Disclaimer: None of the characters of Final Fantasy 12 belongs to me. All copyright Square Enix and the others. However Sigill is all mine :3
Enjoy chapter 7!
Sigill woke up the following morning. She stretched across the big, red bed while the sheets seemed to prefer to follow her every move. The silk felt lovely on her naked flesh as she moved around, groaning slightly. It felt gentle against her bruises. It would take a couple of days before her wounds healed. Luckily none of her injuries were too serious.
She rolled out of her bed which seemed to regret it – her sheets and pillows followed her down to the floor. She got up and went to the bathroom. It was still beautiful in the morning, even if she couldn't see the starry skies.
She splashed her face with the cold water from the tap, or rather – the waterstone. The refreshing feeling of the cold felt wonderful against her warm face.
Sigill picked up her clothes, wondering when she'd get new ones. She slipped into them, tied her hair up in a ponytail and took a deep breath. She could do this. She would go out there and do her best to not slap Balthier in the face.
On her way outside she met Vaan and Ashe. Vaan, as usual, greeted her with a big smile and Ashe, as usual, gave no emotion whatsoever.
Sigill felt like an outsider – she was an outsider after all. She hoped she wouldn't have to stay for too long – she was starting to feel uncomfortable around some of the people in the group.
Finally outside she met the Viera. She hadn't seen too many Viera's in the shop nor Rabanastre. They fascinated her with their soft, big ears and rabbit-like nose, their lifespan and their mind. The mind of a Viera was very interesting; their knowledge seemed to extend far further than that of a hume.
Fran looked upon her with her red eyes, carefully inspecting her new apprentice.
"So, hume. Balthier told me you are to stay here. He thusly informed me to teach you how to repair and such." Fran's movements were swift and graceful as she grabbed a couple of tools and pieces of scrap metal. "I trust you know the basics?"
Three weeks passed in this manner. Every day Sigill would endure Fran's lessons without complaints. They'd practice together and somehow they really bonded. Sigill came to be quite fond of Fran's presence. Some nights she'd try to converse with the Viera without success at first but later on she opened up slightly to her – even if they merely spoke about scrap metal and the Strahl. Throughout these three weeks Sigill and the group had moved from Giza plains to the Westersands. Ashe and Penelo had given Sigill a set of new clothes until they'd decide to move on to a town.
Her encounters with Balthier were few during this time, as well as with Basch. Both of them had been avoiding her since the incident in her room. It was a relief for her that Balthier had been keeping his distance. This meant no more scolding and no more stern looks.
One evening, Sigill sat down in her room with her newly found friend.
"Hey Fran… What do you think the group's thoughts of me are?"
The Viera looked at her with a raised eyebrow, her long, elegant and white ears twitching.
"You wish to know the thoughts of the group? Very well. I shall share with you what I know." Fran paused for a bit, thoroughly thinking through her answer. "Penelo believes it is 'nice' to have another woman onboard. Basch seems to distance himself whilst trying to get closer to you; it seems like he does not know what he wants – insecure. Princess Ashe shows very little emotions but, like Penelo, seems to enjoy your company. Vaan would describe our situation as… 'The more the merrier', and Balthier thinks you're starting to grow as a blacksmith and he wants you to stay as one. He told me it would be most convenient if you'd do your job."
Sigill lay down on the bed, gazing at the ceiling. To her surprise, Fran lay down beside her.
"Why do humes always lay down in such a manner when their minds are astray?" She asked.
Sigill turned around, now being face to face with Fran.
"I don't know. I do it because it makes it easier for me to concentrate and ignore events happening around me." Sigill stated.
She didn't know if she'd be happy about the crew's thoughts. At least not all of them. Basch had been avoiding her and Balthier didn't seem like he cared for her at all. After all – she was just a common blacksmith.
"May I be excused? 'Tis late and Balthier asked me to check up on the sub-engine tonight." Fran got up and traversed silently across the room despite her stilettos.
"Of course you may. Wait, why are you to check the sub-engine?" Sigill shot up, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Have you not been informed? We are to depart for our next destination at sunrise."
"No… I have not… Oh well." Sigill shrugged. "Oh, Fran? Could you be a darling and tell Balthier I want to see him before we depart? Preferably tonight."
The Viera responded with a subtle nod before exiting.
Now was as good a time as any. Sigill would have to make friends with him sooner or later. Balthier could be a handful – she had noticed that much. Yet she could not act nor behave this way if she was going to stay with them for a long time. She would have to blend in and hope for acceptance – as long as she did her job that part would come along just fine. Balthier and Ashe seemed to be the only problem still standing as the others had accepted her as a member of the group, at least according to Fran's little research.
For the first time since she was taken hostage she felt like her situation wasn't as bad as she had thought at first. Her, now daily, conversations with Fran helped her a lot. It made her feel as if she wasn't such an outsider after all. Penelo and Vaan would join her as well while she was outside, practicing mechanics, lesser forging and repairs with the Viera. She had a lot of valuable information – information she could never get by working at home with her father. Fran had also promised Sigill she would soon let her repair the ship for real instead of working on scrap metal.
A subtle knock could be heard before the handle turned and Balthier stepped inside. Sigill's heart skipped a beat - she could never get used to his presence. He closed the door behind him with a questioning expression.
"Fran told me you wanted to see me."
Sigill went up to him and reached out an open palm.
"Your v-vest. T-take it off." She turned away her head, not wanting him to see the faint blush that had crept up on her. It was against her pride and her current principles to give in to his words.
"My, you are awfully quick to get me out of my garments." Balthier smiled slyly, crossing his arms and arched an eyebrow at her.
"Just t-take it off. You wanted me to f-fix it up, right?" Sigill pouted.
The man did as she asked and took it off in a swift motion. He chuckled as he handed the vest to her.
"Took your bloody time." His sarcastic remark was more than noticeable. Although she had taken some time to actually come over her pride and do it. "What triggered this joyful decision?"
"I heard from Fran we are to depart tomorrow. I simply wanted to fix it so that you may walk in public without feeling ashamed and afraid of looking poor." She snapped back at him, not too comfortable with his sarcasm.
"I thank you for your consideration. Now, do you want me to remove my shirt as well? I think I may have accidentally torn it yesterday." His sleek voice was filled with content as he proceeded to unbutton it.
Sigill's face turned from a shade of pink to the likes of a ripe tomato.
She did want to see his bare chest again.
"I'm just kidding. You should see your face – you are red as a rose. You really thought I was going to remove my shirt? Please, do not think so lowly of me. I would never undress voluntarily in front of you. I would not do it in front of anyone except Fran, actually." His smug grin disappeared.
"I'll leave it in the cockpit as soon as I am done with it. Now get out." Sigill snorted. Why did he have to mock and tease her so?
Balthier turned and waved her off with the back of his hand without even looking at her.
"Sleep tight."
As soon as he had closed the door Sigill laid the vest on the floor, lit up the room and was just about to reach for her hammer. Problem was - it wasn't there. The hammer didn't hang on her hip like it used to. Sigill could feel her heart beat faster yet again, this time in panic. What would she do without her hammer? She began to more or less trash the room in search for it, hoping she had just misplaced it. She left no stone unturned. She grabbed her bed sheets and tossed them aside. She flung open all of her drawers and closets with no result.
Sigill screamed in frustration and disappointment. She couldn't make the repairs if she didn't have her hammer. During her weeks practicing Fran wouldn't let her use her own and therefore it had been a long time since she had used it. No wonder she had lost it. Then it hit her.
She had dropped it three weeks back while fighting those wolves.
Sigill fell helplessly to the floor. What would she do now? She could never go back and get it, she didn't want to risk getting attacked again. This time she only had her dagger and that thing wouldn't do much damage.
She would just have to work without it.
"Sigill! What's wrong?" Basch's voice could be heard from outside. "I heard you screaming, did something happen?"
Sigill covered her mouth with her hands. She had not meant to wake everyone up.
"Sorry!" She hollered. "I'm fine. I just… Dropped my hammer on my foot." She lied. That's all she could do for now – she didn't want Basch to worry too much about her. He seemed to feel better without her right now.
She couldn't bother the others with her petty problems but there was only one thing she could do right now – go borrow one of Fran's hammers.
Sigill would have to wait a while for everyone to go back to sleep. She cursed herself for having woken them up.
She sneaked outside when she was certain Basch had left and no one could be seen in the corridor.
Sigill treaded lightly towards the cargo hold where she knew at least one of the hammers were.
She carefully opened the door and went in to search for the hammer. She realized this would take a while since the cargo hold was filled with boxes of food and different tools. Sigill began to rummage through the boxes in a frenzy, desperate and mind-set to fix Balthier's vest. She thought that perhaps this way she would gain his attention at least in some way.
"Do you need anything?"
Sigill flinched by the Viera's sudden appearance, got up slowly and turned around in shame.
"I need to borrow one of your hammers… I need to fix something before tomorrow morning. Thought I would not need to wake any of you up. I apologize."
"Very well. Please ask next time. The hammers are in the box over there." Fran said, pointing at a box in the corner of the room.
Sigill nodded in response and went to fetch the hammer. Finally she could fix that damned vest.
Once back in her room, she sat down on the floor and let out a sigh. Finally.
Sigill started mending the vest. Gently tapping it with the hammer where it was damaged. It wouldn't take too long – the damage was not too great.
Four hours into the night, she was finally done. Carefully inspecting her work – it turned out better than she'd thought. She had even put that little own detail of hers into a corner of it - A small inscription which said 'Ti'arath'. Ever since she had been given that name she'd put that inscription on anything she worked on.
Sigill put the vest away without a single thought of delivering it to Balthier or dropping it off in the cockpit. All she wanted to do now was go to sleep. The repairs had taken its toll on her.
Hopefully she would be able to sleep at least a few hours before departure. She had noticed the sun wasn't too far from rising. Maybe an hour or two would be all she would get tonight.
Sigill could now peacefully drift off to sleep.
"Do you like it here?" The boy asked her.
"I do. The greenery is astonishing." She replied.
"Do you… Want to stay with me here?" The boy fumbled with his thumbs, a faint blush spreading across his face.
She turned to him with a bright smile on her face.
"Of course I want to, and I'm really glad you asked but my father already told me we have to go home tomorrow." Her expression saddened shortly after.
"Oh… Then… Will you come back one day?"
"I promise I will someday." The young girl got up, twirled around a little bit before turning to him with the smile back, plastered onto her face.
"Then… Promise you will marry me when we grow up?"
"I promise to be your wife, no matter what-"
Sigill woke up by someone banging on her door. She shot up, her hair in a big, red mess. Slightly annoyed at the person who had awoken her from her cozy dream, she slipped off the bed and opened the door.
"You overslept. Shall you accompany us in the cockpit? The others are waiting." The friendly voice belonged to Fran who now seemed to enjoy her company more and more for each day that passed.
"Yeah sure. I'll be there in a minute. Just let me get my belongings." Sigill mumbled sleepily.
Sigill now noticed she'd fallen asleep without removing her clothes – a common mistake on her part while tired. After grabbing the vest and attaching the hammer onto her hip, she followed Fran.
She found everyone in the cockpit, just as Fran had told her. Sigill handed the vest to Balthier without even a glance, muttering something about 'here you go' and 'hope it's good enough for you'.
Balthier slipped into it without replying. The other four gave her a heartwarming welcome before they all sat down, getting ready for take-off.
As usual Fran and Balthier steered the ship while everybody else sat behind them, relaxing.
"Where are we going?" Sigill asked.
"Archades. It will be a good opportunity to stock up on things needed and clothes for you." Balthier's words made her feel like a bother. She did not want to think of how much she had slowed them down by getting dragged aboard and actually staying. They'd have to restock because of her, on both materials and food as well as clothes.
"Archades? That sounds brilliant – I've never been outside of Rabanastre. Not what I can remember at least." Sigill mumbled, still exhausted.
"I'm absolutely positive it will take your fancy. Might need to upgrade your taste if you want to fit in though. You will only be mocked if you walk around in those garments." Balthier added.
"I'm already being mocked – by you" She mumbled under her breath, making sure she could not be heard by anyone except Fran – nothing could pass by her senses. "How long before we arrive?"
"If everything goes as planned – six hours." Fran stated.
Sorry it took so long! But chapter 7 is finally up! What do you think? :D
It's really difficult to keep writing without any encouragement, but I'm doing my best. The few reviews so far made me ultra happy, though!