Disclaimer: None of the characters of Final Fantasy 12 belong to me. All copyright Square Enix and whoever made the games (My memory sucks, sorry.)
Sigill, however, belongs to me! Yay! Enjoy the fifth chapter of Saendal.
Balthier took a deep breath and tried to calm down, running his fingers through his hair as he always did when something troubled him. He needed to make a decision – now.
He could feel the sweat starting to break out on his forehead. He needed to bring Sigill back – she'd die in the savannah by herself. If she wanted to go back that badly, he'd reconsider it later on after giving it some more thought and then escort her back himself. It was the least he could do. Balthier thought of the scolding he had given Vaan and Penelo; they deserved it. They really shouldn't have been that careless, bringing an outsider onboard. Now he had to clean this mess up. He'd convince her – one way or another.
"Basch, come with me – the rest of you should prepare the Strahl for take-off. As soon as we're back I want my beloved ship to be ready. Also, this discussion is over. I have made my decision. Have I made myself clear?" Balthier took another deep breath to calm down completely. Being angry took its toll on his body. Seconds later he could barely remember what he had been so infuriated about.
Ashe, Penelo and Vaan nodded at their captain before walking off to get everything ready.
Fran gave Balthier a concerned, stern look before heading off as well.
Balthier knew pretty well what she meant. They had been partners for a very long time now and could easily communicate by simply glancing at each-other. He proceeded to grab Basch by his arm and drag him outside the ship as soon as the sound of Fran's stilettos faded in the distance.
"Balthier, I really think we should leave her alone. She needs to go home and take care of her family. I believe it was a very selfish and irresponsible act of Vaan – and you, to force her to stay. Why do you even care? She's just a young girl. You said it yourself." Basch commented on Balthier's behavior and his choice of words as they ran through the savannah landscape.
"My intentions are mine, and mine alone. The leading man has made his decision and I want this little play to continue. I must say she is one interesting young woman." He paused, wondering how Sigill was doing out in this heat. "I do not care if she has a family at home to tend to – families are not of any importance right now. A blacksmith would be handy to have aboard, don't you agree?" Balthier's cocky grin showed up yet again.
Basch remained silent as he studied his captain. What were his real intentions? Why had he taken such an interest in a random girl from the Dalmascan capital? He knew something was up and knowing Balthier, he wouldn't be too kind at first with her. That silver tongue of his was one of his most used weapons and it worked very well with charming the ladies. He could talk others into anything merely by the way he spoke. Balthier certainly was an interesting man and Basch could not help but wanting to know more about him. He would have to spend an evening trying to get Balthier drunk until he told him what he wanted to know. Yes, maybe that was the way to go. Next time they went shopping for weapons and other necessities he'd definitely go pick up some wine.
Basch was hoping Sigill hadn't gotten too far. This time of the year the Saurians were extremely aggressive. They'd claim the area and drive out any other monsters except the Cluckatrice and it's 'henchmen'. Luckily, the dry season hadn't begun yet and thus, the Cluckatrice kept its distance in these parts of the Giza plains. Normal cockatrices were roaming around though. They're difficult enough to handle, at least for Sigill who didn't have one bit of experience when it came to fights.
"Sigill!" Basch called out. They had been running for quite some time now. "Sigill!" His deep voice rang throughout the landscape, echoing wherever it went. His worry started to show. His voice had cracked by now. What Basch didn't notice was that Balthier was just as worried he was. He just didn't want to show it.
"We will have to rest soon, Basch. Running in this heat will suck our energy right out." Balthier commented, panting as he did.
"I know. If my mind serves me right, there should be a river coming up ahead in just a few minutes if we keep-" Basch broke off. "Did you hear that?" He turned to Balthier.
"I surely did. We have got to pick up the pace – Come on." Balthier did not waste one second.
They both took off and ran as fast as they could towards the sound of despair which could be heard in the distance.
Sigill awoke by a strange noise, not too far away from her. Her eyes shot open; she was staring straight at a pack of wolves. Their eyes were vicious and filled with blood-thirst.
They growled loudly, closing in on her for each second that passed.
She could feel her heart throbbing inside her; it felt like her chest was about to burst. Amidst the panic she fumbled by her belt, trying to grab her hammer.
She managed to yank it off and aimlessly swung it towards the nearest wolf. It took a direct hit to the skull and cried out in pain. Sigill could feel the impact with every inch of her body. It was as if the world slowed down. As the adrenaline spread throughout her body she could feel her limbs shaking, twitching. Moving around was difficult – not to mention attacking. That first swing had been no more than beginner's luck.
Maybe it had been a bad idea to travel home after all – maybe she should've listened to them. Was she really that worthless and weak? Muscles without technique wouldn't do her any good in a longer fight.
She mustered up the last bit of strength, prepared to swing the hammer at least once more. It had been so long since she was in a fight; she did her best not to pass out from exhaustion – the hammer seemed a lot heavier now than before.
Sigill hit one of the wolves, killing it off. Just as she did, another one lunged at her. It caught her off guard and she fell to the ground with the 100 pound wolf over her, saliva dripping from its wide open jaws.
She let out a high-pitched scream in pure shock.
"Please God, help me." She cried out in fear of dying.
It felt like her whole body was bleeding due to the claws of those vicious things. That stinging feeling was unbearable. She was aching.
It would be her undoing. Right here – right now. Why had she fallen asleep in the middle of the day in enemy territory? If she lived through this – she'd absolutely think twice about the situation before acting. It was her weakness, after all.
She felt her mind slowly drifting away. She closed her eyes and gave up on trying to push away the wolf.
'I wish I could have held my promise. Forgive me dear mother, father.'
A gunshot.
One.
Two.
Three.
Three gunshots.
The struggling wolf over her fell aside, whining slightly before its life faded away. Sigill could feel its warm fur against her right arm.
She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Before her stood Basch with his sword drawn – covered in blood and Balthier with his gun in his hand aimed at the wolf beside her.
Both Basch and Balthier had a very stern look on their faces. Sadly their eyes were locked on her.
Basch didn't hesitate one second before taking two big steps towards her, now standing in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders after helping her up and shook her.
"What on earth were you thinking? How did you end up like this? You should've come farther by now, what on earth did you do?!" He scolded her.
Sigill noticed a tear on his scarred face. Had he really been this worried about her?
"I'm… Sorry…" Sigill turned her head away in shame. First she ran away from them and now they had to come and rescue her. Not to mention Balthier – it was impossible for her to face him. She avoided his stern eyes as much as possible.
Nothing could compare this shame that welled over her. She had left them without a word except for telling Basch.
Balthier was probably furious having a hostage escape right under his nose.
"Sorry will not suffice, Sigill. You have been incredibly rude and disrespectful. Although I cannot blame you and you alone. Basch was also at fault for failing to keep you from leaving." Balthier's stern voice was more than she could handle right now. Guilt and shame filled her within as she tried her best to come up with a good excuse.
"It's not like I wanted to stay… Give me one good reason, Balthier – One."
He scoffed, grabbing her arm while motioning to Basch to do the same.
"It is far too dangerous for you to go back to Rabanastre for now since you were seen with us. We are wanted sky-pirates and you'd be classified as one too. Now if you please could join us back at the ship without any more struggle, that would be great."
Sigill couldn't come up with a response and gave in to the two men.
They had given her a second chance. A last chance to fulfill her vow to her parents. It was indeed a ridiculous promise, nonetheless something she had sworn to do when she found the one she was searching for.
Sigill staggered back to the Strahl behind Basch and Balthier, constantly thinking of what was going to happen to her from now on. Balthier's stern look would forever be printed into her mind.
Fifth chapter up! What do you think?
Please review~3 Until next chapter!