek. A seven year old shouldn't be so keen to this type of emotion, but she was, which showed that she was more mature and definitely no ordinary seven year old girl. But as rapid as the situation had been brought forth, it had been easily dismissed by Ashe's; once again, lighthearted giggles as she spurred the chocobo forward leaving Basch behind in bewilderment upon his own.
"What do ya mean we're not invited?!" barked the accent of an Archadian solider in the near distance.
"It's like I said! I'm not stuttering you nimrod! We're not invited to the fete in Dalmasca, alright?!" retorted another annoyed voice.
"Did Captain even say why?"
"Are you really that stupid?!" the second one almost yelled in disbelief.
"No! Why are you callin me stupid?!"
"Because! Have you forgotten that we are all on duty that night?!"
"Where?" the first solider snapped in disbelief.
"By the Gods you are dumb! Did you even look at the syllabus in the office?"
"Syllabus? What in the hell is that?"
Suddenly a loud growl was heard escaping the second soldier's throat as a high pitched, girly shriek left the other's mouth when he angrily grabbed the first soldier's metal collar. The next sound that could be heard was most likely a metal gloved punch meeting the side of the other's iron helmet and then the heavy smack as the unconscious body hit the cement floor.
"I can't stand working with stupid fucking idiots!" grumbled the irate soldier.
'Well shit,' Basch sarcastically thought to himself, 'what's it going to be today?'
The contraption still groaned as it worked hard to pull the heavy iron structures through the gears but as Basch observed his environment this time, he was only a few meters from his destination, forced to patiently wait, mostly because he couldn't do much else.
"Zoran!" bellowed the pissed Imperial.
"Yes, sir?" answered a very timid voice.
"Will you get this damn idiotic fool out of my sights, please!" he ordered harshly.
"Y- Yes, sir!" the submissive soldier replied.
"You are dismissed."
"Yes, sir."
Next he could hear the audible scraping of the knocked out soldier's armor as he was being dragged away.
Finally, the cage's movement came to a jerking halt and Basch's blood shot eyes looked up and peered deep into the dark and hollow ones that were hidden deep within the Imperial's helm, challenging him to make the first move. He rolled up one side of his upper lip in a displeased snarl toward the rather cocky soldier but was hastily dismissed by the man's rather amused snort.
"You don't intimidate me, traitor!" boasted the Imperial, "By the looks of you… you wouldn't even be able to stand, much less engage with an experienced Archadian soldier!"
"Hmm, that much might be very true at this moment. I'll give you that, but if I was some Imperial scum, and thank the Gods I'm not… I would be watching my back in the future," Basch calmly retorted, holding back his amusement.
"Watch my back? Ha! If anyone of us needs to be worrying about that, it should be you. You are the King slayer, are you not! I think the bounty upon your head is rather large if I'm not mistaken," the soldier rattled on, but Basch could care less about what was actually coming out of his trap.
An arrogant smirk became quite evident on his face which caused the piece of Imperialist swine in front of him, to stop in mid-sentence rather annoyed and question, "What in Ivalice are you grinning about?!"
Basch let a chuckle slip his throat as he boldly replied, "Nothing really. I'm just getting the impression that your gruff is really nothing but a bunch of frilly fluff."
He leaned his upper body as close as his shackles would allow to the iron bars, cocking his head rather smugly to the right as he sneered, "I think for someone being as egotistical as you, they would have something to hide. So, I wonder, pig, what is it that you are trying to compensate for?"
The metal gloves of the Imperial soldier's armor tightly clenched themselves into frustrated fists and they began to shake with anger.
"Why you!" he growled but was interrupted by the clanking of armor behind him as the laden footsteps intensified and another muffled voice began to boomed from behind the horned helm.
"That is enough! Don't let this churl work you! It is a fool's errand if you choose to engage in his banter!" warned the all too familiar tone of the Judge.
"Yes sir!" he saluted hurriedly.
"Leave us."
"Yes sir."
Basch was moderately gratified by the quick and sudden change in the soldier's attitude toward his superior. Once overconfident and very much a smart ass, he was now reduced to something with the equivalent importance of a piece of old chewing gum on the ground. With his ego instantly shattered before him, he quickly retreated out of the Solitaire Confinement Ward and back into the safety of the Black Watch corridors.
Only then, when the Judge knew that the area was devoid of activity, did he properly acknowledge the prisoner hanging before him.
"He will be giving me the compensation I need for when I have to put you six feet under, my dear brother." His voice was emotionless, cold and empty behind the protection of his stainless steel mask. His body seemed much bigger to Basch than what he had remembered. It must have been all the thick layers of protective leathers that fitted beneath the many steel plates making up his decorative caped uniform, he mentally concluded.
"Your vacant words always put me at ease, brother," Basch recited with a smirk, "Perhaps you might grow a pair and actually conquer the task!"
"Basch, please. You know as well as I, that you do not don a pair yourself! I can vouch for that, coward. If you had, then you would not have abandoned me that night!" Noah scathed in hidden anguish, pointing an accusing finger at his twin.
Basch hung his head in momentary shame and replied, "I was not the fool that chose to assail the bastards or conspire with them either."
Noah released a disgusted snort at the jab.
"I did not come here for this, Basch!" he retaliated rather perturbed.
"Then what did you come here for? I'm sure it wasn't because you missed me."
"Hardly," Noah spat as he walked closer to the railing at the edge of the path that separated him from his brother's cage. He tightly gripped the rails and allowed his upper body to lean over as his arms physically supported him. The empty voids of the mask that replaced his eyes bore intently into what felt like the very depths of Basch's soul.
Basch began to feel quite uncomfortable under his brother's piercing gaze, so he cleared his throat loudly hoping to jar him into his intended purpose of being here.
"Then why grace me with your presence?" he pushed.
Noah released a tired sigh, "The Consul's fete is in two days time, in Rabanastre."
"Hmm."
"I have been informed that there is a minor possibility of an ambush following the start of the festivities."
"And what does this have to do with me?" Basch replied unsure of where this was going.
"Nothing. I thought that you might be able to tell me a little bit about this… Resistance Movement."
Noah was bating him, prying for any scrap piece of meat that could be of use to him. Basch knew nothing of the Movement since it was assembled after his supposed execution, but even if he did, he wouldn't just willingly hand it over to him on a silver platter. He knew better and so did Noah. So why bother to inquire?
"I know nothing of which you speak."
"I figured as much," he breathed taking one last once over of his chained brother. He noticed that his dull flaxen hair and beard were both caked and matted with dirt, grease and probably rotten vomit, plastering the strands against his bruised pale skin. The nasty cut that he bore from the middle of his forehead stretching across his left eyebrow and ending at the base of his left earlobe seemed to still be rather red and showing the signs of an infection beginning to fester within it. It must have been the grime saturating that Seeq's whip, Noah had thought to himself. His scrutiny continued further, falling upon the man's broad shoulders. They, too, were a fiery crimson and grape hue from the multiple beatings and thrashings he had received on a monthly bases and Noah felt the sudden guilt start to well up within him. Angrily, he shrugged the feeling off and lastly took in the sight of Basch's almost protruding ribcage. His body was already showing the indications of his malnutrition and the weakening of his immune system, probably causing the body to exhaust itself from even the simplest of gestures. The almost translucent epidermis pulled tightly around each of the projected ribs, sinking deep into where the crevices were separating the bones. Being within his brother's presence and seeing him in this state was very satisfying to him but also stomach wrenching at the same moment.
He couldn't stand the sensation anymore and swiftly turned to leave the dreaded ward.
"Noah," Basch beckoned to the armored figure retreating into the darkened archway but was dismissed by a wave of his hand and then was no longer visible to him, only the decreasing echoes of his chain mail boots clacking across the rocky landing could be heard.
Poor Basch... I love him to death but his life really sucks right now :( I know and I'm sorry if any of the characters in pervious chapters and in future chapters seem a bit out of charater but that can't really be helped due to the way I write. Its kind of hard to keep someone who spoke very little within the game in character when you want him to say so much within the story. So I'm sorry in advance for later chapters. I'm so freakin tired now... this chapter really took the life out of me and don't know why... maybe its because nothing really happened in it? I dunno.
I would be extremely ecstatic if you would drop me a review... even if you have never left one before... please do! I need all the encouragement that I can get so that I will get this next chapter out faster! I thrive on them! XD