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 sixth chapter of Saendal.

Sigill stood in front of the mirror in the room they had appointed to her, staring upon herself.
Her waist-long hair was the same color as Galbana lilies – her favorite. Usually it was fluffy and shining – now it was stripy and tangled. She hadn't had a shower since she was taken back earlier that day and she felt awful. She twirled a crispy curl around her index finger, wondering if she should take a shower or not – though it was probably for the best. Her black top and hot-pants had light patches from lying in the sand, not the best decision on her side.
Almost all of her body was covered in scratches from earlier. Dried bloodstains smeared out by the sweat covered the rest of it. How could she have let Balthier gaze upon her in such a state?

She was an embarrassment.

Her hand fell down to her side when Sigill realized she had been thinking about her appearance – this must've been the first time in several years. She usually didn't mind getting neither her clothes dirty, nor her hair but this time it felt different. As she had inspected the others onboard she had realized that maybe she could put just a little effort into her looks – just this once.

"What am I doing…? Barely a day has passed and I am already starting to change..." Sigill asked herself.

She decided to take a shower – she could at least smell good.

Sigill opened the door to the bathroom – a marble toilet, marble sink and the ceiling was painted with a dark blue color with small, blue glowstones resembling stars.
It wasn't too spacious but it could still fit a shower and of course – a toilet and a sink as well as a bathroom wardrobe to store the towels and hygiene-products. The shower had glass doors. It was amazingly beautiful to gaze upon. She opened one of the drawers and found waterstones as well as some other ones.

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all…" Sigill sighed happily. She could definitely imagine a quiet shower in here after a rough day of forging – or whatever duty they'd put her on.

Sigill took a good look around before slipping out of her tank-top.
Grabbing one of the waterstones and a firestone, she put them in their place in the shower cabin. Thankfully, the water-system worked the same way here as it did at home.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Sigill froze right on the spot – except her arms which instantly covered her breasts. She did not intend to turn around and she didn't need to. Sigill recognized the owner of that voice immediately.

"How very rude of a gentleman such as yourself to sneak up on a naked woman." She growled through clenched teeth.

"On the contrary – I'd say we're even now, since you walked in on me as well. I simply wanted to clear the scores."

Sigill didn't have to turn around and look at him to notice that smug grin of his; she could hear his voice, after all. That was all she needed to tell.

"What do you want, Balthier?"

Balthier let out a deep sigh.

"A little grumpy, perhaps? And here I was, hoping to play a little game. Oh well." He chuckled. "I want you to come to my room later – we have some business to discuss if you're going to stay with us for a while. You will have to make yourself useful, Blacksmith."

"Get out!" She cried, flailing one arm in Balthier's general direction, motioning him to actually get out of there.

By now her cheeks had the same color as her hair and all of her warmth had transferred from all of her body to a concentrated spot - her face. She definitely didn't want Balthier to see her like this.
Balthier had probably noticed. He seemed to be a very perceptive man and she had already started hating it.

"Make sure to swing by my room when you are done." He chuckled as he closed the door behind him.

Sigill sighed, slipping out of her hot-pants and underwear. She turned the water-tap a few times after she'd put the lights out, making sure that the water was comfortably warm.
She closed the sliding doors to the shower carefully and twitched a little when it creaked. She would need to speak to whoever did the maintenance on this ship about it.

Right now, the only thing she wanted to think about was the water, licking her body softly, rinsing the dirt and the blood off of her scarred body.
The relaxed feeling which swept over her felt like nothing she had experienced before. Her muscles relaxed as well as her mind. She could calm down, stop thinking about Balthier or Basch's… Gentle… Smile… This was going to take a while.

Three hours later, Basch roamed through the corridors, careful not to touch anything.
The sun had just gone down as he had left his room. It didn't take long before he reached his target. He knocked carefully at the door in front of him, patiently waiting for it to open.

Sigill popped her head out as she opened it to see who it was. She smiled at the former knight, the slightly older man.

"Please, do come in." Her voice was silky smooth and a lot calmer than earlier.

Basch stepped inside, his hands behind his back.
Sigill closed the door behind him before motioning him to sit down on the bed.

"I brought a gift." He said, pulling out an old wine bottle and two glasses.

"That is very kind of you, Basch. May I ask why you chose to visit at such a time? It is very late."

Basch put down the gifts, gently lifting her hand to his mouth, kissing it.

"You have sparked my interest and I merely want to know more about you, thus I decided to kick back and relax with you, maybe drink some wine." His voice felt just like the warmth of the water from before.

Sigill was supposed to meet up Balthier in his room by now - but now she had Basch in her room.
Balthier would probably scold her again if she didn't show up, but she couldn't say no to Basch?
Had he not showed up if he didn't want to talk about something important?
Although the thought of getting scolded again was not what Sigill wanted to think of right now.
Then again – The only thing Balthier had been doing all this time was scolding her, complaining on her. Basch on the other hand acted like a true gentleman and treated her with kindness.

'Oh well… You only live once.'

"That sounds like a great idea, Basch."

There was no turning back now.
Sigill sat down beside Basch on the bed and smiled gently towards him.

"Well then, do you mind if I ask some questions?" He asked, opening up the bottle of wine with a loud 'pop'.

"Not at all. Please do."

"I'll start out with some basic questions then – how old are you? I know it is not very kind to ask a woman's age but my mind will not settle until I know." Basch poured the liquor up whilst talking.

"I don't mind." Sigill replied, grabbing one of the glasses. "I'm 21."

"You sure seem a lot younger, if I may say so." Basch took a sip out of his own glass. "What's your full name?"

"Sigill Ti'arath. My surname, however, was not a name given to me by my old folks. It was a name the son of a customer of my dad's gave me. He used to swing by the shop every now and then when he was in town with his father. Sadly, I cannot for my life remember his face or his name. Now that I think of it, he must've been around my age – perhaps a few years older." Sigill paused, taking a gulp of her wine. She could feel the liquid burning down her throat – she wasn't very accustomed to alcohol yet. "What I do remember is what he told me when he gave me that name – 'Ti'arath will be the name I will come to reckon when I grow up. I will hold your name dear and when we meet again I will know who you are and then – I will promise to marry you. You are an angel in disguise and my heart will always beat for you.' I never saw him since." She swept the last of the wine as if it was nothing and let out a deep sigh.
"We used to play together when he visited. Unfortunately his father would always yell at him, saying it was not for someone of his status to play with a blacksmith's daughter. The fact that he promised to marry me is something I still bear in mind although it is more of a distant memory to me than a promise. It was ten years ago and I doubt he feels the same. Nevertheless I took the name he gave me and decided it would be my surname."

Basch glanced upon her with a caring expression.

"That was indeed a very beautiful story. I hope you will meet him again soon."

"That would be impossible, I'm afraid. I was told he died in the war. Next question please." It was a very touchy subject for her even if she almost had forgotten all about him. She had moved on since the announcement of his death. For days she had cried, wondering how her life would turn out without him. Even if it had been a child's promise, it was still a promise. He was the only male to say such things as he had done.

"I beg your forgiveness, my lady." Basch poured up some more wine before moving closer to Sigill, gently embracing her. "If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

Sigill enjoyed the warmth of his body; his presence was more than enough for her right now. All she could think of was that boy from many years ago. Maybe that really was her first love.
Basch kissed her forehead softly.

"I'm at your service." He whispered.

She enjoyed his company quite a lot. It was nice to sit down, drink some wine and just… Just exist.

"Thank you." Sigill purred, snuggling with his comfortable chest.

Everything seemed perfect for the moment – until the door flung open.
Sigill's eyes widened in shock and terror as she realized who it was. Basch on the other hand kept his calm, although confused, continued to hold her close as Balthier stormed in.
He stopped when he saw the scene in front of him. They both noticed he fought to maintain his composure.

"Blacksmith, I thought I told you to come over to my room, yet here you are. And you're not alone, I see." Balthier raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"Balthier, this is not really the right time for-" Basch tried to reason with the other man but got cut off.

"It surely is the right time, Basch. Sigill – please come with me." Balthier went over to the two of them and grabbed her arm.

Sigill held firmly around Basch, not wanting to let go.

"No…" She whimpered. She definitely didn't want to look at Balthier. She could feel his glare.

"'Tis not as if you have a choice on the matter." He growled through his clenched teeth.

This was one time too many for him and she knew it. It was clear as daylight. She really had angered him again, and this time she had a feeling he wouldn't let her off as easy as he had done earlier.
Still, this time was different. She was tired of being bossed around by the oh-so-famous Balthier. She was tired of his jerk-like attitude. That silver-tongue of his was nothing more than a tool to build up the façade he had covered himself in to lure in people into his vicious plans. He seemed almost amused when he got to scold someone.

Balthier yanked her arm, making her fall helplessly off the bed. He gave Basch a menacing look before dragging her out.
The corridor seemed endless. Balthier still held a firm grip around her arm while walking at a brisk pace. Sigill stumbled behind him, tears streaming down her face. Not because of Balthier but because of the boy she had thought of earlier. Not that Balthier had made it any better, dragging her off like that. She wondered why he had to act like this, why he had to be such a jerk.
She glanced up on him, noticing the bright moonlight beaming on his perfectly shaped chin, his high cheekbones and his beautiful sand-colored eyes with a little hint of green in them…

She was a hostage in her own body.

During their little walk, not even once did Sigill complain. Once in a while she'd look up on Balthier's troubled, yet beautiful face. Her tears had stopped, mostly because it felt like she'd dried up inside. She was still sad but no tears came.
At last they had arrived at his room. The door was open – apparently he had rushed out without even a thought of closing it.
Balthier carefully closed the door behind them. He let go of her and leaned against a nearby wall, gently rubbing his temples. He shot a glance at her but this time with soft eyes.

"Sigill, please – do not aggravate this more than needed."

"Just tell me what you were supposed to and I'll be on my way back to my room."

"As you wish, however I will not tolerate this kind of behavior any longer. Anyway-" Balthier cleared his throat. "You need to establish yourself in your work here. Even though you might be a woman, I'm sure you at least can take care of minor repairs and such. Thus, you will start your work tomorrow. I have given instructions to Fran as she will supervise you, provide the necessary information as well as show you how it is done. I hope you don't mind."

She immediately reckoned his statement as more or less an insult. Was he degrading her all because of her being a female? He couldn't possibly - or could he?
Sigill rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You don't have to sound so condescending, Balthier. Just because I'm a female does not mean I'm terrible at what usually is considered a man's work. I'll have you know I'm better at forging than my old man." Sigill scoffed.

"Tch." Balthier grabbed her arms and threw her onto the bed. He proceeded to place himself over her, standing on all fours as she lay there on her back with a confused, yet somehow scared look. "You should know your place – which is beneath me. The way you are acting is compromising my position as a captain. The others might soon start to believe that I can no longer bend others to my will and thusly; have no power."

She was restrained. Her heart was beating faster than what felt like the speed of light. A dark-colored blush spread across her face. No matter what she said or thought about Balthier, he still could make her feel weak at the knees. All of this was probably because of his charming attitude.

She promised herself she'd never fall for him. She'd only end up getting hurt – Mira had told her so.

After making his point, Balthier got up and brushed off his vest. He opened the door and motioned in a graceful bow for her to get out.

"I expect you to meet up with Fran first thing tomorrow morning. Good-night."

A bit longer chapter this time! What do you think? Review's makes me happy :3
Chapter 7 will probably be up in less than a week.